#which makes sense since...ive never written before

[4plus1313]

A good day for art despite not being on shrooms this time

[cuz-reasons]

Yall aren't even ready for the dumbest (affectionate) fic I've ever written

[jacaerysgf]

internal changes

summary: your long time betrothed jacaerys heads to winterfell to make good relations with the north, your relationship has always been one of love and happiness until you show up a month into his trip to winterfell where everything seems to have changed between the two of you. your relationship may never be the same and it has everything to do with a particular stark.

jacaerys velaryon x cregan stark x fem!non targ!reader

cw: infidelity, internalized homophobia, queer cregan and jace, threesome, poly relationship, hand job, oral (f), prob ooc for everyone man, p in v, anal, top!cregan, sub!jace, dom!reader, like one smack to the face, ‘sara snow’ mention? (its just cregan), not proofread

an: havent written in a hot minute im rlly rusty but ive gotten asked to write this for forever so here you go 😁

perm jace taglist ! (open) @cruelworldlana @smurfelle @ireneispunk @hxtd @venmondiese @urmomsgirlfriend1 @jacesvelaryons @earth4angels @itsemohours @valdezthg

perm cregan taglist ! (open) @ireneispunk

He had been acting weird since you arrived. avoiding you at every turn, barely speaking to you and it bothered you to no end. His letters to you had been nothing but positive, speaking highly of winterfell and the lord stark who jacaerys also seemed to be avoiding as well.

he spoke about how much he missed you, how much he longed to see you but now that you were actually here he seemed to want nothing to do with you. a month ago you were the love of his life, he was obsessed with you, and now he would not even do so much as look your way.

then you heard the rumor for the first time. It seemed everyone had been trying to hide it from you but you heard it one night. the maids had been talking around the corner. Sara snow. The lord rumored bastard sister. With pretty long dark hair just like her brother. They had been sleeping together for basically his whole time there you presumed, you had even heard they got fucking married in front of the weirwood trees before you showed up.

You were sick. so sick about everything so sick of the thoughts you were having and you grew angry, furious but you managed to stay rational, calm, for now.

“are you happy?” he looked up at you started, you had barged into his room and locked the door quickly behind you. “y/n-“ “i am not angry, i was angry, but this is a very typical thing in marriages here i just wish you had informed me,” He stands up from his desk. readjusting the buttons on his white tunic to cover himself up further as he looked at you alarmed. He looked beautiful and you hate that. His hair wet and face flushed as he tries to find his words.

“i dont know what,” “ive heard the rumors. everyone talks about it, everyone looks at me with pity in their eyes. whether its this sara snow or some other lady i dont care because i believe it.”

He freezes. He looks down at his hands which shake, you wait for him to say something. Anything. a part of you hopes he denies it, even if it would be a lie you pray he can give you some false sense of hope but he doesn’t. merely standing quietly in shame while you let out a soft laugh devoid of anything. “if you wish for our marriage to be one of agreement then so be it. but do not try to trick me into believing itll be anything more than that any longer i refuse it.”

You turn to walk out of the room, no longer being able to stand in his presence but as you go to open the door his voice calls out to you. “there is no other lady.”

You scoff and turn back to him, his eyes are glazed over with tears as his chest rises with heavy breaths. A part of you wants to walk over to him and wipe his tears off his face but you remain firm as you scoff. “do not take me for a fool-“ “i mean it. there is no lady.” he puts an emphasis on the word that has you tilting your head. you open your mouth to question him until the pure desperate look on his face causes it to click. there is no lady. but there is someone.

“im sorry.” he flats and looks as though he did not expect you to say that. “for what? you have nothing to be sorry for it is i who should be-“ “i cannot be mad at you for who you are it is not your fault.” He walks over to you as you close the door, grabbing your hands as he shakes his head. “you miss understand me i like you i love you like i man loves a women but he,” he lets out a frustrated sigh but you can tell its not directed at you, “i love him as i love you.”

When there is a silence in the air for far longer than he likes he squeezes you hard tight as he looks at your blank face. “please say something my love.” “who is it?” he looks down once more as you remain firmly staring at him. “y/n..” “who?” “cregan.” He says his name likes its forbidden, the word travels in the air like a brush of wind but you still hear it all the same.

he doesn’t dare look up at you again as another wave of silences washes over you two. His heart is aching so badly he wants to clutch his chest and fall to the ground. He does not want to be like this, one of those men. He holds himself in higher regard, but he cant help how he feels about the winter wolf who smiles at him so kindly. He thought it could be one and done, manage to shake this illness from his skin and be done with it but it has only gotten worse.

it is wrong. he should not want to love cregan as he loves you. you are his light his world but why does he think of cregan as he thinks of you. Its wrong, immoral. He should be punished, he wishes for you to yell, to scream at him, hit him but you don’t. you merely pull away from him and walk out the room without another word. He drops to his knees when as you shut the door and he clutches his chest as he begin to sob, he is a monster and this fate is a cruel but just punishment in his eyes.

Cregan wake up that morning prepared to walk the same routine he always does. The images of the dark haired prince that flash in his mind go ignored another day as they have been ever since the princess arrived. he did not hate you, no he actually rather liked you a lot but he did miss getting to spend time with jacaerys who clung to his side before you had shown up and now had not even spoken a word to him.

He walks into the hall and pauses. There you sit, arms crossed and two plates of hot foot in front of you. it clicks. he looks around at all the guards and maids in the room, “everyone out.” the room quickly scatters, “and make sure nobody enters.” the doors as shut with a hard slam as he stalks towards you, eyeing you down with a gleam of mischief in his pupils. “its a shock to see you here princess.” “i am not a princess.” he hums as he takes a seat and begins to pick at his food while you merely stare at him. “something the matter?” “how long?”

he raises his brow as he dunks his bread in the soup before shoving it in his mouth, “how long what?” “dont play dumb with me lord stark.” He chuckles leaning back in his chair and you find yourself readjusting in your seat. He watched you with a pleased look as he licks on of his fingers. “not long enough that your pretty little head should be worried about it princess.” “he said he loves you.”

cregans face falls and his face turns serious as he looks at you. He can see the questioning in your eyes and lets out a sigh. “two weeks. but we’ve been friends this whole time. i never meant for it to go further i swear on my sons life. stepping in between the bonds of a betrothal is not my way.”

You hate that you find yourself believing him. you itch at your skin to the point it becomes red. “do you like him?” cregan scratched at his jaw as he moves his food around on his plate. “i do. very much. i apologize.” he watched as you take a deep breath as you stare at your plate, “i will not peruse it, you are his betrothed and it would be inappropriate and wrong of me. i will leave him alone, i will never even glance at him i have disrespected your honor and dignity enough.”

he stared at you waiting for a response, he watches as you bring the bowl of soup to your lips snd take a long sip before placing it back down and wiping the excess from your lips. “would you accept his mother terms here and now so we could leave by the afternoon if i asked?” “yes of course anything you want.”

he expects you to ask him to do it but you merely bring your chalice to your lips as a sinister grin finds its way to your face. “do you find me pretty lord stark?” his brows raise in question but he coughs into his fist, “um, yes i do princess.” he watches as you lean over the table and grin at him sweetly. “just how pretty lord stark?” he almost asks you whats wrong before he feels your foot drag up his leg slowly letting out a shaky breath before a groan as your food digs into his bulge. shakily and breathlessly staring as you as you press your boot covered leg harder against him leaving him gripping the table. “i have an idea im sure you will be pleased with.”

jacaerys is on the edge of cracking. he had not seen you all day. he had gone to your room to ask you to have breakfast with him but he was informed you were not there. he had gone looking for you, searching every corner for you and he found nothing. nobody would even tell him where you were but they all had an odd look in their eyes when they said that to him.

He does end up seeing you, finally with cregan stark on your arm and he feels his heart plummet. “good day jacaerys.” his mouth opens and closes like a fish as he stares at the two of you. “good,,, day,,,?” he watches the look the two of you share as he feels his heart stop, “cregan’s been showing me around a bit would you like to join us?”

He feels like this is a trick. The two of you look far too happy, he gulps and fiddled around a bit before giving you a weak nod. he ends up trailing behind the two of you as the two of you talk about winterfell. you ask cregan about the history of certain things and he eagerly answers your questions. jace is just waiting for the fire to lit, for the two or you to turn on him and begin to berate him.

His mind wanders as he imagines the two of you punishing him the way he deserves, cregan holding him down while you tease his cock, refusing to give him what he truly wanted. He lets out a light whimper as his thoughts continue to run wild and his eyes widen as he coughs into his fist trying to play it off as nothing. He lets out a sigh of relief as the two of you say nothing but he misses the look the two of you share.

You all arrive at a large study, “this was my fathers before he passed.” “do you not use it?” cregan shakes his head, a more somber look on his face. “i should, i will, one day, for now his legacy shall be preserved here.” you hum and nod your head in understanding. you take off your cloak as cregan also begins to strip himself of his outerwear. jacaerys stares at the two of you confused, you walk over to him and begin to untie his cloak from around his neck. “you should make yourself comfortable jace.” “what is happening my love?” he asks you in a hushed voice but you dont answer him, a small smile creeps its way onto your face and he grows worried.

he allows you to strip him down to his undertunic, making no move to fight you his eyes drift behind you to cregan who has made himself really comfortable his undershirt untucked and being held open but just one button, cregan raises his brow at jace as he catches his eyes, taking a long drink from his bottle.

you grab his face and jacaerys blushes, “what are you looking at?” cregan stalks his way over and stands behind jacaerys his hands wrapping around his waist as jacaerys feels his breath caught in his throat as cregan presses his head into his neck.

“you’re such a greedy boy, wanting two people at once huh?” he whines. cregan begins to suck at the skin on his neck. he’s confused. he has no clue whats going on. “what’s happening?” he curses as your hands dip into his pants and harshly grab at his cock, “me and your secret lover have come to an agreement isn’t that right?” cregan lifts his head and hums. He watches in amazement as the two of you share a small kiss and he throbs at the sight of the two people he cares for most being intimate.

“hmm thats right princess.” jacaerys struggles to think as you tug on his throbbing cock, rubbing your thumb around his tip as cregan goes back to sucking on his neck. “since you’re so greedy, you can have us both arent we so kind?” jacaerys moans in delight at this turn of events and buckles his hips into your hand. your face sours and you lightly smack him across the face, “and not a single thank you? you’re disgusting.” jacaerys whines and shakes his head vigorously. “im sorry im sorry thank you thank you i love you.”

He feels cregan chuckle into his neck, his hands pull away the buttons on jacaerys tunic not caring about the now ruining garment as cregan caresses his skin. jacaerys continues to greedily rut his hips into your hands feeling himself closer and closer to his release. He suddenly feels cregan press into his back and he lets out a shudder as cregan begins to grind his hips against jacaerys, his tunic having long been disregarded and their bare skin presses against each other.

Your hands are suddenly pulled off him and cregan also takes a big step away from him and jacaerys whimpers at the loss of contact and the way his cock throbs as his orgasm dies down. “dont think im going to let you get away with this that easily.” your lips are suddenly presses against his and a fury and he eagerly tried to match you. “fucking another man behind my back so cruel.” he whimpers as it feels like a dagger begins to dig into his chest, “im sorry im sorry.” he slurs against your lips messily as you begin to pull him back as you sit on the bed, staring up at him. “prove it.”

He drops down to his knees like he was born to, quickly throwing himself under your skirt and get a taste of you like hes been craving for weeks now. your hand grips the back of his head while he begins to lick at you through your underwear and you look at cregan who takes another chug from his bottle before placing it down and walking back over to the two of you. jacaerys pushes aside your underwear and moans into you as he gets a taste of you. you gasp and look down at jacaerys skirt over head as your free hand grips at the sheets below you. “fuck jace.”

as his lips wrap around your pearl he gasps into you as he feels a body press against him and hands wrap around his cock. “dont think im not gonna join in.” jacaerys heart pounds as he continues to messily eat at you while cregan rubs his hands all over his cock, coating his fingers in his precum before sliding him inside of jace. his back arches and the vibration of his moan has you throwing your head back while cregan works open his hole as hes done plenty of times now.

the pit continues to build in your stomach and you lock eyes with cregan who grins at you and you wipe some sweat off your face, “dont you look pretty?” “shut the fuck up cregan.” the man laughs as he continues to work his fingers inside of jace, “you look so pretty when you’re about to cum doesn’t see jace?” the man though he cant see you now knows the expression on your jace far too well and nods eagerly against you. once you do release jace eagerly licks up every drop before you rip his head away and cregan pulls his fingers out. jacaerys still without any sort of release grows desperate as tears stream down his face.

“im sorry im sorry ill be good i swear please just let me cum please please.” you lean back into the bed and stare at cregan with a mock pondering look, “hmm what do you think my lord you think hes been good enough?” cregan smirks while jacaerys looks up at him with a pleading look, “oh how can you deny this face? look at him.” cregan cups his face in his hands and brushes some of his tears away. you look at jacaerys fucked out face and pretend to ponder for a few more moments while jacaerys squirms in cregans arms before grinning. “fine, come on my love.”

jacaerys heart beams at your words finally calling him by the affectionate name you had given him and he rushes towards you, “undress us.” his hands greedily tug off your clothes stripping you both bare and you grab his face and kiss him lightly. “you know ill always accept you jace, no matter what.” the layered meaning of your words hits him like a truck and the tears continue to well in his eyes, “i do not deserve you.” you shake your head as you affectionately run your fingers through his hair, “if this is who you are i do not mind it. i am serious, the three of us can be together if you so wish. cregan will grow on me im sure.” “im still here you know.”

you lightly chuckle as jacaerys beams at you, “you are the most amazing person i have ever met.” cregan now as bare as the both of you walks towards you two and raises a brow, “am i atleast second place?” jacaerys turns his head towards him, “of course you are.” cregan softly smiles and leans to press a gentle kiss against his lips.

When the two of them pull away the lust returns and you greedily turn jacaerys towards you and pull him into a deep kiss, falling back with him on top of you, “fuck me jace.” he moans as he eagerly lines himself up and pushes into you, shoving his head into the side of your neck as he bottoms out. he begins to work himself into a gentle rhythm before he feel cregans cock press against his hole and he freezes as cregan works his way inside of jacaerys.

jacaerys has never felt so full. so content. with the two people he loves the most bringing him to the heights of pleasure. he hopes his days are like this for the rest of his life, with the two of you by his side. that night after you had left the study and made a mess around cregans room as well he listens to the two of you bicker in bed about the mess youve made in his father study and how his legacy has been tarnished, “is it not strange he has a bed in his study?” “my father spent most of his time in his study, how do you think i was made?” “yuck do not say those things.” “oh you were certainly not complaining as i was eating-“ “oh dont bring up old news stark.” that night jacaerys falls asleep with a big smile on his face your voices lulling him to sleep.

[walnutcookie]

Rodger is transmasc (dandy might've helped with the literal surgey)

THIS IS SO REAL. ive had this hc for ages but like honestly ive been trying to figure out how exactly it would work... i like thinking abt how characters transness would really look, how it affects them and their lives etc

‼️warning for some mentions of transphobia/internalized transphobia!!‼️

with the toons in general its. Hard. since they have cartoon counterparts which presumably have the same thoughts n personalities and insecurities and emotions and everything then surely they would feel the same way about their gender that they were written to feel ? either the character was intentionally written to be transgender in the show or. yknow like many real trans people they just felt differently about the gender they were written to have. that they were put in the wrong body, that theyre forced to play a character who they arent and it feels off in a way. a "mistake" in their creation, in the way their cartoon conscious was put into their physical toon body. plus theres the issue that in the dw lore all of the toons were made around the 90s and regardless of the circumstances would gardenview allow one of their toons to change their appearance or pronouns???? would they not allow it because they dont want parents angry and they dont want kids to be confused as to why the toon in the cartoon character is so different from the real toon?

so... theres a few ways ive thought abt it but im really not sure which one is most appealing to me/makes the most sense.

a) rodger was actually a girl in the cartoons. pretend like all the posters and cartoon episodes depicted him as a girl!! but he was allowed to transition in his real toon form. provides some fun trans angst maybe because he has to stare at photos and posters of who he was meant to be and maybe feel a little guilty thinking that he failed at being who he was written as. has to deal with confused kids and angry parents because society is still iffy about trans people

b) rodger was written as a trans man from the start. possibly just some obscure lore that was never mentioned in the cartoons, at most hinted at, because they didnt want people to get angry at there being an openly trans character. nobody really comments on it, but since he has the memories of his cartoon counterpart he has memories of a time from before he had transitioned

c) rodger is some other flavor of trans (amab but doesnt feel masculine? feels enby or female or some other gender) but in his circumstances he cant really transition or even openly admit that he feels this way. just stuck in this body and cant do anything about it because of the environment hes in - gardenview would never allow it. (could also be that rodger is still transmasc, hes just afab and is stuck unable to transition in a different way, but hed probably look different and have a different name altogether)

if anyone has any more ideas let me know pleaaasee🙏🙏i LOVE talking about transness in characters its like one of my favorite things in the whole world.

[scribbledghost]

Writing Goddess!! How have you been?

I’ve been re-reading your original inhuman Vessel fic… would you ever do a Vessel POV version…? When reader first arrives, when he realises his feelings… what the other vessels say when they also realise how vessel feels? We love men than yearn 🥹

Ohhh you've captured my brain!! Companion piece to this fic.

Word count: 1,638

Notes: fem!reader, inhuman!Vessel, mass amounts of yearning

What He Needs

Vessel senses you before he sees you.

Visitors to the manor are not unheard of, though they are rare. Typically they would be wanderers, in need of food and shelter for the night before either Vessel or one of his housemates would guide them back to civilization. Sometimes they would be in need of something more intangible - a listening ear, perhaps, or a safe place to exist for a day or two. But none of them every stayed long.

Until you, that is.

As soon as he senses your presence on the manor grounds, he feels a pull. Like Sleep itself is telling him to go forth and draw you in.

Naturally, you are apprehensive at the sight of him, slightly panicked at the idea of being lost in the forest you'd been in. Vessel does his best to impart a sense of calm upon you, noting almost immediately how easy it seems to be to commune with you in such a manner. Once you are less wary, he invites you back to the manor.

The others are tense at first, as they usually are with visitors. It is Vessel himself who welcomes you in, offering you a quiet place to collect your thoughts for a while. An hour stretches into a day, then a week. III and IV are the most apprehensive of your presence initially, the younger vessels being inherently distrustful of newcomers. II tends to keep to himself, trusting Vessel to vet you properly.

After some terse back-and-forth, you are able to convince the vessels (or, more accurately, Vessel is able to convince the others) that you mean no harm to them. You are simply... lost. Not in a literal sense; you can leave the forest where their manor resides between worlds at any time. No, you are lost in the sense that you are missing something. Vessel readily offers the manor as a home for you while you work to discover what that something was.

It takes you longer than expected to realize they aren't human, though Vessel wonders if it is simply you being polite. Surely you must have seen the eyeslits on his mask move, or noticed how they do not eat or drink.

Truthfully, Vessel could have told you sooner. But that would have risked you fleeing the house in fear, and he simply could not have live with himself if that outcome had occurred.

As it happens, Vessel had grown attached to you rather quickly. As the mental connection begins to blossom between you and the vessels, he finds himself peeking into your thoughts enough to make him feel guilty about the action. Enough for him to know when you are sitting just out of sight during the group's musical rituals.

He always makes sure to sing the melodies he'd written in your image when he knows you are listening.

He thanks Sleep that the connection - for now - appears to still be one-way. You haven't been at the manor quite long enough yet to be able to venture into his own mind. If you could, you would no doubt know which place in his heart his words come from.

However, it takes II bringing it to his attention for Vessel to admit he's developed feelings for you.

"You love her."

It isn't a question - it rarely is with II. It is merely an observation.

"And what makes you say that?" Vessel asks, turning away from the window he stood at.

"Well, you're watching her like a hawk, for one," II states, clearly referencing how you are visible in the garden below from Vessel's perch.

"I am merely curious. We have not had a long-term guest since IV first arrived."

"And yet you have not tried to convert her."

This is true; Vessel never did try to bring you into the fold of Sleep's worshipers. In truth, it is because he felt you deserved more - more than the sprawling existence of being trapped in this forest for a millennia.

"Look, Vess," II says with a sigh, running a hand through his hair, "there's clearly something about her that has... intrigued you. I can't blame you, I think the rest of us feel the same way. But something tells me what draws you to her is deeper than simple curiosity."

With that, II takes his leave, leaving Vessel to stand alone with his thoughts.

It is then that he realizes that II is right. Something deeper has drawn him to you, and he is almost embarrassed that he had not realized it sooner.

You are both lost.

Both looking for the same thing.

Both desperately craving that connection with the other, wanting nothing more than to show each other the worst parts of yourselves and have the other not avert their gaze.

Vessel realizes that what has drawn him to you is not simple curiosity, nor is it the bond of a standard kindred spirit.

He loves you.

And that terrifies him.

The others must have felt the shift in their mental connection when he realized it. It is the only explanation as to why all three of them appear in his room moments later. Or perhaps II had gone to fetch III and IV when he'd left earlier. Vessel has no desire to ask.

"You should tell her," II suggests softly, placing a gentle hand on Vessel's upper arm.

"I can't."

"Why not?" IV asks. "I've seen the way she looks at you, Vessel. Clearly she's into you, too."

"Because if she realizes what she's seeking, she may look for it elsewhere."

There, at the heart of the issue, is fear. A deep fear that you will abandon him for something - someone - better.

"Can't hide it from her forever, mate," III says.

"...I can hide it for now."

And hide it he does. Weeks go by in the same manner, a carefully-practiced routine that changes little for everyone involved.

Vessel does his best to keep you at arms' length, but he finds himself helpless to resist your pull completely. This results in plenty of mixed signals, of which he has no doubt are infuriating to you to say the least. Lingering touches and gentle words seem to contrast with the secrets and his refusal to remove the mask like the others have.

The longer you stay in the manor, the more developed your own mental connection with all of the vessels becomes, in particular your ability to converse with them and peer into their own minds. II, III, and IV think little of it, but Vessel is more keen to help you expand and train your new skill. In his eyes, he sees it as perhaps a way to properly connect with you without fully admitting his feelings.

But telepathic conversations can only go so far.

He begins to dream of you - more frequently than he already had been, anyway. Whether they are still products of his own subconscious or gifts from Sleep, he is unsure, but he finds himself yearning for them each time he awakes the next day.

It is almost as if everything in them is indistinguishable from the waking world; every word, every touch, every sound is as clear as it would have been in reality. And yet... it is not enough.

Vessel goes to a private sanctuary early one morning, hoping to talk to Sleep itself out of desperation. Each morning he awakens with the feeling of your lips against his, only to realize it is not real, the grief compounds. On this day, it is particularly unbearable.

As he kneels to the ground and begged Sleep for guidance, he allows himself to be overtaken by the deity. All six of his eyes open, a brilliant blue glow emanating from them as Sleep's words filter through his mind. Typically communing directly with Sleep in such a way drains Vessel, but the strain on his body and mind is worth it if he can find relief.

"You have many choices, my vessel."

"...It does not feel as though I do."

"You may keep your intentions hidden, and continue to suffer in hopes your feelings fade with time," Sleep conveys. "Or, you may vacate her from the premises, and allow yourself to forget about her-"

"No!" Vessel interjects quickly in a panic before composing himself. "I... I apologize... I just-"

"You do not desire that outcome," Sleep said, "I understand. You may also discuss your true affections with her. You may tell her that you understand what she is searching for, for it is what you seek as well."

"But what if she leaves?" Vessel asks, voice small and unsure under the weight of that possibility.

"Then she leaves," Sleep says. "If she does not share your fondness, then she is not meant to be yours."

"I cannot bear the thought."

"You must, if you are to achieve the possibility of her returning your love."

Vessel leaves the conversation slightly downtrodden, knowing Sleep is right, but also knowing the weight of what he is about to do.

He goes to the others, telling them of his decision. He wants them to be prepared for the fallout should you flee from the house - there are still cracks along the walls in some of the manor's many rooms from the last time heartbreak had found him.

After some reassurances and encouragement, Vessel steels himself and goes on the hunt for you. He ends up finding you in the library, but he can tell that you're not in the best of moods.

Rather than immediately sit and begin to tell you what he knows, he instead tries a different approach, praying with all of his power that you share his feelings. He wanders closer to you, and when he sees that you are still deep in thought, he speaks.

"You're tense."

[goth-mami-writer]

¤ Sweet, Silver Affliction ¤ (Pt.6)

~ King Baldwin IV × f!Reader Arranged Marriage AU

{ Send me Baldwin Gifs, I'm running out, y'all :/ . Also, this one is a little long, but are yall ready for the next part....which is already over halfway written 😉}

Keep sending me asks! I love doing Baldwin Headcanons! 🖤🖤🖤🖤

《 The three girls you traveled alongside to the bazaar held you closely with their henna stained hands pulling at you to keep you near.

Risha, Hana, Yasmeen, all of them talked and laughed so differently but they all moved with a sinless grace that felt so far ahead of your own. Baldwin was right, you did feel comfortable around them but you were also green with envy. They walked and giggled in ways that you found yourself growing wishful of. Maybe you were raised too demure or too shy in Hadjari being born as royalty. Even the way they picked up their skirts from the unswept street side made you wince in jealousy. How did they do everything so beautifully?

They brought you inside a textile shop on the side of town lessened from Arabian styles and focused more heavily on Christian influence that was so prominent in this district. But you weren't brought directly inside, making you ask Yasmeen who kept you company at the shop door why you were being secluded. She then told you in Tuunda’anian,

“His Grace doesn't want you in the presence of a man.”

You blushed deeply upon hearing this, making her chuckle to see your reddened face that clearly understood the gravity of his request. Suddenly all of them ushered you inside the shop that was now emptied for your use and they all dispersed from around you to begin finding linens for dresses more tailored in Hebrew patterns and hues that spoke of Israeli influence.

It bored you that the colors were so dull in grays, beiges and whites. They were unlike anything you were used to wearing but you browsed with Baldwin in mind as you held the fabrics to your body, trying to envision them sewn across you more modestly since you were married. When you saw in the looking glass that they were all standing around you with an awaiting glance, you turned quickly.

Their expressions spoke of anticipation and you asked them in your tongue the meaning of their stares.

“Tell us of the king!” Risha demanded in a smile, piling herself down onto the large patterned ottoman cushion fashioned near the window as the others knelt to the carpet with their legs crossed under their gowns to listen in with troublemaking grins.

You became bashful again, letting your hands twill the shop fabric between your fingers as you thought of what to say and one of them blurted out when you appeared unsure of where to start.

“Have you seen his face?”

You shook your head, telling them softly that the king wished for you to wait for that and they all looked to each other in surprise that even the king's new bride had not seen what lies under his mask.

“Not even to….share your wedding night?”

“Risha- do not embarrass her-!”

“We all want to know!”

You did become slightly embarrassed, and you turned, wanting to put away your linens before sitting with them like they all wanted, taking time away from the castle to discuss the king more discreetly. They watched as you sighed, and Hana spoke up with mention of the obvious from this morning,

“You awoke in your bed this morning, not in the king's bed. So- there was….no wedding night?”

You appreciated their careful verbiage when approaching the topic of bedding the king, but you felt meek again. After a breath, you answered truthfully to tell them that Baldwin had yet to consummate with you, making them all gasp before they made their own conclusions. Perhaps he's too sick, or maybe he wanted to decree your marriage to the court first. Something which you had yet to do. But you could only shrug from their reasons that all made sense.

“I hear that the king has never bedded.” Yasmeen mentioned with a mischievous smile, realizing how much trouble she could've been in for saying that too close to the citadel, and the room erupted in laughter as your eyes widened.

“Where did you hear that?” Risha demanded from her side of the huddle upon the floor.

“I just heard that….the king has never shown interest in….a woman before. He was a boy when he got sick after all! Much too young for love and marriage. I believe it to be true..if he did not take the princess to bed.”

Your virgin heart began drumming its booming war rhythm when you imagined the king having something so secretive in common with you. You understood that the king had always been unmarried, and it would be a great sacrilege for him to have shared intimacy beforehand- but not even once?

The remainder of the voices during the rest of your outing became a ringing in your ear. Even as your lips smiled and your head nodded. You could only keep thinking of what your first consummation would be like and the imaginings weighed upon you even later into the night.

Long after moonrise, you were in the king's chambers as he asked of you with Sir Isaac outside in the corridor to guard you. You had laid the linens bought from the bazaar across one of his desk chairs for him to approve upon his return but you found yourself becoming bored during the wait for his arrival and you wandered to keep your mind busy.

You began towards his far wall of what appeared to be collected treasures from his younger years where perhaps his body wasn't so tortured by ailments. Arranged in a strategy you had yet to learn were coins collected from afar, rested upon a cloth feathered in tassels inscribed with the Lord's prayer in Latin. Then, candles already burnt down to their bases, the wax overcoming the wick. You then found his cherished Book of Hours used in his own prayers at the center of the personal altar, which you found yourself forbidding your own hands to even touch.

On the wall behind this, as you ventured closer, you saw a great sword with jewels adorned on the hilt that glittered even in the low light. Its scabbard was displayed just above it, and while looking over your shoulder, you slowly got closer, where you did allow your hand to touch. The blade was smooth, and after one feeling swipe of your thumb, you cupped your fingers under to take hold of the grip in your palm.

Before you could stop yourself, you took the prized great sword away from its display rack to hold its heavy weight in your hands. It was more than steel than you felt upon you. Somehow, you felt that there was a story in your hands now. Was this from his youth? Perhaps his father's? Or maybe one made for Baldwin, especially upon his coronation as a boy?

You couldn't know for sure but you felt your spine shiver to turn and realize you weren't alone anymore.

The king watched you hold the heavy, cumbersome sword that was almost the length of your waist to your feet in your teenage hands that shook from its surprising weight.

His eyes only watched you at first and you stuttered, moving to return the blade back to its display until the king moved closer with a mention that relieved you after wondering if his silence spoke of annoyance to the sight of you pilfering through his belongings.

“I forget that you can't tell when I'm smiling.”

You then smiled instead, switching the grip of the great sword from one hand to the other, feeling the hard, scratchy texture of the leather bound surface digging into your skin,

“I don't mean to rummage your things, My Lord.”

“My things are in fact your things now, Princess.” He said as he came to your side, looking down at the very clear indication that you'd never taken sword before and he flicked his fingers for you to return the weapon, maybe telling you without words that you were bound to hurt yourself but slowly you became surprised.

Baldwin turned the blade upwards in a slow yet sudden swing that made you marvel at his strength while being so ill. The sheen of his candles became caught in the steel as he held the sword upwards with less than a tremble. As if once when he possessed the skill to ride to war- it'd never left.

He turned the hilt to present a very fine inscription upon the steel, one that read of a small verse from the book of Ezekiel that spoke of righteous vengeance and fury brought upon the Earth in the name of the Lord and then spoke to explain its origin,

“Saladin, before I'd taken victory in Montisguard, thought he would spite me by taking the blade of one of my wounded knights and threaten me with death by my own Israeli steel. He told me it would be a great favor, as my leprosy had already begun to kill me slowly. He tried to pierce the blade through my stomach there in the center of what felt to be Hell- but there was one thing about my leprosy he didn't know.”

Baldwin braced his hand against you to keep you at a safe distance as you understood it once he moved the blade in a toss to miraculously grasp it by its sharp end. His bandaged hand didn't shudder nor fear the pointed edge once he wrapped his palm around it and he turned his eyes to you to explain how the encounter with Saladin ended,

“I have no feeling in my left hand. From consequential nerve damage. So, I made sure to honor my fallen knight in retrieving his sword that day. One way or another.”

He again turned the blade around while watching your face turn in admiration. Or perhaps shock. Knowing his humbleness, he wasn't telling the tale in order to receive either reaction and you knew that when his gloved hand flicked for your own.

“Here-” he said muffledly with his other hand straightening your wrist in preparation,

“I'm no swordsman either. I never was- but every Queen should know how to hold a greatsword without trembling.”

He instructed you to entrust the weight to your entire arm, instead of merely your wrist and slowly you watched the pointed blade in your untrained grip begin to steady and slow away from the nervous tremor of your hand. Once the steel had leveled, you saw your reflection in the cool, smooth iron across the Latin inscription and Baldwin softly praised, knowing that you would master it quickly.

“Beautiful.”

Once he returned that piece of his marveled past to its display, you watched him yet again with those eyes he spoke of that saw him as the sole owner of the ground you walked on. He heard in the silence behind him but also as he turned to find you still somewhat awestruck.

As he drew nearer, you felt that perhaps the silence between you here in the soft candlelight of his altar was speaking louder than words being shared. Your hands laid upon his arms in a careful touch as his covered hands met your waist with the gentleness that any amount of yearning or pursuit couldn't have done better.

You wanted his kiss, his touch that you'd craved all day and even the night before that felt like a million hours ago now from your heavy heart changed by his affection. His mask leaned to your head where you felt him press the cold mouth upon you in a kiss that chilled your skin. After your mouth opened in a long drag for air, your eyes fluttered when your gazes met again and he shuddered to see you look down to his mouth with a stare half lidded and wanton.

But your hands rose, trailing over his shoulders where your fingertips met the edges of his silver disguise. You knew this move was nothing short of bold but even if he only allowed you to move it the same as the night previous, you could be satisfied.

But he took your hands in a careful grasp to keep you from touching his face anymore. He knew from the familiar warmth between you that you were only wanting to kiss him as you'd done the night before. Instead, he cupped both your hands in his own, taking them down away from his mask and said with a deepness that rumbled from his throat alluringly,

“If we are to do such a thing. We shall do it my way.” 》

Chapter 7 is almost ready!! 😉🖤

[ap41cu5]

Hello! I just finished watching Ghostbusters Frozen Empire because of your recommendation, and OH MY GOSH!! Lars is absolutely the type of character that i find attractive!!

I actually have a request for him! Here me out, A Lars and Female Reader, where she's his apprentice/assistant, and she secretly has feelings for him. But she feels guilty about it because he's essentially her boss! And she keeps having fairly sexual fantasies about him, normally when she's asleep or zoning out. But then, one day, he actually makes a sudden move on her, and she genuinely believes that she's simply having another fantasy again!

Reverie or Reality

Lars Pinfield x Fem! Reader Rating: Slight NSFW - Suggestive Themes Genre: Fluff Word Count: 2922 A/N: i hope this was what you were looking for! since ive never written for lars before, i dont know how in character he is, but i hope you enjoy!

His hands gently held your waist as his lips gently pressed into the soft skin of your neck. Your nails dug into the back of his uniform as you winced under his touch.

You carefully took in his scent, the feeling of his hands around your waist as they slowly–

“Could you grab me the syringe?” Lars requested, holding his hand out while his eyes remained fixated on the petri dish in front of him. 

Your eyes shot up and you were immediately broken out of your trance. You quickly brushed away any thoughts regarding the wildly inappropriate fantasy as you quickly got up from your seat. Pulling your goggles down so they hung loosely around your neck, you quickly set down your marker and rummaged through the tool tray. 

As the main parabiologist, Lars mainly took on the hands-on aspects of each project. He would directly manage and study the biology of any and all possessed objects you encountered, while you calculated the physics and math behind it. Your job consisted of serving as both a theoretical physicist as well as Lars’ apprentice. Both of which you didn’t mind, and quite enjoyed. Math was always your forte, and working with Lars was always enjoyable. You loved learning new things, especially from him.

Listening to him ramble on about science and how fascinating he thought it was with that same glint in his eyes as usual, there was something about how passionate he was about the paranormal that made him vastly different than any other scientist, or even any other person, that you knew of. He was sweet, had a delightfully dry sense of humor, not to mention easy on the eyes.

Hastily rushing through the tool tray, your fingers finally met the plastic surface of the syringe as you quickly placed it in his outstretched hand. Your fingers just barely brushed over one another’s, momentarily causing your breath to get caught in the pit of your throat. 

As his eyes never left the microscope, he motioned for you to come closer. You quickly scurried beside him, the smell of his cologne being an all-too-familiar scent. 

His fingers were curled around part of the microscope, the veins in his hands being strangely attractive as he pushed his glasses back up his nose. His lips were slightly parted, and his waist was notably narrow. 

He stepped aside, “have a look through the microscope.”

You almost didn’t hear him with how good he looked at that moment, the lamplight highlighting his features as he looked back at you. It took you a few seconds to process his request, your eyes momentarily traveling down to his lips before you hastily nodded and positioned yourself in front of the microscope. 

Lining your eye up with both of the lenses, you observed the spore-like objects in the petri dish.

“Just looks like regular fungus,” you commented.

“Give it a moment, now,” he replied, his eyes glued to you as he waited for your reaction.

A sudden purple, plasma-like substance seemed to shoot throughout the fungi, immediately sparking your interest. A small gasp escaped your lips as you quickly adjusted the zoom knob in an attempt to observe a larger area of the dish rather than the single, concentrated area. 

“Fascinating…!” You whispered under your breath, craving to see more.

“That was paranormal energy. I collected it off of our latest subject. I wanted to see if the paranormal energy was concentrated down to the cellular level, and it seems we have our answer. Why it only travels in spurts rather than a constant wave is still a mystery, however. But I’m working on it,” Lars explained, laying a hand on your shoulder.

His touch immediately made you tense up as you bit the inside of your cheek. 

“While you’re here, why don’t you take some of that serum I made the other day and try dropping it into the dish again?” Lars suggested, giving your shoulder a gentle pat.

You scoffed, “so it can explode in my face again? I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“It’s all part of improving. You want to learn more about parabiology as my assistant, no?” he nudged you, pointing to the bottle of green serum.

Giving him a hesitant nod, pulling your goggles back up as you carefully reached for the serum, grabbing the pipet next to it. You could feel your heart pounding in your chest, desperately hoping you wouldn’t create another huge mess like last time. While Lars didn’t seem too worried about it, part of you really wanted to impress him, to be someone he could admire in the same way he was to you. 

You gulped, carefully measuring to make sure you had exactly one drop in the pipet before you dropped it into the petri dish. You could feel Lars’ eyes on you, and you weren’t sure if his presence was more comforting or nerve-racking. 

Your hand trembled above the petri dish as you painstakingly held the pipet at just the correct distance. Like ripping off a band-aid, you finally squeezed the liquid out of the small tube, as the singular drop landed in the petri dish with a faint “ploop!” sound. 

Prepared to back up and get a faceful of fungal matter, the substance in the petri dish only exhibited a small ‘poof!’ as a miniscule smoke cloud shortly followed. 

Immediately, your face lit up as you quickly turned to Lars.

“I did it!” You celebrated, a big smile gracing your features.

“See, I knew you could do it.” Lars lightly smiled back at you, your eyes traveling back down to his lips again before you quickly looked away.

“I– uh, was there anything else you needed?” You quickly asked, praying to God he didn’t notice the subtle glances you’d take at him.

He seemed to think for a moment, “yes, actually. Could you please disinfect the syringe from earlier as well as this scalpel?” Lars asked, handing both of the tools to you.

“Yeah, yeah sure,” you stammered, quickly making your way down the hallway to the disinfecting station.

Letting out a breath you didn’t even know you were holding in, you felt as though your knees could give out at any moment. Your hands were trembling and your face still warm, your infatuation with him was truly getting out of hand. 

Turning on the water, you sprayed some of the sterilization liquid onto the scalpel first, carefully spreading it across its metallic surface. 

This is getting out of hand. I can’t feel this way for him. We’re nothing more but coworkers. He’s my boss, I’m his assistant. Maybe even just an apprentice, at this point. But he’s just.. so…

No– no! How would he feel if he found out you were thinking about him in such a manner? He’d be disgusted! I’d need to find work elsewhere, no doubt. He’d never want to see me again! I really, really need to control–

“Ouch!” You winced, a small patch of red forming on your fingertip.

Looking down at the scalpel, then back at your finger, you realized that you accidentally nicked yourself while you were embarrassingly deep in thought about the man you were working under.

“(First Name)? Are you alright back there?” You heard Lars shout from the lab.

“Uh– yeah! Yeah, I’m fine! Sorry, I’ll be over in just a second!” You unconvincingly called back, rummaging through all the different cupboards looking for a pack of band-aids. 

Lars took off his goggles, growing curious and a tad bit worried. It never took you this long just to sanitize used tools before, not to mention you sounded awfully suspicious just then.

You groaned, Lucky never reorganized the drawers after she used them, making it impossible to find the god forsaken box of bandaids. You could feel the blood dripping down your hand as you stood back up to search the upper cabinets. 

“Damn it, Lucky,” you swore under your breath as you stood on your tippy toes, searching the very top of the cabinet.

“(First Name)?” Lars inquired, approaching you from behind.

Your head immediately shot towards him, stumbling back a bit. You hadn’t even noticed him approaching.

“Sorry, sorry. I don’t mean to take so long. I just accidentally nicked myself with the scalpel. But it's no big deal, I just can’t find where Lucky put the band-aids for the life of me,” you exasperatedly sighed, ripping open another drawer.

He sighed, taking a few steps closer. “Let me take a look,” Lars gently requested, holding one of his hands out. 

“No– no, really it’s alright, you don’t have–”

“(First Name).”

You gulped at his stern tone, hesitantly holding your hand out for him to take.

He sighed, his thumb gently tracing your palm as he patted down the cut with a paper towel, soaking up all the excess blood. He slowly brought your hand up closer to his face, his eyes meticulously scanning the small cut. The feeling of his hand against yours made your face beet red all over again as you prayed he didn’t notice that you were trembling.

“Just, relax,” he reassured you, grabbing a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and pouring some of it onto a cotton ball.

“This is going to sting a bit, okay?” He braced you before he gently dabbed the ball of cotton onto the cut.

You winced, struggling not to pull back as he gently blew on the cut. He continued for a few seconds until the stinging finally subsided.

He held your hand by the wrist as he tossed the cotton ball into the trash can, grabbing a box of bandaids out of his pocket.

“You just carry band-aids around?” 

“You can never be too prepared,” he shrugged. “Don’t touch any of my experiments, alright? We don’t want that cut getting infected with whatever germs those ghost-infested objects may carry.”

You nodded, following him back to the lab. His touch was comforting, too comforting. You liked him too much– way too much. 

Stretching, you returned to your desk, mapping out any equations that needed to be solved. You sighed as you tried to keep a steady grip on your pen, the pressure on your fingertip causing it to ache. 

“Where’d everyone go?” You inquire, looking around the empty room, leaving just you and Lars alone together.

“They left ages ago. It’s nearly midnight. Had you not realized?” Lars replied, taking a granola bar out of his desk.

Late nights weren’t uncommon with Lars. Going home early for either of you was amongst the rarest of sights to behold.

“No, I guess I must’ve lost track of time,” you replied, fighting to keep your eyes open.

He glanced back over to you, “you look tired, (First Name). Why don’t you head on home for the night? You deserve it.”

“No, no, I’m okay. I just need to finish up these last few equations and I’ll be on my way. Promise.”

Lars sighed, taking one last worried glimpse at you.

“Alright, but only because you promised,” he remarked before pulling his goggles back on.

Begrudgingly getting up out of your seat, you grabbed a marker and began solving the last equations up on your whiteboard. With a sigh and a hand tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, you got to work. 

The only sound breaking the deafening silence was the noise of your marker squeaking against the white board along with the occasional yawn from either of you. 

But it was just so hard to focus.

The way he so carefully held your hand to tend to your cut, he didn’t have to, but he did. He was gentle with you, and sweet. At this point, you were almost certain your feelings for him stretched beyond just the point of infatuation. Far past the point of just infatuation. 

The countless times you’d spaced out during a project thinking about him was awfully embarrassing, and frankly you don’t know how no one around you noticed. Or even how he hadn’t noticed, for that matter. But you weren’t complaining in the slightest. He’s your boss, you can’t imagine how disgusted he would be if he ever found out how you truly felt about him.

“(First Name)? You alright over there?” Lars inquired, looking up at you from his station.

“Yeah-! Yeah, I’m fine,” you replied, confusion lacing your voice.

“You’ve been staring at the whiteboard for the past 5 minutes,” he added, taking his goggles off from around his neck.

Shit. 

You felt your face grow hot with embarrassment as you quickly turned back around to face the whiteboard.

“I’m alright! No need to worry!” You stammered.

You could just barely hear the sound of Lars’ boots tapping against the floor behind you as you tried as hard as you could to solve the next part of the equation. But it was like your mind blew a fuse and you couldn’t think at all, even the skills required for basic arithmetic escaped you.

“What’s on your mind?” He asked, his hand finding its way to your shoulder.

You couldn't find the words to respond, like you were in suspended animation. You stood frozen, marker in hand and eyes glued to the whiteboard.

“(First Name),” he paused, “you’ve been acting differently for a long while now. And I.. have a theory.”

You hesitantly turned to face him, setting your marker aside. 

“Oh– it’s just– it’s nothing, really!” you stammered, hoping to come up with something coherent until your rambling was quickly interrupted by the feeling of Lars’ tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear.

“You’re a terrible liar,” he murmured as his thumb gently traced along your jawline.

What is happening!? Does he really feel the same way? No, I must’ve fallen asleep at my desk after he helped me with my cut! Does this mean I’m lucid dreaming? But this dream feels awfully realistic. There’s no way..!

“L-Lars..?” you murmured, just barely above a whisper.

“It appears my hypothesis was correct,” he replied, his eyes studying you.

This isn’t real. I’m asleep, I’m dreaming, I have to be! 

His thumb traced along your chin, then gently traced along your bottom lip.

“I hypothesize,” his eyes traveled down to your lips, “that you, (First Name), have feelings for me.”

What a realistic dream. Okay, I’ll bite.

“And if I do?” 

His expression quickly changed to a bit of surprise, you were almost never this forward. 

“You’re feeling awfully bold right now,” he commented.

“Awfully. I’m surprised I haven’t woken up yet,” you mumbled to yourself.

He quickly pulled back, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“What?” He asked, his head tilting.

You paused for a moment until it finally dawned on you.

“Holy shit– holy shit, this is real,” a hand slapped over your mouth as you felt your face burn in pure embarrassment.

You were just about ready to dig yourself a hole under a rock and live there for the rest of your life.

“You’ve been dreaming about me?” Lars inquired, an all-too-familiar smirk appearing on his face.

You grumbled into your hands, not daring to look at him.

He chuckled a bit, “there’s no need to be embarrassed now, is there? I’m sure you’ve already figured out by now that I feel the same way.” He gently pried your hands off of your face.

You stared down at the floor, your heart beating out of your chest as he carefully pulled you closer. 

He gently pushed your chin upwards, “look at me, (First Name).”

You gulped, your eyes darting around the room before finally landing on Lars’ eyes.

“Would– would it be alright if I kissed you?” He asked, his face ever so slightly heating up at the request.

You’re not sure what came over you, but you didn’t even give it a second thought before you quickly thrust your lips into his. He stumbled backwards a bit, but quickly steadied himself as his arms snaked around your waist, pulling you flush against his body.

A groan escaped his lips as he melted into you, one of his hands gently tugging on the back of your hair. You both pulled away just for a split second for air before you quickly enveloped each other in another kiss. All the pent up desire you had for him seemed to flow out of you, every inch of him taking over your senses.

“You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this,” he grumbled, planting a chaste kiss just below your ear.

You whimpered at the contact. The feeling of him kissing your neck was better than you could’ve ever imagined. Your fingers intertwined with his soft curls, gently tugging on them, eliciting a low groan from the significantly taller man. Each kiss sent a shiver down your spine, hitting you directly in your core.

He quickly pulled away, his breathing was heavy and his cheeks were flushed.

“We.. we should stop. I’d– I’d like to take you out first. At least before we do.. anything,” he explained, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

Your neck felt cold without his touch, but you agreed anyway. A small smile graced your lips as you looked back up at him.

“I’d love that,” you stood up on your tippy toes, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Tomorrow, 8 o’ clock? I’ll pick you up,” he added, one of his hands resting on the base of your neck.

You beamed, “I would love that.”

[dovesdreaming]

Hihihi!! This a kinda specific request that might not make sense but im gonna try anyway (ive like never requested anything so this also might be bad in general). Could you possibly make a Bucky Barnes or Tony Stark with a gn!reader with powers that are kinda like Hecate kids in the pjo universe (necromancy, umbrakinesis, bone control, ect) reader is like a kid who just wants their ded family back.

Family drawings

Hi thank you for your request it was amazing don’t worry! I’m sorry if it doesn’t all sound like a kid reader I’ve never written for one before! I hope you enjoy it I feel like I could have written this better <3

Not proofread

Word count: 1.1k

Warnings: talk of blood, violence

It was your average low level mission for the avengers, raiding an empty hydra base for any files they had left behind. They were more careful going into these bases now as they have had one too many blow up on them. Steve was the mission leader as usual and he was the first to scope out the area before sending the rest in. Clint and Natasha searched the outer buildings while Steve and Bucky searched the two first floors of the main building. Steve sent Tony to search the basement while Bruce stayed in the jet, ready for any medical emergencies.

Everything had been going smoothly, the comms was filled with chatter instead of orders. No one had found anything yet but they hadn’t finished searching. Tony was still in the basement doing his usual shenanigans, listening to AC/DC instead of comms. He wasn’t paying much attention knowing this area never had anything in from previous missions. He thought this particular basement looked worse for wear than some of the others he had seen. Chills ran through him as he saw child like drawings on some of the walls, they showed families holding hands and some writing that he wasn’t able to make out. He was slightly more creeped out than usual but he carried on, he turned around and continued to look around. It was quite dark and most of the wall edges were covered in darkness so when he made a figure out in one of the car corners he thought he was just seeing things. Yet as he moved closer he started to believe it may be someone more and more. They had a smaller frame and looked quite malnourished. They were sat with the head covered by their knees unmoving. Tony approached and crouched down a bit as to not scare them. Yet it didn’t seem to work as they lifted their head they scrambled away from Tony as best as they could but he had affectively trapped them in a corner. He heard a quiet strained plee of “please don’t hurt me”. It managed to send a pang of hurt through Tony’s heart, which not many things did.

Your perspective-

You had a happy childhood up until you were seven when a heavy bang came from the front door of your house one day. Men in big protective gear that covered any defining features stormed in the house, your parents trying to shield you while telling them there must be a mistake, they hadn’t done anything. Yet nothing seemed to work they were adamant they wanted you and your parents couldn’t allow that so they tried to protect you which sadly cost them their lives. You had been carried away while crying and thrashing by one of the dark men. You didn’t have anything from your childhood your last memory being a glance back into your house, seeing your parents covered in red.

It had been a while since then, you didn’t even know how long. You hadn’t seen the outside world or the sun in years. Hydra had taken you as you possessed special attributes which lended to experiments they wanted to carry out. These experiments had turned you into a weapon, they were halfway through training you when you didn’t cooperate with them anymore. You had enough of their beatings and abuse so you used the powers they gave you against them. They abandoned the mission and left you there to starve. You could have gone outside the base but you were too scared to venture into the outside world alone. You didn’t know what the outside was like anymore. So you sat scrunched up in the corner with a rumbling stomach and heart ache from missing your parents. You had scared yourself a lot by accidentally casting shadows as you didn’t know how to fully control your powers yet. You sat there alone waiting but you didn’t know what for.

You had remained in the basement where they left you until now when you were staring wide eyed at a robot. Or what you thought was a robot until he opened his mask. He promised he would help you but you didn’t know if you could trust him he could just be another version of hydra. He just asked you to follow him outside at least to meet the rest of them. So you tentatively followed behind him, keeping your distance.

As you came up the steps you were met with sunlight for the first time in a while. You were also met with the faces of the other avengers they didn’t look mean like hydra did but you were still scared.

-

They had taken you back to the avengers tower and fed you a good meal, you felt safe for the first time in ages. You didn’t trust them yet but you thought they were better than hydra.

It had been a few weeks since you arrived at the tower and everyone had welcomed you like their own child. Tony took particular interest in you. You liked to sit in his lab with him, quietly watching him work. You had even danced to his music on many occasions which made him laugh. Most nights you fell asleep in his lab and when he turned around to ask you a question he would realise and stop what he was doing to carry you up to bed. This had helped him improve his sleep schedule aswell going to bed after tucking you into yours. Tonight after he tucked you in he noticed drawings on your table. He picked them up and looked through them noticing how they were similar to the ones he saw in the basement, drawings of happy families with disproportionate limbs. He sadly smiled until he looked at the last one. It was a drawing of a man in a robot suit holding the hand of a small child. Arrows pointed towards the man scribbled out Tony. His heart melted, something he thought he was incapable of. Tony vowed to protect you like his own from that day on and that he did. He trained you how to use your powers but not to be a weapon but to protect others. However every now and then your powers took control of you due to hydras faulty work and it led you to conjure evil shadows of hydra men and your parents. It pained him to see you in such a state afterwards, all he could do for you was hold you to calm you down.

You grew up surrounded by a loving makeshift family, while you still missed your parents you were grateful for everyone around you. Tony had become a father figure to you over the years and you still spent nights together in his lab, you now helping him work on things and even creating your own inventions. You also used your powers to defeat hydra with the rest of the avengers and any bone injuries the team acquired you were always called over to heal them. You were proud of how far you had come from when you were in that basement, you were seen as a protector now instead of a weapon and you couldn’t have done it without the help of the team but especially Tony. You were always grateful looking back on the day he found you in that basement.

Everyone had also noticed Tony soften over the years, he especially had a soft spot for you and the team would use that to their advantage. They saw how he became a better person because of you.

Thank you for reading!

[rqccho]

Summary: Youre aimlessly wandering around on one of the main streets of Bridon and admiring the sky, until a stranger tackles you to the ground. The two of you then spend some time together, getting to know more about each other.

Pairing: Xia Fei x they/them reader (i tried to make it as gender neutral as possible)

a/n: ive never written an x reader fanfic before so i apologize if its lacking in any way! i also hope i didnt mischaracterise xia fei too much ^^

Sidenote: i dont really know how to rate this but there isnt (and there wont be) any sort of smut!

Timeline: This fic takes place before the events of bridon arc !!

Word count: 3,177

(ill continue it next week if i have time!!)

Renting Shell

What are looks good for? You'd think everyone would be happy to be naturally born with good looks, that they'd enjoy the constant compliments and praise they receive. Well, unfortunately not everyone is like that.

Low and behold!! The most famous modeling agency had just renewed their contract with one of, if not the best models they had ever hired! Felix, a young man with a slim build and a bold yet soft appearance, messy split dyed hair paired with sweet tangerine coloured eyes and the fairest skin you'll ever see, is someone who is always perfect in front of the camera. His charismatic facial expressions and body language make you think that he was born to be photographed.

There isn’t a single person that doesn’t appreciate his looks and he’s an idol to quite a big amount of people. Some people look up to him and feel inspired, others envy his success. But despite all of this surface level admiration, does anyone ever wonder what lies underneath that? What kind of person he really is outside of the expectations that have been built up around him.

The weather that day wasn’t exactly favourable, the sky was covered in low hanging grey clouds, almost swollen which looked like they were about to burst at any moment, yet despite their ominous presence, they held their burden.

“I wonder if it’s going to rain” I think to myself while looking up at the sky, not realizing the traffic light displayed red and a car was only centimeters away from me.

“Hey– move back–!”

A panicked voice called out to me, but before I could react, I felt someone pushing you down.

“Agh, what the–?!” I said it subconsciously.

“Are you hurt?!” A blonde man asks in an overly concerned tone.

The stranger looked me straight in the eyes, I think. I couldn’t make out his face at all since he was wearing a black mask and funnily enough, rose tinted glasses. What I *could* make out was his spiky yet messy split dyed hair.

“Hellooooo? Did the car hit you?! Did i injure you from the fall?!” He asked in a worried tone.

“Ah..i’m fine…i think? What happened..?” I scratch the top of my head with my left hand.

“ ”What happened”?! You weren’t paying attention to the traffic lights at all! You were seriously about to get hit y’know!” He sighs.

“I…was?” I paused. Hold on, he was right. I were just staring at the sky while being lost in my own thoughts. If it wasn’t for this guy I could’ve gotten hit.

“Yes you were!!! Honestly, if i was even a second late you’d be laying on the floor in a pool of blood right now. Im asking you this again, are you sure you're not injured anywhere?”

I finally came back to my senses.

“Ah– Yes i’m fine!!! But that’s all thanks to you though.” I fidget my fingers before i talk again. “How can i repay you!!” How silly, I feel slightly embarrassed. Everyone was looking at us.

“Repay me? There’s no need for that! I’m just glad you aren’t hurt!” After he said that he scratched his neck awkwardly with his right hand. However, an open wound was seemingly visible.

“Your hand..you injured it because of me!!” I didn’t even think and before I knew it, I grabbed his wrist and pulled his sleeve a little higher, making the wound more visible.

“Y-you–” The blonde man stutters.

“Look at this!! You scraped it against the pavement when we fell! Ah…i’m genuinely so sorry..if only i had been paying attention to my surroundings..”

“N-no, stop. It was my decision that led to this but…shit, what’s my boss gonna say…how will the others react..” The stranger muttered.

I stopped for a second. Now that I got a good look at him, he did look a little out of the ordinary. A mask and glasses? Quite the odd choice of accessories..

Nevertheless, I have to admit I was a little bit curious. Boss? How will the others react? Just what did he mean by that?

“Boss? Others?” I asked.

“Hm? Ah. I just don’t know how we will be able to cover this injury up, or if it’ll heal fast enough before my next….” He stopped. It also seemed like he did not want to finish that sentence.

“Hey, let’s go to the pharmacy. There happens to be one nearby and i heard there’s a new ointment out on the market…it could be worth a try.” I smile gently.

The stranger tilts his head to the side a little. Although I was unable to figure out what kind of expression he was making, I got the feeling he was hesitant. And honestly, rightfully so. After all, he doesn’t even know who I am nor do I know who he is. The two of us just happened to meet because I was deep in my own thoughts.

“I just..want to repay you somehow. I know this isn’t on the same level as what you did for me, but i want to at least be of help!” I stated in an energetic tone

“Alright fine. You convinced me” The stranger sighed. “Lead the way.”

And thus we started walking towards the pharmacy together. Surprisingly, the air no longer seemed as thick as it once was. Of course, the feeling was still there, but it wasn’t as prominent as before. Maybe I was meant to meet this man that was walking beside me, maybe it was fate!!

….On second thought, that would be crazy. I’m not delusional enough to actually believe that. Though he does seem friendly, and he did just save my life. Who knows, maybe this won’t be the only time I’ll interact with him. I are still relatively curious about the mask though.

“Hey look! We’re here!” I exclaimed. “Do you want to go in with me or just wait outside?”

“I’ll need to call my boss so you can go in ahead… i’ll just wait outside.”

His tone seemed somewhat different than before. Maybe this small injury was a big problem for him. Does he work in a restaurant..? Ah. I’m getting lost in my own thoughts again. Alright! I just need to get this ointment really quick…

*Several minutes passed*

“Hey stranger with light hair!!! I bought the ointment!!” I shouted. After a few seconds with no reply, I looked around and saw the man sitting on a nearby bench, looking a little gloomy.

I walk up to him, and that’s when I realize: *his sunglasses and mask were off!!* I gently pat him on the shoulder to let him know I’m done. Surprisingly, the man looked up at me with teary eyes. What happened? Was the call with his boss that serious? Moreover, was this injury really that big of a deal?

“He’s so mad.” The man started talking.

“Your boss?” I ask while I sit down beside him on the bench.

“Yeah…He told me to take the day off and think about my actions…” He buried his face in his palms.

He looked a little…pathetic. That phrase is usually what parents tell their kids, but to tell a grown man that…I’ll admit though, it is a tiny bit funny to see him react like this.

“Do you work in a restaurant, or a cafe maybe? Are you like a chef or…barista?” I tilt my head to the side with a curious expression on my face. “Why would your boss care this much about a small injury?”

The stranger then paused. He looked at me with a very surprised expression. “You..don’t know who i am?”

“Am i supposed to?” I ask, and the two of us make eye contact.

“No!! It’s okay. I’m no one, really.” His lips slowly curled into a smile. “And you’re kind of right! I do have a part time job as a waiter” He was no longer teary eyed, rather happy but also awkward.

“I see!! If the customers saw that injury they would ask about it, and i bet that its tiring to hear the same question over and over, no?” I ask as I open the packaging of the ointment.

“Yeah!! You get it!” He exclaimed.

This guy…looked just like a puppy!

“Give me your hand. I’ll apply it for you.” I say as I offer a smile.

The man then extended his hand and placed it in mine. I was gently applying the ointment on his wound and he let out a little ‘ouch!’....that sort of thing. I can’t blame him though, it probably stings like hell even if the wound wasn’t deep at all. I did get a weird vibe from him. He’s so…expressive? Earlier he literally cried and a second after he got all giddy when I said I don’t know him. Just who is this guy..?

“Hey, what’s your name?” The man asked you in a happy tone.

“My name? It’s y/n. What’s yours?” I reply back.

“Xia fei!” He smiled.

His smile looked so genuine, it made me want to smile too. I’m also very curious about him. Xia fei seems like an interesting person and he’s making me want to know more about him by the second. How could his boss be mean to someone this kind. Like, c’mon. Not just anyone would jump in front of a car to save someone they don’t even know.

*A while later*

We ended up chatting for a whole hour. Surprisingly, that tiny wound of his caused him to get a day off work. Are the rules of that restaurant really that harsh? I never knew people wouldn’t be allowed to work because of something like that.

*Agh, seriously this sucks!! I only had work scheduled for today and now I’m completely out of options.” Xia fei then scratched his head out of frustration. He had meticulously planned his entire schedule for this week, well, his boss did.

It was almost as if a light bulb lit up on top of his head, he was basically sparkling. The blonde then stood up quickly, typed something on his phone, and then extended it to me. It was…the café near my university!!

“Have you ever been here? What do you say, wanna accompany me?” He smiled brightly. It was almost impossible to resist such an innocent looking face. Honestly, how does this guy do it? I’ve barely known him for two hours and I already feel drawn to him. His aura is basically screaming “please stay with me!!” vibes.

“This café…yeah! I go there all the time!” I smiled back and clumsily put the ointment back in the package, and as soon as I am about to put it in the bag, it slips out of my hands.

“Pfft. Here, let me help you with that” Xia fei giggled.

He leans down, grabs the ointment and….it slips out of his hand as well.

It was so hard for me to stop myself from laughing. I’m sure he just wanted to make a good impression, but thats….simply hilarious. I didn’t even realise that I was too focused on trying not to laugh, that I had completely forgotten to say something. I just….ended up staring at him.

“….Ahem.” The man then stands up, places the ointment in the bag this time, and then turns around.

For a second I thought I had made him uncomfortable because I was staring for too long but when i looked more closely, *his ears were bright red!!* Oh my gosh, now he really does remind me of a puppy. I can’t get the image out of my head!! Like, just imagine a golden retriever with this guy’s face…I feel like that would look both uncanny and cute in a way.

I quickly get up, grab the bag next to me and tap Xia fei’s shoulder. He was a little startled but that’s to be expected after what just happened. I’m pretty sure that he’s feeling embarrassed right about now.

“C’mon, let’s go!! The day is almost over y’know!” I enthusiastically say with a grin on my face. This was my attempt at helping him feel less embarrassed.

“Y-yeah…it’s almost 8 pm.” The blonde agreed.

We then walk all the way to the cafe.

After a good 30 minutes we finally sat down at a more concealed (idk if this is the right word) table. It was located more towards the back of the cafe, away from any windows. We weren’t the only customers there, but there certainly weren’t many people around us either. I felt a little silly, sitting here next to a man i’ve only met hours ago. Though, we somehow clicked. I don’t know if it was because he literally saved my life, or if he’s just that likeable, Or….am I the likeable one? Agh, whatever!! I just feel a little silly, no need to fixate on such details.

I’ll have to admit though, I felt weirdly comfortable around him. As soon as I said i dont know who he is, it was almost as if his personality did a 180. Well, not completely. With the way he called out to me in such a concerned matter he didn’t feel like a nonchalant guy, but he was still way colder than he is now….which is to be expected, we are strangers after all.

Xia fei was carefully examining the menu. On our way here, he told me about how he wanted to try out something new for a change. He said he usually gets a cappuccino, and the new mocha they had, stuck out to him. I’m pretty sure he will get that, so i don’t quite understand why he’s still looking at that menu for so long, but maybe he’s getting something else in the end. Honestly, who am I to judge?

“Hey, y/n. What are you getting?” The blonde man asks me with a curious expression on his face.

“Hmmm, well. I was thinking about getting the matcha latte since it’s so late and it barely has any caffeine.” I say as i point to the photo on the menu.

“Ohhh!! I got that once. It was pretty good from what i can remember!” Xia fei smiles, pauses for a minute and then sighs.

“I need something that has enough caffeine to keep me up tonight..I still didn’t finish the assignment that’s due tomorrow..” He then placed his palms on his head.

“Assignment? What’s it about?” I ask, intrigued as to what he had to say.

“Nothing much, just, physics and stuff. It’s not hard at all, but with the part time jobs taking up most of my time now, I just haven’t had the time to do it. Now I need to pull an all nighter and leave my house at 6 am for my morning run…” He says as he rubs his eyes seemingly tired.

“Woah there!! An all nighter?? And then leave the house at 6 am?? Have you even had time to rest?” I ask in a concerned tone.

“Ehhh, not really. Oh, but it’s completely fine!! Don’t worry, I’m used to this. Seriously.” Xia fei then gave me a weak smile.

“You know, rest is really important…” The smile on my face from earlier was now gone. I had a very worried look on my face.

“Yup, I know! Which is why I will be rewarding myself tomorrow after classes, I promise!” The man then literally gave me a thumbs up, but that smile…it didn’t look like a genuine one.

“Alright, alright. If you say so then I’ll believe you.” I tilted my head to the right and faintly smiled.

Two hours pass by and we talked about so many things. I found out more about this guy, and he genuinely seemed like a good person. His expressions and gestures were genuine, i think, except for that bit. It seems like he doesn’t really prioritize himself. He also mentioned multiple part time jobs…gosh, I can’t even imagine how exhausted he must be. But still, to have so many…he must really need the money. Maybe one day I’ll find out more about that.

I also noticed something quite strange. He seemed to be avoiding people, or being in public in general. When i mentioned taking the bus to the cafe he gave me a strange look paired with that fake smile of his. And also we sat at such a reserved table in the back, far from any windows. Could he just have social anxiety? No, that can’t be right. He’s literally the one who approached me, and put himself in the “spotlight” when he saved me. Everyone was staring at us, but he felt somehow…used to it? What a strange yet mysterious man..

Before we left the cafe, we exchanged contact infos and then we parted ways. Apparently, he lives in a dorm which is further to the university. I heard that dorm is known for its cheap prices.

When i got back to my own dorm, I noticed that my roommate was nowhere to be seen. Sigh, maybe they were out again. They really do love to party even if we have classes tomorrow. Oh well, let them do their thing.

I quickly made something to eat, took a relaxing shower, and then changed into pyjamas and plopped down onto my bed. Today was so hectic, I didn’t even realize how tired i really was. I closed my eyes for a while, and then, ding! . Agh, who could it be at this hour? I unlocked my phone and saw two messages from the guy I met today.

“Thank u for today, I had fun!

Lets meet again when we both have time ^^ “ -xf

What the hell, that’s so cute. People don’t usually thank me for hanging out with them. This is a first.

“I had fun too! we should totally meet up again sometime!

Also, please do try to finish that assignment quickly and then sleep for at least an hour :c “ -me

I started to drift back to sleep, but then i heard another notification.

“Pfft, ill try my best” -xf

“im counting on you!!! seriously, youre going to die if you dont get any sleep” -me

“Yeah yeah. My boss says the exact same thing yet he still adds more and more work on my schedule

Blame him, not me” -xf

“still, you need to take it easy once in a while.” -me

“Im aware.

Speaking of sleeping, dont u need to do just that? Its already 12 am” -xf

“I was about to, but then i got a message” -me

“Aghhh, Im so sorry about that.

I shouldve just texted you in the morning” -xf

“hey, no worries!

but im really going to bed now..

goodnight!! “ -me

“Sleep well ^^” -xf

I then put my phone on silent, and slowly drifted to the land of the dreams. Before falling asleep though, the events of today kept replaying in my mind. I still can’t believe that I was about to die like that if it wasn’t for him. I’ll need to properly thank him sometime, but for now, maybe we can become friends…

[lordgeneralsix]

ok... so I have finally finished veilguard after about 90 painful hours (two playthroughs). im not gonna write an actual review about all of my detailed thoughts bc it'll actually take days, this is just to at least get my general thoughts out and see if anyone else feels the same or if ive actually lost it.

overall it is the weakest dragon age game story-wise, and I'd give it a nice lukewarm 4/10.

(i wrote this post right after I finished the game on the weekend so maybe I sound a bit harsh, I tried to edit it to be more reasonable lol but I didn't really want to delete this since I do still stand by a lot of this)

I really tried to go in with an open mind, bc I always want to experience media in full before making any kind of judgement, but about a few hours in I had this horrible feeling that once again this was another soulless, rushed game, and I still don't feel any different after finishing the game.

what stuck out to me was that there's no sense of urgency despite what the plot is, serious topics are not treated with care as the writing overall is shallow, and the gods as well as any other enemy you encounter are just cartoon villains (and apparently the lore retconning, but I'm not well-versed enough to dissect that so I won't).

I can't take this plot seriously when it feels so disjointed and forced and lazy. and I see no point in caring about anything when choices literally don't matter. no say in who you recruit, no say in the relationships with them and they have almost no awareness of rook, definitely doesn't matter if you have allies or not bc they show up anyway, and only four companions are locked into unavoidable decisions where one of them bites the dust no matter what (which is strange bc why are harding and davrin forced to die no matter if they're at hero status while bellara and neve can literally survive blight if they're at hero status), so it's impossible to try to strategize for better (or worse) outcomes with all the people you've gathered when there's only one right answer that the game pretty much tells you instead of letting you think for yourself (and side note this game does an incredible amount of hand holding). the game actively tries to trick you into thinking your choices matter with the onscreen notifications, but nothing matters bc the devs clearly had only one story in mind and for some reason lied that it had "complex choices".

also rook in general wasn't interesting as a protagonist bc they were written to be perfect. they always know what to say and are so supportive of everyone. they never struggle with anything. not even with leadership beyond "man leading a team is hard :/" but it doesn't actually show how hard it is by having actual volatile conflict between the companions* or showing how their plans sometimes fail. which, if we actually had choices that mattered, would have helped develop that struggle. also? what's with everyone being so friendly? I'm not gonna get into that but everyone is so eerily nice and it's been said a lot but yeah, the world is extremely sanitized and devoid of any real conflict aside from the gods I guess.

*(like off the top of my head cassandra fighting with varric and accusing him of not being on their side or how the inquisitor can literally punch dorian and solas if approval is low enough or fenris and anders bordering on killing each other is not the same as lucanis and davrin distrusting each other or people being uncomfortable with emmrich's necromancy. it just scratches the surface of conflict and never goes anywhere)

and let me say real quick again, there's nothing wrong if they wanted to make a more rigid story about being a hero. it's been done a million times and it can be executed well, but if you do that you need to make sure you 1) don't lie to people and 2) actually flesh out your (especially main) characters and plot to give people a reason to care. look at dragon age 2. hawke is a fixed protagonist with their own life front and center. they ultimately only have two choices (siding with mages or templars), but it works bc the game took time to build up the conflict straight from act 1 so by the time chaos happens in act 2 and 3 you understand why bc it's Been brewing the whole time. it just makes sense. the villains as well have sound reasons and feel real instead of being evil just bc. the story is more grounded, yet you have choices. you decide if hawke ends up alone or not. you decide how they approach situations with force or diplomacy. there's none of that in veilguard. a game that supposedly took 10 years to make. when dragon age 2 took almost 16 months (yes I know da2 also has problems like the fact that the templars are always proven right but this isn't the place to dissect that).

I want to be fair though and I do want to restate what I enjoyed about the game. the cc (though would it kill them to have more variety in face textures like age and body types beyond average.. also no colour wheel... especially since they claimed their cc was so good), the map progression/visuals/exploration (how certain places become more blighted overtime), the factions (though I feel there should have been more content for your faction, and helping them or not should have mattered more), the combat (did not feel like a slog, pretty fun and mindless), the companions (bellara, davrin, emmrich, harding, and lucanis had solid personalities and stories despite my complaints. neve was not memorable and I just feel sad for taash's bad writing), certain parts of the story were good, the intro and the point of no return sequences were solid, and the ending didn't feel rushed or boring compared to inquisition. and yes, I do appreciate that rook can be trans, I just think a little more subtly and care would've been nice.

another thing I did like and predicted was that varric died at the beginning of veilguard, and for a second I actually enjoyed that because i thought we were finally (a bit too late tho) getting some depth to rook and their own struggles of accepting his death and carrying this weight without him. and while I do think maybe they should've taken more time to establish the mentor/mentee relationship so we really feel rooks regret, I still think it was at least the right direction where in their grief they still see him, giving advice and narrating their journey.....but then it turned out to just be solas manipulating them the whole time, immediately destroying any emotional weight this reveal had.

whenever bioware has good ideas they shoot themselves in the foot and make it about solas. it's like nothing in the world exists without solas being involved somehow, and that is just incredibly boring and uninspired to me. not to mention solas just being an insufferable ass the whole time, which is fine, but it's not even in a compelling way like he used to be. he became so ugly by the end and the fact that the devs consider redeeming him the "good ending" and not giving him what he deserves is very telling and once again shows their own bias is king over good storytelling (solas' feelings should not come into play here, whether you/your companions live or die should determine good/bad ending since solas is trapped no matter what, only difference is who is trapped with him. idk but I personally think different endings actually means different outcomes). i will not go into the bs of the secret post credit scene, bc frankly I'm fed up with bioware's shitty writing and I won't be playing their next world ending space aliens game (unless they miraculously pull a good story out of their ass but lbr).

overall the bad outweighs the good for me. it's fun to play as a game, it's a decent fantasy game, but the story just doesn't do anything for me. sometimes I wonder if dreadwolf was a completely different game and was scrapped for veilguard last minute. maybe this was yet another inevitable industry fuck up and maybe there was a good story planned at one point. idk. all I know is bioware lied. respect and credit to the poor devs and writers who actually cared and to those who were kicked from the project, but in the end bioware promised too much and delivered too little.

[wilburs-girl]

hellooo I wanna request a fic with incelbur (if you do bursonas) and you're his best friends sister. One day u and your brother go over to wilburs house and then u catch wil pleasuring himself in his room and they do the dirty- 😭 idk if you'll write this or not since ive never had a simple request written cuz ive been ignored 😃✨️ THANK YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY/NIGHT

haiii!!! i can totally write that!!! incelbur has my heart 🫶

-

let me help you with that

incel!bur x gn!reader

afab!reader

cw: sexual content

-

you knew of wilbur, but you didn’t know him personally.

your brother had befriended wilbur earlier in the year, and they’d been best friends ever since. you spent a lot of time with your brother, going everywhere with him and always hanging out with his friends… if they were his friends, they were your friends.

besides wilbur.

and it’s not that wilbur was weird around you, nothing like that. you’d been around him before, and you’ve been to his apartment a couple times with your brother, but you didn’t necessarily know wilbur all that well. from what you knew about him, he was a pretty decent guy.

his whole life, wilbur struggled with women. he’d never been intimate before. hell, he’d never even had a girlfriend. everytime he had to speak to a woman, he’d get shy and not know what to say around them.

and wilbur fancied you. he didn’t know too much about you (other than what he’d found on your twitter account that he found), but he knew that you were cute and single. and you looked nice. in fact, it was all he could think about.

you and your brother drove over to wilbur’s apartment. when you two arrived, things seemed normal. wilbur and your brother would talk about whatever they’d talk about, and you’d be sat on the couch next to your brother, looking around and picking up on some of wilbur’s interests. after a while, your brother sighed, standing up. “i should go get the food now. are you staying here?” he asks you. you nod, and he heads out the door. “i’m gonna go finish something up quick. feel free to get something to eat or… whatever you want.” wilbur says, standing up. he walked away, though you didn’t see where he was going. and then, you were alone.

you’d sat on the couch on your phone for a while, but then got up to use the bathroom. when you walked down the hallway, there were three doors, all of which were closed… so you went to the one at the end. makes sense, right?

you slowly opened the door, and you see wilbur laying on his bed, his cock in hand as he jerked off, and his eyes shot open. “oh my god!” you both said at the same time, and you quickly slammed the door shut. you stood outside the door, processing what you had just seen… and before you knew it, the door flew open.

nervously, wilbur leaned against the doorframe. “so um… you didn’t see anything, did you?” he asks, playing with his fingers nervously… though there was no point in asking, he already knew the answer. you avoided looking in his eyes, and he already knew what you were saying. “i-i’m so sorry, i… i didn’t know you would come in…” he says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, his cheeks flushed red. “y-you didn’t bother locking the door?” you say, finally looking at him. “m-my lock is broken…” he says. you sigh, rubbing your face with your hand, trying to break the awkward silence. “you’re packing…” she says, trying to smile, but she was just too embarrassed. she’d never been intimate before, and she’d never seen anything like that. “you’re not funny…” wilbur says, rubbing the back of his head.

“what even got you to that point? like, we were just sitting in the living room…” you began to ask, but then it clicked in your head. “oh my god, me? i’m the reason you were doing… that?” you ask, appalled, your cheeks flushing a bright red. he let out a huff of embarrassment, looking down at the floor. “ ‘m sorry… i couldn’t help it… i had to…” he says nervously, his voice shaky, his hands fidgeting with the ends of his shirt. “w-why? how?” you ask. he nervously looks around. “y-you’re just so pretty and nice…” he says.

and sure, you’d found wilbur attractive. he was dirty, but he was cute, and a nice person to you. so, why bother holding back? your brother would be gone, he didn’t know.

“did you cum?” you ask him. he looks up, slightly confused, and he shakes his head. “no…” he admits. you glance around for a moment. “what if i helped quick?” you ask, and his eyes widen for a moment before he looks at you, nodding slowly. he was scared, he’s never been intimate before… but god, he wanted you so badly.

you two walk into his bedroom and close the door, and you pin him beneath you with your knees. he whimpers as he feels your hands pull his pants down, his hips arching up to your touch as you stroked his dripping cock gently. “oh… w-wow…” he whined. “wow… how long have you been holding this?” you ask. “too long…” he responds, whimpering, his hands gripping hard onto his bedsheets. he gasps as soon as your thumb runs along the tip, and he finally cums, letting out a long moan in the process. “fuck- fuck…” wilbur’s head falls back against the pillows, his chest rising and falling.

and god, was the sight so attractive. sure, you may not have known wilbur all that well, but… you’d have no issue with him being inside of you.

and that’s exactly what happened.

after confirming he wanted to cum again (and would love to be inside you), you straddled his hips and sunk down onto his cock. “oh!” wilbur cries out, gasping. you couldn’t hold back the moan that left your lips as you moved your hips slowly. you had never had sex before, but with how nicely wilbur was filling you out, you never wanted to stop. “more! oh, fuck!” he begs, his hands grabbing your hips and holding on tightly as you rocked your hips slightly quicker, your hands resting on his chest.

the moans and whines in the room grew louder as you rode him quicker. he was so addicted to you… and you loved this. “so good! o-oh, fuck!” he whines, throwing his head back, his eyes squeezing shut and his mouth hung wide open, his hands shaking with pleasure as your hips kept moving quick against him. “so nice… feels so good…” you moan, your words coming out in short, shaky breaths.

after a couple more minutes of this, you could feel him tense up inside you, his hands gripping harder at your hips. “i-i’m gonna cum!” he gasps, whining and moaning loudly as he cums in you, filling you up, his eyes finally opening and staring at his ceiling. you slowed down, breathless, your eyes closed as you laid against him. your head was against his chest, kissing his neck softly. “y-you’re so good at that…” he says, turning to his side and holding you close. “you just felt so good.” you admit, sighing as you continued laying against him. he checked the time on his phone. “oh, your brother’s gonna be back soon… we should probably go back out there.” wilbur says.

as you two were getting dressed again, you looked at him and spoke again. “we’ll do this more often, right?” you ask. “of course.” he says, almost instantly.

and somehow, you two got through dinner with your brother, and by the end of the night (after convincing your brother to let you stay the night to ‘play mario kart with wilbur later’), you and wilbur were in each other’s arms again, the bedroom filling with whines and moans once again.

and you were happy it was with wilbur.

[poshbiscuit]

Ok, I have two questions for you

1.- What is your process for writing? Like, how do you plan out a story in the long term?

2.- How the fuck did you improve so much in so little time?? Ive been a fan of yours for some time and istg, CRaawloTT and ABCs and 123s are years light apart in quality!! And they were posted just with a months difference, like what??? Did you sign a deal with the devil?? Tell me your secret, ive been writing since 2022 and i havent improved a lot😭😭

Warning: This is going to be a ramble 😭

First of all, I want to say thank you for the ask and for reading my fics!! I really appreciate it :)

Now, for your questions:

1. I am someone who needs everything to be picture perfect before I even begin to think about writing the fic. So, I’ll come up with the vague concept first. Most of my WIPs don’t get past this point lol. But if they do, then I explore the idea a bit more. Make the concept more than just a sentence or two. Think about other things that could link and come into play. Think about how this concept COULD potentially be fleshed out into a story. Just get a word document, or a Google Doc, and just dump. Dump every single idea in your head, don’t overthink it. If you still like it after that, and you still have inspiration and passion for it, then start a rough outline. Now, an “outline” is subjective. Like I said, I’m an extreme perfectionist. Therefore, I’m not happy to start writing before I have every single moment of the entire story planned out. I have a Google Doc for “Yours, Veronica” which has a summary of everything that happens in every single chapter. It’s nearly 200 pages long. You do not need to go this crazy! 😭😭😭 This is just my personal preference. So I write an outline for the story. I go back and read it. I change it. I add more. I read it again. I research things to make sure there are no historical inaccuracies. I add more. I keep on redrafting it and adding to it and changing it until I am 100% satisfied. For “Yours, Veronica” this took me a few years. Again, you don’t need to be this particular about it, it’s entirely up to you. You don’t even need an outline! Write how you want to write. This is my personal planning system, and it’s what works for me. I like having a strict and thorough outline to refer back to when writing the chapters.

Okay, for your second question, I’m going to waffle a bit, so bear with me! And I do want to preface by making it very clear that I am not a professional writer. Like… at all. I don’t really know what I’m talking about! So take it all with a pinch of salt :)

I do want to say thank you. I can’t believe you’ve been around for so long! That’s incredibly sweet, and I appreciate you so so so much.

In terms of progress, I have a lot of thoughts about this.

I think a big reason why there is such a difference between CRaawloTT and ABCs is because CRaawloTT was so unfathomably bad. It was immature, there was no effort, no planning, no spellcheck, it was written rapidly and badly, and it was (objectively) stupid. I was young when I wrote it, and I had never properly written a story before. So my point is that CRaawloTT was such utter trash that literally anything would be better than it, which is why ABCs seems a lot better. I still don’t love ABCs and I still don’t think it’s very good in hindsight but oh my god it’s SO much better than CRaawloTT. The thing is, it’s pretty easy to be better than CRaawloTT.

Another thing that I do want to point out is that I was very young when I wrote my very first fic. Even though ABCs wasn’t that long after, when you are young your maturity rapidly grows and each year you’re like a new person. If that makes sense? So, I would say that I was really young when I wrote CRaawloTT (and it shows) and I was less young when I wrote ABCs (and it shows). I think even the end of CRawloTT has a pretty big difference to the start. But really, it is effort that is the main point. During those few months between the stories, I worked a lot on the new story and therefore was improving, and also was automatically making a better story. I was just doing at least the bare minimum, which I hadn’t done before.

I mean, even now I go back and I look at The Prom Bet (which is a ton better than ABCs) and I cringe because it’s so frustrating and immature and there’s a lot of contrivances. You have improved and you will improve. I’ve been doing this for nearly 6 years now and I know you may not feel like you’ve made progress but you have. We are all our own biggest critics. But if you want to keep on improving until you notice it, then all you can do with writing is just keep doing it and you will get better. It’s experience, that’s all it is.

I’d say a big tip is trying new challenges and getting out of your comfort zone and testing yourself. With ABCs, the difference was I started implementing things like minimum chapter word count goals and that made a huge difference. From CRaawloTT chapters that were rushed and less than 1000 words to ABCs which had chapters that were a minimum of 3000 to 5000. Another thing was doing an outline, like I mentioned before. CRaawloTT had no outline and I had no idea where it was going. I would randomly open a word document and decide “Uh okay, chapter 7? I guess… this can happen?”. The impact that makes on the quality of your story is huge because you’ve got a story there. It’s not guessing games, and spur of the moment incoherent babble. Of course there’s spellchecker too. Listen, ABCs still has a lot of spelling errors because I was still a bit lazy 😭 but it’s better. And that’s the progress that you’re talking about. Such basic tools that I just didn’t implement at first. So don’t beat yourself up! What I’m trying to say is that you probably started at a much higher level, with much more effort, passion and consideration. So, of course your progress isn’t going to seem as dramatic!

So really, it wasn’t like I went from “good” to “amazing”, you know? I went from “really really abysmal” to “not as bad”, which seems like a huge jump but it’s not. It’s just a big difference in quality, because the first one has such a lack of quality that anything feels like a big jump. I think you need to give yourself more credit.

Finally, and perhaps the most important point of all, is that I didn’t love doing CRaawloTT, and that shows in the writing. You can put hours of effort in, you can have all the talent in the world, you can use every technique in the book. If you don’t like what you’re writing, it’s going to be so clearly. I loved writing, I loved being part of the Heathers fandom, but I didn’t like CRaawloTT itself. I had no passion for it. I had passion for ABCs. I enjoyed writing it. I enjoyed the story (at the time). I was excited for it. That’s such a huge difference. Just like how I feel even more excitement for Yours, Veronica.

so TL;DR:

The reasons for the improvement from my first fic to second fic are that my first fic was just so awful, I implemented very basic writing and planning methods, and also I was very young when doing my first fic.

I’m sure you have improved, even if you don’t see it. Just continuously writing and gaining practice and experience is the best you can do

Implement challenges and goals if you haven’t already. Set a higher minimum word count for your chapters in order to improve pacing, for example. Write an outline, if that’s what helps you, so you don’t go off-track. Try a new style of writing that you’ve seen before that you like.

I am so terribly sorry for this completely unnecessary babble. I got a bit passionate there! I really really loved this ask and I really loved talking about this stuff, so thank you ❤️ good luck with your writing, I’m sure you’re doing great and you’ll continue to do even better. Have faith!

[dykensteinery]

What r ur oc stories about?

OMG HIHI I NEVER HAD SOMEONE OUTSIDE OF MY CURRENT FRIENDS ACTUALLY ASK BEFORE UMMMM OKAY SO. i have 3! main oc stories that i Really care about at the moment but im Deeply fixated on mainly 1 of them but im gonna start with the one ive been liek "promoting" the most in a sense!! under read more cuz im gonna try to exlain all three of them bless. sorry if i seem overly passionate oops i was TRYING to summarise im sorry its so long u rlly dont Have to read All of it

Forgotten Man's Symphony

his (louis manoir) character is basically a spin off from a character mentioned in the novel frankensetin exactly (1) time by name in elizabeth's letter and by far he is the most organised oc of mine cuz we do actually have a clean, understandable summary doc (thought it is a tad bit outdated but its okay). shes like the most Normal narrative-wise i suppose so i'm not exactly sure on how to explain the plot of forgotten man's symphony it's just like??? him ruining his life in front of the reader and then #Healing?? i guess?? the story is an epistolary that starts with louis' Suicide Letter. so like. yeah. BUT!! i suppose i would say his story very much concerns the concept of like identity (including gender and such she would be considred either transfemme/bigender by the modern world but also idfk cuz i made her complicated and confusing on purpose) and also the lack thereof + the negative impact that comes with trying so hard to fit into the societal norms and what people Want you to be but you just Can't be, cutting away bits of yourself to fit through some sort of hole representing the perfect version of you until theres nothing left of Who You Are expect a palatable and small version yk?? and the the endless pursuit of wanting to be loved that leads yourself to changing and changing for people who just wont care or love you for realsies + @rosaniruby 's words "making it even like that so its not YOU who is loving and being loved but the dim visage of a version of you that fits the picture of what society loves; that it's not a love between individuals, it's the love for a society that cannot ever love anything because it was made to hate. and who believes that portrayal of love will not find it and forever be stuck. smth like society loves what it deems as perfect and hates the imperfect, since perfect doesn't exist it can only do the second one. and louis wanted to love perfect victor, hated his own imperfect self. but the perfect victor doesnt exists, and neither does any version of louis."

i like her he's great. sorry if that was less telling u WHAT his story is and more like Explaining the "themes" as theyre called of the story but idrk how to describe nromal stuff so TAKE WHAT U CAN GET!!! anyways,

Domus Carnis: The Transmutation of Guinevere Manor

idk if you're aware but i have a hyperfix on architectural horror and i DON'T MEAN SCARY GHOSTS AND SERIAL ILLERS IN AN ABANDONED HOUSE I MEAN HAUNTED HOUSES THAT ARE ALIVE THAT IS A METAPHOR FOR PTSD FROM CHILDHOOD TRAUMA ETC ETC!! this story By making it started my whole obsession with the House it's crazy... scary even.. (i recommend you watch jacob geller's video essay about houses) i really do like domus carnis but it's. Messy to say the least. i do feel as if i ought to change the time period it's set in to avoid talking about the wars going on in the time period i accidentally set it in without realising but im procrastinating on that rn. it was Suppose to be late 1800s to early 1900s..

in a few simple words: flesh-and-bone made lesbian sex house. does that get your attention yet. bless

domus carnis (which literally means flesh house in latin or something) will be written in the POV of a 40ish year old widowed woman by the name of harriet wren's diary entries, occasionally switching to the POV of her 20-something year old godson percival who is like old timey jake paul and hes like either a journalistt or a radio host depending if i choose to change the time period or not. we follow them after harriet's husband dies of whatever and they find out he has a large property in a foreign country of which they had not known of prior

somewhere in germany there is a house of ex-aristocrats that no longer live there that is Alive. the House becomes alive because it is in a sense "possesed" (not haunted) the ghost of kathryna von guinevere who was the last one to die in the house, who, in life, was incredibly obsessed with The House for reasons that i fear are too long to explain without boring you and going into info pre-story?? anyways, when she "posseses" the house, the materials of the house shift to flesh, blood and bone because it Materially becomes her body. now, it would be hard to accurately label what represents what body part, because it's all strangely jumbled up and isn't like really human anatomy either cuz kathryna Can in fact see inside herself?? anyways whatever. now, the house is now both her body AND her mind. i have taken the phrase "haunted by memories/trauma" and turned it literal. the house IS haunted, but most of the ghosts aren't ghosts, theyre mostly all manifestation of Memory from her life because she actively is replaying the speech and actions of other people IN her mind to process the (typically traumatic) events of which she's seen or experienced. the ghosts CANNOT do as they please because they only exist at all Due to kathryna remembering them in these specific scenes. the hauntings include scenes of people, sounds, and shadows. unless the "scene" has a mirror, you cannot see kathy directly because you are witnessin things through HER eyes, which makes memories from wee childhood interesting because im wondering if i should make the "people" seem wayy bigger than the viewer if stuff is replayed from childhood..

i really like the fact that a lot of this is based on memory because it opens a lot of doors to me when it comes to the appearance of hauntings. my friend showed me this video depicting neurons forgetting how a face looks like, and i feel as if i could use that in the story because well, realistically kathy isnt going to have a Pristine memory cuz she Was just a human before, not to mention the fact shes already suppose to have issues on facial recognition/rememberance (my friend with these sisues suggetsed htis). the alteration of the ghosts' bodies could be fucked with even more if i try to make use and research into the way that people (mostly children) can in fact like.... change the image of something traumatic in their brain and make it less scary bc the brain is trying to protect them? yeah. AND ALSO the fact that a lot of people forgets certain aspects of their trauma due to their brain trying to protect them as well but still have this feeling of Unease when it comes o specific things that they cant explain, i could incorporate this feeling in certain areas of the House, the strange uneasiness. i experience that myself so i hope ill portray it right!!

i Think that's it?? at least that should be the bare bones of the story... i have a pin board tho if u want to check it out!!

The Epinicium

THIS is the stupid fucking thnag thats ruining my entire life rn. i love it i hate it whagever man. THIS ONE ill keep short and simple because im too fucking mentally ill about it to explain in depth without being asked questions

so basically its fantasy world but not like. Completely new high fantasy i very loosely based the countries off of like real countries and stuff bc lazy as shite so its like mid fantasy maybe HOWEVER

basically its set in this world where theres a shit ton of religions and gods and shit and theres three categories of religions (the world is veyr uhnm. Categorical idk): earth, science and the arts. basically the arts religions are the majority and the gods of those religions are called the muses so thats what i'll be calling them from now on. the basic plot of epinicium is about the muses of the music religion declaring that humanity doesnt treat music as "holy enough" anymore and taking it away as a whole (songbirds go extinct as well which is importnat) which also fucks up the other arts religionsdue to the fact that artforms are very connected but they still exist yk and centuries later our main cast attempts to bring it back!!! we have this server with a channel that has the "summary" but its not a real summary its just an already outdated infodump but we are Trying to fill this doc but we're failing really hard but friendship is magic idk.

fin.

anyways thats. pretty much it i think im sorry its too long once again 😭😭 feel free to ask question esp on the epinicium!! id love to hear abt ur ocs btw ive yapped so much oops

[jacaerysgf]

wrong pick!

Reality tv star!Jacaerys x Reality tv star!Reader | 2.8k wrds

Jace has been paired up with cassandra since the beginning, thinking their bond was pretty strong he felt as though he had nothing to worry about but he was soon proven wrong. and he quickly finds out theres always been someone else in his corner.

too hot to handle!au, fluff, mild angst, confessions, blooming love, first kiss, jace pov, acts of service, she/her prns used for reader, slightly proofread

[its pretty late into the game so they have the watches if you know what im talking abt some things in this fic wont really make sense if you don't know the show, used outer banks characters names cause i was watching it while writing it dont mind me, ive also never watched the show ive only played the games so idk what goes on, im very rusty i havent properly written something in months im sorry if this is lame no taglist cause idk if people care anymore. does anyone even read these authors notes anyway enjoy!]

Being on too hot too handle was turning out to be a lot more fun than Jace had originally expected. He had met someone he truly thought he connected with. or at least he had thought so not even an hour ago but now he was storming away from the outdoor lounge pit with a furious look on his face as Cassandra calls after him.

He’s never been one to break rules, even on a show like this when moneys draining from the pool left and right he doesn’t dare let him be the reason it gets knocked down a couple thousand. When he paired up with Cass he had been worried at first since she had seemed like the sexually driven type but she seemed respectful of the fact he had no intention of breaking any rules. He wanted that money to be able to provide for his family back home so this meant a lot to him. Yet after they had gotten the green light she seemed to be more persistent in her attempts to get them to break the rules and he was not interested in the slightest which pissed her off.

She had come into the bathroom as he had just gotten out of the shower, the two flirted a bit and she had tried to kiss him to which he backed away. He truly didn’t mean anything bad by it but she had took it really poorly and stormed off from him, he tried to calm her down and she just blew up on him. He had realized the two had completely different thoughts about their relationship and she clearly did not like him the way he liked her and he lost it. She didn’t respect him, she could barely even remember the things he had said to her which was more than enough for him.

When she realized he had gotten truly upset with her, which he hadn’t done before, she tried to back peddle but he simply stormed off leaving her to call after him. He wishes he was more thankful she didn’t follow him but a part of him stings that she didn’t even care to come after him. He walks along the beach side until a familiar figure comes into his view and smiles at him. Kiara, one of the original contestants here like him, who quickly paired up with JJ another contestant, and the two had become good friends.

“Heard some yelling all the way over there,, everything good?” He drops down to sit in the sand next to her and sighs. “I don’t know. I think me and Cass are done.” He tries not to get hung up on the fact Kiara doesn’t really seem surprised by the news. Was it obvious to everyone but him they weren’t going to work? She sits quietly for a moment, Trying to put the right words together before she speaks. “Are you upset?”

“I don’t know. I think so? I feel like I should be more upset.” “I’m sorry dude but I don’t even know how you put up with Cassandra so don’t feel bad about not feeling bad.” He turns and glares at her, his mood souring slightly. “She’s not as bad as you all seem to think. she,, can be nice.” Kiara laughs with disbelief and looks at him expectantly, “Sure,, like when?” A soft smile falls on his face as he recalls a moment in particular in mind. “I had been complaing about how my favorite shirt was all wrinkled and she steamed it for me.”

A look of pure confusion crossed her face. “What are you talking about about?” “It was awhile ago I had fucked up my shirt-” She quickly stops him placing her hands on his chest as she fully turns to look at him. “No dude I know what you’re talking about what do you mean Cassandra did that?” Now its his turn to be confused. Kiara full on belly laughs as he tries to understand what’s going on. “Ugh She’s gonna kill me for this but dude it was never Cassandra doing that stuff. Its Y/n. its always been her doing all that shit for you. Got a huge crush on you.”

Jace’s face is unreadable as he attempted to process this information. He had always assumed it was Cass since she was the one he had been complaining to about it to and she always liked doing little things for him without taking credit,,, right? There has been so many little things, little comforts, little actions done for him after he’s complained about it that he’s always just assumed was Cass and his stomach sinks at the idea its never been her. Kiara has no reason to lie to him. She’s your best friend here and he likes to think the two of them are good friends too. There’s no way she would be trying to set you up.

It was all you.

Kiara watches him with an amused expression as he tries to put the pieces together. He quickly stands and Kiara’s face grows into a knowing grin, “See you later!” He barely acknowledges her as he quickly sprints back towards the villa. Kiara looks out towards the ocean and shakes her head, speaking out loud more so for the camera than for herself. “She’s gonna kill me.”

His head is racing, his mind twisted up in knots as he finally arrived back to the villa. He flinches when he sees Cassandra has thrown herself a pit party, some of the other contestant comforting her as she sits and cries into her hands. All heads shoot up when his footsteps hit the pavement. Cassandra perks up and quickly rushes over to him, stopping him when he tries to walk away. “Jacey please lets talk,” “We’re done Cassandra. There’s no need to talk.” Her eyes widen in horror as he tries his best to gently move her out of his way but he stops him, “Please Jacey baby lets not do this to us-” “There is no us.” He spits out before storming past her into the villa house, ignoring the way she’s calling after him.

Jace’s eyes dart frantically around every room he enters until everything goes still once he finally sets his eyes on you. You’re sitting in the lounge pit, JJ on one side and on your other side sat Pope, one of the other contestants. Whatever conversation the three of you were having completely pauses as all eyes had turned towards him. He takes a moment to finally look at you. He’s seen you around often sure but he never had truly stopped to look at you. You're another one of the original contestants just like him. He remembers meeting you on the first day, The bright smile you had on your face, the way you made him a special drink at the bar and sent a wink his way. It had been the best drink he had ever had. He had always thought you were beautiful but right now he couldn’t take his eyes off you.

“Hey dude, you need something?” JJ is the first to speak up, sitting up slightly from his lax sitting position prior and looking at Jace with raised brows. Jace however did not spare him a single glance, his eyes lasered onto you as you attempted to act nonchalant about his presence in the room.

You’re wearing your hair differently today.

“Can we talk?”

Despite not addressing anyone directly everyone knows he’s talking to you. You glance over at pope who shrugs and another glance at JJ who looks equally as bewildered as pope does before nodding lightly and standing to follow Jace out the room. No words are exchanged between the two of you until you reach a private terrace just outside the villa. When he turns to face you you give him an awkward but friendly smile as you attempt to not take this situation too seriously. “Sooo, What's up?” you pop the p at the end and grip your hands tightly together behind your back.

You had just heard him and Cassandra fighting outside everyone did quite frankly. You almost wanted to go run after him but it would be too out of character, too obvious.

“I know it was you.”

Your friendly demeaner falters ever so slightly at his words instead contorting into confusion as you tilt your head at him. “What was me?” He takes that step closer to you and by instinct you lean away from him ever so slightly. “I know it was you who steamed my shirt.” Your face completely falls and he watches your face twitch as you attempt to come back with a statement but he doesn't let you.

“I know you had decided to make skewers that might because I had been complaining about missing my families yearly barbeque this year. I know you were the one who had found my missing t-shirt after I ripped apart the whole house looking for it;” With every claim that leaves his mouth he takes a step towards you he takes the slightly step towards you and you take the smallest step back.

At this point your back at hit the cloudy glass door and he was right in your face. He could hear your heart pounding but he’s sure you could hear his too, to anyone else it would see like you were completely unbothered by his words but he can see the minor glaze in your eyes which tells him everything he needs to know.

Before he can say anything else one more particular memory pops into his mind, he can’t believe he had ever forgotten about this. You go to open your mouth to deny his allegations during his moment of silence, the eye contact and closeness the two of your were sharing was killing you but he quickly stops you.

“And worst of all, I know you were the one who put my name down in the anonymous poll.” When your eyes widen in horror he fights back the grin that grows on his face.

Got you.

It had been about two weeks ago. They had been having a costume party and Kiara had suggested they do a ‘Who’s the hottest?’ anonymous poll, one for the girls and one for the guys. Since the couples had been pretty strong at that point and it was pretty deep into the game it was originally brushed off as a lame idea since everyone would just chose who they were paired with but Kiara managed to convince everyone since two new bombshells had just arrived yesterday.

Everyone had technically been right and most people picked who they were paired up with except one. Jace had two votes. that pretty much killed the night as Cassandra blew up trying to figure out who had voted for jace. She had never suspected you since you were pretty much always paired up with pope and pope had gotten a vote. So she automatically targeted Cleo, one of the new bombshells, who later took the fall for you and claimed she had voted for jace. He never thought anything about it, it was a harmless game. Plus Cleo had come up to him and said she wasn’t really interested she just thought he was hot, so he ended up getting pretty embarrassed by Cassandras outburst but brushed it off as he really caring about him.

He watches you gulp and look down as you try to collect yourself. He can practically see the wheels churning in your head as you attempt to come up with anything to say. Suddenly you look back up at him. your face hardened as you even slightly glare at him. “So what?” His gaze turns into something more affectionate at your admission and your face softens, “Why didn’t you ever say anything?” His hands had come to grab your forearms lightly as his words are let out in a light whisper. You turn your head away from him as you try to ignore his burning gaze into the side of your face. “You’re with Cassandra. I would be the bad guy if I tried to break that up.”

He releases one of his hands to grip the side of your face to turn you back towards him. “I wasn't in the beginning.” Your eyes turn away from him as you mutter something under your breath he can’t understand. He pulls your face towards him and he hears your breath hitch. “You can tell me.”

“She beat me to it.” He blinks rapidly as he doesn’t understand what you mean before his eyes widen in realization. The first retreat had just been completed, you and Cassandra had been deemed the stand outs from it and were given the opportunity to pick one person to go on a date with. Before you could even speak Cassandra picked jace first, he remembers agreeing to the date thinking Cassandra seemed interesting he had never even considered you were planning to ask him as well.

You had ultimately ended up picking pope who happily agreed. He had now realized you simply settled and picked pope because he had already been taken out and everything else seems to fall into place. You and pope aren’t a couple, everyone with eyes knows that the two of you are just really good friends who happen to get paired up together since there's nobody else around for the either of you as everyone is already paired up. And now pope has become infatuated with Cleo leaving you alone for the last two retreats. You had no interest in any of the bombshells that walked into the villa or any of the original contestants because you liked him.

He finds his chest tightening as he takes a deep shuddering breath. “I'm sorry.” You flinch as if he had slapped you and lightly shook your head. “For what?”

“For thanking someone other than you for the things you would do for me. For not knowing it was you,” You are quick to cut him off “You were never meant to know don’t feel sorry.” If anything that makes him feel worse. He breathes as if his throat is constricted. “Why?” You sigh in defeat, your beautiful eyes downdated. “As I said you and Cassandra are a thing and I'm not someone who likes to get between-” “Me and Cassandra are done.”

As your face contorts into something unreadable he pulls you to press your body directly against his. “The things that I had thought were the reasons that made me fall for Cassandra were actually done by you. I have no attachment to Cassandra know that I know its always been you all along. The one I should have been looking for, the one I should have gotten the green light with.” Both of your breathing turns erratic as the tension is palpable between you. “I want to try things with you. I don’t know how everything will turn out but I want to give whatever this is a shot. If you’ll let me.”

He gives you as long as you need to try and compose yourself. He watches as your eyes flicker all over his face for any sense of dishonesty but you can’t find anything because there is none. You can only see the pure affection dripping out of his pores and gulp. Once you open your mouth to speak you are cut off by a familiar light gleaming on his face.

Green.

He manages to contain his shock, despite his declaration he makes no move to close the distance between you and does not speak a single word. You decide words are pointless now as you grip the back of his head and pull him into a deep kiss. He eagerly meets your enusastic kiss and wraps his hands around your waist to hold you close to him. After what feels like eternity the both of you pull away and stare deeply into each others eyes, not even noticing the green light fade away into black.

“Lets give it a try.” The two of grin like giddy children as you press your foreheads together. No more words are needed to be spoken at least for now. He’s sure once the two of you leave the sanctuary of the terrace there's going to be a storm inside the villa but for now he can enjoy the peace and quiet alone with you.

[sechsviciado]

when doves cry

reaperken/touka ; written circa nov/dec 2022

no warnings or ratings really?

-

so after my slight reaperken/touka rambling yesterday i figured that i really have nothing to lose from posting this small snippet of a fic (oneshot??) thats been sitting in my google drafts for nearly the past two years; if this is crappy i can always just delete it but ive wanted to contribute a bit more to keep tokyo ghoul tumblr alive so i figure why not?

i felt so smart when i came up with the title since ken was a dove during that entire reaper arc until the events of cochlea. i didnt really pay attention to prince's lyrics in the song but looking back at it now i guess some apply? not really any inspiration was gained from it though, i just grew up with music from the 60s-90s so the title kind of came to my mind and it happened to be a prince reference. not really any ratings or warnings yet?? its nowhere near finished and im not sure if ill even finish it because i feel my writing heavily lacks.

anyway, without further ado

how many months had it been?

it had been months — years — since he recalled feeling this exact way. of course, haise had felt this way too, but it would never compare to the feelings he had for her before that brief period of time where he had lost recognition of everything and everyone who once meant something to him. ironically, it's when he felt most at peace with the butterflies in his stomach, beating against his rib cage and the cage surrounding the longing which could never be released. he’s regained his memories now, but he knew something was different within him even when he laid his glassy eyes on her again on that first visit to :re as sasaki haise. why did he feel so entrapped and yet so wrongly distant even when he had no recollection of her prior on that first visit to the cafe?

it would never be the same.

it would never compare to the feeling of falling in love with her and the realization that came with it. the realization that left him in a state of both a mix of surprise and agitation for days and with a feeling that could only be described as his heart skipping a beat and yet crumbling at the same time. it would never happen, would it? he had chosen to face that reality when he was still his old self, naive and too ashamed of his actions to actually face her after all the pain he caused her as a result of the pain which engulfed his entire life, too. too ashamed to accept his new reality, hiding behind his eyepatch — too ashamed to admit he had fallen in love so easily. he wasn't any different now.

haise may have fallen in love with her through the lens of a reborn figure with a fresh start and no boundaries to stand behind (apart from his obvious shyness and the weird sense of familiarity), but it just occurred by fate. the same fate that had snatched him from her years prior had found a way to bring him back into her arms and make him belong to her once again. he can't help but believe that maybe there was some future destined between them; the embittered part of his heart and soul makes him realize even that destiny would probably be cursed or filled with further strife.

though he supposed that didn't matter now.

not when he was even more distant from her than when he was an amnesiac with no recollection of her apart from the same old feeling of confusing comfort and longing. it's humorous and yet painful to think about how low he'd fallen in this aspect, not even being able to face her once again. despite his older age, he was still just a boy when it came to this same ancient rush, wasn't he? it doesn't matter. she surely didn't want anything to do with him anyways, especially not after everything that he's done. he's betrayed her and everyone who was once a part of him once again, and he’s chosen to accept that painful reality ever since he vowed to stop dreaming and flung tsukiyama off that building. facades all break down eventually.

though he supposed that didn't matter now, either.

he’d be disposed of soon enough before any of this could matter at all — before hinami was to be the one to disappear from the purgatory that was life as a ghoul. there was no heaven and there was no hell; there was no afterlife. heaven was bliss and safety on earth while hell was anguish and pain.

it was selfish of him to hope touka would feel any sort of pain after all of the grief and rage he's put her through time and time again, but he hoped he'd at least be remembered by the person he felt he loved most in this lifetime — the one who hadn't thrown him aside but who had instead built a nest for him as if though her life depended on it. he can't help but wonder… he’s had everyone he's ever known and cared for snatched from his hands by the same twisted fate that led him to await his upcoming death, he doesn't know if the puddle of both coldness and warmth in his stomach is either fear or love.

he'd truly cherish any memory he had of her before he’d be killed.

he vaguely remembers telling her, years ago, that he'd be sad if she died; he just hopes she would be saddened at his death, too.

[sagemoderocklee]

killing gods & honor bound!!

lmao i shoulda known youd pick honor bound! but ill start with Killing Gods since i've got less to say about that fic lol

Killing Gods is a fic loosely tied to the song Big God by Florence+the Machine. I've got... so many fics that were spawned by one song or another of hers, but this fic is a lot looser in relationship to that song than some of my other fics inspired by her music.

this fic plays around with the whole reincarnated gods thing that the war arch shoved into the series, which i largely ignore and think is stupid, but sometimes it's fun to try and fix things. make things make more sense. im not like fully sure what ill be doing with this fic if i ever get around to writing it but this is the summary i have for it:

Naruto and Sasuke are descended from gods—are gods reincarnated. The world is uneasy—more specifically those in power are uneasy. How do you control a god? How do you kill a god? What happens when a god doesn't like the way you do things? What happens if your god isn't benevolent? Meetings held in secret to discuss plans, to uncover the other gods hidden in the world. Unbeknownst to Naruto or Sasuke, a technique is created using their blood and chakra that will help identify the other reincarnated gods that walk amongst shinobi. Sakura is revealed to be a god, deep in slumber, of life and death; Gaara a god of protection and love. There are others. There are too many. The council makes a decision: bind the gods' powers, keep them from ever becoming a threat to the status quo. (expand on later)

so very loose premise but there's something in it that's intriguing and what's funny to me is that this accidentally ties into some worldbuilding for Suna that hasn't yet come up in any of my fics... i say accidentally cause ive had this idea since around 2018 before i got to the point where this worldbuilding piece came to be. 13S does bring up Suna's gods so like in a way and it was the last chapter of 13S i posted that had me thinking about religious beliefs more solidly in Suna/Wind but ultimately there's some things ive toyed with for Gaara's family tree that this accidentally connects to. anyways this is literally all that i have for KG but it's still there in my ideas doc and knowing me when/if i ever get to it i will likely go completely off the rails with it and turn it into a trilogy or something XD

NOW! for the fic I KNOW you're probably more excited to hear about:

So here's the banner for the fic since it's been a hot minute since i updated it. i originally wasn't going to post this at all until i'd finished editing Alliance (which I know you're enjoying :p) but then we had the Naruto Run to 1K so I pulled out every single GaaLee fic I'd had stuff written for and posted it all. But Alliance has a lot of things that need fixing--prose and some plot things and some world building. I was never really fully satisfied with how I ended the war itself. Like certain things I liked, but I felt like I was rushing by the time I got to writing the war because at that point the canon series had actually ended and I was like well fuck I gotta get this done. Then of course Alliance still sat for 3 years while I edited it.

At the moment, Honor Bound is the prologue+3 chapters in. The posted prologue for HB and SL have been written since... I wanna say 2010/2011. When I first came up with Alliance, I'd wanted it to be like THEE newest hot longfic for GaaLee and I was soooo hype to write it I did all this plotting and planning and then realized.... it couldn't be a single fic and GaaLee wasn't gonna happen in Alliance. It didn't make sense. So I needed a sequel. And then it was a trilogy... and it stayed a trilogy for a long time but I wanna say sometime between 2016 and 2018 I realized that by the end of SL not every single thing would be wrapped up. Thus Fidelity was born, making this a tetrology not a trilogy, which is why I ended up calling it The Allied Nations Saga.

Anyways, lots of rambling but this series was for a long time my baby, but then I wrote The Art of Love which sort of usurped TANS, and over the years I just developed an even richer and more grounded world than what Alliance had so... editing has kept HB from progressing. The plot of HB is fully ready to go--as is SL. I've had the first three fics planned since 2010, Fidelity is the only one without any real plans beyond some basic political things and relationship things.

The biggest challenge with Alliance and the rest of the series, thus HB, is that the world building I'd done during this time no longer aligns with my world building now and some of it I flat out don't like or agree with anymore for a variety of reasons. i was young so i was really trying to flesh out a more lived in world but not necessarily doing it all the right way especially trying to build up a cultural word within Wind Country. it wasn't as in depth or thought out, so now I have to like... figure out what I'll do with some of that. the last scene i wrote for HB where i started to get writer's block was a scene with San in fact lol

I know I toyed around with the title for HB for a long time too, before settling on the title. I can't remember what it was exactly before but it didn't hit the way Honor Bound does. And I think HB works as a title better because we're obviously continuing to follow a majority of the cast from Alliance, so thematically it's gonna be relevant to all of them not just Lee. The original title was def more... Lee focused lol I forget how far along you are now into Alliance so I dont wanna say too much but I will ive you a snippet below the cut and it'll be a tenten pov [ :p ] cause I really love what I've had planned for Tenten for this fic and beyond. honestly alliance made me love tenten so much. it made me love a lotta characters i was otherwise ambivalent about or neutral on like Sai. Tragically, it never did help me love Kiba or Hinata XD

anyways here's the unedited Tenten PoV 'snippet' (it's the full scene XD) from Ch2: Rebirth of HB: (Spoiler warning: since you haven’t finished Alliance yet, this does obviously give you some minor spoilers)

***

Tenten's hands shook as she stepped into the meeting room. With any luck it would be the first of many meetings to go over her proposal, but the first was always the worst. She glanced back, trying to catch one last view of Neji to steel herself with, but the doors closed behind her with a soft click before she could.

She swallowed, approaching the small table that had been setup in the middle of the room. She set down the scrolls she carried, dropping a few on the floor as her hands continued to shake. She took in a deep breath, forcing herself to be calm as she picked up the scrolls.

<em>Get a hold of yourself,</em> she chided.

Straightening, she set her scrolls down and turned to meet the Hokage's gaze.

Tsunade watched her intently, unblinkingly. Behind Tsunade, Naruto watched with the lazy air of someone about to fall asleep. On either side of Tsunade, the council members watched Tenten, judgment shining in their stern gazes.

“It is the first day of the tenth month at ten in the morning, and this proposal hearing is now in session. We are gathered here to listen to a proposal put forth by Chuunin and former Captain of the Genin Fleet, Tenten,” Homura declared. “You may begin.”

Tenten inclined her head. “Thank you, Mitokado-dono. I have come before you today to discuss what myself and many of my comrades feel are necessary changes that need to be implimented to the way we as shinobi and as people do things. For as long as Konoha has existed, we have been a nation of shinobi and I am proud to count myself among those skilled warriors.

“I have been a shinobi for most of my life. I grew up knowing I would become a shinobi, even before I could properly understand what that meant. I entered the academy, I did all the things I was meant to do. I became a Genin. My experiences as a Genin were standarad. Most of my days were spent training with my teammates, Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee, and our sensei, Maito Gai. Our missions as Genin were typical. We were a good, strong team. But we were a team of children.”

Tenten paused, allowing the last sentence to sink in. The two council members exchanged looks.

“During the war, myself and several others took under our wing newly made Genin. These children had been promoted, according to Konoha and Suna's council, because of necessity. War was upon us and we needed as many able fighters as we could find, but these were not able fighters. They were children. None of the children in my care were ready to fight in a war. Most of them had not even reached graduation age, yet they were given hitai-ate and asked to stand on the front lines. In the end, thanks to myself and my teammates, we were able to save the children from the worst of the battle. Yet we still sustained losses.

“And above all, the children lost their childhoods. It is my belief, and the belief of my former teammates, that eleven years is not old enough to graduate from the Academy. In addition, I believe that we start children training to become shinobi far too young. Many of these children come from clans and do not feel they have a choice, but I think it is time we gave them a choice. It's time we give the children of Konoha their childhoods, and if they wish to become shinobi, then let them make the choice when they are older. Let them make the choice when they are more able to think for themselves. Let's ensure that no child ever has to fight in a war again.”

Tenten finished, her hands shaking once more. The council members were glaring at her, Naruto was leaning forward in his seat suddenly intent, and Tsunade stared at Tenten, impassive and emotionless.

“Your proposal is intriguing,” she said.

“Intriguing!?” cried Homura. “This is simply outrageous. We are a shinobi village, not a daycare center. The children are perfectly safe—”

“No disrespect meant, Mitokado-dono,” Tenten interupted, her tone suddenly cold, “but the children are not safe. Everyday, we hand weapons to children and ask them to risk their lives. My teammate, Rock Lee, nearly died in the Chuunin Exams our first year attending—and our sensei had us entered into the exam in our second year, unlike many other sensei who rushed their Genin teams into it. I watched children die in the war—”

“It was war! Of course some died! It's simply unavoidable!”

“No! It is not unavoidable!” Tenten shouted, anger overcoming her. She slammed her hands on the table before her, staring down the council. “Those children were placed directly into harms way when we handed them their hitai-ate. They weren't shinobi, they were children. This council and Suna's made them into soldiers, but they were still children. Most of them couldn't even mold their chakra properly yet!” Tenten felt tears in her eyes as the feelings she'd been holding in—resentment and guilt and anger—came rushing forth. She sucked in a breath, forcing herself to calm. She couldn't let her feelings rule her now. If she was going to make the council see reason, she had to show them the facts.

Silence stretched in the room as the echo of her anger died down and she found her center. Collecting her thoughts, she took from her pile one of the scrolls and unfurled it with practised ease.

“I have prepared, what I feel, is a simple plan—a way to change the way we do things. Instead of children starting at the academy at five years of age, they should start when they are thirteen—”

“Thirteen?!”

“Silence,” the Hokage snapped. “Continue.”

“They should start when they are thirteen years old. At the end of every year, there should be an evaluation wherein the students discuss their goals for the future. During this evaluation, they should be asked whether or not they want to continue training to become shinobi. As long as they wish to, they may continue, but any child who does not may return to a normal school program without shame or judgment. All those who see it through to graduation would be receiving their hitai-ate at the age of twenty.”

“Twen—”

“Homura,” Tsunade snapped, “if you cannot control your outbursts you may leave.”

“But Hokage—” Tsunade narrowed her eyes and Homura closed his mouth, glaring at the Hokage. She stared back, gaze unwavering. Finally, he dropped his gaze. “Forgive me, Tenten. Please continue.”

Tenten would never forgive him. Not any of the council for what they'd done to those children. Tonboko still had gruesome nightmares of losing her friends, still feared the forests at night. She did not smile the way she once had, instead she trained with a dilligance that went beyond obsessive, determined to fight the ghosts and monsters in her dreams, and to save the friends who were already gone. How could Tenten ever forgive them for the damage they'd done?

“Twenty is the age when we are considred adults,” Tenten went on. “The longer children are in the academy, then the better their survival rate will be. I have here,” she said, grabbing another scroll and stepping forward, “a statistical analysis based on research I was able to conduct in the last month. On average, a shinobi's lifespan is only about thirty-five years old. Most shinobi die in the field or go missing in action before the age of twenty-five. This applies to shinobi of all ranks, but especially Chuunin, though this may be due to the fact that most shinobi do not advance beyond Chuunin level.”

“Do you feel that this survival rate would increase with these changes you're suggesting?” Tsunade asked.

“Absolutely. Not only will those training to become shinobi have had more time to hone their skills, but they will also be more emotionally and mentally able to handle their missions. Of course, there is no way to completely avoid the mental and emotional toll this line of work has on a person, but I do believe that with these changes we would see a happier, healthier, and longer-lived shinobi which could only be better for the village.”

“And what of those already made Genin?” Koharu asked, speaking for the first time. She looked calmer than she had when Tenten had first begun to explain her proposal. She leaned forward, looking at Tenten intently.

“Those who are already Genin,” Tenten explained, “would be offered the choice. I do not believe they should remain Genin, but they have already seen so much. I think some of them will choose to give up their hitai-ate—permanently or temporarily—but I know there will be some who cannot. However, I do believe they should return to the Academy and graduate at the age of twenty. They could be given D-rank missions while still training, but anything more should be heavily considered. They are still children, and now they are children carrying a heavy trauma.”

Koharu nodded. “Interesting. You realise that such a thing will cause quite an uproar, don't you?”

“Yes, Utatane-dono. I have considered the potential backlash this proposal will receive. I believe the pros of moving forward far outweigh the cons.”

“And you are prepared to endure the ridicule and possible ostrisization from your fellow shinobi?”

“I have spoken with enough of my comrades to know that those closest to me support this intiative.” She pulled another scroll from her pile, passing it to the Hokage. “I have here a list of shinobi, from both Konoha and Suna, who agree with this plan.”

“This is a petition,” Tsunade noted.

“Yes, Hokage-sama. In the event that this council does not agree to pass this proposal, then I am prepared to take this to the next level. The petition has already reached enough signatures between our village and Suna's, granting that, should your council not see fit to move forward, I be heard by a council of the Great Nations and our allies.”

“You're well prepared,” Tsunade said, a hint of pride in her voice.

Tenten inclined her head. She had to be prepared for anything, she could not fail the children again.

“My concern,” Koharu said suddenly, looking over the scroll that detailed Tenten's proposal, “is that this will severely weaken Konoha's forces. We are already at a great disadvatange, you realise. We sustained a great number of losses during the war, not to mention the damage to the village and the strain on our resources housing Suna's people caused. If we do this, we would see our shinobi forces cut by at least a third, and we wouldn't see any growth in the numbers for years.”

“This is only the first step of my proposal,” Tenten said, and again another scroll was passed to the council. “The main objective is to ensure that children live happy and whole lives, not marred by war; that children are able to experience childhood and make the choice for themselves when they are ready to become shinobi. Eventually, as we move forward, the initiative would be presented to all shinobi villages, great and small.”

“And what if a village does not agree to this proposal?”

Tenten had been waiting for this question. “With the war at an end and our alliances at their strongest, there is no reason for this to be seen as damaging. If this is truly a time of peace, then this would not hurt the other nations. It is my belief that now is the most ideal time for this proposal to be put forth to all of the shinobi nations. Any nation who refuses would be seen as hostile, which would go against the alliances formed.”

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, glancing up from the scroll to pin Tenten with her gaze. “I take it you intend to use this pettion to propose such an amendment during a summit.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama.”

“Very well. All in favour of a secondary hearing on the matter of the Children's Protection Act?”

“All in favour,” Koharu said. Homura grumbled, but eventually he relented.

Tsunade grinned. “Naruto?”

“Wha—eh? I get to vote?”

“You are training to be the Hokage, aren't you?”

Naruto grinned. “I think Tenten knows what she's talking about. I mean,” his shoulders slumped and he looked down. “Konohamaru hasn't been the same since the war, so... I agree with Tenten.”

Tsunade nodded and banged the gavel twice. “Your proposal has been approved. We will collect all research and outlines of said proposal now. Please meet with my assistant to set a date for further discussions.”

The tension and guilt Tenten had been carrying released so suddenly she would have collapsed if not for the table before her. Her throat constricted, but she managed to keep from crying as she bowed herself out of the room. Neji was waiting for her, his back to the door as he stared out the window. She could see that his Byakugan was actived. He turned to her, a small smile on his face.

“Congratulations,” he said softly.

Tenten collapsed in his arms, crying her relief and joy into him.

There would be many more meetings to come, and the preliminary meeting was no guaruntee that her proposal would be passed. There would be people who did not agree with her, as Homura clearly didn't, there would be countless rebutals and constant ridicule, but she'd taken that first step towards change. She was sure, that in time, the rest of the shinobi world would follow her.