#cue distressed noises

[kaijutegu]

Alligator Body Language and You, or: How To Know When An Alligator On Social Media is Being Stressed for Views

Alligators are wild animals. Despite the idiotic claims of animal abusers like Jay Brewer, they cannot be domesticated, which means they are always going to react on the same natural instincts they've had for millions of years. Habituated, yes. Tamed, yes. Trained, definitely. Crocodilians can form bonds with people- they're social and quite intelligent. They can solve problems, use tools, and they're actually quite playful. Alligators are also really good at communicating how they're feeling, but to somebody who doesn't spend much time around them, their body language can be a bit mystifying. And it doesn't help when social media influencers are saying shit like this:

That is not what a happy gator looks like.

That's a terrified, furious gator who isn't attacking because the ogre handling her has her in a chokehold. She's doing everything she can to express her displeasure, and he's lying about it because he knows his audience doesn't even know how to think critically about what he's doing. He knows that because his audience doesn't know anything about these animals, he can get away with it. This I think is why I hate him so much- he deliberately miseducates his audience. He knows what he's doing is factually inaccurate, he just doesn't care because attention means more to him than anything else in the world.

Let's change that! Here are two really important lessons for understanding alligator body language on social media.

Lesson 1: Alligators Don't Smile (in fact, most animals don't)

So what's going on in this video? Jay Brewer is aggressively choking his white alligator Coconut while scrubbing algae off of her with a toothbrush. And make no mistake, he is digging into the creature's throat while she is visibly distressed. He claims she's happy- but she's not. He is willfully misrepresenting what this animal is feeling. That's a problem, because people... well, we actually kind of suck at reading other species' body language. The reason for this is that we tend to overlay our own responses on their physical cues, and that's a problem. For example, let's look at an animal with a really similar face to ours, the chimpanzee. Check out Ama's toothy grin!

Wait, no. That's not a happy smile. That's a threat display. When a chimpanzee "smiles," it's either terrified and doing a fear grimace, or it's showing you its teeth because it intends on using them in your face.

How about a dog? Look at my smiling, happy puppy!

Oh wait no, this is a picture of Ryder when he was super overwhelmed by noise and people during a holiday party. He'd hopped up in my sister's lap to get away from stuff that was happening on the floor and was panting quite heavily. See the tension in the corners of his mouth and his eyes? A lot of the time when a dog "smiles," the smile isn't happy. It's stress! Why Animals Do The Thing has a nice writeup about that, but the point is, our body language is not the same as other species. And for reptiles, body language is wildly different.

For instance, look at these two alligators. Pretty cute, right? Look at 'em, they're posing for a Christmas card or something! How do you think they're feeling?

Well, I'll tell you how the normal one is feeling. He's annoyed! Why is he annoyed? Because the albino just rolled up, pushed another gator off the platform, and is trying to push this guy, too. I know this because I actually saw it happen. It was pretty funny, not gonna lie. He's not gaping all the way, but he was hissing- you can actually see him getting annoyed in the sequence I took right before this shot. Look at him in this first shot here- he's just relaxing, and you can see he isn't gaping even a little bit.

By the end, he's expressing displeasure, but not enough to actually do anything about it. He's annoyed, but he's comfy and that's where one of the best basking areas is, so he'll put up with it.

Reptiles open their mouths wide for a lot of reasons, but never because they are actively enjoying a sensation. Unless they're eating. No reptile smiles- they can't. They don't even have moveable lips. If a reptile is gaping, it's doing so because:

It is doing a threat display.

It is making certain vocalizations, all of which are threats. Alligators are one of the rare reptiles that do regularly vocalize, but most of their calls aren't made with a wide open mouth.

It is about to bite something delicious or somebody stupid. Check out this video- virtually all of the gaping here is anticipatory because these trained gators know darn well that the bowl is full of delicious snacks. (I have some issues with Florida's Wildest, but the man knows how to train a gator AND he is honest about explaining what they're doing and why, and all of his animals are healthy and well-cared for, and he doesn't put the public or his staff at risk- just himself.)

It's too hot and it has opened its mouth to vent some of that heat and thermoregulate. This is the main reason why alligators will often have their mouths part of the way open, but sometimes they'll open all the way for thermoregulation. This is what a thermoregulatory gape looks like- usually it's not all the way open, kinda more like < rather than V, but you can't say that 100% of the time. Additionally, a thermoregulatory gape... typically happens when it's hot out. If they're inside, maybe they've been under their basking light for too long. Heat's the dominant factor, is what I'm getting at.

There is another reason that a captive crocodilian might be gaping, and that's because it's doing so on command. Some places have their gators trained to gape on cue, like St. Augustine Alligator Farm and other good zoos. They have the animals do this in presentations that are genuinely educational. They ask the animals to open their mouths so that they can show off their teeth and demonstrate how their tongues seal off the back of their mouth. They'll also do it as part of routine healthcare, because looking at their teeth is important.

In this case, the animals aren't gaping because they're stressed, they're gaping because they know they're gonna get a piece of chicken or fish if they do it. And what's more, they're doing it on cue. They have a specific command or signal that tells them to open wide. It's not an instinctive response to a situation. It's trained. If the animal provides the behavior after a cue, the situation is much less likely to be negatively impactful.

It's also important to remember that there's a difference between a partially open mouth and a gape! As discussed above, alligators will often have their mouths a little bit open just to maintain temperature homeostasis. It helps them stay comfy, temperature-wise. These guys are all doing thermoregulatory open-mouthed behavior- that slight open and relaxed body posture is a dead giveaway. (That and it's the hottest spot in the enclosure.)

Lesson 2: A Happy Gator Is A Chill Gator

So if alligators don't smile or have facial expressions other than the :V that typically signifies distress, how else can you tell how they're feeling? One way is stillness. See, alligators subscribe to the philosophy of if it sucks... hit da bricks.

Basically, if they hate it, they'll leave. Unless, y'know, somebody has their meaty claws digging into their throat or is otherwise restraining them. (Restraint isn't always bad, btw. Sometimes the animal is going through a medical thing or needs to be restrained for their safety- which a responsible educator will explain.)

Let's look at a very similar scenario, in which a captive alligator is getting his back scrubbed.

As you can see, it's quite different. First, he's not being restrained at all. Second, look at how relaxed he is! He's just chilling there vibing! He could simply get up and leave if he wanted to, because he's not being held. Towards the end of the video, as he lifts his head, you can see that his respiratory rate is very even as his throat flutters a bit. I'm not sure what this facility is, so I can't comment on care/general ethics, but like. In this specific case, this is an alligator enjoying being scrubbed! And you can tell because he's not doing anything. A happy gator is content to be doing what they're doing.

Why Should I Listen To You?

Now, you should ask yourself, why should you listen to me? Why should you trust me, who does not own an alligator, versus Jay Brewer, who owns several?

Well, first off, there's no profit for me in telling you that what you're seeing on social media is in fact not what you're being told you're seeing. I'm not getting paid to do this. That's the thing with people who make social media content. The big names aren't doing it just for fun. They're doing it for money. Whether that's profit through partnerships or sponsorships, or getting more people to visit their facilities, or ad revenue, you can't ignore the factor of money. And this is NOT a bad thing, because it allows educators to do what they're passionate about! People deserve to be paid for the work that they do!

But the problem starts when you chase the algorithm instead of actually educating. A "smiling" alligator gets the views, and if people don't know enough to know better, it keeps getting the views. People love unconventional animal stories and they want those animals to be happy- but the inability to even know where to start with critically evaluating these posts really hinders the ability to spread real information. Like, this post will probably get a couple hundred notes, but that video of Coconut being scrubbed had almost 400,000 likes when I took that screenshot. Think about how many eyeballs that's reached by now. What I'm saying here is that it's just... really important to think critically about who you're getting your information from. What do dissenters say in the comments? What do other professionals say? You won't find a single herpetologist that has anything good to say about Prehistoric Pets, I can tell you that right now.

Another reason you can trust me is that my sources are not "just trust me bro," or "years of experience pretending my pet shop where animals come to die is a real zoo." Instead, here are my primary sources for my information on alligator behavior:

Dragon Songs: Love and Adventure among Crocodiles, Alligators, and Other Dinosaur Relations- Vladimir Dinets

The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles- J. Sean Doody, Vladimir Dinets, Gordon M. Burghardt

Social Behavior Deficiencies in Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)- Z Walsh, H Olson, M Clendening, A Rycyk

Social Displays of the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)- Kent Vliet

Social Signals and Behaviors of Adult Alligators and Crocodiles- Leslie Garrick, Jeffery Lang

Never smile at a crocodile: Gaping behaviour in the Nile crocodile at Ndumo Game Reserve, South Africa- Cormac Price, Mohamed Ezat, Céline Hanzen, Colleen Downs (this one's Nile crocs, not American alligators, but it's really useful for modeling an understanding of gape behaviors and proximity)

Thermoregulatory Behavior of Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)- Cheryl S. Asa, Gary D. London, Ronald R. Goellner, Norman Haskell, Glenn Roberts, Crispen Wilson

Unprovoked Mouth Gaping Behavior in Extant Crocodylia- Noah J. Carl, Heather A. Stewart, Jenny S. Paul

Thank you for reading! Here's a very happy wild alligator from Sanibel for your trouble.

[jeonitopia]

BABY TIME

🪐 bts x f! pregnant! reader (separate)

🪐 headcanons // fluff+angst

☆ warnings: none except maybe no beta read !

a/n: potential part 2 for when the baby is born? depends on if people like this.. also just short hcs bcuz well.. i overdid myself and did all 7 in one post... sigh (i made tis longer than it was supposed to be wtf)

☆KIM SEOKJIN

"Aishh! you already had chocolate earlier!"

constantly watching your diet, making sure all your vitamin and certain intakes are proper

"Jin I'm craving ramyeon with milk mixed in.." "WHAT"

catching him ask his mom what she needed and what she wouldve done if she got pregnant again (he has no shame)

he's an absolute prince in your child's eyes

when he has to leave, he calls you at least every 2 hours and if he can't, he messages you!! (asking for pics of you and the baby)

in love with role-playing with the child, wether it be king and princess, or knights and bandits (you're the damsel in distress)

☆ | 🪐 | ☆

☆MIN YOONGI

honestly, he was terrified of being a father because of his experience with his own father

once he realized the whole weight of the situation, he understood that he WILL be a good (and supportive) father because you are with him

learning that your child also has a thing for music

absolutely bringing your baby to the studio and letting him have his own crib next to his producing set-up

has noise cancelling headphones for the baby if he has to record something or when he's going to fully focus on producing

(of course has the volume on his headphones a medium volume so he can hear if the baby wakes up)

made a joke about how in daechwita, you'd be his empress and the baby is the heir

cue him posting a photo of the three of you in traditional hanbok (yoongi in daechwita outfit, without the long hair because baby will be upset)

☆ | 🪐 | ☆

☆JUNG HOSEOK

always taking photos of your progress

"look here!"

he always tries to keep you active

massages all day everydayyy

you got him to chill with the dance practices so that he both doesnt overwork himself AND you get to spend more time with him

absolutely doing the silliest things to entertain the baby

it's obvious who the favorite is 😐

showing dance moves to the baby and doing silly faces

has a picture of the three of you in hope world, he loves staring at it and just being grateful for his family

he's j-hope, you're bae-hope, baby is mini/baby-hope

☆ | 🪐 | ☆

☆KIM NAMJOON

songs containing references and metaphors that relate to you and the baby (not that he DIDNT do this before)

maybe even a whole mini-album dedicated to your journey into parenthood, each song created throughout your progress till your due date

he did his thorough research on pregnancy and things related to it and constantly gives you advice

when the baby is old enough for long distance rides, family trips are a common thing

loves cradling the baby and blabbering about an art piece they're standing in front of

you're so in love? help???

he has 3 lil plants, the 3rd plant being a new sprout that he likes to say is the baby (it sprouted the day the baby was born?? omg???)

☆ | 🪐 | ☆

☆PARK JIMIN

you became an absolute princess the moment he found out you were pregnant

wonders if the baby would grow up to have the same fingers as his papa mochi

already planning to convince the baby to try a martial art or a type of dancing so he and his papa can have multiple ways of bonding

dropping hints about the baby mochi on some of his lives

one time he asked if he can try your breastmilk

😐😑😐

teasing him about how when the baby holds his fingers, they look the same

☆ | 🪐 | ☆

☆KIM TAEHYUNG

honestly you'd have around 2-3 kids

but this is your first one, taehyung is honestly nervous

absolutely SURE he wants to be a father but more worried on if he'd be a good one

at this point, he'd also be another baby

"Ack, my feet hurt quite a bit.." "AREYOUALRIGHT?DOYOUNEEDTOGOTOTHEHOSPITAL??ILLCALLDOCTORPARK"

you personally think he might be the one more stressed even when he isnt the one carrying the baby

2nd questioner of wifey's breast milk taste

yeontan and the baby being bestfriends

yeontan has super instincts and starts going wild when he feels the baby is about to start crying

☆ | 🪐 | ☆

☆JEON JUNGKOOK

he watched the movie Up with taehyung and they googled why the old couple had a miscarriage, he learned it was from lead exposure

so now he keeps you away from drying walls and dusty areas and even has a small baggy filled with masks and cleansing tissue

he calls it "baby protection protocal"

surprisingly very calm and responsible! (hes trying to win your trust so that he can spoil your child rotten)

absolutely DROPS the fact that he is having a child and dragged you into the view of the live

3rd questioner of wifey's breast milk taste

baby plays with daddy's lip ring because he finds it really cool

baby also thinks daddy's sleeve tattoo is cool and always wants to slobber his saliva on it

baby wants to ride on bam's back??? 😭😭😭😭

[iinsertblognamee]

mama's little diva

summary ― it's finally time to play against Iran in Perth, but a certain someone has other plans

pairing ― sam kerr x reader

warning/s ― fluff

based off this request

You looked distressed as Sam tried grabbing the toddler who was throwing a tantrum on the floor in front of the two of you. Her earmuffs were long forgotten on the floor next to your feet. 

It was way past her bedtime and her whole routine had been messed up since arriving back to your wife’s hometown. 

You shook your head a little as you continued to watch Sam try to wrestle your daughter who wasn’t giving either of you the light of day. A sigh left your lips as you looked at the time on your phone. 

“Sam, just go out there”. 

“She’s crying, babe”. 

“That’s what kids do Sam! You can’t just delay the game because she’s crying, she needs to learn”. 

You watched as a pout took over your wife’s face, one you saw on your daughter's face too often. This was slowly becoming a normal occurrence in your household, Sam having an extra soft spot for your daughter. She was a great mum, the best but in moments like these, you just wished Sam wouldn’t be so easy on her. It made it a million times harder for you when Sam wasn’t around to defuse the situation and you were left with a screaming child. 

You knew she was still young and was learning how to use her emotions, and most times she was great - but right now you were ready to rip your hair out. 

“Ju-just let me take her for a second or two” she tries again, your patience wearing thin. You could see the security guard who was meant to take Sam to the tunnel was getting weary, and you sent him a small apologetic smile. 

“Y/N-” Sam starts but the security guard mentions that she needs to leave now to be able to play. You watched as Sam tried to grab your little one again, despite the disapproving looks you were giving the back of her head as your daughter raised her arms up on cue to let Sam take her into her arms. 

“She’s a diva just like her mama” You called out as you watched Sam turn around and give you a small wink before walking out towards the tunnel where her teammates were waiting for her. 

You hear the crowd go wild as Sam walks out on the field, your daughter in her arms as the screams get unbelievably loud. You couldn’t help but feel pride welling up in your chest. The noise startled your daughter for a few seconds, her head pushing into Sam’s neck as you watched Sam plant a kiss on the top of her head - rubbing her back to give her some sort of moral support. 

You watched from afar, teammates of your wife coming over to Sam and your daughter - which both of them thrived for. Despite the annoyance you felt towards Sam at this present moment you couldn't help but pull out your phone and snap some shots of your two girls mucking around. Smilies on both their faces. 

You could see the flashes going off around the stadium, fans screaming for Sam to come over. Your daughter - now found her confidence was now kicking the ball between Caitlin Foord and Haley Raso as some of the other girls nearby cheer her on. 

Both you and Sam watching with pride. 

Eventually, you were handed back your daughter, the two of you getting seated in the friends and family section. The game went on, both of you alongside the rest of the crowd cheering when Ellie and your wife scored their goals. 

It didn’t take long when the girls were making rounds for Sam to make her way towards the pair of you, a smile on her face as your daughter started jumping up and down for her mama to take her. Sam lifted her out of your arms and onto the other side of the barrier, the second her legs touched the grass she was off running towards any of the other girls. 

“Be careful baby!” you call out as you watch her slam into Mackenize’s legs, bringing her arms up to indicate she wanted to be carried - which Macca did. 

Your focus moved off your daughter and onto the smirk on Sam’s face - shaking your head as you attempted to step away. 

“No way” 

“Come on love, you know I can do it” 

“Sam no!” 

Her hands were already moving to your hips, as you grasped onto her shoulders. She lifts you over almost as if it were nothing, placing a kiss on your lips. “See” 

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes at the cocky grin planted on her face.

“Hi there” she mumbles onto your lips, the crowd calling for her attention but she doesn’t pay attention to it. 

“Good goal out there baby” 

“Had to put on a show for my beautiful wife and daughter” 

The conversation closed up shortly after that, Sam making her way back to the crowd as she went off and signed anything and everything for the fans. You couldn’t help but admire it all - having been to many games before, it was amazing to finally see the girls getting the recognition they deserved. 

And as you stood there, watching it unfold with ‘Kerr’ written on your back you knew there was nowhere else you would want to be.

[kiame-sama]

Night and Day- (Yandere!Chrollo x Autistic!Reader) Pt. 4

Warnings; yandere behavior, yandere relationship, soul-mate AU, represented autism based off of my own autism, slight infantilism, people are jerks, any negative comment said towards MC has been said to me or about me, social settings are difficult, adult themes, sensory issues,

~~~~~~~~

Waking up secure and safe in your soulmate's arms was a rather pleasant experience that you had begun to grow accustomed to. The feeling of his warm body intertwined with your own was a constant and comforting reminder that Chrollo was with you. He had warned you once that he may not always be present when you awoke after a night's rest, but you had yet to ever wake up without him by your side.

More often than not, Chrollo was already awake by the time you woke, so it surprised you to not hear his relaxed greeting upon realizing you were stirring. A quick glance at his face gave you the impression that he was sleeping but you knew better than to make any assumptions off of the way he appeared. If Chrollo had taught you anything, it was that he was very good at acting the part he desired to play.

This is why it came at even more of a surprise to you when you realized he was actually asleep. You had somehow woken up without accidentally waking Chrollo and finally got a look at him while he slept. He seemed similar to how he usually did when he was awake, impassive and calm in every way without a single thing disturbing his peaceful rest. The only difference you could see was how Chrollo seemed to be free from the thoughts that constantly fought for attention in his mind.

He looked so peaceful that you couldn't help but kiss his forehead, smiling to yourself due to how relaxed he seemed. You knew he was awake when the corners of his mouth quirked upwards into a slight smile, likely woken by your gentle kiss. Chrollo slowly reached an arm out and hooked it around you, pulling you close to his chest and cuddling you much like someone would cuddle a stuffed animal.

"You're up early."

"Mmm, no. You're up late."

"What time is it?"

"Almost midday."

He slowly opened one eye, glancing to the clock on the bedside table with a relaxed hum. The slightest of smirks played on his lips as he closed his eye again and snuggled deeper into the blankets. A soft chuckle escaped him as he seemed to bask in the simple joy of laying in bed.

"You have changed me for the better. Do you know that?"

"How?"

"I have slept soundly by your side since you came into my life. Truly, I have likely slept more recently than I have in the entirety of my life. You bring me such peace that I can finally sleep."

A warmth filled your body at his words and you quickly hid your face, feeling happy from his murmured affection. Part of you wondered why his praise meant so much to you because there was still the fact that he had technically kidnapped you. But it truly made you happy to hear his praise despite how the two of you met.

"I doubt I would be able to sleep this well on my own. But for now, just a little longer, okay?"

~~~~~~~~

"For how long?"

Your voice had a noticeable tone of anxiety to it as you nervously picked at your nails. Finding the slightest ridge and dip in your nails and worrying absently at it until it hurt before moving on to the next thing that caught your vague attention. It was one of those visual cues that indicated you were becoming antsy and distressed.

The low hum of voices and airships had you on constant alert. The older couple nearby whispering and casting odd glances towards you and Chrollo. Somewhere a child began to have a tantrum and cry loudly, making you flinch in response to the noise.

The skyport was busy with people boarding and departing from the airships. Truly, the chaos and sound not only distracted you, but made you feel overwhelmed despite being right by Chrollo's side. You were less than comfortable and even more so when Chrollo told you where you both were going.

"Until what they need is resolved. Don't worry, Love, I won't let anything happen to you."

"It's not me I'm worried about..."

The slight surprise in his expression was fleeting as he took in your concerned frown. He knew you would be hesitant with the presented ordeal, but he also knew you were in zero danger where the two of you were headed. Any danger present would be to him and him alone as the family of killers had no real quarrel with you.

"You don't have to worry for my sake, Firefly."

The new name managed to distract you just like Chrollo hoped it would, watching you slightly cock your head to the side in response. He had plenty of endearing names he thought of for you, but none seemed to stick as well as the one he chose. A beacon of light and kindness kept safe and protected in the monstrous phantom spider's grasp. To him, there was no need for you to ever have to fight or worry, you could stay safe in his grasp and he would keep the harshness of the world at bay.

~~~~~~~~

Chrollo watched you tap a pattern on your leg, looking outside the nearest window with an unblinking stare. You had been fixated on the outside since you learned just what the occupants did for work.

The Zoldyck family did not reach out for assistance often, so when they contacted Chrollo, he was interested enough to answer. An ever reclusive group that lived secluded on a mountain filled with monstrously powerful people who did not like outsiders. Of course, there was one big thing the Zoldyck family was known for and that was for being top-tier assassins.

Chrollo felt it prudent to tell you just what the family infamously did before encountering them face to face. Since then, you had withdrawn to a nearby window of the staff-house that sat in the valley shadowed by the mountains. It was likely a new experience for you to meet a family of assassins, seeing as the troupe was your first real encounter with bonafide thieves.

You warily watched doors nearby open as several men entered the room. Three of them seemed to be family members, as they were not in suits like the butlers, and you were slightly relieved when they didn't even glance in your direction. They wasted no time in getting into the details of their conversation, immediately talking about Nen and what they needed from Chrollo.

One of the men seemed to be the youngest of the group; an intimidating wall of muscles and cool demeanor. The eldest of the group didn't seem very interested in the conversation being had, instead having a cup of tea and some kind of small tart snack. The third seemed to be somewhere between the other two in age and clearly held himself with confidence despite the powerful company he was keeping.

A soft coughing sound drew your attention back to the eldest man as he seemed to be having some kind of a quiet fit. When the others didn't react, you wondered if it was a normal occurrence but still felt a certain level of concern. The others did not respond to the distress the eldest seemed to be in and it only put you more on edge.

His continued gentle coughs were quiet now, and the lack of sound distressed you as much as the presence of the sound. Your eyes flicked over to the elder and you stared for a long moment. There was no rise and fall to his body and it became clear the man was not breathing.

Your body acted before you did, as if you weren't in full control of yourself anymore. The impact of your hand on his back caused a cascade of reactions. The men standing on guard around you turned on you and began to restrain your movements. Each hand felt as if it burned your skin and you began to writhe in an effort to escape.

As you struggled you heard the elder take in a rasping breath following the forceful ejection of the food in his throat. He quickly gave some kind of signal to tell the men to back off, releasing you from their grasp despite their clear hesitance. Now the attention of everyone in the room was on you and the eldest man, clearly making you more distressed now that so many eyes were staring at you.

"I apologize for my boldness, Sir, but she clearly just attacked you-"

"She did not. If anything, she acted to help me. Though it burns to admit, I did not expect to begin choking and certainly didn't expect to have no one notice. Had she ignored my distress the way the rest of you had, I likely wouldn't be living anymore."

The man let out a clear displeased snort, as if mocking himself.

"A Zoldyck choking to death on food? What a dishonorable way to die."

He turned his wizened gaze to you and you felt surprisingly small under his watchful eyes despite the fact he was tiny in comparison to anyone else in the room. The fact that others were staring at you made your skin warm and begin to itch, as if you were having an allergic reaction to their gaze. Chrollo clearly noticed your distress and stood, ignoring the displeased look from the elder you stood near as he approached and wrapped one arm around you, letting you hide your face against his chest.

"Care to explain your casual, rude interruption? I wish to speak with the woman directly."

"That won't be happening."

"Explain yourself, Lucilfer."

"You see, she and I are inexplicably intertwined- soul-mates, if you will- and she does not deal well with being touched or stared at. If anything, she only accepts my touch without becoming distressed."

Where it vaguely frustrated you to have someone speak for you when you could speak for yourself, you were content to keep your face hidden and bask in the vague sense of security if gave you. Even though you knew they could still see you, something about hiding your face made you feel safe. The sense of comfort was only heightened by the fact it was Chrollo you were with.

"Anything you say to her, can be said to me as well."

There was a huff of annoyance- likely the eldest of the group- before he relented, speaking to you despite how you tried your best to hide from view.

"You deserve a reward of some kind. A Zoldyck always repays their debts."

A muffled sound came from you and you pulled back ever so slightly to repeat yourself, clearer this time.

"No thanks. Don't want."

After your quick words you returned to hiding your face against Chrollo's chest, trying desperately to just disappear from the many pairs of eyes watching you. It was obvious- to those watching at least- that you were very uncomfortable with being looked at and you just wanted to be left alone. Chrollo was more of the mindset that the Zoldyck owed you quite a bit given your actions, but he wasn't going to push you to accept whatever gift or payment the elder had in mind.

"(Y/n), are you sure-"

"Yup. Nope. I'm good. Thanks, no. Don't need. Don't want."

Chrollo chuckled softly, holding you close and gently rubbing your back in a slight attempt to soothe you. Given how you seemed quite stressed with the situation, Chrollo was content to let you hide and try to remove any focus from yourself. You seemed to relax significantly as he slowly caressed your back, still refusing to look up from where you hid.

"I guess that's that."

~~~~~~~~

You sat next to the young child who was silently showing you the origami they had made, each piece delicately crafted and put into clean figures of various paper crafts. Chrollo had gone to the adjacent room to speak to the masters of the house when the child approached you with a stack of origami paper in hand.

They wore a simple satin kimono and their hair was cut in a bob with bangs covering their forehead. The child seemed content to sit in silence and fold the paper, pausing every now and again as you followed their example and folded your own origami with them. Something about the silent kid was calming and they seemed pleased whenever you both finished a different piece.

Eventually, you didn't have to keep an eye on their motions before you were able to make the folds on your own. After some time, it seemed as if the child were truly appreciative of your presence and your efforts to partake in the origami. You were quite entranced as well and hadn't even noticed the fact that you both were being watched as you two communicated silently with each other.

It was rare you became so entranced in an activity with someone that you lost awareness of the things around you, but you weren't complaining about having the company of your new young friend either. Something about the way you both seemed to communicate just fine without eye contact or speaking gave a certain level of credence to your ability to communicate in general. As you finished up the piece you had been working on, you finally took note of the curious looks you were receiving.

Chrollo and the same intimidating man with white hair stood silently observing your wordless interaction with the young child. You didn't know their name and you doubted they knew your name, yet the two of you got on surprisingly well despite the lack of spoken words between you. As soon as you two realized you were being watched, you both stopped what you were doing, returning the silent stares at your apparent audience.

"Let's go, (y/n)."

At Chrollo's beckon, you got up and gathered the few origami you made, giving the crane to the child instead of keeping it. The way the child reacted was as if they had not received a gift or something similar before and they almost seemed confused as to why you would give them one of the origami pieces. Without a single word, you followed your thief, waving to the child who waved back, the smallest of smiles pulling at their lips.

~~~~~~~~

"You seem to be enjoying it here more than I thought you would."

You glanced up at the casual words from Chrollo, tilting your head slightly in response. It was true you were meshing better with the group of assassins better than either of you had expected. Naturally, you thought you wouldn't even remotely get along with the assassins but you found yourself less and less stressed in the group of usual people.

"We've been here longer than I thought we would."

"I know. I had expected to move on by now, but the continued need for one of my nen abilities mean they still have need of my assistance. However, it is good to see you getting along and not in conflict with others."

"I don't try to cause problems..."

"And I never said you did. People take issue with you for things out of your control. It is interesting to see you among others who are a bit different like you. It's refreshing."

There was a certain level of anxiety that bubbled up inside of you as you talked with Chrollo about the unusual family. Part of you worried that Chrollo was displeased with how well you were getting along with the family. A more anxious and radical part of you worrying that he may leave you with the family. Despite how you knew the idea was ridiculous and unlikely, you felt compelled to ask.

"Are you mad I'm getting along with them?"

"Not at all, Love."

"... Are you going to leave me with them?"

"Darling, where is all of this coming from?"

"Are you?"

"No. I absolutely am not going to leave you here. (Y/n), I understand you can't help but worry about things, but I don't know how else to explain this to you. I have no interest in leaving your side or in letting you leave my side. You are my soulmate. You are mine. I don't care how broken or defective you think you are, you are stuck with me. I am happy you are getting along with them, but if they tried to take you or force you to go with them I would slaughter their entire family. Okay?"

"Okay..."

Chrollo nodded and sat on the bed, patting the space next to him expectantly as he stared at you. When you decided to join him, he let you lean against his side for comfort and wrapped one arm around you. His touch was comforting to you as you snuggled against his warm body and into his possesive hold.

"Guess I need to show much more possessive behavior over you. Otherwise how else should I keep you from worrying about these things?"

"Chrollo, you don't have to do that..."

"Clearly I do. That or fuck you boneless every day."

"Chrollo-!"

"Just joking, Love. Just joking."

"Liar."

"You know me too well."

[lassieposting]

Okay so I know "turians purr" is like. Old hat and basically accepted fanon at this point, because they are Space Kitty People, but.

I like the idea that it's not necessarily a direct translation to "this turian is happy".

Like a human smile, it's all wrapped up with other body language and can mean a dozen things - a smile can be sad, or uncomfortable, or pleased, or passive aggressive, or threatening.

ME1 Shepard is paying close attention to her new alien crewmembers, so she figures out fairly quickly that purring suggests satisfaction or contentment more than outright joy - he purrs when she tells him "Good shooting today, Vakarian," or when he's finished a good meal or when he's cleaning his rifle, which she knows he finds relaxing. She knows Nihlus made a purring noise when she gave a response he approved of.

ME2 Shepard finds out that turians also purr as comfort, similar to the human shhh. When she goes to the battery after Aratoht and feels her face crumple and bursts into tears because 300,000 innocent people are dead and she couldn't save them, he wraps his arms around her and rests his chin on her head and rumbles into her hair until she calms down. And it's not just to comfort others - she hears him purring when he's semi-conscious in the medbay after he takes a rocket to the jaw, and when she alerts Mordin he helpfully clarifies for her that she doesn't need to be alarmed - Garrus is hurt, and scared, and he's self-soothing. He also purrs when he's floundering trying to flirt with her in her cabin before the collector base, and her translator chip interprets it as nervous laughter.

Like. It's a social behaviour. It's evolved out of "I am content" in some ancient Palaveni animal into basic comfort ("you are expressing distressed body language, so I am demonstrating calm, contented body language to reassure you there is no threat here") in primitive turians and into a dozen multifaceted social cues in an advanced species with a complicated culture that calls for formality and politeness.

[fraqilove]

𝜗𝜚 ‧₊˚ ⊹— 𝓯𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰 . . 𝓼𝓸𝓵𝓪𝓬𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮 . .

yandere! boy x f!reader. sfw — comfort. mentions of stalking ﾉ mentions of breaking in ﾉ mentions of self harm ﾉ cuddles ﾉ mentions of violence ﾉ ૮꒰៸៸ "◞ ◟៸៸꒱ა

you had grown accustomed to the little knocks on your window, the faint tapping a familiar sound. the first time he'd climbed through the frame, you had nearly screamed, his sudden appearance startling you. but now, it was a nightly routine. he would climb through the window, his footsteps soft, his movements quiet, as if he was afraid of making any noise. once he reached the foot of your bed, he would wait. the wait wasn't long, a few seconds at most, the span of time just enough for you to get settled, sit up, and give him the cue to move forward.

he would approach, his steps slow, measured, as if he was approaching a wild animal, a frightened, cowering creature that was liable to flee at any moment. he would climb into bed, the mattress dipping, the springs creaking, the noise loud in the silence. you didn't exactly like his presence, but you'd learned to tolerate it. he hadn't proven himself a threat. so you let him be.

the first time he'd seen the marks on your arms, the red lines marring your flesh, the cuts and scrapes a glaring, obvious sign of your distress, he had nearly lost it. the mere thought of someone hurting you was enough to drive him insane. but you, hurting yourself, was far worse. he had taken one look at the angry slashes, and his heart had dropped, a dull ache forming in the center of his chest. the pain had been so intense, it was as if someone had punched a hole through his ribcage, reached into his chest cavity, and torn out the very organ that pumped his blood, leaving behind an empty, gaping wound. the agony had been immense, overwhelming, the intensity so great, it had robbed him of his breath, the sensation so all-consuming, it was as if someone had plunged him into ice water, the frigid temperature seeping into his bones, the freezing chill making him shiver. the tears had spilled over, the hot liquid pouring down his cheeks, a waterfall of sorrow and regret, his anguish apparent. he had wrapped his arms around you, his hold firm, almost suffocating. his hands had wandered, tracing the edges of the cuts, his fingertips ghosting over the marks, as if he was trying to erase them.

usually, his emotions would be kept under wraps, a cool, placid mask covering his true feelings. but in that moment, the walls he'd carefully constructed had crumbled, the barrier falling apart, the facade of indifference fading. his emotions had bubbled to the surface, spilling over, his anger and frustration manifesting itself, his fury not directed to you, but rather the ones who had caused the hurt, the people who had put you through such pain, inflicted so much damage on you, the ones who had driven you to this point, pushed you over the edge, until you'd felt you had no other option. he had felt helpless, hopeless, the sensation of impotence an unfamiliar one. he had wanted nothing more than to wrap his hands around their throats, choke the life out of them, watch as the light faded from their eyes, their last breath escaping their lungs. those thoughts soon faded as he came to a realisation that that was not what you needed. instead, he focused on the present, the here and now, the reality of the situation. he knew that you had needed comfort, a shoulder to cry on, someone to talk to, a pair of open arms, and a listening ear. and he was more than happy to fill that role for you.

you had broken down, the weight of the situation, the stress of keeping everything inside finally becoming too much. you had clung to him, your fingers clutching the front of his shirt, your face buried in his chest, the tears flowing freely, the droplets soaking into the fabric, dampening his skin. he had held you, his embrace strong, almost suffocating. but the sensation was welcome. the pressure was grounding, the feeling of being wrapped in his arms providing a sense of security, an anchor, something solid, tangible, a reminder that this was real, that someone, even if that someone was him, cared. his touch had been gentle, the pads of his fingers caressing your back, tracing the notches of your spine, the action a soothing rhythm, a slow, steady pace.

that night had changed things. it had shifted the dynamic, the atmosphere of your relationship. it had opened the door, paved the way for something more, a different type of intimacy. that night, the two of you had shared a bed. you had curled up in his embrace, his body spooning yours, his arms encircling your frame, his hand resting on your stomach, the flat of his palm pressing into the swell of your abdomen. you usually despised the close proximity with him, recoiled when he would try to hold your hand or kiss your cheek, shied away from his touch, the feeling of his hands on your skin, his thought of his lips against yours making you cringe. but the events of that night had changed that. the walls you had built, the barrier that separated the two of you, had slowly started to chip away, the cracks in the facade growing bigger, the damage becoming more noticeable, the flaws and weaknesses in your resolve becoming more apparent. you had realised that, while he had his flaws, his obsession a driving factor in his actions, there was no doubt about the fact that he genuinely cared about you. and that was enough.

so when he had come to you the next night, and the one after that, and the one after that, you hadn't said anything, hadn't told him to leave, hadn't made any moves to push him away, or rejected him. sure, he had a habit of creeping around, his sudden appearance startling you, causing you to jump, but you had gotten used to the sound of his voice, the cadence of his footsteps, the pattern of his breathing. now, his presence had become a comfort, a source of stability, a constant in the chaos. he had become an important part of your life, and, in all honesty, you wouldn't have it any other way.

[ravenssilver]

I would adore if you could make an Aeon angst where he feels abandoned or like he’s not worth being in the ministry, and one of the ghouls (any of your choice) finds him and comforts him? You don’t have to if you don’t want too I’m just in love with your writing!!

ahh anon !! i will happily throw out some aeon/swiss hurt/comfort. you feed into my muse🫶🫶

here is me indulging in my favorite thing—aka 2.2k words of aeon feeling abandoned and swiss loving on him anyway🤍

cw: aeon being anxious, aeon has minor abandonment issues, minor panic attack

under the cut, if you please<3

Aeon was giddy after a particularly good ritual. He and Swiss seemed to have developed a pre-show ritual of practically being attached to each other’s hips and walking on stage together. He had hit every note perfectly and gotten to every cue, bouncing happily to the beat of the songs all the while. The audience had been fantastic and he had gotten at least five bat plushes thrown at him before bows, and he was sure some of the crew had picked up the rest.

Though, as Aeon took a quick shower to get all his sweat off, he thought about the other ghouls during the ritual.

Cirrus and Cumulus didn’t pay him any mind whenever he went over to them, Dewdrop seemed annoyed when Aeon was all over him during Absolution, Rain didn’t seem all that amused by the slides in Watcher, and Papa seemed actually upset when he had cut in front of him for his part in Year Zero.

Aeon frowned when he remembered how he had subconsciously given up on interacting with the band after Mary On a Cross when Papa didn’t even look at him when the song quieted down for a few measures.

And during Square Hammer, his final chance to maybe get an interaction, Aurora was play flirting with Swiss from across the stage when Aeon was meant to be on her platform.

Aeon hissed when he accidentally got soap in his eye, a frown etched on his face as he felt his heart aching with doubt in himself.

Did his packmates think he was annoying? Did Papa think he was annoying?

Maybe they’re just tired… Yeah, that had to be it. He didn’t remember doing anything wrong, much less annoying.

Aeon quickly finished up with his shower and changed into some clothes he had stolen from Swiss, grinning when he saw the slight bagginess of his pack mate’s clothes on him.

With a pep in his step due to his shower and how he now felt clean, Aeon happily left the dressing room and went to the parking lot where the buses were.

Though, as soon as he got outside he froze in his tracks.

The buses were gone.

A distressed sound left Aeon and be spun around in a circle as if the building behind him would’ve somehow turned into the tour buses. Aeon chuffed worriedly when he just saw the door he had come out of and went back inside, some of his glamor starting to slip as his thoughts spiraled.

They left him. They got on the busses and left him alone. He was stuck—trapped.

Abandoned.

A distressed whine left Aeon and he picked up the pace of his footsteps, desperate to find his pack or his Papa. Aeon felt like his throat was closing up, his ears pinned and twitching at every single noise he heard as his hands started to shake.

Much to his dismay, instead of someone he knew, Aeon ran into a member of the venue staff and he had hurt himself by quickly throwing up his glamor.

Aeon’s head pulsed with an intense ache as his eyes darted around, his glamoured nails clicking as he picked at them.

“Hey, are you alright?” The woman asked, her eyebrows furrowed as she placed her hand on Aeon’s shoulder. Aeon wanted to say yes, try to reassure her that he was fine when he so clearly wasn’t. But when his throat closed up even tighter, tears welled in his eyes and his shaking became a lot more obvious.

“Woah, it’s okay, breathe. Why aren’t you with everyone else out back? They’re leaving for the hotel in about five minutes,” The woman said, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to get Aeon to calm down.

A tear fell from Aeon’s lash line when she told him that. He nodded and turned on his heel, rushing away from her as he went to the back of the venue.

Nobody had told him that there was a rest day after that nights ritual. Nobody had told him that they would be going to a hotel that night instead of getting back on the buses.

Aeon rushed outside, signing in relief when he saw Papa and the rest of his pack standing outside of a van. He wiped his eyes and face of tears, trying to cover up the panic in his scent that he knew was there.

“Ah, there you are,” Copia sighed when Aeon silently walked up next to Rain, huddled in on himself. “We’ve been waiting for you. Where have you been?” Copia asked, his eyes narrowed.

“I didn’t-“ Aeon went to respond, only for Copia to throw his hands up in the air and mumble annoyed Italian to himself as he went to make sure all their bags were ready to go to the hotel.

Another distressed sound left Aeon as he felt a pit form in his stomach. He looked down and pulled the hood of Swiss’ hoodie up over his head, hiding his face from his pack who weren’t paying attention anyway.

Aeon’s shoulders shook as he messed with the end of his sleeves, his body trembling with anxiety as his thoughts continued to spiral.

Look what you did, you made Papa mad. You held everyone up and now they’re all mad at you. You’re cutting off their resting time like a total idiot. How dumb do you have to be to not remember a schedule?

Aeon clambered into the van first as soon as the doors opened, wanting the front row seat closest to the window on the drivers side so nobody would see his tears.

He heard a low growl from Dew, as that was usually the fire ghoul’s spot, the annoyed sound only adding fuel to the dumpster fire that was Aeon’s brain.

He buckled and curled into himself, burying his face in his knees as his thoughts just went further and further down the spiral of self doubt and insecurity.

The next twenty minutes went by in a blur. One moment Aeon was curled up into himself on an uncomfortable seat—the next, Aeon was curled up on an uncomfortable hotel couch as he stared at the wall, tears slowly trailing down his face.

Aeon had fully unglamoured, his tail wrapped tightly around his ankle as his claws dragged along the discolored part of his face around his right eye. Waves and waves of distress rolled off of him as he whimpered every now and then.

They all hate you. You’re just a replacement for someone they all loved. A penny in the crater sized hole in their hearts where the prior quintessence ghoul was.

The better quintessence ghoul.

Aeon sobbed, closing his eyes and burying his face into the hoodie he had stolen from his favorite multi-ghoul.

He wasn’t Swiss’ favorite, though.

Aeon whined and immediately tore off Swiss’ hoodie and sweatpants, chucking the clothes across the hotel room, leaving him in his boxers.

Aeon snuffled and laid back down, curling up into himself even tighter as to fight off the chill of the unreasonably cold hotel room.

He wanted Swiss. Dewdrop, even.

He wanted to be warm. He wanted to be loved. Appreciated by the creatures he had around him everyday. Aeon loved the crowd’s praise, but he wanted his pack now. Even just one of them would suffice.

He wanted to know that they saw how hard he was trying. He wanted to know that they appreciated him for stepping into shoes that were far too big and running the miles anyway.

He just wanted to be seen.

“Stardust..?”

Aeon picked up his head and looked over at the door to his hotel room, his ear twitching as he heard Swiss’ voice.

“Hey… Aeon, you awake? C’mon, your scent changed, I know you hear me..” Swiss said, knocking on the door again.

Aeon looked over at the digital clock that was across the room, taking a moment to remember everything Mountain taught him about reading a clock.

It had been two hours since they got to the hotel.

“Bug? Can you come to the door?” Swiss spoke again, regaining Aeon’s attention.

Aeon scrambled up, not wanting to annoy Swiss even more than he thought he had. Aeon snatched the duvet on his bed and struggled to get it off the mattress due to the unnecessarily tight tucking of the bedding.

As soon as Aeon managed to get the duvet off the bed, he fell to the floor with a yelp due to how suddenly the tension released. The little quint scrambled back up to his feet and wrapped the duvet around his mostly bare body, ignoring the pain in his hip from the fall.

Aeon opened the door and peaked through, his lilac eyes staring up into Swiss’. The multi-ghoul quickly moved closer when he saw Aeon wasn’t glamoured.

And to Aeon’s dismay, that allowed Swiss to see the tear streaks on his face.

“Stardust, what’s wrong?” Swiss frowned, gently cupping Aeon’s cheek with his big hand. Aeon snuffled, choking back a sob as he leaned into Swiss’ hand.

Swiss frowned and crowded Aeon back into his room, closing the hotel door and locking it before he brought Aeon over to his bed and sat him down, pulling the duvet around tighter around the smaller ghoul’s body when he felt how cold it was in the room.

“Talk to me, Tommy, what’s wrong?” Swiss spoke softly, his eyebrows creased with worry as he brushed his thumb over the little quint’s cheekbone. Aeon’s bloodshot eyes hesitantly looked into Swiss’ as he sniffled again, wiping the snot away from his face with his wrist.

It was gross, but Swiss was far too concerned about Aeon’s tears to even notice his actions.

“I… I feel like you don’t like me. Like-“ Aeon sobbed softly and covered his face. “Like you’ve all been lying to me and that you don’t want me here…”

Swiss’ heart shattered.

“Oh, bug…” Swiss whispered as he swept Aeon up into his arms. It was all he could say at the moment, his own devastation rushing through him.

Swiss didn’t know what he or the pack had done to make Aeon feel this way, but he would kick himself for eternity because of it.

“You will always, always be wanted, Stardust. I know that if the others were here, they’d be all over you telling you the exact same thing.” Swiss whispered, holding Aeon close to his chest as the smaller ghoul sobbed out all his sudden and overwhelming emotions.

Swiss let Aeon cry, not once shushing him or trying to get him to stop crying. He didn’t want Aeon to feel like he was being a burden, so Swiss let him cry until he felt better.

“Swiss…?” Aeon whispered after about 10 or so minutes, seemingly shy. Swiss hummed and looked down at Aeon, staring into his lilac eyes with as much love and affection that he could muster. “I… can you get my clothes..? I threw them over there…” Aeon mumbled, pointing across the room.

“Of course, babybat, one second,” Swiss said immediately, gently setting Aeon back on the mattress and pressing a kiss to his forehead before rushing over to where Aeon had pointed.

Swiss picked up the dark gray hoodie and sweatpants, his eyebrows furrowing when he recognized the feel of the fabric.

“Are these mine?” Swiss asked, wondering if they were his favorite set that he had lost. Aeon shrunk into himself and nodded as Swiss walked over. “I took them a few months ago.. I’m sorry..” Aeon apologized, looking sad.

“Don’t be sorry,” Swiss smiled, shaking his head as he gently guided Aeon to unwrap himself of the duvet. Swiss mumbled a quiet: “watch your horns…” as he slipped the hoodie over Aeon’s head, smiling when he saw just how adorable the smaller ghoul looked in his clothes.

“The gray matches your skin better anyway,” Swiss shrugged with a grin, ruffling Aeon’s shaggy black hair and helping him into the sweatpants. Aeon chirruped softly and leaned into Swiss’ touch, a quiet little purr starting up in his chest as Swiss swept him off his feet.

Aeon laughed happily, a grin on his face as Swiss laid him down, his head resting on the pillows. Swiss re-situated the bedding and laid down next to Aeon after flicking off all the lights, nuzzling Aeon’s nose as they settled into the bed together.

“Feeling better…?” Swiss asked softly, brushing his thumb over Aeon’s cheekbone, his eyes taking in Aeon’s appearance in the darkness. Aeon thought for a moment before nodding slightly, only to shake his head.

Swiss frowned, cupping Aeon’s jaw with his big hand.

“Talk to me?”

Aeon sighed a bit before starting to explain.

“You made me feel better than I did.. but I.. I guess I’m still thinking about the others. You can only promise so much, y’know?” Aeon mumbled, sounding sad. Swiss’ frown deepened but Aeon was right.

From the quint’s point of view, Swiss’ words about the others were just as good as the lies his brain was feeding him.

“Do you want me to talk to them? Have them talk to you?” Swiss asked, wanting Aeon to feel at home in the pack. “Can I… um.. can I try to talk to them first?” Aeon asked, sounding nervous.

Swiss’ heart swelled and he nodded immediately.

“Of course you can, Stardust. I’ll let you go about this however you please….” Swiss whispered, kissing Aeon’s forehead between his horns.

Aeon purred and leaned into the kiss, cuddling up closer to Swiss.

“Thank you, Swiss.”

“Anytime, Stardust.”

[chaosheadspace]

wip meme: Subvocals? subvocals sounds so interesting pls say more

Okay, subvocalisation is a term first coined by fanfic author Did (someone correct me if I'm wrong) for Omegaverse. It's involuntary / hard to repress sounds that express simple things like "back off / come here / I'm scared / I want you / where is my alpha / you're in serious danger of being bitten rn" stuff like that.

So this would be a Dreamling fic where everyone is part of the Omegaverse system, even the Endless. Due to his eldritch shenanigans, Dream's subvocals are in a pitch no living being can hear, so he just goes ham / he never learned how to maybe tone it down.

Cue Hob who's hearing is a little fucked. One day, while out with his friends, starts hearing those weird noises. You know where this is going, haha. Dream being called out on his bullshit by his own body, naturally.

Snippet under the cut, possibly OOC. (also, I'm not italicising all the *, I'm on mobile, I won't do that to myself)

Hob just smiles gently as his friends laugh about another story Alrin is telling, imitating the purrs and trills of his latest Omega conquest. Hob's had trouble hearing ever since he was kicked by a horse as a kid. He can't even hear his *own* subvocals, just feel the vibrations of them in his chest whenever they happen. Funnily enough, he's also grown up to really like horses. But his friends and their jokes are still a mystery to him.

So when he suddenly hears a small, discontent mewl through the din of the white horse tavern, so *clear* through all the ruckus, he doesn't even know what it is, at first. Just that it tugs at his heartstrings rather severely.

*Alone. Miserable. Hurt. Go away. Hello? No. Bad smell. Alone. Alone. Hurt. No. Don't touch. Go away.*

It's a string of sounds just a hair's breadth away from thoroughly distressed and Hob feels his chest rumble. *Hello. Hello? No threat. Here. Here. Come? I will protect. Hello?*

It's impossible to make out a specific smell here in the tavern, but Hob's eyes search frantically until they land on the most defiant man Hob has ever seen. His posture communicates that he clearly wants to be anywhere but here, his cheekbones say 'I will cut you', and his eyes say 'don't you dare'.

And the sweet, high notes coming from his throat sing *alone alone alone, please, no, help me*.

Sharp blue eyes find his and say 'do not dare. If you dare, I will kill you'. His song beckons Hob closer. Hob stands, barely registering the questioning looks from his friends, and goes to him as if drawn on a string. The high notes of the plea shift and lap over the purr in his own chest.

The stranger is silent. Hob takes a good look into his eyes, cutting himself up with masochistic joy, before saying, "I won't, you know. Die, that is. Unless you plan on killing me yourself."

The stranger tips his head, looks at Hob as if studying a mildly interesting bug and Hob knows, deep inside himself, that he could. He's fine as marble, possibly as strong, too. Hob takes a surprised breath and that's when he knows for sure that this man is not like any other he has met. He's got no smell, a weird absence of one, like fresh wind, like a torn-down forgotten memory.

And still, his body sings to Hob, sings *for* him, now a litany of *alone, alone, will you come, are you, do you, will you hold me, please, please, I'm so alone all the time*.

[lets-try-some-writing]

Considering that some insects chirp too KnockOut probably at least once had to deal with a vehicon that thought was having a surprise sparkling but just had crickets or cicadas inside

This is a hilarious image. I can already imagine the poor Vehicon in question on the brink of tears as they hurry to Knockout in distress. Knockout in turn having to resettle his plating after a very ominous chirp echoes in his medical bay. Surprise sparklings aren't impossible. Budding is a rather rare phenomenon, but enough energon and an overproduction of protomatter and spark energy can facilitate what essentially amounts to cloning. Knockout would be well aware of this fact and sit the Vehicon down immediately.

Knockout would run scans, probably even have a few turn up positive for excess energy to only further support his theory that the Vehicon might have had an accidental kiddo. The poor Vehicon in question would have to very quickly come to terms with parenthood and probably begin feeling a tad excited as Knockout begins a full examination to try and find out if the sparkling is ready to be removed or just making noise.

I can already imagine several other Vehicons around the door watching to see what their newest family member will look like when Knockout suddenly stops, curses up a storm, and grabs tongs. Cue the sheer fragging horror as he removes a fragging cicada from the Vehicon's armor.

"That thing... makes sparkling noises?"

"It was IN me?!?!?"

No Vehicon will ever recharge in alt mode on the ground again.

[robertseanleonardthinker]

feeling autistic gonna project on my blorbos (wilson autism headcanons)

- he is primarily sensory avoidant. he likes quiet and calm. organization. he hates clutter and visual overstimulation. if u slapped a pair of noise canceling headphones on him, u would change his life

- he is more sensory seeking with smell and taste, though. he likes to cook, right? he enjoys bold and complicated flavors. he's more adventurous with food textures and tastes and is actually willing to try a lot of new things. food textures do not bother him much

- he struggles to accommodate himself. he knows he has needs associated with his autism but it's hard to fulfill them. he knew he was different from everybody else from a young age, and he hated it. he forced himself to act the way everyone else did and managed to build a mask so strong he doesn't know where to begin with unmasking. he would benefit deeply from stuff like ear defenders and stim toys, but those are physical reminders that he isn't like everybody else.

- while he isn't very particular about food textures, he is with his clothes. he wears like maybe two different brands because they're the only ones that don't make him want to crawl out of his skin.

- he has a big thing with things being how they "should" be. if there's a system in place, he needs to follow that system.

- honestly, i have no basis for this one, but he struggles with interoception (the cues your body sends to tell you to do stuff such as eat, drink, or use the bathroom). he has a mental schedule going for most of theze things. every 15-30 minutes, have a sip of water. meals at certain times. stuff like that

- he has a special interest in cinema/theater. we see he has movie posters and stuff in his office, and he'll occasionally make references. i think someone pointed out on here that, while it's made known that's an interest of his, he rarely talks about it. it's just kinda... there. i attribute that to his self conciousness and masking. he doesn't want people to think he's "obsessive" or "weird" or put people off. so he keeps it to himself.

- for stimulation, he especially likes pressure. he likes tight hugs or cuddling or weighted things.

- house is one of the few people he ever lets that mask down with. house doesn't care if wilson is "normal." i like to imagine house has a stash of stim toys in his home (mostly for wilson, because house stims in other ways. he knows wilson won't buy them for himself, so he keeps them around), and wilson almost always helps himself.

- he has more shutdowns that meltdowns. he has both, but it's mainly shutdowns. when they happen, he likes to spend time in house's office. house doesn't ask questions, doesn't make him talk. just lets him hang around until he's ready.

- he enjoys organizing and cleaning. he likes his spaces to be pristine. he needs his environment to be neat and perfect, otherwise he gets uncomfortable and distressed. it gets hard to function in chaos

[rokishimizu4]

BatFam x Symbiot! Reader (Tim)

Planning on writing the whole thing on my AO3 page

First Meeting- Tim Wayne/Red Robin

Running on 8 cups of coffee, 3 monsters, 1 hour of sleep, and a tiny amount of information on a human trafficking ring in Gotham

Was supposed to wait for Nightwing and Batman, but decided ‘fuck it’ after realizing that the human traffickers were planning on selling the ‘merchandise’ that night.

Scoped the place out and was ready to fly in, when he noticed that they were talking about a ‘sleepless demon that bites people’s heads off’.

‘That doesn’t sound like Bruce, maybe Damien.’

Cue something ELSE smashing through the window above him, and gun fire, with screaming and begging for their life.

Confused Red Robin noises

Dumbass charging in to the rescue.

Black and Purple floods his vision as he gets hit by a stray.. tentacle? Ends up passing out after hitting a brick wall at full force

Cue distress Symbiot! Reader noises. “Oh fuck we killed him!”

Somehow able to save the abducted girls, and Red Robin with minimal damage, except the men they ate… But hey, they killed two birds with one stone.

Delivers the girls and RR to a building near the GCPD HQ.

“He has an ear piece, we can use that to call the police!”

Cue the most confusing conversation ever for Oracle; “Is this the police in the city of Gotham?” “No, this is Ora-how did you get this communicator?” “From the smaller pretty boy.” “Smaller pretty boy?” “Yes, the smaller pretty boy in all red.” “Oh my fuck, you mean Red Robin!” “Yes, WE accidentally sent him into a wall after he got in the middle of us stopping a human trafficking operation.” “Him and the women are near the GCPD HQ at Five Point Junction.” “He might be asleep for another day or two, WE also hit him with our dream-sleep.”

Oracle has never contacted all of the members of the Bat Family so fast after the mysterious voices? Hung up.

Red Robin is not gonna live this down.. ever…

[ilovejoo]

｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

when you’re scared of thunder; enhypen

word count: 1.6k warnings: n/a? gn!reader a/n: THERE WAS THUNDER THE OTHER DAY AND I HATED IT SM so i just had to write this 😞 california was flooding that is so insane to me.

masterlist!

heeseung

he does his best to distract you with his voice, his actions, his kisses, his face... he's the best comedian, the best singer- he becomes the best at anything if it means it makes you feel better like a true ace

"it's okay, hee, i know you were excited for this..." you bit your lip as he frowned at the uncomfortable state you were in. the two of you were at a long-awaited date at some outdoor cafe that thankfully had a roof over the head, covering you from the drizzle. however, the rain was not a problem: the thunder was.

he couldn't stand to watch you flinch at every boom while the two of you were supposed to be having a fun, cheerful, thunder-free time.

“if they make you feel all shaken up, then why would we stay?” he pouted. he covered your ears with his hands from across the table, but you waved him away, despite the tears forming in your eyes.

man, you really hated thunder.

"y/n, you're crying." you looked up at his worried eyes. "let me take you away, we can always come back here some other day.." he grasped your wrist and pulled you, rushing to someplace quieter. he gave himself the mission of distracting you, muffling the sound with his hands again.

he softly hummed one of your favorite songs, not knowing whether or not you could hear it under the safety of his hands. he hummed anyway. seeing that the thunder didn't seem to be ending, he hoped it was helping.

as soon as you got home, his new mission was to make you feel better (he succeeded).

jay

bro is actually so attentive :( he takes note of your likes/dislikes throughout the years he's known you, which includes your fear of thunder, so he's prepared for this kind of moment

already knowing how you were with loud noises, at the sight of a thunderstorm coming he knew to be prepared. despite the heavy rain, he ran out the door to his house, headed straight for yours.

you were huddled up on the couch, not even knowing about the upcoming thunderstorm, when you got a bunch of knocks on the door. you opened it to be greeted with the sight of a drenched boyfriend.

"jay- what the hell?"

“thunder’s coming,” he said, quickly rummaging through his bag to find his noise-cancelling headphones as he caught his breath. "i know how much you hate thunder; i didn't want you to be alone." as if on cue, thunder went off, and you grasped tight onto jay’s sleeve. he stoked your hair to try to calm you down with one hand, trying to simultaneously pull the headphones over your ears with the other.

“don’t worry, you’re safe, okay?” he mouthed, and you gave him the biggest hug, not even caring that he was soaked.

jake

- drops what he's doing to make you feel safe; absolutely cannot bear to see you so distressed, so he'll smother you with kisses, watch your favorite cartoons: anything you want to give you comfort

the car window was splattered with raindrops, and the windshield wipers couldn't seem to catch a break. you were jake's favorite (only) passenger, and though his eyes were on the road, he was listening intently to what you had to say.

"it rains every time we go to mcdonald's, i think its a curse," you joked, and jake eagerly nodded in agreement. "like i-" thunder clapped in the distance, and you stopped what you were saying.

".. like you..? like you what, sweetheart?" the sound admittedly overwhelmed you to the point where you couldn't register what jake was asking you.

"um.. like i.." more thunder. concerned at your lack of ability to respond, your boyfriend furrowed his eyebrows.

"are you okay? what is it? the thunder?" he couldn't help asking all these questions- he just wanted you to feel safe. you nod, mumbling something about how thunder always made you anxious. he quickly pulled over to the nearest parking lot and as soon as the gear shifted into park, he reached his arm over into a comforting embrace. "it'll pass, y/n; i'll be here until it does."

he kisses your cheek, to which you somewhat laugh at. hearing this, in relief he takes it as a sign of approval and suddenly your face, eyelids, the tip of your nose, and of course, lips, are being covered by his lips.

sunghoon

seeing you scared makes him panic too- he doesn't know what to do, he doesn't know how to act. all he knows is that he wants you to feel at ease, and he'll do his best for that to happen.

"it's raining." sunghoon reached a hand out from under the shade structure, feeling the raindrops on his palm. you rolled your eyes.

"no way," you said sarcastically. "way to notice the obvious!" he playfully hit your side when a boom went off from somewhere nearby, and in response you jumped with fear. originally, not missing the way you flinched involuntarily at the thunder, he let out a laugh.

it was almost awkwardly silent for a good second or two, save for the rain in the background- he had no clue what to do, and you were trying to calm yourself down.

you admit, it definitely could have been humorous- even yourself would have laughed if you weren't shaking. but then he glanced at your eyes, concerned for how genuinely shaken up you were at the noise. his smile slightly faltered with worry, and he wordlessly grabbed your hand. he gave it a squeeze, not really knowing what to say but wanting to offer you comfort regardless.

he never let go of your hand once, he takes care of you in this way.

sunoo

he knows what to do, he knows how to comfort you. he uses this knowledge to his advantage- soon you forget you were even scared.

having a boyfriend who was so attentive of your needs meant that he noticed when you were in distress. his brows furrowed with worry seeing how much the weather outside bothered you. the sound of the thunder and the strikes of lightning freaked you out, and he couldn’t bear to see you so scared.

you were curled up on the couch, hands over your ears. the sight broke his heart. he put down the phone in his hands and gently grabbed your wrists, helping you up.

“let’s go somewhere quieter, hm?” his eyes told you how worried he was for you, and you gave him a smile.

“okay.” he gave you a hug when you got up, and it immediately made you feel better. you buried yourself in his chest for just a moment, basking in his comfort and warmth. feeling how you somewhat relaxed in his arms, he rubbed the back of your head with his hand soothingly, letting you know he's there for you.

jungwon

because of his caring nature, he tends to care for you all the time, including the times when you're scared out of your wits. he notices your discomfort almost immediately, and he'll act from there

a little known fact about you was that thunder was not your best friend, and seeing how you repeatedly jumped at every thundering boom going off, jungwon quickly learned this as well.

the two of you were hanging out with a larger group of people, but jungwon made sure to constantly keep an eye on you as that was just his second nature. he noticed that you seemed a little freaked out while drawing yourself away from the conversation, biting your lip and fidgeting with your fingers.

his head tilted at why you looked so panicked, and then it hit him: it was the noise. upon this realization, his hands went for your ears, covering them the best he could.

"are you okay?" he said into your ear, his voice low. the thunder went off again, and your shaking hands reflexively shot on top of his, trying to cover your ears even further. taking this as a no, he excused you both from the group and made his way over to his friend's bedroom, the quietest part of the house.

he pulled you closer to offer his comfort, and he stayed like that until the weather was completely clear.

niki

he notices more than he lets on. though it may initially seem like he isn't the type to do so, he takes the best care of you, even if it may be in his own way

“someone just dropped something,” niki said, laughing at how your hands rushed to cover your ears out of panic. he pat your head, still laughing. you took in a shaky breath, however, which made his laughter falter. “are you scared?” he asked, looking a bit concerned, and you brushed it off.

“it’s okay,” you said, and he let it slide. however, you jumped at every loud noise, more than most people would. when the two of you went for a late night walk and someone closed a window harshly nearby, your arms immediately shielded your face, shaking. a balloon popped at a birthday party, and you screamed.

from then on, he learned with how observant he is, that you were sensitive to loud noises. so when he saw a thunderstorm on the day's weather agenda, the first thing he did was prepare a little "thunderproof cave" in his room for you, complete with pillows, blankets, music, and of course, himself.

as soon as he was done, he dashed off excitedly to find you with your eyes shut and ears plugged. sighing a little at the sight, he wanted nothing more than for you to feel better.

"yah- y/n! come here." he tugged your arm and led you to the homemade heaven he set up for you. knowing why he did this, immediately you crashed into his arms in a hug.

"thanks riki."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

thank you for reading! here's my masterlist!

taglist! send an ask to be added: @jaysbiceps

[sixeyescurseuser]

Thinking about Dinosaur AU where Gojo is a rare breed of dino so he’s never met another one like him besides his mum - who he’s long been separated from.

Thus, when he comes across a dino that looks similar to him but in a different font, Gojo gets super curious.

So what better thing to do than to observe (in secrecy)?

Cue Dino Gojo hiding behind trees and crouching behind shrubs as he watches this other Dino walk around, eat, and interact with other creatures.

Except Gojo is quite large so he’s just sticking out of the bushes and the other Dino, Geto is like ??

Geto keeps munching on his leaves though cuz he’s hungry. He considers leaving some behind in case this rando dino is also hungry…

When Geto moves to walk away, Gojo trails behind like a smol, lost Dino.

Geto isn’t too pressed about it.

Until the third consecutive day.

In one moment, Gojo watches his new obsession walk across the field, and in the next moment the other Dino disappears!

How could Gojo have lost sight of him so quickly ?

Gojo wanders around around a bit, the tall grass tickling his under belly.

Until suddenly, the Dino he had been coincidentally tailing suddenly pops up in front of him.

Geto had crouched low in the grass and crawled to appear right in front of this Dino Gojo!

Geto makes a rumbly noise. What’s the big idea!? Why are you following me?

Gojo swivels his long neck to look to the side. I’m doing no such thing!

Geto narrows his eyes. He leans in close, so close their noses almost touch.

Gojo sniffs innocently, unmoving.

Why does this Dino have its eyes covered? This sure is a weird dino, Geto concludes.

With a warning growl, Geto turns around and starts walking away. Except ten steps away, he pauses.

Against his better judgement, Geto looks behind him.

The random Dino stays where it was, watching Geto, but upon seeing Geto look back, it sits its rump down and avoids Geto’s gaze.

Geto turns back and take ten more steps.

He looks back.

The other dino is the same distance away, still sat on its rump.

Another ten steps, another look back.

Gojo is even closer, somehow having managed to sneak in fifteen steps after Geto before sitting on his haunches.

Geto’s tail agitatedly swishes behind him. He seems to have picked himself up a stray.

Therefore, Gojo sticks around and Geto decidedly lets him.

Their first night together, they sleep at least five feet apart, large blobs curled into balls with their necks, tails, and limbs neatly tucked in.

Though with each coming night, the distance between them gets smaller, Gojo pushing to see how close he can lay next to Geto.

Gojo shows Geto his own ways of getting the most flavorful leaves, or shows how he likes to roll around in the grass.

This is the first time Gojo is sharing his methods of finding the best leaves. After witnessing Geto happily chew, Gojo decides that his favorite leaves taste best when shared.

They must make quite an image, walking side by side as two massive Dinos of the same rare Dino species.

When Geto feels their tails brush, he nearly freezes. He’s never touched tails with another Dino before…the sensation sends fuzzy vibrations all the way from the tip of this tail to the curve of his snout!

It’s very nice having a companion, he concludes.

But one morning, Geto wakes up alone, no Gojo in sight. He panics, thinking Gojo left him!

Geto makes wailing sounds to see if Gojo will came back. The sight of Gojo stomping back comes a few seconds later. Upon hearing Geto’s distressed noises, Gojo had immediately abandoned chasing butterflies to run back to his friend.

Gojo comes back and makes little whimpering noises. What happened! What’s wrong?

Geto just nuzzles against Gojo’s neck, which Gojo returns, albeit a bit confused.

After a long sigh, Geto meets Gojo’s eyes.

I thought you left me.

Gojo's nostrils flare.

No no no! I would never! Never! he expresses.

Geto still looks a bit worried, so Gojo nuzzles their noses together more insistently.

I promise, Gojo means.

Geto exhales in relief. He lets out a happy grunt, then nudges Gojo so they're laying down on the ground.

Geto rests his long neck along Gojo's back, igniting their first cuddle session.

Gojo falls asleep that night to the feeling of a warm body nestled against his own.

***

Both Dinos had to fight to survive. Especially when when they were young, they had accumulated many scars from fending off predators. Now that they’re older and bigger, most predators wont bother approaching them.

But sometimes, a bold, powerful dino will try its luck.

This is how a family of T-Rex find Gojo, alone, as he picks flowers for Geto.

The family quickly surrounds Gojo, who drops the flowers he had been collecting.

Gojo frantically turns in circles, anticipating for the first T-Rex to strike. He usually would’ve been more prepared because he would hear the T-Rex’s steps, but he had been lost in his own world, too focused on the flowers!

Gojo quickly deflects the first few attacks from the T-Rexes. But then, the flowers he had so carefully picked for Geto end up trampled underneath a T-Rex’s foot.

Upon seeing the crushed flowers, Gojo lets out an upset screech. A T-Rex swiftly claws Gojo’s leg, causing him to nearly lose balance and fall over-

Suddenly, a familiar blur of gray and yellow jumps in!

Geto is FURIOUS. HE’S WHIPPING HIS TAIL AND SWINGING HIS NECK AND KICKING HIS HIND LEGS!

HE STANDS IN FRONT OF GOJO AND TAKES ON ANYONE AIMING FOR HIS COMPANION!

Geto may end up with some scratches here and there, but he’ll do anything to protect what’s his!

Gojo quickly regains his footing and tag teams with Geto. After a ferocious battle, they eventually scare the T-Rexes off.

Gojo is ecstatic Geto came to help. He makes a happy yipping sound as he bounds over to Geto with impending zoomies.

But Geto has other plans. Instead, he herds Gojo a ways away, leading them up a hill and to a small burrow.

The flowers, Gojo thinks sadly…

But Geto doesn’t give him too much time to sulk.

With a grunt, Geto makes Gojo lay down as he inspects every part of Gojo, looking over the injuries.

Gojo paws at Geto’s face, rumbling in his chest.

I’m okay!

Geto lowers his head and bumps their noses together.

I was so worried.

Geto finally settles down next to Gojo, whose tail wags because he’s so, so warm.

Gojo leans his weight against Geto, content to feel the expanse of Geto’s rib cage expand and contract.

Thank you for helping me, he says with a chirp.

Geto huffs at that.

I will always help you. We’re together now.

***

w/ @no-one-says-hi

***

If anyone has links to other fanarts of those Dino Satosugu, I would very much appreciate them because I lost all of them 🥹

[arcsimper5]

I am very sad Wrecker didn't really get much development overall. And there are other things I would like to have seen. And Tech.

But anyway.

So consider this version I'm going to (possibly, when my emotions have calmed down), write.

Buckle up, folks. This is gonna be a LOOONG one.

During Plan 99, Wrecker's neck injury is much more severe than first thought.

It is limiting his movement for some time, and AZI warns him that, without a bacta tank, it will take time and rest to heal properly.

Cue Hemlock turning up and their escape (during which time some of the damage is made permenant by the stress), and Omega being taken.

He is already dealing with not being 'strong enough' to pull up the entire railcar and save Tech (which Echo insists was impossible), because he was born and bred to be the strong one, and if he can't be that, what is he?

Flash forward to season 3, and when he turns up with Hunter to the Durands, he's visibly struggling, but only the audience and Hunter really recognise it.

He's hunched. He's stiff. He's more hesitant. But Hunter is hyper focused.

Wrecker is suffering from his injuries, but is doing so in silence, because Omega comes first, and Hunter is still his older brother and his sergeant. They'll find Omega, then they can rest.

During the visit to the old lab, his injuries flare up. Hunter loses an eye to the slither vines. They know they should be more careful, they know they were reckless, but Hunter cannot bring himself to care.

When the surprise reunion happens, Omega pauses for just a little longer when she sees the state of Wrecker. His armour, his posture, the way he falls to his knees to embrace her instead of picking her up because, despite how he wants to, so so badly, it hurts too damn much.

Her guilt only grows when she sees Hunter missing an eye, and realises how much they went through to try and find her. She apologises to Hunter for not listening to him at Cid's, for getting herself captured, saying that she was only trying to protect her squad.

They have a group hug, interrupted by Crosshair appearing silently behind the, uttering his trademark 'How touching,' paralleling the first episode where they find Omega in the brig.

They pull their blasters, Omega panics and runs to Crosshair, standing in front of him, explaining they escaped together. Hunter and Wrecker are still suspicious.

Onto Pabu.

Wrecker's injuries are bandaged, and he is insistent that AZI has had a proper look and he just needs to rest up.

Hunter asks him when Omega leaves why he lied to her. Wrecker shrugs and says he didn't want her to worry.

Omega finds Crosshair, he's still shaky and practicing. When he spots Hunter and Wrecker, he remarks how much they've been through, and how much they've changed.

Omega reminds him that they have too.

Crosshair finally has a talk with Wrecker about his injuries. They repair their relationship a little by admitting they're both scared of losing the one thing that made them 'special', a steady hand and true strength.

Echo arrives. He remarks on how run down everyone looks, Hunter wants to get straight to a meeting, but Echo insists on getting food first.

He expresses how grateful he is that Omega is okay and unharmed, and becomes visibly distressed when she talks about Clones being experimented on.

He looks to Crosshair and asks 'you too?'

Crosshair is hesitant, but nods. He tells Echo what they did to him, adding that he doesn't want Hunter and Wrecker to know.

Echo urges him to get support from his brothers, but he point blank refuses, insisting he will be able to get it under control. Echo is unconvinced, but agrees, beginning to repair his relationship with Crosshair.

On Barton IV, when scoping out the noises outside, when Hunter shoves Crosshair, Cross snaps, asking him how he failed to notice how much Wrecker is struggling.

Hunter retorts that Wrecker 'doesn't struggle', says Crosshair doesn't know them any more.

Crosshair reminds him he's spent the past 6 months with only Omega for company, and that he knows her better than Hunter, and that she is scared for Wrecker too. He accuses him of failing her, and that he can't even see how much she's hurting because of what happened to them.

After dealing with the Wyrm, Hunter let's out a long sigh, looking back to where Wrecker is moving towards them and finally seeing just how hunched and awkward he is when he moves.

Crosshair remarks that he seems to be able to see better with only one eye. Hunter chuckles and they squabble in a friendly manner.

During the mission with Fennec, Wrecker is injured further, struggling to carry their target with them, and Hunter begins to become very concerned.

When they get back to Pabu, he orders Wrecker to rest, Wrecker insists he's fine. Crosshair disagrees. They get into an argument. Crosshair takes Wrecker down in a hand to hand fight easily.

Realisation hits. Wrecker agrees to rest. Hunter feels guilty, apologises to Wrecker, who shrugs it off and hugs him.

When the Empire shows up and takes Omega, Wrecker's injury is exacerbated by the explosion. He's weak, he's seriously injured, but he keeps pushing.

They break Rampart out, but he struggles to carry him, struggles to throw him, struggles with everything.

Hunter comes to realise that his brother might never be the same again. He begins considering leaving him on Pabu while he and Crosshair go to get Omega from Tantiss.

By the time comes for him to consider it, it's too late.

They make the jump to Tantiss, the shuttle crash takes more out of him, and the fight with the massive creature nearly kills him.

By the time they get to the hangar, he's a shadow of his former self. When the debris falls on Hunter, he's in too much pain to lift it.

He can only watch as Hunter loses his other eye to the troopers, and Crosshair is knocked out.

He gets taken down too easily, unable to fight any more.

When they are tortured, he can barely resist, all of his energy failing. His strength, the one thing he was made for, is gone.

He's tired. His muscles are wrecked. He's had no time to recover, no medical treatment. He's beyond repair.

Despite it all, he pushes through to help Omega, he is faced with a CX trooper around his size, but for the first time in his life, brute force won't work. He just doesn't have the strength.

He doesn't dive through the window. He baits the CX trooper into charging him, and darts out of the way just in time. The trooper lands on his head, snapping his neck and killing him instantly.

So the final fight comes down to them fighting the CX troopers , but in a way they are not experienced in.

Hunter has to use his other senses. With his sight gone, he needs to trust his hearing, his spatial awareness, the electrical pulses he can feel.

Wrecker has to use his brain to trick the troopers, knowing he can't beat them 1v1 any more.

Crosshair's weakness is close quarters combat, but he fights through, desperate to chase down Omega.

Finally CX2 is the only one left. He talks about emotions being their weakness, and undoes his helmet, assuring them they will suffer an emotional response.

It's Tech. Wrecker all but collapses, just on shock. Hunter let's out a sob and similarly falls. Crosshair attacks.

He tries to get through to Tech, saying he knows he's in there. CX2 just laughs sharply, telling him he will lose, again, because that's what they always do.

No matter how successful they were, they were never meant for longevity. They were always destined for short, sad lives, and he's going to make sure of it.

Wrecker marches towards CX2, Hunter and Crosshair calling him and trying to stop him, unable to. But he just walks up and hugs him, crying as he murmurs how sorry he is for not being strong enough to stop him falling, for not holding on.

Tech's memories begin to return, telling him in a strained voice that Hemlock needs to be stopped, that Project Necromancer is a plan to keep the emperor alive forever, to cement his rule for multiple lifetimes. The only person with the knowledge to do it is Hemlock.

He needs to die.

They chase after Omega, Wrecker limping behind with Hunter. As the confrontation happens, Tech kneels down in front of Crosshair, getting him to rest his blaster on his shoulder, a callback to TCW S7 arc. Crosshair says he doesn't think he can make the shot.

Tech reassures him he's never missed one when it mattered most. Tells him to trust himself.

Crosshair takes the shot as Omega stabs Hemlock.

Then takes one clean headshot. Hemlock is dead. He doesn't fall. He's there. Dead. Crumpled. Gone.

Knowing they have no time, they get into Hemlock's shuttle, flying away towards Pabu.

Omega is shocked and overjoyed to see Tech, but devastated that Hunter has lost his sight.

They reassure her that everything will be okay.

They arrive on Pabu. Echo hugs Tech, tells him he's an idiot, expresses how sorry he is he was experimented on. Tech reassures him, they exchange a meaningful handshake.

Wrecker has a cane now, his body still recovering. He has a limp, it's obvious he's suffered permanent damage. Crosshair helps Hunter over to where Omega is. He still has a tremor, his hand still aches, but he's there, with his family.

They talk about the future, about how they are free now, to do whatever they want. Tech comes over and tells Crosshair it's time to go.

They all look at him, confused. He explains they're going with Echo to join the rebellion. They've been a part of the Empire, they know what they're up against, they need to fight. It would feel wrong not to.

Omega hugs them and they promise to be back soon. Hunter and Wrecker relax with Omega. Fade to black.

Epilogue:

Hunter still catches Omega before she goes. Only this time, Crosshair and Tech are waiting with him, having come to pick her up in their ship. Batcher is acting as Hunter's seeing eye dog, giving him his freedom back to a certain extent.

They reassure Hunter they'll look after her, that Echo is waiting for them. Wrecker appears behind them, chastises Omega for trying to leave without saying goodbye.

Conversations about rebellion and how the fight is going. Omega hugs Hunter and Wrecker and goes to get onto the ship.

Hunter, Wrecker, Tech and Crosshair all share an embrace. He murmurs about her being their little girl. They all smile and agree. Only she's not so little any more.

As Hunter and Wrecker watch the ship take off, the Bad Batch theme plays full force once more.

Their legacy lives.

[marc--chilton]

mgv house!! okay so what if house is left alone in his & wilson’s apartment while wilson goes to a conference in another state, and something about being away from wilson for a longer period than normal mixed with a bad pain day triggers an early heat. he tries to ignore it for a day or so, since wilson had scheduled this so perfectly to line up with their cycles (which had synced and were due in like a week) BUT eventually he just Cannot Handle It so he calls wilson absolutely RABID with the need to be railed so hard he forgets his own name. cue wilson pacing a hotel room and trying to a) get a plane home asap, like calling around madly trying to find some way to get back to his omega. b) have desperate needy phone sex with house to try and help as much as he can from a distance and c) keep his own rut at bay which is becoming increasingly more difficult since he keeps hearing house whining and begging and pleading and whimpering about how desperately he needs to be knotted 🥰 pls also imagine what both of them would do the SECOND wilson opens the front door to their apartment. thank u for ur time

HELLOOOOOOOO ANON

some omegas cycles aren't so bad, manageable with toys if an alpha isn't available, but house's heats are SO bad. he fevers, he aches, and the stress to his system aggravates his leg until he's in agony. the echo of his Doctor Brain telling him the endorphins will help; his hands shook so bad when he tried to take some vicodin he dropped the bottle out of his nest, and getting out of it when he feels that bad is unfathomable.

he still has the phone at his bedside, though. and even as miserable and stupid as he is, he still manages to call wilson. luckily wilson is his hotel room in vermont when he picks up because house's keening is more than audible to any would-be passerby. he hadn't even had a chance to snarkily greet him before house was whining these awful rattling breaths. it sets off alarms immediately. he knows those noises.

"it's your heat, isn't it?" a meek yeah tinged with pain is his answer.

but when he tries to hang up so he can call cuddy, house sobs. the resolve shatters instantly. so wilson instead calls cuddy with the room's phone with his cell close enough for house to pick up his voice but with his thumb over the speaker to muffle the sounds of an omega in distress.

at first, cuddy simply does not believe him. "he's probably just bored and trying to trick you. there's that saying, 'everyone lies'--"

and it swells something ugly and protective in his gut, just like every other time he has to defend house from her, or the board, or vogler, or tritter, or the fucking hundreds of other people that have the power to make house's life worse.

"you think i don't know my own omega?" he growls without thinking. a challenge is clear in his words, one alpha to another. later wilson would wince at his choice of words and nothing else.

the line crackles with cuddy's sigh after a few seconds of silence -- even house's muffled whining on the cell has dimmed. "dammit, wilson," she huffs wearily. "he's already pulling you down to his level. at this rate you'll be in full rut by tomorrow, just in time for your panel--"

"i know, lisa." wilson has to set his cell down to pinch the bridge of his nose before he snaps again. "but i need you to find me the next flight back. he needs me."

cuddy's tone is laced with something almost sad among the ire. "he always needs you, wilson. you owe me." then she hangs up.

he lets himself have a moment of composure only to realize house has been quiet. cautious, not unlike how he would approach house when he's in the throes of it in person, he puts the cell back up to his ear. house is saying something and sheets are rustling. "house? you still with me? i can't hear you."

the shifting gets louder -- did he drop the phone? -- and suddenly house is panting into the receiver, "yours... 'm yours, always..." and wilson is FLOORED at how he can almost smell the pheromones through the phone, can practically see house's pathetic attempts to grind into the bed when his leg is spasming.

it's so pitiful it makes wilson's heart clench and his slacks tight. "oh, honey...."

[skyland2703]

Javelia visits the Dino Charge dimension for one reason or another, and they end up followed back home by a baby Stegouros. They keep it as a pet and name it Waffles. Chaos ensues.

(Art by @alphynix)

OH MY FLUFFING GOD—

“I know we caused an inter-dimensional anomaly, last time, but by any chance… did the two of you cause an inter-dimensional anomaly this time??” Javi had not expected to hear this sentence, this early in the morning. The inter-dimensional jet lag had still not dissipated, and here were two guys, suited in green and black spandex, breaking into their bedroom.

Javi rubbed his eyes, sitting up in bed, and then gestured towards where his girlfriend lay sleeping, beside him, and then turned back to the two guys, the black spandex one of whom had spoken, he signalled them to shush, with a finger on the lips.

The guy in the green spandex leaned closer, and whispered, urgently, in Javi’s ear, “dude. We need to talk.” And there was something so threatening in his voice that Javi immediately got out of bed, pulled on his fluffy puppy-dog slippers, and walked out of the room with the other two guys, still in his boxers and as they reached the living room, Javi found a hoodie and pulled it on. (Unnecessary detail.)

“What happened” he asked, rubbing his eyes again, trying to ward off sleep, and then gestures towards the kitchen, “do you mind if we make coffee while we talk?” He yawned, “and please suit down. Nobody’s gonna attack you here.”

That made sense, the two rangers suited down, and Javi found himself blinking at a very amused Chase and an equally annoyed Riley. Javi grinned at them, “hey guys! Want coffee or tea or green tea or cocoa?” He offered.

“I’d take coco—“ Chase was punched in the stomach by Riley, before he could complete his statement, “not the time, hotshot.” He murmured under his breath and then looked at Javi, “Javi, I appreciate you getting up this early in the morning, and offering us beverages, but this is important…” Javi looked at him curiously, and comically, Chase echoed the exact same expression, despite knowing exactly what Riley was about to say.

“Did you and Amelia… by any chance… steal a baby Stegouros from the dinosaur museum when you guys popped in to drop us home?”

Javi raised his eyebrows, “we… didn’t steal a dinosaur…”

“SEE? I told you Riles! They wouldn’t do that!! The mama Stegouros must be here for some other reason!” Chase was quick to jump to Javi’s rescue, and Javi saw Riley rolling his eyes in a very ‘i love you, Chase, but I can’t deal with this right now.’, an expression Javi was very familiar with, because he got it once in every two days from Amelia.

“Mama stego— WHAT!?”

Riley pulled up his Dino com, and showed it to Javi— in the middle of the night, a giant dinosaur was rampaging through the city like Godzilla. It was a Buzzblast report— and Javi realised him and Amelia, actual Buzzblast journalists, AND Power Rangers, had slept through the entire thing, with their phones on airplane mode, and probably wouldn’t have found out about it until after midday, if

“They don’t have the dinosaur, Riles, let’s go—“

“Wait, wait—“ Javi stopped the two rangers, “i didn’t say we don’t have the dinosaur, i said we didn’t steal the dinosaur. Waffles is right here!”

Both Chase and Riley, as if on cue, asked, “Waffles?”

“Yes! The stegou—“ Javi beamed, then gestured them to come with him, finger on his lips, to tell them to not make any noise. The three boys tiptoed back into the bedroom where Amelia was sleeping peacefully. Javi pointed to where he had been lying, and it took a bit of straining of eyes when finally the Dino charge rangers finally saw it. The tiny baby stegouros, sleeping peacefully in Javi and Amelia’s bed, cuddled up close with Amelia.

Riley was about to burst like a hydrogen bomb, and Chase and Javi realised it just seconds before it happened, giving the two black rangers time enough to drag the distressed green ranger out of the room before he screamed and woke both the dinosaur and the girl up.

They were out into the common hallway of the apartment complex, near the elevator, when Javi and Chase released him, and he let out a scream that would probably not only wake up Amelia and Waffles, but the entire neighbourhood in a three mile radius.

“ARE YOU GUYS SERIOUS?! DINOSAURS ARE ENDANGERED!! ITS A FEDERAL CRIME, ITS A FELONY TO STEAL AND HARBOUR A DINOSAUR IN AN ARTIFICIAL ENVIRONMENT WITHOUT THE REQUIRED CLEARAN—“ Chase’s hand was over Riley’s mouth again, smothering the remainder of the rant, while Javi tried hard to not laugh, because he knew Riley would puff up like a pufferfish, and might even start crying in angry tears— something Chase had told him happened when the anger got out of control.

“In our defence…. The lil fella just followed us home through the portal”. Javi looked like a mischievous kid, trying to prove his innocence, with his arms tied behind his back, his feet rubbing the carpet under them, “he spooked us when we closed the door of the apartment earlier, today— we decided to keep it as a pet. Waffles is a nice name, no?” He asked, positively beaming.

“I like Waffles!” Chase chuckled, while Riley tried to say something, but wasn’t allowed to, with the two boys still holding their hands over his face before he actually woke up the entire neighbourhood, “I’d have probably named him Pancakes!”

“Waffles was Amelia’s idea. I wanted to name him Marshmallow.”

“Waffles has a sister! Maybe we can call her Marshmallow, no Riles?” Chase made the fatal mistake of letting go of Riley’s mouth, and the green ranger screamed again, “IF YOU TWO DUMBASSES ARE DONE DISCUSSING FOOD NAMES, THERE IS A VERY ANGRY MAMA STEGOUROS ROAMING YOUR CITY, JAVIER, LOOKING FOR HER BABY. WE NEED THE STEGOUROS BACK!” Riley’s face was absolutely red, and Chase leaned in, and gently pressed a kiss to his cheek, immediately deflating more than half of the anger out like he was an angy balloon.

“Relax, Riles, baby,” he hummed, and Javi watched in amusement, as the kiss and the little chant worked like magic, and Riley calmed down.

“What I’m trying to say, is that we need the dinosaur back so we can save all of our asses.” He said, finally.

“You wanna take waffles away?” Javi made puppy dog eyes at the couple, and Chase almost melted, before Riley said, “yes.”

“Amelia’s gonna be mad…” Javi said, in the same tone, and Riley raised his arms, “we can get her a cat, or something. This is more important—“

“What is more important?” A feminine voice echoed from behind them, and the three boys turned around to find the red ranger standing in the doorway of their apartment, still in her bedclothes, the little dinosaur wrapped up in her arms like a little baby. She looked annoyed— and none of the boys knew they could deal with the wrath of Amelia Jones…

“Err—“

We’re gonna pretend this is in the aftermath of @gayferret420 ‘s Chiley landing up in Dino fury universe AU. Javelia went back to drop them off, and this all… happened…