#nothing better than a jade fic to make a (kind of) come back

[sinfullyrosey]

Shrimpmer!Reader

Floyd Leech X GN!Shrimpmer!Reader X Jade Leech

Warnings: Mild Violence, Brief Mentions of Accurate Shrimp Cleaning Methods (kind of gross)

I literally had written up a mini fic showcasing the tweels first meeting Shrimper!Reader… and lost it. Have no idea where it is. Searched through my drafts and got pissed, so just started over from scratch.

Can be read as platonic but with a lot of sus behavior ngl

The Basics (aka an Introduction to Shrimpmer!Reader)

Shrimpmer!Reader is a cleaner shrimp, a type of shrimp known for cleaning off parasites, algae, insects, and other bad stuff from fish. They’ve even been known to eat the mucus and infectious material around a fish’s wound to reduce infection and aid in healing. There are different species of cleaner shrimp, ‘scarlet skunk’ or ‘white-striped’ cleaner shrimps being known for cleaning the mouths of moral eels specifically.

Shrimpmer!Reader specifically comes from a family of cleaner shrimps that have a long-standing business partnership with the Leeches. Their family provides their cleaning and patch-up services to better the mereels’ health and heal any injuries, and in turn, the Leeches provide protection. It’s a mutualistic relationship where both benefit. And congrats, they were assigned to the tweels when they were but a mere fry and twins were still little elvers.

But what is it that Shrimpmer!Reader does exactly? Well, they have a cleaning station set up (i.e. a flat rock for the tweels to lay on while they work) and they go over the twins’ body, ridding it of any parasites and other debris. Picking at their scales and skin like a fine-tooth comb. They’ll even clean their sharp teeth using specialized brushes and tools to make sure nothing is stuck and strengthen the dentin (real shrimp physically go inside eel’s mouths, but shrimpmers are too big for that). Whenever the twins come to them with an injury after one of their scuffles, Shrimpmer!Reader will clean and disinfect the wound, being sure to remove any parasites, then wrap up the wound to heal faster.

In terms of anatomy and size difference, Shrimpmer!Reader is much smaller compared to the twins, but not on the same scale difference as real shrimps and moray eels. They’re not tiny enough to fit in their mouths but are small enough to be carried with ease. The best comparison I can give is like with the dwarves and Neige, but the tweels’ eel forms are much bigger compared to regular humans, so Shrimpmer!Reader would be shorter compared to a human as well. Floyd would joke about them being “child-sized.” Just like the Octatrio, their bottom half is that of a white-striped cleaner shrimp while the rest of their body has the matching miscolored skin, fin ears, and a pair of long, white antenna on the top of their head. No, their hands aren’t claws/pincers, but they do have sharp nails that aid in cleaning.

The Shrimp and the Eels Headcanons

Like mentioned above, Shrimpmer!Reader was assigned to Floyd and Jade back when they were all still children. Each new generation of Leech ends up being assigned a cleaner shrimp who are around the same age so that they can grow together and build a proper symbiotic bond. You just ended up unlucky ‘cause Mr. and Mrs. Leech had twins and you were the only available one in your family at the time. A two for one deal, as it were.

Rough first meet (the twins are asses even back then), but you eventually adjusted and they learned how much they actually enjoy getting all those nasties off of them. You were gentle and efficient, it was very soothing, almost therapeutic to them. But it was only after one particular cleaning where Floyd came to you, a week after he got into a fight, wound infected and riddled with parasites, that they fully realized just how much they needed you. Neither twin skipped a cleaning or wound treatment after that.

You are tiny and not built for fighting, so the twins are more than happy to do so for you!~ Some predator is stalking you, trying to get a taste? Floyd is already grabbing them by the tail, pulling them away from you and towards his own dangerously sharp jaws. Another merperson is bulling you, picking on your smaller size? Jade’s looming right behind, tail at the ready to squeeze the life out of them. Most of your patch-up work was from attending to their wounds sustained in fights defending you.

Floyd and Jade both have their tails wrapped around some poor, unfortunate soul who was pulling on your antenna. Jade is taunting the crying fry while Floyd is “playfully” biting their tail fins.

“Jade, Floyd, let them go already. You’re going to get in trouble…”

You do meet Azul later on, though never quite befriend him per say. His contracts made you uncomfortable and untrusting of his intentions. In turn, Azul was stiff and reserved around you on the account of the overly protective eels threatening to chew his tentacles off if he tried anything.

You’re not a student at NRC nor a student of RSA. Magic isn’t your forte (or your concern really), the tweels are. Which is why you do visit the schoolgrounds frequently, especially after the two (mainly Floyd) start complaining about “needing their shrimp.” They’re not even in their eel forms most of the time, but they do still get into fights and the nurse on staff isn’t good enough.

Congrats, you’re now the Leech’s designated Health Support Cleaner Shrimp, or whatever bullshit the twins pulled out of their tails when forcing requesting to Crowley that you be allowed to stay at Octavinelle! Double congrats, because you also work at Mostro Lounge as a janitor because you literally clean for a living!

In your human form, you are much shorter than most of the other students and you have two long cowlicks that resemble your antenna. You aren’t the biggest fan of this form, finding two legs to be difficult to navigate, especially since you kind of skipped the prep class. Floyd was impatient and claimed him and Jade would just teach you themselves. An unwise decision really.

I mean, you could also just request to have the potion adjusted so you can be taller too, I guess idk the twins aren’t going to tell you that.

You sometimes turn back into your merform with the tweels and swim together because you miss it. Floyd definitely missed curling his tail around his little shrimp and pinning you down with his much bigger size. He especially loves to flip you on your back and watch your little feetsies wiggle around in a panic.

Jade misses the cleanings more than anything else. Being a vice dormleader while also working at a lounge and doing schoolwork is stressful for one eel. So, being able to just relax and have you attend to him while he prattles on about mushrooms is absolute heaven. That’s not to say he doesn’t mess with you either. Jade will gladly use your height against you by putting your cleaning supplies on a higher shelf, so you’re forced to ask him for help, teasing you all the while.

No, you can’t clean anybody else, merfolk or otherwise. Only them. Azul almost lost a tentacle after suggesting such a thing when he noticed business was running slower.

You’re their cleaner shrimp, and they’re your eels. Anybody aware of the Leech’s influence know to back off lest they end up missing under mysterious circumstances.

Oh yeah, and the tweels, at some point, made it a habit to kiss you after you finished cleaning them under the guise of you “cleaning their teeth.” It’s become something so casual between you three now that when Azul caught sight of the twins and you locking lips, he nearly fell over at not realizing the three of you were (supposedly) an item.

[kazumiwrites-fanfiction]

You Can't Swim??

SUMMARY: The Octotrio don't know that you have never learned to swim. And you went to a beach. What could go wrong? WORD COUNT: 1.9k (I need to sleep)

WARNINGS: Floyd almost let you drown, reader kind of gets panic attacks? Idk (I'm the writer I should know, someone hit me), reader thinks about whacking Floyd, Azul is genuinely in love, Azul is also very traumatized I think, Azul overthinks A/N: Gotta love how I have no warnings about Jade I- Gotta love getting a fic idea about me being unable to swim- And I've had this thought swimming (lol) in my thoughts for a couple of days?? Idk if reader is the significant other of these guys or just besties. I think it leans toward s/o though This reads like a crack fic to me but honestly make sure you know how to swim so you don't die (i don't but that's not the point here) Maybe OOC Jade because he hides himself too well for me to get an accurate read on personality lmfao When Jade is genuinely sweet but the others are unhinged so naturally the unhinged ones are longer- I'm sorry I get no decent ideas for Jade </3 Another late late night post (it's 1:50 AM)

© kazumiwrites - All rights reserved; please do not steal, edit, copy, repost (etc) my work without my express permission.

You had never learned to swim. It wasn't that you were afraid, really. It was just that you had passed the age where people normally learned, and now you were too lazy to and/or didn't have enough time. Whatever excuse to stop a nagging person.

Now, this wouldn't have been a problem if you never went anywhere near bodies of water. Which you mostly didn't. However, knowing merfolk was not the best idea if you didn't know how to swim.

Now you have gone to the beach with him, and that probably wasn't the best idea for either of you.

Floyd Leech

You had been sitting on the beach near the water, absently looking over some shells as Floyd splashed around deeper in the ocean. The shells really were interesting - nothing like the ones where you had come from (although they had some similarities) and were colorful. So many shapes and varieties, although most were not intact.

You had been so engrossed in this, in fact, that you hadn't realized Floyd had been sneaking up on you. Before you could say another word, he playfully dragged you into the water. While you were fully clothed.

You weren't expecting to go into the water, but you should've known better with Floyd. He was playful and loved to do stuff like this. Usually if Azul was around, he'd have done something… But he wasn't here.

Before you knew it, you were deeper in the ocean than you ever had been before, courtesy to the teal-haired boy swimming and dragging you along. You flailed around a bit, eyes wide in panic. You were, quite honestly, terrified. And it obviously didn't help when Floyd just immediately let you go.

Was he an idiot or was he an idiot?

"Floyd-" You got out before coughing as water shot up your nose, still flailing miserably. It didn't work. You didn't know what to do. Surely, Floyd would help… If he realized what was going on. No matter what you thought, he was bright, wasn't he?

Not bright enough, it seemed, as he was still laughing and not realizing how actually panicked you were.

"Koebi-chan, you look so ridiculous like that," he laughed, almost in hysterics, and you would've smacked him if you weren't so close to actually dying.

And then you sunk.

Your desperate attempts to go to the surface were pointless as you didn't even know how to float or move around in the water.

After a few seconds, Floyd finally noticed you were gone and quickly dove under the surface. Maybe you were trying to get him back?

But his gaze immediately widened as he saw you literally sinking to the ocean floor. His eel tail moved quickly, almost without thinking as he shot to grab you and take you up, up, up so you could actually breathe.

When you came to, you were on the sandy beach again, Floyd leaning over you. His eyes, normally filled with a joking light, were unusually subdued.

"Koebi-chan, why didn't you tell me you couldn't swim?" A pout grew on Floyd's face. "If I knew, I wouldn't have-"

"Yes you would have. We would still be here, just having a different conversation."

"But-"

"No buts."

"I would've made it more fun-"

"Drowning in the ocean is the opposite of fun, Floyd-"

~Bonus because I don't know how to fit one into the story~ "I can teach you how to swim. You just go whoo and let your body move. Y'know. Like dancing." "No, I don't know, Floyd, and this is not going to help me with anything-"

Jade Leech

Jade had been spending his time on the beach with you, but you were almost certain that he wanted to be swimming in the ocean. It was his natural element, after all.

"Jade, you sure you don't want to go in the water?"

"I'm fine staying here with you, [Y/N]." He gave you a soft smile.

You shook your head. "We've come all the way here, you might as well go swim." You gave him a gentle nudge.

"Well, I'd like you to come with me, if that is possible?" He watched you quietly. "You never go swimming with me."

You paused. Although it was sweet that he wanted you to go with him… "No, I don't think so…" You trailed off. You never liked telling people that you couldn't swim. At this point, it was embarrassing.

The pair of heterochromia eyes staring at you only left you feeling more jittery. "…I, er… I can't swim. So going into the ocean with you sounds kind of like… A bad idea." You froze. "Did you use your Signature Spell on me?"

"Of course not, [Y/N]." Jade stared at you with eyes of hurt, one that looked almost identical to that of his twin's. Only, it was almost obvious that Jade didn't mean the hurt in his eyes. "You just trust me enough to say things to me."

You couldn't deny the truth there. You trusted Jade. "And you wouldn't use your Signature Spell on something so trivial, would you?"

"No, I would not." He shrugged. "On a different note, I can help you learn how to swim."

"I really don't need it-"

"What if someone tries to hurt you one day and they know your weakness?"

"Why would-"

"It's an example, [Y/N]. But if that person decides to do that, you wouldn't be able to do anything. So I should help you in case that scenario occurs."

You sighed softly. "Fine, I guess I can take lessons from you… If it's not too much of a hassle."

"Of course it would not be a hassle or anything of the sort." Jade inclined his head. "All to help you stay safe."

The day went on with Jade helping you learn the basics of swimming - he was a good teacher, which you were happy about. He was patient, and always was there if you ever started to panic.

"We wouldn't want you getting scared of the ocean now, would we?"

Azul Ashengrotto

Azul had gotten used to you after a couple months. Sure, he hadn't opened up to many people in a while (only Floyd and Jade, but they also teased him constantly about everything, so), but you were soothing and nice. Sure, you teased him sometimes, but it was different. It didn't feel mean, you stopped as soon as you noticed him looking a little uncomfortable, and… He honestly felt like he could open up about anything.

So when it was decided that you two were going to the beach - together - alone? It kind of made him very messed up.

Would you like being at the beach with him? He wasn't completely against showing his octopus form… Would you want him to swim with you? Was he even ready for that?

Those thoughts led him down a spiral, and the day you two were to go, he had bags under his eyes and looked like he was half-dead.

You gently nudged him, murmuring how he should've tried to get more sleep for this day supposedly filled with fun, but he just shrugged.

Soon, you were at the beach, and as Azul saw your smiling face, his gaze softened a little. He loved seeing your happy face.

"C'mon!" You grabbed Azul's hand as you started to run to the water, ignoring his surprised stumbling as he was dragged along. He had a light flush on his cheeks that he was glad you couldn't see.

Soon, you had reached the edge of the water, splashing around in your sandals. It was really fun, even though you knew that you were going to be getting sand in your toes later on.

Azul just kind of watched on, a relaxed expression on his face. This really was soothing… Although he was still thinking about if the Mostro Lounge would be okay with him gone. Surely Jade would do something if Floyd got into trouble… Hopefully. And hopefully, no more dishes would break.

"What are you looking so glum for?" Your voice brought him back to his senses.

"Nothing, just hoping that Jade and Floyd can take care of things at the Mostro Lounge." He sighed softly.

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be fine. Jade's there, right?"

"He can cause as much trouble as Floyd, you know. Although he won't be outright about it." Azul shook his head, a small frown on his face.

"C'mon, turn that frown upside down." You moved closer to him, gently squishing his cheeks. "Today is for having fun, Azul."

"Yes, yes, I know." Azul couldn't help himself; he let out a soft laugh. A genuine one.

You smiled brightly. "You aren't charging me for hearing your little cute laugh?"

"I will charge you if you call it cute."

"Of course you will." You rolled your eyes before abruptly changing the subject. "So are you not going to swim?"

Azul paused. Did you want him to swim? To see his true form? There was an even chance. What should his answer be? "Er… I don't know?"

"Of course you don't have to, Azul, I just thought… I mean, there's no one around." You shrugged a little.

And now more pressure on Azul. Great. He was used to dealing with pressure, yes. Just not this kind from you. "Er… Would you come swim with me?" If you were with him, then maybe…

"No." Your lips parted, maybe to offer an explanation, but it was too late.

Azul was in a downward spiral. Why had you said no? Perhaps octopi merfolk were really too much. Perhaps you would rather be with someone with a pretty tailfin than tentacles. Or maybe a human, one of your own kind. Who said that you even liked him at all? Perhaps you were only with him out of pity, because he was that useless, chubby, good-for-nothing-

"Azul? Azul, are you listening to me?"

He snapped back to attention.

"Seriously, are you okay? Did you seriously get enough sleep last night?" You sighed.

"That's none of your-"

"It is if you're literally zoning out every five seconds." You rolled your eyes. "And anyway, I was just saying that I kind of can't go deeper into the ocean where you probably feel comfortable swimming. Because I can't swim." You shrugged nonchalantly.

But for Azul, it felt like a figurative bomb had been dropped.

You? Couldn't swim? Now that he thought about it, it did make sense… How you always looked so awkward and uncomfortable with water, especially when you came to the Octavinelle dorm. But seriously? How could you not know how to swim?

"Is not knowing how to swim… Normal?"

"Definitely not." You rolled your eyes. "But I'm just too lazy to learn now. And I have no time."

"You do if you have time to scroll on Magicam." Finally, Azul felt a bit better. At least you didn't hate him.

"And this time, I'll teach you how to swim. I'll even do it free of charge." Azul shook his head. "Seeing as I'm so generous."

"You sound like headmage Crowley."

"Do be quiet."

Azul was a pretty good teacher. He ended up not turning into his octopus form until nearly the end of the day, you were practicing your swimming and then just playing around on the sand, building sand castles, anything that you might do at a normal beach outing.

His octopus form was beautiful (as expected), and although you couldn't go to deeper waters, you enjoyed seeing him swim around, always eventually coming back to you.

"Today was truly relaxing, [Y/N]. We should do this again another time."

As always, reblogs and comments are always appreciated! ♡ Send your thoughts grr

Feel free to send requests! Check out this post for info ^^

[blackbutlerfandomnerddomain]

Twst au where everyone of the nrc student bois are dating kalim

All of them. The whole (named) nrc cast

Headcanons?? 👀

Boo this was originally meant to be posted FOREVER AGO but this took me so long to finally find the words, find fanart, fics were discovered, prompts were randomly generated, and at long last the Kalim Harem Ship is here~!

First off, theme songs:

I can most defiantly picture him singing any of these to his partners, especially extra flirty or if he senses they're insecure.

I see him singing Perfect and Just the Way you Are to basically Jamil, Riddle, Azul, and Idia while he sings If I Had You in all his concerts or just goofy and flirty in the living room

Spoils his lover A LOT

Ruggie and Azul and Vil are loving it a bit too much lol

Nothing happened for a while and EVERYONE was collectively equally flustered and shy about the fact they love the same guy, some where holding back and giving up for others while others just didn't know how to act with these feelings

Meanwhile Kalim knew he liked them all just didn't see a issue of it until his family pressured him to think about the line of brides they picked out for him

He kept thinking back on everything and decided he was just gonna date someone from NRC to get them off his back

BUT HE COULDN'T PICK!

Ace's freckles were so cute

Deuce's sweetness and loyal soul melts his heart

Jack's muscles are a bonus but he adores his fluffy tail

Epel's attitude on rules and how you should act inspire him

He finds Sebek's eyes the prettiest gems in the world

Riddle's red hair is a beautiful red and his brave soul is a plus

Ruggie's humor is magic to his soul and his big heart doesn't help!

Azul's confidence and singing are a peaceful spell

Floyd's energy is amazing and his food is amazing

Jade's honesty is refreshing and his hobbies, though weird, are cute

And Jamil, what can he not name what he loves about Jamil???

Silver's eyes and quirky sleep habits drew that boy like a moth to a flame

Trey's baking and kind eyes and his loyalty wins his heart instantly

Cater's personality equals his own and his eyes and smile are the brightest star in the galaxy

Leona's chill attitude on royal stuff makes him calm and his purrs and loyalty to those who are "lesser" than him makes it better

Vil's beauty was a win sure but he was drawn first with those beautiful colors and singing voice but stayed due to his mind

Rook's view of beauty and his strong loyalty was impressive and hot lets be honest for him and the laughter they share is treasure

Idia's unique beauty and speech makes him curious, even more with how much he cares for his brother dearly

Malleus' curiously and fascination of everything and everyone was a selling point alongside his kind soft nature

And Lilia's humor, his style, his loyalty and bravery saves him from a sad day when no one else could help him

WHY WAS HE IN A SCHOOL FULL OF BEAUTIFUL AND PERECT MEN AND BABES!?!

It finally came to light when Kalim finally broke during school and hid in Scarabia for almost a week, not even Jamil could convince him to come out which was when alarms starting going off for the servant boy

Jamil finally informed the other dorm leaders and those who ask Kalim seems to not be feeling well and now everyone's worried for Kalim and all go to see him in Scarabia.

EVEN IDIA WENT OUT OF HIS HOME TO CHECK ON HIM!

Kalim's denying hard of the reason until Jamil, through push and shove, made him confess by ordering the truth with Ruggie's power's help keeping him still

Kalim tearfully confessed, crying harder as he vent outside Snake's Whisper and sobbed about his feelings for them all soon after

Everyone was like "You like him..? Wait me? Wait what-" at first until Jamil wiped Kalim's face with a tissue and soothed him and then Silver piped up he liked Kalim back

This soon started a string after Sebek got jealous and confessed too which made Ace jealous and yeah you get the picture everyone said they liked Kalim back and Kalim was growing more and more red

Everyone basically left alone for the rest of the week to decide what he wants to do

No one slept that week not even Silver as they contemplated what'll happen and fearing the friendship of Kalim and the others will be ruined

Riddle held a secret late night meeting, first time he broke a rule in a while, with Trey, Cater, Ace, and Deuce and they chatted a bit before Riddle confessed saying he's willing to abandoned his feelings if that means they are happy

Leona, Ruggie, and Jack were a bit tense but Jack sat them down and talked in which Leona said he wouldn't be shocked if Kalim preferred someone else

Ocavinelle were shocked to see the Leech Twins and Azul argue one night about the other being selfish and soon all exclaimed "Kalim wouldn't want a ugly octopus/crazy eel/forgotten one like me!" which shuts them up and even Floyd apologizes for fighting with them

Jamil did so much to not let the idea of Kalim loving others hurt him. He accepted since his first realization of his feelings won't be good but he can't help but be angry and sad about the idea Kalim was hurting

Epel was very open about voicing how he feels about the situation. Him, Rook, and Vil were really showing their ugly flaws during some nights when they fought over A) I deserve him more and B) You're a coward to give up

Idia just locked down most. He accepted he was no where near the top three picks for perfect boyfriend for Kalim but as those hours ticked he slowly felt sick as he couldn't stop seeing Kalim smiling at him

Draconia, similar to Savanaclaw, was tense for a while. But like Heartslabyul, they hosted a secret meeting to discuss the options before them when they kind of got emotional with jealous emotions than sadness about what they were being like and huddling close like they used to back in the days

Then one day Kalim returned to physical classes. He started helping with Jamil's chores to make it easier for him, and everyone else was very easing back and just being good friends and not pushing him to give a verdict yet

This soon led to Kalim asking them to meet in Scarabia for a party which once everyone else hit the hay/left he confessed properly to them all including the things I mentioned above and in the end mentioned he likes them all the same and can't decide so he requested they all date each other to see what happens

There was some objections (mostly Jamil 'cuz "what would your family think'') but pretty much everyone soon agreed to try it out and will accept Kalim's choice if he decides differently (please send me a ask on their dates PLEASE DAMN THE LIMIT!)

This happened with Riddle one karaoke date ay Scarabia for all with Kalim recording (I like to hc he had a great voice)

Kalim was heart broken when he was still forced to find a bride despite loving so many, he fell deep into depression and the next concert sang this

Neige and Chenya didn't join until MUCH later due to them finding Kalim pretty and Kalim in turn asked them out, things got used for them right away

Vil and Neige sang this after catching one of this girls sent by his family (Vil being Jade and Neige being Cat)

LOTS OF CUDDLES

Jamil was the hardest to accept this change but soon grew as he saw how much the others mattered to them, since they also helped him in so many ways

Kalim uses Oasis Maker a lot for his partners, especially Floyd and Jade

Chenya gets so much pets from Kalim and food for Jamil lol

I want to do a part 2 and art! I'm sorry it's not much there's a word limit apparently so PLEASE ASK THIS AGAIN SO I CAN WRITE MORE OR HAVE A EXCUSE TO MAKE THIS MORE FUN!!

[bababaka]

I didn't know (I was always at your mercy) - Cade x reader

A/n -> This fic was requested by @darthrue17. Hope you like it!

Here is his request.

Warnings: Some foul language bc Jade, threats and lil bit of violence bc Jade. And... Pining :)

Summary: Somehow, you and Jade are ensnared by little Cat. And somehow, you do nothing about it. That is, until, she is asked to a date by someone who was not you. Or your girlfriend.

You and Jade had history. You had known each other for years, and had been dating for years as well. You were happy. Jade's brash, intimidating and rude manner in public fell apart when it was just the two of you in her room. In your own world.

You understood each other and that understanding, companionship, was something you wouldn't trade for anything.

You and Cat also had history.

Cat, unlike you and, especially Jade, was extremely kind and innocent. And somehow, somewhere along the way, you and Jade became the little redhead's guardians.

Was there someone bothering Cat? Jade subtly stood behind the little girl. Quickly, everyone ran in the opposite direction.

Had some idiot broken the redhead's heart? You made yourself available, hugging her and whispering comforts in her ear.

"It' his lost. You are amazing. Everyone would be lucky to have you."

"It's gonna be okay. I'm here."

“He's an idiot. You deserve better.”

And, on one of those occasions, you simply hugged the little redhead, and welcomed her, again, comforting her.

"He doesn't deserve your tears."

"It's gonna be okay. I'm here."

“He's an idiot. You deserve better.”

And as you embrace her, scurying your fingers through her hair, brushing away her tears. You look at her. Eyes and nose red, messy hair, lips puckered. You feel the grasp of tiny hands around your heart, squeezing it.

A thought comes to you, unbidden, free, genuine.

I can be better.

This strucks you like a lightning. You didn't expect, it seemed like something that came from a hidden place, though, it didn't feel new. You felt like it was a sentiment that was there, all the time, just waiting to resurface and make itself seen, known, felt.

And this old, new feeling became present.

All. Of. The. Time.

You could only think about Cat, and how you would love to take her on dates, do cheesy and romantic things that she would certainly love and squeal adorably.

That's to say, you were acting strangely. And Jade obviously noticed.

Cat just left Jade's car and entered her house. And as soon as the red head is out of sight, Jade turns to the passenger seat in which you were seated in. She has scowl in her face.

Shit.

"Okay. Spit it out. What's wrong with you?"

You stammer and try to back up, but your girlfriend was having none of it.

Eventually, you just give up.

Nervous, biting your lip, you tell her.

"I might have a little crush on Cat."

"What?"

Jade's face darkens and something dangerous burns in her eyes.

"Uh, what about we have this conversation somewh-"

"We're having this fucking conversation now!"

And she crosses her arms, and you prepare yourself for what is coming.

"What the fuck do you mean you have a crush on Cat? Do you not love me anymore? Do you want to break up with me? Did you cheat on me? Is that fucking it??"

You try to talk but Jade was in a roll, so you just let her tire herself out.

"You trading me for Cat? Is that it? You were just trying to find an excuse to finish things and that's the best you came up with? I can't fucking believe you! How dare you? What? Is it because she is prettier than me? Sweeter- Fucking say something!"

You hold you hands up, and make your voice as non-threatening and soft as you can manage.

"I am not cheating on you neither trading you for Cat or some other girl. I could never. I love you, Jade, and that will never change. You are amazing, darling. And I am so lucky you are my girlfriend." Jade tries to talk back, but you continue. She had her turn, it was yours now. "I… like Cat. Yes. But that doesn't diminish the love I have for you. I doubt anything could."

Her offensive posture deflates then.

"So you won't break up with me?"

You smile softly, take her hand and kiss it.

"I'm afraid you're stuck with me for a long time, if you'll have me."

She melts into you and quietly says:

"Good." she kisses you.

After, as she drives you home, and says goodbye. She all but whispers.

"I guess Cat is cute."

"Hey, Jade! Look! My new unicorn!"

"Another one?"

"Yeah! This one is called Mr. Pointy. Say hi to him."

"…Hi, Mr. Pointy…"

Cat giggles.

"He likes you. He said you are really pretty."

Jade feels her chest squeezing.

Fuck.

A week later, Jades opens your bedroom door abruptly and simply spews out the words “I’m in love with Cat.”

You look up from your homework, and burst into laughter.

Jade pouts and you try to stop yourself from laughing and apologize to your girlfriend. And fails.

After a while, you manage to say something, between chuckles.

"I'm sorry. It was so sudden I couldn't help myself."

She averts her eyes and crosses her arms, you hear a little huff.

After a few moments of silence, you stop laughing while Jade is irritated, turning her face away from you (it's cute. And it quickly reminded you of Cat. Maybe you have a type).

When she realizes you (mostly) get back to normal, she turns to you.

"So, what do we do now?"

You shake off the last remnants of your laughter and frown, confused.

"What do you mean, 'what do we do now'?"

"About Cat and... Our infatuation for her.

"...We do nothing really. What can we do?"

"But-"

You walk over to Jade, grabbing her hands and intertwining them with yours.

"Jade, we don't even know how she would react to this, to our feelings for her. Much less if she would agree to a relationship with the two of us..."

You see Jade's expression conforming. And sighs, sadly.

"Sorry. Let's just wait, okay? And we'll see what we do later."

Jade just nods and softly says "ok."

You pull her into your embrace and kiss her.

"I love you." you murmur against her lips.

"I love you too."

Saying and doing are different things, though. And you and Jade notice that in the following weeks. Doing nothing was harder than it seemed.

At every moment, every little thing, every detail and word that came out of Cat's mouth, every movement, every dance and spin, only made you two love her more.

You guys probably looked like idiots interacting with Cat. Completely smitten with the tiny girl. Jade, however, could maintain a posture, you not so much.

You were at lunch, with your group of friends, when Cat interrups the conversation.

"I want bibbles."

The entire table turns to her.

"Cat, you know you can't eat that."  Jade says.

Cat pouts and puts her hands together.

"But it'll be just a tiny itty bitty bibble. Please?"

And, where lesser beings would cave, Jade stood her ground.

"No."

And that was the end of it. You hear Cat murmuring "damn it".

Later, at night, with a tiny bag full of bibbles, you find Cat.

"Look, i won't tell if you don't"

She smiles happily, hugs you, almost hanging from your neck and takes the bag in your hands.

And as you turn to leave her to savour her treat, she calls your name. 

"Eat it with me?"

You weren't really a fan bibbles, but damn it all, Cat just has those eyes, and little smile and her voice. She has you wrapped around her little finger.

You sit besides her, faking shock, and putting a hand to your chest.

"Wow. Sharing with me? You truly are a changed woman."

She shrugged as she took a bite of the bibble in her hand.

"You took care of me when things were bad." she looks up at you. "So i guess you deserve my bibbles."

You smothered a chuckle.

"Thanks, Cat."

The downsides of doing nothing, though, are that someone can just hop in and do something. 

And you just had you to blame really.

You were with Jade and Cat, in the hallways, chatting away about some horror movie, when a boy you never cared to learn the name walks in your direction, no, Cat's direction, and asks to pull her aside to "talk". 

You're not dumb, and neither is Jade. You knew the boy was into your little redhead. He was slightly familiar. And as you locked eyes with Jade, you were sure he was going to ask her out. 

Sometimes, you wish you weren't right. 

As Cat comes back to you and Jade, she tells you what happened. 

"Brian" that's his name. You were sure you'd forget soon. "Asked me on a date this saturday. Should I accept?" 

You furrow your brows, and look at where Cat was before, and sure enough there was Breno, tapping his feet, biting his lips, looking over to them, waiting for an answer.

Why was she asking you and Jade?

She cares about your opinion, you'd knew that. And you sense the power flowing through you. You had a chance to ruin Bernado's plans, make her refuse him and keep Cat all to you and Jade.  

That is not fair though. Because she wasn't yours, was she? You had no right to manipulate her into saying no.

You sigh.

And as you are opening your mouth to say something, your beautiful, impatient, a little violent, cranky girlfriend was faster than you to respond. 

Her green eyes flew to Barb, appraising him and shooting him a disdainful look. 

"He looks dumb, i should drop my hot coffee on him and scisso-

You cough loudly, and talk over Jade.

"If you want to, you should go. Right, Jade?" 

She glares at you, and you glare right back. Until she gives in.

"Yeah. Whatever. Do whatever the fuck you want." 

The redhead seems uncomfortable, brows furrowed, looking at you two. But at the end, she goes back to Bernardo, and by the big, stupid smile on the boy's face, you understand what she did.

Cat agreed to go out with him.

You hear the coffee cup being crushed and thrown in the trash by Jade, who storms out.

You remain. And you feel your heart crack slightly.

It's gonna be okay.

On the the damn day of the date, you and Jade are at home, watching sad movies and commiserating over the fact that Cat was in someone else's arms and not yours.

Later, you hear your phone ring, it was Cat, crying. Instantly you jump to your feet and become alert, ready to run out to Cat and kill someone.

She says little, just asking if you were with Jade, and then asking the two to pick her up.

She was at Noobu's.

You and Jade immediately go to meet her. Jade, after you told her what happened, had her muscles tense, ready for action, to kill the kid who hurt the tiny girl.

Your redhead.

And as much as you wanted to, you couldn't say you were different. But, you tried to calm down, purely for Cat's benefit, you knew that the redhead didn't like violence, the pure, hot, visceral anger that flowed through your veins.

When you get at the restaurant, you see her on the sidewalk, sitting, wearing a pink and fluffy dress, her head lowered, but her eyes, you notice when you get closer, are swollen.

When she sees you, she all but leaps at you. and she starts crying profusely.

She tries to say something, but everything becomes gibberish and you don't understand anything.

Deciding it would be best to take her to Jade's house, you go to the car, and accompany Cat in the backseat, murmuring words of comfort, while Jade drove, stealing a few glances in the rearview mirror.

"It's gonna be okay. We are here."

When you get home, you go out to the kitchen and get a glass of water and return to the living room, the scene you come across is one that you would love to see more often, in different circumstances.

Cat was on Jade's lap, her red head buried in her neck, and her arms wrapped around your girlfriend, who was holding the tiny girl tightly in a protective, possessive way.

You sit on the couch, and docilely offer the water to Cat. She slowly unwraps herself from Jade, but remains on her lap, with Jade's arms around her.

She drinks the water quickly. She seemed calmer now. No more crying, just traces of tears in her cheeks.

You place an arm around her leg for comfort, more for you than for the redhead.

"Do you want to take a shower?" you ask in a low tone.

Cat sniffs, and nods.

"Yeah." her voice cracks.

You and Jade get up, to get everything ready for Cat.

And as she gets in the bathroom, you and Jade sit on her bed. Both of you silent.

Just trying to get your mind right and processing what happened.

"We shouldn't have let her go on this stupid date. You shouldn't have stopped me."

You sigh.

"She has to decide for herself."

"She got hurt, she was crying the whole fucking drive!"

You shush Jade.

"I know. I was there. Let's hear what happened first, we decide later what we do."

At this Jade gets quiet, then murmurs.

"I'm gonna kill that fucking idiot Monday."

"I'll help you bury the body."

Jade gives you a tiny smile and looks at you.

"Good."

It doesn't take much longer after this for Cat to be done and step into the room.

And when she comes back, you feel your heart expand. She looked so cute in Jade's clothes, a style completely opposite to hers and much larger to her small frame.

You get out of your head as she sits on the bed, in the middle of you. Silent.

Jade can't stand it and asks what Bruno did in a nervous and angry voice, but it wasn't directed at Cat. It never was.

Cat, contrary to what you think, doesn't withdraw, just smiles slightly and shakes her head.

"So what was it?" you ask in a softer voice.

Her eyes fill with tears, and she stutters a few times until she breathes and then speaks.

"The date was great, he's cute, affectionate, funny, but something was missing. A-and when he tried to kiss me, I couldn't, I couldn't. I just ran. I can't do this anymore. I can't try to give my heart away when it already belongs to you two."

Your eyes widen. You freeze. Your heart stops for a moment to begin try beating it's way out of chest.

What the fuck?

Jade is the one who recovers faster.

"What?"

Cat sniffles, and straightens up, head lifting and eyes sharp, serious, but still sweet. Everything about Cat was sweet.

"I like you guys. I don't want to ruin your relationship, or our friendship, but I can't deny it anymore, I have to say. I… I love you two. You always look out for me, and you make a point of making me comfortable, you make me laugh. And I feel this strange and pleasant way around you that I can't, won't feel with anyone else."

Seconds of silence pass, until Jade surprisingly - maybe not - kisses Cat and whispers:

"I've been waiting to do this."

Coming out of you frozen state, you touch Cat's chin and gently turn her face towards you, slowly, giving the redhead space and time to deny it. But no, she lets herself be guided and kissed. Brief. Just a move of lips.

So, you let her go, smile, and say.

"We've always been here for you."

Jade adds.

"And we always will be."

"Oh so you're saying you were waiting for us to make a move?" Jade turns to you, with the smuggest face you've ever seen. "So we shouldn't have done nothing? Uh."

You groan.

"I was wrong, okay? I'm sorry."

"There is nothing sweeter than being right."

"Not even Cat?"

You both turn to the red head, Whose's ducking her head.

"Okay. You're right. She's sweeter."

And as Cat blushes, Jade smiles and pulls her in for a kiss.

And, right after, you pull Cat for a kiss and murmur against her lips.

"Definitely sweet."

[askbloatedbellyblog]

hewwwwo do u have any burp stuffing hcs from jade recently ? I luvvvv ur content and the fic u made of him(the halloween one) is just *chef kiss*

sorryyy I'm just really happy to find someone who appreciates jade stuffing and I would love to share my hcs with u too !!

Jade Leech is an interesting kind of burper in my opinion as there are several different levels to him that all kind of interplay with each other. I think the biggest ones with Jade are: Manners, Gluttony, and Trolling. Though even then manners is very possibly only a front in service of other things.

For example, on the one hand manners would dictate that he doesn't burp much at all, while gluttony would say he would at every opportunity. Or Jade would toy with others and try to do the unexpected all the time. They all will have an effect on the other depending on the situation.

But I think that first, what should be remembered is that Jade is a troll and likes to toy with others. Many times I think that his manners serves his trolling endeavors. Act proper and unassuming, then have a better opportunity to throw someone off by acting out of character.

However, Gluttony can override both of those other traits, or deepen their expression depending on the situation.

How does this all play into Jade stuffing himself and burping? There are LOTS of ways and I'm sure there are more than I could even list.

I believe Jade frequently tries to uphold his manners despite his appetite and often politely suppresses his belches either swallowing them back down to make his stomach churn some more (feeling even more bloated than before) or he'd burp in his mouth and release the air through his nose, or politely burp into his fist. This however, is usually only reserved for a mild stuffing, probably when he's having more than usual. This would be more of his stuffing at Harveston though this would be on the much higher end (meaning yes it sure was a ton but he didn't seem too bothered by the amount, even when people were staring and commenting. Especially during this or if he ate a similar amount (as has been implied), manners are still intact.

However, when trolling comes into play, Jade belches become a bit of a different beast entirely. I wholeheartedly believe that Jade has quite a bit of control over his belches and stomach, being able to stifle his belches when need be or just letting out monstrous roars of gas when he wants to. When someone comments on his eating a lot or someone complained about burps or others were burping, Jade's trolling senses kick into high gear. That is unless he'd been planning something already which is very likely.

This could mean several different things like Jade sneaking up behind or whispering and then burping gently in someone's ear or it could be that someone let out a random burp and he lets out an absolute monster burp that catches everyone off guard. Or Jade will gently smile like nothing is the matter and let one rip and go back to normal like nothing happened, even going so far as to gaslight and pretend it never happened when it had just moments before.

If he knows you like burps, then you're in for a time. That could mean he will burp on every occasion possible, or it could mean that he doesn't burp at all even when absolutely stuffed just to make the person yearn for it even more. Then again this may change when gluttony really comes in.

I think Jade is a horrible glutton and much of his manners is but a veneer on the surface for his trollish behavior or a cover for his appetites just simmering under the surface. It's a madness that's waiting for him to indulge. This also plays into the idea I haven't seen explored that Jade is more a sociopath and Floyd is more a psychopath.

When Jade let's that first level of gluttonous madness creep through, he's indulging himself, slow savoring all the food he can and loudly. He'll burp, potentially even crassly but still excuse himself for his bad manners, perhaps even while rubbing his belly to savor the moment and fullness. He won't be large but happy and indulged.

No the real beast comes out when he fully lets his inhibitions go and the madness of gluttony comes out. Jade can become a big messy eater or polite and refined but has a lot. His defenses start to fade and big deep wet belches come liberally. As he eats and bloats out, this only eggs on the monster that's desperately begging for him to feed it and pass his limits. He becomes disheveled, messy, shoving food into his maw as fast as he can. He doesn't care of his state, his only care is food. Since you asked for stuffing, I'll leave it at that but this is when Jade truly goes all out and the mask comes off. He's left a round, bloated mess. He'd rub his belly and grip it to try to force out whatever gas he can to make room and just enjoy his state of being overfed as much as possible.

Once he calms down, he may admire his own belly, taking a finger to his roundness and stroke it gingerly with a finger to the the stretched surface tingle with his tickle. The madness recedes and burps become an afterthought where they come naturally and often. If someone was there as a witness and not in his stomach he may even try to burp out louder or as a show. He'd let the mask come back on and his need to troll comes back, letting them touch or rub his belly and pulling them close to burp in their face or to burp and guess what all he had for dinner.

Truly there is a lot for Jade and I still feel like I'm only really scratching the surface or not describing things well but he's a big all around burper.

[jinkicake]

Brainrot yet again 😔and this time it’s aether but because nobody on this site can write for him, they don’t know him like I do!!😤like not EVERY aether fic and hc can be super uwu subby crybaby boy SOME OF YALL ARE LYING!! I fully stress myself out by going back and back to the aether tag😭 like I have a handful of artists who draw him normal even Venti isn’t that elusive😭 like aether is a fully grown man with a 9-5! he will not start blushing from me holding his hand!! Like I had an epiphany the other day this man is LITERALLY-like Giorno just longer hair and minus all the trauma; like hear me out!! Blonde pretty boy who looks too pretty to be real,unreasonably strong,showing skin for no reason!!(gio got his chest out for what? Aether wearing a crop top why🤨) have powers that people can’t comprehend,mysterious origins, and they’re both very playful and mischievous; they’re literally like cousins😭(see how my problem is falling for any giorno adjacent characters?💀)you’re traveling w aether getting into all kinds of shenanigans bc trouble follows him like a magnet 🙄and he’s quietly thinking “I am going to absolutely destroy you” like he’s the type so oh so subtly use anemo to blow your clothes,Geo to trip over rocks that were not there before, shocking you w electro 😭 he’s literally a menace bc who’s gone beat his ass?? He’s the honorary knight what would they even say if they caught him Fucking your throat on the roof of the favonious HQ? He’s saved Liyue from Osial and his wife! What they don do if they see him balls deep in you in some tucked away some corner of the Jade palace, LITERALLY FOUGHT GOD AND WON IF THEY KNEW WHATS FOOD FOR THEM THEY WOULD MIND THEIR BUSINESS IF THEY HEARD HIM BLOWING YOUR BACK OUT IN THE TEAHOUSE!! Ayato is a messy ass bitch he would recommend a bathhouse that’s on the outskirts of Inazuma city that has wonderful acoustics just in case he wanted to hear you moans echo🥰 like aether isn’t from this world so his dick would be out if this world as well. Literally the 😏 emoji like he gets up early to finish his daily commissions and get paimon breakfast so he can come back and sweet talk you into letting him cum inside you at like 9am he’s nothing if not clever! Pissing him off to get him to use that god destroying >>> using electro on his dick to overstimulate you, seeing you get a little too friendly with childe or zhongli (bc me too lmao) so he has to remind you he’s better than them🥰 bc he has a cute face but he can be mean asf when he wants to be; sitting and looking at you with a blank face save for the glare burning holes into your head as he makes you bounce on his cock and does absolutely no work as punishment 😔 watching your legs tire out and thrusting up when you stop for even a second rolling his eyes LIKE ITS SOME KIND OF INCONVENIENCE TO HIM “You know, I could always get you off right here,shame you don’t know how to behave” and lazily rubs your clit w his thumb. He loves edging bc he’s a little shit😒 will wait until you admit defeat and put you in a mating press bc he will make sure you can’t move an inch and that you take everything he’s giving you💕 is willing to be tied up and used like the good boy he is🥰

ive never been able to get behind the subby uwu characterization of aether like even when he's shipped w childe and others... idk to me he's strong and puts UP a fight regardles of who he is with!!! so i get you i really do

HAHAHAHA no hes a grown ass man who is over 500 years old... he's seen shit and has been with people before! affection and intimacy is not something new to him!! so why do people act like he's never dealt w romance before in his life!

now..... comparing him with giorno,,,, you do understand you're setting aether up my dear? like this is DON GIORNO we are talking about but with your reasoning i can say that i now understand. and its not your fault for falling for giorno or giorno substitutes like he's the best yandere there is, you cant be blamed!

i love aethers crop top he's so cute i just have to say that

WAHHHHHHHH THE PERV HEADCANNONS W AETHER ARE GONNA MAKE MY MIND EXPLODE... that is TOO good, how do you come up w this stuff im literally in shock like that got me good. also... to add... he could use dendro to create an aphrodisiac right? like a natural dust- idk!

no bc aether can get away w anything on the planet now and no one can stop him like he has four nations under his belt backing him up- no one stands a chance! (except my ice wifey archon!!!)

now see aether getting jealous would lose me bc bae,,, why don't we all just share! like he's mad over childe and alhaitham... BRING THEM IN THE ROOM TOO! there's enough room in his teapot for all of us and we all got enough holes too!

we need more abyss prince!aether i like when they have no life in their eyes... thinking abt that! he wants to get rid of the archons i say DO IT (raiden and venti hide under my bed),,, i'll advocate w him!

[evodevo-geekmonkey]

Willow Universe Fics

Far Beneath the Shallow Sea

Status: Completed

Summary: On their way back across the Shattered Sea, the group encounters a terrifying creature that has its eyes set on Jade. But this siren isn't all that she seems and saving Jade will require help from something even stranger.

Read it here

 Return to Nockmaar

Status: Completed

Summary: With new information from the now rescued Graydon, the team returns to Nockmaar to search for a possible weapon against the Wyrm. But the cursed castle stirs up old questions for Jade and Kit and holds unseen dangers for all of them.

Read it here

If We Get Forever

Status: Completed

Summary: After a fierce battle with the Wyrm’s army, Kit and Jade take a moment to recover and end up thinking of the future. Though keeping the promise they make to each other is not without obstacles, it will ultimately light their way forward through the war and beyond. 

Read it here

Middle image credit: Hgstuff

The Other Side of Eternity

Status: Completed

With the Wyrm defeated, our heroes embark on a new quest into Skellin to search for Madmartigan beyond the light. But nothing is as they remember it and the mines may be even more cursed than before.

Read it here

Alternate Universe Fics

When You’re Lost in the Darkness, Look for the Light

Status: Completed

Summary: Twenty years after a global mind-altering fungal outbreak plunged the world into chaos, pockets of survivors are still searching for a cure. Kit has spent the last 7 years hidden by the Fireflies in a secret underground lab, her body the key to unlocking a vaccine. Jade is a Firefly, dedicated to making the world a better place alongside what’s left of her family. When scientists on the other side of the continent make a breakthrough with Kit’s blood samples, their lives collide, and they set out on a perilous journey for the future.

Read it here

Middle and far right images credit: Hgstuff

Burn it All Down

Status: Completed

Summary: Jade Claymore and Kit Tanthalos have dreamed of becoming firefighters since they were kids. After a year of training behind her mother’s back, Kit is finally ready to join Jade and fulfill their dream together. But shortly before she graduates the pair of them stumble upon a deadly design flaw hidden by Tanthalos Towers, the construction company Kit’s grandmother started and which her mother expects her and her brother Airk to take over.

Lies going back two decades tie Kit and Jade’s families together in a deadly cover-up. As the two of them navigate life as first responders and the flame that’s been kindling between them since they were teenagers, they’re drawn into a conspiracy that may be more dangerous than an inferno.

Read it here

Middle image credit: Hgstuff

One Night in October

On their way back from a family visit, a turn of events leaves Kit and Jade stranded in the wild. As night falls and the weather grows colder, the pair soon realize that someone in the woods is hunting them.

Read it here

Status: completed

A Snowfall Kind of Love

New in town and searching for answers about her past, Jade goes out for breakfast with her friend Elora- and comes face to face with someone she didn’t expect.

Read it here

Status: completed

Image credit: geek-and-nina

[goldilocks-pony]

Tough Guy

Y'all this fic is making a comeback (I think)

Warnings: intrusive thoughts, gambling, detention center

Tagging: @theoutsidersisruiningmylife @sarcasticpenguini @cha0s-incarnated @sophie-i-guess13 @mx-misty-eyed @footnotesnake @thefingerinthemiddle @pasta-and-isopods @outsiders-lesbian-xvi @papa-no-cheese

---

The two boys sitting there, playing cards silently was quite the sight for the staff who came to wake them up. Two filthy delinquents on the floor, playing games like they were old men locked up in the nursing home. Playing black jack none the less. Dallas only knew how to play gambling card games cause that was the only time he ever played cards before coming here. Even then, that was only for an extra buck, mostly likely to get Sylvia something so she wouldn't keep herself locked up to keep away from him. Glory, Sylvia could be stubborn. Two bit wasn't much different. In fact, the only difference was that he only gambled when he was drunk and looking for a fight. When he was drunk, he wanted action and he didn't cared what kind. In all honesty, he didn't get why the one time he had to get locked up was for doing something for the right cause for once. He would drink to not think about everyone's problems so he wouldn't have anything to fix. He would pick fights because the look of someone else being broken made him feel less so. He would run away for days at a time wondering why his dad had done the same. Maybe, his dad would be proud of him for this, or maybe he would scold him so harshly once he got home he'd have to find somewhere else to crash for the night. He wouldn't know. His dad wasn't around long enough for him to find out what kind of person he was. Two bit didn't know much about his dad and he never asked about him, he just figured it was probably for the better he didn't get to know him.

The time the staff came to bring them to breakfast, they'd already played two games of black jack and seven games of speed. Two didn't mind, as he could get caught up in anything; Dallas was different. He wasn't in the moment as much. He lost most of the games of speed because he couldn't keep his mind in his head. When they arrived at breakfast, Jade was swift to holler, "Oh! That's the new kid I heard last night." This made Two bit look down and blush, Dallas cracked a smile, it could be fun to embarrass him sometime. "You could black mail him. You could make him trust you like you did all them in New York. You could ruin him and you could take everything you can from him." Dallas wasn't great at controlling his intrusive thoughts. He tried so hard to convince himself he wasn't who he was in New York, but he's locked up here for the same reason he was up there. Maybe fighting was just ingrained in him now, and it scared him. He wouldn't tell a soul cause if anyone knew it would wreck him, he didn't want to worry anyone about him over stuff like that, plus he didn't have anyone he trusted enough to tell or who would care if he did tell. He just looked at the ground, and walked to his normal spot. When he looked up toward Two-bit, he was utterly confused. His face showed that he didn't know where to go. Dallas looked down and shook his head and cracked a smile as he thought, "How pathetic is he?" He looked across from him and noticed a bowl and cup that wasn't there before. He caught the eye of Two-bit and nodded him over. "You ain't never been anywhere like here before have you?" "Nah man, I've never gotten hauled into a detention center before. Been hauled into a station before, but never locked up." His tone was sad, quieter than Dallas has ever heard him, although he only met him today. Dallas lower his voice and questioned, "Hey man, we can't talk 'bout nothing out here, but when we get back to our room do you need to talk about anything?" He was more concerned than he has ever been in awhile. He was barely sure he even knew this guy yet he wanted to make sure he was okay. What was wrong with him? Odsne minute he needed to shut out his thoughts and the next he might actually begin to care for this guy. Just as Two-bit opened his mouth to say something one of the staff, Kristen, inturrupted, "No whispering, you know the rules like the back of your hand, Dallas." Two's jaw shut once again as he nodded his head, ever so slightly. Dallas looked down at his bowl and reached to the center of the table and grabbed the fruit loops and started pouring the rainbow loops in his bowl. He had to shake it a few times, very lightly, to get enough cereal out. Dally glanced up at Two-Bit, finally catching him as he was examining his every move. This didn't phase Dallas, although after all he's went through it'd seem hard to do so. He raised his eyebrows and offered, "Fruit loops?" Two bit only nodded, and reached across the table for the fruit loops, pouring into his own bowl as he started to listen in to a conversation across the room. "....And I ain't never seen nothing like that again."

[sageywritings]

Scarlet Hearts and Blue Blades

“This must be the place,” Riley thought to herself.

“Where are we?” Sapphire said.

Chapter 8 of my RWBY OC fic Flames of Change! A bit of a longer entry to make up for the slightly longer wait time than the past few chapters. Check the pinned post on this blog for the chapter list!

Auburn Vulpes, Jack Vulpes, and Sapphire Hyacinth belong to me.

Riley Currant and Jade Meadows belong to @gruntnuker-rwby

Shiina Mori and Rin Aozora belong to @solar-moon-byul

Shadow Stalvinge belongs to @shdwsprtn11

“This must be the place,” Riley thought to herself. Amidst the placards advertising what brands of alcohol were served, a small glowing neon sign of a stitched up heart was all the confirmation she needed. The Scarlet Heart. She wasn’t supposed to be here for at least another hour. But, she spent all of last night either tossing around in bed or trying to give and receive comfort from Jade and Amber. After enough restlessness, she gave up and decided to get a head start on the day. Perhaps just that much sooner in finding Sienna. With a deep breath, she stepped inside.

The bar was dimly lit, helped only by the noontime sun pouring in from the windows. Patrons were scattered about the bar and booths. Most were there to grab a quick bite to eat during their lunch break or to socialize with nothing better to do. Some casually watched sports highlights from the previous night as they ate. But, even though the operating hours said that they hadn’t been open long, there were at least a couple people subscribing to the mantra “It’s five o’clock somewhere.” Riley surveyed the poster and memento laden walls. A lot of them were centered around boxing: old newspaper clippings of historic title changes and posters hyping pay-per-view main events. There was a pair of ancient looking gloves encased in glass next to one of the TVs, and above the bar was a title belt that Riley couldn’t figure out if it was real or a very convincing replica. It quickly became no surprise why Auburn asked to meet here. Just when she thought she was too early and needed to grab a seat and wait for the fox faunus though, Riley recognized a tail swishing around.

Bent over a pool table, Auburn had cue in hand lining up a shot. Riley could only hear the distinct clack of pool balls before seeing the maroon #7 ball rocket past her tail and into the corner pocket. On the other side of the table, a man with long black hair and marked with a large pair of eagle wings watched on holding a cue of his own. Both of the arms coming out of his black tank top were coated with tattoos. A bandana sat around his neck under a face containing thick stubble. It was a face that looked clearly vexed, which did not disappear as he turned his focus to the approaching Riley.

“You want next game or somethin’?” he spoke with a country accent. Alerting Auburn to turn around, she met her friend with a smirk and a familial head tilt.

“Sup Riley. You’re here early,” she said before staring down the 8 ball. “I was just killing time till you got here.”

“Yeah, well… wasn’t exactly getting much sleep last night,” Riley said with a shrug, trying in vain to repress a downcast sigh. Auburn stopped and gave her an understanding nod but quickly spun back around to the pool table. Nothing she could say could make Riley magically feel better. But while the lack of bother was normal for Auburn, Riley couldn’t help but feel put off by it. Like she could show just a bit more concern about the situation. “You seem… really calm given the situation we’re in right now.”

“Helps when you’re making money,” she replied with a chuckle. She smacked the cue ball, whic in turn met the 8, before banking off both a striped ball and the wall before coming to a slow roll and finding its new home in the middle pocket. Auburn sheathed her tool like a sword and outstretched her arms at her opponent. “Oooooh bad luck, Shadow. Double or nothing wasn’t so kind to ya. Doesn’t mean triple or nothing won’t be better though. Whattya say?” The man she called Shadow groaned and stared at the ceiling. After a moment, he went to a leather jacket that was hung on a chair behind him and withdrew a stack of lien out of the pocket. He tossed it on the table for her to quickly take and count.

“How about we forget the lien and forget the pool? Instead we hit up the dartboard and if I win, I get a date with you,” Shadow said. Auburn folded her arms. The urge to roll her eyes was so strong that Riley wanted to do the same just thanks to proximity.

“This isn’t the guy you brought me here for is it?” Riley leaned over and asked. She couldn’t break eye contact with Shadow. She was too amazed with his gall.

“Oh hell no,” Auburn said back while stuffing her winnings in her chest.

“C’mon, can ya blame me? I know fire’s hot but you’re definitely Au-burnin’ hot one,” he said with an unabashed grin that was as suave as he thought that pickup line was. Riley was getting Beacon flashbacks in both the best and worst ways. That was somehow worse than the beyond cheesy lines Dash tried out beginning of his freshman year, including one to her that was best left in the past. But, she couldn’t stop conjuring memories of her girlfriend seeing Auburn take a page out of Sienna’s playbook and use her chest like a pocket dimension. Suddenly, a cold, unshakeable grip locked onto Shadow’s shoulder and the outstretched wings tucked timidly. He tried to twist his way free of the hold, but it was no use. The man that emerged from behind Shadow’s wings stood a good several inches shorter than him, but looked tougher than anyone in Vacuo. His hair was nearly a full buzz besides being a bit longer on top, and he had a fuller beard than the eagle faunus. His wedding ring dug into Shadow’s shoulder blade. Once Riley saw the fox ears on his head that looked strikingly similar to the woman next to her, she smiled as it all made sense.

“Son, if you’re gonna have the balls to hit on my daughter in my bar, you gotta have a better opener than that,” the man said with a gruff, raspy voice. Shadow finally wrestled free from the vice grip and faced the other man, attempting to hide the discomfort and keep a straight face.

“Damn, Jack,” Shadow said while shrugging his shoulders to stretch them, “You woulda done the same thing back in the day in my shoes and you know it. Assuming, y’know, she’s not your daughter. Still, cut me a break.”

“Oh I did. I coulda went for the wings.” Shadow’s wings instantly folded as small as he could get them. Even if he didn’t fully believe Jack would do it inside his bar, there was still a chance. A greater chance considering it was Auburn he was messing with. It was one he couldn’t afford to take. He retreated to a booth, cutting his losses where they were and leaving Jack with both Riley and his daughter.

“You know I coulda handled that, Dad. He didn’t have a hope in hell,” Auburn said, hands on her hips.

“You've been saying the same thing since you were a kid. Usually it was about a fight you started,” he said back with a hearty chuckle. Auburn rolled her eyes and stepped up to her dad so he could pull her into a hug. For a moment, her eyes closed and her ears lowered as that nostalgia of being safe in her father's arms like when she was younger washed over.

“And was I ever wrong? And why do you assume I was the one that started the fight??” Jack released the hug so he could give her a look that could only be read as “Really?”.

“Are you really gonna ask that question? I've seen you pick a fight cause one guy took the last flaming hot cheetos out the vending machine,” Riley finally spoke up. Before Jack had the chance to question anything, Auburn cut him off.

“Dad, I want to meet a really good friend of mine. This is Riley. We hung out a lot at Beacon.” As she motioned to the redhead that was trying to stuff all of her exhaustion and anxiety away, Riley gave him the best smile she could muster. Jack almost let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh she's from Beacon, thank goodness. Hate to see who you drag in here off the streets.” Jack laughed harder when Auburn held out her arms in bewilderment at what they meant. Riley couldn't help but snicker at her expense too, even though she couldn't pretend like she didn't have plenty of Vacuoan street punk in her. “Hey, anyone that has to try and keep my battering ram in check is welcome here. Jacinth Vulpes, but my friends call me Jack.”

“Riley Currant. It's nice to meet you, sir,” she replied. Jack nodded as he made his way behind the bar and began wiping down the vintage bottles of liquor that adorned the back shelves. Meanwhile, the two girls claimed a pair of stools. Riley's body seemed to flop into her chair more than she sat in it. Auburn frowned.

“How are the others?” she asked.

“They're… going through the motions right now. Can't say they're great emotionally but we're all hitting that point where we wanna do something about all this. Amber's going to work today and see if there's any trace of Sienna from security cams around where she found you. And Jade is crafting battle plans as we speak. She won't allow herself to cry though. I think she needs one.”

“And what about you?” she said next after a slow, receptive nod. There was a long, poignant pause. Auburn found it harder and harder with each passing second to maintain her gaze.

“Well I’m here early cause I’m on garbage sleep, so that should tell you a lot. But I’m still here. I’m ready to do whatever I gotta to bring her home.” Auburn finally let her eyes fall away and kept her lips pursed shut. She couldn’t show any sign of the bubbling anger inside every time she talked about Sienna like some innocent victim, and not someone who made her bed for everyone else to lie in. Mercifully, her dad made the inadvertent save from behind the bar before the silence could reach awkward lengths.

“So is it a daydrinking kind of visit or are you girls just here to cure boredom?”

“Actually we came to see you,” Auburn came back with.

“Isn’t that a nice surprise? My daughter finally coming to visit. Whatcha wanna t-”

“We came to ask you something. Do you know anything about what the White Fang’s doing lately?” Jack was brought to a screeching crash of a halt. His shock froze him to the point where he had to set down the bottle of vodka in his hand because he nearly dropped it. With arms crossed, he eyed Auburn with insatiable suspicion.

“Whyyyy?” He carried that same concerned parent demeanor Auburn had heard hundreds of times in her life. “How many times have I told you not to mess with the White Fang?? Don’t touch them with a 50 foot pole.”

“Hey, I’m not the one messing with them!” Auburn held up her hands to show her freedom from guilt. “We’re looking for someone. And since Uncle Bren used to be in the Fang, I figured maybe he’s told you something.” Jack still didn’t look convinced. No answer Auburn could’ve gave would’ve eased his worry. 

“How did you even know he’s ex-Fang?” he said.

“He let it slip one time when he was drunk.” Jack closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with an exasperated sigh.

“Dammit, Bren,” he cursed under his breath before quickly snapping back to full volume. “You’re talking to the last person that would know anything about what they’re doing. Bren and I agreed a long time ago to keep that shit in the past. And if any Fang come in here,  I just let ‘em drink in peace. They don’t need me being nosy about whatever the hell they’re up to. Like they'd tell me anyways, and besides I don’t wanna know. As long as they don’t cause trouble, it’s whatever.” Auburn and Riley’s hearts both visibly sank. She knew it was a longshot, but she was still hoping it would yield at least an inkling of a direction to go. But instead, all it was earning her was a lecture. “Is this about that redhead from Beacon that was on your team that I’ve been seeing in the headlines lately?”

“Partially,” she responded in a half ashamed mumble. There was no use lying. There was only bracing for the coming speech.

“I thought you didn’t like him. Complained to me about how he was an arrogant jackass that could never back up how much he ran his mouth?”

“Still not entirely wrong. But… he's not so bad when you get to know him. And what kind of huntress doesn't stand up for her team when they do for her?”

“I know you've always thought you could take on the whole world with one arm behind your back, but you can't take on the entire White Fang. No matter how big of a crew you can make. They're bigger, they're much more dangerous, and they will not hesitate to put you down for being in their way, even though you're a faunus.” His sympathetic smile was little consolation to her. “Please, Auburn. Sit this one out.”

“Sir, this is not her fault. This is mine, I'm dragging her into this,” Riley finally interjected. Auburn wanted to object since this was her idea technically, but Riley wouldn't allow it. Instead, she fished her phone out of her pocket and rapidly began scrolling through her gallery until she landed on a picture of her and Sienna taken in Beacon's locker room. “Have you seen her pass by your bar? She was in Vacuo recently.” Spinning the phone to face him, Jack studied the other fox faunus she pointed to for a moment.

“Can't say I have, sorry.” Riley didn't even have the willpower to accept the scroll back from him. Her head met the countertop in dejection. Auburn was handling it better than her, but she still possessed a downtrodden look in her face, mainly out of concern for her friend. She moved a hand to rub her back but backed off as Riley lifted her head.

“Well fuck, there goes my lead. Now what?” Auburn said.

“Maybe you should get back to your pool game. Hate to pull you away from your priorities,” Riley chimed back.

“What’s that mean?” Auburn was taken aback. “I’m just trying to keep us moving forward here!”

“You just don’t sound worried! We have friends out there fighting for their lives and you’re just in here shooting the shit like it’s a night out on the town!”

“And what’s worry gonna get me besides a headache from slamming my face into the bar? Just cause I’m handling it better than you doesn’t mean I’m not worried! I’m trying to get Bubblegum back!” Riley cocked her head indignantly, like she was waiting for an end to a sentence that was already over.

“Only Dash?” The two’s looks turned more into glares at each other. Raising an eyebrow, Auburn waited as if she was permitting Riley to keep going, while Riley sat waiting for Auburn to do the same. Neither of them budged.

“Enough.” In the end it was Jack who broke the tense silence. Auburn winced and closed one eye, knowing that tone all too well. Similarly, his most common patrons recognized it as well, but it didn’t fully connect with Riley. “I didn’t call this bar for 12 Rounds for a reason. You wanna fight, then you take this shit to a ring. Keep it out of my bar, got it?” He fully zoned in on Auburn, too knowledgeable with what she was prone to causing. She was leaning away to avoid the stern daggers he was giving.

“Sorry, Dad,” she said loud enough for it to come across as meaningful.

“You’re not gonna give this up, are you?” He already knew his daughter’s answer. The question was more for the red-haired woman to the other side of him. One look at Riley and he could clearly tell the distress and anguish prevalent in her eyes through the bags of lack of sleep. It looked like the only reason she didn’t cry out with “Please” was to maintain appearances. He shook his head. He couldn’t believe he was about to do this. “Well. I heard from someone that there’s a Fang run soup kitchen just a couple blocks from here.”

“A soup kitchen?” Auburn said. Both girls perked up, Riley with more renewed optimism and Auburn with more perplexity. “What the hell are they running a soup kitchen for?”

“They’ve had it since the regime change, back when they were peaceful. A lot of the programs they started to help faunus back then they’ve kept up with.” Jack shrugged after placing a freshly polished glass under the counter. “Not everything is just black or white.”

“Alright, there’s our lead C’mon let’s go!” Auburn pumped her fist and immediately bolted from her seat. She stretched her arms out like the muscles on her biceps were getting antsy, itching for some work. Riley, however, hadn’t moved. She appeared deep in thought.

“Wait.” Auburn stopped in her tracks. “We can’t just storm in there right now, we’re not prepared.”

“You’re the one that wanted me to show more urgency!”

“Which you’re only doing cause you know you got a chance to start a fight!” Auburn was not a fan of today. She felt like she spent way too much time getting grilled. “You and I can't just go in there alone with no plan. We'll be in enemy territory unarmed. You don't even have your whip anymore.”

“I'm never unarmed as long as I have these.” Auburn held her fists up in a half-committed boxer stance. Riley and Jack mirrored head shakes.

“We need to wait for the others. Jade and Amber wanna help just as much as I do,” Riley said.

“I'm not even gonna ask what happened to your chain,” Jack said, causing Auburn to again lift up her hands with palms out like she was pleading innocence to a cop. Her pleas of “not my fault” did little to Jack, even though it was the truth. “Go see Uncle Bren,” he said through muffled fingers as his head landed firmly into his hand. Auburn rushed to him into a bearhug that would snap most in half, but it didn't even get him to stumble. He returned the favor. “Love you too, kit. And make sure to visit me again soon. We got some catching up to do. Same spot as old, alright?” Nodding the whole time, Auburn promised she would do just that in between a couple “love yous”. After Riley gave one last “nice to meet you”, the duo left out the door and down the street. In the direction of the junkyard.

MISTRAL

Somewhere deep in the Mistrali woods, two pairs of footsteps crunching leaves and twigs underfoot were the only rustlings of life under the canopy of trees. They moved lightly, briskly, but frivolously hopping over tree roots and ducking under branches. The trail was just a few miles long, if you could even still call it that with how much nature had reclaimed. But it was still a few miles Shiina knew like the back of her hand. She was even using her spear as an explorer would use a machete to cut back the encroaching vines and shrubbery. Meanwhile, Sapphire was too stunned by the raw beauty of the surrounding scenery to help contribute. Despite staying here for a little while now, this place kept finding new ways to endlessly charm her. It was such a far cry from the life she led at Beacon. Soon enough, their walk led them to a clearing in the trees, causing Shiina to stop and take in the view like they had just arrived at a grand destination, the hidden city of gold.

“Where are we, Shiina?” Sapphire said.

“Where the sun and the moon’s song never dies for those who listen for it,” she said with an intimate warmth in her voice. It sounded like someone reminiscing about feelgood childhood memories, like a favorite homecooked meal. After a brief moment, she shook off the binding spell of nature with slight embarrassment. “This is where I train. Or where I go whenever the tribe gets to noisy and I need to get away.” Sapphire was confused how that little village could be too noisy in any way. It was nothing compared to the nightclubs or concerts that dotted the urban maze she called home. But, she let it slide. “It’s been awhile, and I want to train with you.”

“You and me both, girl. Now I get why we’re somewhere so secluded. But I wish you told me sooner. I woulda wore something a bit easier to get out of.” Shiina tilted her head until the realization hit and a burning red blush overwhelmed her cheeks. “Oh. Oh you meant actual training, alright.” Shiina tried to glower at her fellow huntress, but it melted quickly. She knew Sapphire was joking even before her sticking her tongue out gave it away.

“Sapph, I’m serious,” Shiina said while desperately hoping her blush would subside. It wasn’t going away nearly fast enough. If Sapphire really wanted to fluster her, she would’ve answered with “so was I”. But she resisted the urge, and again let the moment pass. “I know your bow transformers into a glaive, but you seem hesitant to use it. Why?”

“So this is why you told me to leave my arrows behind,” she said before a thoughtful pause. “I dunno though. I guess it’s because with my team, Dash and Auburn covered the close range, so they left me to handle the sniping. I just feel like I’m a better archer.”

“Which is fine until you’re without your team and a Beringel trucks you through a wall.” Sapphire bowed her head in acceptance. Her recovery was going well, but her back and shoulders were still sore from that. Shiina was more shaken up having to witness it. Someone would think she was the one getting run over by a rampaging beast. “There’s nothing wrong with being a better archer, the things you do with arrows are incredible. But the best huntresses in my opinion use every tool they have at their disposal. So I think you have to level up your spear work.” Recoiling a little, Shiina grew anxious that her words came across too harshly. But Sapphire was too focused on the authenticity of her admiration. She nodded and readied up, glaive in hand straight up and down with blade pointed to the sky. Shiina smiled. “Alright, let’s get started! So your glaive is a guandao. Not too far off from my naginata except mine is built with a thinner blade for more speed, whereas the guandao has a wider blade for more stopping power. So for the guandao, it came into use-”

“Speaking of training, how's yours coming with your semblance?” It took a moment for Shiina to recover from the whiplash of her flow of consciousness suddenly crashing. Sapphire was too restless for an entire history lesson.

“Oh uhhhhhh I haven't really made much progress lately. Supposedly I can conjure from tattoos on other people too, but I can't even master my own,” the inked fox faunus said. In the held out palm of her hand, a small garden snake inched along before fading away as she folded her arms across her chest. Her shoulder hunched forward slightly. Her gaze fell to the shine emanating from her blade. Sapphire didn't have an opportunity to inquire why before Shiina spoke once more. “I'll stop boring you with the history details. Let's just get into the combat, shall we?”

Sapphire couldn't argue, even though remorse of ruining the mood started to creep in. Shiina took center stage. Every strike she demonstrated had a light, airy flow to it, almost as natural as the landscape they sat in. It was as if the essence of the forest was channeling through her, culminating at the tip of her blade. Then it was Sapphire's turn. As Shiina pointed out, her weapon provided slower, heavier strikes. But, without a quiver full of arrows weighing her down, she could really let loose with some impressive footwork of her own. Some more acrobatic swings she made look effortless. As she moved, Shiina couldn't help but notice the muscles on Sapphire's back that were generating a lot of her power. She assumed the tone was from having to constantly pull back the bow string. She had to remind herself not to stare.

“Very nice, Sapph. You're looking good,” Shiina said. After though, her face contorted with regret. “I-I mean your moves were good! I mean your footwork and your strikes were-aaaahhhh.” The sentence stumbled along until the last few words barely petered out into a discomposed noise.

“I was hoping you were talking about me more than the fight moves, but thanks for the compliment, boo,” Sapphire giggled. She wasn’t thrown off by Shiina’s minor meltdown; she thought it was quite cute in fact. Shiina knew that too, and knew that was why she egged her on. The bushes to the west of them began to rustle. Neither of them paid any attention at first, writing it off as the wind. But, it grew louder without any accompanying breeze. Then, a low, rumbling growl reverbed through the forest. They both froze on edge. “Y’know Shiina, if you’re hungry you could’ve said something and we would’ve headed back early.” Her voice carried no confidence in the joke.

“That wasn’t me.” Shiina’s eyes locked to the bushes as they both gripped their weapons tighter. Their suspicions were confirmed when they could see several pairs of demonic red eyes peering through the darkness between the trees. Slowly, a pack of beowolves crept out of the gloom, prowling on all fours. Now revealed in the light, the growling grew louder until the pack leader stood up on its hind legs and snarled.

“Again? What is it with the grimm lately?” Sapphire said.

“I didn’t mean for today to be a trial by fire,” Shiina remarked as she spun her weapon into a ready position.

“Shouldn’t be a problem. Just watch.” With a subtle wink, Sapphire took off in a sprint toward the intruding grimm. Just before she reached them, however, she planted her glaive into the ground and, swinging around it like a pole, drove her boots right into the alpha’s head with a dropkick. A quick followup slash to stagger it freed her to begin tackling the rest of the pack. Shiina was almost temporarily stuck in place appreciating the unorthodox offense before snapping out of it and rushing in to lighten Sapphire’s load. Using the shaft of her naginata, she was able to block and parry a big swipe that was aimed at Sapphire from behind from one wolf, leaving it wide open for counterattack.

The two moved not only like they were connected with nature but also in rhythm with each other. When one needed to step away, the other would step in and take the heat. They would slide under each other and jump over each other. It was all immediate, seamless, and speechless. One by one the creatures all started to fizzle away into black smoke. One beowolf in particular they locked onto at the same time. They blitzed their target, criss-cross cutting it and leaving it nothing more than a hazy black afterthought. But just as that formation ended, the alpha was back on the hunt. It charged through Shiina, clubbing her in the face with a forearm that sent her flying several yards back. Then, in a full gallop it plowed into Sapphire, its massive claws pinning her to the ground by her shoulders. The attack knocked her spear out of her hands and out of reach.

“Sapphire!” Shiina yelled as she sat up. PTSD of their last grimm encounter wracked her mind. Last time she was left unconscious and helpless. But this time, Sapphire was awake, groaning and struggling in pain but still fighting. From Shiina’s point of view, it looked like she was trying to reach her boot, but the beowolf’s grip dug her harder into the ground as she did so. The claw raised up and began coming down right at Sapphire’s face. Right as it did though, Sapphire was able to grab a frost arrow she kept hidden in her boot. Letting out a primal yell, she stabbed the creature. With the tip broken, firmly lodged in its ankle, the grimm suddenly became entrapped in ice mid-swipe. Wasting as little time as possible, Shiina ran in and delivered the killing blow, shattering the newly made ice sculpture into pieces with one drive into its chest. Sapphire sat up and dusted herself off.

“I told you no arrows!” Shiina chastised after a second to catch her breath and her thoughts.

“You also said the best huntresses use all their tools at their disposal.” Again, Shiina couldn’t argue with her even if she wanted to. “Got ya there!” She smiled softly. She was just thankful this brush ended better than the last one. But as helped the archer up, Sapphire noticed Shiina still looking concerned. Her stare was fixed on the spot of the forest where the grimm originated from. “What’s wrong?”

“These grimm attacks are happening more frequently. And they’re coming from the opposite direction they usually do. The grimm usually come from the east, deeper in the woods. But lately they’ve been coming this way. In between our village and the bigger towns in the area.”

“Hmmmmm something must be attracting them. Something worth investigating?” Shiina responded with a determined nod. “Sweet! I’ve been wanting to hit up the town anyways, got some catching up to do with city life. Maybe we can try contacting our teammates again.” Those towns still couldn’t hold a candle to the major cities in the kingdoms, but it would still be enough for Sapphire to scratch her itch. “But that’ll have to be saved for another day. It’s getting late, we should head back.” She had no desire to trek back through that “trail” in the dark, even with a guide who knew it like the back of her hand like Shiina. So on that, Shiina led the way back home, right as the sun was beginning to dip toward the horizon.

VACUO

“Yo Uncle Bren, you home?” Auburn unceremoniously crashed the silence that the junkyard office was sitting in. But, none of the rusted wrecks around her answered back. All she could hear was the feet meeting metal steps, both hers and the ones of Rin behind her. They approached the door and Auburn knocked on it loudly several times only for nothing to happen again. Only then did she see the handwrittennote taped to the window next to the junkyard’s logo.

“Auburn. Sorry I missed you. Jack told me you were coming. Door’s open. You know where everything is,” she read from the letter. “Sweet!” She opened the door and stepped inside, with Rin following much slower as she took in the new scenery. Beyond the table and usual basic office furniture, there was scrap metal everywhere. Junk and broken bits and pieces all cluttered into various piles around the room. Some were rusted like their prime was an era ago, while others looked newly refurbished to the point of appearing fresh out the factory. Various machines that did said refurbishment dotted the outer walls of the room. It looked like a mess at first, but somehow also seemed like everything had a place, a method to the disorganized madness. Meanwhile, smaller tools like hammers and wrenches and a welder’s mask sat scattered on the table next to metal that was being fashioned into blades and gun barrels.

“Jeez, time to have a garage sale, don’t ya think? Clean out some of the old energy, y’know?” Rin said with a soft chuckle.

“My uncle recycles all this stuff and crafts weapons out of it. By the time he’s done, you would never guess the stuff he makes came from crap people threw out.” Auburn crouched down and started digging through some cabinets, tossing things like gun magazines and blade handles over her shoulder. “Ugh c’mon where is it?” she groaned to herself. As Rin casually strolled around the room, she came across a stack of several schematic papers on one of the counters. They looked like current works in progress. Rin was amazed someone could pull all this together from trash nobody else saw use in.

“Wow. So he made your whip?” Rin asked while beginning to scan through the stack of blueprints.

“Oh hell no. He made me build it myself. He just kinda lightly supervised while drinking to make sure I didn’t set anything on fire. But.” She kept searching as she talked, knocking over a whole nearly finished sword accidentally in the process. “He’s got a spare prototype that he kept around here somewhere in case something happened to mine. I doubt he got rid of it. Unless he found something else to use it for.” As she kept rummaging, Rin stopped to study one design that caught her attention.

“Would he be mad if I used some of his tools to make some adjustments to my gauntlets while I’m here?” she said.

“Knock yourself out.” Auburn again didn’t move her head away from her task. Once she saw the glint of a bladed chain under a stack of other collected items that didn’t have a set place, her crimson eyes flared with excitement. “Aha!” She yanked it free, toppling the stack over carelessly. But, out with the chain came a piece of paper tied to it. There was a design hastily sketched on it in permanent marker.

“Ohohoho Uncle you are a genius you know exactly how I think!” Rin’s ear flicked and she tilted her head, only momentarily pausing her search for a machine that could play with steel. “Let’s just say imma need a minute to work too.” The time over the next hour or two didn’t so much as tick by as it soar by. The clanging of tools meeting metal, the sparks flying, the tossing aside of pieces that wouldn’t fit for ones that may. Auburn and Rin putting whatever mechanical know-how they had to use coalesced until they hit the point where they could stop and applaud the fruits of their labor. Auburn’s phone blowing up with calls and messages was the sole thing signaling to them how much time had passed. Jade’s name underneath a caller ID photo of a rose wrapped in thorns faced her.

“Sup Jade,” Auburn answered the call. “Yeah, sorry we got caught up working on something … You’ll see … “Alright, yeah we’ll be right there. Fill us in when we get there … Alright, bye.” She quickly stashed her phone. “They’re ready. You ready?”

“Let’s do this!” Rin eagerly punched her fist into her other hand. The pair loaded up and hurriedly left the junkyard behind, Auburn barely remembering to lock everything up they were leaving so quick. Their next stop was this soup kitchen Auburn’s dad had mentioned, where Jade, Amber, and Riley were waiting, planning for whatever could possibly come next.

[ravenheartxvi]

So I've had this Tumbler for a while now, long time lurker and rarely posting. Just thought I'd give a little better introduction of myself than what my bio says.

I mostly prefer to keep to myself so excuse my sparse social interactions, haha. You can call me Charlie and I am definitely female. I was born the year Dr. Robert Ballard discovered the remains of the Titanic and for some inexplicable reason, I feel a connection to the “unsinkable” ocean liner. I had a minor obsession with the ship as a teen, and tend to enjoy reading about it, or watching documentaries or youtube videos of it. I am also a lover of Tudor history. 

My main interest here on Tumbler surrounds the Sims and fanfiction. I’ve been an avid simmer since the original Sims came out. I don’t know about anyone else, but for some reason I can get a kind of god complex when I play the sims, lol. I discovered mods during the Sims 3 and have been hooked ever since. My two favorite mods are MC command center and Wicked Whims. I’ve also used the extreme violence mod before and some of the sims storylines I created with these mods are rather, ahem, interesting. I would be willing to share if anyone is interested, just fair warning, these interesting sims stories are NSFW. 

My other love includes fanfiction. I first got involved in 2001 and was introduced in a now defunct Harry Potter site. My earliest fics are now lost. I later became prolific on fanfiction.net and you can still see my works there through the link in my profile. In 2005 I switched from Harry Potter over to Star Wars. For a brief time I had drifted into Gilmore Girls before drifting back to Harry Potter and back to Star Wars where I am currently firmly based. I have grown annoyed with fanfiction.net and decided to switch over to Archive of Our Own where all my current fics are being posted. 

My favorite fic trope is time travel/ time travel fix-its. 

I enjoy a variety of AU’s Such as: Anakin doesn’t fall, Darth Vader/Padme Amidala fics where Anakin was raised as a Sith, Character X doesn’t die, Luke and Leia were raised by at least one of their parents, and a multitude of variations of these tropes. In recent months I’ve gotten into modern au anidala fics, a trope that I’ve avoided for a while. 

My ships include:

Harry Potter/Hermione Granger

Rory Gilmore/Logan Huntzberger

Anakin Skywalker(Darth Vader)/Padme Amidala

Luke Skywalker/Mara Jade

Leia Organa/Han Solo

Ships that give me the willies but I wont judge those who enjoy them:

Anakin Skywalker/Obi-Wan Kenobi * Because they literally equate each other as brothers/family and have both said so more than once. 

Anakin Skywalker/Ahsoka Tano * These two have a big brother/little sister dynamic and nothing anyone says can dissuade me. 

Hermione Granger/ anyone who is a Death Eater. * Because, WTF? You know what I’m talking about, don’t lie.

Psychology is an interest of mine and I enjoy incorporating it into my works in recent years. If I could pass math and had the finances, I would pursue a degree in the subject. Mental Illness is a subject that is very important to me and I like to consider myself an advocate for the support of mental illness and fully believe in the benefits of therapy. So I do not, under any circumstances, tolerate the use of words like crazy and all its synonyms as a form of insult. Everyone struggles with something so a little kindness and understanding, compassion, is something we should extend to everyone around us, including those who have wronged us. I am very open with talking about my own struggles, in the hopes that I can help someone else struggling in whatever way I can. Sometimes, it helps to know that you are not alone in your struggles. 

I am not perfect, in any way, but I try to be a decent person with integrity. I make mistakes and often struggle in how to fix those mistakes. Often, I need people to come to me and tell me if I have hurt or offended them due to my own lack of a filter and impulsivity. I am very open to listening to grievances and to finding a way to work through those grievances. However, what I will never do is blast those grievances or work through them in a public forum. I prefer not to stir drama on the internet. It is preferable, IMHO, to work through any issues privately rather than air it all publicly. I have seen a lot of examples when grievances are aired online and it only ever invites people outside the situation to insert themselves into the situation and stir the drama even further. I have no interest in participating in such situations, it is way too stressful. This is why I have distanced myself from facebook. I would much rather save this account for stress relief fun. 

And here, I feel that I should reiterate another point I made in my profile. I very rarely, if ever, check my messages here on tumbler. When I first joined and for quite a while, the only messages I would receive was porn spam. So I found myself avoiding my messages here. I have zero interest in accepting porn spam. No, I will not check out your webcam. No, I am not interested in watching hot women or connecting with hot women. While I appreciate the female form and have had some celebrity girl crushes, I am very interested in men. And no, I am also not interested in unsolicited penis pictures either. Why do I appear to be interested in this shit? 

Back to a fun topic. My love for history, sims, fanfiction and geeky stuff is also accompanied by my love for music. My two favorite genres of music are Rock and Classical. I have a wide variety of music tastes but I can’t stand country music and disco. Ick…lol! I was exposed to a wide variety growing up so of course I love music. I listen to music during a majority of everyday tasks and while I read and write. My music library is absolutely huge! 

If Interested, I have compiled a personal playlist that expresses my life through song. You can check it out here:

[okay-but-could-we-not]

10, 24 and 8 for the choose violence ask meme?

gonna answer these with Resident Evil bc it's been on my mind with COD lately :) sorry if this makes no sense to anyone not in the fandom

8. common fandom opinion everyone is wrong about, 10. worst part of fanon, and 24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse.

8 and 10 are kind of the same answer, I don't generally love some of the fanon ideas around Chris.

I know people love Leon and I think he's a great character too!! but that doesn't mean Chris is any less competent and caring, you know? there are a lot of jokes about how often his teammates die and how he's a bad leader for it, and that's fair based on the games, but I think people forget the games aren't the only missions he ever goes on. he wouldn't still be alive or in the field or put in charge of squads if every single time he went out he came back with failure and corpses.

and a lot of w/intersberg fic (which I love but this is my main gripe with) has him being a total asshole to Ethan but in the game he clearly loved Ethan!! he was devastated when he failed to save him. he took care of Rose for him. he's not an uncaring asshole like some people depict him, he's just jaded and traumatized and scared of losing more friends like he did Jill (until she came back) and Piers. and then his worst fear came true and he lost Ethan too. that's what drove all his decisions in the game, not mistrust or dislike for Ethan.

anyway that's all a very long-winded way of saying please for the love of God remember that Chris is actually a very competent and good leader who cares about his friends.

also I don't like the bloodline jokes lol.

as for 24 I'm so sick of ship discourse between cl/eon and a/eon. nothing good ever comes of either of them being brought up in a public space. they all have two hands. neither is better than the other. canon does not matter. please stop being so toxic 🥲.

[haodore]

coffee shop ; jt

𓂃 ⋆ 𓈒 masterlist

⌁ jade thirlwall x fem!reader

⌁ you’re the barista at a coffee shop and you always screw up jade's name on purpose. [prompt from: https://atsuzaki-playground.neocities.org] // fluff, romantic.

⌁ 1.4k words

! : fem r (she/her), just pure fluff

The smell of coffee bean and the ring of a doorbell was a true wake-up call, and always managed to bring Y/n back to the world around her.

Working as a barista in a coffee shop wasn't the most fun job, or at least not to Y/n. After a full day of work, her apron felt wildly restricting and the constant chatter and banter that surrounded her gave her a growing headache. Her co-worker, Oliver, loved the job. In the beginning he had originally gotten the job to get some money in his pocket—the same for Y/n. While Oliver fell in love with serving to the costumers and the aroma of the strong caffeinated drink, Y/n had grown to hate it. Dread it, even. But in the end, working extra hours was always worth it if it meant more money.

Y/n let out a huff at the sound of the bell, but then her flat expression tugged into an almost mischievous smirk. The costumer was oh so recognizable, and she was a regular. Her name was Jade.

She was as beautiful as the ocean on a summer night, her brown eyes twinkling under the fluorescent shop lights like the moonlight kissing the sea, shining like little oceanic stars. Her cheeks, usually adorned with a slight tinge of red, brought by the cold autumns breeze.

She was absolutely breathtaking.

Jade was Y/n's favourite customer. She came almost every afternoon, and her order was always the same. A black coffee and a tea. After her 6th visit to the café, Jade had mentioned the coffee was for her roommate, and she didn't like coffee all that much.

Y/n slid the hot coffee and tea over the counter in record time, flashing a warm smile at the brunette. "Here you are."

"Thank you." Jade was smiling too, and Y/n felt her stomach do flips. Jade eyed the side of her cup of tea, and she huffed out an amused chuckle. "So I'm Lillian today?"

Y/n chuckled lightly. "I'm a little low on names." Y/n had grown to love the way Jade's nose scrunched up when she smiled, and the way her dark brown curls framed her face.

Jade thanked her, exiting the store with the two warm drinks in hand. The warmth contrasted with the chill of the autumn air. She took a sip of her tea, and the liquid almost burned down her throat, but it was cool enough that she didn't mind it too much.

She felt something scratch her finger, and she looked down noticing a small piece of paper sticking out of the sleeve on the cup. She was unable to grab it as her hands were full, so she'd have to wait until she got back to her apartment.

The light buzz of the semi-crowded street around her calmed her and put her at ease. The streets were coloured an old-fashioned grey that on most days would feel dreary, but on a calm day like today it felt comforting.

It didn't take long before she arrived home, and the door opened with a click. She locked the door, the immediately set down the coffee on the kitchen counter, pulling the peace of paper out and the fine handwriting.

Maybe we could meet somewhere outside of this coffee shop :)

It had a phone number underneath with Y/n's name signed under that, and Jade couldn't help the grin that etched it's way onto her face. She felt her heart soar, reading the paper more than once like she was a kid being asked out by her first love.

She was pulling her phone out of her pocket before her brain could process her actions, then she was typing in the number into her messages.

I'd love to meet up ;)

- Jade/Lillian/Michelle/Amelia/Sophia/Sam/Marley

Y/n had gotten the message 15 hours ago, and she didn't expect the meet-up to be happening so soon. Today was her day off work, and they'd decided to meet up outside the café. Y/n was sitting at one of the tables fiddling with her keys as nerves struck her deep. She was hoping deep down that this was a date— did Jade know? Y/n felt panic swell within.

"Y/n!"

The voice was cheery, and it almost washed away all of her nerves as it reached her ears. She looked up and she couldn't fight the grin off of her face. "Hi." Y/n said when Jade got closer. Y/n was pulled into a hug, and she had to hold back a surprised yelp. It was then that she noticed Jade's hair smelled like strawberries. It was nice.

Jade pulled away and Y/n's smile faltered. Jade was wearing a regular plain black t-shirt and baggy jeans—Y/n immediately felt overdressed. She herself was wearing a nice white blouse, with beige pants to match. Her fingers were covered with a reasonable amount of rings, and there was a bracelet on her left wrist that matched her necklace.

"Sorry I took so long, I was just—" Jade realized she almost let it slip that she couldn't figure out what outfit to wear. In the end she decided to play it safe and go casual, but now she felt underdressed when in Y/n's presence. "Well I'm here now." Jade was smiling so wide her cheeks began to hurt. If she thought Y/n looked pretty wearing just an apron with her hair tucked away, she looked absolutely stunning like this.

Y/n felt heat rush to her cheeks when Jade's fingers were delicately wrapping around her wrist and pulling her down the street. It didn't take long to figure out the route they were taking was to the park.

In the park, the birds were chirping and there were fallen leaves decorating the freshly cut grass. It brought Y/n a sense of calm she couldn't find so often, and she was grateful that Jade had picked the place.

"Sometimes I like to come here to think. It's usually not that crowded." Jade began. The cold grass tickled Y/n's ankles where they were laying down. She felt like a kid again. Maybe it was began she was laying down in the grass and pushing away the ideas of adulthood to just sit rest, or maybe it was because Jade's presence made her feel all giddy inside. Every time she saw her it was like learning to walk again because her legs felt like jello. She always focused so hard on not stumbling over her words and always felt disbelief on how someone could make her feel this way.

"It's always been like a safe space for me." Jade said. Y/n could understand why it was. She'd definitely come here more often.

"It's nice." Y/n hummed thoughtfully.

Then, Jades pinky brushed against Y/n's, and Y/n felt like she was melting into a puddle at the touch. Jade shifted again, her hand resting over top of Y/n's. Y/n took the last step, lacing her fingers through Jade's. Her heart was racing like it was trying to break through her rib cage, and she worried that Jade would feel her shaking hand.

"When you gave me your number, I wasn't sure what you wanted it to mean." Jade started, and it was then that Y/n could feel her nerves too. Y/n turned to look at her, and Jade's bottom lip was trapped between her teeth.

"What did you want it to mean?"

"If I kissed you, would that answer your question?" Y/n felt her heart leap at the suddenness of the question that slipped past Jade's lips. She felt like putty in Jade's hand as her brown eyes met her own eyes. Her vocal cords felt frozen in her throat, so she nodded as if to tell her that it was okay.

Jade was slowly sitting up until her face was hovering over Y/n's, and Y/n felt her breath catch in her throat as Jade's hair tickled the sides of her face.

When Jade leaned in, it felt like fireworks went off in Y/n's stomach. Jade lips were soft and plump, moulding perfectly with Y/n's in a sweet kiss. Jade pulled away almost too quick, and Y/n chased her lips with her own into another short kiss. Jade laughed, smiling against Y/n's lips. "Okay," she pulled away, Y/n now propped up on her elbows. "Did that answer your question?"

Y/n erupted into a laugh, looking into Jade's eyes—which held what could only be seen as adoration.

"Yes, it definitely did."

—

little mix taglist: @esposadomd

[memryse]

The magic of 3rd Life, or why such a simple hardcore miniseries works as well as it does

For a series which only lasted for eight sessions, 3rd Life has had a profound impact on the MCYT fandom. While it did go comparatively unnoticed on Twitter (as is consistent with YouTube-based Minecraft content as a whole, admittedly), Tumblr and other platforms have fallen in love with this series, and it’s become a vector for many fans to familiarise themselves with Hermitcraft and Empires SMP as well. But at its core, 3rd Life is a simple vanilla survival series with a gimmick. What about it resonates so much with so many people?

I would argue that its simplicity, its small cast, its vanilla gameplay “with a twist” is certainly part of it. It’s an easy series to consume, with many POVs totalling four hours or less, and it doesn’t require any prior knowledge of any of the members. Its mechanics are easy to understand. As a standalone, it functions perfectly – it’s immersive and can be followed easily by anyone, regardless of any prior knowledge they may or may not have. However, these factors alone don’t quite encompass what makes 3rd Life so special. Its true charm point lies in the format of the series, and how well it utilises improv.

[more below the cut; this is a fairly long post about 3rd/Last Life meta and my love of its improv. I'm mostly talking about 3rd Life here as it's a completed series, but this most definitely does apply to Last Life as well]

3rd Life is an entirely improv-based series. Whilst members may have a brief concept of the direction they’d like to take their series in – how heavily they want to roleplay, for example – the actual content of each session is fully improvised. Each episode is recorded in one three-hour block, and members are not allowed to play on the server outside of the allotted time other than specifically to finish builds. This time constraint prevents any planning from going into each episode, and interactions between players are completely spontaneous. Players simply run around the map looking for others to interact with (which is significantly easier with the limited world border) and chat about various events on the server, form alliances or deals, etc.

By definition, this almost completely negates the possibility of bad writing. Each player’s reaction to any server event is spontaneous, a legitimate reaction; they aren’t trying to play any specific roles or shoehorn in any specific events (with the exception of the Red King/Hand of the King roles, who were still completely improvising). Even the finale – a distinctly heart-wrenching and tragic scene – was improvised without Grian or Scar attempting to tell any specific story. According to Martyn, they weren’t roleplaying, they didn’t have any aims with that scene. It just happened to turn out in the way that it did, and they were legitimately sorry to one another. The server progressed in this natural way, and every person’s perspective tells a completely different story. It’s hard to identify any specific heroes or villains – fans of the Dream SMP can surely relate to this feeling, but I would argue that 3rd Life takes this one step further. 3rd Life is a tragedy from all perspectives, a tragedy which tells one cohesive story in its entirety before stopping as abruptly as it began.

3rd Life hinges entirely on its interactions between its members. Whilst solo content does exist – base building, for example – the majority of each session is spent interacting with others. 3rd Life is carried by its dialogue; nothing else drives the story, and yet many episodes are between 30 minutes and an hour long. It’s that dialogue-heavy. Members of the server have expressed trouble with even editing their videos because there is so much key dialogue that they don’t want to cut. People don’t watch 3rd Life for the actual gameplay, at all – there’s so little of it! They watch it for how each member interacts with the people around them. This is something not found in any other SMP I’ve encountered. SMPs livestreamed on Twitch have plenty of downtime, and people will happily watch streams on that SMP no matter what’s occurring on the server; people often watch them for their interest in specific members. Other currently popular YouTube SMPs, namely Hermitcraft and Empires, are well-balanced between solo content and interactions, and all server content hinges on the members’ various skills like building and redstone. 3rd Life is, to my knowledge, the only SMP which does not rely on building or redstone skills (what’s the point, when they’ll be dead the next week?), it doesn’t rely on the creator doing solo work talking to their chat, it doesn’t rely on planned roleplay. People legitimately just want to hear various members talking to each other. It’s a fascinatingly unique series in this regard. This dialogue-heavy aspect of 3rd Life ties back to my earlier point about 3rd Life feeling like a completely different series from all perspectives; with all of this dialogue being conveyed through proximity chat, so many events are entirely left out of other POVs, or presented in very different lights.

The pure improv format also helps significantly with worldbuilding, whilst also leaving plenty to the imagination. MCYT fandoms always require a significant amount of imagination to become invested in them, let alone make fan content of them, and 3rd Life is no exception to this. As discussed in this post, which was incidentally the inspiration for me to write this one, 3rdLife is full of lines which flesh out the series, which illustrate what happened better than can be shown in Minecraft. These lines are improvised on the spot, and are often complete throwaway lines in the creators’ eyes. In the fans’ eyes, they make 3rd Life feel alive, they provide plenty of material on which to base headcanons. Again, this isn’t necessarily unique to 3rd Life, it’s a common aspect of all Minecraft series, but I think this is where the rather angsty nature of 3rd Life comes into play. A dramatic survival game, entirely unscripted, with all events hinging entirely on your interpretation of them? It’s not hard to see why 3rd Life fans are so creative with character designs and fanfiction – hell, a lot of 3rd Life fics simply narrate canon in their own more dramatic light. Canon-compliant fics are significantly more common for 3rd Life than other fandoms I've encountered, because people hear these simple lines and want to dramatise them, put their own spins on them. I don't feel that this would be possible with any other series, not to the extent that 3rd Life fans do it. Other series' canon is either already dramatic, and so rehashing it can feel repetitive, or so lighthearted that people write AUs/new storylines. 3rd Life strikes a brand-new balance.

The development of its characters is also bolstered by improv. As no events on the server are pre-planned, members have to react completely spontaneously to anything that occurs. They don’t get time to think – only to react as though they genuinely were in that situation. As I said at the start, 3rd Life inherently lacks bad writing, because it’s not written. Ren, for instance, began 3rd Life as a kind and harmless person, with others often walking right over him. His reaction to his death by Grian and Scar’s trap spurs him to become the Red King; he raises an army and goes to war, and ends the series having taken countless lives, becoming hardened by war. He begins Last Life by isolating himself from others, seeming jaded and unwilling to form alliances, ready for another war to break out. Being improvised, it’s impossible to say how much of this was deliberate, or if Ren just started building his base without thinking about continuity from the previous season. This improv is what makes it feel so natural. It isn’t planned beforehand. This is Ren’s natural reaction to starting Last Life. It makes his character feel so much more real than it would if this was all scripted beforehand.

3rd Life is, overall, a testament to the power of improv. It manages to be compelling and dramatic without any acting feeling forced or wooden. Its characters’ arcs feel natural, because they are natural. Placing such a heavy emphasis on dialogue, with the gimmick of the server being a vehicle for interactions to happen rather than the sole appeal of the series, makes it truly feel as though we’re getting a glimpse into the characters’ lives, rather than watching a story which has been written beforehand. We get to watch everything unfold in real time. 3rd Life has a magic to it that, to my knowledge, no other SMP has been able to recreate.

[vvienne]

XICHENG FIC RECS

hold my hands by Snooze (Chiruka)

Transplanting a core into a new person isn’t without repercussions. One year after the events at Guanyin Temple, Jiang Cheng found himself once again faced with the possibility of losing everything he had. Reconciling with his brother, learning to let Jin Ling go, and dealing with his blooming emotions toward the First Jade of Gusu — will Jiang Cheng accomplish what he wants before time runs out?

it all passes someday by screamlet

A week before the anniversary of Wei Wuxian’s death, there was a commotion outside Lan Wangji’s house.

*

Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji over the years.

The Unlikely Expression of Love by manamune

When everything has settled, when everyone else has moved on with their lives and their friends, Jiang Cheng has a realization which shouldn’t actually be a surprise:

He’s lonely.

Indigo, lavender, and violet (I don't wanna be red) by ohwhatevrewhatevr

It, in the pale colors of the late morning, is the closest to perfect Jiang Cheng will ever reach. He strokes Lan XiChen's hair and presses a light kiss to where his ribbon and hair meet. The sky is a pale blue, and the pastels of flowers and clouds are spread out through the window, a brilliant world waiting for them, them in the gentian house, safe from stronger breezes - there is the clutter of birds fluttering and chirping outside. It is a warm, perfect, spring morning.

Jiang Cheng and Lan XiChen have been together for an year. In which, no one ever really gets over things, Jiang Cheng has the misfortune of interacting with his brother, the juniors help out with the proposal, and there's a marriage.

Altitude by starknjarvis 

When Jin Ling lures Jiang Cheng to the Cloud Recesses under false pretenses, he finds himself out of place among this new family Wei Wuxian has formed.

Lan Xichen, at least, seems pleased to have his company.

Perhaps there is still a chance for Jiang Cheng to make amends and move forward.

[Modao Zushi Online] GLITCH REPORT: My Brother Got Chased Down And %$@*$&@ By Gusu Dungeon Boss??? by oh_fudgecakes

Modao Zushi Online is a virtual reality MMORPG. Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian are top ranking players in its new server, currently tied with their arch-nemesis from their previous server, Wen Chao. In an attempt to defeat him, they take on the Gusu Dungeon Boss, Zewu-jun, to win the reward of a legendary weapon. Ever the cheat, Wei Wuxian tries to take advantage of a glitch to defeat the seemingly undefeatable boss. It backfires. Jiang Cheng gets fucked by a boss monster.

He can't get enough.

Meanwhile, Lan Xichen, the unwitting staff member in charge of controlling Zewu-jun, absolutely did not sign up to be pulled into a secret virtual reality fling with a player. Mod Ji, who has to deal with Wei Wuxian's incessant glitch reporting of his brother's sex life, is long-suffering.

Mulberry by xxdz

Jiang Cheng grits his teeth and pushes harder. He feels like torn silk, the embroidery needle sinking in again and again and again; patiently, desperately, endlessly trying to make something beautiful out of something broken.

Jiang Cheng builds his sect, learns embroidery, and raises his nephew.

we can raise a little family by lanyon

“Well, brother,” says Wei Wuxian, leaning against the outside of Jiang Cheng’s chambers. “I had heard that you and Xichen went on a night hunt and came back with a baby, which is not the order I’d choose to do things in…”

In which Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen acquire a baby of unknown origin, and are the very last to know what it means.

Beyond the Impossible by Silverine

Summoned by Lan Qiren, Jiang Wanyin goes to the Cloud Recesses to drop his nephew Jin Ling, expecting to discuss relevant matters with his old master. Instead, he's asked to take with him no other than Sect Leader Lan himself, all the way back to Lotus Pier. If the reason why he accepted such an outrageous task is indeed a mystery, he's about to be surprised by how this entire trip, their encounters, and his warm company, suddenly feel fated.

Incrementally by xxdz

Jiang Cheng is trapped in a day on repeat where he begins by waking in Zewu Jun’s bed at dawn and ends by dying painfully at dusk.

It’s getting very irritating, and he has the sneaking suspicion that his chances to solve his own murder are rapidly running out. Soon, his death will be much more permanent.

All in all, worst birthday ever.

Audience of One by WinterDreams

“Then let an established star go first,” Lan Xichen interrupts again before Lan Wangji can give a stubborn reply. Both men twist toward Lan Xichen, and he smiles at Wei Wuxian’s tilted head. “If I publicly date a man for awhile first, your engagement shouldn’t receive as much backlash.”

Or, that AU where everyone is famous in some way or another, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have been dating in private for years, and Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng pretend to date publicly for their brothers' sake.

A Bit of Ruthlessness by jirluvien

When Jiang Cheng hears that Lan Xichen went into seclusion following Jin Guangyao’s death, it’s almost as if he can see the grabby hands of a restless ghost, reaching out for something to keep him company. For something warm and living and devastated. And as history has proved time and time again, the Lans are perfect victims when it comes to giving in to ghosts.Yeah, no. Not on Jiang Cheng’s fucking watch.A story about grief, determination, unexpected friendships, abandoned watchtowers, and letters. So many letters.

All Tied Up In You by Clearpearls

Yet again, the night had come to this:

Jiang Cheng on the floor, kneeling, Zidian wrapped around his wrists.

Alone.

Thank You, and I'm Sorry by Hamliet

Jin GuangYao might be dead, but his story is not. Taking advantage of the chaos he instigated, someone makes an attempt on the life of the young new leader of the Jin Sect. When Jiang Cheng takes Jin Ling to the Cloud Recesses to have him study while he attempts to work with Wei WuXian and his husband Lan WangJi to eliminate the threat, he encounters a mourning Lan XiChen, lovestruck teenagers, and a persistent corpse--and both pairs of brothers find themselves struggling to move on.

saturn's rings (don't be a heartbreaker) by iskendaris

Set after the seige of burial mounds, Yunmeng rebuilds as they hold the first Discussion Conference at Lotus Pier. Sometimes the night is a gift, a refuge for loneliness. "So stern, Sect Leader Jiang," Lan Xichen murmured, "So glacial... What will it take to melt that icy exterior? What can I say?"

"Nothing. There's nothing you can say or offer."

reciprocity by jukeboxhound

There’s a pause before Lan Xichen says, in a tone that’s a little more neutral, “I would like to paint on you.”

“…What?”

“Of course, if you say ‘yes’ but then change your mind at any point, for any reason, you need only say so and I will stop immediately,” he adds.

Well, silver lining: Jiang Cheng is feeling much more awake than he was a moment ago.

Talent Hunt Crew Finds Angry Guy Shouting On College Campus, Recruits Him For Vocal Projection Abilities by oh_fudgecakes

Jiang Cheng, resident Angry Guy and heir to a conglomerate empire, has never been the apple of his father’s eye. Quashed under the shadow of his brilliant brother, the music prodigy Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng sees his chance to turn things around when he is recruited by the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt. One problem: he can’t sing to save his goddamn life.

As he struggles to develop his nascent singing abilities, Jiang Cheng finds himself sucked into the whirlwind drama of reality TV, helped along by his adoring siblings, his irritable vocal coach Wen Qing, and strangely enough, the unfairly attractive host of the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt, Lan Xichen. Somewhere in the glare of the stage lights and an unexpected first love, Jiang Cheng stumbles upon the thing he was searching for all along: the courage to dream — and to attempt the impossible.

Marginal Costs by ohwhatevrewhatevr

“You think you know what you want, Er-Ge,” A-Yao says. “But you should consider what you’re willing to give first,” he says wryly, taking Lan XiChen’s chess piece with slim, skilled fingers.

Lan XiChen looks up at A-Yao’s concentrated expression and the hint of contentment on his face that he is special enough to be allowed to see.

“It’s not just one decision, but the lead up to many more. One decision decides what else you’re going to have to pay, and each time you have to ask yourself, ignoring the sunk costs, if this time it’s worth it as well.”

When his sworn brother looks up at him with those clear, amber eyes, waiting, Lan XiChen feels the pull and gives in: he asks.

“Are you happy being in love?”

(First half is two sad sworn brothers talking, internally mourning how unfortunate their other sworn brother’s death was :/ and second half is when a mopey boy in blue meets an angsty boy in purple whilst chasing a demonic cultivator, and a lil bit of sexy dual cultivation happens.)

Somewhat Tender by theherocomplex

There is no defense against kindness; it has always undone him.

I didn't expect you to be lonely (too) by bettydice (BettyKnight)

Jiang Cheng's life is a mess, he's a mess, and he doesn't miss his brother at all. So when his sister gifts him ten sessions with a massage therapist, who turns out to be someone he was crushing on for a hot minute as a teenager and is still as hot as ever... yeah, that might as well happen. It won't have to mean anything.

This feels intimate to Jiang Cheng in a way that's probably very inappropriate and maybe even pathetic. Nobody touches him like this, right where he’s hurt the most. There's no one who handles him so gently, so carefully.

It's the gentleness that's his undoing, he thinks. He would be able to deal better with it if it was painful.

Life for Rent by yodasyoyo

“Yeah well. You’re not taking me seriously. This guy is my soulmate!”

“Soulmate.” Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes. “Whatever.”

“Just because you don’t believe in them—”

“I believe in them!” Jiang Cheng says. “I’ve never denied they exist.”

“Just last week you said that it was an evolutionary quirk that had been used by greetings card companies, movie makers, and corporations to exploit lonely and vulnerable people.”

“And I stand by it! That doesn’t mean that soulmates aren’t real. Just incredibly unlikely and probably pointless.

-

Or:

Xicheng vs Soulmates. Fight!

Halfway Around the World by theherocomplex

Normally, Jiang Cheng would be seething, jaw clenched tight, if someone sounded like that while they were talking, but — Lan Xichen has the trick of always making you feel like you're in on the joke, whatever the joke is. That you're laughing together.

Whelmed by yodasyoyo

For months now Jiang Cheng’s been idly fantasizing about how it would be if something were to come between Wei Ying and Lan Zhan. Mostly those daydreams have been simple enough — they break up (probably because Lan Zhan is boring or Wei Ying is annoying), Wei Ying is sad for a couple of days (Jiang Cheng’s willing to allow some space for feelings, he isn't a total monster), but then Wei Ying realizes he’s better off, he gets over it, and Jiang Cheng gets his brother back.

Unfortunately the fantasy version of events has only proven partially true, so far. They've broken up. Wei Ying has been sad.

Now weeks have passed, though — and Wei Ying is still sad, every. Single. Day.

It’s like Jiang Cheng's stuck in a looping GIF, and it’s driving him insane.

Or:

Jiang Cheng plots, Lan Huan pines, and, unfortunately for Lan Qiren, Wangxian are inevitable.

[robininthelabyrinth]

A continuation of NHS invites WWX to JYL's wedding, and what happened there? Perhaps about how the estemed Hanguang Jun ended up running off and eloping with the Nie sect heir's intended?

continuation of that short fic, now it’s own fic on ao3

Plus One - Chapter 2

“So,” Nie Huaisang said, sidling up to his brother and his two sworn brothers now that they’d finally gotten to the party part of the wedding and they could all huddle up in a corner to be anti-social together.

Or, well, for Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen to be anti-social and for Jin Guangyao to be forcefully restrained from attempting to perform hosting duties, which he incessantly tried to do - it was like he had no idea what servants were for. Which Nie Huaisang supposed was understandable, given everything, but the way Jin Guangshan encouraged him to do it certainly wasn’t.

“So,” Nie Mingjue said, his voice only mildly ominous in a way that suggested, to Nie Huaisang at least, that he was still finding this whole thing incredibly funny.

Accordingly, Nie Huaisang ignored him. “How much do you think I can milk being horribly dumped?” he asked. “Because I think I’m about to be horribly dumped.”

“By your new ‘intended’?” Lan Xichen said, looking amused. “Really, Huaisang, I don’t know what you were thinking by bringing him.”

“Uh, that he deserves to attend his shijie’s wedding? Obviously?”

“But to bring him to Lanling…”

“He’s my guest,” Nie Huaisang said haughtily, bringing out his fan and doing his best ‘rich young master who is better than this and is most certainly above your petty questions’ Jin sect impression. “You aren’t suggesting that the Jin sect would take back an invitation they freely issued, would they? Or breach the rules of hospitality?”

“Huaisang, Xichen didn’t mean it that way and you know it,” his brother said, sounding annoyed, but in his relaxed run-of-the-mill ‘I hate parties’ type of annoyance, rather than specifically about his behavior. “Obviously the Jin sect won’t do anything about it. Regardless of any other considerations, anything they did would be refusing to show our Nie sect face, and then I’d have to make an issue of it.”

He sounded wistful. Probably thinking about how he could use it as an excuse to storm out and go home early.

“We’re only worried about you, Huaisang,” Jin Guangyao murmured, looking remarkably calm for someone who was definitely (if unobtrusively) being blocked from leaving by two very tall men with excessive mother hen tendencies. “You’re all grown up now, not a child – you need to think about the political implications your actions might have. Aren’t you concerned about your brother’s reaction?”

Huaisang was about to explain that he’d gotten his brother’s permission, but then he remembered that they were in Lanling, full of spies, so he decided to tell Jin Guangyao about that later.

“It’s not my problem that Sect Leader Nie has to think about politics at what should be a happy family event,” he said instead, nose in the air, and Lan Xichen frowned even as Nie Mingjue sighed, probably at Nie Huaisang’s total lack of caring about even the basic obligations of etiquette. Or possibly his reference to their little inside joke, but these were his sworn brothers, so they’d have to figure out sooner or later that Sect Leader Nie and Nie Mingjue weren’t always the same. “Besides, that isn’t what I asked. I asked about how long I can milk my terrible heartbreaking break up.”

“I thought you were getting dumped?” his brother asked, passing him a jar of wine. A good brother, even if he was mocking him.

“Getting dumped leads to a break-up,” Nie Huaisang insisted. “Wei-xiong is a thankless white-eyed wolf who was just using me with absolutely no consideration of my tender feelings.”

“You have tender feelings?” his brother said. “Why wasn’t I informed of this?”

Nie Huaisang kicked him in the shin.

As usual, it had no impact whatsoever on his brother and only hurt his own toes, but it was the principle of the thing.

“Huaisang,” Lan Xichen said, his voice oddly gentle, even softer than normal. “Did you – really – for Wei Wuxian –”

Nie Huaisang, who’d been taking a drink of wine, nearly choked. “Er-ge,” he said, mildly horrified. “Please. Wei-xiong is a very handsome gentleman, fearless and dashing, with all the skills one might ask for in a son-in-law –”

“Brother-in-law,” his brother muttered, as if he hadn’t been Nie Huaisang’s de facto father figure for years.

“– and, yes, I suppose we have similar tastes in drinking, carousing, and pornography –”

“Of course you do,” Jin Guangyao said, looking up at the ceiling as if it would hide how his lips were twitching.

“– but let us not forget: he lives in a trash heap. With Wen sect. I have standards!”

“I thought he was marrying in?” Lan Xichen asked, smiling again now that he had confirmed that there was no actual heart-breaking occurring in the vicinity. “He’d live in the Unclean Realm that way, wouldn’t he?”

“He would not,” Nie Mingjue put in. “I don’t care if they’re all enlightened saints that do nothing but charity all day, no one surnamed Wen is living in my home.”

“You see what I’m up against?” Nie Huaisang said, holding out his hands in appeal to his brother’s sworn brothers. “My da-ge doesn’t understand, he’s only good for swinging a saber! How cruel and heartless must a man be to stand in the way of true love?”

Lan Xichen covered his smile with his sleeve. Jin Guangyao pressed his lips together in such a way that made his cheeks especially round and quivering with suppressed laughter, like a mouse stuffing its face to bulging with rice.

“Er-ge, you wouldn’t be nearly this cruel if it were you, would you?” Nie Huaisang asked, reaching out and tugging said sleeve. “You’d be kind and generous about it – I bet you’d find them a nice little place to live, maybe next to those foothills you’re always saying you want someone to use but that you’re not willing to sell…”

“Were you planning on moving in with er-ge after your marriage, then?” Jin Guangyao asked. He looked much more amused and relaxed now – maybe he’d been stressing over this being some sort of scheme and was feeling much better now that he realized it was actually just Nie Huaisang’s nonsense. His paranoia had always been deeply endearing. “I don’t think your brother will like that.”

“Not me,” Nie Huaisang said, rolling his eyes at him. “But if it was Lan Zhan sweeping him away, er-ge would definitely support him. Right, er-ge?”

“I always support my brother,” Lan Xichen said with a smile.

“Good,” Nie Huaisang said, taking another swallow of wine. “Because he and Wei Wuxian just had a very intense conversation in a secluded corner that ended with them kissing and running off together, so it’s about to become your problem.”

Nie Mingjue choked, Jin Guangyao’s jaw dropped, and Lan Xichen’s eyes got really big.

“Not joking,” Nie Huaisang clarified cheerfully. “Totally serious.”

“Excuse me,” Lan Xichen said, getting up very quickly. “I need to – go see –”

He didn’t even bother finishing the sentence before rushing off.

“Go with him,” Nie Mingjue said to Jin Guangyao, who blinked owlishly at him. “It’s going to be a shitshow, isn’t it? Politically, I mean.”

“Uh,” Jin Guangyao said.

“Really, da-ge,” Nie Huaisang said. “The notorious ostracized-by-the-cultivation-world demonic cultivator Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch, is abruptly reintroduced to society as my intended bride, only to be stolen away by the Lan sect’s Second Jade, the second most desirable bachelor in the cultivation world, in the middle of a wedding party thrown by Lanling Jin? I have no idea why you think this would so much as raise an eyebrow.”

“That’s a lot of words to say ‘shitshow’, which is why I didn’t,” Nie Mingjue said. “Meng Yao – Jin Guangyao – oh, fuck it, A-Yao, someone is going to need to keep their head about them and think about the political implications long enough to keep Xichen from getting himself into serious trouble, and you’re better at it than I am. Go help him. I’ll cover for you two here.”

Jin Guangyao still looked torn.

“Don’t listen to da-ge, he’s worrying too much,” Nie Huaisang volunteered his own opinion. “How much trouble can the Lan sect really get into over a matter of love?”

“I’m going at once,” Jin Guangyao said, and ran after Lan Xichen.

A moment later, Nie Huaisang handed the jar of wine back to his brother.

“Well done,” he said, voice much more neutral than it had been a moment before. “Assuming your goal was to deprive Sect Leader Jin of san-ge’s assistance while we define the situation to make it come out the way we want.”

“Couldn’t have done it without your timely assist,” Nie Mingjue said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He did so hate politics, and he hated being good at it even more. Truly there was nothing better, in Nie Huaisang’s opinion, than forcing his brother to relent and give in to the sneaky bastard half of his heritage. “Anyway, Sect Leader Jin is drunk and his heir is the groom, and thus occupied. It’s only reasonable that I, as the person with the next highest status, take charge of dispersing the news.”

“And by ‘dispersing the news’ you mean rehabilitate Wei-xiong’s reputation, get him reinstated in the Jiang sect, and arrange an appropriate marriage between him and Lan Zhan before anyone can complain about an inappropriate elopement, of course.”

“It’s called being efficient, Huaisang,” Nie Mingjue said.

“It’s called creating a countervailing alliance to the Jiang-Jin sect connection, getting both the Jiang sect and the Yiling Patriarch to owe our sect a favor – not to mention the Lan sect, too! – and conveniently also undercutting Sect Leader Jin’s authority just at the moment he’s trying to install himself as the new ruler of the cultivation world.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Huaisang,” Nie Mingjue said, finishing off the jar and putting it down. “I’m far too stupid to be considering any of that. Only good for swinging a saber, remember?”

Nie Huaisang sniggered.

“Yes, I remember,” he said. “You won a whole war against a much stronger, more numerous, and more unified force on Baxia’s strength alone, no brains required. How can I help? You want me crying or excited?”

“Whatever you think is best, Huaisang.” His brother solidified his scowling angry face, just the sort of thing a dumb brute might wear when dealing with politics that he was far too ignorant to understand. “Let’s go right some injustices, shall we?”

[wherethingscomebackx]

Top 25 Larry Fics of 2020

h 2020 was HELLISH. So thank you to all the writers, and I mean ALL of them, who kept us occupied as the world continues to burn.

You may be familiar with these lists:

Top 25 Larry fics of 2016

Top 25 Larry fics of 2017

Top 25 Larry fics of 2018

Top 25 Larry fics of 2019

We’re going on our 5th year!!  As always, I read a lot of fic and the majority of it is Larry. I like making lists and I like Larry so I thought I’d do some minimal research of the top 25 larry fics published/completed in 2020 in order of least to most kudos (with links). All of these fics are top notch so you should all check them out!

25.) a trail of honey through it all by @yvesaintlourent (27k)

The boy in front of him, well really, the man in front of him, was like something out of a confusing wet dream. Built, tall, tan and muscular, his skin glistened with sweat after a long day of working outdoors with his hands. He was wearing a cut up old American football shirt, the bottom hem was torn and the sleeves were cut off to the point where the t-shirt was really just a loose tank top. The shorts he had on had clearly been full length jeans at one point, and were now just crudely cut off above the knee. His white socks were pulled up too high on his calves, and the brown work boots he had on were old as fuck, the leather peeling along the edges of the soles. Curly brown hair stuck out from the edges of his backwards snapback, and there was a smudge of grease wiped along his brow bone. The smattering of hair along his jaw proved that he hadn’t shaved in a week or two, the hair growing in thicker across his upper lip and around his chin. His sinfully bowed mouth was pink and plump, and Louis was suddenly hyper-focused on the way that he chewed at the toothpick stuck between his lips. He looked like he needed a shower. Louis wanted to lick him.

Or, the TPH fic we’ve all been waiting for.

24.) even the best laid plans by @falsegoodnight (25k)

“Anyways,” Louis stresses, narrowing his eyes, “just let me say it and then rate how terrible of an idea it is on a scale from one to ten.”

“Alright,” Zayn agrees, sitting up expectantly.

“I want to ask Harry Styles to take my virginity,” Louis blurts, holding his hands out for emphasis.

The way Zayn’s eyes bulge is almost comical. “Negative infinity,” he says, voice choked. “Negative infinity times negative infinity.”

“Technically, a negative times a negative is -”

“Really negative infinity,” Zayn corrects himself, shaking his head wildly. “Louis, what the fuck?”

-

Or, Louis wants to have sex with someone and decides Harry is the perfect alpha for the job.

23.) A Distant Hazy Light by @greenfeelings (76k)

Life’s pretty ordinary for Harry. He lives with his best friend, got into university just like he’s planned, and manages to support himself just fine for an unbonded omega. If he sustains that lifestyle by getting paid to help alphas through their rut every now and then, that’s nothing to be hung up on. Until he’s hired by an alpha that turns everything upside down.

Or, Harry’s working on taking Louis’ walls down, until he builds his own up.

22.) Ghost Note Symphony by whoknows (96k)

Louis is on tour when he first hears about it. It’s all over the news – Harry Styles Attacked By Fan runs in headlines for days. It’s not even just the gossip rags, either. Actual journalists are covering the story. It would have been impossible to avoid hearing about it. Technically, Oli is the one who tells Louis about it, but it’s not exactly being covered up. Harry doesn’t answer Louis’ text asking if he’s alright, but that’s not really surprising. They haven’t spoken for months, and it’s been a lot longer than that since they’ve had a real conversation. The sting of the text going unanswered is still there, less painful than it might have been a few years ago.

It’s not that it’s easy to forget about, exactly. Louis has a whole life outside of One Direction now, though. So Louis goes on with his life, figuring that if Harry was seriously hurt he would have heard about it by now. He might currently be in the same country as Harry, but being on opposite sides of it puts enough distance between them that putting it in the back of his mind is easy. There’s nothing Louis could do, even if he thought Harry might want him to.

That’s why everything that happens next comes as a complete shock to him.

21.) Until by @allwaswell16 (38k)

Rural Eagle County, Colorado wasn’t the type of place to find a famous musician or actor. At least not until songwriter Louis Tomlinson showed up with pop star Niall Horan to visit his uncle’s horse ranch, and they just happened to find themselves next door to a reclusive former movie star.

20.) Strangers in Love by sweetums (42k)

Louis wakes up to find himself in a marriage with the last man he thought he'd ever end up with.

-

Prompt 51: An amnesia fic where louis and harry were enemies to lovers but after an accident, louis only remembers those memories that him and harry hated each other. now harry has to fix it. I think something like this less dark and less angsty compared to other amnesia fics and it could be funny

19.) A Long Way From The Playground by Pink_Sunsets (170k)

One Direction is broken up. They broke up five years ago. That should be the end of the story, right?

Harry is finished with One Direction. He now has a new life, one with two kids and a successful solo career. And he’s happy.

But a call one night from management flips Harry’s whole new life upside down, and he’s forced to face the life he had left behind.

As well as a certain blue eyed man who had left him behind.

18.) my love’s not simple (it’s fragile) by @falsegoodnight (27k)

“Can I take you out tomorrow?” he asks. “My shift ends at 7 but we can go for dinner at 8.”

Louis is silent for a few seconds and then, “Like… on a date?”

Harry swallows thickly. He hasn’t done this in years, hasn’t ever wanted to. “Yeah.”

He’s worried he’s misread things but then Louis raises his head to kiss Harry’s cheek. “Yeah,” he says easily. “Sure.”

Tension leaves his body swiftly. “Are you sure?” asks Harry. “I know we’re both so busy but I can’t not try with you, Lou.”

“Neither can I,” says Louis. “I think we can figure it out. I care about you a lot Harry. We’ve known each other for a week, but I already like you so much.”

-

Or Harry's new job is threatened by his impending rut. Desperate for a solution, he allows Niall to introduce him to Louis, an omega whose heat begins the same day. They click.

17.) Cocaine for Breakfast by @harryeatsburger (309k)

“It’s an easy job.” He continues, as if Louis wants to listen. “Like I said, a few trips. Parties, students, nothing dramatic.”

Louis gazes over to Harry. He’s looking thoughtful now, eyes on the green like he’s talking more to himself than Louis.

“Clubbing, drinks. Whatever, the business is just a side thing.”

That’s not how Louis remembers it to be, “You lying?” He honestly can’t tell.

Harry shakes his head slowly, meeting Louis' eyes.

“No,” He answers almost toneless. Harry clears his throat, “I won’t put you in any dangerous situation.” His voice is sincere, Louis can tell he means it, his jade green eyes glinting with truth.

or, - Louis Tomlinson is a drug addict, sent away from his beloved party-scene to recover. There, he discovers that small towns have just as much access to drugs as London did, plus something even better that he just can't get enough of. That something is a boy with green eyes and bouncy curls named Harry Styles. -

16.) Tastes like Strawberries by @sadaveniren (4k)

I’m stressed. I’m nesting and demand cuddles. Come over

Harry frowned and double checked who the text was from. Yup, it still said Louis - Grad, which meant it was from Louis from his grad school.

aka Louis texts Harry by mistake. It works out

15.) the way the storm blows by @rbbsbb (21k)

Louis doesn’t have a habit of thinking about Harry’s dick.

That would be weird, seeing as they’re best mates, and they share a flat, and they’ve spent holidays at each other’s family homes. Their friendship hasn’t ever risen to a point where Louis should want to see his mate’s dick, and he’s happy to keep it that way.

Except, all that Louis can think about is exactly that. The size of it. The shape. The amount of people it’s been in.

Maybe it’s the tequila talking, or the fact that Louis’ just recently walked in to an eyeful of Harry taking turns on some slags that he’s never seen before, but. Louis’ mind can’t stop obsessing over the idea.

14.) bruise you like a peach by @falsegoodnight (40k)

There’s two reasons Harry despises Econ.

The first is that it’s boring as fuck. The second reason is a bit more personal, a bit more focused in a way. As in it’s focused on one specific thing, or in his case, person.

His name is Louis Tomlinson.

13.) Watching The World Fall by whoknows (11k)

This segment has been going on long enough that Louis knows what’s coming before James starts in on it, trying to sell him on something he knows that Louis wouldn’t normally be buying. But there’s four cameras surrounding him, and an audience watching him expectantly, so if Louis wants to continue convincing people that he’s doing just fine, he’s going to have to go along with it.

“We have a whole host of single men backstage waiting to meet you, Louis,” James tells him. “We want to help you find love tonight, on Late Late Live Tinder. Is this okay? Do you want to play?”

It actually kind of makes sense that his first date after the break-up is going to be just as public as said break-up. Something like coming full circle.

“Alright, James,” Louis agrees, hopping down off his stool.

“Okay, come down to the stage,” James says. Louis can’t even tell whether the excitement in his voice is genuine or not. “Right now, come on down!”

12.) Quiet People Have the Loudest Minds by @2tiedships2 (38k)

Broadway shows were one of the few things that could keep Louis’ attention for a full two hours without needing to move about. But not tonight.

The alpha next to him was both infuriating him and practically turning him on at the same time. He needed to leave. The alpha, that is. Louis was staying.

Or the one where Louis is a nonverbal omega who has accepted the fact that he will never find an alpha that will treat him as an equal. On the other hand, he’s never met anyone like Harry.

11.) The Wrath of the Emerald Eyes by @purpledandeli0n (85k)

His chin is grabbed harshly, facing the two deep green eyes that have been getting on his nerves for the past ten minutes. The smirk on the man's face does not vanish. The grip of his hand on Louis' chin does not soften, his thumb at the side of his lower lip.

His smile widens as he answers Louis' question, ''My name is Styles, but you will call me Captain."

•

Pirate AU

10.) Canyon Moon by @eeveelou (40k)

For as long as Louis has remembered, he has been promised to be mated to Harry, his best friend and the future pack alpha. But Louis’s heart belonged to the forest and to the hunt more than he could ever imagine it belonging to Harry.

Then Harry’s father dies in a violent accident, and Louis’s future alpha disappears on the wind.

An A/B/O Lion King AU

9.) We Both Got Nothing to Hide by lovelarry10 (43k)

“Talk to me, Lou.”

“I can’t,” Louis mumbled, knowing he genuinely couldn’t say it. He couldn’t admit to what he was doing. “Don’t ask me to say it, because I can’t.”

“Then… I’ll try and guess. You’ve… got some stuff of Harry’s. Something of his to make it smell like him?”

Louis just nodded, eyes fixated on the floor. This was humiliating, but he knew Zayn wouldn’t stop until he found out what was going on.

“Okay. Like… a blanket, or a comforter or something?”

“Kind of…”

//

Omega Louis has a secret nest. Alpha Harry keeps losing his clothes.

8.) sleeping on our problems by @falsegoodnight (67k)

I’m in love with you, Louis thinks. He feels empty, weighed down by his sadness and the loss of Harry inside him just moments ago before his knot finally went down.

There’s moments where he’s sure Harry feels the same. Like now, when he’s gazing down at Louis with so much adoration and tenderness. It’s like they’re both on the cusp of something more, but neither of them ever say a word.

His confession is on the tip of his tongue ready to slide out like honey, and yet he remains silent. They both do, looking at each other and recognizing the reluctance mirrored in each other’s eyes. It’s then that Louis realizes they’re both scared.

-

Or Louis sleeps with Harry and they have more than just catching feelings to worry about.

7.) like it’s a game by @soldouthaz (32k)

there is little harry hates more than truth or dare.

and louis.

6.) before we knew by @falsegoodnight (39k)

“C’mon Lou,” says Zayn after a moment, He sounds even more exasperated than before. Louis sort of has a knack for exasperating people, especially people like Zayn who aren’t usually bothered by his brattiness. “Can’t you give this guy a chance? Harry Styles? Aren’t you curious about him at all?”

Despite his best efforts, Louis still flinches at the name. He really shouldn’t be so affected after all these years. He’s seen the name printed down the curve of his waist in obnoxiously and uncommonly large loopy letters every single day since his sixteenth birthday eight years ago. He’s very familiar with the name Harry Styles.

It sounds pretentious and Louis hates it.

He hates everything about his supposed soulmate.

He hates his large handwriting that stands out like a claim on his skin whenever he’s walking around shirtless. He hates his pretentious name. And now he hates his supposed curls and green eyes and dimples.

-

Or Louis has been skeptical of soulmates for years so it seems like fate when he finally bumps into the owner of the obnoxiously large signature printed into his skin since age sixteen: Harry Styles, a human rights attorney who is firmly against soulmates.

5.) Mine Would Be You by @crinkle-eyed-boo (114k)

Louis blinks his eyes open, his eyelids fluttering as the room swims around him. He takes several gulps of beer once he confirms that he’s definitely not hallucinating, that the very first portrait Harry Styles ever painted of him is hanging on that wall.

Louis stares at the wall, his heart jackrabbiting in his chest as he realizes that there’s not just one painting of him, there’s five, the portraits lined up like they’re some sort of storyboard depicting the rise and fall of his deepest love. His greatest heartache. A pain that cut him so deep that he left the fucking country, severing all ties with his life in New York, now suddenly surrounding him as if he’d never left.

Fucking shit motherfucker fuck.

Louis returns to New York City five years after he left it – and the love of his life – behind. He didn't intend to see Harry again, but fate has a funny way of pulling them together, whether they like it or not. After making a begrudging truce, they both start to wonder: Would it be so bad if history repeated itself?

4.) You’ve Got My Devotion (Hate You Sometimes) by @harryrainbows (95k)

Harry was in the biggest boy band in the world. He was also one half of the best (or worst, depends on who you ask) kept secret relationship in the music industry.

Now, almost five years on, after One Direction has broken up, and Harry and Louis' relationship has as well, a video threatens to put everything at risk.

One determined Irishman, a massive publicity stunt and two begrudging exes are all it takes to bring One Direction back to life and maybe, just maybe, Harry and Louis' mangled love life too.

Or: Harry and Louis are forced to fake-date after an old video from when they were dating emerges.

3.) The Space Between by @lads-laddylads (39k)

Harry Styles is the alpha rockstar who can’t sleep and doesn’t know why.

Louis Tomlinson is the omega PhD student who helps him figure it out.

2.) Nothing But You On My Mind by @absoloutenonsense (83k)

Louis Tomlinson is a PR manager hired to improve the image of royal bad-boy Prince Harry Styles. Unfortunately for him, that means being faced with the Prince's constant innuendos, incessant dirty jokes, and relentless flirting. Louis just wants to make it to Princess Gemma's coronation; once she's crowned Queen, his contract is up and he never has to see the Prince again.

1.) Collision by @tequiladimples (224k)

Mythology/Fairytale!AU in which Louis is a dainty fairy with a temper who wants to be intimidating and Harry hurts people. Naturally, they hate each other.

(Featuring Liam, the big and not-so-bad wolf who’s got a thing for humans, Zayn, a human with supernaturally good looks, and Niall, the cupid who just wants his job to be easier.)