#really trying to get this chapter posted by the end of the month *fingers crossed*

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

Here's a sneak peak for the next chapter of "When Sun Shines Again" which is Sunny and Hero's friendship centric! 💙💛

Hero’s hands began to tremble. He could hear Mari’s warnings about Sunny’s tendency to wander off echoing in his head—though that had been back when Sunny was five. He was sixteen now. Surely, he wasn’t going to get lost in a mattress store…

After combing through aisles with no sign of him, however, Hero began to get worried. “Sunny…” he quietly whispered, trying not to draw too much attention to himself or disrupt any shoppers. “Sunny, where are you?”

Finally, as he turned out of an aisle of king-sized sheet sets, he sighed in relief, finding Sunny lying down with his eyes closed on one of the made beds pressed up against a wall. Hero’s face flushed. Could he do that? He wasn’t really sure you were supposed to.

“Uh…Sunny…?” he awkwardly stumbled.

Sunny’s eyes fluttered open, and he blinked at him before he mumbled, “6 out of 10.”

“Wh—what?”

“This is a 6 out of 10,” he repeated, patting the floral duvet with his hand. Then he pointed to another bed nearby with striped bedding. “That one’s a 6 out of 10 too.” Then at another covered in messy throw pillows. “But that one’s only a 5 out of 10—it’s too soft.”

Hero tilted his head in confusion. “Are you…uh…rating the beds in the mattress store?”

Sunny nodded. “It’s one of my hobbies.”

[think-like-a-poet]

Continue the legacy Pt 1

Leclerc son x Verstappen daughter

masterlist

WC: 1,5 K

A/N: First Chapter. I promise that it gets better with time as we still have to come to the better part. This is some background information. Please let me know what you think. <3

2028

As Max crosses the finish line in first place, a wave of euphoria washes over the entire Red Bull garage. The sound of cheers and applause echoes through the pit lane, with crew members rushing to congratulate the newly crowned five-time world champion. GP's voice comes through Max's earphones, "Max Verstappen, you are a five-time world champion! What a phenomenal achievement!" 

As Max drives around the track, he takes a moment to soak in the adoration of his team and the crowd. He looks around at the sea of faces, taking in the sheer joy and elation that are palpable in the air. "Thank you all for this great season," he says, his voice filled with gratitude. "The car was incredible, and each and every one of you has worked tirelessly to get us to this point. I'm so grateful to have had such an amazing team behind me."

As he continues to speak, his emotions become more raw and heartfelt. "Since the start of this season, I've felt like I've been on top of the world. The team has been so supportive and kind to me, and it means the world to me. This is an incredible way to end my career, and I'm so grateful to have been able to share it with all of you." The team erupts in applause once again.

Max parks his car at Parc ferme behind the number 1 board. Next to him were Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, the two of his friends and newly world champions themselves. Standing on top of his car with five fingers in the air before running towards his team and launching himself on them. His mechanics ruffle his hair and give him pats on his back. 

Later on the podium, he stands on the top step, his face looking into the crowd. He sees his wife and daughters smiling up at him with proud faces. Well, Sofie wasn't really showing emotion because she was only a couple of months old, but Penelope was clapping with joy. For the last time, the Dutch anthem would be played for him.

As the Austrian anthem ended and the trophies were given to the three drives, champagne was flying around the place. Lando and Charles have made it their mission to shower the Dutch in the sticky liquid and celebrate his last podium. 

"Congratulations, mate." Charles pats his friend on the back before setting his champagne bottle down. 

"We are grateful that you let us win these last three years." Lando adds. 

"No problem. Sharing is caring." Max jokes and the other two drivers laugh in response.

As they settle in for the post-race interview, the three drivers are seated comfortably in front of a backdrop of gleaming trophies and team logos. Max sits in the middle, flanked by Charles to his left and Lando to his right. 

"Max, congrats on your fifth world champion and probably your last one as you retire from racing. Can I ask what your reason for your decision was?" 

"Firstly, thank you for your congrats. My decision to retire came from myself. At the beginning of this year, my daughter was born and I love to be able to spend time with her and the rest of my family. With racing, you are always all over the world and training and I don't think I can live with the fact that I am not home enough." The other people in the room listen intently, their faces sympathetic. On the sidelines, Max's family had been watching the interview, but his youngest daughter, who had been quietly observing from her mother's lap, suddenly began to cry. Her mother quickly whisked her away to a private area, trying to comfort the distressed child. 

"Charles, you're a father too, do you have any plans on retiring soon?" the interviewer asks, turning to the Ferrari driver.

Charles picks up his microphone and thinks a bit before speaking. "At this moment not. Of course, I have some years of racing behind me, so time will tell when I quit. Jules is a year and a half right now and I try to be there as much as I can." The man on the other side nods and thanks them both for their answers. 

"I don't really have plans on retiring. Thank you for asking," Lando jokes in a lighthearted tone, trying to lighten the mood. "Just being an uncle for now," Charles adds with a chuckle. Max laughs along with him, grateful for the distraction from his own emotional revelation.

Another person stands up to ask a question. "Max, is there already a person who is going to take your seat?"

"I don't think that is my place to tell. Just wait for the announcement." He sounds a bit annoyed at the end of his answer and the person just nods and doesn't ask any further. 

"Lando, you were champions last year, do you think you will be again with Max leaving?"

"Max is a great driver, it is no surprise he wins."

"I think that is a negative way to ask this question."

The interview went on some more, asking about the race and plans for the summer break. Max felt a bit sad knowing that this was his last time. but thoughts about his family made him know that it was the right decision.

"As the last question, Would you support it if your child chose to be a racing driver?" The three friends look between them to pick out who would answer first and Max just nods. 

"Of course. If Penelope or Sofie want to start racing, I can help them both. I take P karting sometimes with her father and she always likes it. I don't know if she wants to do it professionally, and time will tell for Sofie."

After Max puts his mic down, Lando starts. "I don't have a child now, but of course I will. Dreams are made to come true, and I support them in all of their decisions. If it is racing or not."

"As Lando said, dreams are made to be true. If Jules wants to do karting, I take him karting." They wrap up the interview and leave the room.

▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ ▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄

Later, when Max is back home in Monaco, he enters the apartment with Sofie in his arm. "Home sweet home." He places a kiss on her forehead and puts her in the crib next to the couch.

"Can we have pizza for dinner?' Penelope asks as she goes to sit on the couch. Max looks at his wife for approval and she smiles and responds. 

"Of course we can. What kind do you want?" Just when P wants to answer, her sister starts to cry and move around in her crib. 

Later, when Max is back home in Monaco, he enters the apartment with Sofie in his arm, relieved to be back after the busy season. The familiar sight of their living room brings a sense of comfort as he softly whispers, "Home sweet home," planting a loving kiss on Sofie's forehead before carefully laying her down in the crib next to the couch.

Penelope eagerly plops down on the couch and asks, "Can we have pizza for dinner?" Max glances at his wife, a grin tugging at his lips, seeking her approval. Kelly replies, "Of course we can. What kind do you want?" Penelope's eyes light up with excitement as she begins to rattle off her favorite toppings.

However, the rattle is interrupted by the little girl, who starts to cry and wriggle in her crib. Max and Kelly exchange a knowing glance, immediately springing into action to tend to their baby girl's needs. Max gently scoops her up, cradling her in his arms as he softly hums a soothing tune while Kelly prepares a bottle. The apartment is filled with the soft murmur of comforting words and the gentle rustle of a diaper change.

As the night progresses, the family gathers around the dining table, with different kinds of pizza laid out before them. Sofie, now content and snug in her high chair, beams up at her family, her innocent giggles adding to the joyous ambiance.

"My mom wants to know if we are coming for Christmas." Max points out between his bites. 

"I want to see Luka and Lio," P says.

"We can spend Christmas in the Netherlands and the New Year with my family." Kelly says. Max nods and lets his mother know that they will be there. 

After dinner, Penelope starts to get ready for bed after an exhausting day. Max and Kelly take a seat on their couch, ready to watch a movie, before heading off to bed. Sofie had been put in the crib in the master bedroom to not get interrupted from her sleep. The two cats jump on top of the couch and nestle against their dad as he gives them pats over their heads. The night went on and the couple drifted of to sleep on the couch

In the apartment not far from theirs, Charles enters his own. His wife quickly walks up and kisses him, their dog follows behind her. "Bonsoir, chérie. " Charles kisses the top of Alex head and kneels down to pet Leo.

"Jules is sleeping, I was just waiting for you." He smiles and walks over to the baby room. Jules was sleeping in a little Ferrari sleeping suit. Charles walks over and presses a soft kiss on his head, careful not to wake him up.

"Lets get to bed."

[agentstarkid]

This little story turns one year old this July 31st!

We hopped with Girlie on a rollercoaster of finding (true) love, being quarantined in a foreign country, lots of internet meanies, making new friends, angst, heartbreak, depresh sesh, finding love again and so much more to come -- What a wild journey it's been, and I'm so proud I took the leap!

Looking back a year ago, I can't believe how far this story and I have come. I remember being so full of uncertainty and nerves to post that first chapter, and now, a whole year later, I'm writing little blurbs and one-shots in a whole different language to my main one.

And to celebrate this milestone with you guys, the DAN-Y/N stans out there, and as a thank you for all these 365 days of support and love to Danielito & Girlie's love story—a.k.a. my baby—, I put together a list of dialogue prompts from where you can pick one—or as many as you'd like—and send it to me so I can write a little blurb to go with it!

You can request a specific moment on the fic you'd like to see more (c'mooooon, they were together for 2 whole years! Let's see if you've been paying attention hehe), or just make a general request with a quote of your choice (or you can suggest one! Can't promise much on this, but I'd try my best to bring it to life, unless it is smut. I can't write smut for shitzels yet soz).

I'll be accepting resquests for the next 2 weeks!

✧. ┊ Series Masterlist

P.S. Fingers crossed next month I can—finally—post a new chapter! Adult life has been kicking my ass these past months so please be patient with me! — But my inbox is always open to talk! :)

— All the dialogue sources are linked!

“These are way too many, omg, I’m being squeezed by these pillows, love!” “Well I just, you know, thought that since you like to hold on to me while you sleep but we can’t do that right now, I decided to bring you all these.” “Aww, I appreciate it, baby, but would you mind moving some? And even though I do have these, I will miss your warmth beside me.” 

“You weren’t uncomfortable back there, right? I just wanted to make sure you were all right.” “No, no, I wasn’t. Thank you for doing that.”

"You had no business looking that good back there."

"Those could be our kids one day." "What...?" 

“They don’t know you, love. They don’t know how much we love each other. Let them think what they want to. It doesn’t matter, you know why? Because you are enough. We are enough.”

“I don’t want you to be perfect, sweetheart. I want you to be who you are.”

“I…I wasn’t sure if you’d like this, so I just bought all the colors they had there.”

“Stoooop. Stop making me all…” “All… what?”

“Sorry. I just... like seeing that I have an effect on you, I guess.”

“Life would suck complete testicles if it weren’t for you.” 

“I like seeing you this way. so… at ease. makes me wonder how anyone could ever purposely put you under stress and live with themselves afterwards.”

"I know you're struggling right now, and it's okay, okay? We'll get through this."

“With you, I see a forever I’ve never envisioned before. Not that I didn’t want to, it’s more because I wasn’t able to… At least until I met you.”

“God, I really don’t want to leave”.

“I’m so deftly terrified of falling in love. Because what if I end up with a broken heart? That thought itself is just so scary to me. I want to, but I can’t get over that fear.” “Then how about you let me be that first step you take into falling in love? I can help you get over that fear, if you’d let me.” 

“People say they fall in love like they fall asleep — slowly, then all at once. But the way I fell for you can only be described as that feeling when you’re drifting off to sleep, only to feel like you’re falling, oh-so-suddenly. So suddenly that it ends up startling you awake; heart racing in your chest because it feels like you fell off the precipice of a cliff. It’s quick and sudden, and there’s no slowness to it. It’s a crash and burn type of love that I feel.”

“They say the second time’s the charm.” “Was the first time not charming enough for you?” “No, but the second time’s going to be even better, I promise.” 

“If people can hate for no reason,  then I can love for no reason too.”

“I dunno who taught you that love comes with conditions and limitations, but mine doesn’t. Not when it’s you.”

“I don’t know how to ask for help i just— I’ve never had anyone to ask for help from before.  so…this is me trying i guess.  I need it and i’m afraid to ask for it.  That's the best I can do.”

“You really think a relationship should be that hard?” “No one writes songs about the ones that come easy.”

“If you don’t kiss me, right now…” “Then what?” “Then I will have to do it myself.”

"I think destiny wants us to be together, and you should never argue with destiny.”

“What do you think is our song?”

“I can’t concentrate, when you look at me like that.” “Well, you should be concentrating on me instead, so…”

“Sing for me.” “What would you like to hear?”

“I feel like I can breathe better with you around.”

“You’re much better off without me.” “You’re not the judge of that.”

“I love you, okay?! And I can’t stay in your life when I’m just ruining it.” “You can’t just say that and don’t wait for me to answer.”

“Your mom is coming over today.” “Tell her to bring fried rice or she’s not invited.” “You tell her, she’s your mom.” “But she likes you more!”

“Wait, you can’t swim?” “I was always more into sports on land where, you know, I can’t drown.” “I will teach you!”

“Every night before bed I write three good things that happened to me. And every night I find myself writing down your name.”

“God, don’t do that. You’re going to make me go on Santa’s naughty list tonight.”

“This heart belongs to you, and only you. And I’d hope you want to keep it for a very, very long time.”

“What matters isn’t the place, but the person you’re with at that place. So this is to say, being with you is enough for me. So long as you are there, then all is well.”

“If you don’t wanna spend the night in a empty house, you could always come over to mine.” 

"Hey, i think i can fit over here in this corner." "What are you, a plant?" "Maybe. you shine on me every day, after all."

“I don’t know what the future holds. all i know is that i hope you’re in it. “

“Annoying you is what I’m best at.”

“You get to curl up in my lap, and I get to watch a cinematic masterpiece in peace and quiet. i think this is a pretty sweet deal.”

“This is your home, just as it is mine.”

“That was your master plan? Really?” “No, my master plan was having no plan actually.”

“When life gives you lemons, squirt the juice into your enemies’ eyes and watch them whimper.”

“Maybe i'm too late to be your first, but right now, i'm preparing myself to be your last.”

“Over everything, I choose you.”

“You’ve given me so many memories, I'd hate it if you become one”

“I hope you heal from the things you dont wanna talk about”

“I was gonna marry her…”

“Because you always been my ticket home…”

“Have you ever gone stargazing?” “yeah, i’ve seen your eyes a few times.”

"Oh God- why are you half-naked?" "nothing you haven't seen before, love" "it's freezing, go put on a shirt-" "Nah, you can warm me up." 

“You never have to fear that you’re losing me.”

“Aw, you brought out the smile.” “Which smile?” “The one reserved for the people you love.” “How could you even tell?” “Because that’s how you smile at me.”

“No, you’re not allowed to smile at me like that.”

“This is not some predestined soulmate shit or fate or whatever. I love you all on my own. Because you’re awesome and because I want to.”

“You know, I prefer you naked, but that dress also looks breathtaking on you.”

“Believe in the me that believes in you”

“Work can wait. You need rest.”

“I got the recipe from your mom, i hope i did it justice.”

“I think i deserve a cuddle for letting you stick your icy little feet on me all night.”

“Ok…so, umm I made this playlist for our first month anniversary. I hope it’s not too bad!” “Omg, this is- I can’t believe it! I always wanted someone to make me a playlist!” 

“You already are a handful. Together, you guys are insufferable.”

“I’m right here.”

“Careful, or I will fall for you.” “You’ll be fine. I’ll buy you some knee pads.” “Knee pads but no helmet?” “If you’re falling for me, you’ve already taken a hit to the head.”

“Uh-oh.” “What’s wrong?” “That’s their ‘oh, you messed with the wrong bitch, bitch’ face.”

“You look like an idiot.” “You know, other people would say it’s nice to see me so happy. Or that I have a beautiful smile.”

“I’ve never seen you this happy before.”

“(Congrats.) You’re one of us now.”

“Please, never apologise for wanting to be loved.”

“Come on. I’ll show you how to dance”

"Are you still mad at me? I mean, it's okay if you are. I'm mad at myself, too."

"Put your head on my lap and sleep a little."

 “I don’t want to go to bed angry…can we please talk about this?” 

“Your cheeks are really soft.” “Stop squishing them!”

“You didn’t have to do anything…” “But i wanted to.”

[theblackestvalkyrie]

#2 - Hulk - Oneshot (Pipe Game Series)

Pairing: Hulk (Bruce Banner) x Giantess!Reader

Summary: Hulk comes back from fighting in the arena and you couldn’t help but get turned on by his performance. Unfortunately, he takes “Hulk Smash” a little too literally. 

Warning:  Kind of awkward smut, dubcon, rough sex, hulk’s fat girthy cock, sex positive reader, unrealistic cervix fucking, pissing/piss kink, painful sex, accidental/surprise orgasm, slight somnophilia, size difference, NO BETA WE DIE LIKE MEN

A/N:  Keep in mind that there is no Bruce in this fic. It’s strictly Hulk in this one. Comic fans, y’all know they are NOT the same person like the movies try to make it so really, they should be in different tags but whatever. Unfortunately, the rating was 5/10 but I personally think he’d be a 9/10 just on size alone 🤤. Reader is sex positive Is that coded for whore? Maybe lmao. Don’t be offended as I am a proud whore myself and is also a giantess (when compared to other species). Kind of like Bilquis from ‘American Gods’. If you know you know 😏. I took this one too far and a bit off track but I am pent tf up sexually so please be easy on me lol.

PG Chapters: Tony //

Based on this post.

https://archiveofourown.org/users/witchbaby300/pseuds/theblackestvalkyrie

The crowd was electric. Their enthusiastic cries and cheers echoed throughout the arena rising and falling with the wins and losses of warriors as they fought for their lives in the arena. On any other night, you’d be on the prowl looking for someone to bed or drink with but tonight was different. The new champion was fighting tonight.

You licked your lips at the thought as you watched his enormous green figure leap around and smash through the opponents put in front of him. He had hardly debuted and fought just a handful of times but ‘The Incredible Hulk’, as he was introduced before fights, was someone who was quickly making a name for himself.

The Hulk wouldn’t be the first champion you had approached sexually but judging by how thick he was all around; he might just be the last. You couldn’t contain your sexually charged thoughts as you watched him from the seat of your aircraft hovering above the arena.

 Tonight would be the night you would make your move. You had been planning and plotting the entire week while also remaining celibate. Going without sex for a week while not ideal, would be doable but that one week stretched into a month as your schedules never seemed to align. But tonight the stars aligned. You had no scheduled fights and Hulk only had one match scheduled. So, you suffered through the entire thing squirming with legs crossed and slightly out of breath from just watching Hulk fight. Your clit mashed desperately against the seat, pelvis tilting back and forth in wanton desire.

You gripped the steering wheel to stop yourself from shoving your fingers where you needed them the most. The fight predictably ended in Hulk’s favor with the crowd and the Grandmaster going wild. Waiting was the hardest part. It would take some time for him to make his way back to his quarters which gave you plenty of time to land, park, and make your way to his room. You arrived just a few minutes after he entered his apartment you didn’t bother knocking. There was no privacy on Sakaar.

The red and white theme of the room just screamed Hulk. Trophies, both gifted and taken from his opponents by force, littered the floor and made up what little furniture he had. His room even had a full bar of high-end quality liquors and other mind-altering beverages on a fully stocked cabinet.

The Grandmaster's favoritism was blatantly obvious.

There he sat, a warm washcloth draped over his face, arms draped across his heated bathing pool, not a care in the world. You let your eyes trace downward towards his muscular thick chest and the sparse dark chest hair growing there trailing down his abdomen and obscured by the water.

In an effort to make yourself fully known, you let your footsteps become louder making more noise. Immediately he sat up alert and uncovered his eyes watching you like a predator. You and Hulk had never interacted up close but had seen each other in passing so were familiar yet complete strangers to each other.

“You did so well tonight, Hulk. I wanted to help you relax after such a hard job. Will you let me help you? Will you let me be your tool?”

Silence sat between you both as Hulk tilted his head in deep contemplation. You could practically see the gears turning in his head as his dark eyes pierced right through you.

“Hulk owns you?”

You could have come on the spot at his response. This was better than you could imagine. He must have thought you were one of the contracted sex workers the Grandmaster employed, and why wouldn’t he when you showed up with no underwear, a sheer bodycon dress, and zero inhibitions? Having a sexual tryst for a night was good but having someone sexually own you was a new level to you entirely.

“Yes.” No hesitation on your part.

“Strip.” A forceful command that left no room for argument.

You eagerly shed the thin soft fabric of your dress letting it pool around your feet. You could feel his eyes roaming your body studying your perky hard nipples and the intricate design of your pubic hair.

“Come” He gestured waving a wet hand out of the water and splashing water around without a care in the world for the surroundings. The first steps up to the pool were nerve-racking. While he made no move up to come to you, you could see him shifting around in anticipation.

It only made you more excited at the fact that he wanted you just as much as you wanted him.

Once you were fully into the warm pool the water settled above your belly button leaving your breasts dry and fully on display. You stopped a little shorter than an arm’s length in front of Hulk wondering if this was too close. It was almost comical to be worried about personal space when you entered his room without permission on the basis of fucking his brains out.

Hulk’s hand rose out of the water and cupped your right breast in shameless desire. He looked to be studying your chest like he had never seen a pair before caressing them with a gentleness that betrayed his size. A sweet silence settled between you two as you enjoyed his soft touch but at some point, you started getting tired of the sweetness.

You wanted to get fucked through the floor.

In a move of pure seduction, you slipped a hand under the water and straight to his cock stroking smoothly thanks to the lubrication of the pool.

Your fingers brushed the fat mushroom head as you took in his size. The head was hot even under the warm water and you struggled to wrap your fingers around it. His entire length measured from the tips of your fingers to the end of your elbow and then some. So many nights of struggling because you were a giantess. Nights of accidentally killing men unlucky enough to get sucked up into you during sex and men too scared to partake after hearing the rumors. It all lead to this glorious moment.

Hulk took his cue from you and slipped his fingers between your legs as well just discovering and exploring to his heart's content.

“You a virgin big guy?” You purred squeezing his length lightly.

“Maybe.” He huffed, half in annoyance half in arousal.

You giggled wrapping your other hand around what you couldn’t reach with the other hand still pumping him but adding a little twist to your wrist.

“Will you let me take care of you?”

He nodded and that was all you needed. Apparently, this was all he needed before standing in the deep pool. The water glistened and rolled off his muscles and down his happy trail to the deep v- cut of his pelvis exposing him in all his glory.

Your mouth started watering at the sight of his curved length. It was even better than anything your imagination could conjure up.

His weeping cock head spread precum along your cheek and lips as Hulk prodded your mouth open with his member.

“You suck me.”

You were granted a few seconds to take in all his splendor up close before his swollen head was banging on the back of your throat in inexperienced thrusts. Even with your hands gripping his hips in a death drip didn’t slow him down and you doubted much would deter him from the warmth of your throat.

You could feel your vision going spotty the darkness calling you and you flailed in panic a little. Hulk pulled himself from your throat and you gasped and coughed for breath ignoring the way the mix of saliva and precum dripped down your chin and throat obscenely.

Hulk lifted you over his shoulder and lumbered out of the pool to his trophy bed smacking your ass once and then dumping you on the bed saturating the sheets from your soaking wet bodies.

Unceremoniously he split your legs wide and ground his bloated cock tip into you bumping the nose of your clit and sliding back between your slick lips to your taint and back up again. Sawing back and forth in slow calculated movements.

Back and forth.

Back.

And.

Forth.

“We fuck now.”

He wasn’t even looking at your face but between your legs at his lewd movements. It was like you weren’t even in the room.

Yes please.” You squealed gripping the sheets in anticipation.

He moved then splitting your vaginal opening bigger than your fist. The stretching burned like nothing you had ever felt and you wondered in the back of your mind if this was how giving birth felt.

“Please wait…...Too big… Please….”

He ignored you and continued to push past any tight resistance living up to his title as champion and hit the opening of your cervix. You cried out as his thick girth split you immediately regretting ever approaching Hulk. Thankfully Hulk had enough thought to stop when he hit the doors of your cervix.

His large green hands gripped your hips and overlapped around your smaller figure. You might have been bigger than everyone you came across but Hulk made you feel small this very moment.

The room filled with the wet squelching sounds of your pussy getting hammered all you could do was spread your legs and hold on. You couldn’t keep up with his pace and the fact that it was bringing equal parts pain and pleasure confused you yet brought a feral arousal like you had never known.

“Gods, slow the fuck down!”

Your flailing was starting to annoy Hulk so he pinned you down with his arms and whole body pressing you into the mattress breathing into the side of your face.

“Don’t fight it.”

Babbling in delirium as he worked you over on his shaft like a cock sleeve with reckless abandon. Again the fat tip of his cock was banging at the doors of your cervix nudging you open with every hit. You were helpless to stop him from taking what he wanted.

You could feel the beginning strings of your orgasm knotting up and building. You couldn’t even form words. Falling over the edge with a sob you could feel yourself releasing liquid all over the bed.

Holy shit you just pissed yourself.

You didn’t even have a chance to catch your breath or feel embarrassed as you continued to piss all over the Hulk yet this did nothing to deter him. In fact, it incensed his primal urges and made him go harder smacking into you at a bruising pace as he chased his climax.

Another orgasm hit you by surprise making your vision spotty. Your tightening walls were all the Hulk needed to slam past the opening of your cervix filling it with the swollen crown of his cock and continuing to pump into you sloppily as he came. Drooling into the sheets you faded into a blissed-out darkness.

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

Coming to, the first thing you could sense was the wet squelching of your pussy still getting fucked. Unable to do anything but watch yourself get fucked in the reflection of the window. Fucking against the window so everyone can see. The Hulk growled possessively into your neck as he came into your stretched-out cervix with a groan.

“Mine…….Mine….”

[rearranged-fanfic]

(Update 6/3)

Sit down a spell, weary traveler. Come and sit by my fire; bask in the warmth of the flame and rest your aching scrolling finger. You'll be sitting a while, for I have a tale to tell:

Okay, so I've had a Toshiba laptop for the better part of ten years. Maybe a little longer. That laptop has survived being struck by lightning, submerged in a bathtub, and literally having a whole bookcase topple down onto it. I thought it was immortal...

I was sadly mistaken.

About six months ago, I noticed that the typing was getting sluggish. I'd patter away at the keyboard and the letters would appear with a bit of lag. That's fine, since I use Dragon to talk-to-text for quite a bit of my writing. I really only use the keyboard for final assembly, editing, and doing quick rewrites. So, it really didn't bother me. Fastforward to April, which we will call The Great Depression. The time discrepancy between typing and having letters appear on screen became a whopping 40 seconds. Yes, I timed it.

But that was okay, because I could still use my Dragon headset.

Until I couldn't.

It would connect, but the words wouldn't appear on screen. I made sure that all of my programs were up-to-date, and that everything was working. The headset connected to my family's computers just fine. So that meant it was something wrong with mine.

Without being sure if it was the hardware or software at fault, I backed everything up to OneDrive and Google Docs.

I factory reset.

Twice. To no avail.

Over the next few days, my laptop stopped registering any keyboard input at all. It got to a point where I wasn't able to turn it on or off.

Taking it to an electronics store to get repaired didn't help, either. No luck. They said that it would be more cost effective to just buckle down and get a new one, since the age of the laptop meant that I would probably be constantly maintaining it.

My poor Toshiba died kicking and screaming, putting up a fight worthy of an epic ballad.

I saved up for a few weeks, got a new laptop, and went through the rigmarole of getting all of my programs back on it. My files are in order. My life is in shambles (but that's normal, LOL).

I DID do some story work without my computer, but... it's bad. Like, I'd die in shame if I posted anything that I thumbed in. So. Many. Spelling. Errors. How people write on their phone is beyond me. That's a talent I simply don't possess.

At this point, I'm thinking of renaming this story "HIATUS" lol. JK. But I'm seriously peeved that this happened after my last big break. Why couldn't the Depression and laptop breakdown coincide nicely? I guess that's too much to ask of the universe *Shakes fist at the sky*.

I'm creating a damn bingo card for every stupid thing that happens to me while I try to write. Because this is getting ridiculous. I broke my fingers, there was a total solar eclipse, I had a major-ish mental breakdown, and my computer bit the big one. With a free space, that's a bingo. Let's hope I don't get a blackout before the end of 2024.

I doubted the fanfiction curse. I really did. But it's apparently real. And this writer's curse has teeth, people. It bites hard.

I have my MerMay two-shot pretty well done (because I was typing it during The Great Depression), but the next chapter for REARRANGED is still rough. Crimson Chapter 3 is halfway done, but who knows how long that'll take.

The bottom line is that I'm alive and still working on the stories. The next update on this blog will be the posting of several chapters for a few different works. Fingers crossed.

Also, I'm very, very slowly answering the comments in my AO3 inbox. Some of them were pretty lengthy, so it might take a bit. Oof.

If there ever comes a time that I drop this fanfiction or am unable to continue for whatever reason, either I or my husband will be posting the entirety of my outline, as well as anything that's been pre-written for you guys to enjoy. That way there are no questions left unanswered or mysteries unsolved.

[startrekfangirl2233-writes]

I Really, Really Wanna Love You (But I can't say the word I want to, cause they won’t play it on the radio)

Part 3 of Sometimes All You Need (A Getaway Car)

Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Reader

Description: You've been dating Jake Seresin for three months and while they've been fantastic, you can't help feeling a bit unsatisfied with how intimate you are with each other. Jake's the consummate gentleman, always opening the door for you, pulling your chair out, and walking you places with his hand at the small of your back. And the kisses? The kisses make you weak, literally, at the knees. But he always stops you before it can get any further. When he asks you to put on something special for a fancy dinner, you plot to get him exactly where you want him; in your bed and in your arms, all night long.

Disclaimer: Insecurities on the part of Gorgeous Girl, Miscommunication, Smut, Blow Jobs, P-in-V Sex, Smut,

Warnings: afab!reader

Word Count: 6063

A/N: This is the third chapter to Sometimes All You Need (A Getaway Car). It picks up three months after Gorgeous Girl and Jake first meet and have their first date together. This is officially when we make the jump from kissing to smut, so I'm going to say it once again. MINORS DNI. ANY BLANK OR AGELESS BLOGS INTERACTING WITH THIS BLOG WILL BE BLOCKED. 18+ ONLY. This chapter is a lot of smut with some plot involved. There is some mis-communication going on between Jake and GG, but as expected from the sweetest, sexiest man in existence he makes it all better. This chapter is sponsored by the song LOVE U by Monsta X (who I pull the title from) and Glen Powell in the black-on-black suit he wore for one of the Devotion Premiere events late last year. He's honestly the best muse a girl could ask for. I have a billion kisses for the amazing @pumpkinfairybun, my bestie and loml for proofreading 6k of smut for me!

AO3: Cross-posted here! My Masterlist

Previous Part | Series Masterlist | Next Part

You’ve officially been dating Jake Seresin for three months, and they’ve been fantastic, except for one thing. He’s the consummate gentleman who’s always opening the door for you, pulling your chair out, and walking you places with his hand at the small of your back. And the kisses? The kisses make you weak, literally, at the knees. But he always stops you before it can get any further. You’ve had to work your way up to touch his bare chest, and the only time you managed that was when you were out on the beach, and he hefted you up to throw you in the water. You had clutched at him as he swooped you into the cool ocean water in the heat of a typical San Diego summer and squealed when a wave had nearly swept your feet out from under you. He’d pulled you against his chest, kissing you as the wave dissipated before setting you down on your feet. That had been your fourth date, a picnic on the beach complete with sunscreen, swimsuits, and sunglasses.

You had been on many dates after that, and each night you’d ended up alone in your bed, fingers furiously working at your clit while wishing he was there with you, that it was his hands and mouth getting you off. You’d dropped all of the hints. Inviting Jake in for coffee had worked to get him as far as the sofa in your living room. Make-out sessions resulted in you in his lap, moaning into his mouth while trying desperately to get his hands under your top, dress, or skirt, all to no avail. He always stopped you, carefully pushing you away from the tent in his pants while his eyes darkened with arousal. He wanted you, and he couldn’t hide that from you. But he refused to do anything about it. And you had finally had enough. You wanted Jake Seresin in every way possible, and you’d go to any means to get him exactly how you wanted him, too. 

He’d told you to wear something fancy for a dinner date, and that was when you’d begun plotting. You started by shopping with Callie and her new girlfriend, another aviator in the squadron, Natasha. They were both the sexiest women you knew and exuded sex appeal even while surrounded by men all day long. Thanks to Callie, Natasha also knew every salacious detail, or lack thereof, about your relationship with Jake. She also had the benefit of knowing Jake through her career with the Navy as well. So as far as you were concerned, you had an inside woman into ways to make Jake drool. Or at least, that was your rationale a few days before your date when you met Callie and Natasha at a boutique downtown to shop for your dress, lingerie, and shoes. Lingerie shopping was about as you expected. You must have tried on a dozen different sets and then stood shivering in the shop A/C, half-naked, twirling inanely in circles as Callie and Nat, as she’d asked you to call her, analyzed each set. They’d vetoed each set you’d tried on in your size, and you were starting to get frustrated. At least until Callie had tossed you one final set over the top of the fitting room door.

It was a strappy, black lace push-up bra and lacy panties. They felt buttery soft on your skin, and you looked and felt amazing in them. When you walked out, the wolf whistles you got from Callie and Nat sealed the decision. Even the price tag didn’t detract from your choice. The tiny little bag holding your purchase made you smile as you picked out the perfect dress and shoes. Nat and Callie also talked you into getting your hair and nails done. So you were primped, primed, and shaved all over on the night you hoped would be the date. You do your hair first, sticking with simple curls that glisten in the light, followed by natural makeup. You then carefully slip into the lingerie, pulling at it until it lays perfectly flat against your skin. You look incredible if you do say so yourself. The shoes make your legs look miles long, and you’ve just slipped into the dress and zipped it up halfway when the doorbell rings. You carefully step down the stairs in the sky-high heels you’d picked and open the door to Jake, looking the most handsome you’ve seen him yet in fitted black slacks, a crisp black button-down shirt, and a blazer. He is coiffed without a hair out of place, and a polished watch gleams on his wrist.

“Hi, Jake!” you’re smiling as you gesture to him to come in. “Give me two minutes to put on my lipstick and grab my clutch and jacket, as well as a hand zipping up this dress, and I’m ready to go.” 

“Sure, beautiful,” he’s smiling too, that soft grin he only uses with you as you turn to grab your clutch and slip your phone into it. What you aren’t expecting as you face the small table in your foyer is the hands carefully pushing your hair over your shoulder. They linger on your skin, sending trails of heat over you as they smooth over the lacy garments under the dress.

“Fuck, gorgeous,” he’s groaning, hands hot against your skin, eyes darkening in the mirror in your foyer as he looms over you. 

“What’s this little thing you’re wearing under this dress?”

You shrug with a mischievous grin as you stare into his eyes in the reflection. “It could be lingerie. I guess you’ll have to find out.” 

Now it’s your turn to gasp as he presses a kiss against the base of your neck while zipping the dress up. You can feel his smile against your skin as he kisses you in the same spot again. You turn in his arms and peck his lips, purposefully keeping the press of lips chaste. 

“Dinner? I’m ready to go if you are Jake!” You’re grinning at the betrayed look on his face as you step away, pursing your lips in the mirror as you swipe your preferred burgundy shade on, and shrug on your jacket.

“Dinner, gorgeous girl.” His eyes promise something special after dinner, which is what you want. 

You’re laughing and chatting happily with him as he opens the door to his truck and helps you into the passenger seat. The only indication that he’s still keyed up from the glimpse of your lingerie is the hand on your bare thigh through the slit of your dress, achingly close to where you want him but not quite there. His chivalrous mask is cracking already, and you cannot wait to see what happens when it finally crumbles off. 

Jake’s managed to get reservations at Nobu, and you’re impressed by his chopstick etiquette as you both enjoy the sumptuous omakase meal. Partway through the meal, with a sip of sake, you push the game's stakes higher and slide your heel up his thigh. He nearly chokes on his sake as you teasingly massage his cock with your foot. You’re pleased to see the heat in his eyes. But you’re more insulted at the feeling of his hand on your foot, stopping you and carefully setting your foot back down. You can feel your smile flagging, chest aching at the thought of all the effort you’d made to make him want you like you wanted him. That one action dampens the mood for the rest of the meal, and though you’re trying to smile at him and participate in the conversation, you’re sure he can tell how frustrated and stupid you feel. It isn’t until Jake has paid, for once without your protests, and you’re back in the truck, that the tension boils over.

“Jake?” Your voice is calm, calmer than you expected when you start talking. “At dinner, when I tried to play footsie with you, did I do something wrong?” You can feel your voice quivering as you continue. 

“I wanted to show you that I want you. I love that you’re a gentleman, but I also want you to desire me. I’ve wanted you to desire me for a long time now!” You’re sniffling, trying to keep from sobbing completely. 

“And it hurts so badly that you push me away when we start to get intimate. I bought lingerie for you! I shaved everything, bought this dress and these heels, all for you, and it’s still not enough! When will I be enough for you? Will I ever be enough for you?”

It’s silent in the car. You’re blinking back tears while staring out the window. Even the radio isn’t on to punctuate the hush. You glance sideways every once in a while to see his eyes only on the road. His jaw is clenched on another one of his toothpicks, knuckles white against the steering wheel, biceps bulging in the fitted blazer as he continues to drive you home. This is the end of this relationship, the best one you’ve ever had. And you tanked it by being too horny, too needy. He’s livid, and you can tell. He pulls the truck into your driveway, exits, and yanks your door open. He’s an ominous presence looming over your shoulder as you unlock the door and step in, letting him through after you.

“Goodnight, Jake.” Your voice is thick with tears as you collapse onto the bench in your foyer and struggle to undo the straps on your shoes. You can feel his sigh across the top of your foot as he kneels before you and frees each foot from its heel. He then stands and carefully pulls you into his arms. Crushed against his chest and surrounded by the scent of his cologne, you can’t help the sobs that shake your body. He’s tender, soothingly massaging your back as your tears finally taper off. Thankfully you’d managed to keep your makeup from smearing all over in your crying fit.

“Now that you’ve gotten all your tears out, can I talk to you, beautiful?” His voice is soft. You can feel the hourglass run out on this relationship. You can only nod like you’re expecting the oncoming train wreck to plow through you. You both strip off your outerwear, laying the garments on the bench you were just sitting on. Jake takes your hand and pulls you into your living room, pushing you to sit on your sofa. You watch him as he fills a glass of water and makes you drink it. He doesn’t speak until you’ve set the empty glass on the coffee table and finished patting your tears away with a tissue. 

“What, sweetheart, makes you think that I don’t want you?” His brow is furrowed as he speaks, settling onto the sofa. “I don’t want to pressure you into doing anything you’re not ready for.”

“And what about tonight? I pulled out all of the stops. I bought everything I’m wearing for you to take off!” you huff.

“Sweets, I had to stop you at the restaurant because if I hadn’t, I would’ve cum in my pants like a teenager. I never meant to hurt you. I should’ve told you the truth. I want you so much.” His smile is sheepish as he musses up his hair. “I just wanted you to make the first move. And then when that move came, it was too much for me to handle.” 

“Jake,” You’re sheepishly grinning yourself, “I should’ve told you how I felt too. We could have been incandescently happy if I had just told you what I wanted. I feel so stupid.” You settle back against the cushions and intertwine your fingers with his. All the anger and embarrassment fade as you sit slumped against each other and unwind. It feels comfortable sitting in silence with Jake. 

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry.” He sounds exhausted. “I’d understand if you don’t want to see me again.” His words send a jolt of unease through you. You don’t want to stop seeing him. You never want to stop seeing him. You never expected your insecurities to make him feel so bad, so unsure about what you feel for him. It aches in your chest, the thought of seeing him with someone else, making someone else feel as happy as he makes you.

“Jake, I don’t want to stop seeing you.” Your words fail you, and instead of trying to express the jumbled mess that is your emotions and feelings for Jake, you settle for kissing him. You pull away, staring into his eyes, “I know it’s probably too soon to say it, but I’m fairly sure I am falling in love with you.”

His eyes widen, mouth slackening in shock, before clearing his throat. “Gorgeous, it’s not too soon. I’ve wanted to tell you I love you for a while too.” 

At his smile, you kiss him again, using just enough teeth and tongue to deepen the kiss into make-out territory. You’re gratified to feel him pull you closer when you slip into his lap. You’re both grinning as you kiss each other, teeth clashing. But before long, the kisses you're sharing have left chaste behind and become filthy wet hot things that send heat ricocheting to the apex of your thighs. Jake is similarly affected if the groan he lets out as you grind your core over his bulge is an indication. 

He drags you into one more filthy kiss, one arm wrapped around your waist while the other pulls the zip on your dress down to the base of your spine. His mouth sends goosebumps over your skin, making you moan his name. Jake pushes the straps of your dress off your shoulders while lavishing kisses down the column of your throat. His sigh of appreciation is like music to your ears when he finally catches the sight of your soft skin framed in obsidian lace. 

"Fuck, gorgeous girl." His mouth is wet against the swell of your breasts as he peppers kisses over them, sucking gently to place hickeys against your decolletage. "You look so beautiful in this lingerie. If I'd known this is what you were wearing under your dress, I would've never let you out of the house." He tugs you back into another kiss but groans when you drag your fingers through his hair and pull him away using your grip on the golden strands.

He's a vision sitting on your sofa when you step out of reach of his hands and let your dress pool to the ground around your feet. His hair is mussed, his lips spit slicked and wet, and traces of your lipstick are smeared over his mouth. He looks claimed, marked as yours. The arousal in his eyes strengthens when you drape his discarded blazer around your shoulders and beckon for him to follow you as you pad your way up the stairs to your bedroom. He catches up outside your bedroom door and turns you to face him again. He pushes the jacket off your shoulders and smashes his mouth to yours.

"Jump." He growls against your mouth, and you feel even more arousal seep, sickly sweet, through your veins when he catches you and presses you against the wall. You shudder against him as he kisses down your throat, hands working in tandem at your back to free your breasts from their lace prison. After he's flung the bra away, he drags his tongue over your breasts, drawing one into his mouth. His mouth feels incredible against your peaked, hard nipples; the licking, biting, and sucking sending frissons of pleasure down your spine. You're so consumed by Jake and the wet heat of his tongue that you don't notice you're in your room until he places you on your bed with a kiss to your sternum.

"Sweetheart," his voice is rough with arousal, "I'm feeling a bit overdressed. Would you help me take off my clothes?" 

You scramble up to your knees and off the bed. Now it's your turn to touch and worship his skin. You undo each button of his shirt, shoving it off his shoulders while peppering kisses across his pecs and letting your teeth and tongue catch on the ridges of his abs. Jake’s eyes are blown wide, only the thinnest ring of emerald left when you fall to your knees and undo the button for his slacks. He steps out of them and groans when you press kisses against the wet spot in his boxers. You slip your hand in and gasp at the feeling of him. He's thick and hot, skin velvety as you free him from the constricting fabric and lick a stripe up his length. There are already pearls of pre-cum drooling from the tip, bursting bitter and salty-sweet on your tongue as you lick at his flushed length and stroke him with both hands wrapped around him. Your mouth floods with saliva at the thought of him in your mouth. You start slowly, enveloping just the tip. You drag your tongue gently across the underside of his cock and flick it languidly over the ridge under the head. 

“Sweet girl, don’t tease,” he groans when you pull away, a string of saliva connecting your mouth to the tip of his dick. The groan transitions into a full moan when you blow cool air over his flushed cock and draw him back into your mouth deeper than before. The muscles of his thighs twitch as you set a frantic pace, throat relaxing as you suck on his dick. The final straw for his control is when you peer up through your eyelashes at him with your mouth stretched obscenely around his cock. 

“Gorgeous,” he’s panting, chest heaving, and muscles tense, looking down at you, “can I fuck your mouth?” 

At your nod, he pulls you up into a filthy kiss, during which he drags the sopping lace of your panties off before pulling your hair into a loose ponytail at the base of your neck, keeping his hand cradled against your skull. You drop back to your knees in front of him, mouth open and glistening with saliva as he feeds you his cock. He starts slow, pistoning his hips gently, only speeding up and deepening his thrusts when you cradle his balls with your hands. Soon he’s fucking your mouth in earnest. A burn sets into your jaw at the strain, but you don’t even notice, consumed by Jake and your growing arousal.

“Baby …… sweetheart…… gonna come,” he’s grunting, the words barely clear. “Can I come in your mouth?” He’s still trying to be courteous, asking you for permission like that. Your only response is to suckle rougher at the mushroom tip of his cock. With a choked-off moan, he’s coming down your throat, cock twitching with the force of his release. His eyes are heavy-lidded as he slowly pulls his still-hard length from your mouth and drags you into a kiss. He doesn’t mind the taste of his cum still on your tongue if the moan that rumbles through his chest is proof. 

“Jake,” your voice is rough, “I want you.” Your arms are wrapped around his neck, caressing the short hairs at the base of his neck as you breathe into his mouth, lips slanted against each other. His hands are pressed against your ass and across your back.  You breathe in the scent of his cologne mixed with his musk as your heart rate slows, and you grow accustomed to feeling his skin against yours. 

“Bed, sweetheart,” he murmurs, feathering one last kiss against your lips before tossing you onto the bed and covering your body with his. You let him take control, peppering your skin with wet hot kisses as he likes, tasting every inch as he goes. He lavishes more attention against your breasts, rolling a pebbled nipple with his calloused fingers while lapping at the other. Each caress sends heat shooting to your core. It seems both forever and too soon until he’s finally settled between your thighs, leaving the marks of his love across your skin, his broad shoulders holding your thighs apart as he gazes adoringly at your wet folds.

“Oh, you’re so beautiful, my gorgeous girl.” That damned Texan drawl is back in full force as he speaks, drawing a finger through your slick folds and flicking his tongue out to taste. 

“And you taste so sweet.” You can’t respond when he’s dipped his head to lick a stripe over your folds. The sensations make you moan, grasping at his hair with one of your hands while clutching at his rock-hard forearm wrapped around your hips with the other. He sets upon eating you out like a man starved. His fingers dip into you, massaging your tight walls until he finds the spongy spot that makes you tug at his hair and see stars. The wet heat of his tongue as he traces figure eights over your clit doesn’t help either. He’s only been making you moan his name for a few minutes when you feel the coil in your gut tighten. You’re only moments from cumming, harder than you ever have.

“Jake … Jake … Jake!” You chant his name as you tug on his hair to get his attention. He pulls away from your weeping cunt with a wet kiss on your mound before sliding up to face you. His mouth and chin are coated in your arousal.

“What is it, sweets? Did something not make you feel good?” He’s still your gentleman, even buck-naked with his hard cock pressing against you. You tug him into a kiss, moaning at the taste of yourself on his tongue.

“No, Jay,” your voice is soft as you drape your arms around his neck. “Was gonna come. Wanted to give you a warning.” He presses his fingers back into your wet cunt, grinning at how you moan under him. You drag his mouth back to yours in a messy kiss that is all teeth, tongue, and saliva. He scissors his fingers in you, making you moan and arch your back until your hard nipples brush against his chest. 

“Baby,” his voice is velvet soft as he fucks you mercilessly with his fingers. You’re writhing under him, hips chasing his hand as he pumps it in and out of you, “cum for me. My beautiful girlfriend. Wanna make you cum. Wanna see you cum.” 

“Jake!” Your breathy moans fill the air as he draws your orgasm closer.

“Jake!” You’re screaming his name with each press of his fingers, rapidly crashing toward your orgasm. Your fingers dig into his shoulders as you come with a silent scream. He finger-fucks you through the entirety of your release, stopping only when you begin to push at the hand between your legs. He’s trying to kill you, is all you can think when he pulls his hand away and licks your slick from his fingers.

“Jay?”

He grins that panty-dropping heart-stopping grin when you call his name.

“Hiya, gorgeous. How do you feel? Are you hurting? Do you need anything?” He’s beside himself, trying to make sure you’re okay. 

You chuckle, pressing a kiss against his jaw, “I’m fine, Jay. Better than. You could even say that I’m good. Very good.”

He’s chuckling, too, as he turns the both of you over until your head is pillowed against his chest. His hands trail lazy circles across your back as you feel sweat cool against your skin. 

“Jay?” He asks once you’ve both caught your breath. 

“Yeah,” you smile, pressing a kiss over his heart, “a nickname for you. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all, darlin’.” You can feel the rumble of his voice in his chest from your spot draped over him. He’s still hard against your thigh, and the feeling of his cock against your skin sends a low level of arousal shooting through you. You slide over him, straddling his waist and pushing his hands up, intertwining your fingers with his own. 

“Now, what are you doing, sweetheart?” 

You kiss the smirk off of his face and stroke his cock gently. 

“Well, Cowboy, I was thinking of giving you a ride. You game?” Your smirk rivals his own as you sit perched against his chest. His big hands rest on your waist, thumbs rubbing circles on your skin. 

“I guess I could oblige if a little lady wanted to go for a ride.” His voice is all southern charm as he looks up into your face. “Do you have a condom, baby doll? Cause I have a few in my wallet.”

You kiss him before finding his discarded slacks and pulling out his wallet and the condoms he mentioned. He’s posed alluringly amongst the mussed sheets of your bed when you turn back to the bed. 

“Who’re you trying to charm, huh?” You ask Jake, leaving the condoms at the head of the bed as you try to get him onto his back again. He’s tickling you now, your laughter leaving you breathless as you try desperately to escape his fingers. 

“Jake! I thought you promised me a ride, handsome?”

He finally lets you manhandle him onto his back with your fingers intertwined. Now, he’s eager to comply, especially when, as you reach for the condoms, it leaves your breasts against his face. Right in range for him to get his mouth on them. You let Jake mouth at your skin for a moment before pulling away, condoms in hand.

“Jay…” You carefully run your fingers through his hair, tipping his jaw to slant your mouth down to his. “Let me take control. Can I make you feel good? Please let me make you feel good?” 

“Doll, you can do whatever you want with me. I promise I’ll like it all.” God, his voice sounds like pure sex — throaty and gorgeous. You kiss him just for those sweet words and rip a condom open. He groans as you carefully roll the condom down his flushed length. You slowly pump your hand over him twice more before guiding him into you. You’ve only got his tip in you, and he already makes you feel so full. He’s so thick! 

“Take it slow, beautiful. We’ve got all the time in the world.” He’s massaging your hips again, big calloused hands tender on your skin. You kiss him until you can feel the stretch ease, glad you’re wetter than ever. Setting your hands on his stomach, you start bouncing on his cock. You’re slow, enjoying the drag of his length in you and the look on his face. He’s blushing, and you can see the blush going down his chest as you pick up the pace. You can already feel the pressure in your core, your second orgasm building faster and harder than the first. Jake’s got his head thrown back, babbling praises and how much he loves you as you tip forward and leave your own marks against his neck. You can feel sweat trickle down your neck and between your breasts as you bounce, your thighs tensing and aching with each subsequent thrust. Jake sits up and cradles you against his chest, kissing you first and then sharing breaths as he helps you bounce on his length. The last straw for you is when he uses his fingers to gather some of your mixed arousals at the base of his cock and rubs your clit. You cum hard, seeing stars, cunt clenching tight on his length. Only a few stuttering thrusts of his hips later, you feel him follow you over the cliff into his orgasm after you.

You return to yourself slowly. A warm washcloth runs over your skin and your tender core. 

“Jake,” Your voice is hoarse. He brushes your sweat-damp hair out of your face before kissing you. He’s already wearing his boxers, which is a crying shame, even if your sexual appetite is fully sated.

“Doll, you are a vision.” His voice is gentle as he finishes wiping both of your mixed arousals from your skin. “How do you feel?”

“I’m a little sore.” You stretch before crawling into his lap and kissing his throat. He cradles you to his chest. “I like when you call me Doll, by the way.”

“Doll just seemed like the perfect thing to call you at the moment,” he’s grinning, loose and relaxed, “Especially with how you looked bouncing on my dick like that.” He kisses the crown of your head before continuing, “I took the liberty of drawing you a bath and can help you get into it.”

“Jay, you might have to carry me.” Your smile is rueful. “You fucked all the strength out of my legs. And I need a few moments in the bathroom alone. After, though, that bath sounds amazing, especially if you’ll join me?”

“I’ve got you, beautiful. You won’t get a UTI on my watch.” 

He stands easily, shuffling you until you’re in a bridal carry in his arms. You peck his jaw as he carefully sets you down at the threshold of the bathroom door and closes the door, leaving just a crack. 

“Call for me when you need me, doll.” 

You feel as weak as a newborn colt as you carefully take care of business and tie your hair into a bun. The bathtub is full of a mountain of bubbles, steam rising from the hot water in waves. You can’t stifle your pleased gasp as you settle into the water, letting it soothe every muscle in your body. You can feel every limb grow heavy, and your eyes close.

“Hey, sweetheart, feel good?” Jake’s voice sounds amused, and so does his face when you force your eyes open. You must have been dozing in the hot water, but thankfully, it hasn’t been too long since the water is still hot.

“Sorry, Jay,” you murmur, yawning so hard your jaw cracks, “I guess I fell asleep.”

“It’s alright, doll. You still want me in there with you?”

He chuckles when you make grabby hands at him but complies, taking his boxers off and stepping into the tub behind you. His hands gently trace your thighs, stomach, and breasts, drawing you to sit comfortably against his chest. You tip your head back, eyes fluttering closed, and wrap your arms around the hand he has against your breast.

“Don’t fall asleep on me again, sweetheart!” Jake’s voice is a pleasant rumble against your skin as you lazily press a kiss against his jaw.

“Not sleeping. Just resting my eyes.” Your voice is whisper soft as he turns you so you’re slumped over his lap and against his chest.

“Doll, you gotta help me get us all cleaned up and in bed.” His voice is tender and cajoling as he kisses you. Your limbs feel heavy and sluggish, but you do your best to move for him. It’s obvious to you both that you won’t do more than paw clumsily at his chest in your sleepy haze. Jake takes matters into his own hands and wakes you up, though, when his fingers trail teasingly through your sensitive folds. He's grinning wickedly as you jolt in his arms at the sudden overstimulation.

"Jay!" Your voice is all petulant whine as you tug his hands away from your tender core. "I'm awake. I'm awake." He's unrepentant, pulling you flush until you are chest to chest. The both of you relax in the hot bath water, muscles loosening as time passes. The water's just getting cold when you peck his smirking lips and murmur, "Shall we take this to the shower instead?" 

"Only if you promise you can stand on your own two feet for me, Baby Doll. Gotta get my messy girl all clean before bed." 

Getting called 'his' sends a silly fond grin to your mouth as you pull the plug and carefully step out. You're setting the shower to your liking, hair in loose waves down your back when he steps in after you, the water hot as it beats a tattoo on your skin.

"God, sweetheart." His voice is quietly amused, "You're one of those crazy girls who like their shower hotter than the surface of the sun, aren't you?"

You shrug one shoulder in response and set to lathering yourself up with your favorite citrus body wash. A thick arm knocks your hands away, taking their place on your skin. Jake squeezes you close tenderly before turning the water temperature down and pushing you gently under the spray. He massages shampoo into your hair and soap over your skin; the pressure and feeling of his hands are perfect when combined with the warm water.

"I've got you, sweets." Jake presses a kiss against your shoulder before taking his turn under the spray while your conditioner soaks in. Now it’s your turn to touch, tracing the streams of water as they cascade over his muscular chest and rigid abs with your soap-covered hands. His eyes flutter closed as you shampoo his hair, blunt nails scratching at his scalp as he lifts you so you can reach. Jake kisses your sternum softly, but there is no heat or intention behind the caress. You're too lazy and sated for more than chaste kisses, loving words, and skin-to-skin contact as you rinse off. After you're clean, you stand in the stream of hot water, holding each other. Several long moments pass before you step out, exhaustion fogging every movement. Jake gently towels your skin and hair dry before helping you into a fresh pair of cotton panties. At your pout, he lifts you onto the counter so you can return the favor, drying his hair just as gently as he'd dried yours. 

The atmosphere is syrupy sweet as the two of you weave around your bathroom like you've been doing it all your lives. It's a coordinated dance of smiles and gentle caresses as you fetch a toothbrush for Jake to use. He smiles tenderly at you, toothpaste staining the corner of his mouth as you stand side by side at the sink and brush your teeth. The quiet domesticity of the moment sinks like a sip of hot tea into your chest, warming every inch of you. He feels right in your house and life like he belongs with you. That belonging feeling intensifies when you flop gracelessly onto the clean sheets Jake had changed as you were dozing in the tub. They feel heavenly against your skin when Jake lies down next to you, manhandles you to curl into him, and draws the covers up to surround you. You fall asleep to the steady beat of his heart, dreams sweet, and thoughts sweeter.

Love is waking up in the morning to the smell of coffee and Fleetwood Mac drifting through the house.  Love is wearing your boyfriend’s shirt and walking into the kitchen to see him singing and dancing to the music blaring from the speakers on the kitchen counter in his boxers, bedhead on full display, using a spatula as a microphone while breakfast sizzles on the stove. Love is the sound of his voice, deep and smooth in the morning when you've both just woken up. Love is the grin on his face as he hands you a mug of coffee prepared just how you like. Love is kissing him in thanks and again because you want to. 

It’s in how he has breakfast ready for you moments after you walk downstairs. It’s in how he feeds you all the blueberries on his plate because they’re your favorite fruit. It’s in the slow kisses you share that taste of sweet maple syrup, smokey bacon, and dark, rich coffee. It’s how you sit with your legs sprawled over his lap, chatting at the kitchen table long after all the food is gone. But above all, love for you is Jake Seresin on a Sunday morning in the fall when he’s golden in the weak sunshine and golden in your heart.

I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN HERE OR ON AO3 BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE OR AO3, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.

Taglist:

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[nightlyrequiem]

The Other Side of Paradise

3) Happy Nation

Cross posted from AO3

Ch.1,, Ch.2, Ch.3, Ch.4, Ch.5, Ch.6, Ch.7, Ch.8, Ch.9, Ch.10, Ch.11

You try to make the best of your life working at a small bakery in a city with rising cartel violence. One slower day, a man starts harassing your coworker. Despite the obvious threat, you stand up to him anyway. Unbeknownst to you, Valeria just so happened to be there to witness it.

A/N- All chapters containing smut will be labeled mature. The fic is fully written with the whole thing on AO3 but chapters on Tumblr will be posted one a day.

Tags/Warnings: Fluff, Angst, Dual POV, Happy Ending, Plot with Porn, Graphic Violence, Inappropriate Use of a Knife, Masturbation, WLW

Valeria sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. Trying to ward off the impending headache that always comes with doing paperwork. Tax filing and wages. Boring work that makes her want to tear her hair out. She never knew you needed a license to own a salmon farm but apparently, you do. It's not like money laundering is particularly difficult, it's just the upkeep of the facade is mind numbingly boring.

Her fingers twitch. Itching to hold a cigarette. Sometimes this really doesn't feel like it's worth all the effort. But then she sees her bank account and how strong her city is getting and realizes it definingly is. She's doing a good thing here. Even if some people don't see it that way. So what if she's also reaping the rewards?

Before she knows it, she's already lighting a smoke and taking a much-needed inhale. Savoring the bitter taste. Not for the first time, Valeria considers hiring an assistant. She just can't trust anyone else to do this right. Diego maybe. Only issue being that he's a little dim.

Her thoughts shift to you and your last conversation. Contrary to what she said to you, she doesn't think you should be so honest about your opinions. At least, not right off the bat like that. Your responses definitely left a lot to be desired, but Valeria trusts she'll train the awkwardness out of you. There are certainly a few other things she'd like to train you to do.

Her phone starts buzzing and she takes it out only to realize it's her other phone. She rolls her eyes and checks it. It's Deigo. She doesn't really want to talk to him right now. He didn't do anything wrong, but his voice just gets on her nerves.

She answers anyway. "What?" She barks.

"We have a new client." He replies. He sounds pleased. Valeria rolls her eyes. Her temper flares.

"Okay?" She says impatiently. Waiting for him to elaborate.

"He's different to our usual clients," Diego continues. "It's not drugs he's looking to buy." Valeria props her legs up on her desk. "He wants missiles." Valeria quirks a brow. He wouldn't be the first to request weapons, but it's an uncommon enough of an ask to catch her attention.

"Who is he?"

"Hassan Zyani."

Valeria hums. The name strikes a chord with her. She's sure she's heard of him somewhere.

"His name sounds familiar." She remarks.

"He has ties to Al-Qatala."

Of course. That's where she knows him from. Back when she was still a part of the Mexican Special Forces. She can only guess what he'd want missiles for. She doesn't really care. Terror is good for business after all.

"When does he want them?" She asks. Getting something as dangerous as a missile will be a little more difficult than something like a gun. Valeria can do it though.

"November first." A month. Give or take. Valeria nods to herself. "He wants them smuggled into Chicago; he also wants an escort."

"For the missiles?" She frowns. Does he think they'd just send them over unguarded?

"No, for him." Diego corrects.

Oh. That makes more sense. Valeria removes her legs from her desk and stands up, her knees pop and she frowns. She stubs out her cigarette and responds.

"Tell him we can have it done." She hangs up and sets her burner down. She's done enough work for today. She deserves a treat.

It's late again when she enters the bakery. Late enough for there to be no one else. She feels a spike of satisfaction when she sees you behind the counter alone. You look up from your phone and straighten. Nodding in acknowledgement. She sees that you haven't put away everything yet. Though there's still not much to pick from. No conchas either.

She stops in front of the counter. She can tell by the furrow of your brows that you're feeling nervous. She makes sure to keep up eye contact. "Closing shift again?" Valeria says. "Did you piss off Mateo?" She remembers her first job. She hated the closing shift.

"You know Mateo?" You ask. Eyeing her with what Valeria thinks may be suspicion. Valeria smiles a little. Mildly entertained like a child lifting up a rock to see what exoskeletal creatures hide under it.

"It's a small town, I know most people here."

"Oh." Your fingers tap against the counter. "Well, I actually asked for the closing shift." You say, answering her question. "I like how quiet it gets and I get to take home any leftovers."

Makes enough sense. "You must get lonely though," Valeria says sympathetically. "I know I would." She can't actually sympathize though. She can't recall a time she ever felt lonely.

"I'm used to it." You shrug nonchalantly. Like a bloodhound sniffing for weakness, she picks up on the hint of longing in your voice. Valeria feels that little tingle at the base of her neck. One she gets whenever something is going the way she wants it to.

She watches you lean against the counter. She knows you're trying to come off as casual but the stiffness in your shoulders gives you away.

"What do you do when no one is here?" Valeria continues her inquiry. You strike her as someone who would go dormant. Just stand there silently like a stone carving.

"Well...I clean." You reply.

"No, I mean-" She sighs. "Okay, when you aren't cleaning or tending to customers what do you do?" You pause. Thinking, Valeria hopes.

"I read." You finally say. She watches you check your phone before you meander out from behind the counter. You begin to sweep and cast her a look every couple of seconds. You probably think you're being subtle too.

Valeria calls your name, beckoning you over. Once you're within arm's reach she reaches into her back pocket and takes out a black pen, she doesn't ask before grabbing your hand. For your sake, she pretends to not notice the slight tremor. She writes her number. Going slow to make sure its legible, and to hold onto you for just a little longer.

She finishes and looks at you. You look at your hand, then look at her.

"What's this for?"

"I don't want to come down here every time I want to talk to you." Valeria answers. Pleased by the little smile you try to stifle.

She turns and leaves without a farewell or a baked treat.

She returns to her home and dutifully ignores her office. There's neglected paperwork still waiting for her on her desk. She makes a quick, protein filled meal before heading downstairs to work out for an hour. She feels like going to bed but forces herself forward.

She finally finishes. She's sweaty and sore, and incredibly thirsty. She downs a cup of water and then two more when the first isn't enough. Her feet carry her to her bedroom but just before she reaches salvation she turns left into the bathroom. Just one more thing before she gets to sleep. Her soft bedding waits for her like lover, and it would be rude to show up in this state.

Finally, finally, Valeria gets to crawl into bed. The cool sheets feel like heaven against her skin. She lays down and closes her eyes. The moment would be perfect if her phone didn't start ringing shrilly. She audibly growls like an animal and tries to ignore it.

It's her work phone though. Her hand flashes out and grips the stupid, cheap, almost-out-of-minutes device and answers.

"What?" She asks sharply. She didn't bother checking to see who it was that was calling but she really hopes it's not Diego.

"There was a problem." Deigo says. Valeria seethes quietly.

"What problem? What happened?" She demands. Of course there was a problem. For everything that goes right something must go wrong.

"The Arizona shipment was interrupted by a civilian," Deigo drones on about the details. It was resolved and the witness was taken care of, but Valeria feels lightheaded with anxiety. He described the person, and it sounds a lot like you.

[canarias-stuff]

Phases of Love / Kuroo Tetsurou X Fem!Reader - Chapter 3

Summary:

They lower the net by Coach Nekomata’s request, and Kuroo doesn’t lose time going near it, but this time he doesn't go alone, you go there too. You throw your initial self-consciousness aside and starts jumping to get the ball, it’s a trial and error process, you can feel your fingers grinding on the ball, you can see Kuroo trying to jump as high as he can, and when you and Kuroo finally spikes the ball to the other side of the net, you knew that you would never forget that feeling.

Just like you would never forget the smile that appeared on Tetsurou's lips.

Author's note:

It took sometime, but I finished the chapter! It's longer than the other 2 too!^^ So, I hope that you have fun!^^

Tags: Romance; Eventual romance; Slow Burn; cross posted Ao3.

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Elementary School

You were right, Kuroo Tetsurou is cute in several senses of the word.

He is a cute kid in appearance. He is taller than other kids their age, has chubby cheeks, big and sparkling hazel eyes, and then, there’s the bed head hair.

You can’t stop yourself from asking him about his hair when he finally sits at the end of Kenma’s bed still holding the volleyball.

“(y/n)...” Kenma’s voice sounds like he is trying to warn you, to be mindful of your words (he wouldn’t admit that his first thought of Kuroo was how funny his hair was), but you are too curious.

Kuroo doesn’t seem to be offended by the question.

“It’s…natural.” He answers sincerely.

“What?!” And this time, even Kenma looks surprised.

A few months later you would learn that the hairstyle was a result of the way he kept his head between the pillows (a bad habit of his), but this is just months later.

…

After that day, you become friends with Kuroo too.

The less shy he becomes around you and Kenma, the easier it is to talk and interact with him. He laughs, and you can’t stop yourself from laughing at his hyena-like laugh. He yells while running after you and Kenma, he yells when he tosses the volleyball or tries a spike and fails, and yells when he loses or wins a round of games.

“You’re loud, Kuro.” Kenma says an afternoon, when the three of you are sitting on the grass, looking at the orange sky.

You look at the youngest boy, curious at the slightly different way that he calls the older one. A nickname , you think surprised and happy that Kenma was leaving his shell one step at a time.

“I’m not!” Kuroo retorted, not realizing that he wasn’t Kuroo anymore, but just Kuro.

“You are.” He insisted.

“I’m not!

“You are.”

And you smiled fondly at the two, because it looks like Kenma wasn’t the only one leaving his shell.

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

“Yes, you are Tetsu .” You say, giving him a nickname too, because (in your childlike brain) there’s no way that you are the only one that would stick with “Kuroo” or “Kuroo-kun”. There’s just no way that you would be left aside from this small group of friends.

This time, he blushes, realizing that you changed the way that you call him.

Kuroo Tetsurou's reactions are cute, be it when he is excited, gets complimented, and especially when he gets embarrassed.

“I’m not!”

…

Golden, hazel and (e/c) stare at the broken flower vase on the floor of your mother garden.

“I told you it was a bad idea.” Kenma is the first one to open his mouth after you accidentally knocked the vase with the volleyball.

“B-but I really thought that I was getting better at receiving the ball…” You try to justify the reason why you choose to play volleyball in your garden instead of the riverbank.

“W-what should we do?” Kuroo asked, slightly panicked. It was the first time that he got involved in trouble since arriving in that neighborhood, and he really, really, didn’t want to get scolded.

“Glue! I need glue!” You suddenly say. “I just need to put the vase together before mom comes back.”

Kenma stares at you with a frown, and Kuroo looks at you as if you are a genius.

“That’s…”

But the bed-head boy cuts the other boy.

“...a good idea!”

“No…really, we should just…”

“Okay! I will get the glue!” But Kenma’s words fall to deaf ears as you go inside your house to find the sticky material.

“...apologize…”

When your mother comes back, the three of you get scolded not only for breaking the vase but also for trying something as dangerous as to glue pieces of glass.

That day, Tetsurou finds out that you are a troublemaker, and Kenma is the voice of reason. Does it make him reconsider your friendship? Absolutely not. It just makes him think that everyday would be an adventure.

…

“Hey…why don’t you find better people to play with?” Kenma asks when they decided to go back home. “Playing volleyball with newbies like me and (y/n) has to be boring…”

“Hey!” You exclaimed, slightly offended. “I’m not so bad at it!”

“Nope! Nuh-uh! Playing with you isn’t boring at all!” Tetsurou denied it, shaking his head. “You two learn it quickly and are super smart!”

You couldn’t stop sending your best smug smile in Kenma’s direction, who just rolled his eyes.

“Oh…really…?” The youngest one of you said.

There was a short pause before Tetsurou continued.

“Actually...I played in a team before…” He says, staring at the ball in his hands. “But then I had to move.”

“Oh…hummm, but I think you could find more people to play with here, if you looked.” The younger boy commented, but judging by the other silence, Kuroo didn’t really want to, and neither Kenma nor you couldn't blame him, because neither of you wouldn’t want to do it either.

“H-hey!” The black haired exclaimed, surprising you both. “Do you have free time this saturday?”

…

“A gymnasium?” You muttered, staring at the big building.

It’s the place that Kuroo decides to bring you and Kenma along on that sunny saturday morning.

“You ready? Cause here we go!” Kuroo says excited, but there is still some uncertainty there. “I meant it! We're gonna go there right now!”

“Then go.” Kenma replies dryly.

Thump. Bamm. Baf. Bomm.

It’s loud. There were a lot of people and volley balls. Some volley balls almost hit you (you and Kenma flinched with the force), but Kuroo's eyes were sparkling, and instantly you knew that that boy found a refuge in the middle of a place that he barely knew.

An adult approached you three, and with a smile, invited you to play together. Kuroo doesn’t need another invitation, he is already running to the middle of the court, Kenma declines, he prefers watching people play, and you…you decided to stay with your younger friend, because you don’t see any girl and suddenly you feel self conscious.

Kuroo plays with the beginners while you and Kenma look around. The older kids are training in a different area, and you are really impressed by them.

“That over there.” Kenma says, pulling the sleeve of your shirt to draw you attention. “That looks cool.”

“What?” And you turn your head to look at whatever caught Kenma’s attention.

BAMM.

The boy’s hand slaps the ball, and it goes to the other side of the court. It’s really cool.

“Ooh!” Kuroo approaches you two again with a big smile. “That is spiking! It’s super cool!”

“Why don’t we do that?” Kenma asks, and you are surprised that your younger friend is actually showing some interest in volleyball.

“But you can only do stuff like that if you’re really tall.” Tetsurou answers.

“I can see on your face that you want to try, Tetsu.” You comment, and his face goes red.

“W-well that…”

“Oh? So why don’t we lower the net then?”

And you three turn in the direction that the new voice came from. 

“Oh! Hey, Coach Nekomata!” The instructor that was playing with the beginners exclaimed, approaching the short old man that just showed up from behind you three.

“The first and most important lesson to teach is how fun it is to succeed at something.” The old coach, Nekomata, continues as the three of you keep looking at him, not really sure with who he is talking to.

“It’s been a while, sir! I didn’t know that you were coming.”

“I just happened to be passing by today, that's all.” He smiles.

Coach Nekomata? You wonder if he was also a volleyball teacher.

“Do what you love, and success will come.” Nekomata says, and you are almost sure that he took a look at the three of you. “Have you heard that saying?”

And something inside you stirs hearing that.

They lower the net by Coach Nekomata’s request, and Kuroo doesn’t lose time going near it, but this time he doesn't go alone, you go there too. You throw your initial self-consciousness aside and starts jumping to get the ball, it’s a trial and error process, you can feel your fingers grinding on the ball, you can see Kuroo trying to jump as high as he can, and when you and Kuroo finally spikes the ball to the other side of the net, you knew that you would never forget that feeling.

Just like you would never forget the smile that appeared on Tetsurou's lips.

…

After that day you can see how volleyball grows on Kuroo, and as much as you would deny it, it did to you too, but the volleyball neighborhood association has only a boy’s volleyball team (there wasn’t any girls playing aside from you) so Kuroo is the only one who actually plays on a team, you can only go there and train tosses and receives.

“Aren’t you upset?” Kenma asks once, joining you on your train, while Kuroo plays with other boys.

“Why?” You tilt your head holding the ball.

“I mean…you can’t play in a team…”

You hummed, pondering the question.

“Yes, but I can see Tetsu’s smile, so it’s okay.”

Kenma stares at you like you grew another head, and really, you can’t see any problem with your answer, because it was true that you were happy for Tetsurou.

…

Eventually summer vacations end, and the time that you can spend together is cut to half (it also means that the chances to get in trouble decrease). It’s the start of the second week of august and the three of you have to return to school, at least you all attend the same elementary school, but Kenma is one year younger, and you and Kuroo are in different classes (or so you found out when you help Kuroo find the school board’s room).

Tetsurou doesn’t look as nervous as you thought that he would be, actually, that morning, Kenma looked 10 times worse, but could you blame him? Kenma wasn’t exactly the best with people, he didn’t even want to interact with other people, but still, you knew that he was concerned at how people view him.

“Are you okay?” You ask, tilting your head a little bit to take a good look at the black haired boy’s face. Because right now, even if you were worried about Kenma, you were also worried about your new friend.

“...yeah…” Kuroo answers, but you can feel some insecurity in his tone.

“Don’t lie, Tetsu!” You point a finger at him.

“Hahh?!” He immediately reacts, stops walking and turns to look at you. “I-I’m not lying, (y/n)!”

“You are lying again!”

“I’m not!”

“You are!”

“I’m not!”

“Yes, you are!”

You stare at each other, hazel eyes glaring at the direction of your (e/c) eyes and vice versa, and then…

“Pfftt.”

You can’t hold your laugh, and neither can he.

The other children passing by stare at you two weirdly and with arched eyebrows, wondering what was so funny.

“Thanks.” Kuroo says as soon as his laugh dies.

“No problem!” You grins.

…

As expected, Kuroo fits well with his new classmates, you could even say that he becomes kind of popular among boys and girls from school. But by the end of the day, the three of you would walk together to get home, retelling fun facts of your day (in Kenma’s case he would gladly ignore you two to play his game) and sometimes stopping to get ice cream at a convenience store.

The three of you would still go to each other's houses or play volleyball by the riverbank together because neither of Kuroo’s new volleyball teammates lives nearby, so your bond gets stronger day by day, and you start to understand how each other works.

…

“THERE! DID YOU SEE?!”

Kenma is the type who speaks low, it’s really rare to see him so excited about something that’s not a video game, so you almost fall from your place in his bed when he cries.

“Hum?” You say trying to suppress a yawn.

“What?” Kuroo blinks, eyes focusing on the TV.

Tetsurou brings videos of professional volleyball matches to watch together, for an hour or two, you can say that you and Kuroo are excited to see it, but after three or four hours you both are almost sleeping. Kenma is the only one who doesn’t nod off while watching game after game, on the contrary, he is the one who gets excited. Like now.

“He looked over to the right for just a second, making you think he’d set it there, but then he put it to the left!” The younger boy points.

“Is t-that so?” You say, but honestly you can’t really see such a thing.

“Ugh…come on, that’s enough watching games!” Tetsurou grumbles. “Let’s go outside and play one!”

“You were the one who brought those DVD’s though.” You commented, and this time he doesn’t have a good comeback.

“Oh…speaking of…” Kenma suddenly says, pausing the video and turning to Kuroo. “Remember the one you brought last week? Bring that one again.”

“Hum?!” Tetsurou and you exclaimed.

Oh no! Okay, you and Kuroo like volleyball, but you don’t want to rewatch hours of the same game again. You turn to Tetsurou, eyes begging for him to change subjects, begging him to find something to distract Kenma.

“Kenma!” And Kurro seems to get the message. “I really think that you should be a setter! It’s really cool! You get to be…like…the mastermind and stuff!”

What is stuff? You wonder, but who cares? Kenma already looks distracted.

“Not only that, setters don’t have to move around too much either! It’s a super awesome position!” The bed-head boy continues.

Lies. You know for sure that Tetsurou is saying that just because he wants Kenma to join the team so they can play together.

But the “I’m considering this now” face that Kenma is making is just so funny, that you can’t suppress your laughs.

“What?” They both ask.

“Nothing!” You giggled. “Come on! Let’s go play outside!”

“Let’s go!” Tetsurou beams.

“Ehhh…really?” But Kenma is not as excited.

The next time that you go to the gymnasium, Kenma, for the first time, play volleyball with other children that are not you (and join the team), and you can’t hide the prideful expression on your face

…

Sometimes after school, Kuroo goes out with some classmates to play football. On those days, you and Kenma decide to stay indoors, playing video games, because you don’t really like the sport and your younger friend definitely isn’t the type to run after a ball (except for volleyball, because if he really hated it, Kenma would have said something already).

But Kenma’s father wanted to see his son go outside.

“Tetsurou-kun.” He called.

Said boy stopped, and his friends went ahead.

“Yes, Uncle Kozume?”

You and Kenma are going down the stairs to get some snacks when you hear the conversation, and for some reason, both of you stopped to hear it.

“Say, do you mind taking Kenma and (y/n) with you to play football sometime?”

There’s a pause, and you exchange a look with Kenma.

“But I don’t think that they want to go, sir.” Comes the answer, and Tetsurou really sounds like he gave a lot of thought to that. “I understand not wanting to go out sometimes. If they want to go even a little, I’ll definitely invite Kenma and (y/n), but right now, I don’t think they want at all.”

Oh. You were caught off guard. Tetsurou knows you and Kenma for less than 2 months, but he does understand how you two feel.

“When Kenma wants to do something, he tries as hard as he can, though. So I don’t think you have to worry Uncle.”

“Ah, okay.” The older man accepts with a slightly surprised expression.

Kenma has a small smile on his lips too.

“And (y/n)...” Tetsurou continues, and you wonder what his thoughts are about you. “...well, she hates football, so I take back what I said. I won’t invite her at all. Also, she is really bad at it.”

“Hahhh?!” You yell, startling everyone. “Say it again!”

That day, Tetsurou didn't play football, he played hide and seek.

Ao3 Link

[bratshaws]

through the hourglass 175. brb x oc

a/n: im posting early cause my connection is oscillating like a mf and i can't risk it! Also, no rooster...and well,I'm gonna try something new next chapter so wish me luck??? (comments and reblogs are super welcome and encouraged!! they make my nights they really do<3)

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: slight angst???

goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)

chapter

1/

116/117/118/119/120/121/122/123/124/125/126/127/128/129/130/131/132/133/134/135/136/137/138/139/140/141/142/143/144/145/146/147

/148/149/150/151/152/153/154/155/156/157/158/159/160/161/162/163/164/165/166/167/168/169/170/171/172/173/174

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! )

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @novastories @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

@lizzie-rdj @fanboyluvr @atarmychick007 @comebacktoearthpls

@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 @lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2

@emilybradshaw @j-6o @louisahale @leobabbyyy @booklover2sblog @winter-run @ktjmac @graciereads @bigpoppajes @taytaylala12

@caitsymichelle13 @becks-things @caatheeriinee07 @fanboyswhore9 @jesfreedark @katiemcrae @lilmonstrjedi @hobiismyhopeu @teacupsandtopgun @insominac23 @gh0stsgoodgirl @mygyn @chavivaelisheva @kmc1989

-

Beatrice was having fun, honestly knowing she wouldn’t be able to work for a few months this was more than welcome.

She was also enjoying the snacks, what were they? She brings one close to her eyes while she chews the very same thing, Nicole looking up at her in question, “...I think…this has pepperoni, hmmm,it’s so good.” she is sitting in the shade, right next to Evelyn’s seat but she’s busy talking to her relatives right now.

Nicole tries to reach for her mother’s hand, trying to snag a bite “Okay, here,” she shoves her finger inside before pulling out a piece of cheese, small enough for Nicole to chew on it. She’s careful while doing so, but Nicole has proven she’s a Schiavoni because she adores cheese, “Nice,right? Hold on,Shells- oh.” the blonde comes back with a cheese platter, holding it up to Beatrice’s face “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” and she shoves another snack into her mouth, ‘Hm, this is so good. Evelyn is great with party foods.” she sits down next to Beatrice and Nicole, flicking her eyes when she sees the phone resting on Beatrice’s thigh, “You talked to Rooster?’

“I sent him a message, since we know that Ev will have a boy,I thought he’d like to know about that.” she smiles, “And because Hangman wouldn’t shut up about it, so.”

“Of course.” Shells mutters as she chews “Fuckin’ weird.”

“What?”

The blonde shrugs while crossing her legs by the knee, “I don’t know, you two are with kids, married - well, Ev will get married when Jake comes back,I think…and I don’t know, it feels like a lot more time passed than just four years.” she chuckles, “I mean, the second you and Rooster met, it was like this whole spiral of new shit came along too, not that I’m complaining,after all I got Bob. But…you know, it started with the two of you.”

Beatrice smiles, nodding in agreement. "You're right, it does feel like a lot has happened in such a short amount of time. Meeting Rooster definitely brought a whirlwind of change into my life, and I never expected to end up where I am now. But I wouldn't trade it for anything."

She takes a moment to reflect on their journey, her eyes softening with fondness. "From that first encounter in the bar…everything just fell into place. It was meant to be." Shels clears her throat quiet loudly, arching her brows so the brunette continues, “...and yes, you helped, a lot.”

“Thank you.I sure did. Because if I didn’t make you move, you’d both die pining one another.” she shakes her head as she leans back on her seat, “And hey, I just gave the first push, you did everything else and hooked him in.”

Beatrice  rolled her eyes but she was grateful for Shells' bluntness. "You did give us that push, and I'll always be thankful for that.” ‘you are welcome’ Shells says, dipping her head forward “Sometimes, all it takes is a little nudge to set things in motion."

Nicole, who has been quietly snacking on another piece of cheese, looks up at Shells and Beatrice with an innocent expression. "Mama dada?” she questions as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, making Beatrice smile and kiss her temple.

“Yes,mama and dada.”

“That kid is going to be a menace when she’s older.”

“Hey,’ Bea narrows her eyes playfully, “It’s my daughter, excuse me?”

“She’s already talking, she's going to learn how to get your car keys at eleven. Just you wait.”

Beatrice blinked, staring at Shells as the party continued around them, “...did you steal a car at eleven?” Shells doesn’t reply, but she does drink her non-alcoholic punch while looking away. Honestly there were things in Shells’ life that Beatrice decides it’d be better to wonder than to think about. As she was about to question her again, she saw Evelyn approaching with a glass of water in her hand, “Hey, are you done socializing?”

“For now.” she sighs, flopping in the seat that’s between the two women, leaning back and kicking her shoes off, ‘Jesus, I can’t remember who was the last person I talked to. And they are all family.”

 "Well, it's a big family gathering, Ev. It's hard to keep track of everyone. But hey, at least you got a break from the relatives for a moment. I know how bad it was when they found out about Nikki.”

“Aa!”

Evelyn takes a long sip of her water and lets out a content sigh. "True, true. As much as I love them, it can be a bit overwhelming at times.” she looks over to where her uncle Tom was, currently trying to show her younger cousins - and Jake’s young relatives- how to throw a baseball over the fence, “Mom!Uncle Tom has a baseball!” 

Vivian’s smile drops, “He what-THOMAS! WHERE DID YOU GET THAT!”

The three of them just watch as Evelyn’s mother walks over to her brother and yanks it out of his hand, “...where did he get that anyway?” Bea asks quietly, “Did he bring it with him?”

“Most likely.” Evelyn mutters, “His favorite story is how he almost went to the big leagues but he chose to get married instead. Which my aunt say never happened. He is a lawyer through and through. Runs in the family.” she explains, “On my mom’s side at least…anyway are you okay?”

Beatrice looks up from Nicole to meet Evelyn’s brown eyes “Me?” her friend nods while still drinking water, “I’m okay! Why are you asking?”

“Because while we are both pregnant you are the one carrying two and a baby.” she smiles down at Nicole who just babbles something in reply, “You need anything? A better chair? Something comfier?”

“Oh,no,no,I’m fine.” Beatrice smiles, “Honestly I’m okay. This party is really helping me get my mind at ease, Rooster’s deployment has been a bit hard lately but…you know,” she plays with Nicole’s hand for a few seconds as her daughter enjoys her tiny piece of cheese before she looks ahead, ‘It’s manageable. I just want him to come back safe and it’s been only a few weeks apart?” she didn’t want to explain how anxious she was feeling even before the deployment, they didn’t need to worry about her like that.

Evelyn reaches out and places a comforting hand on Beatrice's arm, patting it twice. "I understand, Bea. Deployments are always tough,and honestly I’ve been feeling kinda iffy about Jake too." she mutters, ‘Mainly because he’s not here to know that the baby pumpkin will be a boy…well, as long as they decide to be, but I wish he was here.”

“How have you been handling it?”

Evelyn’s laugh is dry and a bit humorless, “Well…you know, this really helped. I was angry about changing the dates but I think it was better if I did this.” she smiles at a few family members, especially from Jake’s side, before letting her smile drop, “I do think we’ve been going good. Even my dad is helping.” she waves at her father, who smiles and waves back, before turning his attention to his brothers-in-law, “I know he’s been trying to…be more present. He’s going to be a grandpa now…speaking of which, how did your family react when you told them about the twins?”

“Yeah!” Shells says, “You never told us!”

Beatrice inhales softly, her mouth parting as she’s violently reminded of that day. She wanted to wait until her father was out of the hospital, and her siblings were all at home with them…she did fear making her father feel worse but it wasn’t that bad.

Well…

“...my mom fainted.” she mutters, ‘Um…Sabrina fainted,Leonardo fainted.” she frowns a bit, chewing her lower lip “But e-everyone else took really nicely and um, once my mom recovered she cried. A lot. A whole lot, oh wow she cried even more than in my wedding! Hah…um…” she does think it was a lot more dramatic than what she was telling her friends, but she was too traumatized to say it outloud.

Evelyn's eyes widen in surprise as Beatrice recounts her family's reaction. "Wow, that sounds intense. I mean, I knew having twins would be a big deal, but fainting and crying? That's... quite the response."

Shells leans forward, her curiosity piqued. "What about your dad? How did he take the news?"

Beatrice's expression softens as she thinks about her father's reaction. "Well, my dad wasn’t in the hospital at the time, which made it a lot easier. When I told him about the twins, his eyes filled with tears, and he just hugged me tightly. He kept saying how happy he was. It was such a beautiful moment… and my mom cried again. She cried um…a lot."

Evelyn smiles warmly, holding her head up with a hand and propping her elbow on her knee. "I met your mom, she's just really emotional when it comes to these things. And I’m glad your dad was happy too…and your siblings?"

“Oh they are all the same. Except Michael,I think he knew from the spot.” she shrugged, leaning back on her seat and holding Nicole on her chest, being mindful of her growing bump, “It was…nice? They are checking on me too,and I forgot to tell Roos about it damn.”

“Dam!”

“W-no! Nikki that’s a bad word!” Beatrice’s panicked stare was only broken when her daughter covered her mouth to giggle, “Oh god,I can’t even imagine once she starts repeating Rooster’s words.” she sighs, looking down at her diaper “I need to change her,” she’s already standing up and stares at Evelyn because she has no idea where the bathroom is at her parents’ house, “Ev, can you um–”

“No worries.” her friend stands up with a grunt, squinting her eyes while setting her empty glass aside, “Follow me.”

Evelyn leads the way, guiding Beatrice through the bustling party towards the bathroom. It does take a while to get there since some of the party goers now paid attention to Beatrice and Nicole. Nikki, of course, loved the attention and just cooed and gurgled at everyone who smiled at her. Luckily it doesn’t take long for them to leave the commotion, with  Beatrice following closely behind, cradling Nicole in her arms and grateful for Evelyn's assistance.

As they walk, Evelyn looks over her shoulder and smiles reassuringly at Beatrice. "Does she need anything?"

Beatrice returns the smile, feeling a sense of relief wash over her, shaking her head. "Thank you, Ev.But no, I got everything in here." she lifts the shoulder that holds the bag strap, “I just need a clean space to do it.”

Evelyn reaches the bathroom door and holds it open for Beatrice. "Alright,I might stay here…I kinda need a break for everyone else if that’s okay?"

Beatrice nods understandingly. "Of course, Ev. Take all the time you need.It won’t be a bother."

Evelyn smiles gratefully and steps aside, letting Beatrice enter the bathroom with Nicole in her arms. "Thanks, Bea. I'll be right outside if you need anything. Just give me a shout."

With that, Evelyn closes the door behind Beatrice, leaving her to tend to Nicole in privacy. Beatrice finds a clean, spacious area to lay down a changing mat and gently places Nicole on it. She takes a moment to take a deep breath, appreciating the quietness of the bathroom compared to the lively party outside. Not that she’s complaining, I mean, she could handle her own family, but with her mind going so fast it was better to focus.

As she carefully removes Nicole's diaper and begins the process of changing her, Beatrice reflects on the events of the day. It's been a good day so far, she talked to Rooster and now she’s enjoying a party! It could be much worse.

Nicole babbles happily, seemingly unaware of the commotion happening beyond the bathroom door. Beatrice smiles at her daughter, taking her time, ensuring that Nicole is clean and comfortable before carefully securing a fresh diaper in place. Nicole babbles some more, kicking her little legs so much Beatrice has to hold one of them, “Nikki, just let me fix your skirt at least.”

Rebellion.

Nicole just moved her legs even more,giggling and loving how her mother’s face went from calm to exasperatedly amused until she couldn’t help but laugh, “You, are terrible.” and she tickles the baby’s tummy, “You are just like your father. You two have a way to making me laugh and forget every bad thing that goes on in my brain.” she whispers, knowing Evelyn was right outside.

Beatrice’s smile drops and she sighs, the anxiety was still there, gnawing at her spine, whispering things she didn’t want to hear nor think about. “It’s fine. It’s all fine.” she whispers, closing her eyes and clenching her jaw, quickly meeting her reflection and smiling - the best she could- “It’s all good. I talked to him today so it’s fine…anyway.”

Beatrice scoops Nicole up into her arms, cradling her close, burying her nose in her daughter’s hair and closing her eyes again, “It’s fine.” she bounces on the spot a bit, trying to get rid of the nerves, “God,it’s fine. Why am I like this?”. She pulls back and takes a moment to admire her daughter's tiny features, feeling a surge of love and protectiveness wash over her. "You're such a precious little girl, Nicole.” her daughter blinks up at her, “Yes you are.” she feels the sting of tears but holds it back the best way that she can.

As Beatrice holds Nicole in her arms, she finds solace in the unconditional love that emanates from her daughter. Nicole's innocent gaze and infectious smile bring a sense of joy and peace to Beatrice's heart, even in moments of doubt and anxiety. 

Like right now.

Gently swaying back and forth, Beatrice takes a deep breath, willing herself to find calm amidst the storm of emotions. She reminds herself that she has a support system in place, both with Rooster and her friends like Evelyn and Shells, who are there for her during this challenging time. “Oh boy, okay.” she turns on her heel to walk out of the bathroom, once she feels she’s okay enough and meets Evelyn there.

Her friend was leaning against the wall, this time with her arms crossed and eyes distant, “Um,Ev?” she snaps the tall woman out of her thoughts because she physically jumped, “Sorry,I uh,we’re finished.”

Evelyn blinks, momentarily caught off guard by Beatrice's voice. She quickly regains her composure and pushes herself away from the wall, offering Beatrice a warm smile. "Oh, sorry about that. Lost in my thoughts for a moment. How's everything with Nicole?"

Beatrice returns the smile, her own expression a bit confused. "She's doing great. Just a little rebel, this one." She holds Nicole up for Evelyn to see, who immediately breaks into a grin while kicking her small legs, “Look at that.”.

"She takes after her parents, I see," Evelyn chuckles. "Well, I'm glad everything went smoothly. Are you feeling alright?"

Beatrice nods, her voice steady but her eyes are still on Nicole and she takes the time to adjust the bag strap on her shoulder "Anxiety acting up, nothing more."

“...can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, sure!”

Evelyn chews the inside of her cheek, going back to crossing her arms, “...how do you feel about this deployment?” she questions quietly, “I want to ask Shells but you know how she’ll be,” and she makes a movement with her hand, something akin to ‘what the hell’ and rolling her eyes, “She won’t give me a straight answer…but you will. I am anxious as well,Bea…and I’ve handled deployment a lot.” she flicks her gaze to Cyclone’s picture on the wall, the crisp white uniform appearing even brighter under the light, “But this one…I don’t know, something feels off.”

And Beatrice hated it because it feels like it.

“Listen,ugh,’ Evelyn rubbed the bridge of her nose, “Sorry, sorry,I don’t want to add to it. I’m just…I don’t have anyone to share my worries with. My mom…she’s more used to it than I am but–” and Evelyn goes back to leaning on the wall, this time Beatrice joins her, with Nicole still babbling happily with her head on Bea’s shoulder, “...feels off doesn’t it?”

She didn’t want to admit it, “...it does.”

“They’ll be okay.”

“I know. They will.”

‘Then why,” Evelyn begins, throwing her hands up, “Why are we nervous like this?”

“Well,I don’t know about you but my anxiety never really left…I think it’s worse because of the pregnancy.” she suggests, clearly not knowing it either, “But…we are still talking to them, you know? And…and knowing more about what’s been going on, within the rules of course, so…maybe it’s the hormones.”

“...makes sense.”

“Yeah! They are good at what they do.” Was she really comforting Evelyn and not vice-versa? Is this an alternative universe??? “And I know they’ll be okay…especially now.” she inhales softly, then shakes her head, “Anyway, let’s go back to the party, yeah?I’m sure your family is worried sick about you now.” she places a hand on Evelyn’s shoulder, this time leading her back instead. “I think we’ll both need this more than we know”

She does wait for Evelyn to walk out first, taking a few minutes to breathe and close her eyes, only opening when she feels good enough. She knows they’ll be alright, but she doesn’t really mind when she pulls out her phone to write him a message.

I love you. I know you’ll do good. Stay safe Roos.

[lucid-ao3]

2024

Hello! I haven't updated tumblr in a while soooo decided to make a (long) post about what I'm currently working on and what I've posted recently:

MLB Writing Updates

1. In December I posted A Holiday Wish. It's a fun little few-shot where Adrien gets a gift from Plagg and sees what life is like if Ladybug loved him back. Shenanigans ensue. I really had fun with it. It's a companion piece to my story 'A Birthday Wish', wherein Marinette gets a similar birthday gift from Tikki. I always had the idea of "hmmm what if this was Adrien and Plagg, instead?"

2. I also wrote, in December, a fic for a gift exchange where the duo visits the Shadyverse. It's holiday themed, and I reallyyyyy enjoyed writing the piece. I was able to dive into Shadybug's life and paint a picture of what that universe may be like for her. I may expand on the universe simply because it's SO unexplored and interesting to write/create. I can really do anything with it! Some minor head canons were: Marinette's parents are divorced, Marinette lives alone, her still lives in Paris but is distant, her mother lives in China (estranged), Ladybug and Adrien are together, GabeDad is kind and loving, Marinette's second home is the Gabriel Mansion, Marinette lives alone, the bakery is a chain that churns out mediocre sweets.

I LOVE LOVE writing Adrien Angst - as many of you know - and the Shadyverse lets me flip that into Marinette angst in a similarly delicious way.

3. My Antidote story is 10k words and complete in my eyes but... it's also not complete. I want to post it but it ends abruptly and I don't want to disappoint readers. I'm uninspired to write a big final battle. TBD - may post before the end of the month.

Harry Potter Writing Updates

1. I posted my first ever triad smutfic. It's raunchy and *ahem* well I like it lol! Dreomione anyone? Check it out! Rated Explicit! Title: Disobedient

2. My Veela!Draco 8th Year story is coming along. I've recently been struck with inspiration. At the moment I have 28k words written. I'm thinking it will be around 45k by the time I'm done. It's spicy, but I'm also trying to do a solid "Draco is a new man" characterization that is believable, so the love story doesn't fall flat among the smut. I hope to start posting before May (fingers crossed!!)

3. I think I'm going to finally cross-post my old, old, first ever fanfiction, 'A Tale of Cinderella' to ao3. I've edited that thing about 100 times and it's evolved into something post-able. I'll post it all at once. Maybe tomorrow. Dramione/Rated G/Fifth Year Cinderella-esque romance

Zutara Writing Update

1. I'm not sure if I ever mentioned I have a Zutara story in the works, but I do. It'll be rated PG. I wanted to post it before the Live Action came out buuuuut not all things work out. Still, I have a lot of fun writing it and hope to post it by the end of the summer. Summary: "What if Katara healed Zuko's scar in Ba Sing Se, and Aang fully unblocked his final Chakra, releasing all worldly tethers (and Katara) and allowing him to master the Avatar state? Zutara book 2/3 divergence." What do you all think? Does it sound interesting? I'm shaping it around the cartoon so some chapters include things like [watch book 2 episode 20], etc. I want it to be as canon as possible - but Zutara!

WOW THIS WAS A LONG POST. I didn't realize how much I've been doing writing-wise. I'm happy I spent the time to type this all out even if no one reads it :)

Thanks all xo

[m1edemafc]

blog navigation!

heya, thanks for stopping by my blog! i mostly made this because interacting on ao3 is a bit of a pain sometimes, and it's easier for me to take prompts/requests/questions on tumblr.

i'm so happy to take requests, so feel free to drop any prompts or requests! i'm not inherently opposed to writing anything, but forewarning, i hate every piece of smut i've ever written so it's highly unlikely that i'll publish anything with substantial smut. not ruling it out completely but it's just ~very~ unlikely.

these are my current works, you can find them all on ao3! unless it's a headcannon, my work will only ever be published on ao3. sorry to all the tumblr fic readers out there, but i promise ao3 is fairly easy to navigate even as a guest.

masterlist:

lucy bronze/ona battle

all these people think love's for show, but i'd die for you in secret

tags: established relationship, fluff, domestic fluff, karaoke

status: work in progress, eight chapters

jana fernández/jill roord

my heart has been split open (you see everything i'm hoping)

tags: hurt/comfort, acl injury, angst, fluff

status: coming soon, one shot

keira walsh/laura feiersinger

i just want to know you better (know you better now)

tags: 5+1 things, situationship, getting together, kind of a slow burn?

status: complete, one shot

mapi león/ingrid engen

let our hearts be the only sound

tags: established relationship, proposal, fluff

status: complete, one shot

alexia putellas/jenni hermoso

you'll find that you were never not mine

series: inked on my soul

tags: alternate universe, tattoo artist jenni, footballer alexia, getting back together, jealousy 

status: complete, one shot

fc barcelona femení

bilbao is one hell of a drug

tags: uefa womens champions league, winning

status: complete, seven chapters

alessia russo/leah williamson

hearts collide, souls intertwine

series: country girls universe

tags: kid fic, forced roommates, getting together, potential slow burn (i haven't decided)

status: coming soon

the way the moonlight dances in your eyes

series: country girls universe

tags: kidfic, fluff, literally just fluff, new kit pics!!

status: one shot, complete

caroline graham hansen/marta torrejón

forever is in your eyes

tags: kid fic, post retirement, marriage, domestic fluff

status: coming soon, one shot collection

a little about me:

i'm a 23 year old gemini vegetarian from australia! i've been an arsenal fan (both women and men) for quite a while now, but recently become a barca femeni fan. obviously being australian, i am a huge huge fan of the matildas (less so a socceroos fan tho, but up the boys).

although i love football, i am the least coordinated person and have not ever played football outside of pe lessons in school. i grew up as a competitive swimmer before i quit when i was 16 and i also played a few seasons of club netball during high school (i was not that great). i mostly am a pilates girlie now, but also have decided to start running this year and am running my first 14k race in august (please cross your fingers that i make it out alive).

although i've been an avid fic reader for over a decade across quite a few fandoms, i only started writing fic this year. that mostly happened because i've been on somewhat of a sabbatical for the past few months, and am not currently in uni or working so i've finally had time to actually put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) on all the words that have been floating around in my brain.

in saying that, my self declared sabbatical will be ending in july so i cannot promise any consistency around posting. i don't mind some gentle pushing but please keep in mind i usually take a full time course load at uni, work two jobs and also have a social life, friends, family and also a whole host of health problems so sometimes my life gets a bit too out of hand and it kinda is out of my control.

i really am trying to enter my era of a healthy work-life balance though, so i'm hoping we won't reach the same level of chaos that my life previously has been.

anyways, if you have made it to this point, you are a real trooper and thanks for reading through my rambles!

:))

[pxnsneverland]

Beauty and the Boss | austin!elvis x oc (part 5)

plot summary: Laura Jean Walker is the daughter to Louisiana’s most powerful mafia boss, but to her, he’s just her jail warden. When she sneaks out to the Louisiana Hayride with her friend she sees Elvis Presley perform and instantly knows something is special about this boy. Especially when he saves her from being assaulted by a townie. She thinks she’s on cloud 9 until she gets kidnapped in the middle of the night by the Memphis Mafia led by Elvis himself. Will Laura Jean try to free herself or will something hold her back from finding her way home?

Part 1 | Part 2  | Part 3 | Part 4

pairings: austin!elvis x oc

word count: 3490

warnings/notes: I finally had time to write a new part! I was literally at the front desk at my job writing this fanfiction today for my whole shift while doing my work lol. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy it and I'm hoping I'll be able to post another part before the week is up...fingers crossed :)

Chapter 5

               A month had gone with no news from my father and no money returned to Elvis. I didn't mind too much. Graceland was starting to seem more like home than my real home. Ms. Gladys was treating me like the daughter she never had, even teaching me how to prepare her family's recipes. The Memphis Mafia's other members began to act more like brothers. They were only all business while they were doing business, it turned out. The remainder of the time, they were wild boys running around, tossing footballs, racing in go karts, and generally having a good time. I even got to meet Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis' music manager. I didn't care for him. He reminded me of my father: all smiles on the outside, but sticky and shady on the inside. But Elvis trusted him, so I didn't express my worries. Still, I tried to avoid him as much as possible, especially when I accompanied Elvis to his performances. I spent most of my time with Elvis, and I quickly understood that the only thing monstrous about him was that he was a mafia leader. He was a boy with a golden heart, a profound love for his family and friends, and a passion for music. We'd go for walks around the Graceland grounds or simply relax in his room and listen to music. He would sometimes play me tunes on the grand piano in his living room and I would sing along, which always made him smile. Even though I didn't leave the property without Elvis, I didn't feel as confined as I did with Daddy.

I descended the stairs after hearing Ms. Gladys' voice all the way upstairs. I crept into the living room and saw Elvis slumped on the piano bench, forlorn. I could see he was still upset over his last performance. The Colonel dubbed it "The New Elvis." A family-friendly Elvis in coats and tails. An Elvis who appears to make a fool of himself on live television while singing to a hound dog. I'd heard all the headlines about Elvis's shows being too lude, his music being too rebellious, and how he was corrupting today's youth on the radio and television. That was all nonsense from the tabloids, but the Colonel reasoned that pandering to the skeptics would be simpler than having Elvis ignore them. I wished I could ring that man's neck for removing the brightness from Elvis' eyes.            

Gladys shouted, pacing in the kitchen, “She just went on and on about the damn dog.” Elvis looked like he was barely listening. “And I said, “Neighbors shouldn’t speak like that”. And then she said…”

              I entered the living room and sat on the arm of the sofa close to Elvis's head, which was dangling off the end of the piano bench. I offered him a little grin as he gazed up at me. “The bit with a dog wasn’t that bad, was it?” I was attempting to cheer him up, but even I could see how horrible things really were.

              “It was the most embarrassing performance of my life, darlin’,” Elvis said quietly. He moved down the seat till his head was in my lap and one of his hands was clutching the bottom of my skirt.

Elvis had developed feelings for me, and I knew I had feelings for him. We weren't dating or committed, but we were something, and everyone at Graceland knew it. I ran my fingers through his hair. “Your real fans will still be by your side. Like the ones outside the gate every day.”

              “You mean the ones beggin’ me to go back to my old ways? Sounds more like protestin’ than admiration.”

              Ms. Gladys entered the living room from the kitchen. “She wasn’t the only one who said it. All the neighbors did.” Elvis tensed up beneath my touch. “Those New York people were using you to poke fun at the whole South. Getting a laugh out of putting a hillbilly in a tailcoat and singing to a dog.”

              “Ms. Gladys, ain’t no one thinkin’ we’re hillbillys.,” I remarked, “Especially not Elvis. He ain’t never been ashamed of where he comes from."

              “Exactly, Mama.” Elvis didn't lift his head from my lap, and Ms. Gladys acted as if seeing us cuddled up together, me comforting him, was the most natural thing in the world. “God damn it; besides it was either that or I get canceled. Then that’s it for television. Colonel says I’m runnin’ out of states I’m welcome in. And I don’t need no one lookin’ deeper into anything I’m doin’.” I knew he was referring to the Memphis Mafia, but I had no idea what Ms. Gladys thought he was referring to. “And they don’t pay unless I can perform!” He took his head off my lap. “So, Colonel says I play the charity concert tomorrow night, as the new family style, then everybody calms down and we get back on track. Someone’s gotta think about keepin’ a roof over our heads.”

              Gladys scowled. “Roof over our head? Elvis, we have always managed to keep a roof over our head!” She began to storm away. Elvis followed her, and I wondered if I should intervene in their discourse.

              “Mama, Colonel is my manager. It’s his job and he ain’t never failed us before.”

              “We was doin’ just fine before that man came along!”

              “Colonel has got us all of this!” Elvis extended his arms, indicating the big mansion and many acres.

              “I don’t want all of this! You’re unhappy! I don’t like seein’ you unhappy! Laura Jean doesn’t either!” She yelled this as if it were going to aid her case. Maybe it would, since he returned his flushed gaze to his mother after a brief glance back at me.

              “I am not unhappy!”

              Gladys smacked her palms on the table, causing the cutlery to clatter noisily. She returned her attention to him. “You’re losing yourself, Booby!”

              Elvis shook his head. “Aw, hell, Mama, I---”

              “Satnin knows.”

              She approached Elvis, putting her hands on his arms and leaning in closer. “The way you sing and move, it’s God-given. So, there can’t be nothin’ wrong with it.”

              Elvis appeared to be about to say something, but Billy rushed in, saying, “Hey, EP! EP! Can we close down the movie house and watch Godzilla tonight?!” A swarm of other boys followed him, dashing through the house like madmen, generating an even bigger commotion than the one that was already going on.

              Elvis' face had turned even redder. “Don’t tramp mud in the house, Billy!”

              “But you said we could watch the movie!”

              I watched something erupt in Elvis. He appeared to be the frightening, deadly mafia leader who would have killed that redneck boy if I hadn't stopped him. Billy was shoved out the front door. “Get out! Get out of my goddamn house! Trampin’ mud in my house and doin my damn head in!” He took a few steps before pulling his jacket from the rack. With irritation, he put his palm over his eyes. “Mama, you ain’t never happy. No matter what I do, no matter how much I give you, it ain’t never enough!” Gladys had already taken the half-empty whiskey bottle from the cupboard and had begun to drink the rest. Elvis' gaze was drawn to it for a brief while. “And I wish you would not drink so goddamn much. It’s not good for you!”

He took my hand and drew me outside with him. I scurried behind him, trying to keep up with his big strides. Gladys was calling to him from inside, but he didn't stop or turn back. The boys began shouting to him as well, but it seemed as if they were yelling at walls. He seated me in the passenger seat of his purple convertible before immediately going into the driver's seat, starting the car, and driving away.

“Elvis, where are we goin’?” I inquired but received no response. The radio began playing his music as we approached the gate, where there were still fans outside. He changed stations, but each station seemed to be playing different increments of Hound Dog, taunting him until he finally turned off the radio as the gates opened. Girls grabbed the car in the hopes that he would look at them or stop and talk. His gaze was fixed on the road in front of him. His white knuckles gripped the steering wheel. I heard cameras clicking and people asking who I was and why I was in the car. We soon passed through the crowd and were on the open road, driving into the setting sun in complete silence. I wanted to ask where we were going again, but he hadn't even acknowledged that he had brought me along.

It was night by the time we reached someplace, and the street we were on was filled with lights, people, and music. This was unlike any other street I'd ever seen. There were a lot of black people on the streets, in businesses, and in restaurants. It seemed as though the street itself was giving these folks life, and it was enthralling. The car eventually came to a halt when it approached a curb.

I cast a glance at Elvis. “Where are we?”

He shut off the automobile and leaned back, exhaling a long breath he hadn't taken since Graceland. “Beale Street. I used to spend a lot of time down here. It’s one of my favorite places, one of the places that inspired me.” He finally looked at me with remorse. “I’m sorry I just grabbed you and left. I just…I don’t know what to do. Everybody wants somethin’ different from me. I feel like I can’t make anyone happy.”

I grasped his hand in mine. “You need to make yourself happy, Elvis. That’s all that matters. And anyone who really loves you will be okay with that.”

Elvis kissed the back of my hand with a smile. “You really are a wonder, Laura Jean Walker.” He flung open his door. “Come on, there’s somewhere I wanna take you.” He hopped out and came to my side, opening the door and assisting me in exiting. He held my hand as he proceeded to the sidewalk, which was immediately encircled by a throng of people. While hauling me along, he respectfully greeted and thanked everyone.

Then, a voice from above yelled, “EP!”

Elvis and I both turned to face the voice. A black man stood on a fire escape outside the 'Club Handy' building, waving to Elvis. Elvis's face brightened. “BB! Hey!”

“Get over here!”

Elvis dragged me across the street, the mob behind us. Hands were shaken as we approached the entrance, and I overheard several of the ladies complimenting my clothes and hair. Elvis came to a halt to sign a few autographs. As the performer's entry to Club Handy opened, BB was waiting there with a huge security guy in a suit. “Get him! Get him in here! EP! EP!”

Elvis eventually made his way into the club, dragging me along with him. The shouting fans outside were muted when the security officer locked the door behind us. I wasn't afraid; in fact, I could feel the adrenaline surging through me, making me want to bounce off the walls. I was generally off to the side backstage, watching Elvis' concerts with Gladys and the Colonel. I'd never been so close to the action and the spectators who showered him with affection.

BB and Elvis hugged in the way that only an old friend can. Elvis's previous worry was gone, and the brilliant smile was back on his face, and the light was back in his eyes. “Oh, it’s good to see you, BB.”

“You too, EP. What you doin’ slummin’ it down here again? I would have thought you would have been too busy.”

“Well, I needed to clear my head, and this felt like the right place to do it.” BB's gaze was drawn to me, and he nodded to Elvis for an introduction. “Oh, Laura Jean, this is BB King. BB, this is Laura Jean Walker…my girl.”

I swear I felt my heart cease beating. My girl. I was so excited that I almost missed BB taking my hand and shaking it. Of course, I had no objections to being his girl, but we hadn't discussed it. We hadn't said anything else to anyone. We'd just fallen into these roles with each other as if we didn't have any other choice. I instantly felt the urge for a glass of water. “Um, nice to meet you, Mr. King.”

“BB, please. I’m too young to be called mister anything. So, you been keepin’ EP in line?”

With a tiny giggle, I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t think anybody could keep Elvis in line. He’s too rebellious for his own good.”

Elvis rolled his eyes but wrapped his arm around me and laid his lips to my brow. “Watch yourself, darlin’. You still gotta come back home with me,” he said, making me laugh even more.

BB just nodded. “I’m glad you’re doing well for yourself, EP. Or are you…?”

Elvis released me when he saw BB was ready to get to the bottom of why he had gone to Beale Street in the first place. “It’s my mama. She keeps going on about the “Hound Dog”, and the Colonel’s got me wearin’ tails, and everybody just wants somethin’ different.”

BB rested his hand on Elvis' shoulder. “Hey, listen, man, if you’re sad and you want to be sad, you’re at the right place. If you’re happy and you want to be happy, guess what? You’re at the right place. So just do me a favor…” He fixed Elvis’s jacket. “…let it all hang out. Let it all hang out, EP.”

Elvis chuckled and nodded. “Let it all hang out, baby.”

BB led us into the club, which was packed with people dancing, drinking, and partying as if tomorrow didn't exist. Everyone seemed to be caught up in the music and atmosphere of the club. It was like freedom personified, and I couldn't help but want to join in. On the stage, a black singer was playing the piano and singing into the microphone as if his life depended on it. He had Elvis-style eye makeup and a pompadour on his head.

“Whoo! Man, he’s cuttin’ it,” Elvis yelled to BB over the din of the crowd.

“He’s amazing,” I said as the artist began to move away from his keyboard to dance with the audience.

“Sister Rosetta found this kid in the backwaters of Georgia,” BB explained.

“You should get the Colonel to book him on Steve Allen. I bet he would love that.” Elvis laughed at himself. “They would love his moves.” We worked our way through the crowd until we located an empty booth in the corner where we could sit and watch the performance. “Man, he sings the hell out of that song. I would love to record that.”

BB nodded. “If you do, you’ll make a whole lot more money than that kid could ever dream of.”

It was a terrible fact, but it was the reality, nevertheless. Even while Elvis did his share to draw attention to black musicians, there was still a racial barrier that many refused to cross. Yet it didn't mean he'd give up trying. And it was time for me to give it a shot with him. I took his hand in mine and dragged him out of the booth. “Come on, I wanna dance.”

Elvis beamingly grinned. “Really? You don’t feel out of place here?”

“Why would I? You’re with me and it looks like fun.” I took him to the dance floor and began dancing to the music. He was stunned at first, but soon joined me, drawing me closer. The heat of the crowd around us energized us both as we laughed and danced to the song together. I was performing dancing moves I'd only seen on TV, motions that Daddy would describe as obscene. But I'd never had so much fun in my life. I felt liberated, I was myself, and I was with someone who appreciated who I was as much as I did. We also danced with some of the other clubgoers and drank wine purchased for us by several fans.

It was later than I had ever stayed out by the time we were sweaty and tired. We were smoking cigarettes on the fire escape with BB. BB flung his ashes over the gate's side. “That’s a nice ride you rode up in tonight.”

Elvis shook his head. “It ain’t like your ol’ BB King bus.”

BB laughed. “Big Red. Yeah, well, I can go where I want, play what I want and if they don’t like it, I can go somewhere else.”

“Sounds like a dream,” I said.

“It is. You’ve got to be in control.”

“Yeah, well, it ain’t easy when you got someone hell bent on controlling you. My Daddy barely let me leave the house.”

“Is that why you moved in with EP over here? Childhood rebellion?”

My hands were on my hips. “No, that ain’t the reason. And I’m not a child. I think I more than proved that by bein’ here tonight.”

BB chuckled as I playfully struck Elvis on the arm. “She’s got fire in her, EP. You chose a good one, one that can probably keep up with you.”

Elvis bit his lower lip. “Yeah, well, she just kind of fell into my lap. But I’m glad she did.”

My face became heated from the blush that had appeared on my cheeks. I was pleased I had as well, regardless of the circumstances that had brought us together. In some ways, I suppose I didn't want Daddy to satisfy Elvis's demands. Would I be forced to leave if he did? Would Daddy make Elvis do it? I didn't want to leave. I was content with where I was and who I was with for the first time in a long time. The prospect of returning to Daddy's prison made me nervous.

For a little while, all was quiet before BB declared, “EP, you should have your own label, like me. You don’t do the business; the business will do you.”

Elvis sighed. “Man, I just leave all that to the Colonel.”

“So, it’s his idea? This new Elvis?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t get it, man. Cats buy your records because they like what you do, not because you’re dressed up like some butler. You really think those kids want to see Elvis the butler at the Russwood Park gig?”

“BB is right, Elvis.” I felt compelled to speak up. It was really bothering him. “I know you trust the Colonel to do what’s right. But you didn’t sell records because you stood at a microphone in tails and a tie. You sold them because you gave the young generation what they wanted. You gave them music and dance moves and performances that spoke to them, spoke to their freedom.”

“Well, I ain’t wearin’ no tails.” Elvis bowed his head. “I just…gotta lay off the moves, is all.”

“Your moves are you, baby. They’re apart of you as much as the music is.”

“Colonel says if I don’t, they’re gonna put me in jail. And not just for dancin’.”

My breath became stuck in my throat. “They can’t prove you did nothin’. You’re makin’ honest money now. Ain’t nothin’ bought through dirty means at Graceland.”

BB cast a glance between the two of us. “She knows?”

Elvis nodded. “She knows everythin’. And, Laura Jean, it ain’t just about things I’ve bought. The Memphis Mafia deals in much more than shady money, you know that. Daddy got sloppy once and they threw him in jail for it. If I make the same mistake, everyone I care about looses everything and I get sent packin’.”

“Come on, man. They’re not gonna put you in jail. They might put me in jail for walking across the street, but you? You’re a white boy and a famous one at that. You’re more than the mafia now, EP. Too many people are making too much money off you to put you in jail.”

Elvis was paying close attention, and I could see his mind working. “You think so?”

“I know so. Colonel’s a smart man. There’s gotta be another reason.”

Elvis looked at me for reassurance. “My feelings about the Colonel don’t matter, even I agree with BB. You gotta listen to yourself. Don’t let nobody tell you what’s best for you. Only you know what’s best for you and I’ll be there too. No matter what.”

Elvis pulled me up onto his lap. “Well, then, darlin’, I think it’s time for a change.”

Stay tuned for part 6!! Click HERE to view!

[elvenbeard]

Spinning

Cyberpunk 2077 Fanfic Summary: V and Kerry try to figure out if they're living the real "mayor candidate of Night City" lifestyle. After the tension of the last days, weeks, and months though, some well-needed stress relief is in order, too. (Post-Sun-Ending, mostly canon-compliant, Chapter 5/?, 4818 words, Kerry Eurodyne/V, rated E for eggplant-emoji) - author's notes at the end!

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“Um, I’m really not sure if this is safe!” Lee called down to them over his shoulder, clinging to the narrow ladder with all his might. His shiny blue-and-gold-striped blazer fluttered like a weathervane, while his perfectly styled bright-blue pompadour sat on his head like a helmet… only that it wouldn’t prevent his skull from cracking should he fall.

“Just keep goin’, dammit, you’re almost there!” Kerry annoyedly gestured him to hurry. Lee swallowed audibly, then looked back up towards the roof of the penthouse and continued at an agonizingly slow pace.

“Should’ve let me go, he’s gonna piss himself any moment now,” V muttered as he watched the scene play out, standing by Kerry’s side.

“Abso-fuckin’-lutely not,” Kerry shook his head vehemently, arms crossed, “You’re not climbin’ anywhere anytime soon.”

V sighed. He would have managed somehow, for sure, but Kerry had already refused to let him search for any signs of Blue-Eye’s tech inside the penthouse. He had been banished to the sofa, then the bed, doomed to rest himself and take it slow, only giving directions and pointing Kerry to places that could have been bugged or otherwise tempered with in the way he’d seen it done it in the mayor's apartment. They really had been thorough, and Kerry was taking this as seriously as V. But still, he didn’t know if he should be relieved or not, having found nothing suspicious yet. At the Peralez’ place there’d been that communications system on the rooftop, and since Kerry simply didn’t want to climb up and V couldn’t, it was now up to Kerry’s manager to make himself useful. V had been hesitant about getting Lee involved, but on the other hand he would simply do what Kerry told him without asking questions.

“I did it!” Lee yelled from the rooftop ecstatically, straightening up with his hands on his hips, “Wow, the view from up here is something…”

“You don’t have to yell for fuck’s sake, we can hear you over the holo!” Kerry rolled his eyes and took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. After a short pause he turned to V with his voice much calmer again, his expression softer.

“Any second thoughts?”

“The painkillers they gave me are pretty good,” V shrugged, “Doubt this is gonna make it worse by much. And I don’t trust that he knows what he’s supposed to be lookin’ for on his own.”

The biggest downside of this plan really, but admittedly, V didn’t have a better idea at the given time either. And he sure as hell wouldn’t be able to wind down without being at least somewhat certain they weren’t being monitored here.

“Alright,” Kerry sighed, then raised a finger at V, almost like a scolding parent, and much to V’s amusement, “But you stop if it gets too much. I just gotta give him a call and we’ll send him back up again anytime. Okay?”

“Promise,” V smiled at Kerry, who finally relaxed his shoulders a bit and then fully uncrossed his arms to take V’s hand.

“Uh, I’m ready whenever!” Lee yelled, double thumbs up, and Kerry groaned, muting himself of the holocall.

“Fuck, dunno where he gets the energy from…”

“Drugs?” V shrugged.

“Whatever he’s takin’, I want some.”

V chuckled, regretting it immediately at the sharp pain shooting through his chest – dulled from the meds, but not gone. Then he focused his scanner on Lee and hacked into his optics, unmuting himself at the same time to be able to direct him around.

“Oh, wow, that was weird,” Lee gasped as V’s vision glitched and he found himself on top of the penthouse too now, looking down at himself and Kerry, while still feeling Kerry’s touch giving him stability. He’d never get used to this.

“Alright, turn around,” V said, “Gimme a walkaround of the whole rooftop area, so I get an overview of the layout.”

Lee nodded.

“And don’t… do that. Don’t move your head around too much.”

“Oh, understood!”

Then Lee did as he was told, slowly walking around the roof and following V’s instructions to a T. He had decent Kiroshis, but still not the software and modifications that V was used to, so it took him a couple of minutes to just adjust to that as well, on top of looking through another person’s eyes. It was frustrating that he couldn’t scan some of the tech installed on the roof in the way he wanted to, had to manually instruct Lee to do this or that, look closer at certain panels, follow wires, or open up compartments that shouldn’t normally be opened by people who didn’t know what they were doing. Lee’s constant babbling and whining didn’t help.

“You still good?” Kerry asked after about ten minutes of intensive search, “You’re… swaying a bit.”

“Lemme take another quick look at the AC unit,” V said, but that sentence alone cost him a lot of strength, words coming out only somewhat slurred.

“Vince, don’t overdo it. You promised.”

Kerry’s voice was stern and simultaneously so full of worry, V could downright see his face before him.

“Okay. You’re right… sorry.”

He disconnected from Lee’s optics, and it was good that Kerry was still holding his hand, otherwise he might have just keeled over.

“Woah, shit!” Kerry gasped and V clung to him, stumbling slightly, falling into his arms more or less.

“I’m good, I’m good,” V caught his breath, but he was glad to be able to lean against Kerry for support, “Gimme a minute, my head’s spinning a little.”

“Told you not to overdo it,” Kerry muttered and helped him sit down on one of the nearby deck chairs. After a few deep breaths the dizziness already started to fade again. V grinned at Kerry, and it made his frown slowly melt and change into a soft smile as well.

“Can… can I come down again now?” Lee asked and Kerry and V both sighed deeply, paused to look at the other, then started laughing.

“Yeah, move your ass back down,” Kerry said and sat down next to V on the chair, ending the holocall.

“Love workin’ with amateurs,” V said, and Kerry scoffed.

“Fuckin’ tell me about it,” he said, “Should see him scuttle about the studio like a headless chicken. Wonder which of the label bosses’ dicks he’s sucked to get hired in the first place.”

“Maybe he’s someone’s nephew,” V suggested, and Kerry groaned.

“Good ol’ nepotism, even worse! Fuckin’ and suckin’ your way to the top at least involves a little bit of effort and initiative…”

Kerry let out a long, frustrated sigh, rubbing his face with both hands and pausing for a couple of seconds before turning back to V.

“Anything at all?” he asked, voice lowered, nodding in the direction of the roof. V carefully shook his head.

“Nah. Not sure if I’m relieved or not,” he said with a shrug.

“I’m relieved, for sure,” Kerry said calmly, his posture straightening again, “That’s gotta be worth somethin’, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it is,” V nodded, and before he knew it Kerry had his arm around him, holding him close, fingers gently rubbing a tense spot on his upper back. V looked at him, and the way the midday sunlight bounced off of the silver lines on Kerry’s cheeks, the little gold plates, refracted across his freckles, was a sight he could never get enough of. His pretty blue Kiroshis were such a stark, cold contrast to his warm skin, their intensity mesmerizing as Kerry looked him over briefly as if to make sure he was really here with him. A gentle smile curled at the corners of his mouth, the distinguished grey in his beard adding to his radiance, and V’s heart skipped a beat or two. He couldn’t resist pressing a quick kiss against the small golden implant just below Kerry’s cheekbone, much to Kerry’s amusement. Then they just sat quietly, side by side, and watched Lee shakily climb down the maintenance ladder at the backside of the penthouse. It took him even longer to get down than it had taken him to get up, and while V couldn’t hear him, he could see that he was mumbling to himself the whole time.

“Since when is his hair blue?” he asked eventually, a little scared of the answer.

“Not that long, walked in like this last week or somethin’,” Kerry said, “Why?”

V sighed with relief.

“Just a reality check, I guess.”

Another brief pause, the silence between them drowned out by the howling wind announcing a sandstorm already towering in the distance, gunshots and police sirens on the streets below, AVs breezing above their heads. It was like any other day in Night City, and this realization was strangely comforting to V. Some things would never change, no matter how hard you fought them… and that was okay. The world would keep on turning, no matter what became of him, or Kerry, or anyone else.

He looked back at Kerry, who made a frowny face at whatever Lee was doing. V held his thought to just admire the view for a moment, Kerry puzzled and annoyed at the same time, surely a hundred insults at the tip of his tongue about how much he hated the guy – although not nearly as much as Kovachek. Kerry realized he was being watched quickly, as usual.

“What?” he asked with a grin, meeting V’s gaze.

“Nothin’,” V said almost automatically. He leaned into Kerry’s embrace a little bit more.

“I really never told you about the Johnny thing? Seein’ his reflection? Because I was so sure I did…”

Kerry shook his head gently.

“No, promise. That’s definitely something I’d’ve remembered,” he said.

V began to peel at the plastic seam of his cast again. Along the edges the material was kind of rough and a tiny pointy bit stuck out that had been annoying him the whole time already, poking and scratching him. It was too short to properly pinch it, but too thick to just clip it off without a tool. He sighed.

“I’m just… Makes me wonder what else I didn’t actually tell you that I’m sure I did. Y’know…” he hesitated to even think about it.

“Hm?”

V looked up from his hands at Kerry again, eyes big and questioning, but still an encouraging smile on his lips, making V’s heart flutter. On some days he was so numb from all that had happened, but these little moments reminded him he was still able to feel something after all. If he had the guarantee that the only emotion left in his body was his love for Kerry at the end, he probably wouldn’t be so scared of the things to come.

“It’s kinda sick to even think it,” he then said quietly, keeping an eye on Lee who had finally made it to the end of the ladder, “But I was hoping we’d find something. Inside, or up there.”

Kerry frowned, but even before V said it out loud, realization began to dawn in his eyes, his shoulders slumping, his lips parting slightly, but he said nothing just yet.

“’Cause if it’s not Blue-Eyes and his people messing with my head… Maybe this is just me really beginning to lose it. My mind. Myself. Like Alt predicted,” V said quietly.

Kerry seemed to want to say something, but after struggling with words for a few moments he just resorted to moving closer, bumping their foreheads together gently. V closed his eyes, basking in the comfort of Kerry’s presence.

He hated all of this so much, and even more he hated to put Kerry through it as well. Maybe he should’ve listened to Johnny… to not give into his feelings, that is, imagining a long-term relationship with Kerry when even back then his future had looked anything but rosy. On the other hand… he didn’t want to think about in what mental state he’d be now if Kerry wasn’t by his side. Whether he’d still be around at all.

Kerry moved away just enough to be able to look at V properly again, both opening their eyes. Kerry still had his left arm around V’s shoulders, his right hand reached up to cup V’s face, and he melted into the touch. Fuck, he’d been gone for how long, two, three days? And he’d missed this closeness, their quiet intimate moments so much, where neither of them had to say anything. They just understood the other’s pain and thoughts, so well sometimes it scared V a little bit. He could see it in Kerry’s eyes, the same fear sitting deep in his chest, the same worries in the lines on his forehead, his clenched jaw, the tension in his muscles and every movement.

“One day at a time,” Kerry then quietly said, “And positive thinking.”

“Yeah,” V nodded briefly.

In the next second though, much to their annoyance, their little moment was interrupted by Lee’s silhouette blocking out the sun as he approached. He was smiling awkwardly, not sure what to do with his hands, rummaging in the pockets of his blazer. Reluctantly Kerry lowered his hand, but not without brushing his thumb across V’s lips briefly, making him shiver in a good way for once. They both turned to look at Lee who cleared his throat, voice a little shaky as he began to speak.

“Well, that went well, right? I hope? Or… or not?” he asked, looking at them expectantly for a moment, but after receiving no answer, he just continued.

“Kerry, while I’m here… did you, by any chance, have a moment to look at the info I sent you yesterday? Regarding the Crystal Palace gig?”

V didn’t have to let even the faintest noise escape his lips before Kerry turned to look at him. They came to a silent understanding within not more than a second or two, both their expressions neutral to not give too much away in front of Lee. Their eyes spoke all the words necessary. Kerry turned back to his manager.

“Skimmed through it, yeah,” he said briefly.

“Ah, great!” Lee could barely contain his excitement… or rather, he tried everything in his power to mask his nervousness somehow, V got the impression. This guy was really gonna have a hard time in the corporate media world.

“So… what do you think? I can call them back right away, set a date, discuss specifics… Oh, was anything unclear I should ask first, do you have any questions about the conditions they stated?”

Kerry stared at Lee intensely, then threw another brief glance at V.

“Gimme a couple more days to think about it. I’ll call ya, or see ya at the studio or whatever,” Kerry decided and with a waving hand motion gestured him to leave.

“Oh, um, okay, well,” Lee stammered, “Sure, we can do that! Whatever you say! I uh… I’ll find the way out myself.”

“Lee,” Kerry said in a warning tone as he was about to turn around, “Remember: you weren’t here today. You saw nothin’.”

“Ah, yes, uh, of course!” he stammered, stumbling slightly as he turned around to eagerly nod.

Both V and Kerry looked after him as he then walked off, back inside and towards the direction of the elevator.

“Think he’s maybe just a little bit scared of us?” V grinned at Kerry. That finally brought Kerry’s smile back, cheeky, with a little mischievous glint in his eyes. He saw him like this too rarely lately and couldn’t help himself but reach out with his healthy hand, stroke his cheek, run his fingers along his cyberware, through his beard. Kerry closed his eyes and leaned into V’s hand now, in return causing V’s heart to bounce around like crazy. How dared he be so gorgeous?

“Not as much of us as of gettin’ the Kovachek-treatment if he gets funny with me,” Kerry said quietly, eyes still closed, and V chuckled.

“He got a yacht?”

“No, and he wouldn’t dare get one!” Kerry laughed, then blinked up at him and bit his lip, “But the pay bump he got for signing me just bought him a brand-new Caliburn. Or so I’ve heard.”

“Ohoho, interesting, interesting…” V mused, but before he could finish the thought Kerry leaned in and captured his lips in a kiss. It was chaste almost, for Kerry’s standards at least, just the softest nibble, the faintest flick of his tongue. V’s hand slipped to the back of Kerry’s head, across velvety buzzed hair, fingers massaging encouragingly. In contrast to the almost careful, gentle movement of his lips though, Kerry’s breath was hot and needy, and when he slowly, reluctantly pulled back, his cheeks were flushed, and his eyes wandered back to V’s mouth, his neck, his chest…

“Still up for a shower?” he then asked, and V didn’t have to say a thing before Kerry got up and pulled him with him.

They left a trail of clothes on their way inside, across the living room, up the stairs, laughing and whispering and peppering kisses on exposed skin in-between. V was still slower and more unsure in his movements than he would’ve liked, too stiff to get out of his shirt on his own, struggling to open the zipper on his pants, but Kerry was more than happy to help with both. The last piece of clothing dropped just before they reached the bathroom. Kerry’s kisses became greedier, devouring almost, and V let himself be guided to the shower blindly, arms around Kerry’s shoulders, Kerry’s touch purposeful but gentle, hands trailing down V’s sides, then coming to a rest on his hips. Hot water began to rain down on them as they stumbled into the shower, and V broke their kiss just for a moment, gasping at the sudden heat and the downpour of water on his bruises.

“All good?” Kerry asked out of breath, pupils blown wide with desire and V wanted to just lose himself in their beckoning darkness. He didn’t reply, instead pulled Kerry back against his mouth, a little awkwardly with only one healthy hand. Their teeth clashed briefly, eliciting an amused groan from Kerry. His grip on V’s hips grew tighter, but before long his hands wandered to the small of his back, sliding across wet skin down to his butt, leaving no air between their entangled bodies. V gasped, moaned into Kerry’s kiss, at the slight pain each touch, each of their movements caused him… but also at the realization of just how hard Kerry had gotten already, just from undressing and touching, holding and kissing each other like this…

“Vince,” Kerry gasped, the rawness of his voice causing V’s skin to tingle, and when Kerry then slipped his hand between V’s legs, V’s head began to spin.

“Oh, fuck… Kerry…” he didn’t even know how he was still talking, capable of forming words, teasing fingers knowing exactly where and how to touch to drive V crazy, circling, sliding, probing, with just the right amount of pressure. Hand digging into the soft skin and flesh of Kerry’s back, V’s hips instinctively bucked into Kerry’s rhythmic movements, and Kerry adjusted his own stance to grind himself against V’s leg. They’d broken their kiss, and instead now Kerry’s tongue was trailing down V’s neck. Kissing, gently biting along the edges of his chrome, Kerry did the same V loved to do him, because he knew how raw and sensitive ‘ganic skin could be around the edges of a piece of cyberware.

V relished in all the sensations… the hot water engulfing them, washing away the sweat and badlands dust that still stuck to him, Kerry’s touch and kisses, his soft moans and heavy breathing against V’s neck, wet sounds and grunts echoing from the bathroom tiles. The impressions took over V’s thoughts completely, the blissful pain and the soft warmth of Kerry’s skin, the slight scratch and tickle of his beard, the slowly fading but still distinct scent of his cologne… His own racing heartbeat, the tingling heat pooling deep inside him as Kerry got him closer to the edge with every touch, ground against him with intense lust, pushing away all the fear and hurt and worry. Even if it was only temporarily, V embraced all logic and concern leaving his body for this.

When Kerry pulled his hand away all of a sudden, V grunted in protest. Kerry’s fingernails dug into the sides of V’s thighs, and he glanced up at him through long dark eyelashes, out of breath and lips plump and so goddamn kissable… V couldn’t restrain himself, wanted to taste and devour him, lick into his hot wet mouth, breathe his air, become one with him. Kerry moaned against V’s lips, breath shaky, voice startled almost, but once more melting against him. His hands grabbed V’s hips harder, pinning him in place against the shower wall, and his hard, hot cock slipped where his hand had been before. V groaned, whimpering a curse and Kerry’s name against his mouth, and Kerry chuckled between moans and kisses.

They clung to the other like their lifeline, grinding and gasping with pleasure against each other, Kerry picking up the pace and V meeting his every movement.

“Fuck, you feel so good, Vince,” Kerry whispered against V’s neck, raspy voice almost drowned out by the rushing water, but still enough to nearly send him over the edge right then and there.

“I love you so much,” V gasped, and Kerry moaned his name, burying his face against the crook of V’s neck as his body tensed up against him and spilled his hot, sticky release between V’s thighs. It didn’t take much more for V to come, feeling so wanted, cherished, his profession of love of all things letting Kerry climax… V’s legs were shaking, his voice hoarse as he pulled Kerry against him, riding out his orgasm for as long as he could stay on his feet before the heavenly weight of the afterglow took over and they both sank down to the shower floor. Breathing heavily, they still held on to each other reassuringly, kept lazily kissing, were happy to just exist in this moment together without words, enjoying the warmth and silence. For a couple of minutes, the world seemed to have stopped turning after all.

“I’m gonna feel that tomorrow…” V chuckled as they laid in bed in each other’s arms shortly after, hair still wet and tousled, wrapped up loosely in a big soft towel together.

“Just not in the way you wanna, probably,” Kerry grinned, but then he frowned, “Hope I wasn’t too rough.”

“You know I like it a bit rough,” V teased.

“Yeah, but still.”

Kerry’s eyes wandered to the bruises on V’s chest again. He’d really been careful about not grabbing him too roughly there, but in the heat of the moment…

“I won’t break so easily,” V said, “And I didn’t realize how much I needed that.”

Kerry’s smile returned and he inched a little closer.

“Always happy to serve,” he purred, fingertips light as feathers trailing down V’s arm, all the way to his cast-covered hand.

“Aw crap, keep forgetting about that,” he mumbled, resorting to wrap his arm around V’s waist instead of lacing their fingers like they normally would. Outside, the sandstorm was just about to hit, dulling the sun and creating a strangely soothing, cozy orange glow around them. V was close to just dozing off, Kerry had his eyes shut as well, but he managed to not slip away just yet.

“Kerry?” he asked quietly.

“Mh-hm?” Kerry hummed without opening his eyes, not just looking but also sounding half-asleep already.

“I love you, no matter what happens… no matter how this all goes down. Even if I don’t show it or can’t say it anymore,” he said, managing not more than a whisper.

Kerry’s eyes fluttered open again, glistening slightly, glowing almost in the dimmed light. He looked away for a moment, then back at V.

“I know,” he said quietly, “And I’ll love you, no matter what comes next or what you decide. I’ll be there for you.”

“Yeah… I know.”

V let out a deep breath and at least a little bit of the tension that had taken a hold of his body again faded. Kerry’s thumb circled V’s hipbone absentmindedly.

“Well… what comes next?” he then asked after a short pause, “Wanna look around the house more later, or…”

“No, I wouldn’t know where anymore,” V said slowly, “I think all we can do now is wait for Mr. B’s call, I guess. See if he keeps his promise.”

“I swear, if the guy tries to play you, or comes around the corner with even more demands…” Kerry grumbled, “I’ll guarantee for nothin’ anymore.”

“Love it when you’re getting’ all protective of me,” V chuckled, but Kerry remained serious.

“I mean it,” he said, “I dunno, but… just let me know what he does and what he wants. Let me be a part of it this time.”

V hesitated, but he also had to remind himself that Kerry was a sly dog with many connections. He was not to be underestimated, not your typical plastic idol that was more a product than a human being, that needed constant protection… at least not from others.

All of a sudden, he realized that that could be a reason weighing a lot heavier than the convenience of only having to manipulate V, not Kerry as well, by driving a wedge between them. Mr. B had continued to tell him to not let Kerry in on any details of their plans, every step of the way, even after V had repeatedly reassured him that he would not, that he never talked about sensitive client matters with outsiders, especially not while they were still in the planning phase. He had mistaken Mr. B’s requests as simple mistrust at first, then as a reminder to not to mess or disobey him and his people or face according consequences. The good old “if you don’t do this, something might happen to your loved ones” approach.

But maybe… Mr. B had actually been scared that Kerry would smell bullshit, had V let him in on all of this earlier. Kerry wasn’t dying, he wasn’t at anyone’s mercy. And he’d lived in NC long enough, played in the city’s games many times over, and recognized their patterns. V had grown up and lived in the corporate world as well but… It was always hardest to see the whole web – or the spider – when you were caught up in the middle of it. Just how Kerry hadn’t realized that Kovachek had been playing him, while V smelled the media circus from 10 miles away, V hadn’t seen through Mr. B’s schemes this clearly until he was given Kerry’s uninvolved outsider’s perspective. Only slowly he began to see the full extent of his manipulation now, and he might never have if it wasn’t for Kerry... The true irony though was that, if he was correct in his assumptions, Mr. B had played himself now by excluding Kerry from the equation so consistently. The one question remained though… was this only about getting V to do their bidding, was he really that good of an asset to them? Or was there even more to their agenda that warranted all the scheming?

“V, you okay?” Kerry asked, and V realized his thoughts had been trailing off for quite a while, “Hope Johnny’s not back now, too.”

“No, no I’m good,” V said, moving closer to give Kerry a quick kiss, “Better than I’ve been in a while.”

“Well damn, I should start marketing shower sex as the newest miracle cure…”

V laughed, flinched in pain again briefly, but continued to smile at Kerry fondly.

“I guess sometimes I just need my brains fucked out to see clearly again,” he joked.

“Good, good, write that in the pitch!” Kerry egged him on.

“Can’t see clearly anymore at your stressful corporate job? Try to… get fucked!” V said in his best commercial voice and they both burst into laughter. Their voices echoed from the gallery and filled the walls of the penthouse with desperately needed joy.

Sure, in the end, there were no such things as miracle cures. At least not without strings attached or coming at a high price. V was only too aware. And sure, once his and Kerry’s high wore off, and reality came crashing down again, things would probably start looking a lot grimmer again. But in this moment at least, V did not dread what was to come as much anymore, knowing there was no way in hell Kerry would allow him to go through it all alone again.

(aösdfjdaösfasdf thanks for reading here all the way! I don't normally write smut and was hella nervous about posting this at all, I hope this wasn't too awkward xD but I also wanna continue sharing this story, as long as at least one of you wants to continue reading it! and some fluff and happiness was necessary after 4 chapters of angst so far. also would love to hear feedback and thoughts in regard to where you think things might go on from here, cause I have stuff planned (that might all become obsolete depending on the ending Phantom Liberty adds but oh well!! for now The Sun is my canon at least XD))

>> Next Chapter

also, a little bonus for everyone who's made it this far:

This is a random corpo NPC I came across in AMM some time ago - his hair isn't exactly how I picture it, but yeah - that's what Lee looks like in my head, just fyi XD maybe I'll mod a proper appearance for him some time (picture him with the same hair color, but Rachel Casich's hairstyle instead XD and dressed a bit more fancy than this)

Poor Kerry is not amused xD so yeh, if you ever come across him somewhere in Night City, he's probably on some shady errand for Kerry and Vince again, tsk tsk xD

[drabbles-mc]

Far From Over (2)

Gilly Lopez x OC Josephine Costa

Chapter Index

Summary: Trying to get back into a normal routine after the events at the clubhouse was proving more difficult than Josie had thought it would be. Getting back to reality meant that she still needed to get the answer to the question that she'd shown up weeks before looking to ask, a conversation with Gilly that she never got to have before all the shooting started.

Warnings: 18+, language, arguments, angst, messy people and messy relationships

Word Count: 3.4k

A/N: This was originally going to be just one big long installment of this universe but instead I split it into 2 so I wasn't just uploading almost 10k at once haha. I've been wanting to get this down on paper since I started their story during whumpril so it's nice to have this done and out there! I love these two so much you wouldn't believe. My horrid little divorced couple that was never even married in the first place. I'll probably post the next piece at some point over the next couple of days. 😊

Mayans Taglist: @buckybarneshairpullingkink @paintballkid711 @queenbeered @kelpies-shed @gemini0410 @mijagif @amorestevens @garbinge @justreblogginfics @rosieposie0624 @choochoo284 @littlekittymeow @artemiseamoon @nessamc @crowfootwrites @beardburnsupersoldiers @winchestershiresauce @frattsparty @fanfic-n-tabulous @justazzi @darqchilddaydreamz @cositapreciosa @proceduralpassion @camelia35 @danzer8705 @narcolini (If you want to be added to any of my taglists, please let me know!)

It had been just over a week since the shoot-out. Josie hadn’t heard from or reached out to Gilly, or really anyone from the club. Part of her wondered if she should. It crossed her mind to even just drop a text to EZ or Angel, make sure that everyone who was still in one piece when she’d been let go, was actually still in one piece. The empty text box had stared back at her for a long while before she bailed on the idea completely, unsure of how to even try and start that conversation.

She could’ve shown back up to the clubhouse. If anything, she had more of a reason to go back now than she had before. Granted, the fact that her last visit had ended the way it had would’ve been more than enough reason to stay away for the rest of her life. But now she was also bonded to it in a way that she hadn’t been before. Up until the previous week, it had just been the home base of her ex-boyfriend’s motorcycle club—she had no attachment to it once she had no attachment to him. Now, though, it was a place that had some semblance of meaning to her too. Her blood was in the woodgrain of the floor, after all, permanently staining the back of the bar.

A couple different times when she left work in the evening, she thought of changing her route home so that she could pass by the scrapyard, give herself an extra opportunity to contemplate going in. She always chickened out at the last second, deciding instead to take her normal, safe route home, not that she really felt all that safe anymore anyway.

The logical part of her knew that she should just let it lie, let the horrible note of her previous visit be the final one. Not everything in life could end on a high note—she’d learned more about that over the last few months than she had cared to. But as the days ticked by, she could feel herself becoming more restless. She’d find herself running her fingers over the stitches in her shoulder, ones that were hidden by the blouses that she wore to work. She’d still feel the ridges through the thin fabric, knowing that even when the stitches were gone there was still going to be a scar there. There was too much about the entire debacle to try and unpack, so instead she just tried to push it farther and farther away in the back of her mind.

She was unsuccessful at that, of course, which was how she ended up leaving for the day halfway through her lunchbreak, throwing a halfhearted excuse to her boss on the way out the door. If anyone was trying to stop her, she couldn’t hear what they were saying. The sound of her heels against the tile, then the steps, then the blacktop of the parking lot was all that she could hear over the blood rushing in her ears. Tears were stinging her eyes and starting to run down her cheeks and she couldn’t even really pinpoint the exact reason why, or why now.

Before she even knew it, she was rolling up to the gate at the scrapyard. She felt like she’d blacked out on the way there, no recollection of the turns and streets that she’d taken. All of the nerves that had propelled her into her car in the first place seemed to fade as she stared at the gate in front of her. It wasn’t too late for her to bail on the whole thing. She could still reverse her car and leave and none would be the wiser.

Letting out a deep sigh, she shook her head at herself. “Fuck it,” she muttered under her breath as she rolled the rest of the way into the yard where the clubhouse was.

When she parked her car, one of the first things she noticed was that there were way more bikes parked out front than there usually were. She’d been to a handful of parties in the time that she had been with Gilly, and she’d seen a fairly decent turnout for those, but it seemed odd to her that everyone was apparently hanging around in the middle of the day on a random Thursday.

Just as she was pulling the key from the ignition and getting ready to step out, it hit her how overdressed she was for the place that she had shown up to. It’d been the farthest thing from her mind when she had left her office, but now she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She was going to stick out like a sore thumb no matter what, but her style of the day certainly didn’t help her any.

She was just hitting the lock button on her keys when someone spoke up behind her. “Josephine?”

The knot that had been growing in the pit of her stomach seemed to unravel for a moment when she heard whose voice it was. A relieved smile spread across her face as she turned around to see Chucky standing there in his work shirt, a large box cradled in his arms. It seemed to be his permanent state whenever he was at the scrapyard and the clubhouse.

“No one else makes my name sound so good, Chucky,” she said with a light laugh. Seeing the shock and joy on his face at her random appearance was almost enough to make Josie think that showing up had been a good idea. At the very least, it wasn’t going to be a total loss.

He carefully set the box down on the ground before walking over to her. He let her pull him into a hug as he asked, tentative but unashamedly hopeful, “Are you back?”

She squeezed him a little tighter for a brief moment, not wanting to get into all of it. “Not re—”

“Josie?” Gilly’s voice was sharp, slicing through the previously sweet moment with no resistance. “Are you serious?”

Chucky and Josie both turned to face Gilly, wildly different expressions on their faces. Josie was trying to figure out a way to explain herself, but Chucky didn’t share her hesitation. “She’s back!” his excitement was palpable.

Gilly’s eyes didn’t waver from Josie’s as he shook his head. “No she’s fuckin’ not.”

She sighed, “Gilly—”

He turned and looked at Chucky, doing his best not to take his frustration out on someone who had nothing to do with the problem. “I’ll take care of this, man.”

Chucky frowned, but he knew better than to argue or ask questions. He simply nodded to Gilly, offered up a wistful little grin to Josie, and then picked his box back up so he could continue on his way. Gilly and Josie both watched him walk away, listening to the tune he was whistling for a few seconds until he was relatively out of earshot.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Gilly said once it was just the two of them by her car.

“There are other ways to greet me, you know.”

“I know.”

She sighed, raking her fingers back through her hair. “Look, I—”

“You gotta stop just showing up here, Jos. You can’t keep doing this shit.”

“Or what?” she argued, voice not quite as cutting as Gilly’s but still a far cry from the soft tone she’d been using with Chucky. “Gonna get one of your other buddies,” she gestured to the rows of bikes a she said it, “to meet me at the door and turn me away like a bouncer?”

“I’ll meet you at the fuckin’ door,” he shot back. There were a few beats of silence, and when Gilly realized that Josie wasn’t just going to climb back in her car and leave, he sighed. At this point he figured he might as well hear her out about why she showed up. It’d be quicker than trying to argue with her. Plus, he couldn’t pretend that he didn’t notice the exhaustion in her eyes. No amounts of anger and annoyance could make him that blind. “Well? Why are you here?”

For some reason she couldn’t help but to feel childish now, as she stood in front of him. For once the question wasn’t coated in barbs and yet she felt more apprehensive about answering it. She was questioning just how much right she had to be there after all, to be talking to him about it out of all people.

“I freaked out at work a little. I just, fuck, I don’t know, I ended up here,” she held her hands out slightly, gesturing to the entirety of the compound.

“Freaked out? Like, felony-charge, postal-level, or—”

“No,” she laughed in spite of herself, of the situation, of him. “Nothing like that. I just, uh,” she shrugged, “just sort of walked out.”

“You’re overselling this whole thing.”

“Can I fucking talk, please?” she was annoyed but trying not to laugh at the same time.

“Yea, get to the good part.”

“The part where I had a meltdown?”

“Yea, that.”

She rolled her eyes, taking a breath to get herself back in order. “All that shit that happened? With, you know,” she didn’t even notice that she reached up and touched where her stitches were, but Gilly did, “with the rest of your club. I just, I’ve been kind of fucked up about it.”

He did feel bad about it, felt bad for her. And despite how everything had unraveled between them, the thought had crossed his mind more than once that maybe he should reach out to check in on her. But he had no good advice for her on how to cope with it, so her number stayed blocked.

“You really think that being here is gonna fuckin’ help with that?” he asked, a surprising amount of sincerity in his tone.

“Staying away wasn’t really working, so…”

He frowned. “Look, Jos, I…I know that shit got insane around here. And I’m sorry that, you know,” his eyes flicked to her shoulder for a moment before he looked back at her face, “but I mean it—you can’t just come around and—”

“Why not?”

His eyes widened. “Don’t fucking do that. I know you’re not that stupid.”

“Gilly—”

“No.” He didn’t even want to entertain the argument. “You fucked up, Josie. This, this was the deal. I wouldn’t come around your work asking for help with club shit, and you wouldn’t come around me at all. Point blank. Period.”

“But—”

“No. If you’d stuck to those rules in the first place, you wouldn’t be all fucked up about getting shot right now.”

She felt her face get hot, eyes burning at the accusation. “So it’s my fault?”

“I mean…” he shrugged.

She huffed. “Oh, fuck you.”

“Sorry, did you come here and expect me wrap you up in a blanket and tell you that everything was gonna be okay?”

She rolled her eyes, hating that there were still traces of tears in them. “No but some fucking empathy would be nice.”

“This is the best I got for you right now, Jos. This is my empathy. Whatever’s fuckin’ left of it.” He let a beat pass before he let out another sigh. “You can’t keep coming back here and expecting good shit to happen. It, it doesn’t.”

She wanted to ask him why he kept coming back then, but she knew that she wouldn’t ever get a straight answer out of him. It would’ve been difficult before everything happened, but now that they were what they were, she was never going to get that kind of honesty, vulnerability, out of him again. Everything was different now.

“You gotta go, Josie,” he said, his tone letting her know just how hard he was working to sound less frustrated than he was.

She watched him as he took a step towards her car, like he was trying to coax her into following suit. Clearing her throat, she said, “Wait.”

He stopped, dropping his head for a moment so that his chin tucked towards his chest. She saw it in his shoulders the way he took a deep breath before turning his head to look at her. “What?”

“I never got to talk to you about why I showed up here in the first place.”

His face contorted in confusion. “Thought it was because of your fucking anticlimactic work story.”

She sighed. “No. Not, not today. I mean…I mean why I showed up before.” She paused, and when he didn’t say anything that led her to believe he had any idea what she was talking about, she said, “The wedding?”

His face instantly went from confused to exasperated. “You’re,” he shook his head, “you’re something else.”

“Please, Gilly.”

He threw his hands up. “Why do you wanna bring me anyway? What’s the point of bringing your fuckin’ ex to—” He stopped himself short when he saw the look on her face. “You fucking kidding me, Costa? You didn’t tell them that we broke up?”

“There was never a good time!”

“Well,” he grabbed the edges of his kutte with a shrug, “now you can tell your whole fuckin’ family at once since they’re all gonna be there.”

“Gilly—”

“No. You should have a built-in date to this shit anyway. Or, what, did it not work out with—”

“Don’t.”

“What? Do you two not talk anymore? Good enough to ruin your relationship over but not good enough to bring to Eva’s wedding? Really?”

“You know it wasn’t fucking like that.”

It wasn’t like that. Gilly knew that it wasn’t like that. But it didn’t change the fact that it had all happened. Sure, it was a mistake. Sure, she was drunk. Sure, it only happened once. All of those things were true. When Josie told him all of that, when she told him that it wasn’t ever going to happen again, he didn’t think that she was lying. He fully believed everything that she had told him, but it didn’t change the fact that he didn’t trust her anymore. Sure, she came clean, but it wasn’t clean enough to make the mess disappear.

Rather than get into all of that, he tried to stay focused on the problem at hand. “It’s not my fault you don’t wanna tell your family what happened. And I’m not gonna do this shit just so you don’t have to have an uncomfortable conversation with them.”

“Don’t make me tell them at my cousin’s fucking wedding. That’s, that’s such a dick move.”

“You know what’s an even bigger dick move, Josie?”

She knew she should’ve recoiled at that. There was no argument about this that she was ever going to have the high ground on. She did it to herself and she knew that. Still, she tried. “Do this for me and you’ll never have to see me again. I’ll, I’ll come clean to everyone after it’s over. But I just,” she pulled her fingers back through her hair, “just please, Gilly.”

He didn’t hesitate. “No. Not fucking happening.” He stepped back. “I’m sure you can find someone else to keep you company for the night. Never seemed to be a problem for you before.”

“Gilly—”

“If you wanted me to go with you to this wedding, then maybe you shouldn’t have gone and fucked around.”

Whatever complicated emotions she was feeling when she’d shown up, the residual fear and hurt of the shootout and all the other shit that came with it, was all pushed to the backburner. Her current frustration was so much easier to cling to, even if she had no right to cling to it. She didn’t know if it was comforting or infuriating.

“Fine. You know what?” She shrugged and started to walk towards her car. “Fine. Don’t fucking come. I’ll go by myself.”

He shrugged, clearly unbothered. “Good.”

She pulled her keys out of her pocket. “Yep. I’ll go all by my fucking self. And when my family asks me why I’m by myself, when they ask, ‘oh, where’s Gilly?’ I’ll get to tell them that you dumped me. Left me all alone. Left me stuck showing up to my cousin’s fucking wedding all by my—”

“That’s not what fucking happened.”

She shrugged. “They don’t fucking know that.”

“You can’t just fucking lie to—”

She barked out a laugh. “I sure can!”

“That’s fucked up.”

It was. It was incredibly fucked up and Josie knew that. Still, though, there was nothing to stop her from doing it if she wanted to. It was wrong. Gilly was the last person in the world who should’ve been getting slandered after how everything went down between the two of them.

“Why do you care?” she retorted. “Not like you’re ever going to fucking see any of them again.”

“I don’t need all five thousand members of your family thinking that I’m a scumbag.”

“Then come to the wedding with me.”

He clenched his jaw so tightly Josie thought that she was going to hear the sound of one of his teeth cracking. “You’re fucking unbelievable.”

“So I’ve been told.” She watched him, waiting for him to tell her to fuck off, to tell her family whatever the hell she wanted as long as it meant that he wasn’t ever going to have to talk to her or see her again. She studied his face, the tension in his muscles. When his shoulders sagged just the slightest bit, she couldn’t hide the shock in her eyes, eyebrows shooting up towards her hairline. She tried to recover quickly, putting on confidence that she didn’t have that the situation was turning out the way that it did. “I’ll pick you up, then. It’s on—”

“I know,” he cut her off, bitterness saturating every word. “You left their fucking save the date on my fridge.”

Her brows came together. “You didn’t throw that out?”

He gestured back to the clubhouse in annoyance. “I’ve been a little fuckin’ busy, Jos.”

She tried not to look amused at that and failed. “Right.”

He nodded towards her car. “You can go now.”

As much as she wanted to try and keep pushing her luck, she knew that it wouldn’t be worth it. She was on ice so thin that it defied the laws of physics when it came to him. It was amazing that she hadn’t fallen through and drowned yet.

“I’ll see you in a couple weeks,” she said, caving just this once in direct opposition to all the grief that she had been giving him.

He was shaking his head but he still said, “Yea.”

He waited until she was back in her car, the driver’s door closed. When she turned the key in the ignition and the engine came to life, he finally turned around and started to walk away. Josie couldn’t help but to watch him as he walked away. Something was different about him, but it took a few seconds for her to be able to put her finger on it. Once she did, she wasn’t able to stop herself from rolling down her window and calling out after him.

“Gilly!” She waited, and when he turned around, she pointed at him with her hand that wasn’t on the steering wheel. “What happened to your rocker?”

He pressed his lips into a thin, flat line as he shook his head at her. The one time that she wasn’t trying to get completely underneath his skin, she was able to do it with five fucking words. “Don’t make me change my fucking mind, Josie.”

She just barely stifled her laughter as she held her hands up in mock surrender. “My bad.”

Gilly was still shaking his head at her, at everything, as he turned back around and continued to make his way towards the clubhouse. Josie still kept watching him as she put her car in reverse. She amused smirk that was on her face faded little by little the farther away he walked, the farther she rolled back out of the lot.

Even though she had no right, she couldn’t deny that she missed him. She wondered if he missed her at all. She wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t. Honestly, she’d be shocked if he had any good feelings left for her. She was surprised that she’d actually convinced him to go to her cousin’s wedding with her. All this time, she thought that that was going to be the hard part. As she pulled out onto the road, however, she realized that the hard part hadn’t even started.

[dangraccoon]

Oyuba'din - Chapter 17: Power

Summary: Jaine finally tells the Bad Batch about her past, but it all goes wrong when she gets startled.

Warnings: discussion of death, accidental injury, panic, Tech has an Attitude™

Author's Notes: *mushu voice* I LIIIIIIVE!!! Alrighty folks, hiatus is sort of ended (I’m not going back to my previous posting schedule quite yet, but I will be posting new chapters of this fic every Monday until I'm able to get back to my regular schedule! I’m really loving where this story has been going and I hope you all do too! 💛🤟

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Jaine fidgeted with the hem of her sweater, part of her wishing she didn’t have to leave this little medbay ever again. She hadn’t realized how much she missed the Marauder after being away from it for only a day; something about it just felt right to her.

There was a light tap on the door, and it slid open to reveal Crosshair, his face still painted with concern.

“You can still back out of this, you know,” he whispered, taking her hand in his, squeezing it gently.

The softer side of Crosshair Jaine was now seeing warmed her heart. She wondered if anyone else had been allowed to know this side existed, let alone having it presented to them so wholeheartedly.

“You know I can’t do that,” she replied. “I’ll be okay.”

Crosshair’s eyes searched hers for a moment, before letting out a quiet sigh.

Crosshair led her out to the galley, where his brothers had gathered, waiting for her.

Jaine tried to read each of their faces. Crosshair was obviously still skeptical over whether or not this was necessary, and Echo had a similar look, though mostly concerned. Wrecker had a fairly neutral expression, if a little nervous. Hunter, with his arms crossed over his chest, wore a scowl that could indicate a migraine. Jaine wanted to ask, and grab his drink blend if he needed it, but she didn’t want to seem like she was trying to delay the conversation. Tech was looking at her directly, his datapad nowhere in sight, which threw Jaine off a little, but his was the hardest to read.

Tech usually had no problem deciphering how he was “feeling”. At least, that’s how it used to be. Over the past few months, however, he had noticed that he was experiencing multiple emotions simultaneously, and more frequently. This bothered him; these types of things weren’t alien to him, he just preferred to focus on other things, more interesting things. But this? This was a riddle that consistently pushed itself to the forefront of his mind, distracting him from all else. It was a complicated equation, one for which he was missing a few key elements, making the whole problem feel unsolvable. It frustrated him.

Jaine took a deep breath, closing her eyes.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ve died four times in the past 10 standard years.”

Just that tiny nugget of information made her heart leap into chest, but she pushed on.

“The first was when my ship crashed while I was attempting to flee my homeplanet with my Uncle and…his accomplice.”

“Was your uncle a criminal?” Tech asked.

“Tech, ask questions at the end,” Echo chided.

Tech hummed. “I am merely asking for clarification.”

“But you’ve interrupted her.”

“It’s okay,” Jaine chimed in. “I think I’d rather just answer any questions you guys have. And, technically, he was never accused or convicted of any crimes by either the Galactic Republic or our planetary government.”

Tech raised his finger, a question on his tongue.

“Qoljak,” she answered before he even began speaking. “My home planet was called Qoljak, before its civilizations were destroyed by a meteor shower. It was so far into the outer rim that most people just considered it wild space.”

Tech seemed satisfied with this answer, but Jaine was sure he’d be researching the little moon as soon as he could.

“What was all the red stuff?” Wrecker asked.

Jaine took a deep breath, raising her hand out in front of her, her palm up. She shut her eyes as she broke that promise she’d made to herself all those years ago; she brought her power forth. The red smoke cascaded from her palm, flowing like water, spilling over her hand and dissipating before hitting the floor. The squad watched with varying degrees of interest, awe, and anxiety.

“Some of the people of my planet were…gifted. From the beginning of our people, the Chromira blessed seven with these powers.”

“‘Chromira’?” Tech questioned.

“Powers?” Hunter repeated warily.

“One at a time; don’t overwhelm her,” Crosshair scowled at them, before looking back to her, his gaze softening considerably.

“The Chromira were our gods. They blessed us with our strength and guided the powers to their destined bodies,” she shrugged. “When a Chromai would pass, their power would move onto the next Chromai.”

Her eyes fluttered open, looking carefully at each of her squadmates, the red smoke fading from her hand as she wrapped it back around her body, almost as though she were hugging herself.

“When Mistress Ailyn Auten got sick, I told my father. He was a medic, and I told him we had to go help ‘the red lady’. He didn’t understand until Rix Auten commed. Sure enough, Mistress Auten, the Crimson Chromai, passed that night.”

“Who got her powers?” Wrecker asked, clearly gripped by her story.

Crosshair looked at his brother in disbelief.

“That would be Jaine,” Tech replied for her, adding a small “obviously” under his breath.

“How does it work?” Echo mumbled, his eyes still on her hand.

“I-I’m not really sure,” Jaine spoke, shifting her weight between her feet. “I was really young when I got my powers, and I was only trained a little before…”

Hunter squinted at her. He could hear how loud her heart was beating; he could feel how nervous she was and he hated pressing her like this. “‘Before’?”

Jaine swallowed hard, trying to force down the bile she felt rising in her throat. “Before my uncle started the war.”

The words settled heavily around the group. Echo looked at her mournfully. Tech, for the first time since she’d emerged from the safety of her medbay, glanced away from her. Wrecker’s face was full of concern, as was Crosshair’s. Hunter had a look of pure concentration, his eyes trained on her. He nodded lightly.

“It was my eighth birthday. I was coming home from training with my mentor, Mistress Rastee, the Rosate Chromai. K-kuna,” she trailed off, hating the way she stuttered over his name and the hot tears pooling at the corner of her eyes.

“Cyar’ika,” Crosshair whispered, watching tears begin to trail down her cheeks. He rose, coming to her side, reaching to take her hand in his.

The moment his hand made contact with hers, he pulled back, yelping in pain, and gripping his hand.

Jaine jumped, her hands falling away from their positions wrapped around her chest, the tiniest hints of red buzzing around them. Tech leapt to his feet, rushing to examine the burn now prevalent on Crosshair’s hand. Jaine didn’t miss the way his expression had lost all signs of his typical curiosity, replaced instantly with anger and fear.

Hunter, who could hear the way Jaine’s heart began to race, the way her breathing became rapid and shallow, came to stand in front of her. He reached out to her, but she pulled away.

“Hey, it’s alright,” he soothed, as though trying to comfort a cornered animal. “It’s not your fault.”

“It is her fault,” Tech spat under his breath.

“Stow it,” Crosshair growled.

Red electricity was sparking from her hands as she stared wide-eyed at the men before her.

“It’s alright, Cyar’ika,” Crosshair assured, the hints of pain leaking into his voice. “I’m alright.”

“You need some bacta,” Tech replied gruffly, hauling his brother toward the medbay, his eyes cold and calculating as they passed over the frightened medic. Wrecker, stunned into silence, followed, worrying after his brothers.

“I-I’m sorry,” she whimpered, staring after them. “I didn’t- I never-”

“We know,” Echo tried to say calmly. “We know, and it’s alright.

“I-I didn’t mean to-” her breathing was becoming more rapid.

“She’s going to hyperventilate if we don’t get her calmed down,” Hunter warned.

“Hey, Jaine, I need you to breathe, okay?” Echo whispered. “Just breathe; Cross’ll be fine.”

The mention of him brought fresh tears to her eyes and they poured down her face as she fidgeted nervously.

Her hands were still sparking red, and she looked down at them in horror.

Hunter seemed to follow her train of thought, watching as she looked from her hands, to them, to the door behind him.

“Don’t go anywhere,” he whispered, almost pleading. “We just want to help.”

“I don’t w-want to hurt you,” she cried.

“And you won’t,” Echo replied, reaching his hand hesitantly towards her arm.

“N-no!” She sobbed, tossing her hand in front of her, unprepared for the blast of energy to lash out from her hand, hitting Hunter and Echo across their torsos, throwing them back against the table and booth behind them.

“No, no, no!” she wailed, rushing toward the door, opening it up and freeing herself from the confines of the ship.

“Jaine!” they called after her, but she couldn’t hear them. Her feet were carrying her quickly, and she paid no mind to where they were leading her.

Hunter groaned, gripping his side as he pulled himself to his feet. Echo rose next to him, looking about the same as Hunter was feeling.

“I’m going after her,” he told Echo.

“Hunter, wait-” Echo sputtered, but it was too late.

-

Hunter had been tracking her through the city for nearly an hour. She had the advantage over him; yes, she was panicked and likely not thinking straight, but the barrage of stimuli constantly changing and shifting, covering her trail remarkably well. He’s always hated cities. Her scent was nearly all he could go off of this time. He resented that the normally sweet, comfortingly warm scent was marred by her fear and hopelessness. He needed to find her, to tell her it was all going to be okay. He could feel himself becoming frantic, his own worry growing like the pain in his side.

And then he saw it: the Jedi Temple. Maybe she’s seeking out Kenobi.

“Hey! Hold it,” ordered a Coruscant Guard as Hunter approached an entrance to the Temple.

“I’m looking for a woman,” he started to explain.

“Ain’t we all,” chuckled the other guard.

“She’s my squad’s medic,” Hunter replied gruffly. “I think she came this way.”

The first Corrie hummed a little as he thought. “Shorter girl, red hair?”

“Yeah, that sounds like her,” Hunter confirmed with relief.

“She was crying, you know,” the second Corrie said, walking over to join the conversation.

“And she had the right access codes to get in,” the first added. “Makes you wonder who could upset someone looking as precious as that, someone who can get into the temple. Who is she, a youngling?”

“Like I said,” Hunter asserted. “She’s my medic and-”

“Why was she crying?” the second guard asked. “Makes you wonder, doesn’t it, Roller?”

“Really does, Tuck.”

The first guard, Tuck, as Hunter now knew, stepped towards him, and without needing to see the regs’ face, he knew he was scowling.

“I don’t want any trouble boys, I just want to help my medic,” Hunter said, low. “I need to take her back to our ship.”

“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” Roller mused. “That’s right, you’re the sorry leader of that sorry batch of defectives, aren’t you?”

“Are you then? How’d you end up with a medic as pretty as that?” Tuck chuckled.

“And worse off, how could you fuck it up badly enough she runs off, goes crying into the temple like that?”

“Yeah, what’d you do to her anyway? How should we know if she even wants to go back with you?”

Tuck prodded Hunter’s chest, clearly trying to provoke him. Hunter was seething, but doing his best to take steadying breaths.

“Gentlemen, this is hardly the place for playground squabbles, don’t you think?” All three men straightened to attention at the sound of General Skywalker’s voice. The General, along with Commander Tano, were exiting the Temple.

“Apologies, sir,” Tuck spoke, his voice rigid.

“Sergeant Hunter?” Skywalker said, approaching him.

“Yes, sir.”

“What is this I heard about your medic running off?”

Skywalker eyed Hunter suspiciously, but Tano looked between them, concerned.

“I thought everything was fine after the meeting. What happened?” she asked, confusion evident in her voice.

“Wouldn’t be more of those pesky ‘irreconcilable differences’ again, would it?” the General chuckled, ignoring the stern look from his padawan.

“Hunter?” she prompted.

“Lieutenant Vale was filling us in on certain aspects of her history, but she got upset and ran off. I followed her trail here.”

Ahsoka thought about this for a moment, before looking up at Anakin. “Master, I’ll meet you at the ship after I escort Sergeant Hunter into the Temple, and assist him in locating Lieutenant Vale.”

Anakin had a soured expression, but nodded, huffing off to his ship.

“Thank you, sir,” Hunter said warily.

“No need,” she waved him off as they entered the halls of the Jedi Temple.

Thanks for reading! - Dang

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[manonamora-if]

May Check-In

Another week down! And it's also May :)

Chapter 4 of the Harcourt is finally out! All fresh from the presses, got out yesterday. Quite a bit of goodies in there!!

Progress about the project:

MelS has mapped out Chapter 5 (a.k.a the last update before the final release). Expect some more spooky stuff, and puzzles (guess that [REDACTED] will come in handy), and looooore!

In the next few months, MelS might get a bit more free time to continue drafting and writing the final chapters. So (crossing fingers) the next update might get here sooner rather than later.

I'm going to have to whip out my dungeon map again.............

Anyways, go play Chapter 4 :D

I mentioned last week than I was messing around with Adventuron for a French jam. It is still going well, but it wasn't ready for this week (I took longer to code TTATEH than I expected). It will have to be done by Friday, since it is the Jam's deadline.

It will be in French for the release, and in English within a week or two (the code won't need to change, just the text :P). The premise is a bit simple and stupid, but it's pretty nice to try out a different program. And for a parser one, it's pretty accessible for easy puzzles.

I had a title... but it doesn't work anymore. I should try to find a pun with eggs...

Aside from that, I haven't really been working on any other projects. I've mainly been playing the games of the SpringThing and reading their reviews (I'm eagerly waiting for mathbrush's review, but they won't be online until the event is done because he is the organiser).

Since the voting for the SpringThing ends next Friday, don't forget to case you vote before then. If you don't know who to vote for, dedicate a personalised ribbon to your game(s) of choice!

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The Anti-Romance Jam is starting very soon! If you want to celebrate a summer of anti-romance, come join us.... No need to be a game dev to participate, we accept all mediums :) Jinx dared me to submit a UI, I think I might...

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@interact-if is looking for an Event Coordinator. If you would like to give back to the community and help us promote diversity in the IF scene, consider applying! (or share the call post!)

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Another big jam coming is the Neo Twiny Jam, a short IF jam on itch, where the only rule is to not write more then 500 words! The original jam had over 200 entries... wouldn't it be super cool if we managed to get that many entries this time around?

Anyway, I'll be collecting entries over on @neo-twiny-jam. I'll either post the link to the entries or reblog the creator's Tumblr post about it. For posteriety.

Anyway, if you are interested or thing someone would be interested, share the post!

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Last bit, @if-confessions has gotten a lot more activity this past weeks. I got quite a bit of new asks coming in. Check the #confession time tag (I've queued some older confessions in between). A lot more author confessions than reader ones...