#Encountered some more tears in the wild today

[kyliafanfiction]

The tears of Targ stans and Dany lovers about the ending of Season 8 continue to water my crops.

[son1c]

y'all don't even know about what happens after fibula encounters femur that first time... because, like, sure, he runs away from her. he flees the graveyard and disappears into the woods because he can't bear to face her.

but he doesn't go back to eggman. he can't. he's panicking too much to think straight. stumbling through the trees, overwhelmed by a cavalcade of emotions brought forth by seeing his sister again. he thought she was dead, but she's not. he thought, if she was alive, that she wouldn't care about him anymore. but she does. clearly--since she was visiting his grave, and leaving him gifts.

fibula is CRASHING through the woods, making so much noise and not caring at all about how many plants he's trampling underfoot. the flickies are pissed. he doesn't care. he doesn't even see them.

all he can see is his sister's face--older. her eyes, confused. because she doesn't recognize him.

and it hits him all at once the situation that he's in. undead. stitched together with chaos energy and mechanical legs. a monster. he never cared before. in fact, he actually thought it was pretty cool to be a monster. but his own sister's failure to recognize him causes his still heart to twist painfully.

is this really right? everything he's done since being revived, all the torment he's caused and ENJOYED causing... he's rethinking it now that he's seen femur again. because even though being a menace has made him happy, what would his sister think? would she be disappointed? or, worse...

would she be afraid of him?

the thought of it causes him choke and stumble, and by this point he's made enough of a ruckus to attract the attention of a certain blue hero... who of course, starts on a quip about how he wasn't planning on kicking any zombie butt today, but...

and then sonic sees The Absolute State(TM) that fibula is in, and whatever he was going to say dies in his throat. cuz he's seen a lot of stuff, but one of his enemies crying their eyes out? gotta say, this would be the first time. meanwhile, fibula is NOT EXCITED about running into sonic, because spilling so many tears--which are actually just liquefied chaos energy, aka the stuff KEEPING HIM ALIVE--has left him exhausted, and he doesn't think he has any energy left to fight.

and he's right! because he collapses shortly after sonic steps closer, his ears perking up curiously after fibula chokes out something about his sister... and when he wakes up some time later, he finds himself strapped to another metal table (different from the one eggman revived him on).

as it turns out, fibula's little "face down in the dirt" stunt from earlier made sonic think he was dead. like DEAD dead, for real this time. so, our favorite blue hero dragged fibula back to tails' lab to see if he could fix it. (tails, of course, was baffled by the situation, but a chance to examine eggman's handiwork up close could be useful regardless of the fact fibula is less tech and more flesh than most things the doctor works on.)

immediately, fibula tries to break free, but tails has that shit locked down, so the restraints don't budge. then, fibula remembers seeing femur earlier, and resigns himself to laying on the table. it's not that he's given up, it's just... this might be the worst day of his life (and the competition is pretty steep, so that's really saying something).

meanwhile, tails isn't sure what to do. by this point, he's noticed that fibula is awake, but sonic isn't around--he ran off once it was clear that tails had the situation under control--so he doesn't have his big brother to guide him. and he doesn't even really know fibula. since this is the first time they're directly interacting (before this, all tails would've heard was wild tales from sonic, amounting to nothing more than spotty secondhand knowledge).

and the thing is, fibula has no idea who tails is either. all he can see is that he's a kid. and fibula has a very strict rule against hurting kids (because they remind him of his sister. who is apparently still alive. and doesn't recognize him. oh, man--)

fibula forces himself to say something. "you don't look like you work for eggman," probably. with his typical snark, but it lacks its usual bite.

tails would scoff. an astute observation from the guy who was clinically dead a few minutes ago, he thinks. then, he tells fibula that he doesn't work for eggman, because he's on the opposite team.

that makes fibula grimace. great. so, he's strapped to an ENEMY'S table. and then he remembers running into sonic after having his little freakout in the graveyard, and everything starts to make a little more sense.

and of course THAT is when sonic saunters back in, probably with a snack in hand like, "how's it goin' in here, tails?" all casual-like. but he Knows. and fibula knows that he knows. and fibula is DETERMINED to act like nothing happened and sonic didn't see ANYTHING and nothing is wrong. so he instantly snaps back, because now he can focus on being a jerk again instead of whatever awful feelings have been brewing in his gut since last night...

and tails watches. he watches as fibula and sonic bicker and comments on fibula's strange state of not-life, not-death but fibula ignores him on purpose... until tails gets fed up and states bluntly that maybe he shouldn't've revived him, even though sonic asked, cuz he's so mean.

and there's half a second where fibula has nothing to say. SONIC helped him? even though they're enemies? but then fibula sneers at sonic and says "your mistake."

and sonic has that fucking look in his eye... you know... the one where he thinks he knows everything. the "we'll see about that"-type look. and fibula hates it so much because it just adds to his Inner Turmoil(TM). like, he's evil now! he's evil! and bad! and a no-good, rotten hedgehog!

and he's also strapped to a table. and owes his not-life to a tiny little fox, apparently.

and for the first time since sonic showed up, fibula looks at tails. he looks him right in the face with his unsettling orange eyes that shouldn't be. and he says, "your big bro thinks he's got it all figured out. but you're the smart one, i can tell. so i'll take your word over his."

and tails kinda like... falters. cuz he wasn't expecting that? and fibula doesn't realize it, but what he said reveals a lot of his inner conflict to tails. cuz he's right... tails IS the smart one. and when tails eventually lets fibula go, and fibula scampers back to the empire, tails is left wondering about fibula and his cracked facade

[c0smoshit]

Inevitable future ࣪.⋆ ♡

⋆ ࣪. ℙ𝕒𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 ≫ Link/Reader

⋆ ࣪. ℙ𝕝𝕠𝕥 ≫ Link finds you in the worst way he could've had

⋆ ࣪. 𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 ≫ angst!, death is heavily implied, descriptions of mild gore/violence, blood, brief mentiond of reader with self-image issues, not proofread!

⋆ ࣪. 𝔸/ℕ ≫ I wrote this with BOTW/TOTK Link in mind but again, you can imagine whoever Link is your fav!

⋆ ࣪. 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥 ≫ 3.314

"Link stop"

Your pained words ringed through his slightly bleeding ears, the grip he had on his sword intensifying.

He felt as if his head was going to explode, veins pumping furiously around his brain. His skin was sweaty too, trying to regulate the temperature of his warm body. A dificult task thanks to his lively and irregular breathing and of course, his anxious thoughts.

Your hand fell on his shoulder as he felt the dew surfacing the grass bellow him, soaking lightly his clothed knee. His whole body was on fire, lungs screaming for air and his scraped hands begged him not use them anymore tonight.

But he didn't want to lose you either.

Your worn out clothes and the cut you had on your arm begged him to do something about it too. He felt so guilty at the sight of you hurt and exhausted, he should've heard your yells before, he should've came sooner.

And now that he was thinking about you, he saw your lips moving again, the same worried frown rested on your brows. What were you saying again...?

"Link, please don't do this"

Right, he had expected you to say something like that, but he didn't listen to you. You always did that, he thought, putting other people's lifes on top of your own one.

But putting aside his own fierce mindset, you were worried sick about him, his torn off tunic and his dirtied up boots only boosting up your concerns. His stubborn demeanor sometimes pissed you off, he had to get what he wanted, more in situations like the one you were in right now.

But he wasn't other people, he was your friend, your best one.

He had almost spent his whole life protecting and saving people, but you were above those random travelers or villagers. Why wouldn't he help you out?

Well, maybe you were the stubborn one, maybe after all the things you had done to help other people, maybe you did deserve some help too.

But you were fine on your own, fine until a big, strong and not so friendly Lynel had crossed your path.

"Please"

"Fuck"

Your muttered out cuss only alerted the wild Lynel more, his head perking up to where you were hiding.

His slow but confident, powerful steps inched closer and closer and you didn't need to look at him to know that he was just mere meters from the tree you were hidden in.

You questioned yourself what were you more scared of, it's face and strong horse features or it's steps. Anxiety bubbled up inside your stomach, proliferating to your legs and arms, keeping them in place. You didn't know were it was right now, but you surely knew that if you took a glance, you wouldn't be able to tell others what had happened.

You also could hear the metal clanking sound of the shield it was carrying around, or maybe it was a bow. A girl from the zora domain always talked to you about the Lynels and how she needed to scare off her brothers before they did anything stupid. She told you that they always had a big bow resting on their backs, they weren't only good when they kept distance from enemies, they were fast and really strong in close encounters too.

After that talk you had figured out that you didn't want to ever see or hear a Lynel near you.

But today must be your worst lucky day.

It was so close you could hear it's breath, it's nose sniffling and searching for anything strange. Your heart almost beat off your chest when you saw it's big hairy hand from the corner of your eye.

That's it, I'm going to die.

You pictured yourself in every way it could've ended your life, grabbing you by your throat and tearing you apart with it's hands, using one his his enormous arrows, stepping on you...

Then. . . Silence

The sound of the quiet rivulet in front of you mixed with your laboured breathing was the only thing that you could hear right now.

Strangely you thought about how calm the night was today, the shiny and shy fireflies flew around the valley in front of you. The breeze hitting the rocks on the mountain next to you, creating a curious sound.

You had always loved nights in Hyrule, you loved when you and your mother walked around and watched the fishes under the moonlight on the pond in front of your house. You loved your mother and all the stuff she had taught you.

Then she would tuck you inside your warm and cozy bed after a long cold day, warming up your feet with her hands. She would always tell you a different story every night before a kiss was planted on your forehead with a sweet smile.

Why were you thinking about your mother?

You read that people's lasts thoughts before dying were related to their family, friends, lovers or pets too.

Maybe you were going to die after all.

But you haven't said goodbye to Link, you haven't invited him to a homemade meal like you promised to after he had cooked you dinner a few days ago.

You haven't told him to be careful like you always did before he stepped outside of your door.

Maybe you shouldn't have followed your insticts, stopping dead on your tracks when you heard it's characteristic stride. But you didn't, and by your stupid past decisions you were here now, trapped without any posible escape that didn't involve your death.

The grip you had on your bow had tightened, the hand you previosly saw being harshly replaced by some furious, red eyes.

You were caught.

Your legs didn't budge and theirs didn't too, at least not when he didn't spot the weapons you had. You saw him back away, a long sigh you were forcing not to let out of your mouth finally sliping off your chest.

Relief washed all over your body, carefully taking away all the stress from the prior situation.

But the warm waterfall lasted just a few seconds.

The canopy fell almost in slow motion in front of you, the violent air blast passed through your head and into the cold rivulet. You froze on spot once again, you saw the tree sliced in half in front of you.

Had whatever weapon he used, sliced a whole trunk of a tree?

You had no doubts he could, and ceirtainly would, slice your head off in an instant. Your heart was weirdly calm, your hands weren't shaking either, almost as if you were ready for your terrible end.

Your mind pictured him, his hands caressing your bow with grace as he taught you, he had strong hands. Your eyes couldn't leave his fingers, the thought of how skilled they were passed through your tired brain.

A scream finally ripped from your throat, little blue sparrows flying off in front of your feet.

Shit.

Your body was moving without the intervention of your anxious brain, rolling to your right side you managed to dodge his furious attack.

The moon rested heavily behind him, so big you thought it might have fallen from the starry sky.

Whiteish fur mixed with angry purple stripes, it's exotic form welcoming you to the dangerous nights of Hyrule. Red eyes staring almost confusedly at you, trying to read your next move.

. . .

"Hey!"

A splash of cold water awoke you from your daydreams, you flinched on spot before turning to the michevious smirk that was staring at you.

The water calmly soothed your legs, too cold to submerge the rest of your body yet. Stripped down to your underwear you had pleaded to Link to let you swim on a beautiful lake topped with a gorgerous waterfall, to console your body from all the movement it had done today.

But of course he was there to mess up your relaxation.

Sun kissed skin and soaked piercings hid the waterfall from your eyes, standing tall in front of you.

"Stop"

His lifted arms revealed his intentions, slowly approaching your dry and comfortable skin. Backing up as much as you could, your pleading face didn't break down his playful one.

You turned your head to see if you were going to bump into a rock, admiring the trees that surrounded the semi-hidden paradise.

That was your terrible mistake.

Two strong arms wrapped themselves around your waist, lifting you up until your face was met with his back, thighs resting on his chest. His colder and wet skin made you shiver, trying to squirm your way out of his grasp.

But of course he was stronger and faster than you.

"Lin-!"

Your yelp died down, drowned by the water as threw himself into it again, this time with your pleasant company. You slid off his grasp, ending up bellow him.

His hands rested on your biceps, your torso floating beside his own one. Your own hands held his nape and his shoulder for dear life, taking a big, choked out breath.

"You're a jerk"

A chuckle escaped his lips and as if someone had punched you with a knucle full of reality, you took in the state you two were in right now.

His sleepy muscular frame held your body close to his, teeth flashing as he chuckled.

He was shirtless.

You had seen him plenty of times in that state, normally his Gerudo vests left little to imagination when he showed them off to you.

And you actually found that really cute about him, he liked showing you whatever he had bought that day, from gorgerous opal earings to fierce armours.

But this time it felt different.

The warmth he naturally emited from his body warming you up from the cold water, both of you soaked and making skin to skin contact.

You needed to get out of there or you were going to explode.

But you were too comfy on his arms, unconciously leaning further into him. You noticed the little red hues on his cheeks, matching yours perfectly.

Maybe you could rest there for a few more minutes, just some silly quick minutes.

. . .

You missed that warmth, a warmth that could lasts for days on your skin, almost as if your mind didn't want to let go of the comfort.

Comfort you seeked on cold nights like this, rushed steps towards his house, curious eyes trying to adjust to the dimness of the night. Your breath fanned on his window, knees a bit scraped as you had just climbed his hard wall.

He was about to go to bed as the good, young man that cared about his health he was. But your knock on the glass inturrumpted his routine.

His senses were highened again and he quickly tried to figure out if someone had broken in. But when he saw your face on his window he nearly had a heart attack.

"Hey"

You whispered out as he opened the window, your smile never failing to melt down his limbs, all the stress he had acumulated inside him fading away just by your sight.

"I can't sleep"

Just as he had thought.

"And I see you're not asleep yet so..."

He was indeed half asleep.

But he fought his urges to fall right on your knees to sleep, you were way more interesting than whatever dreams he had waiting for him that night.

"Do you wanna go for a walk?"

And that's how he ended up with you by his side tonight, his sword resting heavily on his back just in case something happened.

Cold, muted grass bellow your feet, the air striking nicely through your hair all the way down to your feet.

You needed to feel alive again, the silence of the night consumed you.

You loved the loud echo of your shoes compared to the serene demeanour of your surroundings. It was almost as if the world changed when the sun dissapeared, new animals that were too shy to come out, flowers that only bloomed when it was dark.

You loved all of those little Hyrule things.

But on top of all of them, you loved him.

Those words seemed to have lost their potential by all the times you had repeated them inside your head, but they were true.

He was your hero, your shoulder to lean on whenever you wanted, a puppy that loved when you let him place his head on your lap, your personal knight.

You adored the dexterity he had with his multiple weapons, his easiness to use whatever his eyes had landed on to fight and end up victorious. His bow, his abilities were incredible to watch.

"Look"

Your muttered words almost weren't percieved by his ears, but his training didn't betray him.

"They're gorgerous"

His eyes then saw what you were chit chatting about, his pupils immediately shrinking slightly by it's lighting.

A blupee was jumping around some fireflies, the whole scene causing a disrupt of the natural darkness. But it looked so volputeous, you were thankful you weren't sleepy that night.

Well, he thought so too but after a while he felt something getting heavier on his shoulder.

Your face was crushed by his shoulder and your legs had gave up from your squatted position. But before your head could make contact with the floor, he stopped the movement with his palm placed on your forehead.

You had fallen deeply on top of him.

Soon his legs gave up too, afraid to move too much but not enough to sit appropriately. He relaxed to the sound of the quiet hops and your silent snores.

Your lightened face whenever you saw the smallest things were his will to live, to fight for Hyrule.

He liked your nose, the way it would scrunch up whenever you had smelt something you didn't like. He liked your cheeks too, maybe that was the reason he liked to tease you, waiting impatiently for them to turn red.

He loved what your eyes didn't.

He didn't understand much things about the world he was standing on, but on top of all of them, he didn't understand the way you viewed yourself in the mirror.

How could a human being, so gorgerous like you, disregard such beautiful features?

He often found yourself covering your smile when you laughed and was mad he couldn't see your cute teeth. Or whenever you tried to hide your body from other's eyes, he was absolutely clueless why you did so.

"You idiot"

Unfortunately, your sweet voice was wasted away with those nasty words. His head hurt, everything hurt.

He first saw your rosy cheeks and then your glossy eyes and although he felt guilty he had made you cry, he felt more guilty for finding that look on your face absolutely stunning.

His body enveloped itself with pain once again and he asked himself if he had passed out on top of you. Maybe that was the reason your pretty lips were quivering as you looked at him.

Your softness narcotized him back to sleep, but your pained voice kept him from doing so. His head felt warmer than the rest of his body and when he looked around, you were there, holding his head so tenderly he thought he had died right there.

The rest of his body was soaked up by the night grass, your knees touching his left tricep.

He then flashed back to what had happened, your worn out body ready to be squashed by a huge broadsword. But his shield was there to take the hit instead, his heart dropping down to his feet when he saw the blood on your face.

His mind wouldn't stop tormenting him about how he should've been there sooner, he was angry both at you and at himself. How could you risk your life like that?! What if he wasn't there that evening?

He couldn't bring himself into thinking further about that horrible topic, he was happy he had saved you from that stupid lion-looking monster.

"Don't you dare passing away on me again"

He smiled, the most truthful smile you had ever seen on a man's face. His skin was dirtied up, his calloused hands rested almost sinfully on top of the pure grass.

And yet you didn't seem to care about it all.

He could be covered in mud, dirt or whatever he had fallen on that day you were still going to happily hold him in your arms for as long as you both pleased.

Your love for him could break walls, thick tension in the air whenever you hugged him, held his hand.

Your fingers found his cheekbone, pressing his face so it was pressed on your stomach as you let some few bitter drops fall from your eyes.

You were too scared you could've lost him today, die without telling him how much love you had waiting for him with open arms.

Yet it was the most beautiful scenario you could've wished for.

The fear of loss, you weren't going to sit on that grass like you were now ever again.

Even the goddess was jealous of you, the way you lived like it would be your last day breathing, loving.

How you fought, spending your days with the anxiety of nostalgia and the inevitable future.

Your passion, love, living your life at it's fullness.

You then found yourself with your head on his chest, listening to his slowed down heart. It should have calmed you down, but it only made the bubbling sensation inside your guts grow.

Your hands were on fire, veins still pumping furiously thanks to the attack from earlier. But you didn't care, streams of salty water slid down your cheeks, hiccuping on his chest with no reason to.

He was alive, breathing.

However, you didn't seem to stop, the more you thought about him, the more you let yourself fall appart on his chest.

"I'm fine"

His voice was deep, months had passed since the last time you had heard it. His palm soothed your back and that only made your whimpers louder.

You were probably one of the few people he let himself talk freely with, that made your heart shrink hard. But the reason why he couldn't talk with anybody made your heart nearly explode.

He was expected not to feel.

He couldn't let himself slip out a scared gasp, what would Hyrule think about a scared hero?

Let alone crack a smile, Hyrule wouldn't want some dumb, crackhead as a saviour right?

He was so used to it that he barely even talked to you, it would be disrespectful. And, Hylia, how you missed his voice. You would pay a thousand rupees only to get him to talk to you, soothe you with his honeyed tone.

Such a pretty mouth that was wasted away by his strict norms.

"You'll be alright, I swear"

Your puffy eyes looked at his half lidded ones before both of your hands brought his attention to you.

"I'm going to run you a hot bath, you'll be alright"

You continued talking, trying to calm him down but in reality you were trying to soothe your own nerves.

When death took your hand, you would held him with your other one. Promising you would find him in every life time.

"Please stay with me"

[sinnohanvulpix]

Goh is neurodivergent and you can’t change my mind

Since today is Autism Acceptance Day, this is the perfect time to look back on Goh’s iconic moments throughout Journeys and how they support my headcanon that he is autistic. This is also @pikatrainer99​‘s headcanon, and we collaborated to make this post. And yes, we are both autistic, and we are allowed to encourage acceptance through this headcanon. If you’re not autistic and you disagree with any of this, then kindly leave.

With that out of the way though, let’s start with episode 1. And, oh boy, is there a lot to unpack! Just in this episode alone, we can see that Goh has a clear special interest in Pokemon, which brings him so much joy to talk about (which I can totally relate to). We also see that he lacked some social skills, didn’t understand social cues, and infodumped about all the different Pokemon they encountered as he didn’t understand that his role was to be the listener, not the teacher. But the biggest thing that stood out to me was when he said that he didn’t need friends, and it’s later revealed that he had been avoiding going to school. This seems to imply that something happened at school that made him stop going, which is unfortunately not uncommon for autistic people to go through (I would’ve gone through that if homeschooling wasn’t an option for me). So instead, he spent all his time on the computer doing Pokemon research.

Fast forward 4 years later to episode 2, and we see that Goh still finds just as much enjoyment in Pokemon research, with still no interest yet in making new friends. That is until he meets Ash, who was one of the first people he met who loves Pokemon just as much as he does. Because Goh still didn’t understand how friendship worked, he announced to him “I accept you as my friend!” As adorable as this is, it’s not the typical reaction to meeting someone, and I’m glad that it was Ash he said this too and not anyone else.

But episode 3 is when I really started seeing myself in Goh, as it was the first to show his insecure side, which likely developed from multiple instances of being misunderstood. After having one small argument with Ash, Goh became convinced that their friendship was completely over, that he messed it up. He even starts tearing up while muttering to himself, “so you’re one of those people too...”, which shows just how much having Ash as a friend means to him. Fortunately though, since Ash is so forgiving, he quickly forgot all about the argument and helped reassure Goh that they’re still friends, much to his relief.

After episode 3, the evidence became a little more spread out, but we can clearly see in multiple future episodes that Goh’s friendship with Ash hasn’t “changed” his autistic-coded traits. We still see many of these traits throughout the series, especially his fear of being rejected (which I headcanon as RSD, aka Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, which is commonly linked with autism and ADHD). This was most prevalently seen throughout episode 22, when Goh became convinced that Raboot didn’t want him as its trainer anymore and would live a happier life without him, which fortunately turned out to be untrue as Raboot came back for him. This was seen again in episode 101, when Goh saw Grookey getting along so well with the wild Grookey and Thwackey they met that he thought Grookey would be happier living with them. But once again, his beloved partner came back, reassuring him that they do belong together.

Speaking of the Galar starters, we also saw in episode 62 that Goh has trouble identifying his emotions, aka alexithymia (also commonly linked with autism). During a childhood flashback, after he had lost interest in playing with the other kids, his teacher asked him why, but Goh was unable to answer as he didn’t know why himself. Even in the present day when he reassured Drizzile that it’s okay not to know why it’s feeling this way, he began to tear up without knowing why. Something tells me this is something that he’s always needed to hear, whether he realized it or not.

And of course, we can’t talk about Goh’s insecure side without talking about episode 32. Even though we knew by the end that it was all a misunderstanding, Goh was convinced for three whole years that Tokio had intentionally broken his promise and abandoned him. This experience heavily traumatized him, which we can clearly see as his encounters with Ariados and Pineco bring back the memories of his time with Tokio and the painful emotions he associated them with. Not to mention this took place a year after episode 1, when he was already uninterested in making new friends. Seeing his first close friendship end this way definitely contributed to his distrust in others and unclear grasp of how friendship works, even after the two eventually made up.

This was even shown as late as episode 135, the penultimate episode of Journeys. He spent the entire episode trying to find the courage to tell Ash that he wanted to go on his own journey... only for Ash to casually tell him the same thing. Goh felt so betrayed by this that it led to an emotional outburst, which I can honestly understand. I wouldn’t want my dear friends to make this kind of casual announcement either. This proves that even after all this time of bonding with Ash and growing as a person and trainer, Goh still has much work to do when it comes to understanding social relations, which is a lifetime commitment for autistic people.

Fortunately, Goh has still managed to find much fulfillment on his journey. Not only has he finally gotten to embrace his deep passion for Pokemon, but he’s also formed multiple friendships with Pokemon. In fact, Pika and I believe that the reason he wants to catch ‘em all (apart from working his way up to Mew) is because he feels more comfortable befriending Pokemon than people. Pokemon don’t judge him the way people do, so it makes perfect sense why he would want to have friends in his life who won’t betray him.

Overall, we’re both super happy that we got to spend three years following the journey of one of the most relatable characters in Pokemon history. Goh will always be one of our favourite characters, and we’ll always look back fondly on his many iconic and relatable moments ❤️

[jellyfishdoodler]

I know I dont post fanfics here but I'd like to try? If yall arent into it I can move them to my general shitpoat blog 💛

Drummer Boy

Requested by @vanessasepticeye who wanted a oneshot of Jackie playing the drums to get his emotions/ anger out, similar to Gwen Stacy.

TWs: Angry Jackie, mentions of his dad, mistreatment of drumkit

Word Count: 1,226

A small thought in the back of Jackie's head wants to kick himself for leaving his window unlocked, but right in this exact moment he could not give any less of a shit. Vaulting into his bedroom from the fire escape, Jackie pulls back just enough of his strength to not hurl his patched backpack through the drywall.

A small thought in the back of Jackie's head wants to kick himself for leaving his window unlocked, but right in this exact moment he could not give any less of a shit. Vaulting into his bedroom from the fire escape, Jackie pulls back just enough of his strength to not hurl his patched backpack through the drywall. He tears the blue mask off his face so the elastic no longer digs into his skin, crushing the soft material in his hand as he stalks around the room. He finds his drumsticks on the cluttered desk and trades them for the mask with a pathetic and unsatisfying throw. The piece of fabric flops from the wall to the table without a sound and Jackie can feel a scream burning in his throat, so instead, he stomps towards his lovingly beat-to-shit drum kit. It was half duct tape at this point but it still worked, and it's not like Jackie could afford a new set anyway.

Patrol was an absolute fucking nightmare today. First he had to skip breakfast due to an early call for help across town, then he got chewed out by an old woman for breaking her potted plant and was harassed into buying her a new one- which he then had to stop the plant shop from being robbed by some jackass who thought he was hot shit with a switchblade. He lost the comic book he was saving to read on his lunch break to the sewer drain, got completely soaked by a burst fire hydrant, was sent on a wild goose chase to track down a missing dog in the park where he literally got chased by geese. And to top it all off, when he saved the day and rescued two teenagers from a burning apartment building, he was the one who was blamed for the girl's broken leg, even though it was literally trapped under a solid wood bookshelf before he got there. But the girl's parents just wanted someone to sue so they could make some fucking money back like all of this was a huge inconvenience and not like they almost lost their fucking kids to a fire. 

Jackie worked really hard to keep his composure until he got home. He has many years of customer service under his belt before he got powers and managed to smooth talk his way out of a lawsuit. But that encounter was the final straw for him. Jackie knew being a hero was a thankless job most of the time, hell he understood that those people were just scared for their kids, but everything throughout the day stacked on top of each other and he was left with a gross itchy feeling under his skin. He had to get it out.

Slamming himself down onto the spinning stool, the young man wasted no time taking his frustration out on the drums. Using the double petals on the bass kick to set a fast beat as he practically wailed on the set. He loved the feeling of the vibrations of contact traveling up his arms, it felt like clapping mosquitoes mid-air and off your skin so they dont drink more of your blood.

That same voice in the back of his mind reminded him he's gonna get another noise complaint from Mr. Smith upstairs, but right now Jackie doesn't care. The rapid beats of the snare matched the buzzing feeling rolling from Jackie's core down his arms and to his drumsticks, the crash of the cymbals almost dents the brassy metal as it covers his urge to yell in frustration. 

He focuses on the patterns of his rapid fire set, picking up more pace and forcing himself to go faster.

Faster.

Faster-

Everything abruptly stops when his right stick snaps in half. 

"FUCK!!!"

Panting heavily, Jackie just stares at the now uneven sticks in his white knuckled hands. Everything in the apartment is still and quiet aside from his heavy breathing. In the distance he can hear the neighbor's dog- Patty- barking up a storm down the hallway. 

Jackie finally allows his shoulders to slump down as he unceremoniously lets the drum sticks drop to the floor with a deafening clatter in the now silent room. 

He always hates getting this angry, he knows it's not good for his public image or for his own mental health. Fighting bad guys helps with most of it, but it still sneaks up on him sometimes when he's not paying attention. It scares him.

The hero gently rolls his neck and shoulders, letting air escape from his nose in a silent laugh at a memory flowing into his head.

 If his overall deadbeat dad was good for one thing in his damn life, it was teaching Jackie how to funnel his emotions, primarily anger, through playing the drums. His dad said he was part of a shitty rock band when he was in school and that's where he learned to play. 

One day, Jackie's teacher called his dad and told him about an incident on the playground. Jackie stood up for another kid getting picked on but broke another kid's nose in the process of defending them. That afternoon when he got home, instead of yelling at him like Jackie thought, the man sat Jackie behind the drum kit that sat in front of him today and taught him how to keep a steady rhythm.  

"I had a similar problem to ya, kid." He started when Jackie was getting the hang of it. "Always letting my anger get ahead of me." Neither of them say that he still does sometimes, and he continues, "If you use these to just, yaknow, get what you're feeling out of your system, this way nobody around you gets hurt. You don't… go punching anybody you don't like 'cause you kept it in for so long." Jackie wanted to protest that he was protecting a friend but let his dad keep talking. 

"You exhaust yourself playing these so you don't have the energy to let it boil in your stomach for later. On top of all that, the world gets to hear your heartbeat. It might not be pretty, but they get to hear it go strong and loud even if you can't say what you're feeling in your chest. Even if it's hurting. You use this as a way to help you let shit go. Because at the end of the day, if you let it be, if you let it fester, that pointless rage will rot you from the inside out." 

Jackie does not know what to really say to all that. His dad isn't the best at pep talks but he thinks he gets his meaning. Even if the man is a hypocrite. He just counts the beats in his head.

It's one of, if not the only kind-ish memory Jackie keeps of his father. The man was a dick his entire childhood, but he did give Jackie this one thing that was good.

With that memory of a good Tuesday afternoon nearly 10 years ago gently floating in his chest instead of what was there before, Jackie picks up the busted drumstick and tosses it in the trash. Heading to the bathroom to finally shower away the long day's grime.

Tomorrow is a new day.

[barilleon]

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

I got diagnosed with a few things this week, so I decided to revisit my least favorite fable.

Content warning for some violent language and a metaphorical description of intrusive thoughts.

There once was a village that lived on the edge of the forest. For the most part, the village and the forest stayed separate: the people did not go into the forest, and the animals did not go into the village. But once in a while, a wolf would chance an encounter and sneak off in the dead of night with a prize hen or piglet. And that’s how the people knew there were wolves in the forest.

In the village there was a little boy who, like all the other little boys, was taught the danger of wolves—their sharp teeth, ferocious growl, their powerful paws. Killing Machines. “When you see a wolf,” the little boy’s parents said to him, “you run, and you call for help.”

One day the little boy was playing outside in the view of the forest. The sun was out, and a light breeze tousled his hair and rustled the tree branches. He heard this and looked to the forest. There, he saw wolves.

They were in front of him, with their bared fangs, flattened knife-shaped ears, and wild eyes. They growled low, and he saw them leap upon something. He heard the blood-curdling scream, the frenzied yips. He saw fangs sink into supple skin, eyes leering at him. He felt blood, the tear of flesh, but his body was fine.

The little boy then remembered himself. What do you do when you see wolves? You run.

“WOLVES!” the boy called, tripping over his feet towards the town square. “Help me! I see wolves!”

The village woke with a start. The people emerged from their homes, reaching for weapons or the nearest sharp object. They ran to protect the boy.

“Where?” they asked. “Where are they, boy? We’ll get them.”

The boy couldn't give an answer. Though he saw them, they were not here. Not where others could see.

He gestured wildly, tried to explain, but no one understood. They lowered their weapons in disappointment. There would be no wolf hunt today. But something had to be done about the boy.

“You are scaring him,” somebody said to the boy’s parents. “Filling his head with stories of wolves. No wonder he had a fright. Probably saw a shadow in the forest and ran.”

“Do not worry son,” his parents soothed. “There are no wolves here.”

“I know,” said the little boy. But even then he could see them, their red eyes piercing him as he clung tight to his mother's leg.

The next day, the boy was out playing and it happened again. There were the wolves, and in front of them they tore into flesh, drained blood, gouged eyes. The boy shut his own eyes, touched them to make sure they were still there. His eyes were fine, but even closed he could see the wolves. He screamed.

“HELP!” he cried once more.

“What is it?” the people called out.

“Wolves—I see them! Please, help me!” 

He pleaded so loudly that many members of the village did come out to find him—but not as many as the day before. They grabbed their torches and weapons and followed the sound of his screams to the edge of the village, where he was curled up in a ball with his hands over his eyes.

“There are no wolves here,” the people said. Some of them began to get very angry.

“I know,” said the boy. “But still I see them. I don’t know how to make them go away.”

The people did not know what to make of this. How could you see something that was not there? The boy must clearly be lying. Perhaps he was bored. Perhaps he wanted attention. There is no way he could be this scared. He had yet to even see a real wolf.

They left him there, still curled up and crying.

That night he could hear them howling. He cried and cried, but not even his parents came. They had said everything to be said already: you cannot live your life in fear of wolves. You must keep moving forward, and think of happier things. And so there in the dark, surrounded by them, the little boy willed himself to think of happier things, to chase the wolves away on his own. He exhausted himself doing so, and soon he passed out.

It was the same the next night, and the next. And the next. For years and years and years. Days and nights filled with the howling, the gnashing of teeth, the violent killing. But when he cried, no one came. No one believed him.

The little boy is now a young man. He has not spoken of wolves since he was a boy. But he still sees them, almost every night. It is hard to think of happier things when the wolves are right there. When they are in the room with you, even when you shut your eyes. When you can see them clearly even in the dark, feel their breath on the back of your neck.

But years of this have hardened the man. With cold eyes he picks up his spear, waves it about, and chases the wolves away himself. Then, exhausted, he lays down and goes to sleep, eyes and mind weary in a way that sleep cannot fix.

[koskela-knights]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/53380903

I know no chill. Here, throws out my Rose & Koskelas fanfic AU where the brothers are werewolves. Read it here or on ao3!

Once a month, Rose opens the diner much earlier than the usual. Not 7 AM but 5 AM. Obviously, it’s not for her average, regular customers. She groans as she gets out of bed. She goes through the motions of having super early breakfast, getting cleaned up in the bathroom, brushing her teeth and then getting dressed. Because her special guests don’t really care about any formalities, she puts her uniform in a bag and dresses in a simple top and jeans. At least, she allows herself to be a tad more comfortable while going to work two hours earlier than usual. Once she arrives at the diner, she immediately gets cooking. Beef patties on the grill, fries sweating away in the fryer, eggs sizzling in a pan with bacon. The coffee is getting prepared as well. All smells come surprisingly well together and it puts Rose in a good mood. She is humming along with the radio she’d put on. What she is doing today, is almost a ritual. Just as she expected, when the clock shows it’s 05:45 the food is ready and there’s a knocking at the entrance door. “Coming!” she yells. And yes, there they are. The Koskela brothers. Both in remarkably unfitting and oversized plaid shirts and messy jeans with some rip and tear around certain areas. Rose opens the door for them and they all get inside, quickly taking a seat at the nearest spots available.

 “Rough night?” Rose asks with a sly smile on her lips as she stares them down.

Ilmo looks particularly beat up. His left hand is roughly bandaged up, blood still peaking through. “Do I look that bad?” he snorts. The waitress considers to stay quiet but since he asked, she replies: “Honestly, you look like shit.” She pinches her nose and adds: “You smell like it too.” Jaakko Koskela can’t hide his chuckle even if he wanted to try to. Rose attentively but playfully taps the older brother’s hand with her spatula. “Hey! You’re not far away from stinking up this place!” Jaakko subtly growls but Rose remains unfazed. Honestly, she had dealt with worse than two hungry shapeshifters in her diner.

 “Anyways, I’ll get you your food.” She swiftly turns around and gets back to the kitchen. She can still hear the younger brother joke about Jaakko always looking like a wolf with that beard of his. She rolls her eyes at herself and gets the plates with steaming hot food. Almost as soon as she puts the plates in front of the Koskelas, they attack the food. She takes a few calculated steps back and observes them chew down aggressively.

Rose remembers the night she had encountered the brothers in the wild. Large furred beasts with glowing eyes. One of them was devouring a poor you-know-what that had made the mistake to cross their path. Had it not been for the shards of blue plaid, she wouldn’t have known it was Jaakko Koskela. Then another monster had emerged from the shadows and in a reflex, Rose had shot at it. The following morning, she had a wounded Koskela brother ordering food in the diner. She had immediately dragged him to the back of the diner, scolded him first for trying to claw her face off and then tried to patch him up with the skills she had learned from her nursing job. Then they’d struck a deal.

Grease splatters fly around their table together with bread crumbs and pieces of fries. Jaakko ploughs into the fries with his fork, trying to impale as many fries as possible. Meanwhile, Ilmo realizes cutlery doesn’t provide enough so he just uses his hands. He stuffs his mouth with bacons and eggs like a hamsters. In-between chews, he splutters his gratitude to Rose for providing with the much needed calories to gain back their energy after a long, tiresome night. “As long as you two help clean up this mess once you’re finished,” she says as she begins to prepare the restaurant for the other customers. It doesn’t take the Koskelas long before everything she had cooked up for them was gone. Rose can’t help but cringe when Jaakko outs the loudest burp ever. Gross.

 “You two are dogs,” she exclaims.

Ilmo chuckles as he wipes his mouth and beard clean with some paper tissues. “Actually, we’re wolves.”

 “Well, not at the moment. Now get your ass off those couches and help me out!”

“But we just ate all this food, lady. It also burns some off our energy,” Ilmo fake laments. Rose isn’t having it, though. Puppy-eyes or not, this table isn’t going to clean itself. She crosses her arms and stares the younger brother down.

 “We’ll go help,” Jaakko gives in first. He gets up and moves to the back to clean his hands and face. Ilmo follows, hunched over like a kicked dog-, or rather wolf.

 “We really appreciate your support, Rose,” Jaakko declares while they’re manually washing the dishes.

“It’s the least I can do. And trust me, I kind of know what it feels like to not be yourself once a month.”

 “I wouldn’t say those two things are comparable but-,” Ilmo gets cut off by his brother.

“Shut it, Ilmo. We owe Rose a lot.”

Once they’re done cleaning, the waitress gives the two brothers a final look. No injuries or hints at their previous night, except for the baggy clothes. “I’ll see you later today?”

 “Yup,” Jaakko says.

“I’ll bring in the new coffee bland around noon,” Ilmo promises. After the two men are out of sight, Rose locks the door again. She exhales and gets to the office room to quickly change into her usual outfit. It’s almost time to open the diner. She chuckles to herself. If only Alan knew what kind of life she led now. Fighting monsters in the night, being a waitress and nurse by day and every once after a full moon, stilling the wolfish hunger of two brothers.

[ladyhoneydee]

30 Day Song(fic) Challenge: Day 14

Hi hi! Being late seems to be my new normal, but given that I haven't slept yet, it still feels like the 14th to me, lol. Today's Song(fic) Challenge prompt was "a song you think is underrated", and I chose "Grilled Cheese" by Peach Face. It's a dreamy song (with a very fun finger-snap beat in the background) about the early period of a relationship, and so I sought to capture those feelings!

Please note that this fic references past sexual activity, but nothing at all explicit! The most that happens is some suggestive dialogue and one single line mentioning the touching of a male chest. Still, if that bothers you, you may want to skip this one! (Also, if anyone thinks that this should be rated M instead of T, please let me know.)

halfway (to something that you'll never find)

Game: Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom

Pairing: Zelink

Word Count: 1905

Keywords: Modern AU, waking up together, romantic fluff

To be honest, Zelda really had no clue how she had found this. For all intents and purposes, it should be impossible to just stumble across a man who would share his nights without judgment nor the expectation of more; a lover who made sure of her happiness as well as her pleasure; a friend who she had just as much fun splitting a sandwich with as in the sack. Statistically, the odds were astronomical. And yet…here they were. Taking their sweet time as they wandered into love.

Read the fic on AO3, or under the cut!

Zelda woke with the coming of the light. 

Link’s bedroom windows faced west, and so, heavy sleeper that he was, he never bothered to draw his sage-green curtains at night. She wasn’t sure why he even had them, honestly. He’d never once covered the windows up while she’d been over at his apartment, even during sex. She supposed it made sense—the view from his eighth-floor apartment was one of his favorite things about living in Castleton, and it was true that no one would ever be able to see them entwined on the mattress. Still, Zelda was a light sleeper, and even the ambient light from his window was enough to stir her.

Link’s arm lay draped over her waist as he spooned her from behind, and she pretended that the easy possessiveness—the good kind, not ‘you are my property’, but ‘I want to keep you close’—didn’t send a sparking thrill to her stomach. It wasn’t that it was too soon for that kind of excitement, with how many months they’d spent sleeping over in one another’s apartments and meeting for random meals since that first encounter at the bar, but…she didn’t want to push it.

Zelda scooted over an inch and rolled from her side onto her stomach. Link’s arm fell heavily across her back, and she smirked at the dead weight before reaching for her slate.

No notifications. Just the way she liked it, when she was over at Link’s. Although she did need to head out in about half an hour so she could meet Riju for coffee. Eight-thirty in the morning was pretty early for plans, but Riju was still entangled in the depths of her senior year, so Zelda couldn’t begrudge her the weird timing. Hers had been even worse last spring, after all, when she was putting the finishing touches on her master’s thesis. 

Satisfied that she wasn’t missing anything important, Zelda tucked her slate back under the pillow—oh. She froze, before a smile slowly crept over her face. 

Once again, she’d fallen asleep with her makeup on, and the last remnants of her berry lipstick and smokey bronze eyeshadow were decorating Link’s striped pillowcases. Good thing he’d just set out her usual one last night before they got in bed. 

She probably shouldn’t be so elated at having ruined one of Link’s pillowcases so thoroughly and repeatedly, but how else was she supposed to feel when that meant that one of his pillowcases was basically hers?

She turned around to face him. In sleep, Link’s face was open and relaxed. His hair was a disheveled, wheat-colored mess that was half pinned beneath her own head. It was lucky that he hadn’t been out that night as well, before she came over, or else his own pillowcase might’ve been marked with that forest-green eyeliner he favored. His eyes weren’t twitching beneath his lids, which meant he was at a lull in his REM cycle. 

Perfect. That meant it was a fine time to kiss him awake. 

She started with his face, peppering the lightest of pecks along his cheekbones, before drifting to his jawline. Link was slow to grow facial hair, and so her lips smoothed across the skin without any friction to inhibit her trajectory.

When she began a long, slow, suckling sort of kiss at the sensitive place where the underside of the right side of his jaw met his neck, he began to stir. First with the slightest roll towards her, seeking the sweet, soft pleasure of her mouth, and then with a stretching arching of his back that made her wish she had more than ten more minutes to spend in bed with him. She knew the moment he woke: he stiffened the slightest bit, then melted under her lips, and then reached a hand up to cradle the back of her own bedhead. 

“Good morning to you too,” he whispered, voice roughened with sleep. 

She hummed into his skin in response. Link soaked up her touch for another moment, before shifting his hand to cup her chin, and gently guiding it in the direction of his face. She pressed one last rebellious kiss into his skin, before following his lead. 

His mouth tasted sour with morning breath, and she was sure hers was no better. She adored the realness of it.

Her eyelids fluttered open slowly, taking her time in this warm cocoon. Link was already gazing at her, lips curved in the sweetest of smiles. When he looked at her like that, she…well. She felt a lot better about the ever-increasing intensity of her own feelings toward him, that was for sure.

“I have to get up soon,” she singsonged. Her tone was teasing, as though he was the one who would be crushed by this news, but she felt a pang in her own chest at her words. Truth be told, she never wanted to leave this bed. 

Link played along, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her atop his chest. “Not if I hold you right here.”

“Mm, I think I could get out pretty easily if I wanted to.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Never breaking eye contact, she stroked one hand slowly and deliberately down his chest. “We both know how quickly I can get you to sing for me. Once you’re distracted…”

“Or you could just stay the whole time.” Link grinned, but she didn’t miss the way his pupils had dilated at her touch. 

“I do prefer taking my sweet time, it’s true.” She indulged herself in the tracing of his lips, and the way they parted under her touch. “But…it’s still early. We wouldn’t want to wake the neighbors.”

Like ripping off a band-aid, she pulled herself free of Link’s arms—he’d never cage her against her will—and swung her legs off of the bed. For all her teasing of Link, she’d never actually flake on Riju like that. The girl was practically a little sister to her, after all. 

Link groaned, but followed her up willingly. As she yanked the flared pants she’d worn the night before over her hips, he passed her black strappy tank over as well, which had ended up on his side of the bed. She returned the favor with a beatific smile. 

“Are you sure you won’t be cold? You weren’t wearing a coat last night when you came over, and it’s chilly out this morning.” 

Fair point. Zelda’s arms were already prickling with goosebumps. “Yeah, but…” She shrugged. “Guess I’ll just have to deal. Not very wise of me to go out without a layer, huh?”

Link’s voice was carefully controlled as he picked at the corner of the quilt on his side of the bed. “You could borrow one of my hoodies, if you wanted. I don’t mind.”

His hoodie! Link was a nice guy, with a lot of clothes, and it wasn’t a stretch that he would lend clothes to any friend in need. But she couldn’t help but be thrilled at the offer of a hoodie. It was such a boyfrie—no, she better not even think it, else she risk jinxing it.

“Yeah, sure,” Zelda answered, cool as a cucumber. “I could do with dressing down my outfit, anyway.”

“I’ll find something that looks nice with your pants.” He disappeared off towards his closet, and Zelda took the opportunity to put her socks and shoes on. Thank Hylia she’d worn boots instead of heels the night before. 

Before long, Link returned, handing over a soft, thick black hoodie bedazzled with golden designs. “It should be nice and warm. Developed by Embr Labs over in Eldin.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “Supposed to provide the sensation that you’re right next to the volcano.”

“Aw, Link, it’s so nice!” Zelda pouted. “Now I’d feel bad if I stole it.”

Link laughed. “Damn right! I expect a prompt return.” He watched as she pulled the garment over her head and gave a shiver of delight at the coziness. “Flip up the hood,” he suggested. 

She did, and gave a laugh of delight. “Are these dragon horns?” She petted the plush prongs lightly. “That’s so cute. Now I’m really going to have to buy myself one.”

“Super cute,” Link agreed, a soft smile on his face. 

Zelda looked down, flustered. “Well, I ought to head out,” she hedged. She tipped the hood back off of her head carefully. “Riju’s gonna yell at me for being late if I miss my train.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course!” Link rubbed the back of his head. “I’ll walk you out.”

At the door, Link opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again, apparently changing his mind. “Have a nice coffee date with Riju!” he said instead. “If you want to hang out again sometime soon, just give a whistle.”

“Same to you! Enjoy your day off.” Zelda bit her lip, and before she could lose her nerve, leaned in and planted a kiss on Link’s cheek. 

The last glimpse she caught of him before heading out the door was of his blue eyes wide, hand pressed to his cheek. The image lingered in her mind as she descended the stairs, exited the apartment building, and headed west for the nearest train station. It was only interrupted when, keen to protect the back of her neck from the chilly morning air, she flipped up the hood again and realized she’d forgotten her earrings back on Link’s bedside table. 

“Stupid, Zelda. So distracted with—wait.” She paused in her self-flagellation. Come to think of it…

She pulled out her slate.

Zelda: Turns out I forgot my earrings at your place? They’re amethyst and gold. Should be on the bedside table.

Zelda: Could I come over again to pick them after I’m done with Riju? I could return your hoodie then too, since my apartment isn’t far from the coffee shop and I could change into some fresh clothes then.

Zelda: Maybe we could have lunch, too. You could make us that mushroom tomato stew and some grilled cheeses. They’re not the same at home… :3

Link: yeah they’re here!

Link: sounds perfect

Link: see you at 11 <3

Link: whoops idk why the heart sent! 

Zelda laughed out loud and nearly ran into one of the train station poles. Link might have no idea why the heart sent, but she had a clue. No two-character emoticon could be written ‘accidentally’. 

Hylia, he was cute. Maybe over lunch, she’d finally ask if he wanted to take their unspoken mutual desires and make something official out of it. She had a feeling it would go all right. Everything had so far, at least, and she didn’t see why that would have reason to change. They were still Link and Zelda, after all. 

To be honest, Zelda really had no clue how she had found this. For all intents and purposes, it should be impossible to just stumble across a man who would share his nights without judgment nor the expectation of more; a lover who made sure of her happiness as well as her pleasure; a friend who she had just as much fun splitting a sandwich with as in the sack. Statistically, the odds were astronomical. And yet…here they were. Taking their sweet time as they wandered into love.

She stepped onto her train just as the doors whished closed, with a smile on her face.

[yourwinchesterbros]

➰ Mood board of Tig and Beth’s first encounter with eachother ➰ @witchthewriter

A head cannon which ended up to be more of a drabble.. I let this one get away from me a little bit, oops! Got caught up in that Tiggy love!

You pull up to the animal rescue on your Harley. You chose to ride today purposely for insurance; you were not bringing a dog home today, just looking to see if some pup in there, needed a home for the future.

Upon entering the building, you’re escorted to the kennels. You’re left there to interact with those available. Luckily there weren’t many dogs here, only a few searching for a home.

It brought you comfort knowing Charming had somewhat a good reputation for animal care, as most of these pups were little guys that had escaped from their backyards. Surely their owners would find them resting here.

You hear a roar approaching, sounds like a shitty car. You peer out the window to see a charcoal van pull up.

Hmm, drop off?

To your surprise , you see a tall man possessing wild straggly hair, with dark shades on get out of the vehicle. He’s kinda cute.

You trace his figure and audibly gasp. He’s wearing a kutte, Sons of Anarchy

He slides the van door open, to which he pulls out an absolute unit of a dog. A Rottweiler.

Is this thug is leaving his dog here?

Wouldn’t be surprising as he is a criminal. You quickly look away , not wanting to draw attention to yourself. You know very well what the sons are capable of, they’re not known for being the good guys.

“ I just picked her up from the vet , she’s in good shape now..” his voice drifted through the facility as he spoke with the man up front.

“No seriously man, I need to make sure she finds a good home, you gotta call me if anyone wants her…”

You strain your ears as his words suddenly pique your interest.

You jump as the door swings open to the back, where you stand.

There he is, striding in, with her on the leash.

“Oh sorry doll, didn’t mean to scare yah, she’s really friendly”

“Oh, I wasn’t scared of her” you respond quickly, analyzing his kutte once more.

His face shifts, a smirk growing across his face.

“Hey, I don’t bite either sweetheart… well maybe sometimes I do” he chuckles.

You roll your eyes, trying your best to suppress your own grin.

“She is a beautiful girl, can I say hi?”

He takes his shades off and clasps it to his kutte. His pericing blue eyes nearly rock you.

“Absolutely, come say hi, she needs more exposure to friendly people, poor girl was almost killed”

Your jaw drops as you approach the rottie, kneeling to your knees, the dog instantly takes to you, rubbing her face in your hands.

“What do you mean!?” You think the worst, did the sons use her for protection?

You baby talk her as he explains.

“I found her in the backyard of a dog fighting ring, she was left in the dumpster” his voice is deep, gruff, clearly holding back anger.

“What the fuck? Why were you at a fight ring?” You question him, your brows furrowing.

“I mean I could tell yah… but-”

“Then you’d have to kill me, alright I get it. I was born at night, but not last night”.

He cackles at your witty remark.

“So I scooped her up, took her straight to the vet and she’s been there for the past week but this babygirl is all ready for a new home”

Before you can filter yourself, the words come out

“Why wouldn’t you just keep her? I mean you saved her”.

“Doll, trust me. If I could, I would. I already have a pittbull at the clubhouse that I saved a few months ago, my brothers would kill me if I brought another. But don’t worry, I’m making sure she goes in good hands”.

He turns to stare at the owner, brows raised. You hadn’t even realized he was standing there.

“Don’t worry Tig, I’ll make sure” he holds his hands up in surrender.

“Your damn right” he points a finger at him.

You’re in disbelief, gazing down at this beautiful dog who’s spent her young years fighting for her life over blood money.

You shake your head, trying not to let any tears slip.

“Bastards” you whisper.

“Yeah, they are but I make my annual visits there now. Population is less and less each time I go”

“Less dogs?” You look up at him.

“Oh no sweetheart, less men” he smiles down at you “I usually end up bringing a couple of them into the woods” he says ever so casually, his eyes dark.

Through your sudden shudder, you suck on your teeth.

“Alright, maybe you’re not so bad after all” you murmur. You don’t necessarily agree with murder, however you have a deep hate for animal cruelty. It’s good enough a reason in your opinion.

He gazes at you.

“Thanks doll, I don’t hear that often, it’s nice”.

You two share a moment, analyzing each other. His eyes, his dark facial hair, the many scars that have been embedded into his tough skin.

You look down at the Rottweiler, who stares up at you with big loving eyes.

“What’s her name?”

He sighs. “She doesn’t have one.”

You look over at the owner. “Well don’t just stand there, get me the paperwork. I’m taking this baby home” you say sternly.

You look back at Tig. He mouth slightly parted.

“Of course if that’s alright with you… Tig”

He looks at you with utmost appreciation.

“Hell yeah it is” he beams back at you before looking at the owner once again.

“Well get moving man! She doesn’t have all day” he demands, startling him to quickly rush to the front.

“Alright girl, you’re coming home with me” you say to the four legged baby before you.

Tig kneels down, giving her one more kiss and face squeeze before passing the leash over to you. He stands back up, staring down at her, resting his hands on his hips, his lip tight.

You chew the inside of your cheeks, wondering if you’ll regret saying this “Hey.. if you wanna visit her sometime.. I mean, I wouldn’t be opposed” you drawl out.

His gaze snaps up to you “Really? You have no idea how much I’d love that. I’d even bring Mister, my rescue over with me, to play with her”

“Alright then, it’s a date” you smile at him, feeling panic suddenly rise, you quickly rephrase yourself “uhm a puppy play date” you chuckle nervously.

Am I making a move on an outlaw right now?

“Nah, it’s a date” he winks at you.

You look down, trying to conceal the sudden flush in your cheeks.

“Oh shit” you realize that you brought your bike, not exactly a good travel method for a big dog.

“What?“ he furrows his brows “Ah shit, I’m sorry, that was totally creepy of me to say, I mean, I just met you” He presses his palm to his eyebrow.

You laugh “No no, I mean I rode here today, my car is at home”. You smile at him trying to suppress your giggles.

“Oh… OH.. okay I see.. wait hold up, that’s your bike?” He points his thumb over his shoulder, eyes wide.

“Yeah it is” you grin. You can’t deny, it is a sexy ride.

“Well shit, who’s the outlaw now” he chuckles.

In agreement, Tig followed behind you, in the van with the dog in the passenger seat, until you both reached your house.

You kill your engine and swing off the bike removing your helmet as Tig slides the van door open, letting out your newest family member.

He passes you her leash, and she sits right at your side.

“Alright doll, I guess this is it. I never got your name?”

“It’s Beth” you reach out to shake his hand. He ignores it, and pulls you in for a hug.

“Thanks for taking her, it really means a lot” he says gruffly.

“It’s truly my pleasure, now go take care of more those bad guys… Baloo and I will be here, when you’re ready for our date”

He smiles at you before looking down, trying his best to conceal his sudden flurry of butterflies.

“Baloo is it?”

You nod, gazing down at the sweet beast below you. You briefly watch her absorb the nature around. Probably her first time feeling at peace.

“Yeah she’ll take good care of you” he whispers. With a swift move of his hand running through his hair, he turns to the van before looking back at you two.

“Does tomorrow work?” He asks, sliding his shades back on.

“Yeah, it sure does” you nod, with a grin.

He stares at you a moment longer, before shaking his head, his smile still there.

“Darling, you’re different. You’re just my kind of girl”

He fires up the Chevy and pulls out of your driveway before you can say anything else.

And Just like that, your life changed.

One visit to the pound and you come back home, with a rottweiler and a outlaw.

[i-can-even-burn-salad]

Just a Scratch

Thorns & Jasmine

In which Caldyn finally dares to use his magic again.

Warnings: Minor injury and mention of past torture

Previous | Masterlist | Next

Caldyn moved through the forest, slowly, carefully, as he had each day in the past weeks. Listening to the sound of his little friend’s paws, he probed the ground with his staff, finding obstacle after obstacle.

It was all the same, every day: resting and finding some food, then wandering on, so painfully slow. The trees weren’t the same; old and young, thin and wide, some trunks smooth, some rough, some overgrown. And yet they were, in a way, one tree after another, quickly passed and forgotten. And the ground wasn’t the same; sometimes rough sand, sometimes soft earth, sometimes a thick layer of fallen leaves. And yet it was, nothing more than a surface he had to check for anything in his way.

Sometimes he found other things, some of which he couldn’t interpret. Fallen trunks, long dead and half rotten, only the energies of the fungi and mosses growing on them bright in his mind. Rocks and slopes, making him stumble and bruise. Thin plants, entangling his staff as he tried to walk past them, and the cries and movement of creatures he didn’t recognize.

Most of the time, he ignored it. Sometimes, rarely, he allowed himself to explore for a bit, growing tired fast. But on some days, it was all too much.

Today was such a day.

It was the faint burning on his right hand that was tugging at his nerves. He had stumbled, tried to catch himself, and slammed his hand into something sharp; thorns, or a splintered branch, or something else. He hadn’t bothered looking for it, trying to find out. He had been busy enough with finding the staff he had dropped during his fall.

It was a small wound. Since it was so fresh, it would be easy to heal, to let it vanish without a trace. Everything in him itched to stop, to sit down, to concentrate and take care of it, but he didn’t.

Because what if he couldn’t?

He could feel the aether again, the energy of life surrounding him. It calmed him, guided him. The forest could tell him where to find water, it could tell him where the sun would rise. It could tell him if he was alone or not. He was so glad to have this part of himself back, glad that leaving his home and his friends behind hadn’t been for nothing.

But he had never managed to shake off the memory of reaching for his energy, of finding nothing when he needed it so much. Of being unable to fix the pain that was tearing him apart. Of the souls in the aether assaulting him as he had tried to reach out for it under the Tiyatsin, only once, never again.

And if he tried, and if he still couldn’t heal, he wasn’t sure if it all had been worth it. He missed his friends so much. He missed his mentor’s soft voice, his calming touch, driving away the nightmares that still plagued him. He missed Lily’s energy and her wit, the way in which she had pulled him along, making him leave his mentor’s house, even on days when all he had wanted to do was curl up and cry.

He was so terribly lonely.

It had been two weeks at least since the last time he had met another kalani. A short encounter only, a hunter on their way to return home to the Tiyatsin. They had exchanged little more than pleasantries, before they had parted ways again. Caldyn missed it; to talk to people, to hear their voices, to feel their words’ meaning on his mind.

He had never minded being alone for long parts of the day, even preferred it. The silence of his own thoughts, not disturbing him when he listened to the aether. But there was a difference between picking solitude, knowing that all he had to do was follow the path back to the village, and being completely alone in the jungle of the Wilds.

It wasn’t only other kalani he missed. He missed a sense of home, too. A place to return back to at the end of the day, a place he knew, where everything was familiar. Where he could reach for the cup of water, always at the same spot. Where he could place his staff, knowing that he would find it again. Where he could lie down and rest, not having to wonder whether it was safe, whether there were any creatures around that could harm him.

And if he wouldn’t be able to heal, wouldn’t get all of his magic back, now that he was so far away from his people, then he might as well have stayed.

Caldyn sighed, stumbling again, lost in his thoughts. This time, he caught himself easily, but he noticed that his knee started to hurt. He knew he could go on a bit longer, ignore it for a while; he also knew that he shouldn’t, should rest instead. A part of him didn’t want to, wanted to continue on until he was too exhausted to walk further, until he could curl up and fall asleep, not thinking about anything.

For once, he didn’t listen to that part. As soon as the ground under his bare feet felt nice, dried leaves, half rotten already and soft to the touch, he paused. Wait, he sent the little dog a thought, a simple, pure meaning through the aether. The padding of tiny feet stopped, then resumed, coming towards him, before soft, cool leaves brushed against his leg. Caldyn smiled.

He searched with his staff until he found the trunk of a large tree, the bark rough, the roots so old, they had lifted the ground. Beneath this tree, he found a spot to sit, sliding his hands across the forest floor. He liked to sit close to trees, to place his things next to their roots, making sure he’d be able to find them again. It wasn’t comfortable to rest for longer with his weapons tied to the rope around his hip, or the bags hanging next to them.

He listened for a moment, to the silence of the forest that wasn’t silent at all. The soft rustling of leaves in the wind, distant cries of birds, the cracking of branches, the calls of animals. Some of the sounds awoke pictures in his mind, and some didn’t, but none of them spoke of danger. He untied the canteen from his belt and took a sip, before he placed it with his other things. He’d have to find water again, soon, but it wasn’t urgent yet, and he didn’t worry about it. The forest would provide for him, like it always had.

The little dog whined, finally begging for attention, after having waited oh so patiently for Caldyn to settle down fully. He laughed quietly as he extended his arms, feeling the leaves snuggle against his hands as the dog climbed onto his lap. Stroking the soft leaves and letting the tender ears glide through his fingers, Caldyn was thankful to have his little friend at his side. In all honesty, he didn’t think he would have managed to leave his home without it.

Leaning back against the tree, Caldyn let his thoughts drift. Brushing his fingers through the dog’s leaves calmed him, as it always did, slowly taking his restlessness away. He sighed, leaning his head back as well.

“I’m a coward, don’t you think?”

Caldyn could feel how the dog pricked its ears, listening to words it didn’t understand. It might have been a kind of kalani, but its mind was still that of a normal dog, that much Caldyn had figured out quickly. Perhaps it was for the better. The little creature had recovered quickly from its ordeal, showing no signs that it remembered any of it on most days. There was a certain wariness towards strangers, though, when it would stick close to Caldyn, hiding behind him. Caldyn didn’t grow tired of assuring it that it was safe with him, that he would protect it — and he would.

“You’re surely hungry, aren’t you?”

The words were only for himself, a thought followed by a single meaning — eating? He could feel the dog’s excitement in the meaning behind his quiet whimpers and in the way its tail brushed his thighs.

“All right.”

He laughed, bending to the side, searching for his bag next to the roots. It was a bit hard to open the bag with only one hand, but he had to keep the other on the dog, petting its ears, or it would scramble all over him to dig its nose into the bag. Caldyn took out a little root, brushing his thumb over it to make sure it was the right piece he was holding. Rough, circular lines, an almost smooth surface with little feathery bits sticking out, the whole thing cut into the length of his longest finger.

“Here you go.”

He held it in front of the dog, who took it carefully from his hands, then slid off his lap to sit next to him, chewing on the root.

While the dog was eating, Caldyn put the bag back, then leaned against the tree again, cradling his hand. It didn’t even hurt that much. He didn’t think anything that could happen to him out here could ever hurt as much as what he had been through. But it was annoying, burning when he moved his hand to let his staff wander, reminding him with every step that there was this little injury, that he should heal it.

“Coward.”

He wasn’t sure if the dog was still listening to him, and it didn’t really matter, did it? For a moment, he wondered if he should speak out all his thoughts, but he wasn’t that desperate yet.

He should just try it. Even if it didn’t work right away, that wouldn’t mean it would never work again. Perhaps he’d have to learn again. Perhaps he’d never be as good a healer as before, but he would surely be able to heal something, wouldn’t he? He’d never find out if he didn’t try.

Taking a deep breath, ignoring the knot in his stomach and the trembling of his hands, Caldyn tried to reach out for his magic. He knew it was there, he had been feeling it from the moment he had dared to open himself to the aether again. The life within him, so similar to the life that was surrounding him, yet so much more familiar. He smiled at its warmth. Then he reached for it, holding his breath for one, two endless seconds, unsure if it would follow his call.

But it did.

It flowed into his fingers, like it always had, warm and invigorating. He raised his left hand, turning it in front of his face, imagining the black mists that would rise from it as he released the tiniest bit of this energy. It obeyed his will, followed his touch. He could feel it.

From one moment to the next, all the doubts were gone. This was what he was, a healer, the magic a part of him, so deeply ingrained, neither the Scourge, nor the Ceodh, nor the voices in the aether could ever destroy it. Without thinking about it, he placed his left hand on his right, stroking over the tear on its back. He barely felt the pain as he started to heal, as he guided torn vines and bark to grow back where they belonged. For the longest time he hadn’t been sure if not seeing the wound would be a problem, but now he found that it wasn’t. He only needed to feel it, to feel the structures in his hand, torn apart, now slowly mending, until they felt right again.

When he was done, he sat still, cradling his hand, stroking over the back of his right with the thumb of his left. He couldn’t feel the wound anymore, could only feel the old scars, where his hand had been ripped apart by the sword in the lair of the Ceodh. Hesitating, he let go of his energy, let it settle again deep within himself; knowing that he could call on it any time, but needing some minutes to truly believe it.

Then, finally, he relaxed. His shoulders were shaking when his tension left him, and he leaned back against the tree, opening and closing his right hand over and over again. There was a pressure in his head, behind his eyes. Caldyn knew it came from tears, unable to be released anymore. He lifted his other hand to his head, pressing against it with a quiet noise. For once those weren’t tears of despair or pain, and the noise carried a multitude of emotions, perhaps a bit too heavy to be called joy.

The dog made a questioning sound, pushing against his leg, and Caldyn lowered his left hand to scratch its head.

“I’m fine,” he whispered, meaningless words for the creature, but not for himself. Because for once, those words were really true. He was fine, he really was. Perhaps next time, he would try to reach for the forest’s energy, too, just to see if he could still use them. He almost dared to believe he could. But even if he couldn’t, even if all he’d have to work with in the future was his own energy, he was a healer again. For the first time in so long, he felt like himself again.

“I was just a coward,” he explained, tracing the leaves on his little friend’s head.

The dog sighed contently, leaning into his touch, and Caldyn smiled.

[ID: The top image is a banner showing red, glowy plants. Across it is written the title of the story, Thorns & Jasmine, in a bright to dark green gradient. The letters are slightly thorny looking. All other images in this post are purely ornamental lines. End ID.]

Aaaaand we’ve reached Arc 4!

Tagging: @dont-touch-my-soup​​ @whump-cravings​​​

[dulcetash]

In Which I Claw Off My Blinders So That I May Examine Them

So, I’ve been having a high old time with Dracula Daily, and I’m learning fascinating new things along the way.  A dear friend shared how formative Jonathan Harker’s May 16th entry in Dracula had been for her from earliest memory, in response to my reblog of this post, wherein I’d encountered an enlightening, new-to-me definition of “swoon.”

Her words led me to confront something about myself that has been creeping around the edges of my brain for awhile.  I’m truly bothered by my lack of awareness and lack of-, of impressionability, in my own youth, to this kind of formative influence.  To put it bluntly, I am a basic, basic bitch.

I started to respond on the original post, but my thoughts rapidly spun out in a way that would derail that post’s thesis, so I’m giving them their own space here.  I rarely share of myself in public this way, but it seems necessary tonight. So here is my reply:

... it’s a fantastic passage.  And the first time I read it, probably when I was in my 20s, it went right over my head.  So many things that I’m now finally learning to see as queer-coded, or even just sexually coded, were a gigantic blind spot for me until, well, pretty much my 40s (likewise, some of these meta posts on DD are teaching me to see anti-semitic coding that I had NO IDEA about: separate issue, same source).  And this “bit of well-known shorthand,” with regard to swooning?  It certainly wasn’t known by me, AND I WAS AN ENGLISH MAJOR.  

All those jokes you see today about those dense heteronormative scholars who say, “these women who wrote about the joys of undressing each other, you must understand it was merely a form of social bonding that indicated emotional closeness and the discomfort of corsetry, blah blah blah...” I have been that dense reader for most of my life.  My own formative coming-of-age literature went from Beverly Cleary and Laura Ingalls Wilder and Louisa May Alcott and even friggin’ Sweet Valley High, directly to rapey 80’s bodice-rippers and Stephen King.  There was no transition or middle ground between tender/sweet/romantic/sexless and titillating/explicit/traumatic.  And for whatever reason, I never thought to imagine any.

In that Jane Eyre podcast I’ve been listening to, one of the hosts mentioned Rochester’s threat to rape Jane, and I was like, *record scratch* -wait WHAT?  She referred to this:

“Jane! will you hear reason?' (he stooped and approached his lips to my ear) 'because, if you won't, I'll try violence.”

And I… I never thought about what that meant.  I was raised without physical violence (thank god), but I was also raised to feel that a man being angry at me was the most terrifying possible circumstance.  I never once imagined what the anger might lead to; the anger itself was The Bad Thing to be avoided.  So if I HAD been asked to imagine what form Rochester’s violence might take, it would have been, like, hurling crockery or some similar tantrum.  Jane Eyre fell into the tender/sweet/romantic/sexless category for me, so anything else was literally unthinkable. 

Later, In the same scene, he gets more explicit:

"Never," said he, as he ground his teeth, "never was anything at once so frail and so indomitable. A mere reed she feels in my hand!" (And he shook me with the force of his hold.) "I could bend her with my finger and thumb: and what good would it do if I bent, if I uptore, if I crushed her? Consider that eye: consider the resolute, wild, free thing looking out of it, defying me, with more than courage--with a stern triumph. Whatever I do with its cage, I cannot get at it--the savage, beautiful creature! If I tear, if I rend the slight prison, my outrage will only let the captive loose. Conqueror I might be of the house; but the inmate would escape to heaven before I could call myself possessor of its clay dwelling-place. And it is you, spirit--with will and energy, and virtue and purity--that I want: not alone your brittle frame. Of yourself you could come with soft flight and nestle against my heart, if you would: seized against your will, you will elude the grasp like an essence--you will vanish ere I inhale your fragrance. Oh, Jane! come, Jane, come!"

And STILL.  I’m like, yeah, Rochester’s a drama-llama all right, he imagines that tearing her chest open to get at her spirit might just be a fresh alternative to locking her in his attic, what a character.  It never occurred to me that he was thinking, “I could sexually compromise her, and then she’d be ruined and have no choice but to stay with me.”  It’s not like you even have to squint to see it, I just… had these huge blinders.  

For fuck’s sake, I’m one of those sweet summer children who thought for way too long that “Netflix and Chill” literally meant to relax and watch movies together.  Thank god I was never really on the dating scene; I thought “inviting someone up for coffee” was literally an invitation to sit around and drink coffee and converse about life.  In a previous century I’d have been that ditz nerding out over the chance to see etchings.  I NEVER KNEW ABOUT THE SEX CODE.

I find that I am angry and disappointed in the culture that raised me not to see, much less analyze, various forms of physical desire.  This culture was also deeply homophobic, not in an openly hostile or aggressive sense, but in a true “fear of” sense that manifested as nobody talking about it.  Ever.  Sometimes there were hushed whispers, quickly shut down by firm denials.  It was just weird.  Not a reason to be MEAN to someone, oh no, but as a default, Don’t Think About It; it’s an embarrassing affliction, and it’s not polite to point.  So I didn’t.  And what you don’t think about, you don’t see.  

But I also find that I am angry and disappointed in myself, about my own lack of curiosity about all of those locked doors.  About my own complacency - complicity? - in Not Thinking About Things.  As I became an adult and started to encounter People On the Internet who avidly DID think about queer romance, I was perplexed by all of these folks who seemed so determined to see things in media that - *tsk* - just weren’t there.  “People can love and care about each other without it being SEXUAL,” I’d think, because for me, the sweetest, least-problematic examples of love in media had always culminated in a kiss. And apparently, I need things explicitly spelled out.  I mean, clearly, who I am today versus who I was 20 years ago means I can learn and evolve, but also, clearly, I am the walking cautionary tale on Why Representation Matters.

*sigh*  Without knowing the code, I’ve missed out on so much.  And my own self-concept has been stunted.  Once I’m done processing and mourning that, I can look forward to rediscovering old literary and cinematic favorites through a more enlightened lens.  No wonder Wizard of Oz and rainbows are queer touchstones.  It’s like seeing colors after a greyscaled lifetime of dismissing them as a vanishingly rare phenomenon.

[accidentalsoravoice]

Shameless Fanfic Plug

So I write fanfiction in my free time, and I've talked a bit about my Genshin crossover fics, mainly A Link to Eternity and What a Real Heart Feels Like. But today I want to bring up my main fanfic, and the one that got me into writing. I've scrapped and discontinued the original version of the fic and I'm working on a rewrite currently. (The rest of this is under the cut if you don't want to bother reading this, just for the sake of not taking up all the space in someone's scrolling feed).

The title is More Than Just a Shield Re:Written.

The "Re:Written" is for the new version that I'm writing, since the old version fucking sucked (in my defense I was new to fanfic writing at the time).

Basically, the premise is that it's centered around an OC (original character) of mine - Aris Atreides. He and his twin sister, Loretta, are descendants of Hyrule's royal family, as well as the last of their kind after the Yiga Clan launched an unexpected, kingdom-wide attack that wiped out all of Hyrule's people except the Atreides twins. The twins traveled Hyrule in search of survivors, and along the way some stuff happened. Aris lost his arm and Loretta used her Sheikah know-how to build him a prosthesis which is powered by Aris's very soul (in the form of "Soul Energy" based on the green ghost hand thing in Tears of the Kingdom), they found the Master Sword and Aris discovered he was its chosen Hero, and they discovered gateways to other worlds. They separated and traveled from world to world on their own personal journeys, thwarting evil whenever they encountered it (all of this is set a few millennia after the events of Breath of the Wild, and since I came up with this whole thing before Tears of the Kingdom was as big as it is, for all intents and purposes it's in an alternate timeline during which TotK never happened).

One such adventure leads Aris to the kingdom of Melromarc, and throws him into the events of The Rising of the Shield Hero. He's summoned as the "Shield Hero" (replacing Naofumi Iwatani) though he can still use the Master Sword. Similar stuff happens to the show, he befriends Myne/Malty/Bitch, is betrayed and left with basically nothing but his clothes and sword, you know the drill. Then he finds a Demi-Human slave girl running from her master, a slave trader, who sends a small domesticated dragon after her. Aris saves the runaway slave and takes her to safety. The slave girl is, of course, Raphtalia, who's 17 in the fanfic for...reasons that'll come up later down the line.

That's all the story I'm gonna share here, but the other premise is that other characters appear and join Aris's party. He reunited with Loretta, hatches Filo like Naofumi did in the anime/light novel, and characters from other fandoms join his party later, too. One particularly influential fandom in the story is Kingdom Hearts.

But yeah, sorry for my rambling, that's my main fic. Read it if you wanna. Here's a cover I made for the Fanfiction.net version:

I would have commissioned some art of Aris or something, but I decided to do the easy thing and take pngs of stuff and put them together in Google Slides. There's elements from almost every fandom in the crossover: the Ouroboros from the logo of Tears of the Kingdom (Zelda), the other 3 Legendary Weapons (Shield Hero), the planet from the Smash Bros. logo of Earthbound (Earthbound/Mother 2), the planet/meteor looking thing from the logo of Final Fantasy VII (Final Fantasy VII), Sora's Keyblade (Kingdom Hearts), and Joker's mask (Persona 5). As another Kingdom Hearts reference, I kinda tried to arrange the TotK Ouroboros with the Earthbound and FFVII planets to look like Mickey Mouse. The background is also from Tears of the Kingdom.

[rabbitcruiser]

International Cheetah Day

They are mother nature’s precision, high-performance machine, designed to do one job and to do it with incredible skill and effectiveness. They can accelerate faster than a Ferrari, tearing up the ground from 0-75 mph in just 3 seconds, and they come with a self-grown paint-job that would make the fanciest of muscle cars blush with envy. That’s right, we’re talking about the Cheetah!

International Cheetah Day celebrates these incredible animals while raising awareness about their threat of extinction. So get ready to enjoy Cheetah Day!

History of International Cheetah Day

As founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), Dr. Laurie Marker chose to commemorate Khayam, a cheetah she raised at the Wildlife Safari that she ran in Oregon, by establishing December 4th as International Cheetah Day in his memory.

Khayam served as part of an important experiment that helped in determining whether or not captive Cheetahs can be taught to hunt and live in the wild on their own after being in captivity. After a trip to Namibia, the experiment was proven successful. However, Dr. Marker and Khayam still returned home following the experiment, after observing that local hunters were eliminating wild cheetahs as a threat to their livelihood.

Driven by this encounter, Dr. Marker decided to move to Namibia to help heal the rift between farmers and the majestic cheetah. It was in 1990 that she founded the CCF. Cheetahs are incredible animals, being the fastest land mammal in the wild today.

Sadly, though the numbers used to be significantly higher, there are only 8,000 of these creatures left in the wild today, a number that leaves them as Africa’s most endangered feline. Cheetahs hold their position as the world’s fastest land mammal, thanks to some tricks that have perfectly adapted them for high speed.

The cheetah’s full running speed is so fast that their feet only touch the ground once every 6 to 7 meters, and their muscular tail helps to steer them like a rudder at these high speeds. Needless to say, once a cheetah has prey in their sites, there’s no running away!

How To Celebrate International Cheetah Day

Celebrating International Cheetah Day is meant to not only be fun, but also educational. It’s an important day to raise awareness for wildlife, so try out some of these ideas to honor the day:

Learn All About Cheetahs

First, this is the perfect day to learn everything possible about these amazing animals. Try out these ideas for getting more involved in the world of cheetahs:

Watching documentaries is a fascinating way to learn about the plight of these beautiful creatures. A few options are available, including Running for Their Lives, Cheetah: Against All Odds, or the BBC’s Cheetah Family & Me.

Attend a variety of functions held on International Cheetah Day at various local zoos.

Read books about cheetahs to children, whether buying them or borrowing them from the local library. These might include titles such as How Many Spots Has a Cheetah Got? by Steve Martin; Oshok and the Cheetah by Arjun Dhol; or the amazing photography book, Remembering Cheetahs by Wildlife Photographers United.

Host an International Cheetah Day Party

Get some friends, family or coworkers together and host a party that means something! Use a cheetah theme and have decorations resembling the cheetah spots or also a jungle theme. When guests arrive, give them all headbands with cheetah ears on them to wear at the party. Serve snacks along the theme, such as Cheetos Paws or make a decorate a cheetah cake. Finally, for the evening’s entertainment, watch a cheetah documentary (listed above).

Don’t forget to make the party into a fundraiser by asking guests to bring a donation with them, or getting some gifts ahead of time that can be used to create a fundraising auction. While there, invite everyone to sign up for Cheetah Conservation Fund newsletters so they can stay informed.

Help with Cheetah Conservation

Once a new (or growing!) appreciation for these high-speed mammals has been developed, it’s time to start finding ways to help with their conservation. Many valuable and credible organizations have been striving to make a change for the better for these animals. Join in by volunteering or making a donation to one of these groups:

Cheetah Conservation Fund This organization (mentioned above) was founded in Namibia in 1990. Their website offers many options for education and donating, as well as purchasing resources that support the animals. In addition to simply making a donation, friends can actually sponsor a cheetah, whether monthly or for a full year.

African Wildlife Foundation Committed to protecting animals all over the continent of Africa, the AWF has been working toward solutions related to building communities and avoiding human-wildlife conflict.

Big Cat Conservation An organization in the UK, this group supports projects that help a variety of Big Cats around the world.

Spread the Word About International Cheetah Day

Getting the community involved with saving the cheetahs is ideal when it’s combined with efforts from the local zoo. People who live in a place where their local zoo doesn’t have an International Cheetah Day celebration, might decide to contact them and see what can be done to arrange one, even volunteering to help run it if need be!

The cheetah is known for being incredibly fast, but with your help, together we can slow down its extinction.

Source

[what-if-nct]

Hiii I’ve had such a weird day today. So I’ve finally finished my gcses and I’ve got a massive holiday and idk what to do. I don’t feel real, nothings real. And honestly I feel like I might go feral or something. It’s only the first day of the holiday btw. I was seeing my dad but he was being super odd (like shaking and talking to people that aren’t there) and like also being embarrassing and other stuff so I went to the bathroom and decided to just leave without telling him. I legged it and ran and I felt so free omg. Like no one was stopping me and I didn’t care what I looked like or what the consequences were I was just running. Got home and he came and apparently he was gonna call the police. He left. Came back an hour later and asked me to do a tarot reading for him which was really random and it said that there’s just been some conflict in his life and he needs to listen more to the thoughts and needs of his child. Also it was this guy I was talking to two months ago’s birthday. I texted him happy birthday and he sent a video and honestly just his voice was such an ick. And then I started thinking like why did I try and get with him when I could’ve gotten with another guy who has a more exciting personality, a year older, seems nicer and isn’t a drunken whore. But no I thought oh he lives in London and my dad’s gonna be weird it will be easier to get the original guy. Why did I think that? Why did I go with the easier option? Aside from being tall he completely lacks purpose. Anyways just his voice grossed me out and I starting making a ramen imagining it was his head boiling and I was happily smiling as I stirred it. (Was nice ramen). Also other little things but overall weird first day of the holidays. I’m not gonna be surprised if I go into something that’s similar to a manic episode but it’s chill it’s part of the plot. 6/10

I hope you’re having a good day ✨🌸

Hii, Oh that is quite a whirlwind of the day. I completely understand that nothing's real almost void feeling and you just want to feel anything and do something I get that completely. I think if you can , it'd be a great thing to try to redirect that into a fun outlet. I'm glad you at least felt that freedom and you were able to give your dad some insight and hopefully it was a message he took to heart and he amends the conflict. Oh the realization that someone you essentially settled for was quite literally the worst person. Oh honey been there. Yeah settling for the easiest option or the one who is just there always just kinda ends up like that. Yeah it's never worth it to settle, always go for the one you truly want and never less. And that is a great way to get over that ugh feeling towards someone.

My day was fine, i learned about the human design chart, it's like astrology but times 1000. It's so fascinating. And so many things make sense. Like I've been trying to figure out why I've been in my friend's words too wild and free the past year and it's because I've been stagnant which doesn't align with my life path which is why I was trying to shake that stagnation up any and every way possible. And after a really bad encounter this past week where I've been around someone so void of energy that I couldn't read them, I was near tears in the car cause I felt such a lack of energy or feeling and it was just this heavy icky cold feeling that was the opposite of someone else who I felt just warm and safe around. my friend said he sounded like an energy vampire. And today I actually chose myself over wanting to just do anything. It's small but a really big step for me. Well I hope tomorrow is a much less weird day and you do something fun and have a happy experience. Just a do over to the beginning of your holiday.

[aetheternity]

So sweet, just for me

Synopsis: Just some stories where reader takes care of Virgin! Armin.

Disclaimer: Unprotected sex, blowjobs, Sub Armin and sexually experienced Y/N are all present in this. Minors exit now.

☆☆Just Summer Things☆☆

Sweat coursed down the expanse of every inch of your body. Or maybe it was water you weren't really sure. A set of carefully trimmed nails shivered and shook beside your head, digging into the grimy tree bark. Locks of sun kissed blonde hair stuck to parts of your neck, face and collarbone as you coaxed Armin's breathing down. Forehead resting uncomfortably against the bark and your ass firmly seated against his hips.

"How do you feel sweet boy?"

"I-I.." He panted, pulling his face back a little. Blue doe eyes full of lust and the sweet shine of tears.

His cock currently pressed delicately against your g-spot during what started out as a normal water balloon fight. Between the boys and the girls of course. You guys had all come out during late afternoon, Sasha and Connie started tossing water balloons and teams formed accordingly.

At some point you'd run off to what you thought was a safe zone only to find Armin perched in the bushes. Contemplation etched into his soft features.

"Move slowly ok." You encourage. You were surprised by how big he was sure but the warning was more so this could last for a while.

He nodded where you were still holding the back of his head. His nails cautiously unlatching from the tree moving instead to sink into the fat of your hips while at the same time his once snugly nestled cock began to move. The sweet drag forcing your toes to curl and your eyes to shut. A small exhale cresting off your lips.

A breathy moan fell from his trembling lips as he pulls you in closer. Wrapping his arms around your waist and squeezing around you like a lifeline.

You'd met Armin only two years ago through Jean and continued to crush on him for the entirety of those two years. Until today when he'd admitted to you that he was a little ashamed of being a virgin while consistently having to listen to Eren, Connie and Jean's conquests.

You told him they were probably lying about at least half of those stories but it only got you a small smile. So you decided to do him one better and offer to take his virginity.

It wasn't selfish. It was a win win. He would receive a conquest story to tell and you would get what you'd been craving since you'd first seen him in Jean's apartment shirtless and trying to help fix the messed up drain.

"Feels good?" You chuckle huskily

"Oh my God.." He huffs into your skin. 

His hips worked themselves up a little faster. A slightly clumsy pace forming but he was new at this so you weren't mad.

"Armin slow down baby, I don't want you to get ahead of yourself."

"I-i'm sorry.. j-ust feels amazing.."

One of his hands hesitantly snaked up your shirt. Skittish in the way he palmed at your breast. Though he quickly eased up when you replied to the affection with a little mewl.  

It felt surprisingly amazing for you as well. Considering the situation and the fact that Armin had never done this with anyone. This really was his first time.. What a weird thing to tell people. My first time was at a water balloon fight against a tree.

You hummed when the pleasure started to sit in your stomach. Legs trembling a bit as he pumped inside you a little faster. Any other time you would've just thrown your head back and relaxed, especially since his dick was so perfectly filling right now but-

"Armin, slow down." Your breathing was a little raspy.

He replied with a whimpery moan, thighs shaking against your sides. You reached an arm around grabbing his hips with your hand to slow them. It seemed to catch his attention because those soft doe eyes were wide.

"You'll get to cum baby I promise you, ease up a bit it's not a race." He nodded in affirmation and you smiled warmly.

Silk strands warm under your guided fingers as he pulled all the way out and slowly eased back in. A collective united moan exiting both your mouths. You'd shut your eyes but they worked themselves back open at the almost unnoticeable twitch of his cock head.

Your favorite part.

"Mm baby so close.." You whisper, your lip coming to tuck itself under your teeth.

A small chorus of yes's and little gasps fall from his open mouth. His skin somehow easing out of tomato red and into surface of the sun red.

You pull him close making sure his eyes were open. "I need you to cum for me ok? But make sure no one hears you." You say, and fuck is it gorgeous watching him come undone. Just like you'd imagined so many times before.

The tears once welling in his eyes spilled over like a faucet. Choked moans and harsh gasps worked their way off his lips. One of his hands flew back up to the tree where his nails soon dug the bark clean off. His hips stuttering through his entire orgasm. You were almost worried when his climax ended. The way he went silent except for his wild breathing.

"Armin?"

"Fuck.." He sighed

You couldn't help but giggle. "How was your first time?"

He gasps and rolls his eyes still stuck in euphoria. When he pulls out you take the opportunity to turn around. Working your panties up over your hips and pulling your fluttery skirt back down.

"Please, please let me do that again sometime.." He huffs finally managing words. You bring his lips to yours in a chaste kiss that honestly doesn't last long enough for you.

"Only if you promise to stay my good boy." You reply pulling his shorts up till they rest comfortably on his hips.

"I promise." He remarks, almost too eager. "Oh! Wait you didn't get to c-"

"Hey, where did you guys go?" Armin practically separates from his skin as Connie and Jean round the corner. Water guns tucked in their grasp.

"When did you guys get those?" You asked nonchalantly.

Jean shrugged, "We made the game more interesting."

Connie shook his head running back around the corner as Sasha's battle cry sounded.

"Hurry and get back we need you out there Armin." And with that Jean was gone too.

You picked up Armin's discarded water balloon, placing it in his open palm. "See you out there, lover boy."

☆☆Showing Armin how to do Yoga☆☆

"Why's Armin coming over here so early again?" Sasha asked rolling over onto her side. The bag of cotton candy once perched on her thighs flopping over and nearly spilling its contents.

"To do Yoga!" You replied with a laugh sitting the bag upright next to her.

She groaned dramatically. "But it's six thirty am on a Saturday."

"No one told you to get up with me." You remark, pushing the coffee table to the edge of the room.

She holds her once displaced bag up for you to see. "It was calling out to me." She sighs, hugging it to her chest.

A knock on the door takes your concentration. As you pull it open you call back to her, "Well since you're up, you might as well join us."

"Nope!" She quickly scurries away with a wave of her hand. Cotton candy stuffed under her arm.

You shut the door behind Armin as he stares down the hall that Sasha had disappeared down. Your grin is bright almost devilish as it slowly spreads across your face.

"Seems like it's just the two of us." You mutter, loud enough for him to hear.

You watch as he thickly gulps with a nod. Bite able Adam's apple bouncing but you pretend you don't notice. Your mat is already laid out on the floor but you can't stop yourself from bending over to smooth out the corners. Barely paying attention to Armin until you hear a small cough or maybe him choking it's not very clear.

He's holding his mat in his arms defensively across his chest. Silk strands of blond hair fluttering when he blinks. His cheeks a beautifully vibrant pink.

"I-I wanted to th-thank you.." He says, blue eyes trained where they stared at your mat. "For.. the- um.." He gestures and you can't help but giggle.

"The sex?"

Now his eyes find you. Blown wide as his pink lips part over a word that never succeeds in leaving his mouth. Your feet pat over the floor as you close the distance between the two of you. His cheeks warm under your delicate grasp and you hold his face almost as though you're sure he'll shatter.

"You're so cute, please never change."

You're almost scared it sounds condescending but the soft rosy color trudging up to the tips of Armin's ears says he doesn't agree.

You turn back to your mat with a smile but just before you sit on it you add, "And you never have to thank me for sex, I'd do it with you anytime."

He nods once as if responding to you and then twice as if he's confirming that you did indeed say what he heard. The soft plap of his mat on the floor reminding you of what you were both here for.

"Ok, let's begin then." You take a deep breath, adjusting the scrunchie holding your hair in place. "First we wanna stretch alright, so I just need you to reach up above your head with both hands and reposition your feet."

You demonstrate using yourself and Armin awkwardly copies. Slender fingers curling towards the sky as he slowly relaxes his shoulders. You can't help but let your mind wander a little as a glint of light flickers off the steel rings decorating three of his gorgeous digits.

You had fingered yourself last time the two of you were together and now you were craving him. Wondering what the warmth of just one of those inside you would feel like.

"Spread your legs more." You encourage, meanwhile it nearly has Armin doubling back. "Dirty boy." You tease

You stand in front of him gently kicking his legs apart. Easy enough. And he responds to every bit of your touch like he craved you too.

And well you wanna tell yourself that you had actually had completely innocent intentions when you'd invited Armin over here today. He genuinely had never done Yoga before and you knew Sasha was gonna be here. So yeah, you'd love to say you wanted nothing but to relax Armin in this encounter.

But you couldn't even keep a straight face while thinking it.

"Can you bend your knees a little?" He squats, carefully coming back up. Arms reaching out on both sides as you coaxed him. "A little lower sweetie." You say as his ass hovers inches over the mat.

And oh to be the mat.

You step back until you're completely back on your mat. "I'm sure your arms are tired, you can put them down now." You wave him off and he lets out a smooth exhale. "Feel relaxed yet?"

"A little." He replies with a confident smile.

"Then you're ready for the next part." You clap "I need you to bend over and touch your toes alright."

He shuts his eyes, pretty lips parting over your choice of words. What you wouldn’t give right at this second to be a mind reader. His back arches, ankles locking together as you demonstrated. "Good, good boy. Back straight." You sink your thumb into his black athletic shirt to touch his spine. And he hardens with your touch. "Don't be shy, it's just me." You mutter, breath heavy.

Fuck! Touching his back muscles this up close and personal made you wanna sink your nails into them. Leave lines up and down his soft supple skin as a mark that you'd always be his first. No one else would ever get that privilege. 

"I-I.."

Shit.

"Ok, you can stand."

You pretend not to notice the way he shifts his sweats as he stands. This time you vow to actually stay on your mat.

"You should know this position." Your legs spread on one end of the mat while your hands came down to lay flat near the opposite end. "Try it."

Carefully he gets into the position you're currently doing but not without peaking at your figure. His blond hair dipping towards the mat and you can't help but smile at how cute he looks.

"Now we're gonna slowly curve our bodies down until our pelvis touches the floor." You say, head curving up toward the ceiling. For once Armin has immediate trouble, hips dangling weirdly over the ground. His arms trying and failing to steady himself.

"What's the matter? Wanna try a different position?"

"N-no it's nothing.."

You plop down on your mat, crossing your legs and gesturing for him to do the same and even without his reluctance you already know what's wrong. He slowly but surely rotates his hips, spreading his legs. His hardened dick print on full display.

You don't even try to hide the slow slither of your tongue wetting your lips. You quickly turn your head before crawling your way over to a very very flushed Armin. Sweat glistening perfectly over his pale skin.

"W-wait Sasha!" He panics, his arms flailing a bit as he backs up slightly.

"Shh it's ok, she definitely fell back asleep the second she went back in her room." You reply crawling towards him again.

"But you know I c-can't keep q-uiet. Wh-what if she h-hears!"

Your hands inched past his now loosened sweats to gently squeeze his hardened cock through his boxers. Both his hands flew to his mouth giving you a new gorgeous view of those pretty rings.

His eyes roll unfocused with every sweet glide of your hand. Tears already starting to brim along the edges of his warm eyes.

“Do you always wear those rings for physical activities or is it just for me?” 

“I-I just forgot to take them off..” 

“Did you?” You can tell your smile is shitty. Just from the way his eyes dart away from yours "You've never been blown either have you?" You ask getting back on topic.

"N-no." It's a muffled response but it hits your ears loud and clear.

"Another story for the growing journal then." You tease

You honestly can't help yourself. Lips curving and confining his tip like a vise. Precum salty where it stains your tongue. His gasp bouncing off the wall so elegantly. So fucking perfect. But even though Sasha is a heavy sleeper you were still worried she'd wake up before you finished.

So as much as you wanted to tease.

"Can I pull these down baby? I know your dick wants some relief."

He complies, oddly quickly. And you pull his sweats and boxers down just enough to hug the tops of his thighs. 

And his dick is gorgeous. You hadn't actually seen it before but fuck was it pretty, standing tall and leaking before you.

You inch forward spit dribbling from your lips to be collected in the hand that was working his slender shaft. It had Armin's hips bucking up to greet you. His sweet whines egging you on.

And slowly but surely.... "Oh my fucking god."

It was an adjustment. Not as smooth as you would've liked because of the weird angle but you'd taken a little more than half of his dick in your mouth. A mildly painful fit made up for by the angelic cries of Armin just above you.

"Pl-please.. oh God please.."

He couldn't tell what he wanted to hold, hands shifting to the top of your head, the floor and his rolled up sweats all in less than a minute. You swore you could hear his heartbeat through his chest every time you swallowed his cock again.

You wanted to speed ahead so bad, see him just as flustered as he had been last week when he had his cock buried deep inside your pussy but it was obvious he wasn't going to last long either way.

Disorganized syllables flooding off his lips with the occasional whimper of "thank you" and "yes". His throat heavy with every curse word he knew stuck in it. Breaths quick and uneven as you coaxed him down your throat. Vibrations coursing past your lips to meet his already sensitive sex.

"I-i'm.. gonna cum.. mmm soooo close! Gonna cum!"

His choked breaths fell over your forehead and in the next second he was emptying every bit of his stress into your mouth. Eyes clouded like Armin wasn't even in there anymore. And you drained him of every drop, reaching between his legs to squeeze his balls.

When you pulled off of him he let out a deep exhale. Body still shaking as he looked at you.

"Thank you so much." He grinned hazily

"God, I wanna be as many of your firsts as possible." You breathe out a laugh.

☆☆The one where Eren walks in☆☆

It wasn't often you came back to the same guy. Every now and then you had one night stands and that's all it ended up being. You'd always been fine with that.

But Armin made you stay. His shaky fingers, nervous tongue and tear stained cheeks so oddly addictive. Intoxicating in how innocent he stayed despite having two sexual encounters with you.

And now here you both were having your third in his bed. Bodies melded together in the heat of both your sweat. Eyes fixated on only each other as his head tilted up like a hungry baby bird to pull you back in every time you fled.

And you indulged him as much as possible because fuck he was the cutest thing. Your hands gliding over his back and up to his shoulders to pull him impossibly closer. Spine curving deliciously when he grazed over your g-spot.

"Armin.. there." You breathed

Your free hand slid between your bodies making space for those slender fingers to work over your clit.

"Flick it." You encouraged, he immediately did as he was told earning a moan of approval.

"Good boy." You hum, lip trembling where it curves under your teeth.

The once soft pink of his face deepened with the compliment. A little smile decorating his gorgeous features. Just another thing to add to your growing folder of mental images.

"There honey.. keep going." You cooed over the little whimper fluttering off his lips as you hugged his cock. "You remember that spot right? The one that you hit when we were outside?"

"Yeah.. I think it was.." His hips remained delicate as he slid right into place. One leg up as he slotted his cock inside you. Heat pooled in the lowest depths of your stomach with the hesitant prodding of his tip to your g-spot. Eyes curving up to yours for further instruction.

"Mmhm that's it.. hit it a little harder ok."

It was all sorts of clumsy but he rammed your g-spot full force. An apology made its way to his throat but eye contact and the choked gasp that left your mouth soon proved it wasn't needed. You spread your legs a little further for him and he grabbed your waist smoothly working your hips over his dick.

"You're doing so well." You giggled taking a hold of his face. "And you're holding out much longer this time."

"Y-yeah but I'm almost there.." He sighed, fingers working at your clit a little faster. Right in time with the faster tempo of his hips.

"Fuck, you feel soooo good." He drawls

His lips parted, eyes flying north. You hugged him a little tighter as his chest pushed you up and down with each thrust. The once gentle drag of your nails now much rougher. As you let it slip just how much you were enjoying this.

Let your mouth fall open for the words circling your brain. Stomach heavy as Armin fucked you with intention. You brushed beads of sweat back from his face. His hair going up with it, clumping together atop his head.

"Mm gonna cum.." He moaned, head lolling with the intensity of his full body tremor.

"Hey Armin-"

"Eren!" Armin nearly shot up as Eren pushed the door open with zero warning.

Armin's free hand stayed on your clit completely stagnant. Tip twitching inside you, he didn't even have time to cover his mouth. Moans and whimpers pouring out from his still parted lips. Every bit of your fifteen minute effort now seen and heard by Eren who stood in the doorway with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey Eren.." You greeted, pulling your hand away from your upturned lips. Meanwhile Armin's face is buried deep in your shoulder blade. Where you already assumed he'd be staying for the next hour.

"Uh huh.." Eren replied, slamming the door shut. "Mikasa, he's busy let's go!" You heard him call as his boots clicked down the hall.

You don’t say a word till you hear the front door open and close, “You ok?” 

“Any chance Eren didn’t hear that?..” He whispered 

“Not in hell or on Earth love.” 

‘Then no..” 

[jaskiersvalley]

Cookie Cutter Boyfriends

The bakery wasn't new to the area but Jaskier was constantly surprised by the variety of people who came and went. There were a couple of regulars but fewer than he'd anticipated. Some people he wished would come back, others he was glad to see go. However, the two beefcakes that just walked in, Jaskier prayed to any listening deity that they would be back repeatedly.

"What can I get you gents?" Jaskier asked with his most winning smile.

Eyes like molten honey scanned the selection and Jaskier wanted to tuck the strands of white hair behind the man's ear to see his face better.

"Cookies. The personalised ones."

"A fine choice," Jaskier trilled and pulled the tray out. "I can put any name or message on there for you. Even a phone number, if you want to give it to a special someone."

So maybe Jaskier was flirting and hoping for a number from the man for himself. But it seemed to fall on deaf ears.

"Write Eskel on one," the man said, carefully spelling out the name while the other smiled at him indulgently. It had Jaskier's heart fluttering at the sweetness.

"And what shall I put on yours?"

"You should put a heart on either side of Geralt's name," Eskel piped up with a snicker. He got an elbow in the ribs for it but didn't seem to mind.

Obliging, Jaskier did as told, curling the most perfect hearts he could onto the cookie. Done, he popped them in a box and put them on the counter by the till. "Anything else I can do for you today? Does your, uh, friend want anything?"

Geralt's eyes widened before saying, "He's my boyfriend."

Of course he was, the two looked beautiful together and Jaskier sighed internally. However, he couldn't help but note the look horror on Eskel's face. Hopefully he hadn't accidentally helped Geralt out himself and his boyfriend when they were trying to keep things a secret.

"Well, good for you both!" Jaskier mustered up a smile and nodded at the small rainbow flags by the till. "I sometimes do flag cookies if the mood strikes. Usually on a Friday."

The transaction was processed in silence and at speeds. Jaskier could only watch as the two bundled out of his bakery and, as soon as the door closed behind them, Eskel was asking Geralt something, face torn between despair and entertainment. If Jaskier could trust his lip reading, he could have sworn Geralt had said something along the lines of "I panicked, okay?".

Somehow, Geralt and Eskel became semi-regulars. They didn't pop in on a specific day each week but they were bound to appear either independently or with each other. Each time they did, Jaskier watched them with heart eyes. Eskel was broad, almost apologetically large but kind and gentle. He was quite the sight to behold but Jaskier had an even softer spot for Geralt who really looked like he needed to relax. So, whenever he came by alone, Jaskier slipped an extra cookie in his bag or asked him to be a taster for a newer cupcake flavour.

It was all going well until Geralt came into the bakery with someone new. Another well-built, handsome man but with a sharp edge to his energy. He made a beeline for the display case by the till.

"Please don't knock on the glass, it scares the muffins," Jaskier said by way of greeting and got a bark of a laugh.

"I'll be careful, don't you worry. It's Geralt you need to keep an eye on."

Which Jaskier diligently was. Well, he was checking out Geralt's backside. Tearing his gaze away, he cleared his throat.

"I'm glad Geralt has brought a friend along today."

"Friend?" The man stood up straight with a hand over his heart. "Geralt, what have you been telling people? I'm his boyfriend!"

Which just didn't compute. Geralt had called Eskel his boyfriend. The mild panic of figuring it out was interrupted by a low growl of "Lambert" that was both a threat and fond exasperation.

"What might people think?" Lambert cried out dramatically. "Are you ashamed of our love?"

A hand clamped on the back of Lambert's neck and Geralt stood next to him, not letting go. "Jaskier, a couple of dark chocolate and ginger cookies please and a tray of lemon muffins."

Hastily putting everything in boxes, Jaskier tried not to let his imagination go too wild. Maybe Eskel was Geralt's boyfriend but so was Lambert. It wasn't unheard of really. It gave hope to Jaskier that they might take a liking to him and invite him home for a wild night. He could only watch as they walked out and the first thing Geralt did was cuff Lambert on the back of the head.

Things only got more weird. The next time Geralt was in, he was trailed by another man. Lithe, seemingly on the edge of bursting out giggling and he made a beeline for the counter.

"You're Jaskier, right?" The man held a hand out. "I've heard so much about you! I'm Aiden, Geralt's boyfriend."

Face schooled into something carefully blank, Jaskier nodded. "A pleasure to meet you."

"I think the pleasure is all mine." The wink was followed by a blatant once over and a low whistle. In the background Geralt closed his eyes, jaw twitching as he visibly counted backwards from ten. This time Aiden was the one who asked for a dozen cookies with an array of pride flags on them, two of each, pan, bi, ace, nonbinary, trans and demi. Oddly, the polyamory one Jaskier had started making since meeting Geralt and his boyfriends was left unrequested. The two left and Jaskier rubbed at his temple, trying to figure out just how four incredibly attractive men had found happiness with each other.

Only a week later Jaskier was waiting for a customer to make up his mind. He was the most silently intense man Jaskier had ever encountered and he really wished he'd hurry up and leave. Alas, he was taking so long, looking over everything in the display cases like the choice was of the utmost importance.

"I'll take two cherry and almond slices."

Cutting said cake, Jaskier was relieved and hoped that once the man had gone, he'd not be back again. The sound of the bell above the door had him looking up and Geralt stood there, alone for once. However, he eyed the man by the counter with a closed off expression which remained as the man took his slices and walked past Geralt, shoulders brushing.

"Geralt.

"Cahir."

It was awkward and Jaskier tried not to pry. But curiosity won out. "Another boyfriend."

From the door Cahir laughed. "He wishes."

For a moment Geralt stared at the ground before squaring his shoulders. "They're not my boyfriend. They're dating Eskel."

Immediately Jaskier adjusted his internal monologue to reflect the new pronouns. Though what Geralt just said made no difference.

"Are they a paramour to your polycule?"

"No." Geralt shook his head firmly. "Cahir and Eskel are a couple. So are Lambert and Aiden."

Not understanding, Jaskier wet his lips and cast a glance around. His eyes landed on a familiar group on the sidewalk outside the shop, making no attempt to disguise the fact they were all watching. Cahir and Eskel were leaning shoulder to shoulder as they munched on their cake. Meanwhile Lambert leered and Aiden sent him a thumbs up.

"I'm not sure I understand," Jaskier said. "I thought you said they were all your boyfriends."

Feet shuffling on the spot, Geralt cleared his throat. "Lambert and Eskel are my brothers." Which made even less sense and Jaaskier hummed, desperately trying to understand without asking whether Geralt really just admit to being in an incestuous relationship.

"I'm not dating any of them."

But you said-"

"I panicked." Geralt was watching Jaskier intently. "You were cute, flirty and I panicked. I wanted to ask you out."

A giggle bubbled out of Jaskier. He couldn't quite wrap his head around it but that wasn't a problem in the moment.

"Well then, how about a personalised cookie, on the house?" He grabbed Geralt's favourite and, with a flourish, wrote his own name and number on it, dotting the 'i' with a heart. Handing it over, he smiled. "I told you these cookies were great for phone numbers."

Outside a cheer went up as Geralt's family decided that the outing had been a success.