#the story is really heavy but that's what makes it so good

[xoxxbilliexoxx]

I Can Help With That ;)

After months of no sex and a now insatiable hunger to get fucked, your best friend Billie offers to help you out.

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

you were laying on billie’s couch, legs draped across her as you continued on listening to her crazy ass story of her most recent hookup. You two have a friendship that allows for nothing to be kept secret. Every thought, every memory, every story, and every moment is shared with each other. So, listening to her go on and on about how happy she was to be munching on some random models coochie is just another normal day for you.

The only difference is your mood. It seems as though you’ve been going through a dry spell, with no sex for too many months to count. You just got tired of the random hookups and messy situations it always leads to and stopped putting yourself out there. Within the last week, your craving to be pleased by someone other than yourself has become insatiable. Masterbating just isn’t doing it, you need to be properly fucked by someone again.

As you listened to your best friend paint the scene of her last sexscapade you felt a pit forming in your stomach. You couldn’t help it, you couldn’t stop it. You felt so hungry for pleasure. It’s not her you were horny for necessarily, it’s just the image of fucking a girl again, of being messily wrapped around another body, laid out with sheets tangled between you and the sound of heavy breathing taking up the room.

You were completely zoned out, caught up in your own little erotic daydreaming before Billie snapped you out of it. “Y/n, hello? I asked you a question, did you hear me?” she laughed at your startled face, clearly having drawn you out of a deep thought too suddenly. “what the hell were you thinking about girl” “it’s nothing sorry,” you swallowed, “what was your question again?” you asked as you pulled all your attention back into the conversation. “I wanna know your last juicy hookup, you always pull bad bitches” She nudged your shoulder making you laugh as she said it.

“fuck, dude I am still in that fucking dry spell. I can’t even remember the last time I had sex it’s pathetic” you laughed as the sad confession came out. Billie laughed with you, slightly making fun of your situation before you kept going. “At first it wasn’t bad, I really didn’t care. I mean at first I was having fun making myself cum and not having to deal with other people’s bullshit” “HAAHAH so fucking fair” Billie interrupted you but you continued. “But now though, oh my god. Girl, in the last two weeks I cannot fucking curb this hunger. I am so horny nonstop like, I swear I get myself off and the second I catch my breath I’m horny again. It’s fucking ridiculous” you laughed out. “Like I’m starting to feel insane. I need to go get fucked cuz this horny fucking monster in my brain is not liking my rose toy or my fingers anymore” Billie laughed hard at your words, and you joined in with her.

“Get back on tinder girl, we gotta feed that nasty monster i’ve never seen you like this it’s scary” you pushed her shoulder and clicked your tongue at her dramatic response, which she of course said with a classic mischievous grin you’ve seen too often on her face. She’s always so proud of her stupid jokes.

“I just hate tinder dude. It’s always so awkward and half the time the sex is ass anyways” you paused as she nods in agreement before you kept going. “take me to one of your award shows and introduce me to some of these bad bitches you always end up going home with” you winked and she smiled again, this time a confident slightly devilish smirk showing the pride she has for all those “bad bitches” she does have many good memories with. “I do be pullin huh” you rolled your eyes and flipped her off “don’t make me jealous you idiot”

There was a short pause to the conversation, you could see Billie’s gears turning in her head before she turned to look back at you, eyebrows raised and lips turned upwards again. “I could always just fuck ya” as she said it she shrugged, so matter of fact and nonchalant with her bold statement. “eww billie shut up you weirdo you’re my best friend” “first off, how dare you say ew, bitch. Second off I'm your hot best friend so get that straight” You smiled at her with your eyebrows raised, amusement coating your face, keeping quiet to let her finish her clearly unfinished sentence. “It doesn’t have to mean anything obviously, You’re hot, I'm hot, we’re completely comfortable with each other, we love each other, even if it’s just as friends, and you’re in a messy predicament that I can easily get you out of. I mean, I got all these bad bitches moaning and cumming like crazy i’m just sayin” She grinned and giggled at the end, knowing her fuck boy statement was ridiculous.

You both went silent, laughter filling the void as you think. Billie’s own mind wandered to the thought of making you feel good, and she began to feel her own curious desire building. You couldn’t ignore the horny energy coursing through you, it was impossible to not feel. Before your brain could talk yourself out of it you move. You got yourself up and sit back down straddling her lap with a smile and half hooded eyes looking down at Billie. She gasped for a second, somewhat shocked you were actually going along with this, before she planted her hands down and grabbed a handful of your ass.

There was a moment when your eyes met and you both giggled, amused by what was unfolding, knowing you’re both going to laugh about it afterwards as if it’s just another dumb thing you do as best friends. But as that giggle faded it’s replaced with a hunger, a growing desire and increasing erotic tension. The eye contact stayed and the smiles disappeared and suddenly your lips were wrapped between each other.

It was gentle at first, timid almost, as you both let go of the brief awkwardness of making out with your best friend for the first time. But within seconds it became passionate, heated, sloppy. Her hands continued to grab and pull at your ass over your cheeky sweatshorts, before she built confidence and slipped her hands under, now feeling your hot skin against her fingertips.

When her hands pushed you tighter against her your hips grinded and the sudden sensation against your clit made you moan quietly into the kiss. Billie pulled away and looked at you, her bottom lip pulled between her teeth in her sexy smirk as she heard your moan, immediately needing to hear more of them. She grabbed your bottom and stood you both up before turning and laying you down. Now hovering over you, Billie’s hungry eyes found yours and you could see an expression you’d never seen on her before, a dominant aroused one that maked your heart stop and goosebumps erupt all across your skin.

The feeling of her plump wet lips on your neck, placing sloppy kisses on every sliver of your skin, sucking and biting occasionally, made you moan louder. You were slowly melting into her touch, into the way she was working you up more and more. The throbbing at your core became hard to ignore and you knew you were making such a mess of your underwear as she made you more and more wet.

Billie’s eager lips found your sweet spot, sucking on your skin just below your ear, and your sweet loud moan filled her living room. “Mmmm you sound so good like that baby, so sexy hearing you moan” Your hand landed on the back of her neck, pulling her closer to your skin, needing more of her, searching for anything. She sped up her pace, kissing all over your neck and collarbones before pulling you up to take off your shirt and bralette. As you landed back on the sofa your boobs moved up and down with the motion. Billie watched with wide eyes and a big smile, you knew she’s always wanted to see them, you have found her staring at them far too often.

She wasted no time, immediately pulling your nipple into her mouth and sucking before letting it go with a pop and moving onto your other boob. Her passionate and intense attack on your chest was a clear indication of her own arousal growing. This might have just been two friends helping each other out, but that doesn’t mean you both aren’t incredibly attracted to each other and currently incredibly horny for one another. The melodies of heavy breathing and sloppy kisses filled the room and made it all quite apparent.

Billie’s lips trailed down your stomach slowly. She stopped often to bite and suck on the skin beneath her, each time pulling sweet squeaks and moans from your lips. She was enamored, fully taken over by a need to satisfy you, to give you everything you’d been missing for too long. She was taking her time, winding you up and building your desire until it was so intense you might explode. She wanted you so sensitive by the time she gave you what you wanted, that it would take only seconds to bring you to the edge.

Just before she got to the waistline of your shorts she moved back up to you, causing you to let out a deep sigh. You weren’t aware of all the air you were holding in until she stopped her sloppy, intoxicating descent down your body. As her lips found your face again her hands landed on your waist. Squeezing you tightly, Billie moaned in your ear, low and sultry, and moving straight to your wet core. The sound maked your head feel dizzy, like your body was experiencing too much need and arousal and you might pass out if you didn’t get fucked soon. Her lips pulled away from yours after a deep kiss and she whispered into your ear, “Let’s move to my room, I wanna have you laid out across my bed for me”

With that she tapped the side of your butt twice and stood up. You began to follow after her, feeling eager but slightly exposed, the cold air on your naked chest coating you in goosebumps. Billie turned to look at you and was immediately mesmerized by your freed boobs swaying and jumping as you walked. When you got to her room you jumped on the bed, giggling slightly as you watched her pull off her own top and jump on with you. Her bralette was just slightly too small, leaving her huge boobs spilling out of each side and top. Billie crawled over to you, hovering above and smirking down at you. As she looked at your body laid out under her, her tongue pushed against the inside of her cheek.

“You are too much y/n. So fucking sexy its ridiculous” You blushed at her compliment and reached above you, grabbing her face with both of your hands and pulling her down to join with you again. Her lips found yours quickly, and your tongues met not long after. You both let out moans that vibrated into the kiss. Moving your hands to Billie’s back, you searched eagerly for the clasp of her bralette. As you pulled it apart and the back dropped down, Billie moved one arm at a time and finally fully freed her boobs. You gasped at the sight of her pink hard nipples and big ivory boobs lightly grazing against your own, admittedly also having been caught staring at them too many times in your friendship.

Your head lifted up as your hand grabbed her boob, guiding it between your lips. A gasp followed by a deep moan filled the room as you eagerly sucked and bit on her nipples. The sudden pleasure made Billie’s body give out slightly, landing her knee between your legs to catch herself. You moved yourself down a bit more to continue your affection on her boobs and as you did your clit grazed her knee, immediately making you gasp. Billie let out a mischievous giggle before pushing your hips down and pulling her knee up, intensifying the pressure and the pleasure right away.

She pulled her boobs away from you and you groaned, missing them in your mouth immediately. She filled the void with her lips on your neck and her hands pulled at your hips, forcing you to begin grinding against her knee. Your back arched up and as you grinded you felt the crotch of your baggy shorts slip to the side. Now, just your soaked panties laid between you and Billie’s thigh. As you continued your motion Billie felt your wetness slipping against her, causing her own panties to get soaked. The sudden evidence of your wet arousal made something snap in Billies mind, “I need to taste you, fuck you’re so wet for me” She moved down quickly, getting herself comfortable between your legs before slipping off your shorts and thong at the same time.

“Godddddd so fucking pretty” Billie moaned after loudly swallowing. Your dripping pussy clenched in front of her as reality hit that you are about to get eaten out, finally after too many long months. The sensation of Billie’s smooth wet tongue slowly slipping between your folds sent a shockwave through your body. The comforter rustled as your hands dug around, trying to grab hold, trying to ground yourself. Her tongue flattened out wide and continued licking from your leaking entrance all the way up to your clit, where she stopped briefly and added pressure. She’s too good, it was making you melt and you felt like you were floating, no longer on earth. Your head felt cloudier and cloudier as her pleasure became the only thing you could feel. Her tongue continued sloppily consuming you, slurping you up at each lick before moving up to your clit. She knew exactly what she was doing, her actions pulling you closer and closer to the edge already.

As your moans got louder and louder and the pleasure consumed you, Billie began moving her hands from around your thighs. One traveled up and landed on your boob, pinching and pulling at your nipple, turning your moans to sweet yelps and cries. You could feel her smile against your cunt as her other hand moved down to your center.

Your messy wetness allowed two of her fingers to slip inside you with ease, immediately curling them upwards and pumping in and out slowly and deliberately. She made her tongue flat and hard and pushed it up against your clit. Moving her head side to side, she could feel your swollen bud throbbing under her. The sensation of her fingers filling you perfectly and her tongue playing with your sensitive clit had you gasping. It wasn’t just that you haven’t felt this in awhile that was making things build so quickly. Billie was incredibly skilled, you were learning that quite quickly. You’ve never been eaten out so well. You’ve never been so close to cumming so quickly. It usually takes you a while and you have to focus to feel the pleasure. Not right now, not with Billie. All you could think about was pleasure, it was surrounding you, inside of you, swirling and filling the room. It was everywhere.

“Billie, right there, fuck” your words came out as pants, completely drunk off the way she was fucking you. “Oh god Billie, yessss” She hummed into you, showing how much she loved making you moan. Your walls began pulsing and clenching around her fingers and your thighs squeezed her head tighter as you were pushed closer and closer to the edge. “Mmmm you close mama, you gunna cum for me?” her sultry tone was laced with pride as she continued devouring you and watching you squirm in front of her. “Yes yes yes Billie fuck I’m gunna cum”

Just as the words left your lips Billie pulled away, a slight seductive giggle hit your ears. You gasped, completely shocked at her actions, and as you lifted your head to confront her you were met with a shit eating grin spread across her face. “awe, did I ruin your orgasm? im sorry” she sarcastically mocked you, the obnoxious smile never leaving her face. “I can’t even keep myself away for long enough to properly tease you, you taste so good, so fucking sweet baby”

her lips latched onto your clit, the warmth of her mouth against your now cold cunt sent shivers through you. You didn’t expect Billie to be treating you like this, you thought she’d give you the basic stuff and make you cum quickly to satiate the hunger in you, but now, now she’s making it grow even stronger.

It only took a few minutes of sloppy sucking and licking for your orgasm to rise again. Her fingers were moving faster and her lips were wrapped tight around ur clit, sucking and licking and sucking and licking. With your hands tangled in her hair and your legs spread as far as they could go, you pushed Billie as tight against your pussy as possible, trying hard to hold in the loud moans that we’re fighting to come out. “I’m gunna cum, I- I’m gunna cum, right there Billie” she listened close to your breathing, trying to take in all the noises you were making that were turning her on too much. As she heard your gasps becoming more and more erratic and chaotic she knew you were close again.

Within seconds her mouth was gone, placing light kisses on your inner thighs and laughing again at your groans. Her fingers were still inside of you but they were still, no longer moving in and out. She could feel the way your walls pulsed around her as she edged you out of your almost orgasm.

“Fuck, Billie, please let me cum, you’re killing me” you whined out, getting too heated and too needy now. “oh but edging you and hearing you beg is so much more fun” she paused to place another kiss on your thigh, this time so close to your pussy it made you gasp. she smiled against your skin before speaking again, “And it’ll feel sooooo much better when I finally let you cum, be patient for a little longer babygirl, it’ll be worth it.” Your stomach flipped at the nickname and your head began to feel fuzzy from the rollercoaster of pleasure she’s been making you feel.

Billie did it all over again, building you up higher and higher with her talented tongue and fingers. The room was filled with the sound of your wetness against her mouth, and your gasps and moans that you tried hard to hold it but couldn’t. You felt like you were becoming addicted to the way she was fucking you. It was better than anything you’re used to. You were beginning to realize all those stories of her making her partners cum over and over again, and the way she said she’d make them scream, none of it was exaggerated, she was just that good. You almost didn’t want to cum, didn’t want it to end. You knew you couldn’t have this again.

As the cues were showing Billie how close you were yet again, she stopped, yet again. This time, she pulled her fingers out of you, causing you to whine at the emptiness and at the feeling of your orgasm disappearing again. Your eyes opened to the sight of Billie right about you. “taste yourself babygirl, taste how delicious you are” Her fingers slid into your mouth and after a moment of swirling your tongue around her she pulled them away, replacing them with her lips. You kissed her passionately, showing your eager desire, needing her to know how fucking hungry you were after being edged too many times to count.

Your growing impatience filled your body, you felt overwhelmed by it and allowed it to fully take control. Your hand gripped her hair and you pulled her back down to where you needed her most, hard and only by her strands of black silk. She sucked in a breath and moaned at your needy and slightly dominant action before landing her lips back on your dripping pussy. She was moving faster than before, like she was a ravenous animal that’d been starved for days. When her fingers, now 3 deep, slipped back into your desperate hole, she moaned out with you, as if she was enjoying this as much as you were. Each of her movements were calculated and deliberate. She was using all her skills, all her tricks on you. You felt like you couldn’t breathe, you were being suffocated by the almost unknown pleasure she was bringing you. Her tongue parted with you for just long enough to speak, “Did so good for me love, such a good girl letting me tease you like that. Go on and cum for me, cum all over my fingers and face. Need you to make a mess of me baby” Those words mixed with the return of her tongue sent you over the edge.

You were spiraling, dizzy and overwhelmed as your body erupted into sparks of pleasure. The sensations were almost too much as you screamed out her name over and over. Billie kept going, kept fucking into you, kept licking your clit, kept your orgasm flowing through your body. You knew more was coming, you could feel it. The one thing Billie didn’t know about you was that you could squirt. She was about to learn. It took one last flick of her fingers for the gates to open. You screamed, letting it all out at once as you squirted months of built up tension onto her fingers, her face, her boobs. It was everywhere and you felt like you were no longer on Earth, gasping for air as you began your descent back down.

Your eyes finally opened to see Billie’s bold eyes and big smile, she was still between your legs, still gazing at your fucked out pussy in front of her. “holy shit y/n, that was so fucking hot. I had no idea you could squirt” She was so turned on, she couldn’t stop thinking about how hot you were, how hot it was to watch you cum all over her. Her legs squeezed together unconsciously, but you picked up on it. You knew Billie didn’t start this with the intention of you fucking her but now you needed it.

As she came bakc up towards your face she kissed you on the forehead. You were still trying to catch your breath and stop your legs from continuing to shake with the aftershocks. You looked at her with a satisfied smile and a shaky laugh that came out with each of your breaths. Her face matched yours showing off her complete enjoyment from what just played out. After wiping your cum off of her face she finally broke the silence, “so, did we do it? Are you finally satisfied?” You began to nod, the laughter still coming out each time you breathed.

You flipped yourself on top of her catching her completely off guard before speaking, “I will be once I make you cum” as soon as the words slid off your tongue your lips were backing on hers, moaning at the taste of your own cum coating her mouth.

You both knew this could only be for one night, so you might as well make it a long night.

[backseatsoldier]

"Broken", Not Stupid - 16: I Am Broken

Pairing: alpha!Simon "Ghost" Riley x unusual omega!OC (13)

CW: Omegaverse; dehumanization; beginnings of an anxiety attack, though it's not labeled as such; some negative self-talk (13)

Author's Note: Ok... one more then we'll get into 13 starting to spill the beans. She'll be ok - Simon's there now! I think I'm going to pause on 13's story for a bit, though. I've got things brewing about other OCs so I'm gonna get started on their stories uwu <3

When I open my eyes again... my head is still on Simon's lap. I adjust carefully so I can look up at him. His eyes are closed and his head is resting on the back of the couch.

"Simon," I call to him softly. "Hey," I say a bit louder and poke the center of his chest.

His lashes flutter and he opens his eyes. With a groan, he tilts his head to look down at me.

"What's wrong?" he asks in a voice rough with sleep.

"The way you're sleeping, mostly. C'mon. We should both go to bed."

As I sit up Simon's hand snakes around my waist, but over his blanket.

"No," he mumbles, "stay here."

What the hell is he on about? Damn, he needs more sleep.

"Simon," I call to him louder. "Wake up."

I reach out and gently poke his cheek through his mask. His eyes open wide at the contact and his breathing gets heavier. Slowly, with a shocked expression of my own, I slowly pull my hand away from his face.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to... freak you out. You ok?" I ask with a gentle voice.

"Fine," he says, shaking his head then letting out a heavy sigh. "Just not used to people touching my face."

"Right. Fair enough," I agree then get up from the couch to make my way to my room.

The smell of pancakes cooking wakes me in the morning. As I roll to get out of bed, though, I nearly roll on to Selene. She yawns at my sudden intrusion then gets up to stretch.

"Good morning to you too." I smile at her then run my hand over her back and up her tail, causing a small chirp to leave her. "I smell pancakes... but do you think your dad is making more bacon too?"

She blinks slowly at me in response and I give her a quiet laugh then truly make my way out of bed. When I reach the kitchen I pause in the archway for a moment.

Johnny's here. Making breakfast. And Simon's nowhere to be seen.

"Lass! Good morning! Simon had to run to grab a few things to make sure all five of us would be fed properly today," he chuckles then yawns. "I knew he'd call me over early so I showed up a few hours early. Hope you don't mind?"

"Not my house," I shrug and step up to the counter I continue to sit on while Simon cooks.

"Isn't it?" Johnny asks with a smile as his focus returns to the pancakes.

Unsure what he means by that, I hop on the counter and change the subject.

"So... what are the other two like?"

"Other two? Oh, you mean Cap and Kyle? Cap's a bit of a, uh," he leans towards me, like he's sharing a secret, "workaholic. I'll have to make some strong coffee all day to make sure he stays awake," he chuckles then straightens. "Kyle is a secret trouble maker, but he's a sweet heart. Would adopt and love all the kittens in the world, if given the chance, I think."

"What do you mean 'secret trouble maker'?" I push with an eyebrow raised.

"He's not as open about his chaotic nature as I am," Johnny says with a wink.

I nod, accepting his answer and glance around the kitchen. The kitchen feels... weird... without Simon here.

"Missing him?" Johnny asks suddenly with his eyes on the pancakes but a knowing smile on his face.

"Who?"

"Your alpha. Who else?" he asks with a laugh.

"My... hm. Well, is he, though? We haven't really... discussed any of that," I admit with a slight frown.

"You knew who I meant, though." He's got this smug look on his face, like he's just outwitted someone.

"Johnny, besides you, Simon's the only person I've actually met in the area," I remind him flatly.

Johnny's smug looks falters.

"True. Didn't think about that. I wanna go back to what you said, though. Haven't discussed what?"

"Him officially being my alpha and all that. I tried to initiate the conversation last night but I mentioned-"

My mouth snaps shut, remembering Simon's reaction to how Salvation handled the heats of the omegas they care for.

"I mentioned some things about Salvation and heats, but he... didn't take it well. Sliced his finger and just seemed so angry," I explain with a frown. "After we cleaned up the cut and I banaged it, he told me that all three of you would be here today. That all of you would listen to my story."

He stays silent for a while, removing pancakes from the pan and adding new batter.

"I won't ask for specifics. I'm sure I'll hear about it at some point, but, lass." He turns to me fully. The expression on his face reminds me of a puppy. "We're here for you. All of us - me, Cap, Kyle, and epsecially Simon. And there will be more on that list when you're ready."

Part of me wants to argue, but the rest of me just can't deny the adorable face he's making. So I sigh and nod my head.

"I appreciate it. I don't understand why that needs to be said, but I do appreciate it," I tell him softly and pick at the hem of the shirt of Simon's that I wore to bed last night.

"What's wrong, 13?" Simon says from the front door.

I can't see him and I can't smell him, but that was definitely his voice. Johnny smiles at me and nods in that direction so I slide off the counter and make my way to the front door.

There's multiple grocery bags hanging off of both of Simon's arms and I have to supress a laugh at the sight of him.

"What's wrong?" he asks again, voice serious.

"Nothing. Was just talking to Johnny. Let me take a few bags," I insist as I reach for his left arm.

"It'll put me off balance. I've got it," he says as he pulls his arm away. "Thank you, though," he adds like it's an after thought.

Then he shoos me to the living room as he makes his way to the kitchen. When he's done putting away the groceries, he joins me.

"Why did you think something was wrong?" I ask immediately from underneath the blanket he let me use last night.

"I could smell your distress," he says simply as he motions for me to come closer.

Confused, I slide closer and lay on my back with my head on his lap.

"You could... smell- I wasn't distressed, though." I frown up at him as his hand begins smoothing my hair back.

"You can't smell anything. Can you?" he asks softly.

"I can smell the pancakes just fine."

"I mean others' scents. You can't smell others. At least not well."

I consider what he's asking. It took being right up to him or wearing his clothes for me to know what he smelled like. Cinnamon and cedar, I can smell it now. But I don't know what Johnny smells like. And I couldn't tell him what anyone else smells like either.

"13," he calls to me and gently turns my head so I look directly at him. "What's going through your head?"

"I'm broken," I say softly. "I always knew I was, but... you're right. I can't smell anyone. I can only smell you if I'm close, like right now, or wearing something that you give me. I don't know what Johnny smells like-"

"Take a deep breath. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Do it with me," he instructs and begins doing so.

My eyes prick with tears but I follow his lead. When my eyes no longer hurt and my chest doesn't feel like there's cement in it, he speaks again.

"You're not broken, sweetheart. You've just been through things; a lot of things, I'm sure. Those things have not been kind to you. But I'm here to help you now. I'm here," he assures me, his hand still gently gliding over my hair. "Why you don't take a nap while we wait for the others? I'll stay right here with you, if you want."

His offer is tempting, but doesn't he have things he needs to do before Kyle and 'Cap' arrive?

"I think I'd rather shower then just... exist on the couch for a while. Until they get here. Selene can keep me company when I come back out."

Simon studies me for a moment and lets out a heavy breath.

"Alright, but if I detect even a hint of your distress, I'm either kicking down whichever door or coming back out here and-"

"Are you about to threaten me, the distressed omega?" I ask with a small smile.

"Yes," he nods. "I'm threatening you with being held and comforted."

Oh. That's... a different feeling. Set that aside for later, though...

For now I just get up, leaving the balnket on the couch, and make my way back to my room to gather clothes. I catch a glimpse of Johnny in the kitchen on my way through the house. He looks... so sad, but his focus is on the pancakes.

What I went through when I was with Salvation... was it really that bad?

Masterlist | CoD Masterlist | Part One

Tag List: @lucienofthelakes @lostintransist @demothers-empty-blog @scaredyspooks @tessakate @one-really-annoying-tree-rat @nerdyphantomtheorist @gazsluckyhat @peanutismynickname @jeanzoriley-cod

[saioratral]

PARING: yuuta okkotsu x f!reader

PROMPT: stories- not a reality SYNOPSIS: giving my readers a reality check of who they are following

WARNING: insecurities and the biggest warning, me NOTE: i make a pretty good plot, netflix should be knocking on my door. wrote this to fuel my favourite emotion: depression <33 genuinely dont give two fucks if anyone reads this. i dont need comfort messages/asks or the 'don't say that about yourself ☹️' bullshit- im not asking for that + it's not gonna change how i see myself

the room didn’t even feel like a room to anyone who stepped inside. clothes messily placed on her chair, but she didn’t mind. her gaze was locked on the computer screen, her fingers moving across the keyboard as though they knew the layout better than her textbooks

she typed again, her imaginary life with yuuta. the little cottage by the river, ducks swimming by- according to her notes. her fictional self is her favourite self. she loves writing about her muse, yuuta being her escape from her heavy thoughts 

but behind the screen, she was just a mess. she covers her insecurities with flattering words. how could she be pretty when the world only saw the mess of her real self? her online persona was a carefully constructed lie, a shield to keep others from seeing the truth. after all, why should she look ugly to them? she didn’t want to scare anyone away

little miss perfect, pretending to be smart for others. that’s all she’s good at anyways, people would remember her at least, use her and not discard her when they got bored. "grow a spine," they told her every day. but she didn’t. she carried no opinions, just a deep need to fit in

what she wanted, more than anything, was to be loved. to have friends, to be someone’s favorite girl, like the main character of a shoujo anime

she imagines herself in yuuta's arms, feeling his comfort, his imaginary embrace making her feel wanted. together, they watch the sunset from the window, the soft glow of the fading light making life seem perfect. next, they’re in the kitchen, she sits on the counter while yuuta mixes batter for her favorite cake. he let her taste it, but only if she kissed him in return

the scene shifts. now, they were in a fancy, high rise building for dinner. she’s wearing a pink dress, hair tied up with a matching ribbon. she’s so pretty in his eyes, the candle light dinner gets better and better and soon they are on their way home. yuuta’s jacket draped over her shoulders as they walked beneath the streetlights, stumbling upon an empty playground

she sits on the swings, pushing herself back and forth, a wide grin on her face. yuuta sits on the swing beside her, holding her heels in his hand as he watches her joy. he really does love her smile, she looks so beautiful in his heart eyes- of course she would be. she’s the writer. it was her world. she decides what happened next

call her a pick me, call her lazy, call her ungrateful, call her selfish, call her ugly, call her boring, call her cringe, make fun of her taste- she’s just a girl sitting in her room, writing silly fics about her yuuta for a mere 2 digit following of strangers 

© saioratral 2024-25 -- do not repost, translate, alter, etc on any platform without permission. Any characters used in my work do not belong to me, they are created by their original creator. all images used are from pinterest

[spacemonkeysalsa]

Little rant, take the trigger warnings seriously.

For the most part I think it's really good to have some perspective, and allow others people to be wrong about video games on the internet without letting it affect me. But sometimes there's just a needling little thing that repeatedly bothers me, and it's usually because there's a real world analogue that I can't forget about. Something that is more important than video games.

As an example, I get more upset than is rational about the "Astarion is actually so evil" takes, because they generally come down to a handful of arguments I have heard before, but in real life, about real people. And when I say I have heard them in real life, I mean in the context of legal arguments about whether or not to prosecute people who have been trafficked for their participation in human trafficking. Additional context is that I am an atty and have a broad exposure to different areas of law.

What a lot of people don't appreciate about human trafficking is that it is incredibly common for people who have been trafficked to be put into a position where they must participate in illegal, and abusive, acts against others. One reason why this is done is because it makes it that much riskier for them to go to the authorities, creating a heavy incentive to not do that. To never ask for help.

You can be a plaintiff in one case and a defendant in another. Duress and coercion could be considered, but it's just not always what happens. Jurisdiction matters, culture matters. But regardless of all that, it doesn't often get to a legal phase in the first place because it's very easy to convince victims of human trafficking that they are just as culpable, because they have helped to traffic others, and that the duress they are under will not be considered. And like. They are often right about that, unfortunately.

Idk for sure how much research was done when they were writing Astarion's character, but this aspect of his story stood out to me because it's so rarely depicted (and then isn't depicted well) in media. I can name you several bad examples, but few good ones. Even being translated into high fantasy, and with magical compulsion and effing vampires, this element of Astarion's story, and how acclimation to cruelty has shaped his personality is not remotely subtle.

Maybe even especially with the supernatural elements, it helps, because it takes away some of the ambiguity that people argue about in a court of law irl. And I think it takes a side in that ongoing legal debate, by emphasizing his total lack of autonomy.

[chrissturnsfav]

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 loser!matt and fuckgirl!reader meet

the music pulses through the house, a bass-heavy rhythm that you can feel vibrating in your chest. laughter and voices mix with the beat, a chaotic symphony of a saturday night party. the air is thick with the scent of perfume, spilled drinks, and the faintest hint of weed.

you’re at the center of it all, like always. your friends hang on your every word, their giggles rising like bubbles in a soda as you recount some outrageous story that’s half true and half too good to believe.

you take a sip of your drink—something sweet and strong—and let your gaze wander lazily over the crowd. you know almost everyone here, and they all know you. the thrill of attention is comforting, warm and familiar, and it boosts your ego. but then, your eyes catch on someone unfamiliar.

he’s leaning against the wall, partially hidden in the shadow of a flickering neon sign. a plaid shirt, worn jeans, and a beer bottle held loosely in one hand.

he’s quiet, his eyes scanning the room with a mix of caution and curiosity. his lips curl into a faint, almost invisible smile when he watches someone stumble over a poorly executed dance move. he’s not part of the chaos, not like you are. he’s observing, separate and untouchable.

very intriguing.

you tilt your head and narrow your eyes, studying him for a moment longer. he doesn’t fit here—not with the sweaty, writhing crowd or the boisterous laughter spilling over from a nearby beer pong table. it's enough to make you curious.

without thinking twice, you excuse yourself from your friends with a playful wave and weave through the crowd, your hips swaying just enough to part the sea of drunken bodies. the floor sticks faintly under your heels as you approach him, and you feel his eyes flicker to you before quickly darting back to his beer.

"hey," you smirk, letting the word slide out like it’s dipped in honey. you lean casually against the wall next to him, your shoulder almost brushing his but not quite. "never seen you before," you snicker, sipping your drink.

his lips quirk up slightly, but he doesn’t look at you. not directly. "'cause i don't go out," he shrugs.

"yeah, clearly," you laugh, loud enough to drown out the rest of the room. "you don't seem to fit in, no offense at all by the way."

"you're right," he mumbles, looking toward the group of people dancing like idiots and shakes his head.

you raise an eyebrow, amused. "so why are you here then?"

the boy shrugs, taking a sip of his beer, "came with my brothers."

you smirk curiously, leaning a bit closer to him against the wall as you speak with a hint of seductiveness, "yeah? who's your brothers?"

he notices your closeness, snickering a bit under his breath responding nonchalantly, "chris and nick."

you tilt your head to the side, your lips parting as the image of nick and chris pop into your head. you know of them, knowing that they're triplets, but you had never seen the third one around before. "so you're the third triplet?"

the boy nods, but it’s not with any pride or enthusiasm. it’s more like he’s trying to explain away his awkwardness, or maybe even justify why you've never seen him before. '"yeah," he mutters, taking another sip of his beer like it’ll help him escape the conversation.

"i see," you say with a smirk, drawing the words out slow. "so you’re just the quiet one?"

he looks at you for the first time in the conversation, the corner of his mouth twitching like he might smile, but he doesn’t. instead, he shrugs. "something like that. they’re more the… social type. m'not really big on crowds."

"what's your name baby?" you quip flirtatiously, keeping the charming smirk on your face.

he doesn't seem amused by the pet name, almost like he expected you to say something like that. "matt," he mutters, taking another sip of his beer.

there's a small, nagging frustration creeping in—something you’re not used to feeling. normally, guys are falling over themselves just to talk to you, to get a little attention. but matt? he’s too cool, too calm, almost like you’re just another part of the background noise to him.

but then there’s that flicker in his eyes—just enough to make your heart race. he’s not falling for your usual moves, but you can see it now: there’s something more beneath that nonchalant, cool exterior. a curiosity, maybe even a hint of interest. it’s not the usual eager gaze you’re used to, but there's something almost…enticing about the way he’s not giving it to you.

it sparks something else inside you. something deeper. maybe it's the challenge. maybe it’s the way he doesn’t need you to flatter his ego to get your attention. whatever it is, it’s stirring something inside you, something that makes you want him even more.

when you tell matt your name, keeping up your suggestive tone, he scoffs, shaking his head with a smirk as his eyes flit from the crowd to your face, "i know."

𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲: nothing newww i'm sorry :( i j redid my introduction for this au and decided to post their meet as a prompt. but new things are coming soon !! i've just been in a funk and i don't feel like writing lately

thank you for reading!! <3

tags: @sturnobsessedwh0re , @idrk2292 , @mattsbrat , @ribbonlovergirl , @sturnhyyhblog , @matthewsroses , @mattsdemi , @emely9274 , @frankoceanfanpage , @ifwdominicfike , @marrykisskilled , @strnilolover , @cayleeuhithinknott , @forgottxen , @sophand4n4 , @sturnsrecord , @purpledragon222 , @faiyaz555 , @jocelyncsblog , @freakiolos , @slut4chris888 , @chriss-slutt , @ilovedanielcaesar , @annsx03

@chrissturnsfav ™

[cha-melodius]

May I ask you about your writing??? First of all and possibly most importantly, how do you do it? How do you find inspiration and such? How do you make it happen? Because I sat down with a really juicy idea not long ago and I was excited and it was incredibly hard. I deleted it, I was embarrassed. So how do you first, come up with a great idea (which you do you write such cool stuff!) and then bring it to fruition? I’ve always been a decent writer but I was really frustrated with the fic I set out to write!!!

Hey anon! Sorry for sitting on this for a while but it came in the night before a big academic conference for me, so I've had almost no time for anything, sadly.

First off, thank you so much for the compliment on my writing! A lot of the direct answers to your questions are not very satisfying, tbh. Ideas come to me from everywhere—things I watch, read, random internet things—and how I bring it to fruition mostly involves a lot of planning. I got a lot happier with my work when I started making outlines for my fics, so I always know where I want to go with the story and how I'm getting there, versus meandering around aimlessly.

I'm guessing that there was something about your idea that was particularly challenging, since you said that you've always been a decent writer but found what you produced frustrating. Since I don't know the details I'm gonna give some advice that will hopefully cover a few different aspects. And first, a short list, and then the details under the cut because I'm a wordy bitch.

Just keep writing. It can take a while to find your voice.

Get help. Seek out 'subject experts' and people who you think are good at writing the kinds of stories you want to write.

Read a lot, and broadly, especially in the genre you want to write.

1. Just keep writing. It can take a while to find your voice.

I started writing fanfic (or, re-started, because I wrote when I was young and then took a looooong break) to get the stories out of my head, and my first fics were not great lol. They were also for a rarepair and approximately 5 people read them, so there wasn't much pressure I suppose. I was just putting them on AO3 because I figured why not? And then I just kept writing, off and on for different fandoms, until the writing bug really caught me and I started producing a lot more, about five years ago. But it probably took me ~20 fics (several of which were quite long) before I'd consider my stuff to be decent. Whether you share your early works or not is up to you, but in general I'd recommend it because there's a good chance someone will love it (even if you consider it to be substandard) and that can help you feel better about your own writing. I didn't start out good at writing action, but I wrote (and read, see below) consistently in a lot of action-heavy fandoms, so I got a lot of practice. I also feel like the more I wrote, the more ideas I got, and the more unique ideas I got.

You occasionally see someone in fandom who's like "this is my first fic!" and it gets really popular or and lots of hype or whatever, but that's not the typical experience. Most of us start out writing like crap. It's ok. It gets better.

2. Get help. Seek out 'subject experts' and people who you think are good at writing the kinds of stories you want to write.

Ok, so you wrote a first draft you were disappointed in. Ask yourself what was disappointing about it? Do you feel like the beats aren't hitting, or the action is wooden, or the language is awkward? The great thing about fandom and fanfiction is that there are so many people that are willing to help out as beta readers or even just someone to talk to. I understand that getting a beta reader can seem daunting. You don't want someone to criticize your work, or it might seem embarrassing to show someone else a work you feel bad about. But if you get someone else to read it, you'll have the chance to both hear good things about it and also get advice about things you're uncertain about. People come to fandom from all walks of life and I'm a big fan of asking for help if you're writing about something you're not super familiar with. I've never actually been to therapy, so getting help from @celeritas2997 was absolutely critical for me to feel good about my couple's therapy AU. Also you can ask people for advice if they write the kinds of fics you want to write—I've had multiple people ask me for help with their action scenes, and I'm always happy to lend an eye and give advice.

Also, related to this: it's ok if you don't like your first draft. But don't delete it! Put it aside, whether you ask someone else to look at it or not, and come back to it a while later with fresh eyes. It may not be as terrible as you thought! Or maybe there are parts you still hate, but there are other parts that you can work on and revise.

3. Read a lot, and broadly, especially in the genre you want to write.

Want to write sci-fi? Read a lot of sci-fi novels. Read a lot of sci-fi AUs. Break out of your fandom and read fics in fandoms you don't know—I used to do this a lot and it was one of the most important steps in my process of finding my own voice as well as understanding how stories are built. When you read in only one fandom, you get used to a lot of the same voices and types of stories, but there is SO MUCH out there. I've been known to scroll through the 'Enemies to Lovers' tag on occasion, but also I will go into fandoms for media I know but have no strong connection to, don't want to write in but know the characters, and read those. I spent a lot of time reading X-men, Good Omens, Witcher, even MCU juggernauts like Stucky even though I don't really ship them. I know it probably sounds crazy to tell you to go read other fandoms when (I'm assuming you're RWRB) there's so much in this one, but I do think it's valuable. This one is not only for getting exposed to a lot of writing styles, but also lots of ideas. I've definitely gotten a lot of ideas that spun off from something else I read.

I feel like none of this is particularly revolutionary advice, but I hope it at least gives you (and anyone else who manages to read this far lol) some confidence to keep going and go after those stories you want to write. Everyone—me, popular fandom writers, professional authors—started out just writing a lot, and they improved over time.

Most importantly: just keep going. You can do it!!

[theside-b]

Awww See Your Love, I'm going to miss your weird and crazy energy. This finale really encapsulates the best (and worst) of the show, but if there was one thing that was consistent throughout the series, it was that unique Taiwanese flavor.

The final episode makes it clear that we are watching at least three different shows at once: a sweet romance between Shaopeng and Zixiang, an odd couple comedy with Feng Jie and Xin Jia, and a barely there sapphic storyline with Jessica and Shuhe. All with varying degrees of success. I'll start with my least favorite and go up from there: Whatever happened with Feng Jie/Jonathan was fun, I really had a good time with them, especially in the early rounds with the ridiculous assassination attempts and cat and mouse game they had going, but as time went on and the script didn't have much room for them and simply didn't know how to integrate Xin Jia into the main story, they lost the spark (I was a bit disappointed that we got the answer to what really happened in their "first night", I wish it had been kept a mystery).

We had Jessica and Shuhe for about three weeks - and 5 minutes of screen time - but it was enough to show clear potential, we never get saphic storylines in Taiwanese BL shows, so I was pleasantly surprised by their natural chemistry, the writing done for them was highly beneficial, avoiding some of the traps usually seen with this kind of characters. So it's a shame we didn't get more out of them, there was clearly a lot of potential here.

Now for the crème de la crème: Shaopeng and Zixiang… it was just… dare I say "perfect" might be the word for them. The writing, the direction, the craftsmanship behind the show, it was clear that the series revolved around them, and both actors stepped up to the plate and delivered easily two of the best performances in the genre. And I will single out Shaopeng's Jin Yun: simply the best acting of any Taiwanese show in 2024 (would go as far as to say one of the best in general television of the past year). Playing a deaf-mute character is no small challenge, but having a disabled character like him as the protagonist elevated everything, and in the hands of a lesser actor it could have been a disaster. Fortunately, he was more than ready, and while Raiden Lin's Zixiang did some heavy lifting, it was Shaopeng who kept the story moving forward.

This show was always deceptively cute and wacky. It often hid what it was trying to say behind silly visual gags and cartoonish sound effects, luring viewers into a false sense of security before delivering emotional punches that left everyone reeling.

With mixed results, I would say; many felt that the attempted assault scene with Shuhe was jarring and unnecessary — about that particular moment, I was a bit surprised that the audience was surprised, because Taiwanese shows often have a certain violent aspect to them, no matter how unassuming a show may be, and considering that we are talking about the team behind Kiseki: Dear to Me, it was to be expected.

If there was one aspect that never really clicked for me, it was the gangster subplot involving our beloved Nat Chen. Whatever they were trying to do here really felt disconnected from everything else and that is saying something, because the whole show was hanging by a thread.

After a series of shows that offered a very different taste (Unknown, The Only One, First Note of Love), this one goes back to Taiwanese BL roots and shares so much DNA with its direct predecessors (Be Loved in House: I Do, Plus & Minus, Kiseki) that it was somewhat refreshing. And after some stumbles and poorly conceived characters, Shaopeng stands as one of the greatest, if not the best, disabled protagonists a BL show has ever had.

(Also, where is my Taro and Kai cameo???)

[halfratsalready]

I definitely think that there’s multiple factors at play here.

This is such a long winded explanation so apologies in advance 😭

It does seem that the dancers portraying the story mode coaches had a lot going on this year. As far as I’m aware, I think Shirley is the only one who portrayed a coach in JD25? I know that Jerky Jessy choreographed Paint The Town Red Extreme, but I’m not aware of his involvement in any other maps (I could totally be missing something, though). Obviously they recast coaches all the time, but I can totally see why they wouldn’t want to recast the main story mode coaches (yes, they recast Night Swan for JD24, but that was probably to make things easier to film and worked out pretty well because Night Swan’s makeup is so heavy it’s almost hard to tell that the dancer even changed). I think the only reason they were okay with “recasting” Leda for IYE is because Shirley has played Night Swan before, even if Maïwenn played that version of Leda first in JD24. To me, this is the theory that honestly makes the most sense, but I doubt this would be the only reason they completely ignored the lore this year.

Part of me wonders if they held off on lore this year to see what the response would be. Obviously this would be a risky move and not a very smart one, but hey, given how divisive the lore seems to be amongst players, I can see why they’d want to see the reaction to a lack of a story mode in this game.

The inclusion of the Ariana Grande song pack seems more like an idea to fill the gap in the song list that a lack of story mode created than a reason for a lack of story mode. Both story modes thus far have consisted of seven maps, and the Ariana song pack includes six. Add In Your Eyes to the mix as an attempt to appease the lore fans in the absence of a story mode, and you’ve got seven maps to fill the gap left empty by the lack of a story mode.

Budget problems is 100% a possibility, especially considering the aforementioned divisiveness of the story modes in the past. They might be trying to appeal to a wider audience to get the most out of the budget they have (another reason that the Ariana song pack would be good for filling in for story mode maps in the final count).

For what it’s worth, I don’t think Lose Yourself has anything to do with it. I’m still a “Lose Yourself is a prequel map” believer, because it just doesn’t make sense to me that it would have been made for JD24 as a follow up to the JD24 story mode. I can’t imagine that they would end Dance With the Swan on that cliffhanger and then throw in Lose Yourself as a continuation. I could do a whole post on this honestly, but I personally don’t think that it has anything to do with story mode not returning this year, because I don’t see it as taking place after Dance With the Swan.

I also don’t think it’s to indicate a passage of time since Dance With the Swan. You can easily indicate time passing without actually waiting over a year to continue the story, and this just doesn’t seem reasonable to me at all.

I can’t say whether I believe they’ll do this or not, but a lore season would honestly infuriate me. To have something that is normally included in the base game be free for only a couple of months before locking it behind the JD+ paywall would be absolutely ridiculous and probably spark even more backlash than including lore in the first place. Would it be nice to have story mode-based rewards? Yes! I’d love some new Night Swan avatars by now! And some Night! Just Dancer avatars would also be great. But I’m holding out hope they don’t do a lore season because of the controversy it could (deservedly) start and the negative impact that could have on continuing the lore in the future.

That being said, I don’t believe they’ve totally given up on story mode or lore. I don’t think they would have included In Your Eyes if that was the case. Also I’m just really hoping they don’t ditch the lore because I want the lore and I refuse to believe that it’s not coming back.

All of that just to say - THEY SHOULD HAVE TOLD US. They can still tell us! All they had to do was acknowledge the absence of a story mode, and they couldn’t even do that. I would have been disappointed but still understanding if they’d acknowledged the fact that they weren’t going to include the lore this year. Instead, they’ve completely ignored it, which is the real problem for me.

Ok I wanted to do it for quite some time now

Those are all I could think about/saw people throw around. I could easily talk more in depth about each one, so if you're not sure what I mean, don't hesitate to ask. I can't add more answers, so if u have other theories or believe it's multiple reasons, feel free to share them in the tags 👇👇

Reblogs for a bigger sample size will be appreciated 🙏

[nancywheeeler]

“The Boogeyman is based on a short story by Stephen King, originally published way back in 1973, with the film concerning a terrifying supernatural entity that preys on families and feeds on the suffering of its victims. The movie's human characters include high school student Sadie Harper and her younger sister, Sawyer who are both reeling from the recent death of their mother and aren't getting much support from their father, Will, a therapist dealing with his own pain. “

lol so Stephen King adaptions are just original scripts with his name slapped on them now. okay.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, I recently went into the x-men and I found my own dead with Charles and Erik AND I NEED READ MORE OF THEM BUT I SO LOST AFTER POWERS AND HOUSE OF X SO I DON'T KNOW WHERE CONTINUE, can u help me?

(alsoIlikeyoursdrawingsiwishbeingsoconstantwithmycontentlikeu)

i'll be very candid with you my friend: i'm totally lost too !!!!!!! your comic-reading journey is about as green as mine and so i cant personally give you a super great guide- but beautiful people on the internet exist who've done most of the dirty work for us when sorting through the stories you 'should' read so i'm borrowing them to help us both

you can read this article to read about one person's advice with exploring krakoa and- in their opinion- its most 'significant' stories, though to summarize the issues they recommend looking into:

House of X/Powers of X (which you should have already done)

X of Swords event

Hellfire Gala

Inferno

X Lives and X Deaths of Wolverine

Second Hellfire Gala

Third Hellfire Gala

Fall of the House of X/Rise of the Powers of X (also should have already done, however...) +Single issue: X-Men (2021 series) #35 aka Uncanny X-Men #700 is featured at the end of the FoX omnibus, though the omnibus excludes an extra bit at the end involving a cliffhanger for Charles's fate after he's arrested

if you want to dig a little deeper though, you can check out this article from another individual which includes another wave of 'relevant' (word used loosely as some can be considered more poignant than others) krakoa stories and stories related to it or set during the period.

it's a lot longer and more in depth than the last article, so again i only really rec peaking at this one depending on how deep you wanna go, or if you decide you want to explore more after reading the more 'key' stories. def wouldn't hurt to give it a glance just in case you read some summaries that pique your interest!

all in all, don't take these as concrete rules or guides to follow: comics are meant to be fun, these are just good starting points if you're feeling lost or overwhelmed. at the end of the day, you decide ultimately what you want to read and which stories interest you the most

happy reading !

[icewindandboringhorror]

finally finished all of one character's entire quests/optional dialogue/questions/etc.... 100,000 words... .... aughhh

[lorei-writes]

Live reading...

The element of mental warfare(?battle?) at the beginning of the fic is interesting to read -- Ava's narration gives us clues about her personality and the overall setting, while also building the atmosphere of "this is going to be tough. Two dominant people may clash". Ha! Nobunaga is in for a surprise, or at least at this point in the story, I as a reader am very inclined to believe so. They both have their own cards to play.

"On either side, some of the greatest men in history were lined up, all leading towards the dias where a lone figure sat imperiously above the rest." <- This is such a strong image. A beautiful sentence.

“Now the nickname of Tiny Terror makes sense.” <- HER NICKNAME IS TINY TERROR?! HAHAHAHAHA. YES. GET THEIR ASSES, LADY!

The following dialogue has a good flow; doesn't sound mechanic.

For the context, I haven't read the first two parts of the prologue. I do not know whether what happened to Ava has been explored there, but -- but -- even if somebody was to start from part 3, the way I do now, I believe they'd get really intrigued by their relationship. What a reunion!

"Sasuke gave me one of his signature small smiles. It was barely a twitch of his apparently weak facial muscles, but it was no less sweet than if he had a huge grin. " <- Vivid, very in-character for Sasuke. Again, it gives a very good impression about the type of a character he is -- and based off your other things I've read, you're good at that, you know? That consistency is very tempting to break at times, after all.

"It was honestly hard to believe that this was my life now. I mean it was a series of crazy and unbelievable events, yet it was all real. It was MY life…yet I had no idea that it was about to get even crazier." <- sweet warning, ohoho. This makes it feel almost like a diary log? It's also a solid ending line -- it draws my attention to the next chapter, while also closing this one completely.

Overall, there was a good amount of plot progression done here in this chapter. It may not be action-heavy, but my gosh, the tension is delicious, as is the release of it.

All's Fair In Love and War Prologue- Pt 3

Once we crossed the gates of Azuchi Castle. We were dismounting, our horses being taken by attendants to the stables. Ranmaru was smiling brightly at us. Servants were taking the things we had brought with us to the guest rooms we would be staying in while Ranmaru led us to the audience hall. Once we had reached the city gates, a messenger had already gone ahead to the castle so that Nobunaga and his inner circle could prepare to meet us right away.

I was smiling to myself as we made our way through the halls. I wouldn’t expect someone like Nobunaga to greet us at the gates. Though it would be customary since HE was the one asking ME for an alliance. Not to mention, it would be polite to allow weary travelers to freshen up a bit. Then again from what I remember of history, he bucked tradition in many ways and many times. Not to mention it was a good strategy.

He asked me for an alliance, but we meet on HIS terf and on HIS terms. Though that was fine with me. As far as I could tell, Ranmaru hadn’t been able to communicate that the new Lord Yamada was in fact a woman. That would naturally give me my own element of surprise in these negotiations as well. Two could play in this game. I hadn’t come as far as I had by not playing my cards right.

We were soon standing in front of a set of large ornate sliding doors. Azuchi Castle was definitely grand…and allowing me to see just how grand on my way here, smart move I had to say. An intimidation tactic. One that would work on a lesser warlord…but then again I do come from a world with technological marvels that would make these men’s heads spin. Though I did admire the technological feats that such grandeur is at this point in time…as well as appreciate the beauty of the craftsmanship of everything. There was something hollow about modern designs and recreations with their mass production.

“Alright, just through here.” Ranmaru said as he reached to open the doors.

Jiro, Sato, and I followed Ranmaru inside. The room was definitely beautiful. Of course, the beauty of the room wasn’t the only thing I had noticed. On either side, some of the greatest men in history were lined up, all leading towards the dias where a lone figure sat imperiously above the rest.

By descriptions, I could guess the men who sat in the room. Masamune Date was an easy one to figure out, as he had an eye patch, one of the reasons for his moniker of the One Eyed Dragon. He wore a smile on his face as his one blue eye took in me and my vassals.

I could also recognize the ones who must have been Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Mitsuhide Akechi as they were sitting to the right and left of the dias. Then there was a grumpy looking blond who must have been Ieyasu and a rather beautiful man who must have been Mitsunari.

By the time we reached the end of our walk, we were soon before the man himself, Nobunaga Oda. Ranmaru came into a bow before him. “My Lord, I have brought Lord Yamada as requested.” He announced before moving out of the way.

I stepped forward from my group, bowing politely, though not as low as Jiro and Sato did. “Lord Nobunaga, it is an honor to meet you.” I greeted him, my gaze meeting his carnelian eyes.

Nobunaga looked at me curiously, though he wore a smirk of amusement. “YOU are Lord Yamada?” He asked.

“I am.” I answered. “Lord Ava Yamada. Daughter of Riku Yamada and his wife, Kaede.”

“Now the nickname of Tiny Terror makes sense.” Masamune spoke with a chuckle from his place to the side.

“I had thought I recalled rumors that Riku had adopted a daughter.” Nobunaga said. 

“Indeed he did.” I replied. “Though I am no man, my father did train me well.”

“Clearly he has since you have suddenly taken so much territory after his death.” Nobunaga replied.

“The Ishihara thought eliminating my father would weaken the clan.” I replied. “I had to show them and their allies that they were wrong.”

“Wouldn’t taking the Ishihara out have sufficed if that was all you wished to accomplish?” The man to Nobunaga’s right spoke. He must have been Hideyoshi.

“One would think, but had I stopped there, the surrounding clans would have thought me weak and that I was just out for revenge.” I replied. “I had to make a show of force that I am no weakling. That I will not allow anyone to trample on my land or my people. I will not roll over and show my belly in the face of danger.”

“You are clearly a force to be reckoned with.” Nobunaga said. “Though having allies would be even more beneficial to you…strong allies at that.”

I smiled. “I am aware.” I replied. “And your goal of unification would be easier when someone with as much land as I have would agree to ally with you rather than battle over it. It would be a waste of resources to battle, even if you did win, it wouldn’t be without a great cost.” I knew my words were daring…and impudent, but I had to make sure that Nobunaga knew I wouldn’t just bow down to have strong allies. I had to make sure he respected me.

“How dare you speak to Lord Nobunaga that way…” Hideyoshi began to protest.

Nobunaga lifted his hand and waved Hideyoshi off dismissively. “Hideyoshi, enough.” He scolded before turning back to me. An amused smile graced his lips. “I admire your audacity. Coming into my castle and speaking to me so.”

“YOU invited ME.” I replied. “YOU are the one asking ME for this alliance.”

“This lass doesn’t pull her punches.” Masamune spoke from his place, leaning over to Mitsuhide. “I like her.”

“This is amusing, indeed.” Mitsuhide agreed.

“Very true.” Nobunaga replied. “And you accepted, which means you are considering the alliance.”

“One can never have too many allies.” I replied, wearing my own smug look.

“Does this mean you wish to discuss terms?” Nobunaga asked.

“If we can reach an agreement, I believe it would be acceptable.” I answered.

Nobunaga smiled. “Then let us discuss terms.”

We spent the next several hours hammering out the details of our alliance before signing and making it official. Right or wrong, I was now going to be making history with the Oda forces.

It was decided that we would stay in Azuchi for the next few days to rest up and that the next night we would have a banquet to celebrate the alliance. Masamune declared he would be fixing something special for the occasion, a gleam in his eyes. We were then given leave to head to our guest rooms to freshen up and rest up for the night.

After washing up and slipping into my night robes, I made myself comfortable in the room I had been given. It was a rather luxurious room and decorated with extravagance for certain. I was getting ready to settle in for the night when I heard a knock…but it was coming from my ceiling rather than my door.

I was reaching for my sword and holding it up in a defensive position as I stared up at the ceiling. “Whoever the hell you are, you had better get out of that ceiling right now.”

I watched as a single ceiling tile moved and then a man was soundlessly jumping from my ceiling. He was then looking up at me, a black mask over the lower half of his face and glasses on his eyes…modern glasses. He was holding his hands up in surrender. “I come in peace.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. There was something that seemed familiar about him. “Who are you?” I asked, still holding my sword defensively.

“It has been a long time…and I am sure it will help when I remove the mask.” He said. He was then slowly moving his hands, his eyes on me as he pulled his mask down. “After all this time, I was starting to think I was never going to find you, Ava. I was beginning to think the worst had happened.”

“Wait…Sasuke?” I asked, blinking in surprise, as I slowly lowered my sword.

He gave me a small smile. “I know I must look a lot different than when we last saw each other, considering we were still kids…and you have definitely changed.”

“I can’t believe it’s you.” I replied, smiling at him. It was hard to believe, but one of the few friends I had back in the modern day was Sasuke. We had gone to the same school since elementary school. He had been an odd kid…and well unfortunately odd can make you a target for other kids. I had been a troubled and angry kid…neither of us fit in with the others, but we had managed to stick together in school.

We were soon sitting down on some cushions in the room and sipping some tea I had quickly brewed. “We have a lot to catch up on.” I said.

Sasuke nodded. “After fifteen years, a lot has changed.” He agreed. 

“So…were you…were you looking for me?” I asked him.

Sasuke nodded. “Yes. I knew exactly what had happened when you disappeared that night on the school trip.” He explained. “You know my love of history and of the Sengoku especially…and of science.”

I nodded. “Yes, I remember you talking about all kinds of crazy things that…well they didn’t always make sense to me, but it didn’t annoy me when you talked.”

“Well, I had a theory even back then about wormholes opening up under the right conditions and being able to transport us back in time.” Sasuke explained. “And I knew that when I went to find you at the Hono-ji monument and…well the aftermath of how things looked…I knew one had to have shown up. It took me a long time to figure out the calculations and figure out what the exact conditions were, but I figured it out and managed to find one again…it was actually at Hono-ji once again.”

“Wow…so you’ve really been looking for me all this time?”

Sasuke nodded. “Yes…and furthering my research on wormholes and time travel at the same time.” He answered. “It’s been four years since I arrived. Which is nothing compared to your fifteen years here.”

“That’s still insane that you’ve been here this long…and you’re a ninja now?” I asked, gesturing to his attire.

“Just a useful skill I have picked up here.” Sasuke answered. “Though look at you…you’re a warlord.”

I felt my cheeks reddening a bit. “Well…things happen sometimes…”

Sasuke nodded. “Especially when you get adopted by a warlord.”

“So…you’ve done your research?” I asked.

“You could say my employer has.” Sasuke replied.

I could tell by the way Sasuke said that and averted his eyes…his “employer” must have been an enemy of the Oda forces, which would explain why he was sneaking around in the ceilings. Though I wouldn’t voice that thought. I don’t think it was needed. We both knew, but because of our friendship in the past…we couldn’t acknowledge we were on opposite sides of a conflict now.

“Lots of information nets around here.” I replied with a nod. “So, what are your plans? I mean now that you found me?”

“Well…originally I was going to see if you wanted to return home…to the future…” Sasuke began, “But I can already tell your answer would be no.”

“I have a life here…and people who are counting on me.” I replied. “I have a purpose here i never had back in our time.”

Sasuke gave me one of his signature small smiles. It was barely a twitch of his apparently weak facial muscles, but it was no less sweet than if he had a huge grin. “I am happy that you have found that. I will admit, when you disappeared and I thought about you being here…I was always worried, but it seems you found your way.”

I nodded. “I really have.” I said smiling at my friend. “And what about you? What are your plans for yourself?”

“I’ve made some friends and a life here myself…some people I truly care about.” Sasuke replied.

“So, you’re staying too?” I asked.

Sasuke nodded. “Yes. I hope you don’t mind me dropping by for chats and visits once in a while?” He asked.

“Of course, I don’t mind.” I answered. “You’ll have to come visit me in my home sometime when you have a chance and I’m back there.”

“I would like that.”

We chatted for a while longer before Sasuke was declaring a need to leave. He leapt back up into the ceiling and replaced the tile. It was as if he had never been there. I quickly cleaned up the tea before going to bed. What a truly eventful day I had. An alliance with Nobunaga Oda himself (not to mention meeting the man as well as the other great unifiers of Japan) and reuniting with my friend from the modern day.

It was honestly hard to believe that this was my life now. I mean it was a series of crazy and unbelievable events, yet it was all real. It was MY life…yet I had no idea that it was about to get even crazier.

[magnusmodig]

ovo whispers menacingly abt his grandstanding .

[xoxo-ren-xoxo]

it's controversial to say this i guess but i genuinely believe last life was the least interesting life series season and youre all lying to me about enjoying it

[cuteniaarts]

What if… Suiren in Vaatu’s colours 😳👀

[acorrespondence]

@freekicks Oh man I have lots; so many that I’m making this a new post so I don’t clog up that poor person’s replies with 50 messages, haha! Basically, it’s an expansion on the idea that everyone has headcanons/canon details that are absolutely integral to their enjoyment of the story and any transformative works based on it (hard), and headcanons/canon details that they’re fond of but could still get pretty much unaltered enjoyment out of a fic that contradicts them (soft). Obviously all these are just opinions and what I get out of the story isn’t and shouldn’t have to be the same as what anyone else gets out of it.

One thing that sort of falls in the middle of the headcanon/canon divide is Raylan’s age when his mother died. The show contradicts itself on this point several times, and so it’s sort of fungible. I personally find the idea that Raylan’s mother died when he was very young, like younger than Loretta, while it may serve the parallels between them, to be much less compelling than the idea that she died later. It’s just so much more… boring for a character whose mother died when he was ten or so to have a gross misrepresentation of who she was as a person in his mental image of her. It’s much more compelling to me if he held onto that despite direct evidence to the contrary that he was old enough to understand. Of course he’d forget the hatchet story if it happened when he was eight. If it happened when he was eighteen, that opens up a much realer possibility that he just straight up repressed it, which is fascinating. Also, I don’t think it makes sense if he grew up with Helen in the house for the second half of his life there. To me that doesn’t really jive with their current relationship. (And on a less story-driven note, I am fascinated by the idea that, if Raylan’s mother died when he was thirty, he might not have attended her funeral. Because part of him knew it would challenge the version of her he had to remember in order to maintain his black and white perception of the world.)

Obviously, the mine and what it represents is a necessary component (though the time and place less so—my Old Guard au places them in the miners’ strikes of the 30s, and I’ve read a wonderful fic where the mine in question was on a different planet entirely. However, it does have to be placed in Harlan, or whatever approximation of Harlan fits the broader setting). The boys and their relationships with their daddies is another nonnegotiable for me. Specifically, the way they grew up; different times and causes of death for Bo and Arlo can work just as well. If Raylan and Boyd don’t meet until they’re established adults, that immediately kills my interest. Their rich history is so integral to why I’m drawn to the ship in the first place. It’s a hard sell for me to have Boyd leave or Raylan stay directly after the mine, but I’ve been known to make an exception if the story is compelling enough and doesn’t sacrifice characterization.

I think Boyd’s criminal history is important, though the nature of it less so. And even more important is the fact that Boyd never really makes it big as a criminal—making him some kind of fief lord of crime makes him much less interesting to me. His plans only succeed inasmuch as he always manages to survive their unraveling. I think it’s important that he’s spent time incarcerated. I’m not a huge fan of stories where they meet again outside of Harlan and never go back, it takes away the central tension between them and the place that made them that Raylan so struggles with and Boyd embraces so wholly, which for me is a really interesting part of their relationship, this dichotomy. I also don’t care for stories that give them a ton of good friends outside each other, or casual friends who actually know them and hang out with them—they’re too big of assholes for that. Of course, this doesn’t include the characters they’re close with in canon; I love Raylan and Rachel’s friendship, in particular, and their understanding of each other despite their vast superficial differences is fascinating. I guess I should say instead that I don’t buy either of them having typical friendships, period. They’re just too weird and fucked up for that. They trauma bonded at nineteen and it continues to be one of the most important relationships in either of their lives. Winona puts up with Raylan’s relational weirdness for love; no one is doing that for their drinking buddy. So they may have close friendships, but they don’t look the way you’d expect.

I’d never make their relationship uncomplicatedly sweet and unfraught, or sand down the kind of feral edges of it, and I don’t think they’d be much for traditional PDA—I just love the way in canon the physical (and otherwise) manifestations of their intimacy are so outside of what’s expected from buddies OR lovers. In the same vein, I don’t love it when Raylan goes crazy with the terms of endearment, because he doesn’t use them much with his love interests in canon. I have him use them with the girls in heavy heart more as verbal tics he picked up after spending too much time around Boyd, who LOVES to use them, plus I think he models at least some of his displays of parental affection after Helen, who canonically calls him “honey”. I’m fine with Boyd throwing endearments around liberally; I just don’t do it in my own fics because I love the way in canon he twists Raylan’s name itself into almost an endearment. He just can’t stop saying it every other sentence, so why would he give up the chance to say it by replacing it with another word? Plus, it fits in with how weird they are about each other in general.

More broadly, I have never really enjoyed full aus (based on any story) that don’t try to approximate at least the broader beats of place and history from canon, but I really really love stories that manage it. I respect authors who can sort of map canon onto a completely different stage, like the space au mentioned above, so much. I hope that I manage that at least somewhat with catching bullets.

That’s all the big ones I can think of at the moment, though I’m sure there’s more I’ve forgotten (most of the rest fall more under ic-ness vs ooc-ness, which is harder to articulate; “what makes them themselves?” is a much more difficult question). Ultimately, I think probably a lot of these come across through cross-referencing both of my WIPs—basically, if it shows up in both, there’s a very good chance it’s a nonnegotiable for me, and if it changes between the two, then I can obviously live without it.