#really what it boils down to is that while i want to explore every little branch of what these blorbos could be put through one that i want

[thatguyisdrowning]

thoughts on arcane season 2

spoilers below

season 2 was definitely giving "trying to wrap up an insanely large cast of characters stories in only 9 episodes" and none of them were really given the care they deserved. it all happened so fast that it was a little confusing at first.

the entire isha thing feels so manufactured. she just appears, "fixes" jinx, then dies/is implied to have died but we don't actually know for certain because we never see her death. and then there's the entire lack of any proper mention of her in act 3. where did she come from? where did she go? where did she come from cotton eye joe? why did warwick survive but not isha if he was the one to actually get shot?

jinx also seemed to mellow out far too quickly, i think if we had a third season and it was spread out more it would feel more authentic. i was expecting her to lose it again in the aftermath of isha's death but she didn't. yes, grief to the point of not caring about herself anymore and just wanting to get vi (the only person she has left) to safety makes sense however it doesn't match up with anything we've seen from jinx in the past. if she'd had a longer time getting to be happy with her family of 4 and healing herself it'd make more sense but she didn't. i think a downward spiral before some sort of realization that she doesn't want to be like this anymore/doesn't want to harm other children like isha/something along those lines would have been more conducive to a well rounded story and conclusion when it comes to the isha/jinx relationship. but for this to happen, we needed more time.

the way jinx's character was written, the way her story played out, it would have made sense for her to take her own life and been a satisfying conclusion. however, because i know she didn't actually die i'm pleased she didn't commit suicide because i like her, her character, her champion, and her story and i want to be able to see more of it all in future projects from riot. and for that to happen the "death" needed to be a little uncertain. the "oh no the metal beam is breaking, guess i better sacrifice myself to save my sister" trope is very overused and hard to do well because of that, but i did like the way they implied jinx was still alive at the end.

jayce and viktor's story was confusing and rushed, while also being the main focal point and the most fleshed out story of the whole show. if viktor knew he and jayce were meant to be together in every timeline, why was he trying to fuck shit up? again, if we had more time in the form of a third season or perhaps longer episodes in season 2, we would have seen their story explored in more depth and had a greater understanding of it.

vi's character was watered down by the inclusion of a single line: "i am the dirt under your nails, cupcake." as something said in passing it wouldn't have held as much weight, but this was one of the last things she said on screen. it essentially boils her character down to nothing but a supporting character for caitlyn when the entire series began and ended with vi and jinx's relationship.

"are you still in this fight, violet?" what fight? against jinx? no, caitlyn seems to have forgiven her and as far as we know vi still thinks she's dead. against noxus? no, mel's in charge (but is she? we see swain make an appearance...) against the undercity? no, they've made peace and sevika is on the council. against singed? no, he's saved his daughter so will live happily ever after now, right? against jayce and viktor? no, they had some weird story conclusion and also died in the astral realm, killing their earthly bodies but realistically they could have survived. i don't want them to have survived, but they could have. all i can think is either she was referring to their relationship OR to their future as enforcers which would make sense in the league lore.

the death of 4 major characters (not including heimer or jinx i'm 100% sure they arent dead) and what it means for the lore and their champions is just??? brushed over??? their champions almost definitely won't be removed but a tiny part of me wishes they would be for continuity and lore reasons.

i wish we were given more insight into what noxus is like now after ambessa's death. mel is seen to be ruling now but in the league lore, swain is the ruler of noxus. it's common knowledge that arcane lore is replacing league lore where necessary/sometimes where it isn't necessary, so it wouldn't make sense but would be easily passed off if we just didn't see any mention of swain, but we do see him (or to be specific, one of his ravens). while i wish we were given some clarity here, i think it was a smart move to not explicity reveal who swain is because to those who know it all but confirms the villian for the next netflix series set in runeterra, but it also leaves the venue open for the story to take an entirely different path, because arcane only fans won't know who he is, and for the league fans it can somehow be passed off as an irrelevant appearance in arcane.

some other points i don't have fully fleshed out thoughts/opinions on:

i would've liked to have seen more of felicia's story

i don't think jayvik should've kissed, the forehead touch was just as, if not more meaningful

the story of singed's daughter wasn't explored as much as it should have been, especially considering it's a huge part of why shimmer was ever created and of the pre-existing league lore

while there are parts of the story i found unsatisfying, i'm totally in love with all of the characters and the artistry. while almost all of the female leads fit perfectly into specific overused tropes, they turned those tropes on their head and executed them well. the women in arcane are attractive but they all have agency. ekko is the best side character ever written. they wrote the "morally grey" characters really well. it's plain to see the writers spent so much time and energy on creating these perfect characters. the artists knocked it out of the park, arcane is the most visually appealing animated show i've ever seen. arcane is a masterpiece in so many ways and i look forward to seeing what's to come :)

if you've read this far, first of all go outside (kidding of course), and second, let me know your thoughts and if you agree/disagree. if you have any theories on what's to come next, let me know!

[fist-amidst-the-hands]

hi I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this all day so. what if ed had admitted to izzy that he’s bored out of his skull even slightly earlier. before stede. what then. ‘is this all there is?’ what if izzy responded with ‘it doesn’t have to be’ what if what if what if

[m-ayo-o]

soft sukuna !!! <3 nsfw; abstaining from sex until he realises his baby has a little praise kink!!

"sukuna.. i can't.."

you tell him with a small pout on your lips.

after last time you thought he might be more careful, maybe showing you a little mercy. but no.

your boyfriend wants to fuck, and it seems that he won't be giving up on that idea anytime soon.

"why not?" he grunts his reply, nipping at your earlobe with his body pressed against yours.

your cheeks burn with the feeling of his voice in your ear.

but you squeeze his leg and push on him, creating a small gap between your bodies.

"told you.. already.."

your eyes focus everywhere but his, while his explore your entire body as you squirm beneath him.

"mmh" he vocalises that he doesn't care about what you just said, bringing his hand under your chin to tilt your face up.

"tell me again"

your eyes dart around, then are forced into contact with his.

he gives you a deep, hard stare. maroon irises never leaving yours.

his thumb starts to tug at your bottom lip with impatience.

however much you know he's doing this to humiliate you, or for his own gratification, you don't want him to lose his patience.

"too.." your eyes dip away from his one more time. he gives your chin an encouraging squeeze, a hint of a smirk showing on his lips.

"too big.."

you admit it. again.

that you're abstaining from sex because he hurt you so bad last time that you're scared to do it.

you've been resisting for a whole week!

and damn, it's getting difficult to deny his advances now it's been that long. with him in close proximity, every day, teasing you.

he knows you want it.

but he also knows that it will hurt you.

so he's been working on wearing you down until you start to enjoy the stinging sensation of a cock that's just too big for your tight little hole.

he's going to get you there eventually.

he knows you already enjoy mild pain...

spanking, love bites, grabbing, choking.

but he never knew it would end up like this.

"i'll go easy on you.." he promises, lips moving closer to yours.

you try to back up but your head is still caught in his grasp.

"uh uh. not today sweetheart"

he's let you get away from him a few times this week; slipping through his fingers with a lie in the form of an excuse.

"you don't need to make excuses with me"

his eyes can pick apart your lies in any case. you know there's no point.

"i want to make you feel good"

your lip is between your teeth, eyes wide, your brain scrambling to consider what you're being offered right now.

he's bending over backwards to ensure you get a good fuck.

can you trust him?

~

"nnghh- su-sukuna-"

you lie back on the bed with his cock nudging at your sweet entrance.

that's where he wants to be.

he's got tunnel vision now.

after he gave you one orgasm with his fingers, to loosen you up, he couldn't wait any longer.

the way your pussy gripped over his fingers made him seethe with anger that his cock wasn't deep inside you, coated with your slick.

"ughh-" he sighs out, black ink hooking over his heaving chest.

he's getting so impatient now and you really need him to calm down or he's going to hurt you again.

this is how it always happens.

a kind of aggression takes over his body when he gets like this.

angry that your pussy won't let him in.

angry that he can give you pleasure with his fingers.

with his mouth.

but oh no, that's not what he wants.

he wants you cumming on his cock.

and that's what he's going to get.

regaining his composure, his eyes focus on your body again.

crimson meets pretty pink, the shade of your flushed pussy lips.

and he stares intently, smoothing his hands over your tummy.

"calm down, sweetheart"

he hums, sounding almost caring.

"i need you to relax for me, ok?"

you nod and place a hand around one of his wrists.

"please.. can i hold your hand?" you ask, batting your lashes.

ugh. this lovey dovey shit makes his blood boil.

but for you?

"sure, princess"

his fingers lace with yours, palms together, pressed to the pillow.

he takes a few deep breaths, encouraging you to do the same, as your body eases up and starts to relax, just like he asked.

"good girl" he coos, squeezing your hand gently.

he feels your pussy flutter gently against his tip, that's pressed hard and leaking on your wet body.

without realising what he's doing, only understanding that you like this- the way he's talking to you right now- he suddenly learns that you need him to reassure you.

you want him to be soft and gentle with you.

so that's what he's going to give you.

"that's it, baby," his voice is so calm and soothing, you listen to every word with your eyes glistening.

"you're doing so well, i just need you to open up for me, okay?"

the sinister, curling rasp is almost lost from his voice, being replaced by a tone so unfamiliar you question that this is really your man above you right now.

"s- sukuna?"

"uh huh?" he looks up from your pussy, where your bodies are connecting with strings of your wetness, to your pretty face.

oh god, your gorgeous face.

and for once, you don't look scared of him.

you're smiling at him; you look excited.

fuck that's got him going more than he'd like to admit.

"thank you.." your eyes sparkle with that pretty smile and he swears he can't help that feeling deep in his chest.

he supresses an eye roll and nudges his forehead against yours.

you know you better watch it with the romantic stuff or he might change his mind.

but for now, he's got you. and you've got him.

he presses on your thigh, opening your legs wider, and he starts moving his hips.

the smooth, thick tip of his cock glides into you.

"fuck-" he sighs over your lips, feeling as shocked as you.

that shouldn't have been so easy.

but it was.

"well done, baby.." he coos, rewarding you with a tender kiss.

"think you can take a little more for me?"

a little? sure.

"uh huh," you nod, eager to please this kind, sweet side of your man.

"good.." the tone of his voice makes you melt into the cushions that he placed under you, for your comfort.

your body feels so open to him right now, he pushes a little further.

hips sliding smoothly closer.

"nghh- ah-" the noises come out of your throat without thinking, your free hand landing on the back of his head where the dark hair of his undercut meets his neck.

"good?" he pushes you to answer, his smirk growing wider.

and you can't lie to him, it feels amazing.

"y-yes.."

he can feel your hand squeezing on his and he knows you're ready for more.

a few more inches.

"thaat's it, baby" he eases it in, your legs opening wider and hooking around his back.

god he thought he understood what you liked so well?

hot, passionate, rough sex.

yeah, it's great. it's fun.

but every now and then even the kinkiest girls need a break.

"nearly all the way, sweetheart" his voice finds your ears again when you're feeling so close to bliss already.

he peers down between your bodies, getting hot and messy, his abs rubbing against your soft, plushy stomach, and he realises how close you are to taking him whole.

the sight of that makes his cock swell and throb, sending another wave of pure ecstasy through you.

"easy, easy baby--"

he draws in a sharp breath and you can see him struggling, teeth sinking into his lower lip.

"can feel you squeezing me... tight.." he moans.

"gonna.. go all the way in now, ok?"

you nod and he leans down over you, pressing his lips to your neck with his arms caging you in. your hands find his shoulders, his back, his hair, anything to grab onto.

"uhh- baby.."

he chokes out, feeling the warmth of your pussy over his whole cock.

"took all of me.. fuck.."

his hips start moving slowly, in tandem with the strings of disbelieving sighs that flow out of his mouth.

"you're not hurting, huh?"

he checks, pulling himself all the way out before sinking right back in again when you shake your head.

he sees your eyes roll back, your hand clasping over your mouth to suppress a loud whimper.

"d-doesn't hurt- at all--" you manage to get out between your heavy, pleasured breaths as he eases himself in and out of you.

"good," he looks down at your expression- seeing his girl like this makes his heart swell. he needs to tell you.

"good girl"

that will have to do for now.

feeling your whole body reaction to his praise is good enough.

next time maybe he'll surprise you with a few more words...

[notedchampagne]

What makes a tlt au work for you? Do u have any favourites out there/that you’ve thought of?

its hard because it can go down to the writing! i have a huge bias for things that put focus on the characters acting awful and driving the story forward- if a story has a plot thats great, but its the difference between "gideon and harrow keep meeting up at parties and fall a little bit in love every time" and "gideons angry she lost her childhood to the cult so she attends a party with the tridentarii to shotgun adolescent experiences, and harrowhark, frustrated that gideon is pulling on her metaphorical leash, follows to stalk her". the former retains a 5+1 fic format and is more bite-size, while the latter puts more focus into their growth as characters. im not great at articulating what i like specifically, but ill put my favorite fics below:

what if nona was dogs tugs at my heart: its post-canon, slice-of-life, and has a unique concept (said in the title). i judged a book by its cover because i thought the premise seemed too silly at first but ive been made a fool and its pet clown. it feels so true to nona the way its about all the things nona loves and how she gets to explore the world through new eyes. i love the way it explores characters softening up and getting hurt through a third person pov

we have always lived in the apartment by @thatneoncrisis i keep saying this but for the love of GOD guys this au is so good it makes me cry and feel such a deep catharsis from it. it takes gideon and harrow and the ninth as a cult and explores their struggle to adapt to a modern society when noone ever gets a break (WOW ITS JUST LIKE IN REAL L-). quinn writes the sides of griddlehark i think go overlooked in fanfic often: their codependency, their tendency to lash out when theyre defensive, their mutual paranoia and different coping mechanisms, harrows psychosis and gideons bitterness, their relationships to each other as being the only other person who really understands what the other suffered through. god. i feel lightheaded.

"but SAM, i dont like angst but i want to see this writing!" read gap between a tragedy and a comedy

"SAM, i also like when gideon and harrow are horrible because theyre maladjusted teenagers! but i want more antics where the characters drive things forward over angst!" read whats eating gideon nav

you just aint receiving is one of my FAVORITE modern aus of all time (and i heavily recommend the authors other fics as well!) if you really want to see how much i love this fic the fact that my comments take up the entire phone screen probably says a lot. its hard to put it concisely: it keeps harrows air of misanthropy and cruelty but redefines it as the result of her upbringing and personal struggle to live in a university while dealing with a backpack of mental illness and frustration. it changes gideons personality as the daughter of john gaius in a way that makes sense having her grow up with johns middling parenting skills and getting everything she ever wanted (connecting it back to kirionas personality in ntn!). it brings in side characters (specially palamedes. my beautiful boy palamedes) in ways that compliment harrow and gideon but not so obviously that they only exist to be supports. they have their own lives and ideals. its a modern au that brings in the boiling politics of johns cult uprising once again in a really novel way

semi charmed kinda life by @griddlebait. jesuchristo and all his middle names this fic is GREAT for you if you want a slice of life, coming of age type modern au that explores what its like for gideon and harrow if they actually got the space to see who theyd become outside of the stifling fate tlt has for them. as far as modern aus go im usually very hesitant to read them because im afraid modernizing the characters takes features away from their core but i really love and respect the way the author treats the 69ers with care and draws distinct lines that shows me how their grow and change while keeping a line to the anchor. also they write HIDEOUS (complimentary) PINING. DISGUSTING. some of these chapters were so chock full of dyke drama that they made me nauseous and whimsical. i think once a friend said this fic felt like if gh could be reincarnated and i like that descriptor a lot

til the cows come home is another postcanon fic that made me feel sick and crybabyish about it- i would definitely recommend it if you want to explore a happier ending with griddlehark! with this and what if nona was dogs the thing i like most about them is that they mix up vulnerability with pain and fear, so it feels more lifelike that way if that makes sense. i lost my taste in fluff fics over time but when its interspersed with struggle and characters causing problems because they cant cope with themselves it feels much more earnest and raw

this became very long. im not sorry

[lollytea]

how do think willow and hunter first talked about them being bi/pan? or do you think it's just so accepted on the boiling isles that they probably would never bring it up?

(This ask is from back when we got the bi/pan confirmation and I've been saving it, kinda thinking of putting effort into writing something cute and good quality. However I ended up waking up from a nap while the Q&A was happening and somebody told my confused disoriented ass that Zeno was talking about Hunter exploring his identity and going on dates while in the human realm. And I tapped out something very messy and stream of consciousness-y in my notes app in my sleepy state. So you're getting this instead. I don't feel like cleaning it up.)

Like like like it's. Luz putting together her little coming out slideshow for Camila. And the topic of sexualities comes up. And Amity and Willow puzzle out what theirs are nearly immediately. Gus doesn't but he's unfazed by it. While Hunter is like....I...can't say for certain and its bothering me. Like this is a THING that has a chance of helping him feel like more of a person. He wants his very own flag. He just doesn't know what it is yet. He'd like to know.

He likes Willow. He knows he likes Willow. But...there isn't a flag for liking Willow. (As far as he knows. He's thinking of making one. But for now he's stumped.)

There's a very specific route the kids take to the grocery store to collect stuff for Camila. Hunter likes to take the task because he likes feeling useful. Willow also likes to help but she'd be lying if she said another reason wasn't long walks with Hunter. Usually one of the other kids tags along too. Or more than one. But today it's just Hunter and Willow.

They always pass that damn statue but Hunter always averts his eyes and hopes Willow does too. He doesn't like to look at it. But maybe if he turned his gaze towards it every once in a while he'd notice the boy who always sits beneath the statue with a little handheld game console. The boy who always lifts his head when Hunter strolls by.

This is the day when the boy chooses to be brave. There's no gaggle of friends around him today. Just one girl. This is it. This is his chance. The boy marches up to Hunter and Willow in a way that Hunter immediately clocks as similar to his own Golden Guard body language. When he was trying to feel big but failing miserably.

The boy IS big tho. That's the weird thing. Tall with broad shoulders and chunky arms. A cluster of metal pierced into his left ear and a silver stud in his nose. He looks....so cool. So very very cool. Hunter misses the first words out of this dude's mouth cuz he was too busy looking at him and he needs to repeat himself.

So. Hm. Okay. Well. APPARENTLY. Piercings boy thinks Hunter is cute. Which is a staggering revelation that leaves Hunter a little speechless. And if that weren't surprising enough, he's now pushing a little piece of paper in Hunter's direction, babbling something about talking some time. Or maybe going out, whatever.

While all this is going down Willow just.....watches. Smiling. Nudging Hunter when it's his turn to speak and he's forgotten. It's cute. He gets like that with her sometimes too. It made her feel very cool and pretty that she made such a handsome boy nervous. But now....she's watching this little interaction play out and she's realizing....

Hunter's obvious little crush on her. Just how easy would it go away if he met somebody cooler. Somebody prettier. Somebody who's not clearly living a lie and hiding everything from everyone all the time. Somebody brave enough to actually ask him out.

It seems like just as she's getting comfortable in these kinds of situations, an Amity always sweeps in. And that's fine. She's used to it by now.

And also...she....she really cares about Hunter. He's been getting so much happier and experimental in the Human Realm. She wants him to try new things. She wants him to figure out who he really is. And....maybe that version of himself won't always have a little crush on Willow Park. Maybe he'll realize that there's better people out there. And that's okay. Whatever it takes for him to smile.

There's something very ugly writhing in her stomach and Willow pretends it's not there. Instead she yanks up her smile wider and as the mystery boy strides away, she pounces on Hunter. She teases him a little, she asks why he got so very shy. Is it because he liiiiiiiikes Mr Mystery Boy huh? And Hunter doesn't know what to say. He doesn't KNOW Mr Mystery Boy. Willow counters that's what the number is for. That's what dates are for. After a long back-and-forth discussion, its Willow that urges him to dial that number. They have to borrow Camila's phone. And Willow stands there as moral support as Hunter stumbles through the question.

Hunter has a date this Saturday. Which is very exciting. And also weird. And scary. He blushes whenever you bring it up. But Willow happily hypes him up for it every day leading up to it.

On Saturday, Hunter leaves the house at mid day and Willow sees him off, waving enthusiastically. He smiles softly and waves back at her, still twitchy with nerves. She gives a finger guns and assures him it's gonna go fine. He's a catch! This makes him giggle and she swells with pride.

The door clicks shut. Hunter is gone. It feels like a light has been sucked out of the household. Willow's smile slips.

She could head upstairs and hang out with the other girls. She could go down to the basement with Gus. But....right now she'd prefer to be alone.

Willow cleans the kitchen, which Camila is very grateful for once she gets home from work. And then she settles in the living room, snuggles up on the couch and throws something on the TV. Willow sits there and watches for hours. She barely processes any of it. And yet, she's simultaneously so wrapped up in the television that she doesn't hear the door click.

"Eyyyyy, I'm back," Hunter says in that awkward way he always announces his return. And just like that, a light switches and Willow is all zazzed again.

"Ooooooh Casanova has returned!!" She chirps. "A little.....earlier than I expected....?"

Hunter looks a little sheepish but doesn't comment on that. Willow thumps the couch cushion opposite her. "Cmere boy. Tell me everything."

Hunter sits down beside her and after turning to look at her huge grin, he smiles warmly.

"What?" She asks.

"Nothing."

"You gonna tell me how it went?"

"Fine. Um. Normal. For a date. I think? I dunno I've never been on one but I'm pretty sure I did an okay job."

Willow decides to rip the bandaid off immediately. "Any lip action?"

Hunter's reaction was a funny choking noise and a volatile flush across his neck "No!" He blurted. "Just...."

"Juuuuust?"

"Just hands! He held my hand! He held my hand and it was nice! I liked it!"

"Oh."

It's nice that Hunter got his hand held. He has such pretty hands. She's always thought they were very holdable. She's really happy. She's delighted. Just great.

She's a good person who is happy when good things happen to her friends, Titandamn it. And not a secretly ugly resentful person who wishes for selfish things.

"Yeah and. Uh..." He's scrubbing the back of his neck. "We...um. Ended up talking. A lot."

"About date number two, no doubt...." Willow sings.

"There's not going to be a date number two," Hunter answers immediately, knocking Willow out of her depth.

.....huh?

"I....thought you liked him?" She asks.

"I mean. Yeah. He's. He's nice but...but when I said we talked a lot...I might have told him that...." Hunter trails away.

"Told him what?"

There's a pause before Hunter speaks again, his voice a little higher pitched. "Oh! J-just. Just told him about a ton of stuff. Told him I like birds. And I like to read. And...and about Camila being a vet and....and I talked a lot about my friends. Gus. A-and Luz and Amity. And Vee. And uh. And you. And....we...we both decided that this probably wasn't gonna work out."

"Oh...." Willow....doesn't know how to feel about this. She doesn't have to pretend to be disappointed because she really is. Her friend had a chance to have a sweet little romance with somebody cute. And it just didn't work out. "I'm sorry, Hunter,"

But Hunter shakes his head. "I'm not disappointed. I actually....um. I liked it. I've never been on a date before and it....I dunno, it made me feel like a real teenager. Which is dumb to say because I know I AM a real teenager but..."

He perks up. "Oh! Oh and-and um...." His words tumble one over the other though there's a grin tugging at the corner of his lip. "Josh and I we....we figured it out. Me. We...we figured out me. I'm..."

He catches himself and clears his throat, extending a hand to her. "Hi, Willow! My name is bisexual!...Wait! Wait, no! Hunter! My name is....I'm bisexual and I'm Hunter! I...Agh!! Josh said I should come out to you in a smooth way but...."

Willow is grinning ear to ear, always transfixed by his frequent fumbles over the complicated act of putting words together. "You're bisexual!" She declares happily. "Hunter that's fantastic!"

Hunter's smile is soft but there's a hint of pride there too. "Yeah...thanks. I know it is...."

A pause.

"I have completely forgotten what bisexual means tho," Admits Willow.

"O-oh! Oh it's just um. I-I like multiple genders. Today I found out for certain that boys are....wow...."

Willow smirks. "Boys are wow?"

"Well.....arent they?"

She thinks about it for a moment, raking her eyes across the splotchy blush still clinging to his pretty face. Her insides are in a riot of fluttering flower petals.

"I guess they are," She agrees fondly.

"But also I...." He cuts himself off with a sudden bout of breathlessness. He inhales sharply. "Girls..."

"Girls," Repeats Willow expectantly.

Hunter, who has cut his gaze down to his tangling fingers, looks back up at her, manages to hold eye contact for a few very telling extra seconds and says, very clearly. "Girls."

"I see..." Willow is a little frustrated to find that she's also a little short of breath. "So maybe your next date will be with a girl then,"

Hunter's blush flares. "I'd like it to be..." He mumbles. "But..."

"Buuuuuut?"

There's some sort of internal battle raging on. She can see it in the violent twist and turns of his facial expressions. Finally, his throat bobs. "Nothing." He answers.

"Sorry...." He continues. "For coming home early. I just really wanted to...." Why does he keep trailing off? "It looks like you were trying to have some time to yourself. I can leave if...."

"You stay right here, Mr heartbreaker," Says Willow. "Stay here and watch weird human crystal ball shows with me."

A stiffness she didn't notice until now melts out of his shoulders. "Okay. I'd like that. A lot."

Hunter attempts to shuffle into a comfortable position, but what he's not prepared for is his friend Willow suddenly lunging and knocking him against the cushions in a tight tackle hug.

"Congratulations on your name being Bisexual," She mutters against the fabric of his shirt. "I like being the first one told,"

"N-no problem...." His voice cracks a little.

It takes maybe three minutes of comfortable silence and human realm TV babbling for Hunter to pipe up "And I'm not a heartbreaker. I didn't break anyone's heart."

"You could," Willow answers smoothly, not taking her eyes off the TV. "You have way more power over some people's hearts than you realize."

[fernsnailz]

Not sure how much meat this question has to it but if back in 2006 you were the one that spearheaded the shadow the hedgehog game, how would you have done it?

i'd want ShTH 2005 to keep the same core energy its final form ended up with, but tbh there's a lot i would have done differently lol. here's my 3 step plan for how i would have directed it previously/would direct any sort of reboot or remaster

1. TIMELOOP!!!!!!

i'm not the first person to come up with this idea and i won't be the last to talk about it, but the gist of this point is that ShTH's story makes WAY more sense when you treat it like a timeloop. you finished a story path and end up back in westopolis? great job, you're at the beginning of the timeloop again. it's a smart way to make this wack story a little more cohesive.

i would LOVE to further utilize the timeloop concept for this game because it could be a very simple addition to add flavor OR it be the core of the game's story and gameplay. small things like shadow going "hey wait, have i seen this before?" when he's going through westopolis for the third time can hint at the narrative, and once shadow realizes he's in a loop he's motivated to find EVERY path in search of the full truth. every new story path could be treated as a new game+ as shadow starts to consistently remember more from previous timeloops, carrying over certain weapons, abilities, and memories from his previous experiences.

one really cool idea i saw a while ago on here (edit: FOUND IT! i'm talking about this post) is someone's ShTH timeloop pitch where after a few resets, silver starts to show up and tells shadow to stop messing with the timeline. this continues, and eventually silver becomes a final boss of some of the paths. this idea has never left my mind since i saw it and i need to find the person that came up with it they mean so much to me

i have more timeloop thoughts but i will move on for now

2. simplify or rework the morality system and levels

this is my big gameplay critique - there is A Lot to do in ShTH and very little of it is consistently fun. i have grievances with the morality system i talked about a while ago, the gist of my opinion boiling down to "the system removes agency from shadow and the story doesn't fit within the morals you choose anyway." i'd either MASSIVELY rework the morality system to make it feel worthwhile or just throw the whole thing away. unfortunately i don't have many pitches for what to replace it with since i haven't played that many games with branching stories - maybe the story paths you go down are based on BIG story decisions shadow makes during boss battles or in cutscenes (?) like choosing which boss to fight, which characters to save, what moves or weapons to use, stuff like that. i just want the stuff that leads to branching stories to be more impactful and a little simpler.

this also applies to the levels, of which there are... a lot. and maybe there should be less? i think it would be smart to cut down or combine some of the levels, then really flesh out the ones that matter. and given the non-linear nature of ShTH, i think a version with levels more focused on exploration and combat would fit the game better than the linear mission-based gameplay of the original.

3. MORE GUN

listen man. they advertised this as the sonic game with guns and in my opinion i think they could've done better. i mostly just want a more fleshed out weapons system with upgrades, a little customization, better controls, etc. just put the merchant from resident evil 4 in there and have him accept rings and i would be happy

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

those are the big points i would personally stick to, but i do have smaller points i would consider as well, including:

make black doom seem competent

explain who the chaotix are working for and fit it into the story

no more "kill this many enemies to progress" missions. please

super shadow can have a gun now

[imagines--galore]

||The Thread of Fate|| Part Thirty-Four

Summary: Soulmate AU. They say the Thread of Fate connects you to your one true love. It may tangle. It may stretch. But it will never break. Wrapped around your little finger it tightens when it feels your soulmate is close and loosens when they are far. And becomes visible with the colors of your soulmate’s Nation when you finally fall in love with them.

Pairing: Zuko x OroraOC (ATLA)

Rating || Genres || Warnings: T+ Romance. Adventure.

Previous Chapters - Masterlist

A/N: We are so close to the Ember Islands and I am SO EXCITED!!!! Cuz that means a lot of downtime for the Gaang and I cannot wait for all of them to just be teenagers and not be at odds with each other and just pure Gaang fun. With of course lots of romance. :3

"Where's Suki?"

The question, or rather judging by the tone of voice, the demand, was followed by a disgruntled sound as the owner of the voice, Sokka, nearly tripped over the still sleeping Chit Sang. Grumbling under his breath, the Water Tribe boy righted himself before approaching his sister and Toph who were getting breakfast ready for the day.

Or rather Katara was getting breakfast ready while Toph lounged about.

"Relax Sokka." She called out, playing with a couple of rocks by throwing them in the air before catching them. "Your girlfriend woke up early and wanted to go explore, so Orora volunteered to show her around."

The boy frowned, though the effect of it was ruined by the pout that accompanied said frown. "But I was supposed to take her for a tour." He moaned, dropping onto the floor next to Toph with his arms crossed over his chest, pout still present.

"Now don't go hogging your girlfriend Sokka. She has to have her own friends." Hakoda called from where he was just returning after a brief walk. He too had wanted to go explore, but ever since he hurt his leg during the Invasion, and the lack of medical attention he had received afterwards, he didn't trust himself to walk around too much. Plus their escape yesterday and all the running around they'd done had really taken it out of him.

Katara smiled at the sight of her Father. "Morning Dad!" She said as the man hugged her tightly. Sniffing the air, he grinned. "Smells good Katara. Hopefully some breakfast will help improve your brother's mood." He joked, playfully nudging his daughter who giggled. She couldn't help it. Truthfully, her heart was bursting with joy at having her father around once more.

Toph, sensing Sokka's still less then happy mood, decided to play with him a little. "You know Suki sure is lucky. I mean she had her best friend bust her out of jail." Sokka's frowned deepened, if that was even possible. "I busted her out!" He yelled, causing Chit Sang to let out a sleepy sound of annoyance.

"I'm talking about Orora, Feathers for Brains." The Earthbender clarified. "Geez, its like you're annoyed at the both of them reuniting."

Silence followed the blind girl's words. And though she couldn't see the expressions Sokka and Katara shared, Toph did sense something was up.

"What?" She asked, her head swiveling from one heartbeat to the next. Katara frowned. "Toph, Suki and Orora have never met before."

The news rendered the younger girl speechless for a few seconds. "What?" She repeated, though this time word was laced with disbelief as Sokka nodded. "Yeah. We've all met Suki before, but Orora only met her at the Boiling Rock." He added, a little confused as to why Toph would think they'd met before.

"So you're telling me, those two." She pointed in the general direction of a hallway. "Have never met before!" As she spoke, voices began to echo down the corridor. Obviously it was Suki and Orora.

Every seeing eyes turned in the direction of the two approaching girls, who were chatting and laughing as if they had known one another for ages.

"And that concludes our tour for the day." Orora was saying, as she walked beside the Kiyoshi Warrior. "Hope it was enlightening." She added with a flourish, that had Suki laughing to herself

"For sure. I never realized Air Nomads lived in such amazing places. I mean I just thought they traveled around cuz, well, they're Nomads." Anyone could see that freedom agreed with Suki. It hadn't even been a day and already the girl looked happier and more vibrant then she had been in the Prison.

Orora winced, though the playful smile was still on her face. "I know what you mean. I mentioned it to Aang and he kind of sat me down and chewed me out on that." She confessed, prompting the other girl to grin. "Really? Aang? He doesn't seem like the kid to lecture." The Waterbender rolled her eyes.

"Oh trust me. Its a hidden talent of his."

Their chatter continued, both of them completely oblivious to the stares they were getting. Though as they neared the rest of the group, Suki broke the conversation. "Breakfast! About time! I'm starved!" She exclaimed, quickly walking over to where Katara was holding a bowl, ready to pour in the stew she had made. As she passed Sokka, the girl dropped a quick kiss to his cheek along with a greeting.

Though Sokka was a little too stunned to respond.

As Suki chattered with Katara, and Hakoda moved to ask Orora about her arm, which was still in a sling as a precaution, Toph turned to Sokka with a grin.

"It doesn't matter if they've met before or not, cuz Sokka? You've got competition." She cackled, delighted at the turn of events, and the obvious disgruntled expression the boy was sure to be wearing.

                                            ————————-

Breakfast that morning was a lively affair.

With so many of them, everyone was chatting and catching up with what had happened since the Invasion. Chit Sang, still a little awkward about his place in the group, would comment every now and then, but he was mostly sitting silently and enjoying his food, which was far better then the slop they served at Prison. Katara had smiled proudly at that.

Until Toph pointed out that she doubted there was any competition since......well.....Chit Sang was comparing the stew to prison food.

The entire circle of twelve, minus Katara, had a good laugh out of it.

However, even Katara couldn't stay mad for long. Not when her Father was back and everyone was safe.

For the time being.

Aang, who had been up early training with Zuko, and getting chewed out for not practicing his forms more diligently by the irritated Firebender, was gobbling down his stew like a man starved. And truthfully, he was. Zuko was a much stricter teacher then he would've thought. Which is why he was sitting next to Orora, hoping to talk to her into getting Zuko to lay off him a little bit.

Not because he couldn't raise the point himself. He could. It was just Orora was better at making Zuko see reason behind stuff he would deem unreasonable.

Not much of an explanation, but Aang was just too tired to think more on it.

"Hey Orora?" He asked, his voice low amidst the chatter from the rest of the group. The girl in question paused from where she had been smiling at Toph and The Duke being awkwardly adorable around one another. The Duke was trying to convince Toph to go for a walk with him, but so far could only mumble out what he wanted to say. It didn't help that Toph was focusing on the boy's heartbeat and thinking there was danger around.

I mean what else could cause someone's heart to go so fast, she reasoned.

"Whats up Aang?" She asked, turning slightly so she could give the younger boy her undivided attention. It took only a moment before Aang burst with what he had wanted to say. Out of all the people, other then Katara, he always found it easy to speak to Orora about, well, anything. She was always there to lend an ear or a shoulder if anyone needed it.

And honestly, with so much weighing down on him at times, and his nature to not burden others with his problems, it was nice to have someone he could trust and who wouldn't think of his worries as a burden.

"So, you think you can ask Zuko to just go a little easy on me? I mean, I know I have a lot of things to learn, but I'm sure I have plenty of time." He added. "Plus with Toph battering me with Earthbending practice almost everyday, I'm starting to get a little sloppy." A look of guilt flashed across his face, which had Orora nodding.

"I'll talk to him." She said, watching how the younger boy brightened instantly, though her next words had him wincing. "But why can't you talk to Zuko about it yourself? I mean you've always been able to address your problems on your own before."

Letting out a nervous laugh, a hand rising to rub the back of his head, Aang glanced in Zuko's direction, who was sitting just across from them, parallel to Orora and speaking to Chit Sang about the living conditions inside the Boiling Rock.

"Well........" He trailed off, a pitiful expression on his face as Orora frowned at him. Suddenly, something clicked. Her eyes widened. "Wait! Does he scare you? As a teacher?"

The boy reached out, clamping a hand over Orora's mouth, muffling whatever words she was about to say. "Not so loud." He hissed, his grey eyes darting about nervously before he slowly removed his hands from her mouth. "And I wouldn't say he scares me." The Airbender admitted, looking a little annoyed. The boy's next words had the older girl suppressing a smile. "He just makes me nervous. Besides if I say something like that to him, he'll just work me even harder, I know it."

Alright, she could agree with him on that front.

Though her insides were bursting with laughter, Orora reached out to pat the boy on the shoulder. "Its alright Aang. I get it! I used to have a teacher who terrified me too." She reassured him. "Then again, I was only six at the time and she was the stuff of nightmares." She continued, a smile pulling at her lips. "You have to admit, its funny how when you were enemies you weren't scared of him, but now that he's your teacher you are." She couldn't help the giggle that burst out of her, prompting Aang to scowl at her.

"So will you talk to him or not?" He asked, his voice sounding every bit annoyed and irritated as he looked.

Pursing her lips, Orora nodded. "I promise." She squeaked out. For her response, the girl received a gust of wind to the face from a slightly embarrassed, yet relieved Airbender.

                                            ————————–

"How's your arm?"

The question had Orora glancing up from where she'd been carefully bending the water along the surface of the bowl to clean it. Bending one handed did have it's limitation, but it was just another learning opportunity.

Besides, she could see how Sokka, who had been on wash up duty that night, was eager to hang out with his Dad. So, she'd pushed him away, telling him to go before she changed her mind. The girl was surprised by the quick hug Sokka had given her, before running off.

Zuko stood beside her, holding the pot that the food had been cooked in. Smiling, Orora paused in her bending and used her uninjured hand to push away a few flyaway hairs from her face. "Its alright. It'll take a couple more Healing Sessions before its completely healed." She raised her arm away from where it was resting just against her abdomen. "Katara already gave me a little Healing Session this morning before I went off with Suki, so that helped."

Raising an eyebrow as he set the pot down, Zuko gave her a slightly nervous look. "And how did that go?" He asked, knowing he was the reason for the discord between the two sisters. He didn't like how Katara still didn't trust him, despite playing a big part in getting her father back with Sokka.

What more could he do to prove to her that he had changed?

Orora pursed her lips, before lifting one shoulder in a delicate shrug. "It was alright." She said softly, her mind drifting to the conversation the older girl had shared with the younger waterbender.

                                            ————————–

Removing the bandage from around her shoulder, Orora frowned. The bruising was obvious, she just hadn't expected it to be this bad. Poking at the skin, and wincing at the thrall of pain that originated from there, she moved to bend water from the pot in front of her. Holding her arm at a rather awkward angle, she turned her head, trying to see what area was more bruised.

Of course she wouldn't be able to do that without twisting her neck in a more awkward angle then it already was.

"Need some help with that?" Katara's voice cut through her concentration. The other girl stood not a few paces away from her. Pursing her lips, Orora nodded, holding the water out that she was about to use. Katara bended the water from Orora's hands, and almost immediately the water began to glow. Her touch was gentle as she laid her palm against Orora's injured shoulder. The older girl winced slightly before relaxing as the soothing sensation of water enveloped her.

"Thanks, I never would've healed it properly myself." She admitted, dropping her head to once side so that her shoulder was fully exposed to Katara's healing. No sooner had she finished speaking when Katara burst out with the two words Orora didn't even think she would say to her.

"Thank you."

Ice blue eyes blinked in surprise. And though she wanted to do nothing more then to glance back and question Katara face to face, she simply settled with a quite. "What for?"

Behind her, she heard Katara exhale, her hand still moving as she worked on her shoulder. "For helping Sokka get our Dad out. I know you helped a lot." It was strange just how difficult it was to get just these few words out. There was a time when the both of them would talk and chatter non-stop.

Now though?

Since Orora had decided to accept Zuko, a former enemy, as her Soulmate, a fact Katara still couldn't seem to wrap her head around, they'd barely spoke to one another.

This would be the first proper conversation they'd had since their fight.

Or rather this was the first time they were saying more then a few words to one another.

"It was a team effort Katara." Orora said, hoping to get Zuko in her good graces. "Everyone helped out to the best of their abilities." She wasn't about to say anyone's name. Mostly because she didn't want to be too direct.

But also because, she knew Katara was smart enough to pick up on who she was trying to refer to.

And Katara did.

Though her only response was to give a small hum of agreement.

And that was the end of that conversation.

                                            ————————–

Zuko waited for her to continue, but Orora returned her attention to the dirty dishes once more. He scowled. "That's it? That's all she said?" He asked, the disbelief in his tone obvious as he stared at Orora. The girl sighed before nodding, setting aside the new clean bowl and picking up the next one.

"More like what she didn't say." Another sigh, followed by the splashing of water as her fingers guided the small stream to wipe away the residue stew. "I'm so tired of her treating me like I did something wrong when I didn't." She declared, a scowl creasing her forehead as she did. The water responded to her bending by splashing out a little. "I mean, after everything that happened, don't I deserve to be happy?" She continued, though she was staring straight ahead, her blue eyes unseeing as she vented.

"And you?" Zuko started in surprise, since he hadn't been expecting to be included in.......whatever tirade Orora was so deep in that she barely noticed when he wrapped an around around her shoulders and pulled her to his side.

"You are just as much a victim in this war as anyone else, and yet Katara treats you like you are the root of it all. I mean sure you did some bad things, but who hasn't?! You've more then made up for it! But does she see it that way? No! Of course not! And now! Just because both of us want to try and repair our bond, she has to go and be angry about it because..........because she doesn't like you!"

"Not liking is pretty tame." Zuko added his piece when Orora paused for breath. "I would say she hates me."

Orora pursed her lip in a thin angry line. "Maybe I should talk to Aang about this? Or even Hakoda? Between the two of them she might see that you have changed." She suggested, turning her head slightly to look up at him. Zuko shook his head. "No. I want Katara to forgive me and let go of her anger in my own way." He said.

"I think if someone else speaks on my behalf it won't end well, and there will always be this mistrust between me and her, and I don't want that." Orora blinked, looking up at her Soulmate with a slightly bewildered expression on her face.

Sensing her stare, and noting her silence, he turned his head in her direction. "What?" He voiced, trying not to notice just how pretty her lips looked as they curved up into a smile.

Though seeing her face light up as it did just then did have his heart doing strange flips inside his chest.

"Nothing." She said. "Its just still a little strange for me seeing your more level-headed side rather then your hot-tempered-quick-to-anger-and-make-rash-decisions side." A teasing glint in her eyes, Orora shrugged.

"I kinda miss it." She admitted, stepping out of his embrace, if only to annoy him on purpose, and turning her attention back to the dirty dishes. Zuko crossed his arms over his chest. "So, you would rather me make stupid decisions based on my anger." As he spoke, he moved to stand in front of her, the only thing separating them the big pot of water from which Orora was using the water to clean. "Rather then make decisions with a clear head."

Standing straight, Orora nodded. "Yeah! Cuz now I don't get to tell you off and make fun of you when your plans explode in your face." She sighed in a mournful way. "I miss gloating."

No sooner had she finished saying that when she found her face being splashed by the soapy water. Laughing, the girl held up her uninjured hand to try and shield herself from Zuko's watery attack.

                                            ————————–

Hakoda looked away from where he had been listening to Sokka explain some engineering marvel the Air Nomads had created long ago. His eyes found the source of the laughter and he couldn't help but observe the sight.

A Water Tribe girl and a Fire Nation boy, laughing and smiling together.

It was strange, to say the least.

And yet he couldn't help but feel his heart soften at the innocent game they were playing. It always hurt him to see, how much the war had effected the children and stripped them of their childhoods. Sokka and Katara had experience it first hand. As had Aang. And Toph as well.

And whenever he would catch a glimpse of children just being children, he couldn't help but bask in the innocence of it.

Hakoda smiled, watching the girl his two children had adopted as a sister, empty the entire water pot on the head of the Prince of the Fire Nation. He watched as the water began to steam on the boy's shoulders.

"You needed to cool off!" Orora reasoned, already backing away.

Shaking some of the water from his hair, Zuko leaped over the pot just as the girl took off running.

"You're dead Orora!"

The Water Tribe Chief continued to watch as the two of them raced away, the sounds of Orora's laughter, and Zuko's threats echoing against the bare walls of the Temple.

                                            ————————–

He chased her halfway through the Temple until he finally caught her.

She was fast, he had to give her that. But he was faster. And more agile, if he were to admit. Probably because Firebending required a lot of footwork and movement, while Waterbending was focused on the movement of the arms.

Though, Zuko had to admit, Orora was working hard on using her legs and feet to bend as well, which was only one of the many things he admired about her.

He leaped over a fallen pillar, using the momentum to propel himself forward and wrapping his arms around the girl's waist. She struggled, laughing as she tried to get away from him.

"Zuko! Let go!" She cried, hardly able to speak the words with how hard she was laughing. Twisting her body, Orora tried to wrench herself from his hold, but Zuko held on fast. "No chance." He said. "I'm getting my revenge for that."

Before she could even think of what he could possibly mean by that, Orora felt his fingers dig into the side of her stomach. The shriek of laughter she let out was a sound Zuko had never heard her make.

And yet, he found himself wanting to hear that sound again.

"Did you really think you could outrun me?" He spoke loudly over her laughter, grinning as he felt her try to squirm away from him. But he only held her fast.

"Ha...Zu-hehe-Zuko! Haha.....S-hahaha-top!" Finally wrestling her good arm out of his hold, Orora pushed his hands away. Panting, the girl distanced herself from her Soulmate. Her hair was in disarray, and her clothes were rumpled. She was still smiling though, and her eyes were laughing as she took in his still slightly dripping appearance.

"Well I tried didn't I?" The Waterbender responded. "That should count for something?" An elegant motion of her arm, and she had bended the water off him and flicked it away. He shook his head, running a hand through his now dry hair. "It doesn't really." The tone of voice he used had Orora rolling her eyes at him.

She straightened her collar and shirt. "Will you just let me have my moment?" The girl grumbled, though there was no annoyance behind her tone. Rather exasperation. Trust Zuko to want to take away her win. "What moment?" He grinned, knowing fully well that he was annoying her right then. "I caught you!"

The glare he received was enough to make him hold his hands up in a placating manner as he slowly approached her. "Alright fine. You win." He added, earning a smug grin from her before she reached out to ruffle his hair, making it messier then it already was. However the movement had her jostling her still injured arm, making her wince slightly. In an instant, Zuko's entire demeanor changed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't hurt you did I?" He asked, reaching out to gently cradle the arm that was within it's sling. Orora smiled reassuringly and shook her head. "I'm alright. One more Session, and I'll be as good as new." Not liking the frown of concern on his forehead, the girl quickly leaned up to place a loving peck on his cheek. The frown disappeared, and instead a smile over took his features, prompting her to mirror the smile.

Leaning down, Zuko pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and breathed deeply, almost as if he were trying to memorize the scent of her. "You know, I don't think they'll miss us if we don't go back just yet." She spoke in a low voice, almost as if she were afraid of breaking the moment as she raised her eyes to look at the peaceful expression on his face.

A rare occurrence, one she only saw on his face either when he was asleep, or when he was with her. The last thought had a wave of happiness coursing through her body.

She was the reason that had him feeling so at peace and calm, just as he was her anchor for when things would begin to get turbulent.

Strange how not even two weeks ago she had made peace with the fact that they could never be together.

And now here they both were.

Simply standing there in the presence of the other, and drawing comfort from it. Glancing down, she intertwined their fingers in an embrace that was just as intimate as the look he gave her when he opened his eyes. Zuko didn't move away from where he was resting his forehead against her own.

Rather he began to follow her as she began to walk backwards, until the back of her thighs hit against the cool stone of one of the many benches that lined the walls of the temple, overlooking the yawning abyss beyond. Settling onto the flat surface with her back against the wall, Orora gestured for him to sit beside her. No sooner had he done so, when she leaned against him.

Her head came to rest on his shoulder, while he shifted to tuck her head under his chin. Her soft hair tickled against his skin as Orora took one of his arms and wound it around her waist, effectively trapping herself in his embrace. Zuko wrapped the other arm around her as well, pulling her against his chest, their legs tangled where they hung off the side of the bench.

"With so many people around, its hard to find a moment's peace." He spoke softly, shifting his head so his cheek would rest against the top of her hair. A hum vibrated against him as she nodded in agreement. "You'd think in such a big abandoned temple a person would be able to be alone by themselves, or with someone." She playfully nudged him with her injured arm, making him let out a small laugh.

Orora sighed. "You know, its still so strange hearing you laugh so openly." She confessed, prompting him to glance down at her in surprise. "You were so guarded with your emotions that, now, just to see you express them so freely is.............." She paused, looking for a word.

"An enigma?" Zuko offered with a teasing tone in his voice. One that had Orora rolling her eyes at him. The word came to her, and she smiled, tilting her head back so she could look at him when she said.

"Priceless."

She felt him stiffen against her, and for a moment she did believe that he had gone into shock. But then he shook his head, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips, despite the sadness in his amber gold eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, probably to tell her how wrong she was. So, Orora simply placed a finger over his lips, pushing herself up so that they were both face to face. "You say anything about me getting sentimental, and I'll give Toph ammunition to make your life unlivable."

A viable threat, since Orora had a lot of stories she could tell the Earthbender. Stories that were fodder for the younger girl since she loved nothing more then to come up with ways to tease other people.

Especially Sokka, Katara, and now, Zuko, as the blind girl had told Orora.

He rolled his eyes, though she felt him smile against her finger. Nodding in satisfaction, the girl resumed her previous position, settling against him with a sound of content. The both of them lapsed into silence, with Zuko dozing of slightly.

The sun had begun to set long ago, and was now well on its way to disappearing. Already the sky was beginning to loose the tinge of remaining yellow and turning darker and darker. He'd been up since dawn, making him tired for obvious reasons.

Thinking this was a good chance as any, Orora slowly sat up so she could turn and face him. "I need to talk to you about something." Her legs rested under her as she did, with Zuko looking at her in question. "Its about Aang." She said, earning herself a look of confusion. "I know I haven't seen any of the firebending you've been teaching him, but I know he's working hard. Maybe you're working him a little too hard."

Zuko pursed his lips. "Did he ask you to talk to me about this?" He asked, to which Orora nodded, feeling a little guilty going behind Zuko's back and ambushing him like she was. "Its just, he didn't say anything, but I think he finds you scary, as a teacher at least."

Raising an eyebrow, the boy couldn't help but speak in a slightly disbelieving tone. "This coming from a boy who faced down against an active volcano?" He muttered, recalling the stories he had heard from Sokka a few days ago. "How am I scary? I can't be anymore scarier then you when you're angry about something. Or Katara for that matter. Sokka's told me how scary she can be when she's mad too."

Was it strange that she found his words a little prideful? Having people be scared of her when she was angry. Now that was an accomplishment. "Well whatever the reason, he just asked me if you'd take it easy on him, so will you? I mean come on, he's just a kid. Besides he's learned waterbending and earthbending within a year. He's talented enough to pick up firebending quickly." She watched as he pursed his lips, before shaking his head. "Its different with firebending. He needs to learn the forms while also learning to control his flames, and that's difficult to learn."

Orora shrugged. "Whats the big deal if he goes a little slow?" A flicker of annoyance lit within him. "He can't afford to go slow. The Comet is only a couple months away. How's he gonna face my Father when he hasn't learned more then half of the firebending forms he's supposed to know?"

His reaction had Orora's inner apprehension raising it's head and sniffing the air. Something was wrong. There was something that was making him be this way. Rolling his eyes skywards, Zuko sighed. The fate of the world rested on said boy's shoulders, which was why Zuko was being so hard on him.

His mind flashed to that fateful War Meeting. One that had him changing his mind completely about the Fire Nation. The War Meeting he had told no one about. "Zuko?" Her voice came, soft and questioning. He looked at her, meeting her blue gaze. Exhaling deeply, the boy reached up, pushing away a few escaped strands of hair and cupping her face. "Orora." He paused, hesitating. "There's something I haven't told you."

He told her everything.

And he watched, as her eyes grew wider, and a look of absolute horror overcame her lovely features. She didn't pull away from him throughout the conversation. Instead she'd reached out and took his hand in her own, almost as if she knew he would need to draw on her strength to reveal what he had kept inside for so long. And he was all the more grateful for her caring nature.

"That's...that's horrible." She managed to choke out once she'd stopped staring at him in sheer trepidation. "Does he not see that all that will be left to rule is smoke and ash? Nothing more?" She retrieved her hand from his to make a fist, slamming it against the hard stone of the bench they were occupying. Her blue eyes gleamed with hatred. "How can anyone be so evil for no reason?" She growled, every fiber of her being exuding her disgust at the monster so intent on destroying the world.

Unable to meet her gaze, and ashamed that he came from such a family, Zuko turned away, drawing into himself. "I don't know why I kept quiet about it." He admitted, thinking that perhaps he should clarify his reason for not speaking lest he loose the trust and the place in the group he had acquired after he had worked so hard to gain both. "I guess I was so focused on getting all of you to trust me that telling you something so horrible about what my Father was planning would've set you against me."

His words acted as the trigger that drew Orora out of her ocean of negative feelings. A scowl marred her forehead. "You're not your Father Zuko." She stated, her tone holding a sense of finality as well as determination to it that had Zuko's heart fluttering in his chest. Did she really have that much faith in him? After all that he had done?

Still, he was skeptical by nature, so of course he wasn't about to let himself feel that way for long. "Would the others have believed that?" Orora opened her mouth to negate what he had said, but then stopped. A look of guilt flashed in her eyes and across her face. Which was enough to make Zuko nod. "Exactly." He gave her a sad smile, before slowly standing up. "It doesn't matter now." He said, though the words sounded unconvincing even to his ears. "Now that I've told you, maybe I should tell the others too."

The Prince made to walk away, probably to return to the camp, but then he felt Orora reach out and grasp his wrist. "No!" He glanced back at her, surprised to see her looking concerned. "No! No, Zuko don't." His Soulmate insisted, to which Zuko frowned in confusion.

"Why not? Maybe if I tell Aang he'll work twice as hard." He suggested, already liking his idea. However his suggestion was completely dismissed by Orora who stood up and shook her head. "No, we can't tell Aang. It'll make him even more paranoid then he already was."

He frowned. "Paranoid? What do you mean?" Pursing her lips for a moment, the girl gathered her thoughts before explaining what she meant. She told him how obsessive Aang's behavior had gotten just a few days before the Invasion. How he would train every waking hour, never stopping to rest and barely stopping to eat. Not to mention the nightmares had had, the hallucinations, the sleepless nights.

And just how scared he had been.

"If you tell him, he's going to revert back to that and trust me Zuko it isn't pretty. Not to mention extremely unhealthy." Her heart clenched in her chest for her little brother. "I don't want him to go through that again." She said, her voice breaking when she spoke the next four words. "He's just a kid." Zuko watched as she swallowed the lump in her throat, inhaling deeply to try and get a hold of her emotions. Wanting to lend her the same strength she did him, the boy reached out to take her hand in his and give it a squeeze.

But that wasn't enough.

A sound of surprise escaped Orora when she felt herself being yanked forward. Zuko wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her closer. Without even a moment of hesitation, Orora had brought up her own uninjured arm to wound around him as best as she could. Her head resting on his chest she let out a sigh. "We can't seem to catch a break." She said, the irony of it all obvious in her tone.

"I wish I could've stopped him." Zuko admitted, the shame he felt finally boiling over into words as he looked beyond Orora's head and into nothingness. "I wanted so much to say something against his plan. But I stayed silent."

Orora pulled back enough so she could raise her head and look at him. Though he refused to meet her eyes. "Its a good thing you stayed quiet." She said softly, her eyes dropping to his scar. Unwinding her arm from around him, she reached up to press her fingers against the marred skin, just under his eyes. The touch seemed to bring him back from wherever his tormented thoughts had led him. His body visibly relaxed and he finally met her gaze. "The last time you spoke against your Father, you still have the scars to show for it." And she didn't mean just the one that everyone could see.

He sighed. "I felt like such a coward just sitting there and doing nothing." The Prince admitted, looking just as bit as the sixteen year old he was. Orora shook her head at him.

"But you are doing something Zuko." She reminded him. "You left your entire Nation, your people, your home, to come and help us." His hand came up to cover her own as he smiled softly at her, glad that he had someone to pull him back from the dark thoughts that would forever plague him. "You're helping train Aang to defeat the Fire Lord. Those aren't exactly the acts of a coward." He sighed, leaning into her touch as she moved her hand to cup the side of his face.

"I suppose I was letting some of my own frustrations out on Aang by being too hard on him during training." He admitted, feeling a little guilty and deciding to cut the boy some slack during their future training sessions. Orora smiled in agreement. "Just lay off a little bit. Remember he's still a kid." She shrugged. "We all are really. Not our fault we don't have the luxury to act like kids and be selfish about things."

Zuko shrugged. "I don't know, I did have a selfish motive when I decided to leave the Fire Nation." He admitted, smiling at his Motive, who only blinked at him in surprise. "Oh? And what was that?" She asked.

"I mean sure I wanted to stop my Father from carrying out his plan and help Aang." He clarified. "But at the back of my mind, I couldn't help but be happy for what I was doing because....." He trailed off, unable to help the slight blush he felt coming on. Finding Orora's blue eyes a little too penetrating, he cleared his throat and dropped his gaze to the floor. "It meant I was coming back to you." He finally admitted.

A moment of silence.

And then a breathless laugh, followed by the words:

"You're making it really really hard for me to not want to kiss you."

Immediately his gaze snapped up to see her smiling at him. She was closer now, or rather her face was much closer to his then it had been before, their noses just barely brushing. She could feel the exhale of his warm breath, while he allowed the scent of her to take of his senses completely.

"Sorry." He whispered, his eyes never once wavering from her own. Bringing up the hand that wasn't holding hers, Zuko gently ran his fingers down the side of her face. She closed her eyes, savoring the contact as if she had been starved for it. Which, to be honest, she always was.

"But maybe," She spoke softly, her own fingers moving to trace his scar with delicate strokes. "I can do something about it."

Zuko frowned in a slightly dazed manner, unable to think properly with her touch to distract him, her presence to rob him of sense, and her scent clouding his mind.

In a practiced move, the girl had pulled off her sling and allowed her arm to hang at her side. It was a little stiff, but there was no pain. Smiling in satisfaction, she turned her attention back to her Soulmate, who was frowning in confusion.

"What're you-?" He was cut off by Orora placing the thin cloth she had been using as a sling against his mouth. It only came up to cover half his nose. Then again, breathing was the last thing on Zuko's mind.

Since Orora was now kissing him through the thin piece of cloth.

His eyes widened to a comical size, and while he tried to gather his senses about him, Orora enjoyed the strange embrace she had initiated.

She felt the warmth of his lips against her own through the cloth. She felt them move, as if he were attempting to say something. She felt his body against her own, and couldn't help but smile at his utterly unresponsiveness.

For once, Orora had been the one to take him by surprise, and she would enjoy every moment of it.

But then, he did begin to respond. She felt his lips slant, as if trying to get a better angle. Since her hands were aloft, holding up the cloth, his came up to grasp her shoulders, pulling her even closer. Chest to chest, no space between them. He could feel her smile against his lips, and couldn't help but bask in the feeling that came with the knowledge that he was the reason behind that smile.

But then the kiss was over just as suddenly as it had began. Reluctantly, Orora pulled back. She lowered the cloth, revealing his still parted lips as he stared at her in utter surprise. Her tongue ran along her lips, savoring the tingling warmth his lips had left behind. His eyes dropped to catch that little act. "That was..........innovative." He said, his voice low and a little hoarse, his dark gold gaze never once moving away from her mouth. Her heart was beating a mile a minute in her chest, despite the fact that their kiss had barely been a kiss. "We can share a real kiss once you take me out on a proper date." The girl promised, as he slowly took her hand.

He was still looking at her in that way, intense and heated. She could barely look him in the eye. Blushing, but smiling, Orora trained her gaze forward as she began to lead the way back to their campsite.

"Wonder when that will be."

"With our luck, it'll probably be months."

                                            ————————–

Whatever semblance of peace they had made during their stay at the Temple was broken the very next morning before they'd even had the chance to wake up.

A loud explosion was what roused Orora from where she had been sleeping next to Zuko. Beside her, Zuko shot up, ready to attack and defend if needed. Everyone was up and staring in horror as several Fire Nation airships filled the space just beyond the fountain. Aang already had his staff out, ready to go on the defensive. With a an air wave, he blocked out the bombs by closing the giant metal shutters that had been installed years before. The entire ground shook as another explosion wrecked the Temple. Followed by another.

Far above, the ceiling began to break away, large chunks of rocks dropping down towards the group. The sound was enough to grab everyone's attention before they ran for cover. "Watch out!" And for Zuko to leap into action and race towards Katara, pushing her out of the way of the falling debris.

They both rolled out of the way, the rocks falling to the ground in a cloud of dust. Orora coughed, her eyes watering as she tried to see where Zuko and Katara had landed.

"What are you doing?" She heard Katara's angry voice as she finally spotted their prone figures on the ground. "Keeping rocks from crushing you." Zuko responded, as calm as could be. "Okay, I'm not crushed. You can get off me now!" With that Katara shoving him off and walked away, pushing past Orora as she approached the pair of them.

"I'll take that as a thank you." Zuko called after her, his hand already out for Orora to take so she could help him up. Haru and Toph quickly created a tunnel using their Earthbending, a safe route for them to escape from.

"Come on!" The girl called as more rocks fell from the ceiling and the metal doors Aang had closed for their protection began to crack. "We can get out through here!"

Even as everyone began to race towards the tunnel, Zuko stopped. Orora, who had been gripping his hand came to a halt as well. "What're you doing? Lets go!" She cried, trying to pull him to safety. Aang, who was struggling to get Appa into the tunnel paused as well. "What're you doing?" He repeated Orora's question, watching as Zuko stood facing the nearly decimated shutters.

The next few words had Orora's heart plummeting in her chest.

"Go ahead! I'll hold them off. I think this is a family visit."

He glanced at Orora once, quickly mouthing the words he knew she would chew him out for later. If he came back.

"I'm sorry."

With that he was racing towards the slowly breaking shutters.

"Zuko! No!" Aang called out in alarm. But his shout of worry was nothing compared to Orora's scream of his name. She made as if to run after him, but strong arms held her back. The girl struggled trying her best to get away, still calling out for Zuko, begging him to come back.

"Zuko! Come back! No! Zuko! Please! Zuko we have to get out! Come back! Zuko!"

Vaguely she heard someone say they had to get out as well, but that only had her struggling harder. "No! Not without Zuko!" She screamed, finally wrenching herself away from Sokka, who had been the one holding her back from following after Zuko.

"Zuko!"

                                            ————————–

Debris continued to fall, but Zuko was sure-footed and nimble as he dodged each and every piece with a precision that would make his Uncle proud.

He could hear Orora call out for him. Screaming for him to come back. But he couldn't. Not yet. Not when he could do something stop who was attacking them.

And he knew exactly who it was.

He was done running away. He was done being unable to protect his Soulmate. And he was going to protect his new friends however he could.

Running towards the airships, he was barely able to dodge a bomb as it dropped several feet from him and detonated. Thick gray plumes of smoke rose to the skies, and after a brief pause, where he shook his head of the dust and small rocks that had landed on him, Zuko emerged from the smoke cover unharmed.

Firebending a large blast as he leapt in the air, he hit his mark as the airship he was aiming for took the hit. He stood at the edge of the temple, watching as another airship rose up.

Only to reveal Azula standing atop a podium life devise with a less then welcoming grin on her face.

"What're you doing here?" Zuko called, anger rising within him as he watched his sister smile almost maniacally.

"You mean it's not obvious yet?" She called, laughing as if she had said the funniest thing in the world. "I am about to celebrate becoming an only child!"

Without missing a beat, Azula kicked a large blast of blue flame at her brother. Zuko dodged the huge ammunition to the best of his abilities and tried to run back to the temple for some cover. He stumbled over a rock, rolling several feet before coming to a halt. The temple structure on which he was began to crumble under him.

Thinking quickly, the boy ran towards the airship, using the shifting and falling rocks as stepping stones. Concentrating with all his might, Zuko blasted several fireblasts at Azula as he jumped towards the airship atop which she was standing.

He slammed against the airship, but the smooth surface provided him with no footholds.

And he fell into the misty, yawning cavern below.

                                            ————————–

Toph, in an effort to keep the rocks from crushing them, and to prevent Orora from going after Zuko had created a cocoon of rocks around the group. Still, dust and smaller rocks rained down around them as Aang, Sokka and Katara struggled to get Appa into the tunnel. Orora was being held back by Suki, who was now holding her friend close, trying to reassure her to the best of her abilities.

"I can't get him to go in there!" Aang called. "Appa hates tunnels!" Shaking her head, Katara looked around at everyone waiting to make their escape. "Aang, there's no way we can fly out of here." She said, only for Aang to cut her off. "We'll have to find a way!" He said, the determination clear in his voice as he looked at Sokka for confirmation.

The boy nodded in agreement. "We need to split up." He announced, quickly running to where everyone was waiting. "Take the tunnel and get to the stolen airship." He said, looking at each person who was to take the tunnel.

And that included Chit Sang, Haru, Teo, The Duke, and his Father.

"No!" Katara suddenly shouted, anger burning in her blue eyes as she stepped towards her father. "The Fire Nation can't separate our family again!"

Hakoda rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay. It's not forever." He told her, his voice soft. The young girl hesitated, before hugging the man and running back to Aang. Sokka hugged Hakoda as well, before grabbing Suki's hand as well as Orora's and leading them towards Appa. Toph hung back, turning to The Duke who smiled at her in a reassuring manner.

"I'll see you when I'll see you. Don't worry." He said, reaching out to quickly linking the fingers that had their string tied around. Unable to help herself, Toph pulled The Duke into a brief yet meaningful hug. "Take care out there." She said, before pulling back and stepping away. She stayed there until they ran deep into the tunnel, before quickly making her way towards the front of the rock formation she had created, and pressed a hand against it.

"I can clear that away and we can fly out through there!" She called out before quickly launching herself onto Appa's back.

Suki, who had been making sure Orora was settled in the saddle, gave a nervous look. "Um, there's an awful lot of fire in that general direction." She pointed out, though her observation had Orora breaking out of her sudden stupor and gripping the edge of the saddle. "But that's where Zuko is." She stated, her eyes glancing at her string which was glowing strongly and pulling her finger insistently, reassuring her that her Soulmate was close.

"We'll get through." Aang said with a determined nod. "Let's go."

With a flick of the reins, Appa was flying through the temple and out into the open air. Toph kept his front shielded with a rock formation. Recognizing Azula's figure standing atop the airship, Orora began to look around, her eyes frantic as she searched for Zuko. "Where is he?" She called out, even as Azula tried to shoot down Appa. The shield integrated as it took the brunt of Azula's attack.

Another airship rose behind Azula, atop which Zuko stood unharmed.

"He's there! Aang! We have to turn back!" Orora called as she stood. The sight of her Soulmate seemed to fill the young girl with a new strength. One that had her standing beside Katara who was deflecting firebender attacks from the several other airships surrounding them. With several icicles nestled between her fingers, Orora threw them in the air, the sharp projectile flying fast and true.

And hitting every target where it would incapacitate them.

Seeing the opening, Aang quickly turned Appa around.

Just in time to see Azula and Zuko be blasted over the sides of the airship after a particularly large fire explosion.

Everything seemed to happen so slowly and yet in the blink of an eye, Zuko was in the saddle, pulled out of the air by both Katara and Orora, and they were making their escape.

While watching Azula still falling to her death.

"She's ... not gonna make it." Said Zuko, a strange tone in his words as he watched his sister. But then she firebended, propelling herself towards the cliff wall and stopped her fall somehow. They were too far away to see how she did that. Sighing in resignation, Zuko turned away. "Of course she did."

No sooner had he turned his attention away from his sister, when he found himself being punched and hit within an inch of his life. "Ow! Ow! Orora! What in Agni! Orora! Stop that!" He called in between the hits, having caught a familiar face looming over him.

"You son of a hog-monkey! You idiot! Of all the stupid things to do! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" She screamed, continuing to hit him wherever her hands or fists would land. "I swear to Tui, La and Agni Zuko! If you ever pull a stunt like that I will kill you myself!"

The rest of the group, as soon as Orora had started to hit Zuko, retreated to their respective corners of the saddle. And tried very hard not to appear as if they were listening intentionally.

Which they were.

Even Katara.

Albeit reluctantly.

Finally, Zuko was able to catch her wrists and pause her attack on him. He raised his head, only to find Orora glaring at him. Though the slight wobble in her lower lip, and the film of unshed tears that shimmered in her blue eyes, had him feeling guilty, for making her worry like that.

He opened his mouth to apologize, to say something, anything that would have her not look at him like that. But she shook her head, before she slowly slumped forward and leaned against him, closing her eyes.

"Don't ever do that again." She whispered, the plea in her voice as obvious as the sky around them. Wrapping his arms around her in a close embrace, Zuko held her to him for the remainder of their flight.

Though he made no promise.

                                            ————————–

Appa flew for more then half the day. The sun had nearly disappearance by the time they found a safe place to set up camp.

Throughout the entire ride, Orora had not left Zuko's side, then again he hadn't let go of her either. But now, as they disembarked and Appa slumped to the grassy floor with a tired groan, she grabbed Zuko's hand and led him away from the rest of their group.

"Ooooooo Zuko's in trouble." Sokka called out, taking one of the several tents they always kept in Appa's saddle. Suki frowned at him in disapproval. "Leave them alone Sokka." She scolded him, before moving to help Aang set up the tents.

Katara stood there, watching as Orora and Zuko disappeared into the dark, an angry scowl on her face.

                                            ————————–

Once they reached a small grove of trees, providing them with a shield from prying eyes, Orora dropped Zuko's hand and turned to him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Start talking." She said, giving Zuko the chance to explain his reckless behavior. The Prince sighed, already knowing what was coming, but then there was nothing he could do about it.

It had been his fault to run off like he had.

"Look, I had a suspicion who it was, and I just wanted to give you guys time to get away." He began, and knew it was the wrong thing to say, since she narrowed her eyes at him. "I thought I could distract them." He added, starting to get nervous as your gaze turned all the more icy. "I didn't want to have someone be hurt by my Nation."

Every excuse was feeble, and he knew Orora would never take them. She knew him, much better then he knew himself. And these weren't reasons enough.

Sighing in defeat, the boy dropped his head in his hand. "Look." He said, running a hand down his face as he looked up to meet her gaze. "My whole life I've stood by and done nothing to protect the people I care about. I've only ever caused them pain and hurt. And I'm just tired of doing nothing."

She was still silent, watching him. "When Azula attacked, I don't know. I couldn't find it in me to stand by. Not when I knew I could help. Not when I knew I could protect everyone." Reaching out, the boy took her hand from where she'd been gripping her forearm where it had been resting atop of.

"Explain this to me Zuko." She finally spoke. "If you're so busy protecting the people you care about, who will protect you?" She raised an eyebrow at him, stepping forward to poke him in the chest with a finger. "In our group, we protect each other. And that means no running off to sacrifice yourself. We do everything together."

Zuko nodded in agreement. "Alright, I won't do that again." He promised, and once he had given his word, Orora heaved a sigh of relief, the tension in her body leaving as her gaze turned soft. "Sorry if I hit you too hard, but you did deserve it."

The boy smiled. "I kind of did."

A slight rustle in one of the bushes behind them, had both teenagers standing on alert. Only to relax when Katara emerged from the brush, gathering firewood. She paused, catching sight of the both of them standing there, obviously having some intimate conversation. The anger that raged within the girl was obvious in her eyes as well as her scowl. She turned on her feet and walked away just as abruptly as she had appeared.

Watching her leave, Orora couldn't help but sigh. "We both really need to take care of this weird hatred between the both of us and Katara." She said. "I miss my sister." The girl admitted, watching the spot where she had disappeared to.

Zuko glanced at Orora, that all too familiar feeling of guilt settling in his stomach once again.

                                            ————————–

They returned to a camp that was already set up, with the fire going and everyone getting ready to sit down for dinner. Orora caught Suki's eye as she passed by, and simply nodded. The other girl smiled, knowing that she was alright. Sitting down next to Toph, Orora reached out to pat the younger girl's hand. "How're you holding up? I know it can't be easy, leaving The Duke." She said in a low voice, hoping to ease Toph's worries. The girl would never admit to them out loud, so coming to her directly, and speaking to her about it, was the best thing.

"I'm alright." The Earthbender admitted. "A little sad though." She wiggled her finger which had her string tied around it. "I miss him already." Her admittance came with a sad smile, that had Orora reaching out and giving the girl a quick hug. "You'll see him again. I'm sure." She said, as Toph nodded with a determined look about her face.

"Oh I know. He still owes me." Orora raised an eyebrow. "You had some sort of bet going on with him?" She asked, not at all surprised at the knowledge. Toph shrugged. "What? Its how we communicate."

How in the world that worked, Orora had no desire to understand.

Everyone began to sit down around the fire for dinner, with Suki and Aang passing the bowls around, along with cups of water.

"Wow, camping." Aang said as he gazed up at the open night sky. "It really seems like old times again, doesn't it?"

Breaking apart a small piece of the bread he was sharing with Orora, Zuko spoke with a sarcastic lilt in his tone. "If you really want it to feel like old times, I could, uh.......chase you around a while and try to capture you." He offered with a small smile. The rest of the group laughed, with Orora rolling her eyes at her Soulmate.

Well almost all of them laughed.

"Ha, ha." Katara said to herself, the angry scowl still on her face.

Holding up his cup, Sokka grinned. "To Zuko!" He toasted. "Who knew after all those times he tried to snuff us out, today he'd be our hero?"

The toast had Orora wincing a little, though there was a smile on her lips as she watched everyone agree with Sokka. Everyone except Katara that is.

Aang nudged Zuko lightly, while Toph gave him a light punch. The boys smiled. "I'm touched." He said softly, before shrugging. "I don't deserve this." A false observation that had Orora opening her mouth to negate Zuko.

But Katara beat her to it. "Yeah, no kidding." The girl hissed, before standing up and walking away.

Sokka, oblivious as ever to the emotions of those around him asked rather tactlessly. "What's with her?" Sighing in slight frustration, Zuko shrugged. "I wish I knew." Glancing at Orora, who gave him a small encouraging nod, he too stood and followed after the girl.

"What's with him?"

                                            ————————–

The events of the entire day really took it out of her. And as soon as she dropped on her bedroll, Orora was out like a candle. She woke late the next morning, unaware that Zuko and Katara were already making plans.

Emerging from her tent, the girl spotted Aang feeding Appa, while Sokka sat on the ground beside him, fiddling with what looked like a flower necklace. She opened her mouth to greet her brothers, but was cut off by Katara's arrival, with Zuko trailing after her.

"I need to borrow Appa." The girl stated bluntly. Orora glanced in Zuko's direction, silently asking him about what was going on. But the boy only shook his head at her.

Aang grinned. "Why? Is it your turn to take a little field trip with Zuko?" He said jokingly, as he fed Appa some more hay.

"Yes, it is." Again with the cold bluntness. Now Orora was starting to grow concerned for her friend.

Aang too looked surprised as he turned to look at Katara and Zuko. "Oh. What's going on?" He asked, straightening up.

"We're going to find the man who took my mother from me."

Sokka paused where he was fiddling with the necklace, while Orora's entire body stiffened and she blinked in surprise. They shared a look between one another before moving to stand besides Aang.

"Sokka told me the story of what happened." Zuko explained. "I know who did it and I know how to find him."

"Um..." Aang floundered, his gaze darting to Orora and Sokka in turn, before he looked back at Katara. "And what exactly do you think this will accomplish?"

Katara let out a mirthless laugh as she shook her head. "I knew you wouldn't understand." She said, as she began to walk away.

"Wait! Stop!" Aang called out after her, desperate to make her understand that what she was thinking of doing was wrong. "I do understand. You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do think I felt about the sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?"

Zuko was the one to speak up on Katara's behalf. "She needs this, Aang." He explained. "This is about getting closure and justice."

The Airbender shook his head. "I don't think so." He stated firmly. "I think it's about getting revenge."

Unable to keep her anger in check any longer, Katara finally burst out. "Fine, maybe it is! Maybe that's what I need! Maybe that's what he deserves!"

"Katara." Aang's voice was full of cocern as he watched her. "You sound like Jet."

The girl shook her head. "It's not the same! Jet attacked the innocent. This man, he's a monster."

"Katara, she was my mother too," Sokka finally spoke up, not wanting his sister to make a big mistake. "But I think Aang might be right."

His sister snapped. "Then you didn't love her the way I did!" She yelled at her brother, prompting him to whisper her name, hurt and pain clear on his face.

Orora scowled. "Katara, I know you're hurting. But that's no way to speak to your brother. He's only trying to help." Speaking directly to Katara proved to be a big mistake, since the girl turned her anger on Orora.

"What would you know? You're not even a part of our family."

The older girl took a step back, as if Katara's words had physically hurt her.

Aang, hoping to avoid any more hurtful words, tried to calm the situation. "The monks used to say that revenge is like a two-headed rat viper. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself."

Blocking out the rest of the conversation, Orora turned her attention to Sokka, who stood beside her, looking just as hurt as she felt as he looked at his little sister.

They both watched as she walked away, with Zuko following after her. "She's not gonna give up." Orora said, reaching out to give Sokka's shoulder a squeeze of comfort. He covered her hand with his, returning the squeeze, comforting her in return.

"Then we'll be ready to see them off." Aang said, knowing they had only delayed Katara.

She wouldn't stop until she had her revenge.

                                            ————————–

Sure enough, once everyone had seemingly turned in for the night, Katara and Zuko emerged from their tents. Dressed in complete black the both of them approached Appa, with Zuko carrying the sack of food and other essentials they might need.

Peaking out from behind a rock, Aang, Sokka and Orora jumped out from their hiding place. "So you were just gonna take Appa anyway?" Aang demanded to know, to which Katara replied with a simple. "Yes."

Sighing, the young Avatar gave a small nod. "It's okay." He said in a sage voice. "Because I forgive you." A brief pause. "That give you any ideas?" He asked, hoping he'd gotten through to Katara somehow.

"Don't try to stop us." Katara simply stated, as Orora bypassed her to stand beside Zuko.

"I wasn't planning to." Said Aang, shaking his head. "This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man." Katara gave him a look of gratitude, before climbing atop Appa's head. "But when you do," Aang continued. "Please don't choose revenge. Let your anger out, and then let it go. Forgive him."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Okay, we'll be sure to do that, guru goody-goody." A well aimed punch to his arm acted as punishment for his quip. Orora glared at him briefly, before glancing at Katara, who sat rigid and firm on top of Appa. "Take care of her, and watch her back." She whispered, knowing a reckless Katara, was a dangerous Katara.

Nodding in confirmation, Zuko looped their pinky fingers together, their strings glowing, before he climbed onto Appa as well.

As Sokka randomly asked Aang if he could borrow Momo, Orora couldn't help but glance in the direction of the moon.

It was a full moon.

"Please keep them safe Yue." She prayed, hoping she would be heard.

                                            ————————–

Zuko returned with Appa three days later.

The sight of the empty saddle had Aang and Orora nearly pouncing on Zuko, demanding to know where Katara was. He held up a placating hand. "She's safe." He told Sokka, who looked every bit as the concerned brother he was. "She just needed some time alone, so I left her at a safe location."

He looked around. "Pack up the camp. We're gonna go stay at my family's summer home." Toph frowned. "Won't it be a little obvious if we go there? They might check for us there." She added, to which Zuko shook his head. "Trust me, no one will think of looking for us there." He reassured the girl.

Between the six of them, they had the camp packed up and were ready to leave within an hour. Zuko took the reins, guiding Appa where they needed to go.

"So what happened?" Suki asked, knowing Sokka wanted to ask Zuko the very same question but was too nervous to do so. Mostly because he was afraid of what the answer might be.

"We found the man." Zuko said, prompting them all to stiffen in anticipation. "But she didn't do it. In the end, she was too strong to give in to her anger."

Heaving a sigh of relief, Sokka shared a quick hug with Orora, who felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"So where exactly is your family home?" Toph asked, still curious to know where they were headed.

"We're going to the Ember Islands."

                                            ————————–

Tag List - @wavesofchaos​ @violet-potter​ @rennysketch​ @emma-andrea1 @lovesammikinzz @fuzzyfestcat @msrawog @notsaelty @lust-for-pan @aces-tattooartist @jinxxangel13 @lotr-got @bitterspoons @realrintaro @gatorgirl151 @inutheangel @heartfully10 @lucaaahhh @juniper-july19 @anuttellaa @gfksz @bussyvussy @punksnotdeadbutiam @ablofftoneverland-blog-blog @slut-for-menn @vyliie @army-moa75 @juwhls @aqlodun @lovelybaka @glowyruby @niktwazny303

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: @oh-stars! ohstars has 91 fics in the Stranger Things fandom and 69 of them are in the Steddie tag!

@lady-lostmind recommends the following works by @oh-stars:

Fuck. I Think I Love You.

The Men We've Become (Series)

Yours (all along)

Hidden Depths

Distance

"ohstars has a way of making heartache feel so good. Every time I read one of their fics I know I'm in for something special, and will inevitably go through a wide range of emotions while I'm brought along for a ride with the characters. I love the way they show so much through small details, letting the characters actions speak for themselves a lot of the time and the insight you get as a reader when you catch glimpses of the story even the character hasn't realized yet and getting to watch them grow throughout the story. They have a way of showing the beauty in the little moments, and letting you linger in the sweet in-between of big points, letting the story build on itself slowly." -- @lady-lostmind

Below the cut, @oh-stars answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I think a lot of my ships boil down to Golden Retriever x Stoic Character. Add in that I adore when there’s a character who would sacrifice themselves to an inch of survival (if that) that gets the love and comfort they deserve, Steddie hits the spot. I’ve always been a big Steve fan but none of the ships prior to season four really inspired anything in me. And it took a minute for Steddie to click (which I think is the case for a lot of us, volume two just hit different), but when it did, there was no going back. I really enjoy exploring their relationship within the universe and everything that comes with – from sexuality crises, coming out, saving the world, and Stobin struggling with Steve liking a gremlin of a man. They just love each other so freakin much, y’all.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

Misunderstandings, hurt/comfort, and kidfic are all tied as my favorites. It’s hard to pick just one because it really depends on my mood, but a good hurt/comfort is always the vibe.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Slow burn. It’s kind of a cop out answer because it can be used in any fic and with any trope, but I love the build up.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

I read so much that I don’t know if I have one fic that’s my all time favorite. Bandaids for the Heart by LexiRoseWrites and Steve’s First Bruise by cairparavels are ones I think about pretty often.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I’ve been toying with a royal au in my head for months, if not a year now. I just haven’t nailed the plot yet to want to put some real effort behind it. Once I have a better idea of the story, I can’t wait to dive in.

What is your writing process like?

Up in the air at the moment. It changes a lot over time. Something will work really well for a few months, then suddenly it doesn’t. Most of the time, I can’t seem to write unless I’m sprinting. Usually that’s a solo sprint, but I love writing with other people. I do a little light plotting ahead of time, then let the characters take the reins… which is probably why I hit so many walls throughout a fic.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I don’t know if I have any quirks that are unique to myself. I’m very particular about my format when writing. I can’t write without it being double spaced, times new roman, 12 pt, and justified, which is 100% a product of schools enforcing that format for projects. And I have a hard time actually sitting down to write without the help of writing games like sprints and the word game. Otherwise, I don’t do much editing? I do the bare minimum and post… which isn’t ideal. That’s the opposite of what I’d advise.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

I would love to be someone who can post on a schedule consistently, but it rarely happens. Usually I can only succeed with that when a fic is a part of an event, otherwise I always get behind on my schedule.

Which fic are you most proud of?

You carved the space for my sadness to be seen for once (hold on to me) has a very special place in my heart. Out of my Steddie fics, it’s probably the one that I hold most dear, but I’m incredibly proud of The Man That I Could Be. It’s taken a lot for me to be proud of that one, but it was a whirlwind of an experience. I still go back to it and can’t really believe I wrote it to begin with, even though I have vivid memories of writing some of those scenes.

How did you get the idea for Yours (all along)?

I had an initial idea of doing a teacher AU but also wanted to explore lavender marriage Stobin, so I just… ran with it. I didn’t know where I was going in that first chapter’s first draft, just let Eddie’s voice take over. The plot and idea formed the more he revealed to me, with a few standout points acting as markers to get me through.

When writing Yours (all along), what was something you didn’t expect?

I didn’t expect my big bang artist m0momercy to be inspired by as many scenes as they were! Whenever I write a big bang or event fic, I’m very aware of which scenes I think would be visually compelling versus ones that would be harder to create for. I may dabble in art, but I don’t consider myself an artist, so it really took me by surprise that they were able to take the most random (but beloved – that scare scene is everything to me) scenes and create magic out of my words. I adore them and their work (please go check them out!!), so it was really great getting the honor to work with them on this project.

What inspired Hidden Depths?

This one was based on a prompt for @steddiesummerexchange. I had been wanting to do a nerd Steve fic, so this was the perfect opportunity to explore what that would look like!

What was your favorite part to write from Fuck. I Think I Love You.?

The playlist!! imfinereallyy created the playlist for @strangerthingsreversebigbang and the art to go along with it, so I had the opportunity to create a story around their song choices. I listened to that playlist exclusively (rip my spotify history on that one) while writing it, tried to find new ways to interpret the songs and incorporate them into the fic, and I’m really happy with how it turned out.

How do/did you feel writing The Men We've Become?

Honestly, it’s a blur. The first 100k of The Man That I Could Be was written in a month, with the rest over the next few months. It’s a beast of a fic, the longest I’ve ever written. When I think back on that time, I genuinely think something possessed me when writing. I was sitting down and knocking out 5k writing sessions almost daily, tapping into depths I wasn’t really sure I had. It’s kind of insane to me that I finished it.

What was the most difficult part of writing Distance?

I wrote this fic as a part of @steddielovemonth and was doing my own 90-Day writing challenge. Honestly, the hardest part was remembering this was a writing exercise to see a snapshot of Steve and Eddie’s relationship, rather than a longer fic. I wanted it to have the feel of a longer work with the satisfaction of a one-shot. Keeping it short and in the moment, not letting myself get lost in the tangents, and having the fic have a grounded feel was really important to me so I’d hope that I was able to succeed there.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

I know there are lines that I’m proud of but for the life of me, I could not tell you what they are or where to find them. My two favorite scenes that come to mind though are the opener scene in you carved the space for my sadness to be seen for once (hold on to me) and the scene in chapter four of The Man That I Could Be – aka Steve’s breakdown/grief scene.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

Oh gosh. I do plan on writing again soon, with a few FandomTrumpsHate fics coming out by the end of the year and new chapters of you carved the space for my sadness to be seen for once (hold on to me) coming soon. Otherwise, I mod a lot of things! @steddiebingo sign ups start November 1st and @steveharringtonbigbang starts January 1st!

Thank you to our author, @oh-stars, and our nominator, @lady-lostmind! See more of ohstars's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[kisakis-boyfriend]

Heat

Pairings: Kisaki x reader

Warnings: Male!reader, dom/top!reader, sub!Kisaki, teasing, frenemies to lovers?

Genre/Format: Smut; Oneshot

Author's Note: Shy/inexperienced sub Kisaki has a hold of my brain tbh. I want to fluster him into oblivion 💛

Please check my blog title to verify whether requests are closed or not! Thank you!

You and your roommate, Kisaki, are stuck inside trying to stay cool during a heatwave. While you do tease and argue with him from time to time, you also have certain... other feelings for him... and those feelings finally reach a boiling point

If the temperature goes up any higher, you fear you may just melt into a puddle right here on the floor... The weather called for temps so bad that going outside was discouraged unless it was an emergency. So, here you were. Sitting on your living room floor with Kisaki, basking in the small relief of a standing fan

You couldn't help but glance over at him every now and then. Taking in the rare appearance of him in loose fitting clothing. Perhaps the heat was causing those certain thoughts you had about him to surface right now? The way he was sitting, with his head tilted back a bit, legs spread and leaning back on his hands... What if you crawled over there and started kissing his neck. What if you just, started touching him right now. Would he melt into your touches and moan for you, like a good boy?

“And just what are you staring at?” The sudden voice pulled you out of your thoughts.

“Nothing” You replied, unaware that you had spaced out whilst staring at him

He glared at you. “Is there a problem?”

“Nope.” You said casually, as those thoughts started to flood your mind again. Fuck, you really wanted him right now. You were finding it hard to sit still, the urge to just pounce onto him building up quickly. What if you just...

“Then stop staring at me, dammit” He snapped, averting his gaze

“Kisaki...”

“Wha- Ah!” His question getting cut off by you straddling him and pinning him to the floor.

“H-hey! What are-” He gasped, struggling against your grip. But it was no use, you were considerably stronger than him, able to pin both wrists above his head with only one hand. His breath hitched when your other hand slid under his shirt and began caressing his body

“Sorry, I just...” You paused, leaning down towards his neck. “This heat must be getting to me, ya know?”

Kisaki bit his lip trying to suppress little moans while your mouth explored his neck. Biting and sucking several marks onto his skin, while your hand groped at his chest, hips, and anything else that you could grasp

“You like this, huh?” You said, trailing kisses along his jawline. You released your grip on his wrists and ran your hand through his pretty blonde hair. Kisaki's breath came out in hot little puffs, his cheeks flushed and skin burning up

“Wanna keep going?” You asked, cupping his cheek in your hand and feeling how hot his skin had become

Kisaki nodded in response. You smiled then leaned down to kiss his lips, feeling his arms hesitantly reach up to wrap around your neck. Your own hands snaking down the front of his shorts and eliciting a gasp as you begin stroking him through his underwear

Maybe this weekend wouldn't be that bad after all...

[howyouloveyourdragon]

alpha rhaenyra and omega aegon (platonic) headcanons. she along with daemon come back to the keep and find they need to protect aegon and possibly the other kids from otto and alicent if she won't listen. I imagine people like otto would not be okay with any of the boys being omega as it possibly lessens their claim so would be angry. (really fluffy but little angsty). possibly ends up with Jace or someone else if you want to put in romance.

thank you evattude my love for this request! it was very fun to explore :) i strayed a little bit because i wasn't entirely sure which timeline to go with so i hope that that is okay! i added some fluffy jace romance at the end because come on i can't ignore that boy, im sorry if i have not quite integrated a/b/o dynamics as well as you want, it has been awhile since i wrote for that universe so im a bit rusty <3

dividers by: firefly-graphics

all her life, Rhaenyra has been made to feel lesser than for her gender; by Otto, the men at court, possible intendeds, everyone

so when aegon is born she resents him

he will be everything that she was not for her father and she cannot ignore that

but everything changes when she presents for the first time, every feeling is heightened

she can feel the power rushing through her veins, the strength, everything is going to change

she's certain

but then everything falls apart

she needs to satisfy her newfound hunger and her uncle is eager to show her the ways of their world, being an alpha himself

excitement boils her blood even further, desperate, hungry and eager to feed her inner dragon

but he rejects her, abandoning her in a cold brothel for his brother to assume the worst

so she finds another outlet in Ser Criston Cole

and when her father finds out of her urges he has half a mind to disinherit her but she is future Queen

he knows it, he feels it

so he allows this slip so long as she marries Laenor Velaryon, another alpha and heir to the Driftmark throne

she fights and claws while still up to the brim with these changes, still unused to the growth in her muscle and discomfort in her joints

her uncle is her mate and she is being torn from him

but she has no choice

they are fated, she is sure that one day they will joing again

slowly she agrees but begrudging

Rhaenyra is merely glad that can convince Laenor to stay at the castle with her

the years pass and she has born three sons, all promising and with increasing strength

her heir Jacaerys even bares the traits she had upon the brink of her presentation, she could not be more proud until the event in which a pig aids the breakdown of a family

and then the incident with Vhagar occurs and they leave for Dragonstone after a rushed wedding

a mate is something sacred, someone to protect with your life and both the uncle and niece intend to

until she walks in on a scene she wishes she could forget

her brows furrow, ears overhearing Otto Hightower's scold but to whom?

she peeks through the open doorway and her heart sink to curn her stomach

"What would your mother say?" The older man hisses, grasping the pale boy's shoulder

"I-I-I cannot–it's not my fault!" Her brother's words stumble, her sympathy breaches

a lump forms in her throat as familiar words belt in her ears

"This is not what your mother needs right now, you are a disappointment to the throne and a disappointment to me." Aegon holds back his flinch

"I do everything you ask of me," His voice sounds so quiet, so fragile

"And yet you are still not enough." The grown man sneers. "You were supposed to marry your sister, child. Tell me how an omega could be King? Answer me!"

Silence locks them in time. Torturous time.

which is why Rhaenyra clears her throat and lets her presence be known

"Have you no shame?" She bellows, sharp and encompassing the regality of a Queen crowned

Otto doesn't back down, he only quirks a brow and bows shortly

"Princess," He greets, contempt seeping from his tongue

his gaze flickers to his grandson

"A pleasure to see you after all this time." Aegon doesn't look at her, his gaze stays firmly planted on his shoes

her own lilac sights narrow on him

"Aegon," she calls

his head snaps up at the acknowledgement and Otto's lips part in surprise

Aegon slowly turns around and she winces at the red in his face, his eyes are so bloodshot she would assume him drunk again but his pupils are surprisingly trained

"What is wrong, dear boy?" he hesitates even more at the sight of her

she should enjoy that but it makes her skin crawl

"It is nothing of your concern, princess." Otto sneers and although he stands in front of his grandson, it is not a shield of protection, instead it is one of shame

she takes a step closer and then she smell it

oh

a frown settles on her lips and an instinct to keep him protected emerges

"Come," she commands but neither move

Aegon stiffens and flickers his eyes between the two adults

"Aegon, come, I wish to speak with your mother. She will be pleased."

her hand outstretches and beckons him while Otto provides a firm look

he has always obeyed, he has always seeked approval and yet as he stands, on the verge of a whimper he considers the options

Rhaenyra has never cared much for him, he knows this but even if she were a wild boar, he would take his chances with her more than with his grandsire

he skitters over to her quickly so that Otto cannot argue with him and he takes her hand, suddenly feeling small

the journey is long and tense but she does not let go of his hand, rather she envelopes him into her side like she would Lucerys

"She will not be happy..." Aegon grumbles quietly, worry toiling in him

"Whom?" Rhaenyra's brows pinch

"My mother."

Rhaenyra hums at the clarity

"Then it is a good thing we are not seeing her."

shock engulf his pupils which flit up, his eyes widen

"Th-Then where are we–"

"Your father." She murmurs, bitterness tasting her teeth. "He owes a favour to me." She sighs. He stops instantly and shakes his head, trying to pull away from her.

"No. No. No. No." he refuses, sniffles bridling in his nose "No, he does not wish to see me, no."

"Do you wish for a change of environment or not?" That spins his mind. His breath hitches and he frowns

"What?" He asks in a quiet breath.

"Daemon and I have been lonely as of late," She murmurs despite them both knowing the blanket adjacent lie spilling from her mouth

perhaps it is even sweeter than the wine he loves

"You would...You would have me?" He returns in question. she scans over him, his feeble legs and downcast expression

"You are more than he thinks you are." She states and steps closer. "I did not ask for the crown brought to me and yet I have embraced it. Despite this I would not...I would not allow force to garner our actions. And besides, the boys love you, they would love to see their uncle at all hours."

a soft smile twitches at his lips

"They miss you," she assure, her hand resting on his shoulder

"Really?"

she smiles. "Really."

and so the arrangement is slowly built

he cannot always stay in Dragonstone but he may visit for as long as he wishes and vice verse

though he had to ignore the betrayal lingering in his family's eyeys from time to time, how the embarrassment creeps beneath his skin

and yet riding Sunfyre with Jacaerys at his back is the warmest he has ever felt

he never flushes near Helaena and yet when his nephew beams at him, something unknown stirs

it is not lust, it is warmth

Jacaerys is his warmth and finally Aegon understands why Rhaenyra took charge to dispel his engagement to Helaena so strongly

he has never been happier, never felt more complete

and then Jacaerys presents, an alpha too and eager to protect him too

when they are finally visiting King's Landing and he has never been more excited, sure it is to reaffirm Lucerys' claim to Driftmark but it is no less exciting

he cannot hope but pretend they are coming all this way for him despite his true mind

he prepares himself early, dresses, washes and keeps as well behaved as he's able

Alicent is shocked to say the least but it is pleasant

she thinks that perhaps he is finally ready to be king, perhaps responsibility has finally brought him peace

but alas she watches as he runs to embrace his elder sister and she hardens at the warmth between them

he disobeys her for a woman who would strike him dead at the hint of his claim

Aegon tries to take no notice when later that day, Alicent is digging her nails into his arm

he had beckoned the family over but at the pain twitching his features, Rhaenyra had declined, all too aware of Hightower priorities

Rhaenyra becomes distracted by the ferocity in which she defends her son's claim and Aegon can't help but admire her

it wounds Alicent deeper than any cut

because he cannot understand that she is doing the same

that she is protecting him

then the King seats the throne and Rhaenys confirms her support once Rhaena's betrothal to Lucerys is announced

a sly glimmer flashes in his other nephew's eye however which he cannot discern

and then it happens

his eyes widen and his lips part, a gasp erupting from between them

another betrothal

one for him

without his sister's name and in it's place is Jacaerys

and when they connect eyes, he knows

he knows

that also snaps up his family's attention

even his father's who considers it carefully before agreeing

and that turns a regular family dinner into a betrothal dinner

the first in a long which ends with both comfort and hurt

but it stops a war

Aegon does not need power in his veins to feel the warmth of a dragon and seat a throne

both siblings will have their turn to rule, those who call for bitterness will be removed and those who insult Aegon's status will be punished for questioning

RHAENYRA Taglist: (if your name is in italics and bold, that means i couldn't tag you, you will need to check your settings) @evattude

HOTD Taglist: (if your name is in italics and bold, that means i couldn't tag you, you will need to check your settings) @wrendermedone @hopelesswritergall @its-actually-minicika @gettheetoanunneryimmediatly @adelusionalwriter @cookielovesbook-akie

[lovingdilfs]

The late phone call (smut)

Guys here is a consolation gift for y’all, after last night. Love you all.

Come with some request people!!

Warning: 18+ content, sex, p licking.

He is talking to me guys.. look at that smirk

You held the phone to your ear, trying to keep your voice low as you whispered, "Elvis, what the hell are you doing?"

His response came through the phone, a chuckle in his voice as he replied, "Nothing, baby. I just wanted to hear your voice."

Your eyes flicked over to your sleeping husband in the bed beside you, and you hissed into the phone, "At 3 a.m.? Elvis, you can't do this."

"Oh, relax, little mama," he said, his words sounding like honey over the line. "He ain't gonna wake up."

But you weren't convinced, and you couldn't help the way your heart was racing in your chest. "You don't know that," you whispered back.

"Honey, I made you scream my name in the room right beside yours, so don't worry," he said, his voice laced with a smug satisfaction that made your blood boil. "Come to my room, baby," he said, his voice low and husky. It sent shivers down your spine, and you felt a rush of heat spread through your body. “Elvis I can’t” you said, a little sigh come from the end of the phone. “Now listen here, baby. I didn't just ask for it, I demanded it from you.” You hesitated for a moment, looking over at your sleeping husband in the bed beside you. You could feel your resistance beginning to crumble, the sound of his voice sending shivers down your spine. "I know you want me, baby," Elvis continued, his voice silky and seductive. "I can feel it in the way you breathe, in the way your heart races whenever I'm near you. So why deny yourself what you really want?"

Slipping out of bed, you tiptoed across the room and made your way to Elvis's room. Your heart was pounding in your chest as you stood outside his door, wondering what awaited you on the other side.

With a deep breath, you pushed open the door and stepped inside, the scent of his cologne washing over you. And there he was, man spreading on the couch with a glass of whiskey in his hand with a devilish grin on his face, waiting for you.

“This is the last time Elvis I swear to god�� you closed the door gently. Elvis's grin only widened, his eyes dancing with mischief. "That's what you always say, little mama," he replied, taking a sip of his whiskey. "But we both know you can't resist me." He said while walking slowly towards you. Your heart skipped a beat as Elvis took a step closer, his eyes locked onto yours. You tried to back away, but there was nowhere to go. The room felt smaller, the air thicker with anticipation. "You know you're playing with fire, Elvis," you said, trying to keep your voice steady.

But he only chuckled, the sound sending shivers down your spine. "I like it hot, little mama," he replied, his eyes smoldering with a dangerous heat. "And you know you want it too." You felt yourself getting lost in Elvis's gaze, unable to look away as he moved even closer, his breath hot against your cheek. The intensity of his gaze was overwhelming, and you found yourself giving into the desire that had been building between you.

In a moment of weakness, you gave in to his seduction, allowing him to pull you into his arms. His lips were hot against yours, his touch sending sparks of pleasure through your body.

Elvis's hands roamed over your body, his touch setting every nerve ending on fire. You moaned into his kiss, unable to resist the pull of his desire. Elvis's hands continued to explore every inch of your body, sending waves of pleasure through you with every touch. You were lost in the moment, your senses overwhelmed by the intensity of his desire.

As his lips trailed down your neck, you let out a soft gasp, the pleasure too much to bear.

You felt a wave of heat rush through your body as Elvis continued to explore your neck with his lips and tongue. Your mind was clouded with desire, unable to focus on anything else but the feeling of his touch.

You ran your hands through his hair, pulling him closer to you, lost in the sensation of his touch. Elvis's hands moved down your body, his touch sending shivers of pleasure through you. You moaned softly, your body arching against his. “Touch me Elvis!” You patten out, Elvis's lips curled into a devilish grin as he heard your desperate plea. "Oh, I love it when you get so desperate, little mama," he whispered into your ear, sending shivers of pleasure down your spine.

Your heart raced as Elvis's hands moved down to the hem of your nightgown, trailing kisses along your skin. You could feel the heat of his breath against your thigh as he slowly pulled your panties down, exposing your throbbing cunt to his gaze.

You let out a soft moan as he buried his face between your thighs, his tongue tracing a path of pleasure along your folds. Your fingers tangled in his hair, urging him on with a desperate intensity. The pleasure was building within you, growing stronger with every touch, every lick, until you thought you might explode with ecstasy. "Oh fuck Elvis!" you screamed, your body writhing beneath him.

In response, Elvis quickly moved his fingers to your mouth, pushing two fingers inside to stop you from moaning too loudly. He looked up at you with a wicked grin, his eyes shining with desire.

"You're gonna make the whole damn floor hear you, honey," he whispered, his voice rough with desire.

Despite his warning, you couldn't help but let out a soft moan as he continued to explore your body with his tongue. "Oh God, Elvis," you moaned, unable to hold back the sounds of pleasure that escaped your lips.

Elvis looked up at you with a wicked grin,"I told you to be quiet, little mama," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "But it looks like you just can't help yourself."

You wanted to respond, to tell him how much you needed him, but the pleasure was too much. Elvis stood up and leaned in close, his lips brushing against yours as he made you taste yourself on his mouth. You couldn't help but moan as he kissed you, his tongue teasing and exploring your mouth with a fierce intensity.

The taste of yourself on his lips only fueled your desire for him, making you crave more of his touch. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him closer as he deepened the kiss, Your hands traveled down the waistband of his pants, slipping underneath to feel the length of him. You couldn't help but gasp at the feel of his hard length in your hands.

Elvis groaned against your mouth as you began to stroke him, your fingers moving in a slow, steady rhythm that drove him wild with desire. His hands tightened on your hips, pulling you closer as he pressed his body against yours. "You really can't wait, huh honey?" Elvis said with a smirk as he lifted you up by your legs, wrapping them around his waist. He carried you over to the bed, laying you down gently on the soft sheets.

You couldn't help but giggle at his comment, the thrill of the moment making you feel giddy with desire. Elvis climbed on top of you, his body pressing against yours as he trailed kisses down your neck and chest. Elvis's eyes traveled over your body, taking in every inch of your curves. As he removed your nightgown completely, your breasts were exposed to him, causing a shiver of desire to run through your body.

"Oh gosh baby, you’re so perfect," he murmured, his hands trailing over your skin. His lips moved to your breasts, kissing and licking until your nipples were hard and aching. You let out a soft moan, your body arching towards him, desperate for more.

Elvis positioned himself between your legs, his body towering over yours. You could feel the heat radiating off him, his hard length pressing against your slick opening, begging for entrance. With a gasp, he pushed into you, filling you completely with his passion.

The sensation was overwhelming, sending shivers down your spine as he started to move, his thrusts deep and urgent, as if he couldn't get enough of you. The sound of your moans mixed with his grunts filled the room, the air thick with the heady scent of sex.

You clung to him desperately, your nails digging into his skin as you rode the waves of pleasure. Every touch, every kiss, every thrust sent you higher and higher, until you were consumed by the fire of your desire for him.

The room was a blur of sensations, the only thing that mattered was the feeling of him inside you, filling you completely. You could feel his muscles ripple beneath his skin as he moved, his body a perfect match for yours.

Finally, with a deep groan, Elvis reached his climax, and you could feel him pulsing inside of you, filling you completely. You collapsed into each other's arms, both of you panting and sweating. Elvis kissed you softly on the lips, his eyes filled with adoration. "Goddamn it baby you have done it again," he said, his voice husky with emotion. You smiled up at him, feeling content and fulfilled. "Done what?" you asked, curious.

"Taken my breath away," he replied, a smile spreading across his face.

[blackjackkent]

Continuing to explore the riverfront at the northwest corner of Rivington... surely this lovely area removed from the main bustle of the city will provide some peace and quiet and allow Rakha to step away from the influence of her terrible Father boiling in her blood--

Nope.

(A/N: For some reason the game also just started playing the musical theme from the nautiloid in this area? I can't really think why, it's not really a subtle nod to anything that happens in this corner of things that I can think of.)

I think things have abruptly gotten a LOT more challenging for Rakha from a mental perspective in the last few days. The Bhaalspawn reveal in and of itself was traumatizing, but the days following are almost more so in their way. Things that would previously have elicited nothing more than low-level growling interest from the beast in her head now trigger full-on flashbacks, crystal clear fragments of memories of her own lifetime of murder.

She's gotten a lot quieter in the last day or so, even more so than usual, more withdrawn into herself, eyes more hooded over. She drifts restlessly from Wyll's side to Jaheira's but snaps when anyone tries to ask her how she's doing. And everyone is so frazzled by this that they manage to biff every perception check and wander through a string of traps lining the beach, hidden within clouds of choking steam.

So no one's in a very good mood, and none of them can parse out an immediately obvious reason for why either the traps or the dead bodies are strewn in their path, which doesn't improve the atmosphere at all.

A little ways further along the path, though, one of those bodies is still alive:

"Somebody there? Friend or foe...?" a terribly weak voice hisses from the bend in the road. "Guildsman or... stone bastard?" A pause. "Doesn't matter much anymore." There's the sound of a terrible, wet, hacking cough, and then, lower: "Kelemvor... Myrkul... Jergal... if any of you bastards are listening... just get this over with..."

Something seizes in Rakha's chest. Yes. Give him what he wants. End it. A knife through his throat. Finish it by your hand before his breath leaves him.

She turns away sharply. "Go," she mutters to Wyll. "You talk to him. I-- can't--"

Wyll gives her a concerned look, then glances at the others. Jaheira nods, taking a subtle step forward to block Rakha's view of the dying man.

So it's Wyll, instead, who goes to talk to the man, sees the extent of his injuries, registers an insignia he doesn't recognize on the armor.

"Ugh... my legs... can't feel 'em... Tell the others... let the boss know..."

"What happened here?"

"Guild... wanted the cargo..."

Narrator: You hear the blood gurgle in his struggling lungs - his last ounce of strength is spent.

(A/N: And then we stepped out of the cutscene and his body did an unintentionally hilarious ragdoll as it died, which was a bit immersion-breaking. XD )

I feel like Wyll probably knows, in general terms, who the Guild are, and Jaheira certainly does. Minthara, Lae'zel, and Rakha, however, are all baffled by this whole exchange. And even Wyll and Jaheira don't have any idea who the Guild could be scrapping with that would have this high a bodycount while war bears down on the Gate from outside.

Always more questions...

[nethercomfies]

🌼 So this is love 🌼

Pairing: Albedo x reader

Content: Pre-relationship, realization of feelings, just very soft, features Klee as well, gender neutral reader

Word count: 868

Note: *taps mic* Hello, hello, does this thing still work? Hell yeah I'm back, in true Fern fashion with some soft Albedo because that's my jam :) Hope you enjoy!

Albedo never really cared for love. It was a foreign concept for him that he only read about in books, but nothing more than that. Nothing worth his time when he's always so busy with research and experiments, and important things like discovering the truth of this world (Or at least discovering what that's supposed to mean.) Between all that, there's no time for butterflies and anxiety, and whatever else the romance novels describe. Not to mention, it seems like love makes other people act a little silly.

Like Glory, who sits there day in and day out talking about how she can't wait for Godwin to come home, when probably everyone in Mondstadt knows that the very man she was waiting now has been meandering just outside of town for months, too scared to come back due to stupid pride, even tho he knows that his fiancé is scared out of her mind for him. Or Timaeus, who scribbles love poems next to his alchemy notes and gets distracted all the time, not even noticing when the potions he was mixing are threatening to boil over. Love seems to make people lose all sense, so Albedo has decided that he's better off without it.

Maybe that's why, as the two of you grew closer, he didn't recognize the signs at all, despite having read and heard about them so many times. The infamous butterflies that make him feel weird things whenever you smile at him. The way he suddenly falls into a daze while working as well, breaking out of it only to find small doodles of your face littered all across his notes. Or how sometimes his every thought gets consumed by a deep desire to just wrap his arms around you and never let go.

But love is such a foreign concept, so far out of his grasp that surely, that can't be it, right?

It's an innocent comment from Klee that makes him question his feelings for the first time.

"Big brother Albedo?" she asks, looking up at him with big eyes as they're walking home one day.

"What is it, Klee?" He smiles down at her.

"Can we invite y/n to our picknick tomorrow? Please?"

Albedo is a little taken aback. Usually Klee deeply treasures their little family outings. She refuses to let anyone get between her private time with Albedo, to a point where she even rejected Kaeya's request to tag along once. "You really like y/n a lot, huh?" He asks with a small chuckle. "I never saw you try to invite someone along to our outings."

"I like that they make you smile. It makes Klee happy too", the little girl responds, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Also, they make really good snacks so I want them to bring some to our picknick." She adds it more like an afterthought, like it's only secondary to her other reason.

Maybe it meant nothing to Klee, but it leaves Albedo thinking. Does he really smile that much when he's around you? People have commented before that he only ever genuinely smiles when he's around Klee, but no one has ever pointed out the same with you. Although, now that it's been called to his attention... He really does feel a lot happier around you. There's something about you that makes it easy for him to let down his guard. It's a strange realization and he still doesn't understand the meaning of it, but he takes a mental note of it and decides that it requires further investigation.

From that day onward, you're always invited to the family outings with Klee and Albedo. It becomes perfectly natural, like you've always been there. Like it's always been just the three of you, exploring Mondstadt together, having fun little picknicks or arts and crafts afternoons.

It's on one of these days that the realization finally hits Albedo. You're sitting on Albedo's couch, Klee fast asleep in your arms while he makes a cup of tea for the both of you. Albedo watches as you run a hand through the girl's hair, a gentle smile on your face as she snuggles closer into your arms. The soft glow of a candle bathes you in a warm light and he's overcome with the familiar urge to join you, to pull you into his arms and hold you close. That urge has been getting a lot more frequent lately, and he was never able to fully make sense of it.

But at this moment, something clicks for him. The urge to be close to you. The thought of how beautiful you look consuming his mind. The smile still tugging at his lips. The butterflies threatening to burst through his chest. All the pieces fall into place and the realization hits him out of nowhere.

He's in love with you.

[amageish]

Thinking way too hard about the queer possibilities of X-Men ‘97

When X-Men ‘97 was first announced, I’ll admit I was kind of ambivelent to the entire project... It felt very nostalgia-focused and was just less interesting to me then an all-new X-Men cartoon that could do its own thing without being burdened with established canon...

...and then I listened to the X-Men 60 Uncanny Years event earlier this year and hearing the executive producer of the series discuss what the X-Men meant to him as a kid as a gay black man in Florida basically changed my mind about the entire project. Now I’m excited for it!

The X-Men are so fucking queer. Even ignoring the ways that the mutant metaphor have been used to discuss queer issues before queer issues could be discussed textually, Marvel’s merry mutants just have... so many queer members and even more when you expand the list to include sub-textual and intended queerness.

So, with all that in mind, I did a little thinking and decided to take some guesses about who could make for queer representation in '97... Let’s dive in!

Part One: The Comic Canon Gays

Let’s start with the characters who are explicitly no-subtext-required queer in the comic books themselves. These are a few of the characters Marvel uses in Pride events and generally parades around every June.

Northstar

Jean-Paul Beaubier may seem like the vanilla ice cream of this rainbow sundae, but there’s far more going on with this character then the “Marvel’s first explicitly gay superhero” title that he is so often boiled down to. A French-Canadian superstar athlete, he’s lived never being entirely sure if his skiing career success was a result of his talent or his mutant abilities.

While his depiction in X-Men The Animated Series just had him be painfully French-Canadian with an on-the-nose accent and French exclamations, there’s a mean catty gay under the surface that is just waiting to be unleashed. They could also adapt his famous wedding arc, wherein he married his husband Kyle Jinadu...

Also he hates cops, so y’know... Maybe Marvel did nail the queer experience on their first try?

Iceman

Bobby Drake is arguably the most famous queer character at Marvel. A member of the original five X-Men, he was famously confirmed as gay when his teenage self was transported to the present and, with some unsolicited help from a teenage Jean Grey, questioned why his older self remaining closeted, even in a world that was (comparatively at least) accepting of queer desire.

In the original show, he showed unrequited interest in Polaris, as he had in the comics before his coming-out. This reboot could potentially give a more grounded and less fantastical take on coming-out then what he had in the comics... or maybe time travel will be involved again - who knows really!

Prodigy

David Allyene, aka Prodigy, is one of the most notable bi men at Marvel with one of the most distinctive coming-out stories. His mutant powers cause him to instantly learn things that other people know, hence the name Prodigy, and, through his powers, he also learned his own sexuality. How’s that for a crazy journey of self-discovery.

Prodigy is a newer character who did not appear in the original animated series at all, so there’s no continuity concerns there...

Mystique and Destiny

Destiny, also known as Irene Adler, met her lover Mystique when he was presenting as male and operating as a consulting detective in Victorian London.

Yeah uh. This is implying what you think it is.

The two of them have been lovers for centuries now, though both took other partners at different points during their relationship. Their love is something special though and together they raised Rogue as a child - as well as maybe sired Nightcrawler together? That was once intended to be Nightcrawler’s origin, but it was famously scrapped due to Marvel editorial not wanting to depict a child that is a product of a queer relationship at the time... but now this November a new comic will explore the “true” origin of Nightcrawler, so maybe Mystique/Destiny having a biological child is back on the table!

Mystique was, of course, in the original series. I’m not sure the actual odds of her relationship with Irene being acknowledged in ‘97 - partially just because I imagine Marvel would be concerned about backlash to queer villains... but also they’re adorable and good to me so I’d like them!

Captain Britain and Askani

Betsy Braddock and Rachel Summers are two incredibly complicated characters to summarize. Rachel is the time-displaced daughter of Scott and Jean from a hypothetical alternate feature, while Betsy Braddock spent like 30 years of her publication history trapped in the body of Kwannon, a Japanese assassin. While these two characters are some of Marvel’s most actively in-your-face unquestionably queer characters - the last Betsy story had a surprising amount of implied sex for only five issues - they’ve never really had a chance to shine in a multimedia way (well, at least not with Betsy in her own body and not being merged with Kwannon).

In the original show, Rachel cameoed briefly as a prisoner of Apocalypse while Pyslocke appeared without being named - assumedly they didn’t want to bother explaining the body-swap storyline. Personally, if they were to be in the show, I’d suggest that Betsy should be introduced as having inherited her brother’s title of Captain Britain, with Pyslocke of the original show being revealed to have been Kwannon in her own body all along...

Part Two: The New Mutants

There’s so many queer New Mutants that I’m just giving them their own category here... plus, with Sunspot being in the main cast, I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of the time got (Sun)spotlighted as well!

Note that the sapphics of the first generation of New Mutants can also be mixed and matched when it comes to shipping. I present them based on the pairings that are currently canon/teased in the present comics, but Dani/Xuan, Xuan/Kitty, Kitty/Rahcel, etc. are all valid too and could be within the cards for the show.

Karma & Galura

The first explicit lesbian of the X-Men line, Xuân Cao Mạnh is a refugee of the Vietnam Boat Crisis, a thing which makes no sense when you consider that she is still canonically like 20-something years old in 2023. Her coming-out was a much lower-key affair then Jean-Paul’s, with her friends just casually running into her at the Exploding Person festival (i.e., Burning Man) with a shaved pink haircut and already travelling with her two “girlfriends”.

After the musical festival, she proceeded to fall in love with her roommate Kitty Pryde and then her co-worker Dani Moonstar, both of which were never (textually) requited. Recently, she’s started dating the winged mutant Galura and finally gotten to do stuff like “kiss a woman on-panel regularly” after two decades of being a lesbian denied a girlfriend...

She has cameoed in X-Men ‘92-related media with a design that is truly terrible IMO, but I think she could be rebooted and appear in this series in her full glory... especially after the New Mutants movie left her out entirely!

Mirage and Wolfsbane

Introduced in the original New Mutants run, Dani Moonstar and Rahne Sinclair share a unique telepathic connection, helpfully described as them being “soul-mates.” The Comic Book Code prohibited depictions of queer people, but uh. This first run is incredibly not subtle, even as Rahne nominally has interest her male teammate Cannonball.

Unfortunately, post-Claremont, their relationship was more or less abandoned for a few decades (coinciding with a massive downward spiral in Rahne content in general) climaxing with Rahne being killed off entirely in an allegory for transphobic violence... Thankfully, she recovered from her death and has recently been written by a non-binary author and now a trans author, both of whom have leaned back into the idea that these “soul-mates” may, in fact, have romantic feelings for each other.

Oh, also they were explicitly gay in the movie. So. Good for them for that!

Magik and Shadowkat

Another classic pair of X-Men “roommates,” Illyana Rasputina and Kate Pryde are another Claremont-created “soul-mate” duo - albeit without the telepathic bond. After decades of queer-coding, both were able to do queer-adjacent things explicitly for the first time in the Krakoa era, with Illyana asking a group of people of various gender presentations to make out with her and Kate kissing a tattoo artist who looks suspiciously like her bestie on-panel.

Pryde famously lost the spot of “Teen X-Men PoV character” to Jubilee in the show, but maybe X-Men ‘97 could give her a second chance... plus Illyana is one of the most popular X-Men characters not given a full spotlight in the original show, in spite of her more or less being an A-list X-Men in 2023. I don’t know if Marvel is brave enough to make this one canon, but I do think these two are two of the most obviously missing characters from the ‘97 line-up.

Escapade

Shela Sexton, aka Escapade, is a transgender sapphic who debuted in Marvel Pride last year and has since then had a starring role in the most recent New Mutants series. She has the incredibly unique power of the ability to “steal” things from people - including everything from stealing physical objects like their wallet to stealing abstract concepts like their emotional or physical state. Her character also generally has embodied the intersectional approach to mutant identity which has become more and more prevalent in the modern era - her mutant identity and trans identity are both important to her character, but neither are allegories for the other.

I think she’s probably too new to be added to the X-Men ‘97 cast pragmatically, but maybe they could have snuck in a cameo at the last minute? Idk. I figured I’d include her on the list.

Part Three: Let’s Get Wild!

Okay. Fuck it. Let’s talk about some comic book justifications that could be used to queer up the actual main cast from the original classic X-Men The Animated Series.

Jubilee

Jubilation Lee, the teen PoV lead of the X-Men, has been written as queer a handful of times, but never explicitly in 616. Most notably, she was gay in an AU Runaways story (written by N.D. Stevenson), where she dated a bisexual version of Pixie as well as an ice-powered sapphic named Frostbite. Monet also had a crush on her in the X-Men ‘92 animation-inspired comic book series. In terms of 616 content, her relationship with Laura Kinney has often been read in a sapphic way, especially in Liu’s X-23 series where Laura notably breaks up with her boyfriend only for Jubilee to be waiting back at her apartment to go out with her.

Storm

Ororo Munroe, aka Storm, famously has had a subtextual Sapphic fling with the bundle of chaos that is Yukio. They two met for the first time when Ororo went to Japan and their time together was almost immediately followed by her famous punk Storm era, which is very queer when you consider that context. Yukio was also later made explicitly queer in Fox’s Deadpool 2 movie, though the movie character doesn’t share much of the personality and thrill-seeking antics of her comic book counterpart...

Storm is the central protagonist of the original Claremont Uncanny X-Men and will be central to the ‘97 series as well. It’d be really bold to confirm her as queer, but I’d say this is the kind of move that would be worth it if they want this to stand out among X-Men adaptations.

Wolverine, Phoenix, and Cyclops

Finally, Jean Grey, Scott Summers, and Logan were implied to have been in a poly relationship throughout most of the Krakoa era - though they have fallen on hard times recently in the run-up to Fall of X.

I’ll be blunt: I don’t think there’s a chance in hell that Marvel corporate would approve this being textual... but I’m willing to be proven wrong, I guess!

WHEW. Okay. That’s my list. This is nowhere near definitive of course - I didn’t discuss Shatterstar’s bisexuality, Deadpool’s pansexuality, Gwenpool’s aroace identity, et al - but also basically every X-Men character is either textually queer or could be justified as being queer based on comic book lore. This entire brand has a queer poly energy that even the straightest writers weren’t able to fully shake off of it... so, while this is my list, they could really do anything they wanted (and that Mickey Mouse lets them do, at least)... We’ll see what happens!

[PS: In light of the strike and the general shitty way that megacorporations in entertainment have been treating their workers for years now, I’d be remissed if I made this post and didn’t encourage people to consider donating to the Entertainment Community Fund as well!]

[lgbtqmanga]

New Releases Nov. 22, 2022

Adachi and Shimamura vol. 4 (manga) by Hitoma Iruma, Moke Yuzuhara

Adachi and Shimamura are now in their second year of high school. Luckily, they’re in the same class this semester, but when Adachi sees Shimamura making friends with their new classmates so quickly, she starts to panic. Feeling left out, she begins distancing herself from Shimamura, who can’t help but notice that Adachi’s been on her mind a whole lot these days…

Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. vol. 5 (manga) by Jirou Oimoto, Yuumikan, KOIN

Word is the next event will focus on large-scale guild PVP, and that’s bad news for Maple Tree. With only six members, they’re sure to be at a disadvantage— and the other top guilds are even putting together anti- Maple strategies! Fortunately, the gang picks up two new recruits: Mai and Yui, twin sisters bearing all-strength builds who’ll pack quite a punch after a little power leveling. But with Maple evolving into even more of a literal monster, will she be a bad influence on the newbies?

Catch These Hands vol. 3 by murata

Takebe and Soramori, her old high school rival turned girlfriend (by force), are finally getting used to each other’s company. But while Takebe’s eager to leave her delinquent past behind, Soramori has other ideas… and their relationship suddenly faces its greatest challenge yet. With the help of their friends Maria and Miharu, their confrontation reaches a boiling point, as Takebe seeks to convey her feelings in the only way she knows how—with her fists!

Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk vol. 2 by Toru

I WANNA BE FREE TO FEEL THE WAY I FEEL

Hana(e) and (Shuu)Mei are continuing to develop their relationship slowly, and still neither realize that the other is also a crossdressing guy…!

Things get even crazier when Shuumei’s punk bro Kanoko manages to sniff out his crush. When Hana becomes Kanoko’s stalking victim, Mei leaps in to protect her! But when Kanoko sees the strong-willed and powerful Mei, he falls in love at first sight?!

Even Though We’re Adults vol. 5 by Takako Shimura

Ayano leaves her husband Wataru and moves back into her parents’ home. She’s determined to use this time to really think about what she wants out of life, but Wataru is unwilling to back off and is dead set on fixing their marriage. Akari, meanwhile, can’t help but wonder if she and Ayano might have a future together after all.

The Gay Who Turned Kaiju by Kazuki Minamoto

Bullied for being gay, teenager Takashi Arashiro wishes he could just be somebody else—but who could predict he’d morph into a giant-headed sci-fi creature?! Takashi’s tumultuous emotions become the catalyst for personal and social exploration of the LGBTQ experience in this quirky, profound manga from prolific BL author Kazuki Minamoto.

Hirano and Kagiura vol. 1 (manga) by Shou Harusono

Akira Kagiura has decided. He will marry him. Taiga Hirano, roommate—and the most perfect man who has ever existed! After all, Hirano’s bad boy vibe doesn’t really matter when he acts so sweet. Like when he wakes Kagi up every morning or cheers him on when he’s feeling down...So now there’s only one thing left to do: enact his grand plan and overcome the first hurdle—confessing his feelings! From the creator of Sasaki and Miyano— the story of Miyano’s bad boy senpai and his BL life with his roommate!

I Think Our Son Is Gay vol. 4 by Okura

As Hiroki comes home from school every day with new tales of friend Daigo's feats, Tomoko wonders about the future of her eldest's schoolboy crush.

And if young love wasn't confusing enough, Tomoko is also keeping tabs on Hiroki's childhood friend Asumi, who appears to be nursing a crush on Hiroki herself!

But nothing can prepare Tomoko for the day Hiroki comes home with a shocker—Daigo's got himself a girlfriend! How will this new development affect Hiroki, who's still figuring things out?

Even as the friendship between Hiroki and Daigo undergoes a change and the relationship between Hiroki and kid brother Yuri evolves too, life goes on for the Aoyamas and their loved ones, all under mom Tomoko's caring and supportive eye!

The (Pet) Detective Agency by noji

Welcome to the Sako Detective Agency where they will solve every crime and mystery -from murders to missing pets- with a bit of charm and a lot of love!

At the Sako Detective Agency works the reliable Rou Nakamura. Despite his rugged looks, intimidating glares and pink hair, animals seem to adore him, making him the perfect candidate for finding lost pets. Rou is also in love with his boss, Detective Fumika Sako. When he isn't helping Fumika out on a case, Rou is always on the lookout for a chance to sneak in a kiss!

Sirius: Twin Stars by Ana C. Sánchez 

Dani Torres has only ever wanted to be one thing: a professional tennis player, just like her mom. Unfortunately, having her perfection-driven mom as her coach ended up making her resent the sport. After a career-ending injury, Dani's parents send her away to recover for the summer in a little coastal village.

 There, she meets Blanca, a girl full of life and in love with astronomy. They don't start off on quite the right foot, but something about starry-eyed Blanca is impossible to stay away from. And though she'd much prefer to avoid thinking about her future, Blanca decides it'll be her mission to get Dani to feel inspiration again.

The Titan’s Bride vol. 1 by ITKZ

In this Mature-rated Boys’ Love fantasy isekai that inspired an anime, there’s nothing small about the love between a human and a titan prince!

Senior Kouichi Mizuki is about to take his final exams and graduate from high school, when he suddenly finds himself in a world of titans. Not only is he no longer anywhere near home, but one of these giants, Prince Caius, has claimed Kouichi as his bride! Thanks to a disturbing, world-ending prophecy, the prince’s upcoming nuptials cannot be with anyone of his world. Since Caius has no plans to send Kouichi back to earth, he is wholeheartedly set on taking Kouichi as his “wife”!

Seven Seas’ special print release of this Mature-rated favorite will feature the completely uncensored original art not available in other editions.

Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games vol. 4 by Eri Ejima

ROUND ONE, FIGHT!

Aya, Mio, Yuu, and Tamaki are all students at a prim-and-proper academy for young ladies, one where video games are outright banned. That hasn’t stopped them from following their fighting game passions all the way to EX Japan, one of the biggest e-sports championships in the world! But to have a spot in the main event, you’ve got to prove your worth in the preliminary qualifiers. Each young lady will have to prevail in a do-or-die battle in the qualifying pools, against a whole set of oddball fighting game aficionados.

[delusionalwings]

prompt 15 with belphegor?

Prompt - "Now, it's time for my kisses. Come here."

yandere Belphegor x gender neutral reader

warnings - mentions of violence, deranged belphegor, kinda cruel.

[ prompt list + event masterlist ]

Belphegor had always made you feel a little uncomfortable. Maybe it was the way his eyes lingered on you always, be it at a celebration held at the Royal Palace or at the dinner table at HOL when you were deep in amiable conversation with a brother.

It traced every inch of your skin, exploring every visible nook and corner, and sending a terrorized chill down your spine. How could a gaze hold such hatred, such mockery and at the same time, such... such admirable passion? His intentions were contained inside his heart. Nobody seemed to catch anything peculiar boiling in his depths when dealing with you. You suspected that even Belphegor himself was struggling to embrace it.

You questioned what he could want from you. The past had resulted in the flow of bad blood between you two, and all you got for his sins against you was a disgusted grunt and cold distance that seemed to widen with every passing day. Not that you concerned yourself with it. You had never considered him close enough to regret his loss.

Shadows followed your dreams. Shadows that looked suspiciously like Belphegor. At times, they felt like friends, and at other times, they made it difficult for you to breathe. You felt uncomfortable in your own skin, so you decided to confront him.

"What is your problem with me, Belphegor?"

He turned a lazy eye at you, "Mmm? I didn't know we had a problem."

You could hear the satisfaction, the smile in his voice. How cruel! You had been losing sleep over the fear of nightmares, of his gaze following you everywhere, and he was dismissing you, just like that.

"You know well enough what the actual problem is. Did you curse me or something?"

"Human, the only problem I can see here is you. Leave me alone or I might actually be tempted to curse you."

You grabbed his collar in your rage. The lack of sleep had set a clear path for hysteria in your mind and now you didn't know how to preserve your sanity or yourself.

Belphie shrugged. "You shouldn't have touched me, doll..."

Your eyelids fluttered close, as you fell down on the floor with a thud.

"... You really should have kept your hands to yourself like I did."

You awoke with a start and found that you couldn't move. At all.

"Wh.. What's happening?" You wondered.

Your lips refused to form words. You felt trapped inside your body. With horror, you realised that as time passed, your limbs regained feeling. They were on fire. The immense pain made you want to scream but you still couldn't speak.

That's when the door creaked open. Your chest tightened when you saw who it was.

Belphegor walked inside the room and smirked down at you. It was condescending and seemed to declare his mastery over you.

"Awww, how adorable! My broken doll all tied up, at my command. I knew I liked you struggling."

You wanted to cry, you wanted to howl. He knew, and he could have let you with a flick of his fingers but that would be no fun! He had realised just earlier that he wanted to see you suffer. Killing you was no enjoyment. Your warm skin against his while you struggled felt better than picking your cold corpse up.

He bent down. "I told you that it was a bad idea to touch me. Look what happened to your body. Can't feel or use most of it, right? I hate to be touched without my permission so I made you suffer. That's besides the point though. Since you touched me, I get to feel you too, right? That's only fair. Now, it's time for my kisses. Come here," He slapped his forehead and laughed, "Ooops, I forgot that you can't come here haha. Let me get you, doll."

All you could do was stay silent and oblige him. You were at his mercy, just like he wanted.