#*group: vortex

[homucifer-ryotan]

The trio of canon straight characters in the helluverse (so far) everybody

The possible fourth member too:

[keeps-ache]

microdosing on pinterest by looking at the pictures they send me in the emails and nothing else

[gooenthusiast]

„Don‘t swear on my internet“ seems very consistent with American „this is America, speak American“ opinions.

You know what really fucking Annoys Me about internet censorship is stuff like swear words being heavily censored because that's entirely an American cultural hangup being forced on the rest of us. I don't know a single country where swearing is as taboo as it is in America. In fact most languages have swear words that would have the same effect on an American as giving a Victorian chimney sweep a pepsi max cherry.

[lifewithaview]

Jim Parsons and Kunal Nayyar in The Big Bang Theory (2007) The Psychic Vortex

S3E12

With Leonard and Howard going on a double date, Raj talks a reluctant Sheldon into attending a mixer at the university. Surprisingly, Raj and Sheldon end up meeting and having a good time with two beautiful, fun loving women named Abby and Martha. Raj and Sheldon have vastly differing opinions on what they want to get out of a second date that Abby and Martha want with them. Meanwhile, Leonard reconsiders his relationship with Penny when he learns that she believes in psychics. Penny reconsiders her relationship with Leonard after he mocks her belief in psychics. One of the two is going to have to compromise their steadfast belief if their relationship is to continue.

*The characters of Abby and Martha are actually a tribute to Joseph Kesselring's Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). Abby and Martha are the names of the homicidal spinster aunts.

[kumkaniudaku]

Creatures of The Night

Summary: Stack meets his match on a return trip home.

Pairing: Elias 'Stack' Moore x Black!Fem OC

Warnings: Smut (18+)

Word Count: 3,779

As much as Mississippi had changed, it was still the same. Vast rolling plains of farmland tilled by rough, Black and brown hands still carried the stench of oppression thought to be a relic of a different time. Poverty still touched communities loudly crying out for relief. Generations of families still lived in shotgun houses and small brick dwellings passed down from faces they'd only ever seen in photo frames grouped together on tiny altars as reverence for their tireless sacrifice. And, deep in the darkest parts of the city, when the sun went down and the moon illuminated deeds hidden in the light for decency's sake, a hole-in-the-wall establishment made room for all sorts of devils and demons to enjoy themselves in the dead of night. 

Beneath bright lights and a thick, impenetrable haze of sour weed smoke, Stack sat perched at the bar, sipping dark brown poison to mimic patrons around him. He hadn't had much taste for the stuff since the '30s, but it brought him comfort. The jitters of being so close to home were enough to stoke the flames of nervousness he thought he'd long relinquished to the past. He'd tried several times to go from Jackson to Clarksdale, pay his respects to loved ones lost, and disappear until the next time the supernatural pull of days past whispered for him to return. But something about the spruced-up warehouse fitted with leather couches bunched around small tables and platforms sporting chrome poles nearly touching the ceiling had a hold on him. Or rather someone.

She moved like water. Fluid and calming, capturing Stack's attention with minimal effort. Sable skin illuminated under blue neon reminded him of the young woman from the film he'd financed years back. Hip-hop was still nonsensical and watered down trash in his mind, but involvement had it's benefits – club environments, glitz, glamor, fame, fortune, and an endless supply of thick skulled idiots willing to do whatever necessary to live a life of fleeting pleasures forever. Then her. A beauty beyond compare, acting as a siren calling him to destruction on troubled seas. 

Stack's first visit to Dreams was by accident. The low rumble of bass knocking so hard against the wall he thought the doors might blow open from the force sucked him into a vortex he couldn't escape. An unexplained magnetism knocked him off his path and past a long line of patrons hoping for a few hours of illicit fun. A couple dollars, slick talk, and a kind request for entry helped him past unfriendly looking security and into a world in and of itself. And there she was. Walking through the crowd in white lace, leaving little to the imagination with a switch in her hips beguiling enough to earn his attention well into the wee hours of the morning. 

Lily is what the DJ called her from his booth alongside the stage. Fitting. In a room full of miscreants and hoodlums, she seemed like too perfect a flower for a place like this.

Night one, Stack only watched. Behind dark lenses in an even darker corner of the room, he gathered information like a student studying a master at work. Glossed lips curled into a smile, flashing bright white teeth at every man she encountered. While she spoke them into a slurring, lust-drunk stupor, they handed over wads of cash surely meant to take care of a family at home. A talker. Stack liked that. 

The second night, when he'd had some liquid courage, and the crowd was thin for a Thursday night, he noticed her already noticing him from her throne on stage. Every twirl around the pole produced an opportunity for intense eye contact lasting the full duration of her performance to Juvenille's 'Slow Motion.' As the song wound to a close, Lily left him with a wink, fluttering long lashes as her fingers wiggled a greeting in his direction. Stack never saw her again that night. But he felt her. She'd imprinted herself on his brain and all but dared him to stay in Jackson another night. 

Friday night, with nightcrawlers from far and wide filling every corner of the club, Lily and Stack made first contact. 

"Why you be in here by yourself?" Lily's down home alto came in loud over T-Pain's voice while Stack took sips of poor quality bourbon. 

A slow smile crept across his face. "Chillin'. I ain't from here." 

"You sound like you from here." When her veiled question induced little more than a chuckle, Lily tried a more forward approach. "Where you from then? You one of them rap niggas from Memphis?" 

Ever perceptive, Lily saw Stack's chains and rings the moment her suitor walked into the club earlier in the week. If he wasn't a rapper, he sold drugs. Either one worked just fine for her. Income was income, illegal or otherwise. She couldn't care less if she could put a few of his dollars into her pocket by the end of the night.

"Nah. From up the road a little bit." Stack's intentional lack of information made Lily smile as she nodded. 

No need for details. She knew less about other patrons, but that never stopped them from pouring 10s, 20s, and 50s into her g-string like water from the tap. "I can sit down?"

Lily teased a smile, hoping her charm would be enough for Stack to grant access to the castle he'd made for himself. He didn't answer with words. A half smile and a gesture toward the spot beside him was enough of an invitation. 

Sliding herself against worn leather, Lily tested the waters by scooting within an inch of his thigh. When no objection came, she deliberately caressed his knee with hers and leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table. 

"Where your ol' lady at?" Surely, there was a missus in the picture. 

Stack chuckled. "Your guess good as mine. Ain't seen her in a few years," he answered before taking another sip. A partial truth couldn't hurt. He knew where Mary had gone. It just hurt too much to say it. "Where your man?" 

"Your guess good as mine." Mirrored cheeky grins spread across their faces in tandem. Stack fought hard to keep the full spread of his lips at bay, hoping to conceal the true nature of his identity. Lily pretended not to take notice of the canines calling for her attention, preferring to live in the fantasy Dreams offered everyone who walked through the door. Lily scooched closer. "What's your name?" 

A name. The question caught Stack off guard. In all his travels, he had no problem proudly alerting anyone who asked that they were speaking to the last of the Smokestack twins. But here, so close to home and the fables that seemed to stick no matter the decade, too much information could crack the seal on problems kept bottled since he fled years ago. 

Stack took another sip to bide his time before setting the glass on the table and answering. "Eli. Yours?" 

"You know my name. Rico call it a hundred times every night. Much as you been in here, you had to have heard it by now." 

"So, you been keepin' tabs on me?" 

"I keep tabs on a lot of people. 'Specially the ones like you," she smiled, showing a gold framed tooth of her own. Without breaking eye contact, Lily reached for Stack's glass and pulled it closer to her side of the booth. 

He watched her with keen focus, noting how her lips parted slowly to invite a healthy sip of alcohol. Each swallow made her throat bob seductively as a subtle mating call that he couldn't leave unnoticed. A master at her craft. Stack couldn't help but admire the work, even if it was at his expense. 

When she slid the empty glass back over to him, Stack licked his lips to stop the trickle of saliva attempting to escape. "That wasn't free, baby girl." 

"Say my name right, Eli." Lily's sing-song command made Stack's stomach clench from arousal as her fingernails danced up his thigh beneath the table

He sat up straight and threw an arm over the top of the booth for stability. "That wasn't free, Lily," he corrected. "You owe me." 

"I always pay my debts. Come see me tomorrow, hm?" 

"What about tonight?" An eager inquiry, but he couldn't promise another day. Stack had to get moving. 

Lily opened her mouth to speak, preparing to offer a rebuttal, but found herself cut off by Rico from the DJ booth. 

"Y'all ready for Lily to come back to the stage?" 

Of course, they were. She was the biggest draw in town. Chatting up the secretive stranger on his third consecutive visit couldn't supersede getting to the money. 

Rolling her eyes, Lily began to exit the little corner of desire they'd built together. "Tomorrow. Come 'round three in the morning. I got something for you in the back."

"Y'all close at two," Stack countered, trying to snuff out Lily's endgame. 

"That's just what the police say. We open as long as the money comin' in." Finally free from the booth, Lily made a show of adjusting her all-white outfit and smiled. "Three o'clock. I keep my word, Eli. You just worry about gettin' here." 

Stack didn't intend to stay in Jackson, Mississippi another night. He had plans – moves to make, gravesites to visit, offerings to leave for souls long passed on. October 16th had come and gone with him shirking responsibility in the name of cheap thrills and a beautiful woman. In over 70 years, he still hadn't learned his lesson. 

At the worn-in bar, perched on a barstool with another glass of bottom-shelf bourbon in his hands, Stack watched the digital clock behind the bartender tick to the top of the hour. He didn't have much time. 'Get in and get out,' he coached himself as he adjusted the Michael Vick jersey on his shoulders and centered the Jesus piece on his chain. 

Sure enough, Dreams was still jumping with no end in sight. Stack's eyes slowly scanned the room behind his sunglasses, hoping for any sign of his target. Familiar urges tingled the base of his spine, begging for the green light to taste the focus of his desires. Turning Lily was a new development. Longing for a partner to walk alongside him in the curse known as eternal life hadn't left him since Mary's untimely demise. Lily fit the bill just right. She didn't need to continue showing herself for money. He'd take all that away and replace it with even greater riches if he could get her alone for a conversation.

As he searched high and low for his prize, a set of fingers danced up Stack's back before lips caressed the shell of his ear. "Welcome back, Eli. Follow me." 

Simple instructions and chills manifesting all over his warm skin convinced Stack to follow the long-legged beauty through the throng of thrashing bodies and past a thick velvet curtain partitioning an area reserved for more private encounters. 

Blue lights were no more. In the quiet of backrooms sparsely populated with men willing to spend a little extra dough and dancers intent on milking them for more, red lights tinted everyone's skin into a hue reminiscent of Satan in his imagined form. 

Stack tried to mind his business as Lily tugged him along to the room at the end of the hallway. From the corner of his eye, he swore he saw a man's eyes roll back into his skull, mouth hung open in an unexplained trance while a young light-skinned woman whispered into his ear. There wasn't much time for Stack to make sense of what his mind had conjured. A second attempt at peering past the thick tinted glass was robbed just as Lily pulled him into their soundproof hideout. 

Low lights and black padded walls shielded the pair from outside influences trying to force their way into their fortress. Stack ran his fingers along the soft fabric, wondering just how effective it was at keeping all sorts of sounds from leaking out to the public. 

"You gon' sit down, or you came to do a dust inspection? Whatever you find, make sure you talk to Varis about all that." Lily's attempt at a joke received a cool, closed-mouth smile as Stack studied her body from head to toe. She pointed to the couch spanning the length of the room's back wall. "Sit down. It's me and you now." 

Good. The less prying eyes and intrusions, the better. 

Lily watched Stack take measured steps to the back of the room, studying the swagger in his walk and where his wallet bulged in his back pocket. Most men came with all they could spare without being caught by wives concerned about dwindling cash flow. Eli was different. Money seemed expendable to him. A real spend some and make it all back type. Perfect. 

A sure heel-to-toe strut carried Lily across the room to a decanter full of dark liquid and a pair of glasses resting on an empty bar cart. Stack watched her pour from the glass container, looking for something to comfort him in an unfamiliar predicament. He felt a rush of unexplained wind whip past his ear as a shiver manifested in his fingers. 

"Why's it so cold in here?" Stack questioned as Lily walked the drink over to him. 

She smiled but withheld her answer until she'd stopped her journey to stand between his legs. "When it's warm," she started with her arm extended to hand over his beverage. "Things get too soft. Ice cream, butter…" Once her hand was free, Lily eased her way into Stack's lap to plant her knees beside his hips. "Nipples. Dicks. You don't wanna go soft, do you, Eli? What we gon' do with that?" 

Lily's warm tongue tracing figure eights against the spot under Stack's left ear trapped a sound in his throat, leaving his body to betray his thoughts. Lily felt the quick contraction and release of his muscles, but remained committed to her task. 

"You should take a sip," Lily suggested as she switched sides to give Stack's other ear attention. "I owe you, remember?" 

Stack considered the advice, taking a slow look at the unfamiliar elixir. He'd learned a lot of lessons in all his years. Never trust a man saying 'trust me,' mind the business that pays you, and only drink the troubles you pour yourself. Lily embodied all things beautiful in the world, but wasn't that fine. A principled man was a man too difficult to manipulate. His brother taught him that. 

Stack took a second look at the glass and ultimately shook his head. "I'm good, baby. Trynna remember this one. Maybe next time." 

"Suit yourself." Her nonchalant nature almost made Stack change his mind and take a swig just for the taste. It couldn't hurt too bad. 

But, just as soon as he'd rejected her offering, Lily had pulled the cup from his hand and set it aside. 

Kisses against the throbbing vein counting each heartbeat disarmed Stack's guard and senses better than any drink or pull of cigarette ever could. A pretty face and the spark of danger were still his weaknesses. He'd battled for years to overcome the sinister draw of a woman's treasure, even going so far as to plan and follow through on a sham of a wedding in Las Vegas. He and Mary knew it wouldn't work, but it felt good. Being joined to each other by loose legal documents and cheap rings plucked from a sleazy jewelry store just before a chapel with only the spirits of loved ones there to witness their union felt right.

He wondered how Mary might feel now, knowing he'd fallen back into old habits instead of mourning her like a husband was supposed to. He'd slipped so deep into thought that he didn't register Lily's hands sliding into the front of his jeans until her fingertips grazed his shaft. 

"Can I repay you," she whispered against the scar on his neck. "You wouldn't take my drink. At least enjoy what the private room was made for." 

Stack let his heavy eyelids flutter closed and released a deep breath. "We ain't 'posed to touch back here, ain't it?" 

"I do what I want. Don't worry about the rules when you with me."

"You don't wanna turn on some music, at least? Can't be that quiet in here," Stack questioned, still trying to gauge their true level of privacy. 

Lily smiled against his neck. "Nope. Let 'em hear." 

Deft fingers and a delicate palm freed Stack's member from the confines of cotton and stiff denim, giving it room to stand proud between them. They watched together as she closed her hand around it and began to stroke. 

"Looks like the cold is helping, hm?"

"Fuck," Stack whispered into the ether. Her skin felt like fine silk enclosed around the part of him that ached for touch the most. He'd lost the battle. The only hope for redemption was to finish with his mind intact and leave Jackson, Mississippi without looking back. 

Slow kisses stole the last modicum of focus Stack had left. "You like that," Lily questioned in her seductive timbre. A murmured 'mhm' spurred her forward. "I wanna show you something else." 

Stack wished he would've asked Lily to elaborate. Maybe he would've given himself more time to prepare for her mouth to envelop him in a warm embrace. His hips jolted upward, pressing his tip to the back of her throat and receiving a soft gag as his thank you for a job well done. 

Pleasures belonging to another time flooded Stack's entire nervous system. He flew through boyhood, when fooling around with Mary was new and exciting. The audible slurp from saliva escaping the corners of Lily's lips took him back to a woman in Chicago sneaking to be with him when her husband chose to turn his attention to business and away from matters of the home. There was the time he'd snuck into the French Quarter, freshly turned and searching for a body to claim. Remembering her name would take too much of his rapidly diminishing brain power, but he'd never forget that pretty face and how she seemed to welcome his fangs sinking into her skin. Stack always wondered what happened to her and if she fared well after the turn set in. His mind tried to drift to something, anything to ward off his incoming completion, but each mental swipe through his memory's Rolodex became infiltrated by Lily as she pulled her mouth away from his lap.

"Can I tell you somethin'?" Lily's question barely registered as Stack curled his fingers against the couch. She kept her hands busy, smiling to herself while she watched his eyes roll into his skull. "I'm sort of like you. Sometimes, when I want to feel like everybody else, I pretend. It's fun, you know? Keeps me goin' until the next time somethin' excitin' happens." 

Stack felt his body struggle to come back to baseline. Every alarm bell in his head rang at once, screaming for relief. No luck. He was at her mercy, eyes still rolling as release became imminent. He groaned for help that no one would hear. 

Lily chuckled and shook her head. "I almost wish you wouldn't have come back. That's why I ignored you that first night. They still tell stories about Elijah and Elias Moore to this day, but I didn't believe 'em. Motherfuckers lie around here. Too much time on they hands." Balls tightening in her free hand while she continued to get him off signaled an approaching end as Stack attempted to will himself free of her clutches to no avail. Lily continued. "Them biblical names somethin', ain't they? Seem like the most evil people in the world named after somebody in the good book. Your brother, your old girl, you…" Lily trailed off before bringing her eyes up to meet her victim's face. "I didn't quite make the cut. Lilith still has a nice ring to it, though, right? It's memorable." 

The feeling of being watched, the magnetic pull, the men in a trance and passing out money like candy – it all came rushing back to Stack as he felt his body weaken with every quickening stroke. Succubus. Tales of their existence always sounded like more myth than tangible reality. Smoke chalked each story up to weak-minded men looking for someone to blame for their lack of focus and restraint. Stack thought it might be fun for a beautiful woman to use him as a sexual object for a night but sided with the wisdom of his older brother. He never expected to find out. But lust had won again. His fatal flaw had lured him to the edge of death once more.

Stack opened his mouth wider, trying to scream with no sound reaching the atmosphere. It wouldn't matter anyway. No one was coming. He wouldn't be saved. The witching hour had overpowered him a second time. 

"It's almost over, baby. Be good for me," Lily taunted, her eyes darkening as her once dazzling smile curled into something more sinister. 

Climax felt like a slow death. Stack prayed for something quick. An instant draining of his life force to make the misery worth it. He'd reunite with the ones who loved him on the other side. Unfortunately, natural deaths full of promise and peace no longer had a place. A second curse had been levied upon him. A forever damning to serve as the source of life for another immortal being until he served no purpose and could be discarded like waste on the highway. 

With her mouth back to work, Lily welcomed every drop of semen onto her tongue like a dog lapping for water in the hot sun. She'd been waiting for someone like Elias. Someone to provide an endless treasure trove of what lesser men provided in feeble quantities. Forever had come to her with little effort. What a gift with a beautiful host to sweeten the deal. 

When he was empty and heaving for a break, Lily relished in the slow creep of euphoria consuming her from within. Stack remained frozen, eyes wide with fear and his jaw slack. 

Nuzzling her face against his thigh like a feline does her trusted companion, Lily smiled with traces of her trophy still coating her lips. 

"Welcome back to Mississippi, Elias. Stick around this time, won't you?" 

------

No tags. Enjoy the one off! For now, at least.

[emiqip]

Pt.3 Apocalyptic Ponyo AU ft. Shockwave and his... kids. @keferon

For all they've been through together, this had to be the dumbest thing they've ever done- which is saying something, considering not too many months ago they collectively decided to raid the city's garbage dump not taking into account that a) there would be some kind of security system (who defends trash anyway? weirdos) b) the smell and c) the local population of possums they inevitably bothered. 

All in all, that could have even been considered a good day in Skywarp's book- yeah, they didn't find anything, they all smelled pretty fucking terrible without any way of washing the stench away and they were covered in bite marks, hoping none of those things had rabies- but they laughed and joked about it for weeks after. 

This situation, however, was anything but funny. 

Following Blue's little stunt, the remaining children left at base were informed to meet at the nearest shore, where the youngest's new... friend? Still waited for them. A few minutes of shock and surprise from both parties after, they finally decided on how to fix whatever this was. The plan was simple too: separate Blue from the sea freak, gather all of their stuff and set off to the sparkly horizon, leaving all of this behind their backs- no strings attached. 

Obviously that would've been too good to be true, something had to go wrong: of course their youngest still refused to leave, even when Damus finally gained some courage and went over to pick Blue up by force- too bad the little menace immediately started ugly sobbing. Not only that, the twins got over their fear pretty quickly, replacing it with the raw force of curiosity little kids have for anything ugly, sticky and new. Cue Soundwave being assigned as their official babysitter lest the two would sprint and try to climb the fish like a pair of coked-up squirrels. And, yeah, not the smoothest outcome but hey! Now they could, you know, leave. 

He was so so wrong. As soon as the Thing noticed they were walking away it started  chirping at them over and over, like it was calling for them to get back. Kinda sad, but they could ignore it (unless you were Blue- still crying in TC's arms while making grabby hands at the mer), what alarmed them was the fact that it started to use all of its upper body strength and try to slowly beach itself in the goal of reaching their group. Needless to say the situation called for a new plan fast- even in ten, considering its size, they still weren't enough to push it back in to the water. 

The solution was just to camp out on the shore and find a way out of this in the morning. To the absolute delight of their youngest, who decided that for the night he would be sleeping with the freak, and unsurprisingly the twins only followed by starting to poke and prod at the being, who seemed to enjoy the attention as much as them. Windcharger joined their little huddle too for the evening, explaining himself with a little shrug of his shoulders and a quick, "He's warm and I'm cold- you can freeze for one more night for all I care," and left it at that. That traitor.

Oh well, this would soon be over anyway. 

\\\

Two. Weeks. 

Two whole weeks passed since this whole charade was supposed to be over, but instead he found himself being ferried away on the wettest, most fucked up recreation of the 'Magic School Bus' he's ever seen.  Worst of all Ms. Fizzle was replaced by an oversize pancake with gills. 

This was supposed to be the closest thing to a compromise: the kids got to keep their fish and the others got a free ride trough the apocalypse- pretty sweet if you asked him.

They were slowly making their way towards what was once the busiest side of the city: he remembers coming here with his brothers and getting overwhelmed every time by the sheer amount of people bustling around. Both locals and tourists blended perfectly in a vortex of voices, faces and mannerisms. For a boy who lived at the edge, this was exhilarating. 

But the best part of this chaos were the shops windows: there was one who was squeezed between a tiny flea shop and a bakery owned by a couple of kind old people- the window's space was taken by a plethora of several vintage televisions, each of them displaying something different- his favorite old show was filmed at their local aquarium and had as protagonist a young orca mer, chirping away happily at the camera, while the crowd gasped in awe at the adorable display. 

He saw his face stare right back at him from the surface of the water. Tired eyes, sunken cheeks and hair grown matted and way too long- what would he do to reverse it all and go back to their shitty daily life. 

From the front of their unusual mean of transportation, he could hear the youngest kids screaming and laughing, more likely pestering the mer like a swarm of particularly persistent flies. Being too focused on eavesdropping the racket, he didn't notice Damus approaching him on unsteady feet. 

"I saw a billboard a few minutes ago: big bright and with the directions to the biggest mall in the city- I'd say we are overdue for a scavenger hunt to restock our resources, what do you say?" The older asked, before staring off into the distance. 

"Sure, why the hell not? I'm pretty sick and tired of eating only fish anyway- cheers to the big guy for catching it for us though." He absentmindedly patted the mer, earning a pleased rumble up ahead.

With a brief nod of assent, he took off to most likely talk to Skids- the teen, after a very intense game of charades, managed to establish a method to communicate with their newest addition, he was even successful in teaching the fishman some very simple words, and in turn the mer taught him some of his language: it was mainly made up of sounds and gestures but Skids, being the fast learner that he was, took to them pretty quickly- a shame that he never had the chance to attend a public school, he would've at the top of his classes for sure. 

He felt the mass he was sitting on stir briefly, as the massive mer changed the course of their journey. The scenery around them slowly changed: hills of crumbled and deformed buildings gave way to a forest of skyscrapers looming over all of them like giant concrete pillars. Since the wave hit, putting a stop to all human activity, nature was steadily taking over- vines descended from a top of buildings, patches of seaweed and sea flora were dotting the submerged asphalted streets. 

They watched in awe as schools of brilliant colored tropical fish darted past them- he heard Blue squeal along the lines of, "Sir. Pancake! Look, it's you!" when a familiar looking shark swam past them.  He could vaguely recognize some of the roads and alleyways, now nearly completely covered by corals and anemones, housing a variety of oceanic wildlife.

Despite everything, there was still beauty left in this abandoned world. 

\\\ 

The dark gaping maw leading inside the mall stared right back at them. Having no way to access the lower levels, since they were long lost under the waves, they had to find another way in- one of the walls had luckily given away to the erosion of the water, leaving the perfect entry point for them and their fishy companion. They were all well aware the mer wasn't too keen on leaving them alone for too long without becoming restless, so this was a win-win situation.

As the shadows progressively engulfed them, the smell of dampness and mold welcomed them inside. He felt TC's hand grabbing his right sleeve to catch his attention, as he turned around he saw his brother pointing at the water with his mouth agape. 

What he saw made him inhale quickly in complete surprise- a pool of neon blue light surrounded them from all sides, swaying gently at the rhythm of the mer's movements. 

"...bioluminescent algae- read about them once, but I never thought I would ever see them for myself." He heard TC whisper softly at him. 

"Woah, this is so fucking cool..." Soft murmurs of assent from his siblings filled the silence he left behind, as they all watched the water entranced by the spectacle of lights. 

They were all suddenly woken up from their trance by a brisk movement from their means of transport that almost made all of them topple over into the water. Apparently 'Sides decided he wanted to touch the pretty blue lights, nearly taking a dip for himself if the mer didn't glance over and quickly caught the little kid with one of his huge webbed hands. At least the pest had the decency to look away sheepishly at the mer's silent but admonishing expression. 

Without any other close calls, they made it to what was once the food court- a huge circular dome where the pavement had partially collapsed, leaving behind a slope where dry land and water could meet, the perfect place to finally get down and stretch their legs after hours of swimming around. Trailbreaker reached into his ridiculously big backpack and started passing around a bunch of flashlights- the teen liked to be prepared for anything, even if that meant bringing around some additional weight. 

The moment his feet met the ground he let out a happy sigh- exploring the sunken city was great and all, but nothing could compare to the chance of finally burning all of his residual energy. Damus clapped his hands to get everyone's attention and started his usual spiel before any resource-gathering trip. 

"Alright everyone, you know the drill: six of us are going in pair to explore the building- pick up only things you think will come in hand, leave everything else. Do not take more then you need, we are not the only survivors around, so let's not doom other people only because we felt a little bit greedy today. See something? Scream. Lastly, the brats stay here with Sir. Pancake, while one of us will also remain to keep watch- can I have a drum roll for our lucky winner?" The question was met with an enthusiastic chorus of voices. 

"Aand- Trailbreaker you're up!"

"Awh man- what?" The teen sagged his shoulders as Windcharger smugly patted his arm. 

"Look at the bright side dude: you'll have fish-dad helping you this time." 

"Not helpin' Charger, kudos for trying though..." Trailbreaker's muffled response came from behind his hands, as the other kid only shrugged and joined Skids to prepare for departure. 

In the meantime, Skywarp gingerly hooked his right arm with TC's, leading him towards one of the halls connected to the dome.  From the ceiling stray cables and crumbled pieces of drywall dangled freely, occasionally disturbed by a gentle breeze coming from inside the hallway. He gave himself a few seconds to glance behind his back: the children, in the few minutes they arrived, had apparently started their very own game of tag, skidding away on the wet floor, completely unbothered by what was happening around them. Trailbreaker, accepting his fate, decided to use this time to clean the barrel of his shotgun, while sitting on the floor with his back leaning on the mer's arm.

The creature however was looking apprehensively at them: worry and fret swirled in his blue eyes- they all knew he didn't like to see them leave, but this was necessary. He absentmindedly threw him his best calming smile, hoping to reassure him enough. The mer was briefly taken by surprise before nodding and giving Skywarp a hasty nod. 

 'I trust you.'

"Good luck everyone! If you're not back in an hour we'll come find your sorry asses, so be on time- I'm talking to you Skids!" Damus voice bounced on the walls of the abandoned building. 

"...you get lost one time-" The cut-off whispered replay of his sibling was the last thing he heard before entering the hall with TC in tow. 

\\\

Their wet footfalls was the only noise filling in the utter silence around them.

The bright beams of their flashlights cutting through the thick wall of darkness. Now that he had the chance to look at it up close, he could pinpoint exactly when life had come to a stop between these molded walls: on tiny cafe tables sat long forgotten coffee stained cups, the occasional eerily empty stroller was abandoned haphazardly in the middle of the hallway, still pale mannequins were silent witnesses to the disaster, while purses and toys littered the floors. Moments frozen in time. 

He felt himself shudder, trying to shake off the feeling of wrongness from his shoulders. 

So far they found only a couple of useful things, mainly industrial tape, iron wire and other items from a hardware store they had just raided. All the possibly edible things they dug up have all been either completely or partially covered in mold- all of this moisture made it difficult for things to stay fresh, especially since electricity had been one of the first things they'd lost to the massive wave, completely cutting off all of power to fridges. 

Hopefully the others had been more lucky, he really wasn't looking forward to another overcooked sardine- none of them had always been the greatest cook after all and he doubted Sir. Pancake knew his way around a stove. Great now he was thinking about the mer holding a comically small pan, while wearing a pink frilly apron with the words 'Kiss The Fish' printed on the front- 

He was interrupted mid-giggle by TC's pointy elbow digging into his side- which he was about to comment on before his brother nudged him again, signaling with his light to something on the wall. 

"Storage Room." Read his sibling aloud, with a knowing smile.

"Fucking jackpot, baby!" Skywarp blurred out- ooh the joy he'll feel when they'll be able to shove in their losers sibling faces a box full of protein bars. 

A wide new hallway opened up for them, at the end of it he could discern the top of a pair of rusted shut down automatic stairs. They eagerly hurried down them, impatience and hunger for discovery was eating away at them- before diving waist deep into a pool of freezing water. 

They both startled for a few seconds, and then realization hit. They both forgot the lower levels were entirely flooded, but thankfully water didn't seem too high from what they could see through the darkness- hopefully the floor was built on the same level and didn't suddenly dip under them. The water was way too murky to see what was happening under the surface, and that did nothing to appease the apprehension this place was giving off in waves- he suddenly felt the shivers he shrugged off return in full force. 

"Thunders, not gonna lie, I have a bad feeling about this." His whisper echoed on the walls enclosing them. 

"Yeah... I feel like there's something we're missing." The other confessed, as they slowly trudged forward. "It's been scratching my brain since we passed that cafè...".

"Right?! I feel the same... all that chaos and we only find a bunch of litter on the floor-"

Thundercracker stopped abruptly in his path, making him stop too. 

"Uh- TC, you okay?" He lifted his torch to better look at his brother. 

"...the corpses."

"Oh! Yeah, this was a very busy place, how come we haven't found... any... corpses..."

One of the worst mistakes humanity ever made, was to think that they had any chance at being on top of the food chain. Centuries of time spent spreading and conquering all known continents, had led them to believe that nothing could touch them if they hid behind their big wars and even bigger weapons. However, Hubris is the first deadly sin, condemned to be a human's last. 

From the void, a pair of bulging white eyes stared back at him. A gaping maw full of jagged yellowed teeth, was framed by two lines of receding gums barely attached to the skull. Ivory white plaques covered a shiny metal body underneath, decorating a lizard-like muscular frame, still as stone- like a spring ready to be released. 

They were moving even before his brain could catch up with him. Fight or flight on full force- his main goal was to get away and do it fast.  

Thundercracker quickly followed him, as he felt the large creature pounce towards them. 

Climbing the stairs and reaching the top almost slipping down and falling on his brother. 

They sprinted down the hall- heavy footsteps never too far behind as the beast snapped his monstrous jaws, trying to catch them. 

Blurs of the coffee shop and hardware store passed next to them, as realization hit him once more- they were bringing a human-eating mutant right to their little brothers. 

'See something? Scream.'

And screaming he did. 

His alarmed voice filled the dome as in a moment of distraction his foot slipped on a nearby puddle, leaving him to fall face first unto the hard ground- hopefully his little siblings where not stupid enough to try and come help him. 

He knew this was coming. 

A hot breeze hit the back of his head, as the stench of death reached his nostrils. The heavy weight of a massive clawed paw, pressed him flat on the floor, painfully crushing his chest. He wanted to say he had been brave enough to face his fate, but instead he hid his face inside the crook of his elbow, heaving a last breath verging on a whimper- he only wanted to help his family, and this is how he died, it felt a bit like deja-vu...

Too busy giving thought to his adrenaline infused rants, he didn't immediately feel the crushing weight being suddenly lifted off of him- a giant wall of muscle and pure unbridled fury, tackled the beast into the other side of the room. A low guttural threatening growl woke him up from his stupor and he was on his feet in seconds- the now enraged mer stood between Skywarp and the monster. 

The teen almost didn't recognize him, a completely mirrored image of the usually peaceful creature- what was once a beacon of gentleness, who always moved like he knew he could easily hurt any of them, oh so very careful of his size and strength- now gave away to a terrifying predator, claws and fangs fully on display and ready to use. 

The mutant pounced once again, now his attention taken solely by the mer, who in tow used his massive tail to spring forward and grab the monster by the tail- hastily pulling it towards the water where he could've a clear advantage. 

Too focused on the feral brawl, he didn't hear Damus' muffled voice calling him through the static ringing in his ears.  

"-warp, we need to move! Shit, Skywarp move your ass, goddamnit!" A hand forcefully grabbed his left arm, before he was pulled to his unsteady feet. The front of his shirt was snatched and he felt himself move and duck behind a nearby counter- his eyes never leaving the fight.

If this thing was anything else, now it would be long dead- but unfortunately genetics were on its side. The ivory armor covering its body made for an impenetrable defense- meaning, it was not only built to hunt things smaller than itself, but also to wear out bigger predators and use twist their tiredness on them to deal the final blow. 

"...he's not going to make it." 

"Uh? What are you talking ab-?" 

"He'll lose- WE HAVE TO HELP HIM!"

A still out-of-breath Thundercracker slowly approached him with his hands held up, like he was placating a wild animal and not his own brother. 

"Warp, please be reasonable- What chance do we have against that thing? Bullets will not work and we can't risk hitting our only ally against it, we shou-"

"What? Run? I'm not going to save my ass while someone else is going to die- you're not making me give him the Smokey treatment, no chance in hell." 

Only the sound of the background fight remained, as a mournful silence descended upon them. That name was bound to stir flashes of awful memories in all of them- the darkest times since the beginning of their broken little family. Their missing piece, forever lost. 

"...what's the plan?" The trembling voice of their youngest broke the silence. 

Skywarp drew in a ragged breath as he blurred out their only chance for all of them to get out of this alive. 

"Metal! The- that thing's body is made of metal underneath, if we can find a way to electrocute it, its own body is going to act as a super-conduct and fry it's organs from the inside out." 

"Me and 'Charger found a small generator not too far from here, I think we can use it," Skid's chimed in from the back of their little huddle, "we attach some cables on it and pinch that thing- than boom fried fish." 

With a plan in mind they all moved like a bunch of frenzied rats. Windcharger and Skids ran to fetch the generator, while Soundwave followed them in case they needed to jump-start it. The kids were ordered to stay put and not engage, as the others watched the fight, waiting for their time to strike. 

But as they took in every detail of what was happening, it was clear they had run out of time. The mer was clearly using the last of his energies to just keep the thing still- deep bleeding wounds littered his frame, one of his eyes was closed off by a cut that run at the center of his face, as he gasped for breath- eye dazed and a shaky pupil stared at his enemy. 

He registered his siblings returning with the small generator, but he was quick to snatch the cables attached to it from Soundwaves' hands. 

"We don't have time- I'm going to do something crazy, but it'll be fine!" He cried out, ignoring his siblings' shouted protests- metal was not the only super-conduct present in the dome. 

As he skidded to a stop and knelt near the water, he felt time slow down. He watched as the mutant freed itself and in a few seconds snapped its mouth on the mer's side, trying to rip off a large chunk of meat. The mer let out a haunting pain-filled cry, as he desperately used his last energies to claw at the mutants' skull, in hopes of getting it to let go. 

Skywarp had to act now.

Before he plucked the sparkling cables into the pool, he glanced once more not expecting to lock eye with the blue one of the mer- illuminated by the blue hue of the algae, covered in gaping wounds and suffering immense pain, was smiling at him- one of those familial calming smiles that he became used to on a daily basis, since their crazy companionship began. 

'I trust you.'

Those same eyes that were looking at him with only fondness, suddenly became bloodshot as an immense wave of energy traveled through his frame in a matter of seconds. Skywarp felt his, now free, hands tremble with adrenaline as they all watched their guardian being electrocuted- and with him the beast.

What had been merely moments, felt like hours. 

They won. 

The limp body of the beast slowly sunk into the depths dragged by it's own heavy body, as the victor stood tall in the middle of the dome. Water fell from his broad back in droplets, a deep purple hue cloaked him from underneath- the algae, who soon changed color after being hit by the wave of electricity. The mer red blood-shot eye never left his gaze as he held the other half of his face, covering his wounded eye with a clawed hand.

Skywarp and his brothers watched as their guardian's form eventually staggered and swayed, until his worn body hit the shore with a shuddering thud. A keening sound left the mer's mouth as his body convulsed a couple of times, before finally settling into a fetal position. 

A small blur rounded the counter he left behind his shoulders- Blue sprinted towards the now still body of the mer, halting himself near his head before hugging it as best as he could. 

"Get up... please, you have to get up- I don't want to leave you here," A sob escaped the little kid as he gently pushed at the mer's cheek, "please Sir.Panca- Dad, get up..."

Slowly they all began to huddle around the still-breathing, even if ragged, body of their guardian- the mer shuddered as he gently lifted his head to nudge soothingly at his youngest. He looked over all of them, as if to assure himself that nobody was injured, until he locked eyes with Skywarp once again. The mer cooed, lifting his hand to beckon him to come closer. 

The teen got up on unsteady legs and made his way toward his guardian, collapsing into the crook of his massive neck. As a clawed hand started caressing his back, he found it so difficult to hold in his tears. 

"I'm sorry- this is all my fault," he wailed, "and now you're hurt and- and I did this to you... when you've been nothing but gentle and patient with us from the beginning... some fucking friend I am." 

"...hurt?" He was taken by surprise as the mer spoke to him- a thick warped accented voice. 

"What? No, you big dummie- I'm not hurt..." 

His guardian had the gull to smile down at him- the huge fucking sap. He couldn't help but smile in tow as he felt Bluestreak join their little hug, and settle himself down to nap away the residual adrenaline. 

He watched as his siblings sat all around them- weapons in hand, standing on guard and silently daring anything or anyone to attack their guardian. 

Yeah, he was not ready for this to end just yet.

[letoasai]

Will work for food ~ part 2

Part 1 - Master list

Tim was anxious which wasn’t an emotion he often put into use. Even on a bad day he was calculating, overly prepared, and usually ran on caffeine. He was a young genius and a hell of a detective, but nerves probably didn’t care about his resume or personality quirks. 

He rubbed his thumb against the folded piece of paper kept hidden in his pocket. He’d examined it in the batcave but it held no clues of note. It was just a normal sheet of paper, and the ink could have been a pen from any local corner store. No DNA. No fingerprints. All the same, he kept it out of sight in public. 

Tim had been antsy about summoning Phantom, mostly because he felt like he was disrespectfully late. When he’d first laid eyes on the living form of the Ghost King, he’d felt a familiar ache. Neglect. He didn’t know if the king had neglected himself, or if the blame lay at someone else's feet, but he just couldn’t stand it. 

He’d offered food and company in an instant, the words popping out of his mouth before he could think them through. Despite that, he didn’t regret the offer. He could have done without the teasing from his siblings and teammates, but he didn’t regret the offer once. 

His only remorse was with the clean up efforts. The Infinite creature, Vortex, had left quite the destruction in his wake. Even with many extended members of the League assisting with clean up, it took ages. Search and rescues were active and humanitarian groups had arrived to offer aid but some things couldn’t be done in a weekend. 

The bats returning to Gotham didn’t offer much in the way of a break either. A Scarecrow outbreak with his fear toxin. Three different gangs in the middle of a turf war. A weapons smuggling ring being uncovered… It was one thing after another for a minute. 

When all was said and done it had been nearly two months before Tim had the opportunity to keep his promise. He was in his civvies, standing at the mouth of an alleyway across from a little italian place that looked cheap but was actually the best tasting, most authentic italian place in all of Gotham. Little hole in the wall places often were the best. 

The problem now was his ability to overthink things. Would he summon the king in a glow of green that would light up the street like a beacon? Would he arrive in his ghostly form, crown hovering above his hooded head? 

Phantom looked human enough but was he? Did he come from Earth originally? There were plenty of aliens that looked human. It would be rude to assume… 

What name did he use? Did he need to go full title? Why didn’t he ask more questions when he had the chance?

“King Phantom.” Tim muttered, deciding to just go for it. He still clutched the paper sigil out of sight. “Uh, Ghost King Phantom. King of the Infinite Realm. Um… Or was it High King…” 

“Just Phantom is fine.” 

Tim tensed, all of his hair standing on end at the voice directly behind him in the alley. He hadn’t made a sound but he needed to actively work to exhale and turn around to face his guest. There had been zero indication of his arrival, and he was thankfully, in his living form. 

He was in jeans and an over sized hoodie. Tim could just barely make out a faded NASA written in the front. That was a point in the direction of him possibly being a human from Earth. He wore shoes this time, beat up looking kicks that had seen better days. His hood was also drawn over his head, likely to hide his bony appearance. Tim did spy the tail of his braid over his shoulder though, his hair black to further prove he was in his living form. 

“You…scared the hell out of me.” Tim said, smiling after another hard exhale. “I am sorry it took so long, your Highness.” 

“Phantom.” He corrected, looking around the street and taking it all in. Tim could clock him making note of the turns down the street and the buildings with fire escapes even with his hood up. People just had certain body language when casing an area. “I figured it would be a while, if you summoned me at all. I was not going to hold you to a whim, Red Robin.” 

“I said i would…” Tim muttered. “Uh, it’s Tim, out of uniform. If you don’t mind.” 

“Tim.” He repeated. That softness to his voice remained, and honestly, Tim liked the cadence of it. He liked it as much as he was sure he never wanted to hear Phantom raise his voice. “I understand.” He hesitated only a beat. “You can call me Danny. Phantom is probably a silly thing to call someone in a city like this.” 

“Not if it’s your name.” 

“Danny is okay.” He said, and for whatever reason, Tim noticed now how he kept his hands in his pockets, likely to hide them too. Frail, skeletal looking hands would just frighten some people. “Food? For a favor?” 

“No favor involved. I invited you out.” Tim said. “I mean, maybe we can chat about stuff but you aren’t obligated to answer or anything.” 

Phantom…Danny nodded, shuffling for a moment and looking around again. The height of the buildings seemed to be a mild interest of his. “Where are we eating?” 

“Well, if you like Italian, we’re walking across the street.” He thought pasta and breads would be both filling and flavorful. It would also be something easily packed up for Danny to take with him. 

“I’ll eat anything.” Danny informed him. “I have no preferences after all this time.” He hesitated. “Or maybe i need to rediscover them, but anything will be fine.” 

“Let’s… let’s go then.” Tim said, walking with Danny at his side. He’d made a reservation which wasn’t strictly necessary at such a small place but it gave him the option of reserving a corner table to offer them a little more privacy. 

They walked in, the hostess greeting them with a smile before leading them to their table and leaving them with bread, water, and menus. There were a few other full tables but it wasn’t packed the way it would be in the evening. 

Danny kept his hood up, but it was Gotham and no one questioned the decision. They just left him in peace to not start a conflict with someone who wasn’t causing any trouble. He also kept his hands out of sight until the hostess had left. He sipped the water once and broke off only a little piece of the bread. He buttered it and ate on it while flipping open the menu. 

Tim didn’t know if he was reading the English or Italian parts of the menu but it didn’t matter. Being fluent in reading an Earth language was another check mark for this being his place of origin. 

“Can i…” Tim hummed, keeping in mind that he was speaking with royalty and act a little less like Bruce interrogating a suspect. “Can i ask a couple questions?” 

Danny looked up at him, Tim only barely able to make out some of his features passed the unnatural shadows his hood provided. “Sure.” 

Tim smiled, not even bothering with the menu since he knew what he was getting. “You’re the King of a realm, but was Earth your place of origin?” 

“Yes, but not this Earth.” 

Dimensions! Tim filed that away for later. “You can travel to any of them?” 

“Within reason. Yes. I’m old, but not that old yet. Only eight or nine decades.” He tore another small piece of bread to eat. Tim assumed he was pacing himself. “They call me a baby Ancient still.” 

“That’s cool…” Tim muttered. “Are there many other Earths?” 

“The answer to that would never satisfy you.” Danny said softly. “Trust me. I am the Ancient of Space and i’m hardly satisfied with it.” 

There was a new fact for Tim to latch on. “What’s the-” He stopped when the waitress appeared. Both of them ordered, and Tim was certain he’d end up ordering more halfway through the meal so Danny could take more home with him.  

When the menus were taken and the waitress left again, Tim continued. “What’s the difference between being an Ancient of Space and being the Ghost King.” 

“When i died, or half died, it was my fate to one day become the Ancient of Space. I am that regardless. I won the title of Ghost King.” 

Tim dragged a hand down his face. “That’s…. Endlessly fascinating. I have so many questions.” He didn’t even know how to touch ‘half died’ yet. 

Danny hummed once and fiddled with the end of his braid. “Do i get to ask questions too?” 

“Of course.” 

Danny leaned forward, sipping at his water again. “This Earth has super heroes. That’s interesting. Mine didn’t. How long have you been a hero?” 

Tim nodded, figuring that would be the direction the questions would have wandered towards. They were far enough away from everyone in the restaurant that he didn’t worry about being heard. The music playing in the background also helped a great deal. 

“Hero might be a debate depending on who you ask. In Gotham we’re considered vigilanties. I first suited up at thirteen but it was really more like fourteen after a great deal of training.” 

Danny was quiet for a moment. “And how old are you now? I have trouble telling ages these days…” 

“Eighteen.” Tim said. 

“Young.” Danny muttered. “I was young too. Fourteen when i became the bridge. Sixteen before i really understood what it meant.” 

“The bridge?” 

“Balance. The living and the dead.” 

Tim huffed softly. “You wear a lot of hats, don’t you?”  

Danny made a quiet noise, and it took Tim a beat longer than normal to realize he was laughing. “I do, i wish i didn’t most of the time. It’s fine though.” 

“Just fine?” Tim asked after a beat. He knew a little about expectations and high standards that could weigh you down–both his own standards and other peoples. 

Danny nodded, one of his hands resting on the other. “I’ve seen things. Good things. Bad things. Things that will never happen. Things that have. It’s better i have certain powers because i have no desire to use them.” 

Aah. Tim understood that. “People who want too much power are dangerous.” 

“Exactly.” 

“The power of ruling an entire realm…” 

“Exactly.” 

Tim heaved a sigh. “Damn.” Maybe he should ask something less intense. “Did you enjoy the food we gave you last time? It was just some fast food but there was some worry it wasn’t good enough.” 

“It was great.” Danny said and he sounded sincere. “Nostalgic. It took me a few days to eat all of it. I know the Infinite Realm’s reputation, and it is a warranted reputation, but i’m… hard to offend. Little things are just little things.” 

“I’ll put them at ease then.” 

Danny was quiet for a moment, the silence not an oppressive one. “What is the difference between a hero and a vigilante?” 

“How people perceive us, i guess. Superman will always be seen as a hero. Wholesome and valiant and all that. Things in Gotham are altogether… shadier. Being a vigilante isn’t exactly legal and while we have our boundaries, we break the law all the time.” Tim said. They covered their own tracks well but it was fortunate that no one looked too closely at their activities. 

It didn’t bother Tim when he knew his reasons were still good. 

Danny made a thoughtful kind of noise. “I’m willing to bet Superman’s business isn’t purely legal either. This seems like a nice Earth though, despite whatever troubles you have.” 

“Some hero work is sanctioned by the government so it’s a fine line. Any of it could be argued.” Tim explained, and that was something Danny seemed to find fascinating. 

They paused their conversation again when the waitress appeared with their food, and Tim put in a second order for them to take when they left. The eyes Tim could feel on him told him that Danny already knew what they were for. 

He could hear Danny softly inhale and exhale as he looked at the plate in front of him that came accompanied with salad. He likely wouldn’t be able to eat even a fraction of it but the way he looked at it…. made Tim realize that he could see Danny’s face more clearly. The shadows that obscured his face from his hood had receded. He was still gaunt, but he eyed the food with so much joy. 

The first bite of –non fast food– food nearly seemed to overwhelm him in a good way. 

“You know,” Tim swung hard to change subjects. “We can do a bit of a food tour every time i summon you for lunch. Pizza. Chinese. Barbeque. There’s a great taco truck. We could get something homemade.” 

“You cook?” 

“Haa. No.” Tim said seriously. “But Al… my grandpa is an amazing cook and he seemed to think trading food for world saving services was very sensible but he was appalled that we offered you cheap fries and burgers. He’d honestly love to cook for you.” 

Danny smiled, this shy little look that shouldn’t have fit someone with the title of Ghost King but it sure fit Danny. “That could be nice. Decent home cooked meals are kind of mythological to me.” 

Tim nodded once, and knew better than to ask directly. “I didn’t have a very cuddly upbringing either. There was a lot of take-out involved.” 

“Your food ever come back to life and try to eat you instead?” Danny asked and Tim just stared. 

“I can’t…tell if that’s a real question or if you’re messing with me.” 

Danny smiled and was that a hint of fangs? “Dead serious.” 

Time groaned. “No, no you are a king. You are not making puns.” 

“Thinking i’m too mature for puns is a grave mistake.” Danny said without hesitation. 

“Noo.” Tim groaned, lips upturned into a smile. His brothers could never know about this. Dick would start a pun off and Jason’s morbid sense of humor about his own death…. Ugh, it would be bad. 

It did bring up the interesting question of Danny’s age. He said he’d been alive for decades but how did he mature. Was he still a teenager? Did he age slowly? Asking not only sounded like a bad idea, but Raven and Zatanna had both made sure he knew it was a question to not ask. 

They chatted, they ate, or well, Tim ate. Danny ate a bite every few minutes and looked thrilled about it but he was slowing down. Tim was looking forward to Danny being able to eat more with every visit. 

He flagged down the waitress, gesturing for a box and got a thumbs up in return. 

“You can take it with you.” Tim said when Danny was giving him a look. “It might be a couple days before i can call you again and this way you’ll have enough to eat every day.” 

“I can’t deny that.” Danny said. “You don’t have to keep summoning me.”

“I promised you lunches.” Tim said firmly. “And you said it yourself, you should eat more and spend more time in a living realm. You may as well take advantage of being summoned for food.” 

“Hm…” Danny played with the end of his braid again. “You do make a compelling argument. It’s nice to talk to someone without it being preceded by a brawl.” 

Tim stared, “What?” 

Danny just looked amused. “I’ll explain to you etiquette in the Infinite Realm sometime.” 

“Yeah?” 

The waitress returned with boxes for Danny to pack up his meal and the empty dishes were whisked away to make more room on the table while they waited for their to-go orders. 

They were almost startled when a second waitress reappeared with a few little dishes before they could begin speaking again. Everything was set in the middle of the table, presumably for them to share. There was a piece of white peach tart, a bowl of strawberry gelato, and a slice of frozen chocolate chip meringata. 

“Um…” Tim blinked. “We didn’t-”

The waitress chuckled. “It was ordered for you by another patron. Please enjoy.” She set down another set of utensils for them and walked away. 

Danny made a small sound in his throat. “Well i was full but how could i say no to a couple more bites…” 

“Wait.” Tim said, gaze subtly shifting around the room. Maybe he was trained to be paranoid, but it usually served him well. What he found almost instantly had his eye twitching. 

Not even halfway across the room sat a poorly disgusted Dick wearing large sunglasses, a fedora, and the world's least convincing mustache. When he saw Tim looking and grinned and raised his own wine glass. 

“I gotta kill my brother…” 

Danny sputtered out a laugh, so genuinely amused that Tim could definitely see his fangs as he laughed.

“That would make him my problem.” Danny pointed out, reaching for a spoon to try the gelato first. 

“I’m not seeing your point.” Tim said, delighted by Danny’s teasing. It was a rookie mistake to think one of his siblings wouldn’t find out about this. An absolute blunder that he hadn’t noticed Dick walking in after them at all. He’d never live it down. 

“Guess i’ll have to be more careful next time.” He added. 

Danny hummed again and seemed to have a fondness for the cold dessert. “I could always invite you to my realm sometime.” 

“Cool.” Tim said instantly. Ha, let them try to follow him then…

[emacrow]

Danny the universal immortal babysitter pt 2

Previous post

It was only a matter of time before he got summoned after his rise in power in the ghost zone.

He still kept all the little gifts and trinkets from all the children he had babysit, most are adorable drawing, plushies, some being cursed or tiny forever screaming heads of imp demons even though it been seemingly years.(the ghost zone time is wonky)

He can already feel another summoning trail pull him through and all he can see is the grown up John Constantine who look worn out, panicked and tired before the look of surprise overwhelmed him.

"BabE J?" Danny said not realizing he is speaking ghostly as he look at the sight before him.

As the Justice league was fighting and currently losing against Vortex.

Before John could say something, Danny point his finger against his own lips. Danny can see the years and years worth of nasty demons and Gods/Goddesses claims symbols on one of his most favorite well tamed babies he used to babysit for free out of charges.

"You don't need to offer me something you already paid for." Danny said softly as just meeting him still alive make the perfect offering to the Protection core.

Baby J was actually the well-loved baby he ever poured through babysitting back then, even though his mother died after his birth and was a mostly neglect by his own alcoholic father even though his sister raised him the best she could. John remind him of his life as Danny fenton.

After Danny easily dealt with Vortex and float back down with ease where the Justice League was.

A familar faces here and there, people and aliens he had babysitted over the years, all group up made Danny's teared up a bit from how overwhelmed his core was to see the people he took care of were still alive..

[that-weird-thing-in-the-woods]

•~{ Heyyyy, So I realized I haven’t made a post mostly about Dani and Dan soo I fixed that :) }~•

The Sun and Moon

The JL needed help.

To be specific they needed powerful magical help, A new cult had started up somewhere near metropolis and they had started to steal different things in the past the JL just thought that they were selling the things they stole as they found no connection with the objects so they treated it like a normal group of thief’s.

Until they got a tip about a cult summoning so they fly over to stop it but they are to late and the beings that the cult is summoned and it has started to cause violent storms and extremely dangerous earthquakes and several other very deadly natural disasters all around the world.

So some of the JL and JLD are in the watchtower trying to find a way to stop the being but nothing is coming to mind until Constantine sighs and starts to draw a summoning circle with many runes but the only runes the JL can tell what they are is a Sun and Moon.

Than Constantine pulls two pendants out of his coat and puts them in the middle of the circle and takes a large step back with a determined but sacred face and than the circle starts to glow then a large blast of wind out of the circle and they see two figures one young female and one young male than they say.

“You called us, what do you have to trade?”

-•—••••••••••••••••—•-

•Background•

Danny has become the Ancient of space, wait let’s go back a bit.

Danny life has been fine, his parents accepted him but is it is really awkward and they always look at him with pity and guilt so it’s hard to be around him and with Jazz gone off to college there’s no one else in the house to talk too.

But at least Danny still has Sam and Tucker to talk too and with Dan redeemed and either traveling with Dani or with Clockwork in the Ghost Zone anyway with Sam gone with her parents off to a rich people thing and Tucker at a family reunion Danny is kinda feeling alone.

But it quickly becomes resolved as Dan and Dani came back to Amity Park to visit Danny and everything felt nice and calm.

Until Dani and Dan get taken by Vlad when they were about to go to nasty burger and Vlad takes them to make “better” clones of Dani as she was the only one of the clones to live longer then 10 minutes and Dan as his biologically could help keep the clone alive longer.

But Danny finds out fast and books it to Vlad’s house to get Dani and Dan His Children back and if Danny can beat the shit out of Vlad he wouldn’t be upset but Danny gets their too late and Danny is forced to de-aged Dani and Dan to keep them existing.

And to make sure Dani and Dan who have been renamed Dawn and Dusk stay safe and to make sure this doesn’t happen again [because Vlad is a vengeful fucker who refers to stay down] so he heads to The Ghost Zone then books it to clockwork and ask him what he should do.

Thats when Clockwork says that Danny should stay in his lair with the now twins and he’ll know what to do soon.

So Danny listens and with the children head to his lair and fall asleep.

-•—••••••••••••••••—•-

•Little Facts•

•Dawn and Dusk help / give favors for trades

•John didn’t want to call the Sun and Moon Ancients as they are known to “play” around with humans

•Danny mostly sleeps or is very sleepy because of how big he is

•The Beings that was summoned was vortex and undergrowth 

•Dawn and Dusk call Danny “Mama”

•Danny mostly stays in his large Space form

-•—••••••••••••••••—•-

•Appearances•

Dawn-

[ Dawn has a lot of gold jewelry that she was given by her Mama and by Dusk ]

Dusk-

[ Dusk’s star coat was given to him by his mama it is made out of real stars ]

This is the pendants

•~{ And that’s it! Hope you gremlins like this anyway until next time byeeee }~•

[satoshy12]

Fenton the Danger Alarm

It didn't take long for Amity Park to notice; if there was danger coming, then mist would come out of Danny Fenton's mouth. So if Mist comes out of Danny's mouth, danger will come in a few minutes, and the more mist, the more dangerous the danger. ++ So while his group was in a student swap in a other City, a huge mist came out of Danny's mouth, and the whole Casper High class did go into chaos. The last time this happened, they had hurricanes(Vortex)! The first thing the class did was use a Fenton shield, so the classroom is saved. As long as the shield is open, not even a nuke could destroy it. A few minutes later, there was an alarm about a Rouge attack on the school. Which brought much destruction to the whole school just not that Classroom. + From that day on, the Outside class with Danny learned to be ready when mist came out. If mist comes out, danger will happen. This is the most useful metapower they ever saw for civilians. + They are very jealous of the Casper High school, someone like Danny would be very good for people where villains attack so often! Never before was their school so safe for such a long time! All were able to go safe place in time with this much more effective Alarm.

[keferon]

He aims his pistol at the sky— WAIT!

—————————————

Rico took the shot, but Jazz was the one who had made the choice. Risk two planets, or lose only Earth. Risk both his own planet and Prowl’s at the mere hope of saving Earth, or save Prowl’s home and trap the Quintissons light-years away from Cybertron.

The choice had been easy. He had hesitated a bit when he told Rico to take the shot, but he knew his twin. His twin was smart, Rico would know exactly what he was asking when he told him to shoot the console of the portal. And bless his twin, he hadn’t even hesitated.

“That was… that was quick thinking,” Blurr whispered over their group’s shared comms.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe made soft noises of agreement, Jazz thought he heard Sides hyperventilating. Jazz swallowed as he leaned back into the little console seat, relaxing to the steady hum of Prowl’s sparkbeat. Deadlock shifted beside them, cradling Ratchet close against his own chest. Hell, even Vortex shifted uneasily.

“Jazz… what did you do,” Prowl whispered, servo coming up to his chassis.

“We closed the portal. Permanently,” Rico answered for him, his Mecha dropping the blaster he had used to hit the portal.

The two cybertronians of the group were silent as they realized what the small group of earthlings had just sacrificed. Prowl’s wings drooped sadly as grief pooled through him. He had lost Praxus to the quintissons, he couldn’t imagine a whole planet.

“Jazz. I’m so sorry,” Prowl whispered, horror evident in his EM field, echoed by Deadlock’s own.

Jazz was silent, as he pressed back into the field, allowing his own little field to echo the grief. What was it that Optimus always said?

Oh. Right.

Till all are one.

[wistsandmagic]

No Way Out (Brother I Let You Down)

Welp. I finally caved in to one of the plot bunnies @keferon 's Mecha AU keeps putting in my brain. So here, have some Swindle and Vortex ANGST.

(under the cut because it's over 2k words)

It was the middle of the night. The lights in the hangar were dimmed, the sounds of the skeleton crew that worked as night shift far away in the mechanics’ sector, not on the hangar floor. The mecha stood still in their refuel bays, waiting on the next time the Quintessons attacked, when the alarms would blare and the hangar would become a frantic cacophony of activity.

For now though, things were quiet. Still.

Lonely.

Swindle walked silently across the catwalk strung between the mecha, the smell of oil and gear lubricant seeping into his nose like an old friend's aftershave. He didn't smell that often enough nowadays. Sometimes he missed it.

Sometimes, he thought, turning at a path junction to walk down to one particular mecha's bay, one that towered over everything else in the hangar. Sometimes he just missed the people that the smell accompanied.

No one would have ever guessed that he and Vortex had been close friends. They fought like cats and dogs, always sniping at each other, yelling and picking at each other until Onslaught had to break them up before things got too physical. They'd both ended up in medbay more than once after a fight hadn't been broken up quickly enough. They were the youngest of the group, after all, and so close in age that fights seemed almost inevitable.

Swindle had thought of Vortex as the closest thing he'd ever had to a brother. When he didn't come back from that ill-fated mission...

The former pilot stopped in front of the giant mecha in the bay, the faint hint of old blood adding itself to the scents mingling in his nose. Vortex's mecha always smelled vaguely bloody, though since that young medic-turned-pilot, First Aid, had taken over, things weren't as strong. Swindle thought that might be a good thing. Maybe.

He wasn't one to really believe in ghosts, not in the way people meant. A spirit that haunted the living? Seemed improbable. Ghosts were the memories that lingered when you stared at the things the dead had left behind. The scents that once followed them suddenly wafting through the air, the feel of a missing presence, an ache that never went away. That was a 'ghost'.

But when Swindle stared at the red visor of Vortex's mech – it would always be Vortex's mech to him, no matter who piloted it or for how long – it was all too easy to imagine the other kind of ghost. All too easy to give in to the superstitions surrounding this mecha, to believe that a malevolent spirit haunted it, for all it seemed to at least like First Aid. One pilot it didn't want to kill.  

The visor stared back blankly, and Swindle caught sight of his own reflection, warped and twisted by the thick, bullet-proof plexiglass. Somehow the warped reflection felt more like it was the real him than the him that existed in his own skin, at that moment. All of the stress, the heaviness, the days of lying through his teeth and pretending he cared less than he did, that all he was in things for was the money, that the pilots that came back to base maimed and traumatized didn't matter to him as long as the program got the money needed, that his best friend who couldn't even remember that he was Swindle's best friend was laying in a hospital bed, half of his body burned and his mind in tatters didn't matter beyond his ability to bring in investors...

It was too much. It was just...too much.

"H...hey," he managed, flinching at how much his own voice cracked. Where was the smarmy car-salesman he pretended at being? The smooth operator, the con man? "...Vortex, if...if you're in there, buddy, y'mind? I just..." Tears pricked at the corners of Swindle's eyes, startling him and making him put a hand to his face. Man, he was losing it, wasn't he? "I...I just needed..."

Before he knew it, Swindle found himself slumping to the catwalk floor, his back to Vortex's mech. Knew that if the ghost stories were true, that might not be a good idea, but he'd always trusted his friend. His brother. Saw no reason to stop now. "I miss you, y'know that?" He murmured, trying to stem the flow of tears without letting his voice hitch. "The entire...the entire program's shit. I know we knew that already, but...Vee, it's got so much worse. And here I am...actively promoting the damn thing 'cause we have no other choice. " ...he hadn't called Vortex 'Vee' in years. It was usually "Tex"; that was what Vortex had preferred. Swindle was the only one that could ever get away with calling him Vee without getting punched, even so. Swindle had reserved it for special occasions, knowing he held privilege. Now seemed like as good a time as any. Vortex wasn't there any longer to half-heartedly gripe at him for the affectionate diminutive.

That didn't make it better.

Swindle leaned his head back until it thunked against the catwalk railing, letting him stare up from behind his rose-tinted glasses toward the ceiling, heedless of the tears streaming down his face. "I dunno what to do to stop it, Vee. You were always the one c-coming up with the harebrained schemes that somehow worked. You always were smarter than I am, just damn crazy. We worked so good together, like brothers, you 'n me." He laughed mirthlessly, a shaking hand coming up to cover his face as he sobbed, unable to stop himself. "...though guess I'm probably the crazy one now, h-huh. Talkin' to your mech like somehow you c-can hear me through it. Like you're gonna act like my crazy older brother again and somehow tell me this's all gonna work out in the end, and I'm not a heartless monster for doin' this, goin' along with this shit."

He didn't pay attention to the faint nudging at his side at first, figuring it was just the edge of the railing digging into his ribs. When the touch became more insistant, however, he looked down, blinking away tears. Only to stare dumbly at the very large fingertip pressed ever so gently against his side. His breath caught, and for a moment Swindle couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't move, because that was the hand of Vortex's mech, his index finger pressed almost lovingly to Swindle's side, rubbing up and down very slightly now that Swindle was actively paying attention. Almost as if it were trying to comfort him.

Dashing tears from his eyes with the back of one hand, Swindle switched his attention from the massive finger at his side to the head of the mech beside him, expecting to see First Aid curled up inside the cockpit controlling things. But no, the cockpit was empty, the faint lights inside just enough to let him see through the visor before everything flared to life, the visor turning bright and opaque as the mech's head turned slowly to look directly at Swindle.

He'd spent years pretending there was no such thing as ghosts, hating that Vortex's mech killed pilots, but refusing to believe it was anything other than glitches. To say otherwise would be having to say that something of his friend, his brother, still lingered, and Swindle couldn't help him. Now, though, he couldn't deny it. He could feel Vortex there, staring at him through the mech, through that red visor so much like Vortex's own remembered helmet. He blinked as the sound of soft static filled the air, a mechanical text-to-speech voice whispering through the speakers embedded in the mech's head. "Swindler, c'mon now. You never were one for tears, little bro."

If...if Vortex intended that to stop Swindle from crying, it had the exact opposite effect. Sure, the voice was mechanical, it sounded off, but that was still, somehow, Vortex's voice, and Swindle hadn't heard it outside of old recordings for far too long. He shakily got to his feet, one hand covering his mouth to muffle himself while the other scrabbled frantically for Vortex's finger, any and all fears about the rogue mecha deciding to crush him into paste fleeing from his mind in his desperation to have some part of Vee touching him. Only Vortex ever called him "Swindler". Only Vortex ever called him little bro.

"A...are you really in there, Vee?" Even to Swindle's own ears he sounded pathetic. Not like himself at all. It was the stress. It had to be the stress. That was the only explanation.Maybe he was crazy. Maybe watching Blurr almost die was the final straw that broke him, and now he was headed for the looney bin as soon as someone found him. Damn. But hearing Vortex's voice, even distorted by machinery, coming from his mech, broke something inside Swindle's soul, and grief came pouring out whether he wanted it to or not.

Again that soft static, again that voice. "In the figurative flesh, Swindler." Somehow it even managed to retain Vortex's characteristic croon, the way he only spoke to those he actually liked, not the bitten-off snark of those he tolerated, or the open hiss to those he actively hated. Vortex carefully raised his hand over the railing, making Swindle step back a pace, and lowered a couple of his fingers, beckoning carefully. "C'mere. Can't hug you, know you need it, but c'mere anyway." Swindle should have thought twice. Every protocol to do with Vortex – the mech, not the long-dead person – screamed about caution and wariness. But this was Vortex. The person, not the mech. Crazy, full of bloodlust, stay out of his way on the battlefield, don't make him hate you, sure, but above all else he was Swindle's mech partner, his brother, his friend closer than a brother. The one who always had his back on and off the battlefield, in ways Onslaught never could.

He stepped into Vortex's hand without hesitation, trembling hands coming down to help hold himself steady as Vortex's fingers and thumb gripped him in a hold too gentle to come from a mech's default pilotless programming. He saw the visor open, and before he knew it he was deposited gently inside, warm air that smelled vaguely of vanilla – had First Aid hung an air freshener somewhere? – already wafting through the cockpit.

The speakers crackled to life. "Find a seat, little bro." Cabling hissed out of hidden apertures, operating oddly like hands and arms as they found Swindle, pulled him in closer to the emergency jumpseat off to the side of the pilot's seat, designed for maintenance and a place to stretch if trapped in the cockpit for too long, pulling it out from the wall and ushering Swindle to sit. Like Vortex knew Swindle couldn't bring himself to sit in the pilot's seat of a mech that didn't belong to him, that still belonged to Vortex, even if First Aid was 'sharing' it now.

"Vee..." "Hush." The voice was rough, kindness having always been oddly difficult for Vortex to manage, always making him sound like he was angry at himself for daring to show any kind of humanity. That was the case now, of course. Death hadn't changed some things. A lot of things. Still, Vortex's cabling wrapped gently around Swindle once he sat, draping over his shoulders and snaking across his lap like one of Vortex's annoying full-body hugs that had always been so good simply because of their rarity, even if he had to be drunk to give them. The thought made Swindle want to tear up all over again, grief and stress radiating off of him even as he reached out to brush over one of the cables, feeling unseen eyes watching him as he did his best to gather himself, unable to feel any fear for the faint malevolent presence that surrounded him, because he knew that malevolence wasn't directed at him. It never had been."I...you didn't come back," Swindle whispered, swallowing to try and keep his voice steady. "You died, Vee, and everything else went to hell after. It's only gotten worse now, and I...I didn't...I didn't even know you were still in here. You died."

"Yeah, I died. But. Still here, little bro. Got me a good pilot now that I like, finally, but I'm still here." Vortex's voice softened a little, in ways that would make almost anyone who knew him before his death stare at him like he'd lost even more of his marbles. Nobody ever really got to see this side of him other than the one pilot in their group who was younger than him; Swindle had been the only one to deserve the softness he was capable of, and even then only in secret. "Can't get rid of me that easily. I still got your back, y'know?" The cables wrapped around Swindle tightened slightly, reiterating Vortex's point and enclosing him in just that little bit of security. A hug from his dead friend, who was not entirely dead, and always closer to being more than even a brother would have been.

"Okay Swindler. Let's talk, you'n me. Let's come up with a plan. I'm here, little bro." "Always will be."

[ekkochambers]

FIRST KISSES: EKKO X READER

Synopsis: Ekko's worried about your safety, and you calm him down through your words and touch.

Requests are open!

Warnings: Not proofread please be kind,,

Words: 1,075

A/N: I was listening to Waco Texas by Ethel Cain while writing this. Can’t wait for her Willoughby centered album!! I might do a part 2 that leads into the first time Ekko has sex soon! Let me know if you guys would like that ^^

You currently stood across from the man you loved anxiously, hands fiddling with the hem of your shirt as you stood in front of him. Ekko had looked stressed, eyebrows tightly knit as he sat down on his cot. Despite the warm air and the gentle chirps of crickets as the moonlight leaked through the window, you couldn’t deny the vortex that swirled in your stomach. 

Earlier on an ambushed mission, You had acted out of impulse. Inserting yourself in a battle that was too much for you to chew. Ekko had seen you get attacked from his peripheral, and came to save you. He seemed more irritated and curt with you after, telling you to stick to your post before heading out to finish the job. The ride back to the hideout was agonizing, your hoverboard only sputtering as if it can sense your hesitation to head back home, not wanting to face the lecture that awaits you after Ekko had debriefed the group. 

As he sat down, he looked up at you with concern. He looks down to your thighs, sleep shorts doing little to cover the small faded scrapes you accumulated by skidding in the dirt, cuts covered by all types of bandaids given to you by the firelight kids. A soft sigh escapes him as he looks at them, glancing them over before he looks back up at you. 

Your heart thuds as he speaks. “You know I only want you safe, right?” He says sternly, maintaining eye contact with you. You darted your eyes away, the intensity of his gaze combined with guilt of what happened weighing on you caused you to look away sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. You look back at him, his eyebrows raised expectantly as he waits for you to answer. 

You nod, huffing a breath. “Yes, I know. I just thought that I’d be able to help you.” Your uncertainty in what you said bubbles in your chest, feet shifting. He pats the empty space beside him, and you shuffle over to sit down. 

Ekko turns to look at you, his big round eyes swirling with something mixed with concern and sincerity as he looks at you. His hand hesitantly goes to hold yours on the bed, fingers slowly sliding to your palm. “Thank you for that, but, I assure you I have it handled. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

That makes you look away and scoff lightly. You look back at him, the other hand that wasn’t in his caressing his cheek. His face softens at that, eyes scanning all of your features as he subtly leans into it. 

“I know that Ekko, but I can also take care of myself. While I did get hurt this time, next time you have to put trust in that I’ll come out on the other side okay.” You whispered. He squeezed your hand, leaning deer into the hand cradling his cheek as he nodded, eyebrows furrowing deeper and eyes closing as you swore you saw his thought process out loud. 

“I just- I hate seeing you like that. I need you to be more safe and careful with how you fight.” You nodded in understanding, and rubbed your thumb across his cheek as you let out a breath. As your shoulders sag, you find a new relief in your bones as the tension melts. 

“Maybe you can teach me how to protect myself? Do a couple training sessions?” You lightly joke. Ekko flutters his eyes open to you, and leans his head back up. He looks focused in on you, his eyes flicker down lowly to your lips. He looks back up in your eyes expectantly. 

You bite your lip in turn, nerves shooting through your veins- being activated by his stare. Through a surge of energy coursing through your veins, you lean in. Your lips met his, soft and tasting faintly like mint. Ekko had stayed still in shock as his plush lips meet against yours, but melts in after, moving in time with you. You stay like that for a moment before you drop your hand from his cheek, your lips pushing against his firmly once more before you pull away. 

When you both pull back, his pupils are blown. A stuttered breath escapes you as he looks at you like you hung the stars. You look at him the same, analyzing how his eyes won’t stop flickering between every feature on your face. 

“Can we.. do that again?” he whispers, swallowing nervously. You nod, leaning back in, but something’s changed. The first kiss that was soft and tentative, blended into one of passion and warmth with no reluctance. Ekko hums in your mouth, pushing back lightly against your lips like you did previously. His hand lets loose of yours to cradle the back of your neck. 

You whimper lightly, getting impatient. You prod your tongue against his lips, and he opens his mouth slightly, inviting you in. You experimentally swirl your tongue around his, his body jolting lightly at the foreign feeling before doing the same. 

Ekko’s tense shoulders from the previous conversation has since melted away, holding your head gently as you continue to gently kiss each other, enveloping your tongues in a dance only you two could understand. 

You pull back to take a breath, your mind spinning slightly as you look at him, your body heating at the newborn thickness in the air. Ekko’s eyes dart away in turn, mouth slightly agape as he takes in the intensity of your kiss. 

“That.. that was my first..” he stutters, swallowing his own words. You nod as you look at him, looking at how the moon illuminates him and his figure perfectly, dark skin seeming to glow in the night of the room. “You did amazing.” You whisper sweetly. Ekko chuckles softly at that, a smile spreading on his face. 

“So.. about teaching me?” you playfully ask, easing both of your nerves. Ekko laughs again, looking back up at you with a bashful smile. He nods, pecking your lips softly. As quick as it came, it goes, and you can’t help but lean back in, a collection of small soft kisses planted on his lips, the slight tickle and the act of you finally kissing him plagues his mind, making him smile in each weighted peck. 

He pulls back reluctantly, but rests his forehead against yours, both of you shutting your eyes. “Okay. As much as I love doing this, we have to sleep. It’s late.” He whispers, a hand cradling your cheek, the way you did before, and you melt into it. You nod, and pull away from him, ruffling the bed to how you both like it and sliding into them with Ekko right beside you, cuddling into him as you take in his scent, the moonlight consuming the both of you as you rest your eyes.  

[harmoonix]

𝓗 𝓐 𝓡 𝓜 𝓞 𝓝 𝓨

(Astrology Observations)

🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋 🦋-------🦋

~ Something like a dream has found me ~

🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋 🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋

🌺 - Every element symbolize a mythical creature your rising sign is associated with

Earth Risings with Fairies 🌺 ~ Grace

Water Risings with Mermaids 🌺 ~ Rarity

Fire Risings with Dragons🌺 ~ Power

Air Risings with Angels 🌺 ~ Serenity

🌺 - Moon - Jupiter aspects (both harsh and positive aspects) have an inner wisdom, their energy feels like a vortex, very wise for their age

🌺 - Sun in Pisces, (Pisces Degrees 12°, 24° Or Sun in the 12th house) are attracted to mysticism, fantasies, fairytales etc... The Sun here has the energy of dreaming/dreamy

🌺 - Cancer/Pisces/Scorpio Risings = Heart of the ocean, they're untameable like the ocean waves, very innocent with dangerous shadows, very romantic like the ocean aswell

🌺 - Moon in water degrees (4°, 8°, 12°, 16°, 20°, 24°, 28°) love with their soul, their love is so precious and surrounded of peace. They have a calming inner harmony

🌺 - Rising/Ascendant under water degrees (4°, 8°, 12°, 16°, 20°, 24°, 28°) have the most peaceful eyes you'll ever seen, their eyes are so serene and magical, their eyes will get memorized in your head

🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋 🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋

🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋 🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋

🌺 - Sun aspecting Chiron will heal your insecurities, like they can be the people to call out your insecurities and to help you overcome them

🌺 - Venus aspecting Neptune (Both harsh and positive aspect) = Hypnotizing beauty, both Venus and Neptune represent beauty and let me tell you when they're connecting eachother is like an explosion of cherry blossoms

🌺 - Chiron and Pisces/Chiron in 12th house can make you addicted of them, they are the type of people who are lonely or may like to stay alone but once you come up in their energy you can become addicted of them (Pisces effect)

🌺 - Capricorn Sun/Moon/Rising/Venus and Venus in the 10th house have ageless beauty, their beauty remains in time just like the old wine

🌺 - Asteroid Bella (695) in elements and your beauty

Bella touched by the air have an electric beauty, outstanding personality and they're very chatty in their words. They feel like the breeze of air in the morning, breath of life

Bella touched by the water have an mesmerizing beauty, appealing personality, something about them seems so magical and enchantix . Enchanting aura

Bella touched by the fire have an wild beauty, something that you'd feel in love when you see it, strong personality and wild at heart too

Bella touched by the earth have the gracious nature of a nymph, so feminine, so soft and elegant like a rose, natural beauty and classy vibes

🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋 🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋

🌺 - Ascendant - Moon aspects (Both harsh and positive aspects) give snow white vibes and I don't mean the skin color, I mean the vibe and the energy of snow white, that pure and nostalgic aura of it, just like that are these aspects too, very kind, helpful, positive, dreamy.

🌺 - Out of all the signs Sagittarius and Pisces give the most tropical and exotic vibes they're like this friend of the group who's gonna teach you their traditions and culture

🌺 - Mercury in Cancer/Taurus/Pisces have very soft voices, their voice can be very feminine aswell no matter the gender for example boys with those signs in Mercury can have soft/sweet voices

🌺 - Part of Fortune in the 7th house are really blessed/fated with a very good relationship/marriage because the Part of Fortune shows where you're the most lucky

🌺 - Libra, Leo and Gemini Moons can be the type of friend who always has a prominent smell of parfume. It can be from their obsession with perfumes

🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋 🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋

🌺 - Uranus aspecting the Midheaven (MC) can experience having unexpected moments in their career, on their career path or at their jobs (maybe as a surprise 🫢)

🌺 - Asteroid Hera [103] aspecting MC = Being seen as the loyal one in the relationship, the faithful one, the attention will be for you first

🌺 - Sun/Moon in the 5th house can make you very emotional and connected to kids, like that type of person who is always encouraged by kids

🌺 - Neptune and Jupiter in good aspects can make the native very spiritual/intuitive/ with these aspects you can often get lost in your dreams aswell

🌺 - Neptune aspecting the ascendant (both harsh and positive aspects) make the native stunning. They can literally look like some ocean/river nymph with those aspects

🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋 🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋

🌺 - Uranus aspecting Mars > If you are from the lgbt community this can be an indicator of attracting the same gender. Especially men

🌺 - Sun in the 11th house have the cutest relationship ever with their friends. Is really very precious what they have with eachother

🌺 - Virgo Sun/Moon/Risings can nurture themselves with long baths, it can be a nurturing method to escape the reality and to focus on yourself for a bit

🌺 - Virgo Mercury or Mercury in Virgo Degrees (6°, 18°) can really bring any topic in conversation. Like jumping from one topic with another and at the end you can forget what you were talking about

🌺 - Sagittarius Moon/Moon in the 9th house give the vibe of Tarzan/Mowgli because of their explorer spirit (If you have this placement and you like these shows it makes more sense). Applying if you also have moon in Sag Degrees (9°, 21°)

🌺 - Cancer/Moon in the 7th house is such a cute placement to have if you're looking for a cute relationship or partner

🌺 - Gemini/Mercury in the 5th house can make the person very sensual in talking and especially at flirting. They can also talk dirty at some points

🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋 🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋

🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋 🦋------- 🦋 -------🦋

🌺 - Aquarius Moon or Moon in Aquarius Degrees (11°. 23°) may like to stay alone/or to be left alone when they are in that type of mood, because they can feel way better alone than with people who stress them out

🌺 - Lilith h12 or h13 aspecting Moon can be the type of person who comforts you when you're low emotionally. Because they can understand you 100% perfectly

🌺 - Neptune aspecting the ascendant are really very sensitive/soft people. And there is nothing wrong with that. I actually think these type of people are the kindest people ever but they're born into a evil world who may hurt them at a soul level

🌺 - Saturn in the 4th house/Saturn in Cancer are the type of people to comfort you when you need to nurture yourself the most because even with all the chaos in their lives. They still have the most peaceful soul

🌺 - Moon in the 2nd house loves sweets, you can always see them sneaking to eat some, they're usually very picky when it comes to sweets tho

🌺 - Moon feels very chill at 3°, 15°, 27° degrees because it makes them be the most aware of the things that happen around them. They have a very strong sense of hearing aswell

🌺 - I wanna give a shout-out to the people with Cancer Lilith and Lilith in the 4th house because they were raised in toxic families/households and still manage to smile. They're so strong

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🦋 This post is about harmony, the thing that puts our world to challenge, because unfortunately not everyone can live in harmony but we can have this harmonious energy in our lives 🦋

🦋 Have a very beautiful day to everyone reading my observations, have a blessed day 🦋

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[i2rizz]

Hi! Is it alright if you do an Isagi version of "No way he pulled that"? I just can't stop thinking how how funny Rin's and Kaiser's reaction would be when they found out Isagi has a gf. Thank you!

YESSS i can already smell myself cooking up a masterpiece

No Way He Pulled That Pt.7

The thing about Isagi is that everyone knows him.

Blue Lock’s golden boy. Tactical genius. Obsessed with football. The guy who stares at a whiteboard for fun. The guy who—rumor has it—once got so lost in analysis, he forgot his own birthday.

So no one—and I mean no one—expected him to have game.

It started innocently enough. Beach day, sanctioned by Ego (God knows why), and the guys were scattered across the shore doing their usual nonsense. Rin was silently judging the tide, Kaiser was trying to tan his already perfect face, and Shidou had just eaten three popsicles and was now threatening a crab.

Isagi was—shocker—kicking a ball against a rock. Alone.

"Still grinding?" Bachira asked, flopping down beside him.

"Visualization," Isagi muttered. "Improving touch control on sand"

"Bro, it’s literally beach day"

"I’m relaxing"

Kaiser, from twenty feet away, snorted. "That’s not relaxing. That’s a football cult ritual"

But then.

Then it happened.

Across the sand, laughter floated in on the breeze—bright, clear, and unmistakably familiar.

Everyone looked over.

There you were, jogging toward the group with a tote bag over your shoulder, sunglasses perched in your hair, and a smile that could melt the polar caps. Short sundress fluttering. Skin sun-warmed. Just pure radiance on legs.

And when Isagi saw you?

He lit up. Like genuinely, stupidly lit up.

"Babe!" he called, waving.

Babe?

Kaiser choked so hard he spit out his drink. Rin snapped his head around so fast it was medically concerning. Shidou muttered something like "she real??" and tried to slap himself.

You grinned and ran up to him, tossing your arms around his neck. "Sorry'm late! Miss me baby?"

He smiled like a man who just doubled his ego. "Always"

And he kissed your cheek. So naturally. Like it was routine.

Bachira gasped audibly. "ISAGI HAS A GIRLFRIEND?"

Shidou squinted. "No way. He talks to people???"

You looked at the group, cheerfully waving. "Hey guys!"

Everyone blinked. You were stunning. You looked like a walking rom-com. You had flower-shaped earrings and little sun tattoos. Rin looked like he was witnessing the downfall of logic. Kaiser just said, "...Are you sure you’re not lost?"

"Lost? No," you giggled. "I’m here for my boyfriend"

Isagi beamed, smiling like you'd just handed him the Ballon d'Or.

"Yoichi, how," Reo whispered.

Barou looked like he was about to start pacing.

And you—you pulled a water bottle from your bag, handed it to him with a kiss to the cheek, and plopped down next to him like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Want me to reapply your sunscreen later?"

"Please"

Rin deadpanned, "I’m hallucinating"

Kaiser was staring at the sea. "I’ve done something wrong in life. I know it"

Meanwhile, Isagi just started explaining beach ball physics to you like he wasn’t sitting in a vortex of shattered egos and broken belief systems.

Bachira summed it up best.

"Yoichi pulled that?"

Everyone: No way he pulled that.

They all needed answers.

Bonus-

"You’re lying"

"No I’m not"

"You have a girlfriend"

"Yes"

"Like a real one"

"Do you want to see our texts?"

"DON’T PLAY WITH ME, YOICHI"

They’d cornered him by the firepit later. Rin, Kaiser, Bachira, Shidou, Reo—all crammed onto lawn chairs like this was some mafia trial. Isagi sat in the middle with the world’s calmest smile, sipping juice from a plastic cup. You were in the background feeding a squirrel and complimenting its fur.

"She’s too happy" Rin said. "That level of serotonin doesn’t happen around you"

"I don’t understand," Reo said, hands in his hair. "You’ve never even flirted in your life—how did this happen?!"

"She likes me," Isagi said simply.

"WHY," Kaiser snapped.

Isagi blinked innocently. "She said I’m endearing. Smart. Devoted. Passionate"

"PASSIONATE???"

"She literally said I’m her favorite dork"

Rin: "...I need to lie down"

"And she brings me snacks"

Cue visible collapse from half the squad.

Bachira was curled in a beach towel whispering, "She called him baby… and smiled… and kissed him… and he didn’t die of embarrassment…"

"You know what?" Shidou said, standing. "I call sorcery. That’s not a girlfriend. That’s a damn Disney princess"

"She’s real," Isagi insisted. "And she likes me. I even help her carry her groceries"

That somehow made it worse.

You waved sweetly from a distance, calling, "Yocchan! I made those seaweed riceballs you like!"

Kaiser was on the ground. "I’m gonna vomit"

[ssj2hindudude]

Jimmy: You know, in retrospect, your syndicate could've been much worse.

Calamitous: Worse? We're a syndicate of your worst...um...

Crocker: Nemeses?

Calamitous: Yes, nemeses! How could it possibly be worse?!?

Danny: I mean, we've literally fought enemies more evil and more powerful than any of you

Vlad: Oh please, name one-

Danny: Skulker. Ember. Desiree. Technus. Freakshow. Undergrowth. Vortex. Dark Me. Fright Knight. Nocturne. Pariah Dark. Clockwork.

Vlad: Ok, but that's-

Timmy: Darth Laser. The Nega-Chin. Mandie. The Anti-Fairies. The Pixies. Norm. Vicky. The Darkness.

Crocker: Alright, that's just-

SpongeBob: Man-Ray. The Dirty Bubble. Doodlebob. Dennis. The Flying Dutchman. King Neptune (on a bad day). Triton (on a good day).

Plankton: Now this is getting insul-

Jimmy: Evil Me. King Goobot. Baby Eddie. Grandma Taters. The Junkman. Eustace. Beautiful Gorgeous. Zix, Travoltron, and Tee.

Tee, in the distance: HOW COME HE SAID MY NAME LAST?!?

Vlad: Alright, so you fought some powerful villains individually. But none of you had to fight us as a group

Jimmy, Timmy, Danny, SpongeBob: The Mawgu

Syndicate: THAT'S IT, SYNDICATE OUT-

@nicktoons-unite-incorrect-quotes