#the only changes i made were lowering the numbers and changing support effects to be flat numbers instead of multipliers

[dravidious]

Very nice and cool you are

SO I finally started dumping my stuff on my geocities.ws account that I made like a year ago but it turns out that this site SUCKS but at least it can send .txt files so here's a fossil fighters card game that I made WAY more cards for than I thought I would

[tvickiesims]

Graverobber's MP3 Player Default Edit + Color Traits Support

This MP3 player default by Graverobber is one of the best ones available. I made some edits to it for my own game and thought I'd share.

The first thing I changed was texture size - it was lowered from 512x512 to 128x128 (trust me, you won't see a difference since it's so tiny). The original mp3 came with a big number of recolors. I only picked 12 of them to resize (from CuriousB's palette, already made by Graverobber) and to make them work with @episims color traits mod (be sure to get it if you want colors to be randomized upon purchase at the kiosk). But if you are not using it, there is a separated version with these 12 colors (keep either this one or traits support version!). Note that all others recolors originally made by Graverobber work perfectly fine, they are just bigger in size.

I also changed the default screen texture - the original was a bit too dull and had English text on it. Now it has lit up effect, animates longer and uses new textures with simlish "bands". All the textures for them were created by @gulioss-sims (these) @deedee-sims (these) and @fake-sims (these).

@episims was super kind to make the color traits coding which definitely makes this edit a million times better. Thank you Epi!

Instead of the usual Inventory Check, this mod requires Trait Globals mod by @picknmixsims to work properly so be sure to get it! With this method, if your sim has several favourite colors, the 1st one in the line will be picked for your mp3. If you want to change the picked color, just sort out your inventory manually and put the desired color first. Note that after buying, in the inventory the mp3 will appear black in the icon but will switch to the correct color when a sim uses it. If the mp3 is moved out of the inventory, it'll be in the default color (black). Traits version works well with catalog buyable mp3 mods (again, the color will update when used).

To prevent an annoying bug in maxis coding ("stealing" of your sim's mp3 by another household member), I highly recommend using this mp3 fix mod by Simler90.

Mp3 base colors resized (same as color traits colors, 128x128):

New mp3 screens, 5 in total but animated (so texture is bigger - 1024x128):

At night:

Compressed, clearly labelled, picture included.

🎶🔊🎧Download at SFS🎧🔊🎶

[roosterr]

white flag ✹ epilogue

note: im kinda sad to say, but this will be the final part of this series! im so so grateful for all the love and support for it, this was honestly so fun to write! i hope everyone enjoys and have a wonderful day/night!!!!<3<3<3

pairing: ghost x gn!reader

wc: 1.7k

no use of y/n

reader's callsign is 'stingray'

summary: your night in date with simon :)

warnings: domesticity, so much fluff, soap and gaz are wingmen again, tiny bit of light angst

ao3

【prev】

of all the things in this world that could be considered intimidating, flowers were the last thing simon would put on that list; but the brightly coloured flora seemed to have a paralysing effect on him as he stands in the tiny flower shop.

with a quiet, defeated groan to himself, he dials johnny's number and presses his phone to his ear.

"what flowers am i supposed to buy?" he blurts no sooner than soap picks up, not even bothering to greet him in his haste.

"hello to you too?" johnny mumbles, his confusion evident. a moment passes before he registers what simon asked, "oh! wait," he laughs, his voice getting further away as he lowers his phone to call out, "gaz, get out here! lt.'s buyin' sting flowers!"

simon considers hanging up then and there, but he's severely out of his depth and unfortunately, soap and gaz are his only hope.

"oh i see, he needs an expert opinion, does he?" kyle's teasing gets louder as he approaches soap, and he can hear the smile in both the sergeants' voices.

really, simon should've known they wouldn't let him off easy.

"christ alive…" he keeps his voice as low as possible, pinching the bridge of his nose in the corner of the small shop. "just help me, you pillock." the cashier has been staring at him since he walked in, and honestly, he doesn't blame them; a giant man in a mask isn't exactly the regular clientele for a florist.

"uh, probably their favourite?" soap suggests, the sound of gaz's muffled chuckling just about audible in the background.

"they don't have 'em." simon replies, his eyes darting over the vibrant display one last time in the hopes that the answer would somehow appear.

"nah, you want roses, mate." gaz interjects, and he hears soap make an agreeing noise.

simon hums. "aren't they too… cliché?" he asks, stepping over to the large display of rose bouquets. it's the classic choice, he's aware of that much, but whether or not you'd prefer something more unique was weighing on his mind. this was something he never expected to have to worry about.

"no! they're romantic," gaz insists, his amusement still very evident in his voice, "trust me mate, sting'll love them."

simon contemplates his point for a moment, staring at the deep red petals and trying to imagine the look on your face if he gave them to you. you'd been happy with a handful of squashed flowers he'd stolen from the flowerbeds on base, so he doubted you'd turn your nose up at them. it doesn't take him long to make a decision.

"alright, cheers." he mutters, grabbing a lively looking bouquet of a dozen from the display and making his way over to the cashier – who was quickly trying to pretend they hadn't been staring.

"you'll need to give us a debrief–" soap begins, but he's cut off by simon hanging up and shoving his phone back in his pocket. he gets the feeling he won't be hearing the end of this for quite some time.

✹✹✹

it's only when he's standing outside the door to your room that the nerves finally start to set in. he can't help but feel like an idiot, fidgeting on the spot about to knock on your door like a lovestruck teenager, almost crushing the stems of the roses with his iron grip.

he knocks twice, before he has the chance to change his mind and back out. not even a second later, you're pulling the door open and regarding him with that warm look that has his palms sweating.

you're wearing casual clothes, and so is he, as per the agreement you made to keep this 'date' simple. it doesn't matter what you're wearing though; he's seen you covered head to toe in blood, sweat, mud, and whatever else, and you still manage to be utterly breathtaking in every way.

with a nervous cough, simon holds out the rose bouquet to you, hoping you don't notice the way his hands are shaking.

"wha…" you blink in surprise at the flowers, taking them from him and admiring them with a tiny smile. "you bought these, right? didn't just rip 'em out of someone's garden?" you raise a teasing eyebrow at him, your smile turning more playful.

"yes, i bought them." he grumbles lightheartedly, a smile of his own forming under his balaclava. the way you effortlessly diffuse the tension has his anxieties melting away.

"thank you." you breathe, softly caressing the vermillion petals. "they're lovely, i love them."

simon let's out a quiet sigh of relief at your affirmation. "good; cost me a tenner, they did."

the laugh you let out is like music to his ears. "well, i'm sorry to bankrupt you." you grin, turning back into your room and carefully putting the bouquet in the vase on the mantle. after making sure the arrangement looks nice, you come to stand in front of him again.

simon's not sure how to continue, the nerves from earlier resurfacing as the conversation fades. the way you're watching him expectantly, he feels the urge to take you by the hand – and as if you read his his mind, you hold it out for him. he places his hand in yours, squeezing gently and leading you the short distance to the kitchen.

he'd set the table earlier, having found an only slightly discoloured tablecloth buried in the back of the cupboards. it's a little sad, but it was the best he could come up with.

"wow," you tease, the same playful smile as before on your lips as you meet his eyes, "so fancy."

he snorts, ushering you over to your chair and pulling out for you. "only the best for your majesty." he preens at your happiness when you laugh again, glad for the mask covering what he's sure is an obvious blush.

he occupies himself by grabbing the two plates he'd finished preparing a minute ago, just before he'd met you at your door.

"i made spag bol." simon mutters as he sets them down on the table. he keeps an eye on your expression as he takes his seat opposite you, anticipation of whatever response you may have.

"fine by me," you say, an easy smile lifting your features. "it's almost the perfect candlelit dinner, all we're missing is the candle."

simon blinks. "you don't like candles." he replies, a hint of confusion in his gaze when he meets your eye.

"no," you smile fondly, looking down at your plate. "i don't."

a comfortable silence falls over the room as you both start to eat. the warmth and normality of it all makes simon’s heart swell with affection. he's happy, content, being here with you, even doing something as monotonous as eating dinner. you make it worth enjoying.

"how is it?" he asks once you've both finished, once again waiting apprehensively for your reaction.

"it's great," you give him a lopsided smile, resting your chin on your hand as you look at him. "thanks for cooking."

simon quirks an eyebrow at you. "you don't have to lie." he mutters, feeling the tips of his ears burn under your intense gaze.

"okay, well, don't quit your day job." you chuckle, standing up and making your way over to the sink with your plate in your hands.

he huffs a small laugh, and joins you at the sink with his own plate. "you're crushin' my dreams here."

"sorry, chef." you grin and gesture to the washing up in the sink. "you wash, i'll dry?"

"if your majesty insists."

you turn on the radio for some quiet background noise, and the two of you start cleaning up in tandem. it's nice, how you can work together so seamlessly with no need for words. he's struck again by the thought that if he were alone this would be a chore, but with you beside him, he finds such a tedious job surprisingly pleasant.

simon hands the last dish to you, and as you take it your fingers brush against his hand. the way he flinches away from your touch is unconscious, and when he looks over to you he expects you to pity him, or be offended by his action – but your face holds neither of those things.

you're just drying the dish he handed you, the same content expression on your face that had been there all night, as if you didn't even notice.

"sorry." he mumbles, his gaze falling from your face to your hands as you work.

simon loves you. he shouldn't be afraid of your touch. he wants to touch you, and for you to touch him. he doesn't know why he reacted like that.

"don't be." you utter, soft and compassionate, and his heart feels like it's about to burst out of his chest. for the third time that night, he's hit full force with how wonderful you are.

there's no judgement, no probing questions, nothing. you understood him, even though you had no idea why he acts this way.

you turn away, your back to him as you store the dishes in the cabinets. you hadn't been looking at him before, but now he was sure you couldn't see him, he feels his throat constrict with the overwhelming urge to burst into tears.

simon takes your free hand and you pause, still facing away as you wait for his next move.

he takes a small step closer, minimising the space between you, and rests his forehead against the back of your head. with his eyes screwed shut, he takes a deep breath and inhales the familiar scent of you. his grip on your hand tightens slightly.

you lean back into him, a quiet sigh escaping you as you squeeze his hand in return. neither of you say a word, but you don't have to. he feels how you love him in the way you never expect more from him than he can give.

it's the most peace he's felt in years.

taglist p1: @sofasoap , @siilvan , @mockerycrow , @i-love-ghost , @projectdreamwalker , @achelois-is-here , @adamsloverboy , @thatchickwiththecamera , @chickensandwich69 , @batmanunicorns523 , @tiny-kasper , @dezibou , @pampeop , @cumbermovels , @goth-boi-atlas , @berryjuicyy , @guiltgoreglory , @postmodernrevolutionist , @untoldshortsofthefandoms , @delilah-grimes , @sunflowerqueen1416 , @luvssemma , @sunshiinegaz , @imonmykneessir , @kenz-ee , @eistro-phobia , @rzmarona , @alanalanalanalanalanna , @cathnoneofyourbusiness ,

@madsothree , @geisterfvhrer , @lazyninjaphilosopher , @aliilium , @koi-feish , @chaoticgoblindev , @clear-your-mind-and-dream , @thrivig-n-jiving , @lesterous , @glitterypirateduck , @slu77ym4nw415ts , @livelaugh-light , @trulylavendedarling , @stateofcatatonia , @rivalriotrenegade , @yoichiislovie , @nirvanaaaonly , @ameliaamareeee , @batmanunicorns523 , @sapientiia , @thesecretwriter , @susanmukami , @ryze1113 , @stars-andfreckles , @spya1 , @tunaa-luvchrm , @tzutology

[aliiisterwarhol]

[Transcript of Obsidian Empire Chronicle's October 30th 1833 issue]

I've seen people saying they were having a hard time squinting their eyes to read this, especially on mobile, so I decided to type out a transcript for those who would find it useful, either to read or to quote as reference somewhere.

October 30th 1833

Obsidian Empire Chronicle

Alexander Visigoth has been arrested…

Facing public execution alongside several members of the Visigoth rebellion.

Alexander Visisgoth was arrested during one of his public speeches in the Royal Square. After the Blackwell guards and the Obsidian police forces failed to arrest all the members of the Visigoth militia, the large crowd was ultimately protecting their leader. At first the armed guards were not able to reach the young preacher that attracted masses of citizens attending his speech. Alexander declared himself ‘King of the Damned’ and announced his plan to bring war upon the Blackwell regime and restore power back to the people of Obsidian.

Alexander Visisgoth’s speech was originally held in the Royal Park. The whereabouts and time of the speech were kept secretive and only made public 24 hours in advance. Young children were seen handing out papers with the Visigoth logo to citizens living in the old town slums. This rebellion has been brewing ever since Fredrick Blackwell was announced as the successor to Lord Buckmister Blackwell. The recently added taxes on the middle and lower class has led to food shortages, social unrest, and protest against the Blackwell regime. Fredrick reacted to these protests by creating mandatory curfews, meaning anyone seen around town after curfew protesting will be arrested and taken into custody. As the support has continued to grow for Alexander Visisgoth and his movement, the Blackwell regime has numerous times warned the young rebel leader. Threatening him and his followers with prison sentences and punishments for disturbing the law and order towards the Blackwell family and the regime. Alexander Visisgoth has called the threats an attack on free speech and the citizen’s right to hear the truth. The Blackwell Council deems all these allegations as false and has put a public bounty price on Alexander’s head. He is currently wanted as a criminal throughout the Obsidian Empire. However, this hasn’t led to his arrest and the Royal Guards have gained very little support from the citizens. At his public speeches the crowds protect Alexander Visisgoth’s freedom at all costs. The threats from the Blackwell regime have apparently not had any effect on Alexander Visisgoth or the people of Obsidian . The young rebel attracted crowds with attendance never before seen in the history of the Obsidian Empire.

The Obsidian Royal Guards sent out teams of authorities to keep the rebels in order. A large military presence was seen guarding the Royal Park, but they were outnumbered and utterly intimidated by the Visigoth militia.

In his vibrant and dramatic speech in the Royal Park, Alexander demanded a change to the unacceptable tax raise, calling out the elitist in the upper-class supporting the totalitarianism enforced by Fredrick Blackwell. He also brought up the unacceptable inhumane treatment of the growing numbers of citizens driven into hopeless poverty and starvation, working under draconian conditions. His speech was loudly applauded by the growing crowd of supporters. The content of the speech became more violent as he pointed to the guards. The direct quote from his speech goes as follows… “Tell Buckminster Blackwell that I‌ stand here with the people of the Obsidian Empire. Come out of your castles and mansions guarded by large gates, come here and face me if you dare! Let the people decide who they want to be the ruler of Obsidian!”

The guards were released by members of the crowd. When they left the park roaring applauds and cheers from the crowd were heard through the streets. As the crowd grew and Alexander’s accusations towards the Blackwell regime became more violent he decided to parade with the masses of growing supporters throughout the streets of the capital and walk to the Royal Square where the Blackwell guards were protecting the Council House stairs. When the guards saw the giant crowd approaching they were forced to stand down to the Visigoth militia. The citizens of Obsidian filled the Royal Square to listen to Alexander’s ongoing speech. The Visigoth logo carved out of wood was seen held high above the heads of the supporters.

Only a few minutes later the crowd was strategically circled by the Blackwell cavalry. Generals began to breaking up the crowd to make way for Fredrick Blackwell leading the mobilized troops on horseback.

Alexander ordered the crowd to stand back as he seemed eager to finally have the attention of a Blackwell. He loudly called out to Fredrick Blackwell, “I asked for Buckminster Blackwell and that coward sends his son, what kind of king does that? If Buckminster was a true leader he would be here himself!”

Fredrick Blackwell commanded his guards to arrest Alexander for the crime of treason. Declaring him an enemy of the Obsidian Empire, sentencing him to death by public execution. Fredrick Blackwell continued; “As a criminal to the Empire you will not be granted a trial.” This order further stirring up the already angry crowd held back by the armed guards. Alexander did not remain silent and immediately ordered that the citizens of Obsidian to his defense, he further demanded justice for the Obsidian citizens that have suffered the tyrannical regime long enough. That by sentencing him to death Fredrick Blackwell had declared war upon the people of the Obsidian Empire.

Fredrick Blackwell did not hesitate to let his anger decide the fate of the people. As his father before him does not hesitate to demonstrate his power. Since the people seemed to grant him no respect for being declared the island’s new successor, he ordered the execution of every member in the Visigoth rebellion who stayed at the square. Fredrick stated that a new curfew has just begun and anyone left standing here will be arrested and made an example for those who dare to threaten the regime.

This order made the crowd attack the guards, bloody fights broke out in the crowd between the Blackwell guards and the Visigoth militia accompanied by civilians. Fredrick Blackwell repeated his order that all the followers and supporters of the Visigoth rebellion will immediately arrested. This order made absolute chaos break out in the crowd, citizens ran back to their homes and those who were left were detained.

Alexander Visisgoth has been imprisoned and is awaiting public execution to be held in the town square. The Blackwell council has stated that Alexander Visisgoth is a dangerous and delusional criminal that is obsessed with hysteria and his conspiracies pose a serious threat to the people of Obsidian, therefore they will do what is necessary to put an end to the Visigoth rebellion. The police are currently searching for the remaining high-ranking members of the Visigoth militia including Alexander’s partner Lilith, fearing that she will mobilize the remaining militia and order an attack on the Blackwells. Around town seen in the front windows of buildings, symbols and party colors are displayed to show support, but now as tension became violent there is an eerily quietness. It seems war is about to begin. Underground clubs and pubs seen with the Visigoth logos displayed have been raided and overturned by the Blackwell guards throughout the day. Arresting all citizens that express support for the Visigoth rebels.

The whereabouts of Lilith and the seven remaining high-ranking members of the Visigoth militia are at this moment unknown and the Blackwell council has stated that they won’t hesitate to use force to abolish the Visigoth rebellion.

[bacchant-of-dionysus]

Listen up, anyone considering egg freezing!

As of right now I am curled up with a cup of tea and a heat pack, recovering from surgery. So I thought I’d give you an overview of my experience as a trans man getting my eggs frozen to preserve my fertility before going on testosterone.

Why did I do it?

We never know what the future holds. While I doubt I will detransition, ever want to be pregnant or become infertile, there is a possibility of all three of these things happening. Preserving my eggs means I can still have children, no matter what happens.

I have a beautiful partner who preserved her sperm before starting estrogen three years ago. She only did it at the request of her mother, thinking that being seen as ‘fathering’ her children and watching her partner go through pregnancy instead of her would be too heartbreaking and distressing for her to cope with. She thought she would just adopt. After a couple of years of hormone therapy, she became more comfortable in her body, and is now desiring to have children with a partner - specifically me.

After meeting my girlfriend, I realised it wasn’t that I didn’t want kids; it was that I didn’t want kids alone, and I couldn’t imagine anyone ever loving me enough or loving someone else enough to have children with them. That all changed when I met her. I want to have children with her.

When it comes to adoption, only 1 in every 30 couples looking to adopt gets to adopt a child. This number is even lower for queer couples in my country. It is also now illegal to adopt from many places overseas due to corruption in the adoption industry.

I considered fostering, but after learning about the high rates of Aboriginal children taken from their families and placed in the care of white people, disconnected from culture, country and their people, I was horrified. 2% of the Australian population is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, yet over 40% of kids in foster care are Aboriginal. We are not past the Stolen Generations. Every year we apologise for something we are still actively doing to these kids and their families. I will play no role in that.

There is a part of me that wants biological children. It is present in many people and isn’t something to be ashamed of. Adopted children are absolutely their adoptive parents’ children. But I suppose there’s a part of me that wants my kids to inherit some of the things I love about my partner. I know this sounds selfish, but that is what love does to you sometimes.

Even if I did decide to go down the road to adoption, I don’t believe I am qualified to raise a child with severe trauma. All children who are taken from their families, even for the right reasons, are traumatised. Every child who feels abandoned is traumatised. I am disabled as it is and need help myself. Taking on the responsibility of raising a child who needs specialised support is something I would prefer to avoid if I can. Obviously all pregnancy comes with the chance that your child will have extra needs or accomodations, but I want to give myself the best shot at being a good parent that I can. This means waiting until I am absolutely stable and in a position to raise a child, and giving my child the best shot at being healthy.

What made me consider not doing it?

The dysphoria that the process would bring made me reconsider. I knew I would have to have a period first, then go through a series of hormone shots that simulated early pregnancy. I knew my breasts would get sore and that this may prevent me from binding. I knew that I would become bloated and almost look pregnant. I knew I would have extra estrogen, a hormone I did not want a lot of, running through my body.

The general side effects, disregarding gender dysphoria, were not going to be fun either. Bloating, nausea, soreness, mood swings, increased emotional sensitivity etc are not fun to deal with for anyone.

The likelihood of even finding a surrogate was low. Paid surrogacy is not legal in Australia, so it would have to be what is called ‘altruistic surrogacy’, or someone who chooses to carry the baby without being paid (though their hospital bills are covered by the parents). My best shot at a surrogate at the moment is my own mother, but she is turning sixty this month. Many people I know or who are in my family would be at risk of suffering complications from pregnancy and I absolutely do not want any harm to come to the person who chooses to do this for us.

The scans were an inevitable but horrible reality. These scans, as it turns out, can be done trans abdominally if you push enough and go through doctors until you find someone willing. I did not know this. All my scans were trans vaginal. These scans feel invasive and can be painful, especially if you haven’t experienced penetration before.

A timeline of my experience (with the occasional picture):

Day 1: stopping Slinda.

The first day of my treatment I stopped taking my birth control pill. This had been stopping my periods for over a year.

Day 2-30

I felt horrible. It was like my system was being flooded with poison. I cried. I wanted to kill myself. My dysphoria was terrible. Around day 30 my period finally came, but it was weak and there was never a day of full bleeding. So we started toward the end of my very short cycle.

Day 1 of hormone shots:

I went to the pharmacy with my partner and a kind lady explained everything we needed to know about the injections I was going to take. We were given three types of medication: overleap, orgalutran and a trigger shot. The overleap stimulated the follicles, causing them to swell. The orgalutran prevented the eggs from being released. The trigger shot was to release the eggs. I took my first dose of overleap that evening, then again at 10am the next morning. I took overleap at 10am each morning for around 30 days. I started on a dose of 75mls, as I was young, healthy and fertile, and they didn’t want to risk OHSS (ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome).

Day 7:

By now I was feeling pretty awful. The stabs weren’t too bad, but they stung occasionally. My partner injected them for me. I had started the orgalutran by this point. I had my first scan, which I had to travel an hour and a half for. The doctor doing the scan was male and not particularly sensitive to my situation. I shut down and cried afterwards and wouldn’t have sex for a week following due to severe genital dysphoria.

Day 14:

I had my second scan. This time it was with another male doctor who was much more gentle and kinder than the first one. I felt far more comfortable with him. The eggs still weren’t big enough.

Day 18:

I had my third scan, which was with the same nice man as before. I got the bad news via a phone call: my eggs weren’t responding to the medication, and they thought I should call off the shots and start again next cycle. There was no way in hell I was doing that, so I asked for another option. They said they could increase the dose of Overleap to 150mls. I thought about it for a while, and spoke with my mum, dad and partner for their opinions. In the end, I decided to double the dose and push on. They said in that case I would need to come down to be scanned by my main doctor, who worked in a city four hours from my home town.

Day 21:

we drove four hours to the city. By this time I was extremely bloated. We managed to do some nice things, like go out for dinner with my parents and try out a bagel place. I bought myself a new sweater, a wooden vest, and some fun socks.

Day 23:

My doctor scanned me for the fourth time. The eggs were responding well to the medication, but only two were big enough to retrieve. She thought I should wait another week and come down again, and hopefully they should be able to retrieve at least five eggs. She clearly thought we should start the whole thing over again because ‘I can do better than that’, but I was adamant that if this failed, I wasn’t trying again.

Day 27:

I began to question again whether any of this was worth it. I just wanted to end the process and move on with my life. I didn’t realise how close I was to the finish line. Every moment felt like hell. I was bloated and emotional and sore and I just wanted it to end.

Day 29:

We drove to the city again. This time we didn’t do anything fun. My girlfriend had to pull over halfway there and get picked up by my mum. She was exhausted and hadn’t been sleeping well from the whole process.

Day 30:

I was scanned by the doctor again. This time, it was immediately clear that my ovaries looked different. She counted ten on one side and didn’t bother to count the other side. I was ready for surgery the next day.

Day 31:

I went to the day hospital at 7:45am. My girlfriend wasn’t allowed in the waiting room with me due to Covid, so I was alone. As I was filling out my sheet, I noticed my gender had been marked as female. I asked if they needed my biological sex or my gender. As it turns out, it didn’t matter at all. I wondered why they bothered to ask if it was irrelevant.

In the nurse’s notes, a handwritten sentence was bolted with pink highlighter: ‘REFER TO AS MR [surname].’ I was glad they were trying, especially considering how gendered the surgery itself was.

I got changed into my cap and gown and a pair of grippy orange socks that I got to keep.

I then waited until the anaesthetist came to speak with me. He was slightly odd and a little abrasive, but I ignored this and made sure not to mention that my dad was an anaesthetist too. I felt like that would probably get us off on the wrong foot.

In the operating theatre, there was the same pop music playing as everywhere else in the hospital. The anaesthetist put a needle in he vein of my elbow, which I believe contained propofol. This wasn’t a general anaesthetic, just heavy sedation. They put an oxygen mask on my face. The last thing I remember was one of the doctors attaching a brace like prop for my legs to sit on. I don’t remember actually putting my legs on it.

It felt like no time had passed when I woke up. I assumed I was still in theatre until I was told otherwise. I vaguely remember having a weird sex dream. My dad tells me this is the propofol. My nose itched. The nurse laughed and blamed the fentanyl.

I was unusually chatty and bright, but my stomach hurt. They gave me some endone. This took the edge off.

They gave me a large triple choc cookie, some tea, and a glass of water. The first thing they told me was that hey managed to retrieve 28 eggs. I was ecstatic. I texted my girlfriend, mum and dad immediately.

Later, they told me that of those 28 eggs, 15 were mature enough to freeze and 3 more were almost mature enough and had been frozen too. I had essentially done two egg collections in one, and was at risk of OHSS. My girlfriend picked me up and drove us to the accomodation.

Day 31-33

Over these past few days I’ve been sore. It’s difficult to move without hurting my belly and lower abdomen. I’m still very bloated. The surgery itself had consisted of guiding a needle through the vaginal wall and retrieving the follicles from the ovaries, which were drained, and the eggs collected. The actual surgery site didn’t really hurt at all and there was minimal bleeding. The real pain is coming from where my swollen ovaries have been messed around, poked and prodded. They are also pressing on my bladder and uterus, so passing urine, gas and bowel movements can be painful. It also hurts to use my abdominal muscles for adjusting my position, laughing, hiccuping, yawning etc. I have to walk with slow, short steps.

Was it worth it?

Yes. Now that it’s over and i never have to do it again, I can safely say I am relieved to have preserved my fertility. Now I can move forward with my life: I’m seeing my hormone doctor on the 10th of may, who will prescribe me a low dose of testosterone gel. I can’t wait.

I would recommend preserving fertility if you can before medical transition. You never know what your future self might want, and self care is all about having compassion for your future self, even if it means sacrificing your comfort in the present.

Whatever you choose to do or whatever reason you are undergoing egg collection, know that you are doing something harrowing and brave.

After I have had my children (which will be a number of years in the future) I plan to donate the remainder of my eggs to those who need them on their own fertility journey. Knowing I’ve helped another couple or single parent build a family is compensation enough for what I’ve been through.

[entropy-game-dev]

v0.04a patchnotes and testing

The test of v0.04a ended a week ago, and while there were a few more crashes and bugs, the game is getting surprisingly stable (thankfully!!) thanks to my poor friends who kindly volunteered to test it! Some of the highlights of this test were as follows:

An actually awesome moment where my friend decided to unexpectedly extend their exploration by going down to the second floor, then immediately falling through a hole taking them to the completely unmapped third floor. His oxygen at this point was half, and so I told him, he should probably find his way back if possible.

The enemies on the lower floors spawn in greater numbers, and so it was quite tense, but he was relieved to come across the stairs leading upwards. Back on the second floor, he was able to find his way through an unknown map back to the first floor, but started to run low on oxygen. Finally, his oxygen ran out a few steps before the exit. The suit’s life support system kicked in, draining an increasing amount of energy with every step. Finally, with one step to go, his energy ran out, and took a tick of health damage. But just one! He got back to the ship just fine and breathed (pun not intended) a sigh of relief.

And let me tell you, the first hint of some emergent gameplay that I envisioned with the systems I had implemented, it felt really good! As for funny bugs/polish issues, he found a few:

When enemies are reduced to 0 hp, they begin exploding and don’t stop until it’s their turn (as they might want to talk to you and get recruited). However, we were discussing something and having the explosions play constantly at full volume was very distracting! (Explosion sfx volume fades out now after a while and enemies take their turn instantly when they have 0 hp.

Enemies that are forced to move to the upper row of the battlefield flip their sprite (so it looks like they’re standing on the ceiling), but I had the coordinates wrong so they were shifted too far up, and outside the viewport!

There was also this one really dodgy-looking mining node sprite (actually needs a rework, it looks awful), and my friend kept running into it and asking “what the hell is this” everytime he saw it, as it really does not resemble anything, and we were both cracking up laughing each time.

v0.05 is almost ready to go, and I expect balance testing will be happening soon!

And now, the full patchnotes of this version below the cut...

Features:

Access the options menu in the prologue by pressing spacebar!

Reset the game from the options menu!

Stars don't show up on the screen if you have a save game!

Most moves now have a 1 turn cooldown to prevent enemy (and player?) spam

Screen glitch effects now fade in and out!

Save games backup now (10 backups!!!!!!!!!!)

Hold shift + press a move key to direcitonally inspect something

Polish:

Inspecting enemies was locked behind an upgrade but it's important - replacement ability to come later

Removed erroneous space in epilepsy warning

In the navigator, no longer makes a beep noise if you press L/R but there are no other locations to select

Made numbers animate based on what elemental affinity was hit

Scan move description text shortened

Rounded position of option text to avoid subpixels

Tutorials only show after you reach the ship for the first time

Minimap tiles now update immediately when colourblindness colour is changed

Inspect text on empty/unexplored tiles changes depending on exploration status

Mining nodes don't output the mining interaction text if you don't have the ability to mine

Disabled data gained output when not researching anything (Data does nothing without ongoing research)

Battle win tutorials now only show when you win the battle (i.e. gain xp) and not when you're running

Capped the move name length on the small information panel

Help overlay is now on F1 + tutorial message explaining that

Reduced sound effect of some of the metal step effects

Disabled random stepping text during the prologue

Fixed grammar error in interaction text for draining scrap

Swapped rotate/strafe controls, added confirm and cancel to left side​

Bugs:

Debug research bypass removed

Debug control T to damage allies removed

Combat now has a reachable game over state

Hypnagogia ability was targeting the top row instead of the bottom

Enemies with the conducting affinity, spreading an attack to allies no longer crashes the game

Explosive spread now shifting enemies correctly on the vertical direction

Recruiting conditions relying on other units no longer crashes the game when triggering

Fixed targeting of summon moves

Changed defensive % modifiers to be multiplicative

Calming Wave and Optical Trap ranges (and animations) fixed from all cells to aoe

Hid all strengths/weaknesses/recruitment at the beginning of the game

Stopped crash when viewing recruitment of allies

Tutorials are now enabled by default

The right location's feature is now being deleted when interacting with treasure chests

Debug control for launching a cutscene (V) is now disabled

Dungeon features now properly fade out when collected

Dungeon features that steal resources now actually do so

End of battle results now displaying all XP, scrap, and parts given

Move execution code reordering: before, self-destruct was not working because it'd take away the HP as part of the move effect and then not execute the move due to missing HP

Parts category refreshes properly when you swap characters

Can no longer detect liquids ahead of you when the space hasn't been explored yet

Shader intensity option is now respected by shader

Can now interact with one time use machines

Fixed crash when removing unit from party

Ensured equipment was associated with the right slot when moving units around

Friendly robot dungeon features can now be interacted with again, made exception for robot not having sprite in the db

Fixed a crash when inspecting enemies

Fixed a crash when going into the options menu due to missing text

Fixed targeting being inverted

[crystalelemental]

Nothing like an off-type of CS to really feel like I’ve been dragged back in. Still, gotta test the new pairs somehow, right?

Vs Glacia Pure Electric clear, with Iono as support. She is pretty good at quickly capping off Mix Kris and SS Hau, but beyond that this team isn't so great. Electric really is like one cluster of the strongest pairs in the game and a bunch of middling picks, huh? On the plus side, when Kris' sync failed to KO center, Iono's buddy move finished the job. That Cannon can Zap.

Vs Sidney SS Nemona is awkward. Not because she's specifically bad, but because her partnerships are slightly awkward. She works well with Sun, but in attempting to get Fairy Zone in there too, it really is just Mina as a solution, which is very imperfect. I'm really bummed about the state of physical Fairy. Mina is really good though. Her Buddy move blocking Sync is excellent, and she can stall her own sync to overwrite Sidney's Dark Zone and just negate his nonsense.

Vs Phoebe

Mix Leaf was an acquisition made under the impression I would not be around long. She's 5/5 now by that way. Mix Scout is weird. I've used her a few times and my general impression is "mid." She's so extremely reliant on Rain it's kinda sad, especially given her relative inability to call it by herself. I think the intended structure is to pop Max Move immediately, using Sure Crit and her entry +4 to provide good starting damage and Rain through the first three actions, then reset Rain with her sync with the extended effect. I assume. Or you can just run Water Gals with good old SS Kris and not care about anything. When I did the on-type run, this team pre-sync cleared Steven. Which was impressive enough to get me to off-type entirely rather than do the one team I was interested in (more on that next). I'm honestly considering giving Serena the Support Role. While I love Kris, this team handles even off-type very effectively, and Serena's sync is strong enough to clear center regardless thanks to Leaf's debuffs. Anyway, there's Leaf's damage after one sync. Serena didn't kill because she missed crit. Happens to the best of us.

Vs Drake

Now this was the team that got me thinking about off-type. Arc Steven on his own is ridiculous, but I really liked the new Lillie as well. As a combo, they're already very good, but then there's Poppy, who fits this structure like a glove. Primarily because Lillie's Buddy move is 0 gauge, meaning all four bars can go to Gigaton Hammer. I admit, I didn't know how well Poppy would do given her charge and reload structure, but frankly she only needs one. The Hammer is absurd. This is damage to an off-type fight, in which Drake had reduced damage due to not having a status change. I didn't read the tips and didn't pay attention, and she still clean one-shot the center. For clarity, when I tested this off-type before doing a run, I had them fight Sidney, where she dealt 62k. I only know about Drake's damage reduction thing because I saw this number and thought it was a bit lower than I remembered. They're absolutely nuts.

Vs Steven

Alright then, real talk. Arc Cynthia is absurdly powerful, and I personally think Rika is redundant. Cynthia so desperately wants Sandstorm that only setting Ground Zone misses out on a lot. Moreover Rika doesn't specifically provide her with anything. Bulk, I suppose, but she's not even particularly frail. Cynthia just steamrolls the fight regardless. What is worth noting is that, absent Cynthia, Rika's a pretty good Roxanne partner, providing decent Sp Def coverage to Roxanne's Def buffs, and giving her needed Atk boosts with trainer move. Off-typing, so I use half MP, but the concept is there. Roxanne and Arc Cynthia remain an absolutely hilarious duo. The constant pressure from Roxanne's debuffs and Cynthia's just sick huge damage is divine. I could probably find more to do with Rika if she were 3/5, but I don't feel like doing that right now.

[sassaagency]

Updated Sassa Social Security Agency (SASSA) Child Support Grant For The Most Full 2022

The cost of raising a kid is high. We are aware of this and want to make sure you understand the process for applying for the South African Social Security Administration (SASSA) benefit as well as how child support is calculated.

Child Support Allowance: What Is It?

The Child Support Grant is designed to help parents pay for their children's essential requirements and is targeted at lower income families. This allowance is meant to bridge the cost-of-living gap rather than to replace other sources of income.

Who may apply for benefits?

You must have the following to be eligible for benefits if you are a child's main caregiver (parent, grandmother, or other primary caretaker):

either own a permanent address in South Africa or be a citizen. If you are single, do not make more than R52 800 ($4 400) every year. Your annual gross income, if you're married, cannot exceed R105 600. (R8 800 a month). If you are not the child's parent, you must demonstrate that you are the child's main carer. You may submit an affidavit from a police officer or the child's biological parent, a social worker's report, or a letter from the principal of the child's school.

Any youngster who wants to participate must:

under 18, without being looked for by a government facility, living with a main caregiver who does not get compensation for raising the kid. You both need to reside in South Africa. More than six children who are not your biological offspring or children who were lawfully adopted are not eligible for benefits.

Child Care and ProtectionYou are not eligible to receive benefits if you:

pay someone to take care of the kid, is not the main caretaker for the kid, Someone has been given the child's allowance, You speak for a group that looks out for the youngster. The subsidy is only available to those whose financial circumstances fall below a certain threshold. The media test is used to determine eligibility.

What is the grant's amount?

The child support allowance is now R480 per month for each kid, albeit the amount varies every year.

What steps are involved in registration?

By completing an application at the Regional Office counter or your nearby SASSA office, you may request child support. The software is open-source.

A SASSA staffer will be present while you fill out your application. A receipt will be sent to you after your application is finished. Keep your receipts as evidence of your application.

Additionally, you will be required to provide specific documentation and offer certain details, such as:

You must have a barcode on your South African identifying document (ID). The birth certificate of the kid must have an ID number. pay stubs, three-month bank statements, pension statements, and any other kind of income documentation Your Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) card, sometimes known as the "green book," or a hospital discharge certificate from a prior employer, if you are jobless a formal authorization from the kid's parent or guardian if you are not the child's parent or guardian that you should look after the child, information about your attempts to get the parent to pay alimony, if you're not the child's parent or guardian. information demonstrating your principal role as the child's carer. You must specify how you want the money to be paid when you apply. Cash payments may be made on certain days at a payment location, or money can be electronically sent to your bank account.

Keep in mind that every dollar entering and leaving your bank account is subject to the standard bank fees. Filling completing the form will allow you to alter your payment method at any time, but the change won't take effect for another month.

You have the right to appeal a grant denial.

You'll begin getting payments within three months if it's authorized. Payments are postponed until the day you apply for benefits.

In the event that:

Deceased infant The young person turns 18 at the end of the month. if the caregiver does not request it for three months in a row. If the kid is not in the nation, or The youngster is accepted into a public facility. We'll periodically review your benefits to make sure this is the case. Any changes in the circumstances of you or your child must be reported to the department.

general issues

Social Security Administration of South Africa

For information, dial the toll-free helpline at 0800 601 011

The payment date, Rules governing eligibility for all government grants, The address and telephone number for the county office Asking for assistance with what happened to your app, How you can also file a report of corruption or fraud.

https://www.tumblr.com/sassaagency/701684649601220608/useful-information-update-about-south-african

[whiteqnn]

PURE [5] - Corpse Husband x Fem!Reader

A/N: It’s been a while.  

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4

PURE [5]

“Did you guys find anybody?” Felix’s voice sounded out when the man repeated the same question for what seemed like the third time since he joined the call. The number of players showed 7 of them, which meant that they were still missing three people. Sure, they could start the game now, but it would be way more enjoyable and funny with a full lobby. 

“Yeah, Toast will be here any moment. “Sykkuno replied right away. “He just texted me; he should join us in a few.”

“Cool. Anyone else?” 

“I think Corpse was also supposed to join us, right? Not sure though why he isn’t here yet.” 

“Oh, yeah, Corpse will be here soon too!” Jack suddenly chimed in with an explanation. “He said he needed to take care of something first, but he’ll be here before we start.” 

“Great. But that means we’re still one person short.” Felix hummed when Toast’s little astronaut appeared in the lobby “Hey Toast."

“Hey man.”

“Do you have anyone coming?”

“I’m afraid not. I asked MrBeast, but he’s busy, so...”

“Well then, we can just start when Corpse is here, and maybe we’ll find someone in the meantime?” Dave suggested, earning a few hums of approval from the other players. 

“Yeah, I think that’s the best option...” Jack agreed. But then his voice blared out in everyone’s headphones with excitement. “Ha! Corpse is bringing someone!” 

“Who?” 

“I dunno, he just texted me he has one coming and that’s all.” 

“Hm, all right. Let’s wait then.”

***

Corpse fidgeted with his phone, glancing between its screen and the chat in his stream. People were already asking countless questions, but rather than answering them, he was waiting for Y/N to call him. He was nervous - the girl still hadn’t commented on his request. 

The idea to invite her to the lobby wasn’t spontaneous. In fact, he’d been thinking about it for quite some time now, but never found the courage to actually ask if she would like to join them for the game.

It’s been almost a month now since that memorable phone call. A month since Y/N last played with her friends; a month since she considerably reduced her social media usage. 

Sure, she was still active on her youtube channel, but not as much as before the whole haters situation. No matter how hard she tried to just ignore them and simply continue her career, she just couldn’t. There were still these nagging thoughts at the back of her mind, reminding her of all those people and their comments, their messages. It seemed like a good idea to take a short break and sort everything out.

Her fans understood it. They were obviously sad that her videos weren’t as frequent as before, but everyone knew what the situation looked like and that Y/N needed some time for herself. 

Her audience knew it, and so did her friends. Especially Corpse. 

The man kept his word and talked to the girl whenever she wanted to. Which, in the end, was almost everyday. Although at the beginning their conversations mostly focused on her current problem and dealing with it, their topics broadened over the time. 

At one point though, Y/N started worrying that maybe she’s annoying him with her so frequent calls. She thought that she shouldn’t bother him that much - even if talking to him was what really helped her cope with her problems. He already had enough on his plate, and sharing her own concerns with him suddenly seemed like a very selfish thing to do.

But she quickly realized how wrong she was for thinking like that. When one day she didn’t call, figuring out that she should stop troubling him with her own issues, she was very surprised when Corpse reached out to her himself. He expressed how worried he got when she didn’t call, and when she explained what was the reason, he spent the next fifteen minutes lecturing her that she should never think she’s bothering him. 

From that day on, they talked every single day. And they talked about almost everything.

Corpse enjoyed their late night-talks more than anything. He liked to listen to Y/N talk about the things she finds exciting, her hobbies, and her dreams. Hell, she could talk about what she ate for breakfast, and he would still listen with interest. 

And even though they haven’t seen each other in person, even though she still hasn’t seen his face, they managed to get really close during those past weeks. For an outside observer (who also didn’t have access to Twitter) they would seem like a couple of very good friends.

But not for Corpse.

He couldn’t pinpoint when exactly did it happen. They were talking one evening and Y/N was telling him about the TV series she had finished watching recently. He listened intently and watched as her facial expressions changed from excited to frustrated, as she was enumerating everything she liked and disliked about the series finale.

And then he suddenly got this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach, and simply couldn’t take his eyes off her. 

He tried to play it off and act as if nothing changed, but he couldn’t stop his heart from doing backflips whenever she laughed at one of his dumb jokes or called him partner. It was still a running joke between them and among the group of their friends, but there was something in the way she said it that made him instantly smile like an idiot. 

He also started paying more attention to the hashtags on Twitter and Instagram. #PartnersInCrime was still rather popular, even though it was a month since anyone last used this phrase on stream. Corpse also found out that #Y/Nforthebride was trending for some time; he even managed to stumble across a few fanarts. 

There was this urge to send them to Y/N, but he was too nervous that it would make things awkward between them... After all, he didn’t know how she felt about that whole shipping thing. 

That’s why he decided to just leave things between them as they are, and be happy that he’s at least her friend.  

Corpse nearly jumped out of his skin, when he was brought back to reality by the sound of an upcoming FaceTime call. Y/N’s photo appeared on his screen, her smiley face which he had assigned as her contact photo. His lips corners curled up in a smile almost unwittingly. 

“Hey Y/N/N” he said after answering the call. 

“Hi Corpse” she smiled softly upon hearing his voice. Although the screen on her side was dark, she didn’t mind not seeing Corpse’s face. She respected his wish to remain faceless and enjoyed their conversations anyway. 

“Whatcha doin’?”

“Just editing the new video. I guess I’ll upload it in the morning... but I’m not sure yet.”

“Well let me know then, I wanna be the first one to see it.” 

“Sure thing, Corpse” she chuckled, lowering her gaze bashfully. Corpse just looked at her face for a moment, unable to stop smiling to himself. Then he remembered why they were talking in the first place.

“So... have you seen my text?” Y/N sighed at his question but nodded her head slowly. “And what do you think?”

“I don’t know, Corpse...” she ran a hand through her hair in a nervous gesture. “...if that’s a good idea, I mean.”

“Well, it’s been a while. No pressure though, if you don’t wanna play then it’s totally fine.” he quickly clarified. “I just thought it would be fun if you joined us, even if just for a moment. I’m sure everyone would go crazy.” 

Her smile widened slightly at his words, but she still didn’t look convinced. Sure, it was tempting to join them. She wanted to do it each time Sean or Felix bombarded her with messages and codes to the lobby, both inviting her to join the group in the game. But then she remembered how people reacted to her appearance in their streams... and suddenly it didn’t seem like such a good idea anymore.

“We’re gonna play on Polus...” he added after a moment when she still didn’t say anything. “That one map with the planetary base... there’s a lava pit, y’know. Just saying...”

She laughed wholeheartedly at his words, remembering their last game when Corpse jumped into the lava for her. 

“Sykkuno’s gonna be there as well” Corpse continued. “And I promise I won’t kill you this time.”

“Even if I’m the last player alive?” she joked.

“Even then, Y/N.”

Corpse stifled a laugh, as she cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes slightly as if trying to spot him in the darkness. 

“Are you streaming, Corpse?” she then asked.

“Not yet. I’m gonna start the stream as soon as you say yes, though.”

“Oh c’mon” she laughed at his words “That’s emotional blackmail!” 

“Maybe. Is it working?” he asked.

Y/N let out a heavy breath and ran a hand down her face. Corpse watched in anticipation as she seemed to have some internal battle with herself. He hoped that she’s gonna agree, he really missed playing with her. 

“All right, then.” she suddenly said, and his breath hitched in his throat. “I’m gonna stay for a few rounds I guess...”

“Wait, really?” he asked, a smile on his face only widening. 

“Well, yeah, partner.” she replied, which made his cheeks go warm “Your imposter techniques haven’t been very effective lately... Someone needs to help you out, or you’re gonna lose your title of the king of the Imposters.” 

“Oh, is that’s how it is now?” he laughed in fake shock. “I wouldn’t have to worry about losing the title if my accomplice hadn’t left me all alone!” 

“All right, all right.” she giggled at his accusations. “Your accomplice is on her way to support you.” 

Corpse smiled even wider at the sound of her laughter. Her eyes shined with happiness when she was giggling, which only brought out their E/C color. The fact that his stupid babbling was the reason for her smile was making him feel extremely proud of himself.  

“But just so you know... I still have no idea how this map works, so I’m afraid I’m gonna need you to guide me around it...”

“Y’know you could as well just say you want to hang out with me...”

“Corpse!” she laughed, her cheeks blushing in embarrassment. 

“Just kidding Y/N” he chuckled at her reaction. “Of course I’m gonna guide you, don’t worry.”

“Okay then...” she said after a moment, looking at the screen again. “I’ll be there in a few minutes. Will you send me the code, please?”

“Sure I will, Y/N” 

“Okay. See you later, partner” she smiled brightly. 

“See you, partner.” 

When Y/N ended the call, Corpse let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He sighed in relief and ran a hand through his hair, before moving to sit behind his desk.

It was only after he started the stream that he realized he was blushing. Not only because Y/N would join them, but because there was also another thing he wanted to ask her about, but didn’t find the courage to yet... 

***

By the time Y/N turned on her computer and started the game, Corpse has already sent her the code, and there was a Discord invite waiting for her as well. She bit her lip nervously as her heartbeat quickened. 

Was she nervous? As hell. 

She did everything she could to avoid being in unnecessary spotlight since she started receiving those hate messages. Perhaps escaping the problem wasn’t the best solution, but it definitely was a comfortable one. People wouldn’t have a reason to hate on her if she disappeared. 

But then she couldn’t say no to Corpse. And truth to be said - she really missed playing with her friends. From what she’d seen on Twitter, the lobby would be filled with those she’d already played with, so she wasn’t that nervous before the game. What she was nervous about though, was how people would react.

Accepting Corpse’s request was something she did due to the sudden rush of courage. And now there was no coming back.

She knew Corpse would understand if she changed her mind... but she heard how excited he was when she had agreed. She couldn’t do it to him. 

So, once she’d taken a deep breath and put her headphones on, Y/N accepted the invite and braced herself for the inevitable chaos that was bound to take place in the call. She decided to wait with joining the lobby though - at least until they realize she’s with them. 

“..the fuck you’re talking about?!” Felix’s voice was the first thing she heard, which made her roll her eyes with a smile. “It’s not my fault I sound like that! At least I don’t have a liar voice like Rae!” 

“HEY!” the girl yelled “I don’t have a liar voice!”

“You do, you’re using it even now!” Jack argued, much to Rae’s dismay. 

“What is going on here” Corpse’s deep voice sounded out suddenly. 

“Oh, you’re here! Finally” Sykkuno immediately welcomed him with his always happy voice. 

“Yeah, sorry that I’m late guys.”

“No worries, man” Pewdiepie spoke up again. “We were just talking about playing the voice card and that you’re basically the only one who can do it.” 

“Not fair at all!” Rae chimed in, making Corpse chuckle. 

“The voice card...” he hummed after a moment, before adding. “I wouldn’t really say I’m the only one though...”

“Well who else then? Everyone else either starts laughing or have a liar voice” Dave asked, and Rae scoffed at the last words.

“Well what about my guest?”

Y/N inhaled sharply, realizing that now she should probably reveal herself. 

“Oh, right! Who you’re bringing man?” Sean asked with curiosity.

That’s when Y/N typed in the game code, and her white astronaut appeared in the lobby. 

“Wait, who’s- HOLY SHIT” Sean all but yelled, when realization hit him. Y/N laughed loudly at his reaction, and her voice only seemed to prove to everyone that she really was there. 

“KIDDO WHAT THE FUCK” Felix reflected Jack’s response, yelling over his friend.

“Oh my god, hi!”

“What a surprise!” Y/N managed to catch Sykkuno’s words. “It’s so amazing to have you here, Y/N/N!” 

“As I live and breathe.” another voice spoke up, and Toast’s little astronaut came face to face with her white bean. “My lifelong nemesis. Back here snap my neck again, huh?”

“Yeah, happy to hear you too, Toast” Y/N giggled at his words, then she adressed the whole group. “Hi guys.”

“Okay I did not expect that in the slightest” Sean laughed happily “You’re here kiddo!” 

“I am” she smiled from ear to ear, even though they couldn’t see her. 

“Wait- Corpse, is that the thing you had to take care of?” her best friend asked Corpse with suspicious voice. 

“Well...” he trailed off and cleared his throat, making everyone laugh.

“That’s so great Y/N! We missed you so much!” Rae thundered over the bickering of the boys. “The game hasn’t been the same without you...”

“Agreed. I suddenly stopped dying.” Toast commented, making her roll her eyes with a laugh. 

“I don’t know if I should be happy or fucking scared right now.” Felix laughed nervously. “With Corpse and Y/N? We’re fucked now, guys.”

“I promise I’ll go easy on you, I haven’t played in so long I think I forgot all my strategies...” 

“Yeah, sure.” Toast’s forever suspicious voice made her smile wider. “Just don’t kill me in the first roung, okay? I won’t vote you off just stay the fuck away from me you little murderer.” 

“Okay, I promise I won’t kill you...” 

She couldn’t stop herself from laughing, and the smile remained on her face even when they started the game. It only seemed to widen, when she saw the sign Imposter on her screen. 

Only to giggle hysterically when she realized that Toast was the other imposter...

And so the game went on with Y/N and Toast cooperating like perfect serial killers. Corpse did as he promised and guided her through the map, both of them being closely followed by Sykkuno. Because of that she’d just sabotage the map most of the time to give Toast opportunities to kill their friends, but eventually managed to sneak out when her two fellow crewmates were doing their tasks. It just so happen that Pewds was walking past her, and she might’ve accidentally snapped his neck... 

“Goddamnit! I knew it! I fucking knew it was you!” Sean yelled once the game was over and Y/N saw the sign VICTORY on her screen, her small character standing next to Toast’s one. He was ejected at some point because Poki managed to walk in on him killing Rae, but Y/N remained undetected until the very end. Perhaps the fact that Corpse was one of the two crewmates who were left alive had something to do wtih it...

“That was rude” Pewds said in a whiny voice, clearly referring to their encounter which led to his death. “I was just happily walking around, doing my tasks like a good crewmate, and then boom! Y/N happened” 

“I would say I’m sorry... but I’m really not” she laughed, making Felix gasp in shock.

“That’s what happens when you work with Toast!” 

“Good game, Y/N. That was amazing” the man in question said appreciatively. 

“Will you finally forgive me for killing you that one time if I say that being imposters with you was cool?” she laughed nervously. 

“Actually... Yeah, I guess we can bury the hatchet now. AND we should team up more in the future.”

“Great!” 

“Excuse me, what?” Corpse’s voice made the whole lobby laugh. “I don’t remember us cancelling our partnership, Y/N.”

“Corpse...” 

“Are you trying to steal my accomplice from me Toast?” 

“Well she’s a great partner in crime after all...” Toast deliberately used the phrase, making Corpse gasp.

“Hey! She’s my partner! Find yourself your own, Toast” Corpse joked, making Y/N laugh bashfully, her cheeks warming up at his words. 

“Yeah yeah, I remember, don’t worry man. No one’s gonna take your partner in crime away from you...” Toast’s teasing voice made them all laugh, Corpse and Y/N included. 

For the next few rounds Y/N played as a crewmate, running around the map with either Corpse or Sykkuno and doing her tasks. During meetings they joked and laughed, and for a moment, she stopped thinking about what people watching her friend’s streams might think about her presence. After all, there was at least a small chance that they didn’t think about it at all, and simply enjoyed watching their favoirte youtubers. Just as she enjoyed playing with her friends. 

Oh, and by the way, Corpse kept his promise and didn’t kill her even when she was the last player alive...

It was soon time when everyone started slowly leaving the lobby, having played for over three hours. Y/N also said her goodbyes to the others and promised that she’d join them to play a game called Raft next week. 

When she turned her computer off and threw herself on her bed, Y/N immediately grabbed her phone to call Corpse. He answered right away. 

“Well hello, partner...” she rolled her eyes with a smile when he accented the last word. “Or should I say, traitor, instead?” 

“Corpse... you know I would never betray you...” 

“Well how can I be so sure, now that I know how cool it is to be imposters with Toast?” she knew he was joking, she could almost hear the smile in his voice.

“Not nearly as cool as it is with you, Corpse” Y/N grinned from ear to ear when Corpse scoffed. 

“I spare your life so many times and that’s what I get in return? You cheat on me with Toast?” he said in disbelief “I’m disappointed, Y/N, I really am.”

“I would never!” she laughed through her words, even though her cheeks were now red because of Corpse’s words. “You’re the best partner in crime, Corpse, I wouldn’t trade you for anyone else!” 

Not only in the game, she thought.

“Hmm, alright. Let’s say I believe you.” he said after a moment of thinking. 

“I mean it, Corpse...” Y/N said after calming down from her laughter. “I... I really wanted to thank you.”

“Thank me? For what?” he asked, genuinely surprised. 

“Well, first of all for inviting me to today’s game... I really had lots of fun, it was great to play and talk with the others. And I wouldn’t be in the lobby if not for you...” Y/N mumbled, before verbalizing her previous thoughts. “And I also wanted to thank you for just... you know... being my friend. My real life partner in crime. I just wanted you to know I’m really glad I met you...” 

Corpse was silent for a good few moments, and Y/N started panicking that maybe she said something wrong, or maybe he found her spontaneous confession funny, or worse, dumb. She was almost ready to somehow laugh it all off, when his voice cut her off.

“Thank you, Y/N. It really means a lot to me too.” he sounded like he had some troubles with speaking, which made Y/N furrow her brows in worry.

“Is everything okay, Corpse?” 

“Yeah, I...” he stuttered, then laughed nervously. “I just didn’t expect that and... yeah. It’s not something I hear on a daily basis, especially from someone like you.”

Someone like me? 

 “But what you said... it’s mutual.” he said after a moment, and Y/N couldn’t stop herself from grinning like an idiot. “You’re the best partner in crime I could ask for. And not only in the game.” 

She could as well just pass out there and there...

“So uhm... there was one thing I wanted to ask you...”

“Yeah?”

“I was wondering if maybe... you know, if you’d have some time... and if you’d want to of course... would you maybe like to visit me here in San Diego?”

Yeah, passing out seems like a good idea. 

***

This is not the last part. 

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[tryingmyves]

Hey Ves! I have a request for you! May you please do Shinsou, Todoroki, ( A character of your choice) who got hit by a quirk who turns them into a lil toddler and they’ve got the biggest crush on their female chubby/plus size classmate 🥺🥺💞 and when they turn back they confess to her💞

hiiii @blossominglark ~ tysm for your request! i’ve haven’t written something like this yet, so i hope you enjoy! ✨

Shinso’s First Crush

PAIRING: Hitoshi Shinso x Y/N (female, plus sized)

c/w: toddler!Shinso, mostly fluff

When you went to class this morning you thought it was just going to be a normal Monday, but the arrival of Mr. Aizawa with Eri and a small violet haired boy in tow announced that today would be different.

“Awh! Who’s this cutie?” Ochako asks, spotting the unfamiliar child first, “Did you make a new friend, Eri?”

“Don’t call me that!” the boy responds, his pudgy fists balling at his sides.

“There was a mishap last night while we were practicing Eri’s quirk,” Mr. Aizawa says, “She uh, rewound Shinso a little too far.”

Every eye in the classroom is now on the pint-sized Shinso, silence filling the room before a cacophony of reactions burst out all at once. Kaminari and Sero are laughing hysterically. Mina and Hakagure are fawning over how adorable little Shinsou is, while Midoriya is rushing to Eri from his desk to assure her that mistakes happen and no one is mad at her. Iida is questioning how to reverse the effects of Eri’s quirk, and even Bakugo looks amused at the announcement. You’re the only one who notices the quivering lip and watery eyes of tiny Shinso.

Since his introduction to your class you’ve been attempting to befriend him. He made it clear that he hadn’t transferred to the hero course to make friends, but you see passed his uncaring facade. He’s let other people’s comments of the possible malicious nature of his quirk effect his self perception. He is so used to people calling him a villain he can’t fathom he’ll ever be called a friend. And you are determined change that. You’ve made small progress towards your goal in the last month. He sits with you in the cafeteria and even accepted a few invitations to study with you and your group, but no significant progress. But now, seeing Shinso so vulnerable in front of your entire class makes you stand from your desk. Even if he isn’t “here to make friends” he needs one right now, so that’s what you are going to be.

You quickly walk to the front of the room and use your chubby frame to hide him from the overwhelming sight of the his classmates gawking at him. Lowering yourself to your knees so your plump face is level with his, you say, “hey, it’s alright Shinso. Everything’s going to be okay.” Subconsciously, your voice becomes softer and there’s a melodic tune to it. You know that the toddler in front of you is a member of your class and typically two months your senior, but right now he’s just a scared little boy. You can’t help but treat him like any other child.

He wipes at his nose with the back of his sleeve, sniffing back tears, “Y/N, they’re all staring at me. I… I don’t like it!” Shinso is mortified at his current state. He was so determined to do everything by himself to prove he belonged to be in the hero course, but now he’s been reduced to a helpless little kid. Worst of all, the kind, curvy and optimistic girl he’s been secretly crushing on the last month is now trying to console him. He’s normally so good at containing his emotions, but it seems Eri’s quirk has reversed his emotional maturity along with his age. Right now all he can manage to do is try to hide his face so no one can see his tears.

You extend your cushy arms outward, offering a hug and Shinso can’t help but rush into it. He feels so exposed right now but when you hold him against your plump body he feels a little safer. Like he’s wrapped up in a cocoon of you. He hopes he can just stay cloaked in you arms until his metamorphosis back to his old self is complete. However, that possibility is dashed by the arrival of All Might and a man you don’t recognize at the classroom door.

“Sorry we’re late, Aizawa. This is who I told you about on the phone.” All Might says, clapping a hand on the stranger’s shoulder. It turns out, among the countless connections All Might made as the Number One Pro Hero, is a hero who goes by TimeSkip, with the ability to fast forward time. In the hero world, he typically puts his quirk to use at the sights of natural climate disasters by accelerating the regrowth of the land so entire communities aren’t displaced. Luckily, he’s capable of aging or time skipping any living matter, not just plants. Mr. Aizawa had called All Might for help after the incident and was relived his colleague knew someone who could fix the current predicament. 

“Shinso, go with All Might and TimeSkip. They’re going to get you back to normal,” your teacher says.

But Shinso just burrows himself deeper into you, pressing himself up to your chest. You can tell that he doesn’t want to separate from your comforting embrace. You turn your head over your shoulder, “Mr. Aizawa, would it be alright if I went with Shinso?” You drop your voice so you won’t be overheard by your classmates, “For emotional support,” you say with a light nod to the weeping Shinso in your arms. He just gives you a nod. You whisper down into Shinso’s hair, “It’s okay, this is almost over.” You take his small hand in your own and lead him out of the classroom, using your large frame to keep him out of sight of the others. 

The pair of you follow All Might and his friend through the halls, eventually stopping in a vacant training room. TimeSkip explains how his quirk works to Shinso, who is still holding your hand and trying to hide behind one of your legs. With some gentle easing from you, Shinso finally lets go of you and takes TimeSkip’s hand instead. You stand in the hallway with your back to the door while Shinso is returned to his normal self. The hero had explained his clothes would not be growing with him, so it was best for you to wait outside. A few moments pass before the two heroes open the door and step out of the room. 

“He’s all set in there, Y/N.” All Might says, “I think he’s a bit embarrassed, maybe you can cheer him up before the two of you return to class.”

You nod, thanking both All Might and TimeSkip before stepping in to talk to Shinso. He’s wearing his uniform now and leaning back against the wall, head low, and face covered by the mess of his purple hair.

“Hey Shi-“

“Please don’t talk about it,” his voice is quiet and filled with humiliation.

“Oh, yeah. It’s no big deal,” you try to brush it off. You want to comfort him and tell him that he doesn’t have to be self conscious, but you know that will just make him feel worse. “I was just coming to see-“

He cuts you off again, “Y/N, I have to tell you something. When I first transferred into the hero course I told you I wasn’t here to make friends. But then you kept talking to me and trying to get to know me and you started inviting me to lunch and study groups. And I… started to think that having you as a friend wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”

He looks up at you now and takes a step closer, moving away from the wall. “And I realize I like you more than that. I love how soft and round you are, and that you always make sure everyone’s included. That you don’t make yourself smaller because you deserve to take up space. I think you’re beautiful and I am too scared to say it.”

He take a few more steps towards you, so there’s only a foot left between you, “But then when I was frozen there in front of the class you swooped in. And I didn’t hesitate to fall into your arms. I didn’t let my stupid brain get in the way… so I have to tell you now, before I think better of it…”

You can help but smile at the confession. You’ve thought Shinso was cute from the moment you met him, but decided he needed a friend before trying to be something more than that. You didn’t realize that Shinso was crushing on you too. “I thought you didn’t want to talk about it.”

Shinso lets out a light chuckle, finally letting a smile reach his lips. “I don’t. But I had to get it out before I changed my mind. It only would have made it worse.”

You take a small step forward, halving the distance between you. “I, uhm, like you too you know.”

“Why would you want some lanky, closed off guy like me when your so curvy and beautiful?” Shinso breathes in disbelief.

“I guess I have a thing for tall guys,” you joke.

He just shakes his head at you, “Y/N, do you want to go on a date with me tomorrow night?”

You giggle and nod your head, holding out your arms the same way you did in the classroom, “I would love to,” you beam.

Shinso steps forward, enveloping you in a hug. Despite your plus size frame, he easily lifts your feet off the ground for a moment before gently setting you back down.

“I’ll pick you up at eight, okay? And… thank you for helping me today.”

“That’s what friends do,” you assure, excited at the possibility of becoming something more.

[writingtoforgetreality]

The Way You Make Me Feel (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

[Marvel-Masterlist]

Summary: Steve sent Bucky & you on a mission together. Nothing special, you worked well together, after all. This time, you had to go undercover. Pretending to be a couple. Your frustration after an unsuccessful night needed to be released. Bucky had something in mind.

Words: 3,137

Warnings: 18+, NSFW, smut, oral sex, fingering, multiple orgasms, protected sex bc Buck’s a responsible person, this is pure filth, I don’t know what else you want me to say…, language, undercover mission gone wrong, I wanted to write angst??? What happened? …oopsie? I’ll go take a cold shower now.

If you like my work & wanna support me: a coffee would be highly appreciated ❤

Bucky Barnes. Used to be the Winter Soldier. Now the White Wolf. Muscular body. Broad shoulders. That metal arm of his that did unspoken things to you. Basically, he had ruined every other man for you. Unfortunately, he was not yours. He never would be yours. Coworkers. You were coworkers. Nothing more, nothing less.

The teasing was a given. Both, Bucky & you, had personalities that made it impossible to not flirt with each other. It was all playful, of course. Nothing would ever come out of it. Though, you would have lied if you said that you did not wish for it to change. His strut so manly, so strong. Thank God he was oblivious to how your body reacted whenever he was around. Those accidental touches. His hand touching your lower back. Everything set your body on fire. If it was not enough for him to be so hot, of course he had the most charming smiles to top everything off. It was unfair.

It was even worse that the entire team had picked up on the way you eyed Bucky. How whenever he entered the room, your eyes could not fixate on anything else. How your smile got wider whenever he talked. No matter how hard you tried, you fell for him. Harder & harder each day. The chemistry between you guys was no secret. Which was why you usually got teamed up with Bucky to complete missions together. But that was all there ever was. Constant flirting, teasing. Anything beyond that did not exist.

Another mission with him. Undercover. Your absolute favorite. You would have been fine with Sam or anyone else for that matter. But Bucky? Things were bound to get complicated. It was inevitable. Posing as a couple? Really? As if things were not bad enough already. A couple usually shared a room. You understood that. The thing was that you guys were not together. Not outside of this mission. So you had to deal with your emotions for him while being in the exact same room. With one bed. Yeah, things were starting great. After finishing up here, you would kill Steve for sure. He knew about your crush on Bucky. Probably the reason he liked to send you somewhere together. Apparently, it was incredibly exhausting to watch you guys dance around your feelings. You were a lot of things. A dancer was not one of them. More like an observer. Watching from afar to avoid stupid mistakes. That was more fitting.

Gala number one was over. Without any luck. There was no new information & nothing that brought you closer to your target. Just hours of unnecessary pretending & fake laughing. That was exhausting. Especially if Bucky had to be close to you all night long. Always an arm around your waist. A kiss on the cheek for effect. If it were not for this stupid mission, you would have enjoyed every single second of it. Sadly, it was an act. That thought alone broke your heart into a million pieces. Not even you were sure when your feelings for Bucky started. It was like you were thrown into ice cold water all of a sudden & now you had to deal with the aftermath.

Unsuccessful missions always left you frustrated. This type of frustration that let you overthink every little detail. What if you did this? What if you did not do that? What if, what if, what if. Mind being filled with so many thoughts, it was barely possible to stay sane. Even worse, you still had a couple of nights ahead of you. If you did not finish this job then you should not head back. Great. If all nights turned out like this, you would throw yourself out of a window. No, really. You were exhausted.

His body language revealed how stressed he was as well. Completely tense, clenched jaw. He did not like it any more than you did. Truthfully, he was even angrier than you. While the two of you worked well together, when things did not go your way, it could get pretty heated real fast. Words thrown at each other’s heads. Blaming the other one for that particular thing because if that did not happen, then you would have finished this mission already. It took a few hours until the tension died down again. An apology later & you were back to normal.

Not today, it seemed. The two of you were worse after that gala. Maybe it was because you felt uncomfortable all night. Maybe it was because you had to stay here for however long. Maybe it was just him. Him acting like a shy gentleman. Like the husband obsessed with his wife. Wanting to show her off whenever the chance was given. Tonight, you were her. You were his wife. You were the one he wanted to show off. But you were not really her. Just a fraction, if anything. He pretended & so did you. At least that was what you told yourself. Deep down, it was so much more than just pretending. It was like giving in to a craving you had had for years. And while it was not much, it had to do. Had to be enough. Because that was the most you would ever receive. The most he would ever give you. How you wished this were not the case.

So why the hell was he staring even more intensely than usual? Why the hell did he eye you up & down like a hungry animal waiting for the perfect timing to attack its prey? Why the hell did his hands clench into fists? And why the hell did it affect you so much? So much, in fact, that your thighs pressed together involuntarily. An action that did not go unnoticed by him. Standing up, flexing his muscles. Eyes that looked darker in the barely lit room. His never leaving yours when he approached you carefully. He took his time. You knew he did it to give you enough time to escape this situation if you really wanted to. You did not, though. For once, you wanted to give in. For once, you wanted your body to fully feel. Feel him. All of him.

His body was only mere inches away from yours. The exposed skin on your back pressing against the cold wall of your hotel room. The dress did not cover much. Enough to keep the others interested. And apparently to keep him interested, too. Both of his arms came up to rest next to your head. By now, he was caging you with his entire body. An action that let goosebumps appear. You breathed the same air. It seemed like the time stood still. Everything that kept on was you & him. In that hotel room. Against the wall. If he decided to lower his head just a little, your lips would be touching. He did not. No. If this was about to happen then he wanted to take his time with you. Tease you. Hear you. Feel you. Your breathing picked up its pace. He had not even touched you yet but you were already reacting like this. His smirk showed you how much he truly enjoyed having you putty in his hands. One of his legs moved slightly. Until his knee opened your legs slowly. His thigh pressed against your center. Barely, barely enough pressure to give you any form of satisfaction. Yet, you could not help but whimper at his touch. To shut you up, he pressed his soft lips against yours in a passionate kiss. There was no hint of gentleness behind his actions. Just purely heated with a desperation that made you weak at the knees. You melted into his touch, your hands roaming all over his chest. Any way to bring him closer to your body. His metal hand found itself at your waist while his other one cupped your cheek. An almost tender action that balanced out his rough & relentless kiss. It was like he was your drug & now that you got a taste of him, you would never let go again.

When his hands brushed over your shoulders to push the straps of your dress down, your breath hitched in your throat. His mouth went down to your neck, sucking & gently biting every now & then. You moaned when he reached a certain spot. Staying at this place, he focused solely on it all while pushing your gown further down your curves. The moment it reached the floor, he took a step back to take in your full beauty. To him, you were the most gorgeous woman he had ever laid eyes on. Not wasting another second, he dropped to his knees in front of you. So close to where you wanted him the most. Where you needed him. His hands grabbed your hips tightly. It would sure leave bruises but you knew you would love looking at them after waking up. Because he did that to you. Kissing his way down your belly, he made sure to focus on his task. His eyes opened when he reached your panties. Silently asking for permission. You were too far gone already so you eagerly nodded at him, threading your hands through his soft locks. A slight push earned you a groan. One, that went straight to your pussy. But he would not give in that easily. After all, he had waited so long for this to happen. He would savor it in great detail. His flesh hand kneaded one of your breasts, rolling your nipples between his fingers. You were in a state of bliss & he had barely touched you. That was enough to let him know what he did to you. Before you could even process what he was doing, he pulled your panties off in one swift motion & slid his metal fingers through your slit. The coldness of it made your excitement grow even more. Usually, you would feel embarrassed by how wet you were. But this was Bucky. With him, it was different. An approving hum coming from him was enough confirmation. You had no need to be ashamed.

His fingers worked slowly, almost lazily. He knew how to push your buttons. By the way he touched you, so skilled, with such certainty, it was like he knew your body better than you did. Bucky encouraged you to be noisy, he wanted to hear you. The sweet moans, the whimpers, that he caused. He was the reason for them. Finally, he found your clit & put more pressure on it. Rubbing it in a steady motion. You could feel your orgasm building up already. You wanted to warn him, wanted to let him know that you needed a tiny bit more. He got the message when you pulled his hair tighter. While his finger stayed on your bundle of nerves, his head dipped lower, using his tongue to eat you out. And holy shit. That man knew what he was doing. He was so skilled, you assumed he had had tons of women before you. Right now, you could not care less. Your entire focus was on his ministrations & how his tongue entering you mixed with his fingers on your clit brought you higher & higher. Gripping his hair harder made him groan into you. That was all it took for you to let go. Your thighs shook & if it were not for Bucky steadying you, you would have fallen to the floor. For a few seconds, your vision was all blurry. That had never happened before. All the people who you had been with had never managed to satisfy you quite like this.

Again, his lips met yours. This time, you could taste yourself on them. And if it were possible, it turned you on even more. Both of his hands went to the back of your thighs, lifting you up with ease. He walked over to the bed & laid you down gently. All while his lips stayed locked onto yours. He propped himself up on his arms in order not to crush you with his weight. It was only then when you realized that he was still entirely dressed. Which was not really fair, considering that you were completely bare in front of him. Your hands went to open the buttons of his shirt but since you were still shaky after that first mind blowing orgasm he gave you, you could not quite succeed with that. A low chuckle escaped Bucky & his face left yours to help you out. His frantic actions showed you how he did not want to waste any more time. You barely had enough time to appreciate his body in its full glory. His muscles. His soft skin. Bucky knew what he wanted & he wanted it now.

He topped you, this time you opened your legs for him to slip in between. The kisses grew more & more passionate. But before you could get lost into it once again, he pulled away from you entirely. Your eyes opened, concern written all over your features. Bucky shushed you before you had the chance to ask if you did something wrong. Crossing the room in no time, he came back with a condom in his hand. The wink he sent you made you breathe easier. So he was not about to leave you. Opening the package, he took one of his arms to stroke over his thick cock. Sitting up, you kissed him while taking the condom from him. Your hand grabbed his wrist & you replaced his with yours, mimicking his previous motions. He groaned lowly & you smirked at his reaction. Twisting your hands just right, you picked up your pace. By the way his breath got heavier, you assumed that he was enjoying it. Suddenly, he pushed you away from him. Not hard, just so you would get the message. You knew what he was getting at. Giving him another short peck, you rolled the condom on & laid back down on the mattress. He followed your motions & set himself between your legs again. One arm on each side of your head as to not hurt you. His tip teased your entrance. Slowly sliding up & down to gather you slickness. Whenever he touched your clit, a moan left your mouth. That went on for a while. After all, Bucky made it his job to tease you. When the whimpers got too much, he asked you a simple question. In that deep, lust-filled voice of his.

“What do you want, doll?” you knew what he was trying to do. He wanted you to beg for him. But you were not that type of person. Not usually. Bucky was the exception. And he only had to ask that question twice before you gave in, the frustration clearly audible.

“Please, Buck. Please, I need you.” that did the job. In one swift motion, he entered you, filling you up so painfully right. That familiar, delicious sting. He stilled for a second. While he knew that he wanted to make this rough, he did not want to hurt you in any way. So he let you adjust to his size. Only when you moved your hips slightly & when you moaned out his name did he start his thrusts.

At first, he set a steady pace. Long, deep thrust that made your breasts bounce in the sweetest way possible. Not once did he close his eyes. No, he wanted to remember everything about this. Everything about you. You being under him. It did not take long for you to beg him for more. Giving in, he quickened his thrusts. Now, much deeper than before. He reached places inside of you you did not even know existed. The entire bed was moving & for once, you did not care if anybody heard you. All that mattered was the man on top of you. The man who made you feel like this. Like you were a goddess that needed to be devoured. During this moment, you felt like the prettiest woman on Earth. Bucky made you feel like that. You hated your body’s reaction to him. Because you could already feel your second orgasm building up. You did not want this to end so soon. You did not want to let go. But you knew you could not hold it back. Not much longer. Not if Bucky kept going like this. Somehow trying to signal that you were close, Bucky got an idea. His entire weight was now on his right arm while his metal one made its way between your bodies. Before he touched you there, he gave you an order. One that you could not help but obey.

“Open your eyes, doll. I wanna see you cum for me.” he said it in such a sexy way, barely above a whisper, but loud enough for you to understand that he was serious. So you did. You opened your eyes, locking them with his. That was when his metal fingers started rubbing fast circles around your clit. The noises coming from you got louder & louder. You were so close. When his thrusts did not slow down, you knew you would be there soon. The last bit it took came from Bucky, lips brushing your over your cheek, breathing another order in your ear.

“Cum for me. Yeah, that’s it. Cum all around me.” you had never heard something so hot coming from him. His words brought you over the edge. For the second time tonight, you saw dark spots clouding your vision. Bucky watching you cum under him made him reach his high as well. He bit your shoulder when he did. The pain mixed beautifully with the ecstasy you were currently experiencing.

He stilled inside of you, the two of you breathing heavily. You had never felt this satisfied after sleeping with someone. Slipping out of you, he rolled onto his side, propping his head onto his arm. There it was again. His charming smile. While he was a shy, polite gentleman outside of this room, he sure as hell did not hold back in bed. And you were glad that he did not. Smiling at him, too, he leaned in one more time for another kiss. This time, it was soft. Delicate. Not like the ones you shared only a few minutes ago. This sweet, romantic moment got interrupted when Bucky gripped your hips & rolled you on top of him so you were straddling his lap.

“I’m not done with you, doll.” yeah, it was about to be a long, tiring night.

Published (04/07/2021) by Cathy

Tags: @sweetserendipity65, @buckysleftarm420, @longinusfilibuster, @kathsheaven, @your-local-awkward-barista, @xfeliciahardyx (thanks for your support <3)

[missymurphy1985]

Reminiscing

Warnings - tooth rotting fluff... And smut. Obvs. Bit of a Daddy Kink thrown in cuz why the hell not?

Taglist (message me to be added!)

@queenshelby @peakyscillian @ntmynouis @margoo0 @janelongxox @being-worthy

You sat in the large armchair, in the big bay window of your Dublin home, blanket over your legs, as you immersed yourself in the latest John Grisham novel. Your husband was out, dropping his sons off back at their mum's after spending the weekend with you. You couldn't help but pinch yourself on a regular basis. Gorgeous husband, amazing young stepsons, even Cillians ex-wife, Lisa, was someone you considered a close friend - the split had been amicable, and she'd encouraged her sons with Cillian to welcome you with open arms. You even met her for lunch a few times a month, much to Cillian's surprise. He was more concerned the two of you were comparing notes than anything else!

Hearing the front door open and close, he smiled as he re-entered the room. Leaning over to kiss your lips, he sank down onto the sofa and picked his own book up from the coffee table.

"How was Lisa?" You asked, taking a sip of your coffee.

"Good - she said she'd call you later, something about a girls night out next week."

"Sounds fun - I'm up for that." You nestled down snug in the chair and continued your chapter. You could feel his eyes looking your way, and smiled internally. You loved the way he just watched you when he thought you couldn't see.

The way your legs hung over the chair, blanket covering your lower half. He smiled, remembering the day you met at the aftershow party for his latest play in Dublin. He was hesitate to go, but the director had convinced him. You were the director, Enda Walsh's niece, and you'd gone along to support your uncle's latest stage production. You knew who Cillian was of course, not that it bothered you. Working as a stagehand part time at the theatre in your teens, you'd met plenty of famous people over the years and frankly most of them were arrogant idiots with egos the size of Jupiter. Cillian was different though. Down to earth, sweet, kind, normal. Neither of you particularly looking for love, but sometimes it happens in the most unlikely of places.

Flashback

"Cillian, this my niece y/n. Y/n, this is Cillian, the star of the show!" Enda introduced the two of you and Cillian smiled, leaning forward to embrace you softly and kiss your cheek.

"I've heard so much about you y/n, nice to put a face to the name." You couldn't help but feel butterflies looking into those blue eyes, and without you realising at the time, Cillian felt exactly the same about yours. You'd spent most of the evening from that point talking about the theatre and what you each loved about it - from the lighting and production side to the audience reactions during the live show itself. You'd seen Cillian in the show three times, you'd been mesmerised by his performance, but this was the first time you'd met him.

The music changed as the night was drawing to a close. A slower number, and the other cast members and production team all took their respective partners to the dance floor. You were both now sat pretty much alone - clearly the only single people in the room!

"Would you like to dance?" Cillian asked, sheepishly. It suddenly felt a little awkward. You looked at him surprised, but found yourself nodding as he offered you his hand and led you to the dance floor. You could feel your uncle's stare as Cillian placed one hand on your waist and took your hand with his other, both of you gently swaying to the music. He was a smooth dancer, never missing a step. No toes clashing together, and the awkwardness melted away as you looked into each others eyes. The rest of the room suddenly becoming an afterthought.

"I've really enjoyed talking to you tonight y/n."

"Me too, you're not like the other actors. You're... Normal!" You giggled lightly.

"I'm boring, you mean?" He laughed in response, you could feel his fingers caressing your waist softly as you continued to sway.

"How'd you feel about dinner one night? We can talk more about how boring we both are?" That smile again.

"You're on. He pulled you a little closer, your cheeks inches apart. He desperately wanted to kiss you there and then but with your uncle a mere few feet away he didn't dare. He knew you were 28 to his 40, and he wasn't sure how his friend would react to it.

"You two seemed to be getting on well?" Enda approached you after the party, and he couldn't help but notice the glow around you after your dance with Cillian. He'd gone to the bathroom.

"He's a nice guy Uncle E, we have a lot in common."

"You know he's 40, and has two kids, right?"

"Uncle -"

"Cillian! So you're taking my niece out for dinner are you?" He returned from the men's room and froze.

"Um.. I..."

"I'm kidding... God you're too easy to wind up!! Have fun!!" Both of you audibly sighed in relief.

"He's an ass..." You smiled as Cillian offered you his arm to link into.

"I have a car outside, I'll drop you home?" You nodded, taking his arm.

You both sat in the back, the driver being given your home address as Cillian pushed the visor up between the driver and you. Privacy. He took your hand, leaning back and kissed the back of it gently. You smiled - your first kiss, but not where you wanted it.

"He can't see us, right?" You asked. He nodded and pulled you closer to him. "So..." Leaning toward you slowly, he gently ran a thumb over your cheek and pressed his lips to yours. You returned the kiss. His mouth opening slightly to gain access to yours, your tongues soon met. It quickly became heated before Cillian pulled away.

"You wanna go home?"

"You want me to go home?"

"Nope."

"Then I'm not going home." Cillian pulled the visor down and told him you were both going back to his house instead before pulling you back against his lips.

****************************************

The memories of that first night were as clear as if it had happened only yesterday, not two years ago. It was so good that you both often got yourselves off to the thought of it when Cillian was away working. Two years on and your lives were simply idyllic.

He made his way over to you in the chair and kneeled down next to you, running a hand under your summer dress and squeezing your thigh.

"You know, I've been thinking..." He leaned closer to your ear, making you squirm. He knew the effect his voice had on you and he played on it daily.

"Dangerous..." You smirked, and he responded by tracing kisses up your back, his hand still teasing under your dress, over your now damp underwear.

"All this house.. and just the two of us.. seems a waste, don't you think?" His fingers gently moving your panties aside and slipping between your folds. Instinctively you opened your legs, granting him access.

"Hmmm....." Your hips rising slightly to meet his fingers. "Are you saying you want a dog, Cillian.."

"Funny, y/n... No.." his fingers were torturing you, caressing everywhere except where you needed him to be.

"Wanna fill me with your baby do you daddy?"

"Hmm.. call me that again..." He smiled, his erection now painfully pushing against his jeans as he dipped a finger inside you.

"Do we have a Daddy Kink, Cillian? Does making me full of your baby turn you on?" You tried to retain composure as a second finger entered you, his hand now pushing them in and out slowly.

"Fuck... Stand up." He ordered and he immediately pulled the dress over your head and your underwear down. Swiftly followed by his own clothing, before he lay you down on the sofa.

"Guess we won't be needing a condom for this then... Fuck me daddy - give me a baby..."

"Coming right up..." He kneeled back down next to you and parted your perfect legs, before sinking two fingers back inside, rubbing your clit with his thumb. It wasn't long before you were writhing under his touch, calling his name as you came hard against his hand. He moved over you, quickly turning you over so your pert behind was up in the air and you were gripping the arm of the sofa in hot anticipation. He pushed inside, feeling you for the first time without a barrier - no other contraception had suited you, so you'd stuck with condoms - and he groaned as he filled you completely.

"Jesus... God yes.. right there Daddy...." He picked up the pace at your words, thrusting into you like a man possessed.

"Fuck this is tight baby... I'm not gonna last long like this..."

"Fill me up Daddy.. make me pregnant.. give me your baby..." He couldn't hold back after that, and came hard, filling you and sending you into your second orgasm. Breathing heavy, he stayed in until he was completely spent - not daring to waste a drop.

"Lay on your back y/n... Legs in the air.." you did as he asked, confused. "Helps the whole process apparently."

"So you meant it then?" You smiled as he knelt beside you again, swirling a hand over your belly.

"What, that I want to see the love of my life's body swell with my baby inside? Damn right I meant it y/n.. nothing would make me happier than a baby with you." You were grinning now, as he leaned in to kiss you.

"Love you Cill."

"Love you more mama." The sound of him calling you that made your heart swell. You couldn't wait to hear your baby call it you too.

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: The long game

“This peace accord is a farce!” Doogoma swatted the papers off the table sending them to the floor in a blizzard of ink. “We could have won this war and claimed all of Zomoria territory had your people not sued for this!”

He directed his gaze at Melvin who was sitting opposite him at the table casually cleaning the dirt from under his finger nails.

“The human federation league weighed their options and a prolonged war was deemed not to be in our benefit." Melvin said as he blew the last speck of dirt off his fingers.

“What fools predicted it would be a long war?” Doogoma reached and pulled a paper from the ground and slapped it in front of Melvin. “Our sources reported that the Zomoria military were on their last legs!”

“Their fleet has the same number of ships on the line as when the war began three years ago Doogoma.” Melvin countered as he casually pushed the paper back, but Doogoma jabbed his finger into it and pressed on.

“Because they have exhausted their entire reserve navy; they have nothing left to bring forward when those ships are damaged or destroyed giving us the advantage we needed!”

Melvin rolled his eyes and adjusted himself.

“You make a fair point Doogma but say we did destroy their fleet, what then?”

Tapping several keys into the data entry built into the table a star map appeared between the two. The outlines of territories were color coded showing the current borders of the great empires. Doogoma pointed at a thin section that separated human space from the Zomoria homeworld.

“We could have launched dozens of ground invasions and-“

“-and wiped out all major resistance cells in a month; yes, yes.” Melvin said rolling his eyes. “Your goals are too short sighted to have been effective.”

“What do you mean?”

Melvin rocked back in his chair. “Yes, we could have wiped out their military easily enough but then we must install garrison forces to maintain order; in every village, in every city, on every planet across all of Zomoria territory.”  He waved his hand across the length of the map to emphasize the point. “We are talking millions of deployed troops that would require a constant stream of supplies which we could simply not afford.”

Doogoma grunted. “They could easily live off the land for supplies.”

“And antagonize the local populations?” Melvin countered. “They would already have a target on their back the moment their dropships touched the surface but pillaging lands would only further push the local populations into forming insurgency movements.”

He pointed directly at Doogoma and his voice became serious. “The number of dead soldiers from the occupation would eventually far exceed the current number who have died to earn us this peace.”

Doogoma slumped back into his chair, conceding the point to Melvin. “There is merit to your words, and I fear that nothing short of an extermination of local populations would ensure total stability.”

“Which would open up a whole new line of problems for us,” Melvin casually said as if the slaughter of billions was a trifle of a matter, “many of which would be the universal outcry for the genocide of an entire sentient species.”

“I still yet to see how this peace then gives us victory.”

“Because,” Melvin said smiling, “what we obtained was exactly what we need to destroy the Zomoria.”

Doogoma cocked his head at this. “All we obtained were trade agreements and embassy rights to several worlds.”

“It’s a foot in the door and that’s all we need to pry it open.”

Melvin leaned forward. “The Zomoria are a highly caste based society, each one limited by birth to the caste they were born in to.” Doogoma nodded and Melvin continued. “So it is safe to say those at the lowest rungs of the caste know nothing of the comforts of life....”

Doogoma’s interest was piqued with that last statement.

“Through our trade they will have access to data streamers, fashionable clothing, comfy beds, artworks of astounding beauty, and a hundred other luxuries that at the beginning of the war were reserved only for the ruling caste.”

Melvin entered several keys and the star charts shift to pictures of furniture and happy Zomoria’s. “They will see their standard of living shoot up by leaps and bounds what would have taken generations and at a fraction of the price.”

Doogoma scoffed. “This was your grand master plan; to trade with them?”  He was surprised when his response was a smile and nod.

“Once the ruling caste sees this they will attempt to clamp down on trade and reassert the old order. They may even begin confiscating all merchandise that is traded from off world, but by then the damage will be done.”

“The lower caste will see this with hostility as their few simple comforts are ripped from their arms. They’ll hate the upper castes for that, and that will lead to distrust, then questioning, then resentment, followed by several other steps that lead to open revolt.”

Doogoma wasn’t sure how a simple couch could lead to a revolt, but the human’s calm manner made it seem as if it was not as farfetched as it sounded.

“The lower castes will see us as their true benefactors; that by making their lives much easier for them that we are the ones helping them along.”

“And with that level of public support a garrison force would not be viewed as harshly.” Doogoma said as the pieces finally fell in line.

“Exactly!” Melvin said with a grin. “We would deploy our forces to “secure” our trade agreements, but with a level of public support unheard of meaning a need for fewer troops and supplies.”

Doogoma saw the furniture display change back to the star chart to the map of the empires. “Dissent would begin to grow as individual worlds sought to free themselves from the oppressive rule of the current Zomoria government and seek to join the human federation league, thus ensuring a peaceful expansion of territory and the destruction of our enemies.”

“I am impressed you though so far in advance with these plans.” Doogoman admitted.

“We humans like to view goals in the perspective of the long run. We get little today, to ensure we secure the vastness of tomorrow.”

[teawaffles]

There’s No Business Like Show Business: Chapter 3

“Fred. How’s their acting like to you?” Jack asked in a low voice.

They were seated at the edge of the stalls. They could also see Bond from where they were, completely focused on the stage.

“I’m not an actor myself, so this is just my personal opinion — but I think they’re awfully good,” Fred replied.

Jack gazed at the stage with a serious look in his eyes.

“I think so too. I won’t discount the fact that their sets and props look a little homemade, maybe due to a lack of budget; but when it comes to acting, each one of them is highly skilled. I can tell that the performers are all deeply familiar with the intent of the script.”

They were no theatre professionals for sure, but they possessed an eye for the true essence of their art.

The creases near Jack's eyes deepened as he quietly groaned.

“And best of all is that lady.”

“Yeah, I thought so too,” Moran agreed. With Fred included, all of them were focused on the lone person on the stage.

As Jack had pointed out, Maya, the chairwoman, was the standout actress even among the highly-skilled members of her own company.

Although she only held the lead role in “The Little Match Girl”, and was relegated to supporting roles for the other stories, the delivery of her lines, the movements of her body and hands, and even the slight shifts in her gaze — each and every one of her actions was perfectly under her control. They had seen a glimpse of this when she’d stood before her fellow company members previously, but this person on stage was completely different from the one who'd spoken to them at the entrance.

Even accounting for the fact that she had written the script herself, this level of sophistication in acting was not one which could be achieved by some run-of-the-mill actress. Moreover, the lines and pauses in the script had been carefully crafted to make it easy for the audience to relate to the stories.

From then on, the three of them enjoyed the rest of the play in silence, marvelling at her exceptional talent. Eventually, the rehearsal came to an end.

“——That concludes our performance. Thank you very much for coming.”

After her closing words, the company lined up on stage, silently waiting for Bond’s comments. While there had not been any flashy moments during the performance, almost all of them had sweat on their foreheads. Each breath they took revealed the depth of their concentration.

“…………”

For a short while, Bond stared at the stage without saying a word. Growing uneasy at the silence, the company members lowered their gazes slightly.

After what seemed like an eternity, Bond cleared his throat, and adjusted his posture. Seeing that, the company members straightened their backs.

“——If I were to summarise my thoughts, I think your acting has already reached a high standard. I’m sure all of you have put in much time and effort to achieve this.”

Their faces beamed at his compliment. But Bond would not allow them to be satisfied with that alone.

He rose from his seat.

“But that’s also why some bad habits have stood out to me. For example, the witch in ‘The Little Mermaid’: there were times when your movements were too exaggerated. I know that you wanted to emphasise her sinister nature, but the way you did so may turn off the audience.”

“Y-Yes……”

The actress who’d been singled out hung her head, perhaps out of shock. But Bond ignored this, and pointed to another woman.

“Now, you played the main character in ‘The Red Shoes’. I watched your steps after putting on the shoes — have you properly studied dance? It’s true that even some stage professionals may think that it’s alright to just mimic the real thing, but if you really want to make your performance more authentic, you must take the time to learn how to do it properly. Your audience will not be satisfied unless you show them a level of skill that will astonish even people in that profession.”

“Understood!” she responded with vigour.

“Next up is you: the way you project your voice——”

Then Bond singled out each of the performers in turn, highlighting in detail what they needed to work on. He only needed to watch their play once to spot areas for improvement at such a fine level of detail — his eye for the arts gave them all a sense of the former professional’s brilliance.

At last, Bond finished addressing every member of the company. But he then swept his gaze over the entire theatre.

“In addition…… this isn’t your fault at all, but your success today was only possible due to the small size of this theatre,” he said, with some distress. “If we were in a bigger venue, the hall would be wider and deeper to accommodate the larger audience. In other words, I’m afraid that with your current performance, your voices simply would not reach the entire audience.”

Maya paled.

“So, in order to accommodate the size of the venue……”

“Yes. The worst-case scenario would be that you have to rework the entire play. By the way, when is the opening night?”

“T—Two weeks later.”

The entire room was enveloped in silence. Even from where they were seated, Moran and the others felt the weight of their despair: all the hard work they had put in thus far, might just have amounted to nothing.

Even Bond, who had revealed this harsh reality, dropped his gaze and grimaced.

“Well, there are a fair number of productions that focus only on the stage, and do not account for the size of the audience, so you may not have to change——”

“——No, we’ll do it.”

Maya sharply interrupted his proposal.

“You’ve seen how I am; I’ve always been timid and hesitant…… but theatre is the one thing I will never compromise on. Especially now — this is a rare opportunity for us. For my fellow company members, for the people who’ve supported us this far, I want to show them something I’ve put every effort into making.”

“…………”

At her words, the rest of the company nodded in silence.

Even with the actual performance only two weeks away, Maya and her company had steeled their hearts and chosen to start again from scratch. That stubborn determination surprised Bond, and even Moran and the rest.

“U—Um…… Mr Bond, I actually have something I wish to discuss with you……”

Out of the blue, Maya’s voice had grown soft.

“U—Um, if it is alright with you, just for the next two weeks, could you sit in during our rehearsals? A—Ah, actually, just whenever you have the time would be fine……”

Bond chuckled.

Even after being told about all those problems, they refused to stand down, and even continued to ask for help. Their mental fortitude sparked hope in him, and he couldn’t help but let out a grin.

Bond shot the party in the stalls a questioning look. Moran looked to Jack and Fred in turn, before giving him a thumbs-up.

With that, the former flames of passion within Bond burned even hotter. He faced the company members with a determined grin.

“——Okay. But I will be especially tough on you all, so be prepared.”

Then, he called out to Fred.

“Fred-kun. I would like your help as well — is that alright with you?”

“Understood,” he replied, standing up.

“Bond, I’m always happy to teach knife-wielding.”

“And you can always ask me about gun handling.”

“Now that would be helpful,” Bond smiled at Jack and Moran’s jests, then turned back to the stage.

“Well then, everyone — for the next two weeks, let’s do our best together.”

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

“During a performance, you must be always be aware of three things: the audience, the other actors, and yourself. If the feeling of being ‘watched’ becomes too strong for you, first direct your attention within yourself. Then, you will be able to focus on your acting once again.”

“I don’t advocate the idea of getting into a role. In the end, acting is just a skill: what you should focus on instead is how you are moving.”

“Although an effective way of bringing out emotions is to dredge up your past memories, I would advise you to avoid that. Recent memories are too concrete and vivid — if you must do so, use memories from your distant past. And be careful: if you frequently immerse yourself in negative emotions, you will hurt yourself on a spiritual level too.”

In a small theatre in Whitechapel, Bond’s instructions came forth ceaselessly.

He stood on stage together with the company members: carefully reviewing their movements, even acting them out himself as an example on occasion, and putting in every effort to raise the level of their production.

The remaining two weeks were short, but with their foundations already strong to begin with, Maya and her company steadily honed their acting skills to perfection.

One week left until the show. His work as an instructor had finally ended for the day, and he let out a sigh as he sat in the stalls to catch his breath.

“Good work today — fancy a sip?”

Having watched the proceedings from the stalls, Moran handed him a bottle of water. It was a beer bottle — very Moran-like — and Bond accepted it with a smile.

“Thanks, Moran-kun.”

Bond gulped down a single mouthful of water.

“So, how’s the play going?”

“At first I thought we would be hard-pressed for time, but they truly exceeded my expectations. I think we might just make it. ……Scratch that, we will make it.”

Moran nodded.

“That’s right. And they seem to be well-liked by the residents around here. I really hope they can pull it off.”

As Moran gazed off into the distance, a thought just occurred to Bond. He cocked his head.

“Come to think of it, you really didn’t have to tag along with me all this time, you know?”

Ever since the day Bond had agreed to lend his support to the company, his other colleagues had stopped over from time to time to cheer him on. However, Moran had made it a point to come to the theatre every day without fail.

Moran scratched his cheek in embarrassment.


“……Well, it’s not like I have anything else to do when there aren’t any missions. As a senior member of this organisation, I’m just here to see how my junior works.”

“Even though you’ve been skipping out on chores at the mansion?”

“D—Dammit, I told you before: I always do my share of the work, you know.”

Bond had said that half-jokingly, but his words flustered Moran nevertheless. It seemed he had not been entirely wrong about that.

Bond returned his gaze to the stage.

“……Thank you, Moran-kun,” he said quietly.

“Hmm? Didn’t you already say that earlier?”

“This one means something different,” he said, with a hint of mischief in his voice. Moran raised an eyebrow in bemusement, but the presence of a caring senior alone warmed Bond’s heart.

Just then, they heard the sound of the theatre doors opening.

As the two men turned to look, they saw a portly middle-aged man with a magnificent moustache standing at the entrance.

Maya hurriedly bowed in his direction. “T—Thank you so much for your help thus far! What brings you all the way here?”

From her formal manner, it seemed this was the very noble who had asked them to stage the opening act for his theatre.

“Ah, you’ve been working hard, I see,” he said as he stroked his moustache, a big smile on his face.

“Yes; with your assistance, we’ve been able to prepare for the performance in time. I’m sure the audience will be satisfied with——”

“Well, about that.”

The man interrupted Maya, still all smiles.

“——Your performance has been cancelled.”

“What?”

No one could believe their ears.

Her expression brimmed with confusion.

“U-Um, what do you mean……?”

“What does it mean? Just pretend our conversation back then didn’t happen. That’s all.”

The man made another simple pronouncement, then smiled as if nothing was wrong.

“Honestly, it’s just as well that this has happened, since I’ve also been troubled over your debut. So what I’m saying is, your company doesn’t have to turn up. That’s alright with you, isn’t it?”

The entire company was still in a state of shock. Then, Bond addressed the man directly.

“Now hold on just a moment. What do you mean, you were troubled? Then why did you ask them to perform? What’s more, isn’t it a little late to cancel the performance at this juncture?”

Hearing that, the man sighed in displeasure.

“Who are you, anyway? Someone connected to this company? I’m not happy to be asked so many questions at once.”

“Then I’ll summarise it for you. If you were going to cancel the performance so easily, why bother requesting Maya and her company to perform anyway?”

At Bond’s question, the nobleman shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, that’s simple. I just felt like it.”

“……What?”

Those shocking words froze him to the core.

“I’d heard about a reputable theatre company in the slums. Since there’s this notion of noblesse oblige anyway, I thought a performance would be a good topic for conversation and approached them. But then I grew to realise that the thought of poor people stepping onto the sacred stage of an official theatre just didn’t sit well with me. So yesterday, I finally decided to put an end to this madness.”

“How could you……”

He had asked Maya’s company to perform on a whim, and then cancelled their act on a selfish whim as well. And this was all decided just ‘yesterday’. Even though they had been putting in every effort into their play.

The nobleman continued.

“That’s all I had to say. You poor folk are living off the graces of the nobility, so be grateful that I even bothered to come all this way to talk to you. Now that I’m finished here, I’ll be leaving. The smell here is simply an assault on my senses.”

Right before he walked out, the man spat out one last line.

“Well, at least you all had a nice dream, didn’t you?”

“………!”

A violent rage surged within Bond. Somehow, he managed to grit his teeth and hold himself back. If he were to retaliate right now, he would be inviting unnecessary reprisal on Maya and her company rather than himself. So all he could do was look daggers at the nobleman’s back as he left.

The theatre was enveloped in a mournful silence. Everyone seemed to have lost their verve, and no one uttered a word. Bond was shaking with frustration.

Amidst the heavy atmosphere, just one man — Moran — gazed upon the situation with composure.

Finally, Maya, the chairwoman, mumbled in a thin voice.

“Um, I’m so sorry. I think, I’m not feeling too well……”

Then, with a hollow expression, she headed to the dressing room, her footsteps shaky.

[13uswntimagines]

Instincts and Media Day: What a Terrible Combination (Alpha Kelley x Omega!Reader)

Request: R goes into heat and Kelley has to contain herself so she doesn’t pounce on R, but also so she doesn’t fight another alpha if they come near her girl. So, throughout it all, she becomes more possessive and protective, especially since they are having a busy media day where R has to be around other alphas for shoots and videos.

Authors note: Hey dudes, I hope you Enjoy! Hit me up with Comments, Questions or Requests! 

You groaned lightly, burying your face as far into your alpha’s neck as you could get, taking in her soothing scent. Her strong arms were wrapped around you, holding you tightly, trying to alleviate some of the pre-heat aches you were experiencing. You whimpered as another round of cramping hit your lower belly, soothed slightly by Kelley’s hands rubbing circles into your back. 

“I know baby, I know, just a few hours,” She murmured into your hair, kissing your ear and pulling you ever closer (which was difficult because you had already taken up residence on her lap). She would much rather be cuddled up in bed with you, but you had media obligations before the Olympics that you couldn’t get out of. 

You whined into her neck, pawing at her shirt collar in an attempt to expose more skin for you to nuzzle into. It wasn’t a behavior that she typically allowed, but these were special circumstances. You were in pre-heat and surrounded by about a million alphas who could no doubt smell your pheromones despite the heavy blockers the medical staff had given you.

“She ok Kell,” Alex asked, rubbing your back as she approached the two of you, careful not to touch any skin that wasn’t covered by your t-shirt. You weren’t usually this clingy, always trying to break out of the mold of what society thought omegas should be. You must be feeling it if you were this pliant, but then again, there were no cameras in you yet. It was kinda nice to see you and Kelley this soft. 

“She’s in pre-heat and the blockers are giving her cramps,” Kelley replied softly, her fingers coming up to rub the back of your neck, just barely brushing your mating mark. Reassuring you that she was there, and scent marking you so everyone else knew that you were hers. You sighed into her, kissing the skin under her chin. 

“Poor baby,” Alex mumbled with sympathy, dramatically pouting her lip. 

“Mm not a baby,” You huffed into Kelley’s neck, peeking out just enough to stick your tongue out at the forward, before returning to your favorite hiding spot. 

“I know baby girl, Alex is just messing with you,” Kelley murmured, shooting a glare towards Alex and scratching your scalp. Alex quirked her eyebrows up at the alpha. Had it been any other day, you probably would have chased her down and tackled her. It was troublesome to see you so subdued. 

“why can Alex mess with short stuff in pre-heat but I can’t?” Tobin smirked towards Kelley and wrapped her arms around her omega. Alex leaned back into her arms. 

“That sounds like an alpha problem to me,” Kelley growled at Tobin in warning. She was grateful that the alpha hadn’t tried to get closer to her mate, but the teasing was not appreciated. Not with so many other alphas around. 

“Speaking of alpha problems Worms has got one,” Alex laughed, gesturing towards the very obvious bump in Kelley’s shorts, despite her compression underwear. It was another unfortunate side effect of your pre-heat pheromones. A low growl ripped from your throat. Yes, it was just Alex, but all the hormones rushing through your veins were making you a bit territorial. Kelley’s growl joined your own as she pulled you tighter to her, unhappy with the feelings flittering through your bond. 

“Leave her alone hot stuff,” Tobin said, eyeing the two of you cautiously. Gently pulling Alex back two steps, hoping that the space between the four of you would calm the situation down a little bit. You and Alex were best friends and shared a very particular omega bond, but heat made everyone a little anxious. 

“They want Baby bear for the photos first,” Christen hummed, joining her two mates and watching the way you cuddled further into Kelley with worry. 

Kelley sent her fellow Stanford alpha a stiff nod and began to try and untangle you from her. “Let’s go baby girl,” She murmured softly, rubbing your back as she coaxed you out of her neck. 

“Don’t wanna, you’re warm, and you smell so good,” You whined, finally giving in to the insistent hands, shooting your alpha an unamused glare. 

She leaned in and ran her nose over your scent gland, before placing a kiss on your mating mark. This was no easier for you than it was for her. She wasn’t usually this possessive, but with the scents you were releasing, she just couldn’t seem to help herself. 

“I’ll be there the whole time,” she reassured gently against your skin, standing the two of you up. It would be alright, at least you hoped so.

******

You and Kelley trudged over to the first room, her hand placed firmly on your back to guide you. You didn’t usually like your alpha acting so… alpha? But your inner omega was purring at the action. 

Kelley glared at the woman who handed you your kit, unhappy with the number of dominant pheromones she was releasing. You rolled your eyes slightly, changing into the required clothing without incident, and cuddling back up to Kelley the second you could. 

The photographer watched you with furrowed brows, keeping a large distance between the two of you, more for you alpha than for you. Kelley sent him a grateful smile. 

“Alright Y/n, if you would stand right there please,” He directed softly, gesturing towards a spot marked with an x in front of the camera. You nodded hesitantly, pushing off your alpha (who may or may not have smacked your butt) and heading towards the marked spot. You warningly eyed the other man standing behind said spot, unsure of why he was positioned like that. 

You allowed the beta woman with the photographer to position you, and show you the requested pose, all well laughing lightly at the silly faces Kelley was making at you. 

That was until the man behind the mark laid down, enclosing your feet with his legs. The smile melted from your face, and a rush of nervous scents rolling off of you in waves. Kelley’s response was swift, striding up to the alpha photographer and tapping him on the shoulder. 

“Why is there a guy laying between her legs?” She hissed at the man. 

“He’s just the mister,” the photographer shrugged, hoping that nonchalance would help to show her that this wasn’t a big deal.

“I don’t like the view he has,” 

“Damn you smell good,” The man on the floor mumbled, painfully unaware that this was not the right thing to say. 

“Kell,” Your voice neared panic, your eyes were wide and a bright blush tinted your cheeks. It was one thing for Kelley to tell you how good you smelled and another for a random person to do so. You weren’t naive and you hated the view some people had of omega, thinking that a pass like that was acceptable. 

“Mario will behave himself right?” The photographer glared at the young man, shaking his head, 

Kelley growled back low and dangerous, like a warning siren. Any more unprofessionalism from the man would result in some extreme consequences. It wasn’t that she didn’t think you could handle yourself, but her instincts demanded that she protect you, that she tell others that you were hers. 

The man on the floor shrunk, holding up his spray bottle like a shield and praying that his mistake hadn’t just set the delicate situation over the edge. He hadn’t meant to say it, and he knew you were the other alphas, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself. 

“Kelley, just a few shots,” the photographer pleaded, and you sent him a very slight nod. Kelley met your eyes and nodded in return. 

“Fine…” she huffed, and the photographer’s shoulders relaxed. If you could handle it, so could she. “but I don’t like this,” she finished softly, glaring at the floor. You sighed in support of her sentiment before returning your attention to the photographer. The quicker you started, the quicker you would be finished. 

*****

Kelley’s protective instincts were being pushed to the limit. You had been shuffled around from interview to interview, with each respective reporter asking more invasive questions than the last. You were becoming increasingly uncomfortable and your heat symptoms were continuing to become more prominent. 

You only had a few stops left before you could go back to your hotel room and hopefully ride out the rest of your heat in peace before the opening game of the Olympics. 

“If you’ll step this way Ms. Y/l/n, I just have a few questions for you,” the sleezy alpha interviewer gestured towards a spot next to him in front of the camera. You kissed Kelley’s cheek before taking the requested spot. You inner omega crying out for the alpha, and growling at the distance between the two of you. 

The man shot a look at your alpha before queuing the camera. The conversation started normally, asking questions about how you felt being a left side forward and the connections in the midfield, but then everything seemed to shift. 

“So what’s it like being an omega on the national team,” He asked, stepping a little bit closer to you. 

You took a small step back, smiling into the camera. “It’s great, we are all treated as equals and the girls are amazing!”. You gestured wildly as you spoke, always happy to highlight the team's emphasis on equality and not allowing an individual's bearing to impact the team's view of them. 

Yes, the team was a little protective of the omegas, but then again half of the countries you faced were not as progressive in their views of omega roles as the US. They always made sure they weren’t overstepping. They never wanted you to feel like you were lesser or subservient to the alphas on the team, and they would kill anyone who made you feel that way. 

The reporter frowned at your answer, gritting his teeth just a little. Why did you little omegas have to be so difficult?

“That’s not what I meant.” The reporter growled lowly, taking another step closer to you, “Do you ever use the other alphas attraction to you to your advantage,” He tilted his head so your faces were mere inches apart.

“There’s only one alpha I care about so no…” You mumbled, leaning away from the man and trying to remain calm. Your eyes met your alpha’s, and she tilted her head slightly. She didn’t like where this was going. 

“But couldn’t your beauty be helpful on the field,” He pressed, again trying to close the distance. You put your hands up to stop him. 

“I think she tries to rely more on her skills,” Kelley interjected, her lips a thin line in disapproval, and her attempt to not strangle this man. 

“Of course, my bad,” His eyes snapped to hers and he brought his hands up in innocence, but didn’t move away from you. You sent Kelley help me eyes, releasing a light wave of distressed signals. He leaned closer to you, either oblivious or uncaring towards your uncomfortableness. 

“Can you take a step back please?” Kelley growled, releasing her own dominant scent. The man’s nose twitched as he turned to face her, his hand grabbing your shoulder to prevent you from escaping. Tobin shot you a concerned look, stepping towards the situation. 

“No need to get overprotective,” He smirked as though he was the one in control of this situation, the cockyness oozing off of him in waves. 

Kelley bearing her teeth was the only warning you and the teammates who were watching you had before she lunged at the man, entirely fed up with his caviler attitude towards you. 

“Whoa Kelley, relax,” Tobin yelled, wrapping an arm around the smaller alpha’s waist, pulling her away from the situation. The reporter dropped your arm in shock. The USWNT was known for its impeccable control. It was incredibly rare for an alpha to lose it, but Kelley had been pushed too far. 

“You do not disrespect her!” She roared, fighting Tobin, Christen, and JJ’s attempts to restrain her. Alex, Sam, and Mal all moved to stand between you and the sleezy reporter, hoping that a wall of teammates would help to calm Kelley down. 

“Kelley, chill,” Christen grunted when an elbow came very close to her face. Nothing would calm her down right now besides you. 

“Kel,” You said quietly, your voice barely above a whisper, and the alpha froze. She turned her head towards you, her inner alpha screaming for her to go to you, so she did. The team let her pass and she wrapped you up in her arms, your face buried into her neck, soothing your frayed nerves and appeasing your instincts. 

“I don't like this,” she hissed into your ear, her nose pressing sinfully against your scent gland, marking you as her own. You whined pitifully into her neck, a sweat breaking out across your forehead and a low ake settling in your lower belly. 

The team formed a protective cocoon around the two of you (leaving a wide radius as to not trigger Kelley’s instincts further) to give you some privacy from all of the cameras. Vlatko quickly made his way towards the hoard of players, deciding that having you and Kelley present was not a priority at the minute. He could smell the heat pheromones rolling off of you, a distinct shift from the pre-heat symptoms you were experiencing before. Keeping you here would just be begging for trouble, A fact he wasn’t naïve to. 

“Take her back to the hotel, and… take care of her,” He ordered carefully from a respectable distance. The team was a family (a very protective family) and he was the newcomer. Getting too close to the team (who were already in protective mode) was a very bad idea. 

Kelley glanced up from your neck to salute him “You got it, boss,” before picking you up bridal style. You were in no condition to walk, and your omega preened under the alphas display of strength. You purred into her chest, nuzzling the skin exposed by her neckline. 

“What about my interview,” the reporter huffed, receiving several glares from Kelley and the rest of the alphas on the team. How fucking dare he. While they couldn’t deny him outright, they always had a special punishment for disrespectful assholes. 

“I’ll finish it, you’ve perved on enough omegas today,” Tobin smirked evilly in his direction, too many teeth showing in her smile to be kind. Christen sent a nod in your direction as if to say that the team would deal with the situation so Kelley could attend to you. She sent the forward a grateful smile before leaning down to kiss your head. 

“Let’s go my darling,” she murmured, walking towards the door, all of her alpha bravado gone now that you were safe in her arms. Now that she could devote her full attention to making you feel good and loved instead of fending off other alphas. Maybe she had lost her impeccable control, but it was worth it if it kept you safe. 

[pizzarollsareokayiguess]

Close Enough? (Kuvira x Reader)

This is a Kuvira imagine, reader and Kuvira are not established. K? Also, this will be sad :D questionable ending. if you want more, ask and you shall receive <3

TW: blood, spoilers for LOK Season 4  WC: 2620

Kuvira’s reign across the Earth kingdom had started to slow as she was met with resistance from Zaofu and the Avatar. Dealing with them had been easy, beating Korra had been easier, and now she was on her way to Republic City, to rightfully claim the district as official property of the Earth Kingdom. 

Kuvira felt powerful having so many people support her, especially when it came to her. Y/n had been there at the beginning, supporting Kuvira and boosting her esteem so much so, Kuvira’s own motivation took the step forward to claim the Earth Kingdom. Locked eyes, lingering touches, shivering shoulders made up the tension between the two; with the passion of war, it made it all that more bitter sweet. So why did Kuvira feel this way? She knew that y/n was loyal, perhaps the most loyal of them all, and yet the little voice in her head was screaming that something, somewhere, someone was going to betray her. Zhu Li was kind of a given but y/n? Trusting, beautiful, y/n? 

Kuvira’s relationship with Baatar, in her eyes, was political: losing him would be surprising, considering how strong his feelings were against his own mother. Could he be persuaded? Hopefully not, but yet here we are.

Kuvira’s hands were formed into fists as she listened to his pleading. Leave this? Now? We are so close, why would I give up now? Why would I when the last piece of the puzzle is in my hands?

Aiming the spirit weapon towards his location was easy. Pulling the trigger was even easier. But the voice in her head was now a full roar, claiming that no one was loyal, no one was on her side. So as the war machine rebounded from the shot it took, Kuvira straightened her shoulders and looked to her left. Sitting in one of the command chairs, was y/n. Back straight, hair gleaming, Kuvira wanted to swallow her whole, wanted to take her existence and keep it to herself. Y/n might have been lying this entire time, and Kuvira didn’t want to lose her to the avatar. That is one thing she couldn’t stand for, losing this war was not an option and Kuvira would do anything to reach her goal.

“Y/n.”

Snapping her head towards Kuvira, she stood and walked over, placing herself to the left of the platform. Looking her in the eyes, Kuvira stood even taller and her plan was falling into place. This will be easy.

“Come with me for a moment.”

Kuvira commanded the remaining soldiers to stay in their positions and alert her if there are any changes. Knowing the efficiency of the spirit weapon, she doubted that the avatar would have survived the latest shot.

Stepping off of the platform, Kuvira and y/n walked down into the belly of the weapon, where the roar of the machine made the thundering in her heart a little lighter. They came to a stopping point and y/n’s shoulders relaxed. It was just the two of them, perhaps this was a pre-game to victory? Kuvira was faced away from y/n and she could see where the muscle tensed in the uniform that Kuvira wore. Where the metal framed her shoulders and where it flared at her waist and constricted at her knees. She wondered how long it would take her to map every freckle that Kuvira had. Not knowing how many, she wondered if she would have the opportunity to ever count. Is this going to be it? She snapped her eyes back up when Kuvira turned around, crowding her space.

“It’s happening. The end is near and victory will be ours,” Kuvira murmured.

Their eyes were locked and their breaths were shared. How y/n craved to get closer.

“You’ve done wonderfully, I can’t imagine any other trying to accomplish what you have,” y/n whispered. 

Kuvira smirked, “Oh? Tell me, y/n, what have I accomplished?”

Y/n shivered, hearing her name come from her lips was a taste of heaven that she wanted every drop of. She wanted more, she craved more, so she easily answered, if only to savor every drop.

“Conquering the city-states, making the lords bow to you, creating a super weapon that is extremely effective, and should I mention the fact that you won against Korra?”

Toe to toe, their noses almost touched, their breaths were clouding each other and y/n jumped at the feeling of gloved hands fiddling with her own. Oh. Oh Oh-

“I could stand to hear more, if you’ll humor me,” Kuvira whispered.

Y/n took the jump and linked her left hand around Kuvira’s, and she looked her straight in the eyes. She could smell the metal and lavender that left Kuvira and y/n thought she would erupt. 

“Taking apart Zaofu to create something for yourself in a direct response to Su, you are incredibly powerful and what I wouldn’t do-”

Kuvira brought her face to y/n and latched herself to her lips. Her right hand clutched the back of her neck and she squeezed, playing with the hairs that rested there. Her left hand traveled from y/n’s hands to her lower back, pulling y/n forward. 

Y/n felt conquered and completed and finished, any word you could think of, her brain had fried with the machine and her insides turned to jelly. Being placed in Kuvira’s arms and kissing her was something that Y/n yearned for. Her center throbbed and she looped her arms around Kuvira’s neck. She wanted all that Kuvira could give her. Even if Kuvira left her now to take out an entire city, Y/n could live with that, her spark of life had turned into an inferno and had burned her inside out. She wanted to share that fire with Kuvira and as if the devil had knocked on her door, Kuvira licked her bottom lip and Y/n was so easy. She would let Kuvira do whatever she pleased, even right here on the machinery floor. She was entranced by the whole essence of Kuvira. She whimpered when her lip was bitten and she sighed when Kuvira seemed to ravage her being. Closer- She needed to be closer-

Pain.

Wha-

What is that?

Heat radiated from her side, what is-

Y/n’s eyes snapped open and she pulled herself from Kuvira. Kuvira had a grimace on her face, her eyebrows drawn together and lips tightened into a line.

Y/n’s breath stuttered and she looked down, red was encompassing her right side. She had been- Kuvira?- Why would she? Kuvira stabbed her? What?

Kuvira metal bended the weapon back into her sleeve and caught Y/n as she started to get dizzy. She lowered her to the grated ground as Y/n clutched her jacket, hissing in pain. Lips red, cheeks flushed, your eyes are so pretty like this..  Kuvira held y/n’s head in her lap as blood dripped from her wound. Pity, how distraught you look. The voice claimed victory and screamed in her head. See? How easy? The avatar will never touch her and the city will be yours. Just flatten the republic and you’re as good as gold.

But it wasn’t easy. Kuvira’s eyes watered but never flushed.

“I had to, for you, for me. I have to finish this now, I hope you understand.”

Kuvira placed her head gently on the ground, taking advantage of y/n’s stunned silence. Wiping her eyes, she left y/n there and composed herself to rejoin the bridge. Scaring the officers on deck, she ordered them to continue, they had a city to recapture.

Then a hummingbird got too close to the sun.

Her chance at freedom was disabled.

And the avatar, as always, brought balance to the world.

…

Her whole body hurt.

 It would start as a dull throb and then crescendo into a sharp point that radiated from her right side. Y/n was stunned, when she said that she would let Kuvira take over the world, she didn’t really expect to be a martyr. But did she really believe in Kuvira still? The blood that was staining her uniform said no, but the stuttering of her heart and the tears on her face said otherwise. She was gonna die in the center of destruction, how fitting. At least it was warm. . . She closed her eyes to the rhythm of a stepping behemoth and took a breath, knowing her fate was just the same as Baatar. They were both foolish, loving someone who couldn’t feel anything and yet thinking, I’m different. I can change her, she will love me, right?

Look how that turned out.

A shrill screech interrupted y/n’s pity party and she opened her eyes to see Su and Lin Beifong. Their determined eyes meeting hers. At that moment, she was made priority number two; number one being the destruction of the spirit weapon. Once the Beifong sisters had wreaked havoc with their metal bending, Lin dropped down to y/n. Gently placing her arms around her shoulders and her knees, Lin rejoined Su. The trio was then tossed around the metal tavern surrounding them before they tethered themselves to the wall. When the spirit weapon finally descended and crashed to the ground, y/n had passed out from blood loss. Stepping out from the carnage, the sisters stopped the bleeding enough that it wouldn’t cause a mortal end. Once they were satisfied with her steadying heartbeat they placed her with the other wounded. Then, they turned to finish the war. 

. . .

Y/n had heard that Kuvira surrendered after she witnessed the power of the one and only avatar. To be honest, y/n was shaken to her core after finding out that Korra created another spirit portal. The avatar was so powerful- she created a rip in space and caused two different worlds to mesh together in a brand new location? Holy Avatar did y/n regret being on the wrong side. 

Repercussions were being made of course. Baatar Jr was to spend life in house arrest for his involvement in the spirit weapon. After being seen by water benders, y/n’s trial was next, and she entered the courtroom in a wheel-chair. Although the wound didn’t sever any major organs, it was a major stress to the body and her back muscles were cut clean through so major movements weren’t recommended. That wasn’t the worst of it.

The hurt that clouded her heart had leaked to her eyes and her brain and she felt numb. Her brain kept going in a loop, kuvira’s eyes, blood, floor, kuvira’s eyes, blood, floor,- y/n was stuck in a mental carousel that try as she might she couldn’t get off of. She could sense the person behind her who was pushing the chair and when she looked up, she could see the council in all their respective colors and robes. She stopped moving and two officers stepped up behind her. But she didn’t try to escape. What was the point? She would take the punishment and move on. What about kuvira, don’t you wanna know why? Did it matter? Did the heat spread to her too? Move on. move on. move on?

The shuffling of papers interrupted the parade of self-pity that y/n seemed to be the mayor of and she dragged her eyes away from her fiddling hands to look up. Korra was there too. Should y/n bow? Korra saved everyone’s lives and without her-

“-without knowing the direct involvement of the individual before us how can we decide her fate?”

“She didn’t help with the weapon? What about the seizing of the city states? Anything?”

“Baatars testimony proves negative on the first but other witnesses say that she is seen on several occasions with Kuvira herself.”

y/n flinched. Pain pain pain 

“Well, Beifong, your jurisdiction houses the inmates, what say you?” The woman in question sighed and y/n wished she could sigh too without being condescending. Jail or home? Not that hard of a question.

“Community service. Either with the water benders or the rehabilitation of the city. I don’t want this one near my jail.”

. . .What the hell is that supposed to mean? Is she not good enough for jail? For Beifong’s jail? Rude.

“Then it’s settled. Y/n L/n, you are hereby sentenced to 25 years of community service, provided by the council before you and supervised by the United Republic of Nations. Dismissed.”

Y/n nodded and bowed her head to show respect to the leaders that handed her fate to her. Much better than house arrest. 

. . .

Y/n heard later that Kuvira was given a second chance, because Korra saw something in her that she saw in herself. Kuvira was sent to Zaofu to live out her house arrest with her adoptive family. Baatar is there too? Is she allowed to ask? Did he give her a second chance? Would y/n? Y/n was stationed near the infrastructure creation center in the city. She was there to help rebuild. Lin was her only visitor. Y/n’s family was disgraced that she chose the wrong side and she didn’t have any friends besides Kuvira, who happened to be a couple flying bison away. Lin would ask her how her wound was doing and Y/n would tell her. Then Lin would end the visit by insulting y/n’s bending and then she’d leave. It was nice. Y/n had a feeling that Lin felt sorry for her, did she know that y/n was betrayed by the one she thought she loved? Did Lin know that the inferno that raged within her dwindled to a flicker of heat? Sometimes it seemed that way when the silence got too loud but then Lin would go back to insulting her. She needed that routine. She probably would have been lost without it. 

Y/n was back to moving again and on a nice, sunny day in republic city; she was just about to finish the base to an apartment complex with the other volunteers (If you want to call them that, y/n faintly recognized some of the earth benders from Kuvira’s forces). When Korra had pulled up near the site on her polar bear dog. Jumping off of the animal, Korra waited until the supervisor started talking to her. After several beats, the supervisor nodded and shouted across the field, summoning y/n towards him.

Meeting them on the edge, y/n respectfully greeted them both before questioning the avatar’s presence. 

She sighed, “Many of the soldiers lived in Zaofu before the war, you were one of them. The metal domes are in grave need of assistance and since you are tasked with community service, it seems fitting that you return there.” “Is that all? I thought this was supposed to be a punishment? Wouldn’t going back home be a little too comfortable for me?” Not if Kuvira’s there, laughing with her eyes closed, hair frizzy from the day, freckles winking in the sunshine.

“Su requested it. Said, ‘that your greatest potential was misplaced with love that had nowhere to go’” Korra sighed.

Y/n felt like she got slapped in the face by the avatar. That would’ve been better. Of course Su knew y/n, she practically raised the child. Su saw the wandering eyes and the yearning sighs, she wasn’t stupid. 

And yet, here she was, extending a hand of forgiveness, a hand withered by betrayal, a feeling that y/n knew quite well.

Should she take it?