#see. on the other fic i did i had the general concept down before the actual scenes and dialogue

[obbystars]

Encounter Nihilism

Synopsis: “Just because they don’t have any eyes doesn’t mean they don’t have other senses. Come on, you should know that by now.” Z-13 (Sebastian Solace)

Notes: Not exactly a Sebastian Solace x Reader fic but you can read it as such / read When Light Fades before reading this / Reader deaths, nothing too angsty though / Sebastian being an asshole (and we love him for it) / Experimental deaths + cutting off limbs / Brief angst at the end / may be a tad bit shorter than my usual (it bothers me)

Credits: dividers by @cafekitsune

(Is it obvious this is self indulgent? I really love When Light Fades, super proud of it. I haven’t decided if I’m gonna take this concept and use it for an OC yet, but oh boy, it’s getting strong. Anyway, this fic’s meant to explore more on the reader featured in When Light Fades while also continuing to experiment with Sebastian’s character.)

As you swam to the next door, you hear strange noises coming from the other side. It’s not the Good People, they can’t come into the flooded rooms. It doesn’t sound like an angler either. You continued forward and the next door slid open. Your eyes widened at the sight of the creature on the other side as it looked at you.

Panicked, you try to climb into a locker. You don’t make it in time as you feel its tentacles wrap around your head to crush your diving mask, but that isn’t what kills you. The creature manages to trick the operator behind the PDG by attempting to remove it, causing immediate detonation.

You woke up with a gasp in an all too familiar room.

“I heard that,” Sebastian leans on his hand as his lure flickers on, “What’d you run into this time… Ah,”

You looked down as he slides over the document. An image of the creature you encountered is shown and beside it was another photo that was redacted. Maybe in another death you’ll see what that other photo is.

Nihilism was the codename Urbanshade had given it. A lot of the text within the first page was left redacted, and only a few lines were on the second page were visible.

“If by chance any operative encounters Z-8 within any flooded rooms, it is advised to remain still and turn off any light source currently in possession. Wait for Z-8 to pass.”

That was the only line you were able to read. Sebastian begins to tap his finger against the desk. You sit back and he takes that as the signal you’re done, but it’s not like you read much anyway.

He sighs as he closes the document, “Think of if as Red Light, Green Light. Surely you’ve played that game before,”

��Ugh, this feels worse than Pandemonium…” you groaned, leaning on the table.

“Pretend you’re a corpse floating in the water. That should be pretty easy for you, yeah? I mean, you have died quite a lot,”

“Screw you…”

Upon your next life, you find yourself in the trench tunnels about 20 doors in. It was an area in Hadal Blacksite you despised since it showed you that the anglers can attack from the front. You stepped out of the locker once the angler passed by and turned on your flashlight. There’s no squiddles in this room so you decided to look through the drawers for anything useful.

In the corner of your eye, you swear you saw something moving in the dark water. It wasn’t the Eyefestation as you didn’t see a green glow. Instead, it was Z-8. You freeze once you finally realized it, and you clicked your flashlight off. They looked like they were just passing by, but they suddenly turned to look at your general direction. Did they somehow sense you turning it off?

“Are you alive?”

You actually freeze up this time. It was a voice inside your head, but it wasn’t like Eyefestation where it tried to mimic the voice of the person in the PA. This was its own voice.

“I can sense you there,”

You start taking shallow breaths, almost resorting to holding it.

“Don’t worry. I can’t reach you. But when I do, it’s not personal,” it continues, “We’re both fighting for what we want, right? Freedom from this place?”

You try to not listen, thinking it’s only try to persuade you into meeting up with it. Maybe even striking up some sort of deal.

“I wish this wasn’t how we met, but I owe Sebastian. This is my favor to him,” its tone suddenly changes, “We can’t let you get that crystal,”

“…they owe Sebastian?” You whispered to yourself.

The Eyefestation suddenly emerges from the dark, and Z-8 swims out of her way as her eyes turned red. A new voice cried inside your head, pleading for you to look into its eyes. The next thing you knew, you were back in the room with Sebastian who stifled a laugh as he slides over the document to you. You had questions concerning what Z-8 had said, but maybe now’s not the right time to ask.

“For unknown reasons, Z-8 is somehow able to communicate with Z-317 “The Eyefestation.” Should operatives see Z-8 outside the windows, or hear its voice, DO NOT LISTEN and keep moving forward as they cannot reach you. They have already called “The Eyefestation” and are trying to keep you in the room.”

Sebastian closes the document, still trying to keep himself from laughing, “A tag-team! Who would’ve thought, huh?”

You rolled your eyes, “I can’t believe that’s how I died,”

“Like a deer in headlights,” he smirks as he leans closer, “Happens to all of us, but man, I thought you’d be used to seeing that shark considering the amount of times you looked at her,”

“She just startled me! I’d love to look at her if she wasn’t able to kill me just by making me look at her,” you shrugged, “She is a beautiful shark,”

Sebastian gives you an odd look and groans, “Get out of here already,”

“Fair enough,”

The next few deaths to Z-8 were more of trial and error. In your most recent death, you learned the hard way that Z-8 does not like the flash beacon and did not hesitate to detonate your PDG. You felt like it was a strange reaction considering it took them a moment to even react when you used any other light source.

“Got grabbed again, did ya?” Sebastian laughed.

He then slides the document to you, now revealing the entire document with some text still left redacted. Some documents contained those, such as his own, and you learned to stop caring about it. At least it wasn’t like the Multi-Monster. Previously redacted photo was now uncovered. A person whose face was obscured.

Z-8 - Codename: Nihilism. Real name: ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇

In early 2011, five LR-Ps were selected to be a part of an experiment to achieve immortality. Out of the five selected, only Z-8 survived the first round of tests. Z-9, Z-10, Z-11, and Z-12 all succumbed to different effects as each subject was given a different dosage. Although Z-8 survived, they were not immune to the effects their dosage brought. As a result, the experiment was left on hold until researchers found a better source to reach the desired goal.

By 2013, the experiment resumed using the immortal jellyfish as originally planned along with the mimic octopus, the ▇▇▇, and ▇▇▇▇. Z-8 was used again for the next test and hasn’t experienced any side effects on the first day. Two days later, a guardsman escorting Z-8 noticed they have been stumbling and bumping into the walls. On the seventh day, Z-8 had gone completely blind. However, it has been noted that Z-8 is capable of sensing where there is light and where someone is even if they are not moving.

Z-8 soon began to struggle walking and can’t seem to have a tight grip. It didn’t take very long for them to lose all feeling in their arms and legs. They were still able to move their torso as well as their head. They were still capable of speech, but Z-8 has been refusing to talk.

Z-8 was meant to be executed due to the state they were in, but thirty minutes after their heart seemingly stopped, it soon started to beat again. They wake up an hour later as if they had just taken a nap with all of their memories still intact, but Z-8 still cannot see and still cannot walk or move their arms. This resulted in having to move Z-8’s location into a more suitable cell for testing.

Z-8 has endured 5 deaths before changes in their body started becoming clear. Shortly after, testing and studying the regenerative properties Z-8 should have began. Due to poor execution during the procedures, Z-8 ended up enduring 7 more deaths. By the 4th death, a new side effect to Z-8’s resurrection was noted. Upon death, coral (polyps) begins to form on their body.

Their body soon takes the form of a humanoid jellyfish, leading to having to relocate them again. Z-8 no longer turns to others when they are near until they shine a light. The behavior they show gives the impression they like the light and often try to follow it, sometimes moving their head or even their entire body.

Z-8 will then be used to study the regenerative properties further until it can be refined in a way that is desirable.

Before the lockdown was in effect, Z-8 was going to be sold at The Anomalous Auctions as Z-8 had been deemed of no monetary value, nor can be used for work. 5 hours into the lockdown, camera footage caught Z-13 transporting Z-8 to an unknown location.

If by chance any operative encounters Z-8 within any flooded rooms, it is advised to remain still and turn off any light source currently in possession. Wait for Z-8 to pass.

DO NOT move as Z-8 can sense you nearby, but they can’t differentiate between a corpse and a living person until you move.

Turn off any and all light sources in your possession as Z-8 can sense it and become curios. Your window to turn it off is narrow, but it’s still wide enough to not raise their suspicion.

There is a chance where operatives may find Z-8 roaming in a dark flooded room with S-Q. If the room prior has lights on, Z-8 will go into that room. It is safe to move in the dark room as Z-8 cannot tell the difference between you and the S-Q.

For unknown reasons, Z-8 is somehow able to communicate with Z-317 “The Eyefestation.” Should operatives see Z-8 outside the windows, or hear its voice, DO NOT LISTEN and keep moving forward as they cannot reach you. They have already called “The Eyefestation” and are trying to keep you in the room.

Unlike Z-13, operatives are instructed to contain Z-8 as it is impossible for the subject to stay dead.

You’re not exactly sure what to say to all of this. Sebastian is being much quieter than usual too, not even closing the document when you sat back. You look up at him, building up the courage to speak.

“So that’s what they meant when they said they owe you…”

“They don’t owe me anything,” his voice lowered into a growl, “It was their choice to stay much like that shark,”

You look down at the document again and sighed, “Kinda feels like there’s much more than that,”

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

You sighed again as you stood up to leave. Sebastian watches you go and looks back down at the document, then closes it without another word.

[sinners-go-to-drink-the-wine]

Hide-n-Seek

Pairing: Jake Kiszka x Reader Word Count: 3.9 K CW: 18+, minors DNI. (spoilers) fake weapons, tight spaces, alcohol consumption, minor character minor injury, some steaminess, but no smut (in this part). {Author Commentary: Here's my (belated) Halloween party fic! I hope it can offer a pleasant distraction. Here's an 80s/90's music playlist I listened to, to give the party vibes. I still ended up writing myself into a part two, oops. I hope you all find this brief trip (back) in the closet enjoyable. (tell me you laughed.)}

“Because the 80s just understood horror. The 80s were the HIGHT of horror-”

“Josh might argue that with you, but I see the vision…”

You stood next to your friend at her kitchen island, looking out at the gaudy Halloween decor expertly placed in every corner, and along every wall. The atmosphere was made complete by a series of alternating colored lights, and scattered light-up decorations, beaming through the generally dark apartment, -and a booming 80s rock/ballad playlist. It really did feel like a movie.

Because you’d had work that day, you’d arrived a bit later than some, but not the majority. Some friends had arrived early to set up, and others to help each other finish assembling their costumes. The energy was immaculate as you’d strutted in in your costume. The lights were already down, the music loud, and your friends had turned from pouring their drinks in the kitchen to greet you jovially, and squeal in support as you gave a twirl.

A ‘Huntress’ was the title you’d officially given your costume, though it wasn’t based on a particular franchise character, just a high fantasy concept you liked. You’d landed on a long, dark green dress, with high, high slits up both thighs, a fitted bodice, and draped sleeves that hung around your arms in a goddess-esque fashion leaving your shoulders bare. Of course, the key accessory was a faux gold archer’s bow that you wore over your shoulder, cross-body style, and a quiver of arrows ‘-a clever disguise for a purse-’ , all complimented by your smokey metallic eyeshadow, delicate gold hair jewelry, and body chains. You loved Halloween, and your friends knew to expect nothing less than an all-out costume. 

You’d joined them in the kitchen to secure your first drink of the night. As you were laughing along and adding a silly eyeball candy and gummy worm garnish to your drink. Another gaggle of people exited the bathroom down the hall. Amid the mixed chatter you heard Jake’s distinctive soft rasp, laughing in mock distress “no, really- I think it’s enough- please let me go free- this outfit doesn’t even require makeup-” and a responding laugh “Yeah, but of all the days to wear makeup- how could you deny me??” Your other friend, a big makeup enthusiast, and nothing short of an artist, followed him down the hall, giving him a playful shove. 

The group all ended up in the kitchen, to refresh their drinks. “Oh yay!!” they welcomed your new presence, and you mutually geeked over each others’ costumes. “You two!” The host jokingly huffed, gesturing with her raised glass between you and Jake, who was in the corner, filling a flask he’d pulled from his pocket, avoiding the swarm of welcomes, “Leave it to you two to go the hardest, in your own fucking direction.” You and Jake took in each other’s costumes, laughing along. They were certainly of a similar genre, and in sharp contrast to the general decor. 

His knight costume consisted of a shiny silver gorget and pauldrons, adorning his chest and shoulders, and a chainmail mesh top that barely covered his midriff. One of his beloved swords was secured by a leather belt on top of his dark, drapey, high-waisted trousers which were cuffed just over his signature boots. Your eyes made their way back up, smirking again at his midriff, before properly seeing his eyes. They had the faintest smudge of charcoal grey concentrated around his water line, expertly blended out by your friend to be almost unnoticeable, blending seamlessly to the faintest shift of iridescence around his eyes and the highlights of his face. It didn’t even register as makeup, alongside his already distinguished features, and long half-waved hair, it simply enhanced his mystical aura, making him look like a character from a fantasy game. 

He grinned after giving you another once over while screwing the top on his flask and slipping it in his pocket.

“Damn, maybe I should’ve let her go full smokey eye on me, if im up against you” He made his way around the kitchen island to properly greet you in a half-hug, careful not to spill the drink in your hand. 

“Hmm, are you sure you’d want to compete with me?” You narrowed your eyes in a playfully challenging way.

His smirk twisted to the side before he deftly slipped your drink from your hand and took a sip. 

“Mm. Wouldn’t dream of it.” 

He returned the drink to you, drying his mustache with his free hand before giving your arm a final squeeze with the other and following the crowd to the living room. You laughed and shook your head, turning back to your friend who was hosting. 

“Damn, he’s really dialed up to 11 tonight.” You chuckled, glancing back towards him before making your way to the buffet covered with snacks. Your friend just raised her eyebrows and smirked at your turned back. You stocked up a little plate of snacks before the two of you went to find a comfy seat among your friends in the living room as the apartment filled with people.

Several hours, and many rounds of drinks later, you were sat in an armchair, almost falling over the arm in an enthused conversation with a friend of a friend you had recently bonded with over an underrated album preference ‘-and a decent level of tipsyness.’

You paused as you heard a group of people enthusiastically cheering. You looked up at the group as the host stepped toward the middle of the living room.

“Ok, party people! Who’s ready… for Hide-n-Seek?”

Normally getting a group of adults to play Hide-n-Seek would be a hard sell, but the energy in the room was just right, and loud cheers could be heard from around the apartment. The host announced she’d be seeking first, and that would be starting “riiiigghhhhht.. Now.” with a clap of her hands and som gleeful shrieks, people began darting around. The apartment was nice, thanks to her success in the arts. It had multiple floors, and even guest rooms, perfect for a game like this. You giggled to yourself after waving to the person you’d been talking to and scurrying off to find a spot. You made your way upstairs, as many others had. At the third and final landing, facing down the hallway of the smaller third floor, you saw a double-door closet but walked right by it. ‘Wayyy too obvious.’

You passed a bathroom and heard some muffled giggling. You made your way to the spare bedroom at the end of the hall. You opened it and instantly heard a yelp. You quickly stepped back into the hall, slammed the door closed in front of you, sparing the blur of two people, that had apparently been making out in the room. You backed away from the door, giggling and covering your reddening face. “So sorry!”, you called before making your way back down the hall. The seeker’s countdown was already nearly over, causing you to quickly settle for the closet.

You suddenly realized your drink was still on the coffee table in the living room. However, ywour thoughts of sneaking down to get it were cut short. You heard footsteps climbing the stairs, and you instantly felt crestfallen, knowing it was likely the seeker, and of course, if they came to this floor they’d be checking the closet first. You found yourself holding your breath as the footsteps approached. One of the doors creaked open, and you were ready to let out a defeated groan when a finger pressed softly to your lips. Your eyes widened as a grinning Jake stepped in. He effectively backed you into the other half of the closet as he hastily pulled the door closed behind him. Your brow creased in annoyance as you realized what was happening. You pulled his hand away, removing his shushing finger from your lips as you whispered indignantly; 

“Jake, this is my hiding spot.”

“Yeah I’m kinda surprised by that, actually, it seems kinda too obvious to be your first choice…”, he whispered, still grinning at you. You rolled your eyes, “And what? Were you too busy batting your eyelashes at someone to secure a better spot?” you snarked back at him. His eyes narrowed curiously, his smirk remaining.

“I was gonna ask what could’ve possibly stopped you from getting a good spot, but now I’m much more curious about that little statement… Why does the thought of me flirting with someone ruffle your feathers so much?”

Your face reddened, thankfully he couldn’t see it in this lighting, right? You didn’t want to validate his implication with a response. 

“Did you at least fill your flask before coming to commandeer my hiding spot?”

He smiled at you devilishly, reaching into his pants pocket and pulling it out. He unscrewed the top before handing it to you.

“How chivalrous” You took a sip, your eyes taking him in before meeting his smirk with a challenging one. “Tell me, was it customary for knights to wear eyeliner?”

“Hazards of the side gig,” he joked, “something of a habit I picked up on the last tour… and a lot of warriors historically wore face markings and stuff…” 

He unsheathed his prop sword, resting the dulled tip on the floor, striking a knightly pose; chin held high, his lips pursed slightly in the same way they often did when he was playing, and his chest puffed exaggeratedly. You giggled slightly, covering your own mouth to stifle it.

He smiled down at you, satisfied that he’d made you laugh. He let his eyes run down you slowly in the dim light. 

“And for …Archers…?” 

You were about to correct him but you inhaled abruptly as he skimmed the cool flat side of the blade along the exposed side of your upper thigh.

“Is this… ‘customary’?” His voice was still low and soft as his eyes trailed the tip of the blade.

You swallowed, looking down at the blade. His eyes flitted to yours. “It’s a prop sword, it’s not sharp, you can touch it.” He assured you. You hadn’t been worried about that, but still, the invitation intrigued you. You reached down and lifted the the tip of the sword, experimentally pressing the pad of your thumb to the thin, but inevitably dull edge.

“Hmh.”

You lifted it to your eye line, inspecting the dulled tip before pressing the pad of your thumb over it. 

“Careful now…” His voice was hushed and deep. His warm hand rested over yours, gently prying your fingers off the blade. He chuckled at you as his other hand sheathed his sword. You retrieved your hand, clearing your throat as you adjusted the string of your bow. 

“Just had to verify, I do have the superior weapon.” You shrugged one shoulder matter-of-factly.

“Pardon?” He raised an eyebrow at you, tilting his head in a challenging manner. 

You smirked, deciding to push it. “Not just in prop form,either. Swords have no range, they’re only good if you want to walk right up to your opponent.” 

“And what’s that bow gonna do for you when there’s someone right in front of you?” 

The two of you had grown closer, “Hmh, I don’t know, I’m pretty good with my hands. …And legs.” Your leg swung around to playfully hook the back of your calf around his. To your surprise his warm, calloused hand caught your leg under the knee, hiking it up so your leg hooked around his hip. The silky fabric of your skirt slid back, parting fully and leaving your entire upper thigh exposed. You’d reached for him as your balance wavered. One of your hands had grasped the back of his neck, the other landing on his waist -half of your palm met the fine chainmail, half met his warm, soft skin. He was already holding you steady though. His other arm had wrapped around you, holding the small of your back. 

“Jake- ‽” you gasped in surprise.

Your faces are now inches apart. The sound of each other's breaths become the only audible thing. A streak of golden orange light from between the double doors illuminated a segment of his face; a fanned dark eyelash, a golden streak in his deep brown iris, the peak in the bridge of his nose, and the seemingly permanent upward curl in the corner of his full lips.

“fuck-” it escaped you in a hushed exhale, though not for entirely the same reason you'd previously been whispering. Jake's head tilted ever so slightly as he took in your reaction. You gathered your wits before he could open his mouth to say anything.

“Jake. We’d be heard.” -‘Certainly not a circumstance you'd ever thought you'd have to voice that sentiment to someone.’

His smile widened, as you confirmed what you’d been considering. He pivoted smoothly till your back was pressed against the back wall of the surprisingly shallow closet. As he leaned in to speak close to your ear the side of his face brushed yours, so, so, tantalizingly.

“You don’t think you could stay quiet? Is that all you’re worried about?”

As he spoke lowly, his thumb began trailing back and forth across your thigh. A suppressed but undeniably desperate whine sounded from you. 

“If I recall,” his hand had started gliding up the back of your thigh, “you’re particularly competitive…” his grip tightened slightly, gripping the fullest part of your thigh, “and you love a challenge…”

His words trailed off as he inhaled your scent and slowly exhaled, his warm breath cascading down your neck. Your hand that had held the back of his neck now found his jaw. You urgently lifted his head so you could finally press your lips to his. God, his lips were like nirvana, full and soft, and fervently melding with yours as he kissed you.

Your hand gripped his side, pressing the chainmail into his skin momentarily before you adjusted your grip to sink your nails into the lush curve of his waist unobstructed. He hummed against your lips as his hips pressed harder into yours. Your bow pressed sharply into your upper back but didn’t register as a problem. His hand that was still resting on your lower back kept it from the wall, furthering the sweet pressure of his hips against yours.

You’d just pulled your lips from his to take a desperate breath when suddenly a tumbling crash and an obscene exclamation came from the stairs.

You both jumped apart as your heads whipped around. By the sound of it, someone had fallen down the top flight of stairs. Instinctively you both stepped through the doors to go help your friend. As you peered down the stairs, the bathroom and bedroom doors down the hall both opened and your friends poured out of their hiding spots to see what had happened.

You and Jake had made your way to the landing, urgently attempting to assist your friend who’d landed on the second floor. A gaggle of people had gathered around as they’d made their way up and down the respective staircases to the landing. Several voices called out asking what had happened, and if everyone was ok. Someone had paused the music so you called out “It’s ok, we’ve got her.” Your friend had tried waving you off saying it wasn’t bad, that she’d just slipped on a portion of the string lights that were woven between the balusters. You refused, asserting that you were going to get her some ice as soon as she got downstairs. After she’d stood up and waivered from a clear pain in her ankle, Jake eventually convinced her to let him help her down the stairs.

You watched him shift his belt so his sword was out of the way and he stooped to lift her -her arm around his shoulder, and her legs draped across his arm. He made his way slowly and steadily down the stairs. The colored lights glinted off the armor still adorning his shoulders, and his hair that fluttered behind him as he descended. ‘He really is a knight in shining armor…’. You snapped back to reality as you all got to the ground floor and Jake swiftly turned towards the couch. You headed to the kitchen and got a soft ice pack before hurrying back to the living room. Jake had set her on the couch and she was chatting and giggling with the people gathering around.

The crowd parted for you and gradually people dispersed to other areas of the room as the music started up again and the party resumed. You knelt by the couch, gingerly resting the pack on her ankle. You looked at her and shook your head with a light laugh. “Do you have an ace bandage or something? This is gonna need some compression unless you want your ankle to swell up. ” She sighed exasperatedly, not one to accept doting. “Yeah, it’s in the bathroom cabinet.” You glanced over your shoulder at Jake, who’d stepped aside for you to apply the ice pack. “Can you grab it? And an aspirin or aleve or something.” Jake nodded and headed off.

When you looked back at your friend her eyes were locked on you. Knowingly. She broke out into giggles as you looked around curiously.

“You know… I wouldn’t judge if the two of you wanted to slip out early.”

“--What?” You practically spluttered.

“You. And Jake.” She stated she stated with a self-assured grin.

The question of how she knew formed on your face, but before you could ask she pointed to your thigh. “It left a mark.” You looked down and saw a wide pink stripe across your exposed thigh, mirroring where Jake’s sheath had pressed into it while you were against the wall. Your face instantly heated up. 

“That and the tension is THICK, tonight, like even worse than usual.”

“Usual?”

She gave you a deadpan look before chuckling again. Jake had returned with an ankle wrap, a bottle of painkillers, and a cup. “Here we are.” He handed the wrap to you with a quick smile before handing her the cup and opening the bottle, beginning to shake two pills into the cap. “Ooh, a drink?” she took it before looking into the cup and frowning. Jake just chuckled “That’s called water.” You chuckled as you gently wrapped her ankle, and secured the end. She took the pills from the cap in his outstretched hand and downed them with the water before holding the cup up to him “Now can you get us a real drink, pretty please?” 

He pursed his lips, glancing at you. You nodded and he bowed his head with a pursed smirk. “Alright, what d’you each want?” “Something strong, whatever inspires you when you get to the kitchen,” she waved him off as he chuckled and shook his head, heading for the kitchen. 

The moment he was out of earshot she locked in on you again. “I’m serious, you should give it a chance. I’ll be fiiinnne. I’ll find someone to help me to bed, -you should have him help you to bed- ” You scoffed and swatted her leg as she giggled. “Uegh, that was bad.” “Yeah, yeah, …but you’re thinking about it.” You sighed exaggeratedly. She reached for your hand and gave it a squeeze. “He’s a good one. Gallant. Noble.“, you both giggled before she continued in a genuine tone, ”And not just as a knight. I’ve known him a while, this isn’t even the first time he’s saved my ass. If you’re interested, you should go for it.” You chewed on your lip as Jake rounded the corner of the couch. He handed your friend her drink, then you yours, smiling down at you. 

“How’s our patient?” 

You couldn’t help but smile back at him. Your friend’s knee nudged you and your eyes snapped back to see hers smirking over her cup at you as she took a sip. You took a gulp of your drink -strong but sweet, perfectly blended as usual- and stood off the couch.  

“She’ll be fine.”

You took Jake’s hand and abruptly started towards the door. You could hear your friend giggling into her cup. He fell into step with you without question, despite the slight bewilderment in his face.

“-Where…?”

“We’re leaving.“ 

“Oh- good.”

You set your cup on a random surface as you grabbed your bag from the hooks in the front hall. You turned to see Jake taking a large black corduroy jacket from the front hall closet. He curled a finger around the string of your bow. “May I…?” You nodded and ducked your head as he lifted it up and off of you. You held it as he placed his jacket around your shoulders. Your eyes gleamed up at him as he straightened the collar.

“Did you drive here or-?”

“Yep.” he nodded.

“And are you…?”

He chuckled, “Yeah, I’m good to drive.”

As he closed the passenger door behind you, you marveled at the car’s interior. ‘It’s definitely vintage…’. The seats were black and teal leather, bench-style -‘maybe a Mustang, or a Camero…’. The back door on his side opened, startling you. Jake leaned in, placing his armor in the back seat. “Just me,” he reassured, “want to put that back here?”. He held out a hand for your bow, and you nodded, handing it to him. 

As soon as he settled in the driver’s seat and pulled his own door closed, you leaned over, holding the side of his face and kissing him urgently. He kissed you back, and you felt him smile against your lips. His hand turned the key and the motor rattled to life. A soft rock ballad started from the radio as he lifted his hand to mirror yours, gently cupping the side of your face. You shrugged off his coat, as the car started warming up significantly. His kiss was slow and sweet, even as you shifted to face him more fully, kneeling on the seat next to him. 

You pulled away, resting your forehead against his. 

“Mine? Or yours? Or we could just find somewhere to par-?”

“Taco Bell?”

“What?” you pulled back slightly, giggling at his suggestion. 

“Are you hungry at all?”, he offered, "I’m happy to sleep at either of ours, I just thought I’d get something to eat before we head home.” His free hand stroked your upper arm as he waited for your response. You deflated slightly as it registered. 

“You don’t want to…”

“Of course I want you,” his thrumb stroked your cheek, “but you’re drunk, darling. You don’t want it like this, trust me.”

“Why’d you agree to leave with me then?”

“Well, I’d still like to hang out with you… but if you want to be dropped off, or you want to go back into the party, that’s obviously fine too.”

You considered for a moment. Being away from the loud music and colored lights of the party atmosphere, you were acutely more aware of just how much the alcohol had caught up with you. 

“...Are tacos still on the table?” you met his eyes again.

 He nodded “Of course.” 

You grinned at each other before you leaned in and pecked his lips again. 

“...and a sleepover?”, you asked quietly.

“I’d love to.” He placed a soft kiss on your cheek.

{Thank you all for reading! Feel free to let me know what you think!}

{Tag List: @star-boxer @doodle417 ​ @greta-van-chaos ​ @weightofdreams-gvf​ ​ @gretnabancheese ​ @shutupdevvie ​ @holdingup-fallingsky @t00turnttrauma ​ @groggyvanfleet ​ @garagebandvanfleet ​ ​ @gretavanflowerpowerrr @razorbladekiszka ​​ @hyperfixated-gvf ​​ @pippin-jay @rhythm-of-space @allieisacrybaby @hearts-hunger @twistedmelodies @ageofwagner @silks-up-my-sleeve @cal-a-bungaa @carbondancingthroughtime @indigofallingsky @sunfl0wer-power @gold-mines-melting @gretasmokerising @joshsindigostreak @satans-helper @lacuna-moon @suzi107 @fantazmagorical96 @meetingthestarcatcher }

{Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list :) }

[xxlady-lunaxx]

hi!! i was rewatching the sngy fight and it made me remember the tanjirou-sanemi restraining order thing they now have 😭

imagine if tanjirou uses that as an excuse to make sanemi get away from giyuu, and sanemi having to go and request for it to be annulated only to be told he has to "prove" that he gets along with tanjirou

it would be super cool if you could write smt about that, but if no then its totally okay, just wanted to share the thought since i think is fit right with ur sanegiyuu and overprotective kamados fics!

OHMYGOSH HELP I LOVE THAT this is great askkfkd lets give it the same concept as the overprotective kamados/sngy but make it happen differently (and I'm sorry for taking a while)

The crows stared at Sanemi, trying to figure him out.

"You're saying...?" one of the crows asked, its voice pitchy and almost annoying.

Sanemi rolled his eyes. He was crouched in front of them, impatience bubbling in him. "I'm saying I want the restraint to be lifted," he repeated, trying to fight the rising anger.

"But last time you two were near each other it was all fists and kicks, there's no way the Master will approve of this," the other crow squawked.

"Well tell him that I promise not to do anything!" Sanemi snapped, a breath away from pummeling the stupid birds. "Kamado keeps clinging onto Tomioka like a fuckin' koala and I can't go near Tomioka if Kamado and his sister are there 24/7. Can you just ask???"

The crows discussed (loudly) between each other before agreeing that they could ask Kagaya.

"Took you long enough," Sanemi muttered as they flew back into the sky towards the Master's house. A day later, he got a response.

"He said the order will be removed if you can prove that you and Tanjiro Kamado can get along—in other words, stay in the same room and not kill each other," the crows informed him.

Sanemi glared at it with disdain. "Fuck, fine! Fine!" he grumbled, turning and stalking in the vague direction Giyuu's house sat.

"Hey! You can't go to Tanjiro, the restraint order is still up!" one of the crows called after him.

Sanemi turned towards it, glowering. "Then how the fuck do I prove we can get along?!"

The crow faltered. "Oh... I don't know."

"Exactly!" He continued towards the house, the crows following from the sky. When he got there, both the Kamados were clinging onto Giyuu as if he was their life source—not for the first time—and all three looked up as Sanemi started down the path in clear view.

"Shinazugawa?" Giyuu said, surprised that Sanemi might be willingly visiting him.

Tanjiro, on the other hand, all but hissed at him, eyes narrowed. "We can't be near each other," he said. It sounded as if he was barely resisting the urge to yell. Apparently, he was still very stingy about their last interaction.

Sanemi jerked a thumb in the general direction of the crows. "Said I could make amends," he said stiffly, suddenly unsure what to do. He wasn't really known to be good with children anymore and Tanjiro all but hated him. Besides, what he did know how to do was deal with the smaller children—toddlers, babies, literally anything under, say, thirteen. But teens? Oh, he was fucked

"What do you mean?" Giyuu asked, frowning. As if just now remembering about the restraining order, he wrapped his arms protectively around Tanjiro, tugging Nezuko closer simultaneously.

Sanemi let out a breath. "Master said that I could try getting along with Kamado, then we don't have to avoid each other," he said, trying to keep down the bite in his voice.

"Why are you seeking out Tanjiro...?" Giyuu said, a dubious look crossing over his face. Honestly, Sanemi couldn't blame him.

"I'm not. But he's always around you like a vulture circling a dead body and the order had to be taken down for me to be near you too, at this point," Sanemi said, giving Tanjiro a disdainful look.

"You want to see me?" Giyuu asked quietly, a crease in his brow. Was this really Sanemi? Although, he supposed it was, what with the comparison to a vulture. Was he calling Giyuu a dead body-?

"Er... yeah," Sanemi said awkwardly, averting his eyes only to meet Tanjiro's angry glare. He glared back.

One of the crows overhead squawked. "You're supposed to be getting along!" it said, much too loudly.

Sanemi turned his gaze to glare up at the crows before he forced himself to calm down, leveling his rising annoyance. "Shit, okay. Listen, Kamado, I promise to not fight you or whatever and I'm sorry for earlier," he muttered, hoping he sounded more genuine than he felt.

Tanjiro looked away, unwilling to give in. "You have to apologize to Genya. Otherwise, I can't accept the apology," he said, hugging Giyuu.

Giyuu, confused, hugged back. Sanemi ground some of the rocks under his foot, wishing they'd turn to dust.

"It's not about Genya," he said through clenched teeth.

"It is!" Tanjiro insisted, peeking over his shoulder to look at him. "You were being horrible to Genya which is why I stepped in, so unless you apologize to him, I'm going to keep going by the Master's orders!"

Sanemi stared at him, debating if he'd rather screw off Tanjiro's head or throw him in a shredder because—what the fuck?! Why was he being so goddamn petty?!

"Look, if you don't want this then go somewhere else and let me talk to Tomioka!" Sanemi all but shouted, running low on patience. Really, he had been tipping over the edge the whole time. "I don't even want to talk to you, but you keep being in the fucking way!"

Nezuko hid behind Giyuu as Sanemi's voice raised. Tanjiro let go of Giyuu to hug her instead, turning back to Sanemi as he held her, glaring daggers at the Hashira.

"Stop shouting! And I'm not leaving Giyuu-san. For all we know, you're gonna be mean to him!" Tanjiro snapped, nudging Giyuu gently with his shoulder. "I don't want you to be mean!"

Sanemi let out a prolonged sigh, hands closing into fists, his fingernails digging into his palm. "I'm not going to be 'mean,' okay? I just want to talk," he said slowly. He knew damn well that Tanjiro knew that. He could probably smell that he had no bad intentions towards Giyuu. Unless every thought Sanemi was having about Tanjiro right now overpowered that. Fuck did he want to kill that boy.

"Nuh uh!" Tanjiro said, seemingly out of arguments.

Giyuu, torn in two, looked apologetically to Sanemi. "We can talk later... The Kasugai look mad, too," he noted, glancing up at the crows who were indeed mad.

Sanemi pursed his lips. "Fuck. Fine. Send a crow when you're alone—and don't use your own, that bird'll die at my doorstep," he said irritably before turning and stalking away.

oops,, sanemi gonna play a little game of gay chicken when it comes to actually confessing tho tbh

[fyodior]

.˳⁺⁎˚ dip you in honey so i could be stickin' to you ˚⁎⁺˳ .

for my love @doukeshi-kun

✿ pairing: stepdad!fukuzawa x fem!reader

✿ cw: dark content -- st3pcest, daddy kink, age gap (reader above 18) slightly immature reader, mild dumbification, reader referred to as "girl" once, creampie, brother!ranpo, semi-public sex. 18+ minors DNI !!

✿ notes: fic 3 for my 1k event! love this concept so much thank u bean for requesting it :")

✿ wc: 1.5k

dark content disclaimer: this is entirely fiction with absolutely no reflection of reality! i do not condone this nor any other dc i write, pls just block or unfollow if you don't like it, and do NOT report or leave hate comments please!

Fukuzawa – just Yukichi to you – had always been a great stepfather. He took care of you and supported you like one of his own, protected you fiercely, and did everything for you. in all honesty, he spoiled you a bit rotten. He even had gotten you a job at the Armed Detective Agency. Your coworkers had a habit of whispering about the likely nepotism related to your hiring, you didn’t even have an ability, but it never bothered you. Not when you got to spend all day with your beloved stepdad.

When you weren’t in the field investigating cases, you were sat in Fukuzawa’s office at your own personal little desk he had set up working on paperwork. Although, more often than not, he very generously completed your paperwork for you while you sat on his lap and cockwarmed him. It was only just him fulfilling his fatherly duties.

-

“Daddy?” you asked, peaking your head around the door and into his office.

It was one of the rare times you had decided to sit with your fellow coworkers to do desk work instead of with Fukuzawa, so it wasn’t long before he was calling for you to come see him. His face immediately lit up from the default frown that usually adorned his features.

“Hello darling, come sit,” he crooned, patting his lap.

You giggled before padding your way over to him, locking the door behind you.

As you settled onto his lap, nuzzling your face into his shoulder, he rested one hand on your hip while the other pet your hair gently.

“How are you doing, my love?”

“A lot better, now that I’m with you again,” you cooed. He just chuckled.

“And how is your brother?” The deep vibrations of his chest as he spoke were calming, making you cuddle even further into his embrace.

“Ranpo is whining about having to work on this new case because he thinks it’s boring, but I bribed him into cooperating by promising I’d bake him any sweets he wanted when we get home tonight.” You rolled your eyes at your brother’s antics, but you loved him more than anything, too.

“That’s my girl,” Fukuzawa laughed. “So clever and smart.”

“Thank you, Daddy,” you said, blushing at the compliment. Approval from him was always made you swoon.

“Of course, darling. Now I did call you in here for a reason.”

“Hmm?”

“See, I’ve been stressed with all of this communication I’ve been having to facilitate with multiple different organizations pertaining to our most prominent case, and I was wondering if you would like to help me unwind a bit?” he asked, voice low.

You laughed and nodded.

“Of course, Daddy.”

“I knew you would, darling. Always so, so helpful and compassionate.” His smile made your insides feel warm.

“How can I help?”

“I would love it if you bent over the desk for me.” You could hear the smirk in his voice.

You didn’t need to be told twice.

Wiggling off his lap so you could lean over his desk, you hiked your skirt up as your face pressed into the hardwood.

“Like this?” you asked.

“Perfect,” Fukuzawa mumbled.

He leaned forward from his desk chair to run his long fingers over your ass, fingertips just barely grazing over the skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake. Wordlessly, he gently pulled down your panties so they fell to your ankles, mouth watering as his eyes fell upon your bare pussy.

Fukuzawa undid his yukata so he could fist his hardening cock while he slid his fingers between your folds, making you shiver. He had been fantasizing about this moment for the past hour since he decided to call you in for a quick destressing session and was already eager to take you. It seemed you had been anticipating something of the sort as well, and had already slicked up nicely for him.

Standing up so his tall frame towered over you, he held his cock and ran it in between your lips to gather some of the slick. You moaned, wiggling your ass impatiently. Fukuzawa laughed, but got the memo.

Soon he was lining himself up with your entrance and prodding the tip at your hole.

“Is this okay, my love?” he cooed, voice deep and comforting.

“Yes, Daddy,” you replied with a slightly too eager tone.

With your go-ahead Fukuzawa slowly pushed past the tight ring of muscle at your entrance, making you groan. He gave you a second to adjust, knowing it sometimes stung as you tried to accommodate for his large cock.

Once he could feel your body relax he pushed forward, and you whined louder and louder with every inch he pushed into you. He had to gently shush you when he bottomed out as you let out a loud yelp that very likely could’ve been heard from outside his office. Not many words were needed throughout the process as he knew your body and its cues like the back of his hand, could read you like his favorite book.

“Are you ready?” he still liked to ask, though.

“Please,” you whined.

Tightening his grip on your hips, pulls nearly all the way out before thrusting back into you. His pelvis snug against your ass, he leaned down to press comforting kisses to the nape of your neck as your yelped.

“More please, Daddy,” you whined. He happily obliged.

Slowly building up a rhythm, Fukuzawa smiled as he watched you fall apart over his cock. He ran his hands up and down your sides calmingly as you whimpered, becoming overwhelmed with both the sting and the pleasure of your stepdad’s cock inside you.

He didn’t plan to get too rough as he wasn’t much of an exhibitionist and didn’t want the sounds of skin on skin to be heard by anyone else, but the way you clenched around his length was dizzying, and he slowly started losing control. Fukuzawa began fucking into you faster and you couldn’t help the moans rising from your throat, tightening your grip on the edge of the desk as pleasure pooled throughout your body.

The way his thick cock curved managed to hit your sweet spot with almost every thrust felt like electricity, like he was made just for you.

Fukuzawa could feel the stress draining from his body as he fucked you, sighing. He loved you fiercely, but also loved that he could always count on you to mellow him out in the best way possible. Though in the moment he felt a bit feral, wanting more and more of your tight, wet cunt.

He didn’t want to take too long, didn’t want anyone to question either of your extended absences, so he quickened his thrusts to chase the high he had been needing. The increased pace of his cock pumping in and out of you forcefully clouded your mind and had you drooling on the papers you were bent over.

“Gonna cum soon, darling, want Daddy’s cum in you?” he grumbled, whispering right into your ear.

“Please, please,” you whined. “Need you so bad.”

He was always going to give you what you needed.

He fucked you hard and fast now, the mix of precum and juices squelching and dripping down your thighs. You instinctively started rocking your ass to meet his thrusts, fucking yourself on his cock to reach your own high.

You knew he was close as his hips stuttered and his breath hitched, and you gasped as he came, cock twitching as it shot hot ropes of cum into your throbbing pussy, still slowly rocking his hips to fuck his seed deep into you.

Wordlessly he pulled out and pulled up your panties for you before retying his yukata and gathering you into his arms.

“Thank you for being so good for me, as always, my love,” he whispered into your ear, petting your hair. “I feel much better now because of you.”

You smiled and pecked a kiss onto his lips before curling into his embrace. “Of course, Daddy. Always.”

“Would you like to stay right here with me for the rest of the day? Then I can help you make those sweets for Ranpo tonight?”

“Want that more than anything,” you giggled. The rest of the agency would likely be whispering as to why you disappeared into your stepdad’s office for the rest of the workday, but you didn’t care. Not when you had Fukuzawa loving on you like this.

“Happily for you, darling,” he sighed before tightening one arm around you and picking up his pen once again.

He started once again on his dreaded presidential work with a clear mind and increased motivation, and thanked his lucky stars he always had you around to make him feel better.

some tags :)

@hnnnnnnnmscorner @blueparadis @8kh

[shineonyoucrazyyandere]

Now i know that french people greet each other by kissing both of their cheeks, either just touching their cheeks together or straight up kissing each other's cheeks

Now, yandere stardust crusaders here. (Kakyoin, jotaro, joseph, avdol, aswell as polnareff)

I think polnareff will introduce these kind of greetings to reader, and now everytime reader sees polnareff they always have to kiss each other on the both of their cheek (50/50 that polnareff threatened/forces reader to do it lol)

I just know polnareff will use the excuse of it being only a greeting and nothing else to the others (other than to piss them off and make them jealous)

May we have a scenario or a headcanon about this please?, If you don't like it you ofc don't have to do it.

They will probably catch on and use the same greeting to reader, and now the whole group does it lol.

Take your time! ( Ily btw 💞💞)

Hey something I learned ages ago in a French class ages ago finally comes in handy! *this will probably be used in my fic later on too, I’ve had this concept in the back of my mind for a while* I figured a general answer would be nice though Did it matter he had to “twist” your arm a little to get you to do it?, Not in this man’s opinion as his heart swells with joy, from getting you to commit to an affectionate act from his country. So when you look at him all flustered he’s eating your reaction all up, and no he won’t let you live it down either. It was a first step to blossoming romance (at least in his head).

“Couldn’t you have just told me something about the food, or how people have casual conversation? This isn’t what I meant by an interesting cultural bit, Polnareff” You told him

“Oh but it is an interesting one, sharing affection is an important cultural aspect all over the world, and being French we do things a little differently” He gave you the widest, cheekiest grin that you’ve ever seen on his face. You had clumsily walked right into an opportunity for Polnareff to take advantage romantically.

“Next time you should be a little more specific” he winked

You had zero clue about the cheek/kiss thing, and honestly you should’ve been suspicious from the start. This was just the beginning of the insanity.

It ends up being worse when you and Polnareff go off to meet the rest of the crusaders for lunch. Taking a quick detour you went to the bathroom before meeting them all at the table Joseph spotted.

Of course Polnareff wasn’t sitting down, rather he was standing by his chair, leaning ever so slightly on the back of it. The others were sitting, but of course the twenty four year old decided to wave you over. There was the lingering thought in the back of your head to just turn around and march back to the hotel room. Though you resigned yourself to keep walking when you felt the pang of hunger arises from your stomach.

“Y/n you finally made it!” the Frenchman gestured you over

Your eyebrows furrowed as you broke the distance between the two of you, the male leaning closer as you felt the infamous warmth of contact on your cheeks, one after the other. Begrudgingly you did the same on return before the chair was slid out and you sat in it.

Immediately a chain reaction started,

“Polnareff, what the hell was that?” Joseph nearly slammed his fist down on the table.

“Right in front of us too, is this normal for you?” Kakyoin chimed in

You could see Jotaro was annoyed but not in the same fashion you were to your chagrin. He looked a bit…envious if that made any sense. Avdol on the other hand looked puzzled yet intrigued

Polnareff shrugged off their condemnation without hesitation. Oh he was enjoying this alright, getting technical first dibs at an affectionate action?

“Don’t worry, it’s just a little greeting we French do when meeting one another we care about” He said this nonchalantly

“I see, that’s completely unfamiliar to me, I haven’t spent much time in France so I never got to encounter such an interaction” Avdol piped up.

Oh you wanted to die right then and there, but you had to restrain yourself from clawing the table like a cat. There was an atmosphere you could feel slowly oppressing you, they were probably jealous. No, it was nearly certain they were based on their expressions. The French male was absolutely beaming with pride, and smugness to no one’s surprise.

“That sounds rather nice actually, not just a single peck on the cheek but both sides” Joseph pondered out loud. Of course he would like the sound of that.

“Can we please just order lunch?” You groaned

The whole debacle ended up sealing your doom with the other crusaders. All of them were interested in what you did with Polnareff, so whenever you met up with one or two of them (or even all of them) it was a disaster. When there was the smallest downtime you could possibly have, you did your best to dodge interaction when possible.

Yet there were times you had Jotaro nearby pointing to one of his cheeks, if he was wandering around where you were. Kakyoin managed to squeeze himself into wherever you were entertaining yourself at. Joseph you had to obviously rely on monetarily and boy did he play up the act when you needed to ask about something. Avdol himself mostly did his thing when he saw an opportunity (a risk) that you shouldn’t be alone.

Polnareff still has a goofy smile every time you did this while meeting up at meal times.

This was going to be a long trip…

[buckets-and-trees]

Test Play

Title: Test Play Characters/Pairings: Game Designer!Bucky x Female!Reader Word Count: 1.8k Summary: Sequel to Perfectionists. All hands on deck around the clock as SHIELD has to put in some extra work in order to get things ready for game approval before the beta test can be launched soon at PAX East, especially if they want to beat out HYDRA's new pending release. What will that mean for the new development between Bucky and SHIELD's top tier tester when there doesn't seem to be time for sleep, let alone... whatever this is?

Content/Concept Warnings: gamer AU; strong language; SMUT: vaginal fingering, cock warming; beefy Bucky who is soft but a menace

Notes: THE FIRST OF MY PROMISED ANNIVERSARY SLEEPOVER FICS! Also crossing off:

Catching up on @buckybarnesevents WEEK FOUR of Hot Bucky Summer: Free Week: suggested cock warming

Seventh square of @buckybarnesbingo C3: FREE SPACE - seemed fitting to couple it with HBS Free Week

When I wrote Perfectionists, I really didn't think I had more story to tell or that these two would get as much love as they did...so this is something I'm very excited to share for part of my Anniversary Sleepover event!

A/N: AND THANKS to @rookthorne who helped me with a bit of gamer lingo and encouraging these two and literally @vonalyn’s expertise in knowledge of the gaming industry! Chi especially not only steered me in the right direction, but you were so generous and indulgent of my inquiries!

story divider by @sgt-seabass, reblog graphic by @vase-of-lilies

Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

Steve looked over from his desk to see Bucky’s fingers tapping anxiously across the way on the corner of his desk, chin propped on his other hand, staring – glaring, really – at the clock on the wall. As the leads on the new Avengers story release for SHIELD, he and Bucky were on hold until the feedback from the latest round of testing hit their inboxes.

“You good?” Steve asked. None of them were great right now, but Steve felt keenly the need to make sure as captain of this crew that everyone was at least good.

The glower turned to him. “I’m fine, just… hate waiting.”

The icy blue stare didn’t faze Steve – he knew it wasn’t for him. “Maybe there are some preliminary notes we could get a jump on. Do you want me to go check on her progr–?“

“No, I’ll go,” Bucky cut him off and stood abruptly in the same second. He was out of the engineering and design lab before Steve could even respond.

Steve frowned.

Nat and Sam had gone down to consult with the marketing department, but Joaquin was still in the lab with him. “You know he hates these spots where there’s nothing to do until there’s something to do even more than you, Cap,” he quipped.

Steve sighed. “I know. But he seems even more worked up than usual, he’s never liked having to talk with the testers before now, but I guess desperate times…”

Steve went back to refreshing his inbox because there definitely were more things he needed to communicate back to the other teams, even if the other part of his work was on hold, so he missed the slight smirk on Joaquin’s face.

Bucky was on a direct path, not to be deterred by anyone if they were trying to get his attention in any way. As he came around a corner, he nearly collided with T’Challah, lead writer on the story design team.

“Barnes! My apologies!”

“Oh, no!” Bucky’s face turned a bright red. Anyone else and Bucky with his broad chest and hulking frame would’ve probably bowled them over. “That was all me.”

Though they’d worked together from time to time over the last year, Bucky still didn’t know him very well, but T’Challah was one of the few others at SHIELD Bucky enjoyed working with outside of his own team and he had a fair bit of respect from the man.

“On your way to the test room?” T’Challah guessed.

Bucky rubbed the back of his neck. “Guilty.”

T’Challah smiled. “I just came from there. From our conversation, I expect we’re closer than we hoped on getting this mode online with the rest of the release. She’s not done yet, but I think you’ll like what she has to say.”

You glanced over your shoulder when you heard someone closing the door to the test room. “I can not go any faster, I promise.”

You did a double-take and paused the game when you saw the giant gaming engineer who had ruined you a week earlier crossing the room. “Hi,” you breathed and returned the soft smile you saw on his face. You were glad it was dim in the room so he couldn’t see every detail of your expression, feeling flushed at the sight of him, and biting the slight edge of your bottom lip.

“Hi,” he returned warmly. There was a slight twinkle in his eye as his gaze swept over you. “What is this?” he gestured up and down as he planted himself down next to you, body angled to you and not the gaming screen.

You were cocooned with only hands sticking out from one blanket draped over your head and your shoulders and another wrapped around your legs. “It is Women’s Winter! I’m trying not to freeze in the extremes of corporate American summer air conditioning temperatures!”

Bucky laughed. He laughed around the team, but rarely around anyone else. And this? With you? This was still so new, but it was nice.

“Here, I’ll help warm you up.” Bucky settled in on the couch directly next to you. His hulking frame made the couch dip slightly beneath him, and that brought your cocooned self partially into his lap. He wrapped one beefy arm around your back and the other rested over your legs.

“Hi,” you said again, a whisper this time.

“Hi.” The dimness of the room did not prevent you from seeing the heat that was building in his gaze.

That look made you want to squirm in the best way – to be writhing under him. He was so big you had to tilt up your head to look into each other’s eyes, but that was no problem. It meant a natural invitation for Bucky to lean down and capture your lips in a kiss.

Which he did.

The sweet greeting of the kiss, not having seen each other for a few days, melted away quickly into more. His tongue teased at the seam of your lips, and you opened your mouth to him eagerly. It was hungry and demanding, and he pulled a moan from your throat.

And for some reason your brain switched back on, and you laughed breathlessly and pulled away.

“Buck, no.”

“Buck, yes.”  

He circled his arms around you completely now and burrowed his head into the crook of your neck, mouthing at the tender flesh there, a little nipping, kissing, and licking that had you moaning again.

The thud as the controller hit the floor reminded you again that you were supposed to be finishing the test play, not letting Bucky play with your body.

You jumped out of his arms and retrieved the controller.

“Buck, anyone could come in and see us! We’re lucky no one caught us the first time.”

The grin does not leave his devastatingly handsome face. “I specifically locked the door when I came in this time.”

You laughed but shook your head. “That was awfully presumptuous!”

His expression softened, and he reached for your hand. You let him pull you closer as he spoke. “It might have been presumptuous, but it wasn’t my only intention. I’ve been eager to see you, spend time with you. One night of fun last week and lunch the next day before the HYDRA shitstorm… that’s not all I wanted with you.”

He held your hand up and kissed your palm before pulling you even closer. You melted into him as he circled his arms around your waist, your blankets having pooled at your feet. One of your hands threaded into his hair, the other wrapped gently around his neck. He turned his head, resting his cheek against your front, and you felt and heard him take in a deep breath and then exhale slowly. You felt that energy mirror inside of you as well.

You didn’t think he had only used you for one hot night of pleasure – the hours spent wrapped up in each other on the couch after fucking, and then waking up in your own bed the next morning to a text already waiting asking if you wanted to get lunch had said a lot – but it had not been the week to jump into … whatever this was going to be. Ten days ago Barnes had only been the guy you had harbored a crush on and thought didn’t like you one bit since you had been professionally clashing for months as game engineer and game tester.

Literally while you had been at lunch, teasing him about his questionable choice of footwear, Bucky had received a flurry of Slack messages and then a call from Steve. They had intel on review notes from the beta release HYDRA had submitted to one of the first party platforms and Fury had decided to bring the Deep Shadow Conditions mode back into the release SHIELD was going to submit to the first party platforms for approval at the end of next week.

Meaning Bucky and the rest of his team had only by necessity taken any kind of breaks to sleep and refuel for the last seventy-two hours, you’d exchanged all of five texts, and had only seen him from across the main floor once in all that time.

So, this was nice.

Your Apple Watch buzzed at your wrist, and you groaned and pushed away from Bucky, hastily moving around to stand behind the couch.

“I’ve got to finish this test play!”

And you hit resume on the game, leaned forward, and planted your elbows on the back of the couch, getting back into the zone.

Bucky heaved himself over the back of the couch and closed in on you, caging you in on either side with his massive biceps, his big solid chest at your back.

“Bucky!” you tried to take a stern tone, but it was hard when you were relishing the measured weight of him against you.

“I’m not stopping you,” he murmured against the back of your neck.

“Bucky! Really!”

He shifted slightly and then you could feel the smirk of his lips on the side of your neck. He planted one hot kiss there, then said, “If you’re so damn good at what you do, keep playing.”

“Are you issuing me a challenge?”

“Just a chance to prove what a consummate professional you are.”

“Challenge accepted. You are an incorrigible menace,” you laughed.

“Actually, I’m cold.”

“You were judging me and my blankets not even five minutes ago,” you said, focused on the action on the screen.

While he remained hunched over your back, you felt him moving again, and you heard but didn’t register the sound of his belt unbuckling.

“Blankets? No,” he murmured in your ear, “I need you to warm me up.”

“Oh,” you moaned when his broad hand cupped your pussy.

“Think you can do that for me?”

He stroked firmly.

“Part of the testing is to see if we’ve got a game that captures the player’s attention, right? I’m just helping you test this aspect, see if a player can become easily distracted, lose interest – that’s the last thing we want.”

Slowly but purposefully Bucky undid your pants and you fought to keep your breathing even and your eyes open and where they were supposed to be as he pulled them down with your underwear. Then he nudged his right foot on the inside of yours to push your legs further apart while two of his fingers moved over your soft, slickening folds. Then he sunk his cock into you, and you both exhaled at the feel of him inside of you.

“How’s that?”

You let out a slight whimper.

“That good, huh? You’re never at a loss for words with that talented tongue.”

You elbowed him gently. “You really wanna play, Barnes? You tease that you just need some cock warming? You get me to break, and then you can fuck me however you like.”

“Oh, I can be patient. I’ll get you to beg for me to fuck you. We’ll see who gets desperate first.”

↠ Main Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

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Link to the List of Sleepover Games

[epicbuddieficrecs]

Fic rec for my BFF, pt. 1

My best friend is currently watching 9-1-1. I've been trying to get her onboard the Buddie ship and she is graciously tolerating me. She's asked for some fic recs and so this is what I came up with! I did have to work with a few parameters to fit her taste, the most important one being nothing post season 3 cause that's where she's up to and she didn't want spoilers.

Hope you enjoy these bestie!

Canon to Canon Divergent

Things We're All Too Young to Know by Daisies_and_Briar / @cal-daisies-and-briars 

Canon S1-S6, S7 Spec | 123/? | 379K | Mature

This is a love story. Even if it doesn’t always look like it. Even if it doesn’t always feel like it. A look back on Eddie and Buck's lives up to now, and what led them to each other, interpreted from the current 9-1-1 canon.

THE canon fics to end all canon fics. I know it's still a WIP and it spans up to post-S6, but if you want a canon fic, that's the one to go for.

Leading with the Left by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels 

Canon Divergent, Different First Meeting, Stripper Buck | 84K | Explicit

When Buck said he was a "bartender" in "South America" what he actually meant was "stripper" in "Mexico." And when Eddie said, "What's your problem?" what he actually meant was, "Is this about the time you gave me a lap dance?" In other words, there's a few things the 118 doesn't know about Buck. Or Eddie. Or Buck and Eddie's relationship.

One of my most re-read fics. The smut is impeccable. The angst is so good. Absolutely love this fic!

Your Scars and Your Lonely Heart by Taste_is_Sweet

Sentinels AU, Canon Divergent - Tsunami | 82K | Teen

Clara Williams just wanted to visit Pacific Park during her layover in Los Angeles. She never expected to find a young, exceptional Sentinel dying for lack of a bond. Actually, what she really never expected was a tsunami, or the same Sentinel to save her life. But Clara's a Guide, so now she's on a mission to keep Evan "Buck" Buckley alive until she can get him to Eddie Diaz, the Guide who should have bonded with him, but didn't. Because Clara can't bond with Buck, no matter how much she wants to. There's just one problem: Buck's convinced Eddie doesn't want him, and he might not survive long enough to find out the truth.

Another one of my most re-read fics! I had never read a Sentinels AU before and I fell in love with the concept!

the distance to the stars by cloudydaisies 

Didn't Know They Were Dating, Post-S3 | 27K | General

“Didn’t know you were seeing someone.” Buck just laughs. Like, honest to god giggles. Eddie is stuck fighting off doubly massive waves of butterflies and confusion, all while Buck just gazes down at him. “That’s cute,” he hears Buck mumble, just before climbing into the truck, calling Eddie after him. - or, everyone knows eddie is dating buck except for eddie, literally.

Don't know if you knew this, Marie, but Buddie is the #1 most tagged ship in the "Didn't Know They Were Dating" tag cause they're such idiots <3 and this is one of my favorite ones!

the weekly bet (but the forever kind) by theleftboobgrabber/ @theleftboobgrabber 

Late S3, Getting Together | 49K | Explicit

“Thanks,” Eddie mumbles, hiding his face deep in his pillow, even if Buck can’t see him in the dark. “What for?” Leave it to Buck to be confused about something so obvious. “Being you, idiot.” “And again with the name calling,” he answers, content and sleepy. Nights like this, Eddie feels like asking for a miracle. But to the team, it wasn’t a matter of if Abby would take him back, but when. A matter of days. When the squad bets on how long it will take for Buck and Abby to get back together when she comes back to LA, Eddie is forced to reconsider keeping his feelings for Buck a secret.

Top tier pining + oblivious Eddie = 👌

Always, All Ways by ashavahishta/ @tevankinkley

A/B/O AU | 85K | Explicit

“Buck is very dear, Mr Diaz. Not only to me but to the pack. You’ll find that if you treat him with anything less than utmost respect you’ll have a lot of people to answer to.”   Eddie swallowed. It was clear that in the absence of a mate, this omega had found himself a very protective pack. “Understood, sir.” Or: Buck’s the only omega in the 118. He’s got secrets, and walls a mile high. Eddie’s the alpha determined to knock them down.

There's not a ton of A/B/O fics in this fandom, and I should really try to read more of them, but this is probably my favorite one so far!

I Hit the Accelerator (But the Car was in Reverse) by extasiswings/@extasiswings, letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/@letmetellyouaboutmyfeels

S3, Friends With Benefits, BDSM | 68K | Explicit

When Buck is forced to confront the truth about his breakup with Abby, having casual sex with his hot new coworker seems like the best rebound idea. Unfortunately, that hot new coworker turns into his best friend. But best friends can keep having sex with each other, right? There's no way this could possibly go wrong.

THE friends with benefits fic! (ok lbr there's a ton of great ones, but this one is S2 focused iirc)

AUs

My Blood on Your Skin (My Rose on Your Snow) by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels

Mythological AU, BDSM | 80K | Explicit

When Eddie needs cash and fast to take care of Christopher, his LAFD Academy buddy suggests a job as a bouncer at Elysium - an exclusive sex club in downtown Los Angeles. Eddie doesn't care what goes on there, so long as he's paid, but he finds he cares a lot bout the club's enigmatic owner, Evan Buckley, and it's not long before the two of them are violating every boss-employee rule in the book. But there's something different about Buck and the club, something not quite... human. If Eddie wants to keep Buck, he's going to have to delve into the world of immortals, and all the risks that implies.

You can expect amazing smut by this author as always, but also really interesting worldbuilding and characters!

All My Shattered Oaths by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels

Vampires AU | 107K | Explicit

Eddie wants to stay away from his family’s legacy and give his son a normal life. Buck’s desperate to find a way to get over the love he lost. Fate has other plans for both of them.

SO GOOD. The canon divergent reincarnation vampire AU you didn't know you needed!!!

a bleeding sun on a silver screen by rarakiplin (gmontys)/ @hoediaz 

Actors AU, Friends With Benefits | 130K | Mature

One day, Buck will tell an interviewer that he would be happy to make movies with Eddie Diaz until the day he dies. But first, years before that, he sees Eddie for the first time on the set of Chimney’s fifth movie.

An epic tale of movie making and enemies to friends to FWB to strangers to lovers!

The Truth of Love (Amas Veritas) by allyasavedtheday/ @littlespoonevan

Practical Magic AU | 20K | Teen

Bobby opens his mouth like he wants to argue but decides against it. “Walk me through the logic here then. How will this make sure you never fall in love?” “Because I’m making someone who doesn’t exist,” Buck explains, glancing from the half-full bowl to Bobby. He can’t work out what the look on Bobby’s face means so he pointedly elects to ignore it. “They’ll have brown hair,” he starts, clipping another petal from the rose bush. “And brown eyes-“ “Lotta people out there with brown hair and brown eyes, kid,” Bobby says lightly and Buck rolls his eyes. “But not many that can ride a horse backwards,” Buck counters. “And whose favourite shape is a star and who’s got…two scars,” he decides, plucking a basil leaf and dropping it in the bowl. “One on each shoulder.”

Because Practical Magic AUs always make me think of you <3

I'll Scrawl it on Every Wall I See by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels

Canon Divergent, You've Got Mail Fusion | 29K | Teen

When Eddie joins the 118, he and Buck don't exactly hit it off on the right foot. Or continue to walk on the right foot. In fact they kind of can't stand each other. Good thing they each have a beloved anonymous pen pal to share their daily woes with, someone completely unlike their insufferable coworker.

I do love some good romcom vibes!

[merakiui]

hello!! omg your newest Rollo fic... I've been thinking about it nonstop I swear!!! I'm obsessed with all your Rollo works, you just write him so creepy and obsessive - so fitting for a man who takes everything to fanatic extremes. I particularly loved the cultish religious themes in this, so in character for him.

such a chilling premise to start. mangled wings made of bone and sinew and fake feathers?? so horrifying and gorey, more like the image of a fallen angel than anything else. and the fact that an appropriate lamb had to be searched for. perhaps the righteous one had to stalk for months to find just the perfect opportunity to lure his angel :)

the fact that the handkerchief is actually darling's... omg that stuck with me. creepy down bad despicable priest can't resist darling's scent even if it means stealing her things 👀

and the stockholm syndrome? literally tearing his angel apart and stripping her bare, just to rebirth (indoctrinate) her into the religion just like everyone else, hanging on his every word. so thoroughly broken that fingering her before a congregation is definitely Normal and a sacred holy event and not a sinful perversion (not that Rollo sees a difference between the two).

the period blood too AAA!! the first time you wrote about his fixation on it I swear you awakened something in me I didn't know existed .///. that man is an absolute fiend.

I could yap forever but!!! anyway I really really like the fic <3 Rollo simps being fed generously today

-🐌 anon (if not taken!)

🐌 anon, hello hello!!!! Omg thank you so much!! I'm so happy you enjoyed the fic!! Rollo works extremely well in contexts with religious themes. I love adding all of the symbolism,,,, I've been meaning to write a cultish fic with Mr. Rollo for quite some time now. I was having the worst cramps of my life the other day and in being doubled over in pain a thought occurred to me: what if Rollo led a group of people who worship this sort of thing??? Thus, this fic was born hehe. :D

I loved writing about the gore and brutality in shaping darling into a proper angel. Or the human equivalent of one. Immediately thrust into a position of (limited) power overseen by Rollo, put on a holy pedestal and made to be this divine creature...... AAAAAA I was actually going to compare Rollo and the cult to wolves, but I felt that was straying into The Test of Faith territory. ^^;;; in any case I love the idea of Rollo searching for the perfect lamb to sacrifice and turn into an angel. <3 poor darling who had no idea of the horrors she would soon endure at the hands of such a crazy man,,,

>:D he's a freak!!! Rollo who took all of darling's possessions (that were on her person when he stole her away) so that he can essentially rewrite her entire existence,,, of course this includes minor things like her handkerchief. I think if anything's spared from flame it's that. The rest of your identity is burned away and from the ashes comes a new title, one you never wanted or needed to begin with. All while he gets to enjoy the sweet scent of darling on his (her) handkerchief.

Rollo being obsessed with periods and period blood is so delicious to me. He's such a creep,,, proving to the congregation that you're still pure because you have your period. Maybe it even keeps him in check when he's overcome with the desire to take you for himself. I think the concept of menstruation in stories is so interesting!! When they did that in Midsommar, I was so :O Rollo being obsessed with your menstrual cycle and fertility is so real to me. Sooner or later, he's gathering some for himself to put in his morning tea....... aaaa such a freak.

Thank you again for enjoying the fic!!! ⸜(｡ ˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ I will always feed the Rollo simps because I myself am so unhealthily obsessed with him!!!

[blues824]

hi! i absolutely adore your stories and if you have the time, would like to request the octotrio (separately) and malleus, rook, and deuce (separately) with a gender-neutral yuu s/o who’s from a apocalyptic dystopian world

so something like, even before they started dating yuu, it was pretty obvious how they were always on edge and were confused by the simplest of things like what a birthday was, and concepts like a bank or the ocean environment or healthy living non toxic plant life because all that was lost to time from before their world collapsed on itself and they very much still have habits learned from surviving in that environment, so i imagine one day while they are on a date or something they ask yuu a simple question, one they didn’t even consider a hard or intrusive question but yuu freezes and starts to tear up and gives context on what their world was like for the first time, so like how the oceans are more like sludgy toxic wastelands where a single breath could kill you and how it’s not uncommon to see people murder others and how they don’t even want to go back because they aren’t scared of the students who hate them or the overblots they have to deal with, but they are scared of losing them. again, only write this if you have time because even if you don’t i will continue to support you and your work, i just love me a good angst/comfort fic

Again, gender-neutral. Guess who was selected by the random number generator!

Deuce Spade

You both got off on the wrong foot, what with you being frantic about losing Grim. He asked why you were so freaked out about someone you had barely met, and you just brushed him off. Once you did find the cat, Deuce was surprised at the pure seriousness in your tone as you stated that he will not run off again or he will be locked out of Ramshackle.

Anyways, when you both are dating, you do open up to him. It was actually when he took you on a date to the village at the bottom of the mountain where you asked why the water was so clear when coming from the fountain. He was confused and asked if you didn’t have fountains in your world. You froze, staring into the clean water, then you started shaking as you sat down on the ledge.

“Well, there’s no clean water at all. You usually have to filter it yourself. I had never seen a clean ocean until I went to Octavinelle. Back home, you have to wear gas masks around any body of water because of the radiation. The first time I attended a party of some sort was the unbirthday party held. You wonder why I’m not scared of anyone, and it’s because I have seen a dead body before, and half of the time I’m wondering when someone will not make it out of their overblot alive.

“... I don’t want to go back, Deuce.” The waterworks started working the water, and tears started spilling. Your boyfriend immediately sat next to you, wrapping his arms around you. From what you had just told him, it sounds like you’ve been through Hell and back. He felt shitty for prodding into your life, but at least now he knows a small piece of what you have gone through.

Azul Ashengrotto

He saw your curiosity when you entered Octavinelle, but a lot of students react that way when they go to the dorm for the first time. He paid no mind to it, but he did pay mind to your rather hostile attitude. You knew very well about making deals with shady people, and you actually had your hand on your knife as you demanded that he let your friends out of your contract. Needless to say, it was a rough first impression.

That did get the wheels turning in his mind, though. When you started dating, you were very thrown-off about the issues he had gone through as a child. However, when he asked about what it was like when you were a child, you froze up. Your eyes went wide, and he thought that something was happening. However, you took a deep breath and shakily went to explain the circumstances in which you grew up.

“Well, you can’t go near the oceans because one breath and the air could kill you. There are mutated animals as well as humans trying to kill you. Humans are at the bottom of the food chain. I’ve made promises to people who I knew would end up dead. I’ve had to bury some of them myself.

“I’m not scared of many things, but I don’t want to lose you like I’ve lost many others.” Tears started streaming, and Azul quickly whipped out his handkerchief and started wiping your tears. He told you that he would do his best to take care of himself so that you wouldn’t worry about him anymore, and he placed a soft kiss on your forehead to help you calm down a bit.

Jade Leech

Again, he saw your curiosity when you entered Octavinelle, but he didn’t dismiss it like his boss did. After your rather violent meeting, he went up to you and asked if he could give you a tour around the place. You, however, were not easily tricked and even had your knife easily accessible in the case he tried something funny.

Well, it obviously went well because months later you were dating. However, the memory of you being so curious and taken aback when you first visited Azul never left Jade’s mind. To be fair, you had no magic, so he assumed it was just that. He asked you about it one day, and your smile immediately dropped as you looked away. He was growing steadily concerned until you started speaking.

“I had never seen the ocean in such a peaceful state. Back in my world, it’s a toxic wasteland. You inhale so much as one breath, you’re a goner. The first time I went to your dorm, it was the first time I had seen a clean and clear ocean. It was beautiful, and I almost felt at-peace there until I remembered what my friends had done to themselves and what I went there to do. But, it’s how I met you.

“I don’t ever want to leave Twisted Wonderland, and I don’t want to leave you, Jade. As sketchy as you are, I can at least rely on you to be unreliable.” The eel was very surprised at your little sentiment and at the apparent state of your world, but he wiped away the stray tear and placed a kiss upon your lips before apologizing for prying.

Floyd Leech

He, too, noticed your interest in the Octavinelle biome and a;most immediately asked about it. You just brushed it off back then, saying something about how you should not be conversing with the enemy. He didn’t like it because you spent the entire time ignoring him. However, you managed to grab his attention, and he eventually managed to grab yours much later by saving you from getting grabbed by Azul’s tentacle.

It didn’t take much for him to win over your heart because of that one incident, and how he swore to protect his ‘shrimpy’. However, the memory of how you were so hostile towards him and how you have pulled a knife on him a few different times whenever he snuck up behind you. One day, he asked about it, specifically because you pulled a knife on him again.

“You don’t even want to know, Floyd. The amount of times I have almost been killed is a higher number than you could reach when you count. I keep a weapon on me at all times just in case one of my enemies from my world manages to make it into Twisted Wonderland. Now, if you could please stop scaring me, I wouldn’t almost stab you every time I see you.”

As you can imagine, this definitely surprised him, but he told you that you didn’t need to have a weapon because he would always be there to protect you. He picked you up in his arms, leaving you squirming and trying to wiggle yourself out of his grasp, and he started the trek back to his dorm where he could cuddle you until you felt better.

Rook Hunt

It should surprise no one that he is stalking you, and that you can tell you are being stalked. You saw him hiding in the trees in your peripheral vision, and eventually you got to a point where you were deeply unsettled. You quickly grabbed your knife and threw it at him, almost hitting him had he not caught it by the handle. He jumped down to return it to you, and that was the start of a really weird relationship.

However, it did not escape the hunter’s mind, how you had a knife on your person. Not just any knife, but a throwing knife. He was lucky to be wearing leather gloves or he might have cut himself. He eventually asked you about it, making sure that you were aware that you didn’t have to reveal anything that you didn’t want to. After all, he didn’t want his beloved trickster to feel pressured. He felt as though he did something wrong when he saw your smile disappear, but you began speaking.

“To sum it all up, it’s a total wasteland. War ruined my world, and it’s every person for themself. I’m very used to being stalked, either because someone wants me to join their band of merrymen or to kill me and loot my body. It’s also not uncommon for someone to become a cannibal when they haven’t had access to food like we did at our camp.”

Not going to lie, it sounded like a twisted, dystopian novel to the hunter. Even though he’s very analytical and he guessed that things weren't going well in your world, he never expected it to be that bad. He took his glove off to quickly wipe away your tears and pressed his forehead against yours, swearing upon his life that you would never be brought to harm in his presence.

Malleus Draconia

You both met when he went to Ramshackle, not knowing it was inhabited. However, he was aware that two knives were making their way to him, spinning in the air. He used his magic to suspend them, and he turned around to see you. The knives dropped to the ground, and he assured you that he didn’t mean to scare you, and that he did not know anyone was here. Another weird start to a weird relationship.

This wasn’t the only interesting instance either. You have attacked a few of his retainers for surprising you, and he had to admit that he had never seen anyone at NRC have reactions quite like yours. He didn’t really like to impose upon your life, but he was very curious as to what could cause you to be very hostile. Eventually, on one of your nightly walks, he asked. You froze, and he quickly regretted asking but you started speaking.

“The government gave up way before I was born. My family is dead, and most of my camp back home is either sick or gone to scavenge about. Until I got teleported here, I had never seen a clean ocean or a true plant rather than some messed-up, mutated version. I have blood on my hands, and I’m not the type to hesitate.”

Typically, murder is not justified. However, as you continued explaining the state of your world, it all came as a shock to the dragon prince. Then, you got to the part where you had been betrayed by your friend and had to kill them as a result. The memory made you start tearing up, and your boyfriend here took your face in his hands and gently wiped away your tears before giving you a kiss and promising his title as the Crowned Prince of Briar Valley that no harm would come to you.

[always-andromeda]

Can you write an Adam Warlock x GN! Reader Smut fic? You can write it however you want...I'm just desperate for non fem smut fics of adam

– ⭒ 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 ⭒ –

𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐦 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐱 𝐆𝐍!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 ▹ 1,283

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 ▹ Being friends with benefits messes with Adam's head far more than either of you are willing to let on.

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 ▹ I don't think I've ever done gn!reader smut? So I'm really hoping that I did this justice for you, anon!! This little concept popped into my head randomly because I can so easily see Adam falling into this kind of situation. Also, I am so sorry my writing has been so sporadic lately </3 I’ve been having various health struggles for the last month and haven’t been super cognizant lmao.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 ▹ smut (minors, please do not interact), reader's appearance, pronouns, and genitals aren't specified, thigh riding, general heavy petting, little bits of friends with benefits angst, kind of implied dom!reader and sub!Adam (if you squint), nothing else I can think of!!

No matter how many times you and Adam end up like this, he still finds himself questioning what exactly is going on. Your lips move so fast and he's just trying to keep up; trying not to let on just how long he's been craving the taste. Which has basically been since the last time you kissed him about a week prior.

It'd been after the team's last mission went particularly well. Quickly – and without any of the other Guardians seeing – you'd placed a chaste kiss on his lips and commended him for his performance. It was so fast and your tone had been so matter-of-fact that Adam had second guessed it had even happened to begin with. It wouldn't be too surprising if he started fantasizing about you.

Unfortunately for him, that was just you and your mixed messages. One minute you were all business and the next you were like this: keeping him anchored in place with a hand on his cheek as you took his breath away.

He supposes he can’t blame you. It made sense, wanting to keep a relationship like this hidden from the others. Though he wasn’t particularly well versed on the sensibilities of those around him, he could imagine this not being a good look for either of you.

And though he may not care what the others thought of him, you seemed to care. And that was enough to mean something to him too.

"You gonna touch me?" you rasp hurriedly.

Yes. Every single time it was a resounding yes. Even if his mind was telling him that he was in too deep, he couldn't help but dig himself deeper. He hates himself for it, but secretly he hopes that at some point he'll find more than the physical contact you provide. Maybe someday he'll hit some underground bunker and that you'd be gracious enough to let him in.

So he nods vigorously, his verbal agreement reduced to a hum as he captures your lips with his once more.

He's still inexperienced and, God, he hopes that you can at least tell that he's trying to learn. For example, he's gotten better at letting you take control. The first few times his hubris had gotten the better of him, making the encounter feel more like a power struggle than a release of stress. Now, he lets you set the pace; lets you figure out right where you want to be.

And right now you want him pressed up against the wall of the ship. You want his leg between yours. And you want to feel his chest heaving as you grind down on him in the secluded and quiet darkness of the hangar.

As soon as Adam pulls back long enough to meet your eyes, he catches the glint of want in them. Then he watches how your gaze sweeps downward. Right to his strong thigh.

You're both grateful that Adam's such a quick learner because he catches the hint before you have a chance to get impatient. With his back against the wall, Adam half expects it to crumble behind him as the scene before him unfurls.

His hands on your lower back keep you steady against his rigid torso. You're so close that he has no choice but to look in your eyes once more. They're half lidded and dark, already almost fucked out despite the fact that you've only just begun to grind against his thigh.

Adam holds you closer, increasing the pressure that comes with each brush of your hips. And pride floods his chest cavity when you groan deeply.

You let out a staggered little laugh, "Fuck, you're so good at this, Adam."

"Only as good as you've taught me to be," he quips with a tinge of tenderness. After all, there's something special to being so tuned into your body like this. He wouldn't trade that mastery for anything. The sentiment comes through tenfold when he nuzzles his nose against yours.

Briefly, his forehead touches yours. You feel the slight chill of the smooth golden gem that's right between his prominent brow. And it becomes all too apparent to you once more who he is; what he is. The chances that this means anything more to him are very little. What could one touch-starved mortal mean to a golden, god-like being?

You merely roll your eyes and dip your head against his chest, hiding from both his soft expression and the impending wave of pleasure that both threaten to knock you off your feet.

Truth told, with your body all over his, all Adam feels is the warmth. There's your hot breath as you work yourself closer and closer towards the edge. Then there's the pulsing heat between your legs that makes him painfully hard. That combined with the cramped confines of the hangar has him picturing you both discard your stifling jumpsuits.

His wishful thinking is interrupted by a groan that gets caught in your throat. "Ah, fuck, I'm so close–" you pant.

Before you know it, one of his hands snakes around the nape of your neck, cradling your head as it lolls back. Then his lips are on the side of your throat, kissing and nipping at the flesh as it trembles from the vibrations from your hums of pleasure. You can't help but wonder if he's somehow trying to absorb your sounds. Either way, the action makes you acutely aware of his strength once more.

If you didn't know any better, you'd fully believe that every part of him was built for this.

But you do know better.

Adam pulls back to chuckle, "I can't wait until we get back home."

And there's where the guilt starts to set in. Like clockwork, it inevitably hits. Whenever he talks so eagerly, you can't help but feel that giant pit in your stomach.

You try to match his energy with a hesitant smile. "What, being down here isn't enough for you?"

"Of course not," Adam furrows his brow teasingly. "Maybe we could have a night to ourselves when we get back."

The cavernous pit grows. You can practically feel your soul shriveling away as you mutter, "Maybe we should lay low for a while. Don't want the others to get any ideas."

Don't want either of us getting ideas too, you want to say.

The way the light fades from his eyes makes you feel worse. But he agrees. He says a small, "You're probably right," and you wish more than anything that you were wrong.

You don't care if the others catch on. Something else about this intimacy bothered you. Because if there was anything that being with the Guardians had taught you, it was that no matter how important love was...things would always happen.

You thought back to Peter and how lost he was when the team had lost Gamora. As much as he'd hated to admit it, that love and loss had changed him so thoroughly that the idea of it happening to you was terrifying.

Adam may not have been the child of a genocidal warlord. But he was still the child of an unstoppable master race of superhuman beings. And no matter how normal things may feel, especially being with him like this, you could never kid yourself into believing it could ever actually be normal.

So you offer him a halfhearted apology. You push yourself off his chest and shakily regain your own balance before returning to the upper decks. Most importantly, you don't look back. And you hope that sends your message sufficiently. That he stops wanting this. Because you doubt you could stop wanting him on your own.

[fang-and-feather]

Ikemen Prince - Leon x Carina - Star gods AU

(more like a fusion, I guess, with Ikemen Prince characters and mixed worldbuilding)

Words: 2,188

Summary: Chosen by Belle, Leon was crowned king. Now it was time to send Carina home, but Leon had fallen in love with the human princess, despite the rule that forbid a relationship between them, and he had to chose between his love and his duty, while facing the decision Carina made herself.

In the future I will both write the sequel and prequel to this scene. I like how the worldbuilding of this one went.

This is not a birthday fic, but I fifnished it today so: Happy Birthday Leon!!

IkePri Masterlist / General Masterlist / Read on AO3

Leon stopped in his tracks as he caught sight of his reflection in one of the palace’s windows.

He didn’t look like someone would expect of the King of the gods. He always had this image of the King as this being beyond all concepts other gods were bound to. But now he was the King, and he didn’t look different from before he was chosen. No different from when he was human.

Well, he looked different from when he was human, in the sense that he lost the visible marks of the suffering he’d gone through. And the stars in his eyes, the only visible sign he had become a god.

And now the change in the constellation was the only sign he had become king.

A human-turned-god becoming King, sounded a little too far-fetched, but by the tradition, Belle had chosen him, and some could complain, but Leon knew he had worked hard to even be a candidate for the title, including abandoning part of his sense of self to take over the place of the young god of Leo.

Speaking of Belle, he had stepped out to find her.

Nobody knew what caused the start of a new king's selection process, but it always happened during heaven’s rift, an event that happened every few thousand years. Leon hadn’t even been a god long enough to see the previous one.

Heaven’s rift, though, didn’t always meant the choosing of a new king, only when it coincided with the blooming of time’s beauty, a unique heavenly flower, and the awakening of a new Belle, a pure-hearted human woman, chosen by the rift to select the new king.

The current Belle, Carina, had chosen him, and now that he was the new king, it was time to send her home.

But Leon had a problem that maybe made him a bad king already, for he had broken an important rule. Gods were forbidden to nurture romantic feelings for humans.

But Leon had fallen in love with Carina in the short time she spent with them. And it wasn’t because Carina was the reincarnation of someone he met in his human life. Someone he had loved then. But by who this Carina was.

She hadn’t doubted they were gods even before witnessing their powers. She had accepted her role and taken it seriously from the moment Sariel brought her to the palace that served as the gods’ headquarters on Earth during the king's selection. She hadn’t let their differences prevent her from treating them with kindness and friendship, as best as every individual would allow for. And she didn’t let the way she was treated by some of the others bring her spirits down.

And besides that, she was an adventurous girl, enabling his escapades, eager to show him around, while taking him seriously when needed. And she didn’t look at him any differently when learning of his past, not as a friend and not as Belle.

But although they became fast friends, she took her job seriously. Some might say otherwise, but she did not choose him because of these things they had in common, or because she thought he was the most human of the gods. And definitely not because she loved him, although Leon was confident she did.

Him having brought her for the coronation was already a questionable decision that, surprisingly, his brothers, and even Sariel and at least one of the other “princes” didn’t complain and the other was calmed surprisingly easy.

Of course, as king, he had the power to change the rules, but although he didn’t know why, these rules were there for a reason and his personal feelings shouldn’t come before the balance of the world.

There was another solution, but he couldn’t ask it of her.

Leon found Carina where he expected, in the gazebo in the garden, talking to Maeve, the wife of the nature’s god, Keith.

The two women were talking and laughing like old friends, and Lein smiled at the sight. He wasn’t the only one Carina had made fast friends with. Not the only one who would miss her.

It was hard for him to control his new abilities and not overhear their thoughts. And maybe he couldn’t shut it down, just distract his thoughts.

Was that how the King seemed to always know everything? Leon always thought it was something more like what Chevalier was capable of.

He would hate it if he couldn’t turn it off, but at least for now, he found himself managing to divert it.

Maeve saw him first. She said a few last words to Carina, stood up and bowed to him with a smile, before leaving.

Carina smiled at him and patted the now vacant spot next to her.

“You really managed to charm so many gods in your brief stay here. If I didn’t know better, I would think you have some sort of power.”

“I like to think love has some kind of power.” The two sat there in silence for a while, Leon noticing Carina didn’t act any different around him. She just smiled, watching the sky, sitting comfortably around him. “You can see so many more stars from here than even the clearest spot on Earth. Do you have new constellations too?”

“One for each god, that is reflected in our eyes. So many that even we can track all of them. Although I can see every individual one a lot clearly now.”

“I wish I could see it.”

Leon looked at her. Although the protocol was to erase her memory before sending her home, maybe he could give her a last, unforgettable sight. A sort of happy dream.

He stood up and extended a hand to her.

“Do you want me to show you?”

It reminded him of the first few days of Carina as Belle, when she caught him sneaking out of the palace and he invited her along. Back then, she had hesitated and questioned him. Now, though, she didn’t even stop to think before placing her hand on his and letting him pull her along.

They looked at each other and shared a smile. Leon pulled her to him and held her tight, stopping to feel her heartbeat speeding up. He chuckled and gave her a questioning glance, to which Carina nodded.

He remembered how bewildered she was when he first took her to the sky like this, a bit afraid to find herself floating all the way above the city, but wonder had won in the end.

Now she was calm, staring at him more than the sky, at least until they were high enough that everything below looked indistinguishable in the dark of the night.

“Do you trust me?” Leon grinned at her.

“Always.”

“Then close your eyes.”

Leon snapped his fingers - he didn’t even know if he needed to anymore, but it was a habit at this point - creating a carpet of clouds she could stand on, before releasing her. Then he placed a hand over her closed eyes and snapped his fingers again.

“Open them and look up.”

When she did, she opened her mouth, eyes shining like a little kid’s.

It was one of the things he loved about her. Carina found such wonder in everything. Things Leon took for granted, and even things humans found pretty normal.

“Do you always see the sky like this?”

“From now on, I guess. I’m not used to it myself, but it’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Carina nodded.

“And a little overwhelming. Each constellation has its own glow that makes you see them individually! Do you know which constellation represents which god?”

“Only the ones I know personally. Maybe this will change, or maybe being king doesn’t mean being as omniscient as the former king felt like. And I would rather not be.”

“I imagine.” Carina laughed. “You always liked being closer to people. And that’s part of what will make you a great king.” Her gaze wandered back to the stars, falling silent once more, before finally pointing at a constellation to the west. “If I had to guess, that one is Maeve’s constellation. And Prince Keith’s is the big one close to it.”

“You are sharp.” Leon ruffled her hair. She was absolutely right. Thinking about it for a moment, he snapped his fingers, creating a couple of pieces of chocolate. “Here’s your prize. Although I know now, it’s not as good as handmade chocolate.”

“It’s not bad either.” Carina laughed and gave him a playful courtesy before accepting the sweet.

“It’s fine. But it’s so small.”

Leon laughed at the way Carina pouted, messing her hair even more.

“How about a game? Can you guess the others’ constellations?”

She pointed right at Yves’, Licht’s, Rio’s and his old one that had lost part of its shine. That one gave her pause.

“The constellations with faded glows… is it because of the war?”

Leon nodded solemnly. Before she was chosen as Belle, the gods had fought a hard battle against an invasion of dark gods. A war that hadn’t ended, just been postponed. And that was a reason Leon had hoped to be king. He hoped to find a way to put an end to this vicious cycle.

Just like he had fought when he was human. Just like Carina’s past self had fought.

No. He shouldn’t think of her. Not with Carina by his side.

But Carina couldn’t be by his side for much longer, either.

He was taken out of his thoughts by a hand wrapping around his.

Carina looked up at him with concern in her gem-like eyes. But Leon immediately grew concerned with her. Her touch was a little too warm, and when she closed her eyes tightly, he knew she had been in contact with his powers way too long for a human.

He freed himself of her touch, to cover her eyes with one hand, while raising the other, ready to snap his fingers, but Carina wrapped both hands around his.

“I have to take my power from over you before it burns your soul.”

“Are you sure that’s all you will do?”

Leon sighed. He had actually planned to alter her memory and send her home. He couldn’t bring himself to say goodbye, and knew she would try to stop him.

“I could steal you away. Take you in so many adventures… but I have a duty here, and you have a life to go back to. It is a miracle our worlds touched, and I will always treasure the time we had together.”

“Why do I feel like I won’t have the same privilege?” Carina asked in a heavy voice. “It’s not fair!”

“I want to know that will be happy.”

“Then don’t send me away! You can fool my mind, but even gids can’t manipulate emotions like this. My heart will never forget. How do you suppose I will be happy while loving someone I won’t even remember?!”

Leon sighed. He knew love was important to Carina. But there was no other option where both of them would be happy.

“You know gods and humans can’t…”

“Then make me one of you. Maeve said only the king can do that, but you are the king now!”

“And did she tell you what would happen to you?”

“Everyone I ever met on Earth would forget me. Which is the best way to part, if I have to. They won’t have to miss me or wonder what happened.”

“But to give away your relationships. Your family. Your identity…”

“I know how these things are important for you, but there will be nothing given up about my identity. Even if I married a human, I would still find myself pretty distant from my family, and I don’t have that many other relationships to lose.”

“You have no idea what it’s like to live, maybe forever, remembering everything you left behind. Watch it pass by…”

“Outliving someone you love is no different if you have to do so for ten years or ten thousand. Same goes for living away from these people. And I will have you for the same eternity, so I won’t be lost.” Carina sighed, finally releasing his hand. “Please, Leon. Is letting me go really what you want?”

Leon couldn’t contain it anymore. He snapped his fingers, removing his aura from her, before pulling her for a kiss.

Carina looped her arms around his neck, but her movements were slow and weak.

Their argument had dragged on for too long. Thankfully, not to the point it could kill her.

“What will I do with such a daring, stubborn star?” Leon scooped her up.

“You love me like that,” Carina replied in a whisper, snuggling up to him.

Leon hummed in accordance as he transported both of them back to the palace.

When she recovered, he would take her out and actually tell Carina he loved her. His life and even his mission would be better with her by his side and, in turn, he would make sure she never regretted choosing him.

Tag List: @2-lines-and-a-circle, @queengiuliettafirstlady, @nightghoul381, @eventinelysplayground, @bicayaya, @keithsandwich

If you want to be tagged/untagged on future writings, you can reply to this post or send me a message

Hope it tagged everyone properly...

[shirajellyfish]

*ahem* Err, question for the director here. How could you manage to make Lune’s “redemption” arc so slowly evolving?? It was amazing the patience you had to not jump into the “friend-shaped” zone too fast, and yet still we wound up with hugs. It made it the most delightful portrayal I’ve seen of any Moon characterization, one weighty with true danger and hard-earned love.

Awww, that makes me so happy to hear that! Thank you! There were a few factors that contributed to the way it played out, I think. Once again I'm adding a read more because I am entirely sure this one will end up far too long as well haha

I wanted to write the journey, not the destination

I think the reason a lot of Moons go friend shaped quickly is because that's what the writer wants to write. They want a Moon who is dangerous to other people maybe, but who is friend to the main character. The common DCA trope of "Watch out, it's the dangerous man-eating tiger Moon!" Y/N: "Pet pat pat, this is my cat. He literally purrs for me." This trope is lovely and absolutely one of my favorite things. If that's what a writer wants to write, then it makes sense that they'd go there as quickly as possible. I would have done the same if what I wanted to write more than anything was friend Moon.

But I wanted to write dangerous feral Moon. I was so excited for every moment where he was threatening, chasing, out of his mind and on the hunt. I cherished writing every one of those scenes, because I knew I was only going to get to write a finite amount of them. I was SO EXCITED with each and every dangerous encounter, so I did everything I could to stretch that phase of the story out as much as I could. That's why it moved slow- I was purposely slowing it down as much as I could!

The thing about writing slowburn is that it shouldn't take patience. If you have to be patient to write a slow burn, then maybe you shouldn't be writing this particular thing as a slow burn. Think of it like going down a waterslide. No one is ever on the slide like "This is such a long slide, it's a real test of my patience to get to the end of it." No, they go "YIPPEE, WATER SLIDE! YAY! YAAAAY!" A slow burn should feel like a water slide. If it doesn't, then maybe the story would be more enjoyable if the characters were just at their destination already instead of spending so much time getting there.

2. A Moon can only be scary for so long.

You know how I said I tried to slow things down on purpose? It's because even the most dangerous and most feral of Moons can only be an exciting threat so many times. The more the story deals with a dangerous character, the more known they are. Like turning on the lights in a dark room, eventually the monster under the bed will cease to be scary. You only have so many of these really thrilling moments before either things will change, or the readers end up going "Oh, it's just another Moon encounter. He'll chase them around for a while before we can get back to the actual story, I guess."

With a fic as long as I See You Sundrop, ending at hugs with Lune was inevitable. I squeezed his character for every exciting scary moment I could, but eventually that relationship was going to have to develop beyond those moments one way or another.

It's not that I don't enjoy writing a softer friend Lune as well. I absolutely loved every moment of that as well- I wouldn't have written it if I didn't love writing it! But there was no possible universe where Lune, no matter how scary at the start, wouldn't develop eventually. Because of this, I was careful with the early Lune encounters and used him as sparingly as possible.

3. I didn't plan it whatsoever.

My secret to character development is that I just. Don't plan it. At all.

Somewhere near the start of the fic, I had an idea for a scene where Riley and Lune could share music with each other without it ending in violence. This general vague concept was reworked into the Closeted chapter and expanded there. This was also the only destination of any kind for them that I had planned.

I didn't write any of Lune's moments with the intention of reaching any kind of end-of-story relationship goal. I just wrote him. While Lune becoming friendly was inevitable, how friendly or what that friendship would look like was never something I was actively working towards. I just let it go and watched what happened, nothing was set in stone.

I put some beasts in a situation. I wonder, what would they do in said situation? I have them do it. Now I wonder, how does that change things between them? Now things have changed. Now the entire course of these characters, and their relationships, and the story itself has changed. This is why I can't write scenes out of order. Every single moment, every interaction, all of it causes everything to shift. I can think of certain plot ideas or big moments in advance, but I won't know how the characters will react to that until I get there- because I won't know who they will be at that point in the story until I get there.

This applies to every single character in my fic. Riley and Sundrop's friendship, Hunter, Natalie, the glamrocks... I knew what I wanted their role to be in certain scenes or the story overall, but I had no big plan for where their development would take them. None of their development was ever set in stone.

I've mentioned before that Take-you-apart was not a planned chapter, it was the result of asking Roxy what she'd do and realizing her answer was "attempted murder." A lot of story moments happened like that. Affection Values even happened that way. I'd never planned for the story to have a scene like that, but when I got there I went "Ohh. That makes sense, doesn't it."

Even Riley's big development moments were done this way. Play nice with your hands, be a good friend, the memory trick, even their relationship with their mom all developed in ways I hadn't planned. I actually wrote their mother as distant because originally, my plan was to give myself an excuse to never write about their family at all! You can see how fast that got thrown out the window.

Speaking of things I can't do- this is also why I write my entire fic before posting anything, and can't post chapter by chapter. Sometimes writing this way leaves glaring plot holes, big themes that aren't worked into the story early enough, and foreshadowing for events that never end up actually happening. I need to know the course of the story before I can refine it, and I won't know it until I get there.

Oops! That did indeed end up getting very long. I hope you were looking for a novel length ramble, because I guess I'm not capable of anything else haha.

[shukakumoodboard]

to walk a waking dream

god of all the fics this one is the REAL bane of my existence

so! storytime. i thought this fic idea up FIRST. VERY FIRST ONE. and to this day two point five or possibly three years later i cannot sort out a cohesive plot for it.

the concept is as follows:

As it turns out, the Infinite Tsukuyomi Jutsu relies on the physical boundaries of each person to delineate one dreamer from the next. When “one dreamer” has multiple dreams, however, the jutsu backfires horribly. Both Gaara and Rock Lee find this out the hard way.

or: gaara and lee were hugging (prob bc lee was lowkey having a breakdown after nart saves gai) when the jutsu triggers, and as such, they get thrown into this weird amalgamation of both their dreams, but because the jutsu is receiving inputs from two brains it fucks up. so they're trying to navigate this and learning about each other's history through broken memory-based dreamscapes--but cue massive blank spot in my plot generation until the end--where they're like aBOUT TO KISS AND CONFESS when they wake up mutated into the same god tree pod thing, but fall out of the tree and have to be like "did u dream... did u" emotino time

also, funnily enough, lots of Casual Body Horror ideas about how the tree was siphoning off people huqhuhquhquhuqhwuhu if y'all remember the taproot concept i mention in grief of sing a song of sleeptide, this is where i originally coined it.

here's a snipeeptept hooHA (tw body horror)

“Did you…” Lee breathed, then stopped. “Did I what?” “Who was—what did you…did you dream?” Lee stumbled over his words, his voice pitched high and thready in a way that suggested nervousness. Somewhere off in the distance, outside their enclosed darkness, a slow rumbling noise began. “Yes,” Gaara whispered. “Did you?” Thudthudthudthudthudthud, went Lee’s heart. “Yes.” The rumbling noise grew louder. Far off, beyond their entwined bodies, beyond the dark entombing them, Gaara heard a thin scream. Something around them started to crumble. The lignified thing at the base of his neck cracked. Gaara twitched slightly, but to his relief, he could now move his head now without pain. The weakest flicker of light pierced their dark cocoon. He could see the faintest outline of Lee’s jaw tipped just slightly upwards towards the ceiling from its natural setting, the drumbeat of his pulse a rapid flicker in his throat. The rest of him was half-wrapped into the walls of their strange prison, his eyes and forehead bound and obscured by the strange papery wood. Unlike Lee, his eyes were free and wheeling, pupils dilated to max to take in the frightening scene. They were bound at the waist down, Lee’s legs folded neatly under him, Gaara’s straddled across him. Their legs were twined in roots that meshed into the strange floor, as though they were not just within a cocoon, but it had been formed from them, grown into their bones and skin. He could feel the surface against his back, no, it wasn’t so much that he was against a surface, but that he was a part of the surface—Gaara could see the bulge of thin fingers of wood under Lee’s skin, flared out into a gruesome, distorted flower across his shoulders, and knew that what had mutilated Lee’s body was also what infested his own. Shifting his body tugged at the skin stretched over thin tendrils of wood, dug into their bodies like a disturbing, wooden parasite. They’d been hugging like this, before the dream, Gaara remembered. Gaara had crawled into Lee’s arms and Lee had curled around him tight, his arms strong and warm and safe but shaking still. He’d been crying for his teammate, crying for the near and still possible loss of his teacher, crying because Gaara-kun, I was so afraid for you and Gaara had thought, just maybe, that Lee meant something more from those spilled words— “What did you dream of?” Did you dream of me? Did you dream of me the way I dreamt of you?

[ruthlesslistener]

do you have any headcanons for anything you've been holding onto, but haven't had a good chance to post about? I love your fics and I wanna peer into your mind palace

Shhdhchs EXCELLENT bc ive had a lot of thoughts but this quarter + anxiety in general has been killin me

-Okay so I'm still hyperfixated on Destiny 2 bc of a DnDestiny game I'm in, but since Hollow Knight is a special interest and I read a couple of frankly stunning crossover fics (one with the Inheritance Cycle, one with Transformers, both are outstanding and I will recc them wholeheartedly if you ask- the TF one especially blew my tits clean off which is saying something bc I have zero TF knowledge, also its 500k words but I'm rambling), my brain has been essentially locked into the concept of a crossover AU where a couple of my D2 OCs get slingshot into the HK world via a fucked-up warpgate through wish-dragon magic, and it's now got me kind of obsessed with the idea of the world of Hollow Knight taking place on an alien planet that had some convergent evolution re: general insect body plans, but went off the fuckin' rails with everything else. So here's some worldbuilding thoughts on that:

-Their planet would be far from Earth and the origin place of the Ahamkara and precursor race to the Worm Gods, who are distant relatives to each other that took to the stars to opportunistically feed off of rifts in reality. They are in turn sister taxa to the Wyrms and Higher Beings from Hollow Knight, who also feed off of the wants, desires, and gulf between what-is-desired-and-what-is-true, but unlike the worms and wish-dragons, the Higher Beings are essentially 'settled' species. They're the farming civilization to the hunter-gatherers of their Destiny-based kindred, and yes, both branches of the family tree fucking despise each other and look down scornfully on the other's lifestyle. The Higher Beings view the Worms and Ahamkara as little more than scavengers, while the Worms and Ahamkara see the Higher Beings as glorified slavedrivers with sticks up their asses- though it should be noted that since the Ahamkara's whole deal so far has been malignant trickery as a hunting style, this doesn't neccessarily carry the same negative connotations that it would in our society. I also don't know enough about the proto-Worms to say how their race would react, but the Worm Gods as they are now certainly are something that Wyrms would look down on

-(Yes that means I have thought extensively about the Pale King's ghost bristling aggressively at a baby ahamkara barely a few hours old. In my defense, it's funny, and also I almost never remember to write him as the cold, prickly, arrogant ass that he is bc his kids make him Big Sad)

-The planet would likely be smaller than Earth with lighter gravity, though how much smaller I can't say because I'm not a fuckin' physicist. I just want an excuse for making fuckoff-huge animals a thing even beyond the inherent space magic thing going on

-Oh, and most life is underground because the atmosphere is thinner than Earth and so the upper surface gets bombarded with deadly amounts of radiation, which causes the mind-wiping effects of the Wastes (where the angle towards their sun is the greatest and thus the strongest). Ngl I did briefly think about potential magnetic field fluxes also being the cause of that effect but like, I cannot overstate how little I know of things outside biology

-HK being set on an alien planet lets me do wack shit with the species there too bc I'm no longer bound by comparing them to Earthbound species. For example, I can make Quirrel an isopod with cricket legs. Who's going to stop me, God? He doesn't exist here

-That also means I can stop being bothered by Herrah's dubious leg placement bc it would kill me forever otherwise

-Also, them being on an alien planet gives me even more of an excuse to never put traditional vertebrate species in there, which is great. I've said it before, but putting Earth vertebrates in the HK setting totally ruins all the fun for me because I love the concept of all the species diversity being made up of invertebrates, and that the 'advanced' bugs we see have filled the niche that vertebrates would have otherwise taken over. Like the carboniferous period but on steroids

General HK thoughts too:

-been toying with the idea of wyrms having a set of evertable inner jaws like polychaete worms, which would be used for keeping dirt out of the mouth and biting off chunks to eat, while the outer jaws (the ones we see) are used for killing, digging, and sparring with other wyrms. The idea is that the outer ring of mandibles bites big circular chunks out of the substrate, which then breaks off into tiny pieces they filter out in between gaps in their mandibles and pack down into tunnel walls as they move forward

-I've also been toying with the idea of them secreting some kind of mucus as they dig that's almost a calcifying substance, but now that I think about it, I can probs just put those glands in their frontal mouth so if they need to reinforce a tunnel (like, say, one burrowed in sand instead of rock), they can mix their saliva in with the substrate to chemically solidify the tunnel walls

-Which btw is a major thing for ecosystems bc the tunnels are used for lots of different things by lots of different species. Wyrms are terraformers baybee!! Kinda the same way wildfires are, but still

-I've also been thinking about maybe making it so that the row of plates I like to draw on their backs act as a secondary pair of belly scutes, which means that wyrms can slither just as easily upside down as they can on their undersides, which helps underground. It's not as efficient as the super-smooth scales on a blind snake, but that's the tradeoff they get for needing to be so heavily armoured

-I'm also leaning towards making marine/freshwater variants that are just straight-up bobbit worms on even more steroids, but since I already have fuckoff huge marine alien bobbit worms in a scifi setting of mine, I'd need to figure out a way to make them unique

-I learned that there's internalized folds of exoskeleton for muscle attatchment in my invertebrate biology course and got really excited about that being a potential basis for the formation of skeletal elements in the world of Hollow Knight- like, maybe bug bones started off as those lil folds (i forgot their technical name which is embaressing bc i literally just took the final this night) becoming stronger and deeper-set into the body to better support the weight of larger and larger bugs, and then it spiraled into a skeleton analogue from there. Being derived from the exoskeleton probably means that it would be less strong than our bones, but it would likely also be lighter

Misc:

-God I really need to write Hornet in Silksong so bad. Fuck. I need need need to write this mildly autistic unsocialized princess running amok in a civilization that isn't ready for her. Also my interpretation of Lace is basically an oc at this point but I don't want to do anything with her just yet bc that shits a lot of work, I just need to write everything down for her so far (and tbh Lurien probs also counts at this point but thats more filling a niche that TC left unfufilled)

-I've also got gijinka thoughts in that I'm leaning towards making Lurien a trans guy who didn't have any gender-affirming surgeries bc a.) I love love love making a variety of trans characters and b.) Hallownest isn't a society where the concept of being transgender is an issue, so there's no need to do it to pass, only to prioritize your own comfort. And since Lurien never expected to be seen in anything but his formalware, he never saw the point of bothering

-(The aformentioned point also applies to normal bug Lurien but this is more of a personal thing here)

-Need to focus more on how the latent magic of the god of a realm changes your eye colour, with the more intense the shade = the more involved you are with their magic. Using Lurien as an example again: his eyes were brown naturally, but after he became Watcher, they slowly shifted to shades of paler and paler blue. I also like the idea of Quirrel's eyes getting more blue the more memories of Hallownest he unlocks, until they're the same shade as the Blue Lake in his final scene

-This can also happen in reverse; for example, my Lace gijinka starts off with gold eyes to signify the church of Pharloom's hold over her, but then slowly revert back to brown as Hornet gives her more and more hope that the institution can be toppled, until they're eventually their natural deep brown with just the faintest flecks of silver in them (signifying Hornet's importance in her life)

-It just occurred to me the other day when I was at work that Striga and Morgana from Castlevania S3 are almost exactly how I imagined my Vespa and Herrah gijinkas to be and now I can't stop thinking about it. The main difference is that my Herrah is a fat spider-orc with tats and Vespa is a fae queen with bee features shimmering through her human veil, but still. Its uncanny

[vivacissimx]

I know you have analysed them a lot but what is your fav part of rhaelya? And what's a fic idea you would like to write about them?

oh Rhaegar & Lyanna are the reason I joined fandom for the first time, so you know my love for them is special 😅 as for my favorite part: I have probably talked about this before but I'm very touched by the concept of 'human connection in a hurricane.' It's about how chaos causes panic & panic can overwhelm us but it's true purpose is clarity. In the mire of asoiaf political intrigues and betrothals, Rhaelya represents that clarity. In general, I find Rhaelya to be more similar than not (for all the icefire chatting). What do you do when you love your father but he's the reason you can't go home? If the people who love you can't help you or save you, does that turn you cruel or empathetic towards the world? When do/don't we trust?

There is also the obvious which is that Rhaegar & Lyanna fall in together because the other is what they admire. It may seem like a random & sudden pairing but really there's a mirroring from the beginning. Rhaegar sings a song to an audience which doesn't understand—Lyanna cries for a reason her family doesn't get either. Their coming together is about hiding the Knight of the Laughing Tree's identity and in that moment they see each other. Lyanna jousts for Howland—Rhaegar does it for Lyanna. Ostensibly the latter are chivalrous acts (defending the weak/honoring the maiden) but because they're not performed within the usual paradigm as expected these actions are a) reviled and b) reveal what truly motivates the two: Compassion. Justice.

I am also partial to the complication of returns/how leaving a place that is no longer safe is a love story/the moments that beg you to run headlong into them and you, human as can be, make that choice. All of these are part of Rhaelya's story. It's true that Lyanna left her family who she loved. People will say ah she was young, she was stupid, she was blinded by Rhaegar's charisma; but again, this is a moment about clarity. About certainty. Justice is about what happens in the future. Lyanna ran to the future & left behind only those whose love mattered less than their ability to possess her.

Rhaegar I have recently longposted about so it's clear how I formulate him. On the Lyanna part I've definitely said this but basically once the war kicked off there was no way for him to transport Lyanna anywhere without further endangering her and/or him family with Elia—you need to understand that Rhaegar loved his children to understand him at all. That he loved his mother, his father, had seen them broken down & turn apathetic or even cruel towards the world. You need to understand that Lyanna represented a shining light of hope against this backdrop for him. I am also one of the people who believe that Rhaegar & Lyanna's sexual relationship only started after Brandon/Rickard were executed so clearly this is a complex but also painfully simple story about the human heart for me. I love people at their most human. Affirming people's dignity during suffering or crisis is an ethical duty I feel I have towards others. And GRRM did exactly that for Rhaegar and Lyanna, so how can I not love them? I'd ship Rhaelya if I was born in a small Bavarian village in 1753, etc etc.

As for the fic I'd love to write, there are two:

1—

Rhaegar riding through the Riverlands on his way to the Ghost of High Heart. He's with Myles Mooton, Arthur Dayne, Richard Lonmouth, Oswell Whent. They stop at the Inn at the Crossroads. Everyone's laughing and drinking, Myles is flirting with the one pretty barmaid while Rhaegar is ContemplatingTM—Bess is her name. Bess boasts about all the ladies and lordlings who stopped at their inn recently & gives a description of what sounds like Brandon and Lyanna Stark. They enjoy riding out on their lil horses. But, Bess says, the Northern lord didn't like the look of our little lordling so they didn't stay long & haven't been bacj. The girl was kind though! She gave a few coins for the boy after slipping away from her wroth brother. Suddenly, Rhaegar's tuned in and the little lordling is trotted out...

A toddler with black hair and blue eyes. Soon after, the plans change.

2—

Their first meeting including Rhaegar nerding out a bit over meeting a crannogman after Howland uses lite magic to try and help them escape. Benjen & Howland trying to take responsibility for being the KOTLT and failing. Lyanna not just a winter maiden but a stubborn Northern bitch hardened by winter (it's the iron underneath baby!!). Sussing each other out during a long silent stare down. Maybe somebody even cracks a Joke? That kind of thing.

OK long answer 💀 sorry but I can't help myself!

[mockerycrow]

Please Stop Requesting Unique Plot Fics Other Writers Have Done To Other Writers.

Hey everyone, I was just made aware that someone had requested another writer nearly to the T, the exact same plot of my own fic “emergency contact”. And I understand I don’t own the concept, but it included the unique details I PERSONALLY ADDED, like this person specifically requested “meeting outside of a therapists office”, losing your own house for some reason, AND the car crash, and Ghost being your emergency contact. If this was a general prompt/idea I would understand, but I literally put time and effort into that story. I put time and effort into those details that made that story, THAT STORY. I have already dm’ed the writer and requested for them to take it down and I have provided proof that I posted that concept way before, and I’m not posting any usernames because I don’t want anyone to hunt anyone else because sometimes the internet can be brutal. But, this entire thing makes me very discouraged to write if my unique plots will just get stolen, on the SAME WEBSITE that I wrote mine, no less! I don’t blame the writer, but the requester? There is no way they did not see my fic. Please, just don’t take the plot of another writer’s fic and request a different writer to do it. That’s weird and really… really discouraging. Thanks.