#both frankenstein and his monster do it and it's so exhausting

[jellyfishoreo1206]

WE ARE NOT SEEING ENOUGH OF MIRAGE GUYS

So I'm taking matters into my own goddamn hands-

Meeting Mirage ;)

Either Noah or Mirage might be a little OOC, but I'm giving it a shot

Takes place after the movie, with fem pronouns

Enjoy!

-------

Dude, where the hell are you?

Y/N was currently sent a page to Noah, her best friend of 3 years. He was suppose to pick her up from work, as her car broke down and is still getting fixed at the mechanics, but it was well over 20 minutes and he still hasn't showed. He was suppose to be there at 7:30, and now it's almost dark.

I'kl be there in 10 minutes! Domething just csme uo

Several typos, whatever the hell is happening over there is really making him either rush or panic... actually those are both kind of in the same sense.

Letting out a sigh through her nose, Y/N quickly typed out a response.

Yeah, yeah. Better keep to your promise, Sonic.

Not even letting him respond, the H/C-nette shoved the device into her coat pocket. Sure it may be the beginning of the summer, but she get cold easily.

And I mean very easily.

"Man, I really need a hot shower right now."

10 minutes breezed by quickly, seemingly in a blink of an eye. About to page Noah again, Y/N stopped in her tracks when a honk sounded in front of her.

Looking up, her eyes widen in complete surprise at the image in front of them. Her best friend, Noah Diaz, in a fucking Porsche. Well, it looked like it seen better days, but still.

"Yo, you gonna get in or are you just gonna stand there looking so surprised?" Noah shouted from inside the car, a smug look on his face.

Snapping out of it, Y/N got inside the car, buckling in her seatbelt.

Once the seatbelt clicked, Noah started the car onto the route back to Y/N's apartment complex. 5 minutes in and the two are making small talk and all that before Y/N asked him a question.

"So, what happened?"

"Hm?"

"To the Porsche. Looks like Frankenstein's monster."

Noah let's out a small chuckle at the comment, "Oh uh, some guy sold it to me for a good price. Because it was all banged up and stuff. Couldn't even start."

"When did you get it?"

"Got it 2 months ago, still has some kinks that need to be fixed. But we've made some progress." He patted the dashboard in a comforting way, a somber smile on his face.

"2 months ago? Weren't you in Perú during that time? Also is Reeks helping you fix the car?"

"Yeah. I think I made a pretty good decision going there..also Reeks is just helping me get the parts, I'm mainly doing the fixing."

"Mm, pretty good job so far. I could help with the paint job? The blue and silver seems to be fading out, but I think it a fresh coat will make it look gorgeous."

After she finished that comment, the car felt like it heated up a little. Not too much to notice, but just enough.

"By the way, what did you do in Perú again?"

"Oh, to study for a job I was doing..got to see some of the landscapes and all that..and nearly died-"

"What was that?"

"Wha-nothing! Don't worry about it at all."

A silence fell between you too, an awkward silence to be exact. He's a little more fidgety than usual.. probably from exhaustion. It's something he does whenever he's very tired. Man, he must be more exhausted than usual.

"Sorry I called you so late, like right after your new job and stuff. It must be tiring."

"Nah I don't mind, you're my best friend after all. Just returning the favor when you babysat Kris last minute." Now Y/N absolutely loves Noah's family. First time she met them, it felt like a bond just, instantly clicked within. So from that day on, she makes a little time out of her day just to visit the Diaz family, especially Kris. He was so sweet, and like the little brother she never had. So whenever Noah or his mom were busy, she babysits him, and brings some food so they can enjoy together.

"I don't mind babysitting Kris at all. He's like a little brother to me anyway."

"Yeah, that's Kris. Best little brother I could ever ask for." A soft smile comes to his face, maybe he should bring some food from that burger joint his family likes, before he goes home so his mom doesn't have to cook tonight.

"Yeah..Hey do you mind if I put in my playlist?"

"Go for it."

Grabbing a mixtape from her pocket, she inserts it into the slot right above the radio, turning the knob to hear what was currently playing.

The familiar rhythm of Virgen by Adolescent's Orquesta brings a smile to your face, increasing the volume as one of her favorite songs plays through the car. Every so often, she would sing along to the lyrics, taping her fingers against the door.

What Y/N didn't know, was a certain Autobot mech was observing her in the passenger seat mirror, noticing the small things about her that seemed to have caught even more of his interest. The moment she got in the car, Mirage had to admit, she was PRETTY. And the compliments she said? Wooo that was feeding his ego.

And she was drop-dead gorgeous, in his optics, he doesn't even know her one bit and he's on his knees just from the sound of her voice. Oh her voice, don't even get him started on her voice. Most purest thing he has ever heard since he had stepped foot on Earth. Got her filling his tanks with a fluttery feeling, or as Noah sometimes likes to refer to, butterflies. What a weird thing to say. (Ngl, I head cannon Mirage to fall in love FAST)

After those few thoughts, the mech started observing her other features. Her eyes, hair, lips, cheeks, hands, even the smallest of moles/freckles that were dotted across her face. Oh and when her smile plastered her face, Mirage felt his spark beat faster.

She was a beauty, a beauty in her own category..

Sadly he wasn't able to admire her much longer, as they stopped in front of her apartment, the sky now completely dark. About to open the car door, the lock clicks, preventing Y/N from getting out. Thinking nothing of it, Y/N goes to unlock it, but it keeps repeatedly locking itself. With a huff, Y/N turns to Noah.

"Dude can you stop that shit?"

"It's not me I swear! Li-like I said, Mir-! The car was all banged up when I got it, still got a few bugs in it.." And as subtly as possible, kept kicking right above the pedals. Not to harshly, but to get the message across to stop messing around.

Finally after what seemed to be forever, the car doors unlocked, with Y/N getting out of the car, making sure to grab her tape. Running a hand over the hood, not noticing the shudder of metal, Y/N waves goodbye to Noah before entering her building, already getting excited for her hot shower.

When Y/N was out of sight and earshot, Noah turned to the radio, somewhat pissed.

"Mirage, what the hell was that??"

"Whaaaat? I did nothing wrong. Also, ouch. Do you have to kick me that hard? I'm still recovering y'know." You could hear the teasing smile on his face, pulling the recovery card whenever.

"Mirage you can't do that."

"Why not? Not like she noticed anything."

"You just can't!"

"Aww but I wanna keep admiring la angel bonita un momento más."

"..what."

"I wanna keep ad-"

"I know what you said, but, seriously?"

"You gotta introduce me to her one day, Sonic."

"Mirage she's going to freak out!"

"Mm but what are the chances she won't? Pleaseeee? I won't stop bothering you unless you say yesss~" He coos in a sing-song voice.

"Nu uh, ain't happening. Just because you're acting like a kid doesn't mean you're getting it."

"Fine. But whenever you give her ride home, I'll just keep locking the doors."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Noah leaned back into the recliner, pinching the bridge of his nose out of frustration. Whenever Mirage says he'll do something, he will follow through. He's ambitious like that. So either; Stay with the no but have Mirage be a brat for who knows how long, or, just get it over with.

"Sooo..Is that a yes?"

He was quiet for a bit, before letting out a sigh,"Fine, fine! Yes, it's a yes."

"Hell yeah, baby! Oh I already have so many places to meet up for dates-"

"DUDE."

------

So that concludes my first post! I like how this (somewhat) turned out, but it's a first. I've made some edits to this and the second part will be out soon, so I'm sorry for keeping you guys waiting!

Part 2 here!

[dross-the-fish]

do you ever think how Victor from the book and Henry (Victor) from the Frankstein movies are so different at how they reacted to their experiment coming to life? Henry cherished SO MUCH his experiment, he's was excited that it came to life and he handled him very smoothly. He was even kinda sad to actually kill his experiment after Adam killed his lab partner, like... "Professor, how can you ask me such thing? He barely came to life-". And then we have Canon Victor running from the creature as he was running for his life and then getting sick for about one year of shock and exhaustion ☠️

I have thought about it. the creature from the movie was, i think, much more innocent than in the book. Where book creature's acts of violence were intentional movie creature doesn't seem to be aware of the harm he's causing. The only person movie creature intentionally kills is Fritz, a character who directly tormented him and threatened him with a torch. This does make the movie tragic in a different kind of way because movie creature can't be held accountable for his actions to the same extent as book creature.

Movie Henry/Victor is also much older than book Victor and I think he was better equipped to take responsibility for his creation. Book Victor is from a different setting. The time period and the fact that he's barely out of his teens sets him up to be much less capable of parenting his creation than film Victor and book creature is, let's be realistic, a lot more difficult to parent given his intelligence and capacity for wrath. It takes very little for book creature to start acting out with intentional violence and by the time he and Victor reunite he's already set a house on fire and killed a child on purpose.

I also think book Victor and movie Victor/Henry had slightly different goals. Movie Vic just wanted to bring a creature to life, I don't think he cared as much about what state it was in. while book Vic wanted to create a perfect race that would love him and this race would be a reflection of him. Perfection, was the goal, not just the creation of life but perfect life. When his experiment comes out as a horrifying monster it registers as a world-ending failure vs film Victor who considered his own a success at first.

the book and movie are apples and oranges, ultimately I think they're so divergent from each other that there's not much to compare but I do enjoy both and I think the film did a lot to make the Frankenstein creature iconic.

[saiilorstars]

ch.16: To Stand Back Up

Steve Rogers x OFC fic • squeeze your eyes for a Bucky Barnes x (2nd) OFC

taglist: @ocappreciationtag​​​​​​​​​​​​ @arrthurpendragon​​​​​​​​​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​​​​​​​​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​​​​​​​​​ @stareyedplanet​​​​​​​​​​​  @gloryekaterina​​​  @averyhotchner​​​ @foxesandmagic​​​​​​​​​​​​ @lenonizi @kmc1989​​​​​​​​​​​​

Story Masterlist • Seren’s Masterlist• Chloe’s Masterlist​​

Also available on Fanfic ○ Ao3 ○ Wattpad

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know!

The one thing that solidified Seren's trust in Tony was that he had managed to wake Chloe up in a less frantic state than the hospital had in the past. This was three days after he'd managed to take her to the Tower. Out of prudence, and a lot of guilt, Seren was not there when Chloe woke up for the first time. Neither was Steve.

Naturally, Chloe woke up very dazed and confused. And tired. My God she was so exhausted. After a few minutes of blinking, she understood that wherever she was wasn't the hospital. For one, she wasn't surrounded by a fleet of nurses anymore.

"Welcome to the land of the living, Megamind." Tony's voice made Chloe shut her eyes. She knew exactly where she was now. "You have truly earned that nickname, you know." Tony came into Chloe's peripheral view seconds later. "After the scans I've run on you, I can certify there is no one else on this damn planet with your brain."

Chloe let out a groan, though it was unclear if it was from exhaustion or annoyance. It could easily be from both. "Stark, what are you doing...?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm gonna go Frankenstein on you..." Tony's lips were stretched into a wide smirk when Chloe finally looked his way. "You do know that was the name of the monster, right? In this case, you are—"

"Be quiet," she turned her head away from him. "This is the Tower."

"Are you asking or is that a fact?"

"Did the Hive Mind tell you that? Are they speaking to you right now?" Tony went around the bed until he was once again in Chloe's view.

"Leave me alone, Stark—"

"Tell me," Tony ordered her. "I need to know if they're speaking to you right now."

"No!"

"'No' they're not speaking to you or 'no' you don't want to tell me?"

"No, they're not speaking to me!"

"Excellent," Tony went back to smiling like nothing. "That means it's worked."

"What worked?" Chloe shot him a suspicious look.

"I've been tinkering with some things, you know me," shrugged Tony, "And now that I know the full extent of your powers, I've managed to perfect the inhibitor we've been working on."

"You...you did?" Chloe tried pushing herself into a better sitting position.

"You tell me, do you hear anything?"

"N-no, I don't..." Chloe rubbed the side of her head, wincing every now and then. "But shit still hurts."

"Yeah, those would be your injuries you sustained courtesy of your time with HYDRA and your battle with Twinkle Star."

At the mention of Seren, Chloe stopped altogether. Her memories were a bit foggy but she did remember that she'd been ordered to take on Stardust as a distraction for the Winter Soldier's benefit.

She gulped. Her eyes fell down to her hand currently wrapped up in gauze.

Seren's eyes flashed colorfully. "I love you, Chloe, but I know a lot more than you. And if I have to burn that tech out of your hand, I will."

Chloe felt the sizzle of her skin and started screaming.

"Oh my God..." She swallowed again. Her fingers stuck out from the gauze and she could flex them as she pleased but she still felt the echoes of pain on her palm.

"Third degree burn," Tony told her. Chloe's wide eyes fixated on him. "Seren's got volatile powers — you're lucky she didn't burn a hole right through your hand. The burn is deep but, with a few restoration surgeries from Dr. Cho, you should be fine. Just can't promise you won't have a few scars, though."

Chloe's shaky breath spoke volumes of the horror she felt. "I can't believe..."

"You should know that Seren feels just awful about it," Tony said, sounding tired like he'd heard that over and over. "I think she did you a favor."

"Tony, please...shut up," Chloe practically begged him.

"What, you're mad at her?"

"No!" Chloe brought a hand up to her forehead. "I deserve way worse than this! I-I should be in fucking prison or something!"

"I assume your memories are coming back now..." Tony watched Chloe lose the color in her face, the horror just biggening in her eyes.

"I should be in prison..."

"For what? For being brainwashed?"

Chloe looked up at him, brow furrowed angrily. "I nearly killed my best friend!"

"Looking back at feedback cameras, I think she had more of you than you of her."

"Tony!"

"Oh, what do you want me to say!?" Tony exclaimed. "Yes, the whole thing sucked! It was horrible but guess what? You didn't do it, Megamind. You wouldn't dream of doing things like those. HYDRA had that second piece implanted in your head and it messed with you big time. I'm trying to undo it and seeing you so guilty makes me think we're on the right path. So now we can pick up where we left off on those studies of yours. Are you going to help or not?"

Chloe let her head drop on her pillow. She began to kind of miss the fleet of nurses. At least they put her to sleep...

~ 0 ~

Seren should've known better than to expect a quiet welcome at home. Her parents were still livid about S.H.I.E.L.D. and the thought of finally having their daughter home, safe and sound, was the best news they could get. Seren had been in many tight spaces, truly tight, but never had she felt the lack of oxygen when her parents squished her in a hug.

"Let me take your suitcases up to your room," her father was quick to offer and grabbed the handle of her largest suitcase behind her.

"Dad, I can do things on my own," Seren reminded, though she had to laugh when Brooks froze for a second. "I'm not trying to be rude, I just...I'm used to doing my things on my own."

"Something you need to get out of the habit of doing," Liana pinched Seren's cheek.

"Ow," she shooed her mother's hand away from her. "Mom!" Brooks took advantage of the distraction to haul Seren's things towards the staircase. "Dad!" Seren groaned. "I've only been here for 5 minutes and you guys are already going overboard. We agreed this wasn't going to happen."

Liana dramatically sighed. "I'm just so happy that you're home! I was so happy when you called to let us know you were coming."

"Yeah, well, it came to my attention that maybe I needed a break from the city and potential missions and...Chloe…" Seren drew in a breath, the mere reminder of everything left pending in the city was enough to pull her mood down to ground.

Liana wasn't having it. "Well, we're not going to think about any of that stuff! You're finally home!" She dragged Seren to the living room, plopping down on the couch together, never letting go of Seren's hands. She was simply too eager that in the end, Seren had to laugh. She'd never seen her mother so excited about something, much less having to do with her. She'd have to thank Steve when he came by later on.

"How's it been for you guys?" Seren asked her mother after a moment. Liana smiled a certain way that told Seren there were some things to discuss but things that Liana wasn't so eager to. Seren sighed. "Mom, I'm a big girl. I can take it."

"You can take anything," Liana agreed, "Sometimes it scares me how much you can take."

"Mom...S.H.I.E.L.D.'s databases were dumped on the internet. Every secret is out, my secret is out. That means our entire family is going to know what I am...what you are…"

Liana's jaw tightened as she watched her daughter's eyes lower with shame and guilt that should not be there. "Don't say it like that, honey. It's not your fault. It is literally not your fault. It's my fault, it's your father's, your grandmother's, for letting you get caught up in that world."

"No, Mom, because one way or another I would've ended up working for S.H.I.E.L.D. I have no doubt about that. But now this is how things are and now everybody knows." Seren paused for a moment when her father's steps started getting closer. "We've all been compromised. I can take care of myself but I know how things are around here. The family...once they find out…"

"They better watch their mouths if they're going to talk about my girls," Brooks said as he joined them. "Because if I hear even one bad whisper from any of them, I'll punch them." Both Seren and Liana snorted. Brooks gasped with offence. "You don't believe me?"

"No offence Dad but you're not exactly the punchy type…"

"I'm whatever I have to be for you two," he came over and pressed a kiss to the top of Seren's head and then Liana's. "But they love you, they'll naturally have questions but I can't imagine anybody hating either of you."

"I'm just sorry that we had to bring you down too," Seren sighed, her shoulders shrugging awkwardly. These past few days she'd been doing a lot of apologizing without giving any solutions.

"Seren, have you given any thought about what I said the last time we saw each other?" Liana asked. Brooks came to sit beside her, his hand resting on her arm, an act to warn her to be cautious. Liana treaded lightly with her daughter. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone. You don't have to...you don't have to do any of that stuff anymore. I don't want to do this all over again. I don't want to constantly fear for your safety, for your life. No mother should have to do that."

Seren met her parents worried gazes. "What can I do? Stop what I like? What I'm good at?"

"Good at?" Liana repeated incredulously. She felt Brooks' grip around her arm tighten. "Seren, you do realize that every time you're out being 'good at something' is another moment where you're endangering your life. Why can't you…?"

"Be normal?" Seren finished for her with a bitter smile. "I think we are way past that, don't you think?"

"That's not what your mother meant," Brooks cut in, Liana agreeing with a nod, "This is the first time in your life where you've had complete liberty to do what you want. We're just asking you to please consider other alternatives before you jump right back into the old thing. Not everything has to be a fight."

"And what would you want me to do, huh Dad? Want me to settle down in Hudson, work as a realtor like you?" Seren asked with a hint of reproach in her tone. "Because as confused as I am, I know for sure that career is not for me. It's for you, it's for Mom, but not for me. And I really wish you would finally get that." She rose from the couch, a small smile marking her face. "I don't want to fight about that anymore. I just want to...breathe."

Liana quickly got up and reached for Seren's hand. "I'm sorry. The last thing I want is to drive you away again. I just worry...as tiring as it is to hear it, I have to say that it's something you'll understand when you have your own child."

"Especially if they're as stubborn as you are," Brooks pointed, making both women laugh.

"That's very far away so…" Seren said, leaving it very clear, "How about some dinner? I'm really hungry…"

"Yeah! Of course!" Liana exclaimed. "We can make your favorites!"

"Now that sounds good," Seren rubbed her stomach and followed her mother for the kitchen. They were always good at cooking together, more so if they managed to keep Brooks' fingers out of the pots.

~ 0 ~

Within a few hours, Chloe felt the effects of the inhibitor wearing off. She felt like her senses had been heightened and not in the cool Vampire Diaries way like she watched on t.v. but the kind that left her with very little desire to do anything. Everything around her had some kind of information that the Hive Mind delivered to her without her asking. The lab was a huge trigger for the Hive Mind as every single tool in there and every scan running had some information they had to tell her about. No longer did they wait for her to ask them; it was on automatic now. By night, she could no longer be in the lab. She felt her head would explode.

Tony had a room for her in the Tower but to his annoyance, Chloe felt like being in the Tower was too much for her right now. At her request, or rather plea, she got Tony to rent her a measly little apartment just two blocks from the Tower. He did it only because she wouldn't stop crying. Whatever was going on, her emotions were definitely on the heightened side of things.

So there he stood in the middle of the not-so-grand apartment while Chloe looked around. "No more tears?" he called to her.

She shook her head. "Sorry about that." She was actually embarrassed by the fact it happened. "But I do think this is for the best right now."

"Really?" Tony crossed his arms. "Or is it because you don't want to run the risk of bumping into Seren at the Tower? I told you she went to Hudson for a few days and Rogers is out starting his manhunt for Barnes. Nothing to worry about."

Chloe said nothing about the two in question. She couldn't. She had no face to talk about either of them, much less to be in the same room as them. She felt like she'd failed them both. "Thank you for doing this..."

"Don't mention it, kid. I just want you to comply with our agreement about this."

"I will," she nodded. "I'll be back at the tower tomorrow morning."

"Good," Tony said, handing her the keys to the apartment. "And the inhibitor—"

Chloe raised a hand to stop him. "It's not your fault it didn't work longer. Like you said, there's no one else like me on this planet. We'll have to figure it out piece by piece."

"Well, I'm gonna go through HYDRA's files that are now public on the internet," Tony said, "Maybe amongst their experiments there might be one close to you. I doubt they stopped at you."

"Oh, thanks," Chloe mumbled. She thanked him yet again and saw him out the door. She really just needed to be alone for a while. The Hivemind was still active, perhaps trying to figure out their newest addition. She didn't fault them.

For the past 4 years they spent their time ignoring her or being blissfully unaware of her interaction with them, but now she was there and they had to adjust to having a human amongst them who could now fully understand them. She was privy now to all their secrets, as were they to hers. There needed to be some balance between both sides, a type of compromise where they weren't so loud in her head and she didn't accidentally understand something she shouldn't be aware of.

But how? How could she even begin to dissect the now fully active, fully inclusive, Hivemind?

Chloe moved into the kitchen. It was rather small with only space for one circular table for two people. The cabinets, she discovered, were yet to be stocked. Tony had already given her — slammed — the credit card in her hand with absolutely no way of rejecting it. She grabbed one of the glasses she found and turned on the filtered water.

The Hivemind whispered to her about the water, the quality of the water.

"Why the fuck—?" she sighed and switched the water off, letting the glass come down with a thud on the counter. She clutched the side of her head, eyes squeezing shut, willing herself to last through the loud moment of information. She didn't understand why, oh why, would she need to know what the quality of the water was?

"Useless shit," she muttered once she finally felt the pounding in her head fade. She turned around and leaned against the counter, slowing her breathing until she could say, with confidence, that she was normalizing again. How many times would she have to go through this? The indefinite answer scared her.

~0~

Seren stood out on the porch of her house with her phone glued to her phone. After the message that Steve sent her, she had to talk to him. "What do you mean Tony just let her go!?" She was flabbergasted with Tony's moves with Chloe. "I let him take her so he could help her and he just let her go!?"

"I understand your concern, Seren, but it was Chloe who asked for it," Steve explained. "And according to Tony, she sobbed for it too. Being in the lab was too much for her. She needed quiet."

"I shouldn't have left her..."

Steve had known those words would inevitably leave Seren's lips. He'd been so supportive of her going back to Hudson so that would get to breathe after everything that happened, especially with Chloe. As much as he wanted her not to feel so guilty, he just didn't know how to do it. He himself struggled with the same battle when it concerned Bucky. Maybe that's what he couldn't figure out a proper way to help her. He'd be too much of a hypocrite. But he knew why he would keep trying. It was simple, and hypocritical. He loved her. He loved her and he wanted her to be happy all the time, even if it meant giving her words of comfort that, if said to him, wouldn't work quite work. He'd do anything, say anything, to lift her spirits.

"Seren, you deserve to take a break," he started. "You did what you had to do and Chloe will understand. At the end of the day, Chloe is gonna make her own decisions and you know what? Maybe it's for the best. Maybe she also needs to breathe and take a break."

"But she's...she's hurt, Steve," Seren said, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes.

"So are you. You deserve to heal too."

Seren wiped a loose tear from the corner of her eye. "What if she...what if she doesn't come back?"

"Seren, don't worry. Tony rented the first closest apartment to the Tower and trust me, it's close. It's 2 blocks down. I really think it's just something Chloe needs right now. Time to process and think on your own. Sound familiar?"

Seren managed a little smile. "I think..."

"So please don't worry, alright? You can always call Tony if you want to know anything. He told me that he's working on an inhibitor for Chloe to help quiet the Hive Mind. Apparently, it's been a lot more active lately."

"Yeah, it's the second tech piece. They've been fully installed now and I bet it's driving Chloe mad. I hope Tony can come up with a good solution for it."

"Oh, if there's something Tony loves it's answering one-of-a-kind medical mysteries."

~0~

Chloe decided she needed to go out for groceries and, really, for everything else she needed. That turned out to be a lot. She could've asked Tony to help out but she really wanted to be alone. She already felt bad enough using his money to buy things. She put on a pair of earphones and listened to the gentlest of instrumentals in hopes of easing the whispers of the Hivemind while she was outside.

She stopped by a small time Radio Shack because, unfortunately, she couldn't feel completely safe without a burner phone. She never knew when she would have to make a run for it again. Maybe it was just the leftover paranoia from years of habit. Everything she owned now was Tony's—he was kind enough to leave her old number for now—and it was embarrassing enough to owe him that much.

As she waited for the phone at the counter, her eyes landed on the television hanging above. Her blood went cold when she saw the images of the Helicarrier battle aftermath. Chunks of the Helicarriers had landed on property where people lived, killing those who were unfortunately on the premises at the time. Scenes switched to Natasha's meeting with the government and the headlines were as controversial as they could be. Should the Avengers involved be arrested?

Arrested.

Chloe took in a breath. She had done far more damage than she ever thought she would. She'd helped Hydra take over the Helicarriers, enabled them to gain a new weapon.

What about the Black Widow's red past?

Suddenly the music in her earphones wasn't loud enough.

Stardust's origin may subject her to investigation.

Chloe couldn't see herself getting her phone faster now.

Should Captain America step down?

"Here you go ma'am," the employee pulled Chloe out of her trance.

She sucked in a deep breath, eyes trained on the man who was holding out her phone. "Thanks!" She quickly handed him the money and took her phone. She stuffed it into her back pocket, shifted her bars around her wrists, and rushed out.

Her next stop was the grocery store. She focused on the music and her breathing all whilst she grabbed the things off the shelves. Pasta packs, sauce, soup cans, sandwich ingredients, milk, fruit…

Her mind only focused on food and music and nothing else.

She made it out relatively fine, though she had to take a few breaths in and out before she continued on the street. There were certain people that even earphones couldn't cancel out. Her burned hand was still out of commission so she walked even slower with all her bags.

Her bags were heavy so the way home had be quick. She just stopped by a small time Radio Shack because, unfortunately, she couldn't feel completely safe without a burner phone. She never knew when she would have to make a run for it again. Maybe it was just the leftover paranoia from years of habit. Everything she owned now was Tony's—he was kind enough to leave her old number for now—and it was embarrassing enough to owe him that much.

Just as she entered the building, she heard the phone Tony gave her ringing. With some effort, she managed to grab the phone and answered it. She stuck the phone between her ear and shoulder to now wrestle for her door key. "Hello?"

'Winters?' She recognized the female voice. 'Finally you pick up!'

Chloe managed to unlock the door without dropping any of her bags. "Sorry, I was a bit busy being in a half coma and all…"

The woman on the other end snorted. 'I saw the news. We had a whole meeting about it too. Is S.H.I.E.L.D. really gone?'

Chloe stepped into the dark apartment, foot kicking the door shut behind her. "Yes. It was never standing to begin with."

'Where are you right now?'

"Healing. I'll have to—" Chloe was cut off when she felt the distinct feel of an arm over her left shoulder and the tip of a blade in front of her neck.

"End the call," she heard a gruff male voice order.

'Chloe?' The woman asking. 'You still there? I feel like we need to talk.'

"50% chance of danger!" The Hivemind was raging. '50% chance of danger!"

Chloe swallowed. "I'll have to call you back, Citlalli." She ended the call then promptly let everything fall to the ground. "Who are you?" She called to the stranger in the dark.

Without answering, the man shoved her forwards. Chloe ended a good distance away and the first thing she did was find the light switch. As soon as they were on, she came face to face with a man she didn't think she would see in a very long time.

The Winter Soldier held a knife at her. "I need to talk to you."

~0~

Seren couldn't help the hum that slipped her mouth each time she grabbed another forkful of dinner. Her parents would chuckle each time.

"It's nice having you around, honey," Brooks said, "You're like the light of the house. The light of our family."

Seren flushed. Her mind immediately thought of Steve when he called her that. "That's...that's actually what Steve says too."

She might be missing him. The whole afternoon she focused on spending time with her parents, making a nice homemade meal, but every once in a while her mind would go back to Steve. He was supposed to be working with Sam these days going over what S.H.I.E.L.D. had on the internet.

"He's a smart man then," Brooks remarked. "He recognizes what he has."

"He's, uh, planning on stopping by for a couple days…" Seren measured her parents reactions.

"He's more than welcomed to," Liana said, reaching for Seren's hand. "We can set up the guest room and everything."

"Thanks Mom," Seren said, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. "I told him I could, um, show him around Hudson. At least for a bit."

"He'll definitely be welcomed by your father," Liana made a nod towards Brooks who was already grinning. "You can expect a lot of chit-chat from him."

Seren dreaded it for a moment. "Please don't. Steve's always a bit shy when people say they're like his fans. Plus, Dad, it's embarrassing."

"Well, you never did bring a boy home," Liana reminded her. "I mean a few of them were brave enough to come on their own but you always turned them away."

"I think we all know why," Seren said with a pointed look at her mother. "At least with Steve everything's on the table now. He knows what I am, what I can do, and he's not afraid."

"Nobody could be afraid of you with that face," Brooks gestured.

Seren shook her head at both of them. As much as they annoyed her sometimes, she was glad that she was home for that night.

~0~

"You?" Chloe was quick to brandish her fists, now glowing blue with energy, at Bucky. "Stupid to ask how you got in but I will ask why? Do you think you'll take me back to Hydra? I'd rather kill myself on the spot before I let myself…"

"Turn into me?" Bucky cleverly finished with. He was going for the stun attempt and judging by her wide-eyed response, he was on the right track. He pulled his knife down, tucking it on his side.

Chloe then took note of his casual clothes—the cap—he wore. Why would the Winter Soldier want to fit in? Better question, why would he put away his weapon?

"I need to talk to you."

She blinked. "Wait a second, you said 'talk'. The Winter Soldier doesn't talk to people, much less me."

Bucky turned his head to the side, clearly averting everything when he heard that name. "I need information," he said shortly.

"And you thought threatening me with a knife was the way to go?"

"You were on a call. I couldn't risk being exposed."

"Why should I believe you? In fact, why shouldn't I start fighting you?"

"It's not a fight you can win," he said automatically. Chloe could've been shades of offended but instead, she laughed. Bucky looked at her curiously. That wasn't a response he was used to. "I'm not...I'm not with Hydra anymore. They're not done but I am. I just need information."

"I'll bite," Chloe lowered her hands to her sides, "What could you possibly get from me?"

"You're the Hivemind," he said flatly, "You have everything."

"And nothing at the same time." She tapped the side of her head. "Your boys messed with my head even more than I already was." She then showed him her hand that was still healing from her burn. "My friend didn't know how else to get the chip out so she decided to burn my hand. I'm living on my own because the world's too fucking loud right now. There's too many people talking inside my head so I really doubt I'll be able to help you!"

Bucky listened silently. She had troubles of her own, much like he did but obviously less. She didn't say it out loud but he could see it in her narrowed eyes. She didn't entirely trust him.

That was more than fair.

He didn't trust himself at the moment. His head was quiet but he wasn't sure for how long. He had cut ties with Hydra, taking out the tracker embedded inside him. He was a free man yet not free at the same time. He was bound by the invisible chains of control that Hydra had him under for 70 years.

Why should this woman trust him when he couldn't even afford himself the same gesture?

He reached for something inside his pocket, making Chloe stiffen and ready herself for a battle. He had obvious advantages but she would be damned if she went down without a fight. He pulled something out, not a knife.

It could be a pulsor.

The Hivemind started whispering, overlapping with what sounded like dozens of voices. Chloe brought a hand up to her head. She didn't want to close her eyes for fear of missing whatever Bucky could throw at her.

He held his closed fist to her, turning it over and opening his hand up. Chloe saw something shiny sitting on his palm.

It's complete! The completion of our network! Chloe drew in a shaky breath. It was the second tech piece that Hydra had implanted on her hand. She held her injured hand close to her chest, suddenly feeling the terrible stabs of the needles and the burn. "You took it..."

"I didn't mean to." Bucky couldn't reason why he did what he did. He lowered the tech piece on the floor and backed away until his back was against the door. "It's yours."

Chloe naturally didn't move from her spot. "Why?" Her voice was thick with emotion. "You just...you just took it. Now you want to give it back? What do you want?"

"Information," he shrugged.

"But what else?" Chloe demanded, unable to believe that information was all he could want. "You are giving me the opportunity to go back to some normality so what is the price? What does the Winter Soldier want from me?"

"I don't want to be that person anymore," he said warningly, eyes narrowing just as much as hers were against him. "They say...that museum in D.C….they say that my name was Bucky. I'm not him either but it's a hell of a lot better than what Hydra named me. I don't want anything from you besides information. The tech...it's yours."

"Just like that?"

"Yes."

Chloe couldn't help the scoff. "Seriously?"

"Yes."

Chloe stared at him for a full two minutes, expecting him to move or something along the lines. He, however, stayed completely still. It had to be his training. She decided to take one step forward, immediately checking him for any small movement.

He was still.

One more step. He stayed still.

Two more steps. She paused at a sudden noise. He hadn't moved, it was just one of her oranges rolling from her bag. She drew in a breath and took the last three big steps for the tech. She bent down to pick it up.

He stayed right where he was.

Chloe studied the piece on her palm. It was virtually intact. A few seconds more and the piece started glowing blue. Blue streaks ran from underneath, spreading across her hand. The whispers of the Hivemind were multiplying and while they were significantly quieter than without the piece, it was still a bother that she had to let it go. It dropped back to the ground.

"Does it do that to you?" she asked Bucky who'd watched her silently the whole time.

"No," Bucky answered on the spot.

Chloe sighed, raising her head to meet him. "Alright, I'll bite—again—what do you want?"

"Stories," Bucky finally said, "As many as you have."

~ 0 ~

It was early in the morning and Seren found herself wide awake. She was in her old room but instead of being in her bed, she was standing in front of her old desk. Her pinboard was just as she left it the day she moved out.

Pictures of her young self were sprawled all over the three piece set mixed with outstanding headlines of the time period's news. There were clippings of her high school's best headlines as well, those Seren was a part of and those she wished she could've been a part of. It was her life put together in a three-set pin board. She felt like there needed to be a new addition to the board, but there was no more space. She'd have to think of something.

She heard her phone vibrate on her night stand. She went to pick it up and smiled when she saw the caller ID of the text. She decided to surprise him and called him. "Well hello there," she said as soon as the line was picked up. "Didn't we agree that you were going to sleep in?"

"I could say the same thing about you," retorted Steve. "It's pretty early. Kind of sad, you know. I assumed your phone was on silent so I texted you."

"And I'm ever-so-happy that you're figuring out the art of text messaging!"

"Seren."

Seren let out a giggle.

"Well, you're in a better mood today. How are you doing? Are you and your parents…?"

"It's okay," Seren nodded, "I mean...they still want me to stay in Hudson. I've made it clear that I'm definitely not doing that but then the point still stands: what am I going to do next?"

"Relax, Seren, you're there to think, remember? You've only been there for one day."

Seren sighed heavily. "Then why does it feel like it's been 10 days?"

"Because, and I say this with all my fondest feelings, you're a bit dramatic."

"What!?"

Steve chuckled. "It's endearing when you make the pouting face. Are you doing it right now?"

Seren glanced at the mirror on the other side and quickly stopped pouting. "No!" She ended up smiling the more she listened to Steve laugh on the end. He had no idea how much he made her miss him. Spending two years apart had to have done something to her because now she resented every day they weren't together.

"How are things with you and Sam?" she asked a moment later.

"We're combing through the internet for anything S.H.I.E.L.D. related at this point. You wouldn't believe how many off-the-record bases we're discovering. They're supposed to be old warehouses but…"

"We know better than to believe that," Seren finished for him.

"Yeah. They're all over the world too. There's so many that I don't even know where to begin."

"How about the ones you and Bucky ran into in the past? The ones from the war? If those are still standing and Bucky's just a little bit nostalgic...you might get lucky."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that. I just need more time to organize things."

"I'll help where I can," Seren promised.

"Thanks sweetheart. But don't worry, I'm setting things up with Sam so that I can be in Hudson soon."

"You better," she playfully warned, "My parents are already setting up the guest room for you."

"Right, can't go making bad impressions…" Although, Steve already felt the heavy nerves layering on his shoulders.

"Little do they know that I want to be sneaky and pull you into my room." Seren waited for his response that she was sure had to be comical to see in person.

"I beg you not to say any of that stuff when I get there," he pleaded and Seren nearly burst into laughter. The only thing stopping her was the fact her parents were already asleep. "I mean it, Seren Soul. Don't get funny with me."

"Yes, Captain," she said with a giggle to follow.

"Seren, c'mon, I need to make a good impression and my track record hasn't been the best!"

Seren drifted towards her window once she was more or less sober. She pulled the curtain to the side and saw the dawn ahead of her. "Oh calm down you drama queen. You already have my Dad in your pocket. I'm actually scared of what they'll do to embarrass me. But you know what? I'll take it all if it gets you here quicker."

"...I miss you too," Steve said softly. "I'll be there soon, I promise."

"Good," Seren let the curtain fall back in place, "Because as hard as it was growing up in Hudson, I actually want to show you around. Isn't that stupid?"

"I think it's nice," Steve said, "And I can't wait to see it, and you. Get some rest, though, you'll need your energy for later."

"Ooh, what are you planning on doing to me?" She giggled when he stammered with his words.

"That is exactly what you will not say around your parents—to anybody actually!"

"Sure, just get over here soon!"

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

I asked about dinosaurs, what horror movie monsters do you think the Daycare crew would be?

That I’m not so sure with because I don’t watch horror often. But my brothers do so I had the gremlin siblings answer this one (also because I’m exhausted and work kept me an extra HOUR longer than they scheduled me).

Sun: The Wolf Man (because he’s gone feral)

Moon: Dracula (according to my middle brother, he’s a vampire because he doesn’t come out in the light)

Kill Code Moon: Frankenstein (because he’s freakishly tall)

Eclipse: The Mummy (because he sleeps in his crypt aka the lab all day)

Blood Moon: Xenomorph (I’m unsure of the reasoning but they both agreed Xenomorph)

Harvest Moon: Bigfoot (Reasoning unsure?)

Lunar: Gremlins (because he’s short and absolutely causes chaos)

Good Eclipse: Godzilla (I did not receive context so neither will you)

[coldforestnight]

Having a thought about Logan's physical body and Kendall having both an aversion to it and a fixation on his health, and all the conflicted feelings on how it assures Kendall that he won't be weaker than his father forever but that's also something that disconcerts him because in his mind Logan must always be a God and a paragon of strength and vitality, which after his death is the version of him that Kendall tries to keep alive inside of himself while also warping it into something more comforting.

Geez that was a crazy run-on sentence. Anyway, I was also thinking back on S2, how Kendall's reverted to a small child and their relationship becomes much more *intimate* than it's been in a long time. And on the one hand he feels vulnerable and powerless and revulsed at going back to that place, but then there's also a dissonance in seeing that Logan just isn't all that he used to be, doesn't look or feel the same and can't do what he used to. And then maybe that triggers another primal fear, of his dad one day being gone forever and himself left alone and torn apart.

(And at the same time he's retreating into childhood as an escape from the guilt of what he did to Dodds, wanting to be an innocent victim because it feels safer.)

Yes! Kendall’s fixation on his dad’s health before he dies is such an interesting current to pick up on. I’m thinking specifically of the scene in 3x04, where Logan suffers heat exhaustion at Josh Aaronson’s, and if this was a less well-written show, Kendall might take this moment to lord his own physical health and superiority over his father’s weakness. He doesn’t. It’s a moment of fear for Kendall, being confronted with something that seems so impossible - he’d rather have his father be an all-powerful abusive God than a frail human man. Him putting a healthy, alive version of Logan on screen in 4x06 is almost akin to reanimating a corpse, making his father a Frankenstein monster, because the monster is what Kendall is familiar and comfortable with.

This ties into this message a little, I think: when you’ve been abused by a family member, you want to believe they’re powerful, they have reasons for hurting you that you could never possibly escape, because villainizing them is the easiest way for your brain to cope with the abuse. Oh, Kendall. You are never going to stop craving your father’s boot on your neck </3

[theatregaymer]

Frankenstein’s Ticklish Momotarou!

I meant to have this done and posted yesterday, but recovering from a party kept me in bed still kinda hungover LOL! So I hope you enjoy this cute little idea I had for these three to be preparing for their party!

It was nearing the end of October, a classic time for people to gather together for spooky celebrations. And it just so happened that the halls of Samezuka Academy were no different. Untold amounts of fake webbing, black wallpaper, pumpkins, lights and various other decorations littered the campus, and a certain club was intending on throwing a bit of a soiree in order to garner donations for activities. Of course it wasn't just a party, there were also a few other attractions being planned, such as a haunted house, some appropriately themed snack stalls and also a few game booths.

Not everyone was ready however, and in their dorm room Aiichiro Nitori and Momotarou Mikoshiba waited patiently for a certain fellow swimmer to arrive with their much needed supplies. "He'll be here soon Momo just relax." Ai told his kouhai, the redhead in question currently sitting on his bunk, tapping his feet impatiently. "Mmm but Ai-senpai! How can I be Frankenstein for the party in time without the paint!?" Ai sighed at this, one hand coming up to rub at his own head, attempting to ease any oncoming headaches from his overly energetic roommate. "Well firstly, its actually Frankenstein's monster. Second, Hazuki-san was just as excited as you were so I don't see him making you wait too long."

The blond had absolutely jumped at the chance to help the two prepare of course, with Ai thankfully not needing much help at all since he was going very basic with just some painted on whiskers and some cat accessories. The silver haired swimmer had learned his lesson in his first year that he was often just too adorable even when trying to dress scary. Nagisa would apparently be dressing as a vampire, likely to have an excuse to nibble as many necks as he could...he did seem like he enjoyed getting attention from as many people as possible.

As if on cue, their door was suddenly assaulted with an energetic knocking pattern that could only be one person. "Yohooo! Ai-chan! Momo-chan! I brought the goodies!" A happy yet already exhausted Nitori walked over and opened the door, being swarmed by a hug out of the blue. "Bwah! Ah hello Hazuki-san." The blond gave a sudden smooch to his cheek for a quick blush from  his rival before dashing over and practically running into Momo, before the two were hugging and dancing in place with excitement, like the redhead hadn't been sweating with worry less than thirty seconds ago.In all honesty, all three boys shared a unique but mutual affection for the others, though it was an unspoken rule between them to wait until after Momotarou graduated before possibly trying to begin a poly relationship. For now it was friends first, and Nagisa of course was that touchy feely kind of friend who made no mystery about his affections. Hence why he had agreed to help them with the makeup for the party, having his sisters to thank for his own skills with the brush. "Here, we'll lay out a towel and Momo-chan can lay down on it while we work. I went and found some nice grey and dark green colors to alternate on your body, so off with the shirt mister!" The blond insisted, not giving Momo a chance to do it himself as he grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it upwards whilst Nitori applied a pair of longer towels along his bed to protect it.

  Time being of the essence, Ai was enlisted to help in the more complex work that would be needed for Momotarou's look to be complete. He didn't need full body coverage, just a majority of his torso and part of his face really. It started out easy enough, Nagisa preparing the body paints while Ai was patting down Momo's skin to make sure it wouldn't affect the paint with too much moisture. Both boys got to work soon after, only to realize very quickly that they might be fashionably late due to a certain redhead's unexpected sensitivity.

"Whohohohaha hah wahait wait a sehechehe that tickles!" Momo cackled out loud, his whole body shifting somewhat as they were barely starting work on his stomach and chest. Ai of course looked a bit less than amused, wanting things to go smoothly to minimize their delay in getting ready, but Nagisa's expression told an entirely different story. "Uh oooh, ehehe didn't know you were so ticklish Momo-chan. But if you wanna look good you gotta hold stiiiill. We'll make it as painless as possible, right Ai-chan?" The blond looked to his fellow swimmer, winking in a manner just subtle enough that Momo didn't catch it. "Eh? O-oh yes, eheh sorry Momo, but you'll just need to bare with it okay?" The younger boy didn't seem convinced, but nodded all the same as he resigned control to the two older swimmers.

  "Hmhmmh...mmhmhmhmhehe HEheh Rehehaha rehehallyhyhy? Hehehah aha whahahaithaha wait wait hah I need a breheheak!" Nagisa shook his head, his own brush gently spreading the dark green paint around his abdominal muscles. "No can do Momo-chan! Gotta take it like a man so we can look good for the party right?" Both the blond and Ai were currently each sitting on either side of the redhead, Momo's lower half mostly off the bed as both of the other guys were sitting on one of his arms to keep him from slapping the brushes away. Ai was dilligently applying fake looking suture marks along Momo's waist, knowing he'd have even more work to do if they got messed up. "Hold still Momo-kun, or we'll make you do it yourself." He warned, earning a whine from his kouhai before the sound was quickly overtaken by numerous more giggles. "HMhmaahhah ahah heheheh Ihi'm sahareehehehe haha IHIHit ticklhehehehehshaha!" Ai had to admit in spite of how loud the redhead could be, times like this where he heard his gleeful laughter were cute enough to make it worth it.

Despite the difficulties in getting the front half applied, Momo's torso was more or less completed soon enough, The redhead blushing and squealing when his two friends were each painting over his sensitive nipples. "Pffftheheh EEHEehhahah a-angh!"  M-Mmhmhmhm C-comeahahahanhahah!" Nagisa giggled openly at that, knowing the reaction was likely a bit too much for all three of them to dwell on. "Hahaha sorry sorry, here let's get your neck done..mmm Ai'chan, I'll sit on his arms and hold his head." Momo blinked as the two swimmers shifted, his arms both raised over his head. "Eh? Eeeh!? W-W-Wait a sec my neck? Haah!" He jumped, Ai now straddling his hips while the blond firmly seized his head by both sides, leaning in. "Mhmmm, your sensitive neck Momo-chaaaan~ Mmm looks delicious, I might need to take a taste hmhmh..." Momo jumped, squealing as he felt the blond's mouth on his throat, teeth gently nipping and earning the sounds he wanted. "EYehahahah naaah youhuhu two are just teheasing mehehe!" Nagisa stuck his tongue out, Ai sighing with a grin. "Sorry Momo, but I do need to draw the suture marks, It'll be fast so try to hold still." Despite agreeing, the blushing young swimmer couldn't help but make things take longer, squeaking and giggling like crazy with the brush's ticklish bristles gliding along his neckline, this had better be worth it.

Thankfully with a fast hand, Ai finished the markings to look both professional but also uneven, a great job by Nagisa's standards. But the blond wasn't quite satisfied just yet, he had other more sinister ideas in mind as he stayed seated on Momo's arms. "Oh wait while we have you here, hehe we gotta make sure your disguise is gonna look more random, here just lemme start painting this spot too!" Momo couldn't properly see as the blond reached past him, only hearing Nitori mention something about helping to hold him as he leaned forward to press both hands onto his hips. "What's hahappenihihingheEHE AHAHA AH WAHHAIT NOHOH!" A soft and bristley feeling was now finding its way around his open right armpit, the blond cackling above him and insisting it was for realism as the paint continued to spread around the boy's rather ticklish underarm. "AH AHAHA AHHAHAH STAHAHPHAHaahah ah ihihit tickles too muuhuhchah!" Alas this only received a head shake from his senpai. "Sorry Momo-kun, but I promise we only have a few more spots to go. Right Hazuki-san?" Aiichirou looked to Nagisa, knowing that even if both of them were on the same page, the blond was far more actively thinking about tickling the snot out of their younger friend.

  The blond nodded, still finishing up his work in the poor redhead's armpit as he took care of making the fake suture marks himself this time. "Mhm he's right Momo-chan. Just gotta finish with your baaack...and your feet!" Momotarou of course cackled in reply, not denying them at all since he didn't see the playful look the older two exchanged while his eyes were closed in ticklish agony already. By the time his arm was done, Momo was weakly flipping himself over, groaning as he at least hoped his back wouldn't be nearly as sensitive as his armpit. "Pfft...A-aahah ah nohoho faair...haha this cohostume suhuhuhcks!" Momo's feet wriggled about, gently patting against the carpeted floor as he felt those soft brushes dragging around his bare back, tracing the shoulder blades, dragging down his spine and swiping back and forth along his sides and lower back as well. If they hadn't been so obviously chuckling along with the underclassman, the two might have even heard a couple of small snorts leave the man's lips as they were having far too much fun at the otter's ticklish expense. Finally it all seemed finished, the young Mikoshiba sibling panting from these exploits, wondering if swimming a relay was more or less exhausting than dealing with this.

"Okay, only one more place to go. Most of your upper body should be dry soooo, we're gonna rotate!" Nagisa's words were met with less enthusiasm than usual, Momo already looking a bit partied out as he got off the bed and crawled into a better position to allow the other boys to each claim one of his feet now hanging off the far end of the bed. "Ooooh Momo they're so biiig! What are these, twenty-seven? Twenty-eight?" Nagisa couldn't see the blush on his friend's face, but heard the slightly embarrassed tone as Momo lifted his face to speak. "mmm...Twenty-eight and a half?" Nitori smiled warmly, already applying the fake looking suture markings to one ankle as Nagisa continued to gush over the boy's feet. While Momo might still be a bit in the dark about it, Aiichirou knew the blond most likely had an interest in feet especially, but never really acted it out more than offering a massage every so often. This of course would not be a massage, as the wicked brushes prepared to deliver a truly ticklish treatment to their trembling little otter.

  For the next several minutes, they were shocked nobody knocked on the door to see what was wrong or complain about the noise as Momo writhed on the bed, pulling at the sheets or squealing with ticklish protests. "GAHAHAAAHAH ah AHAh ah wah wahahithehahha no nononahat theherehah EEEHEH Nahat between my TOHOHOEESHHSHAHAHA!" Of course Nagisa and Ai only taunted him further, the silver haired swimmer especially getting more on board as he did find this all rather adorable. "Momooo, you need to hold still or we'll be here all night!" The thought of this torture lasting all night was definitely not something the other boy wanted of course, his fears working their way out in a horrified squeal just as Nagisa was swirling his own brush along the boy's bare arch. "Exactly! And if you keep moving we might mess up...hehe theeen we'd have to scrub em clean and start aaaaall over hehehhe." Oh he was truly so evil, how had Momo not caught on by now? "EHEHE HAha pah plehease nohohahha Ihihi'm sahareeheeehehhehaha ah AHAhaha iththeheheh it just tichihikelehehehsahah so baaahahad! Ah...aahah ah...ah haah...aahah...EHeh...gah...hah a-are we done?" He wondered aloud, the sensations fading as his less ticklish insteps were finished up with only minor twitches or hitches in his breathing.

  "Yeees yes we're just about done." Nagisa said, before his eyes glanced down at another pair of soft and delecate looking soles currently upturned. "Hmhm oh Ai-chan, maybe we should paint yours to look like kitty paws with toe beans!" Ai, who was thankfully finished with his work, blushed brightly, his toes curling as he rose up and made a beeline for the bathroom in order to do his own face makeup. "N-no way! Besides I'll be wearing shoes!" His excuse given he quickly shut the door to a whiny blond's protests before he giggled. "Make sure to let it dry Momo-chan! You look great! I'm gonna go meet up with Rei and get the rest of my costume and I'll meet you guys there!" Momo weakly waved him off, still exhausted from this ordeal. "Okaay...thanks Nagisacchi...hah...." The door shut, his torment finally over for now. His muscles twitched, his breath evening out before Momo suddenly perked up and gently pushed himself up with a realization. "Wait...aren't I gonna be wearing shoes?"

[introvert-celeste]

My Topics in British Literature class is so much more interesting than I thought it would be, like we’re doing a discussion this week on the polar ice debates and climate change and this connects to the message in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The whole class is dedicated to “wild romanticism”: how nature is portrayed in the British imagination in the Romantic period. It’s such a big deal as far as British literature is concerned, but it seems like such a niche topic.

Anyways, I’m writing about how Frankenstein represents humanity and his monster is the dangerous environmental imbalance we have caused through our own actions, but are currently helpless to stop it. It’s a message that far more applicable now than it was in 1818.

[mllemaenad]

Zagreus sits inside your head

Zagreus lives among the dead

Zagreus sees you in your bed

AND EATS YOU WHEN YOU’RE SLEEPING

The other thing I do when I’m exhausted is listen to Big Finish audio plays. Because a) entertainment I can get lying down with my eyes closed is very appealing in that state and b) the grandiose nonsense you can get away with in a story when you do not need to care about a special effects budget is amazing.

The Eighth Doctor is my favourite. Misbegotten son of a deeply weird attempt to bring a British television programme to American audiences without explaining anything properly to newcomers or making any sense at all to existing fans. Caught awkwardly between that and a 2005 reboot that then insisted he must have borne witness to an apocalypse. Therefore plagued variously by recurring amnesia and bouts of madness, gothic imagery, tragic monsters and endless Frankenstein metaphors (because it was in the movie!). Otherwise playing an interminable game of whack-a-mole between Time Lords dabbling in genocide and Daleks fiddling with time travel (because ... whatever is going on in the TV show these days!).

Definitely left his long-term planning skills in his last body. Has a timeline so complicated that making sense of it is an impossibility. Probably doesn’t remember what happened yesterday, anyway, so it’s a moot point. The fatality rate among his sidekicks is becoming concerning. Probably only alive at this juncture because Liv, currently the most persistent sidekick, brought enough survival skills to share with the class, and because, since they got the rights to include future characters, a surprising number of people he should not know at all have mutually agreed that this one needs babysitting.

But I have to say that accidentally getting himself possessed by an ‘anti-time’ monster that is both an ugly symbol of Gallifreyan colonialism, and an obscure mythological figure who may or may not be an aspect of Dionysus, who breaks boundaries, dies and is reborn, patronises drama and brings madness and frenzy is quite possibly the daftest thing they have ever come up with, and therefore delightful.

[blue-bird-kny]

How You Spend Days Off

I stuck to only the three main peeps, but I’m looking forward to writing for more JJK characters. It was actually really nice to write for them, so I hope you enjoy~Amanda

P.S: Be safe out after dark!

Warning: N/A

( 2.1K+ words)

   ↳{shenanigans you and your S/O get up to on days off}

Yuji:

Days off with Yuji are unpredictable and always either involve something thrilling and very energy consuming or it can be some of the simplest things a person can do- no in between.

Yuji usually is the one who makes plans during your spare time (though he always gets your opinion, of course), he just really values time with you and wants to experience so much together while he can

It was common knowledge that this coming Friday, all the students would have the time off to rest as a reward for all their hard work with the recent influx of curse activity. Yuji wasted no time in planning the perfect day together, from the moment you woke up next to him to when you both fell asleep, he had something ready.                               

“Ah that was delicious Yuji, thank you” you cheered, arms stretched high above your head in an attempt to work away the sleepiness the food had made you feel. “No problem! Only the best for you, princess” Yuji’s smile reached past his shining eyes, thrilled you enjoyed the assortment of plates and bowls filled with your breakfast favorites he’d surprised you with. “Well then, my prince, to what honor do I owe your company today?” you asked leaning against your balled fist and bent elbow on the table, amusement and adoration laced on all your features. “For one day only, yours truly scored us tickets to…! Drum roll please!” Yuji posed dramatically, eyes cast down while crouched and pointing in a funny manner.

You proceeded to bang your fist against the table, laughing lightly, “We’re going to spend all day at Monster Con!” he pulled out two floppy pieces of paper from his back pocket as you gasped, “Oh I’m not finished yet, princess, we’ll also be wearing matching costumes I hand selected” You stood quickly, clapping at his theatrical performance as he bowed, repeating, “Thank you, thank you”. You made your way to infront of the boy, your arms wrapping around his broad shoulders while he enveloped your waist tightly, pressing you against him. “Not going dressed as your pesky alter ego, huh?” you joked staring up at the taller kid, earning you a slight pout, “No, he’s not invited” he grumbled. “Sorry, that joke was in poor taste” you apologized, shifting to run your thumb along his juted bottom lip to smooth out the lines.

“No worries, I know ya didn’t mean anything by it” your hand stayed cupping his cheek, both star-filled eyes trained on each other as you both wore the cheesiest grins. Just as you stood on your tip-toes to close the space between each other, a warm gust of breath blew against the palm holding Yuji still, “I was wondering why you hadn’t spoiled the moment” you sighed, lowering yourself to lean your forehead against Yuji’s chest instead. A small mouth carved into its host cheek frowned, now free to speak without your hand suffocating it, “I can handle the women’s teasing, however what have I done in my many lifetimes to have to suffer through this painful love-sick puppies act” Sukuna complained. “Many things actually” you responded, muffled by Yuji’s shirt that smelled of a citrusy-warm blend you couldn’t get enough of. “Why do you always kill the mood?” Yuji  groaned up towards the ceiling, earning himself a scoff from the demon king. “Oh? You mean like that I wouldn’t let y-” “SHUT UP!” Yuji slammed his hand against his own face to silence the man, his cheeks inflamed.

Now clad in matching costumes, you as frankenstein's wife and Yuji as Frankenstein, from the hair to the clothes to the make-up, you both spent the day without any further hiccups; how Yuji kept Sukuna at bay, you didn’t know, but I didn’t really matter. The stares from passengers on the train to the convention center was obvious to everyone but you two, lost in your own little love-sick world of old-fashion horror movies, delicious food, and pure, unfiltered content.

Megumi:

Megumi is a simple guy who likes simple things; he’s overworked and more exhausted than he even realizes, however he doesn’t acknowledge that...ever. In fact, you could run a mile ‘too quickly’ by his standards and he will have you take a break and drink his bottle of water (though you had your own and he knew that).

On your rare days off together, Megumi would silently stick to you like glue; he wants to do something for you in the creative way Yuji does and definitely wants to spend the time with you, but he can never come up with a complete idea of how to ‘wow’ you.

Except you didn’t need to be wowed, in fact you really were burnt out, so when the day came when you had  nothing to do but be together, you planned a whole day of nothing with a side of Netflix and take-out.

You knocked on the door to Megumi’s dorm that was just a few paces away from your own. It was almost noon and you still wore your pj’s from last night, cookie monster shorts and an old shirt of Megumi’s you took last week, having made no attempt to fix your hair. “Umi~!” you whined, banging on the door a little harder, the plastic bag from the convenience store rustling at your side. “Coming” Megumi opened the door in a similar state; pj’s still on and hair sticking in even weirder directions than normal.

“Mornin” you greeted with the faintest grin, “sorry to wake you” “ I was just getting up” he yawned while he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. “Sure I can tell by the bed head” you teased, earning a playful eye roll from the boy. You waved the bag of goodies in front of his face, “Let me in, I’ll make it worth your while~” he chuckled, “I doubt it” despite his words he stood to the side, letting you past and closing the door behind you.

His dorm was dark and a little stuffy, clearly Megumi hadn’t had time to do the in depth cleaning the little neat-freak was so fond of. The continents of the bag clacked together and scattered around as you tossed it onto the small table in the corner, making your way over to his comfortable futon that smelled of his signature eucalyptus soaps. You flopped about for a moment, stretching, snuggling into the sheets still warm from Megumi, who was watching the small scene from the door, “C’mon Umi’ I wanna get through at least two episodes of SVU before we inevitably fall asleep wrapped in each others arms” you called dreamily with lidded eyes, already tired again as you buried beneath his sheets and pillows.

Megumi could feel his chest ache and stomach flutter at the image of the one who he cared for so much that it physically hurt laying there in his bed with soft, kind eyes just for him- it was almost too much. “Umi, I will eat all the sour snakes if you don’t come over here, your sheets are getting cold” Megumi was cut off by his own thoughts of admiration by your voice. He chuckled at the cute way your face cringed a bit at the sour-sweet taste of the candy before sliding into bed too, your head laying on his chest as he held you close. A small, genuine grin spread across his lips as the sound of Netflix starting rang from the TV, holding you even tighter, ‘this is perfect’

Nobara

Be ready to put on your best dressed because you and your girlfriend are hitting the town! Of course Nobara would find her way into the city whenever she could, foreign to the endless wonders the busy streets had to offer and luckily for her, you happened to be far more native with the many sights to see.

She’d let you sleep in, holding you tender as she traced her nails across your skin to form intricate patterns until you woke. You both would totally be the couple that wears matching outfits, the same colors and patterns tailored to your personal styles- of course this would also lead to thousands of pictures for Nobara’s instagram.  

You two would laughed, eat delicious foods, and would spend way more than either of you cared to admit nor did you want to because the price of absurd, unfiltered laughter and the feel of just a good time, was one both of you could pay a thousand times (and a new pair of shoes too)

The sun hung lower in the sky than it did when you started this little adventure before noon, having been sold on the idea by Nobara that she “only needed a few things” this morning. Now, exhausted perched on a steel chair outside some cafe you’d never heard of with your sore feet elevated on the other empty one you waited for your girlfriend who was inside somewhere.

“Jeez even my fingers are cramped” you groaned flexing your numb digits; shopping was a grueling vice because no matter how much you’ve already bought, more cute sweaters, tops, and matching accessories called to you by name and the art of saying ‘no’ wasn’t exactly in Ms.Kugisaki’s vocabulary. “Here ya’ go babe” Nobara emerged from the shop with two cups, handing one to you before sipping gingerly from her own. You brought the plastic straw to your lips, sighing in relief as the contents quelled a thirst you didn’t even know had been building up. “I don’t think we did too much damage” your face fell and eyes bulged, flailing your arms out around at the brightly colored parcels that littered the table and surrounding floor, “Nobara there are at least fifteen bags here”

She laughed, her hand falling on top of your thigh, giving a gentle squeeze, “Still no that bad”. She scooched her chair closer to yours, her thumb rubbing nonsense circles into the denim of your jeans, “What next?” she asked leaning into her seat, her brown irises watching yours fondly, “Food? We haven’t eaten since a lot earlier and I could turn into a wolf any second and eat you” you teased, though food sounded better and better the more you thought about it. “Eat me? You promise, baby?” Nobara’s smirk earned herself a not-so-graceful, but light kick from you.

“An impromptu picnic sounds great” Nobara decided, tapping against you in finality. It became a game: You both had 30 minutes to run around the delicious food district to pick out each other's favorites, as many as you liked (which would be more food than two can eat), then you’d reconvene at the same cafe. Nobara offered to pick up a blanket at the convenience store because she ‘knew you so well she wouldn’t need the whole half hour.’ The game was on and time was ticking as you both rushed in opposite directions with several bags and a hunger to please the other.

You scurred around each vendor, selecting different meat dishes and veggies, cakes and watermelon, and even splurged on some fancy sushi from the place she'd wanted to try. Your arms quivered under the weight of the many shopping bags and take-out boxes, but you were determined to get back first. “Just around the corner- Are you kidding me?!” you yelled. In the exact steel seat she sat in earlier, was Nobara with an array of bags around her, boxes and the blanket stacked neatly on the table with dark sunglasses adorning her face and her legs crossed cockily as she spoke smoothly, “Beat ya”

Both of you grossly overestimated the amount of food you could eat in one sitting as practically unopened boxes lay stacked on top one another on the blankets while watermelon rinds and used plates were thrown into a garbage bag. The sun was low, almost at the horizon, painting the sky in pastel oranges and pinks with hints of purple and blue; the spring chill had blown a little heavier now that the sun was setting and it was getting harder to stop the shivers. Nobara laid against the trunk of a tree with you between her legs, holding you as her manicured fingers idly massaged your scalp quietly- you would have fallen asleep at the small gesture had you not been actively keeping your eyes open. “The boys will be grateful for the food, I’d hate wasting it” she yawned to which you only hummed.

“Hey” you turned your head up slightly, only enough to meet her gaze, “today was really fun” she smiled, slithering across your arm to grab your cheeks gently in her fingers, forcing your lips to pucker, “yeah it was.” Your wobbly smile made Nobara feel things, too many things at once, and a lump began to form in her throat, “I love you” you mumbled, Nobara’s breath caught for only a moment, whispering a thick “me too.”

Masterlist 

[just-call-me-the-intrusive-thot]

Soulmate September - Day 7

Day 7 - There is a string tied around your pinky that only you can see, the end of it leads to your soulmate.

Pairing(s): Kid AU! Intrulogical

TWs: Remus being Remus [though not overly so, he’s like, 9 here], some swearing

–

Remus Castillo and Logan Smith were two very different children; former was creative and bursting with chaotic energy, while the latter preferred to be more logical, more stable. One studied hard into the night despite his young years, the other decided that a good time was filling a blender with crayons and silly putty to see what would happen. Both attended different schools, lived a good distance apart, and neither of their families knew the other existed.

What could possibly bring together such opposing forces?

If your answer wasn’t being forcibly dragged kicking and screaming from the local museum by security for tampering with the exhibits and screaming about historical theft, then congratulations; you’re most likely still sane.

How did these very different children meet, you ask? 

The story began on a Friday lunchtime - as all good stories often do - when Sanders Elementary and Faraday Academy For Gifted Children both booked their museum visits for the same time slot. Thankfully, the museum staff speculated that they could indeed handle two classes of fourth graders at once - those poor, unfortunate souls - and decided to start both classes off on either sides of the museum with a little overlap.

Logan entered the foyer with his peers, gazing around at the array of trinkets and treasures adorning the space. Though he hungered for knowledge of all kinds, his heart was set on the cosmos, reaching for a copy of the museum’s map when his hand was blocked by another. He recoiled and turned to face the other; a boy with tanned skin as opposed to his own pasty complexion, with wild green eyes that bore into Logan’s own, and a grin like a shark about to snap Logan’s hand up in it’s jaws.

“I call dibs, four eyes!”

Logan huffed, straightening his glasses, “There are plenty of maps to go around, there is no need for rudeness-”

“Why do you talk like you’ve got a stick up your ass?”, the boy asked with no hint of remorse nor shame, “Just talk like a regular kid, jeez!”

Logan was flabbergasted. No one had ever talked to him like that before. Then again, no one ever really talked to him in general. Perhaps that was why his lonely little brain could only think to stammer out, 

“Who ARE you!?”

The boy roared with laughter, “Wow, thats all you have to say!? And they call ME weird!” , he shot a hand out towards Logan’s, not removing the one touching the map, “I’m Remus! What’s your name, frankenstein?”

Logan huffed, “Logan Smith. And you know,”, he began, puffing his chest out proudly as he yanked the map away, “Frankenstein was the scientist, not the monster, therefore, you’re not insulting me-”

Without hesitation, Remus leant into Logan’s space and licked the map, causing Logan to jolt back and drop it. Picking up his spoils, Remus chuckled manically, “You look smart but you’re super dumb. Frankenstein IS the monster, dumbass, that’s the whole point.”. Without waiting for Logan’s rebuttal, Remus made his way back to his class, leaving Logan to frustratedly grab another map and return to his class, unaware of the string that formed around his pinky…

The tour was everything Logan had hoped for; an informative romp through space and time, enjoying the sights of the planetarium and a walk through a tunnel lined with geodes. And yet, all Logan could think about was that stupid boy who stole HIS map. Hmph! How dare Remus call him stupid! Whatever, at least they would stop soon to have lunch in the Polar Exhibit and he wouldn’t have to think about- 

Oh god dammit.

As they entered the wide circular room, he laid eyes on the boy from before pretending to have gotten his tongue stuck to the giant fake iceberg in the centre of the room. Cheering him on was a gaggle of other children while their teacher seemed more content to just eat his own lunch and try to pretend it wasn’t his problem. Logan huffily stormed over to the nearest empty seat and popped open his Big Hero Six lunchbox, ready to moodily munch his jelly sandwiches when a painfully familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.

“We meet again, professor!”

Great.

“Remus.”, Logan hissed, though he tried to maintain composure, “A pleasure, I’m sure but I must be-”

“- crazy to run away from your soulmate?”, Remus finished, leaving Logan, once again, speechless.

“E-Excuse me!?”

“Check your pinkie, dingus.”

Logan checked and finally noticed the string, and to his horror, the end of it that tied itself around Remus’ pinkie.

“Looks like you’re stuck with me for life! Unless I die, then you’re stuck with my corpse. Oooh! Maybe you can bring me back to life! Really earn that Frankenstein nickname-”

“This HAS to be a mistake!”, Logan squeaked, flustered and shocked by the news, “There’s no way YOU are my soulmate!”

Logan made eye contact with Remus and for a moment the boy looked hurt, but he plastered on a grin and poked Logan in the arm, “Nope! Fate thinks you’re my future husband, so suck it!”

Groaning, Logan let out an exasperated sigh, “Fine, then I suppose you should tell me about yourself, Remus.”. Logan would - for eternity and a day after - deny that the smile Remus gave him made his little heart flutter for the first time.

As the two ate, Remus went into a long tangent about his life and Logan found himself absolutely fascinated. 

Remus Castillo had a twin brother, Roman, who enjoyed Disney movies and being “an overly wordy drama queen”. They had a single father, much like Logan’s own, whose wife had apparently decided she was destined for greater things that didn’t involve unplanned twin boys (Remus’ words, not his). Logan listened as Remus told him all about his family’s culture, having moved from Aguascalientes to Florida a year ago for work related reasons; retelling fond memories of watching the parade of Calaveras along the Avenida Madero with his father and brother each year. Logan found Remus really enjoyed a mixture of colourful and morbid subjects, each tangent sending Remus on a fun winding road down memory lane or through a vague memory of some educational book.

Logan Smith had wanted nothing to do with the boy who’d licked his hand and stolen his map, but as lunch ended and both classes were being called away to their respective classes, he found he didn’t want to be separated from Remus.

Very apparently, Remus didn’t want to either. If they way he was gasping Logan’s arm and hauling him towards the class from Sanders Elementary instead of his own was any indicator. 

“Come on! You can hang with us! Roman won’t mind! And my buddy Remy’s lotsa fun too-”

“Remus Castillo, stop right there.”

Remus indignantly ignored his teacher, plowing through his sentence, “You’ll LOVE my class, they’re all weirdos like us-”

“REMUS!”, barked his teacher, already done with the nine year old terror, “You let that boy go this instant!”

Remus defiantly clung tighter to Logan’s arm, “No!”

“Remus Castillo, you’re to let go NOW.”

“But he’s my soulmate!”, Remus yelled, causing his classmates to chatter excitedly. It made Logan feel a little self conscious, but Remus didn’t seem to care, “Pleeeeease let him come with us!!”

His teacher rubbed his temples as if it could massage the exhaustion away, “That’s nice, but you are NOT going to cause more trouble, soulmate or not!”

By now, even the children and teacher from Logan’s academy were watching the commotion. It came to a head as Remus’ teacher tried to separate the two of them, earning the tiniest war cry from Remus as he stomped on his teacher’s foot and clung fully to Logan like his life depended on it.

“I’M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT HIM! I’LL STAY HERE UNTIL WE’RE A GROSS MUSHY PILE OF SKIN AND BONES IF I HAVE TO!”

With that pleasant image in his brain, Logan decided to perhaps appeal to his own teacher,

“Miss, can Remus perhaps stay with our group so we may avoid further-”

“Absolutely not,”, she turned up her nose at Remus’ display, “Our school has a reputation to uphold, I will not have it sullied by such a rude child.”

Well that backfired. Now both teachers were having to try and separate the two of them. It took two of the museum’s security personnel to finally haul Remus off of Logan, carrying the writhing child as they assured his teacher that they’d put him in the tantrum room. With the way they handled his feral yelling and attempts to grab at any nearby exhibits for something he could use to bash them with, this probably wasn’t their first Rabid Child Rodeo.

Logan watched dejectedly as they hauled his soulmate out of sight while his teacher ordered him to get in line as they continued their tour. He couldn’t focus on any of the various bewitching artifacts that the guide presented to them on their tour of the ancient world though, all he could think about was Remus. Alone. Stuck in some room. Missing out on the exhibits. Missing him.

“....Emile?”, Logan asked the boy standing to his left.

“Yes, Logan?”

“I’m about to do something very, very impulsive.”

“.... Okay?”

“And reckless.”

“...Right-”

“In the name of fate.”

“........”, Emile sighed, “What do you need me to do?”

“Either talk me out of what is likely a terrible decision that will without a doubt go on my permanent record and possibly disappoint my father. Or encourage me so that I may spend time with my soulmate for as long as possible.”

Emile shook his head, “Well, if cartoons have taught me anything, it’s that you’re gonna go for it no matter what I say so...”. He placed a hand on Logan’s shoulder, “Make it good, Logan, I wanna remember the day the untouchable Logan Smith lost his mind.”. With a shared chuckle, Emile let him wind up for whatever he was about to do, while Logan waited for his moment. The tour guide was gesturing to an exhibit of ancient Mayan armour when Logan chose to strike, raising his hand while Emile awaited the fireworks show to come.

“Sir? I have a question.“

“Of course, what is it?”

“Did the museum ask permission to have that armour?”

The guide looked confused while Logan’s teacher looked ready to have an aneurysm.

“I… don’t understand what you mean. Anyway this-”

“I’m merely asking,”, Logan interrupted, ready to keep pushing until he would be  hauled off by security, “because I believe that if it were my culture being mercilessly appropriated and stolen from, I would be rather upset.”

“We’re allowed to have it because it’s for education-”

“But it’s still stealing. And stealing is always wrong, correct?”

“Well, it-”

“It’s a yes or no question, please answer as such-”

-

Remus hadn’t expected company in the tantrum room, but he wasn’t complaining as Logan was marched in, looking positively proud of himself in spite of the way the security guard nearly tossed him inside with obvious frustration. With a bright grin, Remus pat the beanbag next to him, positively writhing with unbridled joy, “Spill! What’d you do?!”.

Logan tried to play stoic and prideful, but the excitement cracked through in his voice, “I merely inquired as to why museums considered their historical thievery to be ethically justified until the tour guide got angry and attempted to ignore me.”. “Sick!! Then what!?”, Remus’ delighted eyes met Logan’s with a similar sparkle of mischief.

Logan chuckled as he admired their string of fate, as people called it, slowly pulling his eyes from it to meet Remus’ again, “I screamed. Loudly. For quite the duration. I must say, I’m rather proud of my own lung capacity.”

Remus rolled his eyes, but there was a fondness in it.

“Naturally, security came to try and calm the situation.”

“And then they brought you here?”

“No, they attempted to calm me down”, Logan snickered, “But, one of them put a hand on my shoulder rather rudely. So I bit them-” “YOU BIT ‘EM!?”, if Logan could bottle the light that radiated from Remus there and then, he would have, his own smile growing while his soulmate’s grin threatened to tear through his cheeks, “Logan, mi alma, you’re insane! I love it!”

“Mi alma?”, Logan queried, his cheeks losing the great blush war as his face radiated a nice rosy crimson.

“Oh, right!”, Remus explained, “It means ‘my soul’, it’s what people call their boyfriends ‘n’ stuff back home. I figured since you’re my soulmate, it makes sense to call you that!”

For a moment, Remus faltered, “Uh…. if you don’t mind I guess? It’s whatever, I’ll stop if you hate it-”

“No, no, I rather appreciate the sentiment,” , Logan awkwardly smiled back at Remus, “Mi alma?”

The wilder of the two threw his head back in a roar laughter, “Man, your pronunciation sucks! And that’s an easy one!“, he teased as he shuffled his beanbag closer to Logan’s and continued with a wild smile, “Looks like I gotta stay with you for sure now and make sure you get it right! You’re stuck with me, Nerdy Wolverine!”

It would be hard work convincing his father to let him move schools to be with Remus, Logan knew that. Despite the fact his father adored love in all forms and regarded the bond of soulmates as sacred, Logan knew it’d logically be a hard sell to ask his father to not only pull him out of an expensive academy, but also to have him possibly move home or make a rather lengthy commute. 

But as Remus’ had met Logan’s, the latter found himself locking fingers with his wild soulmate, banishing that thought while they still had time together. Whether it would work out right away, after a couple of months, or even over the course of a few years, they’d make it work.

“Falsehood,”, Logan smirked, “I believe it’s you that’s stuck with me.”

-----------

Okay, this one’s the cutest thing hands down. I’m so proud of this one! As a tidbit, I had it in mind that their single fathers were Janus for the twins and Patton for Logan. 

@tsshipmonth2020

Taglist: @somehow-i-got-an-account @cateye-glasses

[icewarrior2000]

‘The Chase’ Appreciation Post

I’m not sure if it falls into ‘so bad it’s good’ territory or if it’s just good or just bad but either way, watching ‘The Chase’ in an indescribable experience.  You can forget your ‘Genesis of the Daleks’ and ‘Caves of Androzani’ - if you’re going to watch one episode of classic who, make it ‘The Chase’ for this (non-exhaustive) list of reasons:

1) It starts with the Doctor tinkering with a space-time visualiser that he nicked from a museum in the previous episode.

2) The large proportion of time devoted to random history lessons in the first episode that have no bearing on the rest of the plot.

3) Ian wearing *that* shirt, reading *that* book and dad-dancing to the Beatles.

4) Excellent, if bizarre, tour of random locations.

5) Ian and Vicki running around giggling and exploring like kids while Barbara sunbathes with the Doctor (both fully clothed, of course).

6) Incongruous syncopated jazz soundtrack.

7) The Dalek that emerges from the sand whilst coughing.

8) The terrifying mire beast which is clearly someone in a sleeping bag.

9) Classic dialogue, such as:

“Don’t just stand there gaping, you nit - run!”

“My dear boy, we’re trying to reach the TARDIS, not start a jumble sale.”

“Hello, hello - got our battle dress on again?”

10) Those outstanding figure-hugging, shiny, sequinned costumes the Aridians wear. (Also, shout-out for the spray-painted skull cap.)

11) The meta bit where the time-space visualiser starts to announce the first episode of Doctor Who...

12) Ian ruins another one of Barbara’s cardigans

13) The sheer delight with which the TARDIS team create a trap for Fred the Dalek.

14) DRAMATIC EPISODE TITLES!

15) The whole plot hinging on a tenuous 12-minute time lag.

16) Peter Purves plays 2 different characters and no one comments on it.

17) I can’t decide whether his portrayal of an idiotic Alabaman tourist is a genuine tour de force or the worst thing I’ve ever seen.

18) Vicki hitting Ian over the head.

19) The Daleks accidentally cause the abandonment of the Mary Celeste when all they want to do is talk.

20) Some seriously brilliant (?) graphics for time travel and explosions.

21) The dramatic lingering shots of the Mary Celeste that kind of feel like they belong in a different show.

22) The Doctor and Ian clinging to each other in manly fear in the haunted house.

23) The Daleks versus Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster.

24) Accidentally leaving Vicki behind like a politician leaving their child in a pub.

25) The Doctor’s RoboDoc doppelgänger who looks nothing like him.

26) The living fungi which are just people shuffling round in giant mushroom suits. (Bonus for the one that unceremoniously smothers a Dalek.)

27) The Doctor facing off with himself, getting really arsey with himself, and then fighting himself with his walking stick.

28) Stranded astronaut Steven Taylor in his jungle gym with his unhealthy attachment to his toy panda, Hi-Fi.

29) So attached is he, that he rushes back into a burning building to save the panda, nearly plunging Vicki and Barbara to their deaths in the process.

30) “Flying around like a couple of burnt cinders in Spain!”  The HORROR!

31) “London 1965!”

32) Ian and Barbara’s homecoming photoset.  Ian and Barbara in general, really. Especially Barbara.  I love Barbara.

33) “I shall miss them.  Yes, I shall miss them.  Silly old fusspots.”

Anyway, I love ‘The Chase.’

[knifesxedge]

hi love im deep in ur art blog for reasons and im SO in love with the fact that ur ghoul has his OWN nickname tattooed on him in party's writing they are SO 🥺 was wondering if you wanted to talk a bit more abt ghouls tattoos??? theyre just SO gorgeous and intricately laid out

HI i LOVE u i am KISSING u i would love love love to talk about ghoul’s tattoos 🥺❤️

^ yeah ghoul & party have each other’s handwriting tattooed!! for party it’s one of the only tattoos they have & it’s right over their heart (im sure ive mentioned this fact before but idk if ive explicitly noted that it says ‘sunshine’) and ghoul didn’t have the space to put his right over his heart because poison’s kj symbol is there so his is on his upper arm (they ARE soooooooo 🥺 i love them)

ghoul’s tattoos are a healthy mix of sentimental ink and things he just thought were beautiful. when he met the rest of the four he didn’t have THAT many tattoos because 1. he was 14 2. he’d only been in the zones for a little under a year and a half at that point but the ones he DID have (aka his oldest tattoos) were his knuckle tattoos (‘freed’ and ‘fuck’ what can i say he was 13), the big raven on his upper shoulder and neck (he started believing in the witch very early compared to other cityborns but yeah that tattoo was both a way of symbolizing his devotion to the witch and a way of marking himself as a killjoy/shedding his past in the city in the way that he considered clearest), the fangs on his hand, two bats on his leg, the zombie bite on the other side of his neck (i could get a little more into this but BASICALLY ghoul being an ex-crow trainee + a cityborn + being the only surviving member of his first crew had a problem with feeling inhuman and a lot of survivor’s guilt and so he really. idk he connected a lot with zombies & frankenstein’s monster and ghosts & the like when he was a runner for dr. d post-his crew’s deaths. he got better about Seeing Himself as a Person especially once kobra + the other two showed up but the fascination remained) (also not tattoo-related but that’s when he chose his name. before that he’d been called ‘sandpup’ by his old crew & he never had a chance to tell them before they passed but he really loved that they used that as a name for him especially with how much he didn’t want to associate himself with the city) (ghoul had A Lot of issues but the difference there is that he worked thru them a lot earlier than the rest of the four) and “I FORGIVE U” on the back of his neck (in remembrance of said former crew).

umm along with that kind of fascination with the undead/feeling that kind of connection are the frankenstein stitches on his wrists (tho thats more of a common hc) and he has this pretty big tattoo of abstracted bones following his vertebrae down his throat and chest that he’s gotten expanded/fixed/touched up over the years. ik i do a lot of b&w doodles but i feel like i’ve been kind of inconsistent about coloring (most of his tattoos are color). pretty sure ive mostly drawn them in green (???) but in my head they’re like a faded light blue using natural skin tone as highlights.

his more sentimental tattoos…let me see if i can outline them here. this might not be exhaustive but i will do my best to list what ive figured out at least thus far:

the two little bats on his right thigh are for his grandmother and little sister. his sister (juliet adele fujikawa, b. april 2009 d. december 2014) was killed in a car crash shortly before he left the city, and likewise, his grandmother (charlotte fujikawa [藤川 千尋] b. june 1936 d. december 2014) was “moved to retirement housing” at about the same time. that was pretty much the last straw & ghoul left battery city within the week

there’s his crewmates’ symbols on his chest (in order from his right to left: kobra, jet, party) (gotten when their crew had been together for a while. dating this one is based on a couple things: 1. ghoul had been with them for long enough that he felt secure 2. poison and ghoul were friends by this point, or else he wouldn’t have included their symbol and 3. poison’s is over his heart so you can read into that as you will)

text from the graffiti bible on his right calf, as protection for his crew & as a reminder of one of his former friends who was a droid that believed very strongly in destroya’s return

his raygun on his chest (he was pretty proud of the design! this was when he was ~15 or 16) that he had poison’s added to post-sing post-engagement pre-commitment ceremony (so. september 2023) (yes i have my handwritten timeline + my own drawings + my fics out in front of me rn cross-referencing sldkdksksbx!)

one of the girl’s childhood drawings (one she drew of him & her & the stuffed animal he made for her when she was a baby all having a tea party together) from when she’s about 5 or so on his right hip (december 2022 or so)

shooting stars on his upper right shoulder, partially because they’re pretty and blend well with his other tattoos and partially because they’re a reminder of a lot of things, including but not limited to his first night out in the zones seeing the stars for the first time, stories his grandma used to tell him, and right when he’d first joined the fab four and him & kobra sat on the roof during a meteor shower

besides the other one i already mentioned ^ he has more of poison’s handwriting on his left inner forearm — this is also one ive mentioned before but once they’ve been in a relationship for a while they get into the habit of leaving little love notes around for each other! there’s nothing particularly special specifically about the one he got tattooed, besides the fact that it reminded him of poison and they love each other. the text in full (which i don’t think ive ever put anywhere, though im pretty sure ive put fragments of it in fics and art) is as follows:

Good Morning baby <3! I needed new paints, went on a run. Kobra has the Girl @ the Crash Track, Jet’s at the station. call me when you wake up! I love you, be back soon. XO Party <3

he also has the anniversaries of when they started dating and their commitment ceremony (03•03•21 and 10•26•23 respectively) on the inside of his right wrist ^ !

he’s got a snake wrapping around his left leg that kobra picked out and a hand of cards with the ace of spades face up that jet picked out (and these ofc are because they remind him of his crewmates!!)

he has the phoenix witch tattooed on his ribs, left side, styled vaguely after catholic saints (since that imagery can still be found in the inner zones & especially where ‘joys who still practice that religion gather!)

there’s a version of the eye from the mailbox on his right shoulder, and this one is also a sort of symbol of protection/good luck, to show devotion to the witch and to help protect himself and his crew

the constellation libra on his left forearm! this one was done a little while after he started running transmissions and supplies for dr. d! he liked the connection that astrology — whether he believed in the practice or not is up for debate — gave people to the stars, and the feeling that he had a place in the universe, predestined or not

after charlie is born, he gets a portrait of her (~age 4) with her name and birthday underneath done on his left thigh! (~2036)

and on his lower back, he has a fairly simple tattoo of two crows on a wire with their beaks pressed together (aughhhhhh romance) that he gets done as an anniversary surprise for their 10-year (so. 2033)!

his non-sentimental tattoos are largely based off of images from books, either from dr. d’s collection when he was working as a runner for him or from cherri’s after he joined up with the fab four, or else they’re naturally occurring in the zones!! this includes but is not limited to: california golden poppies on the back of his left shoulder, strawberries around his left bicep (he doesn’t ever have a strawberry until he’s like 35, this one is absolutely based off of a particularly pretty illustration), a thundercloud with lightning on his left elbow, a moon on his right inner bicep, a ring of thorns around his right forearm right under the elbow, a dagger on his inner left calf, and a sun, small bat, cross, rose, ribbon (with the word ‘faith’ in script), and wing on his right forearm and hand, all picked from flash sheets

so yeah! that’s about everything i have to say about ghoul’s tattoos atm but ty ty ty sm for letting me ramble abt them i think about his tattoos so much 😔❤️

[fanmoose12]

terrifyingly complicated

Levi and Hange come to a Halloween party, wearing a two-person costume. Everyone wonders what that can mean.

Working at a law firm was exhausting. It was also very stressing. And since he couldn’t get drunk in the middle of workday, Erwin had no choice, but to resort to another vice – smoking. Whenever the tension inside of him grew too intense to ignore (which happened rather frequently), Erwin took a pack of cigarettes and went outside. Feeling the smoke enter his lungs and then releasing it into the air, watching the white whiff dissolve into nothing calmed Erwin down better than anything.

During his smoke breaks, he was often accompanied by his co-workers. Mike joined him frequently. Moblit came a lot, too, especially when the stress of dealing with his troublesome superior Hange made him feel like tearing out his hair. As far as Erwin knew, Hange didn’t smoke. And even if she did, she never took breaks, too passionate about her work to let anything distract her. That is until Moblit, or sometimes Levi, didn’t make her rest. Moblit pleaded and bargained with her. Levi simple dragged her away from her desk.

Speaking of Levi, he was the one, who accompanied Erwin the most. He didn’t smoke that much, so Erwin suspected that Levi used the excuse of smoke breaks simply to get out of their noisy, bustling office.

This time, of course, he joined Erwin, as well.

"So, Levi," Erwin glanced at his friend. He lighted up a cigarette and passed the lighter to Levi. "Are you going to the office party this Friday?"

Erwin didn't actually expect an affirmative answer from Levi. If he could help it, Levi always stayed at home, preferring to keep his human interaction to a minimum. Recently, though, he started appearing at social gatherings more often. Erwin strongly suspected that a certain bespectacled co-worker of theirs was the reason for this sudden change.

Still, Halloween wasn't just another party, where everyone gets slightly drunk and bitches about their higher-ups. You have to wear a costume. And in all those years that Levi worked in their firm, he had never attended the Halloween party.

So what a surprise Erwin got, when Levi took a drag of his cigarette and then slowly nodded.

The cigarette almost slipped from between Erwin's fingers.

"You're coming?" he couldn't help, but ask again.

"Yes.”

"And... do you have a costume?"

"Frankenstein's monster," Levi replied nonchalantly.

Erwin openly stared at him. Was their conversation real? Or was it some kind of fever dream?

"F-frankenstein's monster?" he repeated, getting more and more worried about his sanity.

"Erwin, check your hearing," Levi grumbled. "Yes, I'll be a Frankenstein's monster, like from the novel, you know?"

Levi looked so calm, as though him not only attending a party, but also wearing a costume was a regular occurrence and not once in a lifetime event.

Erwin put a cigarette to his lips, inhaling deeply. Just one cigarette wasn't enough to get him through this bizarre conversation.

"So... if you're Frankenstein's monster...” Erwin said slowly, carefully. He still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Levi will be at the party. “Will there be a Frankenstein?"

"Of course, there will be Frankenstein. It’s obviously four-eyes," Levi huffed. "Who else could it be?"

Who else indeed. Erwin felt like an idiot. Truly, there was only one person in this world, who could force Levi to do something like this.

But the question was... Did it mean something?

"Oi," Mike appeared outside, joining them, before Erwin could ask that question. "What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing," Levi answered immediately .

Erwin shared a look with Mike. "Hange and Levi are going together to the Halloween party."

"Oh," Mike raised his eyebrows. "You finally decided to let people know?"

Levi stared at him. "What the fuck are you talking about? What do we need to let people know? That Hange has an annoying ability to pester people until they agree to do what she wants them to? It is hardly news for anyone."

Ah. That was it. Erwin shook his head, he shouldn't have expected anything else. Levi and Hange were the most oblivious people in existence. Everyone in the office knew about their feelings for each other. Everyone, except Levi and Hange. Erwin often wondered how two people can be so smart and so stupid at the same time. These two were obviously made for each other.

"So you two..." Mike trailed off, trying to find the best words. With Levi and Hange, one had to be as concrete as possible. "...Er, you did not confess to each other?"

"Confessed about what?" Levi scowled. "You both are so weird today," he turned around, throwing the cigarette butt into the nearest trashcan. "Whatever, I'm going inside. You shouldn't stay long as well. Your brains have obviously started to freeze."

Raising the collar of his coat higher, Levi hurriedly made his way back inside.

Mike and Erwin watched him go, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"I can't believe them," Mike muttered. "They're really doing a two-person costume, but they don't realize what people will think? Nanaba and I have never worn a couple costume, and we've been dating for four years!"

"It's an extremely difficult case," Erwin agreed with a sigh.

“You’re their boss, can’t you do something about it? Like order them to get their shit together and stop living in denial?” Mike asked almost desperately. “The stench of their pheromones is making me insane.”

Erwin looked up, lighting up another cigarette. “I don’t think anything can be done about it. We just have to wait and hope that they will realize it by themselves. Pushing them in that direction will only delay any possible development.”

“Jesus,” Mike shuddered. “These two are terrifyingly difficult.”

***

“Hey boss,” Nifa sat down at the edge of Hange’s desk with a cautious smile. Hange hated when someone interrupted her work. Unless that someone was Levi. Strangely, she didn’t seem to mind whenever he came up to her desk to engage in another round of meaningless bickering. Furthermore, Hange herself often took a break from her oh so precious work to go and find Levi, just so she could share some joke or pun with him. However, Nifa obviously was no Levi, so she had to resort to placating her superior with a cup of coffee.

If there was something Hange liked more than her work, it was coffee.

It seemed like Nifa’s plan was working out. Hange accepted the coffee, looking up at Nifa with a kind smile.

“Do you want something?” she murmured, taking a large gulp from the cup.

“Halloween is this Friday,” Nifa explained, tilting her head slightly. “What costume are you going to wear this year?”

Most of the people at their firm didn’t really bother with costumes. The majority just put on vampire teeth or painted their faces with fake blood and called it a day. Although this year, they had new interns, so maybe they would be able to spice things up a little. Personally, Nifa couldn’t wait to show off her Freddy Kruger costume.

And she was also dying to know what Hange was going to wear this year. She always went out of her way to come up with the most gorgeous and creative costumes. Last year she dressed up as a space pirate. And year before that she was a grim reaper. She even had a scythe! Nifa’s favorite, however, was that Halloween, when Hange wore a zombie costume. It was both disturbing and awesome – the look was completed by a part of brain, sticking out of Hange’s hair! She claimed that it was real, and Nifa, knowing her superior, wasn’t sure if she was joking or not.

“It’s nothing special this time,” Hange revealed. “A little boring even.”

“Oi, quit teasing,” Nifa chided. “Your costumes are never boring. So, what is it?”

“If you want to know so much,” Hange sighed, feigning indifference. However, a little twinkle in her eyes told Nifa that, despite her claims, Hange was excited about the costume. “I’m going as Frankenstein.”

“Frankenstein?” Nifa drew her eyebrows together. “Monster or a scientist?”

“Scientist.”

“Oh,” maybe, Hange was right after all. It did sound a little boring. “Why not a monster?”

“Levi is going to be my monster,” Hange confessed with a wide grin.

My monster?

Did that mean what Nifa thought it meant? She could ask Hange about it, of course, and she would probably answer, but still, asking her superior that kind of personal question felt a little too intrusive even for the great gossiper Nifa.

However, she could always take a less direct approach.

"I don't remember Levi ever attending the Halloween party," Nifa looked at Hange beneath her eyelashes. "It must have been hard to make him come this year."

"You bet it was," Hange agreed, pushing the glasses up on her head. "He had two conditions."

Nifa leaned closer. "What conditions?"

"Firstly, I have to learn how to brew tea the way he likes it."

That was.... so Levi, Nifa thought with an internal smile. Everyone in the office knew he was obsessed with tea. However, why did he need Hange to learn how to brew it? As far as Nifa knew, Levi didn't let anyone come near his precious tea stash. Was Hange an exception? If so, then why? Could it mean that they were much closer than just friends?

Still, it wasn't conclusive evidence. Nifa needed something more substantial.

"And secondly," Hange showed the exact number with her fingers. "Levi wants to wash my hair. He says it's dirty and sticky, and he hates the stench of my shampoo," Hange shrugged, while Nifa was too busy gaping at her. Levi wanted to wash her hair? Seemed a little too intimate even for the best friends.

"It isn't the worth deal," Hange continued, seemingly not seeing Nifa's bewilderment. "I mean Levi could have demanded to let him clean my apartment. He always complains that my sheets are too dirty."

How in the world Levi knew about the state of Hange’s sheets? There was only one possible explanation for this…

“So you and Levi are seeing each other?” Nifa finally asked. Screw the less direct approach. It clearly wasn’t working.

“Um, yes?” Hange frowned. “I do see Levi a lot. I mean we live in the same apartment complex and we often hang out after work, so…”

Nifa barely kept herself from groaning out loud. These two were impossible! She thought she was an expert in human interactions but these were terrifyingly complicated for her to figure out. They were either actually dating or they were the most oblivious people in existence. And Nifa suspected that the latter was, unfortunately, true.

"I... I have a lot of work," Nifa smiled apologetically and hopped off the table. The intricacies of relationship between Levi and Hange were causing her a headache.

“What did she mean by ‘seeing each other’?” Hange muttered to herself. “I know that Levi is short, but he’s not that small. Was that a hint that I should check my vision?” she wondered, putting her glasses back on her face and returning to her work.

*** 

"Why are you dressed like a snobby douche?" Connie asked Jean, as the latter approached him and Sasha. It was the evening of a Halloween party, and everyone gathered in the dimly lit and sparsely decorated with cobwebs and pumpkins main room, chatting among themselves.

"I'm Dracula, you idiot," Jean scoffed. "Besides, what are you even supposed to be?" he looked at Connie's face and body, covered in toilet paper. He plucked his lips in disgust. "Toilet monster?"

"Hey!" Connie cried out, while Sasha snickered in her palm. "I'm a mummy!"

Jean decided not to dignify it with a response.

"And you?” he turned to Sasha. “You are red riding hood, right?"

"Yes!" Sasha beamed. "Look! I even have a basket! Trick or treat, Jean!"

Sasha proudly showed him the aforementioned basket. It was full of sandwiches.

Jean sighed.

"Did you choose this costume just so you could sneak more food in here?"

"Maybe," Sasha shrugged, taking out one of the sandwiches and taking a bite. "Want some?"

"Um, no, thanks. Even if I wanted to," which he did not. Trying to separate Sasha and food was a dangerous affair. Jean had learned it firsthand. "I can't really eat with these things," he opened his mouth, showing them his fake fangs.

"Wow," Connie grinned. "There is even blood on them! Can I touch it?"

"No way!" Jean took a step back, putting his hands forward.

“Hey, look, look," Sasha tugged at Jean and Connie's arms. "Eren, Mikasa and Armin came."

"What the fuck." Jean stared at Eren, his hands clutching into fists. "That asshole, what the fuck is he wearing?"

"Oh, Jean, I think," Connie patted his shoulder. "Eren is Van Helsing."

"He is!" Sasha agreed, pointing at the wooden stake in Eren's hand.

"Motherfucker," Jean growled. "He knew I was going to dress as a vampire!"

"Calm down," Connie rolled his eyes. "And don't start another fight. At least wait until we're out of office."

"You can always beat him up in the parking lot!" Sasha giggled.

“Or, more probably, Mikasa will beat both of you up in the parking lot,” Connie mocked with a shit-eating grin. Sasha cheerfully high-fived him.

“Shut up, you idiots,” Jean gave them both a smack upside their heads. “I fucking hate that jerk," he muttered, glaring at Eren.

"His costume is nice, though," Connie noted.

"His mother probably helped to prepare it," Sasha nodded. "Armin looks adorable!" she added. "That Peter Pan costume suits him so much!"

"Looks like Mikasa isn't a fun of Halloween, though," Connie continued. "I mean what is she even supposed to be?"

"Maybe, a ghost?" Sasha offered, looking at Mikasa's white shirt and long skirt.

"If she wasn't constantly glued to Eren's side," Jean began bitterly. "I would have asked her to be my Morticia Addams."

"She would rock that look," Sasha said with a dreamy smile. "Although, you're nearly not as handsome as Gomez."

"Hey!" Jean protested. "I would have been great as Gomez. And you," he smirked. "You could have been Wednesday and Pugsley."

"Eugh," Sasha and Connie exclaimed in unison.

"Now I'm kinda glad that Mikasa rejected you," Sasha told him truthfully.

"Shut up,” Jean mumbled.

"By the way," Sasha opened another sandwich and started eating it. "Did any of you see Historia? I'm curious what is she wearing. Her costumes are always so cute!"

"She's dressed as Princess Leia," Connie replied. "She even has her own Han Solo."

"Let me guess," Jean said. "It's Ymir?"

"Of course, it's Ymir. Although, calling her Han Solo may be a stretch, she's just wearing her usual work clothes, but now she also put a vest on."

"Ah, I want to come and say hi!" Sasha announced with her mouth still full of sandwich. "Where have you seen them, Connie?"

Connie made a face. "Last time I saw them, Ymir was dragging Historia to a supply closet, so..."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I don't think they'll come out soon."

"Oi, look," Jean pointed at the entrance door. "That's Miss Hange."

"What is she supposed to be?" Connie scratched his neck, frowning in confusion. "Some kind of scientist?"

"No, she's Frankenstein," Jean replied.

"Now how did you guess that?" Connie asked, glaring up at Jean.

Jean didn't say anything, just showed Connie who was accompanying Hange.

"Oh." Connie breathed out.

"Oh!" Sasha exclaimed. "Who is that?”

Jean sighed.

“Sasha, pay attention please. Look at that guy’s height.”

“No way!” Sasha’s eyes widened. “It’s Mr. Ackerman?”

“I didn’t take him for a guy, who dresses up for a Halloween,” Connie mused.

“Neither did I,” Jean agreed.

“Hey, if they came together, does that mean they’re dating?” Sasha cocked her head to the side, observing the strange couple.

“Don’t know,” Jean shrugged. “I thought it was just some kind of a running joke.”

“Let’s go to them!” Sasha wrapped her arms around Jean and Connie’s shoulders, pushing them in the direction of Levi and Hange.

“Are you insane?” Jean hissed. “What are you even going to say to them?”

If Miss Hange was by herself, Jean wouldn’t have minded approaching her. She was nice, and really funny. Mr. Ackerman, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Whenever their eyes met, Jean felt an acute desire to hide under the table. Levi’s cold gaze terrified him.

“We won’t be talking to them,” Sasha assured him, leading them through the crowd of people. “I just want to take a better look. Mr. Ackerman’s make-up is amazing!”

Well, it was hard to argue with that. Levi wore a torn shirt and large jacket. His face was painted green with a few black stitches added on the side of his forehead. Jean had to admit, his costume was actually impressive. And Miss Hange, who was dressed in a white lab coat, which was purposefully dirtied with red and pink specks that were probably meant to represent the blood and parts of brain, with her big round glasses, crazy hair and even crazier grin, was a perfect Frankenstein. 

“Just be quiet,” Jean warned his friends, as they stopped a little distance away from Hange and Levi. “I don’t want to get in trouble with Mr. Ackerman.”

Connie and Sasha nodded and then the three of them turned their gazes at Frankenstein and her monster.

Hange and Levi stood in a corner, holding plastic cups in their hands. Hange was talking about something, energetically gesticulating. Her hands moved so wildly it looked like soon she’d spill the contents of her cup on the floor. Levi sighed and took the cup out of her hands. Hange smiled gratefully.

“Wait,” she stopped her rant and turned to face Levi. “Your make-up is smudged,” she reached out and moved her thumb across his cheekbone, gently wiping the paint.

“Of course, it’s smudged,” Levi grumbled with annoyed face. “It’s hot as fuck in here. Why there are so many people?”

“Because our firm is big?” Hange offered with a tiny grin.

Levi tsked. “Smartass. By the way, when was the last time you cleaned your glasses? I can see nothing but your fingerprints, four-eyes,” he plucked them off her face, scowling in disgust. Tugging at Hange’s coat, Levi used it to clean her glasses. Hange didn’t even try to protest, just watched Levi’s ministrations with an affectionate smile.

Jean, Connie and Sasha stared at them with wide eyes.

“They act so…” Connie began and then faltered.

“Domestic,” Jean finished for him. “Geez, they really are together.”

“I’ve never thought I’d say this about Mr. Ackerman,” Sasha admitted. “But they look adorable.”

“They do,” Connie agreed.

“C’mon,” Jean took Sasha and Connie by their sleeves. “Let’s leave them alone. I still need to settle a score with Eren.”

 ***

"Ymir, stop it," Historia hissed, trying to shake her girlfriend's hands off her waist. "People are watching."

"Let them watch," Ymir smirked, putting her chin on top of Historia's head. "They're just envious."

"You're insufferable," Historia huffed. She raised her head to press a kiss on Ymir's jaw. "Why do I even put up with you?"

"Because I'm hot? Because I'm hilarious? Because I'm excellent in bed?"

"Ymir!" A pretty blush appeared on Historia's cheeks. Ymir mentally patted herself on a head.

"Babe," she drew out, leaning to kiss behind Historia's earlobe. Ymir's hot breath made shivers run down her neck. "Let's ditch this party and go back to that closet. I'm so bored here."

"But look around!" Historia exclaimed, trying to ignore the growing desire inside her. "Everyone is dressed so nicely!"

"I don't really care, you know."

"You should," Historia muttered with a small pout. "Our friends came up with really original costumes!"

Ymir scoffed. "Kirschtein is dressed as Dracula. And Mikasa is the worst ghost I've ever seen. She could have put at least some effort."

"You're the one to talk," Historia rolled her eyes. "Putting on a black vest doesn't make you Han Solo."

"The costume itself doesn't matter, when I have the most important thing," Ymir lowered her voice to a seductive whisper. "My pretty Princess Leia."

"And our superiors picked cool outfits as well," Historia continued, ignoring Ymir. She wouldn't let her break her resolve so easily. They came to enjoy the party, not make out in supply closets. Even if the latter option started to look more and more appealing to Historia.

"Mr. Smith came as Indiana Jones!" she pointed at the tall blonde. "Doesn't he look handsome?"

"Yeah," Ymir replied unenthusiastically.

"And Mr. Zacharias! He's dressed as Thor!"

Ymir tilted her head, staring at Mike critically. He wore a cheap looking blonde wig and something that looked like more like red blanket than actual cape. "He's a mighty god of thunder, indeed," she deadpanned.

Historia ignored her once again.

"Miss Nanaba looks so pretty," she mused instead.

This time Ymir couldn't disagree. Nanaba was probably supposed to be Jack Skellington. And while the white make-up on her face was ridiculous, the suit fitted her perfectly, accentuating every curve of her thin but muscled body.

"What," Historia teased. "No sarcastic comment?"

Ymir shrugged. "You know how much I love women in suit."

"Asshole," Historia muttered, rolling her eyes.

“That's why you love me, babe."

Sometimes Ymir was so annoying, Historia thought as she stared at her cocky grin. It made her want to kiss her, just so she could wipe that smug expression off her face.

"I don't see Miss Hange by the way," Historia looked around in confusion. "I wanted to see her costume so much..."

Again, Ymir agreed with her girlfriend on that one. Hange was a lunatic, there was no denying that, and her excited energy was truly draining, but she was funny. Most of all, Ymir enjoyed watching Hange bicker with Levi, that permanently scowling midget. It was nice to see that shorty grit his teeth in annoyance, as Hange continuously teased him.

"Nifa told me that her costumes are always amazing," Historia hanged her head. "And Mr. Ackerman is absent as well..."

Well, that wasn't surprising in a slightest. Levi was definitely not the type to come to office parties.

"Forget about them. It's Halloween," Ymir kissed Historia’s cheek, trying to cheer her up. "I need my treat."

"You are really needy, are you aware of that?" Historia asked with a stern expression.

Ymir shrugged. Sure, she loved receiving attention from her super-hot girlfriend. If that made her needy, then so be it.

"That's a yes to a second round of make out session in the closet?"

Historia frowned, biting her lip. "What if this time someone catches us?"

"Who could catch us? I doubt that other interns will need that closet, unless Kirschtein and Yeager suddenly decide to let out their frustration with each other in a more productive manner than just screaming and waving their fists around. And everyone else here is clearly too boring and old to indulge in such activities."

"Fine," Historia finally surrendered. "But we won't stay there for long. I want to chat with some of our friends afterwards."

Ymir certainly didn't share the same sentiment, but, well, love is built on compromises, right?

She grabbed Historia by the hand, leading her to a closet with a wide grin on her face. Turning her around and holding her face between her palms, Ymir kissed her on the lips. With her back against the door, she pushed it open with her leg.

Historia froze.

"Babe?" worry reflected in Ymir's eyes, as she stared at her. Did she do something wrong?

Historia said nothing, just frantically pulled Ymir closer and then quietly closed the door. She didn't stop, and with her hands wrapped still around Ymir, Historia dragged her as far from the closet as possible.

"Hey, hey, what's up?" Ymir was barely able to keep up with Historia's hurried steps.

"There was someone in the closet," Historia whispered with a terrified expression.

"Someone?" Ymir frowned. "Who?"

"I don't know, I didn't get a good look, and the costumes really made it hard to recognize the faces," she pushed a stray lock behind her hair, her gaze darting around nervously.

"What were the costumes?" Ymir asked impatiently. Oh, she wanted to know who was making out in the closer so much! If she finds out, she'd tease that couple so hard!

"I... I think it was Frankenstein and his monster? I definitely saw a white coat and a green make-up.”

"Frankenstein and his monster?" Ymir snickered. "If I knew that the book portrayed that side of their relationship, I would have read it in high school."

"Ymir!" Historia scolded, smacking her forearm.

"Wait..." Ymir drew her eyebrows together, thinking. She scanned the crowd of her co-workers, checking her theory. "There are only two people who are absent from the party..."

"No way..." Historia breathed out, coming to the same conclusion. "Are you trying to say that it was Miss Hange and Mr. Ackerman?"

"Well, it looks that midget is getting his treat this Halloween. Good for him," Ymir said cheekily. "Let's go and tell these nerds about it."

"You want to tell everyone?" Historia looked at her worriedly. She looked so cute with her pursed lips and that little frown, Ymir's heart skipped a beat.

"Sure," she replied nonchalantly, trying to hide from Historia the fact that just a moment ago she was staring adoringly at her. "It's not like it'd be a secret to anyone. The way they constantly looked at each other, it was only a matter of time before they got their shit together."

"Alright, but let's not tell them how we found them in a supply closet."

"You're too kind," Ymir sighed, throwing a hand over Historia's shoulder. "But if you don't want to make them jealous, so be it."

Historia rolled her eyes, but couldn't resist the desire to press a swift kiss in the corner of Ymir's smirk. "Let's go already."

***

When almost half an hour later, Levi and Hange came back to the party, all eyes were on them. Hange's hair was in bigger state of disarray than usual and Levi's lips were red and swollen.

"I helped Levi fix the make-up," Hange explained, when they joined Erwin, Mike and Nanaba.

"Isn't a closet a little dark for that?" Erwin asked with a smirk. Beside him Nanaba and Mike could barely held in their laughter.

Levi's blush was visible even under the green paint. Hange nervously chuckled. None of them tried to deny it though. 

Erwin, Mike and Nanaba counted it as a success. 

[bansheeoftheforest]

HHAGFFDHHDBDJGH I FUCKING ADORE THAT CROSSOVER AU IDEA-

Oh my gosh what would it be called? We cant just say "Resurrection Family" because thatd feel like the whole family gets resurrected which is a bit boring

Ooo I think I prefer the branch of Henry not remembering for this branch! I think it adds extra angst. Idk how to explain it but like. Jekyll's parents being distraught and angry because their son died, and Victoria revived him, and she doesn't even have the decency to tell him why everything feels so wrong to him, why hes always needing checkups and why his head always hurts? Yknow?

Oh gosh, Ernest (that's the name right? I cant remember, I'll just call em "E") E just. Immediately subconsciously recognizing how Creature moved when seeing Henry, their beloved son, and just feeling nothing but distress and anxiety, because its associates that behavior with the creature who had caused nothing but hurt and danger to E. And E just being so nervous and scared of their kid and not understanding why but knowing that something is Wrong with Henry. And then they hear that Frankenstein is at the society and it all clicks into place

Whatabouta... An ernest resurrection? Well that would make it sound like Ernest was the one that was resurrected... Hmm... Well I'm going to tag it as such for now because of the pun and until I get a better name idea <3

Maaannnn... The amnesia of this route would be an absolute trainwreck. The thought of Henry having no idea and then either Ernest alone or the entire family comes to visit, he feels tired and exhausted and the first thing his family/Ernest (i'm going to go with the route that only Ernest visit the Society/Henry for now) does is to say that he looks... Incredibly sick. After all the trauma with Creature Ernest recognises the behavior immediately and it makes them sick to their stomach and yet they convinces themselves that it's merely a coincidence. But then Henry explains his head injury and points at the stairs he "fell" from-- Ernest might not be a doctor but they are quite sure no one would be able to survive that fall. And then they hears that their sister is here, and it feels like things click into place. When Henry explains that apparently Frankenstein is the only one that can check up on him and that he has to have those checkups constantly, Ernest knows. Ernest knows and everything in their head screams for them to turn around and run away-- run away from their own son because all the instincts tell him that anything remotely related to the Creature is dangerous, and yet he quietly, shortly, asks Henry to show them to Frankenstein. And Henry doesn't even know that his parent and Frankenstein are related so he doesn't think much of it, so he shows them to the attic. Can you imagine Frankenstein seeing Ernest again, having thought they were dead? Can you imagine when she realizes that Henry is her nephew, realizing that she indirectly killed him too, because she was the one that fuelled the hatred that made Helsby fight with Jekyll? Can you imagine Ernest having to relive their trauma but gladly doing that to confront Victoria of what she did to their son? Ernest having to live with the fact that one of his worst nightmares came true-- his son is dead and yet was turned into a monster? I want Ernest to tear another one into Frankenstein. I want him to have an absolute breakdown because she has brought nothing but pain to all of their families. I want them to, despite being scared of Henry because of trauma, to just hug their son tightly and I want Ernest to apologise to Henry and I want Henry to be confused until Ernest explains that he is dead and I want to angst of Henry realizing that Victoria robbed him of his death and I want the angst of Henry realizing that Helsby killed him. I want the angst of Henry wanting revenge on both Helsby and Victoria and I want the angst of Ernest begging and pleading for Henry to not become what Creature became and just... hddhdndndn <3

[funkymbtifiction]

Peter Cushing MBTI

Yay, another Peter Cushing fan! Although he was so often cast as scary / insane / downright evil characters, in real life he seemed like such a gentleman. I think he might have been an ISFJ or other high-Si type. He had great attention to detail (his scripts were marked with a multitude of notes) and a strong leaning to nostalgia/love of tradition (he collected model soldiers and trains - aw!). 9w1 seems likely, too. Aside from his 9ish positivity and gentleness, after his beloved wife died (quite young, sadly) he totally immersed himself in any acting work he could find, overdoing it to the point of exhaustion and illness, which seems exactly the kind of thing a 9 would do to numb themselves to so much pain.

I’ve watched the movie you mentioned and it is horrible that they forced the actors to do something they were not comfortable with (I read that after they filmed the scene both actors burst out crying :( ). I agree that the scene doesn’t really add anything - and having watched all the other movies in the series, I don’t think it even makes sense for Frankenstein’s character. There’s one intimate relationship in the very first film (if I recall correctly), but in general all his focus is on his scientific ambitions - the physical world scarcely matters except where it relates to his work. That producer should have been ashamed of himself!

I would agree. Cushing gives off an ISFJ 9w1 vibe. He was quite sweet to everyone and to his co-stars (“I don’t want to do this either, darling”). I also suspect there was some sx 9 in there – with how he merged so completely into his wife that he didn’t want to live without her and tried to induce his own heart attack after she died by running up and down the stairs and then throwing himself into his work.

You are correct, the rape scene in that particular film ads nothing to the plot and goes against his entire characterization throughout the films – they paint Frankenstein as being wholly obsessed only with his work, not a predator who wants to control and/or abuse women (though he does seduce, impregnate, and then kill the maid in the first movie, to cover up his indiscretion after she threatens him with blackmail). It was stupid. If they wanted more “sex” in that particular film, they could have added a love scene between her and her fiance. IMO it was a fetish-fantasy by the producer, who wanted to see way more of this particular “Hammer Horror girl” (nudity) which is just ick. #MeToo gross.

On a happier note, if you enjoy Cushing movies, I recommend “Night Creatures” (available on Amazon). He has a really fun and nuanced role and the storyline (the Royal Navy vs. alcohol-smugglers in the 18th century) is unusual and often surprising. “Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell” is also quite intriguing, even though they went a bit overboard with the monster’s makeup (IMO). Oh, and one more: “The Flesh and the Fiends,” a retelling of the Burke and Hare story. Donald Pleasance is in it too and is CREEPY. 

Thank you as always!

Thanks for the recommendations! I look forward to checking them out! :)

[dastardlydandelion]

I wish you would write a fic where Susan got to keep her baby for once.

well. hm. what would this look like in my hands. okay, okay, so in this particular scenario, i actually imagine neil was putting 2 + 2 together and finding out susan's preggo right after the move. like, even before susan does. and she's all kinds of alarmed but neil is?? oddly excited?

he's all like, "isn't this great? we get to have a new baby in this new town. what a perfect way to cement our brand new life, huh?"

and susan doesn't want to be hopeful but with neil's positive reaction, she tentatively feels hope anyway. maybe things rly will be different, right?

continues under the cut bc this got fucking long.

yeah, well, neil's good mood lasts until it's actually born and responsibilities ensue. he never had to deal with billy as a baby rly, bc billy's mom took care of that part and also, like. in this 'verse at least, billy was a low-maintenance baby. didn't cry much. maybe he did at first but like, after being dropped on the head a couple times, he just went quiet and didn't rly bother anybody after that. wouldn't get loud again until elementary age. and max didn't come into neil's life until she was even elementary age, so defo past all the baby stuff.

the new infant tho screams like a mofo. everybody in the house is on edge. sleep is hard to come by for the whole household. the care and keeping responsibilities mostly fall on susan but neil holds it against her every. single. time. he has to change a diaper or hold a bottle, as if it's some major failing on susan's part that he should ever have to do anything like this at all.

max tries to help but she can't even hold the baby tbh. it makes her v uncomfortable, she never gets it right and doesn't know what to do when it squirms!! what if she drops it!? plus she thinks baby smells weird even when it's got a clean diaper, an unappealing mashed food and powder combo with a lingering whiff of wet rubber. and billy. is billy. he has to watch it sometimes, naturally. if it's just him and baby at home, he'll blast his stereo to cover up the crying, as long as he knows its other needs have been tended to. like, yk, the "it'll cry itself to sleep eventually," approach. which works actually. metallica becomes the go-to baby lullaby.

but lo and behold, when it's like, let's say 6 months or smth, baby gets an ear infection. like babies do. won't stop wailing. just. will NOT stop. v much in pain and has no other means of communication. neil and max are home. billy is on a date. susan's stuck in a long line at the grocery store. neil had a shitty day at work and he's already aggravated. pacifier isn't working, lil thing just keeps hollering, so. in a burst of frustration, he starts throttling baby. max is in her own room but hears it the second the noises change and hurries to help, blood ice cold.

she stops neil from killing baby sibling but gets a black eye and a bloody nose for her troubles. this is what susan comes home to. i've written a lot of susan kills neil scenarios but i think this is the first one that comes to mind where in this round, it really is out of anger and not fear. both are present, ofc. but the actual act on her part is one of anger. bc she feels stupid that he ever had her the slightest bit convinced a new baby would make anything better. that neil ever made her feel like he'd be better and instead, he chose to be even worse. susan ties him to the bedposts under the guise of a sex thing, convincing neil she wants to treat him to smth special bc he's been oh so stressed out lately. bashes his brains in with a hammer at least 20 times, a la sally challen style.

alas, reality commences and susan goes to prison. ig a long time ago there was this made for tv movie abt this lady killing her abusive husband by setting the bed aflame that gave the public the misconception that women who kill their abusers are typically acquitted, but uh, that's not true. yeah, it was true for the lady whom the movie was based off of, but usually they're convicted and serve unduly harsh sentences for their "crimes." but if i get on that soap box, we gonna be here the whole fucking day, so, moving on now. susan's off to the big house. albeit both baby and max's injuries are documented and considered mitigating circumstances so her charges are reduced from first degree murder to voluntary manslaughter with the potential for early release.

billy's close to 19 so he's an adult, if only technically speaking. has custody of baby and max. i've decided baby in this 'verse is amab but will eventually come out as trans when she's abt ten yrs old. billy tries his best. max tries her best too. baby's nickname is ducky bc the rubber duck?? by far the favorite toy!! baby p much lives in the bathtub, playing with the rubber duck. billy, who would move them back to cali in a heartbeat if it wasn't so far from susan's prison, defo relates. he's also aquatic by nature.

okay, so the move back to cali does happen. over the months of her kids coming to visit her in prison susan can see how exhausted the teenagers are and she's p much just like, 'u guys gotta go. get outta this rural heckhole u hate, stop bringing urselves n my bby to this dismal place.' and they don't think she's serious but the next time they come to visit, she doesn't meet them, so. yup. serious it is. billy, max, n baby take neil's life insurance money and head off to cali.

this is a modern au, okay, inmates sneaking smartphones into the prison n all that. so susan makes deals and friends and does favors, and gets some help from the ones who are good at bitcoin and scams and counterfeiting and what have you. this enables her to do discreet online "shopping." so she gets ducky all kinds of rubber ducks, at least a handful of times a year. the ducks get more unique and less childish as ducky grows. susan apologizes almost every time she talks to the older kids on the phone for like, five yrs. max isn't rly angry with how things ended with neil tho, more so has that residual anger that susan ever got together with neil in the first place. billy doesn't rly know what to feel tbh, accepts the apologies p numbly bc he's too damn exhausted with being the primary caregiver in over his head to even think abt how he feels at the end of the day.

susan gets released on good behavior around the same time ducky comes out, announcing she's a girl. it's an adjustment for billy and max to get used to bc they never rly suspected, but they're 100% supportive. susan is...oddly excited? not for selfless reasons (tho she is earnestly supportive) but bc it's like. not only does that mean trashing the masculine deadname neil had adamantly declared for ducky, but it means all in all, she got out at the perfect time bc she gets to be introduced to the authentic version of her child along w errbody else. makes her feel less left behind, like she didn't miss out on errything despite being put away for a decade. susan moves in with all of them, obvi, in a small house by the seaside filled to the brim with rubber ducks (billy and max also contributed to ducky's collection on birthdays and holidays, the first duck billy ever got has skulls, and the first max ever got is a frankenstein monster duck). home is cluttered, awkward, and tentative but free of fear and ripe with *genuine* new beginnings.

believe me, anonymoose, i am just as surprised as u are at how fuckin long this got.