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eleteo125 · 3 years

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Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Naughty Wolf (m)

Wolf!Baji x Red Riding Hood!Reader

18+ fic minors dni

Red Riding Hood is a title given to those with the duty of delivering food, crops, livestock, etc. to the wolves in exchange for the protection of the village. But what if you met one of those wolves?

CW: Sexual Content, biting, hair pulling

Word Count: 15,010 (yeesh haha)

A/N: I haven't written anything in a loooong time haha. Also forgive my smut scenes they aren't my forte when it comes to writing. English is also not my first language so have mercy if I made any mistake haha. And lastly @kazutoraholic here's the result of that little thirst post you had about Wolf!Baji hahaha hope you enjoy this too.

In a map of a far away kingdom, there is a dense forest that not many have travelled to. There have been so many sightings of large monsters and predators out for prey. Beasts so strong even the strongest knights cannot defeat. Said beasts has been observed to only reside in the forest not wandering outside so they just left it be. But in the middle of said forest resides a quaint village. As most would assume how could this village survive in such an environment where beasts of great magnitude reside? Well they don’t. They’ve enlisted the help of the “wolves” of the area whom have taken the responsibility of protecting the villagers from outside intruders from entering the village.

Mighty generous some would say but alas, their services are not for free. They have demanded to be provided some crops and livestock from the village every two weeks. And that’s where Red Riding Hoods enter. They are responsible of dropping off said supplies at a certain drop off inside the forest. Red Riding Hoods must be able to easily navigate through the dense forest for faster delivery of the supplies. They don a red hood as an indicator that they are allies to the wolves so as to not to mistakenly attack them.

One of those Red Riding Hoods happens to be your grandmother. She would be leaving for quite a while and come back with great stories of her adventures through the forest. It could be as great as catching sight of the mightily beasts or as mundane as finding a rare herb, you soaked it all up earning you a great curiosity what’s beyond those dense forest. She even mentioned coming across a wolf pup who wouldn’t let her go until she gave him some food. You both laughed at the story while also telling you not to tell anyone and it’ll be your little secret. She emphasized how the wolves are very private creatures and doesn’t really like interacting with humans. She brings life and wonder of what’s beyond the forest and not just a habitat of dangerous beasts.

But one day, your grandmother never made it home. She disappeared. She never came back from delivering the supplies. There’s a rule where once a Red Riding Hood haven’t returned in a week, they are presumed dead and a new Red Riding Hood is titled. A rule some would say is absurd, but considering how dangerous the forest is it seemed to make sense. And most cases where Red Riding Hoods not returning, they either end up found dead or still missing.

Your grandmother’s disappearance could be enough to drive you away from the forest, but you still have hope that she’s still out there. So you resorted to ways where you could go into the forest without trouble. Become a Red Riding Hood.

The only knowledge you have of the forest is your grandmother’s stories which does give information but not enough to get you to be a master navigator. SO you spent the rest of your teenage years studying about navigating and studying the on the forest that is available. After years and years of studying, you finally find yourself fit to be a Red Riding Hood. Teachers and Professors are willing to put in a good word for you when you applied to be a Red Riding Hood. And after going through a tedious process of paperwork and testing, you finally did it. You are now a Red Riding Hood. You may be doing it because you want closure on your grandmother’s disappearance, but you still felt that childlike giddiness now that you’re just like your amazing grandmother.

And here you are at the village gates waiting for the gates to open to enter the forest. Nervous and excited, that’s what you are. You’ve always been a curious little bean, so seeing more of the forest beyond just illustrations and books is beyond exciting. But you’re also nervous because who wouldn’t be when the most dangerous forest in the kingdom is right there where wild beasts could maul you anytime. So yeah, nervous and excited. To calm your nerves, you resorted to count the supplies and double…well triple check in this case.

“Nervous?” a man in knight uniform approached you.

“Atsushi! Yes. Seeing the forest up close like this is…”you looked up and took a view of the forest “pretty intimidating”

“Ah I told you Akkun is fine. Might as well get familiar with each other since I’ll be escorting you to the gates from now on. And if it’s any consolation, this is my first time being near the forest too.”

You chuckled at his nervous face when gazing at the forest which you can definitely relate too. Knowing someone else might relate to you comforted you a little.

“Welp! Off I go then!” you said cheerfully trying to ignore your nerves.

“Take care okay. And thank you for your service to the village.”

“An honor to serve the village. See ya!” you said before taking off.

You’ve been travelling for two days and you came to one conclusion. You were definitely being followed. You don’t really have any evidence you were being followed but you can just feel it. You barely slept last night, but at least you’re already at the drop off point. So you quickly did your tasks so you can travel back home already and hopefully not get mauled by a beast.

Just as you were thinking of that, you heard leaves from a branch rustle. Your face paled and your body was paralyzed. ‘Not on my first day please not on my first day” you pleaded with your eyes closed. You slowly opened your eyes and turned your head towards the direction of the rustle.

You came into eye contact with a guy. No wait, uh, he has dog or maybe was it wolf ears. He must probably one of the wolves. But when learning about the wolves you assumed they would look more…wolf-like and not human-like.

“Hey.” The guy? Dog? Wolf? Said trying to get your attention

“Uhm, can I- can I help you?” you hoped you said that loud enough for him to hear you still were shocked of what you came across.

“Ya got food on ya?”he asked and stepping out from the bush.

“Yea, I just locked it in the drop off point.”

He looked at the drop off point and looked back at you. “That’s great! But what I mean is a spare food you guys have a lot of those right?” he said with somewhat an excited look on his eyes. You even caught a glimpse of his wagging tail behind him.

“Well the food on me is for me while I travel.” You explained while patting your bag.

“Aww. How about a bite then?” he asked stepping near your bag and sniffing a little which caused him to drool a bit.

“No can do, sorry”

“A nibble then?” he asked crouching down next to your bag and looking up at you giving you the puppy eyes. You almost cooed out loud because admittedly he looked cute looking like that. You shook your head “N-no” you faltered.

As you said that, his face turned into a frown and his ears started to droop down. ‘Oh no not the ears, not the ears! Hhnnggg those cute ears and those fluffy hair aagghh!’You sighed and reached for your bag “Alright, fine”

“Hell yeah!” he stood up and took the sandwich you handed him with bright eyes. It isn’t a problem really; you made extra the amount of food for your travels to gauge how much you’ll need for next time. As the guy devoured the sandwich, you started to observe him. Long dark hair one of the noticeable trait of his after his ears. Sharp canines which he made great use of while eating, and amber eyes which were now looking at you. ‘Oh’ how long have you been staring at him? You felt yourself blush at the thought of getting caught but brushed it off.

“So, I hope you enjoyed it!”you tried making conversation

The guy gave you a smile that showed off his canines. “Definitely! It was just as good as your grandmother’s haha.” He said while patting his tummy.

“Wait-huh? My grandmother’s?”

“Was she not your grandmother? There used to be a nice old lady who gave me food all the time when she goes here.”

‘Could it be?!’

“A-are you by chance talking about my grandmother?!” you asked enthusiastically getting close to him in the process…well maybe too close judging by the fact that he stepped back a little.

“Yes…” he said now the one thinking you’re strange

“H-h-how do you know my grandmother and I were related?” your thoughts were going a mile a minute that turning those thoughts into words is a bit of a struggle.

“Well, you both smelled similar.”

“Eh?”

“Your scent.”

You stared at him before backing away and covering yourself “Have you been sniffing me?!”

“Wha- I was sniffing your bag I just got a whiff of you!”

“And how were you able to do that?!”

“I’m a wolf!”

“Oh” you realized feeling a little bit dumb. But at least you got a confirmation of what he is.

The guy in front of you sighed and said “Why don’t we start over. I’m Baji Keisuke, one of the wolves defending you village from the forest a pleasure to meet you.” He held out his hand for you to shake, which you accepted. “Gotta say, didn’t expect for you guys to change the Red Riding Hood so soon.”

Feeling like some tension was taken off, you decided to be friendly. “What can I say, I guess I impressed the village head with my top notch navigating skills.” you giggled at your faux arrogance which also earned the now named Baji a chuckle.

“So… you knew my grandmother?”

“I knew her as that nice lady with good food, other than that I don’t really remember much, was just a pup after all.”

Ah, you remember now. You recall your grandmother telling you stories about a wolf pup always bothering her until he gets food. With how he acted earlier, you definitely can connect the dots now.

“So how is she? Haven’t seen her for a long time.”

At that you felt yourself get sad for a bit. “I was hoping you would know something about it actually.”

He raised his brow at that statement “What do you mean?”

You looked at him before saying “She…she went missing. Here in the forest.”

“Oh. I see.” He said while looking down having a guess on what happened

“Don’t look so down, I still have hope that she’s still somewhere out there!” you declared full of confidence, you were determined to get to the bottom of your grandmother’s disappearance and Baji could sense that.

“Mind if I join you in that little quest of yours?”

You looked at him in surprise and delight you grabbed his hands and looked at him with bright eyes “Really?! You would do that?” you asked brimming with gratefulness.

Baji blushed a little bit at the sudden contact and proximity but you were just so excited to get help from someone that has a connection to your grandmother outside of the village that you failed to notice his flustered face. “Of course. Consider that as payment from the snack you gave me.”

“Oh you don’t have to worry about that.”

He smiled at you at that “Still, I would love to help you. She’s been a part of my childhood too albeit not as much as yours.”

“Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!” you said while continuously bowing.

“H-hey save your thanks for later once we actually made progress.”

“Oh r-right, ehehe”

“You better get going. You’ve got quite a long journey back home.”

“That’s true. I’ll take my leave then! It was very nice to meet you!”

As you were about to leave you felt him tug at your sleeve prompting you to look at him “Hey what do you say I escort you back to your village?”

“Really?” you asked though you find it hard to say no to a little extra protection from the forest’s dangers “Would that be ok?”

“Of course! Besides I like you!” he declared which made you blush heavily “No-wait uh, that didn’t come out right. What I was trying to say is that uh, your grandmother talks about from time to time so I kind of got an idea of what you were like so yea.” He let out a nervous laugh and though ‘The hell was that explanation, did it even make sense???’

“W-well I’ll be in your care then!” you tried to change the subject since this conversation is making you more and more flustered.

“Right!” he gave you a mock salute and went off to lead the way.

Through your journey, the sunset came about you. Baji stepped forward and held his hand towards the setting sun. He seemed to be gauging something before saying “We got a an hour or so before the sun completely sets. Let’s settle right here and set up camp.”

“Ok ok, I’ll grab some firewood not far from here.”

“Hmm, got a tent with you? I can set it up while you’re gathering.”

“Yes! Yes I do.” You answered handing it to him “Thank you very much.”

“Not a problem. Off you go now make sure to gather enough before dark.”

“I’ll be right back then.” Just as you said that, Baji noticed something move in his peripherals.

Finding firewood wasn’t that difficult and you find yourself content with the amount you have gathered. As you were finishing up, you heard a rustle to your right. “Ah Baji you didn’t have to come here I was…just…” it wasn’t Baji. And judging by the fact that this creature was eyeing you up as its next meal, it was safe to assume that it wasn’t gonna be as friendly as Baji was.

You tried to keep steady so as to not provoke the creature, but that didn’t matter since it started to approach you sizing you up. You’ve had training where you were taught how to defend yourself from these beasts and escape quickly but facing off with the real deal like this caused you to have a mental block.

You tried slowly reaching for your weapon—which is a measly knife—but it’ll have to do. But even the smallest of movements is enough to provoke it and was now charging at you in full speed. You were about to run but in the blink of an eye the beast’s head was crushed. And right on top of that crushed head is Baji’s foot. You were about to approach him but then he started stomping on the beast’s head flattening it to the ground. He then went towards its body and started to slash at it with his claws that you didn’t notice until now. He slashed and diced until all that’s left was just minced meat.

He took out what looked to be a handkerchief and wiped his face and hands before turning to face you. What he saw wasn’t exactly pleasant. You had a pale face with your trembling hands in front of you. He hopes he didn’t scare you too much, but what he did was necessary lest the creature go limping without its head. He took cautious steps towards you and you seemed to be rooted where you stand.

Who wouldn’t be intimidated at such a display? You knew it was necessary for both your survival but that was just too much for you to handle right now. On your first day no less. When you noticed Baji stepping towards you, you didn’t know what to do so you just stayed there. You were so lost in thought that you were surprised when you felt warmth around your hands. You looked down and saw him holding your hands. It was so big and warm and so…comforting.

Baji held your hands tenderly trying to calm you down. Once he felt your hands stop trembling, he asked you softly. “You doing ok now?”

His deep voice was enough to ground you to reality and be at the moment. “Oh I’ll….I’ll be fine. Just trying to process everything really.” Seeing one of the said protectors of your village in action is a lot, add on the fact that you were just in grave danger it’s a lot to take in. And he understood that.

“Why don’t we head back to the camp and rest there for a while then?”

So that’s what you two did. Seated by the campfire while you both stare at the bonfire, both of you not really knowing how to break the ice. You decided and went for it though so blurted out “That was impressive.”

“What is?”

“You overpowering something thrice your size. Didn’t even had a chance against you, you just stepped on it like a small bug.”

“It’s technically our job to get rid of those guys fast and efficiently.”

“Was mincing it really necessary? I mean you destroyed it’s head surely it must’ve died by then.”

“It’s mostly just a precaution really. That thing found us quite near our camp so I didn’t wanna take any chances.”

“I see.” As soon as you said that silence overcame the two of you once again. It wasn’t a comfortable silence nor was it an awkward silence. Just silence.

Baji got tired of it though. He looked at his surroundings before letting out a grunt as he stands up. “Come on, I wanna show you something. It’s not far from here.” He said as he offered you a hand to help you up.

You let him lead the way. You two walked for about two to three minutes until you ended up in a grass field where he stopped in his tracks. Was this the place, there isn’t much to see around here.

Baji suddenly bolted and ran through the fields in different patterns. You looked at him incredulously wondering what the hell he was doing. Before you could ponder on what purpose of his running was, you suddenly see a trail of gold light following after him. It didn’t take long for you to realize “Fireflies!”

They looked oh so beautiful with the moonlit night. As beautiful as they are your attention was on something completely different. Seeing Baji jumping and hopping around somehow made your heart skip a beat. ‘I don’t know maybe it’s his handsome mug?’

“Hey! Come on run with me!” Didn’t have to tell you twice. For the next ten minutes all you two did was run around while also trying to catch fireflies and letting them go not long after. It’s a cute activity except when Baji started to catch them with his mouth asking if it makes him glow. Which you firmly said no and proceeded to scold him, except it happened more than once so now you’re chasing after him to free those poor fireflies.

You managed to tackle him down but when you looked at him there was nothing in his mouth anymore. So here you are lying on top of him. You blushed at your position and quickly got off him for you to then lie down beside him. He was still laughing from the experience doing his best to calm his laughter down. You two are now staring at the stars while lying down and surrounded by fireflies.

“Beautiful place isn’t it?”

“Yeah” you sighed in contentment

“The forest is a scary place. It’s full of dangers and predators ready to pounce on its prey. But at the same time it can also be beautiful. It’s little wonders like these that give life to the forest. What you experienced earlier is a terrifying experience, but I ask you not to let that incident define how you view this place after all, it is my home. And maybe…your grandmother’s too.”

You sat up from your position and turned to look at him. “Thank you.” You chuckled after saying that “How much did I thank you just for today?”

“Don’t know wasn’t really keeping count. Besides,” he sat up “nothing wrong with being grateful.”

“We should take our rest; we still have quite a lot of land to travel through tomorrow. Especially you, you just went berserk just earlier.”

“Are you kidding I could easily take one of those guys again right now with ease.”

“Don’t jinx us.”

“Hahaha my bad, my bad,”

Your two day trip was shortened to a day and a half. And now the village walls is in your view already.

“Woah! Thanks for the help and of course for escorting me all the way here.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. Managing to trek through these forests to the drop off point in only two days is commendable. You’re a Red Riding Hood for a good reason.”

“Oh come on you’re making me blush from those praise.” You muttered while holding your cheeks.

“Oh you got a thing for praises then?”

“What?”

“Huh?”

Baji cleared his throat and said “Well uh looks like we’ll be seeing each other quite often huh.”

“Oh yeah yeah.”

“Until next time then?”

“Of course!” you answered quite enthusiastically

“Save me some snacks for next time then!” he waved at you before disappearing in the forest.

A very interesting first day you must admit.

You’re currently at your home taking your rest until the next excursion in the forest. You’re gonna have to set a routine and a new lifestyle so you can get used to your new job. As you’re taking your rest, your mind started to wander to that wolf you just met. He’s very energetic but you had a feeling you haven’t gotten the full experience just yet.

Now that you think about it, was it normal for wolves to escort Red Riding Hoods? It would make sense since they’re carrying something that the wolves need but that doesn’t explain the continuous disappearances of them. Maybe it happens occasionally. When you were studying, you haven’t come across any accounts that states they’ve been escorted by a wolf before. The only explanation you could think of is that since wolves are private creatures they don’t want them talking about how they are. Well the best way to find answers is to ask someone who’s been a Red Riding Hood before.

“Who did what now?” the man in front of you asked, shock written all over his face.

“A wolf escorted me home and I was wondering if that were normal for us.”

“Y-you came across a wolf?” he asked still in disbelief. He then stood up instantly “Do you realize what this means?! No one has seen any of the wolves for decades now!” The man then started to mutter and spouting details you couldn’t really make out so you just slowly backed away. Well now you know it’s definitely not normal. He was probably just helping you out cause he was familiar with your grandmother…and the food, can’t forget about that.

After all that deliberation here you are again nearing the drop off point to of course drop off the crops and livestock. You’re sat beside a large tree near it taking a little bit of rest before travelling back home again. When you felt well rested enough, you reached for your bag to take off only to find out it’s not there. Well that’s worrisome, but said worries were set aside when you heard someone clear their throat from above you.

“Looking for this?~” Baji asked while holding out the bag as he sits on a tree branch.

“Baji! Come on give it back!” he lowered the bag to you but pulled it out of your reach went you went to grab for it which made you chuckle. You tried to grab it from him multiple times jumping up and down. “Hardi har har Baji, now give it back or else I won’t be able to give you your snacks.” You persuaded which surprisingly worked on him as he jumped down from the tree branch.

He held out the bag to you but went to a sprint before you could grab it. “Catch me first! Hahaha” run after him you did. You figured that he wasn’t running in his top speed as you were able to easily catch up to him. No way were you able to outrun a wolf and you weren’t exactly the fastest either. Just as you thought you were close to him, he jumped up and onto a tree.

He turned to you and held his hand out “Upsy daisy!”

That caught you off guard “I’m not exactly a tree climber.”

“Don’t worry I got you!” he smiled at you with that wide smile where his sharp canines were on display. With such a charming smile, you couldn’t bring yourself to say no so you took his outstretched hand. You were much surprised when he was able to lift you up with just one hand.

He then handed the bag to you and climbed up higher and reached his hand out again. “We’re going higher?”

“Yeah I wanna show you something”

“How will we get down?”

“I’ll carry you down.”

You gave this a thought if it would be a good idea. You concluded that seeing the forest from a bird’s eye view can be very helpful especially in travelling. “Alright then.”

The higher you two get, the tighter the grip you had on Baji. He couldn’t help but silently smile at the thought that you trusted him in such a situation. Not long after, you two were at the top of the tree where the view of the large dense forest came to greet you. “Wow!” you gawked at the view while Baji basked in viewing the wonder in your eyes. “Look! I can see a little glimpse of the village’s gate from here!” you exclaimed pointing at its direction.

“They are pretty tall.” He acknowledged

You continued to sightsee and take in the large display of trees. You were taken out of your attention when you heard howling. You turned to Baji whose back was on you. You saw his flattened ears on his head, so you adjusted yourself to look at him and confirmed that it’s him who’s howling. “What are you doing?” you asked curiously

He turned to you and gave you a smirk. And that view got you blushing, his smirk along with the wind blowing his hair back with the large forest as the backdrop. After giving you the reassuring smirk, he continued to howl towards the forest for a few more seconds before pausing, waiting for something. Suddenly you heard howling coming from different directions of the forest.

Baji barked out laughter when he heard them. “THOSE ARE MY PALS!” he declared proudly. “You wanna meet them someday?”

“Can I?!?!” you asked excitedly. The idea of getting to know more about him and his friendships excited you.

You realize that your spot right now is a nice place to eat. So you fetched the food that you prepared for him. You decided to cook two servings of stir fried noodles since you figured that this man most likely had a gigantic stomach judging by the fact with how he devoured your sandwich last time.

Baji being the ever vigilant wolf that he is, smelt the food you took out and quickly sat beside you waiting to be handed the delicious smelling food. You even caught a glimpse of his wagging tail.

You held out the container to him but quickly pulled it back as he went to grab for it laughing at his pouty face paired with droopy ears. “Payback time.” He went and grabbed for it again but you managed to swipe it away from his reach. He tried again and again until your entire arm was outstretched while he was leaning on you as he tried to reach the container. It didn’t take long for you two to realize that he was basically hugging you with both his hands stretched out to reach the container and you in between his arms.

Both of you were quick to separate and sat there a little embarrassed flushing at the thought of how close you two were. “Here” you placed the container on his lap.

“Th-thanks”

A few moments has passed and you heard him starting to eat. Baji thinks that it’s delicious! It even reminded him of a certain food he loves back home but his mind is currently at how close they were earlier. You felt warm he could cuddle you all day just stay in your arms basking in its warmth. “Do you like it?”

“Mmfff!” He answered while also nodding his head. “We have something similar back home too!”

“Glad you enjoyed it. So uh,” you looked down from the tree “How exactly are we gonna get down?”

“Hmm? Oh, I’ll just carry you down.” He offered you his back “Just hang on to me and I’ll do the climbing down.

You appreciated that he was willing to do something like that but the thought of hanging on his back at such a height makes you scared that you’ll accidentally let go of him.

Baji sensed the anxiety you were currently having and thought of something else. “Th-then how about hanging from my front then.”

“Huh?”

“You clearly didn’t like the first idea and this is the only alternative I can think of.”

That was quite a smooth move whether it was his intention or not didn’t matter. Nevertheless clinging or basically hugging him until you get down didn’t seem like a bad idea. And you like being in his arms from earlier.

“That’ll do then.”

“Alright! Come on over here then.” He opened his arms with a wide smile trying to hide his fluster.

As you two got into position, both of you couldn’t help but focus on the breathing that’s right next to your ears. You give a pretty tight hug too. He lifted your thighs and guided them to wrap around his waist. The position was admittedly quite suggestive but he didn’t have any complaints and as he’s observed it seemed to be ok with you too. “Hang on tight.” He said as he started his descent.

As he was descending, you couldn’t help but pay attention to the breathing and grunts coming from him. You felt shame for thinking such thoughts so you just focused on the wind in your hair as he jumps from branch to branch and in no time at all you’re both back to the ground.

Once your feet were on the ground, you leaned back from your embrace with Baji. You still had your arms on his shoulders and his hands on your waist with you two just looking at each other. You caught a movement from his head and saw a caterpillar on his hair which made you giggle.

“What?” he asked concerned if he somehow looked silly.

“Nothing you just got a friendly guy hanging on you.” You reached for the caterpillar and let it crawl to your hand. As you wait for it to get to your hand, you felt how soft Baji’s hair actually was. You only assumed when since it looked like it, but getting to feel it it’s even softer than you expected.

The whole time Baji was just admiring you since he didn’t usually get a close look at you so he’s making the most out of this situation. He watched you place said caterpillar on a nearby bush letting it go in its merry way.

After that little encounter, you both agreed to start your journey back to the village. And thus another delivery as a Red Riding Hood has finished.

The both of you developed a routine where every time you are to do your duties, he would meet you at the drop off point, eat whatever you had prepared for him, and then show you a part of the forest he believes you would like. He never failed to bring a smile on your face when touring you through the forest. Then he’ll be on his way when you’re near the village. You’ve had this steady lifestyle for months until one day…

You were waiting for Baji because you just know that he’s on his way to get his precious snack. Your relaxed stated was disrupted when you smelt something burning. ‘That’s not good’ you thought It definitely wasn’t the smell of burning bonfire. You immediately rushed towards the direction of the burning hoping that it wasn’t the start of a forest fire.

Arriving at the scene, you were relieved it wasn’t a forest fire, but that relief was short lived because what you saw was somehow just as bad. There Baji was holding down a beast which is burning. “BAJI?!”

Your call made him turn to look at you. The sight of you made him widen his eyes in surprise “Stay back! I’ll handle this!” he said as he smacked the beast with a flaming torch before jumping away. He grabbed you in a hug and hid behind a tree where you only heard the flames getting bigger before silence.

You tried to look behind the tree but Baji only tightened his hold on you. The sound of something blowing up then overwhelmed you as you buried you head in his chest. A few more moments after that, Baji then loosened his hold on you. Once again you tried looking behind the tree only to find ashes everywhere. Nothing in the surrounding seemed to be burnt; the only evidence of there being a fire was the ashes and a missing patch of grass.

Before Baji could say anything, you smacked him upside the head. “What were you thinking?!?! You could’ve started something disastrous doing something like that!”

“But I didn’t~” he said before letting out a nervous laugh.

You went up real close to his face and said “You better NOT do this again or no more snacks for you!”

“Yes ma’am!”

You sighed and decided to take his word on it for now. “What even drove you to burning that beast?” you asked rubbing your temples

When you looked at him, he was guiltily looking down at his lap his ears droopy too, a clear sign of his guilt “I was hungry.” He said while in a pout.

“Come again?”

“I was hungryyyy” he whined “I easily get riled up when I’m hungry. That beast just attacked me at the wrong time.”

You sighed again not wanting to explore the topic any further. You took out a handkerchief and proceeded to wipe at his face “Look at you, you’re covered in soot.”

“So are you.”

“You know a place where we can wash up?”

Baji was silent for a moment trying to think of any. After a few moments, his face lighted up “I remember, there’s a river near hear with a small waterfall. I remember taking a bath there once.”

“Let’s head there then. Besides, a meal is much better after a bath after all.”

It wasn’t that long of a walk until you two came about the river he was talking about. The water in the river was crystal clear and the breeze around the area was refreshing thanks to the waterfall. You dipped your hand in the water to gauge its temperature which was just right it’s cold enough to be refreshing but not too cold that you’ll freeze. Maybe a little dip won’t hurt.

Unbeknownst to you, while you were observing the river, Baji was already shedding his clothes and was now running towards the river taking a dive. Your thoughts were interrupted when you heard a splash near you. You instinctively tried to cover yourself from being splashed. It doesn’t take a genius to deduct what was the source of that splash. “Baji!”

Baji resurfaced from the water and pushed his hair back all while laughing at your reaction “My bad, my bad.”

“You have to be mindful of others…around…you…” you drawled out after seeing Baji’s shirtless figure. Thank goodness for the sun’s reflection on the water or you would’ve gotten a full frontal view.

“You like the view?” he said with a big smirk on his face while also raising his eyebrow fascinated at how you were ogling him.

You were quick to turn your back to him to prevent yourself from staring. “Wh-why yes, this river is wonderful.”

“Not exactly what I’m referring to.” He teased

“Oh would you just shut it.” You blurted out in frustration. You were flushing so hard right now; you can’t bring yourself to face him like this.

“Oh well, it’s your decision to not take a dip. I mean it would be a shame for you not to experience the very cool river.” He sarcastically said while swimming over to the waterfall and washing his hair thoroughly through it. “ Ahh~ feels like I’m washing my problems away.”

You tried your best to remain firm but you find yourself turning to look at him curious as to what he was doing. And the sight of him washing his hair underneath a waterfall was such an enticing sight that you wanted to join him right then and there, but you were still embarrassed. You haven’t been naked in front of anyone, but the thought of being naked in front of Baji didn’t really bother you, you just felt shy.

Baji finished washing his hair before turning to look at you again. When he saw you still rooted in place, he swam over to you. “Come on take a dip, the water’s great. And weren’t you the one who said that a meal is much better after a bath?”

Few moments has passed of you just pondering the situation before answering “T-turn around.”

“Huh?” he asked in disbelief

“I said turn around. Don’t really feel comfortable being watched while getting naked.”

“Oh, OH right right! Uhh ok!” you heard a few splashes before you turned around to make sure. And there he is, his back turned to you—goodness even his back is such an eye candy.

You quickly make work of your clothes before taking a dip. In Baji’s opinion, the sound of your clothes rustling is much worse for him instead of just outright watching you get naked. Imagination is a powerful yet troublesome thing.

The soft sound of the water rippling as you stepped into the water rang in Baji’s ears refraining himself to look at your direction. “You should give the waterfall a try. It’ll also speed up the process if need be.”

Step under the waterfall you did. And to quote what Baji said, it really does feel like all your worries were being washed away. Baji then went back to washing himself once he was sure that you were settled nicely. Him minding his own business was quickly thrown to the side when he heard you let out a squeal. He quickly turned to look at you and he low-key regretted it. The sight of you and your pretty figure with water running down your body was more than enough to rile him up even more. He wanted to pounce on you right then and there. He clenched both his hands and his jaw trying to maintain what little is left of his self-control. But try as he might, he can’t make himself to look away from you his eyes stayed glued to you and you only, he was starting to have tunnel vision.

That tree branch sure did surprise you, now you felt silly for reacting such a way. You brushed that little incident off and went back to washing yourself which was paused the instant you felt an intense gaze on you. You turned to look at Baji since he’s the only person you knew who could be looking at you.

“Eep!” you squealed—yet again—out of embarrassment, not wanting to see his reaction to how you look so you quickly swan to the other side of the waterfall where he couldn’t or vaguely see you.

The second squeal you let out was enough for him to break out of his aroused stupor. Now with only concern in his mind, he swam near the waterfall but didn’t cross it. “Hey you ok in there?”

“Y-yeah!”

“Why’d you squeal earlier then?”

“You were looking at me earlier and I was embarrassed!”

There was a pause from his side “S-sorry about that I didn’t mean to. I was just concerned. Are you ok by the way?” he asked. You can hear the worry laced in his voice, and he did apologize so you decided to let it go.

“O-o that I was just-uh” you paused a little embarrassed to admit “A branch brushed my leg and I was startled. N-nothing to be concerned about.”

“That’s good.”

There was a pause once again. You only stared at each other’s figure albeit being distorted from the waterfall between you. “You’re beautiful.” Baji blurted out

“Huh?” you blushed at the sudden confession.

“I’m sorry, you were so irresistible to me I couldn’t help but stare I-I…” you saw his figure hold his face in his hands as if in shame “You’re a grown woman, surely you have an idea on what I’m feeling right now.”

You didn’t really have any words, you were speechless. But that’s not to say you disliked the knowledge that he saw you that way. In fact, it excited you. You reached out your hand to his side and took hold of his hands which were still holding his face. “No need to feel ashamed, I’m flattered actually.” You said as you then cupped his cheeks “Besides, you weren’t the only one staring.”

That admittance caused Baji to tense up. The thought of you looking at him the same way as he was looking at you was enough to rile him up again only this time, you were only a step away from him with you touching him. Once again he clenched his fists and jaw to maintain what’s left of his self control “Stop that. You don’t know what you’re doing.” He said with a slight tremble at his voice due to him trying to keep himself in place.

“What if I do know what I’m doing?” right now at this moment, you wanted to be as close to him as possible let him hold you close and do whatever he wants.

You felt some sort of vibration on your hands on his cheek. Was he growling? “You sure know how to rile a man up.” You heard him say through clenched teeth.

You realized you’ve made him wait long enough. You pulled your hands away from him and stepped back further in the waterfall to make room for him. “Come on over, must be lonely out there on your own.”

At first Baji was worried that he scared you off when you pulled you hands away, but you inviting him over excited him even more that he just knows how dilated his pupils were. Good thing the water was above the waist too or you would’ve gotten a view of his tail wagging aggressively.

You watched as he slowly stepped through the waterfall between you and seeing him all wet with some of his hair sticking to his in his naked glory brought you to arousal already.

Baji could say the same too. The sight of you all wet shyly covering yourself out of shyness from him was too much for him that he ended up caging you between his arms and the wall.

You two were close, too close with just a few inches between you as he pinned you. And yet it wasn’t close enough to your liking so you decided to fix that yourself. You threw your arms around his neck and brought your lips together with his which he gladly reciprocated. You felt how he was still trying to be gentle on you so you decided to rile him up. In the middle of your kiss, you gave his lips a long lick making him suck said tongue in turn. He then went to focus on your lips again sucking and biting which made you moan. Said moan turned Baji on even more as he shoved you further into the wall and dove to your neck giving it a hard bite pulling yet again another moan from you. The bite was hard but not hard enough to break skin yet hard enough to leave a mark that’ll be there for days. He gave the bite mark a lick before trailing butterfly kisses from your neck all the way up to your ear.

“I should’ve warned you earlier.” He said kissing your ear “I bite” he then proceeded to nibble at your ear while his hands were now roaming all over you feeling you up.

You didn’t want to be the only receiving end, so you proceeded to feel him up as well. You hands going to places you’ve always been curious about. First being his hair. You ran your hands repeatedly through his hair feeling how soft it is despite being wet. The next is his back; you’ve wanted to feel it ever since you caught sight of it earlier. You traced your hands on every muscle you could feel on his back starting from his shoulder blades and lower. You couldn’t help but wonder what it’ll be like when he’s thrusting into you. Third is his ears. You’ve always wondered if they were sensitive since it always seem to react to the tiniest bit of sound that not even you could pick up. You gave it a tentative touch and watch it twitch. You played with it for a while until you felt Baji’s nibbling to go harder.

Baji pulled away from your ear and dove for your lips making out with you as you both felt each other up. You were indulging in Baji’s kisses too much that you didn’t notice his hands going for your chest until he started playing with you nipples, pinching and twisting it while also squeezing your breast from time to time. The whole time he was doing so, you’ve been whimpering at the sensation. Baji was quick to put your breasts into his mouth sucking and nipping. As he does so, you started to feel something hard between your legs.

Naturally, you went and grabbed for it giving him slow strokes which earned a growl from him. A very welcome surprise for you, so you gladly kept doing it while his bites on your chests grow harder and harder. Eventually, Baji had enough of it. He grabbed your hand that was busy and pinned it to the wall next to you as he buried his face to your neck. “Careful now.” He growled

“Careful of what? I’ll welcome anything you have to offer, Baji.”

He gave you a tender look before going to kiss you again. As he was kissing, his free hand snaked down to your private parts and began to rub at it. Your moans from the action were swallowed by Baji as he kept kissing you. “You’re quite wet already aren’t you.” He said in between kisses.

“You sure it’s not just the water?” you teased

“Why don’t we find out ourselves.” He said with his signature smirk while inserted a finger in you making you gasp in surprise which he took advantage of tasting every bit of you through the kiss. Baji started to pull his finger in and out of you feeling your very slippery walls.

“I don’t know, it seems to me that the wetness is from you not the river.”

You didn’t even bother to answer, only focusing the feeling of Baji’s finger in you. You waited in anticipation as a second finger went up in you pulling a loud moan from you.

“Was two fingers too much for you, babe?” he swirled his fingers in you that made you squirm against him. “How are you going to handle me then?”

“B-baji please!” you pleaded as you looked at him with glossy eyes.

Baji would’ve loved to tease you more, but the sight of you begging and being putty under his hands is the straw that broke the camel’s back. He pulled out his fingers from you and grabbed your legs to lift you up against the wall. While in this position, you can feel his tip rubbing against you. Baji not wanting a moment to go to waste, entered you waiting for you to signal him to enter more until he is fully sheathed within you.

For a while you two stayed like that, basking in this very intimate embrace until you get used to the feeling of him in you. Once you felt ready, you called out to him.

“Keisuke”

“Hmm?”

“Take me.”

Baji gave your lips a peck “Anything my lady wants.”

He then pulled out from you leaving only the tip before slamming back in you. The act caused you to moan and squirm against him spurring him on even more to do it again. The first few moments he gave you slow and heavy thrusts but over time his hips started to move faster and faster leaving you a moaning mess against him. You can hear him growling and snarling as kept thrusting into you bringing you bliss every time. Baji only seemed to get turned on even more as he make love to you. The combination your sounds the feeling of your body against him and the feeling of your insides was driving him over the edge.

He dove for the space between your neck and shoulders and bit you his primal instincts taking over. The feeling of him biting you caused you to grab hold of his hair as you clenched around him.

In turn, the feeling of you clenching around him and pulling his hair only caused him to bite even harder. The act making you clench around him again. And thus it became a cycle throughout your session with his thrusts only growing harder as you two came near your climax. All you could hear was his muffled grunting and growling against your neck, his mouth still occupied by biting you. Not long after the familiar feeling of climax came upon you.

“Keisuke please! I-I”

He paid no attention to your words as kept his pace steady already knowing what’s going on. It didn’t take long until he heard you moan out his name out loud and feeling you cream all over him. He paused for a bit letting you take a breather. He went for a kiss making out with you before continuing to thrust in you again. You let him have his way with you as he chased after his high. A minute or so has passed of him just thrusting up to you until you hear his stuttering moan before feeling him pull out and rubbing himself before shooting out his load. You mimicked his action from earlier and gave him a kiss after his orgasm.

He let you down from your position before pulling you into a hug which you gladly returned. Being in his embrace after such an intimate endeavour felt romantic for you for some reason.

“How are you?” he asked as he strokes your head with so much tenderness you just wanted to melt into him.

“Amazing. I don’t know how else to word it.”

“I wasn’t too rough on you was I?” he asked looking at your bit marks in concern.

You noticed where his gaze was before smiling at him. “I would’ve smacked you upside the head if I didn’t like anything what you were doing. And I told you I’ll take everything you had to offer.”

“That’s good to hear.” He sighed in relief before kissing you. Said kiss started off innocent but eventually grew in fervor where he was now nibbling at your lips.

“B-baji?”

He pulled away and asked you “I know it’s too much to ask of you, but can you handle one more for me?” while caressing your waist.

“H-huh? Already?!” you gaped at him in surprise

“I told you, you’re irresistible to me. And I’ll only do it If you’re ok with it.” He emphasized

You were tired and winded from your first round, but the thought of a second round only aroused you despite what your body feels. You were definitely lying to yourself if you told yourself you didn’t want more.

As an answer to him, you jumped up and wrapped your legs around him again which he swiftly caught. “I’ll be in your care.

Baji definitely lit up hearing your answer. He gave you a deep kiss and said “I promise I’ll take good care for you the whole time.”

And just like that you were once again overwhelmed by the sounds of waterfall, your moans and his grunts inside the shallow cavern from behind the waterfall.

Just as he promised, he took good care of you drying you off, and dressing you up before cuddling you in a soft patch of grass beneath the shade of a tree. His arms felt so warm around you that you couldn’t help but fall asleep.

When you awoke, you realize you were lying down on his lap. The view that greeted you was Baji eating his serving of stir fried noodles. He swallowed the food in his mouth before speaking “Hope you don’t mind me eating while you slept. After all that I got hungry.”

“It’s ok you don’t have to worry about it.” You said as you slowly sat up “Besides better that than waking up to you burning yet another beast. And whose fault was it I was this tired?” you teased

Baji only laughed at your teasing before holding your chin and guiding you to him to give you a kiss. “I’d gladly do all it again if I’m being totally honest.”

You looked at him and said “No one is exactly stopping you.”

He went near your ear and whispered “Is that an invitation?”

You playfully pushed him away “Not right now you doofus.” You said chuckling.

Baji scooped you into his arms and onto his lap hugging you tight “I just wanna gobble you up all day.” He said nuzzling his face on your neck before looking up and giving you another kiss. After having a taste of you he just couldn’t get enough. He wanted to go back for more and more. Baji’s feelings were translated into the kiss where he continued to deepen it while also beginning to nibble on your lips.

You knew where this was going you wanted more of him too, but unfortunately you decided against it tapping on his shoulder before pulling away saliva still connecting you both. You wiped your lips before speaking “Very tempting really, but we should rest. We still have the journey back.”

Baji’s face turned into a pout before burying his face in your neck again his droopy ear tickling your cheek. The sight was too adorable you couldn’t help but pet said soft looking ears. Baji hummed in content as his ears perked up again, taking pleasure in your attention. “Come on, Baji up we go. We still have to set up camp before nightfall.” You coerced while patting his back.

He let out a low whine before standing up picking you up with him which made you giggle while giving him a kiss on the cheek. Once your camp was set up, you two settled for the night, lying down next to each other. It didn’t take long before you’re all over each other again. Both of you agreed not to go further than kissing tonight, after all you still need energy to go home. Who knows how long you two were kissing until you both fell asleep in each other’s arms. Baji holding you close and you holding his fluffy tail.

As you enter the village gates, Akkun happily greeted you “Welcome back! I hope it’s been a safe jou- WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?!” he looked you over in concern

“What’s wrong?”

“Look at your neck! You’ve got bites on you! You have to go to a medic right away!” he frantically said while pushing you to a carriage that was supposed to drive you home.

Oh goodness gracious. Baji’s bite marks didn’t even occur to you. You stepped away from his pushy hands and tried to reason with him “C-calm down Akkun. This isn’t anything fatal; otherwise I would’ve been rushing here. It didn’t even break skin, look just bruised.”

Akkun only looked at you in disbelief “A-are you sure sure? Those look pretty gnarly. Might be safer to get it looked over.”

“I’ll be fiiine~ It’s just some troublesome creature that didn’t let go until he was satisfied.” You said looking back at you and Baji’s intimacy. He really didn’t let you go until he was satisfied. You only chuckled at the memory.

“Sorry if I’m a little bit pushy, but are you sureyou don’t want that looked over?”

“I’m sure. It’ll disappear in a few days.” You then remembered how hard Baji was biting you and concluded that a few days might be too short “…maybe.”

You opened the carriage door before turning to the knight “Thanks for the concern Akkun, but I’ll be fine.” You said before boarding.

“Take good care of yourself. I wouldn’t want the reason for a new Red Riding Hood to be appointed because the last one died.” He jokingly said before closing the carriage door and signalling the driver that everything’s ready.

Akkun watched as the vehicle went off still a little bit concerned. Just then a knight came near him and said “I sense that our little Red Riding Hood has been having fun in the forest.”

Akkun gawked at the statement before giving said knight a light punch to the stomach “Get your head out of the gutter, Makoto!” he scolded one of his subordinates.

“I don’t recall any creature that can give such a bite and not break skin.” A knight with glasses stated.

“Not you too, Yamagishi! Takuya help me out here!” Akkun turned to the person who seemed sane along with him in their little team.

Takuya only turned to him and shrugged “I’m somewhat of a biter myself and those looked familiar to me.”

Akkun gave up, these three can be stupid in their own way at times, even more stupid than Yamagishi.

Seasons come and go faster than we realize and before you knew it, winter is upon the land. Since winter is a very harsh weather for travel, Red Riding Hoods are only required to deliver supplies once a month. As much as you’re happy at the little break from your job, you can’t help but be sad too. Seeing Baji less brought your spirits a little down, but a job is a job and you must see through it if you wanna live comfortably.

So here you are the lone red in a backdrop of a harsh white, like blood in snow. It’s not supposed to be there. You hope that thought coming to your mind is not some kind of bad omen.

Sadly fate followed through with that omen. You being the only red thing among the snow, you are very noticeable and a winter beast has been eyeing you for a while now. You noticed that someone or something has been following you, but you assumed that it was just Baji, but when he didn’t turn up you figured that it wasn’t him and now you’re extra vigilant.

As much as you would’ve loved to run, doing so in such a situation can only provoke what’s been following you into chasing you so you did your best not to make any sudden moves.

You were too focused on not spurring whatever’s been following you that you didn’t notice that you’ve already arrived at your destination. You make quick work of locking in the supplies in the drop off point since you suspected that whatever is following you is after the food.

Just as you were locking up, you heard a loud roar which likely came from the beast that’s now making a beeline towards the place containing the food. You tried to jump out of its way but it was still able to reach you and pushed you out of the way quite harshly. You ended but getting scratched by its claws but at least you landed on the soft snow.

You looked at the beast trying to claw at the container, but failing to get it to open. You took that opportunity to run away and put some distance between you and it. The beast having found the container futile, decided to go after the running prey. Just as you think you have lost the beast, you heard it coming near you. So you continued to run away trying to think of a way to shake it off you tail. You were so lost in thought that you didn’t see the branches that you ran into it. You were quick to get up but wasn’t able to run away since your red cloak got caught. You tried to make quick work on it, but you noticed that the beast is gaining on you. You pulled as hard as you could to your cloak that when it was free you stumbled back and hit your head to a nearby tree.

Now feeling a little dizzy, your run was slowed and a little wobbly. You eventually ran into a dead end. The wall didn’t seem to be too high; you know it’s within your abilities to climb it. But with your dizzy state, you were seeing double and that climbing said wall can result to even more injury.

You looked back and saw the beast slowly coming towards you. All you could do was close your eyes and hope that it won’t be painful. And so you waited…

And waited…

Until warmth envelopes you. You didn’t know what’s going on but you welcomed said warmth. It reminded you of the warmth Baji provided whenever he held you close to him. Oh how you so badly wanted him to be here right now.

You opened your eyes and was greeted by red against white. It was the blood of the beast flowing down onto the snow. You processed that someone was holding you and you were greeted by the comforting dark locks and amber gaze of Baji. He looks at you in guilt as if blaming himself of what just happened. You couldn’t stand the look of him bearing the sins of a mindless beast.

You reached out your hand to cup his cheek and gave him a grateful smile. “Baji, thank you. You saved me you have nothing to be guilty about.”

Baji tightened his hold on you and kissed your forehead. “I know, I just felt responsible since you’re very special to me and I want to protect everything that’s special to me.” Baji leaned down and pecked your lips “You’re one of my treasures. I can’t bear to lose you.” He said his eyes on the verge of tears.

“And I’m still here thanks to you. You protected your treasure.” You returned his kiss before hugging him “Baji, I’m tired. Can I go to sleep?”

“Not yet, we have to get you looked over.” He said worry laced in his voice as he gently stroke your head as if trying to push your dizziness away.

“I’ll be in your care.”

You didn’t remember much that happened after. All you could recall was the cold wind against you as Baji rushed through the forest, the sight of a cave above you along with a lilac haired man with matching ears before everything went to black.

Once Baji is sure that you’re settled, he put on his coat and started to head out.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the guy tending your wounds asked.

“Don’t stop me, Mitsuya. That beast’s body is still intact; I’ll go finish it off.”

Mitsuya stood up from beside you and took hs coat. “No you won’t, I’ll handle it. You watch over your precious. She’d be more comforted if she saw a familiar face when she wakes up.”

Baji clenched his fist, his eyes full of vengeance. “I’ll destroy every bit of that beast. I’d make its soul suffer if I could.” He muttered in clenched teeth his rage leaking out.

Mitsuya knew that Baji being in this state will only be bad for him in the end, so he decided to slap some sense into him. Mitsuya grabbed hold of Baji’s face and made him turn to your sleeping state “Look at her! You want to leave her here just so you could satiate your hunger for revenge?! You already killed the thing, she’s already in a safe state now go take care of her. I’ll handle the beast’s body.”

The sight of your peaceful face was enough to soften Baji’s intense anger and admittedly he really didn’t want to leave you here. If he could he would stay with you forever to protect you from ever being harmed again.

Mitsuya sensed that Baji has calmed down and let go of his face. “I’ll be off now. Take care ok?”

Baji only gave out a nod before kneeling down next to you. Mitsuya smiled at the sight of this Baji not having seen it often. But he’s glad that he has someone special that he can be himself with. No wonder he’s been in a good mood lately. And like that he’s off to the forest to leave the two be.

Morning came, and you roused from your slumber taking comfort in the warmth next to you. It was so familiar that you’re sure that it was who you thought it was. You looked up and saw Baji’s sleeping face his hair cascading across his face that he looked to ethereal. You wish you could burn the image into your mind. He’s as handsome as ever. You lifted your hand and slowly pushed the stray hairs on his face to behind his ears, but the action caused him to stir awake.

You waited for him to open his eyes, before flashing him a big smile “Sorry for waking you.”

Baji stayed silent just looking at you before his eyes widened and sat up quickly and leaning on to you. “Y-you’re awake?! Are you feeling ok, you feel anything unusual, hungry, thirsty?” he bombarded you with questions in concern.

Before you could respond, he dove for the bag right next to him and pulled out a canteen and handed it to you. Now that you’re looking at it, you did felt thirsty so you gladly took it and took a big gulp sighing in relief after quenching you thirst. Baji took the canteen from you as you were finished and handed you a container filled with food which you gladly devoured.

Baji only watched you closely trying to see if there’s anything to be concerned about. So far, you’ve been fine but he couldn’t help but worry after yesterday’s display. “How’s the cut on your arm?”

“Hmm?” you swallowed the food still in your mouth and felt around the bandaged wound. “It feels just fine. It’s like it’s never been there in the first place.”

Baji smiled at the information and gently grabbed your arm. He started to remove the bandages causing you to pull your arm in surprise “What are you doing?”

“You’ll see.” He held out his hand waiting for you to place your arm there. You trust Baji so you gave your arm to him.

He continued to remove the bandage and you were expecting to see a nasty wound, but what greeted you was your clean smooth skin which caused you to stare at your arm incredulously. Baji chuckled at your surprised face finding it cute. “A friend of mine patched you up. He’s no medic, but he’s very well prepared for situations like these.” He explained while caressing your healed arm. “He had an ointment on him that medics back home created made from herbs found in the forest. With a forest so big, there are a lot of things unexplored.” He looked up at you “It would seem that your village hasn’t discovered such a thing just yet.”

“That’s amazing!” you said still looking at your completely healed arm.

“I’d teach you to make it if I could, but sadly medicine isn’t a field I’m very knowledgeable with.”

“Then how about your friend? I wish I could’ve met him too.”

Baji chuckled “He doesn’t know how to make it too. He only carries it around because the rest of us can be muscleheads sometimes.”

“Well I get to learn it someday.” You said leaning into him as he hugged you “It would be a great asset to our village.” The thought of your village made you realize something. “How long was I out?” you asked concern written in your eyes.

“You’ve been out for a day. Why, is something wrong?”

“I-I have to get back home quickly!” you said quickly standing causing your vision to swirl. You wobbled but Baji caught you.

“H-hey calm down. Why in such a rush?”

“I have to get home quick!”

“W-why you shouldn’t even be moving too much. The ointment may have healed you but your body is still recovering from healing external wounds. You can’t be out and about right now especially in this cold weather.”

The reminder of the season caused you to shiver, suddenly feeling the cold. Baji tightened his hug when he felt you shiver. “I have to go home.” You said

“That sounded like there was an ‘or else’ was supposed to follow it.”

“I have to go home or… or I’ll be declared dead.” Baji tensed at that statement.

Baji pulled away from you to look at you but still close enough to hold you. “You’ll be declared dead?” he stared at the distance trying to figure it out but came to no reasonable reason “Why?”

“Being a Red Riding Hood is a dangerous job. We’re aware of what we’re getting into. They have a rule set in place where once a Red Riding Hood has not returned in the designated time, they will be declared dead.” You looked at Baji to see his reaction and he is infuriated. You could see his jaw clenching and his body tense ever since you started to explain the situation.

“Why don’t they send out a search party to look for missing Red Riding Hoods? Surely some of them only got lost.”

“Think about it Baji, you yourself are very familiar with the dangers of the forest. Do you think that those who went missing only got lost?”

“Then how about your grandmother, do you believe she’s dead too just because people who are too lazy to look for them declared that they’re dead?” he raised his voice which caused you to flinch a bit. He reached for your hand and you let him “I’m sorry, but you yourself have experienced the loss of someone out here. You still have hope to find your grandmother remember?” he reassured recalling one of your first conversations.

The rule has always been stupid in your eyes, but after years of studying of being a Red Riding Hood, they must have somehow buried that thought deep in you. Brainwashing you into thinking that said rule is a reasonable one. But thinking about it more, said rule is the reason you’re not with your grandmother anymore.

Too much emotion was going through you that you held on to Baji for comfort. In fact, it was too comforting that you ended up falling asleep in his arms. Baji gave the crown of your head a kiss before laying you back down and letting you rest. You need all the rest you can get because he just knows that you’ll insist on getting home once you wake up. He might even just carry you all the way there.

By the time you woke up, it was already evening. You smelled something good and saw Baji roasting something over the fire.

“Well rested?” he asked when he noticed you sit up.

“Like I could run a marathon!”

Baji sweatdropped and tried to reason “M-maybe not to that extent.”

“Well I technically have to run for a long time until I get home.”

“No need for that, I’ll just carry you. You can just enjoy the ride.” He said with a smirk no doubt confident in his abilities.

You chuckled at him “You know, when you say it like that something else comes to my mind you know.” You said blush slowly forming on your cheeks.

There was a slight pause as Baji processed what you just said just staring at you with wide eyes. He then smirked and said “There you are again riling me up.”

“Do you not like it?” you asked teasingly returning the smirk

“Never said such a thing.” He said as he took out whatever he was roasting off the fire.

You stood up and walked over to him not playing around. You lifted your leg over him and sat on his lap facing him. “Getting bold now are we.” He said his smirk growing bigger anticipating what will happen next.

“Are you still taking me for a ride?” you felt up his chest lacing your voice with a sultry tone trying to get him in the mood.

Baji placed his hands at your waist caressing it and occasionally wandering down to your butt. “In what context.” He teased

“You know…ride you.” You went close to him and gave his lips a kitten lick.

“I’m gonna need you to be more specific, darling.” He said before diving into your neck licking you there before giving you the first hickey of the night while also giving your butt a light smack.

“Please Baji! If you don’t take me right now I won’t be feeding you for the next month!”

“You treat me as if I’m some food motivated animal.” He said kissing you

“You sure act like it sometimes.” You responded in between his kisses.

Baji pulled away and looked at you with very dilated pupils. “Oh really? Then…” he lifted you up from where he was sitting and laid you down on your makeshift bed in the cave. “how about I eat you up. You’ll be my delicious meal for tonight.”

He went in to kiss you and took comfort of his tongue intertwined with yours. He indulged himself on your lips for a few more minutes before working to undress you and himself. Not long after, you two were passionately making out in the nude his hair cascading around you acting as sort of like a curtain, your only privacy.

Baji then slowly trailed kisses down to your neck where he placed a few more hickeys before proceeding to your chest. He took hold of it appreciating the feel of it against his hands before suckling on your nipples alternating between the two. After a few bite marks were given to your chest, he gave your tummy kisses.

You gasped when you felt Baji’s breath near your private parts. He adjusted himself and made room to slowly spread your legs. Guess you really were is meal, he looked starved when he caught sight of your glistening folds. Baji sat up and took a hair tie from his clothes and tied his hair back “Gotta make sure nothing gets in the way of my feast.” He placed your legs over his shoulders, held you down and gave your thighs a few bite marks.

Moans came out of your mouth as you felt his tongue give you a long lick tasting. Oh how he loved hearing those sounds knowing that he was the one to cause those. Baji gave her repeated licks savouring the taste of her burning it to his mind because he couldn’t get enough of it.

Baji was relentless, his tongue overwhelming you with sensations completely new to you. His pliant tongue a completely different experience from his thrusts back when you two were behind that waterfall. He was precise and you felt him everywhere, well it felt like it because the feel of him is the only thing you could feel and focus on.

After spending a while tasting your wetness, indulging himself in your taste. He figured he has tasted you enough that he should pay attention to your needs now. But you’d have to disagree as just his curious exploring was pleasurable as it is. Baji went to look for that bundle of nerves, and as soon as he came in contact with it, he felt you squirm away. Baji took hold of your legs on his shoulders and pulled you back and pinning you down. Now you’re a squirming and moaning mess underneath the mercy of his tongue. The stimulation was too much as you tried to squirm away once again but his tight grip on you prevented you from moving even a single inch from him.

The cave you two were in was filled with your moans and his slurping echoing across it which brought you an ounce of embarrassment and arousal. Just hearing those sounds excited you more, there’s something primalin the act of doing it in a cave, the thought bringing you excitement.

You felt around you trying to look for leverage to hold on to ground yourself from these sensations, but you settled at grabbing his hair and pulling occasionally. Since you couldn’t do anything but receive Baji’s actions, you were curious as to what he looked like and so you propped yourself on your elbows and peeked. What greeted you were Baji’s amber eyes staring at you intensely. The sight of Baji staring at you as he ate you out caused more wetness to gush out of you thoroughly aroused at the thought that he’s been watching you from the start.

Baji has been watching you, anticipating every single reaction he pulls out from you. He must know everything about you and how like to be pleasured, learning every single thing that brings you pleasure and excitement and exploiting them. Maybe even take advantage of it for the next time you get intimate. Everything about you just drives him crazy. He was in a daze he couldn’t stop and before he knew it a loud moan greeted his ears as fluids gushed out from you. He licked off every single drop off you clean before sitting up and licking his lips. He admired you and your limp and heavy breathing form, taking pride at his work.

As you were trying to catch your breath, you felt Baji lean over your figure and placed a kiss on your lips. Soon you felt something prodding at your entrance, but not right now. Not just yet. You sat up and pushed Baji into a sitting position with you leaning close to his face.

“That can wait. I have a different plan for now.” You said as you reached your hand behind his head and pulled his hair tie off his hair. You showed the object to Baji before using it to tie your hair back “Gotta make sure nothing gets in the way.” You quoted Baji from earlier which earned a chuckle from him.

You started to mimic how he went down on you. First kissing his neck and also leaving your little hickey before going down to his chest licking and tasting him. You took your time at his abdomen admiring it while also teasing him making him think that you’ll finally go down on him only to lick upwards again. You gave in after hearing him growl. You looked at him and his size seemed to lean on the bigger side. You weren’t sure if you could take all of him in your mouth, but might as well try.

You gave his tip a kiss and a lick before putting it in your mouth, swirling your tongue around just his tip. Trying to tease him more, you licked from the base of his cock all the way up slowly and flicking your tongue as you got to the tip. That seemed to be what caused Baji to snap. He grabbed you by the hair and shoved himself in your mouth. You giggled at his desperation before you started bobbing your head up and down your tongue still working in action.

Baji moaned loudly, throwing his head back as he indulged in the feeling of your mouth sucking him off. But he wasn’t one to pass up the sight of you and your face stuffed with his cock. He looked down and the sight almost made him come. He would’ve been done for if you were looking at him. Baji was quick to pull you away from him and kissing you. All the while kissing you, he pushed you down and hovered over you just appreciating in your beauty.

You could never tire of the view you have above you right now. Dishevelled hair around you both, his glistening lips, and the warm light of the bonfire made him appear even more sexier. It’s like everything around you was adjusting to you and Baji. Nothing else mattered except this moment between you two.

“Be a good girl for me and lie on your stomach, would you.”

Anything for him. You repositioned yourself and waited for Baji to make a move. You felt him kiss the small of your back his loose hair tickling you and made you squirm a little causing your butt to brush up to something hard.

Baji chuckled “Eager now, are we.” Ah, looks like he mistook it. No matter, you’ll both feel good later on anyway.

Baji’s hands explored your smooth back appreciating the feel of it against his hands and how you react to his every single touch whether it be a slight twitch or a whimper out of you, it excites him even more.

He leaned down to your ear “You ready?”

Once he saw you nod in response, he bit at your neck whilst inserting himself inside you. The feeling of each other’s closeness had you two letting out hot breaths, calming yourselves and letting you adjust to him. When you gave him the go ahead, he started ramming his hips into you. He couldn’t help himself from ravaging you, he’s been holding himself back ever since from the start.

You felt him lean down and felt his chest come into contact with your back as he continued to thrust into you. His pace started to quicken even more so you grabbed the nearest thing to you as leverage which happened to be Baji’s coat.

As soon as he saw you clutching at his coat, it sent him into overdrive standing on his knees and elevating your hips and holding your head down. He gave your butt a few smacks then proceeding to drive his hips into you once again. Baji pulled your hair up causing you to be on all fours.

“Look at you taking me so well.” He moaned out biting your neck once again “This is the third time I’ve been in you, right? You took me so well all times. Made me feel real good I couldn’t stop thinking about you after that.” He said between grunts.

Just as he said those words, he felt you clench at him “A-ahn~ you r-really do like praises huh.”

“You remember that? When I brought you back for the first time. You liked it when I sang you praises. Guess it carries over here too huh. Agh!” your insides clenched at him again. He grabbed your chin and made you face him “Driving me crazy here.” He kissed your lips tongue never failing to explore you.

After a few minutes of you two going at it, you eventually arrived at your climax which had you plop down on the makeshift bed ass still up. Baji rubbed himself a few more times before covering your back in white letting out a sigh of satisfaction.

Your back covered in his cum aroused him again; it makes him want to cover you with even more. But he knows he can’t, you still have to rest for tomorrow’s journey. He leaned down at your shoulder and bit down as his last ditch effort to satiate his current hunger, but sadly it only turned him on even more as he heard you moan in response to his bite.

You can tell that Baji is still raring to go but is holding himself back. “Keisuke,” you called in a breathy voice still trying to catch your breath “What’s stopping you?”

“Tomorrow, you need rest for tomorrow.” He kissed you again finding your dazed look to be irresistible.

“I thought you offered to carry me all the way home.” You teased

“I did say that.”

“And speaking of rides,” You sat up and sat on his lap, your cunt sliding against his already semi hard cock “I haven’t gotten my ride for tonight.”

Baji relented, grabbing your waist and guiding you to hover over his cock. “Do as you please.” He said with a smirk licking your collarbone.

Slowly, you sank yourself onto him with Baji’s arms stiff on your waist restraining himself from just slamming you down on him. It’s your ride, you do as you please. But goodness you sure are a good way to train his self-control because you keep testing him. By the time he’s fully in you, you caught sight of his knitted brows and a few droplets of sweat on his forehead.

You decide to spare him and slowly bounced yourself on him with Baji groaning in pleasure in response. You felt his hand on your waist go tighter. You can tell that he wants more, but you decide to just go at your pace going slowly. You low-key anticipate the impending rough treatment of you when he gets fed up with your ‘teasing’.

It didn’t take long before he’s biting on your neck and is now the one bouncing you on his cock. Baji laid on his back and continued to thrust up into you. You were glad he took initiative in this situation because you weren’t sure if your thighs could hold you up any longer considering his treatment of you in your first round.

Soon enough, you billowed out a moan your body twitching ever so slightly before collapsing on his chest. Baji pulled out of you and closed your thighs together and thrusted in there instead. The feeling of your soft lower lips and thighs rubbing him was what brought him to his second climax of the night. He felt you slowly dozing off on him. He pulled the blanket over the two of you before repositioning you into a much more comfortable sleeping position. He made sure to clean up the both of you before going to sleep himself.

You were woken up with Baji shaking you. When you woke up you were already dressed. “Time to go.”

You yawned and stretched before getting up preparing to leave. Travelling through the forest on a wolf’s perspective is a very new experience. You can’t help but close your eyes in bliss as you felt the wind in your hair blowing against you from the speed Baji was running. You vaguely remember this feeling when you were still injured after he saved you from the beast. You’re just happy you get to experience it again more clearly.

Baji suddenly came to a stop and when you looked ahead there are the gates of your village. On a normal circumstance you’d be happy at the sight of your home, but right now you’re only filled with dread. The gate lock was adorned with a red ribbon.

You hopped off Baji and approached said ribbon. “We’re too late.”

“What?! But you still have the rest of the day to return!”

“I know. They sure are quick to claim my death. Guess that’s that then.”

“You’re just gonna let them do that?!”

“Baji, once the ribbon is set there’s no way they’ll let me in anymore. It’s another one of those stupid rules. I’m not welcome here anymore.”

After all the work you did for them, they’re gonna dispose of you just like that??? Hell no, fuck those bastards, you’re not going back there. “You still have another place you’re welcome to go home to.”

Baji held his hand out to you “Come home with me. You’re more than welcome there. The pack would love you!”

You immediately took his hand. “If I’m being totally honest, I would prefer to be with you rather than stay in a place where not a lot cares about me. I missed you a lot when I couldn’t see you.”

Baji pulled you in for a hug and kissed you. “You’ve always been in my mind too. Now we don’t have to be apart anymore. We can be together whenever we want, wherever we want.”

“Let’s go to your home then.”

“Our home.” He corrected

“Yes, our home.”

And with that the two of you ran into the forest ready to start a new chapter in your lives where a new companion is by their side.

#baji keisuke x reader #baji x reader #baji keisuke smut #baji keisuke #baji x y/n #tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers smut #tokyo revengers x y/n #baji #tokyo revengers x reader #keisuke baji #baji scenarios #baji imagines

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jennakusterbeck · 2 years

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Hey I have a story request. Its narussu as mafia heirs and and not know bout the other person's identity as the heir and fall in love then there identities somehow are exposed in the worst possible way and they have to choose between their love and the gang. Something like that I really eat to read a story like this but cant find it anywhere can you plz write it

Hello there! I loved this prompt and think it’d be so worth to write/read it. However, I haven’t written a fic in a very loooong time so I’m not sure if I would be able to fulfill your request.

STILL I refuse to leave you empty-handed so I’m gonna recommend some SNS fic rec blogs that might help you:

@snsfic this is one of the few fic rec blogs that are still alive and kicking. If anyone can find what you’re looking for, it’s them.

@sasunarusasuficrecsblog also a very good option, althought they haven’t updated in a while.

@ao3feed-sasunaru not exactly a rec blog, but they do update often, and you can search through the tags.

There’s also those three below, but they (also) haven’t been updated since forever lol. You might still find some hidden gems.

@sns-fics

@snsfanfictions

@snsfanfic-archive

I hope this helps you. I don’t know about any SNS blogs that are accepting fic commissions so if anyone reading this knows, don’t be shy and show yourself <3.

#sasunaru fic rec #sasunarusasu #fic rec blogs #sns fic rec #mafia fic

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lizlazer · 2 years

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would anyone be interested in beta reading my tangerine x fem!reader fic? i haven’t written smut in a loooong time and i’m weird about just posting it

#tangerine bullet train #tangerine x reader #tangerine x y/n #fanfic #fanfiction #beta reader

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krethes · 3 years

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Hi! 4 and 8, if you want to share please? :D

Hi! Thanks for the ask~! 4. what is the plot bunny you’ve been carrying for the longest? optional bonus question: do you ever wonder why you haven’t written it yet and experience deep existential dread? Oh man. I have wanted to write Wolfstar Raises Harry for a loooong fucking time. It's bad. Real bad. I've danced around it in several fics, dropped little headcanons here and there, but the Task...is big. I know most of the big pieces (save the Longbottoms, reconnect with Andromeda, keep Sirius from Azkaban, Defeat Voldemort?), but it's GETTING there that's terrifying. Also, I'd have to reread the books and ughhhh. But I WANT to write this sooooo badly. In the meantime...I let it out in small, verbose bursts of headcanons. :D 8. what’s your relationship with constructive criticism and feedback like? do you seek it out? how well do you take it? IF and only IF it's true concrit and not a fucking read on my stuff, I take it very well, actually. I know my writing is flawed and I am farrrr from perfect. I like getting feedback on my writing as I'm writing, especially if I can't figure out how to word something or aren't sure if my writing is hitting the way I want it too. I have a good resource of people I can go to for that, which is great, but that's not always been the case. If it's a topic that's sensitive that I DON'T have personal experience with, I try to find someone who can give me some insight and act as a sensitivity reader to make sure I'm not grossly out of bounds or accidentally stepping on toes that really don't need to be stepped on. I think fic is a place to explore different things and no one should be stuck writing about their own experiences (can be boring, it's fiction!!), but just being mindful is very important. You can be sure DYMM went through so many fucking fine-toothed combs, lol.

#asks for krethes #writing hard man #but be humble and ask for advice and help #all you can do!#also wolfstar raises harry coming to a krethes ao3 near you in 20xx #probably

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manndo · 4 years

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the name game [rafael barba x reader]

pairing[s]: rafael barba x reader

warning[s]: pregnancy (not completley sure this is a warning, but just in case), fluff with a hint of angst (but only for like a minute, i promise)

word count: 1.3k

prompt[s]: none.

summary: you and rafael are trying to come up with a name for your bundle of joy. however, it isn’t easy as the two of you thought it would be.

author’s notes: wow. it has been a loooong time since i written for barba. but, i wanted to write and so i was going through my half finished fics and this one just stuck out to me. so, here it is -- a fluffy little piece with our favorite ada. ☺️ any and all mistakes are mine. feel free to like/reblog/comment if you like it. feedback is always appreciate. ❤️enjoy!

❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

“Judith?”

“Really?”

Rafael shrugged. You snorted. “Judith Catalina Barba,” you commented, letting the possible name roll off your tongue and settle for a moment. Now, it was your turn to shrug. “Eh, it isn’t terrible,” you surmised, looking over to Rafael, whose nose was buried in The Big Book of 60,000 Baby Names as he sat nestled in the corner of the couch. You were nestled in the other corner, your legs splayed out across the couch, ankles coming to rest on Rafael’s thighs. “But, I’m not too keen on the nickname Judy. Sounds like an eighty-year-old grandmother’s name,” you added, looking back to the list of baby names you’d pulled up on your phone. “What about Natasha?”

“Eh,” Rafael muttered, not taking his eyes away from the book. That was a hard no from him.

You mulled over the name, pondering if you cared enough to fight for it. You didn’t. A heavy sigh escaped your lips.

This had been going on for weeks now; Rafael would mention one name, you’d disagree, so you’d counter with another, and he would disagree.The only thing you agreed on was Catalina for a middle name if your baby was a girl. The two of you hadn’t even discussed potential middle names for a boy.

“What if we look at more unconventional names?”

Rafael glanced up from his book, his emerald eyes peering at you over the rim of his glasses. “I’m not naming my kid Orange or Apple.”

You rolled your eyes and pressed a few keys on your phone. “I’m not talking that unconventional,” you specified, clicking open a different baby name website on your phone. “Maybe something like, I don’t know, Luna,” you offered, your eyes skimming the website you opened. “Oh hey, what about Levi or Maddox for a boy?” You looked up from your phone, eyes gleaming with hope. It was dashed quickly when you saw the incredulous look in Rafael’s eye. “Oh come on,” you huffed, a pout pulling at your lips, “they aren’t that bad. I think Levi is kinda cute,” you finished, mumbling out the last bit as you looked back to your phone.

“Levi Barba,” he said, trying out the name. You didn’t have to see his face to know he didn’t like how it sounded.

“Levi Rafael Barba,” you repeated, adding his name into the middle. You chanced a glance at Rafael, and caught him looking up at you from behind his book.

He cocked an eyebrow. “Rafael?”

You nodded, shifting in your half sitting, half slouching position on the corner of your couch. “Why not?”

“What about your—”

“I’m not too keen on the name Harold as a middle name,” you interrupted. “I mean, I loved my grandfather, but I don’t really want to give my child that name. And my father, well, that’s out of the question,” you muttered, not having to explain to Rafael about your nonexistent father; you both knew that pain all too well.

You watched Rafael swallow as he set down the book upside down on his lap, marking his page. “I mean — are you sure?”

A frown pulled at your lips as you sat up a bit straighter. “Do you not want—”

“No, it’s fine,” he interrupted, but you could tell it wasn’t fine. It made your stomach turn into knots. “I’m just — what if I fail him?” he whispered, voice slightly shaky. “And, he’s stuck with my name?”

You felt your heart drop into your stomach at Rafael’s words. “Rafael,” you called softly, shifting yourself to sit up as best you could in your state. “You’re not going to fail our child,” you started, and he looked up to you. You could see worry reflected in his emerald eyes. “In the three years we’ve been together, you haven’t failed me.” Rafael snorted in disbelief. “You haven’t failed me,” you repeated again, this time with more conviction in your voice than before. It seemed to startle him, and you continued. “Sure, did we have problems when we first started dating? Absolutely. Were there times when you missed planned dinners or gatherings because of work? Or, didn’t call me when you said you would? Yes, there were,” you admitted, remembering the difficulties that occurred in the beginning of your relationship. It had been a long time since Rafael had been in a relationship, and it took a while for him to get reacquainted with being in one (though, you weren’t perfect either, and made mistakes and missteps in your relationship). “But, you didn’t fail me, Rafael. Sure, was I disappointed when you missed those dates, or phone calls? Yes, but I believed in you, in us, early on, Rafael. I knew there would be ups and downs, that we’d make mistakes and have fights, but you didn’t fail me, and you’re not going to fail our child. Our boy is going to be proud to have your name, do you understand me?”

Rafael looked at you, a few tear glistening in his eyes, and smiled softly. “Sometimes, I think you should have been a lawyer,” he said, and you let out a choked chuckle as you wiped at your own wet eyes.

“I don’t think both of our egos could fit in this apartment if we were both lawyers.”

Rafael raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I have a big ego?”

“Absolutely,” you said, a large grin on your face as you returned to your original position on the couch and focused your attention back to the website on your phone. Rafael chuckled, shaking his head, but didn’t disagree with you (he knew you were right). “Now that we have middle names settled, let’s get back to finding first names.”

“We do have some time, mi amor. We could try again later.”

You looked up from your phone, an unamused look on your face. “Rafi,” you started, voice flat and stern, “I am almost eight months pregnant. We don’t have time. So.” You pointed to the book on Rafael’s lap. “Get back to work, papi.”

You looked back down to your phone. “Mi amor—”

“Rafael Barba,” you started, not looking up from your phone, “do not test me or else I will name this child Apple.” Your voice was calm, but it was clear from your tone that you might actually be serious. There was a moment a silence, and you wondered if you’d have to follow through on your threat (which you really didn’t want to do). But then, you heard Rafael sigh, and some shuffling as he picked up the book he’d had in lap. You smiled at your phone, and settled further into the couch, letting yourself get quite comfortable. It was going to be a long day.

----------

A month later, and almost 18 hours of labor, you were holding your precious little boy. And, you couldn’t stop smiling, but neither could Rafael.

“He’s beautiful,” you whispered, reaching out your forefinger to brush it against his tiny little fingers (you had already checked that he had all ten fingers and all ten toes, of course).

“He is,” Rafael agreed. “Just like his papá.”

You rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t help the soft chuckle that escaped your lips. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t have the ego that his papá has,” you muttered at your little boy, who was looking back at you with his wide, bright emerald eyes. You glanced back up at Rafael. “Not sure I could handle two massive egos.”

Rafael let out a soft chuckle, and reached out, brushing a few strands of hair from your forehead. “I’d beg to differ, mi amor,” he mumbled before he carefully leaned forward and pressed the softest of kisses to your forehead. “But I think,” he started as he pulled back, and looked down at his son, “he’ll be more like his wonderful mamá.”

You looked back to your beautiful boy. “Well, whoever he ends up taking after, he’ll always be his mamá and papá's perfect little boy,” you said, pulling him a little closer to your chest. “Won’t you, Javier, hm?” You received a yawn, those emerald eyes falling closed, and you felt your heart grow a little bigger, if that was even possible.

“Always,” Rafael whispered in agreement.

#rafael barba #rafael barba x reader #rafael barba imagines #rafael barba imagine #rafael barba x you #rafael barba x oc #rafael barba fanfic #svu imagine #svu imagines #my writing

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chirolinguistic · 2 years

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FALLING -- chapter 1 (a TF D&D fic)

Hey folks! My spouse and I have been playing a Transformers D&D campaign recently and it's been soooo much fun! I thought I would do a little written account/fic of the story as we went along. It started with me just making notes of what had happened in the sessions, and then I thought I might use it as a bit of a writing exercise, and well... I made a sideblog, and here it is! I do not claim that this is any good, and while I'm proud of myself for even writing this much (I haven't done so in a loooong time), it still feels off and I may do another draft or two. I do intend to post more chapters (and have bits and pieces already finished), so if you find it interesting, there will hopefully be more to come!

SYNOPSIS: A newly forged Cybertronian comes online for the first time and finds themselves in for a rocky start to their new life.

WARNINGS: sleep paralysis (no shadow demons tho), anxiety/panic attacks, loss/lack of senses

Forgive me if I don’t tag something correctly! I’m new to this. Just shoot me a message and I’ll tag it/put it in the warnings!

Story (and a notes section just as long lmao) below the cut.

CHAPTER ONE -- you are here!

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER ONE.

At first, there was nothing. A vague existence floating somewhere, devoid of light, devoid of sound, devoid of cognizance.

And then, something.

"Hello?"

It was a funny thing, processing consciousness for the first time. To become something out of nothing... to perceive. Senses were new, but somehow already familiar -- everything was, actually. They had never existed before, and yet, in a way, they already had. They knew things despite never having learned them. They understood language but had never communicated. They had never heard-

"Hello?" it echoed. "Can you hear me?"

Wait, no, they had heard! Someone had been trying to talk to them. They tried to respond, but something was wrong; awareness was rapidly filling them, but control was not. They put all of their willpower into doing something, anything, any kind of movement or sound or something they could do to show that they were here, they were trying. But their efforts seemed to go to waste as they strained against whatever unseen force was keeping them from-

"-coming online," the voice said. "Their vitals are steady, the scans show activity in the brain module, but they're not responding. Maybe..."

They felt something, heard noises -- shifting metal... someone was opening their chest panel! Something important was in there, something that needed protecting. Processors kicked up and their fans whirred as their panic began to intensify. If they could just move they could-

"Hey Wing? I think we should take them to an examination room."

And then they were moving, or being moved, rather; they still could not access their frame, though they could sense that whatever it was they were laying on was being propelled forward. Their ride pulled to a stop and they heard the voice again, and then a few different ones. One of them was louder than the rest -- they must have been right next to them. "Hmm. You're right about it being strange, Lightbright. It is not supposed to be that color, but otherwise, I can't identify anything wrong with it." They felt pressure on their neck, and an uncomfortable sensation as if someone were fiddling around inside of it. Another unfamiliar voice said, "Their voice-box seems to be in working condition as well. There's nothing physically stopping them from speaking."

At this, their distress grew. If it wasn't physical, then what was wrong with them? Was it all in their head? And why was it so damn loud... The noise in the room had picked up significantly: the last two speakers began bouncing ideas off of each other, things were whoosh-ing and click-ing and clang-ing around them, and the sound of their own systems going into overdrive had mingled with the anxiety of being unable to communicate, and it sent them reeling.

Then something grabbed their hand. It startled them at first, to have another sensation join the fray, but what held them was warm and... and solid. The world slowed down some as their mind focused in on the touch, and for the first time it felt like they were grounded by something -- a small tether wrapped around their finger. Their fans quieted a smidge.

>Can you hear me?<

This time they felt it. It was the voice -- the one that had first spoken to them -- but rather than hearing it projected through the void with all of the other noise, it seemed to come through the tether. It was strong and direct, yet somehow still soft and unabrasive.

A thought struck them. Maybe, if they followed the link to its source... They concentrated on their fingers, sending a short, simple message: >Yes.<

For a moment, they thought they had failed to get through. But after a brief pause, they received a reply. >Are you in any pain?<

They hesitated. They were scared, and everything had gotten pretty overwhelming for a bit, but they were in no physical pain, so they decided to answer: >No.<

>Do you have a name?<

This one tripped them up. They scoured their data banks, searching for answer, but found none that were theirs. There was a nagging feeling that they should have one, but if they did, it was inaccessible at the moment... just like everything else.

Alarm shot through them as the tether moved, and they were afraid that it was going to disconnect and leave them alone again. It was still there, just slightly more distant, and they reluctantly let their focus drift further from their anchoring hand to see what might be going on. Had someone else entered? There seemed to be more voices now, though it was difficult to make out what they were saying. It was like everything was slowly becoming a wall of static, but a voice once again asked, barely audible -

"What is your name?"

Did... that come through the tether? It sure didn't feel like it, but it also didn't sound like it was coming from through their audial receptors. It wasn't the one who had linked with them, nor did it seem to be any of the other voices they had heard prior; perhaps it was one of the new arrivals? That didn't seem right either. Did it even matter? They didn't know how to respond anyway. Their processor ached -- so many things were happening around them, yet they still had no answers. By this point, they were running on empty and all they wanted to do was rest. Instead, the static only grew louder.

"Do you have a name?"

The question thundered around them, jolting them awake with a force that threatened to shatter their whole being. The breath had been knocked out of them -- or had they screamed? Their frame throbbed and strained against itself, and their head felt like it would burst at any moment. "Do you have a name?" echoed around the void until an answer was forced out of them, and they roared-

"NO!"

And then, there was nothing again. No sounds, no feelings, no tether, no thoughts. Just... nothing.

"Good."

The only thing in that existed in that moment was that voice.

"Then I shall grant you one," it said. "Are you ready to receive your name?”

“...Yes," they replied. They were barely aware that they had.

"Then from now on, you will be Requiem Fall... of Grand Mal."

Something finally clicked inside them. An identity was being etched into their spark, and it fluttered.

"Now... open your eyes."

With a sharp intake through their vents, they felt their frame fall to hit the berth beneath them. Requiem's optics were open, and they realized that someone was standing over them -- a white mech with red accenting -- peering down with concern. Aside from a couple of beeping monitors, everything was quiet. They held the gaze of the nearby bot for a moment, then let it dart around the room. Several others were standing to off to the sides, and they were all staring at Requiem. After a moment, the first mech took Requiem's hands in his and asked-

>Are you in any pain?<

>No.< they replied.

>Can you sit up?<

They pushed themselves up off the slab with little effort, turning their head to face the other bot. Another bot -- more slender than the first with a teal blue frame -- stepped forward, holding her left hand in her right. Her voice was comforting and familiar, and he recognized it as the first one he had heard -- and the one that first spoke hand with them. "Can you tell us anything? Do you have a name?"

The first bot looked ready to translate through their hands, but before he could, Requiem said, >Requiem Fall of Grand Mal.< The white mech's brow furrowed and they took a step back, releasing Requiem's hands for a moment to document something in the datapad. His optics flickered a few times between the pad and Requiem, as if he was unsure what to make of their answer. Their fingers interlaced once more and the bot asked, >Can... can you tell me what Grand Mal is?<

Requiem blinked, confused. They had just told them, hadn't they? >It is part of the name that was given to me.< they stated flatly. The bot studied Requiem's optics with a quiet intensity before they vented softly, disconnected, and reached for the datapad to make another note. Passing it to the teal bot -- Lightbright, was it? -- they gestured toward the door to the room and asked, "Would you like to go for a walk?"

NOTES: Sooo! I know this isn't written very well, but I'm rusty and I was never very good to begin with, lol. (-w-; ) Anyway, this is based on a campaign my spouse is running, set in a version of the Transformers universe. It's heavily inspired by IDW1, with dashes of Prime and other continuities here and there. I started writing this as a way of having a record of our sessions, and we thought we might as well post it here! We do not claim to be any good, but by golly are we having fun with it. I'm running a party of four on my own, and of course my spouse is doing the rest as the DM. I'm the only reliable player he's got, lol, and I also couldn't decide on what kind of character I wanted to be, so we just went for this! As we played, Requiem was actually last in the line-up, but in the timeline they wake first. Plus, they've basically become the main character -- this is partially due to the fact that they're a warlock, and the act of establishing a connection with their patron has just given them more to do in the story so far. And I just think they're neat!! The circumstances of said connection, and really the character themselves, wound up changing course right out the gate. Though the DM started the "coming online" sequence pretty much the same as the others, something about the way it happened made me hesitate, and then it just kind of snowballed from there into a different direction that I found really interesting and wanted to explore.

Some notes regarding the writing style:

- I'm a big fan of punctuation, given that my ADHD brain always has a million notes about everything mid-thought, but I'm never quite sure if I over- or mis-use it and make it obnoxious to read; there were times where I had a bunch of commas and/or dashes and/or semi-colons in one sentence, and it just felt clunky, but after breaking them down into shorter sentences it still feels weird? I do think the flow could be improved significantly, though I'm not quite sure how, and I went back and forth between things on pretty well every line.

- I've never written Transformers or robots in general before, so some of the language used regarding anatomy and functions may be repetitive or more human-leaning as I figure out what works for me and what feels too clunky for my tastes.

- I couldn't quite decide how to fit both my/my character's perspectives and those of the DM's/other characters' into one narrative, so it's missing a few things and may be kind of sloppy. I don't know if I'm quite happy with it... it was quite a challenge to attempt to write from the perspective of a character who is essentially a newborn adult, and who's processing the concept of identity while dealing with "sleep" paralysis and sensory issues, leading to/on top of an existential crisis. A few things were changed or fabricated a bit as I transitioned from play session > notes made afterward > prose story, either by the aforementioned point-of-view choices, being unable to remember certain details, or things just not quite lining up right. I may come back to this and re-write it, or at least write a different version of it, or maybe not. ¯*(ツ)*/¯

- Kind of piggy-backing off the last point, I think technically Requiem wouldn't shorten their name, even in their head, and would refer to themselves as Requiem Fall -- actually, probably the full Requiem Fall of Grand Mal -- but it felt really clunky to write and hard to remember to do, considering I as the player refer to them just as Requiem. Technically it's still written in third-person, but it's from Requiem's perspective, so I debated on going back to change it... but eh.

- Similarly, despite Requiem not knowing the other bots' pronouns, I went ahead and used them for ease of reference. I'll touch on gender a bit down below. May go back and change that, may not.

As I said, a few things wound up missing from the narrative. Here are a few things that came up during play that didn’t here:

- Most of the other bots' reactions, particularly Lightbright's, wound up getting cut. I think originally, Requiem opened their eyes earlier, then got overwhelmed and closed them again, and then opens them back up when the voice instructs them to, so they saw a few more things than I wound up writing in. I couldn't remember exactly how things went down to get to this point, so I fudged it with a bit of a ret-con -- this is definitely one of the things I'm still trying to figure out how to incorporate back in for a potential new draft.

- Anyway, Lightbright gets visibly excited when she finds a successful method of communication (which is chirolinguistics, aka "speaking hand", from IDW1's MTMTE -- I figured that the words 'yes' and 'no' were the easiest messages to get across, even through paralysis, and especially since extremities tend to be some of the first things to wake up).

- Lightbright is also holding Requiem's hand when they hear the voice 'yell' at them (it wasn't actually yell, but more the idea that this voice came through clear as day amidst all of the rabble and static, but that it was so startling and overwhelming that it felt like an attack -- p sure I had rolled a nat 1), and when that happens their body seizes up, meaning that Lightbright's hand is in the line of fire, and the others help pry her out (and that's why she's holding her hand when she speaks later). Requiem's scream and their "NO" in response was also vocalized out loud, and probably scared the bejeebus out of everyone!

- Lightbright is Requiem's blacksmith, also a concept from IDW1 (and also IDW2, I think? though I haven't read it yet). Basically, they're like a midwife that serves as a guide during the forging process. TFWiki's got a great article about it.

- Kaput is the doctor that checks out Requiem's spark in the examination room, and the one that confirms their voice-box is working is Electroprobe. We'll find out the white and red mech's identity in the next chapter, but these two probably won't come up again, at least not for a while.

- Speaking of Electroprobe, who is an OC NPC my spouse created, they're named so after the tool used in the game Operation... by Hasbro. ;) He thought of how Lightbright had their name taken from the Lite-Brite product, also by Hasbro, and thought it would be fun to toss in a few more references with some of the NPCs. You'll meet a few more in the next chapter or so!

- Newly forged Cybertronians (and presumably cold-constructed bots as well, though the practice isn't really used anymore, I would assume) are fed a 'starter package' of information during the forging process. It is directly uploaded to their brain module before they come online, and includes all of the basics one would need to get up to speed, or at least get close. Things like body functions, languages, cultural facts, history, etc., though some of the context may be missing -- basically, they have access to the Cybertronian version of the Internet right out the gate, and the means to comprehend the world around them. In play, the ease with which they are able to access this information (like if somebody starts talking about the war, or some other historical event or person) is usually decided by something like a History check.

- In this version of Cybertronian culture, the default when referring to someone you don't know is 'they/them', though bots may adopt different pronouns and refer to/introduce themselves as such. The concept of gender wasn't hard-wired into Cybertronians originally, and really only came into play once they began interacting with other planets/cultures; some folks decided they liked it and rolled with it, until it spread and became common. These concepts are now included in forging 'starter package', and I imagine that bots kind of just use their preference(s) instinctually, though of course it may change over time.

I am welcome to critique, both technical and... narrative(? I don't know if that's quite the word or not), though keep in mind that some of these things may not change given that it's a retelling of a collaborative and building narrative and it is tuned primarily for our enjoyment. On the flip side, some of it is likely to change, as I discover more about the world that I'm not privy to at the moment. Also we forget things a lot, so even during the actual session a decent amount of accidental retcons happen.

I will admit, particularly during the next part, it feels like it treads into Mary Sue territory... and that's another reason why I'm a little nervous to share all this. But like I said, we never said it was good, just fun and perfect for us. If all this turns out to be is a writing exercise/chronicling of our campaign, that's totally fine and all it was really meant to be! But if someone else has fun with it along the way, well that's great, too! :))

And finally, just 'cause I want to note it for myself, the bots introduced in this chapter are:

Lightbright (canon character, she/her?) A blacksmith -- the one who helped forge Requiem.

Wing (canon, he/him?) Also a blacksmith? I would assume so, though technically I don't think the DM has confirmed it, and also Requiem wouldn't really know anyway. Went to get the unnamed doctor(?) after helping Lightbright move Requiem.

Kaput (canon, ???/???) Spark specialist.

Electroprobe (OC, they/them) Anatomy specialist?

????? (?????, ???/???) Doctor? I mean, they're white and red and in a medical facility, so something of the sort at least.

Requiem Fall (of Grand Mal) (player character, they/them) Newly forged. Has had a bit of a rough morning.

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gallavichthings · 3 years

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Hi guys! I, @thevioletjones, am back again as guest mod, because I wanted to be the one to talk to this week’s author, @lan-jev aka LanJevinson on AO3. She’s the writer of fandom classics, The New Year, and its sequel, Bird Set Free, as well as the equally bittersweet 1,000 Times. She also sometimes wrote more lighthearted fare like the Mickey Tries New Things series. She’s one of my fandom besties and we had fun reminiscing, so it's a loooong one. Enjoy!

VioletJones: Are you ready?

LanJevinson: Yep

Weirdly nervous lmao

VJ: lmao... why? It's just me

LJ: Idk man

VJ: it's very much not a big deal... you'll be fine

First of all, why are you such an angsty bitch?

LJ: Lol

VJ: 😂💀I'm joking, but it's also a legitimate question. I just wanna know.

LJ: God, I have no idea. I just really love that feeling of reading (or writing) a fic that makes your heart break only to carefully pull it back together.

VJ: Obviously. That's your M.O. Lol

LJ: I have a hard time even reading fic without angst to be honest. It has to be a just-right fic in every other way

VJ: How do you balance the angst with the right amount of sweetness and resolution?

LJ: That’s a hard question. I think as the author we know our purpose and our characters and story so well that it can be difficult to make it satisfying for the reader in the end. I definitely haven’t hit it right for every reader! I’ve had comments expressing dissatisfaction with the resolution of my stories before. Primarily, I write for me—and if I’m satisfied with it, I write it that way.

VJ: I mean, at the end of the day, we have to execute our own vision. I've seen people modify their story based on what people tell them and you can always tell it would've been better had they stuck with the original plan.

That includes letting stories sprawl out without end and become repetitive as hell, imo. Lol

LJ: For sure. Not fun to read a fic that literally loses the plot midway through. Or writing a fic for the clout—because you know a/b/o is a trending trope, for example.

VJ: True. People who follow the trends get the hits.

Do you ever cater to what you think the audience wants, or are you always staunch about your inspiration and intention?

LJ: I have worried about the choices I made and if people would like it, but rarely enough to change the direction of a fic.

For every person that hates it, there’s going to be someone who likes it. And if not, I like it. Haha.

VJ: Lol. That's a good way to look at it. You know I get too caught up worrying about what people think, and I hate it so much.

LJ: I know. You’re so not alone in that though. I’m the anomaly.

VJ: Idk. Some people don't take it so seriously. You're lucky, though...

I feel like we know each other pretty much as well as two people who've never met in person can. Lol. What do you want the fandom at large to know about you?

LJ: I don’t know, I’m just really thankful to have stumbled into the fandom. It was my first time writing fic after a long break, my first time writing m/m fic, and in the case of The New Year in particular, my first time really letting my muse just take the reins. I’d written as a teenager, but was one of those people who assumed when my “life” began that I wouldn’t be into fanfic, but I am so glad to be wrong about that. In high school I dreamed of going to college for creative writing. I’ll probably never get around to writing original fiction, but writing fanfic has been so fulfilling.

VJ: When and what was your first time with fanfic and fandom?

LJ: I started writing fan fiction before I even knew it had a name, predictably, for Harry Potter around age 12? I kept a plastic container full of notebooks under my bed and filled them with ideas. I’ve always been a purist—canon divergent was my jam even from the beginning. I even published a few of them on ffnet. I vividly remember paying money by the minute to go onto a computer at LAX during a family vacation to check my email to see if I had any comments! During my later teenage years I wrote and published Gone with the Wind fanfic. Despite writing fic, I didn’t know what a ‘fandom’ even was until I searched for Shameless fic on the good old ffnet, somehow hopped over to AO3, and then subsequently discovered tumblr some months later.

And fandoms are such a trip. It’s really cool to gather with people who love the same characters and books and shows as you, but also sort of all-encompassing? For a while it felt like my life revolved around the Shameless fandom and fic. It was almost a relief when canon failed me and I started to step back.

VJ: Yeah, girl. You all left me. I keep trying to get to the other side. Lmao. Soon!

When did you join the Gallavich/Shameless fandom?

LJ: I started writing The New Year in April 2016 after I finished watching season 5. It feels like so long ago. I know it was just on the cusp of the first exodus of the “OG” writers.

VJ: Yeah, you came in right before I did. What made you want to write for them so badly?

LJ: It was mainly the shock of the season 5 ending that did it. I started out watching as a fan of the show in general, and wasn’t even super invested in Gallavich until later. But Gallavich was really the perfect ship for me— so many opportunities to write and read nuggets that weren’t included in the show, since the viewers saw so little of their relationship.

VJ: Yeah, it's pretty crazy to think about how little total airtime they've had together over the course of the entire show.

For those who don't get the reference, please explain the origins of LanJevinson and why you chose it as a pen name.

LJ: Lan Jevinson is the code name Dwight gives to Michael’s boss, Jan Levinson, when she unexpectedly joins them at Casino Night in the warehouse on The Office. I just love a good Office-themed pseudonym! I really wanted to use the Warhol-esque portrait Jan has of herself up in her office in one of the later seasons as my profile picture on AO3, but I couldn’t find one, so I went with Prison Mike instead. It always makes me laugh when I see the little picture pop up next to my name when I comment on fics.

VJ: Lmao. I love that it has nothing to do with the actual fandom. So random.

Have you ever thought about writing a fic that has a sitcom feel to it like The Office?

LJ: I’m firmly in the dramedy category. I’ve thought about writing some elements related to The Office, like the workplace setting and the mutual pining of coworkers, but without a lot of the comedic elements, and not for Shameless certainly. I’m way too anxious in real life to be quick-witted. I’m better in writing, but it’d be far out of my comfort zone!

VJ: What was the most fun aspect of writing Gallavich for you?

LJ: I’ll be honest, at the beginning it was more of a compulsion than something ‘fun’. Not to sound too hokey, but The New Year just had to be written, it almost felt like an out of body experience. I had the most fun with my one shot pieces, and it’s definitely because I could be creative in ways that I’d missed, but was still able to tether myself to canon, to write for characters to whom the readers needed no introduction. Also I just really freaking love mutual pining!

VJ: It doesn't sound hokey. I think the reason most people are compelled to write fic for the first time is that they want to see an exact idea executed in a way they haven't been able to find in someone else's fic yet.

And you get to ride the high of a newfound inspiration.

LJ: Which of your fics were you most compelled to write would you say?

VJ: Definitely the first one. Backdrifting. It can happen with fics that come later, but I think there's something about the first idea and the way it becomes an obsession until you just start writing it.

LJ: I remember reading it and it felt so refreshing—you never avoid real-life things, like having other partners or past history, or not falling head over heels immediately. It’s not Backdrifting, but a different one of yours I remember commenting how so true to life the dialogue and relationship was. Like conversations I’d have in my own marriage.

VJ: Aw, thanks. Realism is something I appreciate in my fiction. Lmao. I do remember that you would sometimes try to dissuade me from writing stuff that you thought the fandom wouldn't go for, particularly in regards to Mickey. Like, I wrote Bad Date to prove you wrong that the premise wasn't perfect for them. Lollll... Did you ever hold back because of stuff going on in canon or the fandom? Ideas you thought wouldn't fly so you suppressed them?

LJ: Did I try to dissuade you from writing stuff?? Damn I’m a bad friend lol. The publishing of my Big Bang fic [1,000 Times] was really poorly timed although beyond my control. At the time the fandom was still recovering from the Mexico border goodbye (I think...), and I remember getting this long pleading comment from someone basically begging for me to give them a happy ending because the wounds were too raw from canon. I did agonize a bit about that before posting. And I worried a bit about giving Mickey a partner he loved and lost, as well as a second child in TNY. People still don’t understand my reasoning behind that one. It’s complicated but I don’t regret it, although I did worry how it would be received.

VJ: Yes, well, speaking of that whole mess, you also clowned me for how much I cried while reading your epic angst fest. I read both parts in full over like a long weekend or something, and I definitely got mad at you multiple times. Lol. And you called me a baby.

Anywayyyyy... I did plan on bringing it up, but you did first, so... What do you have to say to people who still think your treatment of Ian was harsh in The New Year series, and/or couldn't deal with your Mickey/OMC subplot?

LJ: I’ve never been one to shy away from con-crit if I think it’s deserved and written in good faith. As far as Mickey/OMC goes, I think that’s more of a personal preference thing. It’s unrealistic IMO to expect one or both of them to never hold strong feelings for another person while apart (though some may argue it’s less likely while in prison). As far as Ian goes, firstly I needed to come up with a rational explanation for the porch breakup in canon, which wasn’t easy. And then I had to further emotionally stunt him so he could leave Mickey to rot for eight years. From there he could only go up. It made sense at the time. Lol

Maybe I just wanted to punish him a little. It was a dark time for the Mickey Milkovich Deserves Better crew. Newer readers really can’t get into it. TNY series is one of those fics you ‘had to be there’ for.

VJ: Oh man, that's so true. I never was down for the Ian punishment though. You know this. But, me loving your writing despite all the pain it inflicts when I read it should be seen as a testament to your talent. Lmao. It hurts so good. I wouldn't sit through all that for just any writer.

Was there anything you ever struggled with when writing them?

LJ: Not them specifically, as far as their characterizations go (though I do find Mickey easier to write than Ian, generally), but I’ve never been great at fleshing out my stories with detail and descriptive emotions. I’ve tried not to write so bare bones, but I guess it doesn’t suit me.

VJ: You definitely have a clean and to-the-point style, unlike me. Lol. But yeah, it's what works for you, because that's your voice. Nothing wrong with that. I mean, obviously. You've gotten plenty of well-deserved compliments about your fics both here and in other fandoms.

Is Mickey being easier to write something that makes you prefer his POV, or do you enjoy writing Ian's POV too?

LJ: I like writing both, but Mickey is more fun to write because he’s funnier, more insecure, all around a bit more layered than Ian (IMO). Not that Ian isn’t interesting—he definitely is. But Ian’s harder to read. Maybe it’s partly the way the actors play their roles, too.

VJ: Do you think Ian being more of a blank canvas makes him easier to project onto? I think we've talked about relating more to Ian in some obvious ways, even though there's also emotionally relatable things about Mickey too.

LJ: Yeah, I think that could definitely be part of it! Writing Ian isn’t nearly as much of an escape as writing Mickey is, and I totally get why you and other authors like to keep Ian’s bipolar out of fics. I channeled myself into Ian in the last non-drabble piece I ever wrote for Gallavich. It was cathartic though!

VJ: What other Shameless characters do you enjoy, both on the show and in fics?

LJ: The first few seasons of the show were so good. I loved Lip and Fiona. I got told often that I must hate Lip based on how I write him 🤷‍♀️ but just cuz I write him as a bit of an asshole doesn’t mean I dislike him as a character! I loved writing Carl the most of all the Gallaghers, though. He’s got such a flat affect on the show, it was really fun to build on that and just make him this irreverent, unfiltered grownup with a big heart.

VJ: Lip and Fiona were the only other characters I really cared about in the early show seasons as well. Never cared about reading or writing the other siblings much, tbh. How do you feel about the Milkovich siblings? I like writing Mandy. Although I acknowledge fic Mandy can be a lot different than canon Mandy sometimes. But she's yet another character that canon did dirty, so I'm ok with giving her a better life and closer relationship to Mickey.

LJ: I do love writing Mandy. I have complicated feelings about canon Mandy that are too difficult to put into words. I wrote something pre-canon about Mandy really early into fandom just because, and I still love it even though it only has like 100 total hits, LOL. As for the other siblings, they make decent background characters but I never really invested in them. We’re not even sure who’s a cousin and who’s a brother! I’ve read some awesome fics that incorporate Iggy in fun ways, though.

VJ: Same. I never understood the Iggy thing as more than a secondary comic relief type thing.

Angst aside, what types of fics do you prefer writing, both in terms of length and content (genres, tropes, et al)?

LJ: I always say when I estimate how long a fic is going to be in the planning stage, the reality will be less than half the length. My preference across fandoms is for multi-chapters, but I like a good short one-shot too. My biggest hang-up in terms of tropes is my attachment to canon. In every fandom I’ve read or written for, I vastly prefer canon and canon-divergent to AUs, and especially for Gallavich, even had a hard time reading AUs if they didn’t suit my standards. The characters still have to feel like themselves for me to get invested— otherwise they feel like stand-ins for original fiction. The 3 AUs I wrote for Gallavich, were still deeply rooted in canon. Two of the three I would actually count as pre-canon divergent. Canon aside, there’s got to be some element of smut, even if it’s not explicit (even though I find the act of writing the smut in itself pretty torturous). Mutual pining, miscommunication. It all leads back to angst, predictably.

VJ: Lol. Fuck canonnnnnnn... AUs forevaaaa!!! I know what you mean about preserving the characterization within the different universes though. That's important to me too.

Walk us through what your writing process looks like.

LJ: Firstly, I sit on an idea for at least a week. Maybe longer. Thinking about various story plots in the shower, during work, etc, as we all probably do. When I finally open a doc it’s a jumbled mess of random lines and plot points. After that, I make myself write out a basic outline. And from there I start filling in things as they come to me, moving things around as needed. I’m not much of a multiple-drafts person, and if the words aren’t flowing the way I want them to right away, I get pretty frustrated. I also write 95% of my stories on my phone— I have a very nice laptop that only comes out when I have a large chunk of time to myself (very rare) or if I’m ready to edit. I’m a terrible editor, too. Bad autocorrects in particular are my nemesis, which is what I get for phone writing. Time permitting, I’m either going to write almost an entire chapter or one shot in 1-2 sittings, or I’m going to struggle to write three sentences over a month period. It all depends on how the muse is feeling. I’m big on not pushing myself to write when I’m not feeling it. Basically, I’m a hot mess and it’s remarkable I’ve managed to publish anything at all!

VJ: I was aghast when you told me you wrote everything on your phone. That's crazy pants to me. I did enjoy betaing for you though. You're very accepting of my edits and comments.

How much research do you typically do?

LJ: Generally, very little. Sometimes I’ll get a wild hair and NEED to know the specific street coordinates of the L train. I try to ask myself if not knowing the exact detail will pull a reader from the story. I do get jealous of fics where the author clearly has drawn from real-life experience as a barista/lawyer/world traveler. My life experience doesn’t give me much inspiration.

VJ: Interesting. Your stuff never comes off as unresearched or inauthentic. I bet you're more inspired by your own life and knowledge than you think.

LJ: I don’t know. I’ve been extremely blessed to know very little trauma or heartbreak, aside from my own struggles with depression and anxiety, which isn’t altogether uncommon. It’s probably why I’m such a canon hoe tbh. No good AUs rattling around in here.

VJ: Lol. You always talk about being all about canon, but I think you lie. You've always read and liked AUs. 😂

LJ: I do like reading AUs definitely! (Not so much writing them). It just takes me a while in each fandom. I start out with canon and canon divergent, then when I exhaust those I move onto the AUs.

And then I find myself enjoying them. Especially in its heyday, the Shameless fandom was/is blessed with many excellent authors.

VJ: Yeah, so you ease into different types of fanfic, but you never rejected AUs that I could tell.

What's your favorite Gallavich fic that you’ve written and why?

LJ: I like them all for different reasons, but I go back to The New Year series, specifically The New Year itself, the most often. Like we talked about before, there’s no love quite like your first love. It helped me make deeper connections with other fans in ways I was not anticipating. And while it might not be my best work (across fandoms) it remains the one I’m the most personally proud of.

VJ: It's a great fic! Even if a part of me hates it, because it makes me cry all the tears in my well reserve. Lmao

I'm gonna do a re-read soon. Even though I said I'd never read it again. 💀

What are some of your favorite fics and/or writers in the fandom?

LJ: This is such a difficult question because a) it’s been so long since I’ve really read Shameless fic, b) I have a really terrible memory for both fics and authors, it’s a character flaw, and c) I am the world’s worst bookmarker.

I will say that Avalonia’s fic, The Russian, is an absolute diamond that no one has read. Boomer OGs include segs, romanticalgirl, magneticdice (I unconsciously compare every other grim reaper AU I read to theirs [Company Man]). Gen X OGs: you of course, grumblesandmumbles, loftec. Millennials: biblionerd07. This is a terrible analogy.

VJ: Lol. Thank you for mentioning Biblionerd, because I forgot to mention them in mine, and Broad-Shouldered Beasts is definitely one of my picks for best written series in the fandom.

And thanks for the shout-out, babes. 💕

What are your favorite tropes as a reader?

LJ: I love miscommunication, mutual pining, enemies to lovers, friends with benefits turns into love. I’m a sucker for supernatural elements. I once told a friend from a different fandom how I found friends to lovers to be unrealistic, and she asked me how many people I knew who had fallen for someone they hated, and I was like... touché.

VJ: Lmao. I've done both IRL sorta, tbh.

How about fic pet peeves?

LJ: The first one is both obvious and a little subjective, but poor characterization will nope me out of a fic right away. Daddy kink, age difference (even if both adults), and mpreg are also not for me. Also, very specifically, fics in which the characters play Never Have I Ever or Truth or Dare.

VJ: Lmfaooooo

No party games for you? Is it too cheap a trope, you think?

LJ: Just a little too cliche maybe? Idk. Just a weird pet peeve.

VJ: Ok, let's talk about the show a little bit. What is your favorite season and episode of Shameless?

LJ: You are making me dive deep into the vault here. We already talked about how the first few seasons were the best in general. The Thanksgiving scene with Monica, with Fiona and Ian holding one another. Fiona going to prison. Lip’s freak outs every time he inevitably had to put family in front of his dreams. JAW is so great. Specifically with Gallavich, I loved Ian running to Mickey’s house for comfort and the look Mickey gives him, telling him they’ll meet at work. The scene where Mickey gets out of juvie and catches Ian behind the bleachers. The entirety of season 5 (except the ending).

VJ: Yeah, Jeremy and Emmy were always my favorite actors on the show along with Noel. Obvs, Bill Macy is great, but I just can't care about Frank 95% of the time.

Do you have a favorite Ian & Mickey scene, or is it something you mentioned above?

LJ: They’re all great for all sorts of reasons. It’s probably not a popular opinion, but I did love the earlier seasons when Mickey wasn’t quite ready to be out, but still clearly cared, was jealous, etc.

VJ: I mean, as sad and frustrating as that was, it was definitely dramatic gold. My main wish is that we had just gotten more screen time for them both.

LJ: Totally agree.

VJ: Which is actually a good segue for this... If you could go back and change one thing in canon, what would it be?

LJ: I’ve always wondered what would have happened if the back door had been locked the day Frank walked in on them. I’d also really have liked Mickey to not have gone to prison, or if he’d had to, not escaped from prison and gone to Mexico and then subsequently snitched on the cartel. That was dumb.

VJ: 😂Succinct.

Ok, the million dollar question... Do you think there's anything that could ever persuade you to write Gallavich again?

LJ: I’ll never say never, but unless I ever decide to binge the show again, I don’t think I could ever get in the headspace to write them again.

VJ: And I'm guessing you don't plan on rewatching the show after all the trauma it inflicted on us over the years? Lol

LJ: I have far too many tv shows on my to-watch list for that!

VJ: I figured. And it's understandable. But I had to ask! So now other people won't, hopefully.

Last question! Now that the show is over and done with, do you have any parting words for the fandom? Once more, with feeling.

LJ: My time in the Shameless fandom will forever be special to me. I made amazing connections and some real friends. I got to push myself creatively in ways I never thought I would do again, and it turns out I’ve got so much more left in the tank! It’s been truly unforgettable.

Thanks to everyone who’s read my works, sent me encouragement, food for thought, con-crit, cried and obsessed with me over these two dummies. Most importantly, so much love to every Gallavich and Shameless content creator who gave me hours and hours of entertainment and got me through some tough times personally. We are a small and mighty bunch. I hope we meet again in another fandom!

VJ: Awwww, I echo your sentiments. Thank you for being one of the people who gave us amazing fanworks. And on a personal level, I'm so glad we "met"!

LJ: Me too, so much!

VJ: END SCENE.

#gallavich #ian x mickey #shameless #shameless us #writer's spotlight #interview #lan-jev #lanjevinson

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