#and currently just feel like we're shouting into a void

[mermaidgirl30]

✨Tear You Apart Part 2: Don’t Run From Me, Stay✨

Series Masterlist

A/N: I love this series so much and can’t believe this is the end to their beautiful story 🥹 Thank you to @alltheirdamn for beta reading and @mountainsandmayhem and @littlevenicebitch69 for letting me scream about this with them 🥰 I love this story more than words can express 🥹

Summary: Joel’s scared to lose you, but he’s more afraid that he’ll hurt you. So he runs far from you, until you follow after him into the dark forest.

Pairing: Outbreak! Joel x fem! reader

Word Count: 6.2k

Rating: Explicit 18+ only MDNI

Tags: Jackson era, outbreak au, Little Red Riding Hood references, lots of angst, feelings, mild choking scene, confessions, switching povs, dark au, angst with a happy ending, unprotected piv, oral (fem receiving)

“Show me the love you've always wanted. All the love is gone, driven apart by what we all have seen. We're falling over ourselves. How do we mourn what's lost, what never will be? Remember me, remember me as you loved me. Carry the weight of selfless scars we silently crave. Show me your hands and touch the stars with me.”

- “Remember Me” by Currents

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

Seven days. It’s been seven miserable days since Joel has come to you in the night. Seven days since he last touched you. Seven days since he caressed your face for the first time, affection etched all over his calloused fingers. Seven days since he let down his brick walls just a little. Seven whole fucking days since he held you in his arms, releasing that caged up wolf as he let you in. 

   He let you in. He let you in. For just those few moments, but it was all you needed to see he wasn’t just sharp teeth and fangs. He was more. He was so much more. He was good, even if he didn’t believe it. 

   You toss and turn in the cool sheets, listening to the repeated ticking noise of the clock on the faded walls. It seems to taunt you as its repetitive ticks fill the void of the room. Tick tick tick. It’s too much to bear, so you throw a cotton pillow over your ears to try to drown out the insufferable noise, but it doesn’t work. It never works. 

   Your body drowns in the sheets, a thin sheen of sweat covering your forehead as you toss and turn again and again and again. You feel as if you’re losing your mind waiting in this vacant room as if Joel will walk in at any second. You groan to yourself, call out his name as if he can hear you calling to him, begging him to come back. Joel, Joel, Joel. Come back. Come back.

   You need him. You need him. Just like you need air to breathe, you’ll surely suffocate without his warm breath blowing in your face. You fucking need him. 

   It’s like the ghosts in the forest hear your cries, their shrouded warnings filled in the night air as their sharp nails drag down your window. They tell you to run, stay away, but you don’t listen. You never listen. 

   After five more agonizing minutes groveling in the silky sheets, you push yourself out of bed and head for the closet. You have to find him, you can’t wait another second not knowing if he’s okay. But you already know. You know he’s not okay. 

   You pull on a pair of tight jeans and slip a black sweater over your head, trying your hardest to clear the voices of the forest in your mind. Stay here, he doesn’t want you to find him, he’ll ruin you. You cover your ears and scream into the cotton of your shirt, telling the voices to just stop shouting. Enough. You can’t take it anymore, take them. You need to see him, you need to know he’s alive and not dead like the voices are screaming. 

   You throw on a pair of brown hiking boots and lace the strings up tight before making your way out of your bedroom door. You have to find him, and if that means going out into the cold, black forest then so be it. You need to get to him, wherever he might be. 

   You descend the stairs, scuffing your boots against the creaky wooden steps as you stomp down. Have to find him, have to find him. Just as you make your way off the last step, the brass doorknob of your front door turns and then the rusting door is slammed open. You jump back in surprise until you see just who stands right in the doorway. 

   Joel. 

   “Joel?” you gasp as you take in his weathered features. His eyes are wild, dark and burdened as his eyebrows knit together tightly. His jaw is clenched, mouth pressed together in a scowl as his blood runs cold. His tousled curls are so messy, the lines on his forehead thick as his stance weakens. His broad shoulders are hunched, chest heaving like he’d just run a marathon out in the cold. But what really stands out is how lost he looks. Cloudy eyes burdened with something that looks a lot like sadness, like he’s been crying out for help. 

   Your mouth parts open as you start to raise your voice. Not in an angry shout, but more of a plea to answer why he’d been gone so long. “Where have you been, Joel? Seven days. It’s been seven fucking days since…”

   He cuts off your words as he storms up to you and pushes you hard against the peeling wall, his large arms caging you in on both sides of your shoulders as his eyes light up with nothing but anger. “I’ve been out,” he growls as he scowls your way, one hand pinning you to the wall as his muscular thighs pin your legs in place. 

   “Out? I thought you were dead!” you scream, tears licking at the corners of your eyes as he just stands there, caging you to him. He just looks at you with dark eyes as they fade to a charcoal black color, no more honeysuckle colored flecks left in those dark pits. 

   He chuckles, a wicked sound pulling from his throat as he scowls at you. “Might as well be,” he mutters under his breath, almost like he doesn’t want you to hear that. All you can do is lock your jaw and pout your bottom lip out to him. 

   “You can’t do that to me. You can’t leave me without telling me where you’re…”

   He interrupts yet again as he screams into your face, his words like knives to your chest. “I can do whatever the hell I want! I don’t owe you a goddamn thing! You don’t fuckin’ need to know where I’m at because you’re not mine,” he growls as he rips into your face, his deep voice carving a long blade into your heart as he splits you in half. 

   Not mine? “Not mine? But you said…”

   He rips the words from your vocal cords as he wraps a hand tightly around your throat and squeezes. You see his eyes turn to black pits, see the tinge of glowing orange as his temper takes hold of him. His grip is so tight that he’s choking you, robbing you of oxygen as he presses your head firmly against the wall. You try to kick your feet, try to bang your hands against his broad chest, but he has you trapped underneath his towering body. You can’t move, can’t think so you use the only thing you have. Your voice. 

   “Joel, stop. You’re hurting me,” you rasp out as you cough and feel your face turn bright red. You see his eyes. Cold, lost, unalive as he squeezes harder and bares his sharp teeth, his soul lost just like his own sanity. It’s like he’s taken his dark form, letting the lonely wolf feed on his mind as he lets it destroy him, devour him alive. And now the Joel you know is gone.

   “Joel, please,” you beg as you take one last breath, eyes hounding into his as you plead for him to let you go. Just when you think he won’t let up, his eyes grow wide, his furrowed eyebrows relaxing as he comes back to himself and realizes what he’s done. 

   He drops his hands from your neck abruptly and shoots back as you gasp for breath, coughing your lungs out as he watches in fear, his eyes as wide as the night sky as his hands shake, his body stiff as he looks on in pure horror. When you’re able to breathe freely again, you stand up and walk slowly toward him, your body buzzing from confusion and shock. 

   You reach for him, call out his name, but he steps out of your space and presses himself against the still, open door. He looks terrified, his eyes wild as he realizes what he did. He hurt you. He hurt you. 

   You step closer, one foot forward and then another until he slips once again from your grasp. You reach out one more time, begging him to stay, needing him to stay, but he doesn’t, he won’t. 

   “Please, don’t,” you beg as you feel your body start to shut down, your heart hammering in your chest as you just stare at him, at his sad, hurting dark eyes. Please stay. Please. 

   Your eyes water, fingers twisting against the faded material of your jeans as you silently pray that he’ll stay. He’s hurt, so hurt. You see it in his hazy eyes, flecks of darkness shining like fresh teardrops. He just stares at you stunned, hands flexed into tight fists as he curses himself for what he did to you. 

   “I… I…” He’s speechless, nothing but slurring sounds as he stands tongue tied in front of you. But you wish he’d say something, anything. You just need to know he’s okay. But he doesn’t say anything, nothing at all. And it hurts. It fucking hurts.

   His eyes cloud over, the anger simmering inside his empty body as he backs out of the house slowly, his eyes wide and daunting as he sees you standing there, tears starting to stream down your beautiful face. He did that. He did that.

   Fragile. You’re so fragile, so fucking special. He can’t bear to break you anymore than you already are. He doesn’t want to drag you into the pit of despair, so he runs. He runs into the thick trees, far away from you, away from something that might just be his saving grace. He runs as fast as his tired legs can carry him, bones crushing against the weight of his heavy heart as he fades away, letting the forest swallow him whole till he’s far away from you. 

   He can’t fucking ruin you, too. You’re too… precious. Little lambs don’t deserve to be slaughtered by big bad, bleeding wolves. That’s what he is… broken. That’s all he’ll ever be. 

   He runs feral through the dark forest, jumping over broken vines, dodging tangled tree limbs, and dragging his worn out leather boots through the thick mud. He ignores the distant screech of infected, could care less if a clicker came and tore his skin to shreds. What would it matter? He’s lost everything, but most importantly he lost you. Gave you up so he wouldn’t drag you down to the darkness with him. He’d rather take a gun to his head than see himself hurt you again. 

   You were his little lamb, but he laid you out to be slaughtered with the blood of the monster that was inside himself. A vicious wolf that deserved to be put to sleep. 

   He howls to the full moon, runs till he has nowhere else to go, stopping at the edge of a shimmering, dark lake under the moonlight that casts shadows over the murky water. He drops to his knees, sinks his nails deep into the dirt, burying his head in his chest as he mourns the loss of you, of Sarah, of Ellie. 

   He doesn’t deserve Ellie’s forgiveness, will never forgive himself for letting Sarah get shot instead of him, won’t ever forget how wrecked you looked watching him walk out of your house. That picture will forever burn through his mind, the sad glistening tears that pricked your beautiful eyes, the way you tried to stop him from leaving, the way you said you were his. You weren’t his. Not anymore. No. He saved you from that doomed fate, even though it shattered him completely. 

   He was a mere man in scattered pieces, his heart completely torn to shreds. He has nothing left to live for, so why doesn’t he just end it? It’d sure as hell be better than living without you in his arms. 

   He claws his nails into the dirt, sinking his head further into his chest until he becomes a part of the earth. Hollow, dirt encased, a mere existence that only coexists with the dark depths of the lake. 

   Forever doomed to be a lone wolf.

   You stand there frozen in place, your hand on your throat, wide eyes staring at the open door as darkness seeps inside. Joel. He left, he left without a goodbye, without anything. Just left you alone in this house, without him.

   He said you weren’t his with his claws wrapped around your throat, looked like a wounded puppy after he realized what he did. He looked so… lost. And that’s how you feel, standing in the chill of the room without a speck of comfort to keep you warm, without his arms, his eyes, his touch. 

   You open your mouth but no words come out, only static noise that sounds a lot like a plea to make him come back. He’s not a monster, he’s not bad like he thinks he is. He was angry, scared, pained when he pounced through your front door, and you saw that same pleading look in his eyes that reflected off yours all those long, insufferable nights he left you alone in this house.

   The clock ticks and ticks and ticks until you crack. You have to go after him, you can’t let him slip from your fingers again. So you throw on your best brave face, grab the large flashlight, and run after him into the unknown territory of the pitch black forest.

   The temperature change from the warm home turns to near frigid temperatures as the wind whips through your hair violently. You turn your face back to the light of your house, but quickly avert your gaze back to the frightening shadows that stalk the forest.

   You don’t know what’s in there, what’s stalking in the quiet of the night, but you throw the frightening thoughts out of your scattered mind. There could be bears, infected, or even deadly clickers that could rip your throat out with one bite, but you don’t fucking care. All you care is that Joel is in there somewhere, and you have to find him. If it’s the last thing you do, you won’t let him run away again. No. You’d rather die than watch him slip away from your grasp.

   You take off into the thick forest, your flashlight guiding the way as you run like the wind, following Joel’s footsteps that he’d left behind. You’re not keen on sense, not sharp enough to trace him, but you smell him. The brush of his flannel shirt on a fallen tree limb, the woodsy aroma that marks him colliding with your scent, the fear that was in his dark eyes the moment he touched you. You still feel it burning your throat like charred liquid, as hot as his skin was a week ago in your bed. And you… need him.

   You have to find him.

   You feel the sharp tree branches claw across your arms, your windblown hair getting pulled by the wisps of haunted ghosts that warn you to turn back. Get out, leave, run far away from the beast of the forest. But you shut them out and only focus on your ragged breaths as you follow the left behind footsteps that’ll lead you to him.

   You run as fast as your tired feet can carry you, letting the sting of your soles dig into your heels as if shards of glass cut straight through the bottom of your boots. Your lungs feel as if they’re on fire, the cold wind almost suffocating you as if you’ll pass out at any second.

   Keep moving. You have to find him.

   Against your better judgment, you keep running, keep trekking through the damp, dark forest as the ghosts curse you for striving after a man they call a monster. But he’s no monster to you; you belong to him. Or at least you thought you did. You’re not so sure anymore. But you won’t give up. 

   “Have to find him,” you whimper to yourself as you lose sight of his footsteps in the dirt path. Fuck. But you keep running forward, praying you’re moving in the right direction.

   You can’t bear to think he’s alone out here mourning in the night under the full moon, can’t stand to think of him out in the bitter cold as he torments himself for placing his strong hands on you. It was an accident, only an accident. Because whatever was hurting him, whatever was haunting those beautiful, teary dark eyes was pure pain. And you wonder what caused all that torment behind such a beautiful, anguished face.

   You need to get to him. Before it’s too late. Before… he’s gone again.

   Joel, Joel, Joel. The name itself makes you run faster than the wind as it tears through your messy hair.

   You take one, two more racing steps, but then something catches your ankle, like claws tethering and holding you back from where you need to be. 

   “Joel,” you whisper before you go colliding into the dirt covered ground while your flashlight slips out of your hand and nearly cracks on impact.

   The pain scorches through your body, your lungs fill with burning fire, and the breath is ripped from your body as a shattering ache runs straight through your bones. You look back and find a root entangled around your foot, and when you try to move it it ignites with blinding pain.

   You try to scream, but your voice is nothing in the howl of the wind as your lungs bleed with the sting of sharp, stabbing pain. Tears spill over in your glassy eyes as they fight to stay open, the radiating pain taking over every single limb in your body.

   You feel defeated, hear the humiliation of taunting ghosts that whisper words that make your skin crawl with rage. He’s nobody, he doesn’t deserve you, he’ll only hurt you. But again, you silence the hateful words and decide to shut them out.

   “I’m not…” you grind your teeth together in a painful scowl as you drag your body forward, “giving him up. I’m not losing him again.” You dig your nails into the dirt and grit your teeth together as you slowly lift yourself off the ground and cry out at the burning sensation that threatens to take you back to your knees, but you won’t let it. You’ll drag yourself through the thick forest until you find those large brown eyes again. You won’t give up, you’ll never give up until you’re right where you belong. Back in his arms.

   You’re not losing him. Not again, not ever. 

   You drag yourself deeper into the forest, tripping over protruding vines, carrying the weight of your scratched up legs, tears brimming to the surface as you whisper his name over and over and over again. 

   Please, come back, Joel. Where are you?

   You search for over an hour until you finally get close to the edge of the shining lake, and then you see him. Joel sits with his knees encased in the dirt and his body sagged, head down low as tousled curls fall into his beautiful, anguish filled golden brown eyes.

   You topple to the ground and whisper out his name, your body giving up as tiredness and pain take their course through your lungs. “Joel.”

   He slowly turns his head in your direction, and he looks completely defeated. “Go away.” It’s barely a breath off his lips, but a demand just the same.

   “No.” You shake your head and hold your ground, feeling like the ground might open up and swallow you whole.

   “I said go away,” he tries again, this time with a bite to his words as his jaw clenches on the last syllable.

   “Joel, no.” You push yourself out of the dirt, scuffing your boots forward until you’re almost right behind him. “Why did you run from me? Why did you…”

   He turns his head and grits his teeth together, and you see pure anger in those flash of onyx eyes. “I said LEAVE!” 

   He uses all his strength to shove you back, and you topple to the ground, your flashlight shattering against the trunk of a tree, and you land hard on your right side. You look up with tears streaming down your eyes, and his eyes go wide, fear lacing inside those pools of dark brown irises. Again, he curses himself for putting his hands on you not once, but twice tonight. And you see how beaten and torn apart that makes his shaking body.

   The air is so still, the wind barely moving as you sit there in the hollow dirt with your hands reaching for life. Cold. You're so cold, the intolerable temperature barely noticeable as your heart shatters in two.

   "Jus’ please, listen to me for once," he whispers, his defeated voice barely audible above the faint wind.

   You shift your worn out body, crawling on your hands and knees to the man that's torn apart. You inch closer, crawling and crawling until he barks back at you.

   "Go away!" His voice is demanding, final as he lashes out at you, sharp canines biting back as he snarls your way.

   Your teary eyes peel down his body, watching as he's hunched over and clawing the earth to get a hold of himself. You see the way he carries himself, jaw clenched and head down to his chest. One hand covers his eyes, the other sinks into the dirt as you watch a hot tear fall down his face and land in the shimmering lake.

   He's so broken, just like the black military watch that sits latched around his left wrist. Shattered glass, no ticking hands, no life to be found in the clear reflection.

He's broken, so very broken. Bruised, hollowed out, defeated. 

   Your heart breaks in that moment; you can barely pick yourself up. Cold, you're so cold, but it's not because of the wind. It's because you feel just how torn apart he really is, and it kills you. You want to take the pain away, want to make it all just stop. Only if he'd let you, but he won't.

   Let me in. Let me in!

   Your eyes shoot to his broken watch as the lake glitters against the glass. He sees you staring, but he has no more strength to lash out. “Joel, please. Tell me what’s wrong. Tell me what’s hurting you,” you plead, your voice cracking against the wind.

   “What’s hurting me? Everything is hurting me,” he murmurs, and you feel the pain that carries through his gravelly voice.

   “Tell me, Joel. Tell me what’s hurting you. Please, I can make it stop,” you reply heavily as you fumble over your words.

   “You can’t make it stop, little lamb. No one can,” he sighs as his face drops to his chest.

   “I can try,” you whisper out.

   His bottom lip twitches, and his fingers curl deeper into the cold dirt. His jaw ticks, and you see he’s fighting a battle within himself, but that battle breaks seconds later. “This watch, the reason I still wear it is because my daughter gave it to me before the outbreak happened.”

   You gasp, but you let him continue.

   “Her name was Sarah. And she… she died in my arms when we were tryin’ to escape Austin.” The wind dies down, and the two of you just sit in silence until he starts up again.

   “A soldier thought she was infected, and he didn’t give us the time to even try to explain ourselves. And so he shot her, right by the heart. And my little girl was gone seconds after.” Tears start streaming down his face, and his head falls down even lower as he fights to keep himself up. 

   Oh, Joel.

   His fingers push harder into the dirt, and his body starts to shake uncontrollably as his grief slips away, carrying over the silvery lake and crashing right into your heart. You feel just how broken Joel really is.

   “It should’ve been me! Sarah was jus’ twelve years old. She was too young, she was my only child, my only baby girl. And she…” His words cut off as tears start falling against the backs of his rough hands.

   “Joel…” you whisper, your words being silenced by his gravelly voice.

   “And then I got another chance with Ellie. Ellie was the one reason, the closest thing I had to a daughter again. And now… now she fuckin’ hates me after what I did. After I lied to her about the fireflies. She can’t even stand the sight of me…” 

   You shift your weight on the ground, your eyes glossy from tears that fill your eyes. You try to reach your hand out, but he cringes and backs away. You feel a cold teardrop streak across your cheek, and you just feel completely hopeless knowing he’s in this much pain, and he won’t let you even try to comfort him.

   “Give her some time, maybe she’ll…”

   “She won’t even fuckin’ look at me when I’m in the same room as her!” His voice comes out strong, but it’s still cracked with flecks of sadness and remorse. “She’ll never forgive me…”

   You swallow a whine in the back of your throat, and you stay staring at the man you’ve come to care for so deeply. You hate seeing him in this much pain, you fucking hate it.

   “And then there’s Tommy. Most days he can’t even stand the sight of me. And then you…” His voice cracks, and you see a silent tear fall to the ground. “I… hurt you. And I’ll never forgive myself for that. I’m a… a bad man. I should’ve never put my hands on you…” His face falls into his hands as he lets the tears rain down, and that shatters you completely.

   His words are so sad, so very defeated. And you feel as if you’ve been hit with a truck by how unbearably awful you feel in this moment. He’s not a bad man. He was never a bad man.

   You crawl on your hands and knees, carefully watching yourself so you don’t scare him off, and freeze when you hear him whispering to himself. "Make it stop, please. Make the pain stop. I'm not good... I'm not good for anyone. I’m not good for you. But you’re the only thing I want…" he whispers like it’s only meant for his own ears, and it crushes you to pieces.

   Oh, Joel.

   You feel a tear slide down your cheek, feel your eyesight become blurry with the stained tears in your eyes. He thinks he's not good, but that's not true. He's good. You think he's good.

   Without wasting another moment, you rush over to him and crash your body into the back of him, wrapping your arms so tight around his broad chest as you drop to the ground and put your entire weight into him.

   "I told you to go away..." Joel whispers, a tortured plea that sounds a lot like a cry for help low in his voice. It comes off raspy, choking the words out as you feel another tear fall from his eyes.

   He needs you. He needs you.

   "I know, but l'm not leaving you, Joel. You need me just as I need you. Let me stay, please. Let me stay. I... I want to stay," you choke out, stuttering the words as your teeth chatter together. It's so cold, so very cold. But he's warm, and this is where you choose to stay.

   "You... want to stay..." he breathes out, barely above a whisper as you feel his eyes go wide, a somber look feeding his broken mind.

   Broken. He's so completely broken.

   "Yes, let me stay with you. Please, don't run from me again. I... I can't lose you. I thought you weren't coming back. I thought you…”

   You feel a warm palm flatten against the back of your hand hesitantly. He stays like that for a few seconds as you listen to his deep breaths and muted cries. And then calloused fingers entwine with yours slowly, a clear response he's not running off again.

   He stays. He stays.

   He’s so fucking broken, just like the shattered watch that sits clasped around his wrist, just like the broken skin of his knees that drag against the dirt. He’s so broken that it makes you hold on to him tighter, makes you want to never ever let go, makes you want to scream to the sky that he deserves love, deserves someone that’ll show him he’s not alone. And you suddenly realize that someone is you. You care about him so deeply, and you love… you love him.

   “I love you…” you whisper into the shell of his ear, afraid of what he’ll do when he hears.

   “You… what?” he asks as he turns slowly, his eyes as wide as the bright full moon that hangs in the dark night sky.

   “I love you,” you repeat, eyes flicking to his as he stares you down with unbelieving eyes.

   “Why?” His voice is pained like he can’t believe what he’s hearing, that you’re the one saying it to him. 

   “Why? Because… because I see you. The real you. Through all the gnashing teeth, through all the pain, all the brokenness, the loneliness. I see you, Joel. You’re not all sharp bites and harsh words. I see a light in you. You’re… gentle underneath it all. You’re warm. You’re worth fighting for. You’re worth loving. You don’t deserve to be alone, Joel. You never did…” 

   You hold a little tighter to him, let your fingers meld to the sides of his face, let your hands softly graze against his silvery scruff until he’s looking at you so intensely and wide-eyed that you can see how bright his glossy chocolate eyes are.

   He freezes, just sits there blinking down at you, like he still can’t believe his ears. He seems conflicted, wide eyes just staring and staring as the words don’t quite touch his lips. He can’t believe it, doesn’t want to believe someone could actually love him. But then his eyes soften when he looks at you again, his eyes so clear, misty pools of honey staring back at you, and he finally moves, finally does something.

   He removes your hands slowly from his face and places them back in your lap as gentle as a lamb. And then he strokes your face so softly, almost like a feather glides over the surface of your skin. His thumb traces along the edge of your lower lip, slowly slipping a strand of hair behind your ear. And he just stares, searching your eyes for any response that you could’ve been lying, but he finds no lie, only finds soft love, something deep down that he’s always wanted. Someone like you. 

   He dips his head and places it against your forehead, blowing his cinnamon breath along your skin, your lips, and his fingertips linger like fire against your jawline as he sets your heart ablaze.

   “Fuck. I love you, little lamb. I love you with every fiber of my beating chest,” he whispers before he collides his lips with yours.

   He pulls you against his broad chest and brushes his fingers through your hair as you melt into his touch, his coffee flavored taste, and you part your lips to allow him access to your tongue. He takes long strokes, licking inside your mouth as you moan at the taste of him on your tongue.

   You push your fingers through his tousled curls and hear him groan against your mouth, and then you feel him dragging both of you to the ground.

   You’re both naked in seconds as he rips through the clothes and lays you on your back as he splays you open as he takes in the view of you, and it’s like he’s fallen in love all over again as his eyes burn vibrant amber.

   “Christ. You’re so fuckin’ beautiful. You’re so… mine,” he claims, making your heart jolt as the words rip from his lips.

   He takes his time with you, brushing his calloused fingers over your delicate skin, slowly licking up the heat of your core until you’re nothing but liquid beneath his touch. He’s so soft, so slow as he laps up your sticky slick, colliding his tongue with your puffy clit, curling his fingers up inside you until he reaches your spongy spot, and then you lose it, releasing all over his thick fingers, his tongue until you’re panting his name in a chorus of ecstasy under the lit full moon.

   He flips you over, straddles you against his hips, and then you ride him slowly as his large hands grasp your hips, assisting you as you take every inch of his large cock inside your dripping core, squeezing him with every rut and stroke he gives you of his large length. 

   The world slips into nothingness, both of your bodies become the shimmering water of the lake, your ragged breaths transforming into the whimsical howls of the wind, your love confessions tangling to every single root in the ground, claiming the entire forest as your own as Joel continues the soft strokes of his thick fingers up your delicate skin. 

   You and Joel tumble to the ground until he’s claiming every single part of you again and again and again until every single soul in the forest knows you’re his.

   He laces his fingers through yours, holding your hands  high above your head as your legs wrap around his strong hips, and then you’re lost to the night as he slowly makes love to you time and time again, an endless tumble of ecstasy, lust, hungry need, and love spilling through every nerve in your body.

   “Say you’re mine, little lamb,” he murmurs softly as his lips trace over yours.

   “I’m yours, Joel. I’ve always been yours,” you whisper as his lips fall down to yours, laying claim to every inch of your needy mouth.

   “Mine,” he repeats, his tongue dancing against yours as he takes the kiss deeper, his hands clinging to the back of your head as his fingers thread through your hair. 

   He kisses you like no one has ever done before, licking and stroking his tongue over every single crevice of your mouth, acting as if he’ll die if he doesn’t get his lips on yours right this very moment.

   It’s like nothing you’ve experienced before. His sharp demands that he usually barks are replaced with gentle kisses, sweet words, and sensations that make you fall apart over and over again beneath his body. It’s like you’re floating over water as your bodies entwine, his arms never letting you fall as he rocks against your hips and whispers how much he loves you against the shell of your ear.

   He tips his head back and howls into the moonlight every single time you arch your back and feel the white hot heat take control of your body, spilling over him, giving him everything you have as “I love you” tumbles out of each of your mouths over and over again. 

   You’ll never get enough of him, will never be able to let him go now because you’re his, just as much as he is yours.

   You swear you fall more and more in love with him with  every touch he slides over your skin, every stroke of his hard length inside of you, every breathtaking kiss he sets to your lips, every single breath he breathes out of his beautiful body, and every soft word he traces off his lips for you. He’s it for you, your future, your love of your life, your everything. And he feels the exact same way about you.

   Your back arches one last time as you spill everything for him, letting him take you to the edge as he gives you one last thrust to your spongy walls. You fade into ecstasy, your body burning like fire as his forehead falls against yours while he falls apart right after you.

   It’s all quiet, the forest silent. The only sounds are you and Joel’s ragged breaths as they collide against one another. 

   He strokes your jawline, looks at you with bright syrupy eyes, and you swear you see forever in those magnificent sets of gorgeous eyes. He kisses you softly, setting you ablaze once more as the ground burns hot against your tangled bodies. 

   “You stayed,” he says with swimming eyes, his calloused palm caressing you softly as if he can’t believe you’re still here with him.

   “I’ll always stay, Joel. Yours,” you confirm as you place your hand against his.

   “Mine,” he whispers as he smothers you in an earth shattering kiss that collides your hearts together. 

   He lifts you up minutes later and wraps you in his warm flannel, his jeans and boots the only thing on his skin as he cradles you flush against his chest and carries you back home where he chooses to stay with you, forever.

   And when his lips press against your forehead and he hugs you tight against his body that night in bed, you know he’s yours. That little lamb inside of you never found the big bad wolf scary like everyone else did. You only found home in his big, loving eyes. 

[bouncybongfairy]

I love your evil morty fics so much! Not alot of people write for him so I was really happy when I found your account haha

I was wondering if I could request an evil morty x reader fic where it takes place in s7 ep 5 (unmortricken)

reader and morty both work to make the planet their "home," killing aliens, taking crystals, bulding their house, etc (morty is mostly the brains though, we're just there as a sort of bodygaurd/we watch his back so he doesn't get surprise attacked by some alien)

and if possible could you add some smut before his force field gets compromised? preferably where he starts rough due to all the stress from fighting aliens all day then when he finishes its softer and fluffier

hope my request made sense haha, thank you so much! 💖

Hard Feelings

Evil Morty x Fem Reader

Summary: After breaking through the central finite curve, Morty and you have been having some tension building up because of the stress. Things come to a head during a mission which leads rough words and hands exchange between the two of you.

Word Count: 3.0k+

(!Spoilers from Rick and Morty Season 7 EP 5!)

(!This fanfic contains rough and dark depictions of sexual content!)

Shout out to @kaionyx whose account I used as a reference. Not super familiar with.. all that kinda stuff, his blog really helped so, I'll give credit where it is due.

Shout out to the person who sent the request. Hope I did you concept justice.

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

Morty’s plans to break through the central finite curve were completed. Finally able to be in a dimension where Rick isn’t the smartest asshole in the galaxy. Even though he was free from the shackles of being at Rick’s disposal, he still seemed to try filling some unknown void. It was never your place to say but there were times where Morty’s morals were becoming less and less clear. You were still grateful that he brought you along. He could have left you in your original universe but he saw something in you that couldn’t be replaced. Right now you guys were in the middle of an adventure, trying to find a certain rare type of crystal that Morty wanted to try using to power the planet's force field. He still hasn’t been able to find a crystal that can sustain his tech longer than a couple hours. The mixture of stress of constantly crystal searching and the insecurity that was caused by not figuring out exactly how to fix the problem was eating away at him. If that wasn’t enough fuel to the fire, he also was dealing with his feelings of arrival fallacy. Despite your warnings that getting away from Rick wouldn’t just magically take away the trauma, he chose to die on that hill. At times you thought it caused him to resent you when he was in a grumpy or insecure mood. 

Right now the both of you were in the ship; following the target of a crystal score Morty was pursuing. The ride was silent, it was 29 hours into the mission and the both of you were sleep deprived. As you dissociated, your mind wandered to the events that occurred two days before. Morty was working on the plans for the current mission, sitting at their kitchen table. He’s built the bunker to look like an average home on earth in order to make you feel more comfortable. You were in the kitchen making dinner for the both of you. It may seem like stereotypical domestic bliss but you didn’t cook for Morty because you had to. Simple things like cooking or reading a book in the lazy boy that helped block out the horrors from adventures and missions. Everything was ready and you were making his plate when you heard him let out a deep breath from frustration. His face was bright red and was letting his head hang off the back of the chair. You set his plate on the table and came around and stood behind him. While you kissing the top of his head in order to comfort him, you noticed that he missed a step in the formula of an equation, 

“Look, you were supposed to subtract 0.836 before multiplying by the distance and speed,” you said. He pushed back his chair and led you into the living room before going back into the kitchen and started smashing his chair against the floor. 

You immediately ran back into the kitchen and asked him what the fuck he was doing. He completely ignored you and continued his rampage. It was pointless trying to stop him, he was too far gone in his frustration. Grabbing his blueprints to make sure they didn’t get ruined, in case he wanted them when he sobered up from his anger. By the time he was done, he was practically panting. He’d smashed all four chairs that had previously surrounded the dining room table. He pulled his shirt off and wiped the sweat off his face. Throwing his shirt over his shoulder, he ran his fingers through his hair to keep the damp strands off his face. He pulled the portal gun out of his waistband and opened a portal underneath the pile of broken wood and cushions. Letting it drop into an unknown location, so he didn’t have to clean it up. He grabbed the plate and kissed you before walking into the living room to watch tv on the couch while he ate. For a while you stood there, feeling confused and frozen. You’d seen Morty go crazy while hunting and stuff but never inside at home. 

“Come eat with me!” he called out, not in an aggressive way but that just made you even more confused. The fact that he was acting like nothing happened. You made yourself a plate and joined him on the couch, trying your best to appear unaffected by the event. 

“Were here,” Morty said, breaking you out of the dissociation. 

Following Morty as you exited the ship, carrying a gun in each hand. Looking out for any monsters and he was collecting crystals. It could be the lack of sleep but you could not stop thinking about his freak out. It bothered you that he wasn’t communicating his feelings to you. It also made you insecure about how he felt about you. Painfully obvious that he wasn’t happy with himself and as his girlfriend that has to be partly your fault right? Not to mention you were tired, running on literal injections of adrenaline. The fact that you both hadn’t had sex in a while like literally since he broke through the central finite curve. It just made you feel like he didn’t care anymore or that he had much more important things to do other than well… you. Bringing this up to Morty made you insecure, he rarely showed emotion even before all this shit. So it just felt like you’d be bothering him with something that is so juvenile compared to what he’s dealing with. 

“If you have something to say you should just say it.” Morty stated, as if he was in your mind as you were overthinking. 

“What are you talking about?” you asked flatly. 

“Do you think I can’t tell when you’re bothered by something?” he asked as they walked through the dense foliage. 

“Oh that’s rich,” you practically laughed. 

“Excuse me?” he asked. 

“Are you on fucking crack? You literally went completely feral when you were making the plans for today. Then acted like nothing happened at all, so it’s weird as hell that you’re projecting that shit on to me,” you said, shooting at a large cat-like species that was running towards the two of you. 

“All I said was that I could tell something is bothering you,” he said. 

“No you also said that if I had something to say then I should just say it. Just in actuality I can communicate my feelings in a mature way without smashing shit like a child,” you said.

“Oh yeah great notes, i’m glad you have so much free time on your hands that you can categorize what icks I give you,” he said flatly.

“Please, do me a favor and get your ego in check. We both know if you didn’t need me I wouldn’t be here. I have free time the same way you have your mental health under control and we both know neither of those things are true,” you said, now not masking the irritation in your tone. 

“For sure let me just check that out, last time I checked my ego is backed up by the fact that I can do anything. Should I dull down my ego and aww jeez myself asleep every night? My ego is the reason why we're here,” he said, you could tell he was getting more irritated. 

“Fuck you! Ugh you’re such a fucking dick some times, what the fuck is your problem?!” you screamed, stopping dead in your tracks.

“I'm sure you would love that but still have work to do,” he grumbled.

“Careful their buddy, the God complex you got from your fucking grandaddy is showing!” you said, throwing one of your guns at his back. He stood still for a while, rubbing the back of his neck. Even though he wasn’t facing you it was obvious that his anger was through the roof. He turned around and walked towards you in an aggressive manner. Due to your sleep deprivation and frustration you didn’t let your body language show any weakness like you normally would have. You had your arms crossed over your chest and a wide foot stance. The other gun still in your hand, he was now as close as he could be without being pressed against you. His eyebrows were furrowed and sweat dripped down his forehead. Red in the face and breathing heavily. 

“Am I supposed to be intimidated? Cower down? Beg and plead to stop fighting? You’re fucking crazy if you think I’d beg for shit! Fuck you for real like fuck you.” you hissed. 

“You want me to fuck you?” he asked as he backed you against a tree. You didn’t know what to say, you were mad but at the same time you’d be lying if you didn’t feel the sexual tension. When you didn’t respond he continued, 

“You said you wanted me to be more open about my feelings right? So let me take my feelings out on you right now, I'll show you exactly how I feel,” he said. 

You knew a deep red blush was painted over your cheeks. His eyes were glazed over and every time his breath hit your face, you could feel your cheeks prickle and tingle. He looked feral and had the same look in his eye from when he smashed the furniture. Part of you felt like this was a Catch 22; on one had been in a dry spell for two months and you were just about as sexually frustrated as someone could be. On the other hand, it kinda felt like giving into his advances would be a sign of you admitting defeat. Morty could tell you were weighing out the pros and cons of the situation. His hands began to wonder, running up and down your back. Goosebumps covered your skin as he did, you could control your facial expressions but couldn’t help how your body reacted to his touch. You managed to keep the same unaffected facial expression as he pushed his limits. Somehow he manages to take a step closer, pressing his groin against your crotch. Feeling how hard he was made your core burn and throb. He moved your hair and moved his lips so they were hovering over your ear before whispering,

“I want to build and destroy you over and over again,” he growled in ear.

You were losing the mental battle of maintaining your stubbornness. Giving into him would be admitting weakness and defeat in the mind games you were playing. There wasn’t anywhere to go, you were completely smashed against his body and the tree. He moved his mouth from the ear to your neck. He was breathing against your skin, rubbing his nose up and down. You held back a shiver, leaning over to the side in hope to give your skin a break from the sensitivity. Running his hand up your back, he gently tangles his hands in your hair. Slowly tightening his grip on the soft strands. Grabbing your gun he kills another animal that was running to attack. The loud crack of the weapon was similar to when the gun goes off in a race. You smash your lips against his, fully letting your body melt into his arms. He pulled away from your lips and sunk his teeth into your neck, hard enough to break skin. Squirming away from the burning and stinging but every time you did, he got more aggressive. Every once in a while you’d hear a couple of strands popping. 

“Is that why you’re being so difficult today? You wanted my attention, hmm?” he asked, his tone was ragged and low. 

“Holy fuck.. okay,” you half mumble half moan. 

“Can’t even hold a conversation because the only thing on your mind is being pounded, such a dumb little whore,” he said, pushing you down to the ground. 

It was a lot more aggressive than normal, ripping your shirt exposing your tits. His eyes were wide yet he still kept his eyebrows furrowed and angry. You went to reach for his belt but before you could reach it, he slapped your tit so hard it made you gasp. It’s not necessarily that you weren’t into how dominant he was being. It was making you nervous because this was the first time he wasn’t holding back. You could feel your body shivering in excitement and anticipation. Again you reach for his belt again and in return his palm and fingers smacked against your face. Whipping your body to the side due to the force and the fact that it was completely unexpected. You were laying on your back and before you could finish reacting to the slap, he was on top of you. Using his knees to pin down your things, his legs digging painfully into the muscles of your thigh. Pulling out a dagger from his waistband, it was long and curved kinda like a claw. Using it to cut a hole into your cargo pants, ripping at the fabric. The tip of the knife nicked you, taking in a sharp breath mixed with a gasp. Instinctually you got to sit up and investigate the wound. He pushed you back down into the dirt, a couple of sharp rocks digging into your back. Looking up and staring at him; the sun was beginning to set creating a glow of burnt orange and red illuminating his figure from behind. Now that it was starting to get dark, more creatures from the dense forest were waking up and getting hungry. Every once in a while using his laser gun to kill anything that gets too close. Eventually growing tired of the constant monitoring he puts up a force field. 

“Now: you can take my belt off,” he said, still gripping the blade menacingly.

At first, you were nervous to make any sudden movements. You sat back on your knees, the dirt and gravel on the ground was becoming increasingly bothersome. Slowly you reach up and start to undo his belt, he raises the knife up and starts gently grazing the sharp tip against your jaw. Your hands were shaking from adrenaline, excitement and a little fear. The belt was now fully undone, he was still looking down at you. His silence was making you nervous, you didn’t want to provoke him by doing or saying the wrong thing. After a couple moments of waiting for instruction, you become impatient and reach up again pulling his boxers down. He lets you expose him but then uses his other hand to grab you tightly by the jaw. 

“How dumb are you? What is it going to take for you to learn to do as you're told?” he spat, creating a small scratch on your cheek. 

“I’m sorry,” you cry out, becoming mentally exhausted. This was your 31st hour without sleep and it was starting to affect your patients. 

“Not yet,” he laughed. 

He flipped you over and immediately crawled on top of you. His exposed member pressing against you from behind. Your thoughts were becoming foggy, like you were intoxicated by your arousal and desire. Grabbing a fistful of hair, he pinned your head to the dirt. Every time you exhaled the dirt would fly up a little, like a plume of smoke. You were bucking your behind against him, trying to initiate some type of contact with your sexes. He took this as a sign of defiance, almost humoured that you thought you’d deserve his cock yet. 

“Did you really think you’d get your cunt touched without begging?” he growled. As soon as the words fell from his lips, fire and ice began running through your veins. You were accepting your fate, he was right and you were wrong. He was relishing in the fact that he was breaking you down piece by piece. After you had played a big game about essentially being immune to his mind games. 

“I’m sorry, okay. Please!” you cried out, trying to press your ass against him but couldn’t. He adjusted his position, his tip now pressed against your entrance. Using his head to spread your moisture around your lips and clit. 

“Being treated like this gets you off? Having to beg for it makes you this wet? I thought begging was beneath you, say it, that you’re too good to beg,” you were panting and drooling, part of you wanted to hang on to that stubbornness. That maybe your dignity could be somewhat salvaged, you stayed silent trying to figure out what to say; whether to give in or keep fighting back. He was getting irritated waiting for a response and began slapping his dick against your pussy. 

“Say. It.” He ordered with a low yet strong voice.

“I’m not t-too good to b-beg,” you whimper out, a tear of humility streamed down your face. 

“What? You sounded so sure earlier though.. Say it again, just so I know you’re serious,” he growled, running the blade down your back. As bruised as your ego was, you couldn't lie and say you weren’t equality as turned on. Part of you felt a little ashamed that you’re enjoying this level of domination and humiliation. 

“I’m not too good to beg you! J-just please I can’t-!” you practically shrieked, not being able to take the anticipation and teasing anymore. 

He then lined himself up and slid into you. You tighten yourself around him, fully enjoying the feeling of his throbbing member filling your needy hole. You’d learned your lesson and let him take the lead, using your body however he wanted. His hip bones were stabbing into your ass but you didn’t care. Being sexually frustrated for weeks mixed with being teased mentally and physically made you overly sensitive. Your walls were burning but from a mix of immense pleasure and slight pain from how fast the friction was. His body was fully pressed against yours, fucking you into the ground. Your head was between his elbows and forearms. The side of your head was fully pressed against the dirt, tears turning into mud and sticking to your face. His lips were pressed against your ear, groaning and whispering vulgar nothings. 

“I- can’t, please, it h-hurts,” your words came out garbled and hoarse. 

“You want me to stop? Can’t take it? That’s okay, just say so,” he groaned into your ear. It wasn’t like you were lying, you didn’t think you could take much more. You wanted more though, so you shut your mouth and continued enjoying being stretched. 

“That’s what I fucking thought, silly little cumslut,” he growled, pounding into you harder than you thought possible. 

The force field was beginning to fail, getting smaller and less protective. He pulls you up, putting you in doggie position. Your knees were being scrapped by the rocks and gravel. He spit on his dick as he continued pounding into you. Using the gun to kill creatures trying to break through the force field. Both of you were getting close, his thrusts were becoming more erratic. Feeling you pulse and tighten around you. The gun was getting hot due to rapid use, noticing this: he remembers when you threw it at him. So he pressed the hot barrel against your lower back, right where a tramp stamp normally would be placed. This intense pain combined with the pleasure and overstimulation was enough to send you into climax. Even though you were nearly passed out, you could tell he was cumming into you. It was like he cock pressed deep enough into your spasming cunt. As soon as you were done riding out the high, you passed out.

[oliolioxenfreewrites]

An excerpt from the horror story series I’ll be posting tomorrow morning!

The Retreat

8 months ago…

It was supposed to be a celebratory hike. David had just landed a major distributor for his athleisure wear brand, and they decided to mark the occasion with a challenging trail they had been meaning to try. The weather in Maryland was perfect this time of year—cool and crisp, with a median level heat ideal for a long excursion.

They set out early, with the morning mist still clinging to the mountains. Monique felt on top of the world, hand in hand with David, their laughter echoing through the trees.

About two hours in, they reached a fork in the trail. The left path was well-maintained and led to a popular viewpoint. The right fork was overgrown and marked with a faded sign warning of unstable terrain.

"Let's take the next right," Monique suggested eagerly.

She began to stretch and lifted the back of her coily red-brown hair, which shimmered in the sunlight and tied it into a messy bun, preparing for the next segment of the trail. Her husband's face was filled with nothing, but apprehension.

David gazed skeptically at the ominous path ahead and asked, “Are you sure about this?”

“Oh, c'mon! Where's your sense of adventure, baby?” she teased, a mischievous glint in her eye.

David hesitated. “I don't know, Momo. That sign looks pretty serious.”

But Monique was insistent. “Trust me, it'll be fine. We're experienced hikers. Plus, imagine the view without all the tourists.”

Reluctantly, David agreed, knowing it would make Monique happy. And for the first mile, everything seemed fine; the path was rough but manageable. Then—they reached the cliffside portion...

The trail narrowed dramatically, hugging a sheer rock face with a dizzying drop to the right. Monique led the way with steady, confident strides, her resolve unwavering despite the precarious path. She glanced back periodically to check on David, noticing his forehead crinkle in that way she found endearingly adorable. It always amused her that this 6’2” muscular Italian, so strong and charismatic, could be unnerved by heights.

A twinge of remorse washed over her as she remembered how she had convinced him to come along on this adventure, despite his apprehension. She hoped the stunning views and sense of victory would eventually outrank his current anxiety.

“Momo, we seriously should turn back,” David called out, lagging behind his enthusiastic wife.

“Don’t worry, babe, we’re almost through,” Monique replied, seeing the clearing just a few steps ahead. “Just a little further.”

Those four words would haunt her forever.

A few steps later, she heard a sickening crumble, a sound that now echoes in her mind whenever she closes her eyes or feels anxious. The next thirty seconds shattered her world; the path beneath David's feet gave way. As Monique spun around in horror, she couldn’t even process the scene before her.

“David!” she shouted, reaching out desperately, but she was too far ahead. Their fingertips brushed, and their eyes locked for a split second before her husband plummeted into the abyss. It was the last time she touched or saw her college sweetheart.

The world seemed to slow down as Monique watched David disappear into the void. Her scream echoed through the mountains, a sound of pure anguish that was swallowed by the vast, indifferent wilderness. She fell to her knees, the weight of what had just happened crashing down on her. She could barely breathe, her chest tightening with a mix of shock and terror.

Minutes felt like hours as she scrambled to the edge, hoping against hope to see David clinging to something, anything. But there was nothing—just the sheer drop and the distant sound of rocks tumbling into the chasm below. The reality of the situation began to sink in, and with it came a flood of guilt and regret.

“Why had I convinced him to take this path? How could I have been so careless?!”

The next hours were a blur of frantic calls for help, rescue helicopters, and devastating news. Monique sat there, feeling detached from her body as they asked her all their typical questions; all she could hear was static. Despite the best efforts of the rescue teams, the news came that David hadn't survived the fall. Friends and family were notified, and the reality of the loss began to sink in as everyone tried to come to terms with the sudden tragedy.

In the days and weeks following the funeral, Monique was overwhelmed not only by all-consuming grief but also by a crippling sense of guilt. She found herself trapped in a storm of emotions, unable to escape the constant reminders of his loss and the nagging voice in her head that kept repeating, “If only I had listened to David, if only I had been more cautious, if only I could have saved him.”

Every moment without him felt like a lifetime, and the burden of her guilt grew heavier with each passing day. She often found herself either lost in a bottle of whatever she could find in their extensive stash to avoid leaving the house or endlessly, hopelessly, scrolling through ten years of memories in the darkness of their shared apartment in downtown Maryland. Her photos app mocked her every time she picked up her phone, thanks to the new and taunting 'Featured' section that adorns our technology today. She hadn’t worked or touched her art in months. Unless her twin brother Marcus, or her best friend Ashleigh brought her food—she wouldn’t even eat. She was constantly surrounded by the hall of fame of their love. The awards he won for the prosperity of his athleisure wear business, which she signed over to his family out of respect, still adorned the shelves. His clothes hung in the closet, and his shoes sat by the door as if waiting for him to come home.

It took Ashleigh planning this trip to wake her from her grief-ridden daze; she owed her friend her entire future.

Now, lying in bed in the dark cabin, Monique felt the weight of her actions more acutely than ever. She had come here seeking healing but was now confronting her deepest regrets in the most terrifying way possible. The shadows of the room seemed to press in around her, and the sounds of the forest outside took on an eerie, almost whispering quality.

She closed her eyes, trying to steady her breathing. The image of David’s fall played over and over in her mind, a relentless loop of her greatest nightmare. She clutched the blanket tightly, as if it could shield her from the torment within her own mind.

As dawn began to break, the faint light filtering through the curtains, Monique made a decision. She would confront whatever was taunting her—whether it was the memory of David, her own guilt, or something more sinister lurking in the woods. She needed to face it, to find some semblance of peace.

She owed David that much.

Monique opened her eyes with a deep breath and stared at the ceiling, feeling the first rays of sunlight touch her face. The journey ahead was still uncertain, but she felt a spark of determination for the first time in a long while. The path to healing would be painfully difficult, but she was finally ready to take the first step.

@drchenquill @illarian-rambling @kaylinalexanderbooks @leahpardo-pa-potato @slenders1ckn3ss @somethingclevermahogony @inky-duchess @sassystyl @rotting-moon-writes @highlycosmic @avaseofpeonies @oc-atelier @ceph-the-ghost-writer @paeliae-occasionally @davycoquette @unforgettable-sensations @hissorrow22 @boredwritergirl @scorpiothesaint @thewrathoffemaleragem @spookyceph @enne-uni if interested in joining or being removed, just let me know! :)

[inkovert]

Writeblr (Re)-Introduction

« A B O U T »

Hello there! Call me Ink (she/her pronouns). I'm a black female writer in my late 20s. I've been on writeblr since 2018 (according to my ~ archive ~) and I've probably made a couple intros since then, but nothing quite as organized/formal as this so - here we are!

I primarily write contemporary/literary fiction (which I know isn't super prevalent on writeblr so happy to bond with any fellow litfic writers). I enjoy writing deeply introspective, character-driven stories (I think because, I'm learning, I'm a deeply inspective person lol) so if that's your cup of tea then check out my WIP(s) below :)

Links/places to find me (if you are on any of these sites, pls connect with me! I'm actively looking for other writers to follow)

Wattpad

Instagram/Twitter: @rianeblackwell (my writer pen name!)

Random things about me/how I run my blog

I'm a dual-degree bio graduate student so I spend my days pipetting shit in a lab

outside of writing, I enjoy reading (when I have the patience and bandwidth for it), watching anime (fav: fruits basket; currently watching: one piece), (guided) painting, and...sleeping?

I am ask game and tag game friendly! Though it may take me time to respond to tag games.

You will typically find me posting my random thoughts about things (tagged: inkoverted thoughts) - as I said I am introspective af so this constitutes like 90% of what I post. my writing you say? yeah we're still working on growing the gonads to post about that consistently or at all :^)

Because I have so many thoughts, I just started a writeblr discourse series called Spilled Ink (tagged: spilled ink) so that I'm not just shouting into the void and can (hopefully) have people talk back to me and share their opinions

I am always down to talk! seriously. a message in my ask box will never fail to brighten my day so come talk to me about anything and everything.

« W I P S »

Again, unlike most on writeblr (I feel like such an oddball here sometimes), I do not have a trillion WIPs to list and advertise. I'm very much the person that prefers to focus on one WIP at a time. That said, I do have one main WIP and a side-WIP that I started out of spite (and haven't touched since):

My Dearest Enemy (YA literary fiction) | WIP intro | WIP tag | read on wattpad

a coming-of-age story about a 17-year-old aspiring artist whose artwork is deteriorating as she struggles to come to terms with the death of her father a year prior. as the story unfolds she meets a series of new people who force her to contend with the bleak reality she's settled for. the emotional journey that results opens up her world, and ultimately unearths a shocking truth.

Untitled Romance WIP (Contemporary fiction) | no tag or intro just yet

a story about a black female physician assistant living a life of self-sabotage as she jumps from one unfulfilling "relationship" to another. she's been convinced, by society and past experiences, that someone as "dark" as her needs to settle for any form of affection she can get. fairly tale love stories with happy endings don't happen to people like her. But when her crush from high school who unknowingly started her streak of self-sabotage suddenly reappears in her life, she has to decide whether it's worth giving him another chance.

[wackybuddiemewbs]

Did anyone say WIP snippets no one asked for? No? Well, here it is anyway...

For context... yeah, it's *that* coma dream from Bones fans will adore and hype, rightfully so, to this day. Because the scenes for my long-ass Bones AU before that are not really done... we're just jumping right into the coma dream following Eddie being taken out by a sniper, following him and Buck investigating Charlie's case.

As for reference: We currently stand at roughly 540k something something words for this fic that's not a fic, not counting notes and ideas. If we count those, too, we're at 581k something something. AKA why, God, whyyyyyy???

The End in the Beginning Part ???

He watches numbly as his body is tossed around like a rag doll, nearly knocking him off his feet.

Blood sprays from his shoulder like the water bombs Buck and Christopher tossed around the yard on a particularly hot day this summer. He can’t hear them giggle, though.

White-hot pain explodes in his shoulder, knocking the air out of him.

Eddie gasps for air to fill his lungs, but it won’t come.

Why can’t he breathe?

He wants to say something, but the words won’t come. Sirens scream in his ears, deafen him. The sunlight above blinds him. The pain ebbs into numbness as he falls to the ground.

Three senses shutting down, two left. Gotta stay awake. Gotta stay…

Eddie can still smell. He can tell that he’s on gravel, out in a street. Gasoline and smoke lie in the air, burned rubber and oil. And blood. He can smell his own blood, metallic. He can also taste it, iodic, cold. And it makes him want to gag.

The world grows hazy, blurry, tilts this way, then the other. For a moment, Eddie believes he is lying on desert sand, but he after blinks once, twice, a third time, he is back on the street, blood pooling underneath him. No sand to absorb it, just the gravel. His life is draining out of him, and he is watching it happen.

But that can’t be, can it?

He promised, after all. To come back home.

Christopher.

He has to come back home to him. He has to…

“Eddie? Eddie!”

Buck? Is he here, too? He can’t be here. It’s too dangerous.

Eddie wants to shout again, back into the blankness from where he can hear Buck’s voice. He wants to tell him to stay away, to stay safe. He can’t get hurt, too. If Eddie can’t get back home, Buck has to. For Christopher. Not just for Christopher, but also for Christopher. To look after him.

And because he needs to be safe. He needs to be safe, please.

“Just hold on! I’m gonna go get you!”

No, stay away! he screams internally, but it’s lost to the void. Stay safe!

“Stay with me, Eddie!”

He wants to, he does. More than anything. Blindly, Eddie reaches to the source of the voice calling him, but the white light mingles with the blackness spreading across his eyes.

Please forgive me, he thinks as all senses shut down. I tried, I did.

The black swallows him whole. He sees nothing, hears nothing, tastes nothing, smells nothing. Whatever it is that he is touching, whatever it might be that is touching him, he can’t feel it anymore. Because it’s over, it’s done.

I’m sorry.

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

Eddie wakes up with a gasp. He sits up, rubs his eyes, feels faint wetness against his fingertips. Black dots mingle with white ones.

Just like…

Panting, he lets one hand fall down to his shoulder. It doesn’t hurt anymore, and there is no wetness, no blood. His white shirt is crisp and clean, just rumpled from sleep. Because apparently, he is in bed, his bed. At home. It’s dark outside, light cracking through the door that’s left slightly ajar.

There is no gravel digging into his skin. No pool of blood forming underneath him. No sirens blaring. No cold spreading inside him. No searing pain. No one screaming his name as he keeps bleeding out.

It’s just him, sitting in his bed, sweat-soaked. With a heart that can still beat as fast as it does. Because he is alive. Not dead, alive. At home, alive.

So it was just a dream…

Eddie is pulled out of his thoughts when the door opens slowly. It takes him a few moments to recognize the outline of the person entering.

Buck.

He slips inside, careful not to make any noises as he works on the cuffs of his shirt. Buck’s eyes find his in the dark, and a shy smile creeps up his lips.

“Oh, hey. Sorry, did I wake you again?” he asks in a hushed voice, like he’s done that a million times. And Eddie feels like it’s been a million times that he couldn’t help but smile at that. So he does, and Buck smiles back at him, ducking his head.

Eddie frowns, then answers, “No.”

“Oh, good,” Buck sighs, relieved. His eyes drift to the alarm clock next to Eddie on the nightstand.

“You’re late,” Eddie finds himself say, like he knows what time Buck should be here, should be home.

“I know, I know, I promised not to work overtime, but I just had to wrap up the preparations for the new exhibition,” Buck continues, almost pleads. “Bobby said it’d be fine to finish early next morning, but you know how it is with me. Even if I had gone on time, I would have assembled the exhibits in my mind. So no sleep… which means I could have just as well finish now, so I might actually rest.”

Eddie can’t put his finger on it, but there is something about Buck that’s different in a way. He is his awkward, weird self, alright. But he also seems… at ease? Like he doesn’t have to prove anything anymore.

It suits him.

Buck chuckles to himself. “For that we’re dealing exclusively with fossils in our department, you’d think us paleontologists wouldn’t be on such a tight schedule. Yet, here we are.”

“But you got it all set?” Eddie asks, like he knows what that’s about. And it feels familiar, too. In the way that makes his lips curl into a soft smile as he listens to Buck ramble on about something that excites him, which are so many things. It feels like they had this very same conversation a hundred times over. So he probably did, right?

After all, it was just a nightmare, right?

“Duh.” Buck unbuttons his shirt. “Chris is gonna love it for sure. So you know what our plans for the weekend are.”

“Well, so long I don’t have to show him around and pretend to know the names of the dinosaurs, I’m happy to tag along,” Eddie answers automatically.

“I guess that can be arranged,” Buck laughs easily. He takes off the shirt and slips on a loose shirt he picks out of the drawer blindly. Then he slips out of his pants and hangs them over the chair. Eddie watches on, wondering why he wonders about that as much as he does. Because this is an evening like any other. They are at ease. They are at home. They are safe.

Everything is as it ought to be, right?

Smiling, Buck makes his way over to Eddie’s side of the bed and sits down on the edge. The mattress dips under his weight, as though to draw Eddie just one inch closer. And Eddie happily lets himself sink just that inch closer to feel Buck’s warm body radiate heat against his slightly clammy skin, making him feel anything but dead.

“Sorry,” Buck says sheepishly, then leans over and kisses Eddie gently on the lips. “Almost forgot.”

The kiss feels chaste yet intimate. Like it has been practices for many years, and Eddie leans into its familiarity, lets the warm feeling cast out the remains of that nightmare that left him to shiver before.

“Hi,” Buck whispers, grinning against his lips.

“Hi,” Eddie chuckles, leaning his forehead against Buck’s for a moment. They stay like that for a short while, though Eddie wouldn’t mind if eternity felt like that either.

Buck pulls back a bit to look at him, knitting his eyebrows. “You okay?”

He frowns. “Yeah, why?”

“You just have that broody face going on, which normally means there’s something you don’t wanna talk about but maybe should be talking about,” Buck explains. “And I know that you don’t do, unless I ask. So… I ask.”

Eddie’s mouth opens and closes a few times, then he says, “I just had a really weird dream, is all.”

“Weird in the creepy yet exciting way or weird in the… unnerving kind of way that makes you wanna hide under the covers?” Buck wants to know. Eddie doesn’t miss how he unconsciously starts to sweep his thumb up and down along Eddie’s forearm.

“It was just… odd. I got shot in the streets. You were there, too, I think you were, and… I think a sniper took me down. But… it didn’t feel like me, you know? Like it was some other version of me getting shot, one that got it handed to him pretty badly,” Eddie ponders.

It felt so real, though…

“Well, getting shot by a sniper doesn’t sound pleasant, that’s for sure,” Buck says sympathetically.

“Not really.”

“Though thankfully, statistically speaking, it’s very unlikely for a man installing security systems in buildings to get shot in the streets by a sniper,” Buck tells him with a small grin.

Eddie smirks. “That’s still Security Management Specialist for you.”

“Sorry, sorry. You did a wonderful job at the Jeffersonian, specially managing all our security,” Buck laughs, then slips his hand over the back of Eddie’s. He lets his finger rest against a metal band there that Eddie didn’t even feel as foreign until now. “You made me a very proud husband once all was installed. Like, yeah, my man did that.”

Buck pecks him on the cheek, tangling his arms around Eddie’s shoulder loosely. “Sorry you had a bad dream, though.”

“Nah, it’s alright,” Eddie assures him, though honestly, he assures himself foremost. Eddie buries his head against Buck’s clavicle, soaking up even more of the warmth Buck radiates, the comfort he offers by just being there. “At least I got up for you to distract me. You always make me forget all that crap in an instant.”

“Do I?” Buck whispers, almost sings it like a lullaby.

“Always.”

They pull apart to chase each other’s lips, not desperately, but with more need than before. To assure each other that they are indeed there. That they can hold each other that close. That they have each other.

And it seems to work like a charm. Eddie can’t hear the sirens anymore. He only hears the rustling of the sheets and Buck’s shallow intakes of air whenever their lips part. He doesn’t taste blood on his tongue. He tastes spearmint from the gum Buck must have chewed on the ride back, he sometimes does that when he’s tired and needs to stay awake. He doesn’t smell gravel and smoke. He smells the last remains of Buck’s cologne. He tastes and smells and feels Buck. And in that small world, everything makes perfect sense. Kissing Buck and holding him close, that’s all it takes for his world to make sense.

Stay with me…

Once they break up the kiss, Eddie nudges his nose against the side of Buck’s, resting his face more against Buck’s, leaning into the comfort he provides by just being there, by staying without Eddie having to ask for it.

“I missed you,” Eddie breathes.

Buck chuckles at that. “I wasn’t gone that long, c’mon.”

“In my dream, I missed you. I couldn’t… I heard you, but I couldn’t see you. I couldn’t… get to you,” Eddie mumbles.

“I’m here now.”

And Eddie can hear it, the unspoken “I’m staying”. He takes another deep breath, takes it all in.

“What do you need?” Buck asks.

“Just you,” Eddie replies simply.

Because it is that simple. He needs Buck, and Buck is here.

What more do I need?

Buck’s fingers run soothing circles around the back of his neck and head. They stay like that for a while. Because there is no need for a rush. They aren’t just stealing moments, glances. They have them, they can create them. They are theirs to claim.

“Feeling better?” Buck whispers after a while.

“Very much,” Eddie confirms. “Just your kind of magic.”

Buck groans, leaning his head back. “Eddie, magic doesn’t exist, you know that.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He laughs.

“So… Want some more distraction?” Buck asks, teasing.

Eddie grins against his cheek. “Aren’t you tired?”

“Not enough not to want this,” Buck replies, letting his hand slide down Eddie’s side, making him shudder. “Never enough to not want you.”

Eddie lets himself ease back down on the bed, pulling Buck with him so that he is halfway sprawled across his chest. “If that’s the case… Then yeah, distract me.”

“That can be arranged,” Buck laughs, pecking one of Eddie’s scars briefly.

“I love you, you know?” Eddie mutters, feeling like he can’t say it often enough, like he probably hasn’t said it enough.

Because things can happen… people get shot in bright daylight…

“Well, that’s convenient. Coz I love you, too,” Buck snickers, his entire face lighting up, even in the dark. “And I’m about to show you just how much I love you.”

Eddie laughs as he turns them both over, leaving him on top. For a moment, he just lingers there, traces the faint outlines of Buck in the dark with his eyes. He slips one hand against Buck’s palm, finds the metal band there and runs his fingertips across it, maybe for good luck, he isn’t sure. But he never takes his eyes off of Buck, searches him in the dark and finds him there, waiting, staying. And once he does, he leans in and kisses him in all earnest. Not for the last time tonight, it’d seem.

It was really just a dream, then.

Thank God I woke up, then.

[leahnardo-da-veggie]

Lich-Queen, pt 7 (FINAL)

I'M DONE!! AAAAA >:)) Thanks to everyone who followed this thing, I love y'all platonically. Anyways, to anyone who's new, I'll post the full thing soon, so in the meantime have part 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and the drabble accompaniment that we can pretend is part 4!

Story below cut :D

My steps down the stairs left a trail of blood behind them. I stopped at the base of the stairs, meeting the eyes of my new allies. There was approval in Empress Sucsu'anane's nod, delight in the shifter delegation, and… Horror? Fear? Amongst the elves.

Saivere, the same elf who had been ever so pleasant towards me, stepped forth. “What in Solaria's name have you done? That…” He shook his head violently. “That was wrong. Do you not understand the meaning of the word?”

Empress Sucsu'anane laughed at him. “Young Nari-ilra, do not be rude. All reigns end and begin with bloodshed, even yours. Why should she try to hide it under a veneer of civility? Honesty is a valuable trait,” she told him.

Saivere squared himself resolutely. “This is inhumane,” he insisted. “We just watched an innocent man be tortured to death. I will not stand by and watch this travesty, and if you had any sense, you would not either.”

Like a kindergarten descending into chaos, the people before me divided into two camps. Overlapping voices argued with each other, clamouring and demanding to be listened to. All for little old me! It was absolutely delightful.

When I had grown bored of the fuss, I raised my knife and tapped it on the metal railing. The resulting clang resounded through the hall, silencing the crowd as it went. 

“Now,” I said, into the void of suits. “If you are done bickering like little children, I have a thing or two I'd like to say.” 

Crossing my hands behind my back as straightening up to my full height, I continued, “It has been brought to my attention that we are having a certain… overcrowding issue. We, as immortals and long-lived species, are running out of living space, living space that we deserve. Now, who has been taking that space?”

I paused, and the shifters piped up. “The humans,” they cried, joined in belatedly by the spirits and my ghouls.

“Exactly,” I replied, nodding. “The mortal mayflies. Irritating, multiplying, and absolutely everywhere! Even the spirit-tongue recognises them as Kina-ilra, the everywhere people. Bad enough that they pop up all over the place, but that they are driving us out of our lands? That they are moving into our cities and taking up jobs that belong to our people and coming up with new technologies? That they have forgotten their place?”

Saivere's face fell. “Have you forgotten your past? You were a human once too,” he cried.

“Don't hold it against me,” I quipped, grinning at him. Yes, the flow of the crowd was turning against him. I could feel its heartbeat, the crashing waves of murmurs. “I'm trying to put those days behind me.”

Saivere opened his mouth to rebut me, and I hushed him again. The creases of anger and worry on his forehead gave me another idea. I took a mocking bow towards him. “You know, ladies, gentlemen, and eternal abominations, we all have one thing in common. Can anybody tell me what it is?”

From the crowd, someone piped up. “We're all inhuman?”

“Do you hear that? That's human centric language right there.” The rhetoric of Queendom was coming to me. “We need to stop that. Tell me, what unites us?  We're all Ilre, Kitzche, immortals! That's what defines us, not that we aren't forsaken mayflies.”

“But the elves aren't immortal,” another member of the elven delegation shouted. There was a distinct aura of gotcha from him. Oh, we were going to see who had gotten who soon enough. “We just happen to have long lifespans.”

I stepped forward, and the elves stepped back. “Exactly. Tell me, who taught the humans machinery? Who helped them with agriculture, encouraged democracy within their borders? Which non-immortal species is currently infringing on the Cescere spirit's lands?”

A dangerous hush descended upon them. I smiled even wider, grateful for my new face, for I could literally smile ear to ear now. “Tell me… Who is just as much to blame as any human?”

The answer came in a ripple, as much magic as any spell. The elves. The nari-ilra. The mortals. All of them. Every last one. Not a good one amongst them. Fingers sharpened to claws, weapons drawn. 

The elves never stood a chance.

I watched Saivere be shredded before my very eyes, letting his gore mingle with Tamaris'. I grasped his severed head and lifted it up. By the gods, if my sister could see me now. She would weep with horror and fear, to see what I had become. I revelled in the thought that I had become the very monster she so desperately sought to stop. That in the end, she was the powerless oracle, and I the great necromancer. That all her prophecies were not enough to prevent the fate I had so craved.

“Look at this,” I commanded. My people obeyed.

“This is a sign of our new regime,” I announced. My people listened.

“We will kill every human, and then we will rule atop their corpses!”

And my people cheered for me, their Lich-Queen.

Taglist:

@coffeeangelinabox, @dorky-pals, @calliecwrites, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @shukei-jiwa

@thewingedbaron, @pluppsauthor, @cowboybrunch, @wylloblr, @possiblyeldritch

@ramitola, @urnumber1star, @fortunatetragedy, @bigwipscholar, @ratedn

@vampirelover890, @possiblylisle, @illarian-rambling, @the-ellia-west

@finicky-felix, @evilgabe29 (Anyone else who wants to get added can tell me in the comments, pm me, or send me an ask about it!)

[snarkythewoecrow]

dont really care if anyone agrees but sometimes you just see a take and idk, need to pause and breathe, to stop yourself from stepping in the pile of steaming shit

but i will say this, yes, i do write fanfic for the fun, because i love the characters and media associated with it, and i'm sure a lot of others do the same, because why else do it?

but i SHARE my stories with the fandom and community, with readers, with other humans, because i want to be part of a community, to engage and see the joy my writing brings, to feel like part of something fun and special

and all these hot takes that writers are not entitled to engagement, idk, but it's giving me not so good feelings, which to put simply, in a general statement, they can fuck all the way off

sure, not everyone has the spoons to engage every day, every time, and hey, yeah, sometimes that kudos button can be too much, but if we all tried to remember that this is a community and did our best to interact when we could, that would go a long way

you can reply to existing comments, saying something like "^^^THIS" in reply, allowing you to interact with other readers, because this is your community, too, or you can just leave an emoji, and that's not to say you have to comment because it can be hard, but hitting the kudos if you can is a damn nice token, too

but the point i'm getting at is, the thing i saw that pissed me off and i've seen too much, is that whole bullshit where writers shouldn't act entitled to anything, as if since we are already writing this shit for ourselves, we should just share it and we suck it up if it feels like we're just shouting into the void

but here's the thing, i'm not posting because i want X number of this or that, i just want to see the things enjoyed, to feel part of something, and feel connected to all the other weirdos obsessed with my current thing

and radio silence, topped with seeing post after post of how writers should essentially sit quietly and take what they receive yet continue to share even when they feel alone?

as said earlier, that shit can fuck all the way off

so yeah, my probably less than a hot take, readers aren't entitled to fics as writers aren't entitled to comments or kudos, but without community and engagement, without kindness, the soil might as well be made of salt

[shion-yu]

Today sucked again, rant under the cut coz nobody has any reason to read this negativity but I feel like shouting into the void...

Another horrible day where the only reason I stay at my job is because I love my patients and I need health insurance. Another day where management does everything in their power to make it as hard as possible to actually take care of the underprivileged people we're supposed to serve. I work the job of 3 people and yet get voluntold to take new projects on while the people I clean up after daily just chill bc they management knows they don't even do their current jobs so they can't rely on them to take on more. I want to leave it all alone but I literally can't. I have to do it coz I care about the fucking patients and they know that and take advantage of it. I don't get paid more to translate every day. I don't get paid more even though I single handedly increased the capacity of this program sixfold. I turned down a transfer bc I was supposed to be promoted when my boss said he was gonna retire last summer. And then this winter. And yet he's still here and gets paid more even tho I do his whole job.

I wish I could quit. If my parents weren't alive I'd be so out of this country. I mean thank God they are but they're the only reason I stay in the US. I miss Peru. I miss when work was more fun bc I had two of my best friends here but one quit bc of harassment and one got (illegally) fired for reporting a sexual assault. I'm trying to enjoy my pregnancy but instead all I can think about is work. I want to travel, even take a babymoon, but I can't even do that coz I have no leave after work asked me to volunteer in another country for a month last year and then made me use all my own leave to actually carry out the obligation. (But ofc they still so proudly like to say someone from our work did this amazing project!) I'm so over everything and I know the program's gonna literally fall apart when I go on maternity leave and I can't even feel properly smug about it bc I care about the patients too damn much.

UGH. FUCK.

[allofmytears]

my hero and kingdom hearts crossover au lets gooooo

spoilers

☝️current forms these two are taking. We're in chapter 317 and mid kh2 for the duration of this au

First! the contrivance. How tf do i get these boys in proximity. pulls scrap of paper out of hat. it says quirk nonsense. alright cool.

so while deku is getting mobbed in chapter 317 (literally Just Before katsuki gets there), one of the people activate their quirk, which for our purposes is just opening a corridor to darkness, and Deku falls through it. so he's in the realm of darkness now.

without proper equipment, he basically goes into freefall, with no control over his trajectory. he's spinning helplessly through the void, stretching blackwhip out in all directions, hoping to catch hold of anything solid. When he latches onto something, he pours everything into pulling himself towards it.

Riku, having been minding his own business trekking through the corridors, is understandably put out when a bunch of black tendrils latch onto him and do not let go. When a ragged, dark looking creature emerges from the ground, he does what any sensible person would do in that situation, and attacks it on sight.

commence deku vs riku part 1.

deku, not knowing any better, assumes that because this place is the result of a quirk, the person currently attacking him is the quirk user. he fights back under the impression that if he can subdue this guy, he can get out of this place. he's still struggling to keep any sort of footing there, as corridors of darkness are only navigable by people wearing the proper equipment. think of the corridors as rivers, and the organization cloaks (or SDG's enchanted clothing) as boats. Without a boat, Deku goes under more often than not.

So deku Cannot let go of the tall, suspicious guy in the hood at all or he's dead. And riku is trying his damndest to get this creepy little freak off of him.

The resulting fight draws the attention of the heartless, and soon a crowd starts forming around them. Riku, realising the mounting danger, cuts his losses and opens a door to twilight town, making one last attempt to cut free from the tendrils (unsuccessful) before running out of the corridor. Deku hurls himself after him, not wanting to get stuck there again (it's terrifying in there)

deku vs riku part 2

they tumble into a heap outside of the gates to the mansion, and deku finally retracts blackwhip at the feel of solid ground. riku rolls up to his feet and draws his blade again, ready to finally put this rabid bunny thing down, while deku staggers upright (fucking exhausted). deku is still resolved to subdue this guy, since he's obviously a villain and may be under AFO's influence, so he fights with all he has. Plus Ultra.

Neither of them have said a word to each other.

the fight stretches on far longer and far more viciously than either of them expect, and riku is getting angry while deku is getting desperate. when deku gets too close, Riku strikes hard at his head, shouting for the thing to "Back off!" in ansem's dark, callous voice. Deku's mask tears off like tissue paper, and he falls to the ground, unconscious.

...

Katsuki just saw deku disappear into thin air. Fuck.

With all of the people converging on Deku, it was hard to tell exactly what happened, but when his AP shot dispersed the crowd and deku was nowhere to be seen, it was hard not to draw conclusions. While the rest of 1A brought down the villain Dictator, Katsuki went looking for the guy who opened the corridor.

...

Riku is having emotions at the moment. With the mask gone, it's obvious that this was just a kid. Riku didn't know how he got into the corridors, or why he attacked him, but it was hard to look at him and not see...Roxas. Xion. People Riku had sacrificed.

Whatever the kid's deal was, Riku wasn't going to let another child fall to darkness. He picks him up, and takes him inside the mansion.

...

Izuku wakes up and is not dead! this is very encouraging. Unfortunately the villain is looming over him. Less encouraging.

"Hi," says the villain.

"Um," says the Deku. Goddamn it.

What follows is a long conversation in which Riku feeds Deku some soup and tries his best to clear up the misunderstanding, while Deku mildly freaks out. When Deku finally explains his situation, Riku is uh...concerned. But! willing to help. Riku promises to help Izuku get home, no strings attached, and provides him with a cloak so he can travel the corridors safely. Thus begins the adventures of Riku and Deku, which despite the simplicity of their goal, ends up with them going on wayyyy too many detours. Because reasons.

...

Sora is annoyed. While helping the residents of the current world deal with the heartless, he comes across this missile of a guy stealing his kills with seeming ease, shooting around at the speed of sound yelling about whatever. Sora, being Sora, follows after the guy, much to Donald's frustration. When they finally catch up, they find him trying to take down a powerful heartless. He seems to be having some trouble though. SDG come to the rescue! They defeat the heartless together, and the mystery bomb dude shouts a quick thanks before shooting off again. This happens two more times, bomb dude seeming weaker every time, and it's revealed he has a serious injury in his shoulder. With the heartless dealt with, Donald heals him, and they finally get the chance to ask what this guy's deal is.

Bakugou is trying not to let his pride sting too much at these goofy looking guys taking out the Nomu where he failed. Whatever quirk the duck has was amazing though, and the pain is almost completely gone. He'd never heard of this hero trio before, but they were being helpful at least, and after losing contact with the rest of class 1A after going through that portal, he'd need the support.

A conversation commences! And since they were all trying to find someone, SDG invited Bakugou (we are not calling you that long ass name) onto their gummy ship.

...

So begins a very frustrating game of cat and mouse in which Deku follows his heart through the corridors, and Sora follows his heart on the gummi ship, leading them on a circular path through the worlds as they continuously JUST miss each other.

Because Sora's heart always leads him to Riku, and Deku's heart always leads him to Kacchan.

It's a wild ride.

[reaper-bloodmoon]

(TSAMS Continuity AU) Take My Word

Superstar Daycare Basement...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terry: ...What the hell did Teek do to the basement??

Solar: If I had to guess...they transformed it with their Dark Star power.

Ruin: I...can't see anything, why'd they have to make it so dark?? It's like...oh, hm...it's like some kind of cocoonish nest.

Lunar: Couldn't say it better myself, I do not like how sticky and slimy the floor feels.

Terry: Dude, don't point it out now I'm noticing it, eEW-!

[The camera pans over to show what the group is talking about, a dark shadowy substance coating the walls and floor. The current group consisted of Terry, Lunar, Solar, Ruin, and Moon. Sun, Bloody, Harvest, and Monty had decided to take care of the remaining endos that had taken over the more "minor" areas of the Pizzaplex. Moon's eyes start to glow in the dark, a key feature he had been implemented with.]

Terry: Woooo glowy glowy!

Moon: Yeah I kinda forgot that I had this feature, I usually sleep when it's dark out so...you know.

Ruin: Oh, I can actually see things more clearly now! ...Moon....how many times has the Creator sent his drones to the daycare?

[Ruin has clearly noticed something now that Moon's eyes were glowing, sounding disturbed.]

Moon: I don't really keep track, why?

Ruin: You're either going to be really happy or really disturbed, there's really no other way to say it-

Solar: Holy...

Lunar: OH, that is disturbing!

[When Moon completely looks at what they had noticed, he reels back in slight horror. It was a huge pile of dead Creator drones, stained with very old oil and covered in rust. The whole thing stunk of it, that and death.]

Solar: I...so we're in agreement that Teek's actual strength without their Dark Star power is scary to think about, right?

Ruin: Yep....and quite frankly I don't want to think about it.

Terry: Let's just go find them already, I doubt this is gonna be an easy fight.

Lunar: Especially since I don't know if I'm allowed to use my powers on them!

Solar: Well, they'll have to make an exception for this. If they don't, they can suck my bolts.

Terry: Heheheheh....

Solar: You are such a child.

Terry: I mean I'm not that much younger than Earth was, I think...

Solar: You're mentally and physically 19 though-

Terry: I meant in terms of sentience leave me alone!

[Terry lightly punches Solar in the leg, Solar rolling his eyes at the small gator. The group then travels further inside the basement until they make it into an open area surrounded by a dark hurricane, the area looking similar to the final boss area of Bowser's Inside Story.]

Lunar: Wow, great dark hurricane!

Moon: Huh...they actually sweat the details...

Teek: I would say thank you....

[Teek's voice has an echoey effect to it as they appear from a dark, blazing aura. Their appearance has been more consumed by the dark power coursing through their systems, their skin appearing to be a void black color. Their claws have also gotten noticeably longer and sharper...]

Teek: But that wouldn't be very...in character. After all, you lot replaced me! And to drag my younger brother into this battle, despicable!

Moon: Listen, I don't want to have to fight you, Teek! I can help you!

Teek: Help me...help me?? Why would you and my other replacements ever wanna help me?! You're the "superior" animatronics, are you not?! Ahahahahahaha! Oh you're hilarious!

[Teek's grin slants and becomes more maniacal and sly in nature.]

Teek: You may have gotten through my endo army, but what makes you think you can defy against my new world?

[Teek, with their dark magic, makes a blade with their right hand then stabs their left one, pulling out a large, darkness and shadow infused double-ended scythe.]

Teek: IT'S SHOWTIME!!!

[Teek laughs as the battle starts, targeting everyone but Terry in terms of attacking. Teek would then use a sort of dark matter ability summon to pin Terry to a far wall.]

Teek: You just sit tight for me, little one.

[Terry screams and shouts in frustration, his luck was just the worst thing, it was getting ridiculous with how many times they had to be saved throughout their life.]

Terry: God damnit, Lunar kick their ass to kingdom come for me!!

Lunar: Trying to, I'm really trying to here!

[Lunar had tackled himself onto Teek's back, tugging hard on their head only to get thrown into Solar as he tried to power up a shot with his arm canon.]

Lunar and Solar: SHIT-!

Lunar: Ha, jinx!

Solar: Lunar not now-!

Ruin: Look out, both of you!

[Ruin runs and pushes both Lunar and Solar out of the line of Teek's aerial slices, getting cut up in the process but otherwise still standing.]

Teek: Oh aren't you an impressive little- GYAHHHH!!!!

[Moon had managed to sneak up on Teek and shock them with an enhanced taser, the sparks shooting out of Teek's body as they grit their fangs and fought to get Moon off of them.]

Teek: You conniving, sneaky little....rrrrr!!!!

[Teek, despite being weakened and nearly completely stunned, still managed to throw Moon back.]

Teek: You're...really asking for me to cut you in half, aren't you...?

[Teek's voice sounds like it's wheezing and crackling, the Dark Star power seeming to leak from their mouth in a liquidy matter.]

Teek: It will be....one of you gone from my perfect world...!

[As Teek swung their scythe towards Moon, they feel a hard kick to the middle of their spine, making them collapse and puke up not only the Dark Star energy, but also the Dark Star itself. Before Moon can make a grab for it or even get a chance to destroy it, it melts into the ground, taking the transformation done to the Daycare basement with it. Teek, meanwhile, had collapsed onto the floor, passing out from the sudden loss of power keeping them going.]

Ruin: Are...are you okay, Moon?

Moon: I'm fine, I'm fine, what about everyone else?

[Terry is busy being broken out of the dark matter by Lunar, looking extremely annoyed.]

Terry: Every...time!

Lunar: I know....hurts being the "idiot in distress" all the time.

Terry: Ugh, tell me about it.

Ruin: So...what are you planning to do with them, exactly? Sun didn't really tell me anything.

Moon: Well after the whole flushing their systems of their bugs, glitches, and viruses, I'm gonna install an antivirus software into their system and then we can go from there.

Ruin: Right...but who's carrying them? I'm certainly not.

Terry: Yeah and me and Lunar can't carry them, we're too short and they're too heavy despite looking so skinny.

Lunar: So that just leaves you and Solar.

Solar: ...Not it!

Moon: Figures...

[Moon bends down and lifts Teek over their shoulder, grunting from the weight of them.]

Moon: Christ, what metal are they made of??

Terry: Well if they're like me, they're probably made of some kinda really expensive metal.

Moon: Somehow I doubt that, fucking HELL-!

[Moon nearly crumbles under Teek's weight as he starts taking Teek down to parts and services, the group following closely behind.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Parts and Services

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teek: Un...mm...

Moon: Ah look at that, morning sleeping beauty.

[Teek groaned, their head was swimming and their vision was blurry. It could be noticed that Teek's eyes were a ruby pink and their hair had been straightened out and retied back.]

Teek: ...What...where...Dazzle?

Moon: Nooot quite. I'm Moon, actually. Remember, the guy you nearly cut in half?

Teek: Nngh...my head hurts...where am I?

Moon: You're in the parts and service tube. I just finished downloading an antivirus software into you.

Teek: ...What?

Moon: Yeah I fixed up all your bugs and glitches and flushed out your viruses, stuff like that. Though...I had to completely remove your night time mode, that thing was too messed up to save.

Teek: F-F-Fixed? You...fixed...me? I-I...I thought I was...

Moon: Fazbear can suck it, you're not dying anytime soon. Oh, you might notice those wristbands you're now wearing. Those are dark magic limiter bracelets that Freddy, the og, gave me. Just to keep that in check.

Teek: ...O-Oh...um...so...Fazbear really did replace me..and I did almost kill everyone, that wasn't just a dream...!

[Teek covered their face up, their tail lowered as the heavy guilt set in.]

Moon: ...Damnit...

[Moon unlocks the tube and grabs onto Teek's hand, leading them out and awkwardly hugging them.]

Moon: It's...it's gonna be fine, no one died and that thing you made is gone, hopefully. Just gotta work from the ground up.

[Teek squeezes Moon rather tightly, burying their face into Moon's neck.]

Teek: Are you sure...?

Moon: Just...take my word for it, kid.

[koneko-pi]

Silver Season

Chapter one: Lead The Way

A bedroom, while clean and tidy, was barren of any personal effects. White walls, stone floors, and nothing but a side table, littered with small bottles both empty and full, and a bed in the corner of the room where someone currently laid in wait for their day to start. Chestnut colored hair sprawled out across soft green bed sheets. The sleeping form of a woman.

A small draft pushed the curtains of her open window up into the air where they tickled at her face. Her eyelashes fluttered and slowly, tiredly, she lifted herself up. Rubbing away the ache in her eyes. Another night of no sleep and just laying there with eyes closed, imagining what she could dream about.

She stretched, a satisfying pop filling the silent void of her room before she slid out of bed and made her way to the window, gently closing it. She stared out over the people of the Clover kingdom with an unreasonable expression. Bakers beginning to set out their morning entices, knights out on their patrols, a small boy running around with newspapers, shouting for coins, until a nobleman stuck his foot out causing the child to trip.

She quickly closed the curtain before she could see anymore, the sight had created a heavy ache in her back, under her left shoulder .

"Today feels… different…" She muttered softly to herself.

Emergency captains meetings had, at one point, been few and far between. And Nozel would not have to schedule himself so sparingly so he could be called upon at any moment's notice. But recently it seemed like every other day he was being summoned up to the Wizard kings castle to listen to everyone bicker amongst each other. Even now down the empty hall he could hear Yami's overly loud voice arguing with, most likely, Jack.

"Do you two ever shut up?" Nozel commented to them as he walked through the doors and over to his own space to sit down between Dorothy and Jack.

"You can shove it Braid-Face." Yami was immediately on the defensive over whatever topic had him so worked up.

The silver mage had already been in a foul mood that day but to be so atrociously insulted, by a foreigner no less, had his mana flaring up already.

"You need to calm down." Fuegoleon, newly appointed back into his position, pushed himself in before some kind of fight could take place. "We're all tired and tempers are short. There's no need to antagonize one another, especially not in front of Julius who is in the worst state of us all."

All heads turned to their now tiny wizard king, who looked incredibly apologetic at having to summon them here once again.

"Please forgive me…" he said as soothingly as he could. If it had come from anyone else the captains would not have calmed down as quickly as they did.

"What brings us all together this time?" Nozel asked after gaining his composure again.

"Yeah, no offense Julius, but some of us really got our plates full." Yami huffed, a cigarette was held tightly between two fingers but was unlit. It was pretty obvious how badly he wanted to light it though.

What Yami was referring to was the unfair task placed upon his squad after the Elven attack, repel, and then trial of his squad mate Asta. Not only did the bulls have their hands full looking into Devil nonsense but everyone else was still busy repairing not just the kingdom but their own reputations. Many of the citizens had lost a lot of faith in their Magic knights after it seemed they had turned against them as traitors. As a result everyone was running themselves ragged and tempers were short.

And that was no different for the captains, organizing the work forces on top of attending these regular meetings, they too were all looking incredibly tired.

"I really do apologize for summoning you all so suddenly." Julius sighed. "But I promise this time it's important."

Rather than explain himself what was happening he nodded to Jack.

"Keh…" the man seemed bitter as he turned and shouted to the doors. "You can bring it in!"

"Bring it in?" Charlotte looked confused, mirroring everyone else in the room as two Green Mantis knights came in carrying a large blanket-wrapped something.

"Good lord, what is that stench!?" Kaiser was first to recoil from the horrid odor that was permeating the room.

"Is it that?!" William was leaning away as the two magic knights tossed their load over onto the meeting table. Its bindings came undone to reveal what was inside…

"That's the biggest ant I've ever seen!" Rill gawked at it. It was a suspicion the boy had an odd interest in magical beasts with how often he used them in paintings. This reaction just further proved it.

Laying now on their table, undoubtedly dead, was a massive Ant. Its body was a shiny red color with a foul smelling green fluid leaking out of open gash wounds that must have taken its life. There was no shine to its lifeless eyes and over all the creature was easily the size of a large dog.

"Where did this come from?" Fuegoleon looked equally as shocked. Sure magical beasts had been a thing but there had never been anything that special about them, magic knights had never needed to deal with them. They were mostly hunted by sport by Nobles but no ordinary noble would have been able to do these kinds of wounds.

"Out in the common realm." Jack huffed, as if trying to get a breath of clean air but that was near impossible in the room. Marx was already rushing to open up all the windows in the room before they suffered too much. "A whole horde of them had attacked a village and some of my patrol men had to chase them away."

"Chase them away?" Charlotte echoed, looking horrified. "Are you telling me you couldn't kill all of them?"

Jack responded by throwing a hand up, a knife shot out of his forearm and bounced right off the armor plating.

"Are you kidding me?" Yami asked.

"KEH! Don't look down on me like that!" Jack snapped as he pointed a finger towards his friend. "If I really wanted to try, I could cut through it! I aint weak." He was a captain after all. "But that strike could have been any average magic knight… I'm just showin' ya they aint easy to kill…"

"So you just chased them away…" Fuegoleon had reached his flaming arm out towards the beast, laying it against the hard shell of its body "It's like armor… where did they come from?"

"Hell if I know!" Jack snapped. His irritation meant he'd already tried, and failed, to follow them back to wherever they came from. "They vanished into the ground. Their fast diggers I'll tell ya that…"

"You couldn't track them?" Charlotte glared at him. "Are you that useless?"

"You want to try it yourself!?" Jack raised his hand again, mana condensing within his arm…

"Please, enough!" Julius shouted. Everyone immediately calmed and sat back down. "I know we have a lot to handle after recent attacks but people out in the common are in a panic over this." He gestured to the beast. "People have even been going missing…"

The atmosphere of the room changed drastically after that…

"So what is the plan?" Fuegoleon asked. "I'm sure it's common knowledge that all of our squads are currently spread thin."

Julius gave a solemn nod. "Yes. Which is why I must apologize for pulling one of your squads out from the repair work to take care of this mysterious ant issue."

"Let us do it." William said with all the determination he could muster. "The Golden Dawn is still eager to prove themselves again sir."

"Oh like you could do it." Charlotte huffed. "The citizens are still avoiding many of your magic knights like the plague. Please give it to the Blue Roses, sir. We can get the job done quickly."

"With what man power?" Jack huffed. "Let's not forget you are in the same boat as him!" He jutted his chin out to William who looked bitter but understanding of his own situation. "People don't exactly trust you either, besides we're the ones who found it."

They all had begun fighting amongst one another on who could handle the task better. And while they had the best intentions at heart, there was no doubt they were all jumping at the opportunity to be exempt from all other duties to take care of this job.

"Everyone!" Julius slammed his hands on the table and they all silenced themselves. This had been the second time their Wizard King had to cut into their bickering. "It's already been decided that the Silver Eagles will be taking this job on their shoulders."

Nozel looked shocked as everyone once again roared to life.

"Thank you… sir." Nozel was surprised, grateful, but surprised nonetheless.

"Do what you can." Julius pressed, now ignoring the voices of his other Captains. "The people seemed to find your squad favorable currently because of the role you played in the last attack."

"With all due respect sir, I was not the only one..."

"I understand. But Fuegoleon is still adjusting to his condition, I want to ease him back into work. And others have their hands full with other things. It was after a lot of thought I decided to give this to you."

Nozel swelled with pride before giving his King a Salute. "I will not let you down."

The others heaved and settled into their seats. Giving up on trying to convince Julius of anything else.

"I will admit though… It comes with a catch." With how Julius was scratching his cheek in nervousness, anyone else would have not suspected this boy was one of their countries leaders.

"I'm sure it's not that bad, Julius." Nozel insisted. "Whatever it is, I can deal with it."

Moments later the man was throwing open the castle doors and storming out, so irritated he walked right past his waiting siblings.

"Nozel?" Nebra blinked owlishly at her brother's unusual ire.

"What happened?" Solid asked as the pair of them quickly hurried to catch up to Nozel. "Are they giving us more work?"

Nozel stopped and spun to face his brother, mouth open as if to say something but no sound came out. The younger Silva just stood there wide eyed and confused over his Brothers out of character reaction.

Nozel closed his mouth to think then sighed. "Yes and No."

The pair glanced at one another before asking; "and that means..?"

He explained how the Silver Eagles were now in charge of investigating an infestation of never before seen magical beasts.

"But that's great!" Nebra chuckled. "We have proven our worth is far more valuable than that of any other squad! As it should be."

"And we don't have to do all this ridiculous manual labor anymore." Solid looked thrilled. Such work was for the commoners, not for nobles like them. "I'm sure we can take care of some feeble insects with no issue. So what has you so irritated, brother?"

Nozel took a slow inhale. "They've assigned a member of the Magical research division to our squad for the duration of this extermination."

"What." Both siblings' faces fell into irritation. So now all their expressions matched.

The Wizard kings castle was more than just where he lived and did his work; it housed a couple of different sections like ballrooms, meeting rooms, the royal hospital that Owen worked in, the Grand Library that Marx over saw, the courtroom, Prison and matching Torture chamber. But one section that was often overlooked for its lack of visitors was the Magical Lab. It was this division of the castle that all dungeon spoils went to first to be checked over before being distributed to their appropriate places. They also were in charge of investigating spells, potions, magical creatures, tools and their potential creation and/or origins.

It was considered an unofficial magic knights squad only because of how dangerous their own job could be at times. One could injure themselves on a mysterious magical tool just as easily as someone going into a dungeon to try and retrieve it. However they had no real squad name, no cloak and was usually the place where those who had failed to pass the Magic Knights entrance exam would go to next should they still want to serve their country somehow. So those who did know about the division often saw it as a place that picked up leftovers. They were never talked about by citizens, because of how easy it was to forget they even existed, and to actual Magic Knights they were considered a joke because it was understood they rarely went into the field and remained locked up in "julius basement."

"Why would the Wizard King think we need some… pencil pushing drop out to help us!?" They had started walking back to the base and Nebra was heatedly voicing her opinion.

"He was calling this an investigation rather than an extermination. Maybe he thought one of them should take notes on a new species of creature." Nozel tried to rationalize it himself. As he too didn't understand what was running through Julius' mind.

"Does that mean we'll need to capture one alive." Solid groaned. "But it's easier to rip them apart."

"I bet I could kill more of them than you could." Nebra giggled.

"Oh, is that a challenge sister?" Solid got a grin on his face that, some would say, bordered on being too evil looking.

"When is this magical scholar supposed to be showing up anyway." The silver haired girl asked. While she didn't want to deal with some weakling, they would have a responsibility for them while they were under Silver Eagles protection.

"Supposedly they're already waiting for us at the base." Nozel entered the gates that lead into the Silver Eagles base. A grand manor made of white stone with its own courtyard, statues of eagles in various positions of flight lined the walkway up to large double doors where two plates of the Silver Eagles logo were embedded.

"What do you think they look like?" Solid asked his sister as they walked into the common room of the base.

"Probably some stout man. Hunched over, wear's glasses. They're probably filthy too, I hear they sleep in their work spaces and never change their clothes." She had a small grin on her face as she described what all the rumors made the researchers out to be.

"And we have to work with someone like that?" Solid grimaced at the thought.

"Sorry to be such a burden."

All three of the Silver Eagles stopped half way through their common room when someone spoke up. A woman was sitting on one of their couches, she was dressed in clean nobles attire; a cream colored blouse with high waisted green shorts and thigh high boots. Her hair was a soft brown color and impossibly long with some sort of ear muffs wrapping around the back of her head. She looked right at home on their couch as she flipped through a paper another member must have left on the coffee table.

Nozel looked at her, then to the other present eagles who had moved off to a corner to be as far from her as they could. The look their Captain gave them was a silent demand of an explanation but many of them just shook their heads.

"Who do you think you are?" Solid approaches her first, glaring down at her as if she was a stain on their precious expensive seat. "This is the Silver Eagles base, not some common parlor for you to lounge in."

"I'm well aware." The woman did not look up from her paper. In fact, she crossed one leg over the other as she turned the page to continue reading.

"Why you-!" Solid looked ready to snatch it right from her hand but Nozel held an arm up to block his path.

"Are you the researcher Julius assigned to us?" Nozel had caught onto her earlier comment to his brother's words.

"That's correct." Was her simple response.

Something about her was bothering the Captain… and it wasn't just her rudeness. "What is your name?"

"Isn't it polite to introduce yourself first?"

Or maybe she was just testing her luck…

A vein started to ache in Nozel's jaw. "I highly doubt that is necessary, I'm certain you would know-"

She cut him off with a flurry of the newspaper before folding it back up and setting it on the table. "Are we not Strangers?"

"I beg your pardon?" The two younger Silva's glanced at each other before taking a step back from Nozel, as his tone was getting more irritated with each word.

The woman stood up and finally looked at Nozel, she was short, probably around five feet. And for a split moment he was caught off by her eyes. Her gaze was intense but their color is what confused him the most, her irises were peach in color and he swore her pupils were white. "I don't think we've ever met before. A proper knight, and gentleman, introduces himself to a Lady first before asking for her name."

Was his woman really the one he was going to be stuck with the entire time they were here? Who did she think she was, she dressed like a noble and spoke like a noble. But more about her reminded him of a foreigner.

Sucking in a slow breath Nozel composed himself. Best to stay calm and on good terms with her, even if she was lower than him. He doubted he could simply replace her if she had been hand picked by Julius for this task.

"Nozel Silva, head of house Silva and Captain of the Silver Eagles." He begrudgingly relented.

The woman gave him a curtsy, despite not wearing a skirt. "Briar Rose. I go by Briar, and am the Magic Researcher assigned to the Silver Eagles until further notice. Please take care of me."

Despite her attitude she seemed to have some tact…

"Is this a joke?" Solid interjected.

The woman glanced up. Her expression like stone, completely unreadable as the younger Silva now had her attention.

"I don't understand." She responded simply.

"Brother we can't honestly be taking this woman, can't we change her out for someone else?"

"Solid…" Nozel sighed. As if he had already thought of that…

"Now that I look at you…" Nebra brought a hand up to her mouth as her eyes flicked over the other woman's form. "I don't see a grimoire anywhere on you."

Nozel's eyes quickly shot up and down. He probably hadn't noticed before because a Grimoire was something almost every adult had. It would be silly to just assume you had to look for it first. But as he stared at her he didn't see a book or a holster for one. Rather she seemed to have some kind of dagger strapped to the back of her waist.

"Of course you wouldn't." Briar looked back at Nebra as if she was the fool. "I don't have one."

"What?" The eagles looked shocked. To think there was another being like that Loud mouthed bull? And so much older in age, how had no one ever heard of this woman before?

"Send her back brother!" Solid demanded as he turned to Nozel. "She doesn't know her place and will only slow us down! If we have to have some left over mage- no you're not even a mage are you." Briar's face remained unchanged despite Solids biting words. "Exchange her for someone who could actually defend themselves, I don't want to babysit some magicless freak."

He spoke of her as if she was some broken toy he wanted to give back.

"Is that your only issue with me?" She gave a slight tilt of her head and Solid jolted suddenly. The look in her eyes had changed to a more predatory one, like he was being sized up for a hunt.

"What-" he tried to speak but Briar took a step forward into his space.

"If that is all then I can prove to you I'm not some defenseless babe in need of your guard." Her eyes were intense with the shadows cast over them as she stared him down.

Her head whipped to Nozel, who remained unmovinging during the whole encounter. "Do you have a training ground here in your base?"

"Of course we do." As if the Silver eagles wouldn't have one of the best spaces to spar with magic.

"Then please…" she glared down at Solid who looked angrier and more determined to put her in her place. "Lead the way."

[ask-sunshine-the-hedgehog]

Sunshine stands frozen in surprise for a moment, blinking in confusion as he takes in his suddenly new surroundings. What had just happened? A moment ago he had been making his way up one of the enormous towers that had sprouted forth from the ground and now he was suddenly standing in a seemingly endless red void, feeling like he was being pulled along toward an unknown goal. He decided to follow the strange force wherever it was trying to guide him since it might be his only lead to figure out what was going on and how to get out of this place.

He didn't know how long he had been walking or how far he had gone when he finally spotted Tails, Knuckles, and Amy together ahead of him. The hedgehog sprinted to them, only to stop dead in his tracks when he discovered what his friends were gathered around.

It was Starlight.

The normally bright and energetic hedgehog stood ridged and still, static and unblinking like a statue staring into space.

"Sonic...? What happened to him? Where are we?"

Sunshine questions as he joins up with the rest of the group, hoping that at least one of them would be able to give him some answers about their current situation and about what was wrong with his husband.

"He must have taken on so much cyber energy that it corrupted him. He's stuck between realities because he took on our corruption to save us..." Tails replies sadly as Sunshine looks down at his own body, realizing that he had regained his corporeal form along with all of their friends.

"Sonic no!" Amy gasps, hands covering her mouth and tears filling her eyes "We have to fix this!" The pink hedgehog cries out while Sunshine places a hand on his husband's cheek, feeling a fuzzy static sensation coming off of him like an old TV screen.

"You have to return to cyberspace, quickly!" Sage's voice finally catches the hedgehog's attention as she speaks to her creator, small hands placed on the side of the scientist's hovercraft.

"What? Why? I just got out!" The human replies to his AI daughter. How long had the two of them been there?

"Because you'll be destroyed if you're still here when it gets out!" She says fearfully, concerned for her father's safety.

"When what gets ou-?" Eggman begins to ask, only to be interrupted by a rumbling roar that seemed to fill the sky, followed by an equally powerful voice:

"Since time immemorial I have languished here. The locks are broken. Now I shall tear down the walls between dimensions and consume all!"

"Oh no you don't! This is my world to conquer! I'll mobilize the Eggfleet and blow you right out of the sky!" Eggman shouts at the unseen entity, shaking his fist at the sky.

"It won't be enough! It defeated the Ancients and their advanced technology, your weaponry wouldn't stand a chance against that kind of power! My simulations show a success rate of zero percent! Please let me fulfill my function, let me protect you!" Sage warns him, begging the doctor to flee to safety.

"Starlight worked too hard for us to give up now! There has to be a way to push back the corruption and bring him back to us! Restoring our physical forms is what did this to him, maybe us going back into cyberspace will reverse the affects of the corruption?" Sunshine theorizes, his hand now resting on the blue hedgehog's shoulder.

"That might work, even if only enough to restore his consciousness. We have to try something, sitting here doing nothing and awaiting our demise won't solve anything" Tails says, holding his hands out for his friends to take. Sunshine nods and takes one of the fox's hands in his own while Knuckles takes his other hand and Amy closes the circle by taking the echidna's and the fox's outstretched hands.

"Anything for Sonic!" "We're even after all this!" Amy and Knuckles state in unison as all four of them shut their eyes and focus on fighting back Starlight's corruption. Their bodies begin to flicker and fade out again as the corruption starts to vanish from the blue hedgehog's body, restoring his mental and physical state, although some of the corruption still remained. All of them except for Sunshine. While Amy, Tails, and Knuckles were now returned to their cyber hologram stat while Sunshine's body remained in his normal form. "Sonic, are you okay? Did it work?" He questions, pulling his husband into a tight embrace.

"I'm fine now thanks to all of you guys. Thank you" The blue hedgehog grins at his partner and their friends.

"This is our chance! I never simulated a scenario where Sonic and his friends helped since you never authorized me to even consider the possibility!" Sage pipes up excitedly as she addresses her creator.

"I still don't want to..." Eggman grumbles angrily, arms crossed as he looks past his creation to glare at the group of Mobians. "Please, father! This might be our only chance to succeed!" The AI girl pleads desperately.

"Fine...ahem, I hereby temporarily induct the lot of you into the Eggman Empire and order you to save us all! This is not an alliance, understand?" The man huffs.

"Sure, if you say so" Sunshine rolls his eyes while Starlight grins smugly at his longtime enemy "Whatever you say, Dr.Ego-man" The blue hedgehog laughs.

"Sage, you stay with me to help me bypass the Ancient's security systems and access their database so we can try and figure out just what exactly this creature is and possibly how to defeat or contain it" Eggman orders his creation.

"As you command, father!" Sage nods "But first I must speak to Sonic and his friends, there is something important that must be addressed before we proceed with the plan" She says, turning to the Mobians "Of my millions of calculations, there was one so remote and unlikely I did not consider it as a viable option. However, as things stand, it could be the scenario to save us all"

"Well we've beaten the odds more times than we can count! What's the plan?" Starlight asks, still as optimistic and cheerful as ever despite his lingering cyber corruption.

"I can stabilize your corruption for a brief time by transferring a portion of it to your partner and guide you both on how to convert that corruption into power that you will use to end this conflict and save father" Sage explains.

"And save the world too, right?" Sunshine questions, amused and somewhat endeared by the AI's dedication to her father.

"It is his world to conquer, so yes" Sage replies matter of factly, causing the two hedgehogs to sigh and shake their heads.

"Wait a minute, hold on. Isn't there another way to do this that doesn't involve Sunshine being corrupted too? I don't want to put him through that, especially after what it did to me" Starlight interrupts, concerned for his husband's well-being.

"I'll be fine, love. You took on the full brunt of it for us, the least I can do is take on some of that burden and fight at your side. Please let me do this with you" Sunshine assures the other hedgehog "I want to be there for you. You don't have to do this alone, we're a team"

"You're right, let's do this together" Starlight grins at his spouse, taking his hand and squeezing it firmly. "Ready when you are!" Sunshine smiles back at him.

Sage floats down to hover in front of the couple, a ball of glitching white light appearing in her hands. She shuts her eyes and the ball of light splits in two before surging forward into the two hedgehogs, causing searing pain to shoot through their bodies as some of Starlight's cyber corruption spreads into his husband. Sunshine stumbles and falls onto his knees, one hand clamped over his mouth and the other clutching at his middle as a wave of nausea washes over him. The feeling soon passes, leaving both of them dizzy and disoriented as they catch their breath to steady themselves.

Sunshine feels a static sensation running up and down his back in a soothing motion, he smiles a bit when he realizes that it was Amy attempting to comfort him by rubbing his back to the best of her capability "Thanks, Amy...you guys are the best, y'know that? I mean it" He says, slowly standing up and helping Starlight to his feet.

"Alright, I know it's been rough since we all came here and things are still pretty confusing, but I need you guys to just follow my lead" Starlight says, looking to Amy, Tails, and Knuckles "I need you three to find the Chaos Emeralds while Sunny and I take care of this corruption, okay?"

"Alright, we trust you two" Amy nods with an assuring smile. "You can count on us!" Tails chimes in. "This'll be a piece of cake!" Knuckles boasts.

"We must hurry! There isn't much time before the threat arrives, follow me!" Sage warns, motioning for the married couple to come with her as the other three Mobians split up to find the Chaos Emeralds "I will return to assist you after I complete my current objective, father" The AI assures her creator before heading towards the first tower with Sunshine and Starlight in tow.

"Be careful...my dear daughter" Eggman mutters softly, watching his digital child leave.

[bubbelpop2]

System Cypher for:

Bubbz&Co

Aka Bubbz

Aka The Council

🥳 Clown Party 🥳 || We switch easily and rapidly

😐 Void 😐 || The name I use when blurry

🍃Adam/Bubbz 🍃 || Host. "I'm just some guy." "No, I have not heard of that, would you care to enlighten me?"

🌕Atticus🌕 || A lot more manic and grandiose than Adam. Thinks he's a qualified therapist just because he's stopped a bunch of people from killing themselves/taught healthy communication/taught self love and self worth/knows how to end conflict.

🧸 Baby Bear🧸 || Agere, a good boy. He likes MLP. "I'm aboutuh stard sayen hol my sippycup when imabout'ta do sometin stupid.."

🎉Yan/Bubbz🎉 || Neurotic. Manic. BPD. "Not particularly, why?" [<- He talks like Alastor 🍃]

💋 Whore 💋 || Hypersexual. BPD. Disordered eating. Bitchy. Beautiful. Does drag. Cares about people but is still a bully. "Shut up fatso. Let's go get pizza."

⚔️Conquest ⚔️ || Protector, can insta-switch in. ("Doesn't talk much..." --🍃)

Dormant alters

VVV

🖥️ Android 🖥️ || Historian, Dormant unless needed. Gatekeeper. Switch controller. ("He periodically likes to show up to fix problems and then just. Fucks off," --🍃))

📕Alfred/Freddy 📕 || Dormant unless wanted. Introject of an ex's oc. He's a polite british librarian! Very loving. "Hullo! :)"

🌌 Jack Galaxy 🌌 || Usually dormant. Introject of an ex's oc. He has three kids and is thrice divorced. "God it hurts."

✉️ Messenger✉️ || Communication assistance, Dormant unless wanted. "Adam thought i was dead >:("

🧥 Randall Dietrich🧥 Current Partner's OC , introject. Sleazy car salesman. German immigrant. Previously involved in the Mafia in some way. Has been to prison. @addispam "Uh... Auf.. weederzen.. uh.. my host doesn't know German yet."

🖖Spock🖖 || Discipline, Control, Peace, patience. "I'm new. I'm Adam's father. And his husband."

🎬 Saul Goodman 🎬 || Internalized queerphobia, people skills, irish heritage. "Haha...! Yeah, uh, good one..."

😭 Jimmy Mcgill 😭 || Agere Saul Goodman. "Chuck... (breaks down into tears)"

🌈 Wally Darling 🌈 || Southern Baptist, predatory. A mix of bob ross, mr rogers, and my old pastor. And also cult leaders in general. "Howdy, neighbor...."

🎮 Narrator 🎮 || Artistic Expression, integrity. "Unfortunately, an ex-friend of ours also had a narrator introject... Gives us complicated feelings about it."

🪠 SUCTION CUP MAN 🪠 || ... I assume he's because of my newfound sense of self worth. I assume. But I don't even fucking know. He just randomly shouts "LOOK AT ME GO!" when we're doing productive stuff.

👔Android(🖥️) Dad 👔 || Normal dad father figure that I'm (💋🍃) not dating, unlike Spock. Also he tells me when I'm manic and need to take my meds and tells me when I'm acting weird, but he's not judgemental about it. "[Quote here]"

[autumntouched]

I have an unpopular and probably a controversial opinion, but as a fanfic reader, I honestly believe Tumblr is NOT a good fit for posting fanfiction, let alone multi-chapter fics when it comes to engagement of readers for a number of reasons.

First, there is how hit or miss Tumblr can be with posts not showing up in the tags correctly or not getting notifications when you're tagged. Heck, there are several blogs I follow on here that even though I have it turned on to be notified any time they post, I've yet to get a notification when they do.

Second, there's the difficulty of trying to find the first chapter/previous chapter/next chapter of a fic if the writer didn't bother to link the chapters together in some way or use a dedicated tag. I've come across way too many fics on here where I had to spend an inordinate amount of time digging through the writers blog to find the next chapter because they didn't provide any links or even use a dedicated tag for their story. After awhile, I don't care how good a fic is, having to deal with stuff like that will quickly turn me off a fic.

Third, there isn't a unified & connected tagging system here like there is on AO3. I know I'm probably missing some really good fic because it's been tagged in a different way than how I search on here. Also, I hate that fics I don't want to read keep showing up in tags I'm searching because I can't filter out tags.

So with all of that, as a fanfic reader, I much prefer to read and follow fics on AO3. In fact, the only reason I even started to read fics on Tumblr was because for the first few months after TGM came out, Tumblr was really the only place to find TGM fics. Before TGM, I never read a single fic on Tumblr.

And as a fanfic writer, I also prefer to post my fics on AO3. The few times I've posted my one shots on here (in an active fandom), I got very little engagement. And I tagged those fics six ways to Sunday and even reblogged & reposted them a few times.

But on AO3, I have fics I wrote TEN years ago still getting kudos & bookmarks when fics I posted a year ago on here will never see the light of day again unless someone decides to spend a day going through my blog or I decide to reblog/repost them because the tagging system on here either shows you the current stuff or the most popular stuff when you search a tag.

Plus with AO3 I know a kudos means someone read and enjoyed my fic even if they didn't leave a comment. I can see when someone bookmarks or favorites a fic and I can even see how many hits each fic has. I don't have to manage a tag list or run a second "library" blog because on AO3 someone can just subscribe to my fic or follow my account & AO3 will automatically send them an email when I update a fic or post a new fic. I don't have to use a million tags because a dedicated group of tag wranglers makes sure similar tags are connected.

So yeah, I know how much it sucks when it feels like you're just posting into the void on here when all you're getting is likes. And I know there is still a large number of new users on here who think likes on Tumblr work the same way they do on all the other social media sites when they actually don't and that it feels like we're shouting at a brick wall anytime we try to explain that to the new users. But at this point, I feel like fic writers on here are just beating a dead horse with every "ENGAGE WITH MY FICS OR ELSE I STOP WRITING" post I see.

You can't force people to engage with your content. Those who want to will & those who don't will continue to do so and shame posts aren't going to change that. In fact, every shame post I see makes me not want to engage with that writer. Just like us as readers have no right to demand you write & post more, writers have no right to demand engagement of readers.

And if not getting enough engagement makes you want to stop writing, then that's on you the writer and not on us, the readers. Would people miss your writing if you stopped posting? Probably. But that's your prerogative and you shouldn't try to make people feel guilty about YOUR decision.

Fair point about the difference in platforms. There are pros and cons to each, and I think it's also fair for writers to weigh what works for them. AO3 does not have PMs, which makes it way less functional for me to engage as openly as I would like. The readers who have taken the time to get to know me understand and respect that is why I am here and not always on AO3

Talk to Me as an intentional multi-chapter fic is on AO3 for its better functionality for that format and is here on tumblr for anyone who didn't catch it on AO3 and so people drop into my dms to chat about it

This though: "Just like us as readers have no right to demand you write & post more, writers have no right to demand engagement of readers."

Asks are readers asking for writers to write and post more. And yes, writers voluntarily open their asks but that does not preclude wanting some kind of feedback for the effort they put into provide those stories. I am writing it because I LOVE the collaborative writing process of sharing ideas and getting to write something that will make someone happy. When people tell me exactly what makes them happy, I have the chance to give them more of that. I am asking for something that makes me a better writer for what they asked me for

Also, just to recap what's going on widely, readers ARE demanding that writers write and post more. That's part of the frustration people are trying to address

The Hannix Football Rivalry AU Series was "born" on tumblr (and was never meant to be a multi-chapter fic). It exists SOLELY because of reader requests, and I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a different level of engagement for that or want people to acknowledge you as the writer in their asks or to ask for feedback to ensure you're on the right track for making people happy

Yes, there are people who comment on and reblog everything I write. And while I deeply appreciate it, that is not at all what I expect or am asking of anyone. Just every now and then letting me know where your head's at, what you're feeling would be nice.

And this is MY controversial opinion, and I am only speaking for myself here. I'm on tumblr to engage with my readers. To me, fanfiction is a community and a relationship. That is what's meaningful about it to me. Knowing what people feel and think. I am here to write for you but also still want to feel like a person doing that. If any readers don't want to have to even consider who I am as a person or have a conversation about how I feel, I'm very comfortable with them no longer reading my work or waiting until I decide what to migrate to AO3. There are enough people in my life who only care about the work I do without caring about me as a person that I don't need that energy in a space I've created for myself <3

[tinyhandsonmyapron]

06.09.2023

Shouting into the tumblr void is a form of journaling, right?

.

I think I've made peace with the fact that I'll never be a stay at home mom again. I am still struggling in a major way to find a job that gives me the flexibility to show up for Lovebug in the ways that are important to me.

I do believe day care, in particular research-based academic focused day cares, can be extremely beneficial. So I'm not upset he's in day care.

I hate that he's there from 7:45 to 5:15 every day, I feel like that's too long at his age.

And I especially hate that I don't have a ton of sick leave, so my mom takes him to his well-checks and if he's sick either she takes care of him or I find a babysitter. Which is stupid because we pay her as much as I get paid. And with my parents moving to upstate New York this fall, I'm going to be scrambling on a regular basis to find care for him or begging to take time off.

I'm strongly considering the possibility that I may not be able to keep an 8-5 office job, even if I do like what I do and get to make a positive impact on the environment. Environmentalism has always been a core value for me, and I feel like I'm betraying myself and the environment by not working in my field when I have the qualifications to do so.

But realistically, I may need a job with flexible hours or where I set my own schedule. And it would have the benefit of being able to show up for my son when he needs me. And as he gets older, to be the kind of mother that's involved in his academics and extra-curriculars like I want to be. And when we have more kids to do the same, and accomplish other goals for myself like breastfeed until at least a year.

Of course, those jobs are limited, and have their own many challenges. All I can think of so far is editing, real estate agent, travel agent, and insurance agent. All being commission based (read: income insecurity) and are jobs where I can't clock out at leave work at work.

Maybe I just don't know what all is out there. But I don't have an unlimited skill set either.

Anyway. All that to say, I'm very uncomfortable with the uncertainty, I'm disappointed at the prospect of leaving my dream career field, and I'm scared of the potential failure that comes with commission based jobs. But I also hurt so bad at my current situation, I'm scared of how much worse it will get when we're all on our own, and I want so desperately to be the involved mom I always thought I would be.

I have time to think on it, that's the one positive. September is significant because it is both the projected month for my parents' move and when Dearest will have insurance coverage for all 3 of us at zero cost. So I can't leave my job until September anyway so that we don't lose our health care coverage.

I just don't know which way to go, and I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, but I'm also already unhappy with how my job impacts my role as a mother.

[trashcankitty12]

I'm going to scream into the void. Not looking for anything but a way to get this out and maybe let someone else feeling this way know they aren't alone.

So Rant:

I've not been in the holiday spirit this year and I've honestly been feeling MEH for awhile.

I'm doing my best with keeping up with my treatments and shit, except for my psoriasis stuff because I have to fucking start over with a new treatment. (So in the meantime, I'm scaly. Yay.)

Its cold in my area, which isn't normal. Very rarely do we get below 32°F. Rarely. We're currently at 10°. Yeah.

The cold is bad for numerous reasons. Right now the main ones in my mind are: my animals may not be warm enough because this is abnormal colds for us, and the small child can't go and play outside.

The child in question is also getting on my last nerve and I have thought of up and leaving a few times. I can't for several reasons, but I'm getting to my limit.

I just can't. The kid is loud and doesn't mind. No "parenting styles" seem to be working on the kid. The teacher at their school has been having issues with the kid discipline wise and kind wise. (Kid likes to throw things and hit others. Yes they do that at home too.)

But I'm not the child's parent and I'm not the one mainly responsible, so any attempt I make at correction is not taken well. And I'm seen as "touchy" and just "ill".

Maybe i am. I'm not a kid person, never want them. But fuck this kid is going to grow up to be a bully or something with how theyre acting. Even the teachers are seeing problems with the kid.

And yes, i get that the child needs patience because "theyre young" and a drug baby. But good lord these temper tantrums aren't normal. The shouting and throwing things and flying in to hit people. The arguing and trying to "throw hands" with adults and kids alike. And the refusal to sit down and even try to have conversations.

And it's worse now that they can't play outside and that there are people coming and going for the holidays. Infinitely worse.

Not even the threats of the Naughty List are working.

This kid is just...

I just cant.

Makes me want to go home but I can't do that because i am home and they're here. And its not my call.

But if it was... Im not sure what else can be done because this kid's only other hope is foster care or other grandma. And the other grandma, who is supposed to have custody anyway, isn't exactly someone who should be in charge of kids. Her own children are testaments to that.

(How did she get custody? Simple. She wasnt on drugs. Thats basically the only requirement.)

My grandparents and i shouldn't be dealing with this kid. My health issues and my grandparents' health and ages should be proof of that. But the kid's grandma, my cousin, left the kid with us. We've had the kid since they were 2 weeks old.

Why did it have to be us? Why couldn't they take responsibility? Why couldnt she help the kid?

And now it's just...

I hate it. And i hate that I feel so strongly because the kid is just a kid. They are innocent. I get it.

But I still hate the whole bit. I hate my nerves being constantly on edge. I hate being yelled at and i hate trying to literally block a kid from hitting me or biting me. I hate having shit thrown at me. I hate having to watch every moment the kid is around to make sure my cats are safe. I hate it.