#repairing bridges - kat

[theamalgaverse]

Big hoorah for all the designs I’ve gotten so far! Its really flattering that people find this little thing interesting enough to make designs for it 😭 Thank you for deciding to take the time outta your day to be here!

BMO and the Guardians - Myune⭐️

Wubbox and Tea Knight - @weirdo-is-frien

Kat - @moth-from-hell

Wheatley - @count-nemuhverse

SnapX - @its-paperd

[charcherry-weekly]

Charcherry Weekly - Issue 221

Hello everyone, Mage of Light Nick Card here. Halloween is inching closer and closer, like a spider or something. Let's get to some spoopy news.

MUAHAHAHAHAHAH-

To the movies!

Train ambitions

Earlier this week, the construction of Desertia Cinema managed to be completed in record time! There was only a soft opening, so no particular celebration proceeded after it became operational.

On the 21st, there was a public viewing of the Back to The Future trilogy. On Monday the 28th, there will be a local viewing of a feature length edit of Half-Life VR but the AI Is Self-Aware at 6pm DZT. Your dear newsletter writer is looking forward to finally watching such an influential piece of media on the big screen. Hopefully it doesn't end up being another Coppola Dracula movie incident (not to be confused with the cosplay Dracula incident last year).

The Archives

Rather recently, there has been talk about major renovations and developments on the DTA train lines. For one, The (still closed) Park station is set to eventually become a very large interchange station, even larger than it was when The Park was still in operation.

Secondly, there have been plans for a new purple "loop line" to be established, though it likely will not be possible until the collapsed reality bridges to Stratford are repaired, which has been stalled due to a hiccup in establishing communications with a potential outside contractor. It is possible that an alternate solution to the collapsed reality bridges will need to be sought out.

Thirdly, plans for a control center to monitor all trains from, though a probably location for it has not been shared at this time.

Fourthly, the DTA lines are set to eventually rebrand with names beyond just their colors.

The red line that mainly serves locations on Korous will be known as the Wells line, named after famous author H.G. Wells who wrote the novel The Time Machine.

The pink/magenta line will be named the Starter line, owing to it serving locations on Starter Planet, and being the first line established as part of the DTA.

Lime green line likely to be named the Neon Line, due to serving Neon City.

The name for the line leading to

Turnabout Revival

(the short olive line I think? Not sure if its been officially established beyond just being charted yet) has been suggested to be called the Kahle Line, After Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive.

The cyan line is likely to be named the Blåhaj Line, named after the Ikea plush shark, an apparently popular plush among transgender people. The cyan/Blåhaj line happens to follow the DTA core route with the Pink/Starter line until the Spaceport, where they split off for a few stops.

The black line to the cursed timeline version of the Ancient Quarry has been suggested either being renamed the Nuzlocke line or the Nobori line, though a consensus has yet to be reached on that.

Lastly, there have been talks about possibly establishing a long distance line leading to Milliways, aka, Gene's version of the restaurant at the edge of the universe. This however is still in a deep planning phase and will likely take a very long time to find all the needed connections to reach all the way out there.

Please be careful when visiting Gene's Garden on the 31st, as it has been reserved for ghosts to appear there on that day. The Bar n Grill in Unity Village will likely be better suited to hosting members of the living, though that may also be hazardous due to halloween falling on a chaos day. At very least it will be easier to find ghost type pokemon on that day.

At some point in the middle of the week, someone with the trolltag aceLeglacerator arrived on the memo, apparently having been appointed to the high-profile court case against the one who attempted to assassinate Her Enigmatic Resiliency with a lazor laser gun. This attempt was only successful for at most a minute, as the judgement clock offered no judgement and she revived soon after. Apparently Katyleen Kitten is expected to be part of the defense team for the accused party. AL has begun interviewing witnesses, starting with Page of Rage Jovin Castle, who had arrested the defendant at the scene of the crime. It is unknown how much he had retained of the incident however. Reportedly, the next to be interviewed is Rogue of Heart Charles, who had witnessed and recorded the incident in question.

Further information beyond this has not yet been made public for reasons of national security for multiple parties.

EDIT: during the online publication process, AL had interviewed President Kitten, though both tried to interview each other at first. As of writing, Charles has yet to be interviewed.

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This week’s known market stands in Desertia Town:

DTA train ticket stand

Katie’s potion stand (Not available to plitlanders due to regulations, available to all others however)

shinyjiggly pokesnacks stand (also has a Unity Village location!)

Candy stand

Costume stand

That should about do it for this week. Game progress has been slow this week, stuck going over yet another asset drawing rut. Fortunately, there's been progress on planning the gameplay format for the current section. It may continue to be slow, as I need to make the headpiece for my minecraft steve costume. Like sure, I could probably find the captchalogue code for a wearable steve head, but I wanna make my own box head thing.

at least this time if I end up getting convinced of my identity matching my costume again, I won't be an inert cone this time.

https://letssosl.boards.net/thread/458/charcherry-weekly-issue-221

[misterehasamystery]

Been rewatching some pandemic era television. It revealed some serious trauma that I just never processed properly. It also reminded me of the friends that I made around the beginning of the hardest time in my life. They got me through divorce, depression, quarantine, and a significant amount of job insecurity.

Without their love, I wouldn't have held it together. I was already considering having myself committed at the start of my divorce, and with everything else, I would not have functioned without them.

They were strangers I met on the Internet. We all ended up in a messaging group that was ostensibly about kink and exhibitionism. There was constant shameless flirting, as well as many lewd and nude photos. And out of that, we built a little community.

Some people came and went. There was significant turnover, particularly in male members of the group. But there was a core of us.

Arie was the founder. Then we had Anna, Nayra, Toni, Jenn, Kyle stayed most of a year, Darrick, and myself, E.

There were plenty of others who came and went. Grimm and Majick were early members. Joseph and Kat popped in and out with long months or even a year between periods of activity. GG, Perry, Phoenix, Sam. So many others that I forget most of their names.

Rarely were there more than 10 active members at any given time, but it was enough. It was our little community online. In the darkness of that time, we filled our little corner with light, positivity, happiness, and love.

Of course there was drama, and fights. Falling outs happened. But for more than 2 years they were my people. We were loyal. We would send each other care packages and birthday presents. The group fell apart in early 2022, partly due to loss of momentum as people were able to go outside and interact with other people in person instead of online. However, I also contributed to that collapse.

Early 2022 I went and visited one of the core group. We were all amazing friends and the casual flirting had gotten me confused. Hanging out in person was fun. We got along so smoothly it was like we'd been friends for over a decade. And yes there was some casual sexual chemistry, but nothing super intense.

There was a play session we were both involved in that went badly due to poor communication and sleep deprivation. It wasn't so bad as to end the friendship, but while we were clearing the air and setting boundaries after that, I made the most idiotic decision.

I somehow felt like that would be the perfect time to suggest we become casual poly partners. In my infinite idiocy I had combined an easy relaxed friendship and mutual attraction into something that just wasn't there, and even if it had been, it would have been the worst time to suggest it.

The group was already fading, so a falling out between two of the most active members left the chat basically dead. It never really recovered and I still blame myself for the loss of the friend group. I stay in touch with only one other member these days.

I'm not sure where I was going with this story, but I'll leave you with the lesson I learned. Love has many many shapes. More so for those of us that are non-monogamous. The way it's described most of the time, it's supposed to be a feeling. But that's not really right. It's more of an action.

Love is the action you take when you care enough about someone that you would willingly give up something you value for their benefit. There are more acts of love than you can count. And the way you express it should depend on the type of relationship you have.

Trying to use the wrong expression in hopes of changing the dynamic isn't love. I was worried, confused, and hurt. Asking to change our relationship was not an act of love. It was selfish and stupid.

I regret it more than anything else I've done in the past 4 years. I can't repair the damage I've done. Trust isn't a bridge that can be built on only one side. And they have no need to even try.

[katagawajr]

hi there :)! first of all, big fan of Katagawa’s redemption, big muah to everyone <33 secondly, i was wondering if his sister (Naoko) makes any appearance? is she still a runaway, undercover atlas soldier?

hello!! thank you for that sweet comment it means so much to me :') i love your art, so seeing this ask was such a nice surprise!! love your janey art especially, she's a cutie

and yes!! i love naoko, and i had the beginnings of a few thoughts about her for this AU but they're kind of simple :0

-in terms of early days, i like to think that naoko was one of the quieter and sweeter katagawa siblings, probably had the closest relationship to kat out of all of them despite the fact that none of the siblings were ever truly close. that's why he doesn't notice at first when she isn't on the zanara.

-i HC that directly after she was freed, like probably before kat even comes to atlas, she runs. like she says, all she wants is to get off Promethea- she isn't even from there, she just escaped the Zanara in orbit and landed where she could.

-so pretty quickly she gets off-world, and at that point she just goes virtually radio silent. it's unclear to anyone where she goes (not that anyone's looking for her anymore), but i would assume it's somewhere where she can have a quieter life on her own. the corporate world was taxing on her, and the deaths of her siblings were obviously a traumatic experience :'(

-eventually, probably a year or so after kat goes through his redemption arc and begins living at atlas, he finds out (probably through the crimson raiders) that naoko is still alive. he carries a ton of guilt and hurt about what he did to his siblings, because he killed them believing they weren't any use to maliwan and he now knows that people are worth more than what they give to a company.

-he eventually calls her ECHO, and she responds. they have a very long talk, in which kat definitely apologizes and wants to tell her all the ways he's become a better person. she is surprised and moved by this, internally very happy that her brother was able to break out of the cycle of abuse from their parents and actually feel remorse for his actions.

-HOWEVER, she sort of just admits to him that while she's happy he's better now, she just doesn't want to see him again. it hurts, for both of them, but she feels like she just needs to leave her past behind and that includes any contact with her family. it's just too much for her, and kat comes to understand that despite his grief. they part on amicable terms for the first time in their lives, and even though she asks him never to call her ECHO again, every few months/years he'll give it a ring and tell her voicemail about how his life is going :')

[theorangerangers]

Hello! Hope your day is going well. I was wondering if for the Compresses Power Rangers Timeline AU, if you could list the teams, who's on each team, their rough age and what they do(and possibly the town's name-or would it make sense to use Angel Grove?). I really want to make a one shot of a typical day in this town for the AU, but I only know Ninja Steel, Dino Charge, Samaria and MMPR. I want to make this as accurate as possible. Thanks! Have a great day!

It’s organized by season. And yeah it’s angel grove since that town was a mess

Mmpr

Students: Jason, Kim, Billy, Zack, Trini, Tommy,Aisha, Adam, Rocky, Kat and sometimes Tom (the copy of Tommy) all of whom are seniors. Bulk and skull are juniors

Staff: Ernie is a lunch lady

Aquatar

they are in human disguises but are also students at the school and are members of the swimming team. all seniors.

Zeo

Students: Tommy, Kat, Adam, Rocky, Jason, Tanya, trey (all seniors)

Turbo

Students: Tommy, Kat, Adam, tanya, Rocky(only in emergency cases where Justin can’t fight though).

Justin:a freshman.

TJ, Ashley, Carlos, Cassie are juniors

In space

Students: TJ, Ashley, Carlos, Cassie

Teaching assistant for math: Andros

Teaching assistant for gym: Zhane

Lost galaxy

Librarians: kendrix, Karone

Music teacher: maya

Calculus teacher: mike

Freshman math teacher: Leo

History teacher: Kai

Shop teacher: Damon

Lightspeed rescue

Head school nurse: Dana

Sophomore gym teacher and gymnastics couch: Kelsey

Freshman science teacher who lets students call them his first name and teaches kids how to safety set things on fire: Carter

Latin teacher and wrestling couch from hell: Ryan

Senior year bio electives teacher and swim couch: Chad

Sex ed and general wellness co teachers: Joel and Dr. Fairweather

One of those military recruiters that talk about joining the military to play for college to high schoolers: captain Mitchell

Time force

custodians at the school: Jen, trip, Katie, Luke, wes

Private security due to the shear number of rich people's kids and celebrities go to this school: Eric

Wild force

Portuguese teacher: Cole

Senior gym and track couch: Taylor

Home Ec teacher: Danny

Gym TA (under Taylor’s guidance of course): Max

American history teacher: Alyssa

Ninja storm

Sophomores: Dustin, Tori, Shane, Blake, Hunter

One of the the office secretaries: Cam

Class pet in the 8am section of sophomore bio: sensei guinea pig (it’s Carter’s class room)

Dino thunder

Freshmen: Connor, Kira, Ethan, Cassidy Devin and Trent

Tommy is still a senior but also their STA for extra credit so he can graduate on time

Haily is a junior

Anton is one of those parents that threatens to sue the school if his kid doesn’t get his way

Elsa is the principal

Spd

Definitely older than the typical college students but still in their 20s working school security: bridge, Z, Sky, syd, Jack

Gets shoved in a storage closet in their base so they don’t work at at or go to the school due to time travel shenanigans (also because the time force might arrest him): the omega ranger

Stays in the base due to being alien furries: Crugger and Kat

Janitor: Boom

Mystic force

Juniors: Nick, Vida, Xander, Leelee, Claire, Maddie, Chip

PTA moms: Udonna and Necrolai

Best Latin teacher ever (or at least less terrifying than Ryan): daggeron

Janitor: pheus (or whatever the troll goblin hybrid was called it’s been a while since I’ve seen it)

Operation overdrive

Physic teacher: rose

French teacher: will

Drivers Ed teacher: Ronny

English TA: Mack

School nurse: Tyzon

Drama teacher: Dax

Anyone not listed has their normal jobs

Jungle fury

Lunch ladies: RJ, Casey, Lily, Theo, Fran, Dom

Camille occasionally is disguised as the repair person for the industrial kitchen stuff

RPM

Lunch lady: ziggy

Auto shop TA: Dillon and Scott

Senior English teacher: summer

World history teacher: Flynn

Child development: gen and Gemma

Head of science department: Dr. K

Samurai

Sophomores: Jayden, Emily, Kevin, Mike, Mia, Antonio

Assistant principal: Lauren

Overbearing Parent/guardian who are always at the school to “complain” about something leading to meeting with the assistant principal: Gi

(Due to skull being a high schooler) toddler in the teaching day care program at the school that somehow always manages to find them at inopportune monuments: Spike

As said before bulk is a junior

Super mega force

Freshmen: Troy, Emma, Gia, Noah, Jake, Orion

Stuck being a tiki head in the base: gosei (fun fact the cave Gosei is in shares a wall with the Dino thunder cave in this au!)

Also their weird science teacher is still their weird science teacher IDK his name though

Is often shoved into janitor closets when he shows up at the school to hide him because he doesn’t go there and also the RPM and Zeo rangers tried to fight him once: robo knight

Dino charge

Child development TA: koda

IT guy: Tyler’s dad (I forgot his name)

World history TA: philip

American history TA: shelby

Biology TA: Tyler

Physics TA: Riley

Office secretary who is in charge of making sure everyone is registered for their correct classes : Kendall

Guidance counselor: Heckyl (no one is sure how or why)

Sex ed TA: chase (he likes to joke that Joel and Dr.F are his work parents)

Any non human team members not listed above are shoved into the base and kept there due to the number of rangers that mistake them monsters at random moments

Ninja steel

Sophomores: Brody, Sarah, Hailey, Preston, Calvin

Senior: Levi, Monty, and victor

Vice principal that ends up doing most of the work anyway (due to Elsa and Lauren constantly running off): Ms. Hastings

Beast morphers

Janitors : Ben and Betty

Senior : Nate (Dr.K’s favorite student)

Electric electives teacher: Devin

Special Ed teacher: zoey

Art teacher: Ravi

Former pottery teacher that suddenly vanished: Roxy

Former substitute gym teacher that suddenly vanished: blaze

Devon’s dad is still the mayor and Ravi’s mom is still in charge of grid battle force

Dino fury

Music TA: Javi

Electronic sciences TA: Ollie

Human psychology TA: Amelia

Senior: Izzy, and Fern (fun fact Izzy was the prime suspect for evil green ranger for mmpr before they realized it was Tommy)

Library assistants: Ayon and Zayto (Ollie have them a crash course on the Dewey decimal system and hoped for the best)

Fashion teacher: ms. Garcia

Mr. Garcia keeps his regular job but also gives Javi less of a hard time because music teachers are supposed to be able to play a bunch of different instruments and it looks like he has good chance to take Maya’s place when she leaves the school

Solon remains in the base because she is a dinosaur

Extra notes I came up with on the fly

K is growingly more paranoid due to the number of ranger teams she has evidence have robots in their ranks especially the beast morphers since that’s the team their closest too

Preston was “bullied” out of the magic the gathering club by the mystic rangers due to Vida trying to accuse him of being an evil wizard without blowing their cover. Vida’s exact words were “we don’t don’t want your kind around here”. The ninja steel team now thinks the magic the gathering club is homophobic towards Preston and hates them. Ironically the mystic rangers all love the blue ninja steel ranger and the ninja steel rangers really life the mystic force.

Summer after spending the entire night fighting vengix and exhausted as she walks in the door and Mack the day after he found out he’s a robot. “Summer would you still be my friend if I was a robot?” “Absolutely not” cue Mack having a break down in the janitor closet only to be found by Ben and Betty who assure him they would still be his friends even if he was a robot

Mick is the impromptu medic to most of the robotic rangers

Tyzon is not sure what normal human anatomy should look like so he just copies a lot of what he’s seen Dana do but also does know someone from aquatar when he sees one and treats their injuries accordingly and the aquatar rangers just think he’s a human whose really good with secrets

The teachers are youngish (most haven’t hit 30 yet) and I use TA as a short hand for teachers in training so they’re earlier 20s. And then most of the students besides Justin and Nate are between 14-18 with Justin and Nate both being 12.

Generally everyone else is around the age they are in the show

[txemrn]

Our Faith Caught Up in Flames

Book: Open Heart (post-series)

Pairings: Ethan Ramsey x f!OC (Tatum Erikson)

Song Inspo: "End of All Days" - Thirty Seconds to Mars

Rating/Warning: 🔞 Mature Audiences Only 🔞, explicit material; NSFW (smut 🍋 🍋 🍋); language; brief discussion of medical ethics; very brief mention of religion

Summary: After a brief disagreement at work, Ethan insists that date night continues; but Tatum has a secret she's not ready to divulge if things turn hot and heavy

AN: This is a lengthy response to this sweet anon ask (thank you to whoever sent it!).

If you're new here, hello! Let me quickly introduce you to my dear Tatum: before turning the reins of Chief of Medicine to Ethan, Naveen hired new blood to be Edenbrook's Chief of OB/GYN, Dr. Tatum Erikson... aka Ethan's med school girlfriend, aka the girl that came between him and good pal at the time Tobias Carrick. Long story short: love finds a way. 🖤

AN2: Special thanks to my beautiful prereaders that I annoyed the living daylights out of to ensure the lemons were at least palatable. Love you, @charlotteg234 and @kat-tia801!

~🖤~

"She’s in a repair, sir.”

Ethan stood at the nurse’s station impassively, with a hand in his neatly pressed khakis, his other in a fist, rapping his large knuckles against the faux-marble counter.  He offers the unit secretary a crooked smile for locating his new girlfriend of a few weeks, but with his sports coat rolled up to his elbows, the throbbing musculature of his forearms reveal he’s irritated. “Of course, she is.” He looks at his watch, “It’s not like she was off two hours ago–”

“And what?” Tatum suddenly appears, shutting the patient’s door behind her. “Miss out on giving my patient the delivery of her dreams?” She shuffles over to Ethan, craning her neck upwards as he obliges in giving her a less-than-impressive peck on the lips. She playfully scowls.

Ethan peers down into the silvery sheen of her blue eyes, raising a curious eyebrow. “A vaginal delivery?”

Tatum removes her rainbow chevron scrub cap. “Uh-huh,” she nods, “after having two cesareans.”

“Two?” 

“With Von Willebrands.” A cheshire grin spreads across her face as she poorly mimics the moonwalk to grab the patient’s chart to make some preliminary notes. “And yes,” she keeps her attention on the documents, “both mom and baby are healthy, Dr. Ramsey.”

Ethan's face grows gravely pained as he pinches the bridge of his nose. He could care less about date night; he and Tatum were cut from the same cloth, dedicated to medicine. Interrupted moments alone were a hazard of the job, and while it is annoying, it never serves as a strain on their relationship, a breath of fresh air compared to Ethan's past.

However, the chief of medicine gnashes his teeth at the thought of dangerous care being given without his knowledge that could potentially affect the entire hospital's well-being. He and Tatum have discussed this before, being one in the same in taking chances, of being dangerously cautious, of blurring the lines when necessary between right and wrong.

Humming to a tune in her head, Tatum signs off pending consents before handing the chart back to the secretary and turning towards her boyfriend. “You ready…?” She stops, noticing the angry look on Ethan’s face. “What–” she places a thoughtful hand on his abdomen, “what’s wrong?”

He scratches his chin, the stubble making a harsh, bristly sound. Ethan exhales deeply, taking a step backwards away from her touch before glaring at her. “You’re always testing the boundaries.”

Tatum’s taken aback, her nose scrunching up in annoyance.  “That’s rich coming from you, Dr. Ramsey.”

“Erikson,” Ethan abruptly grabs her arm, pulling her back to him. He guides her to a darkened, private corner of the floor. “Laboring a weakened uterus? With a hemophiliac?”

“Are you… mad at me?” Tatum crosses her arms. “For advocating for my patient’s autonomy?”

“Is that what you’re calling it?” Ethan scoffs. “You’re not God, Erikson–”

“Well, until God becomes a board-certified OB/GYN and ACOG fellow with a 91% TOLAC success rate, I’m the best anyone's gonna get.” Tatum offers a cocky smile, pushing the tip of her tongue into her cheeks, but when she sees Ethan isn't amused, her sassy resolve instantly breaks. She glances around to ensure they were still alone before lowering her voice again with a heavy sigh. “I wasn't given much of a choice, Rams."

He steps closer, towering over her as he ever so delicately glides his warm, calloused palm under her elbow. "What do you mean?"

"The patient is Penelope Culp-Belvedere. You might be more familiar with her father, Larry Culp, CEO of General–”

“--Electrics. Fuck.” Ethan sardonically chuckles as he glares at his blonde girlfriend. "Did they threaten you or try to coerce you–?"

"No, no. It wasn't like that," Tatum shakes her head. "But she made it clear that if I didn't give her this opportunity, she would go to a birth center."

Ethan lets out a sharp exhale. He crosses an arm over his chest, his other hand holding his chin. A ruddy swirl creeps up his neck as Tatum continues.

“You know I couldn't let her do that. She needed surveillance, hypervigilance even; she needed my expertise. If she was going to be safe, if she was going to… survive?" She blows away the air she was holding. "I couldn't. I just couldn't, Ethan." She innocently shrugs. "I promise we covered everything, discussed everything thoroughly. She is fully aware of her risks, not to mention our healthcare team and legal team met extensively with her and her family–”

“Everyone, but the Chief of Medicine,” he grumbles.

“Ethan,” Tatum sweetly whispers, noticing the hurt in his voice. She places a hand on his arm, her eyes meeting his icy-blue glare. "You have to trust me–"

"Tate, this has nothing to do with trust," he retorts. "We're talking about legalities. We're talking about goddamn ethics, not to mention credentialing for Edenbrook. Fuck, we're talking about your licensure." He paces away, taking a much needed breath. "That's on me– "

"I'm responsible, too–"

"But it falls on me, Tatum," he snaps back. Allowing a moment of silence to snake past them, Ethan rakes his fingers through his dark waves before looking back to Tatum. Taking a deep cleansing breath, his body relaxes, his expression becoming empathic to his girlfriend before he reaches his arms around her. Pulling her into his broad chest, he plants sweet kisses along her hair line. "Tate, you know I trust you," he gravelly whispers to her, "with everything in me."

Tatum wraps her arms around his waist, looking up towards his softened gaze. Without thought, they instantly find comfort on each other's lips, gently pressing their mouths together. 

"But please... Don't ever do this again. You've gotta keep me in the know of these potentially taxing cases. If you’re not going to do it for that damn asshole Chief Ramsey," he smirks, lowering his forehead to rest on her forehead, "do it for me." 

Tatum nods her head, pressing her pout once more to his. "I guess being God is hard work."

Ethan snickers, "you have no fucking idea," he kisses the tip of her nose, "especially with you keeping me on my toes."

"Oh?" Tatum lightly scratches her nails up and down the firm planes of her boyfriend's back. "Should I be asking for forgiveness?" she suggestively smiles, pushing the tip of her tongue behind her teeth.

“No, not asking,” Ethan subtly presses his hips against hers. "Begging."

"Mmmm…" she playfully hooks her fingers on the inside of his waistband, pulling him flush with her body. She wraps her arms around his large shoulders, pressing her lips to the shell of his ear. "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned."

“Dirty girl…” Ethan groans into a titter, pushing a quick kiss against the corner of her mouth. “Let’s go.” He takes her hand, and leads the way to the physician's lounge to pack up her belongings.

Feeling his warm fingers intimately entwine with hers sends her pulse racing. His thumb presses small circles into the back of her hand, making her thighs tingle in anticipation for his touch. For his taste. A flush appears on her cheeks as she daydreams–as she plans out their evening together. Absolutely depraved. Absolutely in love. Absolutely perfect.

But as they enter the locker area to grab Tatum's bags, another thought crosses her mind. She forgot something, something absolutely necessary for tonight.  And she abruptly stops like a deer in the headlights before turning to Ethan.

"How about you pick up dinner, and I'll meet you back at your place?" She innocently smiles.

Assuming she wants to clean up from a long day at work, Ethan nonchalantly answers back. "Just shower at my place," he lowers his voice, “and I’ll make you forget about dinner.”

Tatum swats jovially at his arm, biting her tongue. "Seriously, though–”

“I am being serious,” he chuckles, wiping at his plump lip.

"Rams," Tatum tries to get back on track. “I need to make a quick stop. Just a quick errand."

Ethan stops, shifting his eyes towards his girlfriend before nodding in understanding. "Is it tampons? I think I have some in my bathroom–"

"Ethan,” she chides. “It’s nothing big; don’t worry about it–”

“If it's nothing big, why are you being so secretive about it?

“Why are you being so goddamn nosy?”

Ethan takes a step back, mouthing the word ‘Wow’. He raises his hands in surrender. “Damn. Fine.” He turns on his heel and quietly heads for the door.

A sudden guilt overwhelms Tatum as she watches her boyfriend, carrying her bags quietly leave the doctor’s lounge. He’s honestly curious. He’s not being a controlling douchebag of a boyfriend; he’s not being clingy or a possessive asshole. Purely curious.

And now Tatum feels like a real bitch; how could she have talked to him that way?  But, still, could she really tell him the truth? Sure, it may be seen as silly, but it was embarrassing to her.  This little problem of hers affects both of them and their intimate life.  He never knew about it back in medical school; is it so bad if she kept this from him now?

"Rams," she sighs. “Come back.”

The hydraulic wooden door was about to close when Ethan stopped it with his shoe, pushing it back open. He stepped into the lounge, but the blank expression on his face is a telling sign he is irritated.

"Rams," Tatum's voice is tender, genuine as she reaches to hug him. "I'm sorry."

Ethan’s face resolves into a crooked smile as he lovingly wraps his free arm around her. "It's okay," he hushes, "I know.  I shouldn't have pushed you–"

"You didn't," she shakes her head. "I know you're asking because you care." Tatum swallows thickly. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Tate, is that what you want?" Ethan reasons. "It really is fine."

"How about you just take me to the store?" Tate suggests, "and we'll go from there?"

"Deal." He kisses her forehead. "So… where are we going?"

Tatum hesitates for a second, clearing her throat.

"Do you know the closest adult novelty store?"

-----------

The rhythmic ticking of Ethan’s turn signal seems to fall into pace with Tatum's rapidly beating heart. Though the air conditioner is blasting frigid gusts that challenge the tundras of the arctic, she can feel beads of perspiration forming across her brow.

Ethan glances over at her before quietly chuckling to himself as he shakes his head. "Tatum," he croons. He massages her rigid shoulder as he turns out of the hospital district. "I don’t know why you’re so worked up about this. You and I have been to sex shops before."  

She forces a smile, but the expression melts away as she looks out the window.

He's right, though this would technically be their first trip together this go around in a relationship. Back in med school, the couple unabashedly frequented their local store for ideas, games and the occasional visual stimulant. 

Although Tatum gave her virginity to Ethan, he was never able to explore his fantasies with anyone, too afraid of judgment, too afraid of his own shame. But when Tatum was finally convinced her older brother wasn't going to kill either of them, the fire between them was ignited. An exhilarating vulnerability fell open between them, a love that neither one of them had ever experienced before, and suddenly, the act of having sex just wasn't enough.  Some nights were filled with endless kisses and sweet sentiments while others included unconventional props, lubrication and batteries. And some of their favorite nights included one simple word: Sir. 

But still, Tatum is nervous about admitting she needs help with this one thing in the bedroom. She really shouldn't be; she counsels women weekly about how it's "normal". Because it is. It’s actually a natural reflex the body performs to protect itself.

It’s just inconvenient. And embarrassing.

Tatum is jolted from her thoughts as Ethan turns off the ignition, the sudden hum of the engine completely replaced with the quiet street noise of the night. They’re parked in a strip center, the store in front of them discreet with cheesy crushed velvet curtains and neon signs in cursive.

“Is this place okay?” Ethan offers a crooked smile as he opens his door.

“Uh.. yeah, but–”  he shuts his door.  Tatum quickly jumps out of the truck, jogging to the driver’s side. “You’re not coming in.”

Ethan freezes before he begins to snicker. “Why not?”

“Ethan!” She folds her arms.

“Okay, okay,” he leans up against his truck as he watches Tatum walk towards the door. “But what if I need to get something?”

“You don’t need anything,” she jokes, sticking out her tongue as she walks inside. 

Once inside the store, she stealthily makes her way through the aisles until she comes to the area dedicated oral sex. Tatum is grateful they seem to be having a slow night because there was no one in her path; no one could see her; no one could identify her. She hungrily shops the shelves, looking for her holy grail, her fingers wiggling with desperation.

And there it is.

Good Head gel.

The perfect potion to temporarily cure Tatum’s potent gag reflex.

Tatum begins to squat down and pick out her favorite flavor when she hears a bell ring, notifying the store associates that someone walked in. Then she hears a familiar masculine voice.

Ethan.

Tatum curses under her breath, hiding behind some backstock as she watches him shop the aisles. 

And he wastes no time shopping. She watches him load his arms with a dual-head dildo, a bullet vibrator, and special sleeve for the stimulator that he could put on himself. Tatum watches with intrigue as he walks back to the front of the store. 

Was that for tonight? She smiles gleefully to herself, chewing on her thumb as she went back to her creams–that is until she heard Ethan’s voice talking to an associate who was directing the physician back to her location.  Tatum quickly jogs down the walkway, hiding behind an end cap to watch.

He fills his arms with lubrication of all kinds: flavored lubrication, anal lubrication, warming lubrication, lubrication made specifically for toys.  He moseys down the next aisle, collecting a buttplug and anal beads.  

Tatum’s eyes grow wide. Jesus Christ, are we having an orgy? An associate meets him halfway to the register, and they are clearly talking about bondage supplies.  

Dirty boy… She bites her bottom lip, her cheeks burning with eagerness. She quickly grabs her oral numbing gel, hiding it under her arm as she makes her way to the register. She exchanges a few pleasantries with the associate when all of a sudden, she is stopped dead in her tracks.

“Did you find everything you were looking for, babe?”

She turns her head to address her boyfriend, but she is instantly distracted by the pile of toys on the counter he was about to purchase, including a leg spreader, a couple of different pairs of handcuffs, a leather paddle and a new leather flogger.

Her mouth slowly drops open, her chest visibly rising and falling to her heavy breathing as she licks her lips.

“Ma’am?” The associate calls to her several times until her daze is broken. 

“I–I’m so sorry,” Tatum chuckles, her face rosier than ever. She can hear Ethan behind her, making small, inappropriate comments that only she can hear. She nearly trips on her own feet that are standing still.

“Cash or credit, sweetheart?”

“Excuse me?” Her words are breathless.  “Oh, of course, um…” Unable to make eye contact with anyone, Tatum quickly tosses some cash at the associate before she stumbles out of the store to retrieve some fresh air.

----------

After dinner, Ethan and Tatum make a quick wardrobe change: she stole his sleep shirt to pair with his favorite cheek-exposing panties, leaving him in a well-fitted pair of heathered gray joggers. They retreat together to his oversized sectional, her body soundly enveloped by his firm arms. Ethan casually rests his chin amongst the platinum wheat waves of Tatum’s tresses as he flips through the OnDemand menu.

Tatum suddenly stifles a yawn, nuzzling her nose into the short dark hairs of his broad chest. He tightens his embrace around his girlfriend, kissing her forehead. "Don't tell me you're calling it a night already." He pulls her into his lap, her knees finding both sides of his pelvis as he begins to massage her ass. “I have plans… for you, “ he breathes hauntingly on her skin, his fingertips teasing the curves leading between her legs.

A shiver courses down Tatum’s spine, hearing the hunger in his voice, feeling his prowling touch. She giggles into a moan as she slinks her arms around his thick neck, pulling her nose intimately close to his. His breath becomes quicker, the hot air mixing with hers as they trade glances of their sweltering pouts. "Did you have something in mind, Doctor?" She gently pushes her hips into his, needing a simple taste of friction, a simple prelude of him filling her deepest ache.

His hands roam gracefully up the slope of her back, becoming tangled in her loose strands. "You tell me–" 

Ethan suddenly bucks his hips upward, Tatum's playful yelp spurring him. He grabs a fist-full of her hair, wrapping it once around his fingers before pulling her close to claim her lips.

"Ethan," she moans as he steals her gasp from her throat, his tongue twirling against hers. 

Tatum tugs at the wisps of hair on the nape of his neck, finally raking her nails through his scalp.  As goosebumps ignite across his flesh, a low growl bellows from his chest. Rolling his head back, Ethan's eyes cinch shut, his throbbing erection hardening to her touch, hardening to her soft whimpers.

"Please," she quietly exhales, stroking his cheek, “take me to bed… Sir.” 

Sir. 

Ethan’s cock twitches at the sound of her words. He rubs his thumb across her bruising lips, his sky blue eyes searching for confirmation in the lusty storms of hers. He certainly hasn’t forgotten their game from years ago, a game where Tatum grants Ethan total control with a single word.  A menacing, crooked smile spreads across his face as she eagerly nods to his unspoken question. 

“Say it again.”

Tatum takes a deep breath, knowing exactly what she’s about to endure. She relaxes her arms, her palms facing up, almost like a child waiting to be picked up. “Take me to bed, sir.”

Ethan ferally tangles her hair tightly into his fist again, pulling her ear to his lips as she yelps. ��There’s my good girl..” He pulls her earlobe into his mouth before dragging his teeth across the tender area. “Remember: no hands.” 

“Yes, sir.”

Ethan suddenly lifts her up, her legs squeezing tightly to his sides. He grips steadily onto her hair, the fiery sting of the pull keeping her locked around his body. Without wasting time, his fingers push her panties to the side, his thumb finding her thrumming clit.

Tatum’s mouth falls open, but only soft, swift breaths escape as she feels her body succumb to gravity, falling, sliding against her boyfriend’s hard body. The burning sensation against her scalp wells her eyes with tears. She inadvertently squeezes her legs harder, firmer, tighter against Ethan, her nails digging into her own thighs. The abrupt stern brush of his hand presses firmly against her desire, eliciting a low-pitched growl deep in her belly.

Carrying her with his hands firmly in place, Ethan struts confidently to the bedroom, the small bumps and twists sending sudden pulses of fear and pleasure through her raw nerves.

She breathlessly cries as a grin of pure ecstasy etches on her flushed face. Fuck, the merciless passion that awaits her…

Ethan lets go of her hair, tenderly capturing her body in his arms, allowing her to catch her breath from the bursts of electricity sparked through her body. He pushes her back onto the plush bed, crawling predatorily on top of her, overpowering her, leaving her helpless. 

He earnestly kisses her mouth, tonguing at her bottom lip, biting it. His palms wander up her sleep shirt, her peaked breasts being relentlessly taunted and rubbed despite her mewls, despite her strained soreness. He finally pulls her top up and over her head as he drops his kisses to her hardened nipples, lapping at them, teasing them with broad strokes from his tongue.

“Oh…God!” She sobs, welcoming the agony as she arches her back against the mattress. Gritting her teeth, she fists Ethan’s careless, sweaty waves, smothering him deeper into her chest. As he continues to claim her with his teeth, her cries become strained, breathless and hoarse. “God, yes… God… yes…!”

Ethan abruptly stops, snickering huskily. “That’s not my name.”  He carefully pushes her blonde wisps from her face, bending over to whisper into her ear. “But, only I can save you now.” He licks Tatum’s kiss from his ruddy lips as he slowly crawls backwards off of the mattress, Tatum mesmerized by the smooth, flexion movements of his stomach. 

“Ethan?” She innocently beckons, sitting up on her elbow to track his movements around the room. She tries to slow down her breathing, but her thoughts flood with depravity, recalling the items he purchased at the store. Her heart skips a beat, feeling her apex quiver. “Ethan babe?”

He quickly returns to her side. He holds his fingers against her lips to silence her, the same hand that was pressed intimately against her clitoris as he carried her into the bedroom. The sweet smell of her pussy entertains her nostrils, her tongue swirling around his fingertips.

“Is my good girl craving her penance?” Ethan impishly inquires.

“Yes… yes, sir,” Tatum pants, slowly licking her mouth with the tip of her tongue, her eyes growing dark with thirst, with willingness.

For his pleasure.

“Uh-uh,” he shakes his head, grabbing her ankles, “you’re not ready.” Ethan pulls her across the bed like a ragdoll, propping her feet against his shoulder. Tucking his fingers into the lace-adorned waistband of her panties, he pulls them off, wadding them into his hand. 

Ethan takes one, two strides backwards, his eyes fixed on Tatum, like an insatiable wolf fixed on his prey. He casually takes a seat on a tufted chaise lounge, sniffing her freshly-removed undergarment,grazing the swell of the bulge in his sweatpants with his hand.

Tatum relaxes on her arms as she crosses her legs, her foot playfully bouncing in the air as she tosses her loose curls behind her shoulders. “Am I ready now, sir?”

“Shhh,” Ethan snaps his fingers, raising an eyebrow. “I talk; you listen.”

A thrill of magnetism engulfs Tatum’s body, a pained pleasure kindling deep in her belly at his words.  There’s a darkness that overcomes Ethan, one that both terrifies her and excites her; one that makes her want to be loved and hunted, one that makes her want to be pleased and punished.

“Spread your legs apart.” Ethan’s voice charms like a well-aged brandy. Smooth. Sweltering.  “Mmmm… good girl,” his breathing becomes labored, “...just… just like that…”

He fully erects at the sight of Tatum, her delicate folds glistening in the ambient lighting. Seeing her completely yielded, completely bare to him, is almost enough for him to tumble into his own ecstasy. 

But he looks away. 

Cursing at himself, he furrows his brows as he bites his fist, slowing down his ragged breathing. His desire for dominance betrays him, his body threatening to lose all self-control. As he looks back to his own personal treasure lying exposed on his bed, the head of his cock begins to ache, straining against the tightening fabric of his pants. He can feel it throb against his hand, enticing him to give into his need.

Fuck. Slow down, Ethan. He feels like a damn schoolboy, ready to spill over. He quickly  removes his hands from his lap, fixing his eyes on Tatum: her toned legs; her thick, supple thighs; the velveteen skin that drapes across the curves of her hips and belly; the playful bounce of her full breasts.

God, she’s beautiful… and she’s mine. As Tatum becomes restless in the sudden stillness of suspense, Ethan drinks her in: every last freckle, every last hair. Every last dimple, stretch mark and scar. 

They’re all mine..

Ethan’s hands yearn to explore her body, his fingertips feeling a magnetic pull to reach out and feel each edge and line and plane. But he knows that one sip of that poison, and he will hurdle to his euphoric finish.

But that body. It needs to be worshiped.

“Touch yourself.” 

Tatum curiously sits up. “What?”

“You don’t question me,” he growls. “That’s one. Don’t make me get to three. Yes sir?”

“Yes, sir,” she swallows thickly.

“Now… be my good girl,” his eyes grow hooded, his voice both heated and chilled, “touch yourself.”

A twinge of humiliation flashes across Tatum’s face. Her eyes flutter shut before she gives a coy nod, like a lamb understanding her fate.

She looks up, her gaze piercing into Ethan, watching the frantic rise and fall of his chest. She takes two fingers into her mouth before descending her hand between her thighs.

"That's it… that's a good girl. Spread yourself open for me."

Drenched from her desire alone, the sound of Tatum's wetness reverberates through the room as she drags her fingers through her slick slit. She glides up to her sensitive bud, circling around it before drifting back to her center. Up… and back down again… a devilish expression of possession locked on his body as she pleasures her own.

"Stop," Ethan growls, "Stop right there…" His breath hitches as he resists the urge to stroke himself. "Inside…put them inside. Now."

Without thought, she pushes her fingers into her sweltering pussy, her walls narrow around her slender knuckles. She exhales a tender moan as she pulls back out, immediately returning her fingertips into her depths.

And back out again.

Plunging back in, teasing and tickling just inside her slick channel as her thumb grazes over her most sensitive of areas.

"Ethan," she whimpers, tossing her hair back over her shoulders as a sweet dew collects on her skin. "Please…"

Ethan stands up, a grimace on his face as he saunters closer to her side.

"Please, baby–" her voice strangles, her expression pleading.

Ethan suddenly seizes her hand; as he brings it to his mouth, Tatum’s wetness courses down her arms, dripping onto her naked body. He takes her fingers into his mouth, the invigorating taste of her arousal eliciting a bellowing groan from his core.

“Please, Ethan…”  she chokes out, her body rocking in desperation for more.

He slowly pulls her fingers out from the back of his throat. “What does my good girl need–?”

“You…” she interrupts with a hiss. “Please touch me…”

A sadistic smirk grows on his chiseled face as he retreats to his secret bag of goodies, pulling out a few items.  Tatum tries to observe, but her vision is too blurry to make out what scandalous products he was pulling out to use on her.   

He quickly returns, gently stroking Tatum’s heated cheeks. “Do you trust me?” He pushes his thumb across her lips and into her mouth.

Tatum’s eyes flutter close, a simple tear of pleasure, of her desire falling down her cheek. “Yes.”

“Yes what?”

"Yes, sir.” She looks back into his sultry eyes, completely darkened with his lust for her–and only her. “... with everything in me…”

Ethan allows a silk tie to unravel from his hand, the corner of his lips curling as he watches Tatum writhe in anticipation. He carefully sits her up, cinching the tie snuggly around her eyes before laying her back down he guides her hands above her head, knotting the remnants of his tie around her wrists.

“Ethan–”  

“Shhhh…”  he hushes. “Stay still.”  

Hidden behind the chaise lounge next to his bag of products and toys from their trip earlier, Ethan pulls out a single, long-stem rose. Carefully fluffing out the petals, he pads closer to the bed, taking in the bare beauty of Tatum. He circles around her feet, her legs coyly thrusting with the built up tension they created together. He casually licks his lips, seeing her body so ready for him, so hungry for him. Twirling the flower between his fingers, he paces slowly next to the side of her body, hypnotized by the rising and fall of her nervous breathing.

Her lips. God, those perfectly plump, perfectly inviting heart-shaped lips… all Ethan can think about is touching them right now, tasting them and biting them.  Feeling them against his own as she orgasms, as she screams his name, as she begs for more…

As to not startle her, Ethan crawls onto the bed, resting on his knees as he hovers over her body. Watching her throbbing lips, he gently presses the blooming flower to her mouth before tracing the petals down her neck. Feeling the silky texture of the blossom in the most intimate of ways spurs a tender purr of pleasure from her throat.

Ethan traces the bloom down her shoulders and up her arms that are tied over her head. He watches her smile grow on her face, her body beginning to writhe in the bed.

He swats her palm with the bulb, Tatum‘s heart rate suddenly racing. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it was unexpected. Thrilling.

Ethan continues, tracing down her chest, her nipples hardening before he can even touch her. Fuck, I need just one more taste… he rolls the bud of the rose around her pert breast before playful swatting at their most sensitive, taut area. Tatum giggles at the sensation, her upper back bowing against the bed wanting to feel more, needing to feel more.

Bending back the stem, Ethan releases the flower like a catapult, thumping harder against her.

But this time was different.

Tatum suddenly moans in pain, sucking in a sharp inhale as her body shudders.  

Ethan removes the rose, observing her skin as she softly mewls under his touch.  Running his hungry fingers across the slopes of her ribs, he discovers where a thorn penetrated the skin, deep crimson starkly collecting against her pale pink hue.

Ethan looks up towards Tatum; there’s something in the way she licks her lips, the way her chest trembles with satisfaction and danger… he can’t help himself.

He bends over, placing his lips over her tiny wound, kissing it with his mouth as he laps at it with his tongue. Tasting her, tasting his Tatum, in the most intimate of ways, the most depraved and feral of ways, pulls relentlessly at his cock. He needs to ravage her, penetrate her. He needs to fuck her.

Ethan balls up the comforter in his fist, forcing himself to slow down his erratic breathing. Not yet, he wars with himself, his own girth threatening to pour out without his command.

He crawls up on top of Tatum, pressing his lips into hers, letting her taste herself on his breath.

“Open your legs.”

With her lips not releasing from his lips, she spreads herself open, whimpering for Ethan to claim what belongs to him.  He grabs the rose, and with the flick of his wrist, the petals begin to drum against her fully aroused clit. 

Up and down. Side to side. Each soft flutter of the bloom’s silken beauty gently taps at her swollen desire, over and over, each stroke more perfect than the last.

Tatum tosses her head back, gasping for a sip of air as her thighs quake, electricity pulsing through them. Watching her fall apart to a rose sends a jealous wave through Ethan; he tosses the flower on the ground, climbing on top of Tatum. He hastily unties her hands, ripping the  necktie off her eyes.

“You come for me. You understand?” He demands.

“Yes sir,” she cries, running her fingers through his damp, dark curls, her eyes falling deep into the crashing waves of his ocean eyes.

Ethan puts a knee between her legs, spreading them apart before his arms tuck her wriggling legs around his hips.  He pulls out his thrumming erection already dripping with precum, lining the thick head with her saturated entrance.

“You come only for me–” he snarls in her ear, but before he allows her to answer, Ethan thrusts his hips into her, his massive length burrowing deep into her depths. 

Tatum’s mouth falls open to the sudden rush of pain, a pleasure that she has been craving all evening, but not a single sound comes out. She’s finally complete; she’s finally whole.

Feeling the extreme narrowness around his erection, Ethan reaches down, grabbing onto the curvatures of Tatum’s ass while he wriggles the last few inches of his cock into her tight pussy. Allowing her to stretch around him, he starts to rock his hips, slowly at first before finding a steady rhythmic pace they both enjoyed. Each pleasurable thrust, he disappears completely inside of Tatum as rivers from her wet center pour down his thighs and across her ass cheeks.

“Ethan–” she pants, “I can’t wait. I… I need–”

Tatum’s nails carve into Ethan's back. A groan of pure euphoria grows deep in her belly as she squirms underneath his weight, her core growing restless, growing needy of release. And suddenly a cadence of elated screams echo throughout the home as Ethan helps Tatum ride out her orgasm.

"That's it," he thrusts unsparingly into her depths. "That's … that's my …" 

But his words fail him. Like an insatiable animal intoxicated on desire, he grunts uncontrollably, unable to speak, unable to catch his breath. Just thrust. And moan. And push. And shove. His lungs burn from panting so hard. 

But he's not going to stop. Not this close.

Abruptly, Ethan hollers out in a deep, gritty howl. His girth mercilessly pushes against  her walls as he uncontrollably pours into her, filling her completely .

Needing to catch his breath before anything, Ethan collapses on Tatum's body, her arms readily receiving him against her chest. For several minutes, they lay there, simply holding each other. There was so much to say, yet nothing to say at all; somehow their heavy breathing spoke the depths of their heart perfectly. 

Minutes quickly turn into timeless memories. Though the Boston sky remains romantic hues of violet and navy, the moon has slowly danced to another corner in the sky.

She doesn't remember when she started, but Tatum cradles a sleeping Ethan in her arms, his head comfortable against her neck as she traces soft circles across his back. At some point, they had discussed taking a shower, but right now in this beautiful moment, connecting physically makes perfect sense. 

Being with this man makes perfect sense.

"Normal sinus rhythm."

Tatum stops scratching Ethan's shoulders and begins to snicker. "What?"

Letting out a big yawn, Ethan rolls off the top of Tatum. He closes his eyes again, but laces his fingers with her. "Just glad your ticker sounds good.”

"Weirdo," she titters as she glances around the room. "Ethan? Was… was that a rose?"

With his eyes still closed, a mischievous grin crawls across Ethan's face.

"Are you serious?" Tatum sits up, grabbing a pillow to hug and hide her nakedness. "Where did you get that?"

Ethan chuckles to himself. "I know it's off brand for us, but … well, we were going on a date and–I don’t know. I thought it was nice–." 

“You did not.” Tatum jovially swats him with the pillow, his smile growing bigger.

"I wanted to show you that I've gotten classier these past 15 years. You know, no more trips to adult novelty shops to impress you."

They both tumble into belly laughs, exchanging knowing glances at one another. 

"Speaking of," continues Tatum, "what the hell was all of that shit you were buying yesterday?"

Ethan waggles his eyebrows. "The Lord works in mysterious ways."

Tatum playfully scoffs, scooting off the bed. “I’m gonna take a shower. Wanna come join–?”  Before she can finish the question, Ethan is climbing off the bed, chasing behind her as she squeals into the ensuite bathroom.

“Oh, hey,” he turns back around, grabbing something from the giant bag of adult toys before jogging back to her.  “You left this at the register.” He tosses in the air a familiar silver bottle towards his girlfriend.

The blood drains from Tatum’s face. As she catches it mid-air. “I… it’s not… this isn’t… I mean–”

“It’s definitely not your usual flavor–God, what is it you use?” He rubs his thumb against his lips. “It tastes… sweet–super sweet… like candy….”

Tatum’s eyes grow large, her cheeks burn with embarrassment. “B-but how…?”

“How what?”  Ethan opens the glass door to turn on the shower, allowing steam to slowly fill the room. “How did I know you were using that cream?” He chuckles, grabbing two towels from a linen closet. “Isn’t it the same stuff you used in med school?”

“Oh my God!” Tatum covers her face with her hands. 

Ethan approaches her, gently grabbing the back of her elbow. “Don’t be embarrassed,” he grins kindly. “You went to all that trouble to make sure… I was happy. And Tate?”  She bashfully turns her attention back to her boyfriend, but his gaze is already fix admiringly on her. “I’m very happy.”

Tatum wraps her arms around his neck, Ethan pressing his lips lovingly against her soft neck. “But,” she pulls back to look at him, “How? Did you see the bottle in my purse one day? Or in my medicine cabinet?”

Ethan shakes his head. “I thought it was interesting that your kisses afterwards always tasted like a jolly rancher.”  He suddenly reaches out his hand towards Tatum. “C’mon,” he nods towards the shower. “And bring your new bottle. I wanna see if this 'Strawberries and Champagne' tastes better on your tongue.”

~🖤~

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[teenslib]

IT’S FINALLY DONE! Every year, the Rainbow Book List Committee has more books to review, because literature is slowing getting queerer, and children’s and YA lit are at the forefront of that change. This year, our committee of 13 people had to review nearly 500 eligible titles, and 130 (well, 129) were good enough and queer enough to make the list. There were so many terrific books that we got a special dispensation to create TWO Top Ten lists--the first time the committee has done so! The Top Tens are below, and please visit the link above for the full list.

I’m proud of our committee’s focus on diversity--along lines of race, ethnicity, queer identity, and even genre. At least half of the Top Ten Books for Young Readers and seven of the Top Ten for Teen Readers are about characters of color, and most of those were written by authors of color. We also tried to feature as many different letters of the alphabet soup as possible. I’ve noted the racial and LGBTQIA+ rep for the books that I’ve read.

Here are the Top Ten Books for Young Readers:

Ana on the Edge by Sass, A.J. Ages 8 to 12. Sports Fiction/Figure Skating. MC is nonbinary and Jewish-Chinese-American. Ana is a champion figure-skater. She hates her new princess-themed program, but how can she tell her mother that, when it cost so much money? And why does it bother her so much, anyway? When she finds the word ‘nonbinary,’ she realizes why the program doesn’t fit, but she still has a lot of work to do repairing relationships that have suffered in the meantime.

The Deep & Dark Blue by Smith, Niki. Ages 8 to 12. Fantasy. One of 2 MCs is a trans girl, all characters appear to be Southeast Asian. A pair of twins flee after a political coup that puts their lives at risk. They decide to disguise themselves as Hanna and Grayce, two girls living in the Communion of the Blue, an order of weaving women who spin magic like wool. What one twin doesn’t know is that, for the other, being Grayce isn’t a disguise. This is a beautiful story about self-discovery, acceptance, and affirmation.

Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring by Burgess, Matthew and Josh Cochran (Illustrator). Ages 6 to 14. Biography. MC is a white gay man. This colorful picture-book biography traces the life and art of Keith Haring.

The Every Body Book: LGBTQ+ Inclusive Guide for Kids about Sex, Gender, Bodies, and Families by Simon, Rachel E. and Noah Grigni (Illustrator). Ages 8 to 12. Nonfiction/Health. Various identities and races included. Filled with self-affirming information, The Every Body Book uses inclusive language, illustrations, and facts to cover a number of important topics for young people including consent, relationships, gender, sex, puberty, and hormones.

King and the Dragonflies by Callender, Kacen. Ages 8 to 12. Realistic Fiction. MC is a gay black boy, his best friend is a gay white boy. King’s family–especially his father–have strong opinions about what it means to be a Black man, and they don’t allow for being gay. But King admires his friend Sandy for escaping an abusive home and living his truth no matter what. If King comes out, too, can his father learn to change?

Magic Fish by Nguyen, Trung Le. Ages 12 and up. Realistic Fiction/Fantasy. MC is a gay Vietnamese-American boy. A young Vietnamese-American boy literally can’t find the words to tell his parents that he’s gay, but cross-cultural fairytales help bridge the language barrier in this beautifully-illustrated graphic novel. 

My Maddy by Pitman, Gayle E. and Violet Tobacco (Illustrator). Ages 4-8. Realistic Fiction. MC’s parent is nonbinary, MC and her parent are white. My Maddy is a heartwarming story about a young girl and her parent. Readers learn that not all parents are boys or girls; some parents are just themselves. In this young girl’s case, that parent is her Maddy, a loving, caring parent who lives outside the gender binary.

My Rainbow by Neal, DeShanna, Trinity Neal, and Art Twink (Illustrator). Ages 4-8. Realistic Fiction. MC is an autistic black trans girl. Autistic trans girl Trinity wants to have long hair, but growing it out is too itchy! None of the wigs in the store are quite right, so Mom makes Trinity a special rainbow wig.

Our Subway Baby by Mercurio, Peter and Leo Espinosa (Illustrator). Ages 4 to 8. Adoption Non-fiction. MCs are white gay men, the baby they adopt is Black. Loving illustrations help tell the story of how an infant abandoned in a NYC subway station was adopted by the man who found him and his partner.

Snapdragon by Leyh, Kat. Snapdragon. Ages 10 to 14. Fantasy. Haven’t read this one yet, so I can’t comment on its representation. Snap gets to know the town witch and discovers that she may in fact have real magic and a secret connection to Snap’s family’s past.

And here are the Top Ten Books for Teen Readers:

All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by Johnson, George M. Ages 14 to 18. Memoir. Author/MC is a gay Black man. “Memoir-manifesto” is a well-chosen label for this book, which relates stories from the author’s childhood and young adulthood and contextualizes them within a queer Black experience. Although the author’s family is loving and supportive, pervasive heteronormativity, queerphobia, and anti-Black racism threaten his mental, emotional, and physical safety.

Camp by Rosen, L.C. Ages 14 and up. Realistic Fiction. MC and his love interest are gay Jewish boys. For Randy, going away to Camp Outland is a breath of fresh air, a time to be exactly who Randy can’t always be at school. But this year will be different. This year, Randy won’t be the flamboyant theater kid, this year Randy will be exactly the type of bro Hudson would want to date. Changing a thing or too will be necessary for Randy to succeed, even if that means leaving some friends behind.

Cemetery Boys by Thomas, Aiden. Ages 13 and up. Paranormal/Romance. MC is a trans Latino, his love interest is a gay Latino. Yadriel accidentally summons the wrong ghost in an attempt to prove himself a real brujo to his family who struggle to accept his gender identity. Though he thinks he is summoning the ghost of his cousin, he actually summons the ghost of Julian Diaz, and finds himself with not one, but two, mysterious deaths to investigate.

Circus Rose by Cornwell, Betsy. Ages 12 and up. Fantasy. One MC is white and one is mixed-race, one is a lesbian and one is questioning. Ivory and Rosie are twins and half-sisters, born to a bearded woman who refused to choose between her lovers, and raised in their mother’s circus. After a long foreign tour, they come home to find themselves under attack by religious zealots. As tragedy follows tragedy, will Ivory be able to save her circus family?

Elatsoe by Little Badger, Darcie  and Rovina Cai (Illustrator). Ages 12 and up. Mystery. MC is an aro/ace Lipan Apache girl. In this OwnVoices novel, Elatsoe is on a mission to discover who killed her beloved cousin, and why. If not for her cousin, then she is doing this for her people, the Indigenous Lipan Apache tribe. Elatsoe has the ability to raise ghosts from the dead, a tradition that has been passed down through generations. On this journey it will take vulnerability, wit, and the legends of her people for Elatsoe to understand all that is hidden in the small town of Willowbee.

I’ll Be the One by Lee, Lyla. Ages 13 and up. Realistic Fiction. MC is a bi Korean-American girl, her love interest is a bi Korean boy. Skye Shin dreams of becoming the world’s first plus-sized K-pop star, and a reality TV competition may just be her chance. To win, she’ll have to deal with fatphobic beauty standards, fierce competition, and intense media scrutiny–as well as unexpected attraction to one of her competitors.

Miss Meteor by Mejia, Tehlor Kay and Anna-Marie McLemore. Ages 14 and up. Magical Realism. (I haven’t read this one, but I think both MCs are WLW Latinas.) Lita is a star – literally. After falling to earth several years ago, she’s now living life as a teenage girl. When the annual Miss Meteor pageant rolls around, Lita decides to enter – but will her ex-best friend Chicky be willing to help her? Will the pageant help her forget about the past and imagine a new future? Lita learns that winning isn’t about being perfect, it’s about showing your true self to the world – even the parts that no one else understands.

You Should See Me in a Crown by Johnson, Leah. Ages 12 and up. Realistic Fiction. MC is a black WLW (woman-loving-woman). In this affectionate rom-com, Liz Lighty finds herself an unlikely candidate for prom queen at her affluent suburban school. Shy, awkward, Black, and low-income, Liz has never felt like she belonged, and she can’t wait to leave for her dream college. But when her scholarship falls through, it seems her last resort is to win prom queen, and the scholarship money that comes with it. Liz’s plan is complicated when new girl Mack decides to run for prom queen also…and ends up running away with Liz’s heart.

War Girls by Onyebuchi, Tochi.  Ages 12 and up. Science Fiction/Afro-Futurism. Both MCs are Nigerian, one is a WLW. In a not-so-distant future, climate change and nuclear disasters have made much of the earth unlivable. In the midst of war in Nigeria, two sisters, Onyii and Ify, are torn apart and face two very different futures. As their lives progress through years of untold violence and political unrest, battles with deadly mechs and cyborg soldiers outfitted with artificial limbs and organs, they are brought together again and again and must come to terms with how the war has impacted their lives.

When We Were Magic by Gailey, Sarah. Ages 14 and up. Contemporary Fantasy. MC is a white bi/questioning girl with gay dads, her friends are racially, ethnically, and queerily diverse. This firecracker of a novel follows a group of friends who attempt to correct the accidental murder of a classmate. When We Were Magic combines magic, friendship, and awkward moments to create a captivating story. Each character brings their own uniqueness to the strong group of friends, but despite their differences, their loyalty remains. Author Sarah Gailey has written another page turning novel, with the quirky strange content to boot.

[singingcookie]

18, 20, & 23 FOR THE ASK GAME :D

Thanks Kat!!!!! 💖💖💖 From this ask game!

18. Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations?) Tell us about them.

Hmmmmmm... This has such a boring answer 😂 I don’t, really...? All the plotlines I “dropped” in DoJ I plan on picking up in the side stories, and all my one shots are led by the plot points so I’m  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’ve never really had an AU for anything I’ve written either I’m. Truly very very boring lmao

The most eventful changes my stories get don’t usually alter anything plot wise at all. And usually if I do anything I add scenes more than I take out. Sorry!!! 🙈🙈🙈

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

Oh gosh well uhhhhh... I can’t think of any overt symbolism that isn’t like twisted from canon the netsuke but I can think of character stuff that I’m pretty happy with but don’t really get to talk about lol (I actually have a lot so if I’m sent this number again, I’ll pick something else to ramble about)

Inko was a character that I really wasn’t planning to mention as much as I did. I brought her up in the beginning because, when it came to IzuOcha’s current dynamic,I spent the first five chapters building up how close they are, so I wanted to put them in situations that highlighted just how far away the prospect of being “together” was. Which is exemplified by the awkwardness after Ochako’s bath in chapter six. Their debate over the sleeping arrangements in the same chapter. And in chapter seven we see Deku contemplating going into his room to see if she was awake yet. It creates this feeling of distance and, really, these chapters were meant to be read as “this is what we have to get over.”

The sleepover and Inko’s activeness in that really helps to bridge this gap that I highlighted between them. And that...was really supposed to be it with her. It may sound surprising but I didn’t plan the Tanabata festival until I was writing...chapter 9 or 10 I think. But then when the plotline formed in my head, Inko was just there wanting to take part and again functioning as this sort of bridge to bring them closer. I loved writing for her in the beginning but yeah man she wasn’t intended to be this prevalent in the story past the sleepover lmao

All things considered, I expect her to continue to weasel her way in the further on we go, but I don’t have a plan to do so. I will say though that what I mentioned above will come into play again. Contrasting what we want with where they are. Or maybe soon enough contrasting where they were with where they are. 👀👀

23.  What’s the story idea you’ve had in your head for the longest?

Considering I’m already writing DoJ, I’d probably have to say the expansion I was considering for Repairs and Connections. It was (and still is) something I really wanted at the time of writing it. But with a longfic with a massive commitment and still trying to get used to as much writing as I have, I really put it on the backburner even though I had a lot of ideas for it. But them’s the breaks I suppose 😅

[sindri42]

What IS Gravity Rush, and is it available on Nintendo Switch?

The original Gravity Rush was a PS Vita exclusive, later rereleased with all the DLC included and upgraded graphics for the PS4. It’s about a girl, later referred to as Kat, who lands in Hekseville, a strange city built around a pillar of seemingly infinite height. She starts the game with no memory, a very strange outfit, a cat made of stars, and the ability to control her local gravity field freely (though she isn’t very good at it). So naturally there was only one way for her to go from there: become a superhero.

So she wanders around repairing public works and retrieving lost balloons and pets and fighting monsters and stopping gangs (and joining gangs and becoming the leader of gangs). Along the way she meets another person with the same powerset as her but with a lot more experience (and a bird instead of a cat), dubbed “Raven” by the wanted posters, so Kat chases after her to try to find some clues to her past and [SPOILERS REDACTED].

The central conflict of the story is twofold: entire sections of the city, citizens included, are getting pulled through mysterious gravity storms and never seen again, and what’s left is being invaded by mysterious monsters known as Nevi. Kat has to both fight to defend the city against incoming threats while local security forces scramble to come up with a countermeasure, and travel through tears in reality to mysterious other worlds in order to retrieve the parts of the city that have been stolen and rescue the citizens.

The gameplay is all kinds of fun, the writing is clever and funny, the soundtrack is awesome, and all the major characters are great. The story, while solid on its own, left a lot of big plot threads dangling and a lot of major questions unanswered as of when the first game ended.

In between the two they made a pair of anime OVAs, Gravity Rush: Overture. The first is pretty much a silly tone setting piece, but gives you some idea of what the games are about. The second is a fairly major chunk of plot, bridging the gap between the two games. Some time after the first game as resolved, Kat and Raven are living together (obligatory oh my god they were roommates) and working together to protect the city, but not much closer to figuring out their powers or their past. Then they get in a fight with a kidnapper/mad scientist, things go wrong, and they get sucked through a gravity storm to the unknown.

The second game, which is exclusive to the PS4 at this time, takes place after they land on the other side of the storm. Kat and Raven were separated in the storm, and Kat was picked up by an airship whose crew make a living by equipping specialized protective gear to travel into the strange worlds on the other side of the storms and mine the crystals which form there, to be used as fuel for anti-gravity engines and the like. They take her to Jirga Para Lhao, a series of floating islands with a colorful, vibrant community living on them, but also serious wealth disparity and an increasingly oppressive government which Kat ends up battling against. From there the story gets big and complicated, not just returning to Hekseville but also to the top of the Wold Pillar, delving into the origins of the Nevi, who Kat really is, the nature of the Guardian animals she and Raven have, etc.

[theamalgaverse]

Is there anybody in here that the skykid actually likes!?!? I MUST KNOW!!!

Hmm… seems they’re best affiliated with other bug-likes!

First time with me drawing her so the Repairing Mantis/Kat's design is made by @moth-from-hell!

[katanamasako]

Oh sorry can you give me a basic run down of your dark lands lore? I got confused too sorry for all the confusion mun!

[my lore is the same basics as everyone else. Lifeless, no sun, no water, no food, unless you’re willing to eat Nyarlagroths (which have poisonous organs so watch out for that) or stalklings, or other trolls that die from the hardships. there are not camps per se, the Thralls and Gunmar have been in the darklands for 900 years, they’ve built a settlement, albeit one that’s basically ducttape and toothpicks. armor, weapons and tools are not thrown out, fi they are damaged beyond repair they are molten and the metal reused. Gunmar has a range of beasts native to the darklands that he keeps in the crucible for the purpose of fighting and training. As for shadow bridges, they aren’t portals, so much as kat and her siblings are able to access the intersection between shadows, it’s the void between life and death. most mortals are torn apart by the lack of air and the crushing silence of the void if you are not aware of nor used to traveling through a shadow bridge. a wrong step can sling you to anywhere in the known and unknown universe.

Kat does not live in a house, building or tent. she dug out a cavern as any other self reliant beast would. She doesn’t like for anyone to get too close either, she has younglings that can not fend themselves. An easy mark for predators. so anyone not invited is at risk for harm. Technically she would have lashed out at Maria immediately on her stepping from the portal so close to the front entrance. ]

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Thor

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Where We Are Continuing Our Look At The Marvel Cinematic Universe....

As We Look At The First Movie With The God Of Thunder, Thor...

This Film Sees Thor (Played By Chris Hemsworth) Being Banished To Earth By His Father Odin After Reigniting A Dormant War, Stripped Of His Powers, Thor Seeks To Return To Asgard When His Brother, Loki (Played Memorably By Tom Hiddleston) Seeks To Take The Throne Of Asgard For Himself, Will Thor Return To Asgard In Time To Stop His Evil Brother?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Thor...

The Movie Starts At Night On The Planet Earth As Jane Foster (Played By Natalie Portman) Erik Selvig (Played By Stellan Skarsgård) And Jane's Assistant, Darcy (Played By Kat Dennings, Who Is Apparently The Jar Jar Binks Of This Film) Who Are There To Monitor Atmospheric Disturbances Which Tie Into Jane's Work...

Eventually Finding Something, They Drive Off To See Whatever It Is But When They Drive Into It They End Up Crashing Into A Guy With Blonde Hair And A Beard, This Leads To An Introduction By Odin (Played By Hannibal Lecter Himself, Sir Anthony Hopkins)

(Start At 3:02)

Showing His Sons, Thor And Loki The Casket Of Endless Winter, Thor Promises His Father That He'll Hunt Them Down And Slay Them All, However Odin Tells Him That A Wise King Does Not Seek War, But He Must Always Be Ready For It....

Years Later, Thor Is Ready To Ascend To The Throne Of Asgard With His Brother Loki And His Friends, The Warriors Three (Hogun (Played By Tadanobu Asano) Fandral (Played By Once Upon A Time's Josh Dallas) And Volstagg (Played By The Punisher)) And Lady Sif (Played By Jaime Alexander) By His Side...

But When 3 Frost Giants Break Into The Weapons Vault At Asgard, Odin Destroys Them With The Prototype Version Of Cyclops So, Him, Thor And Loki Can Come Down To See What Happened...

Seeing This As A Possible Threat To Their Boarders, Thor Suggests Going To Their Homeworld Of Jotunheim To Teach Them A Lesson So They Won't Dare Cross Their Boarders Again, However With Odin Seeing This As Just An Isolated Incident That Will Never Happen Again As The People Behind It Have Paid With Their Lives, Odin Tells Thor No...

Having A Major Temper Tantrum In The Dining Hall Because Daddy Won't Let Me Have My Way...

Loki Goes To Talk With Thor To Say That Despite What Odin Thinks He Thinks He's Right, Saying That If The Frost Giants Broke In Once, They'll Do It Again...

Which Sounds Right...

Thor Is Right, The Frost Giants Broke The Truce And They Should Be Going To War But Odin Is Like "These Things Do Happen" Bull! Something Needs To Be Done And Just Simply Raising Security Is Not Enough...

Deciding To Go To Jotunheim With Loki, Sif And The Warriors Three, They Race To The Bifrost Where They Try To Convince Heimdall (Played By Idris Elba) To Help Them, Which He Only Does Because He's Pissed Off A Frost Giant Got Passed His Watch And He Wants To Know Why...

Once On Jotunheim, They Meet The Ruler Of This Frosty Realm...

(Start At 0:17, End At 1:46)

No, No, Not Him!

This Guy, Laufey, Who Tells Thor That The House Of Odin Is Full Of Traitors, He Doesn't Know What His Actions Will Unleash And That He Should Leave Now While He Still Allows It, Which They Start To But One Lousy Frost Giant Couldn't Shut His Mouth

(Start At 2:07, End At 4:28)

Being Chased By Frost Monsters, Odin Eventually Appears To Try To Barter Peace With Laufey, But It Is Too Late And Laufey Declares War On Asgard...

Taking Them All Back To Asgard, Odin Argues With Thor About What He Has Done And For His Actions, Odin Takes Away Mijonir From Thor And Banishes Him To Earth And Sends Us Back To Where The Film Began With Jane And Her Team Finding Thor...

Believing Him To Be On Drugs Or Something, Darcy Tazers Him And They Take Him To The Hospital Only For Thor To Attack The Doctors And Nurses When He Comes To...

Meanwhile On The Other Side Of New Mexico, A Driver Comes Across A Big Crater Where Mijonir Landed And Tries To Pull It Out Only To Be Unsuccessful...

Back At Their Lab, Jane And Her Team Go Over The Data Of What Happened Last Night And Discover That Whatever It Was Had The Characteristics Of An Einstien-Rosen Bridge Otherwise Known As A Wormhole...

Coming Across A Picture Of What Looks Like A Man Inside Of The Wormhole, Jane Races To The Hospital To Get Thor...

Strapped Down After Trying To Escape By Beating The Living Hell Out Of Doctors And Nurses, Thor Somehow Manages To Break Free Before Jane And Her Team Get There...

However, When They Go To Leave, They End Up Running Thor Over Again...

Do You Just Run People Over On A Regular Basis, Jane?

Meanwhile At The Crater With Mijonir, Millions Of People Are Around The Area Trying To Get It Out Like It's The Sword In The Stone...

Hell, Even Stan Is Getting Involved...

Stan Lee Cameo!

But While Everyone Tries To Get It Out, A Car Arrives On A Hilltop, With The Driver Getting Out Of The Car, We See That It's Phil Coulson (Played By Clark Gregg) Who's There To Redo The End Credit Scene From Iron Man 2 For The People Who Didn't See The Film Which Is Most Likely The People Who Live Under A Rock Or Martin Scorsese...

Jane Gets Thor Some Clothes Along With An Easter Egg To Dr. Donald Blake, While On Asgard, The Warriors Three And Sif Are Missing Thor. However, They Soon Wonder How The Guards Found Out, This Leads Loki To Admit That He Told Them, However He Had No Idea That Odin Would Banish Thor For What He Did...

Sif Asks Loki To Convince Odin To Change His Mind But Despite Loving Thor More Than Any Of Them, Loki Knows How Arrogant, Reckless And Dangerous Thor Is And He Believes That That Is Not What Asgard Needs Right Now...

As Loki Walks Away, Hogun Remembers What Laufey Said About The House Of Odin Being Full Of Traitors, Stating That A Master Of Magic Could Bring 3 Frost Giants Into Asgard, But Sif, Fandral And Volstagg Just Dismiss The Idea...

Meanwhile In The Weapons Room In Asgard, Loki Grabs The Casket Of Endless Winter Only To Be Confronted By Odin Who Discovers That Touching It Has Briefly Transformed Loki Into A Frost Giant...

(Start At 0:50, End At 2:22)

With Loki Mad At His Father For This, Odin Soon Faints And Falls Into What He Calls The Odinsleep...

Taking Thor For Food, Him Along With Jane And Her Team Hear About A Crater Where A Satellite Crashed In The Desert, But When They Say That No One Could Lift It, Thor Knows That It's His Hammer And Asks The Gentlemen Where It Is And They Tell Thor Where It Is Only To Warn Him That Feds Showed Up...

Walking In The Middle Of The Road With Jane And Her Team Following, Thor Tells Jane That If She Helps Him Reclaim Mijonir, He'll Tell Her Everything She Needs To Know. But Selvig Tells Jane Not To Go Because He Believes Thor To Be A Delusional Nut So Jane Doesn't Go With Him And They Just Walk Off Only To Get Screwed By Coulson And S.H.I.E.L.D. Who Take Everything From Them...

And I Do Mean Everything, Their Data, Their Facts Their Scientific Equipment...Everything Without Even Saying Please...

With Their Research Gone, Erik Lays Down A Reference To Bruce Banner Before We Go Back To Asgard To See That With Thor Gone And The Allfather Deep In The Odinsleep, Loki Has Been Placed In Charge Of Asgard...

(Start At 0:40, End At 1:49)

Jane Decides To Help Thor By Driving Him To The Crater Site Which Has Been Taken Over By Coulson And S.H.I.E.L.D. Sneaking Under The Gate, Thor Fights Dozens Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Soldiers While Coulson Gets Clint Barton (Played By Jeremy Renner) To Try To Take Thor Down From Above, But Eventually Reaching Mijonir Thor Tries To Grab It Only To Discover That He Cannot Lift It As He Is Not Worthy...

Arrested By S.H.I.E.L.D. Guards, Coulson Interrogates Thor Only To Get Nothing Out Of Him. Once Coulson Leaves, Loki Appears To Thor...

(Start At 1:10, End At 3:09)

Getting Selvig To Help Her After A Talk About How Magic Is Just Science That They Don't Understand, Selvig Goes Down To The S.H.I.E.L.D. Site To Free Thor, By Stating That He Was Upset That They Took Their Research And The Reason He Was Able To Take Down Their Soliders Is Because He's A Health Nut On Steroids...

Buying Selvig's Story, Coulson Lets Thor Go, But Before He Leaves, Thor Manages To Get Ahold Of A Book That Belongs To Jane...

Taking Thor To A Bar To Talk, They Get A Few Drinks Which Ends In Selvig Getting Drunk To The Point That Thor Has To Carry Him Back To Jane's Trailer...

Meanwhile On Jotunheim, Laufey Has A Visitor In The Form Of Loki, Who Tells Him That He Was The One Who Let The Frost Giants Into Asgard Mainly Because He Wanted To Ruin Thor's Big Day. Offering To Conceal Laufey And A Few Of His Soldiers In Asgard So He Can Kill Odin And Take Back The Casket Of Endless Winter, Laufey Accepts...

Travelling Back To Asgard, Heimdall Tells Loki That He Couldn't See Him On Jotunheim Which Has Him Suspecting That Loki Was The One Who Brought The Frost Giants Into Asgard...

But Telling Heimdall To Never Question Him As He Is King And To Not Open The Bifrost To Anyone Until He Has Repaired The "Damage" That Thor Has Caused, Loki Exits...

Talking Outside With Thor, He Gives Jane Her Book Before Telling Her Everything She Wants To Know And Where He Comes From...

Back On Asgard, Fandral And Volstagg Are At The Point Of Fighting Before Sif And Hogun Unite Them When They Realize What They Must Do And That's Go To Earth To Get Thor Back. Going To Heimdall At The Rainbow Bridge After Hearing Them With His Powers, He Somewhat Helps Them...

And Somewhat Helps Them, I Mean He Walks Out, Leaves His Sword That Opens The Bifrost And Lets The Warriors Three And Lady Sif Use It To Go To Earth..

Seeing The Bifrost Being Opened, Loki Sends The Destroyer To Detroy Thor And His Companions...

Arriving On Earth, The Warriors Three And Sif Go Into Town To Try To Find Thor Only To Be Spotted By S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents On The Rooftops...

No, No, No, You Twit! This Is Robin Hood..

He Was Prince Charming...

Eventually Finding Thor, He Tells Them What Loki Told Him Only For Sif To Tell Thor That Odin's Alive And He's Been Lied To...

Confronting Heimdall Who Knows The Truth Now, He Fights Loki After Loki Dismisses Him From His Job Of Gatekeeper Only For Loki To Freeze Him With The Casket Of Endless Winter

Arriving At The Site Where The Warriors Three And Sif Landed, Coulson And His Agents Watch As The Destroyer Arrives On Earth...

(Start At 0:38)

Talking With The Destroyer, Knowing That Loki Is Watching, Thor Tells His Brother That Whatever He Has Done To Lead Him To This, He Truly Is Sorry But Taking Their Lives Will Not Gain Him Anything So Instead He Offers Up His, And The Destroyer Kills Him Only For Thor To Be Brought Back To Life By Mijonir As He's Proven Himself Worthy Enough To Regain His Powers To Destroy The Destroyer...

Confronted By Coulson Who Says It's Obvious That He Hasn't Been Telling Him The Truth. Thor Tells Coulson That They Fight For The Same Cause And To Consider Him An Ally If They Return The Items They Stole From Jane, Which Coulson Promises To Return...

Taking Jane, To The Bifrost Site With The Warriors Three And Sif Going There In Selvig's Car, Heimdall Breaks Free Of Loki's Ice Prison And Opens The Bifrost To Bring Thor And The Others Home....

But Before He Leaves, Thor Promises To Return For Jane Which Ends Up With Them Kissing...

But While Thor And The Others Were On Their Way To The Bifrost And Heimdall Was Still Frozen, Loki Brought Laufey And His Frost Giants Into Asgard To Kill Odin But When Laufey Goes To Kill Odin, Loki Double Crosses Him And Kills Him Instead...

Making The Attack Look As If It Was Orchestrated By The Frost Giants, Thor Arrives To Reveal All Of Loki's Lies...

Blasting Thor Out Of Odin's Room, Thor Flies To The Bifrost As Loki Heads There To Release The Full Power Of The Bifrost On Jotunheim To Destroy The Entire Planet...

(Start At 0:28)

Realizing That He Can't Stop This, Thor Decides Instead To Destroy The Bifrost With Mijonir, Knowing That He Will Never See Jane Again..

But When The Bifrost Is Destroyed Loki And Thor Are About To Go Over The Edge But Luckily, Odin Wakes From His Odinsleep To Save His 2 Sons, However After Telling His Father That He Did This For Him, Loki Lets Go Of His Staff Only To Supposedly Fall To His Death...

Holding A Celebration/Funeral Over The Return Of Thor And The Loss Of Loki, Thor Talks With His Father, He Tells Thor That He Will Be A Wise King But Thor Admits That He Has A Lot To Learn And Says That Someday He Will Make His Father Proud, However Odin Says That He Is Already Proud Of Him Before He Walks Away...

Headed To The Rainbow Bridge (Can't Really Say The Bifrost As The Bifrost Is Gone) Thor Talks With Heimdall Asking If He Can See Jane, Saying That He Can He Tells Thor That She Is Searching For Him...

After The Credits Roll, We Get The End Credits Scene Of The Film Which Shows Selvig Meeting With Nick Fury (Played Again By Samuel L. Jackson) Who Is Impressed By His Work With Jane Foster And Shows Him The Tesseract In Which He Needs His Help Adapting It In Someway...

Looking In A Mirror, We See That Loki Is Alive As He Puts Words In Selvig's Mouth...

This Film Is...Pretty Good...

Alot Of People Complain That This Is Just A Fish Out Of Water Story With Only Best Scenes Being In Asgard But Me, I Just Like This Movie, The Stuff With Thor And Loki And Thor And Jane Is Interesting And I Love The Fight Scenes, I Love The Warriors Three And Sif As Well As The Stuff With Darcy (I Know I'm Going To Get Alot Of Hate For This But I'm Sorry I Like The Character, I Thought Anthony Hopkins Was Good, I Thought Asgard Was Amazing As Well As The New Mexico Setting, It Was Just A Good Film And I Say See It...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

[artificialqueens]

What Happens At Dragcon... (2-4/?) (Biadore) - Miss Alyssa Secret

Yesterday’s one-shot continues with Roy’s adventures on the DragCon floor leading up to Adore’s performance. Except, Roy has to make it out of the dressing room first (without running into Trixie and Katya).  Raja works  her magic, we meet some shippers, and Adore plays dirty.  Also?  Danny likes to take photos during sex…

Chapter One

Read full work on AO3

A/N: Continued by popular demand!  There will be at least two more chapters after this, possibly more.  Tongue in cheek references completely intended. - MAS

********

Chapter Two

“There.”

Roy set down the brushes and leaned back in satisfaction, nodding decisively.  It had taken the better part of the remaining seven minutes to repair the damage done to Adore’s makeup, particularly the lipstick smeared from nose to chin and his thumbprints in the foundation lining her jaw.  He probably could have fixed it in half the time, but her stolen kisses and wandering hands were making it exceedingly difficult to concentrate.  Those same hands gripped his waist when he went to stand, keeping him firmly seated straddling her lap.  

“..‘Dore…” he murmured, tucking a stray bobby pin back under her wig, “You need to get back out there.”

She stubbornly ignored his attempts to catch her attention, fondling his semi-hard dick and sucking the leaking wetness off of her fingers.  He could feel her erection rubbing against the underside of his balls as she rocked in the chair, and it was a struggle not to give in.  

“Hey.“  Roy gently gripped her wrists, lacing their fingers together between their chests.  “I don’t want to either, but, yeah.”

Danny stared back from behind Adore’s makeup, longing and frustration written across her face. 

“Fuck.  I know.”

“It’s just a few more hours,” he soothed, kissing the knuckles of both hands before pushing himself to his feet.  This time, she let him stand, pulling her up as well.  The stiff gold fabric of her pants would hide the evidence, but he was going to need a few more minutes before he could re-button the shorts.

“Go on, I need to fix this.”

She caught his shoulders as he went to turn back to the makeup cases.  

“Nah, you just look like me after making out with fans.“  Her grin was lopsided, tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth.  "Leave it, yeah?”

“Only for you.” He rolled his eyes dramatically but couldn’t hide the affectionate smile.

They both froze as footsteps passed too close by for comfort, and Roy nudged her gently towards the curtain.

“Runway."  Adore pressed their mouths together one last time, lips still sticky with his pre-come.  "Don’t be late."  

********

Chapter Three

Sneaking back out of the dressing room was exponentially more complicated than sneaking in.  They’d fortuitously picked a time when most of the queens were at their booths or out on the floor, but now they were starting to stream back in for touch ups and costume adjustments.

Roy peeked through the sliver of space between the curtain and divider, mentally tabulating the number of times the door opened and footsteps passed in or out.  A few feet away, Katya was doing what sounded like gymnastics against the other side of the partition while Trixie took a call from what was probably her boyfriend.  

He needed to slip out of there before someone else came looking for Adore and found him there instead.  That would likely result in one of two things; either whomever it was would completely blow his cover, or worse, they wouldn’t recognize him at all and call for security or start whispering about Adore’s supposed behavior.  They might not have a neatly categorized relationship, but it was an open secret that any perceived deviation from would spread like herpes through the drag network.

Twisting the tattered T-shirt hem between his fingers, Roy was close to taking his chances with a dash for the door when the curtain snapped open in front of him.  

“Be right there!” Raja sounded completely nonchalant, waving Katya back around the corner.  Before he could say anything, Raja crowded him back into the small space, shutting the curtain again behind her.

“We’re heading back out.”  Trixie sounded like she was right outside, and he shrank back, ready to dive behind Adore’s oversized suitcase.  He’d always gotten on well with the life-sized Barbie and her faux-Russian shadow, but Roy really wanted to keep his visit for Danny only.  Well, as much as possible, given the exception fixing him with a bemused look.

“Adore asked me to get her phone charger,” Raja called back, “meet you guys on the floor after I get it, I don’t know how she finds anything in this mess.”

”Probably Bianca has labeled spares of everything.”  Trixie’s voice was laced with dry humor.  “C’mon Kat, Raja can catch up.”

As the door banged shut behind them, Raja pointed a long, elegant finger at his chest.

“I’m surprised, you know.  So unexpected, Adore must be rubbing off on you.”  She paused, the double entendre registering.  “Well, clearly, but really, I thought she was just going to pine away on social media.”

”Ummm…”  Raja was barely a year older, but in moments like this Roy felt unimaginably close to saying ‘sorry Mom.’

”Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”  The hand attached to the finger waved ephemerally.  “Just wasn’t expecting you to be living so dangerously.”  Her enigmatic smile softened the words, clearly meant as a tease.

”Thanks.”  

She tilted her head to the side, the tiny gold charms on her headpiece chiming quietly. A frown creased her forehead, and she seemed to be studying his face.  

”What?”

Raja dug into the open cases on the vanity, coming up with cream foundation and a contour shade.  Gripping his chin gently, she spun a brush between her fingers before doing…something to his face with deft strokes.  

“Much better.”

Roy was justifiably confident in his makeup skills, but being scrutinized by a legend like Raja was enough to make anyone nervous.

She turned him to face the mirror, and he did a double take.  Somehow, she’d altered the contour he’d drawn in to soften the sharpness of his jaw, nearly erasing the creases bracketing his mouth and making the bridge of his nose appear lower.  Without the dimples and aquiline nose, hiding the two most distinctive Bianca features meant that his chances of being recognized on sight alone were now vanishingly low.

”How?  I’ve never been able to…?”

”I can show you later.  It’s about the angle you’re painting from.”

He’d always had a healthy respect for Raja’s ability to paint others, but this was a firsthand demonstration of why Sutan had a successful career long before he ever set foot on RuPaul’s runway.

“Actually, Adore really did ask me to get her charger.  I don’t suppose you know where she keeps it?”

Without looking away, Roy reached for the Misfits backpack slung on the back of the chair, unzipping the outer pocket and handing the bundle of cord over.

Still smiling serenely, Raja leaned forward to kiss his cheek.  “Perfect.  I’ll make sure the coast is clear, then let’s get you out of here.”

********

Chapter Four

Roy prowled the convention floor, reveling in the anonymity of being buffeted by the crowds.  He thought back to the nearly two decades before Drag Race where his face was unrecognizable on Bourbon Street or at the Ritz, just another gay boy until he put on Bianca for the evening.  

The sense of nostalgia was short-lived though, as he nearly walked right into a mixed group of teenagers stationed outside one of the bathrooms.  They were oblivious, engrossed in whatever had them hunched together over their phones.  He was about to nudge his way past to get into the restroom when what they were saying caught his attention.

”…look, I’m not saying it means anything, but you can totally see how she’s liking Bianca’s posts!”  That was a skinny girl wearing an Adore tank top and flannel tied around her waist.

The boy on her left wielded his own phone like a holy text, waving it in front of her face.  “Yeah sure, but Bianca keeps calling different people ‘my good time gal’ and saying she loves them.  It’s not significant, obviously.”

Roy casually leaned on the wall a few feet away, back mostly turned as he pretended to fiddle with his own phone.

”But what about all of the ABCD tour photos?  The ones where they’re holding hands and the way they look at each other and all of the touching?”

”Well…”

”And Adore’s body language-!  She’s leaning on Bianca and-“

”Whatever.”  A third member of the group scoffed dismissively.  “Adore could do so much better than that.”

There was a collective gasp, air pressure dropping into negative territory as a full group of under-twenties held their breath.  The first and second suddenly allied themselves against a common foe.

”What the fuck?”

”I can’t believe you just-“

”Adore isn’t going to fuck your sorry ass, so you might as well shut up about Bianca.”

”-dumbass biadore shippers.”  The person turned on their heel and stalked off in the other direction.  Roy couldn’t decide if he should be amused or indignant, but finally settled on texting Adore himself.

Your fans are currently arguing about whether or not we love each other.  Also, if my balls strangle in these shorts I’m blaming you.

The delivered and read notifications immediately popped up, followed by the (…) typing notification.  

Adore’s response arrived a few seconds later and he nearly choked at the surge of lust the picture evoked.  

It was one Danny had taken a few weeks ago before Roy left for London.  That had been one of the last few days they’d been able to spend together with just the two of them, and somehow discussing their tour plans had turned into insatiable need for bare skin on skin.

The composition was skewed from the angle Danny had been holding his phone, but all of the details were clear.  In it, he was buried balls deep in Roy’s ass, hand yanking his head back by the hair as they fucked over the dresser in Roy’s bedroom.  The photo captured his shoulders at the bottom of the frame, and his face and Danny’s torso reflected in the mirror on the wall.  His mouth was hanging open, eyes glazed and hands braced against the edge of the dresser.  All of the things normally neatly arranged on top were overturned, swept aside in their haste.  

Roy tried to subtly adjust himself as he focused on the purpling love bites scattered across Danny’s chest and stomach, thinking of the whimpers of pleasure they’d accompanied.  He remembered Danny’s intense stare as they locked eyes in the mirror, remembered telling him to take a picture “because it’ll last longer”.  He’d intended to make Danny delete it, but had gotten distracted by rounds two and three that afternoon and evening.  

He moved to the restroom, locking himself in a stall and peeling down shorts and tights.  Palming his stiff cock, he took a picture of his own and sent it in reply.

Don’t tempt me, I’m already so fucking hard I could jerk off right here.

(…)

Prove it.

[theorangerangers]

24. hospital AU + Shattered Grid; Doctor K, Jason Scott, Lauren Shiba, Rita Repulsa, and Doggie Cruger

50 bullets lets go!

Dr. Kayla Karls or Dr.K is a Pediatrician and the youngest head of pediatrics the hospital has ever had

Nurse Grover has a better time getting children to tell him what’s wrong though so she often makes him ask the questions

Gem and Gemma are somehow her favorite residents to teach

K appreciates the straightforward nature of Dr.Dillion Grover but there were moments when she thinks he went into adolescence medicine just so he himself wouldn't have to stop being a grumpy teen

K and Kat get along like a wildfire about what their residents get up too and how it's like having even more kids around than they already do

Doggie and K do interact much but when they do Scott and Summer like to joke it's like hearing the most generic possible conversations from a text book about how to communicate patient care plans

Flynn like's that K and Doggie are predictable because predictable tends not to break the equipment that he as one of the resident medical technicians has to repair and then hear everyone's complaining about why he can't do it faster, He almost slapped Jason once for it, though in Jason's defense it was his first time asking. (just like the last seven people who asked)

K on first first day on the job was mistaken for a patient by Ziggy who asked her if her mother was around and where her hospital bracelet was. K set him straight so fast his head was spinning

K has been called nurse so many times and she respects what people like Floor manager Bulkmeier do but that's not what she does and she will have the doctorate she earned respected thank you very much

Lauren Shiba is a neurosurgeon like her father before her

K, Lauren, and Kat can and will throw hands with people who call them nurse and teach all those who come after them to do the same because it's just rude at this point

Jason is a podiatrist who’s working on getting a specialty in sports related injuries

Jason is slightly afraid of the hemotologists because of an encounter he had with Vida who he swears up and down was totally just drinking the blood samples

Rita works in the hospital administration

Rita’s husband Zed works in insurance

Doggie is a gynecologist

his work wife as they like to call her is Kat and she is a pediatric hematologist and he has had to hold her back from slapping people

Spike is the student nurse that often works with Lauren’s brother who is in his intern year of his surgery residency and sometimes she passes them a snack or two of she knows they have a 12 hour shift coming up and she’s headed home

Doggie and Kat are the doctors in charge of a gaggle of resident doctors that are all still learning the ropes along with their medical shadow Sam and nurse boom who dropped out of med school to be a nurse but is hoping to reapply

Kat knows Jason is scared of him and she sends Jack and Bridge to mess with him when they have free time. she does not need to send Vida, Vida finds her own time to do these things and even brings back videos

Jason like many young doctors fully believes that hematologists are vampires, not that there's anything wrong with that but he would rather they all stop staring at his veins with the nurses

Lauren isn’t actually a big fan of surgery or medicine in general she never really wanted to be a surgeon but it’s what she trained her whole life to do so she doesn’t know what else to do

she knows Mia is happier in her radiology residency and Serina has her own pediatrics practice outside of the hospital but she doesn't really know how to do medicne if its not hacking into someone to fix the problem

she is the classic story of parents forcing you to be a doctor only for you to become one and don't like it

Rita is almost always the one to announce budget cuts and takes a twisted sort of pleasure in walking all the doctors and nurses squirm as they think about how this will effect the patients with the least financial means

Rita is very proud her son wants to follow in his father's footsteps and work in health insurance

when they announce new regulations she loves to nit pit everything and everyone and generally make everyone's job just that much harder

Everyone has masted the dead inside professional smile to go and talk to her because it really sucks that bad

Rita despite was most people know about her is actually a licensed anesthetician and was under the wing of one of the older doctors at the time, zordon

she stays out of the operating room now but that doesn't mean she can't hang over Lauren, Jayden, and the others like a gallows tree while they operate and try to learn

It's hard for Jason who had also managed to end up under Zordon's wing to imagine what his mentor has seen in her

Kat Manx loved almost all children except for Rita's young son Thrax, who seemed to love to terrorize any other child he found in the hospital

Rita's foster children Tommy Oliver and Kat Hillards actually turned out to be a pair of very nice dentists that have a practice up the street from the hospital

Jason went to college with Tommy and Kat and find's their relatively young staff Hilarious if only because they now do to Tommy what Tommy used to do to him. though they were all pre dental students themselves

Jason doesn't understand how Tommy deals, with mentoring Connor, Kira, Ethan and Trent inside his own office until he ended up with Tyler, Shelby, Koda, and Riley. Koda being the odd man out since he was actually was actually specializing in disability care inspire by his own impediments rather than sports medicine

Jason would love it if nurse Chase Randell would stop making heart eyes at Riley and actually put the IV in

Jason sits with Kim when they're on break and she shows him funny pictures of her nephew Eric who was becoming a physical therapist that Jason did not have proof per se that he was Connor's long lost twin but totally could be

Lauren has a deal with the devil moment when she is offered to work for the country's biggest health insurance company from a connection she regrettably made while awkwardly talking to Zedd the Holiday party

Lauren tells no one of the offer, the choice is hers alone

K has been given plenty of different job offers over the years but she stays in medicine because that's where she can actively see the good being done

Doggie was an army doctor before he re-specialized

Jason is just fresh from residency and wants to pay his insane loans off

Medicine is a team effort and all of them get that but also moments where it's the end of a 24 hour shift and if one other person calls your name you may very well strangle them and K has only gotten away with it because she's still small enough to be able to wear light up sneakers from the kids section

during a secret Santa with a few of the departments was when she was actually given those light up shoes, and she almost slapped Dillon for it. Doggie can never let her find out it was him.

in Doggie's defense he had asked Bridge for advice about that gift and Bridge works in a dark room almost all day

Rita has recently taken Dillon's sister Tenaya Under her wing to aid in administrating Hospital accessibility and so far it's just been fixing typos on all of their brail signs and nit picking Koda's work

Doggie and Kat can tell with time Tenaya may end up worse than Rita who seems to be playing a long game

Most of them know Tommy and know he's the guy to figure out how to get around his mom, but they also remember the first time he saw Kim and then fell down like two flights of stairs so they get he's not super man.

Rita was not happy to be sent that video by Thrax who found Vida and Chip posted it on youtube since that took place in her hospital and could be a liability.

they all want the hospital to keep running and it will, there's a lot of people around and it's all about team work but then again when a code a black shakes up the hospital from Hurricane Drakkon everybody is doing everything they can to help anyone they can even if that means Rita's got to step back into the operating room with Lauren

bonus!

Jason and Lauren first met while watching a toe shortening surgery!

[archivestoriescrafted]

me:  *clears my throat,  and straightens up my papers so i look like a professional*  

i’m watching ‘the war without, the war within’,  and uh,  sit tight,  kids,  i have a lot of feelings.

first off,  we’ll start with headcanons revolving around kat’s recovery following being rescued from the ship of the dead.  sO,  for starters,  she definitely has to relearn how to walk  &&  is confined to a bio-bed for weeks.  since she’d been captured,  all of her codes  &&  logins are disabled bc.....  that’s definitely standard procedure during a war as high-stakes as the klingon war,  &&  with someone with clearance levels that generally exceed top-secret   (   since she’s practically the head of the front-lines fight   ).   in addition to that,  she undergoes rigorous psycho-therapy   (   despite the fact that she only takes it seriously to the most minor degree that would get her back to the front lines,  as i’ve stated before   ).   anyway,  there’s all this going on,  but all she really cares about at all is getting lorca removed from his command.  she is so entirely shaken by the whole ~pinned down with a phaser in her face~ debacle,  on tOP of the fact that by then she’s well aware that lorca had set her up with that summit with the klingons,  because he was so desperate that she not stop him he was willing to go to such extreme measures.

so,  flash forward a week or two,  where she’s doing some minimal walking   (   but spends most of her time confined to bed or a hoverchair   ),   &&  is finally cleared by her therapist to start receiving intel reports regarding the war   (   there’s a chance there’s coercion involved,  but she’ll never admit to it   ).   it’s clear to her almost immediately that the information she wants isn’t being included in the reports she’s getting,  so ofc she’s furious at that,   &&  calls up another admiral to just yell at them bc her top priority is finding out if her campaign to remove lorca from command was successful.  she’s hung up on,  which only further fans the flames of her fury,  but before long sarek shows up in person.  so she knows that’s a bad sign,  &&  he tells her about   (   the supposed   )   destruction of discovery,  because of course they’d send a vulcan so they’d be less affected by the predicted emotional outburst that definitely came.  

because it was her fault.  she’d suspected something was wrong from early on,  when a recklessness she hadn’t before seen in him began appearing in his reports,   &&  in the reports of his officers.  she should’ve done something then,  &&  now they’d lost their only real fighting chance against the klingons  ---  due to her own personal feelings and sentimentality.  and suddenly the klingons have the upper hand.  &&  she fights like hell to complete her physical therapy,  &&  be cleared for duty.  it takes only another week,  though she’s warned about pushing too hard   (   this is where my headcanon about lasting damage comes in,  because some of the repairs to her brain  &&  nerve receptors following being paralyzed by the power relay on the klingon ship just didn’t fully take due to her pushing beyond her own limits,  &&  not reporting the returning effects  &&  complications to her doctors because she didn’t want to be pulled from the front lines again,  not when she was so sorely needed following the loss of discovery   ).

&&  she’s right.  the fatalities skyrocket.  within months,  1/3 of the fleet’s been destroyed.  hundreds of thousands of lives,  both starfleet and civilian,  are lost.  &&  she can’t stop blaming herself,  irrational as it might sound.  so she fights harder.  works longer.  pushes herself far beyond her own limits,  despite the protests of those around her.  of course,  none of them know how bad it is.  most of the time,  she’s able to hide it well.  she’s spent decades in the mental health field,  and knows just what to do to hide things from people.  it’s,  perhaps,  a skill she’d never truly appreciated before she needed it so desperately.

truly,  she’s nearly at the end of what she can take when a report comes through.  she’s resigned to the fact that it’s likely to report the loss of another starbase,  or the decimation of another colony  ---  but it’s not.  discovery’s back on their sensors,  &&  the intel nearly knocks her off her feet.  now maybe,  finally,  she can get some justice.  it’ll be too late,  but it’ll be something.  she’ll get lorca stripped of his rank,  and charged with whatever crimes she can make stick.  that is  ---  if discovery’s crew are still alive.  if she hasn’t been coopted by klingons,  as she’s been warned it may have.

she’s lucky it’s a relatively good day,  &&  that the crew of the ship she’s taken command of are so quick on their feet.  it’s only a matter of hours until they’re at discovery’s location,  &&  it feels dreamlike for a moment,  until she realizes that it can’t.  she has to be at the top of her game in this moment,  even if she has to endure some meltdown later   (   whether out of relief or the guilt she’s been in such a heated race with for nine months now finally catching up with her   ).   sarek’s sure it’s an overreaction,  her insistence that she have her phaser primed  &&  ready despite the security team clearing the bridge for their arrival.  she disagrees,  &&  there’s something about the look in her eye that makes him back off.  

katrina’s so caught up in the fact that she’ll finally get closure that she doesn’t stop to consider the fact that he may not even be there.  of course,  there’s always the option lingering that the ship may be full of klingons,  but it never occurs to her that gabriel lorca may just.....  be gone.  adrenaline’s coursing through her veins as the transporter lands them on discovery’s bridge,  &&  she’s immediately demanding someone disclose gabriel’s location.  but they’re more concerned with knowing what’s happening   (   &&  if she weren’t feeling so single-minded,  she might understand that   ).   instead,  she initiates a command-level override of all ship’s functions,  feeling some security in the fact that she’s in charge now.  no matter what,  lorca’s not getting this ship back.  she’ll fight tooth and nail to make sure of that   (   it’s possible nine months,  in addition to her time as a prisoner of war,  have only fueled her vendetta  ---  but she’ll buck up and seek therapy after the war’s done   ).   

then she learns he’s dead.

then she learns her gabriel’s likely been dead for well over a year now.

&&  suddenly she doesn’t know what to feel.  does she let the guilt come crashing down?  does she allow relief to flood over her,  despite the fact that it doesn’t feel like she’s earned it?  does she,  somehow,  let it go?

frankly,  she’s not sure she knows how to do any of those things.  not anymore.

[luctheletterweaver]

Fight or Flight Symphonia Side - Second Fragment

This second fragment was a slightly modified version of Kat's original writing.

Important note: EN isn't my original language. This is mostly unedited before being published by Kat.

This one appears in Ch 14, when Genis is arrested by the Papal Knights.

Word count: 600

Genis is a half-elf

There went their chance to save Colette. Lloyd’s attempt to repair a Key Crest they found at Sybak’s plaza didn’t work. Their only alternative was going back to Sylvarant, but how? Furthermore, with Zelos there, the Church would find out immediately about their plan.

However, their first encounter and short time with the Chosen of Tethe’alla was enough for Genis to learn a few things, like his selfless kindness to young girls. No matter how much Colette and Presea didn’t react to his quips or flirtations, Zelos always kept an eye out for them. The guy had a good thing or two among all his awful qualities.

Using that, Genis and Lloyd convinced Zelos of keeping quiet and even helping them find information from the academy researchers. His status would be useful for this. What they weren’t counting on was someone else monitoring them besides Zelos.

Papal Knights bursted from the halls and surrounded them. The leader ordered them restrained, except Colette for obvious reasons. While they did that, Genis heard Zelos and the Papal Knight arguing. From what he could gather, the Church of Tethe’alla wasn’t fully united and it was clear the Pope wanted Zelos out of the way. Power hungry human, just like the rest of them. Then the leader told the other knights to get samples. Samples of what?

“Criminals undergo biological tests before they are arrested,” Zelos explained, his voice full of disgust at being manhandled. “It’s because of the caste system here.”

Genis’ heartbeat accelerated. It couldn’t be…

“Some half-elves don’t look any different from humans.”

No, no, no… Genis tried to slip out of the restraint, but the grip of the Papal Knight was too strong for him. He felt the device come close to his skin, Genis deduced it was to get a person’s mana reading. There was nowhere to hide.

"S-sir! We found a match."

Genis lowered his chin in shame. Of course they did. Searching for the mix of human and elven blood would yield a positive match in his veins.

"Genis?" Lloyd asked. His eyes carried concern and worry.

What should he say? Yeah, Lloyd! We've been half-elves all along, didn't we tell you? That would go over well. All he could do was apologize with his eyes.

"This pathetic half-elf has engaged in shameless caste deception. It is punished by death. Take him away."

One of the guards clapped shackles on Genis' wrists. Without struggle, he followed.

"Wait! You can't just—"

“Lloyd,” Zelos stopped him.

"I'm sorry, Lloyd," Genis said before the guards led him out into the street. There's no more hiding it, and this time, he'd pay for his deception with his life.

Now knowing this, however, Genis grew even more worried about Raine. There hadn't been any sign of her anywhere, not that they've been able to search far, but if these humans in Tethe'alla had a way to determine who was half-elf and who was not, it certainly wouldn't be long before they realized what she was, too. Had they already, perhaps, found her? And worse… executed her?

Disconcerting even more, he was all alone now. Not even Raine or Lloyd were with him, and each step felt numbered. The first time they'd crossed the bridge together felt like forever, but this time, it couldn't extend far enough. He knew, at the end of it was Meltokio and the last place he would ever see. His last sight would be humans praising Martel for his death.

Raine… he cried silently as he walked, a Papal knight at either side. What do I do?