#and I usually remember or have read one story per author to try out their style but this slipped my radar

[n0v4t33z]

The Piece Of Eight - Chapter of Eledonia

Pairings: Capt. Hongjoong X Female Reader , Crewmate San x Female Reader (Overall not chapter specific)

Genre: Pirate AU, Romance, historical-ish, Action, Angst, Non-Idol AU

Word Count: 10.6k

Tags/Warnings: For Mature Audiences, Violence, Language, mentions of blood and gore, Highly Suggestive at times (This is a warning for the whole story overall)

Chapter specific: y/n uses her sword on Matz, y/n protects Matz from a fellow villager and cuts him a bit in the process, y/n remembers her traumatic past, Seonghwa mentions Hongjoong's past (Overall nothing too bad right now honestly)

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!!

Spotify Playlist ⚓ | Masterlist 🏴‍☠️

Author's Note💌: Hi! This is one of my newer works and I hope whoever reads this enjoys it! I've worked very hard on this and tbh i've been working on this when I'm not writing for TS (which is alot because I'm stuck as of rn) Also I guess I'll say this right now but this story will have alot of blood and violence in the future chapters and in some instances flashbacks from MC's tragic past which will get VERY dark. I am aware not alot of people like that so before any of it starts I will warn you in future chapters of any trigger warnings. Anyway, please enjoy and don't be shy to leave me your comments or thoughts! (please be kind!) 🌙

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For as long as I can remember I’ve always been poor, not that it’s bothered me. If anything it has made me very resourceful and grateful for the little things I have in life, but it definitely would have been nice if we at least had something under our name because maybe then being prisoners for years wouldn’t have been an option. 

Then again everything that happened was against Eledonia's wishes so of course, that of being a prisoner was long ago from when I was 4 years old until I was about 13 so having to endure and watch all those years of people getting abused and tortured again and again on the daily definitely takes a toll on you. Lucky for me I put that anger I had in learning how to protect myself and my family.

 For a while my family was against it because according to them I should be focusing on something else that won’t risk me getting hurt, like being a good housewife. The way I think though is if I didn’t at least know the basics of training we’d suffer again like before and when the Saitors left our country that’s when it began.

 Now my grandpa, a retired soldier of our nation Eledonia has been training me for a few years now. He’s taught me everything I know about weapons and self defense. For the most part I train by myself by the shore near where our village is so I can hear the calming waves and stay watch in case any ship is nearby. Which is what I'm on my way to do this morning.

"Make sure not to stay too late over there, I need you to help me take these beans over to the market to see how much we can get for them" I nod "Sure, I'll be back later Mom!" I walk outside as the early morning sun slightly obstructs my vision causing me to slightly squint trying to get used to the brightness.

 While I walk down the trail I take in the beauty of the forest and see how much the flowers and leaves on the trees have bloomed since spring began, everything was so lush and green. As soon as I’m hit with the smell of the salty sea it’s my queue that I’ve arrived at my destination with no need to look over at the sea for confirmation which unknowingly at the time I’ll seemingly regret.

 I begin my training as per usual until a few hours pass by and I begin to hear shouting in the distance and splashes in the water almost like a ship was being docked. I run towards the edge of the shore and realize a man was watching me with his spyglass.

I couldn't make out his features but panicking now knowing how long he’d been watching me I start sprinting back home with adrenaline coursing through my veins. It takes me less than 5 minutes to arrive at my village's territory before I begin to yell in panic “A ship is docking!! They’re pirates!”

The villagers look at each other in confusion and panic until I spot the chief. I run as fast my legs could take me but my legs feels weak from the Imminent fear. At this point I don't know how I'm still standing.

 “Chief there are pirates docking their ship right now!! Please anyone! One of them looked right at me, they know there are people here now! ”

 Immediately the Chief rings a bell 3 times then walks over to me gently placing his hand on my shoulder “Thank you for telling me Metztli, run to gather your family and we’ll all head over to the underground cave.”

 I obediently nod and hurriedly run home and notice my mom feeding my little brothers  while my father and grandfather were having some sort of conversation then while still slightly out of breath I say “There’s a ship docking right now and it’s a pirate ship, we have to go..” 

Everyone freezes for a moment then my grandfather lets out a sigh and gets up “Let’s go. Leave everything as it is.” My parents begin packing a few things meanwhile I grab a few of my books and some of my clothes enough for a few days. 

When we arrive at the underground cave I notice the whole clan was there, of course our clan wasn’t very big but to see everyone gathered up there was shocking to see how many people were scared of the same thing happening all over again. Of course I don’t blame them, it was a time none of us want to remember. 

The inside of the bunker of the cave was far from fancy, it was basically a hole in the ground with a few torches on the walls for light and a few scattered bonfires for warmth and cooking, everything else was just rock.

 After a week in the bunker we all grew impatient and very hungry so the chief sent a few people out at dawn to see if the boat was gone, when the men came back they alerted the chief the boat was gone from where it was docked marking it safe for us to return back to our homes.

That very same day after returning home my mother sends me off to the market to buy a few necessities we ran out of while in the underground bunker. When I arrived at the market I realized I had a smile on my face, it was nice seeing everyone going back to normal. It was definitely a close call, it still doesn’t sit right with me how one of the people in that ship saw me. 

Luckily they’re long gone by now so I shouldn’t think about it too much. I walk over to a vegetable stand with a small old lady running it “Oh hi sweetie, how are you? What would you like today?” I smile and hand her the crescents along with the reusable grocery bag  “It’ll be the usual Rosalia.”

 She smiles and begins to load up the bag with vegetables “Aren’t you glad that ship was false alarm? I don’t think my old self could handle another invasion again honestly.” I nod “Another one would be a curse that was so scary, my heart almost jumped out of my throat when I saw them.”

 She hands me the grocery bag and says “Luckily it wasn’t anything to worry about sweetheart. Alright, be safe and go ahead and let your mother know I said hi.” I nod and wave goodbye and head over to the next vendor to buy my grandfather’s favorite snack, coconut candy.

 Although I really dislike the weirdly textured candy my grandpa seems to enjoy it and honestly that’s okay as long as he’s happy.

“Oh hi y/n what brings you here today?” I set bag of vegetables on the floor and dig into my pocket for money “Oh I’ll just have one coconut candy today for my grandpa” He grabs the candy and hands it over to me “One crescent”

 I nod and hand him the money and begin to walk away “y/n, wait up!” Causing me to halt in my steps and turn that’s when he wraps a small piece of cake and puts it in a small box and hands it over to me “It’s not much but it’s a small thanks for alerting the chief about the ship earlier this week” 

I reach over for the box with a “Oh wow thank you so much Armando, you have no idea how grateful i am for this.” I bow my head slightly and he does the same “Goodbye y/n take care!” I smile and wave goodbye and begin to walk towards the entrance of the market that’s when I see two young men around my age wearing unfamiliar attire.

 The shorter one’s hair was an unnatural shade of blonde with his hair being short in the front but long in the back, a small braid adorning his hair. His dark eyes are rimmed to resemble smoky soot stained eyes giving him a very intense look, he wore a simple cross chain around his neck and a single silver earring on his right ear, and wore a black odd looking cape thing and under it he wore a simple black long sleeve, on his left arm there was a black band of some sort that had an hourglass shape with a circle in the middle and 4 phases of the moon surrounding it. 

He also wore some sort of black pants accentuating his small figure. For the one standing next to him which was the taller one, his hair was jet black, and wore very similar style clothing only this one opted for a white colored long sleeve shirt and a grey colored vest over it to accentuate his small waist with the same sort of odd black cape thing over his shoulders.

 His pants being the same ones as the short one just iike their boots. One thing that stuck out is the tall one had a visible weapon on his back, a shot gun.

Fuck. Pirates. The shorter one leans over to tell the taller one something and that’s when the taller one begins walking in my direction. I have no weapons on me, I have to go. I drop my stuff and make a run for it into the forest. 

While I run I hear the man call out to me in the distance but unfortunately my fear is not letting me decipher what he was saying. I begin to run in the direction of the river by the water fall but take the alternate lesser known route.

 When I make it to the river I hide behind the waterfall that’s when I hear the tall man call out to me “Hello? I promise we won’t hurt you. We just want to talk.” I scoff almost laughing at his words. Not hurt me? Then why was he hoisting around a fucking shot gun on his back? 

I decide to stay quiet while he continued to try and lure me out then a few minutes later the shorter man with the arm band joins him at the side of the river and he joins him with the same words the other was protesting saying that they will not hurt me which is honestly hard to believe as I can now see the shorter one has weapons too. 

Suddenly the shorter one begins to speak my language “Hello, I will not hurt you. I want to talk.” I sigh realizing they know I’m here then I nervously say “How do I know that? The tall one and you have weapons.”

Both the shorter and taller man look at each other in surprise not expecting me to answer them back that’s when without hesitation the shorter man unholsters his gun and throws it in the river along with the sword that was perfectly hidden under his long cape thing. The tall one removes the gun from his back and throws it in the river the and shorter one continues “I am sorry. Can you come out?”

 Hesitantly I step out from behind the waterfall and I pick up a few rocks and throw them in their direction causing them to step back giving me enough room to grab the sword they threw into the river. “What do you want?”

 I point the sword at both of them causing them to both have their hands raised in mercy then the shorter one says “Alliance.

” I furrow my eyebrows “I’m confused, I’m poor. I have no influence.” He nods understandably “You have strength, I saw you training by the water when we first met 7 days ago” Suddenly it dawns on me this man was the same man watching me train through his spy glass by the shore.

 Unable to form any words out of shock I stay silent and the man continues “My name is Hongjoong, next to me is Seonghwa what about you?” Hesitantly I look around and study their expressions, they seemed genuine but a part of me is too scared to trust them “y/n.” 

I cannot tell them my real name, it’s way too dangerous. Hongjoong blinks a few times then says “You speak the universal language?” I nod “Yeah.” He sighs in relief “I’m sorry but that’s good because I was running out of Eledonian. I’m sorry If I was really bad at it I only know enough to get by.”

 I stay quiet for a few seconds then I muster the courage to say “Where did you dock? I swear your ship was gone when we checked this morning.” 

Hongjoong looks at the waterfall behind me then back at me “Ah, yeah we docked further down where our boat is hidden from other incoming boats.” 

I squint my eyes and press the tip of the sword right where his heart is “You better not be lying, if you try anything I will personally be the one to kill you.”

Hongjoong smirks and gently pushes the sword away from his chest “No worries, I wasn’t planning on it. Like I said, I want an alliance.” I narrow my eyes “Why are you asking me?” 

He steps away from me and looks over at Seonghwa and nods. Immediately Seonghwa hits my hand causing me to drop the sword and grabs my hand and twists it behind my back but I lean forwards making him weaken his grip on my arm and slightly lose his balance. 

I take that as an opportunity to kick him behind the knees and pick up the sword where I tightly press the blade against his neck while I stand behind him. Hongjoong slowly claps while walking back towards me smirking “I’m asking because I want you to be my protector. I knew it when I first saw you training by the shore. Fluid like water and precise like a bullet.” 

Nobody’s ever referred to me like that. He sure does know how to compliment people, I’ll give him that.

 I press the blade a little harder on Seonghwa’s neck causing him to quietly hiss “I’m sorry but I barely even know you. I cannot just leave my family for a bunch of pirates I don’t even know. There is only one person who I’m going to kill and his name is Miyagawa Masaki. Killing another human isn’t in my book unless they’ve hurt me or my family in any way.”

Hongjoong’s features soften dropping the plotting smirk and extends his hand in my direction “Alright, let’s get to know each other then because what if I tell you there’s hundreds like him? Ruining the lives of the poor and defenseless? Killing innocent people and eliminating hundreds of bloodlines. Would that change your mind?” 

I glance down at Seonghwa who was stiffly leaning away from my sword his head gently resting against my stomach, he gives a scared but genuine nod of reassurance of Hongjoong’s words.

  For a few seconds Hongjoong and I’s gazes mutually connect, something in his gaze tells me maybe I should trust him. I mean I can easily overpower either of them if anything goes wrong.

 I remove the blade from Seonghwa’s neck and push him towards Hongjoong causing him to fall on his hands and knees “Get out of here before I regret not killing you.” 

Seonghwa gets up then gently puts his hand on Hongjoong’s shoulder “I don’t think she’s coming Captain.” Hongjoong turns to Seonghwa and gives him a smirk and proceeds to walk in my direction and chuckles “I’m sorry for that y/n I just really wanted to see you in action up close. I really didn’t mean for that to be a personal attack.”

 I roll my eyes “How am I supposed to trust you if you literally attacked me. If anything you’re making me not want anything to do with you.” He smiles and says “Ah, so you were considering it at some point then?”

 I cross my arms and look at the ground “Perhaps..” Hongjoong pushes a strand of hair behind my ear completely catching me off guard by this gesture “What if I told you that if you come with me you wouldn’t have to worry about anything, I’ll pay for it. I’ll pay for food and supplies for your village, for protection, and I’ll even add money so that your family doesn’t have to worry while you’re away.”

I blankly look down then back at him and almost silently I say “I don’t know.” Seonghwa hesitates for a second but then gently pats my back “You don’t have to decide right now, it’s okay.” 

Hongjoong gently pats my arm “How about I treat you for lunch then we’ll come back to how you feel about me.” I nod “Yeah sure, but I’m keeping your weapons.”

 Without turning my back on them I carefully step back and step back into to the river while keeping my eyes on both men and pick up the shotgun and pistol. “I’ll give these back if I approve.

 Also, just for that little stunt you played before we go you have to help me with the groceries I was carrying.” They both nod and we head back to the market then I point at the groceries on the ground with my sword “Go get my stuff pirate boys.”

 Both men walk over and pick everything up then Seonghwa says “Where to?” I walk in between them and begin walking back to my home. 

After a bit of walking In silence I finally muster enough guts to break the ice "So uh why exactly are you guys here in Eledonia?" Seonghwa answers ”Supplies honestly, we were running out of a few things but of course the Captain saw you training and he wanted to meet you so we kinda gave the supplies duty to the rest of the crew while we looked for you."

 I quietly hum “So how many other crew members are there?” Hongjoong answers almost on queue “There’s eight of us in total who are in charge of overseeing the main duties so the other six are doing the supplies duty. The rest are sailors who help us run the ship.” 

The more welk the more I notice we’re now in my village's territory then In a low voice I say “By the way please don’t act scary, we’re in my village’s territory now.” They both make reassuring hums and as we walk to my house the rest of the villagers stare at us, their gazes burning into my skin. I’m sure they’re probably wondering why I’m even with people like this. 

Out of seemingly nowhere I see a fellow villager walking towards us with a weapon in hand “Get away from them Metztli!” I extend both my arms in front of Hongjoong and Seonghwa causing them to abruptly stop “Acatl there’s no need! They won’t hurt us!”

 He walks over towards me and pulls me aside and swings his weapon at both males “Like hell they are..”

I unsheathe my sword and step in front of him fully stopping the weapon from hitting either of them “You are not going to hurt them. We are not in danger.”

 Acatl clenches the hilt of the weapon “They are not who they say they are, they are not good people. All pirates are just as bad as those stupid silver spooned goons, all they do is lie to get what they want.” 

I turn to Hongjoong and Seonghwa and under my breath I utter  “Stay back.” and lock my gaze into Acatl’s “Stop being ignorant, just because we were hurt by some soulless bastards doesn’t mean it’ll happen again.” 

I push his weapon back slightly just enough for me to be able to swing my sword at him and graze his arm then take another quick swing at his hand causing him to drop his weapon and clutch his bleeding hand on his knees.

 “How could you protect these men?! And betray your own people like this?!” I point my sword at him to stay down “I protect those who deserve to be protected and right now they needed my protection, if they were to ever betray my trust they shall have the same fate as my enemy.”

 He slowly gets up clutching his hand “You are wrong for this, you are wrong for going against our village.” I smirk sheathing my sword and dusting myself off “I didn’t go against my people, I simply made peace where there would have been unnecessary deaths.”

As Acatl was about to say something the chief walks up to us with anger tinged in his voice “What is going on here?”  before I’m able to explain anything I hear my mom yell at me from a distance with the rest of my family following after her and with surprise and utter fear on her features.

 “Who are these men Metztli?! Why are they here?!” before I can explain anything my father and grandfather come up next to my mother to try and calm her down  “What’s going on?” 

“I can explain. These men are not evil, they just came here to buy some supplies for their ship and they happened to see me struggling with the groceries so they’re helping me. Then this idiot Acatl starts attacking us and so I just prevented unnecessary deaths.” 

The chief crosses his arms in front of him still clearly upset “Metztli just because someone does a nice thing for you doesn’t mean they are good.”

 My dad gives Hongjoong and Seonghwa a glare “You know better than to lead strangers to the village. You can never trust these punks, especially men.”

 I nod “I understand but they’re not bad people father. They were just helping me.” My grandfather gives me a stern look “What did I tell you about trust Metztli? Trust only yourself, no one else.”

I turn and I signal both men to set the things down “They’re just now leaving don’t worry.” I begin to gently push them the other way then Hongjoong turns and says “I want her to come with us. I want her to protect me.”

 I look at him in horror and shake my head he looks into my eyes for a few moments, smirks and continues “If she comes with us I will pay for the supplies in your village and I’ll pay a militia to protect and alert us in case anything ever happens. I’ll also throw in some money so the village can be renovated since I see the places being inhabited are severely run down and you know for whatever else you need the money.”

 Hongjoong looks down at my little brothers standing behind my mother and gives them a soft smile “I promise the rest of our crew will not let anything happen to your daughter. I’m just putting this out there, there doesn’t need to be an answer right now since y/n herself isn’t entirely sure either.”

 Hongjoong gives me a small smile and pats my head while Seonghwa  gives me a reassuring nod “Well, we will go now.” Hongjoong adds then my grandfather responds “Come again tomorrow, but lunch is on you guys.” 

Slightly taken aback both men nod and smile. Hongjoong then says “We will return tomorrow, it’s a promise.”

The chief looks over at my grandfather and says ���Are you sure about this? Welcoming strangers like this?” My grandfather watches the 2 pirates walk away while everyone else watches him in silence “Their proposition was interesting don’t you think chief? We’ll benefit out of this.”

 The Chief gives no response to my grandfather for a few seconds then looks over at Actatl holding onto his bloodied hand then back at me “I cannot get past just blindly trusting people we’ve never met before, it’s off putting not just for me but for the rest of the village.”

 My grandfather nods then turns and gives me a smile “We have my granddaughter if anything happens. She will protect her village at any cost no matter who it is. After all, It was I who trained her or what? Are you doubting my granddaughter’s prowess?”

 The chief stays silent then I give him a reassuring smile, like an indication that this situation was over everyone begins to head back to their homes including the chief. Acatl is the only one who stays behind and stares at me for a few seconds “If something happens this is your fault.” 

He walks away and I bite the inside of my mouth to hold back from further saying anything that’ll cause him to come back. To be truthful I am scared they may earn my trust then betray me but on the other hand I want to believe that nothing will happen and that they are genuinely good people.

The next day while taking a short break during training I hear the leaves rustling from behind and to my surprise it was Hongjoong and Seonghwa again. I’m pleasantly surprised they showed up, you’d think after what transpired yesterday they’d leave but I guess they aren’t weak hearted. 

“Hongjoong? Seonghwa? What are you guys doing here?” The blonde man extends his hand towards me and helps me up.

“I’m here because I want to thank you for yesterday.” I shake my head “Oh no sir I-” Hongjoong lifts his hand to silence me and says “You protected me and my first mate and I really appreciate that especially considering you had no obligation to do so. You could have easily let him kill the both of us but you didn’t.” 

He’s right, I didn’t need to save him. I could have let him fight his own fights but for some reason it’s like my body acted on its own. Seonghwa gives me a warm smile “For that we would like to ask you if you would like to be our friend. Our connection to Eledonia.” A connection? Me? Out of all the nobles or more important people here in Eledonia they ask me?

"I would be happy to be your friend." Hongjoong gives me a relieved smile “Well, that settles it. We are friends.” Seonghwa stands next to me and rests his elbow on my shoulders.

 "Okay, well maybe now that we're friends we should follow through with your grandfather and have lunch." I hum wiping the sweat off my forehead with a small cloth “Now that you mention it, I am kind of hungry.” 

Seonghwa squeezes my shoulders while behind me “Good, we’ve got some nice things prepared for you.” I squint my eyes “I would like to assume it’s a good thing and not a bad one.” 

Seonghwa and Hongjoong chuckle “It’s a good thing my dear, I had the cook of our crew make us some delicious food. They’ll be in the main square later serving the village so I’m sure your family will be there as well since we let them know this morning.”

 Seonghwa nods “Yes, so practice a few more hours and by then the food should be ready, we just came here and decided to give you some motivation so you’d finish your training strong.” I smile at both males “Seriously, thank you.” they both smile and Hongjoong responds “My pleasure, y/n. Anything to show you we’re worth trusting.”

 Wow, he really is trying his hardest if he’s going to go all out like this. Seonghwa excitedly smiles “We’ll see you later okay? Please come by, we’d really like for you to meet the crew” Wow, they really are so confident i’m going to leave. I look over at them and  nod “of course, I’ll be there no worries” Both men say their goodbyes and leave. I sit down for a few minutes and rest before I resume my training for the day.

After a few hours go by I decide to start walking home and the whole way there I think to myself why I saved these men and why was I being so selfless with them. Why did I feel the need to protect the Captain and his right hand man when I don’t even know them, this was all becoming so confusing to me. Not to mention my extreme trust issues with everyone, so I just can’t explain why I decided to trust them. Why am I so drawn to them?

When I arrive at the main square I see alot of people gathered around the front of my house. As I walk closer I notice Hongjoong talking to my grandfather while Seonghwa and another guy play with my siblings. 

There was an unknown male by the fire cooking and a few others whom I didn’t recognize but I knew were with “The Captain” judging by their clothes so those men must be his crew members. They’re feeding everyone I see, they’re really trying to win over not only my family but the whole village. 

I walk over to my mom and ask “Mom, when did they get here?” while watching my little brothers play she says “They got here a few hours ago. Hongjoong, the blonde one said he wanted it to be a surprise for you when you came back from training. You should go eat now, they brought meat! It’s your favorite.” I nod then I turn and see my grandpa and the chief speaking to Hongjoong, he looked happy. I hadn’t seen my grandpa smile since grandma died.

A sudden grip to my shoulder makes me slightly jump “You should go eat, the food will be gone by the time you’re done staring.” I turn and see Seonghwa holding a plate in his hand slightly out of breath giving me a sweet smile “Ah, hah I will sorry just got distracted.”

 I hope he didn’t think I was checking the captain out. That would be weird. Seonghwa walks over to me and hands me a plate of food and honestly it looked and smelled delicious. Roasted potatoes and meat. Meat is considered a delicacy and we can’t eat it very often because of how expensive it is so seeing it on my plate made my stomach rumble so I begin to eat before I even sit down.

 Seonghwa turns to me and chuckles “You like meat? It’s good right?” I nod while sitting down on the grass in front of the tree by the square since It was a little quieter here “I’m glad you liked it, I’m sure Wooyoung prepared it with his secret combination of spices. It makes things so much more tasty.” 

For a little bit there was a silence from the both of us eating but eventually I decide to get brave and ask “Are you guys really not going to hurt our people? Like you’re not doing this as a gimmick to gain our trust then kill or imprison all of us?” 

Seonghwa, slightly taken aback chokes a bit on his food and begins to cough, once a bit composed he clears his throat “No, of course not. We’re The Piece of Eight. We don’t steal from the people, we steal for them. All of our targets are all either royals, nobles, military chiefs or generals, politicians even but never the regular people who aren’t associated with that stuff. If anything we’re most infamously known for being anti government and helping villages who need it the most.”

So they’re basically like the story of Robin Hood, steal from the rich and help the poor. It’s understandable, the rich can be quite nasty. They’re very ungrateful.

 “Sounds a like a great cause, does that mean you have alot allies?” He slightly purses his lips “Somewhat, but it’s enough for it to help us not get caught.” 

I shove another spoonful of potatoes in my mouth “Also I guess I should explain this but, the reason Hongjoong needs an assassin and a protector is because the royals and government know about us now and they’re out to get the captain and knowing how he is he doesn’t want to appease the rich, much less the government meaning he’s going to keep doing what he’s doing even if he needs to kill people to get what he wants and what he wants is to put those people in their place and show them they’re not special that at the end of the day they’re a sack of skin and blood..”

 I stare aimlessly and un focus my gaze and without thinking I say “I agree with your agenda. Rich people are selfish and are out of touch with reality. They’re heartless and evil, I hate them. I hate them all.” Seonghwa furrows his eyebrows “Did something happen for you to strongly feel that way?”

 I set my plate down and shrug “Well, long story short the Saitor Kingdom invaded Eledonia and they killed hundreds of people and imprisoned alot of them as well. My village and other poor villages were taken as prisoners to work for the Saitors with the only pay was being fed enough to be kept alive. It was almost daily where there was an execution of a prisoner for seemingly stupid offences that had no reason to be that serious some of those were of course some members of my village. It was 9 years of complete and utter hell.”

The dark haired man sighs and says in a low tone of voice “I completely understand why you’d hate people like that. Some of us in the crew, specifically Hongjoong had the same luck as you except he was left with nothing.” 

A knot grows in my throat, as much as I didn’t know the Captain like that I can only imagine losing everyone you know and care about. “Meaning he has nothing left to lose.” I say with a knot in my throat and he nods “Yeah, which is why the crew is as close as it is because he considers us all his family.”

 I focus my gaze again and it happens to fall upon the Captain, seeing him smile while talking to the Chief, and my grandfather somehow broke my heart. As much as I know how annoying it is to be pitied, here I am doing it to a complete stranger who probably doesn’t want any of it. 

 “This is why he helps the people, because he knows his family would have wanted him to do something good with his life even if it’s somewhat subjective to other people.” So Hongjoong is a good guy, to be this young and already be so accomplished takes skill and he clearly has the skill and motivation for it all. Unfortunately at the cost of the people he loved the most.

“Sometimes it’s good to be going against the current, and I respect him for it.” Seonghwa adjusts himself more comfortably and puts his plate aside and exhaling softly.

“We all do too, but as of today I also respect you as well for enduring torture and witnessing such horrible atrocities everyday for 9 years, that must have been traumatizing.” I glance over at the people in my village, seeing how happy they looked.

 “Yeah, I guess seeing someone get shot in the face or get bludgeoned to death isn’t something a kid should be witnessing. Till this day I can still hear them choking on their own blood.” I look down at my hand and stipple my fingers on my palm.

 “I can tell you’re very close to the Captain.” I say changing the subject, it’s not that I don’t want to talk about it it’s more like I can’t talk about it because evreytime I do I can hear the blood squelching, bones breaking, and agonizing screams. They're so vivid. 

Seonghwa seems to catch on what I was doing and replies “We are actually, so close I know him like the back of my hand. Although sometimes it’s hard for him to show he cares so to a normal person it might look like he doesn’t care very much but he does he just does it differently than other people. Because to be honest I don’t think I’ve ever seen him be affectionate towards someone.” 

I giggle “Reminds me of my grandpa, he’s the same way. With my grandpa showing affection is him telling me stories from when he was a soldier or buying me some candy when we go to the market, things like that.”

Seonghwa chuckles and points with his eyes in the direction of Hongjoong speaking to my grandpa “No wonder they get along so well.” It’s so nice to see my grandpa smile, it’s been a while since he did.

 Ever since my grandma died my grandpa hasn’t smiled very much or that of all. In a way it seems like they’re both healing each other by speaking with each other. Suddenly I hear Hongjoong call out for Seonghwa, apologetically he looks over at me and says “I’m so sorry our conversation was cut short, Hongjoong is calling me.”

 I shake my head and motion him to Hongjoong “Go ahead I need time to myself anyway, I need to think whether or not I’m going to go with you guys.” Seonghwa reaches over and pats my shoulder “Alright, just remember do what your heart tells you not what others say.” I chuckle “I’ll keep that noted.” Seonghwa gets up and takes both our empty plates with him leaving me with my thoughts while I also observe the strange men here. No doubt they were all handsome and charismatic including Hongjoong and Seonghwa which is the reason why I’m assuming everyone grew to trust them so quickly. Even so, I’ll keep my eyes on them.

In the distance I see 2 black haired men walking towards me one had cat like eyes with dark hair and a grey streak in his hair, he was scrawny looking but has very wide shoulders while the other one had jet black hair, a strong jawline, and a small mole under his right eye. They both sit in front of me and smile “Hey, I’m Wooyoung and this is San. Hongjoong told us about you, so did you make up your mind? Are you coming with us?”

 Slightly taken a back from how forward  this Wooyoung guy is I shake my head “I don’t know, I’m not sure.” San gives me a dimpled smile “I hope you do, it’d be nice to have a new crew member.” 

Wooyoung looks over at San “Nah, you just want her to join us because she’s a girl.” San shoots a glare at Wooyoung “No, it would be nice if I could just have a reasonable person to talk to sometimes instead of an idiot like you who only says dumb things” Wooyoung teases San.“You have Yeosang and Yunho for that, they’re reasonable”  

I raise an eyebrow and smirk “Who says I’m reasonable though?” San looks at me like I’ve betrayed him while Wooyoung lets out a particularly loud laugh then I giggle “I’m just kidding, I’m y/n by the way.”

 I extend my hand towards San and smile almost without a second thought he reaches over and shakes my hand. His gaze connecting with mine with a small hint of awe he says “You have a nice name, It fits you really well.” Wooyoung then says “Is that really your name?” I laugh and nod “Yeah why? Does it throw you off that I have a universal language name instead of a more traditional name?” Wooyoung nods and says “Honestly yeah, but he’s right you have a nice name”

 If only they knew. So far they’re easy to get along with, I may end up taking this job just so my family stops being in the slums and my village as a whole is respected.

“So, how old are you guys?” I smile and look over at the two males and without hesitation Wooyoung replies “19, so is this guy. What about you?” I raise my eyebrow “You know you shouldn’t ask a girl her age, that's rude...” 

San stammers “I'm sorry we meant no disrespect..” I smirk “But if you must know though.. I'll give you a hint, i’m a few years older than you both” They both blink in shock then Wooyoung says “Wait how much older?” 

I shrug “Not more than 2 years” Wooyoung chuckles  “Ohh well you know I thought you were younger than us when I first approached you, you’re so short.” I scoff “I’m a girl of course I’m going to be short, common sense.” Wooyoung holds back a laugh “No I mean you’re short, short. I thought you were a child.” I roll my eyes “Yeah I am, short so what.” Wooyoung gives me a teasing smile While San says “You know that means you’re older than both our Captain and Seonghwa..” 

I raise an eyebrow “Are you guys calling me old?” They both shake their heads then Wooyoung nervously chuckles “Not at all! Actually, I was going to ask if you wanted some of the dessert I made. That’s the sole reason San and I came over was to ask.” I give them both a smile “Yeah sure, that would be nice. Thanks.” He gives me a smile and nods “Okay I’ll be right back, San stay.”

San lays back onto the soft grass and rests his hand on his stomach and replies " Sure, I'd love to.” Awkwardly I sit there for a few seconds not knowing what to say until San says “Listen, if you happen to join us and anyone in the crew ever says anything hurtful don’t listen to them, They can be bastards sometimes, it’s like they forget how to interact with other people.”

 I look up at the blue sky avoiding eye contact with him, feeling his gaze on me. “Thanks, I’ll keep that noted If I decide to go.” After this brief interaction San and I both look up at the sky in comfortable silence until Wooyoung comes back and hands me a small little bowl with some sort of probably foreign dessert and says “I’ve brought you dessert, I’m not sure how sweet you like things but it’s not overwhelmingly sweet. It’s a type of peach tart, it’s really good. I don’t know if you’ve ever had it before.” 

I examine the “peach tart” and to my knowledge I’ve never seen anything like it. “I actually have never seen anything like this before this looks very foreign to me, although I have seen cake before and we only have it for special occasions it’s very rare if we get to eat sugary things like this because they’re so expensive.” 

I take the silver ware he brought with him and take a bite out of it “Oh wow, this is delicious.” Wooyoung gives me a prideful smirk “That’s only because I made it.” I giggle and take another bite “Well your cooking is amazing, let me guess you cooked the meal today too didn’t you?” He nods with a big smile on his face then San says “Look at you, you’re so full of yourself.” He gives San a smirk “You’re just mad she didn’t compliment you.”

In the distance two more men walk up to where we were sitting except these two looked very tall, extremely tall almost like two twin towers. One had dark hair parted down the middle with the fringe of his hair adorning his soft puppy like features and the other one had black rimmed glasses, his hair was dark blue and had a neatly slicked back side part on his hair. 

Both men were definitely taller than Seonghwa for sure, and he was the person I originally considered tall. Wooyoung notices me staring behind him and he turns “Oh hey Mingi and Yunho, this is y/n. Hongjoong’s possible new protector and crew mate.” 

The dark haired one squints and looks at Wooyoung slightly confused then the one with glasses says “She’s so tiny, she looks like a doll…” Wow, I’ve never heard that one before, I was just called a child a few minutes ago. “You think Hongjoong will have her dressed up all cute and she’ll be like a cute killer doll or something?” 

The dark haired one’s expression looks at Mingi in disgust “Maybe you should stay quiet Mingi, you’ll scare away the Captain’s new protector.” Yunho then looks over at me and gives me a concerned look “He’s weird please don’t listen to him. Anyway, hello y/n I’m Yunho” Mingi then responds “I’m Mingi, hi ” I give them both a smile and shake both their hands “Hello, i’m y/n”

 Mingi gives me a very shy dorky smile then I cross my arms in front of my chest knowing exactly where he was looking “So, you guys are pirates right? So does any of you have specific roles or duties?” Wooyoung then says “Ah yeah we do. I’m the cook.” Yunho gives me a curt smile “I’m the doctor” San raises his hand shyly “I’m the craftsman, I fix and make things.”

Lastly Mingi pushes up his glasses and gives me a dimpled smile “I’m the navigator, I work out which way the ship needs to go and I check if the conditions are right for safe travel” Wooyoung continues “Hongjoong of course is the Captain, Seonghwa is the First Mate and Quartermaster which in short just means that he's Hongjoong's right hand man and if Mingi, Jongho or Yeosang need an extra hand he’s there to help.” 

I look around my front yard and point over at the two male figures playing with my brothers “What about those two? What do they do?” Mingi sits next to me and says “Well..Yeosang is the helmsman, the guy who steers the ship and keeps it going in the direction it needs to go while Jongho is the gunner which is a fancy word for the guy who sets up and orders the canons to be fired and helps Yeosang and I with surveillance.”

 I nod with my lips slightly pursed “Hm, wow that’s some awesome duties you guys have.” Yunho shrugs “It has their ups and downs, sometimes I second guess myself as to what I’m doing on that ship” San then says “What about you? What role do you play in your village?” I run my fingers below on the soft grass next to me “I’m poor, I don’t have a role. I have no influence or power. The most my family has done is my grandpa being an Eledonian soldier, he was the one who’s trained me since I was about 16 or 17 years old making that maybe 5 or 6 years of him training me.” 

Mingi gasps “Wait, wait, you’re older than all of us including Seonghwa?! You look so young, how is that possible?!” Wooyoung looks over at Mingi “We already freaked out about that..” Mingi rips out some grass from next to him and throws it at Wooyoung “Excuse me but I wasn’t here when that happened “ Wooyoung dusts the grass away “You snooze you lose, and geez stop that you’re going to get grass in y/n’s peach tart.” 

Mingi mocks Wooyoung causing him to roll his eyes and gets up “Okay I’m going now, I need to go clean up are you coming or not San?” San motions him to leave and closes his eyes “I’m fine where I’m at” Yunho gets up and follows behind Wooyoung “I’ll help!” Mingi gets up and pats my head “I’ll see you later little doll my companion has just left me.” He catches up with Yunho and Wooyoung. 

As soon as he leaves I let out a soft sigh and rest my head against the trunk of the tree looking in the direction of my family, mom, dad, siblings, and grandpa. What would life be without them? San noticing this he sits up and looks in my direction “Are you okay?” I nod and give him a smile “Ah, yeah I’m just exhausted from training this morning.” He nods and scoots over next to me “Ah, I see.” Ahh fuck I was going to get up after this.

I don’t want him to feel bad for getting up right after he sits next to me. I guess it wouldn’t hurt sitting here. “So.. do you have friends?” I continue staring ahead at my siblings and the whole scene before me and I press my lips into a line for a few seconds then a weak smile paints my features “I did at one point, but my obsession with training and everything kind of drove them away. That and I tend to stay in my own world and nobody wants to deal with those types of people.”

 From the corner of my eyes I can see San give me a look of pity then I continue “But that’s fine because I get more stuff done, having friends is a nuisance. “ He thickly swallows almost like he was going to say something but decided he wasn’t going to say anything and very slightly nods “I see, I’m sorry you feel that way.” 

I turn and give him a bright smile “Enough of me though, how long have you been with the crew?”  San thinks about his answer for a bit and says "Hm, like 2 or 3 years? I'm not sure but I've been here for a while." I slowly nod gently running my fingers through the grass "So since you've been out at sea for a bit you probably already know how it is out there." He hums "Yeah, it's pretty bad. More often than not there's always ships trying to rob us so we're constantly on guard not to mention the government being after us doesn't help at all."

God, that sounds horrible. Living every single day on fight or flight mode? On borrowed time? "Wow, that sounds…exhausting." San chuckles "Hah yeah, it is. The only difference is that having the crew there with you helps a lot. You forget the atrocities of the world for a bit until you have to face them all over again." 

San shifts his gaze from the sky over to me, despite his smaller frame it didn't take away from how handsome he looked which made his stare a bit more intimidating "Don't worry though, like I said you've got me if you're ever in a tight spot." I quietly nod and give him a shy smile “Oh, thanks.” we both sit there in silence again until I feel a sudden tap on my shoulder, when I turn around I see my younger brother standing there “So uh, brother kind of fell and he’s crying.”

 I let out a sigh “Dude, mom’s told you guys to be careful.” He nods “I didn’t do anything, he was being a show off with those pirate guys.” I get up and turn to San “I’m sorry. If you’ll excuse me I need to check on my brother’s dumbassry.” He chuckles and gives me a dimpled smile “Oh sure go ahead.” 

I give San a small curt smile and walk behind my brother leading me the way to my crying brother. When I arrive I see Jongho awkwardly patting my younger brother’s back trying to console him While Yeosang looks on slightly uncomfortable. Once he sees me Jongho looks over at me and says “Oh hey, your brother fell off the swing trying to show us a trick.” I cover my face in frustration and embarrassment then fake a smile looking at my little brother “Didn’t mom tell you to stop that?” He sobs nodding “I’m sorry, I thought it would have been cool for them to see.”

I close my eyes trying not to cringe out of my skin and open them gently patting his head “Look, you could show them those cool tricks you do playing ball. You could seriously get hurt doing that, I’m sure they’ll still think it’s cool. Right?” I look over at Jongho and Yeosang giving them the look of “Please say yes” then he looks over at my brother and nods “Yes, of course I’ll still think you’re cool. You don’t have to do something dangerous in order for it to be cool.”

 My little brother wipes his tear ridden eyes “Really?” Jongho nods “Yes, of course. Remember that trick Seonghwa showed you earlier that you got right away? You should show your sister.” My little brother looks over at Yeosang who was holding a ball then he gives my brother a reassuring nod. He gently throws the ball over at my brother and he kicks the ball making it over the branch of a tree behind them. Immediately both men cheer for my brother and I look over at him with a very impressed look on my face. “Wow, your aim is really good now..” My little brother nods and puts his hands on his waist looking very proud “Thank you..”  

After consoling my brother, I walk around to look for that San guy I was talking to but I couldn’t see him anywhere. I walk around the town square to see if maybe he’d wandered off there but nothing, it wasn’t until I was walking home I hear a faint low voice then some giggling shortly after. 

I noticed the voices were coming from the side of a fountain so I didn’t think much of it and continue walking until I hear “Sannie, stop that tickles!” causing me to halt in my tracks and feel a pit in my stomach. Unfortunately curiosity got the best of me and I walk over and peek behind one of the pillars of the fountain only to see San pinning a girl against it having a very intense makeout session that if anyone saw something similar would definitely guess they’re on the brink of coitus. Yeah no. That should have stayed a curiosity. 

I start walking away and let out a soft sigh with the pit in my stomach still feeling funny. Who would have thought that guy with such a sweet smile was a player? Actually you know what? I’m not surprised. Pirates are known to have many children scattered everywhere so I should have expected this in all honesty. 

The rest of the guys are probably the same including Hongjoong and Seonghwa, I mean they are men after all. Very good looking ones at that but for all I know some of them are probably married. Wait, wait, why am I even upset about this? Why am I even thinking about this? I don't even know the guy, this is ridiculous. He could bang all the girls he wants for all I care, I guess looks are deceiving.

Three days pass by since the pirates came by our village and every single one of those days Hongjoong and Seonghwa would stop by during my breaks in training to hang out which was kind of weird to me since I wasn’t used to all of this since my friends would never even want to talk about my training much less come visit me while I was actually practicing especially when I would practice with my gun, they’d always complain over how loud it was. 

Today was different though they didn’t even show up during my second break today which was unfortunate but they’re probably busy considering Hongjoong is the captain of a massive ship and Seonghwa is his right hand man so something must have come up. So when the sun was close to set now and I begin walking home I hear leaves rustling and to my surprise it’s the Captain himself only this time it was just him. “Hey Captain, it’s nice seeing you. Where’s Seonghwa?” He slowly walks over to me and I notice he has something in his hand, not a weapon of any sort it was an hourglass.

It was an hourglass with a beautiful golden frame and the sand being as pure white as the shore’s it was beautiful but I wonder why he has it with him. “Well, I came to talk to you.” Talk to me? With that expression honestly I’m wondering what exactly he’ll be talking to me about since he’s so serious. It’s probably not a good thing which is making me really nervous and hesitant to even ask. “Sure what is it? Is there something wrong?” 

He extends his hand and gives me the hourglass “When the sand runs out, we will be gone. You have until then to decide if you want to come with us if you want to get back at the Saitor Empire for what they did to Eledonia.” My stomach drops and suddenly I feel cold. This is exactly what I was dreading, having to choose between staying here and leaving. I look down at the trickling sand then back up at him and let out a sigh “We’ll be waiting here by the shore, where I first saw you.” I nod then he walks away disappearing into the forest and the first thing I instinctively do is my eyes well up with tears, this is it. I have to make my choice, choose my destiny.

 Am I going to be training forever and never get that bastard back or am I going to put my training to good use and finally make an example of that man? I walk home with tears in my eyes knowing the answer and what I must do, mostly so that my family and my village can live a good life at the expense of me risking mine.

 I go straight to my corner of the room and begin to pack my things that’s when my grandfather comes into the room and looks at the hourglass then shifts his gaze over at me packing my things while crying in silence then he decides to speak “I know you’ll do well my little Metztli, you’ll bring us justice. You’ll bring your grandmother justice and all the other people that we lost during those years thanks to those greedy men.”  

That’s when I finally break down and begin to cry my eyes out and hug my grandfather tightly “I’m scared grandpa, I’m scared I’ll let everyone down and I’m scared of not ever being able to see you guys again.”

He hugs me tight for a few seconds then pulls away with his arms on my shoulders “Sweetheart, you’ll see us one day this is not a goodbye but a see you later. In case my body ever decides it can no longer stay alive, just remember I’ll watch over you. I’ll never leave your side, ever. Your family will be here, your fellow clansmen will be here waiting for your victorious return.” 

He lifts my chin up to meet his eyes and says “Be the lethal soldier I’ve trained and make those people remember Eledonia, because staying here means you quit.” Teary eyed and more calm I nod then he smiles and gently pats my cheek and pushes a strand of hair behind my ear “That’s my little girl, the strong little Metztli.” I keep hearing that word “strong” but I honestly don’t feel like it. I feel weak. How could people see someone so strong when I see the weakest person on Earth for being so distraught over this. 

After talking to my family about my final decision my family along with the Chief decide they will send me off. When we arrive at the shore I see the massive ship whose flag proudly displayed was that of a skull inside of an hourglass. This was it.

Hongjoong stands at the top of the ramp and gives me a welcoming smile. I turn to my mom and give her a tight hug, one that lasts for quite a bit until my mom pulls away gently cupping my cheek “If you ever want to come back home we’ll be here sweetheart. Please take care of yourself, and remember we love you.” My mom's eyes well up with tears and I hug her again gently kissing her cheek.

 I look over at my dad who was intently staring at the ship and doesn’t move one bit until I finally say “Hey dad, I’m going now. Take care of mom, grandpa and my brothers.” My dad clears his throat and nods “Yeah, of course Metztli I’ll do that. You go ahead and have fun..” Although my father and I’s relationship has been strained for years I feel like I need to grow some balls and hug him because I never know when I’ll be able to see him again so I reach over and give my dad a tight hug. From the corner of my eyes and judging from the body language he awkwardly hugs me back. When I pull back my dad gives me a reassuring nod whilst still feeling awkward from the hug. I could tell he didn’t hate it though, he just struggles to show he cares.

 Up next I look at my grandpa who was looking at me with a fond smile then gives me a tight hug gently kissing my cheek. Once my grandpa pulls away from the hug he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a beautiful sea blue ring, puts it on the palm of my hand and closes it tightly. “It was your grandmother’s, it’ll protect you. She’ll be with you.” 

I smile and kiss my grandpa’s cheek and put the ring on my ring finger. Grandpa then pulls out a bundle that was strapped behind his back “Do me a favor and return these to the Captain and his friend. I’ve refurbished them and cleaned them up.” Their weapons, the ones they threw into the river. How did my grandpa know about it? Hongjoong must have told him when they were talking a few days ago. “Of course grandpa. I’ll let them know.” When I look over at the Chief he gives me a nod of approval and a smile.

From there, I begin to walk up the ramp to the ship until I feel a tug at my shirt. When I turn around I see it was both of my brothers “You forgot about us..” I bite the inside of my cheek and shake my head “Of course not, I just didn’t want you two to see your big sister cry is all..” I pull them both in for a hug gently patting their heads with one hand each. When I pull back the youngest of my brothers says “Grandpa told me and brother why you're leaving, don’t die please. Come back so you can see my tricks again when i’m better.” 

I give my youngest brother a smile and nod “Of course kiddo, I promise I won’t die…” My brothers give me one last hug again and run back down the ramp and into my mother’s arms. The closer I get to the top the harder it gets to take a step. Once on top the ramp is collapsed back into the ship and the ship begins to set sail. I walk over to the railing and wave goodbye to my family until they decide to go back home. That’s when Hongjoong puts a hand on my shoulder and says “I know it was a hard decision but I promise you’ll see them again.”

 I silently nod and he continues “Do you want Wooyoung to prepare you something? Are you hungry? Perhaps tea?” I shake my head and stare the now empty shore of Eledonia “I’ll stay here.” He gently squeezes my shoulder “I’ll get Seonghwa to come show you to your room a little later when you’re done okay?” In a barely audible voice I reply with “Yes Captain.” And there I sat in silence watching Eledonia until I could no longer keep my eyes open.

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If I catch anyone plagiarizing my work just be warned I don't play with that kind of stuff so don't try me..

Next Chapter

#ateez series #ateez angst #ateez imagine #kim hongjoong x reader #choi san x reader #pirate au #ateez fanfiction #ateez x reader #kpop imagines

[sirianasims]

TRUTH: What's something you had planned for your legacy but it turned out completely different?

Oooooh, you’ve opened a can of worms now! 🐛

The short answer is: The rest of the legacy.

Originally, I had 12 generations mapped out, but I got tired of rushing through each one, so I have now decided that we’re staying with Julia for a long time and then she will be the last heir. I wanted to take my time and really flesh out her story and try new things with my storytelling instead of sticking to my usual 10 short chapters per generation.

Here is an 🌟 exclusive 🌟 original look at what was supposed to happen. If you read my story back when it was on Wordpress, there was a bit more emphasis on the vampires, but I’ve since toned this down when I started reposting everything to Tumblr because none of this will be happening now.

Very long post under the cut:

🦙 Generation 5 is Julia, and she was supposed to have a single child, a son named Marcus. What actually happens in Julia’s life remains to be seen as I have completely rewritten her entire story.

🎤 Generation 6: Marcus wants to become a stand-up comedian but he’s not actually very good at it. He’s a bit of a hippie and finally decides to just move to the woods and start a commune. He has a daughter. He grows his own weed, but ends up infected by a weird, purple plant that starts growing in his fields. He becomes more and more strange until he is tragically killed by Lilith Vatore, who herself dies after biting him.

🦇 Generation 7: Marcus daughter, Nadia, grows up with her grandparents after witnessing her father’s death. She doesn’t remember how he died but is plagued by nightmares about vampires and becomes obsessed with them. As an adult, she becomes an author of steamy vampire romance novels, writing under a pseudonym. She ends up coming into contact with Vlad and her childhood trauma is triggered by meeting Caleb again. She later works with Caleb and Vlad in their attempt to solve the mystery of why Lilith died from biting her father and they discover the purple plants. She falls in love with Vlad and they have twins, Oliver and Paulina.

🍳 Generation 8: Oliver, born a vampire, dreams of becoming a chef and eat real food. Against his father’s will, he takes the vampire cure, but he struggles to deal with his new mortality and aging. He meets a younger woman but reject her in favour of his career, feeling that he doesn’t have enough time for both. She marries someone else and he becomes a celebrity chef, but realises that it’s all meaningless without love and goes to win her back. They have a son, Quinn, but Oliver is getting old and dies when Quinn is only 21.

🌴 Generation 9: Quinn is distraught after losing his father and wants to make sure he gets as much out of life as possible. He decides to travel the world and eventually ends up in Selvadorada where he meets the grumpy tour guide, Isadora, who hates his spoiled ass at first. They get lost in the jungle and discover a strange purple plant, but wisely keep their distance. They eventually find their way home but Quinn has fallen in love with Selvadorada (and Isadora) and decides to stay and work in her father’s museum. He and Isadora have 3 kids.

🚓 Generation 10: Their youngest son, Tulio, decides to become a cop. After making a big mistake, he gets reassigned to the sleepy and boring Henford as punishment. However, Henford has become a lot less boring lately, and Tulio and his partner investigate some strange things happening, finally discovering some underground ruins which contain a huge purple plant that seems to affect the minds of the locals. Tulio decides that this seems supernatural and calls in backup from his great-grandfather Vlad, and they get another piece of the puzzle of the purple plants.

⭐️ Generation 11: Tulio’s daughter, Vanessa, decides to become a famous actress but she secretly longs for eternal youth and beauty and is jealous of her vampiric ancestors. She tries to talk Vlad into letting her become a vampire, but he says no, so she instead tries to seduce and convince Caleb. Shenanigans ensue, including Vanessa murdering her husband, the father of her child, for being a bit of a dick.

🌺 Generation 12: Vanessa’s daughter Xena decides to find the truth behind the Duchelli family’s strange past. She ends up in Strangerville and finally solves the Mother Plant mystery, discovering a convoluted plot involving aliens that goes all the way back to her ancestor Eric’s brother, Daniel, the half-alien from Generation 2.

The End.

If you read this far, well done! I’m impressed. Have a cookie 🍪 and a picture of Vlad. He will make his way into another story instead, and so will many other ideas from my original draft.

#answered asks #duchelliextras #zaddislaus

[tumblydovereviews]

What Failing NaNoWriMo Taught Me

This is a change in subject from the usual media posts, but I wanted to try and broad out the scope of my writing a bit.

If you are even remotely familiar with the online writing community, you will probably know what NaNoWriMo is. Every November, writers from all around the world scramble to start an all-new story and to finish that very story by the last day of the month. And, did I mention that this novel needs to be 50,000 words at the least?

Being the bored person I am, I decided to take a risk and try the challenge out. And thus, half my October was spent forming a new world with new characters and a unique plot. On November 1st, I gathered up my supplies, booted up my laptop and started the grand journey into the wild west that is NaNo season.

Obviously, if you read the title of this article, you would know how that went.

I wrote only approximately 29,000 words for my novel. That's it. Out of the 50,000 words I was planning on writing, I barely made it half-way through.

But yet, despite my technical failure, I don't think competing in NaNoWriMo was a complete waste. I learned quite a few lessons from the journey, both writing and non-writing related, and I'm here to share them with you.

Hydrate, hydrate, HYDRATE: Like many others, I have trouble keeping a consistent amount of water in my daily diet. Somedays, I'll hardly drink any at all and on others, chugging down is all that I'll do. A few years ago, my lack of hydration actually landed me in the ER on an IV. Most of the time, we are taught only to drink water to keep our bodies going. But, I learned that when I was sufficiently hydrated while writing, I could go on for much longer periods of time compared to when I was thirsty. As it turns out, drinking water and fluids can also have a positive impact on our brain function!

Create goals based off your personal style: I'm not too bad of a chronic procrastinator. Like all of us have, occasionally I'll put projects aside towards the last minute, but for the most part, I'm a pretty good worker. My problem is working consistently- I concentrate much better in controlled bursts of time than in a long session, but at the same time, I don't like leaving work unfinished. If I start a chapter, I'm going to finish it no matter what, for better or for worse. For NaNoWriMo, I decided to aim on finishing at least one chapter of my story per day. That way, I would have a manageable amount of work while still staying productive in the process.

At the same time, life is WAY more important than writing: Throughout November, Thanksgiving, school, and the start of the holidays in general impeded my ability to write as much as I could have. And that's okay! Writing is just one part of my life, not my entire well-being. I try to divide the different aspects of my life into certain 'parts,' from my academic part to my author part for tumblydovereviews. This helps me to throw away any worries I mayhave about another 'part,' and instead focus my whole self onto one part at a time.

Grow a closer bond with your characters: I loved my characters. I thought about them throughout the day and as I wrote. I came up with their favorite activities, movies, and foods, and imagined scenarios for them in my head. In a way, this made writing them easier as I knew more about how they would react and why.

And, if no matter what you try, you still fail NaNoWriMo...: That's okay! Remember, the entire point of this challenge is to have fun while also completing a story in the process. No matter what happens, I'm proud of you for trying. You're doing great!

Will I decide to complete NaNoWriMo again next year? It remains to be seen. But one thing remains clear: even through my failure, I still love to write. I still love to read. I still want to create stories and worlds and essays. And, nothing will stop me from doing that.

#nanowrimo #writing #writing tips #fallure #essay #tumblydovereviews #creative writing #writeblr

[anerdinallherglory]

Approaching Sun (34)

Author’s Note: Hi! Me again! Life is consistently a wild ride. I have OCD when it comes to raising my child and want to be as emotionally and physically available as I can as a mom, so my free time is limited. I completely underestimated the SAHM gig; it’s a 24 hour job. It also takes me twice as long to knock out a chapter because I can only find the time to write during nap time. As mentioned before, I am also trying to find time to work on my own novel, so between it and AS, the time is split. For those of you who have been reading AS for a long time, thank you for your patience and dedication to the story. You guys rock. This ship will reach shore eventually. For the landlubbers, this sea is a long one. Beware the journey. P.S. I usually write around 6,000 words per chapter and this one is over 10,000! Hope that helps the wait!

Pairing: SasuSaku

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33

Chapter 34: All Wars, Theirs.

After performing her rounds at the hospital the next morning, Sakura found herself staring into Mako’s cell again as the man who betrayed her looked at her dejectedly through the bars. His head was rested back against the wall and his chin jutted forward as he watched her. Ironically, Sakura came carrying a cup of tea in her palms, debating on whether to drink it herself or offer it to Mako.

When she placed the steaming cup through the bars and onto the ground, sliding it forward carefully to refrain from sloshing it over the porcelain rim, Mako raised an eyebrow and snorted a dubious laugh. “You can’t be serious, right?”

Sakura shrugged her shoulders innocently in response. “I thought we agreed to be close colleagues again.”

He sat up straight as he responded. “I don’t remember agreeing to that. Second, we were never really close to begin with; I only ever gave you the tea to lull you into a sense of trust.”

Sakura dismissed the confession because it was already common knowledge between them anyway, and said, “Yes, yes. I’m aware.”

“Then you have a distressing sense of humor,” Mako breathed, gesturing to the tea between them as he stood from his lonely, reclined spot against the sand-constructed wall at the back of his cell. Stooping, Mako reached for the tea and cradled it in his hands all the way down as he replaced its spot on the floor with his cross-legged figure.

Sakura mirrored Mako’s sitting position on the other side of the bars strategically, a tactic she often used when talking with someone she wanted to make feel at ease.

Seeing straight through the method, Mako sipped the tea before asking sarcastically, “Am I due for another therapy session now, Doc?”

Sakura shrugged off his sardonic comment and decided to move straight to the point. “Where is the heart of your organization? Are they based in Tanigakure?”

Mako shot his eyebrows up, swallowing the tea thickly at the abrupt question. He replied with another patronizing question. “Doesn’t your Kazekage know that? Why don’t you go and ask him?”

Sakura said bluntly, “He more than likely does. But I don’t. I want you to tell me yourself.”

Mako set his tea down, suspicion darkening his gaze. “There’s a reason you don’t want to ask him, then. Tell me and I’ll consider sharing what I know with you.”

Sakura was either extremely transparent today, or Mako had truly spent their time together as physicians studying her so thoroughly that he was able to see straight through to some of her thoughts, and it gave Sakura a slithering sensation of uncertainty in her gut.

Sakura frowned back at Mako for his intuitive guess, because in all honesty, Sakura had spent the morning tending to a countless number of patients, recalling familiar faces and learning new names, and had recoiled once again at Gaara’s plans of an inevitable confrontation within Sunagakure.

Even though none of this was Sakura’s fault, she couldn’t help but feel like her presence in the Sand Village endangered the citizens here. She had wanted to believe that Gaara had everything under control, especially since Kakashi, Shikamaru, and the rest of Team 7 were here and ready to go through with plans of Gaara’s design. Sakura, too, had convinced Sasuke last night to trust in Gaara’s approach, saying: “It’s the best option we have.” To which, Sasuke had interjected with the idea of going to Tanigakure to intercept the enemy himself, saying, “A covert operation with one person wouldn’t involve Konoha and Suna. It would be discreet.”

And at first, Sakura had rejected this idea because it didn’t make sense. Sasuke had his mission. To tangle himself up in this now when he had just had a breakthrough would delay his progress and distract him from a far superior threat to Konoha. And Gaara was more than capable of handling this, but then again, Sakura believed that so was she. And so, Sakura had contemplated Sasuke’s “covert operation with one person” idea throughout the night, wondering if it wasn’t an entirely preposterous plan if only it didn’t involve the Uchiha, but her instead.

As Mako blinked at her, expecting her response, Sakura covered for herself by saying, “I just want to confirm his suspicions.”

“Liar,” he accused, and Sakura frowned again at Mako’s own forthrightness. He had stopped hiding himself, Sakura realized. He was allowing her to see who he truly was, and Sakura felt somewhat sad knowing that the kind and exceedingly thoughtful version who had fooled her truly had just been a ruse. This Mako was abrasive and it kind of reminded Sakura of the sensation of having just a little too much salt, not enough to deter you from the food, but more than enough to make you blanch and investigate the dish more carefully.

“What can I possibly do in here?” he asked as he motioned around him at Gaara’s impenetrable sand, no longer humming in the air, but solid and unyielding in its shape of the tunnels and countless cells. Sand that Sakura was sometimes wary around simply because of its desire to do its master’s bidding. As if specks of it could whisp away to speak into the Kazekage’s ear whenever it wished. Sakura knew she was being too paranoid simply because she was harboring a secret plan of her own, one that Mako was beginning to discern. Could she tell him? Should she tell him?

As if he could sense her hesitation, he added, “I did promise to spend the rest of my life—however short it may be—atoning for my actions, you know. And it’s not like I can run off and tell your secrets now, can I?”

Not entirely ready to believe him or trust in him again, Sakura sighed and told him a half-truth instead. “I want to know that, because I want to talk to the organization myself.”

Mako’s eyebrows raised and he laughed sharply. “You want to talk to them?”

Sakura nodded.

All of his false humor instantly died away at her confirmation. “Listen, if Leaf shinobi just show up there, on their turf, things are not going to go your way. They certainly aren’t going to talk to you about anything.”

“And why is that?” Sakura questioned.  

“Because you are not their only target.”

Sakura’s stomach dropped at his sudden revelation. “What do you mean? I thought—”

“You are a target,” Mako interrupted, “A very big target—their most important one—but not their only one. You are at the top of the list. But after you, there will be others.”

“Like whom?” she probed.

“Anyone with power and influence whose ideals align with yours. People responsible with healing the next generation directly. Doctors, missionaries, leaders, teachers. The list goes on.”

“How many members,” Sakura asked, leaning toward the bars. “And is the Shade not the leader?”

“Not many, actually, but growing by the day.” Mako confessed easily and quickly, and Sakura could see that it was the truth. “Kasek, the man of shadow you refer to as a Shade, is one of the leaders. But there are others. He is not the mastermind.”

“Then who is?”

“I was new and never made it that far into the organization to find out. Hisa didn’t even know, and she has been involved much longer. They operate on a need-to-know basis, and she only ever consulted Kasek.”

“I see,” Sakura sighed, hoping for more intel than that.

“They are based in Tani as the Kazekage expects, but they are spread out. Or were. As they looked for you and the others. They might be dispersed and not all at the central location. From what I could gather from my conversations with the others, finding them all will be like searching for one cockroach at a time in a growing infestation.”

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek as she listened to this last bit, not entirely sure what she was expecting in the sense of her enemies’ locations. Sakura hadn’t been so naïve to hope that she could locate a singular location with all the bees inside their hive, but she had hoped for something more positive than the dismal reality that they might not be located at their base at all. This group and their teams and separation reminded Sakura, eerily of the Akatsuki. And if all of this was true (it was wise to only take Mako’s advice with a grain of salt), this brought Sakura full-circle to Gaara’s plan which was to lure them into Sunagakure. She hated to throw a wrench in any plans, but Sasuke was right. She needed to do something else, something less dangerous for everyone.

She had learned what she needed, so Sakura stood, dusting the sand off her pants.

Mako jumped up at her sudden indication of departure and blurted, “What’s your plan? I only told you this so you would think twice about whatever schemes you have. Even with your friends’ help, it’s dangerous. They will kill you.”

Sakura wanted to laugh at the preposterous idea of Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke being taken down by any enemy at this point. The three of them would die from old age, she was sure of it. She even had confidence in her own abilities despite how aware she was of the fact that this newly formed organization had no hesitancy to take her life. She vividly recalled how Mako had tried to convince Hisa to spare her life, arguing that she was too useful to kill. But she had bested them, hadn’t she? Even the shade who had corpsified her arms.

“Would I have really learned my lesson if I told you my plan?” Sakura asked him as she placed a hand on her hip and smiled pointedly at him. But Mako grabbed the bars between them, eyes narrowing once again.

“Listen, I know you have no reason to trust me, but take me with you.”

Sakura laughed out loud this time, unable to help herself as she covered her mouth with the soft side of her curved hand. Mako only glared. “Take you? Why on earth would I do that?”

“Because,” he hissed, “I could help you. You could use my affiliation with the group in whatever way you thought was best. They will more than likely kill me, but I could come up with something to get us in.”

Sakura’s smile disappeared. “The only help I need from you is for you to stay in this cell where you can’t stab me in the back again. I may have extended a hand of collaboration to you, but that doesn’t mean I’m dumb enough to trust you completely.”

Mako instantly responded with a frown, “You’re making a mistake.”

Sakura turned her back to him, ordering, “Start planning for your future here while I am away. The clinic needs you.”

As she began walking down the dark corridor of the underground tunnel toward the exit, she heard Mako yell after. “I? You’re going by yourself?!”

But she didn’t respond. The sand door that had fallen away before, floated back into form behind her, solidifying into a solid, soundproof barrier once more.

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Despite his words last night, Sasuke was the one who was distracted. Distracted from his mission by so many different things, all of them pertaining to a certain pink-haired kunoichi whose cherry-blossom color bled into every crevice of his mind. Pale fingers tracing his back in the dark privacy of a shared room, Mako’s declaration of incoming enemies with the purpose of killing her, and Gaara’s various plans for their arrival were at the top of his thought list—right up there along with how much he wanted to throttle his blonde best friend for his incessant slurping.

Sasuke was trying to explain to Kakashi the development of his mission regarding the foodpill’s ability to lengthen his span of jump between Kaguya’s dimensions. At the mention of foodpills, however, Naruto had insisted he was going to resort to eating some of Sakura’s disgusting ‘mudballs’ himself very soon if they didn’t make a food stop and continue this discussion over a meal.

And so, this is where Sasuke currently found himself: sitting annoyingly squished in a small corner of a crowded food market stall located in the busiest section of the market square, closing his eyes tightly as Naruto shoved another bite of seasoned rice and meat stew loudly down his oversized gullet.

And now Kakashi had just brought up the very topic Sasuke had been brooding over since Gaara had announced to the group his plans on dealing with Sakura’s newfound enemies. The very topic that had Sasuke so distracted. Sasuke had been fantasizing ways to take out that lazy, spiky-haired strategist for even suggesting that Sakura be used as a lure in the first place. Shikamaru did not sit amongst them at the moment because he had “better things to do” in Suna at the moment, which thankfully kept him out of Sasuke’s sight.

“Let’s convene again with Sakura and the Kazekage this evening,” Kakashi suggested, somehow managing to eat without revealing the face behind the mask. “We need to consider the next steps carefully.”

“Gaara can handle it,” Naruto said, almost unintelligibly through a humongous bite of rice. “Whatever he says, we can trust him with it.”

“Or we could handle it,” Sasuke put out there, seeing an opportunity to change the situation and going for it instantly. “Quietly and effectively. Just us. No Sand Village.”

Naruto choked in his excitement at such a notion, agreeing with Sasuke immediately. “I like that idea better!”

“Hn,” Sasuke voiced in agreement with Naruto, whom technically had just agreed with him, but Sasuke didn’t care, because he wasn’t past emphasizing his own statement at this point.

Kakashi tapped his chopsticks thoughtfully against the table. “The situation is delicate because Tanigakure is a mostly neutral country between two shinobi villages. We can’t just go in there and start fighting a multitude of ninja who don’t represent the country as a whole. Even discreetly, the battle ensued would potentially cause too much damage. Gaara’s presence alone in Tanigakure for a few days caused some strain. Needing this fight to happen elsewhere is imperative.”

Naruto’s face had scrunched up the longer that Kakashi spoke, and the blonde knucklehead let out a thoughtful “hmmm” as he nodded his head like he had actually understood any of that. Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes and sigh.

“The Shade refuses to speak,” Kakashi continued his remarks. “We need intel, or we will be going into this blind. The Kazekage has that intel and is in the works of acquiring more information. Trusting Gaara is our best option.”

Sasuke wanted to say more, to argue, to persuade if only it weren’t so unlike him to do so. The Sasuke everyone was expecting was the uncaring one. The one who couldn’t be too bothered with any of this at all because it didn’t directly involve The Uchiha or his mission to investigate the Otsusuki. And part of Sasuke told himself to get a grip and to reign in the worry and trust the others. Sasuke knew he was being unreasonable, knew that he needed to focus on his own mission and goals. That’s what Sakura wanted, too. But Sasuke didn’t know how to wash his hands clean of this anymore, to eradicate the presence of Sakura in his mind, the feel of her skin, the embraces, smiles, and promises between them. Sasuke didn’t want to and therein lied his problem.

Kakashi was giving him that knowing sidelong look that had Sasuke glaring back at him.

“First things first, then,” The Sixth Hokage stated as he made to stand. “Let’s go find Sakura and then we can meet up with Gaara this evening.” And as Kakashi stood, the sensei suddenly realized that his former students no longer occupied the table but were making a break for the entrance, leaving Kakashi with a table full of Naruto’s dishes and an expectant storeowner smiling at him with the bill.

Sasuke heard their sensei sigh, murmur something about how he was supposed to be saving for retirement, but then handing over a wad of change to the giddy and grateful older woman.

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When they located Sakura soon after in one of the medicine preparation rooms, she was bending over a mortar and pestle again, gloved hands moving deftly, and her hair pulled tightly behind her and Sasuke realized for the first time how long it had grown since they had left Konoha. The time had seemed to have passed them so quickly, and yet more than a couple months had transpired since he had returned home that day at dawn back in the Leaf. Her attire had changed overnight, and Sasuke instantly noticed that she no longer wore any of the clothes he had bought for her but had taken the liberty of finding something more fitting her previous style: red, short sleeved, and tantalizing short around the midriff. The very stomach he had ran his fingers across in the darkness of their shared room last night.

Sasuke pointedly looked away from her exposed skin as they advanced upon her position, and he decided to hang back against the entrance as Naruto and Kakashi greeted her enthusiastically. He settled into a comfortably uninterested position in typical Uchiha fashion against the wall and peeked over when Sakura elbowed Naruto’s arm when the blonde idiot shouted, “You’re making more puke pills?”

Sasuke felt a weight settle in his stomach as he made the connection that she was handling the ingredients required to make him more food pills for his mission. And from the trays set out before her, Sakura was making a lot of them. Even Kakashi glanced back Sasuke’s way as his former sensei realized Sakura’s purpose, as well.

Although somewhat touched by her effort, Sasuke feigned disinterest in the lot of them.

“Let’s have a taste!” Naruto exclaimed. “Surely, they aren’t as bad as they used to be!”

But before Naruto could touch one, Sakura pushed him away with her body. “Naruto! You need to stop that greedy habit of yours! They are made with Ashuwa, a plant that many people have severe allergic reactions to!”

Sasuke smirked silently to himself as Sakura chastised their gluttonous friend and Sasuke wanted to say something like, “Should have just let him eat it. That would teach him a lesson,” but Sasuke remained silent as Naruto shrieked at Sakura’s revelation.

The idiot jerked his entire body away from the food pills, eyes turning into round circles as he pointed at them, “Now you’re cooking can KILL people?!”

“Na-ru-tooo,” Sakura seethed in that drawn-out warning of his name she often used while considering to pommel their friend, and they all knew if she weren’t holding her gloved, Ashuwa-tainted hands up and away from everyone, Sakura would have hit him.

“They won’t kill you unless you are allergic,” Kakashi explained, motioning Naruto to take a few steps away. “How did you learn it was a common allergen?” he asked Sakura.

Her anger instantly forgotten, Sakura turned red from embarrassment and her eyes darted to the Uchiha. “After Mako told me about the plant, I tested it myself to assess the taste. I might have had a little reaction—”

Sasuke scoffed at the half-truth and spit out what she didn’t want to say. “It wasn’t little. Mako didn’t stop her from trying it, knowing how toxic it was. He was trying to kill her.” Feeling merciful, Sasuke left out the part about Sakura’s anaphylactic reaction, her face and mouth swelling up like a balloon that had left her bumbling through an explanation to a half-annoyed, half-concerned Sasuke.

Naruto instantly reddened after learning of Mako’s involvement, “THAT GUY!���

Kakashi didn’t give Naruto’s exclamation any attention, skipping over his statement immediately as he leaned curiously over the large array of food pills. “But Sasuke isn’t allergic, so these are the food pills you made for his mission? Are all of these for him, then?”

“Yes,” Sakura stated and she proceeded to relay the properties of the foodpills, their various side-effects and so on. Apparently, she had made modifications to these. They had less of a physical toll on the body and a greater number could be taken in a single dosage.  They all raised their brows and glanced at one another in silent admiration; Sasuke didn’t bother to hide the small smirk of pride spreading across his face at his female companion’s astounding ability to make advancement upon advancement on something she had only just created days ago. Where had she even found the time?

“It’s not foolproof yet,” Sakura disclaimed as she hoisted a large container of compacted food pills from the counter and took slow and careful steps to Sasuke.

They both froze when her fingers bumped against his during the transfer; they also both instantly looked away from one another as the small physical contact brought memories of the more intimate touches of last night. The first physical anything other than kissing that had transpired between them had progressed so quickly and now Sasuke was back-peddling, silently berating himself for the first time about his weak willpower. They had only ever exchanged a couple kisses, something that Sasuke thought would be manageable, safe, and just enough to take that edge off, satiate that desire that suddenly choked all his stoic sense out of him. And yet, things had heated so much last night that Sakura had felt compelled to mention it. Sasuke just hadn’t expected the cravings something like running his fingers along her bare back would evoke in him. Her touching him was wonderful, but when he had touched her in return, his hand starting with her shirt and finding her skin underneath… it was erotic. And typical for Sasuke, he had balked, realizing the trajectory of their course. Because the truth was, they needed clear heads. Just as he had told her. And Sasuke’s head had been anything but clear since Sakura had joined him on his mission.

“I still need you to test them,” Sakura stated quietly, and Sasuke’s attention snapped back to his pink-haired teammate, who was still avoiding his eyes shyly. “I can make adjustments from there.”

Sasuke didn’t know what to say or do other than nod silently as he withdrew a summoning scroll and performed the justsu that would seal the foodpills within it. “Naruto could go with you, now. Go train and test one out and come back before nightfall so I can modify the recipe if I need to.”

“Great idea!” Naruto exclaimed and he ran over to Sakura’s workstation and plucked a loose pill off the counter, gulping it greedily before saying, “They still taste like mudballs, Sakura.”

“You IDIOT!” Sakura gasped, storming over to him and checking his face. “You don’t even know if you’re allergic!!!”

“I can’t let Sasuke have an unfair advantage!” Naruto announced with that stupid face-breaking grin. “I’m fine! See? If Sasuke can handle the Ass-ingredient than so can I!”

All three of them rolled their eyes at Naruto’s sense of competitiveness against his lifelong rival—Sasuke would never admit that neither of them still couldn’t stand to be outdone by the other in any way—as he stomped out the door, yelling, “Come on, Sasuke! Time to kick your ass!”

Sakura sighed, turning once again to Sasuke. “If he has a reaction, teleport him back immediately.”

Sasuke nodded, then hesitated, glancing back between Sakura and Kakashi, whom had been leaning against the counter with an amused sort of expression. “What about the Kazekage—”

“Oh,” Sakura smiled innocently as Kakashi briefly explained their intentions of visiting with her and the Kazekage about the situation at hand. “He won’t be finished until later this evening. That’s when we are supposed to all meet up.”

Sasuke nodded, already being aware of this fact. When neither of his remaining members of Team 7 said anything more to detain him, Sasuke followed his blonde rival out the door, not being able to shake the suspicious feeling that he was purposefully being sent away.

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Sakura admired Kakashi for his perceptiveness because as her sensei leaned out the window to watch his two chakra pill-dosed disciples navigate through an intricate web of sand-constructed and adobe houses, he asked, “What are you planning?”

Sakura’s eyes widened when he found hers and she suddenly knew that she had been caught. Sakura sighed. “How did you guess?”

Kakashi moved away from the window to lean against the counter beside her as she finished working, whipping out his favorite scandalous Icha Icha book. “Your behavior is off. At first, I thought it was because of the evolution of your relationship with Sasuke, but…”

Sakura’s eyes grew even wider as his words registered in her mind, and she blushed furiously as she defended, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kakashi raised his hands, saying, “I won’t mention anything again. It’s between the both of you.”

Sakura turned her back to him to hide her face, not believing him for a second. He would stick his nose where it didn’t belong for the rest of their lives.

Kakashi continued, “However, I’ve known the both of you for a long time and I just want to say that I am happy for you. It looks good on you both…being in love.”

Sakura stilled her panicked faux-work movements at Kakashi’s words and turned back to face him. Even with half his face concealed by the black mask, Sakura saw the upturn of his lips and the crease of a smile beneath his exposed right-eye. She had never wanted to hug someone so tightly in her life because his words, his approval, meant so much to her. “Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes threatening to water and Kakashi nodded.

But the feeling of happiness eroded when Kakashi finished the rest of what he was trying to say before getting side-tracked. “Seeing all these food pills you’ve made in advance suggests to me that you’re not planning on being here to make more of them. Am I wrong to assume this?”

And Sakura sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she dropped her shoulders in silent defeat. “No,” she admitted. “You’re not wrong. I wanted to talk to you. As a leaf shinobi talks to their Hokage.”

Kakashi raised his eyebrow but waited for her to continue.

And she confessed to him her feelings about Gaara’s plans, Sasuke’s valid suggestion for a single-person mission to infiltrate the organization, her own plans to deal with the situation, along with the details of Mako’s information, and her carefully constructed counterplans. She told Kakashi everything she planned to do and exactly how she would do it.

Kakashi listened with a grim face, simultaneously intrigued, and sighing at each step of Sakura’s points of reasoning. When she finally finished, Kakashi stared down at his feet for a moment before lifting his eyes to her. “As your Sensei, I want to say no. To put the responsibility on Gaara as he suggested. It’s too dangerous to do this alone.”

Sakura nodded. She was aware of this, had prepared herself for this.

“The boys won’t hear of it,” Kakashi pointed out, “they’ll insist on joining you.”

“I don’t plan on telling them,” Sakura confessed. “I’ll leave immediately. When they learn of it, I’ll need you to convince them to stay behind. And persuade Gaara, too. Strategically, it is the safest route for everyone.”

Kakashi sighed. “I don’t foresee this part of your plan going well. Even the Kazekage won’t be pleased that you’ve gone against the plan. He feels responsible.”

“Do what you must. Play the Hokage card if you have to. Isn’t that your favorite?” she smiled teasingly.

Kakashi looked affronted at her statement and Sakura laughed good-naturedly despite the stressful topic.

“Do I have your official permission, then?” she asked.

“As your Hokage, I say go. Bring them to the light or bring them down, whichever of the two options prevents them from threatening your life again. Are you sure that you’re ready?”

“I was ready the very moment they laid their hands on Isao. It’s my turn to protect the ones I love, now.”

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Sasuke scowled deeply at Naruto who had just taken his third chakra pill before funneling Kurama’s chakra into his limbs and body once again. “Let’s go again!” he yelled across the sandfield at Sasuke, shaking sweat from his hair like Kiba’s white-furred mutt.  

Sasuke sighed, feeling thoroughly exhausted, not having entirely recovered from overexerting himself on chakra pills just days ago. As he watched Naruto take his third dose, Sasuke found himself wishing his blonde companion had been just slightly allergic to the Ashu—just enough where they had an excuse to go back—but of course, Naruto had no reaction; certainly would have saved him from having to walk into the desert and rile himself up with Naruto’s challenges.

There was a part of Sasuke that loved to challenge Naruto, to spar until his limbs were heavy, mottled with bruising, and he could lay on his back that night and feel released from his thoughts—just feel the soreness of his body and the satisfying memories of getting a few ones in on his bijuu friend. But today, Sasuke felt half-in the fight and often found himself tossing distracted glances back toward to the Sand Village.

“Enough Naruto. I think we’ve tested them enough. Let’s head back.”

Powering down, Naruto shouted, “You tired, Sasuke? You’re off your game today.”

And even though Sasuke told himself not to react to Naruto’s goading statement, he still found himself scoffing. “Unlike you loser, I haven’t just been sitting around doing nothing.”

Naruto pointed an annoyed finger in his direction. “Flirting with Sakura doesn’t count!”

Sasuke whipped his head in his friend’s direction and narrowed his deadly purple and red glare at the knucklehead, who was grinning and laughing at Sasuke’s reaction. “You should see your face!”

Sasuke scowled, half-tempted to shoot another fireball in the obnoxious jinchuriki’s direction, but he would need another chakra pill to do so, and Sasuke didn’t want to risk consuming three in a row, despite Sakura’s claim of reduced side-effects. He was completely spent. Anymore and Sasuke might really overdo it and he couldn’t risk being completely bedridden. Not with Sakura’s attackers out there somewhere still organizing a retaliation.

Sasuke struck with his words. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And I’m NOT tired. Don’t you see the sun setting? We need to head back to meet with the Kazekage.”

Naruto turned to appraise the sun for the first time, and the vibrant red of the sunset cast a crimson glow on their skin and clothes, projecting lengthy shadows of their stooped, heavily-breathing figures on the ruby sand beneath them.

“Alright fine. Just to save your Uchiha pride.” Naruto exclaimed, rolling his purpling jaw and stiff shoulders. “I’ll definitely be stealing some of those pills for future use.”

Sasuke scoffed again and joined his friend as they trudged back through the red-tinted sand at a slower pace, the both of them trying to disguise limping. Naruto even stumbled once in the deep sand and instead of catching himself, he purposefully sprawled out onto his back and Sasuke came to stand over him.

“Don’t make me drag you back,” he hissed threateningly. But Naruto just raised his hand and said, “Five-minute break.”

Sasuke didn’t even argue, grateful for the rest, but he was also simultaneously anxious to be back. Unlike Naruto, he didn’t allow himself to sit. He was afraid he might not be able to get back up.

“You know,” Naruto wheezed between heavy breaths. “I may be oblivious the majority of the time, but not when it comes to you two. Things are different between you, aren’t they?”

Sasuke released a sigh into his hand, not because he was annoyed—although he was very much tempted to disguise it as annoyance—but because the weight of no one knowing and keeping it a secret from Naruto was no longer a burden; he had already guessed it. And so, Sasuke nodded with a confirmatory “hn.”

And then Naruto was grinning, larger than Sasuke had ever seen the knucklehead grin. There was even a tear that slid down the right side of his friend’s sand-dusted cheek as he gazed up into the darkening sky. Naruto covered his eyes to disguise the tears with the crook of his arm as he grinned and whispered, “Finally.”  

Sasuke’s first reaction was to insult him for the crying, but he was honestly genuinely affected by this ninja’s emotion, and Sasuke for once in his life wanted to confide in someone who knew Sasuke’s entire history, his past, his everything.

“I’m afraid.” Sasuke confessed. “How do you love someone without spending every waking second worrying about them?”

Naruto sat up at that, leaning on one elbow as his body rotated in Sasuke’s direction. “You’re still concerned that something will happen to her?”

Sasuke just nodded again, giving voice to one of his inner-most thoughts. “Yes. Because of me. Because of who I am.”

“Haven’t you already realized that Sakura is going to be a target because of who she is? Look at the current situation. She’s a medic ninja out there changing the world and one of the most capable shinobi we know. If you’re going to be with anyone, Sasuke, Sakura is the only one who can handle all that come with it.”

Sasuke found himself nodding because he had realized this recently. Everything Naruto just said, Sasuke had thought himself. He could now fully appreciate the fact that Sakura’s life would be threatened regardless of her association with him. But he needed to hear someone say it, the confirmation he was looking for from the universe that set his heart at ease.

“If anything,” Naruto began, standing and dusting the sand from his clothes. “Her association with all of us keeps her protected.”

Sasuke raised a brow in confusion, but Naruto continued. “She may be hunted for her connection to us: the Kazekage’s student, the jinchuriki’s friend, and the last surviving Uchiha’s…” he trailed off, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes dangerously, daring him to say the word. But Naruto chose to finish that sentence with,”partner” and Sasuke found that he and Sakura had even referred to one other as such, so the word felt appropriate.

“But,” Naruto continued, “her particular connections to us protect her, too. Who’s going to risk the wrath of us in order to get to her?”

“This damn anti-peace organization,” Sasuke answered, immediately finding a hole in Naruto’s explanation. He wanted to mention Kido, that madman who had tried to use Sakura to get his sharingan, but Sasuke decided against that one.

Naruto waved away that answer, stating, “Tanigakure was neutral in the war. If this organization truly originates there, they didn’t witness our abilities. There will always be instances that Sakura is targeted, but we will remind them every time who she is and who she belongs to.”

“If she doesn’t remind them herself, first.” Sasuke added.

“Exactly,” Naruto agreed, clapping Sasuke on the shoulder.

.

.

.

Kakashi and Shikamaru were the only two waiting in the Kazekage’s office when Gaara and his two accompanying siblings entered. Kakashi and Shikamaru glanced between one another tensely, aware of the news they would soon share with the Kazekage.

Immediately after Sakura’s conversation and departure, Kakashi had found the lazy ninja strolling the streets carefree with Temari. Wrestling him away with the “official business” excuse, Shikamaru had sighed, “This early? I thought I had until this evening. What a drag.” Once Kakashi had confidentially reported Sakura’s plans for an independent mission, Shikamaru had initially argued with him about her decision, stating it was unnecessary for her to take the risk. That was, until Kakashi had told him everything. The plan. The details. Everything Sakura had confessed to Kakashi as a ninja would to their Kazekage.  

“I don’t like it,” Shikamaru sighed with his head in his hand, “but it might just work. We need to meet with her and discuss strategy—”

“She’s already left,” Kakashi interrupted and Shikamaru dropped his hands from his face in shock.

“Already?!”

“Leaving immediately was imperative,” Kakashi explained and by the look on Shikamaru’s face, he had already made the connection that it had to do with the other two members of Team 7. Kakashi continued with: “We can send her your advice by hawk.”

Shikamaru groaned, “Telling Naruto and Sasuke is going to be such a drag.”

That was definitely going to be a mountain that Kakashi was not looking forward to. But before facing that mountain, he had a bridge to cross, and that bridge was none other than telling the Kazekage he had made a decision as the Hokage despite the Kazekage’s careful planning.

As the Kazekage sat cordially behind his desk, ready to scheme and discuss tactics, Kakashi sat across from him, grateful that Gaara was usually a level-headed and understanding leader and was typically easy to work with. But just before Kakashi could blurt out Sakura’s plan, a blue-haired sand shinobi entered the room, pushing a rather drab-looking ninja medic whom Kakashi instantly recognized as the man responsible for betraying Sakura to a group of vigilantes. Kakashi raised a curious eyebrow at Mako’s sudden presence, and Kakashi assumed it had something to do with information garnished from his interrogation.

“The prisoner who keeps asking for you, Lord Kazekage,” the ninja stated respectfully as he pushed Mako to his knees on the floor before Gaara who seemed slightly annoyed with his unexpected appearance.

“Yes, thank you.” The Kazekage gestured for the shinobi to leave.

Mako strained his arms against a pair of sand shackles and Kakashi noticed for the first time that the former Sunagakure medic was trying to speak past a gag of sand as it rained from his mouth. Not only was he struggling to speak, but Mako was glancing around the room into each of their faces and Kakashi witnessed the medic’s eyes widen in alarm, a panicked look Kakashi had become very familiar with from his time as a shinobi: fear.

“Excuse the interruption,” Gaara pardoned and Shikamaru and Kakashi were both a little too eager in shaking their hands in dismissal, both of them more than happy for a delay in delivering their news.

“Make it quick,” Gaara said emotionlessly, snapping his fingers to disintegrate the manacles and gag from his mouth. “What is it you want?”

Mako choked on some of the remnants of grit on his tongue and he wiped furiously from his mouth. Finally, Mako began to breath evenly, blurting, “She—” he choked again. “You have to stop her.”

“Stop who?” The Kazekage interrogated, a furrowed brow of confusion passing across Gaara’s usual emotionless expressions.

Kakashi’s stomach dropped when Mako cried out, “Sakura! She left the prison this morning, asking for information. I got the impression that she was going to go looking for the enemy on her own! You can’t let her—”

Gaara silenced the noisy vomit of words spilling out of Mako’s mouth with a raised hand. He turned to Kakashi and raised an eyebrow. “Where is Sakura?” the sand-wielder questioned. “Why exactly is she not here right now?”

Kakashi rubbed his neck half-humoredly. “Well, about that,” he began and he heard Shikamaru sigh at his right. And so Kakashi found himself explaining the current situation, at which Gaara’s eye grew wide in surprise. Just as Sakura had explained to him, and Kakashi had relayed to Shikamaru, the Hokage now recounted a censored version of Sakura’s goals (he wasn’t naïve enough to reveal anything essential in Mako’s presence).

Even Temari and Kankuro exchanged worried glances between one another as Kakashi reported, and Gaara placed his fisted hand on his mouth to think.

“I had thought we were on the same page, her and I.” Gaara voiced. “If she goes into Tanigakure, discretion is a must. Are you sure she can handle this without our help?”

Kakashi nodded. “If anyone can do this, she can.” Kakashi was relieved to see him nod curtly before whispering an instruction silently to Kankuro, who dashed quickly from the room, sending a small hateful glare in Mako’s direction as he exited.

Mako took turns exasperatedly gaping between all of them. “You are all too confident.” Mako seethed. “I should have just kept my mouth shut. She hasn’t been on the battlefield since the war. She’s too inexperienced for the numbers, especially going alone.”

“Why are you working so hard to prevent her from going? Are you disappointed that her plan might not work?” Shikamaru drawled, the annoyed tone very much like his character. “She handled your team well enough.”

Mako laughed derisively. “Of course, her plan won’t work! She said she just wants to talk to them! You’re sending their target, a martyr in the name of mental health, into a nest designed for her death!”

“Then tell us what you know.” Gaara’s rasping voice sounded and Kakashi witnessed Mako tense at the legendary jinchuriki’s question. “You’ve chosen a second life here, correct? In exchange for your information, I’ll offer you protection as long as you reside here.”

Mako’s eyes widened at the offer and then he sighed; Kakashi saw the internal struggle still within his eyes as if the young man truly was trying to recall everything he could remember. “I’ll tell you what I told her,” the prisoner exhaled as he rubbed his sore blistered wrists. “I don’t know much. I didn’t get that far in, but I will tell you everything I do know.”

“Better make that quick,” Kakashi announced, walking to one of the windows across the room. The descending sunlight illuminated the sand ground in orange, striped by the shadows of all the buildings within the village, and two smaller shadows shuffled their way slowly towards the Kazekage’s tower.

.

.

.

“You’re late,” Shikamaru drawled when Sasuke practically hauled Naruto’s limp body through the door of the Kazekage’s office. Stupid idiot had walked the entire way back, but the stairs, the stairs, had been too much for him. Sasuke practically dropped him on his back to the floor.

“Coming from you, Shikamaru?” Naruto laughed, pointing an accusing finger and upside-down jeer at the lazy Hokage’s assistant. “You and Kakashi Sensei are always late to everything.”

“It’s Lord Hokage, Naruto…” Kakashi corrected, covering his eyes with his hand, and Sasuke thought he looked like a parent who was embarrassed of his two humiliating children.

“You can blame Naruto,” Sasuke stated bluntly as he side-stepped Naruto, already feigning disinterest in the present company. That was until his narrowed eyes met an unlikely visitor that Sasuke would have rather never seen again. Mako sat with his hands bound and mouth gagged with what appeared to be whirring sand. His silent figure observed Sasuke, blatantly staring at him in forced silence, and Sasuke could have kicked in his teeth. Sasuke didn’t question Mako’s presence too much; Gaara probably had him brought from the cells to testify for insider information.

Moving along with a threatening glare in Mako’s direction, the Uchiha positioned himself casually against the wall the farthest away from everyone and instantly became aware that Sakura had not made it to the Kazekage’s office, yet. Sasuke mentally scolded his pink-haired teammate for her overachieving work ethic, and that kernel of uneasiness from earlier that came from Sakura’s absence was back again. Maybe he should go and retrieve her.

“Were the chakra pills effective?” Kakashi suddenly inquired, and Naruto enthusiastically answered as he sat upright once more, crossing his legs and arms simultaneously; the very same squat he often took as a genin.

“Yes! I took four in a row!” he praised. “Wish she could improve that terrible taste though,” he mumbled lowly to himself, taking a dramatic swipe at his tongue with the pad of his right thumb and then inspecting it for a residue. Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes.

As Naruto rambled on about the effects that he personally experienced from the new food pills, explaining that the results and consequences were as expected, but less serious, and how it took much longer to get there, Shikamaru laughed to himself and shook his head in disbelief. This laugh pricked Sasuke’s ears and his attention switched to Kakashi, and Sasuke witnessed the Hokage and Kazekage exchange a quiet look, the type of glance that was charged with a silent conversation. Sasuke then turned to find Mako’s heavy gaze on him, staring directly into his eyes as if he no longer feared them. The Uchiha narrowed his eyes at the man, trying his best to not let the behavior provoke him in this uncomfortable atmosphere. God, Sasuke was tired of this meeting already.

“Where is Sakura, by the way?” Naruto glanced around, the first to address her absence since they had arrived. It may have been the only time today Sasuke wasn’t annoyed at the blonde idiot.

Naruto’s question was interrupted and ignored when the puppet-wielding ninja appeared through the entrance, signaled Gaara with a nod, and the Kazekage announced, “All right then, let’s get started.”

Sasuke had rarely felt so skeptical in his life as he did now when the sand-wielder engulfed the room with sand, creating a soundproof barrier that Sasuke had witnessed him do several times. It hardened within seconds, encasing them all in one un-impenetrable room. Sasuke glanced at Naruto as his question was skipped over, and Sasuke noticed that the knucklehead, too, had a confused frown on his face. And Sasuke suddenly had a gut-wrenching feeling, because it was obvious that if Gaara was sealing the room already, it was because everyone who was expected to be there, already was. Which meant that Sakura wasn’t coming.

And Sasuke’s gaze suddenly locked on the sand-muffled Mako, whose eyes still bore into the Uchiha’s as if he had been trying to communicate with him all along—eyes that had been so cautious to meet the Sharingan and Rinnegan before, but now volunteered themselves for Sasuke’s inspection. And as it finally clicked in Sasuke’s brain, he called on his reduced supply of chakra and his eyes instantly morphed into the deadly purple and red.

Mako slumped forward as Sasuke plowed into the ninja’s memories, frantically searching for Sakura’s face, reversing time so quickly that he struck through Mako’s memories like electricity, faster than the streaks of lightning of his chidori. Finally, his charged consciousness of his lightning style chakra illuminated the memories containing her. Finally, Sasuke witnessed her sitting before Mako’s cell, eye-to-eye on the other side of the bars crafted from sand. Sasuke paused and played out her questions to Mako:

Where is the heart of your organization?

Are they based in Tanigakure?

How many members?

When Sasuke stumbled through the rest of their conversation, hearing Mako ask Sakura to take him with her to help her with her plan, and then experiencing Mako’s panic at realizing that Sakura planned to go alone, Sasuke felt the same fear again. That same fear he had felt many times in the past, and now found himself feeling again. Everything suddenly made dreadful sense: Gaara surrounding the room with sand—an action that Sasuke had misunderstood to be sound-proofing, the exchanged glances, and even Sakura asking he and Naruto to test the food pills so they would both be too physically drained to pursue her. Damn it. Sasuke felt like a fool; he felt betrayed, afraid, and so cross with everyone for their part in Salura’s self-sacrificing mission.

Too late, a veil of sand came before Mako’s eyes, the sand creating an impassable window to stop Sasuke’s genjutsu. But Sasuke had already learned what he needed to know and he withdrew from Mako’s head like a snake that had bitten him. Mako gasped from the shock of it and the entire room turned to watch the medic slump forward onto the ground, not having witnessed the silent exchange, but realizing something had just happened.

Gaara’s efforts to stop the genjutstu said a lot to Sasuke about how the Kazekage wanted to handle this confrontation: slowly, easily, and as emotionless as possible. But as Sasuke met the Kazekage’s eyes and Sasuke didn’t retract his emotional prowess, everyone in the room suddenly realized that Sasuke had discovered their closely guarded secret, and the Uchiha didn’t plan on calmly playing along with their plans.

“Naruto,” Sasuke drawled, his voice as low and heavy as the rumble that resounded when the ground shook on a war-torn battlefield. His next words had sharpened to accusatory ice. “Sakura’s not coming. She left Sunagakure on her own.”

Naruto shot up from the ground as if he hadn’t just crawled his way up the steps moments ago. “What?” he questioned the others, his gaze coming to rest on Kakashi who was putting a hand up already in an attempt to calm the Uzumaki.

“Why don’t you both sit down, so I can explain the situation to you—” their Sensei began, but his words only registered in Naruto’s head as a confirmation of Sasuke’s sudden declaration.

“WHAT?!” Naruto screeched, pointing a finger at all of them. “You let her go by herself? To do what? Fight? ALONE!?”

Sasuke’s immediate desire was to jump through space and time, directly through the portal of his choosing, bypassing everything altogether: the explanations, the defensive behavior, the justification of Sakura’s choices. But he was drained, just as Sakura had planned, damn her, and that only left Sasuke able to move to the door, instead. When he found the sand thickening around it, he turned and flashed his red and purple glare at Gaara.

“Even your sand will burn in the fires of Amaterasu,” Sasuke threatened dangerously. “You can’t hold me here.”

In the next moment, Kakashi had his hand on Sasuke’s shoulder and the Uchiha turned his glare back on him. “This is her plan, Sasuke. A covert operation with one person is discreet. She can handle this. Hear us out.”

Sasuke sucked in a sharp breath at the words that just came out of Kakashi’s mouth, the very words Sasuke had used to try and persuade Sakura to let him handle the situation himself. Sakura had listened, told Sasuke it was irrational, but had really gone and decided to take his idea and do it herself. His hand found his painful eyes. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. And they had agreed. Kakashi had agreed. Sasuke was so furious at himself for giving her the idea, but not as enraged at the Hokage for sending her.

“You think she can kill them?” he suddenly hissed in Kakashi’s face. “I watched her spare the life of that bastard who betrayed her,” Sasuke spat in Mako’s unconscious direction. “I’ve watched her spare the life of the monster who almost took the use of her arm away. There are countless others.”

“She killed one of them,” Shikamaru defended, “because it became necessary.” And Sasuke hated the strategist ninja once again, for his entitlement to a say. He didn’t know her. None of them knew Sakura the way that her own teammates did, including Sasuke, himself.

“She only killed the one who hurt that kid,” Sasuke retorted, cursing his own damn depleted state of chakra that was forcing him to sit and reason with these idiots. “None of the ones who touched her suffered any sort of consequence.”

“How many times?” Kakashi asked lowly, but loud enough for them all to hear. “How many times must she prove herself to you, Sasuke?”

Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration, his blood pulsing in his head from the chakra-depletion induced headache forming there. The truth was, that this wasn’t an issue to him anymore. He believed in her abilities. He had witnessed them, himself. And as he had explained to Sakura as he had wrapped his arms around her in the moonlight of last night, his faith in her didn’t change the fact that Sasuke would worry. That Sasuke would go after her. Every. Single. Time. Why? Because he loved Sakura, and a man in love with someone didn’t need an excuse to make sure she never faced anything alone, not as Sasuke had for years. Sakura’s enemies were his enemies. Her battles, his battles. All wars, theirs.

“Tell us where she’s gone, Kakashi!” Naruto interrupted, derailing both Sasuke’s thoughts and their sensei’s attempt to convince him completely. “Sakura is our teammate. I don’t care what her plan is! We fight as a team!”

Sasuke saw it in their faces, the wavering. Naruto always had that effect on people when he spoke, altering their thinking and changing their minds, easily.

Kakashi remained on course, however. “You can’t follow her, Naruto. Everyone in the shinobi world knows who you are. They would recognize you instantly. Remember what I said earlier? Leaf shinobi can’t enter into Tanigakure without consequence. It’s neutral. You’ll be starting something—”

“And the world doesn’t know Sakura?!” Naruto shouted in disbelief. “She’s just as recognizable as any of us! Is just as important to the Leaf!”

“Sakura has many different strengths she can draw from,” Kakashi continued. “She doesn’t have to rely on a ninjutsu that could give her away. Not like your Rasengan, beast modes, sage art, and more. She has another plan.”

Naruto began to protest again, but Sasuke interjected. “Fine, Naruto can stay here.”

“WHAT?!” his friend screeched, rounding on him instantly, but Sasuke ignored him.

“The idea was mine originally,” Sasuke explained to Kakashi. “Sakura just stole it. I will go and I will be as discreet as I have for the last couple of years on Konoha’s behalf.”

Kakashi sighed. “Sasuke, you’re involvement is not a good idea. You have your own mission.”

And as Kakashi began to deny him once more, Sasuke felt a sense of dread and panic as more time was slipping away from him. Each minute that passed, took Sakura further away from them and toward those who wanted to kill her.

Desperation wasn’t like Sasuke and he had never resorted to begging before, always being able to rely on his strength and jutsu to carry him through life, taking what he wanted, doing as he pleased, and needing permission from few. But he was growing more and more irate and more and more frantic, and so he risked being vulnerable in front of all these ninja who had often judged him.

“If I have to watch someone who I love die, sacrificing themselves for the sake of the Leaf Village, again, the person who I am now won’t survive it. What’s left of the shinobi world will either fall to the Otsusuki race in my absence, or it will fall to the person I will become.”

He watched the fear flash across each of their faces as Sasuke’s words registered throughout the room. Sasuke had been too young to help his brother bear the weight of such terrible orders from his village, but Sasuke wouldn’t sit by and do nothing when Sakura was given such a mission.

“Is that a threat, Uchiha?” Gaara grumbled and Sasuke felt the very ground, the entire sand-constructed village, shift in response to the Kazekage’s wrath. Sasuke felt no fear. He didn’t fear such things anymore.

“Sasuke,” Naruto whispered as his friend placed a supportive palm on his shoulder, but Sasuke shrugged it off and stepped up to Kakashi, so close that Sasuke could see the red and purple of his own gaze in Kakashi’s irises.

“That will be its fate if you keep me here and she dies, Kakashi. Don’t make the wrong choice.”

He saw it in Kakashi’s face. The realization that Sasuke was more dangerous to Konoha than any repercussions from Tanigakure, or any unnamed organization. Sasuke was also essential because he was the only one who could use the Rinnegan to get an edge on the Otsusuki race. He watched the risks shift in the Hokage’s mind as he weighed this new danger to the Leaf. And so Kakashi didn’t stop him. The sand rained down around him. They let him go.

.

.

.

Sasuke fisted the pink hair that had been cut and placed upon a note on the foot of his bed. He had almost missed it in the darkness, but the moon as always, caught Sakura’s hair in a way that nothing else could. The sight of her slashed hair, a pre-battle ritual of Sakura’s, instantly caught his eye and it panicked the Uchiha even more; he wished he would have returned to their shared room earlier in the day, because Sasuke would have realized what exactly Sakura had intended to do, and he could just have avoided the Kage meeting all together and gone straight after her.

He had returned now to make sure Sakura wasn’t there waiting for him. Sasuke knew better, but he had still hoped. All their conversations about partnership, communication and goodbyes, and all their small promises to one another these past couple of months had given him that hope. But it was all nothing, now. Empty words because none of it prevented her from leaving him. Sasuke Uchiha had been left behind. And for the first time, he realized just how lonely and horrendously painful it was to be left behind.

In the darkness, the hair fell from his hands onto the bed like Sasuke’s slashed headband had once descended from his forehead. He snatched the note from the bed and separated the two pages with the pad of his thumb. Sasuke activated his Sharingan in the dark and forced himself to read it slowly and carefully, instead of skipping over lines in his urgency.

Sasuke, it read.

Sasuke,

I am sorry. If you have found this letter, know that I write it because we promised one another a goodbye. This is my goodbye, for now. I thought a lot about your suggestion on how to handle this situation, and I decided to do this on my own, since I was going to be involved regardless. I have thought it through, put extensive research into how I will achieve my goal, and decided a solo mission was the best option after all. Forgive me for being a distraction to you and I hope that the time apart will give us ‘clear heads’ as you suggested last night. Focus on your mission and I will focus on mine. Keep Naruto from following. He can be impulsive, and I need to do this alone. If you don’t find this until later, and I do not return, know that I love you. You have always been worthy of that love, even the darkest version of you. Save the shinobi world and remember who you are.

She did not sign it. As soon as his eyes scanned the last line of pen scrawl, Sasuke was half-tempted to crumble it in his hand. But his eyes found the most important words on the page: I love you…you have always been worthy of that love…remember who you are. And Sasuke realized he needed this letter as much as he needed chakra or oxygen. Because if she died, Sasuke would have to stare at it every day for the rest of his lonely existence and let it be the tether that kept him from falling apart.

#sasuke and sakura #sasusaku #approaching sun #approachingsun #sasukeshinden #Sasuke Uchiha #sasuke retsuden #Sakura Haruno #sakura uchiha #sakura hiden #ssfanfiction #sasusakufanfiction #Naruto Shippuden #naruto fanfiction #naruto

[moonchild-in-blue]

36, 79, 101? Hope you're doing well, hun. 💙

Hello Satie!!! I hope you're feeling better as well!! 🦉🌷☁️

36 - What’s your favorite book?

I never know how to answer this one, I feel like such a fake ~bookworm~. I think I'm more into authors/themes than books per se, if that makes sense?

The Chronicles of Narnia and The Picture of Dorian Gray (if you saw that typo, no you didn't) are my usual go-to answers. It's Kind Of A Funny Story is very, very dear to me. Beautiful Creatures is probably my favourite non-problematic YA read (big Twilight fan but yikes). Wuthering Heights is depressing and fantastic!

Oyasumi Punpun is forever and always my most favourite manga! Kafka On The Shore was pretty great - I can never remember any of Haruki Murakami's books after I'm done, but the vibes are vibing.

What Matters Most Is How Well You Walk Through The Fire by Bukowski is always always with me and I re-read it at least once a year. His poetry has a lot of ~questionable~ stuff, but also just really beautiful and heartbreaking sentiments. I like the way he writes, he was such a weird man.

79 - What’s your most prized possession?

Good question! I would say my journals/sketchbooks maybe? Or my books?

I have a few pieces of jewellery that I love and would be devastated to part with, like my moon/sun necklace.

OH! I have two Memphis May Fire albums signed by Matty Mullins, and Cory's bass pick, that he handed TO ME. PERSONALLY. IN THE BARRICADE. So definitely that !!!

101 - What’s been going through your mind lately?

How fast time is passing, and how I feel like I'm wasting my time. I'm at that point where, I didn't really think I'd get this far, so now I have no idea where to go. Unfortunately, I let those feelings get to me, and everyone around has to suffer from it in one way or another.

I have been avoiding a lot of people lately because I know they will ask questions that I really don't know how to answer. Which sucks, cus I know they mean well, and would help me if I actually asked. I'm trying to find the strength to reach out - it's been a while since I've seen some friends and I know I will feel better when I do.

Just feeling like a little sea turtle lost in the great ocean, I suppose. (back at it again with the Turtle Feelings).

#THIS GOT SAD I AM SORRY #i hope this week is treating you well! #ask game #darya answers

[screadingchallenge]

Behind the Keyboard Volume 16

Please note that Behind the Keyboard will be posted once per week during the Reading Challenge. We’ll go back to twice a week in mid-August.

Behind the Keyboard is a series of interviews with different Schitt’s Creek fanfic authors. The series will last as long as there is interest (from authors) and capacity (from me). If you are an author from the Schitt’s Creek fandom who would like to participate, send a DM to this account.  

Each author was given ten questions. The first five questions are the same for every author, the last five will vary.

Remember, this year’s Reading Challenge begins July 15, so polish up those MFL lists.

Let’s meet our next author:

weathereyehorizon / @weathereyehorizon​

How many fics have you written?

I’ve published 24 for the Schitt’s Creek fandom, and 2 under a pseud for Outer Range. I cannot believe that number!

When did you publish your first fic on AO3?

July 9th, 2021. 

Describe your writing process from “Oh, I have an idea” to pushing publish on AO3. 

I typically start with a pretty strong idea of where I want my story to begin and end, and then I map out a few plot points along the way. From there I usually go and plug in dialogue, because it’s what comes easiest to me. I then work through adding in some description and exposition, and send it off to my beta to (lovingly) rip apart. The final step, of course, is boarding the struggle bus to write a summary, add tags and come up with a title. Those are the worst parts of the whole process. There is much whining. 😂

Tell me about your most recent fic? What do you love about it? Is there anything you think you could have done better?

It’s a 5 + 1 from Clint’s POV (You Might Say I'm Here for You) that takes us through a weekend where David and Patrick are visiting The Brewers. Patrick and Cint have some much needed conversations over the course of the visit. I love it because it’s not necessarily something I would typically write, but I wrote it as a gift for a dear friend, and tried to hit a bunch of her jams in doing so. It came out really sweet and I think that I did well with hitting the notes of Clint’s POV. I think I could have fleshed out the emotions of some of the scenes a bit more with more description. That’s an area I generally recognize as a weakness and am always trying to improve. 

What advice would you give to someone who’s thinking about publishing their fic for the first time?

Write the stories that you really want to tell and read. Writing for yourself will help to keep the joy in writing, because it can be tough out there sometimes.

Do you use a beta? Why or why not? Do you beta for other people?

I do. My beta makes everything I write a million times better than it started out. She helps me troubleshoot when things aren’t working out, brings a fresh set of eyes to catch things that I’ve missed, and gives me so much encouragement about what I’m writing. It's such a special relationship to me. I do beta for others, and I’m also a professional flailer.

Alexis is trapped in a drug lord’s palace and you have to convince her captors to read your fic in order to free her. What’s your best sales pitch for your favorite fic?

I’m going to cheat and choose my Stevie & Patrick are Buds series. As a Gen series, the stories will never be the most popular, but every single one of them is written with so much love. Stevie and Patrick’s friendship is very important to me, and I think it comes across in every story I tell about them. Also, many of them are utterly ridiculous, and laugh out loud funny, if I do say so myself.

Is there someone(s) who has made your writing better? In what way?

I have an amazing community of writer friends, and can say without a doubt that they are all much stronger writers than I am. Spending my time talking with them and getting their input on writing, as well as reading their work, makes me a better writer. 

Do your IRL friends and family know you write fic?

They know I write all the time, and know I have an online community of friends that I share my writing with. My writing has always been for me, and I think they inherently know that, so no one has ever asked the specifics about what I write, and I haven’t offered it. If someone was to ask, I  would tell them. I don’t think reading and writing fic is anything to be embarrassed about. People should be able to do what brings them joy. 

Tell me about your current WIP if you have one.

I’m sure everyone who answers this question is going to say that they have many current WIPs, and I’m no different. The one I am trying to devote the majority of my time to right now is my first multi-chaptered long fic. It’s a post-canon story where Patrick reinvents himself as a first responder. Schitt's Creek faces a major natural disaster that puts their community and their lives as they know them to the test. David and Patrick need to work out how to come back from the life-changing events that take place. There’s only the slightest bit of angst, and lots of banter and sexy times throughout. 🔥

#behind the keyboard #meet the authors #sc fic reading challenge #sc reading challenge #sc fanfic #schitt's creek #schitts creek

[time-to-write-and-suffer]

saw your post about the IF market being more saturated now compared to when t/w/c blew up! as someone who was pretty disappointed by book 2 and 3 but wants to get more into IF, do you have any recommendations?

IFs are difficult to recommend because they're like books, ya know? What are you looking for, what are you into, etc.

However, I am armed with links this time around so hopefully this will help.

First of all I think you can just take a look at the Choice of Games website, as they have demos of all their own games and their Hosted Games. The demos are usually like 2-3 chapters, so you get a decent feel for the stories.

Second, you can also check out the itch.io platform and look for interactive fiction on there. These IFs are usually based on Twine and not ChoiceScript, so they will look very different. They're also usually "true" indie, in that they're not published or hosted by anybody but the writer putting it on itch.io. These have demos usually, and are often WIPs, so I don't play many of these until they're finished, which can take years. But! They're often passion projects, so I'd say the better ones are generally on par with or better than most CoG games and much better than Hosted Games (in my subjective experience!!!).

Finally, you can check Dashingdon, which is a private site for hosting various ChoiceScript based demos. It's difficult to navigate and isn't really meant for browsing, more used as a way for authors to show demos and WIPs, but it does have some filters and most demos include blurbs as well. Biggest thing is probably finding out the status of a game, as there's no linking back to the author unless they include it in the demo.

From there, it's usually just about reading the blurb, trying out a demo and see if you like the writing style or not. That's generally how I find new things to read.

As for my personal recommended list, it's pretty short, because most IFs I've read aren't bad per se, but they're a bit forgettable, so even if someone else might enjoy them, I just can't remember anything about them lol. I've put a few of the ones I've liked in the past below the cut.

Finished

Heart of the House: Gothic horror romance with emphasis on the gothic horror. I don't think I managed to survive this even once? But it's good and I love Dev. Tally Ho: Silly goofy story where you play as a butler and have to juggle people being absolute idiots around you. Very funny and lighthearted but has a surprising amount of variation. Rory is bae I love kissing his dumb ass. Jolly Good: Cakes and Ale: Standalone sequel to Tally Ho, but now you're the thembo noble bumbling your way into success. I haven't actually finished it because it's a OVER MILLION WORDS, but I know it'll be a blast, and I even bought the DLCs for it. YEAH. INTERACTIVE FICTION DLC. Choice of Rebels: Uprising: I only played this once ages ago and it's the first in a series that never got a continuation? So it ends without a real conclusion and that sucks, but I remember thinking it was good and heavy in a way that felt refreshing for the time. An older CoG game, with actual simulation of leading a rebellion, so it's a bit more technical than the others. The Passenger: Finished as in it's complete, not that I finished it myself. I played this first when it was only a demo, and I remember enjoying it. You play as an eldritch horror. That is all. It was gross and spoopy and fun back when I played it, but I haven't gone back to see if it's as good as I remember it being.

WIPs

Guenevere: The IF that got me into IFs. It's SO good. It'd be considered limited by today's standards as you can only play as a woman who is a somewhat established character in folklore and romance only 3 (4?) people. But it's really well-written and dramatic and feels like an approproately epic tale. And you get to cuck the shit out of Arthur<3 Mind Blind: A friend recommended it to me and I enjoyed it! Don't know much else about it, though. It can be a bit heavy in spots, which I recall I found that it clashed a bit with the joking writing style, and you play as a deeply underpowered individual in a world of essentially superheroes, which can be a turnoff. I remember it having a great selection of ROs though. Speaker: Urban fantasy road trip type beat. I remember enjoying the writing style and the characters, plus the plot felt fresh and actually had a presense in the story, which isn't a guarantee in IFs. You play as one of two siblings who together can foretell the future (your sister sees visions, you're the only one who can interpret them) and you try to stop something horrible from happening. Pretty much all ROs are kissable winners. A Tale of Crowns: Middle Eastern high fantasy where you play as the new ruler of a kingdom. It's quite popular in the IF world and pretty good! I haven't played it in years because as I mentioned, I don't like playing and replaying WIPs every time a new update drops, but if you haven't played it before, it's good to go take a look. Very deep lore and it's clear the author has a Vision and isn't just faffing about smacking their Barbies together, which I always appreciate in an IF. One of the few times the PC feels like an actual character in the world. Also all ROs are hot as fuck so 10/10 GOTY.

[haunthouse]

For your consideration, re haunted architecture notion list

Just Like Home - Sarah Gailey thematic CWs for serial killing, some true crime, torture. I do have a full CW list if anyone needs them, but the plot summary may hint at whether one is interested in the plot. I love a good coming home story, especially when Home is a fucked up place for so many reasons.

The Death of Jane Lawrence - Caitlin Starling It's no house of leaves but the house is creepily fucked up in its own right.

Smithy by Amanda Desiree I also have a list of CWs but fwiw the 'animal experimentation' plot does not involve, like, Wire Mother levels of animal abuse. But there is a scene of animal injury but it's animal on animal due to improper animal interactions. [I'm trying not to spoiler too much here.] This is a paranormal haunting but unfortunately does not feature as heavily as I wish it did. But all the same, I love the concept of animals picking up on the supernatural, very creepy!!! Also fair warning, the various rep is a bit shallow re lesbian character, Jewish character. Think passing single sentence references. I don't think it's esp offensive beyond the fact that the author clearly did not put very much thought into what it means to being lesbian or Jewish. You know, the usual superficiality.

The Invited - Jennifer McMahon Also tentative because it's more a mystery than a paranormal horror. The MC is, quite literally, building a haunted house out of materials that come from locations where major tragedy and / or death has occurred. I can appreciate the variation from the usual 'married couple moves into haunted house' plot.

Tentative, honorary suggestion? House of Small Shadows - Adam Nevill

It's… deep sighs. The 'tentative' bit comes in because. Well. Horror has a long terrible ableist history with regards to using disabilities and disfigurements as shock and horror. The book does heavily feature disabled people as an 'Other' but more like this community has banded together around this house because of society rejecting them for being disabled. I'm not sure if the author meant it to be That Deep or not. [he's been described as 'the british 'stephen king' '. Take that as you will....] I don't know if I can explain it well without spoiling, and I'm certainly not able to discuss it from a heavily disabled person's perspective. Go in eyes open, imo. I do remember the house being heavily toxic and vile until [spoiler]. While it's not a traditional paranormal haunting, I think it counts towards a 'house that isn't haunted by something but haunts the current residents'. A la Haunting of Hill House. This house is not meant for the able bodied living, per se. Or maybe it's more like 'the haunting isn't a ghost, it's trauma'? There's a lot going on.

Anyways, maybe these books are fitting for your list, maybe someone else can endorse or recommend against. It's all good. I hope your coming week goes very smoothly and chill! And thank you for making that list, I got quite a few recs out of it!

hi! thank you so much for the books! i'm actually in the middle of reading just like home right now (and absolutely loving it); once i finish it'll absolutely be going on the list. and i can't believe i forgot to put the death of jane lawrence on there — it's definitely one of my favorite books i've read this year! (tooting my own horn a bit: i actually got commissioned by the author to draw the house from that book!) i've added that one now!

the rest i haven't read, though they sound interesting and will definitely be on my 'research further before adding' list.

thanks again! hope you have a good day & happy almost halloween! <3

#re: spatial horror reclist #answered #hachiyapersimmon

[becomingkatie]

Are you willing to share more about your outlining, writing, and editing processes?

Sure! I'll also start by saying that this process has evolved a little over the course of my three books and I'm sure it will continue to evolve as I become a more seasoned writer and my needs change.

I tend to do a very thorough outline. I call it my prototype draft because it's really something more than an outline but not quite a complete draft. This is approximately 10-20k words and I use Randy Ingermanson's snowflake method for the most part to get there. I start with a paragraph-level summary and grow it from there. Writing short synopses from the points of view of most of the main characters helps me to add depth and refine my synopsis, and then I move into a scene-level breakdown.

At the scene level, I pull out my copy of Save The Cat Writes a Novel. I usually really struggle with the portion of the story between the midpoint and the ~80% mark, but I make myself get it right at this stage instead of just diving into writing. I've tried the "I'll just start writing and figure it out when I get there" approach, and it didn't work for me.

I use Plottr and/or Google Sheets to make a list of major characters, locations, and plot points, and mark which ones are in each scene. Then I have a little visual that helps me see how often a character or subplot is brought up, and whether it's too much all at once or too sparse. This also helps me make sure I wrap up all the subplots and don't forget about them.

At this point, I've got anywhere from a sentence to two paragraphs per scene. Something like: "Opens at Virginia's birthday. Marney and Lawrence are there, and she's screening calls from her children. Forgets the cake in the oven and her kids show up just as Lawrence puts out the fire. Jack tells Virginia she should consider moving into a retirement home (gives her a binder of options he's researched) and uses the fire as evidence in his favor. Virginia kicks them out, but when she shuts the door behind them she finds a foreclosure notice on the door."

The above is a condensed version of the opening scene of my first book. When I have this for all of my scenes, I print it out and read through it. This is my prototype: it's a complete telling of the whole story, but without the prose or dialogue. I can work out problems with the story here, cutting scenes that aren't moving things forward, or adding or moving scenes where needed. I usually do two or three passes of reading and making notes/changes to my prototype.

Then I write it.

The writing is just a matter of butt-in-seat, which is really frickin' hard to make myself do, but at least when I sit down to write I know what I'm writing. I also use asterisks in my manuscript that I can ctrl+f and come back later, so if I can't think of a word or if something feels awkward, I don't have to disrupt my writing flow to address it in the moment. The worst thing for me to try to figure out later is a timeline, and yet I never remember to do this first. But thinks like, what day of the week is it, how many days has it been since whatever previous scene, etc... I always end up with notes to go back and figure this out in edits.

My edits include finding and fixing places where I put asterisks in the draft, addressing anything else I wrote in a "notes" doc to myself during the draft, running it through proWritingAid, then sending to my editor. I found my editor through a facebook group of authors. I only do one pass with her. After I send it to her, she turns around comments and corrections in under two weeks, and then I go through and make changes as needed. Sometimes it's big (she's a former police dispatcher and her comments on one scene led to a near-complete re-write of that scene), but most of her comments usually aren't.

And then I format my books for ebook and print using Vellum.

I hope this massive info-dump was helpful!

#asked and answered #writing

[dollycas]

Special Guest - Elizabeth Gilliland - Author of The Portraits of Pemberley (Austen University Mysteries) #AuthorInterview #Giveaway - Great Escapes Book Tour

The Portraits of Pemberley (Austen University Mysteries) by Elizabeth Gilliland

  I am so happy to welcome Elizabeth Gilliland to Escape With Dollycas today!

Writer Elizabeth Gilliland was photographed in Mobile, Alabama. Hi Elizabeth, Tell us a little bit about yourself. Hi! I’m Elizabeth, a teacher, Dr., mom, and writer. I grew up reading and loving many different kinds of books, but mysteries have always held a special place in my heart. I remember going to the local library and checking out every mystery book I could find and being excited whenever I guessed whodunnit before the ending. (I still feel that way, come to think of it!) What are three things most people don’t know about you? 1 - I won my first writing contest in the 4th grade (prize was a trip to McDonald’s with the teacher). The book was a fanfiction of Star Wars combined with Star Trek. 2- I grew up in a rural area and had a lot of random pets, including chickens, ducks, rabbits, goats, dogs, cats, snakes, and a hamster. 3 - The fastest I was ever clocked in a typing test was an average 90 words per minute, which came in handy when I briefly worked as a transcriber for a closed captioning company. What books/authors have most inspired you? I really love the classics and felt like they shaped me a lot as a reader growing up - my favorites included L.M. Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Agatha Christie, and of course, Jane Austen. More contemporary writers that I love come from all different genres and backgrounds, but some of my current favorites include Tana French, Peter Swanson, E. Lockhart, Mhairi McFarlane, Grady Hendrix, Emily Henry, and Sally Thorne.

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? I think I’m kind of weird in that I usually wait to do heavy research until after I’ve written the book. If it’s something small that I can answer in a quick Google search, I might do it while I’m writing, but otherwise, I try to serve the story first and just keep track of questions that I have as I write to go back to later. For example, this book I researched a few things that I can’t reveal without spoiling too much, and one thing that didn’t make it much into the final version of the book (stuff about Title IX). Do you ever suffer from Writer’s Block? I don’t really have writer’s block where I can’t think of anything to write. My problem is more “writer’s distraction,” where I have about half a dozen ideas always fighting for my attention and I have to really work to stay focused on one thing at a time. What advice do you have for someone who would like to become a published writer? Writing is a really weird combination of being both incredibly confident in your abilities but also being willing to be open to feedback and criticism. You have to be malleable enough to listen to the feedback that will help you get better but also shut out all the intrusive, negative thoughts that no one will like your work, you’re a terrible writer, you’ll never be as good as ____ (fill in the blank). It’s a really strange tightrope walk of being your own biggest cheerleader and also the person most aware of where you need help/improvement. When you are not writing what do you like to do? Sleep. (Ha!) I have a four-year-old and I’m a teacher, so there’s not a lot of time outside of those things beyond writing, but I do like to read for fun, go to the beach, ride my EasyRoller, watch good TV, watch some bad TV for fun, and spend time with my family. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go and why? There are a lot of places I’d like to travel, but in the last few years, I’ve really wanted to go to Iceland. I’d love to see the Northern Lights and just just experience a totally different culture than anything else I’ve encountered. What is next on the horizon for you? In addition to writing my own books, I’m also an editor for Bayou Wolf Press, and we have a great title coming out in October - Foxfire by Rowan Hill! Other than that, I’ll be working on the next Austen University novel and will also be diving into romance writing in 2024 with a title out through SmartyPants Romance under the pen name Lissa Sharpe.

Read the full article

#BayouWolfPress #ElizabethGilliland #Louisiana

[ggukkiereads]

Hullo! I was wondering if you're taking fic recommendations? Well I recently read a Yoongi fic from persephonesorchid that's really good! It's a soulmate AU and there's so much angst (It's called Hearing Voices) it's connected to a series she's doing can you please check it out? She deserves more love for her hard work!

🌷 Hi, there! Oh yes, I do! Mostly tumblr fics because AO3 has a very organized system to find fics/themes 😊.

Just want to say I read it right away and I enjoyed the concept of one universe and all the members finding their soulmates.  o((>ω< ))o. Thank you, anon! I discovered a new fic/author because of you 🥰

Sharing the fic with others who love soulmate aus too!

Euphoria @persphonesorchid

ongoing series | 27k+ | soulmate au, one story per member | F, A

In this little corner of my universe, the boys all find their soulmates one way or another :)

Read in order (since the characters appear in other member’s stories

Butterfly  [1/1] -  Namjoon | strangers to lovers, coffee shop au

Fate’s Doing [3/3] - Hoseok | choreographer!hoseok, single dad!hoseok

Sugar & Spice  [1/1] -  Seokjin | teacher!seokjin

Hearing Voices - Yoongi | radio host!yoongi, mute!reader

Two Steps - Jimin |  Dance Instructor!Jimin [tba]

Unveil - Taehyung |  Artist!Taehyung  [tba]

Wonderwall - Jungkook | College AU, Enemies to Loverrs [tba]

Edited: author is actually on tumblr! I put the tumblr links instead. Hello, dear author!

.

#I love it when I see a reco of new authors/fics 🥰 #and I usually remember or have read one story per author to try out their style but this slipped my radar #I am so glad for you anon! I discovered something new #recsfromthegarden #bts x reader #bts fanfic #bts fluff #bts soulmate au #namjoon x reader #hoseok x reader #yoongi x reader #seokjin x reader #🌷 chats #anon

[ash-and-starlight]

would love to know some of your zukka fic recs if you feel like sharing!

LMAOO THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN

ok obligatory intro, this is not a comprehensive list of works because it would honestly truly get too long (and also bc I forgot some, rip) but if someone feels like adding their own recs it's more than welcome!! second I'm trying to keep it to just one fic per author but PLEASE extend the rec to every one of these authors' works bc I promise it's worth it.

without further ado besties let's get into it (under the cut bc despite my best intentions it got embarrassingly long)

- A predictable story by mindbending 7k words, rated G "That lying, scummy Aunt Wu predicts a grand romance for Sokka. To disprove her "fortunetelling" once and for all, Sokka decides to spend the night with least romantic person he knows. Zuko."

- Another word for wanting by eurydicees 23k words, rated T listen usually I'm not one for soulmate aus but this one. THIS ONE. beautifully written and deeply, emotionally devastating.

- A loose bolt by hydrochaeris 50k words, rated T The first installment of a truly amazing series. A very deep and well written portrayal of sokka and zuko struggling with family and university, while trying to avoid each other.

- The Stingray by smediterranea 24k words, rated M (I tried to keep it sfw but I simply couldn't leave this one out, perdoname madre por mi vida loca) Zuko gets injured by a stingray while on the beach, thank god the hot lifeguard is there to help him. Idiots to lovers ensues.

- and I'll do anything you say (if you say it with your hands) by nebulastucky 60k words, rated M eight chapters (so far) of PURE YEARNING. EVIL. SICK AND TWISTED. Zukka fwb to "oh no I'm in love with the guy" modern au, featuring the true shining star of this story Momo the cat.

- Carmine by backatpatrickpark 6k words, rated G Artist Sokka rights!! A post canon fic that explores art as a metaphor of growth, and the color red.

- from you, the flowers grow by wearealltalesintheend 6k words, rated T tattoo parlor/flower shop au. I haven't read this one in a while but I remember it was so sweet and heartfelt, it has a v special place in my heart.

- I could (never) give you peace by zukkababey 10k words, rated M u know those fics when the characters are together but are STILL pining terribly for each other? this fic has it all. the love, the yearning, the miscommunication, the angst with a happy ending. 200/10

- kiss me just to shut me up by dickpuncher420 40k words, rated T Sokka is a sk8r boy, Zuko is a tattoo artist, can I make it any more obvious?I love this fic SO MUCH the vibes are immaculate, invented summer and falling in love.

- afternoon tea by toribird 47k words, rated T "Early on during his time in Ba Sing Se, Sokka stops for a cup of tea. This small action changes everything."

- It's the mallrat in me by leopardfringe 31k words, rated T if I ever stop losing my mf mind about this story just assume I'm dead. Sokka and Zuko and their developing relationship as it goes through the five stages of grief, and also they're working at the mall.

- Ignition Point by Yuu_chi 18k words, rated M I'm also not one for bender!sokka works but this one here is the bright blazing amazing exception. After the war Sokka finds out he's a firebender, and goes to the fire nation to ask Zuko for help.

- Landscapes by jinnora 4k words, rated T "Firelord Zuko has been teaching his Southern Water Tribe Ambassador, Sokka, landscape painting. Featuring counterchange, jokes about knives, and Zuko being desperately attracted to Sokka."

- like the sun inside of you by ofherlionheart 126k words, rated M a HUGE fic and it has become one of my all time faves. Come for the (eventual) zukka stay for the incredible plot, world building and original characters, I would kill and die for all of them.

- light, manufactured by HisMomoness 55k words, rated T This story is most of all an amazing character study of Zuko dealing with complicated emotion during his stay in a research station in Antartica. It's about the mortifying ordeal of letting yourself be known, healing, and penguins.

- recreate a place that's our own world by Muncaster 42k words, rated T Zukka storm chasers AU. it's soo beautifully written, Sokka and Zuko and a van, falling in love and running into storms <333

- real enough to get me through by marriedzukka 193k words, rated M "After Iroh passes, Zuko reaches his breaking point. As he navigates the path through grief, he meets a kindred soul, and begins to heal in more ways than one."

- settle for by amatchforyourmadness 23k words, rated T this fic devastated me, scooped out my heart and left it to melt on the floor. features poet!zuko and an incredible amount of tears (the tears are mine)

- sirens & sleepless nights by satirrian 54k words, rated T dystopian modern au. I love this story beyond reason it's simply insane. the plot is insane. the worldbuilding is insane. the fact that it invented romance with a dish washing scene is insane. Once again begging you all to read it

- the art of charting the stars by ermysthewarlock 16k words, rated T "A post-canon fic where Ambassador Sokka and Fire Lord Zuko write each other letters and watch the stars."

- the theory of liminality by Aiyah 19k words, rated M oh boy this one HURTS so good, Sokka gets lost in space, and tries to make his way back to earth and to the man he loves. I cried.

- What You See You Might Not Get by lenaballena 22k words, rated T speaking of space zukka I could NOT leave out this absolutely iconic masterpiece. "A Starfleet Au; five things Zuko learned about Sokka, and one thing Sokka already knew about Zuko."

- the road between action and inaction by Donvex 17k words, rated T "The hitchhiker au, featuring Sokka and Zuko falling in love without even realizing it."

- through the ice darkly by chuffystilton this one is a series, kind of a "role reversal" au. Aside from the writing being insanely good the plot and world building are so intriguing I'm completely obsessed.

- what did you bury before those hands pulled you from the earth by Draco_Sollicitus 18k words, rated M listen I'm cheesy you can pry a good Hades/Persephone au (with a twist) from my cold dead hands. V emotional and bittersweet.

- do you take this jerk to be (your one and only) by jatersade 55k words, rated T Ok I feel like everyone knows this Absolute Classic but I couldn't leave it out simply bc it's the first zukka fic I read and it's 90% of the reason my current brainrot is so severe.

#WHEW THIS IS LIKE. A LOT #A LOT A LOT #and I'm sure as soon as I post I'll be like fUCK I FORGOT -THIS- ONE #(also I couldn't stop adding bc I realized that this post could be very useful for me if I ever feel like re-reading kjfgkd) #also I know that some of these authors have tumblr accs but I didn't have the energy to find them all orz #fic rec #ask

[astoryisaloveaffair]

Fix You - Chapter 13: Make Me Better

Pairing: Frankie “Catfish” Morales x Fem!Reader

Fic Masterlist

Read on A03

Spotify Playlist

»»———————►

Chapter Summary: You help deal with Frankie's stress before his hearing. Big decisions are made.

Word Count: 7500

Rating: 18+, Explicit, Grapefruit

Chapter Warnings: *This chapter contains hard kinks and if you continue to read you acknowledge you are mature enough to read it. The author is fully aware she needs to seek therapy.* E, Smut, 18+, consensual non-con, struggle kink, roleplay, slight degradation but praise also, slight choking, deep throating, tiddy fucking, cum play, spitting, one light slap on the cheek, PiV doggy style, alcohol consumption, cussing, Frankie is kinda losing his grip here, EXCRUCIATING fluff. IF YOU NEED TO SKIP THE CNC, PLEASE SKIP THE THIRD SECTION ENTIRELY. Cheers.

*There is an insinuation of breast size in this chapter, but Frankie is Frankie and he would enjoy all sizes and make it work!*

A/N: Hello!! I'm back with another chapter of this story, and I just wanted to give everyone who has read and commented and supported this a huge hug and a thank you. It has now officially been a year since I started this, and since I started writing period. I've made a lot of friends through this and that's pretty much the best part. I hope you enjoy this one. Thanks again to @musings-of-a-rose​ for the moodboard, this will be the last one made for this fic for a bit because spoilers. <3 Monica

Suggested Songs: Better by SYML, Only You by Yazoo, The Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel, I Need My Girl & Slow Show by The National, Desire by Meg Myers, Hypnotic by Zella Day

*Reader is ethnicity inclusive despite moodboard. @shite-art​ drew beautiful art of them here.

He doesn’t mention your spat again, and you don’t bring it up, so within a few days after your Gainesville trip it was like it never happened. To him .

You were sure you were over it, absolutely, no problem. But for some reason at random moments, something would creep from behind, a prickling up your spine and over your shoulders forcing goosebumps to pebble when you remembered the way he’d spoken to you.

Get out.

Get out of my house.

I don’t like having to repeat myself.

You’d seen him mad. You’d seen him flip out, throw shit, wake up thrashing from nightmares as a scream tore from his lips, you’d seen him tie you up and Dom the shit out of you but you hadn’t seen him like that before. It was incredibly jarring, seeing someone who is usually so expressive suddenly…not. It was like he had completely detached from the moment and shut down, shut you out, saw you as an enemy. As a threat. 

That is what scared you.

And what scared you even more was that when he assured you there were no more secrets, you were unsure if you believed him. 

You didn’t bring it up. His hearing was only four days away, and he was already on edge as it was. You could hear it in the timbre of his voice and the way he looked as tight as the string of a bow, how sometimes he would completely zone out, his pupils dilating and almost fusing into the warm chocolate brown of his iris. You couldn’t dump your insecurities in his lap right now.

You wanted to help him, and it was driving you crazy that you couldn’t, he shrugged off any offers and repeatedly assured you it was “his shit”, and “you don’t need to worry about it, I need to clean up my own mess.”

Part of you wanted to text Will and try to weasel information out of him, but you knew by now that would piss Frankie off, and the argument would once again come to the forefront of your mind to shame you and make you feel even more helpless. 

All you could do was breathe, center yourself, do what worked. He’d come to you when he was ready. 

And he did.

It was Friday. You arrive for your shift as per usual feeling slightly uneasy at how Frankie would be today, considering the hearing was this Monday. He doesn’t open the door for you but you can hear his voice, so you tentatively use your key, opening the door slowly and peeking in.

The house is covered in files and paperwork, Frankie nods at you with his phone pressed tight to his ear, pressing a quick kiss to the top of your head before continuing his conversation. You set your bag down by the couches and greet Gabi quietly. 

She sticks one chubby little finger in front of her lips. “Shhh! Daddy say be quiet.”

You nod seriously. “Of course. Understood.”

Certain you would follow her strict orders, she promptly pushes the coloring book she’s scribbling in so it was in front of both of you so you could work on the opposite page. In solidarity, you also scribbled outside the lines.

You fully intended not to eavesdrop, but you are quietly coloring and Frankie is making no effort to keep you from hearing his conversation as he paces back and forth behind the couch.

“I don’t understand why that wouldn’t be enough for them. Oh. I could get someone else from work I guess. No. No, she absolutely would not. And if she said yes it would only be to sabotage me. No. I mean, yea, it couldn't hurt. I agree. Okay. I’ll figure it out and call you back. Okay. Thanks.”

Your ears prick up when you hear him talk about a female, but you bit your lip and kept quiet. Mind ya business. 

“Hey.”

You turn to him, manspreading on the couch with his hat floating on his head like he’d taken it off to thread his fingers through those soft curls and didn’t take the time to firmly replace it. “Hi baby.”

“C’mere.”

You crawl over to him, placing a kiss on each jean covered knee cap before slotting in between his bent legs. 

“I’m sorry I’ve been so stressed out.”

“It’s okay. This is a big deal for you, right?’

He reaches for you, palm covering yours as he threads your fingers together. “Yea. I— I don’t know what I’m gonna do if they say no.”

“Hey. Look at me. They’re not going to say no. You’ve done everything right. Do you want to do your breathing exercises?”

He nods, closing his eyes and focusing on a steady rhythm. In……….out……….in……..out until he seems calmer, rubbing his thighs to soothe him as best you can. When he opens his eyes again, he smiles softly at you.

“That feels good.”

“Do you want me to keep doing it?” 

He hums his assent, tilting his head back against the couch cushion as you resume rubbing his thighs. You watch him as you trail your fingers in swirls over the tops of his thighs, his scruffy jaw finally going slack after most likely being clenched all day, the creases of his forehead fading as his brow relaxes, the little slump as he allows the couch to swallow and cradle him. You switch to your fingers, scraping them across the jean fabric in figure eights around his thighs and then onto his kneecaps, the sensation for him rewarding you with a shiver and goosebumps. 

You feel yourself relax too, because you’ve finally found something you can do to help. He grunts a little, lifting his hips a tick and shifting down towards you, the crotch of his jeans moving closer to where you are on the floor between his legs. You already know what he’s trying to ask for.

“Frankie.” You chide. “I don’t think so, Mr. Morales.”

“Mmmmm. If your intention is to make me not want a bj, calling me that isn’t going to help.” The side of his mouth quirks up, that sly smile when he knows he’s being annoying but too cute for chastising.

You shove his thigh playfully. “Gabi is right there you perv.”

“Oh yea…” He replies, sitting up abruptly, but shoots you a sigh and a pouty lip.

“Alright, that’s it. Get outta here. You’re messing up girl time. Gabi! Tell daddy to leave. We have stuff to do that is very important, right?”

She turns with the most serious expression you’ve ever seen and you bite your lip not to laugh. “Daddy! Leev! GoodBYE.”

You can’t control the laughter this time as your eyebrows shoot up and you begin howling, bending over your knees, stomach muscles clenching and releasing as tears leak out of your eyes, and it doesn’t get any better when you look at Frankie’s face. His mouth is hanging ajar with the same pinched brow you just saw on his daughter’s face, standing hip cocked to the side and his hands on his waist. “Gabi! After all I do for you, huh?”

“Yes. Buh BYE.”

He looks back at you with a huff of a laugh and raises his palms. “Alright, fine. I can tell when I’m not wanted. I’ll be back later tonight.” He grabs you by the arm suddenly, tugging you back to him, nuzzling against your ear as he whispers in it. “Maybe I’ll let you say daddy to me too, hm?”

“Oh my god, get out of here!” You laugh, giving him a firm push despite the way you felt warmth starting to gather at your core. 

“Alright, bye.” He chuckles, throwing a wink at you as he closes the door.

Frankie can’t remember a time recently when his anxiety has been this bad, not even when he was fighting for shared custody of Gabi. Then, he knew he had the right, he knew he’d done the work. Terms were easier to shift and manipulate. 

They didn’t have to reverse a suspension if they didn’t want to. They easily could just have him come in, present his case, and laugh him out the door. Sometimes revoking a license was forever. And the question of will they/won’t they was setting his damn nerves aflame.

He drank a lot that night.

“I don’t want to feel the worry right now.” 

Santiago sighs, running his fingers along the worry lines of his forehead. “Fish, you have a solid case. It’s going to get reinstated. You need to try to relax.”

“That is what I’m doing.” He chugs the remaining liquid in his pint glass, slamming down on the tabletop. “My lawyer wants me to get one more reference. An ‘in person’ one. Makes me worried…like he’s worried.

“Nahhhh, he just wants to be extra sure. Who’re you gonna ask? Another coworker?”

“No, he wants someone unbiased.”

The men all quiet down, and Frankie can’t stand the silence so he gets up to get another pitcher, refilling his pint glass to the brim when he gets back.

“What about Wildflower?” Benny suggests.

Frankie takes a sip of his beer. “She’s not unbiased.”

“Yea, but they don’t know that. You don’t have her on any social media. She’s just your babysitter. And a babysitter would probably have a good idea on whether you’re still a crackhead or not, right?”

Frankie leans back, arms crossed tight against his chest. As much as he wants to smack Benny, the idea could work.

You’re relaxing on the couch when you hear it, a light tapping against the wood of the door. Confused, you turn the lights down lower and creep to the window adjacent, peeking through the curtains subtly to see who is outside the house. 

There’s a slam on the glass and you reel back with a “What the fuck?!”, settling down when you realize it’s Frankie, and he’s pressing his face against the window, curved nose smooshing against the glass.

“Babieeeeeeeeeee, it’s me!”

“Will you shut up, you’re going to wake Gabi.” With a huff, you sidestep to the door, opening it wide to reveal Santiago and an incredibly buzzed Francisco Morales.

“Sorry, I wouldn’t let him drive.” Santiago informs you with a sigh.

“I told you I was fine to drive, I’m not completely wasted, just a little somethin’ somethinnnn’. Mmmmmm baby you look good, c’mere.”

Your eyes roll to Santiago’s but you can’t help the amused smile growing on your face, attempting to push Frankie back when he wraps his arms around you. He squeezes your ass, his head dive bombing into your neck to put kisses and little nips there. You try to pry him off you again. “Gee, thanks Pope. Frankie, off!”

“Aww….don’t you love me anymore?” He turns to Santiago. “You know, she wouldn’t give me a bj earlier tod—”

“OKAY. BYE POPE.” You shove Frankie back off you, advancing on Santiago and shooing him out the door, slamming it behind him.

You couldn’t even get a word out when you turn back to him because he’s on you, planting his mouth on yours. You rear your head back and away, grabbing him by the cheeks. “Frankie, I swear to god��.” He’s always handsy and incredibly vexing when he drinks a little too much, and it annoys you even more that you find it kind of cute, his pawing at your body makes it respond to him automatically. You squirm against him and it only riles him up more as he uses the overpowering bulk of his body to push you against the wall and cage you in while he moves across your jaw and down your neck, kissing and biting the whole way.

“Like you squirmin’ under me.” He husks, and the deep baritone whisper of his voice almost makes you faint in a damn swoon like Scarlet O’Hara. “Want you…” You wriggle more, trying to break free but you can’t and he moans as your body rubs against his. “Fuckin’ turnin’ me on doin’ that…can…” He pauses, pulling his head from your neck to look you in the eyes. His pupils are black as onyx and blown wide in the dim light. He hesitates.

“What?”

He doesn’t answer, grunting against you and rubbing his jean covered hardening cock on you. “I want…”

“What do you want?” You whisper back.

He whines and leans in towards your ear, nuzzling the curve of it. “Can you…pretend you don’ wannit?” 

You still under him, and he immediately starts backpedaling. “Nevermind. I was just joking. I don’t know why I said that. I think I’m just stressed out, just ignore me.” He starts to back away from you, a prominent bulge still tenting his pants.  

“Do it.”

He inhales sharply, and it only takes on crick of a smile on the edge of your mouth before he’s on you again, just as before. You try to slide down the wall to escape between his legs but he takes you by the arms and yanks you back up, pushing you against the wall with a thump. 

“How do I know when to stop, for real?” His eyes are dark and heavy and full of need you’re afraid you’ll melt into a pool of liquid at his feet. 

“I’ll say ‘stop’. Or I’ll hit something three times if I can’t speak. Everything else means ‘yes’.”

“Oh, fuck.”

You take advantage of his haze of lust, yanking an arm out of his grasp and punching him in the waist. It has the intended effect, he lets go of you with a curse and you try to bolt away but he recovers quickly this time, a hand reaching around you and clamping you hard over your mouth, another arm wrapping around your waist as he drags you backwards. “Playin’ fuckin’ dirty, hm? I can too.” He growls in your ear as you try to struggle out of his hold, but all it does is rub your ass against his erection pressed against you. He moans, licking the back of your neck sloppily, the dribble of saliva running down the back of your neck as he pushes you over the back of one of the couches. You can smell the yeasty aroma of old beer from his breath. You scramble for footing, but he holds you enough that your toes just barely graze the floor. 

You whimper against his hand as he presses against you, rubbing harder against you, ripping his shirt off and kicking your thighs apart. “Gonna fuck you so hard you can’t fucking walk. Do you understand me? Been thinking about it all night.” He tears his hand from your mouth and promptly shoves it between your legs, rubbing your pussy through your leggings in a much rougher manner than he usually would. 

You cry out and fight against him, despite the heat pooling in your lower belly, despite the fact that you can already feel your wetness sliding out of you. “Get the fuck off me!” You snarl, careful to not be too loud. But you can feel yourself drowning in the roleplay, all of the anger and hurt he had made you feel bubbling back up and exploding out of your limbs as you use everything you have to get out of his hold, as you make your blows land as hard as you can.

He slaps his hand back over your mouth and steps back quickly, taking the opportunity to undo his pants, unbuttoning them and shoving them down to the floor, his shoes flying off in two opposite directions.

His hips no longer pressing you in, you bite his fingers, you actually bite his fingers and he rips his hand from your mouth with a roar as you ram your shoulder into him so he bumps against the wall before hauling ass towards the hallway. But he’s too close behind you this time, close enough he can grab you by the elbow and kick your leg askew, causing the two of you to fall to the ground in the hallway entrance with sharp exhalations of breath, the thick cushion of the carpeting silencing your fall. You’re in it now, and you surge yourself forward attempting to crawl away from under him, but he’s just too big. Too strong.

He grabs you by the arm and flips you over, quickly straddling over your stomach and attempts to yank your shirt up over your head. You resist, pressing your arms to your sides, but again it’s no use, he pins them to the floor one handed above you as he rips your shirt and bra off despite your struggling. When he’s done, he sits back, pulling your arms back down and tucking them under the weight of his shins.

“Fuck, yes.” His voice is hot and raspy and breathy and you can’t help the way your back arches into his palms as he cups each of your breasts, circling a thumb around each nipple and pinching them, increasing the strength of them while you pant underneath him trying to stay in character. 

“Such pretty fucking tits. Think I want to fuck them.” He scoots forward enough that you can feel the weight of his cock resting in the valley between your breasts. You grunt, frustrated with yourself that you are so weak against him at this moment. You hated feeling weak. 

“Keep wriggling around like that all you like sweetheart, you’re just makin’ ‘em bounce around for me.” He licks his lips, gripping his cock at the base and stroking it up and down slowly as he looks at you. He reaches a hand out and covers your mouth. “Now don’t fuckin’ bite me again, it won’t be good for you. Spit.”

You glare at him, swishing your cheeks around as you gather up some saliva and deposit it into his palm. He urges for more and you give it until your mouth is wet and sloppy and he has a good amount to slather over himself. He hums in pleasure, his head tipping back, the cords in his neck flexing. You don’t even try to keep from ogling how fucking sexy he is, his chest and the swell of that little tummy rising and falling.

He grabs a breast in each hand, squeezing them hard and you wince. He ignores it, sliding his cock in between them and pushes them together with a moan, enveloping his cock in the warmth and wetness of your skin and spit. His eyes roll back in his head as he starts rocking his hips back and forth, the most obscene groan spilling from his pouty lips.

He starts slow, sliding just the tip in, then back out, each thrust is just a little more than the last until he’s stuffing the entirety of his shaft between your tits, his balls dragging across your sternum. The little hairs there tickle and make you shift under him.

The sounds of it is absolutely filthy, the squelch of all your saliva as he fucks faster into your tits, and you find yourself whimpering under him even though you aren’t getting any pleasure. It just makes you feel good to see him feel good, his tongue caught between his lips, grunting rhythmically, his brow heavy and his dark eyes staring at where you surround him.

One particularly strong snap of his hips and the tip of his cock comes out the other side, the tip flushed and oozing pre-cum. You glare at it, wondering if you could reach it and get him where he’s sensitive so you can get out of his hold. You can’t, so instead you surge forward and spit on the red and leaking head of his cock, but he laughs and shoves you back down with his palm on your throat. All you did was draw his attention to your mouth and how close his dick is to it and he slows, releasing your other tit and humming as he sees them bounce back to where they naturally rest. 

“That isn’t gonna do anythin’ else then turn me on more. Open up. You clearly want me in your mouth. Gonna fuck that throat.”

You whine under the large hand resting on your throat, turning your head away from him as far as you can, but it only causes him to grab your jaw with his other hand, forcing you to look back at him. He smirks, his eyes greedy and impatient, and he presses his thumb and fingers into each side of your lower cheeks, forcing you to open for him.

He shuffles forward again, his cock bobbing above you as he hooks his calves on your upper arms, but he’s too far up now and your hands are finally free. You reach up and try to grasp his back, scratch him, smack him, punch him, but you can’t reach. You can’t find a grip. 

“You’re so fucking gorgeous. Come on. That’s it…” He pushes his fingers in your mouth, caressing your tongue and pulling at the inside of your cheek before shifting his hips forward, his cock resting against your face as he continues to finger your mouth. “You know you have the prettiest fucking mouth baby doll. Love seeing those lips stretched around my dick. Like it when I’m so far in you can’t even talk.”

With that he rips his fingers out of your mouth and slides a hand to cup the back of your head to prop you up, making sure you’re comfortable even in his most feral moments, and before you can do anything but cry out, he’s stuffing his cock into your mouth, sliding as far as he can until he hits your throat. His other hand moves to join the other, the pudgy fingers threading as far as they will go into the hair at the back of your head to help you with the angle. He shifts forward as he slides in, a palm slamming beside your head to brace his hips over you as he fucks into your mouth from above, a guttural groan escaping his lips.

You scramble under him, your legs kicking out and your nails finally getting a grip, digging into his lower back and your struggle is so convincing he pulls out and away from you, taking you by the cheeks. “You good?”

You glare at him, drool running out of the sides of your mouth, irrationally angry that he interrupted the game. “Did I—did I fucking say it?”

His eyes switch from concerned to aroused so fast you almost question if the emotion was even there at all as he advances again, hovering back over you and entering your mouth, sliding all the way to the back of your throat until he meets resistance, balls next to your cheek. 

“Come on.” He rasps. “Open. Take it. Take every fucking inch of it. Want you to choke around it.” You gag around him, tears leaking out of your eyes but manage to relax and swallow, allowing him to penetrate your throat and push the rest of his cock into your mouth. “Ah shit. That’s it. That’s it baby. Let me in.”

His knees are planted beside your shoulders as he fucks your throat, the sounds emitting from it as he fills you up completely ridiculous in any other situation, but is hot as fuck in the moment. You gag around him again and he groans, his head falling back between his shoulder blades as you begin running your tongue back and forth against whatever part of him you can’t. The salty sweetness of his pre-cum is trickling down your throat and you can feel some of your saliva sliding down your cheeks and soaking the carpet beneath you. 

He pulls out with a grunt to allow you to breathe, and you gasp for air for several seconds before he becomes impatient, nudging the fat head of his cock against your lips for you to take again. You squirm, tilting your head away from him as far as you can with him holding you, your hands coming up to grab his thighs and press your fingernails into the meat of them before pulling them down to his bent knees, angry red marks left behind.

“Ahh!” He hisses and lightly smacks your cheek. You stare at him wide eyed, all struggling gone, but quickly notice his grip on you loosened and you take advantage of it, holding out your palms towards his broad chest and shoving him as hard as you are able to from this angle. He tilts backwards, catching himself over your calves and you swiftly roll over and start army crawling from him, but you’re still too close to him and he pulls you back by your ankle.

“You can try to escape.” He snarls, pressing you down into the carpet with a hand on your back, the angle tilting your ass up in the air for him to drool over. “But you can’t. You can’t and you’re going to take whatever I want to give you. And you’re gonna be fucking quiet about it and happy this is the worst you get, got it?”

Your back arches so much it aches, but you are completely unable to move as he pulls your bike shorts down and slams into you, your teeth clenching as you try not to be too loud as you feel the burn of his thick cock stretching you wide open and pounding up against the resistance of your body. And you don’t even want to move, you don’t want to pretend to struggle anymore because he feels so . Fucking . Good as he absolutely rails into you, the only noises the squishing of your overly aroused pussy, the smacks of his thighs against the backs of yours, the soft grunts oozing out of his tightly pressed lips, the barely audible whimpers each time you take him deeper in you than he’s ever been.

“Little girl just strutting around in these tight, tiny little fucking shorts and thinking no one would want to kick this door down and fuck this pussy.” He speeds up, how that was possible you don’t even know, the hand at your hips squeezing you so hard you can already feel bruises while he continues to sink deeper and deeper into the fantasy. 

It’s so much more than you expected, you don’t even know what to do, it scares you and it turns you on and you dig your fingernails into the carpet as every thrust punches the air out of your lungs. He’s absolutely right. You’re powerless under him, there’s no way you could get away, even if you wanted to.

But you don’t tell him to stop. You don’t bang your fist against the carpet three times. You gasp and mewl under him because it’s hot, it’s still fucking hot and it’s him, and you love him, and the force of him is just so impressive you don’t want it to ever end.

And then, suddenly, the corner of your devastated consciousness feels him pressing his fingers against your clit, soft and slow at first but quickly building until you feel like your pulsating under him, the burn growing and growing, euphoric pleasure building and cresting and bursting until you cum with a long squeal, squirting all over his cock and the back of your thighs and undoubtedly the carpet as he simultaneously praises and degrades you for it. 

“Ah, shit yea.” He groans. “Did you feel that? Fuckin’ squirted all over my dick. You like this, huh? Like being fucked by a random stranger so much you fuckin’ cum everywhere like a little fuckin’ slut, yea?”

“Yessss.” You can barely croak out, and he rips himself out of you and turns you around, using the haziness of your post-orgasm to bring your face before his cock as he frantically corkscrews his hand up and down the length of it. Your lips part as you see him throbbing before you.

“Look at me.” He commands. “You’re gonna look at me when I cum all over your face.” You can only hum as you tilt your head up, swaying slightly on your knees completely fuck-drunk. You don’t even think about it, your mouth opens wide for him and you stick your tongue out for him to aim for. 

And that’s how you win.

”Oh god, oh fuck , gonna cum baby, gonna fuckin’ cum .” He reaches for you, cupping your cheek and stroking your cheek with his thumb as he moans over you, a low “fuccccccccccccccccccccckkkkk.” releasing from his lips as he spills his load into your mouth, some on your nose, eyelid, even some of your hair before the ropes of it start sliding over your jaw and down your neck.

You smack your lips and collect as much as you can up with a swirl of your tongue while he catches his breath, ultimately just collapsing on his back, his softening cock flushed and pink and perfect.

You wipe your mouth and face with your arm then crawl to him, draping yourself over him with a sigh. When his heart rate slows, he rolls you off him gently, then stands and scoops you up into his arms as he carries you limp and naked down the hall, through the bedroom and into the bathroom. He sets you down on the fluffy bath rug while he starts running a bath just how he knows you like it, scorching hot. While it fills, he goes to poke his head into Gabi’s room before returning, turning the water off, throwing in one of your favorite galaxy bath bombs, collecting you back into his arms and carefully climbing into the tub. He settles you in front of him, cradled by his thighs, pulling you against his chest. You turn slightly, folding yourself into him and the warm water, your hand resting on the swell of his little tummy.

The bomb fizzes around you, the blacks and blues and purples swirling in the bath and darkening it to look like the sky that night you looked at the stars together. You’re quiet for a long time and he doesn’t know how to interpret it but you’re holding him tight and your breathing is calm as you sit together in the steaming water. Yet as the silence persists, like clockwork, his brain starts backtracking. Questioning, over-analyzing, panicking, doubting.

Why the fuck did I do that?

Usually he can control himself, keep that part of himself on the back burner. The part of him that was dark, that liked the hunt, that missed the thrill of trekking through god knows what environment to find a target, or hostages, or a store of bombs. The fucking alcohol. He went too hard, it made him loose. Unhinged. He’d never tried this fantasy, he knows what implications could be made about it. But it isn’t that . It’s the thrill of pursuit, of the catch, the quick thinking to subdue, the feeling of personal strength and achievement.  The veracity of how nervous he was, how stressed and tense he felt, the slight anger that he still had towards you, all now gone. He took it all and balled it up and threw the entire force of it at you and you had accepted it. You had, hadn’t you?

He feels sick. He has to fix it.

“Hey…”

You tilt your head up, smiling a lazy grin, your eyes hooded with relaxation. “Hmm?”

“Are you…okay?”

You sit up, wincing slightly as you turn around in the bath to look at him, and it feels like someone shot him in the stomach when he sees the way you gingerly turn, brow slightly furrowing, draping your arms against the side of the massive tub.

“Frankie…what do you mean?”

He sighs, looking down into the black water, his eyes trailing the tiny golden glitters swirling around his thighs. “I feel like I went too far.” A warm hand on his knee forces him to look back up at you.

“Don’t. I mean, that was definitely more than I expected, but I liked it. I don’t know what that says about me but, you didn’t go too far. I figured you just needed to get some stress out.”

“It probably means we need therapy.”

“Fine. You’re paying. You make me into all these things I didn’t think I was into.”

“Yea?”

You lean back against him, and he holds your cheek against the dip of his breastbone. “Yea, you’re just too damn sexy. It’s okay, really. And I didn’t ask you to stop.”

He nods against your hair, burying his nose into the texture of it, the scent of you relaxing him even more.

“I…have something I need to ask you.” 

You don’t move from your position, only tilting your head so you can look at him from below. “Oh?”

“Yea…um, I was wondering…fuck. Shit, okay. Earlier today, my lawyer said I needed someone to testify to my character, like someone at the actual hearing. Not a piece of paper. And, well,  they don’t technically know we’re dating, so, I was…wondering if—”

“Yes.” Part of you wants to make a snide remark. Oh, now you want me involved, huh? When it helps you? But you refrain. There was no reason for it at this point. It was talked out, it’s over. “Of course I will speak for you. Did you think I would say no?”

His brow pinches then rolls up, that damn big brown eyed puppy dog look that has you twisted around his finger. “Yea, especially after I yelled at you about it.”

“It’s fine. So, I’m just going to talk about how I see you as an employer, make you look as good as you are, right?”

He presses a kiss to the top of your head. “Yea, that's perfect. I don’t deserve you.”

“Don’t forget it.” You tease.

“I won’t.”

He was so fucking nervous he couldn’t sit down, so instead he paced back and forth in front of the double doors waiting for his name to be called. When he’s called in he forces himself to keep his head high, fisting his hands so no one can tell how jittery he is. He sits up front with his lawyer, knows his friends are right behind him, and it takes everything in him not to turn and look for you. He wasn’t supposed to know you well. It had to look right.

Everyone stands when the judge comes in, silence permeating the small room for license suspension disputes, the only noise is the rustling of papers as the judge makes everyone wait while he re-reads paperwork he absolutely has already read before. 

Frankie feels so small, so irrelevant, he barely registers when the judge starts addressing him, only answering when a light elbow from his lawyer re-allocates his attention. The background of the suspension is read out, as well as the original decision. All the references Frankie had gathered were submitted, Will and his sponsor vouch for him under questioning. 

Then it’s time for you.

He breathes out slowly, willing himself not to turn and look at you as you move forward to speak. You turn right towards the little podium directly across from him, and only then does he chance a look at you, only allowing himself one moment before pulling himself away. He can’t look too familiar.

You answer all the mundane questions. Your name, where you go to school, where you’re from before delving deeper. How many shifts do you have? Does his child seem well-adjusted? Have you ever seen him act abnormally? You answer them all with grace and aloofness, no indication at all in how deep your connection to each other truly was.

“Have you ever seen drug paraphernalia in Mr. Morales’s house, any overindulgence of alcohol?”

Your eyes never drift his way.

“No. Like I said, I’m there several times a week, often when he isn’t home. I’ve been in every room in his house, and I’ve never seen a single thing. He just told me he was in AA or something. From what I’ve seen, he’s a great dad. I’ve never felt any cause for concern.”

“If it were up to you, why should we reinstate his license today, ma’am.”

You’re quiet for a moment before speaking, clear, direct, and firm.

“I mean…I’m his babysitter. He’s a really good employer. I’ve noticed a lot of military stuff in his house, like he was in the Army. Photos, badges. I asked once in passing but he didn’t want to talk about it. The only time I’ve ever seen him so happy, other than when he comes home to his kid, is this one time when he told me he flew helicopters. I think it’s kind of messed up to take something from a veteran that makes him happy, and withhold it forever. He probably had to kill people or something for this country and you’re punishing him for, what looks like to me, clear non-treatment of PTSD.”

All murmuring ceases, every set of eyes rapt to you in shock at the insinuation.

“Abusing narcotics is very serious.”

“It is, isn’t it.” You muse. “Makes me wonder why the VA isn’t taking better care of their veterans so they don’t have to blast their minds to forget about that person that exploded from a mine. Maybe instead of continuing to punish a veteran who is clearly stable, you should question why he wasn’t taken care of in the first place.”

“You seem to have some personal stake here.”

“These things are always caused by something else. It’s self-medicating. I’ve dealt with addiction in my own friends and family, so yea, it kind of bothers me when people aren’t getting the help they actually need.”

The judge nods, sitting back in his chair, stubby fingers tracing the jowled line of his jaw. Frankie feels like his heart might stop the intensity of anxiety and absolutely blinding love for you.

“You seem like a very smart young lady. What are you studying?” The judge says, leaning forward to peer down at you.

“Foreign affairs.”

“Hm. If I were you, I’d look into pursuing veteran affairs. They need someone like you.”

He makes it all the way to the exit of the building before bursting into tears, his friends surrounding him and congratulating him. Hugs and playful slaps until Frankie feels like his cheeks might fall off from so much smiling. He wishes more than anything you were here with him, so he could bury you into his arms and squeeze you so hard you could feel through his body how much he was so incredibly, incandescently in love with you. But you had already left, keeping up the ruse that you didn’t know each other. Strictly business. 

After more jubilant hugs and threats that he better marry you ASAP, the guys all part until a celebration at the bar later. He’s giddy the entire drive home, his eyes burning from the happy tears he keeps having to wipe from the sensitive skin of his eyes with his calloused fingers.

He got it. He fucking got it back, and in his opinion, it was all because of you. The absolute gall of you turning the entire situation on its head in his favor, the fierceness with which you fought for him…he doesn’t ever think he will be able to pay this back.

He bursts through the front door and you’re there, jumping into his arms as you wrap your legs around him, arms crossed around his neck. And there are the damn tears again, his voice hitches as he whimpers against the skin of your arm, pulling you to him as tight as a matching puzzle piece. You tear up yourself from the sheer intensity of his joy.

“You did it. You did it. You were so fucking amazing! I—. How can you–I love you. I love you so fucking much. You saved me.

You set yourself down lightly, but never leaving his personal space, and you immediately step forward once more to hold him to you. “I didn’t do anything. Just said the truth.”

He hiccups into a sob, his legs giving out as he sits on the floor, pulling you with him and pressing his forehead to yours. “You did though. You did. You make everything better.” His broad hands are holding you by each cheek and he doesn’t let go, wet eyes pinched close as he breathes with you. You kiss him. His lips are wet and salty but you don’t care, you kiss him and kiss him and kiss him more, petting his face and softly congratulating him as he settles down. 

How can you cry so much but still be so happy? The last time he felt like this was when he heard his baby girl wail for the first time, red and angry and wrapped in a little burrito placed in his arms as he cried and smiled over her. 

He looks down at you. “You’re fucking everything to me, babe.”

Finally, the words secretly spoken to you in the cover of dark are freely given. “You are to me too. I love you.”

“Move in with me then.”

You stare at him wide-eyed.

“Look, I know it’s soon and you have your own apartment, and I don’t even know if you even want a future with me or not, but I fucking do. You’re it for me baby. Will you?”

Your heart swells and now you’re crying as you tackle him to the carpet.

“Yes!”

Frankie feels like nothing could ever tear him down as he walks into the bar with you under his arm. The entire group cheers and alcohol is thrust into hands, people he’s never introduced you to coming to meet you, and he feels like finally, finally he has the life he wants. A warm home, his baby girl, the freedom to fly, and the most perfect woman in the world about to move in with him.

The news is broken later in the evening when all have left except Delta Force, more cheers and teases flung around the table as you laugh and look at Frankie like he’s the best person on this planet, and when you make it home and stumble into bed he thanks whatever is out there that he gets a second chance. 

He holds you, tipsy and giggling in his arms before covering your mouth with his, undresses you in that slightly drunk haphazard way before making you cum on his face three times, and when he slides home into your tight, wet heat, rocking his hips against you as you chant his name in his ear, he realizes he actually just wants to marry you. Because nothing could ever ruin this.

#frankie catfish morales #frankie morales x you #frankie morales x reader #frankie morales fanfic #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal x reader #triple frontier fanfic #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal character fanfic #fix you fic #my writing #pedrostories

[namjhyun]

REVIEW | Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)

I was invited to see Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore last night and I have feelings about some of the characters’ development, the time jump in the story and the future of the franchise. I will mention a few things that stood out for me, trying to avoid spoilers but, still, warning!

What I like

Mads is a great addition to Fantastic Beasts. His version of Grindelwald as a rising political figure is more nuance and it makes him scarier. His relationship with Dumbledore was developed the right amount for us to understand their shared past and future confrontation. Ilvermorny’s charms Professor Lally Hick is one of the greatest characters to grace the Wizarding World in a long time. I love her.

The Scamander brothers relationship has change for the better, through two films, as it’s been developed in a very subtle way with blaring results.

Bunty becomes an integral part of the team and I loved every single minute of it. She has a quiet but strong presence. She’s also brave, confident and trustworthy. More Bunty is always a good thing!

The magic is next level. Remember when Dumbledore fought Voldemort in Order of the Phoenix? Or when Dumbledore casually created a hurricane of fire in Half Blood Prince? Well, it’s almost like that most of the time and we still haven’t gotten to see the full extension of what these characters are capable of.

What I didn’t like

Fantastic Beasts seems unable to figure out what to do with Creedence and Queenie. I was even excited to see the franchise adding Aberforth to the story. The actor, as per usual did a good job with what they were given, but sadly they had so very little screen time or actual development that they felt more like plot devices than actual fleshes out characters. I didn’t particularly like the resolution of this arc.

The lack of Tina. Am I supposed to believe Tina would stay in NYC instead of looking for her sister alongside Newt and Jacob? The film explains that she has become the Head Auror but not a peep if the reason for her to stay in USA is in order to regroup the american aurors against Grindelwald. We never really get any more information. We never really get to see a scene between her and Queenie. Not even their reunion. This seems like an odd thing considering they are each other’s only living relatives, after their parents died when they were young, and their separation was in heartbreaking terms. What the hell FB?

The time jump in the story felt off at times. We know a little more than a year has passed since the events of the second film, but we are never included in exactly what the characters have been doing all this time in order to defeat Grindelwald. Although the story makes it clear that he has been busy.

By the end of Secrets of Dumbledore everything has been set for the final confrontation, but I am reading news WB is looking to see how the box office does before making a decision on the future of the franchise.

WB’s decision has nothing to do with the quality of Fantastic Beasts 3, its cast and crew -who clearly worked very hard on this film. It has, however, everything to do with an author who has been cancelled. The story needs one more film. Everyone involved knows this.

Once again, good people must suffer corporations and the Karens of the world.

#fantastic beasts #movie review #review #fantastic beats and where to find them #the secrets of dumbledore #fantastic beast 3 #newt scamander #albus dumbledore #gellert grindelwald #theseus scamander #lally hicks #bunty broadacre #jacob kowalski #tina goldstein #queenie goldstein #creedence dumbledore #aurelius dumbledore

[thedamageofherdays]

This week's [23-08-2021 - 29-08-2021] reading log is here! I read a lot again this week and I feel like it's a lovely variety of fics. Most fics are Stucky like usual, but there's at least one other ship. I am constantly amazed by the talent people have in this fandom! There was one fic I read on Tumblr that I can't seem to find unfortunately, but when I do I'll make sure to reblog and rec it 💕

Favourites are marked with a 🌻

When life gives you lemons by moonthejedi394 @moonythejedi394 [Stucky, 40k words, Mature] (12/15 chapters available)

Or 13 Terrible Things to Do With Lemons Other Than Making Lemonade

Steve Rogers is a home health nurse. He works for an agency, which assigned him to the aging Winifred Barnes, the one and only Silent Era Hollywood darling. As her needs increased, she requested the agency assign Steve to her full-time. She could pay for it, so she got it. Steve then moved in with her, becoming her caregiver; he cooked, he cleaned, he managed her medications, he made sure she was comfortable.

Winifred's children treated him less than ideally. He was the help, after all. And then Steve had the audacity to go and turn out to be eldest son James Barnes's soulmate. No one saw that coming.

The Masseur and the Assassin by buckybarnesdeservestobehappy @buckybarnesdeservestobehappy [Stucky, 17k words, Explicit]

Bucky Barnes needed a vacation from his job. What he found was a happy ending.

The Words Breathe by buckbarnesdeservestobehappy [Stucky, 1k words, Mature]

All Steve has to do is keep his promise. When he doesn’t, Bucky gets mouthy.

Soft by this_wayward_life @wayward-lives [Stucky, 2k words, Explicit]

The last time he'd seen Bucky he'd looked unhealthy, with pallid skin and greasy, lanky hair. Now, Bucky shone; his hair was thick and silky, his skin a deep bronze from spending so much time outside. He was softer, too; the hard muscle that used to cover him was now replaced by soft fat, his body still strong, but in a more mundane way. His thighs were thicker, his ass plumper, and when he'd pulled Steve into the river Steve had noticed the pudge on his stomach.

Seeing Bucky so happy, well-fed and shining, was a bit of a kick in the face. For all the years they'd known each other, he'd never seen Bucky so... care-free. Now that Bucky was putting on weight, his middle soft and his body malleable, it sent a bolt of arousal through Steve every time he noticed the curves of Bucky's body.

Or: Bucky put on a bit of weight in Wakanda, and Steve is Not Coping.

🌻 Revive Another Side of Me by dontcallmebree @iamthe-wo-manwhocan [Stucky, 1k words, Mature]

Steve’s never lived in a world without Bucky, and he’s not living now. It takes them a while, much too long, to get that awaited rest, a little slice of peace after the dust has settled.Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes are inseparable, history remembers. But they’re not men of the past quite yet.

🌻 imagine being loved by me by spacebuck @spacebuck [Stucky, 20k words, Explicit]

Just after 1am - a few hours after he posted today’s photo - he hears the tell-tale sound of a twitter message. Bucky grabs his phone, not checking who it’s from as he opens it because it’s probably one of his mutuals yelling at him as per usual. When he actually looks at his phone, though, it’s not Natasha

The ‘verified’ check stares back at him for a long moment before he can even bring himself to process the name on his screen. Steve Rogers is messaging him. Or, he reasons, a very good fake. The handle looks right though, not that Bucky knows. Not that Bucky has Captain’s America’s tweets set up as notifications, or that Bucky’s own display name is set to captain america’s bitch. Not at all.

Hey, the first message says. It’s Steve.

🌻 JB’s Complete Lube Services by dixons_mama @dixons-mama [Stucky, 3k words, Explicit]

People just didn’t approach Captain America and proposition him. Although, sometimes Steve wished they would; even the pinnacle of virtue and justice needed to get dicked down from time to time.

Or, the one where Steve has the hots for a mechanic and decides to be proactive in getting that dick.

If it had to be someone by rainbow_nerds [Stucky, 1k words, Mature]

Bucky had known since he was a child that he didn’t have a choice in who he married, but he’d thought he had more time before the day arrived.

Miscalculations by christywantspizza @christywantspizza [Ransom Drysdale/Reader, 6k words, Explicit]

Ransom tries to get you to sleep with him by less than honorable means. You give him what he wants, just not how he wants it.

How to Seduce a Writer by obsessivereader [Stucky, 2k words, Teen]

What's a determined master strategist going to do when the oblivious writer he's trying to woo keeps missing all the clues?

He doesn’t think it’s because he hadn’t signaled his own interest to Bucky. He’s pretty much done everything short of hitting Bucky over the head with semaphore flags by this point. There’s no way Bucky could’ve missed them. Unless… There’d been that one link he’d stumbled upon when he’d googled ‘how to talk to a writer’. It’d been written by a writer, who’d been candid about how oblivious writers could be, and how someone could go about seducing one. An idea starts to form. It’s ridiculous, but at this point, he’s willing to go with ridiculous, since subtle wasn’t getting him anywhere.

🌻 Pod Bless America by Deisderium @deisderium [Stucky, 6k words, Teen]

Bucky can't believe his favorite podficcer recorded his newest fanfic AU of the show Commandos. He's even more surprised when the customer who busts him listening to fic while he's working in the office supply store turns out to be that podficcer.

* The guy—maybe bi_shield?—took his phone, looked down at the screen, and smiled. "Yeah, that one's mine," he said with no evidence of embarrassment. "It was a good one." He handed the phone back to Bucky.

"I wrote it," Bucky croaked.

take a bite by wearing_tearing [Stucky, 7k words, Mature]

"I’d never let anyone freeze to death.” Steve gives a big sigh and flutters his lashes. “All that blood gone to waste.”

Bucky’s lips turn down and his nose scrunches up a little. “I want to be grossed out, but…”

“But you get it.” Steve gives him a pointed look. “Vampires aren’t the only ones who can appreciate how juicy blood is.”

*

Or: Vampire Steve saves newly-turned werewolf Bucky from a snowstorm.

Leaving the Shield Behind by BuckyAboveEverything [Stucky, 6k words, Teen]

“So, on one hand, we have Steve Rogers - hunk, genius, animal lover. Buys you waffles and overpriced coffee. 100% wholesome all-American boy.”

“And, on the other hand, we have Capsicle – twink, smart-ass, fanboy. Reads your stories and sends you fanart. Possibly a pervert or a serial killer.”

Bucky groaned.

“I am 100% certain I am 0% sure of what to do."

Bucky Barnes, full-time copywriter and free-time fanfic writer, struggles to choose between two equally-attractive suitors, only to find that he doesn’t have to after all.

* Based on a true story *

Cap's Book Corner by Neche [Stucky, 2k words, Teen]

Recluse Author Bucky Barns stumbles into fanboy Steve Rogers bookstore one day...

Cat Nap by galwednesday @galwednesday [Stucky, 8k words, Teen]

Objectively, losing the Bucharest safehouse and its contents was the least of Bucky’s problems. The balding agent he’d seen directing the raid was apparently affiliated with SHIELD, which was a shadowy government agency that made representatives from other shadowy government agencies suddenly remember urgent appointments when Bucky tried to bribe, threaten, and otherwise shake them down for information on what the hell SHIELD might want with a former brainwashed assassin. Dodging SHIELD should be his number one priority.

Subjectively, he wanted his fucking cat back.

at any given moment by honeypuffed [Stucky, 1k words, Teen]

Steve and Bucky find out that everyone thinks they're sleeping together.

Brought to Brightness by eyres [Stucky, 10k words, Teen]

Army veteran Bucky Barnes has fallen in love with Steve, a guy he met online a few months after he returned from Afghanistan. Only problem is, he doesn't know Steve's last name or even what he looks like.

When his sister helps him send his story into MTV's Catfish, he's hoping they can help him meet Steve or, at least, let him move on with his life if Steve isn't real. Little does he know, Steve and Captain America have more in common than just a first name.

🌻 Nokken Wood by leveragehunters @leveragehunters [Stucky, 10k words, Teen]

When Sam's friend needs a house-sitter for his place in the country, Steve jumps at the chance. Six months rent-free to do nothing but draw and paint and wander the countryside, looking for inspiration? It was like a dream. But when he gets lost in a storm and nearly falls into a pond he starts to rethink the whole like a dream aspect of life in the country. And when a red-eyed, sharp-clawed, silver-fanged creature rises out of the darkness, Steve is one hundred percent certain the dream's morphed into a nightmare.

...until it gives him a cup of tea.

(Inspired partly by this prompt a supernatural creature is supposed to scare you but instead it gives you a cup of tea and a blanket because you're having a bad day and you keep coming back and partly by this painting.)

Professional Pride by galwednesday [Stucky, 700 words, Teen]

Bucky is having a very good day, until he turns around and finds himself face-to-face with Captain America.

“Oh shit,” he blurts before he can stop himself, and Captain America blinks at him. “Hey, hi, I didn’t expect to see you here.” Here, at New York’s Pride parade, surrounded by thousands of happy screaming people wearing rainbows and sometimes not much else. What is he doing here? Is he on guard duty or something? Was he just on a mission and happened to be passing by on his way back?

He’s in uniform but with the cowl loose around his neck, so when he rubs the back of his head it fluffs up his matted hair. “I, uh. I saw one of your–temporary tattoos?” Captain fucking America says, like it’s a question.

The A-bridged Guide to Trolling by galwednesday [Stucky, 1k words, Teen]

“I don’t have any money.”

Oh no, now the girl looked upset. Her eyes were huge and her lip was wobbling. Bucky tried to think fast despite the oh shit oh shit oh shit looping through his head.

“That’s okay,” Bucky said gently. “I don’t need money. We can figure out another kind of toll.”

The girl frowned at him. “Like what?”

Bucky scratched his head, trying to think of something a kid was certain to have on hand. “Do you know any jokes?”

(Fantasy AU in which Steve is a hedge witch with a green thumb, Bucky is a bridge troll who's new in town, and knock-knock jokes are a viable form of currency.)

It's a bittersweet ending (if you know what I mean) by relenafanel [Stucky, 1k words, Teen]

“I’ll see you around, Steve,” Bucky answers with a smirk, moving away from the counter with a wink.

Steve watches him go. Bucky’s wearing a pair of skinny jeans coated in something to give the appearance of leather. It’s impossible to not watch him go.

stuck on you by wearing_tearing [Stucky, 5k words, Teen]

“Bucky? You don’t look so hot.”

Bucky makes a tiny little sound in the back of his throat, only to start coughing. Of course he doesn’t look hot. He’s sick and he’s dying and Steve obviously isn’t attracted to him.

Decision-Making in Relationships (Paid Research Opportunity!) by castiowl [Stucky, 8k words, Teen]

Clint looked thoughtfully at the flyer. “I guess your actual roommate wouldn’t be down with it?”

Bucky frowned. “Have you met Steve Rogers?”

no way out but through by hollimichele [Stucky, 9k words, Teen]

Steve never sees it coming.

you got blood on your hands (and i know it's mine) by nighimpossible [Stucky, 3k words, Teen]

Bucky refuses to see Steve after his deprogramming.

Like What You See by daisymondays [Stucky, 8k words, Teen]

For all the time Bucky’s spent fantasizing about meeting Captain America, he’d never imagined it would be while posing nude in front of a drawing class.

🌻 A Real Boy by itsnotbleak [Stucky, 5k words, Teen]

It took the Winter Soldier three weeks to remember that human beings needed to sleep and eat.

It took Steve far too long to realise the Winter Soldier was sleeping in his bed.

Amapola by chaya [Stucky, 830 words, Teen]

Total fluff. Bucky's recovering nicely. Steve's oblivious. Sometimes it's best to set aside subtlety for action.

Knocking Boots With Sugar by buckybarnesdeservestobehappy [Stucky, 4k words, Explicit]

In between summers at college, Steve Rogers wants a new adventure beyond his lonely life in Brooklyn. He ends up in West Texas working on a dude ranch where Bucky Barnes is a long-time employee. When Bucky offers to buy Steve a drink, they end up drunk on tequila and making out in public. For the rest of the summer, they're inseparable. As the summer draws to a close, Steve realizes he doesn't want to leave.

Rogers and Associate by roe87 @jro616 [Stucky, 7k words, Teen]

When they first meet, Bucky is a hooker and Steve is a cop. She's been arrested, but Steve lets her off.

Years pass and they maintain a casual friendship, seeing each other out on the streets most nights.

Though he later makes detective, Steve loses faith in the system and quits his job.

He wants to set up as a private investigator, and he asks Bucky if she'd be his assistant.

Just in time by rainbow_nerds [Stucky, 1k words, Mature]

Bucky knew the apartment he was renting was old fashioned, but walking in the front door and finding himself transported back to 1938 was not on the list of things he had prepared himself for.

🌻 You Like What's in My Head by dontcallmebree [Stucky, 15k words, Explicit] (with art by @kocuria)

Bucky can’t decide if Steve’s a tough nut to crack or incredibly easy. The timbre of his voice, a low and almost amused, “Sure, kid,” when Bucky asks for a drink feels like something gripping him on the back of his neck.

He thinks this might be one of those moments in life he’ll pinpoint in the future and either curse at for dooming himself, or remember fondly with pride.

He’s right. Bucky Barnes blunders through falling in love with Commander Rogers and tries to find a deeper meaning behind the expensive gifts and thorough fucking.

Can I Sit Here? by BuckyFrickenBarnes [Stucky, 962 words, General]

Bucky has unusual methods for getting rid of his writer's block.

Or, Bucky needs that table.

Workplace Romance by BuckyFricken Barnes [Stucky, 1k words, General]

Bucky is under the impression that his boss hates him.

Or,

Steve needs to get better at dealing with his feelings.

🌻 1-800-MAYTAG by Miss Plum @misspluckyplum [Stucky, 1k words, Explicit]

Bucky just wants to get some housework done. It gets out of hand fast. Silly little fluff and smut romp with snarky stucky boys.

Eyes of the Forest by Lordelannette [Stucky, 7k words, Explicit] (2/8 chapters available)

When Omega Bucky Barnes comes to Eagle Lake, it was in search of wolves, a creature that had not been seen in the area for decades.

What he finds instead is Steve Rogers, a handsome, though quiet Alpha who seems to be everywhere in the forest.

#r's reading log #my reading log #fic rec #stucky #stucky fic rec #fic recs #stevebucky #long post

[sister-dear]

Sentence Structure and Flow

Someone on discord asked me about how I structure sentences and how I learned to write. I’m going to do my best to answer! Hopefully it’s useful. It got long, so I made it a Tumblr post.

On learning to write:

Sky_squido, the author of “What Hyrule Hadn’t Seen” made this presentation and there were several points in it that I found incredibly helpful.

The two main ideas that I found most beneficial:

It’s about the ~vibes. Every story or scene has some kind of overall theme or emotion. Once you’re far enough into your story to have found what that is, edit your word choice to match. If a word technically works but doesn’t fit the mood, replace it with something else. The actual definition of a word is sometimes less important than the emotion that word conveys.

Verbs are incredibly important. If you’re having trouble with your sentence structure - if your story seems boring or like the prose drags - look at your verbs. I tend to use “is” as a verb far too often (or “was” for those of you who write past tense), so a lot of my editing comes down to reworking some sentences to make the stronger, more interesting words be the action words. So instead of “Legend was walking,” the sentence would be “Legend walked.” Or, even better, “Legend strolled/stalked/slouched along.” We’ve gone from a passive sentence to something that tells us, in engaging fashion, not just what Legend’s doing but how he’s doing it and maybe even a little about how he’s feeling.

Filter Words

Another post I found incredibly helpful: examples of how to cut out ‘filter words.’ It’s great for adding urgency, establishing tone, and introducing strong descriptions into your writing. Basically, this is how to put ‘show, don’t tell,’ into practice at a sentence-structure level. I use this approach a lot when it comes to conveying character emotion.

A couple other points

Variation is your friend.

Repeating things draws attention.

Description slows things down.

1. Variation is your friend.

For most writing, it’s a good idea to vary your sentence structure and length. Dialogue with no tags is rapid. Same with short sentences. Short and choppy reads disjointed and fast. This also applies to paragraph lengths! Longer sentences and paragraphs read slower, and in turn cause your reader to linger; sometimes maybe even linger too much. A combination keeps things interesting.

Too many long sections in a row - be they sentences or paragraphs - causes reader fatigue. Don’t be afraid to break those up. Let your readers take a breather.

If all your sentences start the same way, rework some of them. Lead with the action in one sentence and the subject in the next.

Starting a new paragraph gets a reader’s attention. You can use this for punch.

You should have one topic, or one person speaking, per paragraph.

Important things go at the start of the paragraph. Readers won’t tend to remember as much stuff from the middle or ends. Speed readers might not read those sections at all. The above note about one topic per paragraph? This is why.

2. Repeating things draws attention.

This applies to everything from individual words to overall themes to something like a series of sentences all with the same structure. It can work for you or against you.

A lot of my editing winds up being me reworking sentences to avoid using the same word too closely in succession. I’m not talking basic words here, like ‘he’ and ‘said.’ Those are non-words. If you have enough strong words around them, they disappear. They’re fine. But to use a snippet from a current work in progress:

...(Legend) bares his teeth, river water dripping off his hair and sticking his tunic to his legs. He braces his legs, wet muck squelching over the sides of his boots.

I wound up changing to “sticking his tunic to his thighs” to avoid the repeated word “legs.” I didn’t want to draw attention to his legs themselves, but the state of them. “He braces his feet,” would also work, or I could just cut the sentence down. “He braces,” does the trick just as well, and might be what I go with for the final draft. If the sentence makes sense without the word, then you can let the unneeded word go and your writing will often be stronger for it.

This can be much harder to do with nouns than verbs. Sometimes you just need to call a sword a sword. That’s usually where I start to alternate between a small group of words. “Sword,” “blade,” and “weapon” can all be alternated between to try to avoid using the same word too close together. You might also be able to get around using the problem word at all, as in the example above.

Another note on non-words. Names and pronouns qualify! You can use them over and over again and readers won’t notice. In fact, trying not to use these words can actually draw more attention than just using them!

For example, referring to Hyrule as “the Traveler.” Is it relevant, in the context of what I am writing, that Hyrule travels a lot? Or am I just trying to avoid using his name too much? If the answer is the latter, either don’t bother or change your sentence structure to remove the name entirely. If you have a solid action word, the name will disappear in favor of the action.

Using ‘Traveler’ in this context draws attention away from whatever Hyrule’s doing to what he is. That may not be the best thing to draw attention to. If what you are writing is a story about Hyrule finally getting a safe place of his own to call a home, you could use it for contrast. In which case, save it. Use it once, so it has impact. But if I'm writing about Hyrule teasing Legend, referring to him in that way can disrupt the flow of the story. It draws attention away from Hyrule's personality and his interaction with Legend to his background.

The point is to do it deliberately! It’s okay to use names and pronouns a lot. ‘Traveller’ is a title. Titles stand out.

3. Description slows things down.

Anywhere you want to linger or draw attention is where your descriptions should be going.

The middle of a fast paced action scene where your character is concentrating on the fight might not be the best spot to go into deep detail about the surroundings or what the enemy looks like. Convey those details in bursts that are worked into the action: “Time nearly rolls his ankle on the rocky ground.” Be very sparing. What makes an action scene interesting is how the character feels about what’s happening. You only need enough information on what the surroundings look like for a reader to follow along, and you can probably do most of that setup in a brief paragraph before the actual action starts.

On the other hand, if your character takes a shocking injury in said fight and you really want to dwell on that moment? Or if they’ve got a really cool, flashy move that they unleash in one single exciting burst of fighting prowess? That’s the spot to let your inner poet shine. Slow those spots down and let the reader really enjoy what you’re doing by using your detailed descriptions there.

This applies to all action, not just fighting. Walking through a busy marketplace? Action. A conversation? Can be approached as action. The best spots to use lots of description will be the spots you want to linger on: the first glimpse of a long-lost friend through the crowd, that last hug as they say goodbye.

Description slows things down. Use it accordingly.

Most everything else I can think of is less to do with flow and structure and more to do with other aspects of writing, so I'll stop here.

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