#the canon is messy but i had fun writing the banter ya know?

[kanerallels]

@eglerieth 74: Vostress training Wraith Squadron. This au is INCREDIBLY specificly tailored to me and my sister's niche interests. It's set in a happiness au where Wedge Antilles still forms Wraith Squadron (the Legends black ops squadron that is not unlike Alphabet Squadron because they're all hot messes)

But this time, when he forms it, he asks for help in training them! From former Jedi/Sith, current bounty hunters, Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos! I have a surprisingly long fic written about this that I might not ever share all of-- it's from a while ago, so it's not as good. But I hope you enjoy the part I'm gonna share here!

“Did you ever think you’d live to see the day when you were renting a building to a pilot from the Republic?” Quinlan Vos asked.

His partner, Asajj Ventress, rolled her eyes. “No, but I never thought I’d be helping them train a black ops division, or that I’d end up dating some stupid Jedi who follows me everywhere, yet here we are.”

“You are so sweet when you try to be,” Vos said with a smirk.

They were standing on a tall tower directly across from the building Wedge Antilles had told them about around five days ago. To Vos’s deep amusement, they’d soon realized that the building was one that Ventress actually owned, and had for a few years. Hence why he felt absolutely no remorse about their current plan.

“So, are we sure this thing will hold me?” he asked, eying the thick cable they’d run from the top of the tower they now stood on to a spot just about a tenth story window.

Ventress shrugged. “Either it will, or you’ll end up looking really stupid. Just don’t die and leave me to teach Antilles’ brats by myself.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Reaching down, Vos grabbed a metallic strap with loops on either end. Flicking one end over the cable, he slid his hands into the loops and glanced at Ventress. “Kiss for luck?”

Arching an amused eyebrow, Ventress leaned forward and brushed a slight kiss against his lips. Vos was about to kiss her back when he felt her grab him by the shoulders and shove him off the building, sending him flying down the makeshift zipline they’d created.

Hastily centering himself, Vos could hear Ventress laughing as he shot forward towards the other building. Despite himself, he felt a smile twist his lips, exhilaration buzzing through him. Hanging thousands of feet above the ground with only a cable a few inches thick holding him up was the kind of thing a lot of people, especially Jedi, would call foolish. Vos called it fun.

The window shot towards him, and Vos reached out with the Force, pushing against the glass. The strength of his  blow cracked the window seconds before he crashed through it with a shattering of glass, releasing his grip on the cable to dive forward in a quick somersault, landing in a crouch before glancing up at the room he’d just entered.

There were a handful of beings in the room, a somewhat even mixture of humans and aliens— they were certainly a unique bunch. However, one thing they all had in common was the fact that they were staring at Vos with varying degrees of shock.

Straightening up, Vos gave them a breezy grin. “Sorry I’m late. Forgot where the Temple was.”

For a moment, no one spoke, then a dark-haired man with a long scar across his face asked, “Who are you, exactly?”

Vos’s memory clicked through the files of the Wraiths he and Ventress had gone over the night before. Garik “Face” Loran, Wraith Eight, he recalled. Child actor, and continued his acting career up until he was mugged and badly scarred, when he left the stage to join the Republic. Drummed out of two squadrons for back-talking his commander— either I’m gonna end up really liking this guy, or he could be trouble.

“I take it Commander Antilles didn’t tell you,” Vos said calmly. “I’m here to assist in Wraith Squadron’s education— well, me and my partner.”

“Is your partner going to have an entrance like that, too?” asked a dark-skinned young woman— Officer Shalla Nelprin, Wraith Twelve, Vos thought. Martial arts expert, previously worked for a Coruscanti police force. She was also the only one holding a blaster, which she’d clearly pulled upon his arrival. Good instincts.

“Nah,” Vos said, shaking his head. “She’s way better at dramatic entrances than I am, so she’ll be able to pull something truly excellent off. Now, let’s get down to business. I’m Quinlan Vos. About a week ago, Commander Antilles hired me and my partner to help train you guys in our areas of expertise.”

“Which is?” The person who spoke was the green-skinned Twi’lek Dia Passik, a former slave and friend of Caleb Dume, which was definitely an endorsement in Vos’s mind. Anyone as in love with his wife as Caleb was was okay in his book.

“Well, quite a few things,” Vos said easily. “Infiltration, destabilization, eradication— oooh, I should write that down. Essentially, we specialize in the area of finding who we’re looking for, getting into the places we need to go, and looking really cool while doing it.”

“You’re bounty hunters.” The man who’d spoken was a dark-haired man with a somber expression. Ah, Myn Donos, Vos thought, giving him a thoughtful look. He was a Corellian pilot who’d lost most of his squadron earlier the same year, and joined Wraith Squadron a few months later.

“Among other things, yes,” he agreed. “We’ve done quite a few things, though. Our current profession, for instance, is to whip Wraith Squadron into shape.”

“And how do you plan to do that?” Vos didn’t need a file to recognize the blonde woman eying him rather warily. He’d met Tyria Sarkin on a few occasions, along with her master, when they’d worked together. She’d come across as smart, if a little wary of him and Ventress at the time.

Grinning at her, Vos said, “The same way I do everything. With unconventional methods and good looks. But in all seriousness, let’s just say my partner and I have a few solid plans.”

“And who is this partner of yours?” asked the tall Thakwaash named Hohass Ekwesh, who’d been nicknamed Runt by his kin. Which was either ironic or seriously worrying, because Runt was over six feet tall.

“Oh, you’ll meet her soon enough,” Vos said casually, and didn’t miss the glances exchanged between a few of the Wraiths. Clearly, they were skeptical about how trustworthy he was, but they’d either get over that or they wouldn’t. That wasn’t the issue. The issue was if they’d listen to him.

“If Commander Antilles hired you, why didn’t he tell us who you were?” Kell Tainer demanded. The tall mechanic and demolitions expert gave him a deep frown, his arms folded across his chest. “Did the Republic send you?”

“Not… exactly,” Vos said. “But I am on their payroll— thankfully, since I doubt Commander Antilles could afford both me and my partner. But the fact of the matter is, the Republic and I are on... somewhat shaky footing, shall we say?”

“So, you’re a criminal,” Donos said flatly, and Vos gave him a dramatically horrified look.

“Lieutenant Donos, you insult me,” he said. “If I was a criminal, would I also be a bounty hunter? No, because then I’d have to arrest myself.”

“That makes absolutely no sense,” Shalla said.

Vos shrugged. “Maybe not, but I can assure you of this— I am not wanted by the Republic. Anymore. Tyria, back me up.”

All eyes turned to Tyria, who shrugged. “He’s right, the Republic doesn’t have a bounty on his head— although that doesn’t exactly mean you or your partner can be trusted, does it?”

“You’re biased, though,” Vos said.

“And I have a good reason to be!”

“Hey, we needed a decoy, and you and Sierra were right there! We couldn’t have Kenobi catching us, now could we?”

Glaring at him, Tyria said, “We were stuck in that jail cell for three hours!”

Vos barely managed to hold back a laugh, clearing his throat instead. “Well, you got out eventually. And you don’t even have a criminal record, so…”

“I kind of want to know what happened now,” said the cyborg man that Vos’s persistent brain reminded him was Ton Phanan, the Wraith’s medic. Yes, I know, he thought at his brain. Now could you please stop with the tour guide knowledge?

“Not a chance,” Tyria said coolly. “Let’s just say that Vos and his… partner aren’t always the easiest to deal with.” Pausing, she added reluctantly, “But they probably are the best to teach us in this situation.”

“So glad you think so,” Vos said with a smirk. “I’m sure my partner will be, too.”

“I think it’s about time you told us who your partner is,” Kell said with a scowl. “Your hints have been… concerning, to say the least.”

“Ouch,” Vos said. “What, you don’t trust me?”

“Should we?” Kell shot back.

“We don’t care.”

The cool, smooth voice of Asajj Ventress came from the back of the room, and everyone turned as she stepped out from a shadowy corner, her hands on her hips. Vos had no idea how she’d entered the room so quietly, but he wasn’t surprised, either. He was, however, deeply enjoying the stunned expressions on the faces of most of the Wraiths. Donos’ eyes were narrowed in Ventress’s direction, and Phanan was smirking, although Vos suspected that was just his resting face, but the others just stared in pure shock.

There were a number of reasons they could be staring, obviously. It could be the fact that Ventress had just appeared when she’d definitely not been in the room originally. It could be because she was carrying her energy bow from the Nightsisters, which was pretty conspicuous. It could have been the dark, spidery scars that patterned her skin, marking a failed attempt on her life.

But when one of the Wraiths finally spoke, it became pretty clear that those were not the reasons all of them were staring. “Asajj Ventress?” Phanan said. “Are you kidding me? I thought you were dead.”

“Death is a social construct,” Ventress said dryly, and Vos had to smother a snicker.

“We’re being taught by a Separatist assassin?” Phanan asked. “Um. Why?”

“Because I’m smarter than all of you,” Ventress said bluntly. “And someone has to teach you to keep yourself alive, don’t we?”

“Considering you supposedly died twenty years ago, are you sure you’re the best person to teach us that?” Phanan said, his voice a little too amused. “And there’s also the fact that you used to work for the Separatists, so…”

Vos tensed slightly, but didn’t react. He and Ventress had discussed the possibility of someone bringing up her past, and she’d made him promise that he’d let her handle it, which he had very little problem with.

Strolling forward until she was face to face with the cyborg medic, Ventress spoke in a cool tone. “Do you have a problem with being trained by me?”

“The Separatists did lose the war,” Phanan pointed out, not looking nearly nervous enough about the current possibility of his demise. Face Loran, who stood next to him, wore a grimace that seemed to say he was pretty sure his friend wasn’t going to survive this encounter.

Ventress smiled, and it was not a nice smile. Before Phanan could react, the woman lashed out, slamming her fist into his jaw. As the man stumbled back, Ventress caught her foot beneath his, and another blow to the face sent him to the ground with a thud and a groan.

Stepping back, Ventress dusted her hands off, looking satisfied, as the door to the room hissed open and Wedge Antilles stepped inside. He took in the scene before him at a glance, looking relatively unfazed.

“Vos, Ventress,” he said, nodding to them. His eyes flicked to Phanan, still on the ground, as he added, “I see you’re breaking in the squadron, that’s good. What are your thoughts?”

“Insubordinate with smart mouths and an inability to keep their thoughts to themselves,” Ventress said, sarcasm dripping from her tone. “But who knows? They might amount to something.”

“I reckon we can whip them into shape,” Vos said easily.

“We can only hope,” Wedge said, his voice amused. “I’ll give them your terms, and make sure they’ll abide by them.”

Turning to the group of Wraiths, most of whom were looking either unsettled or amused, he said sharply, “Attention.”

They all snapped to, and Face hauled Phanan to his feet. The cyborg had blood dripping from his nose, and Vos caught Ventress smirking in satisfaction. Phanan himself didn’t seem terribly worried about his nose-- instead, he was actually grinning.

“Wraiths,” Wedge began, ignoring Phanan’s somewhat disheveled state, “these are your new teachers, Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos. As you know, Ventress has a reputation as an assassin, and also is presumed dead. Therefore, I’ve agreed to keep their arrival here under wraps, particularly Ventress, and you won’t be speaking of it either. Additionally, you will follow their orders as you would follow mine, unless you think an innocent person might be put in danger because of them. Is that understood?”

The Wraiths murmured their agreements, although Vos caught a spark of reluctance from Myn Donos. Wedge glanced at Phanan. “Will there be a problem here, Flight Officer Phanan?”

“No, sir,” Phanan said cheerfully. “I actually have no problem with assassins, so there’ll be no problems whatsoever.”

“Glad to hear it.” Turning away, Wedge said, “Vos, Ventress, I release them into your capable hands.”

“They may live to regret that choice,” Ventress said, a wicked gleam of amusement in her eyes. Wedge laughed, and headed for the door.

As it closed behind him, Vos turned to his new students. “Well, let’s talk business. You’ll have two main classes, so to speak, every day. Ventress will be conducting a physical fitness class, and I will be handling tactics. Past that, every so often we’ll give a couple of you a test of some sort that will be a situation you might find yourself in. Call that one your improv class.”

“Oh, good, something I have some experience in,” Face joked, and Vos couldn’t hold back a grin.

“I think your expectations for an improv class might be a little different than ours,” he told the former actor. “Our first class starts in—” he glanced at Ventress. “How long?”

“Five minutes,” Ventress said. “And you’re the teacher, so don’t be late for once.”

Vos snorted. “I wouldn’t bet on that. In that case, you guys have five minutes to get to the sixteenth floor of the building. Tactics class is in the lounge-- whoever gets there first, open the window.”

“Why?” Kell asked.

“Well, I can only break so much glass in this building before Ventress starts fining me,” Vos explained with a smirk. “Don’t be late, Wraiths, or you’ll regret it. Dismissed.”

As the Wraiths made their way out of the room, Ventress let out a sigh. “That’s what I love about the military. You say dismissed, and they all have to leave. I should have joined much sooner.”

Vos chuckled. “You would think of that as a benefit.” His expression turned thoughtful. “What do you think?”

“Of the Wraiths?” Ventress snorted derisively. “They’re not much to look at, are they? And the cyborg is an idiot, but they might amount to something.”

“I suspect Kell Tainer and Lieutenant Donos might give us a little trouble,” Vos said. “They don’t trust us, is my guess.”

“Tainer will just watch us from a distance,” Ventress said. “If anyone’s going to talk to Antilles about it, it’s Donos— and probably the Republic, too.”

“He gave his word— besides, he’ll obey orders,” Vos said with a shrug. “Military types always do. Either he’ll get used to us, or he’ll give Kenobi a heart attack— which would be pretty funny.”

“Amusing as I’m sure you’d find it, I’d prefer the Council didn’t know I was here.” Ventress’s tone was dry, with a hint of wariness in it, and Vos glanced at her.

“We’ll be okay,” he told her softly. “Donos will go to his commander, not the Republic, and Wedge will politely tell him to chill out. You’re not getting outed just yet. After all, Dume didn’t tell.”

“He told plenty of people,” Ventress responded with a roll of her eyes. “They just happened to be all the right people.”

“Like me,” Vos said with a grin, which Ventress reluctantly returned.

“Yes,” she agreed. “Like you. Now get a move on before you’re late for your first class. Oh, Vos?” she added as he moved towards the window.

Vos turned back. “What?”

“You have glass in your hair,” Ventress told him.

“Whoops.” Vos brushed a hand over his head, sending a few shards of glass to the floor with a clink, then stepped to the edge of the window. Sticking his upper body out, he grabbed the ledge above the window, hauled himself up, and began to climb easily, making his way up to the sixteenth floor.Let’s see what these kids are capable of, he thought with a grin.

[the-lightning-strikes-again]

Review Replies for The Second Law Chapter 14

Thanks to the following awesome people for reviewing my Lotura fic, The Second Law, last chapter: LunarMagnolia, Geeeny, Rosenthorne, EllieDoll, mutedtempest, AfroditeOhki, NickyADon, Paranomrally_Normal, Krisari, TiffanyBlue, Espanholina, CherryVelvetQueen, Brynn, RogueSareth, Star-gazer, DestiniesEntwined, UltraFirelily, mintpearlvoice, graciebuns, Ecrire_Call_me_ment, MystiTrinqua, Qwennie, and Smallblaa!

You can read individual review replies below! :)

LunarMagnolia: Ahhh omg thank you so much for your very kind and extended review! Yaaas, let the princess be cared for! She needs it so much, omg. And guh, I’m so happy you enjoy the banter among the various characters! Thank you as always for your support!

Geeeny: Oh my goodness, words cannot describe how much that means to me, bless! Thank you for continuing to read and review TSL!

Rosenthorne: Thank you for your review! Yes, lots of things are in a bit of a disarray at the moment, haha—definitely a system problem in this story. XD And ahh thanks for your vote! This upcoming chapter is a little shorter, so I hope that works better for you.

EllieDoll: Ahh, thank you so much for your thoughts here. I try really hard to make an immersive experience! But yoooo valid to be suspicious of wild lurking Haggars! Yaas, Lotor and Allura both are so precious, I love them. And bwahaha omg, an “annual” mind-sex jamboree celebration, complete with banners and marketing materials. XD As always, thank you so much for your support!

Mutedtempest: Yoooo I think you got a good point about Allura protesting too much about that druid mind-meld being comparable to sex, loll. But yeah, there’s definitely a lot of tensions, and I’m hoping to grapple with those while also trying to move forward/beyond them too. So we’ll see where this next chapter takes us there, haha. Again, thank you so much for your support on this story. It really means a lot!

AfroditeOhki: “Taken by milkshakes, granola bars, and whatever mind-sex jamborees” LOLL. This comment made me giggle so much. Thank you for coming back to this story and reviewing it!

NickyADon: Oof, you bring up a really good point about maybe why Allura hurt/comfort isn’t so often seen in the archive. Although loll perhaps even this past chapter still counts as whump, since that can include a character getting sick. XD TSL has spent a lot of time focusing on Lotor’s ailments, so I definitely wanted to take an opportunity to explore Allura’s physical and mental state after so much has happened. Either way, I’m so happy you’re still enjoying this story!! I really enjoy the challenge of trying to hold in tension all of the different characters and their perceptions. And guh, yaaas, I love the generals! I’m looking forward to seeing more of them and seeing our renewed Alliance come to form! Thank you again so much!

Paranormally_Normal: Thank you, dear, for reading and reviewing! It’s not a baby, but it’s definitely in reference to something really important! This next chapter starts to unravel that mystery a little bit more. Thank you again!

Krisari: Ahhh, thank you so much for continuing to hang out in this fandom space, even though it definitely does feel a lot quieter. I’m doing what I can to make sure that Lotura fandom doesn’t die, haha. And I feel very inspired by your review! To answer your question, I do have a short reference to Allura’s struggle in the upcoming chapter. I do think, in speaking of the humanity of Team Voltron, that if Haggar hadn’t interfered, they would have likely put Lotor back in his s5 shame tube and worked out some kind of justice/trial to determine next best steps. That’s what Coran refers to in the last chapter, anyway. It seems like Haggar’s interference really heightened tensions in a big way, and that even Lotor has some blame for creating an unwinnable situation too….But yeah, haha. Lots of tensions and problems to grapple with, but also hopefully more hope than what was provided in canon! And thank you again for your reviews!

TiffanyBlue: Bless, thank you so much for that very high compliment! This story is two years old now, and I’m so humbled and appreciative that you’ve continued to return to it and provide feedback and support. It means a lot! And yaaas, oh man, the mind-share might halfway have been a plot device so I wouldn’t have to grapple with a massive retailing, but the more I got into it, the more I loved the idea that Allura and Lotor could feel each other’s emotions and the genuine character of their memories. And yaaas, Allura is a bab and deserves care too. Thank you so much for your review!

Espanholina: Ahh thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I’d love to get to the point of reconciliation and defeating that nasty witch, haha. This upcoming chapter might help to move us in that direction! As always, I appreciate your support!

CherryVelvetQueen: Yoo thank you for all of those kudos and for your review as well! I have hopes of seeing it through to its completion, so I hope this upcoming and future chapters can continue to meet your expectations for it. Thank you so much for your support!

Brynn: Words cannot describe how very thankful I am for not just your review of this past chapter but also for your reviews of all the entire story as well! This year has been quite the mind-twist between the COVID pandemic and several other disasters, but your reviews throughout March and April helped to inspire me and give me something to look forward to. So thank you again! To answer your Chapter 14 question (also yaaas I love Zethrid so much too!), I did end up doing a little scientific research into planetary atmospheres and the conditions that upset them. So I tried to integrate that as best as I could as a salute to the intelligence of Pidge and Hunk’s characters! But of course I’m no expert, haha. Regarding your Chapter 1 review, oof, it was definitely haunting for me as well to think about the chapter 1 Lotor clones after what they showed of Lotor in season 8, guh. And yaas, omg we definitely got robbed of Lotor interacting with Earth culture, but I hope to remedy that in several ways in this story! Hunk and Romelle  mean a lot to me too, so I’m so happy that you enjoy what they bring to this story. They really feel like underutilized characters in a lot of ways. And thanks so much for your thoughts on how I write Lance in this story! He’s definitely a squirrely character by virtue of how he’s presented in the canon show. I really wanted him to exhibit less toxic behaviors and more supporting behaviors for his team and especially with Allura and with her interests. ALSO YAS, CATCH ME LAUGHING IN MINIMUM WAGE TOO, lol. Anyways, thank you so much for your reviews and your support! It means so much!

RogueSareth: I feel like in so many books and shows, the battle aftermath gets totally glossed over? So I really wanted to give a nod to that, because I think even the aftermath can show something important about our characters! I’m thankful you enjoyed that addition! And thank you so much for your ongoing support with this story!

Star-gazer: Thank you for your review and for continuing to read TSL!!  It means a lot!

DestiniesEntwined: Wow thank you for all of your wonderful thoughts and high compliments here! I feel you, on desperately needing a break from all that high-tension battle, haha. I think this next chapter will also function as a “rest” chapter too. And ahhh, yaas, the mind share was so fun! I really do take a lot of interest in the similarities and differences between “clonetor” and “original/TSL Lotor.” I definitely want them to feel similar, but that there’s these behavior patterns that are informed by their unique experiences?? And ahhh thank you for your thoughts on chapter length as well! This next one is a little more condensed and not so long, so hopefully that better fits the amount of content you like to read at one time. Thank you again! And yes, I’m doing much better at this point—just trying to not get sick again in this COVID world, lol.

Ultrafirelily: Oh my goodness, I feel the same way! Like, why didn’t Lotor take two seconds to explain why he just assassinated Narti in front of everyone? Canon bothers me for a lot of reasons, lol, and that’s definitely one. To that point, I love the generals as well! And yeahh, I definitely feel like clonetor would have had a reason of some kind for why he did what he did. Here’s to hoping we can grapple with that a bit in this story. Thank you so much for your ongoing reviews and support, especially considering that this story is now 2 years old. It means a lot!

Mintpearlvoice: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, dear! I appreciate it!

Graciebuns: As always, your reactions to these chapters just uplift my whole spirit! Thank you dear! I really liked the potential of Shadam, even the messy tension between them, so I hope to close the loop on that in some way. And yaaas, omg Lotura in this fic pleasantly frustrates me because I just want to smash them together in a kiss, but there’s so much tension between them as well! We definitely know they’ve got something going on per all that nsfw hand-holding and mind-sex, and TSL being jealous of VLD Lotor, though. XD And the beginning of dat “bond claim” is definitely gonna come back, haha. Thank you again for all of your reviews and support. I’m very grateful!

Ecrire_Call_me_ment: Ahh thank you for your review and for checking out this story in the midst of your Voltron nostalgia! I really love Zethrid, too. I feel like her character wasn’t really explored to the extent that I would have loved. I’m hoping to show more of her in future chapters. Thank you again~

MystiTrinqua: I’m so happy that this story could function to make your day better! And oof, yeah I really enjoy writing Pidge in this story, haha. I catch feelings a lot for these paladins, omg a;sdfa;adjlf. Anyway, thank you so much for your reviews and your support both on AO3 and on tumblr! It means a lot!

Qwennie: Thank you for reading and reviewing! I appreciate it!

Smallblaa: Oh wow, what a treat to see your name appear again! I hope you made it okay through the twitter bullying and through your schooling as well. Life can definitely be tough sometimes! And I definitely understand how current circumstances can beat a person down even more right now. I fight that a lot too. So I really appreciate you taking a chance to come back to this story and read and review it. Thank you, thank you!!

[pynkhues]

Hi! So I love your blog and your headcanons and ask responses but and I really want to ask you something thought provoking but my brain is like not cooperating so... what I really was wondering is do you have any hot tip fic recs? I am pretty new to GG and the tag on Ao3 is starting to get kinda long so I would love to know your picks before I start trawling through!

Ah, thanks, anon! And oh my gosh, there are somany great fics on ao3!! I barely know where to start, so I’m just going torec my straight up faves. This kind of blew out a little bit, so I’ve kept itto one fic per author (but assume I’m like, reccing all their works, haha)annnd I’ve put it under a tag to save everyone’s feeds, haha.

Happy reading!

Fora Moment We Were Strangers byopenhearts. 

I think I’ve already re-read this one like, a hundred times, and it’sjust so, so perfect. Intimate and domestic and sexy and sweet and just the rightamount of heartbreaking. Basically Rio, Beth, Marcus and Emma end up playinghouse due to Reasons, and it feels so true to character, and true to the show.It’s great.

He looks for another several seconds before a mild little grin colorshis face for a moment, then vanishes as he backs away.

“Nothin’. You just get pissed about weird shit is all.” He actuallyturns to leave the room, adding, “Laundry,” as he does, for emphasis.

Beth could probably choose not to rise to that, but she doesn’t. He’s inher house, messing with her, getting in her space and doing things withoutasking or being asked and it’s freaking her out, beyond just the fact that he’spresent and has made it clear he’s ready for a repeat performance of the barrestroom whenever they can find the time and privacy.

“My laundry,” she corrects, following on his heels, and she thinks shecan tell just by his shoulders that he’s holding in a laugh, which is obnoxiouson both their parts. “My house. My kitchen, my dishes-”

“I’m tryna be a pleasant houseguest, damn!” he says under his breath,both of them immediately mindful of Marcus in the next room.  Then, “thissome real last year shit, you know? You got all bothered about me bein’ in yourhouse where people could see, what your friends gonna think, how’m I gonna makeyour pretty life messy today like you-”

“Rio?”

StayPut and Play Along by FakePlastikTrees.

There are almost no words for how much I love this fic. It’s set after1.10, so it’s a little older, and basically assumes Rio really did cut Beth andthe girls loose after beating the crap out of Dean. They didn’t retaliateagain, but started their own shady business in the world of highstakesgambling, and it is just sogood and hot and the dynamic between them is *chef kissy hands*. 

Eyes trained on the wall, she takes a deep breath and asks, “Why did yousend me my necklace?”

“Well, what do I want with your necklace? Plus, you have my gun. Thoughtwe could trade.”

The statement makes her want to punch a hole in the wall and she has totake a steadying breath before slowly turning back around to face him. When shedoes, he’s standing, looking at the picture of the kids on the nightstand.

“Car man’s gone, huh?”

“Rio–”

He turns to her before she can finish a thought and as if he’s beenwaiting to say it, blurts, “You look good, Elizabeth.”

He’s serious now, all mischief gone from his demeanor.

FierceKingdom by emeraldcut

I’m a total sucker for fic which focuses on Rio’s relationship withour other good girls, soemeraldcut’s story with Annie and Rio sitting in a car basically baiting thehell out of each other makes me totally giddy every time I read it. It’s so, somuch fun, and she gets both their voices down perfectly. 

“Are you married?” she asked.

That got his attention. He gave her a blatant once-over. “You’renot my type, sweetheart,” he said, mock apology in his voice.

“Ha!” She scowled, fighting the urge to stick her tongue out.“You would be so lucky, but I never thought I was. You obviously like theolder ladies.” She didn’t know his age, but beneath the scruff, he had ababy face, she could tell.

“Why do you care?” The glint in his eyes told her that he knewexactly why.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “It’s my job to care. Don’t you havesisters?” Now she was just baiting him.

Rio’s jaw rocked back and forth. There was a shift in the energy aroundthem, and he almost looked uncomfortable.

Annie had watched this guy hold a gun to Beth’s head without flinching,but her messing with him about something romantic with the same woman had himlooking uncharacteristically awkward. “Her husband’s a super douche.Capital S, capital D,” she announced in the midst of his silence, feelingher stomach lurch. Annie thought this was a joke, thought it was all in goodfun, just entertainment, but now she wasn’t sure.

WeSuck Young Blood by sylvianorth

Another one thatmarries domesticity with wonderful character insight and great writing! Thisone basically diverges from canon at 2.03, but it honestly could’ve replacedit. It’s such a logical progression, beautifully drawn, and with some prettysexy scenes too (a running theme in these recs, haha).

“It’s been two weeks since you said you were going to teach me.”

Rio squints at her. “Uh-huh,” he says, like he’s not sure where this isgoing. He takes a piece of bacon off her plate. “I am teaching you.”

(Sitting here at the table in her sun-drenched kitchen, Beth feels likeshe’s trapped in a cage with a leopard but Rio is genial, drinking coffee,discussing current events in the paper and asking questions about her kids.Sometimes his questions get so specific that she wonders if he goes throughtheir backpacks when she’s not looking. Once, he brings a box of Danishes forbreakfast and recommends that she save some for her children’s afterschoolsnack.)

Beth shrugs. “It’s just – it’s been a while and we haven’t doneanything. You just show up here and drink my coffee and tell me to be a bossbitch and leave and I don’t know what’s going on. You haven’t even showed mehow to fire a gun. I still can’ t lie. I still can’t kill anybody. You don’teven tell me what being a boss bitch entails, only that I’ve gotta do it. Imean, I got rid of Annie’s boss, so if anything, you owe it to me to teach me.”

Una Lady Como Tú bySleepylotus

This one haseverything! Beth and Rio on a stakeout! Snarking! Shotgunning! Car sex! It’s sogood, and so sexy, and just genuinely a lot of fun. 

“This wasn’t supposed to take this long,” Rio grumbled, tapping theclock with one long finger. “Your kiddos gonna wake up wonderin’ where Mamais?”

He almost sounded worried about them, which threw Beth off a fewdegrees. “No, they’re with their father at the family cabin up on thePeninsula,” she answered. “They’ll be gone all week.”

This won her a sideways look that sent a small shiver down her spine.“You all alone in that big house, baby girl?”

Narrowing her eyes, she lifted her chin. “I’m perfectly fine on my own,thank you.”

Rio chuckled under his breath. “Yeah, I believe that.” Strangely, itsounded like he really did.

PTA Vibes by greyish 

This is just so.much. fun. The banter! The Rio POV! The swings and roundabouts of the Beth xRio intimacy! It’s honestly just got such a great energy to it, and is sowell-written, I love it. 

The first PTA meeting he walked into, she’d given him a look of totalabject horror before quickly resuming her standard Passive Housewifeexpression. He’d enjoyed riling her up until she completely cracked, yellinggluten-free snacks are non-negotiable! at him across the table like a maniacand stunning the rest of the room into silence. They’d stared at each otherintensely until someone awkwardly cleared their throat and suggested they takea tea break

(She’d pulled him aside and demanded to know why he was trying to fuckwith her by attending a PTA meeting. He denied it lazily, not even trying tosound genuine. She’d carved out a space in his life like it was nothing. Hewanted to retaliate. Invade every aspect of her existence.)

She’d stormed off and spent the rest of the break agressively loading apaper plate with pieces of cantelope and then left it on the table withouteating any. He’s pretty sure that’s when the betting started.

A Bit of Reciprocity by nottonyharrison

Another one set post2.04, this is just really, really great. It’s more these quick snapshots ofBeth and Rio that comply with canon, but also give really great insights intoboth characters. It’s fun, and dirty, and complicated, because the charactersare fun, and dirty, and complicated, and I just love that. 

She straightens her dress and checks her makeup before she leaves, Heruns a hand over her hair to flatten a couple of strands at the back, and runsa hand towel up her leg and then she’s gone, the door closing softly behindher. His eyes lift to the mirror and he can see his hands shaking.

He didn’t kiss her, not on the mouth. He recognised her husband as heturned in his chair trying to catch the wait staff’s eye. If he’s being honestwith himself, the idea of her returning to the table dishevelled and obviouslyfucked out turns him on more than anything, but there’s a time and a place andthis definitely isn’t it.

HaveIt Your Way by ohmisterjapan

Oh my god, everything about this series is just hot. It’s a realpowerplay series, so if you’re not into that, it might not be for you, butohmisterjapan captures so well the dynamic between Beth and Rio, and both oftheir alpha personalities competing in, ya know, a very sexy way. It’s so, so,so good. 

“You set up a meeting already?” he cuts her off, visibly irritated.

There’s a beat.

“I handled it.” She holds his eye contact. He feels one of his guysshift behind him.

Another beat. He grimaces a little then leers.

“Oh you handled it? You made a decision without talking it through withyour partner, huh?”

“I did what needed to be done.” She’s deliberately light and assertivewith him and he’s so pleased and displeased at once that he barks out a laugh.He looks round to both his guys; they’re poised but, Rio notices, look a littleuncertain. He’s tries to push that observation away because if he acknowledgesit then he might also acknowledge that he, too, feels little uncertain ofhimself. And then he feels a twinge of foolishness. He snaps himself out of it.He taught her.

Suream using you byAniara 

This is actually, I think, one of the most underrated fics in the GGtag. It’s tagged as Rio/OC, but it’s actually more like Rio/Beth but from theopinion of an OC he’s fucking instead of Beth, and ugh,it’s so good. I mean: 

“[Rio’s] eyes soften and he looks away. It’s too late because before hedoes she catches the rest of his features turn almost tender. She’s seen thatlook, not just in Lee, but all the men who’ve been interested in her. It’s alook of beginning but this one is clouded with apprehension. He’s hot for thispearl lady and not just for her body.

It gets to the point his skin buzzes sometimes when she sees him. Shehalf expects him to whisper her name when they’re getting it on but he doesn’t.He’s tight lipped about most things, she figures, so why not this.”  

Annnnnnnd, I mean, it’s not a rec exactly, but a casual reminder that I’mflashindie on ao3 and you can read my stuff here, haha. :-) 

[furidojasutin]

Title: Challenge

Pairings: Frevy (Freed x Levy), Nalu (Natsu x Lucy

Universe: Canon

Rating: T (for suggestive themes)

a/n: A really spontaneous idea and I just had to write it out before sleep. Also I gotta fight my damn writer’s block that I’ve been having for so long. This has totally been written for @rougescribe btw! B) I hope this is something for you to enjoy once you wake up again hehe.

Levy bit her lower lip the same way Freed perceived as enticing. Quite frankly, it was absolutely unnecessary to try and get some sneaky good looks at her boyfriend after what they had done not long ago. She didn't need to hide it. He was standing there, naked, while she was still lying in bed covered by the blanket and her eyes just happened to wander.

It wasn't her fault that he had a nice butt, and a nice backside in general. Actually, she shouldn't start thinking about this again because she knew she'd end up just swooning over every part of him and her small grin widened. “I mean, I'm not complaining about the sight but I really didn't think that you would get up.“

Freed was still facing away from her as he grabbed his boxer shorts to put them back on but he was giving a silent smirk at her words. “You dared me to open the door, and you know that I cannot ignore a dare from you.“

“Because you're a sore loser.“

The rune mage huffed. “Don't get too cheeky now, Miss McGarden.“

“You know it's true,“ Levy grinned wider, a small chuckle following as she sat up. 

Freed quickly slid his dress shirt over his shoulders but let it remain unbuttoned. His hair was still in a pony tail but due to their previous bedroom activities it looked messy, many stray strands of hair sticking out.

When Freed turned around he looked her over, her loose hair even messier than his. She looked spent but at the same time her eyes were filled with joy and challenge, and he loved this look on her.

Noticing that she was holding up the blanket to cover herself, one edge of his mouth twitched. “That was the main course. We didn't have dessert yet. But we will have once whoever is demanding my attention is gone again.“

He had already turned around and put on a pokerface when a pleasant blush rose to Levy's cheeks. Freed knew how bashful she could still sometimes get even after intense intimacy, and he absolutely adored both sides of her – the side that was dominated by her confidence and teasing intellect and the side that got her those rosy cheeks and made her so much fun to mercilessly tease.

The script mage cupped her own face and then ran her hand through her hair before shifting so her feet dangled from the bed. He had gotten her with that but she too loved their banters as they felt so natural. Honest to god, she really couldn't complain about his implication either. She was exhausted, but in the most positive way that existed, and she bit her bottom lip again by the mere imagination of anything else their day off still had in store for them.

Meanwhile, Freed had made it to the door to see who was there and he realized what kind of impression he could possibly give when answering the bell like this. This is the reason why her dare was a dare after all.

So with his messy pony tail, his unbuttoned shirt and his boxer shorts he opened the door. It was safe to say that he was a little surprised to see Natsu and Lucy standing there.

“Hello Fr---eed,“ Lucy's cheerful voice dropped a little when her eyes obviously scanned his entire appearance. It had taken her off guard too much to see him like this.

Natsu seemed to care less because he just shot Freed one of his usual grins and waved. “Yho!“

“Good afternoon, you two.“ Alright, so this was an uncommon situation. But the Raijinshuu's captain would be lying if he said that he wasn't a little bit amused about Lucy's reaction. At this point he just knew little that she might have more info about the cause of his state already. “What brings you here?“

“Um-,“ Lucy began, her eyes meeting Freed's again. She briefly raised her hands to reveal a thick book in her grasp, then she gave a small sheepish chuckle. “I wanted to return this book I borrowed from Levy. She told me that she'll be with you the whole day so I thought that I could drop it off here since Natsu and I were near by and-“

Oh. Oh.

Freed blinked once as he processed the situation. His appearance might be more revealing than he had initially thought and he ended up clearing his throat. “I see, well-“

“So is, uh, Levy with you still?“

Again Freed blinked. But then the pokerface he had (kinda) managed to keep changed a little, eyes glinting. And he shouted. “Levy, you have visitors! It's important, come here quickly!“

There was no way she wouldn't hear. And thanks to his implication earlier he didn't think that she was anywhere near dressed up again. It made him smirk inwardly.

“She'll be here in a moment.“

“Great!“ Natsu grinned and was the first to step inside when Freed made a hand gesture to invite them in. Lucy followed and thanked Freed, her surprise still not fully seeped out of her face.

But it got even more awkward when Levy appeared.

Freed stood there with crossed arms and shot his girlfriend a very knowing and challenging look when she entered the room, her small body covered by one of his t-shirts only to cover most of her body as it was much larger than her own. She must have grabbed it quickly.

Levy returned his look but her gleaming cheeks were a feast.

“Lu, it's you- Hi!“ She grinned but scratched the back of her head as she came to stand next to her boyfriend.

Lucy gazed for a moment. She couldn't believe that she had possibly just run into her best friend and her boyfriend making love. Or perhaps they had been done already. Or she was overthinking things.

Yep, overthinking!

“Hey! I just wanted to drop off the book you borrowed me.“

“Oh! Thanks, Lu-chan!“ Levy smiled and took the book from her, hugging it to her chest. She didn't dare to look at Freed right now.

Even Natsu's expression had changed for a single moment but he was grinning again now. “Yho, Levy!“

Lucy really didn't know how he was doing this.

“Lucy's been swoonin' over this book the entire time. She ignored me for it!“

“I can't pay attention to you every single second!“ Lucy puffed out her cheeks.

“Ya should!“ Natsu cackled before looking at Freed and Levy again. “Sorry for burstin' in-“

“You're never sorry for bursting into somebody's room!“ Lucy gently slapped his side, cheeks still puffed out and slightly reddened from the entire situation.

It didn't faze Natsu one bit. “- Lucy would be so angry if somebody interrupted us. She gets all fired up every time, keke!“

The room was silent for a split-second. Somebody dare say that Natsu wasn't perceptive again. Or perhaps his great nose helped in this situation, too.

Then Lucy gave an incoherent sound, cheeks burning harder, and she hit his side again. “NATSU!“

Okay so not only had she walked into her best friend's love life but now her own boyfriend was making suggestive comments about her. Wow. Wow!

Not like she wasn't used to this from him because he had such a loose tongue but-

“Oh my god!“ The celestial mage rubbed her face, then she grabbed Natsu by his arm and dared to look Freed and Levy in the eye. “Bad timing! Okay! We should get going again. See you at the guild tomorrow you two?“ She was already half-dragging Natsu to the door of Freed's house and the sight was hilarious but also oh so lovingly typical.

Freed's subtle smirk was surfacing now and his eyes holding an amused glint. “You have nothing to apologize for. Thank you for the visit.“

“Thanks for bringing back the book, Lu-chan! See you!“ Levy had a crooked smirk on her face as well despite her still slightly flushed cheeks. Natsu basically saved her. Or the two of them. This could have gotten much more awkward if they had been brought more into focus after all.

And who was to blame as well? Her boyfriend who had to call her out of the bedroom while knowing what this would cause. Smug asshole.

When the door fell closed, Levy turned towards him and raised a brow.

Freed arched up a brow in return.

“You know what you did, Sir.“

“Oh? I don't believe I did anything apart from fulfilling the dare,“ he cheekily responded.

“You cheated! I wasn't supposed to join you!“

“I wouldn't call that cheating,“ he gave a hum. “I call that 'twisting the situation to my advantage'.“

“That's just the fancy wording for cheating.“

“Oh no.“

“Yes it is!“ She glared up at him though it was all in good spirits.

He just smirked, self-satisfied. “Who's the sore loser now?“

When she just averted her eyes from him in acted defiance, it only motivated him further to start another game. Or perhaps continue where they left off.

There was still the dessert to get.

Spurred on again, he reached out and gently cupper her right cheek with his palm. His deep voice dropped in volume just a bit to be noticable. “I think I want my shirt back.“

Levy instinctively leaned into his hand. The gesture was so soft but his voice and words suggested otherwise and it motivated her as much as it motivated him.

So she pulled herself away from him, shot him a look, and stepped back a little. “What if I want to keep it? You'll have to get it yourself. I might run away with it.“ She kept walking backwards.

“I have no problem chasing you.“

“I've got stamina,“ Levy responded confidently.

The rune mage gave a single chuckle. Stamina, huh? “Oh I know you do. But I do, too.“

Oh she knew. And perhaps she hadn't just referred to the stamina concerning running as he had probably noticed, if his chuckle was something to go by.

Freed slowly followed her lazy steps and his obvious smirk had changed into a subtle one, his eyes revealing more of his intentions this time.

This look made her feel hot again but it was intoxicating all the same.

“New challenge accepted.“

His voice sent a pleasant shiver down her spine and she didn't expect to get lifted up and slightly pushed against the wall behind her the next second.

She would have to apologize to the poor book that slipped out of her grasp when she instinctively wrapped arms and legs around Freed. But she certainly didn’t have any complaints on her mind right now.

[sirius-archive]

Harry Potter Aesthetics

Eyyyy whaddup it's ya girl Georgie here with a fun lil activity to kickstart 2018!

So, a lil while ago, I made a post saying I was changing to my Christmas URL for Christmas and that I may or may not change back to my usual siriusorionsblack. Now, I said I'd do something fun so you guys can vote for my new URL. Well, I'm not backing down on that promise since I've failed to post anything on my blog.

After thinking long and hard about this I decided that I'd host a 'create your own Hogwarts character' thingy and I'd write either headcanons or a mini fic including a character of your choice! I will write for fantastic beasts, lightning era, marauders era and next gen (but check my faq first) 

So, here are the rules:

must be following me 

reblog this post

vote for my new url (link is in my description)

read the ‘request’ part of my FAQ. (I’ll know if you haven’t.)

send me an ask telling me what url you voted for, your house, a short description of yourself, pronouns and three (3) characters of your choice. I'll choose one that I ship you with.

in your ask, include whether you want headcanons or a mini fic - you can't have both.

i'll be disabling anonymous questions so you won't be able to send them on anon

you can blacklist the tag #georgies url if you wanna

update: the links didn’t work on the original post so i had to remove them. for mobile users, tap on the word ‘risk’ in my description which will take you to a menu. faq is right at the top. 

Alright, an example is bellow the cut:

blood type: muggleborn

house: gryffindor

secondary: slytherin

ilvermorny: thunderbird

secondary: wampus

title: prefect, head girl

pet: an eagle owl called ‘Ariel’ who is a bit of a showoff and likes to parade himself around

wand: ebony, 10 1/2″, phoenix feather, unyielding

best subject: charms, potions, transfiguration

worst subject: divination, herbology, flying

quidditch: spectator

hogsmeade hangout: the three broomsticks

hogsmeade friend/date: the Marauders, usually

hogwarts hangout: courtyard and the astronomy tower

best friends: the marauders, lily evans, marlene mckinnon, mary mcdonald, dorcas meadowes, emmeline vance. 

dated: remus lupin (1974-75), regulus black (don’t ask) (1975), alexander diggory (cedric’s made-up uncle) (1976)

currently dating: sirius black (1977-)

enemies: regulus black (i said don’t ask); severus snape; basically all the nasty slytherins

patronus: a wolf 

boggart: inferi (shudders violently)

georgie’s amotentia: baked pastries; vanilla; sirius’ shampoo 

sirius’ amotentia: leather; georgie’s vanilla oil; a warm, midnight breeze

polyjuice potion: a glittery, pearl liquid with tendrils of faint silver curling into the air

backstory: georgia ‘georgie’ fox was born to muggles thomas and francesca fox in august of 1961. as strict catholics, georgie’s parents became afraid of the young girl when she started showing signs of magic, believing she was possessed. they took her to frightening exorcisms where she developed claustrophobia. to this day, she can not step into a church. 

on her eleventh birthday, she was visited by a witch and a wizard who explained to her and her family that she was a witch. upon discovering this, her parents forced her out of her home, still living in fear of her supernatural abilities. they cut off all ties with her and treat her as though she were dead to them. georgie grew up with her reasonable and caring grandparents, where she lived happily. 

headcanon:

these are head canons

they're cool

yeah

smooth peanut butter is better than crunchy

deal with it

or mini fic layout:

“georgie, what do you think of the christmas tree?” sirius asked as he stood proudly beside it. 

georgie’s lips tugged into a gentle smile as she stared at her boyfriend of three months. she allowed her green eyes to wonder over to the crooked christmas tree standing in the corner of the gryffindor common room and decided to let him down gently.  

“it looks...like a tree got tangled in an electrical wire,” she jested, her small smile now splitting into a broad grin. sirius’ shoulders slumped forward slightly and the handsome boy gave a small laugh. 

“told you it looks like santa took a shit,” james snickered from a table on the other side of the room, where he was challenging remus to a game of wizard chess. sirius scowled at the messy-haired boy, who glanced up from the board and gave sirius a wicked smirk. sirius flicked his gaze to remus. 

“what do you think m–”

“I agree with georgie...” remus remarked, not bothering to look up from the chess board. 

“of course you’d agree with your ex-girlfriend georgie,” sirius teased, a grin curling the edges of his lips. remus looked up from his board and sighed, exasperated. 

“that’s right,” james added, sharing an amused look with sirius, “don’t think we’d let you both forget that one.” 

remus and georgie exchanged a look before the latter slapped a hand to her forhead. 

“that was centuries ago,” she sighed, “of course they’d remember.” 

remus snorted, shaking his head. he gave georgie a wry look and george bit her lip, amused at james and sirius’ bantering techniques. she decided to distract them, and when remus returned his gaze to the chess board, georgie took sirius’s hand. 

“alright, sweetheart, let me show you how it’s done.” 

georgie plucked her wand from her pocket as she dragged her boyfriend toward the tree. it took her several minutes to redecorate the tree as sirius had done such a poor job of it. it was as though he’d never decorated a tree before, which she found both amusing and suspicious. 

when she had completed the task, sirius stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing small kisses to her neck and shoulder, “the final touch,” he murmered into her ear, holding up a beautiful, silver ornament. 

“where’d you get this from?” she asked, her brow raised. she noticed that the ornament had hinges and she opened it, curious as to what was inside. 

a small ring fell out of the ornment and into sirius’ hand. it was a promise ring, with a ‘midnight’ gem stuck to the middle of it. the gem reflected the night sky, where she spotted the brightest star in the sky. 

“sirius,” she whispered, tears pricking her eyes, and she spun around in his arms and kissed him. distantly, she heard james wolf-whistle, and when they broke apart, she found remus smiling fondly and peter beaming like the rising sun. 

“you set this up!” georgie exclaimed, grinning broadly at her boyfriend. sirius smiled and slid the promise ring onto her ring finger. 

“i promise to always love you,” he whispered and georgie felt her heart flutter at his words.

 it was the best christmas ever.