#they have original voices in my head and I can't link them to any real life person sigh

[kommandonuovidiavoli]

Do you have any voiceclaims for sector Λ?

Nope... I'm out of the voice acting world, so I have no idea what voices could work...

If you have suggestions I'll all ears!

[starrihan]

https://www.tumblr.com/starrihan/778415657483190272/scenario-a-nerdy-girl-who-is-secretly-obsessed?source=share Give me part two or I'll kidnap you? 🤺🤺🤺🤺🤺🤺🤺🤺🤺🤺

Ah listen to me. Maybe part two should have aftercare too🌝! Taesan will hug you and say "no need to cry, I won't leave you, pretty,"

Forgive me because I'm crazy 😔🙏

You’re forgiven because I’m also crazy? (but kidnap me if you must i will not object)

Idk something about mean dom! Taesan making you cry and then being so nice and caring afterwards is delicious 😋

Also are you the same anon that requested the original post??

-> Here's a link to all my other masterlists!

༄ ༄ ༄

You're shaking in the bathroom, still shocked at the events that just occurred. You frantically clean up your mess, the embarrassment washing over you again as you recall the way you came all over his fingers. Looking in the mirror you gasp at your current state. Hair frizzy and messed up, mascara running down your cheeks and eyeliner smudged in the corners.

You quickly dry your still-wet face and use the napkins to get rid of any smudging, trying to salvage what's left of your makeup by patting the surrounding foundation onto the stained areas. You try to calm your nerves but it fails as you find yourself slightly shaking as you walk back into the large lecture hall. You look around, finding Taesan already staring at the door, the smirk on his face as he keeps eye contact with you a little overwhelming.

༄ ༄ ༄

Your nervousness never settles as the clock ticks seem louder than usual, serving as a constant reminder at how agonizingly slow time seemed to be going by. You were nervous for what Taesan wanted from you after class, but you were even more nervous at the fact that you've been growing increasingly needier as time went on, panties ruined.

The sound of students closing their laptops and zipping up their bags snapped you out of your thoughts. You quickly packed up your things, not that there was any point in bringing them out anyways since you didn't even pay attention. Hopefully today's material wouldn't be on your next exam.

You take your time, waiting for everyone to leave the hall before making your way down the ramp, scanning the hall for Taesan. You furrow your brows as you see no sign of anyone outside the classroom, your need being replaced by irritation.

"Did you think I left? That wouldn't be very nice of me, would it?"

His voice behind you made you jump, noticing that his hands look wet and blushing as you realized that he just came from the bathroom, your neediness clouding your judgement. You turn around, shaking your head as you stand there awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

"You're awfully quiet now that you're not moaning my name."

You burn up even more, not knowing how to act around the one person that's made you cum more times than you know, more times than he knows. But his cockiness just brought something out of you that you couldn't figure out. You roll your eyes.

"Oh, feisty are we?"

"Shut up..."

He chuckles, getting close to your face, lips just barely ghosting over your own.

"And if I don't? Then what? Will you take away the honor of letting me hear your sweet voice moan my name again?"

You look away, not being able to stare at his captivating eyes any longer.

"C'mon sweetheart, I will get you to moan my name again."

He grabs your wrist, smooth but gentle as he walks you to what you assume is his apartment building. Once inside his room, you can't help but stare at all of his posters. Black walls adorned with posters of My Chemical Romance, Mötley Crüe and other bands that you didn't recognize.

A yelp leaves your body as he suddenly appears behind you, hands wrapping around your figure, sliding the backpack off of your shoulders.

"Relax baby, why are you so nervous?'

The way he makes you feel, how your burns up at just the slightest touch by him. None of this felt real.

"This is my first time ever doing something like this... with someone I've just met."

"For someone who you just met you sure acted like you knew me, at least well enough to moan my name in the bathrooms for anyone to hear."

"Will you let that go?"

You scoffed, getting tired of the constant waves of embarrassment crashing over you.

"I can't. Usually the girls that want me say it to my face. You're... interesting. Maybe you're a stalker for all I know."

You can't deny how he must've felt, knowing you'd probably feel weirded out if you heard a stranger moaning your name in the bathroom.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for anyone, esepcially you, to hear me being—"

"—a pervert?"

Like a mallet to a gong, you feel your heart pang in your chest. The idea of being called a pervert by your crush was the ultimate form of humiliation, the tears flowing from your eyes instantly.

"I— I'm s-so... sorry, I— I can't believe I—"

But he didn't seem angry or weirded out. Instead, he walked over to you, placing a hand on your waist before leaning in to close the gap between you. You breath hitches in your throat, unable to process his actions, eyes fluttering shut.

"Don't be embarrassed baby, I liked it."

He says after pulling away, diving back in to kiss along your jaw and neck. His actions now are much gentler than they were before, hands slowly moving down to cup your ass under your skirt. You gasp, moving your head to the side to allow him more room to continue his kisses on your neck, hands brushing through his hair as you pull him in closer, your front pressing against his hardening length.

"Fuck Y/N,"

He growls into your neck. He moves one hand to your clothed clit, smirking into your neck when he feels how soaked you are through your panties, your almost silent moans like candy to his ears.

"Oh you must really like me,"

The tears are still steadily flowing down your cheeks, not able to conceal your shame. But the more humiliated you feel, the more turned-on you find yourself getting, and he notices it too with the way you grind your hips into his fingers.

He leads you to the bed, lips never leaving your neck as you feel the back of your legs hit the bed. He instructs you to lay down, laughing as you try to wipe away the tears. He takes his pants off before kneeling on the ground, pulling you down towards his mouth. His fingers ghost over your pussy, his breath hot against your core.

"What a crybaby. But you like it when I shame you, don't you? You like when I call you a little pervert, huh?"

He moves your panties to the side, pressing his fingers against your now-exposed slit and rubbing along your folds. You violently shake your head 'no.'

"Oh yeah? Then why are you so restless every time I say something to embarrass you? You like crying for me? You like it when I humiliate you."

You continue to shake your head, but you know he's right and he knows he's right, watching as you squirm at the contact.

"Should I give my little crybaby what she wants? Or should I punish her for being a little creep who cums to the thought of me, a stranger, when she's alone?"

Again, shaking your head no, you throw your head back when his lips touch your clit in a gentle kiss, praising the small contact for keeping you sane. He moves your panties to the side, teasing your clit with his tongue as his fingers swirl over your sopping hole.

"T-Taesan..."

You moan and it's like a band snaps within him, pushing two fingers past your walls and sucking on your clit like its a ring pop (😉). Arching your back off of the bed, you cry out his name even louder, tears flowing from raging pleasure instead of shame. Your orgasm is quickly approaching, but he notices, pulling out before you can release.

The salty taste from your tears permeates your mouth, choking back sobs as he rips your orgasm away from you. But he stands up, quickly discarding his boxers and your panties before pulling you close by your thighs, lining up his dick with your entrance. He teases you more leaving you to grip the sheets, white-knuckling them as he slowly pushes himself in you. The sigh of relief you let out brings a smile to both of your faces, both entirely too worked up.

He feels your walls pulsing around him, relishing in the feeling before thrusting slowly at first, waiting for you to adjust before picking up the pace.

“Fuck… Taesan…”

“Shit princess, you sound like an angel with my name rolling off your tongue,”

He grunts between thrusts causing you to whimper and whine for him. He takes the chance to lean down, scooping you up to press another kiss to your lips. You moan into his mouth, allowing him to explore with his tongue. You take note of how strong he actually, something that’s not very noticeable about him upon first glance. The constant flutter of your walls around him let him know that you’re close, slowing down his thrusts.

“Tell me, do you think you deserve to cum after being a freak in the bathroom? After shamelessly grinding into my hands when I was degrading you? Don’t you think you should at least apologize?”

You try your best to form words for an apology, but the only thing on your mind is him, the words lost on your tongue as his slow yet deep thrusts cloud your mind.

“Seems that you’ve gone stupid from my questions,”

He tsks but speeds up again, watching as you cry harder for him. With a couple more thrusts, you’re screaming his name like it’s the only word you know. Jolts running up and down your body as you continue to cum for another 20 seconds, hitting even harder since he denied you of it earlier. He quickly pulls out of you, dropping your thighs and stroking himself a few more times, finishing on your skirt.

“I bet you won’t even wash it when you get home. You’ll probably use it to get off again, am I right? My little perverted girl.”

You felt like you were going to pass out from heat exhaustion, the heat of your embarrassment and shame continuing to run through you at his constant degrading. You find it in yourself to sit up, but harder being able to hold it together, the overwhelming feelings of pleasure, guilt and shame washing over you and culminating in a waterfall of tears pouring from your eyes.

“I— I’m really sorry Taesan… for being a creep and moaning for you in the school bathrooms. I feel so ashamed and I understand if you think I’m weird and gross. I can leave, I—“

He leans over you, shushing you by placing his finger over your mouth.

“Shh, no need to cry pretty, I’m not going anywhere, and I don’t want you to go anywhere.”

He looks at you, wiping the never-ending tears off your face.

“It’s really okay, I’m kinda perverted myself for liking it and walking in on you if you think about it.”

He laughs, making you feel a little better as you start to smile with him. He gives you a kiss on the forehead, grabbing tissues to help clean you up.

“And I’m sorry about the skirt, I can wash it if you’d like.”

You wince at his touch, but let him clean you as you sit up. Once the both of you are fully cleaned off, he stands you up, giving you a hug, much to your confusion.

“I don’t really know you Y/N, but this was the best sex I’ve had with a stranger.”

You relax into his touch, hugging him back.

“Thank you? I guess I can say the same, I’ve never had sex with a stranger before.”

He laughs at your honesty, pulling away and smiling down at you.

“We should hang out again, like this or just as friends. I mean, perverts should hang out with other perverts, right?”

And you slap his chest, still embarrassed about the whole situation.

“I’m not sleeping with you again.”

You tease, but you both know this isn’t the last you’re going to be seeing of each other.

༄ ༄ ༄

Zoo wee mama

I did not expect to add this much crying and degradation but, oops? (take a shot every time the words 'embarrassed,' 'shame,' or its variants are used) this was longer than the original post but I will be thinking about this for the rest of the night, thank you

-> Here's a link to all my other masterlists!

[notomys-mordax-blog]

Part 2: Neve Gallus and the Shadow Dragons

Overall: 7/10

Important things first. I absolutely love Neve's design. Her casual outfit with the IDGAF unbuttoned shirt is 10/10. She's both very fashion-forward and feminine, but doesn't look soft. It's neat. The only real critique I have here is that I don't like how most of her face is hidden by her hat. While this felt like an intentional choice, I think it detracted more than it added to her vibes. 

Speaking of vibes, Neve's vibes are impeccable. She's a classic hardboiled detective solving mysteries and putting anything resembling a feeling in a box where it can't hurt her. They really leaned into the film-noir vibes with her voice direction with mixed results. Sometimes it's really effective, but other times it's stilted, especially next to characters who haven't been pulled out of a crime procedural. Overall, I really enjoyed her bit, but I can understand where critique about her voice direction comes from.

Despite her serious allergy to admitting her emotions, you can see how deeply she cares about the people around her by her actions. This worked really well in her interactions with the companions, but was a little bit more uneven when it came to Rook. I really liked seeing the social activities around the Lighthouse, but it was disappointing that Rook wasn't really directly involved in any of them. As a result they felt like an outsider (or like the Boss that people don't want to get too close to).

You could also see this with Neve herself. She liked to give the other characters small, practical advice and support for their problems, but didn't really seem to give Rook (who frankly, has more serious problems than a lot of his companions) the same treatment. I think this is really an area where the writing would have benefited from the addition of some barks and greetings to help link the "relationship-level-up" scenes and make it feel more like the characters are slowly getting to know each other, versus have an uneven sort of ladder where the relationship moves in jumps and starts.

This unfortunately also extends to her romance. I am the kind of person who really enjoys NPC romances. It not only makes me feel like the characters have more agency, but it is often a two-cakes scenario when it comes to interesting ships. The gender inversion of the detective x femme fatale of the pairing between Neve and Lucanis is really interesting, and they both use acts of service as their love language. Unfortunately, while the two of them have a lot of chemistry with each other, their chemistry with the player character is pretty flat. Lucanis's romance suffers more, in my opinion, because the content is so much sparser, but I also felt it with Neve.  My poor head canons need to do a lot of heavy lifting to make the Veilguard relationships work. 

Neve's role in the story is twofold. She helps provide a number of useful connections in Northern Thedas (Harding also plays this role). Additionally, she's our guide to Minrathous. For a Rook who does not have a Shadow Dragons origin, she's responsible for convincing the player that the city is worthy of saving. Personally I feel like the narrative emphasized how hopeless the whole situation in Dock Town a bit too much. I would have liked the narrative to give approximately 15% more weight to scenes like Hal and his fish-stand to show that Dock Town had good people and was worth trying to salvage.

Admittedly, I'm also pretty disappointed that we finally get to see THE BIGGEST AND MOST MAGICAL CITY IN THEDAS, but are limited to just exploring Dock Town which feels like a pretty generic fantasy dock town. I feel like this was a big missed opportunity. Frankly I would have preferred if Veilguard was set entirely in one city and we had the chance to really explore that one location. 

Neve is one of two characters who can become hardened. This is done not through her personal quest, but through an early-game decision to choose which of two cities to protect from a blighted dragon attack. Thematically I like how the game is moving away from good versus evil choices. One of the major themes the story was trying to tell was that there are sometimes no "good" choices. There are some interesting parallels between Solas and Rook and the themes of regret. What I found awkward here was that there really wasn't justification for why Rook played such a key role in the defence of the city (and subsequently why people outside of Neve/Lucanis blamed Rook for what happened). I also think that the narrative could have done a smoother job explaining that with Minrathous, the problem was not in the defence of the city, so much as it was the political implications. I think this choice would have felt more interesting if they worded it more explicitly to be a choice between protecting the civilians in a city from the immediate brutality of the dragon attack (Treviso) versus protecting the civilians in a city from the long-term brutality of an oppressive political regime (Minrathous). 

As a slight aside, I did feel like it was kind of goofy that Neve, who is a well-known public figure, could just waltz into a venatori gathering. 

Her personal quest is a paint by numbers affair. You help her with a case that spirals into a confrontation with her nemesis, a venatori mage. She needs to be guided through choosing to leverage the help of a shady organization, or crack the case through legitimate channels. It folded in nicely with the main story, but did illustrate the problems with the venatori as one of the main groups of villains.

Part of me almost wishes that the outcome of Neve's personal quest would depend on whether or not she was hardened, versus something that you explicitly chose. I feel like hardening Neve had much fewer implications on the story than hardening Lucanis, and I would have liked to see some story changes. 

The Shadow Dragons

I really liked the idea of the Shadow Dragons. I think they were probably my favorite of the factions. It was really brutal to see what happened to them if you chose to save Treviso over Minrathous. I also feel like their existence could have gone a long way in explaining why the culture of Tevinter was so different from what we might've expected given how it was depicted in the games based in Southern Thedas. Throw in a few lines about how attitudes of slavery in Tevinter have been shifting over the last 10 years due to changes in policy from Dorian and Mae, underground movements like the Shadow dragons and maybe, for bonus points, a certain elf who has been cutting his way through slavers. 

Not including Fenris in the Shadow Dragons really does feel like a missed opportunity. Quantum characters are one of the general design problems with the Dragon Age games. Getting to see cameos of characters from previous entries into the series is a lot of fun, and something that the series wants to do. Unfortunately, because of the complexities that would arise from the different configurations in people's worlds, these cameos either have to be super shallow so an NPC can be easily slotted in -- or people's previous canon need to be handwaved a-la Leliana-lyrium-ghost. Personally, I'd prefer half-assed explanations about why a character who should have been dead (or otherwise incapacitated) is back in action, but that's not really a good solution either. Frankly I think returning characters end up creating a sort of damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't situation. 

Back to the Shadow Dragons. I liked them! I think my only quibble is that the Viper being the Black Divine was a weird narrative choice. I'm not complete with my save-mintrathous playthrough, so this might end up coming up more in the future, but thus-far, this revelation has been treated like a fun Easter egg. I also thought it was kind of funny (derogatory) that the ventatori who captured him didn't think to unmask the mysterious masked leader of the rebellion. I think the reason they didn't was because the narrative didn't want to deal with the fallout ... which is kinda lame. 

Another intrusive thought I had whenever I saw him was that there is a whole masked empire in the south, and whether or not people thought that the Viper was from Orlais. This is a dumb thought, but it is one that I couldn't help but think.

How I would fix it: 

Neve's storylines are folded into the main story much closer than Harding's. This means that resolving them would require addressing some of the deeper flaws in Veilguard's narrative. Despite my desire to write multi-thousand word essays analyzing the flaws of the game, I did ultimately enjoy playing it and would describe the experience as being a mostly fun romp with likeable characters and an interesting story that sometimes flubs the execution. I ran across a post describing DAV as one of the most polished unfinished games they've ever played, and this really resonated with me. 

The Venatori (and Antaam) were one-note villains with the same pedigree as Corypheus. Note how I didn't name a specific Venatori. Aelia, who was the main antagonist of Neve's route, didn't really have much going on besides "evil venatori blood mage". While I don't think we need to make the pro-slavery nationalists sympathetic, I do feel like they would be more effective villains if it was more clear what their goals would actually look like for the people on the ground. As an aside, my eye twitched a little bit every time the phrase artifact or ritual was used. This felt like a huge opportunity to add a little bit of flavor into the stew. I don't think we need major lore reveals, but what seems more interesting: "We've got to stop the Venatori from using an artifact to complete a ritual" or "We've got to stop the Venatori from using the Chalice of Lost Souls from making legwarmers soul weave"? 

Not specifying what the ritual or artifact was really made it clear that these things were just MacGuffins, and doesn't give the player any idea about why the Venatori are evil. While I think the scenes in Arlathan were they tortured animals while sitting on human chairs, it at least gave some specificity to their evil. 

The Tevinter presented in Veilguard doesn't really reflect how the Empire was presented in the previous games.  If the narrative choice to downplay racism and slavery was done because the creative team no longer felt interested in those themes or equipped to write them a statement should have been made to this effect. Regardless, the in-game cultural shift would be much less jarring for a returning player if some in-universe explanation had been provided. In the previous section I discussed a few different factors that may have shifted the attitude of the general population in Tevinter. This would help show the player that the Tevinter they've heard about isn't really representative of what the "average" Tevinter citizen is like. I think this could be accomplished really smoothly with a banter between Neve and Harding. Harding is surprised to see that the elves are treated more poorly in the South than in Tevinter. She can talk about the horrific blood orgies she's heard about. Neve can bring up that the average Tevinter citizen is horrified that the Danariuses of their country are how other nations perceive them. Additionally, this would help give the player a better idea of what the stakes for allowing the Ventori to get a foothold in Minrathous would be. It's the cultural traditionalists of Tevinter who want to go back to blood orgies. 

My making the Venatori more compelling villains, I think you'd end up fixing 70% of the problems with Neve's story. 

In terms of the other 30%  percent, this is really where you feel the pain of removing the small ways the player can interact with the companions. Even though walking up to the companion and overhearing "hey Rook" is narratively identical to needing to press x to initiate the same "hey rook" conversation, it feels different from a gameplay perspective. Adding this back in would help make it feel like Rook was actually talking to his companions. I would also have really liked to involve Rook into the slice-of-life activities at the Lighthouse! Let the player decide if Rook would be interested in joining a book club, or explore what kind of cook Rook would be. I think this would help the feeling that Rook is a weird boss who listens in on people's conversations. 

In Conclusion: 

I like Neve a lot and think that the idea of a detective procedural set in Thedas has a lot of potential. I really liked her interactions with the other characters (especially Bellara!) and enjoyed watching her slowly warm up to the party. It's just a bit of a shame that I didn't get the same sense of slowly building friendship from the player-character. 

As an aside, Tevinter Nights definitely enhances the experience of playing Veilguard. In addition to providing introductions for most of the companions, it also introduces a lot of important NPCS, this is where you see Neve first confront Aelia.  

As another aside, I'm tired of games with end-of-the-world stakes. DA2 is probably my favorite entry into the series, and it has a much smaller scale than the other games. I really would have enjoyed a game consisting of helping Neve unravel mysteries in Minrathous and think that narratively, that sort of story is much easier to tell in a satisfying way.

So those are my thoughts on Neve. I would drink whisky with her while we speculated on who the Viper actually was, but first we need to do something about those Venatori (explain what the heck the cult actually wants).

[nekoannie-chan]

First & last: Kiss

Title: Kiss.

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America.

Ship: Steve Rogers X Reader.

Word count: 440 words. 

Square: 1 “Kiss”.

Rating: Teen.

Summary: Steve's first and last kiss.

Major Tags: Fluff.

Additional tags: This is my entry for the @sweetspicybingo, Beginning's Bingo. 

Links: Wattpad, Ao3, Spanish version.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish, so I wanna improve my writing skills in English. Please let me know if you notice any mistakes, and I will correct them.

I don’t grant permission for my fics to be posted on other platforms or in other languages (I translate my work) or for using my graphics (my dividers are included).  I created them exclusively for my fics; please respect my work and refrain from stealing it. Some people here make dividers that anyone can use; mine is not this type, so please look for the other people’s dividers. The only exceptions are those I gifted ‘cuz now belong to someone else. Please let me know if you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter.  

If you like it, please vote, comment, give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @real-fbi @caplanbuckybarnes @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @azulatodoryuga @endlesstwanted @patzammit @kmc1989

The first kiss

That night, everyone was scattered, some asleep, others eating. And that's when you heard the door open.

He.

“Are you still here?" Steve asked, coming in.

“Yes... I wanted to leave everything in order.

You approached the table to put away the last papers, and he approached as well.

“You don't have to do it all by yourself," he said, just a few steps away from you. You felt a tingling run down your back. 

“Are you all right?” you asked, in a quieter voice. He nodded. But then he shook his head softly.

“I don't know... not quite. But I feel better when I see you.”

And then, Steve moved closer. His fingers brushed your chin, slowly, and his lips came closer, and his breath collided with yours.

“May I?” he whispered.

You closed your eyes and nodded. And he kissed you. It was slow and sweet; his hand slid down your neck. That kiss was not a movie kiss.

It was real.

It was yours.

It was his.

And it was perfect.

The last kiss

The war was over. Or so they said.

Years had passed. So many missions, so many conversations in the dark, so many moments between you that no longer fit in a single memory.

But he had to go.

He had made the decision.

It was not a betrayal. It was a necessity. A search. A closure.

You were alone, at the foot of the hangar, when the ship was ready. He looked exactly the same as the day you met him. You stood your ground. On the outside. Inside, you were in pieces.

“Will you come back?” you asked, knowing it wasn't fair to ask that question. Steve didn't answer right away. He looked at you. As he did every time he needed to memorize, you.

“I can't promise you that," he admitted in a low voice.

You moved closer, swallowing your tears, and grabbed him by the jacket, right at chest level. You felt his heart.

“Then kiss me," you said. “For the last time.” 

And he did.

But not like the first one. This kiss hurt.

His hands wrapped around you tightly, as if he wanted to take you with him without moving from the spot.

Your body surrendered to that kiss as one surrenders, knowing there is no more. It was long, silent, and eternal.

When you parted, he rested his forehead against yours.

“I loved you in every version of me," he said. “And if time permits... I'll come back for the next one.”

And he left. 

And that kiss... that last kiss.

[divine-death2]

Summary: This is a story about, Chris, Ronnie, Andy, Vessel and Noah. The reader gets pulled to do a feature with MIW for the anniversary of Reincarnate. As she goes on she meets the other artists, and they all end up falling for her, and she for them. They have to navigate a relationship and how they will all get along for her sake. But as always life has other plans.

!! All of this is pure fiction! I do not own any of these artists or lyrics and yes, some things will not be accurate as it is in real life, BECAUSE it is fiction. Some lyrics will be AI generated (original lyrics for the FMM) !!

xo-Please do not copy my work, you are welcome to repost and share a much as you want. Comment if you want. -ox

Warnings: language.

This chapter is solely Chris' POV, the other member feature and chime in regarding the woman known as "Death".

Chapter 2: Need to meet her

Chris' POV:

We're currently on a break, trying to come up with a new album. The previous one was fucking amazing. But we need something better than the last.

I am losing my mind here, trying to find the right sound for this album. These past few months have been rough with touring and performing and the 10th anniversary of Reincarnate coming up, it was chaos. In a good way. Before we kick of the anniversary tour, we decided to take a break, so everyone is with the partners or wives or girlfriends and I am alone.

It has been 2 weeks since the last tour. I have been feeling the loneliness more prominent, as all the guys have their forever person. I yearn for that connection with someone, but I am terrified to put myself out there again. I mean, anyone would be if they found the person they thought were their soulmate, cheating on them with a random guy from a bar.

Regarding this album, I feel I want to put a lot more emotion into it, along with maybe a little horniness imbedded there somewhere. I know there are many upcoming artists all over social media, maybe I should try to gain some inspiration from them. Reaching over to grab my phone, I start scrolling through YouTube shorts.

Nothing interesting or worth my time comes up, but it helps to pass the time. As I am scrolling a text from Ricky pops up. I open the text and all it says is "DUDE! Listen to this woman". And a YouTube link to follow it. Curious now, I open up the link. A woman, dressed in a black cloak with a skull mask and black painted hands appear. I turn up the volume and recognize the song from Bad Omens. Her voice fills the space, and I am instantly drawn. It is eerie but beautiful. I can feel what she is singing, the emotions flowing straight through the phone. I listen closely, as she sings. Fuck... that operatic note near the end, has me in a frenzy as I exit and find Matt's contact.

The phone rings a few times but he does not answer. Shit, I guess I will call again later. In the group chat, I tell the guys that we should meet and discuss a few things regarding the upcoming tour and the mystery woman behind the skull mask. Within minutes everyone except Matt, replies. We set up to meet tomorrow around noon.

Feeling satisfied with the outcome of the chat, I get up, heading to the kitchen and grab a glass of water. I can't get her voice out of my head. I pull up the video once again and listen to her voice. I notice her name, "Death". Now that is just something else that piques my interest. I go to check her channel, she has about 5 videos uploaded. One that grabs my attention is titled Porcelain. That's one of our songs, but it could be a totally different artist's as well. It is late, I should sleep, I can watch this one tomorrow or maybe play it to the whole group. Reluctantly, I get up, taking my water with me, reaching my room I feel the loneliness even more. Knowing there is no one to have great sex with or to just hold in my arms. I shake my head, head to the bathroom to brush my teeth and shower.

After a good shower, I get into bed, putting my phone on charge. I struggle to fall asleep, so I decide to play Death's version of "Limits" once more. I download and like the video, to make sure it's never lost. Her voice is calming, softly lulling me to sleep. At the end of the song, I can barely keep my eyes open. Locking my phone and turning over, to be consumed by the peacefulness that is sleep.

The next day.

I wake up with Ricky and Justin bursting through the door, Ricky tugging at my feet. "Wake up, you idiot!" With a very audible groan I flip him off and reluctantly sit up in bed. "You must be seriously fascinated by this woman to have all of us meet way before the actual meeting date". I get up, moving towards the kitchen, motioning for them to follow me. "Where's Vinny and Ryan?", I ask, just to be met with both of them raiding my fridge, bickering about whether they should do juice or soda. "Nevermind..."

"Rick, Justin, you guys want anything?" Both agreeing to juice before we start. "I will say this, I am still very much asleep, so excuse any rambling that may happen, or if I do not make sense".

I notice them all nodding. While Ricky is motioning, waving his hand for me to continue. "Alright, you guys know about the woman known as 'Death', right. I am pretty sure you all saw her video yesterday, if not, I am going to show you now." I open my phone, clicking on her video, everyone huddled together to watch the screen. Once more, her hauntingly beautiful voice fills the space, and I find myself even more in a trance than before.

Noticing how Vinny's mouth slightly hangs open, Ricky's brows knit together, Justin swaying slightly to the sound and Ryan, looks like he might cry. I know that I am not the only one captured by this mystery woman's voice, and the emotion that she lets flow through her.

As the video comes to an end, Vinny speaks first," Fuck". We all nod in agreement. "This woman, I don't know who she is, but she has talent that I haven't seen, only heard of. She makes you feel everything, she has a message, and I want to help get that message out to the world. I think WE can help her do that." I huff out a breath, raising my brows at them, looking for anything really. "You want to reach out to her?", Ricky asks, eyes wide. "I mean this could be really good, or it could go really bad, man. She might not even be legit. It may be all autotune and no talent."

Rubbing my face with my hand, "I know, but if this is raw talent, she needs to share this, she is just too good, not to. I know the risks, if it makes you guys more comfortable, I won't reach out through the band, but personally, meet with her before bringing her in?"

"That could work, when do want to do this?", comes Justin's voice. "I...Uh...today." They all nod, and well now I guess I have to figure out how I am going to message her and exactly what I am going to say.

"We're gonna hang here for a bit, I have an idea stuck in my head. You go do what you gotta do, and find us in the studio after," Ryan chimes. "Alright, I will then see you guys in a bit".

I walk to my room and immediately, start checking Instagram for her page. Finally, I find it, and open up the messages to send her a DM. "How the fuck do I do this?", I mutter to myself. It's not like I have never reached out to artists over DM, but why does this one feel harder. I start typing, "Hey, Death, I saw your video, and I have to say, you have amazing talent. I would love to meet you, and maybe talk about a collab or the next tour."

I hit send before I can overthink it and chicken out. Now all I have to do is wait, and hopefully she responds soon. I start my morning routine, washing my face, brushing my teeth, getting dressed. Making the bed, I hear my phone chime and when I look, I feel my heart leap to my throat. I walk out to the guys, picking my jaw up from the floor, "She's agreed to meet". All of their faces snap to me, their eyes widening as the words sink in. "That was quick. Man, you gotta be careful, alright. She might even be a psycho," Ricky says.

I know, I am going to pick a public place to meet, and I will send you my location, as well as keeping ya'll updated on the group". My brain has yet to catch up to the fact that I am meeting Death....well I guess this is one way of meeting Death, haha. I internally laugh at my silly little joke, shaking my head I plop down on the couch, before typing, "Fantastic! I can't wait to meet you. How about we meet at Urth Caffe for coffee, let's say tomorrow?" I send the message, and I see three dots appearing and then, "Sure, sounds perfect. I will be there around 11 am." I feel myself smiling as I read the chat, she is different. Death you have me intrigued, I think to myself. "11 am is perfect, see you then. :-)"

"We're meeting tomorrow, at Urth Caffe, at 11 am. I will let you guys know how it goes." I get a series of acknowledging sounds from everyone. After some time, the buys are leaving, saying our goodbyes and as I close the door, I can't help the giddy feeling in my chest. I am meeting this mystery woman, my heart feels like it is floating. I get dinner ready, just some simple frozen veggie dumplings. After I ate, I decide to listen to her just one more time, as I am in the shower, finding myself singing along, occasionally humming.

"This will be good", I say out loud. Getting out, drying off and making my way to the closet to fish out boxers. I fall down on the bed drifting off, with excitement bubbling in m veins.

[ilikekidsshows]

It just boggles the mind how petty someone can be over a fictional character that they created being popular. Thomas Astruc is ruining his own show and screwing over abuse victims all for a grudge against fans who prefer a character he doesn't. I don't condone hate-mobbing him like some people do on Twitter, but he really can't take any sort of criticism huh. How do you claim to have conferred with a child psychologist (I think) and still produce this literal abuse apologia. I genuinely don't understand.

I'm gonna say that Astruc taking any chance to use the narrative to dunk on Chloé and Adrien being evidence of him holding a grudge against their popularity is my personal interpretation of possible influences for their writing. I have inferred it from Astruc's very curt way of speaking to fans of these characters on twitter and the show's abysmal writing of them in ways that prop Marinette up on their backs. None of it has been proven true, but, when the coincidences keep piling up, at some point you're gonna stop believing it's a coincidence. At this point, he is most likely at least subconsciously bitter over Chloé and Adrien, if not consciously so.

Just like how the show's biases concerning abuse might be subconscious stuff going on in the crew's heads. I remember when @infinitysgrace and I used to have to reiterate again and again that Gabriel does love Adrien even if he abuses him, that's often the tragedy of parental abuse, when the fandom kept insisting that Gabriel abusing Adrien was evidence that he didn't really love him. The crew also seems to have a very limited view of what "counts" as child abuse. Apparently isolation, neglect, abandonment and consistently referring to your child by the wrong name don't count as abuse, because all the kids involved got to eat, didn't get beaten and are loved by the people harming them.

I agree that it's very obvious that Astruc can't handle criticism and that mobbing him or harassing him isn't the solution. Astruc has a right to act like an entitled jackass even publically online, just like any other creator or random person. I instantly side eye anyone trying to turn me against someone based on only the accusations that they're deleting negative comments and blocking people giving negative feedback. The fans might be entitled to their opinion, but they are not entitled to a creator's time and attention.

I'm also going to say that, just like I don't read highly personal vent fics, I'm not going to watch vent shows. I stopped paying any attention to Teen Titans Go after they started dedicating several episodes to mocking fans of the original TT cartoon (after their show piggybacked on the fame of said show by mimicking the character designs and using the same voice cast no less). I'm very much done with paying Thomas Astruc's increasingly inane ramblings any attention. It's pretty obvious that social media is influencing his creative process negatively but it's his right to engage with a space that affects him like that. None of us are his friends, family or doctor. It's none of our business what he does.

I haven't heard of the writers consulting any experts on anything dealing with the show, but I do know for a fact that Astruc tweeted a link to a fan's essay on Adrien that was written by someone claiming to be a child psychologist. Said fan praised Adrien's writing and then went on to praise the Sentipeople concept. Since I make it a habit to never actually be the one that starts shit, I never really engaged with their content and blocked them instead, so I can't remember the details of what they said about the psychological perspective on Sentipeople.

Still, I'm 80% sure this is the supposed expert. Regardless, even if this fan wrote essays with 100% accurate real life psychology, child psychology has no one size fits all approach. I, an ECEC professional, sure as hell didn't agree with anything they had to say about SentiAdrien before I blocked them, and that was before canon confirmed the theory in the worst possible way and screwed over abuse victims.

[downwithpeople]

wrath of the righteous first impressions

made a belated return to WOTR because avowed put me in a state of mind to play a big crpg. it really makes me appreciate rogue trader more, because that game is an improvement on this one in every dimension. i'm sure some of the criticisms i have for the game are problems i would have had with the original adventure path, but some amount of them are surely owlcat original problems.

i think if you wanted to run a pathfinder game for total newbies, the worst thing you could do is toss them a link to the SRD and tell them to pick whatever class they want. this is exactly what WOTR does. i spent hours trying to figure out which class i should be playing, then reluctantly settled for human fighter. then started a new playthrough as a different archetype of human fighter, then finally settled for a loosely pirate-themed build i found online. being familiar with PF's mechanics somehow makes the choice paralysis worse, because optimising a PF character is one thing but i have no idea how many of those same tools and procedures will carry over into the video game format. the absence of hard advice for character builds on the lower difficulties suggests to me that there is in fact a wide variety of playable builds, which matches my experience with BG3. dnd video games flatten out the power curve in a way that's beneficial to the overall experience, because you have to fight fair and not just get your casters to unmake the opposition through arcane might.

the companion writing is where owlcat really improved for rogue trader, cause a lot of these guys suuuck.

seelah, lann and woljif are completely dull and serviceable.

wenduag is such a vile person i find it hard to take her seriously.

ember is interesting, but it takes a rare writer to make a spooky child work and that writer wasn't on the team. her intellectual maturity vacillates wildly between ages 6-16 and i don't like someone who's defined by their complete lack of volition.

nenio is the worst character i've had to experience in any owlcat game so far. she is all gimmick. she is a totally self-centered magical 'scientist' (something that is rarely done well in fantasy) who refuses to see others as anything except footnotes and bystanders in her own personal history. this could work if she was actually funny, but she rarely is. her research is mostly 'lol random' jokey bits with a jaunty leitmotif to let you know that we're in the comedy zone now. to add insult to injury, she has a completely useless homebrew archetype and she frequently underperforms in combat. AND she has no secret depths to plumb, she just is what she is (worth noting there is a reveal coming up for her which i predict will fix absolutely none of my issues). deeply frustrating!

ulbrig is the halsin of the group. an afterthought, i wouldn't have missed him if i didn't have him, though i do appreciate having another frontliner.

daeran is awesome. we have astarion at home, but nothing wrong with a homecooked meal.

barely spent any time with sosiel but he seems charming! i kind of wish he was the first frontliner we got instead of seelah.

If Camellia was real nothing would stop me.

some of the voice acting is obnoxious, some of it is excellent. staunton's actor goes way hard for a character who's going to be an act 2 bossfight and then die.

act 1 had an incredible amount of fight fatigue between the various dungeons and random encounters. act 2, i can't make heads or tails of it. really not sure about this mass combat system!

[a-crow-is-white]

2025 media roundup: persona 5 royal 🎮

Before you say "Mads, you've played Persona 5 at least five times, why is this here?" Well. I hadn't actually played Royal Until Now. And it's 2025, the year of Persona 5. To me. Warning: Spoilers Below for those who have not played the new content in Royal! (And also a warning that I can't find my USB stick so I've taken photos from my TV, along with screenshots from when I abused the PS4 remote play to bypass the locked scenes to stream the 3rd semester for my girlfriend, haha...)

If Royal was the original release, I think I would have liked it. But because I have played vanilla so many times, the additions with new characters all felt very forced and tacked onto an already complete story. (Which is my biggest complaint of the game, I'll be real!)

To say some nice things about the game: I loved all the updated sprite work, I loved all the additional dialogue from characters, the mini games were fun, and I certainly enjoyed the actual social link with Akechi.

But the things I didn't like... I just could not get into Sumire's character... Something about her rubbed me the wrong way from the get go. For lack of a better word, her character is just such a "nothing burger" and never once felt like an actual Phantom Thief. All members are outcasts from society who have been wronged by adults in positions of power, but her fight never felt... like she wanted to help herself. Her inferiority complex makes an interesting character, but not a good party member.

Sumire lacks a real personality-- which I think hurts more as she is puppeting her sister's likeness for the entire game. What actually sets them apart? Their hairstyles? Do we as a player learn about any of her actual likes or dislikes? The only slight glimpse is when her gymnastics coach talks about bringing out her own "style" -- but we don't actually see any changes to her model, her fighting style, her voice, or dialogue. It's almost like she's a phantom in her own life by design.... Which would have been an interesting dynamic to indulge in, but ultimately she is wasted potential. I'm mostly disappointed she wasn't a playable femMC, because her design is very cute.

Maruki I think I can be less hard on, as his inclusion makes sense from a story point of view. Shujin just had a student attempt suicide, and one of their teachers was abusing the student body.... Of course they would hire a therapist!

.... But again, he's so blasé and isn't actually a therapist; Which in theme of the game again of those in positions of power to take advantage of others, makes a lot of sense. (And I think it's also just super funny that he isn't a legally registered therapist, which makes his social link and general motives so laughable.)

^I will say that this was sick as fuck, so I gotta hand that final boss battle to him. It was cool.

His themes of man's hubris surpassing god in becoming a master manipulator makes sense in game, but again, this is not a novel. You have to play through him giving the same speech over and over again... He never feels like a real threat, and... I know P5's narrative of having people take responsibility for their wrongs is a core theme of the game, but I really wanted to let him go and forget about him there.

The changes to the ending I did like as they give a little bit more info about how they banded together to break the real world's cognition, and broke MC out of prison. It's also a nice coming-of-age milestone how each of them come to head with their own struggles in drifting apart and becoming the person they really want to be... But I don't like how they don't have a road trip together to drive MC home! That was such a cute and sweet ending to me! Instead he just takes the train back so we can insert the tacked on characters for a 0.5 second cameo?

After finishing 'Confessions of a Mask', I'm sure you will write about your Gay Agenda Mishima.

Overall, I can't say I hated Royal but I can't say it was good, either. It was a good experience, but there was just so much nitpicking I was doing in the background that probably made me seem like I loathed it, haha. I did platinum it though so now I have to play all the spin-off games I own.

As an ending note, Hifumi best girl.

[silver-wield]

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Review

Okay, this collection of posts will be filled with spoilers, including clips and screenshots, so if you don't wanna see things, then don't look. Some of the things I'm gonna highlight will include references to Remake to link with the overarching plot.

Onto chapter 1!

So chapter one literally starts with the truck on the way to Nibelheim, and the flashback comprises 80% of chapter 1. It's a solid start and I really enjoyed playing this part of the game.

We start off with Sephiroth showing off how awesome and powerful he is, but we also see hints of things very wrong with young Cloud, plus the fact the travel sick trooper has Cloud's hair and Zack's voice.

Things are very wrong in Nibelheim.

And we get a second hint of that when we arrive and talk to the travel sick trooper, who still has Zack's voice and Cloud's body. This line shows up again later in the game when Cloud remembers Zack, so it's a nice bit of confusion for those who remember who said it first because that trooper isn't the one who dies in the river later on.

We have more hints of real Cloud as he climbs the water tower and gets all in his feels because he's not a soldier. This can be confusing later when Tifa shows up and he acts like it's nothing. Well, it would be nothing for Zack.

We get the first crumbs of Tifa fishing to figure out wtf is going on. Cloud knows everything about her, but she knows he wasn't in Nibelheim and tells Aerith as much later that night before speaking to Cloud.

When Tifa arrives as the guide the next morning we can see the trooper turn to stare at her, then turn around just in case she spots him, then he peeks at her right afterward ���

Heading up the mountain the combat tutorial is pretty much identical to Remake. The limit synergies were a bit confusing to understand at first, and I kept asking what causes them to activate. Using the regular synergies and switching between leaders to activate synergies causes the limit meter to rise so you can use them. It really wasn't clear how they explained it.

I also don't like the new dodges. I loved my dodge roll materia, so only having access to the original dodge made me sad. You can't keep the materia you collect on Mt Nibel so after your first go there's no point picking any up.

This is another set of lines we hear later, but from Cloud when he starts losing his mind and Sephiroth starts gaining control. There's a lotta foreshadowing in chapter 1.

At the end of the Nibelheim incident we get a combination of Cloud as himself and Zack, but also this scene is in ToTP where Tifa says she faintly recalls someone yelling her name but she doesn't recognise them. This scene was also in Last Order with Tifa talking to Cloud although she wasn't really conscious. We'll get the clear picture in part three.

After hearing his story, Tifa wants to talk. Sephiroth doesn't want them to talk and get closer because he can't control Cloud if that happens. So he does discord and they argue. Tifa shows him the scar she has from Sephiroth, and Cloud glitches when she wants to know where he's been.

If he hadn't been in a mako coma then Sephiroth would've been active sooner. He chose Cloud as the core of his being and until Cloud woke up in some capacity, Sephiroth couldn't do anything. But Cloud doesn't know this, and he just avoids answering. He and Tifa return to their rooms with some discord between them.

Chapter two begins the next morning.

[splendentmoon]

IDo you know that one scene in Rapunzel where Rapunzel promises Gothel to stay with her if she lets Eugen go ? I just had to think about the Jade Prince in this situation (because I live this au ����!) and here is the result :

—————————————————————————

Macaque and Wukong find themselves surrounded by celestial warriors, dozens of spears pointing at them. The emperor has created a binding seal, trapping the two monkeys in place. Even the great sage is powerless against the might of the man who holds the very fabric of the realm together. Emperor be damned. 

MK struggles against the guards, their iron grip preventing him from escaping and helping the monkey demons – his  parents.

Jade emperor: Now look what you've done, Yu. Oh don't worry dear. We will find a nice mountain for those two insufferable demons to trap them under. Permanently. And as for you? You are going where no one will ever find you, again. 

In a desperate struggle, MK fights even more against the guards hold. His blindfold slips off, unveiling the burned upper half of his face – the unsightly, imperfect side. His shame. The part his grandfather wishes to hide. 

Jade emperor: YU, REALLY! ENOUGH ALREADY! STOP. FIGHTING ME!

MK: NO! I won't stop. 

Looking directly the emperor in the eyes, his golden eyes shine against the red, burned scars surrounding them.

MK: For every minute of the rest of my life I will fight. I will never stop trying to get away from you….But, if you spear them.. I will go with you.

Macaque: No. No, Xiaotian...

MK: I'll never run, I'll hide my imperfections and never try to escape. 

He lifts the blindfold from the ground,  showing his choice to hide the scars and everything they stand for. He turns off his  gold vision. He will never show his monkey features or abilities ever again. Everything that could link him to his loving and kind parents must be erased and hidden. 

He puts the blindfold over his eyes to show his resolve to distance himself from his monkey origin. Giving the emperor what he wants. 

MK: Just let them go. And I will stay in the palace. Forever, just like you want. Everything will be the way it was. I promise. Just like you want. Just let them go. 

Jade emperor:  I know you always keep your promises. Fine, I shall grant you your wish. The monkeys will be taken to earth and all gateways to heaven will remain shut, to forbid them from ever causing havoc in the celestial real ever again. 

Wukong: No, Xiaotian! Don’t do that. We will find another way! We can still save you and take you away from this prison ! Don’t throw away your life. Please! 

Rapunzel: Everything is going to be fine. I promise, you have to trust me.

MK forced a calming smile on his face and looked at the direction his father was speaking from. He was glad to not being able to see in that moment. Hearing the desperation in Monkey Kings voice was already tearing his heart apart. The look on his face would surely break him and he can’t do that. Not now. Not when his grandfather is willing to let them go. It doesn’t matter what Yu wants. It never has. He need to be perfect for everyone. He can’t show any cracks in front of the emperor as long as the two monkeys are still in danger. So he smiles. Standing perfectly straight. Standing still…like a doll. Perfect little Yu, the Jade prince, the delight of heaven, the emperors most precious treasure. Not MK, or Xiaotian or himself. Endure, don’t crack, don’t crack don’t crack don’t crack.

Wukong: No...I can't let you do this.

MK (wispers): But I can't let you die.

Wukong: But if you do this...

He couldn’t bring himself to finish. 

Macaque answered in his place. 

"Then you...will die.“

Tears rolling down his cheeks.

Yu's shock slowly faded as the gravity of the words sank in. They still confused him. He wasn’t going to die. His grandfather loves him. He would never kill him, he would just  forbid him from leaving the palace. Yes he would be cut off from Mei and the friends he found on earth and…never taste piggy’s food again or hear Mr. Tangs funny stories and wrong legends about the celestials. Bai He, Sandy, Red Son, EVERYONE. They would be separated from him. Forever. Suddenly Yu understood. This choice he was about to make would in fact kill him. But not like a death sentence. Even worse, a  life sentence in this prison of the celestial realm. Is this truly living, he wondered, trapped, alone and without the people he loved ? No. No this can’t be living. His father was right. He was choosing death. Yet he didn’t fear it. Knowing that his family and friends are save is enough. He would suffer an eternal life for them. 

MK: Hey. It's gonna be all right.

Wukong:  Xiaotian, wait...

Macaque: Please, my baby, don’t…

MK: I am the Jade Emperor and you will address me as such. Farewell monkeys. Forever

Would you believe me if I told you that while I was reading this, I was listening to the song "Mother Knows Best" in my head?

That result was, it was amazing!!!

I read it at least 15 times!

Bravo! Bravo! That would be a story I would read!

God, you gave me ideas for future chapters! Thank you!

[eyndr-stories]

Across The World C5 - The Fourth Place

Summary:

The gods of this world are ancient, most of them forgotten, or nearly so. Nomen has been taught not to make deals with any old gods, should they be unlucky enough to come across one. However, when their little brother Maribus stumbles into mortal peril, they find they have no real choice but to accept the trials of one such god in order to save him.

This is an original story written by yours truly! I started writing this back at the very start of 2021 when I had a particularly wild and extremely vivid dream. This story is heavily based on said dream! This dream is also why I strongly distrust bunny mascots / anthro rabbits lmao but anyhoo, I think i've improved as a writer since this so the quality may or may not be quite on par with my other stories. I also had some help from my cool aunt Kerry with editing this, so if there's anything amiss here we can totally blame her lmao

That all being said, I do still like this story, and I hope you will too!! Enjoy <3

Things To Know:

major character death (its okay though, they live lol)

blood and violence

happy ending

protag (Noman) is nonbinary and referred to with they / them pronouns

first person POV

8 chapters in total, about 13,000 words in total. So roughly 1600 words a chapter. Lil bite sized chappys!

No swear words used, somehow

(lmk if i should add anything, i can't think of anything else)

Ao3 link here

Chapter 1 here

Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

C5 - The Fourth Place

     We stood on a beach made of red sand. A long bridge in front of us extended into the dark purple ocean and connected the beach to an island. By now, the sun had nearly set and vibrant dark red streaks bled across a lavender sky. From this distance I could just make out the silhouette of a small town resting on that island. A long sturdy bridge spanned the distance between the mainland and the island.

     Amicus pulled at my poncho and pointed at the island. “I’m willing to bet the door is in that town somewhere.”

     “Agreed.”

     We started walking across the bridge. Other people were heading towards the town as well, walking with us along the bridge. When we all arrived at the entrance, we could see there was a commotion of some sort.

     “Our god sways the fate of us all. They’ve told me so directly!” a broad and sturdy woman claimed. She stood tall before the nervous crowd. “We needn't worry about the rising waters of the ocean. Our god will sever our tie to the mainland and save us. Our town will not perish this night.”

     The people around us began murmuring. A few seemed calmed by the woman’s words, but others looked more skeptical as their eyes glanced toward the endless purple water.

     “I’ve been leader here for twenty years and I would not mislead you. Our god is wise and powerful, we can trust them. Everyone will be safe in town!” the woman shouted.

     The crowd dispersed and we followed the group into their town.

     Amicus whispered, “Do you believe her?”

     “In my experience, gods prefer we fix our own problems. My mother told me a story once about a god who got so fed up with their following never doing even the smallest of things for themselves that they ate the entire town."

     "Huh. I'm so hungry I might just eat a town myself," Amicus mumbled.

     I was getting hungry myself. I debated whether it'd be worth it to try our luck in another marketplace as we walked.

     We looked around at stone buildings framed with beach-wood. Lovely red-orange glass outfitted most of the windows. Balconies and rooftops were filled with people chatting and laughing as a warm breeze rippled through. I noticed the people on the lower level with us were not laughing, but discussing with worry about the rising water level. The consensus was to trust their leader, who had never steered them wrong before, but lower voices whispered they might take action themselves to be safe. No one said what that action was though.

     Amicus and I turned down another fruitless street.

     "What if the door isn't here?" Amicus looked worried.

     I put a hand on his shoulder, but just as I was about to say something, the ground swayed. No, not the ground, it was the entire island that moved.

     Amicus stood closer to me. “What was that??”

     "I'm not sure, but I think the faster we find the door, the better I'd feel," I said as I noticed the fear on the faces around us. Even the people on the balconies had stopped chatting for a moment. "Common, the door has to be around here somewhere."

     We continued searching as night settled around us. The air turned cold, but it was nothing like back home. I threw my poncho over Amicus when I saw him shiver and he gratefully wrapped it closer. The ground began swaying more frequently, and I began feeling a little motion sick. This was not good. Whatever had been worrying everyone seemed to be arriving faster than expected.

     Amicus gently grabbed my arm, bringing us to a stop. “Nomen… I’ve been meaning to say something.”

     Amicus seemed pretty serious, so I gave him my full attention. “What is it, Amicus?”

     “I… I wanted to apologize. I really regret not braving the maze with the warrior to come meet you by the doorway so that I could help you through, after that hermit crab shattered your fire starter. If I could do it over again, I’d do things differently. I just wanted you to know that I’m sorry,” Amicus told me.

     “It’s alright.” I put a reassuring hand on my friend’s shoulder. “I found my way through okay, no need to worry. I really do understand, that warrior was really scary.”

     “And I made you face her alone!” Amicus said.

     “It’s okay, I forgive you. Honestly,” I assured.

     Amicus relaxed. They nodded.

     We picked up the pace as we kept an eye out for the door. I was so focused I didn't notice my boots were wet until I was dragging them through the water. I looked down and realized the buildings were beginning to groan as the ground shifted even harder. Water rushed higher around our feet. I was pretty sure that woman’s god wasn’t saving the town tonight.

     The chatter around us quickly became hysteria. I pulled Amicus out of the way as a crowd of people rushed by in a panic.

     Amicus's voiced sounded so small when he asked, “We’re too late, aren’t we?”

     I couldn't reassure him.

     Amicus threw his arms around me and buried his face against me. “I’m sorry we couldn't save Maribus.”

     “It sounds to me like you’re giving up. Not cool.” I sounded way more calm than I felt. “I've still got one piece left after this one. That means we can still come back and find the door. The town will go back to how it was when we first came through the door and we'll get another chance to figure it out.”

     “But… what if I don't come back with the town? I'm not from here, and I don't have a fire starter of my own.”

     I honestly didn't know. I didn't let my terror show on my face. Instead, I forced a smile. "There's no reason to assume you wouldn't come right back with everything else. But… just in case, I'm going to try to bring you with me. Like when we go through the doors." There was a roar, and then a rush of water as the stone walls cracked. I could see a wave taller than the town itself rising and ready to crush the entire island.

     I grabbed Amicus in a tight hug and whispered. “Don’t let go no matter what, okay?”

     "I won't if you won't." Amicus hugged me back just as tightly.

     I squeezed my eyes shut. Just before the wave finally hit, a horrible thought occurred to me. It seemed I’d have to face the rabbit after all.

[nekoannie-chan]

A future trapped in the past

Title: A Future Trapped in the Past.

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America.

Ship: Steve Rogers X Reader.

Word count: 457 words.

Square: 8 “Tangled in the rigging”.

Rating: Teen.

Summary: Some decisions will change everything.

Major Tags: Angst, broken heart.

Additional tags: My entry for the @fandom-free-bingo Maritime May Edition.

Links: Wattpad, Ao3, Spanish version.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish, so I wanna improve my writing skills in English. Please let me know if you notice any mistakes, and I will correct them.

I don’t grant permission for my fics to be posted on other platforms or in other languages (I translate my work) or for the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this). I created them exclusively for my fics; please respect my work and refrain from stealing it. Some people here make dividers that anyone can use; mine is not this type, so please look for the other people's dividers. The only exceptions are those I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. Please let me know if you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

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My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @real-fbi @caplanbuckybarnes @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @endlesstwanted @patzammit @kmc1989

The air at the Avengers' base was charged with a strange mixture of relief and sadness. The Blip was over. They had won. Thanos had been defeated, and all those who had disappeared five years earlier had returned. Steve Rogers hadn't said much since then.

You noticed it right away. You knew him too well.

And you knew him. You knew exactly what he was.

Peggy.

Ever since Tony had devised the time travel plan, ever since you knew you could return the Infinity Gems to their exact time and place, Steve had changed.

But before that, you guys got married.

It wasn't a big wedding; it was on a rainy night he had chosen to be with you.

But now...

Steve was caught in a dilemma he had never imagined having.

Peggy or you.

His past or his present.

That night, you found him on the balcony of the base, looking up at the sky as if searching for an answer in the stars. He was leaning on the railing, his knuckles white from how hard he was squeezing the metal edges.

You took a deep breath and stepped closer.

“Steve.”

He closed his eyes for a moment as if your voice made him remember he was still here. Then he turned slowly, and his gaze met yours.

Oh, God. There was so much in his eyes.

“You can't go on like this.”

He lowered his head, exhaling a heavy sigh.

“I don't know what to do.”

Those four words were like a stab in your chest. Because you knew what they really meant was, I don't know who to choose.

It hurt.

“Do you still love her?” you asked, bluntly.

Steve closed his eyes tightly.

“I've always loved her...,” he confessed, and you felt the air leave your lungs. But...

He paused as if the next word was stuck in his throat.

“But now I love you too.”

It was the first time he said it. The first time Steve said out loud that he loved you.

“If you leave, you won't be able to come back. If you decide to stay there, in the past, I... I'm not going to wait for you, Steve.”

It wasn't a threat. It wasn't an ultimatum. It was a fact.

Because if Steve chose the past, then you would have to move on.

Steve knew that. And for the first time in his life, he didn't have the right answer.

“I know it's selfish, but... You need me. I know you need me.”

Damn him.

Damn him for knowing exactly the truth.

Because you needed him.

Because you had imagined a future with him.

Because you loved him with every part of you.

And he loved you, too.

[hylias-library]

I wrote this on a whim at work after a 16 hours shift with maybe 4 hours of sleep. But I had to get this out of my system. Also the title probably doesn't fit but I can't be bothered to English correctly right now.

Please bear with my sleep deprived essay

(Not an x reader)

It was nighttime already. The Chain asleep soundly huddled up together to keep warm within the cave they chose to be their resting place for the time being.

There was a gentle blue glow, coming from the master sword carried by the chosen hero. Sky.

The glow soon morphed into humanoid shape. Clad in a cloak of obsidian and diamond, just like the rest of her form, but still transparent with no real body to show. A soul, like she was supposed to be now.

Fi hasn't been able to get out of the sword for a while. One of her Masters was usually awake, taking watch, preventing her from getting out. Her gaze wandered over the group, mind occupied with memories of previous adventures with each of the heroes.

Her calculations showed a 24% chance that any of them would wake before sunrise. So now it was her time now to watch over them, like they always kept watching over her during their adventures together.

She watched the Champion, an unpleasant feeling surfacing. She couldn't pinpoint what it meant. Fi concluded she probably felt sorry.

This master had needed to pull her a second, even a third time, and she had to refuse to let him handle her at first.

Wild had not found himself again yet. So she needed him to find back to his original strength, to his confidence in himself before they could journey together again.

He may not have been the person be was before her 100 year long wait. But regardless, he was still worthy of the title hero.

By then, she was weakened. Having stayed by the side of many Masters, having fought evil together each and every time she got pulled.

She kept breaking, piecing herself together time and time again with Wilds help. His courage gave her the strength to go on. And she was thankful he never lost his trust in her.

Fi's gaze stuck with Sky. Her first master. The one she was actually capable talking to.

She remembered their adventure, the hardships, and the good moments. And their parting. She had felt what Hylians would have called happiness when their journey ended. But there still was a lingering hint of sadness when her consciousness faded.

She had promised Master Link to meet in another life. They both held their promise.

Her ghostly appearance hovered over the group.

Fi felt the desire to tell her Masters how proud she was of their accomplishments, though that was not possible for she no longer had a voice to speak. A soul had no need for such things.

Her journey with Sky had ended, her role as guide fulfilled. No matter how high the percentage was to want to speak to her Master again, she knew the boundaries. It wasn’t her turn anymore.

Her cloaked arm gently touched Sky's cheek, a small smile spreading on his lips as he slept soundly. Safely.

Her lips mirrored Sky's smile, yet her eyes still held the cold look of the blade she was supposed to be.

As she lifted her head, she predicted the sunrise to start within the next 15 minutes. Her time was almost over.

She knew she wouldn't be able to materialize anymore after this night. Having been worn out and weakened after thousands of years of existence.

By now, Fi knew her Masters were safe with each other, and she no longer had to worry about them, for this was their last adventure together.

Gathering her last bits of strength, Fi settled for a final goodbye...

Sky felt a strange gust of wind on his face, startling him awake, sleep still tugging at the edges of his consciousness.

The last bits of a light blue glow disappeared in the light of the rising sun.

A whisper being carried through the wind.

Farewell... Master Link...

Sky's hand found its way towards the hilt of his sword, fingers gently caressing it.

His mind must have been playing tricks on him.

[crownpastelyellow]

So what if I immediately wrote a bonus chapter instead of going to sleep? Based on more of @chlmngo art and our rambles from the original post

This one is very soft, set a few months after the main chapter

STILL RPF

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/64829926/chapters/166674055

A few weeks ago Gem was insisting on Tango watching the figure skating grand prix final with her. Quality time, she said. She totally did not just want to use his much larger TV for it. 

Of course, Tango let her. 

Gem arrived earlier that day, bringing about her body weight in snacks with her. 

"You look like you're ready to supply an army", he laughs while Gem walks in, giving him a quick kiss before heading right into the kitchen to drop her bag off.

"I just need to be prepared. And careful, make fun of me and I won't be sharing" Gem threatens playfully as she packs a few things into his fridge. 

In the short few months since they got together, Gem really made herself right at home in Tango's house. Not that he minds. Quite the opposite actually; it's nice to have her around.

With a glass of water in hand Gem sits down on the couch, looking over at Tango expectantly as she places it on the table.

The second he sits down next to her, she flops her weight on top of him. With a smile he cards through her hair. 

"How long until this entire thing starts?" he asks, pressing a soft kiss to her head.

Gem hums "few hours. Starts at 6"

Tango's hands brush over her sides, just to hear her gasp. "Any plans till then?" he tries his hardest to sound seductive but it comes out strained. 

"The pre show interviews of course." Gem says as if it would be the most logical thing. 

With a dramatic sigh Tango reaches for the remote and hands it to her, earning him another chaste kiss. "So you're saying it actually starts now."

"I'm saying it's been happening all day for anyone with eyes" Gem replies, looking for the right channel. 

Tango's sigh holds no real annoyance, only fondness. He could never be annoyed at her when he feels her weight against him like that. 

They spend most of the day on the couch, Gem using Tango as a pillow in various positions. Flat out sprawled on top of him. His thighs under her head while an absentminded hand brushes over his calf. Her legs resting on his lap. And in between Tango kept bringing over snacks and drinks and even ordered them some take out. 

Because this seems special to Gem and he wants her to have a nice time. Especially since she's chosen to spend this evening with him. 

During the actual finale, Gem explains everything to Tango everything. Who each person is (a few names he's definitely heard her say before) and every move they do. Gem is practically glued to his TV, and it's endearing. 

Watching this, he also learns a lot about the culture of figure skating. Through the interviews and the award ceremonies. Every competitor gets celebrated after their performances with flowers and gifts. 

Tango can practically see Gem's eyes light up. 

"When I was a child I always dreamed of competing in the GP" Gem sighs dreamily before reaching for the pretzel sticks again.

"Having someone make such an intricate set for me. Hearing all the cheering..."

"My cheering not enough?" Tango teases his face buried in her hair for a moment as Gem lies on his chest.

She looks up at him and for a moment replies entirely deadpan "no." before she also can't stifle a laugh. 

It's a comfortable evening, maybe too comfortable, since Tango does eventually fall asleep. It's not his fault that this runs till 4am.

But Gem wakes him up in excitement. "Tango, Tango, wake up. They're gonna announce who's won" 

He can't muster more than a sleepy "huh?" as he slowly wakes up from Gem sitting up, accidentally leaning all her weight on his stomach. "Gem.", her name comes out pressed.

He sits up with her, a head leaning on her shoulder, his beard brushing against the soft skin of her neck. "Who are we rooting for again? That guy?" he asks, voice still raspy from sleep. 

"No, no. That one over there. The one from Spain." Gem corrects him, pointing at the TV. 

Tango can only hum. "Did he do well?" 

Gem looks almost offended. "Of course he did. Otherwise we wouldn't be rooting for him."

The delight on Gem's face when that Spanish guy does indeed win the gold medal makes it worth it. Having her loudly cheer in his house at 4am is worth it. 

"Come on then, let's get to bed. My back won't do more hours on the couch", Tango nudges her up once her excitement dies down. 

Gem gets up first and helps pull him up. He still tends to forget just how strong she is. 

"Come on old man. I can give you a massage if your back hurts" He can hear the grin in her voice as they head towards his bed. 

"I might forgive you for that comment like that" 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few weeks later Tango was out, buying a birthday gift for his niece. Walking through the toyshop, trying to find something a 4 year old would enjoy that he wouldn't cringe at himself for gifting. 

Walking through the plushie aisle his eyes land on something perfect. Not for his niece, but for Gem. 

It's a small plushie of a deer, with short antlers, big blue eyes and it even has round glasses. It's hideously cute and Tango puts it in his cart, deciding to save it for a special occasion. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The occasion comes up, just two weeks later, when Gem has another competition, having moved up last time by placing second.

And of course Tango is going to be there. He wouldn't miss watching her compete for the world now. 

He even made sure to get a seat right at the front, so close to the ice he could see the individual sparkles of Gems if he'd be paying attention to it. 

But of course his focus is on her, the way she's concentrating, the way her body is moving, straining, all trained to perfection. 

And when her free skating performance is done - an especially difficult one that she's been working on for a long time, dragging Tango along with her to the rink on any free day they had - Gem freezes in her final pose. The audience is cheering, a few people are throwing flowers onto the ice for her. 

Tango can feel her eyes on him as he leans down and grabs the little deer plushie from his bag. He was quite glad that Gem didn't question why he suddenly brought one. With a good throw he sends the poor deer flying and it hits the ice, skidding all the way to where Gem is standing. 

She bends down and picks the little guy up before looking up at Tango again. Naturally he'd been over thinking this but when he sees her expression, all his worry melts away. Gem looks like she might be about to cry as she hugs the plushie closer to her chest and Tango grins back at her, clapping and cheering loudly for her as she leaves the ice.

Sticks and Skates

Went a little bit insane over Tangem with my buddy @chlmngo for the last 2 days and suddenly this was in my docs. So it was time for another sports AU oneshot by the guy who doesn't like sports!

Please make sure to check out the lovely art my buddy made over here. Helps get a better look on Gem's clothes because Tango does not have the words to describe it properly /silly

Pairing: Gem/Tango

Length: 7.2k words

Tags: THIS IS RPF, they are both idiots pining <3, high likelyhood of inaccuracies because I don't know either sport

Smut, Age Gap. Rest is pretty vanilla

Hope you enjoy!

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/64829926

Normally, Gem wasn’t like this. Most days she’d be entirely focused on skating, on landing her jumps, of making the most of her practice. The training hours are expensive for this rink after all, which is a crime considering that for the first hour it is shared with one of the hockey teams.

But this is only where Gem’s dilemma starts

“You’re ogling”, Cleo teases as they slowly skate by, only to leave Gem to stew on it. She clenches her teeth, muttering to herself, “not ogling.” 

Staring? Maybe. Getting distracted? Most definitely. 

And the sigh that escapes her is certainly not helping her case, hearing someone snicker behind her.

It is getting hard to deny as well. What started out as sending an occasional glance to the hockey team; And, who can blame her? Gem is also only human. Of course she had to watch, even if hockey isn’t a sport she’s normally interested in. Heck, she doesn’t even know the rules. But there is a certain respect for other sports. Yes, that’s it. Respect.

Not the way they move over the ice in their rather bulky uniforms but still with such precision, all while focusing on the tiny puck, navigating it around the field. Or the way the group erupts in cheers whenever a goal is scored. Gem may roll her eyes at the chanting of slogans, but in a way it is endearing.

And none of this has to do with one man playing center. Absolutely not.

It isn’t even that he’s a specifically good player, none of them are, but it is strangely endearing seeing him so excited, seeing how hard he’s trying.

So Gem catches herself smiling when he hits the puck towards the goal before falling onto his knees, gliding across the ice on his protectors, watching intently until it hits the goal. What if that smile then turns into a fond grin that she quickly masks again, when he starts cheering, before a teammate helps him up and pats him on the back.

Gem will just pretend that no one saw, that her teammates aren’t rolling their eyes at her and that she doesn’t care about this guy.

She doesn’t even know his name. Barely has seen him without his helmet on. Once, maybe twice, when Gem looked over as they were leaving the rink. And maybe she keeps thinking about his scruffy beard. Not that she could see much else all across the ice.

Okay, maybe things were worse than Gem would like to admit. 

Focus. Focus, Gem. 

Not wanting to be caught staring when he gets up, Gem tears her eyes away and focuses on her own practice. 

This goes well for about all of ten minutes before the shrill sound of a whistle indicates the practice match for the hockey players as over, alongside their practice.

Gem has to skate out of the way to let the men through but decides to linger close by the exit, pretending to fix something on her skate, fastening the laces anew. It doesn’t help that she can feel at least half her team eyeing her.

Getting up again, her eyes trail over the group as they’re taking off their helmets and she can now get a much closer look than previously.

His beard has more grey hairs in it than she anticipated and the little bit of short shaved hair quickly gets hidden beneath a cap. 

What Gem really wasn’t ready for was him putting glasses on, just simple, black frames. Why does this have to affect her so much?

Preferably she’d just bury her head in her hands now but someone behind her has to of course make it worse. “He could be your dad, you know?”

Thankfully her glare is enough to get them to leave her alone. Not that it makes their words go away or any less true. He could be her dad. 

At least she can focus on her training now that the hockey team has cleared the ice.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next week Gem misses practice because work kept her too busy but when she finally returns to the ice, she is in for a surprise. 

The hockey team apparently decided to finally get their own jerseys and not just use the ones for the rink. No, these all had their unique numbers on it. Numbers and… Names.

Even with her glasses she still has to squint a bit, which, despite her trying to at least wait a little, doesn’t go unnoticed. Cleo leans against the board beside her with a smile on her face. “Was wondering how long it would take you to notice. You know, you could’ve just gone and asked for his name. At this point you’re acquainted, with how much you’re staring.”

Gem gives her a glare which is met with laughter. “In case your squinting isn’t helping. His name is Tango. Skizz, the tall one over there, told me a while ago.”

Their words leave Gem with questions that she’s not entirely sure she really wants answers to. Maybe she just really wants to strangle Cleo right now, who is making the smart choice to leave to focus on actually training.

And Gem tries to focus too, but how is her brain supposed to think about jumps and spins when she just learned that Cleo has been talking to the hockey team about her. No way she’d have any other reason to talk to them.

And what kind of friend is Cleo to not tell Gem his name sooner?

It is nearly painful how slow practice passes and it frustrates Gem to no end that she is not on top of it lately. She is good at this. Really good. How can a single hockey player distract her so much? No, she needs to focus on herself for now and not how they practice guiding the puck on the other half of the ice.

Time to actually practice what she needs for the next competition in her mostly empty corner. After getting a few jumps in Gem has her confident smile back on her face.

Now for the more difficult part; She skates backwards and gets ready to jump only to feel herself crash into something. Or someone.

Gem yelps and braces herself to hit the ice, already tucking her hands in, just like she learned, to avoid any accidents but the impact doesn’t happen. Instead she feels two arms around her, holding her with apparent ease.

The clattering noise of the wooden stick landing on the ice ensures that everyone who wasn’t already looking over here most definitely is now.

And if Gem’s face wasn’t already beet red, it definitely was when she realized who caught her - and was still holding her. She sees the scruffy beard, the smile, the way his eyes squint slightly with it.

“You alright there?”, he asks, squeezing her gently as if to remind her that he’s still holding her. In fact, Gem is more than just a little aware of it. It takes her another moment to realize that he asked because he’s still holding her. Gem scrambles to her feet instantly and less gracefully than she would’ve liked but he doesn’t seem to notice.

The instant she’s standing again, they both start apologizing simultaneously. 

“I hadn’t noticed I was this far into your part of the ice, sorry about that. Did you get hurt?”

Gem can all but shake her head before getting out a quick “I’m fine. Good catch” She internally cringes at herself and they both just look at each other for one more moment before Tango gets called over again. “I’ll leave you to it then. Good luck with the jumps and uh, stuff.”

Gem wanted to both kick herself, because how can she be more endeared by him from just a few words and also because she wants to reach out. Thankfully her pride gets the better of her and she skates away, trying to calm her breathing as she gives him one last smile.

The next half hour passes slowly, as Gem’s eyes trail to the large clock on the wall, over to the hockey team, while trying actively not to glance at her teammates.

When the hockey team eventually leaves the ice, Gem quickly replaces her pride with all the courage she can find in herself and skates over to where Tango gets off the ice. 

Her skates break sharply, before she can stop herself and calls out “Tango!” which raises not only his head - now without helmet and with glasses - but also that of a few others.

“Huh? Oh hi. You again.”, he gives her a warm smile before coming over, now shorter than her, now that he’s off the ice. Gem can’t help her smile. “Wait, you know my name?” Gem’s smile nearly falters.

For a moment she fumbles before saying a bit too quickly,  “The back of your shirt. Jersey. Got your name on it now.” Nice save, hopefully? But he’s laughing and Gem can see the way his nose scrunches up. No man over 40 should have the right to be cute like this.

“Right, right.”

She has to take a deep breath before she can get her next words out. “I wanted to ask if you wanna grab a coffee sometime?”, then quickly adds, “As a thank you. For catching me.” 

At least this masks her ‘little crush’ as Cleo calls it a bit. 

“Oh, it’s all fine, I was the one on the wrong side of the ice. Didn’t even do anything.”, he brushes her off and it stings just a little. 

Someone in the back groans and then a glove hits Tango on the back of his head, startling Gem. Tango’s head whips back at whoever threw it before turning back to Gem who is now chuckling nervously, about to come up with any reason to leave so she can fix her bruised ego in peace. “But… If you’d want to, I can buy you a coffee. It was on me after all.”, he rubs the back of his neck, putting his baseball cap on.

Failing to mask her enthusiasm, Gem nods. “Does Tuesday sound good? 5pm?”

He keeps smiling at her, while his teammates are already heading for the locker room. “Sounds good. We can meet outside then?” And once Gem nods he’s about to leave, giving her a short wave. “See you Tuesday then…”, he seems to have realized he never asked her name. Gem laughs softly, taking pity on him. There was enough embarrassment today already. “Gem.”

“Alright, see you Tuesday, Gem”

She really doesn’t want to talk to anyone else right now but there is still about an hour of her training left. And only about 4 days till her date.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“When did you start skating?” Tango asks, a simple question, as he grabs his coffee before they head over to an empty table.

Gem sits down opposite him but he can briefly feel her leg brush against his but blames it on the table being tiny. “Oh I started quite late, when I was around 19.”

Carefully Tango tries to think how to ask her how long ago that was and Gem seems to read his mind as she casually answers, “So I’ve been at it for bit less than 9 years now.”

Her words in combination with her smile might need to get cited on Tango’s obituary. In his head he automatically does the math and… She’s 28. This might be worse than he thought.

He tries to school his expression into a soft, neutral smile as he takes a sip of his still too hot coffee. “Wow. 9 years?”, he feels like his reply falls short but how is he meant to reply when his head only supplies that she was born the year he graduated from high school. Or that when she graduated highschool he already had been working and thought about buying a house.

Thankfully Gem’s voice distracts him before his thoughts can continue spiraling in that direction. “And you?” Gem’s smile was hidden behind the paper cup with her, for Tango’s taste, way to sweet coffee in it, her glasses fogging up slightly. Why does this make it so much harder for him to concentrate? 

“Oh, I've only been playing hockey for a few months now. Still a beginner” he laughs, trying to brush over his nervousness. He shouldn't be nervous at all. They are just grabbing coffee. This means nothing. Unless it does. Nope, not going down that train of thought again either. He spent too much time thinking about it already before they met. Whether this could be considered a date or not. Whether he should dress nicer or not. Looking at Gem he wishes he had. 

Gem is still looking at him, so he feels the need to keep talking. “I started because a friend of mine got into it a short while ago and he dragged me along.”

“Wow, for only a few months on the ice you've been really stable. Especially if you can catch a whole person” She laughs and this time Tango can't deny how fast his heart is beating. What is this woman doing to him? 

“But I'm really glad you did. I've got a competition coming up really soon and I can't afford any injury now.” Tango can't help but smile back. 

“Well, it was definitely on me. Don't worry, during the next practice I'll make sure to keep my butt on the hockey side of things” he says and is glad that it makes her laugh. 

“Is the competition a local thing?” he can't help his genuine curiosity. He's never really had an interest in figure skating before, with it not being quite his type of sport. And he knows that now it's not the sport either that caught his eye.

“Bit more than that,” Gem laughs, “a regional one. But if I do well there I can still move up.” 

Tango can't help but notice the way her eyes light up when she talks about skating, and the sight might as well be addicting. So he keeps asking, just so Gem talks more about it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A lot more time than anticipated passes, Tango even got up to get them new drinks at some point, getting Gem exactly what she ordered earlier. 

After she asked him out for a coffee, Gem had been trying her hardest not to get her hopes up. She's barely ever talked to him, after all. But after having spent some time with him? He's incredibly sweet. 

Sure, some of his humor has her roll her eyes but it's fun. He is fun.

So what if she plays it up, just a little bit. Blinking up at him as he places down another cup. Asking him to talk about his nerdy hobbies. It’s too easy, when she sees him fluster, mentioning his DnD campaign.

The way he got just the slightest bit embarrassed at first but warmed up once Gem showed interest. Was he worried that she’d get up and leave? Call him a nerd? To be fair she did. But it’s not like she isn’t interested. In fact she played enough games similar to it that she can follow him more than just a bit. 

It’s just more fun hearing Tango explain it to her. Hearing the excitement in his voice as he talks about his character and it is just straight up cute. 

“But where’s the whimsy if there’s no romance? You’re playing a bard! Aren’t you meant to get it on?” Gem laughs, and when Tango’s face grows about five shades redder she can’t help but laugh more. 

“Bards do more than just flirt.” Tango retorts, shaking his head in mock-offense. 

“Well, guess you’ll just have to invite me over and show me then.” Tongue sticking out the slightest bit between her lips, gently biting down on it, watching Tango’s expressions go through all five stages of grief in quick succession. Gem has to keep herself from laughing when he finally settles on a drawn out “sure.”

She really can’t blame him for it. Which doesn’t mean she isn’t incredibly amused by his suffering.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When their date is coming to an end, Gem and Tango walk back to the ice rink, where their cars are parked. Going slower than necessary, as neither really want this to end. If it was a date for Gem.

After saying their goodbyes, Tango panics for a short moment. Should he go for a kiss? Way too early. What if he's been reading this entire thing differently. A hug instead? What if Gem would think he's some old creep? 

His brain turns off when Gem gives him a loose, friendly hug and without thinking he returns it. 

Then he feels her lips, soft, way too soft, on his cheek only for a moment. At first he thought he imagined it - wishful thinking - but Gem pulls away and he can see her bite her lips.

“Same time next week?”, she asks surprisingly quietly. 

“I'll be there ”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next time they see each other is on the ice, and Gem can’t help her timid smile as she starts skating and the way her heart pounds in her chest when she sees Tango giving her a small wave.

Before Gem can even consider anything - should she go and say hi? - that tall guy, Skizz, she thinks Cleo said, hits Tango on the back hard enough that he stumbles slightly. 

Watching their bickering for a moment, Gem chuckles to herself before she focuses on her practice. The big competition is coming up and after the past weeks have been less than productive she needs to train harder.

Surprisingly, it comes easier now. Tango is still there, on the ice and on her mind but less distracting. Maybe because she knows they’ll see each other again on Tuesday. 

Tango finishes his training with another wave to Gem and once he’s off the ice, Gem can practically feel his eyes follow her as she glides effortlessly into a spin. 

Knowing that he’s watching, Gem eases her spin into skating backwards and right into a jump - the same jump that landed her in Tango’s arms last week. Just this time she nails it. Of course she does.

And it feels better than ever before. Especially when she sees Tango’s impressed smile, all the way from across the ice.

This time she gives him a small wave which he returns with a silly salute with two fingers. Gem can only shake her head. Why did her heart choose this dork?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Their coffee date turns into a regular thing much to Tango’s delight. He can’t even admit to himself just how much he’s been enjoying having Gem around him so much. In a way he feels younger, more energized again. Or, more likely he is just - no, he’s not even going to think it.

On Friday, after Gem’s practice ends, Tango gets a text from her. He eventually asked for her number, mumbling an excuse about what if anything comes up.

But he enjoys getting texts from Gem. Pictures of her dog. She sent him an image of her new skates. A link to a new coffee shop that opened nearby that she wanted to try next time.

Tango feels inadequate, struggling to text back, not because he doesn’t want to but because he never knows what to say.

When Gem cancels their usual Tuesday date Tango doesn’t acknowledge the miffed feeling settling in his chest. Especially not when it is because of Gem’s competition that she occasionally mentioned.

It wasn’t until Monday evening that Tango was talking to Skizz about it;

“Dude, did you… not offer to go watch her?” Skizz groans over the phone speaker.

“No? She did not invite me.”, Tango replies quietly. He may realize right now that he’s an idiot. “I should go, shouldn’t I?”

The next hour is spent researching which ice rink nearby is holding a competition tomorrow afternoon. It’s just an hour out by car. He can still get a ticket.

Without allowing himself to overthink it he reserves it. Hopefully Gem wants him there.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To say he was nervous was an understatement. Tango has never been good at these types of things. Starting from what to wear, to thinking whether getting her flowers would be too much. 

He settled for wearing something nice, or as nice as he owns without getting fancy. Simple pants and a button down. After shaving his beard in shape he gets in his car, with just a quick stop at a small flower shop. Just something small, not wanting to overdo it. The employee still made something beautiful, a mix of yellows and soft pinks. Hopefully Gem will like it.

Tango learns quickly, during the competition, that he knows absolutely nothing about ice skating and regrets not having looked up anything beforehand. He had never really paid attention to the sport, only to the young woman gliding over the ice.

And while Gem obviously talked about it during their dates it was nowhere near as technical as what he’s seeing on the ice right now.

All competitors are wearing these elaborate outfits but it didn’t strike Tango that he’d get to see Gem like this, not until she is on the ice, handing her jacket to her trainer, leaving her in a dress short enough that Tango feels his blood first rush to his face, then elsewhere. It is green. And sparkly. To him it is the most beautiful dress he’s seen all night but maybe he is biased from the way Gem looks in it. Her hair is crowned with antlers, making her look entirely mythical.

Her smile is radiant as her eyes wander over the ice and for a short moment Tango is convinced she looked over to him. Just in case, he gives her a thumbs up and his biggest smile.

It is harder than expected to match his applause to that of the crowd, never knowing when Gem did anything right or wrong because it all just looks so perfect. Every spin and jump, it all mesmerizes Tango.

Seeing all her practice pay off fills him with so much fondness for her. Gem trained so hard for years so she can perform like this. 

During an elaborate spins Gem holds her leg all the way above her head and Tango considers looking away but his grey eyes are glued to her.

When the music fades out Gem comes to a halt and he can see the way her labored breathing moves her whole body as she holds the pose for a few moments more. Everyone is cheering and clapping. 

Finally, just before Gem breaks the pose and bows, she spots Tango, and when her face brightens he knew it was the right choice to come here. He just wishes he bought a bigger bouquet.

The rest of the event Tango could only focus on the way his heart beats in his chest, how he can’t wait to see Gem once she’s done and congratulate her.

He barely even registers when all competitors are done and the lights focus on the podium. 

When Gem gets called out and wins the second place, Tango cheers as loud as he can, earning a raised eyebrow from the woman in the seat next to him. Not that he cares, not with the way Gem is smiling, waving as the medal gets placed around her neck, careful of the pink flowers that ornate her dress and the antlers still on her head. 

Tango can’t deny that he’s in love.

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It’s cold outside the ice rink but that doesn’t really matter when Tango waits for Gem to come out. The sun has set a while ago, only the fluorescent light of the building behind him illuminating the pavement, some lanterns farther down the parking lot not helping. 

A bit nervously he’s bouncing on the heel of his foot, waiting for Gem to come out.

When the doors finally open again a group of people walks out, the last few of them he recognizes as Gem’s teammates, and lastly, Gem. Now in her usual training clothes, purple hoodie and 

Suddenly very aware of his age and the way he’s waiting for a much younger woman with a bouquet in hand. As if everyone hasn’t seen it yet, he quickly hides the flowers behind his back and laughs nervously.

He hears some chuckling and even Gem is giggling right until she stands right in front of him.

“Go ahead guys, I’ll be right there”, she calls out and thankfully her teammates leave them alone. “You’re here.”

“Hi. I, uh, wanted to see you. Perform. And I brought you some flowers.”, he hands her the bouquet a bit too quickly. Why does she make him so nervous? 

“I really enjoyed watching you skate. Your spins,” He can’t think about that view right now, already feeling his face grow hotter, “and your, uh…” He motions with his hands above his head for the antlers. Thankfully Gem laughs and takes the flowers from him, nudging his foot gently with hers.

“I’m glad you’re here. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to come.”, Tango realizes how close Gem is to him.

“Since we couldn’t grab coffee today. Wouldn’t want to miss out on this.”, then an idea comes to his mind. “We could still grab one. If you’re not too tired, of course”

Gem does this cute thing again where she bites down on her tongue, seemingly considering his offer. “Cleo drove me here. Let me quickly let them know that you’ll drive me home.”

And with that Gem is off.

Tango finally exhales for the first time in minutes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Their usual coffee dates pick up again and Gem actually explains her routine to Tango after he seemed curious about it. She explains the differences between certain elements, between the short program and the free skate and anything else he wants to know.

In turn, Gem makes him promise to invite her to his next game and explain hockey rules to her.

It’s not like she’s ever cared about the sport before, and that hasn’t really changed. But she wants to see Tango play without having to focus on her own practice and she wants to understand when to cheer - learning from his mistakes.

A few times Gem even invites him around on her morning runs. She’s been doing this for years so she goes easy on him but it’s nice, seeing each other more, off the ice and outside their dates. Even if neither of them actually have called them that out loud yet.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the day of Tango’s next game they meet up shortly beforehand to take a quick walk. The days are getting sunnier and warmer again so they slowly stroll through a nearby park until they need to head to the rink.

Before Tango has to go to the locker room, bulky gym bag in hand, Gem calls out to him. 

“Wait.” She leans the slightest bit up, feeling his beard scratch against her lips as she presses a quick kiss to his cheek. They haven’t done that since their first coffee, nearly two months ago. “For good luck. I’ll wait out here for you once you’re done.” and she turns to find her seat, leaving a mildly stunned Tango behind. Deciding to make it worse for him she calls out, “I’ll go home with the winner tonight.”, she laughs before quickly ducking through the door to find a good spot.

During the warmups on ice Gem keeps smiling over to Tango and even if she can’t see it with his helmet on, she knows by now the way his face scrunches up when he smiles back.

Then during the first period not much of note happens. The one thing Gem does notice now that everyone is here to watch the game, is that she’s practically the only woman under 30 in the entire audience, the only ones younger than her are children, their with family.

During the quick break she hopes to catch a glimpse of Tango again but in the end just settles for getting herself something warm to drink to warm her fingers on.

Things pick up in the second period. Her eyes follow Tango across the ice, admiring the way he keeps a hold of the puck, making it look easy to navigate the stick and other players while focusing on skating. 

Then, when Tango scores a goal, the first one of the entire game, Gem’s cheering alongside everyone else. She’s smiling and waving over to him as he and his team have a short celebration before it keeps going.

The third, and last period is where Gem starts to regret having promised to go home with the winner. The other team scores two goals and she can practically feel Tango deflate all the way over here. Of course he’s seemingly still having fun but her comment may have gotten to him. But it’s not like Gem hasn’t had an emergency plan ready.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She’s waiting in the foyer for Tango. 

When he finally comes out of the locker room, his jersey still on, Gem immediately walks over, her arms around his neck. 

“You scored a goal!” She tries to cheer and she’s glad to see Tango smiling.

“Didn’t win though,” the reply comes with a raised eyebrow.

But Gem just shakes her head. “You scored and that’s a win for me. If you’d want to take me home with you.”

“Moving the goalpost closer for me?” Tango teases as he holds the door open, leading her to his car before throwing the bag with his equipment into the back seat.

Gem waits with her reply until they’re both sitting in the car before she teasingly leans over, one hand coming to rest on Tango’s thigh, “You say that like you really don’t want to feel my mouth on you.” 

Maybe it was a good idea she said that before Tango started his car, with how he physically startles. “Gem,” his voice a bit higher than usual. Gem can’t wait to hear what other noises he can make.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gem’s mouth hasn’t left Tango since they closed the door to his house behind him. Despite her curiosity she had only eyes for him in the moment. The tour can wait till tomorrow morning.

She lets him lead the way to the bedroom, where he drops his bag off in a corner before Gem falls onto his bed, pulling him with her. They’re both giggling as he’s sprawled across her. “You’re crushing me”, Gem’s voice is whinier than it needs to be.

“You’re the one who pulled me down on top of you”, he laughs against her neck.

Gem lets Tango explore her, his hands crawling up under her shirt, she can feel the calluses on his fingertips brush over her sensitive sides as his mouth maps her neck, her jaw and eventually her mouth.

Her own hands feel up his arms and Gem can’t help herself but sigh into the kiss. 

Hours could pass like this before Gem decides to finally reward her winner.

The second she starts squirming beneath him, Tango leans up and lets her go, balancing on one arm and his hip alone. Gem uses that to flip them around, Tango now on his back as Gem slides off the bed and onto her knees. She knows exactly how to look up at Tango to fluster him, when he sits up. “Gem, you don’t have to.”

“But I want to. If you let me.” Her smile is innocent, even if her words aren’t. Taking the strangled noise as confirmation, her hands slowly move up, over his thighs, she can feel the muscles beneath her palms through the fabric, all the way up to the hem of his pants.

Looking up again, looking for permission to keep going, she only sees Tango nod. Gem can’t help her smile, relishing in the feeling that he’s already speechless.

The second her lips are on him, Gem can feel him tense up. With a quick glance she can see his head tilted backwards, obviously trying to keep it together.

Nearly in a comforting way she rests a hand on his hip, but also to slightly pull his jersey up, exposing his soft stomach to her, including the patch of her that trails all the way down to where her other hand comes to rest.

Her pace is slow and she makes sure to get all the spit she can onto him before her hand starts to move in time with her tongue. Above her Tango groans, quiet whispers of her name leaving his lips like a prayer that only serve to spur Gem on more.

His one hand helps him keep balance, the other lands on her shoulder, gently rubbing over her skin with his thumb, as if to ground himself.

Gem is ready to give it her all. She didn’t go into this night with any plans or expectations other than making Tango feel good. Loved.

So when Tango tries to pull back she only stops but doesn’t pull off.

“Gem.”, Tango’s plea is met with a devious lick over his tip, causing him to shiver.

“Gem. I want to taste you.”, he practically begs her, looking down with furrowed brows, the grip on her shoulder tenser now.

Despite him catching her so effortlessly on the ice, Gem had not expected Tango to just lift her onto the back, her back hitting the mattress, her red hair splaying out across the pillows.

Before a single noise escapes her, his lips are on hers, his beard scratching slightly on her cheeks and she can’t wait to feel the same scratch on her thighs.

They only part long enough for Tango to pull Gem’s sweater over her head, his glasses placed onto the nightstand, then his lips crash against her again with an endearing amount of enthusiasm.

She helps him kick off her skirt and underpants in swift motions leaving her only in her bra for now.

The exposed feeling doesn’t last long when Tango firmly plants one hand on her hip, the other trailing lower, stopping just short, earning him a frustrated whine.

“You sure you want this?” Tango asks, making sure. Like he always does, with everything.

“I thought you wanted to return the favor.” Gem’s words are teasing but her voice wavers just a slight bit. “God yes, I want this, Tango”

Not needing any further invitation his hand travels lower, thumb brushing over her clit, already taking in every hitch of her breath, every noise Gem lets through.

At least they are both impatient, as Tango can’t keep the slow pace up. He lowers his head, kissing her stomach, all the way down while his free hand slowly inserts a finger. 

Tango’s mouth finds her clit, tongue brushing over her in slow laps.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she notices the gentle burn of his beard as it scratches the sensitive skin on her thighs but it only adds to the pleasure.

Her body twitches sensitively as Tango works her. “Please, more.” 

The pleasure is already building, as Tango replaces his fingers with his tongue and Gem has to keep herself from wrapping her legs tightly around his head, only to feel more of him.

Instead her hands needily grab at Tango, holding onto the sleeves of his jersey before needing to pull him closer, feel more of him.

Since she can’t move her hips she opts for placing a hand on his head, feeling his warm skin and the soft stubble of the short shaved hair under her palm as she pulls him closer. The muffled groan against her only makes her moan louder.

“Tango. Please”, Gem moans and even the firm hand on her hip can’t stop her from grinding herself down on his tongue as the pleasure crashes over her body.

Gem is still shuddering as Tango’s tongue stills slowly, letting her lead through this.

When the pull of her hand eases on the back of his head, Tango pulls away and Gem can see him take a deep breath. She can also see how the entire lower half of his face is covered in her slick. God she needs this man to bend her over immediately.

But first she greedily leans forward, stealing a kiss from him, tasting herself on his tongue. Tango kisses her back with the force of a starving man. 

“I need you. Please. Fuck me.” Hearing Gem beg so directly kicks Tango into action immediately. 

“How do you want it?” And before Gem can even find the words to reply, she moves onto her hands and knees. Without any further words, Tango understands. He kicks the rest of his pants off, from where they were hanging at his knees, before he is immediately behind Gem, his back pressed against hers.

“Get your legs a bit further apart for me”, he requests and Gem obliges. A moment later she feels him slowly push in, her slick and his spit more than enough.

Both groan and Gem feels Tango push a bit more of his weight onto her back, just for a moment as he adjusts to the feeling of her. He is warm behind her, soft hair on his chest tickling against her back ever so slightly.

“Can I move?” Tango asks,his mouth close enough to her ear so she can feel his breath. Gem can definitely feel his beard against her neck and shoulder. 

“Yeah”, her voice comes out strained with need.

Tango’s thrusts are slow but firm, his one arm wrapping around her waist, as if to hold her closer, while the other supports himself. After a few moments the hand moves from her stomach down to her clit. Gem can hear his breath hitch every time she clenches around him. Her moans only encourage him further.

Every groan in her ear matches his movements and she can already feel his pace picking up, his thrusts getting harder, deeper.

“Not gonna last long like this. Can you-” another groan. “Can you ride me? I wanna see your face when I cum.” His voice is hoarse, maybe from eating her out, maybe from restraint. Either way she can’t say no to him like this, so she nods.

After a few more thrusts, Gem pushing back into him, Tango pulls out. The second Gem turns around he pulls her close, having her straddle his lap as he sits on the bed.

Before she can lower herself down, he stops her. Tango’s hand moves slowly up and down, stroking himself as he stares at her, his mouth hanging slightly open, his breathing heavy. “Your bra… Please.”

He doesn’t even need to say more, Gem’s hands already opening the clasp and removing the last bit of fabric. Another groan, this one higher in pitch, escapes him, brows furrowed as he reaches out, stopping just short of touching her breast.

Gem laughs. “You can touch me. I want you to touch me”

She makes sure Tango can hear the way her breath hitches when he brushes his thumb over her nipple. “You’re so beautiful.“

Gem leans down to kiss him and finally he pulls her forwards with ease, so she can lower herself down onto his member. Again they both groan as Gem fully lowers herself and their hips meet. 

As if he can’t wait for her to move, his hands guide her, once they find her hips again, even if Gem doesn’t need the help, her daily morning runs have prepared her for this moment.

The feeling of his palms is nice though.

They kiss again, both moaning into it with every move. Gem’s hands wrap around Tango’s shoulders, not letting him pull away the first time, only when he tries again a few seconds later. “‘m close.” His words come out mumbled. “Can I cum inside of you?” The plea is broken by a groan.

Gem takes in his face, his eyes lidded, barely open enough to see her. His lips are parted as he’s breathing heavily, groaning. His eyes rake over her entire body, her hips where they meet his, her soft but trained stomach. The swell of her breasts and the way they bounce with every bit of movement.

“Cum inside me”, half command, half request and she can just see Tango break. The hands on her grip just a bit tighter as she feels him twitch inside her. 

Tango kisses her again, making her swallow all his noises as he spills himself into her.

When they part, both are panting. Gem is smiling, letting herself sink against Tango whose arms wrap around her, pulling her off himself and into the bed.

Endearingly, he peppers her face with kisses while Gem catches her breath. “Cuddles or cleaning up first?” He asks, immediately ready to make sure Gem is comfortable.

“I don’t think I want to move any time soon.” She laughs softly, turning towards Tango, trying to ignore the stickiness between her legs and the way it pools onto the bed.

Tango brushes a strand of hair out of her face before asking, “Anything else? Water? A towel?” But Gem just pulls him closer. 

“I want you to shut up and just cuddle me.” Her words lack any bite with the smile on her face. He pulls her closer, letting her head rest against his chest.

Gem stays the night.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It has been a bit over a month since the night of Tango’s game and after grabbing their usual Tuesday coffee, they planned to head to their usual ice rink.

They’ve been doing a lot of small activities like that. Two weeks ago they went and played minigolf, and despite Tango mentioning that he has played golf before, Gem did beat him by a margin.

“More of a different sport than you thought, huh?”, she teases him with a victorious smile.

But today they just want to take it easy, so ice skating it is.

Neither of them can help themselves though when Gem leans in close and quietly challenges him, “I bet you I’m faster. From here to the board.”

Tango’s grey eyes meet her gaze and he smiles, dramatically pulling the cap lower into his face. “You’re on. Loser buys drinks?”

She counts them down and a few seconds later Gem cheers herself on in victory as she breaks only inches away from the wall.

Tango joins her there, just a second or so later. He’s getting better at this. “Might eventually outpace me”, Gem notes but of course he only shakes his head.

“Only if you let me win. Alright, drinks. Coffee?” Tango is smiling and leaves when Gem nods.

Turning around, arms resting on the board, she looks at his back, walking over to the small stall selling fast food and drinks, still in his skates.

There is a fond fluttering in her chest as she watches him. A feeling that hasn’t gone away in the last few months since they got closer.

When he returns he hands her the cup, shorter than her like this, not on the ice. With the few inches she has on him, Gem leans down and her lips meet his.

[inkandmallow]

KY Jelly: Sebastian Stan x reader

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x reader

Word count: 2k words

Requested: No ♡

Summary: Imagine going on the Jimmy Kimmel Show with your boyfriend and bestfriend, only to talk about, you guessed it- KY jelly!

Warnings: Sex jokes, nicknames [Please tell me if I missed any!]

This is part of a series but each part can be read independently! [Part I] [Part II]

Want to join my TAGLIST? Follow the link, please!

"Oh, no! I promise you all that today we have some amazing guests!" Jimmy looks out at the audience, sporting a wide grin. A few wayward whistles come from the back of the studio. "So, without further ado... let's take a look!" he points towards the camera, a teaser trailer starting to play for your new show.

You, Anthony and Sebastian dance around quietly backstage, trying to get the jitters out; something the group of you had started doing together before interviews to help you with nerves and anxiety.

"Bucky, no! Come back!" you hear Anthony's voice over the loud speakers in the studio. The loud music reaches its crescendo, fading into a faint thumping base. The three of you move towards the door, waiting to make your entrance as you know the end of the trailer is close.

"Who the hell are you?" Bucky roars, and you can literally feel the vibrations in the fake wall separating you from the cameras.

It's quiet for a second before you hear your one and only line in the trailer- the one teasing at your new character.

"Did you miss me, Jamie?" the pout is clear as your voice echoes, sounding distant even in the original video- figure covered in shadow.

Bucky takes a breath. That's all- a sharp inhale of breath. "Doll?"

You look at your boyfriend as it plays through the speakers, mouthing along with the recording of his voice, a dumbstruck look on your face- mouth hung open, just like how he does it in the show.

Anthony shoots a teasing grin Seb's way, slightly disappointed when he sees the lazy smile on his face- Sebastian hadn't found it as teasing as he had, instead finding it endearing.

"Woah! I don't want to keep either you, me, or our guests waiting any longer- so here they are! The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, and Y/n Y/l/n!" the crowd goes wild as you walk out onto the stage, proud smiles adorning each one of your faces.

You wave at the audience and blow a kiss to a few of them, one fakes swooning and you laugh along with Anthony, the only other one who seemed to notice.

You shake hands with Jimmy Kimmel before sitting down on the small sofa with Sebastian, Anthony taking the armchair closest to Jimmy and on the other side of you.

"Welcome, welcome." He greets excitedly, all of you saying 'thank you' whilst letting the audience calm down before even attempting to start up a conversation. "That trailer was fantastic! And the ending-" Jimmy gasps, letting it show his honest reaction to the ending.

You laugh, realizing that many in the audience must have done the same considering that it was the first time anybody was seeing it- being released today for the press tour locations and interviews only.

"Well, we obviously have to start off with your character, Y/n." Jimmy looks at you with wide eyes, "Tell us a bit about her... who is she?" he probes, trying to get anything exclusive.

"I can't say to much, or else Disney will have my head." You pull a funny face, cringing at the thought. The audience laughs, though, much to your relief. Big crowds weren't really your thing, surprisingly.

"But, what I can tell you is that she's a totally new character. Never before seen, either in the movies or the comics. She's a total badass, and let's just say she stirs up the pot a bit for our beloved Jamie, or Bucky- whether she wants to or not, is the real question, though." you give a teasing smile, winking at the camera for the way you finessed the question.

"Yes, well, I would say you do a lot more than stir up the pot, Y/n/n!" Anthony laughs loudly. The shocked and slightly offended look on your face send the audience into a laughing fit as you hit your best friend's arm in reprimand.

Behind you you hear a muffled chuckle and turn to see your boyfriend biting down onto his knuckles to keep from crying of laughter- remembering precisely what episode Anthony was talking about and how the two weeks filming it had gone.

"Really? You too?" You whine, shoulders slumping in defeat as you pout towards the audience. Sebastian lets go of his knuckle, a loud gasp and then laughter echoing. Soon after placing his arm around your shoulders lazily and the audience, as well as the cameras, can visually tell how you automatically perk up at his touch although still trying to seem sad.

"I'm sorry, draga mea, but it's true." Sebastian tuts, "Now," his thumb brushes against your lower lip as it juts out, "put that pretty pout away before anybody gets any ideas." He looks over his shoulder at the audience as if though trying to spy someone suspicious. 'Awws' and suggestive whistles come from the audience.

Sebastian was a very flirty person and was often seen getting cheery with other celebrities in interviews, and even though you knew they were always just friends (if even) it could be hard for some to not get jealous, but you never did. This was why, very simple, what other fans and tabloids saw Sebastian do with others was nothing compared to how he acted with you.

And the best thing was that he never changed it, he never tried to act as if though your relationship was less than or more than it actually was. He simply acted the same way around you, no matter the cameras- apart from, of course, certain situations or gestures.

"You see what I have to deal with every day?" Anthony exclaims from beside you, pointing with his thumb towards the interaction going on between the two of you. Only then did you notice that you had become entranced by your boyfriend, having just stared at him for the last few seconds.

"Ah, yes I see." Jimmy responded, "But you must have a lot of great times on set, though?" he tries to steer the conversation.

"Yes, it's so much fun getting to work with Anthony again- I mean, have you met the man!" Sebastian says, "And working along side Y/n has just been amazing, I've been to many sets which she's worked on but it was so fascinating to see her working and doing her thing."

"I'd also like to add that this is the first time I'm coming into a production where I already have personal relationships with the other actors, apart from maybe making one movie together before. And when I say 'personal relationships' I don't just mean Sebastian and I,"

"No, actually, Sebastian, that is something Y/n and I have wanted to talk to you about," Anthony jokes, turning to face your boyfriend with his hand clasped together on his lap.

"Haha, very funny." you shoot down, rolling your eyes as you continue. "What I wanted to get to," you shoot Anthony a playful glare, "was that apart from Sebastian, Mac has really been my best friend for years now, along with Lizzie." Anthony gives you a warm smile and you squeeze his arm in return.

"That would be Elizabeth Olsen, right?" Kimmel asks, brows furrowed.

"Yes, that would be correct. I've known her for even longer than either Sebastian or Mac, we did the movie 'Kill Your Darlings' together in 2012 and 2013."

"So you've know each other for nearly ten years then?" Jimmy's eyes widen in surprise.

You grin widely, happy to be talking about your close friend, "Yes, nine years, at least."

"Okay, returning to the topic at hand. Who would you say was the biggest prankster on set? Were there many pranks or jokes?"

"Ooh, I've got an answer for this!" Mac nearly sings as he wiggles in his seat. You gesture with your hand for him to go on.

"Y/n and I easily did the best prank of the whole- ever! It was so great!

"What happened? What did you do?" Jimmy moves in his seat as well as he looks between the three of you, making note of how the 'Winter Soldier' actor had hidden his face in his hands with a grunt.

"Okay, so, Bucky has a metal arm which obviously Sebastian does not," Sebastian start, quickly being interrupted by your quiet mumbling.

"I wish..." you say under your breath, Anthony turning to you with a disturbed looked on his face. Your cheeks growing hot at the fact that both the male actors were now staring you down, as well as the audience.

"What was that, Y/n?" Sebastian sound so taken off guard, having removed his hands from his face to look at you. It's your turn to grunt now, wishing you had just kept your mouth shut for once.

"Something tells me that knowing will be more disturbing than anything I could think of." Kimmel adds, the audience whistling and hollering in agreement to your earlier comment.

"Do all of you just want me to chop my arm off?" Sebastian turns to the audience, throwing his hands up in mock offense.

"Anyways, so, for Sebastian to get into the arm he has to use a lot of KY jelly- and I mean a lot, like bucket-loads!" Anthony motions in big circles with his arms, exaggerating to draw laughs from the audience.

"Okay, now you're overexaggerating!" Sebastian defends.

"He really isn't." you scrunch up your nose, giving your boyfriend a lopsided smile, which causes the laughing in the studio to intensify.

"And so, Y/n and I came up with this brilliant plan to switch out the normal jelly for the warming and tingling ones. And so we went to the 'KY-casserole' as we like to call it, his arm-people if you will, and they were in on it!" you squealed in excitement at the memory returning to you. You look over at Sebastian with a wide grin.

"This delayed filming by an hour, by the way. And I had to walk around with it all day!" he looks entirely exhausted as he recalls his memory from that day.

"But that wasn't the best part!" you call out over the laughter, "He acted weird all day, right. Like, obviously you would. And, so, every time we'd ask him what's wrong he'd just pretend like everything was fine. He took it like a champ!" you laugh.

"All the way until..." Anthony let's you continue.

"Until I came into his trailer at the end of the day when they were taking the arm off." you smile, "After the 'KY-casserole' left, he walked over to me with such a big pout and just said," you look directly into the camera as you act out what he had done.

"I can't feel my arm, it's warm and tingly, and I can't feel it... What did you do..?" the pout from earlier return onto your face and you whine as if though you're about to cry.

"I did not do that!" he looks incredulously at you and Anthony.

"It's okay, soldier, of course you didn't." You comfort, wrapping your arms around your boyfriend but turning to mouth at the camera, eyes wide. "He did" you mouth, causing the audience to laugh.

"Oh, no! What did you do?" Sebastian pulls back and looks at you.

"Don't worry about it, soldier." You drawl, scratching his slight scruff and giving his cheek a kiss.

"Well, I'm sad to say that's all we have time for today, folks! I want to thank you three for coming here tonight, as well as our audience, and don't forget to go watch 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier' on..." he gestures to you.

"Exclusively on Disney+ on March 19th, as well as every Friday after that!" you call out, joining the others in waving at the camera before standing to thank the host.

A/N: This is my first series of independent fics all lined up. I hope the situations and timeline will make sense- I'm really trying!

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[winters-tales]

Ten Random Lines

Rules: Pick any ten of your fics/writing projects, scroll to the midpoint, pick a line (or three) and share it. Then tag people (ten if you want to follow the theme).

Thanks for the tag @ceph-the-writing-spook!

No pressure tag time! @korblez, @fishyandclintbarton, @sparatus, @miniature-space-hamster, @sherriewrites, @inlilac, @thetrashbagswastelan, @equusgirl-writes, @vhenadahls and @i-will-be-your-krantt - you're up! (If you want. No pressure 💜

Leave a comment if you'd like me to include you in any tag games I get hit with going forward, or if you'd like me to remove you from the tag list!

And now for the Main Event!

The Nameless (book 1 of the Oathsworn Trilogy)

“And the company,” she added, as the licked the last dregs of the gruel out of the bowl, “I’d probably have gone spare by now without our little chats.” He smiled at that, and it felt like he was genuinely pleased by her clumsy compliment.

2. The Forgotten (book 2 of the Oathsworn Trilogy)

If the outer trees had looked like people, these ones further in looked like they were getting ready to be people. The vague shape was there, but they were smaller, less detailed. Less human, more tree. In the centre of every single trunk that she could see, was a thick iron spike.

3. Lost (short story)

The glow of the lantern split the fog like an oar splits still waters, and I was so relieved to not be alone out there I didn’t move, just stared at that light as if I was a moth. Following the light was a gentle voice, singing softly to himself as he went, but I couldn’t make out the words.

4. Remnant (short story)

The eyes were still black pools that didn’t seem to reflect any light, and the skin looked like the bark of a silver birch, pale and cracked. The size of it was beyond my comprehension; something this big should have been noticed by now. I couldn’t see the rest of the body but if the proportions followed through, at full height it would almost be as tall as the trees around me, surely? Prehistoric in size. A forgotten god.

5. From the Deeps (short story)

The rain is stinging your skin as searing flash and booming rumble join together and you need to wake everyone. But you can't. Because she's here.

6. The End (short story)

“You’ve made more of a mess than I can clean this time.” Mam’s anger was a hopeless one behind him, and his shame burned hot in his throat. Granny’s long thin fingers were plucking at his shirt and he mutely lifted his arms, feeling the tears in the fabric slide over his head.

7. Old Gods Vs Aliens (short story) (yes the link is to dA even though I originally wrote it here; finding the original post is one hell of a faff)

Humanoid creatures with eyes of fire supposedly began granting wishes over in Syria, as long as your wish was for them to kill your enemies. There were sightings in Ireland of pure white horses, horses that once ridden wouldn’t let you off, that dragged people into bogs and rivers. Tales came out of Brazil of monstrously large snakes, sometimes with the faces of women, dragging aliens into the gloom of the rivers and rainforests.

8. Red Sky at Night (short post-apoc story)

Clouds of ash billowed so high there were concerns there would be another ice age. Grandpa argued that with the ozone so depleted, we’d never have to worry about an ice age again, the sun would see to that. I watched lightning flicker and dance in the pillars of smoke, and tried to remember the last time I’d seen a real, honest-to-gods storm.

9. Sinkhole (short D&D story)

There was blood everywhere. The walls were coated, the floor was slick, and there were even spatters on the beams across the hayloft. She was surprised to see there were no corpses – this much blood should have left a sizable number of bodies – but there wasn’t a shape in sight, not even any offal.

10. Gunman's Alley (short Cyberpunk-style story)

There was a clatter, and the woman’s head snapped up, her twitching pupils as she sought the cause of the disturbance the only sign that she was augmented. The tension shifted; people glanced at one another uneasily, making mental notes of where they’d dive for if shit went down, who they could count on, who’d use them as a meat shield.