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fragaria-imagines · 6 months

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Haii I really love your first kiss hcs with harlitt, tuxam, chaco and merold can you do it with Louter and klark? 🩷

I got a bunch of request for the Stellar Twins so I thought I’ll combine the two request! I decided to put an extra spin on this and lean in to the whole OHSHC harem vibes (even though I’m pretty sure you didn’t mean it in a literal sense-), so for this request the two stories are connected (going from Klarkstella to Louterstella) but it follows Otome rules where the romantic aspect/first kiss with one twin doesn’t happen, if you read the other twins story! I hope I explained it well(?), but I hope it’s enjoyable nonetheless!

Ever since you became a knight, quietness was not something that you experienced often. There was always something going on, a fight breaking out, training with noisy classmates, meetings with lord’s, there was never a moment of peace, never a moment for you to breathe, never a moment to sit in silence with only the thoughts in your head to keep you company.

So on the rare days like this, days where the birds stopped chirping, days where the wind stilled as if time stopped moving, days where nobody was around, you appreciated the silence even more.

The only noise that could be heard in the otherwise quiet eerie morning was the sound of the machine's churning, a sound which you have come to appreciate more and even look forward too, each passing day.

"You are doing it wrong, give me the hammer” Klarkstella bluntly said, glaring at you as you worked on the machines. Though his tone wasn't demanding, it didn't leave much room for objection either.

Or more accurately, you were looking forward to seeing the person who was responsible for those machine noises.

You don’t remember how this tradition began but every morning you’ll come by the mechanic shop, and see him already there working on the machines, never taking his eyes off it no matter what was going on around him. Truth be told, you didn't know much about the blue haired knight, you two were in different bouquets, and ran in different social circles, yet you couldn't help but feel intrigued anytime you were with him.

He didn’t say much back then, always hyper focused on the task at hand, though little by little, he finally started acknowledging your presence, whether that be giving you a curt nod or a blank stare. And you didn’t mind the silence, it was refreshing to be in the same room with someone without being expected to entertain a conversation, you quite liked the comfortable silence you two had going on.

But on the off times when he actually said a word to you, it was usually very short and to the point, never engaging in any small talk unless it was to critique or criticized you. Oddly enough, for someone who likes the silence so much, you found yourself to like those days the most.

You huffed in annoyance at his demeaning words, but you caved in and handed him your hammer, knowing that as much as you hated his arrogance, he was undoubtedly a genius when it comes to machines, and would most likely fix your problem.

“I don’t know what I did wrong though, I followed the instructions to a T!” You commented, watching him tinker with the machine. He rolled his eyes at your comment, knowing you did no such thing, but kept his thoughts to himself as he fixed your machine.

“I seriously don’t know why you even bother to come here so often, if you can’t even fix a simple machine” Klarkstella retorted, though there was no real malice in his voice, more so just tired annoyance from cleaning up your mess so many times. Still that didn’t stop the redness in your cheeks from spreading, knowing full well why you come by often, when you had no major interest in machines.

“And there we go, that should do the trick! You’re welcome by the way” Klarkstella confidently said, not even bothering to hide the arrogant smirk on his face.

“Oh shut—AH!” You started your insult but before you could finish it, you ended up slipping on a piece of loose machinery on the floor.

You shut your eyes and braced yourself for the cold impact of the floor but it never came, instead Klarkstella quickly grabbed your arm and pulled you into a warm embrace before you could hit the floor. You slowly opened your eyes and were met with his icy cold glare.

“You idiot watch where you’re going! You could have seriously gotten hurt!” Klarkstella scolded you. You winced at his harsh stern voice and waited for him to loosen his grip, before pushing you off him with contempt, but it never came. His embrace never wavered, in fact you felt like he only tightened his hold on you.

You wanted to say you’re sorry, you wanted to apologize for inconveniencing him time and time again, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do so because as held you so close to his chest, you could feel his heartbeat thumping against your ear, you could feel his breath, his arms, his face so close to yours. It was at that moment you realize, you didn’t feel sorry for the inconvenience at all.

He always helped you any time you were having trouble with something, even when he could be doing anything else, and for that, you wanted to show your gratitude and appreciation for him.

An idea blossomed into your mind and you quickly turned red at the mere idea of it, his face being inches away from yours, and having his arms tightly wrapped around your waist, was definitely not helping your case, it did give you the courage to go through with it.

Slowly you moved your head closer to his and engulfed his lips with yours. You heard a small gasp coming from his lips but he made no movements to kiss you back, realizing what you have just done, you instinctively tried to pull back, in hopes to salvage whatever dignity and pride you had left.

But before you could pull away fully, Klarkstella pulled you back towards him, closing the gap between you two once again, this time more animated than before. You wrapped your arms around his neck, melting under his touch, you could stay in this position for hours.

Unfortunately, while you two may be fairies, life is not a fairy tale. You reluctantly pulled away from Klarkstella to catch your breath.

“Ah how cute…!” You thought, chuckling to yourself, once you noticed his ears had turned a bright shade of red.

Klarkstella, noticing that your attention shifted towards his ears, scowled at you. Though it wasn’t as threatening as he would have liked, since his face was just as red as his ears.

“A-anyways, um thank you for helping me with fixing my machine, a-and for catching me when I fell…! That was really nice of you so t-thanks, and I’ll love to stay and chat but I’m meeting up with a friend afterwards, so uh, see you tomorrow…!!” You awkwardly said, too embarrassed to even come up with an eloquent explanation.

You bolted out of the shop right afterwards, but you didn’t miss the amusing smirk he had on face as you helplessly explained yourself, nor the small chuckle he gave as you ran out.

Though you didn’t wait long enough to hear his response, you had a good feeling everything would be alright when tomorrow comes.

You had plans to meet your friend at a local café, but thanks to an incident at the mechanic shop -an incident that you may or may not have been responsible for-, you were running late on meeting him.

You knew he wouldn’t mind and would be understanding of your circumstance, but you couldn’t help but feel guilty for making him wait so long. So you did your best to quickly rush out of the shop to hurriedly meet up with him, Klarkstella’s lectures be damned, that was a problem for another day.

“I’m here!! I’m sorry I’m late!!” You shouted an apology to your friend. You quickly came to regret that decision, as the usual empty café, -that you specifically picked out because it was so empty, now was filled with hundreds of people…. who all heard your sudden outburst, and gave you looks of confusion, annoyance, or a mix of both.

“Y/N, over here!” Louterstella, who was sitting at the back of the café, gently called out, ignoring all the attention and turning heads that he received. You quickly made your way towards him, not wanting to draw any attention further, and sat down right across from him.

“Why is there so many people here today? It’s usually so empty” You asked, once you were seated, the embarrassment slightly started to wear off as people continued on with their day.

“It’s the morning crowd, it’s usually always like this” Louterstella explained, taking a sip of his tea afterwards.

“It’s a full house today, I’m surprised you even managed to get us a seat….” You replied absentmindedly, taking a bite of his croissants, as you looked at the menu.

“Ah yes, it is a bit difficult to find a good spot when it’s so crowded, it’s a good thing I didn’t come so late like some people” Louterstella teased, his smile never wavering. You choked on your croissant, the earlier bashfulness from before, was coming back in full gear.

“Careful now, have some water” Louterstella gently said, handing you a cup of his water, which you graciously accepted.

“Yeah sorry about that, there was a bit of an incident at the shop that kept me later than usual but it’s fine now” You explained after you were finished drinking water. “I would have come sooner hadn’t the accident happen, honestly!”

Louterstella waived your explanation away, seemingly not that upset about it. “Relax Y/N, I’m only teasing, I know hard it is to work a machine so don’t worry about it, I assume Klark was not pleased about it, though?”

You internally rolled your eyes at the mention of Klarkstella’s name, but your annoyance wasn’t that well hidden it seems, as Louterstella let out a small laugh seeing you so defeated at the mention of his brothers name.

“Oh, so it was that bad, Klark usually means well but he does come across a bit harsh when machines are involved, I hope you don’t hold it against him” Louterstella nodded in understanding, sipping his tea.

“Yeah I get that but Louter, you have to understand, it was a total accident! I followed the instructions and everything, I don’t know how it all went so wrong!” You ranted, remembering the moment where you slipped from the broken machines parts, and Klarkstella just stared down at you, with his “I told you so” smug look.

Louterstella didn’t interrupt your long winded rant, just sat there and nodded in sympathy, understanding the frustration when it came to working a machine. And that was the great thing about him, he never had to say anything or do anything to make you feel seen or heard, his presence was more than enough. There was just something comforting about him, where you’re able to let your guard down and confess your greatest sins to him, and you wouldn’t have to worry about him judging you or thinking you were odd, he just gets it.

“I understand, I’m not great with machines myself, one time I accidentally set a room on fire because the machine I was working on exploded” Louterstella said it so softly and so casually, that if you hadn’t been paying close attention to him, you would have thought he was talking about changing the curtain drapes to another color.

“You what!? How did that even happen?” You questioned, completely in shocked as to what you just heard.

Louterstella only shrugged, like setting a room on fire and accidentally exploding a machine was the most normal thing ever. “I don’t know really, it just happened, but on the bright side the room had to be completely refurbished and now it looks better than ever!”

You laughed at how nonchalant and casual he was, yet another great thing about Louterstella, how he always managed to find a positive in every situation he’s in or faced with, even if the whole world was looking very bleak and depressing, he’ll still find a way.

It was something that you admired greatly about him, and one of the first things that attracted you to him. As a newly turned knight, you have to admit that sometimes you don’t have the most positive outlook on life at times, there are times where you are way in over your head, and feeling like the whole world is out to get you.

That’s why, you’re so glad to have Louterstella by your side, someone who would pull you away from your own dark thoughts, someone who would always be by your side no matter what, someone who cares about what you have to say, and not only cares but actually listens to what you have to say.

As you come to find out there’s a lot of great things about Louterstella, and the more you spend time with him, the more you want to find out about every single one, every nook and nanny that there is to know about him, you want to know it all.

But the question is why? Why do you want to know so much about him? Why do you want to spend so much time with him, that you rushed out of the shop, mid Klarkstella lecture, just to go see him? And the truth is, you don't know why. You don't know what these new found feelings are called. Is it love? Is it infatuation? Is it just friendship? And what were you supposed to do with all these new feelings that you don't know the name of? Do you confess? Do you put it in a little box and shove it in the back of your mind till it goes away? You just don't know. All you do know is that Louterstella makes you feel happy, makes you feel safe, makes you feel heard and seen, and isn't that enough?

“Y/N are you alright?” Louterstella asked in concern, noticing how you suddenly went quiet.

“H-huh, I’m sorry Louter, can you repeat that?” You asked. You tried to pay attention to what he was saying, you really did, but you got lost in your own thoughts— and oh god, was his face always this pretty? You knew he was an attractive man, hell there were times where you would just stare at him and say nothing, completely mesmerized by his beauty. Was that what you were doing right now? Was that why he looked so concerned? Was he weirded out? He is weirded out, isn’t he-

“Y/N!” This time Louterstella called out your name more sternly, his eyebrows furrowed in worry, and your stomach flooded with guilt.

“I-I’m sorry Louter, I don’t know what’s with me today…!! I must be feeling tired from work and— Louter…!?” Your sentence trailed off, as Louterstella gently put his hands on your forehead, activating the butterflies in your stomach that were begging to crawl out and combust.

“You look very red Y/N, it seems like you’re running a fever” Louterstella said, matter of factly. Your heartbeat was pounding against your chest at his sudden movements, and your blush only darken, which didn’t really help your predicament.

“I-I’m really fine Louter-”

“Are you sure? Because your face has only gotten redder” Louterstella pointed out, he removed his hands from your forehead, to your relief and disappointment, and started packing his things.

“What are you-”

“I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone when you’re so sick, so I’ll be accompanying you and nurse you back to health” Louterstella explained, with a genuine smile on his face. You, on the other hand, wanted to die right there on the spot.

“Oh I can’t ask you for that! I don’t want to cause trouble for you!”

“Nonsense, it’s no trouble at all! Just think of it as one of my knightly duties” Louterstella said, he said it gently but sternly, leaving no room for you to argue with him.

With a heavy sigh, you agreed, knowing full well there was no changing his mind when he decided on something.

“This is going to be a loooong night”

————

For the rest of the day, Louterstella spent every waking minute nursing you back to health, and while you knew that there was nothing physically wrong with you, you had to admit that it did feel good to be looked after and taken care of by Louterstella, even if it was under false pretenses.

“How are you feeling, Y/N?” Louterstella asked, putting a wet cloth on your forehead, standing next to your bedside.

God, how crazy was that, Louterstella standing next to your bed? Louterstella’s in your room? Louterstella in your house?? The thought of it would have sent you blushing, but you tried to control it, knowing he would have mistaken your flustered face as sickness, and while you were happy to be taken care of, you didn’t want to take advantage of his kindness even more than you are.

“I’m feeling great Louter, you’re a really great nurse!” You complimented, you didn’t know if it was your mind playing tricks with you or what, but you could have sworn his face turned pink at your words.

“O-oh why thank you, but it’s really no problem, I used to take care of Klark a lot of times when we were younger” Louterstella said softly, rubbing his neck bashfully.

“I guess I like taking care of people that mean a lot to me” Louterstella continued, in a hushed tone. He said it so softly and quiet, yet there was no denying the genuine feeling behind his words, or the fact that his gaze on you lingered for a lot longer than it was appropriate.

Unfortunately for you and him, you didn't catch his lingering gaze or the double meaning behind his words, for you were too focused on the sibling comparison. Is that what he thought of you? Just another young sibling to take care of? Suddenly you felt your face start to heat up, but this time not from being shy and bashful, but from utter embarrassment and shame.

Here Louterstella was just trying to be a good friend and you not only completely misinterpreted his actions and words, but you also took advantage of his kindness and his hospitality. You're not even sick! And that's the only reason why he's here, because you're "sick", yet you foolishly deluded yourself into thinking of something that wasn't even there!

"Well I'm fine now, so you can leave" You replied curtly, you knew you were being cold for no reason, but you just couldn't help it. Now that you know how Louterstella really feels about you, it hurts too much to even look at him, much less be in the same room as him.

"Oh....yeah, I should probably get out of your hair then" Louterstella said in a dejected tone, taken aback by your cold words. Though he said he'll leave, he made no effort to do so, he just didn't get it, did he do something wrong? Were his feelings for you not clear enough? Or were they not convincing enough?

Never the one to sit there and not do anything about it, he made his way towards you, if words weren't enough to convince you, then maybe actions would get through?

Just as you were about to ask why he was leaning over you so suddenly, your words caught in your throat, as his lips crashed into yours. Overcoming your initial shock, you kissed him back just as intensely and passionately, you were overflowing with joy, cradling his face in your hands, your thumb gently tracing over his cheek.

Louterstella was the first to break the kiss, his was completely flushed, and you would have teased him about it, if yours wasn't flushed as well.

Still even with the adrenaline rushing through your veins, even with your heart about to explode from your chest because of the sheer happiness you felt, there was still something, you still didn't quite understand....

"Louterstella why did you..." You trailed off, not finishing your sentence, whether it was because of disbelief or because you were still in cloud nine to come up with a proper sentence, you didn't know.

"Kiss you? To be honest, I'm not sure about it myself... I really like you Y/N, maybe even more than a friend. This is all so new to me, I never had anyone that I was close to other than my brother and our Lord's, and then you came around, and then everything changed. I look forward to our hang outs, I like being around you, I don't know if that's considered love or what, but all I know is that I'm never lonely when I'm with you...." Louterstella confessed, his eyes never leaving yours for a second.

Your eyes widened at his confession, his words mirroring your own thoughts from not too long ago, the confusion, the embarrassment, the guilt, you understood it all.

Once he finished his confession, you pulled him into a warm embrace, which he happily accepted. No words were exchanged but there didn't need to be, because no amount of words could ever convey what you two were feeling.

For once, you weren't afraid of what the future had in store for you, because you knew no matter what happened, no matter if something would transpire between the two of you or not, you know you'll be okay, because Louterstella would be right by your side no matter the outcome.

And you wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

#🍓: memoria #louterstella #klarkstella #fragaria memories #fragaria memories x reader #I didnt expect the first kiss hc to get this popular it’s nice to see!#I know nothing about machines if you couldn’t tell 💀💀#louterstella story really got away from me but thats alright!#yk sometimes ur first kiss isnt always with the love of ur life sometimes its with ur homie that u have complicated feelings for #but would still ride or die for them when it matters the most sjsjdj

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cherokeegal1975 · 6 months

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Unexpected Cargo: Free Book Online

Johnathan was a family man and cargo runner and had no interest in getting entangled in royal affairs. So, when a deposed and fleeing princess arranges a meeting to give him a package to keep safe, he was reluctant to take it. But she convinced him to hide the royal seal until she needed it back despite himself. Unknown to him, she had also ticked him into carrying another precious cargo.

When Johnathan learns of the trick, he’s furious. When he confronts the princess about it, he learns it’ll be impossible to return it before it’s appointed time. Then she tells him of an unbreakable bond between them and ends a long search for someone he had lost as a boy. So, instead of revenge, he does what he can to help her. He must also avoid capture; the King would execute Johnathan if he ever found out about his secret cargo.

Links to chapters here:

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 1 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 2 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 3 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 4 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 5 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 6 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 7 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 8 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 9 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 10 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 11 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 12 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 13 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 14 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 15 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 16 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 17 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 18 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 19 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 20 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 21 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 22 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 23 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 24 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Epilogue by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Author's note: Okay, so I'm posting this again. I really want to know your opinions. I'll appreciate a critique if you're willing to do that. Constructive criticism will be welcome too.

I'm looking for a range of opinions and thoughts from a lot of people. I want to get a feel for how well I did with this book and I can't do that with a small group of people. As in only a few have made comments, it's hard to get a real idea of how well I really did. So, a broader range is needed. I'm looking forward to reading your comments.

I believe that I did a good job overall, but it's nice to get some perspective.

This book is an mpreg, but only because I went on an online dumpster dive as far as stories. I found that I didn't like most of what I discovered, though it was worth exploring just for the sake of my curiosity. I was inspired by it too. Thought I'd like to try to do my own version just to see if I could do better. And that led to my experimental plot, to turn what most people make into a plot stinker into a good story.

There is no fetish anything in this book. That I avoided intentionally. The main three protagonists are a cargo runner, a dragon that spends a lot of her time in the form of a little girl and a lovely talking golden rat. There's a fourth traveling companion that is of a romantic interest for my main character...with some small complications in their relationship.

I did my best to make a well-balanced plot overall. And I'm not going to give out any more spoilers than I have already.

So...feedback please! I rarely get any and all of it is appreciated very much.

Cover art by Noonibean, who is also a good writer and worth looking up on DeviantART.

#cherokeegal1975 #fantasy #mpreg #mpreg birth #mpregnancy #mpreg art #dragon #male pregnancy #male pregnant #sci fi & fantasy #mpreg baby #surrogate #rat #man #belly

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behindthewox · 25 days

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Hello,

It’s Aly here, previously the Ads Leader. I was made aware of a post here through a friend who sent it to me, and though my initial intention was to remain silent, I feel compelled to address some inaccuracies being spread about me.

Firstly, I'm taken aback by the level of disrespect and the audacity of some comments made here by individuals evidently lacking firsthand knowledge of the situations they critique. If you work as a Social Media lead as it seems you mentioned, and are discontent with your role in creating content for ads, I encourage open communication rather than resorting to public disparagement.

It's disheartening to witness such negativity and toxicity.

For context, I’m Aly, a 24-year-old working tirelessly in a hotel, including weekends, often taking on extra shifts to manage living expenses in an expensive locale. Alongside this, I volunteered my expertise in marketing to help Dan and the community grow their sites, asking nothing in return but hoping to make a positive impact. I didn’t gain anything from this, it was done purely out of kindness, generosity and freely. Your welcome.

My role of Ad Lead was not really official position but a voluntary effort to help out in addition of my site jobs. My aim was to support and guide, not to shoulder the entire burden of content creation—that responsibility falls to the SoMe Leads of each sites. If you don’t like creating social media content for your site, then perhaps you’re in the wrong position. It’s literally what you signed up for while applying.

Now, I’m no magician. It’s essential to understand that effective advertising hinges on quality content, which is why I provided resources to aid in this area. As for advertising efforts, we operated within a budget, doing our best to maximize the impact of our campaigns. The variable success across different campaigns is a natural outcome, influenced by numerous factors beyond any single individual’s control.

Anyways, the criticism lodged anonymously fails to recognize the humanity and good intentions of those working to support the WoX community. I loved working behind the scenes with Dan, Lessa and the wumps who do SO much. I've found great joy in collaborating with many of you as well and hope we can move forward with mutual respect and understanding.

Let’s not forget that this is a game, most of us are doing this for fun, and freely. Because we love the sites, we love writing, and we want to have a nice escape from reality.

Think I’ve said everything I wanted, now I’m going to put my energy into things that really matter. Maybe you should do the same!

Wishing everyone a wonderful day, Aly.

There's some good points here, and I appreciate the response.

WoX should be a hobby, something we do for fun because it's what we want to do and enjoy doing. It's a positive thing in life, and an important one at that. And it's important to keep it that way.

In order to keep it that way, no one should be burdened with more than they are willing and able to take on. The demands shouldn't be higher than what the average person would be willing and able to do. A system that relies on ambitious and generous volunteers that constantly dedicate that extra hour and goes that extra mile, that is not a sustainable nor reliable system. That is a system that will inevitably fail.

#wox #wox site #social media #submission #submission response

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resowrites · 2 years

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We Were The Better Kind - a Lloyd Hansen oneshot.

Summary: Lloyd Hansen is now one of the most feared and revered contract killers in the world. But after a particularly hard day at work, he reminisces on where it all began…

Pairings: AU!Lloyd Hansen x OC!Maria

Warnings: NSFW, 18+only MINORS DNI, angst, language, kidnap, interrogation, abuse, torture, humiliation, waterboarding, violence, threatening behaviour, murder/mention of death, mention of blood, adult/dark themes, misogyny, lightly proofread.

WC: 4324

A/N: My work must not be copied, reposted, or translated elsewhere. Likes, follows, reblogs and comments are thoroughly welcome and appreciated! No copyright infringement intended, gifs/pics not my own, my asks are open so please feel free to message me your requests/questions/critiques. Please also message me if you want to be added to the taglist. I hope you all enjoy!

We Were The Better Kind - a Lloyd Hansen oneshot.

Lloyd sat comfortably in his armchair, a drink in hand and the fire roaring loudly. It had been a long day and all he wanted to do was rest. He'd managed to get the intel from the target he'd been torturing all afternoon. It took a more ingenious method on this occasion but as he often found, persistence was key. As was usually the case on these cold, December evenings, his mind flit back to how it all began. He wasn't a sentimental man, not by any means, but even he was surprised at the turn his life had taken.

He had no intention of working for the government. He'd majored in football, and fully expected to turn pro when he and two of his friends were approached one hot summer's afternoon and offered the opportunity to train for the CIA. Lloyd had been benched almost the entire season recovering from a foot injury, so he saw no harm in giving the training a go. Despite being in peak physical condition already, it was a lot more full on than expected, especially the theoretical work. Although he considered himself shrewd, he wasn't the academic sort, and some of the more technical training threw him for a loop at times.

But Lloyd was determined to do his best, his supervisors thought he showed great promise and would have a distinguished career if he applied himself. That was certainly the goal throughout his first four months on the job. He remembered the morning of the mission that changed everything like it had happened only yesterday. He remembered pressing his suit and coiffing his hair, even giving his shoes an extra shine though, for the particular job he was about to partake in, it wouldn't really matter.

His particular team had almost captured one of the most notorious criminals their country had ever seen. Far more deadly and scheming than the mob lords on their lists and even internationally, Carlos Mondalez was both well known and feared. From humble beginnings as a drug dealer on the streets of Buenos Aires, Mondalez now operated a multi-billion dollar arms trade and sold on whatever intel or data he could get his hands on. Although they'd missed the opportunity to bring him in after a six year chase, they had managed to capture his girlfriend, an American woman fifteen years his junior named Maria.

Except she was suspected to be far more than just a girlfriend. Apparently, Maria had planned and orchestrated most of Mondalez's major deals and was at least partially responsible for his now considerable wealth. The CIA suspected she was agency trained, though without interrogation this would be hard to prove. Lloyd's team, headed up by his supervisor Harold Finch, had been read into the case and permitted to employ 'enhanced interrogation techniques.' What this actually meant was that they'd be allowed to systematically torture Maria using methods otherwise employed in remote facilities such as Guantanamo Bay.

Harold Finch, a hardened, long serving officer who didn't suffer fools and had about as much patience to match, was especially looking forward to the task. There were rumblings that Finch had gone off the book many a time during his long career and this made newer members of the team, like Lloyd, especially nervous. He didn't know what granted Finch that much power, or what it was he knew, but he definitely didn't want to get on the wrong side of him. Much of Finch's team felt the same way, he was a hard taskmaster and didn't tolerate even the slightest indiscretions. Many a time he sent home officers home for being tardy or even wearing creased suits. He took his job incredibly seriously and that was at least one quality Lloyd did admire.

He remembered how cold the building was that morning. Of course, now that the 'official' preliminary interviews had taken place and Maria had been as tight lipped as a clam, she'd been moved to another facility that was regularly used to detain their more important captives. Lloyd remembered trailing after Finch with his hands behind his back, wishing he'd worn a heavier coat. The building used to be a meat packing facility and as such was used to being kept at low temperatures to prepare and store raw meat. He couldn't help but note the irony, the building's purpose really hadn't changed that much at all. When they finally came upon Maria's cell, he was shocked to see her being led out in nothing more than a thin tabard that didn't even cover her knees.

She was exceptionally beautiful but then they'd all been warned ahead of time. But most of what he'd read about her was far less conclusive. They still had no idea of any prior affiliations or even her educational background. She knew more than one language and appeared to have excellent reasoning and mathematical ability. So far, so predictable, thought Lloyd. To move in the sort of circles Mandalez operated, one had to have above average qualities. What concerned them most, especially Finch, was her loyalty. They'd promised her a new life in witness protection if she agreed to give them the information they needed. But Maria simply wouldn't play ball. She'd been cross examined until Finch's colleagues were blue in the face.

So this was to be the next step. With little information even linking her to Mondalez, they already had a tenuous grasp on the situation, but Finch always got results and he was certain this time would be no different. Everybody has a breaking point, they just hadn't found Maria's yet. Lloyd was tasked mainly with observing and assisting with the techniques used where necessary. He was still very green and not overly looking forward to seeing a helpless woman battle the will - and cruelty - that he knew his agency was capable of. Yet he also knew people like Mondalez had caused almost limitless suffering for the poor unfortunates of the world. Thanks to him, Argentina's drug trafficking and gang violence had reached critical condition and much was the same in many of the world's more vulnerable populations.

Still, to look at her as she was led to a large, sparsely furnished room, he could hardly believe she was some criminal mastermind. Already he could see she'd been starved and sleep deprived, her pale face and purple eyes didn't signify a well kept prisoner. Maria was marched towards a desk in the middle of the floor and shoved onto a hard metal seat. Lopez, one of Finch's more experienced officers, then shoved her into the edge of the desk which caused the chair to scrap loudly against the floor.

"Well Maria, I'm sorry it's come to this I really am, but you're not leaving us much choice are you?" Finch lazily opened her file and glanced down at a couple of sentences towards the top of the first document. "You won't tell us how you met Mondalez, how long you were associated, or just how much you were involved in his business. So, we're gunna cut to the chase… unless you tell us where he is or at least where you suspect he's gone, and why, you'll be tortured for the foreseeable future. How does that sound?" He didn't even bother to look at her, instead, he spoke as though he was a waiter reading the day's specials. Maria said nothing but quietly cleared her throat. Finch pursed his lips and snapped his fingers in Lopez's direction. "Force her into position."

With that, Lopez dragged her from the table and practically kicked her to an empty spot on the floor. She was then forced to squat on her feet with her hands tied behind her back and her eyes blindfolded. It was a difficult position to hold even for several minutes, but Finch was determined to conduct the rest of that morning's interview that way. Maria made no noise at all. She didn't whimper or whine, she didn't even grunt as her legs already began to shake with the strain.

"Alright Maria, now that you're all set up, let's discuss the idiocy of your little plan. Here you are, bound and gagged, while the man you supposedly love is far away without a care in the world. He's made no attempt to contact us or negotiate for your release. You're as good as dead to him. So why defend someone who doesn't give a fuck about you hmm?" Finch stood in front of her with his legs splayed and his chest stuck out proudly. Lloyd noticed that he seemed to be enjoying himself, though he personally couldn't see what was so enjoyable about a vulnerable woman cowering on the ground.

Eventually, Maria collapsed on her side and panted quietly though she continued ignoring Finch's questions. Becoming more and more fed up, he decided to try another tactic. Again Lopez pulled her to her feet, keeping her hand restraints and blindfold in place, and led her to another small but much colder room. Lloyd noticed the drain on the floor and looked up to see an otherwise blank ceiling. What on earth did Finch have in mind next? He didn't have to wait long to find out, he ordered him to strip Maria naked and suspend her tied hands from a hook on the ceiling. Lloyd did as he was told though he tried to be as gentle as he could. He didn't look her in the eyes though he thought he could sense her trying to make eye contact with him several times.

Her body was in a similarly bad state, he could see the faint outlines of lash marks and many ugly, black bruises. In all honesty, she'd gotten off easy until now, Lloyd had already witnessed many detainees injured far worse for a lot less. He felt a particular uneasiness about this line of treatment being conducted against a woman though. He tried to remind himself that she was just as much a hardened criminal as their other prisoners, capable of the same treachery and diabolical behaviour. Maria coughed as a gust of cold air flew in through the barred, but open window. Lloyd felt freezing in a three piece suit and coat, so God only knows how she was managing completely naked. When she was finished being undressed, Finch started to unfurl what appeared to be ropes at first.

It was in fact a hose and his objective now was to blast Maria with a harsh jet of freezing cold water until she begged them to stop. She screamed as the first salvo hit her skin and stung worse than being knifed over and over in the back. Finch would stop after thirty seconds and question whether she was ready to tell them what they wanted to know. But she continued her silence, that was until the hose started up again and she yelled in agony. After another half an hour of this exercise, Finch was again losing his patience and threw the hose to the floor in a fit. He walked swiftly towards her and struck her hard across the face. His ring must have caught her cheekbone as large amounts of blood began streaking down the side of her face.

"Alright enough you stubborn little bitch… tell me what I want to know or you're going to regret it. I'll leave you here all goddamn night if I have to!" He'd now grabbed her weary, bloody face and was bending so low she could feel his spit hitting her cheeks. She took a deep breath and screwed her eyes shut, determined not to make eye contact. Finch was close to blowing his top and quickly turned toward Lloyd.

"Cut her down, I've got a much better use for the hose…" Lloyd gulped but silently followed his orders, taking care to be as gentle as he could with Maria's exhausted and visibly shaking body. He had to help hold her upright while Finch ordered Lopez to bring something else to the room. He couldn't overhear what it was exactly, but knowing Finch, she was probably about to regret not submitting to his earlier line of questioning. Carefully and without Finch seeing, Lloyd placed his hand gently on her lower back in support. He could feel her shudder at his touch.

It turns out Maria was indeed foolish for not caving in. Lopez had dragged in a tilted wooded platform that Lloyd immediately recognised from his textbooks. This time, however, he was ordered to strap her down and as he was being carefully watched by Finch, he wasn't able to take as much care of her aching wrists and ankles. Lopez was then ordered to wrap her face in a thick cloth and Lloyd regretted not being able to perform this particular task himself though he wasn't sure how he could have somehow made it easier for her. It was at this point that he started having doubts. They'd catch Mondalez in time, no one was able to run from the government forever, so surely whatever information she had wasn't worth this degree of extraction. He wanted to say something to his boss and even went so far as to look at him a couple of times. But what could he have said?

It didn't take long for Maria to start panicking, she stoically took the first two bursts of water directly to her face with as minimum fuss as she could muster. But then she started writhing in agony, her naked limbs flailing uncomfortably as she was slowly but surely being drowned. As before, Finch gave her multiple opportunities to confess what she knew about her boyfriend's whereabouts. But she could only manage to cough and splutter in response. Lloyd knew then that the situation was hopeless. She was clearly prepared to die for Mondalez, and no amount of inhumane treatment was going to change that. Out the corner of his eye, he could see Finch turning a gradually deeper shade of red. In fairness, most people didn't hold out as long as Maria but Finch was not a man accustomed to failure. He'd hold out as long as she did, whether that meant several more hours or weeks, if necessary. Finally, she'd grown suspiciously quiet and Finch ordered Lopez to revive her if necessary. Instead, it turns out she was just playing possum and when Lopez removed the cloth from her face, she swiftly spat in his eye. Lloyd tried desperately to hide a smirk.

"You dirty little bitch…" Lopez looked to Finch who nodded his permission. He then smiled back down at her and punched her right between the eyes. That left her out cold and for the first time since they began, Lloyd breathed a sigh of relief. They'd have to resume their interrogations the following day and at least that would give her some time to recover and rethink her obstinance. Lloyd made a move to untie her from the bench but when he hoisted her into his arms, Finch bellowed at him to put her back onto the floor. Once lying there, he kicked her sharply in the side, eliciting a strangled moan from her throat. Lloyd stared at him in equal parts confusion and horror.

"That bitch isn't to leave this room, nor is she to be fed, watered, or even dressed. Let her spend the night freezing her perky little tits off, maybe she'll then think twice about assaulting my god damn guards…" He then ordered Lloyd to keep watch until that evening when Lopez would come to relieve him. The two men hurried out of the room with Finch promising to get Lopez, who was still rubbing his eye, a large drink. Once they'd left, Lloyd quickly ran into the other room to fetch her clothes. He had no intention of dressing her again, but he did want to dry her off as best he could. The room the pair were in had no cameras, even the CIA wouldn't risk that, but he knew someone would come to check on them eventually. He had to be quick then, and once he'd finished drying her off, he wrapped her in his coat. He’d leave her to sleep off her pain for the next few hours.

Eventually she began to stir and Lloyd pulled her up by her shoulders. It took several minutes but she eventually came round. Her eyes were already swelling up though he felt the bridge of her nose and determined that it wasn't broken. When she fully came too, she quickly pushed him away, shocked that he was kneeling beside her and putting his hands on her face.

"H-hey… what the fuck are you doing?" But he just motioned for her to stay quiet.

"Be quiet, or you'll alert the rest of the guards." Maria blinked at him a couple of times, still heavily confused about what was happening. Lloyd sighed and wrapped his coat around her tighter, sensing her vulnerability at being sat naked on the floor. When she was fully covered, he laid her back down and bundled her now damp uniform behind her head as a pillow. She breathed a sigh of relief and took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"So what's happening now? Are you playing good cop or something?" Lloyd smirked but said nothing, instead, he checked his watch and tried to puzzle out when another guard would come to check on them both.

"Hardly, I'm to watch over you until I’m relieved me this evening." At this, her eyes hardened and her mouth set in a frown. But he was determined to keep her talking.

"You know you were pretty impressive back there, do I gather you've been waterboarded before?" She squinted her eyes at him as though she was struggling to see his face clearly.

"What's the matter? Vision a little blurry?" Maria scoffed and let her head roll to the side on her makeshift pillow.

"Well, wouldn't yours be?" Lloyd chuckled and considered her for a moment. They must have been around the same age and yet their lives had already taken significantly different paths.

"Well, that's what you get for hocking a loogie." He smiled at her again but she was staring at the ceiling, deep in thought.

"You know, he's not gunna stop. He'll kill you if necessary and sooner rather than later. Trust me… you don't wanna piss him off." Maria furrowed her brow and looked at him incredulously.

"You think I'm frightened of your boss?" Her voice was hoarse, he didn't know when she last had a drink.

"No, no… you don't seem frightened of anything." He wiped down his jacket sleeves and she couldn't help but notice the hint of jealousy in his voice.

"Why won't you just give him what he wants? Is Mondalez that important to you?" He didn't expect her to answer so when she cleared her throat and motioned for him to help her sit up, he was surprised at how complaint she was now being.

"No… he's not. But I was prepared for this outcome as was he. He knows his days are numbered." Lloyd could see from her eyes that she was sincere.

"So why get involved with someone like that, to begin with? You clearly have a lot of skills, they would have been put to better use elsewhere." At this Maria scoffed again and rolled her eyes.

"Before I met Mondalez I was a nobody, a pregnant teenage runaway fleeing an abusive stepfather with no money and no future. He helped me get an abortion and trusted me to learn his business despite my lack of experience. I don't know where I would have ended up without him." Lloyd shook his head unconvinced.

"That doesn't excuse your line of work, crime is crime no matter the personal motivation or reward." She then tried to meet his eyes, determined to get through to him.

"And aren't crimes being committed here? Against me and all the other prisoners? Look, to be honest, I know nothing of the true extent of Carlos's business. What I did for him amounted to very little in the end and wouldn't provide you all with any new evidence." She winced as a surge of pain ran up her left side. Lloyd placed the palm of his hand against her waist and applied pressure.

"Thank you." She looked up wearily into his cold blue eyes and a thought seemed to flash across her eyes.

"Tell me, Mister…" She waited for him to provide his name but he simply smiled and shook his head.

"Well, no matter. Tell me Mister Blue Eyes, what led you to the CIA?" Lloyd bit his lower lip and wondered if he should answer her. But then he'd already questioned her a lot, it was only fair he gave some information in return.

"Happenstance mainly, I went to college to play football…" She looked at him in surprise but said nothing. Several moments passed in silence. The wind outside was gathering speed and left them both shivering on the floor.

"Much the same as myself then. It was circumstance that led me into Carlos's life and it's circumstance that led me out of it." She gazed towards her feet, once again deep in thought. Lloyd wanted to say something but decided against it.

"Do me a favour though Mister Blue Eyes, whatever the reasons for your future decisions… stick to them. Integrity doesn't count for much in this life, but it's really all we have. Prince or pauper, lead your life with intention and leave the rest to fate. You won't have any regrets…" Maria smiled at him weakly before closing her eyes, intending to rest before whatever Lopez had in store for her that evening. But Lloyd couldn't help himself.

"So you don't regret getting mixed up with Mondalez? You know, someone like you could have had it easy…" He looked away from her shyly and she could have sworn he was blushing. Again she sat up and rested a hand gently on the side of his face. He turned to look at her earnestly.

"Oh Mister Blue Eyes, don't feel sad for me. I've had a great life, I had the freedom to do as I pleased and I took full advantage of it." She then winked at him which caused Lloyd to blush even harder.

"So you really loved him?" Maria tilted her head and looked at him almost pityingly.

"Of course, and I hope you find someone you can devote yourself to as well. No matter how we behave, love is always our salvation. Don't close yourself off to it." He nodded slowly and she smiled, glad to have finally had the chance for a normal, human discussion. He wanted to respond or do something to help her at that moment. But Maria seemed sanguine about whatever fate would befall her and Lloyd couldn't help but admire her fortitude. Nor could he stop himself from falling in love with her just the tiniest bit either.

Suddenly they heard footsteps approaching and he motioned for her to give back his coat and the rest of her clothes. By the time Michaels, another of Finch's guards, popped his head in the room, Lloyd was standing far away from Maria. He kept his head bowed and hands behind his back, as though he was struggling to stay awake. Maria had her back to them both as she lay on her side, simulating light snoring.

"Just an FYI, you’ll be relieved you in another ten minutes." Lloyd nodded the man away and looked at his watch, the whole day really had flown by.

The present day.

Lloyd let his empty glass fall to the table with a clunk. He was pleased with the pleasant warmth now spreading through his tired, aching limbs. At least now he'd have less trouble getting to sleep tonight. He felt his eyes flickering shut when suddenly one of his goons burst into his office.

"Mr. Hansen sir, we've got him, we've got Carlotto! Managed to locate his broad as well, when dya want them bought in?" Lloyd's eyes flung open and he coughed to clear his throat.

"I'll deal with Carlotto tomorrow morning, let the woman go though. She's not gunna tell us anything." His guard stared at him dumbfounded.

"What? You know we don't take women, besides they're never fountains of information when it counts. It'll be a waste of time and manpower bringing her in. Now get out of my sight, it's been a long day…" The guard mumbled his apologies and fled the room, leaving him to his thoughts. He stared over at his drink but decided against refilling it. He'd need to be sharp for tomorrow. His mind then roved back to Maria.

She was found dead in her cell the following morning. The autopsy declared it was suicide but from Lopez's insufferable smirking and arrogant swagger, he was sure he'd killed her. He handed in his resignation to Finch later that day. He figured if the CIA employed no greater morality in their line of work than any other agency, he may as well work independently. However it would be untrue to say Maria’s death hadn’t hardened him considerably. He was now one of the most brutal contractors in the world though he took no real pleasure anymore in his line of work. Mondalez was eventually captured and tortured to death, though not before handing over his empire to his illegitimate son. Lloyd couldn't help but pity Maria. She'd loved a man to death even though he continued whoring about and made no effort whatsoever to avenge her. Lloyd decided on another drink after all. As much as he continued to love Maria and always would, he wouldn't let the same fate befall him.

A/N: I hope you guys like this new Lloyd Hansen oneshot and please feel free to send me any more requests for stories/series. I love hearing from you all! Thanks so much for all your continued support and I hope you enjoy the story ~ Reso x

To be updated on when I post please follow @resowrites and turn on post notifications.

@randomagnes0210 @roguediorxoxo @buckysteveloki-me

#chris evans #chris evans fanfiction #lloyd hansen #fanfiction #chris evans fics

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izupie · 2 years

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Talking about writing with one of my friends, and I was telling him how excited I am to start using random prompts again (after I've finally finished my longfic asdfghjkkjlfs) so he decided to try and come up with the most random prompt he could as a challenge to me...

the prompt was: A Goat Washes Up On A Beach

So here's something original from me ?! I literally never write original content, so any feedback/comments/critique would be extremely welcome and appreciated !!! (I will love and cherish you forever)

Fantasy 2,152 words Rated T

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Every single magical textbook that Linnary had ever read warned that changing the ingredients of a spell would be ill-advised at best. Spellcraft wasn’t just built upon tradition – each ingredient of each spell had been tried and tested across the centuries; refining and honing their effectiveness down the very last molecule. Regardless of the results, or lack of them in most cases, changing the ingredients of a spell was akin to disrespecting the ancestors of witchcraft and all who had come before.

But Linnary was desperate.

And desperate times called for tweaks and adjustments and the hope that the very precise craft of spellcasting would be amenable to her ‘eh, it’s similar enough’ approach.

Linnary wrinkled her nose at the smell of burning palm leaves as she waved the smoking branch over her strange collection of objects in the sand. The fire spread quickly up the dry leaf and she let it go before it singed the tips of her fingers. Her pronunciation wasn’t particularly good at the best of times, and she’d had a few cauldron cocktails at the party, so she couldn’t be sure that she wasn’t slurring some of the ancient spellcasting language used to activate the magic. But it was as good as it was going to get.

Ah well.

With a final flourish of her hands Linnary bowed her head and felt a tingle spread through her wrists and up her arms. It brought up goosebumps across her flesh, and she was once again grateful that the island they’d ended up on was warm enough for her party attire. Her shorts and shirt were both black, traditional witch colour, while her bright purple heels were abandoned further down the beach after she’d tripped one too many times in the sand. She took a deep breath and swiped the back of her hand across her forehead, feeling the rough gritty texture of a mixture of salt and sand, blown onto her face by the ocean breeze.

The sound of the tide crashing onto the beach filled the silence following her spellcasting.

It always felt so anticlimactic.

“How long do we wait, Linny?” A whiny voice asked from the shadow of a tall palm tree nearby.

Linnary turned back and squinted against the harsh glare of the sun. She rested her hands on her hips. “As long as we have to, Marl.”

Marl sighed dramatically and slumped further against the trunk of the tree. Her sparkly pink hair had gone frizzy with the humidity, though Linnary was certain if she hadn’t got hers tied back into a plait it would have shared the same fate, and her black dress sparkled as she shifted. Her black boots were beside Linnary’s heels a short distance away.

“Do you think we’ll be stuck here forever?” Marl’s voice rose in pitch. “And nobody will ever find us?”

Linnary rolled her eyes and looked back over the laid-out ingredients for her improvised summoning spell. “No,” she said with an indignant huff, “because the spell’ll work.” She pointed across to the island they could see in the distance, where it was clear to see buildings and signs of civilisation. “And once we get over there, back to somewhere with a magic shop, we can teleport home.”

“If it doesn’t work though… what if we never make it back to the party.”

“You’re worried about whether we make it back to the party or not?” Linnary snapped back. She gestured widely with both arms, trying to indicate the whole tiny island with the motion. “Really?”

“Don’t be mean. You’re the one who got us here in the first place.”

“For the last time she bumped into me and spilt my drink, and then didn’t even apologise when I pointed it out.” Linnary folded her arms tight over her chest and let the indignity of the situation fuel her bitterness again. Maybe it was a bit ridiculous, but manners and respect were important, and it definitely wasn’t because her short temper had been affected by the alcohol she’d consumed.

Marl pouted and pushed herself to her feet. “A demon though, Linny. You knew there were gonna be demons at a Hell-Party. You don’t antagonise demons – or they- they zap you off to places like this bizarre-o treasure island. I knew it was a bad idea to go.”

“Excuse me? You said that it was a bad idea for all of two seconds before you were demanding for my help with what outfit you should wear!”

“And look where it’s got me,” Marl pointed out with a frown.

Linnary flinched at that and let out a hiss of breath between her teeth. Surprisingly, guilt stung far worse than her wounded pride.

After a pause, filled only with the hushing sound of the back and forth of the waves, an arm settled across Linnary’s shoulders, and she looked up in surprise at the rounded face and gentle expression of her best friend. Her sparkling makeup accentuated her soft features and her eyes crinkled in the corners when she smiled.

“You do get me into the weirdest situations,” Marl said, “but I kinda enjoy the adventure. It’s never dull with you.”

Linnary smiled and nudged her shoulder playfully. “Don’t enable my bad behaviour.”

“Me? I would never.”

Linnary chuckled and felt her spirits raise a little. She couldn’t have ever predicted her first visit to a Hell-Party would have ended in being teleported to wherever this was. But maybe it was a kinder fate than some of the consequences she’d heard of getting on a demon’s bad side… Not that she considered this an appropriate reaction to her outburst and demand for an apology either.

Demons were such drama queens.

“So where do you think we are anyway?” Marl said, as if she could hear her thoughts.

“Don’t know. Must be far away though – it’s daytime here.”

Marl whistled. “Got zapped to another timezone. Nice.”

Linnary opened her mouth to respond, but she winced and sucked in a sharp breath instead, a hand flying up to press against her temple.

“Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, fine. I’m fine. Just that I’ve been trying to dream-dial Simon in the background ever since we got here, and it’s starting to give me a headache.”

“Dream-dial? Ah, that might be a problem,” Marl started hesitantly, with a finger pressed against her chin, “the last time I saw Simon was just before we got zapped – he was surrounded by an adoring circle of witches and warlocks. I don’t think he’s going to be sleeping and dreaming any time soon to pick up.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “If you know what I mean.”

“Great. Good for him I guess.” Linnary rolled her eyes and looked back over the ingredients for her summoning spell. “Well, I’ll keep the dream-dial going for now, and if that lucky fae idiot picks up before we get to the island then I’ll tell him to zap us back.” She walked a few paces away and nestled her toes into the sand. It was kind of sharp and tough – not exactly the kind of sand you’d want to lie on and sunbathe. Not that sunbathing was a common enjoyment of witches anyway.

There was another long stretch of silence before Marl said, “I don’t think your ingredient replacements worked, Linny.”

“Just give it time!” Linnary replied, trying to sound more certain than she felt.

There was a severe lack of crows on an island like this, so she’d used seagull feathers instead – that seemed fine. They were both birds. She also hadn’t been able to find any rats, but there was a small cave full of bats and they were just rats with wings, right? Coconut water instead of holy water was probably her biggest reach, but she was sure that coconuts were probably considered sacred by some ancient civilisation of the past at one time or another – and she figured that would count. Palm leaves had been burned in place of an oak branch, and various other bits and pieces had been substituted in for what they could scavenge across the island.

It's not like she’d made that many changes.

After another stretch of silence Linnary was about to admit defeat and agree with Marl, but her friend suddenly gasped sharply and pointed towards the shoreline.

“I see something!” Marl squeaked.

“Seriously?” Linnary followed her point and blinked at the dark shape on the sand.

“It, uh, looks a bit small to be a boat…”

“I’ll ride on anything to get off this island – it could be a rubber dinghy for all I care.” Linnary grinned and jogged towards the shape. “I can’t believe it worked!”

As she got closer it soon became very apparent that it was, in fact, not a boat in any shape or form. She slowed and gaped down in dismay at what had washed up on the beach.

Marl made it to her side a moment later and crouched down with her head tilted to the side.

Neither of them said anything for so long that Marl made her jump when she said, “It’s a goat.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I can see that.”

“A goat.”

“Looks like it, yeah.”

Marl’s nose crinkled in confusion. “But I thought you summoned a boat?”

Linnary scooped up a handful of sand and threw it towards the summoning spell ingredients with a cry of rage. The sharp grains flew harmlessly through the air and blew back at her, making her sputter and cough. “I wanted a boat you useless pile of frogspawn! What are we supposed to do with a goat!?”

The goat stared lifelessly at the sky; with its poor fur plastered to its body. As each wave rolled over the goat it shifted slightly in the sand, giving it the sad, macabre impression that it was somehow still alive.

Marl bent closer to the dead goat and sniffed it carefully, then licked its nose. “It only died a little while ago, probably when it was dropped into the ocean from your summoning spell,” she mused. “Like a witchcraft miracle.”

Linnary groaned and put her face into her hands. “I’m gonna die on this island.”

“Well, I mean, at least we’ve got food now. The summoning spell might make it taste a bit sulphur-y but if I cook it well enough it should be fine-”

“I’m not eating the goat-”

“-We can call it fake-boat-goat,” Marl said with a dramatic gasp. “C’mon, Linny, you gotta admit this is pretty funny.”

“No.”

“Well, I think- hey, what’s glowing in your pocket?”

Linnary blinked and immediately turned her attention to the pockets of her shorts. Sure enough, one of them was glowing a bright blue. She reached inside, pulled out a small card and turned it over with confusion, knowing that it hadn’t been in her pocket earlier. “What the…”

Marl peeked over her shoulder. “Oh, its from the demon?”

The blank, glowing card faded into a regular business card – words appearing as if they were writing themselves.

“Ooh, it’s her business card. Looks like she’s a tarot reader!” Marl squeaked with excitement. “Just like you!”

Linnary turned it over again and felt an intense scowl pulling down the corners of her mouth as her brows furrowed sharply. “It says that the teleportation spell will only last twenty-four hours, and then we’ll be zapped back to where we started.”

Heat curled in Linnary’s chest as she recognised her trademark temper flaring under her skin. The demon probably thought this was hilarious, and distantly Linnary wondered how many witches she’d done this with.

She hadn’t been paying much attention to the demon’s appearance at the time, too caught up in her righteous demand for an apology, but she remembered a sheet of pure black hair covering over one of her eyes, two long curved purple horns atop her head, and scaly black wings drawn in behind her shoulders. Despite being the object of Linnary’s drunken annoyance, she thinks she can remember a small smile on the demon’s red lips, and amusement glittering in her visible blue eye. Linnary then felt Marl grab onto her shoulder to pull her away and tell her to stop, just before everything went white.

Getting zapped anywhere was an unpleasant experience, but covering such a long distance left them incredibly disorientated for a long time, and served to show off how powerful the demon really was.

“Oh no,” Marl whined, breaking through Linnary’s thoughts, “we’ve really got to stay here for twenty-four hours?” She sighed and rested her forehead on the back of Linnary’s shoulder.

“Get the goat, Marl. I’ll start the fire,” Linnary nearly growled, crushing the card in her fist, “I don’t care if I have to swim over to that island or jump into one of Simon’s wet dreams. We’re getting off this island before sundown. And then I’m finding that demon for some payback.”

#I fell in love with these characters in 2k words I'm terrible #they're idiots and I love them #my writing #original writing #writers of tumblr #if anyone wants to know I can tell you that if it was a full story it'd be enemies to lovers slow burn #izu says stuff #fantasy story #short story

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markermacpherson · 2 years

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How important are Airbnb reviews?

How Important Are Airbnb Reviews? Reviews are crucial for establishing credibility and trust among Airbnb guests. These reviews can help you get future bookings, boost your self-esteem, and enhance your services. These are the steps to get more 5-star reviews. The goal of our company is to get more five-star reviews than feasible. Positive reviews can help establish trust. Positive reviews are an effective tool in the trust economy. Consumers are more trusting of companies that have at minimum 10 reviews that are positive. The new customers rely on the reviews of previous customers before taking a final decision on a product. The businesses that don't have reviews stand at the disadvantage of not having reviews. Although a company may have an excellent product, it is unlikely to get the fame it deserves if no one knows about it. In an effort to combat this issue, Airbnb tweaked its review procedure. Airbnb hosts are invited to write reviews that praise the guests' experience. Reviews that praise hosts creates an impression of an ideal host, and it lasts for a time. Since people are receptive to praise, it will improve your odds of booking future events. Even though this could seem odd Positive reviews on Airbnb can be crucial to establishing confidence. The people who have read the reviews have a higher likelihood of trusting the host of their stay over those who've never had a stay at their place. Do not just write a glowing review but also remain honest with them. This will help you avoid being a source of offense for guests. It could also earn you an image of being a wonderful host. Your rental can get more guests if you've received positive reviews on Airbnb. Good reviews will encourage travelers to choose your listing and let others know that it's worthwhile to stay at your place. Make sure you follow these helpful tips in order to convince satisfied guests to write reviews on the Airbnb listings you have. The first step to getting a good review is to say thank you to your guest for their stay. Airbnb utilizes a system that encourages honest reviews. It encourages its guests to provide comments within 14 days following the end of their stay. It's vital to leave honest reviews. Airbnb will also keep guests' comments private. If reviews are written more than a month after the time of the stay, Airbnb will not publish it. The purpose of reviews is to create confidence between Airbnb hosts and guests. airbnb that are positive can be an essential element in this process but they shouldn't be your sole reason for trust building. Airbnb is a nine-year old company that has assisted thousands of people to build the connections necessary to ensure a great travel experience. They increase future bookings Learn how to get good reviews for your business if you wish to improve your Airbnb listings' chances of being booked in the future. The first step is to learn the preferences and needs of your customers. Then, you can predict potential issues and anticipate these. The other important aspect is to learn how the review process works. This will help you get more good reviews and bounce back from negative ones. Over the long term, it could mean more appointments for you. While writing your reviews you should emphasize the good characteristics the guests. Guest appreciate compliments which is why highlighting the best characteristics of your guests is a great way to improve your reviews on Airbnb. You should also mention the those guests whom you'd like to welcome back in the future. This isn't just a great idea to praise your guests but also to provide a brief description about the person who is visiting so that others are able to know more about your home. They boost your ego If you're an Airbnb host Airbnb and you're aware of the importance of the ability to get reviews is vital to the success of your business. However, it's important to not be too egocentric in responding to critiques. Your reputation could suffer should you reply in a defensive or snarky or snarky manner. If you want to make sure that you're not portraying yourself as rude, think about reading the total number of reviews for your listing and try to avoid being in a defensive manner. They can help you enhance your services. Airbnb reviews are a fast option for guests to assess the experience they had with their Airbnb. The ratings can be based on a variety of factors, including cleanliness, location and amenities. Airbnb also allows you to look back at the ratings you have received. Try to earn high ratings on all of your listings on Airbnb, especially if considering renting these properties. Additionally, you should have at least a cancellation ratio of less than 1.1%. Guest reviews can be a boon for you, the host, as well as for Airbnb. The reviews can help hosts decide whether or not to allow guests. Additionally, they help prospective hosts avoid problems with previous hosts. Furthermore making a review that is personalized to a previous guest proves that you are a reliable and thoughtful host. The positive reviews are more likely to lead to repeat bookings and higher ratings for your listing. The ability to review Airbnb guests' reviews is an excellent way to identify potential hosts. Customers may have selected an Airbnb host on the basis of comments and reviews. Make sure to provide transparent and precise reviews in order so that you can ensure that your Airbnb listing is reliable. Remember that writing a review is not an easy task however it's important to utilize for enhancing your profile. An effective Airbnb review should contain precise details from your guest's experiences. It should not be sarcastic and too detailed. The content should rather be objective, and include positive comments on the guest and the place. Following these steps will increase your chances getting positive feedback. Also, be honest and open about any security measures you've implemented. This will help you to gain repeat bookings and 5 star reviews from future guests.

#airbnb

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malewifehenrycooldown · 3 years

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Me? drawing my JJBA self insert? More likely than you think!

#Shallow draws #shallow rambles #do not reblog!#this is a work in progress!#comment and critique is appreciated and welcome though!#myart #☮️✨ | Outrageous and Bizarre #jjba self insert: taylor ripley

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mcmoth · 3 years

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Dream SMP fandom etiquette

So. This post is probably too little, too late, considering the fandom and the issues I'm about to talk about have existed for so long now, and a lot of the people who need to hear this probably aren't on tumblr anyways, but I just wanted to dedicate a quick post to talk about fandom etiquette. Mostly pertaining to discourse, and interactions with people outside of our circle. These are just going to be my own personal thoughts, of course, but I felt it could be good to bring some of this to attention. So without further introduction:

Where to (not) talk about discourse:

Don't go into other streamer's vods to only focus about a different character. If you want to analyse, for example, c!Techno, do it in Techno's stream. Don't go into unrelated streams, like Tommy's, Tubbo's etc. to do it, even if they were a part of the event in question. This is, of course, with the exception if the character in question didn't stream their own pov. But otherwise, stay in your own space. This is to prevent cluttering a streamer's comments about unrelated discussion. To give further example: Tubbo's vod comments should primarily focus on Tubbo's character. Not Tommy's, Ranboo's, Techno's or whoever else's.

Don't start discourse in the comments of animatics. Seriously, stop that. Animatics aren't discussion boards. The comments are there to analyse and appreciate the video presented, not argue. It's especially rude if you pick a small detail, that wasn't even the focus of the animatic, or even a completely unrelated issue to rant out your frustrations about. To give examples: starting disc discourse in an animatic of Tommy talking to Wilbur, or rambling about how tragic Techno's character is in an animatic focused on clingy duo, etc.

This applies to fan songs as well.

Video essays are the exception to these rules. I think it's safe to say they're the place to bring your hot takes, if you really feel so inclined to argue in youtube comment sections (Though I'd personally advise to still keep the topic relevant).

Keep negativity out of fanfic comments. This isn't nearly as big of an issue as the last points, but I've seen it happen a couple times, so I'm deciding to mention it. Fanfics are written for fun. Even if you disagree with the characterisation or something else, unless the author is clear in accepting critique, keep criticism to yourself. And definitely don't rant about how you dislike a character unrelated to the fanfic. Sharing your thoughts on the fanfic itself is of course fine and welcomed, but when it turns from discussing the author's story to talking about how you dislike a character in canon, that's when it crosses a line. Example: comment talking about what you don't like about c!Tommy on a Bench Trio fanfiction.

When commenting on art, keep the feedback positive. Even if you dislike any presented character, keep that to yourself. Example: Don't say things like "I hate x character, but this art is good". You might think the author would feel honoured, but it's actually just hurtful.

How to deal with discourse:

This is gonna be a shorter section, because I think we all chose to do it in different ways, and that's valid. Also, it's just that I, myself, am still learning how to do this well, but I thought it could be good to try to lay it out anyways.

Try to scroll past takes you disagree with instead of arguing if you don't think you'd be able to keep your cool. Noone likes a random person yelling at them through a screen, and if you rant, you'll get an equally frustrated reply back, and noone will be happy. Either explain your point in a calm manner, or scroll past/ unfollow/block.

On the keeping cool thing, remember to just step away. Take a deep breath and calm yourself down before proceeding. To minimize the frustration you feel on a daily basis, filter tags, block people, avoid videos and youtube comment sections that you know will upset you, and leave certain internet spaces if you find yourself unable to escape negativity even with all those steps. Remember: in the end, it's all a game played by friends, a story, and your enjoyment of it lies in what you take from it. Abandon what makes you unhappy. Marie Kondo your fandom experience.

Also, here's your reminder, to whom this is relevant, to take care of yourself. Hydrate, eat, sleep, clean up, get fresh air, remember the things outside of all this. There's plenty to do outside of this fandom, and what you can do here can wait. There is no pressure, or obligation. Not for the content you create, not for the discussions you bring, not for responding to discourse, not for anything. Fandom is meant purely for fun, so take care <3

Interacting with people outside of the fandom:

This is something that I've seen a bit of talk about, and I thought I'd drop in my own thoughts on this as well. No matter the differences, we're all just trying to vibe, and I think these are important things to keep in mind to leave both sides better off:

Don't interact with hate posts. Just don't. You don't want to see them, they don't want to see you. Even if your response is lighthearted, their animosity is not. They will feel frustrated regardless, and the grudge will only grow. And if they're being agressive, calm discussion most likely won't happen even if you're being polite. Just leave it, please.

Correct misinformation calmly. I completely get how it can be frustrating to see blatant lies and all, but with our reputation, people will not listen if you're being antagonistic. Provide sources, explain, and leave it at that.

Don't be hateful, send death threats, or assume privilege or whatever else. That's stepping into the same shoes of the people you hate. Misunderstandings go both ways, and the fact of the matter is, I think most people who dislike DSMP, even the ones who are agressive about it, don't have their stance rooted in maliciousness. To expand on why the situation became what it is today, taken from a discussion on discord:

I think it's just a combination of Dream growing so insanely quickly + how internet spaces have changed over the years. When ccs like jackstepticeye or pewdiepie etc. grew popular, activism wasn't as prevalent and held to such importance. Now it's thankfully more talked about, but that also leads to Dream being more scrutinized in comparision. Add twitter trends and the general prevalence of the fandom, and you've got everyone feeling tired and frustrated and paranoid. People also tend not to fact check stuff, especially when it comes to celebrities and stuff they're not really interested in, so rumors spread fast.

And actually, I think there's absolutely valid reasons to be made uncomfortable by Dream SMP, either in it's creators, content or fandom, and there is, of course, stuff to criticise in general. The problem is the hate and misinformation and overexposure, but we are not going to solve any of that by being aggressive in return.

(This is, by the way, not talking about more serious cases. Like doxxing, or leaving gore images in hashtags, or similar instances. That's a whole different complicated issue that I don't feel qualified to tackle.)

And finally, don't overwhelm outsiders who merely mention the Dream SMP. Don't send asks asking them to watch it, don't write paragraphs explaining the lore, don't confuse them with inside jokes, just... Don't jump on people like that. Unless they're explicitly clear in wanting interaction and getting into the fandom, that kind of thing will just drive them away. This is in no way exclusive to the Dream SMP fandom, pretty much every fandom has people enthiastic to have more people involved, but since there are so unbelievably many of us, it's especially easy to go overboard with this stuff. Just... be polite, and don't pressure anyone. Be nice, please.

So.... ya! This would be it for this one, I think. Sorry that it's kinda long, thank you if you read it at all. Hope y'all have pleasant days ^^

#dream smp #mcyt #fandom #fandom etiquette #fandom critical #tommyinnit #technoblade #tubbo #dreamwastaken #let me know if i should remove tjose tags - i'm not sure whether it counts as crosstagging or not sorry #long post #my own post

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markets · 3 years

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so twitter is here now huh

welcome! twitter is hell so glad to have you guys. im doing the same thiing everyone else is doing, tumblr advice for new people under the cut, if you dont feel like reading it all the most important things are in bold (click keep reading):

- since its relevant, if a post is very long use one of those things ^ so that its more comfortable for people scrolling! its the one on the right below. theres no character limit on here so please use this when necessary lol

- reblogging stuff you like is important, especially art and writing! thats really the only way to push content on here and the like to rb ratio on mcytblr tends to be terrible so its very appreciated. if you REALLY like it you can leave nice comments in the reply section or in the tags as well! people appreciate them a lot :] if you want to rb something but dont want it appearing on your blog right now, theres a little arrow next to the post button and if you click on it, you’ll get the option to queue the post, meaning it appears on your blog later (you can adjust exactly when in the queue settings, found under the little profile icon)

- you can choose how private you want to be. ive seen so many people be like “dont say your name. dont say your age. dont make an intro post.” or “put your entire medical history in your carrd” but i feel like you can choose how you want to present yourself on here! you dont have to say anything about yourself if you want, or you can make a fun intro post/carrd with the things you like, or you can just say your name (or moniker), whether youre a minor or not, and pronouns, or anything else! its up to you, and here you dont really have to worry about getting doxxed so. obviously dont give out your address or anything but yeah :]

- ^kind of going off what i just said, if you want friends on here, you can make an intro/looking for mutuals post and put your interests in the tag section! thats how i found lots of my mutuals. honestly just use the tags in general, because its the only way to get your posts out there other than rbs and its much better than speaking into the void. dont put tags unrelated to the post itself though, people dont really like it. tumblr prioritizes the first 5 tags on a post ive heard, so be mindful of that, especially if youre an artist or writer!

- on the subject of tags, if youre going to critique a dsmp character, feel free to do so, just tag it appropriately! for example, if youre making a post that criticizes c!philza, tag it as #c!philza critical. also, please dont tag dsmp/mcyt posts as mine//craft or mine//blr (censoring it so it doesnt appear in the search), people who just want to hear about the game dont appreciate it. also, please dont tag or1gin smp (censoring again) for posts about the hybrid smp with tommy, ranboo, tubbo, etc because an active fandom already uses that tag, use osmp instead :]

- discourse isnt really common on here, but if youre going to talk about it, tag it as #discourse so that people can blacklist it. oh yeah i forgot to talk about that, you can blacklist tags in settings, which is great for triggers or anything you just dont want to see. id suggest blacklisting all forms of whatever the tag is (for example, dont just blacklist #tw gore, blacklist #gore tw, #gore cw, #cw gore, and #gore as well). lots of blogs (like mine) operate on an ask to tag basis, meaning that if you send them an ask asking to tag a specific thing, they will!

- speaking of asks, people love them! ive never met someone who doesnt like getting an ask, regardless of how random it is. if you like someones content or want to be their friend, feel free to send an ask, anonymous or not! i think this goes without saying but just in case, sending anon hate is heavily frowned upon, its kind of a pussy move as well tbh so dont do it

- other than the occasional weirdo mcytblr/dsmpblr is pretty chill, so try not to start fights in main tags for no reason lol please i dont want to have to migrate to linkedin or some shit. if you see something you dont like, the best move is to just block them and move on. literally just block anyone you dont like itll make everything so much more pleasant i promise. however if you do want to start a fight my asks are always open <3333

overall, just dont be an asshole and have fun!! here are some blogs id recommend following:

mine lol pls give me clout, @relaxxationattack, @cyani07, @night-and-dae, @otteritos, @esclapo, @periwinklemoonlight, @minecraftsz, @timedeo, @poorlydrawndsmp, @tittybitch, @lnniter, @girlbossinnit, @trickszie (if youre on here we’re mutuals and/or i think you’re really cool so hiiii)

#tumblrientation #mcytblr #mcyt #dsmpblr #dsmp #dream smp #angiemarkets.txt #swearing #mcyttwt #dsmptwt

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stray-kids-react · 3 years

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An intimidating soft 99 liner male member, joining the group.

Masterlist

...

Bang Chan

° You weren't the most kind looking person in a crowd to say it lightly, but you've grown use to people being cautious around you.

° When meeting Chan for the first time, he tried to remain a calm composure. Even though his eyes showed every worry he had in his head. Whether it was about you or not.

° You were only a few years younger than your new leader, but he seemed much more approachable than yourself. Even though you were honestly just as sweet as him.

° Chan is a very open minded person and wouldn't care if you looked like a care bear or freshly released prisoner, all that mattered was your personality and manners.

° He knew that you wouldn't do any harm once the first word left you mouth, your tone soft as you became a shy blushy mess in front of all of them, especially Chan.

° He introduced you to the band soon after, taking you aside to reassure that he'll be there for anything you need. You've never seen someone be so comfortable around you, it was a refreshing feeling.

Lee Know

° Would be the member to take the most time to warm up to you, regardless of how you looked. He can be a bit distant.

° You had to make the first move when introducing yourself, ending up sharing a dorm with Minho. He didn't seem to be intimidated by you at all, you were shocked.

° Minho's glances towards you as you spoke it felt like he could hear every thought in your head, as if he knew immediately what you truly were like.

° He may seem like he doesn't pay attention to you at first, but once someone tries to tease you he'll be right at your side. He truly does care, just not great at showing it.

° He'll try to open up to you more, showing more of his chaotic side or introducing you to his cats. Both of those scenarios being major steps into your friendship.

° Thinks you will be an amazing asset to the band, and will treat you like everyone else. Teasing you playfully and chuckling softly as you begin to get a bit annoyed, but will make it up to you with small cute habits.

Changbin

° Is the member you'll relate to the most, since he is an intense rap god with unique features. But he's honestly a huge softy.

° You opened up to him first, knowing you would have some things in common. You just felt comfortable around him, you couldn't explain why, but it was true.

° After the first week of staying there, he couldn't get enough of you. You were a soft little brother to him that he just wanted cuddle everyday and everywhere.

° Does a lot of lives with you, a giddy smile on his features as you talk about stories of your childhood. Everyone notices the adorable friendship, and Stays ship it.

° With a mixture of Changbin's baby voice and aegyo, with your soft voice and cuddly behavior. It will melt everyone's hearts, especially the fans who ship you two.

° Changbin can get protective over you, especially when JYP critiques you on something stupid and unnecessary. He'll usually send a glare their way, with the occasional correction comments.

Hyunjin

° You are honestly more intimidated my Hyunjin than he is of you, due to his determined mindset and all round skills.

° He will admit to being a bit cautious around you on the first few days of your arrival, and he truly does feel bad for judging you just by your appearance at first.

° Would ask Chan what you were like, and once he was told that you weren't a threat of any sort it calmed Hyunjin down immediately. Even if he felt guilty afterward.

° The next day Hyunjin invited you for coffee with him, ending up liking you much more than he expected. You were very sweet and made him laugh nonstop throughout.

° He will not tell you his first thoughts until your friendship is solidified and can't be broken, he would feel terrible if he ever hurt your feelings. Since you are a literal angel.

° Hyunjin has a soft spot for you and you are the only person he doesn't stiffen up against when you hug him. It may be due to your close friendship or the underlining guilt he has, but either way you are his weakness.

Han

° Would act completely himself around you, completely unsure if you would be nice or not. He is always genuinely himself.

° Your striking gaze could strike him a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he doesn't let that show. Not until he gets to know what you are truly like.

° Jisung would feel all of his nerves calm down once you beamed him a shy grin, his efforts to make you feel welcomed working out better than he had planned.

° Introduced you thoroughly to each member, starting out with himself. Explaining that it is an honour for you to meet him, his tone amusing everyone.

° Can't help but adore how cold and rough you look, just because you are honestly just a soft squish. He likes your duality and thinks he could use you as a body guard one day.

° If you get a role of a vocalist, he will look at you as if he is in love. Going on his knees with a hand over his heart, making you become a giggling mess during the recording of the different tracks.

Felix

° Body full of tattoos? Hugs. Pastel kawaii? Hugs. Alien? Hugs. 7ft tall? Hugs. 4ft tall? Hugs. He literally does👏not👏care👏.

° Felix will only judge if he likes someone or not once he gets to know them, and if you are mean to him in any way... I'll pray for you, because everyone is whipped for this aussie.

° But since you are an actual softy with a cold outer appearance, he doesn't mind. You'll probably be surprised by how calm he is around you, especially when he cuddles.

° Felix can relate to you on some level, seeing as people who don't know Stray Kids will usually just notice his deep voice and hot visuals. But he is actually a cuddle bug.

° Doesn't want you to feel like an outsider just because you are new, so he'll invite to bake brownies with him and play video games afterwards.

° Felix will be your favorite dongsaeng even if you don't admit it, everyone will know this as a fact. But no one is upset over it, and actually find it adorable how much Felix effects your heart in small ways.

Seungmin

° Isn't the type to judge someone from their appearance, but it also a bit hesitant on you since you are so new and fresh to the group.

° Seungmin and Minho are similar in the fact that they would take the longest to warm up to someone, regardless of what they looked like or how popular they are.

° Jeongin would be the one to form a connection between you two, making each other hang out with him at the same time so you both could get to know each other.

° You and Seungmin are friends now, but it was hard to get there due to both of you being introverts. It was especially hard to try and hang out due to the hectic schedule.

° Seungmin took you aside while the other members were getting ready to head back to the dorms, he admitted to being glad that you joined the group and became his Hyung.

° Seungmin may be more on the quiet side, but that doesn't mean he's judging you by anything. It just means he's drained out from the schedule and is naturally a bit introverted, which you now understand.

Jeongin

° Jeongin is an absolute fluff ball Maknae, with an evil side... But usually very soft. So you couldn't help but fawn over him.

° You were worried about what he would think of you, finding you creepy looking Ro thinking you aren't idol worthy. But he was very welcoming about the situation.

° You baby Jeongin quite a bit, asking him if he needs help with anything or sometimes just cuddling him. But he doesn't mind, especially when he's tired and clingy.

° A memory that sticks out in both fo you heads is the time Jeongin came back from practice, dragging himself into your dorm. Falling asleep immediately in your bed.

° Jeongin appreciates how generous you are and hoe much you care about him, but sometimes he secretly worries that you don't care of yourself as much as you should.

° Even though you are older and have a bigger responsibility to protect Jeongin, he will help you out just as much as you help him. Many see your brotherly friendship adorable, and fans ship it very often.

#stray kids #kpop #changbin #skz scenarios #stray kids reactions #han jisung #hyunjin #jeongin #lee know #bang chan #felix skz #skz seungmin #skz requests #skz reactions

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ficsandbits · 3 years

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Exhaustion makes a great Cupid.

Hey guys! BNHA has taken over my life recently so have some Aizawa fluff to help relieve my mind of it. I'll also be posting over on my AO3 here : > https://archiveofourown.org/works/28061130

Y/N is written as G/N (Gender Neutral)

Word count: 2,099

Like always, comments and feedback are always welcome and greatly appreciated! If you have any requests don’t hesitate to ask!

Enjoy! xoxo✌🏻💕🌻

Y/N was tired. So bone tired they could barely bring themselves to open their eyes to see who was calling. A week filled with night patrols and paperwork stopping any chance of sleeping in the day were starting to take a toll on their body. They rolled over and hit the answer button, putting the call straight on speaker.

"Hello?" Y/N's voice croaked out, the signs of just waking up still coating their voice.

"Y/N? You okay? You don't sound too good." Aizawa's cool tone rang through the bedroom. At their hum his concern grew. "Do you need me to bring you anything? I have a bit of time before class starts."

"No no." They stretched glancing at the clock. Y/N held back a groan noticing they'd only been home a couple of hours. "I'm okay. Just overworked. What's up?" It was rare for Aizawa to call first, especially on a school day.

"I was wondering if you could come and help me with some hero classes today? I think it'd be good for the kids to go up against someone with your quirk type." The concern from before had dropped but not disappeared. "It's fine if you're busy, we can fit it around your schedule."

"You're in luck, I have the day cleared." Y/N sat up and cracked their back, letting out a satisfied sigh. "What time do you want me?"

They heard Aizawa clear his throat on the other end of the line before he responded. "Around 11 would be perfect. Thank you for your help, I'll see you later." He hung up after the quick conversation, leaving Y/N to double take at the time.

They huffed, working out that there would be about 4 hours to get ready and make the trek to UA. Luckily they had an old hero costume hanging around somewhere, the current one not being in top form after last night. Y/N really would never understand how simple night patrols turned so ugly so quickly. They dragged their tired body out of bed, choosing to run a bath rather than shower hoping it would soothe their aching muscles. Y/N didn't trust themselves to leave on time and set an alarm on their phone for when they had to leave.

What Y/N hadn't anticipated was falling asleep in the bath and having to rush around just to make it out in time. Their drooping eyes and growling stomach made them extremely aware that they were lacking in both sleep and food. Y/N shot off a quick text to Aizawa letting him know that they were on the way, even though he was probably busy.

Y/N had first met Aizawa in high school, the two of them keeping their distance and not really getting to know each other. It wasn't until their later years that they had gotten close, soon becoming each other's close confidant. Aizawa's best friend was quite the competition but there was clearly a difference in the relationships. Y/N adored the loud man, finding him a hilarious comparison to Aizawa's calm and placid nature. They envied their friendship, always sharply reminded of their own friend, who had left to become a hero in a different area. Y/N spotted a group of children sporting hero merch and smiled gently, their eyes drifting shut for a brief moment before the train announcer called out for the stop. As Y/N stood the world tilted slightly and they quickly grabbed onto the nearest pole. An older lady placed a concerned hand on their arm, asking if they needed to sit back down. Y/N waved away the lady's kindness and got off as the doors opened, desperately hoping the dizziness was a one time thing. The walk to UA was more of a struggle than they had hoped, but they made it just in time.

Y/N phoned Aizawa to tell him to come and collect them. Y/N was in luck when he picked up and told them he'd be down to get them in a minute. They idled around preening for no real reason. Y/N found they wanted to look their best, it was the first time in a while that they'd be seeing each other in person and the thought gave them butterflies. Y/N took a deep breathe to calm their jittery nerves. They had been sure the crush they had on Aizawa was long over, yet here they stood with all the nervous excitement of a high school teenager. Y/N was snapped out of their thoughts by the man causing these feelings approaching them. They smiled brightly, their heart fluttering just seeing him in person.

"Long time no see! How long has it been now?" Y/N joined him as they walked back into school grounds. Aizawa clearly giving them a withering look. "Oh come on surely I don't look that bad." Y/N tried to joke earning a sharper glare from him.

He stopped, his arm coming out but not quite touching theirs. "How much sleep have you gotten in the past couple of weeks." Y/N turned to look at him fully, taking a quick note of the way his eyes softened so subtly. "And when was the last time you had a substantial meal. You look ready to drop are you sure you'll be okay in there today?" He got closer to them, peering closer at their sunken eyes. "I'm happy you said you'd come but I care more about your health than I do the lesson today." This time his hand came to rest on their arm, thumb stroking gently.

"I'm here now, I'll be okay." Y/N placed their hand over his giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I can change the lesson around, I won't put your health at risk." His eyes grew more stern the more Y/N protested.

"Shouta, I promise you I will be fine." Y/N removed his hand from their arm, holding it tightly in their own. "Besides you are the last person putting my health at risk." They mumbled the last part out bitterly.

There was clearly no love lost between Aizawa and the hero's association, so Y/N's bitter words were met with gentle acceptance. He caressed their knuckles one last time before letting go of their hand and continuing the walk. Y/N couldn't stop the smitten smile that formed on their face as they trailed behind him. They made light chatter on the way to the training grounds catching up on the many things they'd missed in the others life. Y/N showed off cool new scars they'd got and he sighed deeper at each one as their smile got wider. His concern was only growing the more they spoke but he couldn't express anything before they reached the training grounds.

He glared at his class waiting for them to calm down, not missing the way Y/N suppressed a smirk at the action. "Alright class we've got some active hero training. This is Y/H/N and she'll be helping us out with training today. If any of you want to spar just let us know and we'll arrange it, otherwise we'll be here to observe and help out." The class nodded and looked over to Y/N, all eyes scanning them.

"So this is what it's like being assessed by a bunch of children, it's scarier than I thought." Y/N leaned in to whisper into Aizawa's ear, enjoying the light chuckle he let out and downright loving the scent that wafted from him as he leaned close to whisper back to them.

"They're a bunch of scary kids, no wonder you're worried." He turned to his class stone faced, raising one scruffy eyebrow. "Well are you waiting for an invitation, get to it." He dismissed the class sternly, watching them scatter quickly.

Y/N walked around, occasionally stopping to critique or praise a students form. They were stopped by one student hoping to expand his knowledge on different quirks and how his would be useful against them. Y/N couldn't say no despite the pounding headache and almost constant dizziness. The two moved to a more open space in the grounds and got into position to start their fight. Before they could even begin Y/N's vision suddenly swayed and they became vaguely aware of the feeling of falling but blacked out before they could process it.

"Uh... Mr Aizawa! There's, um, Y/H/N's fainted." The young boy shouted out across the room to his teacher, confusion clear in his voice.

Aizawa turned, a frown plastered on his face wondering what he was talking about only to see Y/N lying on the floor with students stopping what they were doing to gather round. Panic clutched at his heart for a second before he began to make his way over to the scene. He moved quickly, hyper aware of the fact the floor was solid concrete and that Y/N went down with no support, the last thing he needed was them gaining a serious head injury whilst helping him out. When he reached them the first thing he did was check for any injuries, letting out a breathe when he found none.

"Take the class back to homeroom today's session is finished. You can use the time to study for your upcoming exams." He instructed the class lead whilst scooping Y/N up. "I'm going to take them to recovery girl to check for injuries. I should be back soon." He quickly left with Y/N, heading directly to the infirmary.

Y/N groaned as they came around, confused by the surroundings. They felt a weight shift on their side and turned to find Aizawa sat on the bed, hand coming to brush their hair back. Y/N sighed at the sensation their lips turning up into a smile. "Now this is a nice dream." Y/N croaked out.

Aizawa snorted at them, his hand coming to rest on their cheek. "It's not a dream Y/N, you fainted in the training grounds." Y/N's eyes snapped open as they struggled to sit up. Aizawa moved his hand to rest on their shoulder, pushing them firmly back down. "Oh I don't think so, you're in the infirmary and have been out for hours. Rest." His firm voice made Y/N sink back down into the bed.

"Hours? How hard did I go down?" Y/N rubbed at their temples, a dull ache working its way back into their head.

"Recovery girl said you had no outward injuries but were just too exhausted to wake up right away. We let you sleep it off." Aizawa's thumb started it's usual comforting circular motion on their shoulder. "I told you we could rearrange." He sighed, his grip tightening and his eyes closing.

"I honestly thought I'd be fine." They looked up at him noticing his strained jaw and screwed shut eyes. "I didn't mean to make you worry," Y/N reached a hand up to massage gently at his jaw. "I'm sorry."

Aizawa let out a long suffering sigh and leaned forward planting an almost shy kiss onto their forehead. Y/N's eyes widened as their face got hot at the gesture. He lingered for a moment before lowering his forehead to their own, eyes opening to look deeply into theirs. "There's never a time when I'm not worrying about you idiot." He pulled back to give them a gentle smile. "Next time just tell me. Come on let's get you some food and a comfier bed." He grabbed their hands and gave a gentle tug bringing them to sit up.

Y/N stood shakily, Aizawa there to take their arm and help them walk out. "I should get a taxi and just face the ridiculous fare huh." They laughed lightly coming to stand on their own, Aizawa not letting go of their hand.

"Don't be stupid. You're staying with me tonight." Aizawa stated as a matter of fact, smirking at the way Y/N blushed and tried to stutter out an excuse. "No excuses, your in no fit state to be making the trip back." He threw a look over his shoulder towards them as they trailed along shocked. "Besides I don't want to leave you alone right now."

Y/N moved closer, planting a chaste kiss to his cheek. "Thank you Shouta." He smiled and kept them close to him as they walked to his place.

#mha x y/n #mha x gender neutral reader #mha x reader #bnha #bnha x reader #mha #bnha aizawa #aizawa x reader #shouta aizawa #aizawa x y/n #aizawa imagine #bnha imagines

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spectral-apparitions · 3 years

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Hello! Is it ok to request what DJSS's love languages are? I am down bad for this dude

Physical touch: Loves getting affection from you. Just melts right into every touch. Doesnt mind you hugging onto him and will gladly hug back. It actually comforts him to have you snuggled up to him, he loves cuddling with you, having you on his lap, or when you lay on top of him.

He doesnt let just anybody touch him but he actively welcomes every touch from you, and gets touchy in return. He always has an arm around you in photos. At times he can be shy about being affectionate in public, but he eventually he warms up to hand holding or keeping an arm around you. He defensively holds you closer in crowds, when either of you is nervous, or when someone gives you any trouble. If you like giving this kind of affection, I have a post for DJSS with an affectionate s/o.

Words of Affirmation: This guy lives off of praise. He always loves getting praise from anybody, but from you it feels extra special. He can thrive off of the euphoria of your compliments all day. If you say anything sweet to him, it’ll be on his mind for the rest of the day, “they called me cute :)” And deeper, longer, or more personal compliments just really get to him, he can get quite flustered.

On the flip side, he’s also very sensitive to unkind words, or anything that makes him feel rejected. If you ever get upset with him or give him any critique, a little bit of reassurance you don’t hate him helps. Never saying anything affectionate to him also troubles him, as eventually he’ll notice if you’re not verbally affectionate and get worried. So if this simply isn’t your way of affection, just make sure you tell him how you do prefer to show love.

In giving his own loving words, he tends to sprinkle them in with whatever else he’s saying, like a quick comment on something he admires about you. When he’s comfortable and content with you, he says something about how lucky he feels to have you, or how happy he is with you, something little and sweet. In some more serious moments, when you’re upset, or just when he’s feeling extra loving, he can go pretty in depth, listing off lots of things he admires about you.

Gifts: He has little confidence in his ability to pick out gifts. Most of his “big gifts” are reserved for special occasions and it’s something you either explicitly said you want or that he picked out that’s symbolic somehow. He doesn’t realize how often he actually gives you gifts though - he kinda forgets that picking up snacks for you, getting you the thing you picked up then set down at the store, or making playlists are gifts. If you know how to look for it, you’ll see he gets you gifts pretty often.

Gifts aren’t a thing he expects from you, so every one you get for him is a pleasant surprise. Grand gifts can make him feel overwhelmed, but he’s still touched. He’s always surprised when you pick out something based on a comment he made, that you remembered a little fact about him or something he said.

Acts of Service: They barely mamange to do their own work at times, usually wanting someone else to do it or simply not having the motivation for it if it’s not urgent or interesting. For you, though, they suddenly have bursts of motivation. Whatever it is that can be done to relieve you stress, they’re on it, whether doing it themself or having someone else do it. Realizing they feel this way is part of how they realize they’re in love with you. They really appreciate anything you do for them, too. A surefire way to help them relax is to take care of work for them or set up a relaxed setting for them. Whether it’s taking care of chores, prepping food, or driving, anything you do to lighten their stress helps them a lot.

Quality Time: They enjoy having you with them, no matter what you’re doing. They don’t always feel like doing something exciting, but just having you with them makes them feel at ease. He enjoys simply having you nearby. He does really think everything is more special with you. He loves listening to you talk and watching you work. You make everything seem new and fresh, just doing something like watching tv is more fun when you’re there to make commentary.

He’s ready to drop what he’s doing and come see you, or let you join him, when you want to spend time together. The exception though is when he’s wrapped up in work or very focused on what he’s doing; he just needs to keep that drive going.

#You🤝Me #writing #imagines #no straight roads #no straight roads x reader #dj subatomic supernova x reader #dj subatomic supernova

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theonficexchange · 2 years

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Creator Reveals

Creators are now revealed! Thank you everyone so much for participating in this first round of the exchange - whether you wrote/drew, read and commented or just helped us promote, it's been a fantastic experience and we couldn't have done it without you! When I initially made a post on my main blog that was like "it would be so cool if a Theon fic exchange was a thing that happened" I really didn't think at the time that it would be possible, so this has absolutely been a small, but very dear, dream come true. This round has produced such amazing Theon content with an incredible variety of ships and gen relationships, tropes and AUs and topics. We love you, Theon Squad ❤

The collection will stay open in case those of you participating in the Server Special would still like to post treats. Also, if you haven't yet commented on your gift, please do! Your creator will appreciate it.

Feedback, comments, critique and question are very welcome!

The Discord will remain active as well. I'm actually hoping to transition the server to a slightly more general (though still Theon-focused) space, so stay tuned for that.

#Theon Greyjoy #theonexchange2021 #admin

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sassysnowperson · 3 years

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writer's meme - TY to @r0b0tb0y for the tag!

How many works do you have on AO3?

168 - oh man that's more than I'd realized. I passed 150 and didn't even notice!

What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,133,901

So many.

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Since r0b0tb0y and I were just talking about this, I conveniently have a list of all 20 ranked by number of works

134 - Star Wars 7 - Original Works 7 - Marvel 2 - Pirates of The Carribean 2 - The Old Guard 2 - Discworld 1 - Good Omens 1 - Leverage 1 - The Good Place 1 - Avatar: The Last Airbender 1 - Ocean’s 11 1 - Harry Potter 1 - The Goblin Emperor 1 - Gundam Wing 1 - Star Trek: TNG 1 - Hades (Videogame) 1 - Sailor Moon 1 - Russian Doll 1 - Mummy/Wonder Woman crossover

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Lol, looking at my top five - it falls into two categories

1. Fics I wrote right at the height of a fandom's popularity that got a massive reader boost because it was the Hot Thing Right Then

2. Star Wars Fix-Its

A Series of Better Decisions - A Padme/Obi-Wan/Anakin SW Prequel Trilogy fix-it where Anakin talks to Obi-Wan and spends Revenge of the Sith in a stressed-out bisexual panic instead of becoming a Space Fascist. He winds up fake-poly-dating Obi-Wan to try to bring down Palpatine, and eventually winds up in a better place due to the power of Quitting Your Job and becoming a househusband.

Galactic Response Time - Captain Marvel - an at the time MCU canon-compliant gen fic that ran the universe forward and explained how Carol really TRIED to show up for all those other crises that happened, but it turns out most of the major MCU disasters only lasted like three days and space is real big, y'all. Featuring Nick Fury cathartically bitching with his Space Bestie.

New Lands for the Living - Fix-it where the sequel trilogy ends Even Worse, Poe goes back in time to mercy-kill the timeline, and much to his dismay winds up married to just-before-Original-Trilogy Luke Skywalker. He has an existential crisis about his own existence, meets some competent women, and starts fixing things.

Life's Little Pleasures - The Good Omens fic where I put all my ace feelings, featuring metaphysical bonding and good scotch.

Flustered - Another Padme/Anakin/Obi-Wan SW Prequel Trilogy fix-it, where Order 66 never happens. Anakin gets some therapy and Padme gets a horrible crush on Obi-Wan.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I do! I love getting to talk to people about fics, and I so appreciate people making the effort to comment I want to spend some time with them! It's so much easier not to comment, I know.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm this is not my normal wheelhouse. I usually go angst that gets resolved by the end. Let me look to see what the options are.

Okay, I think we've got two contendors: In Waystation an exhausted Poe Dameron crash-lands in a station where a Bodhi Rook that lived and then hid now lives with Baze and Chirrut. There is a little epilgue that implies they're going to meet again, but the bulk of the fic does end with Poe making the decision to go back to the Resistance, and leaving Bodhi behind. Still, I think it's more wistful, rather than angsty.

Time Enough for Mourning takes it though, I think. Davits Draven/Antoc Merrick, that is entirely about Draven mourning the fact that Antoc has died. The end is still, I think, more cathartic than angsty, but it is overall probably the strongest "break out the waterworks" of my fics.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I do occasionally, usually when someone prompts me and I find something in there that makes my brain go!!! I think the strangest is probably The Face Underneath. It's a Cassian Andor/Elim Garak fic where I drag Garak into the Star Wars Universe for a triple drabble series where he is an old mentor of Cassian's.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Mmm, not proper hate. Realtalk, the most devastating one for me was when I posted a fic that the only comment was a spelling critique.

And yes, there was a spelling error, but still, very crushing to have that be the only feedback. (It has since found a few readers that said nice things, very healing :D)

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yes! Uh - consensual, between adults, often M/M adults, tho I have written explicit femslash, hetfic, and poly piles. It's usually affectionate, often plays with power dynamics even if it doesn't go into full dom/sub.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that anyone has made me aware of, I've never looked.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Had a request or two, but never been linked the result - so not sure if it didn't happen or if I just didn't get linked. I welcome it!

I have had several fics podficced, and I LOVE that. What a joy! Making a blanket permission statement that allowed podfic is one of the best decisions I've made as a fic author. Suddenly, Podfic!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Once or twice! I like the idea of doing it, but follow-through is hard. Hoping to do some co-writing soon though, so we will see!

What’s your all time favourite ship?

Sorry, unrepentant multi-shipper here. I like possibilities, and finding the story that will bring people together, more than one specific thing.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I don't have ANYTHING I've given up on, but there are a few fics in my unpublished drafts that were beautiful ideas, and really struggled to become contained stories. They all want to be sprawling things, and I have not felt sprawling-thing-writing passionate about those ideas. But, you never know! Inspiration may strike.

What are your writing strengths?

I'd say character voice, along with that, dialogue. Also humor moments that still have real weight and don't undercut the story, as well as straight comedy writing.

What are your writing weaknesses?

You see, I, uh, do this thing where I don't really end a sentence - I think about ending it, I even assume, at some point while I'm writing that I have ended it; I have not and it meanders, persistently, until I have constructed a whole paragraph made out of one chain of words and a hodgepodge of punctuation.

Also the thing where I accidentally use an unusual word five times in one paragraph because my brain has grabbed onto it like an excited puppy and keeps offering it up as the Perfect Word.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I love having multilingual characters. When writing, I tend to keep all the words in English and use dialogue tags to denote language shift - unless I am inventing the language, or have a speaker of that language willing to beta the bits to make sure I don't mess them up too badly.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Actually wrote and posted? Rogue One.

Fandom of my heart my younger self spun out stories in my imagination about? Where if I had my own computer and easy access to a fic archive they almost certainly would have become spectacularly earnest fics?

ReBoot and Sailor Moon. The Sailor Moon was an AU that took place on the sun and they all had kick-ass horses. Baby Sass knew what was up.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

Nope, sorry, can't pick, love them all in different ways for different reasons.

Tagging: @semisweetshadow, @anamelesstraveler, @jules-of-the-crown - and generally if you follow me and want to do it, do so and tag me in it!

#fic talk #about the writer #long post #text post

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dented-nado · 4 years

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Sweet B

Short drabble of Bruce trying to be, what he thinks would be a “better” boyfriend for Clark!

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It was still baffling to Bruce, even after 2 years of living with Clark, sleeping in the same bed as him, that this sunshine man adored by so many, had somehow ended up being with him of all people.

Bruce didn’t do relationships. It wasn’t that… on a deeper level he craved that kind of closeness with another person, it was that it was just hard. Probably harder for him than most. He had been going to therapy to quite a while now, but he still just struggled with being honest and vulnerable and communicating with his partner.

Clark was always so patient. So, kind. He seemed to understand it took Bruce some time to come around… so he’d wait for him.

But Bruce… Bruce felt like Clark shouldn’t wait for him. Shouldn’t be so patient.

Because he deserved better.

He deserved a partner that knew how to do “the little things” that would make him happy.

A partner that would leap into his arms and kiss him to welcome him home every day.

In short…

Bruce was half terrified of Clark becoming bored or frustrated and leaving him… and hoping on some level that he’d “wake up” realize he could do better and find someone that could be all of that and more.

Bruce loved Clark so much it hurt.

It hurt because he wanted to be so much more than he was. Even if Clark would never ask him to be anything else.

Just because Bruce had stopped actively pushing people away… didn’t mean he wasn’t struggling not to think those things. Think about how those around him would be better off without him in their lives. Would be better off if he hadn’t somehow tricked them into wanting to be around him.

He thought through all these things, as he did often, as he found himself gazing at Clark fast asleep next to him. Bruce felt slightly, quietly soothed at the large arm that was draped across his waist as the larger than life man’s chest rose and fell peacefully.

“I want to give him everything.”

It had been so long where he felt this strongly about someone, to the point where his chest ached and his breathe stuck in his throat. When the occasional thought of Clark not being in his life one way or another crossed his mind, it was enough to make him begin to tear up.

It was bad. He lectured himself for it, but he couldn’t help it.

He adored this man.

He just wished he could show it better.

What did most couples even do? What would Clark like? Could he… pull it off?

In true Batman fashion, the next day Bruce was quietly forming a plan…. Researching… strategizing…

While Clark was gone and when he wasn’t focused on his typical CEO or Batman business, he was reading article after article, research papers, opinion pieces… he felt a little silly reading extensively about “love languages” and “Cute cuddling and positions to try in bed”… actually he felt ridiculous and wound up deleting his search history every 10 minutes after he fully read through something.

“But this is for Clark.”

He knew Clark had a hopeless romantic in him. The one-time Bruce brought him flowers because that’s what he usually did for second dates, Clark had gone pink in the cheeks and admired them gleefully for a solid 15 minutes gushing about how “I’ve never gotten flowers from somebody before! Now I get it! This is so sweet!”

But knowing that made Bruce even more confused as to why the hell Clark had decided he liked him that way in the first place. He had to be the opposite of romantic.

That was going to change. Starting now. He’d throw down every possible romantic gesture he could.

Then maybe… maybe he’d feel like he was giving Clark back enough for everything that he gave him.

He was about to head down to the Batcave, Clark was about to head off to his monitor duty shift.

Bruce felt a knot in his stomach, but he had made his choice… he was committing to this.

“Clark…” He called out before the man could take off.

“Hmm?”

Bruce approached him, tugged him down slightly by tugging on the part where his cape attached to his suit.

“I’ll… I’ll miss you.” He followed this statement up with a friendly peck on the lips. He really wished he hadn’t stammered, but practice made perfect he supposed.

Clark blinked at him a few times and looked at him quizzically before leaning in and returning the kiss.

“I’ll miss you too B, I’ll see you in the watchtower in a bit.”

“I… look forward to it.” Bruce responded, trying to make a move of straightening Clark’s cape despite it being perfect already.

He read about couples making moves to straighten the others clothing in order to encourage closeness. It was a little awkward however when your partner was in a skintight suit.

Clark gave him a funny look before affectionately moving some of Bruce’s hair out of his face just before disappearing in a blur.

Bruce took stock of how the plan had gone so far on his way down to the cave.

He had been more awkward than he intended, however, Clark seemed to return the gestures, so perhaps this would just take more acclimating to and wasn’t a total flop.

It was joining Clark up in the watchtower before a league meeting, he was dreading the most.

Clark had lamented in past when Bruce had banned any shows of intimacy while they were around other league members, and both were in costume. He had never pushed it though… yet Bruce’s rules were strict to the point of many of the core league members not even knowing they were together as a couple.

Clark had respected those rules, and Bruce had appreciated it… and yet…

He was going to break his own rules. He was going to break his own rules for Clark’s sake.

Still… it was terrifying to him about showing something like that in front of his work colleagues. He envied all the couples that had no problem showing the world how they felt about each other. Even if it looked incredibly sappy and sometimes, he wondered if they were showing off…

Clark would like that, wouldn’t he? To be openly loving and affectionate?

Clark already hid so much of himself… and he was making him hide more…

Bruce shook his head as he made his way into the meeting room. He couldn’t go into beating himself up if he wanted even a chance at pulling this off.

“Spooky has arrived!” Hal announced as usual.

Bruce grunted.

Clark turned to him to make his usual distant acknowledgement of Batman’s presence, only to pause and look incredibly confused as he realized Bruce was making a beeline for him.

“You’ve got this Bruce, just like you practiced.”

He wrapped his arms around Clark’s left arm and stood on his tip toes so he could reach Clark’s cheek and leave a small kiss on it.

“Hi~” He greeted in a very un-Batman way.

He was worried for a second as Clark looked at him in pure shock with slightly pink cheeks.

“Br… Bat… wha…” Clark stammered.

Bruce faltered for a second, heartbeat picking up nervously before he made an attempt to smooth it over.

“I told you I’d miss you.” He slowly unwrapped himself from Clark’s arm, running his right hand along it affectionately before briefly gripping his hand as he pulled away. “Can’t a guy say “hi” to his partner?”

He let go and sat down… slightly proud that he had Clark stammering so much.

“I… uh... but you… um … h…hi…”

Batman smiled at him, ignoring the rest of the core team looking a mix of bewildered, amused, and slightly terrified.

“Well what do you know… spooky’s heart isn’t made of ice after-all!” Hal said with a big grin because of course he had to comment on it.

“Or maybe it was made of ice, but leave it to Superman to thaw it! That’s so… cute.” Barry added.

Bruce nearly grimaced at the cute comment.

“This is for Clark this is for Clark, do it for Clark.” He told himself, forcing himself to try and smile ‘adoringly’ at his partner, but he was slightly concerned due to the way Clark’s eyes were darting all over his face, it might just look… scary.

A long silence blossomed in the meeting room.

“Uh… not to interrupt the love birds, but you know your leading the meeting today, right big blue?” Hal commented cockily breaking the awkwardness.

“OH, yes of course. I was … just thinking.” Clark cleared his throat, clearly trying to move to act full Superman and not think about what just happened.

Bruce relaxed and followed suit, able to slide easily back into the comfort of the distant cool and logic of Batman and make comments and critiques where appropriate.

When the meeting ended, and everyone began filtering out. He noticed Clark waiting around… probably there were some questions coming.

So, Bruce waited too, and stood to meet Clark as soon as the room fully emptied.

“Soo… what was that about?”

He had freaked him out, the mission might be a failure.

Bruce thought about it and chose his words carefully.

“I decided…that my previous rules about not being “out” in costume in front of the league were no longer necessary.” He paused. “I… perhaps shouldn’t have sprung it on you, I apologize.”

Clark scratched the back of his head. “Well I mean… okay yes, I’m surprised, I’m… happy that you want to be out about it, excited even but” He furrowed his brows in concern. “B… is something else going on?”

Bruce tried to will his heart beating in his chest to calm down because he knew Clark could hear it.

“I… just want to be around you more.” He said vaguely.

This didn’t seem to completely get rid of Clark’s worries, but he sighed and let it go.

“Okay. We can be around each other more.” He said with a soft smile.

“Good.” Bruce said, feeling more awkward than ever.

He reached out and grabbed Clark’s hand, trying to be “romantic” but he realized, it once again just looked awkward as they stood there with stiff arms and locked hands.

“Uh…” Clark looked down at their locked hands. “You want to get lunch?”

Bruce took a deep breath and pulled himself in, so he was once again clinging to Clark’s arm.

“Sure.”

“Hmm…” Clark replied as they began walking to the watchtower cafeteria.

Bruce couldn’t help but notice glances their way as they walked. It had to look weird… Batman clinging to Superman. He tightened his grip in nervousness without meaning to.

“Hey… B, you don’t have to hold on to me if you don’t want to.” Clark said in a calming, hushed voice.

He had noticed he was uncomfortable; he was trying to give Bruce a way out.

But no… he couldn’t stop now; he had already committed to this.

“…I want to.”

Clark didn’t seem convinced at all. “...Okay.”

Bruce was quickly losing confidence. What if he couldn’t pull this off at all, what if, if anything he was just turning Clark off him because he was just so hopelessly bad at being a good partner?

He bit his lip, trying desperately to think of a way to salvage the situation. He spotted a nearby utility closet. That was a trope in romance movies, isn’t it?

Quickly scanning to ensure no one was currently looking he pulled Clark’s arm, opening the utility closet and pulling it open and yanking them both inside, ignoring Clark’s confused stammering.

“Bruce! What...??”

He pulled his cowl off immediately pressed his lips to Clark, practically climbing on him, at this point hoping to force his way out of the horrific awkward feelings he was having.

He stopped when he felt Clark’s hands on his waist gently pushing him away. He parted, face now fully betraying him in showing his nervousness and uncertainty.

“Bruce, what is going on with you?” Clark said, now looking fully worried.

Bruce’s heart sank. Of course, him, trying to act affectionate… it was so unnatural, so transparently bad, he’d already screwed it up.

“Are… are you dying??”

“What?? No!”

Clark looked wide eyed.

“Am I dying?”

“No!” Bruce bit back. “Why would you even think that?”

“You’re just… acting so weird, it makes me think like… you’re worried you’re not going to see me again?? Why else would you be forcing yourself like this??”

Bruce went still and slowly hung his head. He was really this bad, that Clark would think that something bad was happening before thinking Bruce just wanted to show Clark how much he appreciated him?

He wanted to be mad, but he was just sad.

“…I know I’m not a good partner…” Bruce began, trying to will the knot out of his stomach.

“Bruce… what are you…?”

“I have trouble expressing myself, every time I try to feel affectionate, I feel like I’m doing it wrong, so I don’t attempt it half the time. I never let myself get close to someone, so I don’t know how to act. You… you deserve so much more than that.” He rambled, looking down at his feet.

“oh B…” Clark uttered bringing a hand up to Bruce’s cheek.

“I…I want to give you so much, be so much more for you. Other couples make it look so easy, but it’s so stupidly hard for me.” He admitted almost in a whisper. “I thought… maybe if I threw myself in the deep end, out of my comfort zone… maybe I could be the kind of partner that you should have.”

“Bruce, I love you all of you, you don’t need to force yourself to be uncomfortable for my sake.”

Bruce sighed. “I knew you would say that you damn boy scout.”

“Because it’s true. Bruce, I don’t mind that you don’t want to always be open about us being in a relationship, I understand. And I know all of this is harder for you, and that’s okay.”

Bruce went stiff under Clark’s hands that now rested on his shoulders.

“‘Okay’ isn’t enough. Clark… I know you love romance; I know that just because you respect and understand my rules around not being out, doesn’t mean I don’t know that you would still want those things.” Bruce half-snapped. “You… you can’t keep just putting up with things when I’m being selfish!”

“You’re not being selfish Bruce, its not selfish to have boundaries!” Clark said gripping his shoulders tighter and bending down so Bruce was forced to look at him. “Sometimes, yes, I wish I could say how much I love you every of every day. Sometimes, I wish I could say ‘leave my bat alone because he’s actually the sweetest, kindest man I know’ and sometimes I get pissed off when people treat you like you don’t have feelings or aren’t human, yeah, sure. But there’s no point in going around with you on my arm or announcing those things if it makes you uncomfortable. I’m not forcing myself or making myself miserable by not doing that because I’d feel absolutely horrendous if I forced you out in front of everyone when you’re not ready or don’t want it.”

It was now Bruce’s turn to stare at Clark in shock. “But…”

“Besides, your already do a lot to show your affection in your own way. Like… when we’re sleeping how you’ll curl up against me, or how sometimes when we’re both working in the bat-cave you’ll quietly put your hand on my back or hold my hand… or when you’ll give me the sweetest smiles in moments when you think I won’t notice, or how you’ll laugh openly around me…”

Was Clark… swooning? Thinking about him??

“The point is Bruce… you already do all that effortlessly, I think it’s sweet that you’re willing to go to such lengths for me, but you really don’t have to, okay? Especially when its uncomfortable for you.”

Bruce looked over Clark’s face for a second before sighing and leaning forward so his forehead was on his boyfriend’s chest.

“You have a way with words that I envy sometimes.”

Clark chuckled and ran his hand through Bruce’s hair. “Thank you.”

“It wasn’t all bad though…” Bruce said with a quiet smile.

“Oh?”

“It was fun being able to make you all flustered in front of the league… and kind of funny seeing some of the reactions.”

Clark’s chest rumbled as he chuckled. “Well I guess those situations give you the upper hand, so of course you’d enjoy it.”

Bruce joined in on Clark’s chuckle. “It’s true. Maybe that’s the secret formula. There was that one time you were being flirted with by someone you saved that you were being polite as always in turning down and I barely held myself back from kissing you right there as a big “fuck you” to them.”

“You know what, that’s happened to me more than once when you’ve been flirted with or are putting on your “Brucie” show.” Clark admitted.

“We’re hopeless.” Bruce admitted.

“We are. But that’s okay.”

Bruce looked back up at Clark. “But really… Clark… it’s not all forcing myself for your sake, I really… I really do want to get better, learn to be more open again. It’s just… hard.”

Clark kissed the tip of Bruce’s nose, causing it to wrinkle slightly out of Bruce’s control.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day Boo. You don’t have to figure it all out right this second or change on a dime. I know how you are, and how you get frustrated when you can’t get a handle on something right away. But if you really want to be more open, we can slowly try things, but you have to promise to tell me when your uncomfortable.”

Bruce grumbled. “Fine. But you can push me a little more you know… I don’t need to be treated like I’ll fall apart if you hug me in front of green lantern or something…” Bruce gruffed stubbornly.

Clark laughed and pulled Bruce into a hug right there. “Okay okay. It’s a deal.”

Bruce paused. “I did already sort of blow a massive hole in the “slow” thing now that the whole league knows…”

“Well… everyone knows Dinah and Oliver are together and they aren’t clinging onto each other all the time.” Clark pointed out.

Bruce knew it wasn’t Clark’s intention, but now he felt like more of a doofus. He groaned.

“I don’t know how to relationship.” He admitted.

“Well… to be honest, neither do I. Sometimes I wonder how me, an alien, managed to deserve someone like you.” Clark said with a slightly sad smile.

How he deserved him?? Bruce almost felt relieved that Clark had some of the same thoughts, but at the same time he didn’t want Clark to ever think he was unworthy.

“…We need to work on you referring to yourself like “alien” as if it’s a bad thing.”

Clark scratched his neck. “Ingrained habit I guess.”

“You work on stopping doing that and we’ll… both work on reminding each other we’re not unworthy or not good enough to be in each other’s lives.”

Clark’s gaze softened. “Okay... I can do that.”

Bruce moved to re-open the closet door before pausing. “Clark…”

“Yeah?”

Bruce took a deep breath. “I love you”

Despite the closet being dark Bruce knew Clark was beaming at him. “I love you too sweet B!”

#superbat #superbats #batman #superman #manman #clark kent #bruce wayne #clark x bruce #bruce x clark #batman x superman #writing #ficlet #drabble #my writing #dc fanfic

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