#it also will foreshadow one or two things which is exciting

[losers-clvb]

ICEBREAKER two

pairing: stanford!hockey player!sam winchester x figure skater!female!reader

content: language, slightly ooc sam

word count: 3k

note: here's part two!!! i hope you all love it, even if it is a bit of a filler part. peep the very forward foreshadowing about hockey jess' series, hehe. anyway, hope you enjoy!!

The next few days were a whirlwind of sleep, class, practice, repeat. A bit less of the sleep portion than usual, however, thanks to the stream of texts from a certain hockey player.

The chance for your date – or whatever you two would choose to call it – hadn’t come up yet. You were drilled on your routines for hours on end while also trying to juggle the seemingly endless amounts of homework being thrown at you. Sam was in the same boat, coaches slamming him with new techniques to pick up on before his Friday night game.

So, you two had resorted to flirty texts and pictures. Most were tame enough, just little things here and there that had you biting back a smile during lectures.

I can’t wait to see how that lemonade tastes. And how you taste, Sam had texted once, making you roll your eyes playfully and tap a heart onto the message.

Selfies of him, sweaty from practice and smiling like a golden retriever, were immediately inspected by you, eyes narrowing in on the ripple of his muscle when he was shirtless.

You especially liked the darkened mirror pictures of him post-shower, a towel wrapped around his lips lazily. You wouldn’t ever admit how long you would spend staring down your phone screen when he sent those.

Lissa caught you once or twice smiling at your phone. Despite your deep need to brag about how over the moon about this man you already were, you kept quiet. Right now, for example, she was trying to get to your phone, which you were deftly holding above your head.

“Come on, babe, just let me see who you’ve been blushing over!” Lissa protested, stretching her arms as high as they could go. Fortunately for you, she was just the slightest bit shorter than you, and that slightest bit added the necessary height to keep your phone out of her hands.

“It’s really none of your business, Liss.” You laughed when she sighed in defeat, falling from her tiptoes. She sent a glare your way, one that told you she would push about this topic later. “I’m serious.”

“And I’m just trying to look out for you.” Lissa argued, crossing her arms. You raised a brow, not believing a minute of it. Maybe she was looking out for you, but you knew she was the biggest gossip on your team. You learned that fact when everyone was coincidentally curious about the East coast just a day after telling Lissa that you had matched with a Maine-native on Tinder.

At the sight of your doubtful expression, she threw her hands up defensively.

“I’m serious! What if this guy is a… serial killer who likes feet!” She nodded, her eyes wide. “Your feet are beautiful, you’d be dead in a heartbeat.”

“Why does he have to like feet?” You laughed, hoping this would steer the conversation away from your love life. You would talk foot fetishes all day long if it meant Lissa didn’t find out about your embarrassingly schoolgirl-crush-ish feelings toward Sam.

“Wait!” Lissa gasped, clutching her hands to her chest. “Is it a girl?”

You watched the way she was practically bouncing on her feet, excitement running through her like a shot of adrenaline. Lissa was under the belief that every individual out there had some degree of homosexuality in them. It didn’t matter how many times you told her that just because she had a very large dose of said homosexuality in her didn’t mean everyone did. You almost felt bad for the way you were about to crush her.

“No.” You watched her face fall into a pout.

“Why not?!” Lissa huffed. “Girls are hot and funny and sexy and taste-”

“Liss, I’m gonna stop you right there. I don’t need to hear about the flavor profilings of the human female. Again.” You held a hand up, giving her a face that said I’m done with this conversation.

“I’m just saying, don’t knock it ‘til you try it.” She shrugged, grinning. “Give me a hint about who this mystery man is and I’ll leave you alone, promise.” She held her pinky up.

“I don’t believe you, but fine.” You hooked your pinky into hers, just as you had done third grade on the playground that first day you both had met each other. “He’s… good on the ice.”

“Good on the ice?” Lissa repeated, disappointed with the ambiguity of this hint. “What’s that supposed to mean? There’s so many things that could mean!”

“Ah, ah, pinky promise.” You chided, shaking the hand that was still attached to yours. You raised your eyebrows, expecting a fight. Lissa only kept the pink promises that were really important.

“Fine.” Lissa sighed dramatically. You ignored that little pout, tapping awake your phone screen to view the newest text from Sam.

Sam found himself in a similar kind of situation, only, for him, Dean was much harder to shake off than Lissa.

“Sammy!” Dean drawled out, grinning. “Who’s got you giggling like a chick?”  He plopped down onto the worn cushion of the couch.

“I’m not giggling, Dean.” Sam grumbled, clicking his phone off. He didn’t need Dean giving him shit for being “too romantic” or “too pussy-whipped” as he often did in situations like this. He’d gone through it the entire time with his ex. The brotherly taunting only got worse after Dean discovered the real reason Jess had broken up with him.

“I’m not giggling, Dean.” Dean repeated, in a mocking tone that was obviously supposed to imitate Sam. This earned him a firm push on the shoulder, which did little to move him thanks to his built upper body. “Come on, stop being such a wimp and show me.”

“You don’t need to know.” Sam stood, stretching his arms up and wincing at the soreness in his lower back. Maybe spending five hours straight studying solely the international relations between the United States and Russia wasn’t the best decision for his body.

“Uh, yeah,” Dean followed Sam up, looking quite annoyed at his little brother’s unwillingness to share, “I do.”

“Why?” Sam wasn’t going to give in so easily. He’d realized a few weeks ago how little secrets him and Dean had between each other when Dean had decided to share, in explicit detail, how his first threesome had gone. Sam cut him off at the first mention two pairs of hands grabbing Dean’s ass, unwilling to continue picturing the male-female-male event that had taken place in the bedroom next to his own. He was trying to change that codependency, create a little space between them.

“Well… because… you…,” Dean sputtered, trying to find a suitable answer. Evidently, he wasn’t used to Sam not being instantly obedient. A younger Sam, one who’d idolized Dean like he was God himself, wouldn’t have even required an interrogation. He would have gone running to Dean, words flowing out naturally. This Sam, the one standing four inches taller than his older brother, wasn’t so easy to work with. “I’m your brother, Sammy! You have to tell me.”

Now Dean was the one sounding like a chick, not that Sam would ever point that out to him.

“I don’t have to tell you anything.” Sam mumbled, turning to walk into the kitchen. His phone buzzed with a text from you, making a wide smile break across his face without him even realizing it. This also provided ample distraction for Dean to snatch up Sam’s phone, tapping and swiping through it like he was trying to find evidence for a murder case.

“You’re talking to a chick! God, Sammy, she's hot.” Dean wiggled his eyebrows with a smile that let the tip of his tongue peek out. Sam huffed in frustration, taking his phone back.

“She's off limits.” He grumbled, knowing exactly what Dean was thinking. Yes, it was true that most some of the girls he slept with usually ended up in his brother's bed as well. Often, he didn't care. Who was he to police who they slept with? It wasn't as if he was in love with any of those girls.

Dean always knew his limits. He didn't sleep with Jess because Dean knew Sam was really into her. Even that one sorority girl that had almost ruined Sam's life hadn't gotten into anything with Dean. Though, that may have been more to do with Dean claiming she was a demon from Hell that needed to be exorcised from the earth – dramatism was Dean's middle name – and less to do with Sam's intense whatever he'd had with her.

“Off limits?” Dean raised a brow, a grin spreading over his face. He knew what off limits meant. It meant-

“Sammy likes a gi-rl.” He said in a sing-songy voice, clutching his hands to his chest. “When’s the wedding? You’re wearing the dress, right?”

“Shut up.” Sam rolled his eyes, scoffing. “She’s… special. Just drop it.” He made his way to the refrigerator, pulling out a pre-made pressed juice. Dean nudged him out of the way to grab a beer for himself. How Dean could eat and drink like crap and still be in prime playing condition was beyond Sam. He played it safe with his high water intake and fresh veggies and expensive ass protein powder that the athletic department paid for.

“Ohhh… special, right.” Dean took a swig of his beer. “Why is that?”

Because she’s funny and smart and beautiful and dedicated and-

“She just is, okay?” Sam turned away, swallowing down the blush that threatened to creep up his cheeks. For all his big talk at parties and sport events, he sometimes felt like he was little Sammy again, the one that couldn’t talk to girls without his voice cracking. Though, he hadn’t found a girl that made him like that since Jess.

God, Jess. He should call her. Even broken up, they were still best friends. She’d been the first and only one – other than Dean, of course – to know the real reason why he was so dedicated to excelling at hockey. He’d been the first and only one – again, other than Dean – to know she was in love with her teammate. The same teammate who was her coach’s daughter, who, apparently, wasn’t “into girls like that” despite having really, really been into Jess at that pre-season party they’d all attended.

Yeah. He would call Jess to ask about you. Casually, of course. I mean, the girl’s hockey team and the figure skating team had to mingle, right? Maybe that was more of the mindset that all girls knew each other, something Jess constantly teased him about.

Now, he just had to find a way to coincidentally bring you up in conversation.

The day was finally here, a section of time when your schedules let up enough to allow for a date. You totally didn’t change your outfit more than necessary, and you’d taken an extra-long shower because you liked the water on your skin, not because you were shaving and scrubbing at everything with an obsessive precision.

A quick five-minute walk later, you were pulling open the door to the cafe, eyes glancing down at your phone to check for any I’m going to be late texts. Some would call the assumption pessimistic, you named it as playing it safe.

You did have a text sitting there in your notifications, it just wasn’t that text.

Waiting on someone else, pretty girl?

It had your eyes scanning the booth tables until you spotted a flop of brown hair and a red Stanford hoodie. Sam grinned at you, gesturing to the plastic cups of that heavenly lemonade sitting in front of him.

You hoped you didn’t look too giddy while you strode over to him.

“I didn’t think you’d show up on time.” You shot at him, settling in across from him.

“Timeliness is my middle name.” Sam scoffed playfully, feigning offense at your jab. Your smile blossomed without any conscious effort.

“Did you try it?” You nodded at his sweating cup, twirling the still-wrapped straw for your own between your fingers. He shook his head, making you frown slightly.

“Wanted to wait for you.” He admitted, his fingertips brushing against the back of your hand. It was like he couldn’t help himself, he just needed to touch you. A bloom of warmth filled you at the confession and for once you ignored the overwhelming urge to be a skeptic about the situation.

Sam really was just a nice guy who also happened to be really good at grinding.

“How charming.” You answered, actually meaning it despite the sarcasm that dripped from the words. He looked triumphant, as if you had just given him a gold-star sticker and called him a good boy.

You freed your straw from its paper, jabbing it through the designated spot on the lid, and flicked your gaze to Sam. He was watching you, amusement crossing his face when you scrunched your nose up.

“What?” You tried to force annoyance into your voice, annoyance that was quickly betrayed by the crooked smile that just slid into existence. He leaned forward, holding himself up on his forearms.

“You’re so cute.” He said it quietly, not needing to raise his volume thanks to his freakishly long torso that allowed him to get mere inches from your face. You shortened the distance further, nose almost brushing his.

“You’re cuter.” You mumbled, staring him straight in the eye. He held eye contact with you for a few moments and you forced your gaze to stay trained on his instead of flicking down to see how tempting his lips were today.

Finally breaking the tension of the moment, he settled back against the booth back, wrapping his hand around his cup.

Without saying a word, you both lifted your drinks, cheersing them together before bringing the straws to your lips. While you were silent about how good the beverage was, Sam let out a long, theatrical moan, rolling his eyes back. You blinked away the immediate flutter of need that sparked in you at the noise just in time for Sam to look back at you, wide eyed.

“This,” he pointed to his cup, “is the best thing I’ve ever tasted.” He beamed at you, smile widening when you let out a soft laugh.

“I told you it was good.” You replied, sipping the lemonade again.

“No.” Sam shook his head, locking eyes with you. “It’s not good. It’s heavenly.” His grin tilted a bit. “It’s only fitting, though, since I’m sharing it with an angel.”

You rolled your eyes playfully, fighting down the blush that was threatening to bloom on your cheeks.

“You have anything else planned for today, or was it just going to be lemonade and sex?” You asked bluntly, hoping to get a reaction out of him. It didn’t work.

“Lemonade and sex are perfectly good plans, pretty girl.” Sam sighed, leaning forward again. “But, no, that’s not all. There’s this bookstore a few blocks from here, closer to my place.”

“Are you just trying to get me closer to your bed?” You tilted your head, warmth flooding you at his small head shake and quiet chuckle.

“I just thought you’d like the store. I know you like books, or maybe you just like carrying them around everywhere to look smart.” He teased, looking at you with downturned eyes. You furrowed your brows, confused.

“You know I like books? How?” You couldn’t think of a time when you had brought that fact up, and it’d been a while since you actually read anything. As you excelled in your collegiate figure skating career, it became more demanding, forcing you to exchange lazy reading nights for military-grade skating training.

“Freshman year, eight-am psych class.” It was simple, as if it should cover any other questions you had. You thought for a moment, still drawing a blank on what this had to do with the conversation at hand.

Then you had it. You remembered, with a fuzzy brain, some boy with the same mop of brown hair you now had in front of you. Sam. He’d been a bit hesitant in the beginning of the semester, but by finals, he was having debates with the professor on whatever the lesson was focusing on. You’d forgotten about the class as a whole, the excitement of it getting eclipsed by your first year of college-level skating competitions, the same season you’d received first place at a state level.

“That was almost three years ago.” You answered, casually, as if you didn’t want to launch yourself across the table into his lap over the fact that he’d remembered your dorky-freshman self.

“You brought a book every day,” he continued to cement in his perfection, “And a new one almost every week.”

“You never said anything to me.”

“Why would I? You were this perfect figure skater and I was still Dean’s rookie little brother ‘Sammy.’” He scoffed, shaking his head. “You would have rejected me in an instant, gorgeous. I was a loser.” You didn’t think there was ever a time little could be used to describe Sam.

“You were hot back then, too, Sammy.” You teased, swiping the tip of your tongue over your lips. “I would have been all over you.” You watched him breathe out a laugh and place his hand on the table, palm turned up.

“Guess we should make up for lost time.” Sam looked into your eyes, almost challenging you. You stared at him for a few moments, trying to gauge whether or not he was serious about this. Could it be more than just sex for him?

You decided there was only one way to truly find out and laid your hand on his, intertwining fingers as he guided you out of the cafe and into a world of new beginnings.

icebreaker tags: @gigiwritess @h8aaz @angzls @myceliumsunshine @unfortunaterat

everything taglist : @littlesoulshine @sacr1ficialang3l @blossomingorchids @plasticflowersinahistorycemetery @mostlymarvelgirl @missus-ackles @tinas111 @ambiguous-avery @jollyhunter @saltcxrcle

sam winchester taglist : @hobiespick @xoswiftieprincess @whothefvckami

[hivemuthur]

Okay, admittedly I kinda got some brain issues and forgot that Viktor was supposed to be shy in this, so he is not :v But yeh, I'm mish-mashing things again, here's how it went:

Ebb and Flow

viktorxfemale!reader explicit! okay I'm gonna say this once: this has a lot of ass in it. It also has Viktor being pegged, but he is sort of a power bottom and sort of not, I truly do not know who acts as who here. Also rimming and fingering. These are all my sins, for now :v

word count: 4K

author’s note: THANKS Reagan, I had no interest in pegging in my life and now I DO. If you receive anonymous threats it's my boyfriend :') But fr, thank you @a-babe-without-a-name for trusting me and being so brave and making me brave in the process lol. And Anon, uh, what can I say, if you had something cute in mind, sorry for disgracing your request like this. Also I know it's not Freakday yet. That's it, I have nothing to justify this.

—

It’s hard to decide which phase of getting to know someone is the best. The beginning is, of course, exciting—thrilling in its novelty—caught between the pressure of doing your absolute best without overdoing it, and the giddy pleasure of peeling back the layers of someone else, who’s doing exactly the same.

But then, when the dust settles and a few things fall into place, there’s the feeling of mutual agreement—the ever-growing filling each other’s gaps phenomenon, the question of where I end, and you begin quieting the turbulent waters. That’s when the real unpeeling begins.

So when Viktor asked for the first time, you weren’t surprised. It felt akin to pride—or maybe accomplishment—the way the question landed: unabashed, trusting. A noncommittal offer at first, something for you to think about, though it had long been foreshadowed by the press of his ass into your face and the sounds his mouth made, etched in your brain as favourites.

The conjoined open-heart surgery—where you are both the one doing the slicing and the one being sliced open—started long ago. Possibly that one time Viktor’s tongue strayed from your clit, lower, then even lower, and didn’t stop. You gasped, hips stilling. That’s when he said, “Relax. It’s nice, trust me.” Seeing your expression—caught between curiosity and complete bafflement—he added, “Do I have your consent or not?”

And you’re still not sure if it was the eagerness in his eyes or the virtue of his tone that convinced you. But you nodded and shifted, hugging your legs beneath the crease of your knees, and let him in.

Since then, a few more things have been uncovered—scrubbed clean, one layer at a time. For Viktor, it was the revelation that you were willing to go anywhere, as long as he was holding your hand. For you, it was the quiet surprise that he was never opposed to your wandering fingers—one, sometimes two—so long as he could pay you in the currency of startled gasps and broken moans.

Another realisation, more private: having your face hugged by his ass cheeks, your nose breathing in the scent at the base of his spine, your mouth planting soft kisses where his flesh was most tender—that has become one of your most sacred places to dwell. To breathe in those spaces that no one else has wandered into—absolute blessing.

How has this gone from gentle teasing and suggestive purrs to this—you’d lie if you said you hadn’t the faintest idea. Somewhere between Viktor’s breathy touch me and the first time he said, “that feels good,” until it finally became a carefully weaved, “how would you feel about…”—that’s when expectation began to root itself in your mind. Slowly, at first, like a seed pressed into the dark. By now it’s bloomed into something very much alive and kicking.

You’re still in your safe space, for now—on your knees, hands firm on Viktor’s angular hips, thumbs spreading one of the very few soft venues of him open. Your neck aches from the angle, but it’s a dull thing, drowned out by the heat licking at your belly. You hold him there, balanced carefully against the dresser’s edge, and your tongue glides another slow, reverent circle around his entrance.

He twitches, shoulders rippling compulsively every time you hum. One hand braces against the top of the dresser, the other curling back to sink into your hair. He grabs a handful of it, the contrast between wood and softness under his fingers adding to the tension burning through his spine. And oh, he doesn’t mean to, but he pushes you in, unable to help it.

“Mmnh…” Viktor breathes, his hips shifting—subtle, barely-there, but still chasing. “You’re… very good at this.” His voice stumbles over a moan, turned more breath than words. “Do not—don’t stop.”

You hum in response, a sound that makes his thighs tense and one heel lift just slightly off the floor. He’s trembling—such a small gesture you might miss it, if you weren’t pressed this close. You lick again, flatter this time, then push the tip of your tongue in, just a little breach, feeling him shudder and moan, soft and high.

The harness at your hips feels heavy, weighty with promise. The cock attached—a beautiful unfleshed contradiction of confidence and untested nerves—rests against your thigh, forgotten for the moment, though you’re achingly aware of it. And Viktor is too. You can feel it in the way his grip tightens in your hair when your nose brushes the base of his spine. In the way he looks over his shoulder, mouth slack, eyes dark with something hungry and unsure all at once.

“Look at you,” he murmurs, a sliver of laughter in it—tender, breathless. “On your knees for me.”

It’s not mocking. It’s not even cocky. If anything, he sounds… grateful. Awed. Like he’s marvelling at you as much as what you’re doing. And you, flushed and panting and so far gone on him it’s disgraceful, bite the inside of your cheek and let your hands roam up his back, steadying him as he begins to tremble in earnest.

“Relax,” you murmur, a smile positively wicked blooming on your lips. “It’s nice, trust me.”

That earns you a shaky breath, then a choked little chuckle. “You are horrible,” he says, and pushes back into your mouth again. “But do not stop.”

He won’t come from this alone, and you know it. Refusing to ease his untouched cock, you hear it slap against his stomach each time his hips roll into your mouth. And for Viktor—oh, were he guaranteed that this sweet torture would remain endless—he’d probably be ready to forsake the feeling of coming altogether.

You place one last kiss on his entrance—tender, a parting promise—and then slowly rise, hands trailing up the back of his thighs, his hips, his waist. He breathes out shakily and turns to look at your glistening mouth, eyes dark and heavy-lidded, his lips already searching for yours.

His arms come to drape around you and the kiss he gives you is slow—unhurried, deep, full of gratitude and something dangerously close to worship. He tastes like breathlessness and want, and when his arms slip around you, he pulls you in until your bodies meet flush. His cock, sticky and blushed, presses insistently against the base of your stomach, nestled next to the firm ridge of yours, and he gasps softly into your mouth as the two rub together.

“Come,” he murmurs, voice low, one hand sliding down to trace the length strapped to your hips. “Bed.”

Before you can tease on how needy he is, Viktor leans into you on the way to the bed, one arm slung around your shoulder, the other braced loosely at your waist, letting his weight drag a little with every step. It’s not weakness—just indulgence. A touch of deliberate drama, maybe. You let him, eating up the way he holds you, like you’re a pillar he trusts not to crumble.

When he sits on the mattress, it’s with a slow exhale, legs parted, back propped on his elbows. His chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm, mouth red and slightly parted, a smear of damp sweat curling the hair at his temples. He’s all flushed skin and brash silence, stretched out like some self-satisfied portrait. His cock rests heavily against his thigh, still slick, twitching slightly as he watches you.

You hum, tilting your head as you drink him in. “You’re so pretty.”

He scoffs, the corners of his mouth curling. “It’s my job to tell you this.”

You reach for the nightstand, fingers curling around the bottle of lube. “Well, why don’t you get on with it then?”

But before you can move back between his legs, he seizes your wrist and pulls you in hard, thighs snapping around your hips as he traps you flush against him. His mouth finds yours in a rush—eager, a little desperate—and he moans against your lips as he grinds up into your stomach.

“You are so fucking pretty I cannot bear it,” he mutters, voice hoarse and aching. “My beautiful girl.” His grip is firm and loving, the kind that says stay. The kind that says please. A hand brushes the hair off your face, gentle, reverent, and you are momentarily rendered stupid, unable to remember who’s in charge.

Then your gaze drops, and you remember. You settle between his legs again, kissing the inside of his thigh as you reach for the bottle. The click of the cap sounds almost obscene in the quiet, broken only by Viktor’s breath. You tip a bit into your palm and rub it between your fingers first, letting it warm, your other hand resting over the jut of his hip.

Schooling your face into something resembling composure, you find it hard to stop the insistent twitch of your palm. Heart pounding in your chest, between your ears—the only thing anchoring you is the sound of air leaving and entering Viktor’s mouth.

His mouth cracks into a shaky smile even as his brows knit together, his whole expression a portrait of disbelief and pleasure. “You’re being too gentle,” he says, voice catching. “It’s unfair.”

“Should I be mean?”

He watches you, hand curling slowly around his cock, just enough to stroke himself through the growing ache. “No. But you don’t have to be so delicate.”

When your fingers trace lower, back to where he’s still soft and sensitive, he gasps, his back arching slightly. You take your time, pressing against his entrance. His stomach flexes, sucks inward with every stroke until finally, you ease one finger inside and pause there, letting him breathe as the tight ring of muscle takes you in.

You glance up at him. He already looks wrecked—blushed and damp and trembling, his abdomen fluttering with each breath. “I’m not sure this is allowed,” you murmur, nodding toward the hand working at his cock.

“Would you look at that,” he pants, mouth twitching. “A little bit of power and already bossing me around.”

“I’ve learned from the best,” you reply, pressing in a little deeper. He groans, hips shifting toward your hand. “How was it?” you continue, in a tone that tries its best to sound teasing, though a needy breath trembles somewhere in the back your throat. “You don’t come unless I’m inside you?”

“Something like that,” he grits out. “Except I don’t recall being quite this cruel about it.”

You laugh softly, leaning in to kiss the top of his thigh. “I’m only doing what I was asked for,” you whisper against his skin. “I live to serve, remember?”

Viktor lifts his hands in mock surrender and places them firmly on the sheets beside him, fingers curling into the linen like he’s bracing for impact. His chest rises with a slow, trembling breath.

“See?” he says, voice warm and hoarse. “I am being good.”

“Oh, are you?” you ask, tone laced with false doubt as you twist your wrist slightly. His legs shift wider in response. “You think this earns you something?”

He tilts his head toward you, hair stuck to his temple, a faint sheen of sweat along his collarbone. “I’m going to need more,” he says, low, raw. “You cannot expect me to behave for this little.”

“You’re terrible at bargaining,” you say, but oblige anyway.

Your fingers retreat briefly, only to return with a second joining the first, the stretch making his body tense and then melt all over again. He moans, soft and ragged, thighs twitching around you as he exhales hard through his nose. “Fuck,” he breathes, “that’s—yes. Just like that.”

You keep the pressure steady, curling your fingers just enough to draw out a strangled sound from deep in his throat. He tries to rock down into it, restrained only by the grip he maintains on the sheets, as if letting go would undo him.

“You’re trying not to move,” you murmur, watching him. “Why?”

“I don’t trust myself,” he pants, eyes barely open, lashes damp. “You’ll mock me.”

You smile, slow and wicked. “Probably. Especially if you come just from my fingers.”

“Wouldn’t that ruin your plans?” he manages, the corner of his mouth twitching into something close to a smirk. But it falters a second later as your fingers stroke just the right spot, and he jerks against the bed, cock twitching on his belly.

“Oh no,” you murmur, breath ghosting his hip as you press a kiss just above it. “I’d love to see it.”

“How perverted,” he says hotly, voice straining around the edges. “What if I beg you to touch me?”

“Begging might get you places,” you reply, dragging your fingers just a little deeper, a little slower. “And I’m speaking from experience.”

Viktor huffs, a laugh or a moan—it’s hard to tell. “Would you like to know why that is?”

You nod, slow and silent, unable to say anything else with your breath caught in your throat.

“Come closer,” he says, propping himself back up on his elbows, eyes gleaming with heat. You lean in, bracing your arm beside his ribs as he curls one hand around the back of your neck. He pulls you in until your mouths nearly brush and then tilts his head, lips skimming the shell of your ear.

“Because there is nothing better,” he whispers, “than hearing you beg for something I’m dying to give you.”

Your breath remains trapped, heart thudding so hard you feel it behind your eyes. But before you can say anything, his mouth finds yours.

“It makes me feel seen like nothing else in this world,” he murmurs against your lips. “ So please, my beloved. Fuck me.”

“Viktor.” It’s all you manage, the word falling out of you, completely stunned.

You retreat slowly, fingers easing out with care, slick sounds swallowed by the silence between your breaths. He shudders beneath you, chest lifting as if to follow your hand. A flush climbs up his throat, eyes lidded and glassy.

You reach for the bottle again and squeeze more lube into your palm, warming it between your fingers as before. He watches the movement like it’s sacred. Like you’re sacred.

You coat yourself thoroughly, breath slowing with the weight of focus, slick pooling warm on your hand as you spread it with care. Then, guiding yourself into place, you line up against him. One palm cradles the bone of his hip, grounding you both, while the other steadies at the base, the head of your cock nudging gently at his entrance.

You pause there, just breathing. Just watching him. Viktor’s thighs tense, the muscles fluttering beneath your touch. His eyes are on yours now, wide and bright, mouth parted around the beginnings of a gasp.

And then you press in—the give is slow, tight, perfect. He sucks air in sharply, his head falling back against the pillows, a wrecked sound pulled straight from his lungs.

“Ah—” His voice falters, body taut for a breathless moment. His hand flies to your forearm simply to hold onto something—someone. You freeze there, barely in, overcome by the heat and pressure of him. He’s trembling and you’re trembling with him.

Your chest aches with how much you feel—how much you want to be careful, want to be good, want to do right by the way he’s opening for you like this. The sheer vulnerability of it has you blinking hard, something heavy and electric pooling low in your belly.

“Is it—” you start to ask, but don’t finish.

“I’m okay,” he says, voice tight against the wall of his throat. His thumb strokes your skin. “It’s just—God—give me a second.”

You nod quickly, staying exactly where you are. Letting him adjust. Letting yourself adjust. All cockiness flees you, replaced by something quieter, heavier. It settles low in your gut and swells in your chest—there’s no better word for it than love, and it rings in your ears like a vow.

Viktor draws a breath through his nose—shaky, but deeper now. When he opens his eyes and finds yours again, there’s no hesitation. “More,” he says. “Please.”

So you give him more.

Another inch. Then another. He gasps, knees drawing in slightly, heels digging into the mattress for purchase. His head tips back against the pillows, mouth slack, eyelids fluttering shut. You watch every shift, every flicker, every tremor. You don't look away, not even when he moans—low and guttural and unguarded. It rolls through him, and he presses the heels of his palms hard into his eyes, arms trembling.

“Viktor?” Your voice barely carries. You pause, hand smoothing over his thigh. “Is it too much?”

He shakes his head, breath catching, too overwhelmed for words. You lean over him, close enough to rest your forehead against the damp skin of his temple.

“You have to tell me,” you whisper. “I can’t feel you the way you feel me.”

He exhales shakily, nodding once. Then—still breathless, still reeling—he manages, “Ha—I bet you wish you could.”

You go still, lips parting in soft surprise. Your brow lifts, eyes wide, caught between awe and a laugh.

“I know,” he groans faintly, like he’s already regretting the joke. His voice breaks around it. “I know.” He swallows hard, and when he speaks again, there’s nothing but raw, naked need in his voice. “Don’t stop. I want you.”

You begin to move only when you’re sure—only when his breath steadies, and he nods faintly into your skin. Each shift of your hips is cautious, shallow. His body yields, warm and trembling beneath you, and you’re aware of every inch of him: the way his thighs tighten around you, the curve of his hands along your spine, the flutter of his pulse where your lips brush his neck.

“God,” you whisper, hardly meaning to speak aloud but can’t help yourself, “you are so pretty like this.”

Viktor exhales a long breath, and his hands find your waist, grip seeping whatever he can’t choke out into your skin. His cock is trapped between your bodies, slick and twitching against your stomach with every draw of air, every subtle motion.

His voice finds you in a ragged whisper. “Please,” he says. “Fuck me, baby.”

The words root you in place. Not with boldness, but something softer. You nod slowly, pressing a kiss just below his ear, and begin again—inching, rocking into him with care and wonder. You listen more than you speak. Each sound from him draws your next motion.

“You’re doing so well,” you murmur eventually, when he’s wrung out beneath you, brows drawn tight with the weight of pleasure. “I hope you know that.”

He doesn’t answer with words—only a breath, nearly a sob, pulled from somewhere deep.

Chest to chest, your foreheads nearly touching. It’s not rhythm that drives you now, but reaction—his body guiding yours, his grip flexing on your hips. You shift one hand to his thigh and squeeze gently, and that’s when he speaks again. Quiet. Defeat admitted. “I think it’s time for me to beg for you to touch me, love.”

“What’s stopping you?” you mutter in his ear, taking that little advantage. And Viktor shudders out a laugh, shaky and breathy but earnest all the same.

“Please,” he hums into your neck, “please, touch me.”

You push yourself up, settling on the balls of your heels. Your temporary cock strains at the new angle, and Viktor’s eyes take a stroll around his skull. He reaches out for your hand in a gesture that would have you melting weren’t you melting already—over the sight of him. His knees relaxed apart, lips outright bitten into ruby, hair wild, strands shaped by dampness of your bodies and eyes nearly entirely vacant, you being the only occupant. Absolute vision.

Your fingers thread with his first and you let them rest there a moment, held between you, heart ticking out of rhythm at the way his grip tightens. The need, both quiet and loud, unspoked by his mouth but thundering in his fingertips, seeps into yours. Then, gently, you draw his hand downward, and Viktor follows, trustful as ever.

You guide him to himself, his hand curling around his cock with yours layered over it. Your touch adds warmth, rhythm. He gasps, his hips twitch, thighs trembling on either side of you.

“That’s it,” you whisper, watching the tension ripple up his abdomen. “Just like that. You are doing great.”

His head tips back, neck long and flushed, lips parted in stunned silence. His other hand fists in the sheets beside him, knuckles bone white until red spills over his skin, right beyond the joints.

You lean in to kiss the inside of his thigh, never breaking pace, your strokes patient and steady. Every flicker of his body draws your attention: the way his legs twitch, the way his belly flutters with each breath, the tremble that grows stronger with every pass of your hand over the head. And suddenly you profoundly believe in every praise he’s ever told you because truly having someone like that beneath you is a sight to behold.

Then you shift, subtly, just enough to press deeper inside him—and that pushes him to the edge, where you either break or fall. He arches once, a ragged, punched-out sound spilling from his chest. Your name, maybe, or just a noise—you can’t tell.

“Please,” he says again, and it’s barely a word now, just a breath catching on the edge of a moan. “Please don’t stop.”

Like you would dare. You stroke him faster, cock so hard you’re certain it borders on hurting. His whole body draws taut, thighs shaking, mouth falling open—and you feel it under your hand, under his, the one giving pulse as Viktor comes hard, spilling between your joined hands, over his belly, ribs jutting out, stomach contracting through the aftershocks.

You ease your pace gradually. Let his hand go slack beneath yours. Let him breathe, let his seed cool and turn thin where it drips from your fingers.

Running a hand down the centre of his navel, you carefully pull out and gasp—not knowing why, only that it’s something you’ve seen him do, every time he retreats and leaves you empty.

When his eyes flutter open again, glossed and wide, you’re already there—by his side, nuzzling his face into your neck, your knuckles brushing damp hair off his forehead.

He’s so utterly spent. Worshipped to the point of being boneless. For a moment, all bravado is lost somewhere between shuddery breaths. Despite the wet evidence of your shared perversion dripping down his stomach, he presses it to yours and kisses your throat with his mouth open, each breath warm against your skin.

“What is it that you usually say?” he mutters, the smile already curling under the words. His tone is teasing, but there’s a layer of exhaustion that makes it softer, naked.

“Thank you,” he says, lips brushing against the curve of your jaw. “Thank you,” he repeats quieter, this time next to your ear, his breath warm and shaky, still trying to catch up with the aftermath.

You laugh softly, pulling his hair back. “Did you like it?” You ask, again—same as he always asks. Not missing a beat.

“Eh, it was alright,” he replies, his lips curling up as he pulls back to look at you, eyes gleaming, but the way his features softened is giving him away.

“I see.” You smile, leaning in just enough to brush your lips against his once more. You’d swat his chest, but somehow don’t have it in you. “No way of fucking that attitude out of you, huh?”

He lets out a soft laugh, shaking his head in mock disapproval. “I can’t say,” he murmurs. “Maybe you have to try again.”

One layer less, you think to yourself. So many more parting you from the core of him—and some part of you doesn’t want to get there. The journey, after all, being the best part of it.

[honeyedmiller]

A Burning Desire part eight

firefighter!joel miller x f!reader

series masterlist

rating: 18+, minors do not interact.

warnings: fluff, vulnerability, shimmer mention!, brief mentions of past verbal abuse, angst, mentions of pregnancy (reader’s sister), extremely inaccurate descriptions of how insurance / payout works (just go with it, it’s fiction lol), smut (fingering, m!oral receiving, masturbation, phone sex), no use of y/n. if there’s anything i missed, please lmk.

word count: 10.6k

synopsis: joel and tommy are sent on a dangerous work trip.

a/n: fuck. thanks for being so patient with me. there’s hints of foreshadowing in this unrevised (sry) monster of a chapter, and the next chapter will be angsty. i hope you enjoy tho. thx for sticking around and reading my silly little story <3

Getting back into the swing of things after the holidays has always deemed itself to be arduous. You’re lucky you work from home, but you’d taken on the responsibility of getting Sarah out of the house in time to drive her to school. It’s not that you mind at all, you just hate getting up out of a warm bed, especially when you have Joel as your own personal furnace now. 

Having two weeks off of said responsibility was nice because you and Sarah got to sleep in and you made her breakfast with hot cocoa nearly every morning before you had to clock in for work. She’d spend most of her break over at her friend’s house or reading a book either in the living room or her room, anyway. 

She has since gone back to school, and having the house to yourself again is still a bit unnerving, which is why it’s nice on days like this where Joel has off from work and can spend some time with you. Even if you’re stuck in your home office on days like today, he checks in on you once in a while to make sure you’re doing okay. 

Today has been particularly hard, only because the client you’re working with is demanding as hell and your boss is jumping down your throat to make sure you appease said client. Your face is buried in your hands as you sit and decompress for a minute, and that’s when Joel decides to check in on you. It’s like the man has spidey senses for when you’re going through it or something. 

“Hey baby, I brought you some—” He stops short when he sees the state you’re currently in. 

“You okay, honeybee?” His voice is gentle and honestly concerned, and your heart melts yet again at how sweet he is. 

“Work’s just stressing me out a bit,” you answer truthfully. You look up at him from your seat as he stands beside you, setting down a small bowl of fruit for you to snack on next to you on the desk. You softly smile at the fruit before looking back up at him. “Thank you, handsome.” 

“Ain’t a thing, baby. ‘M sorry you’re so stressed. Anythin’ I can do to help?” 

He steps behind you now and his large, warm hands land on your shoulders before he begins to massage them. You groan softly and loll your head to the side, rolling your lips into your mouth before shaking your head. 

“Nah. Luckily this is my last day dealing with this client, so it’ll only be for a few more hours. Thank you though, baby. It means a lot.”

You reach up and grab one of his hands, giving it a thoughtful squeeze before you let go to reply to an email your boss sent you. 

“Well what if I told you that I have a date planned for us this weekend?” 

You look up at him with furrowed brows. “Where?” You ask, excitement taking over your body. 

“Well, I know everythin’s been kinda hectic with my accident and me healing, your sister’s news, you movin’ in, the holidays, and Tommy and Maria’s engagement. We’ve been so busy n’ we’ve barely had any time to ourselves outside of the house in a while, so I wanna take you somewhere kinda peaceful.” 

He doesn’t give away too much, but you’re already on board.  

“You’ve got me intrigued. Can’t wait to see what you have up that sleeve of yours.” 

“Good, ‘cus I also bought you a couple ‘a things to go along with this weekend’s date.” 

“Oh?” You give him an incredulous look, but his boyish shit-eating grin is all you need to see to not ask any further questions, no matter how piqued your curiosity is. 

You smile up at him and shake your head, focusing back on your work. You sit in silence for a couple of minutes as he continues to massage your shoulders while you type away. 

“I’m gonna go on a run. I’ll be back in time to fix you up some lunch.” He kisses the top of your head before you look up at him with a small smile. 

“If I wasn’t glued to this desk right now I’d join you,” you laugh. “Be careful out there, baby.” 

“Always am. Maybe I can exercise you in another way later on,” he says, smirking down at you with mischief written all over his face. 

“You’re insatiable, Mr. Miller.” But the idea doesn’t sound half bad. 

He holds his hands up defensively. “Can’t blame a guy for wantin’ to love his lady right, can you?” 

You roll your eyes with a laugh and tug him down gently by his shirt before giving him a lengthy kiss. You release him and pat his abdomen twice. “Have fun on your run, cowboy.” 

-

After a long week, the weekend finally rolled around and Joel still wouldn’t tell you exactly what you two were going to do on your date. 

He just kept reassuring you that you’d love it, and you’ve slowly learned to just go with the flow and not ask anymore questions. 

He insisted you wear a blindfold this time, and made you get into his truck as he took the next few minutes to put whatever it was in the back seat before you both took off. 

You ride passenger for about thirty minutes or so with soft tunes of George Strait playing in the background before you hear gravel crunch under the tires of the truck as Joel turns left. 

“You aren’t exploring a new kink right now, are you?” You snort, turning your head in his general direction. “Blindfolding me like this just to take me in the middle of nowhere and have deliciously rough sex with me and make me fall in love with you even more, hm? Is this your diabolical plan?” You can’t help but wiggle your eyebrows at your own absolute absurdness. 

He chuckles deeply and you can practically feel him rolling his eyes at you as the brakes squeak slightly and the truck comes to a slow stop. It’s silent for a moment before you hear him move, and you feel the heat of his body right next to you. 

“Not today, sweet girl.” The deep raspiness in his voice sends a shiver down your spine. He huffs a laugh before kissing your cheek and taking off your blindfold. 

You blink a few times as your eyes adjust to the light, the sun shining brilliantly on land—lots of it. Something shimmers in the distance, and you realize it’s a creek that runs along a trail that looks like it’s meant for horseback riding. 

Then it clicks. You look at him with pure excitement in your eyes. 

“Are we going horseback riding?” 

He can’t help but grin at the giddiness in your tone. “Yeah baby, we are. Figured we’d eat first, though. Packed us some of our favorites and thought we could make a picnic of it as we sit by the creek.” 

Your heart absolutely flutters and grows ten times fonder for the man in front of you, if that’s even possible. You try to hold back your tears of gratitude, but one can’t help it and slips down your cheek. 

Joel wipes the tear with his thumb as he leans in to kiss your forehead. 

You grab his face gently in your hands before admiring his beautiful brown irises. 

“Oh, Joel,” you choke out, leaning in for a loving kiss. You rest your forehead against his as you sniffle once. “This is so thoughtful. This place is beautiful. Thank you.” 

“‘Course, my honeybee. Life has been too hectic lately n’ I wanted to treat my woman to somethin’ a little more… relaxing.” 

“What a lucky lady she is,” you giggle, smiling against his lips and giving them one more peck before you pull away. He opens his door and hops out of the truck, jogging over to your side to open your door before offering his hand to you. You take his hand and he helps you out, feet hitting the ground with a thud. 

You both gather the stuff for the picnic before making your way over to the creek that was no more than a hundred yards away. 

You set up the blanket on some soft grass as Joel puts the cooler down beside you both, and you sit down across from each other. You admire the atmosphere, with the sun beaming enough to warm you up some and the song of birds chirping in the trees. The sound of water flowing up the creek adds to the blissful ambience, and you sigh in content before noticing a house off in the distance. 

“Does someone live over here?” You ask, stretching your legs in front of you as you lean back on your palms to hold yourself upright. 

“This is actually my uncle’s land. Tommy n’ I grew up playin’ in these fields and this creek. We’d used to help him on the ranch to earn some extra allowance durin’ the summertime when we got older.” 

You imagine a little Joel and Tommy running around in these fields whose grass sways with the gentle breeze—and then you’re picturing kids of your own. Kids that you’d eventually have with Joel. Hearing their little squeals of joy, chasing them around in the soft grass, making new memories for years to come. You imagine Sarah would be the best big sister, despite any age difference they might have. 

“This place is beautiful, Joel. Does your uncle still own the land?” You ask, eyes shifting back to him. 

He nods. “He does, but he’s had to hire help since he’s a bit too old to take care of the place himself. I know for a while he’d been thinkin’ about sellin’ it, but he says there’s just too many fond memories tied to this place.” 

“That’s understandable. I can just imagine a young you and Tommy causing a ruckus around here,” you laugh, and he nudges your leg with his own. 

“Don’t mean our mama and pops didn’t talk some sense into us,” he chuckles, face tilting toward the bright blue sky. 

“Looks like it did you two some good. They’d be proud of you both, I’m sure. Wish I could’ve met them.” You give him a sympathetic smile, and he gives you a small sad one in return. 

“They would’ve absolutely loved you, baby. I can just hear my mama now: ‘Bout damn time you wanna get settled down with someone nice,’” he sighs and reaches for you, and you maneuver yourself onto his lap. You rest your head against his chest as he wraps his arms around you, giving you a small squeeze while kissing your hair. 

“She sounds like a lovely woman,” you say, nuzzling into his strong chest. 

“She was. I’m very lucky to have had parents that gave my brother n’ I a great example of what true love really looks like, whether it was through their relationship with each other or the love they showered us with. I knew even back then that what Sarah’s mom n’ I had wasn’t true love. It was staying together out of convenience because she’d gotten pregnant. I really tried with her, but nothing made her happy. She became verbally abusive toward me after a while, too. It got even worse after Sarah was born. She didn’t want to be a mother. After everythin’ her and I went through, even after she left us, I’m grateful for her bringin’ my daughter into this world. I love my baby girl more than life itself,” he sighs, taking a breath for a minute as he recounts his past. 

“Raisin’ Sarah as a single dad truly was full of trials and tribulations. I did have help from my family, which I’ll always be grateful for, but I was doin’ it all on my own for the most part. Havin’ the odd schedule I have now and makin’ it work around Sarah’s took a long while, but we finally got it down. Nobody had ever wanted to stick around after a night together because they thought that me havin’ a kid was too… complicated. I can understand it from their perspective, but truthfully, nobody ever gave me a chance to get to show them the real me. They just saw me as someone they can check off their bucket list and mess around with because of my job and the uniform I wear. And then you come along, unexpected, knockin’ me off my feet in the best way possible and showin’ me that love is still in the cards for me. You’re it for me, baby. I don’t think I can ever express my gratitude to you for showin’ me what it feels like to be seen and—god—to be loved the way you love me.” 

You soak his words in before wrapping your arms around his torso. You press a kiss to his stubbled jaw, letting him silently know that you’re here for him. 

“Thank you for opening up to me,” you murmur, tracing your fingers over his back in a soothing motion. “I can’t even imagine what that was like. I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that.” Your voice holds a gratefulness and sadness that isn’t missed, and he shakes his head. 

“Thank you for allowin’ me to be my true self, emotions and all,” he says, and you hug him tighter. You recall him telling you that his ex would tell him ‘real men don’t cry’, and your heart hurts for him even more. How could somebody be so cruel to such a loving man? 

He sighs and lays down, sun glistening against his beautiful golden skin. You admire his handsome features and softly smile as you bring a hand down to run through his curls. 

He pops one eye open before giving your wrist a tug, and you land on him with an oof. 

He chuckles and wraps his arms around you, trailing his fingers down so he can put both of his hands in the back pockets of your Wranglers. 

“I love you so much, baby.” His voice is thick and low, causing butterflies to erupt in your stomach. 

“I love you too.” 

The easiness of which the phrase rolls off your tongue is a beautiful thing, you think. You’ve come so far with opening up your heart to Joel, and he, you. You look down at him and savor the way his eyes look like a smooth whiskey in the sunlight, the way the skin around them crinkles when he smiles at you. 

You lean down and finally seal your lips to his, and you feel him fully relax as he moves his hands from your back pockets up to the middle of your back and back down again. You stay like this for a few minutes, enjoying the feeling of each other as the soft breeze causes the grass to rustle and the sound of water and lips smacking is a harmony lost in the wind. 

It isn’t until you hear his stomach rumble that you pull apart from him with a laugh, maneuvering yourself off of him to sit up. 

“Sounds like someone’s hungry,” you tease, reaching for the cooler. 

“I’m hungry alright,” he says, leaning over to capture your lips in yet another searing kiss. 

“I’m serious Joel,” you laugh against his lips. “You gotta eat.” 

He sighs and puts his hands up in defeat. “Fine.”

You nudge him with a grin before opening the cooler, revealing sandwiches, grapes, chips, waters, two soda cans, and… chocolate covered strawberries. You raise an eyebrow at him as he smiles sheepishly at you. 

“Chocolate covered strawberries?” You parrot your thoughts, moving to sit criss-crossed. 

“I know how much you like them so… I made ‘em for you special.” 

If your heart could burst anymore, this man would probably be the end of you with his unconditional love. You don’t know how much more you can possibly handle, even though you know you’re going to spend the rest of your life with him. It’s the little things like this that he goes out of his way to do for you that has never been done by anyone, so getting used to his kind gestures has been a rewarding challenge. 

“Thank you, honey. This is so kind of you.” You lean over to kiss his cheek before handing his food to him, and you both dive into your meals as you enjoy the serenity surrounding you. Then a pressing thought pops into your head. It takes you a few minutes to conjure up the courage to ask Joel the burning question on your mind, but you eventually find the words. 

“Are you serious about wanting kids with me, Joel?” Your voice is soft as you look around again, then meet his gaze. 

He swallows his food before nodding. “I’m one hundred percent serious.” 

Your heart flutters. “You don’t think the age gap between Sarah and her future siblings would be weird?” 

Joel thinks about it for a moment. “No, I wouldn’t say weird. Might just take some time t’get used to. Ever since she was a toddler she’d been beggin’ me to give her a sibling, but I obviously couldn’t do that considerin’ I didn’t have anyone to… procreate with,” he chuckles at the last part. You laugh with him and nod, swallowing the last bite of your sandwich. 

“I couldn’t imagine growing up without my siblings. Even when there were times we all fought, we all still laughed about it later on and got over it quickly. Bless my mom and dad’s hearts, ‘cus I know we were all a handful.” 

You smile as you reminisce growing up with your brothers and sister. You’d want your future kids to have that type of sibling bond, too. 

“I know what you mean. I remember when my mama and pops told me they were havin’ another baby. I was over the moon about it, ‘cus it meant I’d have someone by my side for life. Tommy might be a grade A pain in my ass, but I’m grateful that he and I grew up so close together and stayed that way throughout adulthood.” 

“I think Sarah would be a great big sister,” you say, and Joel sports a proud smile that makes your heart melt. 

“I think so too, baby.” 

“I never thought I’d be talking about having kids with a partner ever again, you know. I’m happy we’re on the same page about this. I think it’s important to discuss this even before we eventually decide to take the next step in our relationship.” 

He nods in agreement as he opens the tupperware that has the chocolate covered strawberries, taking one out before bringing his other hand to coax your mouth open. He offers you a bite of the strawberry, and he finishes off the rest of it after you take your bite. 

“I’m happy too, baby. ‘S good that we can clarify things now. I’ve never been with someone who can communicate with me so easily, so I thank you for that. I really am just a lucky bastard who got hit on at a coffee shop,” he chuckles, shooting you a wink as you laugh. 

“Thanks for taking a chance on me, Miller. Glad I didn’t disappoint.” And with that, you lean in for one last searing kiss before you both finish off the strawberries and dust yourselves off as you take the cooler and blanket back to his truck. 

You’re about to head for the stables in the distance, but Joel stops you. 

“Wait, I have somethin’ for you,” he says, reaching further into his back seat. He pops his Stetson on and you bite your lip before shooting him a look. 

“Haven’t we already established that you in your cowboy hat drives me absolutely wild?” You cross your arms over your chest as you continue to stare at him incredulously.

“Yeah, baby,” he laughs. “But now you get to match me.” 

He pulls out another hat and spins around, plopping it onto your head. Your eyes also drift down as he hands you a shoebox. 

“Joel, oh my– is this–?” You’re at a loss for words, and he sports a smirk on his face. 

“Open the box, sweet girl.” 

You do as you’re told, carefully opening the box to reveal a beautiful pair of brown leather cowgirl boots with white floral stitching across the front. 

“Joel, these are beautiful. Thank you so much.” 

“Ain’t a thing, baby. Try ‘em on.” 

You slip off your sneakers and try on the boots, which fit perfectly. Joel adjusts the hat on your head before giving you his million dollar smile. 

“Beautiful.”

“You think so, cowboy?” 

“Absolutely. And y’know,” he pauses as he slides his hands comfortably on your hips, pulling you flush against his body. “Every cowboy needs his cowgirl.” 

He gives you a twirl before dipping you, leaning down to kiss you before standing you upright. 

You’re all smiles and giggles as you walk hand-in-hand to the stables, where one of the ranch workers greets you both with a smile. 

“Hey Joel, you’ll be ridin’ Stella and Shimmer today,” the man says. Joel gives him a curt nod as the corner of his mouth twitches up into a half smile. 

“Thank you, Drew.” 

Drew tips his hat to you both before walking off to tend to the other animals near the stables, and you turn toward Shimmer as you begin to gently pet her. 

“Hi beautiful girl,” you coo, stroking her snout. She nudges you gently and you grin before glancing at Joel. 

“She likes you,” he says. 

You beam at him before he chuckles and comes behind you, boosting you by your waist as you situate yourself on the saddle on Shimmer’s back. You continue to stroke her mane as you place your feet in the stirrups, grabbing a firm hold of the reins. 

Joel follows suit as he mounts himself onto Stella, and clicks his teeth twice to lead the way out of the stables. Shimmer follows suit, and soon enough, you’re both riding side-by-side on the trail by the creek. 

“Thank you for all of this,” you gesture your hand around you both before grabbing back onto the reins. “It means a lot to me. I had a lot of fun.” 

“Yeah?” He asks, his voice hopeful. 

“Yeah. It’s been absolutely perfect.” 

You take a moment to admire him and how the sun’s golden rays shine on him as it slowly starts to set, casting a beautiful orange and pink glow in lieu of bright blue. He gazes at you with such a softness you’ve never witnessed before, and you think it’s a thing beyond love. Devotion, compassion, protection—all in a single look. 

A look that has taken care of your heart when it was tender and aching, a look that has pumped it full of love again. It’s a look that flips your world around in the best way possible.

It’s a look that could make you cry. It’s funny, because you never used to be so in-tune with your emotions before. Before Joel, a majority of your life with and after Christian had you feeling so numb and devoid of any feelings or emotions. It was draining, and you didn’t think you’d ever be able to feel so lively ever again. 

Well, never say never. 

There are no words to describe the love and gratefulness you feel for this man riding beside you, but you know you’re going to spend the rest of your life proving it to him, even if it’s wordlessly done so. 

-

A few months down the line, the ranch ends up becoming a small escape for you and Joel. When you both had free time, you’d slip away and drive to the open fields to enjoy the calmness of the water under the starry nights, laid up in the bed of his truck on top of a bunch of blankets. 

It’s the only house around for miles, so it’s super private and quiet. It’s like your own little secret with him as you’d lay there, talking about anything and everything—and sometimes leading to more. 

You’re in the middle of more, trying to muffle your moans with Joel’s mouth on yours as his fingers curl inside of you. You’re aching and needy, rocking your hips against his palm so your swollen clit rubs against his flesh. It’s intoxicating, the way his fingers move so perfectly inside of you. 

You gasp against his lips as a dark chuckle rumbles in his chest. 

“Thas’ it. Atta girl, jus’ like that,” he murmurs his praise as you rock your hips so willingly and meet every thrust of his fingers, so close to your release that your whines start to mesh with your panting. “You gonna be a good girl and cum for me?”

You fist his hair between your fingers and smash your lips to his in urgency, crying against him as a wave of toe-curling bliss surges through your veins.

”Oh, fuck!” 

You gush around his fingers and down his wrist, and he lowly hums as your body convulses a few more times, stomach drawing taut as you come down from your high. 

“Make such pretty messes, baby. So fuckin’ beautiful.” He kisses your forehead as he withdraws his fingers slowly, sweeping them over your sensitive clit to spread your arousal before bringing his fingers up to his mouth to suck them clean. You clench around nothing at the sight as your head falls back against the makeshift pillows, gaze bleary as you try and slow your breathing and heart rate by staring at the stars twinkling so brilliantly. 

Joel dips his head down to kiss you, and you tangle your fingers through his curls once more before dragging a hand down his neck, to his chest, and down to the waistband of his sweats. You palm him through the material, arousal blooming in your core once more as you feel how hard he is for you. Feel how much he wants you.

You stop your ministrations for a beat, separating yourself from his lips as you lick the palm of your hand, only to dip it into his sweats and boxers to wrap it around his length. You give him a small squeeze and he groans, eyes fluttering shut as his head tilts back. 

You huff a laugh and lean up to kiss at his thick, warm neck, licking a stripe from his earlobe down to his pulse point. You suck a little on the skin there, loving the way he twitches in your hand. He feels so heavy and warm, and all you want to do in this moment is take care of him the way he deserves—so you do just that. You slide your body down after giving him a kiss, and the dazzling look in his eye is all you need to keep this going. 

You settle your shoulders between his thighs, now face-to-face with his weeping cock. You hum before giving the silky flesh a few more tugs before leaning forward, licking the salty bead of pre cum from his slit. 

“Such a pretty cock,” you praise, rolling your lips into your mouth before you look up at him. He doesn’t say anything, but you can see the flush that has taken over his neck and face in the pale moonlight. His lips are parted and his breathing is a bit ragged, and he’s just waiting for you to pounce. 

Usually, you love to tease him just to see how worked up you can get him, but you’re too impatient and want to hear those delicious moans only reserved for you. 

You lick a long, wet stripe on the underside of his cock before sucking his balls into your mouth, pumping his length as you gently massage him with your tongue. 

“Oh, fuck me,” he groans, hand shooting out to cradle the back of your head. You hum appreciatively around him, pumping him at a steady pace now before moving your mouth up onto his shaft again. You swirl your tongue around his tip a few times before taking him all, feeling his head hit the back of your throat. Tears prick your eyes as you try to swallow around him and refrain from gagging. 

“Holy fuck, baby, you like doin’ this don’t you?” His voice is a deep, raspy mess, and you clench your thighs together at the sound. 

He pulls your mouth off of him, the tip of his cock coating your lips in saliva. 

“Answer me. You like this, huh?” 

Fuck. The possessiveness in his tone makes you want to roll your eyes into the back of your skull as you moan, but you opt for a nod as you rasp out a yes. 

“Look so pretty with my cock down your throat. Can fuckin’ see it when you take all of me.” 

You suck in a sharp breath before your dazed, fucked out mind conjures up the words before you even realize it. “Like this?” 

You lower your mouth back onto him, and he’s spewing a string of groans and curses together, and he eventually moans your name like a prayer on Sunday when you keep deepthroating him like this. You don’t let up, either. You know your throat is going to be absolutely fucking wrecked by the time you’re done, but it doesn’t matter. 

Not when you get to see him like this. 

He sucks in a breath through his teeth as you let up on his length and just focus your tongue and lips on his tip, making his hips buck up involuntarily. His fiery gaze meets yours and you can tell he’s nearly a goner. 

“So…fuckin’...sexy,” he grunts. You grin as you kiss his tip and flutter your eyelashes up at him, taking him in your mouth and down your throat one more time before slowly coming back up, tightening your lips around him. 

“Fuck, baby, ‘m gonna–” 

He doesn’t have time to finish his sentence before he’s coming undone, coating your tongue and throat with his cum. His body shudders as you slide your tongue up from his length. You swallow and wipe the saliva off of your chin with the back of your hand. 

“You really are somethin’ fierce, woman,” he praises. You’re too dazed to respond, so you offer him a grin and a kiss to his thigh. 

Joel tucks himself back into his boxers and pulls his sweats up, pulling your body up to his so you’re cuddled into his side. He pulls a blanket over both your bodies and kisses you, and you nuzzle your head onto his chest. His steady breathing and strong heartbeat is what does you in before you even know it. 

You wake up in a bit of confusion, amidst hearing a constant buzzing noise. You’re still in the back of the truck with Joel, who’s passed out beside you. His breathing is steady and he looks so at peace, so you try not to move around so much before you finally realize that Joel’s phone is ringing. 

You have to dig around a bit to find it before you lift it up and squint against the bright light, only to see he has three missed calls from Tommy. Your heart drops, because Tommy is a huge texter. He only ever calls if something’s really wrong. 

“Joel,” you rasp, throat sore from your earlier escapades. His brow furrows and he softly groans, and you softly tap his shoulder. “Baby, wake up. Tommy keeps calling you.” 

His eyes crack open and he sits up, grabbing the phone from you. He dials Tommy back and presses the phone to his ear, still clearly trying to wake his mind up. 

You can’t ignore the anxious thrum of your heart. You have no idea what it could be about, and Joel’s face reads worry clear as day. You wrap your arm around him and kiss his shoulder in reassurance. 

“Tommy, what’s going on?” Joel asks, and you can faintly hear Tommy’s voice on the other end of the line, but can’t make out the words. 

“Shit, okay. I’ll be back at the house in 30 minutes.” 

Joel hangs up the phone and scrubs his hands over his face before looking down at you. He gives you an apologetic smile before leaning down to kiss your forehead. 

“Sorry honeybee, we have to go back home. Our captain wants everyone at the fire station in an hour. Somethin’ important he needs to tell us all.” 

You furrow your brows and sit up, starting to fold the blankets and pack them away in the cab of the truck. You ride in silence for about fifteen minutes, your hand on Joel’s as his sits comfortably on your thigh. His thumb brushes back and forth in reassurance, but your mind is reeling with possibilities of what could be so important for all of them to know. 

“Do you have any idea what your captain might say?” 

Your voice is soft with a sleepy lull to it, and Joel looks at you for a couple of seconds with a small smile on his lips. 

“No idea, baby. It has to be somethin’ big ‘cus he only calls us in like this if it’s super urgent.” 

You nod in understanding, giving his hand a squeeze of reassurance. You arrive home fifteen minutes later, and Tommy greets you both at the front door. You give Tommy a hi/bye hug and Joel a kiss before they’re out the door and driving down the street. 

You decide to stay in the living room. Watch a movie or something, and wait for them to come back. You settle onto the leather couch, wrapping a blanket around you as you turn the TV on and keep it at a low volume. Exhaustion sweeps through your bones as you lay still. Your eyelids get heavy, and before you even realize it, you’re out cold once again. 

-

The front door unlocking stirs you from your sleep, and the familiar tread of boots is heard walking into the living room. 

“Baby, I’m back,” Joel says. 

You open your eyes and yawn, gaze landing on the clock. Eleven p.m. 

“Hey,” you say, voice timid. “How’d the meeting go? Is everything okay?” 

You sit up, allowing room for Joel to plop down next to you. He spreads his legs and leans his head back against the couch, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“I have to leave. Well, Tommy and I have to go. There’s a huge fire that broke out in San Angelo earlier today and it’s spreading fast. They need all hands on deck.”

You take in the information and furrow your brows, pausing for a beat before speaking. “How long will you be gone for?” 

He moves his hand from the bridge of his nose and looks at you with a sad expression. 

“‘M not sure, sweet girl. Could be for a few days or a few weeks. It really just depends on the conditions of the fire and the surrounding areas.” 

You nod in understanding before grabbing his hand, once again squeezing it in reassurance. 

“When do you and Tommy leave?” 

“Tomorrow morning. Captain told us to rest up as much as possible before we head out. It doesn’t look pretty, and it’s a four hour drive for us.” 

“I think you should go wake Sarah up and tell her,” you say. He nods and kisses your head before he trudges up the stairs. You turn off the TV and follow suit, settling into your side of the bed after you wash up and change into your pajamas. 

Joel comes into the room a few minutes later, closing the door behind him. 

“How is she?” You ask, opening the covers for him. He strips down into just his boxers before climbing into bed with you.

He nods. “She’s okay. Sad that I have to leave, but I told her you’d take real good care of her.” 

You huff a laugh and nod in agreement. “That I will, Mr. Miller.” 

Then realization hits you—since Tommy is leaving, that means Maria will be alone. 

“Are you okay if I invite Maria to stay over here while you guys are gone? I know she can take care of herself, but I’d rather her not be alone for however long.” 

“‘Course, baby. ‘S your home, too.” 

And, it is, which is an aspect you’re still getting used to. 

He settles into you, nuzzling his face into your chest as he inhales deeply. He kisses the skin there once before wrapping his arms around you. You rest your head on top of his, running your fingers through his hair. He falls asleep in a matter of minutes, but you remain wide awake, plagued with the thought of him going out to do his very dangerous job.  

You sigh and scold yourself for even thinking about that, because even just the prospect of telling him to stay is so unbelievably selfish. You’d never actually tell him, of course, but you think it and the thought is all-consuming. 

You just worry, like any partner would, but you worry even more especially after the nasty accident he had. You know he’s been doing this for a long time, but you’ve learned that fires can be unpredictable and life doesn’t deal in absolutes. 

A couple of hours pass and Joel is still sound asleep, meanwhile you haven’t gotten a wink of rest. Your eyes roam to the bedside alarm clock—four fifty in the morning. You sigh softly and get up as carefully as possible, trying not to disturb Joel. 

Since you can’t go to sleep, you decide to use your energy to make Joel and Tommy some lunches and a few batches of your cookies that everyone at the firehouse loves so they have something to snack on while they’re on the road. 

You start with the cookies and make enough dough for at least three batches, trying to stay as quiet as possible. You hand mix everything and put the three baking sheets in the oven, setting a timer on your phone. While the cookies bake, you make both of their lunches and pack them away. 

You can’t stand still and need to keep your hands busy to distract yourself from your looming thoughts, so you go ahead and make a fresh pot of coffee, too. 

You pour yourself a cup and put a dash of creamer in it, taking a sip as you lean over the counter and sigh. You close your eyes and rub your temples in an attempt to ease your mind. 

You hear a door open upstairs and some shuffling down the steps soon after, and a sleepy Sarah emerges. 

She rubs her eyes as she gives you a small smile, making her way to the barstool that’s on the other side of the counter from you. 

“You’re up early,” you muse. 

“Couldn’t stay asleep,” she says, and she looks at the oven as she sees cookies baking. She raises an eyebrow. “I’m assuming you couldn’t sleep at all.” 

“You’ve got that right,” you huff a laugh, taking another sip of your coffee. 

“I don’t want him to go.” 

Her blunt confession takes you aback, but it gives you a bit of comfort knowing you and her are in the same boat. 

“I know, sweetheart.” You reach your hand out to cup hers, running your thumb back and forth over her knuckles. 

“I know he’s doing this for good. I just… I don't want to see him hurt again.”

You nod in understanding. “It’s a catch twenty-two.” 

She sighs, and you round the counter to bring her into a hug. 

“I know it’s not much of a distraction, but how about we go get a pedicure later on? Just to relax a little.” 

She nods against you before leaning back to meet your gaze. “I’d love that.” 

“Great. In the meantime, are you hungry? I can make you some waffles.” 

“Thank you, but I’m not super hungry right now…” she pauses, eyeing the oven. “I’d love one of your cookies, though.” 

You laugh and nod, your phone timer going off at the perfect moment. You take all three sheets out of the oven and set them down on racks, letting them cool down. You serve her one before starting to clean up, and that’s when you hear Joel’s heavy footsteps make their way downstairs. 

“Morning cowboy,” you tease, pouring his cup of coffee as he stares at you two in confusion. 

“Mornin’…you’re both up early.” He makes his way to Sarah and kisses her hair before moving to you, giving you a chaste kiss on the lips. You hand him his cup of coffee and he wraps his arm around you and gives you a gentle squeeze. 

“Thank you,” he murmurs, taking a sip. 

“What time do you and Uncle Tommy need to be at the station?” Sarah asks, biting into her cookie. 

Joel’s eyes glance at the clock on the stove. “Around nine.” 

It’s silent for a moment, and Joel looks back and forth between you both. 

“Y’all still haven’t told me why you’re both up so early.” He raises an eyebrow, looking to you for an answer. 

“Couldn’t sleep,” you shrug. 

“At all?” 

“No. I laid there for a couple of hours before I got up to make you and Tommy some lunch and a few batches of cookies for the crew while you’re on the road.” 

Joel’s eyebrows tug together. He sets his cup of coffee down, circling his arms around your waist. He holds his arm out, silently coaxing Sarah to join in. She hops down from the stool and hugs you both, and you nuzzle into them both. You all stand there for a good minute before Joel is giving you both a squeeze and kisses your heads. 

It’s like the sense of dread and anxiety hung in the air, and he clocked in almost immediately. 

Not much gets past him—you’ll give him that.

“I love you both very much. I’ll be alright,” he says. “I promise to check in every day when I can, okay?” 

His comforting embrace and reassuring words warm your heart. 

You all untangle yourselves from the embrace, and you give him a soft smile. 

“We love you too, Joel. We just worry for your safety.” 

“I know baby, I know. Believe me when I say there’s nothin’ I’d rather do than stay at home with you both, but this is an all hands on deck situation.” 

“We’d never ask you to stay, dad. We know this is part of your job and it’s important that you’re there,” Sarah says, pausing as a tremble overtakes her bottom lip. She wraps her arms around him, voice broken and soft when she speaks next. “Just be careful, okay?” 

You can see a flash of emotion in Joel’s eyes as he hugs her back, leaning his cheek on top of her head. 

“I will, babygirl. I swear to you.” 

-

You’re standing in a small group in the fire station, getting ready to send Joel and Tommy off with the rest of their crew. You’re having a conversation with them two, Maria and Sarah when one of their coworkers—Mark, you think—walks up to you, holding up the bag of cookies. 

“I just have to say thank you for these. They’re the firehouse favorite.” 

You grin and shrug. “Not a problem. Just a small thank you for everything you guys do.” 

He smiles at you and looks at Joel. “She’s a keeper, Miller.” 

Joel wraps his arm around your shoulder and kisses your temple. “I know. I’m a lucky, lucky man.” 

“Alright, it’s time to head out,” their Captain calls. 

You sigh and turn toward Joel. You offer him a small smile as your heart clenches with anxiety, but your expression never wavers. 

Sarah gives Joel a tight hug, expression still a bit sullen. You can tell she’s trying her best to hide it, but it slips through and it’s a look you recognize all too well. You give her shoulders a squeeze of reassurance 

He has that look in his eyes. The one where it’s filled with worry, with anxiousness. The same look that’s probably in yours, too.

You want to lighten the mood, so you tug him flush against your body by pulling the leather strap of his radio holster that sits across his chest. He laughs as his hands land on your waist, and you push your lips to his. 

You separate from him after a few seconds, smiling softly against his lips before you pull apart just enough to see those beautiful, worried brown eyes. 

“Be careful out there, cowboy. I love you.” 

He squeezes your hips. “I will, baby. I love you too.” 

He leans down to give you one more peck on the lips before he moves to say goodbye to Maria. You do the same to Tommy, wrapping your arms around him and giving him a soft little peck on the cheek. 

“Take care of each other, yeah? Life’s a lot more fun when you’re both here with us, unharmed.” You look between Joel and Tommy with a sternness they’ve never seen before. 

Tommy’s eyes crinkle as he smiles at you, his dimple showing up along with a flash of white teeth. 

“You got it, boss.”

He salutes you, and you sidle up beside Sarah and Maria as you wave them both goodbye. They climb into the same truck, and they’re on their way to San Angelo. 

-

Two weeks have passed, and Joel still isn’t home. He keeps his promise on checking in every day when he can, sometimes shorter conversations than others, but you’re grateful nonetheless. 

Today, your siblings all agreed that a lunch was much needed between you four so you could all catch up. It was the perfect distraction, and with Sarah at school and Maria at work, you agree immediately. It’s so odd being in an empty house when you’re not on the clock, and since you’d finished with your clients early, you had the rest of the day to yourself. 

You meet up with them at a local diner, slipping into the booth next to Emily. She has a small belly now, and you lean down to air kiss it before greeting her, Andy and Cole. 

“I’m so glad we got to do this,” Emily says, and you all nod in agreement. 

“I know. It’s been awhile since I’ve harassed you guys,” Andy jokes. You roll your eyes and throw your crumbled up straw wrapper at him. 

“So how goes it?” Cole asks, leaning back in the booth. The young waitress stops by your table to take your orders before collecting the menus, and Emily starts. 

“Things have been great, actually. Baby boy is healthy and Josh got promoted at work.” She runs a hand over her belly, and your eyes light up. 

“I’m so happy for you, Emi. How does Josh like the promotion?” 

“It’s great, really. He gets more time off now, especially to come with me to my appointments, and he got a pretty significant increase in his salary.” 

“That’s so good. I still can’t believe you’re having a kid. My nephew is gonna be a little stud with the coolest uncles,” Andy says. 

“What am I, chopped liver?” You laugh, rolling your eyes. 

“You’re only semi-cool. You’re with a cool guy, though, so I guess that raises your points.” 

“God, you men are so fucking weird with your logic sometimes.”

“Yeah yeah,” Andy waves your words away, before his expression gets a bit more serious. “How is he though? How’s Tommy?” 

“They’re okay. They’re exhausted, though. The fire had spread rapidly because of the winds, and they’re still in the process of containment, but I think it’s almost at one hundred percent.” 

“Fuck. I can’t even imagine. We had a pretty dry winter too, which probably didn’t help much,” Cole says. You shake your head and gnaw on your lip, deciding to change the subject for your own sanity. Emily senses it, because your sister knows you like the back of her hand, and she finds your hand folded in your lap and gives it a reassuring squeeze. You squeeze right back.

“So what’s been going on with you two? Anything new?” You look between your brothers, and the waitress drops off your food before they can say anything. 

Cole’s eyes avert to the basket of fries in front of him, and you raise an eyebrow as you watch him carefully. He finally opens his mouth to speak, but snaps it shut when Andy starts to talk. 

“Not much. Work is good. Can’t complain.” Andy shrugs his shoulders and takes a bite of his burger, and you nod before looking back to Cole. You nudge his foot under the table and his gaze snaps up to yours, and you give him an encouraging smile. 

“That’s good, Andy,” Emily says. 

“I, uh, I met someone,” Cole starts. Everyone’s eyes shift to him, and he sports a small smile. “It’s still pretty new, though, so that’s why I haven’t mentioned it before.” 

“Hell yeah, brother. Happy for you,” Andy claps Cole’s shoulder and he smiles. 

“Where did you meet?” You ask, popping a fry into your mouth. 

“Met her at the bar we went to a few months back. Finally bucked up and asked her on a date a couple of weeks ago, and it’s been going good ever since.” 

Although Cole seems to exude confidence, you know he’s more on the shy side when it comes to romance. You and him have always been the shy kids, while Andrew and Emily were outgoing and bubbly. When Emily first told you to put yourself out there with Joel, the shy shell of a woman you used to be went into fight or flight mode—but she ultimately ended up being right. 

You can hear it now: That’s what big sisters are for.

You’re grateful you and your siblings are all close in age. Although you’ve all fought over stupid, miniscule things that seemed like the whole world when you were younger, you all ended up being very close, which is something you’ll never take for granted. 

“That’s great, Cole. I hope we can meet her when you’re comfortable enough to bring her around our crazy family,” Emily laughs, and you all chime in and chuckle along. 

“I think Josh and Joel can attest to that,” you say. “I told him he could’ve run for the hills before Emi’s wedding, but that man stuck by my side and told me he wanted to meet all of you.” 

“Now that—” Cole swallows his bite of food, “—Is a real man.” 

“And look at how happy he’s made you. I love seeing you together, especially after everything you’ve been through,” Emily says. 

Andy’s face turns sour, frowning at the vague mention of your ex. “If I ever see him in person again I won’t hesitate to deck him in the face.” 

You didn’t have to question who he was. You already knew. “Get in line, Andy. Joel has first dibs.” 

The corner of his mouth lifts up in amusement before he reaches out to you, palm upward, making a ‘give me’ motion with his fingers.

“Give me my ticket.” 

You laugh and push his hand away, and lighter conversation ensues the rest of lunch. 

The waitress drops the check off at the table, and you mumble that you’ll Zelle whoever pays as the other three fight over the check. Your phone rings and you pull it out of your pocket to see who it is.

Your eyebrows furrow as you see your attorney’s name across the screen of your phone. You slide the answer button over and cover your other ear so you can hear him better. 

“Hello?” 

“Hey! Long time no talk. I have some good news,” he says. 

“Hey, yeah, how are you? What’s the news?” 

“I’m good, but even better now—apparently whoever hit you in your accident was some big wig’s kid, and the parents want to pay you out a big amount for your car and, as they said, ‘any emotional damage caused by this accident’.” 

“Oh fuck,” you say. You rub your forehead with your thumb and forefinger. “Sorry, sorry. Uh—how much?” 

In all honesty, you’d sort of forgotten about your accident because so much has happened in your life since that day. You smile fondly at the memory of Joel kissing you in the back of that ambulance, within only hours of knowing each other at that point. 

You had no idea that it would’ve led to this. A good life with an even greater man. 

“They sent out a check to your house, but I think it’s in the hundred thousands range.” 

Your eyes bug out of your head and your jaw drops. 

“I’m sorry, what?” 

Your siblings all look at you in confusion, but you still can’t wipe the look of shock off of your face. 

Your attorney laughs at your initial reaction, but you’re still in utter disbelief. 

You can’t even fathom that kind of money, but you’re sure your attorney is used to those kinds of numbers. 

“Yeah, so keep a lookout for a check in the mail,” he says. 

“Um, yeah, will do. Thanks for giving me a call.” 

“Of course. I’ll touch base with you if anything else comes up.”

You say goodbye and hang up, and you meet your siblings’ gazes. 

And, with a small smile, you pluck the bill from Andy’s hands. “Actually, lunch is on me today.”

-

You almost fall over when you open the envelope with your check in it. 

Half a million dollars. You don’t know who the hell this kid’s parents are, but writing a check for five hundred thousand is fucking insane. 

You stare at the numbers in disbelief as you sit at the edge of the bed, sun casting its brilliant golden glow across the paper in your hands. The paper that reads half a million fucking dollars. It’s like a jackpot lighting up in Vegas or something.

You don’t know how long you stare, but if you did any longer, your eyes would burn holes in the paper. You slide the check back in the envelope and put it in your underwear drawer underneath your sports bras, because you honestly just can’t believe that it’s real. 

And later that night, when Joel FaceTimes everyone to say hi and check in, you don’t say a word about it. 

It’s not that you want to keep it from him, but you have an idea of what you’d like to do with a portion of the money, and you’d rather keep that idea a surprise for the time being. 

You trudge upstairs once more after Maria and Sarah say goodnight to Joel and Tommy, but Joel tells you to stay on the phone. He watches you do your night routine before you slip into an old oversized Texas A&M sweatshirt of his, sliding into bed. 

“I miss my woman somethin’ awful,” his deep voice rings through the phone. You look at the screen and sigh, a small smile settling onto your lips. He looks so exhausted, and all you want is for him to be safe at home again. By your side in bed. 

“I miss you too, handsome. How’s it looking out there?” 

He groans as he settles onto a bed himself folding an arm to lay his hand behind his head. 

“‘S kickin’ our asses. Embers from the original fire sparked a new one. It’s smaller, but these winds ain’t helping a damn thing.” 

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry to hear that,” you say, gnawing on your lip as your eyebrows furrow in worry. “I feel awful that I can’t do anything to help.” 

“There is one thing,” he says. You recognize the tone in his voice—want. 

“What’s on your mind, Mr. Miller?”  

“You wearin’ my old sweatshirt?” He asks. 

You purse your lips and nod, watching how his expression turns lustful and determined in the confines of his temporary bedroom. 

“Wearing it ‘cus it smells like you,” you confess. 

A groan rips from his throat and scrapes low in your belly, and your eyes flutter shut as you feel slick already beginning to pool from the heat between your legs. 

“Are we really gonna do this?” You huff a laugh, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“I was a touch-starved man before I met you, baby. Then you go n’ spoil me with your pretty hands that can’t seem to keep to themselves.” 

“You could always tell me to stop, you know,” you purr. There’s some shuffling on the other end, and you see his heavy lidded eyes gaze at you. 

“I’d be insane to do so, darlin’.” 

“Would you?” 

He moans softly, and you realize he’s probably rubbing himself up. God, you wish that was your hand. 

“Mhm. Love when your hands are all over me, especially wrapped around my dick.” 

You can’t help but giggle, and a ghost of a smile curls at the corner of his lips. 

“Love that sound, too,” he adds. 

“You know what I love?” Your voice is teetering on the edge of a seductive whisper. 

“Hm?” 

“I love when my big, strong hunk of a man makes me feel so loved and protected. Allows me to delve into my femininity. Uses his strong hands and thick fingers to make me see stars.” 

You realize you’re probably babbling at this point, but your words seem to do the job just fine. Joel’s eyebrows pinch together and that all-too familiar muscle in his jaw ticks wildly. 

“Turn the camera around, Joel. Show me.” 

He doesn’t hesitate to flip the camera around to face the impressive outline of his cock in the gray sweats he’s wearing. Your thighs clench together at the sight, imagining what it’d be like to grind on him until he came undone. Hear his moans and strings of curses as he reaches his peak. 

“Fuck, honey,” you whine. 

“This is what you do t’me, baby.”

His voice almost sounds pained, but you know it’s because he’s held in so much tension the past couple of weeks with no way to release it. You’d do anything to distract his mind from the exhaustion he feels and fires at hand, even if it’s for a brief few moments. 

You decide to be a little raunchy, because fuck, you’re already in this position, and you want to be a good distraction—again—even if it’s brief. 

You make a show of yourself sliding your fingers down the valley of your breasts and down your stomach, wasting no time to reach your desired destination. You swipe your middle and ring finger through your slick folds, coating them in your arousal before you bring your fingers up to show the camera—to show Joel—how much he turns you on. 

You separate your fingers, and a string of your slick connects between the two. 

“This is what you do to me.” 

Joel all but growls at the sight, slipping his hand into his sweatpants to grab his aching cock. You can just imagine how warm and heavy it feels in his big palm, and you sigh at the thought. 

“Fuck, baby. Be a good girl n’ touch yourself for me.”

He’s breathless, but the sound sends shockwaves through your body as more slick gushes eagerly from your aching, needy center. 

You slip your two fingers in your mouth, humming around them as you taste the tangy-sweet flavor of yourself. 

“Shit,” he says, a moan scraping from his throat. You grin like the Cheshire Cat before slipping your fingers down again, alternating between rubbing your clit slowly and dipping your fingertips into your cunt. 

You flip the camera around to show him, and it sounds like he nearly whines from the sight. You suck in a breath as you stop teasing yourself, slipping the two fingers fully into yourself. You pump them languidly, and hearing Joel’s ragged breath and gasps on the other end of the line has you writhing. 

“You don’t know how bad I wish these were your fingers and not mine,” you gasp out, grinding your hips up into your palm. 

“Oh don’t worry baby,” he pants, “‘M gonna give you everythin’ you need n’ more when I come back.” 

“That a promise?” 

“Mmm—mhm.” 

He matches the stroke of his cock with the pump of your fingers then. 

“Can’t wait to be buried in that pretty little pussy. Take me so well. Fuckin’ made for me, baby. So fuckin’ tight n’ warm. ‘S like a dream,” he babbles, and you have to bite down on the collar of the sweatshirt to keep a moan ripping from your throat.

”Need your mouth all over me too, Joel,” you cry, “Love it when you let me cum by your tongue.” 

“Yeah? Next time I’ll have you usin’ my face as a fuckin’ seat. Hold you down so you have no choice but to cum in my mouth over n’ over again.” 

“Oh, god.” 

“You like that, huh? The thought of fuckin’ my face to get you off?” 

The words die on your tongue as you try to speak, but the pleasure that was once a low burn in your belly is now its own full-fledged sun. It’s so white hot and you’re on the edge, gripping the phone in your hand for dear life. 

“Answer me,” he growls. 

“Fuck, yes! Yes yes yes,” you whisper-cry, and you’re unraveling before him on camera. You soak your hand and undoubtedly the sheets beneath you, but that’s a tomorrow problem. Your body convulses a few times and you moan as you see the white spurts of cum land on his stomach. He moans your name like a prayer on Sunday, and it makes you shiver with seemingly untamable arousal. 

He breathes heavily before grabbing a tissue to clean himself up, tucking himself back into his sweats before he flips the camera back around to his face. 

His cheeks and neck are flushed, and you can see the sweat on his forehead as he tries to steady out his breathing. You stretch and roll over on your side, laying your head on his pillow to inhale his scent. 

“I love you, my honeybee.”

You smile at the nickname and yawn, stretching your limbs one more time before curling in on yourself. 

“I love you too, cowboy. I can’t wait ‘til you’re next to me in bed again.” 

“I can’t wait either, darlin’. I hope this is all over with soon n’ I can love on you the way you deserve.” 

You grin sleepily at his words, post-coital drowsiness wrapping around your body like a weighted blanket. 

“Stay safe out there.” 

“I will. I promise.” 

And you’re fast asleep soon after you hang up. You dream blissfully of life with Joel in the fields by the ranch, of your future with him, of the memories you’ve yet to create. 

You dream of Joel happy and safe, not an ounce of the beautiful man troubled. 

But this is real life. This isn’t a fantasy where you can wish good things for people and it just magically happens at the snap of a finger, a rub of a lamp. 

His resolve was slowly crumbling. The weight of the world was sitting steady on his shoulders, breaking him down piece by piece. 

Each broken fragment of him, scattered and fragile, lay in your hands—

and this time, it was up to you to put him back together.

taglist: @raspberrybesitos ; @nostalxgic ; @endlessthxxghts ; @punkshort ; @clawdee

@pascalpvnk ; @bensonispunk ; @merz-8 ; @darkblue-tennesseee ; @typewriter83

@lizzie-cakes ; @sawymredfox ; @keylimebeag ; @nandan11 ; @pedropascalsbbg

@pimosworld ; @yxtkiwiyxt ; @anoverwhelmingdin ; @kikaaauu ; @buckyispunk

@untamedheart81 ; @picketniffler ; @fluffygoffpanda ; @paleidiot ; @survivingandenduring

@party-hearses ; @pedrospatch ; @harriedandharassed ; @brittmb115 ; @sunnytuliptime

@frodofreakingbaggins ; @aceaubrianna ; @tangled-tumbler-blog-blog ; @bunniboo0015 ; @aerihina

@pedritospunk ; @ro-nahime-things ; @ananonymousaffair ; @just-mj-or-not ; @melsunshine

if you'd like to be added / removed from the taglist, please let me know!

divider by @saradika-graphics

[lennythereviewer]

Theory: Jax is NOT a self-aware NPC nor is he actually trapped in the circus: He's a hacker who can leave at any time.

Even what little we got in terms of Jax content in episode 3 has been reinforcing a belief I've had for awhile, and in fact Jax's brief standout moment in ep 3 added a new wrinkle to my thought: That he's not some NPC who gained sentience and slipped in with the humans, he's actually a hacker who backdoored his way into the Digital Circus, and he's not trapped there.

Jax seems to have an affinity for keys and getting into places he shouldn't belong. Twice now he's done this thing of spinning a key on his finger while boasting about it. He mentions in episode 1 that "I got keys to everywhere" and in episode 2 he swiped the key to the kingdom from Ragatha, and the candy monster calls him a "Master of Unlocking Things" which I think could be genuinely some subtle foreshadowing. A hacker would potentially be able to do something like clip out of bounds, find security keys, crack passwords, and so on and so forth. All he's done with this however is seemingly just pull pranks and leave things in peoples rooms; he's a troll.

We've all speculated about the mysterious pin-back covers: The official pin merch line showing everyone's rooms except for Jaxs, which only shows his door and peeks of The Void tearing through the wall. We're not privvy to what's in Jaxs room if he even has one at all. His room door might actually be his own sort of exit door since he's not trapped. For him it's like loading into a VRChat server and he can log off any time he wants, he's just always sure to be there when everyone else is active so no one notices.

A small stupid thing but, "Jax" is not too far off from "Hax"

Okay, so if Jax is a hacker who can come and go as he pleases, a question is why? Why does he keep coming back to torment everyone around him? His brief gag in Episode 3 I think filled in the blanks for that: He's not just a hacker, he's a streamer and he's broadcasting everything that's happening in the Digital Circus to a watching audience.

He's the one character who has consistently broken the fourth wall in all three episodes so far, the first two episodes were him mugging to the camera and giving comical shrugs and knowing glances to the viewer, but in this episode he outright addresses the audience while seemingly talking to no one to the POV of the other circus members. He's acknowledging his chat. Plus in merch promotion Jax has openly acknowledged his IRL popularity, another form of fourth-wall-breaking.

This may also explain his overall behavior; the reason he's always causing problems on purpose or forcing the group to go on the most dangerous path or take the most 'exciting' option in their adventures: It makes for a good show. Audiences don't want some stupid silly candyland fantasy! They want car chases and explosions! They want to see what wacky things happen to the other circus members! The show must go on! Jax is chasing content, and when he can't get that content it upsets him like the end of Episode 2. Maybe that ties into his self-worth, maybe he needs that sort of validation from his chat and audience.

This angle also adds a bit of a meta angle to the entire series: We the viewer also tune in to watch our favorite circus buddies suffer through whatever zany adventure Caine cooked up. Are we any better than Jax's livestream audience who tune in to see how they're tormented by Caine this week? Heck maybe in-universe we're the audience Jax is playing to! We too want to see them sweat and suffer to get that sweet character growth so are we part of the problem?

Time will tell whether this comes to pass and whether or not I'm overthinking this, but I've had this thought for awhile and only after this episode did the livestreamer angle come to mind.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

People get excited about the wedding in the new event, but I doubt that it really is a wedding. I think it's probably a festival in honour of Ariel's and Eric's wedding a long, long time ago. Do you also think this is a possibilty or that they won't bait the fans like that?

[Referencing this post and the April 2025 JP schedule!]

I believe a lot of people immediately think “wedding” because of the suits, background decorations, and flower petals being scattered. They’re all things typically associated with weddings, and weddings themselves are far more universal than holidays celebrating certain weddings. Our brains will naturally jump to whatever is the easiest conclusion and most frequent happening.

I also think part of it is that the fandom itself is comprised of many yume/self-shippers. They may be excited imagining themselves in a wedding scenario with or attending a wedding as the date of one of the event boys. When emotions run high, the tendency is to focus on one thing rather than considering other possibilities (such as the event not actually being a wedding). I think we had a similar response to Ghost Marriage’s initial announcement (which was before we knew the synopsis details about Idia being kidnapped and us having to stop his forced wedding rather than being the one wooed).

Anyway, I previously proposed the idea of the new hometown event celebrating the mermaid princess and a prince from the Sunshine Lands’ marriage here. I definitely think it’s a possibility, especially seeing as the NRC students themselves wouldn’t be getting married, and there haven’t been mentions of any relatives of theirs being engaged. (They tend to foreshadow familial circumstances way in advance.) The union of the two also has significant historical significance, so I can see it being important. and worthy of being worthy of celebration. Maybe their anniversary is considered a national holiday celebrating merfolk-human relations and they have traditions that are very similar to what we typically think of as a beachside wedding.

Now that I think about it 🤔 if the boys are going to an actual wedding, I find it strange that Jade (whom I assume is a guest) is just allowed to bring 5 classmates (Malleus, Riddle, Rook, Yuu, and Grim) with him??? Normally wouldn’t the guest list be determined by the bride and groom…? I don’t think they’d want kids they don’t know coming on their special day (and seemingly three of them promoted to being flower boys?). So in this way, it makes more sense that the trip is for a holiday and not a real wedding ceremony.

Anyway 😅 I’m sure we’ll find out when the event is a little closer! Speculating in the meantime doesn’t hurt though.

[linkons-most-wanted]

Death and Rebirth chaotic thoughts!

Spoilers below the cut. Hopefully mobile Tumblr won't troll anyone.

SPOILERS BELOW HERE

I will be doing more structured things with these thoughts but I gotta ramble now that I've finished the new main story content! Still drooling at the event tho, we're gonna get even more little reveals I'm sure...

In no particular order:

We got explicit confirmation that Philos's iterations in the myths are parallel potential versions of the same planet! In a GORGEOUS cinematic, at that. I think I might have to screen cap that so I can attach it to a post where I talk about Philos lore. We also know that every version of Philos eventually dies (as all planets do). This actually also creates the possibility that not all versions of Philos started as Earth--that's actually only referenced in Xavier's Where Shooting Stars Fall anecdote, and we see graphics of other versions of Philos that are whole planets (not with the shattered plates) covered in sad (as in Rafayel's Philos myth) or fire (as in Beyond Cloudfall). It also means that Earth can have futures in which it doesn't become Philos--like Dawnbreaker's future. It's maybe a little anticlimactic that they're all parallel? But at the same time a relief to my lore brain because it means I can stop looking for clues about how they're supposed to reconcile. Head-canon wise I still like the idea of certain overlaps between the various timelines, such as Xavier and Sylus recognizing some of the same Philosian tech.

EVER CAUSED THE CHRONORIFT CATASTROPHE BY FUCKING WITH MC, I am SO proud of myself for piecing this together before from the timing, and I even have receipts! I had my suspicions that she was "created" rather than born (since she's elsewhere described as being born from the planet's core) so getting the confirmation that she's "from Deepspace" is extremely exciting.

And on that note, SYLUS SAVED BABY MC. 😭 I am going to be chewing on the bars of my enclosure for more details about that in the event, I hope we get more tidbits... if not you can count on me for a Sylus PoV with head canon to fill it all in 😂 I think what I'm gonna do is add alt chapters to Cosmic Interlude so the current chapters will still be there, but there'll be alternate/additional chapters with the updated canon. My secondary goal with Cosmic Interlude was always to provide a streamlined/clarified version of what we know from canon (partly so I can keep it straight myself) so I def want it to be able to still do that. Folks can then skip the "old" chapters if they want, or read them all for ideas on different ways things could have gone (and we know this game loves branching timelines). And speaking of timelines...

We get an even more primordial origin story for Sylus x MC???? 🥹 Two cosmic beings, forced together because only they could match the other's strength, destined for one to kill the other, but they escape and reshape the destiny of the entire universe 🥹🥹🥹 I'm sure it's partly my bias but Sylus backstory just hits different. I wonder if we'll get a myth from that setting!!???

And that makes me wonder--how does Sylus know about this past life? Did he fall to Philos like a shooting star and wind up amongst the dragons? Did their consciousness energy disperse into the cosmos, and then manifest again on that version of Philos and he's managed to maintain one stream of consciousness since then? If so, when did those memories return to him? Perhaps in dreams, perhaps in the Deepspace Tunnel... so many yummy options... Speaking of delicious, the way he knew RIGHT AWAY that she'd "eaten" the spatium core, and how tempting it must smell... 😋 there will be smut about it.

Switching gears to Zayne, my poor baby. He's going THROUGH IT. And we are finally getting some reveals to all these things that have been foreshadowed. I saw some people expressing confusion that "Dawnbreaker" doesn't remember MC, but I think it's important to realize that the "Dawnbreaker" that manifests isn't necessarily the same one we see in the Anecdotes--Zayne's whole thing is "yin and yang", so I think we're seeing a more "primordial" Dawnbreaker, the ur-yin of Zayne, if you will. The inevitability of death given physical form. The Still in Dark anecdote demonstrates that even this side of Zayne is capable of compassion--through accessing the "energy" of Dr Zayne's yang. Likewise, Dr Zayne is capable of cold utilitarianism through the "energy" of Dawnbreaker's yin. I'm sure we'll get lots of layers here, my gut says trust the writers.

Also, I'm pretty sure we did not successfully destroy the energy core?? I'll look extra carefully when I go through and annotate everything (the results of which will land here) but I do believe that core remains a loose thread, though the press conference was still successfully delayed.

Zayne attempting to disappear at the end is SO him (they have made this a pillar of his personality to the point that it was a key event in the Tomorrow's Catch 22 AU, even) and also so infuriating. I'm so glad we found him before they closed out the chapter, even if it ended on a tense note! I'd say odds are very high we'll get something at the start of the next main story content (whenever that happens) that's like "Zayne was kind of distant and then after his leave he returned to the hospital as if nothing had happened" since episodic universes like this one need that kind of reset. But we'll see.

The reveal that Benedict is basically a shapeshifting Wanderer is FASCINATING, and I think it's implied he was originally "created" at Mt Eternal? Is he the Wanderer that Zayne kept going back to re-freeze, maybe? (as we saw in Snowy Serenity) And now he's escaped? That could explain why Zayne didn't immediately recognize him and how he knew about William. I also think it's interesting how Benedict said, of killing William, "Even I would have hesitated" and we know that Zayne actually did hesitate. So I think we see how easily provoked Zayne's guilt is here--and/or the implication that Zayne was indeed "possessed" by Dawnbreaker in order to kill William, as some have suggested.

I'm also glad we FINALLY have clarity that Zayne was 12 during the Chronorift Catastrophe and those events happened after he met MC, because there's a few errors in his timeline that made it hard for me to pin down whether his dreams began during the catastrophe or whether they were prophetic. I think we'll get a bit more clarity in the event content, too.

I'm also really going to be chewing on the part where he ended up needing to restrain MC (other than that it's hot, okay, idk, it's the second time the Zayne writers have tied someone up and injected them and we're into it) because she was "too strong"--I'm really curious how this manifested, and whether it contributed to that flicker of murderous intent from Dawnbreaker later. The natural assumption is to assume she was just sort of mindlessly flailing to escape--but what if what she experienced as unconsciousness was something more akin to possession? Or her new powers spiraling out of control like Zayne's Evol does? Aaaaah I want answerssss

Last thoughts for now are that I find the contrast between Sylus and Zayne so interesting, especially since they're my two favorite LIs. Sylus is a creature who defies fate, whereas Zayne is bound by it. Sylus's desires influence him (as when he needs to distract himself from the smell of the spatium core from MC) but do not control him. Whereas as Zayne tries desperately to keep everything under control, those desires inevitably end up controlling him. More of the conflict in Sylus's chapters is external (things he and MC need to react to) whereas more of the conflict in Zayne's chapter is internal (decisions he has to make, concerns about his state/motives, etc).

The actual last thing I'll add her (if you read this far, ilu) is that I'll continue updating my lore project GitHub with all the new content. If you've got even a small amount of coding experience, you should find GitHub desktop and Obsidian pretty approachable if you want to explore the project with all the links intact! So so so so so much was foreshadowed and I'm going to be geeking out going through all of it. I'll probably also post some summaries to this blog as well!

[thunderstomm]

Is “Prime Meridian Love” Forshadowing for “Battle of the Big Wand”?

With the most recent episodes of “Fairly OddParents: A New Wish” airing, everyone, myself included, is buzzing over what’s going to happen in the big season finale, what exactly is going to happen, and what’s the future state of Hazel and Dev’s friendship? There are many theories going around, but I want to pitch my own!

“Prime Meridian Love: Romance Cruise Ultra” is foreshadowing towards Hazel and Dev’s conflict and plot. Obviously, the show has drawn us a parallel here before, Duckworth looks like Dev. But rewatching the episode “Prime Meridian Love”, along with the context from new episodes and the description for the finale has me thinking that we may already know what’s to come.

Read the rest under the cut ! This post includes the episode description for “Battle for the Big Wand”, so if you want to go into that episode blind, don’t read further !

Starting with the most basic- Duckworth and Kennueth are stand-ins for Dev and Hazel. Duckworth is literally designed to look like Dev, and while less obvious, Kennueth seems to share a basic colour palette with Hazel, his skin and amulet being the colours of her shirt. There’s also the fact that Duckworth and Kennueth are described as “rivals”, and Hazel calls Dev her own rival.

This is where the backstory / history between Duckworth and Kennueth becomes relevant. The amulets are the one thing they share, and what’s something magical that Hazel and Dev have in common? Fairies!

The story goes that Kennueth and Duckworth were once friends, their friendship cemented by what bound them together. But Duckworth became jealous of Kennueth once he got promoted to captain. Sounds familiar? Hazel and Dev became friends, and shared the secret of having fairy godparents. They fell out over Dev’s jealously of Hazel, and that his dad seemed to care more about her, even if in an unconventional way.

Duckworth retalliates by stealing the magical pearl from the ancient sea temple, hoping for the power to overthrow Kennueth. Which brings me to my theory about the series finale, “Battle of the Big Wand”. Teaming up with Irep, I think Dev’s jealousy of Hazel having his father’s attention, as well as having two fairies while he only has one, will motivate him to steal the titular “Big Wand” during the takeover of Fairy World, hoping that it can grant him unlimited power, in his fleeting pursuit of satisfaction.

While the story of “Prime Meridian Love: Romance Cruise Ultra” goes on to say that this event cements their rivalry, the episode has Hazel and Kennueth stop Dev, and Hazel encourages Kennueth to re-write the story, and make things right with him, which he does !

I think the finale will follow one of these two beats. Hazel, Cosmo, Wanda, possibly Jorgen and Peri, and maybe even the citizens of Fairy World will all help to stop Dev and Irep, and we’ll either see Hazel and Dev’s bond cemented as a rivalry, or we will see Hazel reflect on the situation, and write her own story, and actually TALK to Dev about what has been going on. Personally, I would much prefer the latter. Dev is still a kid, and he’s a product of his environment. He deserves a chance to change and grow, and have good people by his side who actually care about him, to help him do so.

The only thing that I’m still unsure about is how Hazel’s rule free wish will tie into this all, but I do think she will use it like many of her other wishes, and do so selflessly.

What do you all think of this theory? I’m so excited (and nervous) for the big finale next week !!

[mohntilyet]

literally cannot remember if this is already a post you made but do u think about if illario was a companion character and lucanis wasnt (maybe still rescued from the ossuary, maybe not). would he even be a viable companion character. etc.

i think i've mentioned it in tags but god yeah i've been thinking about companion illario. through bias and visions i think he could have made a really great companion!!!! i just don’t think we had enough who lie to/betray you in veilguard and i was like illario would love to do this <3 or at least TRY to do this and find that he can’t, because the betrayal-according-to-approval mechanic would return in this concept. this assumes a lot of things that i consider to be canon, including that illario’s a genuinely good assassin (YMMV on this i think. i look upon him with rose tinted glasses) but we’re introduced to illario as the second-best option who accompanied lucanis on various mage-killing quests.

he’s recruited in minrathous and not treviso because he’s been killing venatori like a man crazed. i forget who made the post but the one about how veilguard recruitment quests feel forced because you are recruiting, when stumbling on the right people could have felt more organic and a lot less formulated. he’s been operating in minrathous as the ‘demon of vyrantium’, which he admits to rook that he’s not the original. the original was lucanis, who was captured and killed by the venatori, and in his grief, has been trying to kill the magister (zara) that killed his cousin. he’s actually very nice and fun for an assassin, but players get the feeling that the charm is practiced, and there are glimpses into the “something rotten” under the surface.

what the players also do not know is that his hatred for the venatori is definitely projecting his guilt, because even in this au, illario is the guy who originally betrayed his brother and his complexes (slash pos slash hot slash i often picture him on his knees) remain. anyways. plot breakdown under the cut because its so fucking long and please take with a grain of salt because this was workshopped on a call with fie, who ‘yes and’s everything i say, so it might not be the greatest plot ever. nor very coherent. however, this is my blog and i can say whatever i want

act one recruitment: hunting down and killing zara. there’s foreshadowing here or something where she definitely recognises him and the facial animation leans towards “betrayal”. like zara saying “you?” in a way that can be mistaken for fear, when it’s recognition and betrayal + illario killing her before she can reveal anything else. they find evidence that lucanis is still alive and you see how excited he is, but also very conflicted. illario finally returns to treviso, and you immediately see the favoritism when he informs caterina that lucanis could still be out there. caterina delights in the idea of her favorite weapon back in her possession, and illario swears to bring him back.

in between: there’s a venatori leak! the magisters send some back up to weisshaupt which makes things a lot harder for the veilguard (miniboss before ghil?), and it contributes to failing to strike at ghilanain. but who could it be? everyone is a bit wary of each other, and causes friction.

act two: the ossuary <3 inexplicably, illario has found where lucanis is. the veilguard fights their way in and out, escaping with lucanis and destroying the vial of blood. they also find out lucanis is possessed, and when they return to treviso, after the shock and relief leaves, there’s a gleam in caterina’s eyes. illario is moved up in line of succession because caterina can’t see an abomination becoming talon (canon not discussing that he’s fucking possessed pisses me off so bad btw), and she’s obviously envisioning a world where lucanis’ leash is passed onto the grandson she’d seen as lesser, but has recently proved himself better than she had previously judged. suddenly, illario has everything he’s ever wanted, but not in the way he’s wanted it. he’s never wanted to necessarily be greater than, and doesn’t want to lose him. illario is very uncomfortable about becoming a new caterina to lucanis, but can’t express himself or explain it because he’s deeply repressed and he’s trying to be happy because, isn’t this what he wants?

in between: illario’s acting super weird. a high approval illario is a lot more awkward and doesn’t seem to know what to say, which is a first for him. he’s obviously putting on a brave/pretty face on, and hesitates to say something— but finally just thanks rook for helping him get lucanis back. a low approval illario is actually much happier, smiling and laughing and delighted by the way things have gone, with rook/the player none the wiser about what’s happened. (kind of like… bull’s reaction to the chargers in the dreadnought quest being positive either way, but the repercussions come later)

if you are in a romance, a low approval illario will trigger a sex scene, a high approval illario does the dellamorte branded “lean in for a kiss but he can’t bring himself to actually follow through and leaves rook awkwardly”. the differences in reaction would ideally confuse and interest players :)

act three: hinges on approval rating. illario plotted to trade rook’s life for lucanis’. the venatori at weisshaupt was supposed to be their shot to kill them, but failed to do so, and now they’re forcing him to make good on his deal. there’s a cutscene where the party is led into a trap and a high ranking venatori magister— the one who actually experimented on lucanis (because zara is like a middle man. she wants the blood but isn’t the evil mage scientist who did all the experiments)— shows himself and reveals everything illario has done. he was the one behind lucanis’ initial ‘death’. how the venatori leak was him. illario is desperately trying to keep the venatori’s mouth shut, but the magister is tricking him with magic as he tries harder and harder to keep his cover. a fun, trippy kind of sequence where there are illusions and mindfucky magic as illario stabs at the magister and finds out he’s attacking air, and the party keeps getting attacked with magic that they can’t figure out is real or not until it hits them, in this hall of mirrors type freakshow. it splits into two different paths:

low approval: the deal to save lucanis over rook was made early on, and nothing they have done has made illario think differently. he’s scripted to be more defensive and try to stop the magister from speaking, ignoring the party and thinking only about how he can keep his secrets but failing to. he’s angry that his plans have fallen down around him, and attacks both the party and venatori, determined to keep his failures from reaching anyone else (god forbid it reach caterina). the party are forced to kill him when he turns on them, willing to work with the venatori to keep the power he has before it slips away from him again.

high approval: everything they have done has made illario think differently and he’s spent ages regretting and trying to find a way out of the deal (see: the distress he feels right after becoming first talon, interesting codexes, etc). he’s scripted to defend rook from magic, at cost to himself, physically protecting his friends/rook from the magister and getting in the way of spells. he admits what he’s done and pleads with them to help him, despite having no reason to trust him. after the party fights the magister off together, illario begs for forgiveness, explaining himself, how regret couldn’t make up for what he’s done but he’s still tried to change things, change himself. but how could you ignore the feeling that, as with everything else in his life, that this is another lie? you get the choice to trust him and forgive him, or kill him for betraying the veilguard. i think this can hit harder if he’s romanced and you forgive him. the image of him pleading literally on his knees is about to get me to black out, followed by a rook who gets down on the ground and lowers themselves to his level just to kiss him before pulling them both up onto their feet again…. its like a ‘i fear to stain your hands with blood’ moment <3

completed companion quest: faced with compassion that he’s basically never extended to anyone, illario is inspired. he admits this guilt to lucanis, wanting to make him talon and leave everything behind, and while lucanis initially is obviously both angry and distressed, he later seeks out illario by himself, and their reconciliation happens off screen. i’d love for rook to be there so i could this but i honestly do not think its their place like can we leave the dellamortes to do this by themselves. in private its just a very “you went through hell to get me back. i think i need to give you a chance” + a slow rebuilding of the trust they had. and also lucanis has not even gotten the same outside support system as illario has taken his place and i think it’s good to note that. well. illario is about the most positive his relationships get and the only other person he would potentially have is caterina, who is also a more intense and outwardly scheming in this au. so not to be like “lucanis has no choice” but he kinda has no choice LOL. the point is: lucanis decides to protect him, and says that this betrayal is something they have to keep secret together as long as it safeguards illario, which safeguards himself. like what would the crows think of 1) illario trying to usurp power using an outside source (infighting/betrayal is okay. bringing a third party into crow business is not), 2) illario losing the idgaf war and desperately bringing lucanis back, 3) lucanis being possessed, 4) lucanis forgiving illario despite it all because they’re so codependent they can’t even bring themselves to leave the other. house dellamorte so weak that they can’t snuff out the weakness in each other? oh fucking brother. they can’t let anyone know how dire this situation is, and need to present a united front. also the terrible fact that they love each other deeply remains. mentioned in banter probably? eg:

“So… what do the Crows think?” // “The Crows don’t know.” // “…What? But your brother, and you—“ // “Are keeping it to ourselves. We’ve discussed this. House Dellamorte can’t afford to look divided, not right now.” // “So, what, he just forgave you?! You’re moving on? From trying to kill him?” // “'Forgave' is such a strong word, but maybe someday, yes. And we’re not just family, we’re Antivan Crows. You should know by now that we’re odd like this.”

“Illario. How long do you think you can keep that secret?” // “Considering only us, Lucanis and I know about it, hopefully forever. He insists that no one else has to know. Or should I be afraid that you’re going to go tell on me?” // “No! It’s just… Lucanis doesn’t, I don’t know, want vengeance?” // “Ha! He is the vengeancey one. But no. No, he’s… between the two of us, he’s always been the good one.” // “Lucky you.”

i also picture a lot of post revelations blackwall type banters and maybe something like davrin going “I have to believe you can be better, that you’ve changed. Half the Wardens are like that.” and once again i have to grieve varric because if there’s anyone that would understand lying their ass off and having mixed feelings about their brother, IT’S HIM LOOLLL. i think harding would treat him quite harshly, and neve loses a lot of respect because why would you ever even think about working with the venatori. but there’s a recognition over how he’s changed for the better. i think bellara is the surprise sympathiser, with everything she feels about cyrian. (“For a second, listening to Anaris to be with my brother again was worth it. So… yeah. I get it.” // “You weren’t foolish enough to fall for it. I did.” // “But you’re fixing it, aren’t you?” // “I’m trying.” // “Cyrian tried too. And if I can still forgive him, I can forgive you too.” // “…Thank you.” )

i also think a serious talk about being talon happens, where lucanis doesn't think he should be talon (possessed so his self worth is at an all time low. and also he's always thought illario should be talon anyway) and asks illario to keep the title. which is... weird because suddenly illario realises he doesn't necessarily want to be talon anymore. sure he can, sure he finally has caterina's approval, but he's got a new chance in life and he's not sure he wants to spend his life running an organisation that doesn't even care about him, would betray him first chance they got and remind him of the way he used to be, or see who he is the way the veilguard/lucanis has. his bitterness towards caterina also trumps his envy of lucanis, and the idea of lucanis resenting him as much as he resents caterina is something he'd like to avoid, which is another reason he's uncomfortable with being expected to tug at the leash. indecisive, illario can't quite fully commit himself to the crows, but is nervous about what leaving them would mean.

endgame: he would take lucanis’ place as a magekiller in this ofc, so he’s the guy killing ghil, and (for now….) first talon leading the crows to fight in minrathous (illario: “one of us should probably say something. remind the crows in whose name this fight is to be fought. we are emotional beings after all, and rhetoric is the fuel that feeds the fire—“ viago: “maker’s sake just give your speech”) i’ve also implied romance throughout this ask while not discussing it properly (ask me about it later. i need time to think on the whole romance arc and beats i know it exists but i refuse to give out half baked illario thoughts.) and i think the endgame post-fade prison talk would be very sweet and so intensely genuine/sincere and illario’s half struggling with being this truthful but pushes through because he wants to say “i love you” and really mean it. almost losing rook has put his priorities in order, and rook is at the top of this order, which has made him reevaluate everything else in his life and realise, "i don't think i can live without you. please don't make me". it’s fun for me that lucanis’ romance is a first in many different ways, but for illario it would be the first time experiencing actual romantic feelings for someone that he’s not faking, so you can imagine the damage its wrecking on his crow-psyche. sometime here i think there’d also be a decision where he’d ask to leave the crows and be with rook, tho i also think if given the chance to develop he could actually find something he cares more about than being first talon. genuine affection might kill him, reciprocated affection would probably be the nail in that “fuck the crows actually i just found out i like life outside of treviso” coffin.

but this is kind of leaning towards “illario only leaves the crows if you romance him” which i don’t like the sound of. he should be able to do that without a romantic relationship. i think narratively the best way to end this arc is for illario to leave the crows after having found alternatives to what he believed his life should amount to (as i think lucanis should have in veilguard), but i also don’t exactly know how to end it. i do want house dellamorte to be defunct, like an ‘illario leaves, and so does lucanis’ thing, where even lucanis gets the chance to grow out of believing “death is his calling”. i also like the idea that illario, ever the extrovert, gets real friends and is like “LUCANIS. you gotta fucking experience this” LMFAO. i’m thinking maybe the companion you spend most time with illario in the party after his act 3 quest starts to suggest things, so neve being like “you made a pretty great demon of vyrantium. consider making venatori-killing your full time job, you were good at it, despite all the traitor stuff.” or taash going “you know, you wouldn’t be the first lord of fortune to make mind numbingly stupid mistakes. drop by sometime. you and isabela can bond over it.” and they’re half joking but it makes the cogs in illario’s mind turn where he’s like “whoa. i could just. stay with the people who like me!” and where he goes is mentioned in the epilogue. a romanced illario would potentially just join the faction rook is a part of, tho a de riva would probably be unique in choosing if they want to remain a crow.

HOWEVER. i honestly don’t know if this is in character. fie and i convinced ourselves it was but i’ve had some time to really chew on it and idk if he’d want to give his ambitions up?? if someone has managed to read on this far, feel free to suggest things if you like i am always stumped because i don’t actually want to crows to stop being an assassin house, and there’s ofc no way to really make them ‘softer’ without taking away the bite that makes them interesting to play with. but extricating the dellamorte cousins from this WHILE feeling true to dragon age writing is difficult lol. just let me think. i’ll be back with some results hopefully.

side note: if illario is killed, lucanis takes his place with some difficulty (spite getting in the way, and no relationship building as he would get in canon) especially because despite his incredibly complicated feelings about his cousin trying to kill him, all of his anger is directed at rook for actually killing him. it doesn’t matter if lucanis would/could have never forgiven him, or otherwise, rook has taken that chance of hashing it out with illario from him completely, and lucanis won’t forgive them for it.

anyways the potential endings and first talons:

lucanis defaults into first talon if illario is killed as the only remaining heir, and struggles in this role alone, though the fact he is an abomination helps keep the crows in control for a while #cycles #snakethateatsitsowntail #housedellamorteissocooked

illario can remain first talon if encouraged to stay during the endgame, or if romanced by a rook de riva that also chooses to stay with the crows. depending on how the crow missions were complete, his direction with the crows either hardens/softens the organisation.

teia becomes first talon if illario decides to leave the crows, and rook has made choices that lean towards ‘softening’ the crows, eg. sparing ivenci to humiliate him, helping the crow-venatori loves run away, being kind towards jacobus, etc. the crows gain a reputation for coercion and can once in a while be found targeting, killing or exposing corrupt officials.

viago becomes first talon if illario decides to leave the crows, and rook has made choices that lean towards ‘hardening’ the crows, eg. killing ivenci to humiliate him, turning in the crow-venatori lovers, being harsh with jacobus, etc. the crows gain a reputation for efficient, quick assassinations that tip the scales towards anyone who can pay for their services.

if missions were not complete, the antivan crows’ reputation falls as they get sloppier, unable to recover from their losses and struggling to keep ahold of their power. there’s a reshuffling of talons, but the crows are in such disarray that it takes a decade for them to recover and gain back the effeciency they used to be infamous for.

ANYWAYS. sorry for that it is actually getting away from me and i don’t know how much of this is clear and how much of it is just my wishful thinking. i think there’s enough good things here to publish as an answer tho i’m aware this plot is kind of dollar store zevran LOL. maybe the best way to describe it is that i’ve accidentally combined blackwall, bull, and zevran’s arcs into this. hope this is at least a bit compelling for you anon!!!!!

[lady-embers]

"Why do you ship Gwyn and Azriel together?"

This is why: It's the potential they could have in the future and the moments that stood out in ACOSF as potential foreshadowing.

To me, it started with Azriel coming to training and offering Gwyn a slight smile that she didn't return. That moment stuck with me as well as when Gwyn let out a noise of excitement, and Azriel half turns at the sound. Then, I noticed that Gwyn would glance at Azriel during the scene of putting up the ribbon, and Azriel drifted closer....

The moments for them really picked up for me, though, when Gwyn cut the ribbon & we see Cassian noticing Azriel attention fixed on Gwyn with "admiration and quiet encouragement" shining from his face. How the world paused as if shifting in a new direction and how Azriel pauses, too, as if feeling larger forces peering into the ring at Gwyn. Which brought up the thought: Is this possible foreshadowing to get us to notice she might go the direction of Gwyn and Azriel given the little things before?

Also, I like how his shadows dance around him when he's conversing with Gwyn after she asks, "What do we get if we win?" Then, when she tosses over her shoulder,"See you tomorrow, Shadowsinger, " it gives off competitive flirty banter, especially looking back at this after reading the bonus scene for Azriel (I'll touch on that in a few).

I also noticed his shadows deepened, and his siphons gleamed like cobalt fire when Cassian mentions the girls being hurt in the Rite. How Azriel said to trust in their training of them. Potential endgame couples trust in their partners, even in dangerous settings.

It's how we find out Azriel is the one who slaughtered all the remaining soldiers when he came upon Gwyn at Sangravah when he's known to leave two for questioning and wrapped her in his cloak. Which is a parallel of Lucien wrapping Elain in his cloak to cover her, provide protection, to his mate, Elain, after a traumatic event happened to her.

All these little events add up in just ACOSF to make me start believing in their potential as a possible endgame couple.

That's not even counting what happens in his bonus chapter where Gwyn makes an appearance and....

His shadows dance with her very breath, they are calm and content content to sit on his shoulders after feeling something restless settle in Azriel during his interaction with Gwyn, they sing back in answer to some music (and that's after learning Nesta describe her bond with Cassian as "music between their souls"). How he ends up tucking an image away of Gwyns teal eyes lighting upon seeing the gift he left for Clotho to give to her and tucks it deep down where it glowed quietly.

Once I learned that that bonus scene took place between Ch. 58/59 within ACOSF, it solidified my feelings that I had for Gwyn and Azriel as I was reading ACOSF.

[seraphinitegames]

The Wayhaven Chronicles—Update 12/July/2024

Was a mixture of tasks this week!

First up was finishing up social media days, and what a difference having stable internet makes to that, lol! :D

Managed to get all the asks answered and scheduled for the month ahead—first month that’s happened in a while! There were some really juicy ones this time around too, so hope you enjoy those, hehe! ;D

Then it was onto the fun of doing the Patreon content! And I’m already excited to see what gets chosen for next month’s Summer Scenario Specials! The second poll for that (looking like vacation-themed…) will be up later too.

After that, I moved onto the edits, which I thought would take me the rest of the week. Instead, I managed to get them all done mid-week and get in another round of checks before sending it off to the final set of readers!

And with that done, I got stuck right back into Chapter Three! I ended up adding in an extra little section, which I was really glad I did because it gave me the perfect chance to give some real foreshadowing of something major coming up later, which I didn’t know how I was going to do!

I’m continuing on with Chapter Three now and will be pushing on through that next week, adding in edits and adjustments to Chapter Two as the readers get back to me over the next while, prepping it ready to add into the demo! Also a couple of things I need to edit for the Steam wishlist for Hosted Games before it can go up, but hopefully will be able to get that done super quick.

Chapter Two had SO much going on, I forgot how much was coming up in Chapter Three as well! There’s a major moment of the MC actually experiencing the training of becoming an Agent rather than just the game telling you it’s been happening off-screen, lol! But I don’t want it to just feel too much of a slog, so want lots of character interactions in there to help break it up all tailored to which Unit you end up doing that training with!

Hope you all have the most fabulous weekend! We’ll be offline as usual, so I’ll update you all again next week! <3

[dxxtruction]

Louis' "You're boring!" Could mean so many things, but I think what's most apparent about that line is that Armand takes no initiative just for himself. He's not really anybody, because he never goes out and finds himself or gets attached to anyone but Louis. Without Louis as his guide he's literally just sitting on a couch picking lint! That's the thing.

He orbits constantly around what would make Louis happy, and never really fully going what would make me happy? Ultimately that drive to please Louis is what drives him to torturing Daniel, not so much that he'd care to just do it. Ultimately, not giving proper care to Louis is just a way to make sure Louis knows he has to orbit around him as well, with shoving Lestat onto him just that other nail on the coffin. So, even if he fails to figure out how to make Louis happy with him, he still knows what Armand is good for, and better than.

That dependency is what drives Armand's abuse. It really just comes down to that. Armand doesn't even realize how suffocated he is by his own dependency. This is just how life is to him. (It shouldn't be lost either that dependency is a theme considering this episode also deals with addiction).

Daniel's fascinating because he's just so driven to be somebody. He's largely independent, he seeks things because he wants them. It's his drug to poke and prod at all the things that he shouldn't. Daniel's exciting because he lets Louis in to something different, lets him in to all this potential in another person that he can also do the same with for himself. It's a real connection. A two way street. It's easy to tell how Armand can be smothering then because he's never introducing him to anything really new, and most the ways both of them connect are all painful and traumatic. It's never just fun because there's always that layer of that pain. Fun died with Claudia.

50 years on they've gotten to a lot better place, both of them, but it's still that same shit. No seriously, "How is this any different from last time, Louis?"

Well... Because Armand's going to be, at the very least, making one [1] decision only for himself - and that's to hold power over Daniel's life. Fucking sick foreshadowing.

They aren't driving each other to the brink anymore but "The vampire is bored" STILL. Maybe it's even worse, despite being in better places, because Louis' sort of just been defeated by it. (I mean, can he even really leave this either?). He's accepting the dependancy cause he kind of has to. He'd literally ended up letting all the enjoyment be up where he can't reach [The book shelves]. Armand so desperately wants Louis happiness but what really ends up happening is that Louis ends up having to give Armand all his own. He's got no one or anything else to get it from. But like an iPad and an over the top eating ritual. Two extremes of what's just more lint picking.

This whole relationship is one I find just tragic inside and out. You have to just pity it, really. There's ways in which you can find yourself feeling bad for both of them. But you can only really be mad at Armand for any of it. Armand, who isn't even 'free' in any sense, having so little concept of his own independence, but is at the same time so controlling over other's. It's a tragic cycle. It's an infuriating one.

Louis at least has the mind to know when enough is enough. If just needing that extra push to get there. Armand's too scared of it being over to even try.

[have-you-seen-my-sanity]

Homecoming

Shimmer!Kane x f!reader

Something small. :)

Summary: Kane came back from his special operation but something was off with him.

Content: Some comfort, NSFW, smut, oral (fem! receiving), also I will add foreshadowing.

Kane has been away for months now, you could still remember all the times you two talked about it.

You didn't wanted him to go, what if something bad would happen to him?

You miss him so much.

Everyday, atleast once you two did a phone call or facetime to see and hear eachother.

Kane did miss you just as much as you missed him, perhaps even more than you did.

But Kane's phone calls have stopped a few days ago and you were scared if something has happened to him.

Since then, you had trouble falling asleep, your mind was pre-occupied with Kane.

-

Another night sleeping without your Kane. This time your sleep was deeper than most times.

Deep in slumber, you started feeling a small tingling sensation on your shoulder. It felt too real to be a dream. The tingling had creeped its way towards the crook of your neck, causing you to smile and stir out of sleep.

After opening your sleepy eyes, you were met with familiar brown ones, his face was neutral but he had a faint smile on his face. Immediately you started smiling, realizing he's real.

"Kane?"

His smile widened slightly. "Hey, beauty."

Unable to contain your excitement, you sat up and hugged him tightly.

"Kane I missed you so freaking much!"

"Missed you more, it was unbearable without you out there." His arms came around you, his warm hands slowly traveled up your back.

Resting your head on his shoulder, you noticed something on your bedside table - Orange juice.

Kane noticed you eyeing the Orange juice.

"I know you like it, so I thought I bring it to you once I would return."

You smile, "Kane," you pulled back "please, you returning was the only thing I wished for."

"Missed your lovely Kane so much, hm?" He hummed, rubbing your back soothingly.

You chuckle. "Of course I did."

He smiled. "I knew you would."

Kane gently pulled away to stand up. "I'll go get myself something to drink, okay?"

Without waiting for your answer, he left.

Without thinking nothing too much about it, you went for the kitchen too after a minute, spotting Kane at the dining table with a glass of water.

When Kane noticed you, there was a very faint, yellow-ish glimmer in his eyes, which you thought nothing about it given the late time in the middle of the night.

Sitting down beside him, resting your cheek on his shoulder and wrapping one arm around him, you were just glad Kane was back.

"Did everything end up as planned?" you couldn't help but ask.

His fingers around the glass tightened slightly but relaxed just as quickly. "Yeah... it went surprisingly well..." he drawled.

"Nothing too dangerous or complicated?"

"There were some, let's say... things you wouldn't normally see." he said calmly, but there was some tension behind it.

"Top secret stuff?" you smiled.

He chuckled softly. "Well, if you want to call it that, then yes."

Kane wrapped his arm around you, pulling you into his side. "What do you say, wanna go back to bed? I just missed you so much you can't believe it."

With a nod, you got up, Kane following you back to the bedroom. Once there, you slipped back under the covers while Kane got undressed.

"Since you couldn't bear me being away for so long, how about we catch up?" He smiled, moving ontop of you.

"Aren't you supposed to be tired?" you chuckle.

"How could I be tired when I know my sweet girl is waiting for me to come back after months of only having herself?" Kane grins, moving lower, gently pulling your panties off and spreading your thighs.

"Kane, you don't have to, really." your breath hitched slightly.

"But I want to." he insisted, his hand moving to your folds, running a finger through them, his thumb moved to rub your clit slowly.

He shoved two fingers inside, scissoring them just right to drive you crazy. Kane watched you gasping and moaning, then dipped in, his tongue flicking your clit, enjoying the sounds you're making.

Kane's tongue slipped past your folds, into your leaking pussy, thrusting gently before slipping out again, licking all the way through your folds, which had you gripping the sheets impossibly hard.

"Does that feel good babe, hm? Do I make you feel good?"

Your eyes met his, which had curiosity in them but were filled with lust.

There was that fain glimmer in his eyes again but this time it was slightly stronger, blue with a shade of green, it looked like it was very slowly moving in his Iris.

Kane smiled.

"I love seeing you like that, sweetie. I wanna keep it that way as long as possible. So beautiful."

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

Tags:

@nekoyin @iolaussharpe-24 @steven-grants-world @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @faretheeoscar

@krakenkitty @mooksmouse @silvernight-m @tokkiwrites @appeltaartglitter

@alexxavicry @rosegnome @ghoulzsstuff @freedreampeach @autismsupermusicalassassin

@ivystoryweaver @theaterm @klillaah @freedreampeach

Wanna get tagged?

[atamascolily]

I decided to make a new post rather than derail the conversation on this excellent reblog chain about dramatic irony with niche fandom analysis, but one thing I think a lot about is why SHAFT titled the Rebellion sequel movie "Walpurgis no Kaiten" in the first place. They could have called it something generic like "Rising" or "Revolution," but instead they specifically emphasized they were bringing back the big bad, and they didn't have to do that. They could have made an ambiguous trailer that didn't touch on any of that and surprised us all in theaters, but they wanted us specifically to know that Walpurgisnacht was going to be there when they released the freaking title. And yeah, that was to drum up hype and it worked, and it was a great marketing move for that reason alone, but I don't think they would have done it if it also didn't work on a story level.

The same is true for the duplicate Homura reveal in the first key visual. They really didn't have to give us that, but they did. They deliberately showed us the two of them side by side because they wanted us to know and wonder why. And from that moment on, every time we see Homura, we ask, "Is this the real one or the duplicate?" because we know to ask, and we've been doing this for years before the movie's even been released. Hitchcock would be so proud!

The big plot twist of Walpurgis no Kaiten ISN'T that Walpurgisnacht is back or that there are two Homuras--two bombshells that you'd think could fill a movie in and of themselves-- because they already shouted it to the world. Walpurgis no Kaiten is going to be how and why these circumstances came about and how these two seemingly disparate facts are related, and for maximum suspense, the audience needs to know ahead of time that they're coming. This is not to say there won't be other surprises along the way, but the great thing about dramatic irony is that the story is still suspenseful and exciting precisely because you know what's coming, and it makes the movie effectively "spoiler proof" in this respect.

I would also add that dramatic irony is especially effective in tragedies, such as Oedipus Rex or Hamlet, where we know from the beginning that the main character is heading for a fall. Heck, Romeo and Juliet even opens with a prologue telling us it's all going to end in tears! This combined with the question "is it possible to overcome fate or is everything inevitable?" which is at the core of Homura's conflict with Walpurgisnacht, suggests that Walpurgis no Kaiten is going to lean very hard into the tragic elements. This doesn't necessarily mean a tragic ending--"hope" is also a key theme of the franchise--but Homura will probably have to hit rock bottom first as everything she's worked so hard to build crumbles around her.

For better or worse, Madoka Magica as a franchise is so notorious for plot twists that I think it's fitting that the creators have embraced dramatic irony for this sequel. The original anime had a lot of misleading marketing that it was going to be a conventional magical girl anime, only to pull the rug away, first subtly with framing and foreshadowing, and then dramatically by the end of the third episode. Rebellion starts in media res, forcing the audience to figure out what is going on alongside Homura before blindsiding them at the end. So how can you possibly top that in a follow-up?

Instead of trying to hide or disguise what they're doing with Walpurgis no Kaiten, the answer seems to be "tell the audience what's happening in advance and let them writhe in suspense". It's such a power move and I love it.

[burning-academia-if]

Hellooooo welcome to another devlog, which I'm not;;; five days late to posting or anything;;;

June was super busy, which seems to be the Theme of 2025, but I did chip away at the writing for Chapter 4! I'm happy to report that I do not hate this chapter askdjalkd unlike Chapter 3 which is a win in its own right LOL There's a lot of fun things going on this chapter, and a lot I've been excited to write. Rhea especially has been super fun to write about this time around, as well as ???. Unfortunately, most of the fun stuff I've written so far is spoilers LMAO which made picking the monthly preview a tad harder.

Before that though, I should officially mention I did update the game with some mild rewrites. It was mostly just me editing in and changing up some things to match up with lore and foreshadowing going forward. There was also a bug fix or two in there as well!

As for the monthly preview, I have two of them! One is from the Student Warden tutoring side quest and the other is from the Student Government path!

....

[acourtofthought]

@2ndsofseven is extremely clever.

This has nothing to do whether whether Lucien and Elain are mates:

We already knew they're mates, it's confirmed time and again. By Elain, by Mor, by Feyre when she slips into his mind.

Lucien already proved he knew what was wrong with Elain when he demanded they get her outside after officially meeting her the first time ever and she herself later said she needed sunshine. He proved he already knew how to help when she began drinking, sleeping, and eating after he did so.

Her powers were never something wrong with her or something amiss, nothing for him to find in her soul, they're simply her powers. A part of her that's now supposed to be there. Every single character knew Elain was talking in riddles, all Az did was name them and then Mor confirmed it. Only Lucien knew she needed to get outside to help pull her from her catatonic state. His not naming her power doesn't disprove their bond, mates don't suddenly have all the knowledge of the world simply because they're mated.

Sarah often writes lines that seem to be a discussion between two characters but are referencing other.

Take the Suriel. Feyre thought they were discussing Tamlin but their answer was later revealed to be referring to Rhys.

Or Ruhns prophecy. He thought it meant he'd die but it meant he'd destroy the royal line by killing the Autumn King.

Az's story of Nephellle was being discussed with Feyre but it ended up being meaningful for Elain's arc.

Just like Feysand discussing poorly matched bonds while talking of Elain and Lucien's bond is most likely not SJM telling us Elucien's bond will be poorly matched but someone else.

The above scene with the healer was providing us information about bonds unknown at that point. We know that Elain and Lucien are mates, there's no debating it. It's confirmed, it's scented, Mor used her truth on Lucien. In ACOWAR, however, Nessian's bond was not confirmed. Therefore when you get to this scene:

You realize Majda's words were foreshadowing for the Nessian bond.

When Sarah talks about how she likes careful, clever readers, it's her being excited when others pick up on clues (not something directly written in the text). Feyre saying "do you think Elain and Lucien match well" only for some to say "see?! It's proof Elucien aren't matched because Feyre specifically mentioned it" is not careful, clever reading. Az and Elain almost kissing and using it as proof of an e/riel endgame is not careful, clever reading. Those are examples of referencing the text directly as it applies to the exact scene in question. I think what Sarah means when she talks of careful, clever reading is picking up on things like the stars painted on Feyre's dresser and theorizing early on that she'd end up with Rhys. It's applying information learned at one point and connecting it to something elsewhere.

@2ndsofseven pulled off the sort of careful, clever reading when they realized that Majda's words were not there to make you question Elucien's bond (which has already been confirmed as being a legitimate bond) but to help you realize before SF that Nesta and Cassian were going to be mates.

Not everything in these books is about Elain and Az, information learned is meant to also be applied to the other characters in the series.

[dancingontheblades]

"... and then he casts aside the coach he seduced and moves on to the judges..."

For my Yuri!!! On Ice novelisation (LINK!!!) I subjected the scene in which Yuuri flaunts a big portion of extra sass by opening his short programme with blowing that kiss a closer examination.

This scene has two possible readings, and each one has different implications for both the plot and Yuuri’s characterisation and motivation.

Let’s take a closer look at each one!

1. Yuuri blows Viktor the kiss

Such a move would neatly join the ranks of Yuuri’s past performances of Eros. What strikes me here as a breach of the pattern, however, is the anticlimactic manner the blow-kiss has to it compared to the sensual lip-licking from the Cup of China. So far, Yuuri became flirtier with every performance of Eros, and would naturally expect him to double down on that with an even lewder gesture.

In a continuous escalation of the Eros intro, the blow-kiss would happen after the flirty nod and before the lip-licking. But that’s not what happens. A blow-kiss for Viktor at this point in the story would imply that Yuuri no longer needs to seduce Viktor because he accomplished that at the Cup of China and now focuses on keeping the love alight. However, the flippancy of the move contradicts the current stage of Yuuri and Viktor’s relationship as them being madly in love and only days away from Yuuri blurting out a proposal at the airport reunion. It also contradicts Yuuri’s intention to form a bond with Viktor because it stands in stark contrast to the commitment Yuuri has been showing regarding his relationship for the last couple of episodes.

Just by looking at Yuuri’s characterisation, this scenario seems not that likely to me.

2. Yuuri performs to the judges

Yuuri’s short programme at the Rostelecom Cup has one main theme:

Before the crowd can intimidate me in enemy territory, I must intimidate them.

Skating in Viktor’s homeland and in front of the people whose hero he has stolen, puts immense pressure on Yuuri that forces him to skate better than ever to cement his claim. Flirting with Viktor will no longer do it, Yuuri must seduce convince the audience that Viktor didn’t waste his time on him and that includes seducing convincing the judges. On the inside, he is freaking out over the possibility that this might be the last competition with Viktor as his coach and we see that foreshadowed in the hotel scene. Unlike at the Cup of China where his inner monologue while skating revolved around his prowess of seducing Viktor, his thoughts are now centred around the audience. Every skater knows that an excited crowd generates the power to motivate them to perform even better, and the effect of that is not lost on the judges, either. By flirting with the judges, Yuuri can increase his chances for a high score and a ticket to the Grand Prix Final, and he gets rewarded with a new personal best. Figure skating is a crazy sport and athletes can be quite eccentric, but a direct flirt probably isn’t on the list of things the judges see that often—and if they did, they rather saw it from the likes of Chris. (Figure skating 101: Skaters are expected to perform to the judges to increase their presentation mark. More direct interactions like touching the boards right in front of them have become popular in the 2023/2024 season, but only a small part of the skaters bold enough to actual flirt with the judges, like Loena Hendrickx in her free 2023/2024 programme.)

It really takes guts to flirt with the judges. Yuuri is known to show guts in the most desperate situations and when the stakes are astronomical, and the Rostelecom Cup puts him to the test. He has grown so much that he no longer needs to rely on performing to Viktor to deliver a perfect skate. He now has the confidence to achieve any goal he sets his mind on with his skating and by doing exactly that in episode 8, he shows the world that coaching him wasn’t a waste of Viktor’s energy and time.

However, at the same time, Yuuri is sending a certain message to his coach and boyfriend. Paying no attention to Viktor in a moment in which Viktor anticipates to be the centre of Yuuri’s attention is a small but sweet revenge for Viktor ignoring Yuuri when he needed his coach to send him off. This little gesture of saying “I can flirt with the audience, too” has the power to stoke Viktor’s desire and make him even more devoted to Yuuri than he already is. I wish Makkachin was less greedy.

To think this even further, Yuuri’s flirting with the judges is also a reference to the story he invented in the beginning to get an idea of Eros: “…and then the woman casts aside the playboy she seduced and moves onto the next man.” Not that Yuuri would ever cast Viktor aside for another man, he just knows how to pay him back in kind and get the message across. Beware, Viktor! This extra-large serving of katsudon his spicier than you can take.

Like Yuuri, Viktor has come to Moscow with a goal. “I want everyone to focus on Yuuri” opposes Yuuri’s goal to convince the audience of himself. All his words and actions strictly adhere to his goal, starting from the interview in the beginning, to lacing Yuuri’s boots and kissing his blade. Except for that one time when Viktor greets his fans like an overexcited puppy. Thankfully, Yuuri’s eros that is quick to remind him and the world who Viktor belongs to.

These two kinky dorks absolutely deserve each other.

To wrap this up…

That Yuuri blows the judges a kiss is more in line with his characterisation and the themes in this episode than Viktor being the recipient of that kiss. The cut towards the judges right afterwards supports this theory from a technical viewpoint. The Rostelecom Cup’s SP is the first time we get a glimpse of the judging panel during Yuuri’s performance. We’ve not been shown the judges’ shocked expressions right after Yuuri blew the kiss because that move was so scandalous. Yuuri has been more scandalous in the past and the creators didn’t bother to show us the judges then and instead showed us a blushy Viktor and a stuttering commentator. The cut towards the judges is a deliberate choice to drive home whom Yuuri was flirting with.

It’s amazing how much meaning the YOI creators poured into even these couple of seemingly insignificant but hilarious seconds. And that deepens the love and appreciation I feel for this beautiful show.

If you enjoyed this analysis, please consider spreading the love to your followers by reblogging this post, or checking out my canon works on AO3 (link in bio).