#love island is on !!!! i'm distracted !! forgive me !

[rollinouttahere-writes]

Do you think that the whole cake island would be the first place sanji and nijis fiancé darling meet?. Or did he know about her/see her during his childhood but was never permitted to speak to her because of his status as the weakest Prince. And potentially causing possible issues with the political alliance if it looked like judge was going to offer a betrothal with the noble girl/princess and his weakest child as that would be considered a insult

Initially, I had planned for that to be their first meeting, but this ask quickly made me considered the other option and it spiraled out of control from there. Here is the result.

I decided to use (y/n) instead the the name established throughout the au since this was supposed to be a reader insert originally. I apologize for any inaccuracies that there may be in this. I haven't gotten to this arc yet, so I'm just working off of random spoilers and wikis.

Confrontations and Complications

Sanji x Princess Reader

2.9k words

warnings: implied afab reader, this is straight up angst no comfort

Heels click loudly against the floor as you run through the quiet hallways. The skirt of your dress and your petticoats were bunched up in your fists to prevent you from tripping. There was no telling how long of a window you would have to do this, and you refused to miss your chance at this.

Niji became distracted at the perfect moment for you to slip away undetected, and Reiju had given her word that she would do her best to redirect him should he notice your absence. While you and Reiju weren’t on the friendliest terms as of late, she appeared to be acting in your best interest for the time being. It was debatable how trustworthy she truly was, but you were willing to take the risk in this one instance.

This was of the utmost importance.

The flurry of clicks from your shoes slow as the door you’ve been searching for comes into view, then eventually comes to a complete halt. You pant as you catch your breath and stare at the door. You make a hasty attempt to fix your clothes and hair, then straighten your tiara that had been bouncing freely on your head as you ran. After all of this time, you didn’t want to look unkempt when he saw you.

Steeling yourself with one last deep breath, you grasp the knob and open the door.

Sitting at a small table and absentmindedly flicking a lighter on and off was just the man you were hoping to see. Reiju had not led you astray with her directions. The man, Vinsmoke Sanji, looked startled at your sudden intrusion and was staring at you questioningly.

Oh. In your haste to confirm that this was, in fact, his room, it had slipped your mind to knock and you had just let yourself in. How unlike you.

“Can… Can I help you, miss?” Sanji removed the smoked down nub of a cigarette from his mouth and snubbed it out in a shockingly full ashtray before reaching for the cigarette pack on the table. His exposed eye kept darting back to you while waiting for an answer.

Ah. So he did not recognize you… This fact pained you, but it wasn’t wholly surprising. It has been a very long time since your last meeting. You swallow thickly and step the rest of the way into his room before closing the door behind you, “Please forgive me for barging into your accommodation. I was so overcome with emotion that I forgot my manners.”

Sanji offered a small, but noticeably forced smile, “No need to apologize. I would never complain over being sought out by such a lovely woman. I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“We have.” You inch closer to him while wringing your hands nervously. Your heart pounded in your chest, and you were certain that it had nothing to do with your previous exertion. “Though I do not blame you for not recognizing me. The last time that I was in your company, we were mere children sneaking into a kitchen to prepare a lunch for your dear mother.”

The fresh cigarette that was dangling from Sanji’s lips falls onto the table as he stares at you with a wide eye. He is momentarily slack jawed before he finds it in himself to whisper out your name.

A genuine smile spreads across your face as you see the recognition in his eyes. “Yes, Sanji. It’s me, (Y/N).”

In an instant, Sanji is up and out of his seat. He stumbles a bit from tripping over the leg of the table, then comes to a halt in front of you. His hands reach forward, then pause, unsure of whether or not he should touch you. You take the decision out of his hands and quickly close the gap. Your arms wrap around his middle in a tight hug, which he returns after only a brief moment of hesitation.

The harsh and overpowering scent of tobacco stings at your nose as you rest your face on his shoulder, but you wouldn’t dare complain over something so trivial. Not when you were experiencing such a foreign rush of joy and relief. 

With much reluctance, you force yourself to pull away first. Sanji held you a beat longer, but acquiesced to your action. His hands traced up and settled on your shoulders. The baby blue eye that wasn’t obscured flitted across your face, seemingly taking in every detail.

“I can’t believe it’s really you… I never thought I would see you again,” Sanji speaks to you in a hushed reverence that encourages your heart to feel ways that you know very well that it should not be given the current circumstances.

Your own hands are settled on his waist, not quite wanting to sever the physical connection. You offer him a half-hearted smile, “I could say the same for you. Prior to the last week, I believed you to be dead.” Your gloved hands clutch at his shirt, no doubt wrinkling it. A rude action, truly, but the only thing restraining you from cradling his face like you so desire. “I cannot quite put into words how relieving it is to see you alive and well.”

Sanji purses his lips and breaks the eye contact between you. He releases your shoulders and steps back, prompting you to relinquish your hold on him as well. It takes everything you have to not match every step he takes with one of your own. He heaves a sigh while reaching for his dropped cigarette, “I’m sorry. If there had been a way for me to let you know that I was okay, I would have done that in a heartbeat.”

“Oh, no!” The words come out so strongly and with so much force that it startles even you. You take a breath, then continue at a much calmer tone, “Please don’t misunderstand. I am not begrudging you for this. There are certainly people to blame, but you are not amongst them.”

A small smile is the reward for your clarification. Sanji flicks his lighter to life to ignite his cigarette. He takes a long drag of it, then exhales it. “Thank you. You’re too kind to me.”

“Hush, I am not. Dare I say, you could benefit from more kindness.” Everyone could, but you did not care about everyone right now.

Sanji chuckles, though it’s distinctly lacking any real humor. “You haven’t changed a bit since we were kids. I don’t know how you’ve done it.”

The silence that fell over you as he puffed away at his cigarette was neither comfortable, nor tense. So many things were left unsaid, and Sanji appeared to be content to leave it that way. You itched to ask him countless questions. How did he escape Germa? Where has he been this whole time? What was it like being part of such a notorious pirate crew? With so many queries running through your mind, it felt impossible to choose just one.

“What are you doing on Whole Cake Island, anyway? I didn’t think your family was close enough with Big Mom to be invited to a wedding.”

In an instant, your heart leaps up into your throat and you balk. This was precisely the topic you had hoped to avoid. Both for your own comfort, as well as his own. Ignorance is bliss, and you wanted him to know peace.

Unfortunately, your silence successfully attracts his attention. He turns to face you fully, and you can feel his eye boring into you despite the fact that you’re staring at the floor. “(Y/N)... Why are you here?” The thinly veiled urgency in his voice indicated that he was already coming to his own conclusions.

“I’m… here with my fiance,” the volume of your voice decrescendos with each word until ‘fiance’ comes out at a barely audible whisper.

It is unclear at first if the silence that followed was brought on by shock, or if Sanji simply hadn’t heard you. You get your answer shortly when he asks a quick and straightforward question.

“Who?”

Answering this was significantly more trying than explaining why you were here. You still couldn’t meet his eye, and you were grateful that he wasn’t forcing you to. There was no way to dance around or sugarcoat who it was. As much as you knew that he wouldn’t like the truth, he deserved to hear it.

“Niji.”

From your peripheral vision, you could see his cigarette hit the floor. Before you could be alarmed about the rug catching to fire, it was snuffed out under Sanji’s foot as he rapidly closed the gap that he had once made. His hands find purchase on your shoulders again, though he’s far less gentle this time. If it weren’t for the ironclad grip he had on you, you’re certain that you would have toppled over from the strength he took hold of you with. You’re forced to look up at him and take in his expression. The eye that you can see is wide with a shrunken pupil. The color in his skin has paled noticeably, and his mouth hangs open as his breath comes out in frantic pants.

His hands tighten around your shoulders more as he spits out an accusation laden in desperation, “You’re lying.”

Oh, how you wish you were. How you wish that there wasn’t an engagement ring weighing down your ring finger. But that simply isn’t reality. You hold up your left hand, actively ignoring the way it trembled under the intensity of Sanji’s gaze. His eye zeros in on the gleaming, blue jewel that was the centerpiece of your ring.

The sight of it repelled him. You were released from his touch once more as he backed away until he crashed into the table, effectively tipping it over and sending it crashing to the ground. The ashtray that had been sitting on it flew and rolled across the floor, spreading cigarette butts and ash everywhere, but Sanji paid it no mind.

“No… no, no, no! You can’t be serious! Niji?!” His raised voice startled you. While you had been anticipating a poor reaction, this was far worse than you ever would have guessed. His hands shot up and threaded through his hair. The way that he pulled on it had to be painful, and you held out your hand to try and coax him into letting go, but then he evaded you by beginning to pace. His steps were quick and forceful, the soles of his shoes making more noise than your heels had made when you were running to get here.

As much as you wanted to speak, it was beyond you what there even was to say that would soothe him.

Sanji abruptly spun around to face you again, making you flinch. He all but ran to you and took your hands in his, pulling you towards him so hard that you almost crashed into him. He speaks in a frantic but hushed tone, “You need to leave.”

“I… I beg your pardon?”

“You need to leave now. It isn’t safe for you to stay here.” His head snaps to the side and he lets go of your hand briefly to slam the window shut before grasping it again. “I need you to listen to me. My cr- My former crew is here. They will be more than happy to take you away and keep you safe. I’m not sure how I’ll get you to them yet, but I promise you that I won’t rest until you’re under their protection.”

All that you can do is stare at him. Your heart is thudding in your chest, but an undeniable warmth is spreading through it as well. Never in your wildest dreams would you have thought that this could happen. You squeeze his hands and speak breathlessly, “You wish to run away together?”

Sanji freezes at your words. His mouth opens and closes several times, and then he averts his eyes, “I can’t do that. This is just for you.”

You rip your hands away from his and step away. “What? What are you talking about?”

The way he looks at you as if you’re clueless infuriates you. He speaks slowly as he explains himself, “I’m getting married to Pudding. I’m sure that you know that.”

This explanation leaves you appalled, you all but shriek at him, “You’re actually going through with that?!” The entire reason that you were so desperate to have this meeting in the first place was because you had assumed that he would leave with his crew before the wedding could occur.

Your shouting startles Sanji, giving him a quick moment of pause. He clears his throat before doing his best to speak in a calm and assertive tone. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I? Our marriage will be a good thing.”

Hearing him say this breaks you. All grace and decorum is forgotten in your outburst. “A good thing?! Nothing good can come from marrying someone like Pudding!”

While you generally tried to be kind and gracious to everyone, you were unable to grant Pudding the same courtesy. Not after you became privy to her true feelings towards Sanji when you overheard a conversation between her and a few of her siblings. The way she spoke of Sanji was as maddening as it was sickening. It took all of your self control to not burst into the room and demand that she trade her fiance for your own if she disliked him so much.

Maybe you should have. 

“Pudding is a lovely woman… And the marriage is good for political reasons as well.” Sanji was refusing to meet your enraged gaze, which only fueled the fire within you.

A sarcastic bark of laughter escaped you. “A lovely woman?! She’s a spoiled brat who doesn’t understand how fortunate she is!” That girl had everything that a woman could hope for in a political marriage, and she had the audacity to look down on her betrothed as if he wasn’t worthy of so much as breathing the same air as her. 

When Sanji only stared at you with a shocked expression, it made all of the hideous emotions that you had been suppressing up to this point bubble to the surface and boil over.

“That girl has it all, and she can’t even be grateful for it! She won’t have to put up with her husband lusting over everyone but her! She won’t have to be little more than a mere obligation to her husband! She won’t just be used to bring about a new generation of living weapons!” 

You fall silent as the words settle into the air, thickening the atmosphere until it became difficult to breathe. Hot tears begin to pour down your face in a shameful display. You turn away from Sanji as raw, pained sobs wrack through you.

“(Y/N)...”

Sanji stepped towards you and rested a hand on your shoulder, but you ripped away from him as if his touch burned you. The last thing that you wanted was his pity. You hastily dabbed at your eyes with a handkerchief as you hurried to the door, but Sanji put himself between you and the exit.

“Please, (Y/N)... I know you don’t like it, but you need to leave without me. You have no idea how much danger you’ll be in if you stay.” His face and tone are equally pleading. His hands reach towards you once more, but halt just before making contact.

“I am many things, but please don’t think me naive, Sanji… I know precisely what is expected of me in my marriage.” Every word out of your mouth is bitter and laced with contempt.

“Then why are you being so stubborn? I know that you don’t want this.” Sanji is visibly exasperated. 

“The better question is: Why are you being so stubborn? You are not compelled to do this like I am! You have an entire crew that is willing to fight for you, yet you’re refusing their help!” You exhale and shake your head, “You are almost as ungrateful as Pudding, perhaps you two are meant to be after all.”

“This is not as simple and straightforward as you think it is. There is much more going on… It’s better for everyone if I go through with this.”

Your hands ball up into fists at your sides and you snap at him, “Oh, what a martyr you are! How brave! How proud!” Having finally had enough, you fully abandon etiquette and shove Sanji out of your way. You grasp the doorknob, but rather than leaving, you decide that you have one last sentiment to tack on. “Martyrdom is the coward’s choice! If you really care for the people in your life, you will fight to be with them, not sacrifice yourself at the first opportunity!”

With that, you wrench open the door and slam it behind you the second you’re out of the room. You take off down the hall with no clear destination, only desiring to put as much distance between yourself and Sanji as reasonably possible.

Despite what you had said, you realize that you were actually quite naive. It was foolish to have ever believed that this meeting would have gone any better than it did.

[heliza24]

Devil's Minion Rec List (Part 1)

So I recently completed a little project I set myself-- to tag and organize all of my (iwtv) A03 bookmarks. I've never been motivated to this before, but there are SO many talented writers in the Devil's Minion tag and I had bookmarked so many things that it was becoming unruly. Devil's Minion is such a fun fandom space to be, because writers are taking inspiration from the book and the show, creating AUs, writing old Daniel/young Daniel/vampire Daniel, assuming the 1970s/80s Devil Minion era did or didn't happen... there are endless variations and it's such a creative space. So it was fun to go through and sort all of the fics I like into different categories. It was also great distraction during a personally stressful time when my disability was making it hard to type and work on my own fics. And now of course that personally stressful time has become a nationally stressful time. I was initially going to write a bunch of different rec lists, each with their own topic/themes, and I probably still will do that eventually. But I thought I would start with a list of some of my all time faves in case you need some sweet vampire escapism in the wake of the horrible election results this week.

cranefucker island circa ‘82

by katplanet/ @gatoplanet

Word count: 22,365

Rating: explicit

Summary/Why I'm recommending it: This is an interactive fic, where clicking through different highlighted words takes you to different parts of the story. I love stories that use interactive or found media, and the nonlinear structure of this one perfectly captures the way that older Daniel recovers his memory of the Devil's Minion era. The individual scenes are also so beautifully written. (The one where young Daniel realizes that Armand can fly is etched into my brain).

Eighty Proof and a Lifetime

by doztoevsky

Word count: 11,003

Rating: Mature

Summary/Why I'm Recommending it: There are so many great "what happened after Dubai/How was Daniel Turned" fics out there, and I have to say that my favorite subgenre is "Daniel goes home to New York as a human and Armand follows him." (I guess I'm biased since I am also writing one these!) This is one of my favorites, largely for it's mix of lighthearted scenes and heartfelt emotions and the perfect amount of simmering sexual tension, and for all it manages to accomplish in a relatively short word count/single chapter. The image of Armand breaking down Daniel's bathroom door and using it to create a temporary coffin lid over his bathtub is so endearing and memorable to me, and there's a scene in a vampire bar that I think is just *chefs kiss* in terms of creative world building, character development, and spice level.

Unmade

Words by Klimppisoppa, Illustrations by @verimuru

Word count: 22,483

Rating: Mature

Summary/Why I'm Recommending it: This is largely based on book canon, with some TV show character flavor thrown in. What if Armand made up his mind to win Daniel back after Daniel went to live with Marius? Armand and Daniel's reconciliation is so gentle and lovely in this fic, and it really lets both characters develop a sense of agency as they separate themselves from Marius. It also has some really beautiful illustrations.

i'll ask for more time (but mother forgive me)

by @ignorethepineapples

Word Count: 3,512

Rating: Mature

Summary/Why I'm Recommending it: I think this is my all time favorite Devil's Minion fic. It's a shorter fic that uses a nonlinear structure to tie together Armand and Daniel's turning and it is achingly beautiful. The author has decided that the illness that nearly killed Armand before Marius turned him was syphilis, which can have Parkinson's like tremors as a symptom. The author connects Amadeo's illness with the AIDS crisis that was ongoing during the first part of Armand and Daniel's relationship with older Daniel's Parkinson's. This fic is heavier than some others on this list, but it is so cathartic and wonderful. I felt like this author reached inside my brain and pulled out the exact reasons these characters are important to me. It made me cry but also felt like the most healing of hugs, if that makes any sense at all.

Backroads to Sonoma

by burntcrimson

Word Count: 16,409

Rating: Mature

Summary/Why I'm recommending it: It's the 1980s, and a closeted Daniel is road tripping across middle America, surviving on gas station food and interviewing run aways and truckers to try to scrape together enough stories for a book. He picks up the hitchhiking Armand, who has a dangerous secret, and offers to drive him to California.

This fic is technically incomplete (one chapter remaining!) but the first four are SO GOOD it absolutely doesn't matter and you need to read it. This is a human AU, which I am not always into, but this author does such a good job of capturing Daniel and Armand's characterization and still maintaining Armand's aura of otherness and danger that it totally works. I honestly think this author could file the serial numbers off of this and expand it into it's own novel. The world building is so evocative, and the pacing perfectly balances Daniel's developing feelings for Armand with dramatic plot developments.

Ok, that's what I've got for you for now. If you want to check out my own Devil's Minion fics they're here. If you want to sort through my now gloriously organized bookmarks for yourself to find something to read you can do that here. Or send me an ask if there's something Devil's Minioned flavored you're craving-- maybe I'll have a personalized rec for you.

Feel free to reblog and add your own recs or reply in comments if you have a fic you think I should read. I am going to try to do more of these soon!

Also if you are one of these authors or know their tumblrs, let me know and I'll tag them.

[tracybirds]

Happy @thunder-pride to @knyee!! I'm your giftee and I hope you enjoyyyyyy <3 Aroace Scott and some background Pen and Ink :)

---

Gordon flopped down onto the lounger beside Scott, reaching into the cooler for a drink. Scott raised his own bottle in acknowledgement, his eyes not leaving the horizon.

“I’m sorry we had to drag you away from your date,” said Scott. “You call her yet?”

“Nah,” said Gordon. “It’ll be the middle of the night now. We’ll make it up some other time.”

He glanced sideways and grinned. “Beside, you know Penelope. She’ll be thrilled we owe her a favour. You know how she’s always trying to get everyone ‘out in society’ and all. Tell her you’ll do a double date to one of those charity galas and she’ll forgive you in an instant.”

Scott gave a wry grin. “I think you might want to ask someone else for that favour.”

“Oh come on,” said Gordon. “We both know Virgil’s hopeless at getting a date, and Alan’s far too young.”

“John?”

Gordon gave him an incredulous look. “We can barely get John to visit us.”

“At least he has a standing date already,” said Scott with a shrug.

“John does? Who?!” demanded Gordon. Amber liquid sloshed out of his bottle, spilling onto his lap as he sat upright. He shook his head and pointed at Scott. “Never mind, you’re trying to distract me so you can worm out of this.”

“Guilty as charged.”

“But why?” asked Gordon. “People love you and I hate to admit it, but you look pretty spectacular when you’re dressed to the nines and someone else has styled your hair.”

Scott glared at him.

“I don’t want to spend an evening charming someone into thinking I want something I’m not interested in giving,” he said shortly. “And I want to participate in uninspired conversation with diplomats and world leaders while you disappear to woo your Lady even less.”

“Alright, alright,” said Gordon, rolling his eyes. “Geez, what’s with the sour grapes, I’m the one who lost their evening. Although maybe if you spent a few more nights off this island, you’d be less snappy.”

 Scott flinched. Warring emotions swirled in his head, instinctive anger slowly beaten back by a dawning realisation.

“Are you just saying that to be a jerk? Or do you not know?”

Gordon looked at him strangely. “You’re a jerk, jerkface. I was being serious.”

“Real mature,” muttered Scott. He stood and stretched, looking down at Gordon with an unreadable expression.

“What?” demanded Gordon. “Come off it Scott, I was just messing around. Sorry if it struck a nerve.”

“I’m aroace,” said Scott.

“Oh.” Gordon blinked. “Oh! Oh shit, I didn’t know… wait, how did I not know?”

“I guess I’m just too charming and good-looking,” said Scott dryly, and Gordon barked a laugh.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“It’s not a secret,” said Scott. “I thought you knew, we had a whole party about it when I was in high school.”

“Oh, right, so you mean when I was like five,” said Gordon, unable to hold back his laughter. “Yeah, that was a real formative memory for me, one of my boring older brothers hanging out with his boring friends and not wanting to play in the sprinkler.” He grinned. “I was probably just there for the cake.”

“I certainly was,” said Scott. He picked up his empty bottle. “Right, I’m turning in. Don’t stay up too late talking with Penelope.”

“I will,” said Gordon grinning. “By the way, do you want me to get her to back off on the whole society scene?”

Scott laughed. “I’d like to see you try. It’ll take a miracle to convince Penelope that the Tracy bachelors aren’t cut out for her kind of party.”

Well,” said Gordon. “I feel like I worked some sort of miracle to start going out with her. I might have another one in me still.”

“Save it,” advised Scott. “You’ll be needing it at some point I’m sure.”

[sunjaesol]

now the sun burns my heart and the sand hurts my feelings

zutara | outsider pov (aang) | post-southern raiders | one shot |

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Aang didn't know when it all changed. Which, frankly, wasn't entirely his fault. As the Avatar, his attention was and should be centered towards mastering his bending and, consequently, defeating the Fire Lord. The latter with quiet dismay, but nonetheless: he didn't have time for distractions… even when he loved them so.

But he hadn't seen Katara and Zuko coming. Not one bit.

He intrinsically knew Katara hated him up until their mission to avenge her mother — something he still felt sick to his stomach thinking about — and saw her forgiving him on the docks. It all happened right under his nose! And yet!

One moment he performed hot squats and built elaborate sand castles with Toph, the next he turned around the corner of the Fire Lord's Beach house and found the two sitting cross-legged opposite of another. Zuko held a plant between his fingers as he spoke. Katara inspected it critically, her eyes flicking between the herb and the boy with tender patience.

It knocked Aang off balance.

On the one hand, his altruistic side, he was happy the two benders finally got along. They were a team — Team Avatar, as Sokka would proclaim — and they needed to be a strong unit if they wanted to have a chance at ending the war. Aang knew that.

But on the other hand… since when did Katara voluntarily spend time with Zuko. Wouldn't she want to spend time with him? Aang deserved some of her allotted time, right?

Tentatively stepping closer, the two looked up from their conversation and Katara smiled first. “Zukoʼs been teaching me about herbs native to the Fire Nation.” She plucked the herb from Zukoʼs fingers. “This is saffron, you should smell it!”

“I'm good,” Aang weakly countered. “Uh… I'm gonna find Sokka. D'you know where he is?”

“The city,” Zuko responded. He looked totally unbothered by it all, a stark contrast to Aang's current frenzied spirit. “He and Suki are trying to find the perfect mango, or something.”

“Suki and him,” Katara corrected. A gleam in her eye pushed her to rib— “What, don't tell me the education system of the Fire Nation is lacking as well?”

A tick of a smile appeared on his lips. “Yeah, maybe. Too busy with shoving propaganda down our throats, I think.”

Katara laughed. Aang frowned. Zuko was many things, but a comedian wasn't one of them; it wasn't even a joke to begin with. Pushing the bitterness down his throat as though sucking on a frozen frog, he left the two behind and jogged down to the beach to sit with Toph. He'd wait for Sokka there.

The next instances took a few subtle cues for him to catch it. During dinner, they sat next to each other. While he sparred with Toph beneath the burning afternoon sun, they sought solace under the cool awning washing dishes or scrubbing clothes clean. Whenever Zuko dared anyone to a game of Pai Cho, Katara offered herself almost immediately despite her terrible track record. When an argument angered Katara to the point of storming away, Sokka's eyes organically slid to Zuko, waiting for him to make a move.

He'd never done that to Aang, that look, and it made him feel so incredibly, awfully juvenile.

What skills did Zuko possess that Aang didn't? He knew Katara way longer than he did, understood her better, and had seen her in more situations than he could count. Zuko just got here. Though Aang was fond of him, it left an ire sting travelling up and down his spine. Spirits! What was going on?!

Then the play threw all his worst fears on stage: Zuko and Katara, personified by the Ember Island Players, holding hands and proclaiming their love and totally disregarding the fact that Aang and Katara had history and chemistry and that he loved her! Their mocking of the term "Avatar's girl" made his stomach churn, so much so that he didn't notice the real (and mortified) Zuko and Katara shifting inches away from each other.

Had he seen, maybe he wouldn't have tried to kiss her during intermission. Maybe he wouldn't have felt the desperate need to prove himself to the girl; that he was right here and actively loving her and why was she so confused about it?

Had he seen, maybe he wouldn't have pushed the two towards each other later that even. While he sulked in the corner of the living room, sprawled across a recliner as he listened to Toph gloat about her character, Zuko and Katara had slipped away. Unbeknownst to him, though his heart quickened and clenched (something akin heartache) when he did realise.

Jumping upright, he ignored Toph's shout that he should sit and listen, and turned into the dark corridor that held their bedrooms.

Knocking on Katara's, no sound came. His head popped around the corner of the sliding door and saw the room was empty. Her bed tidy, her clothes folded on a chair, no litter on the floor — a complete 180 to Aang's room.

Oh, no. His eyes widened in horror. Behind his eyelids, the vision of the Players struck closer to reality than he thought. Taking a steadying breath, he trailed to the end of the hallway and, against better judgment, pressed his ear to the door.

And there it was: the soft chime of Zuko's laugh, the murmur of Katara's voice.

His hand raised to knock, but before he could or flee, it smoothly slid open.

Katara looked down at him, worried. “Everything okay, Aang? I felt you standing there.”

A seed of hope bloomed in his chest. “You felt me?”

A wry smile ticked up her lips as a finger curled around a dark lock of hair. “Yeah, it's the full moon, so it's kind of hard to miss. So?”

“Y-yeah, I'm okay. I was just, uh, looking for you. To, uh…”

What was he doing here? Just a couple hours ago, Katara had rejected him and this didn't help! Zuko had the decency to look bashful, however, the boy seated on the rug with a cup of tea unable to quite look him in the eye. At least the firebender seemed aware that Katara, despite the debauchery of the Ember Island Players, was his girl, not Zuko's.

But if he was aware, that didn't explain why they sat in private. What could they possibly talk about that the group wouldn't understand?

Aside from the tea, a handful of books covered the floor. A lit candle stood on his night stand. Too romantic for his taste.

And so he blurted— “Why're you in Zuko's room?”

Her expression soured. “To talk. Do you have a problem with that?”

The boys finally locked eyes. Golden irises blinked at him, earnest and merciful, though Aang knew he had no ground right now. If he went insane over them drinking tea, then she wouldn't speak to him until the Comet.

“No,” he puffed. “No. It— when can I talk to you?”

“Tomorrow,” she replied, curt.

“Okay.”

“Goodnight, Aang.”

He nodded. “Goodnight Katara. Goodnight Zuko.”

As the door of opportunities slimmed, the last split second showed the resurgence of Zuko's smile, a kind he hadn't seen before, and only reserved for Katara. His Katara.

A part of him died on that threshold that night. It smelled like naivité and tasted bitter.

The next day, he apologised to Katara for kissing her and she accepted, though kept her distance.

The group didn't feel off because of it. Everything ran smoothly, as usual; Toph erupted cities out of sand and roughhoused Sokka in the mud, Suki practiced hand to hand combat in the atrium and scoured the regal bedrooms for fashion, Katara did her duties and lounged around the ocean, as did Zuko, though he preferred the courtyard for his bending. Aang was the only one feeling unmoored. At least he had Momo to commiserate with.

Despite the Comet's looming arrival, the days were long and the teenagers needed time off as well. One couldn't train from sunrise to sundown. He learned that the hard way.

Rare moments like these reminded them of their youth, so really, it wasn't weird that Katara tapped Zuko with a water whip as she cackled out her magical laugh, but it did surprise Aang. He thought that when he apologised, she'd act playful towards him again, but… she didn't.

Sokka and Toph gawked in surprise at the action, but what took the cake was Zukoʼs smile as he launched himself from the courtyard onto the beach — feet thudding hard into the sand — and began sparring with Katara on the shore.

Scratch that: he couldn't call it sparring. It was playfighting. It was what Sokka and Suki often did.

Zuko liked Katara. The realisation thundered as an earthquake through his lithe body. It was so obvious now! Why else did the firebender behave so differently towards her? But how in the monkey feathers could Katara like him back? Zuko redeemed himself, sure, and he was now part of the group, but…

Aang faltered. He couldn't come up with a reason. Zuko was a child of war just as much as they all were. Maybe even more than Aang. He technically stood at 112, as opposed to Katara's fifteen and Zuko's seventeen. That made him pause.

Was that it? Did he lack a sense of humanity that Zuko possessed? Although, the Avatar defined humanity and led by example, so shouldn't he be the perfect person?

Maybe it was a phase, Aang supposed. Just like her lapse into anger when she travelled to the Southern Raiders, this too would pass and she'd see Aang belonged with her.

But what could he do about Zuko? From experience, Aang knew it was tough to not like Katara.

Oh! But if that angry knife-throwing girl got out of prison, then Zuko would turn to her again! Genius! Another incentive to win this war.

“How cute!” Suki cooed. He hadn't noticed her coming.

Aang scowled, “They're fighting.”

“They're having fun,” Suki countered, waving at a buried-in-the-sand Sokka. Toph smacked his cheek. Then Suki smiled down at him. “You should do something relaxing, too, Aang. Savour it while you can!”

The nail in the coffin happened three weeks later when the doom of Sozin's Comet lurked around the corner. In less than five days, the Fire Lord and him had to fight to the death; a death he didn't wish upon anyone. His group was furious with him for his stance, but Aang refused to budge his entire belief system for the definite solution of killing someone.

Katara had fallen quiet then. Hope bleeding out her eyes and left to seep into the soil, no longer in her heart and chi. He knew he hurt her with this. And still. There had to be another way to defeat the Fire Lord.

Right before he went to sleep, restless and keyed up, he stopped by Katara's door. Soundless, he slid it open just a crack, only to feel his stomach gutted out his body.

Zuko and Katara: hugging.

Not the quick embrace she'd previously given him, a real hug. One where Zuko's arm wrapped around her with no space left, one where Katara clung to him as though spirit water laced his veins. Her head tucked beneath his chin, their eyes closed yet content, his hand rubbing smooth circles on her lower back.

"Monkey feathers," he exhaled.

The two didn't jump apart like he expected, nor did Zuko flush red or dodge any repercussions by fleeing out the room. Their eyes cracked open and they stayed.

“Have you changed your mind about killing my father?” Zuko rasped.

Aang shook his head, blood pounding in his ears making it difficult to hear or breathe or think. Katara liked him too… more than she liked me.

“Katara?” he whispered.

Her eyes welled with unshed, shimmering tears. Remorse thickened her voice. “I'm sorry, Aang. I can't support you on this one. I just can't.”

Before he could save any semblance of a relationship, she burrowed herself back into Zuko's tight embrace. It looked unnatural, inhumane, it should be him.

And then he vanished.

[mytheoristavenue]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE your work 🙌🏻

I was wondering if you'd please do a second part to Unconventional with 2k12 Leo, sorting out his real feelings and maybe confessions to the reader, resulting in fluff?

Or whatever you choose to do. Because honestly, you're absolutely brilliant 🤩

No pressure, though. If you aren't feeling it, I totally understand 😘💜

Thank you! 💕

Anything for you!

TMNT 2012 Leonardo x Reader - Unconventional pt. 2

Summary: Leo struggles coming to terms with his feelings for you.

Warnings: A lot of angst! Kinda sad too.

It seemed like everywhere Leo looked, you we there. Whether it be a picture of young hanging on the refrigerator, his brothers talking about you, or you physically being in his presence, you were becoming a prison he couldn't escape from. He found himself constantly needing to vent to others about you, during which, he'd always clarify that he didn't hate you, per say, just didn't approve of your methods. At the end of the day, though, 'dislike' was not a strong enough word to describe his feelings.

He'd collected many long hours meditating, trying to clear the clouds from his mind, trying to plunge himself into his training, anything that could distract him long enough to have a single thought that didn't pertain to you. Maybe you'd simply vexed him one too many times, and now he would just always harbor some sort of residual annoyance for you. Occasionally, he could convince himself that this was the case, that something would happen, or you'd do something that he appreciated and he could begin to feel normal again. The more and more Leo tried to rationalize his intense feelings towards you, the more confused he became.

Splinter had at one time told him that love and hate were one in the same, just two sides of the same coin, but the turtle never found comfort in his. To him, that just made it more complicated. If he did hate you, does that mean to some extent, he loved you too? And was there a difference between loving and being in love? How could he separate a verb and a noun when they were spelt the same?

Leo grumbled, chasing his thoughts away as he exited the dojo and entered the kitchen before halting suddenly. His brows furrowed as he recalled an incident a few nights ago, where he'd said awful things to you in this very spot. You hadn't spoken to him since. Shaking his head in frustration, he pushed pasted the haunting, grabbing a drink from the fridge.

It was at this point he noticed you, sitting lonely on the couch, looking uncomfortable and out of place. "What're you doing here?" he interrogated. "You can't just walk into our house, ya know. You have to be invited."

"Fuck off, Leo." you spat coldly, not even giving him enough time of day to spare him a glance. His eyes stayed blown, mouth hanging ajar at your comment.

"Don't talk to me like that." he barked back, coming around the island to approach you. "Like it or not, I am still your leader."

"No your not." Your lip trembled as you spoke. "I quit the team."

His bandaged fists balled in anger at your insubordination. "Yeah, we'll see what Master Splinter has to say about that." he growled, spinning on his heels to tattle.

"He already knows." He stopped in his tracks, freezing for a moment before returning to you.

"So he just let you quit?"

"I'm leaving, Leo."

The room fell entirely silent, and not even the blabber from the outdated cartoon that played on the T.V. reached his ears. To an extent, he knew there was still sound around him, but his shock wouldn't let it seep in. "What?"

"My dad got a new job in North Carolina. I came to say goodbye. Hopefully, you'll forgive me from coming in unannounced." You explained, only looking at him through the corner of your eye, before rolling them and shaking your head in anger.

No, no, this wasn't how he wanted this to go. He still didn't understand his feelings for you, you couldn't just up and leave him before he had the chance to understand. How could you be so selfish? The next minutes played on in front of Leo as if it were a movie he were watching, and he had no control or right to interfere. He watched his brothers, as well as his father, Casey, and April, all come out from every nook and cranny to hear your story, and then envelope you in comfort.

He sat as a bystander, witnessing oodles of teary, woeful goodbyes, given and received by everyone in his world but him himself. He became unaware of how fast time was passing, or how long he had to explain himself to you, that is, until he realized that you were staring directly into his eyes. Checking your watch, you sighed, breaking away from a warm group hug and slinking over to him, holding out a hand form him to shake.

"Goodbye, Leo." you muttered, trying to hide your tear stained cheeks. He gazed at you blankly, ocean blue eyes darting between your sorrowful face and your needy hand. You sighed finally, deciding that this endeavor was a lost cause. If you'd had something to say, you might as well say it, you'll never see him again. "I've always hoped that one day I'd do something good enough to have you be proud of me. Maybe it's because I loved you, and thought that I could somehow force you to love me back through hard work."

Leo felt like a prisoner trapped outside of his body. He desperately begged to take you into his arms, to kiss you, to tell you how proud of you he truly was. He finally understood what his odd feeling was and how to act on it, but his limbs refused to budge. "I think I've out grown that though." you sighed, finally turning away from him for the last time, taking his lack of action as encouragement to leave.

"I've couldn't have ever asked for a better family, thank you all so much for everything you've given me." you sobbed to the rest of the room. Donnie was the first to wrap you up, and Mikey immediately after, both blubbering loudly and proclaiming how much they'll miss you. Next was April, who broke down against you, squeezing your neck, followed by Raph and Casey, simultaneously, both wrapping their arms around whoever they could, but intending all their affections to be received by you. Lastly, Splinter joined, enveloping his children in a secure net, his tail finding it's way to your ankle, snaking around it, as if you anchor you to your real home.

Still, Leo simply watched, numb and frozen, watching his chance to hug you one last night come and go as your friends broke apart from you. Finally, after what felt like eons, he watched you walk out of the lair for the very last time, his heart sunken so low, it may have well been in his foot. He endured the judgmental stares and comments of his family as they all scattered back to where ever they'd come from.

Now it was just him again, as it had been in the beginning, staring at an empty living room, words still left unsaid, and feelings left unshared, unfelt, and unexplored. Maybe this was love, he thought. Maybe loving someone meant loss, and maybe he was always meant to feel this. Maybe he was never supposed to clue you in on how he felt. Maybe it wouldn't have made a difference, considering outside forces pulled you away in the end.

He knew this was a lie, but it was the only comfort he had in his long journey of grief.

Taglist:

@sunshinesdaydream @helpyaw @thelaundrybitch @camilliahorne26 @turtle-babe83 @fyreball66 @sharpwindow @roseygardenfan @witchofthenorthstar @pheradream15

[residentfurry]

FOR THE ASK GAME ERM. Either Ada Wong or Luis they’re on my brain rn. Or even Maria Death Island

I'm gonna do all of these so long post beware!!

ADA

How I feel about this character:

I have such a huge crush on her ok. Giggles and twirls my hair. Also I support her shady endeavors go girl get that money!!!! Her design is solid and recognizable and I really like that even though she does good things sometimes she's still someone who works behind the scenes doing illegal shit for money LOL. I also think that her character has a lot of depth even tho a lot of people just see her surface level.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Leon is the main one (only the remake versions + re6) but I can see her getting with Claire or another girl character! To me she's bi with a preference for women but she does what she has to do for her job. Oh and her and Mia <- my fav RE crackship <3

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

I like to think her and Luis would've been good friends :) or at least I think she's drop by from time to time to spy on him. Maybe if he joined the BSAA/worked with Rebecca I can imagine her trying to poach his research LOL.

My unpopular opinion about this character:

Uhhh um idk actually! Some people didn't like her voice for re4r but I personally loved it.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

I REALLY REALLY wish that she was the main character of re6. The whole story revolves around her and her attempt to clear her name and gain her autonomy back so WHY ARE THERE SO MANY DISTRACTING AND CONFUSING ARCS. Don't get me wrong I love Chris and the exploration of how his job has affected him and I LOVE Jake and Sherry but it should've been more about her...it was supposed to be her story....(and I could write a whole essay about how her re6 plot is a metaphor for abuse- specifically sexual abuse... but that's a post for another time.) Also I know Capcom is allergic to backstories but please... I want to know what her motivations are! What drove her to the life she lives now! What does she do with her money!

I also wish that she was in re8 </3 they couldn't handle her cuntiness </3

LUIS

How I feel about this character:

I love Luis, even with how much I see him on my dash i STILL think that he's underappreciated. He has everything a good character has, themes motives etc...

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

LEON I like to think that if Luis had survived he would have eventually gotten with Leon. I mean they lay it on pretty heavily with Luis' flirting, and they have pretty compatible personalities (when Leon isn't being a dick LOL).

My non-romantic OTP for this character: (This is a more if-he-survived-scenario) I know they didn't really meet much in canon but he's besties with Ashley to me. I like to think that she'd forgive him for his role in umbrella and they would party HARD from time to time. I also think that him and Ada would be friends (as much as Ada can be friends with someone due her her job and everything) and would probably take him to dinner from time to time to bitch about life and try to get information out of him. And Rebecca! I think he would love working with her and think that she's brilliant. Scientist friends forever!

My unpopular opinion about this character:

Not really an unpopular opinion but I'm still 99.99% convinced that he's still alive. Unless something in the RE universe blows up into a million pieces then to me it's still alive. If Wesker can survive THAT Luis can survive anything.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

Kinda building on the last question, I would LOVE to see him come back/be alive and work for Rebecca. I would personally like to see him with some mobility aid of some kind due to his spinal injury (like how Buddy at the end of Damnnation has a wheelchair!) ^-^

MARIA

How I feel about this character:

I like her character! I know they're kinda weird about her with her clothes and Leon, but I like how she's not romantically involved with anyone and her only goal is revenge/help her father/ avenge her father. I know it sucks but it's not often that we get to have a female character who isn't romantically involved with someone/interested in a mc so I think she's really cool! I also love how she's quiet and a badass and I personally hc her as selectively mute (aka situational mutism)

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

I don't really ship anyone with her!

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Maybe if things Were Different I could see her being friends with Leon, as even after everything she's done he still sympathies with her and is sad/regretful at her death.

My unpopular opinion about this character:

I don't really have any unpopular opinions about her... maybe that she should've been put in some more combat-friendly clothing, but I digress.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

I dunno! I don't think there's much that could be changed about her/ her circumstances without changing her entire character. Maybe it would'be been nice for her to be given a normal chance at life, or at least join the BSAA or something, but I doubt they would let that happen because she's a bioweapon i'm pretty sure.

Anyways that's all of them! THANK U FOR THE ASKS ERIC ^-^!!!

[hyunjinners]

✧:･ﾟDepth of Choices → Hwang Hyunjin x reader ˚₊· ꒰💦꒱

꒰ 命 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 ꒱┊You've planned your future with Hyunjin at a prestigious university in Seoul, but your parents seem to work to your disappointment.

꒰ 命 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 ꒱┊Hwang Hyunjin x fem ! reader

꒰ 命 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐄 ꒱┊a little angst at the beginning, fluff at the end ^-^

꒰ 命 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 ꒱┊possible trigger, family Issues, insecurity.

꒰ 命 𝐖.𝐂 ꒱┊1,1k

꒰ 命 𝐀/𝐍 ꒱┊Finally brought a chapter of my love Hyunjin! Remembering that English is not my first language, so forgive me if I have any spelling mistakes or the writing is a little formal ❣️Enjoy the chapter and I hope you like it.^-^

⊹₊˚ʚ��Masterlist❜ɞ

Her chin rests on her legs that are pressed against her chest, her hands trembling as she gazes at the letter she has so anxiously awaited these past few weeks. Her heart was pumping faster and harder as the anxiety seeped from her body, causing her skin to break out in tiny beads of sweat.

Opening it, her breath hitched and mixed feelings grip her heart. Happiness, sadness, anxiety maybe? Did not you know. You fought for it, it's common to feel happy. So why do you feel like crying?

It took weeks of studies and a lot of effort to pass the test. Her parents forced her to skip even a few meals so she wouldn't get "distracted", according to your words. It was exhausting, despite always doing her best to be the first in everything that - academically speaking - she does.

You take a deep breath, perhaps because your brain has convinced you that just a little more air will make your nervousness go away - which didn't do much good. In search of a little relaxation, her legs unconsciously take her to the kitchen in search of some water. After drinking at least two glasses, your hands rest on the island countertop as a sign of tiredness..

You look for your cell phone that rested a little far from you on the bench, seeing that it vibrated. The screen was already lit, the name "Jinnie🤍" being spotted by you, a nickname affectionately given to your boyfriend Hyunjin. You sigh wiping your face so you could be at least presentable to talk to him, even if he couldn't see you.

"Hyunjin?"

"Hey my love. I called because I wanted to ask if you wanted to meet me today. What do you think?" - he asks, his voice with a tone of tenderness that he always kept when talking to you.

"...Maybe, I needed to talk to you."

"Talk? What happened?"

"It's best to speak in person. When can you come?"

"Maybe...now? I'm out here." - He laughs amusedly, it was like him to randomly appear in his apartment, mostly weekends like now, because that was when her parents were away on business, usually.

"Okay, wait for me there." - you hurry towards the door, slightly smoothing your hair to at least look presentable. "Come in." - you try to smile, but it looks kind of desperate. Hyunjin frowns as he puts his phone in his pocket. He wraps you in his arms quickly, giving you no chance to back down. You welcome him, fitting perfectly into his embrace, resting your head on his chest.

"What happened? You're definitely not okay."

" I want to talk to you." - you walk away, closing the door and guiding him to the couch. When they sit down, he reaches out to hold your hands, realizing that the subject was not very comfortable for you. He smiles encouragingly, waiting for words from him.

"I... I- remember I told you I was thinking of going to university?" - He nods, waiting for his continuation. "I passed."

"What? Really? Ooh, congratulations, my love." - he hugs you happily, squeezing you proudly. But, feeling your rigidity, he gently pulls away. "But...why don't you appear happy? Wasn't it your dream to study with me at Seoul University?"

"That is the problem. I even took the exam for Seoul but...my parents forced me to go to Oxford."

"O-Oxford? In the UK?" - Hyunjin stares at the floor for a while, as if he's hyperventilating. You shake hands that haven't let go yet. He seems to react to the signal, looking at you with distant eyes. Her heart sank when she saw his disappointed face.

"You... you should go." - he answers.

"But-"

"Look, if you really want to go, there's no reason for me to stop you. Of course, it hurts to think about spending a few years away from you, but I can't deprive you of your decision. The choice is yours, not mine."

"My love..." - your eyes water more and more as you watch Hyunjin wipe away the falling tears. "Thank you for supporting me but... that's not what I want. You're right, going to Seoul University is my dream. I want to be close to you and I love Seoul too, you know? But at the same time, I don't want to let my parents down."

"...I completely understand how you feel. But, if you really want something, you can't compromise your future and dreams for your parents' dreams. It's in your hands, if you need to, confront them and know that regardless of the outcome, I'll be here. Because I'm the one who promised to be by your side to face all problems together with you. I love you, dear."

"I love you much more. Thank you so much, you know, for not giving up on me." - you lean your face in, brushing your nose against his, thus depositing an Eskimo kiss as a sign of your affection for him. You sealed your lips then, a simple but very loving kiss, causing a feeling of need for the other to tighten in your chest.

"Never."

⊹₊˚ʚ❛🤍❜ɞ

A year has passed since the moment when you had to make the most decisive choice in your life. You breathe in the fresh spring air that hovered over the Seoul University campus, smiling when seeing the familiarity that I felt when seeing the young people strolling through the green grass of the place while enjoying their youth with banal conversations or subjects about the next exam.

You feel Hyunjin's comforting arms around your shoulders as he sits down next to you on the bench, placing a kiss on your forehead before you rest your head on his shoulder.

Sometimes you catch yourself thinking about what it would be like to have chosen to travel to another country and live completely differently, but, seeing what Hyunjin's gaze brings over you and how much her arms bring a sense of pleasure and nostalgia, you couldn't help but think you made the right choice.

⊹₊˚ʚ❛original by:: @hyunjinners . Like × reblog❜ɞ

[muddyorbsblr]

14 days of valentines collection teaser 2

I just realized that we're less than 10 days away from February, which means that 14 Days of Valentine's is inching closer and closer! With that in mind, for this teaser, I'm going to give y'all a lil summary of what to expect from each of my entries for this project.

Story summaries under the cut

not a fever – James Conrad x Reader

You're quarantined in the laboratory with James Conrad as you try to determine what the effects of the pollen he was exposed to are.

hypotheticals & distractions – Magnus Martinsson x Reader

You and Magnus are tasked with the unfortunate duty of manning the phones through a Friday night and he decides you should play some games to pass the time.

all the right answers – Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Tom decides to help you through reviewing for a certification exam by incentivizing each correct answer, making the decision to "ruin the friendship" in the process.

midnight cravings – Loki x Reader

Deciding to take advantage of the fully stocked pantry within the Avengers Compound, you go down there only to realize that Loki has the same idea, and he decides he'd much rather enjoy his little snack with you. And on you.

paris – Jonathan Pine x Reader

After spending the last few hours pretending to be a loving couple while on a mission in Paris, Jonathan decides to lose himself in the fantasy of having you to himself.

eyes on me, darling – Loki x Reader

You knew that sending Loki raunchy pictures as you tried on lingerie was going to have consequences. You just didn't think that they would be coming your way so quickly.

forgive me, father – Will Ransome x Reader

After being plagued with depraved fantasies of Aldwinter's vicar for months on end, you go to confession in a desperate attempt to alleviate yourself of these sinful thoughts. You didn't expect that the man on the other side of the confessional would be none other than Will Ransome himself.

thirty seconds – Loki x Reader

To celebrate a mission gone right, Loki invites you to his hotel room to have a drink with him, and he proposes you two play a little game beforehand.

keep me safe – James Conrad x Reader

You run into a tent for safety after being chased by a massive insect-like creature while collecting flora samples from Skull Island. The tent belongs to James Conrad.

duty of care – Jonathan Pine x Reader

After Pine rescues you from a bloodthirsty mafia leader, he confesses his feelings for you while tending to your wounds.

maintain our cover – Older Magnus Martinsson x Reader

To catch a suspected serial killer, you and Magnus go undercover in the sex club the suspect frequents to choose his victims. You knew you'd have to partake in the activities with an attendee or two. You didn't expect that he'd want you to partake in them with him.

i have never – Tom Hiddleston x Reader

When you reveal to your co-stars that you've never had a positive experience kissing anyone, let alone a good experience doing more than kissing, Tom visits you in your hotel room to rectify that situation.

measurements – Will Ransome x Reader

After Cora's birthday party, your brother Luke, along with Martha, made a few offhanded jokes about Reverend Ransome being "small", you quickly put them both in their place by explaining what you do back in London: using a man's posture, gait, and overall stature to determine certain "measurements" for your clients.

relinquish the crown: obsessions & fantasies – Loki x Reader

The morning after you had Astrid removed from the palace, you had some rather concerning thoughts about Loki. And after he comforts you through the task of sorting through the traitor's belongings, you have some vivid dreams of him later that night.

[fritz-federleicht]

okay but imagine a corpse x reader where the reader and corpse broke up because he couldn’t express his feelings. So during the readers stream chat tells her to react to corpses new song which was dedicated to them

look inside/ Corpse Husband x reader

Words: 768

FLUFF

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

You drop into your chair and start the stream. You've been live almost every day for the last few weeks. Normally, you only streamed twice a week.

But since you broke up with Corpse, you've been distracting yourself with streaming. You still have feelings for him. Which is why you're in such a bad place.

"Hey guys, how are you doing?" You ask the chat. Immediately your question is answered. Most of them write that they had a good day so far. Others write that they are glad you are live now. Someone asks how you are doing.

"I am doing quite well. Thanks for asking." You lie and smile into the camera.

"Today we have a lot to do, chat. Today we will react to videos. Do you have any requests what I should react to?" You look expectantly at the chat.

The only thing you read is: 'Please react to Corpse's new song'. You briefly consider whether you want to respond.

The viewers don't know that you were together and just broke up. They think you are friends. And that you have always been friends. To keep up this facade you decide to react to the song.

"Corpse has a new song out?" You ask and type 'CORPSE' into the search bar on YouTube.

The song is immediately displayed first. It is called 'look inside'.

You get the assumption that this song is meant for you.

Although it says that this song was posted recently, you ask the chat if it is really the song that has just been released.

When they confirm it you say: "Let's do it" and click play.

A slow melody sounds. Since it is a lyric video you can read the text.

The deep voice of your ex-boyfriend sounds. You listen to his singing. He sings about how hard it is for him to open up to others. And to talk about his problems. He sings that he has tried. About how he wants to get better and try again.

The lyrics bring tears to your eyes. You've always known how hard it is for him to open up. You tried to deal with it. You really tried. Because you loved him.

And still do. That's why you're crying now. His words have touched you.

The song is over. You wipe the tears from your cheeks.

"That touched me now." You say. "I know someone like that myself." You think of Corpse, of course.

"What do you think of the song?" You look at the chat with still watery eyes. Since your vision is blurry, you run your sweater sleeve over your eyes.

All you read are compliments. You smile: "As you saw, I liked it too. He moved me to tears."

You stare at the chat for a moment. "Guys, I need to get a tissue. God, that song was beautiful." You are already gone and go into the kitchen.

You grab a tissue and go to the kitchen island. There's your phone. You reach for it and after a long scroll, click on the chat with Corpse.

The last message he wrote was just after you broke up. In it, he asked for forgiveness.

You click on the call icon. It takes a moment for Corpse to answer.

"Um, hey." You say shyly. "Hey..." Corpse greets you sadly.

,,I just reacted to your new song. Is this directed at me?"

Corpse clears his throat: ,,Yes it is. Y/N I still love you. I just want to know that I'm trying to change. And..."

You interrupt him: "Are you really trying to change?" "Yes. I'm trying to be more open and talk about my feelings."

You smile. "Corpse. I'd like to help you with that. I'll call you back later if that's okay. My stream is still on."

"Of course it's okay. So does that mean we'll see each other again from time to time?" Corpse asks hopefully.

"Yes, we will. But I have to hang up now. See you later." You say.

"I know we're not back together yet, but I love you. I've wanted to tell you that since we broke up."

Since you still have feelings for him, you say "I love you too" back. And add a bye.

"Bye Y/N."

You put your phone aside and sprint back to your computer. A big grin on your lips.

"So guys, what are we reacting to now?"

You look at the chat. It only asks where you have been for so long. You look into the camera and smile: "That's my secret."

[sakubo-pair]

Secret talks, or rather secret meetings

today I want to show you sakubo story.

I translate this by machine translater.

Kabru needed a collaborator. Preferably someone with a solid organization behind them, but also someone who was not afraid to do dark things. Shuro was looking for someone who knew the West. There was much he did not know about the continent further west than the island. An assignment from his father required him to learn about other countries. With mutual agreement and the approval of Maizuru, Shuro's chaperone, Shuro invited Kabru to a hot spring hotel with a slightly dimly lit Japanese-style room. Surrounded by large trees and with little direct sunlight, the house was a quiet retreat where secret meetings of the island's influential people often took place.

Shuro, who was talking steadily about his work, looked like the son of an influential Eastern clandestine group, with a vacant look in his eyes, not like the exhausted and disoriented man Kabru had seen in the dungeon before. He had the kind of pride and elegance that Kabru excelled at, and he was able to tickle the elegant nature of such people and they would immediately forgive him, making him easy to work with.

"So, Toshiro-san, I'm glad you're willing to go that far. I appreciate you going that far, but isn't it a burden?" "I don't mind, Kabru. I owe you a debt. I owe you a debt. You saved me from the worst of it in the dungeon by deliberately using strong language to criticize me. I am grateful. I mean… can you just call me…?　Toshiro and…" Kabru knew intuitively that he should not be in a hurry to close the distance between them. "Toshiro-san…. I think it's still a little early. You are surprisingly fragile and easily distracted by others. You'll fall for the wrong people.　At that rate…"

But what came out of Toshiro's subsequent mouth was a bit unexpected. Toshiro pulled Kabru, who was shorter than himself, close to his ear by his curly hair. "You mean you're the bad guy…?　I don't care if it's you. And what kind of 'bad guy' would give you such friendly advice?　If even that is a trap, I'd gladly take it once…" Toshiro was already more in love with himself than he had expected, and since Kabru had a liking for this man with two sides, one cold-hearted and the other naive, he quickly held Toshiro's head to his chest and spent some time with him. He spent some time holding Toshiro's head to his chest, quietly in a room with only sunlight streaming in through the shoji window.

[cozage]

If we're getting another chapter for made for two can we know the real reason why Zoro decided to end the relationship? I feel like there's something more than him getting annoyed at us like cheating or jealousy or whatever

Hello dear reader!

I'm so glad you're enjoying the fic and are super invested in it all! I actually did consider having Zoro do something awful like cheat on you or something, but (even for the sake of moving the story forward) I don't think he'd do that. Let me explain more below the cut (and show you why it's still just as tragic)

TL;DR: Zoro and the reader do love each other, but show it in very different ways, and they were doomed from the start because of it.

I think Zoro does care about and loves the reader in his own way, but Zoro doesn't show it in the same way other people on the crew do, especially you. Just because he cares about you doesn't mean he's going to alter his day to be with you more often, and in his mind, training (so he can protect you and the other people he cares about on the crew) is the most important thing. He's selfish, and he doesn't care about large romantic gestures. He doesn't remember important events like birthdays or anniversaries or even what day it is in general.

He's the kind of person who likes you around when he needs you around - which we see at the beginning of the story when he's playful in bed. But after his morning shower, his mindset shifts to training, and he doesn't need you around anymore because you'll just distract him. He's not the kind to spare feelings or tell you unnecessary words of affirmation. He gets to the point because that's what he understands, especially when he's upset.

And then we have the reader, who is someone that loves quality time, and wants to spend time together with not just Zoro but everyone on the ship. They love loudly and they want to be loved the same, which is something that Zoro has never had the capacity to understand or appreciate. This has resulted in months of arguments; most days looking like the one I had written.

The day written wasn't any different than most island days, expect for the date. The island you all landed on marked 6 months of you all dating, and Zoro never commented on it, he didn't want to be around you, he broke his promise and his compromise made with you, and he purposely avoided the one thing you guys do on a normal day (watching the sunset). He was angry with you and purposely avoided it all out of spite. He was itching for a screaming match because normally those types of fights end with you begging for forgiveness and you tiptoeing around him for the next few days because you don't want to lose him, and thats what he expected. But today was the day you gave up fighting, because of how hurt you were over the 6 months being forgotten by him. It was the straw that broke the camels back.

Sometimes people love each other deeply, but they simply aren't compatible. Such is the case with the reader and Zoro (which we can see from your POV and Zoro's argument with Sanji). That doesn't nullify the love that still remains between you two, in fact it makes it all the more painful. It's the reason I added a very small line into Dance for Two, actually.

"You wanted to run away, restart the day, or just go back to when you and Zoro first broke up and beg for his forgiveness."

It's a line that most people probably miss or doesn't mean anything to them. But the reader is used to this to portray just how messy their relationship is with Zoro. They're used to screaming and fighting, just to make up the next. This is the way their relationship has always been, so it must be normal.

You know how you're in a dimly lit room and you can almost see everything then a bright light blinds you? But when your eyes adjust, you realize you've been missing out on so many details and colors while you were sitting in the dark. It's a whole new world now, something you didn't know was possible.

I imagine Sanji is that light for the reader, and now that you've learned that there are people who will sacrifice for you rather than give you an occasional compromise, it's impossible to go back to the way it was before.

I must admit, I know this is not as enthralling as catching him cheating or having some other big thing happen that is earth-shattering for the reader. I don't think Zoro is a bad person, after all. He's just bad for you.

[aero-sense]

Honestly not much to talk about in this for this level, though it does have its moments. However, now we are getting into the heart of the story and some of it's mysteries answered.

This is a detailed playthrough, not a critical review. I'm doing this for fun, not for accuracy.

The Hidden Island:

Completely new location this time! The level takes place far, far east on an unmapped island, in an area the show never explored. The waters around the island are very dangerous so people rarely leave or come.

Despite how isolated the village is, they still know about the war and the avatar. While they may have heard about the war and the avatar from travelers, I like to think the island had their own mythology of the avatar, or even had an avatar of their own.

A plotline of the level is how the island village has no record of their history and culture. Seems odd, as the island had little contact and thus almost no interference from other nations to disrupt them, but there could be other factors. For instance, the island could have suffered a natural disaster leading to the majority of the islanders being wiped out, evidenced by all the ruins on the island. With very few people, it could have been harder to keep track of their history.

Later we find in the ruins the spirit of the island, a talking Badger mole? It was foreshadowed in the story well enough. The island is named Four Paws Island, and a lady commented the island's landscape changes frequently, like how the Badger moles manipulate the maze in the Cave of Two Lovers.

Haru has to pass a trial given by the spirit. There's a bunch of statues doing different forms in a circle, an with an egg-like object in the center... sound familiar? Oh, but Haru doesn't dance, he just earth bends the statues closer to the egg to solve the puzzle.

Cool detail, Haru does the underground burrowing move, that the Consul did before. Shows how Haru is constantly learning from his surroundings and experiences on this journey, that he learns a move after seeing it once.

Back to the main plot, the gaang catch up to Lian, presumably making the war machines on the island under FN order. However, Lian reveals to us that she got caught by the FN on purpose to use their resources and has been creating the machines to eliminate benders, who she blames the war for.

Seems the writers already had ideas of a nonbender/bender conflict all the way back in 2006, though presented quite differently than the show Korra did. I like how it's pulled off here though, as a clear effect from the war.

A big question is that Lian doesn't trust the Avatar to end the war, because he won't make it in time for the comet, but how does she know about it? Was it more common knowledge than presented in the show or did she find out while being a prisoner?

[DS]

Dang Grandma making me bet 100 g for checkers :/

One of the villagers named Gun-Ji went missing, following the trend of missing people. Nice detail, though I don't think the character is mentioned again. However, an odd aspect of the game is how many npcs have names, but almost no importance in the story and rarely ever come up in conversations.

We get a short mini quest of Sokka getting mugged by a kid. Sokka starts beefing with a kid over his boomerang, and after Sokka gives it to him, the kid just walks away while Sokka is distracted. Sokka runs after him, and save him from some machines that appeared. Later, the boy apologizes and Sokka forgives him, explaining why the boomerang is so important to him.

I consider this partially a Sokka level. Sokka's disconnect with his culture ties in nicely with the villagers mourning the loss of their history, as they struggle to remember to their roots.

A giant goat gorilla rushes towards the gaang, and Aang immediately goes into diplomat mode, love it. I guess this is where Bumi found Flopsie? Nice detail as only the King seems to know about the place.

[PSP]

Some odd plot point is there's FN soldiers around the island? As we know now, it was a misunderstanding that the FN were in control of the machines, Lian was, and so they shouldn't even know the island's existence. It was likely just a continuity mistake.

It's nice seeing Katara's adventurous side when exploring caves. She always wanted to explore the world at the start of the show and it's nice to see her get excited solving the secrets of the ruins.

The spirit is different in this version. Instead of a Badger mole, it's a large 6-legged sea turtle. I like it's design and find it more fitting for the island than just another badger mole. If badger moles can shift the land constantly, maybe the sea turtle spirit changes the tides around the island, protecting the island from malicious visitors. Going further, perhaps the reason the spirit was too weak to ward Lian off is because the villagers have started to forget it (Do spirits have to be believed in to affect the physical world?)

The way they drew Lian in the PSP version like ma'aaam

[nonhumanhottie]

Tales of the empire reaction

I'm gonna be so real I really don't care much for Morgan. Her being a nightsister was very random and I don't find her that interesting lol

Why are cartoons so visually dark you have the ability to make them viewable give me light

Aw am I supposed to feel sorry for Morgan?

Hey is that Pellaeon??

Oh it is!!

Okay they were much better at doing angry crowd shouts 15 years ago lol

Oh I do not like how Thrawn looks in this he looks like a sim

Here comes the organ music at least there's that

Okay but she's not really a witch anymore right how can she be faster than blaster fire?

Is it just me or at the grunting and panting sound effects just way too much? Like they're just awful and distracting to listen to

Oh hey Bo

This overall feels like supplementary backstory to a character who wasn't fleshed out in other media tbb

Like i can definitely feel the backstepping they were doing to make this work

Sorry for being a little hater but it wasn't my fave

On to the second half

God palpatine really had everyone believing he was attacked and that swinging hard to fascim was a normal response he is the girlboss of all time

Inquisitor Island

The grand inquisitor is acting so... normal lmao

Yesss pit the children against each other

We are going a mile a minute!! These alledged tales aren't designed for 15 minute episodes lmao

Now is Vader gonna recognise Barriss? Does he hate her?

Oh Barriss I think you've chosen the wrong job path babes

Barriss girlie what have you gotten yourself into?

Oh a non binary jedi?? Werk

That was a quick turn around lol

Bare hands in those weather??

Shes old now wait where are we in the timeline why are we jumping so far forward??

At least Barriss recognises she made some Choices and that the Jedi would ultimately good

Okay I love the change from holding back makes you predicable to anger makes you predicable

I'm gonna say it. I don't think lightsabers are good light sources. Have you ever tried to find something in a coloured light?

Oh it's giving the ending of the shining in the hedge maze hahaha

This felt kiiiinda lazy lol. Sure, it's gorgeous, but imo the hyper-realistic backgrounds and textures don't suit the more blocky style. Also aesthetics alone don't really work in a format like this

I feel like I'm being harsh but I didn't really feel like anything stuck out to me in a good way, other than I guess Barriss reenforcing that the Jedi way is about light an forgiveness, but the pacing and timeline is whack lmao

I get this isn't designed to be a standalone piece of media but the Vader thing is especially annoying to me because it doesn't add anything to this. I think the Grand Inquistor referencing him would have been enough

In fact if I was to rewatch Tales of the Jedi, I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much as I did the first time. I don't think this a good format for these stories

[raspberryjellybrains]

Morpheus is a truly fascinating character to look at from a moral perspective because he's such a dick but about 50% of the time it's on accident and the other 50% it's on purpose, but not because of any genuine hate or malice just... poorly directed sadness. Neither of these reasons make it okay, but they make it damn hard to see where the lines are regarding guilt, blame, and forgiveness. As if this isn't enough, hearing Morpheus' take on things (or appalling lack thereof) along with some others makes it even harder to grapple with.

When I'm analyzing this first 50%, I often come back around to asking whether someone should punished for something they didn't know was wrong, which is a normal hard and fast 'no', but this someone has had millinea to find out it is wrong and correct it and hasn't, which then pulls me into questioning where the ignorance becomes willful. Especially when the individual is so blindsided by the idea that there might even be something wrong. Morpheus is cold and aloof, which I put down to a general temperament thing; the problem is that he can't afford to be. This is, quite literally, a major reason why the series ends the way it does. He wasn't particularly mean to Lyta, just not very kind or understanding. He was busy and distracted and hurting and didn't explain what was going on or offer much sympathy (none in the comics). Is it okay that he did that? No. Do I understand why and feel sad that a trait that is innocuous to most was deadly to him? Yes, of course always, yes.

The other 50% where Morpheus is trying to hurt people, it's born out of his own hurt, as most cruelty is. He is not a malicious being; cruel, but not malicious. The way he treats Destruction is from his own wish to escape the weight of their existence and a frustration that someone did it, someone did it and he couldn't stop or join them. He doesn't actually hate Destruction, Dream clearly blames himself at least in part for his leaving and seems to miss him as much he wants to respect or exile him for the deciding to do so. He's on the fence about how to act and overcompensates by being desperately terrible, which is what he always fucking does. That's the worst part! I chose Destruction specifically as an example because the situation lays bare the core of his cruelty very, very well. Nada and Orpheus are good examples as well. Dream doesn't like not knowing what to do, doesn't like being scared and can't stand the idea of being thought of as anything less than perfectly confident and controlled at all times (wow, so healthy!). He doesn't want people to look at him and see someone who needs comfort so he doesn't let them look at all, and ensures they don't by pushing them away at the slightest offense. If they brush against an insecurity or hurt, he's trained himself to lash out rather than lick the wounds. He condemns Nada to Hell when she sees who he is and rejects him for it; He leaves Orpheus on an island for a thousand years because he reminded Dream that he can't fix everything, or even keep those he loves safe; He's so unforgiving and rude towards Destruction because he did what Dream desperately needed to do but couldn't.

Thing is, these are both fixable flaws with obvious sources, but he has spent so long living by them that he doesn't know any other way to do so. Maybe it makes me an apologist—I'm willing to acknowledge that I can tend to hold a warped perspective on things—but I see his core personal moral failings as holding himself to an ordinary standard of behavior when an extraordinary one is needed and feeling that somehow his power and suffering makes him better than just about everyone else (now think about that and Lucifer and lose your mind briefly.) He isn't, on the whole, awful and irredeemable. He's flawed and he's trying, but when one is endless there is very little room for such a thing.

Then I end up asking the question: did he deserve it? does anybody? And that's... hard. Morpheus caused real hurt and damage, intentional or not, across space and time. Does he deserve to die for it? I would like to say no, but I would also see reason in saying yes. The questions get big, applicabilty of death penalty and impact of intention on action big, and that's usually when I stop the train. The point of Morpheus' weird and complex morality is to drive the train straight into the sunset, which I fully encourage those who can do it safely to do but if I did, we would be here until tumblr was ash.

So I can't offer an answer with a neat little bow, or even a particularly persuasive argument as to the final moral determination of Morpheus as a character, but that wasn't necessarily my goal. I can tell you one thing for sure: he would majorly benefit from one (1) positive and healthy friendship.

[eddles]

Vox Machina Season 3

So, going into season 3, how do people see it playing out?

Spoilers….

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I think that the way I'd run it is: 1st episode - the fall-out from Raishan's appearance in Whitestone, checking out the locations of the next vestiges and arrival in Marquet (spelling?), possibly getting the "spice?" And sandkeig's hide and gambling

2nd episode - looking for the vestige and finding the dead body, discovering that Ripley is involved, has been watching them and is working towards her second vestige. Then meeting the true ruler of Marquet (seriously sorry if I have gotten locations and names mixed up, I'm doing this from my phone and an imperfect memory)

3rd episode - going to the island and confronting Ripley, Ripley discloses that Rishan was the one who let Thordack free and hurt the people of Pyra (it hasn't been said in-show yet who that was) to distract Keyleth perhaps? Then death of Percy and party totally gank Ripley.

4th episode - Percy's resurrection, Keyleth confronts Raishan and they have to start planning to take down the White Dragon, combine this with something about him liking to hunt and trying to get Keyleth's vestige by bringing in that demonic creature that swallowed it

5th episode - going to wherever they decide the white dragon will be (I'm not sure they can use Draconia) and negotiating with the people there, likely in a similar manner. There may be a bit of a fight first, just to keep things interesting

6th episode - taking down the White Dragon, getting Keyleth's vestige and ending with Percy/Vex moment

7th episode - going after Pike's vestige (forgive me, I've forgotten this part of the campaign, but looking for it and engaging in some fighting can fill this bit of the episode, possibly include a Keyleth/Vax moment here?)

8th episode - conclude the shenanigans of getting Pike's vestige and returning to the normal world, perhaps landing at that castle they needed to try to man which was in the process of being attacked by wyverns

9th episode - trying to help the people survive the fight in the castle, later, hearing about the different armies banding together and providing feedback on what Vox Machina have done (possibly showing Vex and Vax's father up)

10th episode - returning to Whitestone, gathering forces (including Kash and Zara?) making plans with Raishan (and against Raishan), Vex and Percy "talk"

11th episode - going to Emon, starting to make their way through the city, past lots of different fights, Kash and Zara take on a big monster so the rest of the party can keep moving, intercut with scenes from the rest of the army attacking Thordak's minions

12th episode - the big battle with Thordak and his/it's babies, Raishan helping but escaping, the other dragon coming to help, going through the hoard and finding the deck of many things etc. Returning to Whitestone and realising that they now have to take down Raishan.

I decided to move going up against Raishan to 4th season, as I thought it gives a good hook for people going into the 4th year, it allows for Scanlan's death and resurrection to be an impetus for change in the whole group, they can have a few episodes with Tary and indicate there has been a year+ time-break. Then they can bring in The Meat Man.

This is pure, fun conjecture and I probably missed out a bunch of really cool ideas and aspects of the campaign, so I'd love to hear other's opinions!

[casspurrjoybell-32]

*Warning Adult Content*

ACCEPTING CHANGE - Chapter 7

Ahote

"I'm an idiot, aren't I?" I asked looking at Kaya from the side of my eyes as she washed dishes, she paused what she was doing so that she could turn to look at me, then she shrugged, chuckling a bit before looking away, I just rolled my eyes.

'Sure, laugh,' I thought, looking back at Elan who was sitting on my lap, my situation's funny, isn't it?   

"I'm not laughing at you Ahote. I'm just happy for you," Kaya said, speaking as if she had read my mind, she rinsed off the last plate before drying her hands with a towel.

It was mid-day and most of the kids were out playing and many adults were somewhere in the pack's compound.

Kaya walked over to the kitchen island before taking a seat beside me, she ruffled Elan's hair, muttering compliments at him in a childish voice before turning her full attention to me.   

"But don't you think it's a good thing?" she asked me, folding her hands over her chest as one of her brow's shot up in question.

My cheeks grew warm and my eyelids fluttered until my gaze was on the stone surface of the island. 

"How is it a good thing?" I asked.

I'd confided in Kaya about how I was feeling recently, about how Alek was confusing me, I thought the slight sting of want would go away once my heat was over but it still lingered weeks after and it was starting to make me worry.

I had a mate out there somewhere, this wasn't normal, was it?     

"Well, maybe it'll help you accept that Honon isn't coming back," Kaya said and I knew that.

I had accepted that a long time ago but Kaya saying it out loud still had an effect on me, my chest hurt and my eyes watered, I didn't cry, I dried my eyes with the back of my palm before the waterworks could start.

Every time I had thought that I had forgotten about him, forgive him and maybe even wished him all the best in his relationship someone would bring him up again and a part of my heart I had mended would crack.     

"I'm sorry," Kaya muttered.

It seemed she noticed the effect that mentioning Honon at all had on me, I smiled at her, trying to assure her that I was alright.

"You know, if you're worried about breaking the mate bond, don't be."

My eyes locked with hers and I opened my mouth to say something but I forgot what, I looked away, twisting a braid I had hidden in my hair in between my fingers.   

 "So, what if you fall in love with Alek? You don't owe Honon that bond. In fact, I'm sure he would rather not have it," Kaya said and I kept looking at her, forcing myself not to look away.

Elan reached out to grab her necklace, distracting Kaya and giving me time to think a bit.     

Yes, even though Honon was out there starting a life with someone else we still had the bond, I could feel his breathing sometimes, I could feel when he was happy, mad, aroused... everything.

It had weakened over time, mostly because every time Honon sleep with the one he was in love with it was like an axe on the thick bark of a tree, I haven't slept with anyone since Honon left the pack that night without me knowing.

Sometimes loneliness and want would make me consider it but I was too afraid to fall in love with someone else, there was a reason I was paired with Honon and I'm not the one to doubt the Moon Goddess and their decision.     

I loved Honon but he has never loved me, sure we had the mate-pull but that wasn't the same as love, it was more like a divine suggestion for who you should love.

When we found out we were mates he was already dating someone from college, when he rejected me, he knew that the feeling could kill me but he did it anyway.     

Why was I so concerned about him when he's probably forgotten me? 

In a way, it was both selfish and harmful to me to hold onto it, if I hold on to the bond Honon would remember me, infrequent and subconsciously but he would still remember me and maybe... he'll come back.

I closed my eyes. I couldn't convince myself to let go yet, my decision making was mostly halted by a variety of 'what if' questions.

"Ahote?"     

I blinked, realizing that Kaya was talking to me again, I apologized, noticing that she had taken Elan away from me and my son was now sitting on her lap as he played with the beaded necklace, she sighed, shaking her head.

"Do you know what I think about this situation?" Kaya asked, making me shake my head, she smiled at me, running her free hand through her short hair before she continued talking.

"I think that if you really loved Honon you'd work to break the bond. Nothing would make Honon happier than knowing you found someone else."   

I swallowed down a ball of my saliva, my mouth and lips were feeling dry.

Kaya was trying to leverage my affections against me, she had a point,but wasn't love also selfish to an extent?

I was being selfish, it didn't mean I loved him less, Honon still talked to a few people in the pack through the mail but he never sent me anything, never spoke to me and I was too scared of radio silence to send him anything.

I pretend like I didn't want information but people knew I did and talked to me about him if they heard anything, pity, everyone pitied me and I didn't know if I should be grateful or resentful.   

Honon didn't know about Elan, nobody mentioned his son to him, it was for the best, I didn't want to look like I was trying to reel him in with a child, I wasn't like that.

If Honon chooses to come back, I wanted it to be because he loved me and not because he was worried or felt obligated to.     

"Think about it. He's good-looking, he's mate-less, it's like he was planted here just for you," Kaya said, leaning closer a bit as Elan looked from her excited face to my skeptical one. 

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

Kaya and I looked over to the door, Alek was standing by it, looking from me to Kaya before he turned back to me.

Kaya shook her head, speaking up and saying we were just about done talking, Alek smiled at that before speaking to me.

"Lapu said I should come to talk to you about something."   

"Oh."

It probably had something to do with showing Alek where to get the supplies he wanted from town, I'd spoken to my brother a while ago and he had agreed to let Alek go on a hunting trip with them after some initial hesitance.     

Kaya got up from her seat, she excused herself, leaving with Elan in her arms and Alek took her seat and soon we were staring at each other, I looked away when the silence and intensity of his gaze became too much for me.     

"Lupa said you're going out tomorrow to get some groceries," he said, and I blinked before nodding.

'Oh, I almost forgot that.'

It was the end of the month already.     

"He said I should follow you then if you're okay with it. I should just ask Aponi to tag along."

Aponi was the head housekeeper and unofficially the head Omega.

"Wait, what about following them on hunting trips?" I asked and Alek groaned, rolling his eyes as he shook his head. 

"He said no."     

I nodded, adjusting my sitting position on the seat

I knew my brother was stubborn, so I dropped the conversation and returned to talking about Aponi.

"She'll say yes, so don't bother to ask her I'll tell her," I said, holding my palms together as I looked at him.

He had his hair in a ponytail today, so the chiseled face was on full display.

Kaya was right, Alek was good looking and it wasn't strange to be attracted to good-looking people, maybe that's all this was.

"Okay," Alek said, sitting up on his chair, we kept looking at each other, not knowing what to say.

The snow from the past few weeks has melted away, you could see the green of trees now and the kids could go into the fields to play.

People took walks and maybe that's why the pack-house felt so empty and seemed so quiet, barely anyone was inside.   

I shifted in my seat, looking away from Alek as I tried to calm my thoughts, I wondered what he was still doing sitting across from me.

Didn't he want to leave?     

"I saw a cub running around hallways and muddying the floors," Alek said something so random that I couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

He looked over at me with a smile and I smiled back, covering my mouth before removing my hand and just grinning.

Ah, spring, everywhere was a muddy mess and the kids didn't just care when they were in their wolf states, muddy paw prints were common inside the house around this time.

I'm so glad I trained Elan on how to shift early in his childhood, I wouldn't trade places with any of the parents still dealing with their children's random shifts.     

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Alek's question was random and it made my eyes go wide for a bit.

I looked straight at him, watching as his blue eyes looked away like he was flustered and nervous, so I looked down at my fingers, fiddling with them as I thought about his offer beacuse I haven't 'taken a walk' in a while.   

"Where to?"     

"Anywhere within pack territory? I don't mind. I haven't been here long. I wouldn't know the best places to take a stroll." 

 "How about along Peace River?" I asked and Alek raised a brow.

"All the way to the water banks?"     

"Sure, we'll walk along the shoreline. I'm even certain people are there right now," I said, watching as something played in Alek's eyes, excitement? I think so, this is one of the few times I wasn't wiggling out of one of his offers.

"Okay..." he trailed, as his smile widened.     

"We can go there now," I said, looking over at the door that led to the mudroom.

It was a little room just before the main exit out into the compound where people cleaned off their shoes and kept their clothes before shifting, he let out a small excited laugh, getting up when I got up.

We walked to the mudroom together and I guess I didn't put two and two together when suggesting this because I realized we would be naked in the same space.

My face warmed up and I suddenly felt shy as Alek started to take off his clothes, it was only when he was down to his underwear that I realized that I hadn't removed my clothes.

I went on ahead with it, pretending like it was any normal day when I was in the room with Kaya or some other Omega I had to work with.

I saw people naked every day but I didn't know, this felt different.

Alek shifted before me, turning into a wolf with a grey topcoat and a white undercoat.

He walked forward, nuzzling at my feet and making me realize I was still standing naked with the clothes I had removed in my hands.

I came out of my thoughts, folding the clothes in my hands before shifting myself.

Shifting wasn't painful, well, I guess it depends on how you were though, for me, it felt more like a slight sting in the joints as bones morphed, dislocated and got rearranged.

My hair follicles also opened for thicker hair to grow in as my cuticle on my nails and teeth in my mouth thickened and sharpened.

I was on four feet before I could count to five, I sniffed the air, looking to the side before narrowing my gaze on Alek.

He was sitting down as his tail moved from side to side, I'd snicker if I could, he looked like a husky but bigger, which made sense, since Huskies were bred from Siberian wolves.

He walked forward, circling me a few times before bumping my face with his, he gnawed on my fur, I wasn't startled at the grooming, that was common but when he licked my nose and teeth I crouched back, growling a bit before running past him.     

He followed me through the large dog door that was attached to the main entrance, I ran into the compound, picking up my sped and I ran through the cleared area and into the bushes.

My heart was racing and I couldn't stop myself from running even if I wanted to, the feeling of the grass and shrubs clawing/flogging my skin as I ran past them didn't bother me.

I just wanted to be a safe distance away from Alek so that I could recover from the shock.     

"I'm sorry," his words were small but hearing them in my head made me pause.

I stood still and soon Alek was right beside me again.

"Sorry," he repeated.

His ears were folded down almost flat against his face and his head was lowered so our eyes didn't meet, I was starting to feel a little odd.

So, I walked forward, gnawing at his ear area and grooming him.

"It's okay," was all I could say before walking past him.

Alek got up, meeting my pace,and we took a walk to the river banks as we had planned to, other wolves were there like I had predicted.

The walk around the shore was quiet and my shock from before fully subdued.

We played around, we played with the kids, we chased small rodents and caught fish, we sat with the adults as evening closed in.

Alek kept his distance, my reaction from before probably giving him a scare.

I felt bad and made a note to apologize and explain later, I enjoyed the evening and I realized I didn't mind Alek or his company at all.   

He was gentle and kind, good looking and he was fond of me, I was starting to consider him as a partner, as a person I could bare myself to, It was scary but also exciting. I wanted that.

Yes, maybe the Goddess made a mistake and I should start questioning them more often, I wanted to be with someone that wanted me back, I should let Honon go.