#sorry for anyone annoyed with this I don't have the cut feature

[personasintro]

Mutual Help | #01

↳ 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬; in order for you to pretend to be his girlfriend, he helps you with your sexual desires ⏤ he calls it mutual help

⇢ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: jungkook x reader

⇢ 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: fake dating au, fluff, angst, smut, slow burn

⇢ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: explicit language

⇢ 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 3.4k+

𝐚/𝐧: this bombass comeback wouldn't be as amazing and special if it weren't for @kithtaehyung who made the best new mh banner anyone could ever make!!! ryen, thank you bub so much for putting up with my indecisive ass and taking the time to make not only this banner but different versions before that! I truly appreciate it and I'm thankful you're a part of this!!

ogs know this one is reposted but I hope everyone will enjoy it whether they're rereading it or reading for the first time! lastly, thank you for the endless love and support, i love y'all ♡

𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐱 | 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 ⇢ 

The hallway looks exactly the same, which there isn't any reason why it should look different all of a sudden, but considering you haven't been in this building for the past few weeks just makes you want to notice the slightest change. But there is none. It still smells sterile with a little bit of sweetness which reminds you of cinnamon. You're not sure why, nor do you really dwell on it too much.

You could imagine your Thursday evening differently, which means laying down as soon as you come home and turn on Netflix, trying to spend at least twenty minutes finding a good show. That's been your routine for weeks now, but you're not complaining. It feels that void of loneliness in your smart one bedroom apartment.

Although, you can't help but feel nervous when you picture the message you got from Jimin.

'come to Jungkook's, he needs us' 

He never explained anything further, nor replied to the tons of your messages or missed calls. You wouldn't be on the edge, if you've seen or heard from Jungkook. Apart from some occasional messages like 'what's up' or 'what were you doing today?', your communication went downhill. But you don't blame him or yourself for it. You were both busy and probably still are, to even hangout like you always used to.

It bothered you for some time, not hanging out with your best friend like you used to. But you've grown used to that small but painful fact that you don't have to see each other every day. Plus, after some time you've realized, you can still be best friends with someone without having to chat with them 24/7. Gratefulness is how you'd describe your feelings. Grateful that your friendship works, even though you don't get to spend your time with each other that often.

Your knuckles meet the wood of Jungkook's front door in a gentle manner, which is a complete opposite of your inside feelings as you've this weird feeling inside of you. The message Jimin sent you was weird and you haven't heard from anyone since then.

And when the door finally opens, you're glad you're met with Jimin himself as he stares at you with hopeful eyes and a breath of relief that escapes his plush lips. You rush inside, already taking off your shoes and jacket while you confusingly stare at your friend that looks more than relieved to see you.

"What the hell happened? You never texted me back." you tell him, or more like scold him rather than properly greet him.

"Ah, sorry," he cringes, pulling out his phone before he notices the bunch of messages and missed calls from you. "It's just—"

"This is bullshit."

The grumpy and raspy voice unintentionally cuts him off, booming inside of the apartment causing your ears to naturally perk up. Is it just you or his voice got deeper? You look at Jimin with a questioning gaze, who sees the confusion on your features as you hear Jungkook's grumpy and annoyed voice. Rather than explaining something to you, he sighs and with a quick cock of his head towards the living room, you both walk inside.

You're surprised when you see Taehyung there as well, opening a beer can before he pushes it into Jungkook's hands. Surprisingly, the mentioned guy is slouched on his beige couch, wearing one of his baggy shirts and loose sweatpants with his hair looking like he hasn't brushed them for days.

Taehyung's eyes meet yours as soon as you step in, noticing the mess around including two pizza boxes thrown on the floor and empty cans of coke and beer on the coffee table. "Oh, thank god!" Taehyung breathes out the same sigh of relief, causing you to greet him with a confused 'hello'.

Although, you don't wait for any reaction because your best friend finally acknowledges your presence in his home, head lazily turning in your direction as you walk up to him.

"Great," he mutters, almost rolling eyes at the sight of you. "Who called her?" he eyes the two of his best friends, scoffing before he takes a gulp of the beer that Taehyung handed him.

"What kind of reaction is that, asshole?" you react right away, frowning at your best friend that hasn't seen you for weeks and this is his first reaction.

"Don't mind him, please. He's just a little bit drunk right now." Jimin quickly jumps into an action, noticing your fireback and unappreciative tone that's aimed at none other than Jungkook himself.

He rolls his eyes at Jimin words, but doesn't say anything else before Taehyung watches you with cautious doe eyes. He sits in a chair, arm leaned against his knee as he anxiously bites his nails even though he tries to act casual. You don't buy it.

"What the fuck is going on?" you ask them, pointing towards Jungkook that looks like a truck just hit him.

Jimin opens his mouth, but Jungkook glares at him which ends up with him shutting it right away and when you look at Taehyung, he doesn't even spare you a glance.

"Which one of you called her?" Jungkook speaks up, eyeing the two of his friends as they point to each other causing you to snort. Cowards. "I'm fine. I don't see a reason why you make such a big deal out of this. I'm fine."

The fact that he had to repeat the same sentence twice, just proves that no — he's not fine. And before the wheels in your head start to work and roll, Jimin's voice speaks up in a clear, yet quick tempo.

"Kiko broke up with Jungkook."

The room goes silent, faint sounds coming out of the television are filling out the thick silence in the room as Jungkook freezes, not even glaring at his friend that apologetically shrugs at him.

One of the reasons why you haven't got to see your best friend that often is, that he simply found a girlfriend. Trying to combine his work, personal love life and you was already hard. But you get it. You're not mad or annoyed at him, because the two of you still kept in touch. It was just a matter of time until some of you found someone and naturally, there wouldn't be that much time to spend your days together. It was bound to happen and you knew Jungkook would be the first one to find someone.

He's your best friend, but you're not blind. He's one of the most handsome guys you've ever met, not just that but his personality is something that most girls would fall for. His attitude is pissy right now and now, you know the true reason behind it. But the Jungkook you know, is one of the most caring people you know. And not only that, but he's funny, intelligent and perfect at almost everything. He's the whole package and any girl would be lucky to snatch him.

And that girl, or perhaps you should say a woman, happened to be Kiko. A Japanese beauty that their mutual friend introduced them to one another. It clicked off immediately. Even you've noticed it when Jungkook Rain checked almost every plan you had together. He started to stare into his phone with all those puppy heart eyes whenever she texted him. At first, you found it annoying because it was just plain rude, watching him text her every five seconds instead of trying to hang out with you. But then, you just stopped caring and whenever you went silent, he'd just pushed his phone away and tried to gain your attention.

It was stupid, because you knew if you gave him attitude or silent treatment, he would just feel bad and tried to focus on you. Until the both of you stopped hanging out with each other that much.

"She did?" you mutter, staring at Jungkook who stares in front of him with a wiped out gaze. You've never seen him in this kind of state. "I'm sorry, Kook."

"Yeah, well, shit happens." he grumbles, clenching his jaw as he takes another gulp of beer that's securely clenched in his hand.

You've seen Jungkook having a couple of girlfriends, but you know that his relationship with Kiko was different. He wasn't just any girlfriend that he tried to get to know, she was someone that he completely fell for and couldn't stop talking about. He's in love. And even though he's being an ass to his friends right now, it's just his coping mechanism and you know that whatever Jimin and Taehyung has been doing, hasn't helped much. He plays tough right now, hiding his true feelings under this cold and uninterested facade but you know him better.

And when he keeps glancing at you before he quickly looks away, it's almost as if he can hear your exact thoughts.

"Well," you hastily speak, clapping your hands together as you lightly smile at everyone in the room. "You don't wanna date anyone whose name is Kiko." you try to joke, a laugh and snort erupting from Jimin and Taehyung who has obviously found your little joke funny.

Jungkook on the other hand, looks even more pissed off because he never looked at you with so much anger and annoyance as he's looking right now, causing you to squirm in your spot. "Real class, Y/N." he barks at you, causing you to slump in defeat before Jimin squeezes your shoulders in comfort.

"I brought you banana milk. I didn't know what happened, so I thought this would be a nice and quick save." you lightly tell him, sitting at the end of the couch, next to his sprawled legs but he doesn't move them away.

"Jeez, I'm not some fucking kid. Banana milk won't fix my broken heart." he scoffs, shaking his head while the three of you are even surprised that he just admitted that he has a broken heart. Well, clearly but since he's been putting up this tough act, it still comes as a shock. Judging by the look of Jimin's and Taehyung's face, they seem to think the same thing.

"I know that, Kook," you quietly tell him, hastily grabbing one of his ankles as you squeeze it in a manner to comfort him. He doesn't budge, that means something. "Is there anything we can do for you?" you ask him, not really sure if he's even going to answer that.

His brows furrow while he fumbles with his fingers, the slightest pout adoring his small lips as he thinks your question through. The three of you watch him with curious eyes, wondering what the hell is this guy thinking of. He looks at you, then at Jimin and Taehyung before he softly sighs.

"I mean... there's nothing you guys can do." he says softly, taking another gulp of beer that tastes like piss. Korean beer is just not good, and you're surprised that Jungkook even drinks it. But he never had any problem with any alcohol, that man can drink and eat anything.

There's nothing you can think of that could possibly help him out of his heartbreak. The only thing for you to do, is to be there for him. And if drinking a beer that tastes like piss is some kind of twisted way of helping him, you're in. So, you reach out and grab one of the unopened cans before you open it with a loud 'click', taking a gulp of it.

"What are you doing?" Jungkook sits up, staring at your scrunched nose and distaste written all over your face.

"Drinking with you." you shrug, taking another huge gulp of it. The more you drink it, the less it tastes awful.

"But you hate this beer." he reminds you, scowling at you and your nonstop gulping, hand twitching to get it away from you.

"I know," you shrug, grinning at him. "It doesn't taste that bad. Now come on," you nudge him with your leg, raising your can to him. "Cheers." you call out to him, ignoring his big doe eyes that stare at you with a slight confusion before he sighs.

"Cheers." he mutters, clicking his can against yours before the both of you take another gulp.

The two of you are completely unaware of your friends' faces that are washed with relief and knowing eyes as they stare at you and Jungkook. All it took was just to call you to save the day. Jungkook might not be in his greatest mood or show his appreciation for you to be there for him, but drinking without constant complaining and cursing is still a better result that Jimin and Taehyung managed to get.

"I've never thought I'd ever drink this much of this piss beer." you croak out, putting another empty can onto Jungkook's messy coffee table. You sit back, head falling onto his shoulder as you silently inhale his scent. It always reminded you of his fabric softener that smells like a baby, mixed with his cologne that is very faint on his clothes.

"How do you know what piss tastes like?" Jungkook asks, raising his brow at you while the corner of his lips twitches in amusement. "Do you wanna tell me about your weird kinks?" he cocks his head at you, causing you to groan as you hit his shoulder but it does nothing to him, he doesn't even budge.

A chuckle roars in the back of his throat, a first sound that can be considered as a positive emotion.

"It's not like that." you mutter, growing embarrassed at the thought of Jungkook thinking about your kinks. Not that you know about them that much. You might think there are some things you might like, but you never had anyone to try it with. How possibly could you know? But the idea of you having a piss kink, or whatever that's called, makes you want to gag. Maybe it's the beer or just a single thought of it, who knows.

Jimin and Taehyung already left, once they saw Jungkook loosening up, they took that chance to go home and leave the two of you alone. Not even once he talked about his heartbreak, you silently watched a TV show that Jungkook turned on whilst drinking a beer and munching on some crackers that Taehyung handed you before they left.

Glancing at Jungkook, his face is illuminated from the screen whilst he's watching a TV show with slightly furrowed brows. And when it finally stops, he sighs and grabs the remote to browse through some other movies and TV shows. He keeps browsing through them for a couple of minutes, muttering a pair of curses when he can't find anything he likes. You turn on the lamp in the very corner of his living room, causing him to frown even more from the sudden light.

You sit next to him, staring at him as he sighs and looks back at you. "What?" he asks unbothered, the remote still clutched in his hand.

"I'm sorry, Kook," you tell him silently, reaching for his shoulder which you squeeze in comfort, like you previously did with his ankle. "I know that you loved her."

And you see his facade crack, when he sucks his bottom lip as he quickly looks away from you to blink away the tears that are threatening to fall. You've never seen him this vulnerable.

"Love," he mutters, causing you to let out a confused 'huh?' in response. "Not loved her, but love. I still love her." he corrects you.

"Why did she break up with you? You don't have to tell me if you don't feel comfortable enough, but you guys seemed so close together."

It doesn't make any sense. Jungkook kept talking about her even through your messages, and you could practically feel the happiness radiating from his single messages. His whole Instagram is filled with their pictures, or just single shots of Kiko that Jungkook has taken and captioned with a single heart emoji. You've never seen him being so in love before. That's when you've realized that Kiko is different from any other women that Jungkook was seeing.

You don't push him into answering, the last thing you want for him is to get upset with you. But you can't keep walking around eggshells for this whole night.

"Apparently, she just wants some time for herself. She wants to explore other things, whatever the fuck that means." he bitterly chuckles, eyes filled with anger but you know it's just hidden hurt.

"Maybe you'll find someone else, Kook. You're still young."

Scoffing, he shakes his head. "She's the love of my life. I really doubt there's someone else for me. I was about to ask her to move in with me."

Shit, he's really serious about her.

"You did?"

He nods, biting onto his lower lip before he lets it go, fumbling his eyes before he sighs in defeat. "I love her." he whispers, his voice sounding so vulnerable that it makes your heart clench.

You go straight into hugging him, enveloping his huge body to yours as he starts to cry into your chest. For the first time, he finally breaks in front of someone else rather than himself. He clutches to your body, tears wetting your shirt but you don't mind it, grabbing him even tighter. He cries, something he doesn't usually do in front of everyone. You realize how he kept holding himself in front of Taehyung and Jimin when all he wanted was to cry it out.

"It's okay, you're going to be okay." you tell him, cheeks pressed against his hair that got super long since you've last seen him.

He sniffles, wiping his eyes before he slightly pulls away. "It happened two weeks ago and I'm still such a fucking mess." he scoffs at himself.

"Two weeks ago?" you exclaim, surprised by the new information. "It happened two weeks ago and I know just... now?"

He glares at you and you quickly shut your mouth. "Not everything is about you, Y/N." he reminds you.

Rolling your eyes, you're about to curse at him for being so rude but then you remember his state. He's just hurt and in a way, he's right. "No, that's not what I meant. I just... I'm surprised that you didn't tell me sooner. If it weren't for Jimin, I don't think I'd be here right now." you explain, thinking about all possibilities that could happen.

"I was going to," he mutters, reaching for a bottle of water instead as he takes a few gulps. "But I needed some time to myself. I didn't want anyone to see me like this." he points out towards his slightly puffed eyes.

You just wished he'd tell you sooner. But you don't tell him that. It's not selfish to think that, because you just wanted to be there for him sooner. Nobody should go through such a heartbreak alone. Not when he has you and other two friends willing to be there for him.

"You know that you can tell me anything, right? I'm always here for you." you remind him, flushed cheeks when you see his eyes already set on you.

The friendship between you and Jungkook is mostly surrounded with you teasing each other and in a way, he's like an older brother to you. You don't get all sentimental with each other, even though you're always there for one another. It's an unspoken rule and natural feeling that your friendship has.

"I know," he says softly, giving you the best little smile he can muster. "And I'm so grateful for that. I know I was acting like an asshole and I'm sorry, I just... I'm really happy that you're here."

You don't get to hear such words often, especially coming out of Jungkook's mouth, but that's why you're even more pleased to hear them.

You smile back at him, silently thanking him and also saying that it's okay and you get it. It's quiet for a moment. Jungkook fumbles with his fingers as you silently watch him, noticing a few new tattoos that decorate his honey skin.

"Y/N?" he asks suddenly, causing you to hum in return. " You know when you asked me, if there's something you could do for me?"

"Oh, boy. What is it this time?" you joke, causing him to silently chuckle under his breath.

What could he possibly want to know? The last time he wanted something from you, was to clean his whole apartment because he twisted his ankle. But whatever that comes out of his mouth next, never occurred to you before.

"Can you pretend to be my girlfriend?"

© 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨 (𝐧𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝) | don't forget to reblog ♡

[nu1lst4rs]

doodled human designs for a few neutral aus! (pt.1)

(click for better quality)

can you tell i lost motivation... thank you to chandr for doing the last 3's lineart for me. legit couldn't get freshs colours to fit with the rest. eugh. its the best you're going to get out of us for these guys.

Nightmares gang, star sanses, neu au pt.2, extras

COLOUR, CLASSIC, PAPYRUS, EPIC and ANY REQUESTS will be in the next neu au post 3_^ so please please request me to draw neutral peoples... gonna open general requests in a separate post.

some hcs under the cut!

warning for alot... i mean.. alot of text..

> Ccino (he/they)

indian... ccino... mbghbgb. MAINLY BECAUSE I WAS EATING GULAB JAMUNS AND I WAS LIKE "huh this reminds me of ccino."

trans masc! you should be more surprised if someone wasn't trans at this point

just for individuality, i feel like he'd have cat features. toe beans, tail, but no ears. personal preference.

hopeless romantic. wants to fall in love so bad, like so bad. but doesn't have anyone to fall in love with.

his AU is a neutral where the player killed all bosses. because of this, ink had offered them a pocket AU with just their cafè. ccino still visits their old au from time to time, but otherwise lives in the cafè.

one of the youngest AU's/sanses, only a few hundred years old

> error (he/they/xe)

spanish + colombian

as a divergence from classic, he maintains a similar body shape. also the fact he eats nothing but chocolate.

^ similarly, his eye is covered by a star glitch. xe never equates this to the fact they were geno, and just see it as some weird cool glitch.

rocks an alliance with both NM and dream, so wears both the stars pin and gangs patch. he always choses the side of who benefits him the most in that moment. neither of the groups are happy about it, but see error as too valuable to deny.

has arthritis and bad joints. his strings usually dig into his fingers, causing scaring and pain. (bsp related: he gets taught how to relieve these pains by nms gang because they all have chronic pains of some kind)

taking strings from his eyes is PAINFUL. its basically his unraveled code and magic combined, glitching and stuttering.

illiterate. he cannot read anything but code.

brother of ink. annoying brothers that HATE eachother. but love eachother at the same time.

> cross (they/he)

spanish. it fits him. and its relatively canon.

cross is indecisive. they've jumped between nightmares gang and the stars several times, easily being swayed. as of my AU right now, they're with the stars.

they're colourblind! their AU was monochrome, and thats how they see everything. everything is just a shade of purple. he's never told people about it, but most people catch onto ir.

autism. cross has horrible sensory issues, and gets overwhelmed easily. also bad at social queues.

THIS MAN IS THE DEFINITION OF DOG POETRY. they would go on pinterest daily and cry about it.

is a great artist. ink taught him the basics when they were stuck in the void, so they built on it. they're really self conscious about it, and keep their sketchbook locked away tightly. (in their bedside drawer)

> reaper (he/him)

egytpian. i feel like he'd embody their idea of dying.

bird claws. bird wings. everything bird.

seen as a parental figure to dream and nightmare because of his extensive knowledge of the universe and balance n all that.

(THE GAY FLAG WAS A MISTAKE) he's bi. and loves his wife. (life)

aroace spec! completely ace, and demiromantic.

sorry guys i dont have the best hcs for him 💔

> geno (he/they)

spanish + colombian

needs a portable oxygen tube to breath. he can live without it, but its really painful to not have it.

some parts of his body are decomposed, while others are held together through determination. practically constant agony.

same reasoning as error for body shape.

> fresh (they/it)

parasite. its ass doesn't have a race nor nationality.

not the hotest with a few sanses. dream and nightmare don't like someone demeanour not being affected in the slightest by the amount of pain and agony they're in. error hates how the code overlaps and glitches. and overall they're just a bit crazy.

wears either heelies or rollerskates. refuses to EVER walk anywhere, and always rolls.

i don't got much for him.

eugh. i am so sorry if the hcs are lazy, i am not good hcing with aus im not familiar with. if anyone wants to input please do! i'd love to learn about them. <3 anyways i am sleeping because i need to stop staying up till 4am..

[woaza]

Hi hi! I am so glad to see more delico's nursery fic, especially from you!! It's a crime the fandom is so small. Lately, I have been obsessed with Gerhard and devouring all your fics like a gourmet meal. Could you write about him being married to a high-position officer (like being part of the High Executive of the Blood Police)? So she is really strong and her true strength lies in her exceptional combat skills, strategic mind, and emotional resilience. Kinda like Mikasa Ackerman level AHAHAHAH I am just a sucker for strong lady :DD I hope you don't mind this long request and remember to take care of yourself!!!

Gerhard x Fem!Officer

Contains : Headcannons!

Word count : 4k

Warnings : Slight mentions of violence in a job setting, Gerhard really ‘appreciating’ readers fit figure, Gerhard a little sexiest? Also not double read through for grammar mistakes.

A/n : I’m so so so happy you like my fics! I’m sorry for the wait on your request. I hope you enjoy it.

— Gerhard was podstivly stunned. When he first saw you. You shook him to his core a bit for sure. You’re very being conflicting with his base beliefs. Such a strong figure and energy you carried. And your a women in the blood police? Why would a woman as beautiful as you want to work in such a violent occupation? Let alone a high executive? Yeah he definitely has his eyes on you.

He saw you at the agency in your Uniform. Badges run down your coat, you boots clicking across the tile as you walked. Not speaking or even giving him a second glance. His eyes visibly widened and he caught his breath, only slightly. Choosing to not let it affect him. Yet for some reason after that one close encounter in the small hallway he started to notice you more often. That’s how your whole romance with the stern man started, his shock.

— After that consider Gerhard your devoted husband. Yeah he was hooked. You didn’t spare him a second glance? Probably didn’t even know who he was other than one of the agencies detectives? Long story short, he ended up over working himself just for even a glance or head nod from you until you and him finally got a proper introduction.

— Lord Fra is a man of a certain cut. He only likes to see things his way. His wife, you, being one of the voices of reason in his life. He listens to you. Like really listens. Never in a million years would he ask anyone for help on a classified assignment but you. Each time he’s stumped you always seem to have an idea or solution, your intelligence without a doubt is his favorite feature about you.

He sits in his chair clutching onto the documents scattered across his desk. The fire place cracking loudly, much to his annoyance. How sometimes he wished he could simply sit in pure silence. This case had him almost completely stumped. His eyebrows furrowed so deep that it seemed as his skin would permanently crease. A the door gently creeks open and you strut into the room. “Still on the Mr.Morhead case?” Walking behind him and leaning over his shoulder. Your hands moving to rest on either side of his neck. He does nothing but grumble a bit. “Did you check with his wife, I haven’t seen a file or report come though about her yet?” You whisper quietly, patiently as you scan over the papers. His eyes widen, he wasn’t aware or even informed the man was married. You always seemed to point out little details he missed. It may seem like it annoys him, but don’t be fooled. He loves it.

— He could rave and rave about your mind for days. Unlike other women he’s tried to pursue you are by far the most extraordinary.

— Will go out of his way just to catch a glimpse of you, even if it’s a second. Sometimes you spend early mornings in the Garden with Angelico and one of the house maids. Even though the South wing hall is completely out of his way when he’s leaving for work, he will walk through that because it’s the only one with windows facing the area of the garden your drink your morning tea in. It literally a brief moment and completely out of his way, but he makes the effort.

— Further on that, everything about you to him is perfect. Nothing less for the head of the house Fra. In the weekend evenings when you go in for a bath, ignoring how it improper it is. He likes to help you undress for your bath. His eyes locked onto your lean muscles. Your body a work of art, showing every hour that you’ve put into your work. He finds your dedication extremely attractive.

— Never can beat you in chess, it’s drives him a bit mad. Your ability to always be one step ahead of him is simply humbling. Which is a hard feeling for him to be grapple with. ‘Lord Fra being beaten by his wife in a simple game of chess?’ He can practically hear people say (which no will never know of it and he’ll be sure of that) and it’s embarrassing for him. Then he look up at you sitting across the board heavily contemplating your next move, “oh yes, that’s my wife… the general and head of command.” It makes his fragile ego feel better.

—In the end you never ever cease to amazing and will never admit it, but worships the very air your breath. 

A/n #2: sorry this was a little short! Hope you enjoyed it! Maybe I’ll have to elaborate on this more. I liked this request a lot!

[thelargefrye]

Welcome to Lost Paradise: February Filth Fest the 2024 tour featuring artist ATEEZ and Y/N. Throughout the month of February, the artist will perform a concert each day around a certain theme. this is ensure that each show of the tour is different from last one and that everyone gets a personalized experience.

PERFORMERS : ATEEZ + Y/N

GENRES : SMUT

WARNINGS : LANGUAGE, MATURE THEMES, SMUT, EACH CHAPTER WILL HAVE ITS OWN WARNINGS // READER'S DISCRETION IS ADVISED

want to join the tour ? check this out here !

KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST SHENANIGANS ON TOUR WITH Y/N. the master list for each day is under the cut.

day one : " getting the vip treatment from hongjoong " ( deepthroating )

day two : " broke up with my douchebag ex that cheated on me ... thanks hwa and joong for keeping me company " ( cheating / creampie )

day three : " mirror mirror on the wall, who's the hottest of them all and why is it yeosang? " ( mirror sex )

day four : " mingi dressed up as a cowboy for today's show ... anyone want to save a horse and ride a cowboy? no? just me? " ( public sex )

day five : " where did hongjoong get those blindfolds ? " ( auralism / sensory deprivation )

day six : " ugh , jongho looks so good today 😩 " ( dacryphilia )

day seven : " who knew yunho was a peeping tom when it came to me and woo " ( voyeurism )

day eight : " wooyoung you craaaaaazzyyyyy . . . i like it " ( experimental / nipple play )

day nine : " i miss sleeping with seonghwa . . . WAIT NOT LIKE THAT " ( long distance sex / praise )

day ten : " i will literally quit my job to start an onlyfans RIGHT NOW ! don't test me choi san " ( hate fucking )

day eleven : " i wanted to sleep but yunho said no 🙁 " ( somnophilia )

day twelve : " do you think san and yeosang have a mommy kink ? cause they acting like my mommys right now " ( mommy kink )

day thirteen : " oof– seonghwa can guard me ANY DAY with that uniform of his " ( uniform )

day fourteen : " yes , it is i – your favorite goddess " ( threesome / ritual )

day fifteen : " n e ways jongho can degrade me any day of the week " ( femdom / degradation )

day sixteen : " mingi looks a little cold . . . i'm gonna help him get warm " ( cockwarming )

day seventeen : " hongjoong is currently the bane of my existence and so annoying " ( body worship )

day eighteen : " WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME SEONGHWA WAS SO BIG THIS IS ILLEGAL " ( size kink )

day nineteen : " any screaming you hear tonight from me is thanks to yeosang " ( masturbation / edging )

day twenty : " what is this ? the addams family ? " ( soft dom-sub / roleplay )

day twenty - one : " tonights concept is birth of venus with yunho " ( aphrodisiacs / overstimulation )

day twenty - two : " i like dragons . . . LOOKING AT YOU JONGHO AND HWA " ( double penetration )

day twenty - three : " mingi , you cannot be sexy and soft at the same time . please my heart " ( breeding kink )

day twenty - four : " woo is literally that one kinky sticker that says something like ' don't make fun of me i'll cum ' and i think that says a lot about the both of us " ( pegging / feminization )

day twenty - five : " me and seonghwa were just watching a movie before san crashed movie night lol " ( free use / spit play )

day twenty - six : " peach and bowser who ? sorry i only know me and san " ( tentacle sex )

day twenty - seven : " it's you " ( cuckolding )

day twenty - eight : " wow , wooyoung can get feral sometimes 🫠 " ( predator-prey play / strength kink )

day twenty - nine : " happy birthday to me i guess 🥳 " ( gangbang )

smalls note : just a reminder that anyone is free to join february filth fest! make sure to tag me and topaz (sanjoongie) and use the tag #joongfryefff24! also this is my personal master list for the event and not the official post which is linked above.

credits : header template is by storm studio's on canva.

[mikaela-the-slut-expert]

yayyyy 💕 then can i ask for a scenario in which the reader, who’s a trans guy, volunteering to be the bride in the ghost groom scenario and threatening to stab anyone who says anything about him looking like a girl with platonic feng xin + mu qing and romantic hualian? (or just xie lian, since technically hua cheng is only there for like, .5 seconds lol)

(💥 anon)

Masculine Bride?

HuaLian x ftm(?)reader

IM SO SORRY 😔 I'VE HAD THE WORST FEW MONTHS OF MY LIFE BUT I LIVE I WILL BE COMPLETING REQUESTS AGAIN THANKS FOR NOT GIVING UP ON ME AGAIN GUYS ☺️🖤

____________________________________

☀️Feng Xin didn't want to be in this ridiculous mission at all. He has to deal with Mu Qing in disguise and he has to see Xie Lian who was once his best friend. So it feels a little awkward to him but he gets to see you too! So he's quite happy to see you and Xie Lian again

☀️When he finds out that the plan is to disguise as a bride he immediately says Nuh uh. No way he's doing that, Mu Qing would never live it down.

☀️But when you offer to disguise as the bride, since you do looke somewhat androgynous he's like great!

☀️He doesn't have to do it and he can protect you if you all get in harms way

☀️Honestly he's surprised you volunteered so quickly. Feng Xin knows you'd rather stay in your male form and he knows you don't like appearing feminine much these days. Gods do it all the time so Feng Xin doesn't mind. Have you seen Shi Qingxuan?

☀️So everything was going great, they got you dressed and the one village girl did your makeup so you didn't look like a clown. But then they ran into those annoying men again.

☀️ They were congratulating Xie Lian, Mu Qing, and Feng Xin for finding a pretty bride and even wanted to join up, but they all knew the men just wanted to eat off their success.

☀️So when you laughed and explained you did make a good bride even though you're a man, No one really laughed. The men had genuinely thought you were a woman sooo they try to call your bluff.

☀️You did in fact change forms to look more like a bride but it doesn't feel good to have every single feminine feature to be pointed out. You're used to it so you weren't going to say anything but the group of men freeze and their skin pales when you hear a crack behind you

☀️Feng Xin may or may not have broken a pillar. May or may not have damaged his own temple. . .

☀️it succeeds in shutting the men up because what man is able to just break a God's pillar?!

☀️Feng Xin has to admit he's pretty irritable, but hearing the group of men bully you just pisses him off. He knows he's supposed to be in disguise and not gain your attention but he can't stand by and watch you be passive about it.

☀️ When the men practically evacuate the area you only laugh softly and link arms with him saying, "I found my guard!" You already know it's Feng Xin🙄

🌕Mu Qing was also your best friend and you never really gave him the chance to distance himself from you like he distanced himself from Xie Lian.

🌕Mu Qing has been with you a long time and he knows you're more comfortable identifying as a man. He has no issue with it. It took some time getting used to but he doesn't care as long as you're happy.

🌕so hearing the group of men start pointing you out so blatantly ticks him off. He knows he can't harm mortals but he sure wishes he could.

🌕It's not against the rules to threaten them though, so when he threatened to cut off their hand because it's rude to point isn't against the rules either.

🌕You were surprised honestly, Mu Qing doesn't care about a lot of things and doesn't usually get violent unless it's with Feng Xin.

🌕but you laugh when the group of men run off and you lean on Mu Qing. Saying you're so happy to have your own personal protector

🪷Xie Lian doesn't really fight. It's not that he can't he just doesn't see a point to do so.

🪷but that doesn't mean he'll let people bully you either

🪷 You've stuck with him for awhile so you're used to just taking mean words in stride. Xie Lian has never let them get away with it though.

🪷So it comes as a Surprise to you all when Xie Lian uses rou'ye to tie the group of men up together and he "advised them to go away before something unfortunate happens"

🪷You smiles and kiss his cheek, linking arms with him with a smile.

🪷"You're cute when you're protective"

[thechaoticdruid]

This Bites (6)

Pairing: Astarion x Fem! Chubby!MC

Plot: Astarion gets to know Winnie's little step sister Vanessa as the trip to the carnival date grows near.

Content/Warnings: Fluff, mean vampire threatens smol human, smol human is annoying and asks too many questions, smol human's dad is a bigot, Batstarion abuse.

Chapter 5: Long ass chapter

Chapter 6: We here.

Chapter 7: To the carnival!!

“Shit.” Astarion breathed out, staring at the little girl with shock. This was not good. Winnie had busted her ass to make sure no one in the house found out about Astarion. Winnie shot up from the ground, eyes widened with horror as she saw her stepsister in her room.

“Vanessa! What are you doing in MY room?” Winnie snapped, arms crossed. 

“I couldn't sleep!” Vanessa complained before her eyes stared at Astarion, taking in his features. 

“He looks like the vampire from that game all my favorite YouTubers are playing!” 

“Ah…Well, he's just a big fan!” Winnie said nervously before elbowing Astarion in the shoulder.

“Oh! Yes! I am just absolutely captivated by him! He's so beautiful and dreamy.~ It's as if he was carved from stone by the gods themselves!~” Astarion put his hand over his heart, lacing every word with some dramatic flair.

“Okay, I think she gets the point.” Winnie rolled her eyes, as she huffed at Astarion's ridiculous and frankly egocentric theatrics. 

“You sound just like him too!” Vanessa said, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “And are those fangs in your mouth?”

“He's a cosplayer and he just so happens to be very good at impressions! Seriously Nessa, don't tell me you think he could actually be a vampire. You know they aren't real, silly.” Winnie said, laughing nervously as her anxiety began to spike.

“He literally has no reflection.” Vanessa said, pointing to the mirror in Winnie’s room. Just to add to their shit luck, the two of them had been standing at the perfect angle for her to notice. 

“Fuck.” Winnie cursed, stomping her foot and covering her face in her hands. 

“Well…Looks like we'll have to kill the child.” Astarion said with an annoyed sigh, clenching his clawed fingers.  Vanessa tensed up and backed up against the wall as the vampire took a step forward. Winnie quickly moved in front of him and blocked the way to Nessa.

“No no no! We are not murdering my stepsister!” Winnie put her hand on his chest. 

“I can't believe there's a real vampire in our house!” Vanessa exclaimed, sounding way too excited about a blood sucking undead being hiding in her home.

“You are not having the appropriate reaction to finding out a bloodsucking monster-” Winnie was cut off by Astarion clearing his throat,” right sorry LIFE CHALLENGED INDIVIDUAL is in your house.” 

“Well, you obviously don't seem afraid of him.” Nessa exclaimed, “and if he was dangerous why would you bring him into the house?” 

“I am very dangerous, thank you.” Astarion scoffed, crossing his arms with a slight pout.

“He is my friend and I'm taking care of him…” Winnie began to say. 

“Dad has no idea he's here does he?” Vanessa raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

“No and I want to keep it that way.” Winnie said sternly. 

“I can't believe there's actually a video game character in front of me!” Nessa squealed in excitement. “Wait, how is this possible?” 

“I've been trying to get to the bottom of that.”Winnie rubbed her temples, “look the bottom line is you can't tell anyone about him being here, understand?” Vanessa ignored Winnie and immediately went over to inspect Astarion.

“So what's your name?” She asked curiously.

“It's Astarion. ~” The vampire replied with a dramatic little bow. 

“Astairen?” Vanessa repeated, pronouncing the vampire’s name incorrectly. The elf sighed and rolled his eyes.

“A-star-rion.” He corrected her. 

“Ha! You sound like a Pokemon!” Vanessa giggled.

“A what?” The vampire was completely confused. 

“Vanessa.” Winnie huffed, “listen to me.” Vanessa eventually turned back to look at Winnie. “You cannot tell anyone about him, understand? Especially not your father.” 

“I won't tell anyone! I promise! I've just always wanted a vampire friend!” Nessa exclaimed with a twinkle in her eyes. 

“Let's not get carried away…There are very few people in this world I consider ‘friends’ and you are certainly not one of them.” Astarion said in a sassy tone, face scrunched in disgust. Winnie quickly elbowed him.

“Be nice.” She scolded him. 

“Ugh….If I must…” Astarion groaned and looked over at the young girl. “…I may consider becoming friends…” The vampire said the last word as if it would make him vomit.

“Don't take what he says too personally, Ness. He's basically a cat on the inside.” Winnie said calmly, causing Vanessa to giggle. 

“This is going to be so cool! I have so many questions!” Vanessa said with excitement. 

“Ah yes well, it might be best if you hold off your questions for tonight. I'm really tired.” Winnie said with a yawn, stretching out her arms.

“But come on! Just a few minutes! Pleaaassse!” Vanessa whined. Winnie groaned in annoyance before sitting on the bed and kicking off her shoes.

“Alright. You got ten minutes.” She said with a sigh. 

“Okay okay! Can you fly?” 

“No.” Astarion replied.

“Can you hypnotize people?”

“No.”

“Can you see the future?” 

“No.” 

“Read minds?” 

“No.”

“Do you….sparkle in the sun?”

“Not sure…Usually I'm too busy burning to death to check.” 

“Well, you're a boring vampire!” Nessa huffed.

Astarion rolled his eyes,”I can rip your heart out and eat it. Is that exciting enough for you?” 

“Kinda gross, but okay.” 

“Alright you've asked enough questions. Now go to bed.” Winnie sighed. 

“Fiiiine.” Vanessa finally gave in before leaving to go back to her room. 

Winnie let out a groan of annoyance once her step sister left her room. She rubbed her temples in frustration as Astarion sat down on the bed beside her. 

“God, I hope she doesn't tell anyone…” Winnie muttered before suddenly feeling clawed hands on her shoulders. Astarion began to rub her gently. 

“Since you won't let me kill them I dearly hope you have a plan brewing in that pretty head of yours? In case our little secret gets out.” The pale elf said as he continued to massage her shoulders, thumbs moving down to rub circles around her shoulder blades. 

“We'd have to move out I guess…..Which is just a problem in itself. There's no way I can afford my own house and an apartment is too crowded. You'd never be able to sneak out and hunt without the possibility of being seen.” Winnie hummed, unable to help but let out a slight groan at the vampire’s touch. 

“Our own home does sound wonderful though. Just you and me living together. It'd almost be as if we were married.” Astarion hummed. The subject of marriage made Winnie go pale. She hoped he wasn't trying to drop some kind of hint? They'd only actually been dating a few weeks. They haven't even kissed yet for pete sake!

“Ah…Let's not get carried away now. I'm still a bit too young to be thinking of marriage.” Winnie huffed before pulling away and laying down on the bed. 

“Ah..Yes of course. I only meant that it would be similar.” Astarion replied with a sad smile as he noticed Winnie facing away from him. He didn't want to make her feel pressured into anything, but he couldn't help but long to be closer to her. It was hard for him to understand that what seemed like years of companionship to him were only days, weeks at most to her. Winnie was completely infatuated with him. But love, real genuine romantic love was still such a foreign concept to the young woman. It was something she never thought she'd ever receive. She had to be smart about it and not rush into anything.

“Are you upset with me?” His saddened voice immediately made her look back.

“No, no! I'm just really worn out. Today has been tiring.” Winnie explained looking up at him. She let out a deep sigh before patting the space beside her. “You can ... .lay here if you want..” she murmured shyly. Almost as if on command Astarion immediately slotted himself beside her, arms pulling her against him. Astarion smiled, nuzzling his face between her neck and shoulder.

“Goodnight my love.” Astarion whispered in her ear. Winnie blushed a bit, returning his embrace as she closed her eyes.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

“So you can turn into a bat, but you can't fly?” The twelve year old girl looked up at the vampire who stood in her room. Ollie the dog was curled up by her feet, sleeping.

“Technically I shouldn't be able to turn into one at all, but yes flying doesn't appear to come instinctively.” He rubbed his chin, glancing around the child’s slightly messy bedroom in discomfort. Vanessa sat down on a bean bag chair, dressed in a yellow Sonic the Hedgehog hoodie and blue jeans. 

“Then it's probably a good idea to practice! My dad won't be home until four so we have the whole house for you to fly around in! I can get you a little tiny bat helmet if you'd like?” Vanessa exclaimed as she hopped up. 

“Are you always left home alone this long?” Astarion asked, curiously. 

“My dad says I'm old enough to be here by myself.” Nessa exclaimed. “And Winnie said I need to keep an eye on you while she's at work so come on!” Nessa got up and quickly grabbed something from her drawer before leading Astarion out of her room and into the kitchen by his hand. Astarion rolled his eyes but complied with the girl’s wishes, not wanting to hear her whine. Astarion followed Nessa into the kitchen before taking his bat form, disappearing into a cloud of red before reappearing on the group as a little white vampire bat.

“Aww you're so cute!” She cooed before putting a tiny pink doll helmet on his head. “Okay now I'll get you started, and you remember to flap your wings!” The girl said before picking up the tiny bat who let out a few squeaks of annoyance. The sandy haired girl held him over her head before suddenly launching him into the air. The poor little bat let out a terrified squeak as he was slung through the air wings flapping frantically. Ollie shot out of Nessa’s room, hearing the bat’s squeaks. He immediately began to bark and snarl at the little creature. 

“Ollie no! Leave him alone!” Vanessa scolded, but the untrained pup just ignored her and snapped at the little bat, hopping up to try and bite him.

 Astarion hovered above the dog, just safely out of reach as he flapped his wings in desperation. 

The dog continued to lunge at him until Maddie poked her head out of Winnie's bedroom. Almost immediately she charged at the dog, a nasty growl left the feline's mouth as she came close, ears straight back and fur puffed up.

“Merrrrooow…” Maddie's vicious yowl caused the dog to turn tail between his legs before he ran off into Brian's bedroom. Astarion huffed, gradually slowing his flaps before dropping down onto Maddie’s back.  

Astarion let out a sigh of relief before hopping off Maddie's back and transforming back to his elven form. The little helmet falling off his head as he did so. 

“Alright, I think I've had enough of flying for one day.” Astarion dusted himself off before noticing Maddie rub against his legs. 

“Awe come on! You were doing so good!” Vanessa pouted. 

“Darling, you're completely impossible. If it wasn't for your sweet sister I would have drained you dry already.” Astarion scoffed. 

“Darling,” Nessa mocked, “you sound like a girl hehe.” 

“Oh such a cruel clever insult! However, will I possibly recover?” Astarion's words were dripping with sarcasm as he held a hand over his heart dramatically. Vanessa looked at him curiously and blinked.

“Are you gay? My dad said guys who act like you are gay.” The twelve year old asked bluntly. The vampire looked back at her, not quite understanding what the rude child was asking. 

“Not at present. I'm rather annoyed actually.” 

“No I don't mean happy gay. I mean do you like boys?” The young girl asked.

“Gods, you're a nosy child.” Astarion rubbed his temples.

“I just wanna know. Dad said I shouldn't talk to gay people. Not sure why though.” The child shrugged. “So do you like boys or girls?” 

“Hmm…I much prefer adults rather than boys and girls….” Astarion finally answered with a grimace. 

“Ah! That's what I meant! But what gender do you like?” 

“Must I choose?” Astarion chuckled before his pointed ears twitched and he heard someone pull into the driveway. He peeked his head through the door to the livingroom and spotted Winnie through the window. She had gotten off her motorcycle and was walking back to the house. Astarion grinned before entering the living room.

“Hey!” Vanessa whined and followed him. 

Winnie walked inside, she looked exhausted, hair messy and her uniform had a bit of dirt on it. 

“Winnie.” Astarion smiled at her sweetly,“welcome back my sweet.” He quickly pulled her in for a hug, nuzzling his face in her neck. Winnie nearly fell over, but the vampire held her up. 

“Darling? Are you alright?” He asked with concern.

“I'm exhausted. Work was hell today.” Winnie huffed, leaning against him. 

“Oh my God. You guys are dating aren't you?” Vanessa piped up.

“Ugh ...Not now Nessa. I don't have the energy for this.” Winnie said and pulled back from Astarion’s arms. Astarion smirked a bit.

“Winnie and I are partners, yes.” He said, smugly.

“Astarion.” Winnie glared at Astarion slightly.

“What? I'm simply being honest with the kid.” Astarion said with an innocent look. Winnie rolled her eyes before walking into her room. The messy haired female laid on her bed and took a deep breath. She laid there for a while, staring at the ceiling in silence. Eventually Astarion came into her room and sat on the bed next to her. 

“Love, I brought you something to eat.” Astarion hummed, setting down a plate with a sandwich on it. He looked down at her tired face and gently caressed her hair.

“Some crazy lady screamed at me today.” Winnie began suddenly. “She was pitching a fit because we didn't have any of the dog food she wanted. Becca wasn't working today so I had to handle it by myself.” 

“A pity I couldn't join you there during the day. I'd be happy to dispose of anyone who gives you trouble.” Astarion said with a smirk, clenching his free hand into a fist and cracking his knuckles. 

“You'd get arrested in a heartbeat.” Winnie chuckled, finally grabbing the sandwich and taking a bite. It was just bologna between two pieces of bread. No cheese or condiments. So incredibly bland. Well, she had to give the vampire some credit for trying. Winnie ate the sandwich before tossing the plate in the trash and laying her head on Astarion’s lap. 

“It pains me how little faith you have in my skills, my love.” Astarion said as he continued to stroke Winnie’s hair.  

“Honey, I've told you already. It's not like how it is in Faerûn where you can just dump the body in a ditch somewhere and no one will ask questions. People keep track of everyone who goes missing here. You will get caught.” Winnie mumbled, snuggling her head against his thigh. 

“Well, actually they do begin asking questions in Baldur's Gate. Of course I still managed to get away without being caught.” Astarion said smugly. 

“Makes me wonder if I should be involved with such a dangerous, dangerous man.” Winnie teased. 

“Oh don’t worry, pet. I'd never hurt you. Not unless you wanted me to.~” Astarion tapped Winnie on the nose with a flirtatious wink. Winnie rolled her eyes and just relaxed with her head on his lap. 

“Anyway, we have a lot to look forward to. We're going to meet up with your friend for a date in a few weeks, aren't we?”  Astarion reminded her.  Winnie’s eyes widened as she remembered they were supposed to meet Becca and her boyfriend at the carnival for a double date.

Shit.

Winnie turned and buried her face into Astarion’s thigh as she thought of all the things that could go wrong. 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

The carnival came to town much sooner than Winnie expected. It didn't take long before Nessa was begging Brian to let her go before she had to go back to her mother's house.  Winnie had called up Becca a couple nights back to make sure they'd meet up after sundown. She told her friend that her boyfriend couldn't get off of work until then. Everything was in place for the evening. Winnie wore a black T-shirt and ripped skinny jeans along with a pair of black converse. She brushed her hair out as best as she could while she stood in front of her bathroom mirror. Once she finished she put her glasses on and left the room, grabbing an old leather jacket from her closet that she barely wore as she let out a sigh.

Red eyes looked her over as their owner sat on the armchair, brushing his snow white locks. He was dressed in a sleeveless dark purple turtleneck which covered the bite scar on his neck. With it he wore black skinny jeans and tennis shoes.  

“You're going to get cold wearing that, you know.” Winnie hummed. 

“Well then, perhaps you'd be so kind as to lend me one of your coats if you're so worried about little old me.~” Astarion hummed, hopping up and moving a stray hair out of his face as he followed his lover into the bathroom.

 “I already told you, Star. My jackets won't fit you right. You're too tall and skinny to fit in my clothes.” Winnie said with a sigh as she began to brush her teeth. “Besides I already bought you your own jackets.”

“But yours are so much softer and more comfortable.” The vampire replied, fiddling with a bag on the sink counter. He took out a small purple tube of mascara before applying it to his lashes. Astarion put the mascara back before grabbing a black eyeliner pencil. 

“You're ridiculous but I-.......Where did you get that make up?” Winnie said as she looked back at him and blinked.

“Oh this? I found it in your mother's closet the other day. Looked like it hadn't been touched in a while so I thought it best not to let it go to waste.” Astarion replied as applied the eyeliner under his eyes. 

“Don't steal from my mom. You know you can ask me if you want something right?” Winnie let out a sigh and kept brushing her teeth. She spat out into the sink before rinsing the sink and her toothbrush off. Then she walked back into her room, picking her backpack up off the floor. 

Astarion came out and swiftly grabbed Winnie’s purple hoodie from the closet. He pulled it over his arms and let it hang off his shoulders before following his love out the door. 

Theys snuck out of the house quietly, making sure to lock all the doors behind them before leaving. Winnie hopped onto her motorcycle with Astarion getting on behind her as the two set off. It was 8pm by the time they reached the carnival. The rides were all illuminated up with bright colorful lights. The sound of screams of excitement filled the air as did the delicious smell of fried foods. 

Astarion glanced up at the strange contraptions with curiosity and a slight wariness. This wasn't like the circus as he predicted it would be like.

Winnie smiled a bit, memories from past trips to the carnival flooded her mind, filling her with joy and sudden enthusiasm. Perhaps this would actually be fun? She quickly shook her head, she needed to focus! There was another reason they were going here! 

Winnie got off the bike and led her vampire up to the entrance. He kept an arm locked with hers as they purchased their tickets, heading inside. Winnie checked her cellphone to see if there were any messages from Becca. 

“Okay, Becca's here. She’s with her boyfriend waiting for us by the snack stand.” Winnie hummed before looking over at Astarion.  His eyes scanned around the crowd. There were so many people and a sweet alluring scent hit him like a brick.

“Hon? You alright?” Winnie asked curiously before noticing some random guy had fallen on the sidewalk and skinned his knee, drawing blood. Winnie placed a hand on Astarion’s face. 

“Star…Look at me.” She said softly, causing his blood red orbs to snap back to her. “You haven't fed for a while have you?” 

“I tried going out and hunting but the last few nights prey had become rather scarce…” Astarion admittedly. 

“I told you, you were going to eat the whole forest. Look, hold on until we get back home and I'll let you feed from me.” Winnie said with a sweet smile. 

“Thank you my sweet.” Astarion returned the smile before Winnie tugged him along. 

“Now, let's go! Becca and Anthony are waiting!” Winnie exclaimed. They wandered through the carnival, marveling at the sights and sounds. The more they saw, the more Winnie began to grin, mind constantly slipping away from her main objective. 

“Yo! Winnie!” Becca's voice snapped Winnie out of her thrill fueled trance. “Over here! Come meet my babe!” The redhead called. Sitting next to Becca was a tall lanky man with messy black hair and green eyes. He had to be about mid twenties and was dressed in a sleeveless blue hoodie and shorts. 

Winnie walked over and smiled shyly, Astarion still holding on to her arm. 

“Hey…I'm Winnie and this is Star…” Winnie introduced them.

“Star? So that's his name, huh? You know I can't quite put my finger on it but your boyfriend seems really familiar.” Becca scratched her head.

“The vampire from BG3! He looks kinda like him!” Anthony spoke up.

“Oh shit, you're right!” Becca exclaimed, “dude's even got elf ears on! Wicked!” 

“Yeah, he really loves cosplaying!” Winnie said nervously. Astarion just stared at her in confusion.

“Cos-what?” He murmured. 

“It's an amazing costume. You look pretty hot in it too!” Anthony grinned.  Astarion smirked with a smug look.

“You flirt.” The elf rolled his eyes.

“He really is. It's part of his charm.” Becca giggled.

 Winnie looked at the two with a slight discomfort, but shook it off.  It was all harmless banter. “Anyway! Let's get this show on the road!” Becca hopped up with a grin.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Druid here! I hope I didn't make Vanessa too annoying, honestly I'm really just trying to portray her as a mischievous naive child though I can understand if she isn't well received. I'm going to New Orleans soon so it might be a while before the next chapter is dropped and I've also got some Winnifred The Druid oneshots to do.

Hope you guys liked the chapter! Next time we'll have some drama at the carnival!

~Druid

Taglist:

@seradyn , @plimsim, @astarioffsimpmain , @marcynomercy , @iamsexytrash , @gaymistakeboi , @divineknightmare , @tinyfreakgirl , @misscrissfemmefatal, @gianchan-de @jaksfanficsaver , @the-disaster-in-waiting , @hp-art-studio , @im-just-a-simp-le-whore , @dajeong , @iamnotokei

[xaeoism]

Muichiro and you finally make up Part 1 Part 2

To note : This upper moon is not any of the upper moons that are currently in the show right now. I merely made one up on a whim and I apologize if this is a little disappointing. I would also like to apologize if this was too long hahah.

The two of you dashed through the woods, trying to get to the location as fast as possible before anyone else gets killed. During the whole journey, muichiro kept trying to apologize.

"Hey, I wanted to say sorry, for everything, really.", he slightly shouted whilst running.

You don't respond and you weren't planning to. Perhaps you were just afraid that you might say something you didn't intend to but you ultimately decided to blame it on the fact that you didn't want to bite onto your own tongue instead.

"I'm sorry, really sorry."

There he goes again. Is that all he ever does? Spew out apologies like a broken recorder?

"Would you just shut it? God, your voice is starting to tick me off.", you finally replied, exasperated by his stubbornness to earn your forgiveness.

He keeps quiet before opening his mouth again.

"...Sorry."

Tsk. Could he stop that annoying habit?

"Stop apologizing or I won't even think about listening to you anymore.", you said as you ran faster, leaving him behind.

The two of you made it to the assigned village within an hour. Immediately, the smell of iron flooded your senses, causing you to cringe. You may have been too late to save some people but you refuse to let anyone else get injured.

"This way", muichiro said, as he rushed towards the west of the village. You followed behind him quietly.

It didn't take a lot of effort to find the demon. Or rather, it didn't put any effort in to hide itself. It was blatantly squatting there, tearing a human apart. The deafening crunch of human bones made you close your eyes in disgust.

Muichiro wasted no time, quickly unsheathing his sword to get an attack in on the demon before it could do so first. However, before his sword came into contact with the demon's neck, it vanished.

You instinctively jumped back, sensing something behind you.

The demon could be seen standing at where you once were, it's hand sticking out to where your neck was a few seconds ago.

You shuddered, had you not been any quicker to jump away, you may have just died right there.

You were just about to unsheathe your own weapon when you felt something warm trickling down your neck. You touched it and looked at the dark red liquid smeared on your hand.

You didn't feel any contact but yet you still got injured? How fast was this demon exactly?

Now that it was facing towards you, you could finally make out it's features. The demon was wearing a kimono that perfectly hugged it's petite figure and in it's right hand was a crystallized parasol. Before you could assess it even more, she looked up and scowled at you with such ferocity that it made your hairs stand on end.

Upper Five, huh.

You drew your weapon. It wasn't a normal sword like muichiro's, but a rapier instead.

When you first started training, you were able to use a normal sword as well. As time passed however, you found that having a rapier as a weapon suited you and your breathing style better. Like Shinobu, you also used wisteria poison to help fasten your killing process since trying to cut off the demon's head may take a few slashes from your weapon to effectively do so.

You gripped onto your rapier tightly, running towards the demon, and in one swift moment, you thrusted your sword straight at her neck, only for your attack to be parried by her parasol.

She swung the parasol, causing numerous crystallized shards to cover a large area of the ground. You jumped away, sustaining a few cuts on your arms and legs in the process.

Suddenly, she appeared under you in an instant, parasol closed and ready to pierce through whatever was in its way. You quickly bent backwards, the tip of the parasol scraping pass your chin. Muichiro was positioned behind her, ready to lop her head off before she disappeared once more.

"You're so annoying, can't you just stay still?", you grumbled in frustration as you wiped off the blood from your latest injury.

Muichiro looked at you in concern, some parts of your uniform were starting to turn darker from the injuries you received.

"Hey, are you alright? I'll protect you.", he said gently as he stood in front of you.

"Thanks, Muichiro, but do you think that I'm so weak as to need your protection?", you spoke, eyes boring holes into the back of his head.

"Just focus on protecting yourself.", you said as you pushed him aside.

The demon said nothing, only eyeing the two of you as if choosing who she should attack next. As if on cue, she launched at muichiro, who wasn't on guard at that time and landed a hit on his leg. You watched in shock as the demon's parasol pierced through his flesh. He yelled in pain and swung his sword down at the demon, severing the arm carrying the parasol.

You sprung into action, gathering your thoughts as you hit the demon with a flurry of quick thrusts, tearing tendons in their arms and legs before finishing with a shot to their neck. This time, it successfully went through the demons neck. You held your weapon tightly, anxiously waiting for your poison to take effect. As each second passed you grew more paranoid.

Your poison was not... working?

You immediately tried pulling your weapon out from its neck after coming to that realization. However, it was as if the demon already knew what you were planning to do next and quickly tried to merge with your sword still stuck in her neck. Your hand was still gripping onto the handle of your weapon, trying to tug it out despite it proving to be ineffective a few seconds ago. You watched in terror as the demon's left hand curled up to form a fist and before you knew it, pain bloomed from your stomach as you crashed onto a tree trunk.

The pain in your back was excruciating. You definitely broke many bones from the impact, you thought to yourself as you coughed up large amounts of blood. Your vision was blurry and your ears rang. You looked up to see the demon walk towards you. Every cell in your body was telling you to move, run, to do something rather than just lying on the trunk awaiting your demise. You tried to move but hissed in pain when you tried turning your torso.

The demon was now in front of you. Her arm had regenerated and another parasol grew from her palm. She aimed the tip at your head, preparing to deliver the final blow as you brought your hands up to form a pathetic defense.

However, the final blow never came.

You slowly opened your eyes and saw drops of blood fall onto your clothes. You turned your head up and gasped in horror. There was muichiro, standing in front of you, with the crystallized tip of the parasol stabbing through his stomach.

The demon twisted the parasol before pulling out and muichiro's limp body fell on you. You held his body close, eyes still wide open from what had occurred.

"Muichiro..? Mui- Wake up!", you pleaded as you tried to apply pressure onto his wound with your trembling hands.

Suddenly, you heard something drop. You followed the sound, and saw an eyeball. Then, another eyeball fell. You glanced at the demon, only to be met with the sight of her kneeling down, desperately trying to hold her face together with her hands. You wondered what was happening before something clicked in your head.

Your poison. It was working now.

Adrenaline took over all your senses, your heartbeat and breathing increasing rapidly as you quickly crawled over to grab muichiro's sword that was left at the side when he fell limp. You ignored the searing pain in your stomach and stumbled over to the demon.

Her skin was now melting from her face and it doesn't seem to be getting better for the demon anytime soon. You hold the sword at her neck, your hand visibly shaking due to the adrenaline rush. You pushed the sword through her neck, cutting through it in one clean swipe. Her head fell, turning into ashes before it even made contact with the ground. Her body laid on the ground lifelessly, slowly turning into ashes as well.

You collapsed a few seconds later, your legs finally giving out as the adrenaline began to settle down. You made your way back to muichiro's unconscious body.

"Mui..? Mui, why did you stand in front of me? Why couldn't you just protect yourself instead?", you asked teary-eyed as you cradled him, gently caressing and brushing stray hairs away from his face.

"Oh mui, please be alright... Please, I don't want to lose you..", you mumbled softly before closing your eyes and falling into a deep slumber.

Sunlight filtered into your room through the small cracks between the blinds, causing you to stir from your sleep. You looked at your surroundings groggily, trying to figure out where you were before coming to the conclusion that you were at the Butterfly Mansion.

How long had you been out for? And most importantly, how was muichiro doing?

You thought about paying him a visit before your eyes landed upon your hand intertwined with someone else's. You stared at your hand, before looking at the other hand connected with yours. You turned your head around and saw muichiro lying behind you, sleeping peacefully. Your eyes widened in surprise as you turned in the bed to face him properly. Your hand reached out, gently caressing his face.

"Should I maybe be unconscious more often?", muichiro spoke with a soft laugh as his eyelids fluttered open.

"Muichiro! Why are you even here- Aren't your injuries much worse than mine?", you replied quickly, a little embarrassed that he caught you in the act.

"I woke up a few days ago but you hadn't yet, so I decided to come here to wait for you.", he said.

"You shouldn't have recklessly taken that hit. You could've died if it pierced through your vital organs!", you said with a frown as you felt yourself getting angry again.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't bear seeing you get anymore injured than you were.", he said, voice trailing off weakly as he looked away from you.

You kept quiet, unsure of how to respond to his sincere apology.

"Will you forgive me..?", he asked meekly as he looked back at you.

You pondered for a moment before sighing.

"I will, if you promise to not do something so brash ever again."

Upon hearing this, his eyes lit up.

"Would you.. consider being my lover again?", he asked hesitantly, holding his breath as he waited anxiously for your answer.

"I.. believe my heart had already started beating for you once more when you protected me from that fatal attack.", you replied, looking up at him with a small smile.

He smiled in absolute joy as he hugged you close to him.

"I missed you so much.", he said, happiness evident in his tone.

You slowly wrapped your arms around his back , returning the affection he was giving you.

"I.. missed you too."

I sincerely hope that you enjoyed this last part! Personally, I believe that this post is not on par as compared to the previous two but I still hope that some parts of this post made up for it.

[hd-junglebook]

Neutral

Part 6

word count - 4,059

You're nestled comfortably in your tent, enjoying a rare moment of respite from the chaos of camp life. The soft glow of moonlight flickers gently against the walls of your tent. A book lies forgotten in your lap as you lean back against the makeshift bed.

Your peaceful reverie is abruptly shattered as Bellamy bursts into the tent with all the subtlety of a charging mammoth.

He storms across the tent until he stands directly beside your bed. "Have you seen Octavia?" he demands, his voice gruff and urgent, his eyes wild with panic.

You shoot him a silent glare, your annoyance evident even in the dim light. "And here I was, thinking you'd come to serenade me with sweet nothings," you reply, your tone laced with sarcasm.

Bellamy scowls, his features contorted with frustration. "This is serious, y/n!" he snaps, his patience wearing thin. "Octavia's gone.”

You roll your eyes, unable to resist the urge to taunt him further. "Well, maybe if you didn't have such a big head, you'd be able to see past your own nose and find her yourself," you retort, Bellamy's face turns a deep shade of crimson, his anger boiling over at your flippant remark.

"You think this is a joke?" he seethes, his voice trembling with rage. "Fine, I'll find her myself. But don't come crying to me when she's lying in a ditch somewhere."

With that, Bellamy storms out of the tent, leaving you alone once more. There's no denying the satisfaction of getting under Bellamy's skin, even if only for a moment.

With a guilty sigh, you push yourself up from your makeshift bed and hastily follow him out into the cold night air. "Bellamy, wait," you call after him, your voice softer now, "I'm sorry. I'll help you find her."

He grunts in response, his steps never faltering as he continues to march forward with purpose. You quicken your pace, falling into step beside him, determined not to let him face this ordeal alone. "Why are you always so mean to me?"

He casts a sidelong glance in your direction as he scoffs at the question. "Me? Mean to you?" he retorts, unable to keep the bitterness from creeping into his voice.

"If anyone's the mean one around here, it's you, y/n. If you’d quit being so annoying all the time, I’d treat you better."

…

You and Bellamy scour the camp in search of Octavia, deciding to seek help from Clarke.

Bursting into her tent, you find her hunched over a makeshift table, poring over maps and charts with furrowed brows. "Clarke, have you seen Octavia?" you ask, getting straight to the point.

She looks up, her eyes widening in concern. "No, I haven't," she replies, her voice echoing your worry. "But I'll help you look."

Together, the three of you comb through the camp, calling out Octavia's name as you search every nook and cranny for any sign of her. Despite your best efforts, she remains elusive, her whereabouts still unknown.

Bellamy's jaw clenches as he gathers the other members of the camp, rallying them to form a search party to scour the surrounding area. The volunteers gather at the gate, devising a plan of action to cover the most ground in the shortest amount of time.

"Everybody, gather around and grab a weapon," he commands, "My sister's been out there alone for 12 hours. Arm up. We're not coming back without her."

Bellamy turns to Finn with a fierce intensity in his gaze. "Finn," he calls out, his voice cutting through the night air like a clarion call. "You're with me."

A meteor shower streaks across the sky, illuminating the darkness with a dazzling display of light. Clarke exhales sharply debunking the other campers’ theories,

“That’s not a meteor shower, it's a funeral. Hundreds of bodies are being returned to the earth from the ark. This is what it looks like from the other side.” she huffs out before turning to Raven.

You glance up at the spectacle, a sinking feeling settling in the pit of your stomach. "The flares didn't work," you mutter under your breath, your voice barely audible over the murmurs of the others.

Bellamy's gaze meets yours in silent acknowledgment. With a heavy heart, he turns back to the group, his voice firm as he outlines the next steps of the search.

“What are we waiting for? Move out!” he calls out. The group springs into action, venturing out into the wilderness in search of Octavia.

The sound of their footsteps echoing in the stillness of the night, the only illumination comes from the flickering torches held aloft by the campers.  

You walk in silence behind Finn, scanning the surroundings for any sign of Octavia. The darkness is oppressive, pressing in on you from all sides. Finn's voice cuts through the quiet, breaking the tension like a crack of thunder.

"Over here!" he calls out urgently, waving the group over. You rush over to where Finn stands, A length of rope lies coiled on the forest floor, discarded and forgotten amidst the underbrush. "Is this Octavia’s?" Finn says as he picks up the rope and shows it to you.

Your eyes catch sight of something else amidst the tangled undergrowth. Footprints, faint but unmistakable, crisscrossing the forest floor like a trail of breadcrumbs leading deeper into the darkness. You catch Bellamy and Finns attention, guiding them to the footprints.

“The prints are deeper going that way. He was carrying her.” Finn shouts. "We're getting close," he mutters, his voice barely audible over the rustle of leaves and the distant hoot of an owl.

The group continued to press on, following the footsteps. Impaled corpses, their lifeless forms skewered on crude stakes, stand as silent sentinels, alluding to the fact that you all have entered Grounder territory.

Half of the delinquent’s balk at the sight, their faces pale with fear as they exchange nervous glances. "We should head back," one of them whispers, his voice trembling with apprehension.

Bellamy's gaze flickers to the rest of the group, his expression unreadable. "Anyone who doesn't want to continue, head back to camp," he says, his voice firm.

Several members of the group step forward, their faces pale with fear as they make their decision. With a nod from Bellamy, they turn and disappear into the darkness, leaving only the six of you standing amidst the shadows.

"We keep going," Bellamy declares, his voice unwavering. "We find Octavia, no matter what."

…

Finn, who had been leading the group, suddenly stops in his tracks, his brow furrowed in frustration as he examines the ground beneath him.

"I've lost the trail," he admits defeatedly. A wave of restlessness washes over the group, murmurs of frustration and anxiety echoing through the woods.

Just then, a voice cuts through the tension like a knife, breaking the silence with its unexpectedness. "Where's John?" a girl pipes up from the back of the group.

You glance around, your heart sinking as you realize that John, one of the members of the search party, is nowhere to be found. Panic begins to bubble up within the group, their anxiety mounting with each passing second.

"Spread out and look for him," you command with false security. "He was just here, he can’t be far."

The group disperses, scrambling through the forest as they search for any sign of their missing comrade. Grounders emerges from the trees seemingly out of nowhere with a speed and stealth that takes the search party by surprise.

More and more of them begin to appear, their numbers growing by the second as they surround the group.

You and the rest of the search party scramble to escape the encroaching grounders. Fear pulses through your veins as you run blindly after Finn through the underbrush, the sound of pursuit echoing in your ears.

"Stop!" he calls out, his instincts kicking into overdrive as he senses something is wrong.

"So, are we racing to the finish line or just trying to outrun our bad decisions?" you state through exaggerated breaths. Bellamy gives you a look of disapproval before you raise your hands in surrender.

Diggs, in his blind panic refuses to stop running, leaving the group behind he fails to see the tripwire lying in wait for him. With a sickening crunch, he triggers the trap, his body impaled on the cruel spikes of a grounder trap.

Horror washes over the group as they witness the gruesome sight. Roma, overcome with panic at the sight of Diggs' fate, breaks away from the group once more. The grounders, sensing weakness, give chase, their figures disappearing into the shadows as they pursue their prey.

…

With each step, the forest seems to close in around you. The pounding of your heart drowns out the sounds of the forest as you sprint after Bellamy as he charges after the grounders. You both skid to a halt - Roma's lifeless body, lying crumpled on the forest floor like a discarded doll.

"They're playing with us," you gasp out, sickened by the sadistic display. This was a message.

Jasper's grief erupts into a raw, primal scream, his anguish echoing through the darkness as he unleashes his rage on the grounders. his cries fall on deaf ears, the grounders closing in menacingly.

You grab for him but he slips from your grasp. "Jasper, stop!" Bellamy shouts. But rage has consumed him. The Grounders peer out from the shadows, weapons poised, savoring his anger.

Just when it seems like all hope is lost, a deafening blast pierces through the air, the sound of the Foghorn reverberating through the forest like a warning bell. The grounders hesitate, their faces twisted in confusion before they retreat.

Bellamy held up a hand, signaling everyone to pause. "The fog is coming. We need to set up shelter, now!" Murmurs of alarm rippled through the group. Jasper's eyes went wide with fear.

Monroe sprang into action, dropping her pack and pulling out a large tent. "Everyone, help get the tent up! We need to get inside before it's too late." You rushed to help her and Jasper unfurl the canvas and snap together the poles with fumbling hands. The others gathered fallen branches to weigh down the edges.

As soon as the tent was upright, You were the first one to scramble under the tent, you can feel Bellamy's presence close beside you, his hand brushing against yours while you hold the flap open. The rest of the group follows suit, huddling together in the cramped space as you wait for the deadly fog to roll in.

"Will this hold against the fog?" Monroe asked nervously.

Bellamy's jaw tightened as he secured the entrance flap. "It'll have to. Just stay low and cover your skin."

The air inside the tent is hot due to the overcrowding. The heat of so many bodies pressed close together creating a suffocating atmosphere. Sweat beads on your brow as you struggle to catch your breath in the oppressive heat.

Bellamy shifts beside you, his proximity only adding to the warmth radiating from your surroundings. You steal a glance at him, noticing the sheen of sweat on his brow as he too grapples with the uncomfortable conditions.

The rest of the group is similarly affected, their faces flushed and their breath coming in ragged gasps as they try to find relief from the sweltering heat. Some fidget restlessly, while others simply close their eyes and try to endure the discomfort in silence.

You can't help but let out a chuckle, despite the discomfort. "Well, who needs a sauna when you have a tent full of sweaty delinquents?" you quip, trying to lighten the mood amidst the stifling heat.

The minutes drag on and the oppressive heat shows no signs of abating, Bellamy's patience wears thin. With a frustrated sigh, he glances around the cramped confines of the tent, a determined glint in his eyes as he realizes that something isn't right.

Jasper's restless energy permeates the silence that following. "How long are we supposed to wait?"

"There's no Acid Fog," he mutters in disbelief. "We've been sitting here for nothing." Bellamy's sharp eyes catch sight of a lone grounder slipping away through the trees, his movements furtive and swift.

Bellamy's jaw tightens as he weighs his options, his gaze fixed on the retreating figure of the grounder. "He doesn't see us," he says quietly, his voice firm with determination. "I'm going after him."

Finn considers the implications of Bellamy's plan. "And what?" he asks, his tone skeptical. "Kill him?"

Bellamy shakes his head. "No," he replies, his voice low and cold. "Catch him. Make him tell me where Octavia is. Then kill him." Jasper's eyes widen at Bellamy's words, mirroring your expression. "How do we know he's not leading us to another trap?"

Finn's shoulders sag in resignation at the question, "We don't," he admits. Without another word, Bellamy springs into action, his instincts driving him forward as he leads the group in pursuit of the fleeing figure.

…

The grounder leads your group through a winding cave passage, dimly lit by scattered torches. Shadows dance across the rough walls as you venture deeper underground.

Your eyes widen in alarm as you spot Octavia struggling to reach the key, her fingers just out of reach.

"Octavia," Bellamy calls out. You watch anxiously as Bellamy approaches Octavia, grabbing the key and releasing her bound wrist. "Monroe, watch the entrance," before turning back to his sister. "It's okay. You're okay."

Your eyes drift over to the grounder lying motionless nearby, spotting the foghorn on the cave floor. Realization dawns - this grounder had blown the horn that saved your lives. He had risked himself for you.

You share a troubled glance with Finn. Together you crouch down, checking the grounder for any signs of life. As you roll him over, his eyes flutter open weakly.

"We need to get back to camp," you tell Bellamy urgently. Whatever the grounder's motives, he clearly doesn't see you as mere enemies to be slaughtered.

You're taken aback as the grounder suddenly surges upwards, a flash of steel glinting in his hand in the dim light of the cave. Before you can react, he slashes the knife viciously towards Bellamy.

On instinct you throw yourself forward, your bare hands closing around the blade with a desperate grip. Searing pain slices through your palms but you clutch it tightly, stopping the attack. Blood wells up, slick and hot.

 Finn rushes in, shoving you aside. You grit your teeth against the pain, pressing yourself back against the rough stone wall of the cave in a desperate bid to distance yourself from the violence unfolding before you.

The sharp edges dig into your back, adding to the discomfort, but you welcome the distraction, focusing on the sensation to distract yourself from the agony coursing through your veins.

Finn and the grounder crash together, grappling fiercely. They slam into the cave walls, the knife glinting dangerously between them. The sound of struggle echoes through the cave, their bodies locked in a desperate struggle for survival.

With a violent twist, the grounder drives the blade into Finn's side, the sharp blade sinking deep into flesh with a sickening squelch.

Finn cries out, shock and disbelief etched on his face, as he stumbled backwards and collapsing to the cave floor as blood stains his shirt.

The grounder's wild eyes fix on Bellamy as he charges forward with a guttural cry. Bellamy braces himself just as the muscular grounder slams into him, driving him down.

They crash violently to the cave floor, the grounder's knife glinting as he presses it to Bellamy's throat.

Bellamy struggles beneath the weight, grunting with effort. The knife edge digs in, just shy of drawing blood.

"Please!" Octavia cries out desperately. "Don't kill my brother!"

The grounder hesitates, conflict etched on his face. His grip on the knife wavers slightly at her words. In that moment of indecision, Jasper appears behind the grounder and swings his makeshift club with all his might. It connects solidly with the back of the grounder's skull with a sickening thud.

The grounder's eyes roll back as he sags forward, collapsing unconscious atop Bellamy. Shoving him off, Bellamy scrambles to his feet, chest heaving. Bellamy pushes himself to his feet, his chest heaving with exertion as he surveys the scene before him.

Octavia is already at Finn's side, her hands trembling as she applies pressure to the stab wound and trying to stop the bleeding. "Hold on, Finn," she pleads while he groans in pain.

"We need to get Finn out of here now!" Bellamy orders. Bellamy and Monroe lift Finn up and you all hurry from the cave, leaving the murderous grounder behind. You know the knife that was meant for Bellamy could end up costing Finn's life instead.

Bellamy moves with purpose, leading the way back to camp. His movements spur the rest of you into action, and you struggle to keep pace due to the pain coursing through your body.

…

You glance down at your injured hands, the pain throbbing with each heartbeat. With a grimace, you tear off your sleeves and hastily tie them around the wound, the makeshift bandage offering some measure of relief.

The adrenaline is starting to fade in your body and instead the exhaustion is kicking in, you find yourself lagging behind, your steps growing slower and more unsteady with each passing moment as your friends disappear out of your view. Your vision blurs and swims, black spots dancing at the edges as you fight to stay conscious.

With each step, the world grows dimmer, the sounds of the forest fading into a distant haze as you push yourself forward. With everything going on all you can think of is your mother.

"I wish you were here," you whisper to yourself, gaze drifting upward to the vast expanse of the night sky.

The stars twinkle overhead offering no answers, their silent witness serving only to remind you that you were unwanted and unloved. You wish she hadn't sent you down here alone, without her guidance and protection.

Tears well up in your eyes as you struggle to reconcile the harsh realities of your situation. You long for her comforting embrace, for the reassurance of her presence by your side.

You fall to your knees in the darkness, the burning pain almost unbearable as you check the bandages. the white cloth of your sleeved are now stained crimson with your blood.

With a heavy heart, you wipe away the tears and attempt to push yourself to your feet, knowing you cannot dwell on her any further.

The darkness closes in around you before you can’t see anything else.

…

The sound of heavy rain pelting the earth fills your ears, mingling with the distant rumble of thunder. Mud squelches beneath you, soaking through your clothes as you lie helpless on the forest floor.

The damp forest floor feels good pressing against your flushed cheek. In the distance, thunder rumbles ominously.

Faint voices drift through the trees, too far to understand. You try to call out, but only manage a weak croak. "Bellamy?" you rasp hopefully. You strain to make out the words, your senses dulled by pain and exhaustion.

"You two," he points to his search party, "head in there and don't come out until you've got him.

The figures draw nearer, distorted by rain and fog. You can just make out Bellamy's dark curly hair coming into view, his face etched with concern.

"Hold on," he breathes, dropping down beside you. "I’m gonna get you home." You wince as he grasping your arm tightly, fresh pain lancing through your body.

You tried to speak but only managed a weak cough. Bellamy slipped an arm under you, carefully pulling you up from the cold mud. You cried out hoarsely as the movement ignited fresh agony in your wounds.

"I know, I'm sorry," he grimaced, holding you close against him. "I’ve got you now. Just stay with me."

Leaning heavily on Bellamy, you hobbled forward with his support. Each step was torture, but you focused on putting one foot in front of the other as the storm raged around you.

Every gust of wind threatens to uproot trees and send them crashing to the ground.

"You're going to be okay," he reassures you, his voice gentle yet resolute. "Just hang in there, alright? We'll get you patched up and back to camp in no time."

His two companions emerged from the cave. Between them, they carry the grounder who attacked Finn, his unconscious form slung over their shoulders like a sack of potatoes. He grabs the rope they'd used on the grounder before. "Let's get this bastard tied up before he wakes."

Working quickly, they bind the grounder's hands and feet. The storm around you seems to rage even harder as they work, as if protesting their presence in the forest.

With a nod of acknowledgment they follow behind as he leads them back to camp. The wind whips through the trees, drowning out any words that might be spoken. Bellamy remains steadfast by your side, his arm wrapped securely around your waist as he supports your weight.

With each step, the muddy ground threatens to give way beneath your feet, Bellamy scoops you up into his arms as your legs finally give out, no longer able to support your weight. You cry out in pain, clutching at him weakly as he carries you the last stretch towards camp.

The rain beats down relentlessly as He ducks into the shelter of the dropship. Clarke and Octavia rush forward when they see the state you're in, alarm on their faces.  

He gently layed you down on a blanket as you whimper, fresh waves of agony coursing through your body. Bellamy smooths back your wet hair, his expression pained. "You're safe now," he murmurs.

Suddenly angry shouts erupt from behind him. Bellamy's companions drag a bound Grounder through the entrance, throwing him harshly to the floor. Clarke and Octavia stare in shock before rounding on Bellamy, demanding answers.

"The hell are you doing?" Octavia demands, her eyes narrowing as she surveys the scene unfolding before her. Bellamy meets her gaze, his expression unreadable as he responds with quiet determination. "It's time to get some answers."

Octavia scoffs at his words, her disbelief evident in the way she crosses her arms over her chest. "Oh, you mean 'revenge'?"

But Bellamy shakes his head, his gaze unwavering as he meets her eyes. "I mean 'intel'," he clarifies, his voice cutting through the howling wind with quiet authority.

Turning to his companions who carried the captive grounder, Bellamy issues a command. "Get him upstairs," he orders, his tone leaving no room for argument.

As the boys obediently move to carry out Bellamy's orders, Clarke approaches. She meets Bellamy's eyes, a silent question passing between them.

The radio crackles to life behind her, causing Bellamy to giver a shocked look at the unexpected interruption. Abby's voice comes through the static, her words echoing with urgency and concern. "Clarke, okay we're ready. Can you hear me?"

Turning to face him, "Look," she begins, her voice heavy with emotion, "this is not who we are."

Bellamy's eyes harden as he faces down Clarke and Octavia's protests. He holds up a hand, silencing them. "This is who we are now!" he declares through gritted teeth. "We do what we must to survive."

His uncompromising words dare them to argue. Clarke and Octavia exchange frustrated looks but stay silent. They know Bellamy's mind is set.

With frustrated sighs, they turn away and get to work treating Finn. Bellamy kneels beside you again, his calloused hand is unexpectedly gentle as he caresses your face. "I have to take care of this," he says grimly before heading for the ladder.

You watch through hazy eyes as he disappears above to deal with the Grounder prisoner. The storm continues its assault outside, rain pounding relentlessly on the metal hull.

Utterly spent, you finally let your heavy eyelids fall shut. The pain feels distant now. You take comfort knowing Bellamy will keep you all safe, no matter what it takes or who tries to stop him.

…

[hearts4youz]

The Captains Daughter: Chapter 16

A/N: finally, a chapter worth posting. This one is so much better than the last two or three i've posted. Sorry guys, I've totally lost track of time, its been two weeks since the last chapter ive posted... this is a longer one so hopefully it will suffice. Thank yall so much for reading, feedback is much appreciated :)

Taglist: @abbiesxox @n30n-j3lly @weird-katthing @kayoyamamegame @kroowonderemporium @astro-ghoul99

word count: 1.3k

Reader pov:

You and your father have silently agreed to just let go of what happened during the commute to the grocery store. The two of you have not talked about the topic since, and you were grateful for it. You headed for the doors to get outside the base, as you had decided earlier that a morning run should do the trick for your sluggish start to the day. It seems you had woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Barely making conversation at breakfast, feeling irritated and put off by everything. Even the sound of Gaz breathing when you sat next to him in the mess hall made you want to choke him out.

You breathed in deeply, savoring the crispy winter air as it's freezing tendrils circled your lungs. You sighed and were about to get moving when you heard a gruff noise behind you.

It was Ghost, clearing his throat.

You turned towards him, a quizzical look crossing your features.

"I've tracked you across the whole bloody base," he said, in a gravely, morning voice.

"And?" You said, annoyed. You didn't feel like talking to anyone not even your mysterious crush.

"And, a good soldier should know to watch their damn six."

"Yeah, in the field," you roll your eyes.

"Someone's pissy this morning, I thought we were on good terms now?" He chuckled

"I just... sorry- you didn't do anything wrong-" he cut you off.

"I know," he smirked.

"... just bad nights sleep I guess," you glared, finishing your sentence.

"Where are you headed?" his voice softened slightly, but his gaze still remained rigid and judgy.

"Out for a run."

"You don't mind if I join do you?"

You raised and eyebrow at his suggestion

"What? i'm not supposed to be friendly with my teammates ever?"

"I-I...no...I don't mind," you said skeptically.

The two of you took off at a quick pace, you were surprised that the lieutenant could keep up despite the skull balaclava covering his nose and mouth, as well as his large, toned build.

"You run often?" you ask.

"Mmm... when I was a kid I got in trouble a lot. I had to make a quick getaway sometimes."

"Who was chasing you... the law?"

"Eh, sometimes," he said, nonchalantly.

"Well, what kind of trouble?" you asked, not knowing whether to be concerned or intrigued.

"Dumb, teenage shit. You know, smashing windows... drinking... smoking, anything to get me out of the house really. I matured eventually."

"And now your in the military, the irony," you paused. "You know, I really wouldn't have guessed that you were so... unruly as a kid, Mister 'im so strict and tough," you laughed.

He gave a chuckle in response.

"Mhm, my teenage years were pretty lawless... probably can't say the same for you, Price's kid," he smirked.

"Ah you got me there... I did get into a little trouble though."

"Really...?"

"I dabbled with boys mostly..."

This made Simon's heart rate quicken, the thought of you with other guys, but then he reminded himself that you were a teenager at the time.

"Boys? I'm sure the captain wasn't very fond of that"

"Oh hell no... he always chased 'em away. I never could keep a boyfriend for very long. No matter how secretive I was he always found out."

Noted Ghost thought to himself.

Ghost laughs, "Yup, sounds like ol' cap."

The two of you fall into a comfortable silence for a few minutes as Ghost thinks about your love life.

"You...you don't happen to have any of those men in your life now... do you?" he asks quietly.

"I uhm....uh...well... no," You respond, a bit flustered.

"Good, otherwise i'd have to tell cap" He added, voice stronger and more confident while trying to play the question off as a joke.

You two were almost back to the base now, as you finished at the doors Ghost spoke up again as he swung the door open for you.

"It's about time for our daily training now, good timing."

You nodded as you stepped through the door into the pleasantly warm building. You walked down to the training facilities with him.

"Lets do some lifting," Ghost suggested.

You groaned in protest, dragging your feet as your lieutenant led you into the gym. You went through a few sets, bench press, curls, a few ab exercises, and finally some squats. By the time you were ready to start squatting, your body was exhausted, especially your legs considering you ran beforehand. Ghost looked at you with a slight bit of sympathy.

"Lets just do two sets of eight for this one alright Y/N?"

"Thank you, G-Ghost," you sputtered as you struggled to keep the bar level as you got into your first squat.

You wobbled, your legs quivered as you raised yourself back up into a standing postion.

One

You shook even more on the way down the second time, Ghost noticed this and left the wall he was leaning up against. He stood behind you with his hands open, ready to steady the bar if needed.

down, up

Two

By the third rep, the bar was so far away from being level on your shoulders your whole body tipped to the right. Luckily, Ghost caught you and lifted the bar off your shoulders before you could fall. He put the bar back on the rack and took a few pounds off of it while you sat down for a moment.

"If you're not okay enough to finish we can be done here," Ghost told you. His words were sympathetic but his voice was void of emotion, it was hard to gauge weather he was disappointed in your failure to finish the set or if he was concerned for you.

Ghost pov:

Goddamnit, she totally felt that.

I stood in front of Y/N while she sat down for a moment to catch her breath. I had to get the bar off of her before she hurt herself, but in the process I had pressed myself against her by accident. Which in return gave me a little problem... down there. Forever grateful to my mask for saving my ass once again, I tried to exert calmness towards Y/N while she rested. I desperately hoped that she would be done now that she was almost crushed by the weight.

"No, I'd like to finish out the set at least," she responded to my question.

"You sure? no shame in calling it quits to avoid injury," I responded in a warmer tone than before.

"Yeah, I've got it," she reassured me, more strength in her voice now.

Again, I positioned myself behind her to spot her. Only this time, a half step further back, not forgetting about my hard on. I'm not going to lie, It was tough to just stand there silently while she got her reps in. All I wanted to do was praise her, to tell her what a good job she was doing. I wanted to see her smile when I told her she did something right, I just wanted to make her happy.

"Good work," I managed to say when she got all eight reps in.

She told me goodbye and turned to leave. I watched her walk away, she took a few steps before I couldn't help myself.

"Wait!"

She turned around.

"I enjoyed running with you this morning... really- it was nice. Thank you for letting me go with you."

Her face broke into a genuine smile.

"Thank you for coming with me, it was nice to see you more informal... you know, outside of all the work stuff."

When she walked off again, I couldn't help but get all giddy and boyish. I felt like a teenager swooning over his crush at school.

fucking hell, Y/N enjoyed my company.

Reader pov:

When you left the gym and were sure that no one could see you, you damn near squealed for joy.

He liked running with me!

Ghost

My lieutenant

The guy I like

[fauna-flora11]

Oopsies?

By the way : Part 2

MASTERLIST

Summary: Aelin and Rowan hate each others guts...or do they?

Warnings: Swearing, sugestiveness

Word count: 1K ish

Note: Aelin is just as down bad as Rowan

Aelin heaved, looking up at the rest of the wall she had to scale. Why did these gods-damned officials make their houses so long? Tightening up the rope around her waist, Aelin made her way up, and after a while she , finally, finally, made it to the rooftop. Just to find Rowan standing right there, leaning against the wall surrounding it. Aelin glared at him. "Hello Rowan whitethorn-in-my-ass. What do you want?" He snorts, "That's a new one." Aelin squints her eyes and plasters a large frown across her face, making any expression to annoy him. He continues, "What I want is you not to kill anyone who makes the mistake to piss you off, thanks,"

"Why not? It's so fun." She says, a sly expression on her face. "Fun or not, Aelin, it's maybe, I don't know, against the law?"

Aelin just stalks over to the other side of the roof, opposite Rowan and peers down to the city sprawled across. Looking back up, the clouds stop covering the moon, and her breath hitches. The moonlight now shining on him, she can see him perfectly. See him and his gray compression shirt, perfectly. Fuck. Why did he wear it? That was just a jibe, a ruse to keep him distracted. But was it really? She would be lying to herself if she said that she didn't fine some satisfaction in seeing him like that. I mean, who wouldn't!? He was built like a sculpture of the Greek gods, for wryd's sake! It wasn't just her. All the girls loved him. And his body. And his snide remarks whenever he spoke to her.

And his long hair. And how he laughed, a cute, small and breathy chuckle that made her feel like she was going to melt into the ground. Everybody thought of Rowan Whitethorn like that! She fumed, opening her mouth to say something, when they both snapped their head towards the rooftop door, hearing it creak open.

A very sleepy, obviously annoyed, read head clambered out of the stairwell. He held up his hands, "Sorry, if I'm, you know, inturrepting soemthings," His words slurred together, "But who are you, and whatthe absolute fuck are you doing in my house!?" finally. Aelin just smirked at him. "Hello, Arrobynn," In the blink of an eye, Aelin had whirled behind him, effectively locking him in a choke hold, perfectly with a dagger to his neck.

Rowan's absolutely disgusted look almost made her squirm, but she stood her ground, lifted her chin high. She knew who this man was, and what he was doing. Even if no one else did. "Aelin. Let go of him right.now." "No." Rowan moves to take a step towards them, but Aelin presses the blade deeper, drawing a bit of blood. "One more step towards us, white knight, and he's gone." Rowan halts, glowering at her. "Why the fuck are you like this Aelin? I know you have the potential to be a good person, so why do you do this?" Aelin looked at him, determination in her eyes. "You have no right, Rowan, none, to determine whether I am a good person or not. Whether I murder just him, or the whole gods-damned town, you cant tell me my own sense of morality" "Give him back, or I'm calling backup right now. You know how quickly you'll be cornered." Aelin's brows furl in contemplation, but she huffs a sigh. Rowan smiles. She hasn't denied him, it's only a matter of time before she hands him over.

Aelin throws him towards Rowan and she smiles. That's weird. He catches him, hevaing a sigh of relief. Just to find his throat slit, hanging from a thread. She cut him on the knife while throwing him. He opens his mouth to say something, only to find her gone.

Aelin stormed down the streets, her hood covering most of her facial features. Not like her storming gait was inviting anyone body to come near, anyway. She threw open the door to one of her many apartments. A small part of her eased when she found Ansel, Elide, Lysandra and Yrene there. Her group. Manon was off somewhere, so was Nesryn, but she was still happy to see them. Shrugging off her coat, Aelin slumped on a chair, massaging her temples. Ansel looks at her, concern in her eyes. "What's wrong, Ae?" Aelin looks up to find all of them looking at her. "Nothing it's just.." She sighs, leaning her head back onto the back of the chair. Yrene gets up, announcing, "I'll make some tea." Aelin calls a weak 'thanks' after her, and she looks back. "It's just, I know I'm supposed to hate him and all… But sometimes I feel.. Disgusting. Vile, to be honest. No matter what the reasons are, I'm still killing people aren't I? I mean, my literal job is to kill them and take their riches."

Ansel swivels on her wheeled chair."Listen, Aelin. We all know how you are. We all know that what you're doing is right, and no matter what others think you should know what you're doing, and have confidence in it!" Elide nods vigorously, "We also know what types of vile things these men were doing. If he finds out, he'll be on his knees thanking you, and begging for forgiveness." Another image of Rowan on his knees pops into Aelin's head, but she pushes it out to listen to Lysandra, feeling a blush rising in her cheeks. Lysandra continues,"I agree! No matter what happens Aelin, know what You're doing is right, and there is absolutely no need, none, to feel ashamed!" Just in time, Yrene returns with a steaming cup of tea in her hands, and hands it to Aelin. Aelin looks around, looking at each face, and feeling a rush of gratitude with each one. She gives them a small, genuine smile." Thank you, everyone. "

Tag list:

@mariaofdoranelle

[cl0udy-wolf]

collide invisible lips, like a shadow on the wall

aka: zuko lets himself get distracted after losing the avatar.

(featuring lee/oc)

trigger warnings: n/a, just fluff :)

Zuko was livid.

Not only had he lost the Avatar, after countless manhunts, after an endless cycle of losing and regaining hope, after three years of waiting...

But he had also lost his most prized possession- his notebook containing all his information about the past Avatars. All his deepest thoughts.

Everything.

After about a half hour of searching for it, his room was an absolute mess. Everything was out of place and thrown across the floor. He had a hard time navigating, so he just kicked or tossed things aside. Not like the mess was helping him at all.

In his frustration, he didn't hear the person who was at the door until around the third time they knocked. He heard the door open and whipped his head around.

"What?!"

His eyes widened when he realized it was Lee. He silently cursed at himself. He hated yelling at his friend, being rough like that at him. It was unintentional, but...

Lee took a breath, carefully stepping over some scrolls thrown across the floor. "I came to check on you. I was worried."

His gaze traveled across the room. Zuko couldn't read his expression, which annoyed him. He liked having an idea of what was coming next. But Lee was good at keeping his face like a mask, for the most part.

"Zuko," Lee said, "Talk to me."

Zuko averted his gaze with a sour expression. He crossed his arms, feeling Lee's scrutiny. Those gentle eyes fixed on him. 

It wasn't long before he caved.

"We lost the Avatar, for one. And now, my notebook is gone. Can you believe this? He ran! And took something of mine with him. I spent years-" He groaned and covered his face with in hands in annoyance. He turned and walked in the direction of the window just to get away.

But Lee followed. He noticed Zuko running his thumb over his scar absent-mindedly as the frustration with himself set in, and Lee frowned. His heart ached whenever he saw him do that. 

He took Zuko's hand and eased it away from his face. "Stop," he murmured, "Just squeeze my hand instead."

And indeed, Zuko was crushing his hand.

"I'll lend you one of my empty books to use. As for the Avatar...I'm sure we can find some sort of lead. It's not...it's not impossible."

"It feels like it," Zuko grumbled.

"Zuko," Lee said, calmly, "Look at me, please."

He brought his hand to Zuko's cheek and gently turned his head so they'd make eye contact. Deep in Zuko's eyes, Lee could see his pain. It was harder for Zuko to hide it around him. It was harder for Zuko to hide anything around him.

He should've expected it. Bonding over running away to random secluded spots in the Fire Nation brought them closer than anyone else Zuko knew that was his age. 

"Take a breath with me," Lee said, bringing his voice down to almost a whisper. He knew Zuko found solace in that tone.

He demonstrated taking deep breaths, hoping Zuko would follow. 

But then his own breath faltered, and he sighed, anxiety creeping onto his face. Zuko was quick to act upon seeing it.

"Hey, you okay?" 

"I...I'm fine. You know me..."

"Just one of those days? Take your own advice," Zuko said lightheardedly. It made Lee crack a soft smile.

"I'm worried about you. When don't you worry me..."

"Sorry." Zuko gave a sheepish half-smile.

"It's okay." Lee squeezed his hand, just now realizing they were still holding hands. He peered down to look at them when he noticed something. He rose their hands to get a better look at Zuko's. 

"Zuko!"

"Huh?"

"You hurt yourself." Lee ran his thumb over the small cut on Zuko's hand. It definitely wasn't much, but Lee couldn't help but be worried about it anyway. It wasn't just the cut, but the fact that Zuko was so angry and he hadn't noticed made him concerned- has this happened before? Did Zuko take care of it by himself? Why didn't he say anything? Was he okay? Would he be okay? What if something happened and Zuko didn't tell him and then-

Zuko's voice tore Lee from his spiraling thoughts.

"Lee, I'm fine. It's not that bad. I probably just cut myself on accident with some of the pottery."

"I know, but-"

The moment they made eye contact, it felt like a bolt of lightning shot through both of their hearts. Lee's breath suddenly caught in his throat. Zuko's eyes widened as he tried to process this new and very sudden feeling.

He felt...warm. Fuzzy. His breathing grew a bit heavy as he tried to focus. But how was he supposed to focus when Lee was looking at him with his big, bright amber eyes, so close that he could see the little specks of green in his eyes, looking at him with not scorn or disgust but tenderness and care.

Then there was the way Lee held his hand close to his chest, close to his heart. Maybe he was overthinking, but now his own thoughts were spiraling and he couldn't help it. 

It took him back to the Fire Nation. Before all of this. Back to when Lee and Zuko sat under the stars, hidden away somewhere where their families couldn't find them. Sharing stolen glances, soft touches, sweet words- promises that Lee would come back safe and sound from war. So many things that neither of them knew the meaning of.

It took him back to that confusing feeling that stirred in his heart- the one he tried to forget but he couldn't because he couldn't just throw away the way this boy made him feel- this boy who was his best friend- the boy who he wrote countless letters to and waited for in the center of Capital City to see if he had come back home- come back to him alive.

The boy that gave him butterflies, or something close to it- he didn't know exactly what was going on, he just knew he wanted so desperately to be close to him but he was terrified at the same time because what if something happened and Lee hated him for it? What if he hurt him? 

They had already been through enough.

It scared him.

And then he gazed deeper into Lee's eyes and it all went away.

His mind went blank. It was quiet.

Lee whispered, "Zuko? What's wrong?"

Zuko stammered. "No- nothing's wrong, I just..."

And then, without realizing it, Lee leaned in. And Zuko pulled him in closer.

Not even a second later, before their lips could even meet, Zuko broke away.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Lee grabbed him by the shirt and kissed him. 

Zuko's arms went around Lee's waist. Lee brought him closer, a hand behind his head.

Zuko was completely lost in how soft Lee's lips were. He was entranced by the way, every time they broke away, he went in for another kiss, as gentle and as tender as the first one, as if Lee was afraid to hurt him. 

And he was overwhelmed by the barely restrained intensity of Lee's embrace, making him feel every last bit of desperation that Lee carried- the desperation they shared, for years, and it finally felt like it was being resolved.

The stress of their lives washed away like waves crashing on the shore. There was only the feeling of Lee in Zuko's arms and the faint scent of his cologne. 

All the worries, the pain- their search for the Avatar- was forgotten about.

Zuko pulled away and sighed in contentment. He looked down at Lee, whose cheeks were as red as a rose. He had a cute, shy smile on his face, one he couldn't help.

A beat passed before either of them spoke. Zuko rested his forehead against Lee's and neither of them opened their eyes, instead taking each other in during the short moment of silence.

"I love you," Lee breathed.

Zuko smiled. "I love you, too." His hand gently caressed Lee's cheek, the other resting on his waist.

"I've loved you since before we left the Fire Nation. Every time I was at war, I thought about coming home to you." Lee felt tears pricking his eyes. It was hard recalling the fear that plagued him when he was deployed, not knowing what the days would hold for him, not knowing if it would be his last. But every time he lost hope, he thought about who he was fighting for.

"I thought about hugging you. I thought about the way you'd look at me and smile and run to take me into your arms as soon as you saw me marching back to Capital City. I thought about you." 

Lee let the words hang in the air. They just sort of tumbled out of his mouth without him meaning to ramble. Zuko, on the other hand, was silent, until Lee heard his voice in a soft murmur.

"I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here."

"We don't have to think about that anymore. You're okay. I'm okay. We're both okay."

A soft chuckle escaped him, maybe of disbelief, maybe of excitement. "We're in love."

Zuko's smile returned to his face. "We're in love," he repeated, awe-struck. "And it's staying this way."

"Whatever happens, I'm by your side. Just don't go anywhere I can't follow."

"That goes for you, too."

"I'm staying. So you can hold me like you are right now."

"I love you." Zuko pressed his lips to Lee's, lingering as he began to draw back. 

"I love you, too," Lee said as he brought Zuko in for yet another kiss, this one deeper than any of their first. 

[caslyra]

the scars appeared in visual media because it's a visual shorthand. what makes remus distinctive in the books would make him look like he's 60 in a visual medium because that's the language that has been formed. there's a contradictory nature to his appearence that doesn't translate easily to image. scars are actually hard enough to balance correctly on their own: one extra line can add years to a character's age. i think the difference between mediums should be taken into account when complaining about other people's works: we may not always understand why certain decisions are made, but it's better to approach people humbly and with the awareness that they might know what they're doing by changing the source material.

Okay, firstly - I'm sorry if I hurt you or anyone else. That's never my intention. And believe me, I don't think I'm superior to any single creator out there. The mere thought made me laugh because, frankly, it's quite the opposite.

What bugs me about scarred Remus is that it's simply everywhere because to me there are good reasons against scarred Remus.

But of course not every creator is the same (that goes without saying, right?) and as I have said in the tag I have both read great fanfiction featuring scarred Remus and seen great fan art showing scarred Remus. And I get what you're saying... Especially since I am absolutely talent-free when it comes to drawing. I believe that it's very hard to capture his illness without the scars. But - and that's just my personal opinion - I still prefer Remus without visible scars, even in visual media. Because - as I have tried to lay out - I think it's important that it is an invisible condition - for many reasons. Not completely invisible, of course, because he looks sick. But I think it's important that there are no signs that hint at 'werewolf' that obviously because ... (I don't want to repeat myself, so... yeah). And that point is so important to me that it still holds for visual media - at least for me. Even if it's hard to capture the other aspects of his condition.

It's a matter of perspective and of what you want to show. And the things I laid out don't have to be so important to you as they are to me - or maybe you don't agree with me at all which is also fine. But I can still be annoyed to be confronted with scarred Remus everywhere.

But we can disagree, right? And believe me, there are some things where I digress from canon even without 'good reason'. Sirius's hair for example. I'm perfectly aware that he had most definitely short hair throughout his teenage years, because he had short hair in the order photograph in 1981 and he cuts his hair in GoF before it grows again in OotP. The long hair is meant to mirror his mental state. It's a depression look or at least a look of neglect. Still I see him long-haired in my head...

[dolche-tejada]

I saw your ror post and I just wanted to say

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you–*is slowly pulled away by the fandom police*

Seriously though, it bothered me so much that there weren't any goddesses with actual roles cause you guys show Apollo but not Artemis??? Where's Athena! Or the baddest bitch, Ishtar?? Izanagi or Amaterasu when Susano is there?

WHERE'S PERSEPHONE????????!!!!!!!

ALSO! A good theory regarding Jack the Ripper is that he was actually a WOMAN which is why they were never caught. No woman could possibly be educated or blood-thirsty enough to commit this crime! Of course not!

Marie Curie was a side character, damnit!

What about Cleopatra? Joan of Arc?

There's so many badass women in history and they aren't being highlighted enough!

Sorry for ranting, ROR just frustrates me despite being such an interesting concept. Tbf, a lot of anime and manga have the same issue regarding women, so maybe I should be used to it by now

Thanks ahah and don't apologize, you're totally right !!

Of any fighting manga I've read, RoR has the weakest excuse for its lack of female fighters : The Ragnarok is supposed to feature the most powerful deities/humans that have ever existed but we're supposed to believe that out of over 26 fighters, not even one of them is a woman ?

And here it's just my opinion but there's no way Apollo was a much better choice for the roster than fucking Artemis. Okay he turned out to be a great character (one of my favorites actually) and he's also known in mythology as the god of archery but Artemis is literally the goddess of the hunt.

And even if she doesn't fight, AT LEAST give her some screentime in her brother's backstory or a cameo in the crowd, something ! At what point do you just turn her into some weird-ass statue ? What's the point of talking about myths if you're cutting out half of them ?

Plus like you said, concerning the other female deities it's just as annoying : Athena is never mentioned once ; Persephone and Demeter are just Poseidon and Hades' move names ; Hera is barely referred during Heracles' backstory and only for the writers to imply that she died a long time ago, talk about a waste.

Not to mention that as you pointed out, even on the human side there were plenty of candidates with a lot of potential.

Now I still love RoR don't get me wrong but at this point, I no longer have any expectations from its authors on this aspect. I can already bet that Izanami and Amaterasu will be the names of either Susanoo's swords or his special moves.

That's why if you or anyone else is looking for a manga similar to RoR that does more to showcase historical women, I recommend you to try Majo Taisen.

It has its issues with its lack of poc characters' representation and its portrayal of Cleopatra but it's still really enjoyable and its authors understood that History is full of badass and amazing women who also deserve the spotlight

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: fivecenturiesverse! @fivecenturiesverse has 64 fics posted to AO3 in the Stranger Things fandom and 45 of them are in the Steddie tag!

@spicysix recommends the following works by @fivecenturiesverse:

i'm feeling devious (you're looking glamorous)

shape it up (get it straight)

chuck me a bouquet after the show, babe

just like a rainbow (you know you set me free)

drag him back to the meeting place

"Fives has a way with words that I don't think anyone else can compare to. More than one fic tagged as "faves" on my bookmarks are theirs. No matter what AU, what setting, whatever way they write a fic, the characterization will always be on fucking point. The way they always include Robin, and the party, and other characters (and also manages to make them so in character, too) always warms my heart. I feel like they truly understand the characters, and in the same way she views them, I view them too, and so Fives' works are always perfect for me. It's like that comfort food, no matter how many times I eat it it always makes me happy." -- @spicysix

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

Why do you write Steddie?

After watching s4 I was mildly annoyed that the show didn’t expand further on Steve and Eddie’s dynamic (not that I ever thought they would be canon) which I found to be really fun and different from a lot of what we see on the show. I also really wanted to explore Steve’s bisexuality and how it relates to his friendship with Robin and Eddie was a great vehicle for that (sorry Eddie lol)

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

There was only one bed… might be basic but it’s always been my favourite. Friends to lovers, fake dating, and forced proximity are also going to have me with my eyes glued to the screen.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Sharing a bed also is number one here, though it’s usually far more platonic than it is in stuff I read haha because non-sexual intimacy is like crack for me to write.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

Lovesick in Loch Nora by redoaktree for the perfect Eddie characterisation but also looking at my bookmarks I think I need to read more steddie and stalk this blog for some recs lmao

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

Maybe a genderbending fic because I really enjoyed writing this trope for Star Wars but honestly I’d be excited to writing anything rn, writer’s block is smothering me

What is your writing process like?

I have an idea somewhere between midnight and 3am, then I sit down and write it until it’s finished. Almost every single fic on my account was written in under five hours, I think (outside of my few long fics and series) the fic that it took me the longest to write was “our house (in the middle of the street)” which took me about 10 hours right through the night.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I guess if I have any it’s that I write everything in order all at once and if I get stuck on a scene I cut it and try something else entirely. I also rarely listen to music but if I do it has to be something loud where the words aren’t too distracting.

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

Alwaaaaayyyys after I’ve finished writing. I used to write on wattpad where I’d post as I wrote and all it meant was that nothing got finished. My problem is that I am fuelled off of interaction and if I’m getting interaction my brain doesn’t understand why I need to write any more. Like, we’re getting the dopamine hit so why bother giving them anything more. My brain is a silly goose, basically.

Which fic are you most proud of?

I’m not sure there’s any fic I’m most proud of. There’s definitely fics I’m less proud of, either because I know how little effort they took me and I think they’re kind of rubbish or because they just didn’t come out the way I wanted even though I put too much effort in. I guess the two series I’ve written for steddie— “of rags and silk (a costume)” and “your love is standing next to me” —are my favourites, I think they are my most imaginative and creative creations :)

How did you get the idea for shape it up (get it straight)?

Honestly a lot of what I wrote in 2023 and the thought process behind it is as much a mystery to me as it is to you but I think I just wanted to get into Mike’s head, dabble in Byler, and I love writing outsider POVs.

When writing i'm feeling devious (you're looking glamorous), what was something you didn’t expect?

That people would like it so much, to be honest. I was just having fun and writing something silly, I guess people do think I’m funny.

What inspired just like a rainbow (you know you set me free)?

I really wanted to add something to the Robin/Vickie tag but it was difficult because Vickie was so character-less in the show, so I focussed it mainly around Robin and Steve’s friendship which I have always loved and their single braincell fake dating plans (a trope I love for them, if anyone has recs… hmu)

What was your favorite part to write from chuck me a bouquet after the show, babe?

The goodbye scene and the reunion scene, I love angst.

How do/did you feel writing chuck me a bouquet after the show, babe?

I was deep in the trenches watching Succession, so I felt like Shiv Roy and I wanted to make Steve into Kendall.

What was the most difficult part of writing drag him back to the meeting place?

The song lyrics for this whole series was definitely the most difficult, fun, and rewarding experience, but for this fic in particular I think getting into the mindset of a 2014 tumblr user reversed any development of my frontal lobe.

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

“Carol climbs up, wrapped in a sheet, and yanks up the door to yell at whoever the fuck — But it’s Robin and she’s crying. It’s not even a thought, Carol just reels her into a hug. They’re not friends but it doesn’t matter. They’re something more. They’re Steve’s, they belong to him like luggage he’s left going round and round and round in an airport baggage claim.” – from “let’s make some music, make some money”, my favourite because I think it accidentally described the way I write all ST fanfic like the world is revolving solely around Steve, he’s my little guy I can’t help it.

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

I wish! I can only say that I hope there’s more coming to an ao3 page near you soon! Thank you for reading B)

Thank you to our author, @fivecenturiesverse, and our nominator, @spicysix! See more of fivecenturiesverse's works featured on our page throughout the day!

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

[oatmealdaydreams]

Tell It to Me, My Dearest Star

Almost done with this wonderful week of these dorks. Sorry for the 'blast from the past' bit at the beginning, I RAN with this (lmao). If ya want to be added or taken off the taglist, pls ask!

Pairing: Logince, gen

Trigger/Content Warning: insecurity, violent imagery/metaphors (I guess?) 

Description: Logan starts to infodump to Roman, but he stops himself before he can get “annoying”. Roman sees the lights dim in his friend’s eyes, and he refuses to let Logan feel so grey for any longer.

Extra: written for Day 6: Tell Me About It of @loginceweek2024! Features my headcanon that when Logan gets really excited or happy about something, his pupils and irises turn into stars (like a star shape instead of a normal circle) and his eyes glow a little more indigo. It operates a lot like Virgil’s purple eyeshadow.

Edit: so, I ended up writing them as implicitly queerplatonic and alterous. That was an accident, but we need more qpp and alterous partnerships always. Writing this drabble is also how I realized I'm alterous (lmao).

[Masterlist] | ao3 link

[read under the cut]

No matter what anyone else says, Roman cannot find anything better than listening to Logan speak about things that excite him. 

He’s aware he hasn’t been the most obvious about wanting to listen. In the past, he’s had a tendency to ignore Logan or joke at his expense. He’s silenced him before, and that… god, Roman still feels guilty over it. He was much less focused on ‘how will this affect him?’ and a lot more on desperately getting praise from wherever he could get it. He’s not proud of it. The Prince had been more in Survival Mode, and positive attention and praise was so scarce, and then everything he grew up on- all of his structure for right and wrong and do’s and don'ts- it all came crumbling down, and he- he- well, it got fucked real quick. When Logan and Roman finally talked calmly after such a long time of being opposed, he realized just how much in common they had when it came to being hurt. He’s trying to do better, now. He and the nerd are healing, together, and are trying for each other and themselves. Now, Roman refuses to give into old habits of saying shut up, and he encourages Logan to talk more. Now, Logan is much more mindful of his critiques towards Roman and his work, finally beginning to understand what Roman being the Ego actually means. And they’ve both apologized. Every time they feel they need to, every time the other needs apologetic closure, and only when they need to. If one of them starts saying sorry, I’m sorry for something they shouldn’t have to be sorry for, or have already expressed being sorry for, then the other will gently remind them that it’s okay, we’re past that, there’s no need for you to apologize, let’s just breathe for a minute. 

And they both have some mixed feelings over Janus to bond over, especially when he or Patton are still pricks. Maybe they don’t do it consciously, but those two have a lot to work through before certain things can be considered to be forgiven or not. Until then, tensions still rise in the air. 

One thing that remains very important for everyone to work on is not silencing literal Logic when he disagrees or brings up a different point. That’s a nasty habit they all developed at some point. Patton and Roman have done it the longest, then Virgil slowly fell into that line, then Janus was… Janus, and Remus only really did it during his introductory video to prove a point. Unlike most of the Others, Remus made sure that Logan understood he didn’t mean it to harm Logan, just so the Others would start listening to or acknowledging him once in a while. Well, in his own way, at least. Something about a stained, makeshift mini book of poetry making it to Logan’s desk, presumingly signed by the Duke with some weird Remus-typical note attached. It helped, as far as Logan’s concerned. It was the first apology he’d gotten in a long time. He and Remus would spend time together sometimes after that, after the whole situation with Working Through Intrusive Thoughts, and made some sort of… alliance? Friendship? Whatever it is, it works for them. They’re both finally getting listened to, now. In the ways that they need to be. And acknowledged, just like they both dreamed. 

From what Logan remembers, Virgil was the next to make an effort in healing his bond with the detective. It was awkward, to say the least, after realizing he was beginning to treat Logan like he was treated before his Acceptance. That realization was like a bullet to his chest, a brick to his head, a train- well, you get the point. The first attempted apology was horribly cringe- to Virgil, anyway- and nerve-wrecking and clumsy. After a few more quiet, honest talks in the middle of the night when neither could sleep, Logan slowly became less and less tense around him. Virgil developed a different habit, one where he checks in on the astrophile by leaning against him and letting himself rumble like a cat. It has the same effects as a cat purring, and it eventually became routine when the other couldn’t sleep. They’d meet in the nerd’s room- we already learned what happens when the Lights are in Virgil’s room for too long, so that’s a no-go- and lean against each other, either until someone was ready to talk or until they decided to sleep and cuddle the rest of the night away. 

Then, it was Roman. Out of everyone- well, every Side, technically Thomas had started working on things with his Logic sometime after Remus’ appearance, and others followed suit- he’s not proud to admit it took him more time than the other two to get out of his self-pitying head. So, when he first talked and apologized to his nerdy companion, Logan almost… he didn’t break down, not entirely, but there was a lot of anger and hurt that finally got released. Roman saw for himself the orange glow of it hurts, why, why, why, make it stop, please make it stop, and it terrified him. It terrified him because Logan was hurting so much- he still is, but he has some support now- and Roman was a part of the damn cause of it. That first apology ended with a sobbing, orange-eyed Logan being held tight in the knight’s arms, never to be left so alone ever again. That began their journey of revealing their hurt and pain to each other, and though Roman hadn’t been the first, he’d become the absolute closest to the poor astrophile rather quickly. It was like a switch flicked on in their brains, and… and it opened a lot of realizations for both of them. Logan learned what being the Ego entails for the princely Side, and realized how awful he’d been without truly noticing. 

Of course, all that being said, there’s still times when someone relapses and lashes out against the wrong people, or tells someone to shut up, no one likes listening to you when it’s been made known that’s the worst thing they can do. Luckily, with the help of those who are trying and are healing, there are apologies and weighted blankets and cuddle piles and half-jokes about something they know won’t hurt anyone. They’ll want movies without anyone’s triggers in them, and they’ll sleep until it’s time for dinner or until morning comes. 

But, of fucking course, not everyone is so nice and shit. Patton and Janus are seemingly in their own healing bubble, working with each other, but still they somehow in some damn way aren’t very good with the Others. Janus and Remus have become… complicated with each other, as Remus comes to Roman’s defense a lot more than either of them thought he would. The twins themselves are trying to reconnect after so many years of being separated and at opposite ends. 

Perhaps Janus and Patton are trying, but it’s just… well, it’s a lot more complicated with how things have gone. It’s not like they’re not trying. They are, in their own way, but all the damage done runs deep, deep, deep into the bones of bodies. Maybe it’s just easier to try with each other more than with the Others. Maybe, there’s just some unforgivable things, and some Sides who need more time. Maybe, just maybe… it’ll end up alright, someday, somehow, in some sort of mutual agreement of how to help Thomas. Maybe some things will never truly heal, will never truly be gone, but they all can still try and get as close to okay as they can. 

But I digress. Enough about the past! It’s done and gone. Why not focus on some brighter, better things?

Roman cannot find anything better than listening to Logan speak about things that excite him.

It’s not just because of his voice. Logan’s voice gets passionate when talks. You can hear the difference between things he says because they’re relevant and important, and the things that he knows eons-worth of knowledge on because he wants to. He’s a curious facet. If it interests him, truly, Roman’s seen him read and read and read until his eyes pop out his head- figuratively, Remus, you chaotic gremlin- and not stop unless someone can kindly force him into bed and sleep. Oh, it’s not just his wonderful voice. It’s also the way he lights up, the entirety of him, when he rants for hours and hours on things like constellations or Doctor Who or sea otters. It’s the way his hands flap excitedly as he paces and rambles. It’s the way he snaps his fingers without realizing, or when he clicks a forgotten pen mindlessly in one hand as he sits. He can’t keep still, not when he really talks and talks, no, how can someone keep still when all this repressed energy finally gets a chance to burst out and dance around? He bounces his leg or taps his fingers on the table, or he’ll even rock slightly in his seat. Maybe the pen clicking or the snapping can be a little annoying to hear, but it’s not that much and Roman will gladly endure any ‘annoyance’ so his beloved friend can stim all his excitement in a safe environment. He understands, to some degree- he stims too, he gets excited and can’t sit still, he gets it- and he knows that not everyone has the patience for snapping and clicking and rocking. Logan deserves to express himself, beyond anything, and Roman feels honoured that the detective feels comfortable enough to do it around him. 

Where was he going with this… oh, right!

It’s not just his stimming and his voice, though they’re very good reasons, but it’s also the way his eyes literally get starry. It’s similar to Virgil’s eyeshadow, for a point of reference, in how Roman theorizes it works. His pupils and irises turn into this star shape, and his eyes glow and shimmer this vibrant indigo that he hasn’t really seen before. It’s- oh, it’s magnificent! Roman could stare for hours at those wonderful eyes. He could, and he has, and they’re so beautiful. He’s… god, he adores Logan so much and is so glad he gets to see Logan like he does. They used to be constant opposites, and now- now, he gets to be close with him. 

Roman knows how he sounds, but it’s not like that. It’s not in a romantic sense, not fully. Maybe it’s, like, semi-romantic-ish. But mostly it’s this endless care for his friend- best friend, if he so dares- and he’s so happy. He’s happy! He’s happy with Logan. It’s this platonic-not-platonic, queer, strange feeling that makes his heart alive. He’s not sure how to describe it. All he knows, thanks to building up courage to talk it out with Logan, is that his astrophile feels the same. Neither knows how to label it, but maybe it’s better unlabelled. It’s them, and they’re happy with the way they are. They’re happy with each other, and that’s all that matters. 

“-reading a book on jellyfish breeds a few days ago, and I learned about Aurelia Aurita. They’re more commonly known as Moon Jellyfish. Did you know they went into space as an experiment in 1991? They also are the oldest multi-organ animal, dating back 500 million years. Think of how far back that dates, Roman! Dinosaurs only date back 250 million years, about half the amount of Moon Jellyfish. Creatures older than the prehistoric era! Oh, and get this: they also- also…”

Logan stops forcefully himself mid-sentence, stilling his pacing and pen clicking he’d been doing. His eyes, which are star-shaped and vibrant, fade back into that greyish blue, circular thing they usually are. The light literally dims from his eyes, and his face and body and stance. Roman’s eyebrows furrow, mildly confused and concerned for his companion. Logan puts his pen in his shirt pocket with the rest of them, looking a little lost and hazy. He blinks, shaking his head slightly, and turns to Roman. His prince has been sitting in his chair and staring this entire time, he notes, and he sits across from him on the other side of the table. They’re in the Mindscape’s Library. Rather it’s more Logan’s library, since he’s usually the only one- besides maybe Janus- who uses it. Point is Logan’s forcing himself to be still and quiet, and it hurts a soft part of Roman’s chest to see. 

“I’m sorry, Roman. I hadn’t realized I was rambling,” Logan says cooly, distant, and won’t look at Roman. 

Instead, the sweet jellyfish enthusiast looks at his hands. His hands, which twitch with the need to move move move but are otherwise denied that need. He seems to be bracing. The faint reminder of why and how much he did this in discussions and what bracing feels like- Roman knows, he’s had to do the same to survive around certain people and in certain situations- and the hurt in his chest burns the wrong way. It’s not a good burning, not like when the little fire in his heart crackles happily. No, this is an icky burning like he’s a witch set to burn for his sins on a pyre. 

“No need for an apology, specs,” Roman speaks soft and kind, eyes reflecting the same as his voice. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, Roman. However, I do know I can be annoying, and I wouldn’t want to annoy you with irrelevant information.”

Oh, Logan, no. No no, you could never annoy me with that voice of yours.

Roman’s gaze of concern worsens. 

“Logan- hey, hey, shh, it’s just me, Roman, okay?”

The Prince immediately soothes once his nerd flinches at the mere mention of his own name, and it makes his hurting chest ache. It aches his heart, to see him scared and tense and so sure he’s at fault. How did it dissolve so quickly into this? Where did his ranting, rambling starlight go? Why is his precious detective hurting, right now, in this moment? 

“What’s going on in that brilliant head of yours, starlight?” 

Logan eases a little at the pet name, knowing only Roman calls him that. He looks up at his knight in royal attire, his shoulders slumping once he sees the soft soft soft gaze in his eyes. 

It’s safe, he tries to remind himself and his mean brain, it’s safe with Roman. 

“There you go, my star. Now, what’s going on? How can I help you feel better?”

“I-” Logan swallows around an unnoticed lodge in his throat. “I don’t know. I’m just… I didn’t realize I was talking for so long.”

“There’s nothing wrong with talking, my star. You weren’t annoying me. I’m not going anywhere, not unless you want me to.”

“Wait- please, don’t? Please?” 

“Oh, my dearest, I’m here, I’m staying. No need to fret, dearest.”

Logan nods, more to himself than anything. His hands twitch again. 

“It’s not good to repress when you need to stim, starlight. It’s okay, you’re safe with me.”

Roman tilts his head slightly, smiling this little encouraging smile that Logan can’t help but fall prey to. He lets his fingers tap quietly, slowly on the table. Just one hand, the other now supports his chin. It’s as if he were testing to see if it’s really okay. Roman remains patient, wearing the same smile as his star slowly relaxes and stops regulating the way his fingers tap tap tap against the wood. He still wonders why Logan suddenly went from passionate rambling to that quiet bracing, but it can wait until later. 

“Feeling better, my dear detective?” Roman catches the lightest blush on Logan’s face as he playfully rolls his eyes, reacting so because of the pet name. 

His detective huffs a smile, “A little bit, yes. Thank you, dear.”

“I’m always here, Detective Jellyfish.”

Logan snorts. 

“Now, what happened there? You were so vibrant, and then the grey took that away.”

His starlight sets his support-hand next to his tapping one, letting it tap as well. He sighs, looking away from his prince again.

“It’s just one little thought. It shouldn’t matter.”

“But it does, doesn’t it?”

“Yes…”

“Are you comfortable sharing it with me, my dearest?”

“It’s- yes, I am. It’s just this thought that I’m annoying you. I used to, didn’t I? I was always told to shut up because I talked too long, and I- I guess… ugh, I don’t know. It’s like this echo that I hear but don’t hear, telling me to be quiet, don’t annoy you, to shut up. It’s so dumb.”

“It’s not dumb-”

Logan gives him a look, sassy side-eye in its finest. 

“Okay, it’s a little dumb, but that’s okay. Mean thoughts are stupid. And they aren’t right now, specs. They’re echoes of past bullshit. What’s Remus always saying, there’s no rhyme or reason to it? Didn’t you say they don’t reflect on a person’s character? Hm?”

Logan looks back to him, fully, finally, and this horribly vulnerable confusion sparkles in his eyes. 

“You listened to me?”

Roman bares a soft smile, hoping his eyes reflect his honesty. 

“Yes, I did. I’ve listened to you a lot more than I let on, specs.”

“Oh,” comes a watery voice.

“Yes, ‘oh’- oh, oh, my dear darling nerd, can I touch you?”

Logan shakes head, “I- I can’t, ‘m sorry-”

“It’s okay, sweet jellie. Need a weighted blanket? I think you left yours in my room from our movie night.”

“Please?”

“I’ve got it. I’ll be right back, okay?”

Logan nods as he sniffles, and Roman quickly sinks out. Before Logan’s mean thoughts from earlier even try to resurface, his prince is back with a star-planet-themed weighted blanket in his arms. He’s changed into soft things as well, and Logan finds himself snapping into his prized onesie. Roman carefully tugs the blanket over Logan, placing it around his shoulders and bundling his precious star into the sensory-safe fabric. Logan wipes his tears away, sniffling again. Roman sits back down at his seat once he’s sure his star is situated. 

“You were talking about moon jellies, right? What fact were you going to say, Star Bundle?”

Logan blinks, blushing at the pet name. Stupid Roman and his stupid creativity. It’s not fair that he knows him so well.

“...you really want me to continue?”

“Yes, yes, I do. Tell it to me, my dearest star,” Roman smirks as he purrs the pet name. 

Logan doesn’t pout, thank you, but it’s close. 

“Okay… well, did you know they glow in the dark?”

Roman’s fond look is all the reassurance he needs as he continues his jellyfish ranting, those beautiful star-shaped and vibrant indigo eyes returning.

Taglist: @lost-in-thought-20 @thegoldenduckie

[omegapheromone]

do you have any advice for someone who is struggling to figure out their misce identity?

personally i’ve always just assumed that i’m an omega (because i’m a smaller person and more submissive?) and gone with that, but after thinking about it more i really don’t think i am?

i think that i have a lot of “typical” or “normal” omega traits, but i feel much more like an alpha? so uhh yeah hopefully this isn’t too annoying

Hiya! Not at all annoying, this ask is a great opportunity for me to talk about some topics I've been wanting to talk about for a while, actually! I will write a longer post but here's everything, VERY shortly:

First of all, ask yourself why you ascribe specific traits or features to specific dynamics, and WHY in your mind being small and submissive means one HAS TO be an Omega. Does this mean that absolutely no omega ever can be tall, muscular, strong, dominant? Does this mean that not a single alpha ever can be small or submissive? Where did these mental associations come from? Could it be that you have subconsciously taken the most common and stereotypical fictional traits of "alphas and omegas", even if you know logically it doesn't work in real life, and are trying to force those stereotypes onto yourself? Would you tell anyone ELSE but yourself that they cannot be an alpha because they are small and submissive? Or would you tell anyone else that they cannot be an omega, because they are tall and strong and dominant? Or are these things you're only trying to force on yourself because you think you should fit some stereotype that's completely based on fictional characters?

My tone there isn't meant to sound harsh at all- I go WAY more in detail below, but the post is long, like, genuinely very long, and I'm just trying to summarize the simplest and most important point as concisely as I can in a string of questions to ask yourself- the point in ALL of this is that your identity should be dictated by what feels right and good to YOU, not what stereotype you fit into. People are always more complex than stereotypes, and if you feel more alpha, then that's all you need. Physical traits, personality, sexual preferences, etc- none of these things dictate what your dynamic is or should be.

That being said, I have to give a fair warning. This post WILL end up being LONG.

Another thing- I personally am an omega and have always identified as such, so I'm gonna tag @pack-the-pack and more specifically @miscealignment a.k.a. Null's more misce-focused blog- not only do I find his opinions interesting and generally insightful when it comes to all matters misce, but I think Null will probably have more to say about the alpha part specifically. I'd also like to tag @beta-adjacent for similar reasons! Further down, I'm going to talk about my own personal perceptions of the dynamics, and my point if view as an omega only goes so far, ESPECIALLY when I've never really questioned the fact that I am an omega, even when OTHER people have (more on that way, way later.)

With those out of the way, my actual response will be posted under the cut just so I don't clog anyone's dashboard too much! Once again, prepare for rambling and a LOT of text. Sorry in advance (；´∀｀)

About Misce- Your Mental Image;

a.k.a. let's start with a little imagination. ...or lack of, maybe?

Firstly, I would ask you to evaluate what you think of when you think about each of the dynamics. While you're completely free to your personal interpretation as is everyone, I tend to think that if your mental images look something like "Alpha=dom, top, strong, masculine", and "Omega=sub, bottom, feminine, dainty and emotional" and "Beta=side character", you're not REALLY looking at misce dynamics, rather, you're more thinking of a highly stereotypical and (subconsciously) heteronormative version of omegaverse that is (often) used almost exclusively only for the sake of making mpreg possible in m/m fiction. And to be clear, yet again: Misce is NOT Omegaverse.

This specific way of interpreting alpha/omega/beta dynamics is literally just straight people gender norms repackaged to be forced onto gay/queer people, and is not in any way realistic to 99.99% of irl gay/queer relationships, nevermind people. A lot of misce folks are also some flavour of lgbtq+ anyway, and you can see why it could become an issue to impose heteronormative roles onto people who do not, by definition, fit said roles. Here's what I mean:

"Alphas are tall, big and strong and handsome dominant leader types who provide for the physically weak, dainty and small and traditionally attractive, emotional, submissive omegas. Omegas bear and raise the children, while alphas work and earn money. Omegas are at a social disadvantage because of their dynamic, and alphas often benefit from theirs, therefore it's not unusual to see omegas being exploited by alphas. And Betas are the 'other people' who don't fit these roles, I guess."

Now switch "alpha" to man, and "omega" to woman, and read it again. (And for an extra spicy take, switch "beta" to "lgbtq+ folk"... just saying.) See what I mean?

This is a common portrayal in a LOT of omegaverse fiction regardless of what biological sex/gender the characters are, and I'm SURE you've seen portrayals like this many, many times. In fiction, there's nothing wrong with interpretations or depictions like this! I know some people are unable to read works of fiction critically and think that using portrayals like these is somehow inherently bad, and sure, this specific market is definitely oversaturated as well- but the thing is that for many authors and creatives, applying these existing (male and female) roles and forms of discrimination onto imagined secondary genders such as alphas and omegas is a way to explore gender discrimination, homophobia, misogyny, social issues, etc in writing. But the crucial part is that this ONLY WORKS IN FICTION. Omegaverse is fiction, so it's fine. But Misce is not fiction. Misce is identities and people.

About Misce- Identity, NOT Tropes Or Roles;

a.k.a. let's not base real people identities on fictional stuff (or sexual preferences, for that matter).

You cannot apply those previously discussed concepts to real, living people's identities. This much is obvious. Cathegorizing real people into "alphas are the strong and big and dominant ones", "betas are the in-between ones", and "omegas are the dainty and small and submissive ones" doesn't work and should never be done to begin with.

You also cannot cathegorize people based on their sexual preferences- "Alpha" does not automatically mean they top or dom. "Omega" does not automatically mean "bottom" or "sub". Beta does not automatically mean vers/switch. Sexual preferences are separate from dynamics, and you should not assume anything based on someone's dynamic to begin with. While misce has its sexual aspects to many, it's almost never ONLY sexual. In my experience, if anything, it's a very small part of being misce to most people I know.

This is all to say- your sexual preferences do not and should not determine your dynamic in any way- so whatever you like in bed should not make you feel like you need to identify with some specific dynamic. You could be the most submissive bottom on earth and be an alpha and that would not be weird or "wrong" or "strange". I think just about any misce person could tell you this- anyone who understands that misce ISN'T "just an irl larp of omegaverse", at least.

This is a good opportunity for me to segway into the next part- misce is based on a LOT more than "just" the most stereotypical omegaverse roles. For a lot of people, being misce connects to other forms of non-human identity, whether that's being otherkin, therian, alterhuman, whatever. I'm not actually all that familiar with those things, as I've never bothered getting involved or familiar with said communities. I've never felt human either, but I struggle to figure out the specifics of it so I just don't bother- I'm content like this, and don't feel the need to label it or try to "pick a specific animal" or whatever. I'm happy being just... a being (lol) and that's enough for me.

About Misce- Deeply Nonhuman Humans;

a.k.a. there are two wolves inside of you...

...However, I recognize that with this part- me not really feeling like my misce self is connected to animal-type nonhumanity specifically, I am NOT in the majority.

I believe "miscecanis" and "miscelupus" were the first(?) terms that utilized the now-popularized term "misce" in them, and they specifically refer to canines (any, but often dogs) and wolves. Considering omegaverse itself is also based on that (proven to be unreliable/misinformed) study on wolf pack structures from ages ago, it makes sense that many misce folk would also identify with canine-adjacent creatures- I do too, I just dislike using those labels since that's nowhere near the most notable part of my own sense of non-human-ness. But I digress. A lot of misce folk, especially ones who identify with specific animals, have created their own labels to match the animals they identify most with- miscelapin, miscevulpes, miscefelis, etc. The catchall term for most misce folk, esp ones who feel that their "animal-identifying side" is strongly connected to being misce, tends to be misceanimalis.

Personally, I just say "misce" since a non-animal-attached term doesn't seem to exist at the moment and to me, being an omega isn't necessarily a non-human animal-identity thing at all- but that's just me and I don't think there's a "right" or "wrong" way to personally interpret and "be" misce.

All that being said, generally, the misce community tends to lean towards a more instinct-based social model, pack dynamics and emotional/non-verbal etc communication. I think that much is pretty obvious anyway. So, naturally, the dynamics themselves are often interpreted through that lens- "what's the 'pack role' of any given dynamic?"

Generally, everyone has their own interpretation of this, and that's totally alright- misce looks a bit different for every individual, and definitions are fluid enough that the answer you get depends on who you ask. Speaking of which...

About Misce- Dynamics;

a.k.a. this is the part where podcast bros get so confused

So, while I'm going to now list a few generic concepts/roles/tropes/traits that TEND TO be associated with specific dynamics, just know that it's completely fine to interpret them differently and come up with your own stuff for your own identity. Misce stuff is generally kind of vague and definitions depend on the person you ask anyway- Should you ask someone else to explain what kind of traits they associate most with various dynamics, you might get a different answer- what, in my eyes, is a "commonly omega trait" might be a beta trait in someone else's mind, and so on.

These summaries are based on my own personal experiences combined with speculation, and include a lot of generalization in places- if you identify as any of these dynamics and feel that my description of said dynamic is "off" or not accurate to your lived misce experience, please know that I'm not at ALL saying your experience isn't valid, or that your identity as that dynamic is being questioned. As stated before- everyone defines things differently, and there is no right or wrong way to define or BE misce.

Also: I'm going to go through both positive and negative traits for each dynamic based on my personal observations of patterns I've noticed. I WILL include a "worst case scenario" thing about each dynamic, just to illustrate how sometimes traits may manifest as genuinely bad/abusive behaviours. Every dynamic is capable of being abusive and toxic, and there is no specific dynamic that is "more likely to be abusive" than the others.

☽ ALPHAS • [ α ] ☾

"Providers, protectors, guardians and defenders, responsible for the pack staying safe, well and the members having their needs met."

Often, alphas are seen as the more physical/tangible providers, "mirroring" the more emotional/psychological form of nurture provided by omegas (more on that later). This DOES NOT mean Alphas are always "the breadwinners"- it takes many forms. That COULD be working to provide a stable income and housing, sure, but it's equally as possible for an alpha to prefer being a homemaker- making food for the pack, cleaning and organizing, etc can be just as much a form of "providing" as working for an income could be. The distinction here is that where omegas commonly tend to show their care in a more emotional and intangible way, Alphas are (often, not always) the ones who will buy their friends little trinkets and souvenirs that remind the alpha of them, cook up meals to provide and ensure the physical wellbeing of their closest ones, offer to help with menial tasks and so on. It's all about trying to ensure the people closest to them are well, and doing what they can to keep it that way.

Alphas often get a reputation for being protective over their loved ones, and while in fiction, esp omegaverse manhwa/manga/webtoons/etc this tends to get portrayed as "possessive toxic masculinity" type tropes (looking at you, 'Terminus', 'Kiss me, liar' and 'Night by the sea'...) this also has many forms, and isn't at all limited to Alphas only.

Alphas DO tend to feel very responsible/protective over their friends and/or pack though, more than other dynamics do- a sort of "hurt me, I don't care, but hurt my friends, you're dead" type attitude is quite common to alphas in my experience, at least as an omega observer. From what I can tell, Alphas derive a lot of pride and satisfaction from being able to support and lift up those closest to them, and while generally Alphas aren't fond of conflict any more than any other dynamic, they usually WILL go to bat for their friends/pack, argue to ensure their friends are taken seriously, stand up for them, and so on. From what I've seen, at times, it's the Alpha that feels more upset over someone being nasty to said alpha's friend, than the friend is themselves.

Alphas are generally seen as the ones who take care of the physical needs and safety of the pack- "safety" makes it sound like they're out there fighting wild beasts and evil spirits or something, which isn't really the case when you think "modern world", but the point is they often strive to ensure that everyone they love feels safe and comfortable around them, and that sources of stress/anxiety/worry are removed. This could take the form of helping a friend pay their rent when a friend is broke and the Alpha is able to pitch in, or it could be helping someone fill out job applications if they're finding it overwhelming to do alone, or helping a depressed friend clean and cook so that they're less stressed out and are able to recover without the additional stress of having to plan and think about food and nutrition. It could be giving massages to help someone relax, or it could be letting a friend come over just to sleep at their place when the friend is struggling to feel safe on their own.

Basically- some personality traits I've noticed many of my alpha- and alpha-coded friends tend to have, would be that they're generally very caring people who tend to put those most important to them first before themselves. Often Alphas will step in to shield others from injustice and/or perceived threats without hesitation- be that unfair treatment or a stranger being a little too friendly at the club. Alphas may or may not talk about their problems openly, but the ones who do tend to only talk about the problems and how to solve or overcome them, NOT how it has made them feel and if they're feeling alright, but when/if they DO talk about their feelings more honestly, it's basically always a huge sign of trust and closeness. A majority of my alpha friends tend to be either gift-givers who love showing appreciation in the form of presents or homemade food, OR they're silent providers, whose doors are always open (within reason) and will always be there to provide a place for their friends to crash at when said friends just need a break somewhere safe and comfortable. Often, they're both. (Shoutout to my closest irl friend who is very alpha-coded and keeps telling me I can just go to his place to sleep if I want to get away from either family or loneliness at home in a diff city lmao. I always feel like far too much of a burden so I never have, but I genuinely appreciate the offers so much)

Alphas, at least based on my humble observations, have some fairly commonly shared negative traits as well, such as being the type to run themselves to the ground to ensure others are well (especially emotionally- it's a stereotype that Alphas are bad at expressing emotion, but it's somewhat true that often Alphas will try to avoid their own struggles and emotions by constantly rushing to care and provide for others instead of sitting down to feel their emotions lmao). Alphas tend to overwork themselves for the sake of others, and overall share a "neglect self for the sake of others" thing that omegas also have, just. Different flavour.

Some alphas do also tend to have a bit of an ego at times, especially pertaining to things they excel at, and can indeed get jealous of their friends/pack-mates/partners/etc. Occasionally, this manifests as a form of entitlement, often based on the alpha feeling like they've sacrificed so much for the person that they feel like they "deserve something in return". In most cases, it's nothing outrageous- just time, effort, and acknowledgement of all the effort, though I find that sometimes alphas tend to expect others to be able to "read the Alpha's mind" and just figure out what the Alpha needs without ever communicating it out loud (this could be due to a fear of being too "demanding" or too "overbearing" which many Alphas I've known have struggled with, likely specifically because that's often how Alphas get stereotyped, leading to most Alphas trying hard to show they are NOT like the stereotype. I can imagine it's a struggle!).

At times, Alphas may be prone to being sort of control-freaks about certain things. This usually isn't an issue for most, but it sometimes shows through in their personalities as being frustrated if things aren't done "the way they like, when they like". There's various reasons- for some, it's because they're used to doing things one way and feel that it is the best way, for others, it's a feeling of "knowing best", and for some, it's a sense of wanting to have control over how things are done or hoe they happen, because not having that control causes anxiety.

On the darker side of things, some alphas may become genuinely possessive over people, often subconsciously feeling like they're entitled to and feel that they have "claimed" a person, and feel that they should be able to decide things for said person/people. When this happens, it's usually also coupled with some degree of idolization/objectification of whoever is the subject of these feelings, and the alpha may get excessively upset if the actual person doesn't completely match the "mental idealized version" in their head- this could happen for a number of reasons from something as simple as the person deciding to change something about their appearance, to having a personality that doesn't "match" the one the Alpha had "imagined". This can lead to issues with some Alphas being controlling and/or obsessive over everything, and may escalate to worse abuse based on a desire to "control" or "own". This kind of a thing is NOT exclusive to Alphas, anyone can be shitty, but this specific form of it is slightly more common with alphas specifically, over other forms of shitty/abusive patterns.

☽ OMEGAS • [ Ω ] ☾

"Emotional providers and nurturers, often take the role of maternal figures whether symbolically or literally. Caring and loving and very in tune with the emotional needs of those closest to them."

Omegas are often portrayed as more sensitive to pheromones than other dynamics, a.k.a. better at "reading people" and responding to the needs of others before they may even be consciously aware of said needs. Of course, IRL pheromones aren't a thing, but omegas are still very in-tune with the emotional states of others and as such, often, omegas can sense a conflict brewing even before it takes place, and prefer to avoid that if possible- they'd prefer to figure out what the cause of upset is, and address the feelings BEFORE they escalate. While the emotional hyper-awareness is useful in many situations, at times it instead results in excessive overthinking and stressing out over very mundane interactions.

The pack roles omegas are most often portrayed as having are usually things that concern the emotional wellbeing and social harmony of the pack, ensuring that its members are feeling cared for, seen&heard and understood, as well as being the "caretakers" for children/young members in the pack. Omegas are often great listeners, and will do so for hours. They're good at validating and echoing the feelings of others, and many omegas actually derive satisfaction from knowing they were able to help someone feel better- even when there wasn't anything to feel BAD about- just being able to offer emotional validation, comfort, or improve someone's mood tends to make omegas feel happy. In general, many Omegas are able to empathize very deeply, and tend to be good at "seeing things from the perspective of others".

Omegas are often portrayed as especially fond of children and having strong maternal instincts towards kids, both those of others, as well as their own. Stereotypically, omegas are portrayed as wanting children of their own (or, as some like to call them, pups), but this isn't really a "every omega ever" thing. This type of maternal instinct can present in MANY ways, and doesn't always even require children in the equation. Being a "chronically 'mom-friend' type person" can be one manifestation of that, for example, while in other cases, Omegas thrive in older sibling/uncle/etc roles, rather than parental ones.

Omegas are often portrayed as highly emotional/emotion-driven themselves, with a highly developed sense of empathy and compassion. This sometimes manifests as overthinking, anxiety, social exhaustion, hyper-empathy, being easily swayed by the reactions and/or feelings of others, a tendency to seek emotional approval and a likelihood to choose people-pleasing over their own wants and needs. While Alphas are more likely to neglect their emotional well-being, Omegas are somewhat an opposite, and tend to neglect taking proper physical care of themselves in favour of "being there" for someone else. Similarly, while Alphas tend to bottle up or brick-wall their emotions and instead keep physically busy, Omegas tend to retreat and isolate and neglect their bodies when feeling bad.

On the more dark side- which I feel is SO important to talk about as I rarely see people bring this up- Omegas, thanks to their high level of emotional intelligence, are also often very skilled at subtle but devastating emotional manipulation and even abuse. Omegas are great at playing the victim to gain sympathy or pity when it suits them, and are great at appealing to the emotions and feelings of other people to sway them- essentially, omegas tend to make for good liars and manipulators. Omegas are far more likely to utilize manipulation tactics, emotional abuse, self-victimization and mind games, than other dynamics- that isn't to say that alphas or betas are incapable of it, or that this is the ONLY way Omegas may be abusive, nor am I saying that every omega is abusive, obviously- but it's good to keep in mind, especially given the fact that certain medias love to portray omegas as "innocent pure uwu cinnamon rolls who can never do any harm".

☽ BETAS • [β] ☾

Let's be real for a moment and skip the quotation mark description I did for both Alphas and Omegas. There is a reason why I left Betas last, but it's not why you might think.

Both due to the fact that in SO MUCH of omegaverse fiction, Betas are simply nothing but an afterthought in a story about an a/o couple, as well as the fact that people have different ideas of things, a "widely accepted common portrayal of what a Beta is like" doesn't really exist. I feel that it's especially important to acknowledge this specifically because this means that people have VERY different headcanons for betas, both in terms of omegaverse, as well as in terms of what it means to be a beta. It WILL look a little different for every individual beta, likely far more so than it does for the other dynamics. The way I see it, there's both good and bad parts about this- the identity of a beta is less "restricted by" or "bound to" any specific traits or aspects, BUT at the same time, a lot of people may struggle with this as well, potentially feeling like they may not "fit in" or that their personal identity as a beta isn't "enough" or is "too strange". The misce community grows over time, mostly because people who were into omegaverse in fiction come across it and go, "wait, I can just be (dynamic)? Cool!" Which often leads to fundamental misunderstandings, and is an entirely different topic to begin with.

Anyway, what I am getting at is that the more "old school" misce blogs and folk, from what I TEND TO SEE, are far more open to all kinds of beta headcanons and interpretations, while the "new blood" coming in (which, hey, my blog isn't that old either, so)- tends to be people who see betas as "the normal people", basically equivalent to not even having a dynamic at all. So let's start there- let's lose that idea right away. Betas are NOT "no dynamic" or "neutral dynamic". Betas are Betas- and people who are NOT misce, and have NO dynamic identity, are the neutral/no-dynamic ones. Those people are not betas by default.

So, what ARE betas?

Short answer? You tell me.

Longer answer? It's largely up to individual interpretation.

Longest answer? ...

The way I have always seen this is that there are various interpretations of a "beta" and none of them are inherently wrong or right. If you're misce and you identify as a beta in the way they are most commonly depicted as being "the normal people of omegaverse", not having cycles (aside from menstrual ones for afab betas), not having specific traits/skills/etc, and just "being normal (in comparison to alphas and omegas)" then that's entirely valid and just as good as any other interpretation. What matter most is that YOU are happy, feel represented, and have a label you like.

However, if you identify differently as a beta- perhaps you DO have a cycle, whether that is a rut or a heat or a mixture of both, either or, or something completely different- that's also just as good- as long as you feel like yourself. (I didn't spend time talking about ruts and heats in the sections for alphas and omegas, since it's quite straightforward, but I may make a post on that at some point.) For now though- I DO actually believe I can think of at least some commonly shared beta-traits, similar to how I did for the previous sections. They may not apply to every interpretation of misce betas, but that's a given.

So, what traits are common to Betas, then?

In my experience, I find that many of my beta-coded or beta friends, they all share a certain energy that's hard for me to explain. Betas, in my eyes, seem very lively- not necessarily that they are "more energetic" or "happier" or anything, it's more like, they seem to be very "alive" in some strange way I cannot quite describe, but it makes me feel good by proxy. The way I see it, Betas, regardless of how introverted they are in terms of personality, are almost always incredibly easy to talk to, have really comforting presences, and overall make any friend group feel "complete" and "balanced".

This is actually something I noticed very strongly at Pride yesterday! A bunch of my friends are Betas, a good few are Alpha, and a couple are other Omegas (at least, in terms of how I tend to see them), and without fail, Betas always feel like the glue that makes the group feel complete. In MANY cases, they're the bridge between myself and people I've never even met, and their presence lifts everyone's spirits. Betas make groups feel like teams instead of a handful of individuals sharing a space.

Not only that- they're INSANELY resourceful and prepared. As soon as I mentioned my shoes were starting to chafe, two band-aids were IMMEDIATELY handed to me by one of my very beta-coded friends. If anyone is going to survive the apocalypse, I'm betting on the betas in a heartbeat. They're prepared, they know how to keep themselves AND their friends alive, they're good at organizing stuff and delegating tasks to the most appropriate people. Whoever thinks Alphas are at the top and rule the world are WRONG. It's Betas. It's always Betas. If they stopped existing, the world would grind to a halt in less than 12 hours, I'm calling it now. Betas get shit done and make it work, and not only that, they can gigure out what your strengths are, and can figure out which tasks you'd be best at. I'm 100% certain that almost every competent manager, strategist, advisor, expert, scout, spy, organizer, consultant, etc. Is always a Beta. If you want solid advice and good insights with anything practical, ask a Beta. They will either know the answer, or will point you to someone else who does.

From what I've observed, Betas are clever, resourceful, creative and innovative, good at planning ahead AND coming up with ideas on the fly. In terms of pack roles, it fully makes sense to me to view Betas as the leaders and practical thinkers who ensure things work. While Alphas may be the kind to defend the pack from external threats, the Betas are the ones who will help you avoid the threats in the first place. Omegas may be good at predicting and avoiding conflict and resolving feelings that may lead to internal disagreements, but Betas are the ones who will SOLVE conflicts, come up with compromises, and ensure nobody is treated unfairly.

And honestly, this is why I hope misce betas chime in! Please describe your experiences as Betas and of being a beta in misce communities, what it means to you and who you are, etc. In the notes? As I said many times- my observations only go so far.

About Misce- Personal Experience;

a.k.a. this is the part where I ramble even more.

So, I've talked about various stuff, and this is the second-to-last part. In the last part, I will try to provide my personal advice and takes, so skip there if my personal life experiences do not interest you at all. This part is just something I wanted to include, because while I've never personally really questioned my dynamic identity, I want to talk about things that COULD have made me question it, and why.

Omega.

I've always identified as one so strongly that I confidently named my blog "omegapheromone" and refer to myself online as "Gamie", a play on the word "Omega" itself, just rearranged and one letter off. I identified as an omega before I knew what misce was.

But, the people around me haven't been so confident about it.

I don't know if I'll have deleted that post by the time this one is finally done, or by the time you're reading this, whether that's the same day or a year or more from this post's date of posting- but I very recently shared a selfie, a face reveal of sorts. If it's deleted, let me describe myself in it: an androgynous/boyish person with pastel-coloured hair and clothes.

From that selfie, you wouldn't think it, especially with the angle and such- but I'm actually quite tall (167cm/5'5", almost 5'6" or so). Tall, and I have strangely broad shoulders and back for an AFAB person. I'm actually taller and often more "broad" than many of my friends, and in the past, when hanging out with friends, I've heard the "so are you the 'man' in the relationship" type comments when people have mistaken me and any of my friends for a couple. This is how people, even other queer people, tend to view me for some reason. It doesn't bother me TOO much these days, but it used to, and I still find myself wishing I was smaller, shorter, more "dainty" so that people would immediately think "oh, an omega", instead of assuming I'm an "alpha" (or in the case of real world, assuming I'm the assertive and sexually dominant type). I'd like it if people looked at me and, instead of feeling like I'm the type to care for and protect them, saw me as something they want to take care of and protect. It sounds incredibly cliché, but after living 20+ years with this being my experience (being seen as the type that protects ans dotes on others and whatnot), it's just something that's stuck with me. All my exes have approached me with the assumption that I was a dominant type, often also flat out thinking I was a cis dude (somehow, though I guess in the past my sense of fashion wasn't as "cutesy", and instead was more edgy). They weren't turned off by the fact that I flat out had to tell them, no, I'm very much a bottom and you cannot make me top for the life of me, trust me, it WILL NOT be good for either of us. I'd say "lucky me" but the most notable case turned out to be abusive and controlling, so I can't really say that, either. Of course, as I said above, sexual preferences have NOTHING to do with one's dynamic, for me it just happens to coincide that I'm an omega, a bottom, AND for some reason, have a very assertive/dominant aura despite not being either of those things, and as a result, to me, it feels like people are constantly just mistaking me for the "generic portrayal of an alpha".

As much as I complain about feeling dejected that I doubt I'll ever REALLY have the experience where "oh I want to dote on and protect him" is the other person's very first impression/thought, I've made peace with it. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter so much- there's someone for everyone, or however the saying goes.

Still, it's interesting. For as long as I can remember, people have described me with words like "intimidating", saying that they've been afraid to approach because I look like I'm somehow either "too cool" for them, or "wouldn't want to talk" or whatever. Maybe I've built walls that are just too high after getting bullied as a child, or maybe my general detachment and aloofness have made me come across as cold and unwilling to make friends. It's not true though- I do genuinely enjoy meeting people and making friends. To an extent I'm aloof, and at times I will just disappear for a while before acting like no time passed at all, but that's not me trying to be distant on purpose at all.

Anyway, all of that is to say, I've never doubted my omega-ness. I've identified as one since I was a teen and read my first omegaverse fanfics. It's just something I've known. Sometimes I've wondered if I should TRY to force myself to be more of a top and pretend to be an Alpha, but the idea is just uncomfortable. I'd just be lying, both to myself and any potential partner having to experience it- and I don't like how lying to myself feels at all. It's like playing a character I hate, a mockery or parody of who I actually am, and it just makes me feel bad. I refuse to define myself based on the assumptions OTHER PEOPLE make about me, based on my height, build, "vibe" or anything else. If they make an assumption and are wrong about it, that's on THEM for making an assumption. I'm not going to cut my legs off just to be shorter, and I'm not going to strave myself (again) just to seem "dainty and fragile and weak and in need of protection" either. Fuck that, I have internal organ damage from that already, so no thanks, I'm not going to make that worse.

The Advice

the part where I actually answer the question asked.

Alright, so the question bears repeating since I've rambled so long it literally took an entire day to write this post;

Do I have any advice? Some. Most of it I've touched on already. Sit down with yourself openly and honestly, and question what your concepts are based on. Are you forcing yourself to fit a fictional stereotype thar was never meant to suit real life people to begin with, or do you ACTUALLY identify with something? Sit down with what your idea of misce as a whole is, and question what it means to you, what your place in it is, and take time to get familiar with various portrayals of all different kinds of dynamics, not just the most stereotypical ones. Domestic soft homemaker alphas, CEO boss dom omegas, betas who AREN'T just "normal guy in a world of alphas and omegas". Also even if you find a list of "traits that (dynamic xyz) has always!!!!", take your time to look at it. Are there alternative ways to interpret it? Can some traits show up differently? Does "protective" always mean "possessive"? Could it not mean "caring, concerned of their friends' wellbeing, the type to stay up until 4am to ensure a friend gets home safe and texts them, and if they don't, will physically drive over to check on them"? You get the idea.

"Because I'm a smaller person and more submissive?" - I already talked a Lot about this, but why are these things "inherently omega" traits in your mind, anon? Try saying this out loud: "Every omega is a small person, and every omega is always submissive, no matter what." If it feels uncomfortable to state that confidently as fact, then you likely never believed that yourself to begin with, but rather were telling yourself that you "have to be a certain way because you do not fit the stereotype of the OTHER things". You don't have to fit a mold. The molds are based on fiction anyway- you're you. What matters is how YOU feel, what YOU feel most comfortable with, and what label YOU vibe with the most. You don't have to force the identity of an omega onto yourself if you feel more like an alpha, just because you happen to be "smaller and more submissive". Yet again, sexual preferences don't dictate your dynamic at all either. If you feel more like an alpha, then that's all you need. There's no height requirement, this isn't an amusement park ride. There's no minimum muscle mass requirement, this is not a bodybuilder competition. There's no requirement to be dominant or a top or anything at all- that's not even what misce is about. You are you, and what you vibe with is the most important. If that means being a small and more submissive alpha, then congrats on presenting as an alpha!!! You are loved and accepted here!!! 💕

Love you, anon, I hope this helps even a little, and I hope you find what YOU are most comfortable with!