#A brotherly interlude

[michaelmilligan]

Endversetober Day Two: Found

(explanation post) (compilation post)

The camp looked pitiful. Then again, every place in the world looked wrecked and hopeless nowadays.

Vaguely, Gabriel remembered a line from a song: The broken, the beaten and the damned.

That described humanity pretty well these days.

Gabriel didn't take himself for a saviour, and it certainly wasn't a role that his father had chosen for him. If it had been up to the old man, he would have been a messenger until the end of time.

Though to be fair, he had also been tasked with killing demons several times. Just not his own.

He walked slowly, careful not to be noticed by anyone as he made his way into the camp. Luckily, there weren't that many people about in the dead of night, except for a few guards.

Good to always be prepared for a zombie attack these days. Not so good for an archangel trying to sneak into a human camp to talk to his brother.

Not that Gabriel was scared of those guys' rifles or anything. But if he was seen (and shot at), it would become a whole thing, and he might have to kill some people. Castiel might be a bit put out then.

Besides, there were few enough humans as it was. Gabriel wasn't exactly eager to thin their numbers further.

There was rustling from behind him, and Gabriel slipped between two cabins, willing the shadow to be just that bit darker around him. Maybe it wouldn't even have been necessary, because the guy who bustled past didn't even look up, eyes trained on some kind of list in his hands.

It was the prophet, Gabriel realized, that Carver Edlund guy or whatever his real name was. Gabriel wondered if he still had any visions these days. Maybe Castiel would know, provided that he'd be willing to talk to Gabriel at all.

Talking to the prophet himself was out of the question. Heaven might have been closed at the time, but that didn't mean that Raphael had abandoned their duty of watching the guy. Who knew what they'd do if Gabriel came too close to him.

Better to stay off his siblings' radar, as he'd done for the last few centuries.

Castiel's cabin was at the back of the camp, and it was even more pitiful than the other ones. It didn't even have a door. Or rather, Gabriel realized as he stepped closer, it didn't have a functioning door.

There was one in the grass, rotting, a big crack down its middle.

Someone had hung weird beads in the doorway in its stead. Gabriel wondered if that had been Castiel's own idea.

As he stepped into the cabin, a chair creaked, and Gabriel spotted Castiel in a corner of the room, one foot popped up on a second chair. He was rubbing his eyes.

When he finally focused on Gabriel, he tensed and reached for a gun. “Who are you?” he asked threateningly.

There was stubble on Castiel's chin, and he looked unwashed. One of his pant legs had been cut open a few inches to accommodate the cast around his foot and ankle.

It was entirely bizarre.

“I'm hurt, Cassie,” Gabriel said sarcastically, swaggering further into the room. “You don't recognize me?”

More creaking as Castiel leaned forward, blinking in the dim light of the room. Then, suddenly, his eyes widened.

“Gabriel?” he asked, gaping and breathless.

“'Sup, bro.”

“You're dead!” It sounded like an accusation.

It probably was one.

“Stories of my demise, etc. etc.” Gabriel waved his hand dismissively, then put it on the second chair, the one with Castiel's foot on it, when he stopped next to it. “What happened to you?”

“I broke my foot.” While Csatiel didn't put away the gun, he at least placed it over his lap, and reached for a glass full of brown-ish liquid.

“How does an angel break his foot? Why don't you heal it?” Looking him up and down, Gabriel was starting to get an idea why, but he wanted to hear it.

“I'm not an angel anymore. At least not really.” Castiel sighed. “Why are you here?”

“Wow. Can't an archangel visit his brother? What has the world come to?”

“Desolation,” Castiel said dryly, and took a sip of his drink. “Devastation. The end. Should I go on?”

“Nah, I'm good.” Gabriel watched him down the rest of his glass. “Seriously, though, what happened.”

“Well, Heaven is closed and unlike you archangels, us normies don't produce our own energy.”

“That's why your powers are failing.”

Castiel scoffed. “Oh, they've failed already, all the way. Look at this.” He gestured to his foot. “It's been a week.”

“Damn.” Gabriel sucked on his bottom lip. “You know, I could give you some of my grace, but-”

Castiel laughed. “And then what? At this point, you could probably possess me and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. I'm hardly more than human.”

“Humans can still fight,” Gabriel said. He'd seen them go up against an overwhelming army of zombies, and somehow come out victors, with only minimal help from him.

“Yeah, and I plan on doing that. Until I die.” Castiel snatched a bottle from the table and poured himself another glass. “You know, I wonder where I'll end up. The Empty? Or Heaven? It would be very ironic if it were Heaven.”

Gabriel looked at him thoughtfully. He'd hoped to find an ally that day, but instead, here was a fallen angel. Not even corrupted by Hell, but just cut off from Heaven.

A grounded angel, maybe.

“Let's hope you won't find out where you'll go for a very long time,” Gabriel said, stepping closer to pat Castiel's shoulder.

Castiel tensed, but only for a moment. Then he sighed.

“I'm not sure that's what I'm hoping.”

“Well, I do.”

Gabriel left, then, not eager to entertain Castiel's gloominess when he could do nothing to lift it.  Castiel would be of no help to him in this state. Maybe if he'd come sooner... but that was an idle thought now.

All he could give to him, all he left behind, was a single of his feathers. A token to remember him by, perhaps.

He wasn't sure if Castiel could even still see it.

[covetyou]

dress up Joel masterlist

pic by the wonderful @missredherring

pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader

rating: Explicit (18+ only!)

general warnings: sex toys, dress up, festive/seasonal shenanigans, no use of Y/N, see individual fics for additional warnings

summary: when a mysterious stranger breaks into your house, and keeps breaking into your house, he gives you the fright, and the ride, of your life. Welcome to your seasonal encounters with one Mr. Joel Miller.

follow @covetedfics and turn notifications on for updates on future fics

ao3 ⋆ main masterlist

✨ = new 🖤 = smut 🌈 = fluff 💥 = angst

baubles🖤 - 4.4k Santa Joel fucks you with his balls. That's it.

stupid cupid🖤🌈 - 5.2k Joel makes a return to your home, this time with another gift to give. Will you be his Valentine?

egg hunt 🖤🌈💥 - 5.9k What lies for you beneath the bunny suit, and in his Easter basket, aren't the only surprises Joel has for you tonight.

ghosted 🖤🌈💥- 5.7k

✨stars and stripes 🖤- 5k Roles are reversed this Fourth of July when you surprise Joel with a little festive treat of your own.

extras

dress up Joel lore 🖤 What started as a simple joke from the youngest Miller brother quickly turned into a... beloved brotherly tradition. takes place prior to baubles.

interlude 🖤💥 Joel's egg hunt couldn't have gone worse, and so he confides in the one person who has his back no matter what - his baby brother. takes place between egg hunt and ghosted.

[cinderella-ish]

Kyo and Momiji: interlude (part 3 of 5)

So, here are just some cute scenes from late S1/early S2 that also inform us of the nature of their relationship.

First, these gems from the Hiro episode.

Momiji immediately figures out what's going on when Hiro starts castigating Kisa for bringing the Mogeta DVD to Tohru instead of watching it with him. When Kisa expresses confusion, Momiji cheerfully says, "Hiro's being unreasonable!"

Soon after, we get this delightful moment:

Kyo: What the heck is going on? Momiji: You're so dense, Kyo. Kyo: Huh? Momiji: Hiro was jealous of Tohru. He's trying his best, but he's still a sixth grader. He's awkward about his feelings.

(cut to Kisa and Hiro talking, then back to our faves)

Tohru: Ah, so I was his romantic rival! Momiji: That's rough for you, Tohru! Kyo: Huh?

And later, when Tohru sentences Hiro to "hug penalty," Kyo's response is adorably telling.

Kyo: Seriously? How is that a punishment? Momiji: *giggles*

I mean, just look at Momiji's face when he calls Kyo dense! But also, it's extremely telling that Kyo trusts Momiji enough to ask him what's going on.

I think this interaction highlights the difference between their people skills. Kyo is good at getting a read on people; he can tell when someone's upset, when someone is genuinely happy, etc... but he may not always be able to verbalize what's at the core of their feelings. He immediately knows Hiro has done something to upset Tohru, but he can't make the leap to understanding it has anything to do with Kisa. I wonder how much of this was a survival/coping mechanism he picked up because of his status as the cat. He would need to be good at getting a quick read on people, especially his biological father, for his own safety.

Momiji, on the other hand, is very good at understanding the underlying things that drive people (knowing that Tohru values her mother when he wants to convince Tohru to go to the onsen, for example, or knowing that Hatori is really just trying to protect Tohru in Spring Comes, or- in this very scene- knowing that Hiro cares about Kisa more than anything), but either can't always tell when people are down and need to talk to someone, or just doesn't like giving space to negative emotions. I suspect this is because of his own traumatic childhood; he needed a narrative way to understand what his parents did, to empathize with them so he wouldn't hate them. He had time to reflect on and understand their perspective, even if it still hurts him.

Momiji uses his ability to understand people's driving forces to manipulate them (not necessarily a bad thing - he manipulates Hiro into apologizing to Tohru and returning her pocketbook by bringing Kisa into the situation, for example). Kyo uses his ability to read people in the moment to make sure his loved ones are safe and happy.

Something else I find interesting here is that the interaction between Kisa and Hiro is a bit of a microcosm of Kyo and Tohru's relationship, right down to Momiji's role as interpreter and catalyst. Momiji's the one who brings Kisa into the situation

Just a cute li'l brotherly moment between them in the episode where Tohru gets sick.

Here, Kyo, Tohru, Arisa, and Saki are planning for their Kyoto trip, and Kyo is being a grouch about having to spend time with Yuki. Momiji scolds him for focusing on that instead of the fact that he gets to spend time with Tohru (something we've seen Momiji scold Kyo for before).

Momiji: Kyo, you dumbo! You already get to go with Tohru! Don't be so selfish! Kyo: Oi. Momiji: I wish I could go with Tohru! I want to eat deer crackers with her! Arisa: Can't eat 'em. Momiji: Kyo, you don't wanna? You don't wanna do stuff with Tohru? Kyo: Idio- 'Course I- Saki: 'Course you-? Arisa: 'Course you-? Momiji: 'Course you-? Kyo: Yeah! This is exactly how you all mess with me! Arisa: It's out of love, I tell ya!

And this scene, after Mayu pours the bucket of water on Kyo and Haru, where Kyo scolds Tohru (again, one way he shows affection), Momiji translates for him/verbalizes Kyo's affection for Tohru again, and Kyo gets embarrassed (cuuuute).

Kyo: And you. Stay away from Haru if he turns dark. Tohru: Huh? Kyo: You can't be trusted not to get hurt. Tohru: O-oh, but that would be rude to Hatsuharu-san... Kyo: He's the one who's rude! Tohru: B-but that's- Kyo: Sheesh, you don't get it at all. Momiji: "I couldn't stand that happening!" is what Kyo wants to say, I'm sure. Tohru: Eh? Kyo: Momiji! Get outta here! Leave! Stop blabbing abou-

It's worth noting that Kyo's scolding Tohru because she could have gotten hurt, and he cuts himself off when he catches sight of his beads and is reminded that he once hurt Tohru, too. Tohru getting hurt is the worst possible outcome of any situation for him.

Just another cute brotherly moment complete with a big brother noogie from Kyo.

The scene where Momiji takes them to the haunted house is also a great little moment showcasing the different ways they show they love Tohru.

Momiji: Here! This is it! Wow, it looks like so much fun! Yuki and Kyo (internally): This... has gotta be... Momiji: So exciting! Let's go! Kyo: Hold your horses, kid! Yuki: Why don't we ask everybody if they want to enter first? Like Honda-san. Haru: She's speechless. Kyo: That means no. Let's go home. Momiji: Aw, Tohru, you can't? You're scared? Tohru: N-no! Well, if you ask if I'm scared, I would have to say I am! But they say that if you clear your mind of worldly thoughts, even fire doesn't feel hot! I can't keep avoiding it! Kyo: Actually, it's fine to avoid it. Tohru: I'm going to enter and show you I can! Go me!

Again, Momiji wants to do fun things with Tohru, while Kyo wants to protect her.

Inside the haunted house is hilarious, too. Yuki and Kyo are both exasperated by the other three, and both of them scold Tohru for closing her eyes or trying to laugh her way through (like Momiji). Kyo teases her, too, which is always delightful. When she falls, Kyo and Yuki both offer their hands, then immediately start fighting. Momiji takes her hand and scolds the two of them.

Momiji: Don't ignore a girl as you fight! It's a no-no! Kyo: Shut up, brat! Hurry and go! Yuki: He's right, though.

Momiji is again telling Kyo to worry less about his hatred for Yuki and more about his love for Tohru, which seems to be a recurring theme. Hmmmm....

Anyway, part 4 will be the beach arc! Hope you enjoyed reading!

Momiji and Kyo: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4 | Part 5

[anamelessfool]

Hello, I am A Nameless Fool.

30+. She/Her. I'm writing a massive Ghost AU because I'm insane. (And other stuff)

They have no time to consider what the Void is. All they understand is that it is Hungry. And they are the only two previously human beings that can ensure the health of their charge. They are the single line of defense at the border of Void and Not Void.

Scenes from the Void ( Ghost Band Eldritch Horror AU) AO3 Series Link

Feel free to read them in any order you like. I'm adding fics of each Papa, with a variety of emotional tones and subjects. They all revolve around a larger overarching plot.

Current Major Fic Projects

WIP Oversee Us (Fallout 2024)

Cooper "The Ghoul" Howard x Outlaw Fem! Reader, Enemies to friends to lovers, bondage (con/non-con), Mystery, horror, action, Canon-typical Gore, Your Boyfriend Is Turning Into a Zombie, more tags on AO3

You're not running away from your sins, you're running towards the truth. Your crime is catching up with you and the caps are racking up. Some cheery bounty hunter is hot on your trail and basically unstoppable. You're doing everything to survive in the topside Wasteland, even if it means going along with the monster.

WIP Violence & Gentleness

Primo x OC Papessa, Primo & Family| Family Drama, Young Primo, Whump, Protective Older Brother, Brotherly Affection, Action Adventure, Mystery, Noir, Late 1970s, OC Nameless Ghouls

LATE OCTOBER 1979 Primo has his work cut out for him as the bodyguard of the beautiful and fearsome Mater Emerita Jocasta. As mystery after mystery unfolds, it becomes harder to remain a honest man in this den of thieves called the Ministry. (Title graphic by @ghuleh-recs )

Ghouls and Lore

Blackened Feathers OC | Horror, Lore

Resurrection Reader & Papa (Any) | Ritual Magic, Ghouls, Trippy Weirdness (done for the @petrifyingpapas challenge May '23)

The Garden Nameless Ghouls, Terzo/Omega | SFW (strong language), Family Bonding, Dark Magic, Trippy, Adventure, Family Drama, Secret Relationship, Nonbinary Ghouls

Ongoing WIP Bestiary Nameless Ghouls (Canon and OC) | Ficlets 18+, Dark Magic, Alternate History, Weird Lore, Historical References, Other OC Papa Emeritus/Mater Emerita

Ongoing WIP Domestics Entire "Emeritus" Family and Church | Ficlets 16+, Domestic Fluff, Angst and Fluff, Humor, Slice of Life

Terzo x Omega

The First and The Last Terzo/Omega | Dark Romance, Ritual Magic, Trippy Weirdness

Reciprocity Terzo/Omega | Artist Model, Photography, Tender Moments, Body Worship, Oral Fixation, Cardiophilia

Ribbons & Ties Terzo/Omega | Domestic Fluff, Established relationship, Weddings Bring Out Your Fear of Commitment

Copia x Cardinal Marian (OC)

Sweeter Red Copia/OC | Fluffy Romance, bdsm, demi Copia, Bittersweet

All the Stops (Sweeter Red Sequel) Copia/OC | Fluffy Romance, bdsm, Bittersweet

Tilted Copia/OC, Terzo/Omega | Adventure, Dark Magic, Ghouls, Trippy Weirdness, Dark Past, Repressed Memories, Secret Relationships, Long-term Relationship

Wanna Bewitch You Copia/OC, Terzo/OC, Nameless Ghouls, Emeritus Family| Adventure, Dark Magic, Ghouls, Trippy Weirdness, Dark Past, Long-term Relationship, Fluff and Smut, Formalwear

Valentine's Day 1985 Young Copia & Primo | Brotherly Affection, Domestic Fluff, Valentine's Day, Hurt/Comfort, My Art

Primo x OC Papessa, Primo & Family

For One Creature's Sake Primo & Copia | Phobias, Family Drama,Young Cardinal Copia, Young Primo, Whump, Protective Older Brother, Brotherly Affection, Hurt/Comfort, Terminal Illness

WIP Violence & Gentleness Primo x OC Papessa, Primo & Family| Family Drama, Young Primo, Whump, Protective Older Brother, Brotherly Affection, Action Adventure, Mystery, Noir, Late 1970s, OC Nameless Ghouls

Interlude: In Orbit Always Primo x OC Nameless Ghoul (Edelweiss Ghoul | FWB, One Bed Trope, Psychic Ties, Dreams, Somniphilia, First Time, Friends BUT MORE

Secondo & Family

Maestro Sister Imperator & Young Secondo, Young Terzo | Ritual Magic, Sibling Rivalry (done for the @petrifyingpapas challenge May '23)

WIP Crossroads Secondo & Terzo, Secondo & Family | Ritual Magic, Horror, Trippy Weirdness, Brother Angst, Father & Son, Family Drama

Extra (Outside of The Scenes from the Void AU)

Call Me Papa IV & GN! Reader | SFW, Hurt/Comfort, Hugs, Cardiophilia, Comfy Read, Papa IV Reassures You Everything Will Be Okay

One Shot Papa IV & GN! Reader | Silly Fic, PG-13 Fun, Overly Dramatic, Concert Experience

Tights Papa IV x GN Reader | Fishnets, Body Worship, Massage, Sensual Play, Foot Play, Foot Job, Light D/s, Established Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort

WIP No Deal Papa Nihil x Fem! Reader | 1970s, Music References, Recreational Drug Use, Oral, Shotgunning, Nihil Being Father of the Decade, Surprise Ending

VIII Strength Papa IV x Gen Reader | Dom Sub Dynamic, Established Relationshop, Power Play, Body Worship, Bondage

100 Percent Papa IV x GN! Reader | Caring for Illness, established relationship, domestic bliss, injury recovery, coziness

Housekeeping Notes

I sometimes announce I'm doing fic or doodle requests. They are PG-13. I do not post NSFW works on tumblr, please read them through AO3 and keep them on AO3. I DO really love talking about writing and meeting other writers, so please don't be shy. NEMA

About Me 👇👇👇

I love: Clive Barker, John Bellairs, Mervyn Peake, Shirley Jackson, Terry Prachett, David Lynch, David Cronenberg

Other Hobbies: Larping, Sewing, BJD, witchcraft, wandering around the woods

Current Favorite Albums to Write to:

[hoisnyshenanigans]

HOISNY Masterpost

Welcome to the HOISNY Blog! This blog is for the TTTE/T&F AU, HOISNY (also known as "Hold On I Still Need You"). Its contents are a fic series found on AO3, as well as side oneshots which are moments that don't quite fit in the 5 main fics, but fit in the AU’s context. // Will be updated as more content goes up!

CURRENTLY UP FOR READING | Main Series

Hold On I Still Need You | Status: Complete

After avoiding each other for years, Gordon and Flying Scotsman are properly reunited at The Great Railway Show. But things take a turn for the worse, when during the Race, an accident leaves them both extremely vulnerable. Things aren’t looking as sunny on the other side either, when an innocent comment leaves Thomas reeling and reliving feelings he had tried so hard to forget. Truths that had previously been buried are worming their way to the surface again and after many, many years of avoiding it; Flying Scotsman and Gordon finally have to confront their feelings for each other.

HOISNY: Interlude 1 | Status: Complete

A letter from the Flying Scotsman to his brother.

CURRENTLY UP FOR READING | Side Oneshots

Where It All Began | Status: Complete

Banbury’s bullying causes the first meeting between the soon(ish) to be North Western’s number 4 engine & the newly built Flying Scotsman. Queue brotherly fluff.

Finding Out How I'd be Torn From You | Status: Complete

Thomas arrives at the Great Railway Show and leaves more devastated than he thought he could ever be.

[curiousb]

The Steele Family Album: Volume XX

With Catherine and her daughters moving in with Simon and his family, it only makes sense for Nancy, Steve and the boys to take over the family home - giving them the space that they were sorely lacking in their rented accommodation.

Alasdair meets Mozzarella, who came with the house.

They move in just in time for Andrew's 5th birthday.

~ Aries 7 / 7 / 8 / 1 / 0

~ Coward / Hot-Headed / Genius

~ OTH: Fitness

~ Favourite Colour(s): Yellow

Those zero Grouchy/Nice points are very much in evidence.

Andrew might not be the nicest kid, but there's still a lot of brotherly love between him and little Alasdair.

Mozzarella is looking for some love too - he spent the whole night wandering from room to room, trying to get some attention!

That's better!

Alasdair swiftly catches up with his big brother.

~ Sagittarius 9 / 3 / 7 / 1 / 3

~ Brave / Loves the Outdoors / Genius (another smarty pants)

~ OTH: Nature

~ Favourite Colour(s): Purple

A brief interlude, in which their neighbour Lucas walks his cat (Trinny).

Andrew makes up for his deficit of personal charm by being diligent and conscientious.

It's a family trait.

Meanwhile, Mozzarella is diligently and conscientiously distracting the staff.

Oh! That took everyone by surprise, although Andrew is taking it in his stride.

And being unexpectedly pregnant doesn't seem to have improved Nancy's sense of humour one bit.

[alexanderwesker]

Notice: To avoid AI scrapping the fic can be read only if you have an AO3 account. Sorry 'bout that.

Chapter: 70/82

Story Title: The House Always Wins

Chapter Title: Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown(Charlie's Interlude III)

Chapter Summary: It didn't sit right with Charlie to let Q and Quackity go to get Thes without him, even if they had Foolish and Luzu with them.

Something just didn't feel right about any of this.

As if an inescapable doom was hanging over his head.

Warnings for this chapter: Mentions of the Sky Gods' Madness; Schlatt(he is his own warning in this fic);

Rating: Mature

Category: Gen

Fandom: Minecraft (Video Game); Video Blogging RPF; Dream SMP

Relationships: Quackity & c!Quackity; Quackity &Wilbur Soot; Quackity & Charlie Dalgesh; Quackity & Awesamdude; Quackity & TommyInnit; Foolish Gamers & Quackity; TommyInnit&c!Tommy

Characters: Quackity; c!Quackity; Wilbur Soot; Charlie Dalgesh; Awesamdude; TommyInnit, Foolish Gamers

Additional Tags: Insanity, Alternative Universe – Canon Divergence; Villain Quackity: (Technically); Quackity in Not a Villain; Morally Ambiguous Quackity; Quackity is Not Okay; Dimension Travel; CC!Quackity ends up in the DSMP Universe; Headcanon Galore; My head-canons about the DSMP Characters; Realistic Minecraft; Permadeath AU; Las Nevadas on the DSMP; Paranoia; Panic Attacks; Mentions of Abuse; Canon-Typical Violence; Mentions of Torture(the situation with Dream);Wilbur Soot &TommyInnit are Siblings; Bantering; Politics; CC!Quackity is Scared but that is Fair; Quackity needs a Hug; both of them do; Sam is a Anthropomorphic Creeper; Misunderstandings; Wilbur Soot is Not Okay; Flirting; Tntduo; TNT Trio; (technically); That awkward moment when your character is in a borderline romantic relationship; with your friend’s character; Protective Quackity;(both of them); Scared TommyInnit; Traumatized TommyInnit; Quackity is one of Tommy’s Brotherly Figures; Possessive Behaviour; Obsessive Behaviour; Twisted & Fluffy Feelings; Wilbur Soot is not a Good Brother but he tries Gods he tries; TommyInnit has Abandonment Issues;

[bloodyknucklesforme]

Carnal | Interlude No.2 | I was Born with a Healthy Appetite

Nina had always greeted Death like an old friend

CW: graphic violence, cannibalism, gore, child death, suicide This is a cannibal/horror AU Title Credit: Drown by Marika Hackman

Death was a family friend. Always coming around at inopportune times just to remain unforgotten. A familiar face but never one she could bring forth to memory at command. A cold, slippery kiss to the cheek and a boney hand holding her shoulder. 

She first met Death two days after birth. Her mother had gone septic after severe hemorrhaging. She didn’t remember it but her father made sure she never forgot. She came into this world tearing apart flesh. She had a photo, an heirloom locket, and a book of English poets - all her mothers. Given to her by her father. All death had given was an engraved stone, now overgrown.

She met Death again as a child, age ten. She had one friend, Audrey. A sweet girl with green eyes and a gap between her teeth. Audrey would hold her hand as they walked around the surrounding fields and forests. Nina had a nasty habit of biting the skin around her nails and Audrey did her best to keep at least one hand unscathed. 

There was a stream they’d always cross. They’d sit and take off their socks and shoes and run through the cold water. It was early Spring and it had been raining all week. Audrey slipped on a mossy rock. Her skull cracked open and leaked out like an egg. Nina held her hand and pulled her up the embankment. Audrey lay in the grass with Nina sitting next to her. She remembered kissing her head, hoping that it would fix everything. 

It was dark before she could hear her name being called. It wasn’t even her father’s voice. It was John Price’s, her father’s favorite sergeant at the time. 

“Nina! Can you hear me? Nina! Audrey!” She hid her face from the flashlight he was waving about. “Jesus christ…”

She’d gone feral in one afternoon. Biting, scratching, and screaming as he pulled her away from her friend. He’d wrapped her in his jacket like a wild animal and held her to the ground till others could come. He held her as they walked out of the woods. He held her in the back of the ambulance as she was looked over. As she heard Audrey’s mother scream when they told her that her only daughter was dead.  

He carried her home, the short walk through the village. Her father was waiting in the drive. She was handed off to him. She remembered it was reluctantly. He barely held her, letting her down just over the threshold and having her nanny, who would be fired the next day and blamed for the whole incident, take her upstairs. 

Price had always looked up to her father before that day. Now he looked at him with disgust. She had wished he’d never taken her back. She would have much preferred to be left in those woods forever. 

Thinking back he was so young too. Younger than she was now. Twenty-two maybe. He was a more devoted father figure than her real father ever was. He’d always been brotherly to her anytime they saw each other. Sneaking her sweets and making jokes. He took a more protective role after that day. He checked in regularly, he always brought gifts, he was the one to answer all her questions about life, and he’d try to answer when she called no matter where she was in the world. 

He was the first person she called after her father’s suicide. 

That abrupt visit from death. She was nineteen. Despite being nothing more than acquaintances she still made him breakfast for his birthday. She didn’t even notice the gun in his lap as she set his plate down in front of him.

“Happy birthday, Daddy,” She had smiled. She sat on the opposite end of the table as she always did. He said nothing, as he always did. 

“Nina?” There was a click, the sound of the hammer being pulled back. She kept her eyes on her lap.

“Yes?” He was going to kill her, she was sure of it. Her condition was always a matter of tension between them. He wasn’t afflicted but seemed to know the basic treatment. She took her supplements and ate large amounts of protein at every meal. He’d protected her this far. Made excuses when she bit other children or the stray adult. He pulled her from school to keep the questions away. He taught her to hunt her own food and installed the freezer in the basement so she’d always have food even when he was gone for long periods. 

He couldn’t be there forever. Sooner or later he’d get killed in action or get sick or get in a car accident or something else. Maybe it was a mercy. 

The prior summer a local farmer’s ewe had given birth to a two-headed cyclops lamb. Two mouths, two ears, and one giant eye shared between the two. It could barely walk, left stumbling around its mother’s pen. It was a miracle it had survived till morning. The farmer had taken it away and shot it. 

She’d run into him as he buried it. On one of her daily walks, Adurey’s death had been little deterrent from her wandering. 

“Its mother can’t help it. Did the best she could but it’s not her fault the poor thing came out wrong. Luckily another ewe had twins so I’ll switch them out. Better this way for the little feller.”

Tears fell onto her lap. Her nails cut into her palms. She waited for the end. She hoped Price wouldn’t be the one to find them. He was really her only friend. He wasn’t a stranger to death, they were colleagues in fact. She just didn’t want him to find her half decayed with her breakfast still on the table. She hoped he didn’t fuck up her face when he shot her. 

“I’m sorry,” her father said. 

She jumped at the bang. The gun hit the floor with a heavy thud. Her father was slumped over. Blood and brain looked almost floral against the green wallpaper behind him.

She didn’t scream or cry. She bit down on her tongue till blood filled her mouth. She let it linger and stain. If she didn’t she wouldn’t be able to control herself. She was quiet as she went upstairs. Her phone in one hand and a pack of cigarettes in the other.  Outside, she sat on the front steps and called Price.

“Good morning, Nina.” He sounded cheerful. She hated that she had to ruin his breakfast as well. “How’s the old man? Fifty-five today, right?”

“He shot himself.” There was a pause on his end. 

“I’m on my way.” 

She was sitting on the front steps, cigarette in hand when he pulled up an hour later. He handled everything. Called an ambulance, set up his funeral so he got proper military honors, and even paid for a company to come in and clean up the dining room. 

She was sitting on the front steps again, six years later. A mouth filled with blood and a dead man in her bedroom. She lit a cigar she had stolen from Price and called him.

“Nina? Is everything okay?” That’s how all their conversations started if he knew that Arthur was in town. He’d been practically begging for an excuse to punch his teeth in. She hated to ruin his evening by telling him it wasn’t an option anymore.

“Arthur’s dead.”

“How?” He sounded surprised, a touch angry too. 

“He hit me.” And she’d ripped his throat out.

“I’ll be over as soon as I can. Don’t call the police. I’ll handle everything.” He would fix everything. Just as he always had. 

“Okay.”

“Stay safe. Love you.”

“Love you.” 

She smoked the cigar, hoping the scent would overpower Arthur’s. Her stomach growled and her mouth watered so much it was hard to smoke. She stubbed out the cigar and left it in an ashtray in the living room. 

She stood in the doorway of the bedroom. She’d have to rip out the floorboards or get a rug. She hoped his blood hadn’t leaked to downstairs. She really did hate the smell of bleach. It had been years since she had something this fresh, this raw. He was still warm when she bit him again. 

Death wasn’t a friend anymore but simply a reflection in the mirror. 

Tag list: @gogh-with-the-flow @queen-ilmaree

Comment or DM me if you want to be added

[sinceileftyoublog]

Pitchfork Music Festival 2023: 5 Can’t-miss Non-headliner Sets

700 Bliss

BY JORDAN MAINZER

After four long years, yours truly finally returns to Pitchfork Music Festival. While the pandemic cancelled 2020′s iteration, contributor Daniel Palella filled in for 2021, and we entirely missed 2022 (I got married!), four years lacking Chicago’s most laid-back, yet forward thinking festival proved to be too many. While I can’t wait to see The Smile, Big Thief, and Bon Iver, I’d be remiss not to recommend these 5 can’t-miss non-headliner sets.

Trevor Powers of Youth Lagoon; Photo by Tyler T. Williams

FRIDAY

Youth Lagoon, 4:15 PM, Green Stage

Last month, Trevor Powers released Heaven Is a Junkyard (Fat Possum) his first Youth Lagoon music since 2015′s Savage Hills Ballroom. If earlier, beloved Youth Lagoon records were miniature epics that embraced a sort of hazy nostalgia, Heaven Is a Junkyard is more subdued, soulful, and limited in scope. It’s also Powers’ most focused and best record, the deepest he’s dived into a world. In 2021, Powers lost his voice as a result of a horrific reaction to an over-the-counter medication, eventually losing 30 pounds and, temporarily, his ability to speak. As a result of the unfortunate circumstances, he went into a deep depression, but thankfully decided to focus his energy on Idaho, and ultimately, his songwriting and the return of Youth Lagoon. Heaven Is a Junkyard could be difficult to listen to, with images of blood-stained clothes and drug addicts sleeping outside on mattresses. It’s not because of Powers’ embrace of his surroundings. “Heaven is a junkyard / And it’s my home,” he sings on “The Sling”. His clear sense of empathy for the downtrodden shapes his familial perspectives, too, thankful for brotherly love, even if disguised as roughhousing, on “Prizefighter” and “Trapeze Artist”. And Heaven Is a Junkyard is musically adventurous, too, from the looped drums, handclaps, and cello of “Mercury” to the ghostly synth arpeggios of “Helicopter Toy” and disintegrating ambient instrumental interlude “Lux Radio Theatre”, which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Boards of Canada album. Live, expect to hear much of Heaven Is a Junkyard along with cuts from the first two Youth Lagoon albums.

SATURDAY

700 BLISS, 2:30 PM, Green Stage

One of our favorite albums of last year was the sophomore LP from 700 BLISS, the venerable duo of poet/musician Camae Ayewa (aka Moor Mother) and DJ Haram. Nothing To Declare, their first record for Hyperdub, traverses genres (techno, noise, ambient) and moods (serious and political, facetious and sarcastic). Get there early on Saturday for some heady words and beats in the sun!

SUNDAY

JPEGMAFIA, 4:15 PM, Green Stage

In 2019, rapper JPEGMAFIA gave the most energetic set at Pitchfork. This year should be no different: Since then, he released one of our favorite albums of that year mere months later, a very good follow-up two years after that, and this year, a collaborative album with his favorite rapper, Danny Brown. He’s called the new one, SCARING THE HOES (Awal), a “practice album,” made with the SP-404--no Pro Tools--after learning it for a year. It certainly has that loose quality you’d think, alongside the exact amount of chaos you’d expect from the debut full-length join-up from these two. Of course, Peggy finds kinship in the deep cuts and the underground, from the underappreciated Bun B to old soul and funk, Japanese pop, and gospel. The samples and production are inspired. At the same time, Peggy knows he’s your favorite Twitter follow’s favorite rapper, so the title itself, referring to something a Very Online Man would say who thinks his taste is too esoteric for women, is tongue-in-cheek. “How the fuck we supposed to make money of this shit?” Peggy asks on the title track. “You wanna be an MC? What the fuck you think, it’s 1993?” The only thing better than effortless tempo changes, switches on a dime from maximalism to dreamy instrumentation, is self-awareness of his own idiosyncrasies. Bonus points for “God Loves You”, which juxtaposes a guttural, spirited gospel sample with the filthiest lyrics on the album.

Sarah Tudzin of illuminati hotties; Photo by Seannie Bryan

illuminati hotties, 5:15, Blue Stage

It’s been a big past few years for Sarah Tudzin, the frontperson of LA indie rock band illuminati hotties. Their 2021 record Let Me Do One More (Hopeless) was released to acclaim, one of our favorites of that year. She contributed a remix to the deluxe addition of the latest Stars album as well as production to a few songs on boygenius’ the record. Best, she’s apparently finishing up her next record. Perhaps the first taste of it is “Truck”, released yesterday ahead of the band’s Pitchfork performance and tour with boygenius. It’s a slice of gentle, lilting Americana, a song about chasing your dreams versus learning to live with reality. Expect to hear it during the band’s set at Pitchfork, along with some rambunctious, hilarious back catalog jammers.

Kelela, 7:25 PM, Red Stage

The brilliant R&B artist’s second studio album, Raven (Warp), is a culmination of a period of reflection following her debut album six years prior, Take Me Apart. Despite electronic dance music’s Black and queer origins, Kelela’s feeling restrained within the music world as it exists today, within its white, male hegemonic power structure. She’s keeping on anyway, and on Raven, she delivers a brilliantly paced back and forth between club jams and slow burns, beat-heavy tracks and ambient expressions. There are plenty of songs about relationships and the dissolution thereof, but Kelela can control what she can control: her artistic voice. “Through all the labor / A raven is reborn / They tried to break her / There’s nothing here to mourn,” she declares on the pulsating, zooming title track, as the instrumentation gradually and masterfully builds with sprinkles of piano and dramatic strings. And on standout “Contact”, Kelela captures a night out, from the come-up to the club or party itself. It’s a dance song that could have dominated the charts in an alternate 90′s universe. One thing’s for sure: It’ll be a highlight at this year’s festival.

[honeymouthedtales]

definitely season 2 is game of thrones level intense. all the sex and heart seizing action? *sobs and screams into the void* yeah. season 2 is what the draws in new viewers. they haven't read the books but the tiktoks are crazy and that's enough for them to start a "omg should I have read the books first?" debate because of course the production of the show is gonna fuck up a little (I'm sorry, it's true).

maybe they change an important character to another actor (not markhyuck tho, but maybe mks father - wait but I think they make him hot/ter and now people are being questionable when it comes to him. "mark's gotta relax, his dad's not that bad" because he's a fucking charismatic dilf now and they make a fanbase for him🙄. but the ones who read the books will never turn soft or putty for that man😒 we had to shove food down our throats to keep from crying at the university dining hall when mark confronted his dad about never caring about him, we will never recover!

or they omit or add something that feels kinda off (I'M SORRY!😭) like too much sex. they actually have sex in Johnny's love nest! can you believe it?! like THAT NEVER HAPPENED, is what people are enraged about on twitter. and everyone's mad at the network for making mark disrespect johnny that much further but surprisingly it Segways into a johnmark duel-turned-brotherly-makeup episode. and maybe you consented. Against your will it becomes one of the highlights of the season. you might reveal you regretted it immediately and it's one of the reasons you didn't want to adapt it, because they would try to add or take away stuff, even though you were glad the resolution was done well and you're in a love-hate situation with the outcome because THAT STILL NEVER FUCKING HAPPENED.

it's like the best fucking season yet. it's what people remember and compare to the next coming seasons. it was just that legendary

I think Donghyuck's first heat interlude definitely starts out the third season. It happened in the islands and the third season is in the islands anyway

the third season doesn't have a full picture yet, so of course the daydream ends with episode 2 season 3, with dongsook rescuing mark from the water prison, only to end up having to unarm Yangyang with his hands and his sexiness. (I can't make myself daydream about the chapters after the water prison until ch58 unfortunately, they're still solidly 'on paper' for me). But maybe I'll do this again once the full tone of the arc is done playing out. this has been fun🤭

I'm going to sleep now

(I wrote this at 2am but didn't know if Tumblr would let me post the whole thing so I had to cut it in half lol)

how did you even manage to post all of this when another anon had to cut it in seven little asks fjehdsfjd

okay it’s very cute that you’re planning all of this, it makes me laugh so much

NOT THE SEX IN THE LOVE NEST OMG jhny would never forgive them ;; you’re so right about me i would be extremely bitter if a scene that i didn’t personally put there became the highlight, it feels like someone manipulating my son, is this what parents feel like when their son is dating the delinquent biker and doing stuff their parents never thought they could do? ;;;

also lol mk’s father was always hot i said it on ccs many times, it’s just, dh hates him so much, and mk is blind to anyone who isn’t dh, so there’s no one there to talk about how handsome he is lol we still hate him, he’s pretty garbage, toxic sparkly trash :)))

thank you for doing this, i’ll wait for part 3 after the arc ends <3<3<3

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

interlude: bruce &amp; damian

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/dtQrGuJ by make_your_own_world It turns out that, as much as Bruce wants to, he can't always protect his son. Or: Bruce does not always understand Damian, but he does try. Or: Where is my place if it is not as your harbor? (Sequel to the entombment of idolization) Words: 8951, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Series: Part 4 of The Happy Batfamily Universe Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: Gen Characters: Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne, Tim Drake, Edward Nygma, Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas, Cassandra Cain Relationships: Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Duke Thomas & Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Duke Thomas & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain & Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Damian Wayne Whump, Bruce Wayne Whump, Protective Bruce Wayne, Good Parent Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Concussions, Hostage Situations, Brotherly Bonding, Hurt/Comfort read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/dtQrGuJ

[ao3feed-tolkien]

all together and apart from the rest

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/rgyxtie

by TolkienGirl

Too often, now, Maedhros wants to be wholly alone.

Can you be? Amras wonders, thinking of his own ghosts. Can you ever be alone?

Words: 2805, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 424 of All That Glitters Gold Rush!AU: The Full Series

Fandoms: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Amras (Tolkien), Maedhros | Maitimo

Relationships: Amras & Maedhros | Maitimo, Ambarussa & Maedhros | Maitimo, Amras & Amrod (Tolkien), Amras & Sons of Fëanor

Additional Tags: Interlude, Gold Rush AU, title from Richard Siken surprise surprise, Brotherly Bonding, Oldest and Youngest, this is set in May 1853 so it's about four months pre-Pharmakos, no no foreshadowing of course not, Amras tries to help supplement the left-hand dexterity regimen

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/rgyxtie

[covetyou]

a dress up!Joel interlude

tomorrow (29th May) I'll be posting the next part of dress up!Joel, lovingly titled ghosted.

in the meantime, have this interlude of sorts that I've been sitting on for weeks (and honestly thought I posted back in April, whoops.)

main masterlist ⋆ series masterlist

rating: Explicit (18+ only!) word count: 969 warnings: more brotherly shenanigans, sex toy talk, mild relationship angst, alcohol consumption summary: Joel's egg hunt couldn't have gone worse, and so he confides in the one person who has his back no matter what - his baby brother.

follow @covetedfics and turn notifications on for updates on future fics

Shooting the shit with his little brother wasn't something Joel Miller ever thought he'd enjoy. But, with age and maturity, there wasn't anything quite like sipping cold beers in his backyard, his brother yapping away about work, or girls, or the playoffs, or just about anything else, as they relaxed at the end of a long week. Tommy could talk, and Joel could listen, and that's how it'd always worked.

"Hey, you still got that thing I gave you," Tommy suddenly asks, after giving Joel a blow by blow of his latest conquest - some blonde he met at a bar and didn't even know the name of.

"What, this pain in my ass? Yeah."

"Very funny. Nah, I mean that ballpedo thing. Turns your balls into a torpedo."

"Balldo."

"Yeah! You still got it? If you ain't usin' it, ain't no use in it goin' to waste."

Joel lifts his beer, the condesation leaving a dark ring on his jeans, and takes a sip, averting his eyes from Tommy.

"Still got it."

It was stuffed at the bottom of his sock drawer upstairs. After Christmas, and his uncomfortable walk back home with the thing still strapped to his balls, it took him a little while to pry the thing off. The lube he'd spread over himself was turning tacky combined with your juices, and wetting it just made everything too slippery. But, eventually, he was free, and he cleaned the thing up and left it to dry, as if there would be any opportunity to use it again.

It was a happy coincidence that Sarah was with her mom again on Valentine's day, and your calendar for that day was empty - he noticed when he was fixing a drip in your kitchen sink. Given you enjoyed Christmas, he thought you might like something else too, and he was happy to be right. On Easter, he was going to leave a note for you for his little egg hunt, hoping you'd wake up Saturday morning and make your way over to his place to find the final prize.

He hadn't expected to get caught, and he hadn't expected things to be left as they were afterwards. Now the memory of all of it left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Can I go grab it? I'll take it off you."

"Nah... nah it's okay," Joel says, with a non-commital wave, as Tommy stands, taking a few steps to head inside.

"C'mon, if you ain't usin' it, I can take it. Mom never teach you to share your shit?"

"I'm always sharin' my shit with you, I said no," Joel shoots back with finality, unable to stop himself from mumbling into the rim of his beer. "You wouldn't want it now anyway."

Tommy was never one for being quick to catch on, and for that Joel was grateful. Though, maybe this time he underestimated his little brother. Tommy still makes a move to head inside, likely to rifle through his shit to find the toy he'd given Joel so long ago, but he stops in his tracks before pulling the patio door open.

"Holy shit," is all Tommy says. "Holy shit."

"You remember you're an asshole again?"

"You used the fuckin' ball thing?!"

Joel's silence says all Tommy needs to know.

"You gave yourself a dick for balls and you didn't tell me? Fuck I've been wonderin' about that thing ever since I gave it to you. It good?"

Joel doesn't really know what to say. He doesn't want to say anything - he wants to keep his fuck up with you his own tragic little secret, but now the balldo's out of the bag, he can't exactly dodge the question. Tommy was a persistent bastard when he wanted to be, and Joel knew that he was going to be extra persistent with this.

"It... yeah. Yeah, it was good."

"Wait... fuckin' wait a minute. This mean you got a girl?!" Tommy's face lights up as he asks, and Joel can feel the color drain from his. "You got a girl and you didn't bother tellin' me? You wound me, brother."

Shaking his head, Joel takes another swig of beer, hoping it'll wash the memory of the taste of you from his mouth. It doesn't.

"Nah. Didn't get the girl."

"You fuck it up that bad?"

As much as they could piss each other off, they always had each other to fall back on. Usually, of course, it was Joel picking up the pieces for Tommy, but there was an unspoken agreement between them that meant no one was keeping score. No one owed anyone anything, they'd always be there for each other, whether it was one time or a thousand times. So, against his better judgement, Joel tells Tommy everything and, for once, Tommy listens.

"Only one thing I don't get," Tommy muses when Joel finally finishes with a sigh. "If it was a misunderstanin', what the fuck are you doin' here with me, and not over there with her, explainin' yourself?"

"She told me to leave. I don't wanna intrude any m-"

"You broke into her fuckin' house, brother, think you're long past that."

Tommy slides the patio door open, half inside, half outside, and looks back at his big brother.

"Take it from an asshole who knows - doin' nothin' ain't gonna do shit. You don't get the girl, you don't get your shit rocked. Talk to her. You got nothin' to lose. If she don't want anything to do with you, nothin' changes, and if she does, well... you get the girl, and you get your shit rocked."

He hated to admit it, but Tommy was right, and Joel had never felt so fucking stupid that he didn't come to the same conclusion sooner.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow he'd make this right.

[shibaraki]

DESERVE IT ┊ TODOROKI TOUYA

tags: GN reader, NSFT, established relationship, sub leaning touya (called ‘good boy’ and ‘baby’), dom leaning reader, edging, praise kink, oral sex (m receiving), handjob, touya is begrudgingly DESPERATE and IN LOVE WITH YOU

wc: 1.5k

Admittedly, you loved every version of Touya — and there were are many, despite his attempts to veil them.

You love him spitfire and vengeful, brittle at the wick. Falling apart at the seams, skin stretched with the pressure of his wicked grin. Warm, gaze brotherly as he laughs at Toga agitate Tomura. Cold, an empty hearth watching the stars pierce twilight from the docks.

And you love him desperate. Conflicted, body unsure whether it should coil into itself or splinter outward. Bucking into your touch, a sob caught in his throat. Touya does not care for manners, he sneers in the face of good etiquette. But with the head of his cock heavy on the roof of your tongue, twitching as you steady him cruelly at the edge, he can’t help but say please.

“Fuck—!”

One hand remains tucked behind his knee to keep him open, thumb shaping firm circles into the skin. You know it’s numb, the nerves long dulled, and yet it matters that you reassure him. It matters that he’s trusting you with this — something as simple as pleasure. Satisfaction. Touya, a man constantly tortured by things out of his own reach, allowing you to keep him in this moment of suspension.

The other is between his thighs, beneath your chin. Gently, ducking to swallow him whole, you squeeze his balls just how he likes. Firm, but careful. He likes it when it hurts a little, but hurting Touya isn’t a difficult task. Even the overhead stretch of his arms in the mornings causes him some discomfort.

So you sought to mix it with gratification. To make your nights with him respite, not punishment. His fingers find purchase at your scalp and the sharp smell of ash, flesh and blood permeates the air, but he doesn’t push.

“Please, please, please,” he’s sunken into the couch cushions, clothes discarded haphazardly across the living room floor. He’s gorgeous like this, chasing your mouth with his hips as you move back. The lights are off — always at his request — but the moon pierces through your cheap, secondhand drapes, and casts a halo over his body that you can’t look away from.

“Fuck, why’d you— don’t stop,” his voice is thin, a fragile rasp that strums at the ache in your centre. “I’ve been…, I’ll be—!”

“Good,” you murmur, nosing along the underside of his cock. Everywhere else is cold. It feels as if all the fire threaded into his marrow has gathered here, thick and pulsing against your cheek. “You’ve been so good for me, baby”.

The coffee table scratches across wood. His leg kicks out behind you as the pad of your forefinger curls up, brushing over his perineum. “Shut up. Shut up, get on with— fuck!”

Peering up at Touya beneath the shadows of your lashes, you see him blissful. You grit through the urge to kiss him for now. His brows are drawn taut, the scarcely left pale skin has flushed a pretty shade of pink, faint wisps of smoke leaking from behind amateur sutures. His jaw is slack, parted and panting for breath, chest rising and falling with each pass.

Instead, you kiss his cock, lips tightly pursed and pushing until they spread around the head, a slight saltiness on your palate. There, you physically feel the rigidity seep from his body. Touya could make empty demands as much as he liked if only it meant he felt safer with one hand on the wheel, but you knew what he wanted. What he needed.

To be coaxed into a warm interlude. Kept afloat in this headspace until he tired and tipped limblessly over the edge. And you’d kept him there for over an hour now, lazily mouthing at his cock, damp with spit saturating the couch covers.

You inhale steadily before taking his length down your throat, nose tucked against the soft hair at his navel. A soft, pitched whine of relief. Through the sting, you watch as his abdomen clenches.

Then you’re pulling away, dragging your tongue as you go. “Fuck… you,” he rasps, on the edge of tears. Another precipice he’d never reach the bottom of. You wished you could see him cry with relief. Truly cry. Brought to the brink over and over, handed the release he so deserved. What a poignant picture it would make.

But you knew he wouldn’t cum yet. He couldn’t. You were still too far away, and he still had not said the right words. “Doing so well for me,” you smile, smoothing an affectionate hand over his hip. Your cheeks ache with it. “Still waiting for my permission. Such a good boy, aren’t you?”

His spine bows gorgeously, the brief glimpse of a snarl twisting into his features as he tips his head back. Visibly fighting himself. A groan reverberates throughout the room, fingers leaving your crown to tear into the cushion beneath him, the fabric blackening under the growing heat. “Yeah. Yeah I— I wanna—“

You readjust, forging a path of light kisses along the sutures piercing his upper thigh. “Wanna cum, baby?”

The dim moonlight reflects in his eyes. Azure and bright like the fire he wields. Moments like this give you relief too — relief in seeing him alight with something other than anguish.

You implore lovingly, “Do you deserve it?”

His expression flickers. Confliction. Almost there. Fingers curling around his cock, you keep your grip soft as you fuck him with your fist, traversing the length of his torso. Knees now settling either side of his hips, arm moving steadfast between your bodies, he leans into your magnetism in a silent plea with lips parted in anticipation.

His whimpers are coming in short, hot puffs of air against your mouth, scrambling to tether himself, clutching at your waist as you rub teasingly at his frenulum. When he doesn’t answer, you press further, “Touya?”

“I…” the words are lost as his cock throbs, jaw loosening as his lower body climbs. You let go, tightly cinching your thumb and forefinger around the base, cutting off the impending orgasm.

“You?”

There are small, drying beads of blood dotted along his under eyes. You tilt to kiss his cheek, mindful of the protruding rings. “Still with me, baby? Do you need to stop?”

“No,” he turns into you, dazed in his pursuit of your mouth. You feign meeting his lips, and he twitches in your hand, “Don’t stop. Feels so fucking good”.

“Yeah?” a soft, wet sound echoes sharp in your ears when you slowly stroke over his cock, just the once. “And why shouldn’t I stop?”

He tilts his chin defiantly, fighting to keep his eyes open as he holds your gaze. Tongue peaking out to slide across his bottom lip, he’s close enough that you feel it graze your own.

“Because I deserve it”.

Grip tightening, satisfaction humming in your chest, you fall forward and take him. He moans into your mouth, the wanton sound a spool of thread pulled undone. You had learnt long ago that Touya cannot cum if you don’t kiss him first.

A shudder rolls throughout his body, followed by a sudden spike of heat. He’s loud, and that’s how you know he trusts you. Twitching, spilling over your fist in abrupt bursts; all the while your quiet praises are washing over him, into him, reassurances there and waiting the moment he returns to himself.

“Just like that. Come back to me when you’re ready,”— you’re still kissing him, short and chaste enough to speak between breaths —“did so beautifully for me, Touya”.

The seconds stretch into minutes, tucked away in a pocket of space that only the two of you exist in. With a lazy hum, Touya’s fervor gradually returns to him, and as he teases between your lips there’s a copper tang left on your tongue.

“There you are,” you kiss him once more, this time with a sense of finality that he visibly begrudges. “Fuck. That was so hot”.

“Do you ever stop talking?”

There’s cum drying along the peaks of your knuckles and he’s soft in your grip. Your cheeks lift, eyes squinted as you grin. “I love you”.

Another flicker of emotion. He turns away from the light, finding refuge in the shadows with a weak exhale. From here on out, you must tread assuredly. Open the valve that filtered your thoughts, and allow them to pass sincerely through your mouth, in a way that felt natural but not purposeful. Touya needed to feel like you were praising him because you wanted to, and not because he needed you to. Yet another precipice.

So you dip to kiss the column of his throat. “Love when you let me see you like this,” you murmur, nuzzling the rough underside of his jaw. “Thank you, baby”.

“You’re disgusting,” he rasps, words contradicted by the wrapping of both arms around your back to hold you against his chest. “You did this to me. Now clean me up”.

Happily trapped in the embrace, you can only nod. “Anything you want, Touya”.

[legends-live-in-memories]

Maribat Fic Masterlist!

One Shots

Focus on Me (Dickinette)

Rooftop Rendezvous (Timari)

Alleyway Altercation (NSFW) (Timari)

Downtown Detour (Timari)

Picture Perfect (Timari)

Scars [Only on AO3] (NSFW) (Jasonette)

{more under the cut}

MGI Trope Tussle- Team Enemies to lovers

Cut You Down to Size (Damigami)

Do You Believe in Magic? (Wallynette)

Super-Rockin’ Wedding of the Century (Daminette)

Talk So Pretty, But Your Heart Got Teeth (Dickinette)

Business (Mis)Management (Timari)

MGI Bracket Fic War 2k21

Too Good To Be True [Only on AO3] (Round 1) (Jasonette)

We’ve Got Work To Do [Only on AO3] (Round 2) (Pre-Marijon)

MGI Bracket Fic War 2k22

Do You Like Girls? [Only on AO3] (Round 1) (Stephmari)

Last Minute Decision [Only on AO3] (Round 2) (Dickinette)

Jasonette July 2021

Purple Lilacs- Hurt no Comfort prompt

MGI 1st Year Anniversary Gift Exchange

The Smell of Dawn [Only on AO3] (Jasonette) for @/mar16a7

MGI 3rd Year Anniversary Gift Exchange

Bursting At The Seams [Only on AO3] (Konmari) for @/kvntparson

MGI Secret Santa Gift Exchange

Taste the Rain [Only on AO3] (Brucinette) for @/fangirling-101

I Know You’re Batman [Only on AO3] (Jasonette) for @/jinx-jade

Welcome to the Family- Bio Dad!Bruce Wayne Month 2021

First Impressions- Meeting for the First Time

First Friend- Family/Friends

Just Some Guy- Identities

Why Now?- Bonding

Of Mice and Men- Stories/Memories

Destiny at Your Door- Overprotection

Good Intentions- Gifts

Hi, Hungry. I’m Dad!- Pranks/Dad jokes

Under The Red Mask- Discovery

Everything Will Be Fine- Baking (substitute)

Brotherly Intervention- Sibling Bonding

Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s Day Off- Fashion Show (substitute)

Destinies Are Upon Us- Death

Baby Bat (Interlude)- De-aged AU

By Any Other Name- Last Name: Wayne

Call of the Wild- The ‘Talk’ (substitute)

Unfettered by Desire- Pets (substitute)

He Who Laughs Last- Heroes/Villains

A Matter of Formality- Wayne Gala

Crisis Averted- Meeting the Justice League 

Growing Pains- Father’s Day

The Strange Case Of...- Library/Books

Silent Night- Take you kid to work (substitute)

MGI Mixer 2k22

Little Death: Jason- Phantoms [See PotF in On-Going]

On-going Fics

- “How Did All This Happen?”- A Memoir By One Marinette Dupain-Cheng (Daminette) [9 Chapters]

- Dream Of Me [Only on AO3] (Daminette) [1 Chapter]

- Memory Crystallization [Only on AO3] (Found? Family) {inspired by this oneshot by @/jumpingjoy82} [2 Chapters]

- Suffer the Consequence [Only on AO3] (Healing? but also unmitigated violence) [4 Chapters]

-  Pleasures of the Flesh [Only on AO3] (Pairing TBD) [5 Chapters]

AO3 Profile 

[wangxianficrecs]

The Vermillion Ribbon by Unforth

The Vermillion Ribbon

by Unforth

E, 233k, wangxian

Summary:  When Wen Chao and his entourage arrived in Cloud Recesses, Lan Wangji saw that all the things he'd been told about the arrogance of the Wen clan were true. Wen Qing was aloof, Wen Ning was distant, and Wei Wuxian?

Disrespectful, cocky, self-centered Wei Wuxian was the worst.

My comments:  [gotta start by saying the author's notes are hilarious, because they start like, "it'll be 16 chapters and I'll be finished in 2 weeks".... and then, you look at the word count, and chapter count, and laugh]

Okay, whew, lordy me. This one was intense, and deals with serious issues like abuse, torture and rape (much of it happens off screen, but the characters have to deal with it, and the repercussions, and it's heavy. I like Author's style: the story is all lwj POV and is constantly interspersed with his interior monologue, which is lovely, because overall, what we've got here is a tale about learning to heal, learning to grow, learning from past mistakes or past trauma and letting it make you into a better person.

Lwj quickly learns (after getting wwx disciplined for the alcohol and banned from cloud recesses) that maybe the way he's been living, and the rigid way he perceives the world is wrong -- even abusive -- and wwx and his family (wen qing and wen ning) help him to see that life isn't so black and white. Regardless, wwx is sent back to Nightless City, and they all know he's being hurt. Lwj is hurt, too, during the attack on cloud recesses and through the indoctrination.

The war is long, and lwj and wwx mainly communicate by letters, as wwx lays waste to the countryside (because he must) and lwj fights him (because he must).

Lan Xichen and Nie Huaisang have great character development arcs, too, and are a good foil for lwj, with their full submersion in politics and playing the political game. (lwj even has two names for his brother, lan huan for when he's acting as a brother, and lan xichen when he's acting for the sect.) And whether he's in a bloodbath of stress of a quiet interlude, lwj is constantly evaluating his and other people's ethics, probing into the nature of right and wrong. And despising politics, because it surrounds him and prevents people from doing what is right and good.

There's a lot of healing and therapy (although of course it isn't called that), too, to balance out the trauma, and the love and devotion lwj feels for wwx is incandescent (once he figures out that's what he's feeling). It's a great story, but be sure to be in the right head-space for it, and give it the time it deserves.

alternate canon, non yunmeng wei wuxian, wen clan wei wuxian, implied/referenced rape/non-con (not between lwj/wwx), politics, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, hurt wei wuxian, hurt lan wangji, whump, serious injury, off-screen torture, hurt/comfort, angst, marriage of convenience, abusive father figures, panic attacks, trauma, ptsd, dissociation, pining, love letters, oblivious lan wangji (to his own feelings), ethics, suicidal thoughts, miscommunication, touch starved lan wangji, skin hunger, light dom/sub, feels, family feels, brotherly feels, lan qiren is a dick, abusive lan sect, emotional hurt/comfort, healing, recovery, HAPPY ENDING, epic, @unforth​

(You may wish to REBLOG as a signal boost for this author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)