#buddie blurb

[chronicowboy]

"So, did you finally..." Eddie trails off, raising his eyebrows with every second of silence that passes between them. Buck just blinks at him, the barest hints of a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Did I what, Eddie?" He asks, all wide eyes and fluttering lashes. Eddie can't decide whether he wants to punch him or offer a belated helping hand.

"Did you, you know," he sighs, rolls his eyes, "donate?"

"I did." Buck nods. His responding grin is just ever so slightly off-centre, plasticky and brittle, but convincing enough that Eddie wonders if he's projecting.

"Okay." Eddie breathes because he's not quite sure what else to say.

He knows what he wants to say. A million different things ranging from what the fuck is going on in your head to are you sure this is a good idea to how long is it going to take you to realise that you're more than just spare parts to please take it back. A million different things in between the why did Hen know before me and the why does this feel like last year all over again and the why does this hurt more than a bullet to the shoulder.

So, its not that he doesn't have anything to say, its just that he's not sure what he should say. Because there's a fine line he always walks with Buck: sometimes he pushes and Buck begrudgingly listens, sometimes he pushes and Buck pushes right the fuck back.

And ever since Buck flew after Chimney on a fucking bike of all things, Eddie's had the distinct impression that Buck has been trying to run away from him. If Buck wasn't, well, Buck, Eddie would be waiting for a formal letter of resignation and a new partner.

"So, your vow of celibacy is over?" Eddie asks when Buck has been staring at him for too long. His skin is itchy under his Henley and he tries not to think about the day last week that Buck walked into the gym, saw Eddie there and then immediately changed back into his uniform. He can't think about it now he has this new information or he'll go insane and quite possibly throw himself off a bridge—or into Buck's bed.

"Yeah." Buck breathes a sigh of relief, but there's something fragile about the humour they're both trying to maintain. Eddie resolutely does not think about Buck in a sterile room with a hand on his— "Thank, God. I'd never make it as a priest." Eddie is suddenly assaulted by an image of Buck in all black and a dog collar—and theeeere's the Catholic guilt.

Fuck, he never should have let May talk him into watching Fleabag.

"The woman handed me two porn mags." Buck huffs down at his beer. "A female and a male one." Eddie does not choke on his next sip, thank you very much. "It was weird, but, I guess, maybe they just don't try to assume?"

"Mhm." Eddie clears his throat of the high-pitched lump forming there. "Did you even need the magazines after five weeks?"

"Barely." Buck snorts a startled laugh, blue eyes shining with something that looks like delighted shock as he stares up at Eddie.

"Have you," another cough. Fucking lump in his throat. "Have you heard from Connor and Kameron?" Eddie's really hoping that his voice didn't come out as venomous as he wanted it to.

Because he has nothing against Connor and Kameron. Absolutely nothing at all. Come on, Eddie can't kid himself, if he had the opportunity to get a little blue-eyed Buck running around, he'd jump at the opportunity too. And, like, he's seen what Buck does to a kid seven years late and just nurture, no nature, so he knows that it'd take anything short of an apocalyptically bad childhood to turn Buck and Kameron's—Buck and Kameron's—child into anything other than human sunshine.

So, really, he has nothing against Connor and Kameron. He's kind of in awe of them, if anything, because they actually had the guts to do what Eddie couldn't. And he should be thanking Connor because he was the one to bring Buck to LA, to bring Buck to the 118, to bring Buck to him and Chris. Its just...

Eddie's never been good with listening to Buck's self-deprecation, or seeing any sign of the people who have made Buck feel like less than he is, or facing up to the reality of Buck thinking he's expendable, defective parts, a sacrificial lamb. He's never been good at it. And now Buck's giving another piece of himself away for nothing, to someone who he's barely spoken to over the past few years, for absolutely nothing in return. Sure, that generosity is one of the things Eddie loves about Buck—sue him!—but sometimes its dangerous. And Connor and Kameron are taking advantage of it.

Okay, maybe he has the teeniest tiniest bit of dislike for them. It definitely doesn't have anything to do with the way Buck had blushed when Eddie had asked just a friend? about Connor. Absolutely nothing at all, no siree! Good for Connor! He just doesn't like that Connor showed up, ordered a beer and asked Buck for his sperm. Or the fact that Connor and Kameron had showed up to his work when he hadn't answered his phone like he wasn't a very busy firefighter with a crazy schedule. That's just fucking weird and kind of inconsiderate, especially considering that was how they'd all found out about Buck's... philanthropy.

(Sure, maybe they'd eavesdropped, but that wasn't on them.)

And like. Who the fuck spells Cameron with a 'K'?

But Eddie doesn't have anything against them.

Really.

"They said thanks." Buck nods, his brow furrows then smooths out in under a second. Eddie sees it, he always sees it.

"Buck." He murmurs.

"Don't." Buck swallows the last of his beer, pats his thighs, and stands. "I should get going."

"Buck, don't—"

"You've gotta pick Chris up in a couple of minutes." Buck shakes his head, as clear of a dismissal as Connor and Kameron's thanks. Eddie doesn't give up so easily.

"You could come with me?" He suggests, hating the hope in his voice. A month ago, he wouldn't have had to hope, he would have known that the answer was a yes. But he follows Buck to the door which means he sees the exact moment his best friend freezes with one hand on the hallway wall. "Chris would love an impromptu movie night—"

"I can't." Buck snaps. He doesn't turn around, but Eddie hears enough of a waver in his voice to know that there are tears building in his eyes. "Eddie, I can't."

And Buck walks out of the door before Eddie can catch the first piece of his breaking heart.

He should have pushed.

[cerise-on-top]

Alright, I just had another sweet idea that I wanted to post about:

Johnny knows Scottish Gaelic. Sometimes, he looks for an excuse to speak it, even if that excuse is just trying to annoy you since you can't understand him. He's very proud of his heritage. However! You can ask him to sing for you! His voice is kind of rough, and it cracks here and there, but he will sing to you if you ask him to. He actually loves singing you some cheesy love songs in Scottish Gaelic. Will gently hold you while singing and look at you with as much love as he can muster, always finishing off his songs with a kiss to the top of your head. It doesn't matter if you're taller or shorter than him, a kiss is the law. If you tell him that you love it when he sings to you, he'll actually do it more often! If you need some comfort, then he'll hold you close and just sing to you. It may not seem like much since he really doesn't have a very nice singing voice, but to someone, who's never been sang a lullaby before, it's the thought that counts. Johnny hopes he can make you feel at ease, if just a little bit. He wants to shield you from this cruel and unyielding world, and if him singing you a small lullaby in Scottish Gaelic can help with that, then he's more than willing to learn the sweetest songs out there!

[ponydoodles]

youre right it is up to me...up * buzzer sound * i choose. platonic

[oh-allie]

i know its been said before but what the fuck ford. 😇😇 your brother, known dumbass, spent over half his life fixing his mistake, SAVING you, without knowing if it'd work, or if you were even alive, and then the first thing you do is SOCK HIM IN THE FACE. i love you babygirl but stan is literal saint dont touch my ANGEL..........

started thinking of this when i was rewatching of AToTS rn and how when stan first sees ford he opens his arms to hug him (and then ford punches him) but when mabel was telling them to "hug it out" ford actually looks back at stan like Wow alex hirsch i am going to END IT ALL....

anyway i Love my angels stanley Pines and STANFORD FILBRICK PINES (even if theyre a Little gay)

[eddiewithcat]

oh please no, don't mind me, just thinking about the implications of them ending this season with eddie asking buck about the go karting place in the desert (that they mentioned in the first episode)

they'll both be out of their respective relationships, buck will have figured his feelings out for eddie and eddie will have just started to really uncover what he feels for buck, and finally digging thru all of his overwhelming amount of catholic guilt and what that means for him.

they could be in the locker room, about to leave after their shift (to further the parallel) and eddie could wait til everyone else leaves, so it's just the two of them left alone before he asks buck what his plans are for the day. buck would have a lackluster response, having nothing planned, and eddie would say something like;

"well uh hey, if you had nothing goin' on, this uh, person, told me about this go karting place out in the desert, could be fun" he would probably be smirking a little, his smile wavering a bit to showcase his nerves (though not understanding fully why he is nervous because? he's just asking his friend to hang out.. isn't he?)

but buck would obviously notice, laughing a little to try and ease the tension and calm his nerves a bit, "yeah, yeah i think i heard of it. uh- no yeah i don't have anything goin' on, i'm sure chris would love that" smile easily sliding onto his face, thinking about spending the day with the diaz boys.

eddie would sorta backtrack a little, not expecting that response, and adds on, "oh i uh- i was actually thinking that uh, maybe it could just be, y'know, us? i mean, if you're cool with that of course! i can ask chris but i think he might have plans with one of his friends and-"

buck cuts him off before eddie can ramble himself into oblivion, "-eddie. don't worry about it, i- i would love to go with you" his cheeks a little rosy, clearly not anticipating this turn of events and what it could possibly mean.

and then to really send it home

"great, it's a date."

just to really show that hey, this is the direction they are going in btw! yes it is romantic! yes it is intended to be that way!

and ofc s8 would be them sort of Knowing but not doing anything because eddie needs the time to work on himself, figure himself out and everything but by s8 finale they get together <3

haha or something idk!!!

[starrynctzen]

[3:04 pm]

it really was a mistake, you were just caught up in the rush of the moment and said it. now you stood in front of haechan frozen, and heart racing, not even able to look him in the eyes.

your worries immediately melt away when you feel his warm hand reach out and intertwine his fingers with your own.

"i love you too"

[entropicquilibriumofchaos]

Pinky Promises

Saga Anderson & Alex Casey

Long before they go to Bright Falls, Saga confronts Alex about his poorly-disguised mental state during a stakeout.

Read it on ao3

“Are you doing okay?”

The silence in the car was suddenly stifling. It stuck to Casey like cling wrap. A brief moment of regret pressed into his mind at the fact that they had opted for no music on this stakeout. He was sure that even the rookie agent’s music taste would’ve been better than the silence that hung between them now.

“I’m fine,” he replied gruffly without sparing Anderson a look. He couldn’t stand any more pity.

Sure, the last few months had been hard. Maybe he wasn’t eating quite enough and maybe he was drinking more coffee than he should. Maybe he had been hitting the bottle a bit too hard.  But those problems were for him to deal with, not his new partner.. 

Outside of the car, the street was dead. No cars passing by and bumping loud music or hooligans screaming at each other from across the road. There was no sound to distract from the thumping in Casey’s chest in his ears. He was never someone to be put off by silence, but this one was hanging particularly heavy. 

Saga Anderson was many things, but a pushover was not one of them. She had noticed the change in Casey’s demeanor long before she had overheard that his wife wanted a divorce. It wasn’t that he was getting slow or sloppy, quite the opposite in fact. He was always jittery - over-caffeinated, if she had to guess - and on edge. But, underneath the facade he had begun to put up, she could see the light fading. He wasn’t the most affectionate or personable partner that she had ever had, but he always had a spark when it came to intense investigations, like the one they were currently on. 

Normally, Casey would be collected and focused on a long stakeout like this, especially when the outcome could lead to busting one of the largest drug trafficking rings in the area. Instead, his fingers drummed on the steering wheel and he wore a thousand-yard stare.

Anderson frowned. “You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to, but you’ve gotta talk to someone, Casey,” she sighed. “Because whatever you’re going through is obviously not getting any better.”

That caught Casey’s attention. He knew the young agent had a habit of not sugar-coating her words, but it caught him off guard to be on the other side of one of her remarks. “I’m not ‘going through’ anything, Anderson,” he spat back, with a slightly mocking lilt. He reached down for the climate control of the car and turned the heat up. He wasn’t cold, but he needed something, anything, to fill the silence between them. 

Anderson was quick to follow, turning the heat back down to force him to listen to her. “Bullshit. I’m not blind, Alex.” She crossed her arms and he was forced to turn and look at her. 

It was clear to him now: he wasn’t getting out of this conversation. 

“And even if I were blind, and I couldn’t see the unholy amount of coffee that you’ve been drinking or the bags beneath your eyes, you can bet your ass that I’d still be able to smell the alcohol on your breath when you come into work.” Her eyes bore into his soul, sparing no expense to make him understand what she was saying.

Casey softened immediately. Maybe things were getting out of hand on his end. 

“Saga, I-” he said softly, but she didn’t stop to give him space to say anything further.

“I feel like you’re forgetting that we’re supposed to have each other’s backs out here. We’re a team, damnit, how am I supposed to trust you to have my six when I can’t trust you to have your own?” 

That thick, impenetrable silence fell over them again. Anderson was breathing heavily as if she had just run a marathon. 

On the other hand, Casey’s lungs refused to work. He was stunned by her directness and ashamed that he had let it get this far. 

“You’re right,” he admitted softly. “You can’t trust me to have your back, I’m sorry. I’ll put in to get you transferred to another partner when we’re done with this assignment.” He looked back out into the street, feigning to look for their subject, but really he couldn’t stand to see the hurt in her eyes anymore

Saga sighed again and furrowed her brow. “Stop that,” she said, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I don’t want another partner. I just want you to talk to me.” She paused before continuing, as if debating whether or not she wanted to in the first place. In the end, she did. “You’re the best mentor I could ask for. You’ve always treated me as an equal and you’ve always stood up for me in the bullpen. I’ve learned more working with you in the last six months than I did my entire time in the academy and on FTO. You’re an inspiration to me, Alex, and more than that, you’re my friend and I just wish you would see me like that too.”

A moment passed as Casey let her words sink in. And just like that, the cold, hardboiled federal agent cracked. 

“Jesus, Anderson,” he coughed, trying to cover up the fact that he was choking up, “I-” He shook his head and wiped the wetness that he refused to acknowledge from his eyes. “I see you as a friend, too, Saga.” he admitted, finally taking a deep breath in. “And well, I guess… no. I’m not doing okay.”

Her face lifted slightly and she smiled softly at him. “Let’s talk about it.”

Casey sighed. “I’m sure you’ve heard about the divorce.”

Saga nodded, giving him space to continue. 

“Well, Miranda and her lawyer are going for my throat with the settlement. She wants the house and both of the cars and-”

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as a shadow darted across the street and into the apartment building they were staking out. 

“Shit, that’s him.” Casey cursed, immediately going to unlock the door and chase. Anderson grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the seat. He turned to her with an incredulous look on his face to see that she was holding out her other hand with a pinky outstretched. 

“We’re going to come back to this, promise?” 

Casey huffed. Rolling his eyes, he locked his pinky with hers and responded under his breath: “Pinky promise.”

Saga smiled triumphantly. “Good. Now let’s go bust these sons of bitches.”

[yup-thats-me]

☆RULES + CHARACTERS☆

⨝ Be patient. As much as you hope your req will be published at the earliest, writers I need time.

⨝ No yandere, male reader. I personally use she/ her pronouns, therefore I'll write content where I am sure I will not provide unreasonable or unrealistic views.

⨝ GN!reader reqs are welcomed

⨝ Anon haters, you are welcome to give your uninvited hateful remarks about my work, but be aware you will not be taken seriously or rather—ignored.

⨝ Thrists are welcomed. feel free to assign me any gender!

⨝ I have almost stopped writing for real people but I'll be willing to if I like the req

⨝ I usually do not write for wlw but it too depends on the req

CHARACTERS/ANIME:

◈ Attack on Titan

◈ Black Butler

◈ Buddy Daddies

◈ Bungo Stray Dogs

◈ Bucchigiri

◈ Chainsaw Man

◈ Demon Slayer

◈ Hell's Paradise

◈ Howl's Moving Castle

◈ Jujutsu Kaisen

◈ Kamisama Kiss (Tomoe)

◈ Mashle: Magic and Mashle

◈ Moriarty the Patriot

◈ My new boss is goofy

◈ My Happy Marriage

◈ Oshi no Ko

◈ Sk8 the infinity

◈ The Apothecary

◈ The Millionaire Detective

◈ Tokyo Revengers

◈ Tsurune

◈ Vanitas no Carte

◈ Windbreaker

◈ ◈ ◈

[roseytoesy]

Griffs Roadside Snacks

pspspsps @theprotectivepred got a little something for you~

It was an exciting day for Griff. They had gotten everything ready and were rearing to go. last thing to do was pick up some of their friends on the way. They hopped into their car and got everyone. The trip was going to take about 5 hours so they made sure to pack some snacks for themselves and their little buddies. Everyone got seated and ready and off they all went

Cyber was upfront due to car sickness, rosa in the back right behind Griff, Red in the middle, and Adam on the left. They all happily chatted for a while and the snacks got devoured faster than expected. At the 2-hour mark, the snacks were gone and Griff was starting to get a bit hungry, his stomach growling at the nice aromas in the car yet the lack of food in it. At the 3-hour mark, Grif was tempted to find a rest stop to grab something from a vending machine, but knew that they were a bit short on time due to a roadblock and detour. As they drove apparently cyber had decided to sit on the center console to chat with the others since it was fairly clear and no windey roads.

In griffs autopilot moment they reached over and gently grabbed cyber and started to lick and nibble on cybers arm, cyber giggled and asked if griff was hungry and the only response they got was their head being engulfed. Griff closed their eyes for a moment but quickly swallowed cyber down. They opened their eyes and licked their lips, tails lightly swaying behind them. When cyber started to shift around that's when it really hit Griff what they had done. They hit the brakes for a moment before continuing along the road. "Gah! Oh, fuck. Cyber im so sorry dude. I don't know what came over me," Griff started to say.

"No, it's fine! I kept hearing how upset your stomach was so this is fine by me. much more comfortable than the car seat was anyway." Griff felt them get comfortable and it felt really nice to have someone tucked away like that. They mumbled a thanks and continued driving.

After a bit red asked the dreaded question of "are we there yet?" Griff grumbled and his stomach groled too, demanding more. So they had an idea. Luckily there were at a light that had just turned red. So they turned around, careful of their guest already in their stomach, and grabbed Red, who wasnt buckled anyway. Quickly shoving them into their mouth and swallowing them down, licking their lips at the nice cinnimon flavor. Griff poked at his newer guest.

"We get there when we get there. If you're so bored out here keep yourself occupied in there." Red giggled before getting settled and chatting with cyber. The trip continued and Griff hated the nagging thought of having his other friends for a snack. they knew they could do it. and there was still quite a ways to go…

Adam noticed what had happened while Rosey was happily watching some youtube. Adam eventually asked if it would be alright if they joined the others in Griff's stomach. Griff sighed and preened to contemplate the idea before shrugging. "alright, just wait for the next stop sign or red light or something." Adam nodded. about 5 minutes passed before a stop sign and Adam quickly scrambled to the front of the car Rosa watched in interest since the wifi had just cut due to a bad signal in the open plains they were crossing. Griff opened their mouth to ask how adam wanted to do this but was interrupted as adam all but shoved their hands and head into Griff's mouth.

"Mrmph?!" griff made a surprised sound before quickly swallowing their delightfully sweet almost marshmallow-flavored treat. Griff adjusted a bit as their stomach was now starting to protrude in a way that the seatbelt was a bit uncomfortable. They continued driving, sometimes talking with either rosa or interrupting the conversation in their belly. they had about one more hour to go and were already feeling so excited. Rosa spoke up a bit at this point. "would it be alright if I joined the belly party? just until we get there." She said a bit shyly a warm blush on her face. Griff chuckled at how adorable she was before motioning for her to come up. She happily undid her seatbelt and scrambled to the center console. she also stole a little sip of the soda that cyber had left behind. "you ready Rosey?" Griff asked as they neared a red light. She nodded a more determined and excited look in her eyes. She quickly shouted to griffs middle. "I'm coming in guys! make room!" Griff laughed at that and quickly started to gobble her up. Humming at her sweet strawberry flavor. Her little movements filled griff to that perfect fullness. They sighed happily as they patted their belly, it making a similar sound of contentment. Despite the long trip and the somewhat awkward bits, Griff was so glad that they had their little prey buddies to keep them company.

[moonlightperseus]

wip wednesday (bc i felt like posting this snippet i wrote last night)

The next time Buck wakes up on a couch and Eddie’s there, it’s in his loft, on the couch his mother picked.

The first thing he notices is the not so subtle all over ache that comes from having contorted his body to try to fit himself onto the too small couch. 

The second thing he notices is that the room is considerably darker than it had been when he had lied down for just a quick nap, when he squints his eyes open he finds the blinds have been closed, which he distinctly remembers having left open and been mildly annoyed he hadn’t thought to close them before he got settled on the couch but hadn’t quite been able to muster up the energy to get back up and close them. 

He blinks his eyes a few times in an attempt to clear the fuzzy haze of sleep from his vision and glances around until his eyes land on—Eddie. He blinks a few more times, a small worry rising in his chest that maybe he’s not really awake, that he’s fallen victim to another dream world created by his subconscious, but then Eddie’s eyes glance up from the phone in his hand and meet Buck’s and the panic building in his chest begins to dissipate as Eddie’s face softens, a ghost of a smile playing across his lips

“Hey, hope I didn’t wake you.”

“You didn’t,” Buck says instinctively, eyes flicking over to the clock reading 5:27 on his wall, “uh, why—”

“We were gonna watch the game together, remember?” Eddie holds out his phone to show Buck the silent video playing on it, “Penguins are up two against the Kings.” 

Buck had forgotten, he had gone for a run earlier that had drained him far more than he expected and after trying and failing to get some other things done around the loft he had finally given in to his body’s need for rest and the plans he and Eddie had made just a few days ago completely slipped his mind.

He used to pride himself on his memory and planning skills, the lightning had to take that from him too. 

“It’s fine,” Eddie says softly, as if reading his mind, “you clearly needed the rest, and that’s more important.”

Buck scoffs indignantly and lets himself sink slightly backwards into the couch, feeling a bit like a petulant child. “So, what—instead of waking me up when you got here you decided to just lurk silently in the corner while I sleep?” 

“I knocked, but you didn’t respond, and you weren’t answering your texts—” Eddie pauses, and there’s something in his voice that makes Buck look at him again.

Eddie isn’t looking at him anymore, his gaze unfocused and faraway. A voice that sounds a lot like Eddie’s echos in Buck’s mind reminding him “you died, Buck.”

[rotinthedark]

@allnostalgic

Seb sending a video from the pier while he's out there during a storm as usual to Kisa bc he thought he might like to see it.

Seb [txt]: Sick weather today

Kisa [txt]: Are you OUT in that???

Seb [txt]: Yeah, why?

[illmoraineakoi]

So I had a funny idea the other day, and I thought you'd all enjoy it

(Read More bc this this is long)

The Abyss is canonically not as air-tight as PK thought it was, and I personally headcanon the Vessels as having a craving/obsession/hunger for light (specifically the Radiance's; they recognize pale light as “their own”.)

What if PK was minding his business one day, and just stumbles across a Vessel that's infiltrated his Palace? And he's like “Where the HELL did you come from?!” Like he legit double-checks that the door is still sealed. It is. And he’s just so Confused.

And now he's just got this second Vessel that's randomly shown up. That he has no idea what to do with. He only needed one, they're meant to be tools, but at the same time, he can't quite forget the fact that these were supposed to be his children. He can't quite bring himself to just get rid of it, even if it doesn't have a purpose.

He ends up just sitting on the issue, trying to think of a 'solution'. It's fine, it's not even really that big of a deal. It's just one extra Vessel. He’ll figure out a use for it eventually.

A few days later, he walks past both Vessels in the hall – only to stumble a step because "Wait a moment – those aren't the right horns!" And sure enough, he double-takes, and they're not. They're completely unfamiliar. These are two new Vessels.

He's so flabbergasted he actually tries to ask where they came from. And of course they just stare at him. He's so confused.

He's even more at a loss for what to do with them. It's getting hard to even remember to double check if the Vessel he's interacting with is the Pure one. He's stressing out about already accidentally fucking up their ‘hollowness’.

It just keeps happening. The White Lady corners him with a very disapproving look on her face, going "Did you forget to tell me something, my beloved?" while pulling out a Vessel from her robes. Herrah arrives unannounced and plops one on his desk, “I think you’ve lost something, Wyrm. Keep your cursed spawn out of my tunnels.” Ogrim and Isma attempt to stealthily deposit two of them in the ‘Vessel Room’ without him noticing, but the seal work on the door was designed to alert him every time a Vessel left or entered. He doesn’t even ask where they found them, he just looks at them with resigned acceptance and shuffles them into the room.

When Lurrien arrives for his bimonthly meeting to discuss the growing infection rates with a cracked mask and heavily bandaged hands, a tall tri-horned Vessel absolutely seething in a tight bundle of rope, the King honestly just wants to lay down in a ditch at this point. He can't figure out where they're coming from. He doesn't know WHY they're coming to the Palace.

He didn't even think this many had survived.

And he still doesn't know what to do with them all, aside from shoving them into the “Vessel Room”. It takes so much of his concentration just to try to keep them occupied or distracted with something, because if they aren't, they turn to the rest of the Palace, and they are somehow even more of a chaotic nuisance than Hornet was. Nothing was safe; if it existed, a Vessel was going to find it and get into it. And potentially steal it, he discovers after an eventful game of "What are you putting in your mouth--nO COME BACK HERE-"

And then Ghost shows up.

And if he thought the other Vessels were menaces, the King had no idea what he was in for. Ghost is easily the worst of them all, combined. Nothing is sacred to Ghost. Ghost is basically a honey badger: they do not give a fuck.

Ghost is the first Vessel the King accidentally gives a nickname to when he calls them a 'Little Nightmare', a title that Ghost only seems to take on with pride. The King regrets.

The King is beyond exhausted. Trying to juggle the Vessels, training the Pure Vessel, dealing with the increasing number and severity of Infected, rising tensions with Deepnest, the Hive and the Mantis Tribe, and the futile search for some other way to deal withe Radiance that he knows he won't find, because he's already out of options. He's sleep deprived, barely eating, constantly stressed, and more times than not forgets to bathe. He's in a downward spiral, he knows it, and knows he can't continue as he is. But he has no choice. He just has to keep going, while hoping, praying, that he doesn't mess up and doom his kingdom, his people.

And just when the King thought he couldn't handle any further stress...

The Vessels go missing. All of them. They just vanish.

It takes a while for anyone to even notice, but it’s the White Lady who does first.

And at first, the King doesn't pick up on his wife's worry when she tells him she can't find them. It's only when she repeats herself, insisting that they're nowhere within the Palace walls, the guards and Great Knights have looked everywhere, twice, and she hasn't personally seen them since last night, that the implication finally sets in.

The Vessels are missing.

The Vessels are missing.

He's never put together such a massive amount of city guards so quickly before in his entire Kinghood. The order is simple: find the Vessels, bring them back to the Palace. He doesn't understand why his body was shaking so much as he watched nearly every guard in the city leave to search. It must be the stress. Or he just forgot to eat again.

He expected the Vessels to be found quickly. As small and indistinct as they are, they tended to stick together as a flock or in groups. They were also not very sneaky or subtle about their presence, most of them being little terrors on stubby legs, so some bugs must've seen them. They also couldn't have gotten very far. At most, a couple of hours, he tells himself as he paces the entrance hall of the Palace, waiting for news or a team to return.

He wonders how they got out of the Palace, and resolves to find the weak spot and patch it. Without another exit, the Vessels wouldn't make it past the Guards if they tried to leave again. Perhaps he should place detection seals around the perimeter of the Palace...Just in case.

News does not come. Nor do any of the guards return for over half a day.

And when they do start trickling back, they're all empty-handed.

They give reports, of bugs seeing the Vessels, of their possible movements throughout the Kingdom, but the Vessels themselves were elusive. None of them had even caught sight of a single one.

The King is angry, enraged actually. He's also terrified. He feels like he's in pain, even though he's not wounded. He wants to burn things. Break things. Claw his workshop to pieces. He wants to scream, to seethe. To sob. He's so overwhelmed with so many conflicting emotions, he doesn't know what to do. The shaking has returned. He feels like he can barely breathe past the rock in his throat. His body feels oddly numb. He’s only ever felt so helpless when confronted with the Infection itself.

The order still stands: Find them. Just find them.

He's restless. he feels anxious for reasons he doesn't understand. He searches himself, even though he knows it’s a risk to his own life; the Radiance would take any shot she had at him. He scours the Kingdom, looking for even the slightest traces of Void. He finds signs of it all over the place, small amounts, but not a single whiff of the Vessels themselves. He cannot even tell what they were doing, if anything, because they seemed to have gone quite literally everywhere.

Days pass.

With each hour that goes by without any word of them being found or them returning (by the Stars and Fates, does he hope they just walk back through the front door. He wouldn’t even be upset, he just wants them to come back.) the King becomes more and more distressed. More despondent. More hopeless.

The Kingdom, outside of the City and the villages, is not safe. So many viscous, infected creatures that would willingly try to feast upon a tiny Vessel. Food was becoming scarcer; the icy black of their bodies wouldn't be a deterrent, even if their toxic Void would most assuredly kill whatever consumed them eventually. The acids were so caustic they'd easily eat through the thin, small maskshells, leaving not a single trace. So many perilous places to fall from. So many unstable caverns to be crushed or trapped in.

The King wondered if he should alter his order to include looking for any signs of their corpses as well. He cannot bring himself to do so; to voice such terrors aloud would make them unbearably real.

Every day is the same: There is no news. There is no news. There is no news. We have not seen them. We have not found them.

Until suddenly, there is news, but it’s not the news he expected or even needed.

The Infection was dying. Rapidly. Just...shriveling up, into gnarled vines and sunken pustules. The bright glaring neon orange was dimming to a lifeless murky brown. Those ensnared in the waking dreamsleep woke up, came back to themselves.

Everyone was dumbfounded. What did this mean? What could have possibly happened? Did the Radiance...give up? Or did something happen to her? What could possibly affect the Radiance enough to disrupt her power so quickly, so thoroughly?

The entire Kingdom looked to their King for answers, and he had none to give. He didn’t know.

He could only work to prevent panic and hysteria, and hope that someone comes back with answers soon.

Through the efforts to assuage the public’s concerns, the King continues to wait, desperately, for word on his Vessels. In the evening, he waits by the front gate. Watching the bridge, for hours. Hoping, even as he’s growing hopeless. There, yet not.

The King is just about to give up for the night, to return inside, to curl up in his chambers and fall into a restless sleep that fails to rejuvenate or ease his stresses, where the images of dead and mutilated Vessels terrorize his nightmares, when voices call out, alarmed, catching his attention. He turns.

He freezes. Stares.

The Vessels were right there, huddled in a group as they slowly walked across the bridge. All of them. Together. They were there.

They were safe.

They were all scuffed up, splattered in the orangeish brown muk and smelling of ash, nicks and dents on their tiny dirty shells. Some of them looked worse for the wear, being supported or carried by others, leaking void from various injuries. The taller tri-horned one with an overgrown cloak had a nasty crack on it's head, their shortest horn just outright gone. It was messily bandaged, and they seemed to be in pain, but they were alive. Another, with two short pairs of horns on the side of their head, was clutching their chest, limping along with another who was missing half their curled horn.

Ghost supported the Pure Vessel, who looked utterly ravaged. cloak torn and stained orange, a deep crack through their right eye socket, empty space where their tiny left arm used to be. Ghost, Little Nightmare, supported a nasty crack down the middle of their mask, deep grooves in their horns like blade wounds and scorch marks searing their tattered cloak, nail shattered completely in half.

The Vessels stop when they see him, staring back. The King doesn't even realize he'd approached them until he was almost on top of them, staring down.

And then he realizes they were carrying something between them, but they're moving, shifting, spreading apart--

And presenting him with a large blade still wet with neon orange ichor.

A familiar blade, he knew was once attached to the Radiance.

He can only stare, as the Pure Vessel steps forward, dipping a tiny claw into the slowly congealing orange and writing slowly, "We ate the Light. No more sick dreams."

And it hits the King right in the gut that the Vessels had been listening to him talk about the Infection, heard him complain and worry over it. Had listened, and taken it upon themselves to try to get rid of it.

And they'd somehow succeeded. Somehow managed to find, to trap, to fight, to defeat her. Not unscathed, not without a cost, but without loosing any of their own. They’d all challenged a God, and killed her.

Had ripped out her gleaming blade, the symbol and embodiment of her power to cleave through dreams and minds, to take it with them.

To give it to him.

The Vessels push the bloodstained blade into his hands, and he stares at it for only a single second, before dumping it to the ground beside him without a care.

A twitch of surprise goes through the Vessels, and air of confusion and outrage, but he doesn't care; he lunges forwards and wraps his arms around as many of them as he can reach, pulling them tight to him and grabbing for yet more until he’s somehow got them all in his arms. Clinging to them. Burying his face among their stained shells and nicked horns, and sobbing.

Of course he cares about the death of the Radiance. The severity of that will hit him later, after he's had time to absorb it properly.

For now, the only thing he gives a damn about is the fact that his children are all safe, back home. Dirty, busted up, and in a world of trouble once he's done weeping with relief, but alive.

Nothing else mattered.

[pixiesnooze]

lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship but it’s buddy daddies out of context summary

[ashsblurbs]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 9-1-1 (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV) Characters: Evan "Buck" Buckley, Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV) Additional Tags: Fluff, one night stands turned into forever, Mpreg, Worried Evan "Buck" Buckley, Pre-Relationship Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz Summary:

Buck and Eddie have one night of fun that leads to them to forever.

[miserywizard]

del rey gave me an arc of the keanu reeves & china miéville (???????????????????????????????????????) book let's GO

[honestsister]

There's something about Buddy Daddies having rei be shirtless and working out on screen but never really showing off Kazuki like that... idk feels like it means smth