#(and don't worry‚ it will eventually be for the better)

[alottiegoingon]

the last night

shauna shipman x fem!reader

summary: shauna comes back after 19 months in the wilderness

warnings: shauna and r had a situationship, very suggestive content but nothing explicit, wilderness time, mentions of mental illness (depression, anxiety), r cheating on her actual gf, manipulative shauna (?), angst but happy ending, not proofread

"i can't believe you're leaving me," you complain in a purposely whiny tone, your voice ringing in shauna's ears as you sit across from each other on the bed. she grips her familiar journal while you help her go through her checklist of essential items.

"i'm not leaving you. It's only a week," she murmurs, her head bowed over her journal, but her eyes lift to catch yours. a playful smile dances on her lips, secretly entertained by your antics.

shauna played as the midfielder for the yellowjackets, a girls' soccer team. their recent victory had secured them a spot in the nationals in seattle, and it was all she could talk about.

you were genuinely excited for her, but the thought of spending so much time apart made you anxious. it wasn’t a full week, technically, but you couldn’t help worrying about shauna meeting someone much cooler in a much cooler place.

"remember the last time?" shauna reminisces about her trip to denver five years ago, also for soccer. you were just middle schoolers then, and you were forced to make new friends while she was gone for days. "you found new friends," her voice crackled slightly.

"so we are friends now?" you say, your voice constricting. shauna doesn't look up but you hear her snort, contrasting with her muscles tensing up. the silence settles in and you don't wait any longer to fill it, not wanting to make things any weirder than they already were.

"anyway. it's just not the same now," shauna understood your words perfectly well, especially considering the kind of friendship you had. still, she questioned.

"why's that?" she inquires, her hands absently rubbing the pen against her journal as she finishes her list.

"you know why," three words of yours were responsible for the abrupt stop of her writing. shauna places the journal and pen aside, focusing on you.

"because no one is as cool as me?" she quips, a self-satisfied grin spreading across her lips.

"that's debatable," you retort, feigning skepticism as you mock her with a playful expression.

"you hurt my feelings like that," her false frown deepens as she leans in.

her hands move surreptitiously toward your legs, eventually landing in a gentle and not so innocent touch on your knees. inch by inch, she traces your skin with her fingertips until her full hands were on your thigs and crawling up to your waist.

"i'm so sorry," you try to keep yourself unbothered by her touch but she's smarter. her nose strokes your cheek, stopping to give your upper lip a messy kiss, and she kisses her way town to your neck.

brushing your hair out of the way along with the heart necklace, her teeth gently grazes on your skin.

"nuh-uh. this won't do," her hot breath into your skin makes you shiver. "i have a better idea."

𖠋

everyone remembers where they are when an upsetting event happens. the death of a celebrity, a natural disaster, a medical trauma. you remember, clear as water, where you were when you read the newspaper. walking back home.

it was all over the news. flight 2525, the private plane that lottie matthews' dad had chartered, had disappeared. the plane shauna was in. making everything worse, the news would often use the word 'crash' instead and you couldn't bare the idea.

soon enough, it hit you that the night before her trip was the last time you would ever see her again. the only thing more unbearable than that was the uncertainty; not knowing if shauna was still out there.

after a month of silence, you thought you had your answer.

people don't move on from things like that, not completely. especially if their best friend was envolved. spending your days in bed, skipping meals and not going to class became part of your new routine. you lost track of whether it was day or night, whether the sun was shining or not. your mind was consumed by her.

moving on or not, life goes on and the world doesn't slow down for anyone. after six months, normalcy had returned for most. apart from the parents and a handful of students, the yellowjackets had faded from people's memories, just like their plane. this pissed you off. you barely had time to grieve as the rest of the world rushed forward.

forcing yourself to merely exist, not truly live, you returned to class. like a ghost, you attracted curious glances and avoided them like the plague. after graduation, college was the next step.

a year later, shauna’s parents asked if you wanted anything from her room. something special, or perhaps just to visit. you were certain it wasn’t a good idea, but you went anyway. under her pillow, you found an envelope from brown university—the same school you were attending, the place you and shauna had planned to go together.

that was all it took to break you down into a sobbing mess on her bed.

𖠋

things got better. not perfect, not the way they used to be, but better. you weren't alone anymore but always had to push away the idea of losing all of your friends at once, one in special. luckily or not, college kept you busy.

"have you finished tomorrow's essay? It's so boring I might just drop the class," your girlfriend says, dropping a pile of old books on the cafeteria table and sitting across from you.

"i have dark circles under my eyes, what do you think?" you groan, lifting your head. she leans over the table to kiss your forehead.

"i think you still look pretty, baby."

"thanks, but I'm not letting you copy my work."

"worth the shot," she chuckles, placing two cups of coffee on the table, sliding one towards you.

your plan was to finish that damn essay and be completely free. the cafeteria was buzzing with students, but at least they were minding their own business. that's what you get for studying in a campus cafeteria.

"did you hear what happened to them? i'm so glad they're alive. It must have been so tough," her sudden comment startles you, taking a moment to register.

you swallow a lump in your throat as you glance over your shoulder at the TV, where crowds of people are watching the news: 'yellowjackets rescued'.

"holy shit," you whisper, the shock setting in as you realize you hadn't revealed not only your awareness of their situation but also your complex connection with one of them.

𖠋

a week after shauna got back, her parents had called you your stomach was turning upside down and your anxiety levels were through the roof. you couldn't manage to put your feelings into words.

you knocked on her bedroom door, too anxious to wait, just to announce yourself. for the first time in almost two years, shauna stood before you. she bore a few scars, nothing too severe; her hair had grown longer, losing its waves; her eyes seemed somehow larger, fixed on you as if she had just saw something extraodrinary.

she leapt from the bed, a cautious gaze scanning you, before rushing toward you and embracing you tightly.

her arms wrapped around your shoulders, her fingers digging into your clothes so intensely it almost hurt. you reciprocated, holding her waist tightly to keep her close, unsure when the tears started flowing, but you feeling your shoulders becoming wet.

"hi," she whisper between tears, her voice crackling.

"hi," you echo her. "i thought i would never see you again."

"i know," she sniffs, clinging to you. the last thing she murmurs for the long time you two spent hugging.

shauna was back, but she was much quieter, easily irritated, and frightened by everything. she had every right to feel that way, but you were worried. no one was allowed inches close to her journal and you respected that, encouraging her to write about her feelings.

your finals didn't matter anymore; nothing else did. for the next few weeks, you were constantly by her side. even waiting outside the bathroom door like a loyal dog.

however, you weren't the same as before. you weren't as touchy or intimate, especially after shauna discovered you were dating someone else. she became distant and strange, pushing you away and ignoring your calls.

"hey, I bought you a new book. It's from that author you used to like before..." you stop yourself mid-sentence. "you know."

forcing a smile, you place the book on her desk. her vacant eyes meet yours, but she remains still, lying in bed staring at the ceiling.

"is everything okay?" you ask hesitantly, walking towards her and offering your hand.

the silence lingers but she accepts your hand and joins you.

"shauna?" you say. as soon as she's on her feet, she drops your hand quickly.

"everything is fine," she says sharply.

"right... it's just that you've been acting weird lately," you explain, trying not to upset her.

"in case you didn't know, I was trapped in a cabin in the middle of nowhere for almost two years," she snaps, her body stiffening.

"yes, i know," you say, inhaling deeply. "but I—"

"don't you have to go back to your girlfriend anyway?" she interrupts, glancing at the door and then back at you. she clearly wanted you out.

"no, I don't," you reply, frowning. "is she why you're acting like an idiot?"

she snorts, taking a step forward, her eyes narrowing.

"It's funny how I'm the idiot when you've replaced me with someone else so quickly," you would feel bad thanks to the pain in her voice if it weren't for her absurd words.

"replace you?" you scoff. "she's my girlfriend, shauna."

"and what was I?"

"you were my friend! we were friends."

her face shuts down completely, lips parting as if ready to shout something, but she stops herself. you weren't sure if you agreed with your own words, but it’s too late now.

"i thought you were dead," you say, taking a deep breath to keep your voice steady. shauna, however, seems perfectly fine with letting her voice rise.

"you sure did," she says, shaking her head slightly.

"well, you left me."

"not because I wanted to, you fucking idiot!" she snarls, suddenly pressing her forearm against your collarbones and pushing you backwards. you gasp in surprise as your back hits the cold wall.

"shauna! what are you doing?" you try to push her away, but she’s stronger than you remember and hold you in place.

"do you ever think of me when you kiss her?" she whispers, ignoring your question. her breath is ragged, her chest heaving. she tilts her head slightly, studying your face. then she leans closer, her lips just brushing against yours.

you can hardly make sense of her words, stunned by her sudden change in behavior. your mouth hangs open, but no sound comes out.

"answer me," she growls, pressing her arm harder against you. her jaw clenches, making you yelp, and you immediately whisper a faint 'yes.'

she smirks, crashing her lips into yours. though you hesitated for a moment, you quickly recovered, syncing your movements with her rough rhythm. when you try to pull her closer by the hips, she lets go of your chest, grasping your wrists and pinning them along with you.

the urgent kiss didn't last much longer as she trailed her way down to your jawline with small bites and feral kisses, eventually reaching your neck. in her preferred area, you cry out her name when she sinks her teeth into your skin, drawing blood.

when did she got so into biting?

[silverynight]

The haori

It surprises Tanjirou to see Tomioka arrive to the butterfly mansion; he knows (thanks to Kocho) that there's not going to be a hashira meeting any time soon. Also, and he feels relieved when he notices, Tomioka doesn't look injured.

His surprise only grows when the water hashira looks around, almost desperate. As soon as his deep blue eyes find his though, his shoulders relax.

Taking a deep breath, the Pillar sits right next to him on the floor. The sun is shining brightly over the backyard; everything looks green there.

It's really a beautiful day.

"They told me you were hurt."

He nods, although realizes quickly that it's useless because Tomioka is not looking at him.

"Nothing serious," he says, smiling because Tomioka's presence always makes him feel better. "It's just my arm and leg."

Turning his head at him, Tomioka frowns, glaring in disapproval at the bandage under Tanjirou's white pants. Then, he looks at the one under his sleeve like it has personally insulted him.

"Are you sure you don't need to be in bed right now?"

Shaking his head, Tanjirou chuckles; even though Tomioka looks irritated, his nose tells him he's not angry with him; he's worried. Around them, the people working in the mansion start looking in their direction every now and then with curiosity.

"I'm fine. I'll probably get another mission soon."

By the way he grimaces, Tomioka doesn't seem to like the idea of him going into battle at the moment.

Tanjirou is about to ask him what he's doing there when the hashira moves and puts his own haori on the young demon slayer's shoulders.

Blinking in confusion, Tanjirou glances up at Tomioka again only to see that he's looking away from him again. His cheeks are slightly pink.

"You looked like you were cold."

He's not. The weather is amazing. However, he doesn't want to make him feel bad (after all he's done for Nezuko) so he thanks him and puts it on.

Besides, his uniform and his haori are being washed at the moment so he supposes it's fine to borrow Tomioka's for a while.

It smells just like him; like ocean water, like salt... Like a river. All at the same time.

"It's huge," Tanjirou chuckles. It's only natural since Tomioka is taller and stronger than him.

"My haori looks perfect on you," the water hashira says and only then Tanjirou looks back at him, noticing the fond expression on his face.

He sounds almost proud and his eyes glimmer with triumph when he notices the others are watching them.

Aoi gets closer to them and (to Tanjirou's shock) bow at them both. Tomioka nods in approval for some reason.

No, she's never bowed at him. Tanjirou is sure her rank is superior to his.

"I'm sorry to interrupt such an intimate moment," she mumbles, prompting Tanjirou to narrow his eyes in confusion. "But I need to check on Tanjirou-san injuries."

San? Since when she uses an honorific to talk to him?

"Of course," Tomioka says. "I'll go with you."

***

Looking unusually nervous, Aoi does her best to change Tanjirou's bandages quickly. It seems like Tomioka's intense look is making her less confident for some reason.

She looks almost scared.

"You should get something to eat," she tells him, moving away from as soon as she finishes. Relief is written all over her face. "Well, I'm done here."

"Thank you!" Tanjirou grins, but doesn't have time to say anything else because Tomioka takes him in his arms and carries him to the main room.

They eat together; he's so focused on the food that doesn't realize he's still wearing the haori or that Tomioka is staring at him with a fond smile.

When they finish, Kocho tells Tanjirou she has important things to discuss with Tomioka so the young demon slayer goes to Nezuko's room to check on her.

He manages to catch a few sentences of their conversation however.

"You have to tell him, Giyuu! Otherwise you're doing this for nothing! You know it's not fair..."

"I will tell him eventually."

"Probably on your wedding day..."

Tanjirou narrows his eyes, he's not sure if Kocho is just joking or if she's being serious, but thinking about Tomioka getting married makes him feel sad for a moment. He shakes his head though, reminding himself to be kind. He should be glad for his friends.

After seeing that Nezuko is still asleep, Tanjirou decides to go back to the yard, but finds himself in front Murata instead. They almost bump into each other, however, thanks to his nose he could move away in time.

"Tanjirou!" He says, smiling as his cheeks turn slightly pink. "Just the person I was in looking for!"

"Really?" He chuckles. "What do you need from me?"

"Well... Since both got some free time right now I was wondering..." He stops as soon as his eyes fall over the haori Tanjirou's wearing. "Is that Tomioka-san's?"

"Yes," Tanjirou nods, looking down at himself, still amused. "It's really big for me, don't you think? Oh, sorry! You were about to tell me something! What was it?"

Murata shakes his head, looking pale.

"N-Nothig. I didn't know you were already–that you had..." Again, he stops when he sees something over Tanjirou's shoulder. He bows. "I was already leaving, Tomioka-san!"

"Wait!" It's too late, he's already gone before Tanjirou can say anything else. He smells a bitter scent coming from Tomioka when he moves right next to him. However, when the water hashira looks down at him, the smell is replaced by a sweeter one.

"Let's go to the backyard," Tomioka mumbles, trying to hold back a pleased smile.

***

Tanjirou gives him back the haori when it's time for him to leave. With a soft smile, he puts it back on slowly, almost like he wants everyone to see him.

"I'll be in contact," Tomioka promises, caressing Tanjirou's hair, surprising the young demon slayer. "I'll find a way to see you soon, no matter where you are."

Feeling excited at the possibility of seeing him again soon, Tanjirou beams at him. However, his smile vanishes when the water hashira leans, takes his hand and kisses it softly.

It's a shame the Pillar goes away right after that, leaving Tanjirou in a flustered shock for a couple of seconds.

There's something going on. Something he's missing.

He has to find out what it is.

***

Patreon

[scratch-house]

i'm just a shot away from you.

sketch here and here.

hihi! long time no see! i'm gonna infodump about this piece down here.

so when i first started drawing, i focused really heavily on lineart. i was super into finding my "style" in terms of how i would stylize faces and bodies. my coloring style was kind of an afterthought and wasn't really in the place i wanted it to be, so this is me kind of experimenting and trying to go wild in that department.

i think the reason for my years long art block was perfectionism. specifically for digital art, i was very focused on making things pristine and clean looking. i mean that may or may not be obvious from my more recent pre hiatus art, i don't remember, but 😭 mentally that was the issue. i used to always like my sketches more than my lines, and at a certain point i was like, i may as well just have the lines be really sketchy and irregular and chunky or edgy in parts because i seem to be drawn to that, and clearly this precision thing isn't working out. i'd definitely attempted that at other points, but i hadn't really committed and was never really confident about it before now. i think ultimately i just had to reach enough of a 'fuck it' point before i could do it. it's a similar philosophy with the coloring and shading. i'm just letting all the textures and irregularities come through without worrying too much

the idea for the piece changed a LOT. like i started sketching and attempting to color this well before my art block, and i've only just finished it. initially, the doctor and the master were wearing their normal clothes and were holding daggers to one another while locked in an embrace, so the idea was like, the closer they get, the deadlier it is. for some reason i just couldn't get that to work? at some point i gave the doctor navy wings, so there was almost an angel of death thing going on (think the master asking her to kill him), but eventually i went for this! there's still kind of the erotic element with the master straddling the doctor and her Thrusting up, but now they are fencing, and the weapons are a little more front and center instead of hidden, as they were initially. i don't know how obvious it is, but what's happening is the master seemingly has the doctor pinned, both physically and with his rapier, but as she thrusts up, she actually moves his face closer to her blade. his hand on her elbow looks like it's part of the pin, but actually he's trying to stop himself from getting cut more. this thing of the master looking like he's winning, but the doctor actually holding the deadlier (though not necessarily better) position was very important to me, i don't know why. it was a feature of all of the sketches, although in the dagger sketches, there was an element of the doctor's blade being more hidden than the master's, ie in the embrace, the master (facing her) has an arm wrapped around the back of her neck with a blade at her throat, and she wraps her arms around him with a blade pointed directly at his back. you are going to have to figure out the symbolic intricacies of that yourself because i was just doing what felt right sjdjsdk

almost forgot: it's not just the positioning that sorta favors the doctor, it's also the fact that she is slightly more armored than the master. i don't know if you would call that armor, but let's go with that. her mask is pulled slightly more over her face than the master's, she wears her gloves and shoes while the master wears neither, and her rapier has a little cover that goes over her hand, while the master's just fans out. obviously they both have minor injuries, but the doctor also has some Ambiguous blood at her mouth. is it his? is it hers? i don't know. but she has blood in her mouth vibes when it comes to her interactions with the master so there u go

there's also an element of like, fencing is not supposed to get this crazy, so something has gotten severely out of hand here. but mostly i thought it looked cool.

if i could change anything about this, i would make it so that the doc's blade is pointing directly at the master's chin instead of having just grazed his lower face, with the master trying to lift his head away from the blade as he slides down, just so that the threat felt a little more.. i don't know, imminent? so that the strain is more pronounced? they're simultaneously being pulled toward one another (by gravity) and desperately trying to push away. i might've also fucked around with the text a little more because i'm realizing now that it could very easily be misread shjshdjs. but mostly i'm just glad that it's done and it looks cool. it's been YEARS and i finally feel like i'm back on my art feet. but don't hold me to that

[crabsnpersimmons]

I think Sun and moon should swap cat onesies, that’ll be much comfier

a very good idea!

unfortunately... not too much of an improvement 😅

Clip thought of everything 😂

[psychologicalwarclaire]

Hmmm, how about 29 - Control with Zane?

It's been a good long while since I read Ninjago angst, and I wanna see my favorite blorbo traumatized again :>

Zane + Control & Kai + Begging

Two for one trauma special >:}

Zane was tossed back into the cage with a clang. Immediately, Kai knelt at his side.

"You okay, buddy? Oh man what did that jerk do to you?!"

Clearly, Kai had seen the metal chunks torn from his arms and legs, the sparking wires, the gouges and scratches.

But he didn't have enough mechanical knowledge to understand what exactly had been done to him.

"I'm sorry," Zane whispered.

"For what?"

The Mechanic's grating laugh echoed through the room. He brandished a tacky remote. "For this, I assume."

Zane shot upright and punched Kai's jaw.

Kai stumbled back, hand flying to his face. "Zane!?"

Cackling, the Mechanic pressed a rapid combo of buttons. Zane launched himself at Kai.

Kai and Zane had sparred many, many times. But this was different. Zane's limbs were forced forward with none of Zane's usual finesse or control. And he did not hold back.

Kai dodged as best he could in the small cage, but the movements were erratic and unpredictable.

His eyes fixed on the Mechanic, operating the controller as leisurely as playing a video game.

"Face me yourself, coward!" Kai spat. "Leave Zane out of--"

A strong metal foot connected with his knee. Kai crumpled.

A barrage of blows bore down before he had time to blink.

Kai bit his tongue, determined not to make a sound; if Zane knew just how much it hurt... he would never forgive himself.

"It's not your fault, Zane," he whispered, curling up to protect his head and face. "It's not your fault. It's okay. It's okay..."

Cold metal hands grasped his neck and thrust him up into the air.

Kai clutched at his throat, staring down into Zane's terrified face. Pain infused his glowing eyes. His jaw appeared to be locked shut but Kai understood just how desperately he was trying to resist.

Kai's gaze traveled to the Mechanic again.

"Let him go," he choked. His vision blurred. "Please... don't make Zane do this..."

The Mechanic's laughter echoed through a long long long tunnel.

"Hurt me," Kai rasped. "Take me... just leave Zane out of this... please."

"K-Kai--" Zane managed, his voice glitching.

Black spots bloomed through Kai's vision. His windpipe was all but crushed, yet he was determined to leave one last message.

"It's... okay... Zane..."

The hand let go. Kai crashed to the floor, gasping, clutching his throat.

Something beeped. Zane fell to his knees. He flexed his fingers, ensuring that they were his own again.

Before he could begin to mend all the damage he had done to Kai, begin to apologize, begin to beg forgiveness, the door was wrenched open.

"A deal's a deal," the Mechanic grinned. "Take him away, boys." Kai's weak form was slung over a goon's shoulder. His mad grin found Zane again. "Such a violent fellow. You could use some time to cool off."

His insane cackles echoed through Zane's mind long after he and Kai had gone.

Zane glanced down at his hands.

They were covered in Kai's blood.

No one heard Zane's anguished scream.

[wildflowercryptid]

playing through the early parts of xy is fun bc i get to pick up on small moments that would definitely feed into calem's growing resentment towards serena.

[bobzora]

finally beat the first kingdom in p5t the other day and it was truly flabbergasting the way marie fuckin. dissolved. and morgana was like well that shouldn't have caused a mental shutdown... but i don't know for sure! and then moved on. LIKE HUH. WHY ARE NONE OF THE THIEVES. ACKNOWLEDGING THIS. LMAO?

[phyllisthefirst]

[This fic is entirely about the fictionalized representations of the men of Easy Company that we see on the show. I mean no disrespect to the real men by writing this.]

[Part 2] [on ao3]

Donald Malarkey x OC

Summary: "Technical Advisor" for an Airborne exhibition in Paris - it’s a pity assignment, and Don doesn’t expect to actually have to put in any work. He’s going to enjoy the sights of Paris, do only as much as absolutely necessary, and wait out the end of the war. At least, that's the plan. He just hasn’t counted on Beatrice Mowbray - the historian determined to turn a pile of shot-up planes into an interesting exhibition. 

Warnings: Flashbacks to war and violence.

Tagging @next-autopsy - perhaps you'll be interested in the story of Don and Beatrice as well.

Babe, there's something tragic about you, something so magic about you - Part 1

Technical advisor - it’s a bullshit assignment, born only out of pity, or perhaps worry that he’ll finally crack like that Craver fellow who shot at Grant. Still, when Major Winters sends him off to Paris, Don can’t help but be thankful. Not happy, that’s too strong a feeling most of these days, but relieved. 

A part of him feels guilty for leaving the other men behind. Another, surprisingly prideful part of him wonders if he should be offended at being singled out like this - one step above being sent back from the line for battle fatigue, like he couldn’t quite cut it. 

Most of him doesn’t care. 

What he in particular will have to offer to an exhibition is unclear, but if it means not having to watch one more of his friends die, he’ll take it - as long as they stay safe in Austria with a toothless German army and he doesn’t have to worry about what's left of his friends being blown up or shot at every second of every day. 

He doesn’t know what to expect when he gets to Paris, but it’s not her. 

Beatrice Mowbray is the person in charge of putting together the exhibition, the person he’s brought to after he’s arrived in Paris and checked in with the battalion in question. 

For a moment, he thinks it might be nice to work with a woman, after listening to men yell at each other for literal years. Then she looks up at him and frowns.  

“You’re the Technical Advisor I was told about?” 

He nods, but doesn’t get around to saying anything. 

“You’re late.” 

A flash of annoyance surges through him. The trip here was a long one, jeep to troop truck to train to taxi, and he still rushed to get here from the hotel, not even allowing himself enough of a break to enjoy the bathtub that was beckoning in his room. And this is the welcome he gets? 

“Well, I only had to cross half a war-torn continent.”

She huffs, clearly not amused by his sarcasm.

“At least now you’re here. I can guide you through what we’ve got so far.” 

Getting to her feet, she starts walking out of the office they’ve led him to and into the main building, an airplane hangar on the outskirts of Paris. Don follows without protest, too startled by her abruptness to ask any questions. 

There are several airplane models standing around, some more banged up, some less, small crews of mechanics carrying out repairs on some of them. She walks past them all with him, her heels clacking on the concrete, making remarks about where they got this plane or that, and he listens half-heartedly until they pass by a C-47 and he stops in his tracks.

It’s the exact same model he jumped out of, on the night of June 6th, that fateful day he entered the war. It’s become a kind of marker in his personal calendar, cutting his life into Before and After. He can practically hear the roar of its engine as he stares at it, feel the pull of his line hooked to the central bar, smell the fire from planes exploding all around him…

“Sergeant Malarkey…?” 

His thoughts are interrupted by her voice, hesitant and questioning and a lot softer than before. He shakes himself back to the present. 

“Quite a collection you’ve got there,” he says just to say something, too polite to utter what he’s really thinking: That it feels a lot like the army dumped a bunch of planes too banged-up to bother repairing on her and came up with some bullshit plan like this exhibition as an excuse. 

“Thank you. I’ve been personally overseeing the transport of the planes here, and I think the models cover a good portion of what was actually in use during D-Day and the days after. I even managed to get my hands on a few British planes, which will be a good addition, I think…” 

She keeps walking to the next plane, silently expecting him to follow and he does, watching her bemusedly. If the exhibition is bullshit, no one bothered to tell her that - she’s completely serious about this ridiculous undertaking, rattling off stats about the planes with record speed. It’s quite at odds with her cool welcome, and reluctantly, he finds it kind of endearing. 

He pushes the thought away. 

“So what's my job in all of this?”

“Oh, I thought we could go over what I’ve gathered so far about the night of June 6th and you can tell me if anything's wrong. I’d like to have big plaques put up next to the planes that detail everything.” 

He nods, a little skeptical. How can a plaque next to a piece-of-junk plane possibly tell all that happened that night - a night he still remembers as the longest of his life? 

But that's not his concern, he reminds himself. All he has to do is say whether her intel is correct or not. She's the one who has to turn this junkyard into an exhibit people will come to watch - voluntarily, in a city filled to the brim with other wonders. 

It seems like an impossible task, and he's had enough of those to last him for the rest of his life. He'll keep his hands clean, let her try and wrangle with it and only contribute enough to justify his being here.

He’s done his part in this war.  

[polarisbibliotheque]

Little Updates! + Music-Fics-Requests

Hello my dear angels, devils, humans and in-between creatures of the day and the night, I hope you are all doing wonderfully :)

So. I'm still behind on my writing/posting schedule because, to put it very mildly, I've been going through a breakdown hahahaha last month, it was my birthday which I don't quite enjoy, and a few days later my dad suffered an accident - and that, my dear cryptids, triggered chaos and crisis in my life HAHAHAHA

I used to be a skeptic of the earth-shattering powers of Saturn's Return when you reach your 30s, but lo and behold, it didn't take Saturn even a WEEK to make itself known

My dad is fine health-wise, but it was quite traumatic for me and I'm still trying to figure things out regarding the repercussions of everything that happened. So, things have slowed down a LOT when it comes to EVERYTHING in my life while I'm trying to put it all back into place.

I'm tip-toeing around the details 'cause I really don't want to openly talk about it, like I said, still going through the motions

I DO WANT TO WRITE THOUGH, I MISS IT.

I've said it before, writing is my therapy. I'm finishing last year's Vergil Halloween special, and I will be posting soon, I hope.

But I've been wanting to do the music writing thing again! SO!

For now, I'm gonna take my last year's Spotify Wrapped playlist as I've done before, but I want to add some songs didn't make the cut last year Ghost I'm staring at you, so I'll just make a playlist for writing here, with a bunch of songs I think would be nice/fun/interesting for the Spardaverse HAHAHA

SO! HOW ARE WE GONNA DO IT?

Just send me an ask, with a number and a character - just remember, I write Dante and Vergil with y/n s/o and Nero with Kyrie.

For now, I'll be doing just the three of them, but if you are an unhinged little fella and suggest something with another character that ends up having an interesting song attached to it, I might write it as well, ask at your own risk *side eyes*

Let the memes come

That's it. I just wanna go back to having a little fun with writing again and once I'm stuck again in survival mode after all that happened in the last couple of weeks, this little music game might help ^^

And it might be fun for you too! Oh, do put something like "hey, it's for the music-fic ask" so I know what's about as well! I might get lost on my asks forgive me

Hope to write a lot more so I can get back onto my bigger projects soon, like Nemesis and Survivor's Blood! I won't give up on them, I just need some ~time~

Hope to see you guys on my asks!!

[kleptonancydrew]

Things I did to prepare for Key:

brought my laptop to work

put on a movie for one of my classes so I could download the game

-movie was rated R, there were so many tits in my classroom, absolute fuckup

made another class watch a video on youtube and reflect on it, told them I was grading videos from seniors

-put in headphones and started playing the game while 'teaching'

continued playing the game while one of my classes was testing

-pretty sure someone cheated, did not have capacity to care - had already caught someone that morning, didn't want to go through the process again

-lied to them about grading senior papers too

breakfast for dinner

gave my next day's first, third, and fifth periods to a coworker (I didn't have 2nd or 3rd)

fell asleep at work today

(continued to let my class watch the rated R movie so I could actually grade the papers I was supposedly grading before)

[thekoopalingsandstuffs]

The fact that Dieter is unavailable for asks only spares him from the wrath within :3

[ I love this arc, it makes me feel like this: ]

The storyline is only going to get much, much worse for Spewart...

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

(I would love to hear your explanations in the tags, as always, share to get a larger data pool!)

[hyliasblade]

Actually it Took a Little bit But I think I am okay yes

I am Not Ill or traumatized Or those Other things people Keep saying I Am

I am Just fine :)

[cinnamon-phrog]

SHIT I forgot to tell you all and this is probably like the Worst time I can say this but after all the shit that's been happening I've forgotten.

I won't be able to be online for... a week. See, I'm going on holiday and the flight is tommorrow, and I'm not gonna be able to bring my laptop.

I think I need the break, although I will miss you all very much. I'm just worried what Fresh Hell will await me once I come back.

[kakusu-shipping]

Lost Time

This was going to be a short comic but everything has to be hard to draw tonight apparently so y’all get another Self Insert fanfic, but this time it’s for Pokemon Scarlet

In which I’ve been missing for weeks

“Emile? Where are you?”

Penny’s voice came through with heavy static, the video of her on the other side of the Rotom phone just as broken up.

“The crater” Emile answered flatly, taking a glance to his floating phone as he removed his glasses to clean them.

“the WHAT-” Director Clavell’s voice broke in the background. Penny flinched at the noise, glancing back as the director pushed himself around his desk and swiped the phone, holding it entirely too close to his face, “Emile you get back to the Academy this INSTANT! The crater is strictly Off Limits!”

“Hi gramps..” Emile sat himself on a rock, calling Koridon to his side, “I’m just doing some training with Koridon, it’s not a big deal. I’ll be back before sundown, promise.”

“Absolutely not! You will call a Taxi right now and return to the Academy at ONCE.”

“Training?” Nemona stepped in, easily pushing Clavell out of the way to steal Penny’s Rotom phone for herself, “With Koridon??? No fair why didn’t you invite me your Best Friend Rivals for Life Pal??”

Emile chuckled, “Next time, Nemona. I needed one on one time with Koridon today.”

“There will be no next time-” Clavell reached for the phone, just for it to float over to Arven.

“Why the crater? Couldn’t you have just gone into the woods or up the mountain like a normal person?”

“No way this is special! The crater is Koridon’s territory now, I have to help him keep it safe! It’s just for a few hours a week, no big deal.”

“Majorly big deal!-”

“Wait, a couple hours...?” Penny slid in between Clavell and the phone one more time, tilting her head a bit, “Emile, how long do you think you’ve been in the crater?”

“Like an hour or so, right? I’m surprised you noticed I was gone so fast.”

Before the crew could say anything more, the feather’s on Koridon’s head raised as he stood on his hind legs, glaring at something off camera. A low growl coming from the Pokemon’s throat.

“Oh- Sorry guys I gotta go! I’ll see you all when I get back!”

With that, Penny’s phone screen went black and returned itself to her pocket. The room stood still for only a moment, before Penny put her fist to her forehead, staring at the carpet as she mutterer, “A couple hours...”

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

“Alright Koridon! Good job!” Emile cheered, scratching the space behind Koridon’s eyes before planting a little kiss on his nose, “You’re such a good boy, Koridon, so strong and cool~” He cooed. Koridon chirped happily in response.

A loud, recognizable voice broke the moment.

“EMILE!!!!” Nemona came sliding down a slant of rock before sprinting to her fellow champion and scooping him into a hug.

“Nemona??” Emile gasped as Nemona plowed into him like a truck, only catching his breath again when she released him, “Wh-What are you doing here??”

“We’re here to bring you home, though honestly I personally would love to stay and train in here instead!”

“We????”

“Nemona, slow down, please” Penny gasped, running after Nemona after having carfulyl inched her way down the rocky slope. Behind them Arven was helping Director Clavell down as well.

“Penny? Arven?? And Gramps??” Emile’s voice squeaked, “Guys, I said I’d be back by Sundown, you didn’t have to come GET me.”

“It IS sundown.” Arven said when his feet finally hit flat ground, “It’s actually almost dark.”

Emile blinked and looked around at the bright, sunny day around him, “Uhm?? No??”

“Well not in here, but out there, it’s like past dinner time.” Penny added, pulling out her phone to show the clock, “See?”

Emile stared at the clock on Penny’s phone for a solid minute before looking up at the sky again, “Wha- Th-Then why-”

“Time works different in the crater..” Clavell spoke, adjusting his glasses as he approached, “The sun never sets, and time appears to pass much slower than on the surface.”

“So... your saying I’ve been in here all day?” Emile asked. The group shared a glance.

“Emile,” Penny pushed her glasses up, “You’ve... Been in here for almost two weeks already..”

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

The taxi ride home was quiet. Emile stared out the window the entire time, holding Koridon’s pokeball securely in one hand, the other locked with his Grandfather’s, their fingers laced tightly together.

The next day he spent Training his main team with Nemona, and the day after that he spent traversing ruins in search of Gimmighoul with Arven, and the day after that he revisited all of Team Star’s bases, and the day after that his friends all gathered in his room to help him catch up with two weeks worth of missed school work, and time marched on as usual.

And then he went missing again.

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

“Emile?” Penny was surprised the call was answered, though only as a call, not a face time like she attempted, “Where are you?”

She was met with silence.

“I’m not in the Director’s office, if you’re worried about getting in trouble with your Gramps again. It’s just me, Nemona, and Arven this time.”

Still nothing.

“Emile? Hey, it’s your Best Rival For Life. We haven’t battled in a whole month, man. I gotta make sure you’re not slipping.” Nemona chimed, bouncing on Penny’s bed.

Silence.

“Little buddy. Hey, uh, Mabostiff misses you, man. So just- Tell us where you are so he can see you again.” To emphasis Arven’s argument, Mabostiff woofed from his spot on the floor besides the older student.

. . .

“Emile...” Penny pulled her knees to her chest, “It’s been three weeks...”

“...Three weeks...?” Emile finally answered, his voice hoarse, only made worse by the static of an unstable call, “Really... It’s felt like only a few hours... two and a half at most..”

“You’re in the crater again?!” Arven stood, raising his voice and making Penny flinch. She silently motioned for him to calm down, which he didn’t do, but he did retake his spot on the floor.

“Yeah, sorry..” Emile admitted, “I wanted to see... How the time warp works.”

“How it.. works...?” Nemona asked, moving to sit on Penny’s desk to be closer to the phone.

“Yeah. Like, if I didn’t eat the entire time I was in the crater, would I starve faster? Would starvation only hit me when I left the crater? Or would it be like I just haven’t eaten in 3 hours?”

Arven made a move like he was going to yell again, but Mabostiff placed a paw on his thigh to stop him.

“You haven’t eaten anything for 3 weeks?” Penny asked, gripping her knees.

“Or drank anything. I’m a little thirsty, I guess 3 hours is a long time to go without some water. “ Emile coughed, “Don’t worry, I left all my Pokemon other than Koridon in the PC, so they’re all fine, and Koridon knows this place like the back of his paw now, so he can find himself food and water just fine.”

“So... You’re coming back now, right? Part of the experiment is seeing if leaving the crater makes time catch up with you, right?” Penny shifted.

Emile gave a hum, “I think.. I’ll give it a little while longer. Maybe 12 in-crater hours?”

“12 HOURS??” Now it was Nemona’s time to shout, “But every hour in there is like a full WEEK out here, you can’t be gone that long! We miss you!”

Emile laughed, “Sorry. This’ll be the last time I do this, promise. I’ll have a lot of school work when I get out, so I hope you three will be willing to catch me up when I do.”

“Emile, I don’t think-” Arven started to stand.

“-Ah, Sorry Arven. I gotta go. I’ll see you all in a few hours- uh Days? It won’t be long, I promise.”

“Emile-!” Penny’s voice cracked, and the screen went black.

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

“I’m fine, Koridon,” Emile gently pushed the large lizard’s head away from himself, “Yes, I see the steam, and I told you I’m not going to drink anything for the next few hours.”

Koridon gave a whine and looked up to his trainer with his biggest, wettest puppy eyes. Emile quickly looked away.

“You’re not getting me this time. It’s for science, Koridon. I know what I’m doing.” The trainer insisted before turning his back and walking away from the running water.

Koridon followed Emile, glancing back at the stream one more time before galloping a bit to catch up with his trainer. He was worried, of course he was. Humans just seemed so fragile by default, and he could sense his was growing weaker. He wasn’t made for the crater like Koridon was. This flow of time isn’t safe for human minds.

Koridon hoped his human’s friends would come get him again.

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

“Guys-” Emile held his hands up defensively as he found himself faced with his three best friends once again in the crater, “I promise I’m fine, and look, I’m learning so much watching the Paradox Pokemon in their natural habitat, I’m making hourly notes of how I feel, I’m keeping track of everything-” Emile pulled his spiral notebook from his bag, flipping through the pages scribbled with research notes.

Just as quickly as he had it out, Arven smacked it from his hand.

“Wha- H-Hey- Arven-” Emile’s words caught in his throat as the upper class man grabbed him by the upper arms. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he scowled down at the shorter student.

 He shouted, gripping tight enough to bruise, “We haven’t seen you in a MONTH, Emile. A MONTH. A whole MONTH of our time together is GONE because all you care about is this STUPID HOLE.” His voice was cracking, his hands trembling on his friend’s arms, “I don’t care what you’re discovering down here, what breakthroughs you have about the Pokemon down here, what new bonds you form with Koridon down here, I don’t CARE.” He sucked a breath through his teeth, his entire body shook. “I don’t... want to loose anymore family to this... stupid hole...”

Emile stared in shock for a moment. Arven hung his head, sobbing silently as he gripped so desperately onto Emile’s arms.

“I... I’m... sorry... Arven...” Emile muttered, hugging his friend, “Nemona... Penny... Y-You too.. I’m sorry, I-I didn’t..”

Nemona just laughed, and ruffled at Emile’s hair as she joined the hug, “Don’t sweat it too hard. We’ll make up for that lost month in now time.”

Penny, who didn’t like physical contact, especially group hugs, chose instead to give a light punch to Emile’s shoulder, “You know us, we’re a pretty clingy crew. Not even Director Clavell’s lectures about the Dangers of the Crater can keep us from you.”

Emile chuckled as he tangled his hand into Arven’s hair, resting the upper classman’s head on his shoulder, “Thanks... I don’t think I deserve that kind of devotion...”

“Then you’ll just have to earn it.” Nemona wrapped her arms around Emile’s waist, “Lets battle when we get back to school! I wanna see that special training with Koridon in full force!”

Hearing his name, Koridon excitedly lept from his resting spot under a tree and circled the four friends, chirping happily as he forced them even closer together by wrapping himself around them.

“Full force, you sure? He’s gotten pretty strong fighting Paradox Pokemon all this time.” Emile teased.

“For sure!! I want to see him go all out!!” Nemona split herself from the group, jogging in place, “Now I’m pumped!! Come on, let’s get out of this place before I challenge you to a battle right here and now!!”

Emile chuckled, gently shifting Arven to better stand. He looked awful, eyes already puffy, nose running, face scrunched up almost like a Maschiff. He was quiet the ugly crier.

Penny and Emile held back their laughter as he took Arven’s hand in his own and followed after Nemona, who was set on climbing up a rock slide wall rather than taking the long path up. Penny followed close behind, holding loosely to the back of Emile’s suspenders.

The taxi ride home was noisy. The cabin rocket as the four rough housed and laughed. They’d hardly noticed the rising sun out the cab windows, or how tired they were until they’d finally made it back to campus, and immediately all passed out in Emile’s dorm.

And time marched on.

[vampiricsheep]

i guess my sona can have a little hair as a treat