#‘I mean just look at that shot’ ‘it’s midair how did you do that???’

[sadiecoocoo]

Was there ever a time that Peter was questioned for being able to get such good photos of Spider-Man while literally everyone else had no possible way of doing so 🤔

[sweetbans29]

That's Mine - CC

Pairing: Caitlin Clark x Reader

Summary: You get jealous and don’t like when people take what’s yours (based off of THIS request)

Warnings: jealous reader, suggestive

Word Count: 2.6k

Sweetbans Masterlist

AN: Let me know what you guys think!

You and Caitlin had been dating for about 6 months now. The two of you met when you were helping your roommate take photos of the team. She was one of the student photographers who would photograph different sports teams on campus. She was in charge of women's volleyball, women's basketball, and track and field. It seemed like a lot but she juggled it well.

You got roped into helping her out for one of the media days for the women's basketball team. It was a Friday morning and you had no excuse to get out of it.

You joined your roommate, Sophie, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. You were in charge of carrying around gear and getting whatever lens she needed ready. It was honestly pretty simple.

You helped her set up the space before any of the team got there. When you were done, you went to grab coffee for the two of you. On your walk back you bumped into a few of the girls from the team.

You started talking with them as you all walked to where the media day was being held. A few of them had classes with you, and the others got introduced. They were all super chill.

When you returned, you handed Soph her coffee and got to work. You gathered all the props that they had and handed them to the girls whenever they went to switch up a shot.

One of the girls came up to you to introduce herself.

"Hey, I just wanted to say thank you for helping out today. Sophie mentioned you would be helping out today. I'm Caitlin." She says as she extends her hand to shake yours.

"Hi, I know who you are," you say with a little smile and laugh. "You are truly incredible on the court."

She smiles and you swear you see a slight blush creep into her cheeks.

"Thanks." She says. "Well, I better get back, thanks again for helping out."

You thought it was sweet that Caitlin came over to introduce herself. She didn't need an introduction as she was well-known throughout campus as one of our star athletes. But it was nice to know that she now knows who you are.

The rest of the media day goes smoothly. Everyone looks amazing and the photos are the best media day photos you have seen your roommate take - and she has taken quite a few.

At the end of the shoot, you help her clean up when Caitlin comes over again.

"Hey," you say as you start folding up one of the lights.

"Hi," she says and just stands there.

You don't think much of it and continue to tear down. She is playing with her fingertips and seems like she wants to say something.

"How did we look today?" She ends up asking, not getting to her real reason for coming over. You stopped what you were doing to continue the conversation with her.

"The team looked absolutely amazing." You say. "I think one of my favorite shots was of you actually." When you say it, noticing a blush that creeps up into her cheeks.

"Oh ya? Which one?" She asks, trying to regain her confidence.

"The one where you were midair for the dunk." You say with a little smile.

"Oh that one was fire, I think it is one of my favorites as well," she says. It is now or never. She takes a deep breath and mumbles, "Would you maybe want to grab coffee or something sometime?"

At first, you stare at her - your brain trying to process what she is asking. There is no way she is asking you out right now, she has to mean it as friends.

“I would love that,” you say with a sweet smile. You try not to think anything of it but it is hard when a gorgeous all-start basketball star is asking to hang out. The two of you exchange phone numbers and go your separate ways.

Over the next 8 months, the two of you really get to know each other. The two of you became friends and started dating shortly after.

That leads you today. The two of you are with a few girls from the team. It is one of her teammate's birthdays and they wanted to go out to a nice dinner and then to their favorite ice cream spot.

Everyone dressed up nice to go out to dinner.

When you walk into where Caitlin is getting ready - she takes your breath away.

You walk up behind where she is sitting and place your hands on her shoulders, rubbing her arms.

"You look stunning." You say as you look at her through the mirror. She looks at you through the mirror with a smile. She is putting on some light makeup, not that she needs it, that compliments her well.

"You don't look too bad yourself," she says checking you out.

You lean over and kiss the top of her head.

"Are you ready to go?" You ask as you sit on her bed.

"Yep, just finishing up," she says. "Can you come help me put this necklace on?"

You get up and help her. It is a necklace you got her for her birthday. It was a diamond circle that fell beautifully on her chest.

Once the necklace is on, she turns round to face you. She takes in your appearance and takes a deep breath. You don't know how she does it but it brings butterflies to your stomach without even trying. You crumble beneath her gaze.

She leans down and places the lightest kiss on your lips. You lean into her wanting more. She gives in and lets you take the lead. When things get a little too heavy, you break away from her. Your breathing is uneven and your eyes are still closed.

"If we don't go now, we won't make it out the door," you say taking a few steps back from her.

She just gives you a look, knowing you are right.

The two of you head out and meet up with the other girls.

The night is nice, you are all enjoying dinner and each other's company. Following dinner you all head to THE ice cream spot. When you all arrive, there is a line around the corner. The is nothing new and you all head to the back of the line.

As you are waiting in line and talking to one of Caitlin's teammates, something catches your eye.

You glance over at Caitlin who is in conversation with the girl in front of her. At first, you think nothing of it as it didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary. You brush it off and get back to your conversation.

After about 10 minutes, you notice Caitlin is still talking to the same girl only this time, the girl's hand comes up to touch Caitlin's arm. Caitlin just laughs at something the girl says, making no effort to remove her hand.

You know it is harmless, but part of you was hoping your girlfriend would politely step back or remove the girl's hand from her body.

You try to shake the rising sense of jealousy that is building within you but it doesn't subside. Even though you are still in the conversation with Caitlin's friends, your ears and mind are trained on Caitlin and the girl.

After another five minutes, you hear the girl talking about how amazing Caitlin is on the court and how she has been following your girlfriend this past season, making sure she was at every game.

Caitlin being Caitlin, was very kind and to anyone else would look like she was flirting back. Deep down - you know she never would, but the insecurity that the jealousy brought, had you raving to get your girlfriend out of that situation. You wanted to stake your claim.

Your final straw was when the girl asked for a photo with Caitlin, which she happily agreed to. When the girl pulled out her phone, she leaned into Caitlin, putting her head in the crease of her neck, and tilted her head in. She was posing as if Caitlin was hers.

You had enough and excused yourself from your current conversation. You make your way over so you are standing right behind Caitlin.

You have a slight advantage since Caitlin is taller than you, so you could sneak up behind her without the other girl knowing. And when you do, you ever so lightly trail your fingers from her lower back all the way up to just below her neck. You see the hair on her neck stand straight up as her speech becomes uneven.

The dress she is wearing makes this all so easy. There is a large open slit that goes from her lower back up to her neck, right where your fingers just trailed and tied at the top. Your fingers begin to play with the strings as your other hand comes and plays with the bottom of the slit, hands teasing her waist.

You can feel every muscle in her body tense and you know that isn't the only part of her that is affected. You go on your tippy toes, just close enough for her, and only her, to hear what you say.

"Looks like I need to show you who you belong to tonight," you whisper in her ear. Caitlin's mouth goes dry as she politely excuses herself from the fan she was just talking to.

As she turns back to the group and you all approach the front of the line, she tries to grab your hand - wanting to make any sort of contact with you to ease the tension that builds inside her. You notice her hand coming to meet yours and move it - keeping up a playful conversation with the girls. The lowest of whines comes from your girl as she is becoming visually flustered and frustrated.

You knew exactly what to do to get her going, and once she was going, there was no turning her off.

The thing about your relationship with Caitlin is that when you two are intimate, it is usually sweet or based off of a mutual need for one another. And if there was any dominance, Caitlin would always be the one to take the lead. It has never been the other way around, until tonight.

You can see hands begin to fiddle with themselves and then come to the bottom of her dress, straightening it out and smoothing it over. She is doing everything in her power to keep it cool.

As the group enters the ice cream shop, you let her go first, placing your hand on her lower back, and guiding her in. She slows her movements, hoping to lean into your touch more yet nothing more than your fingers grace her body. She is itching for your touch.

She can barely focus as she is trying to decide what flavor to get. You are standing right next to her, your perfume overwhelming her. She wants to bring her arm around you and pull you into her body but is nervous about what repercussions that would have later that night. Your choosing to be the dominant one is new and the excitement that comes with that alone is enough for her to excuse the two of you to take you home to find out more.

When it is your turn to choose a flavor, you look over to Caitlin to let her go first.

"Ummm, can I please get....umm," she says, not knowing what to choose.

"She'll have a single scoop of your cherry vanilla," You say, not acknowledging Caitlin's look wondering why you weren't getting any.

"Can we also get a pint of that to go please," you ask the man who's taking your order, he gives a light nod and gets your order all set.

He hands it all over to you as you pay for it. You hand Caitlin her scoop and the paper bag holding the pint while mumbling something along the lines of 'tasting something sweeter tonight'.

Caitlin tries to engage in the conversation as everyone is sitting at a table that is too small for your group but can't focus on anything other than you. How your knee hits hers and your hand occasionally comes to her thigh when you laugh at something one of the girls says.

She leans over to you and quietly says, "Can we please go home?"

Her need for you continues to grow with each touch.

"I don't think I am ready yet," you say, finally looking into her eyes. Even the simple action of eye contact has her fighting back a squirm.

"Please," she whispers in your ear, practically begging.

You see how her thighs are pressing together and her hands can't keep still. You take a second to contemplate her request and cave. To be quite honest, seeing her in such a needy state has you riled up as well.

You stand and Caitlin immediately follows suit.

"We are going to head out, Caitlin doesn't feel too good," you say which isn't completely wrong. Everyone says their goodbyes and you say happy birthday to her teammate and begin the journey back. Everything was within walking distance of her apartment which made it an easy trip back.

Easy in the sense of the distance. Borderline unbearable to Caitlin as you still wouldn't hold her hand. She followed you like a lost puppy.

When you got back to her place, you didn't say a thing to her as you put the ice cream in the freezer and began looking through your phone. She expected you to have her pinned against the door the second you walked in the place, showing her who she belonged to just like you said you were going to.

She didn't know what to do when you didn't immediately jump her.

"Ummm," she doesn't know what to say but knows she wants you.

You look up from your phone and just stare at her. There are your eyes again, unraveling her without a single touch. Her heart rate going a mile a minute. You walk over to her and look her up and down.

"What do you want baby?" You ask low and slow, your hand coming to brush her own.

The control Caitlin wants to take is taking every ounce of willpower she has to subdue.

"Touch me," she says and your eyebrow raises. "Please, touch me."

Your hand comes to hold hers now, and her eyes flutter close. Her breath picks up and becomes uneven. She takes in the feeling of your skin on hers, even if it is just her hand. You then bring your other hand up to where the pads of your fingertips are skimming her neck, tracing her ear. Her neck tilts and she lets out the sweetest moan.

"Go get on the bed," you say as you grab one of the strings of her dress and pull it undone.

She immediately does what you say. You take your time in the kitchen, wanting her to sweat a little.

"If I find any evidence that you have touched yourself, that's it." You yell to her. You hear her groan in response.

You make your way to the freezer and grab the ice cream and a spoon. Once the freezer closes, you make your way to your girl in the bedroom.

AN: I hope this did the prompt justice. Please let me know what you think! And as always, thank you for the love and support 🤍

[suppose-i-was-worm]

Dani A(Clone)

**An Arctic Siren Aside**

***Thank y'all for 200 followers!! I look forward to getting to know y'all!***

Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow of Star City, was not easy to startle. He went through too much training, too much pain to not be on the alert all the time. Letting out a breath, he shot his arrow, hitting his far away target with an ease that he was familiar with after so many years.

“Wow, Mister, you sure have good aim!”

Oliver Queen, when startled, screamed like a goat. He spun, looking for an enemy, but instead was met with the curious face of a young girl sitting on the ground behind him, leaning her chin on her fist.

Oliver took a moment to recollect himself.

“Hello, young miss. Can I help you?”

The girl tilted her head.

“I’m looking for my brother. Are you a hero?”

Nodding, Oliver pointed to his bow with the hand not holding it.

“I’m the Green Arrow.”

She didn’t seem impressed.

“Tell me more about your brother? Is he older? Younger? What’s his name?”

“Stranger danger, what’s your name?”

Oliver paused.

“Green Arrow.”

“His name’s John, in that case. John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith.”

“John?”

“His name is my name too.”

By the glint in the girl’s eyes, Oliver was being pranked somehow and neither child was named John. He tried a different approach.

“What does your brother look like?”

“Like me, but a boy.”

Helpful. He knew he was supposed to be kind and gentle with civilian children, but Oliver almost wanted to pick this girl up and shake her until she had useful information.

There was a crunch on the rooftop behind him, and by the sounds it was Arsenal coming to find out what was taking him so long.

“Oh wow, you’re cool!”

The girl bounced up and darted around Oliver to circle Roy, looking him up and down.

“Now there’s a hero! Baseball cap? Clean shaven? Be still my beating heart!”

Oliver’s only solace was that Roy looked about as off-put as he himself was.

“Can I be a hero? My brother’s a hero, we’d find each other that way!”

Roy smiled at the kid.

“Well, it takes a lot to be a hero, you know? What would your hero name be?”

“Phantom, like my brother. And it’s fine! I’ve got powers, see?”

The girl lifted off the ground, hovering, and crossed her legs underneath her to sit in the air.

“I can do some other stuff too, but the flight is the coolest.”

Oliver looked at Roy, who seemed to be seriously thinking about the girl’s proposition.

“Arsenal, you can’t- What about her parents?”

The girl’s float drooped a little.

“They’re… gone. It’s just me and my brother, and I don’t know where he is. I’m from the Infinite Realms, and I can’t get back without him.”

The Infinite Realms sounded like Justice League Dark shit.

“Let me introduce you to the Teen Titans, then. Phantom, right?”

Phantom lit up, and Oliver stared in shock at his teammate.

Batman would be so pissed at him.

~~~

Dick Grayson smiled at the girl in front of him. Damian had convinced him to come meet her, claiming that she was an ‘integral part of the team’, only a few weeks into her tenure with the Titans.

Phantom smiled back, too sharp teeth on display.

“Hello, Phantom. I’m Nightwing, Robin’s brother. How are you today?”

“Stellar, thanks!” She did a little twirl midair. “How are you, Mister Nightwing sir?”

“I’m doing well. I heard that you didn’t allow for a DNA sample? It would make life in the tower much easier if we had your biometrics.”

She scowled, suddenly dropping to the ground and crossing her arms. She was short, for a sixteen-year-old, but Dick was still a little thrown off by the ferocious look on her face.

“Don’t you Gotham folks know when no means no? Consent is sexy and you are not. I’ve met heroes with better etiquette than any of you.”

He held his hands up in a gesture of peace.

“I won’t force you. Who’s your favorite hero?”

Immediately, as if a switch had been flipped, Phantom was up in the air again, grinning like a loon.

“Phantom Prime, of course! My brother is the strongest person I know.”

Kid Flash looked up from where he’d been assembling a puzzle.

“You met Superman the other day, though?”

Phantom scoffed.

“My brother could kick his ass. Ancients, I'd kick his ass if you guys would let me. He deserves an ass-kicking.”

“Why?”

Dick would admit he was just as confused as Kid Flash.

“Vibes.”

“Vibes? What kind of vibes?”

“Fruitloop vibes.”

“That doesn’t make much sense, Phantom.”

“Sure it does! Hey, Superboy!”

~~~

Kon-el startled at being caught listening in to the conversation. He turned to address Phantom from the tower kitchen.

“What’s up?”

“Is Superman’s secret identity rich?”

“Uh, no?”

“Does he have a lair?”

“Kinda?”

“How is he about clones?”

Kon must have made a face, because Phantom pointed at him.

“Ah-ha! Those vibes! Clone hater vibes.”

Stepping out of the kitchen, Kon tried to downplay the issue.

“I mean, he’s gotten better, but…”

“Nope! He’s still an asshole and deserves an ass-kicking.”

Nightwing held up a hand like a kid in a schoolroom.

“You have an opinion about clones?”

Phantom nodded decisively.

“My brother says that clones didn’t ask to be made, just like any other kid. It’s not their fault, it’s the fault of their creator. He says that the sins of the father should not be visited on the sons.”

Kon stepped closer, curious.

“But. Isn’t it a violation? If someone makes a clone without the donor’s knowledge?”

Phantom looked over at him with big, sad eyes.

“My sister says that’s between the donor and the creator. No kid should be painted as the one in the wrong when they were a victim, too.”

Nightwing spoke up again, sounding a little out of his depth.

“You deal with a lot of clones?”

She grinned, and Kon could tell there was a secret behind the twinkle in her eyes.

“One or two.”

~~~

Dani heard a knock on the frame of her open door and turned to greet her visitor. It was getting late- she was pretty surprised that anyone was still awake.

“Hey Superboy! How can I help?”

“Would you-‘ he looked sheepish. ‘Would you really beat up Superman for me?”

She cracked her knuckles. Someone had said that Kon-el was a clone, but she hadn’t really expected him to admit to it. They weren’t even properly teammates- he was part of Young Justice, not Teen Titans.

“I’d beat up anybody to protect the honor of clone-kind, Superboy.”

“Why?”

Making a split second decision, Dani leaned in close.

“Can you keep a secret, Kon-el?”

“Yeah?”

“You’d better. Us clones have to stick together, amiright?”

Superboy looked at her, stunned, and she winked.

“Just don’t tell the bats. Batman has both rich and secret lair vibes.”

[miss-musings]

Crosshair's 10 Most Impressive Shots in "Star Wars: The Bad Batch"

We're now officially three weeks removed from the series finale, so I thought it'd be a fun time to look back at our favorite sniper and review some of his most impressive shots.

Note, I'll be ranking items from "The Bad Batch" TV show only, so there won't be any entries from "The Clone Wars" S7.

I did get a lot of input from folks here and on Twitter, and a lot of people ended up saying the same ones. I put them on here along with a few of my own.

As for how I determined the order, I judged based on a combination of: the distance of the shot, the size of the target, the speed of the target (if applicable), other external factors like light conditions and weather, and "internal" factors like Crosshair's physical and mental state.

You're free to disagree with which ones I picked and how I ordered them. It's all subjective.

Also, I don't proclaim to be an expert in marksmanship nor am I a military sniper. But, I do have a general baseline for how difficult Crosshair's shots would be IRL. I used to go shooting with my dad a lot at both indoor and outdoor ranges, and I was pretty decent at both pistol- and rifle-shooting. So, that's what I'm using to judge Crosshair's shots.

With that out of the way, let's dive in with #10:

10. Killing Lt. Nolan in 2.12 "The Outpost"

I probably wouldn't have put this one on the list for myself, but I had multiple people suggest it should make the cut.

While this shot is very important narratively, it's not very impressive from a purely technical perspective.

I mean, hitting a relatively stationary human-sized target from a few meters away... It's definitely not the most impressive shot on Crosshair's resume.

However, I did feel it was worth adding to the list for the simple fact that Crosshair is physically exhausted and mentally broken in this scene. He basically uses the last of his strength to kill Lt. Nolan, because he immediately collapses right afterward.

Also, Crosshair might be right-handed, but he's pretty good at shooting his pistol leftie. We don't really see the shot hit Nolan, but if you zoom in after his body hits the ground, you can see that Crosshair shot him straight through the heart. He wasn't leaving that bastard alive after everything he and Mayday went through.

9. Lunch tray ricochet in 1.01 "Aftermath"

Even though this isn't a shot in the traditional sense -- considering there aren't any firearms involved -- I had to put this on the list for two reasons.

One, I had multiple people suggest it; and two, because I've watched this scene dozens of times and only recently found out that Crosshair actually hits two clones with his lunch tray.

He initially throws it at the clone Tech was fighting, presumably knocking him down. But then it ricochets so hard that it basically clotheslines another clone who's just standing there, minding his own business. Dude was hit so hard, he was like floating in midair for a split second.

Also, this plays into my headcanon that Crosshair would be excellent at any sports that require excellent aim and coordination. If he was on a basketball team, he'd be a three-point specialist for sure!!

8. Plan 55 ricochet in 3.12 "Juggernaut"

This is the closest thing we get to a trickshot in S3, so I had to include it on the list.

Here, we see Crosshair's quick-thinking and perfect aim take out several troopers at once by purposely ricocheting his shot off the magnetically sealed doors.

As we know from “A New Hope,” magnetically sealed doors/surfaces are no joke. You really have to know what you're doing or someone's gonna get hurt. Thankfully, Crosshair is a freakin' pro at this!

It honestly reminds me of all those crazy pool shots where you have to plan out four or five bounces/angles ahead to get the angle you really want.

7. Downing a spaceship on Ryloth in 1.11 "Devil's Deal"

NOTE: This is the only clip I couldn't readily find on YT. So I included the clip of Crosshair killing Orn Free Taa from the same episode to maintain symmetry in this Top 10 list.

Don't let the clip fool you. The shot I'm actually talking about takes place before this, when Crosshair -- from like 300 meters away, mind you -- takes down a fast-moving ship by shooting one of the engines.

Look, I love S3 Crosshair with all my heart, but his shooting abilities were severely diminished after his time on Tantiss. When I was doing my S1 rewatch and got to this scene in 1.11, I was like "Oh yeah, I forgot Crosshair used to be able pull off crazy shit like this."

It's actually sad how many of his made shots in 1.11 are like an inverse of his missed shots in 3.11. Here, Crosshair easily shoots a tracker onto Hera & company's ship, and later shoots the engine with no problem, despite the speed and distance.

In 3.11, though, he misses CX-2's ship and fails to track Omega back to Tantiss. 😭

6. Shooting Wrecker's knife in 1.01 "Aftermath"

Now we're getting into the really impressive shit! Most of these remaining entries have Crosshair shooting small targets and/or fast-moving ones.

In this instance, it's both. Wrecker throws the knife like this is skeet-shooting or something, and Crosshair just very casually shoots it into a droid.

Have you ever seen someone who was so good at their job/hobby that they make it look effortless? Like they're not even trying? This happens to me sometimes when I watch the Olympics. I'm like, "That's not so hard. I could probably do that." And then I try it for like half a second, and I'm like, "Oh no, those people are insane."

That's how good S1-2 Crosshair is. He makes shooting a fast-moving knife look effortless.

5. His four-kill trickshot in 1.15 "Return to Kamino"

These next three are all no-brainer entries. I think the biggest question will be why I went with the order I did.

Here, we have Crosshair displaying two very important elements of marksmanship/sniping: patience and careful aim.

Crosshair evidently set up at least four mirrors (I counted the ricochets in the shot) well in advance in the exact spots he needed to take down his Imperial squad, if need be. That's some serious foresight and preparation -- to know exactly where everyone would be standing, and have all the mirrors ready to go ahead of time.

He must've set them up even before he brought Hunter into the training room, or Hunter would've seen them and probably signaled his teammates.

He's also hitting a target that seems to be somewhere between the size of a golf ball and baseball from like 10-20 meters. And with his sidearm.

I know everyone loves the hallway mirror ricochet to kill the squadron of battle droids in TCW Season 7, but it didn't qualify. But, honestly, I think this one is more impressive anyway. He hit the first 1.15 mirror from farther away than he does in TCW S7, and he's using his pistol in 1.15 rather than his rifle and scope.

Talk about accuracy!

4. Sniping the tank in 2.03 "The Solitary Clone"

Oh man! I think we all love this one, right? It's just one of my favorite sequences in the entire show -- the framing, the colors, the effects of the dirt flying up behind him.

I love how Crosshair baits the droids to get the exact angle he needs, and the dude clearly has nerves of steel for staring down the barrel of a tank without flinching. I wonder how many times he's done it, considering he seemed to know exactly how to beat them. I'm guessing at least a dozen.

This is another example of "expert making their expertise look effortless," when in reality, we'd all shit ourselves if we attempted to do the same.

Honestly, sometimes I wish we could've had this version of Crosshair face off against Hemlock in 3.15 -- the dude who stared down the barrel of a tank and didn't flinch at the most literal version of "kill or be killed."

3. Stairwell trickshot in 2.03 "The Solitary Clone"

While I love the tank sequence more for the aesthetics, I have to rank the 2.03 stairwell trickshot above it.

That's partly because Crosshair's still physically and mentally recovering from nearly getting choked to death. But, it's also partly because -- just like with Wrecker's knife -- Crosshair is shooting a target that someone else is throwing.

That means he has to adjust to whatever trajectory and speed they throw it at and compensate accordingly, which can understandably be very hard to do in a split-second.

And, in this situation, Crosshair can't even see the puck directly. He's looking at it through at least one or two layers of reflective mirrors. Dude's reaction time is insane!

He also manages to take down at least four or five droids with a single shot, including the tactical droid, which is several meters up the stairwell and into the next room.

I'm not sure if the clones learned any advanced mathematics during their training on Kamino. But if they did, I think Crosshair would've loved geometry and maybe trigonometry too! He would also absolutely kill in a game of pool. I wanna see him go to the SW equivalent of a pool hall, and show Omega that he can hustle people too! He just needed to find a game that would better suit his strengths. LOL

Anyway, as insane as this shot is, Crosshair has two others on his resume that are even more impressive:

2. Saving Omega & AZI in 1.16 "Kamino Lost"

This is one of three entries on this list that *no one* mentioned when I asked for suggestions, but I had to include it. That's because it is -- without a doubt -- the most bafflingly impressive shot Crosshair makes in the entire show.

I have watched this scene dozens of times, and I still have no idea how he knows where Omega and AZI are.

Initially, I thought -- as others did -- that he's using an infrared scope to see their body heat in the water. But, that doesn't appear to be the case.

The only times I can recall Crosshair activating an infrared capability is when he has his rangefinder, which is attached to his helmet. As we see in episodes like 1.01 "Aftermath" and in 3.07 "Extraction," he specifically has to put the rangefinder down in front of his eye to use the infrared option.

No, his scope is just that -- a regular scope. The infrared capability is only attached to his helmet's rangefinder, which he doesn't have in this scene.

Thus, I have no idea how Crosshair is using a regular-ass scope to find Omega and AZI in the dark ocean. The point of a scope is to see better, and I don't know what he might see beside more darkness. AZI's eyes aren't active and, even if Crosshair spots Omega's flashlight, Omega dropped it when she went after AZI, so it's not exactly on her.

I'm willing to believe that Crosshair has better eyesight than the average human in the Star Wars universe or IRL, but his eyesight must be insane if he can see them in the water, even with a scope.

But, whether it's eyesight, some other enhanced sense or just plain luck, Crosshair knows where in the vast, dark ocean they are — not just the angle but the depth too!

It's really hard to tell how far down they are, but I'd say at least 20 meters. And if he is able to see them somehow, he might have to adjust the shot for refraction in the water too.

Plus, unlike the other entries on this list, Crosshair isn't shooting a blaster bolt. He's shooting a cable, meaning he'd have to adjust his shot to accommodate its weight and trajectory once it hits the water. Additionally, with how Omega and AZI are situated, he needs to have the cable hit and latch onto AZI, without hitting Omega in the process, and get the exact angle needed to drag both of them to the surface.

Like I said: I have absolutely no idea how he made this shot. It's definitely the most impressive one he makes in the entire show based solely on external technical factors.

But of course, there is a parallel shot later in the series that's his most impressive one of all...

1. Freeing Omega in 3.15 "The Cavalry Has Arrived"

I will never shut up about this scene. It's been living in my head rent-free for three weeks already, and will continue to for several months.

This is undoubtedly the most important shot in Crosshair's life: the shot to save his kid and free his family from Hemlock once and for all.

And everything is working against him: It's dark. It's raining. Omega and Hemlock are like ~40 meters away. The target is the binders between their hands, which is like 3-5 centimeters wide, and won't exactly be stationary. Oh, he's using CX-2's stolen blaster, which doesn't even have a scope on it!!!

We the audience get a POV of what Crosshair sees from over his shoulder, and I can barely see Omega's face, let alone her hands!! I said in the previous entry that Crosshair's eyesight has to be better than the average person's because, holy hell, how can he see that?!?

And, even worse, Crosshair is physically and mentally spent in this scene. He had to return to his own personal hell -- the place where he was tortured and traumatized for months -- then got beaten in a fight and had his dominant hand chopped off.

He and Hunter are running on pure adrenaline at this point. They are absolutely hellbent on getting their kid back, even if they die or collapse in the process. They were practically hobbling out of the CX lab together, and when they crouch down on the bridge, Crosshair has to steady himself against Hunter because he doesn't have his other hand.

And, as the final cherry on top of this proverbially shitty sundae, Crosshair absolutely terrified of missing.

A few episodes ago, the guy couldn't hit stationary fruit from like ~15 meters away with a scope in daylight and in a controlled environment. He even tells Omega: "Close doesn't count. It's either a hit or a miss." Because in a high-stakes situation like this, missing your shot could mean death for you or someone else.

Crosshair already feels like he failed Omega because he missed the shot on Pabu. And now, he has to make an even tougher one with every disadvantage stacked against him and her life literally in his hand.

I don't blame the guy for doubting himself.

Thankfully, Hunter and Omega have complete faith in him, and despite everything he's been through in S3, he has faith in himself.

And so, in the shot to end all shots in "The Bad Batch," Crosshair hits his target and frees Omega.

He and Hunter then subsequently turn Hemlock into Swiss cheese before Omega gives Crosshair a much-needed hug, causing me to cry for the 100th time.

I'll admit: as much as I would've loved seeing another mirror trickshot or some other crazy ricochet in the finale (or just S3 in general), this scene is basically perfect.

It also makes for a nice little parallel to the S1 finale, where Crosshair saved Omega's life after she saved his. Here, as he says himself, he goes back to Tantiss to free her because she freed him first.

As someone said on Twitter when I asked for ideas about this list:

"(Crosshair) put his whole heart and soul in this shot, and he didn't miss. He couldn't afford to."

Like I said: this was the shot that freed the entire Bad Batch family from Hemlock forever. So, I think by default, it had to be No. 1 on this list.

*******

Anyway, thanks for reading! It'd be fun to put together another TBB list like this. I guess I'll have to pick a subject first, though, because I don't have any ideas. If you have any, send them my way!

(EDIT: For anyone who’s also on Twitter, give me a follow. @CatchingClassic )

[underforeversgrace]

after the water

DannyMay2023 Day 30: Post Reveal

title: after the water

words: 1770

Summary: Part 2 of under the river by popular demand

Part 2 of 2

Warnings: None!

AU: Trans Danny Fenton

Beta by: @probably-dead

~~~~~~

Silence stretched like a chasm between the two hunters and the ghost of their son, neither sure how to respond.

“Yeah,” Jack finally said. “It’s us, kiddo.”

Jack grimaced as Danny glanced to the weapons on his and Maddie’s belts before coming closer and accepting his father’s outstretched hand. Jack tried to give a comforting smile as he pulled the specter close to him in a gentle hug, the ache in his chest having nothing to do with the recent near-drowning experience he had suffered.

“We need to talk, don’t we?” Phantom mumbled, setting his feet on the ground but not releasing Jack’s hand, which was a small comfort.

“I think so, sweetie.” Maddie said, stepping closer and reaching for him as well. He flinched some but recovered quickly, giving her a tentative smile, which she took as permission, gently laying a hand on his shoulder.

Phantom glanced at the water behind him, where Jazz’s car now rested. Ah, they were going to have to buy her a new car, weren’t they? Well, it wasn’t Jack’s fault Jazz’s normal car hadn’t been able to handle that curve at a hundred twenty miles per hour! The GAV would’ve been able to! And Jazz was the one who insisted on having a normal car and not letting her parents build her one when they’d offered!

Oh, she was going to be so mad.

“I think I need to give us all a lift home, if… if you trust me?” Danny said with a wry grin. Maddie and Jack shot a quick glance at each other before simultaneously nodding. Ghost of their son or not, this was still their son. He still had done everything he could to save his father. Did this mean they had three children now? Jazz, Danny, and Danny’s ghost?

Did Phantom already live there? He had just called it home. Or was he just remembering his life?

“Uh, prepare for liftoff?” He said as he grabbed both his parents’ hands firmly. A chill sunk deep into Jack, spreading from his hand to his entire body as Phantom passed his abilities to them, lifting the two of them effortlessly. “Might feel weird, by the way. I’m going to make us all intangible. Apparently the wind is a little much for humans.”

Another, deeper cold settled into Jack and the sudden sensation of not being able to feel swept across him as they flew. The sun, the temperature, the wind, Danny’s hand in his own - Jack could feel none of it. And then - after several minutes of silence, none able to hear over the roar of the wind as the flew the many, many miles home - when Danny phased them in through the top of the building, Jack felt suffocated as his entire body went through solid concrete and steel, a sudden instinctual fear gripping his stomach as he wondered what would happen to him if Phantom decided to return them back to the tangible plane while they were encased like this.

But his fear was entirely unfounded as Phantom simply guided them to the kitchen and set them on the floor, releasing his grip on them immediately and floating back several feet away from them, keeping an eye on the ghost shield button across the kitchen from where he’d set them.

Realization - again - slapped Jack across the face. Danny had put them as far away from the button as possible so if either of them made for it, he could escape before the shield came down.

“So. Talking?” Danny asked, crossing his legs and floating in midair.

“Are you okay?” was the first thing out of Jack’s mouth. He had a million other questions but first he needed to know if his son was okay.

“Well, I haven’t been shot today!” Danny said with a grin before a face of embarrassment settled as both parents looked at him in horror. “Ah. Not a good joke. Sorry. Are you okay, Dad? You’re the one who nearly drowned.”

Jack waved the question away. “I’m fine, son. You saved me, after all.”

A green blush rose into his face. “No problem.” he mumbled.

“Can I ask what happened?” Maddie asked cautiously. “I understand if not!”

“Oh, uh, yeah I can talk about it. Any ghost can, actually, some just don’t want to. It is typically something traumatizing, y’know?” he answered with a shrug. Jack took a deep breath, bracing for whatever his son was about to say. Ghosts didn’t form from peaceful deaths and Jack only knew of one incident Danny had been in that could have hurt him that bad. “I may have lied about how bad the portal was?”

Jack ran a hand through his hair, gripping and pulling at some strands. “You died.” he whispered, a statement, not a question.

“I got better!” Danny quickly insisted, suddenly standing (floating?) back up, shaking his hands at them to calm down.

“And you’ve been hiding this from us?” Maddie spoke up.

Phantom’s eyes dropped to the floor. “Can you blame me?” he asked softly.

“You really thought we wouldn’t accept you?” Maddie asked, the hurt in her voice mirroring the pain in Jack’s heart. “We’ve always accepted you!”

Danny snorted. “Are you really trying to equate me transitioning to this situation?”

“We told you then - you will always be our child, our son. That’s still true. We will always accept you.” Jack said gently.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t see the similarities in buying me a binder and getting me scheduled with a doctor equated to becoming a ghost!” Danny snapped at them. He continued, quieter. “You don’t hate men. You don’t hate trans people. You loathe a ghost’s simple existence. Even before the portal opened, I knew what you wanted to do to a ghost. What do you want me to say?”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Jack began. “We do. Only us. You should have never had to doubt us. We were so happy when you came out to us, Danny, that you trusted us, that you knew we loved you and always would. We messed up somewhere to make you doubt that.”

“Jack’s right. You never should have felt the need to hide this and that is our fault. Not yours.” Maddie agreed, heavily sitting into one of the kitchen chairs, dropping her head into her hands for a moment before looking back up, a sudden fierceness in her face. “Danny, look at me. I love you. You are my child first and foremost. I love you and your sister more than anything. There is nothing in this entire world I will ever hate more than I love you. Do you understand me?”

“I…” Phantom started, slowly floating back down to the ground until his feet rested on the floor, glancing at Jack.

“I will never feel anything for you other than love and acceptance.” Jack answered his unasked question.

“You guys are okay with this? You’re sure?”

“Are we okay with the fact our invention killed you? No. Are we okay we’ve shot you and made you afraid of us? Also no. Are we okay with everything else? Of course. It just may take some getting used to, having three kids.” Maddie answered.

“Three?!” Phantom exclaimed, his face immediately morphing from cautious hope to extreme shock. “Are you pregnant? And this is how you’re telling me?!”

“Do you and human Danny still count yourselves as one person?” Jack asked. That would be… confusing.

“Yes?” Phantom answered, more as a question than an answer.

“Okay, so still two kids, but one of them occupies two separate bodies. I can work with that. We can work that.” Maddie said, though Jack could practically see the gears turning in her head. “Do you want your own room? Or have you been living here and sharing with… other Danny? What’s the appropriate terminology?”

Bafflement settled onto Phantom’s tan face and then a bright flash of white light seemed to burn Jack’s retinas.

A half hour ago, Jack had determined that waking up feeling like he was drowning without water, Phantom clung to him and crying, was the strangest thing he’d ever experienced in his life, the biggest shock he would ever experience as he realized Phantom was the ghost of his youngest child.

“What the hell are you two talking about?” A very clearly human Danny Fenton answered and Jack suddenly had a new biggest shock of his life.

Maddie made a sound of vague confusion and Jack felt his brain trying to reboot.

“You’re… dead?” Maddie finally managed.

“We’ve already established I’m half ghost, mom,” Danny said, looking at his parents like they were the crazy ones.

“We have established no such thing, young man.” Maddie said, slipping into her mom voice.

“Maybe we should restart? Start from the beginning?” Jack offered up, though he finally slipped into a chair as well.

“What did you two think was going on?” Danny asked, apparently realizing there had been some sort of miscommunication somewhere.

“You went into the portal, got very hurt and… and died, long enough to form a ghost, before somehow recovering.” Maddie answered.

“Oh. Uh. You’re half right?” Danny responded, awkwardly shrugging. “But it isn’t a human Danny and a ghost Danny. One Danny with two forms. I’m half and half.”

“Half… ghost.” Jack managed. “How?”

“You two are the scientists. Our best guess is ‘ghost biology is weird.’”

“‘Our?’” Maddie asked.

“Uh, Sam and Tuck were there for my accident?”

The two adults remained silent, their minds trying to process the absolute upheaval of everything they had ever known. Danny began to fidget nervously. “Is this still okay?”

“Yes.” Maddie said immediately. “We just… you just negated decades of research, both that we’ve done and others in the field have done. We’re reevaluating our life choices, not you.”

“Well… now you can study better! You can meet some of the other ghosts! So, uh, noninvasive studies only.” Danny said, grinning. “Family field trip to the Ghost Zone! You can meet my doctor and my mentor and my ghost dad who controls time and this queen who I helped overthrow her brother and-“ He continued to excitedly babble about all the things they could do in Zone, all the various ghosts he knew.

Looking at Maddie though, at her messy hair and the hand still half buried in her hair, the look on her face so clearly ‘I am listening but my brain short circuited fifteen minutes ago,’ Jack had to bite down a giggle.

And then - “Wait, did you just say a ghost dad who controls time?”

[powdermelonkeg]

Tears of the Kingdom: The Final Analysis

Part 7

Part 6 here

In the next shot, we have Link and Teba's son, Tulin, jumping on some kind of trampoline to get height.

Fortunately for us, we've seen that trampoline before, so we know exactly what this is.

Link and Tulin are disembarking from their ship ride into a set of new ruins.

Link waits for the ship alone, though, so Tulin either had to tag along after ("Wait for me, I can help!") or he gets on the ship first and helps steer it down.

The architecture here looks almost too smooth to be Zonai. Red paint and triangular markings also hint towards something else, even though the ship itself has a Zonai figurehead.

Then these ruins down here are darker than the rest, with some kind of orange glow.

On the jump up, we can see much more of them; they seem to be their own separate platform set to the dropoff point.

This, however, looks to be the same material as the spot they're closest to. At the very least, the dropoff isn't isolated.

Then this has the same shape, but darker material. Are the ruins being corrupted?

A ship departs in the background, dark with red sails, just like we saw on the ship boarding scene.

And down here, we see the glowing spiral of a generator shrine.

Moving higher, we can see the full structures. The two identical ones are pillars, there's a flat platform towards the back, and a tall structure that almost looks like it's been built on, like a lookout post.

Next, Link draws a carriage of passengers.

The pieces are stuck together with Ultrahand. However, they're also very specific shapes rather than something improvized; this carriage likely broke down at the side of the road, and Link can stop and offer to help.

A Rock Octorok shoots a fireball at Link

Which he then catches with Recall midair

And sends hurtling back.

While it's being sent back, the Octorok moves, meaning that even if you stop something, time doesn't slow down to allow you to do so. If you manage to catch an arrow, you'll still be in the line of fire as you're figuring out how to shoot it back.

There's also a mineshaft entrance back here.

When Recall completes and color comes back, it turns bright blue inside. Two things come to mind, right off the bat.

First, Twilight Princess's Goron Mines. We know from the terrain that this is Eldin, and the mines here had magnetic ore inside that could be clung to with iron boots.

Then the Timeshift Stones from Skyward Sword, which turn blue when struck and extend a time field around them.

However, there are arguments against both these reads, too; for magnet ore, we'd have to ask what purpose it has. In Twilight Princess, it served as a game mechanic to allow unique traversal. In Tears of the Kingdom, we don't have any iron boots-style item we can use. On top of that, we have the Ascend power.

Which would make any kind of stick-to-walls-to-get-new-places redundant, if not completely useless.

On the side of Timeshift stones, while they are blue when active, they're usually a deep purple.

So if the mines were Timeshift, they would need to be active, and we would be able to see some kind of terrain shift around them.

However, I did find one more thing that matches the blue glow.

In Skyward Sword, there's a minigame called "Thrill Digger," in which Link plays a game of bomb flower minesweeper. On the walls of this minigame, though, you can find rupee ore, which you can shoot for extra rupees.

The blue in here could easily be a vein of blue rupee ore.

The colors look about right for it, the final cut rupee just has a more polished, vibrant look to it.

Up next, Link has a rocket in the Faron region.

It appears to be Fused to some kind of shield, and it carries the Zonai colors. The strange ring around the shield makes me think it's the Zonai equivalent of a Sheikah Guardian Shield.

He flies up with it, and we get a better view of what the rocket is attached to

The shield itself is round, very much Zonai colored, and about the size of a pot lid. The field it gives off fluctuates like it's expending energy, so it may have a limited charge.

Out of image space again, see you in part 8!

Edit: Part 9!

[kissofthemis]

lifting the shorter one up so they can be seen in photos w/ highschool lukerosa!

This photographer really needed to work on visualization skills.

"I understand the reasoning putting us in alphabetical order," Rosa murmured, "but is it really necessary for a group this small?"

The school's ordinary photographer, who had been serving the school for ages, had finally retired. However, he did so at the worst possible time-- right before the yearbook committee needed to send in all their final photos to have the yearbook bound! The school had been scrambling to find a replacement on short notice, and only by a stroke of luck had they managed to book someone before the deadline. Now, all of the clubs and organizations in school had to get their photos taken in a single day, which had caused utter chaos on campus.

And perhaps because everyone, including the photographer, was struggling with the time crunch, some decisions had been made that were...

Well, in Rosa's blunt opinion, inadequate. Bad, even. (She would never say that aloud, however. She always strove to be polite, and she would choose words such as "curious," "interesting," "not quite optimal," or even "rough around the edges.")

Luke whistled softly as he surveyed the group. "I mean, there are enough of us that we can't all fit in one line, so..."

"That's exactly the problem!"

Rosa had always prided herself on her academic prowess and her intellect. When she was nominated to join the school's academic team, she glowed with joy for a solid week. Even in the modern era, many academics could be snobby about women who aspired to great heights. They would dismiss women as merely being good at maybe one or two subjects, but never worthy of being a scholar.

As if every famed male scientist could write compelling essays, or every prestigious male historian could do mental math.

So Rosa had been the only girl selected for the academic team, as she in fact was well-rounded in all subjects. She studied a wide breadth of topics in order to represent not only her school or herself, but all the girls whose brilliant minds were overlooked solely because stuck-up, conservative old farts couldn't look past their manicures or their makeup.

Her hard work had paid off; she had been the second highest point scorer in competitions for the entire season! Second to none other than Luke Pearce, her dearest companion and constant thorn in her side.

"But my name puts me in the back," Rosa went on, urging Luke (who did not seem worthy of that first place accolade right now) to see the issue. "I'm the only girl, and I am also--"

"Oh, no! Rosa, you're short!"

That was a bit too direct. Rosa clutched her chest and tried to ignore the blow to her self-esteem. "N-not short! Just... shorter than most of the team!"

Luke was not listening to her indignant mumbling. He waved towards the photographer, but unfortunately the photographer and staff were too absorbed in their work. They hardly had time to waste, after all. "Mmm... that's no good."

Rosa sighed and leaned onto Luke's shoulder in defeat. "Maybe I'll raise my hand so some part of me shows. Oh, but I'll probably get yelled at. I would have packed heels if I had expected th--"

All at once, Rosa shot up in height.

She suppressed a startled screech as her feet left the ground and she dangled loosely in midair.

No, not loosely. In fact, she almost felt... secure, as she felt two large, warm, comforting hands gripping onto her waist.

"L-Luke?"

"Problem solved! Ta-dah!"

"P-problem not solved! How long can you hold me?!"

"As long as it takes!"

"This isn't sustainable!"

"Should you get on my shoulders instead?"

"Luke Pearce!!!"

[boxleitners-return-au]

Becky woke up the next morning leaning against the window with her cape wrapped around her like a blanket. She noticed that while she still felt like she was drowning in oil, it wasn’t as bad as yesterday.

She looked behind her at the doctor, who had seemingly taken her spot on the couch, still fast asleep and snoring in an incredibly undignified manner. She wondered for a second if he was doing it to annoy her, but she quickly put out that thought.

He was her best bet at getting back home and getting back her powers, she had to play nice. Besides he was probably really stressed out too, if that mouse brain was even capable of any emotion besides hunger. 

Home, back to her family, back to her sidekick. She’d been worried sick about him ever since she woke up. When they were knocked out midair Huggy had been thrown in the opposite direction that she had, there was no telling what happened to him. 

She comforted herself by imagining that he got all their family and friends and hid away, perhaps a secret bunker or something. She giggled to herself as the image of her family blissfully misunderstanding a frantic Bob trying to tell them to run with some sort of monkey charades.

Her fantasy was short lived however, because when she looked back out the big window she saw two familiar shapes, creeping hauntingly behind one of the dead trees that littered the warehouse’s lawn. Joy overtook her, her friends had come to save her! Now they could- oh, oh no. She recognized those swirling red eyes. 

Mind control.

(Continues below)

It wasn't because Mr. Big, his whole schtick generally had a green hue. This was something brand new.

That new alien super villain got to them. 

Letting her instincts take over, Becky dove down out of sight from the window. She whisper-yelled at Twobrains to wake up.

“Hey!”

“...”

“HEY”

“Agh! What- what is your problem! Will you stop waking me u-”

She pointed aggressively outside

He followed her finger and froze. She grabbed him by the collar and with some effort managed to pull him to the ground below the window sill with her. She had to take a moment to catch her breath, frustration overtook her as she realized that an action as simple as that was now enough to wind her a bit.

Twobrains’ eyes flickered with anxiety as she tried to even out her breathing, but he shook his head and looked out the window.

“They’re looking for me. They have to be.”

“Oh come on, give me a little credit. I’m sure Amazo is just dying to catch up with me”

“What could he possibly- wait. Amazo Guy? Like- Like in your book?”

“Yeah. Did you seriously not recognize him?”

“No! I mean- he looked familiar, but I thought he- the book guy- was fictional!”

“You think I just made up some dude to feature on the cover of my book? What kind of scientist do you take me for!” “So wait. This was an actual dude that you knew. And now you’re both evil?” 

“Well we don’t know if he’s evil evil-”

“I cannot believe you never mentioned him before!”

“I had! In my book! Which apparently you hadn’t read as thoroughly as you said you had!”

“Yes I did!”

 “Appaaarently not. I’m hurt, Wordgirl, I am.”

“I did so! I read your book so much, I can recite any passage from it, just try me.”

“You expect me to believe you’re that much of a fan?”

“Yes! I am a huge fan! The biggest fan in the world actually!”

Becky crossed her arms with a smug expression before her eyes shot open and she realized what she said. Twobrains was holding back a laugh behind his hand. “Yeah? Yeah really? Yeah tell me how much you love me. I’m your favorite author right?”

Becky’s face went red as she proceeded to sock him in the arm. He flinched in pain despite the lack of super strength.

“Shut up. So you got one hit, big whoop.”

Twobrains patted her shoulder with another laugh. Both of their faces fell and they instantly crowded back against the wall as they heard a twig snap outside.

“Now how are we gonna get out of this?” 

They sat there for a moment before Becky got a sheepish look on her face.

“Well… we could always try plan 208…”

Twobrains groaned. “Is that really the best we got?”

Becky sighed “I think it is doc. Now let's not dilly-dally, we have to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“You did not just say ‘dilly-dally’”

“Would you just get on with it!”

________

Hi! *Taps on mic* Anyone here? So! I disappeared for a little bit but I have an update here if anyone's interested

I want to update more but I have 0 motivation to draw i'll be completely honest, so if I do update it will probably come more in writing form like this, would that be okay?

Anyways here's the next part! The sillies are silly, and Huggy and Rex have been captured >:D

First Part

Previous Part

[daughterofthereaper02]

What if it was the morning after with any top gun poly people and reader keeps having flashbacks to the night before, then just a cute fluffy or smutty morning ; )

A/n: I love writing like this... That is why We... We Got Married? With Maverick has a soft spot in my heart. Since I did one with Bob x Rooster x Hangman x reader, I'm doing this as a Hannix x reader.

Warnings: 18 + only, minors DNI, overstimulation mentioned, bruises, degrading name, groping, public intoxication, public display of affection, p in v mentioned.

Your eyes fluttered open as you felt hands trace over your naked body. You looked to your left and saw Natasha propped up on her elbow, looking down at you. She brushed your hair out of your face "Morning baby girl" she whispered. You gave her a sleepy smile as you felt Jake press a kiss to the top of your head "Morning Darlin'" he whispered into your hair. You hummed happily and stretch slowly, groaning as you ached all over, you saw the bruise around your right wrist and you knew there was more all over you.

Jake touched the one on your wrist gently, the satisfied look said everything you needed to know. You could easily hide it with a watch. You sat up slowly but let out a laugh as you were pulled back onto the bed, both of them laughing and peppering your face with kisses. "You okay after last night?" Nat asked and you nodded, a bright smile on your face. "Remind me to make you both protective and possessive again" you giggled, your voice slightly hoarse like you had a cold but you all knew better. They both rolled their eyes and Jake flicked your nose "We're just happy we could keep you safe. We didn't mind following your orders" he said with a shark like grin as you three remembered what led up to you all having mind blowing sex, both of them being dominating over you.

You were getting drinks at the bar, happily talking to Bob as he waited for the round with you. You shot a nasty look as a guy groped you suddenly "Hands off" you hissed, moving away and closer to Both. You didn't know he signaled to your boyfriend and girlfriend to get over to you. The guy laughed "What? You're pretty. You shouldn't be allowed to keep it to yourself" he grinned down at you and reached up, going to grab your breast and a large hand grab it tightly midair. Your boyfriend and girlfriend both stood there, they both looked equally pissed "Keep your hands off my girl" Jake said, grabbing the man's wrist tightly. "Yours? You think you can share?" The man laughed, and Phoenix smirked "He does with me. Oops! No room for slobs like you" she said mockingly pouted. He turned to you in disgust and said "So you're a whore?" He asked, his tune suddenly changing. You rolled your eyes "Nope. Were, I mean for them yes" you said, alcohol pumping through your veins making you more confident, you had cut Jake off before he could tell at the guy. "Show him who I belong to" you told Jake and Natasha. They were shocked by your boldness because you were normally shy about PDA but they both took you into deep kisses that left you moaning. The guy stood there in shock and you flipped him off "No one can make me drip like them" you whispered where only he could hear. It wasn't long after that that you were being dragged home, neither of them able to keep their hands to themselves.

That landed you where you were currently, covered in hickeys and bruises, an ache deep in you that let you know you would not be able to walk right, your throat raw from screaming last night.

You could still feel the touches as you thought back, Natasha's hands on your breasts as Jake pounded into you and filled you to the brim, whispering in your ear about how good you were. The grip on your hips as you tried to move away after being overstimulated. The commands to be a good girl and not move. Memory after memory came back to you as you remembered your night. It was a filthy night of you dripping and being told exactly who you belonged to and them both one upping each other. By the end you were a shaking mess, tears rolling down your face as they told you how well you had done.

You moved and straddled Natasha's hips, kissing her deeply and moved your hips light over her "God it was so good last night but I think I need to be reminded of it... You know, for science reasons" you whispered as Jake moved you kiss your neck "Yes ma'am" he told you, making arousal pump through your body before you were pulled into another kiss. Yeah, you liked when you all got possessive and protective.

Tag List:

@peaches-and-sunshine

@natasharomanoffisbaebby

@sweetheartlizzie07

@lollypop90907

@the-hottest-lieutenants

@blackcat2907

@18crazybutcutealsopsycho

[angelasscribbles]

In Your Room Chapter 2: Competition

Series: In Your Room

Fandom: TRR

Pairings: Leo x Drake

Rating: NSFW🍋🍋🍋🍋

Warnings for this chapter: Lemons

Song Inspiration for the series: In Your Room by The Bangles

Word Count: 1,832

My other stuff: Master List.

They hadn’t discussed what had happened in the game room, but it kept happening.

Always competitive, they had become even more so and started turning everything into a contest.  Who could eat the most eggs at breakfast? Who could do a better backflip into the pool? Who could win in a dirt bike race? Who could beat whom in arm wrestling?

Today’s question was who could win an impromptu game of one on one basketball?

Drake dribbled the ball as his eyes stayed glued on Leo, trying to assess the best way around him, but he kept getting distracted by the rippling muscles and sweat-glistened skin peeking out from the drop armhole tank top he was wearing. Drake’s eyes dipped down to the bulge in the front of Leo’s athletic shorts and his mouth went dry. Before he could recover, Leo darted into his personal space and snatched the ball.

“Hey!” Drake gave chase, catching up at the hoop. He made a swipe for the ball as he passed Leo, twisting his body around so he was facing him.

Leo went for the layup. Drake went for the interception. Both men jumped at the same time, their bodies colliding in midair, hands grappling for the ball.

Drake knocked the ball from Leo’s grasp as they landed, the forward momentum of striking the ball carrying him forward into Leo’s body. Leo’s arms shot out to grab him as they both regained their footing.

The ball thudded across the pavement, forgotten, as they stood entwined with each other, panting from exertion and other things.

Drake’s head inclined toward the empty pool house. Leo’s eyes scanned the area for witnesses then nodded.

They slipped discreetly, one after the other into the pool house. The moment the door was closed behind them, they were all over each other.

Leo moved first, shoving Drake into the wall as he captured his lips in a brutal kiss.

Drake returned the kiss with rapacious hunger as his hands rubbed Leo through his clothes.

Leo moaned into his mouth, arching his body into Drake’s hand before breathing out, “This doesn’t mean I like you.”

“Hope not,” Drake replied as his lips burned a trail down Leo’s neck.

Leo reached for Drake’s shorts, but Drake’s hand shot out and encircled his wrist. Leo looked up at him in confusion, “What are you doing? Why did you stop me?”

“Leo, we’ve jacked each other off four times this week.”

“So?”

“So….don’t you want to do something…different?”

Leo regarded him with a mixture of wariness and excitement, “Like what?”

Drake’s eyes locked on his as his hands firmly gripped him by his hair, “Like maybe put that fucking smart mouth of yours to good use.”

“You want me to suck your dick?” Leo’s own cock twitched at the thought.

“Mm-hm. Unless you can’t handle it. I get it, I am pretty well hung.”

“No, you’re not!” Leo scoffed, “I could handle that!”

“Oh yeah?” Drake applied a gentle downward pressure, “Prove it.”

Drake released Leo’s hair long enough to push his shorts down before resuming his grip with one hand while guiding his dick to the other man’s mouth with the other. His head fell back and thumped into the wall with a groan as he slid into the warmth of Leo’s mouth. Soft groans continued the spill out of him as his hips thrust forward and back and his head pushed back against the wall, “Oh…fuck…that feels so…ow!”

Drake suddenly jerked back, pushing Leo away with a yelp, “Did you just fucking bite me, man?”

“I’m sorry!” Leo yelled then lowered his voice so no one outside could overhear, “I’ve never done this before!”

“Well, you’ve had it done to you, right?”

“Yeah, but-“

“Just watch the fuckin teeth!”

“Like you could do any better!”

“Can. Have. Will again.”

“Sure,” Leo resumed his feet and crossed his arms over his chest, “If you’re so fucking good at it, why don’t you show me how it’s done?”

A slow smile spread over Drake’s face, “Oh, you want it bad.”

“Do not!” Leo rolled his eyes, “I’d just like to see you put your money where your mouth is for once. You talk a good game but-“

Drake shoved Leo back causing him to stumble and fall onto the couch, “I’ll do it if you’ll just shut up already! But pay attention. I’ll show you how it’s done.”

Leo struggled to push his shorts down, but before he could wiggle out of them, Drake ripped them from his body and went to work with vigor.

“Holy…fucking….shit!” Leo’s body lifted up off the couch of its own accord as his fingers dug into the split leather of the couch.

Drake rose up higher on his knees and placed a hand on either thigh so he could push Leo back down.

Leo had had plenty of blow jobs in his life, but none like this. Drake had not oversold his skill. His tongue lapped, flicked, and licked over him as his body temperature climbed and his heart threatened to beat right out of his chest. He applied more suction than Leo had ever experienced before. Drake’s head moved faster as Leo’s breathing became more rapid. He took his entire length in at the same time he inserted a finger into him.

A strangled cry broke out of Leo as stars clouded the edges of his vision. His body shot up as he erupted into Drake’s mouth then collapsed helplessly onto the couch. He lay there sweating and panting as Drake sat back with a smug smirk. “Told you.”

“Fuck!” was all Leo could manage.

When Leo had caught his breath, Drake stood up and asked, “Want to see if you learned anything useful?”

Leo looked up at the naked man in front of him and nodded.

“Just no teeth this time,” Drake reminded him before taking hold of him by the hair and thrusting himself into his mouth.

He was so turned on from getting Leo off that he was already close. He guided the other man’s head into the rhythm he wanted as he murmured quiet words of encouragement.

Leo slipped down on the couch as Drake placed a knee on one side of his head while keeping his other foot on the floor so that he was straddling him as he pumped in and out of his mouth.

The sound of Leo gagging sent Drake spiraling out of control. Instead of pulling out to let Leo recover, he shoved himself forcefully down his throat as he exploded, sending hot salty liquid gushing into then spilling from the corners of his mouth as he tried not to choke on it.

Drake withdrew and sat down next to him, drawing him into an embrace, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, are you okay?”

“I’m…fine…” Leo managed to pant out as the gag reflex receded.

Drake didn’t want to admit that he’d lost control because Leo turned him on more than any person, man or woman, he’d ever been with. And Leo didn’t want to admit that he had liked the feeling of being dominated, enjoyed having Drake shove his dick down his throat.

He also didn’t want to admit to the butterflies that swirled through him when Drake embraced him. It wasn’t a sexual touch, but an affectionate one and that was something new. He leaned his head on Drake’s chest and let himself pretend, just for a moment, that they actually liked each other.

Drake froze for a second when Leo buried his face in his chest. His stupid traitorous heart skipped a beat. That was when he realized that he was basically holding him. Sex was over and he was voluntarily holding him.

And he liked it.

He hesitantly brushed his fingers through Leo’s hair, “You were amazing by the way.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

They stayed tangled up in each other’s arms until the room started to darken. Drake sighed, “Shit. It’s getting dark. Dinner’s going to be ready and they’re going to come looking for us if we don’t show up.”

“Yeah,” Leo agreed reluctantly, “Guess we’d better get back inside.”

Leo pulled away and sat up, turning his head to look into Drake’s face as he did so.

Drake stared at him for a long moment then he leaned into him and kissed him. This kiss was slow and gentle, different from their usual harsh and demanding kisses.

When they pulled apart, Leo cleared his throat, “Drake…should we…”

“Find our clothes? Absolutely!” Drake jumped off the couch and started gathering up the clothes that were strewn all over the pool house.

Leo sighed, “Yeah, that’s what I was going to say.”

A few minutes later they slipped out of the pool house and bumped right into Olivia.

“What were you doing in the pool house?” Olivia asked.

Drake looked back toward the palace as his face darkened. Leo looked out over the grounds as his cheeks pinkened.  

“Oh, holy hell! You were fucking again, weren’t you?” Olivia howled.

“Liv! Could you keep it down?” Leo pleaded.

“Hell no!” she crowed, “I’m going to give you ten kinds of hell for this! You’re never going to hear the end of it! I can’t believe you decided to go gay for Drake Walker of all people! I mean, I guess he’s hot as far as men go, I wouldn’t know. But-“

“Stop being a bitch, leave him alone!” Drake snapped.

“Why do you care?” Liv gave him a sharp look.

Leo turned to watch Drake’s face as he answered.

Drake fidgeted awkwardly, a flush creeping along his neck, “I don’t! Just…leave him alone, okay?”

“Oh…my….God!” Liv squealed with delight, “You don’t just want his dick, you like him!”

“No!” Drake scoffed, “There’s just no reason to make him feel weird about it. It’s hard enough to come out without that shit and you of all people ought to know that!”

“Oh, why, Drake? Because I’m a lesbian?” Liv rolled her eyes, “I had no parents to disappoint and Leo’s my best friend. He knows I’m just teasing him. Right, Leo?”

Drake didn’t give Leo a chance to respond, “Whatever. Just don’t be an asshole, he doesn’t deserve it!” He spun on his heel and walked away.

Leo started to go after him, but Liv put her hand on his chest to stop him, “Where are you going?”

“To make sure he’s okay!”

Liv’s mouth fell open as she gazed into Leo’s face, “Holy shit! You like him back!”

“No!” Leo protested, “I just….I mean…..he’s….you know what? I have to get to dinner before my dad sends a fucking guard looking for me. Are you coming?”

“I’m coming,” she shook her head with an amused laugh, “You two are perfect for each other, you know that?”

Leo gave her a sidelong glance, “Why would you say that?”

“Because,” she looped her arm through his, “You’re both a couple of fucking idiots that can’t see what’s right under your noses.”

[thequietmanno1]

TheLreads, Vigilantes ch 106, Replies Part 2

1) “Looks like something out of fucking silent hill, this is way beyond what I’d expect

I thought it be more like a wolf or cheetah, but now, we’re all in with the cockroach approach”- I’d have said more Resident Evil Licker personally. 2) “Now it’s not the time Koichi, also don’t throw stones from this glass house you live in”- Hey, can’t blame the guy, it’s not like he’s ever actually seen how he looks whilst crawling around on the ground before. 3) “Oh I don’t think those weak things are gonna do much to damage him. I don’t think they’ll even faze him long enough to be a distraction

he’s pissed enough that you could shot him in the head and he wouldn’t stop chasing you”- Doesn’t help that they’re also the slower softball shots, when Koichi actually needs something like the rifle blast to stun or phase Nomura meaningfully – hell, we’ve seen that he can shrug off bullets to the body with the way he can reshape his form, shooting him with the deadly attack really is Koichi’s best option, but sadly he’s not gotten it through his head yet that it’s ok to kill a guy if he’s rejecting his own humanity. 4) “No surprises there, your stance is perfect for quick dodges, your center of gravity is low, your profile is smaller, sidestepping is a breeze with a speed quirk

doesn’t change the fact that looks creepy as shit”- Koichi’s finally experiencing what everybody else has when “fighting” against him, although Nomura’s adoption of his own fighting style is understandably more aggressive and horror-movie monster like. 5) “Are you trying to teleport behind him like it’s nothing personal? Seriously? How many times did you try that already McBee? How many more times you’re gonna try that before you realize that doesn’t work?”- He really thinks the limb restriction on Koichi using his power is the thing to exploit to take him down, and in theory it should be…if not for the fact that Koichi’s been underselling the full potential of his Quirk’s functions from his anti-fighting method this whole time. 6) “Yeah but he can fucking fly and maneuver in midair, you know that

McBee, do you suffer from some form of short term memory loss? Because that happened less than two chapters ago you’re making Dory embarrassed”- In Koichi’s current position, his attempt to fly would have only pushed himself backwards into Nomura’s fist faster, and Nomura was confident he could land a direct hit before Koichi realised he’s moved into his blind spot…except, with the full scope of Koichi’s power revealed, it doesn’t matter. 7) “I’m just as shocked as you McBee

what the fuck was that

like

what

the fuck”- Koichi can emit the repulsion force from anywhere on his body, not just his limbs. He finds it easier to use them this way, especially for aiming and flying, but the repulsion force was always something that he cold emit anywhere from himself. It was even alluded to back when Koichi first showcased his ability to fly as a baby- if it was so hard for him to aim and fly by emitting the repulsion from his limbs like a jet engine, there’s no way he’d be so stable crawling through the air. 

Sure, we see the circles that indicate he was using it from his limbs there, but it makes more sense for Koichi to have been emitting the repulsion from his whole body at once to stabilise himself all over, “crawling” atop the resistance against the ground to gain elevation. He learned to pinpoint and focus it more on his limbs, but in a moment of crises, he can apply that same pinpoint accuracy all over himself. This also means he doesn’t need to aim and fire with his hands or feet, he can shoot those bullets from anywhere on his body. Koichi is the gun. 8) “Irrelevant, he’s gonna block it again

because now apparently he can generate repulsion fields from his back as well???

What”-And now we see the full scope of Koichi’s power. It was noted before that Koichi’s Quirk would have been a benefit if it’d been added to the powerset of OFA. Here we get the full idea of how; it’s literally the missing invulnerability/damage-negating shield that is Izuku and All Might’s only real weakness, the one thing that stops them from being able to pull stunts like Superman and tank bullets or attacks without moving an inch. Giving the invulnerability to someone like Koichi, who lacks the intent to fight, means he’s still a serous threat in the battlefield, because no matter what you hit him with or where, he’ll always get back up and continue to harass you. Granted, it’s countered by his lack of strength or force, but if Izuku had this power backing him up, he’d be able to go toe-to-toe with Tomura no matter how overwhelmingly strong he is.

(Vigilantes ch 51)

9) “Good ob Koichi, you’re going against a much larger foe and standing your ground, and you didn’t even needed to get a power upgrade this time. I think we’re about to hit the ceiling on the number of abilities this boy has, from now on it will be just a matter of refining and bettering them.”- Bwahahaah! Yeah, I thought that too, but Koichi’s base power Is just really flexible- hell, there’s a ton more abilities I think he might be able to refine from his unlocked powersets following this clash against his shadow copy.

(Vigilantes ch 76)

10) “Now that I think about it… This is going to be a training arc, right? Koichi improving and honing his abilities, learning his limits and pushing them further beyond, this is where we`re walking into, right?

Because two years wasn`t enough time for him to become good with his quirk, right Furuhashi?

Alright, that`s unfair, he showed that he actually improved quite a lot with his quirk since then, and again, it was not like he had a real objective like saving Pop to push him into a serious mode.

That I can understand, that in particular I consider a justifiable reason for this arc. But even so, this still doesn`t feel right… Yeah, koichi is a bit stronger now, but not as much as we`d expect after two years as a solo vigilante, nor he shows the amount of experience I`d expect, but I suppose he never was that serious about it, like the smear campaign that the author is doing against him is making us believe.”-Turns out Koichi needed to cram so much training montages and level-grinding  in, he’s even still training and learning right in the middle of the climatic fight- In fact, he’s learning even faster than he would otherwise! So many skill trees to use, so little time…. 11) “Okay McBee, now you can call bullshit and say that he’s cheating, because honestly that one was pretty cheap.”-I guess this could have been alluded to before, but Koichi’s refusal to directly participate in fights always obscured that he could do more with his power than he himself believed possible. Once again, Koichi’s greatest handicap isn’t like Izuku’s body not being able to handle his full power, it’s his lack of self-confidence handicapping his ability and the full scope of his strength.

12) “No I think that’s a pretty big damn issue here, because what the fuck dude

That’s like if Shigaraki or Uraraka suddenly managed to activate their quirks by touching any part of their body rather than only the top of their fingers. That’s where the quirk factor is, it’s not a matter of not pushing hard enough, it is the equivalent of trying to hear with your eyes”- Honestly, if they develop themselves enough and push their power to the limit, I do believe they could eventually achieve something like that. Tomura’s already exceeded his “five finger limit” before against Re Destro, it’s not a stretch to imagine he could eventually push the Quirk’s effect to active from his toes or even from touching his body at all – though thankfully, the power he already wields means he’s disinclined to push himself that far with his Quirk when he already has what he needs to destroy everything that oppresses him.

13) “Now you’re worried about that? Even though he was doing so for the last few chapters? The answer to that is simple: he’s faster, simple as that.”-  The Overclock speed Quirk was the thing that Nomura based his whole identity and reason to exist around, carving out a place and a world for himself where only he had the freedom to pick and choose what would happen. Koichi reacting to that is intruding on his private domain, and in turn undermining Nomura’s sense of self-worth in himself, which was already unstable from his mentor rejecting him to his face in favour of Koichi. @thelreads

[ashes-writing]

drowning || csi miami ; r.wolfe

A/N; So this uh... It was kind of written totally spur of the moment. I actually started it last night when requests for other fandom headcanons slowed down for me and... Whew. I was not intending it to take the turn it did. So here you go, I suppose. It's finished and it's... Filth. But kinda sweet.

It's meant to feel rushed and no, it wasn't beta'd. I don't really ah.. do the beta reader thing.

Tag List ; @beardedbarba and @uncrownedmox are the only two people who are currently on my actual csi miami tag list, however... I feel like @justmeandanoverdrive might wanna check it out -if you don't please feel free to ignore this, absolutely no pressure. If you want to be on my CSI taglist, click the link down below.

Other Stuff; tag list doc || pinned - my rules - the fandoms and some of the characters I write for || requests open - headcanons for any/all fandoms but pro wrestling please and thanks. i repeat, anything but pro wrestling is fair game.

I do not consent to my work being reposted elsewhere or rewritten/changed and reposted.

18+ only, minors dni, absofuckinlutely not. Go find some fluff to read, kids. Also skip this if you're not into p in v, body fluids, biting/marking, improper use of a dining table, unprotected sex.

You're holding me down and Holding me down

You’d drawn the short straw, so to speak. You were the one tasked to stop by Ryan’s apartment while he was out on leave and recovering from taking a nail to the eye. Why Natalia or one of the others wasn’t doing it, you weren’t sure at all.

Why Alexx insisted you do it to ease her mind, you had no clue.

But you stood at the black door and your hand hesitated, hovering in midair and poised to knock.

You finally knocked.

And nothing.

You were starting to worry a little, despite the fact that Ryan said little to nothing to you during work hours, you couldn’t deny a certain magnetism to the stubborn and distant male. To be fair, you also couldn’t deny a lingering flirtation between yourself and a very single and very flirtatious Eric Delko, either. But in terms of attraction… Ryan Wolfe was the one you’d pick, hands down.

If only there were even a choice to begin with.

By the fourth knock you were on the verge of texting the fact that he wasn’t answering the door  into Alexx or something, and you were just about to step away, but the door opened and Ryan stood there, towering over you. A towel slung low around his waist and slipped lower by the second. The patch over his eye made you wince as you remembered the panic and how fast it set in after hearing what had happened to him the day he’d been shot with it.

“Uh,hi… Alexx, she was um…” your eyes were busy, they couldn’t stop exploring the sight of his exposed body. Until now, all you’d ever seen him in were dress shirts, a neat blazer and some form of slacks. And those kind of gave you an idea of what he might look like underneath but they hadn’t fully prepared you by any means.

You weren’t expecting him to be quite so.. Buff.

Or to have a tattoo on his bicep.

Or the tan, you’d never associated him as the type to enjoy the outdoors enough to be kissed by the sun like he was.

Your hand raised as your mouth worked overtime to attempt formulating the rest of whatever you’d been about to say and your mind raced. Had you fed the stray this morning? Had you locked your front door? Turned off your curling iron? All the thoughts in addition to the awe that came at catching a glimpse of Ryan exposed the way he was.

Common decency would’ve predicated that you turn away, avert your eyes and yet… You couldn’t. You were rooted in place. And your eyes wouldn’t budge, you couldn’t stop staring.

In the midst of your own internal uproar, you completely missed the way brown eyes flitted over your body and the way he bit his lip as he got himself a damn good glimpse of your legs. 

“Worried?” Ryan spoke up attempting to finish your sentence, shattering the palpable tension lingering between you both. He stepped out of the door and you stepped into his apartment, your eyes darting around as you took it all in.

Very neat. Masculine. The same air of stiff formality Ryan Wolfe gave off that most found intimidating but you were drawn to it like a cat to catnip. A big contrast to your own place which was what you called ‘organized chaos’ with your clothes strewn everywhere, heels discarded randomly throughout the space. Books lying around all over along with photos. Makeup littering every inch of the double vanity sinks in your apartment’s one bathroom.

Opposites attract, right?

You two were literally night and day.

Your eyes caught on a snag in your new stockings and it distracted you as he cleared his throat to get your attention. “I’m fine. You can tell her not to worry….” and then came another heavy pause.

You stepped closer, surveying the patch over his injured eye. A hand raised before you could stop it and grazed against the edge of stiff gauze gingerly as you sucked in a sharp breath. “Your, ah.. The bandage was loose.” you excused the touch as you drew your hand back to your own body a second or two.

The scent of him permeated the space, clean and earthy, a mix of his body wash and cologne. He hadn’t been shaving, the faintest hint of stubble on his jaws was enough to distract you even more and this is precisely how you found yourself body to body with him. Hard muscles and warmth against your soft curves and the light chill you still felt from having been caught in a quick rain shower on the way into his building.

“Yeah.” he answered after staring down at you for a second or two, an almost thoughtful look in his eyes. 

“Ya know you kinda freaked me out.” the words were out before you could take them back. His brow raised. His heart sped up just the slightest. But he seemed so calm. So reserved.

“How?” he questioned after heavy tension filled the air for a second or two.

“I knocked like five times. I was, um.. Starting to worry.” you shuffled your feet while dragging fingers through your hair and then went quiet. The words leaving your mouth in the softest lazy drawl. Ryan chuckled to himself quietly. “Showering.” he gestured to his current state of undress.

“Mhm. I,ah.. I noticed.” you answered as your cheeks burned and your thighs seemed to clench together tight enough to cause a dull ache to settle in. You tried not to let your eyes wander all over again after he’d called attention to himself by telling you what he’d been doing but you failed and you failed miserably. He caught hold of the slipping towel and tightened the knot as best as he could.

You weren’t sure why you thought it’d be a good idea to do it but before you could stop yours, your hand disappeared between both of your bodies and your fingers lingered hesitantly against plush black fabric. You worked with the way he had the towel twisted around his waist until it was no longer slipping and a pout formed that you were thankful he couldn’t see because you had your head dipped down.

Of course, while this was going on, he was marveling at how your forehead hit the center of his chest nearly perfect in the heels you wore. He found himself realizing that without them it meant you were a tiny thing, and he knew you were light as a feather no thanks to having to give you a boost to a higher shelf in the records room at the station more recently when a case file was at least three shelves higher than you could reach.

The mental imagery that filled his head at the new information as it settled over him had his cock strained against the black towel around his waist and he really should’ve stepped away. He should’ve excused himself by now, gone back to his room and at least thrown on a pair of sweats but his feet were rooted in place.

And all he could fucking do was stare right now. Stare and remind himself that you and Eric were always flirting with each other. That while he wanted you, it probably wouldn’t work out. Lost in his own internal angst over the reality of things, he failed to notice it when you stepped even closer. He only realized you had when your hand settled palm down against his bare chest right on top of his rapidly beating heart. He swallowed hard and his eyes settled on the way your hand rested softly against his skin. 

“While I’m here.” your words came out in a breathy rush, “I might as well ah… I could swap out your bandages. Just so it doesn’t come off.” and you go to step past him with every intention to excuse yourself from the room, find his bathroom and have yourself a cool down but he stood firm. Blocking your path.

“Not out with Eric tonight?” the question was the last thing he meant to ask and honestly, he didn’t want to hear the answer. He tensed up a little because it was too late to take it back by then, he’d asked. Now he had to brace himself. But when you started to laugh softly after giving him a blank look, he stared at you, perplexed.

“Oh my god, no! Absolutely not, he’s like.. He’s my friend.” you insisted, the laughter dying away seconds later. He looked irritated. If you weren’t so pessimistic, you’d almost say he looked a little… jealous. 

“You flirt with your friends?” Ryan wanted to punch himself in the throat and he regretted every bit of it, from the accusatory tone to the jealousy surging to the surface and the fact that he’d even had the audacity to bring it up -any of it, to begin with. “Shit.” he mumbled, mostly to himself just as you stepped away. Your arms folded as you studied him intently.

And then you sighed. You muttered something softly to yourself and he didn’t quite catch it. He asked you to repeat it and you looked up at him. You stepped closer when you did it. Your hand settled against his chest all over again and for the longest time, you were both just standing there. Staring quietly.

Frozen. Waiting.

Something had to give.

“ No, I don’t. But what if I did, huh?” you shook your head, confused. Tilting it slightly to better look up at him. “Why’s it bothering you, hm? I mean you’re distant to me if you bother talking at all. I dunno why Alexx insisted I come by, I’m gonna…” you rambled, your tone deflated at the end of the rant, “I’m gonna go. Yeah. That’s.. That’s what I need to do.” and you stepped away, turning your back to him. You’d just reached out for the handle to his door when he stopped you by pressing against you from behind.

“I’m sorry. That all came out wrong.” he took a very frustrated deep breath. “Does it really bother you? Me not talking to you, I mean.. Does it?” Ryan questioned. You turned to face him, your back pinned softly against the door behind you. You swallowed hard. “Mhm.” you answered quietly. 

“Why?”

“Well, I..” you stammered. Then you sighed. “Because the whole reason I flirt with Eric in the first place is because I… It’s juvenile.”

He gripped your jaw, this made you look up at him again when you tried to stare at the engineered hardwood beneath your feet. “Tell me.” he said in a little firmer tone. Staring down at you intently. Waiting.

“I do it because the guy I want to flirt with is..” you trailed off, annoyed with yourself. Frustrated as hell and refusing to hide behind vague generalizations. If he wants the truth, the truth is going to come out. And maybe it’s time it did. You pause and take another deep breath and you continue, “ You’re always flirting with Natalia. I thought you two were dating ‘til earlier this week, actually. So I guess I figured if I can’t have the one I really want I’d just… y’know… settle.” Christ, you think to yourself, this is so much easier when he’s not making me look right at him. - the thought is brushed aside. There’s a palpable tension in the air and it makes it so much harder to breathe and you know you should be leaving now but you just can’t.

Ryan is towering over you. At first, your words don’t actually… Register. Because he’s more pessimistic than optimist, so he’d prepared himself to hear anything but what actually comes out of your mouth when you’ve answered him. 

But then it registers and everything clicks. And suddenly, he’s staring at you and biting his lip, a hand all caught up in his hair. “You..” he begins and pauses, grumbling. Swearing to himself before going quietly while pointing at himself. “Want me? Is that right, princess?” his hips press into you even more.

You whimper when you feel him twitching, growing beneath the dark towel around his waist. Your back rests firmly against his front door and you can only look up at him and gulp while nodding.

“I said it, didn’t I?” you finally manage to form words.

“Mhm.” Ryan answered, swallowing hard. Leaning into you even more. Your back now firmly lodged up against his front door. “You did.” he added after the air got so thick he couldn’t take another second of it. His hand ghosts your hip for a moment and he’s just staring at you.

Hard.

You were lost in his eyes. Your finger dragged across his abdomen just above where the towel sat. “It’s out now.” you mused quietly because you couldn’t think of anything else to say but the silence was so thick you were choking on it.

His abdomen clenched and unclenched under the slow drag of your soft fingertip across and he sucked in a harsh breath. The look in his eyes changed from one of shock to one of warning. His eyes darted down, following the way your finger continued to drag across his skin. You glanced down and then back up at him, licking your lips.

He leaned in just a little closer. You rose up on your toes and the tips of your noses bumped ever so lightly as your mouth settled clumsy up against his. Tentative. Cautious.

But cautious wasn’t going to cut it, not where he was concerned. Not when he was essentially getting exactly what he wanted for once. Your back collided with the door behind you all over again with a soft smack and you found yourself wedged between the firm muscular body of Ryan Wolfe and the door with absolutely nowhere to go and no real plans to escape because you didn’t want to.

Your hand caught in the way the towel clung to his waist and you whimpered quietly, your mouth falling open to allow his tongue entrance and he didn’t waste a single second. His tongue met yours and clashed, dominating the kiss. Deepening it as he let you cling and melt against him, the only sounds to shatter the silence settled all around you both the soft smacking, the meeting of your mouths over and over again. Your quiet whimper swallowed by his mouth when the kiss broke and you pulled away to attempt catching your breath as colored dots lined your vision and you actually had to use your grip on the towel at his waist as well as dig your nails on the hand rested against his shoulder into the skin there. 

“Fuck.” he groaned out quietly as his hungry eyes roamed up and down your body and he dragged the back of his hand across bruising and swollen lips. You kissed him like you needed him to breathe, it was the first time in the man's life he’d ever been kissed that way and in doing so, you proceeded to light a little fire deep within.

This is how you found yourself being scooped up and sat atop a dining table that you were thankful proved to be much sturdier than it seemed. Ryan stepped between your legs and leaned into you in a way that had you leaned back. His hands roaming up and down your thighs, fingers digging against soft bare skin as your heel fell off your foot with a quiet thud and settled on the dark hardwood flooring, the other heel to follow suit.

The tear in your stockings grew as his finger dragged over it and caught at some point, tearing the flimsy flesh colored fabric. The tear grows, tugged apart by the way Ryan Wolf clutches at your thighs. Your favorite pair of thigh highs are now essentially ruined -right along with your panties because you are soaked. Dripping wet with a healthy dull ache settling in because there's nothing more that you want most than to feel him buried inside. Fucking you.

But he’s not stopping. No, now his mouth has left your mouth; wandering down the side of your neck after he tilted your head and nosed your hair out of the way of his mouth. The hand that tore your thigh highs is creeping up beneath your skirt, fingers making a determined march to their final destination for the time being. You whimper and whine and you’re rubbing yourself against him; shameless. Wild with reckless abandon. His free hand is caught in your hair and he’s got your head tipped back because he’s leaving a circlet of love bites that have all started to purple around the base of your throat. Your hand caught in the way the towel hangs at his waist and you’re dangerously close to giving one good yank to send it pooling to the floor at his bare feet.

He seemed to pick up on it, he had to have picked up on it, after all, your hand is clutching the dark colored plush fabric in your moment of indecision. His dark chuckle tears up from the depths of his chest and his fingers are caught in the thin waistband of your favorite pair of pale pink panties -the ones that made you think of cotton candy when you bought them, and the silent rip as they’re torn away fills the space creating another level to the quiet sounds of his mouth against your flesh and your soft and needy whines as you beg him and arch yourself against him as much as you possibly can.

“Fuck.” he growls out quietly, an almost animalistic sound in nature as it’s swallowed by another deep kiss filled with longing. You both pull away to breathe and you’re staring at each other, eyes widened and pupils blown with lust. He leans back into you and smooth lips graze against the shell of your ear as he mutters calmly against your ear that if you want him to stop now is the time to say so.

“If I wanted you to stop you’d know it.” you respond, the words ripped from your mouth with a breathy moan following. Your head falls back as thick digits drag slow over the wet warmth of your throbbing sex. You suck in a sharper breath and your fingers dig against his shoulder. You can feel it every single time his cock twitches to grow and press against the towel barely hanging on for dear life around his waist. Your other hand catches on the garment and it settles on the floor at his feet. "C'mon," you beg, pleading with your eyes. "Need you, Ry. Please."

Ryan kicks the towel away and his attention is turned to working the skirt up to your hips and out of his way and once he’s done that, he’s focused on the button up shirt, the pale pink bra beneath that matched your favorite panties to a T and your blazer because those are in his way and they needed to be gone yesterday.

“Shit.” he growls, teeth chomping at the bits to leave more marks against newly exposed and pristine, unmarked flesh as soon as the clothing is out of the way, torn and discarded on the floor of his apartment. He briefly steps out from  his stance between your legs and steps back, head tilted, fucking mind blown look in brown eyes as he all but growls quietly, “Fuck..” and he breathes in and out before stepping back between your legs, his hands pushing them further apart as brown eyes fix intently on just how little space is left between you and him.

The gap is closed with a pussy drunk apology because the man’s dying to push into your soft and velvety warmth, see if he can get you screaming loud enough that the neighbors learn your name and he makes you forget it temporarily.

The hazy fluorescent lighting overhead casts a sheen as his eyes catch on the way you’re gushing, dripping for him already and when your teeth catch against the side of his neck as the leaky tip of his thick cock rubs between sensitive folds, he gasps; the sound swallowed by the way his mouth locks against the swell of your breasts. He sinks in deeper and you jolt against him a little, tensing up and drawing him to stillness as he looks up at you in concern.

You’re stretched and split and the way your walls are wrapping his length in a vise have him sucking in a deep breath and all he really wants to do is bury himself to the hilt but he waits. Patient. Until you’re used to the feeling of him inside of you. When he feels you roll your hips he shudders because it feels so good, the way you’re squeezing every inch he’s given you already.

He knows he won’t last long this time because it’s been a while and you feel way too damned good already, you’re wet; slippery as your juices leak down his length slowly. He chuckles against your skin and sinks in just a little deeper, a smirk plays at his mouth when he feels your legs squeeze against the sides of his body. “Feel good, princess?” he groans out, starting to pound away at you; slow and cautious. The coil of your stomach is almost instantaneous, you can feel it when it happens. Your hand raises and drags through his damp hair and he nips at your bottom lip before latching down with his own.

His hands are all over you. Ghosting your sides, gripping your hip as he scoots you a little closer to the edge of the dining table and you’re putting more weight on him. It’s when he buries to the hilt inside you you moan, your hips circling and rocking, stammering in their pace as he laughs against your mouth. “Easy, princess. Feels so… -ah fuck,” his tongue conquers yours, “so fucking good, perfect fit, fuck.” as you whimper and whine, your orgasm building in a hurry, faster than it’s ever happened before. Your toes curl when he bottoms out, the tip of his cock striking against a spot that has your head falling back as he fucks you near dumb on the dining table.

“Oh god, fuck..” you moan, his name leaving your lips over and over again like it’s the only word you can remember and for the moment, it is. You’ve forgotten all else but the way it feels to have him buried to the hilt, fucking you senseless. “Ryan, ah–” you cry out, your cries shatter the near silence and linger. He growls quietly and brown eyes lock on yours as he coaxes calmly, “C’mon. Let go.” followed by “Fuuuuuck.” groaned against the hollow of your throat when your orgasm shatters you and you’re left to fuck yourself up and down on his cock to ride out your high in a desperate frenzy, blindly chasing it  down. He’s kissing you tender and his hands are all over you, you’re melted against him in a fucked out stupor and clinging to him near helpless as he mumbles against your ear that he’s so close; then he’s throbbing, the warmth of his release burning you from the inside as his hips stammer against your body and he slumps against you a little, his forehead presses light against the swell of your tits as he breathes in and out again. Trying to come down from the high.

Brown eyes meet yours and he bites his lip.

“You, uh… you don’t have to go… do you?” he asks quietly.

You give a soft little smile and drag your finger up and down his chest, tracing the definition of his pectoral, “No. Do you want me to stay?”

“Yeah. I’d like it.” his answer is quiet. Honest. You grip his jaw and pull his mouth against your own greedily. “Then I’ll stay, Ry.”

You're killing me slow So slow, oh no

[princess-schez]

Fic: Sweet Dreams, Beautiful Nightmare - Chapter 5

Fic: Sweet Dreams, Beautiful Nightmare - Chapter 5 Rating: M  Genre: Bill Cipher/Reader fanfic Summary: The Reader has been plagued by violent nightmares for as long as she can remember. Deciding to move to Oregon for a simpler pace of life, it is there she meets the dream demon himself and begins to unravel a mystery connecting them both. **Bill Cipher has entered the chat**

Fic under cut below.

Chapter 5. Throwing open the front door, you saw the rest of the Pines family downstairs and surrounding Stan, who was holding onto the wall for support, an ashen color on his face. They saw you enter, noticing the slightly freaked expression on your face. "Are you okay?" you asked, as Ford helped his brother into the kitchen to sit at the table. Tentatively, you followed behind. "I feel like my head just exploded," Stan replied, rubbing his face. "But the pain seems to be going away now." "Maybe we should take you to the hospital?" Ford asked, to which Stan waved away the idea. "I'm fine," he grumbled. "Besides, quacks work there. I'm not letting some quack near me." Mabel giggled softly, before turning to face you now, worry quickly replacing the tiny bit of joy she felt. "Are you okay? Where did you go?" "I just... Honestly, I don't know. I just went for a walk as it looked so nice outside that I wanted to take it in, you know. Growing up in the city, I never really got to experience much of nature. Not up close at least, and then I saw the strangest thing there. There was this statue of a triangle with one eye just, like, buried halfway into the ground and..." You stopped when you noticed the horrified looks of the people sitting around the table. Everything got eerily quiet, except for the rumbling storm outside. Not even an audible breath escaped from the four people around you. "You didn't... touch the statue, did you?" Ford asked nervously, eyebrows raised, a hint of worry in his voice. "Uh," you thought, thinking back to how harmless it seemed. "Maybe? I mean, like, I kinda did and..." The family shot a nervous glance at one another, obviously knowing something you didn't. A weird feeling of dread nestled in the pit of your stomach for what was already the second time this day. "Why?" you asked, unsure of what was going on. "Did—did I do something?" Dipper looked up, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. He opened his mouth to reply when a quick burst of lightning outside caused the lights inside the house to flicker ominously; the power waning off and on as a burst of loud, maniacal laughter filled the room. Filled the entire house. "Well, well, well, well, well, well, well, this is a surprise I must admit," came the voice, changing tone and echoing around the room from all directions. You looked around, wondering where it came from. It had a unique drawl to it, and one that didn't belong to any of the Pines family. In the middle of the room, a large eye appeared, followed by three lines that connected the top and bottom, forming a triangular shape. You gasped, as the image before you turned into that of the statue you had seen in the forest. A yellow body with a design that looked like bricks near the bottom; complete with the top hat that unnaturally floated atop the point. The thing—whatever it was—hovered midair as it eyed the family with malice so potent you could feel it pouring off it in droves. You stared at whatever it was, unblinking, unsure if this had something to do with your accident the night before; some kind of delayed reaction that only now was manifesting. Then again, if the Pines family saw it too, then it must've been one collective hallucination. That had to be it. The triangle’s pupil moved to stare at you now, a surge of fear and something else you couldn’t quite pinpoint, coursing through you. You sat, unable to move, as the thing stared at you. It was unnerving, creepy even, how its eye almost penetrated your very being. Its eye changed from white with a vertical pupil, to a multitude of colors, shapes, images... you saw the same things in your mind's eye. You forgot where you were; the images became your new surroundings, swirling, blending, as though they transported you to another level of existence... before everything was consumed by fire... and screaming. The image of the deer-headed woman was the last thing you saw… The images stopped, and you were back in the Pines' dining room, the wind having felt like it was knocked out of you. Your eyes still locked onto the creature's, but now his eye was opened wider, as though in shock just as much as you. "You," he whispered. Now your own eyes widened in surprise, unsure what this thing was talking about. Yet you couldn't ponder it more as the thing quickly extended its black hand to you. "Always a pleasure to meet you, beautiful," it said. "Putt'er there." You stared at his outstretched hand. Nothing about this whole scenario making any sense anymore. Life itself was not making sense right now. "Don't be shy, you already took my hand once," the triangle said with a sing-song tone in its voice. You could have sworn it was smiling, noting the way its eye curved. "Don't shake his hand!" Dipper yelled, breaking you from your trance-like state. "It's a trick!" "Ah, Pine Tree, always the optimist," it said, snapping its fingers as Dipper's mouth sealed shut, but his eye never left your face. "Name's Bill Cipher, beautiful. But I know yours," he continued, that same look on his—well, you weren't sure if 'face' was the right word—but there it was, eye curved like he was smiling. "H—how do you know mine?" you asked, slightly panicked. The triangle clapped its hands together in amusement. "I know everything. Master of the mind, dreams, and all that. Like I can tell you the exact date, time, age, and location that Pine Tree here dies. Or better yet, when Grumpy and Grumpier over here kick the bucket." It pointed its thumb back over at the two older Pines men. "Maybe they would look better with their insides worn on the outside?" "Knock it off, Cipher," Ford growled. "How did you get back here, anyway?" "Hell if I know," Bill said, with a sarcastic tone to his voice. "But now that I'm free, again, I'll be around keeping my eye on things. Especially you, beautiful." He tipped his hat toward you as he vanished into thin air. _____ Chapter 4 / Chapter 6 AO3 / Wattpad

[xiv-wolfram]

The Dance - Comic Script

Stormblood - lvl 68

WolfBahn spar. Raubahn highly approves of Wolf's new outfit.

Wolfram Saga Comics (Chronological)

This is the script for a future comic. Posting for those who don’t want to wait to get the story. Numbers indicate frame number. A/B mean a frame is split.

For Context - THE Outfit

Zoomed out shot outside of Ala Ghiri. Raubahn is waiting with his back turned. Wolfram is walking towards him (in his dancer outfit). Narrator - “The Resistance has a bit of downtime after reaching Ala Ghiri. Wolfram invites his friend and former partner Raubahn for a sparring match.”

Close-up shot of Rau waiting, annoyed. Thought - ‘What’s taking him so long?’ Wolf, off frame - “Hey Rau! Sorry, I’m late. This took a while to get into.” 

Wolf standing a few paces from Rau, wearing his Thavnairian dancer outfit. (It’s quite low but does fully cover his tattoo.) Smiles awkwardly - “I suppose the jewelry was unnecessary… but it came with the outfit so…” Dark Thought - ‘You look ridiculous.’

Raubahn stares in surprise, blushing - "T-that's… um… That’s quite an outfit, Wolf." Thought - ‘Seven hells…but why is he wearing it? Is it…for me? Surely he knows how I’d react…’

Wolf grins at Rau’s reaction and takes out his chakrams. Thought - ‘Heh, well he clearly thinks I look good.’ Dark Thought - ‘Or you’re misinterpreting his feelings again. Why are you even using your empathic abilities right now?’ Wolf says - "Aye, I found it at a Thavnairian import stall in Kugane. This allows a wide range of motion - so it’s perfect for combat." 

Wolf shows off his chakrams, smiling - “Along with these chakrams! I was feeling a bit nostalgic - so I've been practicing the form of fighting my father taught me.”  Dark Thought - ‘Since you can control your gift now - reading his emotions is a disgusting invasion of privacy.'

Rau smiles, still blushing - "I see… It looks very nice, Wolf. I’m glad you were able to find the weapons as well. So - what combat style did your father teach you, again?" Thought - ‘If it was truly nostalgia and he’s not flirting… perhaps I’m misinterpreting and this is simply friendship? He’s so confusing.’

Wolf grins confidently - "Dancing!" Rau laughs - "No, really."

Wolf smiles smugly - "Really. You'll see." Thought - 'I'm still not very graceful, but he'll be impressed as it appears he hasn’t seen this style before. ' Dark Thought - 'Why are you trying to impress him at all? This is pathetic.' Thought - ‘I’m just having a bit of fun. I know he doesn’t think of me romantically…but he still has eyes and I like flirting so what’s the harm? Ugh, why am I talking to you?!’

Rau grins - "Aye, I must admit - you have my curiosity." Thought - 'As long as he wears this outfit I don't care how he fights…'

Wolf grins and wields both chakrams - "Get ready. I won't hold back."

Rau chuckles and draws his blade - "Alright then, *dancer*. Do your worst."

Wolf starts dancing. Standard Step.

Close shot. Step 1 (yellow)

Close shot. Step 2 (green)

Zoomed out shot. Standard Finish.

Rau amazed /Wow. Thought - 'Godsdammit... he's beautiful.'

Rau’s eyes move to the left as a chakram flies by his head. Thought - 'Seven hells! I should be focusing on the fight, not leering!'

Rau bends backward, barely dodging the second chakram.

Wolf catches the chakrams as Rau starts charging toward him.

A) Wolf En Avant forward B) Wolf rushes past Rau.

Rau starts to turn as Wolf throws a chakram from behind him.

A) Rau brings his blade up in time to deflect it. B) Rau surprised. Thought - ‘He’s faster too!’

Wolf (both chakram in hand) uses displacement to create more distance as Rau brings his arm back down.

A) Wolf lands and starts Standard Step again. B) Rau stares longingly.

A) Rau looks determined. Thought - 'I can't let him distract me again. B) Far shot. Step 1 (red). Rau charging.

Close shot. Step 2 (blue). 

Wolf Standard Finish as Rau is midair with his blade above his head.

Rau lands, his blade where Wolf just was as Wolf twirls around Raubahn to dodge.

Wolf standing behind Rau. Holding Rau's arm down with his right arm, his left hand holding a chakram to Rau's throat, grinning. Rau surprised. Eyeing the chakram in Wolf’s left hand. Thought - 'Did he… just *win*?!'

A) Rau flustered. Wolf drops his left hand, beaming - "I do believe I’ve just won my first duel against you!” B) Wolf ponders - “Unless…did you let me win again?" Thought - 'His cheek…is so… kissable right now…' Rau closing his eyes, embarrassed but still blushing. 

Rau blushing turns his head, trying to look back at Wolf, beams - "Aye, that was a legitimate victory. Well done!" Thought - 'Now claim your prize… Damnit, why can’t he just acknowledge his feelings and make a move?!'

A) Rau smirks, still blushing, looking at the ground. Wolf steps back, surprised. Thought - 'Is he feeling… no way! I’d swear my Echo has been broken around him lately!' B) Wolf taunts - "Alright then - the usual rules! You owe me lunch! Suppose I’ll have to hold you to that after we liberate Ala Mhigo…" Rau sighs and smiles awkwardly, looking at the sky.

Wolfram Saga Comics (Chronological)

[soldiermom1973]

Squid Ink

I participated in Shepard Summer 2022 and got to write a fic for @thatdreadbitch The prompt I chose was “ I would like art or fic of Jack taking Cassandra Shepard to get tattoos as a means to cope with the effects of Project Lazarus during Shore Leave in ME 3”.  Authors were revealed earlier today so I can share the finished product with all of you!  I was super stressed about getting her Cassandra Shepard right as well as delivering a worthy gift she’d enjoy.  I hope you all like it, too! I’ve only shared a snippet here because I can’t seem to write a short story to save my life, but feel free to head to AO3 for the rest.  Kudos & comments are always welcome! . . . . . .

The last thing Cassandra Shepard expected to be doing was trying to cut a rug with Jack. She'd walked into Purgatory to look for Joker, but was surprised to find Jack sitting in the middle of the club, looking over training rosters. Cass was even more surprised when she agreed to accompany her onto the dance floor to take a break from work.

“You're on shore leave, Jack. The work will still be there after a song or two,” Cass said.

And now the Commander found herself sitting for a few minutes, trying to catch her breath. Being an N7 meant she had to be in great shape, but that didn't mean trying to dance was an easy workout. Jack grinned as Cass rolled her neck, sighing when a couple of vertebrae audibly popped back into place.

The pair hadn't been particularly close when they were chasing the Collectors, but something seemed to click when Cass showed up at Grissom and saved Jack and her kids. <i>Jack's</i> kids... the thought still made Cass smirk and shake her head in wonder.

“So, you gonna let me in on the joke?” Jack asked, taking a swig of her drink. It was some krogan concoction Cass couldn't pronounce if she tried, but Jack had a cast iron stomach and alcohol went through her system faster than a hanar in water.

“Hm? Oh, I'm still trying to wrap my head around how much you've changed,” Cass shrugged, running her fingers through her hair. “It's all a good look for you.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Jack mumbled, draining her glass. She leaned back in her chair, draping her elbow over the back and crossed an ankle over her knee. “Speaking of good looks, I was thinking about something my kids suggested.”

“Oh? You didn't hurt yourself, did you?” Cass smirked. She reached behind her head and gathered her long, red locks into a loose knot at the base of her neck, then reached for her drink - something much easier to pronounce and kinder to her metabolism than what Jack had.

“Fucking smartass,” Jack grumbled. “No, I was wondering if you have any ink. You don't, do you?”

Cass paused with her glass in midair and frowned. “Jack, you've seen me change out of my armor. You know I don't have any tattoos. What a weird question.”

“Yeah, well, that was months ago. People change,” the young woman shrugged. She waved down one of the servers and asked for more drinks. “So, you didn't get inked while you were locked up?”

Cass sighed and put her empty glass back on the table. “No, Jack, I didn't get inked while I was locked up. Why?”

Jack hummed her acknowledgment before downing a shot. “Remember how I told the kids we were all getting inked? Most of them have never had a tattoo before and they want you to come along. I don't know, help them not be scared or some shit,” she added when Cass gave her a skeptical look. “Look, they were asking questions about it, how long it takes, if it hurt or not, and they wanted me to ask you if you'd come along.”

Jack paused long enough to down another drink and ran her hand down her mouth. “So I'm asking.”

Cass leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest, giving Jack's request some serious thought. She'd wanted a tattoo for a while now but just never seemed to have the time. “When are you taking them?” she asked.

“Tonight,” Jack answered, spinning her shot glass on the table. “There's a hanar shop down in Zakera. Sounds fucking weird, I know. Like, who'd think those damn jellyfish could tattoo? I'm still trying to figure out how they hold the needle gun. Anyway,” Jack shook her head and sighed, “since they can hold more than one tattoo gun, they get done faster, but the work is great.”

Cass knew enough people with tattoos to know they took the art seriously. If someone said a tattoo artist did good work, chances were good they were right. Crappy tattooists didn't last long – word of mouth put them out of business pretty quick.

“I don't know,” she mused. “It's kind of a bad time to get something that will take a while to heal and is permanent. I mean, I'd like some time to think about it.”

“Ok, so, first of all, Cerberus did all that shit when they rebuilt you, gave you implants or whatever and you heal faster than most people, right? So a tattoo for you would heal in about half the time, but...” Jack held her hands up when Cass gave her a withering stare. The Lazarus Project was a touchy subject, one she was still trying to wrap her head around.

“...what if I told you they'll do something temporary?” Jack straightened up a little, excitement tingeing her voice. “No healing time so you don't have to worry about your armor fucking it up. It wears off after a week or two. A couple of the kids are doing that because they aren't sure, either.”

Cass nodded and ran her fingers along the neck of her bottle. This was something she didn't remember ever talking about with Kaidan or Garrus, so she wasn't sure what their opinions would be. Garrus had his clan markings, which were kind of the same but more culturally important. And Kaidan didn't have any ink. She didn't think the guys would care either way and at the end of the day, it was her body and her decision. But if it was temporary....

“What time?” Cass pulled up her 'tool to check her schedule.

A smile tugged at the corners of Jack's mouth. “Appointment's for six,” she said. “There's three jellies working and they can get through the kids each in under an hour. Probably less depending on how simple some of them want. So we're looking at three hours, tops.”

“I can't do six, Jack, I'm sorry. I have a meeting with the asari counselor and I have a feeling that's gonna take a while.”

Jack's smile got a little wider. “And if Pierce is willing to stay to get you in?”

“I don't know how long this meeting will be. I could very well be tied up for hours,” Cass explained. “I don't want him to stay there all night just waiting for me.”

“Shepard, he won't fucking care. Who else will get to say they gave the Queen of the Girl Scouts her first fucking tattoo?”

Cass sighed. She was intrigued and now that she's given it even just a modicum of thought, she wanted to have a tattoo. “Fine. Call your guy, tell him I'll get there as soon as I can. Besides, if worse comes to worse, I can use the excuse of another appointment as a reason to cut the meeting short.”

Jack sat up in her chair, excitement shining in her eyes. “You're seriously going to do it? Fuck yes!!” she yelled. “I can promise Pierce can get you in. He's excited to be the one to do the work.”

As Jack pulled out her omnitool to call the tattoo parlor, Cass shook her head and wondered what she was getting herself into.

[the-restricted-section]

I've decided that whenever this blog gets hate I'm going to write a drabble with Sirona in it!

Gen, 1,138, Sirona + MC (Dylan Fairchild) - Dylan tries to thank Sirona for her help against Rookwood

Dylan stood outside of Floriblunders' Florist, dithering and trying desperately not to appear like they were. After all, it wouldn't due to have the "Hero of Hogsmeade" - as one inebriated gentlemen had hailed them - looking like a fool outside a flower shop. Maybe it was better to just order something by owl? Or better yet, forget this whole, impulsive idea. 

Problem was, Dylan may not have remembered much about their mother, but they did recall the early lesson dolled out during mealtimes, or out on the street, or whenever another child had been cruel to them: be kind, even when it's hard. It simply didn't feel right, approaching another for a favor without something to offer in turn, especially when they'd already done Dylan a kindness. Merlin, Sirona might have saved their life. Picking up flowers for her seemed like the very least they could do. 

But how did you even ask for that? "Good afternoon! I'd like a bouquet that says, 'Thank you for running off the goblin-aligned Dark Wizard last month and do you mind if I interrogate you for contacts?'" 

Dylan snorted, the imagined look on the florist's face nearly worth it. But they shook their head. A quick Tempus showed that it would be dark soon and though the Three Broomsticks would be open late into the night, the last thing they wanted was to bring Ranrok up in a crowd. No, better to do this before the regulars came shambling in. With a shake of their head Dylan pasted on a smile, hefted a rather absurd number of galleons, and pointed to the first, impressive-looking flowers as they came through the door. 

Well, it was the thought that counts, right? Besides, if Sirona hated it, they could always repurpose... whatever these were for potion ingredients. No doubt Professor Sharp would have something useful up his sleeve.

Only vaguely satisfied with Plan B, Dylan made their way down the cobblestone streets, trying to navigate around the massive arrangement. The florist had been thrilled at the purchase - something about bandits interrupting trade supplies and harming business. Dylan made a mental note to look into it - and had included some rather beautiful paper for free, complete with an intricately tied bow. The end result was bigger than Dylan's head though and it was a relief to shoulder into the Three Broomsticks, setting the bouquet on the counter with a huff. 

Sirona was there, one eyebrow creeping into her hair as she surveyed the small garden on her bar. 

"Well, hello there. Who's the lucky person?" 

"You." 

Dylan laughed. Okay, they may not have been able to rattle the florist, but Sirona was even better. They hadn't known her long, but already Dylan liked her no-nonsense attitude wrapped around this warm, comforting center. They knew from experience that Sirona would gut anyone who threatened her patrons - let alone her friends - and that was more reassuring than all the Hogwarts residents who had shot Dylan well-meaning, but ultimately hesitant smiles. That probably would have been just fine for an average student, but they'd learned hard and fast that they needed to cultivate a stronger support network. 

Unfortunately, Sirona looked as if she regretted ever letting Dylan through the door. "Look, kid, I can't in good conscious say I'm flattered, but--" 

Dylan laughed again, gesturing like they were swatting away a particularly bothersome fly. "It's just a gift, Sirona. A 'thank you' for helping me out last time I was here. Nothing more, but nothing less either." 

"Oh." Her whole body relaxed at those words, a small, self-deprecating smile gracing her lips. "In that case, they're beautiful." With a wave of her wand Sirona summoned a vase filled with water, the bouquet unwrapping in midair to settle in its new home. Dylan hummed in appreciation. Not just at the magic, but the vase itself. They wouldn't say that the Three Broomsticks was ugly by any means, but it was... homey; well-worn like your favorite pair of boots after years of travel. Dylan was no connoisseur, but the detailed crystal now catching the light appeared to be of an excellent quality.

Sirona noticed the look. "My mother's," she said dryly. "I've got a whole closet of her disgustingly extravagant stuff. Everything that doesn't fit in the house anymore, even with the extension charms."

"That's funny, I was thinking about my own mother when I bought this."

"Did she teach you about flowers? These are very well chosen."

"Uh..."

Sirona paused in rearranging the bouquet, her eyes narrowing at Dylan's sheepish expression. "Don't tell me you chose this at random?"

"Well..." Odd, had it gotten hotter in the Three Broomsticks? Dylan rubbed at the back of their neck, looking around, sure that the crowd must have grown... but no. There were actually fewer people than when they'd first walked in. They gave an awkward cough. "Sorry?"

Sirona just huffed; not quite a laugh, but close enough. "What are your divination grades like? I'd wager you have at least a mild touch of The Sight if you were really drawn to these without realizing. Let's see... transformation," she said, pointing to collection of calla lilies. "Rather fitting for me, hmm? Pink roses to express gratitude, and yellow for friendship..." Sirona dipped down to breathe deeply, seeming to savor their scent, and Dylan found themselves sinking into a feeling of contentment. Yes, that was all quite appropriate.

"And these?" they asked, fingering the petals of a deep purple flower; so deep as to almost be--

"The black dahlia," Sirona said, her eyes snapping open. They zeroed in on Dylan. "They herald coming danger."

...oh.

Dylan swallowed. "Right. Okay. I... well. I think it's already here."

From the dragon that had emerged from the clouds, to the shifty wizards populating Hogsmeade's streets, it seemed that everywhere Dylan went danger was dogging their steps, to the point where they couldn't even settle in to study without their wand in one hand and a Wiggenweld in easy reach. It's not as if they'd thought that danger would suddenly disappear, but hearing that their premonition to Professor Onai might be true after all...

"You know," Dylan said, swallowing, "my Divination grades are very good."

The look Sirona shot them said the joke had fallen flat, but she nevertheless turned and pulled them two mugs of butterbeer. After sliding one over - giving Dylan something to do with their hands, thank Merlin - she plucked one of the dahlias from the vase, snapped the stem, and tucked the flower into the buttonhole of Dylan's jacket, her movements determinedly furious.

"Own it," she said, clinking their mugs so that the foam went flying. "Let the danger come. You've got friends to face it with."

That's all they'd ever wanted.

Mustering up a shaky smile, Dylan toasted to the future.