#because quick save is my best friend in battle and it seems I don't have a limitless amount

[animemeg27]

gauntlet of shar and moonrise towers have been the most stressful and rage inducing part of bg3 for me so far lmao

I don't remember the last time I've been so annoyed at a game like it's to the point I think I might just switch to easy mode instead of normal mode on my next play through;;;;;;

[xoxoemynn]

For OFMD Tumblr friends who want a S3 and are scared of Twitter

First, no judgment from me. I very much get it. I resisted Twitter for a long time, and even though I'm now a bit more comfortable on it, it's still not my Fandom Home. There are a TON of valid reasons not to be on Twitter, but if you REALLY want to keep OFMD visible right now and help its chances of returning for a third season, Twitter is the best place to do it. Like it or not, Twitter is still the best social media platform for raising awareness and for instant news updates.

Tumblr posts don't make headlines. Topics that have been trending on Twitter do. And if we want this show to come back, we need to make OFMD impossible to ignore.

By now you've probably seen just how close we came to a S3, and if you're like me, you are RAGING and donning your battle jacket. But I get it can be intimidating to get on Twitter for the first time, so I thought I'd address some common anxieties I see. I'll put below a cut because this got a bit long, but I promise it's a quick read.

I don't know what to say! Where do I even start? That's okay! You don't have to create your own tweets (although it's great if you do). Amplifying other people's posts is also important. Go ahead and like/retweet/reply to other people's posts. This may also help you get an idea of what you may like to say in your own tweets.

Hashtags...yes? Yes! Although don't use too many or you may get flagged as a bot. The biggest one that seems to be emerging is #SaveOFMD. Other popular ones are #RenewAsACrew, #RenewOurFlagMeansDeath, and of course, #OFMD and #OurFlagMeansDeath.

Should I just be tagging all the streaming services? Per @renewasacrew, no. It's counterproductive. You'll want to tag one streamer at a time and be specific. Below is an example of a tweet I made the other day -- use specific reasons why that that particular streamer may benefit from picking up OFMD.

I'm scared. People are mean. Yeah, people are mean. But I will say the vibes over at OFMD Twitter are currently the best I've ever seen them. People seem to have united for the greater good and are being overwhelmingly positive and just trying to do whatever we can to save the show. (That said, again, I already had a pretty curated feed, and was very liberal with blocking users/terms I didn't want to see, but I've been able to spend so much more time in the For You tab than I ever have without being jump scared by something.)

But I don't know anyone there! Wouldn't I just be shouting into the void? Not if you use the hashtags! Fans are being really good about following those and engaging with the tweets. Plus, [Stede voice], I'm your friend. I'm xoxoemynn over there as well, I'll follow you back and engage with any of your posts that I see. Plus, what's been REALLY lovely to see is that SO many lurkers have come out of lurkerdom to support the efforts, and they are being welcomed with open arms, so you will not be alone. Again, I am telling you, vibes? Best I've ever seen them.

I can't get sucked into another social media platform, I don't have the time. The beauty here is you don't need to spend a lot of time. I've been on Twitter more in the past week than I have in the entire year I've had an account, and I'm still only on for maybe an hour total the entire day? I open the app, I check a couple accounts, I engage with a handful of posts, and I close the app. It takes all of five minutes. It's an extremely small lift that can have a very big impact.

My bet is on Zaslav expecting us to be upset, and that there may be a day or two of outrage, but then we'd move on. I'm sure right now he's trying to convince everyone that this is a fluke, and that it'll blow over soon. Don't let him win. Keep OFMD in the news. Be loud (but polite) and make Max and other streamers take note of what a passionate, loyal fan base this show has. Make their stocks continue to drop. Make it clear this is NOT just a fluke, it is NOT business as usual. It's a BIG fuck up with lasting consequences.

Twitter, for all its sins, is the best place to do this.

Now let's get our damned show back.

[cranberryjuice-posts]

DARINGGGG GUESS WHO JUST ESCAPED THE ASYLUMMMM

IM BACK W ANOTHER REQUEST POOKIE (YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT JS TAKE UR TIME)

OK SO CLARISSE X PERSEPHONE!DAUGHTER (THIS IS ANGST ANGST ANGST) WHERE THEY'RE IN THE BATTLE OF MANHATTAN AND READER IS STABBED SO OBS CLARISSE RUSHED OVER TO LIKE TRY AND SAVE THEM. BUT READER ALR KNOWS THEYRE DYRING SO THEY'RE IKE "its ok it's ok. I'm ginna go see my mother, i'll be fine!

BAWLING

(clarisse is taking over my mid)

HAVE A GREAT DAY AND TAKE CARE OF YOUTSELF POOKIE

- I’ll be back -

Pairings - Clarisse La Rue x Fem! Persephone! Reader

An - just a heads up as I said in my Korra fic this will probably be my last clarisse fic For a while. The hyperfixation and excitement to write for her is slowly going away, I will be writing most all of the request that I do have for her eventually but other than that I will be taking a short break I hope you all understand!

The sky had a thick layer of grey over it. The destruction to manhattan causing cement and other forms of pollution to take over the air.

Swinging your weapon aimlessly you tried to fight off the growing hoard of monsters. It was hard, fighting for gods know how many hours, seeing people you loved and care for die in-front of you and slowly loosing your siblings.

What hurt the most was seeing kids you grew up and laughed with fighting against you. Fighting for a cause that would benefit no one, fighting for what seemed like a dream that was never going to be real.

Trudging into a hidden alley way you lifted up your shirt. Looking down you saw the poisoned arrow shot wound becoming purple; throbbing harder and harder by the second.

Muffling your scream you pulled the dirty bandages off your body, tossing them into a dumpster. Rummaging through the bag at your side you quickly tried to change the dressings.

In the middle of war a second of peace was rare, a moment to asses your injuries was non existent, a chance to mentally reflect on your surroundings ended in death.

Death that forever followed you.

Standing stiff you were almost to scared to look down. If you gas lighted yourself enough you couldn’t feel it, it wouldn’t be true. It was foolish to think that you could of hidden from war.

“Checkmate” a raspy voice behind you whispered. Tyla.. s a daughter of Tyche and a friend who you had always competed with. Simple childish competion that eventually ended in celestial bronze piercing through your gut.

You’ve never been the best fighter but receiving deadly wounds twice in one day was setting the bar low. Pulling her sword out you fell to your knees, a metallic sound swinging in the air and hitting you in the back of your throat.

Tylas rough combat boot pressed your face into the gravel, tears quickly falling out of your face. “See You in hell” sliding the rubber bottom off your cheek she spat on you. Walking away with the intent to kill another.

Laying in the dirty alley way your thoughts went from the pain slowly leaving your body to memories of her. Of clarisse.

Sitting on the doc together where you shared your first kiss at sun down.

The first argument which ended with you both apologizing and laying together.

Sneaking into the ares cabin just to get caught the following day because you accidentally grew dead roses outside her window.

The awkward confession and her asking you on a date.

… the promise you made to clarisse that you would come back alive.

You woke up laying on a mat, a few medics crowded around you and the crying face of the woman you loved above. You couldn’t help but smile, even in her worst clarisse still looked beautiful.

Will reached over and grabbed her arm squeezing it. “She doesn’t have long” he mumbled closing his eyes. “Be quick” he softly spoke, standing up and walking to another kid.

You tried to move but she quickly took your body into her arms. “Hey, hey don’t.. just rest” clarisse tried to stay strong but right now she couldn’t help but loose it all. “You gonna be fine” her voice broke.

Tears began falling from her eyes and hitting your face. Her weak expression destroyed your heart.

Grabbing her shirt as it was the closest you could Get to touching her. “I’m ok… everything’s ok” you whispered. Clafisse just shook her head, the color was quickly leaving your face. “I just have to visit my mom for a little while, it’ll just be for a few weeks ok”

Clarisse brought your body to hers, hiding her face in your neck. Your arms went lip and around you both dead flowers and weeds appeared. As a daughter of Persephone death followed you every where, even in your final moments.

It felt as though the world stopped. That the outside wasn’t real and this all was a bad dream but even the strongest warriors had to accept when the sun came up.

[yourtearsaremyink]

It's Just This Once

Chapter 1

Hey everyone! This is my first post. This work is finished but I will be uploading the chapters weekly. (I don't really know how Tumblr works so if y'all have suggestions or tips let me know)

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: Not many. Bucky and his PTSD, my life choices to write this, nightmares, Bucky's regret and self hatred. Idk. There's not even language in this thing its mostly fluff.

Summary: Y/N is an Avenger, she has healing powers and uses them to patch up the rest of the team. Bucky never asks her to use her healing powers on him, except once.

Chapter Word Count: 1,912

Chapter 1: Take the Pain Away

Y/N was working in her little corner of the medical wing of the newly built Avengers Compound. All was right in her little world, well as right as her world could be since reappearing after a five year absence. 

Everyone was trying their hardest to go back to normal but adapting to a life without Steve, Tony, and Natasha was far from it. Shortly before Tony and Steve's fallout, Y/N was recruited by Fury to join the Avengers Initiative. He had somehow figured out she was an enhanced and convinced her to join the team. She had hid her abilities so well in the past she had no idea how a man she had never met before found out about them. Y/N had the extraordinary ability to heal others, it had taken an insane amount of time, energy, and focus to master her powers. With the help of Wanda she had also been able to unlock another talent. She had intuition that was insanely on point so she could guide her teammates on their missions. Natasha had taught her some martial arts moves and Steve taught her how to protect herself in a fight. Y/N soon became part of the family and finally found a place where she belonged, but after a few billion people came back from nothingness, her family seemed to narrow down. She had fought in the battle against Thanos and tried, had really tried, to heal Tony with her powers but in the end it wasn't enough. She couldn't help but feel a little responsible for his death. When the battle was over and Steve left to be with the love of his life, he left so many friends behind. If Y/N couldn't heal Tony's physical wounds, maybe she could heal the emotional wounds he and Steve left behind. 

Shortly after the battle she became close with the remaining Avengers. She helped guide Sam on missions as the new Captain America, she comforted Wanda after her little outburst in Westview, she even got to know Bucky a bit more. Sam had convinced him to live at the new Compound with him instead of being alone in an old apartment in Brooklyn. Every so often Sam and Bucky would limp into the med bay in need of healing. She had healed Sam several times and Wanda a few but never Bucky. He always said she shouldn't waist her energy on him, and she always replied with, "It's no trouble at all, it doesn't take that much energy." Bucky would brush it off and say his advanced healing would take care of his injuries in no time. She never really pushed it, considering what he's been through with people messing with his body, it didn't surprise her when he didn't want to be helped.

Today was nothing unusual when Sam came into the med bay with an arm around Bucky and the other around his side. Y/N hopped up from the seat at her desk and began walking to the two men.

"What did you do this time?"

"This idiot took a bullet for me." Bucky spoke up as he helped Sam into a bed.

"Hey don't be mad at me for saving your life." Sam snapped back. He was taking off part of his uniform so Y/N could assess the injury properly.

"I have better healing than you, I would have been just fine." Bucky countered.

"I'll be fine! I have the best healer in the world right here, right doc?" Sam shot a quick smirk at Y/N as she started to heal him. A light purple glow emitted from her hands as she closed the wound on Sam's torso.

"Just because I can heal you in seconds doesn't mean you can be reckless."

Sam's smirk faded as Bucky gave a short "Ha" in victory. Y/N noticed Bucky was holding his left arm with his right and had a few bruises on his face.

"I could always heal you too Bucky if you need it."

"It's fine doll, these bruises will be gone in a couple hours." He said as he gestured to his face. Y/N turned her attention back to Sam as she finished up her work.

"All done." She said as she removed her hands. "Go clean up, Wanda and I are making dinner soon."

She grabbed a cloth and wiped some of the blood off her hands.

"You're the best doc. " Sam gave her a quick hug and headed out with Bucky. As they left she saw how tight the muscles in Bucky's were. With all of the experience Y/N had with healing people, she was able to see how much he was hurting. It could just be the stress of the mission so she didn't think much of it. 

Later that evening while Y/N was cooking with Wanda, she once again noticed Bucky. At this point she couldn't tell if it was just stress or flat out pain. Sam was tapping away at his laptop sending a report on the mission to Fury. He didn't seem to notice the tight expression Bucky was wearing. Bucky was absentmindedly rubbing his left shoulder where metal met flesh, he looked exhausted.

"You good Buck?"

He glanced up at her removing his hand from his shoulder and said,

"Yeah, I'm fine. " with a half hearted smile.

She hoped that a warm meal would help. Y/N loved to cook, especially with Wanda, she loved seeing people's faces when they ate the food she made. Pretty much everyone else was away from the compound so it was just the four of them. Wanda had suggested they make soup since Autumn came out of nowhere and settled in New York. They set the table and listened to Sam talk about the mission he and Bucky had just endured. Bucky let Sam do all the talking for once and kept quite happily enjoying the warm food. The creases in his features slowly melted away as he finished the soup. Once the story was finished and the dining room was cleaned up, everyone said their goodnights and started off to their rooms, all expect Y/N.

"You're not going to sleep?" Wanda had asked when she saw Y/N going towards the elevator instead of her room.

"I have some work left to finish since I was so rudely interrupted earlier." She had turned her head to Sam with a smile.

"Hey don't come at me." He said with his hands up in a surrendering gesture as he walked to his room.

She gave a small laugh, "Goodnight guys." 

Y/N headed down to her lab and picked up where she left off. She was running some lab work on some blood samples when she heard thunder shake the building. It startled her enough for her to nearly drop her test tube. Soon after she heard rain begin to pound on the walls of the Compound. She glanced at the clock as it struck 1:00 am.

"Just a little longer." She whispered as she resumed her work. 

Bucky was sitting in his bed when he heard Thunder boom outside his window. He hadn't slept since coming to his room, too stressed from the mission and in too much pain. He knew the rain was coming, he felt it in his bones, but that didn't make it any less unsettling. He truly felt like an old man knowing rain was coming by the way his prosthetic arm felt. The mission had caused a few unpleasant memories to resurface and that made his mind uneasy. All of that combined together resulted in a dull headache and an unbearable amount of phantom pain in his left arm. His shoulder was throbbing and it felt as if he was being stabbed by a hundred needles where his metal arm occupied where his flesh should be. His breathing was laboured and heavy, he was so close to a panic attack it wasn't even funny. The weather hadn't helped either, it made him feel cold and achey. He tried so hard to keep it together but the pain became too much. He needed relief and there was one person he could think of to help. He hated the idea of Y/N using her healing powers on him when she could use them for something much more valuable. He didn't want to inconvenience her with his pain but it was becoming agonizing. He sat and thought it over for a few more minutes when he finally caved and made his way down to her lab. He stood at the door and sighed,

"It's just this once."

Y/N was just about finished when she heard a small knock at the lab entrance. She got up and walked towards the door, she wasn't expecting to see Bucky when she opened it. He stood with his hand clutching his metal shoulder, his hair was unkempt and he had bags under his eyes.

"Hey, I thought you went to bed. Is everything okay?"

"Uh, not really. I hate to ask you this, especially this late, but-"

Suddenly thunder echoed through the lab and Bucky squeezed his eyes shut and his breath began to shake, using his hand to add more pressure to his shoulder.

"My shoulder hurts, and my arm too kinda." He looked down not wanting to meet her eyes.

"Like phantom pain?" She questioned

"Y-yeah, it feels like pins and needles. The vibranium feels heavy."

"Are you asking me to help you?" She asked in disbelief.

"I-if you don't want to that's fine I can manage."

"No, no come in, sit down."

She led him to one of the beds and guided his hand off his shoulder, eager to work on the one person she hadn't helped.

He winced in pain as he moved, his hand letting up the pressure it was omitting on his upper arm.

"Sorry," she stepped back for a second, "I need you to take off your shirt." In the dimly lit lab she could see him blush a little. "It'll be better if I have direct contact to the skin."

He complied, slowly and painfully taking off his blue Henley. She walked around to the side of the bed to begin.

"I'm just going to put my hands on your shoulder, okay?"

He gave a very tight nod and she began. Her hands danced across the mess of scar tissue where metal crept into his skin. She couldn't help but felt bad for what Hydra did to him. His breath hitched but his back slowly became more relaxed. She could feel his heart rate slowing and his breath even out.

"I'm halfway done, are you okay? " she was concerned. She had never been able to do this for Bucky before and didn't know how he'd react.

"Mhmm." he seemed content.

She stopped and moved to his front to place her hands on his collar bone. She tried not to make it too awkward by making eye contact but she glanced up anyway and met his blue eyes. They both quickly looked away and Y/N turned her attention back to his arm. She stopped when she felt she couldn't do anything more to help with the pain.

"Done, does that feel better?"

He immediately brought her in for a hug and whispered a quite,

"Thank you."

She hugged back happily,

"You're welcome."

It gets better I promise. It was originally a one shot but it evolved.

[harlequinchaos]

Tears of the Kingdom tips for surviving the new economy and whatnot, under the cut (in case of spoilers)

Adventuring Tip: STEALTH IS YOUR FRIEND

Once you get to Kakariko Village you can buy the Stealth Suit (Highly recommend doing the connected sidequest to bring the cost of the shop down). This makes it so you can walk up to fish, bugs, and creatures without them running away (if you sprint they'll still run) this is AMAZING for collecting these things as everything seems way more sparse in totk. No more chasing frogs for you my friend.

Food Tip: Critical Meals

Cooking between 11:30pm-12:00pm on the night of a blood moon gives you:

+3 hearts recovered to your dish

+1 level to whatever effect is present in your dish

+5:00 duration to the effect

Rupee Tip: Go Spelunking!

One of the biggest features in totk are the new caves systems that are literally everywhere. Oftentimes you'll find ore deposits and rare ore deposits and find Amber, Opal, Rubies, Sapphires and Topazes. Sell them for cash (I recommend saving sapphires, see below). If you see a wall of breakable rocks, usually it will drop rusty claymores and rocks for you to make more crude hammers. But a bomb flower or zonai time bomb work too (DON'T BLOW YOURSELF UP). Additionally, a cave will be marked with a ✔️ once you kill the bubblfrog inside.

Battle tip: Ice is OP.

Frozen enemies take double damage from your next hit, so try to always have a Magic Rod/Scepter with a sapphire fused to it, fusing a sapphire to a regular weapon works as well, but you're not aiming to hit the enemy with the source of the ice. Freeze > pause and switch to your strongest weapon> hit the enemy > switch back to your ice weapon > repeat to stunlock the enemy, works on everything that isn't a Lynel or Boss. Using Ice Fruit or Blue Chuchu jelly works too, but stuff is more rare in this game.

Relatively Easy Rupees:

You'll need:

-Bow & arrows (the stronger the bow the better)

-Sheild (for sheild surfing)

-Cold Resistance Armor (to survive)

-Speedy Elixir (optional, but it'll REALLY help)

-Access to Snowfield Stable (Hebra Region)

What you're gonna be doing is big game hunting in the snowy field north of the stable. All winter animals are capable of dropping Raw Gourmet Meat which is the best quality, including moose, the bears and the wolves. Sheild surf to get around quicker and then go for headshots with a bow and just hunt the animals for their meat. You'll want the speedy Elixir because you have to be pretty quick between the meat dropping and freezing. Once it's frozen it counts as a meal, but you literally get hundreds of rupees by selling 5 Raw Gourmet Meats cooked together.

Item Management: Brightbloom Mushrooms are the new Apples:

Going off of the previous tip of exploring the cave systems, you'll find Brightbloom Mushrooms almost more than anything else. Eventually you'll want to stop collecting them, but they're the perfect source of quick food fodder. Just cook a bunch together for quick hearts (and the glow effect which is nice in caves).

Advanced Combat Tip: Muddlebuds

If you've been to The Depths, one of the native plants are the Muddlebuds. These make it so enemies will attack each other when thrown (or attached to an arrow). I recommend wearing the stealth gear, sneaking up to a pack or finding a vantage point, and hitting the strongest enemy in the group with a muddlebud arrow. It'll start to attack it's allies, allowing you to sit back and enjoy the show. Note: enemies will still target you if they see you (hence the stealth/vantage point)

These are just a few tips, feel free to add more, and try not to be too spoilery for people who haven't played or haven't gotten far yet!

[a-french-coconut]

Part 4 (Will Solace)

Will Solace wakes up in the infirmary.

His supersonic whistle worked then ! His siblings must have found him and brought him back.

Fortunately for him, they're not currently present and he's alone. Otherwise he'll sure he would be chained to his bed the second he set his feet on the ground.

He finds himself in front a mirror.

Which would not be a problem except for the fact that he remembers really well punching this specific mirror one year ago in a fit of despair.

He really did not take well becoming Head Counsellor and main medic.

Did he replace the mirror ? Or his siblings maybe ?

Maybe he did replace it and just doesn't remember it. It wouldn't be the first time he forgot he did something. His brain is too occupied with fatal injuries and what ungodly morning hour he could wake up his boyfriend. In other words, this mirror is the last of his concerns.

Will

He turns around abruptly and but doesn't see anyone.

Why didn't you save me ?

It's not Raz, not her voice he would recognise it. Another spirit then.

Not a spirit, Solace. Just an old friend you let down.

An old friend ? None of his old friends have the capacity to pull this trick.

Except Travis maybe but Travis is in college.

"Why did you let me die ?"

There is a girl sitting on a bed.

Grey eyes that seem like they know all your weaknesses, red curly hair surrounding her face.

"Why did you let me die Will ?", says Justine, daughter of Athena, who died in the Battle of the Labyrinth.

"I didn't let you die, I gave everything I had to save you !" he protests because it's true. She was the last alive demigod injured they brought to the infirmary. Despite Lee's death on his mind, he tried his best to save her but she was brought in too late.

"Ah sorry, you misunderstood me." She stands up, blood dripping from her gash in the stomach, and marches towards Will.

She stops so close he can see the freckles dotting her nose.

"Why did you let me die in pain ?"

"What ?"

"You knew it was worthless. There was no way to save me and yet you made me endure two hours of endless suffering when you could have just killed me."

His dead friends usually accuse of letting them die. Not one has ever been angry with him for not killing them.

"Killed you ? And how exactly ! A quick snap of the neck ? A dagger through the heart ? Do tell me Justine, how the fuck do you suggest I coldly murdered you !"

"Oh I don't know ! I'm not the one with the fucking plague powers !"

Will staggers back, his back hitting the mirror .

"How- how do you know about..."

"Did you really think your little secret would stay hidden for long !", she laughs, specks of blood splattering his face.

"Everybody knows the monster you are Will. They all know you let their siblings die in pain because you were too selfish."

Tobias from Cabin 5, punctured lung.

Daphne from 11, extremely long blood loss because of a severed leg.

Victor from 9, covered so badly in burns Will didn't not know it was him until he heard his voice.

So much demigods counting on him to save them.

Only for him to fail them even in their death.

"Please stop this"

Justine pays him no mind, morphing into every demigod who died under his care, all looking at him with betrayal.

(We are not evil Will)

(No matter what you do, they'll blame us either way)

(So don't blame yourself for being a good person. Already enough people will do it for you)

"I didn't let you down."

Will looks in the eye of each demigod appearing in from of him.

"I did my best to save you and I failed. But if you think I regret for one second the pain I made you suffered in your last moments you are wrong. That pain meant there was still a chance for me to save you. And I will never abandon one of my patient."

He is standing in front of Justine again.

He's feeling rather light, like a burden was taken from his shoulders.

He supposes it had, watching Justine smiles at him with gratitude.

"Thank you for never abandon me old friend", she whispers fading in the light of the infirmary.

(Time to go back in the living world Will)

(I think we owe the campers we got sick to come back and heal them)

You did that Raz, as far as I am concerned, I took no part in it.

(Delusion can only get you so far Willy)

Don't call me that.

Will punches the mirror.

He really should have known it was a dream.

Kayla would have never let him without supervision.

The moment he opens his eyes, he regrets it, the bright light burning his eyes and causing him to groan.

"Will ! You're awake !"

His sister rushes to his side.

"You're alright ?"

"Yes Kayla, I'm fine."

She lets out a relieved sigh and then proceeds to hit him in the stomach.

Multiple times.

Every punch a little meaner.

"Ouch ! Oh my gods Kayla you can't hit an injured demi- Ouch ! Stop this !"

"Don't ever disappear like this again ! I thought you were dead when I found you !"

"Oh Kayla..."

She hugs him hard, crushing his now bruised torso, and Will hugs even harder.

Nico was right. Three days are an awfully long time.

His arms are constantly covered in some salve, the freshness doing wonder for his burned skin, and he is prohibited from doing anything requiring magic. His new hairstyle is proof he needs to rest and gain back a lot of energy before starting to use it again.

But Will can't just stay in bed all day while the rest of the campers are still sick. However Kayla is well aware of his mother-hen nature and doesn't let him out of her sight.

Hey Raz ? Up for a little trip ?

(Will, we are going to be unstoppable !)

The dryads and Chiron are too busy to notice a little girl going bed to bed, eyes flashing green and tendrils of smoke dancing on her fingers.

Within the week, there is not a trace left of the illness.

Within the week, Will did not leave his cabin and when Kayla barges in, asking him how the Hades he managed to heal the entire camp, he just shrugs and tell her it must have been dad feeling a little gracious.

He was, after all, confined to his bed and took his little sister's orders very seriously.

He can hear laughter from his open window.

He is still weak, especially after his little trick with Raz, and is not allowed to leave his bed.

He doesn't mind, really.

"Stop moving amore mio, I'm trying to sleep here"

Will smiles at Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades sprawled all over him as if he was in his bed in Cabin 13.

"You missed quite lot, running around doing your father's requests. I have a lot of things to tell you."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow ? I'm very sleepy."

Will smiles fondly at his boyfriend and hugs him tighter.

"Yes it can. Good night my little ball of darkness."

"Good night tesoro"

"Call me like that again and I'll set the Cocoa Puffs on you."

"They love me !"

"Shut up and let me sleep Solace."

Will lets out a little laugh, kiss his boyfriend on the head, and closes his eyes.

Kayla's outrageous gasp when she found out in the morning that Nico had an impromptu sleepover was even more worth it.

"You're grounded !"

"I'm the Head Counsellor Kayla. You can't ground me."

What a better way to start the morning that waking up in your boyfriends' arms and pissing off your sister ?

Nico and he bolt out of the cabin snickering, arrows passing straight over their heads.

"Come on Neeks, there is someone you need to meet."

"I know them ?"

"You could say that, yes."

And this is the end of this little story !

Hope you enjoyed it !

[valyrfia]

i'm so compelled by your steve and tony thesis on the tags under this post https://www.tumblr.com/valyrfia/761331351932829696/exactly-if-i-wanted-best-friends-i-would-be-into?source=share that i (after having spent my teenage years reading stucky) want to try it out. do you have any fic recs to get me started?

Oh boy anon I haven't read stevetony since 2020, but it's such a formative ship to me that a few fics still stand out in my mind. If you're interested I'll leave them and comments on the impressions they left on me below the cut.

Quick disclaimer that Marvel is often treated as a multiverse to differentiate between comics and movie canon. The main comics canon is 616, and the movies are just the MCU. There are other comics canons and multiverses, but 616 is the main one you need to get your head around for a lot of these comics-related fics. The MCU is vaguely based off of 616, but the most important aspect to wrap your head around if you want to delve into fic and don't want to read the comics is that Civil War in 616 ended with Steve almost killing Tony, not able to bring himself to do it and surrendering, Steve getting shot on the way to his trial and dying, Tony becoming director of SHIELD and becoming severely depressed over Steve's death, and then via other plot happenings having to delete his memory INCLUDING the fact that Steve died, and Steve resurrecting via sci-fi shenanigans. This arc along with The Confession and The Oath are what mainly fuel stevetony.

Okay, now that the primer is out of the way without further ado here are some fics I read in my teenage years that irrevocably changed my brain chemistry with regard to how I choose to ship anything ever.

When I Think (Oh It Terrifies Me) by celli - 8k, E

Look, some mornings you wake up and little green men are invading New York City; some mornings you wake up and you can hear Captain America's voice in your head. Tony has been an Avenger long enough that he saves his freakout for important things.

This is the first fic I ever bookmarked on ao3. It's short and snappy and fun and serves as a great little primer, especially since it's MCU!

almeno tu nell'universo by silkspectred - 114k, E

Tony drives off. Well, he wants to. But he can’t. Because. Steve Rogers is in front of his car. Steve fucking Rogers. Is in front of Tony’s fucking car.

Complete change of pace from the one above, but still MCU–this is Steve and Tony locked up together in the Italian countryside after the events of Civil War where Italy herself is as much a character as anything. I had the absolute privilege of reading this as it was released chapter by chapter and just remember it being breathtaking.

The Last Love Song of Anthony E. Stark by jibrailis - 42k, M

After contracting an Asgardian virus, Tony starts forgetting things. And people. And Steve.

All I remember of this is that it was the first fic I ever properly sobbed my little heart out to. I would recommend a thousand times over, I remember the settings and character work especially being really well done. It's also MCU!

wear it like a message by starvels (dinosaur) - 10k, E

Steve and Tony have some negotiations about how to wear rings and dog tags on your person when you’re a superhero badass wearing skin tight body armor. Also, they kiss a lot.

There's a common trope in stevetony that is vaguely described by 'peak battle couple', and I think that's definitely one that you would enjoy especially if you come from a Lestappen background. It's 616, but I seem to remember there's not a lot of actual plot knowledge required.

America Isn't Chicken by Dr_Amuly - 130k, E

After a Civil War, death, rebirth, a takeover by Osborn, brain deletion, and the fall of Asgard, Steve and Tony might just be starting to get back on solid ground with one another. Things aren't perfect, not yet, but they can be in the same room as each other without resorting to violence, and they've even managed to share a smile or two. Seems like the perfect time, then, for Tony to try and fuck it all up with a stupid game of gay chicken. Meanwhile, as if he didn't have enough to worry about, Tony realizes some kind of supervillainous trouble is brewing when increasingly advanced armors start popping up all over Manhattan, looking strangely reminiscent of his tech. On the other side of the world, Steve gets news that Zola is on the move in Russia, with some sort of nefarious plan at work. Which will ruin them first? Will it be this unknown armored villain who is after Tony's tech? Or will it be Zola unleashing his mysterious plan on the world? Or will Steve and Tony prove to be their own worst enemies, destroying the tentative truce they managed to forge with their own stubbornness?

Don't be intimidated by the length of this, or by the fact that it's 616. Amuly was long a famous author of the fandom because they have a real gift for crafting excellent, engaging, and accessible novel-length fics. I would actually say this is the perfect primer for getting to grips with the world and universe of 616 while also being a hot and hilarious fic.

Belief Space by magicasen - 59k, M

The Time Gem appears not when it is wanted, but when it is needed. Steve learns this the hard way. (Or: an Infinity #6 AU where Thane refuses his birthright and the Avengers are doomed - until the Time Gem shows up within Captain America's grasp.)

I would definitely caution that you need to be pretty familiar with 616 canon to enjoy this one, but I gained all my knowledge through fics and context clues so once you've established that return here. THIS is my favourite fic of all time. I can't NOT recommend it. That is all.

[blackjackkent]

8, 12, 17, 28, 33, 35, and 39 for your durge and hector!!

ik its alot so dont feel like tou have to answer allll of them lmao. Im very curious about rhaka 👉👈 (hope i spelled that right)

(Tav/Durge as Companion Ask Meme)

Surprising no one, I'm doing the WHOLE DAMN THING. :D I hope you enjoy. <3

Hector first!

8. Companion/romance death reactions

Lae'zel: "Get up, Lae'zel! This is not our last fight!" Shadowheart: "I'll protect you in Selune's name, will you or no!" Karlach: "No! You don't fall here, not after everything!" Wyll: "We've more yet to save, Wyll! Get up!" Gale: "Gale, no! Hold on, I'm coming!" Astarion: "Damn it-- no! Astarion!" Jaheira: "Jaheira's down! We've got to help her!" Halsin: "Hold tight - I'll help you, Halsin!" Minsc: "I'm coming, my friend! For you and Boo both!" Romanced PC: "My love! No, please. PLEASE!"

12. Encountering a locked chest/door

"Locked. Though that never seems to bother us much."

"Selune forgive me, I suppose. If she cares about this particular lock."

"This didn't used to be a part of my day-to-day."

17. Looking in a mirror

"Gods, the road's a dusty place, eh?"

"I've never looked so tired."

"The glass didn't crack, so we have that."

28. Party banter with Karlach

(Needless to say, in a scenario where Hector is a companion, he and Karlach are implied to get together in a scenario where neither are romanced. :P Because I said so.)

(Act 1) Hector: "I must admit, I don't know how you dart around with that axe in battle so easily." Karlach: "Well, when the weapon's bigger than you are, it's challenging. Like an imp with a longsword - cute but unwieldy." Hector: [mock-affronted] "Well, luckily I do so well with just my fists instead." Karlach: "And look good doing it, too!"

(Act 2, after Karlach's second repair, if neither romanced) Hector: "Gods, it's bleak out here. I've never gone so long without seeing moonlight of an evening. It's unsettling." Karlach: "Well, I can't do anything about the moonlight, but I bet I could make you see stars." Hector: "What?" Karlach: "What?"

(Act 3, after Hector's personal quest (deciding to stay with the party rather than return to the monastery)) Karlach: "So... decided to keep slumming it here with us, eh, Hec?" Hector: [gravely] "It wasn't an easy decision - but I've changed too much. I couldn't go back." Karlach: "Well, I'm glad you stuck around. Too many things still need punching, and you put on the best show in town!"

33. Party banter with Minthara

Passing on this one for now as I have not really had her as a companion yet. I also have an open request from @zenjestrr to do Hector banter with Minthara once I know her better, so I'll answer this then. XD

35. How would your Tav/Durge greet a player character if they were a companion at low, neutral, high, or romanced approval?

Answered here for another similar meme; copied here for completeness. :D

“Are we there yet?” (very deadpan) (negative approval)

“Make it quick.” (negative approval)

“What new madness to deal with?” (low approval)

“You look like you want something.” (low approval)

“Name what you need and you’ll have it.” (medium approval)

“Sorry, let me mark my place– there. Something I can do for you?” (medium approval)

“My sibling in moonlight. What can I do for you?” (high approval - Selunite)

“Always glad to see you. What can I do for you?” (high approval - others)

“I swear you can tell when I’m feeling lonely. Hello, darling.” (romanced)

“My love. Tell me everything.” (romanced)

39. If romanceable, what lines would they say if a player character prompted them with, "Can I kiss you?"

"I will never say no, my love."

"Gods, please - I could use it."

[slightly giddily] "Ahhh... lucky me."

----

And Rakha!

8. Companion/romance death reactions

Lae'zel: "Stand - the fight's not won." Shadowheart: "Get up. Your goddess watches you." Karlach: "I will not let you die." Wyll: "No. No! Get up!" Gale: "Agh-- the Weave cracks-- someone get him up!" Astarion: "Not your blood, not now. Theirs!" Jaheira: "If I must fight on, then so must you." Halsin: "No earthen grave for you yet, druid." Minsc: "Will you die with skulls yet uncracked?" Romanced PC: "If you die, I will bleed the world dry!"

12. Encountering a locked chest/door

Answered here.

17. Looking in a mirror

"I knew that face, once."

"Where did the scar come from?"

"Sometimes it looks out of my eyes..."

28. Party banter with Karlach

(Act 1) Rakha: "You fight with rage. Blind violence." Karlach: "Yeah, well, I've got plenty to be angry about. And, well, sometimes it just feels good to really let loose, you know?" Rakha: "Yes. When I think of spilling blood, it is when I feel most alive." Karlach: "You know, somehow it's way creepier when you say it."

(Act 2 - after whatever happens to cause THE reveal) Karlach: "You know, I was jealous of you for a while. Would've been nice to be able to forget everything that happened to me in Avernus." Rakha: "And now?" Karlach: "Now... I don't know. I hope you're doing okay. You've had a lot dropped on you." Rakha: "I have. And I am not doing okay. But... thank you for asking."

(Act 3 - after Gortash's death) Rakha: "It was good to see Gortash die." Karlach: "Really fed the ol' beast, did it? Tried to really splatter him up, just for you." Rakha: "That isn't what I mean. [pause] He was cruel. You did not deserve it. So I am glad he is dead." Karlach: [slightly startled] "Oh. I mean-- yeah. Thanks. Me too. [pause] Obviously."

33. Party banter with Minthara

Once again, passing this until I know Minthara better. XD

35. How would your Tav/Durge greet a player character if they were a companion at low, neutral, high, or romanced approval?

Also answered here and recopied. :D

“…” (negative approval)

“What?” (negative approval)

“Say what you must.” (low approval)

“Go on, then.” (low approval)

“Who needs killing?” (medium approval)

“I have more questions. But you may speak first.” (medium approval)

“My blade is ready. Speak your need.” (high approval)

“Something troubles you?” (high approval)

“I wish I could show you what I see. How the Weave dances around you.” (romanced)

“It calms when you are close… I thank you…” (romanced)

“Please… come back later. The blood is… distracting.” (random, when spoken to while bloodstained from battle; conversation cuts off immediately)

39. If romanceable, what lines would they say if a player character prompted them with, "Can I kiss you?"

"Yes."

"I would like that."

(random) "I don't... want to be touched right now. Later. Please..."

[bruinescence]

@call-2-arms cont.

As the darkness began to deepen around him within one of many throats that connected the stretched and left-wanting reach of Silvanus to the subterranean world below, he could not help but think of another child lost within a different brand of darkness he'd yet to find a ladder into. Perhaps it was misguided of him to chase that startled instinct of so desperately wanting to find his oldest friend within a century of lost echoes and shifting shadows? Kagha had said as much back at the grove when in her pestilence, she'd pointed out how the Archdruid could not, in good faith, put the needs of the grove first when he was far more concerned with chasing the ghosts of the past like they were simply memories best stored away in a safe along with a tattered journal and a halberd soaked in a brand of sorrow more potent than any snake's venom.

If Sornin did not already find the druid's actions misguided, Halsin could only imagine the drow's unrelenting displeasure at the very idea that the Archdruid of the emerald grove didn't just want to, but needed to save at least one child in duress from the dark to keep the heavy burden in his chest from causing him to sink yet again below the surface of shadows he'd been bobbing along all this time. Because if he were to go under yet again he feared, it might be another century or two than he had left before he gained a head above the water enough to make out the direction of a faint glimmer that would guide him to the spot where Thaniel lay trapped as a lighthouse in a heavy fog.

He felt the additional weight joining him on the ladder when it gave a few extra creaks, and a quick tilt of his head up to confirm his suspicion had a faint smile flicker across the tense expression he wore on the way down as he fully expected to find an awful sight for the surface that anyone else that lived below might not bat an eye over. "Of course... and I will accept your telling me so with grace and without further lip." The druid promised, halfway glad for the banter on the unnerving climb downwards.

Once his boots had hit rock bottom, Halsin swiftly turned and stepped out into the pooled blackness as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the underworld. His elvish vision easily cut through the ink after a moment, and he only but waited until the brush of druid leaves upon his drow companion's shoulder brushed against his bicep when the other joined him before he set forth in the direction he detected a sharp whimper and the offputting sound of rocks shifting. Coming upon a cliff side that led to a steep drop down onto a lower level partially lit by flower beds of mushrooms, he took a moment to stoop and quietly observe the scene below.

"PlEAse!" A young drow girl stood her ground across from an older, male counterpart who showed no signs of engagement other than having brandished a double-edged sickle that he wielded along the length of his arm. Eyes as black as the surroundings seemed pinned solely on the girl who couldn't have been more than ten at best- her pale amethyst complexion a dirtier shade of crushed plum in the center of a wet, sniveling expression. "Please, Seldzar- I don't...I don't wanna hurt ya. They can't make me!"

"Tch." The older drow scoffed at the display, though he still remained poised into the proper battle stance. The only pity about him was that he did not advance again to send her shrieking angrily and backing away as he had earlier. "Stop this nonsense. Immediately! You are proving that Lolth chose right for this test. You must attack me, Nathrae. I will die either way...my purpose is to keep you from the fate of the Striders now. Now come, and prove your wroth to our goddess!"

"NO!" The girl stamped her foot, flinging the dagger she'd been given earlier at the foot of the man. "I won't do it-! I won't hurt you...you're my, my friend-...you've been with me this whole time! I can't lose you like my parents too- I can't!" With a wail, she backed up blindly, blotting the dirty tears out of her eyes.

A deep frown set in the druid's expression as he considered the scene, particularly when the older drow straightened out of his defensive posture in order to begin the ruthless stride into towards the child, brandishing the scythe with a furious flick of his arm. Giving a start like he was about to jump down between the situation, he felt Sornin's arm move in front of him like a blockade to which he had to swivel a furious if not confused glance to the drow. "You would let this progress?" Whatever 'this' was...the only thing he could recognize was the distress in the child's actions and the raw panic in her voice as she continued to beg the advancing drow until she had no choice but to dart towards the wall both he and Sornin were set upon, her nails bloodying as she tried to scrabble uselessly up the rock face. In an instant, Halsin's eyes flashed with a golden fury as he bared his teeth. "I won't stand for this barbarism! Let me through, damn you-"

[omentranslates]

Owari no Seraph chapter 130 english fan translation

Hi you guys on tumbly get it before twitter this time because ehe

Anyways. I had no idea wtf to do abt labelling their dialogue in this flashback so. The eyeball is Eyeball bc they're an eyeball and the little human is Mikayuu bc idk they look like both? Thanks for reading, please check out the official tl if you haven't :)

Chapter 130: Remaining Light

Having come to know the truth of his own creation....

Yuu: I am Mikaela.

Yuu: Huh? Wait then, who are you supposed to be?

Mika: .....

-- Shibuya, Japanese Imperial Demon Army Capital City --

Shikama: ....hm.

Saitou: So then, you've been all alone doing this the whole time?

Human 1: We're out!

Human 2: What's that!?

Paimon Human: Oh wow

Bael Human: Hmm

Shikama: *little laugh*

Paimon Human: Who are you, Mr. Adult?

Paimon Human: Let's go where everyone else is!

Bael Human: Oh

Bael Human: Yeah, ok!

Shikama: Seems they don't have any memories left from their lives as angels after all. Well, that's for the best. It's better that way.

Saitou: ...does this mean you're still fighting for our sakes now?

Shikama: I'd rather they had no memories, that way they've got a chance at being happy living in this hell. Human lives are not long.

Saitou: You mean that, completely alone-

Shikama: And this plan as such slim hope of succeeding.

Saitou: YOU'VE BEEN HERE THE WHOLE TIME?

Shikama: But I'm not giving up on anyone. I'm going to resurrect them all.

Saitou: I'm crying...even though I don't remember. Could it be...are these memories of being an angel?

Mikayuu: Oof

Saitou: Huh?

Shikama: What are you doing with that box?

Mikayuu: Yuu. Yuu. Get over here, quietly.

Eyeball: *blink sound*

Mikayuu: Father is smart, he's going to find out I'm Mika and force me under his thumb again real quick. But if I let him protect me I can't move my plan forward...

Eyeball: Huy

Mikayuu: So what do we do, Yuu? We gotta lie so he doesn't find out.

Eyeball: Huy

Eyeball: Huy huy huy huy

Mikayuu: Ah c'mon, this isn't what you promised. Didn't you say you'd stay by my side and protect me as long as you lived? So is this you abandoning me?

Mikayuu: You'd never abandon me, right? Since we're best friends, right? Let's do this together then, we'll connect our souls together. Yuu and Mika will be two as one!

Mikayuu: This is the biggest deal, and our opponent is the smartest father in the whole world. If we wanna outsmart him we need to get serious. I'm gonna forget that I was ever Mika and become totally Yuu. And so are you. Forget everything else, your name is...

Eyeball: ...

Mikayuu: Mikaela.

Mikayuu: As long as you're Mikaela, Father won't be able to resurrect Mikaela, since my REAL soul is over here with me! Alright, let's start this battle, Yuu! No wait, Mika!

Mikayuu: No matter how many generations it takes, no matter how many eras come and go, we're going to save everything in the end.

Mikayuu: Our only allies will be each other. Won't you accompany me?

Eyeball: Huy

Mikayuu: Haha!

Mikayuu: Mika, get in the body. And then take the power of the seven lights and send em off flying ALL over, to places Father will never find them. So it'll take forever to do the resurrection.

Eyeball: Huy!

Shikama: What the hell are you two doing.

Mikayuu: O Light, erase my memories. I'm Yuu. I'm Yuu. I'm...

Shikama: Wh-WHAT THE...?

Shikama: NO WAY!!??

Shikama: It's hot-!! Yuu, what did you just do?

Eyeball: Huy?

Shikama: There's no way they know anything...Yuu is my creation. They don't have free will. So then, what? What happened? I'm the only being here with that kind of brainpower.

Shikama: HEY YOU. What did you just do? What did you see?

Mikayuu: Huh? Huh, what's that? I'm-

Shikama: Show your memories now.

Mikayuu: *gagging*

Shikama: There's nothing here, they've got no memory. They died so easily. Horrible how fragile human bodies are.

Shikama: Is this, too, divine punishment? This is such a rocky road to travel. Not to mention these dolls will just be repeating not even hundred year long existences, I wonder how much darkness they'll be able to collect. This...could be a long fight.

Mikayuu: ...huh. I kinda feel like there's something I have to do.

Yuu: I see.

Yuu: I remember a little more now. So in other words-I found you, Mika.

Mika: You found me. Don't you think you're a little late, though?

Yuu: Well it's not like I have any memories to work with here. Do you?

Mika: None. I feel like we wouldn't be able to bear recovering them, though. It's too long of a story not to fall into despair.

Yuu: Makes you think about how bad the vampires have it, huh. They live a long time.

Mika: You're right, it seemed that way with Krul too.

Yuu: What's life even for then? If everyone just dies anyways? And then forgets everything.

Mika: Yeah.

Yuu: So then what are we living for? What are we bringing everyone back for? What am I turning you back into a human for?

Mika: Look who's finally come around! I believe I've already answered this one.

Yuu: Remind me.

Mika: Let's run away somewhere together and live quietly. And then let's die at the end. That's our ending no matter what road we take.

Yuu: Oh, you did say that, asking me to run away. I'm really hearing Mika say that our end won't change no matter how hard we work, guess it's time to stop.

Mika: Oh come on.

Yuu: In other words, if I run away and die quietly somewhere, will that make you happy?

Mika: Hmm? I mean, I guess?

Yuu: But you don't have much life left to live, do you? Since if we keep up like this, you're going to turn into a full demon, right?

Mika: Oh, you figured out about that?

Yuu: I did. What's gonna happen if you become a demon? Taking my body or leaving? You'd never possess me, so you're gonna leave. Am I right?

Mika: Damn, you're good.

Yuu: And you think I'm just gonna let that happen?

Mika: Well-

Yuu: And with Akane and the kids still dead, you'd just say "well we tried let's both give up." Can we do that?

Mika: .....

Yuu: In the end, the most important thing is that since we don't have those specific memories, the us we just saw isn't really us.

Mika: ...hm?

Yuu: We're us now, can't be anyone else. I still can't give up on you.

Mika: .....

Yuu: I can't give up on Akane and the others. I also want to save Guren and the squad from whatever pain they're in.

Mika: So?

Yuu: So this is kind of a massive deal, isn't it? We don't know how things go after the Past Us died. If now us dies, we die.

Mika: Yeah.

Yuu: SO WE CANNOT DO THAT.

Mika: Well now you're just saying things that should go without saying.

Yuu: Ok but so we're mixed up with god and angels, so what's certain is that this game got SO messy. And easy-to-die human guys like us, well we've gotta pull through somehow without dying anyways! Yeah!! That's what we're going with.

Mika: Ok so...you're just saying "do your best." That's not gonna change our ending at all.

Yuu: Of course it's not. That's why we're getting more information we can use to win.

Mika: Yeah I guess.

Yuu: You're not getting away from me til I'm dead, Mika!

Mika: Yeahhh

Yuu: Ok so, we know the rules of the game now. And once we know them, we can make our own. Let's move up to the gamemaker's side of the board!

Mika: Not looking to be a very well thoughtout game.

Yuu: Mika, who's gonna be the winner?

Mika: I mean, of course it'll be us if we actually do it.

Yuu: Exactly! Alright, let's go. We're not picking from strategies, we're just gonna go get those seven sin keys!

-- 8 years ago, The Third Vampire City Sanguinem (Tokyo Underground) --

Ferid: *humming*

Ferid: What exactly is this Mikaela that the first keeps trying to create? What exactly is this Mikaela that Father keeps just barely missing?

Ferid: Just what the hell is this Mikaela that I've been told I've got no aptitude for?

Vampire Attendant: Your things have arrived from the human town.

Ferid: Ah, then we'll be able to search right through their memories. And where is it? Vampire Attendant: In the second guest room...-

Ferid: Thanks. And the children?

Vampire Attendant: They've been tranquilized and are sleep...-

Ferid: Thanks.

Ferid: They're so cute asleep, and they sure are knocked out.

Ferid: So, did you already see in the memories?

Guren: ...I'm just about to head in.

What were they searching for so early in those two's memories...!?

[tfsroleplay]

The Agents sit in a small circle at the base in Alterna, Julian has definitely been acting off lately. And having him being so quiet was a bit... awkward. Cordelia is telling a story about her and Arius' time saving the Great Zapfish, something about a mission gone wrong.

"It was the worst! I swear I was bruised for days after! I'm so used to listening to figure out where the enemies were, and they must've learned it quick because they started blasting music and made it difficult for me to hear them coming..."

She leans back, groaning as she thinks about the amount of times she almost ran out of power in the spawn point. Definitely something she doesn't miss...

"Man... the spawn point in that dome nearly losing power definitely gave me a scare..."

Arius nodded, thinking back. It was one of the first missions they'd done together, well, while he was still working for Octavio...

"It didn't help that there were two o' us. Ta be fair, I hardly got splatted, it was mostly her."

"Rude. Don't insult my skill! I'm still Agent 5 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon! So... There."

Arius chuckles, gently ruffling her hair. Cordelia glances at Julian, hoping her story somewhat distracted him from whatever's got him in a funk. He still looks upset, Lil Buddy sitting on his shoulder. Cordelia looked at the Captain, clearly unsure what else she should do.

"...Mhm..."

He's quiet for a moment before looking at Arius.

"...You Agent 4 then? Since she Agent 5?"

He's never actually asked Arius that, since whenever the Octoling was there he was referred to by name.

"Huh? Oh, no, that ain't me. They jus' use my name o' call me Agent Arius. But that's a mouthful."

Adria hums, leaning forward to be closer to the group. They'd been telling stories from the past for a bit so Julian could have a distraction from his thoughts but he didn't seem to pay attention as much. But...

"...Do you want to hear a story about my time as an Agent? It's not exactly... fluff, but it's a story."

Almost immediately Cordelia stared at her, eyes practically sparkling. Julian tilted his head, he was curious too, not as much as Cordelia but... close enough. At least he wasn't looking as sad now.

"We get to hear a story from your past?!"

"Easy there..."

Adria chuckled, Cordelia tended to look up to her for reasons she... honestly wasn't sure she deserved. She adjusted the Cap on her head, nodding.

"...I can. Julian, you up for a story of mine?"

"...Mhm."

"Good. I don't think you've actually met Agent 4 have you? Give me one sec and I'll find a photo for you."

She pulled her phone out, scrolling through her photo app to find a picture of Agent 4.

"Ah, here we go. Gramps actually took this one of us."

She holds her phone out to show Julian first, it's of her and Agent 4 when they first started out as agents.

"That's Hayden, otherwise known as Agent 4. Also known as my best friend. The two of us saved the Great Zapfish together."

"Oh wow, you two haven't changed much. I mean, Hayden's changed up his tentacle style a bit but other than that? Still pretty similar. Not that that's a bad thing! I mean, I still look the same besides the earrings... and the choker."

"Yeah, though I once tried to grow out my tentacles to cover... this..."

She hesitantly points to the green scar, it's not exactly something she enjoys looking at.

"But... Well, since my hearing on that side isn't the best anymore, and I can still see out the eye, it would have more cons than pros... So..."

She shrugs, just leaving it at that. She's never gone into too much detail about the events in Kamabo Co., Cordelia did once ask about her scar but Adria only said her memory of it was fuzzy at best (lie) so it was dropped.

"But enough about that, I was going to tell a story. Agent 4 and I were on a mission to save one of the smaller Zapfish, I think it was just before Agents 1 and 2 came in the picture for us."

Both Callie and Marie look at her, but neither interrupt her story.

"It was a battle against Elite Octolings, much like our own Octoboy here."

"Hey."

"We had to split up to cover the grounds in Kelp Dome, but planned to meet back at the end to grab the Zapfish. 4 took the ground and charged his way to it, while I stayed up high. We were a little hesitant to actually splat any enemies, but they had far more power in their spawn point than we did. 3 strikes and that was it."

Cordelia nods, it was similar for her and Arius too. When they didn't have a lot of power, it had to be limited somewhere...

"I used a charger, and 4 used a roller, so I was more looking out for any potential enemies surrounding him. But... I wasn't watching my own back, which almost easily lost us our lives..."

"We were 16, and the reality of what we were in for hadn't really... set in, I suppose. This was like another turf war to us, but... Facing against Octolings like them was a huge wake up call..."

She leaned her head on her hand, frowning. The amount of close calls they had before fighting Octolings hadn't been a lot, but thinking of it now felt like it was still too much.

"4 had been splatted twice, but even then the energy on the spawn point was fading. Gramps said it had enough for 3 times but... Honestly, had one of us gotten splatted again, I'm not sure we would've made it. I managed to get him a safe path to the Zapfish, but as I went to meet up with him, I heard a splat bomb land beside me. I barely managed to get out of the way before it exploded, and even then I was sent tumbling down to the ground..."

[yanderes-galore]

Hi! Are requests currently open?? If so, can I get some human yandere Gallade x reader headcanons please??

Sure! There's a Pokedex entry where it claims Gallade love to help people, I'll utilize that ^^ I fell out of writing Yandere! Pokemon while writing this so I hope the ending isn't too rushed....

Yandere! Human! Gallade Concept

Pairing: Platonic/Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Possessive behavior, Overprotective behavior, Obsession, Manipulation, Implied violence.

- How I depict a human Gallade is a swordsman skilled in using two blades to fight foes.

- It also says Gallade roam the lands in search of people to aid in battle and protect.

- So, let's say you're being attacked by a wild Pokemon in this scenario.

- Your throat slowly becomes raw from all the screaming... you're close to blacking out.

- Then there's a blinding green light and the wild Pokemon screeches before fleeing.

- Clad in green and white, your savior pulls you up.

- "Careful out here...why don't you have a Pokemon with you?"

- You're stunned for a moment before replying, voice hoarse.

- "It was a quick walk... I didn't think the Pokemon in this area would be so agitated."

- Your savior, who you deduced to be a Gallade, sighs.

- "It's never good to take chances... You're lucky I was here."

- You curse yourself for not bringing your partner.

- The Gallade thinks for a moment before glancing back at you.

- "Best not to have you walk home alone, yes? I'll back you up until you're at your home, human."

- Temporarily you agree and begin your trek home, the Gallade following with his swords sheathed.

- "Does a human such as yourself engage in battle?"

- "Huh?"

- "Do you partake in Pokemon battles, I mean." They chuckle.

- "Ocassionally...."

- The talk you two share is small but kept you both busy as you were escorted home.

- Once home you stop the Gallade from turning away.

- "Wait, I can't just not repay you, I may have some berries in my home I can go get!"

- The Gallade smiles, shaking their head.

- "There's no need, pleasure's all mine. I do hope to meet you again... hopefully with your partner next time."

- They laugh again, you going pink from embarrassment.

- "We'll just have to see, won't we?" You answer before shutting the door.

- This was not the last time you'd see this Gallade, far from it, actually.

- You frequent the area you met the Gallade but this time with your partner.

- Despite your encounter with the wild Pokemon here you felt safe...

- Not entirely because you had your partner with you in their ball, but because of the wild Gallade who saved you.

- Without them, you wouldn't be here right now....

- "I see you're here again. Did you plan to make this a daily ritual?"

- "I felt as though I should know my savior more."

- "If that is what you wish, come, we shall walk together."

- You are aware of how dangerous speaking with a wild Pokemon like this is, yet they came across so nice.

- They smiled as they spoke with you each time you came around.

- They were also cautious of you when hearing noises in the wild grass.

- The Gallade acted like a knight protecting you, despite not being your Pokemon.

- "I will admit, it is nice to have someone to speak to. I never thought me saving a human would lead to such a strong connection between me and them...."

- Gallade thinks heavily on what they feel towards you.

- You were 'friends', as humans called it, yet not quite a 'Trainer and Pokemon' relationship.

- They loved your company....

- Why'd it have to end?

- "I propose a deal."

- Gallade declares during one of your visits.

- "Yes...?"

- "Shall I be your Pokemon? Your protector?"

- You've known the Pokemon for so long, not even really considering your bond as such.

- "I...see no real reason why not?"

- The offer seems innocent enough until you come across their alternative motives.

- Their motive as 'protector' quickly becoming one of 'possessor'

- "That partner couldn't protect you before, right? Then let me take care of it."

- You wish you brought your Pokemon along with you before you first met the Gallade....

[kpostedsum]

daddy issues; D.M

summary: you and draco bond over issues in 6th year

word count: 2.4k

warnings: err angst, comfort, illusions to sex

song: daddy issues (the remix) - the neighbourhood

a/n: i tried not to make it stereotypical bc i didn’t wanna make it seem all “i like older men lol”, probably my fav fic i’ve written, also arent these anime gifs so cute

masterlist | taglist

Take you like a drug

I taste you on my tongue

Tongues battling for dominance, bodies rubbing against each other searching for a feeling. It’s become routine now, a different person in your dorm swallowing a new pill, entangling limbs with someone just to feel something.

You ask me what I'm thinking about

I tell you that I'm thinking about

Whatever you're thinking about

Tell me something that I'll forget

And you might have to tell me again

It's crazy what you'll do for a friend

It was a constant cycle, putting yourself out there seeking the male attention you crave, seeking validation, constant reassurance and trusting too easily. That’s how you ended up with a different guy who always in the end leaves. You trusted too easily and people took advantage of how trusting and naive you are just for a quick shag.

You wished it wasn’t like this but that’s all you knew, wanting to be the best version of yourself for someone just to feel needed, no matter if the person was good or bad for you. You didn’t care, you wanted love from anyone you could get it from even if it just hurt you more.

You’re familiar with the absence, something stable made you feel a bit wary. It wasn’t something you were used to. Your father wasn’t the most present in your life, and even though he's there, he's never really there.

Go ahead and cry, little girl

Nobody does it like you do

I know how much it matters to you

I know that you got daddy issues

And if you were my little girl

I'd do whatever I could do

I'd run away and hide with you

I love that she's got daddy issues, and I do too

You always wondered where you went wrong, he preferred your siblings over you and doesn't pay you a piece of his mind. Constantly going out of your way to get his attention whether it was academically or acting a certain way just to get some sort of reaction. But he was too preoccupied with his other children, even if they were from your mom or his affairs.

That’s how you found yourself right now sitting in the astronomy tower past curfew watching the rain fall, trying to clear your head while humming softly to yourself to keep yourself distracted.

You hear distant chattering from below and quickly get up from where you were sitting and make your way to your dorm unnoticed by anyone.

Except one person, Draco Malfoy.

I tried to write your name in the rain

But the rain never came

So I made with the sun

The shade

Always comes at the worst time

He’s seen you before, you’re known around Hogwarts for how you put yourself out there and how ‘desperate’ you are for some affection. He almost feels bad for you, but he’s in no place to judge. With his dad in Azkaban Draco had so much more to worry about, like his task and how he can succeed. But there was something about you that intrigued him that he couldn't ignore.

He saw you again in transfiguration the next day and noticed a few hickeys littering your neck that you had tried to cover but it didn’t work. He wondered why you gave yourself up to so many people, but once again he was in no place to judge. He noticed the way your tongue would stick out when you focused extra hard, the way your hands would tighten around your quill when you got a question wrong and your face.

The same face that many boys including the older years would fawn over, the face that entranced and attracted many, the face of someone who would do anything for someone for some affection and the face of someone who seeked out all the wrong things.

You ask me what I'm thinking about

I tell you that I'm thinking about

Whatever you're thinking about

Tell me something that I'll forget

And you might have to tell me again

It's crazy what you'll do for a friend

You walk out of transfiguration on your way to the owlery to send a letter to your parents and feel eyes watching you everywhere. You like it, the attention, it’s something that you thrived in, but you couldn’t help but feel a new set of eyes on you.

Once you reached the owlery you realized you weren't the only one there, Draco Malfoy was also there sending a letter to who you assumed was his mother.

“y/n, right?” he asked, trying to spark a conversation.

“Yea, listen i’m sorry about what happened with your father i know you really looked up--”

“Dont worry about it, he wasn’t as good an influence as I made him out to be,” he sighed, looking away.

“My dad isn’t the best either if i’m being honest, i guess we’re in the same boat” you let out a light chuckle.

And that’s how you found yourself hanging out with draco malfoy bonding over your shared issues.

Go ahead and cry, little girl

Nobody does it like you do

I know how much it matters to you

I know that you got daddy issues

And if you were my little girl

I'd do whatever I could do

I'd run away and hide with you

I love that she's got daddy issues

It’s been weeks since you two started hanging out since the interaction in the owlery and have been getting closer ever since. You both sat down together in the astronomy tower, backed against the wall as the cool wind blew against your faces. The aura between you two was calm, a comfortable silence.

“So tell me about your dad, how is it with him in Azkaban?” you asked, tilting your head towards him.

“Mother’s not taking it well” he frowned. “I can’t even say potter’s wrong for getting him locked up because he deserves it. All my life he praised the dark lord and taught me to be selfish and always defend my blood, but he was never there for me when I needed him. I would have done everything just to hear ‘i’m proud of you’ but it never came. It’s worse now because mother’s all alone. I wish I could have stayed with her” he sighed looking out the tower watching the stars twinkle.

“I’ve noticed you’ve been much quieter this year as well, you stopped making fun of people. It’s not that nice on the receiving end huh?” you said with a teasing look on your face.

He shook his head at you scooting closer to you, it’s like the demeanor between you two have changed over the past few weeks. You found yourself pining over him rather than being in someone's bed. But this is how the cycle always goes, you get attached and they leave, you couldn’t help but hope this wasn’t the situation this time.

“Tell me about your father”

Daddy stuck around but he wasn't present

Cheated on your mom but she never left him

First I didn't get it, now I understand

He broke her heart, left money in her hand

So everything got paid for

She made sure you and your brother had way more

Than she ever had growing up

And when you told me the whole story I felt like throwing up

“ I don't know if i’d even call him my father at this point, he doesn't want me.” you sighed. “He's been cheating on my mum for years now and she still won't leave him because she thinks they can work it out. He’s had affairs with different pureblood women and has children with them. But what hurts the most is how he treats them as his own children and treats me as if I don't exist” you said, looking down as tears pooled your eyes.

Draco moved closer to you and brought his arm around your shoulders for a sense of comfort and waited for you to catch your breath so you can continue.

“I just want him to love me” you cried. “I go out my way to try and get his attention with my school work but it never works. That's why I get along with so many guys. I seek the validation, the comfort and the reassurance that I can get from him from others and I am so tired of it. I just want him to want me draco.” tears slipping out your eyes as you looked up at him, you’ve never confessed this to anyone before.

“Everyone always leaves, please don't leave me” you cried

“I’m not going anywhere” he turned his face towards you, leaning forward cautiously as if you were made of glass.

You leaned forward, wanting the exact same thing. Both very hesitant he gently pressed his soft lips against yours and they moved together in sequence, only taking a break to go back to his dorm and to breathe, limbs tangled together for the rest of the night until the sun rose.

I can see it on your face it was rough left a bad taste on your tongue

And she didn't even take any drug

She would rain all day

Couldn't wait for her son to shine

And you made it shine

There when she cried, you saved her life

It's been a week since that night in the astronomy tower and draco had already been avoiding you. It’s humiliating, but you should have known. You thought the ‘bond’ you had with him would last, it felt so genuine this time. So real.

You’d see him around the halls snogging pansy on your way back to the ravenclaw tower, lowering your head down so he wouldn’t be able to see you so you could get by quickly and unnoticed.

But he saw you.

He stared you right down in your teary eyes as he made out with pansy. You couldn’t help but feel a sense of betrayal, for someone who promised he wouldn’t leave you like everyone else, he did the exact same.

You did the only thing you knew of, you ran.

I keep on trying to let you go

I'm dying to let you know

How I'm getting on

I didn't cry when you left at first

But now that you're dead it hurts

This time I gotta know

Where did my daddy go?

I'm not entirely here

Half of me has disappeared

Draco followed you to the girls lavatory, hearing your shallow cries coming from one of the stalls. He approached the stall you were in trying not to make too much noise so he doesn't startle you.

He felt awful.

He promised he would never leave you, after you both poured your hearts out to each other but he still left. He had too, he was putting you in danger just by being with him. If Voldemort ever found out about you and hurt you he wouldn't be able to live with himself, that's why he took it upon himself to hurt you first.

“y/n are you in here?” he called out even though he knew the answer.

You recognized that familiar voice anywhere. “What do you want draco?” you said, trying to make it seem as if you weren’t just crying.

“I want to talk to you, please”

“No,” you said getting up and pushing yourself out of the stall. “You don't get to just throw me away after I told you everything and just come back into my life like nothing ever happened. Just go away, that's all you guys are good for” you spat.

“Just listen to me, it was to keep you safe. I didn;t want to but i couldn't bear seeing you hurt” he tried to explain.

“Safe?” you laughed. “ and what exactly do i need saving from, malfoy.”

“From me” he said as he pulled up his sleeve revealing his dark mark to you. Your body instantly tensed, you knew he was having problems and his family was involved with the dark lord but you never knew it was like this.

“Draco i-” you tried to say something but the words were stuck in your throat. He stood there looking at you desperately like he was waiting for you to tell him everything was okay, you wanted to be there for him but you didn’t know what to do. You trusted him with everything but he couldn't trust you with this? You thought the bond you had made would have made him trust you in the slightest, but clearly it's always you who’s more trusting.

“Why didn't you tell me?” you managed to say, your voice hoarse.

“I thought you’d leave me, you were the only good thing i had. Please don't leave me” he begged, salty tears escaping his eyes and running down his cheeks as he looked at you with desperation.

“So you thought pushing me away by snogging pansy was better?” you yelled, as he continued to look at you slightly taken aback by your lashing out.

“You know what, go ahead and cry little boy. You know that your daddy did too, you know what your mama went through. You gotta let it out soon, just let it out” you taunted walking closer to him looking straight into his teary eyes.

“This time I'll be the one that leaves.” and with that you were gone.

Go ahead and cry, little girl

Nobody does it like you do

I know how much it matters to you

I know that you got daddy issues

And if you were my little girl

I'd do whatever I could do

I'd run away and hide with you

I love that she's got daddy issues, and I do too

It’s been months since that night in the girls lavatory, and you missed him. You wanted to visit him in the hospital wing once you heard what happened with Harry Potter, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do so. He left you, and you were tired of always going back to people who just hurt you.

Now here you were at the battle of Hogwarts, standing with everyone while Voldemort and his death eaters stood across from you all.

“Draco, draco come here” you heard narcissa call from across the scene. He looked hesitant, as if he was waiting for someone to stop him but no one did. So he started walking over to his parents.

But you grabbed his hand.

“Stay please” you whispered looking up into his eyes.

He looked back at his parents and back at you like he was contemplating his answer.

“I’ll stay”

If you were my little girl

I'd do whatever I could do

I'd run away and hide with you

I love that she's got daddy issues, and I do too

—————-

tagging fun ppl nd ppl who interacted (so srry if u don’t wanna be tagged)

@hellohellook @astoria-malfcy @justfangirlthingies @sfdlm @falling-loki @notvasi @gwlvr @malfoytookmyheart

[animatedrapture]

RINTOBER: [ Achilles' Heel ]

word count: 2,222

suna rintarō x reader

tags: ambiguous end, implied major character death, angst, implied sexual intercourse, toxic relationship, detailed pain(?)

song: achilles come down - gang of youths

a/n: HALLOWEEN SPECIAL because... death...?

a HUGE thank you, once again, to my wonderful wife, love of my life, bby @toffees-main 🥺 for proofreading the final piece and preventing me from sounding like a dumbass like, twice. also, thank you to @newfriendjen and @kaitycole for beta-reading the initial draft!

"Rin, Rintarō, I love you!" You shouted from the bleachers; a proud smile decorating your features as you cheered for him right after he'd hit the ball to the other side of the net, securing EJP Raijin another point—so close to winning.

His gaze and yours were two opposites of a pole with a pull unparalleled—a pull science can only wish to decipher. He finds you as he rotates through the set up and there's a beam in his eyes, making him break out into a grin you just know he couldn't find it in himself to reserve for later.

That day, that match—Suna Rintarō was named the MVP of the game. He owed it all to you and the swell of his heart with each cheer he heard from you; your voice distinct as if it were the only one that mattered in that whole gymnasium. Perhaps, at least that time, you truly were all that mattered to him.

But not anymore.

The first—the first was the lack of replies, the dryer replies. I love you's met with Love you's and very little effort to hide the lack of sincerity beneath. It began through texts until it was the quick, snipped tone laced with the parsimonious manner he answered you. The act of it was much like an attempt to deprive you of water until you're but withering rose in his grasp that he would rather replace than try to plant again and save.

Just how long were you willing to go without the water you needed to stay alive?

"Rin, love, I'll prepare dinner for us tonight, come home early, okay? I'm cooking your favorite!"

"I'll try," was his reply as you watched each of his hasty movements through your shared bedroom.

"I prepared you a bento, too. It's on the kitchen counter," you continued as he attempted to ignore the way you looked at him similar to the way you look when you're lost and searching for something. He hums in response, and just as he was about to reach for the door, you call out to him, "Rin, where's my goodbye kiss?" in the usual tone you would pull back then when he would forget and pepper you with kisses in retaliation, offering an apology before heading out.

He looks back at you with exasperation, "I'm late, Y/N." He doesn't wait for you to answer before he has the door shut close.

That's how you know he also forgot the food you prepared on the kitchen counter.

Foolishly, the answer to the question was that you were willing to wait until your next life for his love to drown you into bliss again. It's that answer that's disrespectful to the mystery of reincarnation—but you're everything Suna Rintarō wanted you to be; that is, if it was a fool he wanted you to be, you would play the part better than any award winning actor to have ever lived could. Even if it was a miscreant he wanted you to be, some sort of heretic to the laws of the world and the conditions of love. You'd be everything he asked of you. After all, who were you if not his other half?

Who were you if not water to shape into whatever container he put you in, right?

The second—the second was the lies that slipped past such sinful crimson lips. Oh, by the heavens, as if the lack of fondness in the timbre of his voice as he spoke to you wasn't enough to put cracks to the cemented foundation of you and him. Cruel, it's so cruel—you wonder if you're lacking somewhere, have you changed? Are you no longer diamond in the sea of glitter—? Worth not of his time nor the beating of the caged heart you thought you've acquired?

Now when he speaks, even the very sound of his voice reverberates like a sharp spear piercing through your chest without mercy—as if you're Spartan in the Battle of Thermopylae. The lies that come along with them about how training ended late again, or that he's travelling for a match again—Huh? No, you don't have to come, Y/N. I need to focus.

Did he have to lie about who he's with, what he's been doing? It's laughable. As if you wouldn't kiss away the taste of anything that lingered in his lips, if it was blood, alcohol or the lips of another girl. Rintarō, did he not know you enough to know you would surrender to his will no matter what mud followed his footsteps?

Ah, but, what would admitting such things do to his pride? Maybe it's that—or maybe he liked the way the lies were like lemon and salt to a fresh wound. You think, you never thought you could be so masochistic.

Third—the third is the sharpness of his gaze. It's the same gaze, same pair of eyes you've loved for such a long time and you fail not to love to this very moment. You're softer than clouds but now most hollow in comparison to the unacquirable stars among the cosmos—you think they're there but they're just a burst of light, something that has probably died lightyears ago.

It's like chokehold, the fourth—the fourth is like chokehold and he, the assassin. Ruthless—he's ruthless when he looks at you as you're not more than a tedious chore to him and the ring on your finger held no promise of relentless love greater than what a deity could offer.

Foolish—you're foolish. Delusion is a coping mechanism to the ones whose realities have been robbed in front of them—delusion is what you're supposed to call it when you fill your head with all the excuses and all the things you tell yourself have to change. You used to be a masterpiece. A masterpiece to him; as though you're Holy Grail found in a gallery of things that could never begin to hope they would ever amount to you.

Delusion is ignoring the liquor in his lips, the intoxicating smell of his cologne mixed with alcohol and cigarette smoke. You're confused and your reality that seems to have been distorting more often than usual. You question the strings that premeditate fate when it's you feeling the drunkenness and hangover the next day when it should be Suna and the tabloids of "Suna Rintarō spotted in yet another bar." You wonder if each sunset and sunrise you watched with Suna was a mere fever dream when it's you who vomits on the toilet. You, who sobs on the bathroom floor.

"Sfumato," your friend tells you, "The gentle blurring of edges to make rendered objects appear as one with their environment." The edges blur when you call that delusion as love—you only have to wait long enough before both are truly one and the same. The pain disguised as martyr sacrifice to the greatest allegory of love to exist. This is what you're told. They say, "Y/N, you've confused love with delusion," and yet you don't listen.

You don't listen most of all when you're back underneath him but you feel like you're being bloodied all over, stained like wine to a white dress. Yet you allow yourself to indulge in the kisses he's abated you of, you revel in each time you ask him to tell you he loves you and he finally does as he luxuriates you of your desires and of your whines for love—nevermind that he was doing it for himself. After all, it is as the word suggests, a luxury.

Suna Rintarō had become a luxury you couldn't afford, therefore, he did not have any business of giving himself to you. Not unless he wanted to.

Is there such thing as a free reign over the heart of someone? Hand it over as they will but how long would they truly allow you to borrow it—? Borrow it because one never truly surrenders such a vital thing to human functioning. Yes, you are and you have been delusional to believe so.

"You own the entirety of my heart, Y/N," you're unsure whenever it echoes in your head. He brings you enough torture, why must your own brain create such clamor in your head. Was such pain necessary? Is pain to love much like Adam's rib to Eve?

"It's a promise ring, bunny," he said as he tucked your hair behind your ears—his gaze is intense, almost like you would disappear from his sight if he looked at anywhere or anything but you.

You stared at the ring that shone under the light of the restaurant, your vision blurring at the tears welling from your eyes and you try your best to choke in the sob that involuntarily escapes you.

"Hey, Y/N, what are you cryin' for?" He questioned with a chuckle, looking at you with amusement dancing in his eyes while his thumbs reached out to wipe away each tear that betrayed you—falling down your cheeks as he cupped your face.

"I-it's nothing, I—I'm just happy, love," you answer him through your tears.

There's a smile playing across his lips, he tells you, "'m just making a promise that I'll marry you one day, bunny, is all."

You nodded eagerly with a wide smile even as the tears that left you continued to fall, "I'm making a promise to say yes, Rin. No matter what," you answered him through your sobs, wrapping your arms around his neck.

"Guess I should start practicing to get on one knee then, yeah?" He laughed as he pulled you closer, his arms around you, you giggled along with him—it felt like you were molded together to form one perfect piece, like the act of staying there for all of eternity, in each other's arms, would turn you into one. Entangled together in all the right ways—as if Rapture has befallen the Earth and that was your final state as did the universe.

The fifth—the fifth is the screaming, the fights. Who would have thought you would break like a mere twig stepped on in the darkest forest on this Earth? It was under his shoe did you break from; each word that left his mouth was scathing—they didn't feel like a stab or pins and needles to the human heart, they felt like burns of acid that slowly ate at your decaying soul, breaking heart, dwindling sanity.

"I don't get it, Rin! Why do you treat me like this?!" You screamed through your tears, your chest heaving as your lungs tried its best to support you, even when it's already been punctured by the shattered pieces of your heart that continued to beat in separate shards, digging further into your lungs, damaging your ribcage, piercing your throat.

"Please, God, just tell me what to do—Rintarō, tell me what I need to do to turn us back to the way we were, please," you begged, falling to your knees and you let the shattered items on the floor puncture your skin. You felt numb yet your whole body was buzzing. The pain from the pieces of glass from under you doesn't register in your brain because all you can feel is the pain that was spreading from your chest and out into your whole body.

Under his mercy had he turned you inside out and greedily taken every part of you—everything you surrendered on your own volition until you were nothing, not even a shell of yourself but more like a ghost floating through the air. It looked like a battlefield—and perhaps it was. Love was never something you come out alive from. Love was greedy, selfish, treacherous. Love is like an assailant you allowed to enter in the safety of your own home.

"Don't you get it? Y/N, I don't love you anymore!"

No. You think, no. No, it repeats in your head, over and over. Denial. You were in denial, at this conjecture, you were aware of even this.

"I stopped loving you long ago, Y/N. You were dumb enough to stay." Has he always been this truculent towards you? You wonder but you can't recall anything else but the echoing of his words. Words he used like a champion of the battlefield, liberating away the life of his enemies.

No. Don't say that. You don't mean it. No.

Suna thought you would be the arrow to his heel—the one to bring him to his knees in the most torturous of ways. In reality, maybe you were more his heel than the arrow. He was both Achilles and his actions, the arrow that brought him to his own demise.

Sixth—the sixth was sickening grief. You're so unfair. You're so selfish. How could you run away from him, only to scream his name and the tormenting shout of "I love you" that haunted him awake or in his slumber. How could you be so cruel? To let him fall to his knees in front you the way you made him to. Ruthless—you're so ruthless. The pain was the excruciating kind, crashing towards him like ocean waves bringing him farther from the shore and near to wherever you were now. How could you leave him like you did?

After all, what was he if there wasn't you?

📞 violet is calling... all content featured belongs to ©️ animatedrapture. do not plagiarize, repost, or modify.

[cienie-isengardu]

Not only do I not regret asking you to "RELEASE THE RAMBLES!", I'm sending you requests for more. Below is a list of questions that I asked @bihansthot , and enjoyed their answers, but because you are so thorough, and answer in such depth, I'm re-asking them to you.

Brace yourself, it's a list. I didnt have time to sort thru them, I just copied and pasted, so if any are questions you already answered before, please feel free to include the links.

"LET US BEGIN!"

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

In the spirit of potential future writing,  I'm trying to find a building that  would make a good substitution for Lin Kuei temple.

I've tried looking up ancient Chinese military barracks/forts, and have found some stuff,  but is all exterior.  Anyone know of any locations (or several I can cobble together) that would make good inspiration fodder?

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

So, uhm, religion? What's the Lin Kuei's take on that one? I know they are aware of Gods, they team up with/ encounter Raiden all the time,  and have literally worked for/against Shinook, so I know they recognize higher powers... but I  guess the question is,  do they care?

Do they have a religion,  or spiritual practice that resembles religion? Or do they have a more practical approach "gods exist,  but we just consider them very strong people"?

Which segues into... do they recognize and participate in holidays, or things like birthdays? Or are all their celebrations work related (I.E. successful missions or levels of combat mastery)?

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

Food.  What foods do they normally eat? What foods do they like?  What foods don't they like? What foods do they absolutely love so much they'll stop what they're doing to get it?

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

If you had to match the Lin Kuei with a dynasty,  what one would it be? (I know the 2021 movie has the opening in the Ming dynasty, so the Lin Kuei is at least that old,  but given that movie Bi Han hasn't aged in 400 years, and was taken is a child,  its probably much older) (and also know the game probably cherry picked random Chinese things it liked).

What do you think the Lin Kuei's view on artistic culture (probably not the right word) is? I know they are heavily militaristic,  but in the game,  Kuai Liang offers Hanzo tea and he properly prepares it the Japanese way, that says they have something of an education other than just related to fighting?

Lastly,  in the movie,  everything Bi Han does is "for the Lin Kuei", but the Lin Kuei is on Earth (assumedly),  and he is working for a guy who wants to enslave Earth, so what do you think the deal is?

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

Question about the Cryomancers. I know the game lore says that they are supposed to be rare, but I also know that the Lin Kuei have had at least 5 (grandpa, papa, older, and younger Sub Zero,  and Frost). 4 of which are part of 3 generations that inherited it even with mixed blood (I'm assuming Mama Sub Zero wasn't Cryomancer since they left her alone).

That's a lot of generations in a row for a rare trait... So do you think the Cryomancers as a group have figured out they're being hunted and have chosen to live in hiding?

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

Lin Kuei society question? I like writing so I also like world building and I think about these things.

Is Lin Kuei society ever covered? I know there is a Grandmaster, a handful master assassins (Sub Zero's, Sektor, Cyrax, etc) and the  movies always have a bunch canon fodder lesser assassins.

And they live in the very isolated Lin Kuei Palace/Temple in Arktika (or wherever it used to be)

But is Lin Kuei (we'll call it "village") ever covered?   Do they have willing servants, kidnapped slaves, or a mix of both? Are there women (non fighter women,  I know there's Frost) or do they employ strictly male help? If there are women, what's their role, and are there children born there? What about Elderly? What about resources,  is everything (from food, clothes, weapons, and the raw materials to create them) grown or manufactured on sight by skilled laborers or do they import/interact with the outside world? How vicious or civil is this society, could you be killed for looking at Sektor wrong or do they value your services to a degree? What's the degree? This is obviously a combat culture,  but is everyone expected to know martial arts of some variety, is it optional, or do they prohibit it among the servants/slaves? How strict are they on things like clothing, food, alcohol,  drugs, "luxuries", or pleasures? Money? If they interact with the world do they recognize and use $$ currency, commodity currency, or a mixture? Internally are the Lin Kuei payed or just provided for? What about illness or injury,  if you're not a master and it a serious injury/illness are you taken care of or do they just give you a quick death?

Etc. That's all the questions I can think of,  but please feel free to answer questions I didn't ask,  if you think of anything else.

Thank you for this wonderful list to talk about! I’m gonna split the answer into smaller parts, for better focusing on each aspect but also so I don’t feel bad for keeping you waiting for ages, lol. For now let’s focus on asks about the religion!

So good questions! I do think they have some spiritual practice(s) because in martial arts the state of a mind is as important as the physical body and religion is one of many ways to shape someone’s mindset from a young age. I do, however, think that Lin Kuei does not worship the gods. They are aware that the gods exist (with Raiden as the thorn in the side) and may even respect their supernatural powers and battle skills but it never has stopped Lin Kuei from desecrating holy places, murdering people and stealing stuff for the best price. So, it seems to me that whatever religion the members of the clan follow, by nature it is rooted in nontheism.

Of course, there is also a chance that Lin Kuei worships some forgotten deity or deities (as a remnant of their ancient connections with Outworld / realms conquered and destroyed by Shao Kahn?) or may even practice ancestor worship which seems like a good way to uphold a widely understood tradition that plays an important role in the discussed community.

The closest thing to religious practice was seen in Mortal Kombat X, when Sub-Zero and his warriors seemed to pray together before statue of god / deity / ancestor / legendary warrior / personalized thing they value the most (sadly, my knowledge about Asian religious practices or faiths is very limited so I don’t have idea if the statue is supposed to represent any real god/religious symbol).

At the same time, it could be just a bluff since Grandmaster was aware of Cage’s team infiltrating the Lin Kuei territory and used this moment to lure them into a trap. Additionally, Mortal Kombat X comics presented once Kuai Liang sitting before the same statue albeit in a completely different (devoid of reverence?) position.

Of course, if we take into account Mortal Kombat Armageddon, the game states that Lin Kuei Temple placed in Arctika was actually once the Temple of Delia (the great sorceress & wife of god Argus) that at some point get abandoned and re-used by Sub-Zero’s clan.

(In the background, we can see a statue of Delia that Lin Kuei does not worship but did not remove for whatever reason. Mixing both old and new games, we can only wonder if MKX!statue is also the remnant of someone else's faith/religion?)

Beside that, Kuai Liang was pretty vocal about Lin Kuei not worshipping the Elder Gods, what was seen in MK11’s intro dialogue with Cetrion

Sub-Zero: The Lin Kuei do not worship the Elder Gods.

Cetrion: We seek gratitude, not worship.

Sub-Zero: I see no distinction.

and personally did not have any reason to pray to the goddess:

Sub-Zero: Why should I pray to you?

Cetrion: Why does a bird flap its wings?

Sub-Zero: I asked a simple question.

In all fairness, in MK11 Kuai Liang seems the most passive-aggressive toward the Elder God while Frost is focused on her ambitions and Noob!Bi-Han just wants to be left alone when bothered by Cetrion. Similar thing happens toward Raiden. Despite gratitude for saving him, Kuai Liang does not spare the god criticism (can’t serve both Elder Gods and Earthrealm, isn’t fit for his role of protector) and in MKX outright says he does not fear divine beings:

Raiden: Sub-Zero...

Sub-Zero: I fear no gods, Raiden.

Raiden': That's why you shall lose.

Surprisingly, Kuai Liang’s interaction with MK11!Fujin sounds less accusing than with Raiden and Cetrion and it is connected closely to their ties with Bi-Han. And maybe Kuai Liang did seek in the past Fujin and other elements to make a peace with them, like he planned to do so in Mortal Kombat 4 Limited comics?

"I came here to make peace with the gods of the elements that you fought [...]"

Anyway, the accusingly behaviour toward Raiden and Cetrion could be just Kuai Liang’s personal dislike for gods and serious authority issues, which makes sense considering how much he suffered because of their meddling and conflicts.

But honestly?

The available examples of Lin Kuei attitude toward gods, demigods and supernatural beings suggest how little the warriors - especially cryomancers - care for them.

Like, we have Bi-Han in Mythologies, who asked Quan Chi about details of mission:

Sub-Zero: If it's so precious, why don't you get it yourself?

Quan Chi: I cannot enter the temple until the four elements within its walls have been defeated. And I am not on the best of terms with the gods of your realm... especially your god of thunder.

Sub-Zero: Tell me about these elements.

Quan Chi outright said he and earthrealm gods weren’t friends and Bi-Han, reading between the lines, could get the idea that he may end on bad terms with Thunder God. Yet he was interested only in elements (lesser gods than protector of realm?) guarding the temple.

Then Bi-Han beat down four demigods and met a displeased Raiden after Quan Chi got the Shinnok Amulet. His reaction? No fear, like meeting an angry god was a normal occurrence.

Rayden: Do you realize what you've done??

Sub-Zero: I was just earning my living.

Rayden: Your clan's ignorance and greed will cost this entire realm. You must now set things straight.

Sub-Zero: Quan Chi could simply be a lunatic sorcerer. I've never heard of an elder god named Shinnok or of a place called the Netherrealm.

Rayden: Well, you'd better start believing in both, because you're going to the Netherrealm and you're going to bring the amulet back. We must act quickly. I have no dominion in the Netherrealm... You are reality's only hope.

Sub-Zero: I'll do it, Thunder God... but only because I have no choice.

And once he came back from Netherrealm, where he was fixing what he messed up in the first place on Raiden’s order, his abrasive attitude did not change much:

Sub-Zero: Here... the amulet.

Rayden: Impressive, Sub-Zero. Perhaps you will reconcile your reckless past after all.

Sub-Zero: That's it? Not even a thank you?

Of course, to some degree Raiden’s words did have an impact on Bi-Han but even the god’s warning about his soul tainted with evil did not stop him from coming back to Lin Kuei. Bi-Han’s attitude and/or approach to gods seems to change somehow once he was reborn as Noob, but that is a different matter for different times.

Anyway, Mythologies!Bi-Han and MK11!Noob act less aggressive toward gods than Kuai Liang. But then we have Sub-Zero from from the MK novel by Jeff Rovin, who not only is not afraid of gods but outright insult them:

“Wait! Be warned, Shang Tsung. He is cursed!”

“Cursed? By whom?”

Ruthay wailed, “By the immortal Yu.”

Shang Tsung felt cold spiders crawl up his spine. “The demigod Yu?”

“Yes… he who is said to dwell in the underground caverns of Horse Ear Mountain… which is sacred to the goddess Kuan Lin. He who protects the canals… and the tunnels… and looks after all who use them, human and animal.”

“What did our brash friend do to Yu?”

“He… killed a man,” said Ruthay.

“What man?”

“A toll-taker… one who had given up a life of crime… one who had been a partner of the man… you… seek.”

“And how did that crime come to the attention of the spirit of Yu?” Shang Tsung asked.

“The man was killed… slowly disemboweled with a sword… while accomplices forced his wife and his son to look on! After his murder… the man’s remains… were dumped into a canal!”

Shang Tsung raised an eyebrow. “Is that all? I was expecting something truly terrible!”

“It was!” Ruthay shrieked. “When he disposed of the body… in that way … he profaned one of the sacred waterways… of Yu!”

Shang Tsung smiled now. “Then he is definitely the man I want,” he said. “Anyone who is impudent enough to insult a demigod won’t be afraid to attack a member of the White Lotus Society, or the gods who watch after them. I will send Hamachi, Ruthay. When he nears his goal, see through his eyes and guide him!”

Book!Sub-Zero was impudent enough to insult a demigod which is why he was one of Shang Tsung’s favorites. And to be clear - book!Sub-Zero did not regret insulting the demigod at all. Even more! He found humor in it!:

He dwelt in a cave two hundred feet up the face of a cliff by the sea. The mouth of his home was barely wide enough to accommodate a slender adult, and was accessible only by climbing the sheer wall of rock, a feat that was impossible for most adults and daunting even to the few arachnids and marsupials that tried it.

Maybe some of them were even sent by Yu, he thought with a smirk, little assassins who would chastise me for having spilled blood in his precious canal.

The less abrasive attitude toward gods was shown by Cyrax, who talked a bit with Raiden over Bi-Han’s remains. He wasn’t outright antagonistic but wasn’t overall respectful either. He talked with Thunder God like he would talk with any other human being that wasn’t actually Scorpion. Frankly, from the named Lin Kuei only MK9!Smoke actually addressed Raiden in respectful manner, with proper bow and the name of lord

albeit did he do so because he respects the divine beings or just out of gratitude for saving him, hard to tell for sure.

So yeah, it seems like no matter what kind of timeline or age or medium of the story, Lin Kuei does not fear gods nor pray to them. And the clan has a long history of dealing with Raiden, so the Lin Kuei had first-hand experiences with supernatural beings. Somehow, cryomancers are the most impudent warriors when it comes to dealing with or criticizing the gods.

Interestingly, as much as Lin Kuei warriors don’t care for gods, most of the known to us named characters believe to have - and to care - for their own souls. Sektor and MK11!Frost embraced the Cyber Lin Kuei idea but Kuai Liang, Cyrax and Smoke were opposed to C.I. project out for concern for their souls among other things. Even Bi-Han, to some degree became concerned about his soul after trip to Netherrealm.

Believing in souls is usually a sign of belief in the afterlife, albeit after all of them went through (the change into cyborgs, death and change into Revenants) this is less a matter of faith (religion) and more first-hand experiences. And let's not forget that regularly dealing over the centuries with Shang Tsung who steals people's souls on a daily basis makes it really hard to not believe spirits are real.

Also, an interesting matter of Lin Kuei practices that could have a religious/spiritual ground and/or be an example of ancestor worship is the clan’s funeral rites. I don’t think we actually saw any Lin Kuei to bury their own (especially after warrior’s failure?) and for sure MK9!Cyrax and Sektor did not bother to take care of Bi-Han’s remains. However the sources provide examples of Lin Kuei keeping corpses, most likely of their own leaders or warriors.

And so, we could see human remains:

put in two coffins on each side of statue

hidden / kept in a block of ice(?) in chamber of Fallen Lin Kuei in which Frost’s frozen body was also laid, but on the altar

Cyrax’s cyber body was kept and guarded by Sub-Zero (and this is like the only thing that Kuai Liang and Cyber Sektor so far agreed on)

and even Cyber Sektor’s remains, even if just for pragmatic reasons, are kept in what seems to be respectful manner:

It could be just Kuai Liang’s good nature to honor fallen of his clan (I’m still not sure if Lin Kuei Palace is the new place for Sub-Zero’s clan or the ancient hideout) but even in MK Conquest TV series, after Grandmaster was killed by then-currently-Sub-Zero, there was the farewell ceremony with clothes on display (cause there was not much left of body after freezing and shattering) while new leader gave the speech promising to punish the guilty.

Which makes me think that Lin Kuei did honor their fallen warriors (especially those exceptional, deserving). Such custom and apparently common belief in soul could also support the ancestor worship - both as some ancient, mythical ancestor(s) connecting warriors into one clan (family) and tradition to follow in the footsteps of forefathers (Bi-Han taking place of his father [old timeline] or grandfather [current timeline] or Kuai Liang taking Bi-Han’s place as Sub-Zero).

My general conclusion about Lin Kuei is that its members believe in souls, have respect and use of spiritual matters (meditation?) and maybe ancestor worship. Whatever the religious / spiritual practices they have over the centuries, it is not something they will share, as the Lin Kuei by nature are secretive people who keep personal things mostly for themselves. The people that joined the clan (Cyrax and Smoke) maybe kept their old, eventual religious beliefs but overall, Lin Kuei warriors did not fear, care for nor pray to gods. They may respect god (Raiden, Fujin) as a person but not because of their divine nature. And even that would not stop them from criticizing said god. Which is pretty much how Kuai Liang and Raiden’s relationship looks like. Grandmaster is grateful to Thunder God for saving him but he won’t blindly follow his authority.

(Kuai Liang has serious authority issues, hasn't he?)

As for holidays, I can’t really see Lin Kuei to follow any specific religious (theistic) special day cause they don’t care much for gods in the first place. Unless they worked undercover and needed to act as normal human beings, religious holidays would mean nothing to them. The warriors may however celebrate their mission success, combat mastery or promotion between themselves or in secret, I think. Like, Lin Kuei did forbid friendship because it was considered warrior’s flaw yet we know some members either were blood-related (Kuai Liang, Bi-Han, previous Sub-Zero - father or grandfather, depending on which timeline is correct) or considered each other a family (Kuai Liang and Tomas Vrbada) and most named characters worked in duos so they have both opportunity and knowledge about each other to celebrate important matters. If they managed to remember anything from previous life, that is. Because from ancient to at least Great Kung Lao’s times most(?) adepts were kidnapped from biological families at a really young age (something around 6 years old). And Mythologies: Sub-Zero takes that even further:

Its warriors are chosen at birth to be raised apart from the workings of day to day civilization and are stripped of their former lives. Only the clan knows their existence. Each of them posses certain skills and abilities that set them apart from normal men. These abilities are passed on from generation to generation and honed throughout the experiences of life.

So, celebrating birthdays doesn’t sound like happening much, unless those with family around could allow themselves such luxury. The clan may however celebrate the day of becoming a fully trained and sworn warrior? Or the fallen warriors? Who knows.

Also, something worth thinking about: in Mortal Kombat Conquest TV series, when the Grandmaster presented newly appointed Sub-Zero to the rest of the clan, he “celebrated” the cryomancer's first official performance as the execution of two men who failed their mission. So, yeah, celebration of something special in (old) Lin Kuei does not necessarily mean anything nice.

(The next part of answer most likely will be focused either on food or architecture / origin of Lin Kuei. Let's hope I will get it written sooner than later)

<><> EDIT <><>

RELIGION <> ORIGINS / ARCHITECTURE <> FOOD <> FOR THE LIN KUEI <> ART <> CRYOMANCERS <> LIN KUEI SOCIETY <> MONEY & MATERIAL GOODS

[crookedmusician]

Once Again

A/N:- This is just a drabble that popped up in my head and is based on "The Amazing Spider-Man" universe, NOT based on the Marvel mcu. If you haven't watched the movies then pls read this with an open mind. The drabble is also fixed in a time that is five years after Gwen dies and is completely based on my thought and universe. Please don't read it if you're not comfortable.

Peter Parker x Fem Reader

Genre : Slight Angst, Comfort, Slice of Life

Warnings : Very Slight and descriptive mentions of wounds and death, the characters are all adults, Y/N has a defined profession for the sake of the plot

*This is also not proof read so please bare with any errors if there are any*

It's been Five years.

Five years since Gwen's funeral. Five years since New York city was almost destroyed. Five Years since an innocent boy lost his sanity to death. Five Years since Peter Parker was too late to save his love, his best friend and his emotions to grief.

It had been Five years since that faithful day that still seemed to haunt Peter from time to time.

After the......incident happened, five years ago, Peter had shut off. He didn't talk, eat or even go to work. His job was willing to let him off that time, but the mental pressure that had bundled up inside Peter's head had refused to go. As a result, even after Peter came back, he was only a shell of himself, an empty treasure from which the gold had been stolen - just like how life was stolen from the eyes of so many he failed to save on that one dreadful day.

But If anything broke Peter more than his incompetency to save the lives of those millions he failed, it was the death of Gwen. Death of the only person Peter beleived to have given him a purpose to be Spiderman and save the city and it's residents. His reason to survive every battle he fought. His best friends, girlfriend and his reason, to just live.

Peter still remembers that day, that moment as clear as day. He still remembers the catastrophe that was caused that day, the destruction, the smell of death and spilled blood that matted the air in a heavy silence. He still remembers how the life wilted out from Gwen's eyes as she fell from the tower, as he held her afterwards; he still remembers how her once warm body turned deadly pale, her cheeks stopped sport the regular blush - and they all haunted him. They Traumatized Peter through his day, haunted his nightmares and swam in front of his mind each and every moment he lived. So Peter did the only thing he thought might help, he shut off everyone out of his life, he shut off the flow of emotions in his being, & he swore to never let anyone in, he vowed to not care about anything except defending NYC against the new villains attacking everyday.

Cause Peter Parker may have been a hero, but his emotions flowed through his veins as thickly as the spider's venom in his blood. So promised, to shut out and never let anyone in. That became his coping mechanism.

Yet again, five years later that same spider-boy found himself in the exact position he had been in, five years prior - sitting on the bed of a rooftop apartment while the huge scratches on his chest were being cleaned by the slender hands of a young woman sitting in front of him. It was an awkward kind of deja vu for Peter - Both hurting and comforting to know that someone - other than May cared for him still, however the recollection couldn't help but bring those ugly thoughts back into the forefront of Peter's mind. The same thoughts that occupied his mind in the waking hours.

The scratches burned and sizzled under the alcohol, even though it was applied with softness and expertise; but Peter didn't Flinch. Yes, there was a slight wince here and there, but no reaction revealed was too strong. Years of constant battle against the seemingly never-ending villains of New York happened to make Peter a bit more cautions and tolerating of his injuries - something that seemed to work greatly in favour of Peter at the moment - so as to not make the budding doctor in front overthink her capabilities.

Was New York always so needy and loud for the Spider-Man? This was something that occupied Peter's head often.

However, when he thought back on it, perhaps it was better for him to put his life on the line than have someone innocent or desiderate to live to fight the devils.

I mean, he did fit all the requirements for this job didn't he?

He was young, had the abilities, tolerant of the aftermaths of the fights he carried carved in his skin, bones and blood. Moreover he didn't have anyone to rely on or care for - May would be able to live with him, his job wasn't so special to him if he didn't require the money either. On the contrary Peter thought it to be a blessing to die - to forget all the turmoils, catastrophes of the world; to forget how many villains needed to be fought or how many people needed to be saved - to just forget.

Peter always thought, that maybe he wasn't made for love. That maybe he didn't deserve it. He thought about how everyone he loved left him, deserted him and thinking back on them, he just wondered how much love favoured him in this life. Maybe love didn't favour him at all, maybe love hated him, maybe that's why death always won in each of his chapters. Maybe that's why, Peter had become a void - because love refused to favour the life of this boy. He never really understood why lover never looked upon him with a smile. But guess there was never really an explanation for some grudges.

But if love never favoured him, Then what was this sudden weird electric sparks coursing through his body? This weird fluttering that seemed to keep him up at nights thinking about this one person that flew in his life and and broke past all his resolves to nestle herself comfortably inside the confines of the walls surrounding his heart?

And Peter really never could understand what was happening in his body. At first he thought that perhaps it was his spidey senses. But after a while, when he actually came to a conclusion, he was dumbfounded. Being deprived of love and refusing the comfort of any other hands rather than his own for such a long time - the revelation - was actually quite unexpected by him.

But to say that Peter didn't see all of the unfolding and development of feelings, would be a mistake. Mayhaps, Peter did knew what was happening, did knew that he was falling in a bottomless hole; but the feeling of letting go, the feeling that encompassed the journey was so blissfull it was hard to deny himself the pleasure after denying it for such a long while.

So we recount to a faithful afternoon, two years prior, to an empty & silent alley in one of the bustling streets of NYC.

XXX ♤♡◇♧ XXX

It was just another day in the life of Peter Parker - waking up, packing his suit, taking an early leave or going on a feild trip for his job only to fight the villains and end up all bloody. The only difference was the gushing wound on one of Peter's upper legs that seemed way worse than his regular wounds.

Peter seeked sanctum in one of the empty alleys of the New York Streets to treat the wound only to find himself looking sideways at a young bespectacled woman with curious eyes, hair in a messy bun, clutching one strap of a heavy-looking backpack with some folders and pages in the other - she was staring at him with worry in her orbs.

Usually it wouldn't have been a problem, he'd hit up some pick up lines and flee as far as possible with his wounded leg and never meet the girl again - it was simple and easy without any damage to either his social or personal life. And it would've been easy and simple - Only if Peter had been wearing his mask. But he sadly wasn't, and now he gazed back like a deer caught in the headlights as the figure approached him slowly and cautiously and stopped a few feet away.

"Can you walk?" The words were almost whispered with caution.

"Excuse me?" Peter said in a breathless voice; swinging through the city with an almost torn-off leg does hurt more than Peter imagined, after all.

"Can You walk? With that leg of yours?"

"Yes, I suppose. But why?" Peter asked with confusion and weariness.

"Then please come to the top floor. I can treat your wound."

The clutch of the strap got a bit tighter as the words tumbled out of her lips in the hushed silence of the alley. To say Peter was surprised would be an understatement; it had been a while since someone willingly wanted to help him. But then again, Peyer wasn't weak, was he? He surely could handle that little much laceration wound on his own, right? So just like Peter have always done, to all his colleagues, his neighbours, supposed friends, associates and May, he declined.

"Thank you for the offer but I can Handle this on my own," Peter uttered in the same dazed voice, opting to turn his head down as if signalling the end of the conversation.

"I'm sure you can," the voice chirped again to fill the whispery silence, "to the best of your abilities, but It would be better if I had a look at it. I'm a medical student so I'll be able to ptch it up reall quick too. Besides to treat you'd have to either swing or walk back to your home, and you really can't do either with that deep of a cut anyways. So let me have a look at it, please."

"I said I you do-"

"No you can't, you may clean it or patch it up until you can do it up but the slash is huge, don't you see? If you don't treat it immediately, your whole leg would either get infected or you'll bleed to raw. And I don't think you'l be able to swing your way around the city with a half infected leg anyways. So Please for your leg's sake enter the third window from the right on the top floor of this building so I can nurse the damage. I'll try to get there ASAP," and with that the girl hurried inside a door on the side of the monument on right.

Peter however, was still failing to recover from his daze, and by the time her words actually registered in his head the wound had started to sizzle with wind. He gathered his own stuffed backpack and as slowly and painlessly he can, followed the instructions.

Peter swung to top of the building & crept insided the bedroom of a rooftop apartment that looked very comfy despite being a complete definition catastrophe to found himself in a pair of freshly washed shirt and jogging shorts half an hour later - the girl said they belonged to her father and brother previously.

Peter stared at the unknown woman as she wrapped up the incision in a white cloth. Her fingers were skilled & worked in a quick yet sure manner.

"You can handle pain very well you know?" The woman broke the awkward silence with a glance at Peter's face only find him staring back at her with a monotone face, "the area around the gash had already started getting infected, if I found you a bit later your leg might've fallen off. Still you're very lucky. Thankfuy no valuable nerve was heavily dama-"

"Why are you helping me?" The rambling was interupted by the strict and straight voice of the spidey

"Excuse me?"

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because I can? Am I not allowed to help you? You looked like you needed some serious help though," The woman asked tilting her head slightly.

"Is it a plot?" Years of practice had certainly helped Peter maintain a Poker face, which came in handy as he stared at the confused eyes of the woman in front of him - his heart deeming the expression to be cute.

"A plot?" The woman repeated as she looked at him in disbelief, "You think l'm helping you because l'm involved in a...a...a stupid gang or something that wants to murder you?"

"Or it could be an individual plan," Peter shrugged nonchalantly as he dared not remove his eyes from his supposed - captor.

"An individual pl-?"

"Why else would you help me? If not for your own benefit?"

At this The woman seemed to become a little pissed at Peter's words as she sputtered with her next sentences before finally giving a coherent reply, "Maybe fighting with evel people all your life makes you heroes feel as if good people don't exist but trust me, they do. And quite contrary to your assumptions I just so happen to be one of them."

The woman tied the cloth around Peter's leg in a tight knot & rose from her seat collecting the equipments back in her first aid box, opting to leave the room, offended - instead finding herself halting mid-step at peter's voice calling out to her.

"I'm Peter," Peter gazed at her retreating figure and as she turned around to look at him with judging eyes, "Peter Parker."

The words were uttered into the sunset in a softer tone - as if the speaker was almost shy, which - looking back at the circumstances - Peter probably was. And as the dying rays of the sun filtered through the drawn back curtain of the only window in the room - the one Peter had entered through - encasing the room in all it's ethereal glow, Peter was able to finally get a glimpse of his healer, clearly.

The rays fell on the bed and on womanly figure, bathing her in the delicate glow of dusk, highlighting her dainty features. She was handsome, very much so in the afyernoon light; and despite being pissed and offended a few mintues prior, she took her time in tilting the corners of her lips into a soft amd pleasant smile as the injured man stared at her in awe - that was perfectly hidden beneath his Poker Face.

"I'm Y/N L/N." The names etched itself in Peter's brain ringing sweet bells everytime, serenading him into calmness.

And so since that fateful day, it became a regular event. Whenevr Peter would get hurt - no matter how small or big the wound, he'd always find himself on the doorstep (or window sill), of the tenth floor building on the same street he never remembered the name of. And slowly as the days swept by, the visits weren't just limited to treating wounds. Infact, contary to either of their professions, Peter found both of them had quite a lot in common, and their opinions generally matched - and for the ones that didn't, both of their adjustable manners suited the situations. And as the days brew into nights, Peter found a companion in Y/N - one that Peter hoped lasted for life.

Peter found a best friend to look after him and talk with on rainy days and summer evenings.

××× ♤♡◇♧ ×××

Now, two years later as Peter sat on the same bed he had so many times before, he thought back on all the bitter and sweet memories Life gifted him, and perhaps they were needed for Peter to bring him to this point in life - and Peter never wanted to go back.

It was late. The sun had gone down a few hours prior and the moon glowed brightly in the sky, peeking in through the windows as Peter observed the familliar figure beside him - nursing another one of Peter's daily unwanted gifts.

She looked dainty, almost unreal as the moonlight illuminated the room casting it in the soft glow of night time. As Peter gazed at her, he started carving out all the plains and roughs of her faces, the shape of her eyes, lips and nose, the way her lithe fingers glided across Peter's skin - and Peter couldn't find it in himself to intrupt the dance her fingers were engaged in on his chest. A light breeze swept in through the wind making rounds of the room and messing with the strands hanging around Y/N's face as Peter gazed at the seemingly engaging spiral of movements infront of him.

"Staring is rude, you know?"

The peaceful silence occupying the room was suddenly broken, giving Peter a small start, as Y/N lifted her head barely so as to glance up at Peter's face, her lips curving into a small smirk at the look of slight surprise on his face, before her skilled hands resumed their work.

After a breif moment of comprehension - and more staring as Y/N wrapped up the gashes and stood up to starighten the sheets on the bed as much she could with the tall figure lying on top, Peter finally found his voice strong enough to utter the two words - that he hoped would convey all that was unsaid and all that he wanted to say but couldn't.

"Thank You."

Y/N looked up once again at Peter with a teasing yet soft grin and breathy chuckle, "Pete, don't be so modest about yourself. Patching up your wounds provide me an excuse to practise my skills on a regular basis. And as a junior doc, It's more benifitting to me that it is to you."

Peter let out a breathy chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck as Y/N turned around to put the first aid box at the top of one of her bedroom shelves, "Still thank you, for everything you've done for me. I really appreciate it."

And this time as Y/N turned around to look at her best friend, she paused for a second, taking in the scene before her. The moon casted the same glow on Peter's form as it had on her back - except this time, the star gazed one was Y/N.

She had always wondered how she never once felt awkward with the close proximity, she always seemed to share with Peter. Her heart once whispered because they were menat to be; but the rational part of her brain was quick to shut down the irrational daydream before it could flourish. However the warmth of her cheeks when Peter looked at her, the tiny fluttering in her stomach whenever he'd smile, the warmth in her being when they hugged couldn't be stopped from spreading all through her body.

There were nights, when she wondered how it would be if she was brave enough to turn the page to the next chapter and just ask her best friend out. But then again, even though happiness was granted if the proposal was accepted - the pain, heartbreak and loss of warmth in their friendship, at the refusal was granted in a much greater probability. And thus Y/N drifted off to sleep every night thinking of all the 'ifs' of the world.

But this wasn't the world of dreams, it was the waking world, and as Y/N realised the soft glow in Peter's eyes when he looked at her, she wondered - no, hoped that her feeling might probably be reciprocated.

"It's honestly no biggie Pete. It really isn't," She neared the bed as she said the words, finally sitting upon it with one leg folded on the matress and the othe rdangling down the side, her eyes searched Peter's face carefully noticing the genuine-ness behind Peter's words, "however what is a problem is that you've hadn't had a single mouthful since the meager breakfast this morning. Honestly dude, don't you ever get hungry? If I wa sin your place I'd be starving! Heck, I'm starving even now!"

Peter let out a small breathy laugh at Y/N's dramatics. She always tended to be the more dramatic one, especially regarding matters of food. So sporting a soft smile he looked up Y/N.

"No I'm fine, I'd just have something to eat when i get home."

"Home? Do you even know how late it is?! It's," she hekd up the digital clock on the side of her bed, "9.15 already! You literally live on the other side of the city! By the time you reach your home it would be way past 10! I ain't letting you starve till then boy!"

By now, Y/n had stood up on her feet in front of the bed with her hands on her hips - and Peter found it to be way too cute for her, "Call up Aunt May and tell her that you'll be eating here today. I'll go and start whipping something up in the kitchen, ok?"

"Ok."

"Good," Y/N turned around & exited the room heading down the halls to the kitchen, to scour how much she can that would fill both her and Peter up, while Peter rested on her bed.

Ever since that incident five years ago, Peter had always wondered that maybe love wasn't really meant for him, that maybe love didn't favour him. But now, as he stared at the moonlit retreating figure of Y/N L/N, he prayed to all the love gods in existence, to favour him just this once as he drafted up the same confession, he had been drafting for the past years, to finally come out of his heart and in to minds of the beauty he called his bestfriend.

A/N : Pls tell me how you like it in the comments this is my first story and I would really appreciate the feedback!

Please don't repost or rwupload my work anywhere apart from here.