#i didn't see it linked anywhere else but if someone did and I missed it. my bad

[bookwyrminspiration]

Here's a direct link, in case anyone wants to read it :)

tw: noticable weight loss (mention of ribs), injury/blood, grief

I wonder what the first keeper fic posted on ao3 was? A sokeefe or sophitz fic? A different ship? A gen fic? A crack fic??? I wanna know

[creepycranberry]

No Chance Showmance

Robin Buckley x Munson reader showmance AU

(Plus a little hellcheer)

Based on this request

Trigger warnings: angst, alcohol, mentions of homophobic parents, cursing, not proofread

(Let me know if I missed anything)

•••

“Come on, please?” you plead, giving Robin over exaggerated puppy dog eyes.

Robin can't help but think of how unfair it is that just a bat of your eyelashes can have her resolve breaking. Robin was somehow secretly happy that there was no way you knew that. Robin looked to Steve for some help but Steve shook his head.

“Sorry, Rob. if she managed to rope me into this shit then you're definitely a lost cause. it would probably be best if you just gave in now." Steve shrugged from the workbench he was setting up to help with set building.

“It’ll be fun, I promise.” you assure her, “you just need to do the spotlight when the stage manager says so. You’ll have plenty of practice beforehand, and I know this probably won't count for much, but we'll get to see each other more than we have lately.” You smile and then hesitantly make another point, hoping for something, “and maybe you’ll meet someone? You’re always saying how hard it is to put yourself out there and find someone.” The thought made your throat feel tight, you wait for some confirmation but Robin just shrugs and sighs.

It was true that During rehearsal seasons robin and steve rarely saw you. They worked the days you had rehearsal, and then you and Keith worked on days when you didn't. The promise of more time with you does sound appealing but robin still isn't sure. Rehearsals with you mean skipping band practice with Vickie.

“The show is in like two weeks, though. Are you sure that's enough time for me to-”

“More then enough time. I mean if steve can build and paint a set piece for us in that amount of time, im sure you could figure out the lights. I wouldn't ask if I really didn't need your help.”

“Fine. I’ll do it.”

The pure joy on your face and the bear hug you gave Robin was enough to assure her that she was making the right decision.

•••

Robin spent a lot of the next week with Mark, a somewhat gruff but passionate lightboard operator with a nasty habit of forgetting his cue. Much to Robins relief and your delight, she was pretty good at lighting. She subbed for mark in a few rehearsals, along with doing the spotlight and somehow managed to make the show run smoother than it did with the two of them.

Rehearsals went late fridays and started early saturdays, which is why you suggested robin stay at yours for a sleepover so you wouldn't have to pick her up in the morning. And so friday night after rehearsal you drove robin with you to your house.

It was rare for you and robin to spend time with just the two of you. Normally steve and sometimes dustin would be a part of the group. Or it would be you and Steve and everyone else and Robin would be with her band friends. So as the both of you sat in the car you both appreciated the rare moment of silence you got to share.

“Hey.”

You turn to robin and raise your eyebrows before looking back at the road.

“Yeah?”

“You're really great up there.” robin says quietly and you do your best to ignore the blush that creeps up to your cheeks.

“I really try but i think im probably one of our weaker links.” you shrug and robin sits up a bit more.

“No. mark is one of our weaker links, you- you're the fucking ringleader. I've never seen someone demand attention from a crowd the way you do.” robin realizes her babbling and clears her throat, “i-I mean, the theatre group is small, and everyone is so passionate about this, but i don't think theyd get anywhere with actually putting on the show without you.”

You're momentarily stunned into silence by the sheer sincerity in robins voice.

“Th-thanks. I, um, i've never really seen it that way- seen myself that way.”

“Anytime.”

The drive is quiet until you pull into the driveway of the old trailer. When the two of you get to yours and eddies shared room Robin is thoroughly interested in every little thing, fawning over the movie posters on your walls and the little figurines on your desk and bookshelf.

“It’s just kid stuff.” You shrug, taking her jacket from her and hanging it on the back of her door.

“Well we’re kinda still kids right? And plus it’s cool.”

“You’re cool.” You mock lamely but Robin just snorts. You really can’t help but smile, “I’m not good at the whole conversation thing.”

“It’s okay, I’m not the best either.” Robin shrugs.

“But give me a script and I can knock that shit out pretty well.”

“I know that much.” Robin smiles.

You like it when you can make her smile. You don’t think you’re funny most of the time but Robin makes you feel like you could be a comedian. She thinks you're funny, she listens to you and you like listening to her rambling.

You find yourself so focused and enthralled with her lips, watching them move as she talks, until she stops and you’re still staring. And then you’re moving closer to her, eyes still fixed to her lips, lost in the thought of what it might be like to be familiar with the feeling of them against yours.

You barely realize you’re giving into your impulse. Her lips are slightly chapped but still pillowy and sweet.

You think she’s kissing you back but then she’s gently pushing you away.

And you’re mortified when she looks at you, awkwardness settling over you and the uncomfortability of it has you rambling an apology as you stumble backward and get away from the house,waving Robin sitting there in your bedroom, utterly stunned. By the time she finds it in herself to run after you you’re so far ahead of her. She catches up to you though, holding onto your shoulder to stop you, fighting to get air back into her lungs.

“I’m sorry Robin, I shouldn’t have-“

“You didn’t do anything wrong I just-“

“You just what?” You sniffle.

“I like someone else- I mean I don’t not like you but i-“ she begins babbling but it’s not as comforting as usual. Now it feels like you’ve been stabbed in the stomach and the knife is being twisted and pulled upward.

You now understood what it meant when someone said they felt gutted.

“It’s fine Robin. There’s a landline in the kitchen, Steve can drive you to rehearsal tomorrow I just- I need to take a walk.”

Robin looks utterly conflicted as she slowly turns and makes her way back to the trailer.

•••

You stumble up to the trailer, your body feeling sort of heavy but you're riding on a high. The kind of high that numbs every sensation and makes every thought a little bit fuzzy.

You fumble with your key for a little bit before the door opens on its own, Eddie standing there giving you a concerned look.

“Eddie! How are you?” you smile, giving him a big hug, almost face planting in the process.

“I’m good? What’s going on with you? Are you drunk?” He asks you, holding out his arms to stabilize You so you don’t fall over.

You nod dazily, “mhm, ‘m just having a good time y’know?”

“Eddie? Who is it?” A voice from inside asks and you raise your eyebrows at Eddie.

“Is that Chrissy?” you whisper shout to him.

“Yeah, that’s her. Come on, let’s get you inside, you need lots of water and bread and sleep.” He hums to you, leading you into the house where a pretty blond girl is standing in the middle of the living room, shifting her weight back and forth between her feet.

“Chrissy!” you gasp, stumbling forward and away from your cousin to give her a hug.

“Hey, Hon. Is everything alright?” She asks you, leaning away from you and holding onto you as you slightly sway.

“Hm, I don’t- I don’t know… Chrissy, when a girl tells you she likes you, and you kissed her but she stopped the kiss and tells you that she likes you but she also likes someone else, what does that mean? Does that mean she like, likes you or does that mean that she doesn’t like you like that but doesn’t want to make you feel bad? And either way, how do you deal with that? Because this girl, she’s adorable,” you gush, smiling as Chrissy leads you to sit on the couch next to her, Eddie just standing there awkwardly, “she’s so cute and she’s smart and she’s funny and she does this really cute thing when she’s nervous where she starts rambling nonsense and sometimes I’ll try and make her nervous just to hear her talk but I don’t know… because I really thought she liked me, but then I kissed her.”

“Did she get mad at you for kissing her?” Chrissy asks you, coaxing you into drinking a sip of what you’re guessing was the water Eddie had been drinking before you got here, judging by the one at your usual place on the couch.

“Not really? I don’t know?y’know? Like, she didn’t push ‘m away and I think she was kissing me back for a moment but then just… pulled away,” you slur, your bottom lip starting to jut out a little , “and when I asked’er if I did something wrong she said no but she just moved so far away from me and then she told me she didn’t mind, and she wasn’t mad but that she liked someone else and I don’t get it.”

“Don’t get what?” Chrissy asks you, looking over at Eddie.

“She’s not mad? And also she likes someone else? But I don’t think she’s straight because she said she didn’t mind kissing me but if she didn’t mind kissing me and she’s not mad than what’s the matter? She looked so… repulsed by me, almost, she just looked so uncomfortable and her face like… it scrunched up but not in the cute way it does when she’s laughing, no it was like when someone calls you a fag from the side of the road, because that’s such a creative way of making it known You're insecure but I just- I really thought she might like me, i really thought that maybe she could care for me in any other way than platonically…”

you think you started crying somewhere in there.

Your lip quivers as you talk, your eyes welling up with tears, “maybe it was stupid, y’know. Maybe I’m just unlovable. I mean I wouldn’t blame her or my parents or my old friends or even my new friends, I’m a mess. A stupid, unlovable mess.”

You huff a little, trying not to cry and failing miserably.

Eddie sighs, his hand tucked into his back pockets, “you’re not unlovable, I mean you’re definitely a mess don’t get me wrong but you are very easy to love. Now come on, we’ve got to get you something to drink-”

“Whiskey coke please.”

“We’ve got to get you some water to drink,” he corrects and Chrissy laughs a little. Eddie looks up at her, his eyes adoring as she gets up, grabbing your hand and looping her arm through your, “and then we’ll get you some medicine and food but first you’ll take a nap and you’ll feel all better. Okay?”

You just nod, letting Chrissy drag you to yours and Eddie's room. you pull off your shoes, falling onto eddies bed and hugging the teddy by his pillow.

Eddie covers you up with a blanket, kissing your forehead like Wayne does when you’re sick and taking the hair tie out of your hair,setting it in the dresser before closing the curtains and the door.

you don’t fall asleep immediately, though you feel yourself wanting to.

Instead you cry a little, trying to sob as quietly as you can, though small whimpers still escape your lips every time you have to breathe a little.

you hold the blanket close to your frame, tucking your face into the stomach of the teddy bear.

Stupid

Stupid

Stupid

You don’t know what you were thinking.

Your own parents couldn’t find it in themselves to love you after they found out what you are, how could you expect her to?

You can’t help but feel a little grief as you think of your parents.

You missed them, you missed hugging my mother after having a hard day and just needed a good hug, you miss car rides with my dad where neither of us would talk but we still enjoyed each other’s company, you miss going to the drive in to watch old movies from when they were your age with them, you miss listening to the radio in the kitchen with your mother on holidays.

You just miss not feeling like youre stuck floating. you hate feeling like you don’t really belong anywhere.

You can’t help but feel like the most massive screw up, your parents hate you, Robin probably won’t want anything to do with you today, you’re just kind of lost.

You sniffle, wiping your nose on your sleeve.

Your nose is stuffed up and you can feel the headache from both the crying and the alcohol starting to form itself and you sigh to yourself, wiping your cheeks and closing your eyes. Maybe you can sleep off the headache.

But before you can drift off completely you hear quiet voices in the hallway, “is she gonna be okay?”

“She’ll be fine, she just needs to rest and take some time to herself. In the meantime I’ve got a band geek to murder.” You hear your cousin's hushed voice retort.

“Eddie.” You Can hear Chrissy's smile in her voice, “it just happens sometimes. Feelings are complicated. I’m sure the other girl feels terrible about how this went down too. It just comes with the territory.”

“I just- she’s still a kid. She shouldn’t have to be feeling shit like this.” Eddie shrugs and you hear Chrissy snort, “what?”

“You’re not much older than her.”

“I am three and half years older than her for your information.” Eddie retorts and you can hear Chrissy giggle quietly.

“She’s not a little kid anymore, Eddie.”

“Oh don’t say that. She’s still a little kid, she’ll always be a little kid. I could take her to a candy store right now and she’d go nuts.”

“Eddie.” Chrissy warns.

“I know. She’s almost grown up. Which sucks cause it means I’m getting old.” He drags out the word ‘old’.

“Hey, If you’re getting old then I’m getting old. We are both still glowing youthfully.”

You hear Eddie laugh and sigh, “fine. I’m still gonna go and fight that band kid though.”

“Edward Munson.”

“Full name? That stings.” Eddie says dramatically and Chrissy laughs again as their voices recede down the hall.

•••

Might do a part two but I’m not sure

[xdesiress]

It's very late at night and I just had a big realization moment to let out of my chest.

People who think individuals with BPD are being purposefully manipulative couldn't be far from wrong. Sure, it won't be EVERY case, but a good damn majority of us don't notice anything wrong with ur behaviour until it's pointed out by someone else-- and even then, it still sounds weird that something that's done our entire life would be viewed as negative.

In a lot of cases these behaviours where we become "dangerous", "manipulative", "aggressive"-- it all can be linked to childhood trauma. I've been trying to understand my own person a lot for several months now, and I see it now that without lashing out, occasional lying and in between other things, I never got what I genuinely NEEDED in the past. It's like a survival response; when things don't go your way, when relationships or anything meaningful or close to you start dwindling, your first response is to act on emotions rather than acting rational because you don't want to lose that thing. And you don't understand why it's happening.

I have many other personal problems. But BPD also influences on a messed up portrayal of time, memory gaps, you lose control of yourself and most importantly, there are times you don't even feel as though you are in your own body. There are many other things, but these are a big struggle, not to mention some who end up thinking the only way out is through their own disappearance from how intense it gets.

People think all these said "manipulative" moments are on purpose and thought-out, but they're all done on impulse from things that no one even bothered to try to guide any of us out of and we learned it was normal. I act on the heat of the moment. I've told people several times my struggles with telling theirs' and my tones but they never once did help me realize my mistakes, no; they left instead. Im learning slowly on what I can TRY to improve and grow out of. It's not always a given but to know there are people whom I'm hoping will help realize things around my circle makes me feel better. But a lot of us struggle with also letting go of the people that caused further harm, wether they meant genuine harm or not. We hate the fact we miss them.

One habit I struggle to rid myself off of is abrupt leaving of voice chats or any conversations anywhere for that matter when things get heated even in the slightest. To prevent myself from exploding at someone, wich would happen often on the past due to nervousness on them possibly getting mad at me for a mistake that could be deemed simple by ANYONE, that's the mechanism I developed instead. Just leaving without a word, taking some minutes alone before coming back or not returning at all and just texting instead.

Acting sarcastic unintentionally, huffing constantly at even the slightest complain, mocking people when they turn around out of annoyance or feeling nervous-- these are all things I also need to work on.

It's not easy, but I'm trying. I really am.

All these accusations I've faced with "friends" on the past, all the finger pointing towards me for things I didn't understand-- it all made sense just now for me thanks to a singular text I read.

I can finally not feel so badly about myself knowing that I wasn't at full fault, not on purpose.

I can finally have a restful night.

[erixyin]

Poison Running Through My Veins | Part 3

Summary: Reader has a mental breakdown and its bad, her friends cheer her up and lots of fluffy moments with more angst thrown in. It is a short one I'm sorry! But hopefully it's something that will keep you all happy for now.

Thank you so much for al your lovey comments on tumblr and AO3, they have motivated me to keep writing. I'm sorry I'm so bad with consistency.

Warnings: eddie munson x reader, billy hargrove x reader, past relationship with billy hargrove, current relationship with eddie munson, angst, little bit of fluff thrown in, possessive! eddie, jealousy! eddie, mentions of injury, mentions of food, descriptions of injury, bruising, alluding to being sick, mentions of being ick, fluff, platonic fluff,

[lmk if I've missed anything!]

Tag List:

@sidthedollface2, @yaskna, @ancheyew, @samurai-hearts, @bucky-hydra-hoe-barnes,

Words: 1976 words

No minors allowed please and thank you.

Please do NOT repost anywhere. I will be posting on my AO3 account and linking it here.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Seeing Robin and Steve still over by the stage. Their faces said calm, but their body language said concerned. In between listening to the hellfire club and picking at your food, you kept checking on Steve's face.

As they walked over to you guys, Max didn't say anything but gave you a small smile as she sat down. You tilted your head at Steve, but he just gave you nothing. Same with Robin you thought to yourself.

Eddie was sat next to you. Talking with the hellfire kids and acting like yesterday's explosion had never happened. Still, Steve didn't miss the way Eddie covered your wrist with his hand, exactly where the bruise was. As if to act as your little reminder. Your eyes quietly pleaded with Robin as you watched Steve shove more and more mashed potato into his mouth.

He wanted to give Dustin an excuse as to why he wasn't talking, which meant Dustin just turned to you and Eddie.

"When did you write that song you guys sang? It sounded pretty good." He gave you a little wink as to which you just chuckled. You did not miss the way Eddie's grip around your wrist tightened. "Someone almost fell off beat with the tambourine" He looked at Steve as to which Steve just sent him a middle finger with his tongue sticking out. Only earning him an eye roll in return.

"Oh I-" You looked at Robin quickly as she slightly shook her head. You weren't gonna tell him and the whole hellfire kids, but you didn't really have the best cover up answer. "I just wrote it this morning" You looked back down at your food, continuing to be disinterested in it.

"You guys have a fight?" Mike piped up, asking what all the kids were thinking. One quick glare from Eddie was all the younger boy needed to shut up again.

They had seen Eddie drive off with you in the car yesterday. They had seen your faces and the interaction with Billy. Ooo boi.

The question still lingering in the air, you realised you had waited a beat longer than you had wanted to answer, "No of course not. No, the song was about something else..." You looked at your best friends for help, but their blank stares back answered your own question.

"Something else?" Asked Dustin leaning in. He was such a little gossiper. Steve was shooting him death stares and a 'cut it out' hand gesture but Dustin was ignoring him.

"Or someone else..." Eddie muttered as he leant across and stole some of Gareth's fries. Thankfully the kids hadn't heard, but the wide eyes of the band members and the way they looked from you then back to Eddie made you swallow any words you were about to say.

"I wrote it ages ago; the lyrics were already done. It was holding me back." You tried to keep your voice normal as you could feel the rings that you loved so much on Eddie imprint onto your skin again. The bruise throbbing underneath your sleeve and you knew he knew what he was doing.

With your stomach turning, you felt your body begin to sweat. Looking around you at the familiar faces, for an escape - you felt your eyes lose focus. It felt like the whole room was swaying.

Someone was speaking at you but nothing was registering. The grip on your wrist the only thing you became aware of. The pain making you bite the inside of your cheek.

Then it felt like all eyes were on you, and still your mouth refused to function. No sound. The room swayed harder. The sounds became more muffled. You felt the pain on your wrist cease and that's when you bolted.

You hoped the words out of your mouth was some sort of excuse and not just panicked noise. Running. You were running. You didn't know where at first but your subconscious did. Muscle memory at its best. Falling back to the place you knew you could always escape to when things got too much. Shoving past people to get there fast.

Run! Just get out of here! Run!

Making it to the bathroom, you found an empty stall, thank fuck.

And then everything came out. All of the words that were said last night, all of the thoughts surrounding your head, the bruised skin on your wrist. All of the upset and the pain inside of you, you forced out through your mouth.

Once you had exhausted your body, it literally rejecting you to get rid of any more - you sat on the floor, quietly shaking. You hugged your hands around yourself and you whispered to yourself, "it's okay. It's gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay" over and over again until you would believe it.

Flashbacks to the mall and hiding from the men with guns with Robin and Steve. How you had felt so strong. And then your strength being removed from you when you saw the monstrous thing from the Upside Down in the centre of the mall. The place where you had just begun to be yourself.

The memories coming to the front of your mind in flashes. Hiding like a child. Holding yourself tight. Messy mascara falling down your tired cheeks. Billy stood there and him being teared apart. Max screaming-

You clamped your hands over your ears as if to drown out the noise. "No please no, I want to forget. I want to forget!" you half-choked out.

Remembering where you were, you quietened yourself down and went back to repeating the same thing over and over. The rest of school didn't matter. You just needed to be away from it all.

Wiping the snot from your nose on your sleeves. You rolled up both of them and looked at the two black and purple bruises, one for each wrist. You could see the indents from where his rings had embossed themselves into your skin.

Honestly, if it wasn't Eddie being the one to have done this, you would have killed the person who hurt you like this. But after everything you two had been through. And how he made you feel safe, even after the trauma of last summer.

But you never knew this side of Eddie. And you never thought he would be this way towards you.

A gentle knock from the bathroom stall door, woke you up from your thoughts. Pulling your sleeves back down, you managed a, "hello?" Your voice sounding shaky and tired.

"Is everything okay?" you heard Robin's voice on the other side. Sighing, thanful that it wasn't someone else but also taking a deep exhale trying to calm yourself down.

"Not really, no" You admitted, shakily reaching up and being just able to unlock the door without getting up fully.

The door slowly opened and Robin was there with Nancy. Seeing your face, she gave a kind smile and said, "I brought reinforcements"

Smiling back your tears returning to you except these were tears of love. Nancy held out her hand and Robin held out another and you were gently pulled to your feet by the both of them.

You were pulled into a tight hug by Nancy and you melted. Nancy wasn't the type to be physically affectionate. She was better with her words than anything. It just wasn't her love language, unlike Robin. But when you really needed a hug, Nancy would always be the first one to give it to you.

"I'm sorry-" you started to apologise but Robin shushed you gently, using a soft tissue to wipe away the dried tear stains under your eyes.

"Where do you wanna go? What do you wanna do?" Nancy asked you, looking at you directly. Her eyes filled with concern and love.

"I can't make you miss school" you looked a her worriedly.

"Oh please, anything to get out of science class with Mrs Bustleby." You heard Robin say from behind you. Her hands gently finger brushing your hair back in place.

"I wanna stay here with you guys. Wherever you go I go." Nancy looked at you, her brow furrowing as she grew more concerned. "Please." you pleaded.

You hadn't been this bad since everything that had happened. You couldn't be alone, you had stayed over at one of their houses [usually Steve's] because you couldn't sleep, the nightmares plaguing you everywhere you went.

"Okay" Nancy said finally, glancing down at your hands quickly before taking one hand and leading you outside the bathrooms.

As you opened the door you saw Steve leaning against a wall and talking with Jonathan. Both of them turned to look at you.

"You could have come in ya know" Robin said, teasing Steve. Now that you were back to focused reality, you were aware of how many people were in this corridor again. Your breathing was still shaky.

"I'm not a girl dumbass" Steve said, gesturing in a confused manner and raising his eyebrow at her.

"Never stopped you before" Nancy chimed in as to which Steve then shut up and almost went a bit red and Robin had the biggest grin on her face. Jonathan took a minute to process it before clapping Steve on the back as if to say 'You walked into that one'.

"Is everyone still at lunch or...?" You looked at Steve nervously. It's not like you were going to avoid Eddie. You just really didn't need to see him right now.

"He went off with the hellfire gang. I actually think Dustin took an emergency meeting. Kid's pretentious as fuck but he means well." You knew an 'emergency meeting' was used when it was to either talk about the Upside Down or deal with an issue.

"Part of me is kind of intrigued as to what they are saying." Robin said before realising that that would be a very bad idea.

"I'll find out later from Dustin. Or you will." He pointed at you.

Before you could ponder the thought, the bell rang. Signalling the end of lunch and soon to be science class. Steve, Robin and Nancy lead the front of the pack - as a protective shield to anyone not welcome and to guard you.

Jonathan walked beside you. Fidgeting with his hands he looked at you and then looked down, then looked back at your hands that were crossed, holding yourself up. "I've got a first aid in my car, for after school" he said quietly enough so that only the four of you could hear him.

You gave him a small smile. He then went back to being silent and you felt your breathing even out. You were just about to say thank you when you heard him say, "You have to leave him if it gets too bad. If he won't get help and he makes you empty promises, you have to leave before it gets worse."

You looked at him. You saw Nancy slightly straighten up. You didn't know Jonathan as well as the rest of the group, but you had grown closer in the last 12 months, along with Nancy. He was the only one who understand your situation with your parents. He understood and got Nancy to help get you into the trailer park when you moved out. He was one of the first to know how bad it was.

And here he was telling you the same piece of advice he told you then. You silently promised him, meeting his eyes with a look of sadness mixed with agreement. Then you both looked down as you walked into science class and managed to get the seats five seats at the back. You put your head down and dissolved into your dreamland, and for once, Eddie was not invited.

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[mrcrowblargs]

The final battle... to confront the Netherbrain. Even though I had gotten more used to switching up the party during Act 3, I wanted to have my favourites along, though I ended up choosing Lae'zel over Karlach because one Lae'zel quest thing remained.

So it was Aldiirn, Astarion, Gale, and Lae'zel, all in for a big headache. End spoilers below!

big brain! big scary brain! Throwing the Netherstones was scream inducing. They gave a variety of options for each throw but it was always my weak stats grouped together lmao. Aldiirn passed the first INT check, then fucking whiffed the second CHA check because I just assumed I would pass and hit continue... but then I kinda got the sense passing or failing would not make much difference here and... yup.

Empy scoops us up into the Astral Prism and it's Orpheus time, babey. Freeing Orpheus was no question but I did question, "what if I became the mindflayer" which prompted Astarion to be like, "could we have an aside, privately? You're not really going to throw away that pretty face of yours?????" very cute.

Aldiirn knew Emperor was vehemently against freeing Orpheus, but hoped he could convince Emperor to see reason. Like they all got the same goals, they can all combine their power, we can talk Orpheus into cooling don his blood feud for the sake of a bigger bad. Aldiirn's a fucking bard with +15 Persuasion if anyone could do it, it would be him, but--- NO!!! EMPEROR HAD TO BE A GODDAMN BITCH AND SWITCHED SIDES LIKE. IMMEDIATELY. NO DISCUSSION. BRUH.

Also one thing I feel there was a missed opportunity on was confronting Emperor over, hey buddy weren't you the mindflayer that put tadpoles in our heads??? It's definitely Emperor in the opening scene. I really wanted to hear from it about what happened on the nautiloid but all we got were like, some records in Gortash's palace and it's ambiguous if Emperor was of itself at the time. alas.

Gave Lae'zel the honours to free Orpheus aaaand here's the mindflayer conversation all over again. And like, shit, after everything that was done to free the guy and drive the githyanki revolution, becoming the mindflayer felt most in character for Aldiirn. I'm pretty sure I sat over the decision for a solid ten minutes like WONT SOMEONE PERSUADE ME OUT OF THIS lmao. But Astarion kinda had with the aside before. I might make a comic to flesh out the moment like... I think it would be a good one of the party backing Aldiirn up to choose his own freedom after pushing for everyone else's.

Orpheus became the mindflayer, tragic but necessary. I felt so bad for Lae'zel. Uuggh the emotion in her face here.

and then the goofiest smile ever in High Hall haha. Everyone from Gather Your Allies being mushed in there felt a little contrived but, what the hell, SUMMON YOUR SOCIAL LINKS!!! I love a good friendship moment.

Hooboy the battles here really gave the D&D experience: waiting 40 minutes for your turn in initiative to show up. IDK why but at first I thought it would be a brilliant idea to surround the enemy but soon realised it turned the battle into an immediate slog. Reload, and instead fought starting from the wall on the west side. Got this nice little screencap of my mans fighting side by side even though neither should be anywhere near melee haha.

I have to say, I think I would have preferred that all the companions be allowed into the battle over the ally summons for the final battle. At least the origin ones. I want to replay it at some point with the party limit begone mod.

The tower was the hardest part, getting up past that stupid statue that COULDNT BE BROKEN DOWN... Aldiirn and Lae'zel could fly but Astarion and Gale couldn't even see where to teleport. It's SO annoying that Dimension Door has to be a point you can see now, its whole thing in 5e was that you didn't need to.

Whenever Gale brings up exploding himself I wanna do that Archer slap fest bit to him. Buddy, no, we are ALL getting out of this alive!

Up we go to the brain of the bad bitch herself and THE BIGGEST TRAITOR BITCH!!!!!! okay but bringing out the dream visitors to fight was cool. Seems Aldiirn's got reverted to the default drow dude (he should have had similar green skiin and short white hair) and I'm guessing the others are just kinda like, stock random ones. Looks like they are all human female. Would have been nice to see ones tailored for each companion you bring. Then they can all chide each other later like "so THAT'S what you find attractive?" hehe

Remember I stole that runepowder bomb from Wulbren? Yeah, I brought it with me as a parting gift for Emperor. Threw the bomb at its feet and then KA-BOOM!!!!! Wiped out Empy, all the Guardians, and fucked up everything else INCLUDING ALDIIRN. I have no idea WHAT happened -- maybe Emperor's shield of thralls??? -- because I'm certain he was behind Lae'zel when she threw & exploded the bomb and she was kind. Aldiirn just fucking dropped dead behind her. I just laughed and rolled with it, Astarion got Aldiirn back on his feet.

Fight was good, the most annoying bit were the Mindflayers and Dominating Aylin AGAIN. I swear to got that woman can never pass a WIS save.

And then when we got to the unshakeable will of the netherbrain???? Lae'zel fucking shredded it with 9 attacks. Astarion gets a crit with an Arrow of Aberration Slaying (but no sneak attack). It's hanging on by a thread.

Aldiirn enters.

"TWIT"

"TWAT"

"TWERP"

fucking. Vicious Mockeried the BBEG to death. The most legendary goddamn move a Bard can ever do. No other bard I play will ever top that.

Down she goooooes and oh fuck everyone's getting fucked from the tadpoles dying in their heads

And then... silence. it's over. Aldiirn has his cute face back I wanted to sob seeing it again. I really expected more consquences for taking the Astral tadpole but... still, I wanted him to survive and enjoy the rest of his life.

But of course there were still things to go wrong.

Lae'zel and Orpheus, I couldn't let Lae'zel devote her life to another cult and endless war when she could have her own freedom, forge her own destiny, so I persuaded her to stay on Faerun. Orpheus went and committed sudoku which, eh, tbh I feel like he was weak willed for that. It does feel a bit like everything done to free Orpheus was for naught but Lae'zel deserves a chance to live her own life.

Side note, I was amused that Aldiirn apparently still had his Illithid Expertise feature as that was his source of Persuasion Expertise at the end heh.

continuing the mood of "fuck doing anymore quests" I told Gale to leave the crown in the river... completely fucking forgetting that Mystra was gonna remove the orb in exchange for it afhdjkfsd. I like to think it keeps Aldiirn awake at night sometimes. "why did he listen to me. why hasn't he gone back for it. all our brains were fried right then why couldn't any of you make your own decisions." lmao.

and POOR ASTARION. Just fucking fried right there in the beautiful sun. Gale's like "well we'll never see him again" UH BRO WHAT??? PLEASE JUST HOLD THE OTHER END OF THIS FUCKING TARP SO WE CAN GET HIM INSIDE SOMEWHERE. Thooouuughhh I headcanon that Aldiirn cast Darkness on Astarion and tell him to hold on while another pressing matter ignites...

Karlach, baby, noooo!!! Promising to be with Karlach at the end is the only reason Aldiirn wouldn't immediately chase after Astarion and, yeah. Aaa my eyes were tearing so much. I thought back to her post-Gortash breakdown and was like, "karlach. you want to live. you SHOULD get to live. Go with Wyll to Avernus."

Kicking demon ass never looked so good. I figure, there's some hellish real estate opening, those two should look into it, and the REAL celebration party should be at the House of Hope so everyone can be there. :D

Aldiirn would have gone with Karlach and Wyll, but he's needed on this plane.

God, Astarion looks so hollow when he mentions losing his time in the sun. Aldiirn wants that back for him so badly, but also needs a fucking break from adventuring. I headcanon that reverting the partial illithid transforation was not a clean cut thing by any measure and Aldiirn has a longer road to recovery ahead of him. But he's not gonna sit idle. There's thousands of vampire spawn in is home, the Underdark, that need guidance, and just maybe a bardy bard is just the type needed to inspire them to band together. Aldiirn's gotta know of a large enough abandoned megadungeon that could house them all while they work to support themselves. And then, when he's in good enough shape, Aldiirn will find a way for Astarion to bask in the sun again.

[oddsconvert]

I posted 1,221 times in 2022

That's 1,221 more posts than 2021!

364 posts created (30%)

857 posts reblogged (70%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@darkthingshappen

@whumpcereal

@whumpsday

@i-can-even-burn-salad

@oddsconvert

I tagged 844 of my posts in 2022

Only 31% of my posts had no tags

#whump - 284 posts

#answered asks - 268 posts

#whump writing - 190 posts

#whump community - 184 posts

#whumpblr - 176 posts

#whump blog - 164 posts

#a taste of your own medicine - 132 posts

#whumpee - 129 posts

#whumper - 120 posts

#atoyomasks - 85 posts

Longest Tag: 136 characters

#the bit where joe calls him beautiful and he says its not about that....its that he still keeps losing and having stuff happen to him 😭

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I love that moment where Whumpee hits Whumper...accidentally 👀

In the midst of a struggle or a fight and Whumpee's fist just unfortunately collides with Whumper's face and they both just freeze on the spot in pure shock. Horrified eyes staring up into infuriated ones.

Knowing they messed up bad.

Trying to scuttle away or apologising profusely because Whumper is going to make sure they NEVER make that mistake again.

I did write a lil something based on this prompt if anyone is interested <3: Link

396 notes - Posted May 30, 2022

#4

Terrified Villain goes to kind Hero for help

CW: Villain Whumpee, Hero Caretaker, Hidden/Discovered Injury, Passing Out, Mentions of blood, Gunshot wound, Adult language (I may have missed some!)

-

Hero sprung awake from the shrilling of the doorbell in the dead of night. It wasn't the time of night that concerned them, the fact it was so late that moonlight leaked through the slit in the curtains and illuminated the pitch-black bedroom.

No, it was the fact that the doorbell had even rung at all. They didn't recognise the sound of it, it had never been used. Living out in the middle of nowhere brings the added perk of no uninvited visitors.

Whoever was at the door, was punching the doorbell button in, screeching in it's constant chime. Banging the door down with their pounding knocks. A sense of urgency and panic about it as Hero rushes down the stairs as quick they can, rushing to tie the belt to their dressing gown.

Peeking through the doorhole, Hero can't believe their eyes - thunderstruck by who's stood the other side.

Villain.

His pupils blown saucer wide with fright, his complexion a ghostly and drained pale white. Chuntering panicked breaths as his finger repeatedly smashes into the button, his other fist thumping against the wood. Constantly looking over both his shoulders, as though he's watching his back for something or someone.

Hero swings the door open, but Villain instantly squeals and cowers away when it does, holding his arms over his head and ducking defensively, protectively.

"D-Don't shoot! Please!" Villain cries, squeezing his eyes shut and wincing away. Only now Hero can see how much he's shaking, barely standing on his own two legs, wobbling as they hreaten to crumble underneath him.

"Villain?! What the hell are you doing here?"

Villain dares to open his eyes, gasping a shuddered breath of relief when he's met with Hero's gentle and concerned gaze. He swallows the lump in his throat.

"I - I didn't know where else to go...", Villain whimpers, "I .... I don't have anywhere else to go."

That nearly crushes Hero's heart, he'd never seen the man like this - this weak. A trembling, teary mess at his doorstep. This isn't the Villain they know, the villain they've tried to take down for god knows how long. Either this man was an impostor or something was terribly wrong.

They take a cautious step forward and place their hand on Villain's shoulder, he jumps at the touch, shaking underneath his palm.

Villain lifts his head up, tears filling his eyes and staring with terror into Hero's.

"Need...Need help. Please" he croaks out, moments before his balance fails him and he falls like a tonne of bricks to the floor with a pained moan. Hero drops down with him, holding his head up and crouching beside him.

"Scared - help - They'll kill me- hide me"

"Help with what? Who? Villain, you gotta talk to me. I'll help, you know I will. But I need to know what's wrong?"

"If... If I-I survive, you can turn me in... " Villain whispers solmenly with the compromise, only now Hero notices he's clutching onto his stomach as he slowly peels his hand away. His palm coated with sticky and warm blood, soaking through his suit.

Oh fuck. He's hurt.

"J-Just help...didn't-"

When he lifts his shirt away with shaking hands, Hero can finally see... a gunshot wound, ripping right through his side, and it's bleeding out. It's drenched and pooling. Villain's eyes roll deep into the back of his skull, his grip loosening as his body tone dissolves, growing floppy as Hero tries to prop him up.

Fading into unconsciousness.

"Nononono, stay awake. Come on, Villain - what happened?!" Hero scrambles, trying to take a look at the wound but when his fingers lightly ghost over the top, Villain weakly hisses in pain.

"-didn't ... didn't know who else to go to..." Villain finally groans, drifting away as he passes out.

Hero scoops him into his arms, lifting him with ease as Villain's body slumps in his hold. Glancing around the front yard of his house, all the land to see if anyone is around. Hiding, watching...waiting.

They stare down at the man in their arms, startled by how the usual cocky and snarky persona had morphed into one of desperation and terror. They rush back into the house with him.

They were the last person they ever expected Villain to come to for help.

See the full post

472 notes - Posted September 13, 2022

#3

My heart goes out to Whumpee's who still want and try so hard to fight back but they just can't muster the energy anymore. The fires still burning within them they just can't let it roar.

They can only resort to small acts of defiance; muttering curses under their breath, scoffing and growling, weakly pulling on restraints because anything more is too strenuous for them. But damn it they'll still try - they're not breaking that easily.

537 notes - Posted May 21, 2022

#2

Nothing good lasts forever 😏

561 notes - Posted May 27, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Literally everyone else in the world: Going to sleep normally at night by simply placing their head down on the pillow and closing their eyes.

Me: Must...imagine...whumpy...scenes

1,334 notes - Posted June 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[camprell-art]

Yo, your ideas are awesome! I will certainly try to make something about it!

I was thinking and I'll make it a little crossovery, I thought that adding King Boo as the "Davy Jones" of the story could go really well. And it would go like:

Blumiere was the son of a very influential man [he was like Elizabeth, the daughter of the Governor] but his family was allegedly linked to horrible things, like sacrifices, dark magic and all sorts of curses. They were secluded in a city in an island and the producers of various goods, and they were usually the ones who shipped those, as people from outside were not allowed into the city, only letting them at the beach. The island was protected by a big wall on the shores, and canons were placed on almost every cliff, everybody who passed by it with a ship was threatened and had the feeling that this piece of land was closer to hell, and sooner or later, the island was nicknamed [something I still need to think about].

Despite living there his whole life and raised as the heir to the city and island, Blumiere didn't like being a prisoner to it, and desperately wanted to go sail the seas and meet new people and places, he was very different from everyone there, the residents accepted their fates and just lived the miserable life that was offered to them, which of course, made them the worst people he could ever think of.

One night, he makes his way to one of the cliffs and just sits there, wondering about the life he could have had if he were born anywhere else, even if it was poverty or sickness, he imagined that being free was more important than being king of an lonely island where nobody is happy.

After some time of pure reverie, he finally decides to go back home, but as he stands up a fragile piece of the cliff's tip breaks, making him lose his balance and fall straight to the water, the impact knocking him out.

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

When he wakes up his mouth is throwing up water, and a lady is sat by his side, in her blurry face he sees faintly how worried she looks, weakly, he asks where he is, and she tells him that if she's not mistaken, he isn't so far from where he fell, as she could see from far away the island and the cliff, and surely, it was a miracle that the sea didn't claim him that night, she comments.

Blumiere says he has to go back, as his family will miss him very quickly and they never liked when he went too far from the city, but the lady is not found of this idea, he was clearly injured and in no condition to take a relatively long trip back. So even if the man was reluctant she decides to take him to a safer place, where he could rest and heal.

Four days have passed when she finally deems proper for him to go, however, something deep inside him didn't want to leave her and her little cottage, but thinking about his family, Blumiere leaves her anyways, they find someone to take him back to the island in a small boat, and they wave each other good bye.

The family encounters him with more anger than worry, asking him what foolishness he did to go missing for that long, and Blumiere, dispirited by the way they're treating him, says that he fell from a cliff and washed off in the small neighbor island, where he was cared for by a lady, which was an information he wished he didn't disclose, as they were very displeased with it, and was even more scolded for, despite this not being his fault at all. What he didn't tell them though, is that something inside him was fighting to make him go back there, so he could know more about this sweet woman whose name he still didn't know. [Four days and you didn't got even her name, what were you thinking??/j]

More days pass and that weird little feeling doesn't go away, and one more time he decides to say good evening to that cliff, now a little far from the tip so the error doesn't repeat itself. And there was the tiny island, the lights could already be seem as the night fell, and Blumiere wondered if he could really be there again... Now an idea hit him, he could go there, but it had to be fast, and for just some hours a day so his family wouldn't notice, but first, he needed to know if she wanted him there too, even if she did say that she didn't care if he was from [the island] and that anyone with a heart deserved help. [I would quote Timpani better but I don't remember exactly what she says akjshd]

Soon he writes a letter and bribes the mailman to make this as secret as he could, so no one would know he's trying to have any kind of relation with someone from another island, even if his family already knew where he was after the accident, they shouldn't know that he still wanted something from there.

Some time passes, and he finally receives an answer, and it's very positive, in her flower scented letter she says that it would be lovely to know him more, as their time together was brief and she was too worried to properly introduce herself. Blumiere reads with the biggest smile he ever made, and it wasn't long before he made preparations, and as anonymously as he could, sailed to her little island.

This repeats for a week, then two weeks, then three, and they're having the time of their lives, laughing together and doing all sorts of things, like tending to the crops, picking flowers, playing on the beach, reading, singing, but their happiness is far from eternal, and one day, someone catches him leaving the island, by the time he comes back, his father is standing on the other side of the door, welcoming him with a cold slap to his face.

"You don't have to tell me what you were doing, I know exactly what it is", he says, the way his eyes stare at Blumiere is colder than the slap, and now he's calling him all the things that cross his mind, telling his son that if he's caught leaving this island again something terrible would happen to that girl.

Now forbidden to leave, they just kept exchanging letters, which was the only thing he still could keep a secret, Timpani always writes about how they shouldn't continue with this, even if her love was great, her worry for his wellbeing was greater, but Blumiere was stubborn, he wanted to leave his island and see her, but he also wanted to marry her, and if his family isn't going to let this happen then they should go away, to a place where their love is accepted.

This also wouldn't happen because apparently the bribe wasn't enough, or intimidation was heavier, so that his last letter was discovered, and with a fight, Blumiere was locked on a tower of his family's castle, unable to flee, he paced rapidly on the small room, and after studying his options and thinking of the danger Timpani was in, he decided that if he had to break an arm to crack that door open he would.

The pain he was feeling when it finally opened was almost unbearable, but he had no time to waste, running down the stairs, dodging people in the corridors, opening doors with force, he ran through the entire city to the beach, his only chance to maybe stop his father was a small rowboat, and it didn't matter if he was stealing that, he quickly pushed it to the water and started rowing, waves almost turned it upside down a lot of times, and soon they also were turning bigger and stronger.

Suddenly a giant galleon passes by him, and it wasn't there before, he swears he didn't see it before, Blumiere wasn't sure why, but he was feeling some kind of dread he never felt before, something was very off about that ship and it wasn't just its appearance that made him feel this way. With the terrible emotion in his heart he rowed even harder, but it was useless, in what felt like an instant, the galleon got to the little island, circling it menacingly, it was an attack, one that he could not get to fast enough.

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

Exhaustion was weighting so much when the rowboat finally hit the wet sand of the beach, but he ran, through the water and the grass and it was chaos when he got closer to Timpani's home, her crops destroyed, the windows broken and the door wide open, entering the tiny cottage he searched desperately for her but the only person he found there was his father, holding a white, reflective flower in his hand.

He notices his son, his face frozen in that serious expression, hearing Blumiere scream with all his heart "Where is she!? What did you do to her!?" He's in the verge of tears, but anger burns hotter in his being.

"Don't you worry, my son, she will be travelling with a friend of mine..." He pauses, walking to the door, Blumiere's eyes are the one staring him down now. "I think you have seen the galleon, if you want to say your last good bye you should run to the shore, maybe you'll still see her before she goes to an eternal vacation on board".

"No...! No!", the young man said nothing more, and once again he ran, he could see the galleon finishing its last circle through the island, and almost fell at least two times, his eyes were giving up being open as he started slowing down, too tired to continue yet so determined to save her, and as he got to the beach he slowly collapsed, falling to his knees, his last sight was her sad, fearful expression in the captain's cabin, now he wasn't sure if he was hallucinating from the exhaustion, but fog seemed to swallow the white ghostish vessel, and before long it wasn't there anymore...

His tears fell to the sand, and he let all his limbs relax in desolate defeat, his father finally appeared again, standing by his side, letting all the petals of the flower he destroyed fly with the wind, the last thing he said before Blumiere's conscience faded was "you're never leaving our city".

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

Okay so, I wrote a whole fucking chapter here and I didn't even finish it, but I'll leave it here because I shouldn't write all that in a reblog hehe sorry

maybe I'll write and post more of it some time later, I've been doing this for more than one hour already, hope y'all like it!

What do you think Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser could be in the SPM Pirate Au? Bowser could be another scary captain, but the other three... Idk.

Btw, I don't really know what I'm doing as a story for this, I know I could make it about the same thing the game is about (Timpani and Blumiere's love story in this case), but how?? If you got any ideas feel free to tell me!

[zarvasace]

Communication

1,150 words, Hyrule & Sky & Warriors. Disability AU mini thing! (got longer than I wanted whoops.) Based off of my vague memories of the one desert dungeon from LttP.

AO3 link here!

---

This was a dungeon. Of that much, Sky was sure. He also knew it wasn't one of his, which left pretty much every other question unanswered: Was it one of those that filled with monsters again and again or did it stay empty? What item or gimmick did the native Link receive? How big was it? What sorts of threats were there? And, perhaps, most importantly, what was the way out?

Sky turned in a circle, hoping there wasn't some auditory cue he was missing. He stared up at the walls around him, noting the strange symbols and the faded paintings. It was a fairly standard dungeon, though the sandy floor was unusual. With that and the moderate heat that made Sky shed a layer or two a while ago, he guessed it was a desert dungeon. 

Joy. His favorite. 

He hadn't run into many monsters, thankfully, just an annoying beamos that almost fried his hair. He left that room pretty quickly. 

Sky saw movement from the corner of his eye, and he turned that way, ready to draw his sword, but there was nothing there. Nothing but… strange sand. He frowned and took a few steps closer, then brightened when he recognized footsteps on top of footsteps. This sand was awful at retaining them, which meant someone was nearby, someone with boots and not claws!

Hurrying so as to not lose the trail, Sky turned a corner just in time to see Warriors's scarf disappear. 

"Wars!" Sky called, trying to be quiet enough to not call any potential monsters but loud enough to be heard. It was a fine edge that he missed quite often, honestly. 

Luckily, this time he was at least loud enough for Warriors to back up a few steps and see who'd called. Warriors's face broke out in the most relieved smile Sky had ever seen. Had it really been that bad?

Warriors reached forward, then pulled someone else by the hand back to see Sky, too. 

Or, rather, not see, because it was Hyrule, sand caught in his messy hair. 

"Sky?" Hyrule said, or Sky assumed that's what he said. He added something else that Sky didn't catch. 

Sky's eyes jumped to Warriors's hands automatically, and sure enough, there were the words he'd missed. 

'Is that Sky? Please say we found someone else.' Warriors made an apologetic face at Sky and said something of his own. 

'Can you tell him I'm very sorry he walked into that quicksand? I was trying to tell him to not go there.'

"Yes, it's me," Sky said in answer. He smiled. "Wars wants to say he's sorry about the quicksand, he was trying to say to not go there."

'I figured that was the case,' Hyrule said, his words communicated back to Sky through Warriors's signing. Hyrule stood close to Warriors with a hand hovering near his arm so he could at least tell when Warriors signed. 'I already said it's fine. No harm done.'

"Well, you know how we are. Guilty to a fault." Sky snorted. "So, have you found anything yet?"

Warriors answered. 'Not much. Quicksand. Normal sand. Some locked doors. You?'

"Quicksand, normal sand, locked doors," Sky said, both repeating what Warriors had said for Hyrule's benefit and answering, himself. "Me too. I did find a beamos, but that whole room was depressingly empty, and I'm not entirely sure I could get back to it. No sign of any keys anywhere."

Hyrule nodded like he'd expected that. 'Then I suppose the only thing to do is keep exploring. I have half a mental map, now, I think. But at least now we have each other!'

Sky found himself smiling. "That we do. Lead the way, Hyrule."

With a bunched-up grin of his own, Hyrule turned to keep walking, keeping his straight stick out in front of him. At least that way, he'd hopefully not drop into any more quicksand. 

They wandered the dungeon for what felt like hours, looking for a way out. They still didn't see any monsters, even once they'd found their way onto the second floor, but trudging through the sand took a lot of effort. By the time they found a door out to a small landing—outside, though not entirely free of the dungeon—Sky was exhausted. 

'Let's take a short breather out here,' Warriors said, and Sky agreed. 

"Wars suggests we take a break," he said out loud for Hyrule. "This is a small landing on the side of a mountain, so don't go too far away from the door. It looks like there's a desert out there."

Hyrule nodded. 'I wasn't sure before, but I'm pretty sure this is Legend's world.'

Warriors looked just as surprised as Sky felt, even as he interpreted. 'How?'

"How do you know?" 

'Magic,' Hyrule shrugged. 'It sounds different here.'

"Wait, you can hear magic?" Sky asked, glancing at Warriors in alarm. That was news to him. 

Warriors shook his head. 'I can't.'

'It doesn't have a sound so much as a feeling. I can feel it.'

That made more sense. Sky nodded. "I see."

Hyrule smiled. 'That makes two of you.'

A laugh erupted from Warriors, the sound loud and low enough that Sky could hear a little of it. 

Sky joined him with a laugh of his own, then approached Hyrule carefully. Hyrule held out a hand, an invitation that Sky accepted without hesitation. 

"You know, Hyrule," Sky said slowly, thinking. "We should teach you sign."

Hyrule turned to him, and his face was flat enough that Sky knew what he was saying without Warriors's help. 

"I'm serious. It can be done, and it would be useful in situations like these. Do you want to try?"

It didn't take very long for Hyrule to nod, smiling again. 

"Come on, then, let's sit down."

Somewhat reluctantly, Hyrule followed Sky back to the shade on the landing. Sky got down first, then convinced Hyrule to sit against his chest so Sky could reach around him. Warriors sat cross-legged across from them. 

'I'm curious to see what you mean,' Warriors said as they got situated. 'It was quite difficult trying to communicate before you showed up, and even still…'

"We'll start simply," Sky said. "The alphabet."

Warriors translated, as Sky couldn't even see Hyrule's face. 'He says he isn't so good with that, since he never needed it. Sky, I don't think he can spell.'

"That's okay, we can teach you." Sky put one hand out in front of Hyrule and made a fist without tucking his fingers or his thumb in. "Feel the position my hand is in and try to do it with your hand." 

Hyrule touched Sky's hand with both of his, then did his best to replicate the symbol. Sky corrected him physically and explained as he did so. 

"This is the letter A, and it makes sounds like 'ahh', or 'ah.'" 

[the-bau-quinjet]

Secret's Out

Summary: Request! Reid and Y/N are secretly dating, but their business doesn't stay their business for long.

Warnings: Criminal Minds level violence

Word Count: 2974

a/n: Thank you for the request! I hope you like it :)

Sorry this took forever! It took me a while to think of case details that I liked and then I kept rewriting parts. I think I'm finally happy with it though!

Masterlist

"Spencer!" You pushed him away. "The doors could open at any moment! How are we supposed to keep this a secret if Morgan walks in on us kissing in the elevator?" You raised a brow at him.

"On average, elevators travel at a speed of 200 ft/min or about 4 seconds per floor. Being on the fifth floor means we have about 20 seconds to ourselves." He smiled triumphantly.

"Yeah, until someone surprises us on floor 3." You rolled your eyes, stepping out of the doors once they opened.

"I can't help it. I'm just... really happy with you." He whispered softly.

"I'm really happy too." You smiled at him. You were about to lean in when the elevator doors opened once again to reveal JJ and Emily.

"Hey guys, ready for another case?" Emily glanced between you suspiciously, but thankfully didn't ask any prying questions.

"Yep, let's go!" You turned quickly, walking into the round table room without so much as a glance back at the three agents by the elevator.

"What's with her?" JJ questioned.

"Said she didn't sleep well last night. Must be all the caffeine." He held his own cup off coffee up in solidarity before also walking to the round table room.

"Alright, we've got 3 dead in Billings, Montana. All three were law enforcement, and all three were found this morning around the city." You listened as Penelope introduced the details of the case.

"Could be someone who feels the police didn't do a good enough job protecting a loved one?" You threw out a theory.

"Or someone who feels wronged by the criminal justice system as a whole." Rossi added on.

"Either way, they likely won't stop until we catch them. Wheels up in 20." Hotch rose from his seat as he spoke, wasting no time in preparing for take off.

You all dispersed briefly to grab your go bags, meeting back at the SUVs to head to the jet.

Once boarded, it didn't take long for the conversation to start up again.

"When we land, L/N go to the morgue. Dave, Prentiss take the first and second crime scenes, they're only a mile apart. Morgan and Reid, check out the third scene. I'll head to the precinct with JJ."

With Hotch's instructions set, you took what little time you had left on the flight to go over the causes of death.

-

"Anything stand out to you on the bodies?" You asked the ME after going over the blunt force trauma and bullet wounds.

"There's tape residue and bruising on the wrists and ankles. Based on the state of bruising, they were likely held for about 3 days before they were killed."

"Thank you for your help." You shook hands, pulling out your phone to call Hotch.

"Hotchner."

"Hotch, they were held for days before they were killed. How did nobody notice they were missing?" There was nothing in the reports that indicated the victims were reported missing prior to being found.

"We just found the same pattern. They all used vacation days for various reasons in the days leading up to their deaths. Meet us back at the precinct and Reid can explain the whole pattern."

"Okay, I'm leaving now." You hung up just as you reached the SUV. Throughout the drive, you couldn't stop thinking that something wasn't adding up.

The victims were taken in the same day. It didn't make sense for the unsub not to escalate. So, why aren't any officers unaccounted for?

Suddenly, a truck crashed into your SUV, sending you flying off the road. A figure dressed in black opened the door and dragged you from the car.

"Agent L/N, it's so good to see you again." A male voice spoke, but you couldn't place it.

He hit you over the head with a handgun before dragging you to his own vehicle.

-

"Where's L/N?" Emily questioned when her and Rossi returned from the second dumpsite.

"On her way back from the ME." Hotch answered. "Did you find anything useful?"

"They truly are dumpsites. Both bodies were found by dumpsters, sending a pretty clear message." Dave replied.

"Same for the third site." Derek added on.

"All three victims were single and took time off leading up to their death. Nobody would've notice that they were missing until it was too late." Reid supplied the final bit of information gathered.

Hotch's phone rang before anyone else could comment. The frantic sound of Garcia's nails clicking against her keyboard echoed through the phone. She was talking before anyone could greet her.

"You need to see this, check your tablets."

Confused glances were exchanged as everyone, barring Reid, opened their tablets. Reid glanced over Morgan's shoulder to observe as well.

A seemingly live video that Garcia received a link to was streaming to the tablets.

A single woman sitting in a chair could be seen in the frame. Her wrists and ankles were bound to the chair with thick, gray tape and a bag was over her head.

"Garcia, what is this?" Hotch asked almost immediately.

"I was emailed the link just now. It's not streaming anywhere else online." Her reply came quickly, the sound of typing still filling in the silence.

"Can you trace it?" Rossi questioned.

"I'm trying, but it's being routed through multiple proxy servers."

"Did the email say anything?" Emily chimed in.

"No, it was just the link- Wait. I just got another email." She paused as the new email loaded. "It's addressed to Reid."

Every set of eyes in the room turned to Reid.

"What does it say?" He felt the nerves beginning to grow waiting for Garcia to read the words aloud.

"Dr. Reid,

I hope you remember me. What am I saying, of course you do. I've got something of yours that you might want back. You see Dr. Reid, you and your team ruined me. My family, my career, all of it, just gone. I thought I'd return the favor. A person's phone can be so informative. Tell me, does your team know about your girlfriend? I've so enjoyed getting reacquainted with her.

Happy hunting."

Spencer's face went white as he looked at Morgan's tablet again. His thoughts were racing. How did he not recognize you before? Even with the bag over your head, he should've known it was you.

"It's her." His words were barely a whisper.

"This is your girlfriend?" Morgan gestured to the screen again. Spencer could only nod in reply, his mind unable to focus on anything except you.

"Reid, listen to me. You've got to tell us everything you know about her. We'll have to split up. You can go back to Quantico with Emily and Morgan, the rest of us will stay here to work on our current case." Hotch was already devising a strategy to work both cases.

"There's no need." His words made sense to him, but sounded cryptic to the rest of the team.

"Kid, of course there is. We'll help you get her back." Morgan placed a hand on his shoulder, effectively shocking him back to the present situation.

"There's no need to split up because she's here. She's in Montana." Before he could continue, everyone was asking questions.

"Give me a phone number and I'll get you a location." Garcia was already typing away again.

"Are you sure she's here?" JJ's brows furrowed. She did her best to hide the hurt of her best friend hiding his girlfriend from her, again.

"Why would she be here?" Rossi added.

"How did she get here? Maybe we can track the transportation and figure out means of abduction." Emily was the only one thinking about the case.

Like ripping off a bandaid, Spencer blurted out the truth.

"It's Y/N."

He was met with silence in the room as everyone absorbed the information.

Garcia caught up first, a sudden gasp sounding through the phone.

"So, then that's Y/N... in the video..." Her voice wavered.

As if a switch was flipped, the team was back on the case.

"Garcia, get me a list of anyone who would have a grievance with the team." Hotch ordered.

"Go through anyone who was falsely accused. Start with cases in or around Montana. He would want to keep this close to home." Rossi specified.

"We've only had one case in Montana since Y/N joined the team." Reid supplied the knowledge as it came to him. "A name, I need a name." He muttered to himself, pulling his hair as he roughly ran his hands through it and over his face. "Garcia, look into Jameson Braddock."

"Got it." She immediately began a background check, searching through case files and news articles for additional information. "i'll get back to you with locations." With that, she hung up.

"Fill us in, kid. Who is Jameson Braddock." Morgan lead Reid to a chair, gently easing him into it.

"Our last case in Montana, Emily and I went to interview a witness." Emily nodded, the memories slowly coming back to her.

"He wasn't very forthcoming, and then he tried to run." She added on.

"Exactly, except he didn't make it very fair. We arrested him, but it turned out he was only guilty of selling alcohol to minors. When word of his arrest got out, the whole town thought it was for the serial rapes and murders we were investigating even though it was never confirmed."

"By the time we corrected the media, it was too late." JJ supplied, also remembering the man.

"So, he killed three officers just to draw us out back out here?" Morgan refocused the conversation on the current case.

"It looks that way now. The media knew we were coming, so he must have as well." Emily theororized. "If he followed us from the airport, he would've seen Y/N leave by herself."

"He likely didn't know about your relationship until he abducted her and went through her phone." Hotch paced the room.

"He's flaunting his power over us." Rossi chimed in just as Hotch's phone rang again.

"Garcia, what've you got?"

"Three addresses in Billings, Montana. Jameson Braddock has been on a downward spiral since your last trip there. His entire life fell apart, like he said. Divorced, his wife moved to Nebraska with their two kids. He lost his job at the high school, and was evicted from his house when he could no longer pay the bills." She listed the information quickly.

"He has ties to three addresses. Nobody has moved into his previous house, so it's vacant. He's got a small apartment in the northern part of the city which he pays for through working odd hours at Taco Bell. Finally, he briefly worked security at a now abandoned warehouse."

"An apartment wouldn't be enough space to hold her without the chance of someone hearing. She's not there." Rossi eliminated the location as an option.

"We'll split up to cover the warehouse and the house-" Hotch began, but Reid cut him off.

"No, we shouldn't split up. She's got to be at the house. The warehouse has no connection to his previous life. He wants revenge for our perceived wrongdoing, he wouldn't make his last stand at a new location." Reid was already putting on a bullet proof vest. Despite how his mind was racing, he refused to show how afraid he was.

"You're sure?" Morgan asked, on the fence about committing to one location.

"Absolutely." With that, Reid was out the door heading for the SUVs.

-

"Rossi, Emily head around back. I'll take the front with Reid. JJ and Morgan, the side door." Hotch instructed the team to split up upon arrival at the house.

Reid wasted no time in approaching the house. He was confident you were inside, but he didn't know what was happening to you.

The main floor was cleared quickly. Again, the team split up to cover the upper level and the basement.

Knowing you were likely downstairs, Reid immediately started that direction, JJ and Hotch following him.

It wasn't hard for him to find you. You were still tied to the chair in the middle of the room, bag over your head.

Before anyone could stop him, Reid lowered his gun and ran to you. He gently maneuvered the bag off your head, stopping his movements only when he felt something press into his back.

"Dr. Reid. So kind of you to join us." Braddock spoke maniacally, pressing the gun against Reid's head.

"Drop your weapon." Hotch commanded, but the man only cackled in response.

'Y/N... Y/N." Reid gently shook you in an attempt to wake you up.

"She can't hear you." Braddock singsonged.

"What did you do?" Reid tried to turn to him only to feel the gun press further into his head.

"Like I said in my email, you people ruined my life. They took everything from me, so I thought I'd try to return the favor." During his short speech, Braddock shifted just enough for JJ to get a clean shot.

He fell to the ground, gun clattering across the floor.

Reid moved quickly to remove the tape binding you to the chair while Hotch called for a medic in the basement.

The entire team watched as you were wheeled into the ambulance, still unconscious, none more scared than Spencer.

-

"She's going to be fine, Spence." JJ tried to reassure him, nonetheless his pacing continued.

"You don't know that. We don't even know what he did to her." He had one hand anxiously running through his hair, the other pinching the bridge of his nose in distress.

Just then, a doctor emerged from behind closed doors.

"F/N L/N." She called into the waiting room, slightly taken aback when the group of agents rushed to her.

"It was touch and go for a while, but she got here just in time." It was visible to even the least qualified profiler how relieved the team felt. Their previously tense shoulders relaxed, frowns turned to small smiles, wide eyes and raised brows pinched together with joy.

"What happened?" Emily posed the question everyone was thinking.

"In short, she was drugged. It's not clear what exactly was used, but it was likely a mix of drugs that attempted to stop her heart."

"Can we see her?" Morgan spoke next, cautiously eyeing Reid.

"You may, follow me." The doctor lead them through a series of hallways to your room. "She should be waking up soon."

With that the doctor left, allowing the team to file into the room. You looked strangely peaceful for someone who almost died.

"So..." JJ glanced between you and Spencer. "Girlfriend, huh?"

His eyes went wide. Instinctively, he turned to you for help, but you were still asleep. He opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out.

"Relax, kid." Morgan grinned. "We're happy as long as you two are happy."

Spencer smiled gratefully, looking at you with an adoring gaze. "We are happy."

"How long?' Emily gestured to your joined hands. Just before Spencer could answer, you groaned.

"I want to hear your guesses first." Your voice was raspy, but there was a clear smile on your face. "Also, what happened?"

The quickly explained the email Garcia received and the events that followed.

"Now that that's cleared up, do tell us how long you think we've been together. I know you've got a bet going." You narrowed your eyes, playfully glaring at each team member.

"4 months." Hotch begrudgingly admitted. JJ followed with 3 months, Derek and Rossi both betting 10 weeks, and Emily going with 6 weeks.

"Ha, you're all wrong." You smiled triumphantly, leaning closer to Spencer.

"Wait, we haven't heard from Garcia." Derek smirked as he rung her on speaker phone.

"Oh, my beautiful crime fighters. Y/N, are you okay?" Your smile widened at the concern in her voice.

"I am indeed, but I have a very important question for you." You glanced as Spencer briefly before continuing. "How long do you think Spence and I have been together?"

"Oh, I know this one!" Her excitement caught everyone but you off guard. "7 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days."

Spencer's jaw dropped as he stuttered out, "that's exactly right..."

"How'd you figure it out?" The group of profilers wore matching expressions of surprise as Penelope explained.

"Well, we had just finished testifying in the Bigelow trial. The whole team went out for drinks, and I could just see it in Y/N's eyes the next day that something wonderful happened. At first I just thought that she got some, but then I saw her and the good doctor in the kitchen getting coffee and I knew." Penelope's voice held a mixture of smugness and pure excitement.

"Babygirl, you didn't tell me?" Derek sounded genuinely offended.

"Y/N asked me not to." Even though you couldn't see her, you knew she punctuated the statement with a shrug.

"You knew, she knew?" Spencer turned to you in shock.

You nodded. "I could see it on her face the second I walked out of the kitchen. But she promised not to tell, so I didn't either."

"The two of you, thick as thieves." Rossi lamented.

"I love you so much." Spencer whispered into your ear as he pulled you in for a hug.

"I love you too." You whispered right back.

"Honestly, I'm glad the secret's out." You smiled at Spencer before looking at the rest of the team. "Although, I wish I didn't have to be kidnapped to tell you."

You spent a few more hours in the hospital before being cleared to go back to the hotel.

The next morning, you smiled to yourself as you were finally able to cuddle with Spencer during the flight home.

Permanent taglist:

@averyhotchner

@jesuswasnotawhiteman

@strawberryspence

@sebastnstn

Criminal Minds taglist:

@mac99martin

@goldeng1rl8

@measure-in-pain

[thelucyverse]

How To Interact With Beta Readers - for Fanfic Authors

I wanted to make posts both for fic authors and beta readers, because I realized in several recent interactions that some helpful unwritten rules of fandom seem to have become lost to people who are new to it.

This isn't meant to be a call-out post against anyone to say 'you did it wrong!' (really, how could anyone be mad if you just didn't know any better), and there aren't even any definite rules for anything - but I just thought these things might be nice to know and helpful to share around. This first part will be @ the authors, the second part is @ the betas.

Asking for a beta reader

When you want someone to look through your fic, whether you ask in a tumblr post, @/helper in a discord server, in the notes of an already posted work or anywhere else, it's important to state both a) what the work that you want betad is and b) what you want from a beta reader.

The facts about the story.

The first most important facts about the story are a) length (in wordcount, as that is the most-used measurement for fanfiction - you can see it below the tags of an ao3 draft, or at the bottom left of a Word document), and b) rating and warnings. No, please don't just ask 'i have a fic for xy ship to beta' - that's nice information, but not helpful for someone who needs to decide whether they a) have the time to work on the length of fic and b) are willing to be confronted with the kind of content you have written.

In addition to that, you should of course also write what fandom, characters and dynamic it is about, because most beta readers are only willing to beta stories they would also usually read for fun. To make sure that the right people find the ask for a beta reader, you best target the post to them, so tag a tumblr post with the fandom and ship etc, and on discord share the request in a server or channel for the fandom, not an unrelated one.

What format is the draft in?

A word document you can send them via e-mail, a copy-pasted text in a direct message, link access to a google docs? Not everyone is comfortable with all of these methods, and you need to figure out one that works for the both of you.

Also, do you want the changes made directly in the text, in comment functions of the document, or as messages to you? If for example you send someone a Word document, and don't want them to change anything directly in your text, but they aren't comfortable working with the comment function there and end up writing you separate messages telling you what page and line the edits are one, that's going to be a lot more work for you to look through than you might have liked, so make sure to communicate it all beforehand and figure out a way that works properly for everyone.

What do you want from your beta?

'Well, to look over the story, duh?' but it's not that easy. Do you want the beta to:

- Only check for spelling and grammar mistakes in comments next to the text, No other suggestions at all because they would make you feel bad about your work/you don't have the time or want to spend the time on editing anything but honest mistakes/ any other reason?

- Grammar and spelling checks but also suggestions for word flow, repetitive words and phrases that could be changed and stylistic things like adding paragraph breaks (which are always nice to have for mobile reading)?

- [same as above] and also point out possible logic flaws and places where you might want to move a scene forward or back, or suggestions to things you could add to the story, with explanations as to why?

- [same as above] and also give suggestions for text you could cut that is unnecessary to the story or interrupting the flow of a scene in the opinion of your beta reader?

- Include nice messages as to what the beta liked best of the fic, or stay completely objective?

- Point out things they subjectively didn't like and would change about the story if they wrote it themselves, or not?

- Make corrections directly in the story, so afterwards you barely need to look at it anymore before you can publish it, or only give suggestions in comments or messages?

All of these are things some people welcome and others find incredibly annoying and/or hurtful! So make sure to communicate exactly what you are looking for. You don't have to do so in your initial public request, but once you have found a potential beta, you should text them the details before giving them access to your fic.

Do not be afraid of cancelling on a beta if you don't think it is going to work out! Whether because they aren't comfortable using the format you like to use, are a language teacher who can't stop correcting the long sentences you choose to keep as a stylistic choice, or just someone you don't vibe with, whether it's before or after they have started beta reading - be kind, but let them know that it just isn't working out, and that you would rather stop now before either of you wastes any more time and effort. If they want you to, you can tell them what you would have liked them to do differently, but don't ask someone to change how they are, and don't give unsolicited criticism, no, not even to a beta reader.

Decide on a time-frame

When are you going to send them the fic? Chapter by chapter over the next days, or the entire work? When do you want or need the work to be beta read? Is it for a challenge or gift exchange and needs to be finished on the same day, or can they wait for the weekend? Even if you don't have a specific deadline, when do you want them to send it back at the latest?

Working with a beta reader

After - or, if you are in for example a google docs at the same time, while - your beta reader does the corrections, you should look at them and decide which corrections you want to keep, and which to disregard. This is entirely your decision, it is your story, you don't need to feel bad if you don't take all of the suggestions for your work, even if you end up only correcting the spelling mistakes and ignoring everything else, it's your decision and this is fine.

If your beta gave suggestions for additional scenes or sentence changes, you can let them know once you have new text for them to correct, but keep in mind that they might no longer have time or energy to beta now, and don't be disappointed if they tell you this or don't reply. They already helped you, and you can always look for a new beta if you feel that your story still needs it.

Crediting your beta reader

Where are you uploading your fic, and how does your beta reader want to be credited? You best talk about this beforehand as well, as some betas only want to work on something when they will get the credit on a platform they are also on.

When posting on tumblr, it is usually expected to @ the person who helped you and write their url or tracked tag in the #s as well, but make sure to ask beforehand, as maybe they don't want other people to know they beta because they don't want to get swamped in work requests/ they don't want their url associated with for example explicit work/ they want you to tag a sideblog for the fandom instead of their main url.

On ao3, you can link to another author's dashboard or profile page (ask which one they prefer) in the notes by first going to the work text - rich text, writing their name, clicking the link symbol, pasting the url, going back to HTML text and cut-pasting the code to the note you want to have it in. You can do the prep work in a new work instead of your actual draft so you won't accidentally cut any of the work text. Again, ask the person beforehand whether they want to be linked there, or just want a nickname or their tumblr url credited.

You can also gift people works on ao3, and while this is in no way a requirement and most beta readers won't ask for it, just about everyone is happy to receive ao3 gifts! You can ask them beforehand if they want that, but as people can accept and refuse gifts on ao3 themselves, you can also let it be a surprise.

If your beta put a lot of work into your fic and wrote parts of it themselves, you can also make them a co-creator of the work on ao3, but only do this if you know and trust the person, as they will gain access to the fic and will be able to edit everything just like you.

Let me know if I missed anything, and I will update the post!

Tips for beta-readers themselves here!

[salt-volk]

V10 anon here to clarify some things

Because it seems like there's some miscommunication or misunderstandings going on, and I'd like to clear them up.

i sent the original anon, which is now deleted, wherein I reminded people that there is proof of V10 block evading on this very blog in his tag. When I noticed my ask was gone, I sent a follow-up asking where it was (I was angry, and I regret adding a snarky question asking if the mods here support block evasion... I know they don't, but I truly couldn't fathom why else my ask would be deleted, because I didn't recall anything rule-breaking about it). I sent an ask that was posted out of order, only posted today, saying that my first ask hadn't been "wrongful," because there was proof of V10 block evading. I then sent a calmer ask about feeling like I had to walk on eggshells and word everything delicately to be allowed to submit salt, which Mod Egg responded to, and seems to have contributed to the mod decision to pin new rules here. I would like to clarify my side of the story and why I submitted the things I submitted, since some people appear to have missed parts of things and may have misunderstood my intentions or accidentally defended things they didn't want to defend along the way.

I want to add I did NOT send the ask accusing Has30 and Ch1 of being pro-block evasion. I am not sure if that was sent by someone who agreed with me that my original ask should not have been deleted or by someone who DISagreed and wanted to post bait by using similar wording to one of my asks to make my points look ridiculous. However, my ask about walking on eggshells was partially prompted by things commenters here have said, including Ch1, so I wanted to say I appreciate your input on both posts, and I would like to respond with my side of the story here.

Starting from the beginning: I have not been following V10's auction and didn't send any of the anons about the proceedings. But I began to notice commenters questioning why people seemed to have such a strong dislike of V10 and why they were such a topic on this blog. First of all, I don't think criticizing someone's decision to auction their custom is out of line - distribution methods are fair snark game, y'all. But second of all, I decided to send an ask reminding people that V10 had block evaded in the past. My point was essentially that people did not have the impression that V10 was a snark-worthy asshole for no reason, as several anons and commenters implied.

I honestly don't remember exactly what I said in my ask, but I suspect it was something like that. I know I directed people to check V10's tag for proof of block evasion. According to several commenters, the deleted ask called V10 an "asshole," so I suppose I must have said something to the effect of "People think V10 is an asshole because they block evaded, check their tag here" (paraphrasing). 

I can assure you that I would never threaten another user, call them a slur, or wish irl harm upon them. I am confident nothing of that sort was in the ask. But I have called people assholes before, to no issue from the mods (or at least Mod Egg), so I don't dispute that I probably used that word in the ask. Again, this has never been an issue anywhere on this blog, and I fail to see how calling asshole behavior asshole behavior is unnecessarily offensive (we all agree that block evasion is asshole behavior regardless of who does it, yes?).

I checked the blog and saw that my ask was posted. Some time later (I don't really remember, how often I check in here varies), I returned and, as I was scrolling through the new asks, realized that mine was gone. I immediately felt a wave of frustration because I couldn't think of anything rule-breaking about the ask. I didn't link proof because I was on mobile, but I directed people to the tag where the proof could be found. So I sent an ask about where my post went. Like I said, I regret even snarkily accusing the mods of supporting block evasion. I was just angry and I couldn't think of a single rule I broke.

Mod Yoshi claimed that they approved the post, but Mod Egg logged on and deleted the post for "wrongful language targeted towards someone else." This appears to be untrue for the following reason:

Immediately after reading Mod Yoshi's reply, I sent a follow-up stating verbatim: "It wasn’t wrongful though, it was all true. V10 was literally caught block-evading F0r3ll3 to continue to yell at them about a suggestion. The proof is already on this blog." For whatever reason - perhaps they didn't see it, perhaps they were stressed out by the drama and not submitting much of anything about it, perhaps the queue just got entered backwards - this was posted out of order and only went through today. 

Anyway, the reason I suspect Yoshi lied is that Egg tagged my post "yall what did i miss." If Mod Egg was the one who deleted the post and considered it to have wrongful language, why would they be confused?

Back to chronological order: I was pretty upset, because I don't see how "this person exhibited asshole behavior, here's proof" is "wrongful language." That has never been how this blog functioned, and I felt extremely disappointed that we were now heading down a road where you couldn't even post proof of someone doing something wrong without being accused by both commenters and mods themselves of being too mean, too harsh, having an obsessive grudge. So I sent an ask saying as much, which you all have probably read.

Mod Egg, I appreciate your support and I appreciate the rule clarification.

Ch1, I appreciate your clarification that you didn't see the original ask. But if I can be honest, and this isn't just towards you, but towards all frequent commenters, this is why I think users should try to look at the full story before accusing anons of "harassment," which is the word you used to describe my ask (that you hadn't even seen! based only on the fact that you knew it contained the word "asshole!"). Like I said, I'm not the anon you were replying to with that post, but I do have to admit that it was frustrating and hurtful to be accused of "harassment" based off of one true post, that you had not read, and no one could go back and read, because Mod Yoshi deleted it.

And most of my real point centers around that: I am tired of this blog descending into an era where no one can say anything true about anyone without saying it with the utmost delicacy. And this phenomenon goes beyond the users, with Mod Yoshi caving to pressure to delete true and rule-abiding asks from what appears to have been just one anon (I didn't see those posts and I admit that, so can anyone back this up?) who found them sort of rude. I am not a fan of genuine harassment or of watching a user's every move to complain about things that are not problems. But I am also very tired of salted-upon users being made into perpetual victims, with even people who were there when the users committed whatever wrongs made them so unpopular plugging their ears and claiming they have no idea whatever could make people dislike them so much! I don't even hate V10, have never spoken to them in my life, but come on. People do not see V10 as a jerk for no reason; V10 has earned that reputation by behaving like a jerk.

I am sorry this situation got out of hand. I am sorry for falsely accusing Mod Egg of supporting block evasion, and I am sorry anons have roped commenters into the situation. I appreciate the insight other users have offered, 

But I am frankly not sorry for calling a block-evader an asshole, and I guess I would invite all other anons, commenters, and mods themselves to look in the mirror and ask themselves exactly why I should be.  

[Anon I was the one to delete the post, not yoshi. I was pretty much on auto pilot. I usually check the blog after a lot class and work to where i'm not mentally thinking because I'm exhausted which caused to me delete a totally normal ask because an anon was outraged. No blame on Yoshi there at all.

I cant speak on the block evasion because I never got to see the actual block evasion go down, but it's happened before, so I don't doubt it. If the block evasion really did happen on the post I deleted, then honestly shame on me, and Im terribly sorry about that.

The ask shouldn't have been deleted, end of story. It was a completely fine ask, I guess I kind of caved in to the random anon before thinking first. I'll do better . I've been checking on asks in the morning instead so my sleep deprivation wont get the better of me anymore. If I do anything wrong again, anon, just let me know. Now that theres a hard-set of rules set up there shouldnt be any problems for me,yoshi, or anons. ]

[ashren]

Alrighty WIP Wednesday for real (hopefully 😒)

Thanks for the tag @galaxycunt and the open invite @the-lastcall 😘

So Tumblr sucks balls so i posted my shit on pillowfort

i like pillowfort but it's kinda a confusing ui for me, and i was HOPING to avoid having to link shit but tumblr likes to pretend they're doing any good with their adult content filter

ANYWAY

here

(Link for the full!)

also fuck it have some Ghost Au Ren/Terzo shit ive been working on

“Oh fuck,” Ren whispered out loud, “He’s jealous.”

Ren stood frozen in his spot, wondering if he should go back to Terzo and talk. Terzo had apologized, even if he didn't sound like he meant it. Ren chewed on his bottom lip for a minute before sighing and turning back towards Terzo’s office.

As he approached, Ren heard Terzo’s voice drift out from his office, “-I fucked it up! I did what I always do, C, dammit, why can’t I-”

Ren decided to make his presence known and knocked loudly. Terzo cursed and mumbled out something akin to “I'll call you back” before hanging up his phone.

“Come in.”

Ren walked in quickly, making sure to close the door behind him.

“Papa, I-”

“I'm sorry, Ren, I should not have gotten angry with you-”

“Are you jealous of Dew?” Ren whispered. He wanted to blow past the awkward beating about the bush but he also knew he would lose his own confidence quickly.

Terzo froze, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. He stared down at Ren for what felt like ages, but was in reality only a few seconds and then cleared his throat.

“I… have no right to be.”

“But you are? Is that why you've been so weird lately?” Ren asked, trying not to sound accusatory.

Terzo basically threw himself in his chair and looked anywhere but at Ren, “I do not know what you want me to say? I missed you while I was gone, but it's not fair for me to put that on you. Especially if you are clearly interested in someone else.”

Ren stared at Terzo and let a smile creep onto his face.

“Dew and I just fucked once. You know how horny he is. He and I are friends, that's all. I'm not interested in him like that, because, see, I have a big old inappropriate crush on my boss.”

[the-bjd-community-confess]

In answer to this anon, think whatever you want. It's pretty clear that you're a Culvr stan lol, nothing anyone would say would convince you. Go ahead and reverse image search my screencap, you won't find it anywhere but on here because I'm the one who capped it straight from my Gmail account. I can take another with the screen further down but then I would have to edit out my identifying info including my address and everything I ordered, but I'll do it if someone decides for whatever reason THAT is what will "prove" to them Culvr didn't send orders out. Second, there's no way for me to prove that I wasn't one of the people who got canceled without me posting my order number out there, but I'm certainly not going to do that lol. All it would do is dox me to Culvr and it wouldn't prove shit to anyone else because nobody is privy to exactly which order number she stopped at, and several orders that got fulfilled have order numbers WAY higher than other orders I've seen other people on instagram get canceled for, so....🤷🏽‍♀️. I have no idea how exactly she decided who got refunded and who didn't and neither does anyone else but Culvr.

All I can say is that I ordered from her, got accepted, and didn't get canceled. I'm not stealing anyone's screencap, and I'm not going to dox myself to prove it to someone who clearly is on Culvr's side. ("She was forced to cancel orders" anon puh-leeze hop off her dolly dick. 🙄 She wasn't "forced" to cancel those people's orders, she fucked up royally, immediately tried to lie about it and say it was a "website error" because she's a fucking liar by nature in case you haven't noticed, and then tried to mollify her unhappy customers with promises of guaranteed spots on her "next pre-order", meanwhile on her insta now, "lol I'm not selling my new doll because I can't trust y'all" 😂. All I can say is that I wish I had been fucked over by her in that specific way, because at least then I wouldn't be missing an order AND my money.)

Finally, lol anon MULTIPLE people have come forward here, including someone else who said Culvr blocked them, which I completely can see since Culvr has ignored all my attempts at communication as well. 

As for how I got the numbers for the missing heads/bodies, I'm not CLAIMING anything lol, there are screencaps on this blog fucking proving it, straight from Culvr's mouth. She's the one who told Harvcasting that's what she was missing! The mod likely has the link, if they could insert it here I would really appreciate it since I can't re-find it, but I had it pulled up and open when I gave those numbers.

[Mod: this post links to those confessions]

The conversation was posted on Harvcasting's stories and he posted them as proof that the dolls and heads were missing because Culvr fucked up, not him. He also never re-did those dolls because Culvr didn't want to pay him for them, she ignored him every time he tried to reach out to her to start casting the missing dolls/heads. The only part that's MY speculation is that there may be even more missing than what was said.

And for people claiming I need to send "proof" that I didn't receive my order, what the fuck do you want me to show you? The air where my Culvr purchase should be? Screencaps of me reaching out to her on multiple platforms where she proceeded to ignore me totally so you would only see me reaching out about my order which I'm going to again censor the number on because I don't want doxxed? How can I prove something is MISSING? Culvr has ignored me entirely and I stopped reaching out because she ignores everything, so why bother? It's been years now and I've chalked it up to a loss since I'm not about to go to court over a doll order. I'm also not going to dox myself publicly so Culvr stans can come harass me off-anon, since no level of proof is going to be enough for those who are determined to think that Culvr Did Nothing Wrong.

All I will say is that Culvr seems to have a suspiciously abundant supply of V2 dolls professionally cast from Harv, I'm missing my order and I believe other anons who have come forward as well. I think that Culvr decided to keep both the money and several people's doll orders when she realized that she would have to give away a huge chunk of dolls from the ones that she had allotted as her "personal stash". I think she basically spent the money by that time or otherwise for whatever reason did not have the funds to refund over 6 grand in merchandise, AND I think when she realized that she was going to have to give away several of her "own" dolls (the ones she put aside for herself from the pre-order), she decided to just take care of the few people who actually called her out off-anon and/or were "popular" users, while ignoring those like me who are peons.

~Anonymous

[bowandcurtsey]

https://bowandcurtsey.tumblr.com/post/651262866251546624/may-i-request-some-headcanons-about-nozel

Adding Julius into the mix. I don’t know why but I can see this clear as day happening to Julius and Yami back in their Grey Deer days (start watching at 2:32)

Julius in the roll of dad

Julius’s girlfriend

Yami in the roll of the child

THIS IS RLY FUNNY. I love stand up comedies! I spend a lot of time (too much time) watching them ahahaha!! I watched the entire thing tho! hehe. Here goes!!

To every one else, click on the first link to know what request we're doing, I suggest not to open the second link until you finished reading this piece! haha! then open the link and start watching around 2:30 to see the original story!

Julius Novachrono x f! reader ft. Yami Sukehiro

Warnings: Suggested NSFW but no actual ones.

"Hey, the kids are asleep now, do you wanna come over the HQ to hang for abit?" Julius calls you one night, his voice dripping with flirtation. It's been awhile you and your man met, both of you were needy and you both knew it.

You reached in 20 minutes, all dressed up in 'easily accessible' comfort clothes.

The moment you came into his room, both of you didn't even say a single word and started making out.

You were not sure how much time passed or how many rounds you had, but you were exhausted, your legs felt like they had just ran a marathon, your eye lids were dropping.

"Juppy," you called his nickname, "I'm so tired, I can't go home. Can I just crash here?"

"Huh? But you didn't want to make things public yet, right?" Julius looked up at you, pulling up his boxers, "We had this talk baby. We both just ended our old relationship not too long ago."

"yeah Ju," you yawned, barely able to keep your eyes open. "When you wake up tomorrow, put me in the closet first thing. And I'll sneak out when everyone's out on their mission."

The grey deer captain looked at you, barely able to keep yourself awake. You must have been exhausted from a long day of work and you still waited for him. It's 3 hours till dawn now, you'll barely have any rest if you went home anyway.

"okay love," he relented and climbed into bed with you, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

------------- the next morning ----------------------

"Oi Julius!" Yami shouted with toast still in his mouth. "I lost my robe, did you see them?"

"No Yami, I didn't see them." Julius was still cooking his eggs and bacon. "You're running late for your mission, better find them fast~"

"Aite aite.. I'll go search for them, or i'll just borrow yours!" he shouted across the hallway.

"Mmmm.." He just hummed a response in reply, it's the usual Yami, he always misplaced his things and took Julius' stuff until someone found whatever that was missing for him.

Few moments later, Yami came down, wearing one of Julius' robe.

"couldn't find mine.. so i'll just have to make do with yours Julius," he said in a low voice

"okay~ have fun!" Julius turn around and faced Yami.

"eh... by the way," Yami scratched his head as he took a puff of his cigarette, "there's a stranger sleeping in your closet."

CRAP.

"Ohh.." Julius' face froze.

"Yeap, just in case you forgot." Yami turned and left.

"Wait, Yami!" Julius called out to him before he left the door. "Just curious, you found a stranger sleeping in my closet and this is your reaction?"

Yami shrugged, "Well, it's your closet, I don't know what happens in your closet." and he left without another word.

Bonus:

As Yami couldn't find his robe anywhere, and he was running late, he decided to just take Julius' robe as he always did.

As he came into Julius' room, he sensed an unfamiliar feint ki.

Someone else is in there. A robber?

He cautiously opened the door, about to draw his katana. The ki was calm and didn't feel scared or intimidating. It was coming from the closet. He slowly opened it.

"Is everyone gone yet Juppy?" you called out and shrieked a little when you saw the man wasn't your boyfriend.

"whoa." Yami jumped upon seeing a girl in nothing but Julius' t-shirt. (you woke up already in the closet and it was dark and you couldn't find your clothes) "Em. sorry for the intrusion but er. I'm just here for Julius' robe."

Yami caught sight of the robe and yanked it from one of the corners so hard that a pile of clothes just fell all over you.

"my bad." the awkward young man pulled a frown on his face, "er. yeah. bye."

He closed the door and quickly walked out of Julius' room.

-end-

Hear me out guys. Young Julius, Young Yami. Just. I can't. What an era to be living in really. smh.

[bakubabes-tatakae]

A/N: I hope you all enjoy part 1/4 of my pieces for day four of the anniversary collab for the @konoblog-simps​. You can find all the lovely pieces for the day here! Today’s theme was song pieces, and its full of angst. My heart broke after this piece. 😩 Izaya just deserves love. I’ll be spanning my four pieces throughout the next couple of hours so stay turned. You can find all the days of the collab here!

For the best experience listen to the song while reading the piece. The song title and artist have the link for he music video. 😊

Pairing: Izaya x fem!Reader

Song Choice: Without Me by Chvse

Warnings: alcohol consumption, angst, violence

Word Count: 1.7k

Izaya had never felt this kind of pain before. This man had been beaten senseless, stabbed, and everything in between, but nothing had ever really hurt him as much as heartbreak did. He had been the one to end things, but that was only because he didn’t want to put you in danger anymore. He didn’t want to be the thing that ended your life. But that didn’t stop the thoughts from roaming his head.

“And I don't want nobody else but you

You the girl in my dreams every night

You the reason that I let the sun come through”

You had been the best thing in his life, but he had let his life come in between that. He hadn’t wanted harm to come to you. But just that had happened. All this dealing with the Yakuza had made them take you hostage. They wanted to make him hurt.

So when he had finally gotten you back from them. When he had finally gotten you settled at home he had left, running away with nothing but a note on your nightstand. He couldnt’ bear to tell you to your face that you were better off without him.

You were in his dreams every night since then. Your face haunted every single thought that he had. He told himself day after day that he had to move on, but he couldn’t do that. He wanted you, nobody else.

His thoughts always went back to the countless mornings that you would wake up and roll over to tell him the same thing every time. “You’re the reason that I open those blinds every morning, Izaya.” You’d smile and climb over him, straddling his lap and pressing soft kisses to his cheek. “You’re the reason that I let the sun come through. You’re my light.”

Those words were on repeat in his head. He reached for the beer bottle on his coffee table and took a sip, tightening his grip around the bottle as he fought back the urge to let a tear loose.

“Girl, I'm sorry for the things that I've done

Always starting shit and put you in a dumb mood

Always pushing you away, but I pushed too hard

Now you're gone, what a dumb move

'Cause you're the person I'mma run to”

Izaya’s work had always gotten in the way of your relationship, but you had tried hard not to let that bother you. He knew how hard you tried to ignore it. That didn’t stop him from feeling horrible about it. He had tried to push you away some, despite how much he always regretted himself for it after. He wanted you to make the decision on your own.

He would get angry when you questioned him about when he was going to spend some time with you. He tried to understand where you came from, but his work was his life and he wanted nothing more than to succeed. He wanted to make a better life for not only himself but for you as well. He had gone about that wrong.

His anger would always put you in horrible moods. And when you had left him the first time he should have left you alone.

When you had finally decided that enough was enough he should have left it at that. But something inside him said that he had to have you back. He just couldn’t let you get away. He loved you too much.

You were always the person that he ran to when he needed help. You were the person that he always leaned on. And now you were gone.

“Look, I understand why you had to leave

'Cause I was treating you so bad, that your family

Could see through the fake smile that you had with me

I wish you didn't go, but also know you had to leave”

Izaya had heard the words that your family always spoke. He heard the conversations on the other line. You had been sure that the phone speaker wasn’t loud enough, but he heard them say that you needed to move on.

You would object to their statements. You always did, but he knew that deep down you would think for a long time about them.

They would say that you always seemed like the feelings you had weren’t real. They called your smiles fake and said that you only did them to fool the family. You only wanted them to think that you were truly happy.

Izaya wished that he hadn’t pushed you away that first time, but he knew that it needed to be done. He understood why you had left, but his heart wanted you to be with him.

“'Cause I was toxic, found a way to talk shit

Accusing you of things you didn't do, I know I'm not shit

So leaving me to better you, is better than the option

To stick around with me, I just hate that I caused it

I hate that I caused it”

Izaya had done nearly everything to push you away the first time. He was toxic. He was rude. He played every game he could think of. Izaya even went as far as accusing you of being unfaithful.

He claimed that you had found yourself in the arms of one of his enemies.

So you chose to leave. You told Izaya that you needed to better yourself. You needed to get away. You weren’t going anywhere or doing anything with your life being with him.

You were beginning to see that sticking around with him was the worst option.

He hated that he made you feel that way, but he couldn’t do anything about how he felt about himself. He hated that he had wanted to put you in that position. But you would have been better off without him.

“'Cause I don't wanna hurt you

But I know I will

And I'm looking for the reason

For the way I feel

I didn't wanna lose you

But if I'm being real

Then you're better off without me”

He could feel himself slipping away from you and that’s when he knew that he needed to do what he did. He knew that eventually he would hurt you worse than he had ever wanted too. Worse than just heartbreak.

But Izaya never truly understood why he felt that way. He didn’t know why he knew that he would hurt you. He just knew.

So in the note that he left you on your nightstand he said “You’re better off without me.”

And it was the worst thing he had ever written in his life. The worst thing he had ever said to someone. And he truly meant it. No one could change his mind. Your life meant more to him than his own.

“I never really fell in love until I met you

'Cause that day out at the cabin, I felt something special

3 a.m, vibing, drinking beer on the couch

Remember? I was scared to even cuddle with you”

Flashbacks of how you met filled his head, another swig from the beer bottle filled his throat. The small feeling of forgetting starting to take over. That’s all he wanted to do. These memories were too painful.

When you had come to the cabin with a couple of friends of his and they had introduced you, he hadn't expected to be obsessed. But he was.

Everyone had gone to sleep, the two of you had been the only ones left in the living room, and he had never been more nervous in his life.

You hadn’t hidden your attraction to him. You made it very obvious in the hours after you had met.

You had looked at the clock as you both drank the last of the beers that were sitting on the small coffee table. Three in the morning. The fire burned in the fireplace and your laughs filled the room.

Izaya couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this way. The last time he had truly felt love.

Izaya had never been as nervous as he was right now. He was normally the tough guy. He had never had a problem showing affection for a woman he liked. But you were different.

You noticed his hesitation and went in yourself. Before you could even stop yourself, your body moved. You straddled his hips and pushed him back into the couch. Your lips pressing together as Izaya placed his hands on your hips. His fear almost instantly watching away.

“My heart's breaking 'cause I love you and I miss you

I'm thinking about the times where I'd cuddle and I'd kiss you

But I understand that I got a lot of issues

I just hope you know that it ain't easy to forget you”

Izaya shook his head, trying to get the memory to leave him. “Fuck.” He grasped the bottle tighter in his hand and down the last swig. “I miss her.”

Before he even realized what was happening the bottle soared from his hand, a scream leaving him at the same time.

A light switched on in the hallway and a figure appeared in the doorway of the living room. Namie had a sleepy, puzzled look on her face as she checked on her boss. “Izaya?”

Izaya rubbed his eyes and gave her a weak smile. “Everything’s fine Namie. Go back to bed.”

She gave him a worried look before turning back to head to her room. She knew better than to push Izaya when he was like this.

“I just-“ His voice was a whisper as he picked up his phone. He didn’t want to say anything else and have Namie come back out.

Izaya opened his messages, his finger instinctively finding your name and typed out a message he had never meant to send. Alcohol made him hit that button and made him throw his phone across the room after.

So when your phone lit up and you opened the message, your heart broke for him.

Izaya 💞 2:36am

I miss you so fucking much.

Taglist: @monic00l​ @strangeinternetwasteland​ @rowley-with-ackerman​ @kyu-pine​ @ellechanwrites​ @bonnisimpparker​ @impinthecloset​ @nikiniki743​

©bakubabes-hatake’s original content, please do not repost/modify without my permission

[eryiss]

Summary: Freed and Laxus have always flirted, it's just something they had done. But after Laxus returned from exile, the flirting died away as Laxus reestablished his position in the guild. But Laxus finds himself missing the flirting, and knows a way to bring it back. Unfortunately for Freed, it requires more teasing than any one man can take. [Fraxus One-Shot]

Notes: Hello again, here’s my second fanficiton written over vacation because it’s raining and there’s nothing to do. This time, it's just Freed being horny for Laxus, and Laxus making things so much worse for his own fun. So enjoy seduction, strip poker and smut. Thanks for reading.

Links: FFN, Ao3

How To Seduce Your Rune Mage:

A Guide By Laxus Dreyar

Step 1: Lay The Groundwork

Laxus had taken to a new style of clothing again. It was… distracting.

The outfit wasn't too dissimilar to what he had always worn, but Freed could see the differences. The white shirt was now form fitting enough to mould around his impressive biceps and cling to his pecs, whereas his old shirts had been loose enough to billow around him. Furthermore, he apparently had decided to only button the shirt up half way, leaving his tanned, tattooed chest exposed to whoever might want to look. Or, to whoever might be desperately trying to look anywhere else.

Compared to the new pants, though, the shirt was nothing. Laxus still wore the leather pants he insisted on, but these were tighter. Freed had walked up the stairs behind Laxus and had been eye level with the mans ass; the leather clung to his toned cheeks like skin.

Freed had been relieved when the walk upstairs had been over. The relief died when Laxus sat down.

Even the way he sat made Freed pause to both appreciate the sight of the man and curse him for seemingly being unaware of the effect he was having. He was leaning back in the chair, talking to Bickslow with his hands behind his head and his legs spread far too wide. His arms were flexing under the shirt, muscles all but ripping through the fabric. The leather of his pants pressed across his hard thighs, emphasising the beautiful strength in his legs. Freed had, more than once, let his focus slip and found his eyes roaming the man's thighs.

And then there was his dick. It was borderline obscene in how obvious it was in the pants. Dicks bulged in pants, of course, but for the split second Freed had glanced towards Laxus' crotch - not on purpose, of course - it looked like the pants were made to draw focus to his cock. The large, obvious mound was the focal point of a damn sexy sight that Freed couldn't allow himself to enjoy.

They had all mocked Laxus for calling himself a god, but in moments in this, the comparison held some weight.

Freed had to look away, Laxus hadn't dressed like that for his friend to lust after him. Just because their relationship had always had a flirtatious edge - well, it used to anyway, but Freed felt that might not be appropriate anymore given the things Laxus was going through - it didn't mean that he wanted him for anything more. They amused each other with their sly winks, double entendres and the coy touches that they'd shared from time to time. Nothing more.

But dammit, the way Laxus was sitting was like a beacon. He had picked the perfect position to drive Freed mad, and he didn't seem to even know it. His whole damn body seemed to be pointing to the large bulge in his pants - the bulge Freed would not allow himself to ogle - and yet Laxus was still chatting with Bickslow as if he didn't know.

Freed was almost tempted to leave. He could deal with his… urges when he got home, and then could hope that Laxus went back to his looser, less enticing outfit. Because if this was going to become a mainstay in their lives, Freed didn't know how to deal with that.

Dammit; he was a grown man, not a horny teenager. This was ridiculous!

As he always did, Freed had brought one of his many novels into the guildhall so he had something to do to pass the time. He would simply put all his focus on that, and Laxus would be the last thing on his mind. By the time he would have read a chapter or two, all the shock and desire born from Laxus' change in outfit would have died, and the man sitting across the table from him would return to what he had always been; the slightly too cocky asshole with handsome features and a great body, but someone he couldn't allow himself to think about because acting on his desires would be detrimental to the team dynamic.

He was a captain, and Laxus was essentially his teammate. Lusting after him was asking for trouble, and Freed had gotten over his attraction to the man before. He would again, and with the help of his novel he would push these thoughts to the back of his mind.

'Arthur hauled himself up over the railing of his ship, grunting with effort. The pirate captain ran a hand through his short blonde hair, absently removing his sodden shirt as he walked across the deck. As he passed Clark, he sent the man a grin and a wink, a flirtatious act of seduction. Not that Clark needed it, seeing the tattoo on Arthur's chest was enough-'

"God dammit," Freed muttered resentfully.

Freed owned exactly five romance novels. They were self indulgent and rarely read, and yet somehow he had picked up the only book he owned out of his collection of hundreds to have a romantic lead with physical traits similar to Laxus'.

"Somethin' wrong?" Laxus asked, looking over to Freed with his eyes alight with amusement. He looked towards the book Freed was reading and grinned. "Getting to the good stuff, huh?"

"What?" Freed asked, then looked at the cover of the book. The barrel chested model made it clear it was a rather trashy romance, and Laxus' implication was clear. "No, I most certainly am not."

"Because you leave that stuff for when yer alone, huh?" Laxus teased.

Freed didn't know what it was about himself that delighted in confident men, but that part of him was almost preening with delight at Laxus. Thankfully, just as much as he liked a man with a cocky side, he also liked bringing men like that down a peg, and as such he could still cling to some of his dignity.

"I was frustrated because one of the main characters has a terrible sense of direction, and got the other character lost," Freed rebutted. "It was something I can sympathise with."

"Damn, yer brutal," Laxus chuckled. "But you always go hard on me, huh Freed?"

That must had been unintentional; there was no way Laxus had meant to say such a teasing thing. It was just as unintentional as the way Laxus shifted his position to look towards Freed, somehow spreading his legs wider and drawing the leather tighter across his legs. Damn him; was he just naturally sensual and it had taken the tightness of his clothing for Freed to realise it.

He couldn't help it, his eyes flickered to the impressive bulge in his pants. For a moment, Freed considered acting. Would he rather get to his knees and suck the man off, or flip him over and fuck him where he stood?

The thoughts went as soon as they came, and Freed found himself standing.

"I'll get us around," He said to explain why he suddenly lurched upwards. "Anything in particular you all want?"

Bickslow and Evergreen asked for their usual, whereas Laxus requested Freed "surprise me, but make sure it's hot." The inflection he put on the last word sent a chill down his spine, and Freed quickly retreated to the lower floor of the guildhall, trying to distract himself however he could.

As he did, he missed the smug, satisfied expression on his friends face. Laxus had Freed right where he wanted him, and part one of the plan was complete.

——

Step 2 - Set The Bait

So, Laxus was modelling now. Of course he was,

The newest edition of Sorcerer Weekly was sitting on the coffee table of Freed and Laxus' shared apartment, exactly where Laxus had placed it when he'd left the apartment. He had done so as if it weren't a big deal, claiming that he had spoken about the Raijinshuu during an interview and that Freed should check it out if he was interested. That would have been fine, if it weren't for the picture on the cover, and the promise of many other pictures inside.

On the cover, Laxus was wearing a dress shirt and blazer, with the buttons undone so his chest and flexing abs were teased. His pants were unbuckled, teasing the top of his boxers in a way that was like a punch to Freed's gut. Not to mention the damn smoulder Laxus had perfected.

Dammit, Laxus had been against modelling for his entire life, and now he was doing a four page spread! Where had the change come from? Freed might almost think Laxus was doing it on purpose - intentionally driving him mad as a ridiculous prank of some kind - but that was a stupid idea.

And Freed knew how this worked. He knew the pictures inside would show off more of him. They always did, and Freed knew they'd look so good. So damn good.

"No," He mumbled to himself. "Get ahold of yourself."

Laxus was his friend, he certainly didn't want nor need Freed ogling pictures of him in various states of undress; fantasying about pinning him down and taking him, or pushing him to a wall and making out hard and passionately. They were friends and partners, this ridiculous attraction was something Freed would just have to get over.

But… well, Laxus had said he wanted Freed to read the article. The article would be on the same page as the pictures, so he clearly didn't mind Freed seeing the pictures. And Freed was fairly sure Laxus had some kind of attraction towards him in return; on a mission a year ago, Laxus had been speaking in his sleep and moaned out Freed's name pretty damn loudly. That was a memory that plagued Freed when he was touching himself, whether he wanted it or not.

So, maybe it wasn't too bad. It wasn't too invasive.

He picked the damn magazine up with a rush of oddly exhilarating dread. Page five was the first of Laxus' article, and Freed flipped towards it. He would just save his curiosity and be done with it.

Oh. Oh goodness.

A large picture of Laxus was printed. Laxus was shirtless, covered in some kind of oil that made his tanned skin glow beautifully in the light. He was flexing, abs so shredded and his arms pulsing with veiny muscles. His lightning was flickering over his torso, making him look everything like the all-powerful wizard that he was. Freed swallowed, and his cock lurched in his boxers.

His eyes fell onto page six, where another picture was printed. Laxus was wearing workout shorts and nothing else, the spandex clinging to his thighs in a too tempting way. He was mid sit-up, stomach crunching and hair sweat drenched.

Freed was palming himself over his pants without realising.

He had already gotten this far. He turned the page to see the next picture, and audibly swallowed.

The picture on the left was of Laxus wearing nothing but light grey boxer-briefs. He had his right hand resting behind his head, biceps flexing and bulging hard. His pecs and abs were rigid and pronounced, nipples hard looking. Water had clearly been poured over him, and droplets seemed to be sliding down the endless expanses of muscles that made up the man. His boxer briefs were overly tight, hugging his bulge to perfection and making Freed palm himself harder. His cock was hard now, and precum leaked out of his slit when he saw that Laxus was pulling down his waistband to show the base of his cock and trimmed pubes.

When he looked to the final picture of the, Freed actually moaned. Laxus was naked, his dick only covered by the white bedsheets that rested over his crotch. He lounged on the bed, looking sleep worn and sexy.

Fuck, Freed had wanted to see that in person.

He suddenly remembered where he was and what he was doing. He was in his sitting room, on the sofa he shared with Laxus, looking at the smutty pictures that Laxus had taken, while palming his dick. Freed was not a sex hungry idiot and he had gotten over his attraction to Laxus before, and he would again. He just needed to get it out of his system, that was all.

Within a minute, he was in the shower, stroking himself off as he imagined Laxus on his knees before him.

Again, he missed when Laxus returned home. He missed when Laxus saw the magazine, open on the page with his nude picture. He missed when Laxus sniffed the air and smelt the scent of cum, and grinned to himself. Before Freed left the shower, Laxus retreated to his bedroom, cock hardening in his pants as he did. He wanted to join Freed in the shower and cut the bullshit, but his plan hadn't gotten there yet. And, he had to admit, Freed eye-fucking him all the day was hot as fuck, and he wanted more of that before he made his move.

——

Step 3: Reel Him In

"And with this, Laxus," Freed placed his cards on the ground. "I get your pants."

Freed and Laxus were alone, sitting next to a campfire beside a lake. It was just the two of them on the mission, which had been completed earlier in the day. Rather than returning home, Laxus had suggested that they camp out for the night and return to Magnolia in the morning. Freed had agreed, and somehow had been talked into a game of poker. Strip poker, to be more specific.

They were in various states of undress. Freed was wearing nothing but his boxer-briefs, and probably should have given in by now. One more loss and he'd be spending the night naked, not an overly attractive idea with Laxus sharing a tent with him.

For the start of the round, Laxus has been brutally successful, and Freed had lost his shirt, shoes, coat and socks before he had gotten a single piece of Laxus' clothing off. Freed had wanted to claim Laxus was cheating somehow, but the alcohol he'd drunk had made the argument too much bother. Every time they lost a round, they had to take a drink, and Freed had lost a lot of rounds so was practically drunk at this point.

That wasn't too bad, it certainly made looking at Laxus half naked more pleasant and less stressful.

The drinking wasn't the only forfeit they'd implemented either. If either of them lost twice in a row, they had to do a forfeit chosen by the winner. That had happened to Freed twice, and he'd had to give the story of his most embarrassing moment - a puppeteer wizard had taken control of him and made him act like a clown for a full day, in full costume including the wig and squeaking nose - much to Laxus' amusement. The second forfeit was to do as many chin-ups as he could on a nearby tree. He managed thirty before the bark started cutting into his hands, and Laxus hadn't taken his eyes off him.

Laxus had only been forced to perform one forfeit: speaking in rhyming couplets for a round and slapping himself every time he failed. His cheek was red, but Freed still wanted revenge.

"You don't have to enjoy it this much," Laxus laughed, taking a drink as he stood. He shucked off the too-tight leather pants and threw them to the pile of clothes. He spread his arms to show his state of undress off, and Freed swallowed at the sight of Laxus in his white boxer-briefs.

Fuck, why was everything he wore so tight these days?

"So," Laxus grunted. "What you gonna make me do?"

"Your cheeks are very red," Freed commented with a drunken grin. "Perhaps the fire is getting you too hot. So, you're going to submerge yourself fully in the nice cold lake."

"Fuck, you're cruel," Laxus sighed, patting Freed's bare shoulder as he walked past him. "Glad I'm on your team most of the time."

Freed only realised his mistake when it was too late. When he had chosen the forfeit, he had simply wanted to make Laxus feel the horrors of a cold lake in the middle of the night. It was only when Laxus was wasit high in the water that Freed realised he had instructed Laxus to get soaking wet in front of him while he was wearing his boxers and nothing more. His white boxers - made of the fabric that turns slightly transparent when wet.

Fuck, what the hell had he been thinking? Were his critical thinking skills so redundant around Laxus?

"I'm gonna get you back for this, asshole," Laxus yelled, and Freed turned to watch as Laxus dove into the cold water head first, only to resurface a moments later with an exclamation of: "Fuck that's cold."

Freed couldn't look away. Laxus, the man who had been plaguing Freed's most carnal and deprived dreams and thoughts, was wading through the lake, soaking wet and wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. He looked like a fucking supermodel, and Freed felt the horrible feeling of a boner growing in his revealing boxer-briefs. Worse still, he couldn't stop it, because thoughts of kissing the man dry or dragging him to the tent and having his way with him wouldn't stop assaulting him.

And Laxus, the bastard, decided to make things worse. He stood right before Freed, his bulging dick eye level with Freed (not that Freed allowed himself to look), with his arms crossed. He was so close that a drop of water from his chest fell onto Freed's nose and made him wince.

"Well, you might be okay losing your boxers tonight, but I ain't," Laxus shrugged, "and it's getting late, so I'm gonna call it a night. See you in the tent, you evil bastard."

He emphasised the point by flicking the cold water into Freed's face, and then walked to the shared tent. Freed was left alone by the fire, genuinely considering jumping into the water to shock the boner out of his system.

And Laxus just grinned, knowing exactly the effect he was having on Freed and loving it.

——

Step 4 - Adapt

"Oh thank fuck," Laxus gasped the second Freed walked into their apartment. "You're a fucking idiot, you know that."

Freed frowned, dropping his bag at the door. Laxus seemed to have been waiting for him, which was a shock. Almost as much of a shock as when Laxus stormed over towards him and wrapped his arms around Freed in a tight hug. Freed was frozen for a moment, but lifted his arms and returned the hug. Someone had apparently told Laxus what happened then.

"Are you fucking stupid?" Laxus growled. "Don't you ever pull bullshit like that again, you understand me?"

"I won't," Freed promised.

"You better not," Laxus pulled away, but cupped Freed's cheeks to check his face for injuries. When he saw none, he deflated. "Idiot."

Freed had been on a mission with Bicks and Ever, and it hadn't gone well. The creature they were fighting was stronger than they had expected, and to divert attention from some bystanders, Freed had put himself in the path of the beast. He'd been bitten, and the creature's teeth had injected poison deep inside of him. For around a week he'd been in bed, unresponsive as the medical mages removed the poison from his bloodstream. According to Bickslow and Evergreen, it had been one of the worst weeks of their lives, and apparently Laxus had been kept in contact about it.

"I'm fine," Freed assured him. "I've got a scar, that's all."

"They wouldn't let me come see you," Laxus stated. "I would've gone if I could have, but they wouldn't let me. I wanted to be there."

"I know," Freed nodded, smiling a little as he pulled away. He frowned when he saw what Laxus was wearing. "Why are you wearing a robe?"

"Oh, shit, yeah, that," Laxus blushed a little. "So, fuck Freed you could have died. And I know you're okay because you don't lie about shit like this, but it kinda puts things into perspective. Just because you made it out this time, doesn't mean it'll happen again, you know?" Freed nodded, wondering what this had to do with a robe. "And it got me thinking that, if something happens to ya, I ain't gonna want any regrets, I don't wanna look back and wish I did something that I was too scared to. That make sense?"

"Yes," Freed nodded.

"Well, I don't wanna regret you, so I'm done with the bullshit," Laxus stated. "The flirting without following through on it, and trying to turn you on to see if you'll start something? It's just all bullshit when either of us could fucking die at any point-"

"Laxus," Freed said firmly. Laxus was spiraling, and Freed needed to get him back to something more safe. "The robe?"

"Right, yeah," He calmed himself. "The robe is me saying that, if you want me," He undid the tie on the robe. "Then you've got me."

The robe fell from Laxus' body, revealing him in his nudity.

Fuck. Fuck!

Freed had put in a lot of effort keeping boundaries with Laxus. Yes they flirted, but they both seemed to consciously avoid seeing each other naked. Nudity was the last bastion of them being platonic with one another, because when it happened it would be the crescendo of their flirting. It was an unspoken rule; if they saw each other fully naked, then they'd finally do something about it.

But there Laxus was, naked and proud. His dick had the same veiny girth the rest of his body had; long, thick, and half hard.

And, if Laxus was being truthful, his body was Freed's for the taking.

Without hesitation, Freed closed the space between them and wrapped a hand into Laxis' hair. He wrapped the short blonde locks into his hand and tugged Laxus down towards him, pulling him into a heated and needy kiss. Laxus' hands were on his ass without thinking, groping Freed hungrily as he rolled his naked hips against Freed's. Freed let out a shuddering moan, allowing Laxus' tongue into his mouth.

Years worth of flirting and causal grins and caught moments of attraction had been leading up to this. No more dancing around it; they wanted each other and they were going to take it.

Freed's hands roamed over the body he had wanted to explore for so long. The muscle was as hard as it had always looked, and the quiet gasp from Laxus when he grazed his nipple made Freed grin.

"So responsive," Freed taunted.

"Shut up," Laxus growled huskily, taking hold of Freed's belt buckle to undo it. "I wanna look after you, baby. Not listen to ya smart-mouthing me."

"I don't need coddling," Freed argued.

"I said I'm gonna look after ya, not coddle ya," Laxus grinned, bringing his lips to Freed's neck in teasing bites. "I know you Freed, I know exactly what you want out of a man."

"Oh do you?" Freed challenged. "And what is that?"

"Me," Laxus grinned.

Before he could say anything, Laxus' hands wrapped around Freed's thighs and scooped them up. Freed was lifted up, straddling Laxus' naked body and leaning against him to keep them both upright. A laugh spluttered out of Freed, because the man who had been the subject of his fantasies for so long was lifting him up and walking him to his bedroom.

This was happening. They were going to bed together, and Freed knew that it would be indescribable.

He was thrown into his own mattress, and Laxus crawled over him. Every fantasy, every photo shoot, every thought of Laxus paled in comparison to Laxus crawling over him, shamelessly naked. His chest was heaving and he had the thinnest layer of sweat over his chest, and Freed found himself a little breathless as Laxus placed his hands either side of his head. He looked down at Freed with an expression of mingled cockiness and fondness; a look only he could manage.

"It's awful unfair you're still dressed, baby," Laxus murmured.

"I'm rather fond of the situation," Freed smirked, and Laxus grinned down at him.

"Then you might not like this," Laxus taunted, reaching down and groping Freed's already hard cock through his pants. Freed gasped, but the hand was gone as soon as it came. Laxus smirked down at Freed when he grunted his annoyance, fiddling with the belt buckle again to unfasten it. "Hips up, Baby."

Freed did as told, and Laxus was pulling Freed's pants down his legs. Once they were off, he tossed them aside and grinned down at the hard cock tenting his boxers. Freed was breathless at the hungry, horny attention Laxus showed his hard dick.

"Touch me," Freed panted an order.

"You still ain't naked," Laxus grinned. "But I'm gonna fix that."

Laxus crawled up Freed's body again, his naked legs grazing against Freed's as he ran their strong bodies against each other. He let out a slight shuddering breath as his knee grazed Freed's hard cock, before refocusing his attention at the task at hand. He placed a hand on the side of Freed's shirt, before yanking at it hard. The buttons on the shirt flew off, scattering across Freed's bedroom floor with a clatter. With his abs and chest exposed now, Freed watched as Laxus lowered his head down and pressed kisses against his stomach.

"Oh god," Freed moaned.

"That's right," Laxus grinned. "Say my name,"

Freed let out a breathless laugh as Laxus reached his chest with the kisses. He pushed himself up further, naked chest against naked chest, and brough Freed into another spellbinding kiss. They melted into one another, moans enfusing with the kiss as Laxus' hands kneeled and grabbed at Freed's body. A wayward spark of Laxus' lighting hit one of Freed's nipples, and Freed moaned so loudly and blissfully that Laxus went half lidded.

He'd have to remember that. But not now.

As they kissed each other, Laxus removed the shirt from Freed's arms and tossed it to the side. Freed's paler body contracted beautifully with Laxus', and Freed moaned at the press of the other mans bulk against him. This was like every fantasy he'd had about the man, but better in such an explosive way.

Laxus' knee was gently teasing Freed's straining cock, the seam of his boxers the only friction against his aching member. He raised his hips on instinct, trying and failing to rub against Laxus.

"Please Laxus," Freed whispered. "Just touch me."

"Not until yer naked," Laxus whispered back, hands running over Freed's flexing abs. "So soon, baby."

One of his roaming hands slid down to his cock, giving it a single, torturous pump. Freed whined and Laxus chuckled into his ear, the feeling of the man's breath against him incredible in its intimacy. The hand hooked itself in the waistband of his boxer-briefs, quickly pulling them down and exposing Freed's cock to the room. He moaned at the change of temperature as Laxus tossed his boxers away.

For a moment, Laxus sat up, straddling Freed and looking down at him with horny adoration. He looked at Freed with the same expression of need, desire and lust that Freed looked at him. Freed's cock leaked with pre cum, and Laxus looked almost blissed out.

And then, he lowered himself, taking Freed's cock into his mouth in a single fluid movement.

"Fuck!" Freed exclaimed, hands clutching at the sheets as the warmth of Laxus' mouth covered his cock.

He was thunderstruck as he watched Laxus work. The man who Freed adored was sucking his cock, smoothly and passionately, taking him to the balls and then drawing back to the tip. He neither gagged nor slowed, as if his sole purpose in that moment was to suck Freed off.

"Shit," Freed moaned. "Laxus, stop. I'm gonna-"

Laxus only increased the speed of his movements, tongue licking and teasing at the tip of Freed's cock. Freed's grip on the bedsheets turned white-knuckled, and he thrashed his head back as white covered his eyes. The pleasure was unreal, multiplied whenever he thought of the man who was doing this to him. He groaned, bucking his hips as the rush of orgasm overtook his senses.

The feeling was damn-near life ending. Every nerve, sense and thought was set alflame as he bucked his hips, his spasming dick fucking Laxus' throat without repentance nor care. A spew of cusses, moans and exclamations filled the room as spurt after spurt of hot cum shot down Laxus' throat.

He was swallowing it all, and the constrictions of his throat against Freed's dick only further drained his balls.

"Fuck," Laxus gasped once every drop of his lover's cum had been swallowed. He was red faced and grinning, chest heaving and dick rock hard. Freed, despite the orgasm, was just as hard. "You tasted so good, baby."

"Fuck," Freed parroted weakly, shifting and pulling Laxus towards him. He pulled him into a sloppy and needy kiss, not purebred by the taste of his own spunk on the other man's tongue. He openly groped at Laxus' ramrod dick, pumping at it and delighting in the shuddering moans Laxus tried to hold back.

"Wait," Laxus panted, pulling away. "First time I cum for you, I wanna cum in you."

Freed could have reached orgasm again from just that.

"If you wish," Freed teased, and Laxus' face brightened and he pulled him into another kiss.

Without argument, Freed allowed himself to be pulled so he was straddling Laxus, his cock resting against Laxus'. They kissed slowly, Laxus scraping at his back while slowly gyrating his hips in a way that was clearly driving both men mad. Freed was absently pulling at Laxus' hair, mind swirling with the memory of Laxus' lips around his dick, swallowing him without complaint. Fuck, this was happening. He and Laxus were going to fuck.

All the fantasies of this moment fell away. Freed knew they would be pathetic when faced with the reality.

As they kissed, Laxus had reached into Freed's dresser and brought out a bottle of lube he kept there. He had covered his fingers with the lube, before slowly trailing them down Freed's stomach, leaving a cold trail in their wake. He cupped Freed's ass with large, cold hands. Freed gasped as they ran gently across the crease of his ass.

"You ready?" Laxus asked in a voice one might describe as lovestruck.

"Yes," Freed nodded, pushing his body tight against Laxus'. "Please."

One finger slowly slid inside Freed, and the moan of unfiltered, unadulterated pleasure filled the room. Laxus was grinning as he slowly probed Freed's asshole, teasing and slow in his movements but stretching him out to perfection. Another finger pushed its way in, and Freed groaned a guttural groan as he rested his face in the crook of Laxus' neck. He stretched and toyed with Freed, and all he could do was delight in the face it was Laxus doing this to him.

"That's enough," Freed stated just before Laxus slid in a third finger. Laxus looked at him with a hint of hesitance, and Freed smiled a naughty looking smile. "I want to feel you splitting me."

"Fuck," Laxus breathed, and his cock lurched at the words. "You demon."

"Absolutely," Freed agreed, shifting his weight up.

With slightly shaking hands, Laxus held the base of his cock and pointed it upwards. With too slow movements, Freed carefully moved himself down again. The tip of Laxus' fat, quivering cock rested against his hole for a moment, and they both groaned at the feeling. Freed paused, but with a shared look of trust and desire, he slowly began to lower himself down.

Inch by inch, he took Laxus' cock inside of him. They both groaned, moaning their pleasure to the otherwise silent room. Laxus scratched at Freed's bare back, while Freed clutched to his lover's shoulders. His thighs quivered with the effort of holding himself up, and a gasp split his lips when he felt his ass rest against Laxus' legs.

He had never felt so thoroughly filled before, and his eyes fell to the back of his skull.

After a few moments to accommodate the new sensation, Freed gave a tentative grind of the hips. Both men moaned loudly at the feeling, and Freed's grip on Laxus' shoulders tightened. He rested his head in the crook of Laxus' neck again, before whispered a quiet, "Fuck me, Laxus."

It happened instantly,

Thrusting, slow at first but incredible, started to split Freed open. The beautiful burn of his body being torn apart increased with each slow and taunting push and pull of Laxus' dick. He could feel all the ridges of Laxus' dick inside of him, pushing apart muscles that was all too happy to accommodate him.

And then, with a stronger thrust than before, Laxus hit the spot. Freed let out an incoherent sound of erotic delight.

"There," Freed demanded, voice wavering. "Oh fuck, there."

Laxus needed no more instruction, thrusting his hips up again and again, faster and more powerful with each strike. Consistently he beat against Freed's prostate, again and again making him moan, whine, grunt and roar with the pleasure that only years of growing desire could have caused. Freed pushed down against him, wanting to feel more. To get more!

"Oh fuck," Laxus moaned, voice a horny, needy, desperate shadow of its former reticence that drove Freed mad. "Shit, fuck."

He was cumming, and the feeling of the man he loved filling him with cum while he spasmed and grunted was all-consuming to Freed. Orgasm overtook him with the same sudden ferocity, and the overwhelming euphoria made him shut his eyes and drown in the pleasure.

As he rutted into Freed, cum still spilling, Laxus pushed them both down. Lying atop Freed now, Laxus rode the high of orgasm to its end, not caring that Freed's own cum had spattered across both of their faces and chests. Panting and slowing his thrusts, he collapsed onto Freed with a giddy, horny smile.

"Holy shit," He cussed. "Why the fuck did it take us so long to do that?"

"It's a mistake we won't repeat," Freed said, equally breathless.

He pulled Laxus into another kiss, slower this time but arguably more passionate. Their movements were tired, lethargic, and perfect. Freed shifted them both, removing Laxus' cock from his ass and lying beside him, not once breaking the kiss. He nuzzled into his lover, smiling gently.

"I'm glad you're okay," Laxus murmured when they did pull away, stroking Freed's cheek. "And I'm sorry I fucked around and didn't make a move before. All that teasing bullshit was just my way of trying to get you to do something first, because I was scared of getting rejected."

"I can understand that, and I certainly won't be angry at you," Freed chuckled. "But know, I will do exactly the same to you from now on."

"Wouldn't expect anything less," Laxus grinned. "But we're not waiting that long until we fuck again, right?"

Freed simply smirked, and kissed his lover again. "Absolutely not."