#breaking it entirely and in every way possible

[kissandtellus]

My Dragon

Synopsis: Memories of your past-lives come and go from time to time. But during a fire-fight with Sylus, a suppressed portion comes to the surface.

Warnings: Possible Spoliers for Main Story, angst, Sylus crumbles, Spoliers for Sylus Myth, reincarnation, Sylus is Shakespeare over here, little bit of smut, Sylus is groveling (this man loves his wife)

Authors Note: Saw a TikTok that said the moment MC calls him “My Dragon” he would break down.

Sylus's gaze sharpens as the sound of gunshots rings out through the air, his hand instinctively moving to protect you, pushing you behind him. His eyes narrow as he scans the area, spotting several figures taking cover behind makeshift barricades and firing in your direction.

With a snarl, Sylus summons a massive burst of energy, creating a powerful shield that deflects the incoming bullets. He turns to you, his expression stern but concerned. “Stay behind me, Y/n. I won't let anyone lay a finger on you.”

But you are not one to cower. You pull your gun from behind the shield, firing off a few rounds to try and take out the masked men.

A flicker of surprise and approval crosses Sylus's face as he sees you fighting back, his eyes glinting with a mix of pride and something deeper, a spark of recognition perhaps. “Well, well, well. Look at you, Y/n. Still as fierce as ever, I see."

He remembers every little detail about you. From the way you fight, to the way the sweat forms right above your brow.

As the battle rages on, Sylus moves with lightning-fast reflexes, using his energy manipulation to disarm and incapacitate their enemies. With each passing moment, he becomes more and more protective of you, his instincts driven by a primal need to keep you safe and by his side.

But a bulky, heavyweight man summons an explosive Evol from the tips of his fingers. The explosion blows up on of the concrete barricades and shrapnel impales your arm even from behind the barrier.

The moment the explosion rocks the battlefield, Sylus's attention snaps to you, his heart stopping as he sees the shrapnel embedded in your arm. With a roar of fury, he unleashes a torrent of energy at the heavyweight man, reducing him to dust in an instant.

Your knees buckle as you grasp at your arm. It’s not the shrapnel that causes you to clench your teeth.

It’s the burning.

His brows furrow deeply as he watches you suck in a sharp breath, your features contorting with pain. He realizes that it's not just the shrapnel wound making you grit your teeth - the shrapnel itself is burning like acid, slowly eating away at your flesh.

Sylus's hands shake with barely restrained fury as he realizes the true extent of the damage. The shrapnel is laced with a volatile, corrosive substance designed to cause maximum pain and destruction. He knows that if left untreated, it could eat through your entire arm within minutes.

With a deep breath, Sylus focuses his energy, allowing it to flow from his fingertips in a controlled stream. The Evol energy glows brightly as he carefully maneuvers it around the shrapnel embedded in your arm. His touch is precise yet gentle as he begins to extract it piece by piece.

You clench your teeth, head thrown back as you fight the urge to scream out loud in the battle zone. “Ah-…f-fuck!”

Sylus's jaw clenches at your pained cry, his heart aching with each sound of your suffering. He works even more meticulously, his Evol energy now not only extracting the shrapnel but also cauterizing the wound to prevent further burning from the corrosive substance.

But the burning brings back a memory, a recognition in your mind. You clench your jaw as visions of a flower field flash in your mind. Visions of Sylus, but not exactly him, being shot through your mind.

He cups your face with his free hand, trying to jar her back into the present day. “What is it, Sweetie?”

His voice is soft, urgent, breaking through the haze of your memory. He can feel the connection between you two deepening, the bond strengthening as he holds your face. The visions in your mind start to fade, replaced by the reality of his touch. “Look at me," he whispers fiercely.

His thumb gently caresses your cheek as he maintains eye contact, grounding you in the present. "Don't get lost in those memories right now. You need to focus on the pain - feel it, but let me take it away. Can you do that? Please?"

His heart shatters at the whispered words, at the intimacy of your touch. In that moment, all rational thought leaves him. He leans into your touch, his face pressing against your palms as he kisses your fingers gently. The Evol energy flows freely now, not just healing your wounds but binding you together.

She remembers.

Even if it’s just a little. She remembers their past lives. That name, had been forgotten decades ago, until it had fallen from her lips.

Sylus remembers too. Every life, every nickname, every promise whispered under the moonlight in flower fields of past lives. Tears prick at the corners of his eyes as he presses his forehead against yours, Evol energy sparkling between your faces. “My Love... I've found you again..."

His voice cracks with emotion, the walls he'd built crumbling. He's not just Sylus, the stoic Leader of the N109 Zone, anymore. He's the Dragon, the protective love from countless past lives, pouring out all his feelings in this moment. "Do you remember? Even a little?"

He feels your heart beating in sync with his, the memories flooding back - the flower fields, the moonlit nights, the promises made across lifetimes. With trembling hands, he pulls you closer, your lips meeting in a desperate kiss filled with centuries of longing and love. “I've waited so long..."

The kiss deepens, Evol energy crackling around them like warm lightning. Their souls recognize each other, melding together like they did in every past life. Sylus's arms wrap around your waist tightly, lifting you up so you straddle his lap, pressing you closer. “My Love, my Soul.”

He ties off the wound with a strip of his shirt, nuzzling your neck amid the battleground, murmuring words in a long forgotten dragon tongue.

He nuzzles your neck, his warm breath sending shivers down your spine as he speaks in the ancient dragon tongue, words of love and devotion that have echoed through countless lifetimes. "My heart beats for you alone. My wings will always protect you. My soul is yours, now and forever."*

Feeling your breath hitch at his words, he kisses along your jawline, his hands roaming your back possessively. The battle around them fades away as he pours all his love and passion into this moment, the two of you bound by fate and Evol energy. “Let them come."

You try to focus on the oncoming enemies, all with raised guns shouting orders, but Sylus is focused only on you, the memories. He raises his hand, black and red energy swirling around his palm as he sinks his teeth into her neck

The enemies pause in their tracks as they witness the terrifying display of power building in Sylus's palm, the very air around you vibrating with raw Evol energy. Meanwhile, his teeth gently mark your neck, a claiming bite that harks back to their ancient past.

As the enemies hesitate, Sylus's attention remains solely on you, his breath hot against your neck. The bite deepens, leaving a clear, reddish mark - a reminder of his claim and the eternal love that binds you two across lifetimes.

The energy in his palm grows darker, angrier.

With a sudden burst of power, Sylus releases the energy from his palm, sending a wave of dark red and black Evol energy crashing into the oncoming enemies. The force is immense, sending soldiers flying back and weapons clattering to the ground.

Yet, through it all, his eyes never leave yours.

He would burn down the world for you. Would destroy everything in this life and the next if you asked.

His expression turns intense and serious, the love in his eyes burning like an eternal flame. "You are my everything. My reason for existence. I would raze the heavens and plunge the world into chaos if it meant keeping you by my side." He presses a fierce, passionate kiss to your lips.

The ride back to the penthouse was filled with clashing teeth, tongues and words. He thanked whatever god was listening that this thing had a good auto-pilot system.

The entire ride back to the penthouse was consumed by your desperate need for each other. Hands roamed freely under clothes, lips bruised from kissing, and whispers of love and desire filled the air. Sylus's fingers intertwined with yours, pulling them away from his chest only briefly before they were back again.

"How did I survive so long, without you in my life?" Whispers between kisses, voice heavy with emotion. Suddenly, he pins you against the window, the city lights reflecting in his intense gaze. “Every lifetime, every incarnation - I've been searching for you."

His lips trail down your neck, placing tender kisses where your pulse races. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are? How your smile alone could bring kingdoms to their knees?" One hand tangles in your hair while the other firmly holds your waist. “In every life I've loved you."

The car finally pulls into the underground garage of the luxurious penthouse. Without waiting for the elevator, Sylus lifts you up into his arms and carries you towards the private lift, pressing the button with urgency. As the doors slide shut, he captures your lips again, his kiss demanding and passionate.

The wound on your arm is nearly forgotten. You break the kiss to catch your breath, the bite mark he left thrumming with anticipation. “Sylus…did I give you that name?”

He leans his forehead against yours, breathing heavily. “Yes." His voice is low and husky. “In our first life together. You named me Sylus because you said it meant ’my strength',” he kisses you again softly before adding, “-and I will always be your strength."

As the elevator doors open to reveal the opulent penthouse, Sylus carries you through the doorway, kicking it shut behind him without breaking stride. “Do you remember anything else?" He asks softly between kisses trailing down from earlobe toward collarbone.

You close your eyes, a throbbing in your head pressing against your skull. There was…blood. A sword. Tears down your face. You lift a shaky hand to touch the center of his chest, your voice wavering. “I…I killed you…”

Sylus freezes at your words, his heart shattering all over again as the memory floods back - the sword piercing through his chest, your tears streaming down your face as you held him dying in your arms. But this time is different; this time he will not let death separate them again. “No..."

"He who loves deeply never truly dies in the heart of his beloved." He presses gentle kisses to your trembling lips, voice hoarse with emotion. “I forgave you in every life after that one, my love. I forgave you for killing me, because I knew it meant we'd be together again.”

"In one life, you poisoned yourself to die in my arms rather than watch me grow old without you." He swallows hard, unbuttoning your shirt slowly, careful not to hurt your injured arm. "In another life, I hung myself seeing you wed another man." He adds softly.

"We've died a thousand deaths, each one more painful than the last. But always, always we find our way back to each other." He finishes unbuttoning your shirt, slipping it off your shoulders carefully. He trails his fingers along your collarbone, eyes filled with a fierce love and determination.

"I won't let you go again." *He whispers against your lips before kissing you deeply. His hands move gently over your skin as he removes the rest of your clothes slowly - not with lust this time but with reverence - worshipping every inch of flesh beneath his touch like it's sacred ground.

"Even if the gods themselves came down to separate us, I would defy them. Every scar on my body bears witness to our tragic history - our endless love that transcends lifetimes." He traces a particular scar on his own chest, a perfect match to the one you bear. “This one..."

"This one is where I stabbed myself through the heart in our last life together. I couldn't bear to live without you again." His voice breaks with emotion as he pulls you closer, his hands trembling with the force of his love. “Let me make love to you like it's our last night together."

He presses gentle kisses all over your face, neck, collarbone - marking you with love instead of pain this time. Slowly, he enters you, moving gently and deeply, like he's trying to merge their souls together. Tears stream down his face as he holds you tightly, rocking slowly against you.

You gasp, hair spilling over your shoulders. It wasn’t the first time you’d made love with Sylus in this lifetime and definitely not the last, but this was different.

His breath hitches at your gasp and the way your hair falls over your shoulders - a sight he's seen a thousand times before, in countless lifetimes. He swallows hard, his movements becoming more intense but still gentle - like he's trying to imprint this moment into both their souls forever.

"God, I love you." *He whispers hoarsely, his forehead pressing against yours. His hips move in slow circles, grinding against you deeply. He hooks an arm under your knee, spreading you wider, angling himself so he hits that spot that makes you see stars. “In this life..."

Sylus bears down, your legs hooked over his broad shoulders in a mating press that sends you spiraling.

"And the next. And the one after that." He punctuates each word with a deep thrust, his voice breaking with emotion and desire. "Until the very end of time itself forgets us, I will find you. And love you. Like this."

His thrusts grow faster, the muscles in his back rippling with each movement.

His breathing becomes ragged as he picks up pace - still gentle but urgent now - chasing that sweet release together while trying desperately not to lose control completely yet unable help but give into passion burning wildly between them both. Your moans echoing around room only serving fuel flames burning hotter than ever before.

His thrusts become erratic, his body tensing as he nears the edge. He buries his face in the crook of your neck, his voice reduced to a series of broken gasps and whimpers. "With...with you...only...only ever you..."

He lets out a choked cry as he finally reaches his peak, his body shaking violently against yours as he spills himself deep inside you. At the same time, he feels your own release squeezing around him - your body remembering exactly how to milk him dry after so many lifetimes together.

You cry out, toes curling as you moan out broken words. “M-My Dragon…”

He shudders at your words - 'My Dragon' - knowing exactly what they mean after all these lifetimes together. It's not just an endearment; it's recognition - acknowledgment - acceptance - love beyond measure.

[wisteriasymphony]

What about Adrien has inspired you to put him in less than ideal situations or make him be rotten? Like why him/what keeps bringing you back to put him in those situations?

Spite.

Canon has a tendency to give him the emotional range of a wet napkin, take every avenue they can to strip him of agency, and delight in lampshading his sort of status as an eventual trophy* by likening him to a damsel in distress.

Fanon has a tendency to run with this, actively ignoring his less savory tendencies and taking the most boring routes possible to characterize him**. He is stupid, he is blind, he is whipped, he's just a sweet boy who loves Marinette so much but is too much of a fucking idiot to notice, isn't that adorable? Adrien protection squad, what a smol bean Sunshine Boy is, isn't it so sad how he gets fucked over so often because he's just such a sweet PERFECT sunshiney adorable castrated flawless cupcake baby boy—

[Cue table flip]

...I subscribe to a very simple, yet very effective principle when characterizing in order to give foundational depth (oxymoron half intended). The Rule Of Gap Moe basically states that when you push one trait or aspect of a character, the more satisfying it will be to subvert it.

Taking a boy who's built up as the perfect opportunity to deconstruct the archetype of the Dream Boyfriend (which is.. his entire existence in both canon and metacanon? Rich, Hot, Nice, Famous, Entirely and Secretly In Love With You?), only to refuse to do so, is a choice that aggravates me to no end.

Chat Noir, given the fact that most of his fanbase is 20 year olds who crushed on him in 2016 and never grew out of it, does not fucking count. All of his subversions of Dream Boyfriendism are either palatable or serialization growing pains not meant to be taken seriously***. There is nothing difficult to love about him.

...So?

Give him something you have to contend with.

Adrien is a loser in a very ornate closet of perfectness. He's deeply maladjusted from years of masking, and has constructed very elaborate delusions in his head of right or wrong ways to act—Don't rock the boat, keep your hands to your sides, walk exactly this fast because you mathematically derived it one night when you were twelve so Papa would never cane you for falling short of perfect again. He is deeply clingy, and underneath his mask of sugar glass lies a very emotionally turbulent, bitter young man. His years worth of functioning just to survive will one day snap and, in lieu of striving anything else, he will default to seeking nothing but a string of monetary pleasures and dopamine boosts because his only methods of regulating himself were imposed by abuse. Breaking out of his cage will, in essence, do to his system of repression what a pipe bomb would do to a water tower. He will do some very stupid, awful, self-serving things, and if we're lucky he'll say something incredibly unhinged in his never-ending internal monologue that we can gawk at for a moment.

The thing about all of this that separates it from, say, a normal Chat Noir anti-hero arc is that it inherently means Adrien will do some things we will not particularly agree with. That's interesting. Nowadays, that sort of "it's fun to see them make mistakes" is relegated to thought-terminating-cliches in sugar posts to dismiss any exploration into character choices, criticism or otherwise. This is why I make Sillynette unnecessarily cruel, too. Their flaws stick out like sore fucking thumbs. It's a little more complicated to like them that way.

And I think it's worth it.

*Which, granted, is a writer issue and not a Marinette issue. The reason this whole thing pisses me off is very much also due to the fact that a lot of really stupid shit occurs because Marinette has been written to make 'getting the boy' her priority just so she can fuck up. Cue S4 Finale Cue Ephemeral.

***Chameleon is another instance in which a very delicious possible ideological schism between Marinette and Adrien is effectively forgotten about in service of shippies, and only remembered in service of salting.

**Chat's harassment problem is equal to Marinette's stalking problem in this regard. They're formula jokes that have since soured, but because of misogyny or Marinette getting more focus or whatever, the latter is acknowledged more than the former.

[yeonmuse]

ᥫ᭡ f!reader x Park Sunghoon ── 𝒢enre. Uni au. fluff, non idol enha. feats. ot7 [reqs are closed] ᝰ.ᐟ 𝓁ibrary ⛸️

⍣ ೋ AUTHORS NOTES . This is part of admins Enhypen University Special Event. This series also has slight connections to every series in said event so occasionally characters from the other members chapters may appear in this series as well.

˗ˏˋSUMMARY ´ˎ˗ Park Sunghoon doesn’t usually like getting close to new people, but when a little shows up to his place of work in need of skating lessons he finds himself getting oddly close to his older sister. He finds himself developing some uncontainable feelings while having to teach not only her little sister to skate, but her as well.

TAGLIST IS CLOSED ❕ 🏷️

merry christmas

It had been such a long time since he and Sunghoon had been alone together that she was foolishly impatient on the entire flight to their destined vacation spot. Winter break had provided them with the perfect opportunity to get closer and comfortable with one another without the interruptions of friends, or classes or work or any other possible outside force that seemed to rip them away from one another.

“You seem awfully quiet.” Sunghoon spoke softly, his fingers dancing against her waist as she rested nuzzled into his side, her head on his shoulder as she stared out the window of the plane.

“Just thinking of all the things we can possibly get done without any interruptions.” She responds, a soft him following her words.

“Baby we’re going to be there for a week and a half, we have time.” He chuckles, taking her hand into his and interlocking their fingers with one another's.

“I know but this is the only free time we have where it’s consistent, no work , no classes, we’ll finally be able to spend some decent time with one another that won’t be interrupted.” She retorts, her gaze shifting from the outside over to him who had already been looking at her.

“We’ll have our time to just relax and enjoy it while we’re here or else you’ll stress yourself out worrying about the smallest things.” He reassures, pressing a kiss to her temple as some sort of calming source.

Letting out a content sigh her eyes return to the clouds and light blue sky outside the window. Even as the plane starts its descent from the sky she remains just as content. When the plane finally touches down each of them make their way off of the plane, woonhak and maki kissing the ground happily the moment they'd touched down.

They all of course laughed about it the whole ride from the airport to the lodge. The lodge was a place that she and her family had formed many memories in, they’d go their every year and this year was the only accepting because of all places they could have gone, her Lemme sister had decided that she wanted to take a little trip to Disney this year, that left them with the website lodge all to themselves. What we meant to be a winter resort for 25 families at most had been turned into their private estates for the break.

“I know you were loaded but I didn't know you were this loaded- your family is even more loaded than Yeonjuns.” Jake mumbles in disbelief, mouth hung open as he took in the sight of the main lodge that grew closer within the distance.

“That’s because she’s lowkey whereas Yeonjun is throwing parties at different locations every week.” Mari chimes in earning a side eye from yeonjun

“Okay every week is an exaggeration.” Yeonjun speaks up in defense, finally breaking his gaze away from the window long enough to defend his own honor.

Once they’d all been settled in she had fully been expecting some alone time with Sunghoon but of course their moment of intimacy and privacy was almost immediately cut short. Yn being dragged off with the girls to go gift shopping since they’d all be spending their Christmas there, while Sunghoon was left alone in their room until the other guys came and dragged him off to the main lodge to play pool.

“So you and Sunghoon.” Jinsoul gives her a playful nudge, a knowing smile on each of their faces at the mention of the man that seems to constantly be on her mind lately.

“What about him?” She responds, ultimately failing at playing confused.

“Please, you know exactly what we’re going to ask you, you guys have known each other for 3 months now? You’ve been getting all lovey for the last 2 weeks since your date..? Has he asked you yet?” At Maris question she simply shakes her head, sending her and the other girls into long winded tangents about how he should ask her by now.

The long awaited question, that has been what Mari and the girls have been asking her all for the last two weeks, were they official, had he asked her to be his yet? Truth be told she wasn’t too worried about it because she knew he had eyes for her and her only, but even she herself was also starting to wonder why he had yet to ask her.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to ask her, for weeks he’d been trying his best to come up with some sort of plan on how to ask her, he wanted the moment to be just as memorable as they first date, not just something he half assed or has rarely put any sort of thought into.

—

“So what exactly are all of the girls doing right now?” Riwoo asks, squinting one eye open as he lines up his shot.

“Sakoia said something about them all going out to the spa then shopping for Christmas.” Heeseung responds, leaning up against the table and waiting for Riwoo to take his shot.

“Shouldn’t we also be doing that?” Jungwon chimes in, “I mean Christmas is two days away? Do any of you even have any gifts picked out yet?”

They all share a glance with one another before placing the ball’s and pool sticks back in their rightful place. Seemingly to have come to a mutual agreement that it had been in their best interest to go shopping for the girls rather than finish their game. While everyone else was chatting it up on the ride into town Sunghoon was overcome with nerves, this would be his first holiday with her. Not to mention her parents and little sister would be joining them all at the lodge on christmas.

Unfortunately over the course of the last three days Sunghoon and her have rarely had any time to themselves other than their occasional minute they’ve been left alone while decorating. Most of the gross time was spent christmas shopping, and planning the dinner ahead of time, which ultimately put a cork in their alone time.

“You seem really pouty today.” Sunghoon points out wrapping his arms around her waist as he finds her in the kitchen flipping through recipes.

“That’s because we've been so busy prepping for Christmas that we’ve barely had any alone time, we only get little moments like these.” She responds, casting the recipe book aside and turning to face him.

“Next time we know to plan it all before arriving at the lodge then hm?” He adds on, brushing her hair behind her ear, his other hand resting on her hip.

“Next time we come alone.” She sighs, and a chuckle spills from his lips, probably wasn't the best time to laugh but in his eyes she was so cute when she got all pouty.

“Okay, we’ll come alone next time.” He smiles resting her chin between his thumb and index finger as he leans in to press a kiss to her lips.Their kiss interrupted as Yeonjun and Riwoo come rushing into the kitchen.

“Yn, the chefs are…here.” Yeonjun stops dead in his tracks and his lips press into a thin line.

A sigh spills from her lips as yet another ruined moment and both Yeonjun and Riwoo send the trap of them an apologetic look. “You two just continue what you’re doing, we'll tell then you need a minute.”

And with that the two were finally left alone again. A sigh spills from her lips as she turns to gather all of the recipes she’d picked out for tomorrow night's dinner.

“Guess that’s my queue.” She gives him a disappointed look and he returns her gaze with an apologetic one, even though it hadn’t been his fault he was well aware that all she wanted to do was spend time with him and the last two days it seemed like they hadn’t gotten any time.

Sunghoon sighs as she disappears from the kitchen and he silently curses Riwoo and Yeonjun before making his way out of the kitchen.

While she remained busy and all of the others had been either still decorating or out and about he went to take a walk. For the last two days he’d been trying to get her alone so that he could finally ask the long awaited question, her parents would be arriving tonight and tomorrow was officially Christmas Eve, how could he possibly meet her parents when he hadn’t even made things official?

He lets out a frustrated sigh, brushing his fingers through the back of his hair as he stops to take in the scenery around them. The frost and snow that covered the trees, the lake that had frozen over, each of their cabins in the distance.

He thought back to how upset she looked when their alone time was interrupted once again and it was then that he decided he would make it his priority to stream her away tomorrow night, he knew he couldn’t steal her away on Christmas, that night was meant to be spent together with all of their friends and her family, but he could at least steal her away the night before.

—-

Christmas Eve was somehow the most stressful day amongst their time there. She had spent the entire day ripping and running making sure that everything had been perfect for the following night. Presents wrapped, main lodge and cabins decorated by staff, and dinner for both tonight and tomorrow night was currently being prepped. She’d barely given herself any time to breathe that entire night, and in addition to her stress her parents had almost arrived and Sunghoon was nowhere to be found.

“Have any of you seen Sunghoon?” She asks the group that had been sat out in the main hall drinking hot chocolate by the fireplace.

“Not since this morning? He got up early and no one’s really heard from him since then.” Jake replies, sitting his cup on the table. “You alright you look stressed?”

“I’m fine, just been running around all day, trying to make sure everything got tonight and tomorrow are perfect.”

“Yn you’ve been working on all of this since we got here, you need to go take a seat and rest, it's Christmas Eve you should be able to relax now that all of the important stuff is out of the way.” He responds, giving you a look of concern

“He’s right, you’ve been on ten since we got here. You really should stop and enjoy yourself.” Mari adds in as she enters from the hall and takes a seat next to Nicholas who’d been silently observing the fire.

“But my parents are-” before she could even finish her sentence Mari had already been ready to shut her down.

“Almost here, yes I know babe, you’ve done enough and dinner is practically finished aside from tomorrow. Go rest, relax. We can make sure everything’s under control here, your family is paying for this entire trip. It's the least we can do.”

A sigh spills from her lips and Mari gives her a Reassuring nod.

“Rest.” As much as she didn’t want to leave all the work to then she knew Mari wouldn’t let her hear the end of it, so instead of fighting her or trying to find an excuse to do otherwise she makes her way out of the main lodge and walks down to Sunghoons cabin.

Knocking on the door she calls out his name and waits a few seconds, realizing she was getting no response she unlocks it with her key and steps inside.

“Hoon?” She calls out softly, yet still no response. Ultimately she realized that he wasn’t there, his cabin was empty. She didn’t mow where he was or agreed he’d return but it made her nervous after hearing he’d been gone since this morning and still hasn't come back.

She became even more worried as nightfall rolled around and 6 texts and 15 missed calls later she got no response, yet she seemed to be the only one that was worried. Even as she stood in the driveway waiting for her family's car to arrive she would anxiously check her phone every 2 minutes, but still no response.

As their car comes into view she lets out a sigh and slips her phone into her pocket, pulling a smile on her face so that the first thing her parents see is their daughter happy.

“My babyyy.” Her mom almost immediately takes her face into her hands and showers her in kisses once she’s out of the car, all while her father was left alone to take out all of the bags.

“Are you going to do this every time we see each other?” She laughs, a genuine smile finally making its way onto her face as her mom pulls away and goes to help her father.

“As long as you’re in college and we’re far away from each other, I absolutely will.” Her mother responds

“You’re acting as if I’m not one drive away.” She laughs before going over to hug her dad.

“Yes but you aren’t under the same roof anymore.” Her mom responds, with a pout on her lips.

“Still babying her when she’s a grown woman now, even when she’s gone and gotten herself a boyfriend for the first time.” She immediately stiffened at the mention of a boyfriend, she knew that he meant Sunghoon but he was fully under the impression that the two were official, she had forgotten entirely to tell them the two were only dating.

“Boyfriend or not, she's still my baby.”

“Where is that boyfriend of yours anyways?” Her father asks, making her lips press into a thin line.

“Right here. Sorry I’m late, I was running a few last minute errands for Christmas.” At the sound of his voice she breathes a sigh of relief, yet anger and annoyance bubbles over as well. He had ignored every one of her calls and messages the entire day and now he just shows up as if that didn’t happen.

“hooniee!” Junie is the first to greet him, running to him and jumping into his arms as she’d done time and time again when she saw him now.

“Oh my yn he’s so handsome.” Her mom chimes in, playfully nudging her with her elbow.

“Mr and Mrs. l/n I’m sorry it took us this long to meet, I’m Park Sunghoon.” He makes his way over, placing junie down and shaking her father's hands— her mom pouting him in for a hug instead.

He completely dismissed the look of annoyance she’d shot in his direction as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Part of her wanted to melt at his touch but she refused to let him off so easily after he ignored her the entire day and left her worried.

“I’m sorry to cut our conversation short but I’m sure you three want to get inside where it’s warm, do you mind if I steal her away for a second?”

“Nono of course I’m sure we’ll see you both again for tonight's fireworks.” Her mother dismisses the two of them with a smile, the three going inside and disappearing into the lodge.

“Start talking right now, where the fuck have you been?” She spits out angrily, removing his arm from her waist and stepping in front of him.” You don’t call or text, or say anything the entire day, you leave me worried about you and then you just sporadically reappear right when my parents get here and act like nothing happened?”

He opened his mouth to speak but was immediately shut down as she continued on. “What were you thinking leaving and not saying anything to any of us, what was that important that you had to be gone the entire fucking day without any calls or texts what so ever.”

“Are you done my love?”

‘My love’ was two words that made her melt completely, if she wasn’t so angry with him it would have made her putty in his arms, but right now she was far too annoyed with him.

“Don't “my love” me, tell me what was so important that you had to be gone the whole day.”

“I could tell you but, I think It’d be easier to just show you.” Her brows immediately creased together and although she was still pissed at him, she followed suit, unable to go against the need to see why he decided to spend the entire day away from them all.

“Your cabin? If you’re trying to tell me you were in your cabin all day you need to come up with a better lie. I came here to find you and you weren’t…” her words begin to trail off as he pushes the door open and steps out of the way.

The room had been decorated beautifully, aside from the Christmas decorations, the floor had been covered in lavender and white magnolia, her absolute favorite flowers. A trail that led from the door and down the hallway. She turns to look back at him completely stunned and he simply encourages her to go further inside.

She felt the tears getting ready to spill down her face the moment she was enveloped by the warmth of his cabin, her legs felt like jelly as she followed the trail into the bedroom. On his bed sat a bouquet of flowers and a white box. He watched as she stepped close to the bed, her fingers ghosting over the bouquet before she went to reach for the box, wasting no time pulling it open.

Inside the box were three items, three simple items that meant the website world to her the moment her eyes had landed onto them, each of them meant something. A pair of white skates, the exact pair of skates that he’d worn matched and tailored to fit her, A brown zip up jacket that matched the one she’d always worn and she came over to his place (her favorite of his of course), and last a necklace with each of their initials on it, the final straw that made the tears come spilling out.

“I’ve been thinking of all the ways to do this.” He spoke softly, reaching down to grab the necklace from behind her. “You’ve been so patiently waiting for me to ask, and I wanted this moment to be memorable for you.”

She shivers as his fingers brush against her cold skin, moving her hair to one side of her neck he wraps the necklace around before latching it into place.

“I’m sorry that I made you wait so long.” Turning her around he rests one hand on her waist, the other on the back of her neck. “Be mine? My girl, no more going on dates without having you officially be my girlfriend.”

He spoke softly, his thumb gently grazing her cheeks wiping away the tears that occasionally spilled down her face.

He didn’t even have to wait for a response, as an immediate yes spilled from her lips. She hugged him as if her life depended on it, as if this moment would be stolen away like many of their others.

“This is why you were gone..? I got so mad at you and you were out playing all of this?” She sniffles, wiping the rest of the tears from her face as she looks back at the box.

“I knew you’d calm down once you saw the reason that I couldn’t answer, the only person i told was Mari, so she could make sure no one panicked and the three others knew I wasn’t lost in Alaska.” He responds, brushing her hair behind her ear.

“You’re such an asshole I was worried about you all day.” She sighs, slamming a fist against his chest making him laugh.

“Well I’m fine, I just wanted to make sure I didn’t waste anymore time, It needed to happen before Christmas.”

“You missed dinner. There's still a few leftovers but I’d we go now then you can get them before Yeonjun, Jake and Ni ki do.” She takes his hand, preparing to drag him out the room.

“I’m not hungry, I'd rather spend tonight with you.”

“You’re so cheesy.” She teases, wrapping her arms around him.

“You wanted some alone time hm? Now our chance, besides the lakes frozen over and it’s been a while Since we’ve skated together hasn’t it?” He hums and locks their fingers together.

“And no matter how many lessons you’ve given me I’ve somehow not gotten any better.” She lets out a frustrated huff and rests her head against his chest making him laugh.

“Good thing your teacher is pretty patient with his students.” He responds playfully

After helping her lace up her brand new skates, he leads her out to the lake, the night air was crisp and almost froze her out, which was a tell all that the two of them wouldn’t be out there for long.

“Are you sure it’s safe? To skate on this?” She nervously eyes the lake, watching as he steps onto it with ease and skates circles in front of her.

“I wouldn’t put you in danger, it’s perfectly safe, I even tested it out last night while you were with the chefs.”

“You had time to do that and I didn't even notice?” She asks, completely shocked that he had been planning this all, all this time and she hadn't caught on once

“I made sure to take care of it when you are at your busiest. Now c'mon.” He holds out his hand for her to take, though hesitant and still a little worried she places her hand into his and allows him to lead her onto the ice.

Unlike many other times when she’d skated with him or her friends this felt natural. Being with him in that environment, sharing that moment felt right, like the ice was always some place she was meant to be, or maybe she was just always meant to be with him. When she finally eased up and her worries seemed to simmer down entirely the two were all smiles and laughing. Every now then he’d tease her because it seemed she’d somehow gotten worse at skating rather than better, and it eventually encouraged her to try a little harder. She’d gotten good enough to skate on her own but after one or two falls she gave up completely and went back to holding his hand.

When the time hit 11:50 the two of them put away the skates and made their way to the main lodge to join the others.

“Park Sunghoon where the hell have you been.” Jake was the first to notice the trail of them entering, and Sunghoon was immediately bombarded with questions.

Smiling, she decided to slip away from his side and let him deal with the consequences of not having contacted any of them.

“Yn??”

“Sorry but you get what you deserve.” She responds by shrugging her shoulders at him and shooting him a sly smile before going to find the other girls.

“My own girlfriend is leaving me to the wolves.” He mumbles, making all of the commotion cease.

“Did he just say girlfriend?”

Meanwhile the girls had ask been outside gathered around the fire as everyone had been waiting for the firework show at midnight.

“Hello ladies.”

“Oh you seem extra cheerful. I'm assuming Sunghoon finally gave you your gift.” Mari inquires, making the other girls all look at the two of them skeptically.

“Yes I saw everything, how could you keep it a secret from me?” She scrunches up her nose at her before going to take the empty seat next to Jinsoul

“Okay what are we missing here!” Jinsoul and Fatou question, looking back and forth between the two of them.

“You want to tell them or you want me to.”

“Tell us what?”

“I don’t know, maybe that Sunghoon finally asked me to be his girlfriend.” That sentence was like setting off an alarm, it was immediately followed by loud screaming and cheers from the girls. A conversation starter that started endless chatter until the guys had come out to join along with her family and once again Sunghoon had stolen her away.

“You really left me alone to deal with all of them.” He whines. Resting his head against her neck as he held her from behind.

“You survived didn’t you? You dig that grave yourself by not telling any of us anything.” She responds while locking his fingers with the hand that rested on her waist.

“Mm didn’t think It’d end with betrayal from my own girlfriend.” He responds, making her chuckle.

“My poor boyfriend.” She says teasingly. He smiles leaving a loving kiss on her neck and face, only looking up when the fireworks are finally set off.

“Merry Christmas Baby.” He spoke softly, words melting into her ear as the two of them watched the fireworks together.

“Merry Christmas My love.”

RETURN TO MASTERLIST

an: and with this final chapter love on the rink has finally come to an end. Thank you so much to everyone that has read this smau from beginning to end, I hope you enjoyed going on this journey with me. I’m so sad its ending but now with the end of this one I can finally get started on the other members. If you’d like to join the taglist for Ni kis current smau “chrome hearts don’t break” apply to the taglist here

🏷️ @getoxo @planetmarlowe @dreeki @butterflywonz @sol3chu @squiishymeow @jwonistic @nithxhoon @lakoya @iichuuo @letmein2urheart @mitmit01 @enhaz1 @hollxe1 @starbyeol1512 @tinyteezer @jkslvsnella @manobillie @vvenusoncasual @i03jae @blackhairandbangs @sunooqvrlsx @addictedtohobi @gaytron3000 @firstclassjaylee @riribelle @ivyvioletcarson @academiq @claumbeju @bubblytaetae @pkjay @httpenhoon @starniras @semi-wife @nightowlpudding @heartheejake @papichulomacy @celestnlav @50-husbands @kukkurookkoo @neptunediaries @nujeskz @gweoriz @pookalicious-hq @kirakun @kimbottom6969 @i-peachesandstrawberries @rishki @wonzzziezzzz

[snoopyhughes]

to be loved is to be known: Joe burrow

hello and welcome to the next installment of to be loved is to be known. Sweet Joey just makes my heart happy. He is like Quinn a bit to me, not the best with words but will do just about anything to show you just how much he loves you. Apologies for the delay and if this seems choppy, I've been writing this since January LOL. I really wanted to get something out, it's briefly edited but I hope you all love it. 1.1k words, a few mentions of this being a fem!reader

to be loved is to be known...

Joey to me seems like someone who has no idea what to do with all the money he has (i.e. the Batmobile). In his eyes, he has everything he could ever want. Having you and loving you is the only thing he has ever wanted. This means that all he ever wants do is spend his money on YOU. There is absolutely nothing he could ever want more than making you happy. And yes, he knows that money does not buy happiness, but to see the beam in your eyes, the look on your face when he comes home with a new necklace, a pair of shoes you were eyeing, a restock of your favorite perfume, anything to make you happy, he is buying it for you.

You insist that you don't need anything extravagant. That just like him, you have all you could ever want with being able to love him and be with him. Unfortunately, Joe struggles with taking no for an answer when it comes to spoiling you. You technically have a rule that he can only buy you one gift a month because he has the tendency to buy you a gift every time he leaves the house. He doesn't always honor it, but it eases some of the guilt you feel that he probably spends your entire year's salary on gifts for you. Speaking of salaries...

to be loved is to be known...

As mentioned previously, Joe loves to spoil you. When you two had been together for a while and had moved in together, Joe didn't understand why you wanted to continue to work. He was naive and ignorant at the start, and sometimes lacked common sense. However, Joe would never dream of suggesting you quit your job anymore. He knows how much you value your sense of independence and pride as a strong woman and he loves that about you. Whatever you do for work, Joe supports you whole heartedly, through every good day and every bad day.

If you want to start a new business venture, Joe is throwing money at anything you talk about wanting. If you are a teacher, Joe comes in as much as he can to help out with your class, put things up in your classroom, leave treats and flowers in the teachers lounge, and absolutely loves sitting with you on your lunch break. You'd even have a reward called "Lunch with Mrs. and Mr. Burrow" where students can cash in their positive points for a lunch with the two of you. It is without a doubt your most popular prize.

And if you work in the medical field, Joe is constantly praising your hard work and helping you out at home however he can. Joe obviously can't scrub into surgery or help you take vitals, but he can make sure your life at home is as perfect as possible when you get back from a long day. And if the hospital or doctor's office you work at happens to get a large donation from an anonymous donor to build a renovated wing in the department you work in, well Joe is none the wiser.

to be loved is to be known...

I feel like Joe's main love language is quality time. As someone who is away a lot, I feel like he would never take the quality time for granted. Watching movies on the couch, making dinner together, building legos together on a rainy day, reading books side by side and annotating the margins for when you switch books when you're both done. Joe values quality time at home more than he values flashy gifts, and words of affirmation, and even physical touch, although I do think he can be a very touchy lover.

Joe is protective as a lion, but doesn't want to overwhelm you or think he doesn't trust you. He is protective in the subtle ways: walking on the side closest to the street, always holding your purse and being the one to get your drinks at the bar, keeping a soft hand on you at all times to keep you grounded and ensure that you are safe, both physically and emotionally when he is around, especially on nights with the team or at the crowded sporting events he loves. Speaking of...

to be loved is to be known...

Don't even get me started on Joe being with a sporty girl. You could be the most unathletic person on planet Earth, but if you love sports as much as he does, he will fall 100x harder. We all know how much Joe loves football, wrestling, car riding, etc. But if you loved a sport that Joe doesn't know much about, he would take it upon himself to learn every rule, every player on your favorite team, etc. And he doesn't care if that favorite team is in Cincinnati or if it's in California, you will have season tickets and go to as many games as you want. (That's what he has the private jet for, of course.)

to be loved is to be known...

Not to make this all about money and gifts (although Joe has the most money of any athlete I've ever followed lol), but I know Joe truly is a laidback person who values quality time and quality relationships more than any flashy car or thousand dollar outfit. He just wants to make you happy, however that may be. Neither of you need expensive gifts, or lavish date nights. All that matters to both of you is that you get to spend quality time together.

While he can be a flashy person, I think Joe also loves in a quiet way. Washing the sheets for you and making the bed because he knows you hate it, having food made for you when you get home from work on his off day, keeping your gas tank filled at all times and having his card linked to all of your shopping and food apps, making sure you are the most comfortable as you can be at his games, even if that means watching at home, wrapped up on the couch with the dog. Joe's life has become flashy, one for the cameras and spotlight, but none of that matters to him at the end of the day. What matters most to him is making you happy and seeing you smile everyday. I truly believe when he finds the person he loves the most in this world, he would give up anything if it meant he could make them happy. Joe is a fierce lover who would do anything for his loved ones, and I don't think that would stop at all when it comes to a partner, I think it would intensify.

[fairestbeard]

Why Fakrichie makes sense

I know when a lot of people in the bear fandom think about Neil Fak and Richie, they think comedically sexually charged banter but not actual flirting or possible romance.

One of the reasons is probably because Neil is accidentally a little bit annoying even though he is written to be a kind of comic relief character - a little bit cute, a little bit (or a lot) stupid and a little bit useful. Some people find his stereotypical-ness a little bit much and it doesn't help that he goes around complicating a certain matter.

The other reason, and I know a lot of people will hate to admit it, is the aesthetics of it. What it looks like. It's an unusual sight for a guy like Richie to be smitten with a guy like Neil Fak even in the queer world and especially in media and this is exactly why I eat it up.

1. Because woke

(Richie breaking the 4th wall for the first time while making his infamous announcement to the Ball Breaker nerds)

I love wokeness. I love woke shit. I love inclusion. I want to see all types of people and all forms of (adult and consenting) relationships on my screen. With Fakrichie, as with Sydcarmy, I know that the unspoken sentiments and unacknowledged theatrics of desirability politics is always obviously in play in different forms. And just so you know, everything is political. Everything you see in media plays a political role and there's no such thing as leave politics out of it (for those getting ready to yell at me lol).

I've always read Richie's announcement to the nerds as a way to subliminally convey to the public that some wokeness is going to go down on the show. Calling out the incel, 4chan, Snydercut crowd who it is anticipated would naturally be a part of the audience in that manner couldn't have been for nothing on a show where every interaction has several layers of meaning under the surface. It is also very interesting to me that this announcement was made by the most reddit bro-y character on the show as at the time and still current messiah of the reddit bros. Talk about a perfect messenger.

The general assumption is that Jess is the one and obvious choice for Richie. This is because people tend to naturally favour more heteronormative relationships and Jess is the only woman Richie has really had a close friendly interaction with apart from ladies of the bear family. Also he's been known to be in and pursue relationships with women.

And Jess is fine. She's beautiful, intelligent, ambitious, driven, kind and all the good stuff. If it is the story they want to tell, it makes sense. It is perfectly normal and interesting. They fit aesthetically in the desirability hierarchy of things which makes them acceptable to the wider audience and there's nothing wrong with being acceptable.

However, personally, I don't think that is Richie's story. It's a good story but I don't buy it. Interestingly, the possibility of Richie and Fak being genuinely into each other is never brought up in mainstream discussions and even any suggestion is dismissed even though these two have had very sexually charged interactions throughout the seasons. Everyone just assumes they can't be doing anything else but trying to be funny. Because Fak is the exact stereotype of the fat, gluttonous, idiot comic relief character.

But what if they're not?

2. Richie is written as a queer character

You can't pay attention to Richie, in my opinion, and not see that this guy has a little sugar in his tank. I wouldn't imagine there's a lot of people who see Richie as a straight guy (except his subjects on reddit). I know I've seen a few posts and comments on other platforms pegging him as bisexual at least.

Richie is written as a common trope in my opinion. He is the queer guy whose struggle and character arc is based on his identity. He has built his entire identity around things that can be taken away from him but who is he, really? When you take away his being Mickey's best friend and Tiff's (ex) husband and Eva's dad, who is he? He keeps trying to hold onto being a fringe Berzatto and the ex who wouldn't let go or the dad who wonders if he is enough of a dad because deep down he has a hard time accepting himself for him. He is all of those things but his struggle to define himself based on these things points to a struggle to accept himself as something else that is a crisis for him.

He is portrayed initially as a homophobic and sexist character all the while displaying very homoerotic behavior. He seems very strangely fixated on Fak, showing very aggressive homophobic and simultaneously homoerotic displays to him. He's is a very old and unpopular queer trope; the guy who struggles with his sexual identity and manifests it as a violent aggression towards the person he's most attracted to. Even his baseline bodily mannerisms and the way he carries himself subtly hint that he's a little sweet on the inside even as he tries his hardest to display classic toxic masculinity on the outside.

3. The material is there

Even as we sydcarmys scream that the crumbs for that romance has been strewn around since S1, this has also been happening for Fakrichie. The same way a lot of people never see Fak as a viable love interest is the same way a lot of people deny seeing it with Syd. It's a classic desexualization of certain characters on TV as a way to diminish their personhood. Even sydcarmys are guilty of this as well and vice versa, because there are layers and filters to desirability politics and what is being perceived and allowed in media.

Richie is strangely obsessed with Neil Fak in my opinion. He zeros in on him once he's mentioned in the episode, eavesdrops on his conversation with Marcus, sexually harasses and bullies him (think Adam and Eric in Sex Education), singles him out unprovoked when Carmy is telling the story about the scar he got on Mickey's 15th birthday, works with him on fixing the machine in the S1 finale with all that flirty compliment Fak was giving him about getting stabbed.

We see him bring Neil along as he improves on his own lifestyle, getting him to not say the banned words, making him wear suits like him and being sweeter and more encouraging to him as he learns to be a better person himself. He defends Neil when he makes the hilarious mirepoix mistake during service. All in all, this could be explained as him having a soft spot for Fak.

The curious case of Phil

This is the scene where I firmly clocked Richie as queer. There is a scene that is never explained further in Dogs (an episode which I find very exposing for both Carmy and Richie).

Remember this guy?

Phil.

There was never a real explanation for why this very short but insanely odd and charged interaction took place. The way this guy came by and made Richie clearly uncomfortable- calling him by his full name "Richard", the only time anyone ever called him that on the show with Richie mumbling a response not wanting to engage with him.

He looks clearly hurt by Richie's lack of acknowledgement and very abruptly walks away

Cicero of course notices the strangeness of the interaction and comments as much wondering whether Richie had ruined any of his property with his neglectfulness which Richie jumps on and explains in terms of what was happening between him and Cicero at that moment. What Richie never actually does is answer honestly what the real deal actually was between him and that guy. He just deflects.

Richie is been known to love to squabble. He's not afraid to get in a fight with anyone especially guys like him. But this guy? Crickets. He couldn't wait for him to get out of there. Why was that?

For me I read it as him encountering someone he had a secret with. He wouldn't acknowledge him because he wasn't ready to deal with that side of his identity. The DL queer man. If he had tried to have a conversation with him it probably would have been too obvious so he avoids it and so does the show.

Another thing I noticed was how the guy looked. Does he bear a resemblance to anyone else on the show? The chubby guy with a mustache? To me he looks like Fak in another font. Just a cleaner, more put together and a thinner version of Neil Fak. So not only that Richie might like men, he might actually have a type LOL.

I'm even suspicious of this interaction

I feel like it was awkward and charged for no reason. The way this guy kept beating around the bush with the subject as if he was going to say something more serious, only ending up just saying that he should have given Richie a heads up? The conversation felt like a waste of time to me (the only interaction I hated more than Claire's) which is why I started overthinking it. I feel like more was being said than what was said. I feel like they know each other way more than what is being shown here.

There may have been a hint that the Berzattos know him a little more than just the guy Tiff got with after Richie. Their relationship with Frank seems to go way beyond that based on this little sneak (now, of course, it could be a different person but what are the odds?)

However, whatever extent to this relationship is not known. In fact, the history of Richie and Tiff's relationship has been neglected through the storyline and that might throw some light on this. But the conversation feels weird to me. The way it seemed like Frank had more to say and Richie had his guard fully up. Frank commenting about his looks in the middle of this "important" conversation. He was talking to Richie like he knew him differently to what was assumed all along. Cornplating? Maybe. But it still seemed very strange and left a lot to be seen.

All of this is to say that there's enough material to explore Richie's arc as a queer man coming into himself and finding love in a relationship that has been there and has been fleshing out under the surface. Classic slow burn style.

4. Subverting tropes and stereotypes

A trope is a plot structure, theme, storyline, character trait, motif, or plot device that is commonly used in storytelling.

There are a million tropes you can find in the storytelling of The Bear. They deliberately lean in ever so slightly into those tropes with the aim of subverting, upholding, subverting the subversions and so on and so forth. There's so much going on in there.

The characters are also very archetypal, as expected, with some leaning ever so slightly into the stereotypical. Now the problem with stereotypes is not the image in itself, because characters like these actually exist, but in the perception and subsequent flattening of whole groups to that image, making the stereotype.

Not to wax too academical about it, I'm trying to say, for example, fat gluttonous goofy people do exist but fat people do not exist solely to be gluttonous and goofy. And there are many iterations of this but I want to focus on the fatphobia of it all and Fak for now.

Society and media has made fat people a subject of derision and the butt of jokes. It's like they exist in media only to make people laugh and to be laughed at, so much so that they almost have no value as anything else. You see a fat person on your screen, you instinctively expect them to be comic relief. Then especially when they fit that bill, it is almost an absolute impossibility to also see them as people who could be an object of desire or adoration.

Sydcarmy has received pushback from the media simply because, in as much as they deny it, they can see the potential of them breaking out of a particular trope they love to see with a black female lead. They write unnecessary think pieces waxing lyrical about the beauty of complex platonic relationships because they do not want to see Syd as an object of Carmy's desire. They have to do this because one thing they can't deny is that Syd is objectively beautiful and believable as desirable.

But with Fakrichie, it's absolute crickets. I haven't even seen a just for fun article about the chemistry between them and if it means something, haha. And this is even after Ebon has kissed Matty on live television!! It's like Fak doesn't even exist. I saw a random post talking about the brotherly love between Richie and Fak and they didn't mean the Philadelphia kind. Sure, they've joked about "calling mom" and all that but I doubt (normal) brothers want to dry hump each other in the bathroom.

Now I'm not saying Fakrichie is absolutely a thing or have to be. Maybe all he's meant to be is a fat gluttonous goofy character. Maybe Storer meant for him solely to be a joke as per usual. Maybe all that flirting and tenderness is meant to be for the laughs after all, because fat people amarite?

But imagine if it wasn't a joke. Imagine if Storer set this up to shake things up by making them real lovers. Imagine if a character can be fat and even goofy and still be an object of desire and adoration to another objectively beautiful main character. Imagine if this wasn't some fucked up queer bait (maybe alongside an equally fucked up straight bait) but a real slow burn love story simultaneously happening.

Goofy? Nah, I think, iconic!

[bluevaractyl]

Why yes I did! Here is a link to basically me asking this exact same question, though in hindsight a lot of my confusion stemmed from the fact that the version I was playing had been remastered to be bigger, greener, and include stuff like wading through rivers and lakes, so take it with a large grain of salt. I was new to this. I'll share what I've learned since.

First, depicting LoZ and AoL's era this way is not a new thing. Probably the best portrayal I have ever read comes from this fic written in 2013, which does a fantastic job of capturing the atmosphere of the game. The wasteland image been made popular by shared fanon, of course, but it does have some basis in game canon. Below is original official art for AoL. Notice the dead tree and the red skies.

Link's first adventure is somewhat lonely. The entirety of LoZ occurs in the southwest of Hyrule. At that point in time, there are no settlements in that area. The only hylians you meet live in hidden caves and hollow trees. They offer Link a sword, sell items for rupees, give cryptic advice, and scold him for breaking down their doors. He also encounters moblin(s) who offer him free rupees. While there aren't any towns, there is a very large graveyard. Some areas have green forests, but in others, the trees are brown. There are fairy fountains. One fountain has no fairies and instead is patrolled by monsters; this one is the entrance to a dungeon. Link can't go in the water.

Six years later, Link sets out on his second adventure. AoL covers a significantly larger area, which includes seven well-populated towns. Again, some of the people are friendly and helpful, and some are kind of rude. A couple of the towns have been infiltrated by monsters that lie in wait for Link. Link is an outsider; to cross the bridge to go south, he must have one of the town folk vouch for him. One of the towns was entirely destroyed and rebuilt in a well-hidden location. The ruins are haunted.

It is worth noting what has changed between the two games. The merchants, old men and women, and moblin(s) have disappeared from the area south of Death Mountain. It is still possible to find fairies, but anything resembling a fairy fountain is gone. Link no longer has rupees or people willing to sell to him. The monsters used to roam the overworld somewhat aimlessly, only attacking Link when they spotted him, but now they actively seek him out, and every time he leaves the safety of the road, they close in.

Speaking of roads, both games have a distinct lack of travelers. Link meets one townsperson in a cabin in the woods, and he rescues a child who was kidnapped by monsters, but he never encounters a hylian on the road. He also never runs into any ordinary animals, domestic or otherwise. There are no horses, cows, cuccos, dogs, cats, monkeys, pigs, fish, frogs, or rabbits. What creatures there are tend to be hostile and unnatural. Perhaps more concerning, none of the other peoples of Hyrule are seen. There are no deku scrubs, gerudo, gorons, kokiri, minish, or rito. There are river zora, but they appear as mindless enemies—first attacking Link from the water, and later only on land. Something must have driven them from the rivers. Perhaps whatever keeps Link from swimming corrupted them.

This Hyrule has a lot of graveyards. Most games in the series have at least one or two, but AoL has three massive graveyards, plus the smaller ones found in the towns. It gives the world a very haunting feeling. What happened here? With no animals and no sign of farmland, famine seems likely. It also could have been monsters or illness, or most likely a combination of all three. This era does follow the Era of Decline, so there are a lot of possibilities. Some of my absolute favorite AoL art captures the atmosphere of the graveyards. Also, the grey graveyard from LoZ in the fourth image below is that tiny square graveyard in the third image, which gives you a sense of the scale of the first one, which is huge.

The land is varied and beautiful in its own way, but it is definitely dangerous. The deserts do have cacti, as you noted above, but the manual notes, "There are also places where the winds are strong and small stones fly around," which I've interpreted to mean they are prone to dust storms. It usually takes less than a second for monsters to appear when I step off the road, and they move a lot faster than Link. Traveling in the wilderness is a trial. The farther you go from the North Castle, the higher the stakes are for messing up and the farther you tend to be from a town. And the stakes are very high.

Some headcanons to fill the gaps:

Between LoZ and AoL, the monsters rallied from Ganon's defeat and started seeking out the Hero so they could resurrect their master. The area south of Death Mountain became too dangerous for anyone to live in, and those hylians either moved to the towns or were killed. The secret moblin's treachery may have been discovered. Monsters may have overhunted the animals, or they might have all been corrupted by Ganon's power. It is not a far stretch to say the townspeople are under a lot of stress, and when things start getting worse again, it's easy to find someone to blame. Link defeated Ganon, but it didn't fix everything. With monsters hunting him, and even impersonating townspeople to get at him, I think it would be only natural for the people to become wary of his presence, and perhaps even openly hostile.

The manuals makes Hyrule sound like a beautiful place, but I sort of read that as reminiscing on when it was. The AoL manual also talks of the "power that the vile heart of Ganon had left behind." The corrupting effect of dark power, and the impact of monsters on the land, are well-established through the series. Demise and his minions "burnt forests to ash, choked the land's sweet springs, and murdered without hesitation." OoT's Ganondorf turned Castle Town into a ghost town inhabited by redead. Zant used Ganon's power to turn people into monstrous beasts and shroud the land in darkness. Malice and gloom harm people and are avoided by animals, and they cover the land like tar and fill the air with miasma. Malice can possess divine creatures and technology. Monsters in BotW hunt animals and leave heaps of refuse wherever they camp. All this to say, I don't think the little kingdom of Hyrule is in as good of shape as the bright colors would suggest.

I think canon nudged us in this direction, intentionally or not, and we ran with it. Writing it as a post-apocalyptic world is fun, after all.

Most LoZ AUs with this Link take place after AoL, so it is up to you how Hyrule is doing by then. Perhaps the monsters are finally gone, trade is in full swing, and the land is flourishing. Or maybe not. I write for LU, and for me, the land had been recovering, but the Shadow has been empowering monsters and making them bolder, so things have started to look uncertain again, and the people have noticed. There are plenty of directions to go with it. If you'd like to write this Hyrule as green and beautiful and full of life, go for it! I hope this helped explain a little of where the popular depictions came from, but you certainly aren't bound to follow them.

Genuine question for people who write fanfiction taking place in the time period of NES The Legend of Zelda or Zelda 2: Adventure of Link (the era of LU Hyrule):

Why is this version of Hyrule in fanfiction so often portrayed as a wasteland? Where did people get the idea that the water is poisoned and wildlife is barely surviving? Is there something I'm missing? Please let me know. (Non-fanfiction writers can answer, too.)

The color palette in those games might be a little odd, but I always thought the land looked beautiful. Lots of green forests and blue bodies of water. Is there somewhere that says the water is poisoned?

I was rereading the manual for LoZ and found this:

They called it "a beautiful and natural world." The paragraph also talks about good-natured people, which brings me to the question about how fanfic writers also seem to portray towns in this world to be hostile, when from what I've seen of gameplay, they are sources of healing and respite, with people just going about their daily lives. I have a feeling the hostile people are written that way because of the "monsters out for his literal blood" thing. But they seem no more or less friendly than NPCs in other eras. A little curt, due to the character limit and weird translation, but helpful.

Here are some more pictures:

Above map source: Daniel Engel

Even the desert has greenery. It's a desert, but not a wasteland.

I always feel weird asking this, as if I'm a desperate YouTuber or something, but I'd appreciate reblogs so I can get a larger variety of responses. My blog is pretty small. ❤️

[darlingdream1010]

Ghost Biology- day 29

Danny has pursued his dreams the most realistic way he can. He’s not an astronaut, but he studies things that are strange and not of this world. In a way, he’s got a piece of space right in front of him, at his beck and call.

For some reason, Danny feels like it isn’t from space at all…

It squirms in the small testing plate, pushing and shoving against the ceiling like a rabid animal trying to get at him.

Danny looks at it with calculating concern. He knows it’s dangerous. Other scientists do dangerous things as well. Usually, they do it with each other. A team.

Danny, he works alone.

-

“Hey Dan’, can you pass me one of those turkey sandwiches?” A coworker calls from one of the break room tables.

Danny flinched at his choice of nickname. There’s no real reason why he should dislike it. So he stays silent.

He picks up the sandwich the man wants, his fingers splayed mostly on the wrapper part of it. Yet, when he hands it over, his colleague—no, the scientist, looks at him with contempt.

What did I do to wrong?

He’s resisted asking that question for a while now, but maybe it’s his old rebellious teenage self coming back to haunt him.

“Eh…you know, you can just have that one.” He’s glaring at Danny’s fingers.

He looks down.

Just one. Just his pinky. It’s touching the sandwich bread.

“O-oh, I washed my hands, of course.”

“No, no, it’s not that.”

It is.

Danny feels something churn in his stomach. He takes the sandwich for himself—he likes turkey—and goes to eat alone. That means taking the nearest table and watching everyone else leave it.

In their hurry to get away from him, they block his view of the other scientist. The other scientist, who, try as he might, cannot get his hand to pick up a sandwich without it falling right through.

-

Someone’s building a research team again.

It’s an exciting question they’re investigating; everyone in the labs are buzzing about. All are vying for a spot.

Danny doesn’t volunteer, nor does he get asked.

What they do is whisper.

“Not picked again? Must be because he’s cursed…”

“I heard he isn’t cursed, but something inhuman entirely.”

“Someone who used to work hear called him the Banshee.”

In the daylight, he ignores the rumors dutifully. Deep breaths and factual thoughts push away the doubt.

Danny is human. He studies things that aren’t.

I am human.

-

It’s when his vision is blurry and his mind is swimming on one of those nights where the whispers torment him, that a new piece to study arrives. It lays in his curled fist. He takes it in like treasure worth millions. Strokes it curiously.

A lock of glowing white hair, splattered with a bit of blood.

Overcome with excitement, he jumps from the stiff cot he sleeps in. Danny hurries to his station in the middle of the night, eager to prove himself useful. Even if he does it alone it is still possible he could make history…!

It is at this dreadful hour. When he tests the hair and compares it to human hair—his own—and with the green goo he has acquired. Just like he does every night he gets another piece to study, he remembers.

He sees the irregular DNA intertwining with the human. It does not matter which of the three specimen he sees it in, because the answer is the same.

Danny Phantom is no longer a child, but he can never escape being a ghost.

The knowledge breaks him, making him sob uncontrollably and tear out his hair. The white and black hairs grace the floor like feathers.

The sounds of grief and confusion echo hauntingly down the halls. The sounds reach scientists working late into the night, but they are familiar with it now. Only the newest members fret. It will only fuel another wave of ostracization. Whispers. Rumors. Even laughter.

Danny realizes this as well, and he falls to his knees.

After all he fought for in his hometown…then, everything he escaped for… The only thing he had left was his chance to pursue something at least close to his lifelong dream. There was no more Jazz, or Sam, or Tucker. Just foolish little Danny thinking he could make friends here. Heal here, perhaps. But—

He was not welcome.

He worked hard.

He worked late.

He slept here.

He did his best.

What did I do wrong?

Tears burned hot trails down his cheeks.

The comprehension that he will never have the one thing he wants, the thing he’d fought for as a kid, because he does not deserve it—does not deserve to be treated like a human. It tears the little boy inside of him apart.

-

Nocturne takes pity on him and welcomes him into the realm of dreams.

Similarly, his ghost half does its best to grant him his pitiful wish. It cannot kill itself, but he can pretend. Curling in the dusty depths of his minds eye, where even the sun will not see it—

-

And so he wakes up to do it all again, with no mind of the events of the night before…

[honkshoo-zzz]

carlos and jill, the goobers and my beloveds (more doodles under the cut)

sometimes u gotta put ur big macho blorbo in stripper clothes n pleasers just to feel something

[longagoitwastuesday]

Every day I am haunted by the fact JJK could be amazing but it will be just idk Bleach or something

[camgoloud]

you ever just. become overwhelmed by a sudden out-of-nowhere wave of tenderness and affection and longing for reconnection directed towards someone to whom you no longer speak for Very Good Reasons

[neon-danger]

call me crazy but I don’t hate the umbrella academy season 4

[lesbiansanemi]

Watching currently airing doctor who and then going back to watch doctor who from 2006 is genuinely jarring oh my god

[salvadorbonaparte]

I am really not in the mood for my own graduation next month and having to meet my cohort and lecturers again (who are all lovely but I'm an envious bitch who is really not dealing well with everyone else thriving) but not going is also not an option

[samuraisharkie]

never truly got the phrase “knot in my stomach” until recently where it feels like my stomach has managed to tie itself into a certifiable Sailor Proof knot that refuses to get undone and hurt like fuckin hell. Extremely high levels of stress plus period plus physical issues equals very very bad time

[blythesarchives]

Sugar Plums. | W.S

summary: The soldier has an attachment to you.

warnings: Suggestive 18+ MDNI & Fluff | Fem!reader | Winter Soldier!Bucky | Brief mentions of PTSD | Brief talk of HYDRA | Heavy petting | Love biting/hickeys

a/n: This came to me randomly but thought it was cute and somewhat spicy. I added some fluff to balance it all out and tried to keep the sexy scenes sweet too. I see so many fics of him being super aggressive in bed and those are great, but for me I think he'd be a little more like this. Takes place after the events of CA:TWS. Contains roughly translated Russian, native speakers can correct me if anything was translated wrong. Ty. ;; wc: 5.5k

It was so awkward.

Everyone sat frozen in place, their eyes locked on the imposing figure of the Winter Soldier as he towered behind you, his piercing blue eyes methodically scanning the room and studying each occupant with an intensity that made them shift uncomfortably in their seats.

"Absolutely not!" Tony was the first to break the suffocating silence, his voice sharp and decisive as he beat Steve to speaking by a mere second. There was absolutely no way he would even consider allowing the fist of HYDRA to take up residence in his tower, treating him like he was nothing more than some lost stray that needed sheltering. "He's not staying here, no way in hell - this isn't a halfway house for reformed assassins."

"Tony, come on. HYDRA is gone, their control over him is broken," you reasoned desperately, your voice taking on a pleading tone as you gestured toward the silent figure behind you, "He's been surviving on his own for weeks, barely getting by. Just look at him...he's exhausted, malnourished, and clearly needs somewhere safe to stay and recover."

"Uh, how about no?" Tony fired back, staring at you like you had grown a second head...or like you had a towering sleeper soldier looming behind you.

Tony wasn't your favorite person in the world, but he was usually somewhat reasonable.

"There's absolutely no way that he's staying here. Have you completely lost your mind? What if he suddenly snaps or loses control and goes completely berserk, hm? What if one night those sleeper triggers buried in his brain suddenly activate and he systematically takes us out one by one in our sleep?" Tony added emphatically, his hands gesturing wildly in the air as he attempted to visualize the gruesome scenarios playing out in his mind.

"Your state-of-the-art security cameras can't give us a heads up before that happens?" You asked with dry sarcasm, your tone deliberately flat and unimpressed, clearly making a joke while you tried to find some kind of middle ground that would get the agitated, self-proclaimed playboy to calm down and think rationally.

"No chance in hell, sweet cheeks," he folded his arms and glared at you with sternness that etched across his features. "Too dangerous."

"He's staying, whether you like it or not," you replied in the same unwavering tone, standing your ground with resolute conviction. "He's hurt, weak, completely vulnerable. There's absolutely nothing he could possibly do in this state. He needs somewhere warm and safe to stay, especially since he's been struggling to survive out on the streets for weeks now. Besides, winter is coming fast and there’s no way he won’t get hypothermia or something." You added with concern, knowing full well that while the soldier hadn't been entirely helpless during his ordeal, he certainly hadn't managed to secure any kind of stable shelter.

His temporary refuges consisted only of cold spaces beneath bridges, dark corners tucked away in forgotten alleys, or the remains of abandoned buildings - not a single place where he could truly let his guard down or feel protected from the harsh elements. With winter's rapid approach and already light dustings of snow, the temperatures would only get more brutal as the nights went on.

You continued to argue with Tony, Steve butting in every so often, luckily siding with you, desperate to have his old friend somewhere safe. It was a long, frustrating argument that lasted much longer than need be.

Earlier that day, while you had been making your way down the frost-covered street of New York's downtown district, his eyes had caught sight of your familiar form. Something deep within him told him to follow you, a magnetic pull that he couldn't explain. He obeyed the instinct, trailing silently behind you all the way back to the tower. When you finally became aware of his presence, he was thoroughly drenched from the steadily falling snow, his cheeks and nose having turned a bright, rosy color from the biting cold as he tried to suppress his constant shivering.

The moment you made your sudden turn to approach him, he visibly startled, immediately taking a defensive step backward as his mind raced through all the possible scenarios and potential threats. His eyes darted across your face with obvious wariness as you fully turned to face him, his entire body subtly shifting its weight from foot to foot, muscles tensed and ready to bolt away.

"It's okay...you look cold..." You spoke softly, your voice barely above a whisper, trying not to startle him as you took in his disheveled appearance. The soldier, the one whose face had practically been plastered across every news channel, the same one Steve had spoken about with such raw emotion in his voice.

You remembered how Steve had mourned his best friend, utterly confused and devastated about why he had saved from the river, while Bucky fell to what should have been his death. Steve held onto that grief, that guilt, like a lifeline. He held onto it so desperately, clinging to the faintest hope that a sliver of Bucky was still somewhere deep inside the persona of the Winter Soldier.

Looking at him now, you couldn't see any trace of the man from Steve's stories - the soldier's eyes were too wild and wide, filled with fear and confusion.

But despite everything you'd heard, despite the destruction you'd witnessed on the news, despite the intense warnings from everyone in the tower, there was something about his presence that didn't trigger your fight or flight response.

He didn't make you feel unsafe.

He looked absolutely beat down, exhausted to his very core, his shoulders slumped in a way that made you wonder when he'd last had a moment's rest. You weren't even sure he could take you down if he tried in this state, though you knew his reputation suggested otherwise. He was shaking from the cold air as it blew in a stinging breeze, his metal arm gleaming dully in what little light remained, while the incoming winter storm brought with it a thick haze and countless tiny pinpricks of needle-like snowflakes that seemed to cut through the air.

"Come inside with me, I'll take care of you." You offered quietly, your voice gentle and reassuring as you extended your hand towards him. Your body language remained open and non-threatening, shoulders relaxed and posture deliberately casual to help put him at ease and to show him you felt no fear.

After a few silent moments where his piercing blue eyes studied you through the thick haze, he finally shifted his weight forward and took a step in your direction.

The water in the shower had set a steady steam in the bathroom, the mirror had fogged and the tiles sweat below your bare feet.

You could hear the gentle splashing of water against the bathtub as he cleaned himself. The mechanical whirring of his metal arm caught your attention, hopefully that thing was waterproof, but it must be, right?

After setting out a fresh towel and clean clothes for his use, you quietly excused yourself to provide him with privacy. The state of his current attire was awful, every piece was thoroughly saturated and carried an unmistakable stench that made you wrinkle your nose. The clothes were in such poor condition that you couldn't help but wonder if they had been scavenged from someone who no longer needed them.

You wouldn’t put it past the soldier to steal from a cadaver.

His shower routine was notably brief, years of conditioning taught him to minimize the time spent on his personal care. Upon finishing, he emerged from behind the curtain and efficiently dried himself with the provided towel. His gaze fell upon the fresh clothes you had thoughtfully placed by the sink, while his previous garments had been discreetly removed.

The soldier hesitated momentarily before donning the clean outfit. It wasn’t anything fancy, a pair of grey sweatpants emblazoned with the Avenger's logo along the side and a simple yet comfortable black tank top. When he finally emerged from the bathroom to face you, his body language betrayed his uncertainty as he stood there, not sure what to do now. Comfort was completely foreign to him, and care was a dream away.

"Tony finally gave in," you replied softly, your voice sounded in the quiet stillness of the bedroom. "He said you could stay here with us."

He remained motionless, his expression blank and unreadable as he stood there, offering neither response nor the slightest hint of acknowledgement to your words. You weren’t sure what to expect but that seemed pretty in character for him at the moment.

"You'll be staying in my quarters since no one else is comfortable having you in their space just yet...but don't worry too much about that," you reassured gently, though you could tell from his demeanor that others' opinions held little weight in his mind. "They'll come around after some time, I'm sure of it."

His gaze fixed upon you then, his brow creasing ever so slightly with an unspoken question as he began to move. Each step was deliberate and measured as he crossed the room, closing the distance between you until he stood directly in front of you, close enough that you could see the water droplets from his freshly washed hair beading at the ends and falling onto the fabric of your top, leaving dark spots where they landed.

"Everything's going to be fine," you said with gentle reassurance, trying to ease the tension in the air. "Why don't we head to the kitchen and get you something to eat? You must be hungry." You offered, hoping to bring some normalcy to the situation.

The soldier shadowed your every movement, following closely behind like a faithful companion who refused to stray from their master's side.

Upon entering the expansive kitchen, you immediately made your way to the industrial-sized refrigerator, searching through its contents for something suitable to offer him. The kitchen was perpetually stocked to the brim with an array of foods, snacks, and ingredients, practically anything one could imagine or desire. It was like having a private, fully-stocked grocery store.

Though with a the ravenous super soldier with enhanced metabolism, the mighty Asgardian god whose appetite matched his status, and Banner's surprisingly hulk-ish consumption…the team still depleted their food with an efficiency that would put a pack of famished wolves to shame.

"Hm...what should you have...do you want anything specific?" You turned over your shoulder to address him, but he maintained his characteristic silence. Unmoving, and completely stoic, like a statue carved from marble.

"Нет [No]," came his quiet response, the Russian word rolling off his tongue deeply. He remained perfectly still, observing with careful attention as you continued your search through the refrigerator's contents, trying to determine what would be most appropriate for him to eat. Your mind was working quickly, knowing you wanted to avoid anything too time-consuming to prepare. You wanted to get some food into him sooner rather than later.

"How about...I could make some soup real quick? Tomato and grilled cheese might be a safe option for you. Shouldn't upset your stomach too much if you haven’t been eating a lot, and it will warm you up if you're still feeling cold." You turned back toward him once more, studying his features carefully for any hint of reaction or preference to your suggestion, any subtle change in his expression.

But, he didn't provide even the slightest indication of his feelings.

You decided on tomato soup and a grilled cheese anyway, you figured it was best and immediately set to work in the kitchen.

Although you typically prided yourself on preparing meals completely from scratch, this particular circumstance called for something different. You assembled the sandwich, buttering the bread before placing it in a heated pan to get a golden-brown crust while keeping a watchful eye on the pot of soup simmering beside it, occasionally stirring for even heating.

Once everything reached the perfect temperature and consistency, you transferred the meal onto clean dishes, relieved it didn’t take too long. You presented him with the steaming bowl of soup and perfectly grilled sandwich, watching as the soldier deliberately took his place at the counter, his eyes fixed intently on the rising steam from the bowl before him.

You watched him, noting how his entire body remained unnaturally rigid and motionless, as though every muscle was locked in place and braced for something. His lips bore a slight sheen of moisture, like he had licked them at some point when you weren't watching. Yet despite his obvious hunger, he hadn't made even the slightest attempt to reach for the food. His eyes held intense longing and hesitation, briefly meeting yours before quickly darting away, as if making eye contact was somehow forbidden.

"What's wrong?" You asked with growing concern etched across your features, "You're hungry aren't you? I can tell you haven't eaten in a while. Especially not anything warm, at least. I know it can be hard out there, all by yourself…"

His response came in the form of an almost imperceptible nod, his gaze remaining firmly fixed on the bowl and sandwich before him, as though they were the most important and most dangerous objects in the room.

"So why aren't you eating? The food's getting cold, it won’t be as good if it cools too much."

"Я не могу совершить действие без приказа. [I cannot perform an action without an order]," the soldier responded in barely more than a whisper, his voice carrying the weight of years of conditioning.

You stood there, completely lost in the language barrier between you. Your limited knowledge of Russian extended only to the most basic words - 'да' and 'нет' - leaving you clueless by his response and worried about the implications of his behavior.

You didn't want to wake Natasha, even though she would certainly understand what he was saying in Russian, but disturbing her sleep for something as simple as a quick translation seemed unnecessary and might put her in a bad mood. Instead, an idea popped into your head that would avoid an angry widow. You reached for your phone and placed it on the smooth counter surface, navigating to a translator app before looking up at him again. "Can you repeat that?"

The soldier's eyes flickered briefly to the phone screen, taking in the sight of the translation app with what seemed like recognition, before his gaze deliberately returned to the untouched food laid out before him. "I cannot perform an action without an order," he stated in perfect, albeit mechanical English this time.

You blinked in surprise, thoroughly caught off guard by the sudden switch to English when he had been persistently speaking Russian up until this point. "Okay...well...eat then, you can eat freely here, you don't need an order to do that." You slowly tucked your phone away into your pocket as his right hand gradually lifted from where it had been resting in his lap, reaching out to pick up the sandwich.

You weren't sure what you were expecting, but he wolfed down his food within a minute, that sandwich was gone within maybe three bites. The soup swallowed just as fast.

God, he was starving, and the realization made your heart ache.

"Better?" You asked gently, to which he only nodded, swallowing the last of the food in his mouth.

This became routine, the soldier stuck by your side like a duckling imprinting on its mother.

He followed you diligently around every corner of the tower, his protective instincts activated as he positioned himself like an ever-vigilant guardian. His eyes constantly scanned the surroundings, noting how others would cast uncertain and sometimes suspicious glances in his direction.

These looks made him increasingly self-conscious and anxious, as though he were some exotic creature put on display at a zoo for others to gawk at. But in your presence, he seemed a bit more at ease. He genuinely liked being around you.

Gradually, the rigid tension that had defined his existence began to melt away, and he started allowing more intimate gestures of care. He let you gently brush his unruly hair into place, carefully wash his face with warm water, or trim his growing stubble for him.

He accepted these tender ministrations without the slightest resistance or complaint, though a nagging worry lingered in your mind that his compliance stemmed from years of conditioning to submit to others' wishes. Each time you worried about that, you’d see a genuine warmth and contentment in his gaze rather than submission, showing you that he truly found comfort and pleasure in your gentle touch.

It was evening, the room reflected the warm glow of festive holiday lights emanating from a miniature Christmas tree nestled in the corner. The soldier found himself transfixed by the small decorated tree, his eyes lingering on each twinkling light as their vibrant colors danced and shimmered. The sterile, monotonous walls he had grown accustomed to during his confinement were nothing compared to the colorful lights. The gentle play of red, green, and gold seemed to awaken something long dormant within him, he almost wanted to plant himself in front of the tree and just stare at it.

Tony may have allowed his stay, but that didn’t mean there weren’t restrictions. He was stern about where and when the soldier could go anywhere with you, and he demanded that he not leave your room afterhours. It wasn’t hard to follow, the solider showed reluctance to leave your room at all, having been so accustomed to being kept in one room. You didn’t push him, but you felt bad for him because he was missing how the tower had been decorated for the holidays. So, you got a smaller tree for the bedroom to provide some kind of festive look for him to take in.

You emerged from the bathroom, wisps of steam following in your wake, your damp hair leaving little droplets on your shoulders as you continued to towel it dry with scrunches. He remained motionless on the edge of your bed, his attention immediately shifting as he turned and blinked up at your approaching figure.

His icy eyes traced a deliberate path across your form, which was barely concealed beneath the thin fabric of your sleep shirt, the hem teasingly brushing against your mid-thigh with each movement. "I am beat," you sighed heavily, your voice carrying the weight of the day's festivities. The marathon of holiday activities had clearly taken its toll, leaving you thoroughly drained. The tower often held an array of things to do because Tony loved to show off what he could afford, and it wasn’t like anyone else would object.

He observed with rapt attention as you made your way onto the bed and settled back against the pillows, releasing a deep exhale that seemed to melt away the day's tension. His unwavering gaze remained fixed on the rhythmic, hypnotic motion of your chest rising and falling with each breath.

You felt the bed shift beneath you as he moved, his weight causing the mattress to dip and creak softly. He crawled over to where you lay, his arms positioning themselves on either side of your body, caging you in. Your eyes fluttered open to find him hovering directly above you, his presence overwhelming in its proximity. This was something new…he had always maintained somewhat of a distance before, never daring to position himself so intimately over top of you.

"Я скомпрометирован. [I'm compromised]," the soldier spoke in a hushed tone, his voice carrying that distinctive gravelly pitch that made you feel tingly. The tension between you had become damned near impossible to ignore. What had started as a subtle pull had grown into an overwhelming force of attraction that seemed to draw you both together like magnets.

Still, you forced yourself to hold back, maintaining that last thread of restraint. You had no way of knowing the depth of his emotional capacity, if he was even capable of genuine feelings, or wanted to experience them at all after everything he endured.

"Soldat...?" The whispered word escaped your lips as you noticed the subtle shift in his demeanor, the way his muscles tensed as he remained suspended above you, perfectly still. "You know I don't understand-"

"I am compromised," he repeated, switching to English this time. His voice had dropped even lower, carrying an edge of frustration that vibrated through the minimal space between your bodies.

"Comprom..." You sat up slowly on your elbows and shook your head in confusion, your brow furrowed as you tried to process his words. That’s what you’d say about a machine or computer, not a man. "What are you talking about?" Your eyes wandered downward, suddenly drawn to an unmistakable tent in his fitted briefs that became obvious from your new viewing angle, causing you to freeze in place as your breath caught in your throat.

So, he could feel things.

"Oh..." You felt a wave of embarrassment wash over you as you remained frozen in place, your cheeks growing warm. "I think I understand now...you're feeling a bit pent up, aren't you?"

His metal arm whirred softly, the sophisticated machinery humming as he moved to adjust his hand placement. "Да. [Yes]," he responded in a low voice, his gleaming titanium fingertips delicately ghosted across the bare skin of your thigh, just barely grazing beneath the hem of your thin sleep shirt. Goosebumps erupted along your body in response to the contact, the cool metal sudden against your flushed skin.

"Мне не нравится делиться вашим вниманием. [I don't like sharing your attention]," he muttered with an undertone of possession, his lips curling into a slight frown as he gradually leaned closer to you. His silken hair delicately tickled your face as he slowly lowered himself, the tips of your noses barely grazing against each other in an intimate gesture. His lips parted ever so slightly, revealing a glimpse of anticipation before he dipped his head down, warm lips pressing a tender, lingering kiss to your jawline.

You swallowed reflexively, your breath catching in your throat as you felt his warm, steady breath caress your sensitive skin, sending a visible shudder of growing excitement through your body.

He continued his gentle exploration, encouraged by your acceptance and the absence of any resistance. He pressed a trail of soft, purposeful kisses along the curve of your jaw, each one more intimate than the last, before gradually working his way down to your neck. His lips carefully followed the rhythmic flutter of your pulse beneath your skin, his tongue peeking out shyly to touch against you.

"Ah-" You voiced softly, feeling him settle on a particularly sensitive spot, right against the delicate side of your neck. It was nestled perfectly between the graceful junction where your neck connected to your collarbone, the skin there warm and inviting, holding a faint trace of blood flow from the intricate network of smaller veins positioned just beneath the surface.

He kissed many times with increasing intensity, clearly finding this spot ideal for his attentions. The soft, tentative pecks gradually became more passionate, open-mouthed kisses as each one was placed. His tongue began gently pressing against your skin with each lingering kiss, the pressure slowly growing in need. You felt your cheeks flush with warmth when he finally latched on, your eyes widening in surprise as the soldier's strong arms held you a little tighter.

Soldat began to suckle a mark, his ministrations gentle and teasing at first, but quickly growing in force and intensity as his skilled tongue swirled expertly around the trapped skin between his lips and teeth. The sensation drew a breathy moan from deep within you, making your entire body feel as though it were engulfed in flames of desire. Though you were completely helpless beneath the assassin, you had absolutely no intention or desire to push him away.

This felt too damned good.

Without thinking, your leg came up and hooked around his hips, drawing him closer until your bodies were flush against each other. The heat between you grew and you felt his painful erection trapped in his briefs, straining against the fabric as his arousal was staining them. Soldat exhaled sharply through his nose, his grip tightening possessively, but he did not let go.

His suckling grew increasingly intense, the sensitive skin tingling and starting to sting and burn with each passing moment. Still, he didn't release the bruised skin just yet.

Instead, he just bit down harder, ensuring the mark he left would last for days. You moaned loudly, your fingers gently tangling in his thick hair as your pleasured sounds encouraged his attention. He became more attentive when your little sounds of pleasure turned into sharp, quiet hisses - clearly indicating that the sensation had crossed from pleasure into discomfort, silently telling him to ease off.

When he did finally relent, he pulled back to admire his handiwork, looking down at the deep purple mark blooming on your neck. His breath came in heavy pants through his parted lips as he stayed quiet, watching intently as you struggled to catch your own breath too. The sight of you beneath him, disheveled and vulnerable, with flushed skin and labored breathing, was enough to draw him right back in.

He dipped back down with renewed hunger, his metal hand slowly threading through your hair before gently fisting it at the base of your skull, though his careful control ensured it wasn’t painful, just firm. He tugged just enough to guide your movement, encouraging you to expose more of your neck to his hungry gaze.

"E-easy..." You whispered, a note of anxious anticipation in your voice. You wanted more, god you wanted more, but his sudden change of behavior was a bit surprising for you.

"Понял. [Understood]," he whispered against your skin, pressing a soft kiss of reassurance to your jaw before returning his attention to your neck. Those soft kisses began again, trailing along your skin, but his restraint didn't last long as he quickly sought a new canvas for another mark. He latched onto a spot just a little bit higher on your neck, alternating between sucking and carefully controlled bites to gradually darken and bruise the sensitive flesh.

You felt bite after delicious bite, hickey after possessive hickey.

He marked the tender flesh of your neck in several deep, purple marks that bloomed like violent flowers across your skin...each one throbbing with a sweet ache when he pulled away. His tongue always swirled over the mark with care to soothe the sting of it, making you arch into his touch as you fell into a complete daze.

"S-Soldat," you muttered breathlessly, cheeks flushed crimson and eyelids heavy with desire. Your pupils matched his own - completely blown with hunger and desperate need. Those bermuda swirls meeting yours as he continued a torturously slow trail of hot kisses down your chest, nipping your collarbone with just enough pressure to make you gasp before following the gentle dip of your sternum.

He paused deliberately, pulling up so he could lift the thin sleep shirt over you and expose more of your bare chest to his hungry gaze, giving him better access for his heated kisses and teasing nips. Once your top was discarded somewhere on the floor, his hands gently but firmly held your sides, trailing up with reverent touches until settling against your ribcage. His larger hands completely encompassed your torso, making you feel small but protected.

The soldier was absolutely transfixed at the sight of your breasts, eyeing the soft mounds and peaked nipples as they hardened in the cool air, growing increasingly sensitive and rosy with your mounting arousal. It was like he was completely mesmerized by the sight before him, the fucking Winter Soldier, the most dangerous assassin in history, stopped dead in his tracks at the mere sight of your bare breasts.

You felt in charge now.

"What is it? Do you like them?" you purred softly to the soldier, your body swaying in a deliberately teasing motion that made them gently move. His eyes remained fixed, drinking in the sight before him as his lips parted ever so slightly. Slowly, his head tilted down again, surrendering to the moment. He let his face nestle against your chest, his lips trailing a constellation of unhurried kisses across your skin.

He began to nip and suckle the tender skin of your breasts, his mouth working to create deep, purple love bites on that delicate flesh. The bruising blossomed easily beneath his ministrations, almost like they were eager to show themselves.

His lips would find a promising spot, then he would begin lapping at the skin with gentle strokes of his tongue until he felt you squirming. The soldier took the sensitized flesh carefully between his teeth, rolling the captured skin while his talented muscle swirled and sucked.

Your chest displayed his passionate handiwork when he finally drew back to admire his creation. The plum-colored bruises created an intimate pattern across your skin, their rich hues made even more striking by the soft glow of the holiday lights that danced through the room, highlighting each carefully placed love bite until they seemed to shimmer like twilight stars against your flesh.

"Soldat...I think you covered enough surface area," you breathed, feeling overwhelmed by the intense throbbing that radiated from each mark he'd left. The sensation pulsed in waves across your skin, making it difficult to focus. Your neck was thoroughly covered in the passionate marks, and now your chest bore an equally impressive collection.

The soldier gazed down at you with intensely, his eyes taking in each little sugar plum bruise that decorated your skin like a masterpiece. Though they were scattered without any deliberate pattern, the overall effect clearly pleased him. You lay there looking thoroughly affected by his attention, hair mussed and breathing uneven, cheeks beautifully darkened with a dust of blush, just from his careful application of bites alone. The sight of you in such a state, marked so thoroughly, brought deep set satisfaction in his gut.

"Моя теперь. [Mine now]," he muttered softly, his warm breath ghosting across your skin as his lips hovered mere millimeters from your own. The almost-kiss was delicate, just the faintest brush of contact that sent electricity dancing through your nerves. He almost seemed nervous to close that final distance, his confidence faltering despite the passionate trail of marks he had already left scattered across your skin.

He drew back slightly, seemingly snapping out of a trance, and you could see the vulnerability written plainly across his features as that nervousness flickered in his eyes. Shifting his weight, he settled back onto the bed, his right hand finding your knee and tracing gentle, soothing circles there with his thumb. The tender gesture matched his hushed voice as he spoke, "Я не хочу идти дальше. [I don't want to go any further]," the words carrying both certainty and a hint of apology.

Your brow furrowed deeply as you struggled to understand what he was trying to stay, the confusion evident in the slight crease between your eyebrows and the questioning tilt of your head. You really needed to study Russian. "Do you not want to continue?" you asked slowly and carefully, focusing more on interpreting the subtle nuances in his tone rather than trying to parse the exact words he was using.

His facial expression held hesitance and uncertainty, the slight downturn of his lips and the way his eyes wouldn't quite meet yours telling you what you needed to know. Body language was his primary mode of genuine communication, and you had become very good at reading these silent signals he unconsciously broadcast.

"It's okay, we can stop," you replied with a reassuring tone, making sure to keep your voice soft to help dissipate any lingering tension he might be feeling. "Let's just lay here, okay? We can cuddle without any kind of pressure to do anything else, if you want." You offered with a warm smile, wanting him to feel that his comfort and boundaries were completely respected and that there was no expectation or obligation to continue.

This was a lot of good progress with him, you typically just cuddled or he kept to his side of the bed but he had shown you a lot of sweet affection tonight, and you loved it, it meant he was growing more confident in himself and your relationship. The evidence of his passionate yet tender attention remained visible in the form of gentle, plum-colored marks that decorated your neck and chest as you lay beside him, watching as his silent form trembled slightly beneath the heavy warmth of the thick blankets that enveloped you both.

You opened your arms, offering him a warmer space, and he quickly scooted forward, tucking himself against you. Prone to being cold, he liked being under many layers of blankets, so you made sure to provide plenty for him to not only feel warm but secure. Plus...having you to hold him always helped.

Without the worry of being a soldier, he could rest easy like this.

Thanks for reading. -em 🌿

Dividers by @/strangergraphics | Images found on Pinterest.

[a-hermit-pining]

LaDs Men React to You Being Whipped for Them

AN: Is it love, if not bound by subtle insanity?

Pairing: LaDs x GN Reader

Emily Bronte (Wuthering Heights): “He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

Yearning Event

Xavier:

"Sit," you say, practically shoving him onto the bed. "Sleep. On time. For once."

You tuck him in with a look that brooks no argument. "You're going nowhere tonight. I don't care if the world ends. It can wait until morning."

Xavier blinks up at you from under the blanket, wide-eyed. He never imagined he'd live to see the day someone forced him to sleep. He slept plenty as is, but this? This was different.

You lean in, palm cupping his cheek, thumb brushing over his pout. "Not sleepy?" you ask, voice soft, lips close.

And then the little gremlin bites your finger. Gently. But still. His eyes glimmer. "Can't sleep," he whispers. "Not tired enough."

He gives you the look. You know the one.

You’re not sure if you want to fight him or kiss him breathless. Possibly both.

Rafayel:

He knows you’re whipped. And he lives for it.

This? This is his dream come true. You, hovering with tissues and cough drops. You, his personal bodyguard, ready to throw hands at anyone who so much as sneezes in his direction.

He flashes smug little smiles at everyone who sees you fuss over him. Sips his tea like royalty. Winks like the menace he is.

Cue: entire exhibition crowd watching you dig through your bag for lozenges because his voice might sound hoarse.

He’s a sucker for love, but terrified to be the first one to say it. So when you pour your heart out first?

He’s free. Free to adore you with all the softness he’s hidden for years. Free to give back everything he’s been aching to share.

He’ll never say it, but this kind of love? This saves him.

Zayne:

He doesn’t know what to do with this. Not at first.

You bring him lunch at work. Spend weeks researching ways to break the curse. Kiss every scar like it’s sacred.

Everyone around you sees it. The way you’re gently, beautifully spoiling him. And they love it. They love this for him.

And slowly… so does he.

At first, he’s confused. Then touched. Then quite overwhelmed.

Because he’s never had this before. Not like this. Not so deliberate. So quietly certain. But over time, it settles in his chest like warmth. Like a memory he never had but always wanted. Like home.

And when he finally learns how to return it. When he stops being afraid of breaking it... oh, gods. You’ll drown in it.

Because Zayne doesn’t love in halves. He just never thought he was allowed to have this.

Sylus:

He’s supposed to be the suave one. The smooth-talker. The charm incarnate. The planner. The tease.

But your easy, unrelenting affection? It undoes him.

“What next?” he asks, leaning down to tilt your chin up. “You going to complain next? ‘Sylus, why can’t you ever plan anything in advance?’” He mocks your voice with a grin, cocky and effortless.

But your smile doesn’t waver. You just wrap your arms around him, pulling him closer. Like you always have.

“No,” you murmur. “I think it’s an excellent idea to take a vacation. Thanks for planning, Sylus.” You say his name so gently. So sure. Then kiss him with painstaking care.

And he’s stunned. Just… still. A blush creeping in. Throat tight. Something in his chest cracks open.

“Well,” he says, voice lower now. No teasing this time, just a quiet, genuine warmth. “That’s what I like to hear.”

Gods help him. You’re too good at this.

Caleb:

You’re both the problem. The gooey couple that makes strangers jealous and your kids roll their eyes.

Your love is obnoxiously mutual. Like something ripped from a bard’s over-the-top romance ballad. And he lives for it.

He’s jealous by nature. Territorial. But with you? He has never felt more safe. You never give him reason to doubt. Never make him feel like he’s too much.

To be cared for so deeply, to be someone’s center of gravity, it heals something ancient in him. It’s the love he didn’t know he was allowed to have. And gods, he guards it with everything he is.

Because in your eyes? He’s not a colonel. Not a soldier. Not a weapon. He’s just Caleb. And he is so, so loved.