#all i do here is get set up to fail and then try my hardest and work my ass off anyway

[hungerpunch]

i have never formally, officially been a people manager before but one thing i know about me is that if i were managing a tiny team who were up against a mount everest-scale of work with an actually impossible deadline, i would probably kick off our monday morning meeting by hyping them up and making sure everyone is as supported as possible rather than, uh, shitting all over them and complaining and demotivating them. idk! just. a personal choice

[tryingtofindava]

OMG , OMG, Are you an expert in creepypasta, I want to give you my request If you don't mind ... May i've a request for Jeff the killer,ticcy toby , Laughing Jack ( if you write for him ) and eyeless Jack please?!

With sweet fem s/o who don't know they are serial killers and only give them affection (like kisses every day) NSFW

Preatty please, love you baby

── 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 & 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭! 𝐒/𝐎

: ̗̀➛Back to Source

INCLUDES: Jeff the Killer, Ticci Toby, and Eyeless Jack.

srry pookie bear not touching the nsfw today :c might come back to this idea later with just NSFW tho >:)

╰┈➤ 𝐉𝐞𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫

You definitely got his eye when he first saw you, immediately taking in your sweet bubbly aura. (You were definitely on his bucket list of victims after he stalked you for a bit)

But one day, he got a little too cocky and you caught him. And to his surprise you didn’t seem to mind at all when you found this questionable looking stranger stalking around outside your bedroom window.

You’re guys difference in aesthetic in personality is what made you guys hit it off. YOU GUYS ARE THE DEFINITION OF SUNSHINE X MOON.

He thinks you’re too sweet to actually be sweet tbh, but you never fail to prove him wrong.

He’s cocky and arrogant, and the god complex on this man is UNBELIEVABLE… The only reason you’re alive in his head is because he was gracious enough to let you continue with your life. Not that he’d tell you that ofc!!

“Do you think I’m beautiful?”

“Of course, you’re so handsome!!”

He likes that you agree he’s beautiful for sure. (He fishes for compliments all the time, anything to stroke his ego.)

He’s possessive, and borderline obsessive. You’re his. And that’s that.

He takes you where he wants, when he wants. The woods? Yep. The shitty convenience store toilets? Double yep yep. Anywhere you guys could get caught in general? YUP.

Double life points because you don’t even know he’s a literal serial killer, like, even though all the signs and red flags are there.

When you guys started to date, he did soften up a bit, not as cruel and mean. But only a little bit. He LIVES for the surprise kisses.

Typa guy who’d ask ‘where’s my hug at?’

╰┈➤𝐓𝐢𝐜𝐜𝐢 𝐓𝐨𝐛𝐲

This boy THRIVES off how sweet you are, it all works in his favour really. Your house is like his hide out spot, away from his… ‘work’ and honestly just everything.

You’re his safe space. His home.

He does think you’re a bitty dull though, and he often wonders how long his ‘I’m a hunter’ excuse will work.

He’d try his very hardest to keep you a secret from the others, but his Tourette’s to make him tic and stutter put your name and nicknames. Which definitely raises some questions on who this ‘Y/n’ and ‘Schatz’ is.

“A-a-and then he- Y/n- fuh-fuck…”

Please, please, please help him through his episodes and tic attacks. He’ll cherish you forever and ever. (He already did but it’s set in stone now.)

He likes that you’re nice to him, he feels so super duper special that he’s getting love and affection, him! Of all ppl!! (poor boy just needs some loving yall)

He’s ECSTATIC when you guys start to date, he’s not very experienced since he’s only dated Clockwork (my beloved) BUT HE’S A FAST LEARNER AND PICKS UP ON EVERYTHING QUICKLY!! ^^

He was so super shocked when you started giving him little kisses here and there, and it soon becomes a game of who can get the most surprise kisses in a day. (He’s proper pouncing on you to get to ur neck)

╰┈➤ 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤

When you guys first met, it was around 9pm. It was dark outside, the street lamps Turing on one by one. We’re carrying home some grocery bags, and when you bumped into a tall, dark and mysterious man with an eerie mask… you immediately compliment his cosplay.

“Ohhh, cool cosplay!!”

“What…?”

Okiii, so anyways you guys are dating now<3

He’s a sneaky one for sure, out of him, Toby and Jeff, he’s the best at keeping what he does a secret. Not that’d you’d notice either way but… yh.

He’s a possessive bastard like Jeff though, he worries about how sweet you are to everyone, he’d hate if someone were to upset you or even worse, hurt you… (And if they do he’d take care of them for you)

He likes that you don’t question his grey skin, empty eye sockets, the sharp teeth, 3 tongues, and ESPECIALLY the tar dripping from where his eyes should be. Less work for him to make up excuses.

But, that doesn’t stop you from questioning his eating habits…

Always questioning him and lecturing him of he shouldn’t feast on raw ‘animals’. Yeah… you bet your ass he’s not telling you about the cannibal or demon thing. And it’s gonna stay like that.

You’re too sweet and pure to him to be revealed to the horrors that is himself. How he longs to be in a universe with you were he can be normal so you guys could live the white picket fence life style.

But, he doesn’t get that. But at least he gets you all to himself, demon or not.

He’s more stunned by your surprise kisses against his mask, but he does find it adorable, how couldn’t he? The way you lean up on your tippy toes with puckered lips. He can’t help himself but slide his mask up and take you right then and there.

wowee was this long, can u tell I had to get this out of my system:3

[demonpiratehuntress]

mistletoe

featuring - Zoro x F!Reader, Ace x F!Reader, Sanji x F!Reader, Luffy x F!Reader, Law x F!Reader, Usopp x F!Reader, Kaku x F!Reader

summary - jumping on the mistletoe bandwagon, their reactions to finding themselves under the mistletoe with you

warnings - none

a/n: Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it! I don't but I wanted to wish everyone else :)

ZORO

You would be lying if you said you didn't plan all week mostly trying to get Zoro under mistletoe with you. Coming up with excuses to get him in a doorway seemed near impossible, but after a very long few days of thinking, you had your plan set.

"Zorooooooo~"

The swordsman groaned, knowing exactly what that sing-song call meant for him. It could only spell mischief, and he popped open an eye to peer at you curiously.

"What do you want, woman?" He grumbled.

You pouted, "Come onnnnn, lighten up! It's Christmas!" You tugged on his arm. "Pleaseeee?"

He sighed loudly, "Fine."

He let you pull him up and drag him along, silently cursing his willingness to go along with whatever silly endeavor you chose for each day. He couldn't help it, as much as he wanted to just sleep, he loved you enough to participate in your silly antics.

When you suddenly stopped and pointed upwards, Zoro was confused. Then he looked up, and his eyes found some mistletoe hanging from the top of the doorframe.

"Seriously?" He looked back at you, frowning.

You rolled your eyes, "Fine, I'll go get Sanji."

That was enough to make him growl and grab your waist, tugging you forward so you were against his chest. You giggled innocently and wrapped your arms around his neck.

"You're so annoying," he complained, but kissed you anyway.

He kissed you slowly and deeply, pouring as much love as he could into it. Usually these kisses were brief, but he drew it out and kissed you for longer than you expected, effectively knocking the wind out of you when you pulled away.

"Now can I nap in peace?"

ACE

This man right here is perhaps the only one in this list that does not need to be dragged under it. He is the one carrying it around, putting it over two people's heads randomly and then running off giggling when they yell and chase him. But he will also put it over your head and his, although it took him a few tries.

"(Nameeeee)! Look what I got!"

Your energetic boyfriend bounded into the room you were busy in, holding something behind his back. He pouted when you didn't even look up, before repeatedly tapping your arm to get your attention.

"(Name), (Name), (Name)..."

He's like a little kid. So eventually you give in and look at him, only to see him raise something and hold it above yours and his heads. You blush madly upon seeing what it was, feeling butterflies form in the pit of your stomach. The fiery commander smiled innocently, and you couldn't help but giggle as you pulled away from your work to indulge him, wrapping your arms around his bare waist.

"Well, look what we have here," you smirked.

"I know, what a coincidence," he shot you a goofy grin, leaning in.

"I'm not complaining."

You crashed your lips against his, kissing him fiercely and hotly. He reciprocated immediately, making sure to keep the mistletoe hanging above as he cupped your cheek in his free hand, smiling against your lips. He loved kisses like these, energetic and passionate but also loving and adoring.

"That was by far the best response I've gotten to hanging this over people's heads."

"Oh my god, Ace!" you giggled, realising why everyone had been out for Ace's blood today. You shook your head at his antics, pecking his lips one more time before going back to work.

LAW

The complete opposite of Ace, Law is the hardest to get under the mistletoe. He is always cooped up in his room, working, and barely leaves. So you have to do some really deep thinking and planning to get this stubborn man to kiss you under the mistletoe.

Of course, he has to leave his room for meals, so you decide to strike at breakfast on Christmas.

You failed to account for the fact that Law was the most observant person to ever exist, and that he would easily spot the mistletoe you not-so-secretly hid above his doorway. He did find it, and called you first - knowing full well this was one of your shenanigans.

"(Name)-ya, what's that?"

You swallowed nervously and looked up, letting out a nervous chuckle, "I have no idea how that got there."

"Uh huh," he hummed, stepping closer to you. "Look me in the eye and say that again."

You couldn't. And now you were getting too nervous to even just grab him and kiss him, but little did you know that was part of his plan. He was flipping the switch, turning the tables on you and making it seem as if it was his idea.

"Well, you know the rule," he said casually, leaning closer to you. "I'm waiting."

Your face turned a dark shade of red at that, and you fidgeted with your shirt anxiously before leaning in to meet him halfway, letting your lips touch his gently. He was the one who deepened it, pulling you close and wrapping his arms around your waist.

Law, when he wanted to be, could be just as mischievous, if not more.

SANJI

I take it back, Sanji is the easiest to get under the mistletoe. In fact, he is the one planting the mistletoe everywhere in hopes of getting to snag a kiss from you at one point. Little did he expect, his plan would backfire quite miserably. Because instead of walking into the kitchen with you, you got stuck in the doorway with Usopp under the mistletoe, because Usopp had tried to get out the same time you tried to go in.

"YOU LONG-NOSED SNAKE-"

Sanji was fuming, throwing a tantrum as you just giggled and pecked the sniper's cheek, earning an embarrassed blush from him as he scuttled off.

"Babe-"

"Next one is mine, I swear!"

That did not happen. You just happened to be walking out of the aquarium when Zoro walked in, and Sanji almost fainted when the two of you landed under the mistletoe.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

"Rules are rules, twirly brows," Zoro smirked, enjoying this solely because it irritated the hell out of Sanji. As the blonde fumed and threw another tantrum, you gave Zoro a quick peck on the cheek as well before moving on.

Only after you had given Luffy, Brook, Franky and Chopper cheek kisses as well did Sanji FINALLY get you under the mistletoe, but by then he was in tears. Crying over how badly he'd planned this.

"Come here you," you laughed and pulled him close by the collars of his shirt, smashing your lips against his. You kissed him fervently, showing him that you'd been waiting for this kiss the most. He eventually relaxed and kissed you back just as passionately, locking his arms around your waist.

"About damn time."

KAKU

Oh, boy. The ratio of boys to girls in the CP9 team is horrible. There are two women, compared to six men. That's excluding Spandam, because you never included him in these things. But still, it was quite difficult for Kaku to surprise you with mistletoe because of the rare chance of getting you to walk where he placed it without you figuring it out.

Oh well.

So, begrudgingly, Khalifa agreed to help him out. Knowing it wouldn't be suspicious if she led you through a specific doorway, you followed her easily without questioning it.

That is, until she stopped outside the doorway and you entered at the same time as Kaku was trying to leave. The CP9 swordsman blushed, thankful that this worked, and shyly gestured up towards the mistletoe. Your eyes widened, before your own blush formed on your cheeks.

He is so so shy, you are the one who actually makes the move. He may have planted the mistletoe, but he is too nervous and flustered to actually lean in and kiss you, so you have to grab him by the zipper of his jacket and tug him down to meet you at eye-level.

"It's cute that you planned it out," you smiled innocently, knowing about it since Khalifa was not great at hiding what her task was.

"How did you-" He looked at Khalifa, who just shrugged and turned away. He blushed harder, "I didn't want to get anyone else under here by accident."

His admission made you giggle, "Fair enough."

Then you leaned in and kissed him slowly and deeply, angling your face away from his long nose after multiple experiences of your kisses being ruined by your eye being poked. His arms slipped around your waist and he lifted you up slightly, since he was much taller, and kissed you even deeper than you had kissed him.

"Get a room!" Jabra yelled, which you both ignored.

LUFFY

At least everyone else on this list actually knows what mistletoe is. Poor Luffy was so confused by the concept when Nami brought it up a few days before, and even explaining it to him didn't help. Unfortunately, on the day of Christmas, before anyone could actually show him what it was, Luffy had already eaten like three of the four plants that were strung up randomly around the ship.

"Luffy!" Nami scolded, "They're not food!"

Sanji had set them up, not knowing your dear captain would be oblivious enough to consume them, though he should have known better. Fortunately, since the cook was desperately trying to get either Robin or Nami to kiss him, he had spares.

"It's mistletoe, Luffy," you giggled as you took his hand and guided him to where Sanji had hung a surprise one for you and Luffy.

"What does it do?" He blinked, so very cutely confused.

"Well," you began, stopping under the doorway with the mistletoe, "You have to kiss the person you end up under the mistletoe with." As you said it, you blushed hard.

"But why?" Luffy asked. "Can't I just kiss you anyway?"

You laughed at that, blushing more, "You can, but it's more like...a cute tradition."

"Oh," he nodded, looking like he understood. He did not.

"Luffy," you sighed, pointing up at the plant.

He looked up, got excited and reached for it...only to have you slap his hand away.

"Don't eat it!"

Before he could respond, you tugged him against you by his waistcoat and kissed him deeply, successfully distracting him from his mission to apparently consume all the mistletoe you owned. He wrapped his arms around you excitedly and kissed you messily, but you didn't mind because he was just very eager.

"I get it now!"

USOPP

Like Kaku, Usopp is an extremely shy, flustered boy. He is so nervous all the time and when Robin off-handedly mentions mistletoe a day before Christmas, Usopp almost faints. He has kissed you before, but the idea of setting it up and leading you to it had his knees knocking together, his legs becoming two wavy lines.

"Usopp!" You called excitedly, rushing to find your boyfriend. While he was so nervous about the mistletoe, you had no such qualms and even blatantly waved it around over your head. "Look what I found!"

When you reached him, you smiled innocently as you held the little plant over your heads, grabbing his hand to pull him close.

"And what exactly do you have there?" He asked, feigning confusion.

You raised an eyebrow, then smirked, "Are you getting shy on me again? How cute." You kissed his cheek, making him protest.

"Is that my kiss?! That is so unfair, how can you just-"

You cut him off by actually kissing him, effectively shutting him up and drowning out his complaints. You kissed him deeply, much more passionately than your usual kisses and giggled when his legs almost gave out from under him.

"I-I was gonna do that..."

"Uh huh."

[itsthewritergal]

Please can I hold you? - Bucky.Barnes x Reader

Hello my loves,

I'm trying to be better this year at writing.

Summary: Y/N leaves, and Bucky tries his hardest to fix it.

TW: Kissing, trauma, family trauma, shouting, swearing, (let me know if I've missed some)

January 1st, it was supposed to be their year. They had promised each other that this was it, Bucky and Y/N. Bucky had promised no more long missions away from Y/N, Y/N had promised that she would move in with Bucky so they could finally spend more time together. A good year was what they wanted, what they deserved, what they needed.  But here they were screaming at each other over Bucky not kissing Y/N at midnight. Y/N had explained to Bucky multiple times that she was at the edge, she couldn’t cope anymore with arguing, and whilst Bucky never admitted it, he hated it just as much, if not more than Y/N. Yet here they were. 

“And another thing, I didn’t even want to go to Nat’s stupid New Year’s eve party” Bucky screamed ‘I wanted to be at home with you’ was the bit he failed to include in his insult. 

“You told me you wanted to be with people you loved on New Year’s Eve, I thought it would be fun” She shouted back “You think it was fun for me? Because it fucking wasn’t. All I wanted to do was come home, the whole night, but you wanted to keep drinking” She seethed, Bucky wanted to tell her it wasn’t true. He didn’t want to drink, but he stupidly got caught up in the party. 

“Now you’re going to get at me for drinking? Like you don’t do it every single weekend” He shouted, “Thor never brings that fucking mead, I deserved to have a nice night” He was being mean intentionally, but he couldn’t stop. 

“I never said you didn’t Buck” She said her voice suddenly quieter, Bucky should have noticed it was because she was getting upset but he didn’t. 

“Do you have any idea how hard I’ve been working? I just wanted one nice night” Bucky should have stopped himself, he knows he should stop but he couldn’t. He was angry at himself for not putting his foot down and saying he wanted to spend time with just Y/N. 

“One nice night?” Y/N parroted “The nights we have aren’t nice? Is that what you’re saying?” 

“No! You’re twisting my words” Bucky snapped, he spoke with insecurity but it came across as anger and Y/N didn’t like that 

“Because I’m the bad guy right? James Bucky Barnes can’t put a foot wrong, but I can. That’s all I do right?” Y/N said, her fears coming to the surface. The insecurity was all from her messed up childhood, Bucky knew that from their late night chats, when they’d lay next to each other and confess everything, but he didn’t realise that the fear was seeping into their relationship. 

“That’s not what this is about” Bucky said realising suddenly how far he had taken the fight, and how distraught Y/N was becoming 

“Isn’t it?” Y/N snapped, her eyes locked onto Bucky as a target.

“You’re making this worse than it needs to be” Bucky said, unknowingly adding more fuel to the fire 

“Yeah that’s me isn’t it? Making everything worse. Don’t worry Buck, I get it” She snapped turning away from Bucky 

“Where the hell are you going?” He called after her 

“Downstairs Buck, I need some space away from you right now” She stormed out of their bedroom and down the stairs. Bucky sat down on their bed with his head in his hands, he had just fucked everything up. 

Taking a deep breath Bucky decided to set an alarm for 10 minutes, and once it had gone off he would go and speak to Y/N calmly about his feelings. That was how they were going to fix it. He knew he had messed up but he would fix it. 

Y/N stood in their hallway, and listened to Bucky close their bedroom door. She knew she had blown things out of proportion, she had made things worse. The little voice in her head told her she had messed things up seriously this time. There was no coming back from this. Bucky hated her, she knew that much. The thought along was enough to almost break her, pulling on her trainers she left the house silently, following the little voice down the streets. She twisted and turned around the streets she used to love walking with Bucky, but now they just felt like they were taunting her as she remembered the kisses they had shared at the bus stop, and the stray cat they had wanted to adopt by the street corner.  She couldn’t cope with it, so she began to run. 

The wind blew in her ears, the kind of fierce that stopped her from having to think, it was dark and the street lamps did little to ease her discomfort. She was on her way home, in the desperate hope that Bucky was asleep, or at Steve’s or Sam’s. She had no idea of the time,  having left her phone at home in Bucky’s jacket pocket most likely, but she sent a silent prayer to the sky that it was late enough that Bucky wouldn’t still be around. She couldn’t face him, not after everything she had done. Her mother was right, she wasn’t made for relationships, she would always mess them up, and now she had screwed up the only good thing she had going for her. This was it. She was done. Y/N didn’t notice the way her hands shivered a little with the cold biting wind, with her furious mood and growing insecurity she had forgotten a coat.  As she turned onto her and Bucky’s street the tears started again, this really was the end. Her and Bucky were about to be done, finished, ended. 

So much for their year. She mused to herself silently, revelling in the cruel twist of fate, her mother was right. 

Pushing the handle of the door down quietly, in the hope to not wake Bucky if he was in, Y/N creaked the door open. She took a shaky step into the house, listening out for Bucky. When she was satisfied that there was no sound of him she closed the door behind her and took off her shoes. 

“Y/N?” Bucky’s shaky voice called out, she froze. “Baby?” He said coming into the hall, Y/N put her hand back on the door handle, she was ready to run again, this was not a conversation she was ready to have. 

“Don’t you dare ever scare me like that again” He said wrapping his arms around her tensed body, Y/N kept herself tensed, she was ready to run if she needed. 

“I know you’re scared, I know you think you’ve messed this all up but I swear to you this whole argument is on me” he said refusing to let her out of his embrace, 

“Bucky stop” she said quietly 

“I’m sorry” He said dropping his arms, she looked up at him with red eyes ��Could you come and sit down in the lounge for me?” He asked 

“I should go” 

“No” Bucky said “You’re going to come and sit down and we are going to talk about this, because we are bigger than your insecurities and we are going to fix this” he said, 

“Oh,” Y/N said “oh” She repeated once the words had settled into her head “You aren’t breaking up with me?” 

“Come on doll, come sit down for me?” He said 

“Ok” She said, following Bucky through their house. 

Y/N settled herself into an armchair, where she could curl her legs up underneath herself. Bucky opted for the sofa opposite her, picking up on the fact that she didn’t want to touch him just yet. 

“Before we start, the next time you need to get away you tell me where you’re going. I was terrified doll, I know the kind of people that are out there and if you need space, please let me come with you. I promise I won’t walk beside you or speak to you but I need to know you are safe.” Bucky said “Please?” 

“I’m sorry Buck” She said,

“No apologies. We have to make mistakes to fix them for the future yeah?” He said 

“I don think I can do this Bucky. All your friends hate me, I invited you to a party you didn’t want to be at, I asked you to cut down your missions. Everything I do, makes me the issue in this relationship” She said, 

“That’s not true, everyone loves you—”

“No they don’t, they put up with me” 

“No, no, Y/N. Please don’t do this. I know you’re spiralling, I know that you’ve always been made to believe that its your fault. But I swear to you this one is on me. I wanted to spend New Years Eve with just you. I wanted to kiss you at midnight, but I fucked up. I got drunk and neglected you. You should have been my priority at midnight, not that stupid drink” 

“I should’ve let you have fun” Y/N said 

“No, I should have kissed you” Bucky said, his tone was final and Y/N didn’t want to argue anymore. 

“I didn’t deserve it” 

“You don’t have to earn love” Bucky said, moving to the carpeted space in front of Y/N’s armchair, taking Y/N’s hands in his he pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles “I love you, I want to spend my life with you and I will spend every single moment apologising to you for the way I acted” 

“I’m sorry for saying all those mean things Buck” Y/N said “I didn’t mean them I just wanted to make myself the bad person so you could hate me. I wanted you to hate me” 

“Why did you want that?” Bucky asked after pressing another kiss to her hand 

“So you’d end things, so my fears could come true. It’s sadistic, but I guess I’m always just waiting for the end so I just wanted it to happen. Like ripping a bandage off” 

“Oh Y/N” Bucky said gently “You never have to be scared of me leaving. We will always work through our issues, you’re my life. You’re my world, this is it for me.” 

“So you’re not waiting for me to fuck up so you can leave?” 

“No, I’m not” Bucky said 

“I’m sorry” she whispered 

“No more apologies” Bucky whispered “Please let me hold you baby? We can talk more in the morning I promise. But right now I just need to hold you”

“You never need to ask”

[theabigailthorn]

Hey I’ve been a fan for a little while now, and I just wanted to say that you’ve been an inspiration for me, a younger transfemme. But I do wanna also ask: what’s it like being a trans woman with her life together? I’m 19 (as of sending), been on hrt for almost 5 months, and have been trans for a year and change. But I’m scared. So, I guess, I wanted to ask: does being trans ever become the norm, my baseline? What’s it like after 2-3 years? And does it get any less confusing or scary?

I think there are a few things going on here.

I don't have my life together as much as it might seem; I just don't show you all the ways it's not. I don't talk publicly about the auditions I don't get, or the things I try and fail at, or the insecurities in my own head that hold me back sometimes, or the handful of decisions I've made that were bad calls and which still keep me up occasionally. I've talked about trauma and mental illness in the past, but I only ever discuss stuff I'm comfortably over - when I'm overwhelmed or in the middle of a crisis I don't post about it. I don't set out to deceive you by presenting myself that way, I just keep my most private stuff private. Everybody has failures and regrets and insecurities: "it's a sign of having lived," as my friend Phoebe told me today. But you see a curated version of me that appears not only more together than the real person, but more together than any real person.

Also, if you're 19 a lot of your life hasn't been in your control until pretty recently and a lot of it still might not be. I'd say it's okay to not feel like you have it all together. You just transitioned, which I think is one of the hardest things a human being can do: you can give yourself credit for that even if you feel like you're not settled into it yet. Congratulations!

As for it becoming the baseline, I mean yeah? Kinda? At least for me. Sometimes I forget. I had a moment today in the gym where I saw a man and I was like "Oh yeah, I used to be one of them, sortof? Weird!" The first year is the hardest, or so they say. I wouldn't say I get less confused or scared now, just scared and confused in different ways. I worry less about getting attacked in the street than I did in my first year, for example. (I'm lucky and privileged in that regard.) But I worry a lot more about other people. I struggle a lot with survivor's guilt, which is something only people who survive get! Anyone who's had a drink with me in the last six months has heard me beat myself up because the night of The Prince premiere in New York was the night of Brianna Taylor's vigil in the UK. That wasn't a deliberate decision - the premiere was booked and paid for months before she was even killed - but I've become a lot more sensitive to those sorts of feelings precisely because I spend less time worrying about myself. I'm more aware now of what my transness means for other people. Like, I made an ironic joke when I came out that I'd become The Transgender Princess of TERF Island, and it's kindof haunted me since - I didn't set out to become "a famous trans person" but it's happened a little bit and it's going to happen a lot more next year. That comes with serious responsibilities and a few mild drawbacks, as well as perks, obviously. So I guess that's a longwinded way of saying I might be a weird person to ask this question because, at least for right now, my transness, my whole self, doesn't just belong to me.

Oh also, some great advice I got from my friends: Paris: "Only change the things that bother you on your good days," and Mattie: "Don't believe anything you think about your life after 9pm."

[hangesslut]

Campfires & Ghost Stories

Levi Ackerman x Reader (18+)

(Smutty smut at the end, lovelies <3)

“Y/N, STOP IT!” I laugh loudly as Sasha yells at me. It’s been close to two hours of telling spooky stories and you finally got one that made everyone cave.

“Okay, okay! I’m done.” Grinning wide, I set back down on a log and feel the warmth of the campfire. Turning towards Sasha I drop my face into a horrified look as I stare past her shoulder. In reality there’s nothing behind her, but she jumps up and runs towards Jean, absolutely freaking out.

“What! What’s there!?” She stares at you wide-eyed. Trying to keep my composure, I fail and start dying of laughter once again.

“I’m sorry Sasha! You’re just too easy to scare…” I wipe the tears from my eyes and take a few deep breaths. Sasha just huffs and plops down on the log next to Jean and Connie. I pull my cloak around me and shiver lightly as the fire starts to die down. I go to stand up to grab more firewood, but get gently shoved back down. I look up and see Captain Levi. He nods at me and goes to grab more wood. You watch as he takes careful steps around everyone towards the area with our tents.

I’d never admit this to anyone, but I find that man so incredibly attractive. The way he holds himself alone is enough to kill a lady, but he’s also got these piercing eyes and such an intense way about him. He’s shorter, but I’ve only got a few inches on him. I wonder if he makes up for that somewhere else… I feel my face getting hot at the idea and I use my cloak to cover it. Levi walks back, tossing some logs into the fire and sits back down.

“Hey, you okay?” He partially grunts out. I quickly nod, keeping my face covered.

“Just cold!” Ugh. That came out a little too enthusiastically. I throw a quick glance at him and see he’s staring me down. He hums and slowly nods before looking away.

Looking around the camp, everyone seems pretty preoccupied. Eren, Mikasa and Armin are all talking about something that happened in training. Connie and Jean are picking fun at Sasha. I’m not even sure when or why I sat next to him, but Levi and I have been uncomfortably close on this log for awhile. I could have sworn we were sitting further away before he got up to get wood… Did he sit closer to me after he came back? I look down at the little space in between us, his hand dangerously close to my thigh. I start imagining what his hands would feel like, rubbing and grabbing my legs. Would they be soft or rough? Would he even do that?

I’m yanked out of my daydream by someone standing up and yelling about it being late and needing to go to bed. A few others mutter in agreement and head towards their respective tents. I look around and see that other than me and Levi, Eren is still sat looking at the fire. His face stretches into a slow yawn as he stands up.

“I think I’m gonna head to bed too, goodnight Y/N.” He sends me a soft smile and a small nod to Levi.

“Goodnight, Eren.” I give him a small wave and watch as he climbs into his tent.

I hear Levi clear his throat and I feel my body tense. “I-I should head to bed too, sir.”

I gather some things and lean to stand up just as Levi grabs my arm and drags me down. Landing directly onto his lap, I drop my things and gasp. All he does is slowly wrap his arms around my waist.

“Stay. Stay here with me a little longer.” He hums out.

I shiver in response to his low, warm voice and nod.

“Y-yes sir.” I feel him tense slightly.

“You can drop the formalities Y/N, it’s just us here now…” I feel his hand slide down my back and around to my thighs.

I try my hardest to relax, but so many things are running through my mind. I bring my bottom lip in between my teeth and glance down at him. I’m met with two shining eyes, staring me down intensely. I want to look away, but I can’t. I watch his eyes travel down to my lips, before coming back to my eyes.

“Can I ask you something, Y/N?” God. The way my name sounds coming out of this man’s mouth is intoxicating. I nod my head slowly.

“Use your words.” My breath hitches.

“Yes, sir…” I watch his eyes darken slightly. He brings one hand up and wraps it in my hair.

“Can I kiss you?” Oh god yes!

“U-um yeah. I mean yes!” Levi wastes no time and pushes his lips onto mine. My eyes shoot open and then quickly relax as I allow myself to fall further into the kiss.

His hand in my hair slides down as he wraps both hands under me. Picking me up he carries me over to his tent. I hear the zipper slide open, the next thing I know I’m laying on my back with Levi hovering over me. My eyes are wide and staring at his. He leans down and slowly starts kissing my jaw, sliding down to my neck. He leaves little kisses and bites. Letting out little gasps as he goes, I feel him smirk against my skin.

“You like that? You like how I feel, kissing you and sucking on you?” I let out a low, quiet moan at his words and I feel him pick up the pace.

“What did I say, use your words.” I whine lightly and bite my lip.

“Y-yes! I like it, oh god yes.” I struggle to get my words out, only to sound embarrassing. I hear Levi chuckle and he slowly starts rubbing his hands up and down my thighs. His body is fully in between my legs now and his hands keep inching higher and higher. I feel like I’m going to come apart already and he’s barely even done anything! His fingers slowly brush up against me and the feeling sends an electric shock through my whole body.

“A-ah! L-levi!” I look up at him and see him staring down at me, pupils blown wide. His hands make an effort at undoing my pants, popping the button and slowly sliding his hand in. I feel his fingers slowly slide up against my cunt, gently pushing a finger in. I gasp and arch my back. This feeling… I can’t even finish my thought before his thumb starts gently rubbing circles on my clit. I’m going to come completely undone on my Captain’s hand. Moaning and squirming, I feel so much heat around my lower half. Levi bends down, slamming his lips onto mine and continuing his movements. I feel myself getting closer and closer. Oh, I don’t want this to end.

“O-oh! Levi, I-I’m gon-“ I get cut off by another moan as I gasp for air.

He kisses my ear and whispers, “Cum. Cum for me baby. Cum all over my hand.” He picks up the pace and my legs start to shake.

His lips come down and muffle my moans as they’re borderline screams at this point. I feel myself completely unravel around his fingers and for a few seconds I’m in complete bliss. He continues his movements, slowing down as I catch my breath. When he pulls his fingers out I let out a small gasp and see him smirking down at me.

“How was that? I could tell you’ve been thinking about it all night, Y/N.” I feel my face go hot and I bite my lip.

“It was…amazing. Thank you, sir.” He laughs quietly. Slipping himself in beside me and yanking me towards him.

“No need to thank me, just lay here for now and relax. I needed it as much as you did.” He pulls me into his chest and wraps his arms around me. I close my eyes, relaxing into his hold and sigh. I feel myself getting more and more tired.

“Sleep, Y/N.” I feel him kiss the top of my head as my eyes flutter fully closed, letting sleep fully take me.

[cryoux]

Wanderer x reader - Dream Invasion

(Sorry for using The Wanderer Picture of all time)

The Wanderer was a little exasperated now.

It seemed you couldn't go a few minutes without wandering off out of sight - which was ironic, considering who was named 'the Wanderer'.

"Where the hell did you-" he stopped short once he rounded the large tree, seeing his traveling companion laying on the ground. This wasn't the time for a nap, for Celestia's sake! He approached you, ready to give you a rude awakening, but quickly realized that something was horribly wrong.

Shivers wracked your body, and he could hear your body fighting for air with every breath. The Wanderer found himself kneeling next to you, scanning your form with wide eyes to locate the culprit of these symptoms.

The most frustrating part was that he couldn't find anything. With you unconscious and no visible wounds, the Wanderer had no hope of diagnosing the problem. His mind raced with possibilities, but none of them made any sense, and nothing fit. What should he even do? It had been 5 minutes ago that he last saw you, fit and healthy, and now you were struggling to keep yourself alive.

"You are not going to betray me like this." He growled, directing his panic into anger, but that didn't give him any more of a solution.

Then he heard footsteps. Two sets of footsteps. Oh, great. The very last thing he needed was strangers stumbling upon them - he didn't want to take his attention off of you for even a moment. Nevertheless, when a bush rustled and produced two individuals, the Wanderer brought his violet eyes up to examine them closely.

Wait a minute.

He recognized these two.

That one, with the green hair and magenta eyes - she'd been another one of Dottore's wretched experiments, hadn't she? He could have sworn he'd seen her somewhere, whether in person or in a file he could not seem to recall.

And the other, with the massive ears and bushy tail, well, that was the one he had happened to strike with lightning in a show of power. Awkward.

Of course, neither of these people had any way of knowing exactly who he was. In fact, the one-sided recognition was finally working in his favor.

Upon seeing your state, the man -Wanderer had never bothered to learn his name- ordered his subordinate to stay behind him, and he approached with cautious purpose.

"Hey, my name is Tighnari. I'm a forest ranger from Gandharva Ville, and your friend isn't looking too good. If you'd just allow me to-"

"No!" The Wanderer shouted as he saw the forest watcher reach for you. Of course he didn't trust this guy, he'd just walked out of a bush and apparently felt chivalrous enough to help a stranger. It was too kind to be true.

The forest ranger stopped with a frown. "If I may, they really need some help, and quickly-"

"No, we don't need your help! Get lost!" The Wanderer snapped, his hand protectively curled around your wrist.

"Sir, I don't care what you need, I'm more concerned about the fact that your friend here had a run-in with that cherry laurel over there," the scholar retorted with unexpected sass, then gesturing to an unassuming bush, "and they need medical attention!"

A tense staredown took place between them, both parties equally as stubborn in getting their way. The green-haired girl was the one who managed to break the silence, though she sounded laughably timid.

"Please trust Master Tighnari!" She squeaked, trying her hardest to alleviate the tension. While she failed, the Wanderer still managed to look at her, then at Tighnari, then down to you - who was noticeably worse than just a minute ago. His brow furrowed. He did not trust these people at all, and he hated having to back down from any sort of confrontation, but… you really weren't looking good. And if you left him, the wandering puppet felt that he would finally shatter for good.

So, after scowling to himself and convincing his head and (metaphorical) heart to compromise, he brought his gaze back up to this 'Tighnari'.

"...fine." the Wanderer conceded, allowing his worry pricking through his defenses and helping dictate his actions. "What do we do."

"At this stage, I need to give her an intravenous antidote. I can take her back to Gandharva Ville," the forest watcher reached for your shuddering body, and the Wanderer narrowed his eyes at him as he pulled you even closer. Tighnari backed off, though irritation sparked in his eyes. "Or you can. Just keep up, got it? She's running out of time."

With a nod, the Wanderer scooped you into his arms, holding you as he rose to his feet. He absolutely hated needing help from anyone, but you somehow meant more to him than his stupid pride.

Tighnari led the way, and the green-haired girl attempted to take up the rear - after a withering glare from the Wanderer, though, she popped back up to her colleague. The group rushed through the forest, and by the time they reached the little village in the canopy, your shuddering had increased considerably.

The moment they stepped into one of the huts, Tighnari sprung into action. Orders were given, supplies were retrieved, but none of that really mattered to the Wanderer. He set you down on the one bed in the little hut, and gently brushed some dirt off of your cheek. He didn't care where he was, who he was with, or what situation he'd gotten himself into, all he cared about was the one in front of him.

"Please," he murmured, as if you would wake up with his willpower alone. But he had learned that no matter how hard he wished, the world was cruel, and existed only to laugh at him.

"Please, don't leave me. I'll rewrite Irminsul itself to get you back. I swear it." The Wanderer allowed himself this moment of weakness, though he buried it once more the second Tighnari approached.

It was difficult for the watcher to work around the Wanderer's possessive behavior, but he managed to insert the IV anyways, then breathing a sigh of relief and giving the Wanderer a small jar and spoon.

"I've given them the antidote, and I'll take out the IV in twenty minutes. In that jar is activated charcoal, it'll help flush the poison from their system. Just have them swallow some, whenever you can." Tighnari instructed, standing from his stool and gesturing for the Wanderer to take a seat instead. "Do you need anything for your stress? I have several herbal teas that can help calm you."

The Wanderer opened his mouth to retort with a no, how dare you assume he's stressed, he's perfectly fine without your stupid tea! But ultimately thought better of it. This guy had just saved you, after all, and he was due for some appreciativeness. Just maybe not so much from the Wanderer.

"...I suppose." He kept his eyes trained on his companion, even as he heard the forest watcher leave and close the leaf shade door behind him.

Silence overtook the room. Much to his relief, your breathing had slowed down significantly, and your horrible quivering had reduced to a minimal amount. The Wanderer recalled the instructions he'd been given, and he let out a sigh. What a nuisance this all was.

The Wanderer opted to pull the blanket up to your chin, then froze. You looked almost... peaceful, in this state. It was strange for him to nurse you like this, he realized, a second before he realized that he was now just staring at you. With a huff, he turned around and buried his flushed face in his hands.

"Damn you." He muttered to you in his moment of weakness, fighting to control the blush on his face. Caring for you was the priority - he needed to curb his personal feelings for now.

After several minutes of silence filled only by his own rush of thoughts, a knock sounded at the door. Wanderer looked up, only to see that grassy-haired girl yet again. She looked so nervous, he suspected she may just pass out on the spot.

"H-hi there! I'm Collei, a trainee forest ranger… I brought some clothes for them and, uh, tea for you. I-I'll just set it here, see you!" For being on her own territory, she was ridiculously skittish. As she ducked back out the door, he failed to find any good reason why his ex-ally had bothered experimenting on such a weak-willed individual.

The sugar and honey presented on the platter made the Wanderer scrunch his nose in disdain, rolling his eyes before picking up the piping hot cup and sniffing it. The tea was an aromatic green, with hints of mint reaching past the stark scent of the tea leaves. It was, decidedly, not tampered with, not that it would matter; the Wanderer took a sip and was pleased to confirm that it was, in fact, just tea.

He savored the tea over some time, allowing the bitter green to ground him as he watched your form intently. There was noticeably more life in your skin, and your shaking had reduced almost entirely. Now he just needed you to wake up, damnit!

The Wanderer set down his empty cup with a massive sigh. How could he have let something like this happen? Truly pathetic - he couldn't even keep an eye on the one person he held dearest, and the sense that this was all his fault clung to him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, as if you would wake up by the power of his rare remorse. Hah, yeah right. The world would never be so kind as to do what he wanted it to. He found himself leaning down towards you, reaching out to rest a hand against yours - only to tear it away like your radiance had burned him. How dare he attempt to sully you with his cursed touch? The very notion of having direct contact with you made him ill, though only towards himself, not at all directed to you.

The Wanderer hated that he felt this way. He hated the fuzzy feeling that took hold of him when you were near, practically stupefying him. Oh, how pathetic he felt, gone from being a feared Fatui Harbinger to a clueless, lovesick wanderer. While his Fatui days were retired for good, he still wished he didn't feel quite so… airheaded. Maybe he even wished he couldn't feel at all.

Rays of sun shattered through his melancholy as the door opened, and the Wanderer practically leapt back into his stool near the bed. Tighnari was back now, sighing to himself like he had more work to do than even the most studious scholar. "Well, let's see how they are," he approached the IV drip first, then followed the line to the person it was connected to. Following a short physical assessment, Tighnari nodded to himself.

"You're in luck! They're doing very well. But I would advise staying put for at least a few days. Those plants can really mess with someone. Ask for me if you need anything, I'll be back later." The forest watcher said, removing the IV from you and quickly exiting the little hut.

Whether he left quickly out of consideration or antisociality, Wanderer wasn't sure. But it didn't much matter when he turned back around to you. Maybe he could hold your hand, and explain that he was just checking your temperature. Or stilling your tremors. It could have been an accident! So much consideration put into an act that he doubted he was even brave enough to pull off.

A soft muttering shocked him back into the present, and he looked to you with owlish eyes. You were still asleep, he found, but you were growing restless, a deep frown over your features that he loathed to see. Were you relapsing? No, this was a different disturbance. Maybe you were having a nightmare? He couldn't quite confirm, but it sure seemed like it. The way your eyes darted back and forth under your eyelids was the biggest indicator, until he heard your increasingly distressed whimpers and witnessed your now panicked twitching. But what could he do? He was no stranger to nightmares, but it wasn't like anybody had ever comforted him through them. Normally he'd just reason through it, but he couldn't exactly reason with someone who was unconscious. Could he still enter your consciousness with the remnants of his divine power? Shit… he could try. All it would take...

Was physical contact. Unbelievable.

Taking a deep breath in and situating himself comfortably, the Wanderer reached out to grasp your hand in his own before he could second guess himself any more. Your hand was warm, he couldn't help but think as he closed his eyes, and even as he took his consciousness and sought after yours. After connecting with it, he opened his eyes, only to see darkness. No, did he fail? Was that feat beyond his power now?

A sob halted all trains of thought and motion throughout him. Slowly, he turned around, only to see you, knelt on the ground as crystalline tears fell from your eyes. No.

Ignoring your thoughts now voiced in the back of his own mind, he blinked - this time, there was grass under his feet, and a glittering starry sky as far as he could see. The scenery was quite beautiful, all things considered. But the only beauty he concerned himself with was the one crying in front of him.

Tentatively, the Wanderer reached out a hand to rest on your head. He was never good at comforting people, and he wasn't going to pretend he could be, but he could at least mimic the actions he'd seen others do when faced with similar situations.

He didn't dare speak, only allowing the weight of his hand on your head to communicate his presence. Eventually, you wiped away a set of those tears and looked up to see just who had joined you.

"Oh. It's you." You said, though whether you thought it a good or bad thing he couldn't quite tell. You sniffled pathetically, in a way that hurt his soul itself, and a wave of memories flooded his mind. Sorrow, anger, betrayal… your past grievances were not unlike his own, he discovered.

"Why are you…" he trailed off, not sure whether to acknowledge the situation or not. You only sighed, focusing on controlling your voice.

You shook your head. "It doesn't matter." A lie. It did matter, your thoughts inadvertently told him. "You can stop pretending to comfort me." The Wanderer frowned.

"I'm not pretending."

Your eyes went wide, only for you to return to normal just as quickly. "Right. You're the version my brain conjured to cheer myself up, of course you would be different."

He yearned to tell you it was real, that he was here, but that felt like far too much explanation. Besides, if you only saw him as a figment of your imagination, then…

He could do things he'd never dare entertain otherwise.

Finally, he chose to ignore the comment, pulling your body up to stand with ease. As much as the tears pained him, he still found them so, so pretty. Just like every other bit of your existence. How pathetic he sounded.

Reaching his hands up to your head was a tentative motion, and slowly, he cupped his hands around your face, allowing his thumbs to brush away any straggling teardrops. If it were anyone else, he would have drawn away in disgust, washing his hands raw to rid himself of the germs. But you weren't anyone else. You were yourself, and that was truly all he needed you to be.

His uncharacteristic actions no longer confused you, now that you had remembered your dream state. Instead, you figured this was what you wished for every waking hour, manifesting in your dreams yet again.

The Wanderer raised an eyebrow. Again? Had you dreamed of him before? That would explain why you'd greeted him so comfortably, but it felt a little too conceited for himself to assume.

You seemed to be deeply considering something. Desperately, more than anything else in the imaginary world right now, you wanted to touch your Wanderer. To feel his porcelain unmarred skin underneath your fingertips, to gaze into the violet depths of his eyes, to run your hands through his silky hair, knock his hat off, and pull him in close-

Wait, what? You wanted to do what?!

Quickly, to avoid letting you see his rapidly forming blush, the Wanderer pulled you into his chest in a hug. His head rested on your shoulder, arms encircling your body, and now he couldn't tell if the fluttering in his chest was his own or merely a transmission from you.

He was practically gaping in his shock. No way, there was no way he'd just seen that in your thoughts. It couldn't have been from his own mind, could it? While it was unlikely, he couldn't dismiss the possibility, so he attempted to calm his -or your- racing 'heart'.

After a long while, the equilibrium was broken, and you pulled away from the embrace. The Wanderer, though, held you tight, unwilling to let you go.

It appeared you wanted to stay close as much as he did, because you once again rested your head on his chest, reaching out to fidget with the anemo vision he'd so oddly received. While it was just a hunk of metal and glass, he found it akin to you toying with his very own heart, tantalizing him with your warm perfection.

"Forgive me, dream-wanderer. I don't think I can hold myself back anymore."

Your words confused him, and he looked at you with a purely puzzled expression until you straightened up, looked him in the eyes, and-

His own eyes went impossibly wide. Through sheer shock, he felt his chest explode with feelings he'd known before, and others he would never hope to identify. It scared him, it exhilarated him, and most of all it pleased him, far too much. Tears threatened to fall from his own eyes, so he squeezed them shut and redirected his mind to the situation at hand. However fake you thought this was, he didn't care as your lips pressed against his own.

You pulled away all too soon for his liking, and he jolted from his daze to bring you back, this time with fervor. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve you. You were everything, all the things he could never be and all the things he wanted, placed into one individual at one point in time. How dare he allow himself this moment of happiness, after no less than three betrayals? As lovely as your touch, your scent, you were, he didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve you.

These thoughts plagued his mind even as you pulled away for air, manifesting themselves as tears welling up along his eyes. Damnit, he was really going to cry over something like this?

Yes. Yes he was. But hopefully not right now, if he could help it.

"You need to wake up." The Wanderer prompted, trying to get himself under control.

You sighed, seeming forlorn. "I know. But I just want a little longer with you."

He wanted to reassure you that he'd have you as long as you'd have him, that he would always welcome you into his life - but that would be giving too much away. You could never find out what had truly happened here in your dream.

But oh, would he treasure the memory. The feeling of being so close to you, the elation that took hold of him when you'd kissed him - you had kissed him!

The Wanderer let his arms remain around you as he nuzzled into your neck, unable or unwilling to care about his rather expensive hat tumbling to the ground. Well, it was still technically a dreamscape. Any damage done wouldn't be permanent. So many less than pure thoughts entered his mind the moment he realized this, but he wouldn't allow anything to taint this moment between you two.

Sighing into your neck, he whispered into your ear: "Wake up. Don't be so afraid to lose me; you'll find I'm much closer than you might think." The shiver his proximity pulled from you was satisfying, but he did need you to wake up soon. Any longer in this dream would result in him possibly losing his mind entirely, devoting himself to your affections in a way he long since swore he'd never do for another.

Finally, he allowed himself to slip out of your consciousness, returning to his own body and straightening out his appearance. His body had practically used you as his pillow during his time in your mind, and he was so grateful nobody had come barging in to witness such a thing.

A slight change in breathing patterns alerted him to your awareness as you awoke, eyelids heavy as you tried to take in your surroundings. The Wanderer waited patiently as your eyes traced the patterns in the ceiling, the panes of the window, and eventually came to rest on him. He wanted to brag to the sun and moon themselves that he was the one getting your undivided attention, and wanted to make even the heavens above jealous.

I don't deserve this.

"Hm...?" You made a small, dreary sound, adjusting yourself to the completely unfamiliar surroundings. Almost completely; you would recognize your dear Wanderer anywhere.

"Took you long enough." The Wanderer scoffed, crossing his arms and relaxing his muscles, as if he hadn't been on the edge of his seat and the verge of panic since you'd been afflicted. "Get enough beauty sleep, your highness?"

Though it was meant with sarcastic and snide intentions, the 'pet name' made your breath catch as your stomach was invaded by butterflies. Or was it the toxins? You couldn't be too sure.

"What-" upon hearing your scratchy voice, you paused and cleared your throat, though it didn't solve the problem. The Wanderer was already holding out some water to you, and you took it gratefully. "What happened?"

Well, he supposed he should start at the beginning. "I lost sight of you, and the next time I saw you, you were unconscious on the ground. Do you mind explaining that?" He fused some irritation to his tone, hopefully disguising the genuine worry he'd felt.

"I…" You reached desperately for any strands of remembrance, only to be blocked by a heavy fog over your mind. Frustrated, you let out a groan. "I don't remember! Damnit, I can't remember any of it."

Now that was almost comical. All of that, and you couldn't even remember how it had started? The world really could be a dangerous place, apparently.

With a sigh, the Wanderer took it upon himself to fill in the empty space between then and now. He relayed how he'd found you, how the infamous Tighnari assisted you, and how your treatment had been administered. You remained quiet throughout the story, whether from respect or weariness he wasn't sure.

"He removed the IV and left, saying if we needed further assistance we could ask." He snorted at this. "As if!"

Now you rolled your eyes. "Don't be such an ass. He saved my life, the least you could do is be civil."

"I have been civil, thank you very much." He huffed, offended that you'd even assume he would be anything less than cordial. "Good to see your lack of faith in me is still intact."

Your lack of faith was not unwarranted, though. The story as he told it had been incomplete. Fearing your reaction, fearing your perception of him, he had omitted his exploration of your consciousness entirely. As far as you knew, it was merely a conjured scene from your own imagination, and your feelings remained unrequited and unacknowledged. But that didn't feel fair, did it?

Since when did he care about fairness? Did you really like him, or did you like the version of him you'd constructed in your mind? Not that he'd ever change himself for somebody, he was merely curious.

Good grief. Nobody had advertised just how difficult these cursed things called 'emotions' could be.

[dizzyjelly]

Beautiful Girl

Read part 2 here!

Word Count: 2.3k

Summary: you have to go to lunch with your terrible father and Abby comes to the rescue, bringing you back to her house afterwards where you guys kiss.

Cw: homophobia, bad relationship with father, daddy issues ig

You set your phone down, bringing a hand to rub down your face frustratingly as you'd just gotten off of a twenty minute call with your father. A man you weren't very fond of, he'd never been the best. When you were younger, he was always making you cry, and that hadn't changed even though you'd gotten older. Mostly, it just bothered you how He could talk to you the way he did, say the things he said.

You stood to make your way to your kitchen, already dreading lunch with your father later. It wouldn't be the worst, but it'd be the worst. Every time you had to sit down with him, the conversation always went south. It was anything but nice.

Then your phone buzzed, and you let out a guttural annoyed groan as you threw your head back in annoyance. What did he want now? But, much to your surprise, you'd actually gotten a text from someone else. Somebody whose name on your phone put a smile on your face. Abby, your best friend.

'Wanna go thrifting? There's this super cool spot that just opened downtown:))'

As desperately as you'd wanted to say yes, you already had plans, unfortunately. It took nearly every bone in your body to not fake sick and cancel with your dad. But you were better than that.

'Sorry I can't today :/ going to lunch with my dad.'

You responded.

'Oh, you alright?'

Abby would answer, knowing all too well about how terrible your father was.

'I'll be fine. Very unexcited but I'll get through yk'

You'd say, telling nothing but the truth.

'Ok, well just call me if u need anything'

She answered, you let out a light chuckle fondly. It was nice to know there was someone that would always be there for you. Abby never failed to remind you of that.

Eventually it was time for you to head out, which you did reluctantly. You'd worn this dress you bought the other day, and it had already become your favorite item in your wardrobe. You turned up the radio as loud as it could go on your way there, trying your best not to list every worst case scenario in your mind.

Once you arrived, you sat in your car for a good minute or two. Then you'd gotten out, entering the local diner to find your father already waiting for you. He smiled at you before it quickly turned to an uncomfortable grimace as he eyed you up and down. You bit back a scoff and just smiled back.

"Hi, Dad!" You did your best to feign excitement as you went to give him a hug.

"Hey darling, you look... fun." He chuckled awkwardly.

"Thanks I guess." Your voice was plain and unamused.

"No sorry I just- new dress?" He asked.

"Yeah! I got it the other day actually, you like it?" You asked with a smile, excited that he'd noticed.

"Mm, sure." Jesus he was a terrible liar.

"Come on dad, if you've got something to say just say it." You snapped slightly.

"I mean- it's a bit skimpy, no? Listen I just think if you dressed more modestly you'd do a lot better." He brought his hands up defensively as he spoke.

You let out a shock gasp, your brows furrowing. You really shouldn't have pushed. Because now you just felt insulted, and uncomfortable in your own skin. A waitress came and told you to sit anywhere you'd like, you followed your dad as he chose a booth.

Then, the kind lady came back with two menus and glasses of ice water and a smile. You took the menu and the water, gulping down a few sips as the lunch was already going terribly. Your eyes skimmed the menu, deciding on a basic and safe chicken fingers with fries. (Picky eaters rise 👊)

Your dad would order something complex, that you weren't even slightly interested in. He'd ask why you always ordered just chicken and fries, claiming it was boring. You'd respond with the fact that it's something you know you like.

You tried your hardest to avoid talking about yourself while you waited for your food, encouraging him to ramble on about his work and other projects he had in the works. Your efforts failed, because of course he'd find a way to direct things back to you.

"You know, Y/n, there's this guy I work with. He's very nice, fairly good looking. I think you two would get along well." He smiled smugly.

Now you let your eyes roll, a small groan coming from you.

"Dad, how many times do I have to tell you I'm not into guys?" You reminded him, and immediately he shifted in his seat with discomfort.

You'd come out as a teenager, your mother had been confused but was supporting nonetheless. Your father on the other hand, he was beyond angry. It wasn't the first time he'd tried to set you up with a guy, a trend that'd been going on since the day you told them you were gay. He insisted you had no idea what you were talking about.

"Look, I know you think you like girls but- honey I just think you're not like that. I-I know it in my heart." He brought his hand to his chest dramatically.

You let out a small huff through your nose.

"Ok well I know that I in fact do like girls. I don't really care whatever your heart is telling you, because mine only fancies women." You sighed once you finished your small rant.

"Are you kidding me right now?" He spoke aggressively.

He opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted as your waitress came by with your food. You thanked her and your father just nodded, paying no attention to the plate in front of him as he turned his focus back to you. You swallowed nervously.

"Listen to me girl, I am tired of being embarrassed to tell people about my daughter. My gay daughter. Honestly, it's disappointing. Why can't you just suck it up and be normal? Is it really that hard? For your old man, please." He spoke sweetly towards the end, but the words before shot through your heart like a sharp dagger.

Tears welled in your eyes and you felt extremely hurt. Your chest felt heavy and there was a deep pit growing in your stomach. Your mouth fell open in shock, and you stood as you grabbed your bag furiously and stormed out of the diner.

It took you way longer than it should've to fish your phone from your purse, tears now streaming down your face relentlessly. Your breathing was shaky and erratic as the sound of your phone ringing filled your ear, you waited for Abby to pick up. She answered after about three rings.

"Hey, what's up?" She answered gleefully, but immediately began to worry as she heard how you were barely breathing on the other end of the line.

"Hey, hey what's going on? Talk to me." She spoke fast now, something she always did when she was worries.

"Ugh, it's my s-stupid fucking d-dad." You managed to choke out, harsh sobs interrupting your words, "can you c-come get me pl-please? I'm too w-worked up to drive right now." You hiccuped.

"Of course, can you please just breathe for me? You sound like you're gonna hyperventilate." She let out a light chuckle, trying to lighten the mood with a joke.

After a few failed attempts, you finally got your breathing regulated enough that you could form a sentence. You let out a long sigh of relief, sniffling as you put your phone on speaker to share your location with Abby. She was just getting into her car.

You sat on the phone in silence for a while, the light hum of her radio being the only sound. That and your small breath along with your sniffles. You brought your hand to wipe your tears, which were still pouring out as you couldn't get your fathers words out of your head.

They just played on repeat, disappointment, just be normal, embarrassed. It just hurt, you knew he wasn't fond of your sexuality but that was harsh. He'd never gotten that mean, but now that he had you had no interest in ever going to lunch with him ever again. Or any other meal for that matter. You'd be happy if you never even spoke to him again.

Abby arrived after a short ten minutes, rushing up to where you stood outside the diner. She pulled you into a hug, one of her hands rubbed up and down your back soothingly. The other one went to the back of your head to massage your hair. You melted in her embrace, your tears wetting her shoulder.

"It's ok. I've got you." She whispered, her tone soft.

"Abby," you let out a small whimper, "h-he was just so m-mean." You sniffled, burying your face into the crook of her neck as you searched for comfort from her.

"I know, I know. Don't even worry about that right now." She reassured you, tears forming in her own eyes at how upset he'd made you.

As if things couldn't get any worse, he happened to stumble upon the two of you. And of course he'd jump to conclusions, immediately starting to yell at you.

"Oh, and whose this? Your girlfriend, hm? I mean seriously, you're just gonna flaunt it in public like this?!" He held his hands on his hips.

"Oh my God, Dad, no! Just stop it, I don't care what you think!" You shouted back now, fed up, "just leave me alone, I-I hate you!" And that was the last thing you said before running to Abbys car and getting into the passenger seat.

She stopped him from following you, saying it'd be best if he just left it alone. She told him you'd come around in a day or two, but knew it wasn't really true. Then she made her way to the car, driving off in silence as she worried about you.

Your head turned away from her, and you chewed at your thumbnail as you stared out the window. The tears had stopped but you felt just as hurt, and you weren't entirely sure when you could get those stupid words out of your head. Soon, hopefully. Abby had taken you to her house, since it was closer.

She'd gotten out of the car with a defeated sigh, making her way to open your door for you. You'd muttered a small thank you then followed her inside, taking a seat beside her on the couch. You didn't really think before snuggling into her side, the main reason being that you needed comfort right now.

She was more than happy to give it you, wrapping her arm around your shoulders as her other hand came to hold one of yours. You sniffled slightly, feeling tears well in your eyes once again.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" She asked in a whisper, the feeling of your tears wetting her shirt making her feel nothing but sympathy.

"Not really. He's just such a piece of shit." You cleared your throat.

"Yeah, I know baby I know." She caressed your arm lovingly.

"You know what he said? He told me I was a disappointment" your sobs became more erratic as you repeated his words from earlier, "asked why I couldn't just suck it up and be normal." It honestly physically pained you to say it.

"Fuck," She groaned, "Well he's insane. Y/n you're perfect, there is nothing wrong with you, ok?" She took her hand from yours and brought it to your chin, forcing you to look up at her.

"Ok." You responded with a small nod, although you didn't really believe what she said was true.

It was impossible to keep your eyes locked with her own, instead they focused on her soft chapped lips. They looked unbelievably kissable, but you figured she was straight. You'd only ever know of her relationship with Owen, and she probably didn't even like girls.

Maybe you were dreaming, but you could've sworn she was doing the same. Looking at your lips while licking her own. The words 'she's straight.' playing on repeat in your head. However, they stopped as she leaned forward and brought her lips to your own.

It was better than anything you ever could've imagine. The way she sucked lightly at your bottom lip, keeping a tight grip on your chin. You sighed dreamily into the kiss, bringing your hands to her hair. After a moment you tugged lightly and she let out a breathy moan against your lips. This gave you perfect access to slip your tongue into her mouth.

She tasted fucking amazing. It was only a few minutes until you were full on straddling her, her hands on your hips as he tongue swirled around your own in a way that made you see stars.

Once you'd finally pulled away, you sat in her lap, the two of you catching your breath as your hands rested comfortably at the back of her neck. She smiled up at you, rubbing at your hips.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." She spoke breathlessly.

"Really?" You chuckled, "You know I always thought you were straight." You joked.

"Please, with a beautiful girl like you walking around how could I not be into women?" She joked back.

You let out a flustered laugh, your cheeks turning red at the compliment. After a second or so, you let yourself lay on her chest, resting your head on it and smiling as she rubbed your back soothingly.

[ghoulfuckersincorporated]

Never thought id be here today, waiting for more Coopee Howars foot fetish content.

Tbh its not even that I want someone sucking my toes, i just love how into it he gets.

As always I speak for the however many of us when I say I love your stuff I cant wait to be fed again<3

Oh, this one's going up on the shelf. Y'all are really turning me into wretched little goblin who enjoys corrupting people, even moreso than I already was! And yes, I feel like not enough people consider the "receiving" side of foot fetishism. Having someone you really like and trust be into your feet (which aren't usually in anyone's favorite physical features on themselves or anything) is so fun and strangely ego-feeding. Go on and get someone hot to rub your feet or pay for a pedicure or something, friends. It could change your life!

"You really don't have to do this, you know." you muse at your narrowly-focused boyfriend as he cracks his neck for the fourth time in the last hour.

Initially, he had offered to rub your feet. After a long day of walking and standing, your ankles are often tight and your feet ache, and he's sweet enough to help you out when you're spending the night together. You'd been very eager to accept; you remember it well. It was only a while ago. How it had turned into all of this was still somewhat of a mystery to you.

You'd offhandedly mentioned, right on the verge of falling asleep in sheer relaxation at his massaging of your lower body, that you'd been intending to take some time to paint your toes for a few days, but you'd been too busy and tired to get around to it. Before you knew what was really going on, he was asking where you kept your polish but insisting you didn't get up, leaving you directing him through your bathroom, under the sink to find what he wanted. When he sunk back onto his end of the couch, the small wire basket, the one that contained all your nail polishes, clippers, emery boards and such, fills his hands. You try your hardest to not squirm at the idea of him digging around in your meager little bathroom.

It's almost surreal to see him dressed so "working class", reclining on your couch in a pair of blue jeans, a braided brown belt, and a white tee shirt. He had been wearing a fairly nice short sleeve button-up when he'd first come over, but the late summer heat inspired him to remove it. Your air conditioning works, but it doesn't work that well, unfortunately, leaving the place just a hair below "muggy". He's polite enough to not complain.

He's always a very gracious guest in your apartment, but you still find that you always feel a little embarrassed at your accommodations. You don't live in a hovel or anything, and you keep your place clean and work hard to make it homey, but knowing how much higher a standard of living he's used to never fails to fill you with mild shame. He wasn't born wealthy, though, and even now his split with Barb has left him somewhat hamstrung financially, so you know that he at least respects how hard you work to have the few nice things you have. It's a level of down-to-earth that you hadn't been expecting when the literal celebrity had initially begun to woo you, and it made you fall for him all the quicker.

The two of you choose the color together from the options, settling on a nice, bright white. He says it compliments the tone of your skin beautifully. Your place is filled with companionable silence as he sets to work, the only real sound the buzz of the multiple fans you have running in each room.

You're rather surprised at how well he seems to paint the nails, at least at first. For one, he has incredibly steady, nimble hands, working the tiny brush with practiced ease, so the little dots and streaks you usually leave along the cuticle and nail bed are nowhere to be seen. You suspect that he may have done this for Barb a time or two, but if he has, he doesn't volunteer it, noticeably quieter than he's been all night. You don't press, often afraid to breach the subject of his ex for fear of ruining the vibe.

Secretly, you also worry, deep inside, that he might think about going back to her sometimes. While he seems relieved by the finalization of the divorce most of the time, there are moments, vulnerable moments, where he openly misses his family. You want to be fair to him, to give him the space to express and process his feelings that he needs, but he and Barb had only been separated about a year when the two of you had begun to date. Head over heels in love with the sweet, sexy, thoughtful older man at this point, you fear ending up a rebound, your dreams sometimes plagued with visions of him leaving you to reconcile with her, or simply deciding that he no longer wants to date anyone, period.

You keep these annoying little dreams to yourself, by and large.

"Alright, they seem dry enough." he says finally, poking at one nail gingerly and distracting you from your rather grim thoughts. You watch him inspecting his work, and it makes you beam, a reaction that only intensifies when you notice his erection. Its presence doesn't necessarily surprise you.

Several times now, he's sort of goaded you into letting him suck your toes when he has you in certain positions, usually when he's got you folded in half like a lawn chair on your back and you basically can't stop him (or properly kick at him, accidentally or otherwise). It's not something you'd seen coming from him, but the way it makes you feel leads to you letting him do so whenever he wants, rather happily. He's very adventurous sexually, and the two of you enjoy trying new things together, so initially you'd taken the experimentation as just that; messing around, testing, teasing. But he seems to really enjoy both the act itself and your reaction to it, slowly adding it to his regular repertoire.

Two can play at that game, though, and you've begun to use his own moves against him.

You let the soft arch of your foot play over the now-straining bulge in his pants, a smile playing coyly at the corners of your mouth as he barely withholds a groan at the feeling. For a few silent moments, you toy with him, examining the white polish that perfectly coats each of your nails, nudging and petting at him as you do.

"Quite a bold little tease." he chuckles, the sound low and licentious. His left hand still dances around your feet as they rest in his lap, but the other dances down and quickly works the mahogany colored belt open, the hiss of his fly coming undone making you shiver.

Wordlessly, he tugs his cock free, staring you down all the while.

"Mmm, I think your initial foot rub offer may have been just a tad self-serving, Mister Howard." you muse, your voice low and rich in your attempt to be seductive, your eyes glued to the hand that's slowly, teasingly stroking himself at you. The head is already flushed a deep red and leaking generously, and you feel drawn to it, pulling yourself up into a sitting position to get a closer look, but you're quickly rebuffed.

"Not done yet." he responds, his hand leaving his erection, which springs up to lay flat against his stomach as he playfully pushes you back into your spot, his palm warm against your exposed skin for a brief moment. Giggling, you humor him despite the heat you feel rapidly consuming you, gnawing away at your lower lip as you watch him closely.

Reaching down into the little metal basket on the floor once more, he produces a bottle of lotion that you often use to finish off your at-home pedicures. His demeanor is all business as he sets to applying the thick cream to your skin, starting at the ankles and working his way down, gently massaging his way as he goes. It feels wonderful, just as his massaging earlier did, but at this point, you're beyond distracted by the very minor view of his cock you have at this angle, pressing your thighs together as best as you can to try and relieve the ache building in your clit.

"Mmm, needs just a little more lotion, don't you think?" he asks, thumb pressing right into the center of your heel and drawing a sigh from you, the sound of the cap popping open snapping through the air. He watches you closely as his grip eases, both hands moving up to warm the glob of the stuff he lets fall into his palm. Watching raptly, you finally slide your own hand into your sleep shorts, grunting quietly at the sparks that shoot through you as you begin to slowly rub at your puffy slit. His eyes are following you, and his already throbbing erection jerks visibly at the sight.

Both of you let out a low groan when one of his well-lotioned hands wraps around his cock, stroking it lightly a handful of times before quickly grabbing your feet once more, applying the extra product mostly to your toes and inner soles, which you watch with a delicious combination of lust and squirming bashfulness.

"God, you have such sexy feet." he murmurs, entirely to himself.

The two of you are often surprisingly in-sync for a couple with a not-insignificant age gap, and sometimes you feel like you can see his thought processes perfectly.

This is one of those times.

You've never given a proper foot job before, but the whole thing isn't really as complicated as it seemed in your mind once you pull yourself close, your lover's eyes glinting with want as you experiment with your body's position, the angle of your legs and ankles, trying to find what's most comfortable for you both. Eventually, you settle for sitting up and facing him, balancing on your hands and ass on the worn cushion as your legs extend forward, resting lightly along his own, spread open along the couch frame.

"You'll tell me if I do something wrong, right?" you ask, and he laughs at first, but when his eyes meet yours again he must see the sincerity there, because his tone is earnest when he responds.

"Of course, sweetheart."

Trying his best to help you, he cups your heels and supports your lower legs as you gently begin to rub against him, starting with your inner arch. He hisses at the contact, watching you very closely as you pet along his shaft with your lubricated toes, tracing the head with care. You can feel his precum cooling on your skin as you tease him more and more, building him up into a groaning, lowing mess, begging you for something he doesn't have words for.

His moans only increase in volume as you press both arches around him, squeezing his shaft as best as you can, raising and lowering yourself intentionally, trying your best to stroke him with your lower appendages alone. Your lover is frozen as he takes in your efforts, quickly becoming more and more coordinated, your skin becoming slicker and slicker as he leaks continuously. As soon as he regains any composure, his only move is to grab onto your ankles and hold on tight.

Spurred on by the wild look in his eyes, you press your feet together as tightly as you can, still balancing on one hand and your rear as your lover slickly fucks the gap between them. It doesn't feel like much to you, save for the slight tickle of the friction of his skin on yours, but watching him writhe with pleasure, his chest heaving hard as he breathes fast and shallow, groaning and bucking as you both glisten with sweat…the sight of it pushes you rapidly towards the edge.

"Fuck, baby, I love you." he growls almost absentmindedly, feverish with lust as his hips snap against them faster and faster, your hand between your legs racing to catch up as you both speed towards your finish. The confession makes you flush and clench hard, and a split second later, you're cumming harder than you have at any time in recent memory, finally losing your balance and spilling backwards, flat and staring up at the ceiling as your body twitches and jerks out of your control. Cooper continues to use your appendages to please himself, and you can hear him muttering incoherent obscenities under his breath as his whole body tenses, tight like a cobra ready to strike.

"Lemme see it, Coop." you breathe.

Still riding your incredibly tense high, you fight to keep your eyes open as you watch him toss his head back, his squared jaw falling slack as a low, deep, guttural bellow spills forth from him, filling the room with sound as the first shot of him hits your skin. Jet after jet of hot, sticky cum paints the tops of your feet, your toes, your inner soles, dripping hotly down onto his covered stomach as the head of his cock rubs against you a final few times.

As you both work to recompose yourselves, he pulls his soiled shirt over his head and uses it to crudely clean up the mess, enough that you won't be dragging it everywhere, at least. It's your turn to admire him, then, drawn in as always by his enticing physique. He has a very nice body, painstakingly crafted and meticulously maintained with hard work, and you know he's very proud of it, so you let your eyes linger rather obviously. It earns a wry smirk from him as he leans back a bit. You want to kiss him breathless.

"Well." you say after a few more silent seconds, a sly remark loaded that dies on your tongue as he pulls himself to his feet rather suddenly.

"Yeah, don't 'well' me, kid." he retorts, tucking his visibly still-hard cock back into his pants, his clothing disheveled, open belt buckle clanking back and forth as he leans down to take your hand, quickly yanking you up onto your own.

"Cooper!" you cackle as he holds you steady, eyes running hungrily up and down your body. His voice is deadly when he responds, his free hand coming down to slap your ass hard as he jerks his head towards the back of the apartment:

"You'd better get your ass in that bedroom, girl."

[stealthnoodle]

How to Scrape Your Way Through Honour Mode and Look Reasonably Good Doing It

I won't say I beat Honour Mode on my first try, because my Dishonour Mode playthrough served as a critically useful dry run, but I will say that the first character I made with the intention of completing Honour Mode properly did in fact complete Honour Mode.

Below are the 13 most important lessons I learned along the way that made this possible.

1) Do not be Mothman.

You really want to minimize fights and maximize available vendors. Ask yourself "What would Mothman do?" and then do not do that thing.

2) Do be a half-orc.

Fights can go real wrong real fast, and in the early game, you are perpetually one bad round of combat away from oblivion. In my case, the harpies critted Shadowheart to death, and then every chucklefuck in my party failed their wisdom save at the same time. The other two members ate more multiattacks than they could handle, and then so did Pizzazz, but she held on with one single precious hit point after the last blow. She dug herself out of the hole with heal potions and her fists of righteous anger.

Pizzazz being a half-orc saved the entire run here. Having Death Ward once a day comes in fucking clutch when you're below level 5, and tbh the hardest part of Honour Mode is getting to level 5.

The harpy fight was also when I realized the need for a critical strategy:

3) Make one party member your panic button.

I only really needed this trick in the early game (I cannot emphasize enough how most of my close calls were before level 5), but it saved my ass several times. Panic early, panic often.

Pick the party member who has the least to contribute to a fight and park them where they can't get drawn into initiative. You can leave them all the way back at camp, or if you're me, just put them far back in hiding so it's easy to pull them in to help with late-fight cleanup if things are going well (or to finish a fight in the goofiest way possible, see above). Either way, their job is to run crying to Withers if everyone else dies.

Speaking of which…

4) Exploit Bone Daddy's indifference to being pickpocketed.

You can get back whatever "the price of balance" is by yoinking it right out of Withers's pockets. If you fail the sleight of hand check, no worries; you get pulled out of hiding, but he doesn't react at all, and you can just squat back down and get right back in there.

5) Tell Jesse you need to cook.

Potions of Speed are the goddamn Philosopher's Stones of this game. So I made Gale a Transmutation Wizard, made him proficient in Medicine, and put him in charge of alchemy. Just clearing the gnoll zone got me pretty well set for the first two acts.

Getting double heal pots sure doesn't hurt, either.

6) Start a local chapter of the Warding Bond Cleric Club.

This is something I discovered was possible while I was fretting over prepping for the end of Act 2, because last time was such a clusterfuck. You can hire three hirelings, give them fun names like Ouchie Magnet, Sexy Pincushion, and Yoohoo Loviatar, get them to cast Warding Bond on the party members you actually intend to use, and enjoy the full benefits of it out in the world while your hirelings stand around bleeding at camp.

Any buff that lasts until the next long rest and doesn't require concentration works like this, fyi. Death Ward and Longstrider are also especially handy (and once you get to level 11, Heroes' Feast). Setting this up is tedious enough that I only did it a few times during the game, when I was going into situations I couldn't easily extricate myself from in case of emergency. (So the Mindflayer Colony, the Iron Throne, the Steel Watch Foundry, and one last time for the Temple of Baal.)

7) Break big battles up into bite-sized skirmishes.

Why would I fight all the cultists at Moonrise Tower in a grand climactic battle when I could sneak around before finishing the Gauntlet of Shar and pick off my future foes in packs? Since they're not hostile yet, it's pretty simple to wipe them out one room at a time, using Minor Illusion to lure guards away from their posts. Then I got the joy of showing up with Jaheira and all her Harpers to curbstomp the two (2) guys I missed.

Also good for removing all the intellect devourers before you pick a fight with Mindflayers in the Mindflayer Colony and for surviving gnoll swarms. Sometimes you even get lucky and a hyena falls into a hole, somehow.

8) Fill your camp with literal tons of explosives.

See a smokepowder barrel? Pick it up and send it to camp. Do this consistently and you will have deeply nervous party members every time you light a campfire, probably, but you'll also have a way to cheese boss fights that you're worried about. I chugged elixirs that raised strength before the end of Act 2 so that I could bring a dozen smokepowder barrels with me to the Myrkul fight and absolutely trivialized it.

9) Become a partial illithid.

Mourn your aesthetic and commune with that frosty little worm. (Take Volo's amateur eye surgery, too, btw. Just fuck yourself up.) The powers are worth it. A truly hardcore player would also get their companions to dip a toe into ceremorphosis, but I started by asking Astarion, who fucking loves regular tadpoles, to try it, and his response made me feel so bad that I abandoned the cause entirely.

10) Start your day with a delicious and nutritious Heroes' Feast.

So I never really read the description closely because sometimes I'm just like that, but thanks to the Warding Bond Cleric Club, I started paying closer attention to buffs and holy shit??? Thoroughly Stuffed is a baller condition, and it also makes food. I didn't have to go grocery shopping even once! Having three bonus clerics with spell slots to burn also meant the 6th-level cost wasn't coming out of Shadowheart.

11) Accept that late-game enemy saving throws will mercilessly fuck you.

It feels real bad when you cast a 6th-level spell that operates on saving throws and your target shrugs it off with 0 damage. Spells with attack rolls are usually better bets, and Artistry of War is a wizard's once-per-short-rest MVP. Open Hand Monk Pizzazz was consistently my best damage dealer, especially once I looted the Bonespike Gloves from Strangler Luke.

12) Skip the high-risk low-reward quests in Act 3.

Consider your party composition and tactics and whether any optional quest line is worth completing for its rewards. Cazador, the Sharrans, and Ansur are non-trivially difficult fights that I didn't need to subject myself to, so I didn't. But there's real good shit under Sorcerous Sundries, so of course I cleared out that vault.

Hell isn't actually that bad on Honour Mode (no, really! The restoration faucets have unlimited uses!), but it's not a sure thing and I could live without the rewards. Had a tense moment passing the DC 30 Persuasion check with Kith'rak Voss later, but he chilled out and even let me borrow his dragon's breath.

The only unnecessary hard fight I did was the Steel Watcher Titan, which was a bad call on my part; I kinda wanted the crossbow and I really wanted to keep the runepowder bomb in case I needed it, but Mothman didn't do this fight, so I was not prepared for the Hellfire Steel Watcher Titan's bullshit. I won, but it was a closer shave than it should have been.

Then I ended up not using the crossbow at all.

13) Thank Gale for his sacrifice.

The Netherbrain is fucking nasty on Honour Mode. Fuck Karsite Grip. Fuck Aegis of the Absolute. Does it feel bad to make Gale sacrifice himself? Yes. Would it feel worse to lose the run right before the finish line? Also yes.

I brought every explosive I had with me (which required two rounds of strength-boosting elixirs, because the game hits you with a long rest before the Astral Plane) just in case Gale got cold feet and I burned all my inspiration fucking up the persuasion roll, then went through the sewers to avoid the larger fight. Someone (Gale, so I couldn't be too mad) failed a stealth check and aggroed them all anyway, but Pizzazz covered the ground to the brainstem in like three rounds and everyone warped up after her for the cutscene, so no harm no foul.

Then Gale volunteered—nay, insisted on blowing himself up and I felt bad! Real bad! Not bad enough to change course, but Pizzazz's face was also my face during epilogue:

P.S. At least for me, the achievement procced after the epilogue, credits, and post-credits scene, and I was tense af the entire time. But not so tense I couldn't be sad about Gale (oh no he wrote me a letter) and Astarion (oh no he's still in hiding because of Cazador). Luckily my big hot wife was there to support me.

Anyway, let's load an old autosave on another campaign and check out those golden dice, shall we?

Ahhh, my horrible son

[gr1an]

i think i got possessed by mumscarian for a sec so here’s the fic that my brain spat out:

“Are You Sure?” - 1.5k words

Mumbo and Grian have always been close; they've known each other for years, even before he joined the Hermitcraft server. Grian talks to Mumbo about anything, and Mumbo replies and laughs at Grian’s antics, never failing to be amused be Grian’s most recent plot. He can almost predict the next thing Grian will set his mind on and obsess over for however long it lasts. Which is why Mumbo knows Grian has a crush the second it happens. He hears the way Grian talks about Scar, sees how his eyes light up and how he can't stop laughing and fondly mocking him, the way he’s literally dedicated lives to him, and he fights down the jealous, possessive feeling in his chest and tells himself to let Grian be happy. This isn’t like other obsessions. Honestly, seeing Grian the way Grian acts around Scar makes Mumbo happier than anything else he could think of. And Grian is still here with him, so he knows that when Grian finally gets over the stupid reasons he makes up to stop himself from telling Scar, Mumbo won’t be pushed aside. he’ll still have Grian, and that makes the possessive bundle in his chest loosen.

Scar and Grian haven't known each other for as long, but Scar knows that he can read Grian very well. He can read most people well, but he’s got more practice with Grian than most others. He wouldn’t have survived the desert for as long as he did if he didn’t know exactly what Grian was thinking at any given time. One of them had to hold the reigns on Grian’s bloodlust. He knows the way his wings flap when he’s thinking about a problem he doesn’t immediately have an answer to, not frustrated but not content either. The way his voice changes when he’s tired but unwilling to stop building or planning. The difference between his shouts of fear, amusement, and anger. So when he sees the way that Grian acts when Mumbo hangs around for their build sessions, asserting himself and trying to get Mumbo’s attention, hyper and saying stupid stuff on purpose to try and rile Mumbo up; he realizes that Grian is being annoying in the exact way that he knows will make Mumbo laugh the hardest, and Scar catches on immediately. They do this song and dance in every conversation, they both know the other is flirting. His eyes widen minutely at this realization, and he subtly takes a step back, focusing more on gathering materials for his build than what they are saying, letting them have more privacy. It wasn't fair for him to ask them to tell him about their relationship, he'd let them tell him when they were ready, no matter his own feelings. 

Grian is stuck. He’s pretty sure that both of the people he has a crush on think that he only likes the other person. And he doesn't know how to get it though their thick skulls that he likes them both. He doesn’t even know if they'd be comfortable with him dating both of them, but he really doesn't want to choose, knowing that a relationship with only one of them would just lead to hurt feelings all around. So he plots.

Scar and Mumbo have rarely interacted one on one with each other before, there was usually Grian or another Hermit or other friend there with them. So when one day it's just the three of them hanging out and Grian gets a message from Joel to go help trap someone’s base, they’re left a bit like fish out of water. Mumbo and Scar are told to stay behind by Grian rolling his eyes and fondly declaring them, “Both absolute pants at traps, and would be more of a hindrance than a help.”

After Grian leaves, Mumbo tries breaking the ice by saying, "Grian’s traps also have a history of being terrible. I think he’s overestimating how well this is going to go for them."

Scar’s laugh in response makes him smile, especially when he replies, "Man, I think the only redstone he knows is explosives."

But his eyes widen and his smile drops when Scar adds, "It’s a bit strange, you’d think that with you two being in a relationship, Grian might have gotten something from all your abilities!"

Mumbo clears his throat and lets out a small exhale, almost a laugh, "What? Relationship? What are you on about?"

"Oh shoot, I forgot that you guys haven't told me yet, I’m sorry for talking about it but I sort of figured out that you two were dating like a month ago, sorry, but don't worry about me! I’m happy for you guys! You two are really cute, it’s actually kind of gross how adorable you are,” Scar responds quickly.

"But... we aren't?" Mumbo says, trying not to revel in the warm feeling he gets at the thought of Grian and him dating, especially because Scar is the one that thinks they are, instead replying, "I’m pretty sure he has a thing for you!"

"He what?!"

"Oh my god, don't tell me you don't know! He talks about you like you are the most annoying person in the world, which in Grian speak is his favorite person, the person who makes him laugh the most. He’s completely gone for you!"

"But what about you two? You’ve known each other since forever, and he always wants your attention when you two are together, no matter who else is there! And he acts specifically dumb around you to make you do things for him! Like the redstone thing from earlier!"

"He does the same to you too, you know! Do you think the man who literally refuses to build the back of his own houses would keep joining you again and again on adventures that result in him shouting at you if he didn’t think being with you was the best?"

Their argument continues like this for some time, both completely sure that the other is the object of Grian’s affections, before being interrupted by the sight of Grian coming back from Joel’s place, clothes mildly singed and looking freshly respawned.

As soon as Grian is within hearing distance, he shouts and says, "Hey guys! That went absolutely terribly!"

"Grian!" Mumbo and Scar say at the same time.

"What is your game here? I’m convinced you’re completely infatuated with everything Scar does but he seems completely oblivious!" Mumbo shouts, far beyond the point of having any sense of volume control.

"Aren’t you and Mumbo a thing?” Scar folds his arms in front of himself, “Because I think he's lying to me.”

Grian blinks at them once, and starts cackling uncontrollably.

"Grian! This is serious!" Mumbo says, but he starts laughing too.

“I can’t believe he’s laughing at us when we are asking him such an important question!” Scar smiles as he talks, faux offended.

Grian just keeps laughing, falling to the ground with how much his giggles are consuming him, "I can’t believe,” he gasps in a breath, “That all it took was for me to leave you two alone for an hour to solve this problem!”

“Grian, we’re still completely lost here! I don’t even actually know why I’m laughing!” Mumbo laughs, starting to shed tears from how infectious Grian’s laughter is.

Scar rolls his eyes at Mumbo and shares a look with Grian, ready to be proven right about them at the very least having a mutual crush on each other, but as soon as he reads Grian’s face, his own face drops, floored by what he sees. “No, really?”

“Oh thank god one of you caught on. Mumbo. You absolute spoon. I love both of you. I just wasn’t sure how to tell you. I still don’t know if you guys are cool with me, y’know, liking both of you.”

“You. Um. Me too?” Mumbo takes a second, freezing in place as he visibly processes what Grian has just said. “…Are you sure?”

Both Grian and Scar burst out in laughter, and Mumbo’s face gets redder than his tie as he realizes what he just said.

“Nonono not like that! I meant are you sure you like me too? I mean, with Scar it’s more obvious than the bloody sun rising, of course you like him. He’s funny and incredibly hot and amazingly charismatic and I’m just. Not those things?”

“Thank you for the compliments Mumbo, I’m flattered! But you’re joking, right? You’re the man who has a whole world full of his experiments, physical proof of your amayzin’ brain, and you’re smart enough to be able to explain it all to people! And don’t pretend like you wear that suit for any other reason than it makes you look four times hotter than normal. You work hard and you slowly start to shed the layers, it’s hard to look away! Even I know what I’m doing when I put on my Hotguy outfit. Of course Grian likes you.”

“If you two don’t stop complimenting each other, I might start to get the wrong idea about who’s crushing on who, boys,” Grian smiles and leans back on his hands as they both flush with embarrassment. “Oh my god this is going to be so much fun. You two are completely useless. Kiss me or I’m gonna start laughing again.”

[moira-mains-go-to-hell]

Hey, so happy to see request open I really enjoy your work.

could I request prompt number 5 on the sfw fluff list and number 13 from either sfw and nsfw list. With Widowmaker and Mercy separate please.

Thank you so much and have a good night.

Thank you for your request hun!

5. “Do you think me a fool?”

13. “Do you mind if I stick around?” “I’d like that, I’d like that a lot.”

I hope you like them! I tried my best!!

Mercy

You had gotten back from a failed recon mission. Most of the team were fine, nothing but a few cuts and bruises, but you had gotten yourself banged up after having to fight an omnic head on.

“I swear to you, every time you go out there there is so much more for me to do,” Angela waved her finger at you, but the mirth in her voice as she grabbed what she needed let you know you weren’t in any trouble.

“And who would I be if I didn’t support my local medical practitioner?” You tilted your head at her, a smile coming to your lips. She looked back at you with a similar one, letting out a laugh at the sentiment.

“Support is coming to conferences with me, not letting me practice my stitch work and bandaging, you come around far too often. I may have to intervene and ask the higher ups to send you on easier missions.”

You placed your hand on your chest and let out an exasperated gasp, “Do you think me a fool doctor? It’s not my fault I’m so shootable, plus, even Jack is reeling from this one! It’s not just me!”

“Yes, I know,” she cups your cheek, giving it a small pat and pulling you closer by your chin, “but I’ve gotten extremely close to losing you, and I don’t want you to leave me in my own office.”

Her tone change caught you off guard. She was genuinely worried. You took her hands in yours, rubbing your thumbs over her knuckles.

“I won’t,” you meant it, you could never leave her, “if it makes you feel better, I’ll dial it back out there.”

She wordlessly nodded, coming forward to embrace you. Her touch was gentle, wary of your wounds but still managing to mold perfectly into you.

“Do you mind if I stick around for a bit? I just want to stay like this for a while longer.”

“I’d like that, I’d like that a lot.”

Widow

Repo day was one of the hardest days for your crew, all of Talon’s field agents brought in their weapons to be recalibrated, repaired, and sometimes even rebuilt. With you being the head of your department, you had a list of the weapons you’d be taking care of personally, while the grunts did all of the… well, grunt work.

“Hey boss!” One of your subordinates jogged up to you as you were headed back from a coffee run, “you’ve got a guest in your office.”

You thanked the man and headed off, opening the door to the one woman you try to get down here every chance you get.

“Amelie? Since when do you show your face during repo day? I thought your rifle would ‘never need fixing as long as it was in your hands’,” you smiled, sitting behind your desk and stirring the mug you had in hand. In all your time together she has only let you touch her rifle once. She liked the maintenance process of it, and you weren’t one to displease her.

“The handlers who unloaded my gun and visor dropped them when unpacking the drop ship. I took a look at them but even I can’t fix it.”

“My wife? Admitting defeat! My, how you’ve changed,” your smile grew into a devious grin as you set down your mug and moved around the desk to get a good look at her equipment.

“Do you think me a fool? I am not admitting anything, seeking other options is just optimizing my success rate,” you could feel the eye roll she gave from behind you as you opened the cases.

“The outside seems ok,”you turned to the assassin, aiming the gun at her forehead, “the scope is completely shot to shit. Did they beat it with a hammer after dropping it?”

Amelie pushed the muzzle away from her face with a scowl, “you should be the first to know not to point weapons at people.”

“The clip is in the case and if I wanted you dead you’d be on the floor,” you blew her a kiss and patted her cheek, “I’ll take a look and have it out before lunch, how does that sound?”

“I would love to be able to just go and have a day to myself, but I would feel better if I watched and learned how to do this myself,” her hand came over your shoulder as you fiddled with her visor watching it try and fail to close,”do you mind if I stayed?”

You shrugged and set the helmet down on your desk,“I would say I need ‘total concentration’ and ‘solitude’,” you turned around in her arms a hand snaking around her waist, “but I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”

“Good, because I wouldn’t be going anyway Mon Ceur, I will not take no for an answer.”

[i-mybrunettelady]

hail, mighty hero

zaeim and nyra share a moment in kourna. set during long live the lich (lws4). mind the spoilers. 2k words. mature.

Allied Encampment is bustling with life. But it’s not the kind of life that would indicate happiness; in Zaeim’s head, that kind of life is almost a fragment of his imagination. It certainly is for the poor souls of Istan, or even Vabbi. Here in Kourna and the real world, it’s a life of anxiety, a life of uncertainty, of vague hope. People are carrying their restlessness with them and looking up at the leaders of this makeshift resistance group to make sense of it. 

Zaeim feels that burden intensely. He guides his Sunspears, makes plans, tries his hardest to not break nor bend under pressure. Every time he sees a wounded or dying Elonian, he sends a prayer to Kormir and it weighs his heart down even further. Every time there’s an accident, or a failed scouting mission, Zaeim wonders if they’re all going to die and Joko will remain the tyrant of Elona forever. 

So when he feels this way, he turns to Nyra. She stands tall, proud, indomitable and entirely mad. Her eyes shine with something wild and barely restrained, like fate itself had carved a chasm in her soul so now she’s trying to rebuild it back with parts of the real world. She attracts attention wherever she goes and people flock to her like moths to flame. From a distance, she looks radiant. Up close, Zaeim wonders when she’s going to burn out entirely. 

She can’t seem to fight off a sunburn from days in the sands and amongst the army. Her hair, short, messy and in constant disarray, has lightened to a near blonde, a contrast to the areas of her face that caught the beginnings of a tan. She has growing dark circles under her eyes and ever-present dirt beneath her nails, be it blood or tar or whatever else. Comfortable tunics she wears are more filled with creases and dust by the day, patched where they’d gotten nicked in the fights with Awakened. She hardly looks like their leader, Zaeim thinks, as worn out and bitter and restless as everyone else. 

He knows deep down, however, that it is her light this whole thing is centered around. And so, he can’t look away. Especially not when they’re discussing tactics, when she’s explaining things in that strangely accented Elonian of hers, or when she settles on a decision and cuts a clear line in the sand. I have listened to your suggestions. From this point on, you are with me or against me. 

Hardly anyone dares oppose her.

And thus Zaeim finds himself drawn to the moments where he’s with her. He likes the reassurance in her eyes. He likes the subtle nature of her smiles. “I’ve never been very expressive, in terms of.. Face,” she said one night, reclining against a wall. Zaeim raised his gaze to her face. “Do you mind that?”

“Some people are simply not,” he replied, with more eagerness than he’d intended. “I don’t doubt that you’re genuine about this and about Elona. Kormir knows you want Joko dead as much as anyone else here.” 

“There can only be one biggest dick in this desert, yeah?” she huffed and blew a curl of hair away from her nose. “For fuck’s sake, I need my hair to grow faster.” 

Zaeim smiled. “That growth spurt went elsewhere with you, it would seem.” 

Nyra laughed. It was a solid, deep sound, echoing in the small cottage they’d claimed as their base of command. “I’d say Joko stole it and I wanna get it back.” 

“Or Sayida.” 

“Sayida is wiser than Joko.” 

Zaeim shook his head. “Debatable, but I will not argue with you.” 

“That’s smart,” Nyra said, in a gravelly tone. If he hadn’t known better, he would’ve suspected a threat. “You are wise too.” 

Zaeim doesn’t consider himself wise. He doesn’t think Nyra herself is wise, either. All he knows is that between them, and supposedly Sayida, and the Olmakhan and the Primeval ghosts, they can take down Joko and see a free Elona. 

Sometimes, that is enough. 

Other times, though, he wants to see Nyra the woman, Nyra the person behind the legend. Then he watches her movements, and notices, rather quickly, that her right shoulder is almost always stiff by the end of the day. She’s careful to not move her right hand much unless she has to, and the occasional stretch she does brings about a pained expression. She doesn’t bring it up, however. 

He understands. He has old wounds too. But in the grand scheme of Alysannyra Ainsaph, that one thing feels like a game changer. She goes from a symbol to a person, and from person to a symbol in a way Zaeim is familiar with, as the Spearmarshal. It makes him want to hold her close, feel the heat of her skin and the roughness of her sunburnt cheeks, in a union that so few people can actually understand. 

She comes to him in a dream, once, and there, she kisses him. And maybe Joko kills them all without Zaeim ever having tried to recreate that dream in real life. Zaeim hopes he musters up the courage to try. 

Opportunity presents itself rather unexpectedly. There is an Awakened Inquest incursion that Nyra herself chooses to annihilate, and that has her painfully rolling her shoulder to try and relieve the ache of it all day. In a break between planning, when the maps are in the safety of Canach’s hands for the moment, Zaeim takes a chance to lean in and whisper in Nyra’s ear, “Does your shoulder hurt?” 

Nyra almost hits his head as she raises hers. “What?” 

Zaeim blinks and steps away. “I noticed your shoulder is stiff and I wanted to offer relief. There is something that us Sunspears use and that I have a little bit of in my pack for old injuries.” 

“Relief, Spearmarshal?” Canach snickers, still looking at the maps. “I do think our dear Commander would love some relief! She’s had so much on her shoulders for this little war of yours–” 

“That’s what you take from this,” Nyra drawls, unimpressed. “Anyone you wanna fuck, Canach?” Zaeim blushes. 

“My hand suffices, Commander.” 

“Good. Stay out of the poor Spearmarshal’s business then. Maybe his hand doesn’t suffice.” 

Miraculously, Canach backs down. He offers Nyra a smile and returns the maps in her hands. “I will ponder on the tactics, Nyra,” he says quietly. “I will also see if Gorrik has any advice on the matter.” 

“Gorrik?” Nyra raises an eyebrow. She huffs out a breath and leans in. “Lie better next time, you asshat.” 

Canach grins. “He knows more than you think he does, Nyra.” 

“Oh.” 

“Oh, indeed.” 

“Get lost, though,” she jerks her head towards the door. “Think about tactics elsewhere.” 

Canach salutes her and heads to the door. He makes sure to close them as loudly as he possibly can without breaking the damn thing. Zaeim watches him go and crosses his arms over his chest. His face feels hot still and he digs his nails into the exposed skin of his upper arms. Yes, Kormir curse him, he does want to sleep with Nyra, and is that a crime? Is it a bad thing if a man wants to sleep with a woman? 

“Zaeim,” Nyra says, “if you frown any harder, you’ll get a permanent wrinkle.” 

“Wrinkles are the least of my concerns,” Zaeim grumbles and looks away. He then clears his throat. “I hope you’re not offended that I–” 

“That you find me attractive?” Nyra taps a nail against the table. The wide stance she’d assumed earlier when talking to Canach now becomes a long, lean form. The wood creaks under her weight when she leans against the table. “No.” 

“But?” Zaeim looks back at her again. She’s rubbing her clothed arms. She’s the only fully clothed and covered person in this entire camp, barring Gorrik and Taimi. She has bandages up to her knuckles. “Are you hurt?”

“Zaeim, I’m more scar tissue than skin behind this patched up tunic,” she says after a while and laughs awkwardly. Zaeim stares. It somehow never crossed his mind that she too might have insecurities. His head has a hard time wrapping itself around that notion, that the Godkiller and Dragonslayer is insecure about her scars of all things. 

“That is hardly a concern to me, if it is any consolation,” he offers softly. “There are a lot of scarred Sunspears.” 

She looks him up and down. Her eyes linger on his arms and legs and on the peek of his chest, before she looks him directly in the eye. Zaeim squirms under inspection. He knows he looks older than he is; life of a Sunspear is hardly easy, and beauty is the first thing to go when you choose to defy Joko. In the grand scheme of things, it’s least relevant. But right now Zaeim wishes very hard that he’d been born a noble, a prince of Vabbi or Istan, someone she would find easy to look at. 

“For what’s worth, I think you’re attractive too,” she says and Zaeim’s head shoots up. She sounds a little sad. 

Zaeim breathes out. “I still have my ointment, if you’d like it.” 

She considers for a moment, and as if to prove a point, goes to roll her shoulder. She stops halfway. “Yes,” she says. She rises from the table that creaks thankfully, and carefully pulls some of her tunic down to reveal her right shoulder. Zaeim sees the tail ends of angry, dark pink burns, but when she catches it, she raises the sleeve so they’re covered again. 

He doesn’t ask. Instead, he points towards a little stool near him. She walks over, playing with the material of her sleeve, and turns her back to him as she sits. His breath catches in his throat. The scar there is gnarly, deep, like something had tried to tear her spine off. It sits in an uneven line at a weird angle too. 

“It would’ve been worse without surgery,” she says, distantly. 

“Is there a way to–”

“No.” The finality of her response makes him close his mouth and dig through his pack. He unscrews the little clay pot and a familiar, slightly pungent scent spreads across the room. Zaeim says nothing as he softly rubs the cream into the knotted flesh. The only sounds in the room are the scoops his fingers make and their breathing, rugged and tense. 

She has tan lines, he notices. Her skin is hot where he touches it. Every so often she turns her head to look at him, and her eyes seem so impossibly big and insistent, conflicted in a way he can’t possibly decode. The sunburn makes their purple hue stand out even more. Zaeim’s hands itch to touch and caress more of her. He imagines his lips on her exposed neck, his hands in her hair. This close, she’s less of a symbol and more of a living, breathing person, with dark circles and a haunted stare and greasy hair, and he cannot get enough of it. 

“Kiss me,” she says. Her voice is rough and rich and breathy. It echoes in Zaeim’s ears like a drum. 

“Gladly,” Zaeim mutters and closes the clay pot. He could die tomorrow; it would’ve been a damn shame if he didn’t leap at an opportunity to kiss her. The pot clinks as he returns it carelessly to his pack and washes his hands free of the ointment. Nyra watches him with a strange expression. 

“What?” Zaeim asks and his heart wants to beat out of his chest. He feels its thunder in his throat. 

“You remind me of someone,” she says softly. “It’s– it was a man as dedicated to his dream and his duties as you are.” The way she implies the man is dead makes it seem targeted, almost a reproach. She’d mentioned a lover before, back in Tyria, but that he is dead. Zaeim has no idea who this man is and senses the topic is too raw to discuss further, but he wonders.

Self reproach is the only thing worse than regret. 

Zaeim crouches before her. This close, she smells like the cream he’d put on her and sweat. “Do you want me to kiss you? Truly?” 

Her eyes blaze. “Enough consideration,” she bites out, “I’m not fragile, for fuck’s sake!” And she pulls him to her and crashes her lips to his, digs her hands in his locs. Zaeim moans under the attention, and he would’ve felt bad about it if it wasn’t swallowed by the domineering force of her lips on his, even if closed. He doesn’t know what to do with his hands. 

After a moment, she takes her head back a little, as if snapped out of a daze. “You probably wanted something sweeter,” she says quietly. “This was anything but.” 

“I will not lie,” he replies, “my usual idea of a first kiss is something that isn’t a metaphorical devouring.” 

Nyra blinks. “We can kiss slowly, if you’d like,” she says and plays with his locs. And then adds, with a grief so big it could swallow the world, “It’s been a long while since I had one of those. Probably don’t deserve them either. But..” 

Zaeim stands up. “This chair is a little uncomfortable,” he says. Nyra follows suit, close enough so he can feel the heat of her body. “I am certain there are more comfortable places in this house for people to kiss.” 

“Walls have hardly ever failed,” she suggests. Finding a little nook that’s big enough for both of them is a challenge, but when they finally do, and when he kisses her again, with his hands on her ass, the world falls away. 

Kormir knows they both need this. Kormir knows they both need a lot of things. And thankfully, Kormir, bless Her, provides. 

[laladellakang]

the triple n chronicles

masterlist | wattpad

— hyung line focused — italics dialogue = english

the sfw version of the legal line's triple n journey

WARNING: LOADS of spicy talk though no actual smut so it should be okay...? if it's too much then i'll move this to the 18+ acc

i…. finished a chapter.. finally

"OH SHIT- It's almost November!" Della sprang up from Jay's chest.

"I know right? Time flies so fast-"

"It's almost triple N!" Della pat his abdomen frantically.

"Ow! What?" the two flinched when Jake suddenly screamed a 'no!'

"We are not joining triple N!" he removed his earphones to fully immerse himself in the conversation.

"What's triple N?" poor Jay was so confused.

"You don't know what NNN is?" Jake asked with raised eyebrows.

"N.. N.. N..?" Jay said slowly.

"No Nut November?" Dake said in unison.

"Wait what?"

"You refrain yourself from nutting for the whole month," Della explained in Korean.

"Ahh.." Jay nodded slowly. "Why would we join that?" he furrowed his eyebrows.

"We are not joining that!" Jake protested again.

"Who said I'm making you guys join? I'm joining!" the two were silent for a few seconds.

"Wait- so that means-"

"THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL YOU'RE JOINING TRIPLE N!" Jake's protest against the guys joining was far more tame than the one for Della's participation.

"Why not?! I failed last year! And I didn't even try for the year before that!" as Della was talking, Jake frantically typed something into his phone.

"Wait wait wait- so you're saying that we'll have zero sex with you for a whole month?" Jay was trying to understand the situation.

"LALA, YOU ARE NOT JOINING 3N!" Sunghoon yelled while barging into the room with Heeseung.

"Why not?! It's just a month!" now the maknaes were starting to get curious as well, filling up the small room. "Ya! Why is everyone here?"

"Why? Why? Why? What's happening?" Jungwon asked curiously.

"Grownup stuff," Heeseung crossed his arms. "Nothing important. Everyone leave."

"No- I wanna know too," Niki made room for himself in the bedroom.

"No no, the adults are having a talk," Jay sat up a little bit.

"Ew. Let's just go guys," Sunoo scrunched up his face and gestured for the maknaes to leave.

"Sunoo should stay though," but Della fed fuel to the fire.

"WHAT?" Wonki exclaimed.

"If Sunoo-hyung is staying then we're staying!" Niki secured his place on Jay's chair.

"Fine! Whatever! DELLA!" Sunghoon's focus was set on one thing and one thing only. "You are not joining 3N!"

"Lala's joining 3N?" Niki tried his hardest to hold in his laugh.

"You know what it is?" Jay was baffled that even his foreign maknae even knew what it meant but he didn't.

"Jay didn't know what No Nut November was," Jake teased his friend.

"You didn't know what 3N was?" Heeseung snickered.

"No- I just-"

"Guys, focuss!" Sunghoon caught everyone's attention again.

"You do realise if you join 3N then all the hyungs automatically join too?" Sunoo pointed to the whole room.

"You don't have to!"

"I can't go back to jerking off!" Jake protested.

"Ew. I'm gonna leave. Sunoo-hyung?" Jungwon turned to exit the room, asking if the other '03 liner wants to join.

"I'm okay," his response made Jungwon let out a baffled expression.

"Ah why?" Jungwon furrowed his eyebrows. "Fine then I'm staying."

"What the-" Sunoo, Heeseung and Niki snickered breathily.

"You don't have to jerk off.." Della went back to the main topic. Her choice of words that were previously foreign to the maknaes caused Sunki to let out a noise of suppressed laughter.

While Jungwon scrunched his face up slightly.

"... I give you my permission," Della continued. It took a while for some of the guys to understand what she said, but Sunghoon was ultimately the first one to realise.

"NO!" he exclaimed with wide eyes. "AH WHYY- NO- KANG DELLA!" he panicked on his own.

"Huh? Wha-" Niki and Jungwon seemed to be the most curious members.

"DELLA-YA!" Jay soon understood and slapped her arm out of reflex. "Eh- sorry," but immediately rubbed the spot afterwards.

"What is it? What is it?" the others got increasingly impatient.

"I want front row seats to Park-Sim please," there it is.

"KANG DELLA!"

Needless to say, the hyuppa line was 'forced' to join Della's silly game.

Even though they don't have to.

(day one)

"Ish- this kid," Sunghoon muttered, one hand holding his phone while the other played with the tips of Della's hair.

"He's so cute," she giggled into his chest.                                                                 "Which kid?" Heeseung laid back down beside Della and rested his head on her arm. "Pfft- he acts like he's not-"

"Noo! Don't wanna hear it! Leave your men talk amongst yourselves," Della raised a hand to signal a 'stop.'

"Sorry, darling," Heeseung apologised. He changes his position so that he was just laying normally.

"Well I should go back to my room-" Heehoon immediately protested and restrained their girlfriend.

"Yunji knows about us," Sunghoon complained. "Why can't you stay?" [yunji: della's roommate for their japan tour, aka their manager. also the one she’s close with]

"To avoid you two from getting horny again?" Della stared up at him. "And to prevent myself from getting horny again too."

"Then let's just lose right noww, it's not like you get a prize from winning," Della leaned back slightly to look at Heeseung. "Or let's just pretend we're still in the game," the oldest tried to persuade her (again).

"Guys- we've been going at it since ten- how many rounds do you want?" Della snickered. "Let's go to sleep. If you've forgotten, we have a concert tomorrow," the two boys whined in unison.

"Relax, you twoo. You guys act like we have sex every day- this will all be over before you know it."

sjy (day five)

The hyuppas were okay during the first day. And the second and the third and the fourth.

Though things started to get rocky for me once we reached the day five mark.

"Jaeyun," Della giggled when I started kissing her neck.

"What?" I asked briefly, focused on what I was doing.

"Triple N, hun," fucking hell- fuck that. "Babee."

Damn I've joined NNN before but trying to win with a girlfriend is tough as shit.

"Della, it's my birthday month," I whined and pulled away for eye contact.

"Jake, you could've argued about this a week ago!" Della whined back. "I would've given you an exception for just that day!"

"Wait- so I get a one day exception?! Like the whole day?!" I can't see myself but I just know that my eyes lit up like a puppy seeing his favourite person.

Like y'know.. when Layla sees me.

"Aww poor puppy... I'll think about it," she pat my hair. "I'll make it up to you though. We can do whatever you want for your birthday sex once December comes." what?!

"But my birthday!" I exaggeratedly pouted.

"We have a show on that day and the day after, Jaeyun," she looked at me with a pointed look.

"YA- HEESEUNG HAD HIS BIRTHDAY SEX RIGHT AFTER THE SHOW," I am fucking desperate.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! Don't cry! I'm so so sorry! Jakey gets an omission- don't cry, I'm sorry," she pulled my head into her chest.

Okay ten days.. Just gotta wait for another ten days, then back for another sixteen.

At least it's better than for a whole thirty.

pjs (day seven)

If anyone in the hyuppa line was gonna win No Nut November, it's gonna be me.

The other guys' sex drive are just insane. They're a bunch of horndogs, I swear.

Though admittedly, this was harder than I thought. I guess I can go on for a month without sex, especially with our busy schedule, but just the thought of not having that choice kinda messes with my head.

Like right now, for instance. I'm going out shopping with Della and even though she's not trying on this dress I'm eyeing, my thoughts are running wild.

It's a strapless, fitted mini dress with a sweetheart neckline and came with matching gloves.

Yo, she's gonna look so good in this. Like for date night and award shows? Or dinner with my parents? Or just no occasion at all but for my (well.. plus six other guys') eyes only?

Why do I have the hottest girlfriend in the world?

I suddenly snapped out of my trance and quickly searched for Della's size. I need to buy it now while she's not looking.

I know it's best if she tries it on but good Lord, I don't have the strength right now.

"A dress, oppa?" ah shit, she beat me to it. "It's so cute."

"I'm buying it for you. No arguments because we're in public," I made my way to the cashier.

"Wait! Oppa!" she held me back.

"We're in publicc," I said in a singsong voice.

"No I mean- let me try it on first!" oh have mercy.

"Oh.. right.." I laughed nervously and handed her the garment.

I had a few minutes to prepare myself before her 'reveal', yet she still got me all worked up.

Over a dress and Della alone.

Shit- why am I wearing these pants today? And who the fuck invented this challenge?

"Here, Della," I handed her my credit card. "I need to go to the restroom."

lhs (day nine)

My strategy is absolutely dumb.

The idea was that if I avoid the things that usually turns me on then I will be all set.

But it's dumb because apparently I get turned on by anything.

I haven't fucking kissed or cuddled her properly for nine days.

Della's a bit upset about it but she understands. This game was her idea after all.

Good thing she has six other boyfriends, huh?

Wrong. Now I'm just left with longing and jealousy.

If you're so jealous then go back to your room, dipshit. Why are you in Niki's room, watching the two cuddle and joke around?

"Hyung, you wanna join?" Niki looked over to where I was sitting. "You're glaring," he laughed.

Oh am I?

"No no," I shook my head with a sigh. "Just enjoying watching you two being a couple," I definitely intended the slight shade.

"Oppa, come here! Let's cuddle!" Della so innocently exclaimed.

She's so darn cute. How can anyone resist her?

You, Heeseung. Focus.

"Nah, I'm good," I crossed my arms.

"Pweasee?" LEE HEESEUNG. HOW DOWN BAD ARE YOU?

"You know what? I'm gonna retire for the night. It's been a fun time guys, good job today," I made my way towards the bed to give Della a good night peck on the lips and head. "I love you, good night."

Then because Niki's head was right there, I unconsciously pecked his head too.

"Uhh... Good night too, Niki. Love you," I pat his head awkwardly afterwards.

Well that cured my boner.

psh (day ten)

"Guys, we need to make Della lose this thing," I have gathered the hyuppa line in my room for an important meeting. "I can't take it anymore."

I knew that my libido was quite high but I didn't expect 3N to be this hard. It was never this hard in previous years.

Well to be fair, I've never actually won 3N before.

But that doesn't matter. I wasn't even thinking of joining this year.

"Bro, you don't think we've tried? She ain't budging," Jake pulled the blankets up higher. "Do you know how hard it was to convince her that it was my fucking birthday month? My birthday!"

"Damn- doesn't Della have a high sex drive or something? Why is she trying so hard to win this?" Heeseung leaned back on the sofa and manspreaded for comfort.

"That's why we need to work together! If she loses 3N then we can all just call this off, right? None of you actually wanna win this... right?" I gave them all a look.

"Do we really not get anything if we win? If so then I'm done with this," Jay scrunched his face. "This thing is dumb. I'm only joining because I'm kinda forced to."

"We're all forced to," Jake, Heeseung and I said in unison.

"Okay then this is my plan!" I exclaimed. "Lets just seduce her so bad that she just can't take it anymore!"

"What if it doesn't work?" Heeseung asked.

"It has to," I said simply. "I don't give a shit who succeeds- I just want this over."

"Ah! Then-" Jake sat up on his bed. "I have an idea. Let's just make our triple N a competition on who can get Della to lose," not a bad idea at all actually.

"Oh that sounds good?" Heeseung chuckled.

"That's gonna be fun," Jay laughed.

"Uh uh, let's do that," I agreed. "Let's call Della and tell her real quick," I reached for my phone.

"Here here, I'll do it," Jake couldn't hold back his grin.

"Wait- do you have an ulterior mot-" Jay was cut off by Della's voice on speaker.

"Hello? Jaeyun?"

"Uh- Della, where are you?" Jake placed his phone nearer to us.

"The hotel room.. Why?"

"I'm with Heeseung-hyung, Jay and Sunghoon. We had a little discussion and came to an agreement," the three of us just watched and let Jake tell her.

"Mhmm?" damn she's so hot.

I wanted to slap myself for being so down bad for her but after seeing the looks on the other guys faces, I realised that I am not as embarrassing as them.

But I mean- we have been quite deprived.

"We decided that our triple N will be a competition on who can get you to lose first," Della was silent for a few moments. "'Cause to us, it's just more rewarding."

I furrowed my eyebrows at Della's lack of response. Is she mad at us? Did she not like the idea?

"Hello?" Jake questioned.

"Jakey, are you on speaker?" Della asked.

"Yeah, we can hear you," Jay spoke up. We all looked at each other in confusion. Is she actually upset?

"Guys... How do I put this..." I'm sure we all felt a bit nervous. "I... lost..."

"WHAT?!" we didn't mean to be so loud but it just came out unconsciously.

"Alone?!" Heeseung asked with wide eyes.

"Uhh..."

"Sorry hyungs," we heard a familiar voice answer.

No fucking way.

"WITH SUNOO?!" "KIM SUNOO?!" "WHAT?!" "SUNOO-YA?!" all four of us said altogether.

"I'm sorry guys but it just sort of... happened.." Della 'explained'. "I didn't even realised that I los-" I picked up Jake's phone and cut her off.

"Della. My room. Right fucking now."

if you're over 18, please look forward (but i'm not sure when i can post or write it) to the nsfw version on my other account

requested: — the legal line's no nut november journey

taglist! @afiaaaa19 @riikiblr @one16core @toriluvsfics @i90snoo @danyxthirstae01 @seulgifted @clar-iii @hiqhkey @nichmeddar @jiwlys @duolingofanaccount @nvmbheart [@studioreader @sarang-wonie @fairydosii @hoonstrology @jaetint @4sahii @8-itsmee-8 ]

[hxney-lemcn]

Too Cute <3 — Alex [Adult World] x gn! reader

summary: Just some workplace fluff with Alex <;3

tw: none

a/n: Prompts are highlighted and from here.

wc: 0.6k

Master List

Another day, another shift. Something the world doesn’t talk about enough is what happens when you try, and fail. All my life, I wanted a good job with decent pay, I tried my hardest in highschool, and even graduated college! Yet all that hard work seemed to be down the drain. I made connections, I applied to jobs, and it was always “Thank you for applying, but you’re not what we’re looking for”. It was even like that for entry level jobs! And I had previous experience! It was infuriating. If I didn’t get money soon, I’d be out on the streets.

Which led me to my current prediction. I worked at a porn shop. Which wasn’t as terrible as it sounds. Yeah, some of the customers were weird, but at least your coworker and manager, Alex, was there to make you forget that you were technically even working. With good pay, and a good environment, I suppose I didn’t have much to complain about. Yeah, it was embarrassing to tell people where I worked, and I tried to avoid the topic, but like I said, the pay was good. I suppose only having to pay two workers meant you could treat them better.

I let out a sigh of boredom as I scrolled through my social media. My head darted up at the sound of a door opening, smiling softly as a familiar man with fluffy brown hair came out of the back room. Alex was carrying a box and set it on the ground with a huff. Must be new videos that came in. 

“Want any help?” I asked, not wanting to sit around while he does all the work. 

Alex pretended to think for a second before saying, “Youuuuuu could clean the bathroom before we close.”

I frowned, staring at him with pleading eyes, but his puppy dog eyes were more powerful and I spoke without thinking, “You’re lucky that you’re cute.”

I got up from my stool and put my phone in my pocket, but before I could make my way to the closet Alex replied, “Wait, you think I’m cute?” 

I felt myself freeze, not even realizing that I said that outloud. I bit my lip, trying to think of a way I could play this cool. Glancing back at him, I tried to give him the most natural smile I could muster.

“Yeah, who wouldn’t?” I asked with a shrug, continuing to the closet to grab the cleaning supplies. As I cleaned the bathroom, I was internally screaming at myself. Did I just make things weird? I mean yeah, we’re friends, but he’s also my manager. I took a deep breath and let it out, trying to calm myself down. I’ll just act like nothing happened, and maybe everything will be fine. Yeah, that’s totally what’s going to happen. 

It took me a bit to clean the bathroom. I tried to ignore the nausea that filled me at every unsanitary thing I had to clean. I forgot all about the little predicament that happened before. The need to leave that bathroom was the only thing filling my mind. I took in a deep breath as I exited the bathroom, Alex counting the register came into view. 

“I can’t believe you made me do that,” I groaned, acting like I didn’t do that every close shift. 

“You’ll live,” Alex laughed lightly, taking a glance at me before finishing the count. I tossed the bucket, gloves, and cleaning supplies back into the closet. 

“I suppose it isn’t that bad here,” I said, locking the front door. I turned back to face Alex as he put the deposit into an envelope. 

“It’s better with you here,” He replied nonchalantly, sending me one of his heart warming smiles. I felt myself warm at the sentiment and I smiled sheepishly back. “C’mon, let's get out of here.”

This may not be the life I envisioned, but you know what? It’s really not that bad.

[devilsrecreation]

i need to hear more about tamka and pua and their father-son (? correct me if im wrong) bond.. /no pressure

CROC FATHER/SON HEADCANONS LET’S GOOOOOO

I talked a little bit about them in my Tamka hc post but here are some more!

- Nobody in the Pridelands have any idea how Pua and Tamka are related. They’re either really confused or straight up don’t believe it. Pua’s a humble, smart, wise leader who puts up a good fight and Tamka…is, well, the opposite: a cocky dumbass who goes down the minute you hit the top of his head 😭

- Pua loved Tamka as soon as he hatched from his egg. It was impossible for him not to. He was so innocent and full of spirit, just like his mother. And he reminds his son of that every chance he gets

- Tamka’s silliness was both funny and annoying. Pua would always laugh when Tamka tried to climb on his snout but his habit of trying to spar with/death roll his father’s tail wasn’t as much fun

- As mentioned before, it was Pua who first discovered that rubbing his son’s tummy made him fall asleep (a nod to Tamka’s “sure, I mean, it works on me!” comment in “The Zebra Mastermind”). Baby Tamka was being fussy and Pua was feeling frustrated since everything he tried failed to work, not to mention this wasn’t setting the best example to his float. So Kuimba suggested he tickle their son’s tummy with his tail and when he tried it—boom. It worked

- Tamka still remembers the lullabies Pua would sing to him and the other hatchlings, especially the ones at him. He loves them so much he sings them when he has hatchlings of his own

- Tamka used to sleep right next to his mother, but when she died, he started sleeping next to Pua. Up until his dad’s exile, Tamka would always be found snoozing away anywhere near him. Tamka still misses those days

- When Tamka was a kid, he would sometimes overhear Pua weeping late at night (the times when his closest friends died, to be exact). He cried the hardest when Kuimba and Piga died. Tamka usually isn’t very good at reading other animals but he could absolutely tell his father was pretending everything was fine when it wasn’t. But he always assumed his father knew best so he didn’t question it much

- Their reconciliation since the incident in the Dry Season was a somewhat slow process. At first, they were both upset/disappointed for different reasons: Pua because he couldn’t believe Tamka went through with something so stupid and Tamka because Pua always seemed to dismiss him and love the other hatchlings more than his own son due to having to raise them all (not true at all but it certainly looked like it). Pua was heartbroken after Tamka pushed him away, but decided to give him some time and space. Tamka eventually starts to miss talking to his father and finally decides to talk it out with him. It was a very long and emotional talk that ended with the both of them hugging, along with apologies on both ends. Pua teared up, Tamka was bawling his eyes out

- Despite taking more after his mother, Tamka DOES inherit Pua’s confidence, darker colors, and determination. Not to mention he sometimes has that same gentle smile Pua has.

Seriously, same energy

- Pua gives his son even more examples why they’re more similar than he thinks, such as the fact they were both banished from the float and how they both meet/mate with beautiful females that are 10x out of their league

- Speaking of females, Tamka once went to him for advice about how to court Erevu. Best he could do is tell him to keep doing what he’s doing cuz he must be doing something right if she likes him back. He loves her btw, thinks she’s perfect for his son

- While Pua has no idea how he managed to win Kuimba’s heart, he does remember how they met and how he fell in love. It’s Tamka’s favorite story

- While they have reconciled, they still have misunderstandings every now and then. The first time Tamka saw Pua hanging out with Kongwe, he thought they were a couple. He goes through a whole process where he thinks his dad was trying to replace his mom, tries to make himself a third wheel, but then comes to accept the relationship if it makes him happy. Pua had to explain to him how it was purely platonic (lmao oh Tamka)

Pua was everyone’s dad figure but most importantly, he was Tamka’s