#//HOORAY FOR OPEN ENDED RESPONSES

[jsluvtzu]

who’s protecting who?

park jihyo x fem!reader

summary: in the midst of attempting to keep jihyo from getting hurt, you ultimately forget about yourself

cw: none, men dni

wc: 5k

a/n: first fic in a while hooray!! my friends and i beat the pickleball pandemic and caught the volleyball virus instead, so enjoy this fluffy vb themed fic :p (this might be my longest one yet)

as you finished ringing up the last customer of the usual lunch rush, you felt your phone buzz in your back pocket. hurriedly assuring the customer that their order would be out soon and excusing yourself to the back, you asked your coworker to take over the counter for a bit while you took a small break from standing for so long.

pulling your phone out of your pocket and into your hand, you saw a text message flash across your screen, slightly blocking the lockscreen picture you had of your girlfriend kissing your cheek.

jihyo 🩷

y/nnn i think i wanna try volleyball and learn how to be as good as u :pp

smiling as your eyes flickered between reading her text and reminiscing on the exact moment the photo on your phone was taken, you tapped on the message and replied.

okay love i"ll teach u lol

knowing jihyo had a busy schedule consisting of both work and her 12 different hobbies, you didn't want her to overwhelm herself by taking on yet another one. nonetheless, you were excited to have her join you in something that you've always imagined the two of you doing together.

u sure ur not too busy tho?

it'd been about 2 years since you first picked up the sport as a pastime with a couple friends. eventually it turned into friendly tournaments on the weekends at the local community court with other groups, which then turned into trying out for professional leagues and miraculously making it into one.

jihyo 🩷

i can always make time silly

unfortunately, your break time was now quickly coming to an end, so you rushed to type out a response and carelessly shoved your phone back into your pocket.

we can go after i get off work then :) wear something u can freely move in and put on ur most comfortable shoes. i love u see u soon ml

speedrunning through the last few hours of your shift was excruciating when all you could think about was finally being able to show the girl you loved most how to play the sport you loved most. the anticipation of coaching her into becoming a better player than you made it impossible for you to focus on making a drink as simple as an iced latte.

"oh shit-" you whispered to yourself, realizing that you'd almost overfilled the cup with the caffeinated liquid.

as you clocked out and drove home, you couldn't stop yourself from mindlessly humming and calmly dancing to the music you had playing in your car. your coworkers even stopped to ask you, "what's got you in such a good mood?" multiple times.

and to no surprise, jihyo was already packed and ready to go the minute you opened the door to your shared apartment. the oversized backpack on her shoulders was filled to the brim with snacks and water for the active evening ahead. her sporty outfit was exactly what you'd imagined your girlfriend would wear. a slightly loose fitting muscle tee, athletic leggings, and her new favorite pair of running shoes on her feet to top it all off.

you couldn't help but melt at her eagerness as you took your shoes off and set your keys down onto the table by your shoe rack.

"hi baby," you said amusedly, "you're well prepared i see."

she beamed at you with her doe eyes and hummed in agreement as she skipped towards you to greet you with a kiss. her warm lips made contact with yours in a desperate manner, almost a silent message to relay just how much she'd missed you since you left for work early in the morning. you pulled away just enough to where your lips barely grazed each other, "let me change first and then we can be on our way, okay?" you pecked her lips again and once more to her cheek as you walked away to your shared bedroom to free yourself of your coffee reeking clothes. jihyo quickly set her backpack down onto the couch and followed behind you shortly.

you changed into your team's white long sleeved compression jersey with your custom number on the back; a bright pink "21" for jihyo, of course. soon after, you slid into your spandex shorts and turned your head to the side to see jihyo leaning up against the wall next to you. the sunlight shining through the open blinds accentuated her features perfectly. she was smiling proudly as she watched you morph into a different version of yourself that she only saw at your games.

"what're you looking at.." you said shyly, suddenly feeling self-conscious under your girlfriend's gaze.

she only giggled in response and lifted herself off the wall to fill the room with a loud smacking sound as she slapped your ass and made her way over to your bed, plopping down and facing the ceiling. you immediately let out a loud "oww!!" and rubbed over your burning cheek to soothe it.

"so, who are we playing against today? anyone i should be worried about?" jihyo asked. you walked over to the full-sized mirror in the corner of the room before answering her question, still focused on the stinging pain she left. "hm? oh, actually we aren't playing a real match today. i'm just gonna be showing you the basics and whatnot," you replied, tying your hair into a messy low bun at the same time.

a couple seconds of silence passed, concerning you enough to make you look behind you through the mirror and see your girlfriend who once laid flat down suddenly pin-straight up glaring at you. her posture was something out of a horror movie the way her back was perfectly aligned and her hands were beside her knees. you gulped and almost genuinely got scared until you glanced down to see her feet barely touching the floor. that's when you choked back a laugh at how cute her attempt at intimidating you was.

you finished up doing your hair and walked towards your pouty girlfriend. "what's wrong? why are you making a face like you just came out of one of those insidious movies?” you asked, pulling out a few strands to frame your face.

she whined in response, "i don't wanna learn the basics.. that's so boring. i wanna learn how to really play volleyball. not that kiddie stuff for the youth age group." you reached a hand up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "hey! that 'kiddie stuff' is really important, you know. you can't just go right into spiking without knowing how to hit and jump correctly first," you grumbled. jihyo looked at you confusedly, "..spiking..?" "exactly," you huffed.

jihyo groaned as she launched herself backwards onto the bed, the sheets rustling under her and beginning to surround her as she sunk further into the mattress.

"trust meee, it's for your own safety, love. i just don't want you getting hurt if i let you go right into a game not knowing what to do, that's all. a one-on-one session is always the best option for beginners," you reassured her, grabbing both of her arms and slowly pulling her up towards you. when you heard your girlfriend groan at you again, you realized it could be something else bothering her.

"ohh, or are you just annoyed that you have to be alone with me?? is that what this is??" you asked teasingly. but as soon as she heard that, jihyo stopped her whining immediately and scrunched her eyebrows up in a questioning manner, shaking her head aggressively.

"w-what? no! why would i be not wanna be alone with you! i just wanna be good already! just like.. let me skip the tutorial or something pleaseee," she pleaded. jihyo removed her arms from your grip and wrapped them around your waist, pulling you closer to her. you mockingly nodded your head and sarcastically spewed out "uh huhs" and "mhms" repeatedly, letting your girlfriend continue tightly hugging you and begging you for a free pass.

-

during the whole car ride there, it was impossible for you and jihyo to spend more than 2 seconds without touching each other in some way. whether it be her insisting she hold your hand while she secretly gushed at how attractive you look driving one-handed, or her switching to playing with your fingers while she asked more volleyball questions, or even kissing at each red light, there was never a single moment in that car where you two weren’t expressing your love in a form of touch.

as you pulled into the parking lot of the court complex, jihyo remembered the long nights and hours upon hours you would spend at these courts — it was practically your second home. that thought suddenly worried her that she might’ve been taking away your precious practice hours.

“baby, don’t you have practice today? if you do, you have to focus on that, not teaching me how to play. we can always do that some other time,” jihyo rambled.

you softly laughed at her flustered state knowing that you never told her the season was over yet. “no, love, don’t worry. it’s off-season for now, i don’t have any practices to go to,” you said reassuringly, squeezing her hand in yours to help settle her down. “plus, i would skip out on practice any day if it meant i could be with you.”

she sighed contently as you parked in an empty spot and turned the car off. before jihyo could even reach to click her seatbelt off, you teleported over to her side, opening the door for her and holding your hand out to help her up from your low sedan seats. your girlfriend mewled at the chivalrous gesture, grinning from ear to ear as she peeked her head out of the door. and to make sure she didn’t bump her head against the doorframe, you shielded her head with your hand as she came up.

popping the trunk open, you grabbed your backpack that was filled with volleyball gear and swung it over one shoulder. you made sure to grab jihyo’s as well, throwing hers over your other shoulder.

“you see that building over there with the big 2 painted on it?” you asked, pointing to the right side of the complex, “that’s where we’ll be. it’s a smaller court though since it’s only a practice gym.” jihyo looked in the direction you pointed at and hummed as she took in the size difference from the competition gym on the left and the practice one you mentioned.

while you were leading her to the unlocked doors of the practice court, jihyo kept pestering you to let her help you with one of the bags you were carrying, but of course you never let up. it even got to the point where you accidentally whacked your poor girlfriend with her own snack-filled bag while twisting and turning in protest of her need to help you.

“oh fu- sorry! i’m sorry, it was an accident i swear!” you frantically apologized, pulling jihyo into a messy hug. the heavy bags on your shoulders slipping off your arms as you held her close to you.

jihyo faked a hissy fit and jokingly pushed you away, “no i get it, you just hate me,” she said firmly, turning her head sharply and crossing her arms.

you paid no mind to your girlfriend’s antics, only catching up to her to hold open the door and watch her stomp past you in a sulk.

“i love youuu,” you chuckled.

her reply was barely audible, but you heard her mumble out an “i love you too” back.

-

setting your things down on the floor along the sidelines, you grabbed out an extra pair of knee pads you'd packed for jihyo. "come here love, let me put these on you," you ordered. it was difficult to slide the pads onto her legs with her shoes still on, so you helped her take them off for the time being, placing the pair neatly beside you.

kneeling down in front of her, you gently lifted one of jihyo's legs up at a time, skillfully adjusting the protective pads around her knee and taking extra precaution to make sure her legs were still able to move properly. you then sat back on your knees and admired your work, wondering why you felt like there was something missing.

"hmm.. i think.. i have something else for you to try on too," you pondered, digging through your bag once again to discover an old pair of extra small knee pads that didn't fit you anymore.

standing up with the gear in your hands, you held your girlfriend's forearm out as you stretched the material to enclose around her limb.

you snickered slightly at your spontaneous idea, "these are makeshift elbow pads specially designed for you." the pads were big enough to fit comfortably around her arms, protecting her exposed elbows from any potential harm.

jihyo allowed you to put them on her with no complaint, but soon began her whining when she began to feel the restricting feeling around her arms that was slightly limiting her movement.

"noo y/n, i don't need these. and they're so uncomfy!! i think i would play better without them.." she argued, scratching at the inside of her elbows to relieve the itching it caused.

knowing that your girlfriend was bound to try something outside of her comfort zone once she got into the flow of things, you decided it was the right decision to do everything in your power to help keep her from hurting herself while doing so. "just wear them please ji, i would feel much better seeing those on you," you refuted. it was true. you felt at peace knowing at least your girlfriend's precious joints were protected if not anything else.

she sighed out annoyedly, but ultimately complied to your requests only because she didn't want you to worry about her.

"thank you, my love," you said in satisfaction. you then reached into the cart of volleyballs behind you as jihyo slipped her shoes back on, squeezing a few to determine which one had enough air in it. grabbing the one you felt was best, you warmed up your wrist a bit by dropping the ball in front of you and striking it straight down, catching it once it came back up a couple times.

"okay, so first things first. you're gonna learn how to serve the ball," you said, leading her to the middle of the court facing the net. "the goal is to hit the ball over the net and onto the opponent's side of the court so that they can receive it and keep it in motion," you softly explained, repositioning her arms and legs into the perfect position for a proper serve.

jihyo picked up the skill quickly as you explained each step to her in full detail, making sure to critique her mistakes and show her the better way of executing her moves. within about 15 minutes of the first lesson, your girlfriend was already on her way to becoming the next star player for your team.

once she got at least 3 serves over the net, you decided she was ready to move onto the next step; receiving the ball. you showed her the proper way to hold her arms together and how to position herself under the ball to pass it to a teammate in front of her. you could tell jihyo was a natural at the sport as she was with any other activity she's ever tried.

after about an hour or so, her form was starting to get smoother and her reaction times were getting faster. but your energy needed replenishing and so did hers.

taking a short break together on the bleachers, you both had a water bottle in hand and shared the protein bar that jihyo had prepared earlier.

"do you wanna try peppering with me? i think you could be pretty good at it at this rate," you asked, sensing the way she was getting antsy to move onto something more advanced.

jihyo had no idea what exactly it was that you were asking her about, but she was eager to try it anyways. you put it in simple terms for her, explaining that it was a back and forth process of hitting and receiving the ball to each other. and just like that, hearing that she would be able to play against you in a way got jihyo excited again, the adrenaline giving her more energy than that protein bar ever did.

"okay! let's do it! come on!" jihyo exclaimed, throwing her bottle to the side and skipping back to the court while grabbing the ball. you smiled at how endearing she was and followed her soon enough, joining her across the same side of the court.

after another hour and a half of you two going at it, jihyo was seriously improving with the minimal coaching she had from you. it was honestly impressive how quickly she adapted to the flow of the game, but you expected nothing less of her.

deciding it was alright to push her a little further since she had all the protective gear in the world on, you picked up your pace a bit and spiked the ball harder, giving her less time to react and training her reflexes. obviously, jihyo played along effortlessly, getting herself hyped up by her newfound skill at volleyball. you could hear her cheer for herself everytime she successfully received the ball and sent it back in your direction.

but what you soon failed to realize was that the once amateur jihyo you knew 3 hours ago was gone. her alter ego had now taken over and fueled her with that insane ambition she had hidden away. as your eyes were too focused on watching her in case she fell, you completely failed to see the flying ball coming at your face at the speed of light.

bam.

you don't really remember what happened next, but it seemed like everything was happening in slow motion. the world faded into a quick darkness as you felt something pushing against your face. that's when reality hit. or better yet, that's when you were hit.

jihyo had gotten carried away with her strength and sent the ball directly towards your lovely face with a perfectly executed spike. not knowing she was capable of that, she screamed out in pure terror when she saw your body fall backwards onto the shiny hardwood floor.

"holy shit! y/n!! oh my god, oh my god!? are you okay??!" she panicked, sprinting over to your side and crouching down to lay you onto her lap.

you could only croak out in pain and kept your eyes sealed shut as the bright fluorescent lights above you were too intense to take in at the moment.

jihyo repeatedly muttered out small apologies and cradled you as she looked over your face to see a big red spot that she left across one side.

"y/n, please.. i'm so sorry baby, please talk to me. do you know who i am?! how many fingers am i holding up?? what's your name? how old are you!" jihyo cried in distress. she cupped your cheek and gently tapped it with her thumb to try and get you alert and awake again.

slowly opening your eyes at the feeling of her soft touch, you blinked your eyes slowly as you adjusted to the bright lights, making out the faint figure of your girlfriend in front of you. "i'm fine, ji, don't worry," you whispered in between groans. you reached a hand up to your forehead, feeling the tenderness as you ran your fingers over the surface. wincing slightly, you regained enough composure to inch your way up off of jihyo's lap, her arms coming behind your back to support your body.

"is there anything i can get you? maybe an ice pack or something?" jihyo said meekly. you could tell even through your disoriented state that she was feeling guilty. before you could even think of an answer, you could only bring yourself to thoughts of hurrying up and recovering so you could show her that it’s okay.

"uhh, yeah. yeah, there should be a um- gel pack in the freezer in the uh.. coach's room across the field," you stammered, squinting your eyes closed when the lights became too much again.

with no hesitation, jihyo got up and ran towards the door to follow your directions as you told her where to get the ice pack.

"you stay right there, okay? don't move," jihyo demanded. you could only nod your head weakly, shifting yourself to slowly lay back down on the cold tile beneath you. the sound of the metal door closing behind jihyo reverberated throughout the open space.

the pain across your face was getting worse as time went by, the throbbing you felt on your eyebrow in sync with your heartbeat.

as your mind started to process what just happened, your brain began to flash images of the ball smashing your face in repeatedly, making you cringe at how dumb you probably looked. with your knees propped up and your feet on the ground, you held your hands to your face and rapidly kicked the floor in a temper tantrum, simultaneously wailing at the replaying moment in your head.

you silently cursed yourself out for allowing yourself to be so careless and possibly giving your girlfriend the ick by seeing you get your face contorted with the sheer force of impact.

shooting your body upright, you slid backwards on your hands towards the wall, leaning against it and rummaging through your bag to find your phone. after you found it, you quickly switched to the camera app to check the damage, already sensing how big the knot on your forehead was going to get in the next hour. sure enough, the large red and tender spot on the left side of your face was growing a lump. being in pure disbelief, you moved the camera further away to get your full face in frame, staring at yourself in shame and embarrassment. after a couple more seconds of examining yourself, you could only conjure up a scoff and put your phone down as soon as you heard the door open loudly again.

jihyo, who came in sprinting to your aid with an ice cold gel pack, was leaving a trail of condensation behind her as it was thawing in her hands. once again, you could only think about how dangerous it would be if she were to slip and fall on the water, but the continually throbbing pain on your face was making it difficult for you to speak up and scold her to be careful.

"here, put this on it for now. it should help the swelling go down," jihyo panted, clearly out of breath from running around outside trying to find the coach's office while being worried sick about you at the same time. she ran her thumb over the small bump forming on your eyebrow and cooed at how much pain you must've been in.

she gently pressed the ice pack to your forehead and kept whispering small apologies, her pretty face scrunched into the cutest concerned look you've ever seen. you weren't usually the type of person to like being taken care of like that, but seeing jihyo like this only made you want to get hurt again just to see that look on her face. but looking down slightly at her arms, you couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous she looked with those makeshift elbow pads she still had on.

"what's so funny? do you really think you should be laughing right now?" jihyo reprimanded.

you almost cackled in her face at her sternness, but quickly stopped and winced in pain instead when the pain in your face prevented you from forming a real smile.

jihyo tsked at you and told you to shut up, adjusting the ice pack to cover more area on your skin. "stop moving, would you?" you cleared your throat, "sorry it's just- you look crazy with those elbow pads on," you said, stifling a laugh. suddenly a slap landed on your shoulder which you didn't see coming since jihyo had both of your eyes covered with the ice pack. "don't be annoying right now, y/n. you were the one who made me wear them anyways.."

she took the ice pack off your face to quickly slide the stupid pads off her arms, which she struggled to do. you helped her wiggle them off and threw them to the side as she pressed the cold pack back to your skin again.

"alright, alright," you surrendered. "wait. isn’t it me who’s supposed to be the one mad at you right now? given that you were the one who hit me in the face in the first place.."

your girlfriend paused and rolled her eyes at your smart comment, "why don't you just shut up and hold that to your busted ass face, how about that?" she said sarcastically, grabbing your hand to take over holding the pack against your head.

jihyo was pretending that she was okay by making jokes and getting annoyed at you, but in reality, you knew that she was beating herself up inside with the guilt of getting too carried away and hurting you. she's always wished that her competitiveness wasn't so intense since it could result in someone getting hurt just like you did.

besides the point, jihyo helped you stand up and grabbed your things and hers, sneaking away your keys from your bag's outer pocket with her empty hand.

she linked arms with you while your other arm was stuck covering the left side of your face with the freezing cold pack of blue gel. "let's go home and get you fixed up," jihyo said, reassuring you that she would make you feel all better. "oh, and i'm driving us home," she added, clearly not leaving any room for an argument.

"what? no. i'll drive," you argued anyways.

"y/n are you insane? you can't even see out of one eye right now, angel. i'm driving." jihyo made sure to emphasize the last part to you, unbeknownst to you as she already had your keys in her pocket.

the both of you continued arguing the whole way to the car, jihyo ultimately winning as she managed to get you towards the passenger side. but in the middle of your bickering, a familiar voice stopped you dead in your tracks.

"oh! isn't that?-"

it was the same friend who you ditched earlier with the excuse that you were "too tired" to join her and your other friends in a scrimmage today.

"hi, stacy!" jihyo greeted, waving at your friend enthusiastically.

you hid your face away from stacy as you heard her voice get closer, already expecting her to tease you about your injury.

"hellooo, y/n! what are you guys doing here this late?" she asked innocently, inching her neck downwards to make eye contact with you since you had your head held down. "and- what happened to your face?"

you sighed, knowing there was no escape from this now. "oh i just.. i…" you stuttered, looking to jihyo for help.

she picked up your signal immediately, "oh! that? y/n just fell and hit her head, that's all," jihyo laughed awkwardly.

"uh huhh. so this is why you were 'too tired' to scrim with us tonight then, huh?" stacy asked sarcastically, getting uncomfortably closer to your face.

while snickering, you slapped the gel pack on stacy's face, causing her to wipe her face and gasp out in shock.

"shut up," you teased, playfully pushing your friend away.

after a few minutes of catching up, you three eventually said your goodbyes and waited to see stacy drive off before turning to open the car door.

"wait- what did she mean by you were 'too tired?'" jihyo asked, pulling you back by your arm.

"oh, yeah. i told the group earlier that i was gonna take the day off since i was tired. we were supposed to play a practice match against some teams today, but, i got to spend my time doing something better instead," you said, smiling down at her and admiring the way the moonlight reflected against her glassy eyes, moving a sweaty strand of hair from her forehead.

jihyo couldn't help but pull your face towards hers and smash your lips together, completely forgetting about the fact that your whole face was in the early process of bruising. your eyes widened and you moaned painfully against her lips, attempting to pull away from the grip she had on both of your cheeks.

luckily, she realized it and released you, apologizing hectically once again. "oh shit- oh my god i forgot! i'm sorry baby, you were too cute and i couldn't help myself," she explained.

"haven't you hurt me enough today??" you asked in an annoyed tone. you quickly regretted it though once you saw the pouty look on her face and the way she said she didn't mean to in that little whiny voice.

"i knowww, i know. i'm just teasing you, love," you reassured her, pulling her sweaty body in for another hug.

"you know, maybe you should wear the elbow pads next time. seems like you need them more than i do," jihyo mumbled against your chest.

her comment made you scoff incredulously, "i-" but before you could even formulate a comeback, she opened the car door and forced you into the seat, blocking out whatever you managed to say with ''lalala" and shushes instead.

as she closed the door on you and made her way over to the driver's seat, you sulked into the leather cushion and chuckled at the way the tables turned on you.

turns out you were the one needing the protecting that night.

[the-s1lly-corner]

A rest well deserved (Astro x reader)

as promised for assisting in me and my friends attempt to get to floor 20! (we failed/lh), here is @dollie-stars one shot! hooray! not my first dandy fic but its the first that is going to be posted! yay! prompt: astro and the reader unwind after a busy day in gardenview notes: fem toon reader, reader is an age regressor, based off of both mine and the requester's experiences woo!, pre game, short and sweet, admin is still trying to figure out how to write astro so his dialogue may be clunky or off, no use of y/n he calls you starshine/starlight, caregiver astro, not beta read we die like men, you both wind down for a much needed nap, admin has never written caregiver fics in long term so this may be hit or miss word count: 1.7k cws: none

Today had been… busy to say the least. Far from the busiest day Gardenview had seen- no new toon had been released and there were no time limited events that were being hosted that’d draw in some extra waves of people.

To the shock of no one the mains were given the most attention- with Astro being swept away almost as soon as he had set out into the halls. Something you’d grown used to even if it never fully dampened the pang in your gut at being separated from him for so long. 

Lunch time was kind enough to grant you about half an hour to catch up over whatever Sprout and Cosmo had cooked up. Something good, usually. 

Pizza and cookies were eaten- cutely enough the pastry was modeled after the mentioned celestial toon…

And right back to work. 

Taking pictures with visitors, signing any merchandise that they approached you with, and sharing the same sayings from lessons you’ve recited over and over again. It was almost a relief when everyone was warned that Gardenview was closing in five minutes over the intercom. 

Five minutes pass, and then a couple more to usher any stubborn stragglers away…. Finally, freedom. 

Your steps echoed softly through the halls are you bid your greetings to passing toons. 

Goob had craft bits stuck in his fluff, and Gigi was sneaking away with all sorts of lost items left behind in her arms. 

“Going up?” Dandy was already in the elevator- Boxten quietly tucked himself to his own corner a few feet away. You speed your pace up to cross the threshold of the door. 

“Mhm,” Your hands straighten out your dress. A yawn is clenched back in your teeth- the flexing of the back of your throat more than a little unpleasant. Dandy said something in response as he turned to the buttons of the elevator- stretching up on his toes before falling still.

“You wouldn’t happen to be going to Astro’s?” The flower shot you a glance over his shoulder. 

A knowing grin stretched over his face as he swayed slightly on his toes. 

Your words stumble slightly. 

“Yeah- yeah, I’am,” You mumble sheepishly. Without any hesitation Dandy presses a button and lowers himself back flat to the floor. “Had a hunch you were,” He hummed and looked over to Boxten. Then back to you. “He’s already in his room,” Dandy added with a wink. 

The elevator shudders to life and begins to rise…. Motion mixed with the creeping sleepiness in your body swirled into an almost disorienting and unpleasant sensation. You’re silently grateful for the rails installed on the walls of the elevator. 

“If you’re lucky you might catch him before he dozes off,” Dandy snickered softly under his breath. You only offer a hum of acknowledgement as you steady yourself. 

Slowly the elevator rises… before finally crawling to a stop- ending with a slight jolt. 

“Thanks,” You give Dandy a sleepy smile as the door cracks open and reveals itself to Astro’s themed floor. Every main had one- two actually, one for the visitors and one as a personal living space for the main. This floor had many similarities to the one allowed to the visitors; really the main difference was there were more resting areas. Bean bags, sofas, things like that. Slightly smaller too. Still massive compared to the rooms the other toons were given. 

You push yourself off of the railing and shuffle your feet forward- the exhaustion no doubt starting to hit in harder waves as your head tries to readjust to being still once more. 

“Have a good night-” You look over your shoulder and give the flower one last wave- one that was eagerly returned in a more exaggerated gesture. “You too Boxten-” You manage to quickly squeak in before the door slammed shut… The music box nearly scrambled out a response… failing before the door cut him off. 

Quiet once more. 

Astro’s floor was cooler compared to the others. That’s how he liked it when he slept- though to be fair he could fall asleep anywhere; and at this point you could too. 

The immediate area is scanned.

No sight of him, yet. 

You bring your hands up to your mouth and cup them. 

“Astroooo?” You call out in a half yell. You never liked yelling around the toon- he wasn’t the easiest to startle but he disliked sudden sounds almost as much as he hated flashes of light. A few seconds pass… nothing… 

You suck a breath between your teeth and prepare to call out again- only to fall silent as the first syllable passes through the air. He had heard you the first time. 

He shumbled slowly into view around a corner. 

“Starlight,” His tired face broke into a sweet smile as his singular eye lands on you. He brings himself closer and closes the wide gap between the two of you. He stops a few steps in front of you… his head is lowered as always, as if it weighs heavy on his shoulders. The sway in his step was apparent as the end of his blanket dragged across the floor. 

“You came here fast, did you need something?” He asked. Had it been anyone else the question may have come off as annoyed or impatient. Astro was never the best with tone but with you misunderstandings like that were few and far between.

He had only ever treated you with softness and compassion. 

“Missed you,” You mumbled and returned his same tired smile. 

Astro hummed softly… and his arms shifted under his blanket. You wasted no time in coming even closer and allowing him to envelope you in the soft fuzzy covers. Two sets of hands gently set themselves on your frame and guide you to the hiding spot the toon had come from. 

“I meant to come down and get you, but I couldn’t find you… I assume you went straight for an elevator?” His eye darts to you before focusing back to the path in front of him. 

You melt into his hold. Like his room he was cool. Not freezing but he wasn’t the warmest. The blanket made up for the chill… it smelled slightly of lavender and jasmine. It was a wonder Astro could stay awake throughout the day while constantly smelling the fabric. 

“I did, it looked like everyone else had the same idea,” You smile as you lean into his shoulder. 

“To the elevator I mean… not to your room,” You added sleepily. 

Astro hummed softly against you. The vibration meshed into your shoulder- another layer of comfort. 

“A sleepover doesn’t sound so bad, it’s been a while,” He turned the corner and while still guiding you he stepped towards the large bed he had made his own. Massive- wide, and absolutely littered with blankets and pillows. No one needed that much bedding… it more so resembled a nest than a bed. 

But it was nice, and cozy. 

“Not tonight,” He added as he gently set you on the edge of the bed. Astro’s arms shifted off of you for a second to adjust his blanket. Your hands reach forward again in an attempt to grab him and pull him back in. 

Astro’s expression softened. 

He allows himself to be pulled in as soon as his fidgeting passed. “Did you have a good day?”

He carefully shifts his legs onto the bed- more than a little mindful of his knees as he clambered in while you slightly tugged him onto the mattress.

Neither too soft nor too firm. It was perfect. 

You shimmy him to the middle of the bed towards the eye of the mock blanket nest. 

“It was real fun,” You let your head come to rest on one of the pillows. The scent of the blanket wafted over you as Astro covered you in it. The bedding carried the same calming fragrance. The lights were dim- fake stars hung around the walls illuminating the space around the bed. Soft music made an ambience for the room. Muffled, quiet, Calming. Comforting. A safe feeling. Almost nostalgic in its own way. Almost like taking a nap while it rained outside. 

“Yeah? What did you get up to Starlight?” His arms reach themselves to the top of your head and lightly pat the top of it… pats turned into light circular rubbing. 

If you were melting before into the bed… you were now reduced to a pubble of ichor under his hands. 

He always loved listening to how your day went, even if he wasn’t much of a talker himself.

“Me and Poppy helped Yatta out with one of her parties- we gave out sodas and candies… Yatta mostly did the candy, though,” You push your face into his shoulder. The toon hummed in response. 

“Yatta does throw good parties, doesn’t she?” His hands slipped from your head down to your back. Any tenseness left behind stood no chance. The massage shifts into a hug… and he doesn’t shift as you wrap around him like a koala. If anything he had grown to expect the move and would’ve asked if you were okay if you hadn’t done it. His thumb gently swipes across your spine in one last final movement before falling fully still. 

“Why don’t we get you some rest, Starshine,” He shifted you around into a more comfortable position. 

You didn’t have it in you to fight back. Even if you did have the energy you didn’t want to wriggle your way from his embrace. 

“We can talk more about it after a nap,” Astro added as he rested his chin on top of your head- comfortably nestling your face close to him. 

“And after dinner?” 

“And after dinner, of course,” He chuckled… then he began to hum a soft tune. 

So it was decided- the two of you would spend more time once you were more rested. The threat of oversleeping not much of a problem knowing Sprout would come looking if neither of you turned up to come eat. 

The promise of possibly seeing Astro in your dreams added extra encouragement to succumb to sleep. 

Not even a minute passed before his humming warbled and gave away to the quiet buzz of white noise in your ears before unconsciousness took over…

[icomeandg0]

"More than one"

Part 6!!

Linked universe x reader (s)

Warnings: Confusing

A/N: Last chapter of the series, HOORAY!

"Let's get out of here!"

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With the others…

“Well…! This is new” LOZY/n says as the following of BOTWY/n, Wild and Twilight all followed the guards as they were chained.

“You opened the door too fast, you didn’t wait for discussions to end” BOTWY/n gave her a light scolding which made LOZY/n grin sheepishly, “My bad!”

“You guys didn’t have to jump in for us” BOTWY/n says as she looks back at the two boys, “Eh, Can’t leave you all alone now, can we?” Wild grins as he tilted his head a bit, “I’ll have you know I am capable of doing things on my own, Mister!” BOTWY/n giggled slightly.

“Hm…that’s strange, the other groups were supposed to meet back up here…” One of the guards said, “Dave, stay here with the prisoners until we come back” another guard informs the one in front.

Without a response, The guards take off, “They always do this!” ‘Dave’ grumbles.

“That’s not very good teamwork! You’re supposed to be a team and stick by one another!” LOZY/n says, “Hey…I don’t think it’s a good idea to talk to the guard” Twilight whispered to the cheerful Y/n.

“Ugh! Thank you! Someone that actually understands me!” ‘Dave’ says with a sigh of relief, this earned a few shocked faces from the trio behind LOZY/n.

“I completely understand! I’m totally on your side, communication is key for both sides! Now what was your name again? Dave?” “It’s actually Daven but no one’s…ever asked me that before…our commander just gives us nicknames—you’d be lucky enough if you get your full name really!—“ as the guard rants on, the trio decide to use it to their advantage.

“Keep talking to him, keep stalling for as long as you can” BOTWY/n whispered earning a subtle nod from LOZY/n. LOZY/n winks as the three snuck away while the guard was turned around and ranting.

“Oh yeah, let it out, Daven!” LOZY/n encouraged.

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The trio roam the halls silently, “It’s very quiet…no guards nearby too” Twilight observes as BOTWY/n and Wild check nearby rooms.

“Completely empty…as if they’ve already been wiped out or something” Wild says, making BOTWY/n think deeply.

“Well…in this time we can get to TP—Erm, D/N…just need to find what room they would’ve put her in” her little mess up didn’t go past Twilight…but it did for Wild.

Soon, Twilight's ear twitches, “Hide, I hear footsteps!” The three of them rushed into a room and hid behind or underneath furniture inside.

“What a rare specimen! Dragons were just legends but now we have one! A real living one!” A voice says with excitement.

“It’s pretty tame..Maybe someone owns it?” “No way! A magnificent beast like that shouldn’t be tamed! Well, run a test on it and figure out what to do with it. To hell with its ‘owner’” the voices were faint but audible.

Twilight growled lowly at this and once the people were far enough he got up, “We have to save her, C’mon” Twilight says determined as he looks outside, once it was clear he exited.

The BOTW duo stand up, “he’s more determined to find that dragon than we are” BOTWY/n comments.

The trio venture forward when they come across a gate, “Great…now how the hell do we get it open?” Twilight grumbled as he looked around for a lever, chest or anything.

“You have your sheikah slate..?” BOTWY/n asked Wild who managed to get the message through his brain and pulled out his slate, selecting the magnet symbol, he grabs the metal bars and pushes his slate upwards making the gate lift up.

“Nice” BOTWY/n comments as the three all walk through , Wild dropping the gate once he made it through.

Now as they were opening another gate, this one being a wooden gate the boys looked around just to make sure no one was there. Once the gate was open…their eyes fell on the big creature in the middle of the room, D/N. She was tied up all around her body but there was someone near her, covered in a cloak that covered the person from head to toe. 

When the person looked back a small gasp was heard, “How did you get in here? Guards are everywhere” The voice was familiar to BOTWY/n but right now she couldn’t put her finger on who it was.

“Who are you and what are you doing with D/N?” Twilight asked, a bit on edge. The person lowers their head “I’m trying to set her free” “Oh yeah? How do we know you aren’t lying huh?” Wild raised a brow at the stranger, The person slowly takes off their hood and smiles sheepishly, “Well, I’m an ally of BOTWY/n so I don’t plan on deceiving either her or her friends” BOTWY/n makes a ‘o’ with her mouth and soon smiles. “Hey! SSY/n! Been a while huh? Have you been with her this whole time?” 

“Only recently, I’ve been waiting a while for the people to leave so I could free her as fast as I could but you guys came in and I froze up” SSY/n says softly, looking away shyly. 

“Well…No time to stall, let's get her out and find the others” They all crowd around the dragon, Twilight at the front, holding the dragon's snout as the dragon huffed tiredly. “Don’t worry girl, we’ll get you out” he pats her snout making her lean into the touch a bit.

“Does he know her?” SSY/n asked curiously as they cut at the thick ropes, “No clue honestly, he’s been on edge about her this whole time.” “He must know her secret…Who is he anyway?” SSY/n asked curiously, “A Link” “A Link?” SSY/n repeated just to clarify. “Yup, Like that one over there–” She points to Wild who was distracted with cutting the ropes.

“He’s a Link, There's a whole heap of them, 9 to be exact” “similar to us.I take it that means each of them is from the same timeline as each of us individually?” BOTWY/n was impressed “Just exactly that, great guess!” SSY/n grew bashful but she knew one thing…she didn’t want to see her Link.

“There, ropes are done” Wild says as all the ropes that were holding the dragon down are off but the dragon still wouldn’t move, “She’s tired, she won’t move” Twilight says, the dragon made weak attempts to get up, “Does anyone have anything in their bag…a herb or..potion?” Wild pulls out a green potion and is immediately snatched from his hands. “Hey!”

She walked up to the dragon with the potion, popping off the cork of the bottle she held it near, “Is that safe for her to drink in this form?” Twilight asked cautiously, BOTWY/n gave him a look when he said ‘form’ “We have to try either way, if it can get her to move then so be it” BOTWY/n says as she bends down, Twilight takes one last look at D/N before helping by opening the mouth of D/N. BOTWY/n pours the green substance down D/N’s throat before moving away with an empty bottle.

It didn’t take too long for the effect to happen, D/N stood up letting out a low hum as she moved around in the room, everyone let out a sigh of relief. “Had us worried there” Twilight smiles at the dragon who walked over to him and leaned down into his arms, Twilight hugs against her snout “I missed you, girl.” Twilight whispered–

“Okay…I don’t know if this is concerning or not” Wild grimaced a bit as they were awkwardly standing behind the…two.

“Well, since you’re standing on your 4 feet…I’m sure you can lend a ride?” BOTWY/n grins as the dragon huffs but she bends down enough for everyone to get on.

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Back with the others…

Where have you been all this time? Why couldn't you reach out? Did you regret leaving after that day? Did you miss me?

Questions filled Warriors mind as he stares at his Y/n with too many emotions surging within him. He feels like he can burst right now, he needed answers.

"I know that look, You have questions and that's understandable but that will have to wait until after. I'll answer any questions you have, it's the least I can do" HWY/n says softly soon she scans the area of the fallen guards. "They won't stay down for long, I put a stun spell on them for a temporary moment" HWY/n explains.

"Huh? She can do magic?" Hyrule muttered in slight awe, "The only one out of us all that can, she's a one of a kind gal" OOTY/n winks playfully at HWY/n making her chuckle "Oh you flatter me"

"I'm really not keen on watching you two compliment each other but can we hurry this up?" FSY/n grumbled, "Oh don't be like that, firecracker. Someone will compliment you one day" HWY/n teased the short tempered girl making her irk and Legend cackle. "She's my favourite one so far, she's got spunk" Legend whispered to Warriors who chuckled a bit, "Yup...She's full of it"

The group walks along the hallways, Warriors walking beside HWY/n and he was being stiff which everyone could notice. "Why so stiff, knight?" HWY/n teases as she looks over to him and he subtly blushes, "Just...making sure there are no threats so I need to be firm" "Mhm" she hummed, not believing him at all but turns away.

"And you'd think the pretty boy has charms, he sucks at flirting" FSY/n says, "This isn't like him, he can make a woman fall to his feet with a few words but...he's so awkward and shy around her" Four whispered as the two watch the two in front of them.

Soon the ground started to rumble under their feet, "What the hell?" LTTPY/n muttered as she looked towards the ground, "AHHH!! Hold me!" WWY/n jumped into Winds arm making him yelp and stumble even more.

Warriors reaches out and grabs HWY/n by the waist to secure her, "Hm, learnt manners I see" She chuckled, Warrior felt his confidence ride up and he smirks, "Only for someone worth impressing"

"Why are they choosing now to flirt?!" FSY/n irks as she tries to keep her balance.

The rumbling kept getting louder until a big (F/C) dragon stops just in front of them.

"Hey! Welcome to dragoness express! Jump on board for a bumpy ride!" BOTWY/n grins before she turns serious "No but seriously, get on so we can get out" "Ha, Don't need to tell me twice" LTTPY/n says as she moves to the side of the dragon and hoisted herself up, one by one everyone managed to get on.

SSY/n made sure not to make any contact with the boys but- "Y/n?" Sky called out making her internally sigh, she turns around and smiles shyly, "Hi, Link" She says softly. "Aw how cute, we're all reunited and happy as a whole" OOTY/n says as Time was seated next to her stiffly, "Loosen up, Link. It's only a dragon ride" OOTY/n teases earning a slight glare from Time.

"There they are!"

"Bring me back my specimen!"

"These people are crazy!" FSY/n looked between the two groups coming towards them, "Yup but we're crazier! Hee-Yah!" D/N roared before charging towards a dead end and a small ass window. "Are you trying to get us killed?!" FSY/n yelled as she hung on for dear life.

With no further explanation, D/N lowers its head so it's horns were going to come in contact with the wall first, D/N broke through the wall and jumped out...expanding her wings as she flew upwards making everyone hold onto each other as BOTWY/n was the only one with a secure grip around D/N's horns-

"OKAY WE'RE HIGH ENOUGH GO DOWN!"

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"I'm not doing that ever again!" FSY/n collapsed on the solid ground as soon as they had landed, they were in the forest far from where the castle is anyway. Once everyone hopped off the dragon, Twilight had a little pep talk with her before she flew off.

"Wha- We just saved the damn reptile now it's going?!" Legend grumbled.

"Are you okay? hurt anywhere..?" Hyrule asked as he approached LOZY/n who smiled brightly, "No! I'm fine, really...Thanks for worrying though" She said softly, Hyrule scratched the back of his head bashfully.

"You aren't hurt, right?" Sky asked SSY/n who gave a small smile, "I'm fine, You don't have to worry about me"

Soon from the bushes they heard the bushes rustling and out revealed the last of the Y/n's "Finally! I found you all...Oh! and a few extras..?" TPY/n tilts her head as she looks between each Link. Twilight just went forward and hugged his Y/n with glee "Oh! It's nice to see you again too, Link!" She chuckled a bit as she hugged him back gently. "Words can't describe how much i've missed you" "Oh Link" TPY/n melted at his words.

Bewilderment and disgust was everywhere on FSY/n's face, "I'm not being a part of this, why is there so much romance going on?!" She had a mild meltdown, she was sick and tired of this all. Four sat down next to her and patted her back, chuckling a bit at her being a drama queen.

"Yay! Groups back together! I have an idea...we should all travel together!" BOTWY/n suggested which a few agreed to, some not too keen but their opinions didn't matter to BOTWY/n. "Well that was the plan after all, these boys need us...or well he does, I need to keep him in check" OOTY/n teases as she points over to Time.

"Sounds good to me"

"I guess so..." WWY/n rolls her eyes as Wind shoves her playfully.

"Now then, that's sorted so what should we do now?" Warriors asked "We continue on, once we find a suitable place, we'll rest for the night" Time states. Once everyone was on their feet and ready to head off, a big portal forms from under their feet and they all fall in a few yelps and screams before the portal closes and it's quiet again...

THE END.

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Finally finished this series, thank you for everyone supporting and I love reading every comment that's on any post of mine. Ask box is going to be put up soon so get those request ready!

Yes I did get a bit lazy and kinda teleported LOZY/n on the dragon when she was talking to Daven, I just ran out of ideas...

[thatonedestroyer]

Commander Peepers Has Had Enough

Hooray! This my first time posting any of my work on here and I'm excited to share it with the world. It starts off slow but there's fluff/emotional comforting towards the end. Hope you enjoy! :D

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Commander Peepers flops eyeball-first onto his bed after a long day of trying (and failing) to conquer a planet with his boss, Lord Hater. The planet was overgrown with vegetation and lacked alien life, but it was all that was left after Dominator’s wrath had destroyed most of the galaxy. Despite Peepers urging Hater to go after these fresh planets, Hater would just groan and call the watchdog lame, claiming that they were too easy of targets to qualify as worthy of being ruled by the Hater empire. The one time they go after one of these planets, they just so happen to run into Wander and Sylvia having a picnic. When Wander noticed the two invaders, he cheerfully greeted them and enthusiastically offered them sandwiches with mustard or mayo, leading to Lord Hater getting annoyed and ruining an invasion for the millionth time. Oh, how Peepers loathed when Hater got like this. It was a total waste of everyone’s time, especially after the poor eyeball had spent many long nights trying to come up with the perfect strategy for taking over countless planets, only for his plans to fail time and time again due to Hater’s incompetence. Regardless, the commander had a strange fondness for the skeletal alien.

When he wasn’t acting like a complete idiot, he was actually quite strong.

And commanding.

And ruthless.

The commander flips onto his back and stares at the roof, his eye droopy with exhaustion. He had to admit, he actually respected his boss quite a bit. Perhaps to a degree that was… less than necessary for professionalism. He didn’t have to look very far to see a poster of Lord Hater taped to his bedroom wall, followed by another four on the walls to his sides and behind him. But that didn’t mean anything. He simply had a strong admiration for his boss, as any right-hand man would. Still, Peepers couldn’t deny how his adoration for Hater only grew after he managed to defeat Dominator and declared that he would take the opportunity to conquer the entire galaxy.

The way Lord Hater’s voice became gruff and authoritative. A shiver runs through the watchdog’s body as he replays the memory in his head. It did things to him that he would never admit to anyone. Just then, the intercom for Peepers's room buzzed.

“Commander Peepers, Lord Hater wants to see you.”

Of course he did. As if getting his ass handed to him wasn’t enough, now he has to deal with his boss’ rage as well. Peepers reluctantly rolls off his bed and cleans himself up, popping on his helmet to complete his signature look before heading to the war room.

After a couple of minutes of navigating the large spaceship, he arrives at the locked metal doors. Knock, knock, knock. No answer. Knock, knock, knock. Still nothing. The watchdog grumbled something under his breath before calling out to Lord Hater.

“Sir, it’s Commander Peepers. You called for me?”

Disturbed by the lack of a response, Peepers overrides the lock with a passcode and the metal doors slide open. Curious, the commander enters the room, only to notice that Hater is nowhere to be found.

Well, this is just peachy. Now he gets to play a game of hide and seek. Just what his day needed. Another inconvenience.

He rubs his eye in annoyance before proceeding to search for his boss. The hallways blended together as he looked all over the ship, starting to get a bit worried. After half an hour of looking around, the short alien approached his boss’s bedroom doors. He knew that Hater didn’t like being disturbed when he was there. He had made that very clear. However, if there was something wrong and Peepers didn’t check in on Hater, he knew he would regret it. And besides, Hater had technically called for him in the first place. He was simply following orders. Peepers takes a deep breath before knocking on Lord Hater’s door.

“Sir? Are you in there?”

Not even a second later, the door slides open, revealing the inside of the dark room. Peepers squints his eyes, struggling to adjust to the pitch black after walking around the brightly lit halls.

“You, uh- You called for me?”

The commander takes a couple of steps in, getting a bad feeling about being in his boss’s bedroom.

“Go away, Peepers!” A familiar voice grumbles from beneath the covers of his bed.

Peepers felt a bit of relief that Hater was alright but was still very confused.

“You do realize you let me in, right?”

Lord Hater scoffs and grumbles, stumbling over his own words as he tries to come up with a good excuse for calling the watchdog,

“YEAH? Well- I don’t need you anymore! Everything is great, so just go away already!”

Peepers groans internally. Hater was in a mood, meaning that there was no way the commander was getting out of here anytime soon. Whenever his boss was like this, it usually meant he was upset over something. Usually, it was over something stupid, like Wander getting on his nerves. Still, it was Commander Peepers’s job to make his boss happy, so he sucks it up and puts on a concerned face on as he stands at the side of the skeleton’s bed.

“Sir, we both know nothing will happen if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”

Lord Hater sighs from beneath the covers and slowly slides out into the open, his face drooping like a sad puppy. Peepers feels his heart beat a little faster, putting that feeling aside to focus on resolving the skeletal alien’s issues first.

“Now, tell me what's wrong, sir.”

Hater crosses his arms dramatically and mutters a response. “It's nothing. Just… How is it that I, the greatest villain in the galaxy, can’t seem to keep even one planet under my control? It should be easy now that Dominator is gone, but today was a complete bust. Why is nothing going right for me?”

The smaller alien feels his eye twitch. Of all the flarping- Why is everything going wrong? Oh, there are so many reasons. He was behaving unfocused, conceited, and all-around incompetent. Maybe if Hater would just listen to what Peepers had to say instead of brushing him off like always? Or maybe if he didn’t chase that little orange freak all over the place and spend his time messing around, then they would actually be the strongest villains in the galaxy. Despite all the things that the watchdog wanted to say, he kept them to himself to not make the situation worse.

Peepers takes a deep breath and pats Lord Hater on the back. “I don’t know, sir… Have you considered that you lack the motivation to actually become the ‘greatest in the galaxy’..?”

The commander's words hit Lord Hater like a bag of rocks. The skeleton growls and glares at Peepers, who quickly pedals back and changes his tone, “Heh, what I mean is… Well, you just haven’t been yourself lately. Ever since you defeated Lord Dominator, that is.” The watchdog finishes his sentence with a bit of scorn in his voice for the villainess’s name.

Lord Hater scoffs defensively and leans in closer to Peepers, poking the one-eyed alien in the chest. “Oh yeah? Well, maybe that’s because you’re always such a BUZZKILL about everything! I mean, I was just trying to woo Dominator and you were all, like, lame! ‘Lord Hater, don’t flirt with her’ and ‘Lord Hater, she’s not into you.’ Wrong! It was totally working. Did you see the way she was staring at me when I destroyed her ship? She was totally impressed. Face it, you’re just jealous that I can get a girl to think about me while you’re over there acting all nerdy and lame with no chicks in your life.”

That was the last straw. Peepers was no stranger to being called “lame”, and he could easily handle being talked down to. But having the one person he admires believe that he’s not worth dating after ignoring him for years? No way.

Peepers retracts his hand and takes a second to deeply consider his next move before throwing caution to the wind. He hops onto the bed and stands between Lord Hater’s legs, his eye narrow with irritation,

“You have got to be kidding me, sir! Do you seriously think that getting ‘chicks’ is the problem here?! I’m talking about you and your ridiculous actions! You’ve got a huge ship with an arsenal full of weapons, an army of watchdogs awaiting your every command, and lightning powers that could make most planets bend to your will. And HOW do you apply these resources? By chasing some space hippie around the galaxy and putting your focus on looking cool instead of actually seeking results! I mean, just last week you had the crew do practice for your silly rock band instead of preparing for the invasion! The invasion, may I remind you, that we failed because you got distracted by Wander and his Zbornak! Would it kill you to at least pretend like you care about everything I worked to build for you? For us?”

The burning flame of initial anger in Peepers’s heart begins to dwindle into a desperate longing. Commander Peepers had spent years at Lord Hater’s side. He knew what the skeleton was capable of when he was at his peak, but nothing had been the same since he started chasing after Wander and crushing on Dominator. It killed Peepers inside to think about how everything he fought for, everything he believed in, might be for nothing. The air of the dark room is thick with unspoken feelings as tears threaten to leak from the watchdog’s eye.

The commander quickly notices and turns away, disgusted by his lack of ability to hold in his emotions. Lord Hater catches on and, despite wanting to punish Commander Peepers for speaking against him, he stays quiet, his gaze stern yet not devoid of empathy.

The moment of silence was destroying Peepers inside as he was forced to dwell on his past and current emotions, which was far too much for the little alien to handle. The commander wipes his eye and sits himself between Hater’s legs, keeping his back to Hater, who is leaning forward on the bed with his eyes fixed on the back of the watchdog’s helmet.

Since it was clear that neither one of them really knew what to do, Peepers just blurts the first thing that came to mind. “And for your information, sir, you had zero chances with Lord Dominator.”

Way to go Peepers. The watchdog kicks himself internally for breaking the tension with something so stupid, but Lord Hater just chuckled in disbelief, knowing deep down inside that Peepers had a point.

“You’re right.”

The one-eyed alien turns around, his eye wide with surprise and confusion. Was Lord Hater actually admitting that he’s wrong for once? He must be hearing things. “I- I am?”

Lord Hater simply nods and looks off to the side, seemingly reminiscing on the time he spent with Dominator.

“Maybe I’m still out of it from today’s loss, but I get what you’re saying, Peepers. I saw how she was really looking at me. She hated me just like everyone else. Every girl I meet is always calling me rude and disgusting, but… I really thought she was different. That she might be the one.”

It was rather clear to every person who saw Lord Hater and Dominator together that there was zero chemistry between them. Lord Hater simply fell for someone who was way out of his league and it’s his own fault for being disappointed when he inevitably realized it was never going to happen.

Even so, Commander Peepers blinks in surprise, his gaze softening as he sees the look of diffidence and disappointment etched on Lord Hater’s skeletal features. Something about finally hearing his boss say that he was wrong for once sent shivers down Peepers’s spine and made his tiny heart flutter with vindication.

In a moment of pure impulse, the watchdog reaches out and grabs Lord Hater’s hand, his fingers brushing against the skeleton’s sturdy bones as he looks up at Hater with adoration,

“Sir. You are the most powerful, aggressive, and frightening alien in the galaxy. You don’t need some girl to make you happy. You’ve taken hundreds of planets in the past and made billions of citizens bow down to the Hater empire. You have this whole ship and the entire watchdog army ready and awaiting your every command. Your resilience and devotion to proving yourself as the greatest in the galaxy inspires me to never give up, and teaches me that nothing is truly impossible if you work hard enough. I don’t think I could even imagine myself being anyone else’s right hand man. I truly admire you, Lord Hater.”

Oh grop.

The air of Hater’s dimly lit room grows tenser than before as the two aliens sit on Lord Hater’s bed in uncomfortable silence. Lord Hater stares back at the watchdog in disbelief, his sockets wide with surprise at the passion in his commander’s supportive words. Commander Peepers glances down at his hand, which is now tenderly squeezing his Hater's boney fingers, then looks back up at Lord Hater, who is completely taken aback.

The commander feels his face flush and laughs nervously, awkwardly shifting out from between Lord Hater’s legs to get off the bed. Peepers’s mind is racing with conflicting emotions. On one hand, he’s relieved to finally get some of his feelings off his chest, but on the other hand, he completely gushed about his admiration for Lord Hater! Of course, that should be a natural feeling for any commander. But for some reason, hearing those words come out of his own body felt less like a show of respect and more like a heartfelt confession.

Noticing Peepers’s embarrassment, Lord Hater grabs his commander’s wrist and pulls him back down, causing the alien to fall onto the skeleton’s lap. “Oh, no you don’t. You can’t just say all that and expect to get away so easily.”

Commander Peepers is completely flustered by the position he’s put himself in, so he simply stays seated on the skeleton's lap, looking up at Hater sheepishly.

“So, you really look up to me that much?” Lord Hater questions Peepers, his rough voice sending shivers through the commander.

The smaller alien simply nods, unsure of how to properly respond to a what should be a easy question.

Lord Hater grins and gently nudges Peepers's shoulder, “Of course you do. You always were pretty short, even for a watchdog.”

Commander Peepers gives Lord Hater an unamused glare, not expecting the dig at his height during such a tense moment. Before the eyeball could make a retort, Lord Hater lets out a snort, laughing at the watchdog’s attempt to be serious, “Relax, C. Peeps. I don’t mind how short you are. In fact, I think it’s sorta impressive.”

The skeleton brings one of his hands under Peepers’s eyeball and lifts it so that he’s forced to make eye-contact with Hater. The watchdog could feel himself growing warmer as his eyelashes fluttered up to meet the larger alien’s intense gaze.

“Heh- You, uh- You think I’m impressive, sir?” Peepers swallows nervously, his heartbeat fluctuating at the realization of the position he’s in.

He’s currently nestled between Lord Hater's thighs, looking into the eyes of the person who he admires the most and it feels surprisingly nice.

Lord Hater nods, his nonexistent lips lifting into a surprisingly soft smile, “As much as it pains me to admit, maybe I do enjoy having you around. You keep me grounded when I’m at my lowest. Even though you’re a total nerd most of the time.”

The smaller alien laughs at Hater’s remark, not bothered by being called a nerd this time, “I’m glad you think so highly of me, sir.”

Lord Hater sighs, his smile turning bittersweet, “I can’t believe how lame I acted earlier. I don’t know how you put up with me when I get,” He hummed softly, trying to come up with a word that wouldn’t bruise his ego, “Emotional.”

The commander shrugs casually, adjusted to his position on Hater’s lap. “I wonder the same thing, sir.”

He averts his gaze for a moment, “Y’know, it wouldn’t hurt you to actually listen to my advice once in a while.”

Even though his tone was lighthearted, Peepers really did wish Lord Hater would follow his plans instead of just going on instinct all the time. The skeletal alien could see this, and he gently strokes his commander’s cheek with his thumb. “Tell you what. I’ll follow your plans for the next invasion if you promise to come to my rock band's rehearsals later.”

The watchdog leans into Hater’s touch and nods. “It’s a deal, sir. I’d love to show my support.”

Lord Hater lets out soft chuckle, enjoying the feeling of his commander’s head against his hand, “You always were a loyal watchdog. Don’t tell Andy, but you’re my favorite.”

Peepers’s eye gleams with pride and reassurance. He was well aware that he’s Lord Hater’s favorite, but hearing those words come out of the skeleton’s mouth made him feel special.

“You really promise?”

“Of course.”

The commander shifts from his seated position to wrap his arms around Lord Hater in a warm embrace. With a playful roll of the eyes, the larger alien returns the hug and squeezes Peepers gently. Though the evening had been an emotional rollercoaster, Commander Peepers could really tell that he had made an impact on Hater. With a renewed emotional bond, the two aliens share high hopes of their next invasion attempt being a success, but even if it wasn’t they would still be there for each other to see it through.

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

It was fun to finally start writing again. Maybe next time, Peepers will actually express his feeling instead of keeping them all bottled up. I was thinking about having them kiss at the end to make the story more romantic, but I kinda like them better as buddies who emotionally support each other in times of need. Plus, Hater was being rude, so it would feel weird for Peepers to just kiss him after all his whining. If you enjoyed, lmk what you think! I'm also always open to new ideas for one-shots involving the silly eyeball alien, so if you want me to write about something, I might do it.

[bad268]

hooray! maybe you could do about their acl injury recovery journey together, or them winning a trophy (in their respective leagues) and celebrating together, or fans finding out about their relationships + their reactions. those are just a few ideas x

Snapshots (Pablo Gavi X Barca! Reader)

Every Step of the Way universe

Fandom: RPF/FCB

Requested: Clearly (AHHH I LOVE THEM I LOVE THIS)

Warnings: None

POV: Third Person (She/her)

W.C. 1662

Summary: Snapshots of Gavi and Y/n's recovery

As always, my requests are OPEN

MASTERLIST // HITLIST

~~ (^Pinterest)

Recovery

Recovery is a strange thing. Half of the time they spent thinking they would never be able to step on the pitch again. Other times were spent thinking they were SO ready to get back to playing. Usually, it would alternate days as if the universe was saying, “Hey you’re doing great!” and then immediately switching sides.

Her recovery was different from Gavi’s entirely. The tear on her ACL was substantially more serious than his. The fact that her injury occurred a month prior did help in her favor because they were almost on the same healing schedule at that point. They took their first steps together, walked onto the grass together, and were cleared to play within days of each other.

Most of their days were spent in the same cycle. Rehab and not fucking up their legs any more than they already did. There was one day when they both thought it would be okay to gently kick a ball back and forth while sitting. However, neither midfielder remembered how competitive the other was.

“That was so close!” She shouted as she moved around in her chair after the futbol hit the leg of the chair before rolling to the side. “I was this close!”

“How could you miss that?” Gavi teased as he stretched his good leg to get the ball back in front of him. “I wasn’t even watching.”

“Oh shut it,” She seethed in joking rage as he kicked the ball with a little too much speed. She could not help it. Instincts kicked in, and she immediately used her injured leg to kick it away. Just as quickly, she regretted it. She clutched her leg as she let out a curse, “Shit!”

In response, Gavi moved to help her and consequently learned just how much pain she was in as he put pressure on his leg. That was when they both knew it would be a difficult recovery.

First Steps

Their first steps were taken together. Sure, they did not look pretty, but they were together. They stood side by side holding hands until Gavi’s knee gave away, causing both of them to crash down. Neither was injured further, but it made for a funny story afterward.

The first time they were both able to make their first steps was a different story. As a joke, Y/n sat at the end of the bars that Gavi was walking between and semi-holding himself up on.

“This reminds me of when I was helping my sister teach my nephew to walk,” She joked as Gavi took cautious steps toward her.

“Did you just compare me to a toddler?” Gavi snapped back in disbelief. “I’d like to see you try it! It’s not as easy as it looks.”

“I’ll gladly show you up,” She laughed, standing up and swapping places with him with the help of their physical therapist. “Watch and learn, baby.”

Her first steps did not look perfect by any means, but they were first steps without the bars holding her up. They looked better than Gavi’s attempts, and that was all that she cared about.

“This shit is easy peasy, pumpkin peasy, pumpkin pie, motherfucker!” She laughed as she flopped down onto the chair as soon as Gavi stood up to try again. “Beat that.”

“What was that? Three steps?” Gavi teased as he briefly kissed her lips before turning around and walking four steps away from her without the bar. Then, he turned around and smirked at her, “I think I beat your record.”

First Game Back

It was the same situation for the two of them Their teams wanted them to sideline them for an extra few matches as a precaution. The two midfielders had some objections, but ultimately, it was probably for the best.

The first game back for Y/n was in Barcelona. She did not make any sort of announcement about her return to the green. She just let the journalists pick up on her walking into the stadium and let it all go out naturally. Her socials began flooding with mentions and support as soon as the pictures dropped.

It felt good to be back with her team. Sure, they all hung out outside of the game, but it was just a different feeling being on the grass with them. 

Neither of the midfielders were playing. They were to sit on the bench and be cheerleaders basically. It was funny. Not something either player wanted, but it was the closest they could get to being on the field and playing.

Plus, they got to cheer on their friends. What’s not to love about supporting their friends? There was also a multitude of videos and edits of them doing the same things from their respective games. Some fans put the two clips side-by-side to show the similarities. 

One in particular was when Pedir and Y/n’s closest friend scored a goal in their games, and both Gavi and Y/n jumped up to congratulate them. However, they both jumped on their legs wrong and sent a jolt up their leg. Like clockwork, both players immediately felt the effects, and slowly sat back down.

First Goal

For the first few games back, both teams were afraid to pass the ball to Gavi and Y/n. It was not because they thought they were not ready. They were just scared the two would get injured once again. Every member of the team saw the flashbacks of their valued midfielders, and they would always hesitate to pass the ball their way.

That is, until the semi-finals. Both teams made it, and they were fighting their own battles. Yn’s team was about to draw. Both teams had been incredibly competitive, and neither team was able to get a goal in. Y/n knew they could not end in a draw. If they did, their team was sure as out of the cup.

Y/n decided to do a semi-risky move and took off down the field. She ran away from the opponents just as one of her teammates gained control of the ball. Y/n was the only one open, so the team held their breath as the ball was passed to her. Just like before her injury, she took off with the ball and got it into the net without anyone catching her.

Y/n did not even realize the time had run out as her teammates swarmed her and the fans stormed the field. Her goal secured their spot in the finals. It was not until Gavi grabbed her and lifted her off the ground that she noticed everyone around her. That goal went down in history.

Gavi’s first goal, on the other hand, had a slightly funnier take. It was not like his team did not have faith in him. He was nervous to screw up. He was throwing every single one of his practice shots, and the team was starting to get worried. They needed him in this game, and if this was how he was performing, they were screwed. Gavi ended up getting pulled aside by Pedri who tried his best to give Gavi a pep talk, but it was interrupted by the start of the game.

Once he stepped foot on the turf, it was like all of his insecurities vanished. He started off strong and finished off strong with one goal and one assist. That was all he needed to get out of the slump and back into the right headspace for his team.

Not to mention, he and Y/n celebrated after their respective games back.

Back to the Grind

During the off-season, the two did not stop training. Obviously, coming off of a possible career-ending injury, they both wanted to be in peak physical condition for the start of the season. They did, however, take a small getaway right after their last matches. Fans and teammates thought of it as a celebration of the end of a good season since many of the other players also took a holiday during the same time.

Many of their teammates went to parties together, some went to see their families, and some went to just go somewhere. Gavi and Y/n, though, went alone to a remote beach. They may or may not have rented out the whole resort of villas, so they would have the privacy to just relax without the eye of the public on them. After having a very public injury and recovery, this was something they knew they needed to get back into the mindset for the incoming season.

And maybe a certain someone had something up his sleeve. Maybe something to do with how to thank a certain someone.

When they showed up at the stadium for the first time since the season ended, everyone was excited to see them. Mainly because they were off the grid for the good majority of the break, but also because a certain eagle-eyed friend spotted something shiny on their fingers. Specifically, their left ring fingers.

“Did he finally man up and propose?” Pedri teased as he pushed himself between his two friends. “He’s only been talking about it for the last - how many years?”

“Years?!” Y/n gasped, leaning forward to look at Gavi. “You’ve been planning this for years, and you waited for us both to be injured to do it?”

“I was going to do it on our anniversary, but I couldn’t really get down on my knee now could I?” Gavi replied sarcastically as he backed up, pulling Y/n with him, so Pedri was no longer between them. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his as he left featherlight kisses around her face, disregarding the sound of their combined teams. He finished off by placing one on her lips after whispering, “I’m just glad I get to have you by my side through thick and thin.”

~~~~~

© BAD268 2024. DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION.

[gravehags]

dream (a little dream of me)

Pairing: Aether x f!Reader

Rating: Explicit, 18+ ONLY MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

Tags: somnophilia (with consent), dry humping, Copia briefly cockblocking, plus size reader, quintessence magic

Words: 1,664

Summary: It's been a long, successful day for you. Perhaps a nighttime visit from a certain Quintessence ghoul will be the cherry on top.

a/n: Hooray for the first fun thing I've written in like a whole ass month jfc!! Once again, a concept that came to me in a dream. A Satanic portent if you will. I am the pythia of the Ghost ministry. All my cirrus x aether x reader lovers...i hope you enjoy that ending lmao

divider by @ghuleh-recs

You don’t remember the last time you were this tired.

You’re already stripping as you push the door to your quarters open, dropping garments on the floor. Making your way into the room, you groan as you remove your bra and fling it somewhere where you think it knocks something over but you’re too exhausted to care. Leaning against the wall you unlace your boots and shimmy out of your trousers and underwear until you’re standing in the middle of the room stark naked and staring lovingly at your bed. You know you should shower, should remove your makeup at the very least but the soft covers of your duvet and fluffy pillows call to you like a siren’s song. Sathanas, what a day. You spent most of it cleaning the chapels and attending Papa Copia at mass, your most favorite task. Your devotion to the Olde One ran true, and attending services always moved you deeply whether you were participating or merely a devout spectator. Vaguely you recall something about Aether texting you earlier in the day, asking you to check in with him when you got back to your room so you fumble around in the pockets of your discarded pants for your phone.

I’m here, very sleepy. Coming over?

You think of the towering form of the ghoul, the way his strong arms encircle you when you bury your face into his chest. The rumble of purrs that come out of him when you rub your hands along his broad back. The sounds you can tease out of him when he’s at his most vulnerable, large hands gripping at your hips and his wonderfully thick cock pulsing inside you. Your lips curl up in a soft grin as you await his response, a rush of warmth spreading from your belly to the apex of your thighs. Before it can truly grow into anything more, your brain reminds you how exhausted you are and you feel the edges of your vision start to blur with the need for sleep. You hesitate only a moment before typing out an additional text.

Gonna go to bed. If you want me you can have me…

He responds right away and you nearly laugh at his eagerness.

On my way over right now

Walking over to your bed with a smile, you plug in your phone to the charger, fling back the covers and crawl in, sighing deeply when your head hits the pillows. The cool sheets and comforting weight of your blankets immediately sets you at ease and before you know it, your heavy eyelids shut and you drift off to sleep.

Twenty minutes have passed since you sent Aether the suggestive text and he is finally at your room after being waylaid by Copia in the hall who, in his peculiar way, began complimenting you and your devotion during the service that day. The conversation went on for far longer than Aether wanted, but finally Copia let him go with a wink and a little elbow-shove about how you’re probably waiting for him. Aether tried not to look too eager when he walked away from Papa, but Copia looked at his retreating back with a suggestive eyebrow waggle all the same. When he opens your door, he’s met with dim lighting and nearly trips on your discarded items of clothing strewn in a trail from the entryway. He smiles fondly when he spies you, bundled up in your blanket and softly snoring, and he immediately begins to strip. When he’s fully nude, he slips in beside you, groaning at the cocoon of warmth you’ve created. He wraps an arm around you and pulls you flush against him, a purr rumbling in his chest when your naked flesh meets his. He gently leans in and nuzzles your hair: you smell like the incense Papa uses in his masses and the unique, sweet, intoxicating scent he’s come to know as you. Unconsciously, his hips shift forward and his half-hard cock brushes against the curve of your ass. You’re so kind, so good to him, always giving and loving. He thinks about the text you sent earlier and a flood of warmth begins to rush through his veins.

If you want me you can have me

He can’t lie, he’s often thought about having you like this. Fucking against you or into you as you sleep, watching you shift and moan even through the haze of slumber. Slowly, he slides one of his large hands up your side, squeezing the meat of your hip briefly before moving over your belly and up to your breasts. When he cups one, thumb brushing over the nipple, you make a small noise in your sleep and shift your hips backwards against him, causing him to groan. He lowers his lips to your shoulder and begins mouthing at the warm skin there, tongue tracing up the curve of your neck as he gently pinches your now hardened nipple between his thumb and forefinger. His cock, now profusely leaking precum onto your skin, ruts against you slowly, every roll of his hips in sync with the movement of his mouth on your flesh. He pulls you closer, if that’s even possible, and with steady, firm movements begins to fuck himself against you. His breath stirs the hairs strewn around the side of your face and his hand abandons your breast to grip at your hip.

“So good for me, even in sleep,” he growls lowly, face buried in your neck. “So fucking soft.”

You’re providing so much pleasure for him, he thinks, but receiving none in return. That simply won’t do. With his hand wrapping around your body to cup the curve of your belly he concentrates his quintessence on your sweet cunt, making you feel the presence of his cock within you even as he ruts against you. He’s sure he’s woken you from your slumber when you let out a long, low moan but your eyes remain shut even as your breathing becomes unsteady. With every thrust, every drag of his cock along your skin he imagines being inside you, stretching you just how you like, the way you clench so tightly around him. He visualizes hitting that glorious sweet spot within you and when he slides his hand down to the juncture of your thighs, he moans loudly when he finds you sopping wet. Even as his phantom cock thrusts inside of you, he toys with your swollen clit, making you whimper and your eyes dart around behind your eyelids. Your breathing comes out in soft pants punctuated with beautiful little mewls as he presses his forehead to the back of your head, concentrating on your softness as his hips begin to jerk forward with more fervor. 

“Fuck, my love,” he groans, fingers sliding through your slick to rub at you, “fuck, you’re perfect. So perfect just - ah! - just for me. My sweet girl.”

He imagines how you must feel, mind drifting through subconscious thoughts even as you’re filled with the stretch of him. He wonders what you dream of, if it’s of him. His thrusts become shorter and faster as you tip your head back against him, mouth hanging open. With a gasp, you moan one word with your back arching, hips bucking into his touch.

“Aether!”

It’s all he needs to drive him over the edge and suddenly he’s coming, hard, all over your ass and lower back. He barely notices that you’re stirring, cheeks flushed and eyes blearily looking at your surroundings as he fucks himself into overstimulation against you. He only stops when your hand shifts behind you and grabs at his hips, stilling him. Sweat slides down his forehead as his seed cools on your skin and you hold him flush against you.

“I’m sorry,” he pants quietly, hoarsely, “I’m sorry I woke you.”

“Mmmm don’t be,” you say sleepily, pushing your own hips back to brush against his softening cock. “That was gorgeous.”

He smiles against your hair and tells you not to move as he gets out of bed and heads to your small bathroom. After a moment he returns with a warm, damp washcloth and tends to the mess he’s left on your skin. Half of it has slid off you and onto the sheets - a problem for tomorrow.

“Thank you,” you murmur as he discards the cloth in your hamper. Reaching out, you make a needy grabby hand gesture, beckoning him back to bed. When he slides back in alongside you, you roll over to face him.

“How’d you do that?” you say with a yawn, sleep clearly falling upon you once more.

“Hmm?”

“How were you inside me while…not being inside me? That was…wow.”

“Ah,” he says, leaning forward to kiss your forehead, “quintessence magic.”

You waggle your eyebrows suggestively and reach up to stroke the base of his horn while his tail pulls you closer under the covers until you’re nestled against his chest.

“Felt amazing,” you whisper, fingers carding through his chest hair, “like being fucked on a cloud. You were so close but still far away. Weird feeling.”

“But you liked it?” Aether asks, looking down on you with his brow furrowed.

“Mmm fuck yes.”

“You’re not upset with me?”

“Love, the only thing I’m upset about is you not using that magic earlier. You were holding out on me.”

Your eyes are shut but your lips are curled into a mischievous smile and he strokes your hair.

“I’ve got all kinds of tricks up my sleeve. Maybe Cirrus and I will show you…”

You make one last noise - a mix of intrigue and contentment - before sleep overtakes you once more. Aether holds you close, the spade of his tail drifting up and down your leg under the covers.

Before his own eyes slide shut, he reminds himself to thank Papa for including you in his mass today. Maybe he could tire you out more often.

[cloudkissedmusic]

Question, do you have any lines you associate with characters other than Jon in your TMA fansong/do you wanna infodump about it

hi !! this is such a great question !! and i would LOVE to infodump, thank you for asking >:)

“Watcher’s Crown” is written from jon’s perspective, and i imagine it to be his inner monologue, but there are definitely lines that are directed toward other characters !!

for example, in the first verse, “and whatever you might think of me, it’s my responsibility, and i can’t act like everything is fine” is directed toward the rest of the archive staff- but specifically at tim, as that line was written to reference jon’s stalker era and tim’s growing distrust of him. this whole verse is jon justifying his actions to himself as he spirals into paranoia.

in the second verse, we have the lines “i don’t want to be a player, i don’t want to be a pawn, i don’t want to be a token in your game”, referencing his situation at large, but directed specifically at the beholding/elias, as jon becomes increasingly aware of the part he is being forced to play.

with the line “i’d do anything to save you”, we turn his focus to martin, where it stays for much of the song’s remainder.

we have jon pleading with martin, deep in the throes of the lonely, to run away with him, followed by the harmonica solo/creepy whispering segment. this part is meant to reference the safehouse period with the soft harmonies, culminating in the clash of all the instruments/rougher vocals as jon “opens the door”.

this last chorus references jon and martin’s journey to the panopticon. “we know where we should be” refers to jon’s survivor’s guilt and the beginning of his understanding that he’s on borrowed time. this culminates in “the epilogue that no one wants to see”, as he resolves to sacrifice himself to the panopticon, and “what do you say, will you end the world with me” which are the last lyrics referencing martin, and serve as jon’s final goodbye to him.

the final verse is directed at elias once again. this was my favorite verse to write, and i had it in my notes app for a long time before i even thought about finishing the song, let alone releasing it !!

jon reflects on everything he’s been manipulated into and has his well-deserved crashout moment. (i do imagine elias just squinting down at him, one eyebrow raised and just. vaguely confused and annoyed at this part ).

and then he kills him !!! :D hooray !!!!! this is my favorite verse to sing. it’s very cathartic.

the “are you still listening” bit was very self indulgent. i had this song written WAY before The Magnus Protocol was ever announced. i actually sang it in VC in the MagCon discord server year before last. i was in the trenches during the ARG. this show means a lot to me, and that was my little nod toward the sequel show, while also being a bit of a 4th wall moment !!

anyway, thanks for letting me rant, and thanks for listening to Watcher’s Crown !!! :]

[nick-chinchill]

MOUTHWASHING - THE OST

Is out, hooray! Sound design is a favourite of mine in horror, and Mouthwashing does it extremely right! I'll probably end up making a post about it but to build on the pervious resource kinda post I did, I figure I'd list where each track plays for easy referencing and becauase the titles of the tracks definitely give those little extra touches... Needless to say, spoilers abound, all the links lead to the songs on Youtube or you can just hop to the full playlist with this link right [here]! I'm sure some of these tracks are used more than once, so I'll come back and update this list after another go round c:

The colours relate to those I used on my timeline post, indicating before the crash, after the crash, before judgement or nightmare sequences. TRACK 01// MAIN THEME - Plays on the opening menu and on the ending credits, as Curly is frozen.

TRACK 02// JUST CARGO - Plays on the opening description of the Tulpar, listing it's crew and journey. I hope this hurts TRACK 03// MEDIUM RARE - Plays during the winding corridors after Jimmy's piloted the ship to crash. TRACK 04// THE WINDOWS ARE PLASTIC - Plays on Anya's radio on the med bay, after the crew decide to get into the cargo and as Jimmy agrees to give Curly his meds. TRACK 05// ABSOLUTE TRAVESTY - Plays when Curly sees Swansea and Daisuke in Utility, with Daisuke stuck in the emergency foam. TRACK 06// LOFTY AMBITIONS - Plays during Curly's only nightmare sequence, heading to the cockpit to do Jimmy's psyche eval TRACK 07// HERE, ON EARTH - Plays during Curly and Jimmy's talk about their positions after teh psyche eval, off the record. TRACK 08// DRAGON BREATH THEME - Plays during the commerical for Dragonbreath X Mouthwash. (So catchy!)

TRACK 09// LIKE A CYST - Plays when Swansea first drinks the mouthwash, breaking his sobriety. TRACK 10// BAD NEWS - Plays during the birthday party, when Curly first enters the lounge and prepares the cake. TRACK 11// AND THERE IT IS - Plays after Curly's given the crew the news from corporate, during the crew's reactions.

TRACK 12// THE PATIENCE RUNS - Plays during the night when Jimmy is awakened by the sounds of Curly's pained moans and finds Anya and Swansea talking in the cockpit. TRACK 13// THINKING ABOUT IT TOO - Plays during the chapter when the crew are struggling - Daisuke is drunk and despairing and Anya is considering drinking the mouthwash too. TRACK 14// WAKE ROCK - Plays when you approach Swansea for the axe while he's GROOVING TRACK 15// GIVING UP - Plays after Swansea smashes the axe into the lounge sunset screen. TRACK 16// BANTER - Plays when Jimmy secures the cockpit door against Swansea attempting to break in. TRACK 17// WHAT'S NEW ON THE RADIO - Plays during the night-time chat between Anya and Curly, about dead pixels, bigger pictures and locks on bedroom doors. TRACK 18// USELESS - Plays as Daisuke writhes in pain after getting into the med bay. Swansea tells Jimmy to look for disinfectant. TRACK 19// POLLE SAYS - Plays during the nightmare sequence in cargo, as Jimmy tries to grab a bottle of mouthwash for Daisuke's wounds. TRACK 20// FOR OLD TIME'S SAKE - Plays as Jimmy decides to drug Swansea, making the spiked cocktail and giving it to him. TRACK 21// IN CONTROL - Plays when Jimmy and Daisuke enter Utility, discovering the one working cyropod, and as Jimmy pressures Daisuke into the vent. TRACK 22// NO REASON - Plays when Anya and Curly talk in the cockpit, when Curly tries to reassure her when she reveals she's hidden the gun. And reveals she is pregnant. TRACK 23// I TOLD HIM - Plays during the chapter where Anya reveals she's told Jimmy about her pregnancy, as Curly speaks to Jimmy, and then as Curly rushes to the cockpit. TRACK 24// WHO IS THE BIRTHDAY BOY - Plays as Jimmy cuts into Curly's leg at the birthday party. TRACK 25// FACING RESPONSIBILITY - Plays during the nightmare sequence in the vents, as Jimmy [Can't Turn Back] and must face [Responsibility]. TRACK 26// EVENT - Plays during the conversation between Jimmy and Curly prior to the crash. TRACK 27// CONFRONTATION - Plays during the battle in the cemetary between Jimmy and Swansea. TRACK 28// SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH! - Plays during Swansea's speech to Jimmy about his alcoholism, about achievements, and about responsibility. TRACK 29// HEROES - Plays during Jimmy's talk with Burning Curly. TRACK 30// STRETCH MARKS - Plays as Jimmy uses an ultrasound on the flesh mass. TRACK 31// COME TO DADDY - Plays during the confrontation with the centipede Polle-creature. TRACK 32// GOD'S FAVORITES - Plays during the sequence with the hallway of IDs, leading up the staircase of mouthwash until Jimmy faces Polle. TRACK 33// THE END - The end.

[cardiaccat]

Thought I'd jump in on the fun 😊

Ship: Andy/Bryce

Tropes: "Love confession" and "In Vino Veritas"

Fanfiction trope mashup

Omg I've got the perfect idea for this! Andy would totally invite Bryce over to his house for a little celebration after ending the season with a career game. And since it might be Andy's last hooray as a panther, why not get yourself and your guest a tiny bit wine drunk and then unintentionally spill your guts to said guest? Considering it's canon that Bryce has gone over to Andy's house at least once, he wouldn't find the invitation to be strange. Oh yeah, it's all coming together. As a side note, I don't drink much so if the amounts of wine they're consuming in a few hours and how drunk it gets them feels unrealistic then I apologize lmao

The wine had been flowing for a few hours now. Both quarterbacks were pleasantly buzzed.

“So, really, what happens if you miss your exit with MapQuest directions?” Bryce asked, voice higher pitched than usual. Andy only laughed and shook his head in response. Bryce's chest felt fuzzy at that. He wasn't sure if it was from the alcohol or not.

“You and fucking MapQuest,” Andy replied while polishing off his third glass of wine. There was a slight flush on his face. Once again, Bryce can't tell if it's from the alcohol or something else.

“I'm being for real, Andy! Why aren't you taking me seriously?”

“I did take you seriously! The first two times you've asked me about it!” Andy lifted the bottle that was between them, gauging how much drink was left in it. About a swig remained in the bottle and he proffered it to Bryce if he wanted to finish it off. Bryce obliged, tossing his head back to collect the final drops.

“I got another bottle if we wanted to keep goin’,” Andy said.

“It's not like we got anywhere to be tomorrow. Although, guess I gotta drive home eventually,” Bryce said, laying his head down between his arms. He felt Andy's eyes linger on him for a few beats. It felt like he was being assessed.

“You could always crash here for the night, if you wanted. Got a spare bed with fresh linens on it.” Bryce hummed, thinking. Coming over for dinners on occasion was one thing, but getting wine drunk and staying the night was another. For some reason it didn't exactly bother him, though. And if Andy was offering…

“Crack open that bottle then,” Bryce announced with confidence. At that, Andy got up to retrieve the second bottle.

They had another glass or two before they decided to move to the living room. Bryce sprawled out on the couch, leaving just enough room for Andy to squeeze onto it. Though, that was a bit of an exaggeration. The thing was fucking huge.

Their conversation flowed from one topic to the next, each one getting more and more outlandish as the alcohol started to really affect them. Bryce's thoughts swam delightfully in his head. He assumed Andy was in a similar way, but the other man did have a couple dozen pounds on him. So who really knew?

As the last giggles left their lips, a comfortable silence settled around them. Bryce's gaze stayed locked on Andy's features. He noticed when they scrunched up a little.

“Something on your mind?” Bryce asked.

“Oh, y'know, just thinkin’.”

“That's a dangerous game, ‘specially in your case,” his words came out slightly slurred.

“You're a real wiseass sometimes, you know that?” Bryce smiled his widest smile in response. A gentle grin appeared on Andy's face. After that, the silence stretched itself out across them.

Suddenly, Andy shifted closer to Bryce, closing the gap between them. Usually, Bryce would feel startled by this but wine was one hell of a drug.

“Hey. You wanna know my little secret?” Andy whispered, even though there was nobody around to overhear them. Bryce leaned forward. Consider his interest piqued. Andy's eyes flitted back and forth like he was checking to make sure they were alone.

“I've liked you since you were a rookie,” the older man finally spat out. Bryce looked down at the floor before letting a tiny giggle escape his lips.

“That's it? Thought it would be juicier than that. I've liked you too, Andy,” Bryce said, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“No, like… I've like liked you,” Andy's brow furrowed, wanting to say more but having to gather himself before he could continue. He reached up to tug at his hair, which Bryce knew to be one of his nervous tics. Even in his drunken state, he knew shit was about to get serious. “I love you, Bryce.”

A feeling of clarity washed over him. Everything that happened this season started to make more sense. The extra hours Andy would spend with him after practice was over. The way he would be there to talk about a drive when he got back to the sidelines. Just his general presence. All things Bryce thought were Andy being especially helpful post benching. It was all out of love. The romantic kind.

His first response was to laugh. He quickly stopped though when he realized he felt the same way. It hadn't really hit him yet that they might not be teammates next year. He didn't want Andy to leave.

“Well that's good, cause I love you too, Andy,” Bryce said before a yawn overtook him. He checked his phone for the time. It was late and he certainly couldn't drive back now. “Is that guest bedroom still available?”

Andy chuckled. “I've got another bed in mind,” he must've caught the way Bryce's brows knit slightly because he quickly added, “that we would just be sleeping in! I don't move that fast, who do you take me for?”

“Says the guy who just drunkenly confessed his love for me,” Bryce raised his hands in surrender.

“Yeah, well, you did the same thing. Anyway, bedtime?”

“Oh, most definitely.”

[residentialsinyomakai]

Omg I had like the. Weirdest dream?? It was yokai watch related but reminded me a bit of mouthwashing as well

Ok so like most of the dream I was just spectating tbh, i switched between like 2 povs. It was Rawry (who I've noticed I tend to be in a lot of these dreams) and McKraken,,, excepr,,, i didn't really have any control this time as I mentioned i was just kinda watching. Stay with me now

So for the first half I wa pretty much Rawry during the events of pregame ykw1, in the yokai world and hearing news of Enma's death and then some time passes and boom! Squid takes role of chairman. There's certainly a fair amount who weren't the. Happiest about this news, Rawry included since he was like "man I kinda like being noisy in public spaces" but didn't really do anything about it.

It's just kinda normal stuff for a while until for some reason we (i? Him? I'm js gonna say we) get to gate 1 before gate zero. The place is like surprisingly empty, and not really all that white yet. For some reason it was kinda scary? Ehhh or maybe eerie. no pun intended. Would be a better word. But anyways we just kinda walked down the weird pseudo no roof hall for a while until we got to gate zero. No corptain but whatever. So he opens the gate thingy and is trying to see if anyone's in there for whatever resson but. No one exactly is, not even McKraken (who you'd think might've been if LITERALLY NO ONE else) except. Like.

That kid from ykw1. Yknow like the one who would be off to the side of the throne and you could find after defeating McKraken for the first time. Erm okie doki. He tried saying something to him but then the pov switched before I could get a response?

Ok so we doing squids now/ref

So I switch to McKraken' pov but for some reason it's way foggier? Like idk he could probably see fine cause he was going places normally and stuff but I could Not. Rude ahh smh even beyond the physical plane,,, ok but anyways for a while it's just talking about campaign stuff for a while with some random yokais (a few of them white and others not for whatever reason) until it just suddenly fades out

After like. A second. I'm under water? Cool. Great. Fun sauce. At least that's what I thought. It was cold and I felt like I had the worst headache of my life but literally nothing else happened for a solid in-dream hour? It was like purgatory I hate that place. I DON'T EVEN LIKE SWIMMING???

Myeeahhhh eventually the dream ended and I woke up and had pancakes (hooray!! Haven't made those in a while) but man. What the freakapples

[tgrailwar-zero]

We should probably call/zoom the others now that everything's done here. Oh boy.

We should perhaps brace ourselves...

You opened up the telepathic link, bracing yourself for the inevitable storm. The first voice you heard was CONSTANTINE's.

CONSTANTINE: "There you all are."

His voice was firm, but not angry.

CONSTANTINE: "I was worried-- we were worried. Then I was terrified… Now, I'm mostly just relieved."

CONSTANTINE: "Kukulkan and Giuseppe explained their part of the situation to me a little while earlier. It helped calm me. Most of that was entirely out of your hands… I'd probably be more upset if you tried to resist the Valkyrie and ended up getting hurt that way. If I had to levy my frustrations anywhere, it'd be towards the Lair Servants for putting you in that situation. You were ostensibly blindsided, and you managed to make it out… relatively unharmed."

KUKULKAN: "Well…"

GIUSEPPE: "They did ask for their own legal counsel. Frankly, if they hadn't, I'd have found a way to sneak out and served as their lawyer myself."

NERO: "Wouldn't the Valkyrie have recognized you?"

GIUSEPPE: "No."

He said it with such confidence that you didn't really feel like disbelieving him was even an option there.

MUSASHI: "That's kind of scary…"

CONSTANTINE: "Hm. Maybe you haven't realized it, but you have gotten more responsible. At least a bit. It sounds like you made a lot of good choices there too. You were dealt a difficult hand, and handled it efficiently... 'dying a little bit' is far from ideal and is quite distressing, but if Lady Brynhildr handled it, there's not much we can do now. We, as Servants, just need to work harder that you don't die at all later."

CONSTANTINE: "I'll probably see you tonight once Antecessor Nero finishes her project. If not, then tomorrow morning. If you want to talk more, that will be better than trying to do it entirely through telepathy. Stay safe until then, alright? Please?"

NERO: "Constantinus said most of the things I would have. When we felt the mana flow drop, Mister Giuseppe had to convince us to stay our weapons before we went on the offensive."

SALIERI: "…Despite what Cagliostro said, I'm still considering it."

Despite saying the least, you felt the heaviest pressure from AVENGER's message.

MUSASHI: "In other words, you're not grounded! Hooray! We did have to talk Rider out of giving you a curfew, though."

MUSASHI: "As if there was any doubt. The round lasted longer than I expected, but that's just because Orion kept floating up into hard-to-reach places and throwing stuff at him. Assassin got there eventually, ended up punting that bear into a river."

[oh-saints]

sweetest devotion (pt. 7)

maybe getting himself involved in a marriage of convenience wasn't a bad choice, after all...

playboy!mason mount x princess!OC wc: 3.7k tw: as mentioned in the masterlist only but there's none for this particular chapter (hooray!) note: this got to be the longest chapter for this series so far but i had my better days a while ago so here we are (?) hopefully this fits you all, dear mason x serena gang! but as usual, i wrote this around dawn so ofc not beta-read yet. tags: @pingyu-in-wonderland @808heartz @ironmaiden1313 @myreveriie @missgaygurl (let me know if you want to be added too!) part 6 here - part 8 here sweetest devotion masterlist

“I see you’re taking a liking towards going home early,”

while the rest of mason’s team actually paid attention to the young footballer’s recent change of habit, to actually make césar azpilicueta comment on it was another and completely different thing. the captain was well-known to be an observant most of the time, only commenting on and when necessary.

the result of his observation, though, managed to put a small smile on mason’s face.

it was rather understandable for mason to clock out earliest possible because serena was still under the doctor’s watch and jasmine, being a fellow pregnant lady, was unable to stay over for a long time. but the habit apparently didn’t undergo a drastic change, even after serena was given the green light to be released from the hospital. mason even pulled out a small trick to come home with a bouquet of different flowers every two days, in a (faux) lieu of “so the kitchen doesn’t smell bad when you’re done cooking.”

mason didn’t realise it, at first. but before the spaniard’s comment, ben chilwell actually managed to call him out first when he was ending his call with serena, asking if she needed anything else to be bought for dinner—and it took mason a long while, as he sat in his car after ben’s remark, to digest that it was indeed no longer a guilt eating him alive.

he thought of feeling guilty whenever he saw serena lying peacefully on her hospital bed, he even thought of any other possible emotion that could mirror guilt whenever he thought about serena and their child. but with elena now being legally processed for a trial, and mason kind of always made time for a dinner together with serena, the soon-to-be father realised that he wanted to come home as soon as possible.

“is your wife treating you well?”

“more than well,” mason could no longer hide his smile, albeit still smaller than the one the defender was throwing him. “I kind of understand why you guys get married.”

“good,” the senior player patted mason by the shoulder. “I like this version of you better. I hope you’re always happy with your wife.”

“me, too, césar,” and not an ounce of deceit was included in mason’s response. “me too.”

if someone had said to him marriage indulged how nice it would be to have someone waiting for you by the door as you stepped into the house, how stress-relieving it would be to see your wife’s cooking and ready to be pounced on at the end of every exhausting day… mason would’ve considered skipping countless parties till dawn peaks out from the horizon and followed declan’s footsteps of settling down early instead.

but probably, mason would’ve been tied down to the wrong person if he did that. god knows, maybe mason would’ve ended up behind the bars too, following the footsteps of his ex, if he did.

mason shuddered at the thought, pressing his eyes tightly when the red light came into view, in hope he could shed the once-wonderful dream of his to marry elena. he only opened them back when a ring broke the lonely ride home.

speaking of the devil… “mason?”

it was always funny to mason how serena would always start a phone conversation with a clarificatory question as such. “serena, I was about to call you.”

lies, because mason would always call her five minutes earlier than now whenever it was grocery days.

“are you done training?”

“I’m turning left to our block as we speak,” damn it, it would be quite a hassle if serena decided he should head for the nearest supermarket. all because he’d forgotten to call her before he started his engine, and all because he’d been thinking about her. “do you need something?”

“ah, okay then.”

but the disappointment that laced serena’s voice was indispensable. “what’s wrong?”

“no, I just—I forgot to cook today.”

mason really couldn’t help but let out a cackle over the phone as he pulled up in his garage. “seriously?”

“yes…? why are you laughing?”

“serena,” serena had opened the door and was now standing by the door as mason unfastened the seatbelt. from his point of view, serena was visibly upset. “you know we can always order in, right?”

mason didn’t leave a space for serena to reply him as he hung up the call and stepped out his car.

“but I want to cook for you,” the pout remained and mason had the sudden urge to kiss away that pout. damn it. “what kind of wife am I?”

“the best, of course,” mason grinned wider as serena turned into a shade similar to a beetroot. “definitely better if you give me a hug right now.”

mason would’ve laughed at anyone who put a bet on him falling for serena an eon ago. but now, it was rather something he looked forward to the moment he stepped in the house.

it might not be much, but it was still a start for them both, considering the beginning of their relationship looked like. it was still something for mason too because he was sure, in other circumstances, he would not dare himself to ask such thing to a stranger.

but serena was no longer a stranger, right? not when she’d seen him in desperate need of comforting embrace after chelsea’s loss against another big 6 club. right?

“come here,” and mason didn’t hesitate to take the invitation. anyone who knew the nature of their relationship—an arranged marriage, mind you—would be surprised how fluid mason could fit himself to serena’s every crook and nook. “did you have a good day?”

mason breathed in the lingering scent on serena’s shirt, a mixture of jasmine and comfort similar to the linen sheet. mason breathed in deeply because with the question and the fragrance combined, he couldn’t help but think of all things he never got to have with elena, despite being in a romantic relationship longer than the time he spent getting to know serena so far.

mason breathed in his reality.

but it seemed that his wife thought he wasn’t having the best of a day. “do you wish to talk about it?”

“I’m fine, actually,” mason grumbled against the fabric. “I just wish you’d stop being stubborn and let me hire a chef for us.”

serena pushed away mason lightly, her eyes lit up in mirth. “we’ve talked about this, mason…”

and indeed they had, mason laughed along with her at the brief reminiscent about several days after her discharge, which meant several days watching her juggling to do chores on her own after sam’s dismissal for the day. “we have enough third persons in this house, don’t you think?” mason remembered her saying nothing but the truth, but a slight pang to his chest was inevitable, nonetheless. “besides, I’d like to make myself useful in this household.”

“serena,” mason remembered thinking her last comment was so ridiculous that he had to grasp her by the shoulders, before grazing her now-slightly bulging belly when she’d stayed in place. “you’re the most useful person in this household.”

this woman went back and forth, from hell and back, for him and their child. this woman, beside her status of a princess, was everything elena could never have and could never be. how could she possibly think such thing?

“alright, you win,” mason ended the futile debate he’d always been since that day, complete with the small smile and a finger tucking in a strand of her hair behind her ear. “but I think I’ve eaten too much today. is it okay if I skip dinner tonight?”

“I forgot to cook tonight because I was actually making an apple pie this afternoon…”

“I hope you left some for me,” mason was still chuckling at serena’s demeanour shifting into a sheepish one. how could someone so calm and collected and regal in the eyes of the public, be this cute and endearing behind the curtain? “but let’s call it a night, okay? good night, princess.”

serena was certainly more than glad mason called it that way because she couldn’t afford him to see her blushing at the moniker he called her with.

＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊

and good sleep indeed it was.

serena couldn’t even recall the last time she slept so soundly since she moved into this house she got to call home at least until after the baby was born. there’d always be endless train of thoughts, rushing in a lighting speed even, that kept her up most of the nights.

on sundays, especially. there was a time where she couldn’t find sleep because she knew elena would be coming to the house, barging in like a truck going mad on the highway.

now that the particular problem was out of the way and more like into her way to jail, serena went even as far as oversleep last night. she woke up with a jolt when her eyes zeroed down to the number 9:00 AM flashing across her screen.

crap, she hadn’t prepared anything for mason this morning! did he leave already—“mason?”

despite her growing stomach, serena was glad she still retained her ballerina balance on her feet. if not, she would’ve stumbled upon a lying mason, right in front of her door, with a Parenting for Dummies hugged tightly to his chest.

cramped in a rather awkward position and messy locks sprawled across the carpeted floor—now-carpeted floor because mason thought it’d do good to pregnant feet than cold flooring—serena would be lying if she didn’t think the sight was endearing for her standard. “mason?”

the footballer groaned when called, bringing the parenting book closer to his chest. as if it was his plush toy. for god’s sake, he was soon to be a father, he shouldn’t be allowed to be this cute.

“mason,” serena crouched down beside her husband, shaking his body as ferocious as her frail body could because she didn’t want him to wake up with a sore body. “mason, wake up. you’re late to training.”

he hummed as a response, but it seemed that the last sentence was working well because suddenly his eyes shot open. serena stepped back and laughed at his comical reaction, to which mason responded with a whining groan. “why didn’t you wake me up?”

“excuse me, am I not waking you up now?” serena’s eyebrows furrowed accusingly but her smile was anything but. the glint in her eyes was close to a mirth, too, and mason decided he could now truck through the gaffer’s upcoming long speech on his tardiness. or any other berating session, if it meant being granted by this same sight every morning. “but mason, what are you doing here?”

mason scratched the back of his neck, sheepishly. “I fell asleep here.”

“no, I mean, why are you sleeping here?”

“I’m making sure no one barges into the house and attack you again,” the regret lacing mason’s eyes deeply radiated down serena. the woman would very much like to envelope him in a warm embrace if she was given the chance. “I don’t think I can live through the pain again.”

“mason…”

“I mean it when I said I’m truly sorry, serena,” the princess had to hold back her gasp when she noticed the shift in his eyes, glazing regret to determination in a split second. “I know you said you forgive me and all that jazz, but I know when I said to tell me how I can make it all up to you.”

serena had to remind herself to breathe, as she was unable to look away from the intense wave of emotion mason was showcasing. the reminder resulted in a shaky intake of air, depicting perfectly what she was feeling inside.

serena wanted to put the entire blame to her pregnancy hormones but she knew better. she needed mason to be acting nonchalantly towards her existence if she wanted to survive this marriage unscathed—no physical scars, no emotional damage inflicted, and certainly no broken heart to mend.

“how about you give me a ride to the hospital today, hm?” serena lightly cough to cover her nervousness as she tried to lift herself to stand. “least you won’t lie about dropping me off first.”

unfortunately, one cannot change overnight and therefore she had mason on his feet first so he could help her stand up, lifting serena by the waist as if she didn’t resemble a whale at this point. “how about I skip practice for the day and come with you wherever you want to go instead?”

while his arm was around her waist and his hand was grasping her hand tightly so she wouldn’t fall, serena glanced up in disbelief. is he joking? I hope he is because the last time he came with me, he left me stranded…

the rare slip of emotion—going from disbelief to disappointment—on the princess’ ever-composed face didn’t escape the corner of mason’s eyes, and he knew immediately what she was thinking of. a little smile, pressed by the guilt of having mistreated her, shadowed against his demeanour.

“I have an overdue visit to see my little man, don’t you think?”

＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊

“there he is!” the doctor proclaimed rather excitedly—gone was her frightening exterior the last time mason and serena met her shortly after elena’s mess. “I see he’s rather happy inside there, look at that smile!”

while serena and the doctor shared some laughter between them, mason could only stand there, frozen like a fridge in the wrong place, sore like a misplaced nail. he couldn’t believe his eyes—flashed before him was the black and white, 3D picture of his son. for the first time, mason got to see the lid of his eyes, the sharp nose, his pouty lips. the footballer could even see the weird combination of him and serena, despite the lack of colour and shape from the photo.

for the first time, mason could finally put down the literal meaning of his flesh and blood, his ultimate treasure,and it was nothing short of an incredible feeling.

it was a rather pleasant feeling, wonderful like mason could now burst in the sky happily… yet he also had to overcome this protective urge inside of him so no one could put his mini-me in danger. he’d never wanted to even punch himself for all the things he’d put the little guy and his mother through.

why didn’t he come to see this sooner?

mason had to press his lips tightly, in order to keep his emotions in check. he couldn’t cry—he shouldn’t—not when he was the one who’d once put the both of them in a game of death with god. not when he hadn’t earned his forgiveness, not when he knew he had a thousand pile of work to do to ensure both serena and his son lived without having to go through another ounce of pain in their lives.

“you’ve done well too so far, you’re doing so well,” mason whispered gently to serena’s stomach, the way he’d been doing every chance he got and every chance he was allowed to, when it was back to the two—or three—of them in the room. “we’re nearing the end, my boy. please hang in there because I can’t wait to see you,”

serena would be lying if the sight before her didn’t send warmth all over her body.

“thank you, serena,” mason whispered to her this time, his eyes met hers while he was crouching down, as he wiped off the ultrasound gel from her protruding belly. now that he got a closer look, he could point out some bulges showing up here and there momentarily and he smiled wider—despite the initial pursed lips—because that’s some strong kick, my boy. “thank you for everything you’ve done for our little guy.”

from the look mason casted to her, serena could pick out the fact he was being earnest and as genuine as his actions post the incident with elena. at that moment, despite whatever would happen between the two of them, serena concluded that she was glad mason mount was the father to her baby and pleased that she got to share her first pregnancy with someone that truly put her needs above anything else, someone who actually understood the job a father entailed, and not just merely words promised.

despite whatever was going to happen later on, serena was filled with warmth and happiness because she knew, mason would never let her fight alone, at least for things concerning their son.

“mrs. mount—I’m sorry, I’ll be back later!”

the nurse’s sudden entrance snapped the intricate moment, and serena was rather relieved because of it. god knows what would happen if the silent continued and allowed her to think of things she would rather forbid herself from pondering, considering their contractual relationship and all…

she shouldn’t be thinking about the extent of mason’s outmost care. it definitely didn’t include her, and she agreed herself that he was a wonderful father. of course it was only limited and directed for their son.

“no, no need,” serena instantly tried to sit herself up but mason—fortunately not being the one carrying the baby—beat her to it, and before she could do it her own, mason had already stood close by behind her, steadying her body as serena slowly gained her balance in sitting. “is there anything I forgot?”

“just want to remind you that your counselling session’s in 15.”

both mason and serena halted their movements. serena from the realisation that she had indeed forgot there was another place she had to visit—being around mason lately kind of put such urgent matters aside because he was almost everything she could ask for—and mason from the shock that serena submitted herself to seek a professional help, something he didn’t know of.

what kind of husband, especially the father-to-be, that didn’t know his own wife’s health record?

what kind of husband, especially the father-to-be, put his own wife to a condition that required her to seek help?

a terrible one, for sure.

and he vowed to change that.

it was the very least mason could do, after all things serena had gone through due to his recklessness. mason should make her life easier—if he couldn’t do that by far, he should do it for the remaining of the pregnancy. he should buy her the best stuffs, he should make her the best meals, he should take her to the best places…for the sake of the baby’s prenatal environment, mason replayed the sentence all over again like a broken mantra.

but of course, we knew better.

＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊

“what do you think of the bridge?”

it was another dinner shared over the countertop of their kitchen but considering mason had a home game tomorrow and therefore forbade mason from consuming nothing else than his strict diet, the footballer took control of the wheel. so instead of serena cooking from behind the corner, mason could be found channelling his inner masterchef self.

“I’d rather not say anything that can offend you, being a childhood fan and all,” serena put her chin on top of her palm, resulting her cheeks to be squished due to the friction against two surfaces of her skin, and mason wondered if a pregnant lady could be this endearing. “because I’ve never been.”

mason’s face contorted to all ways in utter shock. “never? at all?”

serena laughed at his comical response, as she always does. mason was effortlessly funny in her standard.

“okay then, it’s settled,” mason decided firmly when serena shook her head to answer his question. “you’re so watching me tomorrow. would you be comfortable going out?”

serena’s mind went blank for a couple of seconds. while her trauma of seeing people she didn’t know was now growing less and less each day, she doubted her ears. mason despised the idea of being in a public place with her in tow unless it was an official event occurred by the palace.

but she couldn’t shake off the giddiness inside of her because she would be going out, after all. mason being more protective since the incident with elena surely should be cut off a bit, or serena would go crazy being confined in the mansion alone for far too long.

and that mason also knew she’d always watch his matches from home. now that he was offering her to watch live, up-close and personal, serena couldn’t also shrug off the niggling feeling in her stomach…

is he being kind because he now knows I’m under a psychological watch or something?

“do you not want to go?” it was serena that had all these sort of uncontrollable thoughts and yet mason still ensured she was on board with his idea. it was getting harder each day to believe what mason said about trying to be a good father when he already projected himself as one. “if so, that’s also fine.”

“I—I—I do want to go,” serena tried to gather herself as quick as possible. if the palace found out about it, she’d definitely be enrolled again to the public appearance etiquette class. “but do you really want me to be there?”

mason tilted his head in confusion, not seeing where the problem was. “I wouldn’t be asking if I don’t want you there.”

“why would you want us to be there?”

“why wouldn’t I want my wife and child to be there?”

mason might be shrugging as he went back to cook the simple, healthy meal for the both of them, as if his answer was to be expected, but serena had to swallow the bitter bile down her throat. mason might be shrugging, as if it was the most natural thing for them, as if they were real, as if he just didn’t stir something inside of serena—of what, she didn’t know.

and frankly she didn’t want to know, for she was afraid it might not be as what she hoped it was.

next chapter contains:

what if i tell you we're no longer far apart? serena's heart skipped a beat. what the hell was that supposed to mean? look around. and there he was, dapper and dashing as if the look didn't obliterate her poor heart.

[sergeantsporks]

You ever wonder what might've happened had the Day of Unity succeeded?

Well, in that hypothetical scenario, I'm going to make a couple of assumptions. 1) that King never found/freed the Collector, and 2) that Belos went through the portal.

Best case scenario, obviously the Hexsquad didn't get killed. Maybe Belos realized the portal was running out of juice, and decided to scoot on through rather than taking the time to kill them, or they jumped out that window behind them and flew to safety. Worst case, he killed them, but we're just not going to assume that, because that makes things boring!

HOPEFULLY they'd realize that getting rid of the sigil would stop the draining spell, and Hunter would join Eda in the one-armed club. Either that, or they escape Belos, only to watch him die in their arms. Hooray!

On Eda's end, hopefully she'd have the wherewithal to realize that she can stop the draining spell the same way Raine stopped it for her-- arm-destruction. I think she'd try a fire glyph first, to see if just destroying what's on the surface would do it, but honestly, I'm assuming if they were that easy to get off, joining a coven wouldn't be such a big deal. So, ideally, she has the energy to transform into her harpy form and start ripping arms off. Lilith would obviously be the easiest, and she could save her sister even if she COULDN'T turn into her harpy form. Probably she'd save the rest of the CATs. Most of the Isles' adult population is toast, though. And those she does save are out of commission for a bit on account of not having a limb-removal curse that makes ripping off arms a bloodless, painless affair.

As far as large-scale thoughts go: the Isles will be fine. We know that no one at Hexside, at least, had a sigil. It's possible none of the children at the other schools were branded either, but for sure not the Hexsidians. Presumably most toddlers and babies wouldn't have a sigil on them. That to say: there would be a massive decline in the Isles population, but there are enough witches at Hexside/any surviving toddlers and babies that there would be a pretty big generational gap, but the witch population WOULD recover. Witches would not forever be wiped out on the Isles. Most of the survivors would likely move into a smaller area to stay close, so a lot of the cities on the Isles would go to ruin, but witchkind would survive.

That being said, we know how well management of Hexside went without the adults, so hopefully, someone would overthrow Boscha pretty quickly, the CATs/whatever other surviving adults would take the reins, or without Kiki, Boscha wouldn't be as bad of a ruler. Regardless, things would SUCK. All of these kids would have just lost their parents, heck, they'll have lost pretty much all of their family, except for the ones that have siblings/cousins under the typical sigil age (the Blights are pretty lucky in that regard). Some of them would have watched teachers or family die in front of them. Maybe a few of them got desperate enough to try arm-chopping. At large, though, the majority of the Isle's population would now be orphaned babies to teens.

On the plus side, the door wouldn't be destroyed, so hypothetically, any titan's blood could reopen it. I'm not sure if King's blood would be enough to open it at this age, but if it was, then at least they could travel back and forth. First order of business would be killing Belos before he figured out that there's still a very small, VERY vulnerable population of witch kids left on the Isles. Hopefully, they could get aid from the human realm in rebuilding. I'm sure there's some people out there that would be okay with moving to the Isles and being parents to some displaced witch kiddos. Luz could reunite with Camila. And she'd live forever with the guilt that she "helped Belos meet the Collector" and would forever feel responsible for the deaths of all those people! Hooray!

If they couldn't get the door open, well, sucks. I think the CATs would be VERY busy. And, uh. They'd have to do something about all those bodies, which. Would not be pleasant. Absolute horror show. All in all, ack!!!! Terrible!!!

[kelperings]

KELPER . the future foundation file thing. GRAGHH you can’t DO that to me ???? you can’t.

because like. okay somehow komahina have to do the final dead room together. maybe chiaki isn’t there to stop hajime when he gets delirious and thinks the exit is in there (don’t worry abt what this could mean for chapter 5 trial stuff it’s Fine several parts of this AU would have a butterfly effect on chapter 5 anyways) so hajime enters and he gets trapped in there until the murder bc he’s too Out Of It to solve the puzzle on his own. nagito enters at the same time he normally does and they solve it together

then there’s the final challenge. i imagine instead of each of them doing russian roulette separately komaeda just loads 4 bullets into the chamber instead of 5 and relies on his luck again. could have a REALLY good moment here where nagito loads the gun, spins the chamber, and points it at hajime, and hajime starts freaking out ofc bc dude don’t point a loaded gun at me ???? and komaeda’s all “aha, hajime, have a little faith! i do have a talent, regardless of how useless it may be in comparison to everyone else’s ^-^ look, i’m even letting you go first!” anyways he pulls the trigger and -click- hajime is safe. hajime barely has the time to breathe out a sigh of relief before komaeda’s aiming the gun at himself now and before hajime can protest -click- komaeda is also safe. hooray for ultimate luck!

and then they make it to the octagon and A Monokuma Appear and he’s like “well that’s the hardest difficulty you would have been able to play on with two people so. here share this file with information on everyone :)” and he hands it to them. and they open it together like “holy shit am i finally gonna learn my/hajime’s talent” and then they’re just. CRUSHED by the weight of “oh my god not only is hajime talentless but also we are all fucking terrorists???? hello???” like it’s BAD. it’s ROUGH

komaeda doesn’t have the luxury of solitude to process this so i imagine he’s MUCH worse at masking the pain he’s in upon learning all of this bc like. fuckkk. like he Knew something bad was going to happen (his luck had spared both his life and hajime’s) but he didn’t realize it would be this bad (instead of killing hajime directly his luck has instead made him Dead To Him. also they’re all terrorists in the name of despair???) like it fucks him UPPP. he starts to shake, he feels dizzy, like he might throw up, and then his legs give out.

hajime- with sharp reflexes- catches him, starts trying to console him and explain this away— “it’s okay, komaeda, none of this can be real, there’s no way— i mean, terrorists? ultimate despair? it can’t be true, it’s not— why would i even be here if i wasn’t—“ and komaeda interrupts him. he lifts his head to glare directly at hajime, says “Don’t touch me.” in the most venomous, angry, betrayed tone he’s ever spoken with, and shoves himself away. he lands on the floor of the octagon and scoots backwards until he hits a wall, curling in on himself and going a bit vacant.

hajime looks at komaeda, down at the file in his hands, back up at komaeda. he’s hurt. he’s hurt that komaeda would believe this (deep down, hajime believes it too. he’s been afraid that he was talentless this whole time, and seeing this file confirms it, even if the rest feels outlandish), he’s upset at the idea that any of them could possibly be responsible for “ending the world,” he doesn’t believe it (he does). he can’t. but hajime doesn’t have time to be hurt. someone’s been murdered, they have a trial to get through.

hajime explores the octagon, hajime realizes what the ultimate weapon is and discovers the trap door that links strawberry and grape house. depending on how drastically chapter 5 is changed by this we could say nagito takes the bombs and poison in this time frame, maybe while hajime isn’t looking or something.

instead of direct animosity hajime and komaeda’s dynamic for this trial and investigation is tense. there’s a deep undercurrent of hurt to it, anger, even, but it’s mostly tension. nagito barely says a word, refusing to speak more than is absolutely necessary. hajime can’t bring himself to point it out. they Don’t Talk About It.

AAAAAGHHH LOOK AT WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO ME. GONNA BE THINKING ABOUT THIS FOREVER . WHAT DO YOU MEANNN. also i Do Not Remember if the file is implied to have information on kamukura or not so i went forward assuming it doesn’t but if it DOES that’s even crazier. like. GRAGGHHH

GAHHHWHHWHHH GHHHHHWGG NNNWNWO NOOOOONNWNWNWHHHHHGGHHH. TEARS AT THE WALLSHHGWVV.

surprise surprise guys spoilers under the cut smhHELWLAHAH

TJIS IS TEARING ME FRRROM THE INSIDEOUUTTTT.

fifrstly, i reckon theres two ways this can go and in a perfect perfect world where i can be slightly okay with the prospect that nagito just saw this fucking file with hajime was if he clocked that hajime is in just as much distress as he is and went a little easier on him for that fact. like he backs away completely, moving himself away from hajime to reel in this information. i mean, it’s obviously not fucking easy to cope with that. he just learnt the world isnt real, they’re in a simulation, theyre all traitors and all the grief theyve been through on tjis island means nothing snd IS nothing compared to what theyve caused to the world. but then, to sit back up to wrap his arms arojnd his stomach (dawgs gon be sick fr fr), he’s actually able to pull himself out of hysteria for just a moment to see hajime face to face. and hajimes distraught. hes staring at the file in hand, practically SHAKING, close to dropping the fucking thing. his eyes trace over the same sentenced over and over again as if they were going to change and go “just kidding!!!” his leg look like they could give way, and he simply CANOT believe that not only was he some fucking reserve course this whole time he thought he must be an ultimate, but he donated his body tl science and basically got a lobotomy and then lobotomy core hajime (izuru) became a fuckinh terrorist. HE LEARNS. HOPES PEAK. WAS WXPERIMENTING ON CHILDREN (the children being HIM mind you). FOR NO PURPOSE OTHER THAN TO STUDY TALENT. this place he looked up to??? hello????????

and maybe. in a perfect world. nagito would see that and understand that it’s affecting hajime probabyjust as much as its affecting him. is this my excuse for hurt/comfort YES. YES IT IS AND IM NOR ASHAMED TO ADMIT IT. IM A PUSSY OKAY MY AHH COULD BEARLY HANDLE THE ORIGINAL PLOTLINE. now. would tjat all actually happen? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA 😐. knowing the luck of nagito komaeda, no. so we’re back to square one, but its a nice idea to think of what couldve happened if nagito saw that and perhaps took it with more sympathy.

BUTGGHWHWHHHH UHHHWHHH UGHHHHHHH IM GONNA GRY AND SOB AND IUGHHHHWHWHH.

the idea of nagito just fucking SPINNING TJE GUN IN SOSFUCKCKCING FUNNY BRO SPINS IT AND POINTS IT AT HAJIME AND IS LIKE “okay stay still bro i got this.”HELWJSHAHA IMAGINE HAJIME..? THIS SKITTISH CAT OF A MAN???? i just like to imagine it turns into a cacophony of fear and arguing like:

“DUDE WHATTHE FUCK STOP POINTING A GUN AT ME”

“stay still!!! my luck wont let you die.”

“IDIDODONT GIVE NO FUCKS ABOUT YOUR LUCK RN WHY ARE YOU POINTING A FUCKING GUN AT ME STOP.”

“STAY STILL.”

“NO???”

“STAY. STILL.”

oh my god mars. mars..? he TAKES THE POISON AND SHIT WHILE HAJIME ISNT FUCKING LOOKING..? WHILE HES FIGURING OUT THAT THE DOOR LEADS TO THE GRAPE HOUSE.?? can you IMAGINE the shame and guilt and hurt hajime would feel, come chapter fucking 5 where he realises if he “just paid more attention” he couldve stopped it from happening. do you realido you realise you do youddhdhhhwhwhhhhhhwh. OH MY GOD IM LOSINH MY MIND IM LOSING MY MIND WDYMMMM WDYM. ghhhwh they dont talk about it they dont talk about it. imagine how them talkinh once gettung out of the coma would be dawg. like they talk to be like “okay let’s actually talk and discuss whatever the FUCK went down in there u and me bro” because i assume theyd have to at some point because bro WHAT. and they reach that point. and it just. ghhhwhwhh. NO. THIS SIS AWFUFL WE ATE EVIL PEOPLE.

i THINK izuru is implied in the file?????? i think so????????? might be wrong

mars ilysm.

[tobiasdrake]

And here is where it all shits the bed. Let's talk about that third act and its open embrace of the idea that mutants should be suppressed.

Like. Right from the get-go, The Last Stand sets up a conflict that leaves our heroes in a very uncomfortable position.

The X-Men are here to reinforce a military force armed with genocide blasters designed to ethnically cleanse their race, in order to protect the "mutant cure" from Magneto's assault.

Y'know. The cure created by that guy who tried to coerce and even violently force his own son into conversion. We're defending him.

That's not even an exaggeration, either. A portion of this act is dedicated to protecting him, specifically.

Yay! Warren saved the life of the guy who created a way to purge mutation, and who tried to coerce him into chemical conversion for the sin of being a mutant. A lot of people are going to get fucked here. Even his assistant was killed. But that guy gets to take all the hate in his heart and fly off happily into the sunset with the son he scorned, taught self-hatred to, and ultimately rejected.

What a heroic moment!

The film made a big deal earlier about how the government immediately weaponized the cure. But that was just Magneto's opinion. These guys have cure missiles that can ethnically purge hundreds of members of the mutant race at once, but the X-Men are on their side so I guess that's a cool thing to have. Hooray for weaponized ethnic cleansing!

Magneto calls the X-Men:

And. Like.

Is he wrong? We are now fully acting as Warren Worthington II's private security team. Right down to embracing his methodology. The film has two major antagonists and this is how it resolves them.

How do we deal with Magneto? Well, the X-Men notice some Cure Darts lying on the ground from one of the weapons Arclight destroyed.

And they're like, "Fuck yeah, let's go purge some mutations."

Enjoy being stripped of your race and identity, fucker! Should have been more responsible with it and maybe that wouldn't have happened to you! We're the X-Men! We believe in suppressing mutations we don't like! That's what Xavier taught us!

Speaking of which. Jean.

Logan tries to talk Jean down, but then our boys we've been protecting show up and shoot Cure Darts at her because of course they do.

Much like with Xavier, Jean gets violent in response to violence directed at her. She's just been standing there in the back and hasn't participated in this battle at all. But once they attack her, she starts fighting back.

This is supposed to be the big "Jean Loses Control" moment as her powers are unleashed in their totality.

But, again, this is a direct response to being attacked. This doesn't hit me as Jean's powers taking control of her; This feels more like deliberate retaliation. She is attacking everything in her immediate surroundings because they attacked her first.

She was fine up to this point.

Nonetheless, this winds up being the final statement on Jean. Magneto recants having ever sided with her to begin with.

Jean begs Logan to put an end to it.

And Logan kills her.

I guess she really did just have too much telekinesis all along.

So the final statement is that actually Warren was right all along. Sometimes mutants are just too dangerous and must be purged.

Magneto? Too dangerous. Had to be purged.

Jean? Suppressing her mutation was a good thing, actually, and if Xavier isn't around to control her then she must be destroyed.

Warren? Flying off safely into the sunset with the son he despises. He gets to live and be free and happy because I guess he did nothing wrong.

Oh, and don't think I forgot about Rogue. Here is Rogue's entire character arc.

I mean, she could have said that she, Rogue, has wants and desires of her own and this isn't just about Bobby. But no, Rogue hates herself because all men are sex fiends and she can't deliver.

Then she sees Kitty and Bobby ice skating together and holding each other for stability, after Bobby did a really nice thing to get Kitty out of her sadness spiral.

They do at least fix the cock-up of that first scene at the end, so that's a plus.

So that's Rogue's journey. She hated herself on Bobby's behalf because she's bad at girlfriend stuff, but over the course of the film she learns to hate herself on her own behalf. And then Warren purges her mutation for her.

Isn't that great!?

In fact, the X-Men do such a great job protecting Warren's mutant-purging business that it ends racism.

Now that Magneto's gone and the President has guns that can erase any mutants he likes, there's no longer any racial tension and we can all live happily ever after.

God, what a net-positive for the world the ability to suppress people's mutations is! It's the answer to Magneto, the answer to Rogue, the answer to systemic persecution of mutants, and it was the answer to Jean until Xavier lost control of her. Purging mutations is the best idea ever.

The end.

[anony-man]

Hooray for unofficially reaching 50 drabbles! Hope you all enjoy this one!

Chubformers drabble #50!

Character: Starscream (and Windblade - IDW)

Word count: 641

“I’m starting to get worried, Starscream.”

The door had been locked (emphasis on had) prior to Starscream settling in for his lunch break. By some miracle, Windblade had somehow managed to break her way inside. Now, with her arms crossed over her chest and her expression twisted in that irritating, worried stare, Starscream was left to sit in his office chair and take her scrutiny.

Really, who was she to judge? Now that the war was almost over, things were different. Starscream may have found himself falling back into old habits, sure, but that was his business… and Bumblebee’s, of course. Windblade of all bots didn’t deserve to know every detail of his private life, so why the hell was she so adamant about trying?

“That’s a new one,” Starscream said with a roll of his optics before reaching for the cube on his desk.

Before he could even blink, Windblade’s servo was there, blocking the path. Starscream was ready to protest, scathing remarks on the tip of his tongue, but she merely slid the cube further and further out of reach while keeping that awful, judgy stare.

“I’m serious,” she said, speaking louder this time, more urgently. It was as if Starscream were on his deathbed… but he wasn’t. “Ever since Meg—“

“Don’t,” Starscream snapped, earning him a startled gasp from Windblade. Good, he thought. She should be scared of him. “Don’t… say his name. Please. I’d much rather sit in peace on my lunch break.”

“With a cube this size?” Windblade asked, lifting up the container. “There’s no point in lying. I know you’re not well.”

Well, that was a first. Starscream could count on one servo the amount of times anyone had been concerned for his wellbeing—and that included the two shocking statements Windblade had already dropped.

In a way, she was right. Starscream had gained quite a bit, he supposed. But Windblade had, too. It was to be expected, of course; their choice of occupation was known to be awful on the system.

Unlike Windblade, however, Starscream’s rapid increase in mass wasn’t just rooted in the stressors of the job. His troubles stemmed from cracks that ran far beneath the surface. Unlike Windblade, Starscream’s issue wasn’t a problem easily uprooted by a simple solution. In his case, a whole factory reset would probably have been a lot more successful.

While Windblade may have grown a little chubby around the edges, Starscream was utterly massive in comparison.

“Holding my meals hostage isn’t going to do much, you know,” Starscream said, scooting his chair closer to the desk. The mound of fat that spilled from his belly onto his lap barred him from getting very close, and he did his best to pretend he didn’t hear the pitiful groans of the poor chair beneath him. “I’m afraid it’ll just make me that much less cooperative.”

Windblade was silent for a moment, visibly contemplating the statement. Whereas Starscream was spitballing every snarky statement that came to mind, the fellow flier seemed intent on picking it apart piece by piece in search of any hidden meaning. In the end, she merely sighed, setting the cube back down within arm’s reach.

“Why am I not surprised?” was the muttered response she gave before turning and storming out of the office, her frame narrowly missing getting caught by the slim doorway.

Starscream watched her go, waiting until he could no longer see her silhouette before leaning back in his chair and cracking open the cube with a sigh. He drank slowly, savoring the taste of rich, bubbly energon on his tongue.

Really, why was she not surprised? It was Starscream, after all. Why expect him to let down his guard when he could instead bury eons of troubles under the weight of a flabby belly and big glass of fuel?