#(also trying to come up with a tag for posts like these so)

[pineconepie]

CHARACTERS: Cassian, Winslow, You/Reader

WARNINGS/TAGS: Nagas/snakes, hypnosis, parental yanderes, kidnapping, infantilization, failed escape attempt, gender neutral reader

WORD COUNT: 4.8k

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Two writings posted in one day? Perhaps I felt generous. I've changed up my original plans for them a tiny bit, but not by much. I hope you like it!

The air in the forest is cool, but there's an unnatural stillness that unsettles you as you walk through it. It makes sense that you haven't seen another hiker, the place just feels... off.

It doesn't matter, though. You got several good photos of some plants, and a beautiful waterfall and lake with pristine blue water; probably the bluest natural water you've ever seen.

You have what you came for, but you want to get some more photos.

It started off as just a hobby, but when a local nature organization noticed your photos posted on social media, they were really interested in hiring you to take pictures for them. It was more comparable to a gig or freelance work, since all your pay is done by commission, but it's fun and makes you enough extra money that you don't mind keeping at it.

After snapping some photos of some mushrooms growing from a rotting log, you hear the sound of talking.

Maybe there are hikers, after all.

You see two people in the distance.

"Is the fresh air helping at all, my love?" a slightly deep voice asks. He has short black hair, and strangely bright yellow eyes. He has a scar across his left eye, rendering it milky white, likely blind.

Eyes that you know you've never seen on anyone else before.

Next to him, is a much more sullen-looking taller man. Taller by quite a bit, though they look the same age. He has longer white-blond hair tied into a loose ponytail, blue eyes, and... black scleras?

Surely you must be seeing things wrong. You use your camera to zoom in on them.

"I told you, fresh air does nothing," a more soft voice hisses, though there's no true anger in it. It sounds more... sad. Exhausted.

Zooming in on them doesn't help. You truly realize how tall they are—even the shorter one could still tower over you.

And then you realize the other part about them both that is unnatural.

They have tails. Tails like a snake, to be exact. The shorter man has a brown-gold tail, and the other has a light-brown tail, with darker brown-black markings.

That doesn't make sense. No way you aren't hallucinating. There isn't any poisonous fungi around here, right?

It's impossible, yet you keep looking through the lens at those two men.

You accidentally snap a photo of the pair, both of them whipping their heads in your direction immediately.

In a moment of sheer panic, you start sprinting away. Your heart races in your chest so hard it might just break out as you force yourself to run faster than you ever have in your life.

You look back after some time, and you're too distracted to notice the raised tree root, tripping over it and hitting the ground with a thud.

To make matters worse, you tumble down a hill and roll onto the cold rocky shore of the lake. Your head is throbbing, and you try to sit up only to get dizzy. You press the palm of your hand to your forehead, pulling it back and seeing red. With a wince, you notice the small scrape on your arm that's also bleeding, plus your knee hurts from when you landed on the rocks.

The voices come back from a distance, but still close enough for you to hear them.

"What do you think it was?" the softer voice asks. The one from the taller man you assume was melancholic—based on his slumped posture—though now you can clearly detect curiosity. "A deer?"

"I can smell its blood," the other voice murmurs. "Doesn't smell like deer. Whatever it is, I'm hungry," he states excitedly.

Oh god. You feel even dizzier than before, and not from your fall, either. You manage to stand, ignoring how unbalanced you are as you run towards a large boulder sitting near the shore of the lake. You hide behind it, praying they don't find you.

Your luck quickly runs out.

A hand grabs your ankle and drags you out of your hiding place, so quickly you don't even have time to react.

They both gasp. You look up at them both in fear, trembling underneath their gazes. You glance towards your camera; it didn't take a beating from the fall, somehow.

Not like it now matters. This is where you meet your death, you're sure of it. So you shut your eyes, and await the inevitable.

"A human," the taller one whispers. "Oh, Winslow, look at them...!" He coos, scooping you up into his arms with a scary amount of ease. His gaze softens. "A baby. Aren't they precious? They look so perfect... Look how little they are..." He sounds adoring, talking to you as if you're an animal who can't understand him.

But wait. Does he know you can?

"You're right, Cassian," the other one chuckles, running one of his claws gently across your face.

"My hatchling," Cassian shakily says. His grip on you somehow tightens. "I won't let anything happen to you... not like..." His voice cracks, like he might cry.

"Cassian," Winslow chides gently. "This time we won't lose them. I promise you." He looks down at you, smiling, but... it looks strange.

"Right. It'll be different this time," Cassian agrees, blinking tears away. They both seem to have this inside conversation, and your presence seems to have slipped their mind. Until the attention shifts back to you, anyway. "Our baby must be so scared," Cassian coos sadly, petting your head. "That was such a tumble you took..."

You continue to pretend to not understand them. Maybe if they realize you aren't comprehending their words, they'll leave you be.

"They probably have no idea what's happening! Poor thing..." Winslow sighs.

Cassian hums. You crack open one eye to see him staring at you fondly. When you first met gazes, he looked depressed; exhausted. Now he looks content and at peace, even.

You start to wriggle, trying to escape his hold. You manage to get yourself out, but your injuries don't allow you to run anywhere.

Winslow acts faster, grabbing you again into his arms this time, which are more thick and muscular. "No no no, sweetheart, don't hurt yourself!" Winslow exclaims. "It's okay, don't cry! Papa's here!" He bounces you in his arms, like soothing a crying baby.

And unfortunately, you realize he's not lying, because you can feel the tears streaming down your cheeks, burning the cut by your mouth as you sob.

They're much larger than you. There's no escape. Not right now, anyway. So you lay limp in Winslow's arms, sniffling, knowing it will help nothing.

"We're taking them," Cassian mumbles, but his tone leaves no room for argument.

Winslow pecks the side of your head. "Of course we are."

The exhaustion from the past hours suddenly catches up with you.

...

When you wake up, you hear the sound of humming, accompanied by a fire. You're wrapped in something that doesn't feel quite like a blanket... or any fabric, for that matter.

You struggle to move at first, feeling dizzy, until your vision finally focuses and you can see where you are.

The cave is somewhat dark, but there's a large hole showing sunlight, a large tree beneath the sunlight, roots reaching through the top.

Vines cover the ceiling and most of the walls, making for a very natural yet cozy-looking place.

You look down and realize the 'blanket' isn't a blanket at all. It's... a tail, leading up to reveal who you remember as Winslow. The memories from earlier flood back into your brain, causing you to shrink under his touch.

He's laying next to you, asleep. One of his arms is underneath your head like a pillow, and his tail has curled itself around you.

There's a fire crackling. You lift your head to see Cassian tending to it, cooking something in the flames. The heat from it warms the cave nicely. Your head starts to pound as soon as you've raised it too far off the makeshift pillow that is Winslow's arm.

Suddenly Cassian whips around at the sound of your slight whimper, moving faster than you would have ever guessed possible.

"Good morning, my little one," he whispers, brushing some hair off of your face, examining your forehead. "Poor dear," he sighs sympathetically. "Papa and Baba will take good care of you."

"Baba?" you repeat. You panic for a moment when you see Cassian blink in shock.

"Oh, Cass! They said 'Baba'!" Winslow gasps.

Oh, thank goodness. They both still have no clue you can truly understand them. You try your hardest to play up the innocent act. Winslow hugs you, cuddling you close to him and kissing your cheeks repeatedly, making kissy noises.

You get the impression these two have no experience with humans. If they did, they would likely notice your skin crawling at the interaction.

Then you're scooped up again into Cassian's arms. You squirm, kicking your legs against him, which makes his smile grow wider.

"So lively!" he chuckles. He holds you by tucking you into his arm as he feeds the fire more wood with his free hand.

"Are they acting fussy, love?" Winslow asks, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he gets up. He makes grabby hands towards you.

"I guess you could say that," Cassian replies, handing you over to Winslow. "I think it's simply normal, though. Maybe this is a sign they are hungry. Don't worry, sweetheart, food is almost done."

Food. You're unsure how your stomach feels about that.

After the events that occurred, you feel... hollowed out. Like all your energy is sapped from you. Maybe it actually is. You're a bit achy all over after you went tumbling down the hill.

What a horrible day. But you wonder, what did they mean before? About this time it would be different? What happened?

Maybe you don't want to know. In all honesty, you shouldn't care. You just want to get out of here.

Cassian stands near the fire, seemingly cooking meat of some sort, with vegetables on sticks. It smells heavenly, despite your nerves and lack of appetite.

"Look at what we're having for dinner, hatchling!" Cassian coos. "Doesn't it look so yummy?"

Well... it does.

Winslow hugs you tight, his chin resting on your head. You squirm uncomfortably in his hold again, but it does absolutely nothing except cause Winslow to pull you impossibly closer. It makes sense why you're unable to escape from him, considering he could probably crush a tree trunk with just his arms. He seems stronger than Cassian despite being shorter.

But not short compared to you in the slightest.

Eventually, Cassian pulls away the fire-roasted vegetables from the fire and sets them aside on some makeshift plates made out of bark from birch trees.

Then he turns to the meat skewered on a large stick.

"Food is served!" Cassian announces.

Cassian scoops you up from Winslow's arms again. He gently sets you on a cushion made of moss, and sits down beside you. "Dinner," he says. He smiles when you don't reply, assuming it's because you don't understand him.

Or at least that's what you hope he assumes.

He basically hand-feeds you, delicately placing bites of vegetable in your mouth. It's surprisingly tasty and well-seasoned. Maybe it's your hunger making everything taste better.

Winslow eats his much less elegantly than his partner, finishing it all relatively quickly. Only after does he look at you, his smile soft, but almost sad. "I'm so glad we can be a family again."

Family?

"Me too," Cassian smiles, but it seems melancholic, his eyebrows turning downwards as if reminiscing about something.

"What's wrong?" Winslow frowns, tilting his head. He knows exactly what's wrong.

"I should've protected them all better," Cassian sniffles. His blue eyes begin to gloss over. "It never should have happened."

"It wasn't your fault," Winslow soothes. "Don't ever believe that for even a second, darling."

"If I was stronger—"

"No, don't blame yourself." Winslow scoots over to hold his mate. "Please don't. You know we couldn't do anything."

Cassian nods solemnly. "Thank you..." He sighs sadly. "It doesn't make me miss our other babies any less. But this time, it'll be different." He then looks over at you. "Won't it, little one?" You feel a spike of embarrassment when he wipes your cheek with the pad of his thumb, catching a crumb left over. "Messy, messy," he tuts, but his tone is somewhat playful.

Winslow kisses your forehead. "They certainly eat like a hatchling."

You'd be more insulted if you weren't so focused on their previous conversation.

It's obvious they've had past children, though you can assume they were likely still eggs when they lost them. But who—or what—hurt them?

Whoever it was, you're sure either of them showed no mercy.

Your thoughts are interrupted when Cassian gently grasps your arm, lifting it up and squinting. You realize most of the injured parts of your body are wrapped neatly with makeshift bandages.

"These will need to be rewrapped later," Cassian murmurs. "Luckily they'll heal fast, considering how young you are... Humans scar much easier than our kind does, it seems."

Cassian shifts behind you. A tail comes slithering forward and wraps around you loosely, yet securely.

His tail is much softer and smoother than Winslow's, less scaly. You guess he's some kind of constrictor snake. You squeak when his soft tail squeezes you slightly, like an affectionate embrace.

As you sit there, stuck in the coils of a creature that can easily kill you, all you feel is dazed, exhausted, and confused.

Winslow places the leftovers into a pot, then moves it near the entrance to the cave. Next, he takes the dirty bark plates, exiting the cave presumably to clean them outside.

"Come here, baby," Cassian whispers, pulling you backwards until your back is pressed against his chest. "Baba's got you." It's a possessive hold. You try to squirm away, but it only causes him to hold you tighter. He's careful with where he touches, being mindful of your injuries. You bite your tongue to distract yourself from the stinging pain in your head.

He continues to speak lovingly to you as his grip gradually tightens around your form, like a snake would coil around its prey. It hurts, but not nearly as bad as some of the wounds you have.

Eventually he loosens his grip, letting you catch your breath as he cradles you instead. It makes your stomach twist with guilt when you realize he's crying.

"You won't leave us," he mumbles softly. He's so delicate and gentle; like he's afraid you'll break.

It's hard to imagine that someone who can handle you with such tenderness could snap you like a twig if he wanted to.

"We love you so much already," he sobs. His arms come up around you again, clutching you protectively, desperately. As if you could leave at any given moment.

Even if you wanted to (which you very much do), his tail's grip on you is strong enough to keep you in place.

...

You don't know how long its been since you were taken away. The sun is rising through the top of the cave opening when you wake up in the morning, but that doesn't tell you how many days you've been here.

A few, you've deduced. At least three, but possibly more.

Cassian tends to the wound on your head multiple times a day. It has a constant bandage over it now. Your sprained knee and scraped-up arm aren't wrapped anymore, since they've healed nicely according to him.

You hate to admit you're now a bit curious about these two nagas.

More specifically, what happened to their past children? Were they like humans? Naga hybrids, or full nagas?

Why did they take you?

These questions—and many more—swirl through your head while you eat another plate is prepared by Cassian. It's starting to drive you crazy, how curious you are. You want to ask them. You need to know, like an itch begging to be scratched. The only reason you haven't, is because you hope to still give them the impression you're just the dumb human (child?) they believe you to be.

Once breakfast is over, you've finished eating all Winslow has fed you, so he lays on a mattress made of moss and vines that hangs between two trees in the cave. It's basically a hammock.

Winslow seems more emotional, openly clingy, but more scary, despite being the smaller naga.

Meanwhile Cassian has the aura of a stern but caring mother. He's patient and nurturing, and clearly devoted. Terrifyingly devoted.

What makes your chances of escape worse, much to your dread, is the fact you've gathered Cassian is mostly nocturnal, while Winslow is mostly awake during the day.

Most of the time, Winslow likes sleeping on the ground, while Cassian prefers the tree or hammock.

It's hard to have them both sleep at the same time unless its a short nap. Not to mention, Cassian seems to rouse easily.

So you continue playing along with the child role. Hopefully they'll grow careless as you gain their trust and let you go do your own things.

You'll escape one way or another. You don't intend to stay and play house with them forever.

Something to your advantage you have noticed, is Cassian is much slower than his mate, probably about a similar speed to your own if you were to break out into a sprint.

Winslow, however, is quick and fast. From what you've seen, at least.

Hopefully you won't have to test those odds.

For that reason, you've decided the smartest course of action would be to attempt escaping during the night rather than day, since that's when Winslow will be sleeping. Yet that still comes with the next challenge; Cassian keeps his eye on you just as often as Winslow does, sometimes even more. He spends a lot of the time curled around you, watching you closely as you play with twigs or leaves he hands you.

He thinks it's adorable, seeing you play around with them like a baby with building blocks, or something to that effect.

At first you didn't even bother wasting energy trying to entertain yourself, but with Cassian's expectant gaze boring holes into you, you figured doing something wouldn't hurt.

Playing around with various objects helps the time pass, too. It's not much, but better than nothing.

Soon enough, nightfall falls upon the forest once more.

One thing you have learned during the small handful of nights spent in captivity is that Winslow has a habit of sleep-cuddling, clinging, and often mumbling in his sleep. Sometimes you can understand his sleepy speech, other times it sounds like a bunch of slurred mumbles.

Your sleep schedule has become pretty unpredictable, having two "parents" who only spend a few hours awake at the same time normally.

Regardless, you think this might help your potential plan. If Winslow is holding you tightly, all you have to do is somehow wriggle out of his arms and tiptoe around Cassian in order to get to the opening of the cave.

And then hope you make it out without being caught, considering you'll be traversing the forest in almost complete darkness.

You toss and turn in Winslow's grip, which makes his grasp on you tighten even further. It's less suffocating than Cassian's, but still not pleasant. You let out a frustrated sigh. If you can get him to loosen his hold, you can crawl out.

With enough shifting and shimmying around in his grasp, it works.

His arms slip away from you, leaving you free. Somehow. It must be fate granting you this luck. A chance opportunity you'd be crazy not to take advantage of.

Your feet hit the cold stone floor quietly. It doesn't stir Winslow from his slumber at all. Just as you expected, though. He's a heavy sleeper.

The challenge is going to be sneaking past his husband, who you know is wide awake and probably outside now. At night he usually is hunting or collecting resources.

Or keeping watch.

If your luck is consistent, maybe he'll be off doing something else and your chances of successfully escaping will grow significantly.

All you know is you have to at least try.

You make your way to the entrance, pausing every time the leaves rustle or twigs crack under your feet.

Walking slowly is painful. All you want to do is run. Run out and never return.

The air becomes more crisp and cool as you approach the front of the cave. With a last glance behind you to ensure Winslow hasn't stirred, you inch yourself forward through the last stretch of tunnel leading into the wilderness. Moonlight shines through the leaves above you. Crickets chirp softly. Your eyes begin to adjust to the dim light of the forest.

There's a path. You're positive this trail leads back to the road that passes through the woods.

The faster you walk, the louder your movements become, snapping branches and crunching leaves under you. And still, you continue to push forward until you're practically sprinting through the foliage.

Your lungs burn, your limbs ache, and your muscles feel weak, but adrenaline pumps through your veins as you fight against the pain to reach your goal.

Finally, you spot a small sign marking where the path splits off into two directions; one leading to town, the other going deeper into the forest towards who knows where.

And then...

"I smell them," Cassian's voice rasps. He doesn't sound far away at all. "Sweetheart?! Where are you?!" he calls. "Oh, they must be so scared..."

Then, Winslow's voice. "We'll find them, darling. I won't let them get far."

You panic, diving into the nearest bush to hide. Its thorns dig into your skin painfully. You have to bite your hand in order to not cry out in pain. Tears stream down your face, but you dare not make a single noise. Your breathing slows to almost nothing as you struggle to contain sobs.

"How could this happen?" Cassian whispers. Just from the sound of his voice, you can tell he's been crying, too. "I can't lose another one, Winslow..."

"We won't, love. We won't. It'll be okay."

You can hear Cassian's choked sobbing now. They both must be nearby. Very nearby. Too close for comfort, that's for sure.

But if they're comforting each other, that means you can possibly sneak around them while they're distracted.

It's worth a shot. Maybe the only one you'll have.

As silently as possible, you crawl on your hands and knees away from the voices, making sure to avoid stepping anywhere near them in case they hear movement. They don't seem to notice, so you move faster, hoping to put distance between you.

Unfortunately, with how dark it is out here, you stumble upon a rock and fall face-first onto the ground with a loud thud.

Cassian's tearful sobbing stops suddenly.

Your heart pounds wildly.

"Oh, honey! B-Baba is coming, stay where you are," Cassian cries, followed by a deep inhale, no doubt to scent you out, now that he knows the general direction you're in.

The way he says it makes you wonder if he even thinks you purposefully tried escaping. Does he truly believe you think of them as your family?

Of course, you don't listen. You take off as fast as you can, climbing over fallen logs and weaving through the dense underbrush. Anything to get farther and farther away from where you are now. However, the more you move, the louder you become. More twigs and dry leaves crunching beneath you, no doubt leading them to you even more.

But what else are you supposed to do? It's not like you have many options at this point.

You need to escape.

Even though Cassian isn't quick, Winslow is.

And boy does he live up to that observation.

In a flash of golden scales, you're thrown to the ground. The dirt cakes onto you, and before you can fully react, Winslow scoops you up into his arms, holding you as tight as possible without crushing you. You thrash and kick as much as you can, trying desperately to break free from his iron-like grip.

"Don't worry! Papa's here! Ssh ssh ssh!" Winslow hushes, kissing your forehead frantically, like a worried parent. He's looking over your body, checking for new injuries or cuts you could've obtained.

Cassian catches up, much more out of breath. You can tell from the tremble in his tone how angry he is, how concerned, how hurt and betrayed he feels. He kneels down to meet you and Winslow's crouched position, hugging you both so tight you wheeze.

"Let me go!" you yell. At this point, you don't care about being silent to them anymore. "I'm not your kid!"

That startles them both. They stare at you with wide eyes, jaws slackened.

"You can... speak?" Winslow gawks. His pupils shrink into tiny slits.

"Did you think all humans couldn't speak, or did you just assume I couldn't?" You shake your head. "It doesn't matter. Let me go!" You try escaping with even more fervor, trying to claw your way out, anything.

"Honey," Cassian whispers, trembling. It's as if you've broken him, and part of you hates it. "This entire time you understood us...?"

"Yes! And I have my own family! Please, let me see my family!" you wail. This isn't fair. You didn't do anything wrong. "They probably think I died..." The thought alone makes you choke up with tears.

Winslow frowns, turning his face to bury himself into your hair. "You are home," he croaks. His hug on you gets stronger.

"No I'm not!" you protest. You bite down on Winslow's arm, hard enough to draw blood. He recoils, which gives you a brief window of opportunity, allowing you to slip through their hands momentarily.

Cassian wastes no time in recapturing you. "Stop, please stop! You'll get yourself hurt!" he pleads. It's not long before you're completely trapped by his tail wrapping around you snugly once more.

"No! You stole me from my life! I can't stay here!" you cry, struggling harder against his coils. "Please!"

Cassian frowns, exchanging glances with Winslow, who looks more equally frustrated and hurt. His hand holds the bleeding bitemark. You refuse to feel guilty for it. Winslow looks ready to scold you, but Cassian puts his free hand on his forearm.

"They don't know any better, sweetheart," Cassian tells him, expression strained. "They're just frightened and overwhelmed."

Winslow's anger wanes a little bit.

"But, we saved them! Why don't they understand that?" Winslow asks desperately, as if you still can't communicate. He runs his fingers through his hair nervously, looking down at you like he needs validation from you that he's done a good job taking care of you.

You don't want to give that to him.

"I don't belong here," you protest, squirming around angrily in your cocoon of Cassian's tail.

"You do belong here," Cassian argues. His expression turns upset to worried when he notices how hard you're breathing. "Breathe, dear. You're going to hyperventilate."

When your breathing only gets worse, he cups your cheeks and guides your head to tilt upwards, looking him directly in the eyes.

His eyes are glowing, colors swirling inside of them.

"Breath slow," he commands. "Follow Baba."

As Cassian counts up and down, demonstrating to you with exaggerated breaths, Winslow rubs your back soothingly with the hand that isn't injured, making shushing noises in hopes of calming you down.

And unfortunately, it works. You feel tired, so much so that even thinking is hard.

"Calm now, sweetie? No more fussing?" he coos hopefully. The strange swirls in his irises are gone now.

"...Mhm..." you murmur reluctantly, barely audible. Your eyelids flutter open and closed, feeling weighed down as if lead is tied to them. Drowsiness settles deep within your bones. There's no use in fighting against it. Not right now, anyway. Sleep wins over escape, apparently. You rest your head against his shoulder defeatedly.

"There we are..." Cassian whispers. "No more running."

Winslow looks around. "We should start heading home. I can carry them back, you look tired." Winslow holds out his arms expectantly.

Cassian hesitates briefly before handing you off to Winslow's embrace, where he proceeds to snuggle you closer into his chest.

"Are you sure? I did wake you up early..."

"I'll be okay, love," Winslow smiles tiredly. "Besides, I'd feel better having them in my arms right now. I'm still processing that they could understand us this whole time..." he sighs.

Cassian frowns sadly, brushing the hair off of your forehead. "Me too... but that's a conversation for tomorrow. Let's go home"

[camficdiner]

Heyy can I get [1.1]

[2.9]

[3.5]

[4.3]

Age gap younger woman!

Thank you 🤍

☕️ Cam’s Fic Diner — Order 056

🍒 thank you for your order, angel.

you brought enemies, jealousy, rival teams, and an age gap straight into my kitchen and said “make it feral, but then tuck it into bed with a wine glass and a salad.”

i hope jack’s possessiveness hit exactly where you needed it to, and that the dinner scene made you giggle and gag in equal measure 😌

come back anytime — your table’s always open at the diner

💬 “You Can’t Hide Love in the NHL (But You Can Try)”

✨ Description and prompts:

– Character: Jack Hughes

– Prompt: Secret relationship + age gap + jealousy & possessiveness

– Tropes: rivals to lovers, secret dating, age gap, possessive smut, brother interrogation

– WC: ~2k

🛼🧁✨🍒

You’d both agreed to keep it private.

The league didn’t need to know. The fans didn’t need to know. The teams sure as hell didn’t need to know — especially since you wore a Rangers jersey and Jack Hughes bled Devils red.

The media would have torn it apart. The age gap. The rivalry. The way you chirped each other on the ice. (“Nice toe drag, Hughes — did your brother teach you that in preschool?”)

No one would’ve believed it was real. And maybe for a while, you didn’t either.

It started quiet. Off-season workouts. Shared glances in training facilities. A chirped text here and there.

Then a kiss.

Then another.

Then Jack pressing you against a locker room door at 2 AM, saying, “We’re not supposed to be doing this,” while undressing you anyway.

But it stayed secret. It had to.

Until tonight.

You’re in the middle of a regular-season game against the Flyers when it happens — you’re flying along the boards, puck at your stick, when someone on the opposing team doesn’t like how fast you’re moving. The hit slams into your shoulder and sends you crashing against the glass hard enough to draw a groan from the crowd.

Jack sees it happen from the stands.

He’s there with his brothers — Quinn flew in for a few days, and Luke tagged along for sibling bonding. And of course, they’d suggested catching a Rangers game.

Jack hadn’t said why he agreed so fast.

He sits there, jaw clenched, fists locked on his thighs, eyes burning into the glass.

“Jesus,” Luke mutters as you get up slowly, shaking your helmeted head, waving off the trainer.

“You know her?” Quinn asks, not looking away from the rink.

Jack’s quiet. Too quiet.

You’re back on the ice in seconds. Like nothing happened. Just another hit in the game. But Jack can’t sit still. His leg bounces. His gaze hasn’t moved from you in five full minutes.

After the final buzzer, you’re pulled for post-game press. You’re laughing. A little sore, but fine.

Then Matt Rempe walks in — all 6’8” of him — and slides onto the stool beside you like he owns the place.

The press eats it up. You’re giggling. He’s chirping you. Some reporter asks what your ideal date is and Matt leans in and says, “She likes soft serve and horror movies, right?”

You’re blushing.

The entire room loses it.

Jack stands up from his seat so suddenly Quinn reaches for his arm. “Whoa. Dude. Chill.”

“They’re friends,” Luke says, tilting his head. “I think?”

Jack’s jaw tightens.

Quinn raises an eyebrow. “You wanna tell us what’s going on?”

Jack doesn’t answer right away.

You’re still on the screen in the hallway outside the suite, laughing beside Rempe. He reaches out and fixes your hair — just casually — and Jack snaps.

“She’s mine,” he says, voice low.

Luke blinks. “What?”

Jack’s already walking. Hands on his hips. Pacing the suite.

“I’m seeing her. We’ve been… it’s been a few months,” he mutters. “Since pre-season.”

Quinn’s stare sharpens. “The Rangers forward? She’s barely twenty.”

“She’s twenty-one. She’s not a kid.”

“She’s also a Ranger,” Luke points out. “You realize how bad this looks, right?”

“I don’t give a shit how it looks,” Jack snaps. “I’ve been sitting on this for months while everyone talks about her like she’s just hot. Like she’s just some new headline. And now I’m supposed to sit here while they push her and Rempe like they’re some— some power couple?”

“No one’s saying you have to—”

“She’s mine,” Jack says again, and this time it sounds feral.

Quinn crosses his arms. “You sure this is more than just… wanting what you can’t have?”

Jack turns to him. Staring. Wild-eyed. “I’m sure.”

Luke exhales through his nose. “Then let us meet her.”

Jack stops moving.

Quinn nods. “If you’re serious about this… then let’s see what the fuss is about.”

---

Jack doesn’t say a word on the way home.

He drives with one hand clenched tight on the wheel, the other resting on your thigh like a silent claim — a brand that says mine, even in the dark.

You barely make it through the front door before he’s on you.

His hands are under your jacket, mouth crashing into yours like a punishment. You gasp, try to speak, but he cuts you off with his tongue and a growl in your throat.

“That’s what you do now?” he mutters against your skin, dragging you backwards toward the bedroom. “Giggling with Rempe? Letting him touch you on live TV?”

You pull away just long enough to breathe. “We’re friends, Jack. We’ve always—”

He grabs your jaw, not hard, just firm. Possessive. “He’s not your friend tonight.”

Your back hits the bed. Jack’s already undoing his belt, his eyes dark and unforgiving. “You knew I was watching.”

You lick your lips, head spinning. “That’s not fair—”

“Open your mouth.”

You hesitate for half a second, but your body knows him. Your body wants him — especially like this. Especially when he’s jealous and starved and looking at you like he might break.

You kneel.

Jack exhales a sound that’s half growl, half laugh. “God, look at you.”

He’s thick and flushed in your hand, already leaking. You barely wrap your fingers around him before he says again — quieter now, like a prayer:

“Open. Now.”

You do.

He doesn’t ease in — not at first. Not when his blood’s still boiling and your lips are so fucking pretty and there’s still the ghost of Rempe’s name in your mouth. He sinks into your throat, slow but relentless, holding your hair back with one hand and using the other to tilt your chin just right.

You choke. Gag a little. He groans — loudly.

“Yeah,” he pants. “That’s it, sweetheart. Let me hear it.”

You make a sound, mouth full, eyes glassy, hands gripping his thighs. He starts to move — shallow at first, then deeper. Every thrust forces another tear down your cheek.

“You wanna make me jealous?” he rasps. “You wanna let the whole league think you’re single?”

You try to shake your head, but he doesn’t let you. “No, baby. Say it. Say who you belong to.”

You pull off with a wet gasp, spit clinging to your lips. “You, Jack.”

He nods, wild-eyed. “Fucking right you do.”

He fucks your mouth like he needs it — like it’s the only way he knows how to calm down. His hips snap faster. You gag again, but don’t pull back.

When he finally finishes, it’s messy and deep. You swallow it on instinct, throat burning, heart thudding. He pulls out, watching your mouth as you breathe, wrecked and flushed and perfect.

Then —

A knock on the front door.

You both freeze.

Jack curses, dragging a hand down his face. “Fuck. They’re early.”

You blink. “What?”

He grabs your hand and pulls you up. “Dinner. My brothers. Remember?”

You stare at him, still on your knees. “You just fucked my throat like—”

“I know,” he says, tossing you a sweater. “You’ll be fine.”

You’re not fine. Not even a little. But ten minutes later, you’re at the table, pretending.

The dining room is cozy. Candles lit. Wine poured. You’ve brushed your hair and wiped your lips raw, but Jack’s fingerprints are still on your hips, your throat still tight.

Quinn gives you a polite smile. Luke keeps glancing between you and Jack.

You try to act normal. Pass the salad. Talk about the Flyers game. Compliment Quinn’s watch.

But under the table, Jack’s hand rests on your thigh again. Thumb rubbing slow circles. Quiet, grounding, and dangerous.

“Thanks for having us,” Quinn says at one point. “Sorry if it’s weird.”

You smile sweetly. “Not at all. Jack said it was time we met.”

Quinn raises an eyebrow. “Did he now?”

Jack shrugs, sipping his wine. “I’m not hiding her anymore.”

Your stomach flips.

Luke squints. “You okay, dude? You’re acting weird.”

Jack grins. “I’m great.”

You nudge him under the table.

He turns to you, all fake-innocent. “More salad, baby?”

You don’t speak. You just glare.

Because you both know the only thing full is your throat.

----

The second the front door closes behind you, Jack exhales like he’s been holding in air for hours.

You disappear down the hall to bed, hoodie half-off, still wearing his sweatpants, hair a little damp from the fastest shower on Earth. You don’t even look back. Just a sleepy, mumbled “night,” and he’s sure you’re out cold within minutes.

He turns to his brothers.

“Okay,” he says. “Let’s go.”

Luke and Quinn don’t respond. Just follow him silently into the quiet street outside your place. They walk a few blocks — the air cool, the streetlights low — and then it comes.

“Are you serious about her?” Quinn asks.

Jack sighs. “Yeah.”

Luke kicks at a loose pebble on the sidewalk. “You’re not just fucking around? She’s like, barely older than me.”

“I know.”

“And a Ranger.”

“I know.”

Quinn stops walking. Turns to face him. “Jack, this isn’t like every other girl you’ve pulled. This is different. You’re different.”

Jack meets his eyes. “I know.”

There’s a beat of silence.

“I’m in love with her,” Jack says. Quiet. Solid. Like he’s known it for a while but needed the right moment to say it.

Quinn stares at him. Luke squints like he misheard.

Jack keeps going. “I’ve never felt like this before. Not with anyone. And yeah, she’s young, and yeah, she plays for the wrong damn team, but—she’s it for me.”

Luke blinks. “So… you’re gonna marry a Ranger?”

“Eventually,” Jack mutters, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. “Yeah. If I don’t fuck it up first.”

Quinn is quiet again. Then — finally — he huffs a small, reluctant laugh.

“She’s cool,” he admits. “Fierce, too. Like, terrifying.”

“She’s kinda scary,” Luke adds.

Jack smirks. “Yeah. She’s a little psycho. I like it.”

Luke kicks his shoulder. “You’re so down bad it’s embarrassing.”

“I literally walked in on you dry heaving into her hoodie once,” Quinn deadpans. “You were like, in love with the scent.”

“I did not dry heave—”

“Jack,” Quinn cuts him off, “just take care of her. And if you fuck this up, you’ll have both of us to deal with.”

Jack nods. No smile this time. “I know.”

The three of them walk back toward the apartment. Jack’s a little quieter. A little softer. But he’s smiling now — the kind that says mine.

And when he steps back into your bedroom, you’re already half-asleep, curled up in his hoodie, one hand reaching for him even in your dreams.

Yeah.

You’re it.

[solaris-amethyst]

💫Meteor Shower💫

✨Pairing: pokémontrainer!Mingi x pokémontrainer!gn!reader ✨Prompt: Mingi decides to take you to see the meteor shower and ask you some very important questions. He just have to manage to ask you to go watch the meteor shower first. That shouldn't be too hard now should it? ✨Genre: pokemon au, fluff, romance (Mingi is doing his best to confess), ✨Rating: pg-13 ✨Word count: 7.4k ☀️Authors note: Mingis oneshot is here! Did I have lots of fun writing this one as well? Yes I did! Had to fight autocorrect on how to spell Bagon because it wanted to change it into Bacon all the time... And yes Yunho's and Mingis oneshot is loosely connected to each other😅 let's pretend I didn't post this one day later than I said I would. 🌟Tag list: @hongjoongspoetry @tournesol155

This was so frustrating. You, Mingi and Yunho were supposed to start your journey together through Hoenn after graduating from college. The three of you had even decided on who would pick which starter before you'd visit Professor Birch's lab in Littleroot town.

And now all of that planning had gone to waste.

Yunhos parents had decided that all of them would move to a far away region named Alola after you three had graduated and there was nothing none of you could do or say to put a stop to it. Yunho barely got any time to say goodbye to you two before he was whisked away on a plane.

Therefore the carefully crafted plan the three of you had made for how you'd travel and what you'd finally do on your journey had been ripped apart.

You and Mingi had still gone to get your very first pokémon's together. Yunho had specifically told the both of you to start your journey together and to make sure to do all you both wanted to do. He had then also whisked Mingi away from you and the two of them had whispered to each other looking very serious as they were bent trying to hide behind a plant as they spoke. Only problem was the plant may have been tall but they were significantly taller than said plant.

You had ended up laughing so much at their silliness you'd almost tripped over your own feet when making your way over to ask them what on earth they were doing. To which both had fumbled and almost knocked the plant over as they both denied even talking to each other.

And now here you and Mingi were, partners next to each other as you wandered into a new little town called Misty Village which is located in-between Slateport city and Mauville city. Mingi was holding his partner torchic in his hands, the tiny little chick pokémon could not keep up with her trainers long legs and would constantly make a fuss if she had to walk on the ground next to Mingi, resulting in your friend carrying her most of the time to please "her royal highness" as he had lovingly dubbed her. Your partner on the other hand was happily trotting next to you, finding joy in just walking with you. You glanced down at your mudkip who was easily one of the happiest pokémons you'd ever come across. There never seemed to be a dull moment with him around and was there one thing he loved doing then it was sightseeing.

Sometimes when you two sat up camp he'd find the most scenic place to just sit and take it all in, often your whismur would join him in sightseeing while your third and currently final pokémon shroomish would scoff and follow you instead like a little shadow.

It was funny really how both you and Mingi had three pokémon each, the two of you hadn't meant to have the same amount of friends but it just happened so naturally that neither of you questioned it. You're brought out of your daydreaming when you hear Mingi chuckle for himself causing you to look at your friend curiously.

"What are you giggling about?" You ask, taking in his smile and how his eyes are shining with such happiness.

I wonder if he'd ever look at me with such shining eyes. You muse to yourself before focusing back on what Mingi is about to say.

"I just realized I got two pokémon's who refuse to walk next to me because I walk too fast for their little legs and that both want to be carried all the time. Imagine if all of my friends ends up like Torchic and Bellossom?" He asks and torchic looks up at him with curious eyes letting out a little "Torchic?" as Mingi smiles and give her little head a kiss.

"Hmmmm it's either that or they turn out like Bagon who likes headbutting you from time to time." You mention and with that he giggles again.

"Then if I can choose I'll take a few more passenger princesses rather than more friends who will headbutt me or perhaps bite me." He says, thinking back to the most recent time bagon had headbutted him in the stomach.

He knows the little dragon pokémon means well and that that's how he shows affection. Mingi just wishes from time to time that he would show affection in a less brutal way. But the last time, Mingi had made a little cardigan for his friend with a pair of wings. It hadn't looked good at all and he had worked weeks upon weeks to sew the cardigan but bagon had been so happy he'd shed tears upon seeing the wings on the cardigan and then he had promptly headbutted Mingi in affection.

It was to the point where he never took it off and if Mingi tried just so he could wash it his friend would run and hide behind your leg, peeking out and scolding him from afar.

"Awww but he's just showing his affection for you Mingi! Plus you literally gave him wings, the one thing he wishes he could have so he could fly. That probably meant more to him than you know." You muse, nudging Mingis arm with your elbow.

"You're right, I know. Bellossom have now started to ask for a little bracelet... she often points at mine and then show her own little arms." He confesses and you feel your heart slowly melting at the affection he has for his friends.

"I think that would be cute, I could teach you how to bead a bracelet if you'd like? I just need to buy some material first." You tell him.

"You'd do that for me?"

"I'd do anything for you."

"I'd do anything for you as well Y/n." He says sincerely and he's reminded of the two tickets tucked away securely in one of the many pockets in his backpack.

Two tickets to the meteor shower in Mossdeep City at their Space Center. He wished to ask you if you wanted to go with him there and watch the meteor shower. It would be the perfect place to confess and ask if you wanted to be his partner. Yunho had encouraged him before he had to leave for the plane that he should take this time to actually confess to you. Claiming that it was easy to see you also had feelings for him, something Mingi had denied and said that couldn't possibly be true. Then Yunho had the audacity to say alright bet! So now if Yunho was correct he'd owe him lunch, drinks and dessert next time they see each other.

What Mingi doesn't know is that you also have feelings for him, it's just that you don't know how to bring it up and tell him about it. You had once confessed to Yunho about how you had tried once when you and Mingi worked on a project together in college only to chicken out in the last minute to which Yunho had tried to urge you to confess with a beaming smile and an attitude that said just do it you won't regret it.

"Hey Y/n, I was just wondering... Do you think you'd like t-" Mingi starts but is interrupted by your mudkip.

"Mudkip! Mud!" Your partner screeches in joy as you see him rush forward in happiness.

"Mudkip! Wait don't run too far!" You call after the little blue creature, sprinting after him in worry that you'd loose him in the crowd at this new place. Mingi sprints after you as well trying to keep his eyes on both you and your partner. He doesn't want to loose sight of either of you.

Your partner just calls back to you in happiness as he jumps into a fountain in the middle of the square you have entered where he swims around in happiness and splashes about.

"Mudkip! You can't just run away like that! What if I lost sight of you or you got lost!" You scolded your friend whose only response is to splash some water in your face and jump around laughing adorably.

"God you're impossible to stay mad at." You sigh as you bring out a towel to dry your face.

"Mudkip next time just tell us where you wanna go instead of running away and giving us both a heart attack thinking we might loose you." Mingi joins in on the scolding and the two of you can hear an older woman who's sitting at the fountain chuckle about how the two of you look like two parents scolding their child.

Does it cause Mingis face to turn beet red and yours to heat up to the point you think your face is on fire? Yes, yes it does and the two of you are quick to splutter out apologies to her for the commotion you four caused.

"Oh don't worry dearies, it's nice seeing trainers really care for their pokémons, it warms my heart. And this sweetheart just seemed to want to have some fun." She pets your mudkip who had swam up to her in curiosity as she spoke.

"I hope he didn't splash you with any water when he jumped in?" You ask worriedly, ready to offer up your towel in case she'd say yes.

"Oh no he didn't. I'm completely dry."

"That's good, Mudkip you and I will have to have a talk about running away after this." You grumble and he just nods happily as he swims up to the two of you and jumps up on the stones so you can pick him up with your towel to dry him.

"Well... At least we know people here are nice." Mingi mumbles as he looks around, he's slightly bummed he didn't manage to ask you about the tickets but the day isn't over, he will just try again soon he tells himself.

"We have a festival going on here in Misty Village if you two would be interested? There's all kinds of things to do, eat food, learning how to do pokéblocks, vendors selling things and more." The old lady kindly tells the two of you before she stands up and bids the two of you goodbye.

"Pokéblocks? I wonder what that is." You ask as you hold mudkip, still wrapped in your towel.

"Perhaps we should go and find out? It must be something for our pokémons and I wouldn't mind learning something new if It could benefit her royal highness." He says as torchic chirps out in happiness at her nickname.

"Let's go and see what they have to offer!" You grab his hand and wander into the crowd and towards all the different stalls.

Mingi has to fight the blush on his cheeks from you holding his hand and he can see how torchic laughs at his blushing face, she's clearly enjoying him being flustered over you taking action and holding his hand.

"Don't you laugh at me." He grumbles towards her quietly.

"Hey look! That stall is teaching about berries and their benefits! Let's go there! I wanna know more so we know what to pluck next time we see them!" You gasp as a young man is standing at a stall, berries lying neatly on his table with small notes next to each one.

"Hello! Care to learn a bit about berries and their benefits? You'll get some berries at the end of it if you'd like?" He asks when he spots the two of you walking closer.

"Yes please! We wanna know more!" You say happily and Mingi looks at you from behind with a fond look.

"Mudkip!" Your partner agrees with you.

"Of course I'll tell you everything you need to know!" The young man smiles happily as the four of you stand looking at what he's got displayed.

"Are all of these all of the berries you can find in the wild?" Mingi asks as he eyes the wide array of colorful berries on the table.

"Oh no these are only a handful of them! There are about 43 different kinds of berries in the wild here in Hoenn." The vendor tells him and both you and Mingi stare at him with wide eyes.

"43?!" The both of you exclaim at the same time and the vendor laughs heartily at your reaction.

"I know I reacted the same way when I first learned how many there were and they all do different things you know!" He picks some up and showcases them for you.

"I think I recognize some of these." You murmur as you point towards what you think is an oran berry and a pecha berry. "That one is an oran berry right? It helps heal your pokémon when they need energy and the pink one is a pecha berry which helps heal your pokémon if it's been poisoned right?"

"You would be correct! This one over here is commonly mistaken for a pecha berry but it's actually a magost berry and is more commonly used in either cooking or when making pokéblocks!" You and Mingi look closer at the two pink berries he's holding up, you note that the pecha berry has more of a heart shape and is a darker pink closer to the stem and down at the bottom is a lighter pink while the magost berry is just one solid pink and round instead of heart-shaped.

"Hey what kind of berry is this one?" Mingi asks as he picks up an orangy red berry that is round with what looks like spikes coming out of it.

"That is a tamato berry, it's very very very spicy. I would not recommend eating it or giving it to any of your pokémons. It will only lower their speed, if you wanna spice up your cooking it could be good to use in small quantities unless you can tolerate spice of course."

You look at Mingi as the vendor speaks and you can practically see the cogs turning in his head thinking that it cannot be that spicy and you just know he wants to try it despite being warned not to.

"Mingi... don't do it..." You try and take the berry away from him but that causes him to only turn his body away holding the berry as high as he can.

"No! I wanna try it."

"Mingi please last time you ate something super spicy you couldn't taste anything for three weeks."

"It can't be that spicy!" He argues as he looks at you with those big round eyes and you groan knowing you cannot say no or change his mind.

"Fine but don't come to me whining that you can't taste anything or that it's too hot for you!" You grumble, knowing that if he came to you whining that it's way too hot and spicy you'd try and help him in a heartbeat.

"Are you sure you wanna try it?" The vendor asks and Mingi just nod before taking the largest bite he could out of the darn berry. You stare at him as he chew slowly but surely and then he swallows it and at first you'd think there was nothing wrong at all until you notice the small beads of sweat traveling down his forehead and then you notice the red starting to creep up from his neck.

"T-torchic?" His partner looks at him concerned before wiggling out of his grip and jumping onto the table and runs over to you with worried eyes.

"Torchic?" She leans into you and you pet her little head as you watch Mingi go bright red in the face as he tries to pretend everything is fine.

"Mingi... you okay?" You ask, fearing he might pass out from how red he is.

"I'm... I'm fine." He says and he manages to uphold that facade for about three seconds before he starts gasping trying to cool his mouth down.

"It's hot! Y/n it feels like my mouth is on fire!! What do I do what do I do what do I do?!" He waves his hands around as he takes deep gulps of air and you panic looking around for something to cool him down.

"Umm water... we need water!" You start searching your bag but can't find anything. "Argh! Okay uhhh.. Oh! Mudkip!" You turn to your partner and point towards Mingi.

"Use water gun on Mingis face to help cool him down!!" You say and you can barely hear Mingis little "wait what" before mudkip blasts him with a stream of water in his face.

"Do you feel better now?" You ask hesitantly as he shakes his head trying to get rid of the water from his face.

"Yeah... Thanks to the both of you, I genuinely thought I was gonna explode from how hot it was."

Torchich runs back up to her trainer and look at him with worried eyes, is there another thing she absolutely hates then it's when one of you gets hurt. She's always very sweet and right now she's doing her best to check up on Mingi as tears forms seemingly as if she thinks he was hurt very badly.

"Hey, hey your royal highness, don't be upset. I promise I'm okay, I was just dumb trying to impress Y/n but I made a fool out of myself. I won't do it again okay?" He says with a gentle smile as he crouches down to her eye level. She looks at him with teary eyes before running up to him to nuzzle his face chirping.

Mingi picks her up and kisses her little head before turning to mudkip and crouching down to him.

"Hey buddy, thanks for blasting me with the water, it really helped." He smiles and mudkip jumps forward into his arms with happiness.

"I think we should abandon any thoughts of eating things people say are super, super, super spicy for the rest of the day." You mutter as you place your hand on your hip and he looks up at you and chuckles.

"Were you worried about me?" He teases with a smirk and you roll your eyes.

"Nooo..."

"You sure?"

"Okay maybe a little worried, you looked like you'd explode with how red you were." You confess trying to act nonchalant even though you had felt panic for a split second before remembering that mudkip was a water type and could therefore help out in the situation.

The two of you apologized to the vendor for the scene Mingi caused by going against what he had recommended and the young man only laughed and said that it was nice seeing two young adults actually interested in berries to the point where he gifted the two of you a book on berries in the wild and other herbs you can eat or use to help heal your pokémons. The two of you had tried to deny it but he insisted, saying it might be for Mingis best if you two had one so he don't go around eating other berries he shouldn't and end up in trouble again.

That had made Mingis face burn in embarrassment.

The two of you then wander down the street after bidding the man goodbye. The street is filled with people, old and young and their pokémons. It's surprisingly cozy and the atmosphere is great and it's a nice break from always being out on the road and sleeping in sleeping bags under the stars.

Which is great until it starts raining and the two of you have to try and set up a tent in panic. Leading to both of you sitting in said tent absolutely drenched.

"Hey Mingi." You start trying to muster up the courage to tell him you like him more than a friend since Yunho had encouraged you to do so a few months back.

"Yeah?"

"You know I-" You start but when you make eye contact with him it's like the words get lodged in your throat and you can't get it out. "You know what never mind, I forgot what I was gonna say." You say laughing awkwardly.

"Mudkip! Mud Mudkip!" Your partner points one of its stubby little legs at you with an accusatory tone as if scolding you for not telling him.

Mudkip did after all know about your feelings for your friend. You had told him plenty of times during restless nights when Mingi snored away in his sleeping bag. Your other friends knew as well as they sometimes refused to go to sleep if you were awake, shroomish would plop himself in your lap and just sit there, sometimes staring at you, sometimes chatting with you and one time he had even put you to sleep by using sleep powder on you. Something you had berated him for the next day and then promptly after that thanked him for the good nights sleep.

"Hey buddy I'm sure whatever Y/n wanted to tell me will come back soon. It happens to the best of us that we forget sometimes. Plus you know you can tell me anything, I'll always listen." He says in that lower voice he gets when he's being very sincere and mudkip looks at him and then huffs looking away to the side.

"Speaking of that ummm I was wondering if you want-" Some kids rush in between the two of you laughing as they chase a balloon and it stunts Mingi who once again feels like his moment to ask you about the meteor shower has been lost.

"What did you want to say Mingi?" You look at him, mentally making sure him and your partners are okay.

"Oh nothing we can take it a bit later I promise." He says before he barely have time to process the fact that he failed yet again.

You nod and look around seeing a place you wanna go to, it’s a stand where you can learn a bit more about taking care of your pokémons and they seem to be giving out bags with things inside for people visiting.

“Oohhh I wanna go over there! They seem to be helping with pokémon care and I’d like to ask them for some tips on taking care of Whismur, do you wanna come with me?” You turn to face Mingi who looks thoughtful for a moment before noticing another place.

“I think I’m gonna go over there to the flower stand, Bellossom would probably enjoy all the flowers.” He says as he thinks of his little grass friend and you smile fondly at him.

“Mudkip wanna come with me?” You ask your partner who is still in Mingis arms.

“Mud!” He wiggles out of Mingis grip and then jumps down onto the ground before trotting up to you happily.

“Shall we meet over at the gigantic flower pot in twenty minutes?” You ask thinking that that would be an appropriate time for the both of you to explore the two places you’d like to visit.

“Sure! See you soon?”

After that the two of you split up and as you walk over to the stand you’re greeted by a kind lady who asks what she can help you with and you tell her you’d want some tips on taking care of your whismur, letting her know that she often cries and doesn’t like when her fur gets wet leading to you finding it hard to clean her if she’s gotten extra dirty.

“Ah I see, it could just be that she has a very gentle nature, sometimes if they do they can feel a lot of things be very overwhelming all of the time. For cleaning her I’d suggest you try using a damp cloth instead of water, that way it might not feel as unpleasant as she thinks it is.” The lady explains and you nod thinking that what she has said might actually be true.

“Would it be okay if I brought her out so you could just perhaps do a little check?” You ask wanting to make sure her tips would actually work on her and not make it all worse.

“Of course, I’ll gladly have a look at her.” She says and you’re quick to bring whismur out of her pokeball.

“Hi Whismur.” You say happily as she looks around before spotting you and she perks up giving you the cutest little smile as she runs up to you.

“Whismur!” She greets you happily and the lady smiles at your interaction as you let her hold your hand in her little paws.

“Just from this interaction alone I can tell you care a lot for her and that she’s well taken cared of. She is probably the happiest Whismur I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a lot of them. None have been this happy as yours.”

“Wait really?!” You look at her in surprise before looking down again, happiness spreading in your chest at the thought of getting such nice praise for how you’re raising your pokémon.

“Yes really, Whismurs can be notoriously hard to take care of since they have such sensitive hearing and a lot of people dub them as cry babies so seeing yours calm, happy and generally content is a sight to behold. Good job!” Her praise makes you grin, it’s not often you get praise and getting this good praise from someone who knows what they’re talking about is something else.

She then brings over a damp towel and hands it to you so you can see if whismur will prefer it over just water. You take your time at the stall, asking her lots of questions regarding pokémon care and getting more tips for how to continue to take care of them in the best way possible.

In the other stall Mingi is sitting on the ground with his torchic on his left side as bellossom dances around in happiness at being surrounded by flowers everywhere. The vendors had told him he could make his own bouquet if he wanted to and hand it to someone he cared about and his first thought had been to create something for you. You had once during college mentioned offhandedly how you’d love to be gifted a bouquet of flowers some day and now he had his chance to gift you a bouquet he had made all on his own.

“Okay Torchic, Bellossom you two will have to help me here.” He leans down and gathers them closely as he lowers his voice to tell them what’s going on. ”I want to make a bouquet for Y/n but I need your help in picking which flowers goes nicely together. Think you two can help with that?”

Torchic jumps up and down before nodding happily while bellossom does some little twirls around as she puts her little paws up to her face looking absolutely delighted at the request.

”Bell, bellossom!” She’s quick to point out some baby’s breath together with some sunflowers as she looks at Mingi with intensity.

”Okay yeah we can go with those two.” He nods as he plucks some and starts building the bouquet together.

”Do you two think I should add some carnations?” He adds as he holds up some darker red ones together with a few white ones as well and torchic nods seemingly approving of his choice to add the two pretty flowers.

The three of them sit for a while building the bouquet together, torchic demands he add some thistles as she spots them to which he does because who is he to deny her anything? He soon sits in silence, tongue sticking out lightly as he concentrates on making the bouquet pretty and after what felt like an eternity he thinks he’s done. He had added som greenery to give it variation and made sure to show both his little friends for approval before he went and asked for a ribbon to tie it all together.

”Think Y/n will like this?” He asks and to his surprise his third and final pokémon decides to come out of his pokéball just at that moment.

”Bagon?”

Mingi is surprised, usually this little fella stays in his pokeball unless Mingi calls for him. Bagon ignores him as he studies the bouquet intensely, his little arms crossed making it look like he’s thinking really hard of it’s okay or not.

“Torchic tor?”

“Bell bellossom!”

“Bagon Bagon!” The dragon nods after he and the little ladies seemingly discuss it back and forth before all three giving Mingi their approval.

“Thanks you three.” He chuckles finding their actions funny. All three of them looked at him encouragingly as if saying you got this go ask them about it now! Bagon was even holding out its little paw as if he were doing a fist bump upwards to show that he was supportive.

“Oh what a lovely bouquet you’ve made! So full of beautiful meanings.” One of the older ladies holding a bucket of flowers says as she passes Mingi.

“Oh thank you! And meaning? What do you mean by that?” He asks curiously to which she responds by telling him that every flower has a hidden meaning and then explains what the flowers he’s picked means. By the end of her explanation after she’s walked off his cheeks are tinted a rosy color before looking at his partners.

“Did you two know about this when you helped me pick out the flowers?” He asks suspiciously and torchic just giggles before hiding behind bagon and his little cardigan while bellossom just gives him an innocent smile pretending like she doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

He clears his throat as he tries to will away the blush that's crept up his cheeks after knowing the meaning behind his bouquet and stands up.

"I think the time is up now, let's go and see Y/n and hopefully I can ask about the tickets this time."

The four of them wander out and towards the big flower pot you two had agreed to meet at. It seems he's the first one there so they stay there and wait for a while before spotting you, mudkip and whismur making your way over there. When you spot him you wave excitedly before holding up a big bag as if to show off the presents you got from the stall you had visited in excitement.

"Look at all the things I got for us Mingi!" You say as you open the bag for him to peer inside and see the large amount of things you had been gifted.

"Woah that's a lot of things."

"It is and I learnt so much so now I will be even better at taking care of our pokémons! I can teach you as well if you'd like."

"I'd like that." He smiles before looking down at the flowers and then he holds them out quickly towards you.

"I made these for you."

"For me?" He can hear the surprise in your voice and when you take them from his hands he dares glance at you and nod. "You said you wanted a bouquet of flowers once in college remember?"

"You remember that?" You asks not believing he'd actually remember your offhanded remark about being gifted flowers.

"I remember everything you tell me." He mumbles as bagon nudges his leg trying to make him remember what they wanted him to do.

"Hey Y/n do you think you'd like to go with me to umm."

"Yes? Go with you where?" You ask looking at him, part of you feel hopeful that perhaps he'd ask you to go with him somewhere special and when Mingi makes eye contact with you the words get stuck once again in his throat and he doesn't really know what to say.

"Go with me to the stand over there? They're teaching you to make pokéblocks." He can hear bagon groan down near his leg and he opts to ignore him knowing that if he looks down the little dragon type will 100% scold him from backing down once again.

"Oh sure!" You say, trying to hide the disappointment since you had thought that Mingi would ask you something else entirely after gifting you flowers.

Your little gang ends up sitting on the ground with two pots in front of you as the instructor goes over how to make pokéblocks for your pokémons, describing them as a kind of snack a lot of them will prefer and going over the different colors which co-respond to a different flavor and how certain pokémons will prefer one flavor over the other.

You and Mingi sit and concentrate as you put in the berries you've chosen and the other ingredients, stirring around as you make sure nothing will burn. Mudkip looks at what you're doing with concerned eyes, he trusts you a lot but right now he's not so sure he trusts what you're doing with how much steam is coming out from the pot.

"Hey look! I managed to make some blocks!" Mingi shows off his blocks proudly from the little dispenser you'd pour the batter into to then plop one block out at a time. They are a bit wonky looking and you weren't sure they were supposed to look like that at all.

"You sure those are edible?" You ask and he gasp at you looking offended.

"You don't think my pokéblocks are edible?! I put in blood sweat and tears into these." He says dramatically before plopping three of them out.

"Here guys don't you wanna try some? I made them for you!" He beams and his pokémons eye the pokéblocks with suspicion. Torchic is the brave one and tries one and she makes the strangest face, looking similar to how you feel when eating a lemon, before running around in circles and crying out seemingly how bad it was.

"Don't think she approved of it." You muse forgetting to momentarily stir your pot.

"Whismur! Whis!" Whismur is quick to remind you in fear of yours turning out worse than what she had just witnessed.

"It can't be that bad Torchic!" Mingi looks at her surprised before looking at his other friends, bellossom is pretending to be asleep while bagon just stares at him with a don't you even dare type of face.

"Here I'll try one and prove they're not bad!" He says before plopping one in his mouth and he chews a bit trying to pretend it tastes good but his facial expressions betray him.

"That bad huh?"

"Yeah ummm this needs some more practice I think, eugh don't worry guys I won't feed you any more until I'm better at this." He makes sure to throw his away.

"This is why you leave the cooking to me." You boast proudly and Mingi gives you a massive side eye.

"I don't think they should be a burnt color like yours are." He hits back and you look down at your blocks.

"They're not that bad! Here Whismur! Try one!" You hold one out and she just pretends she couldn't hear you, looking around hoping someone would save her. "Mudkip? You wanna try one?" You try again and he trots up and sniffs at one of them before taking the tiniest bite with a polite smile.

"See!"

"He is not enjoying that at all!"

"It can't be that bad!"

You quickly eat one as well only to start coughing at how bad the taste was.

"Yeah no no ew that wasn't good at all... I think I need more practice at this as well." You mutter before apologizing to mudkip for having to eat that.

"I guess making pokéblocks isn't our forte at all."

The two of you start snickering and giggling after making eye contact finding this whole scenario funny. You both agree that if you are to create any for your friends that the two of you will work together and always taste before giving any to your friends to make sure they actually taste well.

"Oh yes you wanted to ask me something earlier Mingi? When those kids ran between us and right before we split up?" You ask curiously, it's been on your mind the entire day the fact that he's tried to ask you something but every time something has come up which has made him unable to properly ask what he wants to.

"Oh hehe." He laugh as the two of you stands up ready to walk out from this place and bagon stares at Mingi with so much intent ready to do something drastic in case Mingi doesn't ask you this time.

His patience is running thin.

"Oh it's nothing don't worry about iitt!" Mingi barely has any time to finish his sentence before bagon headbutts him in the back causing him to fly forward and land onto of you with an oof.

"Ah! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for that to happen! Bagon! You can't knock into me like that." He berates the pokemon before checking up on you.

"Ar you okay? Did I hurt you?? I'm so sorry..." He sits up and makes sure you're okay.

"I'm fine my butt hurts a bit but otherwise i'm fine.. Are you okay?" You ask.

"I am. Okay here goes nothing I guess." He says taking a deep breath before continuing. "Y/n, do you want to go and watch the meteor shower in Mossdeep city with me at their space center? I got two tickets and I would like to go with you if you want to? I know we weren't suppose to head to Mossdeep next but I'd really want to do this with you." He blurts out before he lets the opportunity go again.

"Meteor shower?" You say before your eyes light up. "Of course I wanna go! Oh Mingi that would be so much fun!" You say as you also think about how it would be pretty romantic to watch the stars fall together with him.

"Yeah?" His gummy smile is making an appearance again and you giggle at bagons proud look behind the two of you before nodding.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

It takes a few days to get to Mossdeep city but the two of you manages to hitch a ride with constable Jenny to the closest port to take a boat over so you'd get there quicker than you would walking. You still have the flowers Mingi had gifted you sticking out of your bag and every time you looked at him your heart warmed at the sight. Getting these tickets to the space center wasn't an easy task meaning Mingi had gone out of his way to get them behind your back just so he could ask you to go with him.

A part of you wondered if this was a date or not. Perhaps you should take Yunhos advice and confess to him when the two of you are watching the meteors. What could go wrong? Yunho had insisted that Mingi wouldn't reject you and that you'd get the outcome you were hoping for so perhaps it would be a good idea to tell him today?

Those were the thoughts running through your head as the two of you got off the boat and steered your way towards the space center. It was almost time for the meteor shower to start since the boat had taken up most of the day when traveling.

"Hello and welcome to Mossdeeps space center, are you here for the meteor shower?" The receptionist asks kindly as you two enters, hand in hand.

"Hello! We are! I got two tickets right here." Mingi tells her before handing over the tickets. Once they were scanned the lady let you both inside and told you to go up the stairs to gain access to the top floor to be able to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful show.

"I'm so excited to see the beautiful show, especially now that I'm here with you." You confess, cheeks heating up slightly at the confession.

"I'm just glad you said yes." He admits, cheeks turning a slight rosy color as well.

Mingi guides you to a spot in the middle of the open balcony where a little bench is sitting and the two of you sit down together. Your hands still linked together as if it will help the both of you to gain courage to say what you want to say.

In Mingis head Yunhos words from right before he left for the plane echos. "You should confess Mingi, I know they'll say yes I promise they feel the same about you. Go for it." Should he go for it? He thinks he should, it's the perfect place to confess and if he doesn't do it now he might regret it for the rest of his life.

In your head unknowingly to Mingi, Yunhos words are also echoing in your head. You think back to that conversation and wonder if Yunho knows something you don't, you haven't been able to figure it out if he's telling the truth about Mingi liking you back or if he's just being a nice friend who's encouraging you to speak your truth. And in this moment you decide it's best to do so. No matter what the consequences might be.

"Hey Mingi I need to tell you something."

"Hey Y/n I need to tell you something."

The two of you look at each other in surprise before chuckling at the fact that you both said the same thing at the same time.

"Sorry you go first Mingi."

"But you spoke first." He says and you shake your head insisting he should talk first thinking he just wants to tell you something normal.

"Okay then... Here goes nothing. I really like you Y/n, not like like you only as a friend, I like you more than a friend." He starts before looking you in the eyes and holding your hands in his tightly. "I love you like a lot. More than I think I realize myself and I just had to tell you before I explode from keeping it inside for much longer." He confesses sincerely and you gape at him in surprise, never would you have thought that he'd confess to you.

"It's okay if you don't feel the same I just had to tell you."

"I love you too!" You blurt out to stop his ramblings.

"Wait really?"

"Yes! For a long time now actually, ever since college when we first met, that's when my crush started which then developed into something more. I was actually gonna confess to you as well but you beat me too it." You smile and the smile Mingi gives you could rival a thousand suns before he dives in for a hug.

"Would you want to be my partner?" He asks quietly as if he's scared you'd say no right after confessing you have feelings for him.

"I'd love nothing more than that Mingi." You tell him before lightly holding his chin after breaking the hug. "May I give you a kiss?"

"You may." He giggles and you lean in giving him a quick little kiss on his lips before settling in next to him, leaning your head on his shoulder as he leans his head on yours.

The two of you continue to cuddle as the meteor shower starts up in the sky, everything is just perfect in this moment in time and you couldn't be happier. Perhaps you need to thank bagon later on for giving Mingi the push he needed to ask you to come here with him.

Speaking of said pokémon, he and the others bursts out of their pokéballs to join you in watching the sky. Some cuddle in your laps while others sit on the ground in front of you enjoying the scenery.

"You know what I just realized?" Mingi muses and you tilt your head up to look at him. "I owe Yunho a drink, lunch and dessert now the next time we see him."

Yeah you think, perhaps neither of you would have had the courage to confess had he not urged the both of you to say something.

But for now you'd enjoy the perfect evening with your friends and boyfriend.

[hansrkive]

STILL THE SAME (K.MG)

Everything changed yet everything was still the same between You and Mingyu.

౨ৎ PAIRING: kim mingyu x afab!reader

౨ৎ GENRE: angst angst angst

౨ৎ TAGS: one-shot and literally just sad stuff.

౨ৎ NOTES: wanted something sad to write lmao ++ i figured i’d write my one-shots in second person pov with x reader and my full blown aus in third person pov with x ocs!

౨ৎ HYPERLINKS: pinned post, ko-fi, seventeen’s master-list, and mingyu's master-list.

౨ৎ WORDCOUNT: 1.15K words.

365 DAYS AFTER.

It was as if no one had lived in the house up on the hill. Dust had accumulated by the old fireplace where you once shared your dreams. The old coffee table where you planned your lives were now home to chipmunks who chewed what was left. As the walls that gave you comfort chipped away into dirt gathered slowly on the floor you once danced on, you gave the house one last look as you locked the main door — locking every bit of memory you made into the decrepit, old house. “This house is such a waste,” the buyer sighed as you gave her the keys. “Have you told the other owner you sold it?” she asked.

“He agreed to it, don’t worry,” you smiled bitterly. “So, everything’s done, right?”

“Yeah, we’re all good,” the buyer said. “Do you want a picture with the house? For old times' sake?” the buyer offered.

You hesitantly agreed. Nothing’s bad with one last memory, right? You gave your phone to the buyer and posed in front of the main door. Tears were trying to escape from your eyes, but you pushed through.

You weren’t the type to dwell on the past. You knew that it would just do more harm than good. In your mind, Mingyu has probably moved on with someone new, with someone ready to marry him. Since you broke up, you and Mingyu haven’t seen each other for precisely 365 days. But since you both owned the house you sold earlier this morning, you had to give his share of the money. Did you dread seeing him? Yes. Did you want the Earth to swallow you up instead? Yes.

But you were also curious — curious to see what had changed.

Was he still wearing the necklace you gave him?

Probably not anymore.

Has he changed his hair color to brown? He always wanted to do that.

His hair is different.

Does he still love you?

Maybe, or not.

“Y/N,” a voice called you by a nickname only one knew. As you lifted your head, you saw Mingyu on the other side of the pedestrian lane. Still wearing the necklace, still the same hair color, still the same Mingyu you loved, yet still the same Mingyu you broke.

Without any hesitation, as soon as the walking green man appeared, Mingyu ran towards you as if you were still together — all smiles with a glint of hope shimmering in his eyes. “It’s starting to rain. Let’s go to my car.” Mingyu offered. Drops of rain started to come fast. You didn’t have much choice but to agree. His car was probably the last place you wanted to be in.

“I’ll just give you the cheque and call a cab,” you mumbled as you both got in the car. It was still the same — as if nothing had changed over the past year. The fuzzy dice you won at a festival were still dangling at the rear-view mirror, and the makeup holder you bought was still there, full of unused makeup you had left before you broke up. “You still kept this?” you chuckled, holding the makeup holder to check it. “Your girlfriend might not like this. You still have your exes’ stuff.”

“What girlfriend?” Mingyu asked. “I’m single.”

“Oh.”

“I haven’t had any since, you know,” Mingyu whispered. “I tried, but I also couldn’t.”

You were shocked, to say the least. You imagined him being with someone. It was easier that way. Mingyu having someone new would’ve been better for you. At least you knew you didn’t have a chance. “How about you?” Mingyu asked, his gaze softened as you played with the hem of your shirt.

“Same,” you whispered. “My sister gave me a reality check. She told me I might break the next person like I broke you if I don’t fix myself,” you laughed.

“You didn’t break me, Y/N,” Mingyu promised, his hand itching to hold yours. “You never did.”

365 DAYS BEFORE.

The lights leading up to yours and Mingyu’s home illuminated the street perfectly. As you walked on the steep hill, coming back home from work was tiring, yet relaxing at the same time. Since the house was the farthest on the street, you and Mingyu had a fantastic view of the city — twinkling city lights, honking cars, and skyscrapers kissing the clouds. “You didn’t have to fetch me from the bus stop, babe,” you laughed as Mingyu carried your bags.

“It’s a different day.” Mingyu smiled. “I wanted to be different.”

As you reached your home, you did notice something different. The lawn was freshly cut, the poinsettias had tiny ribbons on them, and there was a faint smell of coconut and vanilla inside the house. “Did you do something?” you asked as you opened the door. You were right, there was something different.

Rose petals were scattered on the floor, candles illuminated the living room, red and pink balloons were floating on the ceiling, and the four words you avoided were plastered on the wall — waiting for an answer. “Mingyu,” you whispered, shocked at the scene before you. You turned around to see Mingyu on his knee, a diamond ring on his hand.

“I always knew that I wanted to marry you, that I wanted to be your husband. Right from the start, as you walked right in front of me during first day of college, right there and then, I knew you were the one.” Mingyu spoke with clarity, his gaze never leaving yours. “Y/N, will you allow me to spend eternity with you?”

“Mingyu,” you stuttered. “I’m sorry.”

365 DAYS AFTER.

“Still, I’m sorry,” you mumbled, tears finally escaping your eyes as you released all the emotions you’ve bottled up over the past year. “I just left. Without listening to you. Without saying anything. I was just scared, Mingyu,” you said. “I was scared that we would be like my parents. I know, it’s not an excuse, but still. I’m so sorry.”

“If you told me about this, I would’ve understood, Y/N.” Mingyu fretted, finally letting his hand touch yours without any hesitation or doubts. “I love you, that’s all that matters. If you were scared about us becoming your parents, so be it. I’ll do what they didn’t do, fight for us.”

“I’m sorry,” you finally sobbed loudly, your shoulders relaxed as you tightened your grip on Mingyu’s hand. “Please forgive me.”

“You never had to say sorry, Y/N,” Mingyu said as he wiped the tears on your cheeks. “Can we start again?” Mingyu asked.

“One year was too long, Gyu,” you laughed. “We could just hit play again. I mean, it feels like nothing has changed. We’re still the same.”

As you both let your bottled-up emotions out, Mingyu grabbed your face and kissed your lips softly, a part of your face he knew all too well.

“Still the same.” Mingyu smiled.

[strawberrypinky]

strawberry's fic recs - first half of 2025! 🍓✨

Nobody asked but I delivered—it's once again time for my favourite little tradition of sharing my fic recs and spreading some love and positivity!

With the first half of 2025 having drawn to a close, I'm sharing some of my favourite reads from this year (thus far!). It genuinely brings me so much joy to celebrate and uplift the incredible work of so many talented creators. I'm also terrible at commenting, so yeah this might be me trying to make up for the fact that I never comment, lol.

Anywho—without further ado, here are my fic recs for the first half of 2025:

I started playing DA: The Veilguard at the end of 2024, and having not played the previous games in the series, it took me a little while to warm up to the fandom, as there’s so much established lore that I simply wasn't familiar with. Even now, I still haven't played the earlier titles and only have a marginal grasp of the broader series. I also have my fair share of critiques about Veilguard itself, but, credit where it's due: The fandom has produced some absolutely phenomenal fanfiction that I’ve truly loved and deeply appreciated 💕

📚Full length fics:

Rookie [Viago de Riva & Rook, Lucanis Dellamorte/Rook] - @grad-writes 📖 The plot: "Rookie" follows the early life of Isadora "Rookie" de Riva, tracing her journey from a fledgling of House de Riva to the Hero of the Veilguard—navigating growing up, falling in love and coming into her own. 🍓's thoughts: I know this fic was already featured in my "Best of 2024" recs but I👏🏻am👏🏻FERAL👏🏻 for this fic. I love a good found family trope—it's quite possibly my favourite trope of all tropes—and "Rookie" does a spectacular job of bringing it all together. Beyond the incredible (but mildly dysfunctional) father/daughter relationship Rook and Viago share, her friendships with her fellow Crows already give you the most beautiful story long before she meets Lucanis or any of the Veilguard. I've said it before, but the writing is phenomenal; pitch-perfect pacing and just the right blend of detail, headcanons, and canon divergence. Whilst the romance takes some time to build, the wait is worth every second, and don't even get me started on the way Illario is redeemed in this fic. Between "Rookie" and "The Wigmaker Job", I have become a full-blown Illario apologist 💀😤 1000/10 – this is a masterpiece! 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

Note: This work is part of a series.

the divine right (circumstance never sent a fair foe) [Viago de Riva/Rook] - @rook-de-rivas 📖 The plot: Following the fall of the Evanuris, Ashara/Rook returns to Salle, only for the Crows to end up embroiled in a mysterious series of murders of Merchant Princes, Crows and Fulgeno II's bastards—all with silver ribbons affixed to their throats and a note with the words "By the will of the Maker, the One King of Antiva will rule, for this is the Divine Right of Kings". 🍓's thoughts: Viago/Rook can definitely be hit or miss for me, considering they are somewhat presented to have a more family-like bond in Veilguard (at least how *I* have interpreted it). HOWEVER, this is just masterful. The relationship between Ashara and Viago just...works. Whilst they are somewhat dysfunctional at times (though I expect nothing less from the Crows, lol), they are equal amounts tender and gentle and sensual. They compliment each other so well and their relationship as well as any interactions they've got with others feel very natural. Viago is also so pathetic sometimes istg it's just 🤌🏻 *chefs kiss* He does not want to have any feelings and is bombarded with all of them 💀 This story is such a fresh take on post-canon fics—the storyline is incredibly compelling, and I find myself genuinely looking forward to every single update. Incredibly well-written and engaging.

Note: This work is part of a series. Read the tags and proceed at your own discretion.

Amaretto Sour [Emmrich Volkarin/Rook] - @farore05 📖 The plot: Distinguished neuroscience professor Emmrich Volkarin becomes unexpectedly entangled with one of his students—only for his estranged ex-wife and mother of his son to return from prison, threatening to upend the already fragile balance of their lives.

🍓's thoughts: I'm pretty sure "Amaretto Sour" is one of, if not the, most famous Emmrich fics—and for good reason. First of all, Human!Manfred is the best boy and deserves all the love, and second of all, Ivy and Emmrich are an adorable pairing. Yes, a student/professor dynamic would, under normal circumstances, be incredibly toxic, but we can ignore that for the sake of good fiction and these characters 😌 The overall plot, beyond the romance, feels both original and intriguing at all times. As the end approached, I genuinely felt as if I needed to hold my breath because the tension was palpable, and I was so invested in these characters getting their deserved happy ending.

I, Carrion [Lucanis Dellamorte/Rook] - @ttrevelyan 📖 The plot: An alternate take on the events of "Eight Little Talons", in which a recently returned-from-exile Rook meets Lucanis at a masquerade ball, where the two must work together to unmask the enemies hiding within their ranks. 🍓's thoughts: I came across this due to the incredible artwork from @rookanisstuff, and I pretty much fell in love at first read. I had read 8LT just shortly before, and this was a refreshing, hilarious and intriguing take on the plot. I love stories of Rook de Riva's and Lucanis meeting before Veilguard, but this one is definitely my favourite. The tension between them from the first meeting, building up over the course of the story as they work together, is simply delicious and ugh, I could eat this story. Absolutely magnificent 😤

Note: This work is part of a series and currently has an ongoing sequel (which is also incredible–hello???)

The Punishment of Fools [Lavellan/Solas, Emmrich Volkarin/Rook] - @scaryanneee 📖 The plot: While aiding the remnants of the Inquisition in their desperate struggle to stop the blighted Evanuris from unmaking Thedas, Mourn Watcher Athera Ingellvar uncovers she is the lost daughter of Inquisitor Siona Lavellan and the Dread Wolf himself, Fen’Harel. Thrust into an uneasy reunion at the edge of the world’s unraveling, Athera, Siona, and Solas must confront their own entangled legacies. 🍓's thoughts: This is definitely a read that would've been easier to understand if I had any knowledge of the previous Dragon Age games, but alas, this is still so absolutely spectacular that I was vibing through nonetheless, lol 😭 The complicated family dynamics, paired with the yearning between the Inquisitor and Solas make for a compelling story. Without spoiling the entire fic, I can only say the main twist concerning Athera was genuinely shocking (at least to me, lol), and I'm so scared of the outcome. I think seasoned fans who have played previous games would really enjoy this, as quite a few characters from Inquisition show up here, too (at least from what I understand 😅).

Note: This work is part of a series.

The Arrangement [Lucanis Dellamorte/Rook] - @hi-jinkx 📖 The plot: With their marriage arranged by Caterina, Lucanis and Rook find themselves caught between their own desires, the stirrings of something deeper, and the mounting pressure from both outside forces and inner turmoil. 🍓's thoughts: Mhm, I love reluctant love stories, especially when they stem from concepts like arranged marriages. Delish. Rook and Lucanis are understandably not really happy about the arrangement, but I love that they still respect each other as human beings. Rook taking care of Jacobus is just adorable (I love that this fandom has collectively decided Jacobus is Rook's son ok?) and I love how Rook and Lucanis steadily fall in love, even if they're a tad idiotic about the whole thing. Caterina is an absolute cunt, which is a concept I generally love bc f that b – even if I am massively intrigued by her, lol. The Venatori being the main antagonists makes so much sense, though I fear what's going to happen with the whole Lucanis/Spite situation and how it'll affect their marriage. Anywho. Loved reading this thus far!!

Steal my heart [Lucanis Dellamorte/Rook] - @frotees-corner 📖 The plot: Marchioness Caterina Dellamorte has declared it's time her grandsons marry. Her grandsons, however, have other plans. So does Rook—deemed a hopeless spinster at the age of twenty-six—whose parents have reluctantly agreed to give her one final season to secure a match. United by their mutual disinterest in marriage, Rook and Lucanis strike a deal: survive the season together, and avoid the parade of suitors and debutantes at all costs. 🍓's thoughts: YOU CAN PRY THE REGENCY AUs OUT OF MY COLD DEAD HANDS 😤 Anyone who knows me knows my favourite historical period of all time is the Regency period, so it should be no surprise this fic is on my list. The YEARNING. The PINING. The peak idiot to lovers 😩 Ugh—obsessed. The storyline is somewhat comparable to Daphne and Simon in Bridgerton, except Rook is more of an Eloise rather than Daphne if that makes sense? In any case, it has a superb storyline, massive bonus points for it being a Regency AU and an overall sweet and wholesome love story. Neve being there for the tea and drama was hilarious (plus she and Bellara are just the best), and I loved Uncle Emmrich. The Illario plotline was adapted in a way that made it very fitting for the time period whilst losing none of the mystery and intrigue. 10/10, I loved every second!!

pathos [Lucanis Dellamorte/Rook]- @karinamay 📖 The plot: When her brother and longtime skating partner Viago is sidelined by injury, Rook believes her career is over—until he pushes her to keep going. Meanwhile, Lucanis is ready to quit after losing his partner, but his own coach/grandmother Caterina Dellamorte has other ideas. Thrown together by circumstance, Rook and Lucanis form a reluctant new pair in a high-stakes bid for gold.

🍓's thoughts: I'm usually not that into modern AU's (funny how several ended up on here, though, lol), but I do love figure skating and "pathos" was just exceptional. The begrudging alliance between Chiara and Lucanis moving into this tension-filled push-and-pull dynamic bleeds into every aspect of the story—from their relationship to their skating—and it works so well. The description of the skating itself was hauntingly vivid and beautiful and so emotionally laden that I actually had tears in my eyes at one point 🥹 The dynamics between other characters truly only added to the overall feeling, and I loved seeing Rook stand up to Caterina. "You don't get to break me like you broke your grandsons" haunts me to this day 😭

The sequel is still on my TBR, but I can only wholeheartedly recommend the first part!!

Note: This work is part of a series.

you're in my blood (like holy wine) [Emmrich Volkarin/Rook] - @selkiemaid 📖 The plot: An alternate take on the quest "The Sacrifice of Souls", where Rook makes the ultimate sacrifice to defeat Hezenkoss—leaving a romanced Emmrich at a crossroads, forced to choose between embracing lichdom or finding a way to bring her back. 🍓's thoughts: I'm suing. I'm actually suing. This was pure angst start to finish but mate was it good. Rook being the one to sacrifice herself to defeat Hezenkoss? Diabolical 😭 The prose of this fic was sensational. I'm not even joking. I could practically feel everything Emmrich felt throughout the entire story as if they were my own emotions—vivid and complex and gutwrenching. I genuinely wish I could read this for the first time.

Note: This work is part of a series.

Crystal Desires & Crystal Fragements [Emmrich Volkarin/Rook/Lucanis Dellamorte] - by BabiesAteMyDingo 📖 The plot: Following a confrontation with a desire demon, Rook, Emmrich, and Lucanis (and Spite) try to navigate the end of the world whilst unearthing parts of themselves they thought long forgotten—and confront truths they never imagined. 🍓's thoughts: Phew, this one is a ride but mate is it worth it. As someone who wished they could've romanced Emmrich and Lucanis at the same time (don't judge me) this was a treat. This story genuinely has so many twists and turns that I was reeling by the end of some of it, but honestly every single thing just made this story more exceptional. The romance between Rook, Emmrich and Lucanis was equal amounts tender as it was sensual and I loved to see how devoted they all were to one another. Rook's backstory is insane and perhaps it's my lack of DA knowledge that had me shook with every reveal, but mate – The gasps I've gusped. Unreal.

📜 One shots & short stories:

From the Journal of Emmrich Volkarin [Emmrich Volkarin/Rook] by @mediocremillie99 All Roads Lead to Halamshiral (9:50 Dragon) [No pairing, though mild Illario/Rook if you squint] by TheListener on AO3 Let Me Love You [Emmrich Volkarin/Rook] @silshinobii Codex: Bond Theory [Emmrich Volkarin/Rook] by @farore05 (I know this is technically crack but damn I love it and I won't apologise) Confession & Revelation [Emmrich Volkarin/Rook] by @ximmortalis [TW: Non con] concrete feet [Lucanis Dellamorte/Rook] by dead_tulips on AO3 the bliss you give [Emmrich Volkarin/Rook] by @devnmon A Study of Hands [Emmrich Volkarin/Rook] by @sorceresssundries SIX for gold [Lucanis Dellamorte/Rook] @grad-writes

Ahhhh, Baldur's Gate, my beloved 😌💕 I've been hooked on this game for over a year now, and at this point, I fear it'll have to be pried from my cold, dead hands. My love for the fandom, the characters, and the story runs deep. While I'll admit that some of my (admittedly limited) focus this year has "wandered" over to the DA:TV fandom, I've still come across some truly incredible Baldur’s Gate fics. This fandom will always have a place in my heart—no matter what. I'm sure my recs for BG3 will be a bit longer by the end of the year, because my TBR for that fandom is long.

📚 Full length fics:

goodnight, my love [Astarion x Tav] - by @goodgirlgonebard 📖 The plot: Luna, a high-elf wizard, flees the constraints of an arranged marriage and a controlling father when she is swept up by fate when a nautiloid descends upon Baldur’s Gate and abducts her. Now infected with a mind flayer tadpole, she stands at a crossroads: return home to rescue her father from a lifetime of debt, or embrace her long-awaited escape. Torn between duty and freedom, Luna’s path is further complicated by an unexpected and all-consuming bond with a certain pale vampire. 🍓's thoughts: Now, I will wholeheartedly admit that I haven't yet finished reading this story (Forgive me, Ambs), but GML still secures itself a spot on this list because I love it, ok? 😤 Luna had my heart within the first couple of seconds and I just want to give that girl a big hug, wrap her in a fluffy blanket and hand her a big cuppa. Her and Astarion are shaping up to be such an adorable pairing—I am unfortunately a sucker for "healing each other" and I fear this fic is doing a tremendous job at showing how to people can help each other through trauma. I'm so ready for exams to be over so I can catch up with the rest of GML, but istg it's incredible thus far!!

So long as it has meaning [Shadowheart x Tav] - by ohHOLYmoves 📖 The plot: Shadowheart harbours a deep resentment for their Selûnite leader, Izar—her unwavering kindness only fuelling her anger. And yet, despite herself, she finds an inexplicable pull toward her. As their journey to Baldur’s Gate unfolds and long-buried secrets come to light, the dynamic between them begins to shift. 🍓's thoughts: Honestly I am not even sure what to say about this fic because even after having finished it sometime in March I am still speechless?? I honestly didn't even know how to summarise this 💀 Selûnite Paladin Tav x Shadowheart is bound to be an incredible combo, given how hateful Shadowheart is towards Selûnites at the start of Baldur's Gate, but my God 😭 That lesbian enemies to lovers got me good and genuinely all I can say is read this. Smh someone put this fic in a museum 😭 "I can live with Shar, I cannot live without you." — JAIL 😭

The Sweet Invention of a Lover's Dream [Wyll x Tav] - by @heyitszev 📖 The plot: Father Thynerias, a devoted monk of the Preservers of the Ordered Way, had once been content when he was surrounded by his books, his duties, and guiding novices under his care, fully believing a life of structured knowledge was all he would ever need. That is, until the damned Nautiloid—and the famed Blade of Frontiers—shattered that certainty. 🍓's thoughts: ZEV YOU BASTARD COME HERE AND ANSWER FOR YOUR CRIMES 😤 "Maybe someone else, in some other time, lives the life I dream of having with you" - HOW DARE YOU?! 😤😭 The way Tav's faith and sense of divine purpose intertwined with his love story with Wyll was so refreshing and compelling. His internal religious conflict felt authentic, and the dynamic between him and Wyll—how they balanced each other's flaws while still holding one another accountable—made this one of the most memorable and beautifully layered romances I've read all year. Even if it was, for all intents and purposes, a slow burn. No notes at all—this was perfect.

Note: This work is part of a series.

The Arrangement [Astarion x Tav] - by @fangswbenefits 📖 The plot: Having convinced Astarion to abandon the Rite of Profane Ascension, leaving him a vampire spawn still bound by his hunger, Tav offers him blood in the absence of a cure. Though the two had agreed to remain just friends back at Moonrise Towers, the line begins to blur again as other cravings stir beneath the surface. 🍓's thoughts: Not me writing Tav in for the plot when it's an 'x reader' but ON WE GO- Ugh, the push-and-pull dynamic between Tav and Astarion is delicious. That messy blend of "sort-of exes" and "kind-of enemies" who are still hopelessly in love with each other? Perfection 🤌🏻 They're both such idiots, and the banter is genuinely hilarious. As a survivor myself, I'm also incredibly moved by the way Astarion's journey with intimacy is handled—the slow arc of him reclaiming it on his own terms is raw, and whilst also painful, it is also incredibly real, so I can’t recommend this story enough 🩷

The times you will never remember [Gortash x The Dark Urge, Astarion x The Dark Urge] - by Maladaptive_daydreaming 📖 The plot: When former allies cross paths at the Gortash's coronation, Astarion finds himself unraveling the tangled history of the bond his lover shared with the Chosen of Bane. 🍓's thoughts: Astarion's inner monologue/commentary had me dead HAHAHA. Gortash is, of course, an absolute piece of shit (as he should be, my favourite lil rat <3), but he was right in calling Astarion a yapper 💀 Either way, this is such a fun story that also expands on Durge's backstory in a way that works really well with the canon information that we do have. Durgetash are so insufferably horrible and cannot be normal and I just love it. At the same time, Astarion keep making one horrible decision after the other and I'm on the edge of my mf'ing seat to see how/where the story is going to end.

Deadly Ambition [Gortash x The Dark Urge] - by @elinorbard 📖 The plot: U.S. Congressman Enver Gortash eagerly accepts Governor Richard Bhaal’s offer to join his presidential campaign as running mate, only to discover that the true power behind the operation is Bhaal’s enigmatic and ruthless daughter, Elegy. As the campaign hurtles toward the White House, Enver and Elegy find themselves entangled in a dangerous web of ambition, secrets, and manipulation. 🍓's thoughts: WOMEN IN MALE DOMINATED FIELDS YALL >>> Once again a modern AU has made the list, but I swear Gortash as VP Candidate is diabolical work. Elegy is... well, let's just say the author did an incredible job of making Durge work in a modern context (I love that lil insane baby) —that woman is vicious. Insanely smart, but vicious. Truly a case where I was rooting for the evil cunts to win and my God did this serve. Quite frankly, I need more.

Note: This work is part of a series.

Don't Wake Me Up [Rolan x Tav] - by @seabirdsong 📖 The plot: Tav and Rolan share a complicated past—though only one of them knows it. Years ago, she watched him from afar, until Elturel fell, and everything changed. Now, bound by necessity, they find themselves side by side, crossing the Shadow-Cursed Lands, and discovering that some wounds can only be mended by those who carry the same scars. 🍓's thoughts: Full disclosure: Much like GML I am still reading this fic and haven't fully caught up with every chapter, but I do love Rolan and I do love everything I have read thus far, so "Don't Wake Me Up" is getting a place on my rec list 😌 This is somewhat of an enemies to lovers (well, one-sided enemies to lovers) slow burn, but it's that delicious kind of slow burn where Rolan is just peak idiotic and I like 'em like that. This is another exceptional case of "helping each other through trauma" and I cannot reiterate how much I love it. Once Rolan got over his initial Mr Darcy Default Front he became the best boi and I'm eagerly awaiting my holiday so I can finally catch up with the rest of this incredible fic 🩷🩷

📜 One shots & short stories:

midnight call [A!Astarion x Tav] by @again-please A Fitting Reunion [Astarion x Tav] by @deadly-diminuendo Dhampir Dreams [Astarion x Tav] by @bardic-inspo unburdened and becoming (an interlude) [Shadowheart x Tav] by @shadowhaert The Light in the Shadows [Shadowheart x Tav] by @sorceresssundries Petrichor and Parchment [Gale x Astation] by @forethott (with art by @calolily) Tongue of Silver [Shadowheart x Tav] by @gunpowdercarousel patchwork [Shadowheart x Nocture] by @aevallare Supply and Demand [Astarion x Tav] by luftballons99 Confession (Astarion's POV) [Astarion x Tav] by @vixstarria

Please give these amazing authors some love—kudos, comments, likes or a reblog can mean the world. If you have fic recs of your own, drop them in the comments or tag me! I'd love to keep the love going and discover even more gems. Let's continue to foster positivity and kindness in these spaces, particularly in times like these where those two go a long way 💕🍓

P.S: If any of the AO3 authors mentioned have a tumblr account that is not tagged, feel free to tag them. I have tried my best to look everyone up, but I'm not infallible and might've accidentally missed someone.

[deebidabidoo]

At this point I've really got to ask for your top 5 (or top whatever you prefer) wacklin moments. I'm ready to be enlightened by your superior knowledge🫶🏻

i am no where close to having a superior wacklin knowledge i'm just chronically online and insane about them but thank you for thinking so alfjdfjdfj

i went with top 10 because we got so much stuff over the season actually:

the most obvious answer out of these i think but the mack hat trick game has to be on here for me. idk just something very very romantic to me about will having an assist on every mack goal and mack having one on will's game tying. and sharks still lost. something about that too.

mack crowning will as a pregame-handhsake-ritual-whatever-thingy - the cunties thing they have done to this day and no i will not be taking criticism on this thank you very much. they need to bring this back. the handshake thingy they did at the end of the season was cute i guess but this was CUNT

this video - something something mack being the biggest goof ever and celebrating that goal like it was a gwg in game 7 of stanley cup finals to make will smile and the little fist bump at the end. yeah.

the smelling salt on the bench - why is it so intimate??? mack smile??? will actually only making faces after smelling the salt to make mack laugh and its proven bc we have video evidence of him not being affected by it at all. i can't, they make me sick.

celly after macklin scores his first goal on a line with will - from being pissed off at the camp for not playing together to trying so hard to built some chemistry and it not kinda working and not playing on the same lines and then it kinda does click and mack's smile here and the way he only has eyes for will here and will's smile too and-

the shoulder bump on the bench - knowing will wasn't in the best mood for some time, mack giving him space at practice and then this happens and it feels like hey im not 100% okay still but im better now and i want you in my space even then. also will made kostin move away from mack so he can sit beside him on the bench before this too so that's that.

whatever domestic ass shit this was - you all better hide your kids away from them because they will come and steal them from you so they can live their domestic ass dream of raising 3 kids together with 2 dogs and a cat in the mixture in their love nest.

the pregame thingy before the boston game - this was just the juciest for the narrative i fear.

this celly - mack really said im not going in for the fist bump let me get my arm all the way around you and the way his hand also stays around will too. yeah.

let's breath into each others mouths while on the bench - just something so disgustingly tender how they keep seeking out one another at any given moment. its you. and its me. and its us.

and gonna cheat and add this one too but whatever this weird courting ritual this was - mack looooooves being manhandled by will jot that down. if will gets even a little bit bulked up over the off season mack is D O N E.

now before you come at me i tried to not say some of the obvious stuff like the whole never offside pod, the rookie lap, the let me take will to jr sharks game after will got benched the day before and let him wear my warriors hoodie and will tagging mack on his ig post, the whole 4nations break thingy, the nhl video of their debut game, the awards video, the worlds greeting each other video, the emergency call video, every single private sewer ball shit they do, the stuff we got from practice (im forever thinking about you mack in the goal and will leaning over it and macking mack giggle so loudly), the not everything is a two man job video (my GOD how many are there) and many many MANY more because obviously those are the golden mines too but i tried going for a little more niche things i guess? idk if i succeeded in that but yeah. sorry this got so long im a yapper and a wacklin lover first human second.

[elvensorceress]

fuck it friday, have some ridiculous Buck for OS and Buck's birthday from a brand new, post s8 Jenwyn fic that was meant for 911 pride week but will probably not be finished in time 🫠 oh well happy bisexual 🩷💜💙 buck to everyoneeee

tagging anyone who wants to share something 💕 @tizniz @hippolotamus @glorious-spoon @daffi-990 @spotsandsocks @sofa-king-lame @sergeantchenford @exhuastedpigeon @kejfeblintz @damnikindaship @capseycartwright @dangerpronebuddie @livinginsunnyhell @mangonadaeddie @lover-of-mine @drmellking @beyourownanchor6 @saveahorserideaneddie @deluludiaz @sazanahashi @singitforthegirls 💕

It is not Buck’s fault. 

He’s trying. Okay? He is absolutely, one thousand percent, sort of, for the most part, more or less, at least once a week, semi-heartedly trying. He’s looked at tons of places. He applied to… maybe one? Or two? Maybe zero. But again. Not his fault. All the apartments in the greater whole of Los Angeles have something wrong with them. All of them! Not Buck’s fault he is still, technically homeless. 

The place near the station didn’t have an elevator and it was on the fifth floor. That’s not disability friendly. Sure, Buck could manage. On good days. But it’s inconsiderate to other people. Like Chris. How would Chris visit him?

The place out south had a really short shower and Buck isn’t short. Or small. And he wants to get bigger. It’s time to bulk up again. He’s been slacking lately. Actually, he hasn’t exactly been slacking. He’s been working out a lot. That’s what you do when you need some physical activity and relief. Eddie said so. Hen also said so. Ravi started making a suggestion about other physical activities that bring relief but Chim cut him off and made him go scrub all the tires on all the trucks. But anyway. Small shower? Also doesn’t work. 

The apartment he looked at out near San Bernadino was okay and everything but it’s really far away from people he likes to hang out with. He would bet at least ten dollars that the whole building on Yucca Street is haunted. Legit, verified, super haunted. It gave him weird, unsettling vibes even if Eddie blamed it on the questionable take out Buck got for breakfast.

The new-ish high-rise building with pristine, empty rooms was the exact opposite of haunted. It was soulless. Buck ended up actually wishing he could find a scuff mark or a dent or a chip in the paint just to say that creepy place had something of a personality. But it didn’t. 

The one with the decent bathroom had a terrible kitchen and the one with the amazing chef’s kitchen was way out of his price range and also too much like his loft. Not that the loft sucked or anything. It was great when he was there. 

Buck just doesn’t want to be there anymore. He doesn’t want to be at any of these places. 

What does it matter if he spends a few more months couch surfing? He did it for years. A lot of years. About seven of them. Which is almost as long as he’s lived in LA. It’s fine if he doesn’t have his own place for a while. Eddie keeps telling him it’s fine. And when Buck argues that he should give them space because the house is Eddie and Chris’ and not Buck’s, then both Diazes get a really sad, heartbroken look on their faces that Buck cannot handle looking at.

Why would Buck want to live in a place that isn’t right for him when he’s perfectly content where he is even if it is a couch as a bed and most of his things in storage? He doesn’t actually need much. He wants to wait for the perfect place. He can wait. Something will come up eventually. No need to be moving somewhere that he knows won’t make him happy. He is happy where he is. You know. For now. He’s fine. Great even. 

Maddie’s jaw clenches and she sighs like she’s aggravated. Even though she just stares at him with a tense, squished face and radiates annoyance. 

It gets very uncomfortable feeling her look at him that way, and that can’t be good for the baby currently asleep in Buck’s arms. He turns his body as if it will shield his little nephew from his mother’s weird, pinched judgy face. 

[writingsinashes]

I honestly have no idea what it is that I've done to someone here, but it's very clear someone has a problem with me and doesn't seem to understand that this isn't fucking high school.

I'm done playing this game with you.

The difference between you and me is that I'm about 99% positive I know who keeps falsely reporting me, sending me all this hate, looking for me and for no reason that is fucking logical, thinks that they're winning- the difference is I'm not going to let you win by calling you out.

There's no chance in hell that this happened literally about a week after I tried to reach out and support this person when they needed it.

I have so many things I want to say, but I'm not a petty person, and I think someone just wants attention. It's not coming from me anymore. I'm done.

I'm going to post this and have it queued to be reposted for a while because there are so many people here that I genuinely care about, with whom I sincerely want to continue writing.

People who understand that I'm doing what I can to just breathe at the moment, there are people here that I know care about the fact that I'm trying in every way possible to not be in this much pain, and understand that life happens.

I don't regret a single thing, because over the past ten years, I've met many amazing people who have been there with me through some of the most difficult times.

I wouldn't have ended up living with my best friend if it weren't for this hobby and website. I wouldn't be where I am today without these people, and if you're reading this, you know who you are.

I won't tag a single person because I don't want anyone to be targeted by the person who's very clearly dedicated to making sure that I have no voice.

I have a fucking voice.

You're not going to hurt any of the people I care for and am friends with, whom I've met through this hobby.

I started writing this post with the intention of giving up and walking away but this far into this update and notification I've come to realize that if I give up writing what I love then I'm the one hurting myself and I don't do that shit anymore.

So no, I'm not giving up RPing. I'm simply moving and interacting with people who are genuine, understanding, and caring- people I know are my friends here.

I can't see messages here on Tumblr, but I can see that I keep getting DMs. If you're trying to reach me or want to reach me, please send me a message on Discord.

I sincerely hope that I matter to the people that matter to me.

As I mentioned, I'm moving and making some changes, but I'll continue writing and role-playing.

The only thing I'm going to do differently is do it privately, following the people who like this post as well as the people that I'll follow on the new blog.

I've had muses on Tumblr for over a decade. They're not going away, and neither am I. So to recap, this blog is going to be posting this Sah update on a queue.

You can reach out to me on Discord (JustCallMeSah).

I'm moving, and if you'd like to write with me or even just stay in touch and be a part of the worlds we have/can make, please like this post so I can follow you on my new account.

I'll be following from that blog once it's set up, so even if we haven't interacted yet, don't let this stop you from liking this post, so we can, if that makes sense?

I don't know how to end this long ass post other than by saying that I very, very, very much hope to hear from you guys and that I'm on Discord- message me there for the link and I'm going to follow everyone as soon as I'm established.

I also hope that whoever is responsible for this receives help with their issues. I know that things in life aren't going as planned, and despite the hatred that person may harbor towards me, I wish you the best because no one deserves to carry that much anger without some help.

But don't let this whole PSA (basically) make you believe that I'm giving up and letting you win at whatever it is you're trying to accomplish, because that's not what's happening or what's going to happen.

So, yeah. See you guys on the flipside, hopefully.

Love, Sah.

[manicmanuscription]

BINGO - Stuck (preferably angst if you’re willing)

Feysand x reader

Thank you!!!!

Holding On

Bingo Ask Game! See the original post & rules here

Word Count: 950+

Prompt: Stuck

Pairings: Feysand x Reader

Summary: Reader was poisoned and Feyre and Rhys just can't seem to let them go.

Tags: ANGST, mentions of wanting to die, poison, its a fantasy magic world ofc theres medical inaccuracies, stuck in body, no happy ending, dead dove do not eat.

A/N: *muttering to myself in the dark while chewing on my hair.* angst, i can write angst.... also thank you for the request!

Distantly I heard the bedroom door snick open and shut. Footsteps thudding across carpeted floors until the bed dipped on both ends as my mates slid in right next to me. 

“A Healer’s coming tomorrow don’t worry love.” Feyre whispered, trying to be comforting but it only made the all encompassing pain even worse. My rotting heart twisting up even further as it beat uselessly in my chest. She settled herself tucked in my arms, Rhysand cautiously positioned himself behind me.

I didn’t have the energy to open my eyes much less respond. I’d been poisoned only a few weeks ago yet it felt like lifetimes instead. It had already eaten through all of my magic, now settling for whatever pieces of my body I had left to give. 

Rhysand trailed comforting fingers up and down my spine yet the increasing numbness made it hard to feel anything. 

It hurt. God it hurt so fucking bad. Sharp blistering pain throughout every single inch of me electrifying my insides. It had gotten too intense now for a daemati’s touch but I still felt Rhysand poking around in there gently, his touch only increased the burn, scorching me and I whimpered, too tired to push him out even though he was slowly ripping my headache and remaking it worse.

He eventually pulled away and I let out a ragged breath. Feyre was still whispering soothing things to me but I couldn’t hear her. My hearing still fuzzy from Rhys’ failed attempt to soothe me. 

I couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. The poison zapped my energy and what little I had was spent fighting the raw burn attacking my senses. 

The healer’s couldn’t do anything, nobody could. It had moved through me too hard and too fast. Madja told them I was going to die, but with magic transplants, blood work, old spells and strange healer’s with strange fascinations they had only prolonged my suffering. 

At first I didn’t mind, I didn’t want to die and I understood how painful it was for all three of us. I just wanted to make them happy, to fight even though I knew it was a losing battle. I wanted to stay with my mates and seeing the heartbreak on their face when they looked at me? I couldn’t take it. 

But now…

As I could do nothing now but stay in bed and just feel, no energy to even cry or beg for mercy as it ravaged upon my very bones. 

I was already dead. A living breathing corpse held together by string and glue.

Feyre curled herself into me further as if she somehow heard the barely coherent stray thoughts of a dying female, asking me questions I couldn’t process. I wish they’d just let me die. Let my exhausted heart stop beating, it was only causing me pain, only causing them pain.

The bond between us was slowly unraveling each day, violently ripping away my mates sanity with it and I let out a dry tear into Feyre’s hair. 

The last few parts of the bond still forcefully breathing oxygen into my body whispered from the shattered pieces of my soul to stay. To hold on, just to protect them from the inevitable pain of my death, it wanted me to stay here wrapped up in their arms and fight. 

But I was tired, the only time I slept was when I passed out from the intensity. Every waking moment was filled with nothing but excruciating pain, my mates moving along the room in a frantic scatter each day begging for the healer’s help when they all told them the same thing. 

Let them go. 

They didn’t listen, no, they bit at their shredded leashes and barked orders. Even my family wasn’t allowed to see me anymore, Feyre and Rhys had banned them after they all pleaded them to do the same thing, taking one look at me and knowing what had to be done.

When I could use my voice I begged them too. Begged from the darkest parts of my torment, each word itched up my throat and laced with the agony I was left with. But they couldn’t hear me over the sound of my heart slowing and my mind breaking into pieces.

I was a living, breathing corpse, stuck in a body that had no function other than to be emaciated with the truest and uncut form of suffering.

Rhysand moved his arm so it lay across my body, intertwining his fingers with mine and Feyre’s. The soft sounds in the room were our shuddering inhales. Better memories of us laying like this flickered through my mind in a dull light before the poison stole that thought away from me too. Every thought sluggish and dragged as consciousness took an effort I didn’t have anymore. I missed the people we were, the relationship we had before this tragedy.

I tried to enjoy their touch, trying to seek the familiar sensation of holding and being held by them that had been by my side for more than half my life, what once was light now was tainted. Haunted by the ghosts of the people who existed before this poison had torn me apart.

Still they soothed only the littlest part's of me they could. A pebble in an ocean of agony.

Truth is I was already dead, and I had taken Feyre and Rhys with me. 

They fought every unraveled thread of fate and when it got worse they turned just as lifeless as I did. Unknowingly tormenting me because they could not face the reality. 

I wish I was dead. 

Actually I wish I had died sooner so we had not turned into the husks of ourselves we are right now. Laying in this bead with our hearts technically beating, yet I know our souls left this realm of living long ego.

Endless torment and I would endure it just for a little while longer. I had too. I couldn’t run or hide from it. I had no choice but to stay still and experience it.

It wouldn’t be too long hopefully before I go, but in my frozen state it would feel as if the stars had decided to take the time to reshape themselves. 

I would do my best to just try a little longer. 

If only to save this world from their pain when they finally realize they cannot fight for me any longer.

Feyre shifted so she was facing me, I could tell because of the way her breath tickled my skin in a gentle caress.

Her voice finally broke through the haze, holding the weight of a women breaking behind her words. "We love you."

I love them too.

I just didn't have the energy to say it back.

[ginshi-san]

On another Gintama note (because I was starting to write another whole post in the tags of the other one lmao), Sorachi-sensei writes fantastic characters. Gintoki is a war veteran and his trauma is never played for laughs. There's also isn't any weird prying into his past by other characters. Instead, bits of his past are only revealed usually when other characters are going through things that are similar in themes. It's a fantastic way to show his past, instead of having a lore dump. Because of that, he's older than most shonen heroes. He also doesn't really have any flashy special moves except for whenever he gets dangerous with an actual katana (with his usual wooden sword). There's no padding with training montages, instead you see his extensive battle experience on display when it's time for a boss fight.

Kagura is a rare female protagonist that gets an opportunity to just be a 14 year old girl. Who happens to be super strong and her fight scenes are choreographed very similar to the male characters. She definitely gets more vulgar as the series goes on, thanks to Gintoki's influence.

In fact, most of the female characters are treated like actual people and get plenty of opportunity to help kick ass. It also seems that Sorachi-sensei takes plenty of opportunity to take pot shots at who write female characters in sexist ways. The interesting thing is, he manages to do so without it coming across as preachy. It just fits the story. Though, there is one character that was probably written specifically to lambast lolicons and he rightfully suffers for it.

Like, I don't think this series would work nearly as well as it does if Sorachi-sensei didn't deeply understand shonen tropes and had such a fantastic understanding of his characters. His characters really are what makes everything work. He also seems to deeply understand trauma and how that usually translates into humor. It's a great coping mechanism and usually a go to in order to break tension.

Then there's the setting which is very science fiction but one that's deeply Japanese that's refreshing. Especially how space ships are not sleek and shiny like in western media. Instead, they look like river boats that have adapted for space travel.

To wrap this up, I love this series because I found it exactly when I needed it. I had just moved out of my mother's house and had managed to survive a childhood filled with abuse and neglect (I know I have CPTSD and PTSD (that came from the 8 months after graduating high school when I came the closest to fully giving up)). I needed a blueprint to find my way in the world, even if I didn't know how to. The whole "keep living with an unblemished soul, even if the rest of you gets tarnished" is what truly helped. To me, that means trying to live the best I can and authentically, even if I stumble sometimes.

[twisting-in-wonderland]

'Yuu!'

[dailygihun]

day 26 || he is like lily of the valley to me

[knockknockitsnickels]

I think this is one of my favorite lines from the Wraith route because of (imo) how much the meaning changes depending on if you got there via Spectre or Nightmare. For Spectre, it honestly strikes me as a genuine question. Why are you doing this to her? If you're on the Spectre route, you presumably already know the Narrator can't really be trusted, since you had to reject his reward to get here. What are you hoping to gain from continuing to hurt her? For Nightmare, it honestly just makes me sad. As the Shifting Mound describes her, "She desires only companionship, but the only thing she knows is how to hurt." This line feels like a plea from someone who genuinely doesn't understand why you keep rejecting her. She wants to be with you, but she just can't understand how to do that in a way which doesn't hurt you.

[lacebird]

2022-era hayden oh how i miss you

[transsongtaewon]

I think the way baby Yoohyun cried is sooo cute, especially since it was all crocodile tears. Here is this tiny little guy deciding to get his way by crying because he saw it on tv and then his hyung, also a tiny little guy, starts crying too because he was so startled and itty bitty Yoohyun never anticipated that reaction so he just sort of stops crying so hyung will stop crying and this was never meant to end this way.

[saltynsassy31]

*drags myself through the floor and slams this down*

I present to you

FULLMETAL BARTENDERS AVIAN AU

Divine Nugget Au

(Rant as to why I chose the White-throated Needletail as Blurr's bird and some minor AU lore under the cut)

And that's not all! It comes with a FULL FLEDGED COMIC!!!!!

I spent a whole fucking week on this

I haven't done a comic in 4 years now, I can't believe this is my come-back XD. Though, on that note, know that I probably won't be pumping out any more comics - not any time soon, at least. But I do got more stuff planned for this au! If you ask about it, I'll 100% rant about it LOL

Tw// ⚠️mild gore in the 3rd panel⚠️

While exploring the woods with his team, Swerve had an unfortunate encounter with a crazed hunter. In an attempt to escape, he got injured, but it seems he wasn't the only one caught in the crossfire...

.

.

Okay

So when you look up what the fastest bird in the world is, Google with show the Peregrin Falcom

But there's a catch

The Peregrine is only fast when diving

When it dives to catch its prey, it can go up to 389km/h

Which yeah, pretty fast

But when casually flying, it only goes up to 120 iirc

The Needle Tail?

It can go up to 170km/h

Some have even recorded going over 300! (Close to the Falcon's dive, I believe)

Additionally, these birds only fly. Their habitat is literally listed as "the air," and some even believe they sleep while flying! They only ever land to brood and mate, and then they're off again. Their legs are so short that, if they ground, they can't fly again because it doesn't give enough room to flap their wings.

It fits Blurr perfectly!

It also has a blue-ish colour pattern I can work with lol (it's green, but it looks blue, lol)

Though, also, he isn't 100% like the Needle Tail, just based off of it. I still want avians to be sorta their own species and doesn't have to be exactly like their bird counterparts cuz they aren't them, they're their own thing.

That said, Blurr is one of the shortest from Avians population, still.

They're pretty big.

Another trivial detail of the design!

I was stuck between having his arms be his wings or have them be separate

Until I saw a drawing where they had both, and I realised, "Wait, why isn't that done more often! That's so cool!"

So that's sorta what I did

It's mainly to catch small prey when grounded and to stay better perched up on trees since they're much bigger and having extra fingers helps a lot. Or when they're climbing against a tree to pick up fruits, it gives them an extra boost and can better hang from it

But they're pretty much useless besides that lol

Just neat lil design choice

Other lore stuff. The time in which the au takes place is vaguely modern? But with fantasy aspects? I still haven't decided lol

Technology exists, but not in the way we have it sort of deal, idk, this au is pretty bare bones right now, so go wild with it XD I don't mind it, I love brainstorming it with people. I know this au isn't as big or complex as some others out there, but it's fun, and I hope yall like it too fjsjajaj