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windblume-wishes · 2 years

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What It Should Have Been - A Genshin Impact Story

Scaramouche- or rather Kunikuzushi made a wish to restart his life, to rewind the clock to the day his he was created. He craved to be loved and recognized by Ei, but would things be any different?

Scaramouche sat on the edge of a cliff overlooking all of Sumeru, his mother’s Gnosis in hand, daydreaming of what he could have had- what he should have had. He could have been loved like any normal boy who had a mother to care for him, but no, he had to be discarded as if he were nothing- a mere waste of life meant to wander about for all of eternity as humanity evolved and many die. He thought of the three betrayals he faced in his long life, wanting desperately to change those times for the better but he could not.

A tear fell from his indigo eyes, soaking the fabric of his shorts- no- he refused to cry. His mother threw him away because he cried when he was born. Tears meant weakness, a weakness he would need to rid for good. Throughout the years he has seen many children live happily with their mothers, just watching them made his heart ache for he never had that experience. Never once held when he cried, never kissed goodnight, not even a simple hug… Oh how he secretly yearned for a mother’s love- for Ei’s love but seeing as she had threw him out as if he were a mistake that was only wishful thinking.

As the sun set over Sumeru’s horizon he sighed once more, drying his pathetic tears and laying flat on his back as he watched the stars come out. He once heard a mother tell her son that if he were to wish hard enough on a star his wish could come true- how childish- but- was he not still Ei’s child? He huffed at the thought but never turning himself from facing the stars that glittered above his head. Perhaps this once would not hurt, after all, they say it is better to try and fail than never try at all.

He let out a sigh, sitting himself upright and closed his eyes. “I wish to go back to the day my life began- to have a fresh start, to have a mother who will love her son…”

Silence- only the sounds of the night could be heard. As he thought, the wishing was just an old fairytale that parents told their children. Scaramouche frowned as he lay back down in the soft grass, closing his eyes, he began to drift off completely unaware of one of the stars above him glowing brighter in response to his wish.

———

He awoke to hearing himself crying loudly, a bright glow flickering around him as his eyes adjusted to his new surroundings. He could see Ei, his mother, standing above him, kneeling down to face him better. He only cried harder, this time however, he reached his small arms out for her, calling out for her.

“M-Mother!” He cried out, his voice now back to sounding much, much younger. “Mother!”

Ei froze, never once did a puppet she created ever address her as “mother”- then again, none of them ever wailed like an infant when they were created- well, a small frightened child for that matter. A sudden warmth filled her chest, new urges flooded into her as she stared at the small crying boy at her knees. He looked so much like Makoto when they was younger, she knew in her heart she could not rid of the boy. Not after he saw her as his mother and him as Makoto.

Ei held back her own tears as she carefully lifted him onto her lap and holding him as a mother would her newborn child, pressing him to her breasts as she caressed his hair and face. The little boy was beautiful, his eyes were just like Makoto’s, she simply could not destroy what looked like her beloved late sister. Prototype or not, she refused to dispose of something so beautiful, so pure.

“Y-yes, I am your mother, and you my son, from today forward you shall be known as Kunikuzushi, Prince of Inazuma.” She spoke softly, staring into his matching eyes with the look only a new mother would give her young. “My Kuni… My beautiful little Kuni…”

“Well, well~ Ei, I never expected you to become a loving mother~ usually you viciously eliminate the defective prototypes~.” Came a new voice that dripped with slyness, a female kitsune with long pink hair appeared, making Kunikuzushi turn his head into his mother’s chest, crying softly.

“Miko… Perhaps I simply decided that now was the perfect time to create a son to help me keep eternity in m- in our nation.” She protested, knowing full well that her fox friend was right. Ei had always been merciless to all her previous prototypes, eliminating all that failed in her eyes, however, now came a prototype even she could not harm, but she minded not of that.

“Oh~? Somehow I feel like that is not the case but I cannot argue with you~ fufu~ so, tell me, what’s the little one’s name?”

“Kunikuzushi, Prince Kunikuzushi.” Ei replied softly, noticing that her gentle caresses made the boy rather sleepy.

“Destroyer of Nations, hm? He looks too cute to be named something so harsh but then again, his teenage years may be quite the destructive time~” Miko smirked as Ei rolled her eyes in irritation, already her Kitsune was making predictions of how her son would turn out, typical Miko.

“We will have to wait and see, I suppose that will be an interesting time indeed but for now we shall enjoy these tender moments before your so called ‘destructive phase’…” Ei whispered, already feeling her son relax in her arms. “I suppose a proper bedroom will need to be made for him seeing as I decided to keep this prototype- no- my son who I shall never part from me.”

“Oh~? Could this be a new form of eternity I see~? Eternal love of a mother~?” Miko smiled softly as she watched Ei wrap Kunikuzushi in his purple veil as a makeshift blanket.

“Yes, exactly so, I hear this form of love is one not easily broken- an eternal bond one may say.” Ei stood up with a rare soft smile gracing her face as she looked at her son who now rested his head on her shoulder. “Come, we must prepare him a place to rest, he may not like my shoulder for much longer.”

Miko took a bit longer to follow Ei, sensing something was rather off about the boy, his energy was different and so was his scent. His overall aura was one not of this world- more like timeline for that matter but even with such in mind it would not be enough to convince Ei, a new mother, that her “son” was not what he appeared. Even so, she remained silent and followed, vowing to watch the boy like a hawk as he grew and evolved.

———

A room was quickly assembled by the palace staff upon the great news of their Almighty Shogun creating a child to rule alongside her. The room was decorated with traditional Inazuman decor and within was his very own Sakura tree, a small one but one that would symbolize his new beginning. Some of the staff had to secretly leave to gather suitable toys for the boy, some even being faux swords and other play weapons he could use to learn and sharpen his skills- one being a toy spear he could use to train and become as strong as his mother.

Ei was rather pleased with the spear and the miniature sized version of her Musou no Hitotatchi, admiring the craftsmanship the toy maker in the village put into the model. It was perfect for Kunikuzushi, if he were to be anything like her in the future he would need to master the blade too. But of course, there was no rush, he had time to learn and grow. Ei sat beside her sleeping son as she watched her staff take care of preparing the new room, in the time they prepared she received many kind words of support and congratulations for the gift she gave her nation.

“Almighty Shogun, before I leave, I just wanted to say thank you for blessing our beautiful nation with a prince we can put our undying faith in!” The young man bowed, Ei placed a gentle hand atop his shoulder and smiled warmly at him.

“I created him with my cherished subjects in mind, I only want what is best for this nation and it’s many people, once he is of age, Kunikuzushi shall rule alongside me. I trust you will treat him with the same care and respect you give me.”

He nodded, looking at the sleeping child with a soft smile. “Yes, he will always have my undying support and faith. Oh and- um- this kabuki doll is one from my childhood, I’d like him to have it if that is alright.”

“Of course, I will lay it beside him, thank you, Tomoya.” She thanked him with a soft smile as he bowed once more before leaving, she placed the doll next to her son and petted his hair. Almost in response to her gentle touches his indigo eyes began to flutter open. “Oh? It seems someone is awake now, did you have a good rest?”

“Yes, mother… *yawn* I’m still quite sleepy but my stomach feels weird… it makes this weird rumbling and it kinda hurts…” Kunikuzushi looked up at her with worry etching his young face. “D-did I do something wrong, mother?!”

Ei only let out small laughs at his limited understanding to his new life. “No, you needn’t worry, this is normal- however I never expected you to feel hunger, no matter, I was in the mood for some tri-coloured dango myself, should I have some fetched for you as well?”

“Is it good?” He asked with his head tilting to the side rather adorably, pondering whether or not this dango was considered delicious or not.

“Indeed it is, it’s quite sweet but it is definitely something I enjoy from time to time. You may like it as well.” She placed a gentle kiss atop his head, lifting his smaller body into her arms, and handing him the doll. “Come, let’s see if we can have some brought up to us.”

—————

Within moments their Dango was brought out to them, fresh from the stand in Inazuma City just outside the protective walls of Tenshukaku. Miko stood close by watching the two as she nibbled on her fried tofu she so enjoyed. From the looks of things, it became apparent that even Kunikuzushi enjoyed the sweet dango, like mother like son one may say.

“My, my~ it seems you have a little sweet tooth, Ei~ if you are not careful he may devour the entire stand in the city~! Fufu~!” Miko smirked, petting Kuni’s soft head affectionately. “You know, whenever you are craving something sweet, just come to dear Auntie Miko, hm~?”

“Really?” His eyes lit up with what one would call childish wonder and a grin graced his face. “You mean it?”

“Miko, he should not consume so much sugar-” was Ei’s expected response but even she could not deny her son’s big indigo eyes staring at her like a puppy begging for a treat. “*sigh* Already you have learned that face? I suppose if Miko is willing to, she may spoil you on occasion, Miko, that does not mean every second.”

“I make no promises, especially when he’s already mastered the art of the puppy eyes~ how cute~!” Miko smirked, watching Ei look completely unamused with her antics once more. “Oh~ speaking of Inazuma City, when will you announce him as your heir~? The people should know the good news, no~?”

Ei had completely forgot about the need to inform her subjects to the creation of her son who sat before the two looking confused as he munched on his dango. That would mean a ceremony was in order and Kunikuzushi would require new clothing that would be suitable for such an occasion as well as normal attire for other events and home wear.

“Hmm, I suppose you make a point, a ceremony will need to be held and in the time leading up to the event we would require clothes suitable for a boy his size.” Ei commented, looking her son over. “His body is one of a human seven year old, not particularly big yet not particularly small…”

“Mother? What do I need to wear? Is what I have on right now not good for that ceremony you mentioned?” He tilted his head in confusion, fiddling with his garments. “Do I look bad? I’m sorry, mother…”

“Kuni, my dear, you look perfectly fine, it is just that a ceremony announcing your creation required you to look a bit more formal. What you have on would be considered casual.” Ei replied, cupping his face in her hands, he nodded understanding what she meant. “I think some traditional clothes suitable for a young man would be better for the occasion.”

“I guess that means we need to call in a tailor then~ it seems he needs to have proper measurements and garments prepared~” Miko placed a hand atop Kuni’s head, gently ruffling his hair. “You, little man will need to look your very best- I’d expect no less from Inazuma’s newest prince.”

“M-Mother…? I’m getting sleepy again…” he let out a yawn, sleepily rubbing his tired eyes. Kunikuzushi reached out his arms for his mother who happily took him into her arms, holding him close.

“I suppose it is getting rather late, isn’t it? Well, firstly a bath would be in order and secondly, for sleep attire I see no problem in allowing you to wear one of my own.” Kuni only nodded sleepily as he rested his weary head atop her shoulder.

—————

Bath time took longer than Miko and Ei anticipated, Kunikuzushi was rather mesmerized by the existence of bubbles and was frightened of the water, it took many attempts to get him into the bath so he could be washed. Thankfully he went in after being promised Dango, in the bath he found it hard to stay awake- the warm water calmed him and made him sleepier, if anything it would have reminded him of a time many newborns are familiar with, but seeing as he was anything but a normal newborn it was merely a calming bath.

He was wrapped in a towel and dried off without any fuss other than sleepy whines when the cold air hit his exposed skin. The nightgown Ei had chosen for him was adorably large on his small frame, practically swallowing him whole- a small, sleepy little boy wearing a large nightgown belonging to his mother was an adorable sight to behold. Ei holding him as he drifted in and out of sleep was even more of a precious sight.

She laid him down on her bed, crawling in next to him and pulling her son close to her frame, softly shushing him when he moaned and stirred in his sleep. Ei leaned down and placed a loving kiss atop his head, brushing the hair from his beautiful face, taking in how beautiful of a child he was- truly a devine creation.

“Did you manage to get the little one asleep~?” Miko whispered softly, taking a seat next to the sleeping Kunikuzushi.

“Indeed I have, he was not much of a struggler when it came to bedtime- I’m quite thankful for such.”

“Mastering bedtime is definitely a difficult task for some parents, dear Ei, luckily for you he went down without a struggle~” Miko smiled, petting his hair a bit, watching his small chest rise and fall as he dreamed.

“I see, I suppose that is useful information to keep in mind- however, he seems to be fine right now. I can only hope that nothing shall change…”

——————

Well my dearest travelers, I certainly had to write this after witnessing Scara’s backstory. To say I cried is an understatement, I sobbed hard, it was awful! My heart ached for Scaramouche… I just wanted to hug him tight.

- Windblume

#windblume writes #kazuha genshin impact #genshin impact fanfics #Genshin impact fanfiction #kunikuzushi #scaramouche #genshin scaramouche #genshin kunikuzushi #Scaramouche and Ei #ei genshin #raiden shogun #genshin impact au

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acnlmorioh · 2 years

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some new horizons thoughts

i don’t think it’s controversial to say that new horizons ended up being a little underwhelming. i was so so excited in 2019 when a new animal crossing game was announced. i even bought my switch specifically to play it! when it released, i played it every single day. i worked hard on my island to make it look pretty and to get my dream villagers. yet not even a year later, i fell out of love with the game and stopped playing. in fact, now i only ever log in on my birthday and the day i started my island. what’s the issue with new horizons? why is it that i can still come back to new leaf 10 years after release with no problem, but not new horizons?

i think the biggest issue for me is that at a certain point, you run out of things to do. whenever i occasionally log onto new horizons, i just walk around my island for a bit. i talk to the villagers. maybe even catch a fish or two. then i inevitably get bored and log off. there is simply nothing to do. obviously there are the standard dailies of check the shops, shake trees, find fossils, etc. but at some point you just think what’s the point? i finished my fossil collection, so why would i keep digging them up? i could sell them for money, but i never buy anything so what’s the point? and sure, i could restart my island and have lots of early game stuff to redo, but after working so hard on my island since release i don’t want to lose all of that.

maybe i could just get a different game card to have a new island? well not only does a new game card cost £30-40, your island isn’t even saved by game card, its saved by console. i get that this is an issue with the switch rather than with the game, but it is just so annoying to me. i have 2 new leaf game cards which i can swap between whenever i want. why do i have to buy an entirely new switch just to have a different island?

well, maybe new horizons would be more fun with friends! now you can even have up to 8 people in multiplayer at once. once you’ve got past the paywall of NSO (which is quite cheap to be fair), you can have your friends on your island! and you can do… so much stuff! i really think so much is missing from new horizons, with a big thing being tortimer island. me and my friend used to spend hours on tortimer island together, whether it be catching bugs or playing the island tours. what are you supposed to do when you play with your friends on new horizons? it usually ends up just being a tour of your island and then maybe you run around and hit each other with nets for a bit.

speaking of missing things, i think so many important things have just been cut out of the game. for example, the shops. you can have two shops on your island: nook’s cranny and the able sisters. this is a significant downgrade from new leaf, in which you had nookling junction, the gardening store, able sisters, kick’s, shampoodle, club LOL, the dream suite, and the fortune house. instead, many of these have been downgraded into small shops on harv’s island that can easily be unlocked simply by paying 100,000 bells per shop. if these shops weren’t brought into new horizons, they were simply cut out - where’s gracie? where are pelly, phyllis, and pete? where’s wendell? where’s katrina? it’s sad to see such memorable characters be removed and often replaced by inanimate objects (the card stand, the custom design kiosk).

this isn’t to say i dislike new horizons, however. i think certain features such as being able to place furniture outside which is an insanely huge change (for the better!). i love a lot of the new additions, like the new emotes, furniture, clothes, even the ‘replacement’ characters like cj, flick, and daisy mae. i also appreciate nintendo adding things such as the northern/southern hemisphere options as well as more skin tones (!!!). i just think that for what it was, the game was underwhelming. and maybe i’m biased because of nostalgia but i will always prefer new leaf.

#acnl #animal crossing #animal crossing new leaf #new leaf #new horizons #animal crossing new horizons #acnh

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your-highnessmarvel · 3 years

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From Bleak to Bright - Part Eleven

All other parts on on my masterlist, link provided below.

AN: soooo um i think this may be a little tension relieving ;;;;)))

Warnings: angst, language, SMUT (18+ ONLY)

MASTERLIST - SERIES MASTERLIST

PART ELEVEN

** Two years later, Manhattan, New York **

You scrolled down on your phone, pretending to actually be doing something, while you waited for Natasha. A group of teenagers had come into the cafe, loud, laughing, challenging each other to some stupid fight. You rolled your eyes, chewing on some gum, making sure they kept their distance with you. Who knew what those kids had touched. Ew.

Nat texted you that she was around the corner, and to keep from staying a second longer with the obnoxiously loud teens, you all but ran out the cafe. You marched down the street, spring air brushing through your hair. There was a smell between a wood fire and flowers that drafted from God knows where. The sun was high up, the afternoon in Manhattan hot. Many people walked by wearing shorts or tank tops. Summer was approaching. It brought a smile to your face.

But that smile soon faded as you walked by the newspaper outlet and caught sight of the title.

TWO YEARS SINCE NEW YORK ATTACK

You gulped, biting on the inside of your cheek. It had already been two years since the last time you’d spoken to him? It seemed like way longer. It seemed as if you’d walked into a parallel universe. No one ever talked about him, least of all your friends and family. Least of all you.

You shook your head, brushing away the thoughts that brought you back to all those years ago. You shook away an image of a loft, of a coffee table full of leather-bound books, of hands on your body.

“Hey!”

You looked up, Natasha standing before you in a trendy outfit that made her look like a runway model. She had huge sunglasses perched on her nose, pink bubblegum in her mouth.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Yeah!” you answered, trying to hide the newspapers with your body, but you saw how her chin dipped when you walked by. She would surely see the titles and tell your brother. Dammit. You’d been doing so well.

Technically, you’d been doing fine.

Ever since the Avengers had defeated Loki and Thor had brought him back to Asgard, you’d never seen or heard of him. You’d gone to a few rounds of therapy, mostly with psychologists who dealt in soulmates, and after a few months of isolation, Bruce had let you go. It had been a relief to have your phone back, your liberties, your God damn car.

When you’d gotten the keys to your apartment back, it had felt final. But as the last people invited to your “homecoming” celebration had dwindled out, you’d found yourself in a pit.

Everything was muted. Yes, you still saw colors, but without the person behind those colors, you just drifted. Yes, you were happy, somewhat, but whenever you saw couples together, something in your chest burned, like a slow leaking flame. You’d never be like them. Even though you’d heard stories about people marrying someone who wasn’t their soulmate, the simple thought of having another man - except Loki - in your life sent shivers down your spine.

“I heard they got free donuts,” Nat said, bending her head close to yours. You giggled, but there was no heart it in.

She was bringing you to a stupid singles night out. Even though she briefly skirted on the fact that you’d already found your soulmate, she said it was an opportunity “to get out there”.

Hell, maybe it would make you forget Loki, although you highly doubted.

The night went on in a sort of downward spiral. It started off really fast and funny, with music and drinks, and a lot of men fighting to come to talk to you and the hot redhead. But with every passing guy, the more they didn’t look like him, the more they said things that set your teeth on edge, the duller you felt.

Like being emptied slowly, hand by hand, touch by touch.

By the time Nat brought you back to your apartment, you could barely manage a smile.

You tried, once again, fixing your stupid leaking tap but decided against it and went straight to bed. Because of that stupid newspaper, you had nightmares, plagued by a dark-haired prince wearing green and gold armor.

In the morning, you ignored the tap and went to work. When you came back, the tap wasn’t leaking and you thanked your lucky guardian because if you had to hear one more drop, you’d lose it.

The next night, coming home after drinks with your brother, the windowpane was fixed.

You knew something was wrong when your squeaking front door slid on perfectly oiled hinges.

Someone had been in your apartment. Multiple times.

Stepping in your apartment that night, eight nights after the tap was “fixed”, you looked around in the darkness. The shadows seemed denser, more menacing, as if they hadn’t been standing there every night, ever.

You looked at your tiny kitchen. Nothing seemed amiss. You checked the lock, but it locked on its own with no problem. Even better than before.

You couldn’t actually complain about your little home invader because they had fixed all the problems that were slowly driving you to the brink. But you hadn’t said a word to anybody, not even Bruce, because deep down, you knew who’d be waiting for you one night, eventually.

The bathroom light had been changed. It used to flicker all the time, giving you the creeps while you took a shower. But now it opened wildly bright and stayed there.

There. That was the daily change.

You changed in the bathroom, taking a hot, quick shower, keeping the door firmly locked. You felt watched as you padded across your apartment in your jammy shorts and tank top, your hair a wet rope down your back.

The cabinet where you kept your mugs had a faulty knob that had cut you on more than one occasion. It was polished now.

Hands trembling, you pivoted in your kitchen, fingers white-knuckling the countertop.

“I know it’s you,” you murmured, feeling your heart throbbing in your throat. The shadows seemed to listen. “I know what you’ve been doing.”

You apartment seemed to breathe, swallowing your words, digesting them. But nothing came back to you. You kept expecting the shadows to linger, to move, to break away, but everything remained still, quiet.

Your heart plummeted.

You went to bed looking out the window, noticing just how clean it was for an apartment in downtown Manhattan.

You had dreams of him, vivid dreams. You swore you could feel fingers on your cheek the next morning.

It’s when you walked in to the scent of flowers and found a bouquet of your favorite in the kitchen that you truly lost it. It took everything in you not to pick it up and smash the glass vase against the wall. There was no note, but just the fact that now, he wasn’t being so subtle about him breaking and entering, made your heart bash wildly against your ribs.

But you knew what he was doing. He was trying to get to you without the others knowing. He’d surely scourged the place for microphones or cameras, just like you’d done two years ago, and found none. He knew the Avengers, or anybody watching, wouldn’t know he’d been here. And just the fact that you’d told no one about the mysterious repairs in your flat meant everything for him.

You turned, flowers at your back. The shadows seemed to be smiling. They knew he was here.

You were older now, wiser. You knew how to play his little games.

“I’m not afraid,” you said to the dark. The curtains had been drawn in the living room, you noticed, as you made your way there. He’d wanted this to be done in private.

“I know you’re here,” you continued, inching to the windows, intent on pulling them back to shed some moonlight in your apartment. “You can... you can talk to me,” you whispered, heart heavy and harsh in your ribs. Your hands had begun to shake the closer you got to the curtains.

When you wrenched them open, exposing the city beneath you, you could barely take your eyes off the horizon.

Because you saw it.

The flicker.

His face there and then not, your heart wrenching in your chest, causing an audible gasp from your lips to echo in the room.

You felt the heat of him at your back. “I thought you were unafraid?” he asked, his voice rumbling, something vicious seizing your insides with a hot grip.

Something akin to a puzzle piece clicked back into place at the sound of his voice. You could breathe lighter now, see colors more vividly, hear the world around you clearly. All this time, you’d suffocated, been drowning, and now you weren’t.

“I’m not,” you answered, but neither you nor he missed the way your voice trembled.

You felt the warmth of his hand on your hip, saw the reflection of him flicker in the window as he leaned closer, his lips brushing the space beneath your ear. Fire lit everywhere on your flesh as he brought himself flush with you.

He inhaled. “I’ve missed you,” he mumbled against your skin, the sound of it vibrating in your bones.

“Where...” you licked your lips and restarted. “Where have you been?”

His other hand braced just under your throat, long fingers seeping warmth through the fabric of your t-shirt.

“Away,” he mumbled. He slid his hand from your hip to the sliver of skin under the hem of your t-shirt and you hummed involuntarily. His touch was like no other’s. “You’re so soft,” he mumbled.

You tried not to forget that he’d left you there on the floor two years ago, but the way his body fit against yours made any logical thought seep from your brain.

“I’ve dreamt of you for so long,” he drawled, making it seem as if you’d been separated for an eternity. “I’ve dreamt of your eyes. Your voice. The way your body fits right onto mine.” He shifted slightly, pressing you harshly against him. “I’ve not the heart to take another woman to bed. I want it to be you.”

His words sent a strange heat dripping down into your belly, heavy and wanting. Your mouth parted, and the hand Loki had against your chest slipped up until his thumb pressed against your mouth. “How sweet of you,” you said against his thumb.

He chuckled lowly. “I can show you sweet,” he said.

“I rather you practice restraint,” you mumbled, even though deep down, you meant none of it.

He chuckled again, shaking his head, lowering his hand back so it lay lightly around your throat. Then his chuckle turned into a groan, his force deepening. “Y/n,” but now his voice was pleading, like a man who’d been deprived of everything. “Please. I’ve thought of you all this time. Don’t push me away. Not you.”

The last part made you frown, but you nonetheless pushed from him, turning to face him. He had deep, dark circles under his eyes, his face ashen as if he hadn’t slept in a millennia. His hair was slightly longer, curling along his jaw, hiding his ears. He wore a white t-shirt and black slacks, but he was cold as you pressed your fingers against his shoulders.

“Okay,” you whispered. You tried not to maintain eye contact because the haunted look in his green eyes made you sick.

He bent forward slightly, grasping your face between his huge, warm hands. The first brush of his lips was soft, sending butterflies scuttling across your belly. But then he gripped your face, bringing you to him, and kissed you like he was a starving man and you were his reprieve.

A strangled moan left his throat, his lips molding to yours, driving you backwards until your spine hit the window. One hand went to the glass to soften your fall, but he didn’t let up his rhythm. You could barely keep up anyway.

He kept kissing you so harshly, delving his tongue between your teeth, angling your head back to kiss you deeply, that every rational thought in you just went to dust.

You gripped his back, marveling at the strong muscle, bringing him flush against you. One hand went to his hair, knotting in the raven locks, tugging until you swore you’d hurt him. But he kept kissing you, hands venturing to your hips, sliding over your ass, gripping your thighs and hauling you up.

On instinct, you wrapped your legs around his waist, feeling his arousal just where you wanted him, and he spun you away from the window. How he moved with such eloquence as he devoured your mouth befuddled you, but when your ass found the countertop and Loki pressed himself between your legs, your brain fizzled. A whole jar of butterflies now flew in your belly.

He broke from the kiss momentarily to grasp your breasts, kneading them in his hands, marveling at the sight.

“Restraint, Loki,” you mumbled breathlessly, lips swollen.

One of his brows furrowed, but he went right back to kiss you, holding your tits in his hands, then moving to grip your thighs with such strength it should have hurt.

“I can’t stop,” he breathed between kisses, holding the back of your head. “I want you. I want you so fucking bad.”

You squeezed your eyes shut harshly, ignoring the red alarms in your head. Because it was him. Because it was him, always him, and now that he was here, touching you almost everywhere, his scent invading your senses, you never wanted him to go.

He pulled your head back and kissed down your neck, over the swell of your breast, taking one nipple lightly between his teeth. A gurgled moan left your throat, Loki holding your head back, exposing everything to him.

“No bra?” he grumbled against your skin, his tongue soothing the ache on your nipple.

You just breathed in response, your legs clenching against his arms.

He chuckled against your body. His left hand, the free one, slid down the length of your chest until he took one finger to lightly circle you through your pants.

You gasped, jolting in his grasp, his mouth possessively clamping shut on your nipple.

“Eager,” he hummed. He was so warm, smelled so fucking good, that the second time he applied pressure and circled his fingers, you all but moaned for everyone to hear. He teased you some more, licking and pleasing you all through your clothing.

Then his mouth left your hardened nipple and traveled up to your ear, where the warmth of his breath made you shiver. “If I can do this to you,” he whispered, circling your core through your pants. “Imagine how it’ll feel when I fuck you.”

His words made you want to clench your thighs together, to keep the heat and pressure there, but his body was still between your legs. He chuckled, biting your neck, hard, knowing it would leave a mark. He yanked your head forward until your eyes met his.

“I can feel just how much you want me,” he mumbled, hiding his face in the crook of your neck, inhaling. “I can smell it.”

You rocked once against his hand, eliciting a groan from him as your thigh briefly brushed him through his pants. He was hard. Wanting. The hand behind your hand squeezed until it hurt, but when he soothed his tongue against your neck, circling your clit, you lost yourself in him again.

“Y/N,” he murmured, chanting your name like a prayer. You were almost there and you couldn’t believe it. You rocked against his hand, biting your lip, and when he saw that, he brought your mouth into a breathtaking kiss. “Cum against me,” he said through each kiss. “Cum.” It was a command.

You squeezed your eyes, grinding against his circling hand, and when he licked your neck, you all but came apart with a moan. Loki quickly kissed you, swallowing your sounds of pleasure as he slowly, leisurely circled you through your pants. Your legs shaking, you trembled against him until his fingers stopped and he brought his forehead to yours.

“Run away with me,” he whispered. “Let me ravage you every night, y/n, please.”

Lost in the dizzying aftermath of your orgasm, all you could do was breathe, eyes closed. You fisted one hand in his shirt, feeling his heart beating savagely under his breastbone.

You tilted your head up, meeting his gaze.

“No,” you said.

AAAAHHHH omg i was so shy writing that little smutty part lmaooo BUT YES MORE TO COME OOOOHHHH (you will get a whole smut scene soon, let me get used to writing smut again hihihihi)

tags: @subtlemalice @yallgotkik @buckyandlokirunmylife @kaz11283 @legolas-bromance @shylittlemountain @tofeartheunknown @feelmyfckngsoul @kind-of-crazy-butthatsokay @caffiend-queen @tomhollandsslilslut @lady-loki-ren @nathan-no @rosaline-black @abundanceofcarolines @my-own-oracle @it-was-all-a-beautiful-dream @marvelouslovely @drbaureid @bored-as-hell-666 @youhavemyfantasticbeasts @theinfinitenerd @toe-vind-ek-jou @ink-and-starlight @blank-bakabane @sunshineonloki @holaamishamigos @palegoopbearlight @heyarely16 @pleaseexecuteme @athalahild @help-i-need-a-social-life @tapismyforte @coloursforyourportrait @celestialstarshadow @fukyouthink @lust-for-pan @thic-thor @winchescumberholland

#loki #lokixyou #lokixyn #lokixreader #loki x you #loki x yn #loki x reader #smut #soulmate au #loki fic #loki fanfic #loki fanfiction #imagine loki #loki imagine #loki oneshot

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selinakidreams · 3 years

Text

pairing: merman! dabi x gn reader

warnings: nameless character deaths, a singular mention of nausea + throwing up, unfortunately a lot of blood mentions, near death experiences, SHARK! THERES A SHARK IN THE WATER ! (I SWEAR this is supposed to be pretty but the warnings make it seem otherwise) slight soulmate au?, dabi had a SINGULAR moment of softness.

a/n: guys I don’t even know what this is and it’s unedited,, but welcome to my contribution to mermay ! I had two scenes plain as day STUCK in my head and I just needed to get them out,,, honestly this was just supposed to be a short lil thing but I’m invested,, so here this is

ps, though this may not be edited... I would like to thank all my monster fucking moots who helped me to piece together the perfect mer version of dabi— I love you guys so so so much.

looking out into the darkness of the night, unable to locate the horizon from your position at the edge of the ship- you lift your gaze to the sky with a small sigh.

an unimaginable amount of stars litter the atmosphere, the clear view above could never be tiresome.

the city was no place for you; too crowded, full of men who were trying to court you for your fathers money and your beauty, not enough adventure. the ocean offered a type of freedom land could never- granted, the ship wasn’t much different from the bustling towns in the sense that all the soldiers would eye you like you’re a slab of meat.

the only difference given at sea is that you’re able to put those undesirable fuckers in their place. given your ranking, your power obsessed father wasn’t completely useless.

escaping to the empty deck had been your big feat today; everyone below was gulping down wine by the barrel when you managed to slip out. it was much colder out here, the chill of the salty wind was refreshing, sobering you up quite a bit- but still mentally fuzzy enough to tempt yourself into discarding edict and loosening up your tighter garments.

your drunken attention span shifted from fiddling with your bow in the back to the inky deep water...

what was that?

ripples were quietly dancing on the surface, the warm light reflections coming from the ship’s sconces moved along with them.

it had been really fast, so fast that you were almost left to wonder if you had actually imagined the most vibrant blue eyes you had ever seen... bobbing in the ocean.

two days. it had been two days since you had first “spotted” them and absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. the sailors still went about uglily gawking at you, your captain of a father was still behind the wheel, barking orders at everyone, while you went about your business. Sighing, the image of the eyes still fresh in your mind, you prepared to be lowered into the shallower sea.

upon hearing that there was a small island not too far from your current coordinates, you commanded a stop be made, needing to take some time away from the close knit quarters you constantly share with those horrific pigs. thankfully, no arguments surfaced and you headed straight for the dinghy. it had been surprisingly easy.

the trip wasn’t too long; you patiently waited for the tip of the boat to breach the soft sand, excited for what awaited you. it was such a lovely sunny day, big puffy white clouds dotted the expansive blue sky while the palm trees at the base of the beach greeted you with a steady sway.

once your boots sunk into the wet sand, you turned to the two other men who had escorted you and informed them that you were not to be followed- but to wait right there- which in retrospect, was not a good idea. that was too much trust and responsibility that was placed in their incapable hands.

you wasted no time trudging through the lush greenery to get to the other side of the island, wanting to be as far away from the crew members as possible.

it couldn’t have taken you more than two hours for you to reach an elaborate array of tide pools sporadically placed on a flat uneven rocky surface, some being lapped over by waves while others sat calmly- living in their own little world.

you had to look in each and every one of them.

wide eyes and mouth open, looking at all the lives in the crystal clear pools was an absolute marvel. some only held a few small sea anemones of different colors while others not only held the soft flowery plant but also housed fighting crabs of all sizes, large chunky starfish, and even a fish or two!

you took careful steps towards the end of the rocks, towards the ones where the waves were constantly restocking the pools with new life, your heart flipping in your chest at the colors of the crashing waves.

peering down into one of the deeper ones, you found it hard to take your sights away from the glistening sun streaks that cut through the water; a small gateway to the open ocean was at the bottom of this pool. it’s like you were hypnotized. making yourself comfortable, you laid yourself down next to the glistening water and began to break the calm surface with your finger tips, eyes trained on the tiny ripples.

“they left you, you know.”

you felt so at ease with the sound of the waves crashing around you, you almost didn’t hear it. it wasn’t until the nagging feeling that you weren’t alone hugged you in all the wrong places, that you looked up... only to be met with nothing.

scrunching your brow, the tranquility you were feeling before suddenly slipping through your fingers. you sat up, but not before you held a lingering glance at the glowing water once more. that’s an image that will stay in your mind; you almost wish you had your sketch book.

your mind went blank when you saw something block the light as it swam by... something big. the next few minutes happened in a blur. after scrambling up to get away from the pool, a huge body washed up on a nearby rock plateau and by no means was it graceful. your heart dropped to your stomach as you watched the lifeless body get smacked with harsh waves.

he was wearing your ship’s uniform, now drenched in blood.

nothing came up when you fell on your knees and lurched over, your eyes squeezing shut- the gruesome image of the crew member engrained in your mind.

“they got what they deserved.”

this time when you whipped your head up to follow the velvet voice, you fell into an almost trance. those breathtaking turquoise eyes you had seen a few days ago were now staring right at you, not too far away.

you couldn’t help the gasp that you inhaled as you fell back. looking at him in his entirety- you must have been hallucinating. growing up hearing the tales of deep sea monsters and nasty magical land creatures could never have prepared you for what laid in front of you.

it was such a drastic change; going from looking at something so appalling to something so... flawless... it was indescribable.

on display, your eyes followed the curled figure- wet white hair flopped against a pale forehead, the tips of his pointed finned-ears peaking out from the wet hair. there were deep dark purple markings starting underneath his eyes, slightly mimicking bags that then restarted at the bottom half of his face- all the way down his neck, ending at just the top of his chest. the markings then continued down his arms, right up to his knuckles contrasting the pale thin slightly webbed fingers that merged to sharp claws, gleaming in the sun. his toned chest eased into a pearly type of color around his hips before submerging into a black ragged tail- but it did the strangest thing. when the sun reflected off of it, a blue so royal- that you’ve only seen it on the most expensive of garments- came to life. the dorsal fin looked just as rugged as the tail did, but his odyssey fluke was splayed out so beautifully, you didn’t give it a second thought.

it wasn’t until you took a second glance that you noticed there was a red tint to his claws that you put into context what was said earlier.

“did you- di- you killed that man?”

his voice came out as smooth as silk, “I did.”

how could you be so dense? this was a creature that came from the sea- a ruthless underwater world. he was a predator. but wait-

“you can speak- you s-said.. did you kill them for me? are you going to-?”

“I killed those men because of all humans, the ones who betray others for their own greed serve no purpose.”

he didn’t tell you more than necessary in his opinion, but he was smart enough and old enough to know that you’re still going to ask more.

it seemed you were sitting on quite the pile of questions but he wasn’t going to be the one to break the silence. it was clear that you were mulling over what should be said first.

“was it you I saw at sea the other night?”

out of all the things you could ask, that was the only thing your mind had on repeat- the only thought present.

“and if it was?”

after receiving two similar vague reactions, something in you was screaming for something to happen. the interaction seemed to be going nowhere and here you were, in front of a creature that you’ve heard so much about but never actually met- a drastic change in interaction was calling, and who were you to ignore it?

in hindsight, it was a terrible idea.

one minute you were on land, next you were shedding your heavy, restrictive clothing- the mer watching with a slight smirk and a heavy gaze- then seconds later, were in the violent push and pull of the ocean. luckily you were far enough to be out of the rocky reach, but the current was too strong. you were being swayed back and forth with too much force.

if it had been your first time in the ocean, you would have been a goner- you would have washed right into the sharp jagged edges; a terribly painful way to go. but thankfully, flowing with the ocean had been your specialty since you were young. incredibly masculine and dirty, but you simply couldn’t stay away. the watery depths have lured you in and there was no escaping the spell it had casted on you all those years ago.

maybe that’s why you dove in. or maybe you wanted to see what the mer would do. whatever the case, there you were in the lull of the tide and running out of air. breaching the surface was your main goal, urging your arms and legs to snap out of the shock of the cold water.

eyes on the bubbles traveling upwards, you finally get your arms to push through the current almost missing the dark shadow swimming closer and closer to you, getting larger and larger.

a quick sideways glance in the clear water showed something large with many many rows of teeth out on display, heading toward you and gaining momentum.

a shark.

a... shark.

of all the ways you possibly thought you could go... this was not one of them. it’s almost ironic- the one way you thought you wouldn’t go would end up getting you.

breaking the surface, you gulp your last breath of air- painfully waiting for the horrifying moment when powerful jaws clamp around your body... but it never came. all you felt was a strong current zip past your feet, slightly pulling you along with it.

you’re heart was pounding; adrenaline coursing through your veins, breathing choppy as you whip your head in every which way to see what was going on in the water beneath you. then you saw it.

blood.

just then, the gory image of the crewmate’s body flashed into your mind. there had been another sailor... the mermaid didn’t pull up two bodies- he wasn’t the only predator in the water.

before you could evaluate further, you were pulled by the ankle under the water and into a place where the blood hadn’t seeped yet.

not enough air was sucked in before you submerged, so you frantically searched for ways you could reach the surface again- not even thinking about the now-absent steady grip that dragged you under.

then you felt it. pointed claws lightly tracing up your sides before his handsome face was leveled with yours. if seeing him on land wasn’t good enough, seeing him in his element was nearly heart stopping.

but your lungs were going to collapse before your heart could-

or so you thought.

he flattened his palm around your waist, cupping it gently before he inched his face toward yours, lips slightly ghosting yours, as if asking for permission.

with his toned body pressed against yours, it was hard to think straight, but the most prominent siren going off in your mind was the fact that you were loosing oxygen, and quickly. you found yourself panicking in his grip. was this really the time?

his lips were on yours in less than a second, your struggling becoming more and more apparent- but it was when he got your mouth to open that you realized what he was doing.

A mermaid’s kiss gives you the eternal breath; the ability to breathe under water.

pulling away, he watched as your eyes went wide, the small smirk you’d seen before had appeared once more.

the sensation was otherworldly; though there was a heavy pressure in your chest as the water was filtering in and out of your system, you were breathing underwater.

slowed down by the new density, you lifted your head to look up at the mer- no doubt the most excited and bewildered expression on your face, just to realize the size difference. he was huge- how had you not noticed this on land?

the more human half of his body had to be around the six foot range, his muscular tail roughly adding another ten. the massive figure floating around you was... beautiful.

he had the softest gaze when looking down at you, it nearly shocked you more that the new incredible ability had. he didn’t seem like the type to be full of expressions; it was such a warm and familiar look, something that you hadn’t seen in a long time- and one you typically didn’t see on a stranger’s face, much less a merman you had only just met.

opening your mouth to say something-if you could, that is- his expression changed in a blink, fear now contorted his features.

everything was so fast with him; his arm wrapped around your waist in mere seconds before speedily guiding you through a passage of underwater tunnels that lead to somewhere you assumed to be in the middle of the island- a lush green grotto.

once you resurfaced, you inhaled a breath you didn’t realize you needed; the new air burned your lungs- you almost didn’t want to breathe.

“just keep breathing. it will get easier over time.”

he almost sounded... bored? a complete one 180 to what you had just witnessed in the water.

the mer guided you up to the pool’s edge, lifting you with ease until you sat with only your legs dangling in the water.

outwardly, it stayed quiet for a while. there wasn’t much noise around besides the occasional bird call and the delicate sound of waded water.

your breathing had slightly evened out but you weren’t too confident in your voice, so keeping your mouth shut seemed like the best option.

what now?

tag list: @zhongh-li

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seriouslysnape · 4 years

Note

Ooh yey requests are open 💕 could you write something where reader is the one to propose to severus instead of the traditional way? With a ring and all?

OH STOP THAT’S SO CUTEEEEEEEEE.

Indecent Proposal

Severus Snape x Fem. Reader

A/N: HAHAHA. This gif doesn’t match this one-shot at all, but I thought it was funny out of context.

Warnings: None.

Word Count: 2,511

“If you wish to ever tell me something, I’m here to listen.”

Severus knew the moment that he met you that you were the one. It was a sort of sensation that he couldn’t describe. It was like when he laid eyes on you, the final piece of his puzzle of life fell into place, completing a full picture. He knew that his life was fulfilled with you. It wasn’t until your third or fourth week of dating that he began to think about marriage. He spent several days brainstorming over what kind of ring you might like, or what kind of house you’d want to live in once you were wed.

Severus was never one to just jump right into things. He liked to calculate every aspect of his life, weighing all possible options and considering all scenarios. This was no different. Even though he could have very well gotten down on one knee after just a month of dating, he knew that was far too soon for a marriage proposal. There was no way that either of you were ready or prepared to get married yet. Severus, though, was a patient man when it came to you.

He was willing to wait as long as it took.

Fast forward to a year and a half later, Severus was beginning to feel that proposal itch once more. He knew the time was getting right, and he wouldn’t be able to overlook his heart’s wishes much longer. He was ready to spend the rest of his life with you. He wanted his proposal to be nothing short of exemplary. He had already bought a ring about a week ago, one that you had mentioned in passing that you liked. He made sure to make a note of it, going back and purchasing it when you weren’t with him. He had kept it in the box in his pocket ever since, waiting until he felt like the moment was right.

He wanted nothing to be out of place. He wanted every little detail to be exactly to his liking. All of this would take time to plan out, which was why he was planning to propose to you the following week to make sure he was ready beforehand.

However, you had been acting strangely over the last few days. You were jittery, almost nervous around him. When it was just the two of you, he couldn’t help but notice the way your leg bounced anxiously and you couldn’t keep your attention on him for longer than a few passing moments.

He watched how skittish you were during dinner. You couldn’t sit still for the life of you and you weren’t speaking much. When you did speak, your diction was so fast that he could barely keep up with what you were saying. He could tell you were preoccupied with something.

“Are you alright, [Y/N]?” He asked gently, catching your attention.

You visibly jumped in your seat. Your fork spazzed from your hand and hit your plate with a loud clatter, the sound echoing in your ears. He paused hard and stared at you like you were a mad woman. He furrowed his brows in confusion and curiosity.

“Yep!” You squeaked; “I’m fine, I’m great! Why wouldn’t I be alright?” You rocketed off rapidly.

He set his own utensils down, folding his hands and looking harder into you. You were straight as a board as you sat, your shoulders pushed way further back than normal. He was worried that something was bothering you that you weren’t telling him about.

“Darling, you’re so flushed.” He pointed out, looking at how your face looked quite spectral.

You shook your head vigorously, continuing to dig yourself into a deeper hole with your odd behavior.

“I think it’s just hot in here...is it hot in here? I think it’s a little hot in here.” You rambled.

Now he REALLY knew something was up. You always complained about how cold he kept his Hogwarts’ living space. There wasn’t a fire crackling in the fireplace, so there was no way you were overly warm. He didn’t question it, only smiling kindly and standing from his chair. He approached you, putting his hands on the back of your chair to persuade you to get up.

“Why don’t we get out and get some fresh air, yes? We can finish dinner later.” He suggested, taking your clammy hand into his.

He was afraid that maybe you were coming down with something, but you didn’t look or act sickly. He guided you from your chair, leaving a soft kiss to your forehead. He felt your shoulders relax at the motion. You felt a bit comforted for now, his touch putting you at ease.

“Yeah. That’s a good idea.” You said in a more standard tone.

He linked his arm into yours, sweeping you away and outside into the cool evening. It was a beautiful spring night, for there was not a cloud in the steadily darkening sky. The sun had mostly set below the horizon, just a few minutes needed to go by before it was fully dark. You and Severus strolled alongside each other, making small talk as he tried to gauge what had you so uptight.

He never wanted you to be upset. It absolutely broke his heart anytime something was wrong and draining you of any happiness. However, you didn’t seem unhappy or sad. You were simply just nervous about something, but he couldn’t even begin to think of what it could be. He was stumped.

Your hand fiddled in your pocket. Your fingertips clutched the silver, metal ring that was housed there. The material was smooth against your skin as you refused to let it go. You had been holding on to it for at least two weeks now, and the entire time you had been terrified of losing it.

You knew that a woman proposing to a man wasn’t conventional. It was very traditional for the man to propose to the woman with a stunning ring that is supposed to fit perfectly and they’re supposed to cry at the new chapter of their life that’s been opened. You had been through it all in your head already.

Naturally, you had originally wanted Severus to be the one to ask for your hand in marriage. You had been waiting for him to suddenly get on one knee and pull out a ring and ask you to spend forever with him. But the longer you waited, the more impatient you became. With each passing day, you reminded yourself that you weren’t getting any younger, and you wanted to be with him for as long as possible.

That’s when you got the idea.

You could just as easily plan a proposal. You could go out and buy a ring that you knew he’d like. You knew he’d want something private, quiet, and not in front of a crowd of people. That was a win-win, because at least if you were to be mocked for proposing first, it would be just Severus and not a group of others. You felt a little out of your mind for this, but you knew it could be really sweet and romantic. Either way, it wasn’t really about the proposal.

It was about spending forever with the one you loved the most.

At one point, he stopped walking with you. You were just faintly illuminated by the light of the moon far above your heads. He was taking in how pretty you were. In every moment of every day, you were the most beautiful woman in the world. He had never felt so fortunate to have such a stunning human being in his life. A charming, alluring woman with an even purer heart and soul.

“My beautiful girl,” He said, cupping the side of your face and stroking his cheek with his thumb. Your heart beat began to quicken. You knew this was the moment; “If you wish to ever tell me something, I’m here to listen.”

You were trying to disregard how shaky your breathing was every time you inhaled. You weren’t sure how he’d react to this, but either way you knew he’d say yes. Even then, you still couldn’t shake off the edgy feeling in your gut.

“Yeah, of course.” You said with an encouraging smile.

“If something has you disturbed, then I want to help you if I can. I don’t want you to believe that you have to deal with things on your own. I’m here for you.” He claimed.

This was one of the many reasons you loved him. He was always in your corner, and he never let you forget it. He would walk through fire for you. He’d do anything as long as it meant that you were happy. Your happiness topped anything else in his life. You were all that mattered.

“It’s nothing like that, S. I’ve just had something on my mind lately.” You explained.

As secure as Severus felt in your relationship, he still felt a drop in his chest. After saying that and the way you had been acting, he thought that maybe you were thinking of ending this. His head and heart were both getting ready to fight for you if you were. He couldn’t just let you walk out of his life, despite his internal panic, he remained level headed.

“Do you wish to talk about it?” He asked, bringing one of your hands to his lips and leaving a soft kiss. He brought your hand to his chest, just in case this was the last time he’d ever feel you.

If you had known that’s what he was thinking, you’d probably start crying. Severus was so used to rejection and disappointment in his life, before he met you. He still shrank into his old thinking ways, preparing for the worst every time he thought something was going wrong.

But he didn’t know that his life was about to get even better than it was.

This was it. You knew you could do it. With your other hand, you fished in your pocket for the ring as you replied.

“Well, yes...but there’s something I want to ask you.” You said, successfully retrieving the ring and holding it to where he could see it.

He eyed the silver ring, still holding your other hand to him. His other hand fell from your face as he stared blankly at the handsome piece of jewelry in your palm. He looked to you for an explanation, relieved now that you probably weren’t breaking up with him based on the blinding grin on your face.

“Severus Snape,” You said, almost as a whisper; “Will you marry me?”

His entire nervous system shut down for a millisecond and restarted. He felt a rush of static and something else that even he couldn’t identify.

Now, Severus knew there were a million different ways to react to this. Undoubtedly, the first thought that came to his head when he came to the realization that you were proposing was that you had officially lost your marbles. He had always envisioned himself being the one to ask you to marry him, not the other way around. He wasn’t at all miffed that you had decided to take matters into your own hands. If anything, he felt a little bad that he had taken so long that you felt the need to do it yourself.

Everything clicked in his head. Your nervous behavior was evidently because you had built this up in your mind and were afraid of how it would go. When he looked into your eyes and saw how they were filled with suspense and elation, he knew exactly how to react in the most honest, intentional way.

You half expected him to burst into laughter and make fun of you for doing it yourself. You even thought for a second that he might say no because HE wanted to be the one to do it. Instead, Severus caught you in a kiss so lovingly faultless and personable that it made you weak in the knees. He kissed you for a long time, standing under the gleaming stars and inky black sky. It was such a long kiss, in fact, that you wondered for a split second if he was stalling so he didn’t have to give an answer.

However, when he pulled away, his words were as clear as ever and his voice was as content as it had ever been.

“Oh, my love...my flower...” He remarked gingerly; “I thought you’d never ask.”

You both fell into tensile rounds of laughter, knowing that he was poking a bit of fun at the situation. You had matching smiles on your faces, so wrapped up in love and partiality that it was almost overwhelming. The ring fit well on his left hand, and made his hands look even more manly. It was a foreign feeling to have a ring on his hand, considering he almost never wore them. He’d grow used to it soon enough.

You kissed him over and over, so thrilled that he had said yes that you didn’t know what to do with yourself. You stopped your attack of kisses when he noticed he had pulled something out from his own pocket. You eyed the small red box, your raised brow falling and your eyes widening when he opened it silently to reveal the most breathtaking engagement ring you had ever seen. That’s when you realized it was the same one you had pointed out a while back.

“Sev, is that...?” You trailed off, with a soft giggle.

He nodded with a triumphant grin.

“Yes. I was going to ask you myself next week,” He admitted; “Looks like you beat me to it.”

Your laughter was harder and more chaotic this time, both of you cackling so much that you felt dizzy after a few moments. He slid the ring onto your finger, admiring how it looked so flawless on your hand. He brought you into his arms, your chin resting on his chest as you looked up at him.

“I know this wasn’t traditional, but I just-”

Severus put a slender finger to your lips.

“Shh,” He hushed; “It’s absolutely perfect.”

The two of you stood there in blissful silence, your hearts beating in sync with an inexpressible sense of euphoria. He left kisses in your hair, whispering sweet nothings in your ear every few moments to break the silence. This was far better than any proposal he ever could’ve planned. It was elegant, graceful, and most importantly, memorable.

“I love you.” Your voice rang out, your newly adorned hand brushing some of his hair from his face so you could fully see him.

He smiled once more, kissing the tip of your nose tenderly. He was excited for this new part of his life. He was excited to begin his life that would now be intertwined with yours.

He was unquestionably happy.

“I love you, darling. And now I’ll have forever to do so.”

#severus snape #severus #severus snape x you #severus snape x y/n #severus snape x reader #professor snape #professor snape x reader #professor snape x you #alan rickman #Harry Potter #harry potter snape #severus snape x female reader #severus snape fluff #severus snape oneshot #seriouslysnape

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blueeyedrat · 3 years

Photo

Steam Next Fest! New name, same idea: a large library of demos for new and upcoming games to try out. In between finishing up some games and assorted projects, and starting up some games I've been meaning to get around to, I was able to find time for some demos that caught my eye.

More comments under the cut:

Sable - This was the first and last demo I tried this time around, and it's a game I've been intrigued by for quite a while. I wasn't actually able to finish the demo either time I played; I fell out of bounds and had to restart the first time, and it crashed later on during the second. It doesn't run well on my old laptop, I suppose... which is a shame, because technical issues aside, I was really enjoying it! I don't play open-world stuff all that often, but this one definitely scratched an itch. It reminded me a lot of Zelda with a similar "run everywhere and climb everything" vibe. Gliding through the air and crossing the vast dunes on a hoverbike felt pretty satisfying, too. The designs are distinctive and visually striking, the music is nice, and the demo provides just enough hints about both the setting and Sable herself to leave me wanting more.

Terra Nil - A "reverse city builder" about restoring life to a barren wasteland. I wish I had more to say about this one, but it's another one for the "I wish my laptop could run this game better" column: the demo kept crashing before I could really get into it. I liked what little I was able to play, though. The gameplay was pretty intuitive, and the aesthetic was quite lovely. Will definitely be keeping an eye on this game, one way or another.

Patrick's Parabox - A sokoban puzzler with a recursive twist: rooms nested in other rooms, and in some cases, rooms nested within themselves. The extra dimension adds a fun spin on the base sokoban gameplay, and the demo showcased some fun ways it could be used for puzzles. I recommend looking into it if you're interested in games of this sort.

Harmony's Odyssey - A puzzle game about unscrambling colorful dioramas. The art style's cute and appealing, and the puzzles were fine, but it didn't seem to have a lot of depth beyond its basic mechanic. The interface was a bit awkward, too; the camera was either too far zoomed in to see all of the pieces, or too far zoomed out to see any of them. It was charming enough, but I'm not sure I'll be delving into it further.

Little Witch in the Woods - From one cute-witch-themed game to another, and another game I've been curious about for a while. A chill life sim with a cozy setting, a colorful cast of characters, a variety of flora and fauna to discover, and a focus on magic and potion-making rather than ordinary farming. Very charming, but also very slow-paced. While it is satisfying to process resources and concoct potions, foraging for said resources is a slow grind, and it's all too easy for your efforts to go to waste because you accidentally tossed a potion bottle in the wrong direction. Still, it seems like quite a pleasant time if you have the patience for it. I'm undecided if it's the sort of game for me, but I'm willing to wait and see.

Faerie Afterlight - An exploration puzzle-platformer with a bright, beautiful visual style. Gameplay-wise, the movement feels nice and has potential to be pretty interesting: the demo starts off with your character having just unlocked the ability to jump and wall-jump, you obtain a dash later on, and more abilities will likely come further in the game. It has some unique mechanics (like controlling a secondary character who can interact with gates and possess enemies) and the combat is okay, but the demo stumbles once or twice when it demands you manage all of these aspects simultaneously. Seems like an alright game, even if it didn't stand out to me like other games on this list.

Unpacking - A meditative puzzle game about arranging everyday objects in rooms. This is another one I've been interested in, and now that I've tried it for myself... there's a lot to unpack, if you'll excuse my wording. There's a certain weight to nostalgia and sentimentality, even when it's tied up in mundane objects like books and toys. The comfortable and familiar, the things we keep with us, and the things we discard or leave behind, everyone values them differently. Even in a brief demo, Unpacking manages to encapsulate this idea in a way that few other games can. Each segment is a snapshot of a different moment in a person's life. Through the simple task of sorting through their belongings and finding a place for everything, you learn about this person, and a narrative emerges. What they take with them, what they leave behind, and what they pick up along the way. It's a fascinating little game, and one that could be emotionally compelling in ways I was not prepared for.

OGOPOGO - An arcade puzzle game about making palindrome block chains. ...Have you ever stumbled across a game that feels like it was made specifically for you? I had never heard of this one until a few days ago when I was perusing the Steam demo list. It's a simple concept, but it trips the pattern-finding part of my brain in very pleasing ways. I can see myself sinking a lot of idle time into this one when it comes out.

TOEM - Quite a pleasant game to round out the list. There's been a renaissance of photography games over the past year or so; I still have New Pokémon Snap and Beasts of Maravilla Island waiting in the wings, and I can think of half a dozen other titles either already out or near on the horizon. It's easy to see the appeal, since it's a sort of game that inherently rewards exploration and discovery while also being pretty chill and low-stress. TOEM looks to be a fine example, with a simple, charming black-and-white art style, and a friendly and inviting world to run around in and complete tasks with your camera. Take a picture, it'll last longer.

A few technical bumps on the road, but a nice selection of games regardless. See you next time.

#game demos #sable game #unpacking game #terra nil #toem #little witch in the woods #faerie afterlight #bryan writes about games

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sisterspooky1013 · 3 years

Text

Damsels, Chapter Three: Interview

By SisterSpooky1013 / Read Previous Chapters Here

Rated E / Tagging @today-in-fic

The Hoover building is deserted at 4am, which is exactly why she has to be there so early. She arrives at Skinner’s office with nothing but her car keys and the casual clothing on her back. Agent Wiley, a young woman in her twenties, greets Scully warmly. She’s tall and brunette with an hourglass figure, and Scully has the passing thought that she is exactly Mulder’s type. She wonders if they’ve ever met.

“I’ll drive you to your apartment in Philly where you’ll stay for the duration of the undercover assignment, Agent Scully,” Wiley says in an authoritative though very high pitched voice. “We’ll leave your car in the bureau garage for the duration, but you can give A.D. Skinner your keys for safekeeping.”

Scully hands Skinner her keys and he sets them on top of his desk, rubbing his hands over a weary and sleep-rumpled face.

“I’ll fill you in on the case details on the way. Let’s hit the road, we’ve got a two and a half hour drive ahead of us,” she finishes, slinging her purse over her shoulder and making for the door.

Scully follows her mutely. Just as she reaches the door herself, Skinner speaks.

“Agent Scully?” he asks in a hoarse voice. She turns to face him. “I…I…” He keeps restarting his sentence, but never gets further than that.

Scully finally interjects. “It’s okay, sir. I understand. We all have a job to do.”

He nods at her with a grateful expression, and she follows Agent Wiley out to the parking garage.

The sun is just beginning to brighten the inky sky as they drive out of D.C. Agent Wiley is chatty behind the wheel as Scully leafs through the case file; once they get to Philly, she won’t have the opportunity to see it again. The only trace of Dana Scully in her apartment will be a burner cell phone, which she is to keep off and hidden in an air duct in the wall. She will call Agent Wiley at least every other day, or as needed, to share any updates. She is to turn the phone on only when she’s sure no one else is in the apartment with her. She is expected to get as close as possible to the other dancers at the club, one of whom they believe to be Mila Chamberlain. In the file, there’s a photo of Mila, a young Asian woman with a short blonde pixie cut and penetrating dark brown eyes. There is also her parents’ account of her disappearance shortly after meeting Ricky at a party, and their fears that’s she’s a victim of sex trafficking.

“Your cover is Diane Sellers, recently divorced and needing work,” Agent Wiley explains. “To our understanding, they won’t ask you much about your history, but it’s still good to have a backstory ready. It can be helpful to use real details from your life in regards to things like siblings, parents, and past romantic partners, just because it’s easier to keep straight. We don’t recommend addiction being a part of your backstory, in case that affects Ricky’s willingness to trust you. You should immerse yourself as much as possible with the staff, including spending time with them outside work if you can. You can have them over to your apartment, which is why it’s important that there’s nothing there that isn’t part of Diane’s story. It’s fully furnished with everything from tampons to Rice a Roni, but we’ve also set up a bank account and a debit card in case you need to buy anything. Once you identify Mila, call me. You should try to get as close to her as possible, and ultimately the goal is to confirm that she’s being held against her will. Then we’ll raid the club and get you both out of there. What questions do you have?”

Scully stares out the window at the cars rushing by. The pink sunrise illuminating the clouds on the horizon makes the sky look pinstriped.

“Why weren’t you asked to go undercover, if this is your case? You’re young, you’re very pretty. So I guess my question is why not you?” She recognizes the irritation in her voice, but she can’t help herself.

Agent Wiley glances over at her and back to the road a few times. “I can understand why you’d ask that. And I also realize that I haven’t thanked you for taking this assignment. It was a hard one to staff.”

Scully scoffs and turns to face the other woman. “I wasn’t given a choice, Agent Wiley.”

“Right. Sorry. Um, the reason I couldn’t take this assignment is that I have an ostomy bag, as a result of a pretty severe case of Crohn’s. I doubt anyone wants to see a stripper with a bag of poop strapped to her belly dancing around on stage.”

Scully closes her eyes against the shame that wells in her gut. “I’m sorry, Agent Wiley. That was rude of me to ask.”

“Don’t worry about it, Agent Scully. Honestly, I’d take my ostomy bag over this assignment any day. I don’t envy you.”

Scully turns back to the window, spinning up the life story of Diane Sellers as they drive on through the early morning light and towards her uncertain future.

Agent Wiley drops her off around the corner from her apartment with nothing but a set of keys and verbal instructions for where she can locate the burner phone. Her interview is today at 2, and the address of the club and interview information are on a slip of paper on the kitchen counter. They bid one another an awkward goodbye, and Scully goes in search of her home for the next several weeks.

The apartment is small, a studio, and fully furnished. She can tell that Agent Wiley herself took care of decorating it; youthful touches like a sequined throw pillow and a magnet on the fridge with “Diane” printed on a tiny license plate give it a dorm-like feel. Many of the items appeared to have been thrifted, which will be important to keeping up her ruse of being a woman in a tight spot financially. She locates the air duct and the burner phone, turning it on to be sure it works before securing it back in its hiding place. She pokes around the various cabinets and cupboards to find all kinds of dried goods and snacks, and is surprised by the 6 pack of beer in the fridge and the bottle of vodka in the freezer. The closet is full of clothing in her size, some of it basic jeans and tees, some of it tube tops and daisy duke shorts that she would never wear. Well, Scully would never wear them, but she suspects Diane would. The slip of paper on the counter reads:

Damsels in Dominance

1634 W York St, Philly

Ricky Dean, 2pm

She makes a face at the name and her stomach turns at the thought that this might be some kind of S&M club. It's just after 9am, so she has quite a bit of time to kill before her interview. She doesn’t think she’ll be able to sleep, so instead she takes a thorough inventory of all the cabinets and closets to see if anything important is missing. In the bathroom, she opens the medicine cabinet to find a full Oil of Olay skin care line right next to a box of condoms. What the hell does Agent Wiley think she has planned for this assignment? Her confusion deepens when she pulls open the drawer of the bedside table and is greeted by a book light as well as a small bullet vibrator. Either Agent Wiley went to very great lengths to make sure this apartment would pass the sniff test for anyone who decided to snoop, or….she doesn’t even know what the other possibility is. Adding some paperback novels to her mental shopping list, she slams the drawer shut and flops down on the bed. Mulder is at work by now, and she wonders how long Skinner will be able to keep up the ruse. Knowing Mulder, not all that long.

Mulder arrives at work just past 8, noting that Scully’s car is parked in her typical spot in the garage; she must have needed to stop by before heading to Quantico. He’s a little bit disappointed that she’ll be away for the next few weeks; the basement office is exceedingly boring without her. At the same time, he’s grateful for a bit of space to think.

The tension between them had reached a tipping point but now sits suspended, teetering between coworkers and friends or whatever lay on the other side. He’s made some attempts at pushing things towards the “more than friends” end of the spectrum, but nothing seems to come of it. He kissed her, and while she kissed him back and seemed receptive to it, she hasn’t initiated anything further. The night they played baseball together was fun and flirtatious, but again nothing happened. He’s getting the sense that any move will need to be made by him. Maybe Scully just isn’t the forward type in these situations, or maybe she isn’t confident enough that he’ll reciprocate. This time that she’s working away from the office might be the perfect opportunity to take her out on a real date, knowing that if things get weird they won’t have to face each other in the morning.

Entering the office, he doesn’t find her there; they must have just missed each other. He logs into his email and opens a new message.

Hey G-woman,

What time can you get away for lunch today? I was thinking about checking out that new sushi place on 8th. Or we can meet halfway, whatever works.

Would you like to get dinner sometime this week? My treat. Let me know.

Mulder

He hits send, then digs in to some more case reports that he needs to complete. He has a vision of Scully returning to find them completely caught up on paperwork and how pleased she’d be with him, and decides then and there to make it a reality. While he’s not generally an approval-seeking kind of guy, the surprised smile on Scully’s face when he does something uncharacteristically responsible is one of his favorites. The number one spot will always, of course, be held by the smile she gives him when he says or does something that truly strikes her as funny. He finds it hard to keep from smiling just thinking about it.

Two hours later, there’s no response from Scully. That’s a little bit weird, but not exceedingly so; if she’s working on a particularly gnarly autopsy it can take quite a while. When he still hasn’t gotten a response by noon, he first checks his sent email to be sure it went out, then picks up his office phone.

“Autopsy bay, this is Richard.”

“Hey, Rich, this is Agent Mulder up at the Hoover Building.”

“Hi, Agent Mulder, how can I help you?”

“Is Agent Scully around? I was hoping to talk to her.”

“No, I haven’t seen her.”

“Not at all today?”

“No, I haven’t seen her in a few weeks, actually.”

A flush of worry spreads across his chest.

“Hey, Rich, are you guys pretty busy down there? I hear you have a big case you’re working on.”

“Busy? Uh, no, not really. Just business as usual.”

“Okay, thanks. If you see Agent Scully, will you ask her to call me?”

“Sure, will do, Agent Mulder.”

“I appreciate it, bye.”

He sets the phone down and sits back in his chair. Did Scully lie to him? And if so, why? Her car is here, so he knows she came in today. Picking up the phone again he tries her cell, which goes straight to voicemail. The darkest part of his brain worries that she came to the office but never made it to Quantico. He makes one final phone call.

“Skinner.”

“Hi, sir, this is Agent Mulder.”

“How can I help you, Agent Mulder?”

“Have you heard from Agent Scully today? I’m having a hard time getting in touch with her.”

“She’s assigned to work at Quantico for the next few weeks, Agent Mulder, she wasn’t expected to report to the Hoover Building today.”

“I know, sir, but her car was in the garage when I got here and I just called over to Quantico and they haven’t seen her today. I’m a little worried.”

He hears Skinner mutter what sounds like “Jesus H Christ” under his breath before he speaks again. “Agent Scully is fine, Agent Mulder. She’s on assignment. I encourage you to focus on your own assignment.”

Mulder hesitates. “Should I take that to mean that she’s NOT assigned to Quantico?”

Skinner sighs. “All you need to know is that she is fine, but unreachable. You worry about yourself and let me worry about Agent Scully, got it?”

“Um, okay. Thank you, sir.”

He hangs up the phone even more confused than before. Scully’s behavior yesterday after she returned from Skinner’s office makes a little more sense; she was uncomfortable about lying to him. When he leaves the office that night, her car is in the same spot it had been that morning. He doesn’t like this, but he knows Scully was in the same situation when he was on an undercover assignment and he should just trust her, and Skinner, and wait it out. That’s easier said than done, and he spends his entire evening imagining all the dangerous situations she might be immersed in. Drug cartels, amateur mafias, cults, hackers, the list goes on and on. He can only hope that she’s safe.

Damsels in Dominance is an unassuming building nestled between strip malls and fast food restaurants. The parking lot and entrance are at the back of the building, a fabric-draped chain link fence surrounding it for privacy. Scully pays the cab driver, though now that she realizes how close her apartment is to the place she’ll probably just walk back. After much deliberation, she wound up wearing jeans and a blue T shirt, guessing that it would be out of place to dress up for an interview at a strip club. She pulls the front door open and finds herself in a small foyer with a counter along one wall, a hulking man perched behind it on a stool. Even seated she can tell that he’s very tall, with a broad chest and square shoulders. His neck is nearly nonexistent, thick and disappearing into the rolls under his chin like a tree trunk. His head is shaved bald and his deeply tan skin shows evidence of long ago healed acne scars on his ruddy cheeks. A small gold name tag pinned to his T-shirt reads “Denny.”

“Hi, I’m Diane, I’m here for an interview with Ricky,” she says with a smile. She’s decided that Diane will be the kind of person with an easy smile. The kind of person who makes friends quickly. She channels her sister Melissa, who would talk to anyone and somehow have them sharing details of their childhood trauma within fifteen minutes. If she’s going to get these people talking, she needs to be more like Missy and less like herself.

Denny nods with a grunt and stands, proving himself to be at least six inches taller than Mulder; her head barely reaches his waist. He comes around the counter to push open a second door and holds it for her, motioning her to follow. They enter one end of a long hallway, a door directly in front of them labeled “Enter Here to be Dominated.” They walk down the hall, past some restrooms and several other unmarked doors, until they come to one that says “office.” Denny knocks and a small woman answers.

“Diane, 2 o’clock interview,” Denny says in a flat baritone, then turns and walks away.

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dapandapod · 4 years

Note

You mentioned I should drop a prompt, so what do you think of Geralt being soft? Like he’s actually a really intimate and gentle person when it comes to romance and Jaskier is in awe of this secret side of Geralt. Thoughts?

YES! Thoughts are, AMAZING!! Thank you for indulging me with this! Also Im doing a sneaky and claiming this as 2/4 for my 400 follower celebration

I thought I was going to write a short but NO I DID NOT! Please have some soft boys and I hope I did this justice! I have many thoughts on the subject and I love them all!

On Ao3 here, for your consideration! Please enjoy

Jaskier is baffled. Flabbergasted. In a state of constant awe.

He has known Geralt for great many years. Pined after him for most of them, and therefore thought he knew Geralt and his ways. He has seen him at his best and his worst, from afar and up close. He witnessed Triss falling for him, and Geralt not returning her feelings. He was on the first row when Geralt fell head over heels for Yennefer, and how they fell apart over and over again. And when Geralt broke his heart, on accident and on purpose, Jaskier saw, felt, witnessed, learned who Geralt is, and how he acts. When Ciri finally was pushed into their lap by fate's cruel hand, he thought he had seen it all.

He was content with being Geralt's friend, he was fine with sitting on the sidelines, if only he got to be there. They had their fights, their falling outs, their own kind of breaking up for months. But they always found each other, and Jaskier thought he knew how Geralt expressed himself and his own place in their lives.

But something changed.

Jaskier can’t put his finger on what or when, but Geralt started mending his socks when he did his own. When he complained about his lute case being in poor shape, bought him a new one.

And Jaskier has been to Kaer Morhen a few times. It has passed its glory days, it is true, but the beauty of history in a hidden corner of the world, a place to rest and heal and grow. To breathe the stillness of a winters day high above the ground, to be a part of the sky, to feel the cold bite his cheeks. On a balcony far above everything, Geralt had kissed him.

He remembers the sky being a pale blue, almost white over the horizon, the sun high above them. They were talking about something as mundane as brushes for Roach and Pegasus.

Jaskier insisted they should have the brushes with a little longer bristles, because they were clearly superior to the soft, useless ones Geralt preferred. The longer would work better with the thick winter fur and the mud, obviously. Soft brushes are great for added shine, but they didn’t do much good before they were clean, would they?

And Geralt had smiled at him, a soft smile Jaskier had only seen at a distance before, and then Geralt had stepped right into his space.

Noses almost touching, Geralt's wonderful amber eyes almost hidden behind his lashes when he looked down and then leaned in. Dry, chapped lips against his, beard tickling him and his heart almost exploding with emotion. It took Jaskier completely by surprise, and Geralt had pulled back, smiled again and apologized. And one does not kiss Jaskier like that and apologize for it. Especially not when you have been half in love with the idiot for a decade, possibly two.

Jaskier did the only right thing and kissed the daylight out of him, right there on the balcony.

So yes, things have changed, and entirely for the better. But Jaskier, who spent most of his life watching Geralt, is finding out new things. It’s like someone lifted a curtain, opened a door, whatever cliché you would want to use. Geralt is letting him in, letting him see another side of himself. They have been through a lot, they both have changed and grown a lot. But there are more smiles, and they are brighter, softer, richer. The jokes are less cutting, and there are actual compliments. Touches. Words, even.

A late night in the corner of a tavern, perhaps a little bit deeper into their drinks than intended, Geralt leans forward and takes hold of his chin. By now Jaskier expects a kiss, but Geralt just stares at him.

“You have the most beautiful eyes.” He murmurs, and Jaskier is moments away from death. Heart, lungs, you name it, they all take a break to restart and think out new ways to function. Because never, ever, had he expected that. There is no way he could compete with Yennefer, and he say as much.

“It’s not a competition.” Geralt had frowns at him, still a little too focused on his eyes. “Each of you has something that is only you. I could never compare. Your eyes are like a piece of the sky, a droplet of water, cornflower blue. It’s hard to look at you sometimes, because it’s so hard to look away.”

Needless to say, Jaskier drags Geralt up to their room and they weren’t seen for the rest of the night.

While on the path and on one horse each it wasn’t easy to find ways to casually touch.

But Geralt lets Roach get close to Pegasus, their feet and calves touching. Jaskier smiles at him and pushes at Geralt's shoulder, and Geralt catches his hand and kisses his knuckles. And then Geralt comments on the blush Jaskier suddenly is wearing.

Sometimes when they sit next to each other, Geralt will drop a hand on Jaskiers thigh. Grabbing his hand, letting his thumb slowly caress it. Twining their fingers together, touching their feet together under the table. Gentle touches for no other reason than to be a bit closer.

More than once while sitting in front of the fire at night, scribbling on lyrics and poems, Geralt would sit close if not next to him. Sometimes he would sit behind Jaskier, trace patterns on his back as he worked. Sometimes he would fiddle with his hair, kiss his shoulder or neck. And when he peeks around at Jaskier, to see if he was getting any attention, he would pull a stray strand of hair behind his ear. His fingers are always hot, always careful.

Jaskier never saw this side of Geralt, no. But it would turn out Geralt never saw this side of Jaskier either.

Might be that Jaskier recites many poems, and writes them even more. But before this, before the balcony, Jaskier would never dare write and read one directly about and to Geralt. When Jaskier reads them, every time without fail Geralt's mouth falls open, blush stains his cheeks and Jaskier has to fight not to lean in and kiss him. It’s wonderful, he can never get enough.

Geralt is used to seeing Jaskiers easy platonic affection, but nothing could have prepared him for all the love and affection Jaskier harbors inside of himself, that suddenly is let free. How he for long, long moments can let his fingers run across Geralt’s face.

His nose, cheekbones, lips, chin, temples, over the shell of his ear. Exploring, caressing, touching. He is allowed now, after all. Sometimes he braids Geralt's hair. He sucks at braiding, they are crooked and uneven, but Geralt refuse to take them out for a day or two.

And when he finally does, his pale white hair is full of curls and waves, and there is nothing on this earth that can make Jaskier stop playing with it.

Of course there is a certain amount of flirting a bard is expected to do during his performance, but he somehow always makes sure he ends up sprawled across Geralt's lap, even with a perfectly good chair right next to them.

And it’s been but two nights they haven’t slept next to each other, or on top of each other, while together on the path. They have no reason to pretend anymore, after all.

Then of course there are the less obvious things, the things they have done for each other for years but suddenly are seen as what they should have been all along.

It seems like no one is surprised by this new development. No one but the two of them. It will take years for him, a decade, possibly more, to come to terms with this. But they have time. They practice every day. It’s not perfect.

They are still not good at talking, they fight and misunderstand and they yell and they forgive.

But it’s like they always have been. Always will be.

And they work for it, for their time and affection for each other, a little more every day.

The first I love you reverberate through his bones, etches itself on his heart. Making room for all the I love yous to come.

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sweetygirl90 · 3 years

Note

How did frisk realize they're enby?

It’s long to explain and I don’t have time right now for a comic :( So...

I made a One-Shot! I usually explain myself better by writing than drawing. I just want to clarify that this is Frisk’s personal experience, it doesn’t have to be the same as other people.

I’m a spanish speaker so... I did my best translating this! I hope it’s good. This is from Frisk POV (something like that) so I made use of “he/him” pronouns at beginning.

“Don’t belong”

It was still late afternoon, Frisk knew it because the big clock that hung on the living room wall. He was lucky to have it, because guessing the time just by looking through the hole he had fallen into was not very efficient. Many trees covered the sky from there and not having a wide view of the horizon hindered him more. In other words; looking at the sky wasn’t an option.

He had fallen underground a few days ago after what he hoped was his last reset. He knew perfectly what awaited him behind the enormous door of the ruins, he knew that sooner or later he would have to venture beyond that great portal to finish what he had started by falling into that world. He had promised that this would be the last time he would restart things if he got a good result and was not forced to go back to the beginning due to a failure, but until then he wanted to prolong this as long as possible. So sure everything would work out? Maybe, but if he ended up failing he would have a chance to repeat this again.

Yes, it wasn't very responsible to keep procrastinating like that, but could they blame him for it? From his first meeting with Toriel, something told him that next to him he would find his home, a place where he belonged, and it was difficult to detach himself from that new reality.

He didn't want to leave all of it just yet. Each moment with Toriel only became more enjoyable than the last. He was beginning to placidly get used to waking up feeling the soft fur of her muzzle brushing against him when she was going to wake him up with a warm hug and a kiss, he had memorized her characteristic aroma of caramel and cinnamon, unconsciously filing himself in those smells that comforted him. He wanted to continue that home routine a little more, he wanted to enjoy it as much as he could before he got into his work.

He wanted to be just an ordinary kid before he was the hero everyone expected him to be.

"And then the prince of water and the prince of fire got married and lived happily ever after... The end!"

Frisk smiled, raising another piece of cinnamon and butterscotch pie to his mouth as he watched comfortably curled up on Toriel's lap at the illustration of both characters from the storybook. If he was honest, he was at an age where he had lost interest in children's stories a bit, but he could never turn down the woman when she offered to read him one of them and she did it with such dedication and emotion. She even sometimes interpreted the voices of the characters changing the tone, although sometimes he lent her his help with that.

Most of the repertoire of stories didn’t stray from the typical fantasy trope with princesses, princes, knights, witches and wizards but... It was curious how monsters could interpret things in so many different ways. He swore that if he had taught this book to the adults in his orphanage they would have been shocked demanding to know who the degenerate was that would write such bestiality for the children to read.

The adults saw something frightening, he for the part of him only saw two princes in love in a nice simplistic illustration. He hadn't stopped to observe until now that monsters saw these things so naturally, as if it were something from day to day. Perhaps for them the plot twists of princesses escaping from their kingdoms to marry witches was already something of a cliché.

"Ah, what a beautiful story." The monster sighed, closing the book and setting it aside. "Did you like it, my child?"

Frisk nodded smiling, letting her gently stroke his hair. He almost always heard a derogatory comment from his ghostly companion in such cases, but they had been strangely quiet, listening intently to the narration all this time.

“I loved it.”

He lifted some of the pie back to his mouth, allowing himself to be comfortably pampered by Toriel's matted hands. Frisk still could not find a way to begin to describe how much he enjoyed her continuous displays of affection, how much he loved that woman who, even with a broken heart after so many losses, had love to give to the helpless children who fell into that underworld due to misfortune. There was no space for joy in his heart after having longed for since he was aware of the unconditional love of a relative, and that even after having lost all hope she had crossed his path.

He didn't care that she was a monster, he didn't care about anything anymore. He loved Toriel, she was his mother, and he wanted to stay with her.

Yes... He would, if he managed to free them all and no one would separate him from her side.

"Glad to hear it, my dear."

Frisk sensed her genuine happiness in her blue eyes and wished she could know just by looking at him how infinitely happy she made him just sitting there, looking at him as if his mere existence meant something to be grateful for. Toriel was like that with him, she made him feel valuable just by staring at him.

How was he able to coldly grip the knife against her? How did he have that stupid primal urge to harm her? Who did he think he was to see her as if she were nothing more than a dusty pothole that he stepped on as he left the ruins?

He regretted so much... He really regretted it. Even if she was ignorant of his sins, now Frisk wanted to show that he could be worthy of her, that he could make Toriel very happy. If she wanted a perfect and loving child that is what he would give her, although it was not very difficult to get it when he willingly wanted to follow her everywhere.

When his adventure came to an end he would strive to fulfill the fantasy of a happy family. He would be obedient, well behaved, loving... He would be the perfect child, he could not miss this opportunity.

Frisk had already been rejected by so many families... His heart would not bear another rejection, much less after he had tasted the true joy and warmth of home.

No matter the cost, even if it meant suppressing that part of him that he screamed for out in the open... He would do it to preserve this illusion.

He would be a good boy… Boy… Why did it still not sound good to say it like that?

"Oh dear… Look what time it is. It will be late for us to go grocery shopping and recalibrate the puzzles in the ruins.” Toriel watched the clock strike 4:30, patted his head once more, and got up after he got off her lap with help. "I'll find the bags to go out, while you can go change, my child."

Frisk nodded and went to his room. Something that had motivated him to stay with Toriel for a few days before inevitably moving on to Snowdin was his curiosity about what was outside the house. If he remembered something well from the books, it was that the ruins were much bigger than it appeared to the naked eye, after all the monsters used to all live there before moving further into the cave and finding the other cities that today they know as Snowdin, Waterfalls, Hotland and New Home.

He had watched from the balcony that the city of Old Home stretched beyond what he had ever thought or stopped to look at. There were few monsters that from time to time walked the streets doing their daily lives, but they were enough to keep the city inhabited and sustained. Too bad he didn't have a chance to visit it and see it up close... Until today.

He searched the closet for something to wear. He hadn't changed his pajamas since he had awakened, and although he was very comfortable he admitted that it was a bad habit as a result of not leaving the house every day.

His sweater had gotten dirty the day before after getting too close to an old fountain in the ruins and falling inside. How was he to know there was mud at the bottom of the pond? The water was crystal clear, but the darkness in the corner prevented him from seeing all the details. But he wasn't that clumsy, he was sure Flowey had pushed him! Damn impatient flower. He knew how boring it was to wait for the flower to finally deign to move things forward, but he'd already warned Flowey that he didn't want to be pressured. Frisk would decide when to do it, he would not stay in the ruins forever.

He was lucky that there was some clothing of his size that Toriel could lend him. Could it be that it belonged to Prince Asriel? That made him feel a bit guilty wearing the clothes of Toriel's dead son, but since there was nothing else… There wasn't much left to choose from.

Frisk took out some things and put them on his bed so he could choose better. He knew it was just a grocery shopping outlet, but he didn't want the monsters to think that Toriel was raising a lazy person either. Never! There were many things, generally striped shirts that almost always shared the same color range. Was it customary for children in the basement to wear stripes? Monster Kid mentioned it high above, but he wasn't sure. Perhaps this was a signal for him to begin to investigate a little more in depth about monster culture.

Going back to his clothes… Nothing convinced him at all. And that he was not demanding, he alone believed that yellow and green did not suit him very well.

He looked among the things that were hanging on the hangers, there were very warm coats, hats, scarves and... An elegant tuxedo with a tie and everything. That made him smile a bit. Even in this underground life did the royal family have events where they wore elegant clothes?

His gaze then hit something he hadn't noticed so far, an immaculately white sleeveless gown hung between two coats, hidden between the two. Frisk took it off the hook curiously and leaned it against his chest to check that it was for someone small like him and yes, it was.

Why would Prince Asriel have one of these? Maybe it was a mistake. The adults were very explicit with their instructions "boys don’t wear skirts."

He himself had learned the hard way, with punishment and humiliation that it was not appropriate, no matter how much it hurt.

"Those aren’t Asriel's clothes… But mine.”

Frisk left his thoughts for a moment to turn to his ghostly companion, who crossed their arms and with a skeptical look just floated beside him.

"Asriel's clothes stayed in New Home, I think... Mom took my things with her when she fled to the ruins."

"Oh… Then it's yours."

“Yes.” They confirmed it again, now floating on their back and with their arms crossed behind their neck, giving him a look of displeasure but at the same time disinterest. “I wasn't in my plans to donate my clothes to a brat like you, but since it's not very useful to me… You can have it.”

“Cool! Thanks, Chara.” He thanked them with a smile. Chara might be a bit surprised that he had these courtesy details, but despite the fact that the human repeated that their reason for being there was to make life a mess... He couldn't help but think that being close to them was pleasant. Chara wasn't such bad company, at least not when they was trying to make him feel bad.

Frisk was about to put the dress in the closet, but then he realized something else. If it was Chara's clothes… Why would they have a dress and a tuxedo?

He unhooked this one, too, and spread both sets on the bed, set apart from the rest of the folded clothing he'd pulled out to choose from.

Maybe… The monsters didn't find these things strange either. Could that be it? His hand went to the white dress, he took it, took it with him to the mirror in the room and placed it in front of his chest to have a visualization of how he would fit it. The last time he had used something like this was when he and his best friend Emma exchanged the school uniform secretly from others, it was when after her departure she gave him said uniform to remember her, when the director of the orphanage found him wearing it, when he lost the last gift from the first girl he had ever loved, when...

When he started wondering what was wrong with him. He never hurt anyone when he wore those clothes, did he? Was Emma thinking the same thing too?

"Are you ready, dear?"

Frisk turned, surprised to find Toriel inside the room, already dressed to leave it and staring him with a calm smile. He couldn't help but start to shake and gasp when the goat's eyes focused on the dress, reflexively hiding it behind his back. She was confused.

Frisk couldn't even look into her eyes, he was terrified to do it and find himself with a disappointed or disgusted expression. It was something he had gotten used to enough by now, it was always a reason for the foster homes to decide that he was not the type of child they wanted to adopt.

"E-Eh… I just… I was just looking at what to wear and…"

He stopped abruptly when Toriel crouched down next to him and bringing one of her hands to his chin made him lift his head. She didn't look upset, she had the same peaceful glow in her gaze and that warm smile that she had seen the first day.

"Do you want to wear that dress, honey?" Frisk didn't come out of his bewilderment, but he nodded softly as Toriel got up and went to the door. "Okay, I'll be back, I'll look at for something."

Without further ado, she left the room, Frisk managed to look at Chara, who for the first time seemed to see him with some compassion, perhaps because they understood what he was feeling in those moments.

"You heard mom, don't keep her waiting."

Silently and with some anxiety, Frisk made the change of clothes. His dress was of a very soft fabric and the skirt reached below the knees. Apparently Toriel glued washes to his clothes so it wouldn't get smelling of dust and damp, because now he could smell the fragrance of laundry soap on it.

The only problem he had with this was the zipper in the back, it was difficult to make it go up without it locking in the middle of his back.

"Oh, let me help you with that, dear."

Frisk hadn't noticed that Toriel had returned, but he said nothing and allowed her to help him by zipping up.

“Don't worry, the truth is that it has always caused problems, so most of the time I had to do it.”

He assumed that she was referring to Chara indirectly, and confirmed it just by seeing the half smile that the aforementioned was trying to hide. With the dress already on, Frisk stopped to observe himself at ease in front of the mirror. He didn't look bad at all, he liked it.

Toriel touched his shoulder and offered him something. It was a country hat with a white ribbon around it and some fake flowers of the same color adorning it. Did she go looking for that for him? He didn't ask questions, he just accepted it and settled it on his head. It seemed that both things were made to go together.

"There is no sun to watch out for, but I thought you'd like it.”

Frisk looked back at his reflection and felt fear leave him suddenly. A smile crossed his face and he moved to the side for a twist that made the skirt of the dress move in the air. Toriel gave a light laugh when she saw him wearing that garment so happily.

“I look good?” He asked, doing a couple of poses that would make his mother laugh because of how exaggerated they were, but that made him feel looser from the tension of a while ago. He didn't perceive that this was a forced reaction from Toriel, she looked genuinely pleased about it. It was as if the laws of the surface didn't matter to her… Because they were underground now.

"You look gorgeous, my dear. You're a very handsome boy!"

Frisk broadened his smile for Toriel and didn't fight the urge to hug her skirt with all his might, hoping that maybe she could feel his gratitude in that little gesture. She accepted him instantly, wrapping her warm arms around him lovingly. Frisk wish she didn't notice the pair of tears of relief that stained a tiny space of her garment and then wet her snout when she gave him a pair of kisses near his eyes.

“Thanks… Mom.”

Toriel tightened the hug a little more but without hurting Frisk. He melted her heart whenever he called her that way. "You’re welcome, my little boy. If you are ready we can go now.”

When they parted, they both left the room on their way to the city of Home.

"Or dear... There are many things missing at home and I had barely noticed today. I think we will also buy you school supplies so that you can start classes at home. Better hurry up or it will get very dark by the time we're done.”

“Okay, mom.”

"I have to get you notebooks… One for each subject. I don't want you to be disorganized!"

Frisk nodded as she continued speaking. For Toriel it was already a reflection of her holding his hand every time they went out together and it didn't bother him at all.

He tightened his grip on her hand to keep her in step. She was so big that on occasion he was forced to be faster or take longer steps, this was one of those times. His heart had stopped weighing him down, replacing that suffocating sensation with freedom, feeling light with the air moving his skirt and the end of the hat's bow brushing against his shoulder every time he took a step.

He was happy.

Although something was still bothering him.

. . .

The departure proceeded normally. Frisk and Toriel toured the city buying the groceries that were needed at home. It was not very different from the surface, there were supermarkets with electrical appliances, small shops, stalls to sell fast food, etc. They spent two hours shopping for everything on the list until they filled the bags, which Toriel could carry perfectly on her own and without any effort. Frisk wanted to help her by carrying one of hers, but this was already heavy enough that he could afford to carry one more.

They also went to buy supplies and notebooks as she said. In the old human school he could not afford to use many things because according to the director of the orphanage "it were unnecessary and a silly waste of money", which he understood perfectly, although he came to disappoint him a bit. He did not want to make Toriel spend a lot, however, he didn’t need to ask for anything, since she decided that she needed to buy him colors of all the materials available and to have (paint, watercolors, crayons, chalks, pencils, markers...) because she was afraid he would get bored at home and not have something to draw with.

They both had a good time. They talked about some things, Toriel bought him an ice cream, they decided what they would have for dinner at night, even some monsters greeted Toriel with respect —long ago he would not have understood why but now he knew it was because they remembered her as the former queen of the underground— and monster commented to her more than once that he was adorable. Toriel almost always replied "I know, isn't he a very cute boy?"

He didn't want to sound ungrateful at all, but… Something didn't feel right when he heard her say that. It was not for the compliment, throughout his life he was lucky if some adult remarked something positive about him, especially his appearance. Why now that someone did it, did he continue to feel dissatisfied? It wasn't for the compliment itself, of course not. There were times when Toriel said things like that, but... Something was left over, or maybe something was missing.

When they returned, he helped her organize the shopping and they continued with the routine. It was a bit late to leave so the rest of the duties were left to Toriel for the next day. She insisted that she go alone to recalibrate the puzzles in the ruins, but he wanted to accompany her.

It was no use being persistent because she was able to convince him to stay. She told him that she needed him to stay, as if he bathed in what she did her work then the two of them would have enough time to get ready to go out to dinner at night. It was too tempting an offer not to accept. When had he dined at a restaurant in Home? Never. Maybe at the Mettaton hotel, but he didn't count it as dinner. Sans hadn't even invited him anything!

Frisk accepted instantly, Toriel hadn't been long anyway because she was back in time to help him dry his hair. Apparently she wanted to help him get ready to go out.

For his part, it didn't bother him at all. Toriel had sat with him on the bed to brush his hair, and he was sure that she knew that it was not necessary for him to do it because he rarely ruffled, however Frisk didn’t complain, there was nothing to reproach her. Maybe she just wanted to cuddle him for a while and that's it. Would Frisk make a fuss just for that? Nah!

His mother hummed very softly as she continued her attentions. Her hands were gentle and soft, as if she were afraid to pull his hair by accident. That treatment in conjunction with her voice was the perfect recipe to relax him. If it weren't that dinner was still on the agenda, he would have already fallen asleep.

Frisk remembered again now how lucky he was to have Toriel close, but... Since yesterday he kept thinking about the same thing that had been bothering him forever, but that after yesterday became more evident. He reproached himself for letting such stupidity prevent him from enjoying his mother's affection to the fullest, but… Maybe it wasn't stupid after all.

It made him angry that he didn't understand what was tormenting him. For a boy it should be easy to rate feelings, only he was already pre-adolescent, he wasn't sure if he could continue to call himself a “boy” any longer.

What was this? Why did he feel as if something was missing? Why did he feel wrong? Every time someone made it clear that he was a boy, every time he think about himself with “he” something felt wrong. At first he thought it was due to those prohibitions that humans instilled in him just because of that, because he was a child, but even now that with Toriel he felt free of those restrictions... It was still the same.

"What’s the matter, my dear?"

His mother's voice snapped him out of his musings suddenly, but he struggled to sound like nothing was wrong. "Nothing, just... I was thinking."

“I see.” She said, always parsimonious about everything. “About what? It must be something important for you to be this overwhelmed.”

Frisk was surprised at how quickly Toriel came to that conclusion. It was his mistake to underestimate a mother's suspicion and now he was paying for it, feeling nervous that he didn't know how to explain himself.

"Nothing, it's... It's silly."

"Nothing that worries you is foolish, my dear boy. Your feelings will always be important, and sometimes to deal with it you have to know what causes that feeling.” She explained, putting the brush aside so she could better focus on it. "Talking about how you feel is sometimes helpful."

Frisk lowered his gaze not knowing what to answer her. If anything had remained in him from the adults who had cared for him, it was that those his age used to worry about nonsense, things that don’t deserve to be heard, something that would disappear under the rug. “You have no reason to feel like this. It's not important. People around the world are suffering more than you and you cry for a nonsense!” or “Boys don't cry. Stop being so girly! ” was a common sight around him. Why he would talk about what was bothering him then? Why he would bother trying to express himself? The world had taken it upon himself to let him know that it didn't matter at all, that by drowning in grief he would learn a thing or two that would serve him well in the future.

And now… It was shocking that Toriel told him that after all, if something distressed him, it wasn’t a foolish at all.

"I won't force you to tell me anything if you're not comfortable with it, Frisk. But I want you to know that if something bothers you… You can tell me, I will not judge you and I will listen to you.”

Frisk looked in front of him. In the midst of his hesitation to choose what to wear for dinner he had left the dress on the bed next to Chara's tuxedo he had found the day before. He knew that he had to choose one of the two, and not that he bothered to use one of them, but... Thinking about it too much gave him a different meaning to things.

He wanted to tell Toriel everything he was thinking, but his mind was a mess. He didn't know where to start, he didn't even understand what was happening to him! How was he going to put into words something he didn't know? It was so frustrating! Now that he was given the freedom to speak he didn't know what to say.

"I just… I don't know why sometimes… I don't know, I feel like there's something wrong with me."

Hearing his words, Toriel decided to move beside him to speak comfortably. She didn't say anything, she was still silent to give him permission to speak.

"It's like I don't belong anywhere, like I don't... Like I don't fit in. You know what I mean?"

"Uhm… I think so."

Frisk decided to continue, he knew that Toriel still did not understand where he wanted to go, even he did not know!

"It's just that... People always say you were born to be something, but... What if I don't like that something? Where I should go? Because they say that there are only two paths and nothing else, but... I don't want to choose any. I don't want the path I'm supposed to go and I don't want the second one either. They say "you are this or that" but... I think then I am nothing.”

They were both silent and he was beginning to regret having spoken. His mother surely didn’t understand what he was talking about. Frisk sighed in the midst of his frustration with a lump in his throat, he didn’t want to cry, however he could not continue with that tightness in his chest.

Frisk didn't know how far Toriel's tolerance went. What would happen if this completely exceeded it? He had to fix it but in that moment.

“I’m so sorry. I know you have treated me very well and I like it when you flatter me, but I...”

"You don't like it when I refer to you as a boy, do you?"

Frisk looked up at Toriel, still impressed at how easy it was for her to sink into his dilemma as if it were an everyday thing for her. It was just like when she found him admiring that beautiful dress, the way she looked at him hadn't changed at all.

He couldn't understand it. Why was this all right for Toriel? Why wasn't she like other human adults? Why wasn't anyone there that way? Is it that perhaps he had missed something? Why did he end up getting a caress every time he expected a slap? He couldn't find a way out of his own overwhelm and Toriel kept talking calmly, as if she had all the time in the world.

"Frisk, it's okay if you feel that way. Look, I notice how you react to everything and… I don't know how humans deal with these things, but if you think it seems strange or something bad… It doesn't.”

She paused, stroking his hair and then she got off the bed taking the dress and tuxedo. She looked at both garments for a moment and held them up in each hand.

“If you want to choose one that's fine, if you go for a different option that's fine too, if you choose both it's fine, and if you're not ready to choose something that's fine too. It's like when I want to choose cinnamon or butterscotch, I can't! So I create my own options.”

"B-But…" Frisk swallowed, hoping that would take away the lump in his throat and his confusion. "That's the problem. It's not that I'm choosing! It's not what I want, it's what I am What am I? I don't feel like I'm a girl either. So what am I? I don't have a third option.”

Toriel raised an eyebrow, perhaps as if surprised that he said that. "Uhm… Do you know what non-binary gender is, Frisk?"

He cocked his head not knowing what she was talking about, and knew that Toriel noticed because she smiled like when he was going to her with childish doubts.

“There are people who, like you, don’t see themselves as women or men, but as something different. They are not both and it is not that they are nothing, they are only on a third path among the others.” She explained patiently and put the clothes she had taken back on the bed. Frisk was watching her intently, still unable to process that there was an answer to his question. “There's nothing wrong with not being what others expect of you just because of how you look or how you are… Even for the way you were born.”

"But what about you?" He blurted out. That question had come to his mind a second ago and he felt that he would die if he didn't get an answer now. He felt very stupid saying it so suddenly, almost interrupting Toriel, but he couldn't help himself. “What do you think about it?”

"It doesn't matter what I want or think, Frisk. It is your happiness and your way of perceiving yourself. Nothing else matters than your own happiness. How you identify yourself or who you love you should know that everyone should respect it, and never apologize for being like that.”

She declared, and then moved to the basket of clean clothes she had brought with her when she came into the room. Frisk stifled a sigh when she returned to his hands the striped sweater that he had soiled days ago, and that he had missed even though he liked to change his style of dress.

"It doesn’t matter if you are a boy, a girl, or something else… You are still Frisk. That won’t change.”

An involuntary reflex made Frisk hug his sweater, and so he stayed, silent and lost in his own mind as he processed everything Toriel had said to him in his rhythm. So much information had left him somewhat perplexed, more than anything because he did not imagine that there was an option that would leave him satisfied.

"You don't have to know it now, you can keep thinking about it and take your time. I just want you to know that if it bothers you that I refer to you as a boy then I won't. And if you want me to call you by "they/them" instead of calling you by "he/him" like I did when we just met, I'll do it.”

Frisk muttered with his… No, their face still half buried in the sweater. They had a hard time letting the words come out.

“I… I think I like this third way and… “they” would be fine.”

Without having to say more, Toriel sat back on the bed with a satisfied smile. Frisk was still dizzy and dazed, not sure what to say or how to react, they could only respond to their own impulses when the woman touched their shoulder and immediately threw themself into her arms like a small child and began to cry. Toriel sighed, holding her child in a strong, protective hug, letting their crying stop on its own.

Frisk didn't know. Was they crying out of sadness because no one told them this before? Was the rage at this anguish that they carried with for years? Yes, it was all that, but it was also a cry of relief. Now they knew that they were not weird, that there was nothing wrong with them, that there were people just like them who knew how they was feeling including Chara themself.

Frisk knew then that they did have a place to belong.

They let all their tears release them from that stormy regret and let the goat's maternal affection slowly bring them back to reality, ending up warmly cradled in her embrace. They finally found the missing piece.

"I... Uh... Jeez.” They laughed through tears, still not letting go. “You must believe that so much drama just because of this gender stuff is silly.”

"I don't think gender identity discovery is silly. Maybe you don’t understand why it is so important to know it, but... I think it is difficult to judge when you don’t feel the pain in the hearts of others, much more when I know that you don’t come from this world.”

Frisk nodded with a sigh and finally pulled away from Toriel as she wiped their tears away.

"So… You know what you want to wear to dinner, my child?"

"I want to wear my sweater."

#ask #answer #together at last au #undertale #frisk #toriel #enby frisk #chara #enby chara #oneshot #fanfic #fanfiction #my writing #sweetgirl90

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slade-neko · 3 years

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Saw this video game tag thing pop up on my dash a few days ago. Wanted to do it.

1. First game you played obsessively? Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I believe I was 5yo. Still waiting on that FF7 Remake treatment.

2. A game that has influenced you creatively? Writing, drawing, etc. Well if I play a game and like it, then I'll create sims of it. Does that count?

3. Who did you play with as a kid? My brother from the day I was born.

4. Who do you play with now? My brother FROM THE DAY I WAS BORN.

5. Ever use cheat codes? I wasn't lying when I made this post. {link}

6. Ever buy strategy guides? Yes! Mainly to look at the artwork though. (Don't need no guide!)

7. Any games you have multiple copies of? Lots of games, most being Left 4 Dead with 6 copies (3 Xbox 360, 1 PC case, 2 PC digitally.) What can I say, its a GOOD GAME!

8. Rarest/Most expensive game in your collection? Gold cartridge Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time (maybe that's rare?)

9. Most regrettable purchase? I don't regret my purchases, but I have received games I have never played like Cubix (PS2) no clue where that game came from, but I have it somehow. Madagascar (Xbox 360) came with my Xbox 360, never opened it from its case. And Monsters Inc. Scream Arena (Gamecube) or something... it was a gift.

10. Ever go to a midnight game release or stand in line for hours? No, because then I'd have to interact with people.

11. Have you ever made new friends from playing video games? I'm only friends with people BECAUSE of video games, so yes.

12. Ever get picked on for liking games? No, that'd be ridiculous.

13. A game you’ve never played that everyone else has? Probably a lot, I'd say Call of Duty, but I technically played CoD 1, 2, and 4. The campaign mode was alright, but I don't really care for CoD games at ALL.

14. Favorite game music? Koji Kondo and Grant Kirkhope are two BIG ones.

15. If it was a requirement to get a game related tattoo, what would you pick? Triforce is the most basic option, but I'd rather not get a tattoo.

16. Favorite game to play with your friends IRL? Super Smash Bros. Brawl with hacks, but that was over a decade ago.

17. Ever lose a friend over a game? No, that'd be ridiculous.

18. Would you date someone that hates gaming? No, that'd be RIDICULOUS.

19. Favorite handheld console? PSP. 3DS is great, but PSP Monster Hunter has ALL of my portable gaming memories. Like playing in school after End of Grade tests with my friend.

20. Game that you know like the back of your hand? Sims 4 I like to think I know everything about Left 4 Dead. Quite a bit about Monster Hunter, more so of a series though than a specific game.

21. Game that you didn’t like or understand as a kid but love now? I'd say Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. I loved it as a kid, but had a lot of complex pen & paper RPG mechanics that I never understood. I understand a lot more of it now, but its still complex as all heck. I just know you hit things, they die.

22. Do you wear game related clothing/accessories? That's the only thing I wear.

23. The game that you’ve logged the most hours into? Not sure so I'll list a few. Sims 4, Smash Bros. Brawl, Monster Hunter (its a series though), or Left 4 Dead

24. First Pokemon game? Leaf Green

25. Were you ever an arcade game player? No, don't like paying to play.

26. Ever form any gaming rivalries? No.

27. Game that makes you rage? I don't get mad at games, but I had a custom modded Hard Eight mutation in Left 4 Dead that is absolute bullsh*t!

28. Ever play in a tournament? No, because then I'd have to interact with people.

29. What is your gaming set up? A giant wall of video game consoles spanning from NES to Switch, 4 TVs, but I sit at a desk with a PC.

30. How many consoles do you own? "I own every console that's ever existed." - I Don't Play Games When I Play Games (My STRENTH) original song by Smooth McGroove BUT no seriously I own 32 consoles including handhelds.

31. Does the 3DS and/or Virtual Boy hurt your eyes or give you headaches? Yes. 3DS gave me headaches though I only really played with the 3D feature in Ocarina of Time 3D. I think my eyes broke because I couldn't get my 3D to work very well after.

32. Did you ever play a game based on your favorite show/cartoon/movie/comic? Sure I play games based on a lot of things. Literally any anime game. If I had to pick Dragon Ball Xenoverse is kinda like a dream Dragon Ball game. Oh, Attack on Titan 2 is pretty neat too!

33. Did you ever have any bootleg games or plug-n-play games? Some SEGA plug-n-play thing once. Played it like once and now its lost to time (or my closet.)

34. Do either of your parents play video games? Yes. Mom and Dad played NES Super Mario Bros. My Dad went HARD at that game until he saved the Princess. Then he quit forever.

35. Ever work in a game store? Or do you have a favorite game shop? "Hi. Welcome to Gamestop!"I never want to hear that again, but it was my main store until I went full digital/ online orders.

36. Have you ever shed actual blood, sweat or tears over a game? No, I don't tend to get upset or emotional, but Bill dying in Left 4 Dead made me pretty pissed.

37. Have you played E.T. for the Atari 2600? Do you think that’s the worst game ever, or do you have another nomination? Never played it. I don't really play "bad" games, but maybe Sims 4.

38. A game you’re ashamed to admit that you like? The Sims 4

39. A sequel that you would die for them to make? Dragon's Dogma 2 WHICH I think is actually in development, so I'd have to say Fallout New Vegas 2. C'mon Bethesda you cowards, hand the keys back over to Obsidian so they can make another good Fallout game!

40. What to you think of virtual reality headsets or motion controls? Two part question, two answers. VR Headset to immerse in world, yes. Motion Controls, no.

41. A genre that you just can’t get into? MOBAs and MMOs. I don't like paying to keep playing.

42. Maybe it wasn’t your first game, but what was the game that started you on your path to nerdiness? Nintendo 64 opened me up to what video games could be as a kid. Sad to say my parents' NES didn't really do that for me. And years later Fallout 3 was a big game changer for me too.

43. Ever play games when you really should have been concentrating on something else? Every day of my LIFE.

44. Arcade machine that has consumed the most of your quarters? None. I'd rather emulate.

45. How are you at Mario Kart? Pretty dang good. 3-STARS MARIO KART WII, BABY!

46. Do you like relaxing games like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon? Yes, both of those. I preferred when Animal Crossing had more character to it. New Horizons looks so pretty, but feels so bland compared to classic AC.

47. Do you like competitive games? No. Not really. Usually amongst friends or if I can get competitive against AI Bots. I love my machine bot friends cause they don't cry like 10 year olds when they lose.

48. How long does it take your to customize your player character? Too long. I've seriously restarted games because I wasn't happy with my character's appearance.

49. In games where you can pick your class, do you always tend to go for the same type of character? Yes, I am always the magic man, my brother is always brute warrior, and my friend is the ranger.

50. If you were a game designer, what masterpiece would you create? I don't really know. Honestly, I'd rather mod already good games to make them better than create something completely new.

51. Have you ever played a game for so long that you forgot to eat or sleep? No, that'd be ridiculous. But I've had a friend fall asleep playing games at my house 3 different times and currently dozes off during our Minecraft sessions. So, maybe that's not a completely ridiculous thing after all.

52. A game that you begged your parents for as a kid? Kirby 64 apparently. My brother tells me we had to count out pennies to buy it. I must've been too young with no recollection, but I believe it.

53. What’s your opinion on DLC these days? It's good if its not in the game's files from the beginning and is actually developed AFTER launch... and pre-order bonuses should be standard DLC a month or two later. Some games have content lost to time because of that pre-order bullsh*t.

54. Do you give in to Steam sales? Of course. If you want a game and its on sale then why not? I typically wait just for Steam sales to get games.

55. Did you ever make someone you hated in the Sims and did mean stuff to them? No? I typically make people and characters I like in Sims. I've made villains like Dio, but he's an anime villain and I don't really HATE him despite the horrible things he's done.

56. Did you ever play Roller Coaster Tycoon and kill off your guests? No. Never played that game.

57. Did you ever play a game to 100% or get all of the achievements? I try to for all the games I really like.

58. If you can only play 3 games for the rest of your life, which ones do you pick? The Sims 4, Skyrim, & Fallout: New Vegas. Mods make them live forever. Left 4 Dead and Monster Hunter are good choices too.

59. Do you play any cell phone games? Those aren't games.

60. Do you know the Konami Code? No? But I'll take a guess. Is it make an IP and forget it exists?

61. Do you trade in your games or keep them forever? Keep forever... even the bad ones.

62. Ever buy a console specifically to play one game? PS4 Pro for Monster Hunter World. It was basically for early access since the PC version was being developed and releasing after PS4, but I don't like waiting.

63. Ever go to a gaming convention or tournament? Sort of. Been to anime cons and walked into the gaming tournament rooms only to walk out less than 10 minutes later.

64. Ever make a TV or monitor purchase based on what would be best for gaming? No, but I'm going to be doing that soon, hopefully.

65. Ever have a Game Genie, Game Shark or Action Replay? Did it ever mess up your game’s save file? GameShark for N64, PS2, Gameboy, and Action Replay for Gamecube, DS, 3DS. And no not really, I would cheat responsibly... but there was this one time at school my friend and I borrowed another friend's Gameboy game, loaded it up with my Gameshark, tried playing, it crashed, loaded it back up, save file corrupted... we just stared at each other jaws dropped, "Here's your game back, dude. Make sure you don't play it til you get back home!"

66. Did you ever have have an old Nokia with Snake on it? No, but I remember seeing them on billboards in the game DRIV3R on PS2.

67. Do you have a happy gaming-related childhood memory you want to share? Every game I play is filled with happy memories (mostly.)

68. Ever save up a ton of tickets in an arcade to get something cool? These tiger plushes. My brother got white and I got orange. They were the coolest. Got a butt load of tickets from some jackpot spinning light game thing as I was good at the timing with repeated jackpot hits.

69. In your opinion, best game ever made? I've played quite a few masterpiece games, but to pick one, I'd say Fallout: New Vegas

70. Very first game you ever beat? Super Mario 64. I was a mere child on a Sunday morning and ate celebratory pancakes made by my Dad.

Wow, that was long... I get the feeling this was supposed to be a "send me ask with numbers" thing, but answering all at once is more fun.

#personal #video games

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roodllle · 4 years

Text

Year in Review - Animal Crossing New Horizons

I started writing this review/criticism in May of 2020 but decided to update it as the year went along and post it on the anniversary of NH’s release. I would like to preface that this is mostly going to be full of questions of criticisms, I love this game. I have not been able to put it down since I got it on March 20th. My first AC game was NL and then I played HHD. I was ecstatic when they announced NH at E3 2019 and kept trying to find other games to fit in my AC shaped hole in my heart but I wasn’t able to fill it till this game came out. I feel like the pace of the game is great with how you build up to unlocking terraforming and 5 stars, and I feel like the updates are well timed especially with how crazy 2020 was for everybody. That being said there were some things that irked me.

Some of the points I will bring up came from other people/commenters I have seen on here, Discord, Reddit, and Twitter that I also agree with. Some other points are from Youtubers such as ShayMay and ChuyPlays. And others are from me.

With that out of the way, let’s get on with the review. Warning, I guess, don’t expect this to be an essay, this is just a patchwork quilt made up of thoughts.

Terraforming

I wish cliffs/tiers had a smaller level? Like how we’re able to make stepping stones for our rivers if we don’t want to put a bridge down/use our vaulting pole. I just wish there was a cliff alternative.

Another cliff alternative would be if we could put bridges between cliffs. I think we’ve all been there where we see this picture

thought ‘we can do that!!” then realized it was photoshopped

When we go into terraforming, I wish a grid showed up on our island. It would make it much easier to avoid hitting the wrong square when I’m trying to change a river.

Having us be able to “close” a waterfall from a lower level but not create a new on at the same spot.

Also the fact we can add a 4th tier but can’t put anything on it is just strange to me. I know we have to have a limit to how high we can go, but at least let me put nature stuff, such as trees/flowers/bushes, on top of it instead of just a flat piece of land.

Houses

Why no ceiling items? Find it odd they added a bunch of stuff in HHD and didn’t add that to the new mainline game

There’s no reason I can think of to why we can’t access our storage when we’re crafting inside our house.

Buildings

Dodo Airlines

The Dodo Islands right now are very boring and barely use them. I have enough money and materials to not go farming and save up all my NMTs for when I go villager hunting, which has also become a rarity. I think it would be a good idea to make some islands seasoned themed. Have them be all rare, but have an island where it’s fall and has maple leaves falling, a cherry blossom one, one with snowflakes. I wouldn’t recommend they make Holiday themed ones, but having seasonal ones would be nice.

When I mess up a dodo code or accidentally hit ‘make a bridge’ instead of incline, etc. why do I have to restart the ENTIRE conversation instead of the characters just being “oh? did you mean “x” or “would you like to retype it?” like is it that hard??

Resident Services

As much as I love Isabelle this game has made me very indifferent towards her. I think they gave her a role that didn’t need to exist. They could have either let us roam around without any warnings to who was roaming around our island, in the campsite, or any weather updates. Just have us rely on our villagers, the TV, and our eyeballs. OR they could have given us a social media like app and/or a weather app. Instead, they gave us Isabelle that only announces something once a month.

Nook’s Cranny

This might just be me but can they add a little DIY area in the store? Maybe just make to where you can only customize things?? This is more out of convenience than an actual problem

Speaking of customization, since you can make medicine but also buy can we do the same for the custom kits and bait. Like make it where we can buy bait and also make our own custom kits? I just think it’s weird that they give us either/or for medicine but not for the other 2 that I honestly use way more than medicine.

Why do the Able Sisters get to have all of the colors of an item in their shop but Nook’s Cranny can’t? And why can’t we just be able to customize all items that have multiple looks/colors? Example, why can’t I just be able to change the wood type for the antique set instead of having to buy each one? I get that the furniture catalog is already small, but that’s not my fault. They’ve decided to not add past furniture sets into NH.

Able Sisters

Let us multi select clothes instead of it just being how much we can wear. idc if it’ll just put those clothes in our personal storage and then we’ll have to run home and put it in that storage, I just hate having to walk back in and out every time I want a dress in multi colors. ALSO tell us if we already bought it, like a little storage icon or something

Why can’t we hang any article of clothing on the back wall, why do we have to either make it or have the OG qr designer come to our island?

Why can’t we have the transparent option when designing clothes? I think it would make many designer’s lives easier instead of having to make 8 versions of the same outfit.

NPCs

I have played this game almost every day since it came out, minus 2 days. I have also been able to make friends on discord that help with trading/cataloging/etc. I have all of Saharah’s, Kicks’, Label’s, and Redd’s items. I have all of the fish/bug models I want and have no desire to “catch them all”. I haven’t talked to Wisp in months because I have most of the items and his idea of “expensive” is 10k bells. The only NPC I actively look forward to is Celeste because even though I now have all of her DIYs, she still gives out star fragments, regular large or horoscope, when I talk to her.

What I’m wondering is if they’re planning on doing anything else with these characters. Before I speak further I’m going to weed out characters that I am actually fine with. CJ and Flick will always be there if I want a bug/fish model, I understand that Saharah/Kicks/Redd have a ton of stuff to get and w/o the help of my discord friends, I probably wouldn’t have gotten everything till late 2021.

So that leaves Label and Wisp. I understand Wisp is there for beginners, but now that I’m at a point where I am a bell millionaire and have most of the Nook’s items cataloged, there is no reason for me to talk to him. I wish Nintendo had put in a system where depending on the person who Wisp is talking to, it determines how much money you have in your bank account/looks at your catalog, Wisp’s item’s worth goes up.

As for Label...I never saw her as viable. I also thought the tickets were dumb and you don’t even have to talk to her to have her items show up in the shop the next day. I think it would be great if when you bought all of her items, she decided to join the Able’s sisters in their shop like in NL and then have Gracie show up in her place for the weekly NPC.

Where is Blanca? Or Brewster? Or Shrunk, Katrina, Gracie, or Kapp’n and his family? I understand we will probably never see characters like Harriet or Pete because they have been replaced by a new system, but what is the excuse for these other characters? I’m hoping they show up in year 2 of NH but...we’ll see.

Villagers

I think having your first villagers living in basic homes is a good idea but one that quickly gets annoying. I found Sherb while villager hunting for the 1st time and have had him ever since, but his house is stuck at basic lazy setup. Instead of me going back and forth on whether or not i should trust somebody enough to hold Sherb, get somebody else out, then get him to move back to my island, You can have it to where you let them leave, then just wait till he comes to the campsite to visit and reinvite him. You get his actual house and he still remembers you. This could also go for you accidentally letting somebody go or letting somebody go then regretting it. Also it’d be fun to see some old villagers again.

I was curious and looked back on past games to see how many new villagers were released each game and NH has been the least amount. NL released 112 new villagers in total while NH has released 8. I’m hoping they might release more down the line but, hella disappointing imo. Along with the Sanrio update and adding those characters to the game, I am more hopeful that they’ll be adding new characters!

Having an “event” of sorts where you visit a villager’s house and they’re looking inside their closet. They look at you in surprise when you walk in and sheepishly explain that they were going through their clothes/items. They then decide to ask you for help since they can’t decide what to get rid of/what to keep and think you have a good eye for that sort of thing. Basically, a way to get rid of any clothes/items your villager somehow received bc I guess Isabelle scolding them isn’t enough.

A big problem I feel like everybody has is the villager dialogue. Yes they added sub personality types for each personality but they are not perfectly cut in half, ex. are the Sisterly types where there are 4 B types and 20 A types, like?? How I have “fixed” this problem is by having one of each personality type on my island so I always have different conversations with my villagers, but I understand not a lot of people do that. Some people just want normal/peppy types on their island bc they’re cute as hell, I get it. I know it would be...difficult to come up with unique dialogue for all 399 villagers, including Sanrio, but....you could at least for the “gimmicky” villagers. Some examples of these villagers are Ribbot and Sprocket, Lucky and Ankha, the super hero squad, and Kabuki.

Quality Life stuff

Why cant we sit AND wish on stars? And I don’t mean the sit emote; why can’t I sit on a bench and wish on stars?

It sucks when I’m about to hit my rocks or just do a lot of dig work and then my shovel breaks in the middle of it. To show the tool is about to break, cracks should start to form on the handle and get deeper/longer as you keep using it, starting when you have 5 uses left. You can also add an auditory element by making the tool sound like its struggling when you are using it. Net/Shovel/Axe/Fishing Pole can have cracks show up on the handle, Slingshot can have crack show up at the bottom of the 2 spokes while having 1 at the top of the handle. And the watering can have cracks at the base of the can.

If our inventory is full when I dig up a flower, why can’t I replace it with another flower to bury? And if I can dig up an item at an diagonal item, I should be able to bury it again at the same angle.

Other

Having more...liveliness?? on the island, idk how else to say it. Example is whenever you travel by plane there's a chemtrail in the sky afterwards, maybe just seeing other planes go by throughout the day. Maybe you can get a hint Redd or Gulliver will be visiting you tomorrow if you see their boats beyond the horizon, Redd’s just crusin’ and the Gulls’ boats looking messed up. On a week where you don't have a new camper, maybe have an old villager visit. That leads me too

I wish villager’s doors could count as “exterior decorating” and we can just put any ornamental on there instead having to hope that your villager will put the wreath on their own door.

Conclusion

If you read this whole thing holy shit, thanks!! Go treat yourself on my part lol If you disagreed with me or whatever feel free to chat with me about it!

#roodle speaks #animal crossing new horizons #acnh #animal crossing #ac #acnl #animal crossing new leaf #qtiepie

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kalee60 · 4 years

Note

Okay 8 - but give it to me with a paragraph of drabble (mwahaha) - please! 😘😘😘😘

The demands from you Bec - alwaTs demands... Well... You ask and you shall receive (but only because it's you 😘)

8. Bed sharing or roomates AU?

Considering I have recently written fics that have one or the other or both - I think my answer is ambiguous on this - but for the sake of your wonderful little ask - lets go bed sharing... (I do love me a good trope!)

This is rough as - so apologies for any massive errors! And your request for a paragraph or drabble ended up just over 1K... whoops (standard with me) this isn't spicy per se but maybe a chilli was wafted in its general direction... 🌶️

~*~*~*~*~

Bucky had never been so stiff in his life. And although he was lying directly next to his crush, the man he’d loved for years, it wasn’t the kind of stiff he’d imagined being if they’d ever shared a bed. He was petrified of touching Steve, of accidently reaching out in his sleep and pulling him so close he’d fall into his orbit for the rest of his days. Bucky had seen the movies, had read the silly Harlequin fictions his Ma had left around when he was a kid, a teenager and an adult (sue him, he liked escapism reading) and he knew what bed sharing meant.

It meant they’d end up tangled, Bucky’s hard on pressed against Steve’s leg or ass (god just the thought sent a twitch through him so unexpected it shook the bed) or maybe his mouth would find Steve’s exposed neck and start kissing without thought. It was a disaster in the making.

How did Becca’s destination engagement party end up with them not booking enough rooms at the resort, and since Bucky and Steve had been friends since childhood it would be fine for them to share? He swore Becca did it on purpose, especially when he saw her little smirk when Steve jumped at the idea, slapping Bucky on the back and saying it would be great, like old times.

Yeah old times.

Back when Bucky was too young to understand his feelings were much more than just of the friendly disposition. He nodded and sounded enthusiastic, only noting the small tilt to Steve’s head when he swore under his breath, but smiling brightly to cover it.

So Bucky had to witness Steve change in front of him, only to watch him come out of the bathroom moments later with his toothbrush hanging from his mouth chatting like they were an old married couple, while wearing low slung boxer briefs. Bucky had to restart his heart only six times as Steve continued to clean his teeth, the brushing movement making his pecs dance. He was going to kill Becca. Intentional or not Bucky was toeing the line of ruining his and Steves’ decades old friendship - because he couldn’t keep his dick uninterested.

As he lay there silent and plank-like, a hand suddenly grasped his hip, the one furthest from Steve and he had a moment of panic thinking that Freddy Krueger had appeared to kill him, but then realised that Steve had rolled over, arm flung over his body and not only was he still fast asleep, he pushed himself up against Bucky’s side, pulling him in closely and Bucky could feel. Every. Single. Inch.

“Fuck my life,” he ground out, hushing Steve when he stirred. What the hell else was he supposed to do? Wake Steve up and push him to the other side and create a pillow wall between them? On reflection that might have been a good idea.

Steve’s hips circled and as he felt something moving of its own volition on his thigh, Bucky knew the nine circles of hell would be easier to navigate than his current situation.

Just as he was about to try and think of any Latin phrase that might summon the Devil to get him out of his predicament, Steve moaned.

Now usually Bucky would file that particular noise away and use it for nefarious reasons later (of which he didn’t want to incriminate himself by voicing) but this time he didn’t. Because it wasn’t a usual ‘I’m tired and sleepy’ moan, there was a name in it.

“Bucky…” Steve moaned again and he couldn’t take it. He jumped out of the bed, stalking to the window, resting his palms on it, inhaling deeply. He looked down to see he was pointing out towards the darkened horizon, without using his hand.

“Buck?” Steve asked from behind him, sounding way too awake for having been asleep moments before; and Bucky froze.

“Steve…” he drew out.

“You coming back to bed?”

“In a minute - just… thinking.”

The chuckle behind him, made him look over his shoulder, seeing Steve in the soft light he’d just flicked on. He hoped the reflection on the glass didn’t ‘out’ him.

“Thinking hey?” Steve teased, his eyes dropping to Bucky’s mid section and he felt all the air leave his chest. Steve knew. Becca was deader than dead.

“Err -”

“- come back, let me help you think. If you’d like that, that is?” Steve asked quietly, his confident tone doing something to Bucky’s insides.

“You want to help me think?” Bucky asked with disbelief in his voice.

“Have been wanting to help you gather your thoughts for years.” Steve said simply.

“Oh right,” Bucky managed to get out, his throat thick, “Wait up, are you talking about my actual -”

“ - Bucky just come back to bed,” Steve chuckled, patting the space beside him.

Holding his hands in front of him like a teenage boy trying to conceal his first public erection, he flushed red as Steve’s eyes landed exactly where he was trying to hide. Sliding into bed a second later, Steve immediately pulled him close. Bucky sighed deeply, still uncertain on what was happening, but his heart sang at the same time at the turn of events. He was pretty certain Steve was interested.

“Okay, full disclosure, Buck. Becca and I may have orchestrated this room issue, and honestly I had no intention of this happening, I was legitimately asleep, but then, you moved, and I moved and then you were awake and I was awake, and the opportunity was there and -”

“ - Steve?”

“Yeah, Buck?”

“Can I kiss you?”

The smile on Steve’s lips blinding, “yeah, you can, been waiting a lifetime for that, glad you finally thought about it.”

“Jerk,” Bucky whispered as he closed the gap, only faintly hearing Steve say ‘punk’ back at him.

The kiss was soft, and electric, Bucky falling into Steve’s mouth like they’d been kissing for an entire lifetime, and if he were honest in his dreams he had been. But this wasn’t a dream, he had Steve, and they were kissing and he didn’t know what that meant but it felt right. Tomorrow was a new day and he was fairly certain that they would wake up next to each other and everything would be different, better, how it was supposed to be.

“When I said thinking, I didn’t actually mean for you to do it.” Steve husked as his lips left Bucky’s.

Laughing, Bucky looked at Steve, pressing his mouth against his again, before leaning back. “Any thoughts on how to clear my mind then?”

Steve’s grin was sharp with an edge of hunger and Bucky knew his expression mirrored his, “Plenty.”

Bucky could honestly say he was all feeling, and no thoughts for the remainder of the night.

And if Becca’s horrific acting the next morning as she pretended to be surprised that her brother was now dating his best friend, was anything to go by, well, for the first time ever, Bucky didn’t call her out on it.

#kalee answers #stucky #steve x bucky #there was only one bed #of course there was #friends to lovers #I should be working on other fics...#darter blue is my 🏍️or ☠️

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