#back to my natural habitat (making up little scenes in my head)

[laylaisthename]

you know im down bad when im actually posting my fics on tumblr.

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Lincoln McQuoid/M!MC || SFW || 3900 words :pensive: ||

Fic about two guys with terrible birthday experiences that are trying to do better. Set in a theoretical time after everything's been resolved. Timeline doesnt exactly match up since we're probably like a week away in game from Linc’s birthday but uuuh just pretend ok.

tw; mentions of under (american) age drinking (idk im european and he's 18 so its fine to me) 

"Lincooooln." Horus calls lazily from the couch.

"What?"

"You know what day it is?"

Lincoln pads into the living room, his eyes narrowing at Horus. "The day the Elric brothers set their house on fire?"

Horus snorts, "Of course you would say that you weeb. Aaaand...what else is today?"

Lincoln sighs. "Who told you?"

"I'll let you take one guess at who'd be texting me about your well-being."

He buries his face in his hands and lets out another deep, soul-weary sigh.

"Abel says to tell you 'happy birthday' and to make sure that, quote 'he doesn't spend the whole day moping around his apartment alone watching daytime tv and getting drunk.' unquote. Ouch. You really spend your birthdays like that?"

There's a thoughtful frown on Lincoln's face, a look that Horus knows a little too well by now. He opens his arms invitingly, and a small smile plays on Lincoln's lips as he moves to join him on the couch, resting against his chest.

"Bad birthday memories?" Horus asks.

"Melancholic ones. I told you what happened on my seventh birthday. My mom still tried after that but it just... hasn't been the same since. And then I lost touch with Abel, and she..." his words trail off. 

Horus' voice is quiet when he responds. "I know. I'm sorry." 

Unsure of what else to say he simply wraps Lincoln in his arms. Instinctively Horus' eyes flicker to the empty spot on the wall where Silvia's portrait used to hang, a pang of guilt lancing through his heart. He must have apologized a thousand and one times already, but it still never felt like enough. Sometimes he catches Linc glancing over too, expecting it to still be there- for her to still be there. 

His thumb subconsciously moves to twist at his mother's ring. It was a feeling he knew well. 

"Okay I'm gonna be real depressing here," he starts, "but stay with me on this. Every year on my birthday my dad used to take us to this nice Egyptian restaurant. I'd get baklava and chocolate cake and some damn good chicken and then we'd go home and watch any movie of my choice, so we'd usually end up watching A New Hope again."

"And you're calling me a weeb? Nerd."

"Shut up, I'm being genuine here for once in my fucking life. Anyway. Point is. We'd get dinner, watch a movie together, I got some gifts, and it was the best day I could wish for. Then after... everything happened, Amalia and her parents took me out somewhere." He takes a moment to gather himself. Talking about the past five years was still hard at times, actually telling the truth of his hurt rather than lie and say he was fine. "I spent my eighteenth birthday crying my eyes out on the floor of a restaurant bathroom. Told Lia I got food poisoning, but I knew she didn't buy it. Next birthday was barely any better. Amalia was off to college by then, so me and my new best friend 'Fake ID' hit up every bar in town for a free drink for the birthday boy. I vaguely remember making out with some hot girl in a bathroom stall, but mostly I just remember feeling incredibly alone. And, well, nauseous."

"Is this story going anywhere or are you rambling?"

"Right. I'm trying to be profound. Well, tl;dr, birthdays sucked. At 20 I ignored my birthday and 21 I got shitfaced again, but this time legally. Then this year I happened to find myself in the area after a hunt. So I walked into that Egyptian restaurant, I got myself dinner and some baklava, found the nearest movie theater and watched, uh," he falls quiet for a moment, thinking hard, "I don't remember the movie's name, it was pretty forgettable I'll be honest. But it was the best day I'd had in longer than I'd like to admit. Whenever I closed my eyes I could almost feel my family sitting next to me. My dad's lame jokes, my mom's laughter. Annie stealing food off my plate when she thought I wasn't looking..." Horus is quiet for a moment. "Sorry, I'm making it about me again."

Lincoln turns over in his arms to face him. "It's alright. Honor their memory instead of burying it deep, right?"

"Yeah. But, if you do wanne just laze around all day and watch shitty movies I'm down for that too." he tightens his arms around him a little. 

Lincoln hums, lying his head back down on Horus' chest, and he wonders if Lincoln could hear how his heart raced. Neither of them would spend another birthday alone if he had any say in it. They lay there a little while longer in comforting quiet.

Lincoln rouses after a while, quieting Horus' whine with an achingly sweet kiss as he heaves himself off the couch. "I think I know what I want to do today."

***

Their first stop was Westchester Elementary. Lincoln hadn't told Horus what exactly they'd be up to, wanting it to be a surprise. It was a warm autumn day, the warmth of summer not quite gone yet. 

The sounds of children playing outside  accompanied by a quiet ambiance of rustling leaves and birds' song. It was strange how nice Westchester could be when horrible men and creatures weren't actively terrorizing it. 

"So, this is where baby Linc took his first steps into becoming a menace to society?" 

He rolls his eyes, but smiles regardless, "You know Russ, I don't actually know much about what you were like as a kid." 

"Me? A model student once they got me to stop cutting up my clothes." 

"That's what I thought." he holds out his hand, and by now it's second nature for Horus to grasp it as they walk along. Lincoln leads them to the side of the building, stopping before they round the corner. 

"Close your eyes for me?" 

For me.

The gentleness in Linc's voice over shadows any dirty jokes in Horus' mind. He simply smiles, "Alright." letting Lincoln lead him a little further away with his eyes closed. 

He stops Horus, grabbing him by the shoulders and turning him around. 

"Okay, now, open your eyes." 

So he does. And before him, Horus sees something that was-

A stunningly painted mural adorned the old plaster, a deep indigo blue of a night sky, swirling into the yellows and pinks of dawn. Against that backdrop was the silhouette of a woman, leading a chain of children of different ages toward the light of a new day under a bright shining star. More stars dotted the dark sky, painted in such a way that they almost seem to shimmer in the sunlight. Among them Horus managed to recognize a few constellations; the Scales of Libra, Aries the Ram, the Eagle Aquila, the Archer Orion-

His eyes flit to Lincoln, who in turn is watching him with searching eyes and a kind smile. 

"It's gorgeous." Horus says after another breath. It was hard to put into words, but it felt as if a hopeful wish had been put into every brushstroke. 

Having apparently found what he was looking for, Lincoln turns to the mural. "My mother painted this. She told me she started the first draft a few weeks after she found out she was pregnant. The actual mural didn't go up until I enrolled here, and I got special permission to 'help' her out during recess." 

They walk up close, where painted in white, surprisingly neat, yet childish letters;

LINCOLN & 

and then in a beautiful curling script;

Silvia McQuoid

Lincoln traces his fingers along the letters, closing his eyes, a smile painting his lips. 

"There's more murals like these all around town. She'd always say this was her way of giving back a little kindness into the world. Something to inspire people." his eyes open again, looking up at the silhouette. "A couple were painted before I was born, but I loved coming along whenever I could. She always insisted that even if I just painted a single line, that I'd put my name up next to hers."

"She sounds awesome, wish I could have met her."

"She would have loved you, I'm sure of it." 

Horus laughs, "Ha! You're just saying that because I'm your boyfriend." 

Lincoln bumps his shoulder, "I mean it, Russ. Someone so full of life like you? She'd be making wedding plans after our first date." 

Horus was not a shy or bashful man by a long shot, so the blush creeping up to his ears and the sudden stutter in his throat caught him off guard. His eyes flick over to Lincoln, who also seems to realize what he'd said with a start. He didn't want to read into it too much, his racing mind already looking for a way to change the topic, but a small voice in the back of his head tells him that if Lincoln had asked him right here, right now, that he would not mind at all. But then a suitable deflection comes to mind, blurted out a little too tense, a little too fast. 

"I already promised to take you out for dinner today, no need to butter me up."

"Maybe I'm hoping to get free dessert too." 

"I dunno, you find me a dark and quiet corner and I can get right on that if you're so impatient." 

"At an elementary school? Really?" 

"Ah, you're right. So are we going to your highschool next? Behind the bleachers maybe." 

Lincoln laughs again, "Speaking of dinner, there's a few more murals I wanted to show you. Come on." Linc turns to head back to the motorcycle. 

It was like a light bulb flickering to life over Horus' head as he realized exactly what he would get Lincoln for his birthday. He pulls out his phone, sending out a dozen texts as they walk, nearly missing the helmet Linc tosses him. 

The last message is off and confirmed by the time they reach the second mural, and hours blur by as they ride all over Westchester. Every painting is somehow more gorgeous than the last, accompanied by anecdotes from Lincoln about inspirations, color choices, meanings. It was something incredibly dear to his heart, anyone could tell. 

Horus steps up close to Lincoln, leaving a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."

"For what?" 

"Sharing this with me. But," he reaches his hand into Linc's back pocket, pulling out the motor keys, "I have a surprise for you too." 

Lincoln raises a brow, but doesn't make to grab for the keys. "Where are we going exactly?" 

"Ah-ah, wouldn't be a surprise anymore if I told you. But it's close by, I promise."

***

It's a short drive over. Horus parks the motor out on the side of the road, walking ahead down an alleyway to the back. 

And as his friends had promised, strewn around a blank wall was everything needed to paint a mural of their own. 

Brushes in all sizes, a dozen different colors of paint, lights that illuminated a smooth, blank canvas waiting to be filled. Off to the side lay a cooler filled with drinks, and a bag full of takeout food. 

"But how…?"

Horus counts it off on his fingers, "Had Connor call in some favors at city hall for the permit, Lia brought the food, Joss got us drinks, Dee and Noah took care of the supplies, aaand," Horus lets out a sharp whistle, and Abel appears from around the corner carrying a cake, followed by the rest of their merry little gang. A chorus of "Happy birthday, Lincoln." rises from the group. Joss rolls her eyes. 

"I'm just here for the cake." she nods her head toward Abel. 

Linc's eyes grow wide."Is that…?" 

"My mom's recipe? Yeah, I promised, didn't I?" 

Horus pulls a lighter from his pocket, lighting the candles. 

"Happy birthday to you." Abel starts, and Horus, Amalia, Connor and Dee are quick to join in, "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Lincoln, happy birthday to youuu." 

The look in Lincoln's eyes is part horrified, part touched and wholly embarrassed as the song comes to an end. 

"C'mon make a wish." 

Lincoln walks up and thinks for a moment, and if Horus wasn't head over heels before, then the way that the candlelight flickered in Linc's eyes surely would have done the trick now. The moment passes as he closes his eyes, blowing out the candles in one big breath. 

"Let's see if this cake lives up to the hype." Noah walks up, knife in hand, offering it to Lincoln to cut the first piece. 

Abel looks offended, "You doubt my baking skills?" 

"Cut him some slack," Connor says, "being a ghost for a few years made him forget his manners." 

Noah just shrugs, taking back the knife to cut up pieces for the rest as Lincoln takes the first one. 

The silence is broken by an incredibly inappropriate moan from Lincoln that almost sets something off in Horus. But that would have to wait until he had him all to himself.

"Just as good as you remember?" Abel says, unable to keep a large, goofy grin off his face. 

"Better somehow." he takes another large bite. 

Horus is handed a piece next and wastes no time shoving a large piece into his mouth. "Oh shit, this is good." Agreements ring out as everyone digs in. Their impromptu party is however quite short lived.

"As much as I wish I could stay," Abel says, "I was in the middle of grading papers that I really need to finish by tomorrow."

 Amalia pipes up, "I should go too, I got a long drive ahead to get back in time for my lectures tomorrow if I want to get any sleep. Cake was totally worth it, though." 

Connor walks up to Dee and Noah, slinging his arms around their shoulders. "The three of us promised Harper we'd stop by tonight to check something out, so we should get going too." 

Jocelyn grabs another bite off the last slice of cake. "And I'm not hanging around to play third wheel to these two, so bye."

Horus waves her off. "Good night, Joss." 

"Night, Red. Keep the old man’s spine intact.”

“Old man? I’m not even 30 yet.” Lincoln replies.

“I make no promises about his ability to walk tomorrow.”

Jocelyn grins, “Nice.” and heads off.

Abel hangs back for a moment, watching the others leave. He walks over to Lincoln, whose eyes still betray his feelings of guilt. Apologies were exchanged a while ago, but Horus could tell that Lincoln still had a hard time letting go of the hurt he caused. 

"Abel, I-" but his words are cut off as Abel envelopes him in a hug. Lincoln hesitates for a moment, before hugging him back. 

Abel lets him go, a kind smile on his face. "Happy birthday, old friend." he turns to Horus, giving him a nod, and Horus nods back. 

And just like that it was only the two of them left again. Horus polishes the last crumbs off his plate, quietly thanking Abel and his mother for what was maybe the best cake he'd had, ever. 

Lincoln walks up and hugs him tightly, burying his face in Russ' neck. And now it was Horus' turn to stand there for a moment, unsure of what to do, before he returns the gesture. 

"Thank you," the words are a quiet murmur against the crook of his shoulder. "Thank you."

"I'm glad you like it." 

"No, I liked spending the day with you. You doing this for me? I love it. I-" he hesitates on the word. Lincoln pulls back a bit, cupping Russ' face in his hands. "It means a lot to me. I just don't know what to paint." 

He pulls him in for a kiss, short and sweet. But being pressed up against Lincoln's back all day on the motorcycle has left Horus with a desire for something more than that. He walks Lincoln backwards until his back hits the empty plaster wall, nearly tripping over a bucket of paint in his haste. He opens his mouth, and it was delicious, both of them still tasting of whipped cream and cake. 

Lincoln flips them, so Russ' back is now to the wall and pulls back. A groan escapes him as he leans forward after Lincoln, 

"Don't move." he places another kiss along his jaw. 

"Hm?" 

"I just figured out what I want to paint."

Horus stood there, chest heaving, pupils blown wide. "You're just going to leave me like this?" 

He laughs, a bright and joyful sound, "I didn't exactly bring lube along." 

"I'll run to the corner store and make the most suspicious purchase of my fucking life, I'll even throw in some roses, don't test me."

Lincoln comes back with a bucket of paint and brush in hand. "You can do whatever you want to me back at my apartment. Just keep still." 

He opens the can, a deep blue, and gets to work tracing an outline around Horus, lingering around his hands, leaving kisses as he goes along. Up his arm, over his shoulder, a kiss under his ear. 

"You're making it very hard to stand still, you know." 

"Better keep at it. Don't want to get paint in your hair- hold out your hand a little."

Horus does as asked, moving as little as possible, as Lincoln traces the paint over his head and down his right side. 

Lincoln steps back, admiring his handiwork- or maybe admiring Horus. With the way his eyes darted around it was hard to tell. He turns, reaching for a new brush and another can of bright red paint. It doesn't escape Russ that it's the same shade as the color of his hair. Lincoln holds them out for him to take. 

Horus shakes his head "I'm not much of an artist."

"Just the rough outline, I'll take care of the details." Lincoln stands with his back against the wall, hand overlapping with the silhouette of Horus beside him. 

"Alright, fine. For the birthday boy." 

Horus then realized that he probably had not held a paintbrush in his hands in a decade, if not more. He wasn't nervous per se, but still very cautiously went to work, part of him afraid to mess it all up. He kneels down to get started by Lincoln's legs. The red paint stands in stark contrast against the gray wall, overflow dripping down, and suddenly Horus freezes. 

His hands shake, breath catching in his throat, whole body tense and ready to spring. Blood dripping down the brush, out of a creature's mouth, covering his hands his eyes seeping into his chest the ground thick in the air-

A hand clamps on his arm and distantly his name reaches his ears -"Russ!"- his father telling him to run, Annie calling after him- he tries to pull away, hand balling into a fist so tight that his knuckles ran white, nails digging into his palm, fight or flight instincts setting in and he was afraid and wanted to, no had to fight there was no one else left-

"Horus!" Lincoln's hands frame his face, forcing him to look into his eyes. 

"I'm-" the word comes out as a ragged breath. Adrenaline ebbs out, his heart still racing at a thousand miles a minute, but he was back in the here and now at least. Realizing what had just happened, Horus slaps on his trademark grin, the gesture not quite reaching his eyes. "I'll get lost in your eyes like this." 

"You're shaking." 

His hands still tremble a bit as he pries himself loose, "Low blood sugar, you know how it is. Maybe we should eat some of the take-out before it goes completely cold." he drops the brush back into the bucket, avoiding looking at it too closely. 

"Horus-"

"There's one with chicken and one with beef, which do you want?"

Lincoln wraps himself around him from behind, plucking the beef noodles from the bag. "Talk to me, Russ. You were gone for a moment there." 

Horus hops up onto a crate, opening his food up, his voice quiet, but finding its confidence as he talks. "Ugh. It doesn't usually happen, red is my favorite color, and I've seen worse whenever I need to dye my hair again- seriously makes my bathroom look like someone died there." he lets out a breath, combing his fingers through his hair, "but, I guess the paint just… took me off guard. I'll be fine after I eat something." 

Lincoln sits next to him, frowning, 

"I should have realized-" 

"Don't. Don't start pitying me or, fuckin' saying its your fault. We were just making such good progress in getting you to stop blaming everything on yourself-" 

"That's not true," Linc says matter-of-fact, "I blame plenty on Matthias." 

Horus laughs. "True. But, yeah. I don't want my little episode to ruin this. I won't let it." He nods over, gesturing for Lincoln to go stand at the wall once they're done eating. 

His hand still shakes a little as he traces the outline around him, but everything was further from Horus' mind now. Focus on the motions, focus on his warmth, his voice-

"Look at that. You're a natural." Lincoln says as he draws the final line, vaguely linking the hands of the silhouettes together. 

"Are you gonna start pulling out gold stars next, or what?" He grabs himself a soda from the cooler, and a beer for Lincoln,

"Is that something I'll need to keep in mind?" 

"Everyone likes being told they're doing a good job, no? Don't worry about the drinking by the way, I'll drive us back." 

"Sure, but if I start lamenting about Naruto, cut me off." 

"No, please tell me more about how Naruto and that black haired guy were totally in love." 

"Oh, like you're any better about your space movies." 

"I just have a lot of feelings about the Clones, okay!" 

Conversation flows and time flies as Horus watches Lincoln get to work. It was mesmerizing to see how the piece came together, stroke by stroke; two silhouettes, hand in hand with a ribbon tying their hands together. Horus' figure set in a royal blue, Lincoln framed by an explosive red, the tie that binds them red on one side, blue on the other. The message rang clear; I’m a part of you, you’re a part of me.

"Now all that's left," Lincoln cracks open a black can of paint, dipping in a smaller brush. "is signing it."

He signs his name in beautiful curling letters;

Lincoln & 

Before holding out the brush to Horus, who glady, if a bit messily, adds his name underneath;

Horus Asar

[yongislong]

staring + dreamies.

genre: when you catch the dreamies staring at you hehe, fluff, suggestive but not rly pft

note: hiiiiii... how yall doinnnnn.... :D

mark... genuinely cant help it LMAOO he cant!! he just needs to look at you sometimes. brings him a lot of comfort. you have also gotten used to him spacing out and looking your way while you just sit on your phone or laptop. his hand finds itself onto you hair/head every once in a while. is so considerate so he would for sure fix your mascara, lipstick or pick off an eyelash if he "saw something on your pretty little face" hehe. used to get flustered when you caught him staring but has grown more confident and you've grown used to him needing a glimpse of your profile huehuehue

renjun... wants to memorize you!!!!! corny yes but dear god he has to have you down to memory! he knows he's never letting you go but it's inevitable for him to want to drink up your expressions, pores, spots and individual hairs. likes to watch you in your natural habitats. has always said that your concentration face is the cutest thing he's ever seen. all of these things come in especially handy when he can't sleep. he's drawn you a million times. he has sketchbooks soley dedicated to you and your face pfttt. when you catch him staring he just smiles really brightly! so cute.... does a cute little "hiiii" too AHHHHH

jeno... what a shy manly man omg... would get a kick out of watching you be cute and cooking or stuff. very domestic! likes looking at you because he really think you're the prettiest most gorgeous and lovely person on earth, effortlessly! is honestly just staring in awe. traces your nose bridge whenever you lay on chest. mutters "wow..." a thousand times under his breath. will end up missing big scenes in movies because of this HAHA, you think it's endearing but you're also like!!! jen please watch katniss literally destroy president snow lol i promise it's more interesting (he disagrees)

haechan... oh boy. he is so annoying about it oh my god lmfaooo. just does it to fluster you and sometimes he just can't help but look at you though. likes to pinch your arm to get your attention in order for you to look back at him HAHA, especially when he's doing it because he wants to give you a compliment, "well hello there pretty, come here often?" likes kissing your cheek (and neck) after they get dusted pink. pokes your cheeks when he staring too, just a big cheek guy imo!! peppers you in smooches, gets flustered when you catch him sometimes... especially if he's looking at you from across the room. sends you a smile

jaemin... oh my god he just loves your face its actually so sickening! like ugh!!! he loves watching your mouth move, v enticing lol. his hands subconsciously find their way to to your lower lip. his hands always land on your thighs as well lol. looooves to stare at you in the morning or when you're sleepy because your puffed out face is the best thing to him. whenever you catch him, he is so confident, especially when you question him about it, he's like "why can't i stare at my gorgeous partner... freak.... you can't just look like that and expect me not to be obsessed with you" so sassy... but is actually so genuine sometimes it almost makes you cry

chenle... GGAAAHHHHHH so cocky!!! but it hits different because he will stare you down so hard and will lean in super close and run his eyes all over your features but when you look his face breaks out into the cutest little whisker smile in the world, just for funzies, mumbles out an exasperated "...cute......" mostly does it to fuck with you but it's a win win for him tbh, but won't admit it. is always staring at you because he can, but also because he always wants to make sure you're safe esp in public. has mastered understanding your facial expressions and tics.

jisung... "nothin... you just looked cute." simp nation. is actually more confident than he lets on. you realize this when he leans down to cover what you're looking at after he's been staring and not realizing it. yknow what i mean? like he's so tall so if he's watching you make breakfast or something and he's been staring for a while, he would bend down to have his face within your line of vision. what a cutie lol. you always pull his cheek when you catch him staring and he has to pretend he doesn't like it all while he's smiling and giggling AHA. likes to stare at you because he has to remind himself that you're real and that he has you all to himself <3

oh ma goshh hiiiiii haha ummm im still getting used to writing blurbs and headcanons again so sorry! was watching hunger games while writing this so HAHA, enjoy! i missed you guys!

[savebatsfromscratch]

No.21 ‘Till Death Do Us Part.

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51001621

Words: 1,651

Cws: Possible death, (it’s left open to interpretation), definitely kidnapping, losing a spouse, dread?

Prompt: No. 21: “See the chains around my feet.” Vows | Restraints | “Don't move.”

Notes: I’m SO SORRY Teashipping community, I really want to write nice stuff about them, but this is all that I find myself spitting out. XD

Daisy readjusted the papers on her clipboard, squinting at the rare Pokemon she was tracking as she fought to keep an eye on it. The forest was a mess of underbrush and vines, but that was what she and Bill were here for. In order to combat the habitat destruction currently happening in the coral reefs and dark caves of her region and its colonies, Bill had devised a plan to show exactly how important a pristine natural environment was.

Daisy scribbled down a note on her paper, seeing a small scratch on the ear of the eevee, but sure to notice that it did not seem to be hindering the little creature in any way. She was so proud of Bill for thinking of this idea. In the past she had joked that she loved him so much that she couldn't stop thinking about him even while researching, and someday she was going to go over her notes and find a draft of a proposal written there instead.

Well, when that joke had become a reality, she just had to follow through with it, didn't she?

Her wedding ring fit comfortably on her finger, and it clacked lightly against her pen as she readjusted her clipboard once again. She couldn't help but smile as she caught her mind drifting away from her work and to her husband. He was the only thing that had ever been able to do that to her. She laughed and shook her head slightly, tapping her pen against the paper in an effort to get her focus back. This was his dream project, she had to focus! (After all, he was right behind her, focusing on his own piece of the project, she really should be working on hers.)

She looked back at the Pokemon and tried to make up for what she'd missed in daydreaming. The Eevee with the scratch on its ear, a really young looking Pikachu who had somehow already evolved from a Pichu, and... She squinted. Where had the other one gone? She scooted a little farther, scanning the complicated spaghetti strings of thorns for the Charmander that had been playing with the others just a few seconds ago. 

She looked a little harder, her pen seeming to scratch of its own accord as she focused on what was actually happening with the Pokemon. Both of them were standing still and silent, none of their adorable playing that they had been so invested in mere moments before. She blinked as if to clear a film from her eyes, but no, the two were still there, shivering in fear. (As if they knew something that she didn’t.)

She looked all around, but she didn’t see any of the threats that the Pokemon seemed so scared of. She felt her eyebrows knit together. Predation was definitely a natural fact of a well protected natural environment, but now that she was seeing the scared looks on the little animal’s faces, she was beginning to feel that awful chill of dred as well. Something felt very off there, but she didn’t have a clue what.

And then it hit her.

“Bill,” she whispered, trying to keep as quiet as possible, more out of panic rather than to not disturb the natural scene around them, “Do you hear anything?”

Bill stopped his scribbling, looking at her in confusion for a few moments before the utter silence of the forest registered to him. His eyes were suddenly lit with concern, and he squeezed Daisy’s hand tightly. “No,” his murmured, even quieter than she had been, “There could be a large predator in the area,”

Daisy looked nervously around them once more. Just because they were completely concealed in underbrush and sandwiched between two rotting tree trunks didn’t mean anything if there was a large Pokemon coming towards them. (Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as the Eevee and the Pikachu scampered off into the underbrush, presumably deciding that their chances were better if they ran.)

“What should we do?” Daisy asked, leaning into Bill as her heartbeat spiked in intensity, “Do you think we can handle a large Pokemon?”

Bill nodded slowly and patted a Pokeball on his hip, but he didn’t look entirely convinced with himself either. If there did happen to be a large, predatory Pokemon around here, it probably wouldn’t decide to attack them, but if it did… Bill was a lot of things, a lot of wonderful things, but a good battler wasn’t exactly one of them. Daisy pulled her legs a little closer to her chest, gripping Bill’s hand as tightly as she could manage without accidentally hurting him.

“Hey,” Bill whispered, brushing a string of Daisy’s behind her ear, “I vowed to protect you, remember?”

Daisy felt her heart swell as the memories replayed in her mind. A gorgeous wedding. Not too big, not too small, the perfect mix of family and friends. Food that she could have given her left leg to eat every day, a good mix of battlers and performers as their entertainment. The prettiest dress she’d ever seen. It had been a perfect wedding, with so many amazing parts that she couldn’t even list them all, but even so, she knew what her favorite had been.

Call her old fashioned, but Daisy had always thought that the best part of a wedding were the vows. How could a pretty cake or a nice dress ever compare to that glowing love that had filled her when Bill pledged his love to her, from now into forever, and that true, calming meaning of forever that she had felt when she had pledged her love to him? How could it ever compare to that truth of perfect love?

“Yes,” she whispered, pulled back into the present as a hungry wind rushed through the trees above them, “I remember,”

“Well,” Bill smiled that ever jokey smile of his, “I’m going to! Don’t you worry a bit, you’re safe with me!”

Daisy stifled a giggle, but she was cut off as the sudden sound of footsteps started coming through the woods. Instantly Bill’s expression changed to one of alarm, and Daisy’s heartbeat picked up in tempo once more.

“That’s not a Pokemon,” Daisy hissed, hearing awful human voices floating through the twisted trees. In any other situation, the sound of a human would have made Daisy feel better, but something about those barking laughs was all wrong.

“I know,” Bill hissed back, pressing closer to her as if to shield her from what they didn’t even know yet. His breathing was coming hard and fast, and Daisy had to admit that she wasn’t faring any better.

“Where are they?” Daisy whispered, her fingernails digging into Bill’s palm as she squeezed his hand. (They had been holding hands for so long now that his wedding ring now felt warm in her hands.)

“I don’t know,” Bill answered, his eyes glowing with panic as the footsteps and voices grew louder, “But if they see us…” They held still for a little longer, shivering as the people grew closer and closer to their hiding spot. 

“...that’s the plan,” one of them was saying, “We take over the company and we’ll have free stock,”

Daisy and Bill looked at each other in alarm, suddenly very aware that they should have taken after the Pokemon and ran long ago. Without even speaking, they knew each other’s plans. They had to get out of there, now.

Daisy started the race, jumping up and over the tree trunk as she dragged Bill after her. Immediately, she saw the men she had been hearing. Four or five of them, all dressed in the traditional black garb of grunts of an evil team, and all looking right at her and Bill. The problem was, they were only a few feet away.

“Run!” Daisy yelled, but the two of them didn’t get very far before the men reached them. Hands wrapped around Bill, and he screamed as he was yanked to a stop. His hand was torn out of hers, and one of the men laughed as Bill was forced to the ground.

“Bill!” Daisy yelled, skidding to a stop of her own in order to look back at her husband. “No!” The remaining men inched closer to Daisy, but she did not budge.

“Run!” Bill yelled. Despite the hold the grunts had on him, he only seemed focused on her safety, “Please!”

“No!” She screamed, fumbling for Pokeballs but finding none on her person, “I can’t leave you! I love you!” The evil men seemed to laugh, and one began to reach for a weapon on his waist as Daisy continued to stand there.

“Run,” Bill whispered again, so quiet Daisy could not hear, but loud enough that she understood every word, “I want you safe, please, keep yourself safe for me,”

Daisy felt tears begin to rush down her face, but she nodded. 

She ran.

She ran for so long she didn’t know what was what anymore, tearing through thorns and ferns and feeling the cold wetness of streamwater fill her boots. She ran for so long that the shouts of the men disappeared into the darkness of the forest behind her. She ran for so long that her head began to swim with cotton and fuzz, but it could not stop her from thinking about her husband.

Shaking, she dropped to her knees. “Bill!” She sobbed, feeling thorns prick into her knees, “Bill!” 

He had promised that they would always be together! He had promised her would protect her! He had promised they would love each other until the ends of their lives! They had so much more to do together, how could she have just left him like that?!

Daisy curled up in the rotting leaves.

Bill was gone, and it was all her fault.

[waynewifey]

corrupted — s.b

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader, James Potter x Reader

Summary: Perfect hair, perfect life, perfect boyfriend. Everything seemed perfect for Y/N. Until Sirius Black came.

Setting: 21st century

Warnings: cheating, smut, female reader, mentions of drugs, angst, tiny bit of fluff if you squint, creampie, mentions of catholicity, reader is actually an ass, james being cheated on and being completely oblivious to it

words: 5k.

A/N: this is my first time publishing something this big but I really enjoyed writing it, I hope you guys like it. it’s basically high school drama but make it marauders and make it smutty. yeah i just wrote riverdale’s script lol. anyway, i wanna say i’m sorry for language and cultural errors cause this is supposed to be happening in england but i don’t know how they do high school there, english is not even my native language so go easy on me. also im no catholic anymore so if there are anything offensive here please let me know. i just realised most of england is not catholic so this really is a mess.

this is inspired by the song ‘scotty doesn’t know’ by lustra and the movie ‘scott pilgrim vs the world’. link to the music will be at specific the scene.

His arm is around her waist and both lips are curled up in big smiles. His brown eyes shine at her direction and she laughs, one hand placed against his chest. They look too good to be true, like ceramic figures. And around them, everyone contemplates the power couple in their natural habitat: the schools cafeteria. Their little nobility members make a circle around the couple, but they're only pawns. The king and queen stand with invisible crowns on their heads, ruling the entire school. But, truly, they were happy and in love.

James Potter was no douche. He was a childhood friend of Y/N's, since their parents were friends as well. Things just, sort of, fell into the right place. He was captain of the soccer team and she was the president of the student council. Both amazing students, adored by the professors and the principal. They were everything they were expected to be, children of the wealthiest families of England: perfect. She loved his pure heart and his kindness. He loved her loyalty and her intelligence.

As everybody watched, they kissed. Briefly, no tongue, because after all she was meant to save her purity. He respected that, even admired. So their love demonstrations were usually smiles, hugs and gifts. They were okay with it. School was just their little theatre. The less they showed, the more people wanted them to show.

When the bell rings, they separate and go to different classes. She gossips with her friends about those girls who won't save themselves for marriage. He jokes with his friends about the rival team. The class is over, and before they can meet for their quick chat before James goes to practice, the principal calls her on the speaker, asking for her presence in the office. This wasn't unusual, Y/N had meetings with Mr. Anderson almost daily. She greets his secretary, that tells her to wait in the antechamber. She does so, sitting in the green velvet chair and looking over the window, which has a great view of the soccer field. A few minutes go by and finally Mr. Anderson opens the dark wooden door and tells her to come in. Inside the office, a couple and a student sit in the chairs in front of the principals table. Y/N approaches them, whispering a 'good evening' before recognising Mr. and Mrs. Black, good friends of her family, and their not so friendly son, Sirius Black. She didn't know much about him, he kept it low profile. But by looking at his badly put uniform and sharp features, he didn't seem to care.

"This is Miss L/N, she's the top student of our school, you might have seen her before in our events." The principal begins, and she smiles at the adults. "She surely is the perfect fit to help Sirius get back on his tracks, I believe so."

Confused, she asks:

"I'm sorry Mr. Anderson, I'm not sure I understand what you're talking about."

"The Black family needs your help tutoring Sirius, Miss L/N. He's been... off their expectations, and that needs to be corrected quickly. Of course, extra credit will be given if you succeed. Is that okay?"

Y/N looks at the couple, seeing the hope in their eyes. Then, she looks at Sirius. He looks like a hard work.

"Sure, I'll help him."

It's Sunday afternoon and Y/N just left church. James dropped her off at the Black mansion.

"Call me and I'll pick you up, ok? Love you." He said before leaving.

The butler opens the door. Apparently, only Sirius and the maids are home. She is guided up to his room and knocks on his door. A horrific sound is playing inside: screams and guitars. Metal, probably. When he opens it, he's shirtless and black wearing sweatpants. His dark hair falls over his shoulders, over his chest. The room behind him is messy, the walls are filled with posters of bands and naked women and the floor is filled with graffiti and drink cans. He somehow managed to mutilate the classic bed frame, making it look like it has been through several battles. She looks away, putting her hands in front of her eyes.

"Could you get dressed, please?" He snorts and closes the door. When he's out again, he's wearing a black band shirt with a skull on fire in it. Bizarre. They walk to the house's library and sit on one table. It's a quiet place. A little bit too dark for her taste, her library was filled with chandeliers but this one barely had one. Thankfully, some sunlights came through the window to enlighten the room. She puts her books on top of the wood and sits on a chair.

"Before we start, we should talk a little bit about our working habits-"

"Let me cut you right there. Look, I'm really not interested in your tutoring. I'm only here because my parents are real mad at me. I will not collaborate with this. So, instead of wasting our times, lets get straight to the point. I need to get my grades up. You will help me by doing my assignments. You'll get your extra credit and we won't have to interact. How's that?"

"What? No! I... I won't help you, then. If you don't want to help yourself, then no one will."

"I thought you might say that. Well, then I guess you'll have to tell anyone you failed. Great Y/N couldn't teach me. Your prayers didn't work. You're not so good anymore. It's a shame, really."

She stops. It really wouldn't look good for her.

"At least do the assignments with me. I mean, if we never meet each other, you're parents will know. Perhaps you'll even learn something."

He ponders.

"Alright. Every Sunday then." She nods.

They kept their agreement. Every Sunday James would drop Y/N at the Black's to meet Sirius. The first three sessions were challenging. He really didn't want to help. But, thankfully, she managed to get around him perfectly and by the second month, he was doing almost everything by himself. Sirius Black was intriguing. He never talked about himself. He was a complete mystery. Not to mention he was... bad. All the sinful habits he had. But he was also beautiful. His dark curls framed his face like a portrait. His gray-ish feline eyes were so penetrating Y/N felt like fainting when they pierced her neck. That wasn't uncommon. Her neck, her shoulders, her chest, her legs, even her lips — he glanced at them all. Frequently. She never addressed it because, well, she did it too. Sunday after Sunday the look when he opened the door shirtless lasted longer. She stared at his muscular legs when he wore shorts. She would never confess it, obviously, but she did. And then there were the hand touches. Accidental, most of them. She enjoyed his warmth next to her. She began to crave it. To want more.

James noticed when she turned touchy. Unusual, of course, but he didn't mind. He didn't actually care for purity. How could he? He was a boy, after all. Their kisses lasted longer. No tongue, still, because she wasn't sure how to do so. She would sit on his lap in the cafeteria, hands tangled up his hair. Delicate, however. Nothing too scandalous.

Seeing Sirius in school was confusing. He would smirk at Y/N, and she would greet him with a quick hand gesture. He would also silently laugh at James, but Potter gladly didn't notice.

Last Sunday before winter break, all assignments were finished. As they were saying goodbye to each other, the boy asked:

"Do you wanna, like, do something?"

She gave him a nervous laugh, "Um, like what?"

"You've never done graffiti before, have you?"

She shakes her head.

"Alright, I know a place. But you'll need to get changed."

He handed her one of his black sweatshirts and pulled her by the hand. In the back of the house there was a hidden garage with a mini van in it. It was white and had doodles all around it. They got in and drove to a place far from where L/N used to go. He parked at a dark alley and grabbed a bag.

"Hey, you two!" A manly voice sounds from behind them, and a soft light is in their direction.

Sirius pulls Y/N by the hand, who drops the can to the floor and quickly start running. The boy guides her through multiple aisles, going in a zigzag direction until the footsteps no longer follow them. They go over a tunnel and stop close to some woods. She has a hard time running that fast and when they finally stop L/N feels a burn in her lungs and her blood is circulating way too fast. It feels incredible.

"Oh my god!" She laughs, putting her hair behind her ears. "I can't believe we just did that, it was such a rush!"

Sirius nods, smiling as he wipes the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. He glances at her, still euphorically laughing with a bit of red paint on her cheek. She looks amazing. Alive.

"Can we do it again? I-" She looks at him, furrowing her eyebrows and biting her lower lip. He waits. Finally, she whispers, "I think I wanna kiss you."

There's a pause, in which only the cicadas are heard. What even made her say that? Adrenaline, obviously. Or perhaps the smell of the toxins in the paint. She feels stupid.

"You think?"

"No, I-... I do want to kiss you."

He tries to contain a smirk and she holds her breath. Before she can turn around and run away, he takes her in by placing a hand on the side of her neck, just under her ear. Their lips meet and it's... different. It's not calm and sweet as it used to be with James. It's warm, desperate and even a little bit violent. She puts both hands on his chest and they slowly travel to his collarbones and neck, just as his' stop at her waist and pull their hips together. Their tongues meet and it's unexpectedly incredible. Y/N can't get enough of it.

They quickly get out of breath and separate a bit, their faces less than a inch apart. When she tries to get back to it, he stops her.

"We should probably go somewhere safe, you know."

She ignores the accelerated heartbeat inside her and agrees. They head back to the mini van.

Her skin is on fire, but he still puts his hands under her sweatshirt and trace them up, until the piece of clothing goes over her head. He's on top of her, black curls pending in the air. He stares at her lace bra for a moment, before attacking her neck with soft bites. She sighs and unconsciously moves her hips against him. Her mind is filled with lust, not letting any space left for her thoughts. He giggles, quickly taking off his own shirt. In a moment, they're both in only underwear, skin on skin. Without further ado, his right hand sits on her core, over the panty. He proudly feels it drenched and makes sure to keep eye contact as he presses it lightly. She suspires as he circles her sensible clitoris, enjoying the electric waves going through her body. Sirius puts the cloth to the side and explores the outside of her entry with his middle finger. She nods at him, consenting. Slowly, he penetrates her. She groans at the pain, forcing her eyes shut. Tears accumulate in the sides. When she recomposes with a deep breath, he takes his finger out and penetrates her again. And again. And again. Until she's used to the feeling, desiring it. He wishes to play with her for longer, but the throbbing sensation under his stomach was starting to hurt. So he takes out his already hard cock, lubrificating it with the wetness pooled on the tip. Quickly glancing at her breasts and messy hair, he can't hold no longer. He enters her with a groan and start a pace. Her legs curl around his waist. Her loud moans are muffled by his lips, that also often let a moan out. The erotic sounds made by their bodies meeting excite her even more, making her orgasm start to build up. She begs for him to go faster, harder, deeper. She screams his name and swear words in a sense she doesn't even understand. At this point, she has no control over what's leaving her mouth. It finally comes, the wave of pleasure that completely washes out her senses. It leaves her numb, legs shaking and dark circles in her vision. The clenching around him it's too much, so Sirius tries to pull out so he can finally release. He is stopped by her legs, that firmly hold him at the same place.

"Inside, please..." She asks and the effect is immediate. He fills her with his cum and she loves the dripping sensation afterwards. She loves the feeling of him inside of her and misses it the moment he's out. He falls on top of her, heavy breathing — both of them. Something clicks inside her brain, like the first time you hit weed, and just like that she's addicted to him.

They meet several times during the break. Y/N tells James she's going shopping. He trusts her. He loves her. Surprisingly, she loves him too. She does not love Sirius. It's only physical. She didn't care for what he had to say. She wanted his body. It's not immoral, after all, that was what he wanted too. He never explicitly said that but kept it going even though he knew she was dating James. There was an unspoken agreement to don't tell anyone about their relationship.

Anyways, winter break was over and they had to go back to reality. They would sneak out to an abandoned classroom during lunch time, and she would laugh a little harder every time at his jokes. He would stare at her eyes, not her body, for longer. They would play with each other's hands while they talked, tangling their fingers.

"I wish we could do this anywhere," Sirius once mumbled. Y/N giggled in response, as her cheeks heated a bit.

Sirius turned out more talkative, trying to get along with some of her friends. He flirted with all of them, of course, but his eyes weren't shining the way they did when he looked at L/N. He started getting riskier. Touching her shoulder to ask for a pen in class, James on her side. Keeping the pen so she would have to meet with him. Using extra perfume so the scent would stick with her. Potter was simply oblivious to not notice it.

On his birthday, James rented a club and invited uncountable people to a massive party. Free entry, free drinks, free everything. Y/N was the perfect accessory for the night, full face makeup in a sparkly tight dress. He bought it himself. She thought using purity to decline it was too hypocritical of her, considering she was getting railed every Sunday. Three hours into the party, he barely talked to her. He was drinking with his friends and didn't want to dance with her.

"I need to go to the loo," She whispered on his ear, leaving before he could respond.

She squeezes herself across the crowd, casually stepping on some girls toes. She grabs her phone and writes a text.

'where are you? i'm bored.'

'just got to the parking lot, doll', Sirius answers.

'don't come in, i'll meet you there.'

Y/N takes a while to recognise his actual car, not his van, in the ocean of vehicles. She gets on the passengers seat, sighting.

"It's that bad?" He asks.

"Ugh, shut up." She takes his mouth quickly, throwing her legs to the drivers seat and getting on top of him.

They do it once, twice, three times before both are too tired to keep on.

"Okay, that's it. What's going on?" It was the ending of April, the spring’s warmth blocked by the windows in James's bedroom. He sits beside Y/N on the bed, while she raises an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. You've been acting all weird lately. You never want to come close to me or touch me anymore. Hell, you barely even look at me." The answer is clear in her mind. Anything she wants to do she does it with Sirius. But the hurt present in his voice makes her say something else. She still loved him.

"I don't know, I just- I guess I've been anxious about college and stuff. I'm sorry, truly." He nods in understanding.

“I also thought you might’ve been bugged by Lily, you know, since she’s been all over me lately.” He says in a lower tone, making Y/N furrow her eyebrows. She hadn’t even noticed that. Her best friend actually did that? “I made it clear to her that wasn’t interested, just so you know. No need to be insecure over that, hm?”

“Yeah, actually it really made me uncomfortable.” Exactly what he wanted to hear, for sure. “I was trying to ignore it but… it freaks me out. Knowing there’s so much option for you out there. A bunch of beautiful girls juts waiting to grab a piece of you.” She continued, suggestively glancing at him.

He pouts, actual tears forming in his eyes. He sights and hugs tightly his girlfriend.

“Princess, there’s no need to worry. I love you and you only. The others? They don’t matter to me. I want you.”

Wow. Y/N screwed up big time. How could’ve she cheat on the most caring and adorable boy ever? And with a stray dog? A junkie. That wasn’t her. She was the golden girl. The pride of her family. Pure, innocent and, well, perfect. Sirius had done that to her. Sirius Black made her sin. He corrupted her. Like the snake in Eden. Now Eve is fated to wilderness, in forever suffering. No. She bit the forbidden fruit but there’s still time to undo it. She will redeem herself. Love and worship James, be devoted to him.

When he softly kisses her, she can feel the salty tears wet her cheek. She quickly makes the kiss more sensual, freeing casual sighs that might come. Potter is skeptical at first and lets her lead him. He trusts her. L/N gets on top of him, separating to take his shirt off. When she tries to go back, he stops her.

“Are you sure you want to?” James asks, and his worry is genuine. He knows how much purity was important to her. How much it was supposed to be. She nods.

“Yes. I want you, forever. I’m ready.” He smiles and kisses her again. In a moment, he’s on top of her while she lays on the soft bed. And when she thinks he’s about to take his trousers off, he heads south.

The sex is good. James is not quite as experienced as Sirius, she can’t help but compare, but he certainly is experienced. Differently from Black, he praised her. Wanted her to have a good time too. He enjoyed preliminaries, teasing and going slow. She found out she enjoyed it too. She didn’t feel filthy or used. It felt right.

James, of course, thinks he just won the lottery. He’d gotten himself a virgin that fucked like a porn star. Poor boy. When they finish, he doesn’t fall asleep. He tells her to go clean up, asks if she’s hurt in any way, if she wants something. She asks for water and goes to take a bath. Nice and clean, they sleep together. She lays on his chest as he caresses her back with his thumb. She’s back in heaven. There’s no snake, no apple. Only Adam and Eve.

The morning after, she feels bad about how she has treated James. She wants to change. But it seams that the more she tried to block it, the more the sin came back to her mind. She was mad at herself for giving in so easily. For not have fought for her purity. She can’t talk to her friends, they would judge her and tell everyone. Her parents also wouldn’t understand. She has no one.

“How long has it been since you last confessed?” The priest’s voice sounds in the cabin.

“Five months, Father.” She whispers, shamed.

“Confess your sins, child.” It took four words to make her throat close. Her hands are shaking as she shifts her knees on the wood, gasping for air.

“I was corrupted by lust and greed. I gave away my purity, my virginity, to a boy I don’t love, who’s not the one I’m promised to. I did it multiple times and I have not yet told my boyfriend. But I love him, I want to be his wife, to be devoted to him. I want to make up for my sins, Father. I don’t want to be a sinner.”

There is a pause. Not even a breathing is heard. Y/N sniffles to hold back a tear. Then a tsk sound is made.

“Child, we are all sinners. What differ us from those who’ll end in hell is our will to change. To be better. To make better choices. Nothing is lost. God loves all of his creations, so he gave us the freedom to do as we want. You’ve wanted to sin. Now you want to redeem yourself. God is merciful.”

His words build up the strength she needed to move the mountains in her way.

“Thank you, Father.”

“As your penance, you shall say five Hail Mary’s. And I welcome you to say an act of contrition as well.”

She takes a big breath, recomposing herself, and does so. She leaves the confessional, feeling light as a feather.

Sirius approaches her at school, with a smirk on his face.

“Good morning, cupcake. Gotta tell you something.” He says, leaning against her neighbour locker and holding her chin with his right hand. She slams her own, after getting her needed books for the day.

“What are you doing?” She takes his hand off her. “We’re in public.”

“There’s barely anyone in the hallway, pup.”

“Barely isn’t enough. And don’t call me that.” She stars walking away from him.

“You sure did wake up a little bitter today, huh?” He follows her. She groans. They’re passing by a brooms closet. She pushes him inside it and closes the door.

“Um… Okay. Freaky.” He puts a hand on her waist, leaning in.

“Shut up! We need to talk.” She takes his hand off her, again.

“Yeah, right! Remember how I told you about the band I was in? We’re about to put on a huge gig and I wanted you to-“

“I’m ending this.” Y/N cuts him.

“What?” His expression is still the same smile he had on while talking.

“This.” She gestures the space between them. “Us. Whatever this is. It can’t keep on going.” His smile slowly fades away, being replaced by a concerned facade.

“Why…?”

“Because I’m in love with James, and this was a mistake, Sirius.”

“You’ve been banging another guy for what, four months, and now you decide you’re in love with you boyfriend? What the hell is that?”

“It shouldn’t concern you, it doesn’t matter. Let’s just move on and forget it happened.”

“Well but it fucking does!” He spits, his figure growing in front of her, the angle of her neck feeling larger than usual. “It matters to me, okay? Hell, I- fuck it, I fell in love with you! And now you tell me you wanna be with that bonkers? Fuck this!”

The girl was stunned. Frightened. She didn’t expect that reaction.

“Don’t say that about him.” She whispers.

“Oh that’s the part that got your attention? You wanna know what? James Tiny-Weeny Potter is a fucking waker, that’s what he is.”

“What is wrong with you?” A hard slap explodes on the side of his cheek. Her next words come as a scream. “It’s not him, it’s you! You are the problem, Sirius Black! You’re just such a blighter you can’t be good for me, or for anyone!”

His face is contorted in such upset expression it makes her wonder if she’s gotten too far. No one speaks for a minute. The boy bites the inside part of his lower lip and looks away.

“Fine.” His tone is hurt, clearly. “Have a good happily ever after.”

He storms out of the small room, raven locks leaving behind his scent. That would be the last time Y/N would feel it. She blinked a couple times, got her hair ready, reared up and left the room with a big —fake— smile.

The following weeks were great. She was getting back to her reality, spending more time with her friends. James was so drunkenly in love he would gift her multiple times in a week, with high fashion items — mostly bags and shoes, because he knew how much she loved a good Chanel. They took their usual spot in the cafeteria, but a couple of things changed. Since her ‘first time’, he’d gotten more touchy. She sat on his lap and he forgot about everything else. He made his life purpose to look her deeply in the eyes and repeatedly tell her how much he loved her. Over and over, until their friends got diabetes from how sweet it was.

No one noticed Sirius Black watching it from afar, as his days got more and more blue — or red, if you may. Most of the days he wouldn’t even go to school, because it was impossible to wake up at 7am when you spent your night doing drugs and the closest human being. Fortunately, as one has said before, artists are those who turn suffering into art, and some time later he focused on his band and songwriting. But, still, it was hard to watch the only girl that ever mattered to him slowly drift away.

The weeks went by and prom was getting dangerously close. And, of course, Y/N already had her outfit ready. She grew anxious with so many tasks from the student council. All the things she’d have to say. Make a great speak, they said, you’ll be the voice of this year’s class. Good thing the party itself wasn’t her responsibility. So many applications she had to send, too. All late, due to the time she wasted on Black. That goddamn name kept coming back to her head, like a ghost trying to haunt her. And his face, his lips, his hair, his body. It was all too much. To top all of that, there were rumours of James wanting to propose. No, those weren’t reliable. Lily said to Y/N that Marlene told her that Alice heard Peter tell Dorcas that told… Probably false. Right? She believed so, because any other thing for her to worry about would make her explode.

Prom finally comes and Y/N wants to kiss whoever planned it. It’s wonderful. Red Carpet themed, all students must be taken pictures by the paparazzi — school’s newspaper photographers — before entering the wide hall. A stage is in one wall, currently with a DJ running the music. There are disco globes hanging on the ceiling that reflect the lights forming tiny rainbows across the room. It truly makes her feel like a celebrity. She poses several times with James, in a green dress which’s tone matches perfectly her skin tone. Golden jewellery make her shine in the crowd. She dances all night long, until there’s a change in the stage.

They took the DJ’s table away and put up some instruments. The night is almost over so everyone is excited to discover what’s going on. A blond boy enters the stage, sitting by the drums. Y/N recognises him as Remus Lupin, they used to have classes together in sophomore year. She barely knows anything about him, but his hair is messy and he has some smudged eyeliner on him. He wears ripped jeans and a black t-shirt. Then, a ginger boy comes in, black jeans and a leather jacket. Must be a Weasley, she thinks. He stands close to the bass and ends up grabbing it. The crowd is growing, so James and Y/N hold their hands so they don’t loose themselves. Sirius Black steps into the stage and she gets out of breath. Black vinil pants. Shirtless. Carrying a red guitar. The snake tattoo she adored on his half-exposed crotch. He stands to the microphone. Turns it on and a loud pinch goes around the room.

“One, two” He tests it. When it works, he smiles. That damn smirk. “Hello everyone, we are Sex Bob-Omb and we hope you’re having a great fucking night!” The crowd screams. “Our first song goes to a very nice pal, whose name is… well, you’ll know it soon.”

Lupin’s drumsticks tap three times and the bass starts the music.

James doesn’t know that Y/N and me

Do it in my van every Sunday

James looks at his girlfriend, so does everyone in the room, mouth agape. She stares at the singer, unbelieved.

She tells him she's in church but she doesn't go

Still she's on her knees and James doesn't know

The instrumental goes on and Potter tries to escape the scene.

“Jamie, wait!” She screams after him, but the music is too loud. The crowd is going crazy. Half dancing, half laughing. The brunet leaves her eyesight and she turns to the stage, middle finger up. “FUCK YOU!” She screams, leaving to find her boyfriend somewhere.

pt. 2 - healed

[estrel]

Are You Happy? (Save Them Some Pie)

HAPPY 42ND BIRTHDAY, DEAN!! this is my gift to him for being my comfort person that i would hug on sight if given the chance 💗 love you dude, may you indulge in copious amounts of pie. ~ 1.5k words.

also dedicated to marlo ( @heller-jensen ), jace ( @thiscastielhasflown ) and dee ( @castee-yel ) thanks for bein real ones <3

[READ ON AO3]

The day had already started out weird enough.

Dean had woken up drenched in sweat, mind racing with the last lingering thoughts of a nightmare. A vamp nest that he and Sam had been hunting, Dean dying in the most ludicrous way possible, and driving Baby down a long road for an indiscriminate amount of time in a supposed heaven that his father (his father) also co-habited. Needless to say, the dream had come out of nowhere, but it was easy enough to forget once the smell of bacon made its way into his room.

Breakfast was hardy and quick, with enough coffee to fuel him for the rest of the day as he skimmed the internet for a possible case. He had the itch, but apparently, looking around at the three sleepy faces around him at the table, no one else did.

He packed up anyway, preparing for what would likely be an easy salt-n-burn; he’d be gone for only a few hours, tops. On his way out, Cas stops him before he can scale the stairs, arm gripping his shoulder tightly. There’s a memory, briefly—the same hand, the same shoulder. Blood.

Dean looks down at it. Back at Cas.

“…Yeah?”

After a moment, Cas lets go. He steps back half an inch as if he had forgotten himself. “Just…be careful.”

Dean nods, moving to leave again, taking the awkwardness as both a Cas thing and a morning thing and content to leave it at that. 

“And,” Cas says. Dean turns back.

“Come home.”

//

Dean picks up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Dean, hey! It’s, uh. It’s me. Krissy?”

Dean feels himself begin to smile, mindful of the road ahead of him. He balances his phone on his thigh while he drives.

“Hey, kid! Long time no call. How are you? Everything okay?”

The case had been as easy as Dean had suspected, but he had that familiar muscle ache and heaviness to his eyes that solo cases usually gave him.

Besides that, he was getting a little confused about all of the calls he’d been getting today. Before Krissy, it had been Garth, and before that, Claire and Jody and…

“Uh, yeah, dude, everything’s good. Um. How are you? How’s Sam and that angel of yours?”

Dean swallows to keep from choking, or potentially crashing the car.

“They’re good. Yeah…good.” Alive, he wants to say, back from the dead, probably in the DeanCave watching Scooby Doo without him. “Sorry, Krissy, ah,” he steps off the break to make a left, “I’m actually on my way home right now. Was there something I could help you with?”

There’s a pause, and Dean chances a glance at his phone to see if the call had dropped off. It hadn’t.

“Krissy?”

“I,” she huffs in what sounds like a laugh, “Nothing, Dean. You get home safe, okay?”

“Sure thing.”

“And hey,” Krissy says, before he can say his goodbyes, “Uh, make sure you save some pie for everybody else.”

Dean’s eyebrows furrow a bit, but he laughs. “I will. Take care of yourself.”

“Bye, Dean.”

“Ba-bye.”

//

Dean’s still mulling over the pie comment when he nearly falls down the stairs, squinting into the darkness of the Bunker.

“What the hell?” he asks, voice hoarse around the high note. “Guys?”

When there’s no immediate answer, Dean’s instincts kick in. He pulls out his gun and gently drops his bag, waiting a moment for his eyes to adjust so he can try for the stairs.

Before he can, though, the lights kick back on. His gaze locks onto the scene below, and Dean slowly lowers his gun.

“Happy birthday!” Jack says, the sound of a party horn whining shortly after. Beside him, Cas pulls the string of a party popper, and he jerks as bits of confetti fall around him and into his hair.

Skeptically, Dean starts descending down the stairs.

“You…this…” he manages.

“It’s your birthday, dumbass,” Sam says, swooping forward to slap a party hat on Dean’s head as soon as he’s made the landing. He smiles.

“Oh…kay.” Around them, the Bunker looks pretty normal. The only difference is the array of pies on one of the library tables, next to what looks like home made rice krispie treats, and a couple of birthday-themed plates and napkins. That, and the confetti from Cas’ party popper that litters the floor. “Are you sure?”

Cas frowns at Sam. “Sam was certain. I can’t imagine he’d get the day wrong, but he has had quite severe brain trauma over the years. Perhaps…” Cas reaches out to Sam’s head, probably intent on searching his brain for said trauma, or for the date of Dean’s actual birthday. Sam swats his hand away.

“Hey, no. My trauma is fine. Dean,” Sam redirects his attention to him, “It’s today. Did you really forget?”

Dean shrugs, trying to piece the day together from the beginning. Shitty dream, good breakfast, the three of them weirdly insisting on staying at the Bunker…the calls. Save some pie for everybody else.

He laughs. “So that’s what she meant.”

“That’s what who meant?” Jack asks. He’s wearing a party hat, too, with ridiculous stripes of blue and pink and purple patterned onto it. It matches the one currently strapped to Dean’s own. He shakes his head.

“You’re telling me all of you knew? This whole time? And…and…” He looks around again, pointing vaguely at the table and the confetti. “You put this all together for me?”

Sam shoves his arm playfully. “Course we did. Now quit pouting and come eat some pie.”

//

Sam is fast asleep, sprawled out on the couch hours later with one of his hands brushing the floor. Dean thinks he spots drool on the pillow underneath him. 

Cas has been quiet next to Dean, at least since Jack had disappeared into the kitchen an hour ago and hadn’t come back, thoughtfully tracing the lip of his beer bottle with his finger. 

“Something on your mind?” Dean asks, because he wants to know.

Cas continues unbothered. Scooby Doo reruns play in the background. Dean almost repeats the question, but Cas eventually lifts his gaze to stare at him.

“Are you happy?” 

Dean presses his mouth shut. Licks his lips. He takes just as long to answer.

“You know what,” he smiles. “I think I am.”

Cas smiles back at him, soft and genuine. The skin around his eyes crinkling tells more than the gentle upturn of his mouth. 

Dean swallows, nervously putting his beer down and turning it a few times until his fingers are wet with the condensation. 

“What, uh. What about you?” He swallows again. “You happy?”

What he really wants to ask, though, is if they were good. If, after recent events, they were still the same. If Cas was still fine with “just being.”

He’s quiet again. Dean thinks he deserves that, and tries to pay attention to the TV, but the voice in his head is too loud. Cas has to tap his knee to get his attention again.

“Hm?”

“I was saying,” he moves his hand back, “that I’m sorry I didn’t get you a gift.”

Dean stares at him. “What are you talking about?”

Cas looks confused, like he’s about to repeat what he just said. Dean stops him short with a wave of his hand. 

“Dude, you just got back from the dead, alright? That’s—that’s gift enough to last me a lifetime. Don’t worry about a gift.”

Cas frowns, and Dean rolls his eyes. It’s another few moments of tense silence, until Dean breaks it, his heart pounding in his chest.

“But, uh,” he says, “I might have a gift for you.”

“Dean, we don’t share a birthday. It’s not customary to gift me something, especially when I haven’t given you—“

“Cas,” he groans, officially putting his beer aside and facing him. Cas’ features are lit up with the colors of the TV. Dean reaches a hand up to pluck confetti from his hair, a green piece that he’d been eyeing all night. Hesitating, he lets his hand fall to Cas’ face, smoothing over his cheek and jaw. The TV paints his cheekbone purple. Dean brushes his thumb over it. “Just...shut up and let me do this.” 

Cas tilts his head, eyebrows furrowed in that way of his, and Dean thinks he looks perfect. When he dips forward and presses their lips together, it’s perfect, perfect, perfect. He’s warm, his face is burning, eyes almost watering when he pulls away.

Dean lets his forehead rest on Cas’, heartbeat still crazy. He closes his eyes. “We can have it, Cas. This. We can have this.”

Cas takes Dean’s face in his hands, lifts it a little to bring them face to face again, so that he’s looking into Dean’s eyes.

“I’d like that, Dean,” he says, and his eyes are wet, too. Happy, Dean thinks.

“Your gift to me?” Dean manages, smile wobbly. He’s teasing, trying to bring down the weight of this without getting rid of all of it. He likes this type of adrenaline rush, different from any hunt he’s been on. Better.

Cas smiles. “I think technically it was you that gifted me, but, yes. My gift to you, if you’ll take it.”

“Gladly,” Dean says.

Cas hums back, brushing his fingers through the hair at the nape of Dean’s neck. “Happy birthday, Dean.” He leaves a kiss on his forehead.

Happy. 

Dean thinks, for the first time, as he pulls more confetti from Cas’ hair, that it actually is. 

—

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[motherflecker]

that episode got me so overwhelmed i had to go watch something else and take a walk before i could sit down and write out my thoughts, my god. anyway, here's some thoughts, chronologically.

the way they had the time behind akk's head was stylish. this show is so stylish. and dumb. so dumb. also, someone needs to slap each ambassador individually at least once. maybe multiple times for phupha and wayo. i volunteer.

i love the implication that akk and theo just RAN AWAY. that's my headcanon now, that's why they were running, theo just bolted and akk followed. no one can convince me otherwise. everything about akk in this scene was very, very funny. the way he forgot what the louvre was called.

actually, that's one thing i appreciate about this show -- they make it very clear that akk is like, the boy next door. he cares about his sisters and photography and that kind of stuff but he never thought in a more globetrotting sense. he has no reason to know what the louvre is or remember that oxford is in england. why would he? though that said, incredibly charming that he demanded theo take him to france and joked about buying tickets. if i'm gonna be real soft about it, the boy is just trying to connect more with theo when all these four weirdos show up, speaking french, and knowing about that side of theo more than akk can. my boys!

akk getting punished for putting up all the flyers by being forced to take them down. i love the continuity here and akk continuing to be best dumb boy. this is also the scene that put wayo on my shitlist. i do not trust this sports boy at all. he can barely even PRETEND he actually likes theo, what a tool.

theo sulking and watching for akk's bedroom light. man, the amount of time these boys spend looking for the other one is incredible. they're always so aware of each other, wtf. i'm emotional.

akk thinking "i'm gonna help cheer theo up!" then immediately proceeds to get the shit kicked out of him by theo. my man was not holding back on those punches. this was not how akk pictured his night going and you know it. then going home and that soft stupid smile at the plane and his utter faith in theo??? after playing it cool when theo asked if he believed in him?? god, akk loves theo so utterly and fully, i'm gonna scream.

now the ep is just SCHEMES ON SCHEMES ON SCHEMES. the only thing that would have made all of akk and theo's attempts to get the handwriting better would be if yakety sax was playing in the background. there was one brain cell in these scenes and neither akk and theo had it. (it went to saifa, obviously.) what these scenes proved beyond the fact that akk and theo are complete morons, is that they have so much stupid chemistry. god. all their little moments. literally this entire episode was just "hey, you know how akk and theo are the best when they're together? here's more proof of that." they're so good for each other.

when this show is over i want a compilation of akk and theo just standing places and looking aesthetically pleasing. the amount of times they stand in WIDE OPEN PLACES, shoulder to shoulder, pressed up against each other, and talking about something completely idiotic. i love it, i love them.

JIMMY. i was like oh why aren't they showing p'sun's face BUT THEN THEY DID AND IT'S JIMMY. i knew he was on the cast list but we didn't see him until now. my utter trust in sun vs my utter distrust in wai. the duality.

now it's akk's turn to look through his window for theo. i'm glad they both had looking through the window for the other one and Pining scenes in this ep. good for them. egg giving akk the binoculars was fucking funny tho, for real. akk's GENUINE MOMENT OF CONSIDERATION when thinking about using them made it even more funny. what a tag team of dumb.

ZINE FAIR. i really liked how it was a lot of montage moments showing akk and theo in their natural habitat of being utterly stupid together. i hope every single ambassador watched their natural chemistry and got jealous. ESPECIALLY YOU, PHUPHA. THEO WILL NEVER LOVE YOU.

wayo taking the wood from theo is especially hilarious when it's trying to paint theo as this delicate flower. except akk knows theo isn't bc theo beat the shit out of him only a day or two ago. akk in the background probably thinking about all the bruises he has from this man and that he can just CARRY SOME WOOD in return. akk very loudly talking shit about wayo after he leaves and being called out for it, with theo covering his mouth was so fucking funny. i'm glad they just address how fucking loud akk is, especially when he talks shit. this boy is not subtle about anything, ever.

our obligatory oishi scene. things that made me laugh: the way force accidentally covered the label with his hand and you can see they had to shoot it a few times bc the drink is empty by the time they cut to him drinking it. you can tell they're new to the obligatory oishi moment. next time, boys. you'll be as smooth about it as the rest of the gmmtv lads eventually.

"you just wanted to bicker" and akk not even denying it. akk and theo's love language is a fight. i love them.

theo not realizing akk finished the drink and trying to drink anyway. then giving him the middle finger. true love.

everything about the ambassadors telling their favorite stories was funny and i'll hear no disagreement. that was so over the top and ridiculous. and we got naked fluke as a treat.

also lowkey, saifa/tan? saifa/tan.

the INTENSE DISCOMFORT that radiates anytime phupha interrupts akk and theo's little bubble. the way every moment around him hurts akk but while he'll go quiet, he won't leave bc what if theo needs him. i'm going crazy here.

phupha's insistence that he's enchante is a lot. i'm getting the feeling he has a BIG reason for trying to get on theo's good side and i think it has to do with his mom. the BTS video from before the show talked a lot about his mom and implied she's kind of abusive to him so i'm really curious. man, theo would just help phupha if he came to him honestly about whatever he's trying to get out of him. looks like next week we'll learn more about phupha's intentions based on the preview.

the end of that episode was just a lot of [AKK RADIATES UNHAPPINESS IN THE CORNER] after an ep where it was just akk and theo the chaotic duo. makes me sad. the moment theo was left alone with phupha, i was just like NO HE'S GONNA LIE, YOU NEED A WITNESS. don't leave that boy alone with him, damnit. still, i think theo is more savvy than he lets on and i don't think he's entirely believing phupha either. just don't like phupha's insistence on getting theo alone (to manipulate him!!!!!!!)

the preview for next week was a lot. i hope akk chasing after theo's car was just them being clowns again and not something that's going to send me into a WORLD OF PAIN, considering theo's insistence akk always comes with him to school. also the rain/movie date??? bro?? romantic movies??? how are you going to play this as platonic at all?? i'm not ready

[maddiwrites]

Secrets of the Shore (Chapter 1)

Pairing: Pogues x reader, eventually JJ x reader.

Summary: This is just my rewrite of the show Outer Banks with my own twist by adding another main character which also happens to be John B’s twin sister. 

Note: Hey guys! Thank you so much for the support of my last couple of fics. All your messages have been so kind and so sweet! I’ve made a rewrite of the show with a new character that eventually falls in love with her best friend. I’m gonna be posting a new chapter three times a week. Let me know what you guys think!

Word Count: 4.3k

Warnings: None

Chapter 2 

"That's what, a three-story fall to the deck?" John B tip toes across the middle of the roof as he sips out of the can of beer in his hand.

I lean to my right, pressing against JJ's shoulder as we sit on a construction slack used to hold construction workers as they work on the siding of the home. Scaffolding, I think it's called. I narrow my eyes at my brother, counting down the seconds until he falls.

"I give you about a one-in-three chance of survival," Pope jokes from the deck below us.

John B shrugs. He licks his finger and holds it up in the air as if he's feeling which way the wind is blowing. "Hm. Should I do it?"

"Yeah, jump." Pope holds up a power drill and points it at John B like it's a gun. "I'll shoot you on the way down."

"You'll shoot me?"

"Yep." Pope closes one eye and pretends to shoot it. "Pow!"

I roll my eyes and look forward again, letting the beer slip down my throat like a refreshing glass of water. The warm North Carolina air presses soothingly against my freshly tan skin and I bask in the sunlight. Its days like these that I like the most. Days where none of my best friends have work, we're drinking causally, and joking with one another. Even if it's on a construction site in the middle of Figure Eight. But the idea of getting caught just gives me an adrenaline rush.

"They're gonna have Japanese toilets with towel warmers," Kie says as she walks out of the unfinished house.

"Of course. Why wouldn't they?" JJ says next to me with a shrug like it's not the craziest thing that a Kook would own.

"This used to be a turtle habitat, but who cares about the turtles, I guess."

"I can't have cold towels."

Kie looks up at John B, shielding her eyes with the back of her hand. "Can you please not kill yourself?"

"Don't spill the beer. I'm not giving you another one," JJ says.

As if on cue, John B's foot slips. Luckily he catches himself, but his beer, however, drops to it's death on the deck below. As John B steadies himself I release the breath I didn't even know I was holding. I take another greedy gulp of my warm beer to steady the nerves in my chest.

"Whoa! Oh, shit," John B curses.

"Of course you did," JJ rolls his eyes playfully. "Smooth."

"A plus, really." I glare up at my brother, feeling his mischievous smirk right back at me.

"Dumbass," Kie mutters under her breath. She looks up at me as if waiting for me to say something, but I only giggle to myself. John B can be clumsy but he's not going to accidentally kill himself.

"Hey!" I hear another voice shout behind us towards the street and front of the house. A voice that doesn't belong to any of my friends or my brother.

"Hey, uh, security's here," Pope says.

Immediately knowing what that means, I jump to my feet with the help of JJ right after he slugs the rest of his beer. A delirious grin dances along my lips as I hop down to the main deck.

"Let's wrap it up!"

"Boys are early today."

"Humpty Dumpty, let's roll!"

My legs take off after my friends through the house. Adrenaline rushes through my veins and straight to my head like a power high. I can't even feel my legs as they jump over wooden slacks and construction tools. The high from running from the police is better than any drug JJ can get his hands on, even the good stuff.

"Gary is that you?" JJ plays along before accidentally running into him, making him slip on his feet before running the other way. I grab his wrist and pull him closer to me to catch up. "Gary, good to see you man!"

I laugh as my feet land on the freshly cut grass in the front yard. "You're asking for it."

"JJ!" The obese cop chases after us, recognizing my best friend's face instantly. I'm not surprised, not even a little bit. JJ had his fair share of run-ins with the law.

"They're going out front!" I hear another cop shout. I can barley hear through the wind rushing through my ears.

We run into a tall white painted fence that blocks us from our car, better known as the Twinkie. Hopping fences is something I've learned to become better at after doing it so many times. However, I can't say the same about Pope. He's always struggled.

I swing my legs over the fence and land with a small 'oomf.' I look over my shoulder for my slow-poke friend and see him falling over the fence, landing on his side. I laugh as I pick him up by the shoulders.

JJ is waiting for us, clapping his hands like a coach on the sidelines at a football game because his players aren't running fast enough. But there's a smile on his face. "Get up, Pope, fatso's coming!"

"Hey!" The guard shouts behind me. He's halfway up the other side of the fence, but he doesn't have the strength to pull himself over completely. "Come here you little pricks!"

I hear the familiar honk coming from the van John B and I learned to drive in. My brother and Kie are waiting for us in the front seats of the Volkswagen van that would look better in the 70s than the 2020's but I love it. It fits our friend group perfectly. Plus I'd choose this car over any fancy Mercedes Tourons usually drive. The only time I've ever been in one of them is when I snuck off with a golf player from Georgia after a boneyard party. It was luxurious of course, but nothing like the Twinkie.

"Bus is leaving!" John B says as we get closer.

"Come on!" Kie yells at us from the passenger seat, banging the flat of her palm against the door.

I dive through the back first, landing on my elbows and rolling over. Pope and JJ follow less than a second later.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Gary calls after us as John B steps on the gas.

JJ leans out of the sliding side door that's still wide open. I lay on my back watching him as I try to catch my breath. His smile is contagious. For a boy who's been through hell and back, he smiles a lot, and I love every second of it.

He holds out his beer can as if he's offering it to the cop who's still trying to catch us...if he can catch up to it. "Check out Gary, gunnin' for a raise. Come on, Gary!"

"Wait. Slow down. Hey! You little pricks! Hey!"

"You're gonna give him a heart attack!" Kie tries to scold him but she can't fight the smile on her lips either as she watches from the side rearview mirror.

"You're so close! You can do it. There you go. They don't pay you enough bro."

"JJ, stop. Stop!" Kie says through her laughter.

I love Kie. She always tries to keep the peace between her friends and the world itself. Always the girl who raises money for charities that protect this Earth and save animals and solve world hunger. She's going to change the world someday. Her and Pope. Maybe if they can tolerate each other, they'll do it side by side.

JJ slumps back into the van with a toothy grin. He sits next to me and pulls me up so I'm sitting up straight. He dangles his arm around my shoulder and I lean further into his side. If I could choose one position to be in for the rest of my life it would be this one.

But I'd never admit that.

"Oh, come on. That sort of initiative is just begging to be punished," JJ says.

I hum in response and lean back into the seat behind me and stare out the window. A view of passing vibrant green leaves takes over the window as John B drives. The scene comforts me. Summer is my favorite season. No school. Just work and friends and the Outer Banks. Paradise on Earth, some may call it.

It's the sort of place where you either have two jobs or two houses. Two tribes, one island. We're currently driving through Figure Eight, the rich side of the island. Home of the Kooks. So, guess where we don't live.

As John B drives further South, the houses get smaller and smaller, feeling more like home. This is the South side. Or as we like to call it, the Cut. Home of the working class who make a living bussing tables, washing yachts, running charters. The natural habitat of...drumroll, please...the Pogues. That's us. Pogues, pogies, the throwaway fish. Lowest members of the food chain.

I know... a little harsh, don't you think?

So, the downside of the Pogue life is we're ignored and neglected. But the upside of the Pogue life? We're ignored and neglected, which means we do whatever we want, whenever we want.

The second John B parks the car, the boys are gathering all their fishing gear and we set off to our next destination. The marina.

"Nice haul, dude. Look at that!" JJ teases my brother when he reels in what I think is the smallest fish I've ever seen. If it was orange, I would have thought it was my old pet goldfish from when I was six. "Been all bait for, like, three weeks."

John B pulls the fish off his hook and tosses it in JJ's direction. JJ flinches back, knocking into me and almost throwing me into the water below. That was probably my fault, though. I shouldn't be sitting on an open ledge, dangling my legs twenty feet above the water.

"Watch it, idiot!" I smack JJ upside the head after letting go of the death grip I had on his bicep when I was about to fall to my death. Well...I'd probably survive, but it would hurt like hell.

"It's not my fault you chose the most dangerous seat!" JJ retaliates.

Yeah, that's JJ. John B's best friend since the third grade, which subsequently makes him my best friend since the third grade too. He's about as local as they come. Latest in a long line of fishing, drinking, smuggling, vendetta-holding salt-lifers who made their living off the water. Second best surfer I know. First being me of course. Mild kleptomaniac and a future tax cheat.

"Yeah, Mar, you should really get down from there," Kie says, walking over to me to help me down. I decide not to put up a fight. If I'm going to break my leg, I'm gonna do it in a surfing accident or something cool, not by falling off the dock.

Kiara. Or Kie as we call her. When not saving turtles or listening to Bob Marley, or getting a dolphin tattoo, she hangs out with us. I'm not really sure why though. She's a rich kid, actually. Her family owns the Wreck, this Outer Banks institution. Total cash down with the tourists and my current job. You know, I'm not really sure how her parents feel about us. But they like me enough to bring them money towards their restaurant. I bring in a lot of regulars. Advertising is kind of my thing. I'm pretty sure all my friends, even my brother, have a thing for her.

Kie hands me a water bottle and lays her legs across my lap. She lies down on the wooden bench and bathes in the sunlight the day still has to offer. Kie is my best friend. Best secret holder known to man, for the most part.

"I think she needs a leash," Pope adds, making me pass him a glare.

"The only thing useful about a leash is how I can strangle you with it," I say.

"Kinky," JJ says and winks at me. "That's my girl."

John B slaps JJ upside the back of his head.

I'm lucky my sunburnt skin is hiding the blush that creeps along my cheeks.

Pope glares at both JJ and I which only makes my growing smirk widen.

Pope...the brains of the operation...finalist for the Lucas T. Vanderhorst Merit Scholarship. And the smartest person I know. Little bit of a weirdo. His father's this legendary character, Heyward. Anything you wanted on the island, Heyward could get for you. Now, I'm not sure Heyward knew what to make of his oddball son, but it didn't matter. He was a Pogue, just like the rest of us.

"Trust me, if a leash was that easy, I would have tried a long time ago," John B mutters with a hint of a smile.

John Booker Routledge. My insufferable twin brother. Pain in my ass. Number one partner in crime. I hate him but I love him. Pretty much like any sibling relationship. We live in an old fish shack on the marsh. The Chateau as my dad use to call it. My dad disappeared at sea nine months ago looking for a shipwreck. I mean seriously, who disappears at sea these days? I miss him a lot. He may have been a little neglectful, but he took care of us the best that he could. My mom, however? She split when I was three. Last I heard she was in Colorado. At least I think it was Colorado. Honestly who knows and who cares.

Since my dad vanished, my Uncle T is supposedly my legal guardian. At the moment, he's in Mississippi, building houses which means it's just me right now, on my own, hangin' out with my brother and my friends.

Three months after my dad went missing, he was officially presumed dead. John B is more of an optimist than I am. He refuses to sign the paper and until he sees a dead body, he's not giving up. I back John B's decision, but I'm more realistic about what happened to my dad. The ocean, although my favorite place to be, is also one of the scariest.

My dad is probably dead and I will never get the closure that I want. So I'm dealing with it the best way I can, although I'm pretty sure everyone is a little worried about me, especially Kie now that John B is starting to follow in my footsteps by exhibiting reckless behavior.

But I'm getting better now. Day by Day. At least I wasn't acting like I did when my dad first left us.

                                                     ~ ~ ~

I woke up with a slap to my ankle and my head buried deep into my pillow. I groan from the abrupt living alarm clock that's now pacing my room and throwing clothes from my closet at me. It only makes me squeeze my eyes tighter in hopes for at least five more minutes of sleep.

"Seriously, Mar, we need to go. We're late." John B rips my blanket off my body, leaving me exposed in just my pajama boxer shorts and a tank top. The sudden chill sends goosebumps up my arms and legs.

"Go without me." I push myself up on my elbows and grab the clothes he threw at me. I knew meeting the social worker alone wasn't an option. Even if one of us goes to this stupid meeting, it will prove to the social worker that we're not being responsible enough to keep DCS off our backs. As far as they know, Uncle T is still living with us and keeping us safe.

"You have five minutes." John B ignores me and leaves my room, slamming my door shut.

I roll my eyes and tumble out of my soft bed. I slip on my jeans shorts and a white t shirt that I tie in a knot to make it a crop top. Underneath it I have on my plain black bikini, knowing that I will be surfing the second we get home. The News has been reporting a storm for weeks that's suppose to hit tonight. Vicious waves and crazy winds sends a thrill through my body.

We arrive to the social worker's office only two minutes late. I thought that was a sign of responsibility, but the social worker only looks at us with distaste as we sit in the two chairs in front of her desk.

"John, Marleigh, it's come to our attention that you two are unemancipated minors living on your own." Her hair is pulled back into a tight low bun and her glasses are perched on the tip of her nose. Her suit looks way too tight for comfort, like it's squeezing the life out of her.

John B scoffs and leans back into his seat as if we have nothing to worry about, but I know his heart is beating just as wildly as mine. "No....no." The social worker raises one brow in suspicion and glances in my direction to either confirm or deny what John B is saying. John B sees this and answers for me. "No."

I just shrug as a response, which only makes the social worker more weary. She leans into her desk and folds her hands on top of our folders that are piled in the middle. "I need honesty to help you. That's what we want, right?"

"Yeah. I'm being honest."

"Okay, then when is the last time you spoke to your uncle?"

John B looks down at his watch and purses his lips. "Uh...thirty-four minutes ago."

"When's the last time you saw him?"

"Two hours and...forty-three minutes ago?"

I hold myself back from rolling my eyes. It's clear on the social worker's face that she's not buying into any of John B's lies.

She sighs and turns to look at me. "We're gonna come out there tomorrow to talk to your uncle. If he's not there, we're gonna move forward with foster care." Foster care. The words make me dig my nails into the wood of the arms of the chair I'm in. The last place I ever wanna be is in foster care. I want to stay here on the island with my brother and our friends. Not with some random family who couldn't care less about us in a place I'm not familiar with. "I want to assure you, we're gonna find you a safe and loving home."

She says it like she's offering us a better life, one that we would want, one that sounds like the better option but it isn't. I ignore the worried look John B sends my way and watch the seconds go by on the clock above the door. We basically have twenty-four hours to find Uncle T or someone to be pretend to be him.

                                                  ~ ~ ~

The winds begin picking up early in the afternoon, the rain hitting by 5. On my way home from working at the Wreck, I watch people board up the windows of their stores and homes. All John B and I can do is hope that our little shack won't blow away by morning.

Unfortunately for Pope, he's at our house when John B catches me leaving the house with my board. When he tells me to stop, I'm prepared to put up a fight. I've been looking forward to surfing in this storm all day - something I can use to push the DCS lady out of my head and the promise she made that sounded more like a threat.

"You think you were gonna go out without me?" John B smirks and leads the way to the beach.

Pope follows behind us like a lost puppy, basically talking to himself as he tries to convince us that this is a bad idea. We stop at the edge of the beach. It's almost impossible to see the ocean through the wind and the rain.

"Those aren't surfable waves, bro," Pope says, squinting through the rain that splatters our faces wet.

"Says who?" I say, passing him a devious smirk and make a run for it towards the ocean.

I paddle past the choppy waves, letting the water knock me around like a feather in the wind. When I see a decent looking wave to ride, I prop myself up on my feet and stand. I lean into my board. The warmth that's taken over my body outruns the cold water I fall into when the waves crash over me. My body tumbles under the water and my board bumps against me. I try to swim back up to the surface but the current is strong. I don't know where I am and I can't see under the water. My nose burns when water rushes up my nostrils. I squeeze my eyes tight and just swim upwards in hope of reaching air. Maybe this was a bad idea, but the thrill is still keeping me excited.

I finally reach the surface after what feels like years. John B and Pope's screams are dull against the whistling wind. I hop back on my board and give the two guys a thumbs up and a wicked smile. Pope looks like he's about ready to have a heart attack and John B breathes out a sigh of relief as he paddles closer to me.

"You alright?" He asks me.

"Fine," I yell against the wind.

John B nods. He looks like he's about to say something else, but something over my shoulder catches his attention. I turn myself around, intrigued at what's he's seeing other than the water, clouds, and a bunch of rain. Then I see it. A boat that barely looks afloat, so far out that it looks like a speck against the rain.

"We should probably go," I say. I don't want John B's mind to run to what might have happened to Dad out there. Maybe he was caught by a storm like this, maybe his boat went overboard and his body is out there floating with the fishes. I don't know. The last thing I need him to do right now is speculate. Even if the same thoughts are running through my head, John B thinks he's still alive. These thoughts will keep him up all night. He doesn't move, however. "John B let's go."

                                                  ~ ~ ~

JJ is already laying on the pull out bed in my living room when I get out of the shower. JJ crashes here most days of the week. He'd much rather be here than with his drunk abusive dad. Our friends don't know the extent of how shitty his relationship really is with his dad. But I do. I found out when I was thirteen. JJ snuck through my bedroom window after a tough night with his dad. His face and torso were covered in bruises. It took everything in me not to burst out in tears right then and there. But for some reason, he trusted me of all people with his biggest secret. I cleaned him up and let him sleep in my bed with me. Every once in a while we repeat the process. Sometimes he's not even hurt, he just shows up. And I let him in because I like having him there.

I fall onto the mattress next to him and prop my head up on my hand, leaning on my elbow. I run my fingers through his hair, feeling satisfied and bubbly when he moans in response.

"When did you get here?" I ask him.

"You were in the shower. Don't worry I didn't peak, but I was tempted," He says into his pillow.

I use the same hand I had woven in his hair and punch his shoulder playfully, making him fall on his back. His lips turn up in a grin.

I lay there for a second, looking up at the ceiling. My eyes feel heavy, the events of the day officially taking over my body. I peek an eye over at JJ who's watching me carefully as if I might break under his fingertips.

"What?" I grin to myself, thankful for the darkness so he couldn't see the blush on my cheeks. Again.

"You all right?" He asks, pushing my hair out of my face so he can look straight into my eyes.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

JJ hesitates, like he's trying to pick the right words to say. I watch him closely, studying every mark and crevice on his face. Beautiful and clear like always. Even when it's covered in bruises and blemishes, he's handsome. I could look at him all day.

"You hate storms," He says.

"I can sleep through anything," I tell him. "And I don't hate storms. They make for...eventful surfing days."

His face drops to a more serious one. "You know what I mean."

I do. Storms have never really frightened me. Not really. But ever since my dad disappeared nine months ago, I worried that he would get caught in a storm like this, that by morning there would be a knock on my door from an officer who would tell me that a dead body has washed up on shore and they ID'd him as my father. The image leaves me with nightmares on nights like tonight.

JJ's the only one who knows this.

I don't like talking about it. Like JJ, we have this in common. So instead of telling him I'm fine and him not believing me, I pull the blanket at the edge of the mattress over our bodies and tuck myself into his side, laying my head on his shoulder. A position so intimate for just us "friends." I hope he can't feel my heart pounding beneath my skin, against his side. I let my body soften against his, feeling sleep take over me. I fall into a dreamless sleep next to JJ, hoping that the storm will be gone by the time we wake up.

[anotheranimestan]

Heyooo I legit just found u bc of the bakugo series, and then I went on a spree reading your account- ugh I’m in love!!! Do you think you could tag me when part 3 comes out?

Ahhh! Thank you so much! ❤️ You guys have no idea how much a few words of encouragement means to writers 😭.

No need to tag tho because here it is!!!!! 😃

Sorry it took so long. I wanted to write it as best as I could! I don’t want disappoint anyone who’s been enjoying so far. ☺️

~~

All Bark No Bite (pt. 3)

(Final part)

Bakugo angst + ~sexual tensionnn~

Please, children avert your eyes. Things get a LITTLE inappropriate here 😳

Read part 1 and part 2

wc: 2.4k

He’s an asshole...but he’s a HOT asshole 🤤

You’d never seen his room before. It was much different than you’d imagined. You’d expected burn marks all over the walls or blown up debris of things scattered about. Maybe a bunch of mirrors so he could look at his self-confident, conceited ass all night. But actually it was kinda of nice. Pretty neat. He had some posters hung up and some books laying around. Black sheets and blankets. And it smelled oddly sweet in here, sort of pleasant believe it or not.

You’re so used to him yelling and exploding so it was weird seeing him so relaxed, in his natural habitat. Doing normal things. Like eating a snack, tapping his pencil in concentration, fidgeting with his hair. He even spun around in his rolling chair a few times mindlessly. He was acting sort of...cute? It was unnerving being attracted to him like this.

But as soon as he noticed you watching him it was all over. You were making him self conscious. He didn’t even realize he’d let his guard down like that.

“That makes absolutely no sense, dumbass.” His voice was bored and over it.

“What are you talking about!? I’ve explained it three times!” You retorted indignantly.

“Exactly. I thought you were smarter than this...” He jabbed before turning around and flipping his notebook shut.

You’d spent twenty minutes attempting to teach him what he’d missed in class earlier today but he was insufferable. Easily the worst student on the planet. Every time you explained something he’d tell you how to teach it better. Who does that!?

“Whatever moron. I didn’t come up here to try and teach your pea brain. I—“ The words were harder to say than you’d expected. Painful actually. They really didn’t want to come out. “I just wanted to say sorry for getting you—“

He whipped a pencil and it hit you directly in the forehead.

“Ouch, what the fuck?” You hissed, rubbing the sore spot. How’d he get so much damn power behind that thing?

“Don’t apologize. It’s weird.”

“What!?” You threw the pencil back but only managed to hit his shoulder.

“Anyways...” He ignored you, completely unfazed by your assault.

“You’re easily the most—“

“Anyways...” You swore if he cut you off one more time you were going to smack the shit out of him. “Aizawa thinks you’ve lost your mind.”

The unexpected information took you aback.

“He saw you try and get yourself blown up in class yesterday... No sane person is stupid enough to pull a move like you did.”

Ah yes... he meant the time you wrapped the man’s hand around your neck, tauntingly, in front of like 20 classmates and two teachers. You’d been trying to avoid asking yourself the question of why you did that. You claimed it was the best way to shut him up....but there were other ways to do that. More reasonable ones. You wouldn’t admit you’d daydreamed of doing it before and subconsciously took the opportunity. Red embarrassment flashed through your body again. God knows what they were all thinking when they witnessed that. You desperately wished people would stop reminding you.

Suddenly the need to defend yourself bubbled up. “I—I only did that because I knew you wouldn’t do anything.”

He scoffed. But didn’t deny it. “If you’re going to try something stupid. At least do it right.” He chastised.

Your body froze as he stood up and walked over, crouching down directly in front of you.

“If I wanted to choke you. I’d do it like this.”

He wrapped his hand around your neck. Demonstrating the best way to actually cut off someone’s air flow. But he did it so gently you barely even heard his explanation. You were just flashing back to last night. Instantly your entire body lit on fire. Replaying this scene in your head was strong enough. But reenacting had you completely out of sorts. Kissing him again but this time going full out. You wanted to bite him, just to hear him make that deep moan into your mouth again. Just imagining it was making you flutter. Aching to have him pressed up against you like that, relieving some of this pressure that was building up in your body. You felt yourself unraveling. About to pounce.

But he interjected with something that stunned you once again. “The way you did it would be better for...other forms of choking.”

Dear god. Surely he knew what he was doing to you. If he kept this up any longer your heart or your lungs were definitely going to give out.

But you mustered up your last two brain cells that weren’t absolutely losing their shit over him and carried on with your normal banter.

“Yea yea, I get it. You can stop now.”

He didn’t budge. His hand still snug around your throat. You obviously didn’t mind it there but it was incapacitating your brain function.

You gently pushed it away and he didn’t resist. But where he put it next was no better.

He traced the side of your cheek and along the outline of your lips. Just staring at them, eyes lost like he was thinking deeply about something. He wasn’t giving you a moment of a break. No room to breathe.

Your nerves were through the roof, your heart was beating so loud you could hear it in your ears. Desperately you tried to change the topic. “So is this your attempt at being nice? Advice on how to murder someone?” It’s amazing how your mouth just spewed shit out even though your brain was actually dead.

“Sure.” Now he was tugging at your bottom lip. Completely unbothered by you baiting him.

“Ah. A nice Bakugo? I must be having a dream. I guess now that you’ve lost to me your whole tough guy persona has been killed.”

That snapped him out of it. But now he was looking just as intensely, directly into your eyes.

“Don’t push it.”

“Or what?” Faking composure was coming so easily much to your relief.

“Do you want to find out?” He growled.

“You’re not scary.” You said rolling your eyes as hard as possible.

Something snapped in him. He couldn’t hold himself back anymore. Within a moment he had you on your back. Your body didn’t even have time to process. Even if it did, would you have stopped him? He trapped both your wrists on either side of your head and your feet under his ankles. His arms looked glorious as he held up is body weight.

“How about now?” His voice was deep and savory.

There he went. Invading your mind again. His scent. That lust-filled look in his eyes. The way he was thoroughly enjoying being on top of you. The adrenaline was coiling through your body. He had you right where he wanted you. He could do anything he wanted to you. But that “annoying little mouth of yours” wasn’t done quite yet.

“Whatever. You always do this. But you won’t actually try anything.”

“You think I wouldn’t hurt you at all? I literally want to kill you sometimes.” He had a smug little grin on his face. But his eyes couldn’t pull themselves from your lips. After experiencing them once he could barely stop thinking about them.

“You’re telling me? I fucking hate you.” You lied.

It made his smirk form into that wicked, shit-eating grin he always wore. The one that gets deep under your skin and makes you want to punch him in the throat and yank him onto you at the same time.

“Kissing someone is a weird way to tell them you hate them.” He was really cutting into you now.

You hissed. “Hey. You kissed me.”

“You kissed me back.” He raised an annoying little eyebrow.

Your brain wanted to choke him (the murder kind) but your body was screaming something completely different. The emotions swirling around in your chest was so overwhelming. Finally you burst.

You trapped one of his arms and corresponding leg and threw your weight to roll on top of him. One of your favorite moves from self-defense class that you knew would come in handy. Now you straddled him and using every ounce of your weight tried to pin his wrists down.

You expected him to fight you like the vicious little monster he is. But instead when you looked down he was just staring back at you. You were stunned at how good he looked at this angle. Did he have any bad angles?

“Finally. You made a move.” He said pretending to sound impressed. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Yea well...” You scoffed proudly. “you think you’re so fucking tough. Now looo—“

The words flew out of your mouth and you were tumbling again. This time he just grabbed your waist and tugged you with brute force. No technique needed. He easily overpowered you.

“Yea, that wasn’t going to work out. It was a cute try though, Little Bite.”

He laid directly on top of you now. Your legs spread as he rested his hips between them. His full weight pressed into you making it flutter. Your arms had somehow wrapped themselves around his neck and rested on his back.

The tension in the air made it difficult to breathe. But you were fully unconcerned with getting oxygen right now.

Nose to nose now he said “We’ll just count this as my rematch. Clearly I won.”

“You suck at flirting.”

Flirting? Where’d that come from?

“Seems like it’s working pretty good to me.”

That smug fucking face again.

“You’re such an ass.”

He bit his lip.

“Fuck...I love when you insult me like that.”

A beat passed and that was all it took. You smashed his lips onto yours. Wrapping your legs around him and squeezing. Too close wasn’t close enough.

He kissed you like he wanted you bad. Like you were his favorite meal and he was absolutely famished. It was so intense and passionate that neither of you could catch any air. Every insult, all the bickering, every jab had built up to this moment and was fueling it like gas to a forest fire.

His warmth was overtaking you. His body was so heavy, crushing you just liked you’d been daydreaming about all this time.

Your mind shut down all functions except desperately trying to use all five senses to their max capacity and commit every bit of him to memory.

He felt you pawing at the edge of his shirt and sat up. He peeled it off slowly. Letting your eyes adjust to every inch of him.

Your hands were instantly stroking every one of his muscles starting at his shoulders and trailing down his soft skin slowly...slowly to the edge of his jeans. Your index finger sat teasingly on the front button as you admired his perfectly toned body.

But before you even had time to think about what you wanted to do next he took your wrist and secured it down above your head again.

He dipped down and went straight for your neck.

Greeting it with a warm wet kiss from his tongue, his lips wrapped around your skin and sucked gently. You felt the blood pooled with pleasure rushing to the area. His other hand started exploring your body. Finally he was getting to put his hands on you the way he really wanted all along.

After you started tugging on his hair, desperately trying to avoid any scandalous hickeys he rolled you around again.

Letting you on top to straddle his hips. Giving you only a little bit of freedom though, as he locked one arm around your waist and the other started caressing your thighs slowly working his way north.

After squeezing your ass until his heart was content he clamped down both hands on your hips. You couldn’t bare it anymore. Your hips started gently grinding against him and you bit down on his neck all at once. You felt the angle of his pelvis rubbing into you creating little rumbles of pleasure.

“Fuck y/n..” he muttered under his breath.

You both were getting more and more bothered and aroused. His hands never stopped grabbing and tugging at you. His moans growing more fervent as he whispered into your ear.

He was just toying with the idea of peeling off your shirt when...

“THIS IS THE POLICE! COME OUT!”

Your soul practically rose out of your body as a loud bang almost broke the door down. Bakugo’s hand slapped over your mouth. You’d screamed without realizing it.

Kaminari’s laugh sounded through the door. “Oh my god Bakugo! You scream like a girl!”

Mina shrieked. “No, stupid! Y/n are you in there!?”

Your life was ending.

“Get the fuck out of here before I come out there and break your skulls!” Bakugo barked at them.

They didn’t say anything but you heard their quick footsteps as they ran down the hall still shrieking like banshees.

“Oh god..” you groaned as you tried to roll away from him, using his bare chest to push off.

But he wouldn’t let you go. “Where are you going?”

“Aren’t you going to go hunt them down and threaten them or something.” Typical Bakugo behavior.

“No, I’m busy.”

You had to stop your mouth from falling open.

“They’re probably going to tell everyone.” You prodded. Expecting his temper any second now. Like he was a bomb about to go off. You pulled away again in preparation, sitting fully upright now.

“I’ll deal with them tomorrow. I’m dealing with you tonight. Now get back over here before I get mad.”

You shrieked as he muscled you back into his arms. He bent you back around him as snugly as he could. Moving your chin to the side, he kissed your neck, sweeter this time. Instinctively your hands ran through his hair. Fuck the rest of them. You could get lost in this hot head all night. And you were as he started gently sucking on your soft spots again.

But he pulled away abruptly. Like he’d just realized something. “How are you gonna become a pro hero if a moron like Denki can scare you like that?”

You smacked the back of your idiot’s head lightly. “Don’t fucking ruin it.” You groaned.

“Fine.” He grinned as he went in for the kiss that started the rest your next piping hot and sticky couple of hours together.

~💥💥

TADAAA! What did you guys think?? What was your favorite part overall?

I’d love hearing your thoughts and opinions 😃 makes me a better writer

Also special shout-out to @jennammaee ! Pt. 2 of this series has been my most successful post yet, so thanks for encouraging me to write it!!

Tags: @sweetsailor000 @yumxmii @fullsundear @frosted-flakes @marloalmore @aprilbouz01 @deneuves @softestparker @davidbowiehotashell-blog @mocha-focha @piii-chan @v0dkadaddy @xxjosiexx

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, “A Chance.”

A continuation on the Dr. Krill lecture series about humans.

The room was large and echoing, voices raised up towards the ceiling, and despite their being enough room to fit more than three classrooms of the original size, there still wasn’t enough room to fit everyone, with some students standing or sitting off to the side. Cameras had been brought in to observe the lecture, and were being mounted as they watched, so other students from other universities could Audit the lectures.

A group of four students, two Vrul and two Tesraki sat together on the far right of the lecture hall. They had been forced to pair together for another one of their class projects and just ended up naturally gravitating towards what was familiar, sitting next to each other as they waited for the lecture to begin.

“Did you guys finish the assignment?”

“I did.” Of course the two Vrul had, that was to be expected.

The Tesraki looked down at their papers, work halfway finished because they had a tough time from telling what was myth from what was fact.

“Humans, dn not, in fact, cannibalize their young.”

“Where the hell did you hear that.”

“I had an older classmate tell me once, and I saw it in another news article.”

There was muttering, “Even we knew that.”

The other vrul shuffled their papers studiously, “Humans do not have hypnotic gazes that can paralyze their prey.” “Really, I felt for sure that that one was going to be real.”

The Tesraki’s ears drooped, “Well apparently, human stomach acid IS powerful enough to eat through metal.”

There was silence.

“No really, that can’t be true.”

The Tesraki nodded, “It isn’t a myth.” He sighed in frustration, “Everything I looked up about humans was true. Human bones are stronger than steel, the human liver can regenerate,  humans can transplant organs from one human to another and it will work. Humans have a system of language that doesn't require the use of noise, it's called sign language by the way.” 

One of the Vrul vibrated their antenna, “I am sorry to hear your search did not go well, perhaps if you had read more disreputable news articles it would have been better. Some of the major newspapers have the ability to contact better sources, which means their articles are most likely to be right.”

“Did you know the human jaw is powerful enough to bite off their own fingers, but humans don’t do it because number one, that hurts a lot, and number two, their brain doesn’t allow them to even consider it.”

There was a silence.

“Is that a fact or a myth.”

The other Tesraki sighed, “that is a fact.”

Just then the lights overhead blinked once and then twice. The students turned to look down at the room where Dr. Krill was making his way across the floor. Making his way in that unnatural and predatory way he had. His body moved with a fluid grace in comparison to the normal jerky movements of his species. His legs rolled one after the other in a wheel that kept him moving forward, never breaking. The shoulders on his body swayed slightly back and forth lending the power of his arms into the movement of his legs. 

The way he moved his head around the room, seeming to focus on each one of them in turn rather than taking in the whole scene at once was…. Unnerving to say the least his helium sack sat mostly unused against his shoulders and upper back as he moved into the room. Not once since he had started here had anyone seen him use it. 

He said it was too slow and made keeping up with humans difficult unless you were being dragged behind them.

It was…. Strange to watch…. How he never seemed to stop moving. Even when he spoke his four hands and his head moved to emphasize his points. When speaking to students coming up to see him, his body shifted in reaction to their words. His hands wide, then closed then open again, up and then down. His chin rose and fell in greeting to people and students he knew and to those he didn’t know so well.

It was a fascinating scene to watch, and one they were not entirely sure if they liked.

Dr Krill made a strange noise deep inside his throat, that over the speakers had the entire class turning to look at him. It was a strange sort of barking cough mixed with a hum. THey couldn’t have known that krill was imitating  the way humans clear their throat when they want to speak.

“Students, I hope you all had a good week, and I hope you were all able to complete my first, and easiest assignment?”

There was a soft muttering around the room.

The doctor clapped both of his hands together, producing a sharp noise that brought attention back to himself, “Well, as I have said, today, as a special treat for staying….” He turned to look around the room before muttering, “And multiplying, apparently.” He frowned when none of the students seemed amused at his joke but continued, “I am going to be talking about the human fight flight or freeze response and the entire reaction of the sympathetic nervous system.”

Students withdrew their holopads to begin taking notes.

The cameras zoomed in on doctor Krill.

“We discussed last week how humans are technically considered predator animals, and they are as they eat and consume other animals daily. However, humans are not an apex predator as it isn’t often that they consume other predators. In fact, for the longest time humans were some of the weakest, and easiest to kill preditors for larger and more intimidating animals. In this way that lead to the development of the sympathetic nervous system.”

He turned around the room, and the two Vrul cringed back as his eyes seemed to fall on thim. His antenna were unusually still,

“The sympathetic and parasympathetic systems account for two sides of the same coin. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for the workings of the body when the human is relaxed. It focuses primarily on digestion, relaxation slower breathing and even blood flow through the major organs including the eyes. It has other properties too of course, but when a human is relaxed their parasympathetic nervous system is the one generally in charge during those times.”

He turned to the projector, “Now assume you are an ancient human out on your natural habitat of the savanna -- without their adaptation the human’s natural habitat is warm and relatively dry with lots of open grassland and the occasional tree.” he flipped a picture on the projector and the class pulled back a bit in surprise at the picture that unfolded before them. It was a strange creature standing upright tall but remarkably hairy accept for on its face and hands, “This is a 3D rendered recreation of what early humans might have looked like based on skeletal remains found in their fossil record. The development of the human sympathetic nervous system likely started long before humans looked like this, but still the visual aid is one that I find compelling.” The class stared at the creatures thick face, heavy brow and sloping shoulders.

Humans today were much more graceful, though much less powerful than what this beast looked like. It was strange trying to determine which one was the superior. They supposed the current human, as its head size looked much bigger in comparison.

Krill pulled up a side by side comparison with his earlier diagram.

They recognized the modern human as he had been rendered in textbooks thousands of times since he had first been studied.

Very pale with his fine blond fur compared to the hulking shape next to him, with course brown fur that covered his entire body.

“Not the evolutionary changes that had to be made to get from this human.” He pointed at the hairy one, “To that one.” He motioned to the pale one, “The hips grew smaller, the spine took on a sharp S curve, the ratio of legs to arms changed dramatically, leaving the human with longer legs and comparatively short arms. The jaw and the face shortened, while the cranium expanded and hair receded across the body. The current human skeletal structure is finer and more delicate than its original counterpart, with a focus on precision in movement over power, which has become so important to their survival today.”

Dr Krill pointed to the picture of the old human, “This human tried its best to stay alive.” He pointed at the other human, “This human seems to be lacking in a lot of those same survival skills as he is constantly trying to get himself killed.” Krill sighed, “Modern humans are a little bit more complicated than their ancestors, but I digress.” Now imagine either on of these humans being faced with what might have been their natural predator on the savanna.

He flipped the image and the crowd gasped as a massive alien shape leaped up into a third projected spot. It was long and sinewy walking on four legs and a had a fur color like the tanned grassland. It’s eyes were face front, and on its massive paws there were huge hooked claws. Dr. Krill pressed a button to start the looping animation that allowed the creature to lope along with a sinuous grace that made the human lok clumsy and awkward in comparison, all three of the animations moving. 

The creature opened its mouth and the entire class pulled back as huge razor sharp teeth glinted in the light, as it yawned, shook its head, and then continued walking.

“This is an African Lion, a female of the species weighing in at only 280 lbs. Now while some humans can weigh that much, a human of comparable fitness like our modern human weigh in at around only 210 lbs as an adult male. Now this female lion has a higher muscle to body mass index than the human, can run faster, jump higher, and bite harder. She has long and protruding K-9 teeth and retractable claws. The human has no chance….. or …. Does he.”

The class shifted slightly in their seats  muttering 

Krill waited for a long drawn out moment before, “No, statistically he is going to get his face eaten off, however, he does still have a slight chance.”

“The human will see the predator, and immediately upon seeing the body is going to flood the system with a hormone called adrenaline. Adrenaline is a natural high for humans that can result in increased strength, speed, and heightened visual perception. The Parasympathetic system is switched off for the sympathetic nervous system. The heart begins to beat faster as blood is routed into all the major muscle groups, those being primarily the legs. All activity in the internal organs shuts down as that blood flow is routed outwards. Blood can even be funneled away from the brain, despite that seeming a bit counter productive, causing tunnel vision in the eyes. Despite this, the brain begins to work faster allowing the human to see at more frames per second which seems, to a human, to slow down time.”

He turned to look at them, “Now a human has three opinions in a dangerous situation like this, either fight, flight, or freeze. All of these responses would have been adaptive in an environment like this with fight being, hopefully, the last response. Many predator animals are geared for a chase, so freezing will give a human a better chance of survival because if they run they will most certainly be attacked. ON the other hand sometimes this will not work, and being able to run as fast as possible is their only option. Backed against a wall and unable to run fast enough, a human has to fight. Some humans do not react in this order.” 

He turned to look at the image, “The human body on adrenaline is capable of some wild and unbelievable things. The average human only uses around 40-60% of their body's natural strength. Systems in the brain will not allow more because if a human were able to use all the power of their body, they could rend muscle from bone. Well trained human athletes can use up to 70-90% of their natural strength, but during a time like this, the average human can be turned into a well trained athlete or more. In dire situations humans have been known to lift up to seven times their own body weight. During this time humans have been known to lift vehicles, wrestle wild animals, and throw large boulders. However, this does not come without a price, and the human will likely receive damage to their muscular structure.”

He turned to point at the pictures again.

“I heard a story about how a human choked to death a small mountain lion, and another man who fought off a shark. Humans are statistically unlikely to win a fight like this, but it isn’t impossible.”

He stalked around the room, “Humans do not just experience adrenaline when dealing with animals, but during accidents, public speaking events, and even in conflict with other humans. Expecting to be hurt, the human body has the ability to completely shut off its pain perception.”

There was a stunned silence all around him, and then an uproar.

Dr. krill seemed almost smug as he watched them react like that, and raised a hand for silence.

They quieted down, “Yes, you heard me, the human brain has the ability to completely ignore pain, until the danger is dealt with. The first surgery I ever did, on this human right here is a good demonstration…. If you do not want to see graphic images turn your head away now.”

Even if they had wanted too it was impossible to tear their eyes away as the image popped up on screen.

The class gasped.

There was a collective sound of disgust.

“That screwdriver had gone in through the front of his eye, broke through the back of the ocular socket and slid into one of the cortical folds of the brain. He WALKED into my surgery and conversed with me like a logical and reasoning person. He did not report any physical discomfort or pain, he did not scream or show any other signs of distress. His brain had completely shut off all response to the pain.”

He turned to walk around the circle.

“You see most of the time pain is a good thing, it allows you to know when something is wrong, but there are other times, dire situations like this where the ability to feel pain will only hinder the subject. If this human had been able to feel pain it is likely his thrashing and screaming would have caused more cortical damage than it already would have. I heard a story of a woman who fell off a cliff and broke both of her legs horribly, while she was still in pain, she managed to crawl her way off a mountain, and as soon as other humans found her she passed out as the pain got worse. Another human, who had been rock climbing, ended up with his arm trapped under a boulder and with no escape. He was there for days, but, in the end, he managed to cut off his own arm in order to escape.”

More horrified gasping from the crowd as they pulled away in shock and terror.

“These are just some of the most impressive stories. Not all humans will react like this. The vast majority of humans will freeze when they should fight, or run when they should freeze. Some will simply give up and curl into a ball, but there are other humans, like this, who under adrenaline can run like olympic sprinters, lift seven times their own size and fight better than the animals attacking them. The capabilities and the possibilities of a human under the influence of adrenaline are remarkable.”

His antenna vibrated just a little in amusement, “As you can imagine, humans do not experience this much these days, but psychological studies have reported that it is actually healthy for humans to experience the fight or flight response as it helps the brain retain that ability. For something to continue working you need to use it. Scientists say that exposing a human to a sympathetic response in a controlled environment is good for their mental health.” He sighed, “Of course this leads humans to watching horror themed movies, skydiving, and recreational fighting. Otherwise humans put themselves into controlled danger in order to feel what their ancestors felt a long time ago when they were being chased by large raging land predators, but when your species developed in an environment that hostile, it is to be expected.”

The group of four stared at krill, and by extension the animation of the real living human behind him. They tried to imagine the slim two legged figure winning a fight against the massive clawed beast, but were having trouble. Its teeth, which had once seemed so sharp, now were dull and almost useless. The nails on its hands, once considered claws were tiny, flimsy and pathetic, but….. It seemed strange, there was still something in the way it moved that suggested possibilities.

Humans were survivors where many other species were not.

Humans may not have had a very high chance.

But at least they had a chance. 

[happys-crazy-queen22]

Not Our Little Secret Anymore

Gif credits @jesseswartzwelder. @samantha-chicago

Requested on here and wattpad

Hope you all enjoy it.

Part 2 too Our Little Secret

Taglist @nocturnalherb16. @jesseswartzwelder

"Gabby's going to tell everyone, you know she cant keep a secret to save her life". You chewed on your nails, still looking at the wedding pictures.

"What do you think we should do"? Jay asked coming to sit beside you on the couch. He knew you were nervous.

"I say, we just tell everyone before she does. Dont let her make a big deal out of it. Because it's not. We should be able to be together without having someone hate on our relationship".

"I agree. I'm tired of hiding who I love". Jay took your hand in his and gave it a squeeze.

Jay and you stared at Kelly who was in the kitchen munching on a carrot like a little rabbit.

"Are you okay with this"? Jay asked with a laugh.

"I'm with you guys. We should tell everyone. Antonio is first cause since he is your brother and Gabby will get to him first. If she hasn't already". Kelly replied.

"I'll give him a call and see if he can come over tonight".

"We should tell Voight as well, just so it wont cause a scene". Jay added.

"See if he can come too. We'll just make a big announcement and tell them. God, I'm nervous". You bit your lip as Jay and you got out your cellphones.

"I'll just finish dinner. Everyone will be cool with us at the station". Kelly went back to cooking, like nothing serious is going on. Your lives are all about to be out in the open and it kinda scared you a bit.

"You're fucking kidding me right now? You, Jay and Kelly are married to each other"? Antonio paced the room. You had just told him and his shit has it the fan.

"Jay and Kelly are married to me. Not to each other. They just live together". You tried to explain.

"But you all are still fucking each other"?

"Wow, why is my brother so stupid"? You rolled your eyes with a annoying huff.

"No. Kelly and Jay are straight they dont have a relationship. I'm the only one that has sex with them.  One at a time. No threesomes. So get that and the image of Jay and Kelly having sex out of your perverted little mind". You exclaimed.

"Oh alright. So no big deal. My sisters just married to two guys. That's normal". Antonio sarcastically chuckled.

"Its normal for us. If you dont like it then leave. I already told Gabby that if she cant except it and stay out of our relationship then she isn't welcomed here anymore. Do you want that to happen to you as well"?

"No. I'm still processing it, okay"? Antonio rubbed his head.

"I know. It's a lot to process at once. Let's go see if Jay and Voight are having better luck than us". You wrapped your arm around Antonio's shoulder, leading him back into the leaving room where Jay and Voight was talking.

"I dont care what you three have going on just as long as it doesnt interfere with your job and my unit. Then we have no problem. But if I see anything that will cause a problem then we'll be having a talk about reassigning you some where else. Either one of you". Voight glared at Jay, Antonio and you.

"Yes, sir". Jay said.

"Fine, I'm going home. See you three at work tomorrow". Voight grumbled as he went past you and opened the door. Slamming it   

"That went better than expected". Jay chuckled.

"Yeah. Antonio here cant seem to wrap his brain around the idea that you and Kelly have no intimate relationship".

"In most threesomes, they all have sex together. Even the guys". Antonio told you and Jay. You giggled.

"You sure know alot about threesomes, Antonio. Are you hinting at something"? You smirked. Jay snickered beside you.

"No. I'm just saying". Antonio tried to play it off as nothing.

"If you say so. But all the joking aside, you alright with this"?

"I'm cool. Itll take some time to getting use to the idea of the three of you together but I have no problem with it". You sigh a sigh of relief and hugged Antonio.

"Thanks. You dont know what this means to me. I just wish Gabby was just as understanding as you".

"She'll come around. Just give her time. Listen I gotta go, kids are coming over".

"Okay. Give them love from us".

"Now that's going to be a therapy session. My aunt has two husbands. Good grief". Antonio laughed as he grabbed his jacket. You tried not to giggle as you shook your head.

"Bye now".

You plumped on the couch with a huff beside Jay. "Hope the others are like this". You tell Jay.

"They probably will be".

"Where's Kelly"? You both looked for him. Totally forgot about him in your relationship explaining.

"I'm here. Just got off the phone with Casey and the others. My friends are cool with us and they want to know when they can come over and have a party. Get together type thing, I guess to see us in our natural habitat". Kelly laughed as he came in and sat beside you.

"Lucky you. Antonio was just weird but at least he didnt judge us". You say leaning your head on Kelly's shoulder.

"Adam is definitely going to make jokes about this. I can hear him now. He wont shut up, even in my brain he wont". Jay groaned laying his head on your shoulder. Kelly and you giggled.

"I say we go to bed and forget this happened then tomorrow we just run away and join the circus"? Jay suggested.

"How about no. We should go to bed and have one of those threesomes, Antonio was nagging on about"? You waited for their response.

"How do you do it"? Jay wondered.

"You've never had a threesome"? Kelly questioned.

"No. Have you"? You backed off Kelly's shoulder surprised.

"Well, not with another guy. But with two girls". He blushed as you tilted your head. 

"When was this"?

"Way before you and I got together. Dont worry". Kelly reassured you.

"Well then. We should do it and see what all the hoopla is about". You smacked their knees and pushed yourself up.

"You guys coming"? You held out your hands for them.

The reached and grabbed your hands bringing them up to you. Jay lead you three into the bedroom. This shall be a fun experience, you thought.

Kelly slammed the door with his foot. Jay pulled you in front of the bed so he and Kelly could get a better view of you.

Jay on one side and Kelly on the other. They began kissing your neck. Moving your hair for a better angle. You licked your lips. This was getting you so excited. Your hand went to their face cupping their cheeks. Then slid down their torsos and gradually slipped down their pants. Pawing at their cocks. Kelly nipped at your ear. Jay snaked his hand under your shirt to play with one of your hard nipples. Pinching it between his fingers, making you squirm.

They stood in front of you, and smirked at each other before pushing you back onto the bed. You knew it was going to be one hell of a ride but that's what excited you the most. Doing it with two men that you loved dearly and trusted the most.

[heresathreebee]

Old Stomping Ground

[Ava Starr X Female Reader]

Summary: One of the good things to come out of constant alien invasions are the abandoned ruins of New York, and you’re fixing to show Ava your favorite place. Previous Masterlist Next

Tag(s): 13+ | can be reader gender and race neutral reader but is written with woc readers in mind, no-snap au, post-Ant Man and the Wasp, Ava and reader on an adventure in post Avenger's New York, homelessness, alien trees and the power of community.

AN: no-snap au, post-Ant Man and the Wasp. No beta, we die like men. Just you and Ava having a short adventure.

You took three days off of work for this one. Packed two backpacks with food, water, clothes, and other supplies. Bedrolls and bug spray and hiking poles. Ava laughed at your enthusiasm but she seemed to vibrate with excitement right along with you. 

"Can you at least tell me where we're going," she pleaded. 

You ran through the end of the checklist for the third time, trying to be extra careful now that you wouldn't be hoofing it solo. You dodged the question expertly with a "it's not far and it's not dangerous so hush! Learn to enjoy the mystery, babe." 

Ava rolled her eyes playfully but stopped asking and let you finish. After that you ate a hearty breakfast and began your journey north by northwest. In the taxi, your girlfriend's eyes darted from building to building as you turned on every street and you mentally gave up on scolding her. She was too pragmatic to allow for that level of trust yet. 

You were surprised that it took her until you passed the ruins of the daycare you once attended that she whipped her head around to whisper, "is this… Leviathan alley?" 

You shush her but can't keep the excited grin from your face. "It's a bit more than just an alley." 

Once SHIELD was finished stripping for parts and gutting the cybernetically enhanced alien creature left behind in the Battle of New York, the rest was abandoned. The city's been planning to clean up and rebuild but there are scores in the earth where the leviathan crashed and crumbling, precarious buildings that need to be brought down first in the safest way possible. While the city’s been debating how to deal with the destruction, the poor and destitute had moved in and discovered the blood of the chitauri has some very interesting properties. 

"It's like it changes the property of concrete," you explained, climbing over rubble and reaching back to pull her up, "uhg– breaks it down into some kind of hyper fertilizer. There's this copse of trees growing where we think the stomach was and I think in its natural habitat, the creature was probably an omnivore of sorts and may have swallowed thousands of seeds–" 

"That's all very fascinating dear, could you please take this?" Ava shoves a canteen into your hands and cups your hands to bring it closer to your mouth. You've climbed for what feels like miles and hey, you are pretty parched. "Think we'd better rest and eat, maybe look for a safe place to set up camp and… oh, look over there!" 

Ava's sudden whisper makes you turn. It's green in that direction, though this 'alley' is shrouded in darkness due to the dome made from the spine and ribs of the leviathan, the sprigs seem to grow just fine, becoming taller as they moved farther away from you until they began to develop woody stalks and trunks. 

"That's the forest you were talking about," Ava whispered in awe. “I wanna get a closer look.” 

You gently caught her arm. “Camp first, eat. It’ll still be here tomorrow.” 

~ 

Ava didn’t expect you to take her into an encampment. There were two dozen people in tents, an open grill going and laughter. They seemed to recognize you. It was mostly older adults, a few elderly people wrapped in thick blankets and teens walking around asking anyone needed drinks. You grabbed the blanket from your pack and wrapped Ava in it as soon as she found a seat on a slab of concrete. 

"Comfy?" 

Ava smiled up at you, taking the proffered fruit slice from you. "Very." 

She examined the strange fruit. It had a thin violet skin with a spongy white inner layer and pink juice with black seeds  dripping from it. She leabed over your shoulder get a look at the fruit as a whole, and it seemed the pink goop was loose inside the fruit similar to a coconut. 

"Are these from the trees," she asked. 

"Yeah, they're edible don't worry. No side effects we've seen," you assure. 

Ava nods but as she's licking the tangy pink juice you continue, "well except for Nadia but she's a mutant." 

Ava flicks worried green eyes at you and slowly takes the fruit from her mouth. She's already swallowed on reflex so there's no turning back now, only managing whatever weird things would come next. 

"Uh… what do you mean by that?" 

You blink at Ava. "Oh it's not, like, bad or anything. Right, Nadia?" 

A dark skinned girl in an orange beanie looked up from her phone. "What?" 

"Tauri makes you, what, gassy?" 

The man on the grill threw his head back in a laugh and Nadia kicked a rock at you. "Ha hah, you're everybody's favorite clown in the circus. It doesn't make me gassy, you jerk, it makes me smell like roses actually." 

"Oh," Ava said, "that's all?" 

You and Nadia shared a knowing look. "It's strong. Not overpowering but strong like you've got your nose buried in a whole bouquet of them." 

"And your fingers tingle and you make sparkles– " 

"Nadia I think that's just you, baby!" 

People laughed and the conversation died down. Ava let the slip of tauri fruit linger in her grasp until you gently pried it out and ate it yourself. You were side eyeing her but kept your question to yourself and eventually Ava was able to relax. She fell asleep during Nadia's uncle Rodney's story with her head on your shoulder and dreamed of violet things. Violet dresses, violet paint, violet fires, and violet sprigs. 

All you could dream of was the smell of roses so close and so thick you could touch it. 

~

The walk through the natural path as the trees got thicker finally prompted Ava to ask the question that's been plaguing her. "How do you know them? Are they family?" 

You cast a quick glance over your shoulder and slowed your pace to match hers as your fingers tapped the straps of your backpack nervously. "Sort of. They were family when I had no home to go to. Then I got a job with enough money and a stupid good deal on my apartment because I had no priors. 

"Rodney and Jules and some of the others prefer it out here with the forest. Some of them have nowhere else to go or no way to take care of themselves. Nadia's been kicked out of every home she's ever been to, but she won't go to that gifted school for mutants in Westchester county. Can't say I blame her either." 

"School for mutants, eh," Ava said as she trudged on, "interesting." 

You walked along in silence, drinking in the inviting quiet of the forest and the tiny chirps and peeps of its new inhabitants. You'd almost say it would be a shame to tear this place down knowing it's a new natural habitat, but you know New York had a hundred bigger and more pressing issues to deal with right now. As long as any capitalist moguls kept their eyes elsewhere, the new jungle should be fine. 

As the forest becomes denser, you have to pull a rechargeable flashlight out to see the ground beneath you. Black bugs crawl under and over the brush and fallen twigs, and something no bigger than a cat scuttles away out of the path of the light. Ava puts a hand on your arm and you open your mouth to assure her you'd protect her, but as you look at her you realize she's ready to protect you. Arm poised out and eyes darting around for signs of sudden movement from the brush. 

You walk in silence for what feels like an fantastic eternity but when you look at the canopy you stop yourself. Ava looks up to, gently taking a hold of your hand to keep you close and it sends tingles up your arm. She rarely reaches for you but she seems to be growing more and more confident of it. 

Light dances beyond the thicket of the leaves. Green and gold flashes as a soft breeze creates gaps beyond the chitauri rib ceiling and every time a light flashes you feel warmth on your skin like soft little kisses. 

Something wooden creaks, and that creaking quickly turns to snapping. You unconsciously squeeze Ava's fingers as you spot a black tree trunk beginning to fall towards you. Suddenly, Ava's arms are around you and she pulls you down into a duck. 

Everything happens so fast it blinds you. You can't see, can only feel as shivers of warmth and cold jitter through your entire being, drowning you into sensations you've never felt before. It makes you feel fear more than anything. Is this how you die? Cowering? 

When the sounds of falling trees stop, there is only the wind and the rush of Ava's windbreaker against yours. You test your fingers to see if they still work and dig them into her back. Nothing broken, you're still standing if gravity is correct. 

She finally lets you lift your head from her embrace and survey the scene. That tree opened a spot in the canopy for more natural light to pour in which is good because your flashlight was lost among the thick bramble bushes. 

Ava brushes your forehead. "Are you OK?" 

It must be a trick of the light but she looks like she's shimmering. Perhaps you hit your head or something but it seems like you never fell. Your standing just beside the fallen tree but you could have sworn you'd almost felt it go through you. And then…

And then there was the smell of roses. 

"I'm fine," you say at last. "Let's get back, probably shouldn't have come here by ourselves anyways…" 

Ava gives you a look, it almost looks like trepidation. You steel your resolve and press on to retrace your steps, knowing you had a lot of walking to do before you would exit the treeline. 

Ava has powers and you're ok with that. You'll just let her tell you in her own time. 

[sometipsygnostalgic]

adventure time wizard city liveblog

 well here we go

my last adventure time liveblog, i havent actually done one of these in MANY years... probably not since 2014

this takes place at the same time as obsidian?

DID-- DID CHOOSE GOOSE JUST DIE

DID BUFO JUST KILL CHOOSE GOOSE

yeah i know that’s bufo, they only made it enormously obvious, tsk tsk

@spaceacepearl​ joked about us seeing choose goose get sent to hell but i diDNT EXPECT IT TO HAPPEN

This music is i assume by one of the many musical artists Adam Muto listed on twitter, it rocks. It’s not as hardcore as Obsidian’s intro, but it’s suitably chill for the scene. 

“get offa my bus kid”

Those wizards in the left and far right groups appear to be new! 

OH MY GOD--

HELP?????? NEW PROFILE PIC TIME

HAHAHAHAH

THE MUSICAL CON DID ME GOOD, I DID REALLY LOUD AUDIBLE LAUGHTER

i bet hanna and co had fun making these signs

my favourite is the cat with “FAMILIARS HAVE RIGHTS”

cadorka..... wow

We’re not even four minutes into the ep and peppermint butler has already killed someone in front of a large group of witnesses

“this smells of DARK MAGIC” “yall kids know thats illegal right” peps watches the other kids nod before later joining in, LOL

i cant believe pep started the great gum wars and got killed by golb

SOMEONE has been playing Overwatch... 

i-- i still cant believe choose goose is fucking dead

how long was he stuck in hell for, or was that recent to together again after new death showed up 

i have to admit im not a big fan of spader, too perfect, and not in that funny way either. i hope they give him some characteristics that make him stand out. 

im getting flashbacks to OK KO and Owl House here...

Cadebra using music is a reference to Abracadaniel’s love of interpretetive dance in Play Date. 

“they only laugh because youre different” “i know” “SO STOP BEING DIFFERENT” oh my god it’s like talking to my own parents cadebra is actually... a LOT like me, less in her hyperactivity but more in her nonchalant enthusiasm and almost acceptance of the inevitable bullying because it means more time in people’s consciousness

ahhh - it’s quietly revealed here that she is responsible and a skilled magician, she is just bored of magic! i like that she parents abracadaniel instead of being downtrodden by his ramblings. 

PEP NO--- oh i see the problem, he hasn’t got his Bug Milk... sorry Martin Olsen fans, no Hunson today. At least we get one more Phil Face for the road! 

candy people in their natural habitat

Ahhh that’s Doctor Calidoneus! The voice actor was at the recent Distant Lands panel alongside Pep and Blaine’s actors. 

“pretty sure hes just trashcandy” - i like you, sassy antler lady

the mystery of how he gets clothes

and once again spader is proving to be the most irritating distant lands character of the lot, there is no subversion here. where is the subversion?  

NANI

what is going on here? are pep and peppermint the same person or not? im sure they must be, but there is something going on here with peppermint butler’s soul being trapped in the body of his child self who hasn’t got the same memories. 

OH, HYNDEN WALCH DID A NEW LINE yes this is what im here for, special over 

peppermint butler cursed himself... of course he did - Shado was correct!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHAT THE FUCK

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

ROCK STUDENT, BLESSED ROCK STUDENT, WAS THAT POOR GUY WHO LOOKS LIKE A JAWBREAKER

love the reference to astral plane, of course pep cant astrally project because cursed pep is still inside of him 

wow, blaine, wow

they have a crush

LITTLE DUDE! COLE SANCHEZ!

i love the dynamic between cadebra and abracadaniel, imo so far it’s the heart of the special. im not really gripped by peppermint butler’s school troubles. i imagine someone else probably will be but i want to run past that shit as far as possible. 

TRDGFYGHJH

WE

WE MADE  A PREDICTION THAT WAS JUST LIKE THIS

PEPPERMINT BUTLER GETTING TURNED INTO THE FOUR COMPONENTS OF PEPPER MINT BUTT LURE WAS IN THE WIZARD CITY PREDICTIONS ART DRAW THAT HASNT BEEN POSTED YET

ILL SHOW YOU WHEN NICK POSTS THE VIDEO and then ill tell you who made the prediction because i... think it was nick himself, insanity 

who plagiarized finn’s signature???

turns out pep really DID take over wizard city!!!!

i love this band

i understand your pain peps

you probably have a bit too much in common with your mother, and i imagine it isn’t easy being turned into a kid and not being able to do stuff that came so easy. you’re disappointing yourself! (he’s literally disappointing himself)

I’m less than halfway through the special, what the fuck. I wasn’t wrong when I said Wizard City had a lot on its plate. It’s noit that I’ve been particularly gripped up to this point, though to be fair I didn’t pause at all during the other specials barring Obsidian. 

that... that poor kid is still a rock

and then the preview happened and bufo casually revealed to the audience that, yes, he killed choose goose

i dont know whats happening with pep but it seems he needs to be exorcised of... pep. which is a shame. i hope they learn to coexist. 

i have to say the background work in this special is really good! like, really damn good. 

WH

WHAT

DID SPADER JUST DIE

IS THIS WHY PEOPLE THINK PEPBUT KILLED HIM 

oh thats right - abracadaniel is cadebra’s uncle! this must be abracadniels sister. sorry, folks, he doesn’t fuck. 

Where are they? Is this anywhere near Wizard City? It’s an unpopulated prewar wasteland. 

THESE ARE JUST HUMANS

OF COURSE SHE WANTS TO PERFORM TO MILQUETOAST HUMANS

my child

is this an art style choice or did they get the people from that one studio to make this

HANNA FINALLY GETS TO FULFIL HER DREAM OF INSERTING KANEDA INTO ADVENTURE TIME

the red jacket he wears and his head pill shape is a big kaneda reference actually, which i suppose makes sense considering he’s a rival to our protagonist, but it’s a bit on the nose

bufo killed one of his own students? but why????

“MY UNCLE’S A COP”

“no one likes a rat”

i actually really like blaine, though im confused. did their VA change halfway through the special?

HOW NATURAL, NO WASTE, IT IS AN ENDLESS CHAIN

did doctor caledonius steal the trophy,,,? 

EVIL SNAIL EVIL SNAIL

MONMSTER HUNJTER DISCOVERY NOISE, this time it’s a tetsucabra

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I HAVE QUESTIONS

god i wish this is what this special was about, i miss adventure time

these remind me of the comics with their art style :) i wonder who designed them? the one on the right with pb and pep, in particular, very comics-y. 

fdgfhgf because he’s like 500

“pep can be kind of a jerk but he wouldn’t kill anyone”

sorry, cadebra, i have news for you

is doctor calednoius the true villain? if bufo’s out of the picture, she MUST be, 

ANTS

oh no, he might gbe stuck in wizard city :( 

HELP

the writing on the wall...

SPADER LITERALLY FUCKING DIED OH YM JESUS CHRIST

PEPPERMINT BUTLER’S OWN CULT????

THIS IS JUST OK KO NOW

okay im not surprised all the teachers at wizard city are cultists in worship of peps, maybe they killed spader and bufo because they bullied peps T_T

wait no, they thought spader had the potential, but sadly not

HE FUCKING KILLED HIMSELF

sorry, i was distracted by the pretty dope fight sequence and now the special is over????

fucking jesse, hes probably at least partly responsible for the cult nonsense

This credits art is by Maya Petersen!!!! Holy shit it’s adorable!

LRETGFDRGTFGMHGFHFG

LEAF MAN

DO YOU THINK THEY PUT HIM IN RETROSPECTIVELY

DO YOU THINK MAYA PETERSEN DREW THIS AND ADAM PUT IT IN THE EP RETROSPECTIVELY

HE LIVES

MAYBE THIS IS WHY CHOOSE GOOSE WENT TO HELL

okay, it’s over :) 

first thoughts out of the way: not a big fan of this special. it’s like watching a completely different show. it’s not got the PZSHAHH of the normal wizard city stuff and there weren’t a lot of funny jokes or even hearty moments in the thing. 

it suffers from a lack of invested character interactions, much like BMO did. there was not a single main cast member in the whole thing! and like i said before, much of peppermint butler’s character in the show is based on his very sweet relationship to his mother, princess bubblegum, so when they showed a single (hilarious) photo of them together it made me sad we didn’t get any scenes with them together. it would have STOLEN this episode. and they teased the hunson golf photo, and death!!! and jake appeared in a photo T_T last jake appearance. 

it also suffers because Peppermint Butler is clearly not himself, imo he was way more entertaining in the Together Again special, where we seem him back to his “normal” self. 

i dont think peps being a dark wizard was something to “kill off” exactly. i wonder what was going on there? was that actually peps, or was that a spirit he cursed himself with based on himself? we at least know in the future he does become a dark wizard again, and even princess :) this special didn’t answer those questions but lol. 

THE GOOD STUFF, because yes, there was a lot of good stuff! 

God, I’m with Aracle and Maya on this - I LOVE Cadebra and her relationship to Pep. I wish she was even in more of this - I would love to watch the adventures of Cadebra and Pepbut in their first year of school, like in the end credits.

That, imo, is where the heart of the special lay - Peppermint Butler’s attempts to impress himself, versus Cadebra’s self acceptance and desire to follow her dreams of being a goofy goober, no matter what other people thought of her. 

It turned out that Cadebra is a responsible student and family member. I really liked that. Her scenes with Abracadaniel were, somehow, my favourite in the entire special! 

I like that theres a lot of cool magic towards the end of this special, and a lot of HORRIFYING DEATH. It wouldn’t be adventure time if you didn’t randomly kill off child characters. Poor Spader, I hated you but damn, what a grim fate. 

I like that Bufo and Caledonius had this crush/hatred thing going on, but they were part of the same cult in the end. 

I didn’t like the giant peps scene at the end, the monster was extremely milquetoast compared to the madness we usually get in AT. Obsidian, for example, had the awesome Larvo design. Nemesis had some INSANE dark magic!!!!  I wish they drew more from that episode. 

Considering how much Steve Little appears in this special, I do feel bad for Mace (little Peps). He said he would have really benefitted from coaching, but recieved none. He had to re-record his lines 3 times! Judging from his description of events, Wizard City was a hard time for him. 

The wizard school did remind me, heavily, of both The Owl House and OK KO. Personally I was hoping AT would offer me something more insane, but I do love both of those shows, and I know Wizard City was on a really tight schedule. 

I think they should have spent less time on the school bullying plot, and skipped straight to MURDER. 

We did have a cold opening, not on par with Together Again’s at all, but damn!

I am wondering where I would put this in the watch list? I do think it should sit after Obsidian as the third special. The intro scene makes it clear this takes place at the same time as Obsidian!!!

Well, that was it, the last ep of AT for the next few years at least T_T

i think together again was the better finale, definitely. but wizard city feels pretty detached from AT for me, despite the familiar characters it tonally isn’t like the show other than the awesome brutal death scenes. I thought the last 11 minutes was easily the best in the special! Which, honestly, is how it should be, though I do wish it gripped me more. Maybe I’m just not the target audience for Wizard City? It feels like something I would find very compelling if I was a bit younger! 

[iztarshi]

My Murderbot Musical

This is so dumb, but I started out thinking about how a novella so focussed on Murderbot’s interiority and voice would make a better musical than a film and then before I knew it I had 2,000 words of how I’d adapt All Systems Red into a musical if I knew a damn thing about writing musicals. Murderbot would probably have Pin-Lee sue me for making this too sappy.

I’m putting it up anyway though, because if I can’t post my dumb ideas on tumblr, where can I post them?

The stage is divided into four, the front of the stage and three platforms behind it with a screen behind each platform.

The show opens with the novella’s opening lines. “I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or so since then, with still not much murdering, but probably, I don't know, a little under 35,000 hours of movies, serials, books, plays, and music consumed. As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.”

The lights then rise on Mensah standing at the front of the stage with a Company representative standing behind a desk across from her, behind the Company representative stands Murderbot, in full armour with the faceplate blanked and perfectly still. The first number, Sanctuary (Moon) takes place with Mensah and the Company representative arguing in the foreground about why she doesn’t want to take a SecUnit with her. This fills us in on a lot of background about what SecUnits are and what Mensah would need one for and also shows us that despite arguing that what’s done to them is wrong Mensah is still falling into treating the actually present SecUnit like it’s unaware. In the background clips from Sanctuary Moon and other shows play on the screens, while characters from it act out scenes on the three platforms. They frequently take over the song with a much fuller and brighter song about fictional events. We can see that this is the inside of Murderbot’s head, that it’s playing media on the feed while the humans argue about its nature in front of it. The song ends with Mensah giving in and leaving and Murderbot being packed into a crate as the lights go down on the stage.

The lights rise with Dr Bharadwaj and Volescu in the crater, Murderbot standing by. There is a clip from Sanctuary Moon playing silently on the screens, which is suddenly superseded by images of the monster coming out of the crater. The song Client Retrieval Protocol starts, a fast, rhythmic but not frantic song. Murderbot sings the instructions to itself, to the systems as code flashes on the screens, and describes what’s going on in rapid, professional, but also witty commentary (basically its narrative voice as a patter song). There’s a discord when the HubSystem tries to send the abort command, and we see it on the screen, but it’s rapidly dismissed by Murderbot. The music softens when Murderbot takes its helmet down to reassure Volescu but once again we get caught back up in the rapid patter of its divided attention and things it needs to do. The song ends on the big “No!” to Ratthi as he tries to retrieve the bags and the hopper takes off just in time.

Murderbot’s cubicle is represented by a small white platform in the middle of the front stage. We see it shed its armour, pull an emergency blanket around itself and sit down. Despite not being small, it looks alone and vulnerable like this. Mensah enters, following the trail of blood-stained armour it’s left across the stage, and sings a short song, You Didn’t Leave, thanking it for staying with Volescu when the MedSystem was telling it he would be fine by himself. Murderbot’s responses are spoken rather than sung and obviously awkward as it looks anywhere but at her.

The next song, Too Much Media, shows Murderbot, still not in its armour, walking through the scene with Volescu as it rewinds and replays it, now seeing what it actually said to Volescu and wondering what the hell it was doing. It sings to him, asking questions about his family, and we see the family on the platforms as Volescu sings his answers. Murderbot’s questions are sung very tentatively, in contrast to the parts of its song sung in its own head. The song breaks for a while as Mensah calls it to answer questions and offers to let it stay in the crew area. The song resumes for a few lines as Murderbot curls up in its cubicle again, regretting how much it’s given away to the humans both with its questions to Volescu and with its terror at being offered a place among them.

It’s Not Right is sung by the humans as they try to figure out whether they’ve been sabotaged or whether the company is just cheap and also try to figure out how to treat their SecUnit now they know it’s a person. The humans are shown arguing among themselves during the mapping expedition, up on the platforms while Murderbot is with another group on the stage, although Gurathin doesn’t join in. Ratthi’s attempt to talk to Murderbot about its feelings is moved to the way back rather than the trip to DeltFall, with Overse and Ratthi singing their argument. Murderbot gets its one line in the song “Dr Mensah, a message” as it sends the clip to her and the song ends with her telling Ratthi to drop it. When they return to the habitat, Volescu tells them that DeltFall can’t be contacted and Murderbot insists on coming with them when they check it out.

We open at the DeltFall habitat, deliberately spooky in design and lighting. Murderbot sings Murderbots (it’s what we do). We’ve heard it use the name for itself in its own songs before, but here it’s referring to the rogues it believes have wiped out DeltFall. Flashes of unrealistic and murderous SecUnits from media play across the screens, along with contextless flashes of a mine. The song is angry, Murderbot singing about its intention to hunt down these rogues who killed their humans, no matter what the humans might have done to deserve it.

We see the fight, Murderbot taking down other SecUnits and getting hurt in the process, and we see Dr Mensah coming to rescue it. Murderbot tries to convince her to go with You Have To Leave (You Didn’t Leave Reprise) as she refuses and drags it out with her. Finally it realises what the combat module is, tells her to kill it and then grabs the gun itself as the stage goes dark.

Murderbot is on the white platform again, this time lying down with all the humans gathered around it. Gurathin tells them about the hacked governer module and he and Volescu start arguing about whether Murderbot is dangerous with It’s Not Right (Reprise). Murderbot suddenly joining in by singing “the company isn’t trying to kill you” is as startling for the audience as for the humans. From then on it joins the song, for the first time singing with the humans the same way it sings in its own head, as it falls into the rhythm of the song and argues for itself. There’s a brief musical callback to Murderbots (it’s what we do) when Gurathin brings up the mining incident, but it’s subtle. The song ends with Murderbot grabbing Gurathin and Mensah interrupts the increasingly frantic rhythm they’ve built up by saying her next line.

Gurathin and Pin-Lee leave to shut down HubSystem, Bharadwaj and Volescu go to check the download package, and Arada, Overse, Ratthi, Mensah and Murderbot sing EvilSurvey as they work out that there might be a third survey group on the planet out to get them. Murderbot is more subdued now and won’t face the humans, but it’s still singing its lines and gets lines like “the company could be bribed to conceal the existence of several hundred survey teams on this planet”. It’s a group song and Murderbot is part of the group now.

After leaving the habitat and finding a place to camp, Mensah talks to Murderbot about leaving its helmet down and asks if it’s okay. We then get Because You Need Me a distant duet between them sung to the audience rather than each other. Murderbot considers what it means to be seen as a person who wants to help and chastises itself for forming an emotional connection to a client. Mensah thinks about how much it means to her that someone who has so many reasons to distrust humans is starting to open up to her and her guilt at leaning on someone who’s in such a bad situation themselves.

Murderbot finds out who Mensah is and that she’s Preservation’s government from Ratthi before leaving with Gurathin to retrieve the drones. Gurathin prodding it about the mine and whether it wants revenge on humans becomes  a reprise of Murderbots (it’s what we do), this time much more sarcastic as Murderbot rejects the idea of revenge killing sprees as a human thing.

We see the video play on the screens as Murderbot watches GrayCris’s message and then the lights go down as Murderbot announces it has a plan.

We follow Murderbot’s approach to GrayCris and conversation with them up until they demand Mensah accompany them and Murderbot has to disguise itself as a Deltfall SecUnit. As the plan falls apart Murderbot starts to sing There Is No Fucking Protocol (Client Retrieval Protocol Reprise) as it talks us through the plan and what it’s doing the way it did back then but with full acknowledgement of how out of its depth it is. We see the other humans on the platforms, in Murderbot’s awareness thanks to drones. The song builds up, getting more and more frantic as Murderbot knows the launch is coming closer and Mensah’s still too close, before ending as it grabs her and the explosion knocks it over. We see it give the “this unit is at minimal functionality and it is recommended that you discard it” message and Mensah respond “shut the fuck up, we’re not leaving you” before the stage lights go down.

Murderbot wakes up on the platform again, but is swiftly retrieved by Pin-Lee and Ratthi. When it rejoins the humans they’re in normal clothes. They’re more colourful than their work clothes, and the environment is prettier now too, echoing the fictional characters in Sanctuary (Moon) earlier and the way they were bright and colourful then. The humans cheerfully sing Preservation as they tell Murderbot about their world and about how it can come home with them now. Murderbot is no longer singing with them, only speaking when it responds.

Murderbot sings You Didn’t Leave (Final Reprise) about how astonishing it is the humans didn’t abandon it, that they even bought it, and yet how confused it is at the idea of being somewhere it isn’t needed. It moves to talking about not wanting to be owned, not wanting to be told what it wants, and gets up and starts walking through the port as it does, stealing a rucksack and slinging it over its shoulder. Its last few lines make it clear it’s leaving a message to Dr Mensah and then it ends with “that’s why I had to leave” as the stage goes black.

[justanotherblonde]

excerpt from Remember, Remember... Chapter 5

repeat after me: 'boku no ch****** wa chiisai desu' 😂

SasoDei modern AU

i don't think i ever posted this scene on its own, but it's a fun one. i just love how the language play turned out, and i reckon it works without knowing the context. the full fic is here if you want more~

The sun came out that afternoon, making skinny-dipping a much more pleasant experience than it could have been. The pool was at the far end of the quarry where the cliff walls were only five or six meters above the water level—perfect for cliff-jumping—and a screen of scraggly trees that had sprouted along the edge of the water secluded the space from the rest of the quarry. The pool was dangerously deep: far below was a flooded, abandoned mine shaft.

Kisame was swimming laps, cutting through the clear, deep water with long, powerful strokes. He, like Deidara and Juugo, had not stripped completely naked: he still wore a pair of his preferred boxers. Deidara tread water, his teeth chattering. He was already regretting the fact that he’d got his hair wet when he jumped in. Sasori and Sasuke sat up on the bank, fully clothed. Sasuke was staring sullenly off into space, while Sasori was holding up his phone.

With a glance over his shoulder, Sasori called out, laughing: 「カメラの準備が出来ましたよ！」(Kamera no jyunbi ga deki mashita yo!)

“Lookout below!” came Suigetsu’s cry from somewhere above the swimmers.

Deidara looked up just as a fully naked Suigetsu sailed through the air, executed a perfect front somersault and slipped into the water smooth as a fish. He stayed below for an inordinate amount of time, so long Deidara almost forgot about him—until suddenly Deidara was being ducked from behind, mouth full of water, ears full of Suigetsu’s cackling.

「撮りましたか、蠍さん？」(Tori mashita ka, Sasori-san?) Suigetsu called up to Sasori.

Sasori was shaking with laughter and clutching his phone to his chest. He pretended to wipe tears from his eyes. 「はい、はい！」(Hai, hai!)

“Another Japanese bastard, huh?” Deidara growled playfully, chasing after Suigetsu but coming nowhere near catching him. He swam as if water was his natural habitat.

“Hey! Suigetsu!” Deidara called. “Teach me some Japanese, mn.”

Suigetsu slowed and began to swim circles around Deidara.

“Okay,” he grinned. “Repeat after me: 僕 boku—”

“Boku—”

“—の no—”

“—no—”

“—チンチン chin-chin—”

Above them, Sasori choked back laughter.

“—chin-chin—”

“—はwa—”

“—wa—”

“—小さいです chiisai desu。”

“—chisai dess.”

Sasori was laughing so hard he fell over. Even Sasuke was grinning.

“What… what did you just make me say, Suigetsu…” Deidara said with trepidation.

“Say it all together first.” Suigetsu was grinning like a shark.

“Boku no chin-chin wa… chiisai dess,” Deidara repeated quickly. “Now tell me what it means before I figure out a way to drown your slippery ass, mn.”

But Suigetsu just threw his head back, laughed heartily, and dove beneath the water, quickly evading Deidara’s grasping hands.

“Sasori??” Deidara looked to Sasori for help in vain: the red-head was still incapacitated by his laughter.

Trying to speak through tears of mirth, Sasori finally choked out, “It isn’t true,” but that was all he offered as explanation.

As the laughter died down, it was Sasuke with his smug look and folded arms who answered: “It means ‘my dick is small,’ Deidara.”

“WHAT?! Get back here you little eel! Mn!”

[dansnaturepictures]

15/09/2021-Part 2: Bushy Park

The sun was shining well when we arrived at Bushy Park too and after seeing another bird we cannot do this annual trip without in a channel or water right at the car park more astonishingly close views of a Grey Heron which I loved seeing and took the first picture in this photoset of, Coots looked marvellous sun kissed. There were a line of adorable chicks racing through the lake as well. I took the second, seventh and eighth pictures in this photoset of beautiful views from our time at Bushy Park today. 

Some eye catching water mint allured me in this sunlight and just as I got my macro lens out for a picture of it things got even better when a Green-veined White butterfly flew down and I got some cracking and intimate views of this stunningly marked and warm butterfly. I took the third picture in this photoset one of a few I was pleased with of this. It was a great scene of late in year nectar extraction as a bee turned up on the water mint too which I tweeted a picture of Dans_Pictures tonight. I loved this moment and felt it was maybe that unexpected moment I get when doing this annual trips that is a bit different to what I usually see on them. Passing a Carrion Crow on top of a tree a little bit far off but doable with my big lens on I waited until the sun hit it walking past to make it quite silhouette like in the golden light and I got a unique picture for me of this species a black bird against bright light looked good I tweeted this photo too. I then saw a Little Egret in a tree I had seen them at Richmond Park but I am not so sure about here before and it was interesting to see it on the lake with a group of Egyptian Geese passing by later on a memorable sight from the day. 

We then walked into a group of trees seeing Mute Swans flying over which I’d not seen here before and saw a group of Fallow Deers the other deer species to look for as well as red today and it was exceptional to spend a few minutes admiring these seeing a gorgeous blend of the typical brown furred ones but also some lighter and white which is well known for the species too. Rutting wise a couple just started to lock antlers as though testing them and the stags seemed to move others around a bit too it was a tense atmosphere really. These were again such intimate views of a group of deers and one of my favourite mammals with lots still and some bits of movement too. I took the fourth picture in this photoset of some of these and tweeted others. 

The landscape looked amazing at Bushy Park at this point with the ponds and streams nestled into the ferns and grassland and charming willow trees, mighty oaks, pine and more, with a great view into the more built up surroundings with a church I always admire visible. I had enjoyed the beautiful Diana Fountain on the way in too at this park. With the sun illuminating the landscape nicely too to enrich this all. And I knelt to take a shot of some more pretty pink lily pads lately to the backdrop of a lake alive with light and the divine grassy habitat behind one I was pleased with which I also tweeted. 

Then there were a few amazing moments. First another quirky one as much like I’ve seen at Lakeside over the past year and a bit there was a terrapin sat at the side of the lake. Out in the open and in the sun it made a nice sight and I enjoyed taking photos of it, a terrapin that was a pet I imagine dumped here. There were a Coot family with chicks coming amazingly close to us on this bit of lake too. I took the fifth picture in this photoset of one chick. 

Then following on from my Richmond Black Darter experience mentioned in my last post I was amazed to see the damselfly species I had thought of earlier today as a glistening Emerald Damselfly settled on a tree leaf. I was ecstatic to see this glorious species and so overjoyed. It feels like I’ve seen these a lot more than I actually have I got so used to them in 2019 but it’s only my third ever sighting of one after my first ever at Thursley Common also in Surrey where we were today two years ago and later that summer at Arne in Dorset. But I did miss it last year so it felt amazing to see it today. And a little bit like that day in 2019 at Thursley this and the Richmond Black Darter took me by storm to make my dragonfly and damselfly year list my second highest ever having seen 18 species this year now second only to my 2019 total that day at Thursley I stormed to level my then record of 2018. I am so over the moon with this. This was not something I had in my mind going into the day so felt fantastic and I am so pleased with this. Two big points in my year, the Rutland Water trip in August and today allowed me to see dragonfly and damselfly species I missed last year to compete with my 2019. I saw the value in these two Royal Parks as dragonfly and damselfly sites today which is useful to remember.

We walked on and got a quintessential Royal Parks and amazing sight of a female Red Deer wading in a channel of water beside us which I got the sixth picture in this photoset of. It was brilliant to watch it and be in aw of this species that the day is mostly about, and special to hear it munch on the grass the other side of the channel as well. It was a smashing and key moment of the day perhaps our best view of a Red Deer from the day. Seeing Mute Swans further up the channel with a grey young one adorably shuffle out of it via a lovely ramp was a good moment. Going back towards the main lake bit by the car park and we were happy to see a Black Swan on there we had not seen one here before. Beside more water mint gleaming in the sunlight as hawksbeard/catsear did walking around this lake too was some lovely orange spotted touch-me-not a new flower for me today which was great to see.

Dragonflies rather stole the day as we marveled at as we had done all day really Migrant Hawkers flying around at the edge of the lake and we got our most prolonged and closest views of any all day especially landed as two were landing on some reed type plants. It was exceptional to see their myriad of bright colour. Seeing another Coot family later on and hearing the adult make a sharp warning noise to the youngsters made me realise it had been a top day for hearing natural sounds too which can be so invigorating. Ring-necked Parakeet’s wails and Red Deer’s roars the sound track of wild London for me and this annual trip each year added to this as it always does and walking on we got an amazing view of a Ring-necked Parakeet sat firmly on a tree which I took the ninth picture in this photoset of. We treasured some splendid views of it and witnessed it caressed by the re-emerging though an interesting sky formation sunlight which was great.

Finally as we got back to the car park and I enjoyed and photographed some mini white lesser sticthwort nice to see it again after learning it last month at Farley Mount there which I noticed when we arrived a couple of Red Deers made their way towards the water with pace as they so often do here. The first of which we were so lucky to get some photo opportunities and get some smashing views of and I was so delighted to see this magnificent mammal in all its glory again. I took the tenth and final picture in this photoset of this mammal. We then heard the iconic roars before going. A perfect end to a truly epic wild day out, one of my best this year. I really did see so much iconic and amazing wildlife so well and take in some fantastic views. Taking in so many photos with all of my DSLR lenses busy and also relaxing and purely enjoying a day out. With my Mum’s car issues mentioned on Monday and the hire car going back tomorrow and no fix of our car until mid next week this may be the last big day trip in the week off and what a way to mark it. What a day well spent I feel so positively tired now. 

Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first Emerald Damselfly of the year, one of my favourite birds the Little Egret, two of my favourite mammals the Red Deer and Fallow Deer, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Black Swan, Canada Goose, Egyptian Goose, Grey Heron, Black-headed Gull, Feral Pigeon, Ring-necked Parakeet, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Green-veined White, Small White, Migrant Hawker, bumble bee, fish and terrapin.

[jayvikbrainrot]

!!! 🥳 we broke 100! Thank you all for following!

If you’re interested here is a rough draft for a fic I’m currently working on based on the “Mel tells Jayce he needs to get his partner under control at a fancy party” plot bunny. Warning it’s unfinished so it ends rather abruptly but I hope you like it anyway

Rated T right now for some kissin? lol its been forever since I needed to rate my work lol

—-——————————————-

As if someone had introduced a magnet to the equation, Jayce’s vision was pulled from Mrs. Kiramman. Viktor was here. 

He stood awkwardly in the doorway, looking for someone. Probably someone he knew to stick to for the length of the party. He was wearing a grey suit Jayce was unfamiliar with and had done something to smooth down his hair, or at least a good amount of it. He looked great.

Counselor Kiramman followed his gaze. “Is that your infamous partner? I thought he didn’t do parties.” She asked.

“I’ll have to ask Mel what blackmail she had on him to make it happen.” He winked for good measure, at least so she thought it was a joke. He wouldn’t be surprised though if it ended up true. “If you’ll excuse me.” 

The Counselor only nodded her head as he caught eyes with Viktor. Relief crossed his features before turning into a lopsided smile. 

Before he could argue, Jayce walked up and caught him in a two armed hug. “Viktor! Good to see you! Never thought you would come!” 

He pulled back to see Viktor a bit chagrined. “Yes…well, I can’t let you shoulder the burden all by yourself.” He looked around the room wary, as if he was already second guessing himself. 

There were quite a few people looking back at them. 

“Let’s get you some champagne, take the edge off yeah?” He slung an arm around his partner's shoulders as he led them away. Maybe he could pair Viktor off with Caitlyn, they had a good enough rapport. He still needed to finish his rounds with the investors before he could really spend time with the man. “Oh there’s Caitlyn! Let’s say hi!” and off he steered the two of them. 

---

“What is wrong with your partner?” Mel sidled up beside Jayce. Her fingers were a little too tight around the stem of her champagne glass.

“There’s nothing wrong with him.” Jayce countered. He looked over to the other man. Surrounded by patron Wilhelm and his secretaries. His face was a scowl and he was gesturing wildly. Viktor in his natural party habitat. “He hates parties.”

“He’s making a bit of a scene.” She looked sidelong at him. “I want you to do something about it.” 

“Me?” Jayce let out a huff of a laugh at the idea, “I can’t control him. That’s why I told you not to insist he attend.” 

He tipped a good portion of his champagne back. Viktor was really tearing into the man now, he wasn’t a huge investor but still who knows who would be in the war path next. 

“Alright. I’ll never do it again, but please do something now.” She used her free hand to grip the back of his arm. 

“Like what?” He looked down at her. He had worked with Viktor for years, relaxing was not a part of Viktor’s vocabulary.

“Alcohol, hextech talk, you could even play seven minutes in heaven with him for all I care. Just take him down the hall and get him to calm down.” She gave him one last threatening squeeze and pushed him towards the other man.

He shot her one last look, but she was already turning away to shmooze someone else. He downed the last of his champagne hoping his flush would be attributed to the alcohol and not that last thing Mel had said. Sure he heard the rumors about the two of them. But they were just that, rumors, spread by school kids, not something Counselors should be hearing. As always he pushed the thought aside. Viktor was… 

The thought dried up as he approached his partner and the now very uncomfortable Wilhelm. “Excuse me, I’m afraid I need to borrow Viktor for a moment.” 

Viktor paused mid explanation, the endlessly mind numbing differences between water cooling and fan cooling the hextech thermal vents, and simply nodded before stepping forward to join Jayce. 

Wilhelm seemed relieved to say the least. 

Jayce threw an arm around Viktors shoulder and took to steering him towards the hall Mel 

pointed out. “You seem to be having a lively conversation…”

Viktor’s sneer picked up in full force, “His assistant suggested gel, gel as a coolant Jayce. I had to tell him how catastrophic that idea would be.” He paused before continuing, “Where are we heading anyway?” 

The hallway they ducked into was infinitely quieter. Viktor’s cane tapped quietly against the marbled floors. “Mel…uh asked me to…” the word he didn’t want to say was ‘contain’, “help you relax a bit.” 

“Oh did she?” The annoyance was clear in his voice, “well maybe I would be in a better mood if she had one chair set out in that big fancy room of hers…” 

Viktor never liked to let on how much pain he was actually in, he was kind of like a cat in that way. But he did have a point, it was pretty inconsiderate to have no chairs in the main room. “Let’s find a place to sit.” 

Jayce broke off and started testing door handles, the first two weren’t much of anything but the third. It was a quiet changing room with a daybed, privacy screen, and vanity complete with bench. 

“Viktor, in here.” He waved over the other man. The room was dark but the light of the moon cut through the shadows enough. 

Viktor made a beeline for the bench and practically groaned with pleasure as he sat down. “Close that door, will you? I can feel the politics still creeping in.” 

Jayce closed the door, and the far sounds of the party disappeared completely. They were alone.

Viktor didn’t seem to mind as he loosened his tie and began to rub at the back of his neck. “How can you stand to do this all the time?” 

“Do what, make small talk? Be polite?” 

Viktor shot him a look. He was absolutely miserable. He walked over to put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “If it’s any consolation I think I talked Mel into never making these parties an obligation for you going forward.”

“Mmm” Viktor gave a hum of approval as he leaned into Jayce’s touch. Jayce continued to rub a small circle with his thumb as Viktor slowly started to close his eyes. 

Jayce could feel the tight cords of muscle and knobby collar bone. Viktor had always been thin, between the hugs and helping hands he was familiar with the odd and ends of Viktor’s body. More than once Jayce wondered if he could do more for him. But the problem was Viktor wasn’t very forthcoming, and he couldn’t do any work if he didn’t know what he was working with. He wondered if he could convince Viktor to let him help.

“Jayce?” Jayce snapped out of his revery. Viktor was looking at him through half lidded eyes.“Please move your hand.”

“Oh!” 

Like a hot iron, he let go of Viktor’s shoulder. “Sorry.” 

“No I-“ Viktor’s mouth twisted “I miss-said it.” He paused for a moment. 

He once told Jayce sometimes his mind could bounce between his two languages in rapid fire but it could get stuck on certain words sometimes. Since then Jayce always tried to always give Viktor the time he needed, and would set the example in board meetings not letting people talk over Viktor. The amount of people who thought a pause was an opportunity to talk over him was appalling.

“I would like it if your hand had kept moving. As in, it felt nice, but sticking in one spot, was not nice.”he explained. 

“O-oh? Well if your neck is still stiff, I could actually give you a massage.” 

Viktor raised an eyebrow. “A massage?” A smirk gently appeared on his lips. His expression playful. “I bet you say this to all the girls…” 

Jayce rolled his eyes, “ ‘All the girls’ I don’t know where these rumors come from, when all my time is spent with you.” 

Viktor gave a half shrug and began to turn around on the bench, “Rumors spread from fear, jealousy... things they don’t understand.” Now fully turned around, Viktor looked back at him from the dusty mirror in front of him. “Men are afraid to lose their girlfriends to you so they say that you are…a hussy.” 

Jayce felt laughter burst from his lips. He gently started to remove Viktor’s jacket acknowledging that Viktor wanted the massage without asking for one. “A hussy huh?” 

“Em…that’s not right either. Champagne makes my head too fuzzy...” His expression shifted, thinking. “ A Playboy? Easy? Man whore?” Viktor said, pulling at his tie.

“I think I get it, V.” He took the tie from Viktor and put it aside. He gently reached under Viktor’s collar and placed his thumbs on the back of his neck. He pushed upwards into Viktor’s hairline, it was a little tacky from the sweat and whatever product Viktor had used. It smelled wonderful though. Like smokey wood and tobacco. He could bathe himself in the scent. He dug his thumbs a little harder earning a small grunt from Viktor. 

“The point is, I know you’re not this way. Rumors are started by smaller people…people not worth your time.” Viktor said, his eyes fluttering closed, as Jayce continued.

“That’s…some good advice.” 

“A lesson I learn everyday.” Viktor said softly. Jayce paused. He tried not to engage in gossip; it made him...heated. One particular piece nearly made him deck another man after he insinuated that Viktor was some sort of lackey or henchman to Jayce. Caitlyn was the only thing that stopped the textile vice president from having a broken jaw. 

“Little hard Jayce.” he relaxed his hands. Not realizing he had intensified his grip. “Sorry...” Jayce doubled his efforts to concentrate on the matters at hand. He spread his hands a little further working out from his spine. The cords were so tight and tense. Dipping the collar down he saw that there was another mole hidden on his upper back. He ran his thumb over it. How many moles did Viktor have?

 Working with the man had shown him arms and neck, and once a foot. But surely he must have more peppering his chest, his back. In his mind's eye he could see Victor’s lithe chest with spots, decorating him like constellations. Viktor was skinny, he could probably see his ribs and collar bone everytime he breathed. Moving like a piston underneath his skin. Flush from... Nope. He shied away once again from the thought. 

He’s your partner. Stop this. Jayve tried to calm himself down. He was lucky he didn’t blush as easily as some people, but his pants were telling a different story. Jayce let out a sigh, that seemed to be coming more frequently nowadays. “Something on your mind?” Viktor was looking at him with concern. “That uh...same old thing...” The problem with working closely with someone you frequently daydreamed about was that they tended to pick up that something was on your mind. 

“Jayce this problem of yours-” Without warning Viktor turned to face him. Unfortunately with their height difference he was face to face with the problem of course. His eyes flicked from Jayce’s pants to his face. No judgement, only curiosity. He opened his mouth only to let it hang. Jayce backed up instinctively, trying to put some space between them. 

“Jayce...if you were thinking of Counselor Medarda I won't be offended.” He smiled kindly, “I’m a man these things-”

“No.” The word escaped before he could stop himself.

In the moonlight, the shift in expression was stark, good humor changing into curiosity, interest, intensity. A look he had seen on Viktor’s face a thousand times when he was in the lab. He had a distinct feeling this must be how their hextech feels. 

“What do you mean...No?” The room was quiet enough that his voice carried quite easily despite being softly spoken. His golden eyes gleaming in the moonlight. 

“I-” Jayce looked away, this was not how he wanted this to go, “I was thinking about you.” 

The silence was thick, motes of dust floated through moonlight, the daybed had a scattering of pillows and a blanket draped artfully across the back. He chanced a glance at the other man. 

His eyes were downcast, his lips were moving with no sound. He was thinking. 

“Listen V, you don’t have to-” Viktor held up a hand, still not looking at him. 

Patience. Jayce repeated to himself, have patience. 

With a snap Viktor announced he was finished. He sat hands on his knees, with a slight hunch, eyes trained on Jayce. “You desire me.” Blunt to a T. Viktor was direct to the point as always, “This is why you cannot talk about your problem, and why you’ve been so mopey lately.” He smiled. The same smile he wears when he solves something tough that they’ve been working on forever, the smile that makes Jayce want to squeeze his friend until he hugs back, the smile that stops him just short of planting a kiss on the side of his head. 

But even the expression couldn’t stop the sinking feeling in his stomach. The deception was over, Viktor knew. “You got it V. You figured it out.” He opened up his hands in front of him, he could only surrender.

“Good.” Viktor said decisively, reaching around to grab his cane. “That makes things easier.” 

Jayce was in no mood for games, his heart was battered at this point. “What are you talking about?” 

Viktor was walking over. “You’re an attractive man Jayce. I would be a fool not to see it.” He stepped into Jayce’s personal space. A reversal from their normal routine. “Does this surprise you?” Jayce could feel his face heating, his brain tripping over his own thoughts. “You...but-” He had never seen Viktor take an interest in anyone. Viktor put one hand on his chest tracing the lines of his lapels. He caught the hand and removed it. “Viktor you- feel the same?” “Of course.” He said simply. He seemed extraordinarily calm, his gaze drifted to where Jayce was holding his hand. “What did you say the Counselor wanted us to do? Relax?”

Jayce didn’t know what to do. Here was the man who occupied his thoughts working and at home. Looking at him like he was all he ever wanted. In a dark room, alone. What was he doing?

“Can I...?” he was searching Viktor’s face for any sign of hesitancy, but the other man understood him just like always. Lifting his chin upwards and tilting his head just so to give him access. With no more hesitancy Jayce leaned in, pressing their lips together. They were warm and dry, and fit his lips perfectly. He moved in closer, feeling his chest press against the other man. He let go of the hand he was holding, opting to cup the back of Viktor’s head. Finally able to twine his fingers through those brunette strands. 

Viktor opened his mouth letting out the most heart stopping sigh. He could feel Viktor’s body relax against him. He pressed his nose into Viktor’s cheek, breathing deep. Wanting to fill himself with this scent. Etch this moment into his memory. 

“I’ve thought about this for a while.” Jayce murmured into Viktor’s jaw. Nipping and kissing his way back to Viktor’s mouth. He took a chance at opening his mouth and elated to feel Viktor respond in kind. 

He tasted like sour champagne. Warm and soft. His tongue was as clever at kissing as it was with languages. Pushing into his, invading his mouth. Viktor’s hands exploring his backside liberally. 

“I want more of you.” Viktor breathed. “Now.” Jayce could only nod. He gently and unwillingly untangled himself from Victor as he walked over to the daybed and began hurriedly tossing aside the pillows and blanket. He tossed his jacket to the side as he felt Viktor walk up behind him. In a hundred daydreams he imagined Viktor sidling up beside him. Arm wrapping around his waist, planting a kiss on his cheek. But he never imagined this. Viktor ran his hand from shoulder to shoulder, then across his pecks around the front. Predatory. Hungry. “You’re beautiful, солнце.” Jayce had been complimented before but hearing it from Viktor sent a thrill straight to his groin.

“Sol-nitz?” Jayce tried to repeat the foreign word. 

“Solntse,” he said slower as Jayce watched his mouth curve around the syllables, “It means Little Sun.”

Jayce’s heart clenched, Viktor had never called him anything like that before. He had to kiss this man now. 

He recaptured Viktors lips, holding him felt wonderful. “How do you-” he swallowed thickly, as if he wasn’t getting enough air, “How do you want me?”