#but if it's against ghost it's fiiiine

[natelia-aldelliz]

more ghost!Roach with accidental necromancer Soap, their first interaction !

(please ignore the fact that i can't draw the same character twice lmao)

[sundalion]

Sooooo I got inspired by another post (by @selective-insomniac) and I’ve now made a list of all my favourite rottmnt fics I’ve read that I also think you should read.

If your fic is not on the list I either haven’t read it or it just sadly wasn’t on my favourites (doesn’t mean I hated it TvT)

My list of the best Rottmnt fics

Mutant Ninja Midlife Crisis by a_platypus -Future Leo somehow ends up post Kraang invasion and meets big mama instead of the bois (uhoh)

Midnight Blue by TugboatExpress -leosagi fluff mostly and very cute

we'll meet again, soon by chiangyorange -all the turtles gets to go back from the apocalypse with Casey

I Ain't Happy, but I'm Feeling Glad by Fish -Leo gets cursed and has a lil fight, based of a comic or animatic i cannot find TvT

i think i would prefer the prison dimension by PurpleCatGhost -Leo ends up in the apocalypse instead of home after the Kraang invasion

Alpha Stage by snailsnaps -hehe tiny Donnie hehe (he just had a tiny lab accident it’s fiiiine)

Unfamiliar Familiar by Torable -Michaelangelo from 2012 gets to meet Rise turtles and deal with his trauma

but the grave's gonna have to fight for me by Pachipikachu -awesome Leosagi fic, Usagi is in the battle nexus but also in the pizza place, and Leo is head over heals hdhdjdjdn

The Aftermath by Starrcrossrose -yea this one is fucking tough, take the hurt part in hurt/comfort very seriously ow, only read for your own pain hdjfjskskfk

Ghost in the Shell by AmevelloBlue - 2003 Donatello ends in the Rise universe, gets stuck, and now lives to help the small Rise turtles grow older (hehe dad)

Last Grain Of Sand In The Hourglass by TjLockticon -Old man Leo gets through the portal instead of Leo and the boy is still stuck in the prison dimension, that ain’t stopping the older man tho

too lucky to count by iooiu -Mikey gets to go back post movie against his will and has become a feisty old man and does not want to deal with his now smaller brother Donnie and everyone else

I May Be Invisible, But I Still Look Good by Dandy -Leo gets cursed and his soul kinda separates from his body so the rest thinks his dead and Leo is panicking

Trial and Error by ApatheticRobots -yeah Casey said fuck it and dragged the old man with him to the past, none of the Leo’s really agrees with that choice

Just this once, everybody lives by TheDragonTribes -Mikey says fuck it and takes his whole family home with Casey, but ya know, it’s still the same day as the kraang invasion soooo

odd man out by cosmoscrow -this is the most wholesome you’ll get with an old man Leo being back to his past post movie

Mystic Hands by characcoon -Mikey ends up where Casey should’ve gone and now an angy old man Mikey has to deal with the invasion again

Carapace by SkeletalConstellation -Donnie and the gang messed up on a mission post movie and now Don gets to be momentarily Robot while he fixes himself

Fracturing Time by ofdogsandwriting -Mikey gets to go back post movie and decides his time has come… for retirement :) the boys ain’t having that tho

Quiet Your Mind by daedelweiss -Donnie and Leo gets to fuse in the apocalypse kinda like Steven universe but turtles hdjdjdns it’s a very good oneshot with lots of disaster twins

Rotten Reflections by Nicoforlife -something happened to the disaster twins, making them feral as a survival instinct and ending up in the tmnt 2012 universe with the 12 boys having to deal with some scary Rise twins

A Tale of Spirits by unorthodoxx -They gang touches sometimes they shouldn’t and somehow end up separated widely in the universe of AtLA with the whole Gaang, they however think that the turtles are spirits and it’s a whole adventurous journey (quite a long and amazing read)

unmaking by corvidown -it’s post movie and everything is swell, right up until Donnie starts having a little too realistic nightmares from Casey’s timeline. (Includes 2+ Donatello’s)

At My Worst by teainthesnow -the older apocalyptic version of Leo gets trapped in Leo who has yet to stop the Kraang, absolutely beautiful story hhhh (finished?)

The Eldest Brother by dEBB987 -AMAZING FUCKING RAPH FIC HHHHHH our big bro Raph gets accidentally sent through a portal on a mission into the 12 tmnt universe. Here he struggles with his past traumas while trying to heal whatever 12 has going on in their ‘family’ 10/10 cried cant wait for more.

Like Father Like Son by eternalglitch -oooh gosh Leo gets kidnapped on a pizzarun fort he family by Draxum and the scientist seems to have found one of Donnies inventions that will help him make Leo his perfect little soldier. (Cried hard absolutely destroyed me, it does get better)

Minor interference by bambiraptorx -it’s a fun little fic and the opposite of the above, where Leo and the fam takes up the offer of having Draxum train them, it’s only to absolutely to mess with him tho lol

Never better by less_depresso_more_expresso -amazing Raph fic where she’s raised by good father Draxum, her siblings however are unaware and the younger brothers desperately try to get their sister back from what they assume is an abusive father (it’s surprising lighthearted with triggerwarnings when needed and generally fun to read, feels in character too and so far 10/10)

(I’m so sorry I couldn’t get the links to work, gotta go the old fashioned way hhhhh)

[dameronology]

never doubt me {cassian andor}

summary: after falling into the hands of the empire, a situation of life and death forces you and cassian to finally talk about your feelings {for @megmeg-chan and i am sO sorry it’s taken me so long to do this}

summary: language, mentions of injury, talks ab death/loss in a canon kinda way 

enjoy!! i haven’t written for cassian in so long and i forgot how much i loved him, so expect more of him in the future😌

- jazz

Cassian Andor was a filthy liar. 

No, deep breath. He wasn't that bad. 

The situation was just really fucking irritating and, in all likelihood, making your anger towards him a little more irrational. It wasn't really even his fault either. He'd told you incessantly that the mission was going to go well, and that you both going to be fine. Like, totally fiiiine, and that you would both get into the base without trouble and reunite in the middle, near the Imperial comms system. It was just that neither of you had planned for or expected stormtroopers to be present -- he'd gotten away in one piece, but you hadn't been so lucky. 

That brings us to now: a cell, with two stormtroopers parked outside and quite literally no sign of Cassian anywhere. You knew he'd be looking for you; in fact, you didn't doubt it once. There was a sort of unspoken pact between you that you would always rescue one another; always have each other's backs and never leave the other behind. It was born from the fact that friendships were hard to forge in your line of work, and what you and Cassian had was rare. Not even just in the Rebellion, but rather life in general. On the surface, you teased and ripped into one another to no end. The chemistry was almost suffocating for the people around you, because they could never get a word in edge ways. Then, if you dug a little deeper, there was something more. Something sweeter, something more supportive. You knew him better than he knew himself and in return, he could read you like his favourite novel (though, admittedly, it did sometimes feel like you were missing a few pages. Human complexity and all that).

‘Do you feel like speaking now?’ The modulated voice of one of the stormtroopers came from the other side of your cell door.

‘I’ll die before telling you jackshit.’ You muttered. Hopefully that was more of a statement and less of a prophecy.

The trooper snorted. ‘Okay, sweetheart-’

‘- call me that again and I will shove that blaster sideways up your ass.’ You spat.

‘The only thing you’re doing is rotting here.’ 

With that, he turned his back to you again. 

You slumped further down the wall, ignoring the feeling of the cold concrete etching through the thin fabric of your shirt. It was cold in here. Really, really fucking cold, and Cassian had said you wouldn’t need a jacket. Then again, he’d said a lot of things. And again, none of it was his fault, but you cursed yourself for so blindly listening to him. It was nice that you took everything the other said as gospel, even if it came back to bite you in the ass every so often. 

‘A word of advice-’

‘- I don’t want any advice.’ You turned away from the trooper, pulling you knees to your chest. 

‘The sooner you talk, the less painful it’ll be.’ He ignored your refusal. 

You didn’t need to ask what he meant by it. You’d been part of the Rebellion long enough to have heard stories -- stories of torture, stories of war and the the kind of horrors that people often took to the grave.  You had a fair few of your own, and so did Cassian. That was probably why he’d become so important to you. He was one of the only people in the galaxy who truly understood the downfalls of being a Rebel spy. Your cause was more important to you than anything (well, almost anything) and you wouldn’t have changed it for the world, but there were times like this where you wondered if it was all worth it. Would there ever come a day where the Empire truly fell, once and for all? And would you even be around to see it? Would Cassian? 

Speaking of the devil, where the fuck was he? He never usually took this long. A few hours at most, but you’d long surpassed that. You could only very barely see the sky through the tiny window, but the sky had faded from powder blue to a dark navy, signalling it had been well over half a day. That was bad for multiple reasons -- the first being that the longer you were here, the more likely Cassian was to assume the worst and stop searching. Secondly, and perhaps most hauntingly, was that each passing second brought you closer to the Imps dragging you out the cell and taking you for questioning. And questioning, in their books, didn’t involve much talking. Go figure.

The injuries you sustained in your capture were bad enough; a bust lip, bruised eye and twisted ankle never made for much comfort. Even less so when you couldn’t get medical attention. The fact you knew it would be the least of your problems in a few hours made it all that much worst. 

You’d never doubted Cassian Andor before. Not once. Couldn’t even fathom it, truth be told. He always came through for you; always saved your ass, whether it be from yourself or from Imps. He was your person. That’s the only way you could have put it.

But, above all, he was a human being. Not a super hero, or a miracle worker. He could only do so much and you knew he would. He would follow every lead and every clue to try and get to you, but that’s all he could do. If he couldn’t find you, that wasn’t him on him. You doubted that he would think the same, and when you heard the lock to your cell open, you could only hope and pray that he knew that. That you weren’t going to blame him for what was about to happen, or hold it against him. 

‘It’s time.’ The stormtrooper announced. ‘Hope you can handle a bit of pain.’

You took a deep breath. ‘I can handle anything.’

‘I wouldn’t count on it.’ He guffawed. ‘Hands out.’

‘C’mon, man.’ You murmured. ‘My legs gone, my lips bust and my head feels someone’s dropped an iron anvil on it. You don’t need to cuff  - ouch!’

You let out a squeak as he grabbed your wrists, tugging them forward and shoving a pair of metal cuffs on them. Was this really it? The end? Was your name gonna be the next one on the list of people lost in the Rebellion? That was if anybody even noticed. 

Cassian would. Of course, Cassian would. It hurt your heart to think that you wouldn’t see him again, or get to say a proper goodbye. The last time you’d seen him, you’d been dragged away from him kicking and screaming. He’d been so close, and if he’d been just a little nearer when they’d got you, he might have been able to save you, to stop you from falling into the hands of the Empire. You always figured that if you were gonna die in the field, he’d be by your side. The dumbassery you so often found yourselves in usually happened together. 

The walls of the Imperial base were dark - as if you’d expected anything else. It was hardly like the place was going to look like a bright, airy Ikea showroom. The only light came from the thousands of tiny red and blue buttons flickering on the wall, illuminating the hallways in what would have been a pretty glow if the circumstances weren’t so fucking miserable. Talk about a high way to hell.

You took another left, the trooper’s grip on you tightening as you neared some double towards the end. Yep, here it was. This is where you met your maker.  And from what you’d heard, the six-foot-something guy in a black mask did not take prisoners. Not that he was the one you were thinking of. No, that was Cassian. Completely and entirely Cassian; just his face and his presence and his everything at the back of your mind, the last thing you could think of before you were about to die for your cause-

-you let out an oof! as the stormtrooper suddenly pulled you to the ground, practically using you as a human shield against the blaster fire and smoke grenade that had just come from behind you. You tried to use your elbows to push him off, but with the cuffs and your already existing injuries, he easily overpowered you. Also, you were too busy coughing from the smoke to even think about making a getaway.

Tumbling forward, you fell onto your hands and knees. The trooper’s gun clattered to the ground, and you used your good leg to kick it further out the way, eyes not moving from the cloud of smoke that come out of the grenade. The red and blue lights were beating down on it, casting a purple glow over the shadow of whoever had thrown it, acting as a guide as they finally emerged. With a blaster in one hand and the other curled into a fist, your best friend had never quite looked so handsome, especially under the violet illuminations.

‘Cassian!’ Despite everything, you couldn’t help but grin. 

‘Duck.’ He demanded. 

You did as he said, flopping back to the floor. Squeezing your eyes shut and covering your head, you stayed there for a moment. There was another blast, and then the trooper’s body fell beside yours with a dull thud! 

Then, in what must have been two of most contrasting feelings ever, a warm pair of hands found yours. Cassian’s, undoubtedly. You would have known them anywhere. He pulled you up from the cold ground, warm palms finding your face as they ghosted over your cheeks.

‘It’s okay.’ His voice was soft. ‘You can open your eyes.’

You took a deep breath. ‘I know. Thank you.’

‘How badly are you hurt?’ He asked. ‘Because we need to move fast.’

‘My foot’s pretty wrangled.’ You said. 

Without another word, Cassian threw an arm over your shoulders, tucking it under your arms to support you. 

‘Lean against me.’ He instructed. ‘The exit isn’t too far-’

‘- what about the other troopers?’ You asked.

‘I dealt with them on my way in.’

And dealt with them, he certainly had. The men were practically laying in unconscious piles (he only ever intended to maim, but never kill), working as some kind of fucked up map out of a twisted and horrible maze.  The pain in your leg only grew worst as you moved, your good leg beginning to ache from carrying all the weight. With all your attention focused ahead of you for potential enemies, you didn’t even notice how close you were to stumbling over -- not until you fell back onto the cold lino floors. 

‘Hey.’ Cassian dropped beside you. ‘Look at me, okay, just...look at me.’

You glanced up, tired eyes meeting his warm, brown ones. ‘It really hurts, Cass.’

‘We’re really close now.’ He said. ‘Two more minutes. Can you do that? For me?’

‘Yeah.’ You took a deep breath and nodded. ‘I can.’

(Because really, for him, you’d do anything.) 

Cassian helped you back up, pressing one of his blasters into your hand. His arm returned to hold you by the waist, gripping you a little tighter this time. Your leg was practically screaming in pain, a dull ache shooting from your ankle up to your knee. You had to remind yourself that in a few minutes, it would all be over - and not in the way you thought it was going to be over an hour ago. Over, as in this whole ordeal would simply be something to report back to your bosses at base, and not your final moments. The fact you ever let yourself accept that fate and think that Cassian wouldn’t come for you was something else entirely in itself. 

You almost cried with relief when you saw his battered old ship docked outside the base. You normally cried for other reasons when you saw it - usually ones to do with the rusty old engines and creaking sound it insisted on making whenever it flew - but right then, you had never been happier to see it. Even if the insides smelt weirdly of petrol and oil, and the seats in the cockpit were made of uncomfortable cracked leather, you practically threw yourself on board. 

Neither you nor Cassian said anything for a while. His attention was completely on getting away from the base and avoiding TIE fighters - something he did without ever moving his hand from your thigh - and yours was on steadying your breathing and heartbeat. It had been a rough twelve hours to say the least. 

Once the ship had lurched into hyperspace, he turned in his chair to face you. He held your gaze for a moment, before opening his arms out and letting you flop from your own seat and into his chest. They tightly wrapped around you, one hand softly your head to his body and the other gently rubbing up and down your back. You had to squeeze your eyes shut to stop your tears from spilling. 

‘I’m sorry.’ He murmured.

‘For what?’ You peered up at him with a frown. 

‘Not finding you sooner.’ He replied. ‘Or for even letting you get caught in the first place-’

‘- Cassian, stop.’ You pulled back and tangled his hands in yours. ‘Once I get some bactaspray, I’ll be totally fine.’

‘But you almost weren’t.’ He shot back. ‘If I was just a few minutes later and you could have been a thousand times worst, or even...gone completely.’

‘That’s beside the point.’ You softly sighed. ‘It’s doesn’t matter would have beens or could have beens. I am here and I will be okay.’

‘You’re right.’ He nodded. ‘I’m sorry. I just...I want to protect you, you know? And I failed.’

‘You don’t need to protect me, Cass.’ You shook your head with a soft smile. ‘Actually, no, today I did but you pulled through.’

‘I don’t need to, but I want to.’ Cassian murmured. 

He’d done a pretty good job at sitting on his feelings for the last few years. Pushed them down when he felt the urge to tell you, and ignored them entirely when they got really intense. But that had been when the threat of completely losing you was just that: a threat. A distant possibility, and one that you were both too busy living your lives to fully consider. Now, however, you’d come close. Too close. Cassian had come face-to-face with a reality where you were gone, and one where he’d never actually told you how he felt. 

‘You know I love you, right?’ He quietly said. 

‘Yeah, I know.’ You nodded. 

‘No, I mean I love you.’ 

You peered up at him, realising what he was getting at. You did know. In fact, it had very much been an unspoken thing between you for a very, very long time. It was really just a matter of saying it - but that was always the hardest part, right? 

‘I know.’ You repeated. ‘I love you too.’

‘You do?’

You softly laughed. ‘Of course I do.’ 

He pressed a soft kiss to your temple and pulled you back against his chest, chin resting atop your ahead. ‘Good.’

You stayed like that for a few minutes; it was undoubtedly a deeper conversation you were going to have later on, but it felt good to have it out in the open. So good, in fact, that it momentarily made you forget the last day entirely. Instead of pondering on it, you let yourself get lost entirely in Cassian’s presence, and the feeling of his body against yours and and his arms holding you. If you could have it your way, you would have stayed like this forever. The rest of the galaxy could wait. 

‘I’m sorry if you thought I was going to make in time.’ He said quietly. 

‘I didn’t.’ Your voice was slightly muffled by his chest. ‘Not once.’

‘I love you.’ Cassian said it more firmly this time. It still completely felt weird to say, and even more so to see you smile and say it back.

‘I love you too.’

He dipped his head down, capturing your mouth in a soft kiss. The feeling of your lips against his was familiar and foreign all at once; it was something he’d gone over in his head a thousand times, but it was nothing like either of you had imagined. It was better. Sweeter, in the kind of way that gave you butterflies in your tummy and made you feel giddy. It was worlds away from the usual dread and bloodshed that came with being in the Rebellion. 

But that was quintessentially Cassian. He was everything that the war wasn’t: sweet and constant and warm. Somebody as beautiful and as caring as him both did and didn’t belong in the Rebellion. Did, because he was a good man who wanted to fight for the right thing. Didn’t, because he constantly risked his life for the greater good and you couldn’t quite stomach that idea. 

‘I’ll always come back for you.’ He lightly brushed his hand against your cheek. ‘Never doubt me.’

‘I won’t.’ You promised. ‘Not ever.’ 

tags: @megmeg-chan @karasong @bb8sworld @marvelinsanity @poestardust @etherealsanakin @bo-kryze​ @punkbach​ @phoenixhalliwell​

[toukenramblings]

NSFW Headcanons: Izuminokami Kanesada, Horikawa Kunihiro,Nagsone Kotetsu

Give me an instance to talk about the Sin-sengumi, I will take it. The Sin-sengumi shall soon become gospel, just y’all wait. It’s catching on. I also don’t give Naga enough love so here I am.

Warnings: S I N. I’m projecting

Izuminokami Kanesada

I would like to clear this up before we continue, this man is a brat and he knows it. Bottom, top, Izumin don’t care. He can and will tease you however the hell he wants. Maybe he’ll hide something under his clothing for you, but it’s easy to tell with his red face and overly trying to make you look at him and notice him, damn it! Look at what he did for you! Be proud of him! Get horny for him!

He is a horny lil shit when he is in the mood and you can tell, he’ll want to always be close to you, hugging you to his form, glaring at others, kisses pressed to your open skin, if he’s feeling naughty, sucking on your fingers. Sure in public he’ll control himself (MAYBE) but wait until you two are alone.

Izumi gets off on praise and that is a fACT. Call him a good boy as he plows into you or services you with his mouth, his moans during these times will be oh so heavenly, vibrations jolting up and down your spine as he does so. Tug on his hair during sex too, it gets him going.

Izumi is loud, gag him, gag him for me. He’ll look so pretty when he’s gagged, trust me. Do it with your underpants if you must, he’ll look so beautiful, flushed and screaming into the object, desperate for you to touch him.

Yes he gets off to your scent, don’t be surprised if you find him touching himself with an article of clothing against his nose when he misses you, hand furiously stroking himself, wishing that it was your hand or your mouth instead.

Izumi is a bottom-leaning switch, he wants to be taken cared of but that doesn’t mean he won’t hesitate to top you anytime soon. Push his buttons enough and he will. He’ll mark you, mark him in return. He’ll flush as he tries to hide the love bites you give him. But is more than proud when he can see the bites he has given you.

The times when Izumi tops are...whoo baby. He’ll spill nothing but filthy praise from his lips about how your mouth feels on him, how good his cock feels whenever you do something to him. He’s highkey possessive as hell, so catch him calling you ‘mine’. “This is mine, right, master? You know I’m the only one that can make you feel good like this~”

Izumi is fucking greedy as hell whenever you decide to wear something underneath your clothing for him. A glimpse of it and he has a heart attack, Izumi.exe cannot work. Please come back later. He might straight up run away before coming back two seconds later to try and drag you into a secluded corner of the citadel to rip those damn clothes off of you and how dare you wear such a thing that’s only for his eyes.

Yes he isn’t afraid to publicly tease you or being caught having sex. Sure he’ll scream and be super duper embarrassed about it for a while but he’ll be fiiiine. It’s not gonna stop him from dragging you into your office and closing the door and curtains to fuck you on top of your desk anyway.

Izumi has a pretty decent sex drive, which tends to come and go but he’s honestly always ready to fuck you at any given point. Just give him a good reason to. He’ll flush and be flustered, stutter over his words and may downright pass the fuck out but he won’t hesitate to tease you right back with some naughty words.

Izumi loves it when you are on top of him, taking your pleasure from him as you see fit - he also secretly loves it when he’s being tied down when you do this. He loves seeing your face as it contorts in pleasure, and his mouth having an easy reach to your chest and nipples.

Damn it put his mouth to WORK. Shut him up with your nether regions, make him service you. Izumi adores being between your legs and watching every movement, every gasp and moan you make. He wants to drink up your moans like water if he could.

There are times when Izumi denies how horny he is, especially when you can see it in his body language, the way his oceanic blues ghost over your skin, how he bites down on his lower lip when his eyes glaze over your chest and ass - keep pushing his buttons, if he’s in denial that normally means he wants to be topped. He’s also very very much into overstim.

Loves it when you are wearing nothing but his haori, you cannot tell how many times you two fucked on top of that thing to the point it permanently has your scent on it.

Aftercare is rather quick. Clean you up to the bare minimum than pass the fuck out and cuddle. He has to cuddle you! No arguments here!

Horikawa Kunihiro

Hori Hori may have a pretty low sex drive, but he is a little shit about it when he wants to. You can tell when he’s in the mood, he isn’t as showy as Kane-san but it’s much more subtle. Soft whispers when you two are alone, his cheeks lightly flushed at the naughty thoughts in his head. “I want to give you my love tonight, master. Will you let me taste you until you cannot remember anything else but me?” 

Hori doesn’t pleasure himself often whenever he misses you, as said before, pretty low sex drive. That doesn’t mean he won’t do such a thing though, it’s quick and seamless, almost preparing himself for the night to come. Of course he knows to control himself but sometimes he can’t help it!

Hori’s favorite position is him between your legs, servicing you until you are screaming his name, where he can watch you with hooded eyes, forcing your legs apart for better access. He lives to pleasure you, to see you cum at least six times more than he does. 

Hori is also a service top, treating you as glass whenever he is on top. Soft kisses to your thighs, peppering kisses to your chest and marking them as his. That being said, he doesn’t mind being on the bottom. He has a habit of covering his mouth whenever you pleasure him in turn though, tIE HIM DOWN. His moans are beautiful, don’t hide them.

Speaking of tying, yes he will use the red ribbon on his uniform to tie your hands together. Don’t you fucking dare hide your screams and moans from him. Hori will not hesitate to gag you if needed, but would rather not. Would have you choke on his fingers if he must. Yes you can suck on his fingers, it’s great as hell and it gets him going.

Will also love it when you wear nothing but his shirt or jacket. It’s also a surefire way to get him in the mood. He’ll flush, clear his throat, and almost try to adjust it to look more proper on you. “Did you miss me that much, love?” he would question before kissing you.

And then we get to marking. Hori is very easy to mark, his skin bruises pretty easily and he won’t hesitate to show off his marks with a sense of shy pride. He loves marking you up though! It brings him a sense of pride whenever you two are in public and he sees that you are also showing off the marks he gave you. 

Oh Hori is very curious about toys, will dedicate an entire day of learning about the kinks and toys of the modern era. Consent is very important for him of course so he will always ask before doing anything naughty to you, unless you like the spontaneous stuff then he can do that! He caters his needs around yours as he is so giving after all. 

Rarely does Horikawa get jelly at all, he trusts you! But he won’t lie that it makes his skin crawl when someone looks at you with interest in their eyes. Even Kane-san is not safe from Hori’s glares. Expect him to mark you up even more after this incident.

Hori is very versatile. Top? Bottom? Whatever! He’ll be oh so happy just to be connected with you like this! He doesn’t care what position he’s in as long as he can be with you!

Horikawa always wants to see your face whenever you two are fucking. So if you two are doing doggy style, expect some mirror sex with some dirty talk thrown in there. He loves seeing your expressions as you two fuck.

If Horikawa is ever bottoming for you, it’s beautiful. He becomes so needy, praising you no matter what positions you two are in, begging for more. He’ll always be touching you somehow, and giving up control is something he isn’t against. He’ll tug on your hair during these times, arching his back, so on and so forth.

100% is that one dude who wakes up their partner with oral sex, change my mind. It’s gentle and sweet, fingers toying with your nether regions and a smirk dancing on his lips. And then he’ll pull away, is a weeee bit into orgasm denial until one of y’all is a sobbing mess - prefers it if you orgasm deny him though. But is more so into overstim, he loves you so much after all! You need to be fucked properly!

Yes Hori will 100% steal your bank account to find you something cute to wear under your clothing. Will love it when you model for him too! Has an entire collection of tabs saved of things for you to wear.

Super prepared for aftercare. Sheets? Changed. Water? Ready! Cuddles? Mandatory.

Nagasone Kotetsu

His nipples and chest are his biggest weak points, tweak them, nip them, suck on them. Oh man Naga-san will be putty in your hands. He just has really nice man tits i want to suck on them. But Nagasone will do the same to you! He will lavish your upper body with nothing but marks and kisses, adoring the way you squirm in his arms. During sex, Nagasone’s mouth has to be on something. Be it sucking on your fingers, a gag, or something or other man. It’s good as hell.

He has more control over his sex drive than Izuminokami but his sex drive is a lil bit more higher than Horikawa’s. Right in the middle. He knows he can keep control of himself but then there’s moments when he goes feral, pinning you down to whatever surface you have, teeth digging into your skin, giving you all of the love he can ever give you and more. Nagasone loves you, he wants to show it to the world.

There is a sly smirk whenever someone notices the love bites he has, or he has given you. He may have a light pink flush that decorates his cheeks when someone teases him about it, but he is proud of the marks he bears whenever you mark him. Won’t hesitate to show them off to the world if he must. Hachisuka might tell him to cut it out but is that going to stop him? No.

Like Horikawa, Nagasone is a service top and gives more than he gets back. He may be a fake but Nagasone thinks that you are his sun, his stars, his moon, the one who loves him despite who the hell he is. He wants to show you how much you mean to him, so most of the time the sexy times between y’all is soft as shit. He worships your body oh so much.

Do the same to him! Like I said, his chest is his weakest point. Mark it up, lavish him with praise and affection. Nagasone will act like it doesn’t do anything to him, but the way his cock twitches with your words speaks volumes. “Don’t say such things, love, you never know what I could do to you next.” though Nagasone always makes sure to return the favor!

Nagasone is so into body worship it’s not even funny. He could spend the rest of his day in the temple that is your body, between your legs, marking your thighs up and just basking in your presence. He also loves it when you wear something of his. It smells like him and it’s warm and cozy but man does it get him going.

Like Horikawa, Nagasone will be rather curious about toys and lingerie. Yes he may have tabs open on your computer on things for you to wear, but it’s all leather and lace. A few toys here and there, he doesn’t go fully into it like he will but he will happily learn more to pleasure you and please you!

Wear something under your clothing and flash it to him. I dare you. He will not hesitate to drag you away to somewhere private and make you fucking sob. “Wearing something like that? I didn’t think you would find out I liked that kind of thing, master. Mind if you take it off for me?” and then its ripped, whoops.

Nagasone loves your hands and how they deal with the rest of the swords. Loves kissing your fingertips and finger pads, sucking on your damn fingers and smirking as your eyes glaze over with lust.

Oh dude praise dOES something to Nagasone. He loves it when you praise him for doing such a good job when he’s servicing you, tug on his hair. He loves it when you’re rough with him.

If you ask him to be rough with you, you’re not walking for a week. He’ll make sure that you are fucked properly, overstimmed to the point you might just pass out from the pleasure. Pinned down to whatever surface he deems right, kissed until your lips are swollen and sore. Oh Nagasone will not be holding back. He will drag his nails down your back when you cling on to him, your body will be covered in nothing but his bites and marks now.

Is not into choking. I’m gonna put that out there right now. But kinda into collars?

Loves it when you sit in his lap and he’s ramming into you from below. He loves seeing your face when you get worked up like this! He always wants to see your face when you two are fucking, and also sucking on his fingers as he sings nothing but praises about how good you feel. Will also love to sit on your lap whenever he is taking you.

Nagasone will not deny that he has thought about fucking you under a table, your desk most likely. He’s a sneaky little shit and smirks as his fingers find your sex, toying with it until you want to snap. He’ll hate you forever if you do the same to him, expect him to slam you against a wall in frustration and roughly take you right then and there.

After care is simple. Swiftly clean and then pass the fuck out. Nagasone is a fucking furnace of a big dude so you’ll always be warm around him. Maybe he’ll joke that he wants a second round? Who knows, fufu.

[stargazing-enby]

In Need of Assistance

A collab with @april-thelightfury115! 😍 I had a lot of fun with this collab, and this was also a great way of combating writer’s block 💪🏼 we hope you enjoy!

Drarry | 2k words | General Audiences | Eighth Year, Getting Together, Spiders, Arachnophobia, Fluff, Truth or Dare | Read on AO3 

“AHHHH!” 

Harry and Ron exchanged a confused look as a yell from the bathroom interrupted their sleepy morning shuffles. Eighth year was in full swing, lessons began at the crack of dawn, and no-one was happy about it this morning. But that didn’t mean it was worth screaming about. 

A second later, a half-shaven Malfoy stumbled out of the bathroom, hair flying in every direction as he panted. Wild eyes finding everyone’s confused attention on him, he paused, quickly smoothing a hand down his rucked shirt.

“Um…” he stumbled, visibly taking a breath. “Blaise, I’m in need of some assistance.” 

The Italian sighed.

“Can’t you just… vanish it or something?”

“Vanish what?” Ron asked, suspiciously.

“Nothing that concerns you, Weasley,” Zabini muttered in a bored tone.

“Blaise, I mean it."

“Fiiiine, keep your hair on, I’m coming.” After hauling himself off his bed, Zabini strolled past the practically twitching Malfoy into the bathroom, re-emerging a few seconds later looking just as bored and refined as ever. Only his tightly curled fist—that Malfoy vehemently avoided with comically wide eyes—suggested anything was wrong. Before Harry could ask what the hell was going on, Zabini had opened a window, stuck his hand out, shaken it, and was closing it again. 

“There. Done. Finish getting ready," he commanded. To Harry’s surprise, for once in his life, Malfoy did what he was told without comment, practically scurrying back into the bathroom.

What in the…?

“What was that about?” Harry asked. But of course, Zabini merely donned his robes, ignoring him entirely. 

“What was in your hand?” Ron demanded. But still, the Italian simply grabbed his bag and breezed out of the dorm. Arrogant bastard.

Exchanging a final look of utter bewilderment with him as the sound of running water joined the periodic sighs and curses that always commentated the dorm’s morning routine, Ron shrugged, donning his robes and leaving Harry no choice but to do the same. Apparently, Malfoy screaming in the morning was just another oddity he was going to have to get used to now he was rooming with the Slytherins.

*

He held the handle tightly, edging the door open inch by inch, determined to make as little noise as possible as he entered the dorm way past curfew. 

Old habits die hard, Harry thought to himself with a wry smile. A long Potions lesson had left him in dire need of some tea at Hagrid’s, and then the cool night air had been too nice to resist. Before he’d known it, he’d been staring at the stars for a few hours. Only the looming threat of McGonagall’s wrath in Transfiguration in the morning had forced him back into the castle.

Bypassing his bed for the bathroom, the snores of his dorm-mates sent a yawn shivering through him. Bed definitely sounded like a good idea…

“Are you going in there?”

Harry wheeled around, coming face to face with a silhouetted figure sat cross legged on the bed. 

“Jeez, Malfoy! What are you doing, trying to kill me?!” he whispered, trying to slow his racing heart. 

“If I was trying to kill you, you’d be dead, believe me,” Malfoy bit back. Harry just rolled his eyes, the pressure in his bladder reminding him of more important things.

“Whatever, Malfoy. Go to sleep before you terrify someone else.” 

“Wait!” The sound of Malfoy’s feet hitting the floor reached his ears. “I—Um—Are you going into the bathroom?” 

Harry frowned.

“No, you see, this is actually a secret door to an alternate universe where I own a bakery and I’m late opening it, so if you’ll excuse me." 

“Oh fuck off, Potter," Malfoy spat.

"Gladly."

But as he pushed the door open, an honest to god squeak came from behind him. Incredulous, Harry turned back to the pointy git, studying him. One of his feet was mounted over the other, avoiding the cold stone of the bedroom, and he was shaking slightly. No—he was doubled over like he was in pain. Harry squinted. 

“Malfoy, why are you awake?”

Malfoy tried, and failed, to seem nonchalant. 

“N—No reason.” 

Harry huffed. 

“Look, I’m exhausted. If you don’t want me to know, go wake Zabini up and ask him again to deal with whatever—”

“I—I can’t. He has an Ancient Runes exam in the morning.” 

“Well, then. Whatever’s in there isn’t worse than a Basilisk, is it?”

“Depends on who you ask.” Malfoy grimaced. When Harry glared at him, he muttered, “Okay, fine. It’s not. You’ll be fine. Probably.”

“Good enough,” Harry said. He opened the bathroom door, but looked back at Malfoy, who hadn’t moved and was looking at him intently. “Malfoy.”

“What?”

“You’re staring. It’s weird.”

“Oh. Oh! Yeah. Don’t mind me.”

“Fucking hell,” Harry grumbled, but decided to ignore the Slytherin and go pee regardless. Malfoy was old enough and ugly enough to take care of himself.

Despite his efforts, Harry couldn’t stop himself from staring around as he did his business. There weren’t any ghosts around; no strange voices hissing behind the walls, no Boggarts crawling in the corners. The most exciting things he could spot were the annoying, constant dripping of their wonky tap, and a small spider chilling on the ceiling right above his head. 

Unless…

Nah, that couldn’t be it. Could it? It did sort of make sense, what with Zabini carrying something in his fist that one morning and throwing it out the window… But the idea of Malfoy being scared—no, terrified—of spiders was... absurd. Hilarious. Interesting.

When he walked back into the bedroom, Malfoy was still exactly where he’d left him. Harry smirked to himself, leaving the bathroom door ajar and walking past him without a word. Waiting to see what Malfoy would do.

“Did you—” Malfoy murmured after a moment of silence, just as Harry sat on his bed. “Did you... see anything?”

“I did, actually,” Harry said casually as he untied his shoes. “There was this ginormous dump that someone had left there, floating endlessly in the deep waters of the toilet—”

“I’m serious!”

“Oh, and there was also a tiny spider somewhere around there.”

“It wasn’t—! It wasn’t tiny,” Malfoy grumbled, raising his nose in the air. “It was… moderately intimidating.” 

Harry bit his lip so as to stifle a chuckle.

“Just go pee, Malfoy. It’s not going to kill you.”

“You don’t know that.”

“It didn’t kill me.”

“You’re Harry bloody Potter, it doesn’t count.”

“Malfoy…”

“You know I have a point!”

Harry sighed. “Do you want me to get rid of it?”

“You… would?” Malfoy said, tone shifting to an almost pleading one. How long he must’ve been lying awake trying not to pee himself, only Merlin knew.

“If it’s going to shut you up…” 

“Yes. Yes. Most certainly it will. Please—?”

Rolling his eyes, Harry got back to his feet and made his way to the bathroom, followed at a cautious distance by a visibly distressed Malfoy.

While he climbed the toilet, Harry murmured, “I always used to sleep with several of these over my head, you know. They mostly leave people alone. And even when they don’t, their bites don’t hurt that much.” 

When he climbed back down, spider in hand, Malfoy was staring at him from the threshold in a mixture of awe and horror.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Don’t, then,” Harry shrugged. “How come you’re so scared of them, anyway?”

“It’s called being sensible, Potter. Anyone smart or without a deathwish would want to keep their distance around them.”

“And by keeping the distance, I assume you mean screaming to the top of your lungs?”

“That was different! The fucker was right in front of my face when I leaned into the mirror.”

The spider, still in his fisted hand, crawled around in his palm, making him shiver slightly. He might not mind spiders, but the sensation wasn’t exactly pleasant.

“You’re impossible,” Harry concluded with a shake of his head. “I’ll get rid of this one. You go… pee, or whatever. We’ll talk in the morning.”

*

He was about to follow a very grumpy Ron down the stairs to the Common Room when a hand grasped his wrist and pulled him back into their dorm.

“Good morning to you too,” Harry said, too sleepy to sneer back at Malfoy when he caught sight of his expression.

“You’re not going to tell him about last night, are you?” Malfoy pointed his chin toward the stairs as he talked. “Because if you do, I swear to Salazar, Potter, I will turn the rest of your school year into a living hell.”

“Sure, sure.” Harry yawned. “Look, I’ve had enough terrible years already. I’m not about to do anything that could disrupt the shaky peace of our dorm. Relax, okay?”

Malfoy leaned forward, giving him a glare that he was sure was meant to be intimidating. “You’d better.”

“Mate, why are you—oh.”

Harry watched with increasing horror as Ron’s expression changed into one of realisation, his cheeks turning a bright shade of red as he took note of the way Malfoy was leaning over him—the way he was pressed against the bedroom wall. Fuck, why the hell had Malfoy cornered him against the bedroom wall?!

“Er—I’ll—I’ll wait in the Great Hall, then. Leave you two to…” He gestured vaguely. “Yeah.”

“Ron, it’s not—!” Harry started, pushing Malfoy away from him and running for the door. But Ron was already out of sight. He leaned against the doorframe, cursing silently. 

“What the fuck?” said Malfoy from behind him.

“Congratulations,” Harry muttered, slowly turning around. “Ron still doesn’t know you’re terrified of spiders. He simply thinks you were about to snog me senseless!”

“What?! Why in Merlin’s name would he think that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you had me pressed against the bloody wall?!”

“I didn’t—!” Malfoy started, cheeks aflame, but gave up with a huff when Harry raised his eyebrows at him. “Look, let’s just—let’s just go get breakfast. And you”—he pointed an accusatory finger at Harry—“had better convince the Weasel that we were arguing over something completely heterosexual and absolutely not spider-related. Is that clear?” 

“Whatever, Malfoy.” Harry turned to leave, letting a small smile slip now that the Slytherin couldn’t see him. Gosh, Malfoy was so funny when he was flustered it was almost endearing. “Come on.”

*

“Mate, you can’t be serious.”

Harry felt Malfoy’s groan in his very soul as they walked out of the Potions ingredients cupboard. 

“It’s the third time this month!” Ron hissed as they made their way back to their cauldron. “And we’re in the middle of class! You know I love you, Harry, but this is getting out of hand.”

“Zabini wasn’t around to help him,” Harry muttered. “You know, if you really did love me, you’d believe me when I tell you that—”

“Ah, Mr Potter, Mr Weasley!” Slughorn chirped. “I take it you’re finished with your potion, since you’re having such a fun time in my class! You won’t mind if I give it a sip, will you?”

All eyes on him, Harry muttered an excuse and gave Ron a death glare.

*

“So, Harry,” a very tipsy Hannah said, wiggling her eyebrows, “what will it be? Truth or dare?”

Why did I agree to this again? Was the only answer his scattered thoughts supplied.

“Er—dare,” he blurted after a moment.

Hannah’s eyebrow wiggling increased exponentially. 

“How about you give your boyfriend a snog, then?” A chorus of giggles exploded around them. “I think we’ve all been wondering what you two get up to in the cupboards.”

“He—Malfoy’s not—” Harry spluttered, but his words caught in his throat when he saw the state Draco was in: pink from throat to ears, mouth slightly parted. Eyes filled with dread, but keen on straying from Harry’s gaze down to his lips. He’d clearly had one drink too many. 

A push on his back made him topple forward, and, as several people cheered, Harry crawled toward Draco, unable to remember or care why his sober self would think this was a terrible idea. 

“Potter,” Draco breathed, a hand grasping Harry’s waist. Half-lidded eyes falling on his lips again. Harry’s breath hitched.

“We can—I mean, we don’t have to—”

“Potter.”

A pull at his hip; a fist clenched around his jumper. Urgent.

“Okay.”

Draco’s hands slid against his scalp and into his hair, making him shiver. 

“Thanks,” Draco murmured against his lips. “For… you know. Your assistance.”

“You’re w—”

Draco’s lips parted and caught Harry’s lower one in a kiss. The last thing Harry noticed before the last of his coherent thoughts left him with a low moan was Ron’s half-frustrated, half-victorious cry of, “I knew it!” 

[orangerosebush]

What’s in a name?

[ao3 link]

Juliet Butler was used to sharing. The weight of her last name. Her brother. Her space within the manor. It seemed that just by being born at this time, within this family, she was expected to follow a certain path in life that was so far tangled up in the Fowls as to not really be hers at all.

It didn’t surprise her brother when she sat him down at age 18 and told him she was going to try a crack at something new in America with the wrestling circuit, but it did surprise him when she came back a mere three years later. It was shortly after when Artemis checked into the psychiatrist in Haven — she had come to the clinic with Butler and Artemis, and she took the shuttle back to the manor with Butler.

Butler didn’t want to say anything too pointed. They’d have to talk about if she was here to stay for good eventually, but she had just gotten back; he knew that she was proud enough that she’d pack her bags again if she felt he was suggesting her experiment in the U.S. with carving her own path had failed.

So they didn’t talk about it. They both went on, carefully watching each other as they circled around the elephant in the room.

It had been a week since she arrived at the manor, and it looked like they could avoid the subject altogether if they tried hard enough. Their patterns during the day were certainly different enough that they could rely on their interactions being brief enough to make having a conversation about what Juliet was going to do easy to sidestep.

He was far busy enough trying to explain to Mrs. Fowl why her son was staying with a psychologist a few thousand kilometers under the earth’s surface. Neither the mental health conversation nor the magic conversation was going particularly well, he winced. Of course, Mr. Fowl was significantly out of the loop, but he’d never really been in any loop regarding his son. At least with Myles and Beckett, he could trust that Juliet was enough of a distraction from Artemis’ second leave of the family. Both the boys had noticed, of course, that their brother was gone again, but they were too dazzled by the newness of Juliet to ask either their mother or him about where Artemis was.

Butler leaned back in his chair, looking out of his room’s window at the sunlight. The clouds had cleared for the first time in a while, and the Fowl estate sprawled out across the surrounding acres of land. The wing that his room was in faced the old forest on the grounds, and he could just about make out the distant scene of Juliet and the boys by the pond at the edge of the trees. Juliet appeared to be allowing Becket to sit on her shoulders while Myles sat on the grass and looked at the water.

He smiled to himself, feeling the lines under his eyes crease upwards. From a distance, she could have been their older sister. Pulling his eyes away from the glass, he glanced back at the inside of the room. He sighed. Rolling his shoulders, he reached for the book he’d set down on his coffee table last night.

⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢ The manor was quiet. Juliet paused at the bottom of the staircase, hand ghosting over the handrail. If she looked close enough, she could make out the scuffs that Artemis and her brother weren’t quite able to get out of the wall after the troll wrecked the hallway during the hostage situation. She exhaled slightly, a grin quirking the sides of her mouth upwards as she imagined Artemis getting snippy over her usage of ��hostage situation’. “Please, Juliet,” she remembered him sighing a while back. “It’s rude to leave out the nuance of it all like that”.

She tightened her grip on the banister. Slowly, Juliet made her way up towards her room.

⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢

There was a knock on the door. Butler set his book on his lap.

“Come in,” he called out, fully prepared to see Angeline.

The door opened cautiously, and there was Juliet, her hand lingering on the doorknob.

“Hey,” she scuffed her feet against the carpet. Butler blinked.

“Er, hi.”

They both stood there, self-consciously waiting for the other to say something.

“I took the twins outside.”

“I saw. They seemed to have a good time.”

Juliet shrugged, finally walking all the way in to the room. Letting the door close slowly behind her, she sat down gently on the edge of his bed. “Yeah, I guess. They like the pond. I remember liking getting into whatever was muddiest on the property when I was their age.”

He grinned. Butler remembered taking Juliet outside to run before dark when she was young — she’d always had a wild child energy to her.

“Beckett reminds me of you,” he smiled. “He’s very determined to find trouble somewhere on the grounds I’ve worked so hard at child-proofing.”

Juliet rolled her eyes. “They’re both troublemakers.”

“True,” Butler laughed, leaning back in his chair. Juliet grinned. She stretched slightly, flopping back onto the bed.

“It’s weird being back,” she sighed. “Like, I’m back in my old room, and what’s still up on the wall? The Spice Girls poster I had when I was, what, eight? It’s like a time capsule I don’t even want.”

“I’m sure most twenty-somethings coming back from university feel the same way about seeing the stuff they plastered up all over their room when they were younger,” he chuckled softly.

At that, she sat back up to look at him, putting her weight on her right arm. “I’m not most twenty-somethings, though. I didn’t even go to uni—“

Butler scrunched his face up in confusion. “Do you even want to go to uni?”

Juliet groaned, gripping the duvet in annoyance. “I don’t know if I want to go to uni, that’s the thing! I thought I wanted to go to America, be a wrestler, but then something happened with Artemis. And, a-and I was sitting in the hospital cafeteria with Mulch, and you know what I realized? I’d tried professional wrestling, and now I was bored! I love wrestling! I love my teammates! I love traveling and seeing new people, and getting to be Juliet instead of Juliet Butler. But I still woke up each day loving the gig a little less than I did the night before, and I can’t live like that. You know that, Dom.”

Juliet’s eyes were shining, and she loosened her grip on the bed sheets. Butler set his book down gently on the floor. Standing slowly, his knees cursing him, he moved to sit next to her.

“I missed you,” he said simply. “I’m sorry about America.”

She reached over, putting her hand on his shoulder. “I missed you, too.”

“I want you to know that you can stay as long as you need. I can also help you find an apartment nearby if what you need to is to be here without being here, if that makes sense.”

Juliet let out a small grin, retracting her hand from his shoulder to rub the wetness from her eyes. “I like my old room, but thanks.”

She grabbed a pillow, holding it on her lap and looking up at the ceiling pensively. “I don’t want to just be a Butler for Myles and Beckett, though. That’s never going to be me, I know that.”

“I know. I think the Fowls know that, too.”

Juliet nodded earnestly. “Cool. That’s good.”

“Thank you for talking to me about this, by the way,” Butler sighed, looking at her.

“I don’t care what happens — at the end of the day, I’m still your older brother. I want you to let me in when you’re hurting—“ Juliet scoffed, but he continued. “I know you’re not a child anymore, I know that! But I hate the idea of you feeling as though you have to go it alone because you need to prove something to the world,” he finished, eyes pleading.

The two of them sat in silence, the sound of birds outside filtering into the room the only noise in the room. Finally, Juliet sighed, leveling her gaze on him.

“Okay.”

He started. “O-okay?”

She snorted, throwing her pillow at him. “Yeah, okay, nerd. I’ll keep you in the loop.”

Butler caught the pillow, laughing incredulously. “Okay!”

Suddenly, Juliet’s eyes widened. “I still have to tell my manager that I’m dropping out, shit”

Butler stared at her. “You didn’t tell him?”

She waved a hand dismissively. “I think he knows, considering it’s been, what, a couple of weeks by now? But after you showed up,” she jabbed him with a finger pointedly. “I was so caught up in whatever end-of-the-world business Artemis had gotten us caught up in that I never gave my ‘official’ two-weeks notice, or whatever.”

Butler sat there in silence for a moment, thinking. “I… don’t think you should call him, actually.”

“Me neither.”

“I think he’s going to be pissed.”

“Wow, really? Because I think he’ll be psyched one of the best acts in the group just dropped out without letting him know. Dom, obviously I’m gonna get yelled at by him if I so much as look at my phone.”

A side of Butler’s mouth quirked upwards. “One of the best acts?”

Juliet sniffed. “I was being humble. I’m a Butler, it’s clear I’m the best.”

At that, he laughed, and she shoved him. “Shut up! I am going to let him know eventually. I’m telling Sam that I’m not rejoining the troupe tonight—”

“Sam?” Butler frowned, and Juliet stuck her tongue out at him.

“Don’t be annoying. She’s my teammate. You saw her and I sparring before you dragged me off to Haven. We’re scheduled for matches together, so she, out of everybody, deserves to know first about my decision,” she chided.

“I wasn’t prying!” Butler said defensively.

“Fiiiine, you weren’t prying,” Juliet teased. Butler rolled his eyes.

“So, she’s your teammate. That’s nice! I’m glad you have friends in the troupe.” Butler tossed the pillow back to its original place on his bed.

“Yeah, it is nice. She’s cool, you’d like her. It’s… stupid, but I already kind of miss her,” Juliet’s tone softened. Butler’s eyes widened slightly. Oh.

“You could ask her to visit sometime, if you’d like,” he offered, trying to be nonchalant.

Juliet hummed. “Maybe. I’ll see how things go tonight with her.”

With that, she stood up from the bed. “I’m going to get ready for dinner. I think we’ve had enough awkward sibling heart-to-heart conversations for today,” she grinned, and Butler knew that eventually, things would be okay. Maybe they wouldn’t go back to normal, but that was okay. He had his sister back.

Pausing at the door, Juliet turned to face him. “It’s nice to be back home with you, Dom.”

He smiled. “Love you, too, Jules”

Juliet grinned, closing the door after her, and Butler was left alone. The sun was starting to get low in the sky, and the light cast shadows across his room.

He picked up his book again, running his fingers down the spine to stop at the name of the author. Violet Tsirblou. The book was, in all honesty, quite bad. The dialogue was awkward, the plot stilted, and the characters alien-feeling. Butler felt the smile lines on his face deepen. Artemis must have written it when he was about ten.

Butler put his hand on the window sill, his gaze falling on the pond. Myles and Beckett. Artemis and Juliet.

It would all be okay, in the end. It had to be. Butler let his hand fall from the sill. Sitting back down tiredly, he opened the book to where he had left it.

[epicswagdivorceguy1]

Rating the JoJos on what it's like to sit next to them on public transit

Everyone on here is being rated based on: how likely it is that you will get injured/die, how safe it is to ride with them, and how good it is to sit next to them.

Please be careful reading through this if you want to avoid spoilers! There might be varying spoilers for any part in here!

-

Jonathan Joestar: 9/10

The best one to sit next to on this list, honestly. He has very good manners, as every good gentleman should, and if you initiate conversation with him, he will have pleasant small talk. Jonathan is a giant of a man, though, so he might unintentionally intrude on your personal space--but he will do his best not to! Oh, and another thing... there is... a small chance you might become a bystander to a supernatural battle against zombies and vampires. Just don't be careful at night, yeah?

Joseph Joestar: 4/10

The fucking worst on this list. Yeah... unlike his grandfather, he is NOT a gentleman! He IS a giant of a man, though, so he will definitely intrude on your space, on purpose or on accident. If he gets bored, and he likely will, he may start talking to you or messing with you. Also... you might become collateral damage if Joseph gets into trouble--but worry not! He's rich, so he can pay for the hospital bills! Or for the funeral... anyways, he'll probably protect you should danger arise. If granny Erina is around, things are guaranteed to go smoothly, though. Unless you're a bigot.

Jotaro Kujo: 6/10

Surprisingly, this delinquent isn't too bad. Jotaro will probably keep to himself, reading a magazine or something. If you get too chatty he might yell at you to shut up. Jotaro isn't here to mingle, thank you very much. Like the other two JoJos before him on this list, he is also fucking huge, so your personal space might get intruded upon. He'll move if you ask him, but... are you sure you want to...? He's kind of intimidating... Also, certain people with certain abilities tend to be attracted to one another, so you might possibly end up getting injured or dying to invisible punch ghosts. Good luck! :D (He'll put in an effort to save you, as well as any other bystanders, though. But he is just one 17 year old boy, so living isn't guaranteed.)

Josuke Higashikata: 8/10

This teen boy will, for the most part, be pretty chill! If a stand battle breaks out, he will do his best to make sure innocent bystanders don't get hurt. Just don't insult his hair, 'kay? You will definitely get your ass beat. On the bright side, he can fix any damage he does to you. Kind of. Your face might look a bit different afterwards. You won't mind, right? After all, it IS your fault for insulting him!

Giorno Giovanna: 8/10

I don't know how the Don of Passione ended up sitting next to you, but you better hope it's not for anything related to his job! If Giorno is simply sitting next to you by random chance, he'll be pretty good, honestly. Aside from having to possibly deal with his gunslinger himbo friend, he will keep to himself and his own space. If he IS there for mafia-reasons, then... you are not in for a good time... :( hope you like getting tortured by teenagers.

Jolyne Cujoh: 7/10

She's like, the most normal out of everyone here. Not really the best, but not really the worst. She will talk to you if you talk to her. But you better hope she isn't running from a certain priest, or else you might end up a casualty in said-priests' plans to attain heaven. Make sure you don't get too friendly with her if there's a certain pink-haired man nearby. We wouldn't want to start anything, right...?

Johnny Joestar: 6/10

This ex-jockey wouldn't be TOO bad to sit next to. Johnny will likely ignore you if you attempt to talk to him. You might have to put up with Gyro's shenanigans too, but other than that things will be quiet. Unless there's an enemy stand user. Then you will probably die and no one will save you.

Gappy Higashikata: 7/10

You aren't likely to get hurt because of him, but he is a bit odd, so you might witness some bizarre gestures. Just hope he isn't pursuing someone. It could turn into a real calamity!

-

Conclusion: You are infinitely more likely to get hurt or die because of an enemy fighter. But, other than that, things will be fiiiine. Probably.

[gerbiloftriumph]

So you wanna be a king (pt3)

or maybe you just wanna cosplay one.

Continuing the cosplay semi-tutorial-semi-rambling for those who love one smol bean and wish to dress as him for funsies:

Part 3: Trousers and Boots

Okay, so, at this point you’ve probably spent at least $150, and at least enough hours to watch every Game Grumps King’s Quest LP (that's three and a quarter full games) three times. Likely more. 

It’s time to pull out your screencaps again, to remind yourself why we’re here. 

(it’s for this cute face, with all his determination and compassion and bravery and intelligence. That’s why.)

You’ve got a jerkin (pt 2) and a cloak (pt 1) but it’s indecent to walk around without anything waist down, so let’s a’stitch some trousers. And also some boots while we’re at it. 

Trousers!

When I was at the Renfest, someone asked me where I got my neat blue riding pants. Well, for starters......they’re yoga pants. And also, Goodwill. Have you noticed a trend with me yet. 

This knobbly-kneed lad is definitely not pulling a Men In Tights routine--there’s too much definition and stiffness in the wrinkles. I decided on sweatpants, though, because why not? May as well be comfy. (The more accurate fabric choice would probably be like, a khaki material, but, nah). I selected two separate pairs in the colors I wanted.

Because this costume isn’t warm enough, I attached the lighter pair over the darker rather than Frankenstein-sew two chopped parts together. It’s kind of like wearing pants and a half. Because I’m the monster. And also I was concerned that long-term wear would weaken the stitching if I pulled a Frankenstein, and this costume has been time consuming enough without risking it falling apart on me. 

What that means is this: I put on the darker pair, measured about how wide it looked Graham’s pants were vs on me, turned the lighter pair inside out so I could mark the width on them, and cut out a long and bizarre looking rectangle from the inner section of the light pair. 

The reason why we cosplay is to get into our favorite character’s pant--no, I’m sorry, the joke’s too bad, I’ll see myself out. 

I selected three inches wide on either side of the inner pant hem, so six inches wide in total, from ankle to ankle. This does mean there’s more fabric around the ankle since they naturally slim down, but the boot covers that. Since the lighter pair had an elastic stretchy cuff, I left that intact so the pants wouldn’t bunch up when walking. 

Immediately after cutting out the light pair, I ran it through my sewing machine with that herringbone stitch (the zigzag triangles) to “seal” the fabric edge and prevent fraying. It gives it kind of a bubbly textured look if you look closely, but if you’re not about that life, you could cut out an extra inch and hem it back for a straight clean line. 

I then carefully lined up all the hemlines, light to dark, pinning as flat and evenly as possible. Then, hand sewing. Bane of my novice cosplay life. 

First I stitched hemline to hemline so it would be precisely centered, then again along the edges of the light fabric. So I sewed this thing by hand three times, paying special attention to the area where the legs intersect since that’s where the most friction from walking and picking up inventory items and the like will wear. Just sew along existing hemlines. It can be sloppy; no one will ever see your stitches--unless you turn it inside out to make a semi-tutorial for strangers on the internet, and then they’ll laugh at you.

If you feel fancy, you can add the thick patches on Graham’s trousers. I didn’t bother at the time because it felt like a bit much, but I do really like those patches. Maybe someday. 

Also, you should probably handwash this piece too. Unless you trust your sloppy stitches more than I trust mine. 

Boots!

I’ma tell you a secret: my absolute favorite part of all of Graham’s outfit is the boots. I love them. I want a real pair. Like, with actual metal bits, not cheap eBay boots and shoe goo and hope. The boots are at least a quarter of the reason why I made this costume in the first place. 

And yet, the boots were the last thing I made, more than a year after completing the rest of the costume. I wore shin-high lace up boots in the meantime, and it was fine, but knee length is truly the ideal silhouette against your cloak. It does make a difference.

I’ve made boot covers before (Lynne, Ghost Trick, bright red), and it’s fine, but it’s also frustrating. I highkey recommend just modifying a regular boot. There are lots of gorgeous, expensive options out there, but in the end I settled for a bootleg boot from China (you know, the ones that are “fashion” but which all use the same stock image and are fake mimics for a fraction of the cost on eBay) for a grand total of...$25.00, with shipping. Ye boi.

According to the receipt this boot is an.....”American Rag Ada Round Toe Synthetic Over the Knee Boot.” Cool, deffo bootleg. 

Another secret: I put gel inserts in both the toe and the heel, I wear gel-ankle socks over my regular socks, and I stuff the heels with leftover plushie-making cotton fluff. Because bootleg boots are cheap and blistery, and comic con floors are hard enough even with a nice sturdy pair of shoes, so seek every advantage you can. More cotton fluff. More! Stuff it in there! And also wear your favorite patterned socks, because it’s my tutorial and I said so. 

Okay, back to the store. Get the following things: a small amount of stretchy black fabric, a small amount of gray fabric, a sheet or two of craft foam, a tube of shoe goo, and popsicle sticks or some other way to “paint” the goo. Also an audiobook to help pass the time. (can you believe no one’s recorded the King’s Quest novels into an audiobook form, how tragic.)

Using some of the boundless scrap you have from the rest of this cosplay, determine how wide you want the black pieces to be, and maybe the gray while you’re at it. That fully depends on your boot. 

Cut out your black for the front and back pieces. They won’t be pure rectangles, but have a trapezoid curve to them to mimic the shoe curve. Pin and hem.

Apply shoe goo around the whole section of the boot you’re covering, as flat and even as possible, and stretch, apply, and pin your black fabric into place. Do little detail work with the popsicle sticks, and once it’s all pinned, leave to dry for a while. Ideally, overnight, so the glue can set. 

Go play King’s Quest again or something while you’re waiting. It’s not like you have anything else to do, right?

This boot happened to already have a buckle on the back which I wrapped in gray fabric to mimic the silver on Graham’s heels--your boot probably doesn’t have this, so use this following method instead.

To get the silver cuffs, I cut out foam (you might have to look around for foam in a good thickness, or glue multiple sheets together--mine is, uh....the thick foam my bose headphones came in.....), and glued fabric over it. Then I glued the foam/fabric curve to the shoe, pinned it in place, and walked away again. I sure hope you like your audiobook. There’s a lot of downtime here. 

This method works for the anklets too. Wrap foam entirely in black fabric. Hilariously, since it’s foam, I didn’t have any trouble pushing it through my sewing machine to add the gray on top of the black. Another secret: my anklets connect via elastic, so I can get the boots on while still having a snug anklet. No, it probably doesn’t look great if you’re walking right behind me, but there’s that 5 foot rule of cosplay that means no one should see it, and who’s staring at my heels anyway, that’s weird. 

Cut thin regular plain sheet foam in the right size to fit over your toe. To achieve the curve, cut out little notches (you can just see a discarded notch in the included picture), then glue the edges together again sans notch. Bam, curve. Cover in fabric, glue to the toes of the boots like everything else, pin, and wait until dry (yes, overnight again--I did tell you about the audiobook). 

And that’s that! (At least, for me: I have not done the laces on the front, or cut out the knee guard, or anything that requires actual intensive boot modification because I was in a hurry to go meet Christopher Lloyd and on a deadline and forgot to come back to it. No, for reals. Comic cons are magic places.) It’s held up for two full years at cons and renfests and even in a light rain without trouble, tho I do need to touch up some of the edges a bit. 

Put the whole thing together: jerkin, cloak, cowl, trousers, boots. You’re looking fiiiine. All the cool cats are jealous of your sweet new kicks.

And with that, all the giant heavy pieces of your cosplay are done! It’s just accessories and details left. And the adventuring cap, one might argue the most important piece of all. But we’ll get there. Probably. As long as this is helping someone. 

[comfy-whumpee]

Brandon 7

[I’m so sorry this series got hella long!]

“Lindsey’s missing,” Cat said. Her voice was calm and businesslike, but she wouldn’t have called Sasha unless she wanted help; Cat wasn’t the type to just phone up to talk about her worries. Cat wasn’t the type to worry a problem at all; she was the type to attack it until it surrendered.

So Sasha knew it was serious. She flipped her diary open. “When did you last see her?”

“Tuesday.”

Two days ago.

“No messages?”

“Nothing.”

“You called her?”

“Obviously. Phone’s off or dead. Wouldn’t track either.”

Yep. Sasha was worried too, now.

“So why are you calling me?”

“Because I’m gonna need you when I find her.”

Sasha sighed, but she’d known, really. This was Lindsey they were talking about. It wasn’t just that she’d almost certainly turn up with injuries. It was more that whoever had taken her away from Cat was going to have to suffer, and someone was going to have to stitch them up afterwards.

“Double pay,” Cat said after a moment.

Sasha smiled. It wasn’t actually necessary for Cat to bribe her like that, but who was she to turn it down? “I’m at your service.”

-

Sasha was there when Cat got the call. “Hello?”

She didn’t hear the words, but she heard Lindsey’s bright, chattering voice on the other end, and she smiled, relaxing. Things were okay again. Five days, Cat looked like a vengeful ghost ready to strangle a man with her bare hands, and Lindsey was okay.

“Where the fuck are you?” Cat said, cutting off her partner’s rambling and interrupting Sasha’s new sense of peace. She was already on her feet, hooking her free hand around her handbag, and Sasha followed her out of the house.

More cheerful response from Lindsey.

“No, stay right there. I’m on my way.” Cat slammed the door to her car shut, waving for Sasha to put her seatbelt on before accelerating out of the driveway, phone wedged into her shoulder, “No – no, Lindsey, shut up. I’m bringing Sasha.”

A question from Lindsey, wheedling voice.

“I’m not bringing your dog. Yes, she’s been miserable – no, no I don’t care. Shut up, Lindsey. What street?”

Cat’s fists were tight around the wheel and Sasha stayed quiet and unobtrusive, not commenting on the illegal phone use and certainly not on the very illegal disregard for traffic laws and speed limits. It wasn’t like Cat to drive recklessly, but that was even more reason not to challenge it.

“Five minutes,” Cat said. “No, stay on the line—”

Sasha heard the dial tone, faintly.

“Fuck you, Lin,” Cat muttered to herself, sounding bitterly amused. She let the phone drop into her lap and smoothly cut off an SUV, which honked angrily at her. She didn’t blink, didn’t take her eyes off the road, her focus intense, her breathing calm and controlled. She was about as furious as Sasha had ever seen her.

After a couple of minutes, Cat seemed to remember she was there. Her eyes flicked over, back to the road, and she said through gritted teeth, “She’s fine.”

Sasha nodded, privately wondering: Are you?

-

Lindsey was waiting in the hall when Cat knocked on the door, and opened it immediately. She looked decidedly sheepish, leaning against the doorframe. There was a yellowish bruise on her paler-than-usual cheek, Sasha’s trained eye noted immediately. Rope burns on her arms, visible because she’d rolled her sleeves up. Sleeves stained with blood. Knees also stained with blood, older. And – she was cradling her left hand with her right as if she was trying to both shield and comfort it.

She didn’t move, and nor did Sasha, as Cat stood on the doorstep and stared up at her.

Lindsey bit her lip. She went to speak.

“Five days, Lin,” Cat said, voice sharp as it cut her off. “Not a word.”

“I was tied up for a while,” Lindsey protested.

Sasha raised an eyebrow, and Cat was similarly sceptical: “Is that because you had to be, or because you wanted to be?”

Lindsey couldn’t help but smile a little, though her gaze had drifted away from Cat as if distracted by a pleasant memory. “No comment?”

Sasha winced. She was not alright. How long ago had the endorphins worn off?

Cat was clearly thinking the same thing. “Give me that hand,” she said.

Lindsey tensed a little. “Which one?”

“Your injured one.”

“No injury. I’m fine, Cat, didn’t I say?”

Unmoved, Cat glared at her, her voice low and deadly with anger. “Give me. Your hand.”

“S’nothing,” Lindsey said, but she did extend her hand.

Cat snatched it by the wrist, yanked it closer for inspection, made an angry huff, and pulled Lindsey out of the house. Lindsey resisted for a moment, but then figured it was wiser to give in, stumbling after her.

“Go home with Sasha,” Cat said, handing her off to Sasha’s grasp. “Let her fix that. You’re gonna have nerve damage. And you’re showing blood loss.”

“’M fiiiine, s’just the pinky.”

“Go home,” Cat snapped, foot tapping hard, and Lindsey’s mouth clamped shut and she nodded quickly. Cat sighed, then her voice softened. “Go home and rest.”

Sasha reached out and patted her arm, drawing Lindsey’s attention to her. “Hey, Linds. Let’s go, yeah? I bet you’re hungry.”

Lindsey smiled, eyes a little distant. “Can we have pizza?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Sasha said, leading her back to the car. “I’m going to order pizza for us.”

“Okay,” Lindsey said, and she turned to wave at Cat. Cat glared even harder, but waved back, somewhat dismissively.

Sasha made sure she had them away from the house before Cat stepped inside to find the perpetrator.

[smthngsafootatthecirclek]

Say You Won’t Let Go

Peter Parker

Requested? Still movin’ mate

Warnings? Character death multiple times mentioned, it’s overall just a really sad story

A/N: I might repost this at a later time and it will be edited because i might want to edit it later. Have fun crying with me at the end of this one!

~~~

She cried and cried and cried. Practically cried herself to sleep, but how could she sleep in such an unfamiliar place. With all the things flooding her mind, she wouldn't sleep. She couldn't. The fresh images of the bodies on the kitchen floor. Her parents, dead. She had to run, escape and that's exactly what she did.

Run.

I met you in the dark, you lit me up

You made me feel as though I was enough

We danced the night away, we drank too much

I held your hair back when

You were throwing up

The sound of soft sobbing attracted Peter's attention. While on his nightly patrol, he had come across an alley with the sound coming from it when he found a girl about his age. As he approached her, she shrunk away from him like a cornered animal.

"Don't be afraid... It's me, Spider-Man.." He spoke softly.

"Please... Please don't take me back..." Tears streaked her cheeks and Peter recognized her. She was a girl in a few of his classes. Soft brown hair, Stoney-blue eyes, freckled cheeks.

"...where..?"

"Home."

Peter felt his heart break. Was she being abused? Was that why she seemed to be hiding?

The sound of people talking as they walked by the alley startled her and Peter offered to take her up to the roof.

"There won't be anyone up there..."

She nodded and he gingerly wrapped an arm around her waist, sling his web up to the top of the building. Another sob caught in her throat and her wall crumbled once more. Peter didn't want to think she'd be the suicidal type, but he kept an eye on her just to make sure. He gave her space, allowing her to sob her heart out.

Then you smiled over your shoulder

For a minute, I was stone-cold sober

It had been what felt like hours before she eventually calmed and stopped crying. However, when she looked up, she couldn't find Spider-Man. She glanced over her shoulder to see him standing facing away from her. He had taken his mask off and she could see curly brown hair in the faint moonlight. A small smile crossed her lips and she turned to face his distant figure.

"My name is Clara..."

Her voice made him jump slightly and he turned around without thinking. That was when he realized he never put his mask back on.

"P-Parker...?" She couldn't believe it, how was the shy, dorky boy in her class Spider-Man?

He looked panicked he rushed towards her, "You can't tell anyone, please, it might put you in danger..."

Clara's face fell, "I'm already in danger..."

When Peter’s eyebrows furrowed, she continued: "My family was murdered a few hours ago and the murder is probably after me now..." She began to tremble, tears pooling her eyes once more and Peter quickly embraced her.

"Shhh, it's alright... It's gonna be alright... you can stay with me if you need...." He whispered, rubbing her back softly.

I pulled you closer to my chest

And you asked me to stay over

"I-.... Thank you, Peter..."

"Hold on tight."

And off into the night, he swung, making his way back to the apartment where he could pop in through the window.

As they climbed through the window, Clara stumbled slightly and he caught her. It was her first time being at a boy's house and it was without her parent's consent. But they were... Gone and this boy might as well be saving her life.

I said, I already told ya

I think that you should get some rest

"You can take the top bunk," Peter looked over and saw Clara sitting down on the bottom bunk, pulling her knees up to her chest.

He sat next to her and pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry. There's nothing I can say to make you feel better... But I'm here for you..."

{Time skipety}

The murder of Clara's parents had been solved and May allowed her to stay as long she needed. During that time she and Peter grew close.

I knew I loved you then

But you'd never know

'Cause I played it cool when I was scared of letting go

"Clara!" Peter called out and she poked her head out of their bedroom.

"Yeah?"

"You left your breakfast in the microwave..." Peter snickered, "You planning on eating it or-"

"Yes I'm gonna eat it! Give me a moment!"

Peter chuckled

I know I needed you

But I never showed

But I wanna stay with you until we're grey and old

Aunt May waltzed into the kitchen, a soft tune stuck in her head, "why don't you take the girl her food, she's working really hard lately, Pete..."

She patted Peter on the back and announced that she was going out with some friends for bingo.

Just say you won't let go

"I'll be right out 'Petey'!" Clara teased and Peter heard a frustrated sigh.

Just say you won't let go

She slammed her book shut, typing out another sentence of the essay and tire tiredly leaned back against the bed frame from where she sat on the floor.

I'll wake you up with some breakfast in bed

I'll bring you coffee with a kiss on your head

Peter placed the food from the microwave onto a plate with some cappuccino. It was a good thing he could balance stuff easily or else he might've dropped the stuff on his way to the bedroom. He pushed open the door with his foot and set the plates down on the lower bunk.

"Take a break..." He held his hand out to help her up.

"But I need to finish this essay, Pete-"

"Take. A. Break. Clara." He demanded and took the laptop from her, "I saved the paper, now eat."

"Fiiiine..."

And I'll take the kids to school

Wave them goodbye

And I'll thank my lucky stars for that night

She took his hand stood up, stretching slightly before taking a seat on Peter's bunk.

"Cappuccino?? Where did you find this?!" Clara's face lit up.

"In the cupboard..." He laughed. It was a pleasant surprise to see her happy.

When you looked over your shoulder

For a minute, I forget that I'm older

I wanna dance with you right now

Oh, and you look as beautiful as ever

Clara looked up at Peter, almost as if praising him.

"Sometimes I wonder how my life would've turned out if you hadn't found me that day...." She whispered with a smile.

And I swear that every day'll get better

You make me feel this way somehow

I'm so in love with you

And I hope you know

Darling your love is more than worth its weight in gold

Peter's stomach fluttered at her words. He was so horribly in love with this girl. Yet she would probably never know and he didn't want to ruin their beautiful friendship.

We've come so far my dear

Look how we've grown

And I wanna stay with you until we're grey and old

{Time skip}

"PETER!!" She screamed, fear creeping into her voice, "HELP ME!!"

The man held her at the top of the roof, threatening her with the gun against her head.

"Clara!" Peter stumbled on to the roof of the building, his spider-suit scratched and cut along his torso.

"Don't come any closer, Spider-boy!" The man edged closer to the ledge, the gun pressing against Clara's temple harder.

"Let her go!" Peter yelled, extending one arm slowly.

Just say you won't let go

"nO" The man snarled and Peter's webbing flew to the gun, snatching it fron the criminal's hand. But just then, he pushed Clara away. Off the edge of the building.

Falling.

Falling.

Down.

Do-

"CLARA!!" Peter practically screamed and shot webbing down to catch her

Just say you won't let go

I wanna live with you

Even when we're ghosts

'Cause you were always there for me when I needed you most

Her body crashed through an awning, right as the webbing began to catch her but it was too late.

I'm gonna love you till

My lungs give out

Peter web-slinged his way down quicker than he'd ever done and threw off his mask, not caring that he was exposing his identity. She was dying.

"P-Pe-Peter..." She wheezed out, eyes half-lidded full of tears, "I-"

"Shhh, no. Clara, don't we'll get you to the hospital and you'll be alright..." Tears were now streaming down Peter's pale face.

Sirens could be heard drawing closer, but not fast enough.

"I-I love you.... Peter...." A few tears rolled down her cheeks and she was able to reach up to caress his cheek, "I love you more than anything..."

I promise till death we part like in our vows

"I love you. Please... Don't let go..." He whispered, leaning gently into her hand, but as the ambulance pulled up, her hand fell, "Clara...? Clara...?! Clara?!!"

So I wrote this song for you, now everybody knows

The paramedics pulled Peter away from her body and loaded her into the ambulance to get to the hospital. He made an attempt to go after them, but two strong metal arms held him back.

"Pete... Kid... You need to stay calm, Pete" Tony hushed him and Peter just about collapsed in the Suit's arms.

"Are you even here...?" Peter sobbed and finally was able to pull away when Tony stepped out of the suit.

"C'mere, Pete" He opened his arms for the Spiderling and Peter buried his head in the older male's chest, gladly accepting the hug.

Finally it's just you and me till we're grey and old

Peter sat in one of the lounges of the Avengers Tower, grasping the mug he held tightly.

Just say you won't let go

"My family was murdered a few hours ago and the murder is probably after me now..." She began to tremble, tears pooling her eyes once more and Peter quickly embraced her.

A tear rolled down Peter's cheek.

Just say you won't let go

"Sometimes I wonder how my life would've turned out if you hadn't found me that day...." She whispered with a smile.

Her voice was still ringing in his head.

Just say you won't let go

"I-I love you.... Peter...." A few tears rolled down her cheeks and she was able to reach up to caress his cheek, "I love you more than anything..."

She really had loved him back.

Oh, just say you won't let go

But now she was gone...

Gone....

Forever.

[nitewrighter]

Yellow As the Sun

A Short ficlet Based on a Fic Title Prompt

Pre-Fall of Overwatch Era. Genji has recently had his prosthetics updated and says some... interesting things while on painkilers.

CW for drug mention

---

“Oh for--” Mercy frowned, scrolling through the tablet as she walked down the hall of Zurich’s medical ward, “Who in anesthesiology approved this compound for post-surgery?” 

“Well you insisted that the transition to the new prosthetics happen with as little damage to the patient’s remaining organic organs as possible,” said one of the Blackwatch Cyberneticists walking alongside her, “This compound is the safest for that.”

“Well, yes, but Mr. Shimada’s mental state is already delicate enough without these... side effects,” said Mercy.

“He’ll be fiiiine, dude was probably doing mountains of coke and god knows what else back with the Shimada clan,” said another Blackwatch cyberneticist. Mercy shot that cyberneticist a glare and the first cyberneticist made a cutting motion next to her neck and shook her head.

Mercy just huffed. “The new prosthetics are responding to basic reflexes?” she said, looking at the first Cyberneticist.

“Yep. They’ll probably need some further calibration as he recovers more from the surgery, but we have nervous connection.”

The three of them paused in front of the door. 

“We’ll leave you to it, Doctor Ziegler,” said the second cyberneticist. Mercy nodded as they headed down the hall and she opened the door.

She had to admit, she liked the new prosthetics--better than the old ones anyway. Taupe sarcofibers stretched across his torso and over the frames of his new prosthetic legs. More muscle-like movement, better shock absorption for how much he jumped around. It still was markedly different from organic flesh, certainly, but less jarring than the mass of black, white, and red metal and fibers and red and black wires which wracked his previous form. Lighter, too. They’d need him to go through the tedious process of going through different armors to protect the new prosthetics with the least amount of sacrifice to his movement, but the new prosthetics would be significantly lighter. 

Genji was awake already. Sitting up in bed, even. She knew the biotic feed running into his organic arm would keep the new organ grafts from damaging themselves. She had noted in previous observations that he seemed to metabolize and burn through sedatives far faster than most humans. Her gut told her that it was something to do with the dragon, but she feared recording such things in Genji’s medical records might make him more of a lab subject than he already was. 

 She saw Genji was staring at his hands and her stomach knotted. She knew that the transition between prosthetics was easy to make him feel even more disconnected from his body. She stepped forward, ready to say something comforting, but noticed something odd about the way he was moving his hands. His pupils were completely dilated and he was slowly trailing his hands up and down in front of himself, his expression not disgusted, but almost awed.

“Genji?” she spoke softly, not wanting to startle him.

“My hands have ghosts,” he said, waving his hands up and down.

Aaaand I’m firing that anesthesiologist, thought Mercy.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, smiling a little.

Genji blinked several times and looked up from his hands to her. His cybernetic jaw dropped. “Doctor Ziegler?” he said, eyes wide.

“Yes, Genji, it’s me, you may experience some disorientation with your current painkill--”

“You’re glowing,” Genji leaned dangerously far over the side of the bed towards her.

Mercy took a few steps forward and gently took him by his shoulders. “Your vision is also probably affected--strobing, doubles, more vivid colors, nothing too extreme-- but I assure you, it’s temporary,” she said, re-centering him on the bed so he didn’t fall out.

“You’re so strong,” Genji said in awe, his hand trailed up toward her hair, “And yellow...” he reached a hand up toward it.

Mercy managed to put her hand over his and bring it down before he could touch at her hair. “You’re also experiencing some loss of inhibitions,” she said, pulling away slightly.

“Mm,” Genji nodded. 

“So I’m just here to ask you if you’re in any pain and see how the prosthetics are treating you,” said Mercy, trying to get him to focus.

“Hmm,” Genji nodded.

“So are you in pain?” said Mercy.

“No,” said Genji.

“Good,” said Mercy, “And the prosthetics?”

Genji looked at his hands, then started slowly waving them up and down once more. He was quiet for a few beats before holding up his prosthetic hand and saying, “This one’s not real.”

“But does it work?” asked Mercy.

Genji curled and uncurled the fingers of his prosthetic hand, then suddenly loosely flailed it back and forth. “It doesn’t jiggle like the old one!” he said, eyes wide while still flailing his hand.

“The old one jiggled?” said Mercy.

Genji stopped flailing his hand and pointed to the thumb joint on his prosthetic hand. “Here,” he said, “But not anymore.” He paused, “Was it your idea?”

“Well, I had been hoping to update your prosthetics for a while,” said Mercy.

“You’re so smart,” Genji flopped back against his pillows, “...and you... you look like that? All the time?”

“Well, as I’ve said, you may be experiencing some blooming and strobing with your vision right n--”

“You’re like the sun,” Genji went on, “...But... if you could actually look at the sun. And the sun was beautiful. And the sun has eyes. Kuso, your eyes are huge.” 

Mercy snorted. While she was still miffed that the anesthesiologist would make Genji so disoriented, she had to admit, it was a bit of a relief to see him not obsessively brooding over the Shimada clan for once. The stream of compliments was, admittedly, disarming, but intel had said Genji had been more than a bit of a charmer back before losing his body... maybe his confusion was bringing that through. It had occurred to her that she had almost never seen him smiling until now.

“Well I think you should be getting some rest, Genji,” she said with a slight smile.

“You’re leaving?” there was a sadness in Genji’s voice.

“Well I have other patients to get t--” Mercy opened the door to find McCree standing outside.

“...Doc,” said McCree.

“McCree,” said Mercy, furrowing her brows, “Reyes sent you?”

“Well, just to check on Genji...” McCree stepped through the doorway.

“And I’m guessing I wasn’t supposed to still be in here,” said Mercy, arching an eyebrow.

“Maybe,” said McCree glancing down.

“Well as you can see, Genji’s doing fine,” said Mercy, flatly.

“Look, Reyes was just concerned because you pushed through really fast with this surgery without much oversight from him--” He paused and looked at Genji’s legs, “You got rid of the calf blades?”

“If Reyes had his way, we would have been waiting until Genji went through catastrophic prosthetic failure before we replaced them,” said Mercy, folding her arms, “And yes we got rid of the calf blades. They were awful.” 

“Well I mean, if it ain’t broke...” McCree started but made the wise choice of not finishing that sentence with Mercy glaring at him.

“Doctor Ziegler, McCree is here,” said Genji, who was slowly waving his hands around again.

“I can see that, Genji,” said Mercy.

“How you holdin’ up?” said McCree, smiling over at Genji.

Genji gave a thumbs up with his prosthetic hand and then pointed to it, “No jiggling,” he said proudly.

McCree noted the odd amount of relaxation in Genji’s expression and the ease with which he was slumped against the pillows.

“They got you on the good stuff, partner?” smirked McCree, arching an eyebrow at Genji’s I.V.

“Good stuff?” Genji repeated dreamily, looking at his hand again and turning it over.

“Yeah they got you on the good stuff,” said McCree.

Genji seemed to perk up at remembering something, “McCree--” he said in a loud whisper and motioned for McCree to come closer.

“Mm?” McCree leaned in a little

Genji motioned with his head at Angela. “Look,” he said quietly.

McCree glanced over at Mercy. “What?” he looked back at Genji, “The doc?”

Genji nodded.

“...what about her?” said McCree.

“She looks like that,” Genji gripped McCree’s shoulders and his voice dropped to a loud hoarse whisper, “All the time.” 

“Yeeeup, that’s sort of how people work, Genji,” said McCree, gently pulling Genji’s hands off of his shoulders.

“It’s amazing...” Genji said quietly.

“Yeah I’m just going to let you sleep this off,” said McCree, grinning as he pulled away.

“Mm-hm,” Genji nodded and glanced out the window, staring for a few seconds before saying, “The mountains are breathing.”

“They sure are,” said McCree, stepping towards the door, “Oh I’m going to give him so much shit for this later,” he whispered to Mercy.

“Good bye, McCree,” said Mercy flatly. 

McCree tipped his hat and headed out the door.

Mercy closed it behind him. 

“I need to get going too,” she said, looking back at Genji, “Try to get some sleep.”

“Doctor Ziegler?” Genji spoke up and she paused in the doorway.

“Thank you,” said Genji. He gave his prosthetic hand a demonstrative flail. “No jiggle.”

Mercy smiled. “Call me if you need anything,” she said.

Genji nodded and looked out the window again.

[moonprincess92]

This is awkward

a “we’re exes who got accidentally set up on a blind date, fuck my life” au  (AO3) 

“I am going to murder you,” Jyn growled the second Shara Bey answered the phone.

“Honey, you’ve been trying to do that for years,” her work colleague said at once. “C’mon, surely the date’s not going THAT badly?”

She laughed without humour. 

“Yeah, of the millions of people in all of London, you have somehow managed to set me up with my ex from two years ago.”

Shara, far from being the sympathetic best friend she was supposed to be, just burst out into raucous laughter.

“Oh my god,” she spluttered.

“OH MY GOD SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT.” 

There’s honestly only so many things in life that you can prepare yourself for, and suddenly being faced with the man you dated and then spectacularly broke up with was definitely not one of them. Jyn had been anxious enough as it was over this night (how she’d let herself get talked into a blind date, she’d never know) and approaching the place only to see him waiting outside just like Shara had said her date would be had been enough to make her want to vomit.

There’s no bloody way, she’d thought desperately.

Turns out there’d been a LOT of way.

“Ok, ok, slow down, explain to me what’s happening,” Shara was naturally still laughing. “Where are you calling me from?”

“The restaurant bathroom. I might’ve been in here for at least ten minutes now.”

“Jesus Christ.” 

“See, THIS is why you say the name of the person you’re setting me up with!” Jyn added in indignation. It wasn’t as if Cassian was a common name, one Facebook search would have been more than enough to confirm her suspicions. They could have avoided all of this! 

But nooooooo.

“You would have Googled the guy and chickened out, and you know it.”

“OF COURSE I WOULD HAVE, DID YOU NOT HEAR ME SAY HE’S MY EX?”

Shara snorted, but carried on. “You would have done it with anyone though, trust me. I know you too well, babe.”

“Clearly not if you didn’t even know that your husband’s cousin once dated me!”

“Oh, come on who would EVER know that? You know what, who cares, that’s hardly the most important point of this conversation,” She could imagine Shara perfectly, snuggled up at home under a blanket with a tray of chicken wings, phone on speaker next to her, while Kes just scoffed at his wife in the background. She was enjoying every second of this and Jyn was going to make her pay one of these days. “What really matters are the deets! C’mon Jyn, tell me all about it. How did you meet? When did you meet? Was it serious?”

Jyn groaned, but glanced up at herself in the bathroom mirror. She was flushed and watery-eyed, counter-acting all the meticulous efforts she’d made to make herself look even somewhat presentable tonight. Jyn wasn’t exactly what one could call fashion-forward, which usually meant that on her best days, she might actually change into a clean t-shirt. At her worst, she’d be wearing the same pair of jeans every day for three weeks. But she’d actually made an effort tonight. She’d dragged a brush through her tangled hair, put on decent underwear and even worn clean jeans, which was nothing less than a miracle in itself.

God, to think she’d actually been willing to try this time.

“We met at a wedding,” she admitted. “Han and Leia, three years ago. We fell quickly, it got pretty serious. We never lived together or anything, but we were in love and were together about a year.”

“Why’d you break up?” Shara asked, clearly on the edge of her seat.

Jyn closed her eyes. “Lack of communication, mostly.”

“Gee, why doesn’t that surprise me?”

“It’s HARD, ok?” Jyn whined. “I’m not … you know I’m not good with the whole relationship thing, it’s how I ended up agreeing to this insanity in the first place! We didn’t mean for it to all fall apart, it just …”

“Did?”

“How do I do this?” Jyn groaned, rubbing her eyes warily and not even caring about the make-up that might be smudged. “Shit, who am I kidding, I can’t do this at all, Shara you HAVE to come get me.”

“Fiiiine,” Shara sighed. “Make your excuses, I’ll pick you up at the Tesco’s down the road, ok?”

“You so owe me for this, bitch.”

“Love you too, bitch.”

Finally hanging up, Jyn realised that judging by the length of the conversation, she had to have been hiding in this bathroom for at least fifteen minutes. If Cassian hadn’t thought she’d left already, then he certainly would be soon. 

She made a frustrated sound at her reflection. She wasn’t actually sure if she even could walk out on him again. 

It had been a couple months’ worth of deterioration before they’d actually broken up, which of course just made this so much better. They’d stubbornly refused to talk about anything to do with how serious they were getting and how terrified of it they were, to the point where they’d begun to freeze each other out. Nights had been filled with passive-aggressive silence and clingy kisses until finally, a bitter argument had resulted in them mutually deciding it was probably better to just end it. 

They honestly hadn’t seen each other since.

(If she was telling the truth no, of course she hadn’t WANTED to break up, but what else could they have done?).

She stared hard at the woman in the mirror. But maybe… just maybe, this entire catastrophe wasn’t as bad as she was making it out to be. Maybe it was a chance to get closure? She didn’t want to re-hash the past, but there was a reason she’d spent the last two years single and maybe this could be good for both of them. Like a facial cleanse! Or, you know, whatever the hell it was that Shara insisted was an essential part of any decent skin care routine. 

Jyn gritted her teeth and shoved her phone back into her jacket pocket. Then, she turned and strode determinedly out of the bathroom door.

He was still where she’d last left him, at their table that they’d occupied together for all but two minutes before she’d bailed. He was texting someone furiously, only slammed the phone down when she approached. His shirt collar was a little askew, his hair slightly longer than she remembered, and hell, blind dates were awkward enough when you hadn’t seen your date naked before. 

It hurt to even look at him. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, bluntly. “I didn’t really need the bathroom.”

“I figured.”

There was a slight edge to his tone, but at least his face was still soft. It had been scruffy and unkempt two years ago and it still was, only now there was at least some control in it. He looked... good. A making her want to panic kind of good. Hell, there was really no telling what - or who - he’d been doing over the last two years and a part of her was scared to find out, but being scared was what had gotten them into this mess in the first place.

It was time to harden up.

“You know, I’ve discovered that I’m really not hungry anymore,” she mentioned, gripping hard onto the back of her chair in front of her. “You?”

He stood immediately. “Read my mind.” 

They left together, hands awkwardly jammed into pockets and trying not to brush elbows. They walked in utter silence, and it was hard to imagine that there’d been a point in time when they’d talked about literally anything. Conversation had always been easy, natural to them; shit, it had only taken several sentences back at Han and Leia’s wedding to get her interest piqued. By the end of the night, they’d been kissing furiously against the wall next to the table of wedding gifts. Connections like that just didn’t happen that often.

(She still remembered that first morning after, laughing nervously when they’d woken up together. She remembered the first few weeks of tumbling into bed with him, of holding hands unashamedly in front of their mutual friends and kissing necks in stolen corners. She sometimes felt the ghost of his fingers digging into her hips on nights she got lonely and she would admit that occasionally she was tempted to text the number she still hadn’t deleted from her phone…) 

God, this was a nightmare. 

“Look, Jyn,” Cassian suddenly stopped in the middle of the footpath. City goers darted around them in irritation as he said, “I’m sorry, I had no idea–”  

“I didn’t either–” Jyn quickly added.

“Shara just said you were a work colleague of hers and that she thought we would get along well,” he started to ramble slightly. “She said your name was Jyn, but I swear I thought she was talking about someone called Ginny who apparently works in the marketing department according to Facebook and–”

“It’s fine,” Jyn held up a hand before he could say anymore. “Honestly, Cassian.” 

“I… I don’t know what you want to do from here,” he muttered. “but, um…”

He spoke to the ground, scuffing his boots. 

“If you wanted,” She forced herself to get the words out before she lost her cool. “we could just grab a drink or something. Talk … or, or something …”

She winced at the lack of confidence in her voice, but he brightened a little. “That might be good,” he said.

“Yeah, only … we’ve never really spoken since we last saw each other, so it might …”

“Be a good thing.”

“Exactly?” 

He attempted a smile. 

After hastily texting Shara to actually hold on picking her up after all (and subsequently ignoring the dozens of ‘what the hell is going on?!’ messages that followed) they ended up at an old haunt. The pub used to be a favourite of theirs, only Jyn hadn’t been there in years thanks to the possibility of running into him. They weren’t at a preferred table, but one in the window that was better somehow anyway. 

Their awkwardness thankfully started to slowly fade as they sat in the light from the street lamps outside. They spoke tentatively about their lives, about Jyn working with Shara and whatever Cassian’s weird friend Kay was up to these days. They made fun of the lastest pop music blasting from the pub speakers and about the trip he’d taken back home to Mexico last year. He spoke earnestly and she did her best to reciprocate. Occasionally their feet bumped into each other and she noticed that their hands were inching closer and closer the more time went by, but she didn’t know what she wanted from here. She didn’t know how to go forward or make things better… 

“Cassian,” she eventually sighed. “someone has to say it before the night is over. Why did we break up?”

He was apparently brought up short at that. He let out a breath, running a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, guess we had to talk about it sometime,” He frowned into his drink. “Why do you think we broke up?”

“I asked you first!”

“Fine,” Cassian looked straight at her. “You were a raging bitch.”

“Wow,” Jyn scoffed. “don’t hold back or anything.”

“Well, you were.”

“Only because you were being moody and distant as hell,” she pointed out. 

“You wouldn’t talk to me, what did you expect?” Cassian grumbled.

“I wouldn’t talk? YOU were the one who freaked out whenever Leia joked about us getting married someday.”

“Like that didn’t scare you either–”

“Of course it scared me!” Jyn slammed a hand down onto the table between them. “Cassian, I’d never been in such a serious relationship before and I was realising that I might actually want all those kinds of things someday! Of course I wasn’t ready to talk about any of it. Hell, everything about us was blinding, I could barely even see straight around you. What if I was just getting caught up in it all? What if it didn’t work out, what if–”

“I didn’t know you wanted those things.” 

She paused. He stared at her from across the table in wonder and disbelief, chewing his tongue like he always did when he was trying to figure something out. Her stomach was twisted into knots, but she shrugged and said,

“I didn’t either until I met you.”

They were silent a few moments. Hell, even just falling in love had been a bit of a blindside. She couldn’t explain herself then and she certainly couldn’t explain herself now. What, was she supposed to blame her oh-so-tragic childhood with divorced parents and a million trust issues? Her inability to bring herself to like literally anyone? The reason she even had friends at all was because they’d all refused to leave her alone until eventually, she’d just given in. She was a mess on any given day, and it wasn’t exactly something to bring up when you’d just started dating someone.

But he was suddenly looking at her now like he used to do back then. 

Like he didn’t care about that at all.

“Jyn, I’ve missed you,” he said, voice raw.

She swallowed a lump in her throat.

“I’ve missed you, too.”

“One thing I'm still trying to figure out is why you agreed to get set up in the first place,” he added. 

“Figured it was high time to get off my arse and over you,” Jyn shrugged.

He snorted with laughter. “Same.”

“Clearly that plan worked out for us then, huh?”

“Jyn…” She felt it shiver down her spine. Those idealistic days of smiling into kisses, arguing over which T.V. shows were going to get another season, falling asleep together and dancing in the kitchen wearing nothing but socks, they all flashed through her mind within that one second it took him to say her name.

No one had said it like that in years. 

“Cassian,” she said back in a warning. “we can’t start something again. It ended in disaster last time, and I don’t …”  

“It doesn’t have to end in disaster.”

“Have you MET us?”

“We’re older, we’re wiser,” Cassian pointed out, leaning forward. His hand was definitely gripping hers now, having inched its way across the entire table until finally he’d given up all pretences and just taken it. “Talk to me, and I’ll talk to you. We can do it.”

“Is that what you want?”

“Yes,” Cassian stressed. “I want you, I’ve always wanted you.”

Her heart clenched painfully. “What if we screw up?”

“Then we fix it this time,” he insisted. “Hell, we can have that conversation now if you want to, get it out of the way – I’m sorry, I’m still in love with you, I’d marry you tomorrow if I could – there,” He shrugged, but there was a brightness in his eyes that betrayed exactly how not-casual he actually was about all this. 

He meant it. Every word. 

She gripped his fingers tightly.

“I still love you, too,” she said.

He nodded. “Jyn, I’m going to leap this table and kiss you now, ok?”

“Ok.”

No one had been paying attention. There weren’t any cheers or applause from a well-entertained audience, but it still felt like there should be anyway when his lips finally met hers. They hadn’t quite jumped the table in the end, but admittedly got somewhere rather close to it as they’d instead hurtled from their seats and slammed into each other somewhere in the middle. She was almost bent over backwards from the force, Cassian’s hand twisting into in her hair. Her arms wound around his waist and there they stayed, lips slanting against each other again and again like they'd forgotten how to breathe. 

She didn’t want to ever resurface. She would drown in him, and she’d be perfectly all right with it. 

Her phone buzzed late in the morning, the rattle against the bedside table enough to wake her. She rubbed her eyes warily, grabbing the damn thing and shoving it to her ear.

“What?”

“Soooo,” Shara immediately cut in. “C’mon! How’d the date go last night?”

Jyn glanced over to where Cassian was sleeping soundly next to her. She raised a hand and stroked his cheek lightly with the backs of her fingers.

She smiled.

“Yeah, I guess you could say it went ok.” 

[thickskinandelasticheart]

Time Will Give Us Nothing

For Fanfiction Week Day 2: Angst

Summary: Sana and Yousef throughout the years. Not canon compliant after 4x04. On AO3 here

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She keeps interrupting them.

Elias’ five-year-old sister, Sana, says she wants to be a part of their games. Yousef looks at Elias for a response.

Elias won’t have it and pushes her away. When she keeps insisting, he gives in and says, “Fiiiine.”

Turns out the reason Elias didn’t want her in the game was because she was better than both of them. She moves like a bird, flitting so fast between them without missing a beat, a smile on her face the whole time. Sana runs circles around them and easily scores three times before he manages to snatch the ball and make a shot.

She isn’t even half as winded as they are. Sana smirks at them and asks, “Round two?”

the first time he sees the little bird, the quiet boy is mesmerized

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yousef passes by her room and hears her crying softly. He hasn’t seen her around much lately and whenever he asks Elias just says it’s due to trouble at her school.

He wants to make it better, wants to go to her classroom and personally tell off each bully who dared to say a word against her, wants to do so much more than just stand outside her room and helplessly listen.

Like Sana, he’s never been great with words, and it was hard for him to express himself using them. He was one for gestures rather than speeches. So at the end, all he does is request his mother to make the homemade baklava that Sana loves so much.

A small smile graces her face when she sees the treat. He has missed that beautiful smile so much.

“Tusen takk” she says softly.

the little bird is trapped in a cage, the quiet boy can’t free her but he sits beside her and tries to ease her pain

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

If someone asked him to pinpoint the exact moment he fell for Sana Bakkoush, he wouldn’t be able to tell them. Sometimes it seems like it’s been this way forever, for he cannot think of a time when he didn’t feel butterflies when he saw her walk past them in the living room, or smile at him in the kitchen.

But he can tell you about the day he felt for the first time that she might reciprocate those feelings. Out in the fields, after a fun game of basketball and a solemn talk about life, religion and the universe, when he handed her the flowers and she tucked them in her hijab and gave him a smile filled with wonder, that was the day.

When she looked into his eyes and her own were sparkling with so many unspoken words, no wonder he got lost in them. That’s when he felt it, a flare of hope deep inside his chest, that maybe, it was mutual after all. Maybe with time it could become something more.

He dreamt of brown eyes and galaxies and little blue flowers that night.

he beckons her to come to him and the little bird perches on his shoulder, singing a song for him as the quiet boy walks through the garden

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Maybe is a vicious word.

It’s a word that keeps you dangling onto that single thread of hope, even though all the signs tell you to give up. Tell you not to go back and think what you could have done differently. Tell you to move on.

It’s been a long time coming, and truth be told he knew it would have to end someday. Their differences are too big to overcome; time gave them nothing.

“It’s best if we remained friends.”

Well therein lies the problem, he could never be just friends with Sana Bakkoush.

So once they parted ways, he packs up and leaves, off to a fresh start in a new city, where the ghost of the word maybe won’t follow him around.

the little bird spreads her wings and looks back at the quiet boy one last time. he shakes his head, he can’t follow her, no matter how much he wants to

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She takes his breath away.

Sitting on the Amariya carried by her brothers and his friends, in her magnificent white wedding caftan and silvery blue hijab, shyly looking down at her henna adorned hands.

He doesn’t know why he came; doesn’t know why he didn’t throw away the invitation like he should have.

But maybe it was worth it to see her like this. Radiant would be an understatement.

She smiles at her groom and he thinks it’s the happiest he’s ever seen her.

And he tries his hardest to be happy for her.

So when she catches his eye, she sees none of the pain, only an old friend come to celebrate with her as she begins her new life.

the quiet boy watches from the ground as the little bird flies away, higher and higher until she was nothing but a mere dot in the azure blue sky

goodbye little bird, may the memories last forever

[headhunterjosh-blog1]

Major Quest 008 || Joshua & Lucius

Who: Joshua Chamberlain, Lucius Maverick Tagged: @interfxctor What: hella rushed straight to the chase questing. Word Count: around 1000 Warning: none

Joshua: „Okay, listen. When we are going in there, you do exactly as I say,“ Josh hissed as they got closer to the baroness' fortress, keeping his voice low. Turning around to look over his shoulder, he glared at Lucius to underline his point. „And this is not a suggestion, it’s an order.“

Lucius: Following the werewolf closely, he couldn’t help but be amused by how serious he seemed to be taking this. He never would have thought he'd be the kind to keep his head down and try to go unnoticed with how happily he dived into battle the other day. „Is promising enough or so you want me to pinky swear?“

Joshua: He rolled his eyes heavily, glaring at Lucius over his shoulder again. "Haha. Very funny. Now if you could maybe take this situation a little more serious? I'd prefer to make it out of here alive." Josh didn't like this one bit. It wasn't like him to be the voice of reason and he didn't really appreciate Lucius forcing him into that role.

Lucius: Lucius mirrored Josh's eyeroll perfectly, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Okay, sure," he gave in, smirking as he added, "If you stop bossing me around."

Joshua: "Fine, keep joking." Coming to a stop in front of the entrance Josh gave him another stern look. No way he was giving up control. Not like he assumed Lucius would actually listen to him, but in case he got himself killed, Josh could at least pretend he tried to prevent it. "Just keep it together."

Lucius: "Don't worry, handsome," Lucius mocked, patting his shoulder roughly. "I got this." With that he pushed by the werewolf and into the fortress, looking around the huge entrance hall. Even he couldn't help but notice the eerie silence.

Joshua: "Yeah, right," Josh huffed under his breath, watching Lucius lead the way with discontent. Following closely, he didn't waste much time admiring the architecture. "That way." Pointing at the staircase in front of them, he started walking upstairs slowly, trying to stay on alert.

Lucius: "This place is amazing." There were a million things catching his attention, paintings, expensive looking chandeliers, dried flowers in antique vases. He trotted after Josh absentmindedly, eyes still glued to whatever fancy looking thing in his field of view.

Joshua: "Can you focus, maybe? Just this once," Josh groaned, barely resisting the urge to snap his fingers in his face to get his attention. This felt like being in a candy store with a five year old, only that for the first time in his life, Josh was the adult, not the kid. And god, this was annoying.

Lucius: Sighing in annoyance, Lucius rolled his eyes again. "Can you stop being such a buzzkill, maybe?", he asked sarcastically, raising his hands in defence when the blond glared at him. "Okay, okay, fine. Jesus, chill."

Joshua: "Chill? Are you serious?" Is this what people felt like when they were dealing with Joshua? Because hell, even he found this annoying. "This is a quest. Not a sight seeing tour."

Lucius: "Fiiiine." At this point, Lucius was almost whining. Somehow he assumed the werewolf to be a little more easy going. But once again he was proven wrong. Reaching the top of the stairs, he fell unusually silent for a moment, feeling a shiver go down his spine, only now fully realizing how unsettling this place was after all.

Joshua: Josh could tell that Lucius felt it too by just the look on his face. The whole atmosphere of this place was more than uninviting, almost enough to even make Joshua just a little scared. Almost. “I feel like we aren't really welcome here.”

Lucius: “Fair,” Lucius agreed as he looked around. His eyes widened as he pointed down the hallway. A huge, decorated door right at the end, undoubtedly leading to the throne room with two hooded figures standing right in front. “Something tells me that those two would agree with us.”

Joshua: “Probably.” He kept his eyes fixed on them for another moment. “Doesn't seem like they noticed us. Yet.” Good enough. Easy enough. “I take the right one, you take the one on the left. If we take them out before backup arrives, we should be good.”

Lucius: Lucius just nodded in agreement. “Sounds like a plan.” Grabbing his daggers, he gave Josh another last look and a firm nod before making a run for the door. The ghosts noticed him around half way there, both of them coming at him now. Still, he decided to stick to the plan, ignoring the left one all together and instead throwing one dagger at the right one, giving him enough time to close up on him.

Joshua: This was definitely a lot easier than Joshua would have expected. Lucius actually followed through with his plan without arguing and seemed almost a little too eager to carry it out. Still, Joshua was never the kind of person to complain about others following his orders. Focusing on his creature, he ran towards it full speed the second he noticed it coming at Lucius, endangering their plan. Summoning his claws, he tore through it easily, but still ended up out of breath by the time it turned into dust.

Lucius: With the other creature out of the way, Lucius had the chance to completely concentrate on his target. Jabbing his remaining dagger into the ghasts face multiple times in quick succession, he finally succeeded taking it out.

Joshua: Stopping right in front of the door, Josh took another deep breath before placing a hand against it. Another shiver shook his frame and he knew that whatever was waiting for them was not going to be good. Shaking the feeling of dread, he cracked it open and pushed into the room.

Lucius: Lucius hesitated even after Joshua entered the room. He knew he didn't want to be there and he couldn't help but feel like this place didn't want him around either. Yet, by now it was too late to go back. He huffed and closed his eyes for a short moment before entering the throne room. On any other quest, he would have been glad it was over but somehow this time he was more than sure that this was merely the beginning of something way worse.

[marriedthedark]

@ouraliceandthecatthings I’m sorry this took so long! I love angst and comfort so I decided to give a little bit of both. I hope you like it! Canonverse, 1.3k words, angst/comfort

It was a cool crisp evening on the island of Menagerie as Blake leaned against the railing of her parents’ balcony. A gentle breeze blew through the air causing the nearby trees to whisper sweet nothings into the orange streaked sky. Of all the things Blake had missed about her homeland during her time in Vale, the gorgeous island sunsets were definitely toward the top of her list.

The Faunus girl’s ears pivoted curiously as she heard the delicate clinking of metal approaching her. She turned around to see Sun approaching her with her mother’s serving tray and tea set.

Mind some company while you take in the view?” Sun asked as he stretched the tray toward Blake offering her one of two tea cups.

“Sun, you should be resting!” Blake lightly scolded her friend. Although it had been a week since their face off with Ilia, Blake didn’t want to chance Sun getting hurt again before his aura had completely healed him.

“I’m fiiiine,” Sun drawled out. “The cut is basically gone now. I’m just still kinda sore.”

Blake sighed before accepting her cup of tea. She figured she was being overly protective, but she couldn’t help it. The last thing she wanted was to see her friend get hurt again.

“Well, I’m glad you’re better,” she said before taking a sip. Sun carefully placed the tray on the wooden railing before starting to drink from his own cup.

“I am too. No way that chameleon chick is gonna keep me down!” Blake stared thoughtfully at the small cup in her hands. She observed the small wisps of steam disappear each time the soft breeze fell against her. “With the way things are going, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of opportunities to get back at her,” she said with anger threatening to consume her tone.

The faunus male took that as his queue to drop the subject. He didn’t come out her to make Blake brood again, all he wanted was to try and help her relax a little.

Still, a question that had been prodding at him for months continued to pester his mind.

Should I really bring this up now? If I’m gonna help her bring down this Adam guy, I’m gonna need to know more about him. But he seems to have a bad history with her…what if she yells at me for asking? After several minuets of comfortable silence, Sun finally spoke.

“Blake, can I ask you something that might be really personal but also will help me help you?”

Blake turned her head away from the now purple tinted sky to address her friend.

“What is it?”

Suddenly feeling awkward, Sun diverted his gaze to his teacup.

“This Adam guy. I know he’s clearly a bad dude for what he did at Beacon, but…what exactly happened with you guys? You told me the Fang wasn’t always like this, what about him?”

Blake’s hands tightened around her cup at the mention of her former mentor. Memories from her past began playing out in her mind, some more pleasant than others.

She took a step back from the balcony in order to seat herself on the outdoor sofa. The faunus girl exhaled softly as she attempted to organize her thoughts, her cup now lowered into her lap.

Sun followed suit and sat on the opposite end of the sofa. He was surprised (albeit thankful) that Blake hadn’t decided to yell at him for asking such an intrusive question. 

“Adam was…my mentor. He was a few years older than me, and we rose through the ranks together until he was head of the White Fang faction in Vale.” Blake felt the ghost of a smile threatening to appear on her face as she reminisced her old partner.

“When I was a new recruit he took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. As soon as I was old enough to fight he began training me and taught me everything I know. He taught me how to use my semblance, he helped create Gambol Shroud, he was part of everything really. We were almost inseparable, like brother and sister.”

The gentle smile that had nearly appeared quickly vanished as Blake’s memories turned dark.

“But it was that bond that caused me to lose myself. I…I cared too much about him, and I started making excuses for everything he did. ‘He didn’t mean to hurt them’, ‘It was in self defense’, ‘He’s just trying to protect me’. All of it…I blinded myself to what he was becoming.”

Sun listened intently as Blake spoke. The pain that was starting to creep into his friend’s voice caused his brow to pinch anxiously.

“Adam kept insisting that what we were doing was for the greater good. That people getting hurt was just part of the process, but…” Blake felt the corner of her eyes prickle as tears began to develop.

“I didn’t want to hurt people. I just wanted to be treated equally like everyone else! I only wanted peace between humans and faunus! I was never okay with hurting all those people yet I did it anyway!” In an act of rebellion, a single tear began running down Blake’s cheek.

“Why did I do that, Sun?”

Wordlessly, Sun took Blake’s cup from her hands and placed it on ground before drawing her into a comforting embrace. Feeling Blake flinch at the sudden close proximity caused his heart to crack that much more. 

“It wasn’t your fault Blake, if you weren’t at his right hand then someone else would’ve done the same things you did. You were only doing what you thought was right.”

Although she didn’t hug back, Blake allowed herself to be embraced by Sun. After a few minuets of the comforting gesture, she pulled away when she was certain no more tears would fall.

“On my last mission with Adam, we were supposed to blow up a delivery train from the Schnee Dust Company. I didn’t know that included the crew until he was about to set the charges.”

Sun looked to Blake expectantly before asking his next question.

“So what did you do?”

“I did what I do best,” Blake said ruefully. “I ran, and I haven’t stopped running since.”

Sun sat quietly as he absorbed the new information. He never realized just how much Blake had been through, and that was all before the fall of Beacon.

But you have stopped running,” Sun said. “You’re here now, and you decided that you’re going to take back the Fang and return it to what it was supposed to be. That’s not someone who runs away, that’s someone who stands up for what they think is right.”

Now it was Blake’s turn to sit in silence. She couldn’t deny that Sun held a lot more wisdom than he let on, and it was most appreciated during times like these.

“You’ve always done things based on what you believe in,” he continued. “Your drive to do good in the world is one of the things I admire the most about you, and I can bet your teammates would say the same thing if they were here.”

Blake looked up to Sun only to see the most genuine look in his eyes. This time she felt no qualms in allowing the soft smile to appear on her face. Before she lost her moment of courage, Blake gently leaned her head against Sun’s good shoulder.

“Thanks Sun, I needed to hear that.”

After the brief surprise of Blake initiating contact with him, Sun gently bought his arm around Blake’s shoulders allowing her to lean against his chest.

“Thanks for opening up to me,” he said softly. “You’ll never have to fight alone while I’m around.”

Blake’s view once again moved to the sky which was now a deep navy blanket speckled with shimmering stars.

“I know.”

[astrodances]

A Hunter’s Game

Vengeful Babes Week - Day 1: Hidden

Day: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5

Happy Friday, everybody! I’m so excited to finally be doing both this prompt week and this specific idea. Been waiting for awhile.

Warnings: for implied smut and such. ;)

Danielle kept her eyes firmly glued to the screen. One false move and she would be ghost toast. She couldn't blow her cover now. She wouldn't let them get her again.

Valerie's voice hissed in her ear above the noise. "Do something!"

Dani rolled her eyes, hesitating with her response. "I...I'm trying, okay? I'm not just gonna jump into that."

"Yeah, well, while you're thinking it over, I could use some backup down here, so come on!"

With a breath to steady herself, Dani finally settled on a tactic that had the smallest chances of getting herself killed, and jumped. As she floated down, about half of the enemy's eyes focused on her.

Within seven seconds, she managed to kill two enemies before another grabbed her and threw her off the ledge, leaving Valerie alone yet again to fend for herself.

The half-ghost groaned. As her head fell back against the couch, she heard a chuckle.

"That was your last life, babe. Which means you get to make the snacks tonight."

Dani grumbled and threw the pillow beside her at her girlfriend's shoulder, making her laugh even more. She knew playing Super Smash Bros. would only end in humiliation for herself. Stupid game. Stupid ledge. Stupid Kirby.

She tossed her controller to the side and got up, walking deliberately slowly in front of Valerie to mess with her game-playing. On instinct, she turned intangible just as the pillow met her back and turned around to stick her tongue out at the other.

With a more amused sigh, she walked into their apartment's kitchen. They'd move in together about a month ago, after Danielle's 21st birthday and a year's worth of secretly dating. They were taking things slow, especially now that the ever-protective Danny knew about them, but between the financial benefits and the mutual company, moving in together had felt like the right step.

Dani unwrapped a bag of popcorn and placed it in the microwave, letting it pop while she got some sodas out of the fridge. She really did enjoy living with her girlfriend, even if she was better gamer than she was, but sometimes she did want things to move faster. She loved Valerie, and she wanted to prove it to her.

When she came back into the living room, Val had a smug grin splayed across her face. "I avenged your death, don't worry," she declared, her hand digging into the popcorn the moment Dani set the bowl down.

"My hero in red armor," Dani deadpanned in a overly-dramatic damsel tone. She jumped back into the couch, opting to lay sideways and lean back against the armrest. She dug her controller out of the cushions, letting it fall in her lap.

Valerie smirked at her. "What do you say to one more round, and then we watch a movie?"

"Ugh. I really don't want to be embarrassed again." Dani reached out towards the TV tray next to the couch, grabbing her soda to open it.

"Aw, come on! I'll let you pick the location!"

"Fiiiine," she drawled out.

After picking their characters for the next round, the game loaded the available locations for them to play at. Dani casually moved her joystick as she pondered the different settings, before her cursor landed on one she hadn't really noticed before.

"Hey! This place reminds me of when I went to Japan!"

Valerie shot a curious look her way. "You've been to Japan?"

Dani met her stare with her own. "...Did I not tell you?"

"Not that I remember..."

She'd shared most of her worldly adventures with the ghost hunter, both from before and after she'd saved her from Vlad. Apparently at least one tale had slipped through, however.

"Oh. Well, there's actually not much to tell from then. I was only there about a week," Dani recalled. Yet what a week it had been.

"Still, Japan! I'd love to visit myself someday..." Valerie dreamed, crossing her legs under herself. "So, what did you do there?"

Dani carried her gaze up to the ceiling, letting the memories come back to her. It felt like forever ago, but it'd been one of the more entertaining places she visited. She started to list things off on her fingers. "Eh, you know. Saw the sights, took a couple lessons in ninjutsu, got a tattoo, ate my weight in candy-"

Her recounting was cut off by a sudden gasp from Valerie. "You got a tattoo?!"

Dani looked back down at her bewildered girlfriend. "I...well, yeah."

Valerie's face looked like it couldn't decide whether it wanted to be excitedly intrigued or confused as to why she hadn't learned this tidbit of information before. It finally landed somewhere in the middle and she asked, "How come you never mentioned it before?"

Dani's cheeks instantly turned red with the heat of embarrassment. "To be honest, I kind of wanted to leave it a surprise f-for you." She gulped, staring down at the controller in her lap. "It's...hidden."

Silence spread across the room as both girls thought about why Valerie hadn't seen the hidden tattoo yet. They both knew why, and the mood in the air took on a sudden shift. It wasn't tense, but something about it was definitely making Dani's stomach fill with butterflies.

"...Can I see it?"

And there the butterflies went, up her throat. She knew exactly where this could lead, and while she wanted that, she just hadn't expected the opportunity to present itself so suddenly. She felt unprepared and nervous out of her mind. But if she could cover her fear, then perhaps the night would work out in her favor.

Dani dared herself to look Valerie straight in the eye, swallowing down the lump in her throat as inconspicuously as possible. With an attempt at a confident smirk, she answered, "Only if you earn it."

Thankfully, that was all the invitation Valerie needed to lunge across the couch, landing on top of her girlfriend with a wild grin. They both laughed as she said, "I think I can do that," before their lips met in a heated kiss.

Any tension that was in the room before evaporated to make way for an air of romance and anticipation. They were both comfortable using the tattoo as an excuse, but their kisses silently revealed just how much desire was between them.

Dani scooted further down the couch so that Valerie was hovering directly above her. The latter began trailing kisses down the other's jaw and neck, while their hands roamed each other's torsos.

As Valerie's kisses started nearing the collar of Dani's shirt, she asked, "So, can I have a hint as to where this tattoo is?" She then pulled the top of her shirt down a few inches, kissing each new exposed area of skin.

"You're...definitely...going in the right direction," Dani teased, her breathing already starting to get ragged. If there was one thing that could make her melt into a wanted puddle of goo, it was neck kisses.

Valerie chuckled, leaning forward to nibble at Dani's collarbone. "Then I guess I'll just have to keep going that way." The physical response she got from Dani was not lost on her, nor was it when her hands ducked beneath the hemline of her shirt, urging it up over her head to reveal nothing on underneath.

Dani tilted her chin forward to gaze at Valerie, who was smiling at her. This was as undressed as either of them had seen the other, but she knew that would be different after tonight. She gave an invisible nod for her to continue.

Each kiss on now-bare skin left Dani feeling more and more tingly, as if she was turning intangible with each one. She tried to stay rooted by focusing on Valerie's upcoming reaction to her tattoo, but when the other reached the edge of her shorts, her mind refused to cooperate.

That is, until Valerie actually nudged her shorts down over her legs. Judging by the immediate surprise that graced her features, Valerie had seen the tattoo.

Dani leaned up on her elbows, clearly amused. "It's fitting, huh?"

There, at the very top of her right thigh, was her tattoo: a small green ghost from Pac-Man.

Valerie couldn't remember the specific ghost's name, but the ink definitely fit her half-ghost girlfriend, as funny as it was. It was tasteful and...cute. She ran her thumb over it, watching the skin follow her path.

"The game's from Japan anyway, so I figured it was the best place in the world to get this," Dani explained. "Do you like it?"

The ghost hunter answered by leaning down to place a tender kiss over the tattoo, which made Dani sigh blissfully. "I love it. In fact," Valerie started as she continued kissing the area, "It kinda makes me want to get my own tattoo."

"Oh yeah? Of what?" Dani asked between breaths.

Valerie climbed back up to kiss her playfully on the lips. "Of Pac-Man.”