#and this is just a short fracture of what I like in him xD

[mobolanz]

Using two anime men pictures, what is your type of man? One picture for looks and one for personality.

Oh that's quite an interesting question actually (that deep down I hoped to get one day xD)

Since you said one for personality and one for looks seems I can't use a Reiner picture because I'm into him for both in a balance 🤧 😆✨

But I'm putting this picture here nonetheless if that's alright (⁠人⁠ ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠)

So instead I'll add two other guys from my top5 ever list :")

For looks , I'd say closest match is coyote starrk from bleach. :3 stern and solemn face, dark hair, tall, and a goatee to top it. I want to get tagged in any x reader fic one comes across 🤩🤩

For personality kureno sohma from fruits basket- watch me project into both icky toe and arisa . Aah I mean, very level-headed, calm, polite, gentle, selfless and compassionate person. :") also once acknowledging that even unintentionally he did wrong he's doing anything possible to better it in the available ways, and us actually taking responsibility unlike a certain other jealous dog fuckup I'm supposed to find complex🙄. Also Like would be worried about you first and foremost even in a near death position. Hell. Literally asks if YOU'RE doing well and pats you comfortingly on the head while laying in a hospital bed 🤧🤧. And if he could he'd stay by your side forever to hear you laugh to see your smile to taste your lips to show HIS real and not lonely smile and ahhhhhhhhh ;w; he's perfect for both my sad girl and energetic sunshine moments xD

Thank you for the ask !:D

[bluebutlikenotalways]

🐲 For Rayo and 👑 For Sorpresa, please? You can do either or if you don't want to do both. Thank you :)

Oooohhhhohoho! I love this ask :D

First up OUR SWEET PRINCE

I think I need to redesign her mask to make it less like a butterfly, because that ain’t her vibes!

Nou die draak

I kinda rushed the folded wings because I wanted to show his stupid fucking dragon hands off XD

Of course where would a prince be without her dragon?

hey guess what

LORE

So let’s start with our Prince.

Sorpresa comes from a long line of of women royals and is bright and ready to prove herself. A big part of her job tho is keeping her identity secret so she’s able to walk amongst her people without them acting off so they actually know what to fix, hence the mask. They’re also the first defensive against any attacks so they must always be ready with weapons and strangely sharp crowns. Sorpresa is more than ready to take on the world, she’s just waiting on the chance to prove herself.

Dragon man

Rayo X is a Knucker with horns that grew in wrong. Instead of pointing out they grew sideways to form a cross. With less protection than his fellows he decided to leave them to avoid the shame of them telling him he was a burden. While not able to use his horns he has developed one hell of a tail whip to fight back. It has served him well for a long time, but he still appreciated the beak guard because it makes close range attacks easier.

How they know each other!

Sorpresa was an only child and Rayo was an outcast, so both of their childhoods were really very boring when they weren’t training or sleeping. One day Rayo decided he’d drag his sorry ass out of the pond he was holding up in to try find someone to play with. He stumbled across a very flashy silver gate with blue gems set into its crest. He couldn’t help himself, he slithered up and pecked the sapphires out. Holding one up to admire it he watched as the world through it fractured and spun through the blue shine. On the other side he saw more flowers than he’d ever seen in his life. He had to see more! So he bellyflopped into the yard and went skittering to check everything out. Needless to say he trashed the place.

Meanwhile

A very board student was staring out her window while her tutor was trying to explain why the apple fell on Newton’s head and wishing that she could be doing anything else. Suddenly she saw a shadow climb over her fence and start slinking around her hard pulling up her grandmother’s flowers and toppling statues of her long dead relatives and if that wasn’t the most interesting thing she’d seen all day. Her teacher didn’t even get the chance to grab her before she went bursting out the window and scaling down the vines till she was able to land with only scarped knee to complain of.

Rayo was admiring how his reflection was shining in the depths of their well.

“HEY!”

A shout and poke from behind him made him jump and lose his grip on one of gems. He lent forward to to try catch it before it was out of reach, but a smack on his back made him jolt forwards and go spilling into the the depths below.

For a second he considered just curling into a ball at the bottom until whatever it was went away, but he reminded himself he’s a fucking dragon who can whip ass if he wants to.

Sorpresa peered over the edge of the well wall to the Rocky water below. She thought it was someone in a long robe digging through her family’s yard, but for a second she could have sworn…A dragon’s head come rocketing out of the earth below. Her stomach nearly fell out her ass as she steps back keeping her weapon up list like she was taught and glued her eyes to the opening waiting for a fight. Nothing came. Slowly she approached again to take another peak.

Rayo was about seven feet short from the top and was desperately clinging to the stones trying to claw his way back out, but he kept hitting a smooth one and ended up splashing back down.

Sorpresa watched him struggle for a bit. Poor thing looked like it was panicking. “Hello?”

Rayo paused. He looked up at the face above him. “Why did you hit me?”

Sorpresa cringed. “Well it was you or me.” She glanced at the torn up flowers and shuttered seeing that the crown broke off of her great great great aunt. “My mama is gonna explode when she sees this.”

Rayo curled around himself trying to calm down. “Whatever.” He dipped back below the water to tie himself in a knot. He couldn’t deal with this.

Above him a blip in the water made him stir. A tock on his head made him rise out back out of the water to see he must have fallen asleep because the light around them had faded to a deep purple, or maybe that was just a reflection from him.

“What?”

“I came back to check in you and I was worried you drowned.” Rayo blinked up at her. “You’re…really stuck, huh?” Rayo started sinking again. “I’ll get you out, don’t worry.”

Rayo Sat with his eyes above the water as he watched her work. A few minutes later a rope flitted down next to him and Sorpresa called him up. He reached out and gave it a tug. The beam it was tied to creaked a little, but didn’t break. He wrapped himself around it and started his way up.

Halfway up the rope he heard something snap and he practically turned to stone.

“C’mon! You’re almost there!” Sorpresa leaned over to see her garden destroyer dangling like a uvula in the throat of some great beast. He was so close she could almost…she grabbed the rope, looped her leg around it and slid down far enough that she could reach out and touch him. He was way smoother than she excepted, but when she went to sooth down his spines he flinched away. She hissed. “No! Not back down!” The knucker stayed where he was. She puffed air out through her nose and went over what she had learned. “I’m sorry I scared you down here earlier, but it’s my duty to protect those in my kingdom..where you are, so please let me help you.”

She reached down a second time, but instead of touching him she held her hand in front of his eye. He cocked his head at it, then cautiously dug his claw into her sleeve.

Sorpresa had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from pulling away as he climbed up her arm, cutting her more with each step. She watched blood run down her arm through the rips in her sleeve. Mama really won’t be happy with her destroying her shirts like this. Soon enough Rayo was clinging to her shoulder with his tail wrapped around her arm for balance. Even with the extra weight she pulled them both up and out where she dumped them both on the ground.

Now that they were both safe she got to have a proper look at him. “You had wings this whole time? Why didn’t you use them?”

Rayo was trying very hard to dry off by flopping around in the dirt, but he humoured her and opened them. “Its too cramped down there to fly.”

“Oh. Wh-“

“I dropped your gems in the well.”

“You did what?”

And the rest is history!

[treemaidengeek]

Ten First Lines Game

(Stolen from @theleakypen because it sounds fun! I played slightly fast & loose with "first line" based on the grammatical structures of some fics. Too brain fog to tag so if you think it sounds fun too, /punts)

Rules: post the first sentence of your last ten fics. If you haven’t written ten fics, share as many first-sentences as you have.

1. Wen Zhuliu should have been dead.

His throat bore an ugly collar of scars from where Yu Ziyuan's son--the one whose golden core he knew he had destroyed--had hung and electrocuted him with his mother’s Zidian.

(Pluck the sun from the sky and swallow it whole (The Untamed))

2. Usually there is a bit of plain bread and water. Some days I see no one at all and receive no food.

(The Hospitality of the Qishan Wen (The Untamed))

3. Meng Yao knelt on the rough stone below Wen Rouhan’s throne, a guard's sword biting painfully into the back of his neck, and prayed that he had not made a grave miscalculation.

(Nevernight (The Untamed)

4. Changcheng slept, haunted by fractured nightmares.

(Whumptober: Don't Get Kidnapped (Guardian))

5. –a man under a fallen cornice, can’t feel his crushed arms or legs and trying very hard not to panic about it–

–a woman sprawled among the rubble, couldn’t find her laptop, without the servers the past ten years of her life’s work remained only on that one stupid machine, it all happened so fucking fast–

–a child hurting so bad, doesn’t understand what he did wrong, should have cleaned his room like Mommy told him and never ever yelled at her about how stupid and mean she was, now he didn’t know where she was and it was his fault–

–a man lying in a mess of broken glass and blood, nerves screaming, his cell phone just out of reach, he couldn’t pass out without messaging his wife or she would never–

"Hey. Hey, Xiao Guo."

(Whumptober: Magical Exhaustion & Protectiveness [went til I actually hit a sentence XD] (Guardian))

6. "Kneel."

"Fuck you."

(Whumptober: Forced to Kneel (Guardian))

7. Lan-er's fingers flew over the guqin strings, faster and faster. The skin at the nape of my neck prickled.

(Whumptober: Possession and Protectiveness (The Untamed))

8. Closing his eyes did nothing to block out the grunts and strangled cries coming from across the hall, but Jae Chan did it anyway. ( Whumptober: Screams From Across the Hall (While You Were Sleeping [kdrama]))

9. Da Qing ran.

Dixing's cobbled streets and rocky ground were ripping up the pads of his paws.

(Whumptober: Nowhere to Run & Caged (Guardian))

10. The Reverend Daughter Harrowhark Nonagesimus curled up into a fetal position inside her bone cocoon and fumed.

(Whumptober: This Wasn’t Supposed to Happen (The Locked Tomb))

Bonus round:

Jin soldiers sprawled all around them in the dark, their pale robes stained with fresh mud and fresher blood.

Jin Guangyao's heart pounded in his ears. He couldn't remember what had happened.

(unnamed WIP in sequence with Nevernight & Pluck the Sun From the Sky)

This was really interesting! Structurally my habits are all over the place, except that the point is to set the scene, draw the reader into the moment, & often introduce a character. Technically speaking my first sentences ran from a single word (kneel) to several paragraphs of fragments. Several of them are short sentences that really rely on their follow-ups to complete the idea.

[starsmuserainbow]

💌 romance and flirting for Ry xD (the skills meme)

Muse skillset symbol meme

[[Thank you for sending one!]]

💌 — romance/flirting

It probably doesn't come as a surprise - Wildfire is rather bad at these things. He's very fond of the idea of closeness in the form of romance, absolutely, but he had never had anyone around to watch do these things and learn from, or anything like that, and what he read during his isolation was more about skills and various languages and planets and stuff, and certainly not about how to romance or flirt. (If he'd have learned the tamaranean way of flirting/romance it would still not quite be the same as on Earth, which might be obvious, but I wanted to mention it here as a short side-mention just for the sake of mentioning everything)

The typical forms of flirting alike pick-up-lines or saying things that might have a double meaning or the likes, absolutely won't be happening with him. He wouldn't be able to think of any of that sort, but even if he would know them, it wouldn't feel right to say these things. What he's good at though, is giving compliments. Usually still rather puzzled/fractured/stammered when he's giving them without the translator active bc obviously he doesn't know english (or any other earthen language) good enough, but he absolutely means compliments when he gives them.

As for more "physical contact" parts of flirting or romance, well. If it's at a 'never happened before' point with someone, Wildfire will be very hesitating to do anything because he doesn't want to, like, overstep boundaries. Once he knows that his partner is fine with (enter one form of physical romance/flirting here), he would probably be doing it a bit more. Not like everyday or anything, but when he feels it's right.

[the-final-sif]

Going back to my "c!Dream is possessed by a dreamon but neither of them know what they're doing AU" I wanted to clarify some things.

First and foremost, is that both Dream and the Dreamon are in a state of "I didn't think I'd get this far".

The Dreamon has never had someone try to combat it by severing ties before, and frankly, it doesn't know what to do. As mentioned previously it really doesn't want to be exposed as Dream has managed to convince it that his friends are capable of trapping it in Limbo. But it also isn't actually great at social interaction so it doesn't know how to mend Dream's relationships.

Meanwhile, Dream is over here making up bullshit on the fly with 10% of the information and no impluse control. He is astounding at the amount of lying he has managed to get away with.

Now it's worth noting here that as an Admin, Dream is fucking weird. He's very powerful and skilled, but he uses all of that power and skill to run a backwater near vanilla server for like 20 people.

Although when I say skilled, I mean Skilled in the way of a self-taught programer whose never had to do code review even once. Does it work? Yes. Exceptionally well. Could any other human being understand it? No. Not for a second.

He can create stuff on the fly though, even complicated ideas.

Like, for example, a god.

Or a weird, vague death system.

Or another dimension inaccessible without that weird death system.

Yeah, so basically c!Dream totally made up the idea of canon deaths and limbo, and then used DreamXD to implement them.

Oh, yeah, right, DreamXD!

So what's up with this guy?

Well, the long and the short of it is Dream created him.

XD was a server process (visualized as little dream blobs), specifically the server process that prevented End portals from activating. "XD" was just his designation.

Early on in his possession, Dream managed to wrench back enough control to have a few minutes in the meat suit. He used this time to collect a buclet of milk and call XD to him.

The he did something that any reasonable admin would call "batshit insane" and "utterly irresponsible".

Going off what he knew (the end poem and basically nothing else), he turned XD into a player of sorts. He used the milk as raw material to give XD a body, and then he fractured off a part of his own "soul" to give XD proper life.

Specifically, he gave XD a large part of all of his memories of loving & caring for the members of the server. How he became friends with them, and that desire to protect them. He gave XD a concept of love, and then he gave him three more things.

Admin abilities came next, transfering near full control of the server to XD and blocking c!Dream out of almost everything.

Second, he gave XD his mission. "Keep them free. Keep them safe. Try not to get hurt, if you can. After I change back, you'll need to stay away from me."

Finally, he was able to give XD a rough breakdown of how the death system needed to work (a quarantined dimension with time flowing differently to disrupt the infection capability of the Dreamon), but by then the Dreamon had finally managed to get some control back.

XD left with his new mission, a barely stable mess of code with plenty of internal conflict between his initial status as a pure program and now his new status as a player.

For quite awhile, XD sits back and watches. He takes the time to learn more, about what it even means to be free. About what it means to love others, what it means to be safe.

Finally, he starts interacting when Wilbur and Schlatt "die" (in reality, both were very susceptible to the Dreamon's infections due to their compromised mental states and required time away to recovery before they hit the critical point.)

XD starts out rather shy but gets steadily bolder as time wears on and he gets more comfortable with human interaction and begins to develop his own personality.

Also he still protects the end, even if the portals wouldn't work anyways. Because!! That's his first job!! It's in his nature!!! Go away Technoblade!!!

XD is an absolute mess, but he's trying his very best! He has very complicated jobs, with no easy answers, but he's working at it!

c!Dream is very proud of him. The Dreamon fucking hates him.

Oh speaking of c!Dream, he retains two admin abilities, both of which the Dreamon cannot access due to the complexity of them

First, resurrection. (This is actually just a teleportation command, shhhh)

Second, for various reasons he needed to retain the ability to alter player code. Mostly to enable resurrection, but he figures out it can also be used to alter/block memories to some extent.

The Dreamon really wants access to these abilties, unfortunately, despite it's best efforts it's unable to understand c!Dream's weird spaghetti code.

I feel like I should probably explain Ranboo's role in this AU soon, because he is a central figure, but like, I'm not sure if people are emotionally ready for that mess so I'll leave it for now.

[glowingbadger]

A student! reader (over 18 obviously) who has an awkward crush on Seteth who may reciprocate? This ask is like on the verge of the DONT section in your rules so feel free to ignore if it is too uncomfy xD

I actually got a couple asks in the wake of that post I made about teasing Seteth in the Academy uniform, so I'm glad you guys are vibing with me on that lol~

That said, I will say that a literal teacher/student thing is ehhhhh for me, BUT I think I have a way to make this work for all of us :3

Jeez, the number of times I've written Seteth fucking someone on his desk-

CW: former student, degradation, spanking, me being a Seteth simp

Seteth (FE3H) x FEM Reader - Garreg Mach Uniform

NSFW 18+

Sometimes it seems that your austere lover is even more busy in the post-war scramble for stabilization than he had been during wartime. Seteth had already been known for an almost worryingly dedicated work-ethic when you'd met him during your time as a student at the Officers Academy. Now, many years and sociopolitical shifts and one nervous love-confession later, it only seemed that more rested on on his shoulders than ever. Perhaps that's why, when you discover your old uniform while cleaning up your quarters one day, an irresistible idea forms in your mind.

Seteth's eyes drift, then refocus. He blinks away the exhaustion threatening to break him from his duties, then sighs as he runs a hand through emerald hair. The Chapel bells had signified the end of administrative hours some time ago, but he can't allow himself to become lax. There's still much to be done. It's days like this that make him think with a wry smile that his brothers would scoff at the way he's chosen to live his life, having traded fangs for bureaucracy.

His office door is propped open as usual, but he hears a knock that shakes him from his thoughts.

"Come in-" he glances up at you, and his brows furrow deeply. You can't help a playful smile at the sight of Seteth's face already tinted pink. With as much innocence as you can affect, you step into his office to show off your attire. Your old uniform still fits- more or less -but you've made some careful adjustments. The jacket and white blouse underneath are only buttoned as high as would be strictly necessary to be seen in public, exposing a daring view of your chest. Thigh-high stockings hug your legs, then lead up to perhaps the most scandalous aspect of this ensemble. You've rolled up the hem of your skirt until it flutters about your hips so short that when you're not careful, a glimpse of your backside is clearly visible. This latter point, Seteth clearly notices as you twirl for him, saying,

"Look what I found, love," He's already on his feet approaching you, and you smile up at him as sweetly as you can, "sure brings back memories, doesn't it?"

Without a word, Seteth tugs you away from the office door and shuts it firmly behind you.

"Did you parade yourself all the way here from your quarters looking like this?!" he demands, and you hear the click of the door locking behind you.

"Well I don't see how else I could have gotten here, so..." you reply flippantly.

"Goddess above," he says with an exasperated sigh. His thumb and forefinger worry at the bridge of his nose as he turns back towards his desk, "To think that anyone could have seen you-!"

You roll your eyes with a grin and follow him. You take his hands in yours, drawing them away from him and opening up his closed posture.

"Come on, I just thought you might like it," you say as you draw closer to him. Seteth sighs again and looks you up and down.

"Whether or not I like it is immaterial, my love."

"But you do like it," you prod him further, your grin widening.

He opens his mouth, then closes it again. His lips tighten for a moment, then he manages to say,

"It is... flattering."

Releasing his hands, your own travel up the front of his torso, enjoying the dips and swells of his muscled body beneath those conservative robes. You feel his chest rise as he inhales sharply, and you say,

"Have I ever told you that I had a hell of a crush on you even back in my student days?"

Seteth speaks your name with a hint of a warning his his voice. You press your body to his as your touch travels up the strong contour of his neck to tease along the line of his beard.

"It's true. I've always wanted you, Seteth," you go on, "Every single time you scolded or lectured me, part of me was... incredibly turned on. Sometimes, it was simply too much to bear," you curl a lock of his hair around your fingertips. You can see his ironclad will beginning to fracture. "Sometimes, I'd return to my room and pleasure myself, all while dreaming of you disciplining me."

Then, his lips are on yours, his kiss so hard and impassioned that for a moment, you're breathless. Your smug posturing falters immediately. He drags your bottom lip between his teeth as one hand wraps around you while the other grabs onto the plump swell of your ass beneath the flimsy coverage of your skirt. Seteth pulls you firmly against his strong body, and you can feel his cock throbbing against you. Then, as suddenly as he'd initiated it, he breaks your kiss- but before you can speak, his hand holds at your chin and forces you to meet his fierce gaze.

"So, you came here in this shameful attire with the express purpose of provoking me," his voice is a husky whisper, the mere sound of it nearly enough to make your knees buckle, "Very well then- you will have your scolding."

He manhandles you into position, rougher and more forceful with you than he's ever been. Before long, you're bent over his desk beneath him, and he stares down at you with a heat that paradoxically makes you shiver. Then, he raises a hand, and brings down his palm across your ass. You whimper and arch up from the hardwood, but he only says coldly,

"Straighten your legs."

You do your best to obey, holding your backside upright for him as though presenting him with your body. Despite your efforts, his hand descends once more, the wonderful sting of his strike warming your skin.

"Spread them wider." he commands, and once again you obey without question. You hear the familiar rustle of his belt and outer robes coming undone, and you glance back over your shoulder.

"Eyes forward, Miss Y/N." he says, his tone now balancing on a dangerous edge. You whine in protest, but follow his instructions and merely await your punishment. He gives a low hum and says, "I see you are capable of some measure of discipline, at least."

You feel the stiff head of his cock pushing between your folds, but before you can prepare yourself in the slightest, Seteth drives into your waiting cunt. Immediately, your eyes roll back and you gasp out his name. He holds you by your hips, pulling you back against him until your ass presses flush against his pelvis. He's nestled deep inside of you, his powerful manhood stretching you to your limit- and for the moment, he simply remains as such. The tip of his cock is nudging hard against your womb, sending blended pain and pleasure radiating through your nerves. It's all you can do to keep yourself positioned properly for him.

"To think that you would flaunt your body about the Monastery in such attire," Seteth snarls behind you, his cock throbbing against your inner walls, "You're every bit as hopeless as you were as a student." Once again, he spanks you, and you have to imagine by now that his abuse has begun to mark your tender skin.

You're already panting aloud for him when finally, his hips begin to move. His pace is immediately firm and punishing, his cock pistoning in and out of you, stimulating your every aching sweet spot and sending a painful jolt up your spine with each thrust. Your lips hang parted as you gasp for breath, your eyes dazed and unfocused in your bliss. A sudden rush seizes your body, and you feel your pussy clench around the massive intrusion of Seteth's cock.

"Cumming already?" he says with clear derision in his voice, though he never eases his pace as his bucks into you, "Perhaps you were even aroused by showing yourself in public in this shameful state."

"Nuh- no...!" you whimper softly, "It was... it's only for you-!"

Smack! His palm strikes your bouncing flesh once more. You're still riding the wave of your climax- or perhaps you're cumming a second time already. It's impossible to tell.

"Yet you were already soaked by the time I bent you over," Seteth goes on as he pounds into you, "One can't help but think that perhaps my troublesome student quite enjoys behaving like a wanton whore."

You can't manage to reply anymore. Your head is spinning and your body aches. Seteth's full length drives into you to its base again and again, and you can't even begin to say how many times you've cum before he begins to falter. His hips snap towards you haltingly, his body shudders, and his balls feel large and heavy as they slap against you with each thrust. It seems even his immense self-control can't stand up to this lewd punishment session for much longer. As your hands uselessly try to find purchase on the surface of his desk, Seteth leans over you, his hands now on your waist, pinning you down beneath him. His member throbs from base to tip, and with an animalistic groan, he says,

"I expect you... to take full responsibility-!"

With this, you feel the heat of his release pouring out at your core. His length twitches with every shot of cum that he spills into you, and his hands grip you so tight you can feel his nails digging along your skin. Seteth moans out your name, and you're distantly grateful that no one else stays in the offices as late as he does- you've both certainly made enough noise to have caused a scene by now.

At long, long last, his member pulses with the final throes of his orgasm. Seteth's grip on you loosens, and his office is quiet save for soft panting as you both struggle to collect yourselves. He pulls his length from you in one motion, and already, you can feel his thick seed dripping along your lower lips.

"You will head to my chambers," Seteth says, then clears his throat as he struggles to regain his usual composed dignity, "And if you don't want anyone to see this dripping out of you, you'll go quickly."

"Whose fault is that, I wonder," you manage to mumble, slowly pushing yourself up from the desk. Seteth actually laughs at this. Even now, his laugh is a rare treat that makes your heart skip like nothing else.

"I am tempted to say yours, given your intentional provocation," he says, bending over to place a soft kiss to your lips, "but I acknowledge that my own weakened restraint is partially to blame. To that end," he adds, his smile once more gentle and fond, "I am feeling rather rejuvenated. I'll be done with my work before long, and I do hope to see you in my quarters then."

[perdidosbucky-yyo]

Tew Noitanicullah

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader (no mention of body type or ethnicity)

Summary: What started like a great day for Bucky Barnes ended up a complete nighmare

Word count: 3k

Warnings: NSFW, a lot of cursing, dirty talk, smut, masturbation (fem), use of sex toys, dry humping, handjob (male receiving), penile fracture, abs riding, blood.

a/n: I was listening to this song (childhood jewl) and this is what happened hahaha, this fic is freaky in every sense of the word, like a bad porno lmao but I had a blast writing this! Also, this my first time writing smut, is it obvious? Let me know in the comments! XD likes, comments and reblogs are deeply encouraged <3

likes, comments, and reblogs are deeply encouraged <3

Bucky wanted to find a place where he could read his books and find new ones, since the library he often visited shut down, Steve knew the perfect place, your bookshop. Bucky now cursed himself for trying to figure out what color your panties would be under the green vintage grid-pattern skirt you were wearing as you bent over to pick up your fallen glasses, your ass perfectly visible for him to gawk at. The moment he walked in and laid eyes on you he had to hold on to something, his throat went dry and limbs numb. For hours he’d been watching you running around the shop, one task after another, looking cute as hell he thought. Once you stood and put your red glasses on he willed himself to look away, lucky for him you didn’t notice his intense staring… or at least he thought you didn’t.

The sun was just starting to settle, but he still had a few hours to indulge his new-found obsession. Bucky remained in a lawson mustard chair he had been pretending to read on for the last hour, waiting for you to come out of your office, you’d been in there for a while now but the shop was dead silent, empty (except for him), plus you had cameras, you had no reason to come out and just as he was about to get up and leave you broke the silence.

Sounds that he couldn’t pin down came out of your office, so faint no one would’ve been able to hear them, thanks to the super soldier serum, he could. As he slowly approached your office door his whole face turned bright red, you were panting and… moaning?! Bucky’s jaw slacked, he couldn’t believe his fucking ears, unable to control himself he opened the door as quiet as possible, the sight before him was one that had his brain short circuit.

You were sitting on the edge of your dark wood desk, long skirt rolled up to your waist, leaning back, holding yourself with your arm, hand gripping the desk, turning your knuckles white, while the other disappeared between your legs.

At a loss for words the man gulped, heart thumping incessantly, feeling like it might jump out out of his rib cage, as he took a hesitant step forward you finally turned around, if you weren’t dripping wet before you definetely were now, his icy blue eyes pierced you, the red henley he was wearing made him all the more appealing. As your fingers played with your bundle of nerves, a wicked smile crossed your face “What took you so long?”.

The only thing that stopped Bucky from taking you on that desk was the fact that he enjoyed watching pleasure yourself, it was addicting, your not so quiet moans sending chills down his spine, the way your breasts bounced as your pace quickened, made him bite down a moan, “Cookie monster wants a taste test? Be a good boy and I’ll show you the rest”, his cock twitched at your words.

“FUCK I’ll do whatever you want” Bucky mumbled Through his teeth , he couldn’t take his eyes off of you, watching him struggle made something inside you snap, reaching your climax you tilted your head back, laughs between heavy breathing. At the center of those perfect blue eyes there was darkness, purpose, a hunger that scared you in the best way, as he walked towards you, you sat up right letting your skirt fall down, not taking your eyes off of him, “My little voyeour wants to play explorer? You bit your lip trying to hide a smirk. Just a few inches separating the two of you, a sultry chuckle left his mouth as he hooked two fingers around your black turtle neck and with one pull slammed you to his chest, an oomph escaping your lips you smiled. Taking your rist Bucky brought your slick covered fingers to his mouth, your pussy undeniably throbbed, savouring you, Bucky closed his eyes, taking in your sweet musky taste, all you could do was watch in awe, once he released your fingers with an exaggerated pop, he licked his lips “Tasty”.

Proud to have gotten a taste of his now favorite librarian, Bucky left your bookshop with a shit eating grin, walking on clouds, the sky was dark and he had the perfect view of the city from high above, it’s lights were almost coming to life, blinding and dizzying… chasing him, wanting to consume him. After walking a few blocks he finally got to his car which was not stuck, weird for New York but recent events proved that tonight was Bucky’s lucky night.

Leaning back on the drivers seat with a content sigh he closed his eyes, only for them to peel back open as he felt a slick-rough lick on his cheek, slow and deliberate, leaving a trail of drool sliding down his face, inmediately jerking back he sees you on the back seat, wicked grin etched on your face, legs crossed, you wore a black leather bodysuit, gloves and thigh high boots, shining under the moon light, without giving him a moment to even think you pulled back his seat as low as it could go and jumped to straddle his waist.

Not being able to move, Bucky let out a breathy laugh “left you wanting more kitten?” he teased, instantly regretting it as you gripped a bunch of his hair and yanked his head back, making him let out a pained gasp, shock took the form of a knot in his throat, making his adam’s apple bob. “Shut the fuck up” you seethed, “You will reffer to me as Mistress” you murmored in his ear, sending chills down his spine “And that is the only word you’re allowed to speak scream, disobey me and you will be punished” you said sternly as your long black nails sunk into his stretched neck “Am I understood?”, he was about to answer but as soon as he felt your grip on his hair tighten he bit his lower lip and nodded.

For Bucky, time slowed, for all he knew the world had stopped moving and time itself ceased to exist. Red henley discarded long ago, you unclipped his nipple to tease him with your tongue, a mix of pain and relief made him hiss through his teeth, you hummed as you placed back the nipple clamp, instantly bucking his hips, his buldge made contact with your clothed core, entranced by the intensity in your eyes, lust consumed the both of you.

Before he could think twice his hands landed on your waist and his fingers seeked your entrance “n-need to f-feel you” he whined, you almost took pity on him… almost, you ripped his hands off of you and crashed your lips with his, an all consuming kiss that was anything but tender. Not a single fiber of his being wanted to fight you, he gladly submitted, he found it strange that for 70 years he resisted Hydra, but he’d give you control over him in a second. As each of your hands added pressure to the clamps an agressive mewl escaped him, once you released him from the kiss, Bucky’s mouth was covered in your lipstick, lips were so shiny and swolen you couldn’t help but kiss him again, nibbling his bottom lip, leaving him a whimpering mess.

Out of fucking thin air a gag collar appeared on your hands, breath cought in his throat, waiting to see what you would do next, his eyes led him to your moving hips, “You wanna pet my kitty?” you purred as you encreased the friction between his hardened buldge and your cunt, he swallowed a plea and desperatelly nodded, he wasn’t planning on speaking, you were just starting to give him bread crumbs, “such a dirty doggie” you moaned as you moved back and forth on his crotch and placed the gag on his mouth.

Agressively grinding down on him, Bucky’s eyes were on the verge of tears, different sensations overwhelming him, he was so so close, and your trash talk only took him closer to the edge, “Fucking pathetic” you whispered as you slammed your hand on the window to hold on. The air was hot and steamy, drool dripping down his chin, windows tarnished, small moans, desperate whines and the squeaking of your leather clothes filled the car, Just as he was about to cum in his pants, a deafening knock on the car window echoed through him, a ringing in his ears encreased by the second.

Once you timidly stepped out of the car like you were asked to, officer Barnes cuffed and pushed you inside the cop car. Putting out his cigarette, officer Rogers shook his head in dissappointment “they never learn do they?”, Bucky took off his peaked hat and chuckled as he started the engine, “I think this one’s smart”, he said with a smug smile and glanced at you through the rear-view mirror, fucking bastard looked like he enjoyed getting his hands on you, you wanted to hate him but if you were being honest those eyes of his were making it pretty damn hard.

Arrested for lewd acts and indecent exposure, fucking great. Wearing an NYPD sweatshirt and nothing else, you sat in a weirdly squeaky clean jail cell, waiting for them to let you make your phone call.

With no one around, impatience got the best of you, pacing around the room like a caged tiger you stopped, hand went to your mouth to stop a scream. Heartbeat rising, throat went dry, frozen in place, it couldn’t be, you gotta be fucking hallucinating because there just couldn’t be a god damn wolf outside your cell… cold blue eyes glowing, watching you, white fur smeared with blood as it dripped from it’s jaw, the animal infront of you scared you, it clearly had a taste for blood, an aura of death surrounded him but… those eyes, the way they looked at you, it made your whole body vibrate, somehow you knew that this wolf was there to protect you but fear always has a way of getting the best of us, as the predator took a step forward you closed your eyes and cried for help “MONSTER!”.

After what felt like an eternity of complete silence, a croaky voice came into your earshot “Not a monster, just lil’ old me” he chuckled, “a fucking god” you thought to yourself as you admired his physique, 6’4 of pure dominance, not an ounce of hesitance or doubt in his stance, blue uniform embraced his muscles almost a little too tight but given his attitude that was intentional.

Frown on your face snapping out of your thoughts you shook your head and sat “I want my fucking phone call”, perfectly aware of your blatant staring Bucky leaned back on the wall “still haven’t processed your papers doll, office’s… out of ink, could take a while”, given by his stupid cocky face you doubt it “well, until then, fuck off” you said, not letting your true emotions rise to the surface, pushing himself off the wall officer barnes sighed “tsk-tsk-tsk you shoud watch that mouth of yours, remember who you’re talking to”, his words came out like honey, they should’ve made you want to retaliate but you only felt butterflies in your stomach.

“I could help you out you know, speed the process, or maybe those papers could get lost if there even is paperwork… I could use a hand though” he murmored and licked his pink lips, not taking his eyes off of yours, he knew you, he wanted you and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t want him… “fuck this is so wrong” you whispered mostly to yourself but he heard it and it only seemed to egg him on. Closing your cell behind him he walked towards you until you were but inches apart, he had her right where he wanted to, caressing your cheek with his knuckles your eyes couldn’t help but flutter close, he radiated warmth, and in a way he was comforting.

He gently kissed you in the forehead, “c’mon” your left cheek, “sweetheart” right cheek, “love me the way you know you want to” and finally your nose, the tenderness he was giving you was everything you needed to spark a flame inside of you, trying to supress a whimper your hands flew to his neck and you pulled him in for a kiss, hard and needy, his hands wandered your frame, in a dance of tongues you could taste him, the smell of sandal wood and chocolate filled you, he was addicting, the need to consume him overtook you.

Feeling like time might run out, you unfastened his buckle hastily, swiftly pulling out his semi-hard cock you broke the kiss to breathe and look at his bigger than average dick, getting a good grip on it you stroked his leaking tip with your thumb, "that's it baby, touch it, it's y-ours, t-touch it" he breathed out, almost sounding desperate. Once you spat on the base plus his precum you were able to set a pace, nice and slow, “Fuck baby, your hand feels so good, bet it don’t compare to your sweet pussy though” he panted in your ear, earning himself a moan from you.

Bucky left hot open kisses on your neck and jaw, his moustache left an incredible burn on your flushed skin, the sounds you were dragging out of him were delicious, his pleasure was your pleasure. Kissing your temple between quiet moans he gripped your hair and pulled your head back to get a look at you “looks like you’re the one getting fucked sweetheart” he teased, pulling you closer, his free hand went between your thighs, getting his fingers nice and wet he growled “look at ya, already a fucking mess for me, where did the tiger go eh? go on doll, finish what ya started”.

Pushing you against the wall, hands on the sides of your head, caging you he attacked your lips and you continued jerking him off, adding pressure and speed Bucky grunted against your lips, almost bringing you to your knees, pulling back from your pretty bruised lips he pushed up the sweetshirt like a mad man, “I’mabouttocum doll, Ineedto mark those thighsofyours” he gasped, barely getting the words out, prominent veins on his neck, you desperately nodded and assaulted his dick with incredible strenght going as fast as you could, wet sounds and his grunts echoed in the air, your knuckles turned white, the second you panted in his ear he snapped, guttoral moan escaping his lips, spurts of cum flew off his swollen and throbbing cock, landing on your soft thighs, staining your cute black panties. Using his spent you easily continued, pace not faltering, resting his forehead on yours, you tried a new angle.

and just like that…

it went from pure bliss.

to horror.

A terrible crack shattered the sound barrier, along with an agonizing scream from Bucky, the fuzzy feeling on your brain replaced by burning guilt. He was in too much pain to even hear your apologies, a single tear slipping down his face as he watched his discolored and bent penis.

“You’re a fucking monster”

Beep

“you’ll break her”

Beep

“what makes you think she even likes you?”

Beep

“Hi” you whispered, smile bright red and big as ever, your presence alone tunned out the hospital sounds, an aura of pure light followed you, you were all that mattered to him.“Hi” he responded with a sleepy smile, his brain still foggy from the meds “How’s my beautiful man doing?”, Bucky’s heart almost jumped out of his chest at your words, and the heart monitor didn’t let him lie.

Walking to his side not missing the way his eyes followed your every move you checked his chart, “still groggy, and so fucking sore” he groaned. You took off the stethoscope from around your neck and placed it on the wheeled bed tray table, once you pushed it aside you carefully laid beside him, gently placing your head on his chest; there was something so peaceful about hearing his heart, proof that he was alive, each thump brought you comfort.

As you felt his chest rise and fall more rapidly you could’t help but smile, “I can tell you’re obsessed by your shortness of breath baby” you hummed, God, you could kiss him to death, he slowly brought his hand to your hair and stroked it “how could I not be doll? You’re so sweet… I could just eat you” he cooed.

Raising your head to look at him you gasped a little bit, the shining, the perfect blue skies in his eyes never failed to surprise you, “let me make you feel better” you whined as you kissed his cheek, with a tight lip smile he brushed a hair out of your face “you don’t have to sweetheart”, craddling your head with his hands he pressed your foreheads together “you’re all I need” he said with all honesty and sincerity. You weren’t ready to process what you heard, of course you felt the same way but to admit it is to give life a chance to take it all away, a chance for your heart to join with his only for them to inevitably tear apart.

“James Buchanan Barnes, I am your nurse, it is my job to make you feel better! Now don’t be and old goat and let me do it” you said with your nose adorably scrunched, not being able to hold back a grin Bucky laughed as he took your nursing cap and threw it away “Fiiiine” he rolled his eyes playfully, “ride my abdomen, use me” he commanded with a slap to your ass, dumbfounded, your mouth slacked, “baby”, you sighed “I’ll hurt you, I’m supossed to make YOU feel good”, without warning he grabbed you by the waist and helped you straddle him “don’t you worry about me doll, just do as you’re told” he smirked.

Cheeks red you let him pull down your zipper, exposing your red lacy bralette to him, licking his lips he released your breasts from their confinement and inmediatelly took one into his mouth, tongue swirling against your areola and nipple, teeth gently grazing making you shuddder as his other hand tweaked with your other nipple, “start moving doll” he said with his mouth full, your giggle stopped as his teeth bit hard enough to elicit a moan out of you.

One hand on his shoulder and the other moving your scrub dress out of the way to move your laced panties aside, your hips languidly moved back and forth, “that’s it sweetheart, use me, fuck you feel so soft”, his encouraging words sent electricity through out your whole body.

Leaving hot-wet kisses around your breasts and neck Bucky took your waist and helped you grind on him, clit throbbing more and more with each stroke you dug your nails into his shoulder “fuck-fuck-fuck I’m not gonna last baby” you mewled in his ear as the pace quickened “doll if you keep making those pretty noises I might come too” he panted.

Watching your hands on his shoulders he noticed a rash in your forearms but fuck, you looked so beautiful all sweaty and face contorted that he easily waved it off, skin burning hot, sweat dripping down your neck, your climax was near “go on sweetheart, be a good girl and let go for me”, and in one, two, three more strokes the knot in your belly let go, making you almost scream, creaming all over his delicous abs.

Collapsing on his chest you sighed in pure and utter bliss, chuckling he rubbed your back “how you feelin’ doll?”, rising your head to answer him, his heart almost stopped, your skin had red patches all over, turning more and more red by the second “what’s wrong baby?”, Bucky shook his head “w-we need to call a doctor, now!”, you responded with a tight lip smile “does blood scare you Bucky?” you asked as your now red skin melted like butter, “w-wh-what are you talking about? Sweetheart what’s happening?” he said with a strained voice, tears in his eyes “don’t act surpised Bucky”, your body ceased to be and you were now just a blood clot, your face features slowly dissappearing “you knew one day the trail of blood you left behind would catch up with you”… an excruciatingly painful second later you slipped through his arms and completely soaked him with blood, he sobbed as he downed in it.

Gaspisng for air Bucky Barnes opened his eyes back to reality, laying down in the common area couch, taking in his sorroundings, though blurred vision he sees you walking into the room, wearing your blue leather suit, a little bruised and hair disheveled, probably just returning from a mission.

Dropping your bag you placed your hands on your waist “You look like crap Barnes” you laughed, he felt like crap, covered in sweat and freezing, dry throat, he couldn’t even move a muscle if he wanted to.

Seeing that he didn’t respond with a sarcastic comment you frowned and walked towards him, hesitantly leaning in, you placed your hand on his forehead, your cool hand brought him slight relief but he said nothing, “you’re really warm, “Dum- E!”you shouted, bot raced towards you “what’s his temperature?”, once the bot scanned him, 108° in bold red appeared on the screen, “Jesus! We need to get Dr. Cho, shit shit shit, don’t move” you cringed as you realised what you just said “I-I’ll be right back” but before you could leave he grabbed your hand.

Despite the hallucination he just had, your presence always soothed him, if anything he now realized that he loved you and he never wanted you to leave his side. Yes, he wasn’t innocent, he has decades of trauma to deal with and perhaps he was being selfish by wanting you but he deserved happiness, right? And judging by the look in your eyes right now and the last year of teasing and lingering looks you also wanted him, so he wouldn’t let his inner demons ruin this.

Too weak to worry he might scare you off he caressed your knuckles with his thumb “stay, you can be my nurse” he lazily smiled as exhaustion takes him, not letting you argue back, typical Barnes. “Go get Dr. Cho please” you said to the bot. Worry etched on your face you moved a few hairs from his face, “don’t worry, I’ll make you feel better” you smiled and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

[21st-century-ninja]

though she be but little

Hey Merry Christmas @m-aster-of-spinjitzu​!!! I got to write for you for the @ninjagosecretsanta2021​ event, and honestly I had a blast doing this one XD  I know you asked for some hurt/comfort and I did my best to stick to it, but I fear this might have become a bit fluffy in the end.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little bit of Colania!  It’s also on ao3 here :D

The sun is warm on his back as he leans forward to capture another wisp of hair.  Cole brushes through the strand lightly with his fingers, detangling and smoothing it before he adds it to the section already in his hands.  When his fingertips brush against Vania’s head again, she sighs and leans back into his hands.

“How’s it looking?”

“Per-itty good, if I do say so myself.”

“Can I see?”

“No, but you can feel.”  Gently, he guides her hand up, up to where the integrated braid presses against her scalp.  She runs her fingers over the silky surface.

“It’s nice!”

“Hey, don’t sound so surprised!  I can be a delicate guy.”

Despite him telling her not to, Vania twists around.  Cole grunts and chases after her head to keep the braids the proper tautness.  “That’s not what I meant,” she says.  “How did you get so good at this?”

Cole guides her back to her original position, readjusting his strands.  “I used to do it with my mom,” he says back.  “But I haven’t got a chance in a while.  Nya’s hair was too short for the longest time, and Kai doesn’t let anyone near his head with a ten-foot pole.  And if we’re being frank, I’m too scared to touch the greasy mop that Lloyd calls hair.”

Vania laughs.  The noise causes Chompy, who’s been napping in another patch of sunlight, to perk his head up.  He stretches like a dog, wings opening up all the way and tail whipping side to side before he glances back in their direction.  Vania coos.

“Chompy!  Come here, good boy!”

The little dragon settles in her lap, head resting on her leg like it’s his personal pillow.  Vania pets over his head and Chompy makes a chuffing noise, snuggling down further.

Cole pauses in the middle of a rope braid.  The sound is painfully familiar, and one he hadn’t realized he’d forgotten until just now.  

He has to stay still for a long moment, waiting out the wave of emotion that sweeps suddenly through him.  “You know,” he says, the words tumbling free from his mouth before he realizes, “I used to have a dragon too."  

Vania perks up.  “Of course!”  She turns around again, and this time, Cole doesn’t have the energy to scold her as the braid pulls free from his hands.  “Rocky, right?  One of my books had a whole page on him- well, him and the other dragons, too.  I always thought he looked the most like a Ridgeback."  

Cole shrugs.  “Maybe he was.  That noise that Chompy made just now- he always made that same noise when I gave him liver and toads.”

"Really?  That’s hilarious!”  Vania bends over to fuss with Chompy.  “Did you hear that?” she asks in a baby voice.  “You and Rocky make the same sounds!  What a good boy!”  

Cole’s smile fractures around the edges.  Thankfully, Vania seems oblivious to his mood.

“What ever happened to them?” she asks, tilting her head back toward him.  “I know he combined with the other ninja’s to form the Ultra Dragon, but it seems like after a while, they just... vanished."

Cole’s heart aches.   He fixes his smile, trying to look normal.  However that’s supposed to look.  “Yeah, basically.  They had to go back to their original home, the First Realm.  But-"  He swallows and reaches for her hair again, needing something to ground himself as he speaks.  “But- when the guys and I got stuck in the First Realm, the Iron Baron- he was the top guy there- his throne… It was them.”

“Them?” Vania asks, before the realization catches up to her.  She gasps out loud, hand flying to her mouth.  Spinning around, she rips her hair from his hands again.  This time, Cole doesn’t bother trying to hold on.  "Oh- oh my gosh, Cole.  That’s horrible!  Are you okay?  I can’t even begin to imagine."

Cole does a little one-shoulder shrug.  “I’m okay now.  It was a while ago.”  Even as he speaks, his heart clenches.  The truth of the matter is that there had been so much else going on that the realization barely had time to register with him before it was shoved away by the more-immediately pressing things.  He draws in a quiet breath, recentering himself.  “Anyway, we put a stop to the Baron’s reign, and Firstborne watches over the realm now, so there’s no chance of it happening to any more dragons.”

Vania is still watching him.  Cole braces himself for her pity, or worse, her derision- it wouldn’t be the first time someone’s reacted to him that way; he’s learned the hard way that the world isn’t kind to men who show their emotions- but she’s just looking back at him seriously, eyebrows slightly furrowed and her eyes gentle.  The pressure in Cole’s chest eases, and he scolds himself.  Of course she’s not that type of person.  

“That’s really good, then,” she says softly.  “I’m glad.  You saved them, Cole.”

Cole rubs the back of his neck.  “Ha, it was all of the guys, not just me.”  He gives her a small grin.  “But thank you.  I’m glad too.”  

“Queen Vania!”

The call comes from the other side of the hedge, some attendant with panic lacing through his voice.  Both of them sigh in unison.  

“I’m over here!” Vania calls back.  “I’ll be right with you!”

Cole stands and brushes the grass off his gi, helping Vania do the same.  Her braids are unbalanced to one side still, but that can’t be helped.  

“Well,” she says, trying for brightness again.  “Duty calls.”  Her face falls.  “Oh, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to see you before you leave.”

“It’s okay.  I’ll be back to visit as soon as I can.”

She smiles up at him, and this time it’s more real.  “You better.”

Cole takes her hand and squeezes it.  “I’ll be counting down the days until I see you again.  Promise.”

 ---

“So when I said “see you again”, this wasn’t really what I had in mind.”

With his eyes covered, Cole can’t see her face, but he still grins at the way Vania's tinkling laugh rings out behind him.  “Is this funny to you?” he demands, making sure to keep his voice on the safe side of teasing.  

“A little bit, sorry.”  Slim fingers press against his back between his shoulder blades, and Cole stumbles forward.  “Oh, my bad!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Cole says.  He holds out his hands in front of him.  “Don’t rush me when I can’t see, okay?”  He was only (a little bit) exaggerating when he tripped forward. The hallway’s not narrow enough for his fingers to brush either wall, and the lack of information leaves him disoriented.  It feels wrong to be led around like this, but Cole trusts Vania and knows that she would never hurt him, so he forces the wrongness down and ignores it.  “I’m dying to know what’s so important that it needs all this secrecy.”

“Well, if you stopped running into walls, maybe we’d get there faster.”

“Well,” Cole shoots back in the same tone, “if you stopped directing me into them, maybe I’d stop running into them so much.”

Vania laughs again.  “Oh, Cole, I missed you.”  They pause, and Cole hears the quiet rustle of her skirts as she steps around him.  “None of the other court members treat me like you do.”

“Is it still hard?” Cole asks, turning his blindfolded eyes in the direction he thinks she’s in.  “If they’re not accepting you as queen, then I can, I don’t know, knock some sense into them.”

“It’s not that.  Honestly, they do respect me.  A bit too much, actually.”  The last sentence is said much softer than the others.  “But nope!” she says abruptly, loud and bright again, clasping her hands together with a dull smack.  “I called you up here for a reason, not to hear about me!”  She steps away, and Cole hears the unmistakable sound of a door opening in front of him.  “Cole, may I present to you your surprise!”  

The blindfold is pulled from his eyes.  Cole squints, blinking rapidly.  They’re in a room of some kind, with bright white light spilling in from the outside window.  It’s nearly blinding, going so suddenly from darkness to light, but as his eyes adjust he sees-

Jaw dropping, Cole lets out what is definitely not a squeal.  “Chompy had babies?"

“Surprise!”

The Ridgeback sprawls in his large form, taking up nearly all of the space inside the tower room- but he’s not the only thing here.  Four or five little forms scamper around his stretched-out limbs, tumbling over his tail and gnawing at his paws.  

Cole presses his hands against his cheeks.  "Oh my gosh, Vania, babies!  Why didn’t you tell me?”

Vania laughs.  When Cole glances back to her, she's leaning against the doorframe, beaming.  “When was I supposed to do that, before or after you vanished off to the jungle for weeks?”

Chompy shifts, and Cole realizes that all the adult dragon mass in the room isn’t just him.  A second dragon lifts their head from where it was resting on Chompy’s back.  She has to be the mother, Cole thinks.  The babies couldn’t have come from nowhere.  

The two dragons chirp and chuff lowly at each other, and then the female turns her head and looks right at Cole.  Cole freezes.  Two pairs of eyes regard him, one icy blue, one glittering golden.  Their combined stare is overpowering, and before he can even really think through his actions, Cole bows his head, averting his own gaze.  

One of the dragons- Cole can’t see which- puffs out a quiet breath.  There’s movement, and when he chances to look up, the two of them aren’t looking at him anymore.  The female untwines herself from Chompy.  Rising and stretching, she pads across the room to nip one baby by the back of the neck.  

Chompy stretches too, settling so that his back legs are pointing out behind him like a dog.  He huffs softly, and the female bumps him with her head as she passes him on the way to the big bay window.  Right before she steps through the shimmering forcefield that replaces the window glass, she pauses and looks once more at Cole.  This time, her gaze feels more intense, more weighty, and this time, Cole holds it.  He doesn’t know if it was the right thing to do, but the female’s tail flicks side to side and something about the motion feels pleased.  She’s the one to break their stare, and when she steps through the forcefield and disappears into the horizon, some of the tenseness in Cole’s shoulders relaxes.  He exhales out loud.  

“What was that about?”

“Hmm, I don’t know,” Vania says, quickly, but Cole isn’t sure if that’s because she’s evading the question or if she’s just eager to introduce him to the babies.  “We can get closer now,” she says, tugging on Cole’s sleeve and lending further credence to the second option.  “C’mon!”

She darts into the room, glancing back to make sure he’s following her.  Cole does at a slower pace, glancing at Chompy from the corner of his eye.  But the great dragon doesn’t stir, doesn’t even lift his head as Cole approaches his children. 

Cole exhales quietly again.  A rush of jitters swells within him as he realizes the trust that’s been given him.  

“Over here,” Vania calls.  She’s standing in the center of the baby-dragon pile, beaming down at each of them.  Most of the babies have stopped fooling around with each other now, too interested in the newcomers.  They bat at the edges of her skirts and try to climb up her dress, but she just laughs and gently nudges them away.  She’s looking for a certain one, and when she finds it, she ahas and scoops it up in her arms.  Holding the baby in her arms like a puppy, Vania bounds back to Cole.  The rest of the babies seem to find this uninteresting and return to their former game.  

"This one's the friendliest," Vania confides, bouncing the baby gently.  "I recognize her because of the dark spots on her head.”  Indeed, there are two dark gray blotches on the baby’s otherwise pale head that make it look hilariously like she has angry eyebrows.  “Do you want to hold her?"

"Can I?"  Cole's hands are reaching out before he finishes his question.  Vania sets the baby gently in his arms.  

The baby dragon shifts around.  When she is finally comfortable, she rests her head on his arm and heaves out a great sigh.  Cole laughs quietly.  Vania does too.

“Pure Shintaran Ridgeback,” she says proudly.  “One of Shintaro’s national treasures.  The dragons only breed when they’re happy and feel completely safe in their environment, but their birth rates have been dropping over the last couple of centuries.”  Her face falls.  “We had no clue why, but knowing what we know about Hazza D’ur now, it all makes sense.”  She reaches out and pets down the back of the baby dragon.  “You’re one of the first outsiders- no, first  persons , Shintaran or not- to see a clutch in at least over 100 years.  Maybe even longer.”

Cole swallows.  He runs his own hand down the baby’s head, solemn, but he can’t fight back his smile when the baby pushes back into his hand.  “Thank you so much for letting me see them," he says.  "I’m honored, truly.”

Vania shifts from foot to foot.  “Actually, I was hoping you'd be up for a little more than just seeing them.”  

“What do you mean?”

“I was wondering if you’d actually like to takeherwithyou?”

Cole chokes on his spit.  “What?" he splutters.  "Wait a minute, can you repeat that?  Did you say, "take her with me?"”

Vania lights up.  “Yeah!  So surprise number two!  You're a dad now!  Yay!” 

Cole's words are frozen in his throat.  The longer he doesn't respond, the more Vania's face falls.  “Wait, no, let me try that again," she says. “So remember the last time you were over here?  You probably don’t.  But somehow, we started talking about dragons, and then like immediately after you left I learned that Chompy had had eggs for weeks without letting me know-”  She makes a sharp cutoff motion with her hands.  “But that’s beside the point.  The point is,” she continues softer, “the babies are almost independent now.  They’re ready to leave their parents, and I just knew you’d be the perfect guy to look after one of them because of how good you were with Rocky and the other dragons.  Not that I'm not trying to replace him!  I know he's special to you- I mean, I can't imagine ever replacing Chompy-"

“Vania, Vania, hey,” Cole says, her worry and the need to relieve it finally unlocking his tongue.  He reaches out and touches her shoulder gently, and she quiets.  “I’m not upset about that- I wasn’t even thinking of that, honest.  I just can’t believe-”  He has to pause for a moment so that his voice won’t do anything embarrassing like crack in the middle of his sentence.  “You mean it?  I can have her?”  His eyes rise like they’ve been magnetized and lock with Chompy’s, who sometime in the last handful of minutes has come closer so he’s standing over Vania’s shoulder.  “You’re okay with this?  Both of you?”

Chompy blows out gently through his nose.  He blinks slowly at Cole like a cat.

“Cole,” Vania says.  When he looks at her, her expression is soft.  “You and your family have done so much for us- not just me and Chompy, but all of Shintaro.  It would be  our honor if you adopted her.”

Cole swallows.  “Then yeah,” he says, and the smile that spreads across his face is as tentative as he feels, still unable to fully believe this is real.  “Yeah, okay.  I will.”

Vania bursts into a cheer.  Some of the other baby dragons look up before dismissing her and returning to their tumbling.  The baby in his arms squirms like she wants to join them.  Cole shifts her so he doesn't accidentally drop her.  

“Does she have a name?” he asks.

Vania shakes her head.  “Not yet.  I wanted to let you decide.”

Cole looks down at the little dragon.  Almost like she senses it, she lifts her head.  Two eyes, the color of liquid gold, meet his underneath dark angry eyebrow spots.  So little, yet so strong, demonstrated by the way she digs her feet into his side when he won’t let her go.  Cole laughs and finally lets her run back to her siblings.  

“Pebble,” he says.  “I think I’ll call her Pebble.”

[anthemxix]

So... how far did Cia go exactly? I haven’t played hw but I’ve read several fics, and she’s always very... extreme.

hi anon! thank you for your ask!

by “extreme,” i’m thinking you mean stories where she’s a psycho who tortures link or forces unwanted sexual advances on him. which makes for fantastic angst! but that characterization of cia has never felt quite authentic to me.

in the game, she has a roomful of his portraits, like a shrine. that’s extreme. she technically starts a war because of him, which is very extreme, but i don’t think that’s about lusting after him, as people often joke. she says some off-putting stuff, and you could infer that she behaves in an inappropriately “seductive” way, but. she doesn’t really. do anything, like fics might imply. she’s creepy and lewd. i’m sure she makes him uncomfortable as hell. but as for what she does, the extremeness in fics is mostly fan extrapolation.

that’s my short answer! but i kinda got carried away while responding to this, and. um. wrote a lengthy character analysis of cia? XD i thought about not including it, but i spent so much time thinking about/writing this that i’ll go ahead and share.

in my opinion, hw does not present a clear picture of cia, and it skews fan interpretation of her.

(putting this under a cut because it got long 😅)

the story the game gives at the start is straightforward. there's a "guardian of time" (whatever that means) who watches over everything but never interferes. she admires the purity of the hero's spirit. she comes to love the heroes, then to want them. she's lonely. she doesn't want to just watch anymore. she wants to experience love.

gradually her desires become something darker. she doesn't only want the companionship, she wants to possess.

ganon sees this darkness in her heart and causes a split. the darkness separates from her, becomes its own person (a la dark link). the "good" part is lana, the "bad" part is cia.

for ganon, this is all part of a larger plan. in hw, his spirit is divided into four fragments that have been sealed away in different eras. he manipulates cia and gets her to open time gates so he can gather all the fragments together. a key fact: one of the fragments has been sealed away by the master sword, so ganon needs a hero to draw the sword.

cia willingly allows herself to be ganon's pawn because in so doing, in starting a war to force the hero to emerge, she thinks she'll get what she wants. throughout the story, she gives more and more of herself to ganon, fracturing her own spirit further and further, because she is so desperate to claim the hero for herself, to own him. lana repeatedly warns her to stop before she does irreparable damage to herself, but she doesn't listen, and ultimately she...well, dies, i guess. fades from existence. (that's how the original hw ending goes. they added stuff on later that changed this.)

ok, so. we have some interesting stuff going on here. arguably, cia is a tragic figure. a victim even. her underlying motivation is loneliness. viewing it through this lens, the story becomes an exploration of what isolation does to a person. how desperate it can make us. how we become willing to sacrifice anything for love--and i mean "love" broadly, not in a romantic sense. how it makes us vulnerable to manipulation and abuse.

let's also not forget the whole reason she focuses on the hero's spirit to begin with. after witnessing all the atrocities of history, she admires the purity and goodness and self-sacrifice of the hero. it has nothing to do with link being attractive. in her temple (the temple of souls), she has statues of different heroes from different eras, including wolf link and oot/mm link. she is certainly not lusting after an animal or a child, i assure you.

so why does she have frickin portraits of hw link, specifically, (not any other hero's spirit incarnations) plastered all over her walls, if not for lusty purposes? why does she dress so damn seductively? i'm not claiming lust isn't part of it, but i think there's more. she wants to feel surrounded by him, you know? she wants to feel like he's looking at her the same way that she looks at him--with desire. it's delusion.

and holy hell, she's nothing if not deluded. some examples of her actual in-game dialogue: "no matter what betrayals I may suffer, at least I know the hero will always love and protect me." and [to herself, as she's losing a fight] "the hero is still by my side... the hero is still by my side..."

and it's sad. she pretends that he loves her, that he will protect her, because she doesn't have any real love in her life. she doesn't have anyone.

and what's even sadder is that she's condemned to all these feelings and delusions because that's who she is. she is corruption and darkness personified! she's doomed to this lonely hell, to being ganon's servant, to self-destruction.

that's how tragedy, and tragic figures, are defined: hubris. characters that have an innate flaw that inevitably leads to their downfall. that's what a traditional tragedy is.

don't get me wrong here. i'm not saying she had no choice, or that she had to start a war. she can be tragic and we can sympathize with her while also accepting the fact that she's corrupted beyond redemption. morality isn't black-and-white. our understanding of characters, or of real people, isn't black-and-white.

...but. BUT. there is a major "but" here. the game sabotages its own character and its own story. the game opts for the path of least resistance. screw grey areas of morality, screw the tragedy of loneliness, screw exploring vulnerability and abuse and hubris... they sensationalize. cia is a joke.

have you seen her frickin outfit? her character design? she's an uber-sexualized caricature. all those portraits of link in her temple can easily be viewed as a joke, too. "lol, look at this crazy, horny bitch." hell, they even have her say innuendos about the master sword, like, “come show me what your sword can do” or something to that effect. 🙄

it's all very surface level. they don't go deep at all with cia. they give us no substance, only these little bread crumbs of information that i've laid out for you. and not only that, they set this up so that it feeds into old stereotypes. the salient details easily allow us to interpret cia, consciously or not, as an embodiment of feminine hysteria, a woman guided by irrational emotion and obsession, fixated on winning the ultimate prize of a man's love.

so koei tecmo's own confused presentation of this character muddles up fan interpretation and has us falling back on the familiar stereotypes we know and understand. that’s the basis for these depictions of cia as extreme. that’s what fans are extrapolating from when they try to imagine how she might act or what she might say. so in the end, she isn’t really depicted with accuracy. she’s like a caricature of a caricature at that point.

…or at least, that’s my opinion. 🥴

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket Manga Review ch (76 & 77)

So, I decided to read the manga mainly in search for a more natural balanced female presentation than the idealistic, shallower, savior depiction of tohru in the anime.

I’m intentionally skipping all the chapters of her as a (mother figure) in yuki’s life & won’t read them or even visit them for comparison with the anime. I love yuki’s growth story & the unique depiction of his platonic relationship with tohru, but if his mother-tohru phase was a drink, then the anime has force fed it to me till it came from my nose! So, for yuki, I’ll be reading his growth past-his mother confession.

I’ve consulted my lovely manga readers friends & thy recommended starting from ch 90 since the content in that chapter was completely cut! but some recommended checking kyoto chapters first since they contain a nice glimpse of the author’s style & artistic vision. Kyoto ep in the anime isn’t focused on “mom-tohru” so, i like the idea! I’ll jump to ch 90 right after ch 77.

- Subtle growth of a woman ( Clash of visions & presentation between the manga’s “ Loosing the wallet with mom’s photo vs the anime’s fractured photo frame):

I really love the underlined connotation of tohru loosing her “mom” unknowingly! In the anime, this scene played without any reference to kyoko & tohru’s attachment to her. We saw tohru the teenage girl confused as she experience romantic love for the first time. Nothing more than that. But the manga says “ Main female MC is way deeper than a (mom-figure) or a (girl in love), In this panel, tohru chases after kyo & unknowingly looses her famous wallet containing her mom’s picture. Here’s what this subtly indicates:

 Normally, tohru would notice right away that her wallet is missing, here she never even notice until kyo suggest they hang out together. Subtly indicating that tohru is moving further & further from her phase of “ an afraid, grieving, abandoned child clinging to her mom”.

Normally, tohru would panic, say “ mom is missing” & everyone around her goes into search mode to make tohru at ease (hiro’s ep). Here once she notices, she says “ my wallet is missing” & kyo relaxed & laughingly gives her her wallet back. While he goes to bring the wallet, tohru instead of thinking “ oh nearly lost mom!” is musing over the fact that “it’s strange that kyo can make me happy or sad with one word only”. Subtly indicating that tohru is replacing her mom with kyo as part of growing up from the child she was to the woman she will be.

Tohru calling kyo “mysterious”, subtly explains that tohru is in the uncertain phase of understanding her feelings as a woman & hence, pave the path for upcoming trauma exploration & psychological depth.

The entire scene in the manga is depicted to convey different layers: romance, upcoming growth, & unexplored traumatic issues of abandonment, grief, & human weakness. “ Accepting human Weakness & change” IS the manga’s vision.

In the anime, the fractured picture worked simply becuz no issues of any traumatic experiences with tohru were ever hinted. Nothing abt tohru being a young woman moving away from a traumatic childhood was ever implied beside the weakly sharply cut & forgotten few scenes of her mysteriously going “ im okay” while remembering her dad’s shrine. Was there ever anything abt replacing her mom with kyo? Nope!. Was there anything abt tohru reluctance of loving kyo? Nope! to fix that, let’s shock the audience with empty photo frame! It’ll make the viewers confused & if we play the climax right & give tohru a tearjerker speech confronting akito, all is good. It worked in the anime as it served the purpose it was created for: shock value & drama. ppl bought it. But in the long run, it cemented tohru as the “savior angel” never the “ weak human”. But not many will have issues with that. Having yuki with his impressive story of growth & kyo with his shocking story of pain is enough to distract from the rest. The director must think: What does the audience want?

a woman who’d save the prince with her motherly care?“ Done!”.

a woman who’d love the monster? “ Done !”. 

a woman who has her own deep story? no one will miss that~ skip!

-Yuki’s next stage of growth: Friends:

I like how smoother the scene played here. Yes, yuki thinks back to his gratitude to tohru, but it plays subtly & more emphasis is on his friendship with kakeru. No added scene of him waving back to tohru after kakeru which brought the focus back to mom-tohru again. No. Here is way less shoved in your throat. Yuki says how he felt in the moment, moved on to the next stage, thought abt his life & choives, moved on to school. Clear lines that makes yuki more dynamic & way less “ living in his head” character.

Side Notes:

The manga’s art is pretty but expressive! I was afraid it’ll have that weird eyes bigger than the moon & too much sparkles & bubbles like the usual old shojo manga art!

Yuki is way more expressive than the anime & less pretty & sparkly! I welcome this with flowers & songs! lol.

Tohru has “low” pigtails instead of the child-like high pigtails! YES! it is crazy that this trivial change adds so much to tohru’s presentation to the viewers’ eyes. In real life no big deal but in an artistic medium such choices send subliminal messages to viewers minds, that’s why artists spend a lot of time choosing their characters default appearance. It means a lot for the character’s overall path & sends messages. High child-like pigtails: make her look like innocent & naive child since viewers usually associate such hair do with children & toddlers. Low pigtails: are cute girly style that we associate with teenagers & young adult women, it’s practical & cute.

Kyo’s looks as youthful & handsome as the anime but less angry, annoyed & more versatile in his expression! It always bothered me that the anime just go with kyo’s default frowned face, hands in pocket looks unless he should express a key emotion. Also, kyo without an undershirt in his uniform! interesting change from the anime.

I missed kyo’s two buddies! T_T. Why they weren’t in the anime’s finale.. could’ve at least put them in the underwhelming graduation ceremony ~

I really appreciate that yuki’s fanclub are one page, less annoying.

That awkward moment when a manga panel drawn by one person can depict a crowded city more than an anime with a huge team. Like the anime didn’t even need to zoom out for a huge wide shot that showcase its weakness in depicting a crowded city. If you can’t draw that, just zoom in to lessen the effect of emptiness. kyoto isn't a deserted area especially not during a school trip!

The teachers checking on the sneaking vs sleeping students scene is a welcoming sight! XDDD

Hana met kakeru before? saw him & tohru together? weird!!

Kakeru is more focused on tohru here.

I really love the photos taken for everybody. It indicates real good time! Hana eating, yuki around girls, arisa annoyed, kyo teased with playing card: did the play “rich man poor man” again? XD

I’m starting to love yuki more in the manga than the anime!

Kyo having short inner thought abt not being able to tell tohru a girl confessed to him & deciding to say “ none of ur business” is doing wonders to the scene!!! it makes him less mean to tohru & more balanced character. I mean I guessed so in the anime, but what could've prevented making the VA say this short line of inner thought?! Yuki’s VA says essays & essays in nearly every ep abt nearly every character?!.

I liked the way kyo held tohru’s hands when he turned to her, the way he held her hand in the anime is a bit weird. lol. Also, in this scene, tender gentle kyo is so well-done both in the anime & manga. The manga wins for the zoom in & focus on emotions, tho.

Next is chapter 90!

[incognito-insomniac]

Hi! 14, 15 and 44?

Yay! Thank you for the ask! ^_^

14. What's your most 'underrated' work? The stuff that was never published! Har Har Har! XD Okay, real answer time. Most of my low hit stuff is niche so it's not surprising to me when no one clicks on it. And I've put out a good number of small snippet pieces that just haven't hit like I thought they would. But at the end of the day no one knows all the build up before the snippet except me so of course it means more to me. So I try not to get stuck on "man, this isn't getting the attention it deserves!" but if I had to pick one it would be Scrapping at the Bottom. It's the introductory one shot to my Fallout 4 OC and I really love the imagery and sorrow I built in. It took a long time for it to even get the hits and kudos it has now. I hope to one day post my long fic for it because I really love Cal and the relationship he builds with MacCready eventually.

15. Do you ever delete works? Short answer, no. Not on ao3. Not on my local drive. It will all remain safely published, or never finished and archived on my computer.

44. Share a snippet of your current WIP? Oooooh which one, there are so very many...I'm not actively working any of my Endeavour WIPs (yes, I see you glaring at me, Siren's Call) so apologies. However, I am hoping to post my first chapter soon for Red Dead Redemption 2 and am very happy to share a snippet from chapter 2. Here you go ^_^

They sat in silence as the rabbit roasted until Albert let out a hefty sigh. “I really do feel like such a fool whenever you’re around, Arthur. Risking my life for a few photographs. There are more important things in this world.” The sentiment struck him as odd. He’d never taken Albert for a pragmatist. It didn’t suit him. “Are there?” Arthur asked knowing full well the harsh realities this world could throw at a man. But in some way Albert had always seemed to move outside of all that. He viewed the world through that camera lens and only saw it’s beauty. “Like you said, have to capture them animals now before they’re all gone. Society is swallowing up this world. It won’t always be like this.” He motioned to the view around them. The forest giving way to the canyon mist rising from the far-off water fall and fracturing the light into a rainbow. He had seen so many beautiful sights like today where he wished he’d had Albert by his side to capture it forever. It had sounded silly to him at first, photographing the flora and fauna of the wilderness. But now he truly believed in what Albert was doing. The folks in those cities rarely saw what they were missing. If they could only see what was being taken in the name of progress or sport or whatever they had in their mind of what the world should be. “That’s gotta mean something,” Arthur offered. Albert chuckled. “I really did get some amazing pictures, thanks to you. And somehow, I haven’t quite broken my neck. Sorry for all the trouble.” “It’s no trouble,” he assured him. “No trouble at all.”

[mytwistedhome]

𝓕𝓵𝓸𝔂𝓭 𝓛𝓮𝓮𝓬𝓱 ~ 𝓓𝓮𝓮𝓹, 𝓭𝓮𝓮𝓹, 𝓭𝓮𝓮𝓹

Floyd Leech x Reader

This is something I wrote just for fun, and also to try writing a story in the present-tense. This was very much inspired by the plot of The Little Mermaid, as you might be able to tell xD I hope some people enjoy!

You are kneeling down at the edge of a ferry boat, trying to get from one island to the next. These boats are built very small with open floors and railings that are hardly high at all, as they are meant to quickly take passengers from one place to the next around the peaceful and beautiful islands, running smoothly along ocean water paths that are usually short and quick to cross.

The water on this day looks particularly beautiful as the sun sparkles off the teal shades of the wave-less sea, and you, who normally feels so safe on these familiar ferries, decide to ignore the safety precautions yet again. You lean yourself forward... farther and farther, even more forward as more pressure shifts onto your knees.

It isn't dangerous. Nothing bad has ever happened before.

Oh, the breeze is so nice! Do you feel it as the wind runs past your face? The warm, gentle breeze of the calm and tranquil sea? Do you feel it? Does it make you happy?

The smile on your face says, "Yes, yes! Yes, it does!" And you lean forward still, your feet lifting off the ground behind you as you stare up, up at that clear blue sky.

A sprinkle of water jumps from the sea below and lands lightly on your cheek. You shift your gaze down to the water, the smile still spread over your lips. You can't see it, but the little drop of water glistens so beautifully against your skin. If only someone could see it...

But what you do see is still so beautiful--it's breathtaking! That serene scenery. It does take your breath away; you hold the air in your throat as you stare at every shimmery shade of blue becoming green in the glittery gradient of the sea.

You now release the air inside you because the sea isn't ready to take it all just yet.

You use your breath you've regained to inhale, exhale, over and over. Deeply, deeply, again and again. That aroma of the sea is too irresistible to ever stop indulging. The most refreshing fragrance, isn't it? And the fracturing rainbows that gleam up brightly every now and then as the sun glints off a perfect ripple of the ocean.

Everything is so wonderful! You push yourself further toward the edge. Further, further. It seems you cannot possibly be close enough to fully take in every aspect of the brilliant scene. You gasp at the beauty, smiling widely, leaning further.

Leaning too far.

Whoever could have seen this coming?

Your smile vanishes. A panic surges. Fear. Fight or flight, but there is nothing to fight, no way to take flight.

And you fall down, down, down.

The drop is like death itself. Knowing what is happening, wanting to stop what is happening, knowing you cannot stop what is happening--and, at the same time, too quick to even process what is happening.

And your body hits the water, hits the sea, lost of all tranquility. From all around your body, up goes the water. Up goes the sea as you fall deeper under.

And down come the waves, taking you further, deeper, deeper.

You thrash about in the water, unable to see any light, any hope. Your mouth is open wide, and it quickly fills with salty shades of blue and green. That glittery gradient of the sea. Now, it is inside you. In your panic, you are unable to think, and you still try to breathe. You inhale sharply through your nose, but instead of air, there is water. It stings your nerves, your brain, your eyes. Everything, all around. Water, water. Your lungs are unable to breathe.

The ocean really is breathtaking now.

You flail your arm in front of you, to your sides, and to behind. It is no use. You sink. Deeper, deeper. Your body does not float to the surface. The light begins to fade. The ship is no longer visible. You sink into the deep, deep, deep.

You cannot breathe. You cannot see. Your mind slows down... thoughts are but a whisper of a sound.

And you sink.

. . .

There is pressure at your back, something pushing against you. Something wraps around your waist and secures you in place, and then it drags you forward... No, upward. Toward the surface of the sea.

Something presses onto the top of your arm, wrapping around your skin so tightly that it tingles all the way down to your fingertips. It's numbing. And, it would be painful, but... you are hardly able to feel a thing. The sensation is but a light sting.

And, suddenly, you are yanked from the enclosing blanket of water up to the cold, windy air. Your back lands onto a hard surface of dry rock that's been warmed by the blazing sun above. That sun burns your nose and cheeks, while the wind simultaneously blows past your wet skin and makes you cold.

It takes several moments--many, many long moments--but at last, you realize the sensations you are feeling. You remember the the sun, the stone, the drowning. But, what happened in between?

"Oh, good~ You opened your eyes! I was getting worried for you, you know?"

You sit up slowly to see a blue mer-creature leaning toward you from where the stone meets the sea. He is beneath you, as the stone you lay upon slopes downward into the water, and his long eel-ish tail sways back and forth, creating gentle ripples all around. His teal color almost makes him blend perfectly into the clear water, and his smooth, wet flesh glistens and gleams where the sunlight hits.

And... He is quite handsome...

"Hm? What's that? Why do you look at me with such~ a frightful face?" He begins to laugh after saying that with a warm, concealed giggle that sounds from the top of his throat. "You should be grateful for me."

Unsure of what he means, you ask him to clarify.

"Oh, you poor~ unfortunate soul..." he drags the words out dramatically, giving you a sorrowful pout. "You fell from the ship way back there~ nearly drowned," he smiles, "I am the one who pulled you up!"

You look at him in disbelief. Did... did he really save you?

Of course. You have no reason to doubt.

"Thank you..." you say. And then, as politely as you can, you ask, "Your name?"

"Ah~~ I'm Floyd~ And it's no problem~!" he answers you, but suddenly, he pushes himself fully into the water, completely emerging his head beneath the surface.

And then, just as quickly as he went, he comes back up again and rests his elbows on the stone.

"I can't help but save those I see in misfortune. But..." his voice wavers at the last word, "these things are never free, are they~? There's a price~ Don't you agree?"

"Um... what do you mean?"

"I saved your life just now, didn't I? I think a perfect deal would be if you gave something else up in exchange, hm?" He has a way of speaking that sounds as though he's trying to hold back laughter at every moment, which seem to reveal something dark and insidious contained within the shallow layers of his demeanor. "And besides~ there must be something that you desperately want..."

You look past him out onto the open horizon, and then you stare down into your lap. He, indeed, saved your life, so... If he wants something in return, you can at the very least give him that, right?

But, what is your deepest desire?

Impatient by your silence, Floyd continues, "I know a very~ benevolent and generous sea witch who could give you anything you ever desire--for a price~! And a price seems to be exactly what you owe right now, hm? Because I saved your life~"

He sighs then, "Oh~ But what is it that you would give? You are just a simple human. Yeah~?" it seems as though he's cooing at you with the way he says each word, "Well~... Maybe you do have one thing~..."

He dips his head under the surface once more and quickly comes up again.

"Your pretty face~~!"

You stare at him, surprised by his words. Are you to feel flattered or... threatened? You can't tell.

"Fufu~" Floyd giggles from where he leans, laying his hand against his palm and looking up at you with a dreamy expression. "You really are so pretty... You don't plan to hoard all those good looks to yourself, do you~?"

Your heart begins to beat very, very quickly. Your breath comes out as huffs, and a chill runs down your back. Such a weird feeling. Is this fear? Flattery? You do not know.

You look down and begin to ponder all that Floyd has said. It seems that he... wants you to give part of your beauty in exchange for your greatest desire and as 'payment' for his saving your life... That isn't so bad, is it? After all, it sounds as if the deal is more rewarding for you, right? You get two things, and Floyd gets one.

But... how do you give someone your beauty? What can that even mean?

What can he really want from you...?

You sigh, allowing the warm air to settle inside--a refreshment that you very much needed after all that's happened to poor, unfortunate you. You look up into his eyes, but a second goes by, and now he is the one looking down.

Swiftly, he takes your hand into his own. His supple flesh feels like silk against your palm. With a low voice, he speaks his final plea, "What do you say~? Will you come with me?"

[vellaphoria]

Hi I hope you're safe and healthy! I just wanted to ask you what's your top 10 Tim Drake fics of other writers. Have a nice day!

Hi anon! I’m safe, healthy, and doing well enough, all things considered. I hope that you are too! <3

1. Fracture by wintersnight (TimDickJay - Explicit)

It’ll surprise absolutely no one that this is at the top of my list. It’s been a huge inspiration for my own work, and I cannot recommend it enough.

2. Perfect Fit by navaan (DickTim - Teen)

There are surprisingly few fics out there where Dick is Batman and Tim is Red Robin. This one focuses on the conflict between the two of them that was created when Dick gave Robin to Damian, but also deals with Dick trying to figure himself out as suddenly-permanent-Batman. Definitely a bit of a kinder take on how the beginning of Red Robin could have gone down, which I found to be a bit cathartic.

3. If That Mockingbird Don’t Sing by anthologia (TimKon, Ra’sTim - Teen)

I have a huge weakness for reverse robin AUs. I find the dynamics fascinating in general, and this fic is particularly excellent. I especially love that even though Tim has the role of the back from the dead robin, the fic still keeps his… complicated relationship with Ra’s.

4. Better Hit the Ground by tabithian (TimDickJay - Teen)

A very good, fairly long TimDickJay one shot in which Tim is abducted and Dick and Jason have to face down their interpersonal conflict in order to find him… but finding him isn’t the end of it. This is, unsurprisingly, one of the fics that inspired Deadfall XD

5. Until the End of the World by sister_wolf (TimKon - Teen)

This one is a bit sad and creepy, but that’s what I’d expect from a Titans of Tomorrow AU. Featuring Evil!Batman! Tim and Evil!Superman! Kon with a side of tragic major character death, and my internal angst gremlin was very happy to come across this fic. I also appreciate the author’s portrayal of a more unhinged evil Tim than I’m used to seeing.

6. 46 Really Funny Jokes About Cats by timetrees (Gen - General Audiences)

Tim cat-sits Teekl for Klarion. That’s it, that’s the fic. It’s short and funny and I love it.

7. Road to Damascus by irrelevant (Gen - Explicit*)

This fic takes the idea that Batman has the potential to be incredibly unnerving and creepy despite being a good person and runs with it. It also focuses on Tim’s loneliness and abandonment issues. Despite that. the POV character is Dick, though a version of him who never left the circus. It’s a bit of a long read, but I found it incredibly interesting.

*As in, an explicit scene between Dick and an original female character, but it’s pretty short and isn’t the focus of the fic.

8. Dream of Better Lives by tabithian (DickTim - Teen)

If you can’t tell, I really like tabithian. This one is sort of a Sky High AU, but you wouldn’t know it unless you were looking for it. Tim is a newly graduated sidekick who starts working for Nightwing. After a while, he figures out Nightwing’s civilian identity… which is a bit of an issue because the contract he signed to work with Nightwing in the first place promised dire consequences if Tim ever found out.

(spoiler alert: Dick didn’t actually read the contract before Tim signed it)

9. The Tempest of Team RedBird by clarityhiding (Gen - Teen)

This one isn’t a fic so much as it is a series in which pre-flashpoint Pru accidentally universe hops to DC’s New 52 setting… with all her memories intact. It’s full of team bonding and shenanigans and I love it.

10. That Baleful Star by Kieron_ODuibhir (Gen - Teen)

Have I mentioned that I also love Earth-3 AUs? Because I do. This one looks at the Tim vs. Ra’s conflict when their moral alignments are swapped. This take on Ra’s is especially interesting to me because of Kieron’s background in history and the way that it influenced this interpretation of a good(ish)-aligned Ra’s… and also Tim being a fantastically inscrutable bastard.

[tracybirds]

To Stumble and To Falter

(A title? you who know my intense dislike of titling fics may all give a cheer, no need for further reading, thank you, thank you xD)

John faints and Virgil is suspicious of the cause. Includes some Dr Grandma bc we need more of that in our lives!

Many thanks to @gumnut-logic for bluntly telling me to write the fic and then reading it over in bits to help me fix it up :D

And if I’ve written Jon anywhere let me know, my H key is being temperamental... I think I’ve got them all but still :D

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The stumbling step hardly drew attention from anyone else, John tripped so often when bound by the laws of gravity. By his own admission, this particular re-entry had been of the hard and fast variety, the kind that left him a little hazy and wobbly. Only Virgil looked up at the sound of a foot not lifted high enough and banging into the staircase.

The crash that followed however, echoed around the room as brother by brother snapped into action.

“Medkit,” barked Virgil, darting across the room in three bounding steps. His command followed Gordon out of the room as he knelt next to John. He could feel the sluggish pulse beneath clammy skin and hurriedly ran his hand across the lump that was forming at the back of John’s head. There was no blood, he noted with some relief.

“Alright Scott, get his feet up.”

Scott quickly complied as Alan popped up next to Virgil.

“Is he okay?”

“Give him some space, he’ll be fine.”

Alan scooted back, reassured by the authority that rung in his older brother’s voice.

“How badly did he hit his head?” asked Scott.

“Nasty bump, but with a bit of luck nothing more. Look, he’s coming around.”

John’s eyes fluttered open as Gordon skidded into the room, nearly throwing the medkit at Virgil in his hurry.

“Wha’ happened?” mumbled John.

“What do you remember?” asked Virgil, as he strapped the icepack in place.

John batted weakly at his own neck, trying to escape Virgil’s care.

“I was walking up the stairs?”

“Didn’t even make it to the third step this time,” quipped Gordon. “You going for a record or something?”

“Gordon,” growled Scott, and he bounded away with a grin.

“You fainted,” Virgil clarified. He frowned at the lazy way John’s pupils followed the light. “And you’re on the concussion watchlist, congratulations.”

John groaned, a high whiny sound that earned him a cushion snatched from the nearby couch and laid lovingly over his head.

“Thanks,” came his muffled voice. “I feel fine.”

Scott and Virgil shared an exasperated look, remembering the last time an injured John had insisted he was ‘fine’.

“Sure John, whatever you say. You feel okay to walk?”

“Maybe. Is Alan there?”

“Sure is.”

“Might need a hand getting up.”

Alan grabbed his hand and hauled him upright. The change did not improve Virgil’s assessment of John. He pitched slightly to the side and Alan and Virgil both grabbed at him.

“Easy.”

Virgil could feel the tremors running through him, the heavy, deliberate breathing loud in his ears as he held up his brother.

“Dizzy? Nauseous?”

The barest nod sent Gordon hurrying from the room in search of a bowl.

“It’s probably vertigo, it’ll pass.”

“Thanks,” said John, through gritted teeth. “I know that.”

He took a few steps towards the staircase that had been his undoing and paused. The small motion had been enough for the colour to leech from his skin again.

Virgil was at his side immediately, steadying hands against his back.

“Maybe walking isn’t a great idea right now.”

John said nothing, standing as still as he could while he swayed with his eyes closed.

Virgil was several inches shorter than his brother, but this was no object for him, hoisting John into his arms.

His eyes flew open at the touch and he stared up at the ceiling in surprise.

“Medbay or bedroom?”

“I hate you.”

“Medbay it is then.”

“No, bedroom is good,” said John quickly.

“Glad you’ve come around.” Virgil glanced over his shoulder, catching Scott’s eye and nodding towards Alan. “Go update Grandma. She’ll want to check him out for herself.”

“I hope I do throw up,” said John with a scowl. “You’d deserve it.”

Virgil ignored him, knowing his brother was just embarrassed. He climbed the stairs easily, heading for the isolated area of the villa that John made his own when he came to visit.

He kicked open the door, and placed his brother on his bed. John was still scowling up at him.

“Was that necessary?”

“Yes.” He snatched up a copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and cracked it open.

“I don’t need to be read to like a child.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun. You can explain all the hidden maths to me and I’ll pretend to understand what you’re talking about.”

“Really Virgil, I’ll be fine.”

Virgil shrugged and replaced the book. Swinging the desk chair around, he sat and propped his feet up on the bed, leaning back to look at John.

“Probably.”

“You don’t really think I have a concussion do you? I’m alert, no headache unless I poke in the wrong place, no vomiting or confusion.”

“You’re dizzy, nauseous, unable to hold your balance, and clearly agitated.”

“You’re agitating, that’s why,” muttered John.

“And it’s been a while since you had a fainting spell like that. I thought we had that sorted out.”

John said nothing. Virgil raised an eyebrow, a niggling suspicion starting form in the back of his mind.

“There’s not any particular reason you would know of that would cause that, is there?”

“Long term exposure to microgravity?”

Virgil narrowed his eyes.

John smiled guilelessly.

His brother’s eyes flitted to the bedside table and, in one fluid motion, Virgil vaulted across the bed and yanked the drawer open.

John yelped at the sudden mass lying across him, scrabbling at Virgil’s hands and pulling uselessly against him.

Virgil held the monthly drug planner away from him, scowling at John as he attempted to pry the box out of his hands. He shoved John back and flipped his prize over with a futile hope that only the last remaining days of the month were creating the rattling sound inside. Instead he found nearly every compartment still filled with the little supplement packets John was meant to be taking daily.

“What the hell, John?” Virgil smacked his arm with the box. “Why aren’t you taking these?”

“I forgot?”

Virgil glared at him.

“Try again, you’ve never been less than intentional about a damn thing in your entire life.”

Stubborn silence stretched long in the room and Virgil filled every second with fears and possibilities and visions of his brother collapsing and confined to the Earth forever.

“We trust you John, you can’t just do this,” he growled, waving the box at John. “Your health has to come first, you’re alone up there, and if you get into trouble, who’s going to help you? Alan?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Like hell it isn’t. You’d really make him come up and get you?”

“That’s not fair.”

“I know it’s not fair.”

The shout erupted from him, its echo only stoking the frustration that yet again one of his brothers had chosen to ignore the medical procedures laid out before them. He took a steadying breath, hating the way his brother curled away from him.

“It’s not fair of you to put us in that position, it’s not fair to expect me to always pick up the pieces.”

“I know what I can handle, you’re choosing to worry unnecessarily.” Fire flickered in his eyes. His face was pale but his cheeks were tinged with blotchy red.

Virgil snorted. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about John passing out again with so much blood pooling in his head.

“This isn’t about you getting to decide, this is about you doing as you’re told. You’re not the only one with a stake in your damn life, stop acting as if you’re the only one who matters in this situation. You take your pills because if you don’t, you won’t just injure yourself, you’ll fracture this whole family all over again.”

“Stop it.”

“No, you stop it. Stop being selfish and think. Do you even care that it damn near killed Alan the last time? Of course you don’t, you weren’t there afterwards. You never are. We care about whether you get hurt or not, you could at least pretend to do the same.”

“Virgil.”

The calm of his Grandma’s voice slammed into him, freezing the moment in place.

For an instant, Virgil could see the room from the outside, him towering over his bed-bound brother, brandishing the box in front of him. John’s eyes were closed, his face pulled into a frown. He lay still with his head tilted up on the pillow, determined that even while he shut Virgil out there could be no chance of accidental connection between them.

“Scott, take your brother please.”

There was no doubt about who she meant. Scott stepped around her and tugged the container from Virgil’s hands.

The short, sharp rattle of pills made him flinch away as Scott laid them back on the bedside table, eyes dark with worry as he looked between them.

“Let’s go,” he muttered, eyes lingering on Virgil’s frozen expression.

Scott pulled him from the room, but the way John stiffened at their grandmother’s gentle hand on his shoulder stayed with Virgil long after the door was closed.

Virgil backed up against the wall opposite the door and sank to the floor.

“What the hell was that?” demanded Scott, dropping down beside him. “I leave you two for five minutes and come back to you tearing out his throat? For what, fainting? Give the guy a break, it’s not like he can help it.”

“I’ll take that bet,” said Virgil, scowling at the door. “He’s not been taking his pills, Scott. Which means we don’t have a damn clue where his vitamin or mineral levels are at now, or how long they’ve been deficit for. And they will be deficient.”

“But you and Grandma can sort him out right? It’s not like this is new.”

“Only if he listens to us. We can’t force him to take them, he’s not a child.”

The image of John, pale and unmoving, floated in front of him again and wrapped itself around his heart. A sigh escaped him as he closed his eyes, trying to blot out the image.

“Look, if he won’t, there’s going to be consequences. His health, our trust, something will have to give eventually and I’m not willing to pay for his mistakes.”

Scott blinked.

“But if there were a way to force him,” he said slowly. “I could make his rotation conditional, it wouldn’t be hard.”

“And why the hell would he listen to you?”

“We could put checks in place so he doesn’t have a choice.”

“Let me rephrase that, why the hell should he listen to you?”

“I get the final say over assignments, I can–”

"You're just as bad as he is," snarled Virgil. "How many times have you explicitly ignored my advice. You can't command him to take them while you're still blasting off with broken ribs."

"They were strapped."

"That's not the point!"

“Okay.” Scott’s hands were surrendered in front of him in an attempt to fend off the vehemence in Virgil’s voice. “Okay, jeez, fine. Are you mad at him or not?”

“Of course I’m mad at him.” Virgil slumped against the wall. “He’s supposed to be the one I don’t have to worry about.”

He didn’t feel mad anymore. He just felt the creeping exhaustion that came with caring for a brother that didn’t want his help.

Scott tilted his head back and exhaled heavily.

“Did he say why?”

Virgil shook his head.

“I didn’t give him the chance.” He ran a hand down his face. “He’s not stupid, he knows how important this kind of thing is.”

“It might have been an accident.”

“For twenty four days in a row?”

“Okay, point.”

The door clicked open and both men sprang to their feet. Before they could say anything, Grandma Tracy held up a hand and walked away, beckoning them to follow her.

They didn’t say a word as Grandma Tracy ushered them into her sitting room.

“How is he, Grandma?” asked Scott, unable to hold back any longer.

“He’ll be right as rain come morning. He’s sleeping now.”

“Is that wise?” Virgil asked, his mind still overrun with worries.

Grandma Tracy clucked her tongue gently.

“You know as well as I do that sleeping doesn’t cause the complications that come from concussion. We’ll keep monitoring him, same as always. Although it looked like a mere scalp wound, not a brain injury, to me.”

Virgil looked over at Scott, the relief mirrored in their expressions.

“The other issue however, that’s more complex.” She opened the door to her rooms and nodded at the seats inside. “Sit down, both of you.”

They sat.

“What’s he told you?” she asked Scott brusquely.

“John’s refusing to take his supplements. He’s gonna get himself hurt.”

“John’s struggling up on Five with daily medications,” she said bluntly. “He’s not refusing. The days are too fragmented, and there’s no chance for him to build habit triggers with the pace he’s keeping.”

Virgil’s stomach dropped. Of course John wasn’t being malicious or stubborn about it. He should have known. He should have asked.

“Well, that’s good, right?” said Scott, nudging him. “It’s not deliberate?”

“It’s not deliberate,” repeated Virgil, still internally cursing the ridiculous conclusion he’d jumped to. To say nothing of the painful accusations he’d made.

Grandma Tracy cleared her throat, drawing their attention again. Her eyes were serious.

“I’ve taken a blood sample, and in a few hours we’ll know the most urgent actions to take. EOS can monitor his daily activity for a few weeks and identify tasks we can tie his supplement use to. Then it’s just a matter of checking in until he’s ready to go back to full capacity.”

“Seems straightforward,” said Scott, glancing at Virgil. “What do you think?”

Grandma Tracy’s eyes shifted to meet his own.

“It sounds like a good plan, Grandma.”

She nodded firmly, eyeing the two brothers in front of her.

“Well if that’s decided, we’d best go break the news to your brothers that they have a dispatch refresher coming their way.”

Scott laughed. “I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to hear it.”

“They do need the practice,” said Virgil with a reluctant smile tugging at his lips as they stood.

They stepped out of the sitting room. He paused, staring at the hallway that lead to John’s room. It seemed to stretch far ahead of him and the way it curved into dark corners somehow seemed all the more ominous for the dread and regret that weighed upon him. His feet were leaden, but he forced himself to turn away from Scott and Grandma Tracy and walk towards the hall.

“Are you coming, Virgil?” Grandma Tracy’s voice was quiet but it broke through the whirling thoughts in his mind.

The door at the far end was ajar, a tiny gap that called to him as a clear invitation.

“Actually, I have something I need to do first,” he said, walking towards it. “You go on, I’ll talk to them after.”

Grandma Tracy smiled.

“You’re a good man, Virgil,” she said, patting his shoulder. “We’ll see you later.”

Decision made, he could move easily again and the hallway seemed to brighten with every step.

Virgil slipped into the room and found John appeared to be sleeping peacefully, the exertion of the day catching up with him at last.

He settled himself back on the chair, watching the slow rise and fall of John’s chest in the gloom. An arm had been flung across his forehead and Virgil smiled to see the small Yoda plaster over the prick on his index finger.

He picked up Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland from where he’d placed it earlier and flicked on his pen torch, a tiny beam of light illuminating the words.

“You can turn the desk light on if you want.”

Virgil jumped slightly at the calm, measured voice. He glanced over and saw John watching him, one eye still closed and the other bright and alert.

“You don’t mind?”

John shook his head and so Virgil did as he was told. The soft glow that lined the desk spilled onto the page and across the room.

There was no sound but the rustle of turned pages and even breathing.

“You could read it to me,” said John suddenly.

Virgil looked up, spotting the shining eye and the tilted head that told him John wasn’t going to hold his fears against him. He swallowed carefully past the lump in his throat. He knew a peace offering when he saw it, knew they held words that would be left unsaid between them. He wouldn’t reject a sincere attempt to mend fences, especially when he had been the fool that smashed them.

He nodded once and John closed his eyes with a content sigh.

“Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do…”

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

Maths and Alice you ask? Some very cool theories about the meaning and context in which Alice was written can be found [here]

[traditional-with-a-twist]

xxvii. Beauty and Her Beast

@claudeng80 yeah, Obi is assuming a lot here...or maybe just not thinking much at all. whatever he learned about teamwork from working for Zen, he’s fast falling out of the habit :\

@bubblesthemonsterartist XD yes yes, you can just imagine Izana - what the princess has fled? oh DEAR the predictions are amazing, hope you enjoy the reveal! xD

@the-pompous-potato  this made me laugh so hard, Obi going nyoom - that is the perfect way to say it XD and poor man, always on the verge of getting his girl when SOMETHING HAPPENS...

<<Previous || first arc || AO3 || Next>>

The hall stretches on interminably, like a room in a dream.

When Shirayuki bursts from the prince’s chamber, her eyes are full, and her heart is broken. She is blind to everything but the need to get away.

Her feet carry her forward, but she is going nowhere, on and on, without end -- until someone catches her arm.

The momentum spins her around. She throws up her hands to shield her face.

...

“Shirayuki!” 

The voice is familiar. She peeks through her fingers.

Kiki stares back at her, still holding Shirayuki’s wrist. Her face is pale, drawn, grim, but still she is present, tangible, close.

The fear drains out of Shirayuki, leaving behind an aching sense of loss. Her head drops onto her friend’s shoulder. 

She begins to cry in earnest.

...

Kiki pats her hair with one hand. The touch is light and quick, too rapid to really be comforting, but Kiki’s breathing is deep, steady, rhythmic.

She doesn’t push Shirayuki away.

The tears begin to abate of their own accord.

...

As soon as she hears Shirayuki quiet, Kiki drops the hand to her shoulder and eases her upright.

She meets Shirayuki’s eyes, holding her gaze--still serious, but something more than that: determined.

“Shirayuki,” she says again, “please come with me.”

...

Kiki guides her like a compass bearing: destination unknown, but the direction unmistakable.

Shirayuki follows as closely as her skirts will allow, almost bumping into her friend when Kiki changes direction unexpectedly.

The cooling air signals that they have left the castle proper, but Shirayuki does not look up, does not raise her eyes, does not care for anything but having someone to follow.

...

Interlocking lines crisscross her field of vision, the familiar patterns of the courtyard flagstones unfolding.

Then warmth embraces her. 

The sweet, spicy, earthy, damp fragrance leaves no doubt: Kiki has led her home.

Shirayuki tilts her chin back to drink it in.

...

For a moment she thinks her eyes are deceiving her, conjuring up phantoms of the past to complement the familiar sensations of the greenhouses.

She must have imagined the two white-clad figures that emerge, rising from the mists of her memory like rainbows from fractured light.

It isn’t really Garrack Gazalt, tall and careless, wiping dirt from her hands, or little Ryuu, shy but intent, clutching a box of half-filled soil samples.

Would she have conjured them like this, though - dusty and travel-stained? 

Could she have projected their looks of mingled surprise and delight, the quirk of Garrack’s smile, the flop of Ryuu’s hair grown down over his eyes?

...

Wavering between doubt and hope, Shirayuki allows herself to step closer, lift a hand, reach out to test their corporality, feel for herself whether her friends had truly returned to her.

Before she reached them, Garrack threw back her head and laughed - the unrestrained sound of weariness passed into a hazy unconcern.

“You look as if you’ve seen a ghost, Lady Shirayuki!”

...

Shirayuki pulls up short. She tries to laugh, but no sound comes.

The chief pharmacist pauses, regarding her steadily. 

Then she pulls Shirayuki forward into a quick hard hug. “There, you see, lady? We’re real.” 

Shirayuki chokes on happiness, unconscious of the tears collecting and escaping in tiny streams, little paths that all led elsewhere, away from the nightmare that has been closing on her the past three days. 

“And Ryuu?” She turns to him with a shining face. “Will you give me a hug, too?”

He stares up at her with round eyes, hesitates, then sets down the crate.

...

Garrack looks over their heads at Kiki, quirking an eyebrow as if to say, That bad since we left, is it? 

Kiki looks back impassively. 

She hasn’t smiled much since the war, even less since the funeral, but as she watches Shirayuki hold Ryuu close, the lines around her mouth ease.

...

“We’re here to see how they tended the greenhouses while we were away,” Ryuu informs Shirayuki quietly. Even after she lets him go, he stands closer to her than usual, expressionless except that his eyes are brighter than before.

Shirayuki regards him affectionately, but her eyebrows draw together. “Ah, but Ryuu… you haven’t had a chance to wash or eat, don’t you think…?”

...

He’s shaking his head. 

It’s not like that for him - the greenhouse isn’t a chore. It’s familiar and soothing to come here after bouncing in a carriage for so many hot, dusty hours. 

The entire time he and Garrack were away, Ryuu’s thoughts have returned here, to these fertile rows, wandering among them in his imagination as he wondered whether they were receiving the proper care from the other pharmacists.

Even miles away, it was his place to escape to when the stress and strangeness of setting the Port City pharmacy to rights overwhelmed him.

Now he is anxious to see that nothing has gone amiss in his absence.

...

Ryuu doesn’t know how to put all of that into words, so he answers, “It couldn’t wait.”

...

“You arrived at the perfect time, lady,” Garrack interjects, leaning over them. “We could use another pair of hands, but it seems everyone from the pharmacy has gone!”

Shirayuki’s mouth twitches. “That’s because… well, it is past nightfall,” she points out, torn between amusement and concern at her old colleagues.

Garrack waggles a pair of forceps and an empty glass tube. “Care to take the samples from section three?”

...

Time runs backwards.

The intervening months melt away. Garrack and Ryuu are back, and it’s like a part of her returns with them, slotting neatly into the space it left behind.

She forgets she is wearing royal, not pharmacist, white. She accepts the assignment and hurries to find a clipboard and labels while she is at it - administrative work never was the chief’s strong point - and then she gets to work.

...

It is idyllic, peaceful to work in silence among the greenhouse rows, the three pharmacists silent but conscious of each other’s presence.

Shirayuki can almost pretend that when she finishes, she will walk out the doors and find everything as it was before: 

Mitsuhide and Kiki, opposite and easy, like two bookends; Obi, nearer than her shadow; and Zen, the center of it all, smiling on each of them and holding out his hand.

...

She reaches out in response, lost in her dream… Then she realizes that it is Ryuu standing before her.

Shirayuki flushes. She starts to stammer an apology -- until she sees his face.

He regards her with the lost, lonely look of a puppy who found his way home but isn’t sure if he’s allowed back inside.

“Ryuu! What is it?”

“Shirayuki…” He frowns at the ground, shuffles his feet. “I just came to see if… you needed anything…”

...

“Oh…” Shirayuki stares at Ryuu, wanting to comfort him but not knowing how.

He stares back, his expression mirroring hers.

Shirayuki wavers then breaks into a smile. “I have everything I need right here, Ryuu! We’re together again now, and that’s what matters.”

His face lightens. He smiles back.

...

Close enough to hear every word, Obi watches unseen. 

As he listens, his fingers slacken on the knapsack strap. 

It slides from his shoulder.

...

He looks at Shirayuki, at Ryuu, at this place of comfort and warmth that brings color to their faces and light to their eyes.

They are surrounded by what really makes them happy: purpose, a sense of belonging, the pharmacy, and each other.

He has no right to take her away from any of this.

He won’t break again what’s already broken.

...

He turns away.

//

A/N: if your memory is a little fuzzy after 6+ months as to why Garrack and Ryuu have been absent, the backstory is buried in this chapter.

[leeyuunmi]

Love & Producer KR: Gavin Rainy Day Date 「비 오는 날 데이트」 Part 4

Text version of Gavin’s Rainy Day Date.

So sorry for the delay, been caught up with other things. This is definitely one of my favorite dates because of how bold the two are...

Enjoy!

Video version to be updated.

Please do not repost this anywhere else.

—————

The sound of rain gradually became further away. In Gavin’s arms, my anxiety and embarrassment melted away.

The raindrops on his body was cold. His arms were hot. His body temperature that passed over my thin cloth reassured me.

MC: Sunbae, how did you find me?

Gavin: I kept looking along the way. I’m glad nothing happened to you.

In his voice, there was a fear that had not yet gone. His arms that embraced me gave me strength.

Gavin: I never broke my promise with you.

MC: I know.

I nodded in his arms and sniffed, calming my sore (itchy?) nose.

MC: If I wait for, you will come, it’s always the case.

Gavin: Don’t do this nextime.

Gavin let me go, but still supported most of my weight using his arm, and looked anxiously at my ankle.

Gavin: Did you twist it that badly?

I looked down on where Gavin was looking. I tried to move my ankle and felt the pain as if an electric current was flowing.

MC: It’s not that serious, but I still don’t have strength.

Gavin frowned and leaned against one side to make me sit slowly. Then he knelt down and grabbed my ankle and placed it on his knee.

I felt awkward and tried to move my feet, but Gavin looked up at me.

Gavin: Stay still. Let me take a look.

Gavin: Does it hurt if I do this?

A cold wet finger slightly touched the sore spot. I felt comfortable for some reason.

MC: No.

Gavin: Now?

His fingers pressed gently along the ligaments. I couldn’t stand it and breathed.

MC: It hurts.

Gavin: It will feel better if you endure a little.

Once Gavin confirmed, he sighed and placed my feet down.

Gavin: It’s not a fracture, just a sprain. Still, it would be better not to move recklessly now.

MC: Okay.

The soft touch left the area he had grasped relieved from stinging pain.

I lifted my head and looked at Gavin looking around.

MC: How’s the situation down the mountain?

Gavin: The bridge was broken by the flood. It is being repaired by relevant department, but it will take some time. Communication will be restored soon.

When I heard the news, a sigh of relief came.

MC: That’s good to hear.

Gavin: Now the rain is too strong. Let’s move again when it gets lighter.

Gavin said that and covered my head with his coat again to prevent rain from falling on me.

His body was already wet. Wet clothes clung to his skin, revealing the contours of his body.

MC: Please wear the coat sunbae.

Gavin: It’s okay. This rain is nothing.

MC: But you will catch a cold.

I didn’t give up and tried to grab the coat from my head and return it to him. Then Gavin wrapped my hand in his palm and asked:

Gavin: Do you feel my body temperature?

I blanked. The back of my hand felt the hot temperature transmitted from Gavin’s hand.

Gavin: Do you still think I’m cold?

When I didn’t answer, he took my hand and placed it on his neck. I felt his body temperature and his stable and powerful pulse.

My heart starts beating faster without me knowing. I was embarrassed and pulled my hand.

MC: Ah, no.

Gavin: So you don’t have to worry about me

Gavin laughed lightly and sat facing me. The space was narrow and made of shrubs and vines, so I had no choice but to fold my legs. (Not sure sure about this)

All I heard was the heavy rain against the background of sounds heard from a distance. The sound of tapping of leaves was also heard.

The rain soaked scenery was so delicate and fantastic but I couldn’t feel it for some reason. I unconsciously approached Gavin and felt this body temperature.

MC: It’s romantic to hear the sound of rain like this, if only we weren’t in this situation.

I tilted my head to look at Gavin.

A single drop of rain rolled off his lashes distracting the softness in his eyes.

MC: Sunbae, don’t we look like the cats we met before?

Gavin: Is that so? It is a bit similiar.

As if something came into mind, Gavin’s mouth went up gently.

Gavin: However, it’s not bad to hear the rain together.

He came close and pulled up the slipped coat from my head and held it tight.

As I looked at his pupils looking at the rain, I thought about what was written in the guestbook.

MC: Sunbae, after you went out, I found the ending of the unrequited love story in the guestbook.

Gavin: How was the ending?

Maybe because we were too close, Gavin bowed his head and I immediately met his eyes.

MC: It said “after the rain, we got together”, it was a happy ending.

Gavin: Then, either one of them opened the door.

MC: Yes, but if they want each other from the beginning, would it be necessary to wait so long?

He was silent for awhil and barely opened his mouth. His voice had a bitterness that was hard to notice.

Gavin: The person in the rain wasn’t afraid to knock on the door, but there might have been other reasons.

I recalled the bloodstained letter and our misunderstanding and him leaving silently. Him waiting in the library seemed to be drawin in front of him.

MC: But when the rain stopped, the two of them missed each other.

My fist clenched itself. My voice trembled a little.

MC: If it was you, what would you do?

Gavin: If it was me...

Gavin stopped talking and put his hand on the coat on my shoulder, and wiped thewater droplets on my face with his other hand.

Gavin: I will keep waiting in the rain.

He stared at me with deep eyes. At this moment, I feel like he was saying it to me.

And it made me sad for some reason. And the rain poured around us without stopping.

MC: But the rain will eventually stop.

Gavin: No.

This time Gavin did not hesitate and said in a confident tone:

Gavin: I will wait for it to rain again.

MC: Why?

Suddenly, his slightly rough finger slipped along my face to my lips. I ran out of breathe.

Gavin: There will never be a person like her again.

He touched my lower lip lightly. At the same time his hot breathe fanned on my face.

My hands were suddenly on his neck. I couldn’t suppress my desire to get closer.

Gavin: Only you can find the real Gavin.

He continued. My heart trembled more everytime his lips move.

I wanted to stop him but my heart was pounding and I felt dizzy, so I couldn’t say a word.

This moment, we were so close, I couldn’t escape fromn his gaze. My heart thumped like crazy. It seemed like the rain from the sky was falling into my heart.

MC: Sunbae...

Gavin: No one found my real heart until I met you. Because no one else can go there.

Gavin: Only one person can go inside.

Finally his lips touched my lips. His cold and wet bite and breath penetrated my sensed without any resistance.

His eyes filled with emotions. He tasted a bit, but didn’t go deeper.

His lips fell as soon as they touched, and only his hot temperature remained on my lips.

Gavin: I just knocked on the door.

Gavin raised his mouth and smiled softly.

A raindrop that fell on his body caused a splash of water unexpectedly.

My sight turned bluish, like the water fog.

As if someone touched the softest part of my heart, there was a rush of emotions that I cannot control.

I put my arms around Gavin’s neck and pulled him closer. Then I closed my eyes and put my lips on his lips.

Gavin froze, as if short of breath.

But the next moment, he held my head and opened my lips with his tongue and entangled my mouth deeper, as if he would not give me a chance to run away.

I feel the taste of rain water on my lips and tongue, and I would hear our breathing, but I wanted to continue this moment.

Maybe... before I knock on the door, I might have already jumped in the heavy rain and stayed with him.

Searching for my slipped hand, Gavin held my fingers tightly.

The raindrops on the leaves that I see between my blurry eyes glistened.

Rain continued falling like it won’t end.

We waited for the moment of dawn in the rain.

————— END —————

Just translating this makes me feel... something... xD

I loved their romantic moments in this date.

Thanks for reading~ Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Will be putting on the subtitles on the video today, hopefully I can finish it today.