#tester fan fiction

[maturemenoftvandfilms]

The Senator from Montana

CHAPTER FIFTHTEEN: On the Campaign Trail

Featuring Sen. Jon Tester

When the big old man got out of the big black Chevy Suburban with a small group of who I thought were sales people, the old man got my full attention. I even moved closer to my big front picture window in order to get a better view of him. The old man could have stepped straight out of one of my wet dreams! And as he walked toward the adjacent house, I started drooling as he had a sexually hungry aura about him.

He was burly and lumbered up the drive way as the other three followed closely behind. As he came in full view of my front window, he looked directly at me. Caught gawking at him, I blushed. His handsome face broke into a smile as they walked to the house next door. I thought I recognized him but couldn't place the face. I was so excited that I set down in my favorite overstuffed chair which just happened to face the house’s big picture window, then as I recalled how handsome man was, what he might be into sexually, I jacked off into my hand. And as I filled my hand with cum, I couldn’t help but wish that it was the old man’s cum being pumped into my palm.

I guess I would have just ignored the knocking but it didn't stop. Finally, I answered the door, buck-naked. I was surprised to see it was our US senator, Jon Tester, knocking on doors and talking with voters in every corner of Montana. Opening the door just wide enough to peek out, not wanting him to see that I was naked and with a roaring hard on. I've seen him on television before and thought he was a big guy in his late sixties, but he looked bigger standing in front of me. And drop dead gorgeous in person too.

“Hello. I'm your senator, Jon Tester.” The senator said as he reached over and greeted me with a firm handshake with his meaty paw.

“Hello. Sam ‘s my name, sir.” I responded not knowing what else to say.

“There’s so much at stake for Montanans this election, and I'm counting on folks to step up to help me win in 2024.” As he spoke, he looked me directly in the eyes. I found myself admiring his blue eyes as I opened the door wider.

He glanced down at my hard cock and smiled, “Looks like you were doing something besides changing clothes.” and gave me a wink.

He caught me off guard and it embarrassed me greatly. Was he interested in some man-2-man fun? Or was I miss-reading the situation. I certainly would be interested. I had even jerked off a few times thinking about him, but this was the first time I had any indication that he might be into guys. My face must have turned red because he added.

“Don’t be embarrassed. I jack off too. Heck, what else is there to do out here in the middle of big sky country?” He said, his eyes staring at my massive pecker.

I suddenly found myself enjoying the senator staring at my cock. I knew that I should rush into the bedroom and get my clothes but I didn’t. I just stood there in front of Sen. Tester, naked. Then he did the damnest thing. Sen. Tester went back and told his staff to going on to the houses and he'll catch up.

“Sorry, sir… I didn't mean any disrespect.” I told him, as I stepped back hoping he'd follow me in to the house.

Without answering, the senator did a quick check up and down the road before stepping in he closed and locked the door in a single motion. We fell into an embrace, sharing a long passionate kiss while I'm frantically pulling off his clothes. I didn't know if he had time to "fraternize with the constituents" before continuing on with his campaign, but I wasn't waiting to find out. The 67-year-old lawmaker was smooth with a rock-hard chubby belly, arms bigger than a tree trunk and rugged daddy hands. His dick was thick and cut.

"I don't have much time to get off." Sen. Tester said as I fondled his thick cut dick. With that being said, I kneeled down in front of him and closed my lips around his pale cut dick.

"Fuck! That feels wonderful. Yea!" He exclaimed as I felt his big hand grab my head and press it down.

I looked up, my mouth full of juicy cock, Jon was looking down at me and smiling. He had each of his nipples between his fingers, twisting and rubbing them while I began bobbing my head up and down his shaft. His head was tilted back and his eyes were closed as he hunched toward me. His belly bounced invitingly against my forehead. He was biting at his bottom lip. His belly jiggled as he hunched my face. He grabbed my head and shoved his cock in my mouth. I gaged on it. I could not take it. It was just to fucking big. He backed off when he saw I couldn't take it all.

I pulled away from his cock and put a hand on his thigh, rubbing him while I jerked my cock, he let go of my head and wrapped his hand around his wet cock, stroking generously.

Suddenly I stood up and my long fat dick sprung up and stood straight out from my body. It was so hard it was throbbing. The senator's eyes got big as he looked at my thick dick. And as if the powerful senator could read my mind. The big guy spit on his huge hand, reached out and wrapped his meaty fingers around my dick. My head was swimming from the rush of sexual excitement pulsing through my body.

Then he pressing my throbbing cock against his own, his giant fist wrapped around them both with ease. I gasped as I felt my cock press against his wet prick. I felt his hand grip tighter around our kissing cocks. I liked the feel of his rough workman hand on my dick. Just seeing his hair arm moving back and forth as he jacked me turned me on.

"Turn around. And bend over and grab the chair. I wanna fuck you." He said.

I wanted the senator to fuck me. I wanted to feel his pussy-poking dick inside of me. Then I leaned over and grabbed the chair in front of me, jetting my butt in his direction.

"Nice ass." He said as I heard him spit.

A moment later I felt his slippery dick head pressing against my asshole. Then the big man almost angrily rammed his dick into me. I stiffened up from the searing pain of his brutal entry as the big head of his cock pry open my hole. He then pulled his dick half way out of me and slammed it back inside my asshole. I called out and tightened my grip on the recliner as the big man started fucking me as hard and fast as I could ever remember being fucked.

"Fucking good." Sen. Tester hissed as he leaned over me, his hand reaching around to grab my erection in his fist, and as he did, I looked down to see that his hand completely hid my dick in what felt like a vice.

The touch of Sen. Tester’s rough hand on my cock thrilled me from head to toe as he humped me like a machine. I just endured it as he continued to jack my dick painfully hard, his belly rubbing into my back as our sweat began to fly. The image of us two flashed through my mind. And damn if it didn’t excite me ever more. I don’t know how long he fucked me. Time lost all meaning. I was in heaven.

Suddenly with a loud cry, I grabbed the cushions of the chair and spewed my cum all over it. My body convulsed with each spurt as I emptied out my seed. The contraction of my ass on Sen. Tester’s pistoning dick while I went through my orgasm, brought on his own climax.

"I'm fucking cuming!" The senator cried out suddenly.

I pushed my ass against his crotch, driving his sperm-squirting dick as deep inside me as it would go, feeling his seed coat my bowels with a soothing warmth. Sen. Tester rested on top me for a couple of minutes as his breathing gradually slowed, and after his cock eventually slithered out of my ass he let go of my dick and we stood straight up.

“Damn, you're a good fuck. Hope to have your vote this November." He said as he grabbed his clothes and started dressing.

He sure does. And he left his sign in my yard like he left his load in my ass.

[redbatchedcumbermayned]

Fan Fiction Master Post

All my writing and artwork and stuff relating to Chris Tester (VA of Heinrix van Calox) in one handy place

My ongoing long fic Much Ado About The Lord Captain

Part 1 of a three part long fic series about Isha x Heinrix

A gift from @mayoonrices that could very well be the cover of Much Ado as part of the Rogue Trader Gift Exchange

Chris Tester read the letter from chapter 11

Artwork by the lovely @archtech-fox for chapter 12

A tender moment - artwork by @al-norton

A tender handkiss by @cadencespark

Another handkiss because I'm a sucker for them by @aevari

A ribbon is tied by @skolas-a for chapter 17 of Much Ado About The Lord Captain

A chest to snuggle on - artwork by @maggotknight for chapter 21 of Much Ado About The Lord Captain

A beautiful portrait of my RT Isha von Valancius by the talented @indigo-scribbles

Another beautiful interpretation of Isha by @aevari

Isha - Saint of the Koronus Expanse by the amazing @totallynotzzombiecat

To be alive beneath cherry blossoms - The companion piece to my long fic, and a story how Isha and Heinrix have met once, before the events of the game, in the Calixis sector.

Gift exchange story for the lovely @captastra and her pairing Lethyan x Heinrix - A leap into the void

Gift exchange story written by Captastra featuring Isha x Heinrix - Radiance on the bridge

Gift exchange story featuring LI Heinrix van Calox and Lienna von Valancius @indigo-scribbles Rogue Trader A rare flower amidst Chaos

Little drabbles form the kiss prompts:

A kiss to pretend

A kiss were it hurts

My Achilleas x Heinrix smut fic The Observer

And a little one-shot for Valentine's Day with Achilleas x Heinrix

Interview with Chris Tester (VA of Heinrix)

Part one - full audio and transcript

Part two - full audio and transcript

Part three - full audio and transcript

I will update this post continuosly when new stuff is published.

[buntanteen]

bestie fwb!mingyu headcanons (nsfw)

summary: kim mingyu and reader's bestie fwb dynamic headcanons :3

contains: 18+ nsfw writing so mdni!! implications that reader is smaller than gyu

✩ svt writing & fic rec masterlist ✩

bestie!minyu who is just a poor puppy not catching a break from anyone 😔 especially from you lmao. you're one of his biggest supporters but also biggest teasers. post-concert, you'll be imitating how he's trying to make carats swoon with his charms (the both of you know how proud you are of him <3 you just love seeing him pouty) 

bestie!mingyu who lets you use his chest as a stress balls. you once said "honk honk" while squeezing them and got your mingyu tiddies card revoked for a week😢

during bestie!mingyu’s night dance practices to finish, he'll come whine to you that "jeonghan hyung is being mean🥺" or complain about whichever member is pulling jokes on him. he should've known better that you’d be riling him right with them 🥰

fwb!mingyu who comes home to bury his face in your chest after a long day. you think he's knocked out...only for him to start licking, nipping and sucking marks onto your skin :3

bestie!mingyu who will always provide you delicious meals😌😌 is constantly cooking you a something when you come over and has deemed you his official taste tester! if you insist to cook alongside him, he'll refuse. he might let you peel the veggies tho <3

when you go out to eat, bestie!mingyu will always insists on picking up the cheque. since you get pouty about him not letting you pay, he lets u buy the dessert at the convenience stores or cute lil cafes as a compromise

bestie!mingyu who always asks you to take pretty boyfriend pics of him for his carats🥹 ofc you oblige, loving to see his fans fawn over new pictures that you so carefully asking him to pose for  

fwb!mingyu who begs to eat you out and hits you his 🥺 puppy eyes so you to let him (you were going to anyways)

bestie!mingyu who comes to you for relaxation or advice when he's stressed out of his mind. he lets you pamper him with gentle touches and soothe away his worries with sweet words. you tuck him into your bed so he rests well to tackle the next day😊

feeling safe enough to initiate touch with bestie!mingyu :) he gives as many piggy backs as you desire as long as you let him bite his fangs into your arm when he's bored 🥰 sits you in his lap in crowded group hangouts. you've insisted that he sit in yours too, but your legs became numb after 5 minutes😭😭

good puppy fwb!mingyu whimpering pleads against your neck or between your legs for you give him permission to cum while he ruts against the bed sheets 🥺

always having sleepovers with bestie!mingyu. atp you could be another roommate to the minwon household for how often you're just vibing at their place when they arrive home

fwb!mingyu who got caught sniffing your underwear post sex when you went to get him water. you end up stroking his hair with his head in your lap, jerking him off with your underwear around his cock...but you leave him blue balled as a punishment <3 "oh! i'm late to work, see you later after your tour?😘”

while he's on tour, fwb!mingyu won't have phone sex with you, but leaves you voice notes of the pretty noises he makes jerking off as payback <3

ames note: hi hi! this is my first time writing wooooo~ this was definitely self indulgent😅 i just wanna be friends with mingyu! he seems like the most fun guy to hang out with...and to get dicked down by lmao. i hope y'all enjoyed it and are doing well!! i tried for something gender neutral but i'm not sure if i achieved it? feel free to kindly give feedback <3 ς(.-‿-)

author note: do not distribute my work on other platforms without my consent. if you see my writing in places other than this tumblr account, please let me know. my writings are purely fictional fantasises for fun. the people i write about are real human beings and should still be treated as such. please do not take my writings seriously or as truth.

[ywnzn]

boy next door | song eunseok smau

ᡣ𐭩 song eunseok x fem!reader.

ᡣ𐭩 synopsis. in which yn keeps texting a random number life updates, that turns out to be the boy next door.

ᡣ𐭩 genre.  smau + mayb written chapters, strangers to friends to lovers!au, fluff, angst?, romance, slow burn kinda. (& bad humor i’m sorry🙂‍↕️)

ᡣ𐭩 features. rest of riize, txt’s beomgyu, le sserafim’s eunchae, illit’s moka & more.

ᡣ𐭩 notes. random pictures will be used to visualise concepts, outfits & photo style for mc. do not hesitate to leave an ask if you have any suggestions!

ᡣ𐭩 status. complete - 300424

ᡣ𐭩 taglist. closed !! @kyusqult @starwonb1n @teddywook @seunghancore @molensworld @ahnneyong @lecheugo @eternalgyu @rksbae @hakkkuu @wonychu @nakam00t @totheseok @ilovechanhee @strawbaemi @miyawakiblossoms @kgyam4 @sseastar-main @rosesfortaro @dodot04lover @daegale @b-riize @seongminloverrr @luvyujun @lipsbyive @bludzk1llzyuzu @keilovr @ksywoo @bambisnc @poollabug @rllymark @jinanangel @bunni @drinktaro @wonbinsvlle @lcvehee @miyawwn @snowyseungs @nujeskz @https-yeonjun @esther-kpopstan @inmybunnyera

ᡣ𐭩 profiles ; dream team | physic ward

ᡣ𐭩 chapters.

01. delivered ??????

02. oops..

03. small world

04. gyu next door

05. oh wait!

06. “free for you”

07. miffy?

— 7.5. new miffy fan bonus

8. eunseok nosy era

9. lover girl

10. phone calls?

11. count your days

12. who hurt you

13. no boyfriend

14. new cafe

15. cupid’s plan written + smau

16. heol²

17. as long as ure happy...

18. hey lovely

19. a coincidence? written + smau

20. blonde seok

21. miffy madness written

22. you knew??

— 22.5. rip song eunseok bonus

23. am i dreaming

24. can't wait

25. misunderstood

26. sucks to suck

27. lovesong?? really??

28. surprise stream

29. just asking written + smau

30. alright? written + smau

31. wrong gc

32. serenade pt.1

33. serenade pt.2

34. pretty written + smau

35. cute or wtv

36. so dramatic

37. never too much bonus

38. makeup tester bonus

39. stole your mans bonus

40. finally home bonus

© ywnzn - 2024 ▸ this smau is merely based on fictional events and is not meant to represent any of the idols mentioned accurately in any way, either it's personality or shipping characters wise.

[alientee]

This is rated 18+ just in case minors don’t interact Maugaxreader

🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋

I’ve had Mauga brain rot since he came out and there not enough fan fiction for me so I’m weighting this because it’s a funny thought I had in my mind I may even make it into a series. Reader is AFAB. Mauga x reader, some fluff, just a lil smut (barley) maybe more in the future enjoy!!!!!

You were relatively new to overwatch, but you were strong. The team knew you had their back, and that’s all that mattered; it also helped you have omnikinesis. But you couldn’t control it that well; you were unstable.

That’s why you reached out to overwatch, to control yourself before you hurt the others around you again. It’s a good thing they found out about you before talon or who knows what could have happened?

Speaking of Talon, you are having a team fight against them now. They tried to destroy another omnic and human peace event. Some of the richest humans and omnics were attending.

So you, Ana, Mei, Winston, and Lifeweaver were on guard duty. And lo and behold, here comes Sigma, Sombra, Reaper, Moria and some other big guy you didn’t know to ruin the party. Everyone began to run around in the grand dining room.

Sombra was hacking communications, so you couldn’t check on your backup. Mei and Ana were dealing with Reaper, and Moria, Winston, and Lifeweaver were dealing with Sombra and Sigma. That left you with the hulking, raging giant with tribal tattoos.

You quickly dodge his machine guns, using everything around you in the room as a shield. You quickly hide, trying to regain yourself; if you lose focus, you lose control.

“HEY HEY HEY WHERE DID YOU GO?!”

You hear smashing and bullets flying, trying to think of a plan in your head.

“EITHER YA COME OUT OR I START SETTING SHIT ON FIRE YOUR CHOICE HAHAHA!”

“Ok your completely insane” You whispered

You snuck around the hulking hot head. You hype yourself up to do a sneak attack that hopefully won’t take down the whole building. You focus on all the skylights and chandlers, bringing them down on top of the hulking man before jumping on his back, ready to detain him.

Until you were encased in darkness.

You find yourself squished by the man who was trying to kill you just moments ago. You were lying on his chest and straddling his waist while he was scrunched up and bent forward. You look up at him, seeing the snarl on his face.

“Ummmmmm hi there” , his eyes narrowed at you.

“What the fuck did you do!”.

You look at him startled and confused. “What do you mean I thought this was you?”

He looks like he’s about to yell at you again untill you both hear somthing.

“(Y/N)! Can you hear me!” It was Ana “YES!”

“Sigma got you two stuck in there!”

The large man shouted right in my ear while his chest rumbled underneath me. “HE DID WHAT!”

“Ah Mauga my friend would you like to hear about my new project. I was trying to trap the other one but you’ll make a great tester as well!” you could hear the collective sighs outside.

“It’s a black cube! One could say it’s a miniature black hole, but not a black hole at all, just a void in cuboid shape. It’s supposed to hold matter and keep it stabilized in place. It’s purpose is to hold things until it fully disappears on its own. Can you hear the melody within the universe? ”

You could feel the man named Mauga stiffen beneath you, you stiffen as well.

“Does that mean we dissapear to!” You scream

“Hmm possibly or maybe it will disappear without you in it the possibilities are endless.”

Your about to speak again when you hear Mauga grunt, you look up seeing him move his head down, that’s when you realize it’s shrinking now.

“It’s shrinking now!”

“Don’t worry (Y/N) given the circumstances we will work together until your both out”

“Don’t die in there Mauga I still have use for you” You shiver hearing Moria speak in such a way it’s gross.

You look up and see Mauga looking annoyed and uncomfortable “I’m sorry”

“Why you didn’t do nothing”

“It’s just that, if it shrinks without disappearing you’ll die. I could probably protect myself if I think of a way but I don’t know how it would affect you I can’t fully control my powers.” All he does is hum in response.

“(Y/N)! Can you use your powers to force the cube open!” Now that’s and idea but before you could even think about it Sigma speaks again.

“If you try to force a black hole to seperate it may disrupt everything around it destroying us all”

but sigma speaks again “But if she uses her powers and makes a black whole within a black hole?”

“Then Mauga dies, it would be such a waist but it may be an easier option” Moria spoke again, you could see Mauga rolling his eyes “Fuck you”

You look back up at Mauga you can still see the cube slightly shrinking again. “Mauga who are you?” He looks at me confused not saying a word. You sigh and speak again.

“If I’m going watch someone die in a cube I at least want to know them.”

You can’t help but stare into his eyes; he looks very handsome. Just something about him being a giant hunk of muscle with a sharp tooth smirk had you enticed.

He looks at you and puts a smirk on telling you the basics: he fought a war, he got two hearts, he lives his life as he pleases, and the rest is history.

You learned he liked video games, he takes pride in being strong and actually works out, letting you know he’s not an experiment with Moria, he’s a hot head but he’s passionate, and you even learned you both own a pair of shark slides.

The cube really did seem to be some type of black hole because you lost track of time and talked for what seemed like hours.

“Since you wanna know me so bad you mind doing me a favor” you nod looking at him

“If I die in here do something for me” You stiffen and look away sadly; you didn’t want to think about him dying in here, especially being responsible for someone’s last wishes.

You may be able to save yourself with your powers, but not at the expense of Mauga's life. You could only hope you would get out before then.

“I need you to tell Bap that I was mad at him for trying to blow me up and for leaving me behind. I was willing to drag his ass back; I missed him. Tell him the next time he grows a conscience, don’t skip out on your friends.” You looked at him confused, but nonetheless agreed.

“Ummm ok I’m not even going to get into that, is that all” He looks away and ponders “Make sure my turtle plush and guns are buried with me to and make my funeral a celebration of me not some sad ass drag of a day”

“Considering we’re technically supposed to be enemy’s I don’t think I’ll be able to plan that who knows what they’d do to your body, but I’ll try my best”

“That’s all I ask”

We stare into each others eyes what seems like forever. Until he leans down more moving his forhead to mine “One more thing?”

You look into his eyes shyly looking away when his gaze got to intense. He looks at me giving me a wink and that damned smirk of his. “What is it?”

“I always said if I died, I’d be on my terms. I wanted go out happy with a gun in each hand and a smile on my face. But right now I think the only thing that could make me happy is if I was taken care of by a beautiful lady?”

You blush looking at him with wide eyes “Are you asking me to have sex with you!?”

“Can’t really do that in this position doll” He’s laughing his ass off, you want to wipe that smirk off his face.

“Then what do you mean?”

He looks down your breast and you blush getting and idea of what he wanted. “If you could let me lay my face in those big tits of yours that’s a way to go” he smirks.

You feel your blush go from your face to your neck. “We don’t even know if your going to die Mauga, they could be done getting us out any minute.”

You listen outside to see if I can hear anything.

“We are not destroying the cube Moria!”

“Why not Mauga can be replaced and that girl can cause the destruction of our universe she’s a liability and a threat”

You could only mumble under your breath. “Your ugly face is a liability and a threat to everyone’s day and stomach”

You hear Mauga chuckle. “Don’t worry I’ll make sure to fuck up all her lab shit if I get out of this”.

You noticed his words if. And you couldn’t deal with that. If he died you’d have been to useless to stop it and in that moment you didn’t want to think about him dying.

You can see the cube shrinking more but Mauga doesn’t make a sound of discomfort, it’s like he doesn’t want to bother you every time the cube gets smaller.

“Hey Mauga”

“What’s up?”

You wrap your arms around his broad shoulders and push his face down into your breast. You don’t know what possessed you, but the thought of giving him his last wishes made you confident in your decision.

Mauga snuggles his head in your chest. You hold him there pushing his head down , not wanting him to see your blushing face making this even more awkward.

As if he can sense your distress Mauga motor boats your chest making you laugh. “Hahaha what the heck Mauga!”

“Just enjoying my new home. I love it here.”

He pushes his face deeper in your breast, inhaling your sent. “Hmmmm I really love it here” You feel him lick your chest.

“Mauga! W-what are you doing”

You pull back to find him looking at you with lust in his eyes and a shit eating smirk.

“You looked nervous I wanted to break the ice. I want you to enjoy this too. Can I?”

You don’t know if it was the way he looked at you, or because this was the first time you’ve felt a man’s touch like this, or maybe it was the fact that you wanted to help him; either way you nodded your head giving him the green light.

He puts his forehead against yours once more. “I need words sweetie, tell me what you want”

You look down refusing to make eye contact “I want you to touch me Mauga”

He slowly moves in and kisses your lips, his lips are surprisingly soft he pulls back biting your bottom lip. He moves his face down back to your breast, kissing and biting them slightly, leaving read marks on your skin. You use the front of your hands to pull down the top of your dress, thanking yourself the dress you had on didn’t require you to wear a bra.

He looks up at you as he slowly licks around your breast, taking a nipple in his mouth. His hands cant reach your chest so he settles on placing them on your ass.

Your eyes roll back in pleasure as he suckles on your nipple, his tongue flicking against it softly. He gropes your ass, squeezing your cheeks roughly. You can’t help but moan softly in his ear.

He releases your nipple with a loud pop giving the same attention to the other while nibbling it.

You can feel something slightly poke at you. You realized Mauga got hard. He felt so big even behind his pants. You slightly raised yourself to sit on top of his dick and begin to grind on his erection.

Hoping to give him and yourself some relief, your panties were soaking wet from the attention. You didn’t want to think about the wet spot you were about to leave on his pants.

“Fuck~, you feel so good sweetheart.”

You were about to respond but the cube starts to shake rapidly. You quickly pull your dress up and hold on to Mauga. All you can think about is his safety wanting to put both of you in a shield that could protect you no matter what.

And it seemed like your powers agreed. Because the next thing you know, you and Mauga are in a giant bubble floating above everyone.

He’s looking at you with wide eyes his frown turning into a giant smirk. “I made you feel so good you broke the cube huh”

Your embarrassment must have faulted your concentration, because you two instantly fell from the sky. You land on top of him in front of everyone making it even more awkward.

Everyone looked down at you two before you quickly got up and walked towards your team while covering yourself, just incase you didn’t put your dress on quite right. Reaper spoke up

“Next time you all die”

Ana spoke before anyone else “Oh shut up Gabriel I’m sick of the death jokes”

As they begin to leave Mauga turns towards you giving you a wink.

“It was fun sweetheart”. And he walks away with the rest of talons members.

Mei spoke up while everyone else looked at me “Did he hurt you (y/n)?”

“No he didn’t, he’s just messing with me”

They all nodded and we all begin to retreat back to headquarters. You could only guess sombra hacked everything before you even tried to get back up because no one showed. You started to wonder if you’d ever see Mauga again.

That thought alone made you blush. Lifeweaver tapped your shoulder. He gave you a smirk showing you he was laughing at you. You look at him confused wondering what was so funny.

“What is it?”

He leaned down and whispered in your ear.

“I hope he wasn’t to rough with you”

You looked at him in horror and confusion how could he even know! You looked down to your chest seeing dark red marks all over your breast.

Dammit Mauga!

[hskwon]

签售会!: BOOK SIGNING!

pairing: actor!mingyu x writer!reader

genre: fluff, crack

金明玉: he wanted to publicize your relationship, but tried doing it lowkey.

you click save and stretched your arms, you saw your best friend, a writer like you lying on your bed. he's a one lazy author, the one who updates one chapter a month, it's would have been good if he have someone to be an inspiration.

"inspiration? i think it's the book i read these days, it's really well written." mingyu an actor and idol, who's completely smitten by an author he never met before.

he just adore your book so much, how good you put your thoughts in words, and how it was really well written. he's a fan, his own fans noticed it too of how often he reads your books and talk about it.

you're a famous author anyways, so his fans really don't give it some meaning behind, they're a fan as well. the fans actually wants to meet you in a book signing.

"are you sure you'll start your book signing this saturday?" jeonghan asked, a fellow author like you.

you're the opposites, you're an active writer, posting updates every week or every two weeks while he posts every two months or three. he's a lazy author but his pieces, such as mystery and thriller, are really brain tester.

he's good at making twists and laughs maniacally every time his reader loses their mind. "you're not gonna run away from it, aren't you?" jeonghan laughs, pointing at you with suspicion in his eyes.

"i wanna run away." you said, "i'm nervous, what if they thought i am pretty but i'm actually not?! the disappointment, it's pressuring me!"

"hehe."

"don't hehe me, you maniac!" you threw your scratch paper at him as he rolls on your bed with pillows in his arms. "okay, okay. i'll give you pro tips, don't ever give your number to your fans whoever they might be. they won't stop texting or calling you." jeonghan said nodding his head with his eyes close, as if he's making a good point and tip.

"oh? that's probably based on experience."

"it's that fanboy who loves pizza who posted my number on his twitter account, then my fans called me until i changed my number." jeonghan defended himself, he felt betrayed trusting that innocent looking infp boy who loves pizza.

"it was recommended by my co-actor, wonwoo. he loves reading even when we're in the set while doing make-up or free time. he read books everywhere." mingyu laughs, looking at the comments.

"are u going in their book signing this saturday?"

"they have book signing this week?!" mingyu asked immediately snatching his phone to search up your pen name. his eyes widened looking at the infos.

"woah, is he that busy to miss the news of his favourite author?"

"i hope the author's a guy!"

"i'm pretty sure the author is a girl, amazing fictional men are often written by woman."

he stood up and walked out of the frame to celebrate behind the scene, his fans already knew what he's doing though, they expected it from him. "i'm back, ehem i don't know if i could attend it tho i have a really tight schedule."

"what do you mean you have tight schedule when you lie on my bed everyday?!" you exclaimed at jeonghan, which he just laughs about. he doesn't want to come with you in your book signing.

"think about it, they've seen me before, it would be a scandal if they saw us together the next time. you don't know how the people thinks," jeonghan said.

"so you'll abandon me alone??..." your voice fading away, putting away the books on your table as he follows you explaining his side.

"hehe." you giggled, walking beside jeonghan, you're both on your way to the event area. he still come along with you, he felt guilty since it's your first time holding a book signing event and you're his bestfriend.

"don't giggle, it's not funny," he scoffs under his mask, he's disguised like a staff of the event despite his disguise though, some recognized him.

"i look good don't i?" mingyu asked his manager who sighed tiredly at him, "you do know your schedule is still packed yet you slip your so-called 'important event' into your sched?"

"i do know" mingyu smiled confidently.

you ready your smile asking your bestfriend if it looks good yet he laughs at you, "it's alright, if they don't like it then frown at them" he jokes while fixing his cap.

"hmm, what was that? there's a lot of people there, look" jeonghan pointed at the black car with girls surrounding it.

"oh come on, don't tell me there's a famous person there, they'll steal my readers!" you gasp, looking disappointed already.

jeonghan assured you that it'll not happen pushing you inside the event hall before the fans gets in, you fix yourself after a few minutes you see a lot of people holding a book written by you walking inside.

it's starting.

after your name is called, you walk into the stage hearing loud cheers and clap as well as shock reactions from the crowd, your thoughts is just about running away, did they thought you're a guy and is disappointed that you're not? do they thought you're ugly?

you look around the crowd seeing a tall guy holding his phone with a written phrase "you look pretty, smile"

you immediately smiled and nod, some of the audience looks at where you nodded, still cheering at you. there's quick interview as a introduction and you think you did good it seems going well.

it's finally time to sign the books, a teenager still wearing a uniform stand in front of you holding out two of your books, "i want to buy more of your books but my allowance only allows me to buy two. i really like your works,"

her cheeks are red as she smiles at you, you smiled, "i'll upload soft copies so you can read it without spending money," you said signing the books.

you bid goodbye to her as the people keeps moving forward, they're a lot to be honest. you always look around to see if your friend is still there, of course he is. but he's chilling with his phone at the side.

finally it's the tall guy earlier. "hello—oh it's my debut book" your eyes lit up. "the first story i wrote." you laughed. "you're a good writer, i admire you" he said his voice is quite attractive and familiar.

"your name?" you smiled after writing your signature. "kim mingyu" he answered. you tilted your head and write it down despite thinking about the actor, someone you know named like it.

"..."

"i expected you would be a girl but i'm still shock and starstruck." he laughs nervously, "you sound like someone i heard before."

"your boyfriend?"

"yea—huh?" her eyes widened, how can you not noticed, are your eyes playing tricks. no way your actor boyfriend will come here risking his career and time. "w-what are you doing here?" you whispered.

"i'm a fan," he said.

after that exchange, you know a lot of people recognized him, he left after taking an autograph from you against his will he needed to leave immediately.

"oh no—" he's posted in the social media attending your fansign, "oh— it's alright! they didn't mention that we might be dating, thank god!" you sighed in relief, but he's pouting like a kid.

you're facetiming him, but all he does is murmur and talk about how there's nothing wrong with being mistaken for a couple because they actually are.

"we can just tell them, they'll understand —"

"we already talked about this, mingyu. i can't just ruin your career. sure, there are still fans who'll support you, but some of them will hate you and make rumors about you that may cause your downfall."

"but—"

"you know i can't afford being the reason for your career's downfall."

"i'm not scared of downfall. i'm scared of losing my chances, i want to cherish every moment with you, every kiss, every place we go together. i want you to become comfortable being with me," his eyes looking into yours with sincerity. "can we?"

"are you sure?" you asked after a long pause.

"HEADLINE: Actor Kim Mingyu revealed on his Instagram post that he's in a healthy relationship with a book author L/N Y/N"

"love," he grabbed your hands and made you sit on his lap and kiss your lips. "don't be anxious," he laughs as he glides his hand on your back, rubbing circles to give you assurance and comfort. "we'll be fine," you whispered.

"we'll be fine," he said firmly, smiling while looking into your eyes with the most loving and comforting look in his eyes. you smiled back.

"should i use this as my new book's plot? this will sell a lot," you said, causing him to laugh.

[grilledcheese-savage]

People prob about to get reeeeaaall mad at me but Idrc. I’m pissed about the Lore.Fm situation. If you haven’t heard of it, it was going to be an app that reads your fanfiction out loud so you could listen to it like an audiobook. It would’ve sounded more natural and correct than any other screen reader so far. As someone who can’t really read a lot of fanfiction anymore because of my crippling chronic migraine, this would have been a GAMECHANGER for me. So here are some facts:

Lore Fm DOES use Ai to read aloud.

Lore Fm DID NOT send your fics into a training model so it can write more.

Lore Fm MIGHT be owned by a company called Wishroll Inc. , but this is not confirmed.

Lore Fm WASN’T for profit. They didn’t have any way to monetize it. It was just an accessibility tool.

A lot of the fanfiction writers were rightfully scared by this, since a lot of art has been stolen without consent to create AI engines. As a fanfic writer myself, I understand wanting the option to opt out. But a lot of the content I’m seeing made against this, has been factually incorrect OR just completely unaware of why this could be such a good thing. I just watched a tiktok that made me want to post this, of a writer saying you were completely selfish or entitled if you used this app because some people “use accessibility as an excuse to disrespect author’s wishes”. That is just straight up, not true. There could 100% be ways to fix this. For one, Authors who are okay with their fiction being read by AI could submit the fanfics themselves, making it kind’ve like Watt pad instead of it being up to the reader. People could tag their fanfics “Don’t use Lore Fm.” People who made orphaned fics or can’t get back into their account can blacklist themselves on the lore fm app so none of their fics could be read. As someone who codes, these are all very viable options. There could even be a simple honor system. But y’all sent death threats instead of genuine critiques.

Lore Fm took themselves down because they didn’t want to piss off the community, because their team is apart of the fan-fiction community. They deleted all their posts and took the app off stores.

Again, I AM NOT AGAINST PEOPLE CRITIQUING THIS. In fact, I think more people should be keeping AI in check, especially when it pertains to art. Their beta testers should’ve been giving them this advice.

Honestly, I’m glad they took it down for now, I think a lot of the advice I had given earlier should’ve been implemented waaaay before beta testers, but the over-exaggeration of this has gone way too far. Do your research and make your own opinions. AI has gotten out of control but it can be used IN CERTAIN SETTINGS for good. If you’re legally blind, photosensitive or just plain busy, this would’ve been so great.

Major disappointment. I’m definitely willing to change my mind about this in the comments/reblogs though if you have good evidence of why this shouldn’t have been made, just please be respectful.

[lichesandlye]

Hi, Tumblr: this is LICHES & LYE, a shop for handmade resin dice, fannish scented candles, and more!

Some of the items above include:

a line of 6 candles based on the clans of The Untamed (brown kraft labels)

9 fan fiction trope candles (with labels cheekily inspired by AO3)

the polyhedral dice sets "arcubus", "distant skies", and "well of stars", which are WIPs/testers for my upcoming dice release!

I am an independent queer and trans crafter working out of my basement (seriously), and I make and design these products myself, including unique scent blends for my candles that you will literally not find anywhere else.

I'm so thrilled to be on Tumblr, finally, and to share my work with y'all. I've got a new candle line in the works based on the classic alignment chart, in addition to gorgeous 35mm chonky d20s and standard 7-dice sets.

I'll be posting info about my next restock here on July 15th. In the meantime, I hope you'll check out what's in stock, or head over to my insta for more dice pics!!

[coeluvr]

I'm a really big fan of your work! I love how much depth you put into your characters, which I have tried to put into my own interactive fiction. Do you have any writing tips or really any advice? I also wanted to ask, do you have any ideas for other IFs you're planning to write?

Hi! It's been a while haha, you were one of the beta testers for chapter 2 right? (If I'm wrong ignore me lol.)

I remember you once asked me this and it's good to see you've been working on your own IF! 🥰

Since you like the depth of my characters (thank you for the kind words!), I'd like to offer some advice on that. One key aspect you could focus on is nurturing the relationships between your characters. Try to truly understand how Character A interacts uniquely with each of the other characters in your story.

I firmly believe that people aren't the same when they're with everyone they know, and this facet adds rich layers to their personalities. So, delve deep into exploring how each character's distinct traits and past experiences shape their interactions.

I don't have a lot of writing advice because this is also my very first IF and honestly the first time I've written so much LOL I think @if-seal could help you out though! You can send in any writing questions and hopefully our dear seal will answer hehe. 🦭

As for my future projects, I do have a few ideas simmering in my brain but I'm keeping them close to my chest for now! 🤭 If you're anything like me (a koala with no energy) I would advice you to focus on one thing at a time, things get messy when you have too much on your plate.

Again, thank you for your kind words. I hope everything goes well for you, Florence! 💗

[nightboundfanfiction]

Positions Are Open for Application!

Must be 18 years or older.

No Discord necessary but a Google account is recommended.

Flexible hours. No live chat/Discord. Part time work is fine.

Volunteering doesn't mean full time commitment.

Positions include Writers, Artists, Researchers and Testers.

Legally as this is a fan fiction project this means no payment or donations can be accepted. This means this is a hobby project for us to do in our free time which should be stress free and fun!

If interested apply below!

[transcending-chaos]

What is transcending perim again?

It was my first ever fan fiction, as well as an AU I thought up during the show’s original run when I was a kid. I ended up finally trying to write it in late high-school. Since I’m older and I can hopefully write better, I wanted to take a crack at seeing if I can do something with it again.

The original premise is that Tom got stuck in Perim. He ends up as a Creature, and is trying to survive when he ends up being taken in. From there it was supposed to be a culture clash of learning a new way of life while utilizing his previous knowledge from being a Player, as well as not knowing how or if he should relay his past to people since even he doesn’t know how he ended up this way.

It was supposed to be revealed that the reason Chaotic was able to function was that they used the Cothica to power it. Players all had bits of it attached to themselves, but if you broke the parameters or there was glitch in the program, Perim would yank it back. You can’t steal a god from a world and not expect consequences. Tom just accidentally got pulled into Perim not because he’s important, but because there was an error in the code that gave an opportunity for something older than time to recognize it and take hold of a small opening. He’s a casualty in this precarious tug of war between two worlds that most don’t know is happening- and not even the first! This happened to all the CodeMasters, and the reason the Players can go back and forth is because they’re trying to figure out a way so that they can leave themselves. Players are beta testers for their own escape, Chaotic is just something they invented to have fun while being trapped.

There were a lot of bits of lore, cultures, and headcanon stuff I tried introducing, but looking back, I don’t think I did it well. I lost interest in writing the story because I accidentally wrote myself into a corner, and ended up not finding a satisfactory way out. There’s also a ton of things that didn’t quite make sense, so I want to better execute it. Lots of ideas need reshaping or complete overhaul.

A lot of those pieces I found fun were later spun into the AUs I have on here. It’s also where this blog gets its name.

I just want to have fun.

[maturemenoftvandfilms]

The Senator from Montana

CHAPTER TWELVE: Stuck in the Snow

Featuring Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT)

Flying out Sen. Tester’s home in Montana, I remember the 8 months ago vividly and fondly: Sen. Tester working on his old Ford tractor, him letting me suck his cock followed by fucking in the loft of the original red barn on the Tester farm. Afterwards, we spent the next couple of hours rallying around the farm with his wife and grandkids, working on weekend projects that needed to be taken care of.  

Now as I made my way through sloping sandstone canyons and out onto a vast expanse of flat, treeless farmland. I turned down the long, snow and mud covered path that leads to Tester's 1,800-acre farm and proceeded to get stuck in the muck. After calling Jon and letting him know of my predicament, he and his red Case tractor are now trying to pull me out. I just stood there admiring big Jon. He had on dark glasses a brown bomber jacket. Under this he was wearing a plaid shirt, cargo pants and snow boots. I watched as he loops a set of chains around my Ford Fusion's rear wheels before telling me to put it in neutral and straighten out. He climbs into the cab, reverses the rig, and drags me backward out of the mud.

Minutes later, Jon was bending down to remove the chains, but he can't quite get them loose. First he's hunched over, tugging. Then he's on his knees, giving me a glimpse of his backside.

"Damn things." He says, finally lowering himself onto his ample belly and squints into the chassis.

All this time, I was daydreaming over my senator from Montana. Not wanting to interrupt him as my cock started getting hard.

"Got 'em." He says as he frees the stubborn links and stood back up without even bothering to brush the mud from his chest. Then he caught a glimpse of me and turned around, noticing my erection through my pants and asked, "Now what are we going to do about that?"

I playful shrugged my shoulders as he dropped the chain and walked over to me. And without saying anything, Jon got down on his knees and grabbed the waistband of my jeans before undoing them. Seconds later, he had exposed me to the elements as I stood there frozen. Then my cock, freezing from it's time in the cold all day, was engulfed in the steaming heat of his mouth.

"OH MY GOD!" I groaned, falling back against the car while he inhaled my erection as he started to blow me.

His hands grabbed my legs and made their way to my buttocks, grabbing a cheek in each hand as his mouth slid up and down my cock. Each time he sucked me in, his nose pressed into my pubic hair and I felt it's cold tip on the skin beneath.

Just fifteen minutes ago I hadn't been stuck in the mud and now my boss held all my cock in his hands and mouth. His tongue slipped all over me as he pressed me repeatedly down his throat. He didn't slurp or make a production out of the act, and the only sounds he made were the squishing sounds my cock made as is came out of his throat coated in saliva.

Looking down and seeing that flat top bobbing down in front of me was erotic enough, but feeling Jon suck my cock while twisting my sac made me realize that I wouldn't last long. I squirmed to let him know I was about to cum and he just shoved his head down farther on me as I began to erupt down his throat. He sucked every drop out of me as I had trouble standing straight while my muscles spasmed out of control and the whole time he never let me out of his mouth.

After Jon had drained me, my groin was warm, but the rest of me was still cold as he released my cock from between his lips and got up in front of me. He looked into my eyes and put his hands on my shoulders before kissing me. Gently, he pushed me down to my knees before unzipping his jeans, exposing his manhood to me. I reached out and took hold of his beautiful dick, fondling it before I closed my lips around his pale cut dick.

"Fuck! I love the way you suck my cock." The old man exclaimed as I deep throated his thick warm dick.

My face was warming up from the heat from his excited groin in my mouth and his hands stroking my head as I bobbed on his cock. His hips begun a rhythm of their own as he now started to augment my bobbing with his pumping. Jon fucked my mouth faster and faster. And just when I thought he was about cum down my throat, he suddenly pulls his dick out of my mouth.

"Get up." The senator said, stroking his fat cock rapidly, "Bend over the hood of the car. I want to fuck you."

I quickly stood up, jerked my pants and shorts down, exposing my ass to the cold Montana air. Wanting his cock inside of me, I paused long enough to spit in my and lube myself up before leaning over and grabbing the hood, jetting my butt in his direction. Moments later, I felt his saliva cover dick head pressing against my asshole before he rammed his dick into me, saying, "Take my fucking cock!"

I stiffened up from the searing pain of his entry, clamping down on his cock as he pulled his dick half way out of me and slammed it back inside my asshole. I bit hard on my lip and stifled a pleasurable scream into my chest as his shaft filled my ass and stretched my sphincter.

“Oh fuck son! I can tell you want this bad.” Jon moans as he starts fucking me hard and fast with deep heavy thrusts of his cock. His big shaft of flesh drilled into me like he was trying for oil.

Jon knew how to use his big cock to give me the ride of my life. He seemed completely at ease for 10 minutes until he began to really fuck my ass. He wanted to cum and I was the one who was going to give it to him. I moaned, groaned and enjoyed every minute of his pounding as my now hard cock flapped around, slapping the car beneath me with every thrust.

“Fuck me Jon.. Fuck me!” I cried out in delight as he fucks me harder and harder, faster and faster.

“Oh yes... Who’s my special boy!” Jon said panting heavily.

The old farmer suddenly leaned back a bit and the big mushroom of his cock began to pop my prostrate with every stroke. Soon, I felt a familiar sensation in my balls, which were getting stimulated and pounded by his ever-thrusting cock. Just then, I dumped my second of the day on to the bumper of my car. I felt like I had cum all the sperm from both of my testicles. The contraction of my ass on Jon's pistoning dick while I went through my orgasm brought on the senator's own climax. I could feel his cock stiffen before he said, “Fuck! I'm going to…..”

Before being able to finish the sentence, Jon was was yelling as wave upon wave of hot cum spewed deep into my guts. When I felt the last drop of cum leave from Jon's cock, he leant over and put his arms around me and kissed the back of my neck.

“Damn... I needed that. Thank you Derek.” He whispered into his ear.

“And thank you Jon that was great!” I replied in a shallow whisper.

If you get stuck in the snow in Montana, it’s good to have Senator Tester around to pull your ass out with his tractor.

[furby-organist]

Random Local Alastor Facts!

He has a drawing tablet (like, a bamboo) hooked up to his computer in his radiotower.

He barely uses that OLD ASS COMPUTER except for accessing music that isn't available physically, and sometimes some research. Marina (@/killstreaming) set him up with her drawing tablet back when the Tumblr crab game first came out, and he liked it WAY more than a mouse! So he kept it and uses it instead of a mouse.

His pet raccoon (aka his Raccoon Son) has his own radio station!

He hooked a mic up to that little guy, so you get to hear broadcasted chattering and Raccoon Livestreaming, I guess. Sometimes the mic battery dies, though.

He knows how to make vegan food!

Not for himself, but for some the radio students. (Marina is vegan.) He used to feed them human meat (with full disclosure) bc like... they're college kids, it's free food, they weren't saying no;;; but after a reality check, he got his shit together and actually feeds them properly.

He does have a furby organ.

and sometimes he plays it on air in the morning. Monday morning hangover cure, probably.

He likes to read!

It can be anything! Fiction, nonfiction, academic work, if it's good, it's good! The last thing he read was the Wre/tched of the Ea/rth by Fra/ntz Fa/non. He's currently reading Bl/ood Meri/dian.

He does not like sweets very much.

He has permanent Keto Palate (not from doing keto though. It's just the way he is.) Refined sugar really does taste like battery acid to him! But he likes making sweet things sometimes, so, y'all get to be taste-testers. (Especially his husband.)

He's scared of dogs but does a decent job of hiding it.

Unless it starts barking and jumping at him. Then he needs to Leave. If it's just chilling, he'll be cautious + tense and keep a distance between them, but it's fine.

He's not the kind of serial killer who hurts animals.

He doesn't love animals like some serial killers who swing wildly in the opposite direction, though. He's just cool with them. They're just kind of out here doing their own thing. He thinks it's perfectly fine to eat them, but you're kind of a weirdo for hurting them for fun, the same way you're a weirdo for hurting a weaker perspn. And if he gets positive attention from one (NOT a dog), that's pretty cool too. He doesn't get a lot of positive attention from people, so, hey, he'll take it.

He's a Pick Me ass serial killer

Lol. He's "not like other serial killers" and he doesn't respect any of these freaks! People who kill others who don't stand a chance? You're weird for that. People who use axes and shit? You're a neanderthal. Look, it's not hard to kill another human being, especially a kid, kids are always out here inventing new ways to die anyway -- you're not special! You're weird as fuck actually

He still won't go to the doctor.

Even after Adam nerfed him! He will NOT see a medical professional. He'll just keep chewing on ice when that iron deficiency pica hits and he'll keep secretly dyeing his grey hair (don't metagame this)

He doesn't want kids of his own but he loves being a funcle!

What it says on the tin. He was born to be a funcle. He doesn't have the patience or selflessness to properly raise his own kid. It's good that he recognizes this.

His favorite kinds of jazz music are the experimental kinds!

Which flows in to why he's a big fan of modern-day experimental & noise. (That entire genre is inspired by jazz, btw.) His fav artist Of His Era is Cab Callaway, but, he also really likes Coltrane & other similar artists.

[sailoryooons]

Reading your post about auto-correct and typo suddenly reminds me of early access games. This is really random I apologize. Nowadays games (as far as I see in steam) are always early access and I think it's almost a trend or a marketing stuff. Like... rather than hiring beta tester, just publish your game and wait for the community to give you feedbacks. Though I kind of hate that trick because you literally pay for a half product with probably 75% of price from full product, not to mention the years you have to wait till they actually completed it. Not to dwell too much on that, my point is actually, what about using that trick in fanfics? You gave your best to correct all typos, but just post it online and tell readers to help you point out for any typos you might have missed. Typos are really minor, even if it leaves a big impact. But I think if there's one or two mistakes, just let them know (kindly of course). I'm not saying for those that simply put "I haven't proofread it at all", I'm talking about those who really really put an effort, but because you've reread it multiple times to try and find an error you simply missed it. This is a really random thought though... I'm having second thoughts sending this. I trust your judgement (you don't have to post this if it's misleading) though I'm curious about your opinion

Definitely agree on the way that big gaming houses push out early access games (looking at you, Cyberpunk) and gamers basically get an unfinished version of a game and have to report back to the gaming company what all the problems are. I think this is an issue because it takes advantage of gamers who are spending money to play the game and because it means the gaming company is not spending money to deliver a well done paid product.

I think the difference in fan fiction is that it's not a paid product that writers are providing so writers are hesitant to expect readers to fix things for them! Edits are always welcome, though. I just don't think writers expect readers to do that on their behalf!

I almost always try to use a beta before I post so that I don't have errors, but when I edit myself I miss a TON of things. I am also one of those people who will post after running a grammar and spell check if I don't have a beta because editing right after I've just finished writing gives me insane anxiety! And because I almost ALWAYS end up re-writing HUGE chunks of my story if I start to edit myself. I know a few people who struggle with this, which is why you might see people posted unedited!

I'm TOTALLY open to anyone sending me edits if they see something that makes no sense, though. I've definitely had people correct me and thank god because sometimes I write words that are not remotely what I'm trying to use - like draughts and doughnuts hhahahah. I think most people are totally okay with having a reader send them an edit cause that's super helpful honestly and I think in general the goal for writers is to provide a pretty legible/easy-to-read fic!

EDIT: I should mention it might be a good idea to ask a writer if they're okay with you sending them edits, first! Totally fair and a great point! Everyone is different so it's always good to ask if they're comfortable with it first!

[pink-prose-n-wiriters-woe]

Genshin Impact AU: Teapot Tinies (Masterpost)

I got this idea from @weirdsht post, I’ve always enjoyed miniatures, and tiny stuff so this idea/headcanon really got my brain working. The brain rot is contagious bby! So I took weirdsht’s idea and made an AU from it (I really hope that’s okay!)

This Au is set in modern times (of course), The Genshin Impact Characters are just that Characters, not IRL beings just characters. I just wanted to get that out of the way first. Genshin Impact is a little bit more popular in this AU than in our timeline, but only popular in the sense that Mihoyo has enough clout and money to spent to time to work on a completely new experience that different from their usual bag of MMO/video games. In This AU, Mihoyo Labs is working on a project know as the “Teapot Project” or “Project: Teapot”, a project where the Genshin Impact Characters come to life in fun-size form, and they have chosen reader to be a beta tester for their project and have them document their experience as a Tea holder.

How to Get A Teapot

In the story I’m currently writing (yes, I’ve already started writing on fic based on this ONE POST, that’s how bad the brain rot is, but in the BEST way possible) there is no set way one can get a teapot. In the story and AU Reader is the only person who has access to the Teapot Project , aside from Mihoyo Labs. The way it happens is pretty random, but I do imply that Reader likes Genshin SO MUCH and is SO ACTIVE in the community that they seem like the prefect person for the job (also the golden rule of main character enegry,lol).

After accepting the offer in the initial email, they are giving another email featuring a link that sends them to a page fashioned like a web event page, the reader is prompt to pick a tea, and all the teas are based on genshin characters, after the pick their choice, the teapot app is automatically downloaded to their phone. A few days later a package will arrived with a teapot, a teabag, doll house shelf and a few mini accessories.

Teapot Project

After seeing how popular the Hangout Events are among the Genshin fanbase, seeing the amount of fan-fiction, and other fan-based material, Mihoyo got the idea that they could take Hangout Events to the next level, but bring everyone’s fave characters into the real-world in fun size form.

Tea Holder

The Tea holder is what the reader is referred to by Mihoyo in the Teapot App and through E-mails for privacy reason.

Teas

Teas are codenames for the Genshin characters each character’s tea name are their constellation names (alternatively Tea Minis, or Minis for short, this name is coined by the tea holder themslves )

Ex. Lisa’s Tea codename would be Tempus Fugit

Teapots

Teapots are the containers that hold well tea, much like a regular tea container but slightly bigger. The tea holder is shipped a package, once they accept Mihoyo’s offer. In the package are the teapot, the tea (in tea bag form) and accessories.

The Teapots are also region based; so, the Inazuma characters can only be steeped in the Inzuma themed teapot. When the tea holder gets a new mini from different region they get the region’s teapot, free of charge.

Furniture, clothes, weapons, and acessories

When the tea holder is shipped the package, it comes with all the furniture and accessories the tea mini will need. The package also comes with one doll house style shelf for the mini(s) to live. The furniture is like Rement miniature furniture by just with a Genshin Impact theme. It comes with a basic bedroom set, and other amenities or reactional stuff the tea holder will want their mini to have will have to come out of their own pocket or be made by themselves.

So if you want to spoil your mini by making them their own arcade area, than you can if you have the money and or skills to make one.

Teapot App

The Teapot App is the app that appears on the tea holder’s phone after they join the teapot project. On the phone, it just looks like app that about making tea or teapots in general, it doesn’t like any app anybody who might steal or look at the tea holder’s phone would have any interest in looking farther into. The icon for the teapot app is the Serenitea Pot.

The app can be used to check Tea holder’s mini(s) vitals, to see if they’re sick or hungry, in a bad mood, etc. It has note-taking/journal section for Tea holder to use to document their experinces as a tea holder, these notes/entries are only seen by Mihoyo Labs, and the tea holder. The teapot has a section for cloud storage where all media related to the minis is held; pictures, videos, and such are store here automically if the phone detects there’s mini in the photo/video. The tea holder can’t share this files on any soicals or any of genshin related from in fear of leaks, if a leak is found The tea holder will have their minis taken away and their Mihoyo account banned. There’s a section to the app for getting another mini, The tea holder doesnt have to pay for it, but they will have to wait about a month in between, so the other mini(s) can get used to the newbie mini, and so the teaholder doesn’t get overwhelmed.

Teas/mini(s)

How a mini comes to be

When the Tea holder gets a their selected teapot (or a new teapot for the first time) it comes with a tea bag with the design of the selected characters constellation (at first I said it was a lotus, but just a reagular tea bag makes more sense and is equally aesthetically pleasing). Through the teapot app, the Tea holder is instrcuted to make the mini tea as if they were making any other tea, the only thing those is that this tea has steep overnight and its also instructed that the teapot be place some where the outside light can hit it (i.e a windowsill or a counter near a window) . Once the sun comes up the teapot glows and the new mini steps out.

The Mini(s) are about the same sizes as nendoroid, and look like one too.

The Mini(s) act exactly like their characters in genshin, and have the same relationships in the game as they do being a mini. They enjoy the same activities (even if those activities have to be down sizes) and they will be pull towards the similar/modern versions of their activites/hobbies’s equal.

The mini keep all of their skills from genshin, for example if the tea holder gets a working mini oven, Xiangling will be attracted to cooking with it, but she has enough cooking skills where can even help the tea holder with their cooking skills, too.

The mini(s) dont really need much maintaining for the most part, they act like shemjis or animal crossing characters where they will just wonder off on their own activites and adventures, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be handful or randomly start fights with other another.

Mini(s) speak in their own mini language, its kind of like simlish, but even if the Tea holder doesn’t understand exactly what their mini(s) is/are saying, they very expressive beings and usually have their expression on their face or its just obvious by vibes.

The Teaholder can give the mini(s) gifts to increase their relationship with a mini, when a mini likes or wants something (and they can’t get themsleves) they’ll look at it longingly or straight up point to it fantically (based on their personality).

If a mini feels ignored or is constantly starting fights with other minis without a resolve, than a mini might run away (this is mostly based on the mini’s personality, if they like being alone than they’ll just stay).

The mini(s) can get around on their own by using their guilders or just climbing stuff, its the one reason why the doll house shelf doesn’t have stairs, minis just climb stuff.

You can and are allowed to take the mini(s) outside and public areas, when a mini is spotted by (another) an adult they have a instinctive ablity to strike a pose or hide in a Teaholders pocket/bookbag or purse a post as long as they see the adult before the adult sees them. If a child sees a mini in action that’s fine because one could brush it off as a child’s over active imagination if they told another person, and their on video or photographically evidence .

The Secret

In Theory one could still share images and video to the public about their minis, if they’re able to hack the teapot app, but the Tea holder is still in danger of getting in trouble. IF they can make up a good excuse to what is being show or what an outsider NOT apart of the project is seeing, than the holder is in the clear. IF they can then bad ending. Under this theory, the holder could share the secret with someone they really really trust not spill the tea (heh…heh…see what I did there,AYEE).

This Au has a similar vibe to “How To Keep A Mummy” anime, The Littles, a little bit of Arrietty and “If you give a mouse a cookie”, A Little Snow Fairy Sugar anime, and other books in “If you give a (animal) a (food)” series of kids’ books.

This Au is meant to be chill, fun, and cute; mostly a fluffy AU, but giving that the mini(s) can run away if ignore, angst could be added

Thats it that's about all I have to say in terms of this AU, I might talk about some parts more indept later in another post...

But thanks for coming to my ted talk

[faveficarchive]

A Fine Line

By Jenbob

Copyright © 1997 Apr (Revised 1997 Fall)

All rights reserved

LEGAL DISCLAIMER

Xena: Warrior Princess, Gabrielle, Argo and all other characters who have appeared in the syndicated series Xena: Warrior Princess, together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MCA/Universal and Renaissance Pictures. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fan fiction. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author. Absolutely no aspect of this story (e.g. ideas, images, dialog etc.) contained within may be used elsewhere without the express prior written consent of the author. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright notices.

EXTREME VIOLENCE WARNING/DISCLAIMER

This story depicts scenes of EXTREME violence and/or their aftermath. This simply cannot be emphasized enough. The violence is described in exacting detail at times, however, it was necessary for the plot of the story to include it. You may have read this warning in the past and thought that the author overemphasized how violent his or her story would be. However, in this case, the warning is VERY real and should NOT be taken lightly. Readers who are disturbed by or sensitive to this type of depiction may wish to read something other than this story.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE WARNING/DISCLAIMER

This story depicts scenes of sexual violence and/or their aftermath. Some readers may be disturbed by this type of depiction and anyone who is sensitive to this particular issue may wish to read something other than this story.

HURT/COMFORT WARNING/DISCLAIMER

This story may be best classified as a Hurt/Comfort Story involving the characters Xena: Warrior Princess and Gabrielle. Readers who are disturbed by or sensitive to this type of issue may wish to read something other than this story.

LOVE/SEX WARNING/DISCLAIMER

This story depicts a love/sexual relationship between two consenting adult women. If you are under 18 years of age or if this type of story is illegal in the state or country in which you live, please do not read it. If depictions of this nature disturb you, you may wish to read something other than this story.

OTHER DISCLAIMERS

(1) The words to the "poem" that Gabrielle recites are actually the lyrics to the song "The Change", sung by Garth Brooks, and are used here without permission or intent to profit.

The Change was written by Tony Arata & Wayne Tester

(c) 1995 Little Tybee Music / Forerunner Music Inc.

MCA Music Publishing

(2) The story of Baucis and Philemon is an old Greek myths that was originally told by Ovid.

It is my best guess that it was this story that Gabrielle was telling Xena in the episode Chariots of War, although the details of Gabrielle's story do differ slightly from the traditional tale. I attribute this simply to bardic license on the part of Gabrielle.

PLEASE NOTE!!!!!

Warnings/Disclaimers are included with this piece of fan fiction to enable readers to judge whether it is of interest to them. Their inclusion is an attempt by the author to prevent any individual from being overly disturbed or distressed by this story and they are intended to be taken seriously as a comment about the nature of the story. After reading the Warnings posted, it is the sole responsibility of each reader to decide whether this piece of fan fiction is of interest to them or whether it might be more appropriate for them to read something else instead.

This story is dedicated to Catherine "Cat" McKenzie...since without her tireless support and willingness to go off on bizarre searches for obscure facts, this story would still just be rattling around my head. She's also the best furkin' editor and friend a bard could ever hope to have!

Author's Note: The events of this story take place a few weeks after the ending of The Third Wheel (which took place a few weeks after the X:WP episode A Day in the Life.) If you haven't read that story, well, it probably won't make too much difference, although some things may not make quite as much sense. Just get used to the occasional bizarre reference.

CHAPTER 1

The sun was still shining brightly overhead when the two women entered the clearing by the lake. A tall woman with jet black hair and a confident air of command looked the clearing over carefully, before nodding her head and dropping the reins of the horse she was leading. "This looks like a good place to set up camp," she announced. "I'll scout around a little to make sure the area's safe," she continued, as she turned to look at her blonde companion.

Gabrielle nodded. "It looks perfect. I'll have everything set up by the time you get back," she said, trying not to show her concern over how tired her friend looked and sounded. However, she knew that it would do no good to suggest to Xena that she rest first and scout later; the warrior was simply too obstinate to listen to logic like that. The fact that they were stopping for the day while it was still so early, though, clearly indicated that Xena was more tired than she was letting on.

Gabrielle shook her head, as she watched Xena head off into the surrounding woods. They had only started traveling again a few days ago, after having had to take time off for the warrior to recover from injuries she had suffered a month earlier. Xena had been willing to remain in Uthranis as long as she was still having difficulties walking. As soon as she was able to move around again without the limp, however, she had decided they needed to be moving on, and no amount of arguing could change her mind. The fact that she still tired easily and was not even close to being fully recovered, made no difference to the warrior. Xena had been feeling cooped up and constrained for far too long. She needed to be on the road again.

Gabrielle worked rapidly to set up their camp, determined that everything would be finished by the time that Xena returned. As she laid their bedrolls out next to one another, she couldn't stop a broad smile from spreading across her face. She and Xena had been lovers for a couple of weeks now, the best couple of weeks of her entire life, and sometimes she still had trouble believing that they were finally together. She knew, though, that this was another reason that Xena had wanted to leave Uthranis. Things had been fine while the two of them were staying by themselves, alone and away from others. Once they had started seeing other people on a regular basis, however, Xena had grown self-conscious about any displays of affection. Xena always felt the need to put on her strong warrior image whenever there were others around, and this was not particularly conducive to romantic encounters.

As Gabrielle finished setting up the rest of the camp and began to collect firewood for the evening, she thought back on the days since they had left Uthranis. It had been harder to leave than she would have thought. She suspected that it had been hard on Xena as well, even though the warrior would never admit to it. But they had left a good friend behind in Uthranis: Cor, a former lieutenant of Xena's who, with his humor, insight, and foolhardy bravery, had managed to get Xena and Gabrielle to finally openly admit to the feelings they had for one another. Gabrielle had been jealous of Cor's relationship with Xena when they had first met but, as time had gone by, she had come to consider him a friend, and she was already missing the sound of his voice.

The past several days had been relatively quiet for the pair. A few bandits and ruffians had tried to start some trouble with them, but Xena's name and her imposing stance, as she drew her sword from its scabbard, had been enough to frighten them off without any actual fighting. Unfortunately, this same routine hadn't worked on the men they had met up with earlier that day and they had had to fight the idiots to convince them that the warrior and the bard should be left alone. Xena had thrown herself into the battle with her usual enthusiasm, with Gabrielle following closely behind. They had easily defeated the eight men, although Xena had been forced to kill one of them in the process. Afterwards, though, Gabrielle could see that Xena's reserves were nearly drained. They had traveled for a short while longer before Xena had decided to stop for the day, hours before she would normally have made such a decision.

Gabrielle had long since collected the last of the firewood they would need for the evening and had laid out the makings of the campfire, by the time Xena returned with a rabbit for their dinner. Gabrielle shook her head as she took the animal from her friend and prepared to cook it. "Xena, we're still overloaded with all the food and supplies that Cor insisted we take when we left Uthranis. There was no reason for you to go to the trouble of catching something for us to eat tonight."

Xena shrugged. "It wasn't any trouble. I flushed him accidentally and took him with my chakram without even thinking about it. But if you'd rather have trail rations....," she said with a smile.

"No, this will be fine," Gabrielle replied. Seeing Xena looking around for something to do, the bard grinned. "I've taken care of everything, including Argo, so all you have to do is sharpen your sword for the next hour while I fix dinner."

Xena arched an eyebrow at Gabrielle and looked at her for several moments, before shaking her head and moving to sit on a nearby log with her sword and her whetstone. Soon she was engaged in the endless process of sharpening the blade, a process that was not only necessary for the sword, but was also important in helping Xena to relax from the tensions of the day. She was completely worn out and she was grateful that Gabrielle was, for once, remaining quiet. It wasn't that she minded the bard's stories but, at the moment, she simply didn't have the energy to listen to anything Gabrielle had to say.

Gabrielle kept a close eye on her friend as she went about preparing their dinner. It was obvious from the way Xena was carrying herself that the warrior was almost out on her feet. It was sheer stubbornness that was keeping her going at the moment; the same stubbornness that refused to allow her to take a few more days to rest and regain the remainder of her strength. Gabrielle had tried to convince Xena not to push herself so hard but, after their last argument, she had decided to give up on the direct approach since it obviously wasn't going to work. On the other hand, the indirect approach had the potential for success.

Supper was soon ready and the two women ate in comparative silence. Xena was too tired to carry on a conversation and Gabrielle was too absorbed in planning her new method of attack. After they finished eating, the bard took care of cleaning everything up, before finally making Xena a mug of tea and taking it over to where she was sitting. "Here, try this. I think you'll like it," she said with a smile.

Xena took the mug and smelled the brew, smiling appreciatively as she did so. She took a small sip and nodded her head. "It's good. What is it?" she asked curiously.

"Actually, I'm not sure. It's a mixture Cor gave me for you. He said you'd like it," Gabrielle replied.

Xena jerked the mug away from her lips and spat out the rest of the liquid in her mouth. "You gave me one of Cor's mixtures and you don't even know what's in it?" she sputtered angrily.

Gabrielle laughed at Xena's reaction. She had to admit, though, her friend was justified in being cautious. The last time Cor had given Xena something to drink without telling her what it was, the drink had contained a strong sedative that had quickly put her to sleep. Considering all the discussions they had had about Xena pushing herself too hard and needing to get more rest, Xena could be forgiven for being a bit suspicious about Gabrielle's motives. "Relax Warrior," Gabrielle finally said. "He assured me that there was nothing in it you would object to. It's just tea. See, I'm drinking some too. Do you want to switch cups with me?" she teased gently.

Xena chuckled ruefully. "No, that's all right. I just don't want to be under the influence of sleeping herbs when we're out here in the middle of nowhere."

"I know...now drink your tea. It might relax you but I promise it won't hurt you," Gabrielle said with a smile. Xena nodded as she began to drink the rest of the tea, enjoying the flavor and wondering what in the world Cor had mixed up this time. The two sat together in comfortable silence, before Gabrielle finally spoke up. "So, where are we headed anyway?"

Xena pondered the question for a few moments before answering. "Well, to be honest, I wasn't really headed anywhere. I just needed to get away from Uthranis. Everything was starting to feel too 'crowded' and 'close' there." Xena was silent for a few more seconds before continuing. "Actually, I was thinking that maybe we could visit the Amazons, unless you have some place else you'd rather go?"

A broad smile broke out across Gabrielle's face. "No. I'd love to go visit the Amazons! But we were just there not long ago. Are you sure you want to go back there again so soon?"

Xena smiled. "Well, you are the Amazon Queen now. I guess we should start trying to make it back there a little more often. Besides, we're relatively close and there's nowhere else we need to be."

Gabrielle grinned. "Well I guess we visit the Amazons then," she said happily. She looked over to see that Xena was draining the rest of her tea from her mug. As she finished, Gabrielle took her cup from her and then returned to help the warrior take off her armor. Her breath caught in her throat as she slowly removed each piece. She was amazed, as always, at the sheer beauty of the woman who had captured her heart. As she helped to take the armor off, she did her best to be gentle with her friend. Several times, though, she heard Xena moan softly in pain, as her sore muscles were pulled this way and that. When Gabrielle was finished, she leaned against Xena's back and wrapped her arms around her lover, closing her eyes as she held her tightly. She remained like that for several moments, before moving around to face the warrior. "Come on and lay down. Let's see what I can do about those sore spots," she said quietly.

Xena smiled gratefully, when she heard Gabrielle's words, before moving to stretch out on their bedrolls. The bard had only recently adopted the practice of giving her friend backrubs, but she had become amazingly good at it during the past few weeks. Of course, the fact that she had had so much practice at it, undoubtedly contributed to how rapidly she was becoming an expert in her technique.

Gabrielle grinned while she watched Xena get comfortable. As she began to slowly stroke the warrior's tired body, she launched into the dullest story that she knew. While giving Xena massages over the last few weeks, she had learned several things. She knew exactly how and where to touch her to drive the warrior wild with desire She had mastered the art of getting Xena to the point where coherent thought was impossible for her. She also knew exactly how and where to touch the warrior to soothe her muscles and lull her into a deeply relaxed state. It was the second type of massage that she was interested in at the moment.

It didn't take long to achieve her goal and soon Xena was sleeping peacefully, a small smile on her lips. 'Mission accomplished,' Gabrielle thought, as she pulled a blanket up to cover her friend, before rising and walking silently away. She checked on Argo to make certain that the mare was all right and then retrieved the scroll she was working on from one of the saddlebags. She spent the next few hours working quietly on her most recent story, before finally deciding to turn in as well. She tossed another log onto the fire, made one last check of the camp, and then crawled under the blankets next to Xena. She smiled when the sleeping warrior wrapped an arm around her and moved closer. She spent the next few minutes lightly caressing Xena's hair, loving the feel of it as it slid through her fingers. Finally she leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss against her lover's forehead, before closing her eyes and settling down to sleep.

Gabrielle woke up the next morning before Xena, a feat she only rarely managed to accomplish. Looking down at the warrior's face, which was resting against her chest, Gabrielle felt her heart swell with love. She remained motionless for several long minutes, enjoying the feel of Xena's body pressed against hers, and then gently moved out from underneath her friend. Stretching as she rose to stand, she glanced around the campsite, before grabbing a bar of soap from one of the saddlebags and walking the short distance to the lake. Reaching the shore, she removed her clothes and then dove into the warm water. She quickly washed her hair and the rest of her body and then tossed the soap back onto the shore. Moving into deeper water, she began to swim in slow, lazy circles. Finally, she flipped over to float on her back, while she allowed the sun to warm her body.

The sound of a splash eventually drew her attention back to the shore. She could see the ripples of water spreading outward from a point not far from shore, and she could see Xena's clothes lying next to hers on the bank. As Gabrielle began treading water, the warrior slowly broke the surface just in front of her and then moved into the bard's embrace to kiss her deeply. "Morning," Xena said huskily.

"Morning," Gabrielle replied, pressing up against her, delighting in the feel of Xena's skin against hers.

"I'm sorry about last night," Xena murmured, as she slowly caressed her lover's back.

"Last night? Why are you sorry about last night?" Gabrielle asked in a confused tone.

Xena looked at her in surprise. "Because I fell asleep on you, right in the middle of one of your stories," she replied.

Gabrielle laughed. "That was the whole point. Xena, I almost fell asleep during that story," she said, as she leaned in to kiss her lover.

The warrior pulled back. "You mean there was something in that tea?" she demanded.

Gabrielle grinned. "Xena...there was nothing in your drink. You were just tired. Now why don't you just admit that maybe you need to start trying to get a little more rest," she said and then pulled Xena to her to kiss her again.

Xena returned her kiss and deepened it, parting Gabrielle's lips to thrust her tongue into the bard's mouth. Gabrielle moaned and pressed closer to the warrior, as she wrapped her arms around Xena to hold her tightly.

Suddenly, Xena pulled away again. "Maybe you're right," she said in a serious tone.

Heart pounding, blood racing, it took a confused Gabrielle several moments before she could finally respond. "I'm right? About what?"

"I should probably get some more rest," Xena said solemnly, as she released the bard. "I'll just go take a quick nap and then we can get back on the road again," she finished, before she turned and headed back to the shore.

Gabrielle watched her, completely dumbfounded by the turn of events. As Xena neared the shore, however, Gabrielle grinned and quickly swam after her, easily catching the slow moving warrior. Sliding up behind Xena, she whispered in her lover's ear, "A nap is a good idea, but I think before you take one, you should get a workout first...you know...exercise your muscles."

Xena paused as she considered Gabrielle's advice. "Maybe you're right. I could practice with my sword."

"I was thinking of different muscles," Gabrielle said, as she placed soft kisses along Xena's neck and shoulders.

"Hmmm...maybe I could take Argo for a run?" Xena said, struggling to speak normally.

"Well...those are some of the same muscles I guess. But it's not really what I had in mind," Gabrielle replied, as she reached around to stroke Xena's breasts.

"Well, I'm out of ideas. What do you suggest?" Xena asked, then groaned deeply as Gabrielle dropped one hand to press against her sex.

"Let me think about it...maybe I'll come up with something," Gabrielle said, before wrapping her legs around Xena's waist and moving sensuously against the other woman. Moving her hand back up, she cupped both of the warrior's breasts in her palms, squeezing them firmly. She trailed her lips up Xena's neck to her ear and blew lightly across it, before outlining it with her tongue. She smiled when she heard her lover moan softly.

She continued to torment the warrior for a few moments more, before moving back to Xena's neck, nibbling and sucking lightly as she moved along the line to her shoulder. Reaching the warrior's shoulder, Gabrielle hesitated for a brief moment before biting down hard, loving the gasp of pleasure she heard escape from Xena's throat. Unable to take her lover's sweet torture any longer, Xena reached down to unlock the bard's ankles from around her waist and then turned quickly to face her. Recovering instantly, Gabrielle pressed up against Xena once again, locking her ankles behind the warrior's back while she kissed her passionately. Hands stroked backs, trailing fingernails across sensitive flesh, as both women sought to draw the other as close as possible. Xena moved her mouth hungrily over the younger woman's, parting her lips once again to thrust her tongue inside. She explored the bard's mouth thoroughly and then enticed Gabrielle's tongue back into her own.

Gabrielle groaned softly when she felt Xena sucking on her tongue. She began rocking rhythmically against the warrior, the feel of the water around them heightening every sensation. Lifting the bard up out of the water, Xena brought her lover's breasts to her waiting lips. Gabrielle groaned again, louder this time, as she felt Xena's lips draw her nipple into her mouth. She clutched the warrior's head firmly to her chest, encouraging her to take more of her breast into her mouth. Xena swirled her tongue across the nipple before biting down. She smiled when she heard Gabrielle whimper softly and then moved to lavish her attentions on the bard's other perfect breast.

The two lovers continued to stroke and caress one another for several minutes, before Xena began moving towards the shore once again. Gabrielle unlocked her ankles from around her lover's waist as they drew closer, then smiled when Xena immediately swept her up into her arms to carry her the rest of the way to their blankets. Laying Gabrielle carefully down on their bedrolls, Xena hesitated for several moments before joining her, enjoying the opportunity to simply drink in the beauty of her lover. Stretching out beside the bard, Xena lightly trailed her hand up and down her lover's body, watching the play of taut muscles as Gabrielle reacted to her touch. "I love you," she finally said, before leaning down to kiss the younger woman.

Gabrielle sighed softly, when she felt the weight of Xena's body pressing against hers. She returned her lover's kiss with equal passion, while she reached around to cup the warrior's head and hold her close. When she felt Xena's hands beginning to move over her body, Gabrielle broke the kiss to look up at her, a determined glint in her eyes, before quickly rolling her lover over onto her back. Smiling down at the look of surprise on Xena's face, Gabrielle leaned down to lightly brush her lips across the warrior's. "Let me," she said softly, as she reached out and caught Xena's hands in her own. Bringing each hand slowly to her lips, she kissed them softly one at a time, before placing them behind the warrior's head. Seeing the confused expression on her lover's face, Gabrielle smiled again. "For once, just let me love you."

Xena chuckled softly. "Gabrielle, what are you talking about?" she asked, as she brought her hands back out from behind her head and reached for the bard.

Gabrielle grabbed her hands before Xena could touch her, gently placing them behind the warrior's head once again. "You always end up taking the lead. Just relax and let me touch you. Trust me," she said softly, as she reached down and lightly ran her fingers across Xena's stomach and then up to circle her breasts.

Xena took in a deep, shuddering breath and then nodded. Gabrielle grinned at her small victory. Nearly every time they made love, the warrior ended up controlling the pace. This time, Gabrielle intended to be the one in control. She knew, though. that she'd never be able to last long if Xena started touching her, so she had to get that issue taken care of right at the start.

Still smiling, Gabrielle leaned down to kiss Xena softly on the lips and then moved to brush kisses across the warrior's cheeks, forehead, and chin, before finally settling near her ear. "You are so beautiful," she murmured into Xena's ear, before biting down on the lobe and tugging at it gently. Moving to her lover's other ear, she flicked her tongue out to lightly trace the outline, before exploring the crevices within. "I could spend days singing songs of your beauty," she said softly, before moving to run her tongue across Xena's jawline.

Pausing for a moment to look down at her lover, Gabrielle smiled when she saw Xena struggling to restrain herself. Nodding in satisfaction, the bard leaned over again to trail kisses down the other woman's neck. Her lips settled momentarily at the hollow of Xena's throat, while her left hand began tracing intricate patterns across the warrior's flat stomach. Moving to her lover's collarbone, Gabrielle used her mouth to brand the other woman as her own, smiling when she saw the small marks that were appearing on Xena's skin. She moved back to Xena's throat and began to run her tongue across her lover's neck, while her hand slid up to capture the warrior's breast.

Xena groaned loudly when she felt her lover's hand cup her sensitive breast, and she reached down to cover the younger woman's hand with her own, encouraging the bard to squeeze harder. Gabrielle shook her head, as she lifted her head to look down at the other woman. "No," she reprimanded gently, as she removed Xena's hand and put it back behind the warrior's head. "Not yet," she said huskily, as she moved down to run her tongue across one of Xena's breasts, while her hand gently massaged the other one, sighing softly when she felt it swell beneath her touch.

Xena moaned and arched against her lover's mouth, but somehow managed to keep her hands locked in place. "Please Gabrielle," she panted. "Harder...more....," she begged. Smiling against the warrior's breast, Gabrielle willingly complied. She moved her mouth to Xena's nipple and bit down and felt it grow rock hard at her touch. Her hand began squeezing the other woman's other breast more firmly, pinching the tip between her thumb and index finger. "Gods yes," the warrior ground out, fighting desperately not to reach out and grab Gabrielle and clutch the bard tightly to her body.

Gabrielle switched her mouth back and forth between her lover's breasts, leaving neither one of them neglected. The bard reveled in the sight of the warrior writhing uncontrollably beneath her touch, as she slowly pushed the other woman to the edge. Finally moving her mouth downward, she ran her tongue across Xena's quivering belly and then gently parted her lover's thighs and settled between them. Placing her head near Xena's damp curls, Gabrielle blew warm air across her lover's sweet folds, before turning her attention instead to Xena's inner thigh. Placing her lips against the soft skin, the bard began to lick and nibble her way down the other woman's leg until she reached her calves, then slowly began moving back up. Passing over the warrior's center, Gabrielle moved to the other leg and began the same, torturous treatment, as she moved slowly down Xena's leg and back up again, once more skipping over her lover's heated center to pass to the other leg.

"By the Gods Gabrielle...please....," Xena whimpered frantically, as she moved her hips towards her lover, fighting the urge to grab the younger woman.

"Please what, Xena?" Gabrielle asked softly, propping herself up to look at the warrior. "Tell me what you want me to do."

"Please Gabrielle. I want your mouth on me now...I can't...I can't take much more of this," Xena rasped hoarsely.

"On you...on you where?" Gabrielle asked with a gleam in her eyes. "On you here?" she asked, before pressing a soft kiss to Xena's inner thigh. "On you here?" she teased, while she leaned up and kissed Xena's stomach. "On you here?" she asked, as she parted Xena's folds and dipped her tongue between to take a long, loving taste.

"There," Xena moaned, as she thrust her hips towards her lover's mouth. Her hands came out from behind her head but she managed to keep from grabbing Gabrielle, and instead curled her fingers into the bedroll.

Gabrielle reached up to grab the warrior's hips firmly while she probed deeper, matching the movements of Xena's hips with her tongue. She lovingly explored every fold, every ridge, before finally moving up to flick her tongue across the other woman's center, smiling to herself when she heard the warrior's groan of ecstasy. Pressing harder as she heard Xena's breathing growing ragged and uneven, she ran her teeth across the swollen bundle of nerves, before taking it between her lips and sucking on it, swirling her tongue across its surface as she felt her lover slip over the edge.

Xena arched against the younger woman as she shuddered uncontrollably, waves of ecstasy coursing through her trembling body. Gabrielle stared in wonder while she watched the play of emotions across her lover's face, as she continued to press soft kisses to the warrior's center. As Xena's breathing gradually returned to normal, Gabrielle replaced her mouth with her hand and moved up to take Xena's nipple in her mouth once more, moving her tongue lightly around it. She slowly stroked Xena, gritting her teeth to control her own reaction when she felt the other woman's unbelievable wetness against her hand. Straddling the warrior's thigh, she began pressing against her lover's leg, moving to the same rhythm as her hand. She continued her assault for a few minutes more, as she felt the warrior's passion beginning to build out of control once again. Finally she slipped her fingers up to capture Xena's swollen clit.

Xena groaned low in her throat when she felt her lover touch her. Her hips were moving entirely of their own volition and her head was thrashing back and forth. Her entire world was centered on Gabrielle's fingers, as she brought Xena back to the edge.

"Xena, open your eyes," Gabrielle commanded, her voice husky and low. Obeying the command, Xena looked up to see the bard's face inches from her own, gazing at her with a look that could only be described as raw passion. She struggled for control, to hold on for a few minutes longer, but as Gabrielle pressed her hips harder against the warrior's thigh and her hand harder against Xena's sex, she slipped over the edge once more. Her gaze locked with Gabrielle's, Xena moaned as her body bucked and writhed against her lover's hand, while the bard continued to stroke her, continued to press firmly against her.

Several minutes passed before Xena was able to manage anything even closely resembling rational thought. Looking up, she saw Gabrielle smiling down at her, eyes still filled with passion, as she lightly stroked her lover. Leaning down, the bard continued to move her hand against the warrior, while she placed gentle kisses across her lover's breasts. Xena felt herself responding to Gabrielle's touch once again and moaned when she felt the younger woman's lips dancing across her skin. She thrust her hips helplessly towards the bard's teasing fingers but they continued to remain just out of reach. "Gabrielle...please...your fingers....," Xena groaned loudly, as she struggled to speak.

"My fingers?" Gabrielle asked innocently, as she continued to tease the warrior.

"Inside me Gabrielle...your fingers...Could you put them inside me...please," Xena finally managed to gasp, thrusting her hips towards the bard's hand once again.

"You want me inside you?" Gabrielle asked in a low, seductive voice, while she pressed two fingers to Xena's opening.

"Gods yes," Xena whimpered, as she felt her lover slip two fingers just inside her and then stop.

"You want me inside you...or you need me inside you?" Gabrielle purred softly into Xena's ear, before moving back to look down on the warrior's face.

Xena hesitated for a moment, gazing into Gabrielle's eyes, before willingly submitting. "Need. I need you inside me Gabrielle," she choked out, her voice thick with passion.

Gabrielle leaned down to capture Xena's lips, as she slid two fingers deep inside her lover. She sighed softly when she felt Xena's muscles contract around them. Thrusting her fingers to keep pace with the movements of the warrior's hips, Gabrielle moved to straddle the other woman's thigh once again and began rocking against her. She continued to thrust her fingers deeply into her lover while massaging the warrior's center with her thumb, all the while moving her hips against Xena's thigh and feeling her own passion building out of control. Reaching down to grab the other woman's wrist, she placed the warrior's hand between her own legs, moaning with pleasure when Xena instantly began to stroke her fingers against the bard's engorged clitoris.

"Gods Gabrielle," Xena groaned. "You're so wet...you feel so good," she panted, as she slipped two fingers inside her lover and began matching Gabrielle stroke for stroke. Their gazes locked as Xena reached up with her other hand to caress her lover's breasts, rubbing callused fingers across the nipples and sending shudders of delight through the young woman's body.

They continued to thrust against one another, trying to prolong their pleasure for as long as possible. "Now," Gabrielle moaned as she finally gave in, unable to deny herself any longer. With a loud cry, Xena released as well, arching her body as she lost control completely, giving in to her passion, trusting Gabrielle enough to fully let go.

They lay together for several minutes, before either one had the ability to move. Withdrawing their fingers at the same time, they shivered as pleasant aftershocks rippled through their bodies at the sensations it caused. Without a word, they both brought their fingers to their mouths and licked them clean, savoring the taste of the other. As they finished, they kissed deeply, tongues pressing against each other, causing their tastes to mingle.

Xena shifted Gabrielle to a more comfortable position but maintained her hold on her lover. The bard slowly traced circles across Xena's stomach, before hugging her tightly. "Thank you," she said quietly.

Xena chuckled. "Thank me?" she said in disbelief. "Why are you thanking me?" the warrior asked.

"For trusting me," Gabrielle replied. "And for letting go completely. For not trying to hold back part of yourself," she finished.

"Do I normally hold back from you?" Xena asked in a concerned voice.

"No. But I know how hard it is for you to allow yourself to lose control. I just wanted you to know how much it means to me that you trust me," Gabrielle said with a yawn.

"I do trust you, Gabrielle," Xena said, as she slowly caressed her lover's back.

Several quiet moments passed before Gabrielle spoke again, "Xena?"

"Hmmm?" Xena asked sleepily.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't think of a good workout for you," Gabrielle said, a teasing note in her voice. "Maybe you should just take the nap and forget about the exercise."

"All right," Xena agreed with a yawn. "I'm too tired at the moment to do anything strenuous anyway," she said, before pulling Gabrielle closer and allowing herself to drift off to sleep.

CHAPTER 2

The next two days passed by uneventfully and, before they knew it, Xena and Gabrielle were nearing the town of Baraliam, the last village of any reasonable size before they reached Amazon territory. Xena briefly considered passing by the village completely, but Argo was in need of a new bridle, and Baraliam was as good a place as any to pick one up. In no time at all, they had made their purchase and were preparing to be on their way, when Gabrielle hesitated. "Buy you a drink?" she asked, indicating the tavern that was standing nearby.

"You want a drink?" Xena asked with a slight smile.

"Actually, I just want to sit down and rest for a few minutes and this was the best excuse I could come up with," Gabrielle replied.

"Okay. We'll stop for a few minutes and have a drink," Xena agreed. "But I thought I was the one who was supposed to still be weak and recovering from injuries."

Rolling her eyes, Gabrielle led the way into the tavern. She was pleasantly surprised to find that it was filled with the aroma of delicious food, rather than the smell of stale body odor like so many of the other taverns they visited. Looking around, she saw that the patrons seemed to mainly be local citizens, and the place was clean and neat. Smiling happily, she began to walk towards one of the back tables, while Xena trailed behind her.

"Warrior," a loud voice called out, stopping the pair in their tracks. Looking towards the bar, they saw the bartender watching them closely. "No weapons are allowed in my tavern," he said firmly but not unkindly. "You can hang them by the door," he continued, pointing towards several large pegs.

Xena looked at the pegs, then back to the bartender, and then finally at Gabrielle. "Come on. Let's go," she said, as she turned to leave.

Gabrielle quickly grabbed her arm, stopping her progress. "Xena come on. Hang your weapons up and let's have a drink."

"I don't need a drink that badly Gabrielle," Xena said flatly. "And I don't want to be unarmed and defenseless in some unfamiliar place when there's no need for me to be in here in the first place."

Gabrielle laughed at her last comment. "Unarmed, maybe. Defenseless? I hardly think so. Come on. I'll bet that wherever you sit down in here, there will be five different things within arm's reach that you could use as a weapon," she said with a grin. "Give up the sword and the chakram and let me buy you a drink."

Xena considered her options for a few more seconds, before finally sighing in resignation. Hanging her weapons up carefully on the pegs provided, she cast a quick glance around the room, noting the exits, the locations of the customers, and a variety of other things that suddenly seemed infinitely more important now that she was no longer armed.

Gabrielle hid a smile as she watched Xena's actions, before wandering over to the bar and ordering drinks for the both of them. Returning to the table that Xena had finally chosen, she handed the warrior her drink. Sitting down across from her, she sighed contentedly, as she finally got off her feet. "So how much longer will it take to get to the Amazons?" she asked after several minutes had gone by.

"Probably about three days, maybe a little less," Xena answered.

Gabrielle nodded. "How long do you think we can stay?"

Xena shrugged. "I dunno, maybe a week or two."

Gabrielle looked at her in astonishment. "Seriously? That long?"

Xena grinned at her young friend. "Well not if you don't want to. We don't even have to spend the night if you're going to be anxious to leave."

Gabrielle smiled broadly. "It's not that and you know it. I'm just surprised that you're willing to stay that long."

Xena simply shrugged again and the conversation dropped. The truth was, she had several reasons for her willingness to stay for an extended visit with the Amazons. Gabrielle was the Queen now but she had chosen to travel with Xena rather than stay with the village, and Xena still felt guilty about that sometimes. She knew that Gabrielle not only deserved to learn more about the Amazons, but that she needed to learn more about them too. The only way to accomplish this was for Gabrielle to spend time with her adopted people. Besides, Gabrielle had been happy with the Amazons and even though she knew that Gabrielle loved her, she also knew that few things would make the bard happier than spending time at the Amazon village. Making Gabrielle happy was important to Xena, more important than she sometimes liked to admit.

But Xena had another reason for wanting to spend time with the Amazons. Everywhere they went, Xena had to be concerned about the people around them learning the truth about her relationship with Gabrielle. It wasn't because they were both women, although she knew that that fact could cause problems in some places. Xena seriously doubted, after everything she had done in her past, that her reputation could suffer much from the revelation that she was in love with a woman, but she wasn't entirely certain how Gabrielle felt about that issue. Still, Xena had to admit that the Amazon village was one place that loving another woman wouldn't be regarded as unusual. The real problem, though, was not that they were both women, but rather that Xena was a target; Gabrielle even more so. Xena knew that their survival often depended on the fact that she was perceived to be dangerous, to be a threat, and she could show no weaknesses when they were in public. To do so was to risk not only her life, but Gabrielle's life as well.

With the Amazons, however, Xena didn't have to worry about acting like the warlord, because they already knew exactly what she was capable of. She had had a formidable reputation amongst them before they had even met her and, since that time, she had only improved her image in their eyes. They had seen her defeat Melosa, their former Queen, in hand to hand combat. She had managed to defeat Velasca, another former Queen, who had eaten ambrosia and become a goddess. Best of all, in the Amazon village, Gabrielle would be the true focus of everyone's attention. This meant that Xena didn't have to feel like everyone was staring at her all the time. Next to Gabrielle, she was rather insignificant. Instead of feeling threatened by that fact, Xena found it strangely liberating.

They finished their drinks and Xena allowed Gabrielle to convince her to stick around for another round. As they downed their second round, however, Xena smirked at her friend. "Come on...I think this qualifies as more than enough rest."

Gabrielle grinned sheepishly, as she rose to follow Xena from the tavern. Stopping to grab her weapons, Xena fastened them securely, before continuing on her way out the door. Reaching Argo's side, Xena carefully examined the new bridle once more to make certain that it was adjusted properly and then reached for the reins. Her hand paused in mid-air, however, as she heard the sounds of screaming coming from further down the street. Turning in that direction, she stepped forward slightly as she tried to see what was going on. She heard the danger, however, several second before she actually saw what was happening. "Raiders!" she growled angrily, as she began running in the direction of the sound of pounding hooves and barbaric shouts.

It didn't take long for the soldiers to advance into the middle of town. They were a small "army" numbering only about two dozen men. They were more than enough, however, to subdue a town the size of Baraliam, which was filled with villagers who knew nothing of the art of warfare. They were not enough, however, to subdue a town that also contained the Warrior Princess and the Amazon Bard.

Sweeping through the soldiers, Xena managed to knock several of them unconscious, before she finally reached the leader. Leaping upwards, she tackled him from his horse, driving him to the ground. Rolling to her feet, she quickly drew her sword and parried his clumsy thrusts, grinning widely at the frustration on his face, as he tried to find an opening. Xena toyed with him for a little while, enjoying his growing anger as she continued to taunt him, before finally slamming the hilt of her sword hard across his face, knocking him to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Looking around, she saw that Gabrielle was having no problems with the soldiers she was fighting; none of them seemed to have the skills necessary to threaten truly competent opponents. Reassured that her friend was in no need of her help, Xena scanned the rest of the village. The majority of the soldiers who were still standing had already begun a hasty retreat. A few, though, were still fighting, and it was these men that Xena focused her attention on. She saw that two different people, at opposite ends of the village, were in need of help. Grabbing her chakram, she sent it arcing through the air to strike the helm of a soldier who was chasing a young woman, knocking him backwards off his horse. As he lay motionless on the ground, Xena's chakram returned to her hand and she ran in the opposite direction to where a soldier was standing over an older woman.

Flipping through the air and screaming her battle cry, she landed next to the soldier and backhanded him hard, knocking him away from the woman. Shaking her head as the fool came at her with his sword, she easily parried his attack and then disarmed him. He stared at his empty hands for a few seconds, before drawing a dagger and coming at her one last time. Dropping her sword, Xena reached out and caught his arm, twisting it around behind him and causing him to gasp in pain as he dropped the dagger from nerveless fingers. Reaching up with her other hand, she pressed her fingers hard against his neck, rendering him unconscious. "Sometimes it's just easier to do it that way," she muttered with a wry grin.

Seeing that the battle was all but over, Xena focused her attention on the older woman lying on the ground beside her. "Are you all right," she asked, as she knelt beside the woman she had just saved.

The woman carefully picked herself up, leaning against Xena as she did so. "Yes I'm fine. Thank you," she said with a smile.

Xena quickly looked around to find Gabrielle, sighing in relief when she saw the young woman helping someone else who had been injured, before turning back to the woman at her side. Xena returned the smile and then noticed that the woman's arm was bleeding. "Your arm is hurt. Let me take a look at that for you," she said, as she moved closer to examine the wound.

The woman turned to watch as Xena looked at her arm. "So, who do I have to thank for saving my life?" she asked.

"My name is Xena," she answered after a momentary hesitation.

"Xena. I like it. It has a good sound to it," the woman replied. "I'm Ishalia," she said pleasantly.

"It's good to meet you Ishalia, although it would have been nice to have met under better circumstances," Xena said with a wry smile. "Okay, I need to clean this up and it could use some stitches too," Xena told her as she rose, intending to find Argo.

"Xena, are you okay?"

Xena smiled when she felt Gabrielle's hand on her back and turned to find that the bard had reached her side. "I'm fine Gabrielle, but I need to find Argo and get our saddlebags."

"I'll find her for you," Gabrielle replied. "Anything else?"

"Just find out if anyone else was hurt and needs help."

Gabrielle nodded. "Okay...I'll be right back," she said before hurrying off.

"Is your friend a warrior too?" Ishalia asked curiously.

Xena turned to watch Gabrielle walk away, her voice softening slightly as she answered the woman's question. "No, Gabrielle is a bard," she replied, before turning back to face Ishalia. "And if you're not careful, you'll find that out for yourself," she said with a grin.

Ishalia smiled. "I look forward to it," she said sincerely. "I don't have anything handy to use for stitching this up, but that bucket over there has clean water if you want to get started cleaning this," she said, nodding towards the cut on her arm.

"All right...I could use a clean cloth though," Xena said as she looked around.

Ishalia shrugged. "This dress is old but it's clean. Just rip a strip off the bottom."

Xena chuckled. "Okay," she said and then leaned down and complied with Ishalia's instructions. Taking the cloth over to the bucket to wet it, she quickly returned and began cleaning the dirt and debris from the wound. By the time she had finished, Gabrielle had returned with the saddlebag she knew Xena wanted. "Anyone else hurt?" Xena asked her.

"From what I saw, it appears there were no major injuries, but I'll check again," Gabrielle replied.

Xena nodded as she dug through the bag, searching for her needle and thread. "Let me know if there's anything serious. I'll be there to help as soon as I finish here."

As Gabrielle turned to leave, Ishalia quickly spoke up. "Are you planning on introducing me to your friend Xena, or did you think we had already met?"

To Gabrielle's astonishment, Xena turned bright red. "I'm sorry. Ishalia, this is my friend Gabrielle. Gabrielle, this is Ishalia."

Gabrielle studied Ishalia briefly. She was an older woman, probably in her mid-fifties, who appeared to have a permanent smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes. Extending her hand to the woman, Gabrielle smiled warmly. "I'm glad to meet you Ishalia," she said.

"You too Gabrielle. Xena tells me you're a bard," she said, wincing slightly as Xena began stitching up her arm. "I'd like to hear some of your stories before you leave."

"I'd be happy to, although I don't know how long we're going to be here," she replied, looking at Xena curiously for a moment. "Well I guess I'd better go see if anyone else needs help," she said, glancing down again at Xena before walking away.

Xena sewed Ishalia's arm up with quick, efficient movements, wanting to spare the older woman any additional pain. Finishing with her task, she rocked back on her heels with a smile. "There. That should take care of it," she told her patient, as she reached into the bag for a bandage and began wrapping the woman's arm. "Make certain you keep this clean. Later I'll give you something to put on it to help speed the healing process."

Ishalia nodded as she watched Xena finish with her arm. "What did Gabrielle mean about not knowing how much longer you'll be here?" she asked curiously. "You aren't planning on leaving already are you?"

Xena chuckled. "We were literally on our way out of town when the raiders attacked. We're just passing through. We'll be on our way again as soon as I make certain that everyone is all right."

"Where are you headed?"

Xena hesitated again. "Amazon country," she finally replied, not certain what the woman's reaction to that information would be.

To her surprise, Ishalia smiled slightly. "Ahh, I should have guessed. That would be Queen Melosa's village...no wait, that's wrong," she immediately corrected herself. "Melosa is no longer the queen. I don't remember the new queen's name, although I do remember hearing it was a rather complicated situation."

Xena looked at her in astonishment. "How do you know about Melosa?"

Ishalia shrugged. "The Amazons sometimes come here to trade. We're on good terms with them. Not allies, but we're certainly not enemies. So, are you and Gabrielle traveling that way for some particular reason or just to visit?"

"Just to visit," Xena replied. "We have several friends there," she continued, knowing that it would be too difficult to explain the entire situation.

"Well then, since you don't have to get there by any specific time, why don't you stay here for the rest of the day?" Seeing Xena getting ready to protest, she hurriedly continued. "It's going to be quite awhile before you'll be ready to leave anyway. You might as well stay here for the night. Please. You'll be my guests. A home cooked meal and a clean bed are the least I can offer after you saved my life," she finished, smiling warmly at the warrior kneeling in front of her.

Xena considered the offer. Ishalia was right, they weren't in any real hurry to reach the Amazons and they weren't going to get much further today anyway. Surprised that she would even be considering such an offer, when normally she would have refused immediately, Xena studied Ishalia briefly. Despite herself, Xena found she was drawn to this woman she had just met and she realized that she honestly wanted to accept her invitation. "Okay," she finally agreed. "We'll stay for the night." Xena rose to stand, before reaching down to help Ishalia stand as well. "But at the moment I think I'd better go help Gabrielle."

Ishalia nodded, a delighted smile on her face. "All right. That's my house over there," she said pointing to her left. "Just come by whenever you get done," she finished, as Xena nodded and left to find her young friend.

"That was fantastic," Gabrielle told Ishalia enthusiastically. "I don't remember the last time we had a meal that good," she said, as she pushed herself away from the table.

"I'm glad you liked it," Ishalia replied with a smile.

"Oh, she did. Normally Gabrielle only has two huge bowls of stew. Three bowls is unusual, even for her," Xena said dryly. "Here Ishalia, let me help you with that," the warrior said, as she watched the woman reach to pick up the large pot that contained the leftover stew.

"That's all right Xena. You two just go into the other room and relax. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Nodding, Xena silently agreed, before following Gabrielle into the other room. Seeing the inquisitive expression on Gabrielle's face, Xena narrowed her eyes. "What?" she demanded.

"Nothing...I was just thinking about something," Gabrielle said with a bemused grin, before sitting down in the middle of a long couch.

Shrugging her shoulders, knowing that Gabrielle would tell her if it was something important, or even if it was something insignificant for that matter, Xena sat next to her on the couch as they waited for Ishalia. After a few moments the woman joined them, moving to an overstuffed chair that faced the couch. They chatted for several minutes, Ishalia asking them about their lives and their travels, before she finally looked at the pair curiously. "So how did you two end up traveling together in the first place?"

Xena grinned. "Well, that was my fault. She showed up at my camp one night and I made the mistake of feeding her." Xena shook her head ruefully. "I should've known better. Everyone knows you can never get rid of a stray once you've fed it."

Ishalia laughed while Gabrielle glared at her friend in mock anger. "A stray?" the bard finally asked.

"Oh, I'm not complaining," Xena reassured her, as she placed her hand on the young woman's shoulder. "After all, everyone also knows there's nothing more loyal than a stray who's finally found a home," she finished, struggling to keep a serious expression on her face.

Despite her best intentions, Gabrielle smiled back at her friend, hearing the truth behind Xena's teasing words. "Well, even a stray can recognize a good thing when she sees it," she said, covering Xena's hand with her own. Looking into her lover's eyes, she forced herself to resist the impulse to lean in for a kiss. Reminding herself sternly that they weren't alone, she dropped her gaze and turned back to face Ishalia.

Ishalia regarded the two women with a small smile before focusing her attention on Gabrielle. "Well Gabrielle, since you're no longer a stray, I guess I don't have to worry about you adopting me. But since I did feed you, does this mean I can get you to tell some of your stories?" she asked, as she settled back further into her chair.

Xena chuckled. "You didn't have to feed her for that...all you had to do was stand still long enough for her to get started," she said, a wicked gleam in her eyes.

Deliberately ignoring her friend, Gabrielle smiled at Ishalia. "Sure, would you like to hear something in particular?"

Ishalia shook her head. "No, anything at all will be fine."

"Gabrielle...."

"I know, I know," Gabrielle interrupted, turning to look at Xena. "No stories about you." Smiling when she saw the look of relief on Xena's face, Gabrielle thought for a few moments about the best story to begin with. Eventually settling on one, she launched into her tale. As she finished, both Xena and Ishalia encouraged her to tell another and then another. Finally, after her fourth story, the young bard was beginning to grow tired as the events of the day began to take their toll. Seeing her friend growing sleepy, Xena began asking Ishalia about her village, allowing Gabrielle the opportunity to relax. She wasn't surprised when Gabrielle soon fell asleep, the bard's head resting against her shoulder. She hesitated momentarily before carefully shifting to draw Gabrielle partially into her arms, allowing the young woman to rest against her more comfortably, and smiling slightly when Gabrielle burrowed into her embrace. Holding Gabrielle tightly, Xena continued to listen to Ishalia for quite some time, occasionally asking questions as the woman told her about her life.

Ishalia finished talking and the two sat together, quietly enjoying the silence. Xena turned her gaze to Gabrielle, lightly stroking her hair as the young woman slept in her arms. "You love her very much, don't you?" Ishalia asked, a gentle smile on her face.

Xena looked up carefully, knowing she had let too much show through, but she had been unable to stop herself. Something about this woman and this evening had caused her to let down her guard. "Yes, I do," she finally answered quietly. "Is that going to be a problem for you?"

Ishalia laughed. "Why would it be a problem? Love is love. Who cares what body you're wearing when you finally find it? Actually, it simplifies things. I was a little concerned since there was only the one bed in the spare room. Obviously that won't be a problem."

Xena smiled slightly. "No...It won't be a problem."

"So," Ishalia said as she changed the subject. "You're planning on leaving tomorrow?"

Xena nodded. "Probably in the morning; whenever Gabrielle manages to wake up."

Ishalia cocked her head to the side as she studied the warrior. "I don't suppose I'd be able to convince you to stay another day, would I?"

Xena looked at her in surprise. "Another day?"

"Of course. I haven't had visitors like you and your friend in ages. It's been nice to have someone to fuss over again."

Xena chuckled. "I doubt you're at a loss for company Ishalia."

Ishalia smiled at her. "No you're right. But all my other friends already know all my stories, and I know theirs. You and Gabrielle are a unique find."

"I don't know," Xena hedged. "We were wanting to get to the Amazon village fairly soon."

"One more day won't make any difference now, will it? Besides, if you leave, how will you know if my arm is healing properly?" she asked with a sly grin.

Xena raised her hands in mock surrender. "All right. You win. We'll stay one more day," she agreed, amazed at just how much she actually wanted to stay for a little while longer. "But for now, I think I'd better get my little bard to bed," she said with a smile. Standing up, she lifted Gabrielle easily into her arms. "We'll see you tomorrow," she told the woman before carrying Gabrielle to their bedroom.

Gabrielle woke the next morning to an empty bed. She stretched languorously before rolling over again and trying to decide whether she should attempt to go back to sleep. Finally deciding that she might as well get up, she sighed and got out of bed, stretching once again for good measure before leaving in search of Xena.

"Ishalia, I'll go get the water for you," she heard Xena offer as she approached the kitchen.

"No no. I can handle it. You're the guest here so just stay put," Ishalia informed the warrior sternly.

By the time Gabrielle reached the kitchen, Ishalia was gone. Seeing Xena leaning against a table, wearing her leathers but no armor or weapons, Gabrielle smiled and approached her. "Morning," she said huskily, as she slipped into the warrior's arms to kiss her.

"Morning," Xena replied softly, holding the bard tightly. "Sleep well?"

"Mmmhmm," Gabrielle murmured, as she held her lover close, resting her head against Xena's chest. "So," she said after a few silent moments. "When do you want to leave?"

"Well actually...I told Ishalia we would stay for one more day," Xena said hesitantly.

Gabrielle pulled away from her slightly to look up into her lover's face. With a puzzled expression and a somewhat bemused smile, she studied the warrior for several seconds. "Xena...just what is it with you and this woman?" she finally asked.

"What do you mean?" Xena asked guardedly.

"I mean that you've been acting funny ever since you met her. I mean, you offered to help clear the dishes last night, and just now you offered to go fetch water. And I heard you doing the same thing countless other times yesterday, offering to help with this or that. It's just not like you."

"So you're saying I'm rude?" Xena said, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh no," Gabrielle said with a wide grin. "I'm just saying you hate doing chores," she finished diplomatically, trying not to laugh. "Seriously though, I've never seen you act so polite and respectful to someone you've just met," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "And I don't remember the last time I saw you blush the way you did yesterday when she chided you on your bad manners for not introducing the two of us."

Xena smiled ruefully. "I know. And you're right. I guess it's just that she reminds me of someone I used to know back in Amphipolis." Seeing Gabrielle's curious expression, the warrior reluctantly continued. "There was a woman there...a widow. Her name was Riash. She didn't have any kids, so she sort of adopted all of us as her own and we all adored her. All she had to do was say the word and we were falling all over ourselves to do whatever she asked of us."

"Even you?" Gabrielle asked with a smile.

"Especially me," Xena replied, chuckling softly.

"What was she like?"

"Riash? Riash was the kindest, sweetest woman you could ever hope to meet. One of those people that you just want to be around because they do everything they can to make you feel good about yourself. She never told me I was wrong to want to learn how to use a sword or fight. She always accepted me just as I was." Xena grinned as thoughts of Riash filled her head. "Of course, that didn't stop her from trying to instill a certain amount of discipline in me as well. Roughhousing was all well and good, but not inside her home. And no weapons either. I made the mistake of carrying my sword into Riash's house one time, and it was the last time I ever tried that again. Inside her home I was expected to be well-behaved and well-mannered...and it was probably the only time back then that I ever was."

"The only time 'back then'?" Gabrielle asked, a broad grin covering her face.

Xena smiled ruefully. "Okay...probably the only time in my entire life that I was well-behaved and well-mannered." Xena paused, as she continued to think about the woman from her past. "Riash was...well she wasn't really a mother or even a grandmother. When I was unhappy I went to Riash and with a word or a gesture she could make all the pain go away. And when I had good news to share, it was Riash I wanted to tell first. She was my confidant, my protector...my friend."

Seeing Xena's far away expression, Gabrielle hesitated for a moment before gently asking, "She was?"

Xena nodded as she closed her eyes. "Riash died a long time ago."

"Cortese?" Gabrielle asked softly, naming the warlord who had attacked Xena's village so long ago, setting her on the path of darkness that she had followed for years to come.

"Yes, Cortese. It always seems to come back to him, doesn't it?" Xena asked in a strained voice. Shuddering slightly as she felt Gabrielle's arms tighten around her, Xena pulled the young woman closer, losing herself in her lover's embrace. Finally regaining control, she began to speak again, her voice slightly unsteady. "Riash was killed by one of Cortese's men. It happened right in front of me, but I couldn't get to her in time to save her. I tried...the gods know I tried...but I was too far away. I was too slow and helpless to do anything but watch as he drove his sword into her and then laughed as her blood spilt onto the ground. I finally managed to reach her side but there was nothing I could do. She died in my arms. I don't think she even knew it was me holding her," Xena finished, her voice cracking despite her best efforts to remain in control of her emotions.

Gabrielle leaned back slightly to gaze up at her lover. Her heart constricted painfully, when she saw the sorrow in Xena's eyes. Reaching up, she brushed away the tear that was making its way down Xena's cheek before hugging her friend tightly once again. "You must have really loved her," she said quietly.

Xena hesitated for several moments before speaking. "Yeah, I did," she finally admitted. "She was the one person other than the members of my family that truly cared about me, and that I truly cared about as well. I loved her, and I would have done anything for her."

Taking a deep breath, Xena forcefully banished the painful memories of the past. "Ishalia is so much like Riash. She even looks a lot like her. I guess I just want to spend a little more time with her," she admitted quietly.

Gabrielle smiled. "Well I'm definitely not complaining. I haven't seen 'the warrior' make even one appearance while we've been in Ishalia's home."

"'The warrior'?"

"Yeah, you know. The big tough warrior image you always put on whenever there are other people around," Gabrielle said with an impish grin. "The one who I can't put my arms around and lean against. The one whose shoulder I can't fall asleep on."

"Gabrielle, I...."

Gabrielle quickly put her hand over Xena's lips to stop her. "It's all right. I know why you feel that you have to do it. But just because I understand it doesn't mean that I have to like it," she said. "Xena, we can stay here as long as you want. The Amazons aren't going anywhere."

Hearing Ishalia returning, Gabrielle reluctantly moved out of Xena's embrace. "Too little, too late, I'm afraid," Xena said wryly. "We blew any chance of keeping our relationship a secret from Ishalia last night," she said, as she reached out and caught Gabrielle's hand, drawing her back to keep her close. "She already knows all about us."

"And you're okay with that?" Gabrielle asked, wanting to be sure.

"And I'm okay with that. I don't think I need to be 'the warrior' in front of her," Xena said with a small smile.

"Gabrielle," Ishalia exclaimed happily as she entered the kitchen. "I was just talking about you."

"Oh?" Gabrielle replied, smiling as she watched Xena move to help the woman with her bucket.

"Yes. I saw the wife of the innkeeper, Fellia, while I was getting water and I mentioned that one of my guests was a bard, and a good one at that. She said to tell you they'd love to have you visit their tavern if you could. She assured me they could work something out to pay you for your time."

Gabrielle considered the offer. "Sure," she said after a few seconds. "Sounds good. It's been awhile since I had an audience of more than one or two for my stories. And maybe I could even tell a few of my 'forbidden tales' if you would agree to keep Xena busy for me," she said with a wide grin.

"'Forbidden tales?'"

Gabrielle laughed when she saw Xena roll her eyes. "Yes, you see, the big, brave warrior you see standing before you gets easily embarrassed whenever I tell stories about her. So I have to tell them in secret."

"Ahh, well I'm sure that any stories, forbidden or otherwise, would be welcome," Ishalia replied. "But I'll do my best to keep Xena distracted for you."

"Good, now if I could just get some breakfast, I'll get out of your hair and go find out what kind of arrangement I can make with Fellia."

Xena spent the rest of the day in Ishalia's company, taking a tour of the town, meeting various people and, despite the woman's protests, helping her with her chores. Late in the afternoon the two finally settled down in Ishalia's living room to relax. Ishalia told Xena more about her husband who had been a master craftsman. She showed Xena several of the items that he had made, before finally reaching what was obviously the one that meant the most to her. Taking a small lyre down from a shelf, she lovingly ran her hands over it, as she carried it to the warrior so that she could examine the piece.

Xena took the instrument carefully, amazed by its beauty. "It's incredible," she finally said. "Did he do all the carvings on it as well?"

"Yes he did," Ishalia said with a look of obvious pride. "He made this for me on our 20th wedding anniversary. It was probably the best work he ever did."

"I don't doubt it," Xena said sincerely, as she carefully traced the carvings on the lyre with her fingertips.

"Do you play?" Ishalia asked curiously.

"No," Xena replied with a chuckle. "I'm pretty hopeless when it comes to musical instruments like this. But you must," she said, as she handed the lyre back to Ishalia. "I'd love to hear you play something."

"It's been quite awhile since I've played for anyone else," the woman protested. "I wouldn't even know what to choose."

Xena shrugged. "Anything at all. Please?" she asked with a smile.

"All right...let me think for a second," Ishalia said as she began stretching her fingers to loosen them up. Finally, she smiled as she reached a decision and, moving to get comfortable, she began to play.

Xena smiled and sat back in her chair to listen to the music. Ishalia, despite her protests, was actually quite good, and Xena was enjoying herself thoroughly. All too soon the music ended, and Xena smiled broadly in appreciation. "That was wonderful," she said sincerely. "How about another?"

Ishalia cocked her head curiously at the warrior. "You don't play...but do you sing?" she asked.

Instantly, Xena's expression became more guarded. "Why?"

"I noticed you humming while I was playing. It was quite lovely. I'm guessing that you must sing equally as well."

"I sing a little," Xena admitted. "Mainly just for myself."

"Ahh...well why don't you sing while I play then? After all, I mainly play the lyre just for myself. It will make a good match," she said with a glint in her eyes.

"No...it's been a long time since I sang for anyone other than myself...I wouldn't even know what to sing," Xena protested weakly.

"Sounds familiar," Ishalia said with a grin. "Look Xena. If you really don't want to sing, I won't make you. I just thought it would be nice. I don't often get to play for an audience as appreciative as you. I just thought it would be fun to have you join in with me. If you want to sing, then just pick something and I'll follow along."

"Okay, okay. Let me think," Xena agreed. Finally, recalling a song that had been one of her favorites when she was younger, she hesitantly began to sing, her voice growing stronger and more confident as she saw Ishalia smile and join in. Feeling more at ease, she began to relax and enjoy herself, smiling as the small home was filled with music.

Gabrielle was in exceptional spirits as she wandered through the village towards Ishalia's house. The patrons at the tavern had been well behaved and they had loved her stories - an excellent combination. Her pouch was filled with dinars and she was on her way to what promised to be an excellent meal. It had turned out to be a great day.

As she approached Ishalia's home, she heard the sound of singing coming from inside. Drawing closer, she was astonished when she realized that it was Xena's voice that she was hearing. Gabrielle had heard Xena humming on numerous occasions, but actual singing was a rarity for the warrior. She remembered Xena telling her once that she only sang when she was "moved" or when there was "something behind it". Apparently, Ishalia had managed to touch something deep and personal within her warrior friend.

Moving forward, Gabrielle carefully opened the door to Ishalia's house and stepped inside. She stood quietly, transfixed by the scene before her, as she watched Ishalia play the lyre while Xena sang. The song was unfamiliar to Gabrielle, but there was a haunting beauty to it that drew her in and kept her spellbound. She remained silent and motionless for several seconds after the song had ended, before finally moving all the way into the room where Ishalia and Xena were sitting. "And I thought I was the performer," she said softly.

The two women looked up in surprise when Gabrielle spoke. Ishalia laughed as she rose and placed the lyre back on a shelf. "Don't worry Gabrielle. My playing is mainly the result of the quality of my instrument, not my skill. And I had to work hard to get Xena to sing even one song, so I don't think you have to be concerned about too much competition from her either."

Gabrielle smiled and nodded, turning her attention from Ishalia to Xena, who was sitting quietly, intently studying the chair she was sitting in. "Well that's reassuring. I'd hate to be out of a job," Gabrielle said with a smile.

"Are you hungry? Dinner should be about ready."

Gabrielle reluctantly turned her gaze from the Warrior Princess to the older woman. "I'm famished. I've been looking forward to your cooking all day," Gabrielle replied, as she watched Ishalia walk into the kitchen to check on the meal.

Turning to study her friend again, Gabrielle moved closer to sit on the table in front of her. "That was beautiful," she finally said softly.

"Yeah, Ishalia plays well," Xena agreed, deliberately misunderstanding Gabrielle's words.

"Yes she does. But that wasn't what I was talking about and you know it," Gabrielle said, as she reached out to gently stroke Xena's cheek, smiling when the warrior turned her face into her hand to press her lips against the bard's palm. She continued to study her friend for several more seconds before speaking again. "Did Riash play the lyre?" she asked quietly.

Xena chuckled and shook her head in wonder. "Yes she did," she replied softly. "And yes," she continued, seeing the unspoken question in Gabrielle's eyes. "I used to sing while she played."

Gabrielle smiled. "I'm not sure how I'm going to manage it, but somehow I've got to figure out a way to inspire you to sing more often," she said, as she stood and then reached down to help Xena rise as well.

Xena smiled and looked down at her lover. "You already do Gabrielle...It wasn't Riash that I was thinking about while I was singing, it was you," she said softly, before leaning down to kiss the young woman and then leading her into the kitchen to join Ishalia.