#whereas almost everyone else gets their lives a lot more fleshed out...

[yuukei-yikes]

funny to think while ayano & haruka were plagued by The Horrors shintaro was just an asshole for NO apparent reason other than he felt like it and takane was just. living her damn life. just a girl in the world....

[kaiju-krew]

So I know this is like, a month late (forgot to ask when you posted the pic lol), but what's up with Labra? He got like a backstory, lore, or something like that? I'm curious and wanna know more abt him.

drew him again :3c

UHMMM yes i am lore building for him........ i haven't decided everything yet but i know i want him to be a distant cousin species of goji's. everyone's fangoji lore is different but i def imagine him as a part of my personal monsterverse au rather than existing in his own world with no friends haha loser

putting a cut here so i dont spam people's feeds lmao

likeeee for comparison it's probably similar to Crocodylia encompassing crocodiles, alligators, and gharials?? labra is in a similar niche to zilla for me. goji is the largest/apex species of the gojiran order, whereas zilla & labra are smaller and occupy a different niche. Big bruiser lion vs. carcal or lynx type thing.

my hc is that the vast majority of labra's species (pre-mutation art is what they looked like) was wiped out when ghido got into hollow earth. which is also the same time he wiped out most of the divine moths and a couple other species :''(

it ended with ghido iced but it fucked up the hollow earth ecosystem for a while and led to a lot more radiation leakage since he tore the place up real bad. labra was Almost Dead and ended up hibernating to recover by a radiation vent, but he'd laid down in feldspar vein that kinda grew to cover him and turned to labradorite and idk magic radiation nonsense it fused with him and caused him to grow/mutate.

the ghido massacre also caused battra to hibernate/mutate too so it's a Big Event in my silly au world. most of the kaiju that are clearly a result of mutation fuckery (biollante, kessho too) may be related to it as well but i haven't fully fleshed it out yet. it would mostly be based around goji's hyper-regeneration doing the thing where like.. if a big enough chunk of him gets lobbed off and has access to energy it mutates and tries to regenerate and causes a fucked up clone siblings thing idk omg ok i'm in tangent city good god sorry i was supposed to be talking about my gay son

ANYWAYSSSSSS for more general hc/character stuff: >labra is genuinely terrified of ghido and even gets freaked out when he hears wing beats without warning. (mosu beats rodan's ass bcuz he divebombs labra for fun sometimes) >he lives on monster island and ventures down to hollow earth sometimes, but he won't return to his old home because it just reminds him everyone else of his species is gone. (he isn't even his own species anymore bcuz of the mutation. so they're basically extinct.) >he loves swimming and sometimes just lays in the shallows to absorb sunlight. stretches out like a lazy ass cat. cat boy behaviour >he's loyal to goji and doesn't start shit with humans unless they attack first. even then he does his best to steer clear. >mothra likes his dorsal plates and talks with him sometimes (Moth Therapy) they can bond over ghido hating it's a good time >he has a mutually bitch-bother dynamic with rodan where rodan bothers the shit outta him until he manages to grab that turkey and idk sits on him or something. but if rodan really pisses him off he doesn't mind actually throwing hands because he knows goji won't care if he puts the bird in it's place. >he also likes angy, zilla, and bio a lot too.

there's more but i'll stop there for nowwwww

tldr: big gay lizard is traumatized but doing ok ig

[thornfield13713]

Rosie: 1, 3, 6, 7, 10 (for the recommending question, what food would they recommend)

What’s the lie your character says most often?

"I'm fine," and variations thereupon. Rosie is not fine. Rosie has never been fine in her whole entire life. She's just also terrified of the consequences of not being fine, and lying to herself as much as anyone around her. She gets a bit better about this after Alfira dies, when it becomes clear that admitting her mental state is a matter of real urgency to everyone else's survival, but she's also terrified of being cast out of the group if she's just a bit too inconvenient to have around, and is also lying to herself about how on top of her urges she actually is...right up until she nearly kills Karlach and has to admit everything.

How often do they show their genuine emotions to others versus just the audience knowing?

Not very. She's...for most of the story, Rosie is trying so hard to be Little Miss Perfect Paladin, the ideal hero she feels she ought to be. There are moments when she shows more of herself - she's most emotionally open around Karlach and Astarion, the two people she feels most comfortable being herself around. Astarion more than Karlach, just because he's not really that invested in the front Rosie puts up, whereas Karlach does seem to like the 'idealistic paladin' front, which is- not false, but not all Rosie is, either. This changes over the course of the game, particularly after the near-killing of Karlach at Bhaal's urging in act 2, which is when the extent of just how utterly fucked-up her girlfriend is is made clear to Karlach. And then in act 3, Rosie is spiralling, but also feels like she sort of doesn't have the right to be because this whole mess was sort of her fault to begin with, so a lot of repression there. Once again, Astarion and Karlach get to see past it to some extent, but it's Jaheira and Minsc who get the brunt of her real emotions here.

And then she's free of Bhaal and really, really open about being absolutely giddy at getting to do good without the constant urge to kill people in the back of her brain. Like- it is almost more insufferable than the 'perfect paladin' front to have Rosie just 'I am going to PET CATS and be nice to street children and save lives and be the hero I always dreamed of as a little girl and MY DAD CAN'T STOP ME!' all the time. Everyone else is grimly anticipating the final battle, and Rosie is nearly bouncing around delighted at getting to do things like beat up Raphael and free all his debtors, or free the Gondians.

Then Gortash dies, and she's- she knows it's a victory. She knows he did unforgiveable things, but- so did she. Just not to these people. It's hard not to mourn, and she can't really do that openly. She's open about her grief and fear about Karlach's situation, but not about the part of her mourning the man who ruined her girlfriend's life, because it's not something she feels anyone will understand. She was the same about mourning Orin, because...victory and all, but...that was still her little sister.

What’s their favorite [insert anything] that they’ve never recommended to anyone before?

Halfling Everything Soup. Or 'Welcome Soup', as it's known. Rosie grew up in a halfling adoptive family, and halfling food is always her comfort food even if she doesn't know why. And nothing quite encapsulates the taste of her childhood like her father's homemade 'Everything Stew', which always had potatoes, neeps, and quite a lot of offal in it, in addition to whatever seasoning could be scrounged up. It was never the same twice, but still somehow manages to retain its associations for her.

The less heartwarming answer is 'roasted dwarf', which Rosie continues to crave even after being freed of Bhaal's influence, even if she is never, ever going to talk about it. Curse their dwarves and their delicious savoury flesh.

What would you (mun) yell in the middle of a crowd to find them? What would their best friend and/or romantic partner yell?

For what I would yell: "Help! Help! My kitten is stuck up a tree!" and just wait for her to come running at the chance to do a sickeningly wholesome minor good deed of the sort that make her absurdly happy.

Karlach would probably just shout her name, or alternatively bring up the possibility of making a halfling dish for supper that night and that would probably do it.

What fact do they excitedly tell everyone about at every opportunity?

Hmm...probably something medical. Rosie has got medical training, having worked in the infirmary of an Ilmatari cloister before joining her paladin order. I sort of like the idea of her being delighted by weird medical factoids, like that case of the woman with the four-centimetre-thick skull who suffered no apparent problems from it. She gets less cheerful when she has to think too deeply about how she probably knows these things, given she's aware of having carried out vivisections before, but the medical details themselves are always delightful to her.

[milkycarnations]

Homicidal Liu Alter Ideas

I've never really had fleshed-out ideas on what alters Liu has, I just know he has to have more than one. Here are some general personalities and behaviors of some alters that I think Liu has.

Sully

Essentially a copy of his brother. I think it's possible Liu had DID at a young age, Sully just fronted after Jeff tried to kill him.

Fronts maybe half of the time. Has become so common that Liu doesn't have to be particularly stressed to see Sully. Definitely used to front more like 80 percent of the time but have shown less in the past 5 years.

Definitely feels out of control that he isn't the main figure in the system. Takes it out on Liu's body. Always fronts when in spontaneous, threatening situations.

Does not try to be like Liu but tries to protect the body from outside harm. Unfortunately, Sully tends to neglect the body himself at times, which isn't helpful when he's fronting for a long time.

Dale

An older male, homosexual alter. Probably around 40 to 50 years old. Fronts a lot when Liu is tired and hasn't been getting proper sleep. This can mean that Dale fronts later in the day before Liu gets to bed or throughout the day because Liu didn't get any sleep the night prior. Dale has likely shown up a lot when Liu was younger, which confused adults a lot.

Usually staying well rested helps Dale stay in the system but not fronting. Is notably different from Liu, but still tries to mirror him in important situations.

I like to imagine that this is how Liu got his gardening hobby. One day he fronted and had all of these plants and was like "oh shit, now I gotta take care of these".

Dale is strictly gay, whereas Liu is pansexual (I pretty much headcanon all of the characters I write about to be datable by any type of person). Though Dale doesn't like women, he has no problem comforting and spending time with Liu's female S/O if he has one. He understands that you are Liu's partner, but if you are a woman no kissy-kissy.

Blaithe

A dormant alter. She made it really difficult for everyone else in the system because she was the only heavily feminine alter. Showed up a lot in the first 5 years after the Jeff situation but had been present since Liu was younger. She doesn't show up much at all now as the system tends to favor Sully instead.

When she does show up, it is usually in extreme moments of stress in one of Liu's PTSD triggers. If something heavily reminds him of his healing process after the attack, he may have Blaithe front. She's somewhere around 14 to 16 (around the same age as Liu when the attack happened).

She really enjoys skirts and dresses, so if you have those on the very rare occasion that she fronts, she'd love to be able to dress up. Otherwise, she is very quiet and almost seems confused all the time.

Blaithe can mirror Liu fairly well, but it does make her upset when she is unable to feel like a woman. She is part of the reason why Liu grew out his hair when he was younger. She is a living symbol of Liu's feelings of vulnerability.

I'm definitely willing to expand on these (and potentially some more) alters in the future. Let me know if you are interested. I don't write for Liu in my current fanfics, so I really like being able to develop his character here.

[angryschnauzer]

No Filter

Summary: After a mission goes wrong and you get hit with an electromagnetic shockwave, you discover you have lost your inner monolog... anything you think, you say. When the rest of the team head out for a night on the town, you stay behind, and you find yourself having a very honest conversation with Bucky

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Warnings: Smut, NSFW, 18+, Tropes, Friends to Lovers, Fingering, Oral Sex, Unprotected Sex, Bucky has a big dick, Spanking, Doggy Style.

I have decided to start posting oneshots on Tumblr as well as AO3 again. Anything more than 1 chapter will be an AO3 exclusive, as i now have too many stories to create a masterlist. If you are looking for past stories please check out my AO3 on THIS link, there are over 150 stories on there so there’s something for everyone. AO3 LINK.  I do not operate a tag list, but instead please follow @angryschnauzerwrites​ and put that blog onto notifications to be alerted when i post something new.

No Filter

Groaning as you dragged your weary body along the empty hallway to the kitchen, your head pounded, and you desperately needed a drink. Rounding the corner you groaned again when you saw the communal kitchen buzzing with familiar and friendly faces when all you wanted was peace and quiet.

“Heeyyy there she is!”

Sam smiled at you as he poured a cup of coffee and set it on the counter in front of you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders and pressing a friendly kiss to the top of your head;

“How are you feeling? Any of the treatments taken affect yet?”

 You shook your head;

 “Urgh, I feel like a racoon that has been hit by a semi-truck and left on the side of the road. We were in the lab until 3am doing tests but nothing seems to have taken. Plus, I haven’t pooped yet and I feel really bloated”

The room fell silent before a snort-come-laugh escaped from Steve’s lips;

 “So that’s a no then on the treatment then”

 Groaning you rested your head on the counter, embarrassment heating your skin as you realised what you’d said.

 You’d been on a mission with Clint and Natasha on the Russia Mongolia borderlands, intel had told you the assets were hidden in an ancient abandoned temple, but upon getting there you had discovered it was far from abandoned. The route through the building had been laced with booby traps and hidden dangers, and the Hydra team that had set the traps had been a lot more advanced than intel had told you so. So when you had been hit by a strange ultrasonic wave you had been temporarily rendered deaf and blind, Nat and Clint both having missed targeted ultrasonic waves and had dragged you to safety for an e-vac team to retrieve you.

 Once you had gotten back to the tower you’d been rushed to the med bay, the medical team working quickly and had discovered the ultrasonic had literally scrambled the neuro signals in your brain. It had taken some intrusive electro therapy but over the course of the following days your sight and hearing had returned.

 There had however been an unfortunate side affect; you’d lost your inner monolog. Anything your thought, you said. Your teammates were starting to get used to it, but it didn’t make it any less embarrassing to blurt out your inner most thoughts and had caused friction in some friendships. You’d ended up shutting yourself away in your room for your free time, only venturing out to go to the lab for more tests or to the kitchen.

 You went to leave before grabbing your coffee, only for Sam to catch your hand softly;

 “Look, if you’re backed up coffee won’t help. Here…” he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and quickly loaded multiple pieces of fruit into a bowl for you; “... it can be a sign of dehydration. So, keep the water intake up and eat some fruit. Perhaps take a walk”

 Taking the items from him you kept your head down;

 “Thanks Sam”

 -

 Sitting in the roof garden you tossed the apple core into the composter, downing the last of the water and tossing the bottle into the plastic recycling. Deciding to wander around the roof garden one last time you were aimlessly walking beneath the vines that had climbed the steps that led down from the executive gym when you heard voices above you, looking up and seeing Steve and Bucky chatting post workout;

 “Listen Buck, the whole team is gonna be going out tonight, why don’t you come?”

 “Nah, I have some reading to do”

 “Why won’t you get out there? Find some girl, get laid?”

 Bucky laughed at Steve’s suggestion;

 “Listen Punk, my hand is just fine for my needs”

 Steve laughed and you shook your head, trying to throw any thoughts out of your head before you voiced them as the two men disappeared into the building and back to the living quarters.

 -

 Standing in the hallway as the team primped and preened their outfits, you pulled your robe tighter around your body and smiled. Natasha rested a hand on your arm;

 “Are you sure you won’t come?”

 “I’m sure. I don’t want to make an ass of myself in front of strangers. It’s bad enough doing it in front of you guys”

“Ok. But don’t stay up too late, you should get some rest, a night away from the lab will do you good”

 “Sure thing”

 Waving them off as they finally all had shrugged on jackets and grabbed their purses you shut the door behind them before making your way to the kitchen, finding Bucky standing at the stove.

 “Mmm that smells good”

 He turned and smiled;

 “You want some?”

 “Please, only if there’s enough”

 He grinned and pulled two plates from the cupboard, before serving up for the both of you;

 “Grab a fork and dig in Babe”

 Eating in silence at the breakfast bar it was comfortable, and you were thankful your mind had kept itself under control, that was until Bucky cleared his throat;

 “So, you feeling a bit better now?”

 “Yeah, my head still hurts from the electroshock treatment, but I don’t feel as bloated now as I popped this afternoon”

 The second the words had left your mouth you felt a lump in your throat and your cheeks heat from embarrassment, again;

 “Fuck. I fucking hate this”

 You felt a cool hand on your back, rubbing it softly;

 “Listen, Babe. It’s refreshing… hearing what someone is actually thinking rather than what they want you to hear… it’s the reason why I didn’t want to go out tonight with Sam and Steve… they will listen to whatever girls will tell them, what they want to hear… I’d rather not have some girl tell me what I want to hear and instead be honest”

 “I heard your conversation earlier” you muttered from behind the hands you had clamped over your face

“My conversation?”

 “With Steve. On the roof”

 “Oh...and?”

 “Which hand do you use? FUCK, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ask that, but my brain…”

 “Which hand do I use… OH…”

 Bucky turned you on your bar stood until you were no longer leaning on your elbows, and instead looking at him;

 “Ok Babe, I’ll be honest with you, I use both”

 “Both? Like, alternate, or at the same time?”

 Cocking an eyebrow, he smirked;

 “Yeah, a bit of both… I mean I’m big enough to need two hands, but the feel of the metal hand is awesome, it doesn’t feel like it’s me doing it, whereas the flesh hand gives a skin on skin feel that is better than anything…”

 He rested his hands on your knees and you were speaking before you could realise;

 “Your hands are really big… so your dick must be huge”

 You could feel your throat go tight and your eyes were so wide they almost fell out of their sockets, but Bucky’s soft laugh and the way his hands were still on your knees keeping you in place;

 “I have the serum to thank for helping me along” he paused, a weighted silence before speaking again, his voice low; “Do you want me to kiss you?”

 “Yes”

 He leaned forwards and pressed a kiss to your lips. His touch was soft and as he pulled away you found yourself chasing after him. He rested his hand against your cheek, his skin soft against yours;

 “You said your head still hurts from the treatments. Endorphins help dull the electroshock side effects… when was the last time you had an orgasm?”

 “How do you…? Oh, from when Hydra… Sorry…”

 “Well?”

 “Well what?”

 “When was your last orgasm?”

 “Weeks ago, … I haven’t felt like doing anything… I didn’t realise it would help… I’m always just so tired and not in the mood”

 “Would you like some help?”

 “Yes. I want you to use your hands”

 Bucky slid of his bar stood and pulled you to your feet, taking your hand as he led you down the hallway to his bedroom;

 “I can use my hands, my tongue, my dick, whatever you like”

 “All three”

 Shutting the door behind you he grinned;

 “Yes Ma’am… coming right up”

 “I want you to fuck me bare. I want to feel your metal hand slapping my ass as you fuck me from behind”

 He was pulling your robe and pyjama’s off as he laughed at your requests;

 “Definitely. Would you like me to cum inside or pull out?”

 “I don’t care… no I do… I want to feel you cum inside me…”

 By then you were being pushed back onto his bed, magazines and books haphazardly being pushed aside as he pulled your panties off and looked down at you as he pushed his sweatpants and boxers down in one.

“Wow you weren’t lying… your dick would need both hands”

 “Yup, nice and thick” he lifted it in his hands and weighed it, slapping the palm of his hand against the heavy underside; “This is why I don’t want to date a girl that isn’t honest with me. Most just want me for this, they don’t care about anything else”

 “I’m not like that”

 He crawled onto the bed over you;

 “I know Babe, and that’s why I’m here, with you right now”

 “I’ve had the hots for you since you moved in”

 “You have?”

You nodded and he smiled as he lifted himself over you, his hard length settling between your folds as he kissed you. This time it was hard and fast, his tongue pushing against yours and you found your legs had wrapped themselves around his waist. When he pulled his lips away you whined at the loss, but quickly turned those whines into moans as he pressed kisses down your body and settled his face between your legs;

 “Now, time for some complimentary therapies after your treatments Ma’am”

 His tongue parted your folds as he dived in, his long stubble brushing against your inner thighs and sensitive folds, his hand curling beneath his chin to slide two metal fingers into your already soaked hole. When his fingers crooked just right inside and found that spongy spot while his lips sucked hard on your clit, you came with a scream, your hands curled into his long soft hair. 

 You lay limp on his bed, your eyes closed as the promised endorphins rushed through your bloodstream and did as promised, relieving the tension and pain in your head immediately;

 “You were right”

 You felt Bucky move up the bed and lay beside you, his metal hand trailing over your breasts, the cool metal making your nipples harden;

 “Told you so”

 “How did you used to do it after Hydra did the electro treatments?”

 “I’d do it on the way to the mission, or on the mission...” Turning you looked at him as he gazed up at the ceiling; “I’ve never actually told anyone this… but as you’re Miss No-Filter it feels ok… Because they’d wake me up with the electroshock treatments, so it’d be like starting every day with a hangover. The handlers were used to it, they didn’t say anything if I’d whip my dick out in the back of the vehicle… Sometimes I wouldn’t get chance and I’d be standing in position ready to strike and I’d be there with one hand on my rifle and the other on my dick… I remember one mission where I was sneaking up on one target and they surprised me just as I was cumming; sprayed them with cum just before I shot them”

 “That’s… that’s… wow, my mind is for once empty”

 Bucky grinned and turned to face you;

 “How are you feeling now?”

 “Good… my head feels a lot better”

 “That’s good”

 “But I’d still like you to fuck me”

 He laughed;

 “Absolutely, gotta give you some more of those endorphins”

 He moved until he was on his knees before helping to move you until you were prone before him, ass up and face down, your squeak of surprise as his flesh hand coming down on your ass partially muffled by the pillow;

 “The metal hand please Bucky”

 He chuckled behind you and you felt his hands on your hips, the warmth of his thick thighs against the back of yours;

 “Patience, just warming you up”

 He grasped his hard dick, swiping it up through your folds before you felt the thick head press against your soaked hole. He slowly pushed in, taking it an inch at a time and you felt yourself tense up;

 “Are you going to hurt me?”

 You winced at your words as Bucky stopped;

 “No Babe, I told you I’m big, but I’m gonna make sure your body adjusts to me before I start fucking you”

 He smoothed his warm hand over your back, and you felt your tension start to slip away. His metal hand he’d curled beneath you and the cool touch of that against your clit surprised you but was the touch you needed to zone out and enjoy how he was playing your body like a finely tuned instrument. 

 You hadn’t even been aware of his hips moving until he’d moved his hands back to your hips and praised you softly;

 “Such a good girl, taking me balls deep, I can feel you hugging me so tight… I’m gonna make you feel so good…”

 “Please Bucky… fuck me”

 “Shhh I will Babe”

 He did as promised, ploughing into you as your body adjusted to his size, and yet you could feel every bump ridge and vein on his impressive girth. With every pull the thick vein on the underside would run along your g-spot, with every push his heavy balls would slap against your clit sending shockwaves of pleasure through your body. 

 Soon you found your moans were continual, Bucky doing exactly as promised as he drove into you from behind. You could feel your orgasm approaching and you just needed that one last stimuli… and as if he could read your mind you felt the cooling sting of his metal hand coming down on the round globe of your asscheek, making your head spring up;

 “FUCK. Do it again!”

 SMACK, the other cheek received the same treatment. 

 “Once more, please!” you begged, and only happy to oblige Bucky brought his hand down one final time on your asscheek and you were cumming, your body squeezing his so tight he feared for a moment he wouldn’t be able to get his dick out, but it was the final trigger and with the deepest thrust he spurted this ropes of his release inside you, groaning at his own flood of endorphins hitting his brains receptors. 

 Your bodies slumped into a pile, he pulled you into his arms as you lay side by side, you the little spoon to his big one. That night was the first night in a long time that you fell straight to sleep, dreamless and settled.

 -

 Breezing into the communal kitchen early afternoon you were met by several your teammates slumped at the breakfast bar nursing strong coffees and dark circles under their eyes. 

 “Afternoon everyone!” You were perky and had a spring in your step, having just returned from a yoga class.

 You were met by a quiet chorus of mumbled hellos, and you smiled as you searched the cupboards for a clean mug. Finally resorting to the dishwasher, you bent over and selected a mug, hearing an intake of breath behind you;

 “Hunny, how did you get those marks on your ass?” Natasha asked as she saw your workout shorts ride up.

 Pouring a cup of coffee from the jug you smiled;

 “Oh, that’s where Bucky spanked me as he fucked me last night”

 Steve sprayed his coffee over the counter at your words, Clint paused mid banana and let out a quiet ‘huh’. Before you could say anything else Bucky breezed into the room, fresh from showering after his workout, wrapping his arm around your waist and pressing a kiss to your lips before he snuck your coffee out of your hand and took a deep gulp;

 “You busy this afternoon Babe?”

 “Nope, can we fuck?”

 Thankfully you could lipread Bucky’s answer, as the room erupted into groans and cries of ‘get a room’, and as you left with Bucky’s arm around your shoulder you grinned at him;

 “I like you like this, Miss No-Filter”

[randomfandom815]

Defending the women of LOST/Sexism in LOST

People say they don’t like Kate Austen because she’s “annoying” “can’t choose between Jack and Sawyer” “always wants to join every single mission”. Kate has way bigger things to worry about than sorting out her romantic feelings. Yes, she is developing feelings for both Jack and Sawyer, but she doesn’t have time to figure them out while trying to survive on the island. And the fact that people don’t like her because of the whole “I’m coming with you” thing is a little ridiculous, because they’re hating Kate for wanting to protect her friends and do whatever she can to help. You know who else does that? Jack. But plenty of people love him for those very same reasons. Yeah, a lot of Kate’s character was centered around the love triangle, but that isn’t the character’s fault, it the writers’s.

Then there’s Claire Littleton. People always complain about her “my baby!” thing, but... she only actually says that a few times, AND, if your child was taken from you or you thought your child was going to be hurt, wouldn't you be worried out of your mind? Wouldn’t you want to do anything to help them? People also criticize Claire for her entire Season 6 arc. She was alone, on the island, thinking everyone had abandoned her, with only the MIB for company. She was also tortured by the temple Others, who she thought had taken her child. Claire was a single mother who just wanted to keep her son safe, give her a break. 

Sun-Hwa Kwon is a character who actually doesn’t receive that much hate, but there is still the fact that people don’t like her because she left Ji Yeon to go back to the island for Jin. Here’s the thing: Sun had no way of knowing what was would happen on the island. She had no way of knowing that Jin had time traveled to the past, and she had no way of knowing what would happen with the MIB/Locke. She thought that she would be able to go to the island, bring Jin and the others back, and the two of them would reunite with Ji Yeon. And then in the submarine incident, Sun didn't want Jin to stay. She wanted him to live and take care of Ji Yeon. It was Jin who made the decision to die with her, not Sun.

Shannon Rutherford is a very unlikable character. Even I don’t enjoy her character, or Boone, and that is a view shared by many other people in the fandom. Many people call her selfish, spoiled, and just plain rude. And she was all of those things, but that wasn’t her entire character. Remember, they had all just been through a plane crash, landed on an island with no chance of rescue. Also, friendly reminder that she was only 20 years old. She was scared, and her way of coping with that was to try to do something normal. Let’s not forget, in Pilot, Part 2, she volunteered to go on the mission to fix the transceiver. She was constantly feeling useless, and it didn’t help that other characters, especially Boone, were constantly putting her down and mocking her. When she started to see Walt, she genuinely made an attempt to help him, even though she wasn’t sure if he was even there. Her death was untimely, and I wished we had gotten to see her grow more as a person. Also, her death was used for shock value and to further Sayid’s character development.

And now, one of the most hated characters of LOST, Ana Lucia Cortez. Now, while the characters I mentioned above were shit on and criticized, Ana Lucia was absolutely hated by the fandom. People hated her attitude, her toughness, her dislike of most of the people around her, and the fact that she killed Shannon (who, by the way, was just as disliked by many Ana Lucia haters). You know who else has a similar attitude? Who has that same toughness and dislike of people? Who else killed someone? That would be Sawyer, a fan-favorite, white male character who is beloved by the fandom. Now, for the last point, what I am comparing here is Ana Lucia killing Shannon to Sawyer killing the man he thought was Frank Sawyer in Australia, right before flight 815. Ana Lucia killed Shannon because she was trying to protect the people she was leading (including Sawyer!) from who she thought was the Others, and killing Shannon was an accident. Sawyer killed the man completely on purpose and out of revenge. Oh, and it wasn’t even the right person. Yes, I am aware of the man Ana killed long before flight 815 out of revenge, but if we can take her very small amount of character development, in which she refused to kill Henry Gale, a known Other at that point. Whereas Sawyer was still willing to kill a bunch of people in Season 6, the end of his character arc. And yet, Sawyer is still in most people’s top five characters lists (just to be clear, I do not hate Sawyer at all, and this is not anti Sawyer but pro Ana Lucia). You may argue that people love Sawyer because of his character development, which I do agree with. However, Ana Lucia was never given the chance to have Sawyer-like character development because she was killed off in the same season that she was introduced in. She wasn’t even allowed to be in the church in the flash-sideways, and she didn’t get to “move on.” Ana Lucia deserved way better than the death for shock value that she got.

Next up on the list is Juliet Burke. She, like Sun, also isn’t the target of a lot of hate, but there are still things that need defending. The first thing is, of course, her sudden change of mind when it came to detonating the hydrogen bomb in Season 5. Yes, it was selfish of her to endanger everyone on the island just because of the way Sawyer looked at Kate. But if the plan did actually work, which she thought it would, that meant she would lose everything she had gained over the past few years, including Sawyer. Juliet is incredibly kind and feminine while also being badass at the same time, which is amazing because you don’t usually see those two traits coinciding (usually a badass character isn’t very feminine and a “traditionally feminine” character isn’t a good fighter). As for all of her motives in Season 3, Juliet was trapped on the island for three years. All she wanted to do was leave and go home to her sister. Yes, she manipulated Sun, but right after that, she made things right by helping Jack make a plan to stop the Others. Her death was heroic, and I’m glad she was finally able to be happy in the flash-sideways. (I am declining to mention her whole relationship with Goodwin and all the drama with Ben, although I might dive into that in another post). 

Now, the character Rose Nadler has almost nothing that needs to be defended. She is a constant wise voice of reason who isn’t concerned with the drama of the rest of the survivors. Her relationship with her husband Bernard is very sweet, but she doesn’t let that stop her from doing the smart thing (like stopping his SOS sign idea). Not only that, but Rose has one of the best (and most meta) lines on the show: “If you say live together, die alone to me, Jack, I’m going to punch you in the face.”

Another character who doesn't need much defending is Charlotte Lewis, but not for the same reason as Rose. Charlotte was done dirty by the writers. Of the science team, she is the least fleshed out and explored. She had a single flashback and a little bit of exposition information from Ben, but that’s pretty much it. Every significant thing she did was for the sake of other characters. She had a fake-out death so Ben would reveal that he had a spy on the boat. She was taken to the Barracks so that members of Jack’s group would have a reason to go there. Her going to the Barracks was also an excuse to get Miles and Kate there. And she only died/was dying for shock value, to up the stakes of the time flashes, to provide more questions to the characters and the audience, and to further Daniel’s character development. In the flash-sideways, all she did was go on a date with Sawyer and further his character development. She didn't get to go to the church and move on. Daniel and Miles, the other members of her team, on the other hands were given compelling backstories and centric episodes.

Penelope Widmore is similar to Charlotte in that there isn’t much to defend because she doesn’t do much that affects the plot. Nearly everything she does is about Desmond, and the writers barely even gave her a personality. I’m sure Penny was an actually interesting person, if they had bothered her to give her any storyline that didn't involve her love interest.

Danielle Rousseau is a character that kind of slides in and out of the story as needed. Now, Danielle isn’t the subject of a lot of criticism just because she isn’t very focused on, but from what I have seen, here’s what I have to say: Danielle was alone on the island for sixteen years. And for sixteen years, she had to live with the knowledge that she was forced to kill the man she loved and her team. Not to mention the fact that her daughter, Alex, was taken away from her when she was just a week old. Can you blame Danielle for being paranoid? Her death was not a fair end to the character, and it was only used to kill off Danielle quickly and provide shock value.

Her daughter, Alex Rousseau, is similar to Charlotte and Penny in that she doesn’t need to be defended because everything she does is to affect other characters. In this case, those characters are Ben and Danielle (especially Ben in the later seasons). Danielle’s entire character is centered around the fact that she lost Alex and has been searching for her, and Ben’s motivations after Season 4 are largely motivated by Alex’s death. She herself doesn’t have much of a character arc, and her death was only to provide shock value and further Ben’s character development.

Another character that falls into the category of not having much to defend because every action is for someone else is Libby Smith. Once the tailies and the main survivors joined together, she was almost immediately shoved in a relationship with Hurley. The only things we knew about her backstory were that her husband died, she was a clinical psychologist, she was in the same mental hospital as Hurley, and she gave Desmond a boat. That’s it. She didn’t have a centric episode, and she only appeared in other people’s flashbacks. Her death was only to provide shock value and further Hurley’s character development, as well to show that Michael betrayed the survivors. 

Notice how many of these women died for shock value and/or to further a man’s character development? Notice how many of these women are disliked for traits that other characters are loved for? Notice how many of them barely exist as their own character without a man? I love LOST, I really do, but their treatment of female characters needed a lot of improvement.

[samwisethewitch]

a real witch reviews the arcana (aka that phone game based on tarot cards that keeps showing up on your explore page)

I’ve been seeing The Arcana all over Tumblr and Instagram for several months now, and since I am a Genuine Real Life Witch™️ and have been reading tarot for several years now, I thought it would be fun to play the game and review it both from a gamer perspective and a witch/tarot reader perspective. 

Spoiler: I really, really like it.

Please note that I have done virtually no research into the developer or development history of this game. This review is based purely on my experience from my playthroughs. 

So what is The Arcana?

The Arcana is a fantasy/romance visual novel created by Nix Hydra Games. A visual novel is an interactive, text-based story with static visuals, so it’s almost more like an interactive graphic novel than a video game. Honestly, visual novels remind me of those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books that were really popular in the 1980s and 1990s more than anything else. 

(Note: I recently learned that a visual novel is NOT the same thing as a dating sim, although the two genres are similar and do sometimes overlap. Dating sims... simulate dating. That’s really all there is to them. Visual novels typically have a more plot-focused story, and may have other stuff going on besides the romance.)

The story of The Arcana follows the player character, a magician’s apprentice living in the fictional city-state of Vesuvia, who is enlisted to track down a suspected murderer. Where the story goes from there depends on which route you choose to play. There are currently six routes, each with a different love interest. Each route has its own unique story, although obviously there are some overlapping elements.

Sam the Gamer’s Review

Like I mentioned, The Arcana is essentially an interactive novel, so I’m reviewing it the way I’d review a book. So, let’s just run down some of the typical book review questions, shall we?

Is the content good? Yes. It has gotta be difficult to juggle six parallel storylines and make all of them equally compelling, but this game pulls it off. There were parts that genuinely had me in suspense, other parts that had me giggling at my phone, and some parts that were (intentionally) frustrating. I’m really impressed with how each route is totally different from the others -- not just in content, but even in tone. For example, Portia’s route comes across as much more lighthearted and fluffy, whereas Julian and Muriel both have a lot of angst in their respective stories. It’s really well done.

Are the characters well-rounded and realistic? Again, yes. Okay, “realistic” may be a bit of a stretch in some cases Vlastomil but all six of the main romanceable characters have fleshed out personalities that feel natural within the story world. The side characters in this game are also really interesting, although I do wish some of them had bigger roles in the story.

What about the technical stuff (dialogue, grammar, etc.)? For the most part, it’s pretty good. The dialogue flows naturally, and different characters have different speaking styles, which is a little thing that makes SUCH a big difference. I noticed a couple of typos, but nothing too crazy.

The gameplay was pretty good. The only real mechanic is choosing one of two or three dialogue options at certain points in the game. There are a couple of places in each route where these choices are timed, but other than that it’s a very stress-free gaming experience.

Another thing that impresses me from both a writing and a gameplay angle is the multiple ending mechanic. Your choices matter in this game. Each of the routes has an “upright” ending and a “reversed” ending. I’m not exactly sure which choices affect the ending you get, but I’ve only managed to get “upright” endings so far, and I didn’t have to do anything special to unlock them.

Sam the Witch/Tarot Reader’s Review

Honestly, I did not expect this game to be as accurate with its depiction of magick and the Tarot as it was. 

Each character is based on one of the Major Arcana, and I feel like they did a really good job of matching their personalities to their cards. Nadia is based on the High Priestess so she’s very intuitive and intelligent but tends to be distant and hard to read, Julian is based on the Hanged Man so he feels the need to sacrifice himself for others (with lots of gallows humor along the way), Lucio is based on the Devil so he’s a fucking bitch all about power and excess, etc. 

I reeeeaaalllyy like the use of “upright” and “reversed” endings instead of the typical good vs. bad endings -- based on upright vs. reversed meanings of Tarot cards, of course. I also really love that the reversed endings aren’t 100% negative, just like how reversed cards in readings aren’t necessarily negative.

I don’t wanna spoil anything, but I also really like how the upright endings deal with the upright traits of that character’s Major Arcana card, while the reversed endings deal with the reversed traits of that card.

This game also includes some pretty realistic depictions of witchcraft and magick. Obviously because it’s a fantasy world there is fantasy magic involved, but astral travel is a major theme in pretty much every route, and the way it’s depicted in the game is very similar to my real life experiences with it. 

There’s one character who is a kitchen witch and makes homemade enchanted food with magickal herbs, which made me feel warm and fuzzy because it reminded me of all the times I’ve used kitchen magick to make charmed food for myself and my loved ones.

Tarot readings are obviously a big deal within the story world, but there’s also a character who uses runestones! Which I think is neat!!

They mention some real-life magickal plants. Myrrh being used for protection comes up a lot, which, in case anyone was curious, is actually one of the common uses for myrrh in spellcraft.

They clearly did their research and honestly I’m thrilled.

Other Cool Stuff About This Game

It’s probably the most queer-inclusive video game I’ve ever played. Right off the bat, you’re given the choice to choose between he/him, she/her, or they/them pronouns for your character. The pronouns you pick do not affect the story in any way.

All six love interests are romanceable no matter what gender you play as. Which means this is canonically a universe in which everyone is queer. Hell yeah.

Two of the six current romanceable characters are women, and one is nonbinary. The routes for these characters are just as well written and romantic, with just as many wink-wink-nudge-nudge innuendos, as the men’s. There are also multiple nonbinary side characters.

Also! Racial and ethnic diversity in the main cast! And the main characters all have different body types, which is another nice touch.

This is nerdy as hell but I love how the different cultures and ethnic groups in the game are based on real-life cultures? It’s just one of those little things that makes my heart happy.

The art style is pretty as fuck.

In conclusion: I feel like this review is overwhelmingly positive but I just genuinely can’t think of any major criticisms of this game. It’s fun, it’s free, there was clearly a lot of thought put into it. I was really pleasantly surprised. Everybody go download it and play it. You’ll have a good time, and afterwards you’ll understand all the memes.

P.S. I know people are gonna ask so: I chose Julian for my first playthrough because he’s tall and goth and has messy hair and that’s honestly all I look for in a man. Now that I’ve played all six routes, Portia’s is probably my favorite because it’s so cute and wholesome and I just really want a soft bookworm girlfriend, please. Lucio’s route is a close second because after seeing him as an antagonist in everyone else’s routes it’s actually really interesting to see his story told from a sympathetic angle! But like I said, I’ve played all six routes.

[captain-azoren]

Legend of Korra books 3 & 4

Finished rewatching books 3 and 4 of Korra. Here on my thoughts on them and the series as a whole after seeing it again after so many years.

I think books 3 and 4 are pretty solid. Aside from a few flaws, I think 3 is the overall best with the best pacing. I think a big issue with book 2 was that it was trying and failing to juggle a very big cast and multiple subplots that made it feel like a mess. That’s not an issue with 3 or 4, where every character has a relevant purpose and plot threads come together more naturally. 

4 does this a little bit worse as I think the plot kind of starts and stops a couple of times, but it’s not terrible. Kuvira’s build up as a villain is very shaky when compared to Amon and Zaheer, but still better than Unalaq’s arc going down the drain. It really does seem like the worst parts of her villainy are told and not shown (those being the reeducation camps and slave labor). I think they could have shown at least one of these camps instead of just seeing the escapees that Varrick and Bolin meet.

I still think the Red Lotus are the best antagonists in LoK just for having the best arc overall. They had Amon’s intrigue, stayed consistent in their motivations like Kuvira, and they have the most dimensions overall just from the little bits of interaction we see of them. What’s more, they didn’t disappoint me in the end.

The Colossus I didn’t mind or find out of place. It just doesn’t bother me when the show has had Koizilla and giant drills in AtLA. I can understand how the mechanics of it work as well. I didn’t feel like my suspension of disbelief was broken considering everything else. I think fans who dislike it are more bothered by it breaking the setting further away from fantasy and into sci-fi.One question though, why does a spirit energy canon need a rifled barrel?

Mako is a much better character in 3 and 4 because he’s finally allowed to be someone other than a love interest. His interactions with Bolin can be really fun and it’s kind of a shame how often they’re separated. I also noticed on a rewatch that he does make a good detective, having good perception and coming up with ideas. It’s better than the pro-bender he started out as and probably his best strength. 

I think I actually like Mako now whereas before he was the most forgettable, and I think he deserves some looking into. A lot of the hate comes from him being put into really tough spots where he just can’t win. Mako goes from being extremely aloof to being a loyal but beleaguered straight man to the group.

Raiko I feel similarly to Mako. I think he’s another guy who keeps getting put into tough spots with no easy solution. He doesn’t really deserve hate either, and honestly probably made the best decisions he could as a president (I know from experience how bad they can be...) Him being hated and voted out in the comics seem like Bryke was over correcting, something they seem to do a lot.

Suyin I have mixed feelings on. She really does seem like someone Bryke really wanted fans to like and agree with, but they shilled her a bit too much and at the expense of Lin. Su’s apology to Lin at the end of their dispute felt kind of half-hearted, and despite being justified, the whole thing is framed as Lin being the one in the wrong, stuck in the past, unable to move on after Su had changed. We don’t see Su change though, and Su keeps acting like what she did wasn’t that big a deal, so it falls flat.

What’s more, Su continues being a big presence into book 4, and I think I have to agree with Kuvira that Su should have at least done something to help the EK out. It really does make Su come off as kind of a cowardly hypocrite who’s so afraid of looking like a dictator that she doesn’t even try to help. She doesn’t want to be treated like royalty or an authoritarian, but if you look at Zaofu the place is already set up like a small kingdom, with the Beifongs being the divine bloodline descended from Toph, the strongest bender to ever live. Su is a queen in all but name, and if she was so afraid of looking like a dictator she could have just given up the power like Kuvira was supposed to have done. Su just rubs me the wrong way from start to finish, and it’s partly because the show doesn’t challenge her or make her change. It just expects us to see her as being right, and she just isn’t.

Bolin being a lava bender I remember being really excited for, because it was something I predicted when I first saw it years ago. I don’t have a problem with how he discovered it. It’s not the best way I’d like see someone discover a new power, but I think it’s better than when Korra finally got airbending (though that didn’t bother me too much either). It just kind of made sense to me and finally gave something else to stand out besides comic relief.

The air kids got better in 3 and 4 too. Meelo got less annoying, Jinora was more fleshed out, and I actually really like Ikki in book 4.

Now Korra and Asami. I think Korra is maybe at her most static in book 3, but her arc in book 4 is the most interesting as she had to build herself back up. I don’t agree with some of the things that are just told to the viewer, like how she needed to learn from her enemies. At the finale Korra says she had to suffer to learn compassion, but it’s not like Korra wasn’t a compassionate person already. Korra’s arc seemed more centered on dealing with trauma and finding her purpose in a world that seemed hellbent on telling her she wasn’t needed. I don’t know if that was some kind of meta commentary, but it does work.

I do like Korra’s overall development from where she was in book 1. If I had to put it into words, I think her story is about trying to fulfill a role that she’s been groomed for her whole life, trying to live up to expectations, pushed into doing what others want her to do, failing those things, then finding the strength and resolve to achieve success on her own terms, even if it’s not what everyone wants. Korra gradually learns to stop being a tool for world leaders to use to keep order or power. It’s not always done well, but it’s there.

It’s nice to see her and Asami be friends after the love triangle stuff. It’s kind of surprising, but they didn’t really interact all that much in the first two books all things considered. Asami doesn’t change a whole lot throughout the series, but her reconnecting with her dad at the end felt satisfying.

I’ll be honest, I never really saw Korrasami happening and didn’t view much of their interactions as being romantic in nature. I think only the letter writing and their reunion seems a little shippy, but not very obvious. That said, I can buy the two of them finally realizing they might be attracted to each other at the finale, as a beginning to their relationship. The real problem is that shippers and even Bryke overhyped this moment up as it being ENDGAME rather than treating it as what is was, a spark of attraction. Korra and Asami aren’t in love yet, they’re just going on their first official date.

I do like them being together though. It seems a lot healthier than other potential relationships, and let’s be real here; Asami NEEDED something to make her happy because holy shit has she be through a lot by the end of the series. Dumped by Mako twice, almost lost her company and lost her dad after she forgave him. Give the poor rich girl a break.

So, final thoughts on the series as a whole; it’s not as good as AtLA, but that’s mostly on the execution. LoK was messy and had issues, but it did eventually smooth things out after a lot of course correcting. There are things I don’t like, but not enough for me to write it off, and it has plenty of strengths that make it deserving of a watch if you keep an open mind. 

I remember ThunderCats 2011 getting a lot of flak too, and that’s one of my favorite shows ever despite its glaring flaws, so I really can’t work up the energy to trash LoK. I know plenty of people can connect to it even if I don’t, at least not fully, and I honestly do believe that overall LoK’s strengths outweigh its flaws, even if it can be inconsistent and unpolished.

LoK may take place in the same world as AtLA, but it is a very fundamentally different series, and beyond a few very core basics of storytelling I think it’s a little unfair to compare the two. It’s not the masterpiece it could have been, but at the end I still enjoyed it. I might have more thoughts later, but these are what I have for now.

[pinkbubbles-and-bigtroubles]

Honey and Spice

Nevermind me just being my typical whore self for Luke Hemmings

I blame @wildmichaelflower​ for starting this whole mess along with all of y’all posting those pics of Luke’s peaches today. Hot Damn, Luke is so fucking sexy it is unreal. Anyway, this is Pink Kink so it’s definitely NSFW. There’s spanking, oral, cockwarming, a bit of cumplay so enjoy! It’s also my first Lashton smut so there’s something new.

Lola had a tendency to get car sick and Ashton was the only one sober so they'd had no choice but to put a drunk Honey and Luke together in the back seat to take everyone home. He watched Calum buckling a very sleepy kitten into the Uber talking the rest of the group home as everyone said goodbye and wished Luke a final happy birthday.

On the way home the backseat got more rambunctious with Luke and Honey singing off key and trying to make the other laugh. Ashton rolled his eyes and looked over at Lola in the passenger seat, but she was wine tipsy and giggling along with them. He caught Honey's eye in the rearview mirror as she pulled another funny face making Luke laugh so hard he kicked the back of Ashton's seat. This time Lola threw a sharp look at both of them and the giggling stopped, for a second, until Ashton started cracking up at the two pouty faces from Honey and Luke "getting in trouble." 

They pulled into Lola's driveway and everyone piled out of the car. Honey had to use the bathroom so they all went inside. Lola led Ashton and Luke the kitchen, poured another glass of wine for herself and coffee for everyone else. Honey came back and poked Luke in the ribs making him giggle again.

"Happy birthday Luke," she told him, landing a big smacking kiss on his cheek. "You're 24, that's gonna be fun for you." 

They all looked at her, eyebrows raised at her suggestive tone before exchanging glances and smiles between each other.  

"What do you mean by that?" Luke asked. He tried to look innocent, turning those big blue eyes towards her, but he couldn't keep the cheesy grin off his face. The sight made Lola snort with laughter, Luke was not subtle. Honey almost lost it but then she glanced at Ashton, who was looking at her with an evil smirk on his face. 

"Yeah, what are you trying to say, baby girl?" He asked, leaning forward in his seat.

Honey slid her feet together, put her hands behind her back, dipped her chin down and looked up through her lashes at Ashton. 

"It's ok if I say it?" Honey asked, her voice sweet but sultry. 

Lola leaned back against the counter watching them as Ashton nodded slowly and held out his hand, palm facing up. In response, Honey walked over to him before slowly squatting down, eyes on Ashton the whole time. When she stood back up she dropped her panties into his open hand, receiving a tiny kiss on the nose from Ashton. Luke and Lola exchanged smiles at the sight. 

Honey put her hands behind her back again before she spoke. 

"I know on my birthday I got 22 swats and it was amazing. Daddy turned my ass so red I could barely sit the next day and had to lay on my stomach, but Daddy took good care of me. I bet Lola does the same to you." 

"You two are up to something aren't you?" Lola asked.

"No, but he said something about how you were going to spank him later and I can't get it out of my head," Honey replied, ducking her head away from Lola's gaze. 

"You're so cute when you act shy," Ashton laughed, "so what are you thinking Honey? You want to watch?" 

"Well yeah, but" Honey hesitated, and glanced at Lola.

"I think she wants to help," Lola walked over to them, grabbing Luke's wrist as she passed him.  She stood next to Ashton, leaning on him with her elbow propped on his shoulder, Luke hovering over her shoulder. "I didn't know you were into that." 

Honey looked up at the three of them towering over her. Lola in heels was taller than Luke and just as broad whereas she'd slipped off her shoes and stood all of 5'1. She quivered at the feeling of being small and helpless surrounded by them.

"I'm not usually, but Luke's ass in those pants are obscene," Honey said and Luke turned and wiggled his butt at them.

"She's not wrong," Lola agreed.

"It's lost on Ashton," Luke pouted. "He only has eyes for Calum's sweet cheeks." 

"Y'all have fun, I'm gonna watch," Ashton told them.

"Oh we'll get you involved, but let's move to the living room and get comfortable. I've got a new flogger we were going to use tonight." They followed her and she started giving instructions. 

"Guys if you could please move the coffee table over by the wall. Ashton, I think you'll be most comfortable in the beige chair. Luke I want you bent over the burgundy chair. Don't take anything off until we get back." 

Luke had just gotten into position when they came back. 

Lola ran her hand along the red and white striped fabric with a sigh. "It really does look obscene in these pants." She gave him a hard smack, the sound reverberating through the room. Luke whined and pushed his ass higher. Lola grinned and landed several more in quick succession alternating cheeks. Luke moaned louder each time, his fingers digging into the leather arms of the chair. Honey's eyes were wide, Lola could see she was excited because her pupils were dilated and her cheeks were flushed. Lola stepped back, "Show me what you've got." 

Honey struck him, surprised by the firmness under her hand. 

"Harder," Luke whined, pushing back.

Lola grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head back. 

"Did you say something?" Lola hissed.

"No ma'am," Luke moaned, unable to contain it. 

"Sure you didn't. Honey, undo his belt and pull his pants down to his ankles." 

"Underwear too or just pants?"

"Luke isn't wearing any, not in those pants," Lola told her. Lola took the belt from her and handed Honey a brown leather flogger with about a dozen thin leather strips. "This is moose leather, doesn't have a lot of sting but makes a good sound." She walked behind Honey and stood behind her, guiding her arm and wrist through the motion. "Ok go ahead," Lola stepped back. "Count for her Luke." 

Honey landed the first blow. Her eyes lit up and her mouth pulled into and "o" at the sound. She looked over at Ashton, who was sitting to her right at a slight angle so he could see everything. She hit him again, harder, and saw the pink stripes beginning to show on his pale skin. Lola rubbed her hand over the marks to soothe the sting. They got up to twelve before Lola stopped her again, soothing Luke's heated flesh. 

Luke whined but didn't say anything and Honey looked at Lola more curious than concerned. 

"He wants more pain, but he's loving the attention. Aren't you Curls?" Lola tugged his blonde hair. Lola picked up a slightly bigger flogger, this one bright red. "This is the new one, it's bull leather. Still soft but it's got more bite. We broke the last couple we had." 

Honey turned it over,  looking at it, feeling the leather between her fingers, inhaling the scent before handing it back to Lola. 

"Can I feel it?" Honey asked, turning around. "I mean, really feel it?" 

Lola looked at Ashton who nodded. "It's her scene. I just can't strike her like that, but this is hot." 

Honey hiked her skirt up and turned her back towards Ashton. She caught Luke smirking at her in the mirror as she watched Lola's arm come up. She jumped at the blow and saw Ashton flinch. 

"Can I have another?" Honey felt the slap across her thighs and moaned at the sting. 

"Told you," Luke mouthed at her silently when he caught her eye.

 Lola motioned for Ashton to come over. He knelt down behind Honey, his hands caressing the red marks already starting to show. She could see he was aroused, but he was conflicted by it because he was so protective. Honey decided to let it go for now because tonight was about paddling Luke's ass not hers. 

Ashton rose to his feet as Honey took the whip back from Lola. He sat back down as Honey went through the motions again before the leather met Luke's cheeks. They seemed to jiggle in slow motion as the heavy straps hit hard with a loud thud. Luke groaned, his knees buckled a bit but he quickly thrust his hips back for more. Lola nodded and she hit him again. 

"Fourteen,"  the word caught in Luke's throat. 

Six more before Lola paused again, standing Luke up running her nails along his broad back gently cooing in his ear. This part Lola handled herself and Honey knew how comforting it was. She had to resist the urge to go curl up in Ashton's lap and let his fingers slip inside her. Lola caught her looking though and shook her head. 

"Finish what you started chica, then you can have Daddy's cock. Give him four more, and hit him across the thighs this time." 

Luke whimpered with each blow and Honey could see him in the mirror, red-faced with tears in his eyes. Still, he kept counting off, pushing back for more, his dick hard and twitching flat against his stomach the pleasure clear on his face. They got to twenty-three and Honey stopped. Luke's ass was bright red and she could hear him sniffle, Honey knew the feeling of absorbing the pain, wanting to push a little further than maybe you should. She hesitated, worried again she'd gone too far since this wasn't how she usually acted. However, Lola was right there and she wasn't going to let Luke go past his limits. 

Luke smiled at her through tears. "One more Honey, let me have it." 

Honey landed the final blow, not giving it quite as much sting. She handed the flogger to Lola and rushed over to Ashton, suddenly overwhelmed. Ashton stood up, wrapped her in his arms, kissed the top of her head and began rubbing her back. Honey began to come down from the adrenaline rush, still very much turned on. Honey watched Lola tenderly rub cream into Luke's swollen skin. She praised him and showered him with kisses. Luke was still painfully hard and pressed against Ashton, Honey realized Ashton was too. Lola motioned to Ashton who led Honey back over to them. 

Lola and Luke were smiling at her, and Lola reached out to stroke her cheek. 

"I wasn't sure you'd be able to finish, but you handled a flogger like a pro. We might have to give you another swing at Luke sometime, but first, let's finish taking care of my sweet boy.  I've got an idea, and Ashton if you'd play along. Honey, I want you on your knees so I can watch you suck Luke off, but I want you sitting on Ashton's lap with his cock inside you.

Honey looked up at Ashton who had a huge grin spreading across his face. Lola played right into his exhibitionist streak, there's no way he'd say no. Ashton knelt down, sitting back on his feet so Honey could stand up on her knees in front of Luke and Ashton could slip inside her from behind.

Honey moaned as both men entered her at once. Luke's length sliding along her tongue and hitting the back of her throat while Ashton stretched her walls and she closed around his shaft, his arm holding her in place while he struggled to keep from moving. Honey let her mind go blank and focused on pleasing them. Her mouth worked Luke over, letting him use her throat as a fuck toy, gagging on his length. Each time she gagged she contracted her pussy around Ashton squeezing him as tightly as she could. Both men were practically drooling messes as she let them fill her up.  Honey's juices ran down Ashton's thighs even though he wasn't moving inside of her. She wasn't frustrated, in fact it was a huge rush to give her body over to their pleasure, knowing Ashton would see she was taken care of later. 

Lola stood behind Luke whispering in his ear, her fingers playing at his tight hole, opening him up and easing inside. Luke staggered and almost fell when she hit his prostate, but Lola held him up. "Come on Lu, cum for us baby. I wanna if she can swallow it all." 

Honey hollowed her cheeks and bobbed her head. Her fist closed around Luke's length, pumping him towards his climax. Luke grabbed her hair, holding on as he fucked her face. The motion caused her to rock back and forth on Ashton giving him just enough friction to edge him closer to his own orgasm. 

Luke shouted and threw his head back with a loud curse as Lola pushed deeper and hit his deepest spots. His fists bunched in Honey's hair as he erupted down her throat. She almost gagged but she held on swallowing every drop until Luke finally let her go. 

She sputtered and coughed as she gasped for air her whole body shaking. That sent Ashton over the edge as his fingers dug into her hips rutting up into her until he saw stars. His whole body trembled still wrapped around hers as Honey clenched down and milked his cock with her walls. Her own orgasm was achingly close and as soon as Ashton could find his legs Honey found herself being lifted into the air.  Ashton was still behind her but he'd hooked his arms under her thighs holding her up and spread open for Luke. 

Luke dropped to his knees, those blue eyes cloudy with the high of his own release as he bent down to Honey's waiting sex. His tongue teased and probed her folds cleaning the mess Ashton left behind. Honey moaned at the sensation of being so exposed and open like that.  Luke sucked her clit between his lips as his fingers entered her. Ashton began kissing her neck in the spot he knew made her crazy and the two of them found a rhythm that had her spine tingling. Her legs began to shake, Luke was relentless, not letting up for a second until she was cumming almost his face. Her juices ran down his chin dripping onto his chest as her orgasm soaked them both. Luke stood up and pulled his fingers out of her. He placed them in Ashton's mouth as he leaned down to kiss Honey. Her body was pressed between the men as Luke let them taste her pleasure together. 

When Ashton put her down and the guys started to pull up their pants Honey went back on her knees. Her hands behind her back, her dress now stained and ripped off her shoulder she waited, her eyes on Lola. Lola realized this before the guys did and stepped up directly in front of her.

"Do you need something?" Lola asked.

"Need to please you, ma'am," Honey answered looking up at her. 

"Hmmm," Lola thought about it. She knew if she had a big orgasm she would have a huge drop in libido, and she wasn't ready for that yet. There were other ways, however. Lola pulled Honey's head between her legs, lifting her skirt so Honey could lap at her now drenched core through her pantyhose. Patiently Honey continued long slow licks setting Lola's whole body on fire. Luke came up behind her, his hands slipping in Lola's bra and playing with her nipple piercings as Lola's excitement grew. Luke listened and watched her face until she was almost there before he reached out and heels Honey's head completely still. She froze where she was, tongue flat against the other woman's silk-covered pleasure center, not even breathing as Lola teetered on the edge. Lola's body quivered and shook but she held on. Honey heels the other woman's legs open until Lola nodded and helped her up. 

Luke was still wrapped around Lola nuzzled into her neck as he thanked Honey and Ashton for the birthday present. Ashton knew Lola had more plans for Luke that night so he quickly made excuses for them to leave. On the drive home, they talked about what just happened. 

"Are you going to be a badass like Lola and Miss now? Should I be worried?" Ashton teased.

"God no, it's way too much work. Luke is a fun indulgence, but nothing is better than you." Honey reached over and squeezed his thigh. "What do you think those two will get up to tonight?" 

"She's going to set the camera up and rail his ass. Just the way Luke likes it," Ashton was surprised at the thoughtful look on Honey's face. "What is it? Are you wanting to try pegging now? You won't even let me try anal." 

"Your dick is too big Daddy," she shot back. "Who knows maybe we can trade, my ass for yours. Now pull into this drive-thru. I'm always hungry after I cum." 

"No way there's like seventeen cars in line," Ashton told her pulling over into the turn lane.

"Perfect," she replied unbuckling her seat belt. "I can suck you off while we wait."

@castaway-cashton ​ @sexgodashton​ @mermaidcashton​ @sublimehood​ @tea4sykes​ @notinthesameguey​ @kiiiimberlyriiiicker1995​ @ghostofmashton​ @damselindistressanu​

[crimsonredemption]

It’s over, isn’t it?

follow-up Oneshot to never enough 

Javier x GN!Reader  /  platonic Arthur x GN!Reader   //     Angst      //          ca 2800 words  //  a huge thank you to @cupofcowboys for beta-reading!

TW: Death, Chapter 6 spoilers

Only four days had passed since you left Javier’s tent, but you couldn’t get yourself to leave camp completely - not yet. You hated Beavers Hollow, hated how tense everyone was, hated the way Dutch seemed to care less and less about those he swore to protect and love, hated to see Arthur getting sicker by the day. But worst of all was seeing Javier drift into an abyss of anger and bitterness, blind loyalty guiding his way. The two of you avoided each other, not having shared a single word. But sometimes you could swear you feel his gaze linger on you, just for a moment but when you turn, he’s gone. He was there in flesh and blood, and yet, you felt haunted by him as though he were a ghost. 

You weren’t the only one who noticed the ongoing decay of your big family; some people had already left camp in the dead of night, slipping out while they still could. You couldn’t blame them. Leaving was what you wanted to do as well, but with every day that passed you felt the life you had hoped for, the life you had wished for, slipping through your fingers like fine sand, and there was nothing you could do about it. Something always held you back from leaving, one day it was the bad weather - the next day Arthur needed your help, it was never a good time. 

Your mind wandered back to Javier, eyes scanning camp for him almost automatically. He sat next to Micah, a sight all too common in the past few weeks. Just thinking about the way Micah slithered his way into Javier`s trust made the hair your neck stand up, it was almost ironic. Javier never had any respect for Micah, never once shared more than two friendly words with him and yet here they were - close and tight. 

The weight of a hand on your shoulder snapped you out of your thoughts. Raising your chin, you saw Arthur looking down at you, the usual half-smile on his lips. Looking at him, your eyebrows furrowed visibly, his condition worse since the last time you saw him.

“Look at this mess we made Y/N,” he said in a voice low and breathy, always on the edge of coughing and you found yourself anticipating it, but it didn’t come. 

“It’s a mess alright,” you whisper.

“I always thought...you know, the two of you would make it outta here. I hoped to see you and Javier leave and live, you know...a happy life.” Arthur adds, his eyes searching for something in the distance.

Your hands were kneading a piece of cloth while you fought the urge to cry, to just let out all your frustration and anger at the world. But while your emotions weighed on you like a mountain, only a single tear found its way along your cheek, only to land on your hand that was laying in your lap. You didn’t dare answer him, you just couldn’t. But seeing the way your shoulders tensed up and how tightly your hands were clenched, Arthur laid an arm around your shoulder - offering you all the comfort he could provide for the moment. 

You were both content in your embrace until Arthur straightened his back, signaling that he was about to get up from the log you were sitting on. You expected him to get up and leave, but to your surprise he squatted down in front of you, cupping your hands with his. 

“Things are about to get messy here Y/N, I’d rather you’re not here to see it. If you don’t know where to go, search for Charles. He’s with the people in the reservation.” he explained in a hushed voice as if he was afraid someone could hear. Only now you saw that he had one of your bags around his shoulder. You were at a loss for words, opening and closing your mouth to answer him time and again, but no words left your lips. Your eyes left Arthur’s face and searched for Javier, who only a few minutes ago had been sitting not too far from you, but now he was gone. Your heart ached for him, to see his face one last time before you left the hell that was Beaver Hollow. But what exactly did you hope to see? Eyes that once held so much love and care for you, now carrying no more than resentment? No. It was better he wasn’t here to see you leave camp for good, it would make things easier for you. 

Once you had your belongings and weapons on your horse, you were ready to go. It was awfully quiet at camp. After taking in a deep breath you turned to face Arthur. “Thank you, Arthur, for everything you’ve done for me, for all of us. These fools don’t know half of it.” you murmured while leaning in to hug the bigger man.

“Don’t mention it.” was all he said, he was a man of few words after all. 

After saying your goodbye to Arthur, you led your horse down the trail that leads away from camp. Sunlight was shimmering through the treetops as you walked on, and lost in your thoughts you didn’t notice when you passed Javier, who was standing a little offside the road, hidden between the green of the bushes. He stepped out of the shadows trailing you for a bit, but somehow his presence eluded you. 

“It’s over, isn’t it?” 

Hearing his voice made you stop in your tracks, your horse following your example after the grip of your hand on the reins hardened. It wasn’t much of a question, but more of a statement, an unshakable truth. For a moment you considered ignoring him and to just keep walking. You pondered on what to answer when a noise in front of you demanded your attention. A look over your shoulder confirmed your suspicion - Javier had a finger in front of his mouth, signaling you to keep quiet. Your eyes followed the movements of his hands and with one swift motion, he took out his knife and threw it in the direction the noise originated from. A muffled moan reached your ears and in a heartbeat, you had closed the distance between you and the man who had been hiding behind the thicket. 

“A Pinkerton?” you gasped your own knife now at the man’s throat. He struggled visibly before you, Javier's knife hit his shoulder and he was bleeding heavily. 

“Are there more of you?” Javier asked, expecting him to explain himself and their plan. Instead of giving an answer, the man spat at Javier. “This time your lot won’t have time to run...we made-” but before he could finish his sentence, Javier slit his throat. “That was all I needed to hear, Bastardo.” 

“We have to warn them, Javier, they will over-run them if we don’t.” 

“I know, you go. I’ll hold them off.” he says but you weren’t having it.

 “Javier, you only have one revolver. I have all my weapons here, I can buy you some time!” 

“But Y/N...” there was an honest concern in his eyes, and you fought off the urge to run to him. 

“No buts! Hurry now, I got this. He was only a scout, but soon the place will be buzzing with this scum!” You prayed that your nerves wouldn’t get the better of you and show how afraid you were. You didn’t know how many exactly there were, but there was no other way. His eyes were still locked with yours when he took the first few steps back in the direction of camp but soon he started running, leaving you behind for good. When he was out of sight you turned to face the other side of the road. Whatever it was coming for them, you would make sure to stand in their way.

Or so you thought.

You had been searching the area for what seemed like an eternity; realistically it was about 10 minutes since Javier left, but every minute felt stretched out indefinitely. Soon the sun would set, making it almost impossible to find people in the dark of the forest, so your best shot would be to return to the gang and help them pack up as quickly as they could. You mounted your horse and made your way back when you heard a gunshot. A sense of foreboding overcame you and you fastened your speed, making your horse give their all to you. 

When you arrived at camp you rode past the other horses, well into the camp and what you saw was far from what you had imagined the scene to look like. Instead of packing, the gang members were standing in two separate groups, one group only consisting of Arthur and John, whereas the other was made up of the rest of the gang, everybody pointing their guns at the other group. A scream escaped your mouth when you saw the body of Miss Grimshaw lying in the mud. You hurried to her side in hope to find any sign of life, but it was too late. Tears streamed down your face while you were holding her lifeless body close to you. You had always loved her like a mother, and even though she had been harsh on all of you, you knew that deep down she cared deeply for every one of the gang. 

“What happened here?” You closed the lids of her eyes before getting up, slowly and shivering with rage. “And what’s with all this bull shit here, pack your damn guns away! There are Pinkertons coming right now!!” 

Micah was the first to open his mouth. “This doesn’t concern you, pick a side or get lost!” he snarled, but you weren’t paying attention to him. Your eyes were on Javier, who had his gun out but didn’t point it at Arthur or John, unlike the others. A thousand thoughts running through your mind as you started walking towards him. Javier lowered his gun slowly, a look of bewilderment mixed with joy on his face. The thought of you returning to camp in this situation and picking Arthur’s side...he could never point a gun at you, not for everything in the world. 

“Mi Amor,” he started while reaching out for you and he wanted to say something else, but you threw yourself at him, wrapping your hands around his torso, and started weeping. There was no holding back anymore - all the bottled up emotions, fears and crushed dreams fought their way up to the surface and you could barely hold yourself up straight. An uncontrollable stream of tears wet Javier’s blue Jacket, but you didn’t care. All you wanted was to be held by him, to be comforted by the man you loved so much while the world you knew seemingly crumbled to pieces around you. You had almost forgotten how good his arms felt around you, how much you loved feeling his skin on yours. The world around you seemed to fade away, though you could hear the other man arguing with each other. Javier’s hands were stroking your back when you opened your eyes, only to see a handful of Pinkerton Agents emerging from the woods, pointing their guns at your family. Everyone else was too busy with themselves, not noticing the danger coming for them. 

Before you could open your mouth to warn them the agents opened fire, aiming for the outlaws closest to them. Javier was still holding you tightly when the first shot was fired and without so much of a second thought you turned with him, so it would be you facing the agents with your back. It was intuition that led you to do it, and not a second too late. The sound of the shot still ringing in your ear, you felt a stinging pain in your back that made you cling to Javier for a moment before your legs gave into your weight, Javier going down to the ground with you. He was still holding you, a look of complete horror on his face. You saw his mouth moving as if he was saying something, his body moving in frantic waves. You were too focused on the pain to make out what it was what he was saying though. It was different than anything you had ever felt before. You knew you were in pain, but at the same time, you felt as if your body was numb to the feeling, as if your brain couldn’t catch up to it. Slowly you started hearing the tumult around you again, screams and the sound of the fighting reaching your ears again. 

You felt your body being lifted from the ground and found yourself in Javier's arms once again, as he was carrying you away from the fight into the woods, taking the risk of stumbling onto other Agents that might still be out there. Breathing was getting harder and harder, the urge to cough omnipresent. You wanted to talk to him, but barely a noise left your mouth. As the seconds and minutes passed on, you watched Javier’s face, a variety of emotions visible on it. 

“Y/N! Please...stay with me, okay? You’re gonna-” he said while placing you on the ground before adding, “You’re not going to leave me, alright? Stay strong, mi amor.” 

A weak “yeah” left your mouth when you felt Javier’s hands on your side, trying to get to the wound to see if there was a way, any way, he could save you. His jaw clenched when he saw that the back of your blouse was completely red, soaked in your blood, and the familiar smell of it just now hit his nose. Javier inhaled sharply, his mind frantically searching for a solution, but he feared that there was nothing he could do anymore. They were way too deep into the forest to reach a doctor in time and he couldn’t go back to camp, either. 

As you watched him through half-closed lids, you slowly but surely became aware of your situation. You weren’t going to make it out of it, not this time. But strangely you weren’t sad or angry at the fact that you were dying. A weird sense of self-awareness came over you. 

“Javier?” you managed to call out to him, which made him crawl closer to you instantly, taking your hand into his and bringing his face closer to yours. 

“Yes, Y/N, I’m here. I won’t leave you.” he answered, patiently stroking your face with his thumb. 

“I think I’m dying Javier and I want you,” you coughed heavily before continuing “I need you to know that I love you. More than anything else.” Your voice was barely more than a whisper by now, the rattle in your throat making it hard for you you to talk. 

“I...I...Mi amor, I’m so sorry for everything. I can’t let you go without letting you know that I was the biggest fool alive. I..”

You cupped his face with your hand and he understood your silent plead - he closed the distance between the two of you, slowly placing his lips on yours. He was incredibly gentle and loving, and you felt your heart swell with love for him once again. Javier whispered a quiet “I love you” against your lips, smiling. But his eyes betrayed him, tears swelling in the corners of his when he saw that your eyes were closed. Your body grew limp in his arms as he tried to sit you up against him; if you had to go, he wanted to hold you in his arms while it happened. 

He didn’t know, of course, that you could still hear him. You heard when he surrendered to his emotions, loudly crying and sobbing and calling out your name. You didn’t know how much time had passed, but after a while, he gathered himself and started to hum a melody. 

You listened to his quiet singing, surrounding you like it was all that was left on this earth, which in a way it was for you. He had never sounded more beautiful than he did now, and as much as you wished to listen to him forever, it started to slowly fade away and finally eluding you completely until there was nothing more. The last thing you saw was Javier’s face, the last thing to touch you were his lips, and the last thing you heard was his voice, singing you the softest words. You were happy in the end, and when you finally took your last breath, all was well. 

[silverfootstepswrites]

Middle Ground [3]

The journey through the desert was slow-going and hot. Which the members of the party complained about daily. Harsh winds whipped through without warning. And Asuma sighed every once in a while about how his dulcimer was filling up with sand. 

They emerged a couple weeks later with varying degrees of tans and sunburns. Naruto had only managed to break his wrist, which he had lied about for a couple days until Sakura had caught him grimacing about it one morning. 

“Hold him down,” Sakura ordered. Naruto howled as Sasuke and Tenten seized him. And then his howl went up an octave as Sakura smacked his wrist with her mace. 

“Uh.... I know you have a lot of pent up anger towards Naruto, but torture seems a little extreme,” Kisame commented. Sasuke looked offended as he looked up. Eyes watering, Naruto managed to also look insulted. 

“This idiot waited too long to tell me. So the bones set wrong,” Sakura replied. She dropped her mace into the sand. One hand grasped Naruto’s hand while the other grasped his forearm. 

“So now I have to-” Sakura twisted hard. Naruto yelped. “-set it.” He sniffled, leaning against Sasuke, who rolled his eyes and knocked his fist into the side of his head. 

“This is your fault,” Sasuke reminded him. 

Seeing that he would get no sympathy from Sasuke, Naruto turned his teary gaze to Sakura. She also rolled her eyes, but held her hands out to him.

“Alright, alright. Come here,” sighed Sakura. Lower lip jutting out, Naruto slowly placed his arm in her waiting hands. 

“Besides, if Sakura smashed Naruto with her mace every time he annoyed her, he’d be dead by now,” added Sasuke. He squeezed Naruto’s shoulder a couple times before he released him. 

Naruto began laughing until the words sunk in. “Yeah, I’d be- wait. What?” 

Kisame got up from his seat, folding up the map. As Sakura placed her hands back on Naruto’s wrist, they began to glow green. Kisame walked up behind them, peering over her head to watch her work. 

“Why couldn’t you just do that in the first place?” he wondered. 

“Healing magic is very different from medicine. Think of it as supporting combat. It’s meant to stop people from dying in the middle of battle. Whereas medicine is supposed to restore balance in the body,” replied Sakura. It was a valid question. In fact, it was one she had heard many times by now. And she didn’t mind explaining it at all. “Healing magic can stop bleeding, but it can’t reposition a bone.”

“I can’t tell you how many times she’s saved my ass,” Naruto bragged. 

“Yeah, like the time a bear almost bit your head off,” sighed Sasuke, shaking his head a little. 

Everyone laughed. And so did Sakura. But the corners of her mouth didn’t turn up enough. And when she glanced up, she saw that Kisame was watching her. He wasn’t laughing either. 

-----

Most aspects of Sakura’s life were simple. And many people knew about her. After all, she was the success story that all the people of the empire hoped for. Raised in a tiny village, dreaming of becoming someone who could help others. Using what little knowledge she could gather from the village elders and her own studies, she had joined up with a ragtag band of adventurers who were on their way to the capital. 

All things considered, things had turned out well. And she kept her story simple whenever people asked what she had done to get to where she was. Everyone laughed at her modesty. Sakura laughed along with them, just so no one would know.

Healing was horrific. Gruesome beyond words. Because pain was a warning to stop. Healing magic shoved those warnings aside and urged the body to go on. It perverted the laws of nature, in some ways. 

The only people who seemed to understand this were the other clerics she had run into on her journeys. And when she pointed out the members of her party, Naruto in particular, they would all give the same sort of sympathetic grimace. Patting her hands and telling her to be strong. Sakura had gotten good at picking out the cleric in a party with just a glance. They were always the ones who looked the most exhausted.

Sakura tried her best not to make her feelings too obvious. Because she liked being able to save her teammates. And despite her nagging and yelling, she loved Naruto’s boldness. His fearlessness that drove him to accomplish the impossible. But each time he brought up his accomplishments, she couldn’t help but remember all the damage that came with it. Severed limbs, ruptured organs. Gouges in the flesh revealing bone and sinew. Blood bubbling up black and slippery as she tried to remember the right spells.

As they camped on the coast just outside the desert, Tenten wandered over. After a heavy dinner, most of the members of their party were already sleeping by the fire. Sakura had cast a light spell near her journal. Little bits of light danced around her like fireflies, glowing just enough to see by. She had darkvision, so she didn’t necessarily need it. But it was nice. 

“You ok?” Tenten asked as she stopped beside her. 

“Yeah. Just unwinding a little,” replied Sakura, smiling. Her journal sat in her lap. She had started off using it to remember all the things she learned during her travels. But somehow it had become more of a running record of all the ways the members of her party managed to hurt themselves. And it was kind of helpful to leave all those thoughts on paper so they wouldn’t have to live in her head as much.

 Tenten peeked at the notes for a moment, squinting at Sakura’s script in the low light. 

“Neji and I’ve been in this area before. We should hit a town tomorrow if we move quickly,” Tenten told her. Sakura let out a sigh of relief. Chuckling, Tenten clapped her on the shoulder. 

“I know. Real food,” Tenten said.

“And real booze,” added Sakura. 

“Feather pillow.”

“A hot bath.”

They both sighed at that. They were quiet for a moment. And then Tenten released her shoulder. 

"You worked hard today, Sak. Try to get some rest,” Tenten said. 

Just on the border of the desert, a pack of angry hyenas had ambushed them.  It had been tiring work purifying the wounds before healing them over. Animal bites almost always festered without the proper treatment. 

“Thanks. Good night,” Sakura replied with a smile. 

She could barely hear Tenten stepping away. But that was only to be expected from a rogue like her. She had a habit of moving so silently that she scared Naruto whenever she popped up in the middle of a conversation. Sakura had a feeling that the halfling did it more on purpose. Naruto’s reactions were hilarious, after all. 

A little while later, someone else approached. And Sakura heard the heavy footfalls this time. 

“Hey,” Sakura acknowledged him, not looking up as Kisame’s huge shadow fell across her. He grunted as he settled on the sand beside her. He stretched his arms over his head, unleashing a huge yawn.

A moment passed. And then Sakura asked, “Is everything alright?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah. Naruto just snores like hell,” grumbled Kisame. Sakura snickered a little at that. 

“Yeah, he does,” she agreed. 

The ink had finished drying on the pages. She closed her journal, running her palms along the soft leather cover. She dispelled the light spell with a wave of her hand. There was no need for it anymore. When she looked over, Kisame had his eyes closed. So it startled her a little when he spoke again. 

“What’re you doing over here all alone, Doc?”

“I’m not alone,” she replied. That made Kisame open his eyes. He rose on his elbows to follow her pointing finger to Kakashi who leaned against a big piece of driftwood further down the beach.

“Oh. Shit. Hey, Kakashi,” Kisame greeted him. Kakashi opened one eye and nodded his head. After a moment, the rogue closed his eye again. 

“And we’re over here because...” Sakura trailed off, holding a finger up as she listened. After a moment, Naruto let out a snort, followed by a generous smack of his lips. Sakura gave Kisame a pointed look. “Because Naruto snores,” she finished her thought. 

She lowered her hand back in her lap. “But it’s also because... well.... big group. Lots of people. A little peace and quiet feels nice,” Sakura then added. 

“Can’t hate the quiet,” Kisame agreed, nodding his head a little. 

He laid back down in the sand, crossing his hands across his stomach as he closed his eyes. 

“Do you remember anything? Or is it still all fuzzy?” Sakura queried. 

Kisame shook his head. Then realized that she probably couldn’t see from that angle and said, “Fuzzy like a bear’s ass.”

According to Naruto, when they had stumbled upon Kisame, he had no memory of anything. Even his own name had come to him later. 

Sakura thought for a moment. And then she said, “I’m sorry about that. I hope you remember soon.”

“Thanks.”

As Kisame shifted his arm, Sakura spotted the shine of something wet. 

“You’re hurt. Did I miss you before?” Sakura wondered. Pushing her journal to the side, Sakura turned toward him. 

“Must’ve been out of range when you cast your spell or something,” answered Kisame. With her darkvision, she could see the smile on his face when he looked at her too. He pushed her hand down as she reached for his cut.

“Aw, don’t look so worried. You’re tired, Doc. And I heal fast,” he assured her.

“....Alright. I’m gonna nag to check in the morning,” she warned. Kisame’s smile widened. 

“You got it, Doc,” he chuckled. He crossed his arms beneath his head, eyes closing. 

Sakura found her journal and placed it in her lap again. She closed her eyes, too. Soaking in the gentle whoosh of the waves rolling back and forth. White noise that filled her head, pushing out all the thoughts that usually buzzed around inside. 

And then Sakura’s eyes flew open as she realized something.

“...I didn’t know tieflings had darkvision too,” she declared out loud.

There was no response. 

-----

Their journey continued along the coast of the Sleeping Gulf. It was a huge sea teeming with life. Fishermen rose before dawn, casting out their nets. They could tell when someone made a good catch just from the yelling. Little wooden boats swaying back and forth as they struggled to lift the nets. Sometimes, fishermen in nearby boats jumped over to help with the haul. 

“That’s really nice,” Sakura suddenly said as she watched one such instance.

“That they won’t go hungry?” asked Kisame, unsure of what she meant.

“No. That they help each other. That’s nice,” Sakura answered. 

The homesickness washed over her. Sudden and strong. She pinched her lips together as she continued to watch the fishermen struggling in the distance. 

When she stole a glance back at the rest of the party, she smiled a little. Naruto and Asuma were chatting with one of the fishermen who had returned to the shore with his haul already. Neji listened in as he bent over to stare at the fish flopping in the net. Tenten picked up on the fish and shoved it into his hands, cackling when he yelped and dropped it. The back of his neck turned red as she patted his arm in apology. 

A little further away, Sasuke stood talking to Kakashi. He held a set of lockpicks in his hands as he spoke. And then Kakashi raised his own tools to demonstrate something. Sasuke copied his movements.

Sakura turned back to the water. There was no point in being homesick. She tried to remind herself that as she folded her arms across her chest. But as she stole another look over her shoulder, she saw that Naruto was watching her now. He said something to the fisherman and clapped him on the shoulder before he jogged over. He threw his arms around her, knocking the wind out of her. 

“Hey! What’re you doing? You smell like fish!” Sakura griped. Naruto crushed her against his chest, grinning. Ignoring her as she swatted at his arm a few times.

“You just looked like you could use a hug,” Naruto told her. Sakura’s scowl softened a little. She lowered her hand. 

“Was I right?” Naruto inquired. 

“.....kind of,” Sakura muttered as she let him sway her back and forth. She could see his tail swishing in the same rhythm as it knocked against her leg. 

“Don’t worry, Sakura. We’ll kill the stupid demon king and then everything will be alright,” he assured her. 

Because they began to hear stories everywhere they went. Plagues falling on entire towns. Crops turning to ash overnight. And monsters that normally belonged in the darknesses were beginning to creep up in unexpected places. Whatever the demon king was planning, it was hurting people with no power to fight back. 

That wasn’t why Sakura felt the way she did. But it made her smile that Naruto tried to comfort her anyway. She patted his arm. 

“Just stop getting hurt in dumb ways,” she ordered. 

“You know that’s impossible,” was Naruto’s cheerful reply. Sakura heaved a sigh.

They made their way up the coast at a good pace. Little villages littered the shores. And there were even towns big enough to almost be called cities. Unlike in the desert, where they had found struggled to find shelter, there was always an inn with rooms. And if the inns were full, by nightfall, Naruto had always made friends with someone who offered to let them stay in their house. This was one of the few times, Sasuke whispered to her, that he didn’t mind Naruto’s stupidly high charisma score. 

The only real challenge on this leg of the trip were the sea hags that liked to sneak up on them. And a few irate sea lions- one of which dealt Sasuke a full body slam when his attention was elsewhere. (They teased him about that for a day or two afterwards.)

According to the map, and according to Naruto, all they had to do in this area was find a way to retrieve whatever weapon sat at the bottom of the sea. And then it was on to the mountains. However, with Naruto in charge, there was no way things would move so quickly. They had to stop to help a merchant fix his broken cart. Or a woman whose child had gotten lost on an errand. 

“I can’t say I’m saving people and then not save people,” Naruto protested the one time someone brought it up. 

They sat, like many nights before, in a tavern. In a half-circle around the fireplace. Sakura, who had arrived a little later, found an empty seat between Kisame and Sasuke. She patted Sasuke’s knee as she sat down. He lifted his chin in acknowledgement. Kisame pushed an untouched drink over to her.

“....I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but maybe Naruto is right,” Tenten finally responded.

“What’d I miss?” whispered Sakura. 

Kisame tilted his head toward her. “Asuma and his crew are arguing that Naruto’s wasting too much time taking side missions.”

Sakura coughed as she set her drink down. She wiped the foam from her lips. “We can’t just not help people who ask for it,” she protested. 

Shaking his head, Sasuke sighed, “You sound just like him.” He leaned back in his seat. 

“Right, Sakura?” Naruto said, turning to her. 

Sakura, who had missed that part of the conversation, looked into Naruto’s face. At his big blue eyes shining. Sakura only hesitated for a moment before she responded, “Right. What Naruto said.” Naruto beamed at her. Sakura hid her smile as she took another sip of her drink.

The party took a vote. And they decided that stopping to help people with minor quests wasn’t such a bad idea. As a bonus, it earned them a decent amount of gold here and there. Especially as people heard that the Imperial Physician was around and brought their sick children and relatives to be healed. A few monster infestations in the area were also brought to their attention, which Naruto was more than happy to address with his axe in hand.

A few weeks passed on the coast of the Sleeping Gulf. They settled into an old inn that had closed down long ago. After a day of hard scrubbing and dusting, it turned into a halfway decent place for their party to eat and sleep. And the grateful people in the area were more than happy to provide any food and supplies they might need.

“I know we can’t stay forever.... but man, I wish we could stay here forever,” remarked Tenten as she lounged by the fire in the kitchen. Sakura hummed in agreement as she took a sip of herbal tea.

One morning, Naruto left a note tacked to the kitchen table, asking everyone to meet him out on the beach. Neji, who was always the first to rise, went around knocking on doors. Kakashi was nowhere to be seen, as usual, but he would show up. He always did.

About an hour later, they found Naruto pacing the beach.

“So there’s an old man who says he’ll give me a ride on his boat to the middle of the sea. But in exchange he needs help with something,” Naruto informed them, squinting up at the sunlight. He accepted the strip of beef jerky Sasuke handed him. He ripped off a chunk once he finished speaking.

Sakura sat on a rock beneath the shade of a palm tree. Tenten sat beside her, shielding her eyes against the sun. As they listened, they ripped off chunks from a flour-dusted loaf of bread. Passing it back and forth until nothing remained.

“Why not just have Neji cast water breathing on you guys and you can swim down?” Sasuke demanded. 

“I don’t wanna swim all the way from here to the middle of the sea and waste energy. Besides, I can’t just not help the guy now. I said I would,” answered Naruto. Which were some surprisingly logical responses. 

“Okay. Well, what’s the problem?” asked Kakashi, folding his arms across his chest. Sakura jolted when she heard the thief, who she hadn’t noticed sneak up on them. Tenten snickered, knocking into her shoulder. Sakura scowled and nudged her back. 

“He has crabs,” Naruto replied.

Tenten collapsed against Sakura’s arm, shaking with silent giggles. Everyone else in the party exchanged glances. 

Eventually, Neji was the first one to speak: “....I beg your pardon?”

“He’s got crabs. Tons of them. Infesting his whole village,” Naruto went on, oblivious to Kisame struggling not to laugh now. Shaking his head, Sasuke covered his face with his hands.

“He must be... itching... to deal with his problem,” Asuma remarked, rubbing his chin. He smirked when he saw Sakura snort into her fist. She hid her face against her shoulder. 

“You should’ve thought this through first, Naruto. No need to make a rash decision,” Kisame chimed in. Sakura slapped his back a few times, frantically kicking her legs to hold in her laughter. Kisame turned to look at her, grinning as he tried to catch her hand. And he winced when she slapped at him again.

Naruto looked perplexed as Sakura lost the battle and snorted out loud. She, Tenten, and Kisame dissolved into cackles. Sakura fell onto her back on the stone, still slapping at Kisame, her other hand gripping Tenten’s arm. Sasuke’s shoulders shook and it was difficult to tell whether he was laughing or crying. 

“What’s up with them?” Naruto asked. Asuma put an arm around his shoulders. 

“No idea. But you gotta love ‘em.... Warts and all...” the bard sighed. 

Later that day, they took off in the direction of the village the old man had indicated on the map. Although Kisame occasionally snickered about the crab infestation, that died down when they arrived in the village. Indeed, it was covered with crabs. The blue and red creatures scuttled over the wooden sign that welcomed visitors. Every building was covered with the things. And more of the crustaceans scuttled from under doors and through shattered windows.

Flame flickered to life in Sasuke’s left hand as they made their way through the village. Kicking the critters to the side when they scuttled too close. 

“Should’ve brought some butter,” remarked Kisame as they peered into an abandoned building. 

“This doesn’t make sense. Crabs don’t usually live this far inland,” Neji murmured. A curious crab ventured up to the point of his boot. Neji nudged it aside, a touch more gently than the rest of his companions. 

Naruto stopped walking. He turned to look at Neji. “Yeah. That’s right. Do crabs need water to survive?” 

Everyone paused to consider that. 

“Some do and some don’t. These aren’t terrestrial, though. So there has to be a source of water nearby,” Sasuke answered. He knelt down. The same crab that had approached Neji scurried up to Sasuke. 

“Don’t nip me,” warned Sasuke before he grasped the crab by one of its waving claws. 

“What’s he doing?” whispered Naruto. 

“I think.... I think he’s talking to it,” answered Sakura. 

Sasuke closed his eyes as he murmured an incantation. The crab stopped struggling in his grasp. When Sasuke opened his eyes again, he set the crab down on the soil. The creature stood there, like it was waiting. 

“What are you doing here?” asked Sasuke. 

The crab was still for a moment. And then it began gurgling softly as it waved its claws around. Sasuke’s face scrunched up.

“He says.... they all hatched here. These are all his brothers and sisters,” Sasuke tossed over his shoulder. 

There was more gurgling. 

“And there wasn’t enough room where they were so they moved up here.”

When there was no response from his party, Sasuke turned to look at them. 

They all stood together. Staring at him. 

“Sasuke, it’s okay to talk about your feelings with us. You don’t have to pretend to talk to a crab if you want attention,” Naruto was the first to speak. 

Sakura struggled not to laugh.

“Stop joking around. My spell only lasts for a few minutes,” Sasuke growled. 

“Aw, don’t be so crabby, Sasuke,” Tenten teased. 

Sakura lost it again. She broke into giggles, collapsing against Naruto’s side. Naruto held her up, grinning. Grumbling under his breath, Sasuke whipped his head back around to address the little crab. The creature continued gurgling and waving its claws, sometimes clicking them together. Sasuke nodded, occasionally asking questions. And when the spell wore off, the crab wandered away. 

“There’s some kind of mother nesting in the springs under the town. It should be that way,” Sasuke declared, pointing. 

“I’m so glad to see you coming out of your shell and making friends, Sasuke,” Kakashi replied. And Sakura, who had just recovered from her giggle attack, let out a snort and slapped Kakashi’s arm as she walked past. 

With Sasuke’s tracking skills and Neji’s general knowledge of nature, it didn’t take long to find the source of all the crawling critters. There was a spring not too far from the little village, just like the little crab had claimed. Tenten eyed the ooze hanging from the mouth of the cave and cringed. 

“Do we have to go in there?” she groaned. 

“Yep,” Naruto replied. Popping his lips at the end of the word. 

“Seems gross,” Sakura commented, peering into the cave and its damp tunnels. 

“Okay. Let’s come up with strategy. First-” Tenten interrupted Neji by pointing. He turned around just in time to glimpse Naruto running right into the cave with his axe held aloft. He let out a heavy sigh. Sasuke clapped him on the shoulder.

Everyone took off after Naruto, swatting away crabs and strings of goo as they moved. While the smaller crabs just seemed curious, the larger ones were aggressive and fast. They pounced with snaps of their sharp claws. Everyone did their best to wack them aside and rush ahead. But after smashing her tenth crab with her mace, Sakura really did wish they had a vat of boiling butter.

At the very end of the cave, they could hear the sound of flowing water.  And they could feel the water sloshing first at the soles of their feet and then around their ankles as they kept moving. With her darkvision, Sakura spotted something moving in the darkness. Wet and shiny. 

“Duck!” she shouted just as an enormous claw came smashing down on them. 

As Sakura got to her feet, clothes soaking, she heard a strange rattling noise. It took her a second to realize that it was the sound of dozens upon dozens of legs scuttling toward them. 

“Fuck all these crabs,” she heard Tenten snarl from somewhere by her elbow. 

Crabs by themselves were a low-level monster. Not all that challenging. But the unending waves, along with the huge beast smashing its claws down and hissing acid at them, Sakura could hardly catch her breath. As Naruto pounced, the sharpened tips of one of the claws caught him across the thigh. Sakura heard Naruto cry out before he landed with a splash too close to the gigantic crab. 

Out of the corners of her eyes, she could see more crabs advancing. Sasuke held his hand over his bleeding arm as he slashed his sword in great arcs. At her back, she could feel Kakashi firing arrow after arrow until he ran out. He cursed softly as he swapped his bow out for his sword. Neji’s magic missile collided with two crabs. As they sizzled, a delicious smell filled the dank cave. 

“Seriously, FUCK this crab!” Tenten exclaimed again just before she let out a strangled shout. 

“Tenten!” Neji’s panicked voice echoed around the cave. 

Sakura’s head whipped back toward the enormous crab. Naruto lay unmoving in the water. Tenten crouched beside him, both hands pressed to her side. Neji ran to her, hands outstretched. All of them oblivious to the beast watching them with beady eyes. Foam gurgling up at its mouth as it snapped sharp claws together. 

In that instant, Sakura could smell the blood in her memories. Coppery and bitter. Slippery as it coated her hands and wrists. The memory was burned into her brain. Ears ringing as she stooped in the ashes to find the pieces of Naruto to bind him back together again with magic. Throat clogging with bile and tears as she tried to remember the incantations as she placed his hand next to his arm. And his foot next to his leg.

As the giant crab opened its mouth, acid bubbling bright green between the clicking parts, Sakura felt the word, “NO!” rake its way up her throat. Her legs burning as she ran as fast as she could. Hands filling with magic. Knowing that she would never make it in time.

Across the cave, Kisame threw his hand out. Bits of crystal burst from the tips of his fingers with a shattering sound.

And then time froze.

The droplets of water hung in the air. Suspended like tiny crystals dangling from invisible thread. Crabs hovered in the air mid-jump. The debris that swirled around the gigantic monster hung there too. Bits of dirt and dust spraying up in dramatic arcs.

On Kisame’s right palm was a shiny burn. In the shape of her holy symbol. A falcon seared into his skin.

Their gazes met. His eyes were even wider than hers. And in that instant, she understood something that she shouldn’t have. Something so absurd that her brain rejected the idea at first.

But there was no denying it. Some tiefling mercenary could never pull off something like this. This was advanced time magic. Far beyond what even she could understand. And a holy symbol wouldn’t have burned a tiefling.

A single shaky breath puffed out of her mouth. Slowly, Sakura raised her pointer finger to her lips. Kisame copied her.

-----

Naruto let out a groan as he stretched his legs out. 

“That was a good fight!” he declared. And then he groaned again as he strained his thigh. Sakura rapped her knuckles against his skull. She skirted around Asuma, who was busy adding crab legs to the soup bubbling away over the fire.

“I said don’t move,” she scolded. 

“Aw, Sakura,” Naruto grumbled, rubbing the back of his head, “Can’t I just eat some herbs and get better?” 

“That’s not how this works,” Sakura reminded him. She stepped past him to crouch beside the cot set up beside the fireplace.

“How’re you feeling?” she asked in a softer voice. 

“Kind of light-headed. But better,” Tenten replied. Neji sat on the floor beside her, his eyes closed. He held one of Tenten’s hands between both of his. He hadn’t moved at all since their battered party had managed to hobble back to their temporary home. Tenten gave her hand a pointed look. Sakura returned the look with a sly shrug of her shoulders. 

“You’ll need a couple days to recuperate from the blood loss, but you’ll be fine,” Sakura decided. And then she nudged Neji’s foot before adding, “You hear that?”

When he stubbornly kept his eyes closed, Sakura snorted. “Elves don’t sleep. Quit acting.”

As she turned around, she caught Neji slowly opening his eyes. He looked down at Tenten’s hand still held between her own. He gave it a squeeze before he closed his eyes again. 

Naruto healed fairly quickly so she hadn’t bothered with stitches. She gave him one last spoonful of medicine to help with the pain. Asuma promised to keep watch over things in the kitchen before he shooed her out to go take a nap before dinner.

Kakashi had claimed the area behind the bar as his room. She poked her head over to find the thief lounging on his bedroll. Sakura motioned with both her hands until he sat up. He raised his eyepatch and then let his arms fall to his sides. Sakura unwound the red scarf that he wore night and day- no matter the weather. Which she didn’t understand because there was nothing wrong with his face. At least, not usually. His chin definitely wasn’t supposed to stick out like that.

“I knew you were being too quiet. Hang on. This’ll hurt,” Sakura said. She waited for him to give a little nod before she popped his dislocated jaw back into place. She gathered energy, burning her last spell slot to weave the muscle and sinew back together. 

“Don’t open your mouth too wide for the next day or so. If it starts hurting again, tell me,” Sakura scolded as she released Kakashi’s face. 

Because while Kakashi kept a lot of things secret, Sakura knew that he always prioritized everyone else’s healing over his own. That hadn’t changed about him in their years apart. He patted her hand before he redid his scarf and lowered his eyepatch. 

Bone-weary and fresh out of spell slots, Sakura trudged upstairs. She passed the floor where Sasuke would already be fast asleep. Across the hall, for obvious reasons, Neji’s room sat empty. And then she passed the floor where Naruto usually slept alone, due to his thunderous snores. And then the floor where Kisame slept alone, due to his own snores, which he denied even existed in the first place. 

Sakura paused.

And then she backtracked.

The floorboards creaked under her boots. So it was probably no surprise when she knocked on the door. There was no sound from inside, but she entered anyway.

Kisame sat on his bed, facing the door. His enormous weapon was propped up in the corner, still glistening with blood. She thought she saw his eyes flash as he looked up. 

Sakura leaned against the door, letting her weight push it shut. Kisame arched an eyebrow at her.

“Tiefling, huh?” she began.

Her breath caught in her throat as his hand whipped out. She flinched, waiting for the blow. Instead, she heard the door lock under her elbow. A wave of magic washed over her in what she recognized as a silencing spell. No one outside the room would be able to hear them.

She cracked one eye open. Then another.

“Careful, Doc. You can’t take back words,” he warned, lips parting in a toothy grin.

Eyes locking with his, she whispered, “Is that so, Demon King?”

Kisame’s smile widened. He leaned forward a little.

“What do you want?” he demanded.

“Huh?”

“I’ll bite. You’re trying to get me to buy your silence. So... what’ll it be? Money? Power? More life?” Kisame spelled out for her, crossing his arms across his chest. His teeth were sharper, his black eyes sparkling. And she could see the tips of his fingers sharpening into claws as they tapped against his forearms. 

And while these sinister details were alarming, they didn’t overpower her confusion. Which took priority at the moment.

“N-nothing. I just wanted the truth,” she told him.

He scrutinized her, face scrunching up. He loomed over her. And as he shifted, Sakura glimpsed his shadow sprawling across the floorboards. Which somehow had sprouted wings. Her eyes snapped back to Kisame’s face.

“It’s never just the truth. Everyone wants something more,” he insisted.

“You’ve been traveling with Naruto for close to a year. You’ve had plenty of chances to kill him, but you haven’t. So you must have your reasons for being here,” she pointed out. Proud of the way her voice didn’t quiver. 

Kisame’s eyes narrowed. “So.... you just wanted... to know what’s happening?”

“Yes. Oh and to ask a question.”

Kisame looked a little disappointed at that. “And what’s your question?”

Sakura stared square into his face. “Is your intention to hurt people?”

Something flickered in Kisame’s gaze. He let out a heavy breath. The wings in his shadow disappeared. And his claws became fingers again. He turned his head to the side as he said, “You probably won’t believe me, but no.”

The silence that hung about them was heavy. And then Sakura took a deep breath. As her mouth opened, Kisame’s eyes narrowed.

“I believe you,” answered Sakura. 

She felt Kisame’s black eyes bore into her. Like he was digging around in the very depths of her soul. And then he let out a snort of laughter.

“You really are that good, huh,” he remarked.

Sakura shrugged. “I guess.” And then she lifted her finger to her mouth. 

“I’ll keep your secret. As long as it doesn’t hurt anyone,” Sakura promised. Kisame scrutinized her one last time before he slowly raised his finger to mirror her gesture. 

With that, Kisame gestured to the chair tucked under the desk. Sakura pulled it out to take a seat. While she didn’t insult him by dragging it to the opposite end of the room, she didn’t exactly pull up a seat right beside him. Kisame’s lips quirked up at the corners, but he didn’t comment on it.

“So. You said you wanted the truth?” Kisame asked one more time. 

Lips pursing, Sakura nodded. 

Clicking his tongue, Kisame rubbed the side of his head. “Alright, truth is that I seriously can’t remember everything.”

“Well, you remember enough to know that you’re the demon king, right?” Sakura offered. Kisame made a face. 

“Yeah. One of them, anyway. But I’m definitely the one you’re looking for,” he agreed. His face pinched, eyes closing as he thought. 

“What’re you doing here instead of the Abyss?” she inquired. 

Kisame pressed two fingers to his temple. “Uh... so... ruling my hellish realm.... smiting underlings.... hmm.”

Sakura waited, trying to hide the way her hands shook by rubbing them over her thighs. 

“Oh, shit. Yeah.”

Sakura jerked her chin up. 

“I have a greedy little henchman. He probably pulled some shit and threw me up here. And that’d explain why things are so messed up. That idiot was never good at management,” grumbled Kisame. Sakura stared at him. 

“What?” he demanded. 

Sakura gave a nervous laugh. “Never imagined you as the managerial type.”

Kisame looked offended at that. “Look. I’m all for chaos and torment. Just where it belongs. Abyss shit should stay in the Abyss.” 

When he pointed at her, Sakura flinched a little. Eyes widening, Kisame lowered his hand.

“Like you said, I haven’t hurt any of you until now. That’s not gonna change. I need your help getting home,” he explained. Sakura chewed on her lip as she listened.

“...And after you get home?”

Kisame studied her expression for a moment. And then, chuckling to himself, he shook his head. 

“Look, Doc, if it’ll make you feel any better, let’s do this,” Kisame offered. He stretched out his hand. A gleaming length of ethereal parchment appeared. A quill popped into place too. It began writing as Kisame spoke. 

“I, Kisame, also known as Dagon, Prince of the Depths, do hereby swear not to inflict any harm, intentional or unintentional, on the members of this adventuring party. Yadda-yadda- hey, don’t write that part,” Kisame scolded the quill. It jumped away from the page.

Sakura’s forehead wrinkled. “List their names,” she insisted.

Kisame let out another incredulous laugh, but he complied. And then he went on.

“The above listed peoples and entities will be guaranteed safe passage from the Abyss upon return of myself to my rightful place on the throne. They will be free from all curse, torture, or other forms of coercion, harm, or threat upon their return to the Material Plane. Good?” The quill flinched as Kisame shot it another glare. It hurriedly scribbled out the word ‘good’.

Sakura squinted at the glowing parchment for a long time. Going over the words again and again. 

“Put the part where I swear not to reveal your secret,” Sakura prompted. 

Kisame made another face. He shrugged one shoulder. “I mean, do I have to? I know you’ll keep your word.”

“But what if I tell someone?” she insisted.

Kisame barked out a laugh at that. “You won’t. That’s just who you are. But I’ll stick it in if it makes you feel better.”

The quill added those words with a flourish. Kisame seized it to sign his name at the bottom before he handed it over to Sakura. Sakura hesitated, reading over the contract one last time. 

“If something goes wrong, does this mean I’ll get dragged into a pit of torment or something?” she demanded, turning a suspicious glare toward him. Kisame snorted. He pinched her nose between his thumb and pointer finger. 

“There’s no place for a good woman like you in the pit, Doc. Sign the damn contract,” he retorted.

And as soon as Sakura signed, both the scroll and the quill disappeared in a puff of smoke. Her eyes widened as she watched the smoke gather into a serpent. It flew over to Kisame, wrapping around his right forearm. Slowly, the snake flattened, seeping into the surface of his skin. Kisame gave it a cheerful slap. 

“There you go, Doc. Everything’s good,” he declared. When he looked back to Sakura, she was quiet for a while. When she opened her mouth to speak, he raised his eyebrows, ready to listen.

“So the contract says you can’t torture me. Does annoying me count as torture? Because then this feels like it won’t last,” Sakura pointed out.

Kisame stared for a beat. And then, throwing his head back, he burst into raucous laughter. He slapped his hand against his knee as he cackled.

“Man, Doc, I really like you,” he chortled as he wiped a tear from his eye. Sakura smirked in response.

[marshmallowgoop]

Gushing about Promare (Mega Spoilers!)

I know not everyone has gotten a chance to see Promare yet, but I first saw the movie months ago and have been dying to talk spoilers ever since. So, avoid this post if you haven’t had the opportunity to watch the film yet, but since there’s a tiny bit more availability now, I finally just wanna gush for a sec!

First of all, Promare surprised me. I wasn’t really too interested when the project was revealed, and even when I learned more details at last year’s Anime Expo, I was only moderately invested. The note that the film would be kid friendly is what got me more on board, but I suppose what really got me, more than even the stunning soundtrack (which I think might be Hiroyuki Sawano’s best OST, honestly), was the Trigger x Monster Strike collab.

Maybe surprisingly, I am actually somewhat self-aware, and I recognize that I’m totally biased, but okay, seeing Ryuko and Senketsu noted as characters for the game, right beside Lio and Galo...

Let’s just say that my heart was taken. Seeing that image of Lio and Galo made me fall in love with them, and the comparisons between Ryuko and Senketsu’s relationship and Lio and Galo’s that I found in the 鮮流 (Senryu) tag on Twitter sealed the deal. Teaming up and fighting with the Power of Love is my jam.

So, I got hyped. I expected to like the movie. 

But I didn’t expect to find it to be the best thing that Trigger has ever made.

(Well, that I’ve seen, anyway.)

And even after sitting on it for a while, I still think Promare is Trigger’s strongest work (that I’ve seen). Sure, I’ve read many complaints that the film tries to do too much in its short timeframe, that there are too many characters who don’t get fleshed out as they should, that it’s way too predictable and cliche... but I respectfully disagree.

I mean, I do feel Promare would have worked better as a series, sure. But Promare uses its time excellently. Maybe it’s an odd comparison (or maybe not?), but while The Shape of Water devotes a ton of screen time and attention to subplots and fleshing out characters other than the main leads, Promare stays focused. This is the story of Lio and Galo, and it never, ever forgets that. Whereas The Shape of Water drowns its monster love story inside plots of Russian spies and rotting fingers, Promare stays focused. Promare knows what it is and knows what it’s about. It’s the most cohesive and thematically strong piece that I’ve seen from Trigger, and I’m more than glad that the artists decided to focus on Lio and Galo rather than shove in all sorts of good stuff about the other characters at the expense of muddying its heart and soul.

Because as much as I love Kill la Kill—and as much as it’s still my favorite Trigger work, even if I don’t see it as Trigger’s best—that’s... exactly what that show did. I can’t even say for sure what the heart and soul of Kill la Kill is! Sure, I’ve argued that it’s most definitely a love story between a girl and her sailor uniform more than anything else, and I most definitely have evidence to support that claim, but I recognize that tons of other claims with tons of other evidence behind them could be made as well. Maybe, for example, as expressed by director Hiroyuki Imaishi before the series premiered, Kill la Kill is really ultimately a story about the rivalry and eventual friendship between Ryuko and Satsuki. Or maybe it’s about overcoming fascism, or a warning about wearable technology, or about puberty, or finding family, or really a million things. I’ve been in the Kill la Kill fandom for years, and let me tell you: I’ve seen just about everything.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But the huge variety in interpretations for the anime most certainly points to the idea that it ain’t all that focused. It’s... a bit all over the place. Too much good stuff shoved into one work, resulting in a mixed mass of awesome that’s maybe kinda hard to make sense of.

(And, for the record, I’ll point out that as much as I often feel alone in my reading of Kill la Kill, I’m really not alone at all. An interviewer for Newtype magazine once said, “When you watch through to the last episode, you keenly feel that Kill la Kill is a story about the relationship between Ryuko and Senketsu,” writer Kazuki Nakashima himself has pointed out several times that Ryuko and Senketsu’s relationship is central to the story, such as in his note in the Kamui Bansho that “You could say that Kill la Kill tells the story of a lonely young woman meeting and losing an irreplaceable partner,” and even among English-speaking fans, I can at least link to this one comment not by me that reads, “It's also weird that they say that Ryuko vs. Satsuki is the core of character drama; while it’s majorly important so far, it’s seemed more like Ryuko and Senketsu share the most important relationship.” I know I’m biased, but, okay, I have support, seriously.)

In my humble onion, Promare combines probably the two strongest story threads in Kill la Kill by essentially making the Satsuki character and Senketsu character the same person. You get the rivalry that turns into a friendship, and you also get the synchronization and coming together of two different people who seem like they shouldn’t get along—the combining of “oil and water,” as Galo himself puts it. The fact that the designs of Lio and Galo’s robots were confirmed to look like Kamui in the last live-drawing session (with eyes on the shoulders and teeth on the chest) only strengthens the Ryuko and Senketsu connection, and, c’mon, you can’t tell me that those trailers and promotional materials weren’t hyping up the Lio/Galo rivalry like Kill la Kill hyped up the Ryuko/Satsuki rivalry. Promare takes two of the greatest parts of Kill la Kill, smashes them together, and makes something fantastic. This is what I would have wanted Kill la Kill to be like.

Yes, Promare’s plot is absolutely predictable and cliche, but that ain’t at all a downside! The film utilizes its cliches well, and our main leads are so charming that the journey is endlessly enjoyable. Promare is ultimately a sweet character drama with lots of flashy action, and that character drama is excellent.

I love so much about it. I love how Galo makes an offensive remark to Lio and immediately apologizes, understanding that it was wrong. I love that Galo saving Lio’s life is presented so respectfully, and I love that Galo isn’t at all bothered or embarrassed by pressing his lips to Lio’s, and I love that when Galo freaks out afterwards, it’s simply because he started a fire when he’s devoted himself to putting fires out. I love how Lio’s flames protect Galo, I love the lyrics to “Inferno” and how they amplify the story, I love that there’s a happy ending and the Burnish don’t all die out because that’s somehow “for the best,” I love that there’s a beautiful heart explosion when Lio and Galo save the world. I just love love love these two characters and this film.

But of course, to address the elephant in the room, I do wish that Lio and Galo’s relationship were more explicit; as is always the case in Trigger works that feature potential LGBTQ+ romances, it was stated at both Anime Expo this year and in the latest live drawing that there are no wrong interpretations and everyone is free to think what they would like. But when someone asked if there would be more “boys kissing” in future Trigger works at Anime Expo, and the answer was “yes,” I’m hopeful and don’t feel bad about what we got. Lio and Galo are a sweet, sweet step in the right direction, and I hope for more explicit, charming, respectful LGBTQ+ content in the future from this studio.

Tl;dr, as silly as Promare is, it almost feels like the studio is growing up. The film is what I consider to be their strongest work to date (that I’ve seen, of course), and I crave more over-the-top, kid-friendly, endearing works from Trigger moving forward.

[natashaashleymarvelromanoff]

I’m so glad you’re back - Epilogue

chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7 chapter 8  chapter 9 chapter 10 chapter 11 chapter 12 chapter 13 chapter 14 chapter 15 

So! here we are, at the end of this fanfic. its been a pleasure to finally write this fanfic and write out my ideas for an alternate timeline to infinity war and endgame. But this isn't the end of this universe!! I'm going to be creating a brand new story, including one-shots and drabbles, thats set around the 5 years in between the snaps and also after they bring everyone back! so you'll still be getting more of Natasha James and steve. I look forward to writing a few one-shots and posting them soon, so keep a lookout for when its posted. I'm also very grateful to everyone who had read my story and gave it a kudos and also commented!! it was lovely to hear about your thoughts and advice. love you guys! ❤❤❤❤❤

Its been a year since the Avengers brought back half of the universe. And what a year its been. Celebrations had started almost instantly around the world on the same day, states across America and countries across the world were setting off fireworks and throwing parties in their town squares and they were still going on a year later, and they probably will until the end of time. The time people had lost with their loved ones will never be fixed but everyone was back, and that's all that mattered. Not to mention the Avengers were practically legends now, they were even knighted by the Queen of England after she came back. Tony had loved that way too much.

And yes, Everyone was fine, they had rebuilt the compound in New York and restored it to be better and bigger, Bruce had actually rejoined the new avengers team and was now working as part of the team and the science division, Thor left New Asgard in the hands of his trusted friend Valkyrie whilst he travelled with the guardians. Getting everyone back had made him immensely better and his depression wasn't as crushing anymore, the guilt no longer weighing him down. Valkyrie had been more than supportive and told him she would look after their people whilst he got back to his old self. And if that meant getting back to his old ways of doing missions and helping people out in the universe then so be it. Doctor strange was also a bigger part of the team too, he and wanda worked together great, their powers were incredible when put together. 

Carol had gone back off to help people around the universe too, she even clocked in with the guardians sometimes to help them out and carol also checked back in with her earth team often, not forgetting to visit for important occasions either.

Tony had been recovering and getting used to his new arm, which he has to admit, it better than his all flesh one, no wonder Bucky liked his so much. Speaking of which, tony and bucky had become civil with each other and are still trying to move on and become somewhat acquaintances. He retired from the avengers for good too, just spending his days now with pepper and their daughter Morgan. Morgan was a big fan of his arm too and often stuck magnets to his metal replacements when he was asleep or without him realising. Don't tell pepper but he still sneakily made suits for the guys at HQ and upgraded them with new weapons or new tech. He did say he wouldn't but he couldn't resist and besides Shuri, who else was gonna make their suits even better. 

Scott and Hope had returned back home with her parents and were just living each day as it came, Scott had been saddened by missing out on another 5 years of his daughter's life and just wanted to make up for that time, whilst also spending as much time with hope as he could too. The 5 of them also came up too when there was an occasion, always keeping in touch, or even teaming back up with the Avengers when they needed help.

Clint and Laura were great too, they had gone back to their home after reuniting and fixed up the house in the areas they needed too, it was a bit run down considering no one lived in it for 5 years. But they managed to get back to life as normal, Clint still couldn't believe it sometimes but he never took another day for granted, he spent every day treating Laura like he did when they first met, like a queen basically, he was like a lovesick teenager all over again. Clint also tried to make sure he spent all his time with his kids too, not wanting to miss another moment.

Natasha and steve moved into their own home. Since they couldn't return to the compound as it was destroyed, they stayed at Tony and Peppers for a few days until pepper could find them a house. It was quite perfect actually, Natasha had never taken herself for a white picket fence kind of girl, but the house pepper had found was perfect. It was on its own with a huge garden, like tony and peppers, a good 30 minutes drive from anyone or the city, but it was still close buy that they could get James to school and could visit Tony, Pepper and Morgan as much as they wanted.

During the year, they made sure to visit most of their friends, of course, they couldn't exactly see the guardians or carol since they were away in the universe somewhere but their space friends always came back whenever they wanted too or when it was a birthday or a special time. The family of three visited clint and laura a lot too, to be honest, clint and laura were like a couple of teenagers again, sometimes Natasha would catch clint looking at laura and he would just be smiling whilst staring at his wife, like the rest of the world didn't exist but her, it was sickeningly cute. Lila had been practising her archery even more, she told steve she wanted to be just like her dad. A hero, whereas cooper was going back to school to finish his last few years before leaving for college. If Natasha remembered correctly, he had said he wanted to get into social work and help kids that were displaced by 'The Blip' and Nate was just happy like always, not a care in the world. All he wanted to do was play with his brother and sister and run around 24/7.

Natasha and steve had officially retired too, thankfully their home was close enough to the compound that they could still help out the team, paperwork mostly and they trained some new recruits sometimes when they were craving a bit of action or when the new Avenger's team desperately needed their expertise. They did have their own gym room in the house so they could keep on top of their health and fitness but they didn't do any missions, that was the only condition. No missions for either of them. Neither wanted to risk themselves or each other and definitely didn't want to risk their lives and leave James without a parent or two. And too Natasha's happiness, Steve had kept the beard and longer hair after hearing that both James and his mother liked it better, and even Natasha had kept the blonde at the end of her hair. Almost a reminder of the last 8 years. She knew one day her hair would get too long she would have to cut it off but for now, the blonde was a part of her and she wasn't getting rid of it. Besides, she liked her hair longer anyway.

Its a Saturday on the anniversary of ‘The Blip’ aka when everyone came back, and Tony and Pepper had offered to have James over for a sleepover again, leaving the evening free for Natasha and steve to spend together, it was after all a special anniversary, not only because of their victory for bringing everyone back but because its the day Steve came back and also met his son.

So the two retired Avengers decided to spend the night at home. Just the two of them.

Right now, the soldier and the spy were swaying in the front room of their house, Natasha's head was lay on its side against his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his neck. Steve had rested his chin on the top of her head and had his hands placed on her waist, slowly caressing them up and down her back. They'd been dancing to some old music that steve has put on for about 20 minutes. The lights were dimmed down, the windows letting in a soft breeze and James' toys, crayons and drawings were only slightly littering the floor.

Shifting her head, Natasha moved to place her ear over Steves' heart, listening to the soft thud of his heartbeat. Just revelling in the warmth he was radiating. Could you blame a girl? She had spent 5 years without him, Natasha was gonna spend the rest of her life soaking up as much of him as she could. But after a few minutes, she pulled her head back and looked into the blue eyes above her. The same blue eyes that lovingly stared back. Natasha pushed on her feet bringing her to her tiptoes, giving her just enough heigh to reach his lips and bring him down into a kiss. One that he gladly return with just as much enthusiasm.

After pulling away Natasha kept their foreheads together and stopped on her feet, halting their dancing and she held onto him. Then take a deep breath, Natasha opened her mouth to speak.

“You know, 6 years ago, after you were gone, it was the worst time of my life, I couldn't do anything, I couldn't sleep or eat, it sounds pathetic but I just couldn't believe you weren't in my life anymore. And then I found out about James. And it was like I was given this gift as if the universe was trying to apologise to me for taking you. And I was so scared at the thought of having this child by myself without you there. I always knew you wanted a child so much, anyone could tell you did even if you denied it or never talked about it. So when I remembered that, I wasn't so scared, because I knew you were always with me and if you could want this life and this child, I knew I could do it too.” Steve almost grimaced, he hated that he wasn't there for her, that he wasn't there for James for those 5 years. But all that mattered was that he was here now.

“I'm sorry I left you alone Tasha. I never wanted to do that.” He was too sweet, he was trying to apologise for something that was beyond his control. Natasha just smiled up at him as his eyebrows furrowed in regret.

“I know you didn't but you don't have to apologise.” Then his eyes lit up.

“You did such an amazing job raising James, he's amazing. The best kid I ever met and I'm not being unfair I promise.” She laughs at that. In the past year, James had become smitten with his dad, both spending all their time with each other trying to make up for lost time. It was cute to see steve experience so many firsts. And for the two of them to experience some together. after their emotional meeting, the two mostly bonded over drawing, James had insisted on making a picture for his dad and steve had joined him and they hit it off from there.

“Seriously though, you and James are the best part of my life, I'm so proud of everything we've built this last year, the HQ, becoming trainers for the new recruits and making this house our home. I'm so glad I have you and that your both okay. You're my family, I love you so much.” Hearing his confession made her heart warm in her chest, she still hadn't got used to it, to be fair, they had only said ‘i love you’ for a short while when they had been on the run but in the past year he had said it too her every day. It was still foreign almost but every time he muttered those words, it sent shivers down her spine and he never let her forget it.

“That's good because I was thinking about what you would say about expanding”  Steve's brows knitted together at her question, not really understanding it, but as she stared at his confused face the redhead just grinned.

“Expanding? what? the house? Isn't it big enough?” Finishing his sentence steve let out a huff of a laugh. He really did think she meant the house. For a super-smart super-soldier, he could be quite clueless sometimes.

Natasha just rolled her eyes with her grin still on her face. He really had no idea.

“No, you dork. I meant our family.” That's when the soldier's eyes light up, but not for the reason she was trying to explain. 

“What do you mean, like a dog? Because I think James would love that, and me but mostly James, yeah Jamie would definitely love a dog.” Sometimes he was painfully too obvious and oblivious, Natasha just smiled and quirked an eyebrow, knowing full well that it was steve who wanted a dog more, but he was trying to play it off as if it was James that wanted it.

“No, I didn’t mean a dog.”

“Then what do-” His breath nearly caught in his throat, he pauses and it finally clicks. 

“You want another kid?” His blue eyes start to sparkle as he speaks. She could practically feel his excitement and nervousness when his hands tightened their grip on her waist.

tilting her head to the side, Natasha smirked at him. He'd finally figured it out, but she still had one more surprise.

“What if I told you I’m already about a month of that plan in front of you.“

Once again, the soldier's eyes are confused as he looks at his love. A few strands of his long hair falling into his eyes. But then his face falls, finally realising what she means. Natasha just waits, watching the different thoughts colour his face. Then she sees it. That look of realisation in his eyes. 

“You’re pregnant? You're really pregnant?”

Biting her lip, Natasha nods in confirmation.

Steve breathes out a laugh, practically in shock he picks her up at her sides and swings her around in a circle, hugging her close. The redhead laughs at the sudden movement and when he finally puts her down, he kneels on both knees and pulls her closer at her hips, instantly reaching for her shirt to pull it up slightly so he can see her bare stomach. There wasn't anything there and he knew there wouldn't be a bump for a couple more months but just knowing that right now, a baby was growing inside there made him almost pass out.

As he holds her in his hands, steve leans in to kiss her bare skin, just below her belly button. He can feel her fingers start to run through his hair as he does. Once he pulls back he tilts his head back to look up the love of his life. His partner, his spy, the woman who one day would be his wife and all he could do was marvel at her. 

Steve was literally consumed in awe at the woman before him, he always had been. Ever since the moment he had boosted her of his shield to catch a ride on one of the chitauri's ships all those years ago.

She was amazing. And had given him everything he thought he never even wanted or could even have.

Looking back at her stomach he gave it another quick kiss before he whispered into her skin.

"I love you so much already.” 

Before Natasha can react, her soldier is already back on his feet and grabbing her by the arms to pull her closer to him so he can wrap his arms around her and leave no space between them.

Seeing him up close she can see the slight traces of tears that had run down his face from the pure emotion he had been feeling. 

“Natasha Romanoff, you are the love of my life and I love you so much. You have given me everything I never thought I could have or even wanted. You are my world, you, James and this baby. You are my everything and I feel like I'm falling in love with you all over again every single day.”

The redhead sniffles a little at his small speech, she knew he would be over the moon, and she was so happy she was able to finally tell him this time. This is what it should have been like for James. But even though those 5 years without him were tough, she finally had him back now and they were moving forward with their lives. With James and the baby for them to raise.

Pulling him down by his shirt Natasha embraces his lips with hers again. Their lips moulding together perfectly. God, she would never get enough of this man. She thought didn't deserve him at all, but after everything they have been through, she couldn't care less if she deserved him or not. She loved him and he more than loved her. They had James and they were going to have another baby. And that's all that mattered.

Pulling away breathlessly the two stay close with their noses touching, Steve's has a sudden wash of confusion and worry over his face.

“Does James know?” 

Natasha lets out a sigh, looking down as she plays with her fingers. Her worry also covered her face as she really thought about James's reaction

“No, not yet, I didn't want to tell him yet just in case he gets a little upset, it's been a crazy year and we've only just got you back too. So much has changed. I don't want him to think that now you're here and there's a baby that he's being left out.”

“Hey don't worry, everything will be fine, James will never be left out and he is gonna be a great big brother." Steve reached down to capture her hands in his to stop her from picking at her fingernails and then used his other hand to touch her chin, making her head tilt upwards to look at him once again. Suddenly her worry clears away, he was right. She was worrying over nothing.

Then a cheeky smile makes its way onto steves face. 

“So, what do you think? A boy or girl.” Natasha instantly rolls her eyes playfully at him and pulls away to go turn the music off.

“Oh god, your gonna start this now? I’m not fighting with you over who’s guessing right.”

“Hey, come on, just because you know I’ll be right isn’t it? “ he followed her after she turned the music off, both making their way towards the stairs to head to their bedroom, but it didn't stop him from joking with her.

“Oh you really wanna go there” She challenged back.

“Oh yeah, you know I do. And by the way, since we brought it up, I think we should definitely get a dog.” If Natasha eyes could have rolled any further back, she would have. Steve knew she only meant it playfully but he was not gonna stop trying.

“We are not getting a dog.”

“Please? You know James would love it, and me, and the baby. “

“Steve please“

“Pleeease, just 1, like a labrador or golden retriever.”

“You're obsessed.”

And that's how they spent the rest of night, spending it together in their home, talking about the baby and James and even the possibility of getting a dog. 

Years ago Natasha could never have dreamed this would have been her life, she was raised to be a killer, to not embrace her emotions and believe love was for children. Back then she didn't even think she could have children. but now she had everything she dreamed about. She deserved this.  Natasha wouldn't have changed it for the world.

And Steve was the same. If you would have told him back when he was still a skinny kid in the 40s that he would have been a hero and finally have his own family in the 21st century with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and had a child with one on the way, he probably would have died from a coughing fit and asthma attack after laughing too hard. 

Fate had brought them together and also tore them apart, but nothing could stop them from finding each other again. 

And neither could imagine their life any different.

[beybladeimagines]

May I request a scenario where Kai almost kisses his crush? I love your scenarios a lot! Thank you for all your hard work!

Mod Note: Eeeee! Thank you so much! I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope you like the small twist I added.

“Wow, not bad…” Eyes are elated. You’ve never seen so many people gathered in one spot before. Bladers huddle around one another watching various matches taking place all across the area. You hear the seemingly endless sounds of brash clashes, spinning gears, and blades grinding along the stadium grounds. This noise easily overpowers the cries from the crowds and you find yourself in a place you can somehow associate with home. When you turn around to see who had managed to follow, you are surprised to see Kai standing so close. This might have been the first time you ever really saw him. He usually stands at a distance and pays you no mind, but it seems he’s taken an interest in your current adventure. Funny… He usually isn’t the type to immerse himself among the crowd and yet here he stands like a golden god being admired by his people.

Kai initially had no interest in coming here. Although he used to occupy events like these in his youth, he no longer shows interest in whatever potential might arise from the competition. He’s only here for one reason and that’s simply to watch over you. He usually isn’t interested in the idea of babysitting, but thanks to Tyson, he’s grown accustomed to it. While everyone else seemed to vanish to view their own players of interest, he took this opportunity to observe you alone. He always appreciated your ability to give him space. If it were up to you, you would’ve never dragged him here if you were aware that it made him uncomfortable. Seldom does he surround himself with those who are considerate of his feelings. For the most part, he’s always taking some kind of order, but you have never imposed a greedy desire onto him. In fact, you remind him of a stray cat and although that sounds far from a compliment, there is a kind connection. He wants to believe that cats are only comprised of good intentions. They exude affection and trust and you do the same without needing to be spoiled.

When you meet his gaze, you both seem to stop moving. You’re trying to read his eyes in order to get an answer for his intentions; whereas, he is simply waiting for you to react. You both have never truly shared a moment like this, let alone looked at one another for longer than a split second. It feels so odd to be acknowledged… But he knows better than to keep his eyes on you the entire time. His instincts sense something sinister. He hears a loud crash coming from behind you. A blader had tried to make a serious and speedy impact on his opponent, but instead sent his own blade flying out of the ring. Kai first sees the barrage of colors coming closer, and his muscles are the first to move out of protective instinct.

Arms part ways from his sides, bending forth to your frame. They instantly wrap themselves around your physique and push you away to the left in the process. Your back crashes against a wall, stealing the very breath you once tried to take, but pain does not come. His body had taken the impact and much more… You hear something searing against skin and realize that the run-away blade had actually shot across Kai’s back, leaving a cut along the fabric of his top and now his flesh. His forehead rests against yours, revealing the amount of closeness he was willing to construct in order to avoid having you injured. When you slowly open your eyes, you only see the way his lips are hovering over your own. A heavy breath tickles your blushing borders, causing goosebumps to appear on your skin. He is so close at imposing affection and yet, he restrains himself from capturing an honest kiss. If you inclined your head any higher, you would’ve done it for him, but you seem to be more concerned for the wound he has developed on your behalf.

“Are you okay?” Despite the ache along his back, he seems to have disconnected himself from his injury. It doesn’t even matter anymore. Seeing you okay seems to have brought some kind of alleviation. Your eyes wander from his lips and back to his orbs, once again receiving that cardinal stare. His arms are still around you and muscles remain tense, as if to imply that you still need protecting. His mouth is still so close, as if he tempts the desire to taste you while you remain within his grasp. A moment like this only seems to happen in movies and yet you’re living out that fantasy. You place a hand on his chest, hoping he’d back away, but you are pleased by the sensation beneath your palm. You feel his heart and how it remains so calm, despite the chaos that came. You feel his muscles and how strong they stand, despite being against your fragile frame. You feel something so indestructible, something so unfazed by any force. Perhaps he is allowed to stay, but it only awakens an embarrassing interest that you are too flustered to convey. 

He unwraps an arm from around you, only to place his hand over the one you have on his chest. He grasps your fingers and keeps them close, as if wanting you drink in this moment a little longer. Before he pulls your hand away, he allows you to feel the rest of his chest before your arm is allowed to return to your side. The entire time he seems to tempt you and his gaze never really leaves yours. You are taken aback by his sudden boldness and are unable to answer his initial question. However, the heat on your cheeks seems to hold the answer to his inquiry. So, with a smirk, he simply says “thought so” and parts from your being entirely. How cruel this man can be and yet, you crave another moment where he sacrifices himself for your sake.

[klsywccds]

hello all! val back with another, jfc valerie revamp to Kelsey. a lot of her story is still the same && all of her connections are still in place! this is just a little more fleshed out to give her some more depth because i was having a hard time relating to her, rip. WARNING: this shit is long. val got carried away... again. what else is new? so here is kelsey’s new and improved bio !! sliding this in the ‘call’ tag as well bc my sunshine bb desperately needs more plots. did i mention that i love y’all? without further ado, read on!

[ alycia debnam-carey, twenty-five, cisfemale, she/her ] ━ hey, I just saw [ kelsey woods ] walking down the streets of crownsville. they’ve lived in town for [ 18 years ], and you can catch them around town working as a [ high school art teacher ]. I hear they’re known to be [ bubbly & creative ] and [ timid & sensitive ]. if asked, they would say their aesthetic would be [ service dogs, deaf culture, over-alls covered in paint, succulent plants, sunflowers, pride flags, cup of tea ]

Kelsey Noelle Woods (nee Williams) was born on February 24th, 1994 in Gold Coast, Australia. She has never had much information about either one of her biological parents aside from the fact that her mother was a teenager. Kelsey was abandoned on the steps of a fire department a mere few days after her birth. It was a gut wrenching decision for her mother. As much as she adored the little girl, she knew that she wasn’t equipped to provide for all of the child’s needs. Kelsey never really harbored any animosity towards her mother for this but it did cause her to grow up with a deep-rooted insecurity and fear of not being enough.

After her surrender, Kelsey grew up in the foster care system in Australia. Kelsey hated every minute of it. Although some foster parents genuinely did have their hearts in the right place, most of the homes were overcrowded and the parents stretched too thin while also being weary of getting overly attached to the foster children. At worst, the homes were abusive. Kelsey always felt on edge and had an anxiety disorder from a young age. She had a hard time making friends with the other kids due to her never staying in one place for long. The little girl would go to bed and dream of finding a family of her own.

At the age of 7, Kelsey’s dreams came true and she was adopted by the Woods family. The move from Australia to Crownsville was rough for Kelsey. Even after the adoption was finalized, Kelsey was terrified that the smallest mistake would make her dads realize that they had made a huge mistake and send Kelsey back into the foster system. It wasn’t until she bonded with her adopted brother, Connor, that Kelsey started to realize that her new family wasn’t going anywhere. They actually wanted her around --- the first time in Kelsey’s life that someone had wanted her. 

She was diagnosed hard of hearing shortly after she moved in with the Woods’. After a couple of surgeries as a child, her hearing was partially restored in her right ear. However, out of her left ear she can’t hear anything. Eventually, Kelsey will lose her hearing all together. She can speak aloud but prefers to use ASL and can hold her own with reading lips. Kelsey never really felt like this held her back in life. It was all that she had ever known. Her dads insisted that, since her other senses became stronger, Kelsey was the superhero of the family. This started a life-long obsession with superheroes. Figuring that it would help their daughter, Kelsey got her first service dog when she was eight. Her first service dog was named Jarvis (after Iron Man which is her favorite movie). The dog was trained not only to alert Kelsey to sounds but also to help with her anxiety. 

School was a mixed bag for Kelsey. She was a naturally bright and gifted student, always at the top of her class academically and never daring to misbehave. She never wanted to draw unnecessary attention to herself. However, Kelsey was severely bullied by the other kids. She was bullied for everything from being adopted, to her thick Australian accent, to her disability, and finally for being gay after she came out in high school. She spent most of her time with the teachers. Her teachers always adored Kelsey and, ever since, Kelsey knew that one day she wanted to be a teacher so that she could help kids too.

Kelsey also fell in love with art at a young age. Although Kelsey is modest about her talent, anyone can see that she is a remarkable painter. She paints everything from completely abstract, to scenery, to almost scarily accurate portraits of people. When she got to college, Kelsey decided to combine her two interests and study to become an art teacher. She originally intended on staying in Georgia for college. However, after a lot of thought, Kelsey decided to take a leap of faith and go out of state for college. She accepted a full ride art scholarship at the University of Colorado. Since then, Kelsey never looked back. 

Kelsey moved back home to Crownsville after finishing her undergraduate degree. She missed being around her family so she got her teaching certificate in Atlanta. With her latest service dog, Gamora, by her side, Kelsey is in her first year of teaching art at the high school. It’s funny to her to be back walking the same halls not long after she graduated and even funnier to be working alongside her former teachers. As well as teaching art, Kelsey also runs the high school’s Gay-Straight Alliance. She is eager to prove herself and make her classroom a safe space for her students. She suspects her students are more interested in Gamora than anything else --- but hey, whatever works, right?

Kelsey is the ultimate sweetheart and would never dare to speak ill of anyone. Even though she’s had her fair share of heartbreak, Kelsey chooses to look on the bright side. She believes there’s beauty in the world and a good person inside of everyone.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

a page will be coming soon with more detailed descriptions! but off the top of my head: biological mother, biological siblings, foster siblings, college friends, teacher friends, artist friends, ex-girlfriend that she dated before leaving for college, neighbors, former bully in high school turned close friend. and as always, anything that your beautiful mind can think of!

TAKEN CONNECTIONS

adopted brother --- @conncrwoods --- kelsey’s #1 in life. she will forever consider him her best friend and he’s always the first one kelsey calls in a time of crisis. she’d do anything for him.

childhood friends --- @lvcybirch, @elirades, @will-blooms​ --- people that kelsey grew up with in crownsville and have stayed close over the years.

first love --- @tierneytaylcr --- tierney and kelsey met in college. they were each other’s roommate. right from the start, they hit it off and fell pretty quickly for each other. they dated for four years but broke up after graduation because kelsey wanted to return home while tierney wanted to travel the world and pursue her music career.

roommate --- @ellymunro --- honestly, kelsey believes they were destined to be each other’s roommate. elly is one of the only people who is just as nerdy as kelsey is. she can’t imagine living with anyone else.

current girlfriend --- @silver-sixx --- in true kelsey fashion, kelsey was crushing hard on silver ever since they met on the booze cruise. completely flustered, kelsey accidentally introduced herself as batman. kelsey was sure that she completely ruined her chances until a month later, when silver kissed her in a coffee shop. they’ve been together ever since.

close friend / lowkey bad influence --- @amara-lange --- whereas kelsey has always played it safe and never wanted any trouble, amara always presses kelsey to get out of her comfort zone. kelsey is always nervous but ends up loving it. almost all of her ‘wild’ stories happened with amara.

[anotherdarkiboi]

A Dark End

Warnings: blood, stabbing, knives, accidental murder, angst, major character death, mild cursing

There are lots of references to WKM. It involves Mark and Dark and could be seen as a ship if you look really hard. This also ends as a songfic (kinda?) so go here to listen to it. It’s a cover of “Room of Angel” from Silent Hill by Caleb Hyles.

"Dark, stop this! It's all in the past now. Don't you see how much I've- no, we've changed?" Mark pleads, hands up in surrender as Dark's knife flashes in front of him.

"Your pleas mean nothing to me. Do you really think I can forgive you for what you've done to us?" Dark sneers, pointing his knife threateningly towards his creator as he advances forwards. His red and blue aura flickered madly as static and high pitch ringing filled the room. "The only reason I've changed is because of you. You are the reason why I am like this. The reason why I was ever created was purely for revenge. You see yourself as all high and mighty, beloved and adored by fans, but they can't see the monster you really are!"

"Dark, I never wanted to hurt you or them. I always thought of you as a brother, maybe even more than that. And I regret everything I've done to Celine, Damien, and William. They were my friends too, and a part of me still mourns for them." Mark pauses, trying not to stare at the knife pointed at him as he slowly backed away.

"For a long time, I thought we brothers too. We were cut from the same cloth, wore the same face. We were two sides of the same mirror. You were, after all, the one that semi-created me. But I would give that all back for a chance to go back and start over," Dark says mournfully, his grip on the knife slowly loosening.

"I would too..." Mark replies with regret. He laughs half-heartedly. "We are both so broken. I mean, we're talking about events that happened hundreds of years ago, for fuck's sake! I know that what I did was wrong. And I've suffered for it. But we can't go back into time and fix my mistakes. We just have to live with it. I moved on- why haven't you?"

"Because every time I look into the mirror I see Damien, Celine, the DA. Every time I see Wilford, I see the Colonel. I don't want to live with your mistakes. We are broken because you made us broken." Dark fumed, backing Mark up into a wall, knife positioned towards him once more as Dark's grip tightened around handle. The sound of static became deafening and a high pitched ringing filled the air, burning Mark's ears from its intensity.

"Because when I look into the mirror, I also see you. The man you once were, the friend I once knew, the young Mark that just wanted to act. And I hate it." Dark sneered, inches away from Mark's face. "We could have been happy, we could have ALL been happy if you didn't go and mess things up. Why don't you just admit it was All. Your. Fault!"

"Dark, please! Just listen to me!"

"No! I'm tired of listening to you. I'm tired of being polite and diplomatic. I'm not Damien! Why don't you just say it. Say you hate me! Like how you hated the Colonel when he ran away with your wife! How you hated Celine for not staying with you! How you hated Damien for being so much more loved than you were. Say it. Say it!"

Dark suddenly lunges at Mark, Mark defending himself with an equal amount of force. They both topple to the ground, punches thrown and kicks made from both sides. Dark, having planned for this moment for years, was filled with an adrenaline high and quickly gained the upper hand. He smirks, Mark gazing up at him in wide-eyed fear as he was momentarily pinned to the floor.

Dark loved it. The power he felt coursing through his body as he saw Mark shaking in trepidation beneath him was blinding. It felt so good. After decades of waiting, he was finally able to get what he wanted. To make Mark get what he deserved.

And yet...

The glint of an almost forgotten knife shone in Dark's hand before making contact with thick flesh. Mark grunts and collapses onto his knees. Blood flows through Mark's t-shirt, red spreading out unnaturally fast out of the wound in his chest. Mark's breath shakes as he gazes down at the knife hilt sticking out of his abdomen.

"Dark?" He whimpers. Mark glances up at Dark, eyes wide in frozen terror.

Dark quickly steps back, brows furrowed. He wanted revenge, right? Wasn't this what he wanted? Mark dead and Dark finally in control? He wanted to hurt Mark, make him feel the pain he felt on that fateful night at the Manor. He wanted Mark to suffer... right? Dark didn't know what he wanted anymore. But whatever it was, it wasn't this.

"Mark? Mark!" Dark kneels by Mark's side, holding his head up with one arm and applying pressure around the knife wound with his other hand. The ringing suddenly stopped and the red and blue colors flickered madly behind Dark in anguish. "I didn't mean to...I didn't mean for you to get hurt, not like this."

Mark chuckles then winces in pain, his entire demeanor changed. "Heh, you'd think that all those times I stabbed, drowned, and hung myself would get me used to the pain." Mark inhales sharply as Dark presses down harder around his stab wound, putting his hand on top of Dark's and squeezing it. "I guess not."

"Mark, there's no need to pretend. I know you're in pain, you don't have to hide it." Dark consoles, his voice low and oddly calm, looking around the room for some way to get help. All anger and hatred seemingly disappeared as Dark tried to save one of his only remaining friends.

Mark gives Dark a pained smile. "I guess I can't lie to you. The same way as you can't lie to me. I think I'm going to die, Dark. And I'm really fucking scared." Mark rasps resolutely. "I think there was always a part of me that wanted to die. A part of me that wanted to die in that Manor all those years ago, along with the Celine and Damien I knew. I think maybe... you might be right. And I just want to say that I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart for everything I ever did that hurt you and everyone else." Tears stream down Mark's face and Dark couldn't help feeling his soul being crushed as though there was a knife stabbed into him too. "I'm sorry..." Mark repeats in a whisper, his skin becoming pale and cold as blood pools onto the floor.

Dark held Mark closer to his chest, feeling Mark's cold body shiver while continuing to put even pressure on his wound. "It's all behind us now. Just focus on staying alive. Please."

Mark looks Dark in the eye, mouth dribbling blood.

"You... forgive me?"

"I forgive you. And I'm sorry for not forgiving you sooner." Dark replies without hesitation.

Mark smiles contently. "I forgive you too".

Dark hesitates for a moment before replying. "Mark, I-..."

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

You lie silent there, before me

Mark was dead.

Your tears, they mean nothing to me

Dark sat on the ground, sitting beside the man's body for what felt like hours. His suit and pants were drenched in blood, and his hands were sticky with it. The whole room smelled of copper and everything he touched seemed to be painted red. A part of him wanted to sit here for hours and to become crazy and forget like Wilford had. A part of him wanted to sit and wallow in regret. A part of him believed Mark would revive.

He knew nothing good would come out of staying here. He had to leave.

The wind howling at the window

It was quiet. Dark wasn't even able to hear the whispers of Damien and Celine in his head. The static reduced to a background echo of white noise. Blue and red light radiated from Dark in a soft glow. He felt sentimental, yet he couldn't bring himself to be triumphant or mournful over Mark's death. He expected to feel... something. Yet there was only a feeling of emptiness and cold chill on his skin.

The love you never gave, I give to you

Mark's body lay on his back on the ground, his head slightly tilted to the side and mouth slightly agape. Crimson pooled below him and the black hilt of the knife remained lodged in his abdomen. One of his hands lay on top of his bloody shirt, staining it red. His eyes stared at Dark unblinkingly.

Seeing Mark dead and dressed in red was hauntingly familiar. Dark half expected him to open his mouth and say "It isn't fair, is it," and Dark would agree.

Really don't deserve it

But now, there's nothing you can do

Mark was weak. It took only one stab wound in the right place to kill him. It seemed almost too easy. There was no flair of dramatics, no pleading on hands and knees, no real fight. It was as if Mark actually wanted to die.

And to Dark, that was the scariest thing.

If only I... Dark quickly stopped his train of thought. Mark was dead. There was nothing to be done now.

So sleep in your only memory

Of me, my dearest Brother

Dark cracked his neck as his eternally broken bones relocated. The static grew stronger as his red and blue aura brightened and intensified.

Mark was right to say that they were both broken. Yet Dark had always assumed the two of them would stay broken together.

Here's a lullaby to close your eyes, goodbye

Mark's eyes stared unblinkingly, all color gone and replaced with a clouded fog. They were once a chocolate brown, sweet and inviting, eyes that some say can make one melt from the warmth they radiated.

It was unnerving, to say the least. Especially knowing that Dark was the last thing those eyes saw. Dark gently closed them, running his hand down Mark's face.

It was always you that I despised

Dark was always envious of those eyes.

Mark could easily command an audience and make fans swoon without ever meaning to, whereas Dark's appeal was just a well-rehearsed act. Everyone loved and trusted Mark on instinct, while Dark had to work to gain it. And even Dark couldn't deny that there was something captivating about Mark -his eyes, his smile, his laugh- that he couldn't replicate, though they had the same body.

And Dark hated that.

I don't feel enough for you to cry, oh well

Dark felt something drip down his face, reaching his hand tentatively to wipe it off. His hands covered in dried blood left a streak of red on his ashen cheek. He glanced down at his fingertips, wet with a mixture of water and blood. Was he... crying?

How sickeningly emotional. If Mark was here to see this, Dark allowed himself to think, I would never hear the end of it. Tears dripped onto the marble floor with a soft patter.

Here's a lullaby to close your eyes, goodbye

Dark slowly got up on stiff legs. He half stumbled, his arms hung loosely by his sides instead of held behind him. He felt shaky and Dark hated not being in control, especially of himself. His suit and hands were bloody, the fabric of his clothes wrinkled and stained. A few tears continued to drip onto the floor, yet his eyes were blank and unfocused. The static was a steady hum and a high pitched ringing grew slightly louder. Dark could hear hushed whispers as his red and blue aura grew stronger.

He had to leave.

Goodbye

He quickly walked towards the door with rushed strides. Dark stopped, his hand wavering over the doorknob. A part of him wanted to turn around. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, firmly setting his jaw and steeling his resolve.

There was no going back. He opened the door and left.

Goodbye

The door closed with a click. The Manor was silent once again.

.

.

.

Goodbye