#which means I don’t know if I can find any use for my old ocs like John and the keylock hq crew

[thatonepizzaman]

It’s time for a reboot.

[dilatorywriting]

The Prince & The Pauper Prefect

Gender Neutral Reader x Prince Stefan (Twst OC) Word Count: 5.9k

Summary: 'Dear Ramshackle Prefect, you are cordially invited to tour the Royal Sword Academy at your leisure. We hope our libraries may have something of use to aid in your journey home. And if perhaps you find our facilities to your taste, we would be more than happy to extend you a more permanent invitation.’ Clearly, nothing about this could go wrong at all.

A/N: A commission for the very lovely @thefiasco-onyourblock. I'm having so much fun with all y'alls ideas, and this is one of the few that was asked to be public, so I'm happy you all get to see it! It was a lot of fun to dive back into this himbo~

You’d just stumbled your way back onto Ramshackle’s sagging porch after your second third fourth foray into this wonderful new world of Near-Death Experiences when the letter arrived.  It popped into existence in a pleasant burst of bubbles and sparks—a scroll of soft, cream, paper stamped with a shimmering wax seal that looked like it could have been melted down out of literal gold. You waved a hand under it, over it, all around the thing in grand loop-de-loop. The letter just kept hovering in place, occasionally spitting out another bout of multicolored sparkles.

“Hello?” you tried, cautious, and the thing crinkled at the corners. Like it was trying to wave back at you.

You glared up at the grey sky for a moment, daring whatever higher power existed in this stupid world to try fucking with you yet again, before reaching out to grab the ridiculous, magic, note.

It unrolled at your touch, like a cat stretching when you scratched along its spine. And instead of some horrible prank or wayward contract, you were greeted with an opportunity.

.

.

“POACHERS!” Crowley howled.

You sighed and rested your chin in your palm. “So can I go?”

“INTERLOPERS!” he forged onwards, waving the letter back and forth like a parent raging over a bad report card. “Who do they think they are?! Trying to swipe my most precious intern—student! My most precious and beloved of students!—out from under my nose?! As if I wouldn’t be able to see through something so—so—ACK!”

“I mean,” you grumbled miserably under your breath, “it is a pretty long nose. Could hide a lot under there.”

He turned on you with a gasp, like you’d just insulted his mother. Or… whatever the Headmaster’s no doubt vaguely evil and eldritch equivalent would be. 

“It’s a mask! A mask!”

He crumpled the letter petulantly between his clawed fingers and went to hurl it to the ground, but the paper smoothed itself out with another one of those magical ‘pops!’ and floated up on an artificial breeze to land neatly in your lap. Crowley sneered at the thing like he was planning to light it on fire, and honestly, with how strange and ethereal this little letter was, you sort of wanted to see him try.

“I think it’s a perfectly reasonable opportunity,” Professor Trein shrugged, unbothered by his superior’s usual nonsense.

“It’s not as if the Royal Sword Academy is known for their treachery,” Professor Crewel added, sounding a bit like the acknowledgement had to be yanked out of his mouth with a pair of pliers. He glanced your way for a moment with those narrowed, steely, eyes of his before turning that glare back on the old crow. “And in comparison, I don’t think any of us can truthfully claim that Night Raven has provided a particularly safe learning environment for the Prefect.”

Crowley sniffed, indignant. “A sprinkling of danger is all part of the educational experience!”

Trein sighed and Crewel pinched at his brow like he was fighting the start of a migraine.

“They’re just offering to let me look through their library archives for more information on how I could find a way home,” you tried, and then leaned forward conspiratorially. “Which would mean less work for you, you know.”

For a moment you could see the calculations whirling behind those glowing, yellow, eyes—the promise of entirely unearned vacation time and accolades for tasks he’d had absolutely bupkis to do with. But then the sharp line of his mouth hardened in determination and he turned away from you with a huff.

“We’ll discuss this betrayal of yours later—when my poor, old, heart has had some time to stitch itself back together!” he harumphed and you sighed miserably. Then he snapped his fingers with a little ‘ah!’ and turned on you with a perfectly sunny smile. “And of course there’s the VDC to plan for! Do get on that, my favorite, little, busy bee!”

Afterwards you stood in the little alcove outside of Crowley’s office, the golden letter clutched tightly in your fists. The soft edges of the scroll lifted to curl around your knuckles, like a gentle reassurance. Before you could work yourself up into getting too upset about the unfairness of it all, Professor Crewel placed a hand on your shoulder with a heavy sigh.

“I’ll drop you off Monday morning.”

You fought the tremble that was doing its best to turn your mouth into a wobbling mess, and turned to launch yourself into his furs with a crushing hug. The alchemist patted your back with a great deal of aggrieved grumbling, but he didn’t bother to push you away either, so he probably didn’t mind you creasing his coat as much as he said he did.

.

.

Your assurance that this was just a jaunt through the RSA’s library had been… mostly a fib. Or at least, deceptive in the same way that the sweeping, cursive, missive was also sort of sneaky. You’d dealt with enough genuine schemers at this point to recognize subtle promises woven into the words of the well-meaning.

‘And if perhaps you find our facilities to your taste, we would be more than happy to extend you a more permanent invitation.’

You sighed and tucked the letter into your bag. It felt a bit wrong to be ducking away from your friends and your hovel of a home like a thief absconding in the night. But this was just… You were just looking. Spending a day away from the cloying, tarry, taste of pooling blot, and the endless runaround of all your little duties, and Crowley was not nearly the same as flipping your new friends the bird and fucking off into the sunset.

You repeated this to yourself ad nauseum as you pulled on your cleanest uniform, and then again throughout the entirety of the drive down the coast, and then more when Crewel waved you out of his car with a pointed look, leaving you at the RSA’s doorstep with a little shoo shoo gesture to get you moving.

Everything was so white. And not the gentle sort of lightness that came with nice things like fluffy sheep or foam off rolling ocean waves. It was sterile—so sharply bright in the morning light that it was nearly blue. The brick path beneath your feet was white, the guardrails lining the walkways were white, the walls of the looming castle, the impressive archways, the fluttering flags bearing the school’s regal coat of arms—all bone-bleached beneath the sun and shimmering like the architecture itself had literally been polished to a gleam. The only variation to be seen amidst the sea of monochromatic brilliance was the occasional pop of a cerulean spire—like some sort of awful party hat to top off the whole mess of it.

Say what you might about Night Raven’s gothic chic and whole ‘I mean, of course the cobwebs in the halls are Intentional’ aesthetic, but at least walking around the drab buildings there didn’t leave you feeling like someone had just set off a camera flash in your face. You felt like you were dirtying the roads by just existing near them. How did anything ever get done here without everyone having to constantly stop just to sweep up their footprints behind them?!

But such was the way of this dumb world apparently. Everything had to operate in extremes—nothing could just be normal. Real. It was all some fairytale recreation, varying only in if it fell hard on one side of the spectrum or the other.

You pulled out the letter with a sigh, and began roving over the contents yet again to see where exactly you were supposed to be headed. This whole fieldtrip turning into a miserable confirmation of your unintended loyalty to Night Raven or otherwise, at least you might be able to get some information out of these promised libraries.

You managed to cross a sweeping stone bridge, descend three separate flights of stairs, and follow nearly half a dozen signs with little, circled, stars on them before realizing you were probably only making things worse for yourself. You were still on one of those glistening, pearlescent, pathways, but now there were trees everywhere. It was a far cry from the twisting, black, forests smattered throughout Night Raven’s estate. Light filtered down pleasantly through the lush trees and the air was so nicely scented with flowers and pine that it was almost like someone had gone through with a bottle of Perfume de Forest and personally spritzed each and every plant. Which—ugh. Even the birds seemed to singing in tempo to some pre-orchestrated song. It was trippy.

But speaking of trippy—

You were so busy glaring suspiciously at a tree with a literal smiley face twisted into its bark that you didn’t notice the drop-off until it was too late. To be fair, it was still all very lovely—an overhang leading to a crystalline lake that bubbled gently under the roar of nearby waterfall. No jagged rocks at the bottom or anything. You probably wouldn’t even have to tumble all the way into the water, just into the little ditch about ten feet down. But of course, all that didn’t stop you from ‘eeping’ inelegantly in a panic as you stepped over the edge and started to fall.

And then you jerked back with a wheeze when something caught you around the collar of your uniform and tugged. You flailed wildly as you were hauled back up and into the air, and something behind you made a high-pitched, nervous, whinnying noise.

“Woah, woah, woah! Easy! Easy! You’re going to send all three of us over, you big baby!”

The huffing, angry, noises just got worse and you were dropped unceremoniously back on the pathway you’d wandered off from just in time to see a pair of hooves come crashing down precariously close to where you’d been dumped. You scurried back in a hurry, because you’d survived too much nonsense at this point to get taken out from something as mundane as a kick to the head.

The horse eventually got its singular braincell working well enough to realize it had to back away from the ledge, and you were finally able to look upon your savior without being too worried about taking a hoof to the face.  

He was clearly an RSA student, what with the garishly bleached uniform and impeccably put together everything. There was a crimson cloak tossed over one of his shoulders though, which did more to break the monotony of colorless brightness than any other architecture in the entire campus, so well done him you supposed. There was a sort of effortless attractiveness to everyone in this stupid world, but your new acquaintance in particular seemed to fall hard into that ‘windswept, accidental model’ sort of look, with loose brown hair falling in a neat fringe over his forehead, and wide, warm, hazel eyes. He looked a bit like the sort of person that a school might slather on all their recruitment posters to be like ‘see! We have jocks that know how to shower and brush their hair! Look how put together we are!’

“Are you alright?” He asked, looking down at you with a canted head—curious. “You don’t look a student here.”

“I’m not,” you sighed, making your way to your feet with a sore grumble. “I have an invitation. I’m just trying to find the Headmaster’s Office,” you said, holding out the letter like a hall pass.

“Oh!” He chirped, brightening. “I can show you the way,” He offered. “Not that I’m in trouble enough to know the way there by heart or anything, but I guess just enough that there isn’t too much of a chance that I’ll get the both of us lost,” he winked and you narrowed your eyes suspiciously. Normally this sort of overly familiar banter meant you were about to get dragged into all sorts of Shenanigans.

Before you could decide whether to take the chance or politely decline, his stupid, too big, horse reared its head back with a frustrated huff. Mister Red Cloak took the mini-tantrum in stride, despite the fact that the thing had nearly just clocked him right in the face with a head that looked as solid as a boulder.

“Oh, come now,” he sighed, patting the beast’s neck. “We can finish the course later. Don’t be a baby.”

The horse made some sort of unpleasant shrieking noise like some nightmare creature from just beyond the gates of Hell that had you flinching back to avoid being Murdered, but its rider simply rolled his eyes and tugged sharply at the reins.

“What do you think, huh? Just this once?” he asked, leaning forward over the withers to talk to the raging horse in its face. Like a lunatic. “For an extra bucket of oats? And maybe, just a few—” cue an absolutely horrendous eyebrow waggle, “carrots?”

And then the horse tossed its head back with a whinny that should absolutely not have sounded anything like a ‘hell yeah! Whatever you say, dude!’ before turning and prancing around you in tight, bouncy, circles. You scrunched in on yourself, because the thing was still probably a thousand pounds of muscle and flailing limbs. Even if it wasn’t actively huffing at you anymore, now it was just getting closer faster.

“You really don’t have to,” you tried. “Just point me in the right direction and I can find my own way.”

“Nonsense!” he chirped, dropping down from the saddle to land before you in the grass with a heavy thud. He brushed at his trousers, as if he wasn’t expecting his hands to come back completely clean. There wasn’t a speck of dirt on him. “What sort of savior would I be if I let you get lost in the wild and wonderful woods of this grand institution?”

“I can see the castle,” you griped, pointing to the blue peaks over the trees.

“Last I checked, you can see it from the entrance too,” he smiled and gestured to the forested path around you, chuffing a bit like he was laughing under his breath. “Must’ve been quite a turnaround, to wind up here anyways.”

Instantly you felt your hackles rising and a familiar, prickly, heat work its way up into your cheeks.

“Thank you, for your concern,” you grit out and swiveled on your heel. “But I guess even I should be able to find my way eventually.”

The pleasantly amused expression on the brunette’s face instantly fell and he darted back in front of you with a grimace.

“Sorry—that was. Sorry. I guess I put my foot in my mouth,” he rushed out. A gloved hand came up to rub awkwardly at the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

You snorted and glared off into the trees.

“Now you really have to let me show you the way,” he laughed, stilted and bordering on too polite. “For making an ass out of myself like that. It’s the least I can do.”

You glared at him sourly for a moment before sighing and glancing back at the looming Andalusian still prancing along the tree line. “Will… that be coming with us?”

“Helios?” he asked, like you had any concept of what a ‘Helios’ was supposed to be. Probably the horse. “Oh, no, no, no,” he said, waving you off. “He can find his way back to the stables on his own. Right, boy?”

The horse made another one of those high-pitched, blustery, noises and you forcefully reminded yourself that you had faced inky goop monsters that were personifications of your classmates’ literal demons, and also kidnapping plots involving another of said classmates diving into your brain to rewire it like you were his own personal puppet. And in comparison to all those trials, Sentient Animals should not be creepy.

“Fine,” you huffed. “It’s fine. Just—let’s just get going.”

“Right!” he beamed, instantly bouncing back to his earlier enthusiasm. “I’m Stefan, by the way.”

You offered your own name in return, if only to be polite, and he smiled like the fact that you’d managed to grit out those familiar syllables was a gift in and of itself and not just, you know, generic introduction protocol.

“You have a lovely name,” he chirped, falling into step at your side.

You snorted, still a bit too bitter and sore. “You don’t have to try so hard to be nice, you know. To make up for saying something you feel bad about, I mean. It’s fine.”

His blinked his wide, hazel, eyes at you in way that looked a bit like you’d managed to surprise him. His eyelashes were long and soft, and they brushed against his cheeks with each shutter. Never trust people with nice eyelashes, you thought a bit petulantly. You’d known you were right to be cautious.

“You think I’m just saying that because I feel guilty?” he asked, not sounding particularly incredulous or insulted so much as genuinely curious. He tilted his head at you and some of his fringe slipped in front of his eyes, softening the sharp lines of his face. “Do people normally do that?”

You didn’t quite frown at him, but it was a close thing. You could feel your brow pinch.

“…I guess,” you huffed after a long moment, turning to stare back at the path ahead.

“Huh,” he mused, thoughtful. “Well, I really did mean it. And it’s a lot better than my name by far. I mean, really, Stefan? A bit on the nose, don’t you think? ‘Crown?’ Come on. Couldn’t my parents have been anymore original?”

You glanced over at him, a bit lost. “What does that mean?”

“Stefan?” he repeated with another one of those eyelash-sweeping blinks. “It means ‘crown.’”

“No,” you sighed, long suffering. “As in, how is that unoriginal? It’s a nice name.”

“Well, it’s because I—” he trailed off, gaze lingering in open astonishment. After a long moment of gaping at you like he’d just been clobbered across the back of the head with a baseball bat, he finally cleared his throat and looked back off into the trees with a tight shrug. “Nothing. It doesn’t mean anything I guess. Don’t worry about it.” He seemed to chew on that train of thought for a moment or two longer before turning back to face you with a wide grin that was just on the right side of smug. “You think it’s a nice name?”

“Whatever,” you huffed, cheeks starting to heat with something other than bitter chagrin. “Just please get me out of this forest before I fall over another cliff.”

.

.

Headmaster Ambrose the 63rd (the sixty-third! What in the nepo-nonsense was that?!) looked like a wizard straight out of some homey after-school-special, with silver spectacles perched on his rounded nose and a soft, pointed, cap atop his head that flopped endearingly at the tip. He was an antithesis to Crowley in every sense of the word—flowing robes replacing tight vests and formal wear, faded white accents rather than sharp black, and not a single bit of Sparkling Flair to be seen. Like everything else, as nice as he seemed, it was such a stark jump into the opposite direction that it had your hackles raised in caution.

“Our libraries are some of the most extensive in the country,” he smiled, warm and fond. It made the corners of his eyes crinkle behind the rims of his glasses. “I hope you’ll be able to find something that may be of some help to your situation.”

“Thank you, sir,” you said, fighting the insane storybook urge to do something like curtsy.

He waved you off with a gentle shake of the head. “None of that ‘sir’ nonsense. You’re a guest a here! I hope my students have been treating you well?”

Stefan rubbed at the back of his neck and shot his headmaster a sheepish smile that was entirely, unfairly, handsome.

“Doing my best, sir.”

“Good lad,” he hummed, something nearly mischievous sparking in those blue-grey eyes of his. But you were hesitant to label it anything of the sort now that you’d seen what real sneaky nonsense looked like. This was more like… Children’s Program Mischief. That kind that usually involved an adult thinking themselves very clever for being able to sneak some vegetables into an afternoon snack. He turned back on you with that shining smile. “Allow me to find you an escort for the afternoon, and then we can get off to the library.”

“I’d be happy to show them around!” Stefan piped in.

“Is that so,” Ambrose mused, that same little grin playing over his mouth. “I thought you were meant to be in Equestrian Studies at the moment, hmm?”

“Well, I mean,” he spluttered, before collecting his argument and squaring his shoulders with another one of those blindingly bright smiles, “how could I possibly have left someone in need to fend for themselves, sir? I would have brought shame down on this entire institution! Heroes are meant to be made not born, after all!” He boomed, like someone cheering a school’s motto at a sports game.

All of this sounded like the largest crock of self-aggrandizing bullshit you’d ever heard, and by the time you’d had a whole internal debate with yourself over the merits of NRC’s outright nastiness versus this… whatever it was supposed to be, Ambrose was gesturing between the pair of you and saying something that you probably ought to be being paying attention to.

“Thank you, sir!” Stefan grinned, and Ambrose waved him off in that same pleasant way he had you earlier.

“You’re in excellent hands, Prefect,” the Headmaster assured as you were rushed out the door by the guy who was clearly going to be your newest Problem. “Take care! And please let me know if there’s anything at all that we can help you with.”

And then you were back out in the hallway, with Stefan already steering you towards who knew what. The archives, you hoped. But knowing your luck, probably not.

“You must be hungry, right?” he asked, perfectly polite. “Why don’t I take you to the cafeteria before we head over to the library?”

“I’m fine,” you said, just as your stomach gurgled a very loud complaint. You patted at your traitor of an abdomen in a silent reprimand and sighed, “You can just show me the way. I don’t want you to feel like you have to babysit me the whole day.”

“Nonsense,” he beamed, intertwining his arm with yours and tugging you off down another hallway before you could protest. He was so tall, and it should have been hard to keep up with his longer stride, but it wasn’t. “I like spending time with you.”

“What?” you blinked, thrown. Because maybe you’d hit your head or something, but you were pretty sure the last half hour had consisted of very little other than you being grumpy and unpleasant.

He canted his head to look down at you and the corners of his eyes crinkled in a smile.

“You’re nice to talk to,” he said. “Honest, I think. Would be the best way I could describe it. Genuine.” His hazel eyes went a bit distant, wistful. “There aren’t many people here like that. It’s different. Good different,” he promised, the corners of his smile tugging into something a bit teasing.

Your gaze tracked down to the brilliantly blue carpet beneath your feet and then around to the perfectly white walls. Other students filtered by in their starched uniforms and shiny, black, dress shoes—all impeccably groomed and all chattering idle nothings about the weather, about classes, exams. You could see the muddy imprints from your boots trailing along the floor and a few errant bits of grass fell in clumps from where they were still tangled up in your shoelaces. Something tight in you eased a bit at the mess, and you turned back to your companion with a sigh that was bordering far too close on ‘begrudgingly fond’ rather than the properly ‘put upon’ you were aiming for.

“If you say so.”

You hadn’t thought it was possible for the guy’s smile to get brighter, but somehow he managed. You squinted into the warmth of it with a strange, squirmy, feeling in your stomach that you didn’t think had much to do with being hungry.

“Come on then!” he beamed, tugging you along. “We don’t want to miss the Feast!”

“Feast?” you echoed, incredulous.

“With dancing silverware and everything,” he mock-whispered, like a secret just for the two of you.

“What the fuck,” you gaped, brain immediately latching onto the most ridiculous aspect of all of it. “How do you eat anything if it’s dancing?”

Stefan threw his head back with a roaring laugh that had you wanting to sink into your collar with your shoulders hunched up to your ears. But no one stopped to stare, or point, or snicker into their palms at his open enthusiasm. There were a few curious peepers, but once they seemed to identify the source of the noise, they all went back to wandering the halls in their perfectly pressed uniforms with nary a sly comment or sneer to be seen.

“See?” he beamed, tilting sideways to knock his shoulder against yours. “Honest. Now come on—we don’t want to miss out on all the grey stuff. It tastes way better than it sounds, promise.”

.

.

The pair of you entered the cafeteria right at the start of things, with dishes and forks just beginning to fly overhead in waves of strange, blinking, lights and motes of golden sparks. More than a few people waved at Stefan as he walked in, and he returned the greetings with polite, buoyant, ones of his own before herding you to an empty table off to the side.

“You don’t want to sit with your friends?” you asked, brow pinching in confusion.

“Hmm?” he mumbled around a spoonful of something already shoved in his mouth. There wasn’t any kind of plate in front of him, so he must have snatched it right out of the air. He swallowed and reached up to grab another. “Oh, no. That’s fine. Here! Try this!”

You leaned away from the spoon he held up to your lips with a huff and some obligatory complaints about how ‘you could feed yourself just fine, thank you very much.’ You plucked the bit of silverware from his fingers with a wary frown and very tactfully ignored that lingering, fluttering, warmth in your gut that you still hadn’t managed to completely snuff out.

“Is this… grey stuff?”

“Right on the money,” he winked, leaning forward to snatch up another flying fork. “My family’s not usually a fan of more ‘modern’ cuisine, so it’s always a treat to be able to try all the different foods at the Feasts here.”

You looked hesitantly at the goopy mess of monochromatic paste smeared across the spoon, and then back up at Stefan who was casually digging into his own floating mountain of toxic waste with an absolutely enraptured hum of satisfaction.

“Remind me to buy you a grilled cheese or something…” you muttered under your breath, before bravely swallowing the entire spoonful of sludge. And—huh. That was actually… pretty delicious. How weird.

You spent the rest of the luncheon event picking at random bits of floating foods as they danced by. Occasionally Stefan would lean forward to point out his favorites and give recommendations. He was surprisingly observant, despite whatever initial impressions his jock’s jawline and guileless grins may have led you to believe otherwise—taking easy note of the things you pushed aside and the ones you nibbled at more enthusiastically.

“Oh—you missed the desserts,” he lamented as the last remnants of a picked apart pie flew over your head.

“That’s fine,” you said, but he only shook his head and began to drag you off again with another of those brilliant grins.

And so began a weird sort of pseudo treasure hunt, where Stefan would take your hand and haul you off to some random corner of the castle with promises of whatever seemed to strike his fancy, or more accurately you supposed, whatever he seemed to think you might fancy.

“No one really uses this vending machine anymore, but somehow it always restocks and it has the best ice cream bars I’ve ever had. It’s wild! I’m sure you’ll love it!—“

“Oh, it is pretty cold down here, right? I didn’t even think about that. But… hmm… Here! I know the best place to grab a hot chocolate! It’s just over this way a bit—“

“These walls are kind of a drab view, yeah? Here! If we go down this way there’s a great little area to sit where you can see the whole bay—“

By the end of things, somehow you ended up back at the stables with that terror of a horse of his. And despite the runaround and the vaguely exhausting fact that Stefan’s social battery never seemed to wear itself out ever, it wasn’t… it wasn’t that bad, actually. Sometimes people would wave him down to talk, and he always introduced you and left the proverbial door open for you to join the conversation, but never asked you to participate, which was nice. You’d taken to just sort of slouching against his side in a food coma like a lizard on a rock as he answered whatever mundane questions all the other students asked of him. But otherwise, it was just the pair of you bopping around all over the campus.

Helios saw his master and whinnied merrily, and Stefan made an odd sort of chuffing noise in return that had you laughing into your palm.

“What?” He complained good-naturedly. “You’ve never barked at a dog before? It’s the same thing!”

“Of course it is,” you droned, lips twitching up at the corners.

The next destination was someplace on the coast that he was insisting was the absolute best place in the world to sit and think. Which if you wanted to do research, naturally you needed to get your head together about where to start, right? The only problem was that it was a solid hour hike away, but Stefan assured you that on horseback it was a much shorter journey.

You leaned forward on your tiptoes to get a look down the sprawling corridor of stalls, each larger and grander than the last. And each of their occupants following that exact same trend. There even looked like there was a horse with wings, which was—ah. Not helping the intimidation factor, to say the least.

“You can ride with me,” he offered. “If you’re uncomfortable, I mean. Sometimes it helps to feel like there’s someone more adept at the reins.”

You blinked, a bit taken aback that he’d picked up on your discomfort so easily. But then then you focused on the rest of that offer and you and the horse shared a Look. And wasn’t that a trippy thing to notice. You immediately forced yourself not to think about it.

“I don’t know if that’s fair to Helios,” you pointed out.

“Nonsense!” Stefan waved you off, and Helios pinned his ears indignantly. “He’s an Andalusian. They’re war horses, you know? Built to be as sturdy and strong as any horse can be.” He said the last part with a sickly-sweet uptick to his voice, and leaned up against the beast’s flank like they were sharing an inside joke. “They say Prince Phillip’s legendary steed was an Andalusian, and they rode into battle against a dragon together.”

Helios’s grey muzzle twitched prissily and eventually the horse lowered his great head to thump against Stefan’s side with a gusty ‘harumph’ that had the man stumbling forward with a pleasant laugh.

“There you are, you big baby. I knew you had it in you.”

After giving the horse a firm pat pat on his rump, Stefan turned and offered you a hand.

“It’s easier if I help you up first,” he explained.

“Isn’t there like… a ladder, or something?” You tried, and Stefan grinned sneakily before ducking behind you and hauling you up on Helios’s back all in one go. You absolutely, positively, did not squeak, or anything else ridiculous like that. It was a—a squawk! The most indignant and put upon of noises!

Stefan laughed and waved off whatever terrible sounds you were making with a bemused ‘Sorry! Sorry!’ that was the absolute least apologetic thing you’d ever heard. And then he was swinging himself up near effortlessly into the saddle behind you and looping an arm around your waist.

“Sometimes it’s better to just get it over with,” he explained in your ear, like your brain hadn’t just absolutely Blue Screened at the new weight along your hips. “Like ripping off a bandaid. I know it can all be sort of intimidating for people who aren’t used to being around horses.”

When you didn’t respond, because you were still trying to sort cognizant thoughts of the mess of ‘!!!’ that was hard at work blotting out the rest of your brain, you felt him start to shift a bit behind you. His hands flexed a bit tighter, as if the idea of you not being secure enough in the saddle was in anyway the problem here. After another moment of your continued silence, Stefan leaned forward carefully to hook his chin over your shoulder and spoke in that same carefully polite way he had when he’d worried he’d insulted you all those hours ago in the forest.

“If you’re still uncomfortable I can get you down if you want,” he offered, voice dipping low in something that sounded like hesitance. “I know I—I mean, you don’t have to go riding with me, if you don’t want to. I just thought it’d be…” He cleared his throat, and you must have been going delirious because out of the corner of your eyes you swore you could see the tips of his ears turning pink. “I can… I can just take you to the library now, if you want,” he said. “I know I’ve already been pretty selfish with your time today.”

Helios shifted to stamp his feet and you twisted your fingers nervously into his mane. You really didn’t feel entirely great about being so high, on something so wild and big. And honestly, you had wasted a lot of time sightseeing with your impromptu tour guide. If you were being in anyway rational, you should demand Stefan dismount and take you to the library like he promised. But all the same… Today had been—all of it had been…

“Just don’t let me fall,” you huffed, fighting the urge to duck your chin down into your collar to hide the rising heat in your cheeks.

“Of course not!” Stefan beamed, straightening himself back up so suddenly that he nearly tipped the both of you from the saddle. You sent him a glare over your shoulder and he laughed, loud and boisterous. “Sorry, sorry. From here out starts the ‘of course not.’ That was just a test run.”

“Whatever,” you sighed, letting him maneuver your hands to better hold the reins alongside his.

Naturally, by the time you got halfway to the beach, Stefan remembered that the library closed early on Mondays, and that you’d well and truly missed your opportunity as you’d been off gallivanting with him and his ridiculousness all day.

But you know what? It was fine. You’d just come back tomorrow. And maybe the next day too.

.

.

[ashleyfilm]

Seeing Clearly - Chapter 5. Movie Night

Please leave comments, I'd love to know your thoughts. And if you feel inclined to reblog, that would be so nice.

Chapter Warnings: cursing - Minors - DNI

Characters: Jackson!Joel Miller x F!Reader Plus Size. F!OC was recommended to me since there's a lot of description of her but I'm writing her as You (Reader) so hopefully you can still imagine yourself. Black hair, glasses, tattoos, big body, wears dark clothes, won't stop talking. Joel is tv show Jackson Joel.

Story Summary: Joel just saved your life, begrudgingly. He doesn't know exactly why but he brings you back to Jackson and you ingratiate yourself into his very small circle and his life. This takes place after season 1 of TLOU and season 2 doesn't exist in my brain because no.

Chapter Summary: You start your job at the library, meet a new resident of Jackson and Joel takes you to the movies. 1.8K

Thank you to @saradika-graphics for the book line divider. :)

Chapter 1 Here Chapter 2 Here Chapter 3 Here Chapter 4 Here

Chapter 5. Movie Night

After stopping by the clothing swap, Joel walks you to the library in your “new” old black t-shirt, with the faded logo of Guns n’ Roses, one of your favorite bands from childhood, you can still remember most of the words to the entire Use Your Illusion II album. Your eyes lit up when you found it and it actually fits you, even a tiny bit loose, your favorite. Joel couldn’t help the smile that formed on his plush lips seeing you full of glee, like a child that never went through any of this shit. At the library, you meet an older gentleman named Doc, long grey hair, warm smile and a sparkle in his eyes. He’s hoping to retire this year and you’re just in time to learn the ropes and take over. He walks you through the stacks and what he’s been able to do with the last three years he’s spent there. Organizing, cataloguing, working out distribution to the townsfolk. He even encourages you to suggest your own ideas on how to facilitate the place. You take your time walking around and looking at the books, all in various stages of use, but mostly well held up. Sometimes there are even multiple copies of something where the beginning is in one and the end in the other.

It's magical, being surrounded by all these stories, all these means of escape. And you haven’t even gotten to the VHS tape section with the movies. You grew up going to the video store every Friday with your parents, picking out something for them and something for you. Sitting in your room and watching the stories unfold before your eyes. You even worked in a video store before the outbreak, studied filmmaking in school. This place is already healing you. You can feel it. “Ash, got a visitor here, needs help finding something,” Doc says to break you from your reverie. You walk to the front desk and find a young man, probably in his early 30s, blonde hair, average height, good looking, but kind of like the asshole in your high school that’s on the soccer team and makes fun of you in front of his friends. “Ash, is it? I heard we had a newbie in town. I’m Ryan, nice to meet you,” he says as he takes your hand and gives it a squeeze. You still at the touch, people don’t really touch like this anymore and you haven’t been touched since you got here except for Joel and that was …different.

“Hi, uh, what can I help you with?” You say curtly. “Well, I’m looking for something to read, maybe something sci-fi, think you can help me out,” he says with a smirk. This guy isn’t here to read, he’s here to get the info on the new girl, ugh fuck off. “Um, sure, follow me.” Even though you’re new, you’ve quickly made a map in your head of the library space and the way Doc has taken to organizing and grouping things. You head straight to fiction section, which is currently just by author last name, you’ll change that. Wanting to get this over quickly, you look for H.G. Wells, and find The Invisible Man and hand it to the guy. So, Brad or whatever the fuck his name is will get away from you. “A Grotesque Romance,” he says reading the subtitle on the cover. “Interesting choice,” again with the smirk. “Yup, hope you enjoy it,” you say not really looking at him anymore. “I’m sure I will,” he says looking your body up and down. “See ya around, Ash.” You smile quickly and turn to walk away. Well, that’s the first person you’ve met that you immediately dislike, you guess it was bound to happen in a town with this many fucking people. A very obvious downside.

At the end of your shift, you say goodbye to Doc and start on your walk to the dining hall that will be turned into a movie theatre for the evening for a viewing of Jurassic Park. Your tote bag, courtesy of your new boss, filled with three books. Carrie by Stephen King for you, a graphic novel called, Somewhere in the Stars for Ellie, and No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy for Joel. You wonder if he’ll like your old man joke or not. And like you’ve manifested him; he’s standing outside the library leaning against a lamppost, waiting for you. He’s stunning, standing with his arms crossed against his chest, in a green flannel with red lines and the sleeves rolled up to reveal his thick forearms and his hair wet and slicked back. And he’s there for you. He looks up and notices you walking towards him, you bite your lip to try and hide your smile. “Well, how’d it go?” He asks with his mouth in a line but his eyes, they’re different, warmer. “Good,” you answer, “Doc’s really lovely and it’s amazing how many books you all have.” He watches you speak, and you think he might see something new, and you feel it too, invigorated. You begin to walk in step with one another to the movie night.

“I got Ellie something,” you say as you dig into your bag and retrieve the graphic novel, handing it to Joel. He smiles warmly, probably thinking of Ellie and says, “She’ll love this.” After he hands it back you put it away and reach for the book you got for him, “And this …is for you.” Your hold your breath hoping he likes your choice. “Old Men, that a crack on me, sweetheart?” He says with a chuckle. Sweetheart, he just called you sweetheart. He continues, “Thank you, that’s real kind. Always wanted to read this one, never had the chance, always workin’ too much before everything happened.” “Good, well now you can.” He hands it back and your fingers brush just slightly and like this morning you feel a bolt of electricity run through you. You look away and hope he can’t see the blush on your cheeks.

When you walk into the theatre together, quite a few people look your way with curiosity. You don’t know if it’s because you’re new in town or because you’re with the big, bad Joel Miller. But soon, you don’t care because you smell the popcorn and hear people laughing and see the big projector screen. And you almost sob right then and there. Joel’s watching you in wonder. He lightly touches your shoulder, leaning in close he whispers, “Go pick out a seat wherever you want, I’ll get us some snacks.” A shiver runs down your spine and he’s gone. You find what you deem the perfect seat, close to the middle and along the center aisle. You see Ellie who gives you a wave and wanders after a pretty, dark-haired girl around her age. She looks so happy, and it makes your heart clench in your chest. You start to worry how much you’ve gotten comfortable here, it’s a lot so soon. And you worry that it could all be taken away, like everyone and everything in your life already has.

Before you can spiral too far into your mind, Joel sits next to you. “You couldn’t pick a place a little less surrounded by people?” he says with a grunt. “Hey, you said anywhere I want,” you pout at him. “That I did, I guess I shouldn’t leave it up to you next time,” he says with another hint of a laugh. Did he say next time? Did you really hear that? The movie starts to play, and you and Joel share popcorn, he holds it for you and offers it over to you every couple of minutes. You hear the music by John Williams, and it takes you back. When you were a little girl and your parents would sit you between them and watch you as your eyes lit up taking it all in, so enthralled. Popcorn now long forgotten, it comes to one of the parts you’ve never forgotten, when the girl, is about to fall through the ceiling and the velociraptors are underneath her dangling body and they snap at her legs. You jump out of your skin and grab onto Joel’s hand. After the jump scare you start to laugh, still holding onto him, then you look over at him and he’s already looking at you, a soft smile on his face, until both your smiles fade replaced with a longing gaze until he drops your hand and turns back to the movie. You worry you’ve gone too far, asked for too much, too soon. You clasp your hands back in your lap and try to enjoy the rest of the movie in silence.

As the T-Rex screams and the banner falls, the room is filled with applause. Everyone loved this movie; it didn’t matter who you were. The lights come on and everyone begins to make their way out into the night air of Jackson. Joel says he’s going to find Ellie and for you to “stay put.” Eyeroll. Unfortunately, that’s when Brad or whoever the fuck from earlier decides to come and say hello. “Hi there, Ash. How’d you like the movie?” he says while again looking you up and down. “It’s great, one of my favorites but I guess you weren’t born when it came out, huh?” You don’t even know if it’s true you just want to infantilize him, so he’ll go away. Instead, he laughs and touches your arm, “You may be right about that one.” Suddenly, Joel is back at your side with Ellie, “Time to go.” He says to you gruffly. Ellie is looking between you, Joel and what’s his name wide-eyed like she’s waiting for fireworks or a fight to break out. “Oh, hey Joel, I didn’t know you knew our girl, Ash here,” he says with a smirk, looking only at you. “She’s staying with us, Ryan.” Joel says, fist clenched at his side. Ryan, oh that’s his name. “Okay, well maybe you can save me a seat next time, Ash,” Ryan says with a tip of his hat gesture, the dumbass isn’t even wearing a hat. Idiot. “Bye,” you say as you turn to walk after Ellie and Joel. Ellie hangs back with you as Joel darts off ahead of you. With a grin Ellie says, “What was all that about, huh?” You look at her with a disgusted look on your face, “I honestly have no idea.” Over the next several days, you avoid Brad/Ryan like the plague. Haha, plague. And sadly Joel barely speaks to you, but he does leave out your wolf mug by the coffee machine every morning.

[trashisstillhere]

After some days of thinking hard about this, I have finally decided that it is time to show off my ACTUAL Rc9gn oc, who is pretty much my fav and has been worked on quite a lot for so damn long, here.

Meet my ninja gal who I love so much, Serenity Peterson!

It feels nice to finally show here off here for the first time, now I can show her off some more whenever I have the time! I would be showing some art of her here right now at this part but most of them are quite old now, not only that but they have her old ninja suit design in them (the mask and head part is the same as the one you see here, the rest of the suit is different.) so yeah, maybe I will one day tho.

Anyway, here she is. Here’s a a few bit stuff about her.

-she is the same age as Randy, Howard and every other student in the school. (Obviously) like 14-15 .

-yes, Serenity is friends with Randy and Howard of course. Because I said so and yes, she knows Randy is the/a ninja just like her. They don’t really have the same classes tho, well, until later on.

-she actually looks up to Randy, like alot. He’s basically her role model, finds him to be so honking bruce as the current chosen ninja of norrisville and wishes to be like him one day.

-I actually have a fan made Rc9gn story that includes her called ‘Hidden Danger’, it takes place in season 2 after the finale and has a new villain, another Rc9gn oc, that I have made for it. I even made a poster for it long ago which is now also old but I’m planning on remaking it when I feel like it. I’m not gonna tell everything about it right now tho cuz it will take awhile, maybe some other day. All you need to know now is this story shows how Randy and Serenity got to meet.

-Serenity is Bisexual.

-you’re probably wondering what that mark above her nose is, Idk what it is myself lol. Just something I added to her design when I first made her and kept since then, I guess it’s just a random birth mark.

-while she may kinda seem like a tomboy, she actually doesn’t mind dressing feminine.

-she’s obsessed with collecting shiny things, mostly things like gems, crystals, just any kind of item that shines and looks pretty. She has her own collection for it too.

-like Randy, she has her own Nomicon. Yes, HER own Nomicon. I don’t care if that doesn’t really make sense or is kinda cringe. Her Nomicon isn’t different from the one Randy has, it’s pretty much the same just a bit different on the inside.

-she has a lot of weapons in her suit like Randy. I mean duh, of course she does. However, she doesn’t really use special abilities like earth attack and stuff. It’s not like she doesn’t want to, she could and would love to. The problem is that she isn’t ABLE to, like she can’t use them at all for some reason no matter how hard she tries. It’s like she’s cursed…..is what she just says about it because she’s upset with this. Either it’s that or she’s just not as much of a fast learner as Randy may be. Right now, he’s trying to help her with this problem.

And that’s basically it. Yippie! Hope you all like her.

I do have more Rc9gn ocs but I don’t really have like proper refs for them to show yet so for now, you’re getting to see best girl! (And maybe later or next time, I’ll actually show this fanmade villain who does have a ref too.)

[proship-culture-is]

Proship culture is being annoyed at how antis always try to dictate what someone is allowed to do or not in fiction..

"Uhmmmmm, you're not allowed to enjoy that in fiction because [insert any reason]."

I find something very concerning here, and it's antis using the words "you CAN/CANNOT."

And I ask them: who are you to police what others do with their imagination and freedom of speech? Now that’s something antis actually can’t do because, the very moment they attempt to dictate what someone can or can’t create in fiction, they’re contradicting the very concept of freedom.

You know where there are actual laws policing what people think, say, or do as art? Totalitarian dictatorships, like communist countries such as North Korea. Having freedom of speech means people are free to think and say whatever they want, as long as they don’t break any law.

I’ve been an OC creator since I was 6 or 7 years old. And I’ve been a WWII OC creator since I was 13. I currently have a bunch of WWII OCs. These OCs include Nazis, Soviets, and even more controversial characters. Of course, I don’t support Nazis or communists. And of course, I don’t condone WWII. The reason I have these WWII OCs is because I like history. And it’s genuinely funny to me when antis come up to me and say I’m not allowed to make WWII OCs. Antis always say, “Making Nazi OCs makes you a Nazi!” They also talk about how fiction genuinely harms people.

Any type of fiction such as books, games, shows, ect, do not harm people. You know who used to think books harmed people? The people of Nazi Germany. Those who worshipped Hitler. Yes, that’s correct. The people that antis are comparing me to are the ones who believed what antis believe and try to force others to follow: the idea that fiction harms people. The Nazis genuinely thought fiction (books, in their context) harmed people, so they decided to burn them because they didn’t agree with them.

As a person born and living in Austria, it’s incredibly insensitive and disturbing to be called a Nazi, especially considering Hitler was Austrian too. Not to mention how incredibly dangerous it is to water down the meanings of words. I don’t condone Hitler’s actions or support his ideology; therefore, I am not a Nazi. I’m just an OC creator who finds WWII history interesting.

I’ve had people telling me that my OCs are illegal because Nazi topics are taboo in Austria. And as someone who actually lives in Austria and meets Austrians every day: They’re not. My OCs would be considered illegal if they portrayed Hitler or Nazis in a positive light, which they do not. My Nazi OCs are portrayed as villains. They are portrayed as the bad people. Therefore, my OCs are not illegal. I’ve talked to Austrian adults who are educated about this topic. They all agreed my OCs are fine as long as they don’t romanticize or glorify Nazis - which, again, they do not. If non-glorified Nazi-themed fiction were really illegal in Austria, I wouldn’t be able to watch shows with Nazi characters on TV. All books containing Nazi characters would be banned. All the video games with Nazi tanks and planes would be illegal to play. Guess what? They’re not. Because it’s fiction.

To the antis seeing this: be not so quick to dispense judgment about who can or can’t do things. You may not want to find yourself, in the near future, with fingers pointed at you simply because you told people to stop enjoying something just because you don’t like it. Also, stop harassing people. Their fiction didn’t do anything to you. You just can’t handle people having harmless fun.

I’m sorry for the long text. It’s just that, as an autistic OC creator with a special interest in WWII, it’s sickening to me that I get called a Nazi for simply having fun with my fictional characters. I’m just so tired of antis dictating what others can and cannot do. I genuinely appreciate everyone who took the time to read this.

☆

[onequeerhuman]

Ah, the opportunities (and the tension) pt.3-the end… for now

(for music, i listened to liquid smooth by mitski while writing this :)

larissa weems x oc!reader, fluff with tension

light descriptions of body (mention of feminine clothes, descriptions of fae form matching those of a dryad, etc.)

chapter specific warnings: talk of mates, talk of different cultures and less-than-good morals (faeries are morally grey creatures), light power imbalance, beginnings of smut/ implied future smut. —lmk if i missed something!

“so…..is there any other questions i can answer?” You ask larissa, lightly bemused at her childlike staring.

Weems snaps out of her daze, her cheeks flushing slightly at being caught staring in childlike wonder. She shakes her head softly, her eyes roaming over you once more before she speaks.

"I... have so many questions," she admits quietly. Taking a deep breath, she collects her thoughts, trying to sort through the multitude of inquiries in her mind.

"How... how old are you, if I may ask?"

tilting your head you ask back “it was in my resume which i’m sure you read before hiring me— oh. or do you mean my actual age in human years?

Weems nods slowly, taking a moment to recall your resume. It had been quite a while since she had even looked at it, but she still tries to recall the details.

"I suppose I was asking for your 'true' age... if that makes any sense," she says softly, her eyes still roving over your form, taking in every detail.

You snort, bemused, before answering “well, as my race is immortal, please don’t be too shocked, but i’m 834 human years- which is basically… 35? i guess? so that’s what i put on my resume…. but dont worry dear, i’m actually quite a bit older than YOU.” smirking at her, happy

Weems's eyes widen at your answer, her heart skipping a beat at the revelation.

"834 years old..." she whispers faintly, her mind trying to process the concept of such a long lifespan. And when you smirk at her, saying you're quite a bit older, her face flushes slightly, her expression a mix of surprise and amusement.

"Is... that so?" she asks quietly, a hint of curiosity in her voice, a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips.

“hmmmn…” you say as you walk towards her “actually, a small known fact about us, is that once we find our mates, if they’re of a different race, they stop aging entirely… until we die, of course- and then the aging process returns…..” You tell her, a tad bit sad looking off, reminiscent on some of the mated pairs you once knew.

Weems's heart flutters as you walk towards her, her eyes following your movements. Her breath hitches in her throat as you explain the small fact about your race, her mind trying to wrap around the concept of eternal youth.

"Your... mates…" she whispers, absorbing every word. But as your gaze turns sad, her heart constricts in her chest, and she can't help but ask, “Have you... lost a mate before?"

You smile at her “oh, no- i’ve not found mine yet… but i know those who have. it’s never fun, especially once you’re forced to witness the rapid decline in the health of someone you once knew as happy and alive…”

Weems's heart swells as you smile, though it saddens a bit at the mention of your lack of a mate. She nods slowly when you speak of those you know who lost their mates, a pang of empathy running through her.

"It… sounds like a bittersweet curse," she says softly, her voice filled with a mix of sadness and understanding. She watches you for a moment, her eyes tracing over your features, before speaking again.

"And do you... have an idea of who your mate might potentially be?"

Shrugging, you answer her question “not… exactly. but, there’s this thing- called the tether. it’s said that once we reach the age of maturity, we’ll have an inexplicable urge to travel somewhere, it may be close, it may be far… but supposedly we’ll feel a sense of contentment once we reach that place… and then we’ll know for certain that our mate is nearby, somewhere close. the task of figuring out who, exactly, your mate is, though, is unfortunately up to the fae themselves”

Weems listens intently as you explain the concept of the 'tether' to her, her brow furried as she takes in the information. She can't help but find a small sense of romance in the idea of a drawn-out search for a destined mate, and a soft smile forms on her face as she imagines the journey to reach that point.

"So it's a sort of... intuition, then?" she asks, tilting her head slightly. “A tugging at your soul, perhaps?"

Nodding, you tell her the truth “yes- it’s as if you become super excited to travel somewhere— where you do not know, so you just follow your soul. and once you reach it, the excitement melts into contentment and longing, until you find your mate. i’m actually from the coast of ireland, but i’ve made my way here, to Jericho… though i still have not found my mate and it’s been over a year since my arrival. really not that long but it’s still aggravating. my emotions get stronger by the day.

Weems listens intently, captivated by the mystery and romance of the concept. She leans forward slightly as you explain that your emotions get stronger by the day, a hint of curiosity sparkling in her eyes. She purses her lips gently as a thought crosses her mind.

She takes a moment, contemplating whether or not to voice her curiosity, before she finally speaks up, her voice soft and measured.

"And... when you say 'stronger'... exactly how so?"

You cough as heat rises in your face “well, for one, the push to find my love grows, my anger at not having found her grows as well as my urgency *to* find her and..uhhmn… how do i put this while remaining appropriate….” trailing off, the heat climbs up your neck and covering your cheeks

Weems takes note of the way your blush grows as you speak, and her own cheeks tinge with a soft pink hue. Her heart thumps in her chest as her mind races to fill in the blank you left.

She gazes at you intently, her curiosity piqued as she waits silently for you to elaborate, the implications of your words echoing in her mind.

“…lets just say, i can’t- uhmn… *you know*, without her.” your blush attacking your face furiously now as you turn away, unable to make eyecontact as your rub at your neck awkwardly.

Weems's face also blushes furiously at your insinuation, her heart rate increasing with the admission. Her mind conjures the very intimate image the implication creates, and suddenly she knows exactly the effect your emotions have had on you. Her own heart races in her chest, and she can't help but admire how absolutely adorable the bashful yet nervous fae before her appears, looking away to avoid eye contact.

She can't help but want to reassure you, to comfort you, and before she can think her next words through, she speaks them.

"I... I understand."

“thanks, yeah… little bit not fun. for me, anyways… i’m sure all the people i’ve slept with had fun” You may roll your eyes, but internally strangely content to finally having the confidence to tell larissa, you look back towards her.

Weems can’t help the small chuckle that escapes her when you roll her eyes and make the comment, her heart thudding a bit faster at the sight of your returned gaze. She bites down on her bottom lip softly for a moment, before speaking again, a hint of curiosity in her tone.

"This... may be a slightly too personal question, but... how many, exactly? If you don’t mind my asking…"

“well, how many i’ve fucked total? or humans? or.. in jericho?”

Weems's breath hitches slightly at your bluntness, but she manages to maintain her composure, albeit her cheeks are still dusted pink. She takes a moment to consider your question before answering, her words soft but measured.

"Let's start with... ever?"

“mmmn…. okay, please remember this has been over the span of 600 years, but 83.”

Weems can’t help the sudden surprise that shows on her face at the number, her eyes widening only slightly as she registers the fact that you’ve been with 83 people. Her mind stutters for a moment as her imagination briefly runs away with the number, but she shakes her head gently, bringing herself back to the moment at hand.

“Oh my…” is all she says, but her next question is spoken with a touch of curiosity, a hint of surprise still present. “And… how many here in Jericho?”

“….22. although, in my defence, the only way to find your mate is to sleep with them…” you shrug, once again slightly embarrassed of the reality of sleeping with 22 people in a mere year.

Weems can’t help the pang of jealousy that flashes through her veins at the mention of the number for Jericho alone, though she tries to tamper it down immediately, knowing full well she has no right to be envious. She takes a moment to collect herself, her thoughts running a mile a minute again.

"I…. suppose that’s accurate," she says softly, her mind still processing. “But… don’t you get tired of… well… being intimate with so many people?”

“i… well, yes. mostly considering i havent yet found her” your anger spikes enough that a wisteria tree suddenly sprouts to a size rivalling your own without you noticing as you continue* “…but it’ll all be worth it once i’ve found her— oh! but don’t worry, i havent slept with anyone of my nevermore colleagues. i know it’s against the rules” you added with a smile*

Weems can’t help but flinch as the tree suddenly appears, her heart pounding in her chest once more out of a mix of surprise and worry. She takes a moment to glance around the room, her mind still trying to wrap up their discussion, before it finally returns to you when you mention the rule at Nevermore.

The mention of you not having slept with any of the other faculty or staff allows her heart to calm slightly, and she can’t help but ask, “And… what about students?”

“oh, no no never! my mate, if human or outcast is *atleast* in her thirties at this point, and event thats a little young… and either way, i only sleep with willing participants, which students do not happen to be” You say seriously.

“And… would I be incorrect in assuming you have no mate as of yet? Because of how you haven’t shared a bed with someone you feel the connection with?”

You blush, face coated in heat “yes. i know she’s somewhere here, in the jericho area, i just can’t for the life of me find her” *You sigh, flopping back down beside larissa dramatically, my top sliding down a bit

Weems can’t help the way her gaze drifts to your newly revealed skin once when you flop back down beside her, her cheeks flushing pink once more as her eyes dart back up to your face. She swallows hard, trying to keep her mind on the conversation at hand and not on your state of undress. She’s quiet for a moment, contemplating something, before she speaks up once more, her voice soft yet curious.

“You’re… absolutely certain she’s somewhere around the Jericho area? No where else?”

“Well… i hope so, considering this is where i was called to… maybe she’s even working at the school. say, you don’t happen to know any women between the ages of 35 and 60 working at the school do you?” You smile tiredly up at her, for as to the extent of knowledge most of the female staff here are either too old or too young or even too non-existent to fit your description.

Weems thinks for a moment, her mind running through every single female faculty member that works at the school, silently counting off the ones that fit your age range. She thinks for a few seconds longer before slowly shaking her head, a frown on her face.

“No, everyone on staff is either outside your age range or just not here. I can’t think of a single female faculty member that fits your criteria…other than me.”

As the idea crosses her mind, her heart immediately begins to race, her mind going into overdrive. She shifts nervously for a moment, wondering if you’d be open to the suggestion.

Her voice comes out soft and hesitant as she finally speaks up, her words measured and her gaze not meeting yours.

“Can I… ask you something?”

“sure” you say lazily, glancing towards her, a content smile on your face.

Weems slowly looks back up at you, a pang of both hope and anxiety filling her as she speaks once more, her voice soft yet firm.

“You said… that you’ve been with 22 people during your time in Jericho and you’re certain your supposed mate is in the area. So… what would you say if I… proposed a potential theory?”

“..oh? i’d say i’m very intrigued, please, go on.” you ask, interest piqued

Weems swallows nervously, her heart pounding in her chest as she prepares to state her theory. Her mind races as her courage builds, finally pushing out the words she’s been thinking about.

“What if *I’m* your supposed mate and you just won’t know it until you’ve… engaged in acts with me?”

With eyes flashing a bright gold for a moment, the colour circling your irises, your suddenly on top of her, hands curling into the blanket on either side of me, body leaning over hers in a crouches position as your eyes stare into hers, your faces closer than ever before “i think i’d like to find out. preferably now, if you’d also like” you tell her, my voice much more gravelly than before, taking on a breathy quality as well

Weems breath hitches as you suddenly switch your positions, her eyes growing wide as she looks up at you, her heart pounding against her ribcage.

She takes in the change in your eyes, and the sound of your voice. A shudder runs down her spine a you lean over her, a mixture of lust and want growing. Her breathing is heavy and labored, and she can’t help the word that leaves her lips as she gazes up at you.

”Yes…”

Catching your breath, you stare into her eyes “…are you sure?” you ask again, the insecurity bleeding into your voice.

Weems nods immediately, her gaze unwavering as she looks up into your eyes, her voice growing firm and certain. “Yes… I want this. I *need* this.”

….

hiiii people!! author here, So, originally when i’d sorta planned out this story it ended here, at this part, buuuuut i have vacation time for the next week and a half and could use something to do while visiting home other than working on the farm. So if enough people are interested, i could make this more of a series. thanks for reading - buggy :)

Taglist: @larissalover3

[corroded-hellfire]

Prompt Day 25: Gareth

Word Count: 995

Rating: T

Pairing: Slight Gareth x OC

CW: None

Summary: Gareth’s little sister is a pain in the ass when it comes to the band, but ends up being a pretty good wingman.

Have to tag @the-unforgivenn because this is her man 💕

@corrodedcoffinfest

When the band first started practicing in his garage, Gareth loved it. Now, he thinks he’d rather rehearse in goddamn Jason Carver’s bedroom. 

Initially, he’d worried that his mom would be the one to interrupt them, with her tendency to ask if anyone is hungry. Gareth would kill for his mom to be the problem now. At least he would be able to talk some sense into her. 

“Why can’t I just sit on the couch and watch?!”

“Because you never stay quiet! You always bother us.”

“I do not! They don’t think I bother you! Right, guys?”

Both Emerson siblings turn to look at Eddie, Jeff, and Frank. The three Corroded Coffin members are caught between a rock and a hard place. 

Gareth is fuming; his nostrils flaring, and his fists clenched around his drumsticks. Fourteen-year-old Olivia stares with wide green eyes, hands on her hips as she waits for a response from her big brother’s friends. 

“Uh…” Eddie starts, eyes moving from left to right to see if the band member on either side of him is going to speak up. But no dice. “We, um, we… Jeff?”

Out of the three of them, Jeff has the thinnest tightrope to walk, and Eddie knows it. But he also knows that Olivia is apt to do whatever Jeff says since he’s the reason she wants to sit in on practice anyway. Doesn’t stop Jeff from wanting to wring his neck, though. 

“Well,” Jeff starts, clearing his throat before he continues, “do you think you can stay quiet this time, Olivia?”

Irritation flashes in Gareth’s eyes, while Olivia gives her best smile and bats her eyelashes. 

“Yes!” 

She bounces over to the raggedy couch in the corner while Gareth rolls his eyes and heads towards his drum set. 

Olivia does manage to stay quiet until the end of rehearsals but that somehow annoys Gareth even more. She’ll hold that over his head as a reason to sit in practices more often. 

But as much as that bothers Gareth, it’s nothing compared to what his little sister announces once they’re done. 

“Mom said I can go with you guys to your show next week.”

“What?”

“Well, I can’t go when you guys play at the bar,” Olivia drawls, as if her brother is stupid. 

“But this…this isn’t even our show. It’s Roane County’s Battle of the Bands,” Gareth says. 

“Whatever. Mom still said I can go.”

Gareth runs his hands over his face in frustration and turns to his friends. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to my mom,” he tells them. 

“Mom, we’re playing one song. We’ll be backstage for the rest of it and that’ll be hours.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is, Gareth,” his mom says as she adds another later of cheese to the lasagna she’s preparing. “She’s fourteen, she can sit in the audience by herself. It’s at a community center. She’ll hardly be able to find any trouble.”

“She only wants to go because of her crush on Jeff!”

His mom smiles at this, finding the infatuation Olivia has with one of Gareth’s best friends adorable.

“It’ll be fine,” is all she says. 

Gareth has a hard time psyching himself up for the show. He should be focused on playing his best so they can win this thing and gain any exposure that comes from it. Instead, he keeps peeking out at the audience to make sure Olivia is still in her seat in the fourth row. She may be a giant pain in the ass but that doesn’t mean he wants some creep to abduct her. 

“She’ll be fine,” Jeff assures him. 

The drummer sighs and nods his head. “You’re right. Anyone who would try and kidnap her would return her after fifteen minutes anyway.”

With his bandmates’ help, Gareth is able to get his head back into the music and is able to go out on stage without being preoccupied. He still sneaks a glance at his sister as he walks on stage, though. 

Corroded Coffin comes in second place, which is higher than any of them expected. As they emerge from backstage after the show, Gareth also sees that his sister is just fine—in fact, it looks like she made a friend. 

Frank is called over by the bassist of an all-girl band and Eddie spies a redhead smiling at him, who he wanders off to flirt with. That leaves Gareth and Jeff to approach Olivia and the girl she’s standing with. The girl is older than Olivia, at least Gareth and Jeff’s age, or maybe even graduated from high school. 

“Gare Bear!” Olivia says before throwing her arms around her brother.

He hugs her back, but his cheeks redden at the nickname in front of this beautiful girl.

“I’m so proud!” Olivia crows.

The mystery girl smiles at Gareth and Jeff can practically see the hearts growing in his friend’s eyes. He knows what he has to do.

“Hey, Liv, do you want to come with me and get some ice cream from the truck outside?” Jeff asks.

Speaking of heart eyes, Olivia lights up, making her brother’s excitement seem dull in comparison. 

“Yes!”

Gareth gives his friend a grateful look as Olivia takes him by the hand and leads him towards the door. 

“I’m Annie,” the girl in front of Gareth says, offering her hand, which he shakes.

“Gareth. I hope my sister wasn’t bothering you during the show.”

“No, she’s so sweet,” Annie says with a lilting laugh that has Gareth’s heart pounding against his ribcage. “She sat next to me, and we talked in between bands. She was so excited to see you play.”

This bombshell was sitting next to Olivia the whole time and Gareth hadn’t even noticed? Holy shit, he must care about his little sister more than he thought. In fact, he knows he does by the way his heart warms at Annie’s words. 

“Yeah, she’s a good kid.”

[minisugakoobies]

Day 7 ❄️ KTH, JJK

Kinks: aftercare, singing carols

Pairing:  Sub!Jungkook x Sub!Reader x Dom!Taehyung

Genre: holiday, smut, established relationship, Boyfriend's Best Friend!AU

Rating: M (18+)

Warnings: swearing, kissing, lovebites/marking, dirty talk, hand job, fingering, oral sex (m + f receiving), masturbation, ass smacking, finger sucking, tit sucking, asking permission to cum, kink negotiation, cum eating, threesome, unprotected sex (alternative bc), multiple positions, spit roasting, face fucking, voyeurism, exhibitionism, reader has a huge oral fixation, whiny Koo, needy Koo, maybe a little bit of switch Koo actually, use of terms like "good boy" and "good girl," Koo and Tae run a train on OC, Koo throws OC around a bit to her delight, Taehyung calls the shots, aftercare

Word Count: 7.5K

Disclaimers: NSFW, obviously I don’t own BTS - they just inspire me

Summary: Your boyfriend brings home a very special Christmas gift for you this year - his best friend Jungkook

A/N: A few weeks ago I woke up from an amazing dream in which my boyfriend Taehyung had brought his friend Jungkook over to play, and immediately knew I had to turn it into a fic. So here you go. It's a little longer than I was expecting. Sorry?

Unbeta'd as usual.

Please don't be a silent reader 🥺 I'd love to know what you think! 💕

Day 6 ❄️ Kinkmas Masterlist ❄️ Day 8

Taehyung: Hey love

Taehyung: Got a surprise for you. Early Christmas present

Taehyung: Something I know you’ve been wanting for a long time

You: 👀

Taehyung: I’ll be over soon

Your boyfriend might be the best gift-giver you’ve ever met. Somehow, he always seems to know exactly what to get, without any lists or ideas from you. Time after time he surprises you with your heart’s deepest desires. So when he texts you a few days before Christmas to let you know he’s coming over to give you your gift, you feel giddy with excitement, wondering what he’s going to spoil you with now. 

But when the knock comes an hour after his texts, you’re a little confused to find him standing at your door, no gift box in hand, an arm slung over the broad shoulders of his best friend, Jungkook. 

“Merry Christmas!” the two men shout before launching into a rather loud, rather offkey rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” They’d been out caroling earlier with some friends, but you weren’t expecting them to continue doing so at your door. One of your neighbors pokes her head out of her apartment in annoyance. 

“Um, Merry Christmas,” you reply, quickly ushering both men into your place. The singing unfortunately continues as you press a kiss to Taehyung’s cheek and offer Jungkook a hug. “Hey, Kook, I didn’t realize you’d be coming over! Sorry I’m such a fright.” Not expecting anyone but your boyfriend, you were already dressed for bed in a racerback tank and frayed joggers, your favorite old pair that are worn with age. 

“Nah, you look great as usual,” Jungkook protests sweetly, flashing a warm smile. Of all of Taehyung’s friends, you like Jungkook the most. He’s quiet, very kind, surprisingly goofy, and always makes you feel right at home no matter where you are. And then of course there’s the fact that he’s the second most beautiful man you’ve ever seen - second only to your gorgeous boyfriend. “Hey, can I use your bathroom quick?”

“Of course,” you reply, and as soon as he’s out of earshot, you whirl on your boyfriend. “Tae, why didn’t you tell me you were bringing a friend over? I look like shit!”

Taehyung grins, peeling off his jacket and shoes, revealing a baggy t-shirt and grey sweats underneath. Whereas you’re a mess in your oversized and threadbare pjs, your boyfriend is still stunning. It’s almost unfair. “You do not, but I’m sorry, love. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.” 

You furrow your brow. “Uh, okay. I mean, it’s fine, you know I love Jungkook, so he’s obviously welcome to hang out with us. But I thought you were bringing my gift, too?”

“Love.” Taehyung’s large hands grip your sides, pulling you close to him. You let your hands fall onto his shoulders as he drops a kiss on your brow. “Jungkook is your gift.” 

“He… he’s…” 

Taehyung’s smile widens as you realize what he means. It’s something the two of you have discussed, mostly when you’re either drunk or high, lips loosened enough to tell him all the filthy things you’d love to do to his best friend. Taehyung knows you have a crush on the man. Your boyfriend is secure enough in himself and in your love for him to know it doesn’t mean anything. 

Given the way Taehyung always responds to your lewd thoughts, though, you probably should’ve seen this coming. Most of the time, your dirty talk lands you in bed, Taehyung fucking you through every vivid description of your wildest fantasies. He obviously loves to picture you fucking Jungkook. Now, it seems like he’s giving you the chance to do it in real life. 

How did you get so lucky?

You wind your fingers into Taehyung’s hair, devouring his mouth in a heated kiss. He hums happily. “Does this mean you like it?”

“You know I do,” you smirk. “But does he… is he into it?” 

“Well… we were talking tonight, and he mentioned how much fun he had the other night, when the three of us went to dinner? And I kind of told him that you have a little crush on him.” Taehyung laughs as you swat his chest in shock. “From the look on his face, I’m pretty sure the feeling’s mutual.” 

In addition to being an amazing gift-giver, your boyfriend is also uncannily good at reading people. So you’re sure that whatever reaction Jungkook had is more than enough to confirm that he might be down for this.

“I invited him over to watch a movie with us. I think you should ask him yourself, love. I’m sure he’d like that.” 

The sound of the bathroom door opening ends your conversation. Jungkook reappears, a sheepish smile crossing his face when he spies you in Taehyung’s arms. “Sorry, I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” 

You shake your head. “Not at all. Who wants popcorn?”

The three of you head into your living room with some snacks. Taehyung claims one corner of your couch as you settle in at his side, patting the cushion next to you. “Come sit here, Kook.” 

You let Jungkook pick the movie, knowing you’re going to be too distracted to really focus. It’s hard to keep your attention on the screen when your mind is already racing ahead, imagining what Jungkook looks like under his hoodie and sweats, wondering if his skin feels as soft as it looks, trying to gage just how big his cock must be based on his tall, buff frame….

As the movie unfolds, you slowly shift on the couch, creeping closer to Jungkook. All of Taehyung’s friends are comfortable with skinship. You love that they’re such a cuddly bunch. So Jungkook doesn’t visibly react when your arm presses into his. Curling your legs up onto the couch, you place your feet in Taehyung’s lap, and let your head droop onto Jungkook’s shoulder.

“Is the movie boring you?” Jungkook laughs, nudging you with his arm to make you giggle.

“Oh, no, it’s fine! I’m just…” you shrug, trailing off. 

“Getting tired, love?” Taehyung asks, thumb rubbing over the tops of your feet. 

“Yeah, just tired,” you lie, using the question as an excuse to stretch a bit, tank top riding up a little with the motion. You don’t miss the way Jungkook’s eyes follow the fabric. 

“Why don’t you lay down? Kook, you don’t mind, do you?” 

Jungkook’s head snaps up at the mention of his name. He shakes his head quickly. “Uh, here.” He grabs one of the squishy throw pillows from the back of your couch and places it in his lap. You unfold yourself, head resting in Jungkook’s lap as your boyfriend continues to give you a foot rub, more for his own enjoyment than yours. 

You’re tempted to roll onto your back to gaze at Jungkook, but keep facing forward, pretending to watch the movie. Taehyung had said that you should ask Jungkook. How exactly are you supposed to do that? You’re friends, but you’re not sure you’re “Hey, wanna fuck me while my boyfriend - your best friend - watches?” friends. Also, he’s pretty shy sometimes. A direct approach might scare him off. 

The feeling of a warm hand on your bare shoulder breaks you out of your restless thoughts. Jungkook starts to stroke your arm, slowly, almost hesitantly, like he’s waiting for your reaction. With a loud, content sigh, you nestle further into the pillow, and his fingers move more steadily, more surely, finding a soothing rhythm. 

Before long, the end credits scroll across your screen, and a surge of anticipation hits you. Now’s the time to make your move. 

“I guess I should get to bed,” you begin, rolling onto your back. “But I feel bad, Kook. You came over to hang out and I basically fell asleep on you.” 

Jungkook shrugs, lips quirked in a soft smile. “It’s okay. I’ll just come bother you another time.” 

“Kookie,” you sing his name, “you’re never a bother!” Reaching up, you wrap a lock of his long dark hair around your finger, loving the way his cheeks flush as you play with his curls. “It’s getting late, too… And I hate to think of you walking home in this cold.” Jungkook lives only a few blocks from your apartment, and truthfully he can probably bear the cold winter air easily, judging by the heat radiating from him as you lay in his lap. But you’re hoping to convince him otherwise.

As always, your boyfriend lends a helping hand. “She’s got a point, Kook. It’s awful out there. Maybe you should just crash here tonight.” 

“Oh, no, that’s okay, I can just-”

“No, he’s right,” you interrupt, sitting up. “I don’t want you getting a cold, Kook. You better just stay here.” 

Jungkook bites his lip, glancing between you and Taehyung. When he catches your eye again, you pull out all the stops - bottom lip puffing out, eyes widening under raised brows, fingers gently curling around his forearm as your voice dips into a soft register usually reserved for your boyfriend. Typically used when you’re on your knees, peering up at him. 

“Please, Kook. Stay?” 

Jungkook gulps, Adam’s apple bobbing harshly as he stares at you. “I… okay. Sure. Thanks.”

“Great! Oh! Wait.” You look at Taehyung. “I don’t have any extra blankets, do I?”

Taehyung catches on. “Oh, love, I think you’re right. We’re using them all, since the heating’s been on the fritz.” 

“That’s ok, I’m a hot sleeper, I don’t need a lot of blankets,” Jungkook states, shaking his head. “I’ll be fine with a sheet, if you have one to spare.” 

“Uh-uh. I told you I don’t want you getting sick. I’d never forgive myself if you left my apartment with a cold! My bed is plenty big enough for three. Right, Tae?” Your boyfriend nods, lips curling in a slow smile. You rise to your feet, holding out your hand. “Come on, Kook. I’ll show you.” 

The piercing above Jungkook’s right eye glints in the low light of the tv screen as he raises his eyebrow. “Really, I’m okay on the couch.” 

“Nah, her mind’s made up, Kook,” Taehyung laughs. “Don’t try to argue.” 

You sit down again, threading your arm through Jungkook’s. “Kookie,” you say softly, “if you’re just being polite, don’t worry about it. I don’t mind, and neither does Tae. Besides, if you’re such a warm sleeper, maybe you can keep me warm. But. If you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to.” If he says no, you’ll listen. But you still want him so much that you have to try, one last time. “So. Will you please come cuddle with me?” 

“I’m not uncomfortable,” Jungkook replies almost immediately. “I never feel uncomfortable here. Not with you guys. Don’t want you to think that, but… I don’t want to, um… get in the way.” 

“Oh, Kook. Come on.” Taking his hand in yours, you tug him to his feet. “You won’t be in the way. Let me show you.”

Taehyung silently trails behind the two of you as you steer Jungkook into your bedroom. Your boyfriend’s been content to follow your lead so far, but once you cross the threshold to your room, you know that will change. That knowledge sparks a fire in your gut, simmering low as you climb onto your bed. 

Sliding back towards the pillows, you lie in the center of your bed, and gesture at the two men watching. Taehyung crawls on, while Jungkook takes a moment to peel off his hoodie, tattoos flashing as his t-shirt sticks to the sweatshirt before he peels them apart. Then he joins you on your other side. 

The three of you lie on your backs, staring at the ceiling in total silence for a moment before you speak. “See? Told you there was plenty of room.” There isn’t a ton of space between you, but you’re not cramped together, either. You feel safely nestled between the two men, arms and legs touching but not pressing or crowding. 

You turn onto your side, facing Jungkook. He does the same. From so close, you can practically count the delicate lashes framing his warm doe eyes as he gazes at you. Tentatively, you reach out to place your hand on his shoulder. 

“Is this okay?” you ask, voice hushed. Jungkook nods. “Taehyung, you okay back there?” 

“I’m good, love,” comes his muffled reply as he rolls onto his side and buries his lips against the back of your neck. You smile at the tender kiss, and Jungkook, still watching you, smiles back. 

“See, Kook? Not in the way at all.” You pause, unsure if you should keep going, but decide just to say it. “It’s like you fit in perfectly here.” 

You think you’ve gone too far, but Jungkook just flushes, nose scrunching as he grins harder, and oh, you could just eat him up. 

“I am a little chilly, though, if you want to help….”  

You trail off as Jungkook nods. He slings an arm over your waist, then slides a little closer, nuzzling his head into your neck, while Taehyung molds himself against your back. Sighing contentedly, wrapped completely in their warmth, you close your eyes. If the evening ended here and now, with the three of you falling asleep like this, it would still be a wonderful Christmas present. 

But you know this isn’t what Taehyung had in mind, and that just stokes the fire inside you. 

As if he’s reading your thoughts, your boyfriend speaks up. “Think you could fall asleep like this, Kook?”

“Yeah, actually,” Jungkook answers, lips vibrating gently against your throat. 

“And what about you, love?” 

“I’m very comfortable.”

“But is that enough for you to fall asleep?” As he talks, you feel his fingers trailing along your jaw. The motion evokes an automatic response in you. A need, deep and dark, twisting within. 

“Mmm. Want your help, Tae. Please.” 

There’s a gentle tapping on your lips. “Open up, love.” 

Without hesitation, you obey. Taehyung slides two of his long, thin fingers into your open mouth. 

“Kook,” he purrs, deep voice rumbling through his chest into your spine, sending shivers racing there. “Take a look at my beautiful love.” 

Jungkook lifts his head. You meet his gaze with hooded eyes, sucking on Taehyung’s fingers with an audible swallow. Jungkook hisses. “Oh, shit. What… what are you doing, hyung?” 

“Sometimes she needs something to help her relax. Take her mind off of things. And what seems to help her the most is having something in her warm, wet mouth.” Taehyung’s tone drops as he growls those last words, and Jungkook’s lips pop open. ”My baby likes to suck, don’t you, love?” 

At Taehyung’s question, you grunt, nodding as best you can with his hand in your jaw. Jungkook blinks, mouth still hanging open as he gawks. 

Taehyung pulls his fingers out and holds them in front of your lips, and you lean forward to lick a long stripe from his palm to his fingertips before taking them back into your mouth. 

Jungkook lets out a guttural groan. “Jesus fuck, that’s hot.” 

“She’s such a good girl, isn’t she?” Taehyung asks, and now you’re whining, pleased to hear praise falling from his lips so easily. You love being Taehyung’s good girl. 

The longer you roll your tongue over Taehyung’s fingers, the more an aching between your legs grows. Shifting, you rub your thighs together, just as Taehyung removes his hand from your mouth. You chase his fingers with a needy whimper, but he merely laughs, yanking them away. 

“Poor thing. You always need something to suck on, huh?”

You nod, staring at Jungkook. His pupils are blown, darkness burning in his intense gaze as he watches you closely.

“Kook. Give her your fingers.” 

“Me?” Jungkook props himself up on an elbow to peer at Taehyung. “Is that - is that okay?” 

“I know it is, but it’s not me you need to ask.” 

Jungkook looks at you with a question in his eyes. In response, you drop your jaw in silent invitation. 

With a little hum of assent, Jungkook’s tattooed fingers faintly brush over your parted lips. You moan, tilting your chin up, trying to suck them in, but he just traces circles around your mouth, teasing you. 

As you groan in anguish, Taehyung clucks his tongue. “Jungkookie, be a good boy and give my love what she wants.” 

Since you’re still face-to-face with Jungkook, you catch the way his long eyelashes flutter at the words “good boy,” and you know immediately - Jungkook is like you. He hums again, this time pushing the tips of his fingers just far enough to breach your lips, and you swirl your tongue around them, moaning as he whines. 

As Jungkook continues to slide his fingers into your hot mouth, Taehyung’s hand roams downward, traveling over the valley of your breasts and across the roundness of your tummy to land between your thighs. He grinds his hips against you as his hand slips between your joggers and your underwear to cup your heat, finding that your arousal is starting to soak through the silky fabric. 

“Oh, love, you’re really enjoying yourself, hmmm?”

You moan around Jungkook’s fingers, drool flooding your mouth as your boyfriend’s hard cock presses into your ass. 

“So messy,” Jungkook whispers almost thoughtlessly, wide eyes fixed on your lips, free hand coming up to wipe away the dribbles that spill down your chin. “So wet.”

“You have no idea,” Taehyung laughs, palm caressing the tiny throbbing nub above your dripping slit. “But what about you, Kook? Are you enjoying my love’s attention? Or do you want more?” 

“More?” Jungkook echoes, unable to tear himself away from your mouth for a second. “Can I have more?” 

“Of course you can. My good girl here will do anything you like, won’t she?” As he murmurs promises to Jungkook, Taehyung leaves open-mouthed kisses against the soft skin behind your ear. You melt against him, going pliant while he lightly licks your most sensitive spot. “What do you want to do, love?” 

Jungkook’s hand falls away from your mouth so you can speak. You’re nearly overwhelmed with need right now, wanting to do everything to him - touch him, taste him, flip him on his back and ride him until your legs quake. But you know if you try to rush things, it will only disappoint Taehyung. He likes you to take your time. 

“Can we kiss?” Your answer comes out breathless, longing overflowing so much that your chest heaves. You’ve wanted to kiss this man since Taehyung first introduced you. 

Jungkook licks his lips in anticipation, his eyes darting over your shoulder as he waits for Taehyung’s answer, instinctively understanding who it is that you’re asking. “Please?” he adds, and while you giggle at his eagerness, a wave of selfish delight rolls through you, tangling up with your desire. He wants this, too. He wants you.

Taehyung chuckles into your ear. “Oh, Jungkookie, so polite. The two of you are going to be so good for me tonight, aren’t you? Go ahead, loves.”

Instantly, Jungkook cups your face, pulling you to his waiting mouth. His lips are slightly chapped, the roughness a surprise. Every time you dreamed of this moment, you imagined them to be soft and plush. His kiss is almost as rough, a bit frantic, lips devouring your own as if he’s been waiting just as long as you for this moment and doesn’t want to waste a second. 

You lap at his lip ring, flicking the tiny bead that hangs there. When he licks into your mouth, tongue fervent in its plunging, your hands curl into tight fists, squeezing so hard there’s no doubt there will be tiny half-moon indentations from your nails, a visible reminder of your longing. You need to touch him, but you know the rules. 

When Jungkook breaks the kiss long enough to gasp for breath, you seize your chance. “Taehyung.”

While you and his best friend have been making out, Taehyung has kept busy, tugging your clothes down far enough to expose your cunt to the chilly room air. Goosebumps ripple down your thighs, are smoothed away by his warm hands. “Yes, love?” 

“Can I touch him?” 

Jungkook whimpers, lightly pecking along your jawline. His hands are on your arms, your waist, your hips, wandering all over you. 

“As much as you want.” 

With a relieved sigh, you grasp at Jungkook’s t-shirt, bringing him back to you for more kisses as your other hand gropes him through his sweatpants. The bulge you find there is massive, and you moan at the thought of it filling your mouth. 

There’s a similarly needy noise from Jungkook as you caress his erection. His hips jut forward, seeking your hand, and as you enthusiastically provide more rubbing, Taehyung’s pointer fingers easily parts your nether lips, slipping inside. 

“Tae,” you groan, head kicking back to rest on his shoulder as he crooks his finger to stroke your inner walls. Your boyfriend knows every inch of you, knows exactly where to touch you to make you fall apart, uses it to his advantage whenever he can. He loves nothing more than to reduce you to a quivering, crying mess, and you’re well on your way as he adds a second finger. “Fuck, that feels so good.” 

Jungkook suddenly whines, drawing your attention back, and you lift your head to see him staring at your tits where they’re poking through your thin top. Taehyung leans over you to observe his friend’s face. 

“You okay, Kook? Maybe you want something to keep your mouth busy, too?” The hand not buried inside you grips the bottom of your tank, lightly yanks it up your torso to expose the swell of your breasts. “Here you go. She loves it when I suck on her tits. Don’t you, love?” 

Jungkook looks to you again, and you nod. “Please, Kookie,” you rasp, a huskiness creeping in as Taehyung’s lithe fingers caress your g-spot. It’s getting hard to keep your voice steady as your breathing gets heavier, just as it’s hard to keep your thoughts straight as the growing pleasure overrides everything, turning you from an intelligent person into a mindless creature acting on animal instinct. “Please put your mouth on me.” 

“Shit!” Jungkook exhales sharply.

“Doesn’t she beg so sweetly?” Taehyung asks, and the note of pride in his voice makes your heart sing. 

Jungkook grunts in agreement before latching his lips around your nipple. Your head swims, hazy with delight. The dampness on your breast chills your skin, matching the wetness soaking your thighs, Jungkook’s worshiping tongue moving reverently as Taehyung’s strong fingers plunge rapidly. 

“That’s it, Kook. Give her some love. She deserves it.” 

Pawing at Jungkook’s erection over his sweats isn’t enough for either of you anymore, so you tug at his waistband until your fingers can dive beneath, finding velvet soft skin, drops of precum dotting his head as you wrap around him and give a few experimental strokes. When he moans, you do it again, and again, faster and faster, until he’s panting into your breast. 

“Gotta stop, baby, or I’m gonna pop in your hand,” he mutters, licking a long stripe down the center of your chest. A strange thrill races through you at the pet name, followed by a loud keening as he keeps moving down, down, down, until his tongue reaches the apex of your thighs. His cock is out of your reach now as he suckles your clit with a wild voraciousness.

You jolt at the ferocity of Jungkook’s mouth. “Oh, fuck, Kook, Tae, please! It’s so good, so good, I need to-” 

“You need what, baby? Tell me.” Even though Taehyung’s hand is thrusting into you so frantically that the room is filling with squelching sounds, his breathing is even, his tone calm. Like he’s not currently wrecking you but simply making conversation. The hardness leaving an indentation in your ass cheek is the only indication that what is happening right now is having any effect on him at all. 

“Please, I need to cum! Can I cum?” At your words, Jungkook groans, and the vibration on the sensitive nub locked in his greedy mouth makes your toes curl. “Oh god, please, Tae!” 

“Good girl. Of course you can.” 

It’s not your boyfriend’s words that push you over the edge. It’s the sight of Jungkook’s knitted brow, dark eyes watching you closely as he focuses on delivering you a short but intense orgasm, a bright burst of euphoria that knocks the wind from you for a second. Your thighs clamp around Taehyung’s hand and he stills as Jungkook laps at the result of their hard work. 

“Shit, Jungkookie, look at you, cleaning up like a good boy, without even being asked,” Taehyung drawls. “What do you think, love? Does he deserve a little treat?” 

“Fuck yes,” you sigh, fingers stroking Jungkook’s hair as he leans back to look at the two of you, arousal glistening on his face. “He made me feel so good.”

Jungkook hums, eyes fluttering again as you comb through his silky locks. 

“What do you want to give him?” Taehung asks, glancing at Jungkook with one eye while pressing kisses into your shoulder. 

“Whatever he wants.” 

“Fuck,” Jungkook lets out a pained groan. “You can’t say shit like that!” He rises up on his knees, sweats slipping down his thick thighs to reveal his flushed dick. You know he must be in dire need of release. 

“Why not?” you smirk, sitting up. Taehyung does the same, both men watching as you peel your shirt off and kick your pants to the floor. “It’s true, Kookie. I’ll do anything you want. Been dreaming of this for so long.” 

Jungkook looks to Taehyung, who nods. “I told you, man. She wants you.” He wraps an arm around you from behind, hand cupping your face, tilting it to give him access to the side of your neck. He sets to work marking you with teeth and tongue as you wait for the other man’s reply. 

He’s still looking between you and Taehyung, who is paying him no mind, busy with his lovebites. Taking a chance, you gently grasp Jungkook’s chin to keep his focus on you. 

“Kook. Do you want me?” 

His mouth opens, closes, opens again. He swallows. Then he nods. 

“Yeah. I want you.” He curls his inked fingers around yours, bringing them to his mouth to kiss your fingertips one by one. “You’ll really let me do anything?” 

Struck wordless by the look in his eye, you just nod. Taehyung stops his nibbling and backs away, unable to tear his gaze away from whatever is happening between you and Jungkook, like a rogue satellite caught in the undeniable gravitational pull of two heavenly bodies. 

“I want to do so much, but right now I just want to fuck you, so bad,” Jungkook begins, shuffling forward on his knees. The hand not holding yours drops to your hip. “Wanna throw you on your back and slide my cock inside, deep as I can go. Wanna fuck you into a babbling mess, making all those sweet sounds again, delirious from the way my dick fills your pretty little cunt. I want you to ride me, tits in my face so I can suck on them until they’re raw and you’re begging me to stop.”

In all the months that you’ve known Jungkook, you’ve never heard him say anything like this. It makes you even wetter, to hear him speak with such naked lust, bass rumbling through his voice as he shares his deepest desire. His fingers dig into your thigh as his other hand guides yours to your own mouth. Behind you, you hear the sound of Taehyung spitting, then slick sounds, and know your boyfriend is stroking himself as he continues to watch. 

“Does that sound good? Hmm?” Jungkook barely waits for your nod before he presses your fingers to your mouth. “Suck.” 

You coat your fingers, get them as wet as you can, before he pulls your hand away and wraps it around his cock. He bites his lip, head tipping back in ecstasy as you slowly roll your hand down. “Shit, yeah. Just like that,” Jungkook moans. His chest heaves as you stroke him slowly, almost leisurely, taking your time. “Before… shit… before we go too far…” 

“Ah, right, we should cover anything that’s out of bounds,” Taehyung nods. 

“No choking. No toe sucking,” you say, scrunching up your face, hand not ceasing in its ministrations. “It tickles too much.” 

“Yeah, she really hates that,” Taehyung chuckles. “I’m open to anything. What about you, Kook? I’m a hands-on person. Do you prefer that I keep them to myself?”

Jungkook nibbles at his lip ring. “You can touch,” he murmurs, tips of his ears flushing as he glances at his friend. “But like, I was going to ask, do you have a condom, or…”

“She’s clean,” Taehyung pipes up between grunts. “Both tested recently, both clear. And she’s got an IUD, so you can come inside her as much as you want. She fucking loves that.”

Your boyfriend’s bluntness snaps you out of your daze. Jungkook’s eyes widen again. He glances back at you, and you grin, lightly squeezing the head of his cock to make him gasp. 

“It’s true. Come on, Kookie,” you coo, leaning forward to brush your mouth against his ear. “Be a good boy and fill me up.” 

With a desperate whine, Jungkook crushes your body to his, swallowing your surprised yelp with his kiss. You lean into him, trying to soak up every inch you can touch, absorbing everything, every little detail, from the curl of his lips down to the thickness of his thighs as he urges you onto your back, pressing you into the bed with his weight. You don’t want to forget a second of this, of him, of the way he looks at you, the way he touches you. It feels so different from how Taehyung does. So new.

His mouth covers yours, kisses turning frantic as he rubs the head of his cock through your sodden folds. “Fuck, want you so bad,” he whispers, and you moan in reply. He drags his mouth down the side of your neck as you tilt your head to look at your boyfriend.

Taehyung’s arranged himself against the headboard, propped up on pillows as he strokes himself, long, languid strokes that prolong his pleasure. You know he could sit there for ages just edging himself if he wanted to. He gives you a soft smile before looking at Jungkook. 

“Well, Jungkookie, are you going to give my love what she’s been wishing for? Or do I need to show you how it’s done?” 

Jungkook tears his lips away from the hickey he’s sucking into your throat to glance at Taehyung. “No, hyung,” he says, “I know what she needs.”

Taehyung’s smile sharpens. “Then what are you waiting for? Fuck her.” 

With that command, Jungkook pushes inside. You whimper as his thick cockhead slides past your folds. He hisses, moving slowly, giving you time to adjust to him, but you can tell from the way he grits his teeth that it’s taking all his strength not to just slam all the way in. Running your fingertips over the tight muscles of his shoulders, you lift your head a little to press your lips against his. He hums into the kiss, relaxing, slipping further and further inside you, until he bottoms out. 

“Are you okay?” he asks. 

Taehyung’s not a small man, but he’s not girthy like Jungkook, and it’s a new stretch, but he feels incredible. You nod at Jungkook’s question, and he drops a gentle kiss to the tip of your nose. 

And then he snaps his hips. 

“Oh, fuck!” you moan as Jungkook repeats the movement, thighs slapping against your ass as he plunges deeper. His tattooed hand grips your thigh, pulling it up to wrap around him as he rolls again and again into you. Winding your fingers into his hair, you bring his mouth back to yours, sighing against his lips as he fucks you deep and slow. 

The two of you lose yourselves in one another, until there’s a loud slapping noise and Jungkook suddenly bucks upwards. You break apart to find Taehyung hovering over your figures, hand rubbing one of Jungkook’s ass cheeks, where he’s just delivered a sharp smack. 

“Jungkookie, I thought I told you to fuck her, not make love to her. Do I need to show you the difference?”

Jungkook makes a noise like a strangled whimper. He shakes his head. 

“Then show me that you understand.” 

Jungkook groans, rolling his head to look at you. You brush a sweaty lock out of his face. 

“Please, Kookie. Fuck me hard.” 

The words have barely left your lips when Jungkook rises up on his knees, crawling off the bed. He grasps your ankles and tugs you down to the edge. 

“Holy shit!” you gasp as he flips you onto your stomach, handling you like you’re made of air. Taehyung’s never been able to throw you around like this, or maybe he hasn’t wanted to, but a dark thrill runs through you at Jungkook’s roughness and you moan, and you can tell from the little “Fuck” your boyfriend utters that he’ll likely take a page out of Jungkook’s book the next time the two of you are alone. 

“Up for me,” Jungkook demands, hands pulling your hips up so you’re on your knees, ass in the air. “Stay there, right like that.” 

A pair of lips kiss your exposed cunt, tenderly sucking the tiny pearl there. “Ah, Kookie, so good,” you keen. 

His mouth pulls away, and there’s no warning before his cock slides in. This time, there’s no delay, no waiting while you take him in. Jungkook moves quickly, fucking you like a man possessed, driven only by the need to bury himself deep in your waiting heat, to hear you pant and moan and cry his name, which you do, with every sharp thrust.

“Goddamn, so tight,” Jungkook grunts, sweat dripping down the gentle slope of his nose and rolling off your back. “Feel so fucking good, baby.” 

“So good!” you echo, pushing your hips back to meet his thrusts, fists balling in your sheets with your effort. 

“There you go. Good boy,” Taehyung drawls, sliding up the bed towards you. You turn your face to look at him, but you can’t really focus, eyes rolling back in your head as Jungkook tilts your ass up higher, searching for the perfect angle. He knows he’s hit it when your moans turn to wails. 

“Ah, fuck, Kookie, yes, right there!” 

“That’s right, keep saying my name,” Jungkook rasps, hand cupping your ass, kneading the soft flesh there. “Goddamn, look at this ass bounce.” The room fills with ringing smacks as he delivers a series of quick slaps to your cheek. 

Your entire body feels like it’s on fire, burning up with Jungkook’s every move. His deep strokes have the knot in your gut reaching an unbearable tightness. You drop onto your elbows, pressing your face into a pillow as you let Jungkook take complete control.

“Taehyung.” You barely recognize your own voice, so utterly wrecked. 

Taehyung caresses your cheek, tipping your face so you can look at him. “What is it, love? What do you need?” 

“You,” you croak, pleading with your eyes. 

“You know how to ask,” he replies, fist rolling over his flushed head, and you whine, head lolling as Jungkook pulls your attention back by thrusting in deep and grinding against you, bringing his arms up to wrap around your stomach. 

“Tae, please. Need your cock,” you manage to groan, and Taehyung flashes his boxy smile. 

“That’s my good girl.” As you open your lips, he plunges his cock inside. The salt clinging to his skin hits your tongue as he fills your mouth. When you moan in satisfaction, he tips his head back with a sigh. “Shit, that’s it, love. Always so good for me.” 

Jungkook still clings to your back. He slows his pace a little, shallowly rutting into you while his hands grope at your breasts. The break gives you a chance to breathe a little and enjoy the way Taehyung languidly pumps into your mouth. Although you’re enjoying the closeness of Jungkook’s unhurried movements, your boyfriend tuts. 

“Jungkookie, are you tiring out already? Where’s your stamina?” He cups your chin, thumb stroking your cheek as you stare up at him through fluttering lashes, swallowing around his hard length. “My love here can go all night. If you’re too tired to get her off…” he sighs, shaking his head. “We’ll be so disappointed.” 

Jungkook growls into the nape of your neck. “Not tired. Just, mmm, just wanted to be… deep….” He pinches your nipples as he thrusts harder, and you arch your back, trying to take him deeper without moving your head. “Doesn’t that feel good, baby?”

“Mmmph,” you whimper around Taehyung’s dick, shoving your hips back onto Jungkook again. The fire simmering inside you flares with every stroke. 

“Come on,” Taehyung encourages, hips bucking a little faster as he starts to fuck your mouth. “Come on, Jungkookie. She’s been such a good girl for you, hasn’t she? Taking everything you’re giving her. Isn’t that the sweetest little cunt you’ve ever fucked?” His cock slides faster as he speaks, slipping down your throat, triggering a wave of saliva that you struggle to swallow down. He groans at the tightness. “Such a perfect girl, so good, so tight, just wanna fill her up, don’t you?”

Jungkook’s groans roll through you. Goosebumps ripple down your arms as he straightens up, and you miss the warmth of his body immediately. Then Taehyung pulls out and you can’t stifle your whine, feeling even more empty and cold, but he just laughs. 

“You can have it again later, love, but I think right now Jungkookie’s going to give you what you’ve been waiting for.” 

With a wink, he sits back on the pillows to watch. Jungkook places his hands on your belly and pulls you upright, securing you against his chest with his strong arms as he starts to rock his hips up into you again. He quickly sets a mindblowing rhythm, pounding into you, holding you up when your thighs quiver too much from the strain.

“That’s it, take it,” he rasps, hot breath brushing past your ear, stoking the flames inside you higher and higher. “Shit, gonna fill you up so good, you’ll be carrying me for days.” 

“Kook!” you groan, a broken cry, nothing but unrestrained desire in your voice. 

“Oh, does that sound good? Hmm?” Jungkook’s fingers find your clit and begin to rub. “You wanna be full of me? Walk around knowing I’ve been inside you, that, nnngh, that,” his panting gets louder as he feels you starting to clench around him, “that I’m still inside you?”

“Yes, Kookie, please!” 

“Fuck!” His fingers trace shapes over your clit, sketch confessions that you’ll never read, and you begin to fall apart. He follows. “Ah, fuck, just want - want you to remember-”

Like your bodies, your voices intertwine as you both come, your walls gripping his cock, draining him of everything he has. Taehyung observes in rapt silence, hand no longer moving, just holding himself as he watches his best friend and his girlfriend reach their climaxes together. 

Once your legs feel solid again, you lean forward, letting Jungkook’s cock slip from you as you rest on your forearms, pressing your face into a cool pillow. You feel a hand stroking the back of your head and turn to find Taehyung smiling at you. 

“You okay, love?” 

You’re amazing right now, on an absolute high. There’s only one thing that could make it even better.

You smile back, reaching for him. As Jungkook collapses onto the bed, trying to catch his breath, Taehyung tucks himself into your embrace, covering your body with his. He doesn’t feel new like Jungkook did. 

He feels like home. 

“Want you, Tae,” you whisper, and he nuzzles your nose with his. 

“Are you sure?” he asks, checking to make sure you can take more. You know you’ll be sore tomorrow, but you don’t care.

“Yes,” you breathe, and then he’s inside you, filling you up again, just the way you need. His hands clasp yours, pinning them over your head, as he fucks you into the bed, driving you deeper and deeper, not for a second minding that Jungkook is mere inches away. 

“Shit, you’re so wet,” he groans, forehead nudging yours. “Think I can feel Jungkookie in here.” 

Moaning, you twist your head, looking for the other man. Jungkook shifts closer, lightly tracing your jawline with sure fingers. He looks at Taehyung, who nods, then he leans over and kisses you, soft and lingering. 

Taehyung releases one of your hands so that you can tangle your fingers in Jungkook’s hair. With his free hand, Taehyung slides a pillow under your hips, and you gasp into Jungkook’s mouth at the sudden change in angle. “Ah, look at you two,” Taehyung moans, hips picking up speed. “What a pretty picture.” 

His strokes have found that spot inside you, sparking a new flame, surprising you with its swiftness. When you start to whine, Jungkook slips his tongue into your mouth, and you suck wildly on the wet organ, drool coating the bottom of your face in your frenzied need. The flame bursts forth, burning everything away but you and Taehyung and Jungkook, and with a shuddering cry, your boyfriend spills inside you, coming undone as well. 

There are no exclamations or cries now as the three of you lie panting on your bed. Instead, there is a comfortable silence, almost as unexpected as Taehyung’s gift was earlier. Things should be awkward now, shouldn’t they? And yet, they’re not.

Taehyung is the first to move. He leaves a kiss on your shoulder as he rises off the bed. You watch him pad into the kitchen in all his naked glory, returning a moment later with water and three packs of your favorite gummies.

“Here, Kook.” He rips the corner off a pack and hands it to his friend before doing the same for you. “Have a snack.” 

Jungkook giggles, the sound so light and innocent compared to the debauched noises the three of you were just making. “First a threesome, now snacks? I’m staying over more often.” 

You join him in giggling, playing with his curls again. “We always have snacks after sex. I think maybe you’re just not doing it right.” 

He sputters in mock rage, tickling you until you snort water out of your nose, at which point Taehyung sighs with a fond grin and takes your drink away.

“Okay, I think it’s time for bed. We usually shower together afterward, Jungkook. Do you want to join us?” 

At the man’s silent nod, Taehyung takes your hand in his, then he grabs Jungkook’s and leads you both into the bathroom. Your shower isn’t very big but somehow it holds three bodies just fine. As the warm water caresses your skin, you lather Taehyung’s back, and Jungkook rinses yours. There’s little talking, mostly just quiet hums and tired giggles as you gently wash away the night’s exertion. 

Afterward, you wrap yourself in your soft blankets as Taehyung and Jungkook cuddle up to you, same positions as before, Taehyung's arm draped under your breasts, Jungkook’s arm slung over your stomach. You have both of your hands tangled in their hair. The three of you lie quietly for a while, just enjoying the closeness. 

“This is nice,” Jungkook eventually murmurs, face half-buried in one of your pillows. “I’m glad I came over.” 

“So am I,” you tell him, fingers brushing his raven locks off his face so you can see his sleepy smile. “Thanks for staying.” 

“Our door is always open, Kook,” your boyfriend adds. “Take that however you want.” 

Jungkook hums, already falling asleep. He starts to snore a little, and you smile, knowing how exhausted he is. You’re almost ready to drop yourself, but not quite. 

As unobtrusively as you can, careful not to wake Jungkook, you turn over, facing Taehyung. He’s still awake, favoring you with one of his boxy grins as you look at him. 

“Did you enjoy your gift?” 

Even in the dim light from the street outside, you know your smile must be blinding right now. “It was amazing. Best present ever. Thank you, Tae.” His hand slides around your back as you kiss him, hoping your lips can impart all of the love you feel but can’t express right now, because words simply aren’t enough. “You always spoil me too much. I don’t know how I got so lucky.” 

“Nothing’s too much for my good girl,” he says, rolling onto his back so you rest your head on his shoulder, slotting yourself against him. You fit together perfectly. “Get some rest, love.”  

You smile as you drift off to sleep.

Masterlist ❄️ Find me on AO3 ❄️

© 2022-23 by sunshinerainbowsbts/minisugakoobies. Crossposted to AO3. Please do not copy or repost.

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[stellar-constellations]

"You haven’t tried to kill or degrade me, and you're cute too!”

        Very curious! Low ranked demon! GN! (Y/N) x Aizetsu.

        (Y/N) has absolutely no memory of their human life.

        Chōrō is an original OC for plot purposes!

        (Y/N) eats human food to gain energy!

        (Y/N) has her own original breathing but it doesn't go into detail!

        (Y/N)'s demon life is similar to one for one of my Demon Slayer OC's (that I may or may not add onto Tumblr one day; still deciding).

        This is old and cringe, but I'm keeping this on my profile because it shows my progress as a writer.

        It must’ve been a few months since I’ve been a demon. I don’t know much about my human life, but I was once a demon slayer who killed demons. I was a tsuchinoe with much to learn, but I created my own breathing; Celestial Breathing.

        I was a stubborn and honest person. I followed what I believed was right and I did my best to help others, even if it didn’t always work out—at least, that’s what my human friends say.

        I visit this old lady, Chōrō, often. She gives me human food since it replenishes my energy instead of blood. My human friends are demon slayers, but they won’t kill me. I’m a exception to the slayer corps, just like my little demon friend Nezuko is. 

        I hide in big trees and warehouses in the day, but I usually go to Chōrō; she is very kind and lets me hide in her house. 

        I am a demon with no rank, a demon that could easily be killed if wanted since I have no name or significant importance. I help give the best information I can about That Man and the Uppermoons to the demon slayers, but once I no longer have connections with them, I am of no use.

        Death doesn’t bother me—I would enjoy it. I don’t want to be a demon. I don’t like having to hide from the sun, fight other demons, run from the humans, find a way to get money, or avoid the pretty glowing purple trees. But I don’t want to submit easily—it’d be insulting. 

        I don’t have any important relation with the Demon King. The last time I saw him, I was in the infinity castle, but I don’t know why. He explained what I was and what I had to do, then set me free in the world. I'm certain he was the one that turned me, but I'm unsure why.

        So far, I have run into three Upper Moons; one, two, and three. I don’t like Upper Moon One—he gave me a surprise test and was very mean to me, saying that I was a imposter and had no use, so I dislike him very much. 

        The second Upper Moon is very… special. He’s weirdly animated, loud, and a bit annoying, but I am on better terms with him then with Upper Moon One. He helps me train, honing my swordsmanship skills and Blood Demon Art (which appears to be my Celestial Breathing). 

        I only saw Upper Moon Three once, but he seems like a very irritable person, and I have a problem with people who like to berate me.

        I really like the animals in the world. I think my favorite is the wolf. They’re a little mean to me, but they don’t attack me, they just growl at me. However, sometimes when I stay very still and avoid eye contact, they will come over and sniff me. I will carefully hold a finger out and they’ll allow me to pet their muzzle. Sometimes they bite my fingers, but I understand they're just scared of me like how I am of humans.

        I also really like pandas. Pandas are fluffy and big. I can lay down on them. I really like to hold bamboo up and feed them. I ate the bamboo once—it wasn’t good. I don’t understand why the pandas like them but it’s okay because they’re cute and it leaves more for them to eat.

        Yes, I like pandas. I like to lay on them too. I’m laying on one now! His name is Boo. I probably won’t ever see him again, but I enjoy his company, and he doesn’t seem to mind mine, so we’re friends. 

        I was laying on his stomach as he ate a stick of bamboo, grabbing another stick nearby and waiting for him to finish his food, then holding it out in front of him.

        “Do you want more?” I questioned.

        He made a funny noise. I don’t speak panda. I assume it was a yes because he took the stick and starting chewing on it. 

        “You’re feeding the panda?” a voice questioned in front of me. 

        I tilted my head back to it’s original position, seeing a demon in front of me. It wore a blue stash, having coco skin and very pretty blue eyes. It had horns sticking out of its hair that was messy and black. It was also worth noting he had this purple vein-like pattern on his forehead. They looked and sounded like a guy; he was cute, but he looked sad.

        “I am! His name is Boo. Would you like to feed him with me?” I questioned, grabbing a stick of bamboo, offering the bamboo to the demon.

        “No thanks…” the demon spoke, his face remained a frown as he looked at me.

        “Boo is very nice, right, Boo?” I questioned, tilting my head backwards to look up and rest my head on his stomach. 

        He made a noise as it took the stick, resuming his meal.

        The demon remained silent, deciding not to talk any further, however he stayed staring at me.

        “Are you okay? You look sad.” I questioned.

        Usually I’m not so kind with demons or people in general, but whenever I see something I like or enjoy—like this panda—a flip is switched in me and I turn almost childish. I’ll regret my actions for this interaction later, but I won’t see this demon again. Besides, at least he’s not trying to fight me.

        “I am sad.” The demon admitted.

        I hummed, thinking. 

        “Would you like to talk about it? I promise I won’t tell anyone. I won’t judge either.” I offered. 

        “No thanks—I don’t think you’d understand.” The demon spoke.

        “I don’t think I’d understand either.” I smiled. “I don’t understand a lot of things around me, but it’s fun to learn. I might not understand you, but I can listen to you. I like it when someone listens to me.” I explained.

        The demon hummed, thinking to himself.

        “Are you a new demon?” he questioned.

        “I am.” I spoke. “I don’t eat humans; I eat human food. I learned that bamboo is not human food.” I informed him. “I suggest not eating the bamboo, it tastes gross, but Boo likes it. I don’t exactly understand Boo...” I spoke, tilting my head up as Boo finished his stalk, making a noise for more.

        “I suppose I could tell you...” The demon sighed, watching as I picked up a nearby bamboo stalk and gave it to Boo. “I am an embodiment of an emotion, so I can only really feel that one emotion. I share a body with six other clones, so they can really upset me sometimes.” The demon explained.

        I nodded, listening intently as I grabbed a bamboo stalk, offering it to him to make him feel better. He shook his head, rejecting the stalk. I shrugged and gave it to Boo.

        “I feel that I understand. Not in this life, but in my human one.” I explained.

        “You can remember your human life?” the demon questioned, seemingly intrigued despite having that frown on his face.

        “Bits and pieces. I get information from others about me sometimes.” I spoke. “I hope you at least feel a little better with me though.” I smiled, offering him another stalk of bamboo (to which he rejected yet again).

        “I still feel sad.” He sighed.

        “Hm…” I hummed, thinking. “What do you like to do?” I questioned. “I like seeing animals, and seeing my friends, and eating human food—human food tastes really good for me, unlike this bamboo.” I explained, then motioned for him to take the bamboo stick (he ignored it). 

        I don’t understand why he won’t accept the bamboo? The bamboo is currently making me happy since I can feed Boo, and I want to share my happiness with this demon. Oh well…

        “I don’t really like much things… I don’t have the free time to do indulge in hobbies.” He spoke.

        “Why not?” I questioned. 

        “I work for the Demon King.” He explained. 

        I nodded, making a mental note as I scooted closer to him, looking into his eyes. He looked at me, seeming to be uncomfortable as he slightly leaned back as I leaned closer.

        His blue eyes said Upper Moon Four, so he's not lying. 

        “I see.” I acknowledged. “That must suck for you—or not!” I quickly spoke, nervous to offend him. “I mean, I wouldn’t quite enjoy having little free time, but I respect it if that’s what you enjoy.” I smiled, offering him a stalk of bamboo as an apology.

        “I suppose it could be worse.” He hummed, then rejected the bamboo stick.

        I nodded, not seeing the conversation going anywhere else as I crawled back to my spot, leaning back and giving Boo the bamboo instead.

        “We don’t know each other’s names.” I pointed out. 

        “What’s the point of exchanging names? We’ll probably never see each other again. How sad…” he sighed.

        “Then let’s make sure to meet up again, so it's not sad!” I smiled. “I mean, you’re fun to talk to, you haven’t tried to kill or degrade me, and you're cute too!” I admitted.

        “Huh… cute…” He muttered, testing it out, as if not believing it.

        “Yeah.” I confirmed, then looked up at the stars. “So, would you uh… like to meet here tomorrow night?” I questioned nervously.

        Why is my heart beating so fast? It’s just a question. I thought to myself.

        The demon hummed, thinking to himself. “I supposed it wouldn’t hurt…”

        “Great, it’s settled!” I exclaimed, happy to know I’ve made a friend with a powerful being as I stood up. “My name is (Y/N), it’s been lovely talking to you.”

        “I’m Aizetsu.” The demon, Aizetsu, spoke.

        “Here, have this bamboo stalk. It’s a promise that you’ll see me again.” I spoke, then realized how stupid that’d be. “Y-you don’t have to keep if it you don’t want…”

        Aizetsu looked down at the stick and me, then finally taking it from my hands.

        “(Y/N)…” he tested the name out, having my full attention. “Thank you for making me feel less sad and…” he paused, then spoke. “I think you’re cute too…” he spoke, the frown remaining on his face, but I didn’t need to see a smile to understand that he also enjoyed our time spent together.

        He walked back into the forest from where he came from, leaving me and Boo alone.

        I immediately whirled around at Boo, excited as I let out a little giggle. “Did you see how cute he was? His eyes were so pretty! And he had such a handsome voice. His personality was so relaxing and adorable!” I gushed, running up to the panda and laying on him. “You agree, don’t you?” I questioned, giving him a stick of bamboo.

        He let out a noise that showed he agreed, as he does with most things I say.

        I like a lot of things in this world. I like the human food, the animals, the clothes, the stars, the old lady Chōrō, and the blue demon named Aizetsu.

Have any requests? Check my masterlist to see the characters I write for: Masterlist

[starry-nights-garden]

✧ P1Harmony Masterlist ✧

main masterlist personal faves in bold

*✧･ﾟ:* Keeho *:･ﾟ✧*

Scenarios & Oneshots:

✧ Campfire | fluff, comfort - 1k Desc.: You’re in need for a break from your everyday life that’s getting increasingly stressful, so your boyfriend Keeho thought he’d take you on a weekend trip to go camping.

✧ Pay Off | fluff, slow burn - 5.4k Desc.: The number one rule when working with idols is not to fall in love with them. Unfortunately you woke up one day and had to realize that your feelings for Keeho are very much real, and so now you’re trying to figure out how to best deal with them.

Drabbles:

✧ Expectations | fluff - 0.7k

✧ Hug | fluff, one word drabble - 0.6k

✧ neck kisses | fluff, suggestive - 0.7k

*✧･ﾟ:* Theo *:･ﾟ✧*

Scenarios & Oneshots:

✧ Bubbles | fluff, comfort - 0.7k Desc.: Feeling the pain that comes with being rejected by the person you like, you find yourself crying all alone. That is until your childhood friend Taeyang finds you and tries to cheer you up.

Drabbles:

✧ Overdue | fluff - 0.7k

✧ Scent | fluff, one word drabble - 0.6k

✧ smiling while kissing | fluff, humor - 0.5k

*✧･ﾟ:* Jiung *:･ﾟ✧*

Scenarios & Oneshots:

✧ 100th Confession | fluff - 1.4k Desc.: Among its various meanings the poppy also stands for sleep and peace, a kind of peace you only know when you’re with one special person.

✧ Lemon Candy | fluff - 0.8k Desc.: Your boyfriend Jiung tries to convince you that the bag full of lemon drops that you won in a raffle isn’t such bad luck after all, even though you’re not a big fan of the sour candy.

✧ Touch of a Hand | comfort, angst, fluff - 1.2k Desc.: Even though lately you haven’t been able to see your childhood friend Jiung as frequently as you used to, he still keeps proving to you that you can always rely on him.

Drabbles:

✧ Home | fluff, comfort, one word drabble - 0.6k

✧ Hoodie | fluff, one word drabble - 0.5k

✧ “I like the way your hand fits in mine.” | domestic fluff - 0.7k

✧ slow kisses | fluff - 0.7k

*✧･ﾟ:* Intak *:･ﾟ✧*

Scenarios & Oneshots:

✧ Quiet | fluff - 0.9k Desc.: Your happiness over the silence at home after a long exhausting day doesn’t last long, and so you try to find a way to shut up your ever-rambling boyfriend.

✧ Starless | college AU, fluff, angst, slow burn, suggestive - 29k Desc.: When your coworker and younger friend Chaewon (OC) tells you about the pressure her parents put on her to find a boyfriend, you don’t hesitate to help her. Keeho, whom you’ve known since childhood, suggests for her to go on a date with his friend Intak, who’s the same age as her. However, as the latter begins to slowly reenter your life, feelings that you thought you had buried once and for all start to come back up and they lead you both to a difficult decision which doesn’t come without its consequences.

✧ Unicorn | domestic fluff, comfort - 1.5k Desc.: You’re trying to cheer yourself up with snacks after a long exhausting day, when your boyfriend makes you realize all you need to feel better is having him around.

Drabbles:

✧ Kiss | fluff, one word drabble - 0.8k

✧ “Nothing has ever felt so right.” + “I wouldn’t want it any other way.” | fluff, angst - 0.8k

✧ Storm | fluff, comfort, one word drabble - 0.7k

*✧･ﾟ:* Soul *:･ﾟ✧*

Drabbles:

✧ Pastry | fluff, one word drabble - 0.6k

*✧･ﾟ:* Jongseob *:･ﾟ✧*

Drabbles:

✧ nose kisses | fluff - 0.6k

✧ "Please don't go." | fluff, comfort - 0.4k

✧ Rain | fluff - 0.5k

*✧･ﾟ:* Reactions *:･ﾟ✧*

n/a

*✧･ﾟ:* Other *:･ﾟ✧*

n/a

✧ P1H Masterlist from my old blog for more reactions etc.! ✧

[readingasoiafachapteraday]

THE WORLD OF ICE & FIRE

Reading Order & Thoughts Apparently

//Investigative read with the aim of finishing a fanfic <SPOILERSGALORE>

~this is not intended to be useful in any way shape or form do not construe as such but laughing at it is ok~

The Dawn Age

-dragonglass arrowheads found in giant ribs could be from children-giant war but also cud just as easily be wight giant

-brandon the builder was taken to a secret place by the children when he sought help to build the wall hmmmmmm okk

-“the manner in which Brandon learned to comprehend the speech is a tale in itself and not worth repeating here”?????? WTAF fuck u condal i mean yondel tommen loves stories

-greenseers can see distant events AND COMMUNICATE?hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmplotdevice

-wolfcontrolling skinchangers maxxx common, separately called wargs? stark blood fuckfest much????

-Seastone chair on old wyk wo any ppl SUSSAUCE

The Coming of the First Men

-alleged timing 8000-12000 yrs ago hmmmmm if ww are 6000 yrs ago it’s almost halfway hmmmmmmm

-what they running from? first men possible valyrian ancestors upset w the animalxhuman experiments? conveniently vague time periods

-first settled on DORNE that goddamned desert summins up w ur magic stone i will find u

-greenmen antlermen same same????

-arm of dorne, marshes, all considered natural disasters but w doubt so why not children cause doom of valyria possible??

The Age of Heroes

-ringforts this ringforts that fist of first men this infrastructure that

-find thenn constr. & every single built structure NotW

The Long Night

-do monkeys and elephants have anything in common

-Barth’s “fragmentary treatise” everything shat out by Barth & Munkun makes me want to kms

-Fomas ur understated & prolly right u religious fuck

The Rise of Valyria

-new power in east right after LN recovery, what festive timing gee i wonder if these events r related

-first empire ofc ofc just after old ghis & Qarth & YiTi & Asshai but those r “claims” yea we don’t talk bout that look dragons! blood sacrifice!

-five great wars w ghis “when the world was young” hmmmmmmmm

-Shadow texts say dragons tamed by “people who had no names” hmmmmmmmm

Valyria’s Children

-Qohor&Norvos founded following religious schisms? Only Qohor smiths still know to rework VS

-way way way too many mentions of wealth & human flesh needed in the mines

-fire vs water

-sus that andals & rhoynar both fled from Valyrians but in the second coming “the gods” spoke to the HS while the waterbenders fought both times

-is the long night just fire vs water 2.0?

Arrival of the Andals

-wtf is a fucking swan maiden

-writing the lines of the hugor hill story backwards is not as great a puzzle as u seem to think

-Urron Redhand ruled IIs by “axe&sword” for 1000 yrs, throwaway name? I think the fuck not.

Ten Thousand Ships

-Nymeria of Ny Sar SUS naming

-“few wish to dwell beyond the sound of her eternal song” faith close to old gods

-wtf r the orphans of the greenblood upto

-davos dayne my new OC, forgive me as i project onto u for the forseeable future

-seriously tho the best part so far, need a movie for THIS not whatever fart pudding they baking

The Doom of Valyria

—wtf is the difference between the 14 fires & R’hollor summins weird

-accidental poisoning of one of the flames? like pollution but magical bywaste pollution

-red clouds rained down dragonglass???? and black blood of demons which cud just be dragon blood as they pop in the air from toxicity

-dothraki & sellsword companies both popularised only in the power vacuum

-the conquerer’s attention lay west even as a child hmmmmmm

[screechthemighty]

More fanfic updates?? What is this, the blog of a productive writer??? It happens sometimes. Note that this chapter pretty heavily features an OC for this canon, so if you haven't read "steal my heart and break my pride", her showing up might not make sense. But also with the fandom being made up of ten people and a shoe, I assume you guys already have, lol. Anyways, on with the show!

crash and burn (and then return again) | a titanfall 2 fanfic part four

The first thing Cooper did when they entered Harmony’s orbit was contact Alicia. He’d already confirmed she was stationed there—a fact that cast the planet’s near-demise in a new and more terrifying light—so it was just a matter of contacting the right department and asking if she was in.

“Jack?” Alicia said.

Hearing her voice again made him suddenly, fiercely homesick. “Hey,” Cooper mumbled. “So, uh…guess who’ll be in town soon?”

“Hang on.” Cooper heard her phone being put down and the distant sound of a door closing. When Alicia returned to the call, she had the same tone she used whenever the local farm gossip was especially juicy: “Dude, did you guys really blow a hole in a planet?!”

Cooper made a strangled noise that felt like either a laugh or a sob. Not even he was sure which. “I…” He took a second to collect himself. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to answer that.”

“In that case, I won’t ask. Just promise me I’ll be the first one you tell when it’s declassified.”

“Okay. I promise.”

“Are you okay?”

“Physically, I’m fine. Emotionally…” He had to take another second. “I understand if you’re busy, but if you have time…I could really use a familiar face.”

 “Absolutely.” She heard the sound of a keyboard in the background as she kept talking. “What time are you landing?”

“Hour or so, but I know I have to talk to some other people first. I can meet you wherever you are if that works?”

“Sounds good. I should be able to get off early. A few people owe me one." She gave him her number and instructions on how to find the main supply headquarters. “There’s a lot of signage, so you shouldn’t get too lost. Give me a call whenever you’re available. I can always come to you if anything goes wrong.”

“Copy that. See you in a bit.”

“See you, Jack.”

At least he’d have that to look forward to. Cooper tried to focus on the upcoming meeting, not the negatives of what landing would mean.

It was hard when he had to put back on his old rifleman gear—the only other clothes he had—and carefully fold up Lastimosa’s gear. He might have been a pilot now, but wearing Lastimosa’s gear when he went to see his family felt wrong. He didn’t want to get Cassie’s hopes up.

What do I say to her? What does anyone say in this situation? He wasn’t sure who to ask. He’d actually dug up a blank death report as they approached the planet, just to get an idea of the script. The form felt so impersonal, cold. That wasn’t going to work at all. Not when Lastimosa had meant something to him, too.

Maybe start there? We both lost someone important to us. Could be a point of connection.

Hopefully it would read as empathetic and not that he was trying to make it all about him.

Cooper joined the rest of the SRS as they readied to depart. He tried not to make eye contact with anyone. He tried not to look at any of the Titans. He kept his arms wrapped around Lastimosa’s gear and tried to rehearse what he’d say to Cassie.

I’m sorry…he died a hero…no, not that, it doesn’t make any of it better.

I’m sorry. He saved my life. That just makes it my fault, doesn’t it?

I’m sorry. I know what you’re going through. No, no, that does feel like I’m making it all about me…

The doors opened, letting in a flood of late afternoon sunlight. There were people outside, families and friends of the other people. There was a lot less decorum this time; everyone departed in a formless crowd, running to the people they recognized. Cooper stepped out slowly, carefully scanning the clusters of people.

I’m sorry. He was a good man. I only hope I’m half the pilot he is…

His heart caught in his throat.

He’d seen Cassie’s picture once. It was an older picture, but she hadn’t changed too much since it had been taken. She was standing next to a blond woman in a technician’s jumpsuit. Cassie looked right past Cooper as she scanned the crowds; the blond woman looked right at him.

She knows. Cassie doesn’t. So he would be the one to break the news to her. Cooper swallowed hard as he approached. Cassie finally noticed him as he got closer, then noticed what he was holding.

“I’m sorry…” Cooper croaked out.

“No,” Cassie interrupted. “No.” There were tears in her eyes immediately; when the blond woman tried to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder, Cassie shook it off and bolted.

Do I go after her? What should I do? Cooper looked helplessly at the woman Cassie was with, but she was frozen, too, her eyes shut tightly. “I’m sorry,” Cooper repeated.

“It’s not your fault.” The woman shook her head. “I should go after her. I was hoping to have a word, but it can wait.”

She must have been the woman from R&D that Briggs had mentioned. Cooper was glad she wasn’t going to try and go through with the meeting. He didn’t have it in him to talk right now. “That’s fine,” he managed to choke out, though he wasn’t sure she heard. She was already jogging in the same direction as Cassie.

That was that, Cooper supposed. Some homecoming.

Someone approached him. “You okay?” Briggs asked.

He wasn’t.

“Can I go?” Cooper asked.  It wasn’t very professional, but he couldn’t be there anymore.

“Of course. We’ll send you your room assignment. Do what you have to.”

Cooper nodded and walked off, hugging Lastimosa’s gear to his chest. He didn’t think he’d be able to talk, but all he could think about was seeing Alicia. Just having someone around who really knew him.

He didn’t want to be Jack Cooper, freshly minted pilot and hero. He just wanted to be Jack.

.

Alicia was able to give him very clear instructions on how to get to employee parking. She was already there when Jack arrived, standing next to a motorbike. She hadn’t changed all that much since he’d seen her last. Cooper knew she’d cut her hair, but she’d worn it up all the time back on Persephone, so he didn’t really notice a difference. It was a relief to see that at least one of them hadn’t changed. “This is all I’ve got,” she said apologetically. “Are you okay to ride double, or do you want me to find something else?”

Cooper had hoped he’d be up for talking when he saw her again, but no dice. Alicia caught on quickly, though. “Right hand for bike, left hand for other?” she offered. Cooper raised his right hand. “Cool. Hop on.”

If he closed his eyes, he could almost pretend they were home, sharing a ride because the other person’s bike had broken down or another family member needed it. He allowed himself to dwell in that fantasy while the ride lasted, to imagine that he could smell the crops and hear harvesting machines off in the distance. He was almost hesitant to open his eyes when the bike stopped, but what he saw when he did wasn’t awful. It looked like a public garden, one not too occupied, either. It wasn’t home, but he could work with it.

Alicia led him to an isolated corner near a fountain. They sat together on a bench, staring out over a sea of green and brightly-colored flowers. The temperature here really was good for growing, Cooper noticed. If he’d been in a better headspace, he probably would’ve tried to identify some of the plants in sight. All he could do now was appreciate that they were still there.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Alicia said, “and I’ll be quiet if that’s what you need. But I’m really glad you’re okay, Jack.”

Cooper nodded. He kept his arms wrapped tightly around himself and closed his eyes. He let the quiet and the presence of his friend settle over him. He couldn’t say that he felt peaceful, but he slowly started to feel better than he had. Eventually, he was able to speak.

“I can’t talk about it yet.”

Alicia nodded. “That’s fine. Whenever you’re ready.”

“Some of it might be confidential. Have to worry about that now.”

“Well, that sucks.”

“Hmm.”

“You’re pretty good at keeping secrets, at least. Are you hungry yet?”

Cooper took a deep breath and carefully considered the question. “Not yet. Might have to force something. I can’t…actually remember when I ate last.”

“I can make congee. Show you my place. It’s not a bad little apartment, all things considered. Bigger than my room at home, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah. I’d like that.” He could probably handle congee. “Might fall asleep on your couch.”

“You won’t. It’s an awful couch. Trust me. You’d be better off on the floor.”

He’d fall asleep on a pile of rocks at this point. Anything to make the aching feeling in his body go away.

“You’re not alone anymore, Jack,” Alicia added. “You’ve got me now, too. Just…try to remember that.”

He was glad she hadn’t said like before. Nothing about this situation was like the good old days. They could never go back…and honestly, the good old days hadn’t been that good since he was a kid.

But he’d take any improvement he could get. Especially since it involved her.

[ash5monster01]

Goes On Chapter Two

Pairing: Charlie Dalton x OC!FemReader

Warnings: 18+, depression, mentions of suicide, heavy topics, eventual smut, slow burn romance, fluff, gender themes/stereotypes.

Summary: Against his best efforts Charlie has to start at a new preparatory school after the tragic events that took place at Welton. The very events that led to the loss of his best friend and getting expelled in the first place. He has no plans to make friends let alone get close to anyone ever again. That is until he meets Evelyn and her interesting group of friends. No matter how hard he tries to push them away he finds it to be impossible. So he caves and in the end learns that life can still be enjoyable even if it feels like everyone is against you.

word count: 2.1k

One ←→ Three

Masterlist

Ridge Academy, NY

1/8/60

Charlie was wrong in assuming that attending the one study session would get them off his back. They all took his attendance as him wanting to be friends which was the complete opposite of what he wanted. His days now consisted of actively avoiding them, ignoring when they waved him over in class, eating lunch alone in his dorm, and going straight to a private study room after classes in hopes to not be found and be left alone. Even his room mate had been trying hard to get to know him but Charlie didn’t have any interest in getting to know anybody.

Getting to know someone meant getting close to them and getting close meant there was a chance you could lose them. Charlie already knew what it was like, he had friends, and he lost them. Going through that pain again would never be worth it. So the best he had was being the new school loner for the next year and a half. Whether Evelyn, Nate, or the rest of their friends had any say about it. Which is why Charlie knew on Friday nights Nate had chess club and would have the dorm to himself for the rest of the night. Or so he thought.

“What’re you doing here” Charlie spluttered, a bit shocked to see Evelyn laid in Nate’s bed with a book in her hands. He was mainly surprised for her being in the room but even more surprised how natural it was for her to be in a boys dorm bed. Charlie thought those kind of things only happened in dreams.

“Violet and Marty kicked me out of the room if you know what I mean” Evelyn answered, turning to her side and eyes still scanning the page.

“And your only option was to come here?” Charlie asked dropping his bag onto his desk and sliding off his shoes.

“Yes, Nate normally lets me hide out here” Evelyn answered right back and Charlie sighed as he reached for the buttons on his shirt. He did not have time for making friends and trying to act normal about a girl in his dorm room.

“You and Nate are close?” Charlie asked despite everything in him telling him not too.

“Oh, so now someone wants to talk” Evelyn teased but Charlie just shook his head and traded his button down for a black t-shirt. Evelyn realized he wasn’t in the mood for teasing so she quietly sat up. “Super close, known him for what feels like my whole life”

“I guess I’m just not used to girls and guys being friends” Charlie told her, only knowing a life of school boys and crushing on every girl they had an opportunity too.

“I get the feeling you’re not used to a lot of things” Evelyn responded before lying on her back and focusing on her book.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked as he sat down at his desk, pulling out his books to do homework. Cameron would have a heart attack if he could see him now.

“I don’t know, it’s just you’re different is all” Evelyn said and Charlie wished this didn’t peak his interest. He had no business even talking to her but she was the girl in his dorm room. Old Charlie would have been all over that.

“You have no idea” Charlie muttered to himself and Evelyn sighed, annoyed she couldn’t get the boy to just talk to her. He was cute and new, and she couldn’t help but feel drawn to him somehow.

“Are you ever going to try and make friends or be miserable and lonely the entire time you’re here?” Evelyn asked, finally closing the book she was holding, and sitting up to put her full attention on him. Charlie was surprised by her bluntness, not expecting such an outburst.

“Sadly you won’t like my answer to that question” Charlie told her and Evelyn groaned out loud, hands coming to tug in her hair.

“God, you’re so infuriating” Evelyn was good at making friends, she knew all the right moves and topics of conversation. She liked being someone’s friend but so far Charlie had been impossible. Charlie wanted to laugh, if only she had met him three months prior. He figured she’d be just as infuriated with him then if not more.

“I don’t know why you’re letting me bother you so much. So what I choose to be lonely, it’s what I want” Charlie said turning to face her, feeling something tightening in his chest. It was amusement, something he hadn’t felt in so long. He couldn’t remember the last time he genuinely laughed about something.

“It bothers me because no one wants to be alone, I just think you’re hiding something” she argued back, arms crossing over her chest and Charlie felt the reminder of Neil sear through him and the amusement fade away.

“No one wants to be alone Evelyn, but sometimes you don’t have the choice” he told her, a somber look on his face, and turned back to his desk where he would proceed to ignore her. Evelyn felt something shoot through her heart as he said her name for the first time but even more she was affected by what his words had meant.

“Why do you hate Pritchard?” Evelyn asked, eyes falling on the english textbook on his desk. Charlie stiffened, surprised she had remembered his small outburst from the first day of class.

“I don’t hate him, I just think he’s stupid” Charlie told her, still working on the homework in front of him.

“How could he be stupid, basically the whole textbook is based on him” Evelyn asked and Charlie sighed, hands running through his hair.

“He’s stupid because he found a way to scale poems based on immaterial things when a poem is good as long as it comes from somewhere inside of you. No scale or fancy doctor should be the one to tell you if it’s good or not” if Evelyn wasn’t surprised with Charlie before she sure was now. All she could do was sit there and let his words sink in because truly she had never thought of it like that before. She hadn’t thought of anything in life like that before. She always looked to confirmation from others and just now she was realizing the entire time the only person who had to tell her she was good enough was herself.

“I suppose you’re right” is all she says after a beat before laying back down on Nate’s bed and listening to Charlie’s pencil scratch across his paper. She hated how much he bothered her and yet gave her little to nothing about himself at all. As of right now though she knew Charlie was no ordinary boy, he was something else entirely.

“Evelyn?” Nate’s voice fills the room, eyes glancing quickly between her and Charlie to determine the vibe of the room. He couldn’t bare it if she was here for him.

“Hey, there you are” she smiles softly, a sort of sadness to her eyes.

“Yeah, I had chess club remember” he tells her, dropping his things on the floor and moving to sit at her feet on the end of his bed.

“Violet and Marty kicked me out, I was hoping we could get dinner” she smiles at him, hand locking around his wrist and giving it a squeeze.

“Yeah, that sounds nice. Let me change” Nate tells her, eyes glancing to Charlie who continued to ignore them both like they weren’t even there.

Nate removed his school uniform quickly, Evelyn hiding behind her hands and giggling like a school girl. Which after all, she was. Charlie hated the way his heart constricted at the sound of her giggles. If he was the man he used to be he would’ve killed to get to know her and now here she was practically begging to be friends and he couldn’t even look her in the eye.

“Want to come with dude?” Nate asked as he slipped his Ridge crewneck on and Charlie shook his head, eyes flashing to the picture of his friends on his desk.

“I’m okay, have some homework to finish up” and Charlie didn’t miss the sigh that escaped Evelyn’s lips as he refused to turn back and look at the two.

“Alright, we’ll see you man” Nate told him as Evelyn hooked her arm with his own and he led her out the door.

“He didn’t bother you, did he?” Nate asked as they pushed out the doors of the dorm floor. Campus was chilly and cold and he felt butterflies erupt in his stomach as Evelyn huddled closer to him.

“No, we just talked. Or I at least tried to talk” Evelyn said and Nate snorted, knowing exactly what it was like. He had attempted and failed all week. So much for getting a roommate.

“I think he’s still upset about something, I just don’t know what. It can’t be about his expulsion or he never would’ve told us about that” Nate says and Evelyn nods, trying to think of reasoning herself. What in the world could possibly hurt a seventeen year old boy as badly as it did?

“Maybe give it time, after all it’s only been a week” Evelyn tells him, hands squeezing his bicep and Nate turns to look down at her with a smile.

“Would just be nice to have a best friend” Nate says and Evelyn instantly gasps.

“What am I? Chopped liver?” and laughter bellows from Nate and fills the air around them.

“No, you know what I mean. Like you and Violet. You and me, we’re different” he says and Evelyn furrows her eyebrows.

“How so?” she asks and Nate feels his heart accelerate as he just shrugs.

“I don’t know, it just is” he offers and Evelyn rolls her eyes before accepting this answer, seeing them getting closer to the cafe on campus.

“Well best friend, let’s get some dinner” Evelyn says tugging him inside and he chuckles, allowing her to do whatever she pleased. After all he loved her. So they laugh over a split sandwich, and spend their Friday night like they always did, but now it somehow felt different.

When Nate returned to the room Charlie was in bed, a saxophone cradled to his side, but Nate had a feeling he hadn’t even played it. He offered him a smile as he slipped off his shoes and pulled back the covers of his bed. The comforter still smelled like Evelyn and his heart yearned for the girl he had been in love with for so long. Thing was he knew Evelyn was easy to fall in love with and even if Charlie tried his best to avoid her he knew it wouldn’t be long until he fell in love with her too.

“So you and Evelyn huh?” he froze at the sound of Charlie’s voice, as if the new boy had read his mind.

“What do you mean?” Nate asked, trying to hide the shake in his voice.

“Just, seemed like you two were a thing” he told him, moving the saxophone down to its case beside the bed.

“No, we’re just friends. Have been for a long time” Nate said and Charlie nodded, arms folding up behind his head as he stared at the ceiling.

“She’s a real spitfire. Hounded me the whole time she was in the room” Charlie said after a moment and Nate snorted in laughter.

“Sounds like her. She’s always been tough like that” Nate says fondly, knowing it was one of the very reasons he’s loved her the last few years.

“I like tough. I used to be tough” the sentence is the most personal insight Charlie had given him all week and he freezes at the notion. How do you even respond to that.

“I have a feeling you still are Charlie, it takes someone tough to be so reserved” and his words hurt Charlie more than expected. He hadn’t meant to be so cold towards everyone but he wasn’t prepared to be a good friend. He still woke up with nightmares every night.

“It takes being broken to find yourself desperate to be alone” Charlie told him before rolling on his side and facing the wall. His back to him proved the discussion was over and Nate sighed before reaching for the lamp on his nightstand. With a single click they were enveloped in darkness and Nate wondered what made Charlie so afraid of being seen in the light.

Comment if you want to be added to the taglist :))

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

You truly are a gem! Thank you so much for always being so helpful, and for introducing me to a new resource! I haven't heard of lotrproject.com before. Do you know of any resources that might be helpful when it comes to the language of Rohan? Thank you so much!

Oh, thank you so much! If there’s ever any way that I can be useful to other people, that makes me happy!

With that being said, I’m not sure how useful I can be on the language of Rohan! 😂 We don’t know basically anything about *actual* Rohirric as the Rohirrim spoke it. The Rohirric that appears in the book is not the language that the people used; it’s Old English that is just standing in for Rohirric. So it doesn’t really tell us anything about what Rohirric looked or sounded like. Out of an entire language, Tolkien only ever wrote 3 or 4 true Rohirric words, and they’re all buried in pretty obscure places (hello, draft of Appendix F!). For example, “Horse-folk,” which is rendered in the book in Old English as Éothéod, is actually “Lohtūr.” Theoden’s name would have actually been “Tūrac.” Éomer and Éowyn’s names would have also started with “Loh-“ since that means “horse” and so did the “éo-“ part of their names. But there’s really not much more than that!

If you want resources for Old English, though, in order to use that as a representation of Rohirric in your own work just as Tolkien did for his, there are lots of good places for that. One that’s right here on Tumblr is the account @oldenglishtextposts . I’ve never done it, but they offer short translations for other users at times, and they’ve got a whole #resources tag on their account that points to reputable sources for Old English vocab and grammar info. 

I tend not to put more than a word here or there of Old English into anything I write, so I’ve never really taken even a semi-serious stab at mastering any of that vocab, syntax, etc. I mostly use Old English just to create names for Rohirrim OCs — I think of modern English words that I want to capture in the name and search for them in Old English dictionaries and word banks until I find ones that I like (meaning they sound good to my ear) and mash them together. I know that isn’t a terribly accurate way to proceed, but it works well enough for my purposes since I’m just using them as proper nouns anyway. The online dictionary I use most often is www.oldenglishtranslator.co.uk.

There are some other folks around with more Old English expertise than me (which is basically anyone with any Old English expertise!) and I hope they’ll chime in if they’ve got other useful recommendations!

[love-kurdt]

How to Write a Good Fanfiction: A 5 Step Manual

Hello! My name is @love_kurdt, also known as Eva, and I’m a Wattpad Veteran of the early 2010s, where the genres of Slash Fics, Y/N, and Imagines ran rampant. I spent years of my life as a kid scrolling through my iPod touch, weeding through Wattpad’s plethora of profiles, on a quest to find quality fanfictions. I found a handful, which I added to a specific reading list to come back to when I needed a break from screaming into my pillow because of the sheer audacity of thought-criminals who called themselves writers.

When I’d reached the point of reading the same five works over and over in a never ending cycle, I decided to make the life-altering decision to start publishing my fanfictions online. Granted, I was only thirteen at this point, so my writing wasn’t spectacular by any means, but I came to discover that over time, the mere acts of reading and writing can light a spark of inspiration that can carry you to creative success.

I’ve been writing my own works for over ten years now, and can confidently say that I have cracked the code to writing a good fanfiction that will have your readers captivated instead of cringing. Please don’t get me wrong– if you want to just write fanfic on the internet for fun, and not to write a novel, that’s great, too! That’s what the internet is for; exercising your free will. But this manual is tailored towards those who want to hone in on their craft and gain a substantial following as strictly fanfiction authors. So without further ado, let’s jump into it. Godspeed!

Step 1: Choose Your Fandom

What show, movie, or book has drawn you in and left you feeling like there should be more to the story? When one of those media comes to mind, you’ve chosen your fandom!

Step 2: Do Your Research

When writing fanfiction, it’s kind of an unspoken rule that you need to know the canon of the fandom you’re writing about. The canon is also known as the source material. For example, if someone were to write a Draco Malfoy x OC fanfiction (*cough* a 200+ page Draco Malfoy self insert fic written at 11 years old in a series of notebooks bound together with multiple layers of Gorilla tape *cough*), the canon would be the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. It’s, in essence, what “really” happened. It’s totally fine if you want to write a non-canon compliant fic, too! In fact, they’re extremely popular, specifically within the “fix-it” genre, which usually involves characters that died in the canon but the author kept alive in their fanfiction. Either way, you should have a general idea of how the canon functions within the context of the fandom, so you can make creative choices that diverge from or stick to the canon.

With the canon comes the fanon, which is basically a compilation of fan theories and headcanons that are often common themes in both canon and non-canon compliant fanfics. A pretty niche example of this is the Byler fandom (the ship between Stranger Things characters Will Byers and Mike Wheeler), where there’s an official list of theories on Tumblr that are used in many, if not most Byler fanfictions. There’s FlickerGate, where the flickering of the garage light in Season 1 is actually Will and Mike in the Upside Down in Season 5. There’s BirthdayGate, where the antagonist, Vecna, manipulates the minds of everyone in Hawkins to forget Will’s birthday, which is a central plot point in a lot of Byler fics since no one seems to remember it, not even his best friend. There’s also LetterGate, where Will confronts Mike in the canon about not sending any letters after he’d moved away, but the theory reveals that Mike wrote plenty of letters– he just never sent them because they ended up turning into love letters, which in turn resulted in internalized homophobia. You get the picture. Most theories reach far into the land of delusion, but it doesn’t stop writers from creating incredible work that could easily be mistaken for a script.

But Eva, what if I just think the characters are hot and I don’t give a shit about the cannonball? I can’t tell you what to do, my friend, but I highly suggest you at least consider the canon so you can avoid all the petty, obnoxious gatekeepers in some fandoms who can be unhinged enough to send death threats if you leave out a significant canonical detail. But you do you!

Step 3: Choose Your Platform

There are three popular platforms to choose from: Archive of Our Own (ao3), Tumblr, and Wattpad. There are also a few other lesser known or dead pages such as fanfiction.net, but I honestly wouldn’t bother with those, since they’re more infiltrated with anons and bots nowadays.

This is where you want to think about 1) where most of the members in the fandom you chose reside, and 2) the demographic of readers you want to reach. For example, I observed a higher number of Nirvana fans on Wattpad than the other two platforms, which is why I chose to post my full length Kurt Cobain fanfiction, “You Know You’re Right,” on there. It also helped that my favorite author of another Kurt Cobain fanfiction on Wattpad, @/ugh-nirvana, had hits in the hundreds of thousands, so I was confident that my book would do well on that specific platform. On the other hand, the Stranger Things fandom is in full swing on Tumblr and ao3, so I chose to post those fanfictions on there rather than on Wattpad. It all just depends on who’s where.

You also have to consider how active you want to be on your platform(s). Tumblr is more of a blog situation, while ao3 and Wattpad are solely for publishing the work. If you want to have a life beyond the realms of the world wide web, choose Wattpad or ao3, as inconsistent updates are a bit more accepted than on Tumblr. But if you want to throw yourself headfirst into a fandom and put your whole author-ussy into your fanfic, then Tumblr is the platform for you.

You should be aware, however, that Tumblr involves a lot of upkeep, as well as constant, strategic, and active participation within your fandom. Visual aesthetic is vital to any functional Tumblr blog. Most profiles have directories, with color coded links to each work’s homepage, which is linked to each individual chapter, which are then distinguished by a unique GIF to capture a prospective reader’s attention while they’re scrolling through copious amounts of content. And there are always new ideas and theories in development in certain fandoms, so it’s crucial to keep up with recent updates in order to stay relevant.

After all is said and done, you don’t have to get married to one platform for the rest of your life. You can choose to be exclusive to one or two platforms, or publish everything on all of them! The decision is ultimately yours!

Step 4: Obey the Writer’s Trifecta of Consistency

Yes, I came up with this term, and yes, it should be a real thing. Because in every piece of writing, whether it be fanfiction, a short story, an actual book, a screenplay, what have you, it is critical to be consistent in your People, your POV, and your Plot. Let me explain.

People

Your people, or your ensemble of characters, consists of three hierarchical levels: your protagonist/antagonist, your side characters, and other background characters. I should emphasize the importance of building character profiles for everyone, including your pre-existing characters from the fandom, but specifically for your original character(s) if you have them. That way, you know who serves as a major plot device, who serves as someone who just helps time move faster, and those who are mentioned by name but have very little significance to the events of the story. I’m going to reference Harry Potter again, since most of the world is familiar with the characters. Harry and Voldemort are the protagonist and antagonist; Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid and company are side characters; and Peeves, Seamus Finnigan, and Blaise Zabini are background characters. Keep this hierarchy in check; don’t let your main characters fade away, and don’t let your background characters shift to the forefront for no reason. If you do plan to move a character up or down the ladder, make sure to have clear motive as to why you’re bringing this character into or out of play.

2. POV

Your POV is the point of view in which you’re writing from. Assuming you’ve been in a typical middle school English class, you’ve heard of the first, second, and third person points of view. I cannot tell you how many times I have read fanfictions that jump from one POV to another, sometimes within the same sentence. I open the door and see Kurt Cobain standing in the corner of the room. She walked across the floor to meet him there. See what I did there? I jumped from first person present tense to third person past tense. Do not attempt this at home.

The least common of the three points of view is the second person, or what I like to call the Y/N point of view. In fanfiction, second person POV is often used in self-insert fics, where instead of a character’s name, it’s replaced with “you.” That’s why a lot of romantic character x reader fics are so popular. You should feel free to use this one, especially if that’s the kind of vibe you’re going for, but I’m going to elaborate a little bit more on first and third person, as they’re a bit more “literary.”

The first person POV confines the narration to the mind of one character. It can also be done with multiple characters, but be sure to do it so it’s painstakingly obvious to the reader whose POV you’re writing from. Also note that if you plan to write multiple first person POVs, try to keep that number on the lower side, as a large number of POVs can get really complicated really quickly. Third person narration can be done from two angles: limited or omniscient. Limited is more similar to first person, in which you’re confined to one person’s viewpoint, but they aren’t the narrator; you’re just seeing the story through their eyes. Omniscient is my favorite, because you can narrate from a bird’s eye view with the freedom to travel from mind to mind and read their thoughts.

Building character profiles can be really helpful when developing both first or third person POV; if you connect with a particular character more strongly than the rest, that should tell you whose POV you should write in. If you choose to switch POVs, be sure to do it either on an alternating/rotating basis, or if you repeat, it should be apparent as to why that particular character is the “voice” of that scene.

3. Plot

Dare I say that Plot is the most important step of them all, so do not skip this one, whatever you do! The biggest mistake most fanfiction writers make is having a concept but lacking a plot. It’s like biting into an apple just to discover it’s a lemon. Many writers are capable of starting off strong, but once their initial story begins to meander, traveling into uncharted territory, their brainchild can become a monstrosity.

In order to write a solid plot, it’s pretty common knowledge that you need to have a beginning, middle, and end in place. It doesn’t need to be overly specific or down to the last detail, you just need to figure out how your characters make it from point A to point Z (the larger scale), and how points B through Y factor into the plot (the smaller scale). There are a few routes that you can take in order to do this: you can write the entire thing ahead of time without any input, you can write the entire thing with the feedback of a beta reader or proofreader to help you work out any kinks or mistakes before you publish it for the entire platform to see, or you can publish it gradually and take feedback from your readers as you go. Should you go with the last option, though, you should be made aware that if you aren’t already an established author, it may feel like you’re talking to a wall, and you will likely feel discouraged from writing the story altogether.

I find it helpful to outline the whole thing. I have a closet door in my house dedicated to a Dave Grohl true crime fanfiction I’m working on. I’ve written the entire story from beginning to end on index cards, split into four different parts with each card representing a chapter. What’s good about outlining is that I can edit my story as I go along. If I decide to change something, I can add or remove an index card, then replace or rearrange the other index cards to work around the change I made, and that way, I don’t have to start over from scratch. It’s helpful to see everything laid out in front of me, so I’m not left at the end of a completely improvised plot with a slew of loose ends that I’ll need to go back and edit. It’s also better than publishing each part individually then having to redo everything after your readers have already seen it. And I don’t know about you, but I enjoy it when I’m able to save some time, energy, and lengthy explanations to random people online. That is, unless you enjoy constant feedback from readers, in which case you can change the plot on a chapter by chapter basis based on their feedback.

Consistency in all of these respects is key. I cannot emphasize this enough. Keeping all of these elements in check will help you create a sort of cohesiveness that will neatly wrap the story up with a little bow on top. 

Step 5: Use Relevant Tags and Content Warnings

Repeat after me: tags matter! Again: tags matter! When you’re about to publish your fanfiction, you’re going to be given the option to add tags to your work. For my first few years spent on Wattpad, I had no idea what tags were, so I didn’t use them. Thankfully, the platform was still pretty small, so people still found my work pretty easily. Nowadays, though, it’s nearly impossible to find what you’re looking for without searching excessively specific tags and using a million filters. It’s unfortunate, but look at it this way: there are so many people contributing to so many fandoms that the content is seemingly endless!

What you’re going to want to do is add as many tags as you can but keep it as simple as possible. I know that sounds kind of oxymoronic, but I mean it in a way that all of your tags relate directly to your story, and not just to the fandom itself. A lot of readers feel misled when they’re scrolling through their filtered search page for, let’s just say, a Byler fanfic, and end up neck deep in a Mileven fanfic in disguise. That’s not a fun experience.

Lastly, please remember that you are publishing your work on the internet, and you don’t know who may encounter your work! Listen, we live in a world where everything needs to be overexplained, everything needs trigger warnings, and everything needs to be neutral or else someone is going to hate you. I get it. I’ve been writing fanfiction for a long time. It might be annoying to add content warnings, especially if one of those warnings spoils a major plotline, but if I’m being honest, I’d rather be safe and add the damn warning than not add the warning and be responsible for someone’s worsened emotional or mental state. Bottom line, it’s just fanfiction! Let’s do our due diligence to create a community full of love and understanding for everyone!

After that, you should be all set to publish! Let’s review one more time for the road:

Choose Your Fandom

Do Your Research

Choose Your Platform

Obey the Writer’s Trifecta of Consistency

Use Relevant Tags and Content Warnings

If you’ve stuck around for this long, thank you so much!

I hope this manual helps you along your fanfiction writing journey, wherever it takes you <3

[luimagines]

Tug ‘o’ War

Another Commission!

They asked for their OC with Sky..... Let’s be real. At this point you all know who this is XD

Masterlist

Content under the cut!

When Sky first saw them, he knew that he wanted to be their friend.

They weren’t too excited with the idea though. They often avoided him when they could and struggled to meet him in the eye. 

Which was fine. At first anyway. Sky was willing to work around whatever they may have been going through. Fledge is similar in that regard, but that didn’t stop Sky from interacting with him and befriending the young man. So Sky refused to let it stop him from interacting with Enno as well.

That was unfortunately easier said than done.

He tried to keep up with them and meet them at their level but they always seemed to find an excuse to get away from him. Was he scary? Did he intimidate them? Was it something he did when they first met that had them hating him? It hurts to imagine.

So Sky had to pause from interacting with them. He watched them interact with the others though. They seem to get along great with Twilight and Wind. They joked and rough housed. Enno seemed to constantly seek out either of their attention but Sky couldn’t figure out what he was doing differently than they were.

Once Sky was paired up with Twilight (seeing as Enno was paired up with Wind), Sky took it upon himself to get to the bottom of it. He had to be missing something.

“Hey… Twilight…” Sky pokes the arm of his companion. “I have a question.”

The other turned around and hiked up his scabbard on his back. “Sure, what’s up?”

Sky rubbed his arms, feeling a strange bout of butterflies in his stomach. “You talk to Enno a lot so you know them better than I do at this point. Would you say that I scare them? Or did I do something to get them to hate me?”

Twilight paused. “...What?”

“Yeah-! Because every time I try to talk to them, they always seem to try to drop out of the conversation. They look at everything but me. But they don’t have a problem with you, or Wind or the Old Man -especially not Warrior. They get along fine with Legend and Wild and they even dote on Hyrule. They even look Four in the eye! Am I doing something wrong?” Sky huffed. He didn’t intend to let those amount of words slip out of his mouth but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that clearly he was singled out. He just couldn’t figure out why.

Twilight continues to stare at Sky, not letting any thought slip onto his face. “And you haven’t thought of any reason why?”

“I wouldn’t be asking you if I would have been able to figure it out on my own.” Sky gripes. “I’ve tried. I’m still lost. Help me.”

Twilight finally begins to show signs of amusement on his face. “I was more or less sworn to secrecy, but I can point you in the right direction.”

“Sworn to secrecy?” Sky echoes under his breath. He gasps. “So you do know!”

“Yes. Most of us do, actually.” Twilight shrugs. “It’s obvious.”

“...Obv-... obvious?”

“Yes.” Twilight isn’t trying to be mean on purpose, but the chosen hero of Hylia can be quite dense. “Look. At best, just flirt with them and watch their reaction.”

“Wouldn’t that be the worst thing I could do?”

“Most of the time.” Twilight wants to shake him. “But in these circumstances, it’ll work like a charge. Just try it.”

Sky did not, in fact, want to try it.

It seemed like the biggest jerk move, to hit on them, when he clearly makes them uncomfortable as it is. Not only does he think that it would make the problem worse but he’s not exactly inclined to come off as Warrior does from time to time.

But as days went by and nothing seemed to get better, Sky found himself getting more and more desperate for answers. He just didn’t know what it was that made them avoid him so much. He was a good guy! Right? Oh god, what if he wasn’t? What if he ruined his chances before he started? What if he makes it worse? What if there’s no way for him to fix this?

He gets paired with Enno for the day as they travel.

The walk is awkward and silent. Sky is used to silence but there’s an underlying hint of dying inside between the two of them. Given by the way they keep their head down the entire time, Sky thinks that he’s not half wrong with his intuition. 

Twilight words echo in his head. It’s still a terrible idea. But now that they’re alone… it’s tempting. He can start slow and steady. Soft and sincere. Maybe they just got off on the wrong foot. He should start by saying something nice. Maybe that would loosen them up.

“I like your jacket.” Sky says quietly. “It looks soft.”

Enno freezes. They stop dead in their tracks but keep their head down. Sky can almost hear the gears turning in their head. Clearly, they weren’t expecting it.

They cough and nod. And start walking again, if a little faster than before.

Sky matches their pace easily. He sighs. A failed attempt. Try again?

“I also think your markings are cool.” Sky swallows the bitter pill that his nerves have bundled up together. “Are they tattoos like Twilights… or closer to the markings from the Old Man?”

Is that a personal question? Sky cringes internally. He’s never been this bad at socializing. When did his skills tank?

They actually trip over their own feet for a moment before finding their voice. It’s quiet and a tad forced. “Um… n-no. It’s more like… the marks of my people.”

“Your people?” Well that’s the most he’s ever heard from them. This can go somewhere! “I’ve never seen markings like that on anybody. Where are you from?” 

They curl a little into themselves, hiding their nose behind their cloak. “It’s far away. …I doubt you’ve heard of it. Twilight knows though. Even if he goes by the same thing even though it was my name first.”

Wait… what? Sky tilts his head. “Do you know Twilight? Have you met him before this whole journey.”

They seem to freeze again, their eyes widening ever so slightly. “Well… yes and no. He’s… been to my home before and I’ve been to his but we’ve never actually met before this.”

“Interesting.” Sky nods and hooks his thumbs through his belt. Maybe Twilight knew more about them than Sky was willing to bet. Ok then, small flirt to test out his theory. “Do you miss it?”

“Sometimes.” They adjust the cloak over their nose. They’re still trying to hide from him but they’re talking at least so that’s a start. 

Sky nods again, trying to appear nonchalant. “Is it pretty?”

“Very.”

“Do all people look like you?” Sky has a line in his head that he wants to say but he needs to build to it or else it might not work.

Enno hums, or whines (?), and shakes their head. “I’m the only one like me.”

“Shame.” Sky says. “But I suppose unique beauty is all the more stunning when it stands out amongst the common design.”

He wants to kick himself. His delivery was horrible.

Sky only manages to stop himself from face palming before Enno makes a high keening sound. It keeps Sky away from his own self judgment as he turns to look at them in concern. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fINe.” They squeak. A light pulsates from their markings, catching Sky’s attention.

He finds himself smiling. “Incredible.”

“What is?” They sound horrified.

Sky doesn’t miss a beat. “You are.”

They put their hand over their mouth, even though their cloak was already doing all of the work. Their markings pulsate once more, brighter and more vibrant than before. Sky grins in response to it. It’s stunning. The way the teal and black mend into the white light. If he was certain they were tattoos before, here is his proof that they’re not.

“It’s beautiful.” He breathes out. Sky can feel himself forgetting where he is and who he’s talking to. But it’s so genuine, he can’t seem to stop the words as they fall out of his mouth. “You’re beautiful. Have you always been able to do this?”

“Stop.” They say.

Sky takes a step back to give them space. He might have overstepped his boundaries.

“I’m sorry.” He says automatically.

“No, that’s not-” They cut themselves off, seemingly growing more frustrated by the second. “Not you. Hold on. I can’t. Wait.”

Sky waits. 

“Are you ok?” He wants to take a step closer but he’s afraid that there’s going to be major repercussions if he tries to intervene.

“Not your fault!” They yell, probably louder than they were intending. They wince at their own volume and wrap their arms around themselves. “Just- hold- hold on… I’m trying.”

The light pulsates again. It’s even brighter than the last time and each new wave of light seems to last longer than the first.

Sky can’t even begin to comprehend what’s happening. “Did… did I do something wrong?”

“Nope!” They yell and something strange happens. The light pulsates again but it stays, blinding Sky for one terrifying and confusing second. He reacts in the only way he can. By holding his breath and covering his face as he steps away.

Sky’s breath gets caught in his throat and he lowers his arms from his face once the light has died down completely.

“You!” A new voice screams.

Sky blinks. There’s two people there… where there was once only one. The man gets up faster than the young woman and manages to tackle her down before she can dive towards Sky. Sky steps away, putting his hands up in surrender. There’s no thoughts in his head- only information processing mode.

What just happened? What is happening? 

“Twilight!” The young man yells. “There’s no reason to attack him! Leave him be!”

“Do you know how hard it is to hold ourselves together as it is?” ‘Twilight’, who is not his teammate, screams back. “It’s his fault. He’s too cute and pretty and nice!”

Sky points to himself intelligently. “M-me?”

Twilight screams in indignation. The other, which has yet to be named, looks to Sky apologetically. The young man is blushing. “Sorry. We’ll fix it in a moment. Just give us some time to get a grip and we’ll be back to your Enno.”

“...My Enno...” Sky repeats.

“Dusk!” The woman summons a massive battle ax and swings it. She doesn’t get far with it, seeing as ‘Dusk’ is pinning her arms down as he holds her. “So help me! Let! Me! Go!”

“No!” He yells. “I’m not letting you hurt him. Calm down.”

“Never tell a woman to calm down!”

“I’ve never been more lost.” Sky admits, sagging in on himself. “Can we start from the beginning?...Maybe with the whole ‘he’s pretty’ part?”

Twilight screams again.

Dusk only seems to blush deeper. “It’s a long story, even if she’s right.”

Slowly becoming exhausted, Twilight starts to calm down. Dusk continues talking. “We’re both Enno.”

“Both of you?” Sky points. He receives a nod in reply. “Enno is …two people?”

“Enno is one person.” Twilight huffs and crosses her arms, dropping her battle ax. It just misses Dusk’s foot. “But between the two of us we both make up Enno. It’s not like there’s two voices. We meld. We mix. We are Enno.”

Sky takes a long and deep suffering breath. “Can… Can this be fixed?” He asks, if only because he’s afraid that it’s permanent. “Is there a way to do that?”

“Yes.” Dusk replies, mirroring the same long experienced suffering sigh. “We just need to get a grip. Like I said.”

“You’re such a jerk.” Twilight pouts. 

Sky nods, keeping his mouth shut. He’s doomed.