#it's in side content so it may be non-canon but it's canon to ME

[burgiethewriter]

One of my favourite character tropes is when a character discovers or develops healing magic years after they’ve already lost someone. Delicious angst.

[player380]

ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ- disco pang pang

━━━ ↳ ❝ [ se-mi x f! reader ] ¡! ❞

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ PART TWO in which you try out the infamous disco pang pang ride with your friends in incheon, south korea, and end up having the ride moderator attempt to set you up with the stoic, pretty woman sitting next to you┊2.1k words

contains: potential ooc se-mi (we don't really know too much about her but my hyperfixation has deluded me to believe my own headcanons that were created by the bit we saw her in s2), fluff, some minor hints of sexual content, wlw, teaser x teased, & non-canonical nonsense, au!! the games never took place & se-mi is lowkey loaded (which i may write more about in another fic idea i have oops), i also am not very sure of any korean customs (im a white american) so please please please let me know if any of the manners of this are wrong so i can correct it, also this has not been proofread yet so enjoy any spelling or grammar errors <3

After much debate with your close girl friends, that you were on a trip into the big city with, they had practically dragged you to the long line of awaiting people to try out this silly ride. Each of their hands clasped tightly around your sweaty palms, forcing your feet to shuffle into your spot at the back of the line. It was a warm spring day, the sun beating down only to be combated by a pleasant breeze. So, of course, most would find themselves spending the day at the Wolmi Theme Park in South Korea. The three of you had already spent the majority of the day entertaining yourselves with other rides, though with yourself often choosing to opt out of riding many--given rollercoasters had a habit of making you queasy. Yet, after much convincing and deliberation, you had allowed them to take you on this ride. They had claimed that it wasn't that scary, and was oftentimes quite fun. But as you got into line and saw the ever-moving ride your stomach dropped and your face paled. Laughter and screams echoed around as the current set of riders were being bounced up and down whilst the ride spun everyone in round in differing speeds. As you watched this, you couldn't help but feel the corn dogs you just had thirty-minutes prior rising their way through your innards.

While you stood there, mouth agape, your friends had busied themselves with calling their boyfriends back home in the countryside. Snapping you out of your scared daze, was a smooth laugh from beside--even smoother words following in pursuit.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost," a woman laughed from beside you, your eyes narrowing as they traveled up the body beside you in line. Taking notice of her skinny ripped black jeans, the loose tank top that had a bit of the side tucked into the waistband of her jeans, and a black leather jacket over her shoulders. Her face was adorned in few piercings: just one silver ring on her lip, the other a silver ring on her left nostril (a gem-incrusted sun on where the ring met the visible skin). Her hair was short, some strands of her black hair covering the right side of her head slightly. Her narrow features complimented her stylistic choices. And by all means: the woman was completely, and utterly gorgeous.

After a few minutes of silence, your eyes only widening upon seeing the pretty woman, she spoke up again. "Are you alright? Surely you haven't actually seen a ghost," she replied, her thin brows furrowing slightly as she stared at you--her head cocked to the side just a hair. She was concerned for your wellbeing. How cute.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," you blinked, snapping out of your haze and returning your gaze to the still-moving ride--swallowing hard. "I just don't like rides like this," you added and nodded awkwardly. "Not really my thing."

The woman beside you nodded, letting out a quiet hum as her gaze follows yours up to the ride. "It's not that bad," she commented, letting out a quiet laugh. "Just make sure to hold on tight."

"What?" You asked, misunderstanding her words and her eyes widening slightly.

The woman laughed harder, shaking her head. "The bars, hold on tight to the bars," she corrected, tilting her head. "Or your friends."

You suddenly felt the presence of your two friends who had gotten off facetime with their partners, and were now standing beside you once more--staring at the taller woman with slightly furrowed brows. The woman just nodded once, before turning back around and facing the front of the line. Leaving you to suffer the teasing looks and questions from your friends for the remainder of the wait in line.

Eventually, after growing slightly impatient from standing still for so long, it was finally your group's turn to file onto the circular ride. The eager group of riders all excitedly piled on, sounds of annoyed groans coming from the people who were cut off and had to wait another round.

Your friends rushed to a spot, sitting on the seats and giggling excitedly. Their hands reached behind themselves to grab the plastic and metal bars--wrapping their arms around the slick material in hopes to stay (mostly) still throughout the ride.

You sat there awkwardly, trying to mimic your friend's actions but you found yourself struggling to keep yourself comfortable. You didn't realize the woman who was in front of you in line was sitting beside you until you felt her hands gently guiding your arms to wrap around the bars--her hand resting there for a moment and looking over you.

"Comfy?" She asked you, raising a brow slightly.

Your face, now red, moved up to meet her gaze--nodding awkwardly. "Yeah, thanks," you said, voice quiet, and pressing a small smile up as another bout of gratitude. Her dark eyes traveled over you for a second, smiling and giving a nod back. She moved to sit beside you, leaving the width of a person and a half between you two.

Unfortunately for your humility, the ride moderator had noticed the small interaction and so once the ride started slowly spinning--your face all but heated when you heard the moderator's loud voice call out your descriptor over the speakers. Little did you know the running internet joke that if the moderator called you out, you were done for.

"Are you two together?" The male moderator's voice called out, "you, tweed skirt and the h/c hair. And you, short black hair and the leather jacket," he described. Your heart all but dropped. Before you could reply, the woman next to you beat you to it:

"No, we aren't," she yelled, her voice loud over the mechanics of the machine and the loud sounds from around the theme park.

"Do you want to be?" The moderator called out, a hint over amusement carrying over in his voice.

You shook your head, laughing awkwardly. "No, no it's okay. I came here with my friends," you replied, brows furrowing in embarrassment--trying to ignore the giggles from your friends beside you.

"Ah, no, no, let me fix that," the moderator said, laughing, and your heart dropped from his mischievous tone.

Suddenly, the ride was tilted all the way to the left side and began bouncing slightly. Lifting you up and down from your seat, your sweaty hands barely holding onto the plastic bars as gravity tried to pull you to where the woman beside you was sitting. She seemed to keep her body planted firmly--hardly moving. The ups and downs got harsher, and before you knew it, one of your arms slipped from the bar and you fell slightly down to your left. You felt another leg wrap around yours--realizing it was the woman's, who was trying to keep you steady so you didn't fall.

You grunted as you moved to steady yourself back onto the seat, pulling your leg from hers and attempting to grab back onto the bars. Before you could succeed, another unexpected bump made your other arm slip--letting out a yelp as you stumbled off the seat and about to start rolling on the metal floor of the ride. You didn't go very far before you found your body ensnared by both the woman's legs--holding your torso tightly as to make sure you didn't fall anymore.

As the bumps continued, you felt one of her hands grab your arm and pull you up--setting you on her lap. Your face burned with embarrassment and awkwardness at the entire situation--wishing you hadn't even let your friends convince you to get on this stupid ride to begin with. Her legs entangled with yours, an arm wrapping around your waist and pressing your back tight against her front. Her fingers found purchase on your hip, pressing into the part tightly.

"Are you okay?" She asked, tilting her head so her mouth was right next to your ear, her voice quiet. God was her voice attractive.

You nodded, the consistent bumps making the two of you rise up from your seats occasionally--but your landings were cushioned by the woman's body beneath you. It was almost strangely nice. No. You shouldn't think like that. She was an entire stranger. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks," you replied, turning your head slightly--though not realizing how close your faces would be. You quickly turned your head back around forward--your cheeks the color of a tomato.

As the ride continued on, the moderator still continued to pick on the two of you, moving you two around. Even with the woman's firm grip on your body, you had somehow ended up turned around--your legs straddling her hips. Her jacket had been moved to wrap around your waist so no one could see how your skirt rid up, allowing some form of modesty. There were some other instances of other people flailing around and landing on others, however you could hardly pay any mind to the others on this ride given your situation. This continued on throughout the ride's duration, before eventually the machine came to a stop--the moderator thanking everyone, though still finding a way to insert a tease about the two women's interactions throughout the ride.

You shakily got off of the woman--pulling your skirt down and untying the jacket around your waist, holding it back out to her. "Um, thanks for this. And for making sure I don't fall," you muttered, looking down at your feet. When she took the jacket, you quickly took off and found your friends at the exit of the ride--trying to ignore the burning throughout your body as their incessant teases fueled your embarrassment.

Before you could get far, a female voice called out and you turned around--your eyes widening as the woman before approached, slightly out of breath from the small jog. Your friends looked at each other with raised brows, both backing away to leave you two to yourselves.

"Oh-- um, hi," you said, brows furrowing slightly. "Did you need something?"

"How long are you in Incheon for? Or do you live here?" She asked, her chest still rising up and down with rapid breaths. She almost sounded hopeful, and a bubbly filling filled your stomach. As if someone had opened a cage of butterflies between your ribcages.

You blinked, looking away from her for a moment. "No, I don't live here. Just visiting with my friends... but I'm not sure. A couple more days, at least. We didn't really have an end date. Why?" You asked, licking your lips slightly--and you watched as her eyes flickered to your slightly damp, pink lips for a moment before she looked back up at your eyes.

"Let me take you sight-seeing around the city, yeah?" She asked, despite her cool demeanor, she almost seemed nervous. "You don't have to, but it'd--"

"Sure," you cut her off, flashing an almost-nervous smile of your own. "I'd like that, my friends and I aren't really super knowledgeable around anyway. I'm sure they'd like it too."

Her face flickered with some unknown expression and she shook her head. "No, not them. Just you... and I," she said, sucking in a long breath.

"Oh," you breathed, your brows raising. "Yeah, my answer is still the same. I would like that," you answered, emphasizing the 'I' in your sentence. The woman nodded, any nervousness or tension immediately lifted from her demeanor.

"Good," she said, grinning. "Let me get your number," she said--pulling out her phone from her back pocket, opening it, and shoving it in your direction with the screen showing an empty contact form to fill out. You nodded, and took the phone to begin typing in some things in each slot. "I'm Se-mi, by the way," she added, her eyes watching you intently--studying every and all aspect of your face.

Once you finished, you looked back up at Se-mi and handed her phone. "Well... just give me a message, Se-mi. I should be free, well, if I can ever escape those two for a moment," she laughed, tilting her head back to where her friends stood--watching the two of you interact with large grins.

Se-mi nodded, watching your form retreat as you handed her phone back and went back to your friends who immediately began pestering you for information on your new 'hot date', as they called it. She looked back down at her phone, studying your name on the contact--trying to burn it into her memory.

"Y/n...," she said slowly, nodding as she enjoyed the feel of it on her tongue. Knowing full well she was going to be saying that name for a long time. Or, well, at least she hoped.

Who knew your friends dragging you onto a silly ride could lead to any of this.

[rcvcgers]

Challengers, part one

series masterlist , main masterlist

18+ content! minors dni!

please read the author's note before continuing.

pairings ; caleb x reader x zayne

synopsis ; it's the last playoff game between the linkon hunters and skyhaven fleet. their star players, zayne & caleb, go head to head. you sit in the crowd and watch.

word count ; 5.5k words

author's note ; hi all! thank you so much for your interest in the series! it made me so excited that i decided to write the first chapter and post it for y'all! now, to get into it:

this is an adaptation from the movie challengers. i am essentially putting these characters into the roles of tashi, art, and patrick. i HIGHLY recommend watching the movie first before you read! the structure is non-linear and there will be time jumps back and forth. those who have seen the movie will understand but if you haven't it may be hard to keep up. i will indicate when there is a switch in time, though!

i also plan on (trying to, at least) making this hornier than the movie! i will be writing out the sex scenes & will even expand upon a few of them alongside other scenes from the movie. the movie is erotic and i will try my best to match the mood! i want to do luca justice for his amazing direction of the movie!

also, this will be an alternate universe where the characters do not have powers & their relationships/dynamic aren't exactly like in the game. if you're looking for canon compliant characterization, then i suggest you go read another fanfic because i am taking liberties with caleb & zayne & any other character that may appear (stares at the other LIs).

now that is done & over with, i hope you all enjoy the fic! i love the movie so much and had to make it into a fic for caleb & zayne for obvious reasons! and psst, this chapter is a little on the shorter side but the other chapters will be heavier in word count! and it will most likely have weekend updates!

content warning ; blood, light violence (punching), light neck kisses, slight vulgar language, let me know if i missed anything!

my challengers ❤︎ ; @militaryapple , @godoffuckedupcats , @tojicide , @flowers-wilt-on-juniper-lane , @mariojins , @probably-hyperfixating , @neigesprincess , @leeniverse , @debrahhhhhhh , @31streasonwhy , @loversobession , @idiashusband , @nezuswritingdesk , @sanrioprincessdani , @blorbohunter , @divxvx , @kazbrkker , @deathdakidz , @here-for-the-tea-baby , @zariahx , @rxelarailuj , @aliyahluvsfall , @novthirty , @mxkvlio , @yumesagashite , @zeskyzed ,@llamabois , @darkeskye , @hrtnote , @cathedralofaudra , @chakalimic , @butterbiscuit444 , @jexireads , @updatesoftware , @blcknebula

The center face off circle is a faded blue color. A red line runs down the middle, Skyhaven Fleet’s logo dead center of the ice. Two shadows approach the center. A man with purple eyes and athletic tape poking over the edge of his heavy uniform. The other has hazel eyes, mouthguard hanging from his mouth, chewing on the malleable plastic.

The puck is dropped. The arena cheers, air horns going off, and chants from the fans beginning.

Skates dash across the ice, slicing into the frozen landscape. The once perfect ice is now ruined. Holes and scrapes dig into the surface, the tips of razor sharp places picking up snow when a player comes to a sudden stop. Bodies collide. Gear and padding smack into each other. Sweat falls from foreheads. Men yell at each other on the ice, trying to be audible over the deafening sound of the championship crowd.

One Skyhaven player, in a black and blue uniform, sprints down the ice. He pants, face in a grimace, as a Linkon Hunter slips in behind him. The puck dances back and forth against the ice, staying in the comfort of the player’s reach. They shoot down the side of the ice, the player in the gold and white uniform catches up to him. The curved edge of his stick scrapes across the once smooth ice, the tip just barley nicking the back of the Skyhaven player’s blades.

The Skyhaven player quickly looks over his shoulder, purple eyes focused on the stoic face that closes in on him. A smirk flashes across his face. He flicks his stick to the right, tilting his blades against the ice, snow kicking up from the sudden movement. He slows enough for the arena’s camera to pick up the white last name on his jersey.

Xia 

The Linkon player slips by him. His black hair falls onto his forehead. The thin, clear visor veils his hazel eyes, trained on the black puck that’s been hit to the other side of the ice. He groans and circles behind his team’s goal. His appearance is blurred from his speed. It’s only when he hooks around the net that the camera is able to grab his name.

Li

The black haired man pushes up to the other Skyhaven player. His hockey stick slaps and swipes across the ice. They tussle over the puck, bodies leaning in on each other. The Linkon player slips the puck out from the chaos. The black puck is just about to reach his teammate when Skyhaven’s star player cuts between the pass, intercepting it. He darts down the rest of the ice.

Everyone in the stadium leans forward, slowly sucking in all of the air from the chilly area. Knuckles are white, babies stop their cries, anticipation bubbling inside the enclosure.

The puck flies through the air, the thwack from the hit echoing across the ice. Time slows. The puck collides with the back of the net. The crowd erupts into screams and cheers. Grown men jump from their seats and hug each other while others shake their head and take a sip from their beers, cursing under their breath.

It’s the last game of the playoffs. The seventh and final game has begun with the Skyhaven Fleet taking the early lead over the Linkon Hunters.

Sirens and horns blare throughout the stadium. The Fleet’s team skates to their star player who just scared. They slap and smack his padded body and helmet, a charming smile gracing the man’s face. His purple eyes lock onto a player who skates by, sharing an intimidating and threatening glare.

“Caleb Xia with the first goal of the night!” An announcer screams through the arena’s speakers. 

The scoreboard is bright, dangling over the ice like a taunt to the losing players, especially to one in particular. Caleb Xia’s headshot and dazzling smile is displayed for all of the fans to see.

1 - 0

“A devastating blow for Zayne Li of the Linkon Hunters,” the announcer continues, “if only he got to the puck sooner!”

Caleb and Zayne skate around the inner circle of the ice. Their eyes remain on each other. Caleb wears a smug smirk, closing in on his spot next to the referee. Zayne slowly approaches with a scowl sewn onto his lips.

They lean down, resting their weight onto their knees, eyes on the ice. Caleb’s breaths are steady whereas Zayne’s are shallow, anticipation taking over his body. In unison, they lower their sticks onto the ground, placing a bit of their weight into it. The referee leans down with them, puck in hand, whistle in his mouth. He glances between the men. The tension slowly builds. He drops the puck and skates backwards, a blur of sticks colliding and smacking against each other. Zayne is able to slip in and swipe the puck away, passing it to a teammate.

Caleb hesitates in his place. Zayne bumps his padded shoulder into his. Caleb’s nostrils flare. He turns on his blade, immediately darting after Zayne, who sticks to the edge of the frozen playing field. He is nowhere near the game of play, watching as his teammates pass back and forth. Zayne remains open, waiting for the right moment to slip in. He’s just about to push off the edge when—

Slam!

The large plexiglass planes stutter in their place, reverberating from the sheer force of Zayne’s body colliding with it. The side of Zayne’s face smacks against the barrier, pain flashing across his face. A metallic taste fills his mouth. Caleb keeps him held up against the wall, only letting go when a referee pulls him off. As the men are pulled away from each other to prevent a fight, their eyes move to someone sitting behind the glass.

There you are. The object of their desires, the angel in their dreams, the woman who has captivated them for the past thirteen years of their lives. A she-devil disguised as an angel. The woman who has been nothing but honest about her pursuit for greatness, expecting nothing less from those who surround her.

You like to sit to the side of Zayne’s team, always available to give him so much needed words of wisdom when he begins to falter in his gameplay. You watch from your seat, glossed lips pressed into a thin line, arms crossed over your chest, diamond wedding ring sparkling under the stadium lights. Eyes flicker between the men, their lips parting when you make eye contact with them. You slowly lean back in your chair. Caleb passes between you and Zayne, his purple eyes locked on you, smirk spread across his face before he disappears with his team. Your gaze lingers on him. You reread his last name on his jersey before peeling your gaze away.

Zayne hovers by the glass, looking at you. His eyes soften yet hold back any emotion he may feel, an internal push and pull with himself. You tilt your head to the side and your gaze sharpens on him, shaking your head ever so slightly. He swivels on the ice and skates away, swinging his stick back and forth as he catches up with the play.

Four Weeks Ago

Zayne sits on the hotel couch, remote in hand, knuckles white. His hazel eyes remain on the television screen. You move behind him, talking in hushed whispers with his personal trainer while shaking up a green drink in a water bottle.

“It’s predicted that the Skyhaven Fleet will be facing off against the Linkon Hunter’s in this year’s championship. The other teams in the league aren’t able to keep up with their offensive players. With the return of Zayne Li, do you think the Linkon Hunters will be victorious?”

Zayne’s grip on the remote tightens. Unable to look away, he watches as footage from his injury plays on screen. A player in a green uniform uses his hockey stick to swipe at Zayne’s feet, the man’s shoulder colliding into the tall glass planes. His shoulder popped out of its socket, his collarbone shattering into three distinct fragments.

It took him out of the game for three months. He sat on the sideline alongside his team, arm in a black sling, while you sat beside him on the other side of the glass in your usual spot, watching the game, taking notes on plays and players for him. He returned just in time for playoff season, having jumped in a few games before the official start of playoffs.

His game, though, had changed. The once strong and confident player now plays timid, staying away and out of skirmishes that may arise.he hangs back, preferring to shoot from afar despite knowing that the goalie will snatch it in his glove. He no longer slams other players out of the way, instead making sure to always swerve around them instead of taking the hit like he used to.

After every game, Zayne saw the look of disappointment in your face. He noticed every micro-expression, the way your brows furrowed ever so slightly, the twitch of your lips tugging down, the way you could barely look at him when you got back to the hotel while in another city. Zayne knew you were hiding your lackluster enthusiasm for his return to the game. He knows that every smile you give him is filled with sadness that he’s allowing his injury to ruin his season, his career.

Zayne knew he had to make it up to you, to get back into the number one spot in the game and in your heart, even if it means he doesn’t want it as much as you do.

“I think Li and the rest of the Hunters have an uphill battle to face. The Skyhaven Fleet just signed back on their star player, Caleb Xia, and—”

The television goes silent. Zayne blinks, slowly turning his head to look up at you. You look down at him, your hand on top of his. His grip loosens and you slip the remote from his hand, moving it to the side table.

An orange medication bottle sits on the table with his name printed on the side. Painkillers for his shoulder and collarbone just in case his pain flares up. On the coffee table in front of him sits an open laptop. His emails with his coach and physical therapist are open to read, x-rays attached in a file. Beside his laptop is a cup of jasmine tea and a small, sweet breakfast treat, one that you were sure to lecture him for having.

You slowly circle around the couch like a predator trapping its prey. Zayne’s eyes never leave your body. A light blue, silk two piece pajama set hugs your body, a hotel robe flowing behind you. Whenever Zayne looks at you, you always manage to take his breath away. You stare at the television screen, though, and take your place at the other end of the hotel couch.

The television screen shows highlights from Zayne’s last game against the Whitesand Sharks. In one of the clips, Zayne falls behind as the other players push past him, skating across the length of the rink quicker than he did. You sigh, watching his number try to keep up.

“You should skate laps tomorrow…get your stamina back up, lessen your time,” you mutter, eyes fixated on the screen.

Zayne’s hand inches closer to you. His calloused fingertips walk along the exposed skin of your leg. He hooks his fingers behind your calf, using just a tiny bit of his strength and muscles to pull you towards him. A gasp escapes your lips. He immediately wraps his arm around your waist, pulling you into his side.

The palm of your hand flattens against his bare chest, fingers spread out across his skin. He sighs and helps you adjust your legs in a position where you are most comfortable, just the way you like it. Zayne leans his head into yours, his lips pressing a gentle kiss to the top of your head.

“Look,” you point to the screen, “we need to improve before the first playoff game.”

Zayne’s tiny figure glides across the muted television screen. The network plays coverage of another game he was in, a more recent one, where he misses a pass, the puck being caught by an opposing player. Another clip is of him missing the net from a close distance. A close up of his frustrated face flashes across the screen, shaking his head while he chews on his mouth guard. The last clip shows him throwing his hockey stick away, the piece of black painted wood spinning across the ice while Zayne yells at a referee.

“I wonder what he’s yelling about,” Zayne comments, trying to lighten the mood. You slowly turn to look at him, frowning. “He probably has a good reason. He was playing really well—”

“You should stay on the bench if you’re going to continue playing like that.”

“My love…”

“You should sit out of the playoffs. This isn’t your year, so why contribute, right?” You begin to peel away from him but Zayne pulls you right back. Your eyes meet, his gaze burning into yours, disinterest and disappointment in written all over your face.

“I’m just rusty. It’s a confidence thing,” Zayne reasons. You lean in, face hovering next to his. You squeeze his chest, the tips of your fingers just barely grazing across the slowly fading scar on Zayne’s shoulder.

“Then get your fucking confidence back,” your voice is low, dangerous. It’s a threat, a promise that something bad will come his way. Zayne sighs. His grip on you loosens.

You readjust in his arms, gaze now trained on the fresh and slightly pink scar. Your painted fingernail presses into the skin. Zayne sucks in a breath. You drag your finger along the line of the scar, feeling the raised skin press into the pad of your ring finger. The diamond of your wedding ring shimmers under the afternoon sun; the token of Zayne’s love for you perpetually glimmers like the ring he put on your finger, locking you to him. The ring acts as a silent sign that you’re his, nobody else’s.

So is it really a token of his love? Or is it a way for him to mark his territory?

“I would have killed to have a recovery like yours,” you whisper. Zayne turns his head to look at you but you don’t look back. Your nail pushes into his skin further. Chills spread across his chest and shoulder. “I literally would have stabbed someone. An old lady, a child, a priest…you.”

“Where are Mommy and Daddy?” a little girl’s voice can be hard from just outside the hotel’s living room.

“They’re inside watching Daddy’s past games, baby, you can see them soon,” you Gran’s voice soothes her. Both you and Zayne look at the doorway, waiting for them to enter. You turn back around and look up at him, keeping your voice low.

“What do I need to do? What can we do to get you to play like you used to?”

Zayne’s bright eyes move away from your face, looking at the doorway. You turn, following his gaze, and smile when your daughter enters the room. She holds a snowman plushie in her arms, it’s almost as big as she is, and waddles inside. The budding tension between you two immediately dissipates.

“Mommy? Daddy? Can we watch a movie?” she asks, her eyes big and puppy-like.

“Of course, Lily,” you breathe out. You slip from Zayne’s grasp, his touch lingering on your back as you pull your daughter into your arms. She has your hair and nose while taking Zayne’s vibrant hazel eyes and quiet nature. “We were just talking about hockey, honey.”

“You’re always talking about hockey,” Lily murmurs, looking down at her snowman plushie. Your smile falters. Zayne’s heart aches at his daughter’s words.

“I know, I know,” you quickly recover for you and Zayne, glancing back at him. You push away from the couch, hands resting on Lily’s shoulders, and follow her out of the room. “Why don’t you go get your blanket and other plushies to join us, okay? I bet they’d want to watch a movie too.”

Zayne sighs, remaining on the couch. He looks back to the muted television screen. Footage from a previous season’s game, one where his goals were at an all time high, plays. He darts across the ice, perpetually open and quick to pass the puck when the defenders gang up on him. He slips around the opposing team’s hockey net. The puck flies to him and he’s quick to dump the winning goal into the back of the net. Light flash and his team skates up to him. They cheer and celebrate while the other team sulks, aimlessly gliding across the coarse and beaten up ice.

Pride fills Zayne’s chest. He watches how his smile grows from the other side of the camera lens. He can hear the screams and cheers from the crowd, making his ears ring as sirens blare and lights flash on and off. He still remembers how he traveled across the rink, finding you in your usual spot.

There was a small smile on your face. One that is both proud yet expected. Zayne tossed his hockey stick to the side, swiping the black helmet off of his head. His gloved hand presses against the glass. The world around you two moved slow. Confetti descends from the ceiling, taking its time to reach the frozen floor, and bodies jump up and down, hovering in the air before meeting the concrete below them. You stood from your seat, adjusting your clothes, and pressed your hand on the glass, your eyes fixed on his.

“She likes it here,” your voice breaks Zayne out of his daydream. He looks to you. His black hair falls in his face, ticking his eyebrows. You stand in the doorway, arms crossed over your chest. A knot forms in your chest. You slowly breathe in and out, watching as Zayne’s expression softens.

“We can stay here,” he breathes out. He props his elbow up onto the back of the plush couch, leaning his head against it. His eyes travel up and down your body, gaze hesitating when it reaches the scar on your knee.

“Yeah?” you respond, holding your arms closer to you chest. “We can stay here. We can stay behind and act like rich people, like celebrities. We can stay behind and focus on the foundation, maybe get you a job as a coach of a minor league team before you’re pulled up. I can continue being your wife, the mother of your daughter, and play house while you’re gone all day...if it’s what you think you can handle.”

Zayne turns his face away from you. A bitter taste spreads across his tongue. He looks at the television. Caleb Xia’s face is plastered all over it. The volume is off but Zayne can hear the commentator’s praise through the silence. He watches as the man skates across the ice, passing the end zone lines, over the face off circles, the puck moving in and out of other player’s grasps before he launches it into the net.

Frustration builds inside Zayne’s chest. It ferments, rotting his once strong confidence, withering it down as the seconds tick by.

“Or you can continue being a hockey player.”

Zayne’s head snaps to you. Your arms are crossed over your chest. You raise an eyebrow at him, lips pursed.

“Which is what you are. Still.” You push away from the doorway. Every step is calculated, meticulous. He stares at you, heat trickling into his cheeks. His eyes narrow. You look down at him, unable to read the emotions on his face.

Is it anger? Contempt? Love? Hatred? Have you finally broken him? Pushed him past his limit so he can’t return to the same player he used to be?

You stand in front of him, slipping between his spread open legs. He leans forward and places his hands on the back of your thighs. You look down and place a hand on his cheek, your touch gentle and tender. Zayne pulls you closer, your knees and shins pressed against the material of the couch. Your thumb grazes over his cheekbone, wiping over a faded bruise from a punch he took just a few days ago.

“It’s your choice, Zayne,” you whisper, “what do you want?”

Your breath mixes in with Zayne’s. His hands run up and down the smooth skin of your thighs. With one gentle pull, he guides your leg to his side, pulling you on his lap. Your hands rest on the sides of his neck, thumbs grazing the stubble on his jawline. Zayne’s hands slip behind the rope and under your silk pajama shirt, one that he desperately wants to rip off your body with his teeth. He holds back, though, and allows his gaze to travel up and down the bare, unmarked skin of your neck. HIs hazel eyes slowly travel back up to your face, catching your gaze.

“I’m going to be a hockey player,” he whispers.

“Good,” you whisper back. Zayne leans up but you tilt your head to the side, his lips coming in contact with your cheek. He begins to press slow, tender kisses down your jaw, making his way to your neck. You sigh and lean into his touch, closing your eyes, feeling his hands bring your chest closer into his hardened muscles.

Caleb taps his fingers against the car’s steering wheel. The windows are devoured in dirt and grime from the outside world, some of it being trapped beneath his fingernails. His phone screen illuminates the inside of the faded blue Jeep.

“Has the deal gone through yet?” he asks, scratching the back of his neck. The man on the other end of the call sighs.

“They’re being difficult with the paperwork. It will probably be finalized tomorrow.”

“Uh huh…” Caleb swipes out of the call, not ending it, but opens up his bank account. Red numbers stare back at him, his recent transactions for gas and drive thru food sinking him into the negatives. He narrows his eyes at the screen, sighing, before moving back to the call. “Do you think I can get an advance on the paycheck? Or just enough to stay the night somewhere close by?”

“I don’t think that’s possible, Caleb,” his agents responds with another let down of an answer. The man’s face scrunches up. He pinches the bridge of his nose, muscles in his forearms flexing.

“Really?” he follows up.

“Appears that way,” his agent confirms. “This is what happens when you let your ego get in the way and are dropped down to the minor lea—”

“Yeah, yeah,” Caleb interrupts, “I got it. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, yeah?” He hangs up the phone before his agent can answer. He tosses the small device into the passenger seat, hitting an empty styrofoam cup from some chicken place called The Chicken Joint and bounces to the floor. Caleb leans back into his chair, groaning. He slams his fists against the wheel. The horn sounds off for a split second.

 Caleb gets out of the car, walking around to the passenger side. Skyhaven’s nightly breeze chills him, a few snowflakes flowing with the wind. He rips open the passenger side door and picks up his phone, running his thumb over the cracked screen. It vibrates.

Rest up. You have practice tomorrow before the first playoff game game. Don’t fuck it up.

A frown tugs his lips down. He shoves the phone inside the back pocket of his pants and rushes to the motel doors. His boot slips on the wet plastic of the welcome mat, clinging to the metal bar of the door for some stability. The old woman at the front desk watches him, half burnt cigarette hanging from her lips. Bright red lipstick stains the outside of the white roll of tobacco, a grumble leaving her lips.

“Welcome to Cloud Motel,” her voice is gravelly, “what can I do for you?”

“Yeah, hi,” Caleb puts his most charming smile on his face, beaming down at the woman. “I’d like a room, please, but the thing is…” he pauses when the woman begins to turn away, rolling her eyes.

“No money?”

“Yeah…” he scratches the back of his head. “I can get it to you tomorrow! I just signed a multi-million dollar deal with the Skyhaven Fleet so—”

“I don’t know what that is,” the woman quips with a condescending smile. Caleb pauses, smile slightly faltering, before he moves his fists to his side.

“It’s a professional hockey team, ma’am,” he breathes through gritted teeth, “playoffs start this week but they haven’t given me an advance on my salary.”

“Oh? The multi-million dollar deal you were bragging about?” she throws his words right back into his face. Caleb forces his smile to remain, not letting her attitude spoil his mood. “You know, if I gave out a free to room to whoever came in here claiming to be a future millionaire, I wouldn’t be a motel…I’d be a homeless shelter.”

“I can sign a hockey stick for you? It’d be worth a lot of money on eBay—”

“Sir,” the woman snorts, “I don’t know who the fuck you are!”

A laugh flies from Caleb’s lips. The woman takes a drag from her cigarette, blowing the smoke out into his face. He shakes his head and looks away. He taps the counter with his hands before eventually turning around and exiting the motel.

Caleb hugs his arms to his chest, hurrying back to his beaten up Jeep. There are grayed splotches from where the paint has faded. He’s had the car since high school, something he saved up for before he left to go play for the Fleet for the first time.

Now, it was just a reminder of where the past thirteen years of his life has led him to. He’s a washed up hockey player, one that was purposefully demoted to the minor league due to his ego and constant need to hit the puck and fight, that is broke as hell and needs a redemption…what better than to win the playoffs for his team?

He gets inside his car, the engine sputtering to life. He sits there for a minute. The windshield slowly loses its fog and the orange roadside lamps make the world seem more orange than dark. Caleb rubs his dry hands together, warming them up. He puts his seatbelt on and puts the car in drive. The wheels spin against the snow, car drifting as he pulls out into the snow covered road.

The radio is on. Caleb usually has it on some sports channel, especially when hockey season rolls around. A cigarette hangs from his teeth, puffing the smoke out in medium sized plumes.

“Rumor has it that Caleb Xia is coming back to the Fleet,” the radio show host’s voice buzzes from the speakers. Caleb smirks, taking another prideful drag from the stick of tobacco.

“Oh yeah?” the co-host adds. “That’ll either be a whole lot of trouble for them or they’ll win back to back championships!” The hosts laugh. Caleb’s smile fades. He turns it off with a forceful push of the button. The car tilts on its side as he turns into a nearby parking lot.

The Skyhaven Fleet’s arena is owned by Ever so, of course, it’s named Ever Stadium. The bright blue letters illuminate the night and the low hanging clouds. Caleb’s Jeep slips and slides on the snow, eventually parking crooked and across multiple spaces.

He crawls into the backseat, tilting back the seats as much as he can. The windows fog from the heat of the car, the smoke from his cigarettes sticking to the humid glass. Caleb looks out the window and at the stadium, a scowl on his face. Ads flash by the large screens on the outside of the building. The arena promotes the upcoming playoffs as well as other winter sporting events that are held inside, such as figure skating, curling, and speed skating. He is just about to turn away when two familiar faces appear on the screen.

You and Zayne stand on either side of a luxury brand car. A sly smirk is on your face while Zayne’s remains stoic, making him appear as some stone-faced athlete while you remain the innocent ex-figure skater. In the video, the two of you walk around the car and you slip into Zayne’s arms, resting your head against his chest.

Caleb can’t help but laugh. A tinge of jealousy coats his lungs, his breaths now feeling heavy as he inhales and exhales. He grabs a dirty hoodie that sits on the floor of his car, balling it up and placing it behind his head.

If only the world knew, he thinks to himself, if only they knew what you two were like behind closed doors.

2 - 1

The Skyhaven Fleet are still up by a point, Caleb having scored both goals back to back, but your husband, Zayne, managed to sneak in a slap shot just under the ten minute mark. You smiled for him, clapping as he skated by, needing your validation. When Caleb glides by, your smile falls and your breathing quickens, trying to hide it before your husband can notice.

They circle around the rink as the cheers from the crowd die down. Zayne smiles and waves to some fans in the crowd as they chant his name. Whenever his gaze passes over Caleb, his smile turns sinister, competitive. He smirks as he approaches the center of the rink. Caleb follows suit, gripping his hockey stick like the world depends on it.

“I’m glad to see that you still got some talent left to give,” Caleb remarks when they lean down, ready to intercept the puck. Zayne rolls his eyes in response, not ready to dignify Caleb’s childlike behavior…yet. Caleb inches closer, the sharpened edges of his blades burying deeper and deeper into the icy surface.

The puck drops, clattering against the ice. Zayne goes for the puck, slapping it to his teammate from behind. Caleb, on the other hand, hits his stick against the other man’s hands. Zayne hisses, Caleb quickly skating after the puck to follow the play. Zayne shakes his head, anger boiling inside his chest.

The tips of his ears turn red. The slender man shoots after Caleb, immediately falling in sync with his movement. 

The crowd begins to turn rowdy, yelling “Fight! Fight! Fight!” as Zayne draws closer to Caleb. The Skyhaven player is too focused on the puck, purple eyes following the black speck as it speeds across the ice, to notice Zayne coming from behind him.

Zayne tosses his hockey stick to the side, helmet coming off. Caleb turns around when he hears the crowd scream their names. When he sees Zayne flick off his gloves, fists balled up, Caleb smirks, beginning to shed himself of his gloves and helmet as well. And the fight? It just so happens to blossom in front of you. Your lips tug down into a dissatisfied frown. Zayne’s disheveled black locks poke out whereas Caleb’s hair is slick from his sweat, staying down on his head.

Zayne is the first one to throw a punch. His fist connects with Caleb’s jaw. Caleb snatches a fistful of Zayne’s jersey, bringing the man closer to him. Their fists blur in a flurry of blows and they spin and slip on the ice alongside each other. Caleb throws Zayne to the ground but he pulls him with him. The referees finally jump in and throw them away from each other. Zayne slides across the ice, his back hitting the wall where you sit.

He gets up with the help of his teammates, nose bloody. The warm liquid freely flows from his nose, his once perfect bridge now skewed. Zayne turns to you, eyes wide, begging for you to give him something, anything, to let him know that you’re on his side.

Your expression remains still. It doesn’t falter or move, not even a twitch of your muscles is enough to make you react. Fans of the Fleet from all around you call and chant your name, taunting Zayne. You turn your attention elsewhere, watching as Caleb comes into a view. He throws his hair back, out of his face. He picks up his gloves and stick with ease, his purple eyes finding yours in the crowd. Zayne follows your gaze. He watches as Caleb winks at you, his head shooting back to see how you react.

You shift uncomfortably in your seat. Your fingers pick at the skin around your perfectly manicured nails, threatening to destroy the perfect image you have made for yourself. You look back up and both men  have their eyes trained on you. Your heart skips a beat.

The horn blows, signaling the end of the first period.

likes, comments, and reblogs are greatly appreciated <3 i love seeing what y'all have to say! <3

[avifaunaa]

share your soul with me [ unzip your skin, let me have a see ] [ l.m. + s.s. ]

Authors Note: I swear to god if you know me no you do not. I’m going to hell lmao. i had to split this into TWO parts with smut coming in the next one.

Masterlist

PART TWO

Pairing: Lottie Matthews x fem!reader x Shauna Shipman

Summary: Survival in the Wilderness with territorial Alphas and naturally violence-avoidant Betas was going well, all things considering. Your sister, Jackie Taylor, had worked hard to ensure a pack dynamic had formed before the crash and that it remained strong two years within the struggle for your lives. Until you presented, that is, as an Omega.

Content Warnings: I cannot stress this enough — this is a fic that contains A/B/O dynamics so if you aren't comfortable with that I do have multiple other non-a/b/o fics and don't plan on making this a super-regular thing. I’ve never written for this, but here we are.

Within regular Yellowjackets dynamics: Descriptions of injuries and illnesses, death and blood, discussions of + actual cannibalism, canon-typical violence, cult-like behaviors, the Wilderness being the Wilderness

A/B/O Warnings: pack / power dynamics, gender-norm discussions within ABO context, heat/rut cycles, presenting, r is distressed later in the chapter

Word Count: ~4.8k

The sobs and the screams were almost drowned under the sound of your own blood swimming in your years. How is it you've never noticed how loud your heartbeat is?

You weren’t supposed to even be here with your older sister’s soccer team, stuck fighting for survival and waiting for a rescue that may never come. Jackie wouldn't look you in the eye sometimes over it, anymore.

You were meant to still be back at the same University you all attended. One year behind most of the team -- some were in their final graduating years, some were in their third years like Jackie, Shauna, and Lottie. It was your first year away from home, fresh and wide-eyed and supposed to be attending frat parties you had no business being at and making mistakes you would save later first years from when you were in your second year.

Was there any point dwelling on it? You did not think so -- you clung to your older sister most of the time anyways.

Jackie was a formidable Alpha both in the field and off. She made a great captain and her leadership skills were second to none; but you were always privy to the side of Jackie that revealed more of what made her an Alpha. She was fiercely protective in nature and had been your guardian from the second you'd come into the world a wailing, pink-faced creature. It had kicked her instincts into gear, she had told you, having something so innocent and vulnerable to help her parents care for.

And so you became Jackie's shadow. You never presented -- not in any way that would declare you anything other than a Beta -- and that allowed you to drift through unnoticed in Jackie's circle [ in the world ] while keeping your head down and trouble away. It never kept your sister's overprotective nature from lashing out at times, but it turned unwanted attention off of you.

And it allowed you to become integrated within Jackie's pack -- the Yellowjackets team -- without seeming like an intruder or like anyone the team looked too closely or too long at. At most, you were simply the soft-spoken Beta sister of Jackie Taylor who shied away from sports herself and always had pink ribbons in her hair.

You were welcome within the dynamics of the pack your sister had created in the soccer team. Strange, quiet, often kept to herself -- but you always seemed to be there and thus the team saw you as belonging.

So why wouldn't you have been with them on the plane? Shauna had claimed a seat with Jackie [ "That's fine," you promised the Alpha shyly, cheeks pink when the taller woman beamed at you ], so you settled with Misty Quigley -- a strange Beta in her own right.

Everything had been a blur after the plane had taken off.

You woke up in excruciating pain in your left knee and your sinuses being crushed by the invasion of uncontrolled scents of death, of dying, angry Alphas and --

“Hey.” Hands encircled your cheeks and a comfort blanketed you. The familiar peach and vanilla scent [ Jackie, your hindbrain recognized on instinct, a rush of knowing filling you ] wrapped around you like a soothing second skin. "Oh, Watson," she murmured, tone cracking.

Watson. She was never a big reader -- but you had once convinced her to read some of the Sherlock Holmes books with you. The nicknames had stuck.

The air was so thick with distress from everyone around you that it was becoming so overwhelming, on top of the pain that was rippling down your knee in never-ending waves. A noise of your own distress was beginning to rise in the bottom of your throat as your sister's shaky hands stroked your face in an attempt to soothe.

"H-hurts," you garble out, eyes finally opening. You regret it instantly when you're greeted by Jackie's face above you spinning around in circles. She was bleeding from somewhere on her temple, blood fresh in a waterfall down the side of her cheek.

Something shifted slightly on her features -- or were you just imagining that?

"I know," the redhead responded, still keeping a careful hand on your cheek. You were no fool -- you could feel her shaking. "Don't look, okay? Are you cold?"

"A little," you murmured.

Jackie's scent suddenly soured, drowning out the surrounding scents but still choking you. You did not think she realized she was releasing it so strongly as she rapidly began to shift your shoulders closer into her lap. "Okay, okay . . . MISTY --"

The last thing you remember is hearing bloodcurdling screams that you would, in the future, come to understand were yours.

The cabin was blessing in not-so-great disguise. Coach Ben had lost an entire leg, some of the members of the team and another coach were lost in the process -- leaving behind two of his teenaged sons for your pack to care for. An unpresented boy, Javi, and a withdrawn Beta, Travis. They liquidated into the dynamic as well as they could considering what the shared experience was forcing on them.

You woke after initially passing out three days later, apparently, to a warm mid-day with Shauna hovering beside you. Most of the group was gone, Jackie included, but their scents were still fresh enough to tell you they hadn't been gone for more than an hour.

The scratching of paper had you weakly turning your head. Shauna was sitting dutifully at your side -- a couple of feet away -- writing in her journal with a furrowed brow and the side of her cheek sucked into her mouth.

For the first time since you were introduced to her by Jackie, she did not look like an Alpha. She just looked like . . . she simply looked like any other college girl, you'd surmised. Freckles dusted her face, but you wondered if, once the grime and injuries were washed off, more would reveal themselves to you.

Her scent was pleasant to your senses, as well, and had never irritated you like a lot of Alpha and Omega scents did. An earthy oak with an underlay of smoky that seemed to fit her just right.

You had been to doctors for scent sensitivity, an unusual ailment for Betas to be afflicted with. You had been tested for mis-presentation, underlying illnesses, and damaged sinuses. Nothing. You were just an outlier Beta -- sensitive to the other two presentations without having either of the traits to declare you either one.

You do not know how long you watched her, but you were eventually found out. A strand of hair shifted from her bun as she turned her head and met your gaze. She blinked in surprise as she instinctively shut her notebook.

"How long you been awake, Taylor?" she asked, setting the object to the side and turning her body to face you fully.

"Just a couple minutes," you rasp, pressing your shoulder upward against the tree you'd been leaned against so you could test your knee. "How bad?"

Her eyes drifted down to your knee, then back to your face. "Quigley has more medical expertise than we ever gave her credit for," she told you as she reached out to help you sit up, allowing you to escape the slumped over position you'd been in. "Your kneecap seems broken. She found some parts of the plane that had come apart during the crash and we worked to make a brace that would hopefully heal it."

Your eyes drift to your knee, splayed out straight. You noted your jeans had been torn to your upper thigh on that leg and some of the strips had been used to help tie a seatbelt from one of the plane's seats to a make-shift brace of a part of the plane.

"You won't be able to bend your knee very much, if it works right," Shauna added after a minute of silence as you stared at your injury.

"Okay," you said, swallowing. You hoped you weren't expressing too much anxiety in scent or body language as you came to comprehend your position right now. You're lucky at all they managed to get somewhat of a brace to try and work it out, but it may never heal right. Knee injuries were . . .

"At least I don't play soccer," you said with a shot toward humor when Shauna's hand drifted to your arm, radiating concern from her place near you.

Shauna snorted, and she seemed to be smiling at you a little more relaxed when you looked away from your knee and at her.

The girls who had left had returned in a jittery, excited mood. "We found a lake," Jackie told Shauna, eyes twinkling. "It's open skies and if a plane flies over they could see us. We could write an SOS on the shore.''

"Shouldn't we stay here?" you asked hesitantly from behind your sister. "What if a rescue team finds the crash? What if they're looking for us?"

Tai crossed her arms and kicked at some dirt. "We're running on rations and luck right now. The cabin is shelter until help gets us and the lake is a water source. We can make an HQ there at the very least."

It was hard to argue even as Jackie told everyone to lay out pros and cons of staying at the plane and going to the cabin. Eventually the pros of migrating to the new spot won out and everyone was given the afternoon to take what they wanted now and come back for the rest later.

Jackie had a familiar dusty pink backpack over her shoulder when she came striding over to you, a smirk on her face. "Ready to go on an adventure, Watson?"

You blinked. "Is that mine?"

She shrugged her shoulder with the backpack hoisted over it and confirmed, "Sure is. It has all your goodies in it. All you need to do is try standing up."

You rolled your eyes but felt tempted by the change of clothes you had in there alone. "No need to bribe me, Holmes. Get over here." You reached your hands out, looking pathetic you were sure.

The Alpha was oozing a smug confidence as she strides closer and wrapped her arm through yours and -- carefully -- hoisted you to your feet. You yelped out when you started putting pressure on both feet like you normally do, easing up on foot with the broken knee and allowing it to hover.

"Did any of your makeup survive?" you asked Jackie as you leaned into your older sister's warmth and letting her help you over to the gathering team.

The redhead scoffed in your ear. "I don't know. We're gonna come back later to search for more suitcases. Be happy I dragged your backpack out."

You kissed her cheek. "Best big sister in the world."

Jackie pretends to look disgusted when her free hand flew up to wipe her cheek, but the Alpha in her seemed pleased to provide for family -- or anyone -- who needed her help.

Lottie and Shauna hovered nearby the both of you as Jackie became your human crutch. Shauna in particular was aggravated as she hovered behind you and curled a lip at anyone who approached with an offer to help. Lottie simply became a comforting presence, talking to you as you tried to walk through the pain.

You knew the team was dragging slower because of you, but it’s not exactly like any of you were on a time crunch. The walk was filled with revive and hopeful chatter as the forest seemed to open up the closer you got to this cabin and the lake nearby.

And finally, you were rewarded. The view was breathtaking in and of itself — the wide open view, the singing of nearby birds, and even the lake looked welcoming.

Scents started to change from despair and uncertainty to excitement and joy as the girls started ripping away from the pack a few at a time to dart toward the shore of the lake.

Jackie squeezed your waist reassuringly, but urged you toward what you now realized was the cabin. It looked rather old, as though it hadn’t been cared for in years. It wasn’t in shambles but it would take effort on everyone’s part to make it livable while you waited for rescue.

Jackie helped you settle onto the front steps of the cabin and followed you down, resting against you like she knew what you needed was your sister’s comfort.

Shauna stayed nearby instead of meeting the rest of the pack at the lake, but Lottie had parted from you guys with a wave.

You placed your head on Jackie’s shoulder, watching the backpack she carried for you flop down on her other side. “Hey, checking in. How’s your knee?” she murmured.

“It hurts,” you admitted tiredly, reaching a hand down to rub at the injury wrapped together with spare parts and old shirts.

“I’m sorry, Watson,” Jackie started, unable to prevent the shakiness from entering her voice as she did, “I’m so fucking sorry. If I hadn’t dragged you . . .”

You swallowed when she started this line of thinking, of guilt-eating anxiety you saw overwhelm her before. You place a hand on hers in her lap, settling her rocking knees. “Jacks I don’t blame you,” you said quietly, glancing up to make sure Shauna wasn’t listening to close. She wasn’t, busy inspecting the sturdiness of the cabin’s porch beams.

“None of this is your fault,” you continued with an attempt at a reassuring smile. “Let’s not cause either of us more distress if we can prevent it. Please don’t let me be a contribute to a mental breakdown.”

A huffed breath of laughter from behind you. Shauna had perhaps been listening closer than you believed, not that you were discussing anything of sensitive nature.

You knew Jackie. Your sister, your greatest protector, your best friend. She carried the responsibility and wellbeing of her pack — her team — like it was a burden she alone had to endure. It made her both a great Alpha, one that can be assured reliable and capable, and her own greatest foe.

Shauna knew this too — she had been Jackie’s constant next to you in the redhead’s upbringing. They were attached at the hip even before they presented and instead of seeing one another as a threat they had each other’s backs. Jackie relied on Shauna to be another set of eyes on the team, to see and hear what she couldn’t. And Shauna — Shauna was a different Alpha that fit Jackie’s like a puzzle. They were a duo that couldn’t be challenged.

Bring in Lottie . . .

Lottie had come in during Jackie and Shauna’s first year of university. She had simply . . . “Slipped in,” Shauna offered during their break home and catching up with your family. “She slipped in. But she’s great.”

You weren’t positive Shauna wasn’t in love with the brunette Alpha, from the way she talked about her all the way to meeting her and seeing Shauna interact with her. They were different than Shauna and Jackie, or Jackie and Lottie.

They were an enigma you had always found fascinating but kept your eyes from wandering too dangerously.

Jackie had been talking, you not listening. You drifted off into your thoughts and only managed to get shaken out when you felt a nudge.

“Watson, you with me?”

You blinked at her. She watched you with mild concern, holding one of your ribbons from your backpack delicately in her hands and fiddling with it, twirling it around her fingers before loosening it and pulling at it.

“Sorry, yes I’m with you,” you respond with a futile attempt at hiding your brainwandering.

Jackie’s eyebrow quirked and a small smirk pulled her lips. “Liar,” she teased, but didn’t sound too upset. “Are you upset I didn’t take you to the lake?”

You shrugged. “I can go to the lake tomorrow, or when my knee is less sore. I don’t think I can walk that much again right now.”

Your sister nodded in agreement. “I didn’t think so. I don’t want the materials we’re using to get ruined if you swim and we just put them on . . . So I thought . . .”

“Good idea, as usual, Holmes,” you praised, offering a mock salute to which earned you a scoff.

1 /12 Years Later — Winter, The Wilderness

“More snowfall?” The voice of Jackie drags you out from a fitful sleep, the heat of the fire in the cabin forcing your eyes to remain closed.

“Bad,” Natalie’s cold-soaked voice rasped, half-muffled behind what was probably the scarf she used to keep her face covered from the piercing storm while she went hunting. “No visibility.”

For a moment the only sound that could be heard in the crowded cabin was the wood crackling from the fire. Then Jackie sighed. “Thank you for trying.”

“It’s the third day in a row.”

“I know, Nat. We’ll — we’ll work something out.” Jackie didn’t sound so assured, but her scent remained as steady and calm as she could when she was this concerned.

“We . . . I don’t want to have to . . . Again.”

“We may not have a choice,” your sister whispered, “but neither do I.”

It was a dismissal, and Nat shuffled through the cabin to get to her usual spot near the back window. You heard the press of her shoe near your head as she treaded lighter. Jackie rejoined you, and you allowed her movement to make you pretend that’s what woke you.

“Jackie?”

“Did I wake you?” The Alpha settled herself back into your shared nest. Your making with what few materials you had. You had considered discussing with Jackie about making a nest for the entire pack, for warmth; but so many people were on edge and you weren’t entirely sure how they’d take a Beta making the offer.

“No,” you lied, turning around and pushing yourself up on an elbow to gaze at your sister. She had bags under her eyes, shadowed by the firelight that danced off the corners of the cabin. “Have you slept?”

“No,” Jackie echoed though you feared she was being truthful in that regard, pulling her ragged blanket toward herself. “It’s getting . . . Well the snow isn’t getting lighter right now.”

You eyed her with suspicion simply from how she seemed to avoid saying exactly what she was thinking and the furrow of her brows.

“It’s going to be okay,” you vowed to her, reaching your hands out to warm them at the fire while your back was turned to her. “We’re going to be fine.”

Until you got sick.

The body aches and dizziness were what came first. Misty was adamant that you had no fever, even if you felt warmer inside of your own skin. Usually you tended to the fires and helped with laundry when your knee permitted it, but currently it was mid-afternoon and you could barely crawl out of bed.

Jackie was pacing like a rabid animal, unsure of how to help you but feeling unable to physically approach. She was avoiding you in the same breath that she was hovering from a distance.

You ate your rations when they were offered [ Melissa was the Wilderness’ choice this season, the sacrifice for greater success of the rest ]. You were ravenous, and though the piercing stomach pains were telling in your continued hunger, you did not mention it.

Sleep, food, wake to shiver and go to the bathroom. Repeat. Eyes were following your every movement, mostly from Shauna and Tai — like they were studying an animal at an exhibit. Shauna’s were shadowed over as though they were hiding something from everyone else. It terrified you and drew you to her — and somehow, her scent made your mouth water.

Another three days bouts of sleep and shakes was when the nesting started.

It took the team by surprise when you crawled out of your own barely shaped nest, created by whatever you and Jackie had managed to use as blankets and clothing when it was colder at night, and started seeking out items. You later would hardly remember any of it, just going on an instinct you didn’t know you had.

Lottie and Shauna’s scents stuck out the strongest and as the most soothing — so you went to their beds first. Neither of the Alphas, who stood near their beds, tried stop you [ nor did anyone else ] when you started grabbing small items from their makeshift beds.

You snagged something of Misty’s and Mari's— even though they were Betas — and you definitely may have something from Tai in the attack while she was out with Van.

It went unaddressed, but there was a fascination as the women watched you work. Your body was aching like it did when you first landed and yet you moved without even consciously thinking about it. Autopilot in full force and you do not remember much of it.

The fever eventually struck a day or two later and waking up that morning feeling it in its' entirety was a hectic one. Your burning eyes peeled open from a long sleep, and as your senses returned to you the barrage of aggression and tension filled every pore. The air was thick and when your eyes adjusted, you noted most girls moved with a cautious stiffness.

You did not see very much of it with Jackie apparently using her body as a sort of shield. You noticed, blearily, Melissa make hesitant movements past you and Jackie's body turned with each step, keeping herself as a wall between yourself and the other Alpha.

Claw-like sensations ripped at your lower back neck, urging you to try and make sense of your surroundings. Uneasy, nervous, you felt so many things and -- "Jacks?" you managed to slur, fists curling into the thick nest you had unknowingly made, "Jackie what's going on?"

Your voice seemed to snap her out of some sort of mindset. Her face angled slightly back toward you without moving the rest of her body. "Hey, Watson," she greeted softly, tone a lulling purr she used when she knew something had upset you, "How are you feeling?"

You started sitting up as she spoke and she moved quickly in response; a hand curling around your arm to help you. While her touch was usually welcome and encouraged, her fingers making contact with your skin set off a reaction you'd never experienced.

You whined lowly as the touch brought on a burn. Why did it feel wrong? Why did your stomach lurch, curl into sickly knots, urging you to pull away and bite at her fingers for daring to --

“You’re presenting.”

Lottie's announcement from her spot feet away was met with silence so intense that only the howling of the wind against the rafters of the cabin was heard.

Presentingpresentingpresenting—

Tai and Van were hunched with Nat near their spots by the front door, the Alpha and two Betas gazing your way with soft eyes, concerned frowns.

Not many of the other Alphas were in the cabin right now, you noted, as your eyes darted around.

No.

“Lottie,” Jackie snarled with warning, followed by a fast rise to her feet that momentarily left you exposed. Your head was spinning as Lottie got closer — oh, she was —

“As an Omega,” Lottie continued as though Jackie hadn’t said anything at all. Her dark eyes were steadily firm on you; an Alpha who was awful relaxed while supposedly in close proximity to an Omega in their first heat.

Your fingers dug into the nest you’ve created for yourself in your haze. Now you understood, with a sort of unrecognizable prick of satisfaction [ they're providing, pack is caring, a low purr you did not have days earlier echoed in your head ], the lack of protest in your doings — the Alphas not stopping you when you entered, uninvited, to their own beds to snag their warm clothes, the Betas who wouldn’t meet your gaze.

With that understanding also came a wave of dread that covered you like a thick sandstorm covers any form of life not smart enough to get out of the way. You sat on your knees as Lottie's never-ending gaze rest upon you with an expression you could not read.

And then tears filled your eyes. You lifted your hand to bite down on your knuckles to stifle the sounds -- but you could smell your own pheromones pouring out of you like the tears you cried. You were spiraling quickly, unable to yet control it and the overwhelming realization that your entire life as you knew it was changing.

"I didn't . . ." you whispered, choking on more tears, teeth sliding across your chapped knucklebone, "I had . . . no idea. I wouldn't have kept this . . ."

Jackie's head snapped back around to look at you fully and the panic in her eyes was not helping. She moved slow and crouched in front of you. "Oh, Watson, we know that. We know you didn't know. How could you?" She reached out a hand, as though to soothe a wild animal, but her scent -- normally a comfort you took readily -- was currently sour and had you rearing back from her offer.

Her expression revealed hurt, briefly, before she lowered her hands to her knees. "You must be . . . pretty deep into it if you can't stand the scent of me anymore," she said a little sadly.

You blinked owlishly at her, digesting her words and trying to connect them to what you learned about Omegas in biology. You recalled [ after a few moments of thought ] that Omegas in a heat cycle will suddenly reject the scents of Alphas or Betas they're related to, as their biology and the changes that came with a cycle began to prepare for said Omega to seek out a suitable mate. Familial scents would sour and attempts at comfort were met with resistance until after an Omega was mated or the cycle was over.

You had an Omega friend who commented on how disgusting her family smelled for days after she returned to classes after her first heat. It took a week for it to return to normal, she had told you.

You tried to give your sister an apologetic whine, crooning and deep with signs of distress. A noise you never knew you could produce -- you were a Beta for twenty one years of your life.

"We need to move her to the attic," Tai said from her spot. Your eyes moved to her and you breathed out in relief when the Alpha seemed to be showing little interest in you. You had suspected she mated with Van, but the lack of interest seems to prove your theory.

"My nest," you weakly protested, palms running along the pathetic little nest you made. Not that you had many options in the wilderness.

"We'll move it upstairs with you," Jackie promised, nodding at you. "Make it nice and cozy, less crowded."

The door opened suddenly and a snowy Shauna entered, bringing int he scent of fresh snow and the oak you familiarized her with. You were drawn to her so intensely like you were with Lottie.

She glanced at you very briefly before beating her shoes of snow and stalking over to Lottie. You watched intently as the two Alphas lowered their heads together and murmured something that you could not hear even when you strained to listen.

Jackie was a ball of nervous energy as the Alphas gave you space, and Jackie, to move your nest and belongings up into the attic. You couldn't help but feel as though you were being isolated for an illness . . . but the rational side of you that remained understood why this had to be done.

That didn't mean you hurt less as you were forced to recreate your nest and curl up ride out the pain on your own, away from your pack and processing what this meant for the future.

PART TWO

Again you absolutely do not know me if you know me.

[archaeren]

Hello!! I hope you're having a good day ^^ I came across your post about writing non-linearly on Notion and I'm excited to try it out because the advice resonated with me! Though, I'm really new to using the app and, if possible, need help with how to do this part: 'where every scene is a separate table entry and the scene is written in the page inside that entry.' ;v;

Hello! Thank you so much for messaging!!! Since that post about writing non-linearly (linked for context) blew up roughly ten thousand times as much as anything I've ever posted, I've been kind of meaning to make a followup post explaining more about how I use Notion for writing non-linearly, but, you know, ADHD, so I haven't done it yet. XD In the meantime, I'll post a couple screenshots of my current long fic with some explanations! I'd make this post shorter, but I'm unable to not be Chatty. XD (just ask my poor readers how long my author notes are...) (There is a phone app as well which syncs with the desktop/browser versions, but I work predominantly in the desktop app so that's what I'm gonna be showing)

(the table keeps going off the right side of the image but it's a bunch of unimportant stuff tbh) So this is more complicated than what you'll probably start with because I'm Normal and add a bunch of details that you might not need depending on what you're doing. For example, my fic switches POVs so I have a column for tracking that, and my fic follows a canon timeline so I have a column for dates so I can keep track of them, and I also made columns for things like if a scene had spoilers or certain content readers may want to avoid, which they can access in my spoiler and content guide for the fic. (As I said, I'm Normal.) I also do some complicated stuff using Status and estimated wordcount stuff to get an idea of how long I predict the content to be, but again, not necessary. Anyway, you don't need any of that. For the purposes of this explanation, we're just gonna look at the columns I have called Name, Order, and Status. (And one called Part, but we'll get into that later) Columns in Notion have different types, such as Text, Numbers, Select, Date, etc, so make sure to use the type that works best for the purpose of each column! For example, here I'm using Select for Character POVs, Number for Order and WC (wordcount), and Text for the In-Game Date. Okay let's get into it! Name is a column that comes in a Notion table by default, and you can't get rid of it (which drives me up the wall for some purposes but works totally fine for what we're doing here). As you can see on the scene I've labeled 'roll call', if you hover over a Name entry, a little button called 'Open' appears, which you click on to open the document that's inside the table. That's all default, you don't have to set anything up for it. Here's a screenshot of what it looks like when I click the one titled 'I will be anything for you' (I've scrolled down in the screenshot so you can see the text, but all the data fields also appear at the top of the page)

(This view is called 'side peek' meaning the document opens on one side and you can still see the table under it on the left, which is what mine defaults to. But you can set it to 'center peek' or 'full page' as well.) All my scenes have their own entry like this! Note that I've said scenes, not chapters. I decide the chapters later by combining the scenes in whatever combination feels right, which means I can often decide in advance where my chapter endings will be. This helps me consciously give most of my endings more impact than I was usually able to do when I tried to write linearly. So hopefully that gives you an idea of what I mean by writing inside the table and treating the table as a living outline. The 'Status' column is also pretty straightforward, and might require a little setup for whatever your needs are. This is another default column type Notion has which is similar to a Select but has a few more specialized features. This is how mine is set up:

(I don't actually use 'Done', idk why I left it there. Probably I should replace it with 'Posted' and use that instead of the checkmark on the far left? whatever, don't let anyone tell you I'm organized. XDD)

Pretty straightforward, it just lets me see easily what's complete and what still needs work. (You'll notice there's no status for editing, because like I mentioned in my other post, I don't ever sit down to consciously edit, I just let it happen as I reread) Obviously tailor this to your own needs! The Order column is sneakily important, because this is what makes it easy for me to keep the scenes organized. I set the Sort on the table to use the Order to keep the scene ordered chronologically. When I make the initial list of scenes I know the fic will have, I give all of them a whole number to put them in order of events. Then as I write and come up with new scene ideas, the new scenes get a number with a decimal point to put them in the spot they fit in the timeline. (you can't see it here, but some of them have a decimal three or four digits deep, lol). Technically you can drag them to the correct spot manually, but if you ever create another View in your table (you can see I have eight Views in this one, they're right under the title) it won't keep your sorting in the new View and you'll hate yourself when it jumbles all your scenes. XD (And if you get more comfortable with Notion, you probably will at some point desire to make more Views) The Part column isn't necessary, but I found that as the fic grew longer, I was naturally separating the scenes into different points along the timeline by changes in status quo, etc. (ex. "this is before they go overseas" "this is after they speak for the first time", stuff like that) in my mind. To make it easier to decide where to place new scenes in the timeline, I formalized this into Parts, which initially I named with short summaries of the current status quo, and later changed to actual titles because I decided it would be cool to actually use them in the fic itself. Since it's not in the screenshots above, here's what the dropdown for it looks like:

(I've blocked some of the titles out for spoiler reasons)

Basically I only mention the Parts thing because I found it was a useful organizational tool for me and I was naturally doing it in my head anyway. Anyway, I could keep talking about this for a really long time because I love Notion (don't get me started on how I use toggle blocks for hiding content I've edited out without deleting it) but that should be enough to get started and I should really, you know, not make this another insanely long post. XDD And if anybody is curious about how the final results look, the fic can be found here.

[kurishiri]

ikémen villains content warning list .ᐟ

this is a work-in-progress compilation of complete content warnings per route (because ikévil tends to underwarn a bit maybe to avoid spoilers) that will be updated as we go. please let me know if I missed anything, regardless if it says ‘work in progress’ or not, or pitch in with warnings. ♡ and ↻ are appreciated!

some of the ikévil routes contain sensitive themes that may be triggering. so please remember to take care of yourself while reading 🫶

GENERAL ༉‧₊˚. ��️

canon-typical violence, (minor but named) character death, depictions of murder, sexually explicit content.

────────────────────

WILLIAM REX ༉‧₊˚. 🍓

near death experience, drug abuse, sexual coercion (not by love interest), corruption, romanticization of death.

───────── 〔🌹〕 ─────────

HARRISON GRAY ༉‧₊˚. 🦊

corruption of the police and higher-ups, mentions of human trafficking, coercion to commit crimes, mentions of kidnapping.

───────── 〔🍧〕 ─────────

LIAM EVANS ༉‧₊˚. 🐈

attempted suicide, suicide and suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety, implied self-harm, mentions of child abuse (physical and emotional), fire, severe burn wounds, human trafficking, mental breakdowns.

───────── 〔🎟️〕 ─────────

ELBERT GREETIA ༉‧₊˚. 🍎

objectification both by and against love interest, mentions of sexual assault or rape (not by love interest), domestic abuse, attempted child sexual assault, pedophilia, obsessive and possessive behavior, stalkerish behavior, grooming, non-consensual touching, depicted suicide, self-harm, mental breakdowns, mentions of animal death, kidnapping, mentions of human trafficking.

───────── 〔🦋〕 ─────────

ALFONS SYLVATICA ༉‧₊˚. 🪞

description of children’s corpses, symptoms of depression, topics of mortality, attempted suicide, near death experience, self-harm, mental manipulation (?), dub-con: having sexual intercourse while one has “consented” in an intoxicated state or under the influence of a curse, (perceived) non-con, mentions of drug abuse and the effects of drugs, mentions of child abuse or labor, implied animal torture and death.

───────── 〔🐈‍⬛〕 ─────────

ELLIS TWILIGHT ༉‧₊˚. ⛓️ —— warnings provided by @myusuchaa !!

romanticization of murder and death, family murder and death, suppressed emotions, emotional disconnect, people pleasing, attempted kidnapping, negative treatment of disabilities, coercion, child trafficking, gang activity.

───────── 〔🥀〕 ─────────

ROGER BAREL ༉‧₊˚. 🍻

a loott of alcohol consumption, drug usage or abuse (recreational drug use), cult activity, near/death experience of a side character, dub-con, self-harm especially in the past.

───────── 〔🧪〕 ─────────

JUDE JAZZA ༉‧₊˚. ⌛️ —— warnings provided by @judesmoonbeauty !!

smoking, torture, mentions of drugs and human trafficking, neglect and child abuse, mentions of a child’s death and the death of a family member.

───────── 〔🕰️〕 ─────────

VICTOR ༉‧₊˚. 💀 —— w.i.p. !!

(t. b. a.)

───────── 〔👑〕 ─────────

[brain-rot-central]

Hey Jealousy

Rating: M/borderline E? (for now) Pairing: Spawn!A/Fem!Tav Word count: 3.5k

Warnings: NON-CANON, 18+, degrading speech, somewhat dubcon for certain parts but not totally?, adult themes, mentions of past sexual relationship, alcohol mention, alcohol use, blood mention, possessiveness, jealously, stalking, dry humping, ANGST, some fluff, bitter petty nonsense overall tbh

Summary: Astarion and Tav split at the end of the game due to a huge miscommunication. She tries desperately to move on, Astarion not so much. He finally gets ahold of her, aaaaand some messy feelings come out.

A/N - 1/28/24: Reuploading this! Not much has changed; mostly pulled it for grammatical editing purposes. Hopefully the story flows a bit better now!

The tavern is bustling with the usual weekend crowd. Upbeat music fills the air of the small establishment as this evening’s band continues their set. Drinks cascade like waterfalls into the hands and mouths of the tavern's parched patrons, each desperate for a distraction to drive out the unsettling reality of their lives, albeit for a few hours.

Astarion is perched in a corner of the tavern, circling the tip of his finger around the edge of his wine goblet. The unpleasant flavor of piss and vinegar lingers on his tongue from the spirit, mouth salivating. He sucks his teeth instinctively, trying to rid himself of the taste. 

Reaching into the pocket of his favored violet and gold doublet, he retrieves a small vial of crimson liquid. He pops off the stopper and deposits the contents into his cup, bringing the cylindrical glass to his mouth to lap up the small droplet that rolls down its side.

He hums in satisfaction as the sweet flavor spreads across his tongue, floral and lively, before returning the stopper back atop the vial. Using a single finger, he swirls the additive into his wine, bringing the goblet back to his lips for another sip. 

Ah, much better.

Surveying the bar, Astarion catches the attention of a young elven woman. She's aesthetically pleasing on the eyes - blonde hair with tan skin. Were he here for another reason, he may have tried his luck with her.

Astarion nods politely. The woman then rises from her seat, walking toward him. “Shit,” he mutters to himself, adjusting his positioning. He hurriedly repockets the blood vial within his doublet and hangs his head low just as she takes the seat at his booth, opposite him.

“Well, you’re certainly different from the usual fare,” she says, confidently. “Not often we get you teu-tel-quessir folk in here.” 

Astarion absently swirls his wine. She believes I'm a moon elf?

Assuming that she's a regular of this tavern, this woman may be somewhat oblivious. Were she not, she’d have realized this is his third visit this month alone.

Astarion decides to play into her little game - he’s compelled to see how long he can keep the charade going. “I’m but a weary traveler, just passing through,” he lies. It rolls off his tongue like the caress of an old friend. Creating a fictitious life for himself is something he’s had quite a bit of practice doing.

“Is that so? I, too, happen to be passing through here.” The woman places her elbows on the table and leans forward, giving Astarion better access to the cleavage threatening to spill over the top of her bodice. His eyes fall briefly to the woman’s chest, but he doesn’t look at her face. Not yet. “Got the room rented out upstairs for a couple more days,” she adds, tone hushed.

Sliding her hand toward his, she gently rubs her fingers over the ones he has encased around the neck of the wine goblet. Astarion shudders, not expecting such an intimate touch, and finally lifts his gaze to meet her own. “Care to make a few mistakes with me?” she asks.

Astarion snickers. He can tell part of her story is a facade, though he doesn’t care enough to discern which. 

“My apologies, love, but I’ve made enough mistakes to last a lifetime,” he replies. Pulling his hand from her, he grabs his wine by the cup, bringing it again to his lips. “I’ll have to decline.”

The elven woman softly hums in disappointment, standing up from her seat at the booth. “Such a shame,” she says, “you really are something beautiful.” She raises a hand to her lips, kissing the pads of her fingertips before extending them out toward him. Gently blowing on her fingers, she says, “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

Astarion raises his cup to her and she walks off, returning to her group of friends on the far side of the tavern. He groans a sigh of relief.

Wasting little time resuming his attention on the crowd surrounding him, another is quick to catch his eye. He's seen her before - long auburn hair flowing down her back with streaks of blonde scattered throughout. She wasn't dressed in her evening best, but even so, the blouse and slacks she wore left little to his imagination.

She's sitting at the bar in the middle of the tavern, a young tiefling gentleman holding her attention at present. He’s not her usual type, Astarion notes to himself, though he remains transfixed on their interaction.This is the second man he's seen this evening trying their hand at impressing the young human woman. 

A smile forms on her lips as she converses with her current suitor. Astarion once again swirls his goblet of wine before bringing it back to his mouth for another taste.

He knows this woman, rather intimately, at that. He’s held her hair within his hands, traced the outline of her jaw with his fingertips. The smell of her skin is ever present in his mind. The saltiness of her sweat on his tongue as he lavishes her throat, the intoxicating roll of her hips against his as he bites down into the tender flesh of her neck… the rush of blood cascading down his throat.

He swallows thickly around the memory.

They've been together a handful of times throughout their travels to save the Realm from the threat of the Absolute, but that was neither here nor there, at this point.

The tiefling begins skirting his fingers along her forearm, and she leans into his touch. Astarion seethes from his place in the booth, a rush of warmth flooding his core and quickly spreading outward to each of his limbs. It’s been months since they decided on this new agreement, though his reaction is just as strong whenever another encroaches on her.

Astarion looks on as the red-head gently pats her companion’s arm before standing from her seat. His eyes follow her toward the back of the tavern. After downing the rest of his drink in one quick swing, he’s following her, careful to keep just enough distance not to rouse suspicion.

The music from the band thumps loudly in his chest as he draws closer to the crowd of people gathered before the stage. Lucky for him, they’re so entranced by the show that they hardly notice his mindless weaving, trying not to lose sight of his target. Astarion stops for a moment to refocus, looking around. It doesn’t take him long at all to zero in a glimpse of those fiery locks disappearing down a hallway off to the side.

His feet bring him to the start of the long corridor and he peers cautiously around the corner. The woman is not to be found, likely in the powder room. Astarion sighs, some of the built up tension beginning to wane from his shoulders, and comes to stand with his back against the window across from the facilities.

The residual tension within him is beginning to bleed into anxiety and doubt the longer he waits. His mind is rapidly exchanging scenarios, all of which cause his stomach to become unsettled. Gooseflesh spreads over his arms and the fine hairs covering them stand on end. Why is he doing this? They'd agreed to be friends and nothing more. It’s his fault for not being able to honor his end of the deal, he knew, but by the Gods, he simply does not care.

Since the first drops of her blood spread across his tongue, Astarion knew something within him changed. He wasn't sure if it was due to her being his proverbial “first,” but he felt… compelled by her from that moment forward. Bonded almost, in a strange way. 

In a sea of crimson, her blood would always sing loudest to him. It horrified him in the beginning, recalling memories of Cazador's puppeteering ways. The fear ebbed into compassion, after a time. As their physical relationship grew more intimate, compassion melted into an overwhelming desire to guard her. A want to protect what was his, finally his, after so many godsdamned years of pure, absolute shit.

Their… whatever it was they shared, was his. And he would gladly throw his life on the line any chance he could to insure its sustainability.

He catches a glint of red in his peripheral vision again. The human, oblivious to his presence, begins her trek back to her seat at the bar. The thought barely has time to process in Astarion’s head before his body reacts, reaching out to grab the side of her arm, pulling her back toward the wall with him.

“What the-!” the woman exclaims in shock. Her other hand comes up to begin swatting at the offending appendage. She stops midway as her eyes meet his face, recognition washing over her. “Oh, Astarion,” she says, voice flat, “what… what are you doing here?”

A practiced smile graces his lips as he releases the grip on her arm. “Am I not free to seek my own pleasure, darling?” An uneasiness begins to take root again, mind scolding him once the words leave his lips. What in the hells kind of question is that? 

Astarion clears his throat. “I was simply out for a drink before returning home when I saw what appeared to be a fire in the middle of the bar.” Unsure of what response he's hoping for, he's praying she doesn't catch onto his desperate attempt at recovery.

A quick blush spreads across her cheeks and she bows her head, giving a genuine smile. Astarion huffs out a breath in relief. 

During their time together, Astarion would often tease that her hair reminded him of a raging fire. Eventually, he adorned her with the pet name of “spitfire;” she thoroughly enjoyed solving the majority of her problems through brute force. She favored it, evidenced by a deep blush that would spread across her features.

Not unlike the one rising to her face at this very moment.

Were he honest with her, he’d tell her that this isn’t the first time he’s followed her since they parted - watched helplessly from afar as she rotated through potential nightly suitors. He chooses not to, however. Chooses to not tell her that he’s noticed every man she’s taken home has platinum hair. How they’re always of elven lineage.

She seems to buy his excuse as she visibly relaxes before him. “Oh, no, of course, Astarion,” she sighs. “It's uh, it's been a few weeks, hasn't it?” Her eyes are soft as she shifts her weight onto one hip. “How have you been?”

She's nervous, he can tell. She's doing that thing with her lip, chewing the inside of it. The rush of blood in her veins crashes and bellows in his ears as her blush settles deeper across the top of her chest.

“As well as one would imagine,” Astarion replies, “after having their heart broken.” There’s an air of nonchalance decorating his tone. A well-worn smirk tugs at his lips. He's fuming inside at the thought of another touching her, but he doesn't want to play his cards outright yet. 

No, he wants to see her squirm, wants to inflict just a touch of the torment he's experienced since their parting.

What a spiteful creature.

Her expression falls flat, jaw tensing. “I'm not sure what you mean by that,” she retorts in a meek tone. She pulls her shoulders back. "I-I thought we agreed to be friends, no?”

Astarion glances over his shoulder to see the young tiefling gentleman from before passing behind them. Their eyes meet, Astarion furrowing his brow. His jaw tightens, lips curling upward, and the peaks of his fangs are visible. He watches for the tiefling’s reaction, elated to find that the boy is clearly shaken by his display. The Tiefling turns to speak but decides against it, turning his back to the scene before him. 

Astarion sneers.

Yet another unworthy fool. 

Though… a fool who has touched her. Something he and only he should be privy to.

An inferno erupts within him.

Astarion grabs the young woman by the arm again and leads her toward the supply closet at the end of the hall, making quick work of the lock. Astarion scans their surroundings before opening the door and shoving her in, a small squeak pushed past her lips from the impact of his hand on her back. Quickly closing the door behind him, he yells, “Ignis!” a fireball lighting the lone torch in the room.

“Astarion, what-” she shouts in protest. Before the opportunity arises he’s back on her, pinning her in place to the wall with his hips. His hands fly up to cup either side of her jaw.

"Do you truly believe I meant that?" he growls low in his throat, their eyes meeting in a whirlwind. “That I only wanted to be friends?” he adds, mockingly. 

He's desperately searching her face for something, anything to show him he's not alone in this. Her tense expression stokes the fire raging within him.

Suddenly, he's spiraling.

The small voice in his head, his conscience, is yelling at him to stop - to pull back. She’s made it quite clear how she feels, you love-sick idiot. 

Logic fails him - he cannot form a single cohesive thought. Not when she's looking at him like that.

A doe caught unawares in the middle of a forest. Eyes blown wide, mouth slightly agape. Not unlike those he's hunted multiple times in the past. His chest heaves as he drinks in her expression, a wave of heat rising up within him. 

The compulsion is overwhelming, rapidly losing the battle with the rational part of his brain. Bitterness bites at the back of his throat like acid. 

He absolutely must continue.

“Is that why your home has become a revolving door?” Astarion says, watching her face shift. 

“Excuse me?” the human asks, offense evident in her tone. A rhetorical question, though he pushes forward.

“Of men who look just enough like me?” he continues, driving the thorn deeper into the woman's side.  

Suddenly, she’s stone, cold and unwelcoming. Her face twists into something sour, nose scrunching up in disgust.

“Astarion Anunín… Have you been stalking me?” she nearly yells.

Oh, he has her right where he wants her.

"The color of their hair does always match my own…” Astarion ponders aloud, head tilting to one side. “Have any of them fucked you as thoroughly as I have, darling?" he chides.

Pulling in a quick, ragged breath, the young woman shudders beneath him, her head falling forward. Her hips involuntarily twitch against the knee he’s suddenly wedged between her thighs and she whimpers, biting her lip to stifle the sound. 

“Astarion…” she groans, eyes falling closed. 

She’s upset, he knows. Yet, he’s privy to how she can barely resist the call of his body against her. Why not use that knowledge to his advantage?

A heavy flush settles across her face and she reopens her eyes, looking up at him through hooded lids. Astarion sees it then - the unabashed desire emanating from her. 

How ironic, he thinks to himself, that her eyes have a hunter green hue. At this moment she feels like prey, wrapped up in a delicate satin bow, all for him.

The remnants of his eternally damned soul sing in delight at her unraveling before him. Saliva pools thick on his tongue as he lavishes the thought of pushing forward, closing in on her.

Astarion leans toward her, cocking his head again to one side. “Hells, Tav… Did it really never occur to you that we made love the last time we were together?" he asks quietly, mouth hovering just above her lips.

Tav shivers beneath him, body writhing against the wall she's leaning against. Her hands come up to press against his chest, gripping fistfuls of his shirt as she grinds herself again on the knee between her legs. The flush on her face is so deep, practically matching the color of her hair.

“Y-you’re hardly playing fair,” she huffs out. She moans again, genuine and clear, making little attempt to subdue the noise. Astarion groans in response before closing the distance, finally capturing her lips in a kiss. 

He’s timid at first, wanting to gauge her reaction. Tav doesn't resist nor push him away, giving him the encouragement to continue. Her jaw grows pliant under him and invites him deeper into her mouth, tongues entangling for a quick moment. The kiss is brief - just enough until she settles beneath him. Both of their chests heave as they part.

Astarion’s eyes rest upon her lips before he draws his head back. His hands fall from her face and he lays his palms flat against the wall on either side of her head. 

"My biggest regret is that I lacked the courage to tell you with words..." he admits, voice trailing off. The ghost of a smile tugs at the corners of his lips as he adds, "so, instead, I used the one tool I'm most versed with.”

Tav's pupils blow wide at the implication of his words.

Of course, Astarion used his body - used himself as an instrument. Again. To him, this is familiar territory. This is safe. 

This is all I’m good for.

"It appears I must have gotten my translation wrong," he quips.

Tav shakes her head in disagreement. “It wasn’t wrong…” 

She adjusts herself against the wall as Astarion’s leg falls back into a normal position, no longer wedged between her. 

“I was so sure… and then the morning after, I- '' She cuts herself off and swallows. “I didn’t know what to think, Astarion.”

Astarion pushes himself off the wall, taking a few steps back from Tav to give her space. 

“I don’t understand,” he begins, folding his arms over his chest. “I thought I made my position rather clear that morning. About…” He shrugs his shoulders. “Us. This.”

Huffing out a quick laugh, Tav shakes her head again, her discomfort in their current conversation mounting. “You started talking about being free, and-” 

She stops herself again, choking back a sigh. “It just seemed so selfish to ask you to be with me. You were just getting yourself back, after so long.”

Tears begin to gather at the corners of Tav’s eyes. Gently with the pads of his thumbs, Astarion wipes them clean.

“Oh, my silly little love,” he says, lowering his face to place a chaste kiss upon her forehead. “How I wish you would have spoken to me first.”

Tav’s hands come up to cover his, removing them from her face. “I think… I think I need to go,” she tells him, urgently. 

Nodding in silent agreement, Astarion lets her dip out from under him, seeing her inch closer toward the door. 

Before she grips the door’s handle, she turns to look at him. “...Can we talk more about this?” She quickly gestures to their surroundings before adding, “In a better situation, maybe?”

Astarion can only sigh, chest rising and falling heavily. “Of course, my dear. Do you have a particular place in mind?”

Her eyes fall to the floor. Tav knits her fingers together nervously, rubbing her thumbs over the other. “Well… where are you staying?”

A quick laugh escapes his throat and he averts his gaze. His voice is soft and tender as he focuses on a broom leaning against the corner of the wall behind her, “...I went home.”

Tav furrows her brow before asking, “What do you mean by home?”

“Home, to Cazador’s,” he states, devoid of emotion. Astarion’s eyes fall back onto her, watching as she adjusts her posture.

“It’s not as though I know much else,” he continues. “I lack the gold or the ability to work. I have only what I’m able to pilfer off the unassuming, and I’ve grown tired of playing such a role.” 

Astarion sighs heavily again before adding, “There are a number of… resources available to me, now that Cazador is gone. It would be foolish of me to squander them.”

Tav only nods in his direction, her expression falling flat. “Alright,” she says, “I’ll meet you… there, I guess.” She unlaces her hands and turns around, heading back toward the door.

“Tavaria,” Astarion calls to her as she wraps a hand around the door handle again, freezing in place at the use of her full name. “If you do decide to visit me, you’re going to need the passcode for the tower door.” 

Looking over her shoulder, Tav waits for him to continue. Moments pass between them, the air growing thick and stale within the small closet. When she doesn’t speak, he pushes forward. 

“It’s spitfire,” Astarion tells her.

He hears more than sees the small inhalation of breath she takes as his words register. Turning her head forward again, Astarion watches her finally twist the knob to the door, pushing it open. Tav steps out of the closet, looking at him briefly before disappearing down the corridor of the tavern.

Astarion slumps against the cool stone of the supply closet wall, light now pouring through the open doorway. His head is throbbing, an uneasy ache beginning to take root deep within his chest.

What a day.

[writefightandflightclub]

Ride or Die (Santiago "Pope" Garcia x fem!reader): Series Masterlist & Warnings

Posting schedule and Series Masterlist

This is a COMPLETED SERIES. All chapters are queued.

Chapter One: POSTED

Chapter Two: POSTED

Chapter Three: POSTED

Chapter Four: POSTED

Chapter Five: POSTED

Chapter Six: POSTED

Chapter Seven: POSTED

Chapter Eight: POSTED

Chapter Nine: POSTED

Chapter Ten: POSTED

Chapter Eleven: POSTED

BONUS content: PLAYLIST (TBC)

Series Warnings (below the cut):

To avoid chapter by chapter spoilers, this time I'm providing general, series-level warnings of the main themes covered throughout. This may also mean the list is non-exhaustive. If you need more information in order to safely avoid a trigger/topic, or to enhance your reading experience, you are welcome to DM me / send in an ask. Also, if you spot something I missed that you think should be included here to aid other readers, hmu!

Please note, the whole series is NSFW, MDNI (18+). Minors or ageless blogs interacting will be blocked.

Smut: EXPLICIT, CORE THEME e.g. fingering, unprotected sex, rough sex, casual sex with other non-pairing partners implied off-screen.

Angst: A CORE THEME. Relationship angst. A lot of arguing / yelling (not trying to romanticise this at all!). Some toxic jealousy. Conflicts with friends. Abandonment fears. As well as this central relationship conflict, side characters are dealing with individual issues, such as those referenced in canon (divorce, prior violence, drug misuse etc.). 

Drugs / alcohol mentions: reader participates in casual social drinking throughout, some heavier drinking in one chapter (party context). Smoking (one chapter). Brief mentions of drug use (cocaine).

Food mentions: casual, frequent. 

Mentions typical of canon / e.g. wartime, US army, bullet wounds, car crash, injury, fear of mortality, violence (no graphic descriptions).

Mental health: implied past trauma typical of canon. Brief mentions of nightmares, possible PTSD.

Reader descriptions: fem!AFAB reader. Uses she/her pronouns. Reader’s hair is described a couple of times as being e.g. “pulled”. No hair texture / colour / style / other details specified or implied. Reader has a family who appear in a couple of chapters (sister and nephews). No physical descriptions of them are supplied. Mentioned that reader grew up with her sister, though not specified whether biological / adoptive / found family.

Spanish language: reader understands / speaks Spanish, though not specified what her first language is (or isn’t). I have avoided lengthy Spanish translations / text as I am not a native speaker. Some Spanish language is included, limited to terms of endearment and the like. I am always happy to be corrected. I research, but some mistakes are likely.

Sexual health / pregnancy: mentions of reader using birth control, including mentions of emergency contraceptives / slip-ups. Not a core theme. 

Religion: mentions of Catholicism.

Other: contains significant Tom. It’s pre-canon, I’m so sorry. 

[swee7dream]

hi very late but may I request a cute cg!jaehyun taking care of a VERY fussy little!reader hehehehehhehehehehheheh cant wait to see what u write :)) (saying this bc I was very late but I saw you saying like a week or 2 after u saying u wanted to write jaehyun fics..)

no ! ( but okay ) caregiver ! jeong yoonoh x age regressor ! reader

genres age regression content , fluff warnings reader has hair long enough to put behind the ears dni nsfw / kink author's note FAV MOOT . i will go to war for you . as someone who is extremely fussy when small , you and i are cut from the same cloth . hope u like it ! tag list restarting ! lmk if you would like to be added .

“No, no, no…”

“Come on, Honey.”

“Not finish yet.” You ignore Jaehyun’s gentle hand pushing the hair behind your ear, scribbling your crayon furiously to the paper on the floor like a painter struck with genius inspiration.

“Can we finish this later? Tomorrow, maybe?”

“No, no, no, no, no…”

Jaehyun’s eyes flutter shut. You’ve entered your ‘no’ phase all of a sudden and it has been carving at his patience. It’s not that he never wants you to say no, but when it comes to eating your lunch or cleaning up your toys or changing out of your outside clothes for comfy, clean inside clothes, he can’t deny it’s frustrating. He just wants the best for his baby, why can’t you see that?

“Baby.” He looks down at the phone in your other hand, currently shining a terrifying (in Jaehyun’s opinion) four-finned shark-dinosaur-thing. Papers surround your curled-up ball self on the floor, each one detailing a different kind of dinosaur. “The dinos need to sleep too, baby. We need to start getting ready now so you don’t forget to brush your teeth ‘cause you’re just so sleepy.”

“Nuh-uh. Dinos can’t sleep. They’re dead.”

His shoulders slump in his crisscrossed sitting position in front of you. It’s difficult to keep up with the canonical and non-canonical existences of your baby world.

“Okay… maybe. But when they were alive, they had to sleep.”

“…maybe.” You throw him a bone! Finally, it only took an hour.

“Yeah?” He places a hand over the screen. “There are those pretty eyes. Hi Honey.”

“Hi, Hyunnie.” You frown. “Hyunnie let go.”

“The phone told me he’s very tired and would like to go to bed now. Sorry, baby.”

“Not true, phones don’t talk.”

“Mine does.” He gives you a look that says ‘so embarrassing for you��’

You squint at him, unamused.

“Hyunnie let go.”

“Sorry, sweetheart. My hand fell asleep. Right here.” He shines his dimples at you innocently.

“Let go!” Your blue crayon is left forgotten to roll under the couch as you pull and pull on Jaehyun’s arm.

“No!” He sings, finally taking matters into his own hands, quite literally, by pulling you onto his lap. “Bed time. Bed time for my baby.”

He rocks you side to side, cheek resting on the top of your head as he confines you in between his arms.

“No!” You squirm around but to no avail. “No bedtime. No tired!”

“Mmm, yes!” You feel his lips press to your head. “Bedtime, bedtime. Time for jammies and teeth brushing and stories. Doesn’t that sound fun, baby?”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“No-o-o-o-o-o!” Your voice shakes as Jaehyun’s soft rocking turns more into a shake one would give only to a potato sack.

“Ye-e-e-e-e-es!” He smiles down at you as he finishes his best imitation of your little tantrum.

“No.” You frown up at him, but his eyes catch the quirks at the end of your lips that you fail to push down.

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes!” He attacks your cheek with a kiss, littering your face with them as he continues. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!”

“But why?” You give in, allowing yourself to go limp in Jaehyun’s hold.

“Because,” He mocks your whiny tone. “It’s late. It’s late and you get really mean when you don’t sleep enough.”

“That’s not true!”

“Hey.” He pinches your nose. “Why are you fighting me so much lately? It absolutely is true and you know it. Do you want Hyunnie to be all sad and weepy tomorrow? I’ll cry. You know I will. Wanna see? W-”

“No!” You giggle, putting both your hands up to cover his face. “Don’t wanna see Hyunnie sad. But am just no tired, Hyunnie.”

Another kiss to your palms lets Jaehyun see your face again.

“But I am. Can’t you just get ready for bed with me? It’s so scary to be alone.” He pulls you into his chest, squeezing but never too tight. “So scary! I need my Honey to help me!”

“Not scary, Hyunnie.” You giggle. “But okay. Honey help!”

“Really?” He pulls you away to meet your eyes and bumps your foreheads together. “Really really? For reals? How many reals are you talking?”

“All the reals!” You beam.

“Oh, thank you, baby. You sure are doing Hyunnie a solid.”

—

You didn’t realize how cold you were until you put your pajamas on, soft and warm, still smelling of laundry detergent. It’s like wearing a blanket and you rub the fabric against your arms to warm yourself up some more.

Your socks slide against the wooden floor as you hear Jaehyun take his turn to brush his teeth in the bathroom. You left a total mess! Your artwork is all over the floor, what if you lost one?

Not feeling like wanting to clean up at the moment, you put your crayon box on the coffee table to put it in its proper place tomorrow.

Wait.

You’re missing one!

Where did it go?

You hum to yourself as you gather all your drawings in a neat pile, making a mental note to yourself to date them all in the morning. You search under the table and behind pillows and blankets. Where is your green crayon?

“Ah-hah!” Jaehyun spots you back in the living room, face to the floor.

“Baby, what are you doing?”

“Found my crayon, Hyunnie. Thought I lost it.” You lift yourself up, pulling your hand out from under the couch to show it to Jaehyun proudly.

“I’m glad you didn’t lose it, Honey.” He smiles. “But you didn’t have to get on the floor for that. You’re gonna get your jammies dirty.”

“’s okay! Needed my crayon.” You kneel over to slide the crayon back amongst its brethren in the paper box.

“Don’t you have a lot of other ones?” He helps you up by the hand.

“Not the same. Different shade o’ green.”

“Mmm, makes sense.” Jaehyun notices the pile of paper on your arm. “You’re taking your drawings to bed?”

“Yeah. Not tired so Honey’s gonna do storytime today.”

“Oh, really? Thank you, baby. You’re gonna teach me about dinosaurs?”

“Yeah.” You flop onto the bed. “Dinosaurs are super cool.”

“But aren’t they scary?” Jaehyun flicks off the light in the middle of the ceiling, warm soft light from your nightstands keeping the room from complete darkness.

“No. ‘cause they’re dead,” You explain simply.

“..right. I forgot that for a second.” He lifts the covers and slides inside the bed, shivering at the still-cold sheets. “Your drawings are just so good, baby, I thought they were pictures.”

“I get that a lot,” You say, rubbing your head against his arm. “You ready?”

“Ready Freddy.”

“Who’s Freddy?”

“I don’t know.” Jaehyun pauses to think. “Someone who’s ready, I guess. Go on, baby. Show me your dinos.”

“Okay!” You go through your pile of drawings and end up deciding on your most recent creation. “This one’s not finished, but it’s called a Liopleurodon. It existed in the Jurassic period. It was an apex predator—that means that no one could fight it and win! It just went chomp chomp and everybody died.”

“Oh, I see. It’s kind of like you, in a way.”

“What?!”

author's note ( pt 2 ) sorry for taking so long ! i have no excuse , just trying to deny the reality of valentine boy being gone . haven't been keeping up w nct lately bc of irl stuff + the boycott so if anyone has a google drive or anything like that for sm artists , pls lmk ! and as always , comments and constructive criticism are accepted and encouraged . just be nice or i will be finding your loved ones ' contact information and telling them you're CYBER BULLYING . hope everyone is having a good day and if not i hope it gets better !!

[gardenialver]

Fragrance

synopsis - your boyfriend suddenly comes home and he smells like... you?

pairings - Koutaro Bokuto, Tadashi Yamaguchi, Asahi Azumane

content - fem reader, fluffy, some non-canon ships, cheating allegations (not serious)

Koutaro Bokuto

You felt a small tingle in your ear and you smiled knowingly. Crouching to place down slippers, a strong force knocked you over. A giggle emerged from your lips as you held onto your boyfriend's shoulders.

That giggle however was soon interrupted as you dug your face into Kotaro's neck. "Babe.." You stared up at him with furrowed brows, "Why do you smell like me?"

He let out a hearty laugh and you were soon being spun up in the air, your squeals echoing in the entrance, "KOU-CHAN I'M STARTING TO GET DIZZY," You patted his shoulder to signal your weakening digestion.

He kept you up as your hands laid themselves on his chest. "So today while doing interviews there was this lady who was I think talking to Omi-kun about a sponsorship but she had something in her pocket and looked like your perfume bottle,"

While he rambled you slowly placed your feet on the ground and walked down to the kitchen, your boyfriend following in tow, "And I asked her, 'by any chance does that smell like peach, jasmine, and sparkling juice and she said yeah so then I asked her to hit me with a spritz,"

You nodded while pouring broth into two bowls, the aroma bringing your boyfriend over and his arms wrapped around you from behind, leaning side to side. "So then, I started twirling and she sprayed me like 8 times and I smelled so good for the rest of the day."

You placed fried tofu atop the thick udon noodles, garnished with green onions and passed your boyfriend his bowl, the two of you making your way back to the table together. "And like honey you smell so good, Shoyo said I smelled good, Kuroo said I smelled good, this little girl walking home from school said I smelled good, this grandma and her grandson said I smelled good."

You pressed a kiss to Kotaro's cheek, "Thank you honey, but don't do this too often, I miss your scent," Those few words seemed to fill with pride and a vibrant blush and wide smile made their way to his face, "Of course sweetie, THANK YOU FOR THE FOOD,"

Tadashi Yamaguchi

"I'm home sweetie," Hearing your boyfriend's voice, you and Hachiko ran out to greet him, the latter barking and jumping all over the place. Sliding down the hallway you jumped into his arms and his laugh just made you grip onto his hood tighter.

"Eh?" He stared at you confused as your hands were still wrapped around his, "Ehhh?" Noises of confusion continued to emit from you, similar ones coming from the pup at your feet who's nose was going back and forth, "You and Hachi are making the same face." He pointed out while pressing a kiss to your temple.

"I thought you went out with Hitoka and Kiyoko?" "Hm? I did, I sent you pictures." "Then why do you smell like you went with me instead?" The smell of matcha catching you off guard.

"Ohhh," He laughed and sat you down while placing a few bags on the floor. Off course you weren't against your boyfriend going out with Hitoka and Kiyoko, he still calls the two by their last name but as he had told you the seniors had sorta all chosen a first year favourite.

While Shouyo and Kageyama were Sugawara, Azumane, Tanaka, and Nishinoya's favourites, and Kei may have been Ennoshita, Daichi's, and still Nishinoya's favourites, Tadashi ended up being taken in by the two girls.

It made sense with how he acted, his personality resembled one of someone who had only been raised by women. "While shopping Shimizu found a perfume store and we found the one you used and we may or may not have went a little crazy,"

You quirked an eyebrow at him, "Huh" He draped his arm over your shoulder's and you ended up laying on his chest, "We found your matcha perfume and started spraying each other." "Oooh, so did you have a good day?"

"Of course, Shimizu and Amanai-san will be celebrating their first wedding anniversary soon and Yachi adopted a kitten," "She showed me, has she chosen a name yet though?" He nodded, bringing a bag up onto his lap.

"She named her Diana like from Sailor Moon, on another note," He brought out two cutely wrapped pouches, "This one's from Shimizu and this one's from Yachi, they're early birthday gifts."

With wide eyes, your carefully placed your fingers on the inner part of the fabric, pushing out to see a hair ornament. Holding it between your index and thumb you looked at it in amazement, before placing it back in the pouch.

Taking the gift from Kiyoko, you repeated your steps with Yachi's gift and looked at a small simple ring, with blue stones embedded into it. "I should send thank you letters soon," You lean into Tadashi's chest while slipping it onto your pinky.

"Hm, I should get you a real one soon," "HUH?" In surprise your body flew off the sofa and you fell, looking at him incredibly flustered. He helped you back up, a blush of his own mixing with his freckles.

"Sorry babe I didn't think you'd turn into Hinata," The two of you laugh and he takes out a large box from the bag that was previously on his lap, "TADA YOUR EARLY BIRTHDAY GIFT,"

In his hands was a very very large box, a gift set in fact, a gift set of that exact matcha line you were previously talking about. "Now you can always smell matcha, maybe even I'll smell like matcha,"

You laugh, slightly embarrassed, tip toeing, you press a kiss to his lips, "Thank you Tadashi, but you do know my favourite scent and flavour's matcha cause of your hair right?" And soon it was his turn to lay on the ground flustered.

Asahi Azumane

"Are you cheating on me? With me?" "Huh?" You stared at your boyfriend with narrowed eyes. "Who is it [Name] 0.1? [Name] 0.2? [Name] 0.3? [Name] 0.4? [Name] 0.5? [Name] Hatsune Miku version? [Name] Christmas Special? [Name] Sanrio Collab? [Name] Beach Edition? [Name] Popstar Edition? [Name] Festival Version? [Name] Halloween Edition?"

Asahi placed his hands on your shoulder attempting to calm you down, "It's no one, although beach edition and festival version [Name] sound cute,"

You peered at him from the side of your eyes, "well you're going to have to wait for summer for those limited editions to come out, so who is it?"

He laughed awkwardly at you, as if he was trying to try and lighten the mood after being threatened, "Baby I just got here why am I getting hit with cheating allegations already,"

Your eye twitches at him, "Because you smell like me, a lady, and usually you don't smell like me, a lady, I mean I'm not against you trying to smell a little more feminine but this is unusual for you and if you were to delve into more feminine scents you'd probably go for flowers, not my scent,"

Soon you were chasing your poor boyfriend around the house with a banana in one hand and a pen in the other, "SWEETIE I PROMISE IT'S NO ONE, LET ME EXPLAIN" "I NEVER TOLD YOU THE PRODUCTS I USE"

After going up and down a few times you were cornered, both of you panting and you lamely threw the banana at Asahi's cheek, "I-I w-would oh my gosh like to thank God for-for giving me-oh my, why do you have so-so much energy, an archery an-and street racing girl, give me a moment to breathe, girlfriend."

And then he collapsed on you making you fall over, your head hitting your mattress, Asahi falling atop of you, "GET OFF OF ME FREAKISHLY TALL CHEATING BOYFRIEND," Placing a kiss on your cheek he got up lightly while holding your limbs down.

"Do you actually think I'm cheating?" "No, I just wanted to be mean to you, I mean maybe but I guess I trust you enough," Looking at you unamused, a wet feeling hit your cheek and you grimaced, "EWW"

"After practice, Suga and Daichi wanted to look at body stuff because some volleyball players," cough "That one tall guy from Nekoma" cough "Nishinoya and Tanaka" cough "So we went to look at body products and whenever I ask what products you use you fall asleep or start telling me about how you're fighting the cap of your soda bottle."

You looked away from him flustered, "M-maybe but still," He placed a light kiss to your cheek and you wiggled in protest, "But Suga tested something and it smelled really familiar so then I smelled one of the lotions but it was kinda empty so it was hard to get so then I was looking at the mist but the nozzle was weird and it kept shooting at me instead of the testers."

That was when you started to giggle at his endeavors, "R-really?" "YEAH IT WAS LIKE THE HOSE WE WERE FIGHTING LAST WEEK WHEN IT KEPT GOING FROM JET TO MIST TO FLAT TO SHOWER IT WAS SO SCARY, an employee ended up just getting a new bottle,"

This time it was your turn to offer him some affection, you placed a soft kiss to his jaw, "Oh my poor baby must've been so scared," You cooed mockingly, although there was care in your tone, "It was slightly scary," He muttered.

"But now I've figured out the scent I couldn't put my finger on, freesias, freesias, pears, and tangerine," "Look at you being so smart," He raised an eyebrow at your baby talk which you reciprocated with a stuck out tongue.

You gave him a quick kiss, "Babe, I'm sorry about before but can I be unpinned from my bed," "Oh yeah, sorry I forgot, but you know maybe you could give me a preview of those [Name] editions," Rolling your eyes you ran to your closet.

"By the way Asahi, don't use other perfumes like that again, then the clothes I steal from you won't smell like you and that's like half of the reason I take them," He nodded with a laugh, "Anything for you dear, now let me see [Name] Barbie and the Three Musketeer's edition"

[hopelessmidwesterner]

Into the Flood (Again)

Eddie Munson x Reader

swearing, angst/fluff, vivid descriptions of anxiety and panic attacks, takes place in the mid 90s lol, non canon Eddie liking more than just traditional metal music (specifically Alice in Chains, this one's for the grunge girlies), like one use of y/n, Eddie being a sweetie

1.6k words

You and Eddie go to see Alice in Chains live in concert but just before they take the stage, you spiral into a panic attack.

(shoutout to the anon who suggested this prompt! Also def not inspired by something that happened to me in October haha...)

You should have been happy, thrilled even. It was that time of year when the brisk chill of a Midwest fall was just starting to turn frigid with Winter approaching in the coming weeks, your favorite kind of weather. You and Eddie had driven down to Indianapolis for the evening on account of the Alice in Chains tickets you’d scored over the Summer. You’d waited in a long, aggravating line on the streets of the city for hours on end in the July heat but it was all worth it because you’d ultimately got the tickets for less than face value. 

Now, however, as you stood smack-dab in the middle of the Old National Centre just moments before your favorite band was supposed to take the stage, you felt like you were a ticking time bomb. 

This happened sometimes. You couldn’t control it: you never had been able to and you probably never would. You’d be happy go lucky and content doing whatever: walking on campus, driving your car, reading a book, listening to Eddie ramble, stocking the shelves at work. It didn’t really matter what you were doing because out of left field, the world would start to sit on your shoulders and your shoulders only.

Gradually at first; you’d always try to swallow the anxiety for the sake of saving face but it never worked, much like now. Every sound, smell, and sight in your general vicinity came crashing through you like a speeding semi truck at once and no matter how hard you tried to brace yourself, you’d still be left a distraught, overstimulated mess of tears (and possible dry heaving). 

“And then Wayne and I got these sick ass tee shirts from some bootleggers out on the street. Some of the city names on the back are spelled wrong but you can barely tell. Totally metal.”

Eddie’s voice felt like being pulled out of deep waters even if it was just for a moment. He was going on about the last time he’d been here for some Motörhead concert in junior high but it may as well have been in one ear and out the other for you. You didn’t want to make a scene so you were really trying to tune out those overwhelming noises, odors, and sights, but even with him at your side, your efforts were proving to be useless. 

“Mm! That same night, Wayne swore he saw Lemmy when we were driving back home but I fuckin’ doubt it. I mean…it’s Lemmy Kilmister. He wouldn’t just be wandering the streets of Indi post-show like that. Wayne and his delusions, I swear to…”

It took one look. One, quick glance to the side and down a bit for him to read you like a goddamn book. Sure, Eddie had a tendency to not pay attention at times but when it came to you? He knew what was wrong without you having to say anything. 

“C’mere” He said, diving into mission mode as if it were his life’s purpose. Fuck. This is what you didn’t want to happen. You’d lose your spot and now Eddie was worried.

Nice going, Y/N. 

“Why?” You played dumb even though it didn’t matter much, folding and unfolding your clammy hands while avoiding his concerned gaze. He scoffed and gently took you by the elbow, dipping his head towards the back of the house. 

“Cuz you look like you’re gonna hurl.” He whispered in your ear before pulling you behind him as you both traversed through the thick crowd that only grew with each second that passed. “Mm gettin’ you out before you collapse in the middle of the pit.”

You wanted to protest. You could keep up your lie for at least a little longer, long enough to see the first song with a good view, you thought. You just wanted to see them up close like your original spot had provided but now the dream was diminishing because of your stupid, anxious brain. 

“Eds, I’m f…”

“No, you’re not.” He shut you up before you could even choke an excuse or pacifying statement out and it was then when you fell into your panic head-first. 

The walls started to cave in, the concertgoers grew so loud that your ears rang, and your lungs began to suffer since panic took the wheel. Blindly, you stumbled around towards wherever Eddie was taking you, which happened to be the grubby, unisex bathroom by the emergency exit. He was telling you something about breathing or maybe it was just a figment of your imagination. Clinging to the cold edges of the cracked sink, you sobbed and leaned over the porcelain without even an ounce of hesitation.

You could fall here, that much you knew. 

“Just breathe, babe. It’s alright.” He cooed, rubbing the flat of his palm up and down your spine. He wasn’t sure if he was helping much or if he was being counterproductive but he felt like he should at least do something. He was more so good at noticing the signs of your panic, not curing them. 

“It…I…We’re missing the show.” You sputtered. It was a miracle that you could get that much out and hell, did it take a lot of your energy. 

“Forget the show. You’ve gotta calm down, ma. You’re getting yourself all worked up.”

“I c…can’t help it.”

“I know. I know you can’t.” He sighed, heart breaking for you. He got overwhelmed at times, too, but never to the extent that you did. He didn’t understand it but he did his best to be someone you could lean on when the world got too extreme. “And it’s okay. Just…just try to relax for me.” 

“I am…It feels like I’m dying.” You bawled. 

Any other time, that would’ve sent alarm bells off in Eddie’s head but he knew in these instances that you weren’t actually at the risk of death - it just damn well felt like it. 

“I know, sweetheart. You can get through this.”

You weren’t sure that you could at the moment but you weren’t about to dwell on that since you could hardly speak. Instead, you tried to focus on his voice even if you were skeptical that it would do anything at all to get you through things. Eyes squeezed shut, body shivering with fear, and mind absolutely lost at sea, you held onto his constant assurances with all your might. It was easy to do considering the fact that he never shut up. It was his biggest talent, as you always teased, but it actually came in handy during instances such as this.

If he wasn’t running his jaw then he was gathering cold water from the sink’s croaky faucet to drop onto the back of your neck. You’d mentioned once in passing that it helped because you tended to run hot during panic attacks (and in general) so the idea hit him like a lightbulb moment. Both of you were shocked to find that it was working, working much better than any other tactic you’d tested before. 

The panic attack was over and done with in a matter of ten minutes even though it’d felt like hours. The band had only played 3 songs so far, which relieved you once the claws of horror finally released you from its iron grip. Exhausted, you slumped forward a little more and looked at yourself in the stained mirror. Your eye makeup was running down your face but all you saw was Eddie from where he stood behind you. He was smiling sympathetically while he massaged your shoulders to get those last traces of tension out of your body, not daring to leave his post.

“You good?” He asked after a few more beats. You sighed the kind of sigh that was frustrated but tired, nodding as you straightened your posture. 

“Yeah. My makeup’s ruined.” You complained sheepishly. You never liked to talk about the panic attacks directly afterwards, this was no different. Part of it was from shame, part of it was from something you couldn’t quite describe. 

“Easy fix.” He said gently, turning the faucet on again with a quick reach-around. Confused, you furrowed your brows but let him turn you towards him without a peep. He worked meticulously by wetting the tips of his fingers to smudge your messed-up eyeliner and mascara away until it wasn’t noticeable at all, let alone in the low lighting of a concert setting. 

“There, my masterpiece is finished.” He beamed with a grand gesture towards you in the mirror. He was already back to his goofy self in the blink of an eye. It really amazed you and warmed your heart at how fast he could go from silly and sweet to protective and dutiful. There were so many things you wanted to tell him at that moment. Most of them were different variations of apologies, apologies he’d never accept, but all you generated was a smile that said more than you ever could. 

“Ready to go back out, hon?” He asked, smoothing a hand over your hair endearingly. “They haven’t even played our favorite yet and I bet we could get our spot back. Er…at least close to it.” 

“How?” A devilish smirk bloomed onto his face at that and he shrugged, taking your lack of ‘no’ for a yes as he undid the shitty latch on the door. 

“A magician never reveals his secrets…Now, c’mon, let’s go show Layne who his biggest fans are, yeah? ” You took a deep breath and accepted his outstretched hand, holding on for dear life in preparation for the crowd just outside.

“...Yeah.”

[ultimate-submas-tournament]

Do you like Submas? Do you like polls? Do you wish there was more polls to vote for train boys on?

Then boy do I have the tournament for you!

Introducing the

ULTIMATE SUBMAS TOURNAMENT

Where all the Ingos compete to find the best Ingo, and all the Emmets compete to find the best Emmet- and then they duke it out!!!!!

Come explore this melting pot of different AU creations from across the website- including your own!

That’s right! You too can compete in this for fun event! Get yourself out there!

Here’s the rules and how to sign up:

1) No bl///shipping AUs or bl///shipping blogs may enter. This is a platonic only submas tourney.

2) No NSFW 18+ AUs or NSFW 18+ blogs may enter. I want this to be welcoming to younger folks to so I’m gonna have to draw a line here.

3) You can only enter your own AU. You can share this post with other submas creators, but you can only personally enter AUs that you have made content for.

4) You can only enter AUs that have content made for it. It doesn’t matter if that content is a fic, a few drawings, or a series of interconnected tumblr asks- as long as there is content you can link me to, it qualifies. 

5) You may enter up to two AUs (one for each brother). This may be lowered to one AU per user if the demand gets too high.

6) While non inc/st ships are not outright banned, AUs must be more than “canon compliant warden Ingo but he’s dating Melli”. Give us something fun to work with.

7) AUs can, and are encouraged to crossover with other content. Cretur AUs are also allowed because turning blorbos into cretur is fun.

8) Only Ingos and Emmets may be entered. We all love Elesa but this ain’t her tourney. (Fusions can be entered, but they will be placed in a fusion only bracket that will not affect the main tourney)

9) Lower your expectations. This is for fun, there is no prize, and statistically you will not win. Please do not whine and complain when you are inevitably knocked out.

10) BE NICE TO THE CONESTENTS. Holy heck don’t make me catch y'all harassing other people for ANY REASON. I will block you. Don’t make me do it.

How to enter:

Reblog this post with 

1) The name of your AU 

2) A link to your fic /tumblr tag /masterpost 

3) An image that you want to represent your AU. (If you have no image, one of my associates or I will draw a simple one- but it won’t be very good and you shouldn’t expect much)

4) The name of the preferred brother you wish to enter (preferred brother may be overruled if the brackets get too uneven)

(If you plan on entering a second AU, you must do these steps again with a second reblog. The first AU you enter will be considered the priority if we get too many entries.)

(Entries may be denied for things like: side bl///shipping accounts, pedo//ilia, harassment or other things in that same vein. They may also be denied for more benign things like, “hey I love you lots but this is just canon Ingo”)

Entries must be submitted by the first of June!! Thank you for participating and ALL ABOARD!

[obbystars]

⋆˙⟡ PINNED . . .

ALL DIVIDERS USED ARE BY @cafekitsune

Attempting to connect to MOON CHILD OBERON . . .

Success. Retrieving Information . . .

⟢ NAME: OBERON SOL

⟢ ALTERNATIVE DESIGNATIONS: OBBY / ORBY / ORB

⟢ PREFERABLE PRONOUNS: He / They

⟢ CONFIRMED AGE: 20 EARTH YEARS

INTERFERENCE FOUND . . .

CONNECTION DISRUPTED . . .

“Oh? Interested in my works, are we? Very well. Go and have a look.”

“Please note, I am currently not accepting requests.”

ROBLOX: PRESSURE

🌑 // THE MOON PROVIDES (NON-REQUESTS)

Z-13 [ SEBASTIAN SOLACE ]

⟢ DROWN IN THE DEEP

⟢ IT’S YOU!

⟢ WHEN LIGHT FADES

⟢ ENCOUNTER NIHILISM

⟢ WHEN MOTHER WAS HERE

⟢ SAFE HAVEN

🌑 // A GIFT BESTOWED UPON YOU (REQUESTS)

⟢ A special find brings peace

⟢ Aquarium date

⟢ General Headcanons

HONKAI STAR RAIL

🌑 // THE MOON PROVIDES (NON-REQUESTS)

BOOTHILL

⟢ PROMISE

⟢ SOMETHING STUPID

⟢ GENERAL HCS

🌑 // WRITTEN IN THE STARS (SERIES)

⟢ BLOOD N’ BONES (CANON X OC)

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS

🌑 // THE MOON PROVIDES (NON-REQUESTS)

SHIEDA KAYN

COSMIC PRISON - Odyssey universe

“All works have their notes, including what to expect and warnings. Do read them as it may save you some trouble.”

“If you’re interested in lore related details concerning me, I will provide those to you. I have no reason to be so secretive about who I am. My time at the Hadal Blacksite is…quite interesting.”

⟢ Z-222 Document

⟢ Arrival and containment breach

⟢ A Walk with Angels

“These are just written works that go well into detail. If you’re interested, considering checking the “listen to his story” tag. As of right now, there isn’t too much.”

“Hm, if those did strike an interest and you have an idea in mind… Please. Hold onto that thought, or perhaps there is someone else who may be able to get to your idea as I am unfortunately unable to do so at the moment. However, I believe I’ll have to set some rules.”

“Your request will be ignored and possibly deleted if…”

⟢ It contains topics such as rape, incest, pedophilia, and abuse. While I do love making things a bit dark, I do not touch those topics and WILL NEVER make something with those topics. Please note, yandere content will also count as abuse content.

⟢ I noticed you have made a VERY similar request to another user. Personally, I find this to be rude and disrespectful. It just doesn’t sit right with me.

⟢ I am NOT accepting any NSFW requests as I am not confident in writing that sort of content. It’s not that I am uncomfortable with it, I just cannot write it.

“Please note, I work better when the reader is gender neutral. It allows me to leave many aspects of the readers in my works up to you so you could properly insert yourself or an OC into it. If this is overlooked, your request won’t be deleted and will still be considered. I cannot do every request I receive, but I’ll do my best.”

“Now that that’s out of the way, how about some quick blog rules in general?”

⟢ DO NOT INTERACT IF: BASIC CRITERIA (racist, any sort of LGBT+phobe, proship), USE AI ART/CHARACTER AI

⟢ DO NOT try and purposely cause arguments. And do not try to bring up drama currently in any fandom whether I’m in it or not.

“I believe it is mandatory that I mention should the drama of Zerum be brought up, I will ignore you. I’ve already said what I wanted to say concerning the situation, and it is exhausting having to talk about it. If you persist, do know there will be no response from me and you are simply wasting your time.”

“You will be blocked should you show you fit into one of those categories.”

“Now, I must take my leave as the operators are probably scrambling in trying to reconnect their systems. As fun as it is to watch them struggle, I have much to do. I will see you on the other side.”

[major-comet]

The Best Red vs Blue Watch Order Guide Ever. Of All Time.

So. You want to watch Red vs Blue, huh? Maybe you read my long post about how it's so weirdly incredible yet impossible to recommend and now you want to give it a shot. Or maybe you have seen the show before, but it's been a long time and/or you didn't watch any of the mini-series or anything and want to give it another go. Either way, looking at a show with a 21 year history is kind of daunting, and you have no idea where to start.

Well luckily for you, I've done the work for you.

This watch guide will cover all 19 seasons of the main show, most of the mini-series, and some of the PSA's and other such bonus content. There will be links provided for where you can watch everything I talk about. This Google Drive (from reddit u/Exitity, unsure if they also have a tumblr) has all of the individual episode uploads, and most of the stuff I'm going to be talking about, although I'm trying to use YouTube links wherever I can. Any links will be colored in light blue for additional visibility.

Couple of quick things before we begin.

When possible, watch the individual episode uploads rather than the "complete" editions. The "Completes", while they may provide a more streamlined viewing experience by cutting out all of the bumpers and outros and such, accomplish this by cutting out a lot of jokes. RvB has a lot of jokes that happen during the fade to black at the end of an episode, and a lot of those get lost in the edits. There's also some things that just straight up get cut for seemingly no reason. Side note, the DvD/Blu-Ray versions seem perfectly fine, and honestly are even better to watch than the individual episodes if you have them. They're like a best of both worlds - adding some extra music and such (ESPECIALLY in the first 5 seasons) that really helps make a nice presentation of the show. If that's an option available to you, I recommend it. Otherwise, stick with the individual episodes.

At the end of each entry in the list, I may present a Side Quest section. This will include anything I feel you should watch that isn't necessarily canon, but helps add some extra life to the series. This may include some behind the scenes stuff or a selection of the PSA's and the non-canon mini-series. This stuff can be really great for building out the characters in a way that doesn't necessarily affect the greater story, and can especially be good for interactions between characters that maybe don't interact much in the main show. Anything I put in a Side Quest is strictly optional, but will add to your viewing experience. Obviously, there's a lot more bonus material than what I'm putting here. I'm just putting down some of the highlights. And if you end up liking the PSAs and such then just know: there's so much more for you to explore.

Early RvB is very much a product of it's time, and sometimes you'll get hit with a line that stops you dead in your tracks. Adult-oriented comedies can always be a minefield, and RVB's roots as a show made for Halo fans in 2003 definitely don't help. However, while this is the most common in the first five seasons, it never really stops being an issue. The purpose of this guide is simply for watch order, but if you have any specific trigger-related questions about any season of rvb please feel free to shoot me an ask or even a DM - i'm more than happy to help.

Okay, let's begin, breaking it down by arc.

The Blood Gulch Chronicles

You may hear people telling you to skip the first five seasons of the show and just pick up with Season 6. Those people are lying to you and do not have your best interests at heart. The first five seasons are pretty much strictly comedy, and from Season 6 onward the show starts to explore deeper themes and stories while still falling back on that comedic foundation. Skipping straight to the deeper stuff doesn't work very well IMO, because those five seasons are spent getting to know the characters we're going to be following for the rest of the show. The stuff that happens in Blood Gulch never stops being important - whether it's side characters showing back up again later on, or laying the foundation for a lot of the moments and story lines that make some of the later seasons so special.

Anyways, the watch order.

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Out of Mind - Mini-series

Season 5

Blood Gulch Side Quests

Tattoo Point/Counterpoint - Season 1 PSA

A Message to the Science Community - Season 2 PSA

Real Life VS. The Internet - Season 2 PSA

All of the deleted scenes, honestly, but This One in particular because asphodel and I quote it all the time.

The Outtakes/Bloopers - I'm not gonna put the link for these and the deleted scenes for every arc, but just know that you should watch them after every season/arc. There's some great stuff in there.

The Season 5 Alternate Endings

Either watch it Now, or after you watch the finale, but I highly recommend the 2003 Season 1 DVD Commentary. It's just Burnie (Church/Lopez/Vic) and Geoff (Grif), and it's really nice.

If you've ever watched any behind the scenes stuff for RvB or even rooster teeth as a whole, you have almost certainly seen This Clip, which is a behind the scenes of the voice recording for Grif and Simmons' lines in episode 1.

The Recollection

Recovery One - Mini-series

Season 6 - Reconstruction

Relocated - Mini-series

Season 7 - Recreation

Season 8 - Revelation

Recollection Side Quests

First! - Season 6 PSA

Small Rewards - Season 6 PSA

Rock the Vote and Rock the Veto - PSAs made to encourage RvB viewers to register to vote. Which at the time you could do on your xbox 360. These are here mostly as a "wtf" historical piece.

Halo-Ween - Season 7 PSA

Valentine's Day - Season 7 PSA

Fire Safety: Where There's Smoke... - Season 7 PSA. genuinely one of the best.

Holiday Plans - Mini-series

The Reach PSA series - Three parts total, only part one is linked.

Project Freelancer Saga

Season 9

Technically there's two mini-series that take place during Season 9 - being M.I.A. and Where There's a Will, There's a Wall. I really love them, and would recommend watching them after S9, but if you really want to roll into S10 you won't miss much. Weirdly there's a place later on that would be a great spot to circle back to these, but I'll save that for later.

Season 10

Project Freelancer Side Quests

This is a great spot to circle back to older side quests you may have skipped, btw.

The Season 10 Table Read BTS - Season 10 was the first time they ever did a full cast table read for the show, and it's cool to see a few snippets from it and hear the crew talk about it.

Matt Hullum Talks to Himself - watch this after M.I.A. it's a live table read of part of the script, with a focus on a conversation between Sarge and Doc (who have the same voice actor)

This 10 Year Retrospective that was put out around Season 10. Watching it now, knowing that they were about halfway through the lifespan of the show / company gives it a whole new perspective.

RT Oz - PSA

Remember Not to Forget and Voting Fever - PSAs made to promote the launch of Halo 4. Voting Fever is one of the Best Ever (and listen to the full version of That's How Voting Works afterwards!)

This Interview between Burnie and Trocadero talking about the music the band has done for the show. This playlist also has a bunch of other behind the scenes and other such bonus stuff from the DVDs and Blu-Rays, it's great to keep around.

The Chorus Trilogy

Season 11

The Chorus Journal Entries - Only three have fully machinimated versions, the last one is just the log entry. Bridges the gap between 11 and 12

Season 12

Season 13

Chorus Trilogy Side Quests

#1 Movie in the Galaxy - PSA

Getting Away From it All - PSA

#1 Movie in the Galaxy: 2 - PSA

Uh. I think the RvB Holiday Special goes here

Matt Hullum (Sarge) reading an excerpt from 50 Shades of Gray at a book signing.

Season 14 - Anthology

I get it: not everyone loves the Anthology format. I truly do recommend watching all of it at least once - or if you haven't in a long time. My only Side Quests are to say that this is the perfect time to go back to M.I.A. and WTAWTAW if you skipped them after season 9, and that if you skipped the #1 Movie In the Galaxy PSAs during Chorus, watch them now before the third one, which is in this season.

The Shisno Trilogy (seasons 15, 16, and 17)

Season 15

Season 16 - The Shisno Paradox

Season 17 - Singularity

Shisno Side Quests (this is taken from our survey data because it's been so long since I've watched much of any shisno-related stuff)

Hard Truths - PSA

Diversity - PSA

Cultural Appreciation - PSA

Lopez's Technical Guide to Empathy - PSA

Unreal Estate - PSA

Caboose's Guide to Finding Your Home - sequel to the Guide to Making Friends from season 14

RvB: Zero + Family Shatters

okay so here's the deal. If by this point, you're really just interested in the characters you've been watching for the past 17 seasons and not so much the story or anything - you may not get much from watching Zero. I do think it's interesting to watch, if only because I think it's got a lot of missed potential. Zero is not served well by being a season of RvB, I think I would have liked it a lot more if it were stand-alone, though that doesn't fix all of my issues with it. If you wanna jump straight to the series finale, you absolutely can. It's a pretty short watch, though, and I've heard that Family Shatters was better. I'll watch that one at some point.

Zero

Family Shatters - spinoff

Restoration

This is it! The series finale.

I'm not doing this with an other season (though I do recommend going back and watching all the teasers and trailers at some point), but before you watch the finale you should watch The First Trailer For It. I think it sets up the season really well, and helps make some of the rushed set-up exposition in Restoration make a little bit more sense. honestly this should just be considered the first scene of the finale. Then watch the finale, and then you are done with all of the main show of Red VS Blue. Go forth, and be free.

Final Side Quest

I'm putting anything that came out in the nebulous time between Zero and the finale in here. I'll come back and edit this once we find out what on earth is going to be on the Blu-Ray.

Offensive Driving

First Person Tutor

Moving Out

The Video RT Made to Announce Master Chief and Blood Gulch Were Coming To Fortnite. This played at the game awards and my soul almost left my body

This is also where I'll put QvsA, which is the Grimmons mini-series, though I haven't actually watched it myself yet. They're all on youtube.

My all-time favorite RvB fan edit - doesn't actually have any clips post-anthology, but I think the end is a great time to watch it.

If none of this makes sense, or you just have any questions at all - I am More than happy to help answer your queries. I hope this helps :) Also if any of the links are broken please let me know.

[codegeassfacts]

C.C. x Lelouch Side Material and Statements post R2 //Canon

I'm making this article in order to have a full article about everything canon about C.C., because I found an article about them which was mixing canon release like character poem and profile and non canon ones like novels or editors article from magazines, which led a lot of people to be confused or mislead about C.C.. In this article you'll only find canon material, which means, no content from the magazines like Newtype, megami, Animage or Animedia, as those are text made up by editors or novelist, they don't come from the staff; unless of course, those are interviews, or staff release content (Like the Newtype booklet from 2008 which came with the Newtype but was filled with staff information/comments) Same for novels, for Code Geass, novels aren't canon, they are made up and more like headcanons and interpretation from the author who wrote thoseas as confirmed by Mamoru Isawa (Code Geass novels authors) and Goro Taniguchi (Code Geass anime director) in a discussion they had at tht end of one of the first novels.) Anything that's not from the staff is made up (that's why a lot of novels contradict each other and even canonical event from the show)

Those are canonical release that you can use to understand what C.C. was about in canon OG (and some elements about her relationship with Lelouch) Enjoy !

(I only added the during R2 and post R2 release, as they are those which holds most the answers about C.C.)

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

So For C.C. We have her R2 character Song, Connect, which is a lovely song i'd advice anyone to listen :

CODE GEASS Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 Sound Episode 1 CONNECT / YUKANA

You can’t see ahead, you can’t read tomorrow Your face from the side looks distressed Searching for the answer, your heart is withering You hide your weakness, too It’s okay even if you cry softly Remove your mask of bravado Because on a night with only the two of us, I’ll accept you You’re not alone

I’m embracing you with my heart Spreading my wings that envelop you Even when the times are good, even when it’s not so I’m by your side Everything is cold to you And the dark night seems to be endless Nevertheless, because the beginning will take place, I’m always watching you

Because even when we’re able to understand or oppose each other I’m supporting you I’ll promise you, you may believe in me Our encounter was inevitable You softly and tenderly Wiped away my teardrops Because your clumsy fingers are warm

I’m not alone If you would overtake yesterday’s dream And stand still somewhere Then close your eyes and feel me I’m by your side

Because even if the season when the two of us Will be walking on separate paths comes someday I’ll become the wind connecting the remote starry sky It’s okay even if you cry softly Remove your mask of bravado Because on a night with only the two of us, I’ll accept you

You’re not alone I’m embracing you with my heart Spreading my wings that envelop you Even when the times are good, even when it’s not so I’m by your side

Everything is cold to you And the dark night seems to be endless Nevertheless, because the beginning will take place, I’m always watching you

Note : This song is lovely and filled with tenderness and care for Lelouch, I think it fits perfectly her feelings toward the end, where she was finally there to comfort him; She can see his suffering and wants to watch over him, it's a more positive view of what she feels when it comes to his pain that of her poem, which holds a certain darkness. I think Yukana's statement about C.C.'s feelings being akin to those of a goddess could fit, but seiyuu's views aren't canon material so it's up to interpretation (especially since we have no canon answer about her feelings)

****************************** C.C.'s regret message from the Code Geass Complete Best.

Waga Routashi Aku no Hana (My Beautifully Elegant Flower of Evil)

From the entire beginning, I should have warned you. That the power of the king would isolate you. You will lose your friends, become different from your childhood friend, and you will be betrayed by your subordinates.

Your parents will vanish from your sight, your siblings will disappear like dew.

Yes, it's terribly burdensome. And pitiful.

Now, your sole companion is solitude. There is nobody who will embrace you, who has been smeared in blood. Rocks have been pelted at you by many, and as retribution, you trampled over them. At that time, nobody noticed that the shriek that was secretly welling up inside your heart.

Yes, it's pitiful. Seeing that visage, my wounds often throbbed. Now, I think you to be dear because you are miserable. As the pain kept stabbing your tender heart, why does this feeling of solitude gradually heal?

The whole world is pelting rocks at you, showering you with insults. That is something the I have experienced from this world.

Without realizing, you have shared me in my solitude. Without knowing, you shouldered my sins.

It's as if you are a poisonous amaryllis blooming from the ground. Only I know of its elegence.

Note : C.C.'s character poem is actually quite dark, she talks about Lelouch's burden and explains how, while he was shouldering more and more pain, she was slowly healing, she even came to say that seeing him in pain had her growing more attached to him;

Not to say that C.C. Is some kind of sadistic, but we get the feeling that most of all, her solitude and her past trauma are what burdened C.C. the most, with Lelouch having to deal with the same misery, she was able to heal, as if he was taking this misery instead. I know some C.C. fans weren't happy about her poem and the undertones of it, it's more obvious in japanese but it implies strongly that C.C. used Lelouch to achieve happiness. I personally absolutely love this poem, because It's a very sad, and yet incredibly elegant poem, like C.C. and I think it fits her perfectly.

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

Code Geass picture drama Turn 9.34

While Lelouch, C.C. and Kallen conduct a mission in China, and Lelouch gets fed up as ending up cross dressing as a woman, C.C. ends up showing a bit of envy at the thought of how fun the school crossdressing festival and activies looked, and Lelouch tell her when they get everything back, if she wants to be a student, she'll be able to experiment this life (The whole thing end up in classical Lelouch/C.C. banter with her planning to open a pizza club and having Lelouch as the vice president)

Note : While it echoes Turn 9 and Lelouch asking Kallen to get back to Ashford with him, it's still quite different, since Lelouch doesn't ask for C.C. to come but he notices she is interested and he reacts in telling her she'll be able to do those things she wants to do if she wants to. He basically shows he cares in a very Lelouch way, and we still get a nice banter between them so it definitely belonged there.

You can watch it here

Code Geass picture Drama Turn 22.05

You can watch it here

This picture drama happens right before Turn 22 and allows a talk between Cecile and C.C. where they talk about their aspirations, past and about their relationship with Lelouch and Suzaku ; It's actually pretty interesting for C.C. since Cecile actually asks her if she loves Lelouch and she doesn't seem to know (In Turn 24 she'll give a very similar answer to Kallen); It's very interesting to have this talk between those two older ladies who have been watching over the boys from their side during the show.

My own analysis : For C.C.s feelings I think it fits the major theme of her character, Lelouch made her feel human again through a contract which became a promise, so she certainly has an hard time figuring out what Lelouch is to her, even though he is special. We have to remember this woman lived for hundred of years and her views of feelings and love in general might very well different of the one of those who lived only for a few years compared to her.

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

NT Booklet : The only content of interest about C.C. and Lelouch is in the Turn 24 corner and about this picture drama, the staff talk about how they thought it would be nice to have C.C. in a long gown playing lyre; They also say that C.C.'s role was to watch over Lelouch till the end (The rest is about Schneizel, his world and Suzaku and C.C. believing in Lelouch's world)

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And Last but not least, C.C.'s various official profile :

CC profile on Geass*net (Geassnet was a website available through cellphone only in japan it was run by the staff and had a fee of 300 yen/month to access to it) You can see those profile being refered in various forums, community, or in wikipedia (there were picture of the various profile but photobucket didn't kept them because this website really suck)

"Knowing that Lelouch does not hate her for giving him the Geass, she is now able to show her true feelings. With the realization of "Zero Requiem", her time with Lelouch, who was able to forgive and accept her, came to an end, but the memories created with him has, without doubt, saved her from eternal loneliness."

C.C. Profile on the Code Geass R2 Complete Official Guidebook :

"After she found the orphan child of Marianne, and because of what happened with Mao, C.C. chose to not give geass to the young Lelouch and to watch as he grows, but she was captured by Bartley. When C.C. found Lelouch in Shinjuku, she gave him Geass to save him from a dire situation. To Lelouch, who was devoted to fight for his desire and got intoxicated by the power of Geass, C.C. declared, "You and I are accomplices" ; It is a self-defense measure born from her experience with Mao. Surprisingly, Lelouch kept respecting the position of an accomplice.

While she is entrusted to be a body-double and negotiator, he never asked for her to be a mother-figure or a lover; It is thanks to Lelouch that C.C. was able to be considered an equal for the first time as a partner.

Lelouch, who promised to fulfill her wish despite the unfair conditions, became a special existence to C.C.; When C.C. was trying to protect him in exchange for her life, Lelouch hoped for her to live and repeatedly said “I will surely make you smile!”. To answer those feelings, C.C. sealed her code and resisted Charles. She chose to believe in Lelouch.

Her trust wasn't betrayed. Even when she lost her memory, Lelouch did not stop being kind [to her], and when he launched into battle resolved to kill his beloved sister if it came to it, he did not utter a single word of hatred.

This is probably why C.C. has found the resolve to live for a long time. "Hurry up and go. Then come back. You're going to make me smile, aren't you?" As C.C.'s words suggest, what she received from the partner she finally met after hundreds of years, was a powerful "promise"."

***Note: The major theme behind C.C.'s story appears to be the evolution of a contract between witch and human to a promise between two human beings. In another one of those Code Geass ironies, C.C. became human by choosing to keep her immortality.

** All the translations were made by Galvea, Lixiangxing, Blottyparchment, Koshimizu, Roon, Lie, i only double checked since I owned the material (Those translators are part of those who worked hard to translate most of the material which was available during and after the Anime airing; You can find a lot of discussion about those over the internet on Gamefaqs/Livejournal/Animesuki if you want to triple check.)

Main source

Note : I know some part of her profile launched some riot in 2ch back in the Geass airing days (a lof of side material did actually.) but I think it eventually fits the show, even though everything wasn't crystal clear, especially when it comes to C.C., who suffered a lack of screentime in R2 (especially compared to season 1) While I was first a Lelouch x C.C. shipper during my airing days watch, I found myself not shipping them much as a romance (I still very much enjoy their relationship, but I have a different view of it now) when I rewatched it years later, it just felt different from what I thought i had seen at first, so I can now say I understand those profile and informations better and am not really surprised. Above all relationship matter, the fact Lelouch forgave C.C. and never hold any grudge against her has probably saved her from her loneleliness, and to be treated as a human being again, with this powerful promise, has certainly done wonder to her.

I would have loved a sequel with C.C. wandering around the world and discovering more of her humanity. There were so many great things to do with such a character within the canon timeline, but sometimes I think they created a character way too complicated to write and that's why they never were able to actually use her to her full potential.

As a Bonus I'd like to add this short snippet of Yukana's blog (C.C.'s seiyuu) that she wrote after the end of R2.

It surprised me that so many would ask me what C.C.'s real name is. I'm happy that so many are interested to know. I'm sorry! Taniguchi has cast a geass upon me... C.C.'s name is... Au..Au.. (it's a cute sound she often write on her blog) Eh? What was it? My apologies! I've forgotten! >_< That's how it's become. I think I'll cherish this name until the day I (C.C.) meet someone who I really want him to call me by the real name

I thought that while the whole thing was incredibly cute (at the same time, Yukana is), the last line was even sweeter. That's about it for C.C., Hope her fans enjoyed.

[villain-byteniwoha]

ships i like and why i ship them: a small, affectionate rant before bed

zhongchi: probably the first ship i ever interacted with. i may have started playing genshin for them. I specifically remember reading modern, non canon au fics on ao3 when i was still low AR and did not have liyue unlocked yet just to enjoy content of them without spoiling the story too much. those were good times

love the betrayal, the reciprocated manipulations, their individual bloody pasts and their juxtaposing love for humanity/family. the marriage chopsticks. god, the amount of threads I've read explaining those... and ofc you can't forget the official art with them by the harbor with the gingko leaves falling cinematically. i think that's the art that drew me to them lol

there's also something so deliciously tragic about a near-immortal being who's fated to succumb to erosion in due time, falling in love with a mortal man who's always within death's cold embrace. not to mention the subtext of their themes and principles. geo and hydro, stability and turbulence, land and sea, they crystallize when they meet in the middle, etc etc

kaeluc: another pairing I enjoyed the absolute shit out of, way back when I wasn't even playing the game yet. I remember learning about them while I was deep in my mxtx phase, specifically tgcf, and I'm pretty sure I dipped my toes in after I learned that they used to be sworn brothers. keywords here being used to. hook, line, and sinker. before I knew it, I was also reading fanfics about them, but only modern, non canon au ones because genshin terms made no sense to me and i didn't want spoilers. then I played the game. and then—we get Kaeya for free. I mained the shit out of that man for months.

and then. I fully entered the fandom, only to be immediately slapped in the face with the mistranslation issue.

and I get it, honestly, if you like ragbros good for you, I'm happy for you, but me personally, I will scorn hyv until the day I fucking die because had they not messed this up? kaeluc would've have been so powerful. KAELUC WOULD HAVE BEEN SO FUCKING POWERFUL

how could they not be? they're childhood friends but they're also forbidden romance coded, and rivals/enemies coded, but they're also soulmates. they don't just know each other, they're two halves of a whole, they know each other.

and the themes, don't even get me started on their themes. fire and ice, red and blue... paimon's line about them being similar (i.e. kaeya's a shady mf who fights in the day/diluc's a bright fire in the night) is one of the most romantic lines ever. they're sun and moon but only because they complete each other. also, lamp grass and calla lily? that's them as flowers, but they're the other person's ascension material like hello???????? fucking wild.

and ofc this kaeluc section can't end without me mentioning arundolyn and rostam. for those who don't know or have read/heard of those names but never really dug deep into it, arundolyn and rostam were knights of favonius around the same time as the cataclysm, and you can read about them in artifact sets such as brave heart, defender's will; and partially from the elegy bow

the reason they're here is because there are too many damn parallels between them and kaeluc to just be a coincidence.

arundolyn was a claymore user (see: ferrous shadow), he was the "lion of light,"; he was naturally gifted in strength but still trained hard and would later become the grand master of the knights; he'd push rostam to drink wine and tell him to have a little fun; he gives up his title and weapon after rostam dies

on the flip side, rostam was the swordsman who created the art of favonius bladework (see: favonius sword), his title was, "wolf pup,"; when he and arundolyn played as children, he was the stand-in for the champion knight of aristocracy; he "ruled the shadows," by protecting mond with ways the knights did not approve; rostam dies in an expedition to expunge the evils poured forth from the cataclysm...

I'll let you connect the dots there. I just also wanna point out, as a final note, that in the favonius sword's description, it says, "the childhood friend and spiritual counterpart of Arundolyn, the Lion of Light, whose name was Rostam, the Wolf Pup." ok. yeah. moving on

xiaoven: i very quickly realized after reading the genshin webtoon that venti was gonna be one of, if not my most favorite character. and i was curious as to who the people wanted to pair him with. keep in mind, this was around 2.0~2.2 I believe, so when I searched them up, the only canon backing I could find was the music scene

and boy, was that scene enough because holy shit, the brain rot these two gave me??? of a god who embodies freedom, and the last remaining yaksha chained to his duty????? they were so thematically opposed and beautiful, it wasn't hard to fall in love with them

by the time 3.0 came rolling in, I've already stopped playing, but that didn't mean i wasn't aware of how we were well fed by canon. from the trailer to venti full on attending the lantern rite and sitting down with the liyue gang; it was one of those interactions that transcended everything

and of course, OF COURSE, they also canonically addressed the fact that venti's music soothes xiao's soul. that's intimate. that's deep. that's so fucking romantic and nice and beautiful in the most tragic way...

also, we can't forget the depictions of god and servant here. the holy themes, the worship. the promise of immortality and foreverness, but also the threat of it. i just think xiao doomed with karmic debt and venti vowed to divine erosion is such a soulmate connection, and I'm also delusional

that's all for now but there's so much more...