#but it had POTENTIAL DAMMIT. IT REALLY DID.

[ijuststareatstuffhereok89]

Five: An Uneasy Peace

The armistice between you helps your shelter materialize, but is it enough when an unexpected rainstorm nearly floods the beach before it's finished?

CHAPTER WARNINGS: some peril, I guess

MASTERLIST

Summer was reaching a peak in the Southern Hemisphere. The next day, as you began the construction of the shelter, the air was so humid every step was like wading through a pool, and every breath felt like it stuck to the back of your nose if you inhaled too deeply. You were sweating before Loki even awoke. 

The first thing you did was find two large rocks, one heavy and blunt, the other at least beginning to show an eroded point. For hours, you beat away at it like a caveman, only to yield very little results. The rock was way too hard to fashion into a tool without hacking away tirelessly for days. This was going to be a dead end. 

You looked over your shoulder, where you noticed that Loki was finally awake and out of sight. Probably luxuriating at the lagoon again. What a lazy bum! 

However, as your frustration began to take an audible form by way of grunts and curse words, Loki came up behind you, watching with snide satisfaction as you lost your battle against the stone. 

“I have a secret for you,” he said quietly. 

“Not interested,” you immediately snapped. 

“Very well!” he said simply, chucking something onto the ground beside you and backing up. “You’re the one who turned it down!”

It was a bamboo pole, freshly and perfectly sliced on both ends. 

“Dammit! Wait, Loki!” you called, leaping to your feet and following him close to the shoreline. 

“You said you weren’t interested!” he joked, kicking at the waves lapping by his feet. 

“No, fuck! Please tell me!” you said, the desperation and exhaustion in your shouts were enough to move his heart to give you another chance. 

“I did that in about twenty seconds,” Loki said, indicating the pole he’d left on the beach. “I used some magic that I learned about years ago but had nearly forgotten.”

“A spell?” you asked warily. 

Loki nodded. “Seidr is illusion magic, typically not for battle. My mother thought with my particular potential, I would be able to manage a few simpler, physical spells in addition to my inborn talent, including a basic cutting charm. Something I haven’t done in centuries, of course, not when I have my beautiful, graceful daggers instead. Besides, it isn’t very strong…it likely couldn’t cut more than a carrot, and the cuts are shallow and short. I never practiced it because it never impressed me. These stalks are easier because they are hollow within.”

You sighed, realizing the error of your ways yesterday on the lagoon. “You really didn’t use a rock.”

Loki smiled and shook his head. “How does the humble cake taste?”

“It’s humble pie, Loki,” you said, unable to hide that the corner of your lips turned up in amusement. “And…ugh…I guess I owe it to you to at least say that I’m…”

Loki’s grin turned darker, like a villain about to declare checkmate. “Go on.” 

The words felt like a nasty chunk of old cheese crumbling between your tongue and palate. “I’m sorry, Loki. I should have believed you.” 

Even though I had every reason not to…

“You had every reason not to,” Loki admitted. “I enjoy watching you squirm, Chickadee.”

You rolled your eyes. “So…will you help me build this stupid thing or what?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Will it be big enough for two?” he prompted.

Sighing, you knew you were backed into a corner on this one. “So long as you keep your pants on while inside. I’m not one of your girls who fawns over you. I don’t want to get too close to your little scepter.”

“Very well, I suppose I can concede on that one term,” he acquiesced, setting your mind at least partially at ease. 

Of course, Loki couldn’t just leave it at that. “Unless, of course, you ask for me to remove them.” 

Instead of blowing up at him once again, you sucked your breath in, restraining yourself well. “Loki, the day will never come. Get used to disappointment.” 

“Already am, Chicka--”

“--stop calling me that,” you said grumpily. “We have a shelter to build!” 

After the temporary armistice was agreed upon, at least for the sake of the shelter, you ate a mango while Loki stoked his green fire, deciding to strategize over breakfast. You had to admit, the emerald flame was quite pretty, the simmering embers beneath even more exquisite. 

“Is all seidr magic green?” you asked out of curiosity. 

Loki perked up. He clearly liked talking about the old ways of Asgard. You figured the more you got him talking about it, the less time between words he’d have to make you miserable with more quips and cheap shots.

“Not at all, in fact colored magic is quite rare,” he explained.

“I imagine it makes you feel important, then,” you replied. “To have green magic.”

He shrugged with a neutral sigh. “Actually, the only thing that affects coloring is the manner of the spell and the kind of magic it uses. If I was a standard warlock, it would be gold or white like everyone else’s, and the fire would have a natural color.”

“I see.” 

Loki put the smallest of his clay pots onto the bamboo grate, letting the water within begin to steam to a boil. “We’ll need a lot of drinking water if we plan to work in this humidity all afternoon.” 

While you gracelessly picked the fibers of mango pulp from between your teeth (it was already getting to be unbearable not being near a roll of toilet paper or a toothbrush!), you set the shared goal of having the poles set around the tree by noon, and have two of the four sides of the floor tied together by dusk. 

“I’ll give you one thing, Chickadee,” Loki said as he began to head toward the grove of bamboo, “wrapping it around a tree is a good idea, at least for now. Added support to prevent collapse, yes?”

While he cut stalks, you began gathering vines. You knew you’d need many of them, and after a while, you imagined your crop would run out. Luckily, they were very strong and fibrous, like thick woven rope. Some were stubborn, and you had to put all of your body weight into pulling them down from above. One was so difficult to harvest that you began swinging on it, both frustrated and amused. You even giggled for a moment. 

Loki took intermittent glances down the beach at you, and when he saw you playing around on the vine, he couldn’t help but chuckle. She’s pretty when she’s not scowling like a school mistress. 

Loki cut the bamboo at an angle on one end, creating a point that was easily injected into the sand. He’d cut the thickest ones for the support poles, they were consistently about 10 inches in diameter. His superior strength didn’t require your help in setting them. 

You worked in silence for a while, the tension clearly not gone as you’d hoped when you suggested the temporary truce. 

“So…what’s your favorite animal to turn into?” you asked. 

He waited a moment before answering you. “Would you believe me if I said I don’t particularly like doing so at all?”

“Really?” You would have thought that would have been among Loki’s favorite powers. “You can sneak up on anyone you want, you can fly around like a bird or swim on the bottom of the ocean!”

“It’s painful,” he explained. “Magic isn’t just sprinkles and sparkles. Physical changes to the body cause physical pain. The further away a creature is from myself on the evolutionary scale, the more painful it becomes. I did it more as a child. When one is young and silly, they can always take more of it than after they grow up.” 

“Is that so?” you asked with disbelief. 

“You saw me briefly become a chimp the other day to gather fruit. It felt like pins and needles through my skin and veins. Were I to choose the form of a whale, or a bird, you’d likely hear me scream in anguish as I turned.”

“What about when you split yourself in half? You do that frequently to mess with me back home.” Your mind flashed back to the many times Loki would place a projection just outside the bathroom to await your exit, or having one streak naked around the conference room, just waiting for you to come in. 

“That is not physically splitting my body,” he mentioned, “that is a projection, Physical objects fall right through them, and you would not feel anything if you reached out to touch it. I cannot manipulate matter as a projection either.” 

“Oh.” 

Something on the shore caught your eye. Something foreign. “Oh my god, it can’t be another body…”

“What?” Loki’s head flipped around. “There was no one else on the jet with us, it can’t be.”

“We should call this place Death Island!” you moaned. “I don't want to waste more vines on another--”

“--it’s a container,” said Loki, getting up for a closer look. 

“From the wreck?” you asked. 

Loki quickly fetched the floating box and dragged it up to the tree. He was able to use his chopping spell to jimmy it open. By the time you caught up to him, he’d opened it and was examining the contents: what looked like an overstuffed backpack, a waterlogged flare gun that would be of no use to you, and what appeared to be an emergency radio, also dampened beyond use. 

“FUCK!” you cursed. “This was the emergency kit from the quinjet. That radio and gun would’ve gotten us out of here!”

“What’s this?” Loki took the heavy knapsack. 

“A parachute, I think,” you murmured. “Would’ve been more useful three days ago. Nothing else in there?”

“No,” Loki said. “But if this is a large white cloth,” he said, thinking out loud and pointing to the bag, “We absolutely can use this!”

Your mouth fell open. “An overhang for the shelter!” 

Smiling, Loki nodded. “I always knew you were smarter than you looked.”

Ignoring the backhanded compliment, you went back to tying the floorboards while Loki freed the silk parachute and unfolded it to determine its size. He reported back after a few minutes. “I think we can wrap it around the tree and tie it off to the railings once we construct them, don't you?” It will go all the way around the circumference with leftovers.”

You got another idea, looking down woefully at your disheveled appearance. Your silky cami was stained and yellowed, grimy, with a torn right strap. The navy skirt was also tattered at the hem, and the fabric was thick enough to become uncomfortable in the heat of the day. The only thing that kept you from ripping the bottom half off was Loki’s inevitable attention to it. 

“Loki? Do you think there would be enough for me to make something else to wear?” you asked modestly. “Like, a shorter--?” You stopped yourself, not wanting to tempt Loki to make a remark that would throw off the uneasy peace you’d adopted. 

You expect a snide comment anyway, or perhaps an unwelcome wink, but all Loki did was nod and look down at his own appearance. “Regrettably, heavy winter denim is proving most uncomfortable in this climate. I think that might be a good idea.”

“Wow.” 

“What is it?” Loki asked, surprised by your widened eyes. 

“Say that again.”

“That again.”

You resisted the urge to groan. “I mean, the part where you admitted that I had a good idea. I need to capture this moment for posterity!” This made him laugh, and the sound of a genuine chortle from Loki was oddly agreeable on your ears. 

Loki used his cutting spell to slice away two panels of the parachute, giving one to you and keeping another for himself. You’d fashion some kind of sundress later. The shelter was more important. Loki, however, wasted little time ducking behind a tree trunk to remove his jeans and tie a kilt-like garment around his hips. Once he emerged, he went back to his work as if nothing had changed about his looks. 

You stifled a laugh. It looked like a lacy skirt. Combining that with the bare chest and frizzing hair, Loki was a sight to behold. 

You both were relatively quiet and focused on building as the day wore on, so it was almost too late when you finally looked up and realized that the sky out over the western horizon was casting over with threatening, black clouds. The second thing you noticed was that the temperature was dropping, but the humidity was only going up. The wind was just starting to whisper above its normal, casual breeze.

 It was the increased sea spray that hit your face that finally drew your attention away from your work. “Uh, Loki?” you asked with uncertainty, pointing out the change in weather. 

He looked woefully at the lack of progress you’d made. All eight poles were wrapped around the tree, but only one of the floor panels was finished. The other had a frame and two bamboo stalks tied onto it with vine. 

You were looking out at sea, and at the shoreline, which was already starting to creep inward. The waves were beginning to get choppy and irregular. 

“We need to abandon the plans and go inland until it passes,” Loki declared.

You shook your head. “No, no, we worked all day on this! The beach won’t completely flood, not this high up!”

“Don’t count on it! Come on before it starts!” Loki raised his voice, looking concerned. “Even if this isn’t a typhoon, any storm could wash us out to sea!”

“Maybe we have time to stash the materials!?” you shouted as the wind finally began picking up. You quickly began trying to lift the completed floorboard by yourself. “Help me!” 

A strong, bright bolt of lightning struck a few hundred feet off shore, the crack that followed deafened you for several seconds. Your instinct sent you to your knees on the sand, ducking for cover. 

“We don't have the time! Get to the lagoon!” Loki grabbed your wrist. You attempted to struggle against his grasp, but he was too strong. He dragged you into the trees with relative ease. After a few moments, he let go. 

You immediately began to go back. Loki shouted, “Where the Norns are you going?”

“If the beach floods and we aren’t here, we’ll lose everything! The bamboo! The pots! The parachute!” 

Loki rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed. “If the beach floods and we are here, we’ll lose our lives!” 

You suddenly felt yourself being hoisted into the air and heaved over something lumpy. Loki had apparently found the nerve to throw you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes so that he wouldn’t have to chase you back to the beach as the storm came in.

“Where are we going?” you shouted over the increasing wind. He didn’t answer. “Loki, put me the fuck down!” 

“Only if you promise not to go back!” he insisted. “I mean it!” 

“FINE! JUST PUT--!”

He acquiesced before you could protest further, and the two of you ran in the same direction. 

Around you, branches and tumbleweeds began to whip up and block your way to the only natural shelter the island had to offer: the cove. More specifically, the cavern behind the falls. As the sky continued to darken, your visibility began to decrease. In the increasing danger of the inbound storm, you hadn’t noticed Loki take your hand. In turn, he hadn’t noticed that you’d accepted his hand without a fight.

Heavy plops of rain began to fall, they almost bore the weight of small hailstones as they began to hit the canopy, as well as the tops of your heads. The wind wasn’t yet strong enough to toss them around, but their size was soaking you quickly. 

You moved around the pond once you found it again. By the falls, you dropped Loki’s hand, hoping he didn’t notice that you’d been touching him at all. If he did, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned to you and held out a hand, his face wearing a rare expression of complete earnestness. 

“It’s not an easy passage to swim through,” he said, his voice raised against the wind. “Can you hold your breath?”

You nodded. “Yes!”

“Hold onto my fin…”

Before you could ask what the hell he meant by ‘fin,’ Loki sucked in a large breath and jumped feet-first into the water. The pool, which was normal crystal-clear, was too obscured by the gray clouds above reflecting their darker coloring. Thus, it surprised you enough to send you falling backward when Loki re-appeared as a breaching dolphin. 

You smiled. “Show off.” 

You weren’t afraid of going under water, so grabbing Loki’s dorsal fin and letting him swim you under the falls and through the tight cavern behind wasn’t much of a problem. After about thirty seconds of being dragged through black water, you surfaced in a large air pocket deep within the cliff. You couldn’t see anything until Loki resurfaced as an Asgardian Prince once more, and began filling both of his palms with green fire to illuminate the space.   

“Hey how did you know this was here?” you asked. 

Loki’s face looked vaguely threatening with the harsh shadows and flickering green light against his facial features. “I explored it the other day while you were having your annoying tantrum on the beach.”

You shrugged off his clear tone of disapproval. “Oh.” 

“You seem to be coming around a bit,” Loki added softly, murmuring something under his breath and gently handing off his fire to a stalagmite, which remarkably remained ignited sitting on the rock. Upon seeing your surprised face, he mentioned, “Illusionary fire isn’t physical fire. Didn’t you notice the lack of kindling in our pit?”

He did a lap around the cavern, littering the walls with magic flames until the place was aglow in gentle, forest green. “Hopefully the storm won’t last. I don’t think it’s a typhoon.” 

You couldn’t find a particularly comfortable spot among the rocks and stalagmites, so you sat by Loki around one of his hovering flames. You could hear the loud crashes of thunder from deep inside the cave. Whatever kind of storm this was, it surely wasn’t showing your half-baked shelter any mercy. 

“Um….Loki?” you decided to break the awkward silence. 

“Yes?”

You looked away from him and straight into the fire. “You said it hurts when you change into an animal.”

“Yes.”

“Why’d you do it just now? I can swim, you know.”

Loki sucked in his breath. “I didn’t want to waste time asking. The storm was coming in too quickly. Are you offended?”

You shook your head. “I just didn’t think you’d go through that just to…you know…give me some help.” 

“Well, like it or not, I can’t exactly turn up without you. They’d assume the worst and likely send me back to Asgard to face something terrible.”

“Death?”

“No. There are worse things than a swift execution, believe me.”

“What would your father do to you?” you asked softly. “That’s worse than that?”

Loki bit his lip at the thought of what he narrowly avoided. “Eternal imprisonment in the dungeons. Nothing strikes at me more than losing my freedom, and Odin knows it.” 

For the first time in your life, your heart went out to Loki, whose words were laced with sorrow. You’d grown up in the most typical family imaginable: a mom and dad, siblings, family reunions once a year where aunties pinched your cheek and cousins chased you around. You knew you’d been privileged in that aspect, but there was something in the way the memories seemed to break Loki’s hard shell that made you feel ashamed of it. 

“Maybe you’ll find a family here some day,” you said gently. For some reason, your sincerity caught Loki off-guard. He actually smiled in gratitude at your kindness. 

“Thank you, but I think I’m better off alone,” Loki said with defiance. 

You decided that you didn’t need anymore of the downer energy. “I’m going to try to sleep.” 

Loki sat up all night as you got small intervals of rest throughout, his massive shadow cast by the green light flickering above you on the wall. 

TAGLIST: @anukulee @jiyascepter @wolfsmom1 @cakesandtom @holdmytesseract @simplyholl @lokisgoodgirl @mjsthrillernp @meowmeow-motherfucker @foxherder @letstalkaboutshtuffff @ladymischief11 @libby-bibby @javagirl328 @crimson25 @lcolumbia1988 @gruftiela @mochie85 @huntress-artemiss @loz-3 @kikster606 @muddyorbsblr @sheris532 @lokischambermaid @kneelingformyloki

@soulpiercing @goddessgirl43 @canigetanap @theoneandonlythorn @forleiasake @eleniblue @knight-of-the-doctor @goblingirlsarah @clusterfuck-meup @mischief2sarawr @cabingrlandrandomcrap @kats72 @glitchquake @zippythewondersquirrel @ameliariddle @alexakeyloveloki @lovingchoices14 @lokidokieokie @littlegodslut @casifer391 @free-llama-arcade @alucardsdaddyissues @pest-ill-ence @elviswifesworld @mynameiskelly @xxinvisiblexx @loreniscrying @viv-annelore @arielaufson

[media-illiterate]

your rant in the tags about coursers is so correct btw i want you to know i share like. 90% of those headcanons. the other 10% i dont know enough about to agree yet but im sure i will soon

@orange-coloredsky Thanks! I have more

First: the original tags

Now: more

Some general courser headcanons

I really honestly think that them being elevated from regular synths is ridiculous. They're custom made out of FEV enhanced tissue and superior components. Picking the most "tenacious and independent" units is such a dumb idea. Tenacity and independence are warning signs that a synth may go rogue, not signs you should give them superstength and guns!

Note: synths being FEV enhanced is actually canon. Coursers being EXTRA FEV enhanced is, iirc, also canon. I didn't make that up. Check the wiki.

Also, this is just a general synth headcanon: the recall code doesn't wipe a synth's personality all by itself. Instead, it causes total loss of motor control, essentially trapping the synth inside their own head. When they go into the reclamation chair? They're still fully conscious...

The recall code can also be reversed by reading it back at them. They resume motor function as if nothing had happened. Institute scientists have noted some adverse symptoms (hyperventilating, increased heart rate, adrenaline spikes) to be common upon reversal. They assume this is a glitch, but have yet to find the source...

Everyone in the institute is afraid of coursers. Synths, humans, doesn't matter. They don't act like normal synths, or like normal people even. The way they walk, the way they look at you, the way they're just THERE where you weren't expecting them: coursers scare the shit out of people.

The only people in the institute NOT scared of them are in the SRB. Members of the SRB are in on a secret nobody else in the institute really understands: Coursers are actually more afraid of them.

All Coursers live in a state of fear. As the main instruments of the SRB, they know EXACTLY how thin a line they live on. Coursers are under more scrutiny than anyone else in the Institute, for obvious reasons. They know they're just one slip of the tongue away from being reset.

This is the reason for their jockeying for position and constant paranoid infighting. They're all trying to make themselves indispensable to the Institute so they can have even a tiny bit of a safety net in case someone decides something is off with them. The Institute also rotates underperforming Courser units out of action (recall codes them and puts them in stasis).

The Institute only has a few Coursers active at any one time. 12, 15, maybe 20 max. They have an equal amount in "storage" (recall coded) to replace losses and rotate underperforming units out of active duty.

Coursers are actually physically outmatched by Supermutants, by an order of magnitude. (Courser physical stats are in the high teens. Supermutant physical stats are in the high 20s). Their superior training and equipment usually means they come out on top. Usually.

The Institute could honestly make Coursers scarier if they wanted to. But the need for control outweighs any impulse in that direction. After all, if they were too powerful, what's stopping them from turning on the Institute?

This is the reason they immediately vivisect any and all Psyker Coursers; they have absolutely no understanding of how such powers might be counteracted, and thus cannot allow for the possibility of a Psyker Courser going rogue. Its only happened a handful of times, so they still haven't figured out how it works...

Y3-66 HEADCANONS (haha new oc ;-;)

The first sign that there was something wrong with them was that they became highly agitated in the SRB.

(A lot of death or pain in one place leaves behind some truly rancid psychic vibes. Personality Death counts. To a psyker, the SRB is a horrible, horrible place...)

They didn't join the railroad, despite the offer, because they got the same feeling from the Memory Den. They told their contact they wanted no part of any of it, and bolted.

(It's a choice that the Railroad presents to the synths they help, it really honestly is. But it's not much of one, now is it? And even if it is their choice, that doesn't make destroying your personality any less terrible...)

All they wanted to do was watch the sun set in peace. Just once. And the Institute couldn't even let them have that...

Chase still regrets not getting to them in time. But Y3 would have fucking hated the Island. They would have hated it so much.

(To a psyker, the fog is far more than just fog. To a psyker, the fog has eyes...)

[letorip]

somethin' stupid [ii]

"and though it's just a line to you, for me it's true and never felt so right before"

===+++===

pairing: wednesday addams x reader

summary: it's all her fault, and wednesday can't help but feel it in her bones.

warnings: mentions of blood, the police (gross), hospitalisation, crying

word count: 4.8k

A/N: thank you all for the love and support you have given to this silly little story of mine. it is absolutely insane. red font denotes the thoughts of those around you. kind of worried i may have rushed the ending, but i hope you like it anyhow. right, anyways...

===+++===

It took an additional thirty four minutes and twenty eight seconds after the beast sunk its claws into your chest, for Wednesday to come wandering out of the line of trees stretching to the cloudy sky and onto the nearby mountain street, still wearing your bright yellow raincoat bunched around her wrists.

Finding the cave had not turned out to be entirely as difficult as she had expected, and she managed to find its charred remains just as Eugene had said. There was no evidence to gather, really, and there never had been to begin with.

In the far away distance, only lightly covered by the rain, it sounded as if a flock of birds were screaming at each other and fighting, and the noise rang throughout the forest before settling in Wednesday’s ears. She had already been annoyed and frustrated enough tonight. The extra noise just set her even more on edge than before.

It took another sixteen seconds and a few steps closer then, for Wednesday to realise the noise bleeding from around the bend in the road wasn’t in fact, a group of birds. Instead, it was the worst sound Wednesday could ever want to hear.

Within an instant, Wednesday took off running, every sickening realisation clicking at once. The vision that had been plaguing her nightmares and every interaction with you came back in full force. Her stomach began to churn as she went, heart burning and ears ringing. She knew.

When Wednesday rounded the curve, she saw the cars and their sirens.

The red and blue lights bounced off of the dirt and pavement even from far away, reflecting in the rain water as it pummelled to the ground. Five police cruisers sat strewn every which way along the shoulder of the road, headlights on and pointed into the underbrush. Officers wandered the clearing, pointing their flashlights into the dark and yelling loudly to each other in an attempt to overcome the rain.

As Wednesday rushed towards the vehicles, a man stepped out of the closest car to her, wearing a plastic blue poncho that did mostly nothing to stop the merciless pounding of the furious rain. He spoke into a little radio on his shoulder, staring out into woods at his men while they searched.

Wednesday’s loud steps from her thick shoes warned him of her nearing, and the man turned, hand dropping from his radio. She was immediately displeased, greatly so; the man was Sheriff Galpin. He looked just as unhappy to see her, frown drooping into a wry glower.

“Addams what are you doing out here??!” He shouted at her over the storm, hands placing themselves on his hips. “It’s sure as hell past your curfew, now go back to Nevermore, dammit!“

Wednesday walked right up to him then, tugging him roughly by the poncho and his collar, which she balled up dangerously in her fist. It was a warning, and she meant it. Potentially, she meant it more than any threat she had previously given. “Who did you find.”

Sheriff Galpin’s eyebrows lowered, a line appearing in his forehead as he stared her down. “That’s official Jericho Police Department business, missy. You need to-“

Her grip on his clothing tightened. “Now.” Her voice shook a little. “Who did you find.”

He looked at her for a moment in the flickering blue and red of the dark, examining the look on her face. Her eyes were shining, though she would never admit to it. The old sheriff sighed. “Some kid from Nevermore was attacked. You might have known ‘em. Name was like, (Y/n) or something.”

Wednesday’s hand went slack, dropping back down to her side. “Were…,” she swallowed, attempting to cool the heat rushing to her face. It felt as if the Earth had just broken away from its orbit, to float off directionless into space. “Were they killed?”

For the first time, Sheriff Galpin seemed almost soft. He bent down to her a bit, patting her on the shoulder awkwardly as if to say ‘there, there.’ He had never liked the Addams girl much, though that seemed highly irrelevant in the moment.

“Uh, luckily no, though the camper who found them said they were awful close. The EMTs got here just in time. They’re headed to the hospital.”

Wednesday pulled back, tensing at his hand. “Give me a ride to the hospital,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. The sheriff shook his head.

“Nuh uh, no way. You’re going back to school, kid. It’s too late for you to be out here anyways, and I’m sure Weems would like to know why the hell you were out past curfew in the first place.”

She glared. “I need to be at that hospital.”

The sheriff rolled his eyes at her, any moment of softness gone upon remembering why he disliked her and her family so much. “Like hell I’m going to take you there.”

Wednesday blinked at him.

===+++===

The night was still dark but no longer raining, when Sheriff Galpin speedily dropped Wednesday off with her bloody fist at the front step of the hospital.

Punching the tree again and again had hurt, the sharp bark slicing through the skin of her knuckles, but it also meant she needed a nurse and potentially stitches, and there was only one place capable of offering such services. Suffice to say, the sheriff wouldn’t become her fan any time soon.

The clock had slowly crawled to four in the morning, and though Wednesday was exhausted, and Enid and Thing were potentially freaking out back at the school as to where the hell either of you were, Wednesday was a bit more concerned with figuring out where in the hospital your room was. Oh, and maybe aiding her fist, which was now dripping blood onto the patterned green carpeting as she went.

Upon entering and striding right up to the front counter, Wednesday had gotten straight to business. She held up her bloody fist, placing it with a 'thud' on top of an infographic that sat on the reception desk. The previously sleepy-looking teenage receptionist stared at Wednesday with a look of wide awake, abject horror. “Tell me where the ER is,” she said.

"Uh...over there?” said the girl, raising a weak finger towards the doors in the far left and unable to pry her eyes away from Wednesday’s hand.

Wednesday nodded a single time before walking off, leaving the receptionist to lean over the counter and watch her go. The sign over the door was marked 'ER,' and Wednesday followed down the brightly lit hall until she arrived at a new waiting area. The people in there looked much worse for wear than the empty entrance at the front.

Nervous parents sat cradling their obviously sick children, a construction worker was repeatedly coughing in the corner with his head propped up, trying to stay awake, and a woman in a pantsuit was cradling her foot in a cast and wincing. If this was an omen to who was in your company, it was certainly a bad one.

Wednesday did just as she had before, walking right up to the desk with her hand and showing it to the nurse at the front. Only this time, the woman gave her a worried look, picking up the black phone to her right immediately and dialling a few numbers into the keypad.

“Uh, stay right there, ma’am,” the woman said. Wednesday nodded. She didn’t intend to go anywhere anyways.

The nurse who had come to find her was an older woman, with smile lines crinkling around her mouth and winging off the corners of her eyes. She looked almost like a grandmother, except the electric pink afro she had curled off of her head in coils that spoke of youth and vitality and fun. Enid would have liked her, and Wednesday knew you would have too, but she hated the colour pink just as she (mostly) disliked fun people.

The woman had gotten straight down to business, pulling Wednesday into a room with a metal tray of supplies already picked out and holding up her hand.

Even being someone who enjoyed pain as she did, the antiseptic stung when it was placed over the scratches on her fingers. She hissed a bit, and the nurse glanced up at her with pitying eyes, grabbing the supplies for her stitches off of a metal tray.

"You said you punched a tree?"

Wednesday was suspicious of the woman's sudden interest, but nodded. The nurse could probably tell her where you were anyhow. She didn't like making friends, but she could at least make allies. She had called you one of her allies when you had asked. Remembering that hurt now.

"Yes,” she replied, a bit annoyed with the question.

"Why'd you do that, then?"

"I needed to come here. It's important." The nurse began to stitch her up, and Wednesday flinched at the sudden contact.

"What’s important about here?"

Wednesday glanced down at her soaked, dirty shoes. "There's someone staying here I need to see." The nurse looked up at her then, studying her carefully.

"You're here for that kid that came in after being attacked." Wednesday swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. The nurse sighed, wrinkles filling her forehead as she finished up Wednesday's middle finger and moving to her ring finger, holding up the pad to the light. "They were rushed into emergency surgery about twenty minutes ago. You'll have to wait here a while, and just to warn you: it isn’t pretty." Wednesday sent a small glance to her, one that spoke of a timidness the situation had drawn out of her that wasn't previously there.

“Why don't you go home for the night? Get yourself cleaned off and dry."

She shook her head at the woman, frown deep and telling. "I need to be here when they wake up. They don't have anyone else. Both of their parents are deceased, and I need to be there for them."

"I'm sure they would appreciate you coming this far, honey. They're very lucky to have someone who cares for them as much as you do. I've been a nurse for a loooong time, and trust me when I say you've done plenty."

She certainly had not. Wednesday was not immune to the morbid irony of the situation at hand. In reality, she had cared all too much, pretended that she cared not at all, and tricked you for the longest time into thinking she cared too little. Caring had gotten her nowhere- worse, it had gotten you into an ambulance.

"I'm...worried," she struggled to spit the word out at the nurse, who looked at her with soft eyes of encouragement. "I've said some things, that I don’t think I’ll be able to apologise for."

"Shhh," the nurse hummed, finishing Wednesday's final knuckle and taking out some bandages to wrap around the raw skin. "You'll get the chance."

“I’m not sure I will,” Wednesday's frowned deepened. Her lip threatened to quiver a bit, but it was true. She had been so foolish to bring you along- so selfish to allow you to push the bounds of your own safety. It sat lodged in her stomach like a tumour, growing and growing.

If this is what it meant to love you, Wednesday wasn't sure she was ready.

The older woman gave her a sad smile. "Look, there's no shame in making mistakes. The shame is in being too proud to ask for forgiveness for them," she said, standing up from her chair. "They'll be in room 304, I think. Should be out of surgery in a couple hours, in case you want to…”

“I’m not leaving,” Wednesday insisted. And she didn’t, for a while.

Very little could spook an Addams, especially one such as Wednesday, but she had decided it was all too much, seeing you after surgery. It was an utterly horrific sight. Had it been anyone else, Wednesday would be staring at the intricacies of the scars waiting patiently to form, marvelling at the magic of twisted skin and scabs. But no, it was you in that bed, wheeled right in, and she felt the rare urge to vomit.

You were hooked up to so many machines. Buzzing, whirring, and beeping were the only things keeping you alive, and it served as a painful reminder for everything that could have been lost.

A ventilator sat over your mouth, covering your soft lips and strapped to your jaw. Live, it said, as did the several needles and monitors that were hooked into the skin of your hands and arms. There was too much surface area covered. Wednesday, even if she had wanted to, couldn't have held your hand.

Blood was still very much crusted to the planes of your skin in parts, or at least what was visible of it behind your bandages. The white cotton sat in squares and rectangles, taped to your chest and along the stretch of your cheeks and face. You would never be the same, and Wednesday knew it then.

Always, you would bear the evidence of the attack when someone saw you for the first time and winced a bit, and Wednesday held herself as partially responsible. Her love was too thick to sit in. Wednesday Addams swallowed the tears she would deny crying.

She sat with you an hour, then she walked down to the payphone on the corner and called Enid as the sun finally settled for the morning sky.

===+++===

In the three weeks since your attack, you had yet to wake up. The doctors said it was a coma, and that they had no idea when you would wake, if at all, and that only made Wednesday feel worse. She had gone to visit you before, after, and sometimes even during class. Her own hand had healed nicely, though there would be a permanent scar over the knuckle of her index finger from a particularly nasty cut,

On one visit, Enid had said it was as if you "were sleeping," but Wednesday couldn't disagree more. When you slept, it was on your side with your mouth, open, snoring softly. No, instead, you looked like a dead body. Even after acquainted with the room, Wednesday still felt a great pain in her chest upon seeing you every day like that.

Principal Weems had been more than angry, discovering another student had been hospitalised as a result of Wednesday's actions. She was also worried, and annoyingly tried to sign Wednesday up for more sessions with Kinbott.

That wasn't what Wednesday needed, and she shrugged it off as such, every time Kinbott tried to bring up what happened to you, like she was waiting for her to burst into tears. An Addams didn’t cry. Instead Wednesday let the guilt eat her alive.

She also hungered for vengeance. Strewn across her floor was a giant mental map of everything involved in the case, from photos of the bodies (Enid had fainted twice) to crime scenes, and even potential suspects, all laid out accordingly.

As soon as visiting hours were over, she bid you adieu and threw on your yellow raincoat that still smelled like you, before heading out into the dark to solve the mystery. Maybe it was a way to say she was sorry, maybe it was a manifestation of you potentially never waking up- Wednesday didn't know.

What was even more frustrating was how she knew you held the final puzzle piece. She wasn't a fool- your ability to see into the thoughts of those around you was probably what had caused the attempt on your life in the first place. You had intentionally placed yourself in harms way, then, turning off your abilities for her.

You were incredibly powerful for one so laissez-faire about life- a fact that only offended Wednesday more, as you had been the target and not her, or someone else. You, who had just worn your heart on your sleeve to her, listened to her throw it away, and then immediately gotten attacked. You didn't deserve that, just as much as Wednesday didn't deserve you.

Then came the question of what you did deserve to hear when you awoke. If she was such an excellent writer, why couldn't she think of what to say to you if that ever happened? It still didn't feel good enough, no matter how many times she rewrote the letters or changed the order of the sentences. Nothing seemed to feel good enough.

===+++===

Around the fourth week, Wednesday began to leave you long thoughts, like diary entries. She didn't even know if you could hear her, from in there. You had been taken off a ventilator and it looked as if you were finally starting to level out a bit. Wednesday didn't know why, but she suspected you could hear her thoughts.

So she started thinking to you.

It had started small, at first. 'Today is the twenty-sixth day of you being asleep, you know. If you don't wake up, I swear I'll kill you.' She didn't even know if you could actually hear her, or if you'd want to, considering your last interaction. Wednesday itched to talk to you again, and her recounts grew longer and longer.

'Today is the twenty-eighth day of you still not waking up. Mayor Walker passed, yesterday. I have my suspicions of Xavier. He seems to meet with Dr. Kinbott frequently, and it's possible she's Laurel Gates. I'm not sure if I told you about this yesterday, but I summoned my ancestor a few days ago, Goody Addams, and she warned me of the Gates Mansion.'

'Today marks an official month, 31 days, of you not being awake yet. My Uncle Fester is in town. He sends his regards, by the way. He's the bald one I spoke of before, and he was eager to meet you... Enid and I visited the Gates' Mansion with Tyler. We were attacked and Tyler was injured. I know that may alarm you, but I assure you, I'm fine... If you don't wake up... I'll curse you forever.'

She didn't mean it.

‘Today is day thirty six and you’re still not awake. Enid will be waiting with you while I go confront Xavier and have him arrested. You must forget this when you wake, but I miss you… I’m not proud of it but I do. I said I wouldn’t care for you this way but look at me now. You didn’t spoil anything, (Y/n). If you said you loved me now, I would say it back. Give me the chance to say it then, or else.’

Wednesday waited patiently for another minute, hoping even a little bit that her mind would spark you to life. When nothing happened she sighed just as she had every previous day. Enid gave her a sad smile.

“Go get him, Wends. We’ll both be here when you get back,” she said. Wednesday glared at the use of the nickname, but grabbed your yellow raincoat off the back of her chair, shrugging the oversized jacket on and heading out the door. If there was one thing she thought would make amends, it would be catching your attacker and achieving revenge all on her own.

Of course, thirty seconds later, when Wednesday was long gone, you shot up right like a rocket, and Enid let out a scream.

===+++===

You were climbing, it felt like. You weren’t sure what, but you were pulling yourself up and out of something, pads of your fingers gripping the surface and lifting. It was one clutch after the other, and you had no idea how long or where you could possibly be climbing to.

Were you dead? That was entirely possible. You had blacked out with Tyler’s claws ripping and tearing at your chest and come-to in the back of the ambulance as it sped towards the hospital. A nervous-looking paramedic stood over you, casting a shadow over your eyes, and from there you had passed out again. Maybe you had died then.

Of course, it was a possibility. Not a welcome one, but it was still a possibility. Either way, you had to figure out a way to warn Wednesday about Tyler. Maybe if you just kept climbing. Time seemed to slow down, and it was one hand after another.

There was definitely sound coming from the outside world, and it wrapped around your head in mumbly nonsensical jargon. You recognised the voice, that was definitely Wednesday, and she was definitely close. Every now and again small words like 'Xavier,' or 'Kinbott,' would peek through the mist and you were left to wonder as to why they were relevant.

You climbed a bit harder. The voice would come in and then out again, and you were left wondering if days were passing or maybe it had just been an hour. All you knew was to keep climbing. Your fingers felt raw, your arms ached to stop, but you kept going to keep Wednesday safe, wether she wanted you to or not.

Before you knew it, a hand came forward for the last time, and it was like a button had been pressed. Suddenly, you weren't in any void, or any back of an ambulance, you were in a bland hospital room, sitting straight up and looking right at a mortified Enid.

"Oh my god!" She yelled out, pointing at you in surprise. "OH MY GOD!!!" 'WHAT THE FUCK!!!!'

"TYLER!" You yelled back.

"WHAT?!" Enid yelled.

"IT'S TYLER! And hi!"

Enid fainted again, just in time for a nurse to rush in upon noticing you were awake.

===+++===

One thing you had missed dearly whilst in a coma were fruit cups. You sat rather contentedly, eating a mango fruit cup in your soft hospital bedsheets and leaning back against a checkered pillow. From around you in the hospital, noise buzzed in your mind. It felt good to have your blinders off for once, even if it meant you had to focus in on Enid and the noise directly in the room with you.

"Thirty six days???" you asked. Enid nodded.

"Wednesday- I mean all of us 'But mostly Wednesday', were worried sick that you wouldn't wake up. Are you okay? What was it like in there?" 'How the hell are you still alive???'

You shrugged. "Not really sure. I just remember my arms hurt and I was in this void-thing, trying to pull myself out..." You grew serious. "I need to speak to Wednesday."

Enid leaned forward. "And you're sure it was Tyler? He doesn't seem like he could hurt a fly."

"I saw him, Enid. He was covered in blood and he was in his own head thinking about the attack and how pleased Laurel would be for him to succeed. It's him."

"Wednesday thinks it's Xavier," she said. You shook your head.

"She's wrong. I know she's sweet on Tyler, but-"

"-She's not sweet on Tyler, (Y/n). 'You CANNOT still believe that after all of this...though I guess you were comatose' I've said this since the beginning of the year, you bozo. She's sweet on you, and you two are such idiots running around and pretending like you don't know."

The painful memory of your final interaction before the attack came back in waves, pulling you under and tugging you into the deep. You cleared your scratchy throat, still sore from its lack of use. "Enid, Wednesday made it perfectly clear how she felt about me."

Enid rolled her eyes. "You two, I swear you're going give me grey hair. Oh! Speaking of appearances," she sat up. "You haven't seen how you look yet!"

You frowned, not entirely sure you wanted to. You knew you had facial scars- the sharp slashes to your nose and cheeks were enough to know that now, but you weren't sure how much you wanted to see them. Enid pulled out her phone camera, flipping it around to selfie mode.

It wasn't as bad as you thought- a giant twist of a scar curved around the apple of your cheek before reaching up through the lateral third of your eyebrow and stopping shortly after. Another crisscrossed over the bridge of your nose. Still bad, though. They were noticeable, and those were only the ones on your face. You frowned, and Enid seemed to regret asking to show you them. 'I just messed up, didn't I.'

'Oh my, cara mia' said someone's noise in the doorway. You looked up, hearing her arrive, and there she was. Wednesday stood looking almost nervous, hands crossed over her chest awkwardly, like she was uncertain if she was welcome. You tensed. "You're awake," she said.

You nodded. Then you did Wednesday a favour and turned your own noise off to give her the privacy she coveted. Wednesday sent a look over at Enid who just stared. When the werewolf didn't take the hint, Wednesday cleared her throat.

"Oh! Sorry, sorry," said Enid, standing sheepishly. "I guess I'll just go get some food from the cantina...even though I already ate and want to see how this happens," she muttered. Wednesday sent her a much sharper glare, and Enid scurried out of the room.

The moment the door clicked shut, Wednesday spun to you. "If you died, I would have killed you."

"I know," you nodded. "Enid told me you were here all the time." She frowned.

"Never speak of that again," Wednesday said, seeming almost embarrassed. "Enid wasn't supposed to tell you that."

"She's not really good at keeping secrets. You probably shouldn't have told her anything if-"

"-Did you hear them, when you were in there?" She asked, cutting you off mid-sentence with what she had really been wondering the entire time, but too nervous to ask. You blinked.

"Hear what?" If she had been saying important things to you whilst you were under, you didn't know what she was referring to. The look on Wednesday's face was unintelligible.

"I said some important things, (Y/n)," she said, fidgeting with her fingers. "I sent them through my thoughts."

"You also said some important things before I was attacked, Wednesday. You called me a lost puppy."

"I know," she replied. "I was worried this very thing would happen if I didn't."

You snorted cynically. "Looks like it happened when you did, actually." She looked wounded by that, and now you felt bad. "I didn't mean it that way, Wends, I'm just trying to warn you-"

"I love you too," she said.

Any thoughts or words you potentially could have come back with were lost, slipping through your fingers and tumbling to the floor. Wednesday took a step closer, placing her hand on the bed next to you, flipping it over to show you her knuckles. A few small pink scars littered the skin there. You picked it up in your own, brushing over them with your thumb.

"I meant it. I love you too. Even with your scars- which are magnificent." Wednesday thought for a moment, then looked you dead in the eyes. "I love you with a love that is more than love."

"That's Edgar Allan Poe," you whispered. She nodded, then she swallowed, forcing the words out.

"I see now, that I was...wrong. I have been deceitful, and I have been unkind. I pushed you away when you deserve much more than that- likely much more than me. I cannot express how earnest my regret is, and just how much I want your forgiveness-"

"Yeah yeah, stop talking like an old English guy," you said with a laugh, pulling her scarred hand to your lips. You sat up a little bit more, and though it hurt, you pressed your lips to her palm. When you pulled away a moment later, she kissed you full-force. Her hand moved to your neck, playing with the hair there and delivering the perfect amount of gentle longing that made you fall back against the pillow.

She pulled away all too soon again, but the small smile that teased the corner of her mouth spoke of future ones to come. "You said you were going to warn me of something?" She said in between attempts to catch your breath. You raised your eyebrows, remembering the dire information at hand.

"Oh, yeah, Tyler attacked me," you said, leaning your neck back against the pillow.

"What?!" Wednesday said, pulling away with her eyes as angry as ever. "Why didn't you lead with that??" She didn't want to believe it, but she knew you wouldn't lie.

"I got there eventually, and you needed to apologise!"

Wednesday sighed, shaking her head. Though she would never admit it, she did truly miss your ridiculousness. "Anything else?"

"The master of the creature-"

"-It's called a Hyde," Wednesday corrected you.

"Yeah, that. The master of the creature wears red boots. I saw it in Tyler's vision."

The girl in black stood up, heading for the door. "Thank you, cara mia. I'll be back when this is over."

"Go get 'em tiger." She turned to you, unimpressed.

"Shut up."

"Yeah yeah, love you."

After a moment she sighed. "I love you too."

thank you all so much for your support on this story! i absolutely will be writing again, and am here to stay. i cannot thank you all enough, and as always, PLEASE tell me or message me about any typos as i will fix them ASAP. i'll definitely come back and change this later if i feel like it. i tried not to rush the ending but was also majorly conflicted as to where i should leave it off. so if it bugs me later down the line, i'll change it.

[starry-bi-sky]

Just the idea of clone Danny and clone Talia working out much bette then him and Talia would confuse poor Bruce. And best part all 4 of them don'T believe he is batman Danny: "We know he is your Sugarbaby, Mom and dad talked about it." Clone Talia:" So no fear, my OG liked a Himbo. And well Danny is a one too."

FR THO AND THEN THERE’S BABY DAMES IN THE CORNER SWEATING BECAUSE HE KNOWS. HE KNOWS. THE LoA TOLD HIM. He’s not saying SHIT though because this is hilarious. He’s silently laughing in the corner. And yessss Clone Danny and Clone Talia working out much better is exactly why I thought of it -- because one its funny and two the potential angst. the could have been.

It doesn't ever occur to Bruce to tell them he's batman but that conversation still comes up during mealtime one day while Danny's recovering (he has to be tied to his chair because he found the gym and nearly dislocated his shoulder trying to train. Dammit Danny your bones are made of glass right now from destabilizing, let your cells repair before doing anything!) because the four of them were talking about Batman and his clan of kids.

Danny, frowning: im not a himbo?

Nasra: reportedly when you first met Damian, your first response to his attacking you was to... grab the blade with your hands, multiple times. This resulted in you slicing a nerve in both hands and permanently weakening your fine motor control.

Danny: well--

Nasra: even now you're rubbing your palms, you only do that when your hands are bothering you.

Damian, snapping his head up: what!?

Danny: you noticed that?? also i learned. I didn't repeat myself when you attacked me when we met, did I?

Nasra: i. suppose not. you're still a himbo, however.

also Danny does his usual 'run on negative sleep' bullshit while in the manor except now he has not only damian but also Nasra tag-teaming his bullshit. Like no, Danny. you need sleep to recover your strength. your ghostly investigation can wait until you're not about to pass out and break your nose on your laptop. They have whole ass arguments in arabic - all three of them - as damian AND nasra drag danny to the closest soft horizontal surface. Danny returns the favor to the both of them when those two are also doing their 'negative sleep' stuff.

Dick at bby Dames: so do you....

Damian: know that you guys are Batman and his family? Yeah. Grandfather and Mother told me before I was living with Danny.

Tim: how come Danny and Nasra don't know then?

Damian: I didn't think it was important to tell Danny that his original was Batman. He does know of the League, however. He calls Grandfather my "super evil, ecofascist grampa and his cult of killers" and doesn't want to know more out of worry of needing to get involved.

Dick: I - really?

Damian: yes, he figured that since grandfather had yet to successfully wipe out my original, then that whatever Damian Wayne was doing was working. And that if he knew more, then he might have to get involved, and he has own problems to worry about than the League of Assassins.

[hotsingledragon]

clumsy

warnings: 18+ content, smut, dubcon, noncon elements, stuck in a wall, scent kink??, spanking, fingering, p in v, orgasm denial

quaritch gets paired with human scientist reader who is too clumsy for her own good. quaritch is constantly pulling her out of dangerous situations, whether it’s looking too far over a cliff, or swimming too deep into the river, he’s so agitated with how unaware she can be, always wondering how she managed to get in with the RDA when she can be so clueless at times

but he knows she’s smart and capable, she’s interjected in mission briefs, spewing her incredibly niche knowledge of pandora. he’s caught her from the corner of his eye in the gym, knows she can squat twice her weight with no trouble, knows she can pack a punch if needed.

when the two of them are paired on an extended survey in the jungles of pandora, quaritch had no idea what he was getting into.

only four days into their trip, the colonel has expended his limited patience.

they’ve been treading the jungles since 0800, though the shifting sunlight finds it’s now reaching midafternoon. she had scampered off, gushing that this sector was abundant with lichen which she absolutely needed to sample for her labs, though it isn’t long before quaritch hears her shout from a short distance. the colonel tucks the heel of his rifle into his shoulder, alert as he searches for her and any potential threats.

but what the colonel finds is truly ridiculous, somehow she has managed to lodge herself between two fallen logs, unable to push her hips through the slim gap.

“colonel quaritch? is that you? please help!”

her hips wiggle and her feet kick, drawing the colonel’s attention. most of the time he would roll his eyes and pull her by the collar like a scorned child, but this felt different.

“god dammit, how the hell did you manage this?” he lowers the barrel of the rifle as he steps closer to the fallen trees, watches as she kicks helplessly with her boots barely toeing the ground. the colonel tries not to look too close at her toned legs, or how her tight shorts are riding up into the apex of her thighs.

he growls in frustration, mostly at the absurdity of the situation but also the stir of lust in his stomach.

he steps closer, boots heavy as he treads the rugged terrain and assessed her position. he peers over the other side of the fallen trees and sees her panicked expression. her eyes are wide and her skin is flushed with exertion, bangs sticking to her forehead and she’s heaving to catch her breath. her breasts spill over her low neckline and smoosh together given the tight space.

quaritch snicks his teeth, visibly upset.

“it’s always something with you, kid,” he mutters, grimacing

“i’m stuck,” she pouts, wiggling in a noncommittal effort to free herself

“clearly.” the colonel says gruffly, walking around the logs to assess the best way to free her. quaritch bends at his waist to meet her eyes. “you’re so much smarter than this, puke” he chided. his eyes glance at her breasts, her lips.

“i know that!” she snaps, shooting daggers at him and huffing out a breath. the colonel flares at her response.

“hey, don’t you catch a tone with me, girl,”quaritch says sternly, snapping his fingers and pointing at her. “now this s’bout the fourth time i’ve had to come an’ save ya from doin’ somethin’ stupid,” he tells her. “really should be thankin’ me,” he gruffs and stands to his full height.

quaritch circles back around, figuring the best way out was from this side. the colonel’s hands fall to his hips and he grimaces. “dammit, kid, what the hell were ya’ thinkin’?” he says. he steps closer and amplifies his voice. “i’m gonna grab ya’, alright? gonna grab right here and pull,” he tells her, large hands settling on her waist. his nose flares and his tail flicks as his hands clasp her sweat slick body.

he tries to focus on the task at hand, pulling her by the waist but she’s still squirming and kicking. her efforts prevent him from helping and only serve to irritate the colonel. when she accidentally kicks his ribs it quickly sends quaritch into a rage

in the fresh wave of frustration and really without a consciouts thought, quaritch swats the top her ass, hard. “dammit kid! quit all that wiggling.” he shouts, gritting his teeth. her entire body jolts with the unexpected sting and she shouts. “ah!” her thighs pull together and she’s gone rigid.

quaritch continues to flare. “i’ve had it with you, fuckin’ up the mission the way you have. always getting into trouble, i have half the the mind to just leave ya’ here” he growls. his fingers push into the plump flesh at her hips. he’s trying to ignore the fact that he’s half hard just from her ass in his face, and the grip he has on her sweat slick body isn’t helping.

before quaritch can even acknowledge his own actions, a sweet and vaguely familiar scent begins to blossom in the air. quaritch follows his nose, and he’s only faced with her muscular thighs and plump ass. “i’ll be damned, puke, are you gettin’ wet right now?” the colonel asks, confused and astonished and aroused.

her thighs tuck together, trying to make herself as small as possible, but the scent only continued to fill his nostrils and quaritch feels his dick jump. it’s a sweet aphrodisia that is distinctly her, so intoxicating that he can’t help himself from seeking her scent, inhaling deeply through his nose. he hums, and something switches within the colonel, a chuckle erupting from his chest.

“you’ve gotta be kiddin’ me,” he gruffs. “you’re gettin’ off on this, are ya?”

“filthy girl,” he says, hands smoothing over her bum. he pulls at the meat of her ass, spreading her before he drops his hold, the weight bouncing slightly in her shorts. the colonel growls. “what should i do with you?” he rumbles, pushing his fingertips into her hips.

the colonel quickly makes the decision. “i’m keepin’ you just like this, you’re not goin’ nowhere ‘til i decide it’s time to pull ya’ out of there,” he orders. “you got that, sugar?” asks, voice like silk and smoke. quaritch slots his hips against her backside, his thick member fitting right against her clothed cunt. he’s still pulling at her bum, kneading the flesh of her thighs, his ears flicking as they catch the sound of her whimpers on the other side.

quaritch swears he’s can feel the way her shorts catch against her clit, the swollen bud protruding slightly as he pushes flush against her backside.

“you’re so warm right here,” quaritch moans, punctuating with a thrust that drags the tip of his cock against her clit. the friction makes her yelp and she squeezes her thighs, sensitive from the rough layers of fabric separating them.

that’s when quaritch decides to hook his fingers into her waistband, peeling off her shorts and underwear. the colonel curses when he sees her arousal stringing between her soaked pussy and sticky panties. “fuck, this all for me?” quaritch teases, spreading her thighs. “what’s got you so worked up, huh?”

her garments pool at her ankles, and she can’t help but shiver as one of the colonel’s fingers ghosts up her calf, tickling the back of her knee and soon his entire hand is kneading at the juncture between her thigh and bum, exposing her cunt. “so fuckin’ wet down here, i bet you’d open right up for me,” quaritch drawls, pushing two fingers through her slick. quaritch glides them over her clit, coming back to push into her entrance. he groans when she sucks him in to his second knuckle, and he begins to slowly fuck his fingers into her.

quaritch can hear her moans from the other side, and once he’s able to a slide a third finger inside of her, he pumps them with a steady rhythm. “needy little thing, ain’tcha, taking my fingers like it’s nothin’.” he’s so unbelievably hard, his cock straining almost painfully against his cargos. he takes his fingers from her and she cries out, which earns her a quick swat at the back of her thigh.

“ah ah, quit you’re cryin’ doll, you’ll get it soon enough,” quaritch teases, and she hears the clank of metal from his belt coming undone. quaritch groans with relief, only has the mind to pull his pants just far enough to free his dick from its confines and begins to tease his cockhead against her, coating himself with her slick. he feels so big against her, she whines and tries to push her hips back into him, and she gets another spank for that.

“i told you to stop that damn wigglin’,” quaritch huffs. “naughty thing, is this why you keep fuckin’ everything up? ‘cause you’re needin’ cock so bad?” he grinds against her, swatting her bum again. “wanted my attention, huh? is that it? well, you got it now.”

the colonel gives in and lines his member with her dripping sex, pushing into her slick heat. quaritch hisses as her soaked cunt yields to him.

“that’s it, go on an’ open up for me, darlin’, just like that,” he begins to fuck his thick member into her slowly.

“christ, you’re so fuckin tight around me” he grits, the colonel’s own deep moans rumbling out of him. quaritch begins to push his hips slowly, setting a languid rhythm that has his cock bullying into her slick heat.

quaritch looks down where they are joined, her cunt stretching lewdly and painting his cock with her arousal.

quaritch almost wishes the logs were out of the way, so he could press into her back, so he could snake his hands along her torso towards her plump breasts, but he’s also got an inkling that she’s into this. she’s into the fact that she’s trapped, into the fact that she’s completely left to the colonel’s mercy.

the colonel cups the back of her thigh, lifting and finding another angle where he can slide his entire length inside of her, and she swears sees stars. she lets him take her, moaning loudly as the new angle kisses that spongy part inside of her.

“you like this, girl? your sweet little body trapped on my cock? huh?” he laughs, pausing his thrusts at the hilt. “yeah? you better get fuckin’ used to it, doll, you’re mine now,” he grunts, sliding his throbbing cock in and out of her clenching sex.

‘fuck! takin’ it so well, sugar. yeah, keep takin’ this fuckin’ cock,” he babbles, teeth bared as he fucks into her womb. pleasured moans are punched out of her with each snap of his hips.

“yeah, honey, that’s it. ahh fuck, so good lettin’ me take you like this, so dirty.” quaritch quickens his thrusts at brutal pace, slamming his cock into her tight heat. the colonel thrums with pleasure, low groans rumbling from his chest. he feels her walls tighten, and basks in the feel of her cunt locking around his thick member. quaritch is so fucking close to coming, knows she’s close too. he begins to lose his rhythm, sloppily thrusting into her.

but then quaritch pulls out, fisting his cock and groaning as he comes harder than he probably ever has, the sensation heightened in this new body. the first rope shoots across her lower back, and he groans at the sight, positioning himself so the rest of his cum lands on her pussy, leaving a milky mess over her cunt.

quaritch rumbles from his chest, propping his forearm onto the fallen tree as he catches his breath. he leans over her and looks down like he’s admiring his work. “mmm, so pretty covered in my cum, do you like that?” he wonders, dragging a finger through her folds. she quivers, her orgasm ripped away and her pussy clenches, desperate to feel anything. quaritch can hear her needy cries on the other side.

“aw don’t cry now, darlin’ you’ve been such a good little slut taking my cock, ya did so well,” he says. he gains his breath and stands straight, tucking himself back into his pants and buckling his belt.

“you don’t get to come yet, not after all the trouble you’ve made,” quaritch tells her. he pulls her shorts back over her hips, and the sticky mess of cum sticks to her. “now you just stay right there, sugar, i’ll come for ya when i’m ready,” he smirks.

“w-wait! colonel! please don’t go,” she pleads, still quivering and desperate to come. fear strikes her heart at the pretense of being alone, but the crunch of his boots over the forest floor is already fading. she honestly feels like crying, unsure when the colonel will come back, if he decides to come back.

p.s. he does come back, just before nightfall and he fucks her again for good measure before he’s able to pull her lax limbs from the gap in the fallen trees. she’s totally fucked out, and quaritch lets her cradle into his lap, smoothing a hand over her hair and warning her to stop getting herself into these situations.

notes: woooahhh this is probably the longest thing i have written yet! i get shy when writing the smuttier stuff hehe so please lmk what y’all think! reblogs and likes are super mega appreciated, hope you enjoyed!

[libby-for-life]

I have an idea what if Adam fell in love with the archangel of death Azrael not Lucifer not Michael instead the odd one out Azrael does not look anything like Lucifer or Michael, and before he died and came back to Eden he never really met him  Azrael x Adam

But now when he got killed by nifty and got reincarnated again, and Eden all over again,

Adam was walking around the forest in Eden gain away from Lilith and Lucifer. Then he looked around in the old place. He used to remember getting déjà vu then Adam heard humming he looked around. He walked to the humming he hurt, and there was a man near tree. The tree was a cherry blossom, and the man look like an angel like Michael he was the same height as Michael, but his wings were black for a second. Adam would mistake him as a demon but no, he knows that cloak before and near him was a spear it’s Azrael the archangel of death

Adam stopped in ponder what he should do next he never really talked to Azrael in his past life, but knowing that this is his second chance can do whatever the fuck he wants, and knowing Lucifer took Lilith from him honestly he’s not gonna fight with those fucking bastards can have each other, but if they can have their forbidden love, so can he Adam done, pondering he walked closer to the man

Adam: am Hello ?

Azrael : ua? Human, I didn’t mean to.

Adam: my name is Adam what’s your name you don’t look like who is for Michael? Are you a new angel

Azrael : no well well sure let’s say that I’m Azrael the arcangel of death it’s pleasure to meet you Adam

Adam: the pleasure is all mine Azrael 

Oh! I've actually never seen this ship! That's interesting! And has a lot of potential!

Adam cursed as he tripped because of a low-hanging vine. It had been a month. He couldn't believe that he had died and had been reincarnated back into Eden. The worst thing? Lilith was cheating on him right at this moment with that fuck boy Lucifer.

He grumbled and sighed. He supposed it didn't matter. He was prepared for their bullshit this time around and wasn't not going to be betrayed this time around.

Adam stopped moving around when he heard it. Humming. At first, Adam thought it was Lilith or Lucifer and was going to turn around when he really paid attention to the humming. It was different. The voice was a baritone like Lucifer and it wasn't the soprano that was Lilith. It was a soft tenor.

Curious, Adam walked towards the noise. He came across a clearing overlooking a pond. A figure he immediately recognized as an angel made him flinch. God, he looked just like Michael. In fact, he almost thought that it was Micheal until he noticed the wings. A deep ebony that looked soft to the touch.

He also looked stronger than Micheal if such a thing were possible. He had a dark cloak and black hair, and his eyes were closed as he hummed a song he didn't recognize. It hit him like a brick to the face. Azreal! That's who he was!

If Adam was remembering correctly, he was the angel of death. The same angel, under Michael's orders from God, took every firstborn in Egypt during the time of Moses. The children went to Heaven but Adam remembered being horrified to see so many children standing next to a dark-looking angel holding a scythe.

He never tried talking to him, not that he did before, and he actively avoided Azreal after that.

Now? He looked so...peaceful.

Should he talk to him now? This was his second chance at life. He could do whatever the fucl he wanted.

"Hello?"

The angel jumped up, brandishing his scythe and Adam jumped away. Dammit, this angel was more trigger happy then Micheal!

Azreal seemed to realize that Adam was no threat and he stepped back. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Adam watched as the Angel fumbled with his words and looked over him frantically. It was endearing in a way.

"Hey, it's fine. I'm sorry for startling you. Who are you? Look like Micheal but...not?" Adam mentally cringed at his words but he didn't want anyone getting suspicious of his knowledge. He knew WAY more than he should.

"Oh! I'm...Azreal. The Angel of Death." Azreal said, standing up much straighter. Adam smiled. "Adam. A pleasure to meet you."

Azreal blushed a gold color as he saw Adam naked and looked away a bit. Oh, yes. Adam was going to have a lot of fun with this one.

[darkdemeter]

Y/N “WOLFIE’S” PANEL

—- not my gifs, credit to original posters! -—

(Platonic) Avengers cast x GN/Female/Male Reader Feat. on the panel: Elizabeth Olsen, Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie & Robert Downey Jr.

A/N — So this was delayed at first because I'd kinda gotten second thoughts, then did a bit of research (just watched some of the cast in interviews and stuff). And then I thought "fuck it, write it." So I did just that. Though I'm not counting on this being "top tier" and very well may be the only time I do this sorta thing. Because I have come to realise when writing this... I CANNOT write celebrities, so great kudos to those who can, and also they make it look so easy!

WORD COUNT — 1.7k

READER DISCRETION — Nothing that should be potentially triggering— maybe slight insecure reader? Nothing really, just that little "did I do good?" y'know? — just Y/N with the avengers cast— Y/N being a little blushing, embarrassed mess

SUMMARY— You meet your fellow cast members on the panel for Comic Con, the debut for the final instalment to Habits of Mother Nature's Will releasing that weekend at the premiere.

You can read the columns here — HABITS OF MOTHER NATURE'S WILL HABITS OF MOTHER NATURE'S WILL II HABITS OF MOTHER NATURE'S WILL II: AFTERMATH

You never thought you would hear anything louder than the sound of applauding fans and cheers as your name was announced by the panel moderator.

You swaggered onto the stage, your outfit was casual but styled in a way that could pass for formal dress easily. Your hair styled to what you favoured most. 

You raised your arm up and waved to the crowd who roared with such vigour, you silently admitted to yourself it was a tad bit intimidating. But you were excited for this panel. To be beside your cast members who you had bonded with over the course of production, and to finally meet those who loved the project as well. 

The Avengers series had been a cinematic hit and when you signed the contract, had anyone told you that the three part short series would have been a major hit for audiences, you would have scoffed.

Your co-stars each turned and greeted you with grins as they waved you over. “There they are!” Chris announced into his microphone with a wide grin.

 You were assigned to sit between Lizzie and Chris. Anthony sat on Lizzie’s other side. 

“Where you been, Y/N? We missed you,” Anthony questioned you with a pout, hands forming a heart over his chest. You chuckled and held up your other hand that held a cup of coffee.

“I needed my fix, leave me alone,” you grumbled. Lizzie squeezed your shoulder lightly with a shake of her head, ushering the others to stop picking on you.

“And you didn’t bring me one,” Anthony tutted and Seb called after him, “the betrayal.”

The crowd laughed and cheered.

“So we were just about to get to the fans' questions, Y/N, and I don’t doubt a lot of them have questions about your character in particular,” the moderator said to you and you nodded. 

“Prepare yourself for marriage proposals, Y/N. There is always at least ten for each of us,” Robert said, his voice deep and calm over the mic system. 

Your face went bright red. “Well…” you wanted to swear out of habit, but you held your tongue, your head fell forward. “Dammit.”

More laughs came from the audience. The microphone was set up and any fans who had questions were directed to stand in the queue.

The first fan was a young woman, probably about college age. You leaned forward, your arms folded on the table and made your clothes pull against your frame and you looked intensely focused on the fan. Engaged with what they had to say.

The very act made quite a few people swoon and scream, only your eyes flickered to your cast mates with a raised brow.

“I think the proposals have increased quite a bit now,” Chris said with a smirk. It didn’t help relieve the flush in your face when a few whistles of agreement followed his statement. 

The girl giggled nervously into the mic in front of her and you refocused your attention on her. “Hi,” she said through her giggles and you nodded, hand lifting slightly to wave. 

“Hey, how are you?” you asked and she nodded, “good thank you. I just want to say personally I’m a huge fan of the character, C/N, and I just wanted to ask you how you felt when you got the role to portray them?”

You raised your brows under the weight of the question. You smiled and thanked her for the question. “Hmm, well, I’m not gonna lie it felt scary that I wouldn’t be able to portray the character, but the script writer and director - along with my cast members - they really helped me where I felt I lacked in providing the performance that C/N would. So yeah, thank you for that question, and I’m glad you enjoyed my take on the character, other than that it was a lot of fun.”

She beamed from ear to ear and nodded eagerly. She thanked you profusely and expressed her excitement to see Aftermath in cinemas. Elizabeth patted your hand with a smile. “You did good,” she uttered away from the microphone and you nodded in thanks.

Another fan walked up and greeted the cast. “So I want to know, who would win in a fight against each other: Bucky or C/N?”

“Uh, the correct answer, obviously, would be Ironman.” Robert’s interjection made the crowd fall into a frenzy of hysterics. You grinned, the act natural and your own that you made signature component for your character. 

“Remember who killed your parents,” Sebastian taunted and Robert smirked down the table his way. “Uh,” Sebastian began as he leaned back in thought for a moment, “I kinda want to say Bucky. I don’t think C/N could bring themselves to hurt him. So I think he’d use that to his advantage.”

When the fan inquired about your opinion, you shrugged with a tsk. “I think C/N would only win if someone hurt Wanda.” Your answer made the fans giddy, the uproar of cheers enough to bring the roof down like an earthquake. 

“I have to say that the fight sequence was so intense, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The cinema I was in was in such a state, I thought it was gonna get shut down,” the next fan began with a giggle. You and your fellow co-stars couldn’t help but chuckle and smile. It really did make you happy to know that you had done well to provide fans with such excitement. The Avenger films were great and adored by the fanbase, your only wish was that you wouldn’t let the dedicated members of the production and the fans down. 

“The fight choreography was brilliant and I wanted to ask what you could share about what went on behind the scenes? Like, how was all of that done?”

Oh, that was a loaded question. “Well…,” you chuckled, “let me first tell you that the entirety of my character fighting in their ‘wolf form’ was me. I did all the motion capture for that–” The room was filled with applaus. “Thank you. Yeah, my stunt double thought it would be funny to visit their family overseas and leave me to do all the motion capture. So I have them to thank for the harness that was riding my ass for the next couple of days,” you answered, though everyone could tell you only meant to tease, that you didn’t mean anything ill about it all. 

The experience of doing all the intense choreography was actually one of the most fun aspects you’d ever done in any of your productions thus far. 

Anthony laughed into his mic then. “I kid you not, we all have a video around twenty minutes long of Y/N doing the motion capture from the gag reel. And it’s hilarious,” he sighed at the end and earnt a laugh from the crowd. 

“It wasn’t easy, man,” you whined, “but– but when I had to do scenes that required a more realistic build, I was saved the embarrassment and actually we had my dog, D/N, do all the motion capture for that.”

A photo of your German Shepherd appeared on the screen above, your arms encircled around them, their head tilted and long tongue hung from their mouth. 

“They’re so cute!” a fan in the crowd shouted and you chuckled. “Damn adorable, I love them. I had to be on guard, I was scared Chris would take them home.”

Chris leaned over in his seat, hand slapped to his chest with a toothy grin as he cackled to himself. “I love that dog so much, what can I say?��

The fan thanked you for your time and walked back to their seat. The next fans were two girls, again around the age of college students walked up together. “Hi!” one of them greeted and the other looked incredibly shy, her friend held her close around the shoulders. 

“Hey there, how are you?” you asked again. You always asked how the fans were, a habit that was just natural. Human. Kind. 

“We’re good thanks. Uh, so this is my friend, Taylor,” she said and indicated to the other girl next to her. She waved and mumbled a meek hello into the mic. Your cheeks folded out into a smile, adoring the girl’s shyness. It was adorable. “And it’s her birthday and I want to ask if you could give her a little birthday present as your character, C/N, please? And with a cherry on top, add your wolf voice?”

Your tongue danced over your teeth as fans left, right and centre cheered and hollered. You could tell it was as much wanted by them as the fans asking for it themselves. “Just out of curiosity, who else is here for their birthday?” you asked and quite a large amount clapped in answer, a view yelled their response.

“Okay, so you can consider this a gift to you guys as well.” You sat forward and rolled your shoulders, getting into the mind of your character. 

“Happy Birthday, Taylor.” You stopped to let the fans burn out their screams before you continued. “Told you, marriage proposals all of them,” Robert commented just as you went to speak and you broke out of character for a moment, face palming your hand. 

“Go on, Wolfie, you gotta appease the fans,” Robert uttered with a wave of his hand to usher you on.

“I hope you have a wonderful birthday. Wanna play fetch some… sometime in the park?” Despite the momentary hiccup, unable to contain the embarrassed giggle in your throat as your face brightened, you finished. 

Even some of your castmates imitated getting flustered, even Lizzie herself fanned her face. Taylor hid her face in her palms and her friend thanked you. 

The other beauty of your performance was that the sound editors had little to do with mixing your vocals for the werewolf voices, you had a knack for making it naturally guttural and animalistic. 

Anthony snickered playfully. “So I think we can agree that Y/N “Wolfie” has taken over the panel. Can we get a shout or clap if you enjoyed Y/N’s performance of C/N?”

You don’t know how it was possible, but that was the loudest you’d heard the fans. 

[urlocalnonbinarybastardwrites]

Headcanons for the greasers x s/o who flinches when they raise their hand in a fight

Tw: Angsty ig, light potential violence, slight abusive

Ponyboy Curtis

-you two were arguing about his smoking again

-you really hates when he does it, and he does it too much

-so you express that one night when it’s just you two having dinner at the Curtis house, Darrys still working, and Soda is out with Steve

-“You need to quit smokin so much Ponyboy! It’ll kill you!”

“I can’t quit y/n, yk how I get without my cancer sticks, y/n, just lemme have one more!”

-soon it turns into a bigger arguement, and you both get into each others faces, yelling

-he raises his fist, not thinking, and pauses when he sees the fear in your eyes

-he feels immediately sick to his stomach, at the thought of scaring someone he loved so dearly

-as you run out of the house he yells “W-wait! Y/n! Y/n! I-i ain’t mean to I swear!”

-he feels horrible and definitely breaks down on his steps crying a bit and soda and carry find him there ask him what happened

-he explains and they exchange looks, and they make him go apologize

-he comes to your house with flowers and a handwritten apology, getting ready to leave them at your door when you open it

-before you can get a word in he’s already rambling “Y/n I-I am so sorry I would’ve never actually hit you, I hope you know that I’m so so sorry please don’t break up with me but I understand if you w-“

-you hug him

-“Ponyboy Micheal Curtis if you ever raise that fist again-“

-he never does

Johnny Cade

-it’s so hard to imagine him actually doing this

-I feel like the only way you’d get that kind of reaction out of him realistically is hurting his friends

-but for the sake of the hcs let’s say you both get into a fight and you try getting in his face or sum and he pushes you back, a lot harder then he meant

-you slam into the wall

-with tears down your cheeks, you always thought Johnny was your safe person, the last person on earth who would hurt you

-it wasn’t really about the pain, it didn’t hurt that much. But the fact he did it

-for Johnny, his world just shatters…. He just did what he swore he’d never do… lay hands on you

-he drops to his knees in shock at himself, feeling the worst pain imaginable looking at your wet eyes, your… scared eyes

-he knows that look so well, the one he’s had so many times himself and he feels his heart rip out when you run away from the lot

-in canon it takes a LOT to make him cry and this does it

-he cries in his hands, he can’t believe what he just did

-feels the worst out of all the greasers ☹️

-he lets you come to him, he doesn’t go to you, he wants to give you enough space from him

-when you come back and meet him at the lot his stomach does a flip

-“Y/n I didn’t mean to push you that hard I swear I wouldn’t ever hurt you I’m so sorry I’m just like my old man and ma…. I don’t ever wanna hurt you I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry….”

-practically drops to his knees before you

-you look at him, sighing, it’s impossible to stay mad at him

-you look him dead in the eyes as he gulps

“Johnny Cade you best never lay a finger on me again in that way y’hear?”

-he never comes close to doing that again, and even months later apologizes

Sodapop Curtis

-him doing this is so ooc like johnny lmao so it’s hard to protest and I think he’d again only ever do this if you attacked pony or sum

-you’re frustrated with him, he’s smart, dammit! Maybe a little slow, but when he gets things he gets them!

-and you really wish he could see that

-you both have enough collective money to push him through college to get a better job than a gas station

-and even if he is happy, he could be happier

-you both get into another arguement, and he grabs your arm, pulling you closer, and you squeal a little as your arm turns red

-he turns to you and meets your eyes, dropping your arm instantly

-you look at him in bewilderment and… fear as he starts

-“Y/n c’mon now please, wait…”

-but you’re out of that house faster than lightning

-he immediately goes to your house with flowers, and some jewelry that he’s been saving up to buy you

-you open the door “Soda, you can’t win my affection back with a half assed smile and-“

-he cuts you off with a sheepish grin “I- I actually intended to win you over in a different way…. Like an apology. I’m so sorry. I-After Sandy… I just can’t lose you too, to something so stupid. I’ll never do it again.”

-he is a man of his word

Darry Curtis

-one day he comes home, already tired from work and sees you there, crossed arms

-he forgot your anniversary… again

-he tried to apologize and you interrupted, furious

-he shoots back, arguing he can’t remember because he works all the time and actually does something with his life

-you get furious at this remark, and yell up in his face and he shoves you, (pb Curtis style 💀💀😭)

-you sit up, looking at him with tears because hell yes getting abused by Darry’s muscle mass hurts

-you look so scared and when darry meets your eyes his jaw drops, and he tries to apologize but you’ve already ran out of the house

-you head home and he comes to your door the next day, and the next

-your relationship takes the longest to heal

-about a month later you let him in and he’s mostly quiet, he feels horrible

-he lets you tell and scream at him and take out your anger, just so he can at least let you get it all out before he tries to apologize

-“Y/n I-i am really sorry. Sorrier than I ever have been in my entire life. I made one of the biggest mistakes I ever have and I am real sorry.”

-you stand up, and let out a teary sigh “if you ever lay another hand on me again I will leave you faster than you can’t count to three DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”

-he nods

-it takes a very long time to repair your relationship, but once you do, he never lays a finger on you like that ever again

Dallas Winston

-one night, he gets a bit drunk and a girl kisses him

-you get mad, and see the whole thing before he pushes her away with disgust

-you think he cheated and yell at him about it when you both get home

-you both get HEATED and get in each others faces, this is definitely the most fast building fight

-he raises his palm up, nearly hitting you but taking a pause when he looks into your alone angry eyes, now with a layer of fear

-for a look the he’s used to getting so much his way, this hits differently

-he drops his hand, and looks down at it then back at you, and immediately tries to apologize

-“C’mon y/n I wasn’t actually gonna hit you you know that stop making such a big deal out of it-“

-you run out and he actually feels badly

-he won’t ever approach you first, he waits for you to come to him

-“Dallas Winston you NEVER do that again. Please.”

-he nods, and even, for the first time, apologizes sincerely

-he doesn’t ever do it again

Two Bit Matthews

-you two were joking around when suddenly he cracked a joke a bit too close to home

-you told him off and annoyed, he argued back

-pretty soon it was a full on fight, and he grabbed your hand and raised the other one

-you looked up at him “Two… were ya gonna hurt me?!”

-he snaps out of it, looking at you and instantly pulling away

-“Y/n, I’m so sorry… I-i don’t know what came over me. You know I couldn’t do that.”

-he looks into your eyes genuinely and you pause

-“Never again?” “Never again, promise.”

Steve Randle

-he left Ponyboy out of another hangout between him you and soda and you were mad, you knew it hurt Ponyboy

-you bring it up to him and he immediately deflects and rolls his eyes

-after a while things get pretty heated and he snaps, and grabs the collar of your shirt

-you gasp, and look down then up at him, and he looks at you, confused then guilty

-he looks at you as you back away “Y/n…… don’t be like that… I wouldn’t- I couldn’t-“

-you run out of the gas station and sit under a nearby tree, your head in your knees

-he runs after you, and squats down next to you, looking you in the eyes

-“Y/n, I’m so sorry. I know never do that to you. I’ll never do it again.”

[concert-bflat]

I need to rant about Ivan guys guys I neeed to rant about Ivan (<--- keeps trying to write fics of him but Never finishes him) like God this man is so gay and so in love it genuinely hurts it Hurts and I am Injured by it and the imagrey is Sooo Good (and Yes this is probably me just parroting stuff Everyone has already said before but shut up it's my turn now!! (aka please I've been holding in these thoughts for Months now I must let them out of their cage before one of them Dies)) [Edit I am Not fucking proofreading this I spent 2 hours on it if there is a mistake you Imagined it </3]

Just like,

You can see it in the way he sees the stars in Till. His own hopes for freedom and the only real light in this world that he lost sight of in Till. He is the hope and wish for freedom that he has shut away and repressed and it makes him fall So Hard

Or how you only really see that red in his eyes (after. Almost Dying) when he's with or singing/thinking about how Till has Inspired him, like a fire has been lit inside him. A fire lit in the darkness. . hmm...

even at the end of the song, where he knows full well that he absolutely Crushed his opponent and also knows full well that Till is his next one. I'm sick. I'm so sick.

Or like. When he frees Till and everything is just Engulfed in that red now. How Till has that same fire in his eyes, he and Ivan are on the same page now. They see that same hope for freedom and they both share it. They're running towards the light (like the sky's lighter there, more on that in a sec), hell, the corners of the right side of the screen are literally tinted in LIGHT GREEN. Till's color. God dammit the whole scene is tinted in red and green. They are literally Complementary Colors. I'mmm soooooooo (God these scenes are soo pretty too I was genuinely Stunned when I first saw this)

DID YOU EVEN NOTICE I ONLY NOTICED NOW the Stars are fucking green. You can see it better in some of the Later Images but they are Literally Green because Ivan sees the stars in Till and uuuughsdfbshb

OR LIKE WHEN TILL TURNS BACK?? AND. And that red is no longer in his eyes and before The Realization hits Ivan his eyes are just Glowing with red. Because he was just Filled with that hope. Freedom was, potentially, Right There

Did you guys even notice in that like. 5 frames in the half-second animation of Till turning away he's totally engulfed in his shade of green. Like of Course. That's such a Till thing to do because of Course he's running back he never actually liked Ivan that way in the first place.

And also the lighting of the sky Flips. Because the light has always been with Till. And Ivan's left in the darkness. In the. Haha. Ha. Black Sorrow. Aha *sits down cries*

And Again with this mf's stupid eyes how they revert to just black because that hope's been stripped away again, how it's even reflected in his present self singing as he reminisces on it. Fucking. Ivan's Expression when Till runs away.T here's so fucking much like the irony. Like did he even see Till hesitate or did he just see him turn and run away.

Like the irony that the guy who's always breaking the rules and fighting and defying and clearly hating living in a world like this won't run away with him, who has always been passive and obeying the rules and just accepting captivity and has been repressing his desire for freedom is so Bitter and Awful but also he always Knew this would happen what the Hell was he thinking this was such a stupid idea like

this man gets No Breaks No Breaks Ever oh yeah btw they're facing off against each other in a literal Death Match. That they might've had a Chance of avoiding if they ran away. Ahah. Hh *sob*

Also this art brings me so much Joy as much as it hurts me on a visceral level like. Ivan Always has his eyes on Till but it goes from a fond smile. Like So Fond flat out lovestruck affectionate gaze because he loves this man and loves spending time with him to a grimace once they're on stage. How Till never really changes or really Has Changed, and that's why Ivan loves him as much as he is resentful towards him. How that's what brought them here, to the stage. How Ivan changed for Till and Because of Till but still Till is like a god damn immovable object with how he stubbornly sticks to his ways. There's such resentment but isn't he himself also stubborn for always sticking to Till anyways? Hell, he's singing all about him in Round 3 and loses control over his own emotions and expressions during it I'mmm Guhhh

Also the first image is titled Observation while the second one is titled Decision(? I think). Like mf What are you deciding. What happened Last Time you decided to do something I'm going to punt you into the next planet

Speaking of observing,

Just. How Ivan's Always Observing. I saw one person point out he's like a background character and it's like he sees himself as one too. He is a passive observer in his Own Life. How he watches all the other children in Anakt garden play. How his childhood leading him to Anakt Garden just kind of. Happens around him while he watches indifferently.

How he's always trailing behind Till. Or how he tends to just. Observe quietly and is portrayed as such.

Not to mention how he doesn't appear in the memories of Anyone else's rounds, not even Till's, even when he literally (temporarily) freed him from the city. He doesn't even appear At All in Luka's round even though we get a clear shot of Till getting his hopes and dreams shattered (though it Does parallel another shot of him from Round 2)

And then the One Times he tries to take action. Or start something. It gets rejected and he's resigned to just. Trailing behind again. Because of Course he'll always follow after Till. And of Course he's fucking bitter about it and bitter about himself because he Knew this would happen and Till is Always looking at someone else and that Never Changes but. He just thought for a moment that he could change something. Man.

Oh I forgot to talk about the competitions themselves huh? Wellll, (and I'll Attempt to keep it brief because I've been writing this post for Much too long but)

Till spends his first round singing completely devotedly to Mizi. Hell, his song wasn't even in the program, it's likely- no, almost definitely something he wrote entirely for her, and Ivan has no part in it, just watches bitterly as he passes out after his, er, stunt at the end

And continues to be passed out for almost the entirety of Ivan's song

Oh but he woke up for the emotional/musical climax at least, going over Ivan's most important memory of them together, that's cool at least right?! Surely Till felt something from that

Maybe they can talk something out, or at least acknowledge their relationship in Some way. Maybe Ivan could at least be seen by Till-

Aaand Till's Actual love interest Supposedly gets shot and now he probably thinks she's dead. His attention is turned to her once again, like it's always been from the start. He never really changes huh?

Better luck next time Ivan--

Just. This mf Never Wins and it makes me Laugh as much as it makes me So Sad

Gets hopes and dreams and future crushed by aliens (standard stuff). Sold off in an auction. Put in prestigious singing school and up to that point he hasn't really cared about Anything and has simply been going through the motions.

Meets boy that basically embodies the freedom and hope he used to have. Falls badly in love. Boy loves someone else. Tries to free him and give him the thing he'd surely want most. Rejected. Back to school you go loser.

Oh btw this school is to train you for a competition to the death. Btw you're facing off against that boy you love in the semi-finals of said death competition. And you might kill him or he'll kill you. Because you didn't run away when you had the chance.

Also he didn't sing or think about you at all during his round. In fact I'm pretty sure he wrote a whole ass song that wasn't even registered in the Alien Queue or whatever for someone else. Also he probably has hardly looked at you. Also he was unconscious for almost the entirety of your song. Except for the part where you lost control of your emotions.

Oh but that doesn't matter now because now he thinks the person He likes was just killed. So he's kiiinda gonna be distracted by that. And that might fuck up your round with him. Sorry man

This was Originally a rant about how much I love Black Sorrow's imagery and the portrayal of Ivan's love because this man clearly has Complex Emotions and then Kinda derailed into me just ranting about how many L's he's being handed before getting the executioner's blade. Uhhhhh oops. Congrats on sticking to the end though?

I just love Ivan very much. He is So Bitter and so Horribly In Love and looks up to and is inspired by Till So Much and I wish people explored him on a deeper level/more personally.

I wish I saw more deep looks at Ivan/Till, there's clearly Complicated Things going on there. Hell, we don't even know what Till's pov on the whole thing is aside from that One scene of him hesitating before running away from Ivan. As much as I love fluffy interpretations of them, I (did I mention that I'm an angst addict btw. Could You Tell) wish all their Complexities could be acknowledged. Like how Ivan Clearly puts Till on such a spotlight and it is Such a downfall for him through and through and he Kinda knows it but also What Else does he Have and he really looks up to him Sooo Much (just. Look at them in that official art of them in Anakt Garden !!!) and deep down just wants to run away from this horrible place and wants to run with Till, the Light of his life the fire in the darkness the fucking stars the universe his black sorrow just. Oh My God I need to end this post already I was supposed to be studying but spent those 2 hours Writing instead

But anyways yeah uuhhh long story short? This guy is a gay loser. He tries to look sooo cool and smooth but he is suuuch a gay lovestruck loser and his rose tinted glasses are so thick he can't see shit (I'm pretty sure I quoted that from something (but also no genuinely when I first got into alnst after just watching the first 3 rounds videos and saw Ivan in official art I was So Surprised like "Oh he's actually That kind of mf that tries to look Cool and Hot but is actually just Pathetic and Sad and Gay I thought he was Just Sad and Gay")) he's probably also touchstarved as hell idk and his love is doomed by the narrative (unless Hyuna saves his and Till's asses. Buuut we'll see </333)

Love ya Ivan keep taking L's <3333 mwah

[writeforfandoms]

Welcome to New York 3

Find the series masterlist

We’ve got a POV switch this chapter! Time to see what Miguel is thinking. Or, in which his friends pester the hell out of him. 

Warnings: Swearing, Miguel is Done with Everyone, Mayday being cute, everybody just terrorizes Miguel. 

Eventual Miguel O’Hara x f!reader

Word count: 1.8k

Miguel was a busy man. Keeping the multiverse intact was not easy, no matter how much help he had. There were anomalies to keep track of and hunt down, Spider-people to corral, and his own world's problems to deal with. 

In short, he did not have time for this shit. 

"She wasn't a threat," Peter B. Parker, bane of Miguel's existence and continuous pain in his ass, said. "Mayday liked her!" 

"Your baby is not an accurate judge of character," Miguel ground out, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"Sure she is, she knows good people," Peter continued, aforementioned baby giggling from her spot against Peter's chest. "She wouldn't go to just anyone!"

"What is your point?" Miguel asked, turning away from Peter and back to his screens. He still needed reports from the last mission, and the list of anomalies waiting to be sent home was getting longer. Which meant they were behind on paperwork. (Well. Digital paperwork, but even so.) 

“My point is that you don’t have to be so suspicious of her.” Peter shrugged. “Might help your blood pressure to be less paranoid.”

“My blood pressure is fine.” Miguel flicked through another screen, frowning briefly. “Lyla, why hasn’t this report been filed with the rest?”

“I’m only doing about a hundred other things,” Lyla said, popping up reclining in an invisible seat. She pushed her glasses a little further up her nose, looking supremely unimpressed. “If you want the reports done I’ll have to stop some other process.”

Miguel clenched his jaw. “Seriously?”

“Yup.” She popped the p, just to be annoying. Miguel had not programmed her to be this annoying. He had no idea where that came from. 

“And Spider-Byte?” 

“Busy.” Lyla shrugged. “She’s got stuff on her plate.” 

Miguel dropped his head. Of course. Hundreds, thousands, of Spider-people, and it was like herding cats - unless there was a clear threat, there was a lot of doing whatever they wanted. 

“You do have some other options.”

Miguel picked his head up to look at Lyla. “No.”

“Shouldn’t you at least listen?” Peter piped up. “What’s your idea, Lyla?”

“Weeeeeeell.” Lyla glitched out to reappear next to Peter, cheshire grin in place. “We do know someone who is really good at organizing things, and researching, and put together a beautifully organized timeline and comparison chart on her own free time.”

“No,” Miguel said, though he felt like nobody was listening to him. (Which was true - Lyla and Peter both ignored him.) 

“Wow, sounds like a great potential employee!” Peter’s grin was amused. “You should do something about that, Miguel.”

Miguel groaned softly. He was not going to kill Peter. That would cause more problems than he wanted to deal with. “I’m not bringing her in.”

“Why not?” Peter shrugged. “Sounds like she’s got all the skills you need right now, and you won’t have to try to corral anyone else into doing it. Frees up Lyla’s time, helps everyone in the long run.”

“She’s not one of us.” 

“And? You’ve okayed jobs for three other non-Spiders in the caf.” 

Dammit, Miguel had forgotten about that. He’d known that was a dangerous precedent to set. 

But he got lucky - Lyla switched back to actually working. 

“Looks like an anomaly popped up on Earth-5119,” she reported. 

“I’m on it.” At this point, jumping through an interdimensional portal to avoid this problem seemed like a great idea. 

“This isn’t over!” Peter yelled, even as Miguel dived into the portal. 

Miguel had three days of peace from that particular argument. Not that it was an argument. Because his mind was made up. 

“Heard something interesting today.”

Miguel grunted, glancing back at Jess, which was close enough to admitting he was paying attention. 

“Margo told me she had a look through the filing system. Apparently it’s in rough shape.” Jess leaned one hip against his desk, arms crossed loosely over her chest. 

Miguel grunted. Yeah, he knew that. Lyla knew that. This was not news, nor was it interesting. 

“Apparently it’s keeping several anomalies from being sent home.”

“And?” Miguel tried not to snap. He did. But he was busy and this was not news. 

“She wants help, since she’s got other things to do too.”

Miguel stopped. Turning slowly to face Jess, he narrowed his eyes at her. But she was immune, holding his stare easily, one eyebrow quirked. “Which one put you up to this?”

“Nobody did. Margo asked for help, that’s all.” Her smirk was all amusement, though. “And I asked Lyla for suggestions.”

One hand lifted and pinched the bridge of his nose with a deep sigh. He knew where this was going. “The answer is no.” 

“You didn’t even let me get it out.”

“The answer is still no.”

“Miguel.” 

He looked away first, swearing under his breath. Jess had a very effective disappointed parent voice, he was quite sure it would come in handy with her little one on the way. “What?” 

“I know you have a thing about non-Spiders in the building,” she started, and then paused a moment. “Well. In this part of the building.”

He scoffed. She was not wrong, but he wasn’t going to admit that.

“But we could use the help,” Jess continued, unphased by his attitude. “You and I both know that trying to get one of us to do all that work is not gonna happen.”

Miguel made a face. He did not want to admit she was right, but, well… Margo was unwitting proof of that. And the thought of trying to make any of the Parkers do something like this? It would never get done. 

“Bringing her in would guarantee things would get tagged correctly,” Jess continued, clearly trying to sway him. “In a timely manner, even.” 

“I don’t trust her.” Miguel shifted his weight, planting his hands on his hips. 

“So set someone to watch her for a week.” Jess shrugged. “Have you even checked in on her since you saw her?” 

No. No he hadn’t. Lyla was supposed to let him know if anything happened, since she had access to cameras across the city. 

“Look, if you’re that worried about her, set someone to watch her for a week,” Jess offered, waving one hand while the other propped on her hip. “Make it a training exercise for a few recruits.” 

It wasn’t a bad suggestion, actually. And he hated that he was considering it, that he was even thinking of bringing you into this. You were not to be trusted. There was no way you had really just gathered all that information just because you could. 

But Jess was right - the work did need to get done. 

“I’ll think about it.” A little white lie. He had thought about it. 

Jess narrowed her eyes at him a little before she nodded once. “Go get something to eat,” she threw back at him as she turned away. “You’re looking peckish.” 

Miguel scoffed to himself. He was not! Besides, he had work to do still. 

Since nobody else was going to work on getting the information filed and tagged correctly, he’d just do it himself. 

He lasted less than a week. Six days of going through the information and tagging it in between the thousand other things he had to do. His temper, always short, grew even shorter, until he actually threw an empanada at Peter B. Parker. (It was one of the rare times he did not have Mayday with him, because Miguel never would have thrown anything even close to Mayday.) 

“Is this a bad time?” Jess asked dryly, looking at the smear of empanada on the wall. 

“What do you want.” Miguel couldn’t even make it a question, voice flat. 

“Got an SOS from Earth-10436, two anomalies slipped through there.”

Miguel didn’t react for a moment. Two anomalies. “Peter, you’re with me. Get Spider-Noir, too.” His mask materialized around his head. 

As soon as Peter was gone, Miguel took a moment to look at Jess. 

“You still serious about that side project?”

To her credit, Jess caught on immediately. “Sure am.”

“Fine. You’re in charge. Two week watch, minimum. I want a full report at the end of it.” He narrowed his eyes at her, aware the motion transferred through the mask.

“I’ll take care of it.” Jess turned and sauntered out, subtly smug in her way. 

Miguel wanted to be mad that he’d given in, but mostly he was just tired. One deep breath and he took off. Time to go take care of some anomalies. 

He could admit, to himself, much later, that maybe they needed the help. Him trying to do it all wasn’t sustainable (as evidenced by the healing gash in his side where he’d gotten careless). And if, as he suspected, you were not trustworthy, he’d simply find someone for the job. 

Not that he’d admit as much to Lyla, not unless he really needed to. 

Allowing himself to groan as he collapsed into bed, Miguel starfished out. If only the multiverse would stop misplacing people and cooperate. If only. 

Two weeks passed in a blur. Two new Spider-people were brought in. Canon continued to be maintained in all universes. 

In other words, things continued about as smoothly as could be expected. Something that Miguel never took for granted, considering the absolute chaos that life could be. 

That didn’t mean he was exactly pleased when Jess sent him her report. Lyla had even helpfully attached the pictures from the surveillance. 

Jess had nothing but good things to say. Which would be suspicious, but Miguel knew Jess. She wouldn’t sugarcoat things, wouldn’t lie to him. Not about this. 

“Lyla.”

“Yeah?” The AI appeared in a flash of yellow, watching him. 

“I need an employment contract.” Miguel clenched his jaw, half-hating that he was doing this. But. If it would help them, it would be worth it.

“I’m sorry, you need what?” Lyla grinned, buffing her nails. 

“An employment contract.” Miguel knew what was coming before she even said it. 

“What’s the magic word?” Lyla looked up at him from behind her heart-shaped glasses, mischief clear in the curve of her smile.

“...Please draw up an employment contract.” Miguel tried not to sound too angry, because she’d just make him repeat it.

“Yeah, already done.” Lyla waved one hand, pulling up the contract on the nearest pad. “Have fun reading!” 

Sometimes (often times) that little AI was more trouble than she was worth. At least, that’s what Miguel told himself as he sat down to read through the contract.

The sooner he got this taken care of, the better.

[kindaasrikal]

We don’t talk about the potential Pixal and Morro relationship enough.

Especially in resurrected AU’s. Like bro this guy was evil and came back and was most likely forced (probably weirdly unwillingly by the ninja themselves too, its a complicated situation when its these lot) to join the ninja and help them, and probably feels really out of place both situation wise and body wise, and Pixal understands.

Like I’m not saying she’ll immediately like him, in fact she’d probably hate him in a detached way (like how we dislike characters in a show, but if that person was irl in front of you and you were there to witness and experience what they had done, you’d hate them (and i mean HATE) kinda thing) but she’ll sympathise with him because she was a ‘bad guy’ who was under the control of an evil guy that made her super evil, was stuck as an ai in a computer for ages and forced herself back into a strange body, and probably felt out of place at first too. Not to mention they both died (‘died’ for Pixal) in a dark cave, Pixal at Chen’s place and Morro in the Caves of despair.

These two have similarities that they would bond upon, except Morro is stubborn and emo, and Pixal is stubborn too but shes not emo and if shes the only one who can help Morro without triggering trauma then dammit shes gonna do it because Zane and Lloyd rubbed off on her.

Heres what i imagine would actually happen:

Pixal who comforts Morro once because she felt bad and sympathetic and has a meaningful conversation of change and growth with Morro who honestly found it weird and unwillingly appreciated it, proceeds to then bully Morro after asking Wu the best way to get motivate Morro every chance she gets. And she quickly learns that its effective.

If she told Morro that he was being a loser for not at the least trying to eat, he begins trying to eat at least two meals a day, even if its something small.

If she told him that he stinks worse then Jay after he finally finishes a project he’s running to that shower no matter what instinctual fear he has to it. (He has no idea how Jay smells after finishing a project)

If she says thats he’s an idiot for passing out, and casually says “Maybe if you drank water, you’d actually be fine like the rest of us.” And he’s chugging a bottle as fast as he can once a day.

Bro like it wouldn’t motivate him to push his limits but it would motivate him to do the bare minimum and she loves it.

Eventually they become two siblings bickering and it’s hilarious. Zane now has two brother in laws (Morro and Cryptor)

Haha i like to headcanon thats what Wu did (except nicer) because it motivated Morro to train and learn skills better rather then “oh you did amazing honey dw we can work on it” because then he hates everything and takes it as disappointment.

[redrobin-detective]

Simon and Betty Roles and Relationships

So I watched the F&C finale and I, personally, loved it to bits but I can see some early rumblings of dissatisfaction. I can't say I got everything I wanted more Simon and Marcy dammit but I felt everyone's arcs resolved well. Especially Simon and Betty's. Allow me to ramble at length.

What really became clear to me in episode 9 is how much F&C Simon and Betty's relationship is a complete role reversal of their AT selves/relationship.

In both cases, you had one who was - through their own conscious actions - cursed to a non-human existence where they didn't have complete control of their thoughts or actions. They are separated from all their loved ones, including their True Love, and given relatively little agency in their own story.

And then you had the other, who watched their love become this non-human entity where they couldn't meaningfully interact. They become obsessed, consumed with saving their True Love, going as far as to ignore having a potential future in Ooo along with kidnapping and doing sketchy magic.

They got trapped in this tragic cycle of loss and insanity trying to save each other and all it did was cost their own happiness. What GOLBetty was trying to tell Simon was that they both made mistakes as humans in the past (her wrapping her entire life around Simon's to the detriment of her own desires and him for being oblivious to it and not considering her) but this cycle had to stop. They'd both made choices they regretted and the outcome wasn't what either wanted but it was the one they landed at. In e9, Simon admitted to "being sorry" for "wasting the second chance Betty gave him" because he was! He was still clinging to their doomed narrative. It was his final selfish act, to throw away the chance she gave up everything for and then force her to watch him scramble after her despite it being impossible. GOLBetty told him to break the cycle and he did.

I said earlier they made choices they regret, both as individuals and a couple but the love was real, it was true and it was now over. They will both carry that love but they cannot be together. Too many things got in the way and they would tear apart the universe trying to exist together. So Simon moved on properly, embraced this new world and life in Ooo. He devoted himself to his loved ones and made a life for himself that wasn't revolving around Betty. It was the healthiest things he could do for both of them.

As for Betty, Simon spent a thousand years as Ice King before he was freed. Some of those moments were good even if a lot of them were bad. She is a whole new type of being able to see and maybe somewhat control the chaotic forces of the universe. I imagine there are some aspects she did like. For example, how appropriate is for a woman who always made herself smaller and bent to the desires of others to be venerated as a Goddess with incredible power? There is no cure now but I like to imagine some day in the future - someone comes along and helps frees Betty from her self inflicted curse. Simon will be long gone I imagine having lived his own full life and died in peace. But now it will be Betty's turn for self discovery and a new chance at happiness.

Their story together was tragic and they both suffered greatly but a running theme of Adventure Time is that happiness is possible, you just need to find it. And for them, finding it meant letting go. I found it beautiful and sad and poignant and awful. I have other nitpicks with the finale but the resolution of their story -at least Simon's side of it - makes me feel settled. I would love to see a future installment giving Betty back her agency just like this series did for Simon.

[xerith-42]

What do you think of the handling for Aaron and aphmaus romance? I know a lot of people who hate it and a lot who love it

Take everything I say here with a grain of salt as my feelings on their romance are bound to change once I actually get to Season 2 in my rewatch/breakdown. I'm mostly speaking from memory here.

As it is now, I'm very disappointed by their romance. While there is wasted potential left and right in Minecraft Diaries, never is it more egregious to me than when looking at Aaron. His introduction into the series in episode 67 is great because it's so fucking vague that the creators can take him literally anywhere they want. And in episode 91 my beloved he gets reintroduced and has it slapped onto his character in equally vague terms that he has beef with Zane.

And even though he doesn't get much else in Season 1, hell he's barely graduated from being a "hot mysterious stranger" as the description of episode 92 describes him, I like where they can take his character. Who knows what atrocities Zane has committed to make him willing to fight Zane to the extent that he is. The problems start when we find out the truth as to why Aaron wants to kill Zane.

Aaron is given so much potential with his backstory and deep connection to the conflict with Zane, but it never really goes... Anywhere. And that's because of the vector in which both Aphmau and the viewer are shown his backstory. In Season 2 episode 42 Aphmau just gets shown Aaron's back story because something something Irene's relic, and it is NEVER EXPLAINED. Because the creators don't actually want to explain it, or even care beyond something something Irene's relic. It doesn't matter how, just that she did.

And this takes away a lot of potential from Aaron because he isn't given the choice to open up about what happened in Falcon Claw on his own. He doesn't get to tearfully tell Aphmau in gory detail what Zane took away from him. There's nothing but his anger that she knows after she's already seen it. And this sucks, because we really could have had a moment of the two bonding here, of Aaron opening up about something he's been understandably cagey about, of Aphmau showing him love and empathy in his time of grief.

I know a lot of people parrot the phrase "Show don't tell" but god dammit sometimes it's best to tell. Sometimes it's worse to be shown. This is one of those moments where Aaron should have been allowed to just be standing in the ruins of Falcon Claw, heard Aphmau come up behind him, and try to push her away. Tell her it's just an old village he found in the woods. And Aphmau can then very calmly and tenderly ask "Then why do you sound like you're about to cry?"

This could have lead to Aphmau comforting Aaron during a difficult moment and solidly establishing a real palpable connection between the two. But instead Aphmau is just shown Aaron's tragic backstory, and then they start romancing each other right after. I don't object to this romance happening, I just would've liked for them to have a little more to go off of. I would've liked Aaron willingly opening himself up to Aphmau and that being the vector for their eventual romance.

And obviously I want this romance to happen NOT at the expense of Garroth and Laurance's characters. I want this romance to happen unexpectedly for everyone, but for Aphmau to be able to actually explain why she and Aaron love each other, especially after his death. Aphmau is a character who has never been allowed to explain her romantic feelings, which is fine if you never plan on pairing her with anyone, but having her ship teased with two people and then enter an explicit romance with another and still NEVER go into details about it is just bad writing.

TLDR: Aarmau angers me because I can see where it could have been a good couple but Jesson had to do a Jesson and be bad at writing.

[actuallyastingray]

Hello Supablr. Sorry this took forever, but I've been working on a follow up project once I'm done with these. More on that later, so for now just enjoy the takes

Skarra: Feral, cackling gremlin trying to pretend he's not empty inside. Needs a hug, possibly several hugs, but is too afraid of cooties to ask. He's either going to have a Prince Zuko level redemption or go full Anakin Skywalker

Dingaan: Dammit Dingaan! You can't be both the lovable, clueless himbo and dumb, jock bully at the same time. Pick one!

Automatic: So, if we ever get a Rookie Season 2, are we gonna see him become the third wheel in Skarra and Shakes' rivalry? Cause no joke, this guy lost his job to Shakes and has way more reason to hate him than Skarra does

Max Power: I'm not a shipper, but why are there no pairings between him and Shakes? I mean, technically there's two of him, but still

Dooma: Oh Dooma, Dooma, Dooma. The writers made such a big deal about bringing you back, and then they promptly forgot about you. Guess upstaging Skarra really isn't all that easy.

Uber: Somehow, a 6.5, 300+ lb. German muscle man is giving me more babygirl vibes then a Sailor Moon character. Also, it's hilarious when you realize he outranks his coach.

Ja Nein: The rarely seen lovechild between adorkableness and pure evil. The "first day at the unit" meme was invented for this guy specifically.

Thor: If he grows a beard, we can call him Odin

Von Eye: Why did it take me four seasons to realize his name is a pun? What is wrong with me?

Chuck: Seriously, I want to see this guy succeed. I want him train up his team, pull off a win, and feel good about it just so he can tell Toni to screw off

John Johnson: The most loveable himbo in a team that consists of equally loveable himbos

Miko Chen: The only thing not completely wholesome about him is how little screen time he gets. That's about as shameful as Ura-Giri's strategies.

De los Santos: He really needs his own Boss theme, but does that make him the bad guy? Cause lets face it, he's not the bad guy

Don Aldo: That's not how hair physics works

Ninja: The second most absent arch-rival in my history of watching cartoons. At least they both brought him back and gave him an identity as El Matador's rival. Still wish we got to see more of the tigers

Liquido: Ten years ago, if I told myself I would one day describe someone as a "sociopathic surfer-dude" I would start to question my own sanity

Andre Meda: His name is an astronomy pun, his team uses constellations as a secret formation code, and his coach has them train in outer space. This guy is a huge closet nerd, and you can't change my mind.

Vladmir Savich: They made a few half-baked attempts to make him a villain and the fanbase is having none of it. Good for him.

Riano: WHY IS THERE NOT MORE CONTENT OF HIM AND SHAKES BEING FRIENDS? They were such good friends, and we have like zero content to prove it. Do the writers not realize how much of a foil he could have been to Skarra? Riano and Shakes being best friends, and Skarra is feeling like he's been replaced, thus hating Shakes even more. Sorry for the long rant but c'mon Moonbug, this guy had so much potential

[papermint-airplane]

Eleanor: Whoa whoa whoa, what do you mean 'who is Aiden'?! He's the Bachelor! You know, the whole reason we're competing in the first place?!

Angela: Surely you can't be serious!

Rose: I am serious! 🤭 And don't call me--

Viridia: IF YOU FINISH THAT SENTENCE, I WILL END YOU MYSELF.

Eleanor: Gaaaaaaah, I hate you people.

Angela: Then I guess I need you to explain a lot more than the murder attempt because if you aren't competing for Aiden's heart -- the alleged premise of the show -- what are you competing for?

Rose: I. keep. TELLING YOU! I want to WIN! 😠

Angela: Yes, but win what?!

Rose: Uggggh, you're so dense, it physically hurts. 😩

Viridia: STOP TALKING IN CIRCLES AND JUST EXPLAIN SOMETHING FOR ONCE!

Rose: Haven't you ever heard the expression 'winning isn't everything, it's the only thing'? 🙄

Angela: Yeah, I've heard toxic Little League coaches say that to crying seven year olds. And?

Rose: Seriously?! It's the principle I've based my entire life on! It's my mantra! My raison d'être! 👿

Viridia: WATCH OUT, SHE'S GOING FRENCH AGAIN.

Angel: So the whole reason you snuck back into the house, disguised yourself as a mime, sloppily painted your blue stripes purple, tried to kill Angela, and potentially scarred Aiden for life was...because of an expression everyone uses ironically?

Rose: It's not ironic to me, dammit! It's my sole purpose in life! Everyone knows that, even the Watcher! And she...she used it against me. 😓 She promised me that if I made the competition interesting for her, she'd let me back into the house.

Eleanor: Wait. What?! Say that again.

Rose: When I broke into her control room, she made me an offer: I'd get to come back and compete again as long as I did something to shake up the status quo. She was getting bored of you idiots. 🥱

Angel: I-I can't believe this.

Bailey: I know what you mean...

Angel: One of us got to meet the Watcher in person and it wasn't me.

Rose: Look, Angel, if it makes you feel any better, she's not what you think. She's...crazy. 😦

Bailey: High praise coming from you.

Rose: And not only that, she seriously doesn't know how 'Earth reality shows' as she calls them work because holy shit, this whole thing has been one clusterfuck from the beginning. 🙄 She says it's a Bachelor-type dating show but she's run the whole thing like a survival show with the challenges and eliminations. I mean half of us haven't even met this Arwin-or-whatever, let alone been on a date with him. What sense does that make?! 😵

Aiden: It's Aiden. I'm Aiden!

Eleanor: You're right. I thought this whole thing was shoddily arranged but I've never seen any reality dating shows. For all I knew, this is how they're supposed to be.

Rose: Well I've seen hundreds of them, and believe me, this is not how they're supposed to be. Arlo is supposed to spend time with all of us one-on-one, not be shoved into a pod by himself ninety percent of the time. 😣 I don't know how they do shows like this back on her planet but it's not how we do it on Earth. 👽

Eleanor: On...her...planet? The Watcher is an alien?

Rose: Well duh. 😑 You couldn't tell? Why do you think she abducted us all at the casting call? She had to get us on more familiar turf.

Angel: That doesn't make any sense. The Watcher can't be an alien. She's an eternal extra-dimensional being of pure benevolence.

Viridia: WILL YOU SHUT UP ABOUT YOUR RELIGION, ALREADY?! CLEARLY SOMETHING ELSE IS GOING ON.

Eleanor: I knew it, we really are in the Lunar Lakes moon settlement. I could tell from the trees. But...why are we the only Sims here?

Rose: I don't know and I don't care. 🤨

Wow. You really exposed me to everyone, huh, Rose?

Rose: You exposed yourself! You should have just let me win from the jump and I wouldn't have had to tell everyone what I knew. 😖

I guess it really is a good thing I didn't tell you the whole plan, then, huh? Otherwise you'd have run your mouth to Aiden.

Rose: Yeah yeah, Argyle or whoever-the-fuck. Well, I held up my end of the bargain. You're going to call this whole thing off and just announce me the winner, riiiiight? 🤤

Why would I do that?

Rose: Because...I made things interesting for you, like we agreed on. 😕

Then why am I still bored?

Rose: I-- 😶

You haven't won anything, Rose. You're still the same loser you were when you walked into this place on the first day. And that's all you'll ever be.

Rose: ...

Nothing to say to that?

Rose: I am going to kick. your. ass. 😡

[Beginning] [Previous] [Next]

[year2000electronics]

Ok so what’s shimmer relationship like with the main cast like in the brotherhood au?

RUBS HANDS TOGETHER EVILLY. I ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING I WROTE A WHILE BACK ABT SHIM AND THE BROTHERS. HEHEHEHEHEEEE

i havent gotten to the outcasts Yet but. one day. i'll put it below the cut!!

“You probably don’t remember me, but-”

That was the first thing Shimmer had decided to say to baby Branch- no, it was just Branch now, wasn’t it? No matter how hard she looked at him, she could still only see the hopeful, gleaming eyes and the sweet smile as that kid she had come to briefly know so many years ago. It was a tough habit to kick- and the other members of the village clearly had a leg up on her with that.

“No, I remember you!” He replied, swinging his hands back and forth as the two of them walked through the village together. “Johnny doesn’t talk about you anymore, not really, but I remember going over to your pod!”

Shimmer tried her best not to seem too desperate for knowledge. Johnny? Her Johnny? Well- formerly hers. Not anymore? She knew it, he hated her, dammit, why did she come here-

“Oh, yeah? That so?” She laughed quietly. “Gosh, you’d make a mess of the place… you were so cute.”

“Yeah…” Branch said, looking off to the side. He was clearly quite a bit surprised, hearing someone talk about him through their sole memories of him being a baby. “It’s… been a long time since then, though.”

“I know, I know,” Shimmer assured quickly. “You’re all grown up now. And it makes me feel… very old.” She gave a laugh to shrug it off, but… it was true. Staring her in the face was the very sobering realization that it had been nearly two decades… Two decades since she had seen any of these people. And yet, somehow, despite Branch going from a baby to an adult…

…It felt like he had changed the least.

“Well- you don’t look very old,” Branch chirped. “Not to me.”

Shimmer looked back at him with a sort of sad smile, combing her hair out of her face.

“...You’re sweet, kid,” She mumbled. 

“No, really! You look Johnny’s age, and he’s not old, so… you’re not old either, right?” Branch grinned. He thought his logic was flawless, clearly. 

Shimmer snorted. “Is that how you see it?”

“Yup.”

Shimmer laughed, and decided to leave it at that. Branch’s peculiar little sense of humor did amuse her, to be sure. 

“So-” Shimmer asks after a bit of silence. “Do you mind if I ask you something, ah… a bit personal, kid?”

“Depends,” Branch said with a shrug. “What is it?”

“What was it like? Growing up here, I mean,” Shimmer asked.

Branch paused for a moment, to think about it. He looked up at the sky, down at the ground, every which way, except at her.

“Normal, I guess?” He shrugged. “We’re safe here, and I had my brothers. I don’t know what else a guy could want.”

Shimmer supposed she should have expected an answer like that. Of course Branch would see everything as deceptively normal. From the time she spent at the village, she didn’t exactly discover any blood sacrifices or chaos magic rituals happening behind closed doors or anything, and even though John and his brothers had morphed into slightly mythic figures, they weren’t referred to as His Holiness or anything. 

“Guess so,” Shimmer replied. “I was just… gone for so long, I’ve been curious, I suppose. About all the changes.”

“There aren’t that many,” Branch mumbled.

“No?”

“No.”

That’s what Branch’s mouth said. But his eyes told a different story. 

—---------------------- 

Shimmer sat down in Bruce’s pod, staring him down. 

His hand automatically moved to grab some matchmaker’s tarot cards when Shimmer lowered it before he could.

He glanced up at her, confused.

“Don’t,” She grunted. “I’m not here for that. I don’t even want to know.”  The sooner she could stop Bruce from doing the matchmaking thing, the better. There was a whole nest of hornets there- and whatever he said about her “potential prospects” would just remind her that a part of her never moved on from John Dory. 

“Then-” Bruce furrowed his brow, leaning back. “What are you here for?”

Shimmer gave him a surprised glance. “For you. Is that so hard to believe?”  

Bruce scoffed, leaning on one of his hands as he pressed his elbow onto the table. “Usually people come to the matchmaker’s pod because they want their match made, miss Shimmer. And yet, here you are, asking for me and not even wanting a match while you’re here! I think that makes you the strange one.”

Shimmer groaned. “Neither of us are strange, Bruce, don’t play this game with me-” 

Bruce laughed. “Oh, man- I did miss this. How is it that I’m always able to get under your skin?”

“I don’t know, you little devil-” Shimmer snorted. She cleared her throat, combing some hair out of her face. “But- that’s the only part that feels like it hasn’t changed, after all this time. What’s someone like you doing with a job like… this?”

Bruce frowned. “Are you trying to imply this isn’t a real job? The village won’t like that.”

Shimmer furrowed her brow, putting a hand up. “That’s not what I said. I mean- this job feels so prestigious. And everyone I asked about you immediately followed ‘Bruce’ up with ‘The matchmaker’. Doesn’t that… bother you at all?”

“Would it really matter if it did?” Bruce said with a shrug. 

“I mean-!” Shimmer gave an exasperated sigh. “I… I just want to understand. Everyone here is used to this, used to you all being leaders, I was just…” She shrugged. “I guess I was just hoping an old friend might be able to help me stop sticking out like a sore thumb.”

Bruce frowned, studying Shimmer’s face and body language. She seemed to be sincere, though her pride clearly held her back from just straight-up begging. And he did feel quite a bit bad for her… it was true that Bruce and Shimmer had been pretty close back when he was Spruce, and back when Shimmer was “JD’s girl”. They got on each others’ nerves endlessly, but that was almost part of the charm.

…He could use something like that again, perhaps. Nowadays, the only teasing he could get away with was either to Baby Branch or doing something so subtle to JD and Floyd that most other people shouldn’t be able to notice. 

“...Being a matchmaker is fine,” Bruce began to speak. “I’m rarely ever wrong, I’ll have you know. People trust me, and I like that. It feels… good to be trusted, I guess.”

He took out a tarot card from his deck, studying it. “I mean- I’m trusted for manners of romance, friendship, intimacy… But nobody is puttin’ pressure onto me to be a leader. In a way, I guess… I’ve got the best job in town.” 

“Still,” Shimmer said quietly. “I wouldn’t mind hanging out with Bruce-the-man instead of Bruce-the-matchmaker. If you can bear taking some time off your busy schedule.”

Bruce tilted his head noncommittally. “I’ll think about it. Gotta keep up appearances, y’know. That’s a big part of everything.” 

“I guess,” Shimmer half heartedly agreed. “Not that I’d know.”

“It’s good that you don’t,” Bruce replied, an oddly soft tone in his voice. So soft that Shimmer dare not toe the line and ask him to elaborate on that. Her absence of a question, though, left the two of them sitting in the candlelit room in silence.

“...So what’s the story behind the new name?” Shimmer asked to break it.

“Eh,” Bruce waved a hand casually. “I wanted a reinvention.”

Shimmer paused, mulling that over. “It suits you,” She said, finally. 

“Thanks,” Bruce smirked. He held up a hand, tilting it towards her. Between his fingers was a tarot card.

“Hey! I thought I told you not to do the matchmaking thing!” Shimmer protested with a frown.

“Relax, miss Shimmer,” Bruce replied coyly. “This one’s just about your social standing.” 

She took the card from him, studying it- oh. It was The Star.

“It means renewal,” Bruce said simply.

—--------------------------

“Morning, Floyd. I’d apologize for interrupting but I feel like that ship’s sailed already,” Shimmer grunted, going to sit on a mat near where Floyd was meditating.

He cracked an eye open, glancing over at her. “...Shimmer,” He said with a simple nod.  

She began stretching her legs, grunting every so often- this type of stuff didn’t come as easy to her as she wanted it to. 

“...Why did you come back?” Floyd asked bluntly. That made Shimmer stop in her tracks, glancing over at the younger troll with a befuddled look on her face.

Floyd put his hands up in a gesture of false surrender. “I don’t mean it like that! Don’t misunderstand! It’s just… one doesn’t just wander back into a place like this without reason.”

“Well- it’s home,” Shimmer admitted, bending down to touch her toes. “I was feeling… disoriented. Like I had lost myself. I didn’t know where else to go, so… I came back home.”

“Yeah, sure, but… you said it yourself. This place has changed. So, I guess, a better question would be… what made you stay?” Floyd asked as he bent himself into a different position. His tone was casual and calm, but there was a certain hunger in his eyes that let Shimmer know that he was very invested in this line of conversation. 

Shimmer’s mouth went dry. That… that was a good question. Especially since Floyd was playing a bit of a dangerous game, where she would make a major social faux pas if she wasn’t careful- Floyd was implying that someone coming to the village and staying there was strange. Of course, it was a perfectly safe place, but Shimmer knew she and Floyd both could feel the gated-community vibe of the village where nobody ever comes in and nobody ever comes out. She counted herself damn lucky that they even let her in at all. 

“...I suppose I’d say- it’s because some part of this place didn’t change,” Shimmer mumbled. 

“Really?” Floyd asked, stretching one of his legs to the sky.

“Really. That’s what keeps me here… I think. It’s all very confusing, this new village stuff, but when I look at all my old friends here… I guess I can’t help but see the boys I used to know,” Shimmer bashfully said as if she was admitting a crime. 

“So you really believe that…” Floyd said quietly. “And- is it the same with me?”

“Sure it is,” Shimmer said, rolling over to be on her stomach as she grabbed one of her legs. “You were always the one who sat in the back, weren’t you? Just… watching. Soaking it all in. I still see a lot of that in you today. With Branch and Bruce, too, the more I talk to them, the more I realize there’s still parts of you I’ve met before.”

She sighed. “Stupid, I know.” 

“No, I don’t think it’s stupid at all…” Floyd replied. “I… I think it’s kinda nice, actually.” 

He smiled, looking up at the roof of the large cave they called home. He let the moment sit for a bit.

“Sometimes… I don’t really feel like that boy anymore. I don’t feel like I was ever him at all. It’s… confusing, I guess,” Floyd said at last.

“Ugh, tell me about it-” Shimmer grunted, stretching out another one of her joints. “I was looking at an old poster of myself yesterday, and it was like- who WAS she?” 

Floyd gave a gentle little laugh. “I guess we’re more alike than we thought, then. It’s… nice.”

“I don’t get to talk to people much about this stuff,” Floyd continued. “Me, Johnny and the others try to be strong… for the village. So- it just… doesn’t come up.”

Shimmer gave him a nervous glance. “I’m not stepping over a line, am I? You’d tell me if I broke some sort of village rule. You would. Right?”

“Calm down,” Floyd squeaked desperately. “You’re fine.” 

Shimmer sighed. “Sorry… sorry. It’s just-”

“A lot, yeah,” Floyd finished. “That’s the village for you.”

—-------------------------

Shimmer was never sure if it was her place to mourn Clay or not. She had known him once, but at the same time, that was a long time ago. Was it illogical that she felt like she didn’t deserve to mourn him like his brothers did? Maybe. But she couldn’t change how she felt.

Still, that wouldn’t stop her from leaving some lily-of-the-valleys near his memorial spot every now and again. 

“Sorry I missed you, Clay,” She murmured. “I would have liked to have gotten to know who you grew into.”

—---------------

Shimmer wasn’t looking forward to this. She wasn’t looking forward to any of this. In fact, she had taken extreme, deliberate steps to avoid this from happening.

But what she hadn’t accounted for was bumping into John Dory on his stupid shitty morning walk, DAMMIT- 

He dusted himself off, clearly taking on a facial expression that was preparing for an apology, only for him to realize exactly who it was he had bumped into. Right- the troll he hadn’t talked to since he initially told the village to let her in.

Oh, yeah.

Also, his ex. 

“...Shimmer,” He was the first one to cut through the silence as he looked up at her, adjusting his scarf. “You look… well.”

Shimmer scoffed, looking away. “You and I both know that’s a gross exaggeration.”

John frowned as she looked away. That caught her eye. She coughed, immediately trying to steer the ship of a conversation back on topic. Much as this was her old flame… this guy was also someone she clearly didn’t want to get on the bad side of. Best not to get… too testy.

“But- other than looking like I rolled out of bed basically every day, I’ve been-” She sighed. “Fine. How about… you? How- uh- how have you been?” 

John Dory blinked once or twice, not expecting her to turn the question back on him. “Me? Oh, yes, I’ve been great, as usual. Never a bad day here in the village. Heh. You haven’t… been having any trouble, have you? I know the villagers can get a bit testy with… ‘new’ people.”

Shimmer shook her head no, folding her arms. “No, it’s been fine. Just… just fine.”

“Good… and you’ve been behaving too… right?” He said- although his tone was light as a feather, he knew the underlying meaning in what he said- here was a girl he had been close with before she disappeared- She could drag him back down to feeling mortality, be so casual with him in a way he hadn’t felt from anyone besides his brothers in years- and if she wanted to disprove his lie, he’d have to put whatever feelings he still had for her aside. For the sake of the village.

“You think so low of me, John,” Shimmer scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Yes, I’ve been behaving. I’m a guest here- guests follow the host’s policies, and they’re thankful. That’s how I was raised.”

“Good!” JD chirped. “I wasn’t too worried about that,” He lied. It slipped naturally off his tongue as smooth as butter. 

Shimmer paused, looking him up and down some more. He looked at her looking at him, waiting to see her reaction and cautiously preparing for it.

“...It’s a bit of a different look for you, I’ll admit, but… I don’t hate it,” Shimmer spoke with a shrug. “The red looks nice.”

John laughed, flicking an earring. “Ahhh- thank you. It does, doesn’t it? I’ll admit, your look was a bit surprising, too. You’ve really changed, I almost didn’t-”

He paused, not wanting to finish the sentence… but Shimmer knew what he was going to say.

I almost didn’t recognize you. 

She knew that’s what he wanted to say, because she thought it when she first saw him.

Jeez, what were they? They used to be a teen hot couple, the poster boy and poster girl for puppy-love… But here she was, a disgraced pop troll who couldn’t sing… and there he was. The hero and saviour of an entire village. 

It was more obvious to her now than it was to her than that him even noticing her at all was… nothing but a stroke of luck. A fluke. There he was, brilliant, important, in control… And then there was her. A total mess. A flop. She felt like an intruder in the village, and now, being face-to-face with JD only made things worse. In every other brother, she saw that past part of them she once knew, but with John, she felt like she was only reminded of her own insecurities, her own failings. 

She swerved past him, eyes firmly trained onto the ground.

“I’ll get out of your way, John,” She mumbled half-heartedly, trying to just put a miserable end to the conversation and stop her mind from attacking herself so loudly. But as soon as she started walking, she found herself unable to keep going. Locked around her arm was none other than JD’s hand. She glanced back, looking at him in confusion.

“Wait,” He started. “...Come over to my pod sometime. You, ah, need to update me more on how you’re settling in. Yes. As the village leader… it’s part of my responsibilities, y’know? So- don’t leave me hanging.”

Shimmer’s breath caught in her throat. She hated the idea of seeing him more, and yet, the fact that he had requested her presence specifically… It made her heart skip a beat. 

“...Sure, yes,” She replied quietly.

She expected John to let her go at this point, but he kinda just kept staring at her in silence for a while. Somehow, she found herself staring back.

“...I’ve missed you,” He confessed with a breathy whisper. 

Shimmer tried to muster back a reply, but words failed her. She tried again, and again-

“I didn’t even think that was possible,” She finally said back.