#so fingers crossed I *DO* actually at least get *one* of the others done lol
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
bobbydagen24 · 9 months ago
Text
it annoys me how much Band Together focused on the aspect of Branch being Treated like a baby as opposed to the actual more serous actions committed by his Brothers.
like Branch's big moment in the film during the argument scene is calling them out on Treating him like a little kid despite him being an adult but it just annoys me because that really isn't the biggest source of Drama in the story.
so it feels weird that the film chose to focus on that I only realised why that scene bothers me so much earlier when I was Reading a fanfic of someone's alternative take on a Bro zone and Branch argument and they had Branch actually call out all the important stuff they did.
so yeah after that it finally hit me why that scene in the film feels like such a let down because Branch doesn't actually bring up any of the actual big issues in Regards to his Bros actions.
he doesn't call them out on leaving him and Grandma not to mention each other over a petty argument he doesn't call them out on never coming back for no real reason even JD is guilty of this to an extent given he clearly came back a number of years later when the Trolls had already left.
he doesn't call them out on the fact that this Resulted in none of them seeing Grandma again before her death and of course him having no one after she died instead he just calls them out on Treating him like a kid in present day 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️
its just weird its like if in the first movie Rather than helping the Bergens learn they can be happy Poppy instead helped them get their Taxes in order lol its just choosing the way less serous and meaningful story option to focus on.
and that's why the films family story felt unresolved to me because the big important aspects weren't even acknowledged all that much let alone atoned for and that's kinda the Bare minimum of storytelling in my opinion.
even tho I know people have their Doubts about DreamWorks I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they still have at least a little more exploration of this in the next film or Christmas Special.
as this kinda serous stuff needs to be addressed before we can be expected to believe that Branch would suddenly be okay with giving his Bros another chance imo.
and if not then this kinda bad storytelling needs to be called out more as animated filmmakers have done better in the past and can do better in the future if they actually get genuine constructive feedback.
58 notes · View notes
moneymartin · 6 months ago
Text
🦈 - perfect pair
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
warnings: nothing but tooth rotting fluff. mia’s a lil nerd lol and awk/nervy reader :)
a/n: making this short and sweet cause i been itching to write smth for mia soooo. promise all the other things will come out soon they’re really close to being done :( title will make sense at the end. didn’t know how to finish 💔
taglist: @deerlottie 💕
Tumblr media
mia’s been blabbering about all the little animals and fish here at the aquarium you took her to for a date. it was something small to clear her head from whatever was going on at school, and it was obviously working.
she was more cheery than usual today which brought big amounts of relief to you. she had been much more chit chattier than most days as well. “baby? do you see that starfish over there? it has all these little brown dots and it’s called a ‘chocolate chip seastar’ or the protoreaster nodosus.” mia smiles brightly and looks at you, hoping you understood everything she said. “yeah, that’s cute.” you murmur and smile back, grabbing her hand again when she starts to wander off.
all you can really do is stare at her dumb outfit. overalls and those big hats like she was a tourist coming here for the first time. plus she had that little aquarium pamphlet at all times that was handed out when you guys came in. you threw yours away, but mia had instantly started to read through it.
she ends up leading you into those glass tunnels that give people a good view of all the shark and fish. the first one she spots is the whale shark, her blue eyes becoming all big and the pressure she has on your hand getting tighter. “ooohhh!! i love these big guys so much, babe, i think they’re my favorites out of every other one…” mia blurts.
you watch her eyes follow the dang thing around as it swims inside slowly. “because of their size they move superrr slow. i think at least 3 miles an hour.” her voice is slightly high pitched, and thats how you know she’s excited. the white of her knuckles while she grips your hand confirms what you think as well.
“oh! and these leopard sharks… they have a seventh sense! it can help them detect EMF fields in the water and they have teeth on their skin.” while she talks, all you can do is admire the way she looks and how she’s confident enough to talk about what she likes with you. that’s all that matters to you in a relationship.
“t- that’s really, really cool, mimi…” you muster up, a hot red flush rising up your face and a nervous smile crossing it. it’s not normal for you to get nervous around someone, but this feeling was incredibly different. “i appreciate you telling me about this.” you mumble, your words coming out all mushy and soft. something about this just makes you feel all tingly inside.
her eyes are all big, just like yours, her jaw slightly slack at the thought of you being anxious around her. “are you… are you nervous? around me?” mia laughs quietly and takes both of your hands into hers. her touch is soft like it always has been, her fingers running over your palm carefully.
“yes?! no! i- i don’t know! i just think you’re really pretty talking about all your nerdy stuff like that!” you blurt out and quickly let go of her hands, yours flying over to cover your mouth. there’s an even darker shade of red that washes over your face again and you can’t help but look away towards the sharks and fish.
“right… cause whale shark talk makes you nerves go off.” she scoffs, but softens up when she realizes that you’re actually feeling this way around her. the anxious fidgeting with your fingers and the constant stutters she hardly noticed. you’d think after at least 2 months of dating her you’d be able to hold them in. “y’know, i’ve always been super nervous around you too.” mia whispers.
“yeah, sure.”
“i’m serious. you should’ve seen me when i started talking to you.” her eyebrows cock up for a second and she cups your cheek with her hand, slowly turning your head to the side so you can look at her. your arms cross over your chest and it feels like a bunch of words are stuck in your throat.
“guess that makes us a perfect pair?” mia giggles and looks up at you, her face inching just a smidge bit closer. her lips ghost over your skin and all the nerves paint themselves on your face, making it more obvious. “yeah! we’re perfect..”
31 notes · View notes
some-creep · 4 months ago
Text
Currently untitled sequel to "Little Bird" Ch 01/??
I realized I was never going to get this done if I didn't just finish part of this ever growing mess of a fic and upload it piece by piece to tumblr. If you've read the original you know what you're in for. Falke / Ariane but Falke is Not Very Nice and is a possessive little freak. Also known as "S23 AU" because it's Ariane... at S23. CW for weird power imbalance sexual situations same as before lol.
She had once again found herself in Falke's bed. It had become routine at this point, being called in for a “report”, ignoring the Administrator’s dirty look he always gave her as she passed by him wordlessly, stepping into the Commander’s office, and finally, waiting to see what kind of mood Falke was in.
On some days she was merciful, disinterested in toying with Ariane, and would even make attempts at small talk, asking her how she was or how Elster was doing. Other times, she seemed to just be lonely and only asked for Ariane to sit with her while she worked. It had occurred to her after a time that she didn't think the Commander actually had any friends to speak of. Whether or not she found this news surprising, she hadn't yet decided on.
She had not been so lucky today. Falke had skipped any vague attempts at social niceties and instead had ushered Ariane immediately into her bedroom, a room in which Falke seemed determined to have Ariane only associate with bad memories. The first time Falke had ever struck her had been in this room after she'd been accused of not paying attention. Elster, of course, had not believed that she'd fallen, but did not press any further.
It was eerily silent, and Ariane wondered if the room was sound proof – such a thing wouldn't shock her given the interests of its occupant. If she held her breath, she swore she could hear Falke's heart beat from across the room. The bed, while long enough to fit a Replika of her stature, was unusually narrow, albeit not by the standards of this base. Should Falke want them to share, they had no choice but to cuddle. She used to dread the outcome, but as time went on, she'd gotten so used to it that it no longer bothered her as much as she wished it would. 
“So…” Ariane began, already fiddling with one of the buttons on her uniform. There was no point prolonging the inevitable.
Falke sat down in a large plush chair in the corner, crossing one leg over the other as she watched Ariane in silence. The Nation's flag hung limp behind her, and she looked so stern and put together it was almost as if she were posed for the next Replika celebration poster. Falke units: unable to take no for an answer. The thought amused her more than it should have, and were she not so scared to explain what was so funny, she might have even smiled.
When Falke didn't answer, she stripped obediently, folding her uniform up and setting it on the bedside table. She waited another moment before speaking up again. “You're in a bad mood today,” Ariane observed, “why?”
“Do you suppose that's really any of your business?” The response was sharper than usual, though Falke's lack of movement told Ariane she likely wasn't in immediate danger.
She could only shrug. “No. But it's polite to ask anyway.”
The Replika sighed heavily as she slumped further down. Falke propped up her arm on the side of the chair, leaning her head against her hand. “Aren't you a well trained girl?” 
With her free hand, fingers barely moving, she lifted Ariane into the air. Her bioresonant abilities were meant for a battlefield, to be used as a terrifying display of power to show that she was dangerous far outside of arm's length without the need of a firearm. Instead, she worked in an office. The least she could do was entertain herself by manipulating Ariane like the little doll she was. 
Ariane's face had gone red as she hung in the air in front of Falke, helpless, just the way the Commander liked it. It was an odd sensation, being lifted up this way. Every part of her body felt securely held in place by some unseen pressure, enveloping her with a strange warmth across her skin. It was almost as if Falke was physically touching her, but it was more all consuming than that. It was strong and restrictive, yet at the same time it didn't hurt.
“Commander..?”
Falke did not respond. With another subtle hand movement, Ariane felt…something. Her mind struggled to comprehend feeling her skin being massaged with no actual contact being made. It brought with it a certain kind of panic, an instinctual fear of the unknown. Gestalt brains so easily broke to things they could not make sense of. 
Ariane tried feebly to grab at the areas she felt being invisibly groped, but Falke was quick to pin her arms behind her back. Once properly restrained, the strange prodding continued. Her neck, her thighs, her breasts. Ariane closed her eyes, hoping it would help. It didn't feel bad but it wasn't satisfying. It felt like it should be but it was missing…something.
She gasped as the sensation slipped between her legs. Ariane tried in vain to press her knees together but, just as before, Falke wouldn't allow it. She could only twist helplessly in the air as Falke continued to tease her with more success than Ariane wanted to admit. She wanted more.
Again, she spoke up, pitifully letting the word “Commander” fall from her lips. Anything to get Falke's attention. 
This time, Ariane got results. The Replika stood up in one smooth, practiced movement, likely assisted by her own Bioresonant abilities given her size. Falke stood next to her, cocking her head to the side as she invited her to continue. 
She looked so…serious standing there. Jaw set, eyes focused. A predator with an overabundance of willing prey who had grown bored of not needing to hunt. She waited and allowed her hand to still distantly manipulate Ariane's body as she watched her prey twitching in the air. When Ariane did not speak, she felt the invisible sensation grab her neck to force her to look back at Falke. 
“I need…”
“Speak up, I can't hear you.”
Ariane's breath caught in her throat, but whether or not that was Falke's doing she couldn't be sure. At any rate, the Commander hadn't stopped fondling her. And it felt good. Why did it feel good? Why did the sight of Falke looming over her with that expression on her face make her heartbeat quicken. She could even smell her. Hot metal and plastic. Faint, nearly imperceptible.
“Please…”
Falke reached out, grabbing her throat with her actual hand this time. The textured plastic against her desperate body made her inadvertently whimper. She tried to curl into Falke in any way she could, but she was frozen in the air.
“Please what?”
“It's- it's nice. But–”
“But?” Falke leaned closer to her, voice barely a whisper.
“More, please, Commander.” Ariane wished she wasn't asking. Wished her body hadn't become so hot and needy. And from what? Nothing at all. Nothing that she could understand. When Falke continued to just stand there, she added, “fuck me.”
She would have felt ashamed of her request were her thoughts not immediately halted by Falke shoving two fingers inside of her. Ariane moaned, used to the pain of it by now. Falke had made her practice and now Ariane could handle the rough intrusion with relatively few issues. 
Wordlessly, Falke shoved her against the wall, keeping her pinned just the same as she'd kept her floating. Ariane wanted to cling to her, but she could do little else besides remain still and allow herself to be used until Falke was bored of her.
Ariane lay on Falke's bed, tucked under the blanket to relax as she watched Falke thumbing through a folder by her side. She was mumbling, half to herself, half to Ariane.
“My bosses have requested you join me at my next meeting with them. I told them I wasn't sure if you could come but they insisted you be there this time. I would prefer to go alone but…” she shrugged. 
A thought crossed her mind at that moment. Ariane sat up to look at Falke. “Since they want to talk to me, we could try asking them to–”
Falke snapped her head towards Ariane, expression a mixture of anger and confusion. What had she said wrong? Had she spoken out of turn? 
“What was that?”
“I just thought–”
“You thought what? Hm?” Falke cut her off, increasingly agitated by the whole thing.
Ariane flinched, knowing she'd set Falke off. It was so easy to do in private, despite how put together she tried to present herself publicly. 
She clutched the blanket against her chest, as if it might offer her some protection from Falke's wrath should she decide punishment was in order. The threats were usually enough to keep Ariane in line, but even if she immediately backed down, it didn't always mean she was safe from retaliation. Sometimes, it seemed, Falke was just bored and wanted an excuse to hurt her. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it.
“Nevermind. I'm sorry.”
“No, do go on. I'd love to see what a child like you possibly thinks about the way things are run around here.”
The irony wasn't lost on either of them. Ariane was easily twice Falke's age, but as a Replika she'd skipped all of that growing up nonsense Ariane had dealt with.
“I just thought we could ask for more Gestalt medical supplies since… I'll be there this time. And I'm a Gestalt. So, they might listen to me,” she mumbled, hearing Falke laugh as her words trailed off into silence.
“Oh, little bird, you are foolish, aren't you? Did you think it never crossed my mind to ask for extra supplies? Do you think our lack of support is a flaw? Some incidental inconvenience? No. This is the system working exactly as intended.”
Ariane wasn't sure she understood. She let Falke continue her rant.
“Did you think that just because I let you into my bed you'd suddenly have an “in” for changing how things are run around here? As if it were that easy.”
Ariane hadn't necessarily thought that, but at the same time, she figured it was worth a try. Clearly, she was mistaken and Falke was more than happy to let her know.
“I run things the way I am supposed to. My job is to keep you and every other little Gestalt in line just as it is my job to ensure my Replika staff are willing to follow my rule. And do you know what happens if I should fail in my duties? I am replaced. Do you think I'm the first Falke unit to grace this lovely facility? The second? No. I'm the fifth. It's so easy for them. They just ship off a new model and dispose of the old one.”
From a strictly resource based point of view, that sounded wasteful. FKLR units looked expensive, complex. They were the latest generation of Replika and had plenty of top of the line military applications that made Ariane think they were worth keeping operational. If Falke was telling the truth, maybe that wasn't the case after all. With all their power, FKLR units could quickly become an issue if left unchecked so perhaps it made sense logistically to rule over them with fear. No matter how powerful they think they are, should they fall out of line, someone else will step in with no issue.
“Tell me. Do you want to join them? If I recall, the Gestalts at Rotfront would be happy to see you toil away and die alone and forgotten. Do you think for one second any of them feel differently about you? They hate you. To them, you're one of us. And to us? You're one of them. If you were smart, and I've seen your schooling records I know the only reason you passed was because the EULRs were sick of looking at you, but if you were smart, you'd shut up and look pretty for me and be grateful I give you the freedoms that I do.”
Ariane shifted, wondering if it was worth the argument. She didn't want to drop it; she felt guilty not trying to do something for the other Gestalt workers. But maybe Falke was right and she should keep her mouth shut. Would they see her as nothing more than a traitor? No better than the Replika staff who kept them subjugated? Worse still, the Replikas were by and large, quite accommodating of her. No, more than that. They were nice to her. Friendly. Every Starling that joked around with her would go on to work a shift making sure no worker spoke out of line. Every Kolibri that excitedly talked books with her was perfectly willing to torture information out of a suspected spy. They'd all turn on her if she was in any other position. It was their job, after all. It wasn't personal. It was just business. 
Ariane could do nothing more than choke out a pathetic little “I'm sorry, Commander,” before bowing her head.
Falke, who seemed satisfied she'd made her point, grabbed Ariane by the hair to pull her head back up. “Don't cause trouble for us during our meeting. Shame our little get together had to end on such a poor note, isn't it? You were having so much fun,” Falke purred, seeming once again pacified after her outburst. 
Ariane could do nothing more than give her a submissive kiss and embrace her. “I'm sorry. I'll behave. I know better.”
It was difficult to look at Elster when she returned to her room that evening. Sex with Falke wasn't new, nor was leaving her office not feeling completely miserable. What was new was the guilt of begging Falke to fuck her. Not out of survival instinct, but out of genuine desire. She'd wanted it in the same way she often wanted it from Elster. 
It didn't matter how small or dim the room was, or how tired the Replika might be, Elster noticed her mood and her avoidance. “You're late. Is everything alright?” 
Ariane wished it was accusatory, but the genuine concern in Elster's voice made her sick with shame. Elster would understand if she told her that truth. She'd know Ariane didn't have a choice when Falke made her do things. None of them had a choice.
“Sorry. I was…talking to Hunter.”
Elster frowned. The lie hung in the air between them for several agonizing moments. 
“I'm glad you're back.”
Ariane nodded as she began to get undressed. She wanted out of her uniform, wanted her bed, wanted Elster. 
“I'm sorry. I'm just tired,” she said, throwing her uniform over the back of her desk chair. It was too hot in the small room to change into anything else, so she'd simply gotten used to spending all of her time with Elster naked. 
Ariane crawled into her bed, which was little more than a mattress on a shelf built into the wall. There were no Gestalt quarters in the Protektor levels, but as an Officer, she couldn't be placed with the regular workers. Their accommodations weren't any better, and by comparison, she was living in a mansion. An entire desk that reached both walls on either side of it, a chair, a small television set supplied by Kolibri on her arrival, and a tape player lent to her by the EULR unit who brought her her meals during the day. Mounted on the wall was a fan Elster had dug out of the garbage and repaired just for her in an attempt to alleviate some of the airflow issues in the room.
Elster didn't fit on the bed without curling up at her side, but she never complained about it. Prior to joining Ariane in her room, Elster simply slept wherever she lay, finding far off corners to nap until she was needed again. She was meant to stay in the ARAR dorm, but they lacked any available beds for her. Ariane had invited her to stay in her room and she'd simply never left. 
“You'd tell me if I could do anything for you, wouldn't you?”
“Elster, you already do so much for me. I'm fine.”
Elster wanted to say ‘but you don't seem fine’ but she knew she wasn't going to win that discussion. She nodded, pulling Ariane close to her chest. “Sure.”
20 notes · View notes
just-some-random-blogger · 2 years ago
Note
feel free to imagine a sexy interpretation. Also, I'm going to add a loss of virginity here just for fun. In this scenario, Dream is finally willing to admit to himself that he loves the reader, but he's still not willing to confess (and he's also still a possessive/obsessive jerk), so instead he chases after the woman's dreams, especially until even your wet dreams. And 2 possible catalysts here, either Dream sees that the reader is dreaming about having sex with someone else and becomes insanely jealous or he sees someone flirting with the reader in the waking world and becomes insanely jealous XD. This is so Dream, like a king, he feels entitled to the reader and his time, and while he's trying to work up the courage to confess, he makes sure the reader can't hook up with anyone else.
Petty And Yours
Dream of the Endless x Demon Hunter!Reader
Summary: Somnium Regem, the Dream King, felt a certain kinship to the bondservants of his sister Domina, the Lady, or in the words of the king, older sister, Death. This was because of how closely the family of demon hunters has interacted with the Endless throughout generations. There was a particular member of this family he had a soft spot for, not that he'd ever admit it out loud, unless coaxed.
Word Count: 9k+💀 (why cant i ever just make them fuck and be done with it?)
Warnings: Fem!reader, smut (virgin!reader, biting marking, fingering, oral [f receiving], hair pulling, vaginal penetration, unprotected sex, praise kink), Set in the Roman middle ages, dream being stupid, reader being stupid, jealous/possessive!dream, reader, fluff, angst, typos, etc.
A/N: OMG YES. MINORS DNI (the smut is at the end) Let go nonnie we love petty, possessive and pathetic dream UGH <3 also I really enjoyed this universe I made with demon hunter!reader, and i usually don't make p2s for my work, but im giving her at least this because she deserves it and i love her. ok isnt actually a p2, its more of a prequel in fact, so you dont have to read the other demon hunter fic i made, but if you do youre gonna be like OMG SLAY that makes more sense now. also, smut after smut for this reader, get it bestie HAHHA HELP THIS REACHED 8k WTF And just in case its not clear, theyre speaking latin in this but like i only put a few latin passages cos i have no idea if its even right lol HAHAHH this gif of him T_T he's so emo sir calm yourself T_T Tagging: @pinksirensong @aralezinspace @deniixlovezelda @shadow-pancake9 @sloanexx @julesandro @farintonorth Previous demon hunter!reader fic: "Caged"
Tumblr media
With my thick skirt and cloak gathered in my hands, I stop at the edge of the street, waiting for the donkey cart to pass me.
I release a huff, impatiently, though I end up finding myself smiling at the old man who greets me while he urges his ride to quicken its pace. Once he has passed, I finally move to cross.
I hiss when a bunch of children carelessly run past me. I eye them and call out, "vigilate quo itis!"
Watch where you're going!
"Children," I mutter in Latin under my breath, as I quickly make my down the townsquare.
I run up a flight of marble stairs and huff when I reach the temple at the top. I push one of the massive doors open, and the sound of it echoes in the grand room.
I close the door and call out, "mater?"
I wait. Nothing. I call out again.
When I finally hear my name, I turn and see it was my mother but my brother calling for me. Grin in excitement, not expecting his prescience. I run over to the man who was three years my senior, smiling from ear to ear, arms out stretched.
I jump into his arms. We seal each other in a tight embrace.
"Cassian," I chuckle airily, "it's been nearly two decades."
He hums, "yes, little sister. I've missed you dearly."
I pull away from him and cups his cheeks. I smile at the sight of his face, looking no older than the age of 25, like the rest of us siblings, though we were all on this earth for more that 50 years.
"Where is mother?" I ask.
Cassian grabs my hands, "Domina est ad loquentes."
She is talking with The Lady.
"The Lady is here?" I tilt my head and perk at the idea.
"Apud Somnium Regem."
"With the Dream King!?" I gasp, "oh come on brother, we must meet them at once!"
Cassian laughs as I tug at his arm in excitement.
He and I rush off to where Domina and Somnia were, recounting random stories that we could think of along the way. The moment I spot the two, conversing with my grey haired mother, I release my grip on Cassian and run towards them.
My mother catches me and chuckles, calling out my name in greeting as she opens her arms out to me from the windowsill she was sat upon.
Once upon her, I envelope her in my arms, kissing her cheeks repeatedly.
"Ah, my sweet girl," my mother coos in my mother tongue, "you act as though you did not see me a month ago."
I pull away from her, shaking my head, "I would react the same way even if I saw you yesterday, mater."
She smiles, placing a kiss on my forehead before I turn to the two Endless siblings.
"Domina," I smile, leaning in for an embrace, kissing both cheeks of the dark skinned woman. She chuckles and reciprocates.
"Somnia," I bow my head at the pale man. He smiles and mimics me, and he extends his palm out for me to take. When I do, he kisses the back of my hand.
I chew on the inside of my lower lip, holding back a smile as I pull my hand away.
"Praise to the Lady, Praise to the Dream Lord," Cassian calls when he finally reaches us. My brother takes his time showing his respects to the siblings, then after, kisses our mother's cheeks in regard.
"You finally thought to visit your mother, boy," she says, narrowing her eyes at her second child, "your older sister, Aurelia, might be travelling Constantinople but she oft sends me letters, as do your younger brothers, Amias and Lucius."
I nudge Cassian to further egg him on, and he quickly eyes me in response, though only addresses our mother, "pardon your son, mater. I am here this day, however, to bring you glad tidings."
I perk and raise my brows at his words, "did you capture the archdemon you were tracking?"
Cassian turns to me, brows tensing before relaxing, "no."
"Did you find the Shadow Master?" my mother asks.
"No, mater," he replies, shaking his head, "I..."
My eyes widen at Cassian's hesitation. He was not one to trail off with his worlds or fall flat with them.
"I have a bride," Cassian huffs, lowering his gaze before turning back to our mother with a soft smile.
My jaw drops, my blood stills.
Cassian straightens himself up, "she is Veronica. Her face is brighter than the morning light, and is as temperate and kind as the Lady," he turns to Death when he says this.
I shake my head in disbelief. I turn to my mother who does not look nearly as shocked as I do.
"She carries my child."
A shiver runs down my spine. I recoil at the sight of my brother.
I watch in horror as my mother stands and pouts at her second born, exclaiming, "lauda dominae! My son has come home to me with a family of his own."
I turn to The Lady, who my mother just exclaimed praise to. My face contorts at the happiness written on her face. It was the sight of her brother, Dream's, face that makes me realize this was all really happening. I then watch as my mother stands and walks towards Cassian, sealing him in a tight embrace.
I shake my head at the misplaced affection, "mater, how can this news please you? He is only halfway through a hundred!"
Mater turns to me, eyes taking in my worried and hurt expression.
Cassian sighs, reaching his hand out to me. I evade him, swatting his hand away, "proditor."
Traitor.
My mother calls out my name. I look at her expression and find tears lacing my eyes. She was looking like this at me?
"Sister, please, I-"
"We all promised each other we'd have our own families after a century!" I exclaim, walking away, "and you! You!" I point, "you've betrayed all of us!"
My name is called again, this time both by my older brother and my mother.
"Mater fuit per se propter hoc!" I whine, "and you dare tell her this in the name of glad tidings?"
I am glad I did not choke when I spoke, 'mother lived by herself because of this.' I normally could not bare to recall the stories my mother had after evoking the Right of the Lonely, the right in which the a person from our line would not die because it would kill off the last remaining demon hunters in existence. I could not even stomach the idea of living out a hundred years without companionship.
When Domina calls out to me, I freeze. I watch as she walks closer, reaching out to me to offer me comfort only she was every capable of. But then Cassian calls my name and I'm betrayed all over again.
And so I run. I run out of the temple and lose myself in the city.
If it was so easy for Cassian to betray the promise we swore as siblings not to partake in the world only until after completing our generational burden, then I would do it too!
After all, I laugh to myself as I weave through shady crowds of people in the market place, servicing the earth as a demon hunter for one century was easy, right?!
If the previous generations could do it, I could do it!
If Cassian, who used to be so slow at picking up demon trails, could be so sure he could have a child while continuing service, then by The Lady, I could do it too.
I gasp when I ram into a solid object. When I recoil after collision and do not fall back, I realize it was because my form was being hoisted up by a dark clothed being.
He speaks out my name and the sound finally pushes me into tears.
"Somnia," I whine, gripping his arms tightly.
My lips quiver in despair. I throw my arms over his shoulders, breaking into a sob.
The next thing I know, I am being pushed back and my calves hit something behind me.
I do not wonder what or do not wonder why I am all of a sudden out of the streets. I know it was the Dream Lord's power that brought us here, here in my bedroom. I sit on the end of my cott, beside the King of Dreams, clutching his hands tightly.
"Where were you to go?" he asks, retrieving his one hand from me to wipe off the tears on my cheeks.
I shake my head as I turn to my hands, my hands that were squeezing his large one as though my life depended on it, "nowhere... any where..." I sigh, "somewhere to spite my brother."
He does not retort.
I release him and sling myself back. I crash against my semi-soft cushion, "I curse his existence."
He speaks my name softly.
I close my eyes and feel tears roll down my temples.
Dream of the Endless does not speak to me, does not offer advice, does not analyse the situation for me, and for that, I am always grateful.
I sniffle, reaching out to him without looking, "lie with me?"
Silently, aside from the sound of him shuffling, he takes my hand and lies beside me. My bed is not that large, and so it was a bit cramp. I don't mind though, I know he doesn't either.
I roll on my side, stretching my arm under my head as I turn to him. I blink as he turns to me, body still rigid on his back.
"I do not want to forgive him."
Dream is silent.
I sigh, moving to press my body against his, check pressing onto his chest. The thump of his heart is slow and steady. His arm comes over my back. I feel another wave of tears threaten to crash down on me as I think, "does that make me a bad person?"
He rubs my shoulder, "no."
I sob into his top, trying to hold back my tears, "what does it make me then?"
"Human."
I take a moment to reply as I calm myself from crying. I turn my head to face him, blinking away salt water, "is it easy for an Endless to forgive?"
I see him close his eyes, "no."
"What does that make you?"
"Petty."
I snort at his words.
He opens his eyes and cranes his neck up. He brushes my hair back and hushes me, "I am here. You needn't ever fear living through the same loneliness your mother did."
I smile softly at his words, pushing myself off him so I could sit by his side. I look down on the man, the man who wasn't, but was sweeter and more thoughtful than any man I had ever met.
I trace the curve of his nose, "would you wait five decades for me?"
He takes my hand in his before I could fully pull away from his face. He proceeds to sit up and press my palm on his chest, "I would wait eons for you."
I chuckle under my breath, shaking my head as I did so, "I don't think I'll live that long."
He does not respond to this, and instead helps me slide to his lap when I shift in my place.
I sigh and rest my head on his shoulder, allowing myself to relax against him.
I brush my nose against his neck and close my eyes, lulling myself into comfort. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me closer.
Dream smells like a field of flowers, like a warm fire, like perhaps what the stars did.
I shift on him, slowly opening my eyes. I take his cheeks in my hands and lick my lips. I feel my heart thundering in my chest when I lean into him. And then-
I tilt my head up bringing my lips to his, but I don't.
I start when he pushes me away.
He looks at me, somehow bewildered by my actions.
I knit my brows, feeling a bit caught off guard and confused, "what's wrong?"
He speaks my name slowly, arms loosening around me, "I... will always be here for you... but not like this. I cannot give you my heart."
My face contorts at his words. I shake my head, "you cannot give your heart?" I repeat incredulously, "but, my king... you already have."
He pulls his arms away from me. He all, of a sudden, cannot meet my gaze.
I stiffen against him, clenching my jaw as I roughly push myself off him. My nostrils flare in anger and my eyes begin to water. I heave, "why are you here then?"
Somnia keeps his eyes down.
I cannot believe this, "do you not know why you constantly come to me, my lord?"
He, still says nothing.
"Why do you constantly comfort me then?!" I seethe, pointing an accusing finger at him, "why are you even here, if you-" I choke on my words, almost as though my own mouth was not willing to admit this, "-cannot give me your heart? If you think you have not given it to me at all?"
He stands from the bed.
I walk back in response.
"Dilectus-"
"Don't call me that," I quip waving him off, "don't call me your beloved! Not when you claim you don't love me."
He speaks my name.
"What? Have you been leading me on? Have you been passing your time with me because I have not yet aged?!"
"That is not-"
"THEN WHY!" I cry out as my cheeks grow cold and hot all over again because of my tears. I shake my head as I walk all the way back until I could reach my door, "why can't you admit that you love me when I so clearly bleed out my love for you?"
He freezes at my words.
Was he only now realizing this? After everything?
I open the door slowly from behind me.
Somnium Regem is unable to say a word.
I roughly wipe my face, "behold," I scoff, "now I see you are just like any other man."
I turn on my heels and rip the door open, thinking of a place far, far, away as I did. When I hear him call out to me, I slam the door on my way out.
I am gone. I have transported myself away.
I find myself in an army hotspot, where dozens upon dozens of eager, hotblooded men where thirsting at the very idea of companionship, no matter how shallow it posed.
I walked like a regular though it was my first time here. I brazenly sit myself in a table of eight soldiers, looking between them with a bored look, "salvete, milites," I grab the cup of the man beside me, downing the wine in one go. My throat burns at the sour taste and I grunt as I slam the wooden object on the table. I push the cup forward, looking at no one in particular, pulling my lips into a lopsided grin, "et quis ex vobis effundam mihi potum?"
Greetings, soldiers. Will any of you pour me a drink?
The next moment, each man on the table fights to get the ewer of wine.
The moment after that is spent debating my prospects with each Roman militant. One by one, I flirt with them, tease them with my touches and my giggles, taking each one to dance to the muses of a bard and his company.
In the end, the winner, if I could even call him that, was the eldest in the bunch, Fabius. He was still only 27 but the fact he went from Africa and back with the scars to prove it was enough reason for me to choose him.
The perfect criminal to commit a perfect crime with.
Fabius smile as he dances with me, expertly on beat with the lute and the drums.
I'll show them all. I'll show them how I could go against them and break my oaths to everyone, to my family, to the one my heart called for, to myself.
Fabius would do. I would take him and make him mine for the night, or how many nights it would take for my body to bare his seed of mine of vindication.
This soldier was not nice, he was not smart, in fact, he was only rugged. I could tell that all the kindness he extended to me now was only out of his desire to share my bed. It was good enough, considering it was all I wanted or expected from him. And yet he was redeemed by how strong, shrewd, and, most of all, easy on the eyes he was. If he could not give my child compassion and wit, he would at least give his strong nose, soft lips and a warriors stamina.
I pull him near me just when the song ends. He captures me against him and leans down. I whisper on his ear, "would you like to take me home, Fabius?"
Fabius pulls back in disbelief. It is fleeting. He growls and grabs me by the waist, "I'd like to keep you home for the rest of my life."
I feel blood rise up my face at his proposal. I chew on my lower lip and release it from my teeth when he leans in to kiss me.
He is eager and hungry against me. He kisses me with fervor because he wants too, because his body burns in desire for me. He tastes sour, yet again is redeemed by how good he was at kissing.
I could see it now, our disaster. For every wrong he'd do me, he'd have one good thing to show for. It would be an endless cycle of tribulation, and in this moment, the idea of it shined like the stars.
I release a whine when I feel his hands move down to my bottom. This was about as far as I had gone with everyone, and in the next few hours, that would all change.
But suddenly, my head is spinning, utterly confused as to why he pulled away so harshly from me right when I thought he'd whisper the words in my ear.
I only realize what had happened when I see a dark figure faced back away from, sputtering Latin tightly against Fabius.
"Somnia!" I hiss, grabbing his arm, "what do you think you're doing?!"
I tense when he turns to me. I see both the Roman shoulder, toppled on his arse, crawling back in fear, and the blazing eyes of the Dream Lord. His face was truly a fearsome sight to those caught his gaze.
He takes advantage of my stunned state and grabs my arms, pushing me back.
All at once, I find I am pressed against a something, something soft. Dream's ferocious face softens as I am trapped against him, or I then realized, I was trapped beneath him.
No longer did the sour smell of wine tingle my nostrils. In fact, it now smelt like a morning breeze, like a flowery meadow, it smelt like him.
I was now in the Dreaming.
"You are more foolishly impulsive than I could have ever thought," the Dream Lord growls.
I grit my teeth, screwing my eyes shut, not giving him the satisfaction of a response.
"You think you can ignore me?" he quips, "you are in my house, my domain, my Dreaming, pinned under the palms of my hands."
I mask the way my body begins to react to his words, how my throat tightens, how my breath grows taxed, how my belly swirls, and how my thighs press against each other.
"Face me, demon hunter."
"Let me go," I weakly demand.
"I will not set you free after seeing what you meant to do to yourself."
I begin to fume, "Let me go!"
I open my eyes and wrangle beneath him, kicking and pushing him. I then dictate a long spiel of Latin cusses. My whole body burns in fury.
I am powerless against him though. He does not strain where I struggle. He pushes his weight onto me, hands trapping my wrists by the sides of my head, legs clamping mine between his. My face was now also turned to the side as he leaned into me, his hot breath practically searing the skin on my cheek.
Somnia mumbles, "you would give yourself away to a mere mortal on the street? A man who ogles your form, who could not possibly understand the honor you would so willingly bequeath him. His thoughts run wild with ideas of desecrating your being in a vile form taking his claim on you."
"Oh, and suddenly you care?!" I snarl, knocking my head into his, making him pull back in contact, "what does it matter if I chose to be with him? Or even if I chose the devil? The master of demons?! You do not love me."
He calls my name.
"YOU SAID IT YOURSE-"
"I WAS WRONG!" he bursts. His outburst leaves him breathless and stiffens me into marble.
I choke on nothing and feel my eyes water at the sight of him. His hair is messy, eyes are desperate, lips are quivering. He breaks when my tears begin to fall. He pulls away from me, sitting himself at the edge of his bed in defeat, in retreat.
I breathe in heavily, trying to calm myself down, "it took seeing me with another man to own up to your feelings."
He does not respond.
"Do you think I find that flattering?" I voice, "do you?!"
Again nothing.
"I find it petulant and slow-witted." I release a breath, "I find it offensively aggravating."
I push myself up from where I laid. I turn to the window, lips parting at the beauty of the meadows I knew he called Fiddler's Green. Never had I witnessed his domain like this, never before this moment had I ever even been here with him, flesh and bone.
And yet I tell myself not to enjoy the moment so much. I suck in a breath and scratch my tears away, turning to Dream's wide and hunched over back.
"Bring be back, Somnia," I mutter.
He straightens upon hearing this, head barely turning as he speaks, "what?"
I scoff, in utter disbelief that he is in shock of my words, "I do not want to be around you." I move to the foot of the bed then stand, "take me back home."
Dream looks at me, eyes reddish and glimmering with tears. He opens his mouth and speaks something but I do not hear it.
I huff through my nose, "take me back now, Dream. Or- or I'll never speak to you again!"
I recoil when he crawls over to me on the bed. He sit as the edge, reaching out to me, grabbing on to clothes. He whispers my name as his face hardens in desperation, "I do not wish for you to leave while this is unresolved."
"So," I tighten my hands into balls, "if I leave you now, what does that make me?"
He looks up at me, jaw clenching then relaxing as he opens his mouth to speak, "cruel."
I scoff.
A tear rushes down his face.
"And if you keep me here?!" I coaxed.
He releases me, dropping his head as he leans onto his knees. He voices firmly, "an Endless."
My whole body tenses at his words, grows rigid in anger over his sentiment. I was seconds away from lunging at him, but suddenly, a flurry of sand began to twist around me and before I could think, I was back in my bedroom.
It became painfully clear to me that if either of us wanted to resolve our quarrel, we'd have to first resolve our pride.
It had been seven days since the fact, and neither did I call out to him, and neither did he make attempts to come to me.
That was that then. Good riddance. Good, hard, and cold riddance.
All that's left, of course, was the issue with my brother, and her... brimming with life bride.
The image I had of her was starkly contrast to what she actually was. I thought she would have been one or two months in her pregnancy. I really dropped dead when I spied my brother talking to a woman with such a large rounded belly that she looked like she was about to pop any moment now.
The audacity. The sheer and utter disrespect.
Today, I was going to finally face her because my two younger brothers, Amias and Lucius, were now here to do the same. Aurelia had arrived two days before, and as much as we both confided in each other our ill feeling towards the whole predicament, she was as tender as ever, and laced every complaint with an eagerness to make peace with the matter.
My older sister was wholly compassionate, as always, but my younger brothers were not, and I was excited to meet this Veronica, solely because of the knowledge I would finally not be the only one restless about the situation.
And yet, as excited I was to see Amias and Lucius, bickering at each other the moment they arrived, I was betrayed by how it seemed neither of them were fazed by the gravity of the predicament, in fact, they were-
"happy for you brother!" Amias laughs, "I'm so happy for you! Lauda dominae!" He slaps Cassian twice on the shoulder before sealing him into a tight hug, "I understand that your bride is carrying two babes."
I nearly choke on the bile in my throat upon hearing that. My jaw hangs low. That's why her belly was so big. I hiss under my breath, "two?"
Amias pulls away and raises his hands, "clearly it is a sign from Domina to have at least one of them named after," he slaps a hand on his chest, "Amias the Gallant."
Cassian makes a half amused face at second youngest.
The final born smacks Amias' face and takes his turn to embrace Cassian, "malediceres ipsum esse huius infantis."
Lucius pulls away from Cassian, who laughed at his words, to repeat them with pinched fingers, eyeing Amias as he did so, "you would be cursing the very existence of this child."
"Your face is a curse to the world," Amias rebuts in our mother tongue.
When the boys begin to bicker all over again, I finally snap, "so am I truly the only one that cannot stomach this?"
The three turn to me. I am the odd one out.
I hear someone call my name from behind. It's Aurelia with that woman, that Veronica that she was now treating more of a sister than I. Aurelia pulls away from her to walk over to me, "let us speak about this out-"
"No!" I dodge her advances. My senses begin to flare at the feel of my siblings staring at me. I heave heavily as I back away from them, "you've all confided in each other about this, haven't you? You and Cassian," I hiss at Aurelia, "and Amias and Lucius."
Cassian calls my name.
"NO!" I shriek, "it's always been like this. It's always you," I suck in a deep breath, "and then there's me. The spare."
"Sister, that is not true." Lucius calls.
I shake my head, chuckling bitterly, "you're right. It's only ever always in my head, is it not?"
Without another word, I storm out of the room, hating myself for the way I was breaking.
I hide myself in the garden, in a secret corner where I basked in my loneliness, except this time, I would truly be lonely all by myself.
Tinges of betrayal flare up in me when Veronica appears out of nowhere.
She starts at the sight of me. I scoff at her pretending to be shocked by my presence. She speaks, "sister, I-"
"I am not your sister," I quip, "did your beloved tell you to look for me here?! To make peace with me?!"
She tenses at the severity of my tone, hand instinctively going on her belly, "I swear it on my mother, I did not know this was your place. I happened to wander here while I was clearing my own mind and found great solitude in the flowers," she says, turning to the said blossoms coloring the otherwise colorless place.
"They remind me of home," she says, "we had plenty of gladioli in our neighborhood."
Veronica turns to me offering as soft smile that makes me want to scream, "I understand they were a gift form your pat-"
"If you want to see these flowers so badly, why not go back home where there are plenty?" I snip, "and take your traitor with you, why won't you?!"
She presses her lips together. Her lightly tanned skin turns a shade scarlet after my cry. She covers her face and nods, "apologies sis-" she cuts herself off, smacking her lips in the process, "I- I'll leave you to your own devices."
My eyes watch her walk off. And very suddenly, as if I am possessed, my voice calls out to her.
Veronica freezes, turning back to me.
What have I done? Why did I do that. I do not want to speak with her.
I turn away, unable to face her, unable to face myself, unable to admit I called her name because I was not enjoying the harshness I was emitting, the harshness I was sputtering to this poor woman who was not even to blame for my emotions.
I'm spiraling, clearly.
I lick my lips, feeling my chest tighten. I huff and shake my head, "I'm not angry at you."
I make the mistake of turning to her. She's just as distraught as I am. I see myself in her in this moment. I sigh helplessly, "I'm not angry-" I curse then sniffle, wiping my philtrum, "I'm not angry at your children."
I wipe my hand on my face, "I'm not even sure if I'm angry at Cassian. I-" I shake my head rapidly, "I'm frustrated that this marks the start of his final years with us. That's he's going to have to... pay... for not completing his hundred years of service."
Veronica visibly reacts to my words. She sighs deeply, rubbing her swollen belly, "I think of that as well. There has not been a day that I have not thought of that."
I deflate. Here and now, it was clear she understood, even if just a fraction, the severity this choice my brother made. If he does not complete a century of demon hunting, then his captives would drag him by his heels into the pits and battle them for a hundred years there.
I look at her as we both begin to cry. I pat the surface I was sat upon, "do you want to sit down?"
She is taken aback by my words. She nods slowly and walks over to sit down next to me.
For a moment, we sit in silence.
"When he told me he would risk his life for me, I did not realize he meant it," Veronica mutters, "not like this."
I am further dejected. I turn to her, feeling my insides get chewed up by the sight of her wailing.
"I at least find comfort in knowing that the love," she places he hands on her belly, "this love we share, here and now is the purest and realest thing I have every felt."
"But how do you know?" I quip on the defensive, "how could you say that so surely?"
It wasn't because I didn't believe her, it was more of the fact I was projecting my own disbelief of love onto her.
I feel a sliver of guilt bite at me for the way in which I spoke, but Veronica was wholly unfazed. In fact, she chuckles under her breath, "because I know him," she smiles, turning to her belly, "and he knows me." She smiles, "it makes no sense, and it's hard to understand, but-" she turns to my side, lips curved in a smile, "I suppose that is what love is like between a mortal and a demon hunter."
I give her a look. She's insane.
Veronica laughs, clutching her stomach, "perhaps I am."
My eyes widen. I said that out loud? "Veronica, I-"
"But is that not how you and your lover feel?"
"What?"
"Somnium Regem," she mutters, "he sits outside your bedroom every night." She places a hand on her chest, "when I managed to overcome my fear, I asked him what he was doing."
I straighten at her words.
"He told me he was waiting for you to notice him."
I scoff.
"That his pride could not allow him to open your door."
I roll my eyes and shake my head at the thought.
"Yet the same pride could not bear the idea of ever letting you go."
I clench my jaw. Damn him.
"Perhaps that is was the love between a demon hunter and a god is like," Veronica speaks, taking my hand in hers.
"He's not a god," I tell her through an airy whisper, "he is a fool."
And so later that night, when darkness cloaked the sky, I brushed my sleepiness away and rose from my bed.
I tiptoed to my door and slowly creaked it open, soundless. Behold.
I sigh at the sight of the dark figure sitting alone in the lightless hall.
"Do you plan to sit there for half a century?" I speak, actually making him jolt from his place.
Somnia turns to me, eyes wide, lips parted. He takes a moment before responding, drawing out a deep breath, "if that is how long it takes."
I roll my eyes at him, walking out of my bedroom all together.
Dream watches me near him. When I reach out my hand to him, he immediately takes it and stands.
"Is your pride so mighty that you would never risk calling to me?"
He sighs, "I punish myself with my pride. If you could not bare turn to me again, then I did not deserve you."
"Oh, you half-wit. What if," I take his both his palms in my, "I actually make you wait that long for me to forgive you."
He presses near me, releasing a breath, "then I would say it is deserved."
I snort, rolling my eyes for the second time, "alright then," I move away from him, "better start counting-"
"No, wait," he tightens his hold on me, "please don't."
I purse my lips, nodding my head, "hmm. That's what I thought."
The being releases a sigh and hangs his head low, "I apologize for how I acted. It is a struggle for me to accept such emotions, considering how they have served me in the end."
I release his hands to take his cheeks into my palms. I bring my face near, lips ghosting over his, "then how do you plan to make it up to me?"
He brushes his nose against mine, hands coming to my sides, "how would you like for me to make it up to you?"
"A kiss," I whisper, lips curving into a mischievous smile, "on your knees."
I don't have the opportunity to laugh at my childish remark, for his lips finally catch mine, stealing my giggles, my breath, and my remaining thoughts away. I ignite against him. A haze forms in my mind. My body pushes against him, wanting to be closer than I am now.
He is nothing but soft and sweet against me. His mouth is a tender oasis that makes my heart pound and my mind melt. He pushes me back against the walls and my body pulls him into me along the way.
I gasp when he breaks away. I watch as he drops down. I knit my brows at him when his hands grab my hips. I call out his name with caution. He smiles up at me as his one hand scratches its way up from my ankles to my thighs.
I jolt, attempting to pull away, finding I am trapped with the wall behind me.
Somnia coos my name out, "hush. I am only making it up to my beloved."
"What are-" I whine when he lifts my skirt up and throws it over him. I catch his head when he kisses my thigh, "Dream, please, I was mocking you. I-" I let out an unholy sound when he pushes me back and makes an attempt to bite the inside of my leg.
"I assure you," he hotly breathes against my skin, making my entire body tingle with goosebumps, "I will not stand for the mockery of a demon hunter."
I rip at his hair from underneath my skirts. I tense against him when he shifts me onto one leg. The other, where his lips were busy nipping at my skin, its hooks over his shoulder.
"Somnia," I lean into him, gasping for air. My stomach rolls at this obscene image of him beneath me, "someone could see."
The King of Nightmares scoffs. "They would sooner be haunted with nightmares for fifty years before they could even think of beholding your form like this," he hisses against my skin as his one hand squeezes my thigh.
I slap a hand onto my mouth when I feel his nose rub against my sensitive bud. I dig into his hair and garble up the sounds from my throat as his lips connect with my core. My toes curl and my body leans into him involuntarily.
"Dream," I breathlessly speak, moving my palm slightly off my mouth, "please, I-" the harsh sound that leaves me when he nibbles then blows against my heat would have been enough to make anyone who hears it look for the sound in concern.
"I will please you, my dear," he speaks, suddenly pulling away. When his face is revealed to me after my skirt finally drops down, I choke on my breath as the sight of his glistening face.
His tongue swirls around his lips while he stands.
I helplessly watch him as he takes my cheeks and raises a brow at me, "unless you would like for me to stop."
The very thought of asking him to do anything is mortifying to me, yet I managed to shake my head in response.
And normally, I would have been offended by how he chuckles at me like that, but when he drops down again, or rather, I find, crawls down, I only look at him in anticipation. I push myself up elbows and realize I was now lying on a bed, facing a window, beholding the view Fiddler's Green. I was also naked, exposed to him, looking down at an equally disrobed Dream.
My whole body burns.
I do nothing but watch as he takes both my legs and props them on his shoulders before sinking down the middle.
I grunt and tense in my place, averting my gaze when he kisses my center. One of my hands reach out to Dream's dark hair. I whine before ripping at my lower lip. I look down on him as he looks up at me.
"All is well," he affirms, lifting his head up slightly, making me pull my hand away from his hair. He kisses my hand on its way then smiles, "let me make it up to you, beloved." He rubs his cheeks against my inner thighs, placing a kiss there, "calm yourself," he mutters, "I assure you, I will make you very much enjoy this."
"My king," I breathlessly call.
He hums, lips curving upward, pleased by the sound, "let your king do his work."
I bite my lips and close my eyes as I nod. I allow myself to relax against the cushions, though my hands were gripping onto the sheets.
"Valde bona," very good, he says.
My fists tighten and my toes curl all over again when his lips kiss into my heat. This time around, I am painfully aware of the wetness that is pooling and beginning to drip down my flesh. The feeling conflicts me.
Almost as if he was aware of my realization, he laps at me and moans, "so honeyed and sweet. So eager and ready for me."
I huff at the feel of him.
"Do not needlessly worry yourself, your body is exactly how I want it."
With this, I find myself fulling relaxing. I arch my back, as his mouth presses more eagerly into me. I attempt to suppress my squeals when his tongue pushes into me. My hands immediately reach to him and my fingers curl into his hair.
He moans then chuckles. He makes it a point to do this against me as he parts my legs further when I begin to press them close. He calls out my name, making me turn to him slowly. Half of me regrets it, half of me goes wild at the sight of him.
The Dream Lord states, "I find offence in your attempts to suppress your noises. Do not conceal them."
I choke out a whine then his thumb rubs against my nub. I screw my eyes shut again as he continues, "perhaps you need more encouragement."
When he dips a finger into me, a guttural sound rips past my lips. I pull one hand away from him to clamp it on my mouth, but the growl I get in reaction makes me drop my it and turn back to Dream.
"You mock me further by disobeying me?" he huffs squeezing the flesh of by my buttocks tightly, "I should make sure the entire Dreaming hears you scream for its King."
He sinks into me again, only this time, there is a grit from his teeth. I rip at both his roots and mine when he does so, unable to conceal the noises that leave my mouth.
He slowly pumps in and out of me, "louder."
I whine and catch my breath, calling out his name in some sort of plea.
"Louder, I said," he commands as he sinks another digit into me and hastens his pace.
There was no way I could keep silent even if I wanted to at this point.
With his fingers, poking and curling, and his mouth, licking and sucking, it doesn't take long for a strong tension to coil up in my belly. My lips could barely make sense of the words it wanted to say. I fundamentally begin to sputter out nonsense.
"A little bit more," he moans, "give me a little bit- there."
I come undone on him with a cry. My legs force themselves against him as my body spasms. He does not make an effort to push me open, and in fact, he brings his hands on my hips, kneading at them, as if encouraging my actions.
In those tender, body curling moments, I feel warmth and pleasure spread around me. My breath escapes me as I eventually turn into putty.
When he finally pulls away, I turn down to him as he slowly trails wet and hot kisses from my core all the way up my jaw. I take his cheeks in my hands when he kisses my lips. My own cheeks tingle when I see the sheen of my pleasures on his nose and chin. I bashfully swipe at it with my thumb, eager to retreat. And yet, he catches my hand, taking my thumb into his mouth, licking at my finger then pulling it away with a soft pop.
"Well done, my love," he says, smiling at me as he rolls on his side.
I knit my brows as he lies beside me, pulling me near him as he does so that we could face each other.
Dream notices my demeanor. He pushes my hair back, raising a brow, "did I not make you enjoy it?"
My lips part. My face begins to burn at the thought, "no. No I mean yes- I mean- I- I enjoyed it."
He nods, "I know."
I snort at his words, brows slightly tensing, lips pursing.
He smiles, shifting in his place so that he could lie on his chest. When he does so, he pushes me on my back and brings his mouth near one of my breasts. I gasp when he laps at it like a snack, while he massages the other with his hand. My hands dig into his hair, messing it up more than ever.
"Dream," I call.
He does not respond like I want him to and only closes his eyes.
I let out a soft grunt when he sucks at my flesh. I sigh, "Dream, wait."
He immediately halts, lifting his head up, releasing my breast from his mouth.
I lick my lips as I look down at him.
"What is it? Do you not like this?"
"No... I... what about you?"
He takes a moment to respond. He chuckles, pulling me closer to him, "sweet dear," he kisses my rib, "you need not worry about me."
"No, but-"
"I will claim your maidenhood in a moment."
... w... w- he said what?
He raises his brows along with the corners of his lips. A velvety chuckle escapes him, "is that not what you want?"
"..."
"Is it not I that you wish to lay claim to this tenderness within you, this tenderness that your humanity puts so much emphasis on?"
I suck in a deep breath and bite my lip tightly.
"Do you want me to have you now?"
"... yes."
He grins, tongue darting across his lips, "then I say, do not worry about me," he kisses my skin, "I know well enough what I want to do with you."
So for a few minutes, the Dream King keeps his attentions on my breasts. He pulls me closer to reciprocate the same treatment to the other after a while.
At one point, he brings his hands to my core again, making my body quiver against him.
When I begin to call out his name in the same dazed manner from a while ago, he lifts his head from by chest and kisses my lips, pulling away again to smile down at me, "you feel ready for me now, beloved."
I bite my lips in anticipation.
"Are you ready?" he asks with genuinity.
I nod, "yes."
He pushes himself up and begins to crawl on top of me. His hands parts my legs to make room for himself and I graciously open myself up for him.
I sigh when he presses against me, hands rearing me by my waist. Dream kisses my check, "yes. You're more than ready, aren't you?"
Our eyes lock. He looks at me in expectation. I nod my head again.
He wraps my legs around him as he slowly rocks into me, making me breathlessly moan beneath him.
He sighs, kissing my jaw, all the way down to my neck, sucking on my skin before iterating, "my soft lover, so ready for me."
"Somnia," I whisper, fingers digging into his shoulders.
He hisses when I meet the rolling of his hips with my own. He nips at my neck, "alright, my love. I would not dare deprive you any longer."
A chill runs down my spine when he lifts up and sinks down into me. The action draws out a prolonged cry from my lips. In response, he peppers my neck with kisses while adjusting atop my body.
"So good," I mumble, "so good inside me."
He groans at my words, hands gripping my hips as he slowly begins to push and pull himself into me, "yes, my precious. I'll make you feel good, even more than a while ago, even more than now."
I sigh as Dream kisses my neck, and gently grinds into me.
After a few moments, I tighten my legs around him and whine, "more please. I want to feel you more."
He moans, immediately heeding my cries, hips bucking into me with more fervor, "in imperio tuo."
On your command.
He kisses my lips, repeating, "on your command, beloved, a slave to your command."
My voice hikes up and loudens when his pace grows quicker. I heave in an attempt to even my breathing. My fingers tangling back into his hair for the nth time.
"My sweetness," he says in between thrusts, "such sweet sounds," he moans, "and all for me."
I moan, calling out his name on instinct.
He hums, kissing my cheek, "better now? Isn't it better?"
"Yes, yes, oh, my lord, yes," I whine, "so much better."
He goes wild with the praise. He drinks it up like cool water on a scorching day. He growls as he finds a delicious tempo, quick and full, snapping in and out of me like it was his purpose.
I begin to recite all the Latin praises I could think of.
When I slowly spiral in my pleasure, I call out his name, and when I hardly find it in myself to speak, I bite into him, gnawing at his flesh like it was my deliverance, not thinking about its consequences, not thinking about how it would feel for anyone but me.
He hisses, pushing deeper into me, poking a nerve in my being that breaks my mind, that renders me boneless beneath him.
All at once, my sweet words are morphed into obscenities. All of the praises in my body are burned into oohs and aahs and throaty cries that I never thought myself of producing.
Dream eats it up like candy, taking in my lips with his, making our pants mix into further lascivious noises.
At one point, I am numb to everything but him. At one point, I was at the fullness of his mercy. He could crush me and spit on my bones and I'd thank him. But he does not do this, he does not desecrate my form, he does not disregard my being. Instead he dives into me with adoration, he treats me with divine regard, he stretches me out with care.
I make no other sound than ones of pure enjoyment as the king begins to shift my legs.
I submit to him, to whatever he wants to do with me, and soon, he pushes my knees to my chest and brings my legs to his shoulders.
Now, I was lost to everything save the tension in my core. After adjusting himself against me, breaking into my being as if intent on binding our forms together, I scream out and thrash my hands helplessly at anything, everything I could get my hands on.
When he calls out my name and praises my body, I'm a goner. The Lady be damned. In this moment there was only one, there was only him, the Dream King. Just him, him, him.
And so I scream it out, I scream out his name as my body crumbles against him. I flutter and crash. I tense and release. I was delivered.
He calls out my name in response. He calls out my name and does not dare relent his motions. Next thing I know, I'm shaking all over again with a vengeance as he spills into me, hot, sharp, and blinding.
Somnia pushes my legs apart, though his movements do not at all slow. He digs into me with his heels and pushes his chest flush into mine, cradling me against him, as if he was scared I'd disappear.
Then slowly, slowly, slowly, he allows his pace to relent. Gently, gently, gently, he kisses me and finally gives me a chance to catch my breath, to feel myself on him, to savor this utter bliss between us.
I mumble nothings as I trap him with my limbs. I pull him into me tightly, not wanting him to leave, only wishing that he'd keep me here like this forever.
And then the wildness fades.
In the aftermath of it all, the sounds of strangled breathing persists. Grunts and mewls catch up with us as well, as we both eventually soften against each other's beings.
I let out taut panting sounds against his ear before I nip at his lobe.
I squeal when he laughs, my body was oversensitive to the vibrating of his chuckle.
He stops himself and offers a kiss on my cheek, "my sweet darling."
I close my eyes, allowing myself to savor his scent, his feel, his taste.
Dream continues my neck again, lathering me with more affection, "have I made it up to you yet?"
I nibble at my lip as I nod. He smiles in return.
"I think... you may have ruined every other man for me."
He tenses. I feel him tense above me real time. He pulls his head back, looking down at me so suddenly with a fury, "you dare mean to say you expected to have another besides me after all of this?"
"Well, I-" I wail, body jolting sharply when he ruts into me in offence over my words.
"This," he hisses, "this is more than mockery. This is treachery, this is treason!"
I let out shaky sounds and piercing shrieks when he does not relent.
He only halts when tears begin to lace the corners of my eyes, after I practically call out his name in a plea for my life.
He ends his retaliations with a huff, nostrils flaring, hand grabbing my jaw, "look at me, little one."
I screw my eyes shut. There is a dread that builds in my belly.
"Must I repeat my punishment to have you look?"
I blink back the tears from my eyes as I turn to him. I let out a weak sigh at the sight of him.
"You shall have to make it up to me for that."
I pant at the rigidness of his expression.
"Do you understand me?"
I huff, nodding my head.
"I asked-"
I squeak again when he thrusts.
"-if I am understood."
"Yes, my king."
He hums, or rather, he bellows, "very good then."
369 notes · View notes
mrsamaroevans · 1 year ago
Text
I Got You
Tumblr media
Fandom: Mayans M.C.
Pairing: Miguel Galindo x Reader.
Request: No.
Words: 770.
Warnings: Murder. So… I needed to write this ‘cause the other day I needed to see gifs of Miguel on season 5 ‘cause he looks gorgeous (fight me) and I still have two episodes left from the show so… I got spoilered (idk if that’s actually a word lol). I needed to give him a different ending so… probably there are spoilers in this? I don’t know… just, read carefully if you haven’ finished the show yet. (I’m very offended, tbh).
A/N: Gif not mine!
|| MY MASTERLIST ||
Tumblr media
“Put the gun down”
Your husband's eyes locked with yours. He had a face you couldn’t quite decipher; as if he was surprised but glad that you were there, but at the same time, fear crossed his gaze. The metal in your hands felt cold and wrong. It wasn’t the first time you held a gun, but it was the first time you were attempting to use it to hurt someone.
“(Y/n)…” His voice. That familiar voice. The voice that used to calm you down whenever you were about to cry. The voice from whom you heard the best bits of advice. The same voice that you thought you were gonna hear forever.
‘Cause he was supposed to be your family. He was supposed to be there for you, he was supposed to protect you and never hurt you.
But he was there… with a gun in hand aiming at your husband. But it was like he was aiming at you.
“Ezekiel… put the gun down,” you said again. Your voice almost trembled and that only made you angrier. Ez was in your house about to kill your husband and he looked relaxed. He seemed so calm even though he was there to hurt you. He didn’t seem nervous, or afraid “Put the gun fucking down!”
The gun touched the back of his head when you took a step closer to him. Ez put his hand down. His gun now facing the floor as he slowly started turning to you.
“What are you doing?” Ez asked you once he was facing you.
“I’m doing what you should have done when Angel asked you to stop this bullshit. I’m protecting my family” you told him, stepping back without lowering your hands “Drop it”
Ez didn’t do it “I’m your family”
“No” you shook your head “Miguel is my family. My son is my family… you’re not, at least not anymore”
“So… this is how it ends?” Ez asked after a few seconds of silence. He was there. The same tanned skin, the same eyes, the same Ez. But not really. It was like, physically Ezekiel Reyes was standing in the living room of your house, but if you looked deeply into his eyes… the one standing in front of you was a stranger.
“You tell me” It was unbelievable. All of it. One day you two were playing in the Reyes’ backyard and now you’re both with the chance of ending each other’s lives in your hands “Drop the gun, Ez”
“I feel like I don’t know you”
“You do” You looked at Miguel who seemed alerted and then looked at the gun Ez was holding. His hold became firmer and you knew in that moment he wasn’t going to back down “I always lived to serve my family, you know that”
“I don’t know you”
“It’s me the one that should be saying that” Your eyes filled with tears. It was him or you, there was no point in thinking there was another ending “Drop the gun” your voice came out as a whisper.
“I never stopped seeing you as my sister, you know?”
Your hold weakened and he took that moment to aim at you. Everything happened pretty fast; his arm going up, your finger in the trigger, your body jerking back with the recoil of your gun. When you realized what had happened, Ez’s body was on the floor, a big red mark around him.
You killed your best friend.
“Hey” You heard Miguel’s voice but you couldn’t look away from what you had done, so he took your chin and made you look at him.
“He was going to kill you” was the first thing you said. You felt tears in your cheeks not knowing when you started weeping “He was going to get kill everyone in the club, he was going to kill me…”
“I wouldn’t let that happen” he assured you “We’re you and I against it all, remember?”
You couldn’t nod ‘cause your crying didn’t let you. Your body started to shake as Miguel held you close. You buried your face on his chest, the blood on your face marked his shirt but he just held you tighter, as he could take all your pain to his own body.
“I want you to talk to me” Miguel whispered later that night. Your head on his chest, you could feel your hair a little wet still from the shower “Whenever you want or need to, okay?” His lips touched your head and that made you tear up again “’Cause I got you”
“I got you, too”
|| MY MASTERLIST ||
Tumblr media
144 notes · View notes
kvohru · 8 months ago
Text
absolutely ravishing - maiko week ’24 day 3/4
prompts - jealousy / parents
inspired by this tweet by kvohru 'maiko headcanon zuko puts baby izumi's hair into mai's buns anytime he pisses mai as a way of silly apology/getting her to soften up & talk to him WALK WITΗ ΜΕ' in which maiko go to a party and mai feels left out. baby izumi is the cutest. zuko is a good father. amongst other things lol.
It was a lovely, sunny morning, and Mai was pissed off.
Normally, this wouldn’t have been anything out of the ordinary—after all, she was famously ‘angry at the world’, but this was different. Today, Mai was pissed at the Firelord.
Also known as her husband.
He was, admittedly, unsure as to what he’d done to warrant her annoyance today, but he didn’t want to risk upsetting her further by asking. God, no. He’d rather pluck every hair off his body than have Mai think he was an inattentive, dismissive, careless husband who didn’t care about his gorgeous, beautiful wife! He was better than that, thank you very much. So he did the next best thing and tried to rack his brain, thinking over his actions over these past few hours.
Okay, he thought, pulling out a teapot from the cupboard. This mood started at, like, 8 pm last night? He put on some water to boil, falling into that familiar rhythm of making tea.
Because he was the Firelord, he rarely had the chance to do things for himself, and while that was an insane privilege he frankly enjoyed, it was nice to take a break from everything and just be with his family, away from the hubbub of the palace.
Hence this vacation at Ember Island.
The moment he realised he had a few off-days in his calendar, he decided to plan for him and his wife to go on vacation.
He let the teapot boil and started on breakfast. Rice for the rice porridge, what remained of the dumplings and steamed buns they’d bought, and whatever else he could find. Oh, and eggs and chopped fruit for baby Izumi.
He smiled at the thought of their pudgy little 9 month old. She was just starting to speak, though that mostly came in the form of incoherent babbling with the occasional Mama. Yeah, she called them both Mama.
And yes, Zuko was a teensy bit sulky about that, but I digress.
Just as he was about to put his hair up and start on breakfast, he heard that distinct baby voice he was just thinking about. He glanced at the clock— yup, 7.30 a.m., on the dot. Izumi was awake.
Right now, it was usually a race with time. He had a very short window of time before Izumi’s good-tempered giggles would turn into wailing screams, and he was determined not to wake Mai up any earlier than she needed to be.
She was on vacation and she deserved to rest.
Also, she was mad at him. So. He really didn't need to make it worse for himself.
“I’m coming, darling,” he called out in a whisper when he was close enough, crossing the distance in long strides. At the sight of that little girl in her crib, all chubby limbs and big golden eyes, he smiled and reached to grab her. “Hi, baby,” he whispered, nuzzling into that space between her cheek and shoulder and kissing her. “D’you sleep well?”
She made an incoherent baby noise and happily grabbed a strand of his long hair, which was, positively, one of her favourite pastimes, it seemed. He winced, regretting not putting it up earlier. “Let’s get you changed,” he said, trying to untangle her fingers from his hair— that is, trying to undo that vice-like grip babies seemed to have. I mean, at least that meant her fine-motor skills were good? Pincer grip, and all, right?
She didn’t let go. He sighed.
“Sweetheart, you need to let go so I can get you out of this nasty diaper.”
She didn’t budge.
“Don’t you wanna change so we can surprise Mama with breakfast? We won’t have time if you keep this up.” Just as he had begun to suspect that reasoning with a nine month old was a lost cause, she actually let go.
“Mama!”
“Oh, of course that’s what gets you to let go!” He clicked his tongue.
She giggled again, and, instead of grabbing his hair, she valiantly took to doing her other favourite pastime. Which was just, like, smacking him on the face repeatedly.
Think like, someone clapping their hands, but instead it’s just his face between her hands.
Since he was almost always on morning duty, this was more or less how every morning went.
⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩
Finally, after much trials and tribulations (i.e. Zuko violently getting his hair pulled and cheeks pinched), Izumi was changed into an adorable onesie and strapped into her high chair in the kitchen.
Oh, also, the water had completely evaporated in the time it took them to do all that, so he needed to refill the teapot. “What would Uncle think if he sees this,” he grumbled, opening the window to let the steam out.
Now that that was all over with, he was again plagued with the fact that Mai was mad at him, and he didn't know why! So, being the mature Firelord he was, he decided to take that issue to council.
“Your mom is mad at me,” he said to Izumi, quickly tying his long hair back and away from his face, in a loose bun at the bottom of his head, and rolling up his sleeves.
Izumi babbled excitedly and kicked her feet at the reference of her mother. “Mama!”
“Yup, that’s the one,” Zuko agreed, chuckling. He pulled out a bamboo steamer and started preparing the dumplings and steamed buns, planning on letting them steam while he washed and cooked the rice. “Anyway, as I was saying, Mama is mad at me, but I don’t know why. I tried asking her last night, of course, but she said she was ‘fine’, which is, obviously, a blatant lie.”
He cut up some fruit on a plate for Izumi to hold her off while everything else was ready. He had approximately twenty minutes until Mai got up, which he figured would be enough.
“I can’t really recall doing anything to upset her last night, and I don’t even know when she got upset, you know? She was fine and then she suddenly wasn’t!” He finished washing the rice and transferred it over to a pot to cook. Drying his hands, he continued, “But” —he turned to Izumi seriously, crouching down to her eye level— “of course, me not remembering or knowing why Mai is upset does not mean that I am not at fault!” He cupped Izumi’s cheeks, interrupting her mid-chew. She grinned happily at him with her whopping six (!) teeth. (New development, by the way). He continued, determined to set a good example for his daughter, “Even if I don’t understand why Mama’s upset — even if she has told me, and I still don't get it — she still deserves an apology, because at the end of the day, I upset her, and that’s all that matters. Understood, Firelord Izumi?” He playfully pinched her little nose (which was identical to her mother’s), and she giggled, reaching for him with fruit-sticky hands.
“Anyway…” and so he continued, thinking out loud with his daughter and trying to puzzle out the reason for his darling wife’s anger at him, all while making breakfast for their family of three.
⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩
“Mai, come on, we'll be late!” Zuko called out, fastening his red robes around his waist.
“Well I don't know what to wear!” she called back from her place in the closet, frustrated.
“It doesn't matter! You look—”
“—And I love you, but you telling me that ‘I look beautiful in everything’ does not help!”
Zuko sighed. He'd dressed himself and Izumi in the time it took for his darling wife to… affectionately, make a mess of their closet and complain about having nothing to wear.
Placing Izumi in her little chair, he said with an affectionate roll of the eyes, “Yeah, yeah, I'm coming.”
“Is this good?” Mai asked, bashfully, when Zuko rapped his knuckles on the closet door and walked in, leaning against the doorframe.
He breathed out. She looked beautiful.
She was wearing a long, pretty, dark red dress that hugged her curves and flared out at the bottom. It had a row of buttons that sloped from the neckline down to her side, and dainty golden embroidery that matched her eyes and the gold and red fan earrings she wore. Her hair was in the usual hairstyle she'd adopted in her adult years— half of it in an elegant bun at the back of her head towards her nape, and the rest in two strands over her shoulders and down over her chest.
He noticed she put two beautiful gold pins through the bun.
“Do you like it?” she asked again, and he had an inclination her rosy cheeks weren't just due to an excess of powder blush. She adjusted it over her hips. “Is it too tight? It doesn't fit the same since” —she bit the inside of her cheek, averting her eyes and smoothing the fabric over her stomach— “Izumi.”
Zuko moved closer, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her against him. Her hands went to his chest automatically, a familiar affection built over years of being together. “You look,” he rasped, hoisting her up by her waist and wrapping his arms around her middle, “absolutely ravishing.”
He craned his neck and caught her bottom lip between his teeth, kissing and gently tugging back. She wrapped her legs tighter around her and grinned despite herself, cupping his cheeks and looking down at him. One thing she enjoyed about being carried was the limited height she gained over Zuko.
She leaned down and kissed him again, their lips interlocking in an easy embrace. “Are you sure? You're not just saying that to get me to hurry up?” He could still hear a hint of unsurety in her low, raspy voice.
“Positive,” he responded in kind, slanting his lips over hers, “but if you don't want to go…” his hand slipped down her back to her ass.
She rolled her eyes without any heat, picking up on his very obvious implication. “Alright, horndog. Hands off.” She hopped down and adjusted her dress before looking up at him through her lashes and, teasingly, parroting back, “We'll be late.”
⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩
The sight Mai was met with when she walked downstairs was, she thought, a sight she could never get bored of. It was such a quintessential picture of domesticity she, at one point in her life, could've never imagined would've been hers.
Her husband in the kitchen making breakfast while their daughter sat beside him, babbling incoherently the way babies did.
“Really?! And what after that?” he asked animatedly, humouring said daughter while still focused on the plate he was assembling. Mai exhaled softly, leaning against the doorframe and just watching.
Watching her husband’s overly focused face as he diligently placed the fresh steamed buns onto a plate using chopsticks, a furrow in his dark brows and his hair tied back, all the while nodding along with Izumi’s story (which was, of course, all adorable gibberish).
And Izumi, who was sitting in a high chair and shoving eggs into her mouth using her entire fist, no doubt making a mess around her. What struck her though was Izumi’s hair, which was in two little buns at the sides of her head, and the front was smoothed over her head in a silly imitation of a fringe.
Mai bit back a smile.
This was obviously Zuko’s attempt at recreating Mai’s infamous hairstyle on their daughter. Which was a regular occurrence.
“Mai!” Zuko had finally noticed her.
Even after all these years of being together, and a whole child together, he still had a way of lighting up so genuinely every time he saw her. And no, this is not a firebending pun.
The way his eyes widened in an almost child-like excitement and his immediate awestruck kind of smile that made him resemble his sixteen year old self were almost enough for her to forget the fact that she was upset with him. Almost.
He set down the food, which was all ready now, and wiped his hands before walking up to her. “Sleep well?” he asked gently, tilting her chin up to kiss her. His touch was feather-light, so she could tell he was hesitant. Clearly, he hadn’t nor was he pretending to have forgotten about her mood, so. One point for him.
She let him kiss her, and she kissed back, because over their years of being together, one of the things she realised was that dealing with conflict did not mean that they had to rescind their love from each other— and especially for them two, whose primary language was physical touch.
“I slept pretty well,” she replied, her raspy voice full of that polite disinterest most people were used to hearing from her. To someone else, maybe, this wouldn't have been any cause for concern or anything out of the ordinary, but Zuko was immediately alarmed.
He could always tell.
So she's still upset. That was fine. He hadn't really expected otherwise. In fact, this was good for him, because there was no chance she could dismiss his questions about it now and say that ‘Oh, it's nothing, don't worry about it’.
They sat down to eat, and after a moment of awkward silence that made him feel like a seventeen year old in an argument with his girlfriend (also Mai) again, he broke.
“What did I do?” he blurted out. It wasn't an accusatory or patronising or deliberately obtuse question in any way. He sounded painfully earnest. “I know I did something to upset you, but I just… don't know what it is. I'm sorry. I tried to think, but I still don't know. I love you. Please tell me.”
If any of his friends could see him right now, the high and mighty Firelord, practically (unintentionally) giving his wife puppy eyes, they'd probably say he was pathetically in love.
And they'd be right.
Mai sighed and put her chopsticks down.
Another thing she'd realised over the years was that, as corny as it sounded, communication really was key. There was no use going in circles and beating around the bush and waiting for the other person to figure it out. Sometimes—most times—you just needed to have the conversation and move on.
Butttttt that doesn't mean that she didn't enjoy making him sweat sometimes. Most times.
“Last night,” she supplied. “At the party.”
“Yeah, I figured,” he responded without missing a beat, spooning a bit of dumpling into Izumi's mouth. “Good, huh?” He grinned when she got all excited and signed more. He directed his attention back at Mai, “Sorry. Keep going, baby.”
She feigned frustration, turning her face away from him while stroking Izumi’s hair, playing with the tiny buns. The feeling of the soft sprouts of hair between her fingers almost made her crack a smile. She knew it was Zuko's way of softening her up, but she didn't crack, wanting to make him sweat a little longer.
She shrugged nonchalantly, saying, “Your little… girlfriend was there last night. You didn't tell me she'd be there.”
He blinked. “Jin?!”
Mai scoffed. “Still on a first name basis, huh?” She shook her head in bewilderment, muttering, “You'd think the Firelord would have some respect for his wif—”
“Darling,” he breathed, interrupting her, in so much theatrical disbelief she almost laughed. He was so dramatic. He left his chair and immediately went to kneel in front of her, taking her hand in his.
Out of everything he could've guessed, it never would've been this. Mai was never jealous—not of his old girlfriends (just the one), that is. And of course, he wasn't faulting her for that or anything, but it was just… unexpected.
They'd met Jin the previous night unexpectedly at the party, and having already been well acquainted years ago (and having gone to Jin's wedding and having invited her to theirs, and having had Jin visit them on numerous occasions, the most recent being Izumi's birth), he'd safely assumed that speaking to Jin was fine. Right?
I mean, come on, Jin and Mai were closer than Jin and Zuko ever had been! They'd gone on one date, for God's sake!
But he wouldn't dare discredit Mai's feelings, no matter what.
“Did I say something specific that upset you? Or was it just the fact that I was having a conversation with her to begin with?” he asked, stroking her cold knuckles with his thumb, the contrast between their body temperature making him want to just scoop her up and take her to their bed to warm her up. In any means necessary.
Again, his question was nothing more than earnest.
“I… don't know,” Mai answered honestly, because even though she thought she didn't really care, she realised that she really was a little hurt, still. She had, of course, had time to think about it the previous night in the shower, and she'd come to the conclusion that while, yes, she was a little hurt at him barely paying any attention to her the whole night, busy both with Jin and everyone else who kept flanking him for a chance to speak with the Firelord, it was mostly the hormones speaking and after taking a little time to cool down, she understood that her feeling left out didn't mean that he was intentionally leaving her out. “I guess I just felt a bit jealous. And left out.”
“Mai…”
She squirmed. Even after all these years, she still felt that vague discomfort in the pit of her stomach when vocalising her feelings.
She rushed to say, “I know it's nothing and that you love me and that you're the Firelord and it's your duty to—”
“I am your husband before I am the Firelord,” he fiercely interrupted and pulled her down to join him on the floor. The gentleness of his touch contrasted the tone of his voice, both determined and desperate. “I am yours before I am anyone else's. My duty is to you, first and foremost, and I was wrong to neglect you in a party I brought you to. We came here to relax— to enjoy time away from all that Firelord bullshit, but I still found away to sink back into that role.”
“Zuko,” she said quietly with a hint of a smile, leaning into him and looping her arms around his neck, “it really isn't that big of a deal.” She kissed him sweetly once, his arms instantly going around her and pulling her closer against him. “I was just hormonal.” Then with an adorably teasing smirk that Zuko wanted to kiss off her face, she jested, “You can stop with the melodrama now.”
He huffed a laugh and spoke sincerely against her lips, “Still. I don't care if it was ‘the hormones’. I still upset you, and I'm sorry.”
“It wasn't a big deal,” she insisted, but deep down, she was really glad he cared so sincerely for her feelings.
“Don't care. I'm still sorry.”
She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the smile and the rumble of laughter in her chest. “Fine, you drama queen.” She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. “I forgive you.”
He ran his tongue across her bottom lip, one side of his lips tugging up in a smirk. “So soon?” he murmured against her, slipping his fingers in her long silky hair. “I was ready to make it up to you.”
Before the kiss could escalate any further—their daughter was right there, hello?—Mai pushed Zuko away, laughing. “Are you in heat?” she asked, giggling.
He gave her a lopsided grin. “For you? Always.”
She shook her head with laughter and pulled him up to stand. They made a good couple.
33 notes · View notes
sineala · 3 months ago
Note
I agree 100% on Duggan’s run re: the character writing and history for Tony were 10/10 but I’d have liked more of it to not be so tied to the Fall of X.
It’s why I’m excited for Duggan’s West Coast Avengers, and I wonder if Duggan felt the same, he wanted to write more Tony but he had done his arc and current Marvel seems pretty set on 2 years per writer unless there’s like an historic run going or a planned end (like Immortal Hulk or Kelly Thompson’s Captain Marvel) so he got Tony for WCA to keep his arc going but separated from the main book. And he separated Tony and Rhodey for Plot Reasons in his run so it will good to see them together as a duo in this book!
Plus Duggan set up Firestar and Tony as sources/confidants to each other in the X-books, and Firestar’s kind outcast status with the mutants, so I’m very interested in how that will play out. And if Duggan pairs her withe Tony as his Red Headed Love Interest and/or Assistant…well it makes more sense then Patsy&MJ lol. and Angelica has quite the history with Emma so that's ANOTHER point of intrigue lol especially since Duggan himself had Emma and Angelica bring it up recently, so Tony and Emma’s recent marriage might be a fun plot point.
(Add in the recent Hellcat&Iron Man mini series and Tony has had recent history with 3/4 of the…defunct Marvel Divas team (remember that? Oh 2009). Tho he’s had some dealings with Monica as well? But not personal 1-on-1 time idt? But how funny is it that they tried to make a “Birds of Prey” counterpart and they got 2 redheads and 2 Cat themed heroes on the team of 4 heroes should have gone all the way and done all Cats or all Red Heads lol.)
And it seems WCA is going to have more than one “seeking redemption/a fresh start” members, never mind the complex histories of Jessica Drew and Tony and Angelica, what with Ultron and Blue Bolt joining? So Tony having a team of characters like that I’m interested in.
(I think too, Duggan was criticized during his Xmen runs for focusing more on his fav characters rather then the full team so we’ll see how this goes, but cross our finger with at hopefully Tony is a focus in any case!)
Let’s hope the run is successful enough that eventually we see a blond love interest of Tony’s make at least an appearance! Steve OR Emma haha. Or even better, Steve joins once his Avengers mini is done. I liked his Steve a lot in Marvel 1872, and his writing of Tony along with their relationship is what gave us hope for Duggan’s run so more of that please! And I did like Tony and Emma’s romance, much more respectful to both characters then *ahem* other recent Hero/Tony pairings.
I'd actually never heard of Marvel Divas, so thanks for the link! I'm gonna check that out. That certainly looks like An Experience, whooo.
(Honestly I have no idea what Marvel is thinking with some of these Themed character lineups. I like to imagine them getting pitched the IM & Hellcat Annual and the Iron Cat mini at the same time and just being like "Cat??? Cat. Ok. Yes. All the cats.")
I think the WCA lineup looks good -- and, honestly, I am a fan of writers focusing on their faves. I'd rather have them get to write their faves than be forced to write a character they don't want, so I hope Duggan likes everyone on the team and I'm excited to see more of Tony and Rhodey's story -- plus, he left a lot of little plot hooks dangling in his IM run that he could pick back up on.
I haven't read a whole lot of her, but I really liked what Duggan was doing with Firestar in his X books because I have had a ridiculous amount of fondness for her since Busiek's Avengers run and it'll be nice to see her actually on a team with Tony again.
More Emma/Tony would always be good -- honestly, Tony with exes he's still on speaking terms with is so novel that whatever happens it's gonna be interesting. (I mean, there's Tony/Jan, but they haven't interacted recently, except in Twilight, which was not 616. And I think Cantwell made Patsy go insane in the recent Hellcat series? Anyway, I don't think she's coming back anytime soon.)
I would obviously also always be up for Steve and Tony on the same team, and I think Duggan wrote Steve well both in 1872 and in the recent Uncanny Avengers mini. I feel like Marvel could totally give us a new Captain America & Iron Man miniseries, also. I don't know if it was meant to signify anything, but the trade of the Cap & IM mini has a 1 on the spine, which is not the case for other one-shot minis I have in trade. It could also just mean that Marvel is bad at graphic design, but I'm still hoping.
9 notes · View notes
lixenn · 7 months ago
Note
I have some questions for Dave this time hehe
What was his first meeting with Chief like?
What was his original hair color?
I wonder if he gets along with Bel?
*crawls out of trenches, bloodied and covered in mud*
"I-" *huff* "I have fought in war and it was close but! I HAVE WON! The evil snippet has not defeated me!"
So now, I can finally answer this!! I'm sorry that it took so long Ein 🫠🥺🥺please forgive my tardiness 😣
Let me satisfy your curiosity!
Original hair color
Dave's hair used to be this really mousy brown and it just wouldn't do! No! He refuses! It was boring and common and absolutly clashed with his vibe so it needed to be adressed immediately. He bleached his hair the first time when he was 14 and it turned out horrible but he was still happy with his shitty dyejob because at least it was unique!
Dave and Bel
Do they get along? Ohhh boy, honey they get along like a house on fire! Dave and Bel often team up for pranks and mischief (Levi is one of their regular victims lol). Surprisingly Chief doesn't actually mind this relationship mostly because Dave tends to curb Bel's more ... homicidal tendencies. Dave prefers leaving his victims alive (though there's no guarentee for their sanity) mostly because killing them would limit his options for pranks. So when Dave and Bel plan mischief Dave puts his foot down about murder.
First meeting
As for that question....
Have a snippet!
The world is undoubtedly cruel. Criminally unjust. Life is filled with hurdles and hardships, with unimaginable challenges and dreadful chores.
Dan has been kicked out of his own office by an overly worried Lussuria.
(Honestly, the audacity of his doctor, the inhumanity. He is seriously considering a lawsuit.)
Apparently working for ten months straight without a break is “unhealthy” and “terrible for the skin, just look at those wrinkles Dani-boy”. Which is ridiculous in his humble opinion, he doesn’t have wrinkles. His skin simply has more character, more definition, that’s all. No wrinkles here, just a well-developed background story edged into his outer shell.
Nevertheless, Dan is left with no other choice than take the day off since he doesn’t want to deal with Lussuria drugging his tea again. One time was more than enough.
Well, at least he can use this opportunity to finally get some shopping done. His sister Is going to skin him alive if he shows up empty handed to her birthday again. Finding the perfect jewellery set to make up for his blunder took him some time but now he can at least cross that off his list.
He is slandering down the empty streets, enjoying the sunshine on his face, when his peaceful musings are interrupted by a body landing right in his path.
What?
Dan must have committed war crimes in his past life, it’s the only explanation. His former self probably kicked puppies for fun and slaughtered babies in their sleep because he can’t even take a stroll in the city without someone throwing bodies at his feet.
Puzzled and slightly annoyed Dan takes a closer look at the young man sprawled in front of him.
The first thing that catches his eye is the absolutely garish shade of neon green decorating the top of his head. Whoever did that dye job needs to be fired. His hair isn't the only thing that needed fixing though. He’s covered in bruises and dirt, blood is dripping from his nose and - Dan squints - is that a tooth on the pavement? Yes, it is. … Gross. Hopefully the guy knows a good a dentist.
The sound of footsteps alerts him to the arrival of even more people. Dan inspects the newcomers in irritation. There are three of them, all clad in ill-fitted suits, hair slicked back and fake gold rings on their fingers, making them look like stereotypical comic mafia goons brought to life. It would have been funny and something to laugh over with Squalo over coffee if said goons hadn’t interrupted his quiet afternoon with their petty disputes.
What a drag.
“You have five seconds.”
“Hah?” Goon #1 sneers at him, somehow turning even uglier in the process. “What do ya want, shrimp? Don’t ya see we’re a little busy here.”
Only sheer willpower prevents Dan from inspecting his nails in disinterest. Instead, he crooks an eyebrow, giving the idiotic trio his best deadpan fish stare.
“Three seconds.”
Goon #2 spots the Varia emblem on his hoodie and the Cloud clocks the moment he recognises what it stands for. He shakily points at Dan’s chest. “U-uhm… boss?”
“What?” Goon #1 snaps, but his gaze follows his friend’s finger and all colour leaves his face. “V-v-varia?”
Dan puts his hands in his hoodie pocket and smiles. “You rang?”
The way they freeze like a deer in the headlights. How they start quaking in their knock off designer shoes when realisations dawns upon them. The fear in their eyes.
Ah… making grown men piss their pants with a single look never gets old.
“By the way,” Dan drops his smile, his voice turning ice cold. “Your time is up. Better start running, boys.”
One would think that the Vendice are on their heels with how fast they scrammed.
Now, with that sorted.
Dan looks back the stranger who’s still lazing on the street. “You okay?”
“U-uhm yes…” he stutters with wide eyes that are filled with something uncomfortably close to awe. “Thank you so much.”
Feeling slightly awkward now, Dan avoids his shining gaze. “Don't mention it.”
“But-”
“Seriously don’t,” Dan interrupts him, combing a hand through his hair. He wishes this interaction was over already. He’s no good with shows of gratitude. “You should let a doctor check you over.” That should be enough polite concern, right? “I will be on my way then.”
Dan tries to speedwalk away to avoid further socialising but is hindered by a surprisingly strong grip on his hoodie.
Only his ingrained manners (thanks Mom) prevent him from breaking a hand and escaping anyways, which is probably for the best, the poor guy has enough injuries, no need to add broken bones to the list.
Dan turns around and sighs. “What is it?”
The young man gives him a solid try at puppy eyes. “What’s your name? I’m Dave by the way! You can’t just rescue me like a knight in shining armour and then disappear off into the sunset. That’s not fair at all.” He adds a pout to his pleading expression, which – in Dan’s humble opinion – just makes him look even more pathetic.
“Have you suffered head trauma recently?”
Dave cocks his head, confused. “I mean, one of them kicked my face for a bit but that was nothing, I’m good! They mostly focused on my upper body and limbs.” He lets go of Dan’s hoodie and lifts his shirt up to point at his battered torso in demonstration. “See?”
“Then, why are you spouting nonsense?” Dan takes a step back after he is freed from Dave’s clutches. “Run along and try to avoid getting beat up by shady men in the future.”
The puppy eyes start to fill with fake tears. “But they keep on finding me.”
Dan is suddenly overcome with a desperate need for coffee.
“And that’s my problem, how exactly?”
The responding grin sends shivers down his spine. It reminds him of Bel’s smug smile after he caught another one of his employees in his wire traps.
“Well, all your hard work would go to waste if they came back, wouldn’t it? So, how about you help a buddy out?” Dave winks and it would have been charming if his face wasn’t covered in dried blood. “You can start with your name and we will go from there.”
Dan barely lifted a finger, is this guy on crack? In fact… Is he trying to con him? This feels like a con.
Why did I even bother leaving my room today?
“Look, Dave,” he begins trying to salvage the situation, “if I tell you that Varia Housekeeping is always looking for new members, will you go away and let me enjoy the rest of my day off in peace?”
The other man’s jaw drops like Dan got on his knees and proposed instead of throwing in a job offer as distraction tactic.
Dan takes his surprise as an opportunity to exit the premises once again. This time he isn’t stopped physically but a broken “W-wait” still gives him pause and he reluctantly glimpses back. Dave has dropped his cocky façade leaving behind only shattered pieces and a tiny fragment of hope.
“Please. Tell me your name?”
His voice sounds fragile compared his confident tone before.
Dan has always been a sucker for the broken ones, hasn’t he?
Fuck it, in for a penny, in for a pound.
“You can call me Chief.”
---
Hope you liked the little sneak peak into Dave's mysterious past 😊! Honestly the delay was mostly because that meeting was fighting me with tooth and nail but I managed to get it done!
I feel like I wanted to add something else but I forgot because goldfish brain lol
Anyways keep being awesome like the legend you are Ein!! Hopefully I could brighten your dim days in study hell 💕✨😊
13 notes · View notes
pudding-parade · 1 year ago
Text
Tumblr media
@echoweaver
Figured I'd do this this way instead of adding to the comment pile. :) I should've made a separate post with my whining, but…meh. What's done is done.
But yeah, not so much "medical drama" as just…stuff. I had a liver transplant in September. I haven't specifically talked much about it here because...I don't know. I guess I thought if I didn't talk about it it would be less...I don't want to say "depressing," because I'm not depressed, and I don't want to conflate being temporarily down in the dumps with depression. Maybe "difficult" is the right word.
Anyway...I've needed a transplant for about 10 years, my original having been badly damaged by asymptomatic hepatitis C that I unknowingly had, until the damage started making me really sick. I probably originally contracted it from a blood transfusion I had in the 80s, before they tested donated blood for Hep C. Medication as well as a special diet and supplements helped with the symptoms of a failing liver for a while, but this past spring things started to go downhill more quickly and the meds, etc. weren't helping as much.
I had a matching living donor, a relative of my husband's, who wanted to do it and who was finally approved for it. (She'd been deemed too young before.) And I was at the point of, "Do it now or else you won't be healthy enough later to survive the surgery/recovery." So, I did it. And like I said, I know it will be good in the long run, but right now it just kind of sucks. (Though it is nice to be not quite so yellow. I actually have eye whites now, yay! And I look less like a character from The Simpsons. Also also, I can legitimately say that I'm part Mexican now. LOL )
I'll spare you/everyone the gorier details, but I spent almost three weeks (as opposed to the one-week-or-so that's normal for transplants) in the ICU due to rejection issues (which is why my immunosuppressant dose was very high), and then once finally released I was under a "no contact" rule. As in, no contact with anyone but my husband, who was also not allowed contact with other people or else he wouldn't be allowed contact with me. (Thank goodness DoorDash exists now or I don't know what we would have done for food.) The only time I could leave this place was to go directly to a car to be driven directly to a doctor's office where they have a special process/set-up for people in my situation, and it's just nuts. People who went batty during covid lockdowns had it easy compared to this.
So it's been….rough. I don't really care about not being able to see people so much, frankly, but I do not like being cooped up inside. My latent claustrophobia has become not-so-latent of late. At home, I can sit out on the deck or I can wander about or ride my horse for miles in the wilderness without seeing another soul, but not here in a city. Cities suck. If I'd had more time to arrange things I would've at least rented a place with a patio/balcony, but since it was very short-notice, what we have is the best we could get, and it's not very good.
The good news is it's getting better. My immunosuppressant dosages are being lowered and I have no signs of rejection yet, so… *fingers crossed* And I'm down to twice-a-week appointments instead of literally every weekday. So, as of this past Friday I'm now allowed incidental contact, which means I can walk the streets or be at outdoor venues if I stay away from people, especially children (because they go to day care/school and tend to carry all sorts of interesting illnesses), as much as possible, but I can't be indoors for long periods with lots of people, so no stores, movie theaters, restaurants, etc. But this is why we're considering a zoo trip tomorrow. My doctors probably would consider it more than "incidental contact," but at least it's outdoors, close by, and it shouldn't be too crowded since it's winter and the kids aren't out of school for Christmas yet. They also have wheelchair or scooter rentals, so I don't have to walk the whole thing, and I would just be happy to be out in an environment other than a doctor's office for a day. So, I'm pretty sure we're going to do it. Because fuck it.
But anyway. Yeah, I'm trying to be more active online. It was hard for a while because with a giant healing abdominal incision and bruised-up everything, sitting up for long periods of time was a no-go, but I'm doing much better on that front. I've actually been playing No Man's Sky more than Sims, just because it's a space exploration game that makes me feel more like I'm "out there" than Sims does. But, I'm also trying to get back into the simblr momentum. I want to get back to playing the Random Legacy I started, because I can post about that more easily than the weird-o saves I usually play. LOL It's just hard to feel motivated right now, I guess. But we'll get there.
And you know what? For a movie that's supposed to be a comedy, Lilo & Stitch makes me bawl my eyes out. And that scene that I quoted is the "worst" in that regard. But it's still one of my favorite movies. :)
25 notes · View notes
chaotic-on-main · 1 year ago
Note
Hey lovely Sky 🩷
🎉 Congrats on 250 followers 🎉 It's really deserved & I bet you'll soon get many more!
For your Summer Event, may I request
☀️ Matcha green tea sugar cone
☀️ Fresh fruit topping 😏
☀️ Levi and reader are stuck at home on a very hot day, no air conditioning, shutters half closed, beads of sweat sliding down their skin... Fluff & slightly suggestive if it's ok for you.
Sending lots of love 🩷
Tumblr media
Order up!! One matcha green tea sugar cone with fresh fruit for Val!!
Sky's Summer and 250 Follower Event!
Tumblr media
☾ Pairing ➼ Levi Ackerman x afab!Reader
☾ Content/Warnings ➼ suggestive (MDNI just in case), fluff, modernAU, sweaty bodies lmao, implied sexual intimacy, friends to lovers, established relationship
☾ A/N ➼ Hi Val!! Thank you so much for sending in a request. I've been sitting on this one for a bit and I'm pleased to see where it went. Before anyone asks, yes I did give the house a history. I was imagining one of those really old Victorian homes. Yanno, the ones with really old white painted wood and a porch lol. Let me know what you think! Likes and reblogs are always appreciated. 💕
☾ Word Count ➼ ~2.6k
Tumblr media
Levi had told you when you both first started dating that he lived in an old building. He currently leased a room with a few of his other friends, something that needed to be done as rent was high and it was the only place they could find at the time. Since then, they never had any reason to leave, and they were fortunate to have a sweet old lady as their landlord.
According to Levi, the house had been in the landlord’s family for many generations spanning back to the mid-1800s. Very little upgrades were made in those years as they wanted to preserve the physical body as much as possible. There were a handful of updated kitchen appliances, a few wall-mounted A/C systems, and of course newer plumbing. But outside of that, the house has looked the same for the past few centuries.
This meant that the door that you were currently fighting with had been there just as long as the house has. Levi had warned you hours ago that sometimes in the summer, the door could expand and get stuck. On this particularly hot day, Levi’s bedroom door might as well have been superglued to the frame.
“You know it can get stuck like this, yet you still close it?” You hiss at Levi as you continue to pull on the knob with no avail.
“I don’t want people peeking into my room as they walk past.” Your boyfriend of a few months’ grumbles behind you.
“Erwin and Hange are both at work. You make no sense.” You hear Levi’s tongue click in annoyance.
“Just give it a few minutes.”
With a huff, you turn around and face Levi. He’s sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at you with his eyebrows knit. You take a few steps towards his bed and fall face first into the soft comforter. His laundry detergent wafts up into your nose as you do, and you find yourself nuzzling into the sheets more.
“Well, at least the air conditioning is working.” Your words come muffled through the blankets. Just as you finish your sentence, there’s a soft pop and then deafening silence. The heat that comes after is instant.
“You just had to say something, didn’t you.” Levi groans as he gets up from the bed, the mattress underneath him whining at the sudden lack of weight. Your face is still down in the mattress, so all you hear is him messing with the air conditioning unit above his dresser. From the sounds of it, it’s still blowing but softly and only warm air is coming out. Something clunks on the top of his dresser then he starts tugging at the old wooden door.
“Shit.” He mutters under his breath after a few minutes of struggling. “I think it’s actually stuck this time. Where’s your phone?”
You roll over and sit up to face him, feet crossed under you. You can already feel the sweat starting to build up on your face and neck.
“I left it out on the coffee table. Where’s yours?”
“Kitchen counter. Fuck.” He rakes his fingers through his hair and the way it’s sticking back, you can see he’s starting to get sweaty as well. He crosses his arms over his chest and stares at you.
“Maybe we climb out the window and go through the house to the other side of the door?”
“We’re on the second floor and the front door is locked. My keys are out in the living room.”
“What about kicking down the door?”
“And risk the wrath of Mildred? No. We’re stuck here until one of the other idiots comes home.”
You pinch the bridge of your nose in between fingers as you try to think of more options, but nothing comes to you as the heat of the room is becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Your clothes are sticking to your skin, and you feel your scalp becoming damper by the second.
“That could be hours, Levi.”
“I’m well aware.” He sighs heavily and steps over to his window before sliding it open then pulling the shade down to block out some of the afternoon sun. The room is still hot but at least there’s circulation now.
Eventually you and Levi both find each other lying on your backs on his bedroom floor. Fortunately, he kept it clean so you had no worry about what you might pick up while down there. You think an hour had also passed, either you or Levi getting up periodically to check on the door – which didn’t budge in the slightest.
The beads of sweat that moistened your skin and pooled into your clothes became irritating by the second and you couldn’t stand it anymore. After pulling yourself up, you tug your shirt up and over your shoulders as much as you could despite the wet fabric clinging to your skin. Then, you push your shorts down until they’re around your ankles and don’t hesitate to use your feet to kick them back up to you to save you from leaning down.
Levi’s head rolls over in your direction at the sudden rustling and you spot his eyes widen at the sight of you now only in your bra and underwear. You feel his gaze linger before looking up at the ceiling.
This is the first time Levi has ever seen you this stripped and you think you might regret this later. But in the heat of the moment, all you can focus on is making yourself comfortable.
“The fuck are you doing?” His face is flushed and you’re certain it’s not just from the heat.
“It’s hot as shit and I can’t stand the feeling of wet clothes. Don’t read too much into it.” You say down to him, resting your fists on your hips. “Unless you want heat stroke, I’d recommend doing the same.”
“No.”
“Suit yourself.” You shrug before sitting back down on the hard floor. The cool wood on your back elicits a content sigh from your lips.
A few minutes pass before you hear an irritated click of a tongue then the rustling of Levi standing up. Just as you had, he’s pulling his t-shirt off and tugging down his jeans, grabbing them and folding them neatly before placing them on his dresser.
You had suggested it but now you wish you hadn’t. Levi’s side profile is enough to make you swoon, his hair dripping with sweat and sticking to his forehead. The realization that you were both now half naked in front of each other hits. Not like you were intending any funny business but your eyes don’t leave his porcelain skin as they trail down his body and the feeling it leaves behind makes your heart flutter.
Lean muscles pop up throughout his small frame. His back and arms are more prominent, though it’s obvious he never skipped a core or leg day either. A happy trail matching the raven hair on his head leads down under his semi-tight polyester boxers and you force your eyes away from staring any further – not without a small glance though.
He lies back on the floor next to you, avoiding your gaze.
“Happy?” Levi grumbles finally. He pulls an arm up and over his eyes.
“I feel better, yeah. Do you?”
“…I guess.” You can’t help but smirk at that.
You imagine it had been another hour since that. The time was filled with talks of anything you could think of - mainly about what you would order for dinner tonight. You forced yourself to stop as your stomach started growling painfully.
The sun shot straight through the window and Levi had gotten back up at some point to lower the curtain more to block it out. That also meant blocking out any air flow so the room began to feel stuffy. You’re debating on taking off more clothes before Levi pipes up again, his voice crackly from the lack of moisture.
“I shouldn’t have invited you over.”
Lolling your head to face him, you eye his sweaty face in surprise. His dark eyes side-eye you as you consider his words. There’s a trace of guilt in his expression from what you can see.
“And miss all of this fun?” You joke back, a smile tugging at your lips. There’s a pool of sweat building under your skin and onto the hard floor now.
“You could be anywhere else right now.”
“True. But I wanted to spend my day off with you. If this is how I go, then so be it.” You reach over to gently push the hair strands sticking to his face out of the way. They stick straight up and you can’t help but chuckle at it. “Besides, if I knew this would be a way to get your shirt off, I’d have glued the door to the frame way earlier.”
“You’re such a dumbass, you know that?” You hear a lilt of amusement tickle his voice. “If you wanted my shirt off, you could have asked.”
“Would you have if I did?”
“I guess we’ll never know.”
The perks of being good friends with Levi for so long before officially dating included seeing Levi in a different light and you knew he would rather die than show anyone else. Levi Ackerman was the funniest person next to your friend Hange, but no one would ever believe you if you told them.
And If you looked past his dry tone and brusque demeanor, you’d see the softest soul anyone’s ever seen.
“Hey Levi?” You push yourself off the ground, which proves to be a little difficult as the floor is slippery from your sweat, and onto your butt. He hums back in response, opting to stay flat on the ground. Your eyes scan the sweat gleaming off his soft, pale skin. You really want to reach over and touch his chest but you hold back, folding your hands on your legs that sit straight out as you lean against the end of the bed.
“What made you finally ask me out after so many years?”
“You’re asking this now?”
“If I’m going to die here, I’d like to know before passing on, yeah.”
“Tch.” Levi sits up effortlessly and turns to face you, sitting with his legs crossed underneath him, then leans back against his dresser. “Hange.” He rakes his fingers through his wet hair that fell in his face and pushes it back out of his face. With the amount of sweat building up, it stays slicked back which makes your heart jump at the sight.
“Hange?” You furrow your brows at that. It was the last thing you thought he would say.
“They told me to stop being an idiot and make a move before someone else did.”
“Did they now? Couldn’t stand seeing me on someone else’s arm?” You pinch your lips together to hold back a smile as you watch him. Beads of sweat roll down his face and neck.
“No.” His eyes stare into yours with straight sincerity. “It annoyed me just thinking about it.”
“And how long were you crushing on me?” This time, you don’t stop the cocky smile carving into your face and no doubt into your eyes as well.
“Speaking of annoying.” He rolls his eyes at you, but there’s a small smirk on the corners of his mouth. You notice the way his eyes trail down your body, lingering on certain places that makes your face heat up more than it already was.
“Hm, but that’s why you like me.”
“Is that why?” Levi leans forward so that he’s on his hands and starts crawling over to you. In mere seconds, his face is right in front of you as his body hovers over your legs – hints of lemon and sweat seeping into your bubble. The proximity of his warm body makes the air around you hotter. You swallow hard, eyes bouncing back and forth between his dark gray.
Before you can answer, he pushes forward and his soft lips meet yours gently. This isn’t the first kiss, but it might as well have been. Every kiss with Levi always leaves your heart with palpitations and your head dizzy, this one was no exception.
He raises a hand so that he’s only leaning on one, and wraps it around your neck to pull you deeper into him. You taste the saltiness of sweat as well as him and you’re quick to melt into his touch.
The heat of the room is unbearable, but it’s nothing compared to the heat blooming throughout your whole body as Levi's lips make their way down your jaw and to your neck. You feel his razor sharp teeth nip at your soft skin before his lips make their way back up to your mouth - his movements hungrier with every passing second.
“Where the heck are you guys?! It’s 4:27!” You hear from the other side of Levi’s door before it’s being flung open from the other side a second later. You squeak in surprise as the door vibrates on his hinges from slamming against the wall. Levi is still inches from you but now both of your heads are turned towards the tall person standing in the door frame. The cool air from the hallway blasts through and if you weren’t in such an awkward predicament, you would have jumped for joy.
“I’ve been in the parking lot for the last 30 minutes waiting…” They trail off as they take in the situation. Half-naked, flushed and sweaty, and Levi practically on top of you. Your eyes widen up at them.
“Well, well, well. I can see why you left me hanging.” They muse as they cross their arms over their chest and raise an eyebrow at you.
“I- it’s not- his door wouldn’t open so-” You stutter out, hands waving in front of your chest in protest.
“Go away, four-eyes.” Levi grumbles as he sits back on his knees and turns away from the door, leaving his back to Hange. You note his hands sitting on his lap in a graceful manner.
“I’ll give you some time to uh, get ready. Erwin and the rest of the gang are already at the restaurant waiting for our asses.” Hange winks at you before turning on their heels and walks down the hallway. Their footsteps clunk down the old staircase, growing fainter with every step.
It’s silent besides the rushing of air from the other a/c units throughout the house. The cool air tingles on your skin, turning the beads of sweat cold. You can’t help it, you laugh out loud – obnoxiously so.
“Figures Hange would find us.” Levi mutters. He’s still facing away from the door but you can see his side profile as he side-eyes you once again.
“They saved us though.” You say after catching your breath. Using the back of your hand, you wipe the sweat off your forehead. You were going to need to clean up before meeting up with everyone for dinner. An idea strikes as you pull yourself up off the floor.
“You know, we need to shower before leaving.” You say down to Levi.
“That would be wise, yes.”
“It would save time and water if we shower together.” You say quietly as you tug on an invisible string hanging off your bra.
Levi is off the floor and pulling you into the bathroom across the hall before you can say anything else.
Tumblr media
36 notes · View notes
atrial-ofhorror-if · 2 years ago
Text
Tumblr media
This is gonna be a long one yall, so feel free to skip and just send asks about my progress if you don't wanna read through it. Otherwise...
Tumblr media
So, I didn’t really have much of an update for you all in February. Reason: it is my birthday month, and I was being a lazy little hedonist, teehee 🤎
In hindsight, February/March has also been one of the most rigorous months for my workplace as well. We have about 33 contracts that we have to get out to the organizations that we fund and unfortunately our legal department, our comptroller's office, and our commissioner has been H-Town stomping on our balls for the past 3 months.
Needless to say, ya girl is tired lol.
Tumblr media
I am, of course, pushing through it because I promised this update a LONG time ago, and whenever I don't deliver I feel as if I age 20 years. I know technically I'm running myself ragged again but I can't bring myself to worry about it now. Especially, when I'm the reason why I'm working like a Yorkshire pig.
Clerical Update
Mostly just playing around in Twine, and answering asks. I wanted to do something for February cause it is the month of love, but I think I ended up getting overwhelmed with real life and other shit so that went to the gutter.
I think I'm gonna hire someone to make a special UI for me... I'm tired of fighting with twine, and I really just want to focus on writing, so if anyone has like recommendations for twine/tweego wizards or thinks that they can take a crack at it, let ya girl know.
I am paying.
Progress Update
So... Not a lot of progress was made in February month lol but again. The laz was real~
March was MUCH more progressive, (probably cause I ended up stressing myself out about getting the game out by Summer (June or July ???) Tentative of course 🥴🥴🥴)
Overall, i am at 80k+ words!
Progress for Routes
Search and Destroy: <1%
Interlude (TBA): 5%
To be well: Completed
Yes, you read that right... I have officially finished writing to be well and have transitioned into draft editing for that route🎉🎉
Writing the final part of that route has inflicted psychological and visceral damage to my soul 💀 I thought I would be ok honestly like I just knew I was gonna be able to keep chugging along, but it hurt a little more than I imagined.
Tumblr media
I'm ok tho, and I promise y'all will be ok too! I think? So don't worry too much!
Now I plan on pushing this draft through editing at least 3 times. The first time will be solely for missing scenes, evaluation of scenes, and then re-working them. The second time will be more focused on the characters and how they feel in the game. I'm aiming to flesh them out, and add breath to their actions and words. So fingers crossed I'm successful 🤞🏿🤞🏿
The third and final draft will be solely grammatical. If I catch anything funky in there, I'll patch it up but the goal is that for the third draft the number of mistakes are gonna be few. Heh, like that will actually happen.
After this is done, I'll go ahead and plug it into twine, test out the codes, and then send it to beta testers.
I also want to talk about beta testing for a minute too, cause we are getting into that hour.
its gonna be SUPER important that I get a good portion of beta testers due to the variability of this update. (If y'all think this current update is bad just wait 🥴🥴) Like, I'm only one person, and unfortunately for me, there are only so many errors I can catch.
I'll be releasing a survey again for people to fill out if they are interested. It'll be open for a month, and then decisions made in the following two weeks.
Next Months and Remaining Month Plans
Edit, edit, edit!!
Finish the touches on the Interlude.
Technically the piece of that is going in the update is gonna be significantly smaller than what I intended. Which is ok, cause ya girl was gonna lose her mind 🥴🥴
Start Search and Destroy
I think that's it? Again if you have questions, please let me know! Love y'all 🤎🤎
26 notes · View notes
underratedandoverit · 1 year ago
Note
okay, last orangekip request lol i love introspective fics, like when a character is thinking about how much they love the other and what exactly they like about them. so maybe a fic where oc is thinking about how much he loves kip during a mundane thing, like watching kip streaming or playing with his hair while he sleeps in his lap. can take place in the belt corruption arc or not. i'll leave it up to you 💚
~2,3k words orangekip (orange cassidy/kip sabian)
set in immortal fears/the belt corruption au. this is literally 2k words of me rambling about details and plot points in immortal fears and then the remaining few hundred words are like. actually something cute and fluffy lmao. i mean sometimes a man just gotta think, you know. but he has a good reason, as you can see in the end :3c
@stormbornpirate
on ao3
---------------------------
Usually nights like this made him anxious. The darkness surrounded by almost a deafening silence was rarely tolerable, whether he was alone or not, despite the horrors being mostly left behind him a while ago, he could still occasionally see shadows and figures move around in the darkest corners of the rooms he occupied.
Tonight things felt different. Maybe it was because it had been a relatively good day compared to many previous ones, maybe because he was tired but content with today's work that had gotten done even though it wasn't absolutely everything he wanted to do…
Maybe it was the sleeping Kip laying on the couch next to him, curled up against the side of his leg, head laid down comfortably on his lap.
Cassidy looked down at him, a small smile playing on his lips. They probably should have moved to bed ages ago, but ever since Kip had passed out on him almost as soon as they had gotten home, Cassidy just didn’t dare to wake him up and move the two of them to the bedroom. He looked so comfortable there, his steady breathing the only sound in the living room as Cassidy had muted the television to allow Kip to sleep in peace, as he was clearly exhausted after spending the whole day out in town.
Cassidy’s fingers ran absentmindedly through Kip’s hair, watching the bright coils he wrapped around his fingers untangling themselves and settling back to their places time after time. He honestly couldn’t really figure out how they had ended up here in the end, considering the extremely rocky start they had gotten off to years ago at this point.
They never really got along, or at least they never actively tried to. Cassidy was always with his tightly knit friend group, Kip was with his like-minded people. They didn’t hang out, they barely shared greetings in the hallways when they crossed paths. Sure they were familiar with one another, knew that they worked together and occasionally shared the ring too, but that was about the extent of everything.
Then one day, pretty much purely as a prank as Chuck had egged him on to do it saying how funny it would be to mess with them a little, Cassidy interrupted a promo by Miro and Kip. And that was pretty much the beginning of what had become a years long rivalry in most people's eyes at this point, most of them saying that Cassidy costing Kip the International title wasn’t the end of it either. Of course behind the scenes it was, leading them ultimately where they were now, but if people wanted to believe that the story still wasn’t over, Cassidy wasn’t going to let them in on their little secret.
Not that the road to get here had been easy for either of them. Cassidy could still remember Kip just disappearing after Arcade Anarchy was done, only later on hearing about the injury and the surgery he had to go through. At the time he partially blamed himself for it and putting them all through the match, though Chuck had convinced him that nobody was to blame, these things happened. Which, he was right, but knowing that he had been one of the last opponents Kip had faced in that match still poked his conscience occasionally, even after all these years. They had talked about it and Kip had said, multiple times, that he didn’t put blame on Cassidy as this was an issue he had dealt with prior to the match, but it was still occasionally bothering him, for one reason or another.
Maybe Cassidy blamed it so much on himself because he had seen and felt firsthand what being on the shelf had done to Kip when he eventually started to return to shows and the ringside.
His eyes focused back on the sleeping face of the Brit, watching the little content smile linger on his resting face, lips slightly apart as he was clearly asleep. The dark circles around his eyes were partially from the sloppy job of removing the makeup when they had gotten home, but Cassidy knew a big part of them were also the sleepless nights and the nightmares that kept him awake and alert for too many hours of the day. Kip wouldn’t admit to it at this point that it was still a problem, in his mind it had been tackled a long time ago, but Cassidy knew. He knew it all.
He knew how much of the makeup was a facade and how much of it was the real Kip Sabian. As much as the base of the eyeliner was real, the rest of it was nothing more than a cover up. To make sure nobody else saw how much it all had messed him up. The injury, the recovery, the return…
The box, the title hunt, the belt itself.
You could have shown Cassidy a single picture of Kip from any point of this timeline and he could have pinpointed exactly when it was taken, based on nothing but the way he looked. He had seen Kip go from the colorful though vengeful persona to the man in the deepest depths of hell, hellbent on revenge and redemption. While Cassidy hadn’t been there or a part of it every step of the way, he had observed it enough from the sidelines to have seen all of it develop. And he had been there enough to experience the worst of it firsthand.
His hand slowly left Kip’s hair, the palm pressing gently to the side of his head as his thumb ran over the other man’s cheek. Even in his sleep Kip leaned against the touch with a content hum, making Cassidy’s heart flutter at the sight. Despite everything they had gone through, both separately and together, they were still here, able to have this kind of a moment together. In complete peace.
He didn’t intend it to, but Cassidy’s mind wandered on its own back to the first days they spent together after Kip had been broken out of the curse, after he was no longer a champion. Cassidy had been the one to cost him the title, sure, but that had just been the beginning of it. It didn’t take long for Kip to fall prey to the aftermath, just as Cassidy knew he would be. And he had been there to pick up the pieces, to help Kip back up on his feet, whether he liked it or not, whether Chuck liked it or not, whether anyone liked it or not, because Cassidy knew he was the one that needed to do it, and he was the one that was able to do it.
It all started very rocky, and continued very rocky for a long time. Understandably it took Kip a long while to be able to get not only used to this changed situation where he was alone but no longer in control, and to accept the fact that he was not only getting help, but that he needed the help of the man he had proclaimed his nemesis. Cassidy didn’t mind this, it felt kind of bad to admit it, but he knew Kip didn’t have it in him in the end to fight against it. If Cassidy kept up with it, eventually Kip would give in, he would understand how all of this was necessary. Cassidy knew this, as he had been in the same boat before, only he had been in Kip’s place and Kris, and occasionally Chuck and Trent as well, in his.
Cassidy’s hand moved from Kip’s face, grabbing a gentle hold of his hand resting next to his head, easily interlacing their fingers. Even if Kip was asleep, this setup was so usual for them that it was ingrained into his muscle memory even if he wasn’t aware of what was happening around him. Cassidy observed his content face for a while, thinking how long it had been now that he had been able to look Kip like this.
It hadn’t always been like this. Hell, this hadn’t been the end goal at any point. Cassidy was just supposed to be here until Kip was better and able to get back on his own feet and take care of himself again, and then he was supposed to be out. That’s how it was supposed to be, only for a short period of time. Instead it had been almost a year at this point since they had moved in together, at some point down the line they had moved into sharing a bed – at the beginning this was to avoid extra nightmares and make sure Kip got the sleep he needed, but something about that clearly shifted the dynamic in the end.
Cassidy could remember multiple nights looking at Kip’s sleeping face, much like tonight, wondering how they ended up here. Where they would go from here. If there would be more than just him taking care of the Brit like it had been up to that point. Slowly seeing his actions help Kip, to genuinely make him get better and be able to get somewhat back into normalcy…
Somewhere in there, between all the good and the bad, the laughs in the day and confused, fearful tears cried in the night, his heart had decided that Cassidy was feeling more than just the need to help Kip to overcome this huge obstacle.
Cassidy felt extremely lucky to know that Kip shared those feelings with him though, he couldn’t even bring himself to think how things would be if he didn’t.
Feeling a lump forming on his throat the thought, Cassidy closed his eyes, inhaling deeply in hopes of calming himself down. Today had been such a tiring, hectic day it was no wonder him being this tired and having his thoughts running so rampant that it was making him emotional, but at the same time he didn’t want to cry and risk waking Kip up because of it. Cassidy was supposed to be the calm and collected one, he was always the stoic one, he wasn’t the one that was supposed to cry.
And yet, the tears were inevitable.
He barely stifled a sob, but the tears slipped past the shut eyelids, wetting his cheeks. Almost as soon as Cassidy could feel that, he felt a hand being pressed on his cheek, a thumb running over it, wiping away the tears.
“Hey.”
Cassidy opened his eyes, looking down at Kip, seeing the smile still on his lips, tired eyes looking back at him, just barely a hint of worry in them. While it wasn’t usual for Kip to see him cry like this, seemingly unprompted, Kip knew to not get him more agitated whenever it did happen.
“Everything okay?”
Cassidy offered him a smile, wiping his face with his free hand, giving a squeeze to Kip’s hand with the other. “Yeah… Yeah, sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
Kip looked at him, observing his face, like he was trying to find the lie that he knew he wasn’t going to find. “You sure?”
Cassidy nodded, taking in a deep breath. “Just thinking. About this. Us. …How we got here.”
Kip hummed in response, eyes finally leaving Cassidy, allowing him a little breathing room. Kip pushed himself up from his lap, stretching a little with a yawn. As Kip settled back to his spot on the couch next to Cassidy, he leaned closer to the blond, pressing a quick kiss on his cheek.
“I think about us all the time,” he smiled, pressing another kiss on Cassidy’s cheek before he pushed himself up from the couch, stretching again. “But it’s bedtime. Come on.”
Kip offered a hand towards him, Cassidy taking it without hesitation. But instead of letting Kip pull him up, Cassidy pulled the Brit closer and into a kiss. He obviously intended it as a passionate one, one hand running through Kip’s hair to keep him close as the man basically melted against him, in the end ending up sitting in Cassidy’s lap as the breath taken out of him was too much to keep him up on his feet anymore.
“You’ve really been thinking tonight, huh?” Kip gasped as he was finally able to get air into his lungs again, Cassidy just responding with a quick peck on his lips and a smile. Kip looked at him for a while, leaning closer as he snuggled his head against Cassidy’s shoulder with a quiet sigh. “I love you.”
Cassidy’s hand ran through Kip’s hair again, leaning his head against the side of his. “I love you too. But you’re right, we really should go to bed.”
Kip chuckled at him but obliged, pushing back onto his feet, raising a brow as Cassidy didn’t follow suit immediately.
“I’ll turn off the lights and such. You go ahead.”
“Well, if I pass out before you get there, that’s on you.”
Cassidy just chuckled at him, watching Kip leave the living room. Only after he could hear the footsteps going up the stairs to make sure he really was leaving his immediate vicinity, Cassidy stood up from the couch, reaching for the remote to turn the television off. He grabbed the jean jacket that had been laying on the back of the couch, hand stuffing into its pocket.
He looked at the little black ring box in his hand for a moment before putting it into the pocket of his jeans, knowing he could get away with hiding it from Kip for a little bit longer until the morning.
16 notes · View notes
regular-lord-reckoner · 8 months ago
Text
it is spring time and appropriately, i have been a very busy bee !!
i'm on much needed pto and it is wonderful. i somehow managed to get completely caught up on all my work before i left so i'm not stressed about when i go back next week
i've mostly been sleeping a lot which i desperately needed and i've been doing a lot of things i've meant to for a while now
namely scheduling doctors appointments and updating my insurance everywhere i need to and that sort of shit, plus some legal stuff my mom and i are doing for some of my dad's stuff.
since monday i also started finally working on my closet again. i had to stop last time and toss everything back in there because...yeah, but now that i can spread some things out again i've made a lot of progress so far
every day i go in with the goal of getting out at least one bag of stuff to throw away and i've also moved out a bunch of clothes i'll need to sort through and a few other things i might be able to give away
feel like i can actually breathe in there again so that's nice. needed that. i'll probably work on it some more over the next two days and then take a break but it should be a lot easier now that i've really gotten the ball rolling to finish it up and fingers fucking crossed this time it'll be all done by the fall where it can just be my nice closet again and i can actually find things !!
i also finally went to get my oil changed today and fortunately there were no other problems so that went smoothly !! i got it washed, too (not that it matters now because it's pouring rain outside now lol) and i stopped to get my mom a birthday card and a gift bag for her present since her birthday is on monday !!
other than all of that i'm just trying to take it easy and unwind. trying to still rest a lot and not push myself too hard or do anything i don't feel up to.
for the past, mmm, i dunno, while i've just been full of piss and vinegar if that wasn't evident so i've tried to just be real quiet and keep to myself until i can feel less overwhelmed.
i'm still in that time out corner for now but i'm starting to feel a lot better so that's something! i've been doing a lot of cleaning lately as well (i did my bathroom on monday and will be doing laundry all throughout the week as week as well as the usual dishes and garbage duty) so that usually helps me feel a bit better.
it's also very cathartic just...throwing a bunch of shit away !! and having more space !! yay !!
oh, i also finally had therapy again after like...a month and i'm not sure yet what my new insurance situation will look like, but i think we're all happy to be done with my old insurance (she was telling me about something weird they did that i just...cannot fathom (something about mailing her a paper credit card that no one would accept ?? idk), but oh well, good riddance !!) and i'm slowly but surely working on paying her back !!
lastly, i tried a new coffee place today because i'm still trying to figure out which local coffee spot will be my new favorite now that i no longer haunt starbucks or dunkin and i went to this new one today and i....i definitely ordered a chai...a 32 oz one at that because why not, i love chai.... whatever they gave me definitely was not chai.
i'm not sure what it is exactly, but it's definitely got coffee in it and i thought at first maybe it was a dirty chai but no. and it's no big deal, i took it and just drove on but what's baffling to me is i was the only customer at that time.
nobody in front of me, no one behind me and maybe they were doing a mobile order or something but i had to sit there for a few minutes while they made it and it was...not at all what i was expecting, but also not bad !! haven't had an iced coffee in a minute so i'll take it !! (they also put a little chocolate covered espresso bean on the top which was very good)
anyway, i thought that was kinda funny. i've also finished all my chores and errands for the day now so i might take a nap or i might read or who knows what i might do, i actually have time to myself !!!!
just wanted to give a little update since for once it isn't me just bitchin' about things XD
hope if you're reading this that you're doing well and i'll be back to being a human (or as close to it as i get) ....sometime !! <3
6 notes · View notes
anistarrose · 1 year ago
Text
20 questions for fic writers, tagged by @holdmecloser-gandydancer (thanks reese!) tagging @fexalted @3hobbitsinatrenchcoat @novantinuum and anyone else who wants to!
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
86, very soon to be 87!
2. What's your total AO3 word count?
397,102. my god.
3. What fandoms do you write for?
The majority (over half) of my total fics on AO3 are Gravity Falls, but my current passion right now is obviously TAZ Balance, which is a pretty close runner-up. TOH is a lot further behind, but I have at least one WIP I want to finish up early next year!
4. What are your top five fics by kudos?
Some Sunny Day (Gravity Falls), Tulip's Return (Infinity Train), Stan and Ford Vs. The Future (GF), Fateful Detours (GF/IT crossover), Missteps and Miscommunication (GF).
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
Usually, and especially when they give me a chance to infodump about the writing process! I just don't necessarily respond quickly lol
6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
In recent memory, it might be but the strange lights in the sky were shining (TAZ). I write more happy/bittersweet endings than sad ones, but that one... that one has one of my absolute favorite twists :)
7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
to eat from a poisoned plate (TAZ) is one that I almost didn't write a happy ending for, but I'm so glad that I did, because I go back and reread that one a lot, admittedly.
8. Do you get hate on fics?
Usually no more than annoying but generic "please update" comments, but back in the Gravity Falls fandom, there was this one person that you've probably heard of/encountered if you wrote a lot about Bill Cipher back in the day.
They were a guest account user who'd get so mad if you killed off Bill, to the point of making threats (albeit exaggerated, not really realistic ones), and also one time they told me I should go read a particular MLP fic and take inspiration from it in my own. Which, no shade against MLP, but as someone who's never been in that fandom, that's literally the funniest entitled comment I've received in my life.
9. Do you write smut?
Nope, but I do occasionally write characters being horny. There's a huge difference between those things for me, and that probably has everything to do with where I lie on the ace spectrum lmao
10. Do you write crossovers?
A couple times, though I used to be way more into them than I am now. There was the aforementioned GF/Infinity Train one, and my gateway into writing TAZ fic was actually a very silly "what if the Pines family were the protags of TAZ Balance" fic.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not to my knowledge, and fingers crossed it doesn't happen 🤞
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
Yes, a few times! My buddy @yourbonesarenowmycoat translated several of my Gravity Falls fics into Spanish back in the day, for one thing!
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Nope!
14. What's your all-time favourite ship?
This should come as no surprise but it's Blupjeans forever and ever <3
15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
Oh, god. Probably the one that I wrote like 9 chapters (out of 10 planned ones) to cope with being chronically ill and to convince myself to go to therapy, and then abruptly stopped writing when it was almost done because I figured out how to manage my chronic illness and soon after, started going to therapy. On the one hand, it would be tragic for it to never see the light of day, but on the other hand, it kinda... served its purpose for me already?
16. What are your writing strengths?
Fic as character study! Sometimes I set out with the goal of elucidating a particular theme or character motivation, and sometimes it just happens along the way, but I am a genius with regards to character analysis and my brain is galaxy and I'm not afraid to share it.
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
Dialogue is one thing for sure, I get a lot of compliments on it but it's also such a challenge for me. Possibly because I, personally, don't talk like a remotely normal human person irl. The other thing is brevity and killing my darlings — I literally can't count the number of times one of my fics exceeded the expected word count by orders of magnitude.
The aforementioned character study thing? Yeah, that's also a weakness, because a lot of my fics (even including some very, very long ones!) exist to explore themes I couldn't figure out how to word in a simple headcanon post. In fact, I'm probably gonna post a fic of that exact variety this weekend, lmao.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?
Definitely not fluent enough in any language to do it on any larger scale, unless I get serious about learning Spanish again.
19. First fandom you wrote for?
Not on AO3, but in general, it was definitely Pokémon! I was writing time travel stories set in Sinnoh before Legends Arceus made it cool.
20. Favourite fic you've ever written?
As previously mentioned... probably "to eat from a poisoned plate". In the vaguest possible terms, learning to love cooking again in spite of some prior bad experiences has been a struggle for me, too, and I truly think that without having written that fic, I wouldn't be succeeding.
On a related note, I'm about to spend my afternoon making a blueberry pie.
5 notes · View notes
starlit-bawka · 1 year ago
Text
20 Questions For Fanfic Writers!
No way I got tagged by the really awesome @h4mm132l1c3, and ill tag a couple of other people too probably
1: How many works do you have on Ao3?
Currently I've got 59 things on AO3!! There are a couple more on my long-defunct wattpad though, and I've got a bunch of December whump I need to catch up on too so there will be more
2: What's your total Ao3 word count?
72,774!! Wow!!! And like...90% of that is oneshots! Go me!
3: What fandoms do you write for?
Currently writing for DSMP and QSMP the most atm :O I also write for the PJO fandom, Homestuck, and DR on occasion, too. I get very tempted to write for Stardew Valley and Scott Pilgrim, and I have been. More than tempted to write CareBears stuff too. I'm in deep chat
4: Top five fics by kudos?
(Un)Lifetime Achievement Award, Take Your Secret Son to Work Day, Las Nevadas and the Frozen Fox, Alone I Began, and Of Lost Gods!
5: Do you respond to comments? Why/Why not?
For the most part yeah! I don't get too too much interaction and I just get!! So excited when I get comments! I love seeing what people say and I love to respond! But sometimes I don't, often cause I don't know what to say lol
6: What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
hmmm,,,good question! Probably Why Do I Cry? or maybe Famous Last Words? Gone are the Joys I Knew? I don't really know! I write a lot of sort of mopey sad fics ig LMAO
7: What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?
mmmmmmm,,,,not sure for this, either! My Fundy Fluff Week stuff is all supposed to be sorta fluffy which is probably happy
8: Do you get hate on fics?
Not hate, per say, but comments on the accuracy of my characters, which kinda stabbed my ego a bit lol. It was a nice comment! But the way it was worded was so ouchie!
9: Do you write smut?
I've. Been tempted. As of right now I haven't, though!
10: Do you write crossovers?
Another one of me being tempted!! I haven't yet but I LOOOOVE to read them and so I'd love to write one sometime. (We aren't counting my old VLD Steven Universe au.)
11: Have you ever had a fic stolen?
I don't think so! Fingers crossed it hasn't happened lol I doubt it would
12: Have you ever had a fic translated?
Nope! But if someone were to want to, I would say go ahead! Just send it to me so I can see :D sounds so cool!
13: Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Very recently was my first time doing a proper co-write/collab, which I did with my lovely friend Seven! I would love to do more they're so fun (and probably one of the only ways I'll easily end up writing a multichap KEKW)
14: What's your all-time favorite ship?
ouuuuu ive got a lot of pairings I really really cherish. Jercy my beloved, uhhh Valgrace is so silly, I like to consider myself one of The Kamuegi writers ever, and Pumpkinduo kind of holds an insanely special place in my heart
15: What's the WIP you hope to finish but doubt you ever will?
(Un)Lifetime Achievement Award as sad as it sounds. I love it so much and I'm so insanely proud of it and I love the story but there's soooo much planned and the person I was planning it with hasn't spoken to me in a while. I have hope that I'll finish it someday! Or at least get another two chapters out!
16: What are your writing strengths?
Uhhhhhhh,,,,I don't. actually know! I do a lot of flowery sentences ig? and I think I'm pretty good at angst and similar things
17: What are your writing weaknesses?
Making (and completing) multichap fics, getting ideas to write, finding the motivation to write, and I am definitely bad at planning things out in advance
18: Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?
I've done it pretty sparingly in the past, because I want to incorporate other languages and loooove language, but don't know any of them very well aside from English. But I try to do a lot of research before I add something in, and am 100% open and insistent that someone correct me if I messed up, or if there's another way to go about saying what I'm trying to say, or just to tell me more!
19: First fandom you wrote for?
Never published because I was a kid and it was. So Bad but !!! It was actually for the Minecraft Roleplay series Mary and Dad's Minecraft Adventure (MADMA) back around 2011-2013. I've been in mcrp hell for. a LONG time jesus christ
20: Favorite fic you've ever written?
ohhhh good question. Fullbury Records is very special to me and I'm ALWAYS thinking of what to add to that series, and (Un)Lifetime Achievement Award ofc is also very special to me. I think Heart to Heart is going places once I get back to writing the next chapter, too But I'm also veeeerrry proud of Famous Last Words, and it's very special to me as a projection piece LMAO
Tag time!!
@dyke420-69 @sparrowsong07 and anyone else who sees this and wants to do it lolol be sure to tag me so I can see :D
1 note · View note
servin-up-surveys · 2 years ago
Text
survey #112
(taken february 8th; uploading surveys taken while gone)
Have you ever gone on a rollercoaster? One meant for little kids, lmao. I refuse to go on "real" ones bc they terrify me.
Have you ever been out of your home country? No. :/ One day.
What’s something you’ve done that you wish you hadn’t? Ummmm I'm trying to think of something I don't normally mention in these kinda questions. ... And turns out I'm sitting here blanking, so common answer: flirted with my then-best friend's boyfriend that *I* helped set her up with behind her back. I mean it doesn't kill me inside anymore, I was literally 12 and this friend is now happily married with a child, but regardless, it's still disgusting to know I ever did it.
Favorite study? It's probably ultimately animal behavior, especially within highly social species. But of course I'm also very into the study of art and why and how various styles, techniques, and such "work."
Favourite instrument? Electric guitar. I am also a very big violin lover too, though.
How’s your flirting skills? Fine, I guess? I wasn't a big flirter back when I was single, but once we're in an established relationship, I think I'm fine at it.
Would you deny a relationship/friendship? No, that's super shitty and disloyal imo.
What does your dream life look like? More than ANYTHING, proud of and content with myself and what I've accomplished and am accomplishing. I want to be a productive adult that is confident (but absolutely still modest) in my abilities and puts A LOT of time into artistic creation. I want to be a loud voice for self-love and compassion, as well as equality and acceptance of others, even if you don't understand them. I wanna big a big ol' pet mom with loads of reptiles, inverts, and a few mammals, and I want to spread the good word on appreciating ALL animals, even the "gross" or "scary" ones. I definitely hope I marry Girt, and it would be a dream come fucking true if we could settle in western NC, in the mountains. I want to be a healthy person that treats her body with kindness, and I hope I can do A LOT of hiking and stuff like that with my camera! Traveling out of state and country, even better. I hope I manage to publish at least one poem (a personal goal is an actual book of them), and I cross all my fucking fingers and toes that I make a real mark among the big nature photographers. I want to be perfectly financially stable and actually know my family will have a house, food, car, everything we need. GOD, I want that life. Talking about it just makes me wanna bust my ass harder.
If you could spend the rest of your life with only one person, who would it be? Girt.
What’s something you wish would happen, but know won’t? To one day be entirely free of mental illness symptoms. I know I'm capable of improving and getting better at handling my symptoms, but not everything is ever, ever, going to entirely vanish.
What was the last contest you won? Uhhhh... I'm not sure? Maybe this drawing contest I won MAAAANY years ago for a fantasy dragon game I played way back, lol.
What is your favourite kind of cake? Depending on my mood, it can be red velvet or chocolate kinds.
Do you like any sort of animes? Yeah, primarily darker themed ones.
What is the worst cartoon you have ever seen? I fucking hate(d?) that Rooster Teeth shit that was on Adult Swim when I was a teenager. I have no idea if it's still a thing, but it consisted of almost solely the dumbest shit I've ever seen.
Do you type slow or fast? I type extremely fast, if I know exactly what I want to write.
Do you like to type or write more? TYPE. I cannot physically write long AT ALL because my wrists will hurt like absolute hell.
If someone cooks for you, do you always thank them for it? ALWAYS. It's so rude not to imo, especially once you're an able-bodied adult that's entirely capable of figuring out how to make something.
What is the most hated item you own: My phone, I guess, haha. I don't really keep things that I hate, unless I need them, which is the case for my phone. It is AWFUL.
Do you find it hard to believe that a dinosaur was once right where you are? I mean, not *really* by this age. As a kid, hell yeah, but this is something I've long since accepted as just obvious fact.
What is your favourite part of the movie The Lion King? When Simba climbs Pride Rock in the rain and roars and the whole pride joins in, bitch I wanna tear up lmfao
Do you knock before entering someone’s room? If the door is shut, absolutely. That's just like, common courtesy. It's one thing my mom never really did/does with her kids and I don't like it, which is I guess why I'm so dedicated to doing it wherever I am.
Would you freak out if you saw a spider crawling on you right now? As an instinctive response, if it was a decent size, I'd definitely jump and probably quickly try to swipe it off of me. I don't like the idea of reacting like that though, and I really hope that I WOULDN'T react like that. One of these days I'd love to just like smile and say hi if I found a spider on me, lol.
Who did you last call beautiful? It was someone on Facebook I'm sure, I think my acquaintance Ana.
Do you think people will eventually stop believing in God? I wish we all collectively would, but no. People turn to religion for comfort when faced with the harsh realities of life, and that's never going to change so long as the human race exists.
Do you and your best friend have the same favourite band? No, his is Deadly Circus Fire and mine's Ozzy and Rammstein.
Do you prefer watching movies or playing video games? 100% video games.
How many jobs have you had in your life? Three. All were very short and ended terribly.
Do you use your hand when you’re explaining something? I'm absolutely one of those "hand talkers."
Have you ever thrown up from drinking too much alcohol? No.
What are you looking forward to in the next three months? Valentine's Day with Girt, my niece's 3rd birthday as well as my younger sister's 25th, the release of the Resident Evil 4 remake, aaaand that's all that's coming to me.
Have you ever played Bejeweled? Yes, but I mostly just watched my mom play it as a kid on the computer. I loved doing that and helping her find matches, haha. She used to be SO into it and still loves matching games like that.
When was the last time you slipped while taking a shower? Many months ago when I finally fell while getting out of the shower. After that, I got a shower chair.
Does your mom have a Facebook? Yeah, she does.
Have you ever been bitten by a rat? Nope. I've had pet rats that would sometimes do this lil tasting nibble on a finger that didn't hurt at all, but none of them ever truly bit.
When was the last time you tried to be seductive? Ha I guess last night, but only cuz he started it.
Have you ever had any doctors come to your house to check up on you? No.
What is the weirdest thing you did in 7th grade? Dissected a frog that ended up being a gravid (pregnant) female lmao, me and my partner felt so awful.
Are you attracted to the last person that kissed you? Yeah, he mad cute.
Do you think you will be in a relationship 3 months from now? I genuinely think I will. Girt and I are doing great.
Do you and your last ex hate each other? Probably.
Do you tend to waste a lot of money? Absolutely not. I receive any amount of money (and I'm talking just a few hundred) TWICE a year and that's it unless I earn some with photography services, so I spend it on something I really, REALLY want.
Do you have trust issues? I sure as hell do.
Do you think this year will be better than last? I honestly think so! Going pretty well so far, all things considered. :') I feel like I'm really growing. I absolutely grew a lot last year too, though.
Have you ever regretted kissing someone? Yes, Tyler. I felt like I was supposed to and also like I was trying to make even myself believe I was more into that relationship than I was, which was like... not at all. I only went into it because I was like "eh w/e he was cool in high school, let's give him a chance," but there was just no real feelings for him from me.
Do you know anyone that smokes weed? I know a lot of people that do.
Best thing about the last person you chatted on Facebook? She's a wonderful sister to Girt and is just a very sweet person.
Are you anything like your siblings? I'm most like Mom's oldest child Katie. The other ones, not really, if I'm honest. Misty and I are also similar in some ways, but not incredibly. I don't know Tiffany or almost anything about her so I can't really count her here.
Who is the last person you hugged? Girt.
Do you have a secret you’ve never told anyone? Two, at the very least.
Have you ever lived with a girlfriend/boyfriend? I wasn't a legal resident, but basically yes.
Are you completely over your past relationships? Yes, although the one with Jason is complicated; us splitting and the hell that revolved around it resulted in very legitimate trauma in me and I'm quite, quite sure I will always have a complex outlook on him and a very, very strong response to things involving him. I don't miss being in a relationship with him, however.
Do you get attached to people easily? Agonizingly easily, honestly. It makes loss even harder for me.
Have you ever been beside someone while they were throwing up? No, I could never do that tbh. I react so viscerally to the act of and sound of vomiting that I would start puking as well, and I say that with total confidence.
What do you do when you’re feeling extremely nervous? The most obvious give-away is I start kneading/wringing the shit out of my hands, and I also stutter more, fidget/adjust how I'm sitting/standing a lot, and struggle more than ever with eye contact.
What do you think the last person that you kissed is doing right now? He's off work today so he's probably just chilling at home.
Do you think that someone has feelings for you? I know Girt does.
Has anyone ever told you that you have pretty eyes? Yeah.
How many people with the name Taylor do you know? Girt's best friend that is currently living with him is actually named Taylor. I THINK he's the only one that I still know.
Are you currently looking forward to tomorrow? Nothing special going on, so not particularly.
When you’re at the beach, do you swim or lay out? I swim as much as I can. I absolutely hate the sand and the heat, and I have a negative amount of interest in tanning.
How’s your day been? It's been fine; I rode out with Mom when she drove to get Ashley some lunch during her break, so it was nice to see her and just hang for a little bit. Then not that long ago we had to ride out to see my psychiatrist, and it's about a 20 minute ride there, and I really love longer car rides. The only negative about getting out this much today is that by my standards, it's hot, and I don't handle heat well at all. My body feels super drained from being outside.
What were you doing at eight this morning? I was actually asleep; I amazingly didn't wake up 'til 10 AM. I slept like an absolute mountain, and just by feel I was thinking I'd woken up closer to noon. I guess I needed it.
Are you afraid of shots? Eh, a little bit. The longer the needle and the deeper it has to go, the more it makes me nervous. I think "afraid" is a little bit too strong of a word, though.
Ever liked someone who treated you like crap? A "friend," yes. She wasn't ALWAYS crappy to me, but she absolutely knew how to be with unhealthy regularity. And that's why (well, partially why) I said no more and cut her off.
What are you thinking about right now? I'm very tired.
Has anyone ever called you a bitch? Yup.
Did anything brighten up your day? So my sister made an Etsy right because she wants to start making and selling crafts, and a couple days back I reached out to her asking if she'd made it yet + what the name was so I could rate it or whatever the Etsy function is. She really appreciated it and evidently told Mom about it, pointing out to her, "Does she know how easily she could sell her art on there?" It just meant a lot to me, how much Ashley absolutely does believe in my artistic capability. I DO plan on posting photography on there, but I don't have my own bank account or cards and stuff so I just haven't yet; I'll have to use Mom's stuff. But it just means a lot when one of my sisters show faith in me and the things I'm passionate about.
Were you an adorable baby? I think I was a very cute baby.
Have you ever done something sexual that you regret? No. I mean I've done things in certain places I really shouldn't have, but I can't honestly say I really regret any of those instances.
Do you know anyone named Josh or Patrick? One of my younger sister's close friends has a brother named Josh. My half-sister is also married to a Josh.
Have you ever said anything to the last person you kissed that you regret? Yes; I've snapped at him once that one time we had I think our first "real" fight, when I really could've addressed the thing that was upsetting me calmer. I mean I quickly did apologize, realizing immediately after that I was losing control of my tongue, but still, I wish I hadn't done it.
Do you like french fries? I love french fries.
How often are you on the computer? Admittedly, very nearly always if I am not sleeping or hanging out with somebody. It's been a problem since I was a kid.
Do you care about what others think of your physical appearance? I CARE A FUCKING LOT!!!!!!!! :''''') It's a major reason why my self-confidence is so terribly low.
Do you tell people you love them just to get what you want? AbsoFUCKINGlutely not. That is fucking disgusting.
Who are your three closest friends? If I am to exclude family and my significant other, then it's Tez, Mazzy, and I wanna say Summer. MAYBE Lyndsey; I talk to her regularly, but I definitely still do have a deeper, more developed connection with Summer, even if we don't talk or see each other much.
Do you like tacos, and if you do, what do you put on yours? I hate tacos.
Would you rather go to Greece or France? Greece.
What are the names of all the people you have dated? Aaron, Juan, Jason, Tyler, Sara, and Donald/Girt.
Do you like Chinese food, or do you find it disgusting? I love pork fried rice, as well as eggrolls. Growing up I also liked what I knew as "bird on a stick," but I doubt that's it's "real" name here in America. ANYWAY, imagining it, I think I'd still like it. Besides those things, I'm not big on Chinese cuisine... that I've tried. I really should get better with actually EXPERIMENTING with foreign food, though.
What is your favorite type of music, and why? Metal mixed with techno/EDM-type music. I just like it.
Would you rather eat cookies or brownies? Brownies.
Would you rather be able to not talk for a week or not hear for a week? Absolutely not talk.
0 notes