#yes i am angry about this. so very very angry

[jrow]

May Prompts (28)

Day 27 here. Start from the beginning here.

Empty

He stares at the empty box.

Sherlock isn’t saying anything.

Sherlock opened the gift a good two minutes ago and still hasn’t said a word.

He watched Sherlock for the first minute or so, and saw only a blank expression. So now, he stares at the empty box because he’s terrified about what that blank expression means.

God, he had been so relieved that this was finally happening. His plan coming to fruition. He wanted to wait until Rosie was having her nap for obvious reasons but the past few hours have been excruciating. To be honest, it had taken quite a bit of will power not to thrust the gift in Sherlock’s face the second they arrived at Baker Street.

The hopeful glances from Molly this afternoon hadn’t helped.

But, he made it. And a few minutes ago, Sherlock removed the paper, opened the box, and pulled out the silent violin, various accessories and case. And then said nothing.

So, John is staring at the empty box. He was wrong, the wait this afternoon was a cake walk compared to this.

Finally, after another minute of silence, he looks up tentatively. He lets out a quiet sigh of relief at what he sees.

Sherlock, standing perfectly still, staring at the instrument in his hand.

This is an expression he’s seen before—back when he asked Sherlock to be his best man. It’s a sort of far away look that means Sherlock isn’t angry or busy thinking of how to weasel his way out of this conversation. It’s a look that means Sherlock has made a deduction he can’t quite believe.

It’s time to force Sherlock to say that deduction out loud. Make it real.

“Happy birthday, finally. What do you think?”

“It’s a silent violin.”

“Yes.”

“Top of the line. The London Philharmonic violinists use these to practice.”

“That’s what I was told.”

“You like when I play my violin.”

“Very much.”

“And Rosie loves it.”

“Yes.”

“So, this isn’t a gift for when you are here during the day.”

“Course not, you have your Strat.”

“And, if there is no one to disturb, I can play my Strat at night.”

“True.”

“Mrs. Hudson can’t hear it from her flat.”

“Hmmm.”

“I would only need a silent violin if there was someone else here at night. Sleeping.”

“Yes.”

“Your old room—it’s Rosie’s now.”

“Absolutely.”

“We made that decision during the rebuild. A child’s room. She naps there sometimes. Plays there a lot.”

“Yes, she loves it.”

“Your old bed and dresser are gone. The room upstairs just has a little toddler bed and that child-sized table and chairs. And toys.”

“That’s true.”

“Plus the bookshelf Mycroft made but pretended he bought. All the books he filled it with.”

“Yes. It’s the perfect room for her.

“We could fit a little dresser in there but not much else.”

“No. That’s all she needs though.”

“You can’t sleep there. Couldn’t sleep there.”

“No, it’s Rosie’s room.”

“You can’t sleep on the couch in here either. It would have been awful for your shoulder before your fall. Now it’s out of the question.”

“Agreed.”

“If Rosie is sleeping here regularly, I could use the silent violin so I don’t wake her.”

“Yes. Every night.”

“But that means you would be sleeping here too.”

“Of course.”

“You would need to sleep in a bed. That only leaves one option.”

A deep breath. “Correct.”

“Well, two options. But, you would never ask me to move from here.”

“Course not. This is your home.”

A pause.

“People would talk.”

“Good. I’d expect no less.”

Another pause.

“You have assumed I am gay for some time now.”

“Yes. Is that assumption correct?”

“Yes.” A sharp inhale. “I have assumed you are not entirely straight from the beginning.”

“I think that’s a fair way of putting it.”

“You rebuked people when they assumed we were a couple.”

“I did. Years ago. Haven’t for some time now. You said you were married to your work, but that’s not true anymore either, is it?” He knows he needs to push Sherlock, just a bit.

It works. Sherlock shakes his head, as if coming out of a daze. “I … what’s that?”

He blushes. Sherlock has spotted the case. Was that too sentimental? “It’s errr…the case. For the violin.”

Sherlock slowly runs his hands over it. “It’s her handprint.”

“Errr … yeah. I know pink isn’t exactly your thing, but I let her pick.”

“Her hand is so small.”

“Yeah. But soon it won’t be.” He takes a deep breath. “Thought it would be a nice snapshot of how small she was when she moved in. Because I hope we’ll be here for … well, as long as you’re here.” In for a penny. “If you’ll have us. If you’ll have me.” He smiles. “If there’s space for me in the room down the hall. ‘Cause you’re it for me, Sherlock. I think you always have been.” A feeling of relief washes over him. Whatever happens, at least it’s all in the open now. At least the box is empty.

A long pause. “I think I am going to faint,” Sherlock finally says and then promptly crumbles to the floor.

@keirgreeneyes @raina-at @totallysilvergirl @meetinginsamarra @jolieblack @phoenix27884 @friday411 @calaisreno @lisbeth-kk @safedistancefrombeingsmart @momma2boys @helloliriels @dapetty @quimerasyutopias

[lovelywritinglady]

Crocodile Tears pt.1

Crocodile xfem!reader

In which you and your husband,Crocodile, get into an argument and it spirals out of control.

Heavy angst, hurt with no comfort, usage of bitch, Set a little before Alabasta. Could be split into more parts if requested.

You were so tired of being put last. Nearly a decade spent with this man. All of the work you put into this relationship. All of the broken promises. All of the times he was late or completely forgot about your plans together. Normally you’re a very patient woman and had always been sympathetic of your husbands time. But not today. Too many damn anniversaries missed and you were now fed up. You decided to confront your husband on his bullshit and demand a solid reason for being late to your own anniversary dinner that you had spent hours perfecting.

You walked straight into his office that was located in the basement of your shared casino. You didn’t bother knocking as whatever he was doing was no where near as important as him missing your anniversary dinner. His head shot up at the sound of someone barging in. Crocodile gave confused and angry look before softening it ever so slightly at the sight of you. He sighed looking at you as you’d told before him. He could tell that whatever you were mad about was completely his fault.

“Yes my dear?” He asked giving very little of his attention as he continued writing on his documents.

“You know why I’m here.” You spat crossing your arms.

“What is it now?” He sighed

“Don’t you know what day it is?” You questioned harshly tired of his forgetfulness.

“No idea, but I’m very busy right now, I’ll deal with you later.” Crocodile bit back now giving you attention.

“It’s our fucking anniversary!” You yelled as frustrated tears rolled down your cheeks.

“I’ll make it up to you later. Right now I’m in the middle of something important. You can damn well wait.” He snapped slamming his hand down.

“Am I really not that important to you?” You cried as your body trembled.

“No, you’re not! Now I’ll deal with you later!” He yelled

“No fuck that, why am I not important to you? After all I’ve done. I love you why can’t you ever prioritize me!” You exclaimed balling your fists to your sides.

“Maybe if you weren’t such a nagging bitch, maybe I would. Now leave I have more important things to do then bitch with you. Get out!” He furiously yelled standing up out of his chair as he gave you a look of pure hatred.

You stood there trembling in fear as your tears stopped as your hands were now shaking. Crocodile noticed the look of fear in your eyes but was too mad at you to even care. You couldn’t move, however, a hand touched your shoulder. You moved with it still too stunned to react as it led you out of your husbands office and into the long carpeted hallway and then into the Casino that was owned by both you and your husband. Soon enough, you were outside and now were alone as the figure left you alone in the dark

You looked out into the pitch black sky as you came back to your senses. A furious son left your body as you sunk to your knees. You cried and cried until your body felt numb and your eyes felt raw from the salty tears that left them. You then hugged your now cold body as your rocked yourself trying to give yourself some comfort. After a few more moments, you slowly picked yourself up off the ground and walked to the shared home that you and crocodile lived in together that was about a five minute walk from the Casino.

There you grabbed the first suitcase that you could get your hands on and filled it with as much of your personal belongings as you could fit not caring too much about your fancy clothes and trinkets. Once you were done, you took a good look at the outfit that you were still wearing and promptly took it off and replaced it with more comfortable clothes.

You had no pleads of what to do but you knew you needed to leave. Too long had Crocodile forgotten about your needs. Too long had he put you last. Too long have you stayed with someone that didn’t love you the way you loved them. Too long had you given him everything while he gave you nothing. You were done and tired of his half assed apologies and broken promises. So, you made a phone call to the harbor. The transponder snail ring for a while and you were scared that because of the hour, they wouldn’t pick up.

“Yes, hello miss how may I help you?” The transponder snail finally spoke.

“Yes, hi, I’d like to book at ticket to the first ship that will go to Dressrosa.

“Dressrosa? Well you’ll have to take multiple ships to go there but we can get you on a ship that will take you to the next available island that has a ship that goes there. Is that alright?” The teller spoke

“Yes that should be fine.” You spoke doing your best to sound normal as your voice was still sore from crying. “When is the first available ship?” You asked

“At 6 in the morning.” They responded

“I’ll take it.” You replied quickly.

“Alrighty, I’ll see you then. I’d like to let you know that it’s firsts come first serve here so be sure to arrive early to get a good seat.” They told you kindly.

“Thank you, have a good night.” You said

“I will, you too miss.” They responded

And with that you hung up the transponder snail. You signed hanging you head before standing up straight and focusing on the task at hand. You decided to go into the shared safe that you and your husband had in your room and put as much cash as you could in your suitcase and one of the purses that you decided to take. It was a lot and you just hopped that you wouldn’t be robbed as that money would help you with the next step in your life. You then grabbed a piece of paper from your side table drawer and a blue inked pen and wrote a small good bye letter to Crocodile.

My dear husband,

You might not care about any of this but I need to let you know my feelings.

I love you and even as I write this letter I love you. And despite my burning love for you, I cannot stay in this loveless marriage any longer. You have proven time and time again that I am not an important aspect of your life and I’d rather leave than be a hindrance to you or the empire you are trying to build.

With all my love,

Y/n L/n

Once you were done and with your suitcase in hand you walked all the way to the harbor. When you arrived you promptly purchased a ticket not caring about where you sat. As you walked onto the boat, you looked back at the vast desert that you once called home smiling bitterly at the events of last night.

“The ship is now departing. I repeat the ship is now departing.” A voice called out

“Goodbye my darling.” You whispered into the wind as the ship left the harbor.

Meanwhile…

“Where the hell is she!” Crocodile yelled in a furious rage as he walked into your shared bedroom some of the maids were cleaning.

“Sorry sir, we were asleep when the mistress came in.” One of the maids spoke meekly as she was scared of Crocodile.

“Daz, find her!” Crocodile barked

“Yes sir.” Daz Bones responded as he immediately left to find you.

Crocodile was furious, confused, and guilty. He knew he fucked up. He was so stressed about all of the work that had to be done and the news about a bunch of rookie pirates finding out his identity that he snapped and completely disregarded your anniversary. His mind was scrambled and his heart was aching for his sweet wife who now is nowhere to be seen.

“Umm… Sir.” Another maid spoke quietly

“What!” He snapped looking at her with pure fury.

“Sorry sir but we found this on the side table.” She spoke quickly handing him your letter.

He read it silently as he took in each word and sentence that you had written out just for him to read. His heart broke but the sudden realization of how much of a shitty husband dawned on him. And unfortunately for him, too late. Now you were gone, his sweet wife, his love.

“I’ll find you y/n.” He whispered before waking out of your shared bedroom determined to find you no matter the cost.

Thank you so much for reading!💜

Please feel free to like, comment, request, and reblog

Click here to see what I’m write for and HERE for my master list.

• I do NOT own any characters except y/n•

-L.W.L

[justaparsec94]

Company

Summary: You're put in charge of keeping an eye on Tech while he's recovering from his broken leg. The job turns out to be not at all what you were expecting.

Pairing: Tech x Reader

Word Count: 4,941

Author's Note: I've had this posted on my AO3 account for a while but I just had so much fun writing it that I thought I would share it here too!

***************

“I still like mantell mix the best,” Omega said thoughtfully as the two of you made your way through the busy streets of Ord Mantell back towards Cid’s. You each were carrying a bag of a somewhat unidentifiable treat you had picked up from one of the local vendors. The two of you, plus Wrecker when he wasn’t otherwise occupied, were on a mission to try all of the local snacks Ord Mantell had to offer and so far you had put a fairly large dent in the local offerings. 

“I agree,” You said with a nod as you swiftly sidestepped a few drunken men leaving a nearby bar, even with all of the other noise their voices cut through the evening obnoxiously. Out of habit, you put your hand on Omega’s shoulder, pulling her closer to your side protectively as you continued on your way,  “This is good, but it just doesn’t cut it.” 

“What do you think it is, exactly?” Omega asked, holding a piece up in front of her face, inspecting it. 

“That is a very good question,” You replied with a laugh. Perhaps the two of you should have been more careful about what you were eating but there was something fun about throwing all caution to the wind when it came to snacks. You just hoped it wasn’t something too horrible.

“Maybe we should get Tech to run an analysis on it,” Omega suggested as Cid’s came into view.

“Good idea,” You said with another laugh. Though your laugh was cut short by the sight that greeted the two of you. Simultaneously you pulled to a stop to watch the scene unfold. 

Echo and Wrecker were supporting, or perhaps dragging was a better word, a very disgruntled-looking Tech towards Cid’s as Hunter trailed along behind them. 

“This is completely unnecessary,” Tech said, sounding very much like an angry Tooka as his brothers pulled him along with them. He appeared to be doing his best to resist their movement but with only one good leg he wasn’t very successful against his two very strong brothers. 

You leaned closer to Omega and whispered to her, “Do you want to take a guess what this is about?” 

Omega seemed to ponder the scene for a moment before she opened her mouth to reply but whatever she had been about to say was cut off by Hunter speaking. 

“You need to rest, Tech,” Hunter replied drily, “That’s an order.” 

“Are we going on another mission?” Omega asked suddenly springing into action and closing the gap between herself and her brothers. 

“Yes, we-“ Hunter started but was cut off by Tech once more. 

“I am perfectly capable of flying the ship in this condition,” He protested. For most, a broken femur would have been debilitating, Tech, on the other hand, seemed to take it as a challenge. In the few days they had been back you had lost count of the number of times you had found him doing something he definitely should not have been doing with such a serious injury. Just that morning you had found him underneath the control panel of The Marauder tinkering away on something. How he had managed to get down to the floor when he could barely move his leg was still a mystery to you. 

Hunter shot him a look that clearly indicated that there was no negotiating, “Rest.”

“C’mon Tech, just take it easy for a bit,” Wrecker joined in, “We’ll be back in no time and you’ll be ready for the next one!”

Echo and Wrecker didn’t let him even start protesting and with a good-natured chuckle from Wrecker they disappeared through the door of Cid’s. Omega bounced after them as you approached Hunter. 

“You had to physically remove him from The Marauder?” Though it really wasn’t much of a question. Clearly, Tech had not been happy about the decision to leave him behind. 

“Stubborn di’kut,” Hunter grumbled but there was such fondness in his eyes that his words were meaningless. The two of you made your way into the bar, which as per usual was nearly empty except for Cid and the regulars. You watched as Wrecker and Echo hauled Tech towards the back, Cid following along behind grumbling darkly before you turned your attention back to the Sergeant beside you. 

“Where are we off to this time?” You asked as you popped the last of your mystery snack into your mouth.

Hunter instantly looked sheepish which made your brow furrow as you frowned at him. He lifted his hand to rub absently at the back of his neck, “Uh, actually, we were hoping you would stay behind this time around.”

“But I stayed behind last time!” You protested, you knew your voice was coming out whiny, but you didn’t care at the moment, “And you needed me!” You and Tech were the only two members of the squad with decent medical training and given that Tech had been the one who was injured it had truly been the one time you could have been helpful and yet you had been back on Ord Mantell, working in a back alley medical clinic that Cid had her grubby hands in. You didn’t necessarily enjoy working there, especially since it was profiting off of injured and ill people, but your time there was helping to pay off the considerable debt the batch had with Cid. 

“We’re just going on a simple supply drop-off. We shouldn’t be gone more than a few hours,” Hunter replied, still looking chastised at your annoyance. 

“Why me?” You asked, “I know I’m not the most skilled member of the squad but I can’t be that much of a dud.” 

Hunter shook his head, but you didn’t miss the small smirk that had settled on his lips, “It has nothing to do with that. You’re an excellent member of this team. It’s just, we need someone to keep an eye on Tech and he likes you so we thought you might have a better chance of getting him to listen to you.” 

You frowned, well, that was news to you. Sure, the two of you got along well when he wasn’t being so well, Tech-ish, but there had always been a tension that you had felt between the two of you. Since the day you had been assigned to them, you had felt as though he was always testing your abilities, as though you weren’t good enough for the squad and he was set on proving it. There always seemed to be something you could do better or something you didn’t know the answer to. It had always bothered you because deep down you desperately wanted his approval. Despite his tendency to be somewhat arrogant and overly pragmatic you truly liked him. He was so smart and charming in his own unique way. You liked his calm nature and dry wit. And when the topic wasn’t what you were doing incorrectly you enjoyed listening to him chat about whatever came into his mind, you found his facts interesting even when everyone else scoffed at him. You also couldn’t deny that you found him incredibly attractive but that was buried deep and likely a confession that would never see the light of day. It was clear that whatever you felt for him was one-sided. 

“I don’t think that’s true…” You replied to Hunter, the frown on your face deepening as you looked at him. 

“It is,” Hunter said with a nod, there was an indistinguishable look in his eyes that you didn’t like but it was gone nearly as quickly as it appeared, “You’ll keep an eye on him?” 

You sighed as you crossed your arms over your chest. Hunter chuckled softly at your look, “It appears I don’t have much of a choice… but I’ll try my best,” It was as much of a promise you could give when it came to Tech. You knew that you would likely find him doing something he shouldn’t be within an hour of the rest of the Batch departing. 

“Thank you,” Hunter said, resting a gentle hand on your shoulder just as Echo and Wrecker returned from the back room. Omega appeared at Hunter’s side a moment later, her face bright with excitement as she looked up at her brothers. 

“Where are we off to?” She asked as she rocked back and forth on her heels excitedly. 

“We’ll brief you on the way to the ship,” Hunter said. He gave you another nod before he turned towards the door, Omega hot on his heels as he left. 

"Good luck,” Echo said, giving your shoulder a supportive pat as he passed by. 

“Try not to kill him,” Wrecker added with a laugh before the two of them also made their way out of the bar. You sighed to yourself as you turned towards where they had hauled Tech off. You likely didn’t have much time before he started climbing through the rafters or something equally ridiculous so with another sigh you pulled your data pad from your bag and headed into the back room. 

Somewhat unexpectedly, Tech was sitting up on the makeshift bed that had been made for him in the back room with his back against the wall, datapad in hand. He didn’t even look up when you entered the room. You could still see the tension in his shoulders and the lines of his face even from where you were standing. He was clearly still upset about being left behind so you refrained from saying anything. You wandered over to the small stool at his bedside and sat yourself down. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Tech freeze, his head popped up and you could feel his gaze on the side of your face. 

After a moment you turned your head to meet his gaze. He looked confused. His brow furrowed beneath his goggles as he looked you over. 

“Was there something that you required?” he asked after another long moment of simply staring at you. 

You felt your face flush at his blunt words. You were fairly used to his ways and manner of expressing himself but every once and a while it still caught you off guard. Apparently, this was one of those times, “No, I just thought you might like some company…”  

“That is not necessary,” he stated matter of factly. Your previous slight embarrassment increased tenfold and your face positively burned. So much for Hunter’s assurance that he actually liked you. 

“Oh- uh, I guess I’ll go then…” you started awkwardly, standing back up from the stool. You weren’t sure why you thought he would actually enjoy your company and the fact that you had made your insides squirm uncomfortably. 

“I did not say you had to leave,” Tech said, stopping you in your tracks, “I do not wish you to feel obligated to spend time with me. I know Hunter likely put you up to this.”

Despite him being correct about Hunter you denied it, “I don’t feel obligated. I like spending time with you. It’s a lot better than spending time with those two bottom feeders out there, or worse, Cid.” 

You didn’t miss the small smirk that had suddenly appeared on his face or the way the tension in his body had disappeared, “Well I am glad that I at least rank above those three.” 

“I would say you probably make the top 10,” You teased as you eased yourself back onto the stool beside him. 

His smirk grew, “Probably?”

“It’s a fluid list,” You replied with a shrug before flashing a teasing smile at him.  

“And exactly how does one get to the top of the list?” He asked as he set his datapad down on his lap. His attention was now completely focused on you.  

“Oh that’s secret information,” You replied,  “I wouldn’t want to give anyone an unfair advantage."

Tech seemed to consider that for a moment, “That is understandable. I will accept that answer and my ranking as you see fit. And in any case, I do enjoy a challenge,” If it had been anyone other than Tech you would have actually thought his tone was downright flirtatious. But that couldn’t be right. This was Tech. He didn’t even like you… 

He gave you a look that you would almost consider shy before he turned his attention back to his data pad. You couldn’t stop the soft and nervous chuckle that escaped you as you mimicked his actions and pulled your data pad up, powering it on and opening up the most recent novel you had started reading. 

A comfortable silence settled around the two of you as you both focused on your datapads. Despite your initial annoyance at being left behind it was actually nice to have some downtime. Quiet was hard to come by in your squad. It didn’t take long for you to get fully invested in the somewhat cheesy romance novel you were reading and time began to slip. Every once in a while you would peek over at Tech but much to your surprise he seemed content to actually stay put and not cause you any headaches. 

After a while you noticed an ache beginning in your lower back, at first, it was ignorable but eventually, you started shifting uncomfortably on the stool. It had been fine at first but the longer you sat the more the lack of back support was beginning to bother you. You were just considering moving it so you could prop yourself up against the wall when Tech spoke up. 

“That stool does not have enough lumbar support,” he said without even looking at you. Clearly, he had noticed your fidgeting at some point though. 

“Yeah, I’m very aware of that,” you replied with a soft chuckle as you stood up. You felt Tech’s gaze on you as you did so. The screeching of the metal legs of the stool disturbed the relative silence of the room as you pushed it closer to the wall with your foot. It still wasn’t the best option but you hoped it would at least be a bit better. It wasn’t the worst place you’d ever sat, that was for sure. 

You were just about to sit when Tech’s voice interrupted you, “You may sit with me if you wish,” he said casually. He had returned his attention to his datapad so he missed the shocked expression you knew was on your face, “There is more than enough room and your back will be better supported.” 

It was something straight out of one of your daydreams, so much so that you couldn’t quite believe he had suggested it. Sure, you had been in closer proximity before but usually that was only out of necessity. Crowded beneath the ship doing repairs, a steadying hand during a mission, the occasional pat on the shoulder. But this felt very different. 

“A-alright,” you said, suddenly sounding shy even to your own ears before you climbed up onto the bed beside him. 

He had moved over slightly and there was enough room for the two of you to sit comfortably side by side in the bed but your legs were still touching as you settled, the heat of him burning through you. 

You knew your face was flushed and your heart had picked up its pace as you held up your datapad once more. You just hoped Tech hadn’t noticed the effect his proximity was having on you. 

“What are you reading?” Tech asked after a long moment. If you weren’t mistaken there was something that sounded like strain in his voice. 

“Oh,” you replied, a wave of embarrassment washing through you as you looked towards him but actively avoided his gaze, “It’s just a silly romance novel.” 

“It is not silly if you enjoy it,” Tech stated matter of factly, “What is it about?” 

Despite his assurance, you were hesitant to tell him, you didn’t want him to add this to his list of things that were deficient about you. 

He seemed to notice your hesitation, “Perhaps you can read me a passage so I may determine if I wish to pursue reading this novel when you have finished with it.”

“You read novels?” You asked in surprise. You hadn’t pegged him as the type to read anything that wasn’t purely academic or related to your missions. 

“Yes, despite what others may believe I do not spend all of my time reading scientific or technical journals. I find novels to be an interesting insight into the behaviors of sentient beings, even if most of them are rather outlandish and unrealistic at times,” Tech replied. 

You couldn’t help but smile softly at his answer, of course, he would read them for research purposes rather than just pure enjoyment. Though now that your initial question was answered you realized you had completely missed his true request. 

“You-you want me to read it to you?” You asked feeling suddenly awkward by the content of your book and his request. 

“Yes,” he said with a nod, “I require further analysis to determine if it would be worth my time.” 

“O-ok,” you agreed hesitantly before you picked up where you had left off. You weren’t sure how much of the plot he would pick up given that you were already more than halfway through but if anyone could pick it up it would be him. You read quietly, not wanting your voice to carry out into the hall where Cid or anyone else might hear but your voice was still loud enough that it seemed to reverberate around the small room. 

“He kissed her with a passion he didn’t even know he possessed. His one hand on the small of her back gently held her flush against him as the other reached up to cup her face…” You were suddenly very grateful that it wasn’t an overly raunchy part of the book as your voice cracked slightly as you read. You weren’t sure why you were so embarrassed, it wasn’t like you had written it, but the thought of even reading about kissing in Tech’s presence set your whole body aflame. 

Thankfully the book moved on with the plot with only minor swapping of spit. You had been reading for quite a while before you noticed movement out of the corner of your eye. Tech was fidgeting in his seat now. Enough that you paused your reading, lowering your datapad into your lap as you looked over at him. He seemed to be actively avoiding your gaze as he continued to squirm slightly. 

“Are you alright?” You asked, concern lacing your tone, “Is it your leg? I can’t get you more pain medication…” 

“No. My leg is fine,” he answered abruptly. His gaze flickered towards you momentarily before he looked away again. 

You suddenly noticed that the tips of his ears had grown red and a sudden thought dawned on you. Maybe he wasn’t as unaffected by the content of your novel as you might have thought, “Do you want me to move?” 

“No. That is not necessary,” he replied, just as abruptly as before. 

“Are you sure?” You asked hesitantly, though he had finally seemed to settle once more. His eyes finally met yours but he glanced away quickly, “You seem… uncomfortable.” 

“I am fine. Please continue,” he seemed to pause for a moment, as though he was considering what he was about to say next, “You have a very pleasing voice.” 

You felt your face flush bright red and your eyebrows shot up in surprise, “You-you think my voice is pleasing?” 

“Among other things,” Tech replied, though he said it so softly that you wondered briefly if he’d actually meant to say it out loud. 

If you had thought your face had felt hot before it was nothing compared to how it felt now as you stared at the side of his face. He was looking around the room as though he hadn’t just dropped a major bomb of information on you.

“What-what do you mean?” You asked once it was clear he was not going to elaborate without prompting. 

Finally, he looked back over at you, though the expression on his face was as if you had just asked the most obvious question in the world, “You are very conventionally attractive. I have conducted my own research on this matter by comparing you to others of similar age, origin, and species and have found you possess more desirable physical and intellectual traits than average.” 

You felt as though you were going to burst into flame. He couldn’t possibly be admitting that he personally found you attractive, could he? Your heart was racing in your chest at the implication. Suddenly a different and somewhat unwelcome thought entered your head and your eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion as you looked at him, “How much pain medication have you been given?” 

Tech’s eyebrows shot towards his hairline in surprise, “A fair amount, but regardless, I am simply stating the facts. This is not a drug-induced confession.” 

You were quiet for a long moment, “I honestly thought you didn’t like me very much...” you admitted softly as your blood continued to race in your veins. 

Tech looked completely shocked by your admission, “Why in the galaxy would think that?” 

You shrugged, suddenly embarrassed by your honest thoughts, “I just often feel like you’re testing me to see if I actually belong with this squad and usually I feel like I come up short.” 

Tech looked honestly distressed by your words, his brown eyes were wide beneath his goggles, concern evident in the depths of them, “That- If I have ever made you feel unwelcome or uncomfortable please know that is not my intention. You are as much a part of this squad as any of my brothers, you’re one of us,” you noticed that suddenly the tips of his ears had turned red again and his gaze strayed from yours as he spoke, “I only test you because I know what you are capable of. I push you to be better because I want to ensure your safety. Perhaps my methods have been misguided though.” 

“Oh,” you replied lamely, unsure of what else to say but inside your heart was warming at his admission. It felt as though a massive weight had been lifted from your shoulders to find out that he actually didn’t dislike you. That his actions were out of concern not a lack of confidence in your abilities. 

The redness from his ears had traveled down to his neck as you looked up at him, his gaze seemed to be focused on everywhere other than you when he spoke again, “I - I care for you a great deal.” 

You’d always thought that heroines swooning in novels was a bit heavy-handed and unrealistic but suddenly you felt as if you could keel right over at his admission. Your heart was racing in your chest and your stomach fluttered as you watched him. He still was avoiding your eye contact and with a sudden surge of bravery you reached out to place your hand on top of his that was resting on his thigh closest to you. The skin-on-skin contact made you gasp at the electric sensation. 

“I care you for a great deal too,” you replied shyly, looking up at him from beneath your lashes as your cheeks burned. 

His gaze finally snapped back to you at your words. His beautiful brown eyes were molten as they traced the lines of your face, as though he was cataloging and committing it to memory. Knowing him, he probably was. 

After a long moment, he cleared his throat, then took a deep breath as though he was preparing himself for battle, "I would like to conduct an experiment,” His voice cracked slightly which was something you had never heard from him before. Tech was the definition of calm and collected, “If you are willing of course…” 

A puzzled expression overtook your face as you looked at him, your curiosity was nearly overwhelming. He looked nervous. 

“What did you have in mind?” You asked softly.  

“I wish to replicate your novel.” 

You honestly thought you might faint, your head felt as if it was about to drift off into the clouds. You briefly wondered if maybe you were the one who had taken too much pain medication. Or maybe that unidentifiable snack you had earlier was causing you to have hallucinations.

“You-you want to kiss me?” You finally managed to ask, your voice sounded as breathless as you felt. 

“Very much so,” Tech said with a nod, his expression was completely serious. 

“O-ok,” you managed to squeak which was all the encouragement he needed before he was angling himself towards you. His hand came up to gently cup your jaw and before you could even fully wrap your head around what was happening he was kissing you. Even in sitting, he was much taller than you and he had to duck his head to reach you. The angle was a bit awkward due to your side-by-side positions but that was quickly forgotten as he deepened the kiss. His lips were soft and gentle against your own at first but it didn’t take long before the kiss became more persistent as he drew you even closer. Your hand gripped the front of his shirt, anchoring you he gently nipped at your lower lip. Tech groaned softly, which was the greatest sound you had ever heard as you reciprocated, pressing yourself up into him as you devoured one another. You had never been kissed like this before. It was as if suddenly every nerve ending in your body had been woken up after years of being asleep. 

You felt as if you might combust at any moment and your head was spinning. But suddenly Tech pulled away from you. You were unable to stop the soft moan of disappointment that escaped you as he did so. You felt as if all of the air had been sucked from your lungs as you watched him with wide eyes. His own chest was heaving slightly as he gazed at you, his eyes still molten as they seemed to focus on your lips.

“Hmm, fascinating,” He said softly after a moment, once his breathing had seemed to return to normal.  

“What is?” You asked, suddenly feeling shy under the intensity of his gaze. 

“Your lips are even softer than I hypothesized,” he said as he lifted his hand to cup your jaw once more, his thumb traced your cheek softly, sending shivers down your spine. 

“What other things have you hypothesized?” You asked, smiling up at him as your heart continued to pound in your chest. He was going to be the death of you. 

“I theorized that if I were to kiss you once I would then wish to never stop,” His voice was huskier than you had ever heard it before, “that theory has also been proven correct.” 

“Well, I think that is acceptable,” You replied with a teasing smile, looking up at him once more from beneath your lashes, “Kiss me again, Tech.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. 

You wanted desperately to get closer to him as he captured your lips with his own, but you knew that with his injured leg, your current position was the only one that wouldn’t cause him pain. Next time, you thought before you gasped in surprise as he parted your lips with his tongue. He moaned softly against you as his hand slid from your jaw to tangle in your hair. Kissing him was intoxicating. 

A sudden noise in the hall had you both jumping apart. You both watched the door, chests heaving. But there was no further sound and no one burst through the door to bust you like you had been expecting. You suddenly giggled at the ridiculousness of it all, the fact that you suddenly felt like a horny teenager who couldn’t get enough of him, and how you had gone so long thinking he didn’t care for you when in fact it had been the exact opposite. 

Tech’s cheeks were red when you looked back up at him but there was a wide smile on his face that warmed your heart. You didn’t think you had ever seen him smile like that before. This truly was a day of firsts. 

“Was my kissing sufficient?” He asked you earnestly which only made you giggle again. 

You grabbed his hand, interlocking your fingers as you smiled up at him, “More than sufficient."

His face flushed further as he lifted your joint hands to place a soft kiss on your knuckles, “Thank you for keeping me company today.”

“Anytime,” You replied sincerely before you shifted, leaning back against the wall once more before you tilted your head to rest on his shoulder. Tech seemed to tense momentarily at your proximity before he completely relaxed, leaning further into you. He let your hands fall, still intertwined into his lap.  

This had not been what you had in mind when Hunter had made the request of you to keep an eye on Tech earlier. But you couldn’t help but think, as Tech’s head tilted to rest against your own as the two of you settled into comfortable silence once more, that this was far better than anything you could have imagined. 

[hyp3rf1xat10ns]

Be Careful...

(Before I begin I would like to say I am writing this for @shrimpyyyyy who asked if I could write something for a Stern yet soft Malleus after we talked about it, and I have a personal headcanon about Malleus when he's frustrated so, lets see if y'all can spot it ;))

You had no idea how you got here. This was the last thing you had expected. Yes you knew that Ace and Deuce were clumsy, but ending up covered in burns from just one spilled ingredient into their cauldron was not on the bingo card. What also wasn't on the bingo card?... The Fae Prince that you had become friends with being just outside the classroom when it happened, and him offering to bandage you up. So that's how you were stuck in your current predicament, Sitting on your dusty couch in Ramshackle, with Malleus currently tending to your knees. His hands are soft and cold as he bandages you. However it was clear he was a little upset. Smoke puffed from the corners of his mouth. He wasn't angry so there was no fire, but it was clear he was a little frustrated.

"Child of Man. I am aware that helping your friends is something you do quite often. In fact you even take up tasks for the faculty. Regardless, you shouldn't be so careless as to get yourself so injured so often." Malleus says softly but his words have a slight edge to them. Your eyes shift around slightly clearly a little nervous. "You say that like I get injured every time I help someone." Malleus grumbled softly. "It seems to happen more often then not...And I'm tired of seeing you hurt." His voice was firm for once. Almost like he was attempting to be stern with you. "Malleus I-" "No. You need to stop putting yourself at risk to help your friends complete some menial task that they can do themselves." As he speaks there's a slight rumble behind his words, the clouds outside starting to darken and thunder sounding throughout. You chuckle softly finding his concern adorable. You cup his cheeks with both hands, gently making him looks up at you. "Malleus, I promise I'll be more careful." You smile at him softly and it seems as though his anger quickly abates, the sunny day returning to normally as he leans into your touch. "Hm. Very well Child of Man. I shall take your word for it." He presses a gentle kiss to your knee that he had just finished bandaging. "But if I find you injured again the person you were helping that allowed you to be injured, I can't say I will be very polite with him." Malleus pouts softly causing you to giggle as you trail your hands up to his horns. A place few people have permission to touch. And you're lucky enough to be one of them. "Malleus, I promise." He leans into your touch. "Allow me to finish bandaging you up." Malleus gets back to work on tending to you, and you can't help but smile as the smoke coming from his mouth stops and his hands feel a little warmer.

[lucyfrostblade]

Hi! Just saw your reblog and I'm so interested in your thoughts on Fig and Kipperlilly being similar, and was wondering if you'd share?

Yes! i am always down to talk about my two favorite fantasy high characters but before we get into it, some assumptions I have made about FHJY that aren't explicit in the text but I won't necessarily be justifying here:

(under the cut)

Kipperlilly was in some form or another manipulated by porter

Kipperlilly truly cared about Lucy, and to a lesser extent the rest of her party

The biggest and most obvious similarity between the two is the anger they feel. When we first see Fig she's a deeply angry kid. She hates her mom for hiding the truth of her parentage and for wrecking their family the way she did. And while she forgives Gilear much faster than Sandra Lynn, she also starts off incredibly angry at him.

Her anger is very justified, and it's centered around the ways the adults in her life mistreated her. Sandra Lynn by hiding the fundamental truth of who she is from her for so long, and Gilear by, before the start of the series, saying that she isn't a Faeth anymore.

Our introduction to Fig is her taking that anger out on both Sandra Lynn and Gilear, and she does almost immediately see the error of her treating at least Gilear the way she does.

Brennan: You see a little tear forms in his eye and you see he says, Gilear: I know that I said some hurtful things when I first found out. Fig: Yeah, you said, “You're no longer a Faeth,” and guess what, I'm not. I'm just Fig now. Gilear: Fig, I'm sitting here with beans on my shirt. Fig: I know, I saw you ate one on the ride here. Gilear: I was hungry, all right? I've put on some weight. You ever heard of a fat elf? You ever heard of it? I've never seen a fat elf in my life and I'm here with a bad comb over and beans on my shirt. Fig: Okay, fine. Gilear: And I'm reaching out to you. Fig: I'm sorry, Gilear, I'm sorry that I got angry at you. You're just some random man, I shouldn't be mean to you.

But for almost the entire season, Fig does not forgive Sandra Lynn. She's still so angry with her that she struggles to see Sandra Lynn as a complex person right up until episode 15 "Family Fires", is unsure as to whether or not Sandra Lynn is a good person worthy of saving:

Emily: Because I am undecided on my mom. Because at first, I felt like I, oh maybe she's a good person, but now I maybe feel like she's part of this ruby plot. Brennan: Go ahead and give me an insight check. Emily: (rolls) 14. (emotional acoustic guitar music) Brennan: (sighs) Your mom has never lived up to the standard you put on her of making your life good and perfect. She never was able to protect you from all harm and suffering in the world. And maybe that's not fair. And she's probably just a person, and those photos make it look like-- Emily: She's a complex person. She's allowed to be. Brennan: Yup.

So anger, and in particular the ways it can make someone lash out, is something that Fig is intimately aware of, something that she has had to fight to control herself. The difference is that the adults in her life helped her, they supported her. Gilear, Sandra Lynn, and Gorthalax all gave her the space she needed to be angry but also helped her move past that.

Kipperlilly didn't have that. To our knowledge she only had Jawbone, someone who only knew her through Aguefort and evidently did not know how to help her in the ways she needed.

There's also the matter of Porter who, in the third episode "After the Afterlife" singles Fig out when she audits barbarian class:

Porter: Let's see what everyone else in the class, [players laugh] what do other people, what do other people kind of think? Like young lady, what do you think about rage? Fig: What do I think about rage? Porter: What do you think about it? Fig: [sighs] Well, I kind of think it's inevitable, 'cause, I mean, like, people really let you down left and right. Porter: Yeah! Fig: So you're always gonna feel rage. It's just a matter of whether or not you use it productively or just whether or not you control it or it controls you. Brennan: A small tear forms in the corner of his eye. Porter: That's exactly right. That is exactly right. That is amazing.

He sees something in her. Porter sees the rage within her, and he encourages it. But more than that, Fig's perspective that "you control [rage] or it controls you" highlights another contrast between Fig and Kipperlilly. Fig learns to control her rage, while Kipperlilly literally gives control up to the shatterstar. But they still have that same rage, just on the opposite ends of expressing it.

We also know that Fig cares deeply about her friends, and that prior to the start of the series, her former friends abandoned her when she started to grow horns. She was alone when she came to Aguefort. She was isolated from her peers and from her family. She found the Bad Kids, and she is utterly devoted to her friends. She'll do anything for them.

But Kipperlilly? Brennan said in an interview with Caitlin Tyrrell that the Rat Grinders didn't know each other before forming the party. We don't know how the party formed really, but we know that she picked out the name the High 5 Heroes.

I think the High-Five Heroes part of it is sweet, but there's actually something even a little bit sinister to it to me, of being like, "We're the High-Five Heroes." And you're like, "You've pitched a name; we all just met. We don't have anything going yet." ( source )

He calls it sinister that she insisted on the name, but I can't see it as anything other than said. It speaks to me of a kid so desperate for friendship that she's willing to force inside jokes for just a hint of that. She doesn't want to be alone, and Fig might've put up a better act, but she didn't want to be alone at the start of Freshman Year either.

The difference is who they found. Fig got the Bad Kids, people who love and care about her. She had support from her friends and from her family. Kipperlilly was emotionally in a very similar state as Fig but with none of that support, and even had people who either couldn't support her (Jawbone) or wanted to encourage this isolation and rage (Porter).

Kipperlilly is Fig if the first day of school went different, if she ended up with people who didn't understand her like the Bad Kids did and if she couldn't get the support she needed from the adults in her life.

[waterfire1848]

omgomgomg i wanna ask one ship prompt!! okay okay

20. azula (college student) / katara (oceanograpy professor)

heated debate and maybe angry doing-the-nasty?????? 👀

Hello, @ragzonacamrencruise !! Here you go!

Modern AU setting and note that the sex scene isn’t explicit by any means but it is there so…don’t want to see don’t read

Katara set her belongings down on her desk, pushing her hair back which had fallen in her face when she leaned down. Her heart was pounding in her chest while she stood in front of the long table. Before her were four wide rows of seats, all of which had one long desk, in the shape of a half circle, from one end of the room to the other. The only space left on the sides of the room were for the stairs so students could walk up to the front of the classroom or the back.

Katara took a final look down at her phone. 10:20 am. Her class would be starting in about ten minutes. Her very first class on oceanography. Katara brushed her hand through her hair one final time. She really, really had to make a good impression on her students. The school had been nervous to hire someone so young, Katara was 24 having just finished grad school, but agreed while promising to keep an eye on her. There was no misunderstanding their tone: You screw this up and we fire you and blacklist you from teaching at every university.

That's why she was so nervous when the first student walked in and took her seat, choosing to sit in the front row. The woman had long black hair with golden eyes and wore a red jacket, black shirt and jeans. She took her seat then proceeded to pull out everything she needed.

"Excuse me. Should you be back there?" She asked, "The professor will get mad if she finds out you were messing with her things."

"I am the professor." Katara said, "My name is Katara South. You can call me Professor South." She smiled, but the student still looked confused.

"You're teaching this class? Are you like a teaching aid or something?"

"No. I'm 24. I got my degree and decided I wanted to teach what I learned at college so here I am." Katara said, "What's your name?"

"Azula Agni." The student said, "I'm a senior."

"Ah and why are you interesting in oceanography?" Katara asked.

"I'm not." Wow. She didn't need to say it so bluntly, "I'm just taking this class because I need an easy one." Azula explained.

"Easy? This is advanced oceanography." Katara told her, "It'll get pretty challenging." Azula scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not afraid of a few tests or pop quizzes." Azula grinned, "I'll probably end this class with a perfect A+."

"We'll see." Katara said, a smile growing on her face.

Was it childish to be feuding with a student? Yes. Did Katara care? No. Well, she kind of did because Azula could easily report her and get her fired but there was no way she was letting Azula know that.

Slowly, the other students began to fill the room and take their seats. Katara spent the first day telling the students a little about herself, the tests, paper and final they would be doing.

“I hope you all have a great semester in my class! If you ever have any questions or concerns or problems you can come talk to me at any point in time. I encourage you to come talk to me instead of suffering on your own.” Katara chuckled, “As someone who just graduated grad school I know how importance it is to get those moments to rest. I hope I’ll get to see all of you tomorrow for our next class!” The students all stood up and began to walk out.

Katara heard the students begin to whisper and talk as they walked out of the room. However, Katara couldn’t pull her eyes away from Azula. In all fairness, Azula was looking at Katara as well. Her golden eyes never left Katara’s blue ones the entire time she packed up.

“See you tomorrow, Professor.” Azula said, standing up and leaving the room

———————————

Azula wasn’t kidding when she said that she wouldn’t have a problem with the class. She was easily one of, if not, the best student in the class. Constantly turning everything in a day in advance, including paragraphs of explanations and arriving to class every day.

Then, one day, she didn’t show up. Katara definitely noticed her absence but it was to be expected. Students wouldn’t show up all the time. But when Azula missed every class, Katara grew nervous. She send over an email to her twice and received nothing.

Finally, Azula returned but she was different. She was quiet and missing her classic snark. When Katara put everyone in groups, Azula’s group came to her at the end of the class and told her Azula didn’t do any work.

“Azula. Can you stay here for a few minutes?” Katara called.

“Sure.” Katara waited for everyone to leave before she sat down next to Azula.

“Azula? What’s wrong? You missed class, you aren’t talking and you didn’t do any work in today’s group work.” She said.

“My apologies.” Azula said. Her breathing was weird, as if she was keeping herself from crying, “It’s been a…difficult time. I’ll be better next class.”

“Azula, I just want to know what’s going on. You’re the best student here. I want to know as much as I can so I can-“

“You won’t care. It’s just petty college stuff.” Azula scoffed.

“Do you think it’s been like a decade since I was in college? I was in my senior year three years ago.” Katara tried to add a little laugh to her voice but Azula remained quiet, “Please.”

“My friends blocked me on everything and they said they don’t want to talk to me. I…I don’t have any friends now.” Her voice was quiet but Katara could still hear the sadness in her voice.

“I’m so sorry, Azula. Is there anything I can do?” Probably not much she could do, even if she was a professor, but it seemed like the right thing to say here.

“Could I eat lunch in here?” Azula asked.

Katara blinked her eyes in shocked, “Umm sure. Of course you can.” Much to Katara’s surprise, Azula launched forward and hugged her. Katara found herself wrapping her own arms around the woman.

“Oh. I umm…I should get going.” Azula pushed herself away from Katara, got up and ran out of the room, leaving Katara a little shocked but mostly happy. She didn’t know why but it filled her with warmth to know she could spend more time with Azula.

——————————---

The longer the months went on, the more Katara found herself staying after class with Azula for longer periods of time. Their conversations started with topics from class then fell into conversations about their own lives and experiences.

“No way! Is your brother Zuko Agni?” Katara asked. The two were sitting across from one another at a table in the classroom. They had started off talking about their own education, respectively, and the subject turned somehow to their brothers.

“Yes. My deepest apologies to you if you know him.”

“He dated my brother for a few months. They broke up when Sokka left after grad school.” Katara told her.

“Oh, I remember. He refused to listen to anything that wasn’t some sad and depressing breakup song. I thought I was going to lose my mind.” Azula groaned.

“If it’s any consolation I had to endure Sokka texting me 50 times a day asking if he made the right decision. One of the smartest people I know and one of the most indecisive.” Katara chuckled, "So, how are finals going?"

"Decent. Your final is looking to be my easiest." Azula said.

"Oh, really?"

"Yup. It'll be fun to easily ace this." Katara only rolled her eyes.

"Don't get cocky. The final might be harder than you think." Katara warned.

"You're a professor. Aren't you supposed to say that I'm such a good student and I'll have no trouble as long as I study?" Azula asked.

"All those things are true." Katara admitted, "But if you get overconfident then won't do as well on the final. I might have some tricks up my sleeve that you don't know about."

That was the moment both of them realized how close their were to each other. Azula moved her face forward while Katara moved back, making them both blush.

"I should get back to my room. You have my email if you have any questions about the final." Katara quickly said, grabbing her things and racing out of the room. Did Azula just try to kiss her? No. No, she had to have been imagining things. There's no way Azula did that, "She is pretty beautiful." Katara whispered.

"No." She shook her head as though that would get the thought out of her head, "No, Azula doesn't like you. Stop fooling yourself. You're acting like an idiot!" She snapped. Katara forced herself to continue doing her work and stop thinking about Azula. She only had a week left with the woman anyway before the last day of college and only three weeks until Azula graduated.

------------------------

Katara would never admit it but she was sad when she posted those final exam scores. Not because the scores were bad, though there was one student who made her want to cry and scream when she read through their final, but because she would miss her class. Other professor's told her that it stopped being all that meaningful when she had been there for a few years, but, still, Katara couldn't help but find herself saddened when she send out everyone's final scores.

'Maybe there's another person you're sad you'll never see again.' Her brain supplied.

"Shut up." Katara mumbled. Though it was true, she was saddened that she'd never see Azula again, "That's just how things go sometimes. I need to accept that." She tried to speak in her most commanding voice, forcing herself to accept the fact that Azula had probably long forgotten about her as well.

Meanwhile, across town, Katara couldn't have been further from the truth when Azula opened her email to read her final exam score.

"WHAT!?!"

--------------------------

It was a calm day, a peaceful and quiet day. Katara was sitting on her couch, reading through a book when someone began pounding on her door. Confused, and a bit scared if she was honest, Katara slowly approached the door only to see Azula through the peep hole.

“Azula?” Katara asked, “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

“No! Because you took points off on the exam when I got the question right!” Azula walked into Katara’s apartment, allowing Katara to shut the door behind her.

“Excuse me?” Katara asked.

“Right here.” Katara looked at where Azula was pointing to see that she had the final exam up on her phone and was pointing to a specific equation, “I got the question right but you marked it as incorrect!”

"You are wrong!" Katara yelled.

"How do you study this stuff and not know that I'm right!?!" Azula yelled back, "Right here. You asked 'when did the first photosynthetic organism come into being?' and I said 'when the Earth's atmosphere and the shallow ocean first experienced a rise in the concentration of oxygen.'"

"And that's wrong!" Katara told her, "You needed to give me the exact name of what it's called. There are a lot of things you could have called it The Great Oxidation Event or Great Oxygenation Event or Oxygen Catastrophe, but you wrote none of that!"

“It’s the same thing!”

“Do you not understand how college works?! You had to write what the term was called! You didn’t and you lost points!”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“Deal with it! Accept your lost points and the fact that you rushed through the exam and didn’t read every instruction!”

“You’re the one who put instructions there meant to trip people up!”

“Or did you just not read because you thought my exam would be so easy?!”

By now both Katara and Azula’s faces were inches apart. Katara’s eyes momentarily fell down to Azula’s lips. Azula did the same then forced her eyes back to Katara. Only a second of silence existed between the two before they began kissing.

“I thought you didn’t want this?” Azula asked.

“And I thought you knew to read through instructions.” Katara grinned.

Katara brought Azula to the couch, causing her to fall back on the it. The two locked themselves into a makeout session that showed no sign of stopping. If anything it was getting stronger especially when the two began removing their clothing. Katara removing her shirt gave the okay for Azula to do the same.

“Can I?” Katara moved her hands to the back of Azula’s bra.

“Go ahead.” Thanks to years of experience, Katara undid the clasp with ease and tossed Azula’s bra to the side. One of her hands went behind Azula’s head for support and the other went to Azula’s chest.

“W-Wait.” Azula bit her lip to keep from groaning.

“What?” Katara sat back up, allowing Azula to use her free hands and remove her pants.

“Woah.” Katara whispered. She was beautiful.

A blush covered Azula’s face when she realized Katara wasn’t removing any other items of clothing, “Are-Are you okay with…us going there?” Azula asked, now suddenly feeling very self conscious and grabbing her shirt to put in front of her body.

Gently, Katara pushed her shirt away and kissed Azula, “Yes.”

Once again, the two girls were locked into kissing one another. Azula, having found Katara’s bra strap, also removed that and flung her bra to the floor. Katara’s pants weren’t far behind, leaving both woman completely naked.

“Ugh!” Katara moaned slightly when Azula pushed her body down so that she was under Katara’s chest, “God!” She bit her lip to keep from groaning too much, “Hey.” Azula pushed herself back up to be eye to eye with Katara.

“What?”

“I can’t let you do all the work.” The woman grinned, kissing Azula once more.

“Tell me if I should stop.” Katara whispered, moving her hands below Azula’s waist.

To anyone outside the apartment, it was probably very easy to guess what they were doing based on the sounds from inside, especially Azula’s groans, but neither woman could bring themselves to care or even think about the neighbor’s opinions.

“I’m guessing this is good.” Katara smirked, using her free hand to push herself up a bit and away from Azula’s lips.

Azula didn’t even respond, just pulled Katara back down to her as if the woman sitting up meant she was about to leave forever. Katara was sure though that she heard Azula moan ‘don’t stop’. After a minute, Azula forced herself to stop kissing Katara, only clinging to her as the woman kissed her neck.

"Can we...god...move this to the bedroom?" She asked, trying as hard as she could to force down her groans.

"Of course." Katara smiled.

Sometime later, both woman found themselves naked and breathing heavily in Katara's bed.

"If I had known this would happen, I would have come over months ago." Katara turned on her side to face Azula.

“You liked me that long ago?” She asked.

“Of course. I found you incredibly beautiful when I first came to your class but I suspected we could do anything because of university policy.” Azula said.

“You suspected correct.” Katara confirmed, “I could have been fired for dating a student.”

Azula winced, “Wow. Really great we didn’t get together then.” She said, “But I am really happy this happened. Are you okay…I mean was this good…I-I mean-“

Katara cut Azula off by kissing her, “I think you’re smart enough to figure out if I want to date you.” She grinned.

Azula smiled right back at Katara, “I’m sure I’ll get this question right.”

[celticcrossanon]

I find it interesting that Harry has left his children, Chi Chi and Betty, susceptible to the same press he himself got when he was claimed he was James Hewitt’s son for so long. He is somebody’s son, he sure doesn’t look like Charles’s son, just not Hewitt’s. These poor kids will be defending their names for their entire lives. No one thinks Vajj Scratch gave birth to them, as she presented them in such a cloak and dagger way. Her complete lack of attachment to them, namely by being able to leave them for long stretches of time show almost no interest or attachment to them. She seems to know very little about them, who they are, what they like and how they act. She says that is because they are still “littles”. Whoever heard any parent call their kids that!  Chi Chi and Betty will have questions their entire lives because of these two…and the parents will lie to them about it their entire lives as well. I would no wish this on any child…or wish them on any child.

*

Hi Nonny,

The legacy those obscured births have left Archie and Lili is the saddest thing about this whole situation. I am very angry at Harry for whinging about his trauma re the rumours that he was not the son of King Charles, and then going on to inflict the same situation on his children. If there are valid Sussex children then that is a very cruel thing to do to them, and totally unlike most parents who want to protect their children from what they suffered in their childhoods (I say ‘if’ only because I am not 100% convinced that those children exist - we have seen children, yes, but I am not 100% convinced that they are the children of Harry and Meghan - I could very well be wrong about this).

It is obvious from their comments on the children that neither Harry nor Meghan spend any time longer than a photo op around them.

[stereden]

Of AI, Chatgpt and fandom

So, I’m finally getting around to writing that post I mentioned on AI, Chatgpt and fandom, and in particular fanfiction. There have been a lot of very good posts on the topic that I encourage you to check out (here  ; here and here among many others)

I’ll preface this by saying that, as far as I know, my writing hasn’t yet been fed into an AI for an ending or alternate version. But I know it’s happening with other people’s fics, and I know it might happen to mine at some point. The very idea of it makes me sick, hence this post. The ‘you’ I’m addressing in this isn’t a specific person: it is targeted at anyone who is thinking about feeding my works into something like chatgpt, and anyone who might have already done so.

Let me be very, very clear right from the start: I do not consent to any of my works being fed into any AI, be they chatgpt or similar bullshit, just as I do not consent to anyone plagiarizing my fics, writing their own endings of my fics or trying to dictate what that ending should be. Anyone doing that with my fics is rudely invited to go sit on a cactus and never interact with me or my works ever again. I don’t give a fuck if you don’t plan on ever publishing that AI-generated shit you got about my work. Don’t fucking do it in the first place.

My problem is not just about my writing being used to train a computer program without my consent. That is part of my problem, obviously, but not the most important aspect of it in my eyes, and in the eyes of many other writers who have already spoken out about the problem - and by that, I mean fanfiction writers and professional, published writers.

My main issue is with the people using chatgpt to write endings or alternate versions of fanfics written by other people. 

By all means, if you want to use chatgpt for your own stories, I can’t stop you - I can and will judge you, because seriously, there are so many fics out there you can most probably find exactly what you’re looking for with some good tag filtering, and if not you can just do what the rest of us do, which is write your own. That’s how most of us got into fanfiction to begin with. Don’t use the dubious writing ability of a robot and its absolute lack of creativity that sees it cannibalize other people’s writing and frankenstein it back together. I would rather read a twelve-year old’s first ever fanfic, full of clichés and spelling mistakes, than anything written by an AI, because I know the twelve year old poured their heart and soul into it, put the time and effort into it, and that makes it so much better in my eyes.

But if you put someone else’s story into chatgpt or similar? You are dead to me and do not deserve the hard work fic writers put into their stories. Yes, even if you’re not planning on publishing the results.

Those are our stories. The ones we've put time, energy, effort in. That we've spent hours writing. Some of us have the whole plot planned out for the next thirty chapters. Some of us are making it up as we go along. Some of us are doing both. But it's still our stories. Writing them, finishing them, is our right and privilege. 

Chatgpt and similar computer programs have no clue what we have planned for the rest of the fic. They can make calculated guesses based on all the words you've just fed them and all the stories they’ve previously scrapped, but even if - and it is a big if - they do get the basic plot right, it still won't be exactly the same. It won't be the same quality, it won't be the same word choice, it won't be the exact same style.

It won't be written by us. It won't be the ending we planned or are still planning on.

You were reading that fic because you liked the plot, the characterisation, the writing style. Because you enjoyed the fruits of the efforts the writer put into it. 

And now you're asking a computer to plagiarize that same writer and ghost write you the ending? And, I'm guessing, the ending you want to see, or to rewrite the fic to your liking?

That is not okay. That is beyond not okay. I don't tolerate people trying to pass off my writing as their own. I have specifically told people they were not allowed to use certain original elements of my writing or of the plot I have come up with, because those are stories I am planning on writing myself, or background lore I have already planned for. I have told people off for trying to tell me which way my fics should go, which pairings I should write, how I write certain characters.

What makes you think I would tolerate you using chatgpt and alike to do the same? 

Because let me be clear. Using those is stealing. It’s stealing the time and effort we put into this, and selfishly feeding it all into a machine so it can spew out exactly what you want from it.

This is not you asking the writer of an abandoned fic if you could pick it up and write an ending for it. This is not you asking the writer of an on going fic if you can write a side story for it.

This is not you asking permission for anything from the writer of the fic. This is not you writing a heavily inspired fic, or even just copy pasting an entire fic into a new document and tweaking it to fit your personal desire. This is not even you writing anything.

Even if it's fanfictions, we writers still have rights to our intellectual property, to the stories we write. There is a reason AO3 reacts quickly to any complaints of plagiarism or reposted fics. There is a reason mirror sites or apps of AO3 are taken down. There is a reason writers like @neil-gaiman, @seananmcguire @dduane and so many others will never read fanfictions of their own works and have to regularly remind their own fans to stop sending them headcanons or fanfics: because even if what we write is based on their work, it’s still our ideas and if they write something too similar to the ideas their fans sent them, there could be legal consequences. Plagiarism accusations. For similar ideas. Not even the exact same words. Ideas. Yes, even for fanworks.

There is the plagiarism issue, as I just mentioned, but there is also the respect issue. You obviously don’t respect my writing, if you’re so quick to feed it to an AI just because you’re not getting exactly what you want right this second. You obviously don’t respect me, as a person or as a writer either, if you’re willing to disregard all the time, effort and thought I put into my work.

Yes, sometimes fics are abandoned, and you really, really want to know how it would have ended. Sometimes, the writer fell out of the fandom, sometimes real life got busy, sometimes you never know. Sometimes they died, and we mourn their silence. Often, an explanation is never given. Sometimes they reappear years later, sometimes they don’t. It’s a fact of life, a fact of fandom.

I myself have stories I haven’t updated in years that I still have plans for, that I haven’t abandoned but that I just need time and inspiration to continue writing, and yes I know I have people who want to know what happens next. Some of these people are more polite about it than others. Some act like entitled spoiled brats and get their comments deleted because I’m not here to cater for them.

No amount of time passed since the last update makes it okay to use something like Chatgpt to finish their stories. At the very least, have the decency to respect the effort they put into it and write your own version, yourself, and keep it to yourself. 

Or, if they're available/if you're able to contact them, ask the writer for permission to write a continuation, or a fic based on their own, with proper credit given and a link back to the original! Or even ask them POLITELY how the fic would have ended! Some of them will happily tell you what they originally had planned, even if they are never going to finish the fic! A writer I follow actually did that just today - updated their fics to say ‘Hey, I might never finish this, but here’s what I had planned for it in case I never come back to this.”

But don’t use chatgpt, or any similar program. 

Because if you do, what is even the point of us writing anything in the first place? 

I have been writing fanfiction for a long time. Over fifteen years. I have dealt with a lot of different readers, some way worse than the majority of them, and even then I consider myself lucky when I see what some of my fellow writers had to deal with back on ffnet, and still have to deal with on AO3. I have built a community around my fics, with my readers, and I love it. I love fandom, despite the drama that always comes with it. I love my readers, too, love their enthusiasm when I post a new chapter, love seeing their reactions and getting yelled at in the discord for leaving them off on yet another cliffhanger.

But anyone who puts my writing in an AI? I don’t love you. You have no place in fandom, and especially not in the part of it that I have built.

You make me feel sick. You make me furious. You act like you are entitled to an ending, to a continuation, to getting exactly what you want… for what? Reading my fics? Maybe leaving a comment at some point (one that probably demanded an update, or that I write your specific pairing, or that I change this character to your specifications)?

Fuck. You.

I don’t write for you. Unless I’m specifically writing a gift for someone, I don’t write for anyone but me. 

I share it on AO3 because I’m proud of what I wrote, because I think other people might like it, because I like getting feedback and interacting with others in the fandom. That does not mean it becomes your property, or that you can do anything you want with it.

I don’t get paid for writing. You are not paying me to write. You do not get to tell me what to write, or what to do with my writing, or to do what you want with my writing.

I write because I love writing, because I have too many ideas in my head and need to get them out of it, and putting words on a page is the best way for me to do that.

I don't make any money from writing, and can't afford to be a full time writer. And even if I could, unless you were my publisher and I actually had a contract with you stating that I'm being paid to write something for you, you still wouldn't get to demand updates from me.

I’ve taken to straight out deleting comments that are demanding updates or asking if a fic is abandoned. Not only are these rude, they're actively detrimental to my mental health and make me want to work on the fics in question LESS.

You feeding my work into AI? The only thing you’re doing is making me want to share my writing even less than that.

So just don’t.

[inkskinned]

he says i hate everyone except you and that is addictive and that is kind of romantic and beautiful because you're young and you're kind of a sarcastic asshole too and you don't like bad boys, per say, but you don't really like good ones either. and you like that you were the exception, it felt like winning.

except life is not a romance book, and he was kind of being honest. he doesn't learn to be nice to your friends. he only tolerates your family. you have to beg him to come with you to birthday parties, he complains the whole time. you want to go on a date but - people are often there, wherever you're going. he's just so angry. about everything, is the thing. in the romance book, doesn't he eventually soften? can't you teach him, through your own sense of whimsy and comfort?

at first - you know introverts often need smaller friend groups, and honestly, you're fine staying at home too. you like the small, tidy life you occupy. you're not going to punish him for his personality type.

except: he really does hate everyone but you. which means he doesn't get along with his therapist. which means he has no one to talk to except for you. which means you take care of him constantly, since he otherwise has no one. which means you sometimes have to apologize for him. which means he keeps you home from seeing your friends because he hates them. you're the single exception.

about a decade from this experience, you'll type into google: how to know if a relationship is codependent.

he wraps an arm around you. i hate everyone except you. these days, you're learning what he's actually confessing is i have very little practice being kind.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

thinkin' about Bardaby and his illusion smoke...

[unforth]

Since I've seen several posts floating around that try to rebut the points of @end-otw-racism by saying that AO3 is too big to moderate, can we PLEASE take a moment and remember that AO3 IS ALREADY HEAVILY MODERATED.

We all know the obvious one - that if you post anything about monetizing fic, you will be moderated into oblivion. We also all know why! This is essential to AO3's survival as a non-profit! No one would propose changing this!

But a lot of people seem to forget that AO3 is moderated in other ways! For a personal example, several years ago I got a "change this or we're removing your work" e-mail. The work in question? A collection of pseudo-ficlets that were somewhere between outlines and sketchy fics. What I got moderated for? I said in the a/n that if anyone wanted to expand my kinda-outliney nonsense into fully fleshed out stories, they were welcome to do so! I was told this was a violation of the ToS, because fics that are collections of prompts aren't allowed, and that if I didn't change the a/n I'd have to delete the work. Of course I edited the a/n, and my work was allowed, and I moved on. I did, immediately, delete another work I'd posted, which WAS literally sets of prompts I'd written free to a good home. It was clearly in violation of those rules, and I just hadn't realized content like that wasn't allowed.

Numerous things are forbidden on AO3 and will get moderated and potentially deleted, including:

advertising

"find a fic" posts

spam

plagiarized works

virus spreading

doxxing

actual CSAM

lots of other stuff as listed in the tos

If the foundation of your argument is "AO3 is too big to moderate" your argument is bad. AO3 is already moderated.

So that means your ACTUAL argument is "I think AO3 is moderated enough as-is and I don't think AO3 should be moderated in a way that might better protect fans of color."

Having that attitude despite the many, many, MANY fans of colors who say "hey, we don't feel safe here, can this be better moderated to protect us?" (when, by the way, the existing harassment policy SHOULD protect them but clearly isn't being implemented in ways that actually DOES protect them!)

Well. That's sure a take.

(TO BE CLEAR: I am anti-censorship. I am pro-moderation. I am pro-AO3. I fucking love your dark fic, your underage works, your non-con stories, your kinky pwp with "no redeeming qualities," your dirty-wrong-bad ego fics. I would NEVER want a solution that removed that content. And I believe AO3 is the greatest thing to happen to fic in my lifetime and I want it to continue to be the wonderful thing it is. I think that what AO3 already is can be reconciled with the demands of fans of color that they be better protected. I believe fans of color when they say that the current policies don't protect them adequately, that they don't feel safe, that this drives them out of white western fandom. I've listened a lot, and I've seen a lot, and I've learned a lot, and I want AO3 to be better than it is in this regard. I'm honestly kinda depressed how many people seem comfortable with the status quo.)

[life-winners-liveblog]

If there is more than one scar are they all watchers?

****

[sirenofthegreenbanks]

there are already so many posts about palestine, so im gonna make one about israel. the recent attack from the 7. october is the first genocidial attack on jews of this degree since the holocaust. i cant speak about other countries but in germany things are reverting back to nazi times, with david stars painted on front doors of jews and jewish synagogues and kindergartens being closed down or swept empty because the people are terrified. antisemites and the far-right extremist scene is emboldened and empowered by this attack. they look at everyone‘s reaction very closely and at least for my country, ppl are insanely silent about it, which is like a legitimation of their views and their actions. i want ppl to remember that! there should be more space in this anti-genocidial activism than there seems to be currently, one that includes jews. i dont find it funny at all that my timeline, if politics cross it, and that most posts, if i go to the tags, talk about the settler colonialism and the attempted genocide by israel on palestine, but not about the baked-in antisemitism and the degree of terror and severity this recent event has. there are gonna be long-lasting consequences on all sides and its not gonna be fun, there has to be a way to talk about all of it, all human lives lost, all genocides happening and attempted, without letting one fall under the bus because its easier and fits the narrative of the modern justice warrior. years ago they said that this is a fight of anti-colonialism and anti-genocide, not jews vs muslims, in the topic of israel and palestine, but by choosing to not mention one and focusing exclusively on the other now u make it into one. what im seeing currently is a lot of performative activism and one-sided focus that does not help anyone at all save for those profitting from this situation, which are the antisemites, the nazis and the far-right extremists, the hamas and everyone else in league with them. please think about this for a minute and be conscious of whom u are unintentionally aiding

[chappellrroan]

i am feeling emotions

[yourhoeshorses]

I am foaming from the mouth

My autistic ass can't take it anymore

If I have one more person come onto MYYYYYYY posts outside of tumblr and tell me SSL and SS were better then SSO ever was I'm going to start mailing pipe bombs

[tvrningout]

tbh i understand that character deaths have to happen occasionally, but sometimes a creator will go and kill a character prior to using them to their full potential?? and it won't even hit hard bc it's not a purposeful decision. it's not " it's so tragic that gary died before his time and this arc/story examines that tragedy and how it could have been avoided. " it's " it's so tragic gary died. woulda been more tragic if i put in more work. " like i'm not gonna be sad that you killed gary if you don't do the groundwork before/after. i'm gonna be mad bc you killed a character, and it was a wasted death bc nothing interesting or meaningful happened as a result, or it didn't even need to happen.

i dunno?? maybe people will disagree with me, but i feel like so many series and movies will fall into killing characters for shock value -- or maybe there's a reason, but they poorly execute it by rushing the story or failing to ever tell the story beyond " oh these two mean a lot to each other " without much detail. and that's so frustrating when you get attached to those characters and i'm sorry to rant all of a sudden asdfg i'm just feeling salty as heck over this rn (｡•́︿•̀｡)