#SlowBuild

[otakuashels]

✨ NEW CHAPTER ALERT ✨

Chapter 42 of Death's Kiss is LIVE! 🚨 This chapter brings us to a pivotal moment as Rook declares her freedom and takes control of her destiny. The world around her shatters and the fire within her ignites like never before. 🔥

Excerpt:

"Her body shook with the intensity of the moment, but she didn’t care. Her gaze pierced the shadowy remnants of the world around her. She was free, no longer their puppet."

“I will get everything I want. Or I will die trying”

________________________________________________________

The stakes are higher, the tension is palpable, and the characters are growing in ways we didn't expect. If you thought things were complicated before… just wait. 😏

As always, there's plenty of romance, angst, and some slow-burn development that will leave you wanting more. 💕

Rating: Explicit Warning: Canon-typical violence, explicit content, slow romance.

💬 Check out the chapter now! Act Two Chapter 18

If you’re already hooked, feel free to leave your thoughts, comments, and theories in the notes! Come scream with me about the old man!

Lovely Evie belongs to @starfleetteddybear

Bad Ass Lenore belongs to @opulentshits

[adafruit]

Desk of Ladyada - Slow Sunday Pokes 🔧🎧📦 https://youtu.be/mrvS-7-kkfM

Testing a PCM5122 I2S DAC, adding LEDs to the 8x solenoid driver, and prototyping a "USB CC Fixer" to charge a tricky baby monitor. Also we're on the hunt for a stereo I2S amp with 5W+ output.

[fanfictionforall]

Titel: The Marriage Decree Auteur: Delilah_Wise Fandom: Harry Potter Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger

Samenvatting:

When all eligible wizards and witches are forced to marry in order to increase the population after the war, neither of them thought they'd ever have a change at happiness again. Especially not with each other.

Link naar de Fanfictie: The Marriage Decree - Delilah Wise - Wattpad

[nofacedpoet]

Ch. 28: The Killers and the Saints (part one)

A purple shade cast over Eren’s face as he struggled to wiggle out of a headlock. There was no other way of shaking the man off because Eren’s hands were busy holding a second guy in front that held a knife and already got a slash on Eren’s left leg.

“I’m warning you!” The words barely left Ava’s mouth due to her shortness of breath. She held the rifle in her hands in such an awkward position that proved she’d never held one before. “Let him go! I don’t want to have to do this!” 

“It’s a bluff!” the man with the knife claimed as he tried to break from Eren’s grip. “Don’t let that boy go! Kill ‘em already!”

Ava’s eyes widened. She had gone her entire life thinking that there were always other solutions than killing. Not once had it ever crossed her mind that the day would arrive where she would have to cross that bridge of her own moral and belief system, killing herself in the process and becoming an entirely different person.

She blinked a few times to clear the tears in her eyes and tried to steady the shaking weapon in her hands. She swallowed the dryness in her throat and lifted the barrel of the gun to eye level. “I mean it,” her voice trembled. “Please.” 

“Do-it!” Eren’s voice weakened and his eyes could barely stay open. “Take the shot!”

She watched the end of the barrel shift aim from Eren, to the man in front, to the man behind, and then Eren again. I’m going to miss, I know it. I might even get Eren and miss the men entirely. 

Eren slightly opened his mouth to say something but she couldn’t hear it. Her ears were currently filled with the pounding of her heart that sounded like explosives going off. Black spots began to appear in different places of her vision and she swayed back and forth as her legs and arms grew weak and tingly. She was about to pass out. If I don’t take the shot at all, they’ll end up killing us both anyway. Her finger finally met with the trigger and she gave one last best attempt to aim at the man behind Eren. “I’m…sorry,” she whispered as a tear trickled down from her eye. Then she either closed her eyes or blacked out, she couldn’t really tell. 

BANG! Her eardrums erupted, causing her to fully wake from this state of fainting. A loud ringing followed after and her eyes shot open. The first thing she noticed were three bodies that laid across from her. The second thing were the small red puddles underneath their bodies that diffused into one giant one. 

A thin stream escaped and hastily headed in her direction, pointing blame and reminding her of the inevitable guilt that she could never run from now. Her boots separated and she watched it drift between them, passing under her, and into her shadow of a person that she couldn’t recognize. 

*****

A light whistle sang through the air as a cool gust of wind flew by. Orange, yellow, and red leaves danced across the pavement before flying upwards, swirling around each other so freely, then skipping across a rooftop. The point of a blade pierced right in the center of one of the leaves, forcing its back against the hot clay tops of the roof. Valentine mercilessly spun the blade even further into it as her eyes scanned the Capital city below with suspicion.

This was one of the busiest cities known and yet the only living thing in sight was a black cat that quickly scurried across a nearby alley. 

What could we possibly be hiding from, friends? The point of the blade lifted to free the now cracked leaf and it quickly skipped away before bouncing off Levi’s boot.

His eyes drifted for a moment to the leaf that broke into two halves before leaping to its death, then he returned his attention back to the eye piece in his hand of which he attempted to hide behind his leg. He rotated it as he studied it. He had cleaned every crevice of it and even tightened the tiny screws of which held the lens. Yet, he continued to find any excuse as to why it wasn’t ready to hand back to Valentine. 

He had been carrying it around since the last day they trained together, the day it all happened. And though the plan was to give it back today, the more time that passed on, the more he managed to talk himself out of it. What if she didn’t accept it? Though that could be the worse outcome, one would assume, it was far worse than it seemed and something that he didn’t know how to accept if it happened. You see, it wasn’t just Levi returning a lost object. It was Levi asking for amends due to his rupture of words that caused a far more divide than he expected, or ever wanted.

What if she isn’t ready? He thought to himself. What if she’s never ready? She said she wanted to be off my squad…and that she never wanted to see me again…but she joined us for the special-ops mission today. It is her first day back. Is it too soon to do this?

He slightly moved his head to the right so he could glance at her from the side of his eye. She was still kneeling down and staring out into nothing, the same as the last five times he checked. He squeezed the piece in his hand and took one step towards her when she suddenly turned her head to him. His eyes widened and he paused for a moment before turning back around and shoving the piece into his pocket. 

A peculiar expression grew on her face because this was one of the many times she caught him staring at her today. And they weren’t the usual glare-y mean ones that he usually gave before. These were just plain stares with no expression at all so she could never get a read on what he was thinking. And as usual, once she caught him, he would just look away without saying anything at all. In fact, neither of them had said a single word to each other this entire mission.

There were a few times where she thought about going up to him. But then she realized that she wouldn’t even know what to say. And then she’d tell herself that if he really wanted to talk to her in the first place, he would. So she’d convince herself that he didn’t want to talk to her at all and then change her mind about the whole thing. This happened about twenty times.

“Eren,” Levi nodded for him. He was sitting a few feet away with Ava and Armin. Ava sat in the middle of Eren and Armin, which was odd since they usually almost always sat beside each other. And for most of the duration of their conversations, he and Armin hardly exchanged words or glances. She assumed it must’ve been because of how tired everyone was, considering none of them got much sleep due to their late return from their witchcraft quest the night before.

“Sir?” Eren said as he approached Levi. 

“What happened to her face?” Levi nodded towards Valentine, who had a major black splat of a black eye. Eren gave him an odd expression. This wasn’t the first time he had called to ask him a question regarding Valentine and he wondered why he didn’t just ask her these things himself. But he was too tired to care and didn’t have the energy to piss off a sassy captain.

The truth surrounding the black eye was that she fell inside of a witchcraft tunnel that none of them should’ve been in to begin with. But because he couldn’t say that, he just blurted out the first excuse that came to mind. 

“I hit her.”

Levi slightly moved his head back. “You…hit her?” 

“Uh-yeah,” Eren shrugged. He could feel the disapproval from Levi because he began to glare. “But not like on purpose or anything.” Levi lifted a brow and stared with confusion. “It was an incident really.” 

“How?”

“Well we were wrestling and—”

“Wrestling?”

“Uh-yeah. Like play wrestling.” He could tell Levi didn’t like that and he began to panic to finish this bullshit of a story. 

“What were you doing wrestling?” Levi’s tone sounded insulted and the more Eren talked the more he disliked the entire thing.

“We play,” Eren’s voice cracked. “Like play fight, ya know?” Levi just stared. “A-and well when I was on top of her—” Levi’s expression changed to anger and Eren could feel a layer of sweat appear on his face “I-I mean, she was on top of me,” he wiped the sweat off the side of his face. “Ha-ha, it sounds weird when I explain it b-but anyways”—he gulped at the site of Levi’s stern eyebrows—“I incidentally knocked my elbow in her eye”—he gestured his elbow to reenact it—“and well”—he nodded to her—“I hit her eye ball.” 

Levi gave him an intense stare down that felt to last at least a full minute before he broke it to glance back at Valentine. Then he moved his gaze back to Eren and glared intensely.

“I just don’t get it,” Armin complained in the background. “I mean, we kill titans. They seriously need the special-ops to watch a carriage make exit of the Capital?” 

“The real question,” Ava said. “Is what is even of that importance—or who?”

Eren took this as an opportunity to break the awkward stare down from Levi. He quickly turned around and walked toward them as he said, “yeah, weird.” 

But the whole thing really was weird and it was bugging Valentine so much that she couldn’t figure it out. Whatever they were protecting inside of that carriage was exclusive, so not even they knew what—or who— was in there. More so, why were they called upon this mission instead of the MPs, who were in charge of the Capital and royal orders?

“Our job is to make sure the carriage makes it out of the Capital—Wall Sina. That’s all you need to worry about,” Levi said. “After that, it’s not our problem.” He moved his gaze ahead to see the carriage moving out of the royal gates. “Look alive!”

“Sir!” Everyone quickly jumped to their feet.

Nearly five minutes had passed as they glided between the buildings and guarded the carriage that patiently made its way down a large vacant road.  The only sound in that entire city was the horses galloping and the wheels of the carriage that crushed bits of sediment between the cracks of the brick road. 

The driver hadn’t glanced in any other direction than ahead towards the gate of Wall Sina that was nearly a mile away. It was hard to tell whether he was just determined to reach it or fully confident in the squad’s ability to guard him. Regardless, it gave Valentine an iffy feeling.

No way it’s going to be as easy as a straight line of guarding without any distractions, Valentine thought. They wouldn’t have called us for that. We’ve been wondering who we’re guarding, but the real question is who are we guarding from—uh—

There was a slight glimmer of something that reflected off the sunlight from on top of a nearby building. She turned and her eyes widened at what was waiting. “G-gun!” she screamed right as a man shot at them. 

Shots fired and echoed from every direction and the squad quickly scattered. The driver glanced back for the first time and Armin screamed, “go-go-go,” as he waved his hands forward. “Don’t look back!” The man shrieked and whipped the horses to go faster. 

A trail of bullets chased directly behind Valentine, piercing into the walls of buildings and shattering windows. She couldn’t shake the shooter off so she made her way to the next street over and halted behind a building. For a moment, it seemed that the shooter lost track. She readied her gear and took one step to the left. PEW! A bullet just barely missed her foot and she quickly pulled it back in. 

“You five, get the Ackerman!” a man’s voice yelled from somewhere on top of a nearby building. Her eyes widened as she quietly worded out, Levi. “I’ll take care of these other rats.”

“On it!” a collected voices responded and took off on what sounded like ODM gear. 

How the hell did they get their hands on that? She angled her blade to glance at the rooftops behind her. After a moment, she found one who was glancing through the scope of a rifle. Gotchya. 

“Where are ya, ya little bitch,” the man scoped near the last building where he saw Valentine. “Ya can’t hide forev—“

A flash of light crossed his eyes and by the time he blinked, he had already been cut. His eyes widened at the last thing he’d ever see, a burning anger that bled from Valentine’s eyes as she dragged her blade through the flesh of his throat. His eyes rolled back and he fell forward off the rooftop. SPLAT! His body slammed against the pavement and his blood splashed out everywhere. 

“Hey! Tommy!” a separate man screamed from another rooftop. “The hell—” he blinked and five men on different buildings began to fall. He gasped and clutched the rifle as he desperately glanced around. Another two fell from ahead and he panicked. There wasn’t anything visible to the eye that would do that. What could possibly be that quick, he thought.

“Hey!” he screamed out. “I thought you said the Ackerman was ahead!”

“He is!”

“Than who the hell is—” he was suddenly drowning in his own blood as it spilt from his lips. He glanced down at the sudden pain to see a blade sticking straight through his heart from someone behind. His eyes slowly moved to behind him. A short girl smiled as she took her time pulling the blade out. That ain’t no Ackerman, he thought. That’s a demon—

“Oh,” Valentine yanked the rifle from his loose grip. “I’m going to need this.” Her boot shoved against his chest and pushed him off the edge of the building. 

A blurry barrel of a gun pointed directly to Ava’s face. She could barley see much from her watery eyes. “Please don’t,” she pleaded with her hands up. 

The man glared. “If I don’t, you’ll just end up killing me instead.” 

“That’s not true!” 

“How do I know that?!” His tone sounded more desperate than angry. He pushed the gun onto her forehead and she could feel it trembling in his hand. And though he was wearing the same mask as the others (a plastic cover that shielded the bottom half of his face and had a skull-like design), she could see the panic in his eyes. This man didn’t want to do it.

“It doesn’t have to be like this,” Armin walked up behind him. 

The man quickly stepped back to where he could see them both at once and pointed his gun back and forth. “See! I knew it!” he screamed at Ava. “You were just distracting me so your buddy here could sneak up on me!”

“No! I swear!”

“If that was true,” Armin pressed his blades in and freed both his hands in the air. “I would have already done it, rather than letting you know I was here.” 

The man blinked a few times like he was confused. “Stop where you’re at!” he ordered as he gripped the rifle even tighter and pointed it to Armin.

“Wait!” Ava cried desperately. “It doesn’t have to be like this—none of us have to die—”

“Shut up!” He pointed the gun back to her. 

“We can all walk away from this alive. Right now,” Armin sounded rather calm but there was a slight panic in his eyes. “We could go back to our families tonight.” The man straightened up as if Armin’s words were a match that striked a light within him. “I just want to see my father again,” Armin continued. “Imagine how he’d feel if I never returned…are you a father?” 

Ava’s eyes widened as she glanced at Armin. The man barely lowered the gun from Ava’s face and glanced at Armin from the side. “What’s it to you?” His tone was less violent than before.

“Well I’m sure they’d love to have you make it back home…” Armin’s voice softened. “The way my family would with me and my friend here. We can all make it back.” 

The man hesitated and glanced back and forth at Ava and Armin like he didn’t know what to believe. “Alright,” he finally said as he stepped back. 

Armin smiled nervously. “Ava,” he waved for her. “Let’s go.” Her hands stayed in the air as she carefully backed away from the man and made her way to Armin. The man kept his gun pointed slightly downwards as he watched them carefully. “We’re just going to get out of here now, like this never happened,” Armin reassured the man. The man slowly backed up in the opposite direction. Then suddenly, someone flew by and cut the man’s throat. 

“Ahh!” Ava fell back at the sudden attack and glanced at the man as if she just imagined that. The man collapsed to his knees as he tried to clasp his hands around the giant gash that bled out all over Ava and Armin. His eyes met with Ava’s with a look that said, I trusted you, you liar.

Blood poured from his mouth as he slowly reached his red stained hand toward Armin, as a desperate attempt to ask for help, even from his betrayers. A deep cold chill covered Armin’s entire body as he trembled and stared into the bloody drops that fell from the man’s fingertips and smeared across the clay roof. A raspy grunt was the last thing to leave the man’s mouth before he slowly swayed back and fell from the roof. Armin collapsed on his legs and stared ahead with wide eyes like he could still see the man there.

Eren landed a few feet away. “Are you guys okay?” 

“Why…” Armin struggled speak through his heavy breathing. He clutched his trembling hands to fists as they rested on his knees. “Why did you do that?” 

“He’s one of the enemies, what do you mean?”

“He wasn’t going to do it!” Armin screamed. “He wasn’t—” he leaned over with his hands on the ground and gagged like he was about to vomit.

“The hell he wasn’t!” Eren said. “He was holding a gun right at you both—”

“He wasn’t,” Ava whispered as she stared into the red streams that danced around the edges of the clay. “His kids…they’re never going to see him again.” 

“What the hell is wrong with you guys?!” Eren screamed. “You think that guy gave a damn about—” Someone shot at them and Eren grunted as he grabbed his arm and fell back off the roof. 

“Eren!” Ava screamed as she got up to run towards him when a man landed in front to block her. She glanced back to see another man kicking Armin’s back and forcing his face into the blood left from the man before.

A cocking sound came from the gun that pointed to Ava’s face and she quickly turned back around to see the man smiling as he pressed the trigger down. She closed her eyes and held her breath. The last thing she saw was the moment she met Valentine. The way she gripped onto that stupid small scribbly map that was going to change the direction of her entire life. 

BANG! She opened her eyes in shock to see the man in front of her slowly falling back. He had a gun shot wound to his chest, along with the other near Armin.

“Go! Move it!” a voice screamed from afar that sounded like Valentine.

Valentine was scoping the nearby rooftops for any visible shooters when she spotted Levi from afar, taking on multiple men at once and protecting the wagon on his own. “Shit,” she aimed the rifle at one of the guys and pulled the trigger, but it was out. “Damn it!” She tossed the gun aside and flew off the building to head towards him. 

Her eyes widened and she gasped at the sight of a man that was suddenly in front of her. How did she not notice him until he was already there? She didn’t even hear him coming up.

A cunning smile spread across his face like he’d known that she would have that reaction. A toothpick hung halfway out of his mouth as he held a gun in one hand and held a fedora hat on his head with the other. He looked much older than all the others she already went up against. Who the hell is this cowboy?

“Well I’d be damned,” he smiled and pointed a small gun at her. “Ain’t you a pretty one,” he pulled the trigger with ease. She jerked her head to the side to dodge the bullet as she spun and kicked the gun in his hand. She could tell he wasn’t expecting that as it nearly fell from his grip and his eyes widened a bit in surprise as he clutched onto it.

“Gah-damn!” he yelled with excitement. 

She swung her blade out towards his throat and he dodged. She swung the other blade toward his leg, then his arm, then his face, but no matter how many attempts, she just couldn’t get him.

“Ding-dong!” he shouted as he pointed his gun and shot again. The bullet bounced off her blades that she crossed in front of her face. “You’re supposed to ask who’s there!”

Damn it! That one was way too close, she thought asshe kicked off his chest and slashed her blade once more toward the gun before flying off in another direction. 

Her boots skidded across the pavement as she landed abruptly and rushed behind the corner of a building. A loud stomp slammed against the gravel nearby and she knew that he landed close. Gah-damn it, she angled her blade to see if she could spot him in the reflection when she noticed that her finger was bleeding from a bullet that scraped by. She clenched her teeth and glared. He got her. Whoever this guy was, he was definitely giving her a run for her money. And by the way he carried himself with such an exuberance of confidence, she knew that this wasn’t his first time doing this.

“I have to say, Valentine,” the man said as his boots crushed against the gravel. Her eyes widened. “I don’t appreciate you killin’ off my men like that. Really rubs me the wrong way.”

She squeezed onto her blades at an attempt to make her hands stop trembling so much. Get a hold of yourself.

“It’s no wonder you got Levi’s panty’s in a twist,” the man laughed as he finished loading his gun. She gasped. He knows Levi? “You can kill and you’re even prettier in person. Double threat!” 

DING! She flinched at a bullet that swiped the corner of the building. Bits of rock sediment flung out and got into her eyes and mouth. She spat the tiny pieces out and tried to rub the others out of her eye.

When she looked back up, she was already surrounded by multiple others. “Alright,” she placed her blades back in and walked out until she was standing directly from the cowboy. 

“Ah, c-mon!” he said with a laugh. “You didn’t really strike me as the weak type. At least put up a fight before you die.” The surrounding others laughed. 

Her golden knife flung open and she flipped it in her hand. “I want a one on one,” she aimed the knife towards him. “With you.” The group was now laughing even harder. 

“Eh?” the man chuckled. “Well I suppose if that’s the way you want to go out,” he put the gun away and grabbed for a knife that was much larger than hers. “I’ll let Levi know that you were brave til the very end—” his eyes widened. She was already in front of his face and her knife was about to go right into his chest. He hit her arm and swiped at her face, but she back flipped and slid across the dirt before facing him again. The surrounding group was now dead silent as they glanced at her with wide eyes. 

“You’re fast, I’ll give you that,” the man said as he spit his tooth pick out. “But,” he was gone within a flash. She felt his presence from behind and without even thinking about it, slashed her knife behind, nearly cutting him, but missed again. He kicked her legs from underneath and she fell to the ground. “You’re still not as fast me!�� he gripped both of his hands on the knife and slammed it down. His eyes widened at the dirt that he pierced below. 

“Huh?” he glanced up to see her coming straight for him. He quickly dodged her and swiped his knife towards her, cutting through the fabric of her sleeve. She swiped her hand towards his face and he jerked his head back, but he quickly realized that it was a ploy because her hand that held the knife was the one down below. It nearly pierced him before he noticed, and he grabbed it by the blade. 

“What?!” Her eyes widened at that psychotic move. She kicked from under his foot to make him lose balance and tried to pull the knife away. He quickly grabbed her collar, causing her to fall with him. Then he caught himself before even landing and before she knew it, he was standing behind her with his knife to her neck. 

“I’ll never underestimate you again,” he tightened his grip around her arms. 

A trail of dirt quickly circled around them and all of the men had dropped to the ground at once. Blood began to drench into the dirt as it spread out. Valentine glanced up and her eyes widened at the sight of Levi. He was drenched in blood from his skin to his clothes and his eyes filled with a furious anger. In fact, he was slightly trembling with how angry he was. 

“Now that's just messed up!” the cowboy said. “But I knew messing with your little girlfriend would get your attention.” He smiled and waved the knife near her face.

“Kenny,” Levi grunted angrily as he replaced his blades for news ones as if he wanted this to be a fresh kill. “Let her go.” Valentine gasped. She’d only ever heard of one Kenny before. Surely, this couldn’t be that one, right?

“Aw, ain’t that romantic,” Kenny placed the tip of the knife on her neck. “Look at 'em getting all emotional—” 

“Don’t you fucking touch her,” Levi practically screamed and in a tone that sent a chill down Valentine’s spine and made her skin go cold. The pupils in her eyes dilated and the hairs on her arms struck up. He sounded like a totally different man. The anger in his eyes sparked like the beginning of a fire. 

This was the first time ever that she actually felt a sense of fear with Levi. It was a fear that she rarely felt, one that was the full flight mode; which says a lot considering she’s never ran from anything in her life. The only other time she felt this specific fear was with the Alpha titan. More specifically, the very moment right before the hit that nearly killed her. That feeling exactly. Death was so close that she could smell it, taste it, feel it. 

There’s no way he’s this riled up just because this guy has me hostage, right? It has to be that him and this guy have history. Because why would me being held at knife point bother him at all— she noticed Levi’s eyes shift into a much darker anger. The sparks in his eyes were now flames that could set the entire world on fire. 

And his face lit up red like he was the fire itself—she’d never seen him like that either. That’s when she realized what he was reacting to— there was a stinging on her neck from the point of the knife that dug into her skin. By time she glanced up again, Levi was already with his hand to her side, pushing her away as to not hurt her, as he shoved himself into Kenny and held his blade to his throat.

SWOOSH! A giant gust of wind violently ripped by as she fell to the ground. She crossed her arms to cover her face as the dirt lifted from the ground and swirled around her like a tornado. Glass shattered as they crashed into a window from a nearby building.

“Levi!” She quickly got to her feet and was about to fly in when there was a gun shot that echoed through the streets. She gasped and looked in that direction. Then, a loud and painful moaning of a cry echoed. By the sound of it, she knew it was Armin.

[aroaessidhe]

2025 reads / storygraph

The Woods All Black

horror novella

a WWI nurse is sent to a rural Appalachian town by the Frontier Nursing Service to do vaccinations, and is met with distrust from the religious townsfolk who see him as a failed woman

he plans to weather it so he can help some young people who need it, but the townfolk get increasingly violent, and there seems to be something else lurking in the woods..

transmasc MC, t4t

[nicolegendary]

okay but what's the fic 👀

tell me about despair by hattalove

I'm gonna. Scream.

[goldenasirpa]

I'm so sorry. Is the new godzilla movie actually, genuinely, seriously called Godzilla x Kong

[plightofthecentipede]

Oh dw I'm loving this, it's just so fucking tragic ahsjdjfkh. I'm seriously digging the horror vibes without cheap jumpscares. The tension is immaculate tbh

oh good im glad to hear it <3

[veganhamsalad]

Had a woman at an lgs experience recently that’s too exhausting to type and sounds too everyone clapped

[holyraconteur]

Tsireya would be cautious towards him initially for obvious reasons, but he's connected to Lo'ak at the hip, and she sees firsthand that Spider is one of them. Caution gives way to curiosity, and before you know it, Tsireya is spending time with Spider, asking him questions, counting his five fingers, encouraging him to try a new hairstyle (because those dreads aren't it), teaching him how to properly use a net, etc. Humans are so teeny and it's hilarious playfighting with Spider because she gets to lift him up and watch him squak and flail his limbs. She even teaches him how to properly swim and hold his breath for long periods. Even better if Norm shows them baby pictures of Spider and Tsireya is cooing over one picture of toddler Spider running from bathtime.

"Human babies are even tinier!"

I need Spider to make friends outside of the Sullys. It feels like we only ever see one side of him because he's always around Neytiri's children and can never truly be himself without raising suspicions or anger. Making new friends beyond the Sully inner circle would give him the freedom to be unapologetically himself, and Kiri would start to notice just how bright and mischievous he really is. Spider is still a teenager, and I want him to act more like one: childish, bratty, sullen, and explorative, the way all teenagers are supposed to be.

[iridescentmirrorsgenshin]

i love reading your fic thoughts!!

are there any fics you'd recommend or read where you like the way they are characterized? i'm a writer and hope i accurately represent them but i'm never sure, but it's fun to see you doing similar things (going over voice lines and scenes to get their voice down and stuff)

and i think inspiration can help!

hiya! ahh thank you so much, i'm glad you found them interesting! and i perfectly understand your struggle :( it's a ritual at this point to watch their interactions so i can get a feel of them for ongoing fics, i'm considering rewatching a parade of providence at some point as a treat <3

and !! i agree! the fanfiction community is a circle of never ending ideas, so it's amazing how we all inspire each other! for characterisation here are some that stand out to me in my mind <3

Patron of the Arts - nevergreengale, volansvultar - ongoing and (hopefully not) discontinued, but a really interesting take in alhaitham asking kaveh to be his architect for him to move in! kaveh's inner monologue is just him, i especially love his musings about altruism, and the rift between him and alhaitham. a nice mystery going on with whatever is occupying alhaitham as well!

Strawberry High - etherealnara - this IS the drunk alhaitham fic for me, i love seeing him interact with inazuma characters, as well as being competitive. the dynamic between alhaitham and kaveh here is sighworthy, you can really feel the strain towards the end!

The City of Gold and Dust - Amayax - ongoing. pov switch with each chapter, mishaps with time and a really intriguing mystery! both voices truly shine here, i particularly love the prose of alhaitham dealing with grief, and how you can feel how much kaveh means to him, whereas kaveh can feel the burden of missing something obvious, but not knowing what. the contrast is lovely!

(self-recommendation) Change is Imp(ur)rative - completed. mentioning this because this is my fav piece of work i've done for them so far! really hoping the characterisation works, this is a slowbuild into the progression of their relationship, i'm a sucker for them actually talking and what them airing their grievances could look like <3

Old Habits, New Beginnings - thvndaga - completed. amnesiac alhaitham. this is such a lovely lovely fic with alhaitham entirely forgetting himself, but knowing that he's in love with kaveh, but kaveh refusing to believe it? very addictive to read and an incredible journey!

in the market for forgiveness - chaoticloutral - this is so cute, the rising tension over the mundane, the major misunderstanding based around (1) interaction. kaveh's perspective is perfectly rationalised, and alhaitham dogging after him to explain himself! also the atmosphere here! lovely!

best of r/relationship_advice - farozaan - completed. reddit style fic, this is HILARIOUS! kaveh coming to terms with his feelings about alhaitham (but really knowing all along) and alhaitham's quiet patinece is just so ahhh it's them <3

When Sun and Moon Align - Undercover_Owl - ongoing. a time travel fic with kaveh being flung back into his days as a student, attempting to fix his vision with his inquisitive best friend/junior alhaitham, all the while alhaitham is struggling to adjust to kaveh's disappearance in present day. LOVELY! the mystery and prose are enticing, and kaveh's shifting understanding of current alhaitham is so scrummy!

To Dream in Shades of Green - Intensely_Reading - completed. this is such an addictive fic, with kaveh being involved in an experiment (courtesy of yae miko) where his dreams become light novels, only for his dream to take the form of an otome game! so fun and the development between dream alhaitham and kaveh, with him comparing this relationship to real alhaitham is so well done! and real alhaitham going about to locate the cause of kaveh's anxiety is so real <3

six ways to friday - mousiekosmos - completed. this fic is INSANE. the prose is so lovely and alhaitham's perspective makes me want to eat my hand. so rational and logical and yet completely overthinking when it comes to matters concerning kaveh. the hesitance and misunderstanding in their initial relationship is so gutwrenching, and kaveh being the one to chase it !!! i thoroughly recommend

bad days, good days - emigmatic - a wonderful oneshot, kaveh's voice really shines through here, the uncertainties and his anxieties and tiptoeing around alhaitham, while alhaitham is so patient, just MWAH.

flower of my flower - bringingglory - completed. hanahaki alhaitham time. the mounting struggle of alhaitham's rationale in not telling kaveh and seeing kaveh worry from the side culminates perfectly! a very addictive read!

Briars and Roses 'Round Your Heart - sonotfine - completed. hanahaki kaveh time. one of my fav hanahaki aus! i love love the tension building from alhaitham's side as kaveh tries to downplay the progression of his sickness. the confrontation scene lives in my head, the suspense culminates perfectly!

[itwasabeautifultragidy]

The Kingpin Who Loved Me (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/story/388976529-the-kingpin-who-loved-me?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_myworks&wp_uname=GirlWalkingBackwards Set against the shadowy backdrop of Gotham, after the events of HBO Max's *The Penguin*, this tale unfolds the life of Delilah Romano, an ordinary woman whose serene existence is shattered when she becomes the object of desire for Gotham's notorious kingpin, Oswald Cobb. With his magnetic blend of charm and menace, Oswald draws her into a world of danger and intrigue. As their romance ignites, Delilah discovers an intoxicating thrill in the power dynamics of the criminal underworld. Every stolen glance and whispered promise deepens the bonds of their connection, feeding Oswald's obsessive passion for her while awakening a hidden yearning within Delilah herself. She becomes torn between the seductive allure of becoming the queen of his burgeoning empire and the looming shadows of treachery engulfing them both.

[nofacedpoet]

Ch.27: Why Do You Wear My Old Hoodie?

Eren and Armin.

Eren and Armin had been walking in the same direction of this tunnel for an hour in complete silence. They walked alongside the walls, Armin on the far left and Eren on the far right, as if the large gap between them could never be enough space. The only sound was that of a thin stream of sewage that flowed down the center passed them. That was until Eren heard a small sniffle. 

He subtly glanced toward Armin and noticed him wiping his face with the torn sleeve of the old hoodie he wore. It was so old that the cuffs were split at different places and barely held together. Yet, Armin gripped his fingers to them so they stayed over his hands. It was one of Eren’s oldest hoodies that Armin always wore. And even though Eren offered him a new one, Armin refused and only wanted to wear this particular one. Eren never understood why. He didn’t even notice that he was wearing it until right now.

The handle of the lantern creaked as Eren pushed it more toward Armin. But all that he could see was his hair that covered that side of his face. It was longer than usual too. Eren had only noticed this just now as well. Is he growing it out again like he used to? Did he just not have time to cut it recently? It was as if he didn’t even know the small things anymore. Eren gradually lowered the lantern until it hit against his leg, but he hadn’t taken his eye off Armin. 

“To be honest,” Eren’s voice caused Armin to slightly flinch as it ripped through the silence out of no where. “I think we’re going to be stuck down here forever.” They hadn’t seen any of the others for awhile since they were mysteriously separated from them. And though part of him just wanted to joke about never being found, another part of him thought it to be true. He only realized after he said it that it wasn’t really that funny. And to make matters worse, Armin didn’t have a response. Not even one of those fake laughs he did when Eren would usually say something stupid, but he would do it just to make him feel better about the stupid thing he said. And it wasn’t as if Eren didn’t notice when it was a fake laugh, but he somehow just found a comfort in it anyway. Hm. When was even the last time I heard Armin laugh, real or fake, at all?

Eren turned to face him completely now. “What do you think?”

There was a few seconds of silence and Eren watched as he patiently waited. Then, so soft to barely be heard at all, Armin mumbled with a shaky voice, “Mhm,” as he wiped his cheek again.

Eren’s eyes widened as he stared into Armin’s hair that shielded him out. He thought for a moment to say nothing at all, but without even thinking, he sighed as he halted. Armin walked a couple of steps before he noticed, then stopped and stood in place as he kept his gaze downward. A long silence that was somehow more silent than the silence before erupted between them. It was much heavier in this moment than the entire hour before. 

“Armin,” Eren said unsure of what to say next. Armin silently stood with his back still facing Eren. “I guess you’re going to make me come over there then.” He waited for a response but there was none. “Alright.” He walked along his side of the wall until he was side by side with him again. Then, crossed over, his boots splashing through the sewage as if it wasn’t there anymore. Armin subtly glanced to the side at Eren’s boots as it happened, then moved his head even more downward so his hair covered most of his face.

“Armin,” Eren nearly whispered as he stood directly beside him now. Armin hesitated for a moment then slowly moved his head up until his eyes met with Eren’s. 

The light from the lantern in Eren’s trembling hand reflected off the tears on Armin’s drenched face and made it seem as if his skin was made of porcelain. His lashes were still wet and sparkled from the light which made it looked like there were mini diamonds within them. His eyes looked heavy and there was a painful red right underneath them.

“I’m sorr—” they both began to say. They hesitated and looked surprised at the other.

Eren sighed and walked to the wall on Armin’s side. He leaned against it as he rested the lantern on the ground and put one hand over his face. 

“No,” he said in a regretful tone. “I’m sorry,” his voice cracked at the end. “I’ve been such a dick to you.” Armin stared with wide eyes. For some reason, he didn’t expect Eren to ever admit that. Mostly because it went on for so long and he just began to accept that this was how it was now. “It’s just-” Eren became tense and clutched his fingers onto his face as if he was trying to remove a mask. “Just-why do you have to hang out with him so much?” He finally spit out a full sentence but it sounded as if he was about to vomit as he did. He clenched his teeth and his eyes peaked through the cracks of his fingers at Armin as he waited for his response.

Meanwhile, Armin looked like he just found out the world’s biggest secret as his jaw dropped and his eyes shot wide open. He stood there awkwardly with his arms loosely dangling to the sides. Eren couldn’t get the slightest read of what he was thinking and he began to feel like he was sinking into the ground below. For fucks sake, Eren thought, just please say something already—

“That’s…” was all Armin could come up with. His expression looked more perplexed now as he tried to find his own words. 

“What.” 

“That’s…why?” Armin looked as if he didn’t believe him.

“Well…yeah,” Eren was hyperventilating a bit now but not in a dramatic way. He tried to keep it as low as possible so Armin wouldn’t see through his panic. His hand dropped from his face, which was extremely red and sweaty now. Luckily, the light from the lantern below didn’t show much of it.

“Why?”

Eren’s eyes slightly widened. “Why what?” His tone became nervous and slightly offended.

Armin glanced down at Eren’s trembling hands. He had them as closed fists as if that bothered to stop the obvious nerves. Armin moved his gaze back to Eren’s eyes, which looked petrified now. “Why does it bother you so much that I hang out with him?” 

“It doesn’t!” Eren moved his hands outward in a motion as if to cut Armin’s words with them. “I-mean it-does,” he clenched his fists again and put them to his sides. Armin looked confused as he watched Eren transition into different emotions. He’d never really seen him this flustered before. “It’s just-” he sighed. “I-just-“ he put his hands over his head and squeezed his hair between his fingers like he was forcing his thoughts to come out. “Agh!” He slammed his back against the wall and slowly slid down until he sat on the ground with his knees folded to his chest. “It’s just…” he sounded exhausted now as if all his energy was put into whatever he was trying to say before. He placed his elbows on his knees and let his arms loosely dangle between his legs as he stared at the sewage ahead. “It’s nothing,” he mumbled. “I just find him incredibly annoying…” his words trailed off and Armin barely caught the “that’s all,” at the end.

Armin glanced at him for a moment longer, now more confused than before. All that performance for that? Was that really all he was going to say? He’s been treating Armin so terribly for a couple of weeks or so all because he finds Xilo annoying? Makes little to no sense but Armin thought it best to not pressure him. Instead, he walked over and collapsed next to him with the lantern being the only thing separating them. He folded his legs to where he could lay his chin on his right knee and hugged his arms around them. 

“Well,” Armin stared into the laces of his boots. “He doesn’t really have anyone. All of his friends are dead.” Eren’s eyes widened at the way he said dead. He said it so nonchalantly as if he were just used to it already. “And he doesn’t really have family, like the way we have with each other. I just feel bad for the guy. It reminds me of when we lost our homes in Shiganshina and lost everyone.” He began to trace the laces on his right boot. “That feeling…it just reminds me of that.” 

Eren glanced at him with a look of sadness and admiration. He always wanted to be more like him and found it astonishing that someone like Armin could even still exist in such a harsh world as theirs. He was so golden. Armin turned to him and noticed his odd stare. “What?” 

“Your hair,” Eren said softly. “It’s so long now.” He lifted his hand and grabbed a small strand between his fingers. Armin glanced at him shyly and laughed. 

“Yeah,” Armin put a small piece behind his ear and glanced across at the opposite wall. “I was thinking of growing it back out again.” 

“Oh,” Eren glanced closer at it. “What made you want to do that?” This caused Armin to sit up like he just remembered something that he forgot earlier. For some reason, he didn’t think Eren would care to ask that question. He panicked as he struggled to come up with an answer. He knew the real answer, which was that he was growing it out to how it used to be when they were kids because that time made him feel closer to Eren. But this was too pathetic to admit and one of those things he’d die before telling.

“Oh. I just…miss my old hair, I guess,” he fake laughed and for some reason Eren felt deeply unsettled by this. It was just off for some reason. Like something was wrong.

“Looks good.” 

“Thanks…” Armin could still feel Eren’s stare like he was trying to figure something out. 

“I’m sorry, by the way,” Eren’s voice cracked again like before.

“For what?” Armin turned to him.

“For hurting you,” he whispered as he glanced at Armin’s lips and it looked like he was actually about to cry. Armin’s eyes widened and he quickly covered his mouth.

“It’s not a big deal,” Armin mumbled through his sleeve as he fidgeted like he was sitting in an uncomfortable chair. 

“It is to me.” 

“It’s fine, it’s already healed.” 

“Let me see.” 

Armin hesitated for a moment. Then slowly brought his hand down from his mouth and slightly moved his head to where Eren couldn’t see it. 

He quivered at the feeling of Eren’s freezing hand that was now gently pressed on his face. With his cold fingers just underneath his jaw, Eren gently turned Armin’s head to where he faced him. Armin slowly moved his gaze to Eren’s eyes as he felt the tip of his thumb gently pull his bottom lip down. Eren leaned in closer and lightly rubbed his thumb across the small scab that slashed across it. He glanced up and caught Armin’s eye and for a few seconds they just stared at each other silently. Armin felt a rush of warmth take over his body and his face became flushed. Luckily, there wasn’t enough light for anyone to really tell. But by the small angle of the yellow light that did reach Armin, it made his eyes look like they were illuminating. It made his skin look gold and warm. He looked like an angel, Eren thought anyway.

Armin felt his face slowly moving closer to Eren’s and tried to stop himself but felt like he couldn’t. Then he realized that Eren was also slowly moving closer to his and they were both inching closer to each others faces like magnets. The tip of their noses touched for a brief moment, then swiftly passed as the sides of their noses met. 

He closed his eyes as he felt Eren’s breath escaping from his mouth and into his. He slowly spread his lips.

“I’m sorry,” Eren whispered and as he did, his lips just barely touched Armin’s. Armin opened his eyes with confusion. “I’m sorry I did that to you,” Eren rested his forehead on Armin’s as he rubbed his finger over the wound again.

Armin brought his hand over Eren’s and his fingers naturally sunk into the cracks between Eren’s, and they both grabbed as if to get a better grip. “I’m so sorry,” Eren was nearly about to cry.

“It’s alright,” Armin whispered softly as they continued to stare into each others eyes and he squeezed onto his hand a little tighter. “It’s alright.” It really was. It hurt Armin in the beginning but he knew it was truly an incident. 

“Armin,” Eren whispered and Armin felt the swoosh of his breath against his lips again and it warmed his whole body.

“Yes?” His lips nearly touched his.

“Why…do you wear my old hoodie?” Eren sniffled and this was the first time this entire moment where he broke eye contact and glanced downward at their noses. 

Armin’s eyes widened and he slightly moved his head back. “Why are you asking me that?” He was genuinely shocked. That question came out of no where.

Eren looked a little surprised at his reaction and slightly moved his head back as well. “Well, I just always wondered.”

A million thoughts raced through Armin’s mind within a split second. What is happening? Why’d he ask that? He never asked that before and I’d worn this a million times before.

“Well?” Eren asked and patiently waited. 

“I-” Armin clenched his teeth like he was about to regret this. He felt like he was seriously about to throw up. “I…like…” Eren’s eyes widened and he stared into Armin’s lips as he desperately waited for the last word. “I just like it,” he said quickly but the last word sounded as if he meant to hold it back, like it incidentally all came out like that, and his face fell into regret. Eren’s expression dropped like Armin had said the wrong thing, and in this exact moment, Armin knew that he did.

“Right,” Eren’s hand slipped from Armin’s face, breaking their fingers apart. He turned to face the opposite wall across. “Of course,” he laughed a bit as he shook his head. 

Armin stared with wide eyes. Should I have said something else? Is that why he was asking? I still can. Right now. Just do it, you idiot. Say it… It’s too late. The moment’s passed…

***

Ava and Xilo. 

Xilo grabbed a small box of matches from his pocket. “Last pack.” He scraped a match across and it ignited, lighting the darkness that he and Ava were lost in. 

Ava sighed as she threw a used match behind them and into the sewage that laid down the center of their path. “At least we’ll have a trail just in case someone attempts to find us.” She sort of laughed at her own remark, not sure of whether she was laughing because she knew deep down no one was coming or because she never imagined the person she’d die with would be Xilo and of all places in a witchcraft tunnel. 

“I hate the dark.” Xilo held the end of the match with his finger tips so it could burn to the very last piece. “I swear it, weird things come out in the dark—” he glanced at her. “Sorry. Guess I shouldn’t be saying that at a time like this.” 

“That’s weird.” Ava glanced into the little flame of the match that slowly grew. “Valentine always says the same thing.” 

“Really?”

“Yeah. She’s always hated the dark. Says she always feels something in it. Like another presence. Though I could never feel it.” 

“Ouch!” The last of the flame got his finger, forcing him to drop the match. There was a small sizzle as it landed in the sewage. “Yeah, that’s exactly it.” He opened the box to grab another as they ventured in the dark for a few seconds. Being so careful to not drop the box, he finally ignited another. “I could sometimes hear it, whatever it was.” Ava gave him a peculiar expression. “I could never quite see it. But always hear it with me, around me.”

Ava remembered a time when Valentine mentioned that she heard an odd sound in their room that sounded of a plastic bag, growing and crinkling, that slowly dragged across the floor, inching closer to her. She shook her head as to rid the thought.

“I’ve always wondered,” Xilo continued. “What if the dark is like a portal for things to venture into our own world. But they’re only able to in the dark. So when you think about it”—he held the match up a little higher—“light is like a superpower of ours. That wards them off.” He moved the match as if to cast away evil spirits ahead and the flame danced in different directions. “It’s funny how light is also like a superpower for the titans, giving them the strength to move. And at night in the dark, they’re paralyzed. Sometimes I wonder…” he stared at the their stretched out shadows that cast on the nearby wall. “What if they are-”

“Us?”

Xilo’s eyes widened and he snapped his head toward her. “Uh.” 

“I’ve thought that too. Like maybe we are the evolved version of titans, or maybe they are the evolved version of us. Who knows.” 

“Yeah,”  Xilo said nearly in a whisper. “And we’re just bound to this hell all together for eternity.” 

“Yeah,” she whispered so faintly as if this was the moment she accepted their never ending fate. 

“Why did you join the scouts?” 

“Huh?” She glanced at him with a confused expression at his sudden question. 

“Well part of you thinks there’s no hope for humanity. And well, a part of me thinks that too. But you obviously joined for a reason right? What was it?”

“Well…” the word barely left her mouth. She moved her gaze ahead into the darkness that awaited them. The flame on the match finally reached Xilo’s finger, but rather than moving his attention away from her, he threw it down and watched the light slowly fade from her face as her expression fell into despair.

She never thought so much of a reason to join the scouts. Usually she’d say her usual response which was, “I want to see the world.” But she knew deep down that was never really the reason. That was more of her friends reasoning than hers. Her exploration to venture beyond the walls started the day she met Valentine. She never really thought beyond that. She never needed to.

Xilo scraped a match and light appeared once again. She still stared off into the same direction as if she had never noticed the light fade off in the first place. There was still a somberness to her face. “I guess if we don’t hang on to hope,” she finally answered. “Then there’s no point in living at all.” Only she wasn’t necessarily talking about hope for humanity or the world. All she ever cared about was being next to Valentine. And nothing was getting in the way of that. 

“Well, it must be cool being on the special ops at least,” Xilo tried to brighten the mood. 

“Totally. It’s a lot of fun not knowing if you’re going to die today or tomorrow. The adrenaline rush is what does it for me.” His smile quickly faded and she turned to him. “Joking,” she whispered and he laughed a bit. Was she joking? Her energy was off and he couldn’t get a read. It was confusing.

“So being on the squad,” he continued. “You’re somewhat close to the Captain. I mean in a sense that you guys spend the most time with him. What do you think about him?”

“He’s okay, I guess. Grumpy. A little mean sometimes. But alright.” 

There was a long pause as if he wanted to say something else but hesitated. “So is he like,” his tone shifted into one of embarrassment and Ava glanced at him. “Would you say he’s quite protective?”

“Um,” she really thought about it. “I mean, he can be. Why do you ask?”

“Nothing, really,” he scratched his head. Within the hour they had been stuck together, Ava learned that he only did this when he was nervous. “It’s weird. You’re going to think I’m weird for even caring.” 

Okay. Now she was intrigued. “Well now you have to tell me,” she teased.

Xilo awkwardly laughed. “Okay,” he sighed as if to prepare himself for this crazy intense thing he had to get off his chest. “Well…a few days ago-shit,” he dropped the match that nearly burned him and went to light the next. “Anyways…The Captain had me sent to his office. And of all times, pulled me out of training for this. It was just weird. He kind of…warned me.” 

Ava felt her chest sink in. “About what?” Part of her guessed what it could’ve been. But she wanted it to be anything else so badly.

“He-uh. Well. He sort of told me…” he made a very odd and awkward expression that Ava had yet to see on him. “He basically told me to stay away from Valentine—”

“What?!” Ava yelled and her voice echoed as she halted in her step and turned to where her entire body faced him. 

“What?” Xilo nearly tripped as he stopped and faced her. 

“He said that?” She looked insulted.

“Yeah.”

“Like how?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like how did he say it, word for word?” She moved her hands in a chopping motion as she said, “word for word.”

“Um,” he glanced at the wall behind Ava as he tried to remember. “It was something like, ‘I will only say this once. I am ordering you to stay away from Valentine. If you disobey me, it’ll be your ass.’” He said it in a mocking tone that resembled Levi and even scrunched his eye brows to look pissed. He gave her the full on reenactment of the moment, which was more than she asked for, but she was somewhat pleased with it. 

He moved his gaze back to her. “That was it. That’s why I was asking if he was protective or if it was just something else.”

“Oh,” was the only thing she managed to come up with. Only it was too low for him to even hear. 

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” her voice barely a whisper. She continued her way without glancing at him and he followed. Again, her energy was such a hard read. He thought she must be the type to typically hide the way she felt about things. But he was even more confused about why something like this would make her uncomfortable.

“Well I don’t think you’re weird for caring by the way,” she said in a sad tone like they were walking into a funeral. 

“Thanks.” He waited for her to say more like if she thought it odd of Levi to say this, but she never did. She just looked so melancholic. Even in the way she was walking. Maybe it was just everything else going on, Xilo thought. For all they knew, they were having their last moments right now. 

There was a long moment of neither talking and only the sound of the matches being lit one by one and the sound of their boots against the gravel and sewage. 

Xilo halted as he scraped the last match against the box and watched the light ignite for the last time. “Last one,” he mumbled as if to not admit it. Ava walked to where she was just on the other side of the match and they both stared into it.

“I don’t think Eren really hated you,” Ava said with such a sorrow expression. Her eyes watered and somewhat twinkled from the reflection of the flame in front of her face. This confused Xilo for multiple reasons. Why did she say hated in the past tense as if he all of a sudden didn’t hate him anymore? Had she accepted that they were dying here? Is that why she was nearly crying? Was this just a last word she wanted him to know before they died or something?

“Why do you say that?”

She sniffed and blinked her eyes a few times to hold the tears back. After the blurriness in her eyes cleared up, she could see Xilo’s face clearly again. He looked like such a lost puppy as he stared back at her. His hazel eyes lit perfectly with the flame between them. He carried such a hopeful glance in them, even with the last match that he desperately pinched onto with his thumb and finger. His light brown curly hair waved in all kinds of directions and was still messy with dirt from his fight with Eren earlier. 

“I think that he was just afraid.” 

“Of what?”

“Of losing Armin.”

His eyes widened and the match in his hand was nearly at its end.

“I think maybe he thought you’d take him away from him.” Her eyes watered even more now. “And he’d lose him.” She was crying now, and not just a little, a lot, to where tears streamed down her face and she was hyperventilating. “Sorry.” Her bottom lip trembled.

“Why are you apologizing?” Her crying became louder and she tried to cover her mouth to quiet it. “Are you okay?”

“No-o.” Her hands were shaking so bad.

“Do you-” he awkwardly gestured his arms out. “Need like a hug or something?” He shrugged in an awkward position as if to say this is all I got, sorry. 

“M-kay,” she mumbled as she fell into his arms and nearly collapsed. He grabbed her and tried to hold her up as he also attempted to not light her hair on fire with the dying match in his hand. He watched as the flame of the match slowly shrunk, then died out completely. He sighed and flicked it away somewhere.

“It’s alright,” he whispered as he grabbed her properly now that he had both arms freed. “It’s okay,” he said even though he knew it probably wasn’t and that he and this girl he barely even knew were going to die together. But he made it his last mission to make this girl feel better as much as possible. That’s all that mattered now. 

For the first time this entire time that they had been stuck down there, Ava felt safe. There was something so warm and familiar being in Xilo’s arms, even though she’d never been in this spot before. Then she realized…it felt a lot like the way Jean hugged. It was a full hug, like a real one. Where you know the other person fully meant it. There was a squeeze to it that supported her, but was gentle enough to not hurt her. Not very many people hugged like that.

Xilo gasped. “Ava,” he pointed beyond. “Light.”

***

Valentine

A faint yellow light blurred in the distance a few feet away. At first, it looked like an orb that slightly bobbled up and down. But as Valentine’s eyes focused, she realized that it was only the long flame that stuck its head out from the shattered lantern. 

She groaned as she rolled onto her stomach and bits of glass pierced into her palms as she pushed herself up from the ground. There was a large scrape that ripped through her pants and down the side of her calf, but she couldn’t feel it due to the tingling all over her body. She grabbed the contorted and warped lantern that now looked like something out of a cartoon and glanced up at a tall and leaning wall nearby. It looked nearly 20 meters tall and there was a thin trail that followed all the way up from where she fell down from.

“Well I’m definitely not getting out the same way I came in.” The way her voice echoed before bouncing back let her know that she was in a much larger and enclosed area now. “Great,” she stared at the wall for a moment longer, then realized that it had painted carvings along it. “Hm?” she leaned in closer to get a better look. There were different types of material within it that looked to be some type of marble and special glass. All of which weren’t anywhere in current architecture of buildings, which were usually just made of brick, wood, clay, or concrete. 

As she walked along the wall, she realized that this area was more of a dungeon than a cave. Weirdly enough, hidden away underneath the tunnel. But why would it need to be hidden? She thought as she traced the odd designs along the wall with a finger. Soon enough, she was met with pillars that carried the same material and designs as the walls. But again, why hide a place like this?

She felt herself approaching something rather large, possibly another structure, and gestured the lantern outward from the wall to glance.Her eyes slowly rose up this large thing until she realized she was standing next to a titan. She froze and it was as if her heart stopped beating for a full few seconds as she held her breath in hopes that maybe if she didn’t move, it wouldn’t notice her. It didn’t move either. In fact, it stood completely still. She paused for a moment more to be certain that it wasn’t breathing before letting out a sigh of relief. “I guess it’s just a statue.” She let out a nervous laugh as she shined the light more so on its face as if she still didn’t believe it was just that. Its eyes stared straight ahead. They looked so real. “Stupid titan-” she thought she saw its eyes move for a moment and nearly choked. She watched closely. Something seemed off about it. Then, its eyes moved again, this time entirely, slowly shifting until it was staring directly at her. 

“Ah!” She fell back on the floor and the lantern rolled away from her. Not knowing what else to do, (she had zero gear or weapons and from what she could tell, she was stranded down here with no where else to go) she desperately crawled backwards until her back hit something. As much as she didn’t want to, she slowly turned around to see that she was sitting with her back against the leg of another titan. “Ah!” her scream echoed through the dungeon, and as before, it eventually echoed back to her. 

Panicking now, she yanked the lantern from the ground and took off running in any direction she could for as long as she could. But no matter where she wound up, there were even more titans awaiting. All lined up, side by side, in columns and rows that seemed never ending no matter how long she ran. 

Soon enough, she’d given up and just accepted that she was going to die here. Her heavy breath echoed through the air as she turned around in a circle and glanced at all of the titans that surrounded her in every direction. Then she realized how stupid it was to even run in the first place considering titans could out run her. Even more stupid, they weren’t moving or even bothering to chase her. Maybe it was because they were in the dark and had no energy to. 

She gasped. That’s right. Titans need light to have the energy to move. She gestured the lantern downwards, not knowing if it could be enough to necessarily allow one to move, but wasn’t particularly interested in finding out at this moment either. 

The steps from her boots echoed as she now calmly made her way around the giants and studied them. They all looked the same as one another, grayed out skin, same exact build and facial structure. However, none of them looked anything like the regular titans outside the walls. While those resembled more human-like features, these did not. In fact, these titans looked entirely new and had some sort of grey armor-like structure protecting most of their skin, even parts of their face. Only she didn’t recognize it before due to their greyed colored skin. 

Wait a minute, she slowly turned around at all of them once more and her eyes slowly widened. They all stood straight up with their arms to the sides in their orderly lines among each other. It looked incredibly military like. They almost looked as if they were waiting for… 

“War.” 

[audreycecilemoore]

27 of the Best Books I Read in 2024 Part 3 of 3

Read here or on my substack

Part 1 on Tumblr and substack

Part 2 on Tumblr and substack

The novella I've wanted for years

A Magical Girl Retires by Park Soyoung 

Magical Girl is one of my favorite subgenres so I was so excited to get my hands on this novella written for Millennial women who grew up on Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Magic Knight Rayearth. I loved the blending of adult issues (credit card debt unemployment) with global issues (domestic abuse and climate change) combined with magical girl job fairs and destiny and grief and loneliness. Hands down, the best novella of 2024 and there were so many amazing ones (shout out to Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohammed)

The Romantasy that became my all-time favorite

Under the Oak Tree by Kim Suji 

There are not enough words in the English language to explain how meaningful this story is to me, how two lonely, damaged people, one a survivor of childhood abuse and the other with a deep-seated inferiority complex, found each other and became each other's whole world. Their love is not healthy, they're absolutely obsessed with each other and I loved every last word 

The book that reminded me of when I was ten and wanted to be a marine biologist 

The Phoenix Keeper by S A MacLean 

We have a Bi lead with anxiety who has achieved her life-long dream of taking care of phoenixes at a zoo for magical creatures, a slowburn Sapphic rivals-to-lovers romance, and a cozy atmosphere. It's a wonderful comfort read and accessible worldbuilding that feels a lot like being behind the scenes at the San Diego Zoo.

The Sapphic sci-fi that hit all the right buttons

Redsight by Meredith Mooring 

Meredith Mooring is in the Star Wars fandom and it comes across in the worldbuilding, but she also adds blind representation and themes of religious trauma. Also, the love interest turns into a snake and eats a man alive in her first POV chapter. If that doesn't sell you on trying it, I don't know what will.

The book that made me feel like I was reading a dark fairy tale 

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft 

The other Saft book on my list and her first adult book and first book centering a Sapphic romance. I loved the academic one-sided rivals-to-lovers and how much folklore and the treatment of Jewish people in folklore is discussed. As with all of Saft's works, this is set in a secondary world, but the real world coding is incredibly strong.

The book that hit generational trauma the hardest

All the Times Before by Asha Thanki

I don't know what I was expecting when I picked this up, but it certainly defied all of my expectations in the best way possible. The Sapphic slowbuild romance arc takes almost the entire book and it feels so earned by the characters. I loved the idea of a shawl full of the rich history of a family of women that connects them to each other and their small magical abilities.

The contemporary romance that had me squealing

Knives, Seasoning, and a Dash of Love by Katrina Kwan 

I love a big height difference, I Iove male characters who have big hands, and I'm always down for a book discussing themes of identity. One of my favorite contemporary romances of the year and the one that fit my tastes the most.

The quiet Queer historical that kept me gripped

 The Paris Affair by Maureen Marshall 

One of the reasons I was really into this one is because of how quiet the romance is. I don't know how anyone else feels, but season 4 of Bridgerton definitely made me hungry for more romances that aren't explosive or full of constant intense passion and this hit the spot.

The YA that combined magical girls and Prohibition 

Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong 

Ultimately, this is a YA about sex work and the sequel is about sexual slavery. It's done in a way that is accessible to young readers while exploring the different opinions and situations around sex work as a profession and the dangers that come with it. At no point did I feel that the narrative was claiming sex work is a bad thing to choose, but it ultimately needs to be a choice, not something someone is forced into.

What was your favorite book of 2024?

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Gay wrongs tournament, round 1 of the minor bracket

Propaganda:

For Neo x Miw x Shin: (propaganda from the previous tournamnet here)

This canon (yes, canon!) polytriad meet when they accidentally kill a mafia hitman and are forced to go on the run together to escape. Cue a found-family roadtrip with a slowbuild poly romance! This show has 10 episodes and all 10 of them involve crime, queer love, and excellent fashion choices. The protagonists, -- Mew, Neo, and Shin -- are at the center of it all. Mew is a manager at a gogo bar where she scams Western tourists, steals wallets, etc. Neo is a sex worker at the male strip club across the street who may have unknowingly started an affair with a mob boss's wife. Shin is the sensitive queer son of the aforementioned mob boss, and he's going through a lot right now. Together, the three of bare their souls and figure out how to survive this bad situation -- together!

they're literally on the run for murder. what more is there to say

For Xu Youyi and Yan Wei:

Sapphic romance in 1920's China between a novelist and an assassin posing as a photographer! Read the manhua for canon sapphic romance though, the show had to be censored (it's still great though, just portrays them as gal pals).

In 1920s Shanghai, You Yi is a crime novelist who gets framed for the murder of her husband's mistress. The murderer? A quiet photographer named Yan Wei who lives a double life as an assassin. The two meet by chance at Yan Wei's photography shop and immediately form a "close bond". Although You Yi doesn't know Yan Wei's identity at first, they eventually work together to expose You Yi's husband's crimes. By the end of the show they literally have a kid together and share a bed. It's very sweet!

[aspionagee]

I love Patchwork and I binged it recently. I wanted to ask if you know about the fic "Crime and Punishment" that is also Severitus? It's one of my all time favourites and it captures Severus's character closely to canon while having him and Harry navigate the summer. It's also slowbuild which like Patchwork, I admire a lot because writers can craft so much emotional nuance without needing drastic plot drive.

Anyways, just wanted to also say that Patchwork illustrates Severus artfully and the extension and growth of his character is very natural and realistic. Your fic is such a gem

Thank you so much for the lovely words! <3

As for your question, oh yes do I know Crime and Punishment! That fic is my life blood. It was the second Severitus fic I ever read, and I have forever been chasing the rush I got when I first read it. I actually have to ration myself to only read it a certain number of times per year so I don't ruin the joy of it :)

I know I've talked about how AYLNO inspired me to write A Patchwork Family, but I should also note that Snape's characterisation in Crime and Punishment heavily influenced how I wrote Snape in my own fic. Crime and Punished made me realise he could remain the same grouchy old bastard but develop a bond with Harry nonetheless, and that fic showed me how it feels so much more rewarding to watch the slowburn when the characters closely fit canon. As a result, I now set time aside to edit down Snape's 'fluffiness' in my first drafts to make him seem more in character.

If any of you somehow haven't read Crime and Punishment, you absolutely should go and do so! I promise you'll love it!