#don't know where else I should ask for help

[weakformingyu]

Why does it feel so good? | B. C.

Bangchan x fem!reader

Genre: romance, smut, enemies(ish) to lovers

Summary: after that night, you can't stop thinking about Chan. Turns out he can't stop thinking about you either.

Words count: 2895

Warnings: part 2 to this ask, two idiots in love, piv, no protection(this is fiction!!), handjob, fingering, oral, I think that's all(I don't know if that's all, I forgot how to do this after so long without writing 😭)

A/N: here I'm, writing something after a thousand years. I don't know where this came from, I just felt the will to write a part 2 for this old ass ask. Anyways, I'm back in my Bangchan obsessed era. I absolutely did not proofread it, I may or may not proofread it later, bye.

THIS CONTENT IS INTENDED FOR 18+ PEOPLE ONLY, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

Since that night, Chan has been avoiding you like the plague. That would have been great for you if you could actually stop thinking about him, which you can't. You can't forget how he whimpered and begged, you can't help but want more. You tried a few hookups, going on dates too but none of those felt like it made sense to you. It all felt wrong.

To Chan it was not much different, after that night, he kept bringing people over but it was not the same. It was louder, dirtier, like he wanted to prove something to himself, he wanted to prove that, that night, meant nothing to him. But as the days went by, he started feeling less and less interested in his hookups, thinking about you and how you were the one that started with the whole hatred thing. Now you had started something once more and hadn't ended it, leaving him to try and cope with the mess.

At last you finally got to move to your new apartment. Now, your brother would be able to have more freedom in his own home and you wouldn't have to see or hear Chan.

That would work perfectly, if you haven't been dreaming about him every single night too. These dreams made you feel pathetic, he was rough and sloppy, you felt humiliated every time you woke up wet, having to touch yourself while not being able to think about anything else other than him.

Once more, you open your eyes after one of those dreams. You look at the clock, it's almost time for you to get up anyways, this time you chose to take a cold shower rather than getting off to the thought of that man again.

You get your phone on your nightstand, looking at your messages just to find a text from your brother telling you that you forgot one of your boxes in his apartment. You look at the pile of boxes in the corner of the room, you didn't have the time to organize your things yet, it's not surprising that you didn't notice something was missing. You text him back, telling him you are going to go there after work to get the box.

The day at work is eventless, other than the sky getting darker within the hours, until it starts raining. When you are in the uber, going to your brother's, the rain is so strong it's barely possible to see a foot in front of you.

The distance between the sidewalk to the building’s entrance, is enough to leave you soaking wet. You get on the elevator, dripping all over the place and when you get to the apartment door, you stop yourself before pressing on the passcode. You remind yourself that you don't live there anymore, so you ring the doorbell like a normal person.

You just didn't expect that the person opening the door for you would be the man you were fighting so much to forget, rather than your brother.

“Where's Beom?” You ask after the shock of seeing him washes off.

“His girlfriend is sick, he went there to take care of her”, Chan answers. His eyes fall from your face to look at your body, absolutely drenched. He tries to ignore that you are wearing a dress shirt that is glued to your body, showing every curve, especially your breasts covered by the dark bra.

“I forgot a box here, he said it's in his room”, you feel your cheeks getting hot, burning before his intense stare.

“You should change”, he clears his throat, turning his back on you. “It's not good for you to stay too long in wet clothes. I'll get the box”

“I'm good”, you say. You don't have a spare change of clothes with you and it would absolutely kill you to stay in the same place as Chan for longer than necessary.

He sighs, shrugging and walking to your brother's room. You start calling your uber, but to make things better, no one's accepting. On the TV, the news is talking about the huge traffic and accidents that happened in the short time the storm is going on.

Chan puts the box in front of you, looking at the TV as well. He then walks to the sofa and plops down, changing the channel.

“I don't think I'll get home until the rain stops”, you sigh, “I'm gonna take a shower, I don't want to freeze to death while I wait”

“Suit yourself”, Chan says, without sparing you a glance.

It's weird to be in a situation like this with him, before, it wasn't like this. He'd make you mad or get mad at you, you two would be bickering or full on arguing, now it's awkward. It feels like there's something that needs to be said but no one wants to do it.

You go to your brother's room and go through his wardrobe, selecting a few clothes. Your bath doesn't take long, you feel restless knowing Chan is meters away from you. Rather than fear, you wish he would just open the door and take you.

You feel pathetic once more, thinking about those things. You put on a t-shirt and some shorts that barely keep still on your hips and go back to the living room.

Chan is watching a movie, the storm outside doesn't seem to have calmed down yet. You take a seat on the edge of the sofa, staying as far away as possible from him.

“It's cold, why didn't you get warmer clothes?” Chan asks, tossing the blanket he's using to you.

“I didn't want to make a mess of Beom’s wardrobe”, you shrug, “God knows what I may find there, I don't want to risk it”

Chan chuckles.

“He's not a freak, that I'm sure about”, Chan clarifies.

“Opposite to you, right?” It comes out of your mouth before you can even think about what the fuck you're saying. When Chan’s eyes land on you, you laugh nervously, but there's no sign of humor in his features. He seems mad, yeah, that's understatement.

“I was wondering when you were gonna bring that up”, he says, turning off the TV and turning his body to look at you.

“I don't know what you're talking about”, you say, looking anywhere but his face. Chan smiles, it's just like that time when you would feel so embarrassed to see him after listening to him fucking strangers all night.

“Do you feel embarrassed thinking about that night?” He asks, and you don't notice because you're not looking at him, but the man starts to get closer.

“You said to pretend it never happened”, you answer, clearing your throat.

“Yeah, but did you manage to do that?” He asks, shamelessly. That's when you notice how much closer his voice sounds, you look in his direction to see that he's right by your side.

“I did”

“Then, why are you red?”, he teases, making your face grow even more red.

“Stop that! You were the one that begged for me that night, you're the one that should be embarrassed”, you huff, feeling hot, but it's not with embarrassment.

“I don't have a reason to feel embarrassed, I don't mind begging if it gives me what I want”, he shrugs. Chan's hand comes closer to your face and he brushes your hair out of the way, tucking it behind your ear.

“Chan”, you warn him.

He clicks his tongue, smirking.

“I like it when you say my name”, his voice grows lower with every word, “would like it more if I could hear you moaning it”

Your hands are shaking with anticipation, your breath is hitching in your throat.

“We shouldn't”, it's all you can manage to spit out.

“Tell me to stop and I will”, he says, coming closer and you know he's going to kiss you. But you don't want him to stop and that's the whole problem, since the beginning, since that night, you wanted more of him even though you tried to deny it, you wanted to swallow him whole. You didn't even notice but with every passing day, your hatred for him grew weaker and with each dream you had about that night, the desire you had for him grew stronger.

When his plump lips meet yours, you feel like everything makes sense. Everytime you tried to date, it never worked out. How could it take so long for you to realize that you liked this man? That everytime he bought someone over it ate you inside and you had to build a wall masked as hatred so you wouldn't suffer so much.

Your hands fly to his neck, nails burying in his skin. His hands meet your hips, grabbing the waistband of your shorts to pull you down, hovering over you. He bites your bottom lip, only feeling satisfied when he rips a moan from you.

You're feeling lost, all the pent-up sexual frustration from the last month being released all at once. His cock is hard and he takes the opportunity to drag it over your cunt, making you sigh at the friction. When it's too hard to breathe, he pulls away, going down to your neck. He sucks on the skin, hard enough to leave a mark.

Chan pulls your shirt off, throwing it somewhere in the room, he looks at your breasts, mesmerized.

“Fuck”, he grabs both with his hands, squeezing them and teasing your nipple with his finger. He gets closer, sucking on one of your breasts while he plays with the other. The sounds that come out of your mouth are like music to his ears, he never thought he would feel so turned on by someone moaning like this.

You're desperate, rutting your pussy on his hard dick, looking for the least bit of stimulation. Chan understands it, he keeps going down, landing kisses on your belly, until he reaches your lower half. He takes off your shorts, so close you can feel his breath hitting the skin of your lower stomach.

He puts both of his hands on each side of your hips, stilling you. He gets closer to your pussy, licking a long stripe from between the lips till your clit, making you moan loudly. Chan chuckles, feeling his cock get harder, if that's even possible. He puts just one of his hands over your stomach to keep you still while his other hand goes down to your wet hole.

Chan puts in two fingers, making you moan while he licks and sucks your clit, he gives kisses to your cunt in the middle of it, making you go crazy. His fingers keep working hard inside you, making you squirm in his hands. It makes him extremely proud to see you in that situation, he could stay there forever.

When you least expect it, he puts in another finger, making you whimper and glare at him.

“I know you can take it, baby”, he smirks, “how can you take my cock if you can't take this much?” He pouts, making you groan. The feeling of his cock inside you, just makes you get wetter and he feels that.

Chan works faster with his fingers, he wants to see you coming all over his hand and mouth. He couldn't do this last time and he regretted it, so now he wants to leave you fucked out, with nothing on your mind other than him.

You start feeling the knot in your lower stomach, you can feel your orgasm getting closer and closer, your hands go to his hair, forcing his head against your pussy, you want more, you need more. The movements of his mouth get faster, making you shake while you reach your climax, and you let out a loud moan. Chan doesn't stop, he licks everything that comes out of you, all your juices and his fingers keep you whimpering, until you can't take it anymore. You make him stop, forcing his head away from your pussy. You breathe heavily, watching every movement of his.

Chan looks at you, pulling his fingers out of you and taking them to his mouth, licking them clean.

He moves back on top of you, holding your face and kissing you again, letting you taste yourself on his tongue and that's the hottest thing he could do but you can't let him have all the fun, so you put your hands on his shoulder, pushing him off of you, making him fall back onto the sofa. Before he can say anything you're already straddling him. Your hand slides up to his hair, pulling the strands, making him groan and smile.

“What should I do with you?” You ask, while you grind on him. His hands go to your hips, forcing you down, so he can feel you better.

You're making a mess on his grey sweatpants, they were already wet with his precum but you're soaking him with your pussy. He doesn't wait for you to decide, he takes his shirt off and lets his hands wander until they find your ass, squeezing it. You're so hot, he doesn't get how he managed to not burst while eating you out.

You pull his sweatpants and underwear down and his hard cock slaps back on his stomach. You get on your knees between his legs, spit on his cock and use one of your hands to stroke him. Chan throws his head back, at the same time that he wants to watch you prettily jerking him off, he can't take how good you're making him feel.

A groan comes out when he feels your warm lips around him. Chan looks back at you, seeing your beautiful doe eyes staring at him, like you're not sucking him off like that. You bob your head, barely getting half of his cock in your mouth. You twirl your tongue around the head, making him whimper. Oh, it's so good to hear him like that, you almost forgot about it, how great it was to hear him beg.

You smile, letting go of his cock with a pop of your lips. Chan is scared by your mischievous smile but so turned on, you have no idea what you're doing to him. You go back to straddling him, your warm cunt dragging on his cock, soaking him with your juices.

“Fuck, you're so hot”, he groans, sliding his hand to grab on his cock, but you smile once more, shaking your head slowly.

“You said you don't mind begging, right?” You ask, biting on your bottom lip.

“Y/N”, he warns you, making you giggle.

“Come on, Channie”, you give a peck on his lips, “I know you liked it when I made you ask”

“Please”, he says through gritted teeth.

“You can do better than that”, you pout, grinding on his cock and making him hiss to the feeling. “We already talked about it. Beg.”

Chan looks deep into your eyes and contrary to your expectations, he smiles, biting on his bottom lip.

“Please, baby, let me fuck you”, he starts but you're not done with him. You slip his cock inside you, but keep still.

“Keep going”, you giggle.

“Fuck”, he curses, but it's so good inside you, he don't mind begging. He can't even think straight. “Please, move. Ride me, please. It's so good inside you, I can't take it, please”

You smile, proudly, starting to move. He grabs on your hip with one hand while the other plays with one of your breasts.

“You're such a good boy”, you tease, making his dick twitch inside you and his face grow hot and red. “You like that? Do you like it when I praise you?”

“Shit”, he hisses, groaning and moaning when you feel him filling you up, that also makes you moan, reaching your climax once more.

You're trembling and Chan is not much better, you drop the weight of your body over him, resting your head on his shoulder.

You don't know what to say, you don't know what to do. You're scared to look at him now and go back to being awkward. However, before you freak out completely, Chan clears his throat, making it impossible for you to keep in that position. You look at him and he smiles.

“Can I stop pretending I don't like you, now?” He sighs, seeing your confused face.

“What?” You ask.

“There's no turning back from this, y/n”, he answers. “I never thought I'd actually say this out loud, but I like you”

You feel your breath hitching in your throat, you can't speak.

“You know, I never thought I'd be into all this”, he keeps going, not expecting you to reciprocate his feelings. “I think I like it because it's you”

You feel a strange surge of happiness taking all over you, you can't help but smile.

“You're so lame”, you hide your face on his neck. “I like you too”, you whisper, making him chuckle.

Chan slides one of his arms around your waist and the other holds your ass as he gets up, carrying you.

“Where are you going?” You ask, hugging him so you can secure yourself.

“My room”, he smiles, “it's your time to beg now”

[thespianinthebackcorner]

Hey hey hey writers!!! Especially y'alls who are struggling to develop character or have white room/still character syndrome!!!

Look into Uta Hagen's acting techniques, specifically her 9 questions. I'm not kidding. She built off Stanislavski's techniques to help actors develop their characters and roles & bring that to the stage- specifically, and this is why I'm pushing Hagen specifically and not anyone else, their relationship with the set, props, other characters, setting (yes that's different from set), history and the play's plot, and how that changes how they act and speak. I have my textbook open I'll take some pictures.

If you need a transcript/image description I'll put it under the cut, they're a little blurry cause I'm bad at holding my phone... I know alt text is a thing but I don't want y'alls to have to scroll through a tiny box lmao.

[Image 1 alt text]

The lower part of a textbook page. The text reads:

Uta Hagen's acting exercises

[Out-of-transcript note: Most of these, with the exception of Three Entrances, are less useful in terms of writers, but you could make it work, especially for roleplay.]

Basic Object Exercise: Sometimes called "two minutes of daily life," this exercise requires the actor to replicate activities from their own daily routine in specific detail (think making breakfast or getting ready to go out). The goal of this exercise is to increase the actor's awareness of their un-observed behaviour.

Three Entrances: Starting offstage, the actor enters the environment of the scene. The actor's performance should answer three questions: What did I just do? What am I going to do? What is the first thing I want?

Immediacy: Hagen asked actors to search for a small object that they need. You can perform the exercise on a set or in your home. As you search, you should observe the behaviour and thoughts that arise as you authentically try to find something. The objective is to identify the thoughts, behaviours, and sensations you experience when you genuinely don't know the outcome, so you can use them on stage.

Fourth Side: This exercise starts with a phone call to a person you know. You should call them with a specific objective in mind. During the convention, Hagen wants you to focus on your surroundings and the specific objects that your eyes rest on. The purpose is to help actors observe how they interact with all dimensions of an enclosed physical space so they can recreate privacy on stage.

Endowment: this exercise is designed to help actors apply their observed behaviours to endow props with qualities that they cannot safely have on stage. Hot irons and sharp knives are typical examples. The Endowment excercise asks actors to believably treat objects on stage as though they have the qualities the actor needs in a scene.

Uta Hagen's exercises are her greatest gift to actors working today. She developed them between Broadway jobs to solve some acting problems she had never seen anyone tackle to her satisfaction. The result is that Hagen's exercises give actors a way to observe human behaviours and catalogue it so they can recall it onstage when useful in a role.

[Image 1 alt text end]

[Image 2 alt text]

Most of a textbook page. The image cuts off about 3 quarters of the way down the page. The text reads:

Uta Hagen's 9 Questions

Who am I? This question's answer includes all relevant details from name and age to physical traits, education, and beliefs.

What time is it? Depending on the scene, the most relevant measure of time can be the era, the season, the day, or even the specific minute.

Where am I? This answer covers the country, town, neighbourhood, room, or even the specific part of the room.

What surrounds me? Characters can be surrounded by anything from weather to furnishings, landscape or people.

What are the given circumstances? Given circumstances include what has happened, what is happening and what will happen to a character.

What are my relationships? Relationships can be with the other characters in the play, inanimate objects, or even recent events.

What do I want? Wants can be what the character desires in the moment, or in the overall course of the play. [Out-of-transcript note: I recommend figuring out both for writing, the former multiple times for whenever it changes! Outside of Hagen's technique, we call it objective and superobjective.]

What is in my way? This is the actor's chance to understand the obstacles the character must react to and overcome.

What do I do to get what I want? In Hagen's teaching, "do" means physical action.

Uta Hagen's nine questions help actors develop the granular details of their character's backstory. The questions come from Hagen's first book, "Respect for Acting," though in her later book, "A Challenge for the Actor," she condensed her original nine questions into six steps.

Uta Hagen's revised six steps to building a character are:

Who am I?

What are the circumstances?

What are my relationships?

What do I want?

What is my obstacle?

What do I do to get what I want?

Later in her life, Hagen distances herself from her first book and encouraged her students to rely on her second book, which she felt was clearer about her concepts. Both books are popular with acting teachers and students today, however. Hagen's questions and steps are the foundation for all of her acting exercises. Whether you rely on the nine questions or the six steps depends on personal preference.

[Image 2 alt text end]

Personally I like the 9 questions more, but like the book says, personal preference! So yeah, if you're a writer, try some of these out for your characters. :]

[crystalquery]

watch closely.

pairing: yelena belova x fem!reader

summary: you're hot, everybody knows it. but this time, it gets a bit too much for yelena to handle.

author's note: this was someone's request, but i accidentally deleted their ask 😭 i hope you can find this sweetheart!

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡⋆𐙚₊

"i mean, it's stupid! allie should have been with hammond. he's a gentleman and doesn't force a girl to go out with him by threatening to harm himself!" you whine. you and john had been arguing for over 10 minutes about who allie from 'the notebook' should have ended up with. but you had no clue john had been goading you, purposely trying to get a reaction out of you for his own entertainment.

"i'd risk my life for you, though doll." bucky mumbles loud enough for you to hear, walking towards you from the kitchen, coffee in hand. the wink he spares you afterward gives you enough to understand his proper intentions. nothing serious, just some fun. going back and forth, you both playfully shove, kick, and hit each other without even causing any harm.

however, you and bucky aren't aware of yelena's eyes glancing between the two of you, almost disapprovingly, as he then caresses your shoulder since you're now cuddled up together, fight forgotten. on the loveseat couch. the name itself is enough to make her nails dig into her palm. she knew bucky would never do anything to harm your guy's relationship, but it still made her brows furrow in annoyance.

it was her idea in the first place, have a day off, and ignore all of valentina's and mel's calls so they don't make you all go on another 'image improving mission that the superfans will love'. but why did you have to look so good? she didn't even think it was possible for someone to look so tantalizing while wearing sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt with lindsay lohans mugshot on it. she couldn't help but glance between the screen and you every once in a while, tempted to crawl on her hands and knees to you.

"hey you, i'm going out. do you need anything?" had already heard the hum of ava phasing through the walls, ava clasped your extended hand that was reached around the back of the couch. you both enjoyed physical contact for different reasons, her for stability, you for comfort, and you found it in each other. your bond was lighthearted and full of love, platonic, and you couldn't help but flirt and tease on occasion. i mean, you're in a giant building full of attractive people. what else are you supposed to do?

the belova girl was nearly about to burst, cuddling up with barnes and now holding hands with starr? she shuffled where she was sat, her current position now uncomfortable. why couldn't you just come over to her? where you belong. the greed she felt in her chest felt almost sickening, but she had no shame in the way she felt, because she knew damn well what you where doing. everyone adored you, wanted you, but they couldn't have you even if they tried.

yelena truly thought you had cast a spell on her. while it did sound cliché, she was genuinely getting frustrated with the amount of time she was spending thinking about you. while working out, while sleeping, and even during a mission (which ended up in a hospital visit). one day, she crumbled. it was 2am, and she caught you in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal, on top of the counter, wearing nothing but a shear white shirt that reached your thighs. no words were exchanged, but you both could tell how the other was feeling based on how quickly your chest was rising from panting and how yelena's green eyes were now looking almost entirely black. one thing leads to another, as it so often does.

a smirk slowly crept on yelena's face, too zoned out to notice the baffled (and slightly terrified) look she was receiving from john since she was looking in his general direction. she closed her eyes while placing her elbow on the couch armrest and resting her head upon her palm. bob once told her about one of his therapy sessions that he had after recovering from the void incident, grumbling about how useless and boring is was. but she remembered one thing that he had recalled.

"she said to 'go to my happy place'."

most people would think of a beach, a cabin in the woods or maybe a library. she didn't, her happy place was with you. touching you, teasing you, hearing soft moans and gasps leaving your mouth. she inhaled sharply, trying to ignore the fact that if she opened her eyes and saw you she'd have no hesitation to give everyone a free show. just so they know who you belonged too. if the film doesn't end anytime soon she'll need to get someone to chain her up like a dog. the minutes felt like hours and she was slowly losing patience.

after a painful 30 minutes for yelena, the credits started rolling on the film, and bucky politely started cleaning up the mess left behind by john and alexei's earlier shenanigans. a loud and long sigh leaving yelena is what brings you attention to her, observing her and tilting your head in confusion about how relaxed she looks. did your plan not work? slowly, you climb off of the couch and walk backward towards the empty hallway, keeping your eyes close on the ex-assassin.

"Идите сюда" you wince as soon as you hear the words leave her mouth. you have no clue what she's saying, but you know you are in trouble. her eyes are now gazing directly at yours, no show of emotion on her face. trying to shuffle backwards, you make too big of a step and watch as her head tilts and her smile grow in amusement. yelena then jumps from her spot, striding towards you showing no restraint. however, a grin of your own appears. finally! this is what you wanted! yelena knows it too as she sees you lead her directly towards your room. all thoughts of the team completely gone, just you and her, exactly the way she likes it.

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡⋆𐙚₊

[hellfirebarnes]

Slow-Burns - Part 3

PART 1 PART 2 PART 4

I split this up in several, shorter parts because I know the feeling when you want to read a fic but don't have the time or energy to get through a 10k+ words one. Also if you hate my writing you can just read part 1 and then leave it. Win-win I guess?

Anyway, this is set after Thunderbolts so if you haven't seen it - spoilers I guess? It absolutely does not follow canon, but yeah better to be safe than sorry.

Summary: Bucky has fallen. Hopelessly. And the only thing more hopeless is his team trying to help him get to the end of this slow-burn.

Bucky x fem!SHIELD!reader

1.7K words

Fluff, ''normal'' violence and descriptions of injuries. For sure out of character stuff, but I am who I am. Your appearence is barely desribed what I can remember, I think your hair and a couple types what clothes you're wearing?

You're referred to as ''Agent'' and ''Sunshine'' in a desperate attempt from me to not use Y/N.

Let me know if there's anything else I should warn about.

Otherwise, enjoy :)

Bucky scanned the briefing file. Intel breach. Corporate sabotage. Medium risk, low collateral. High-tech infiltration. One scientist needed extraction. Half the mission screamed you - cyber-forensic work, silent infiltration, backdoor escape route.

He frowned. “She’s not coming?”

Yelena leaned back in her chair, sipping bad coffee from a novelty mug that read ‘Crime, But Make It Cute.’

“She’s not coming.”

Bucky’s heart skipped. “Why?”

“She has the day off,” Ava answered, scrolling through her own tablet.

“But we need someone who can spoof an encrypted relay system on the move,” he said, voice flat but tight. “That’s her.”

“Relax, grandpa,” John muttered. “We’ve got it covered. Ava rewrote a protocol last night, and Bob is flying overwatch.”

Bucky looked back down at the tablet, annoyed. Not at the team. Not at the mission. At the fact that it felt wrong without you. And he hated how that felt.

“She asked for the day off two weeks ago,” Yelena added, tapping through something on her screen. “She deserves it.”

Alexei, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, suddenly grinned like he’d been waiting for someone to ask.

“Is big day,” he said, voice full of pride. “I set her up with very nice man. Name is Luka. Banker. Hair like lion. Very symmetrical face.”

Bucky looked up, slowly. “…You what?”

“Date!” Alexei beamed. “They go to brunch. Then art museum. Maybe share pretzel. Classic courtship!”

The silence that followed was deafening. Bucky didn’t move.

“Wait,” John said, looking up from his file. “She’s on a date?”

“Yes!” Alexei slammed a celebratory hand on the table. “I make things happen!”

Yelena blinked. “With Luka? From your bowling team?”

“He does not just bowl! He reads books. Big hands. Gentle eyes.”

Ava smirked. “You sound like you’re in love with him yourself.”

“He is very huggable!”

Bucky barely heard any of it. He was still stuck on date.

Something cold settled under his ribs. He hadn’t known you were seeing someone. He hadn’t even thought to ask. You’d always been here, orbiting close. And now, without warning, you were… elsewhere. With someone. Laughing, maybe. Wearing something soft and light. Smiling the way you always did when you were teasing him - except it wasn’t him.

Alexei’s words filtered back in. “—and if it goes well, they go to second location. Maybe fondue. Is very romantic.”

Bucky pushed back from the table. “I’ll be on the jet,” he muttered.

Yelena watched him go, eyes narrowing. When the door slid shut behind him, she turned to the others. “Okay,” she said. “That man is not okay.”

Bob tilted his head. “Is this the part where he acknowledges his feelings and makes a healthy emotional decision?”

John scoffed. “More like he’ll sit alone in the cargo bay and think about how her laugh sounds.”

Alexei frowned. “But she deserves strong man with good face symmetry. Why is Barnes sad?”

Ava deadpanned, “Because he’s been in denial for months.”

Two hours later Bucky sat strapped in, arms crossed, staring out the window like it had offended him personally. Every passing city below looked like a blur of decisions he hadn’t made. He thought about the last time you had touched his shoulder. How you’d laughed at one of Bob’s ridiculous stories. How you always leaned in just slightly when you talked to him, like what he said mattered more than anyone else’s words.

And now you were giving that attention to someone else. Some Luka.

He didn’t even know what the guy looked like, but his brain was helpfully painting the worst: tall, perfect teeth, probably called you beautiful without tripping over the word like Bucky always did in his head.

He wasn’t mad at you. Not even close. But he was angry with himself.

He’d wasted time. So much time, thinking if he just stayed close, you’d know. That he wouldn’t need to say anything. That maybe feelings could transfer telepathically through awkward silences and missed glances.

You were out there living. And he was up here… sulking.

He hadn’t wanted to make a move. He’d told himself he wasn’t ready. And now it might be too late.

Meanwhile, at a café in Brooklyn, you stirred your coffee absently as Luka droned on about crypto trends and some vacation he’d taken in the Alps with his “boys.” His shirt was tailored, his teeth were indeed perfect, and he had zero opinions on whether or not one should put glitter in combat boots.

You smiled politely. But your mind wandered.

To the Tower.

To the mission briefing you could have been part of.

To a certain grumpy super soldier with eyes like storm clouds and the emotional range of a wounded wolf.

God, you missed him already.

The Tower was quieter than usual that night. Post-mission debriefs were filed. John had gone out. Yelena and Ava were holed up somewhere with wine and a true crime doc. Alexei was in the sauna, probably giving unsolicited dating advice to someone over speakerphone.

And you? You were back.

Bucky noticed the moment you walked in. Not because you announced it - you never did - but because the air shifted.

He was in the common room, nursing a drink and reading the same paragraph of a book for the fourth time when he heard the elevator ding and your familiar footsteps cross the floor.

Then your voice. “Hey.”

He looked up.

You were dressed casually - simple, comfortable, but still carried yourself like you had a secret no one else was allowed to know. Except this time, you looked… tired. Not physically. Just disappointed in a way that sat deep in the shoulders.

Bucky sat up a little straighter. “You’re back.”

You sank onto the opposite end of the couch, kicking your shoes off with a sigh. “Yeah. Just got in.”

He hesitated. Then, carefully: “How was the date?”

You groaned and dropped your head back dramatically. “So bad. So impressively bad.”

Bucky’s heart did something traitorous - thrilled a little too much at the words. He worked hard not to show it.

“He was… polite. I’ll give him that. But every time I tried to steer the conversation toward something fun or personal, he’d redirect it back to himself. Or his investments. Or this stupid vacation he took with a group of guys who all wore matching swim trunks and called themselves the Wolfpack.”

Bucky blinked. “The what?”

“Right?” You said, eyes wide. “It felt like a sitcom where the punchline never came.”

A beat passed. He couldn’t help it—he smiled. Just a little.

You caught it. Your expression softened. “What?”

“Nothing. Just… sounds like hell.”

“It was. But the pretzel was good.”

You shared a quiet moment. Bucky’s chest felt warm and strange. He didn’t speak much, but he listened, and for once, he didn’t feel like he was drowning in his own silence. Maybe it was the soft tone in your voice. Maybe it was the way you’d looked at him when you walked in, like you’d missed him too.

He almost leaned in, just a little, like he was going to say something real for once.

And then Bob practically exploded into the room, arms wide, face beaming like a golden retriever who’d just spotted his favorite human.

Bucky immediately sat back, shoulders going tense.

You blinked, then smiled, bright and open. “Hey, Bob.”

Bob crossed the room in three giant steps and flopped onto the couch between you with a whoomp, knocking Bucky’s knee in the process. “You’re back! I missed you! Did you see the picture of Waffles I texted you?”

“I did,” you said, laughing. “The little hat was a nice touch.”

“He wore it willingly!” Bob looked at you with stars in his eyes. “Did you have a fun day off?”

You paused. “It had its moments.”

Bob turned to Bucky, clueless and radiant. “Didn’t we miss her, Buck? I kept saying we needed her on the mission. She would’ve handled that alarm system in two minutes.”

Bucky blinked slowly. “Yeah. We missed her.”

Your eyes flicked to Bucky, and something quiet passed between you again. But Bob, entirely unaware, continued cheerfully.

“I was thinking maybe we could all go get pancakes tomorrow. Celebrate a mission well done and your return. I know a place. They have whipped cream. And seasonal syrups. And they let you mix them. Which is chaos, but good chaos.”

You laughed again, and Bucky felt the familiar ache settle back into his chest. Because Bob wasn’t competition. He was just kind. Bright and open and honest in a way Bucky hadn’t been in years. Maybe ever. And you looked so comfortable around him. So light.

Bucky couldn’t even be mad. Not at Bob. Not at you. Just at himself, for still sitting there, wanting something and saying nothing.

He stood up quietly, draining the rest of his drink.

“Where you going?” You asked, noticing.

“Gonna turn in,” he said, avoiding your eyes. “Long day.”

“Goodnight,” you said softly.

He paused. Then looked at you - really looked at you. And for just a second, he let something show.

“Glad you’re back.”

And then he walked away.

Behind him, you watched him go. And for the first time since the date, you weren’t thinking about Luka at all.

Valentina slid a sleek folder across her desk. Inside was a badge, a keycard, a stack of onboarding documents, and a post-it with “Val we need a hot tub in the tower—seriously” scribbled in Yelena’s handwriting.

“I want you full-time, Agent. No more coming and going. A room and an official seat at the table. The team already treats you like you’re one of them. Might as well make it real.”

You bit the inside of your cheek. Your heart said yes immediately. But your brain, ever cautious, flipped through the mental index of what-ifs and escape routes.

“You sure you want to say no?” Val asked, arms folded, one brow arched.

You blinked. “Did I say no?”

“You hesitated.”

“I blinked.”

“Same thing in spy-speak.”

Then you thought about last night’s mission.

How Yelena had linked arms with you when you walked back into the jet, chattering about snack options. How Alexei had announced proudly that he’d protected “the two best sharpshooters in the world.” How Bob had quietly tucked your coat over your shoulders when you’d dozed off.

And how Bucky had looked at you before you parted ways. Like maybe he didn’t want to see you go.

You smiled softly.

“I’m in.”

[respectthepetty]

Pit Babe 2 Colors - Ep. 5

I'm watching the second season of Pit Babe on mute with no subtitles and double-speed just like I did the first season, so now I have a ton of questions. For science.

First question: Is Alan just a normal dude? Like does he have special powers? I don't think so, but I ask because . . . could he be pregnant and not Jeffery?

Because why is in looking so pitiful this episode, like he is just falling apart every two seconds? This is how Team Evil is going to get him! He is weak and they are going to try to supe him up!

Jeffrey played between the red and blue last season, but he had been consistently blue until whatever happened between him and Alan happened the last episode, so is something up now that Jeffrey is back to playing with reds? Did his power change? Did he get his man pregnant?

Second question: Peter can read minds, so . . . is this why he isn't touching Kentana because he doesn't want to know that Kentana is still in love with him? I feel like he read Kentana's mind last season and thought he should kiss him, but this season there are a lot of barriers between them, and it feels intentional on Peter's part.

Kentana has a key to his house because this is the third time Kentana has just walked in, yet Peter continues to fuck Waymond Christopher on every possible surface (I see the red on the pool table, and I'm ignoring it!), so is Peter doing this on purpose?

Peter is a good guy. He is always surrounded by blue.

Waymond Christopher is sus, but he is still light and heavenly, so I'm not too worried about him.

And Peter is clearly blindingly in love with him.

Or with Waymond (but they are the same person as far as I'm concerned so there is no difference).

And I think Waymond Christopher has feelings for Peter because he fell asleep in Peter's arms after sex.

However, he did sneak off to hack into his computer, but he was blue so he is safe, and I will fully admit that I used Google translate to figure out what each kid's profile said (it was too much text to be ignored), and one kid could hear people from great distances, another could move objects, one could manipulate people (Way Way?) and the last was Peter. I think Waymond Christopher is trying to track down others like him.

But I don't think he is doing it to give them the Team Evil serum. I think he is truly trying to help others like him lose their abilities, so they won't be used by Team Evil.

So even though I feel bad for Kentana not being touched by Peter in more than one way,

He has a bad bitch who watched Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift and is giving him "I'm gonna fuck you and tuck you into bed at night" eyes, so he's good.

They are the perfect balance of light x dark, and they will literally ride circles around these other couples when they finally get together. Wait! Side question: Why isn't Kimberly racing? Because he is taking care of Kentana?

Third question, and the easiest: Someone blew the fuck up during that race, did they not?! Are we just gonna act like it's not a big deal? Because the race continued! And William, who has been orange, seemed to turn a bit red during the race.

Alan noticed something was up!

While everyone else was celebrating, Alan looked like he thought something was strange, so what is William doing? It had to be something since Barbie immediately approached him.

I, as the clown that I am, do not believe William is Team Evil because he is the dark side to Barbie's light side, so I truly think they are connected somehow and are stuck in the same situation, but I need to know what his power is and if it's exactly like Barbie's. Where is Barbie's dad because I have more questions? Does he have other kids?!

I've apparently watched too many toxic Chinese BLs.

Tell me who you love next episode, William (and it better be Charles!).

Fourth question, but it's not a question: Something is definitely up with Vegas' Hedgehog. He was slowly bringing back his usual style as seen in the shirt he is wearing, but he still had on white, and the red was backing him.

He also wore purple with white. I don't know what this kid has been up to, and I don't know who he has been hanging out with, but he's different, and I 👏🏾 don't 👏🏾 like 👏🏾 it.

Dean is slowly making his way back to the blue (still sus though), but Whiny Winifred used to be red, and now he is purely black. Heavy shit has to going down for a person to completely change or lose his color, and we know what's happening with Whiny Winifred, so what's happening with Vegas' Hedgehog?

Final question:

WHAT THE FUCK, BARBARA?!

Why is Barbara quickly turning red?!

Barbara is a Black Brooder. He wears blue for the team and the Blue Boy he loves, so why in the hell did he pop up as red this episode?! He isn't bad, but I feel he is going to turn to Team Evil very soon with the way he is going.

And if he loses Charles, who keeps getting darker, Barbara will be lost without his light!

STEP AWAY FROM THE RED, BARBIE! IT AIN'T WORTH IT!

[thetelesterion]

Hiii, I'm new to helpol. What are the guidelines around prayer? I know you're supposed to wash your hands first, so I always do, but are there other things I'm supposed to do? I'm coming from a Christian upbringing where the sentiment was very "you could pray while taking a shit and God wouldn't mind it"

Hello anon!

I'm no scholar or expert on anything related to Hellenic Polytheism but I will do my best to answer this, as well as give examples from my own practices.

So, while there are no strict "guidelines" on how to pray, we have ancient sources which help us understand how the ancient Greeks would have prayed and worshipped.

Firstly, like you pointed out, washing one's hands was essential. I'm not gonna get into the whole "miasma" thing, as there are others who cover that far more gracefully and informatively than I ever could. Ordinary water is fine for this.

Secondly, there is the structure of prayer. The basic components of a prayer are:

1. Invocation (Calling upon the god/gods, usually with their epithets and titles)

2. Argument (Basically saying why the god/gods should listen to your prayer)

3. The Petition (This is where you ask the gods for any requests, favors, or anything else you're praying to them for)

"Casual" prayers are also historically attested and don't always follow this structure. Essentially, you can pray to the gods whenever you wish, but personally I like to follow a basic structure like that when I pray in front of my altar at home. But, in short, formal prayers are not the only acceptable prayers.

I will give a link to this wonderfully detailed post by @ olympianbutch that covers the structure of prayer in a lot more depth!

Finally, on the topic of gestures and postures made during prayer, there are a few that we know of historically. There is the "orans" posture involves the raising of both arms towards the heavens, and is meant for prayers and rituals involving the Ouranic, or heavenly gods. For Khthonic/Underworld deities, a worshipper would bow low to the ground or fully prostrate, and yell into the earth so the gods below would hear them.

Now... that last one obviously is tricky in most modern settings, and I usually don't do the yelling bit myself. But I do a mixture of both postures since I have several Ouranic and Khthonic deities on my altar.

When it comes to saying silent prayers or saying prayers out loud, I do a mix of both. Sometimes, I don't feel the energy to say anything out loud, and I sit in front of my altar and let the smell of my incense fill the air. It puts me in a good state of mind, and helps me focus on the gods.

Overall, if you take any of this advice and incorporate it into your own practices, always be sure to avoid pushing yourself. Do what you're able to do. The Theoi see and appreciate all the effort we give, even if we think we're not doing enough. And keep learning! Keep digging, keep reading, and keep asking. There's always something to learn.

[poquita-cosa02]

Prince.

@wolfstarmicrofic l 828 words.

At seven years old, Remus Lupin knows many things about the world. His mother always tells him that he is a smart boy, and he believes her, because one of the things Remus knows is that his mother never lies. 

He also knows how to take care of his mother's plants, especially the roses. It's very important to take care of them, because nobody else does, and Remus couldn't let them wither. 

Remus knows he's smart because he reads books– books for big kids. 

His favourite book in the entire world is Beauty and the Beast. He likes it because it's the first book he read all by himself, with no help from his mum. 

The beast is terrifying. But Remus is a big, brave and smart boy. And smart boys must read, because books are always right. 

He also knows where his dad hides the chocolate at their house, and he has developed a perfect technique to take a little bit each time as his parents work, so they never know. 

He knows they mustn't discover him, because it's a secret. Secrets must be kept, no matter what, and Remus is the best at keeping secrets, because he's a smart boy. 

So smart he is, that he knows nobody should get into other people's houses without permission. So when he saw the kid running in his garden, with long hair full of little twigs and leaves, and jumping carelessly between the bushes, he knew he must protect his house.

Because Remus Lupin is a brave boy. 

“Leave!” He screamed as he ran across the back door, making the kid scared and jump back, falling over one of the rose bushes. 

“No!” Remus ran desperately, using all of his force to push the intruder out of there. “No. No. No.” He repeated, looking at the broken branches and the destroyed petals. “You're mean and cruel!” He shouted, facing the kid's confused and pale face. “Why did you hurt them?” Remus' voice broke and he covered his face in frustration, trying to stop the tears. 

Brave. Brave. Brave. 

Remus was a brave boy. 

Brave boys don't cry. 

Remus picked the fallen petals from the floor and desperately tried to put them together. 

Smart. 

He was a smart boy. 

But it didn't work. Remus thought he could use some glue, but it was in a tall drawer he wasn't allowed to touch, and he was an obedient boy. 

A good son. 

Not a monster.

A boy. 

A kind boy. 

And he must fix this, because Remus knew the roses are important to the beasts. If they weren't there, how would the princess break the curse?

How would she save him from staying a beast forever?

Remus was brought back to reality when a gentle hand landed on his shoulder. 

Remus' eyes were blurry but he could still distinguish the boy sitting next to him. His hands were together making a cup where the fallen petals had been put together imitating the shape of a rose. 

Remus sobbed and rubbed his face. “Thanks,” he whispered, and his stomach turned in a strange way at the boy's wide smile. Maybe he was already getting sick, the full moon was close after all. 

“I'm sorry I hurt your flowers,” the boy whispered. “They are really beautiful.”

“I took care of them by myself.” Remus' voice was still watery, but he raised his chin up proudly. 

“Wow… we don't have flowers at my house.” The kid was looking at the handmade rose in his hands. “They are really beautiful.” He repeated. 

“Mhm,” Remus nodded. “Do you want to play gardeners with me?” Remus wasn't sure why he had said that. These were his roses. But the boy had delicate, careful hands, and Remus thought he could finally have a friend. 

“Yes!” the boy exclaimed. His eyes were bright and Remus felt that feeling in his stomach again. 

“Why were you in my garden?” Remus asked after a while as Sirius– as the boy had presented himself– used a long grass to tie the petals together.

“Oh! I was running to save the princess! Evan is the monster and he wanted to attack her, and I'm the prince. So I have to save Pandora from him.”

“And you're a prince?” Remus looked suspiciously at the boy.

“Well, sure!” Sirius seemed offended, and Remus shrugged as he picked more petals to help him. His hands were not as delicate as Sirius' and no matter how many times he tried, the petals slipped away between his fingers before he could put the rose together. 

“Prince Sirius.” Remus whispered looking at him. 

His long hair was flying behind him and his chin was up high. The savage smile was still there, but it seemed more distinguished as he extended the handmade rose at Remus. 

“Thanks,” he whispered.  

The weird feeling in his stomach had gone all the way through his chest to his face, making his cheeks blush.

[estellardreams]

The Brotherhood

The New Past AU by @lululocomo

The ask on the brotherhood showing up with MK helping gave me a bit of material to work with on how it would go, however... I came across some art on an idea and now Imma see where this goes

Hope you enjoy :)

Mk was not expecting the strike to be so... Brutal. Granted, his memory was a touch fuzzy on journey to the west. He hadn't reread it in a while, especially the passage on the pilgrims sealing up the brotherhood.

But now, he was here... Approaching their kingdom, riding behind Wukong and Macaque on the nimbus back to Tripitaka and everyone else.

"Alright, we're here." Wukong leapt off the cloud, helping Macaque and MK down with him.

"Thank you. Though I must ask, why did you bring your son along?" Tripitaka asked.

"I wanted to come with! I... I have something I need to do here, too." MK quickly piped up.

"Ah. Very well, then."

"I feel like we should revise our plan so we don't accidentally get ambushed." Ao Lie spoke up.

"Nonsense! It's totally fine!" Wukong said proudly.

"No, I agree with him. We should rethink this because your plan of pretending we're bait is..." Macaque trailed off.

"Really bad." MK winced.

Wukong groaned. "Then what do all of you suggest? I'm trying to find a way to get us inside without being detected as threats!"

MK's ears perked up, his gaze drifting up to the kingdom. His eyes narrowed, seeing more than three figures roaming the streets.

"Do you guys know it's not just the brotherhood there?" he asked.

"Wait, really?" Wukong snapped to look at him.

Mk pointed to the multiple figures gathering at the edge.

But three seemed to tower over the smaller ones.

"Brother! So glad of you to join us! Have you finally come to your senses?" Azure declared.

"What's the plan?!" Baije hissed.

"Don't worry, I got this!" Wukong piped up.

"Of course I have! After all, I have captured my fake friends for all of you!" he called back.

"WHAT?!" nearly everyone exclaimed.

"Are we seriously going with this plan?!" Macaque questioned.

Peng flew down to them, circling around them. "Then why are they not in chains? Why do you still have their controlling crown on?"

... Shoot he didn't think of that.

"That's just a glamour, okay?"

"Then drop it."

Wukong paused. He knew that he was basically screwed in trying to remove his entire glamour, especially since it was noticeable how the swirls appeared for concealing over dissipating.

"Excuse me?" Tripitaka spoke up.

"We do not mean your kingdom any harm. Please, come with us. I'm sure we can talk through this in a civilized manner-"

"Oh, the little monk wants to be good guy now?" Peng snarked.

Mk scowled, trying to hide his expression.

"And this boy... You brought a child with you? How idiotic can you be?" he hovered right up to MK's face.

"Not idiotic enough to miss." he summoned a staff of golden shadows before slamming the blunt end right in front of Peng's face.

He fell back a little, brushing over his beak.

"You little brat!" he snarled, flying back up to the kingdom.

Mk breathed, keeping a tight grip on his staff.

Some of the crowd began to vanish, but a good chunk of them remained.

"So. All of you are trying to deceive us?" Azure began.

"... You're no better than those celestials and their empty promises." a huge blast of a swing came flying at them.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Macaque yelled, using his shadows to force everyone out of the way of the strike.

"Oh, it's on! Let's finish this!" Wukong summoned his staff, charging at the kingdom.

"DAD! WAIT!" MK ran after him.

"KID!" Macaque chased after the two of them.

"All of you, go. I'll stay behind in case any of you need support." Tripitaka said.

"No, I'll keep you safe Master." Ao Lie shifted his form back into a dragon, scooping their group up before flying to the top.

The moment MK arrived, he was bodyslammed into by Yellowtusk. He skidded back, planting his staff into the ground.

The hammer came crashing down over him, causing him to leap out of the way.

Azure knocked Wukong back, making him collide into MK. Macaque quickly caught the two using his shadow portal, repositioning them back up as if nothing happened.

"Brother. They've brainwashed you, haven't they?" Azure started.

"No, they didn't."

"They're using you! Turning you against us! What happened to rising up against their injustice?"

A dragon crashed directly into the three, sending them flying. The other demons on standby froze, weapons and armor nearly ready.

Ao Lie transformed back to normal, catching Tripitaka, Wujing, and Baije before they all fell.

"Ah! Thank you, Ao Lie." Tripitaka softly thanked.

"How many people even are there?!" Baije yelped, noticing the small army of demons preparing their weapons.

Mk frowned, contemplating their options.

"I have an idea since we're all here. Tripitaka, I think you should stay somewhere out of reach for defense and healing. Ao Lie, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, how about you help us deal with that army over there?"

"But what about you three?" Wujing asked.

"We can take on Azure and the others. Don't worry!" Wukong said.

"... I can work with that." Baije held onto his enchanted rake. Wujing slipped his crescent staff off his back, positioning it.

Ao Lie flew Tripitaka up to a roof behind a building, mostly out of sight.

"Stay there, please." he whispered. Tang nodded, holding his Khakkhara tightly.

The Brotherhood slammed right back down into the center, Azure slamming his blade down as streams of energy strikes flew past the monkeys.

They quickly dodged, leaping out of the way. Yellowtusk struck his hammer into Macaque, sending him flying.

"BABA!" MK screamed.

"I'll go after him!" Wukong said.

"No you WON'T!" Peng forcibly pinned Wukong to the ground.

Macaque collapsed to the floor, heaving a little as the elephant towered over him.

Mk gritted his teeth, noticing Azure preparing his sword again.

He needed to act fast.

Wukong knocked Peng off of him, holding back the bird. Peng leapt back, firing his feathers at him.

Wukong spun his staff, deflecting whichever ones came to him. One suddenly pierced through his shoulder. He fell to the ground, gripping his arm as he pried it out.

The blade nearly missed MK. He fell back, avoiding another blow as it crushed the ground beneath him.

"My patience is wearing thin!" Azure yelled, continuing to swing his blade towards MK.

He kept ducking and dodging, letting himself fall through a shadow portal. He rose right out from behind Azure, sweeping him off his feet with a kick.

His sword flew into the air. With one move, MK leapt up and kicked the blade far away.

He landed back on the ground, his tail swishing behind him. He snuck a glance at the others, who seemed to be handling the small demon army quite well.

His staff was torn out of his hands.

Mk froze, seeing Azure snap his weapon in half with ease before punching him.

Mk quickly ducked, avoiding a kick from the lion. He bolted towards his dad's, only to get yanked right back by the torso and thrown into the pilgrims.

"Xiaotian?!" Wujing exclaimed, panicked. He quickly helped MK to his feet.

"I refuse to be brought down by the celestial warriors." Azure growled.

Wukong launched himself from the ground, forcibly tackling Azure to the ground. The lion wrestled the monkey off of him, throwing him to Yellowtusk, who was carrying Macaque on his shoulder.

"NO!" MK cried out. He gritted his teeth, summoning his staff again. He charged at the lion, who's gaze shifted to him mere inches away.

His paw swung.

Claws gleamed.

Time seemed to move too still for him.

MK's breathing hitched, his ears ringing, his body feeling stuck.

And then... It sped right back up as the claws connected to his face.

"KID!!!"

"CUB!!!"

"XIAOTIAN!!!"

Screams echoed through his ears as Mk fell backward, landing on his side.

Macaque gritted his teeth, shadow portaling out of Yellowtusk's grasp. He ran to MK's side, kneeling down to him.

Mk panted, blood splattering on the ground.

Wukong broke out of the elephants grip as well, rushing to MK's side.

The small monkey's fingers traced over his face, blood staining his paws.

He froze, staring at his dad's wide eyed.

"A-Are you guys okay...?" he softly asked, his hand tracing along the claw mark over his left eye.

Macaque gently cupped his cheeks before pulling the kid into a hug.

"H-huh?"

"Wukong. Get the scroll."

Wukong's gaze shifted between his mate and cub. He sighed, moving so fast the brotherhood couldn't catch him. He ducked behind the building, taking a breather.

"Master, I need the scroll. Now." he said.

Tripitaka nodded, passing the scroll of memory to him.

Ao Lie, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing quickly surrounded Macaque and MK, with Tripitaka forming a barrier around them.

"What?" Azure questioned.

Wukong's gaze landed on him first... Sharp, yet hollow. He let the scroll fall open, it's curse shooting out through its incantation.

Clawed hands shot out and grabbed him, dragging him inside the scroll. Peng quickly flew up to leave, only for the tendrils to snag him down from the air and drag him inside as well.

Yellowtusk charged to take the scroll from him, only to get sucked in as well. Wukong tossed the scroll up and sealed it back up. Tripitaka finally came out of hiding, having the scroll passed to him.

"Bud... Are you okay?" Wukong gently pulled MK over to look at him.

Mk stared up at him, wide eyed.

"Why can't I... See?" he asked, confused.

"Oh, buddy..." Wukong pulled his cub into a close hug. Macaque joined them again, holding MK close.

"It hurts..."

"I know it does, bud... But it's... I-it's okay..." Wukong gently assured him, stroking his fur.

But when he met Macaque's gaze, he knew it was not okay at all.

Their little cub had just been blinded.

[notmorbid]

sweet fury.

dialogue prompts from sweet fury by sash bischoff.

nothing will ever be the same again.

you get it. i can tell.

you know me better than i know myself.

my life was so very different before you.

isn't 'rose hip' a rather saucy name for a tea?

this isn't the image i want people to have of me.

you probably think i've got some kind of daddy complex, don't you?

what are we gossiping about?

where do you want me?

you're always thinking of everyone else.

you're the one who makes shit happen.

i've always found it best to leave the past in the past.

i don't want ____ to see how broken i am.

i don't feel angry at all. i just feel sad.

promise you'll never betray me. promise you'll never break this trust.

let's not mix business and pleasure, shall we?

may every last one of your dreams come true.

pretend i'm someone else. someone you hardly know.

i would kill to look like _____.

you're not the person i thought i knew.

you could have gotten seriously hurt.

i thought i knew where my life was going.

i know you feel like you can't escape, but you can.

i feel like i'm learning so much from you.

i'm old-fashioned at heart.

when did you know that _____ was the one?

i don't believe in unconditional love. loving someone is a choice you make over and over, every day.

you've caught me. i couldn't leave you if i tried.

______ have always been my favorite flower.

there are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired.

it's never too late to heal.

you don't need to be a _____ to be a hero.

i blew it. how can i redeem myself?

how is it possible to love two people at once?

none of this was ever your fault.

i'm sorry. i didn't mean to yell.

i didn't know where else to go. i ran here.

leaving isn't an event, it's a process.

in the movie version of your life, how would you draw it?

though my means may be messy, my motives have always been pure.

care to tell me what the hell happened?

you're the only person who knows the full story.

only you can set yourself free.

you have to make your own mistakes.

isn't this all a bit subversive?

you did what you felt you had to do to survive.

you're going to bring up my feelings for you, aren't you?

if i'm wrong, just say it, and i'll never ask again.

just for one night, will you stop your mind from turning?

i know what i'm doing. i have it all worked out.

despite everything, i like you.

i was in your shoes once, too, you know.

listen. i'm on your side.

i made it to the other side because of you.

let me help you, the way you helped me.

you always want to see the best in people.

where did you go just now?

at some point, you've got to take responsibility for your own mistakes.

am i really that easy to throw away?

for the first time, i feel like i'm seeing you for who you really are.

something is wrong here. i can feel it.

i'm the good guy here.

there's no need for this to get messy, right?

it's alright now. you're safe.

you've made an enormous impression.

you've gotten off scot-free.

all i did was give you the rope to hang yourself.

i'm not a murderer. it was self defense.

you should have listened to ____ when you had the chance.

am i getting warm?

stop acting. i know this is just another one of your performances.

do you even realize what you've done?

[oligbia]

kuroo x f!reader headcanons?:3

i don't think about him often, but I will never buy into the fuck boy/player Kuroo narrative. This man is forever a dork with no bitches to me. I've never met a Kuroo stan I didn't like tho

Tetsurō Kuroo Headcanons

Tags: Kuroo X GN!reader, timeskip and highschool

⠀˳ ˳ . ⋅ ॱ ˙ ॱ ⋅ . I take requests! Visit my profile to submit!˳ ˳ . ⋅ ॱ ˙ ॱ ⋅ .

Before you started dating

I think that Kuroo is the type that once he finds someone, he'll be there for a while. He knows he is not the top pick of his peers, so when he finds someone who likes him back and he likes them, he's committed to you

So when he realized he liked you, and you gave him even the slightest reason to think you'd like him back, he is going to keep a close orbit to you

I imagine he'll try and find reasons to see you outside of volleyball or school but in casual ways to not take things too fast. So I think he'd do a casual invite to a 7/11 run between study sessions or at lunch, asking you to study, etc.

He probably would ask Kenma what he thinks of you, but probably wouldn't take anyone else's opinoin too seriously.

How he asks you out

I almost can't believe that he'd ask you out first. I think at minimum you have to confess first.

But once you confessed to him, probably after a volleyball game you were at, he wastes no time with a relationship. He's asking you out on a serious date that same day

He's also asking you to be his girlfiend that same date. The title is really important to him in my head.

Generally, I just think he is kinda nervous and insecure about the whole dating thing since he isn't really expirenced, so having firm titles and relationship lables is just really important to him.

What it's like dating Kurro

Devoted. This man is so fucking devoted to you it's not even funny. He's buying snacks and drinks in pairs now, he is considering how you fit in every step of his future, he is in it for the long haul. His teammates tease him, but your're on his mind all the time

A picture of you isn't his lockscreen, but a text you sent him before a game wishing him luck is.

Not a day is going by where he doesn't say "I love you" "Have I mentioned you are beautiful?" "You should know I live to worship the ground you walk on," "I am but a man willing to give you it all" or similar statments multiple times a day

His entire playbook for being your boyfriend is from early 90s and 2000s romance movies because he simply is so inexpreinced. But trust, he is a fast learner!

He has a calander on his phone because it's important to him he balances his time with volleyball, schoolwork, friends and now you. He always carves out time in his busy week to give you his full attention ontop of the study dates and snack runs during lunch. He wants time every week where you can enjoy eachother's presence without having to do something else like homework.

I think his love language is quality time, but he likes reciving affection. Back to my whole thing of I think he get's insecure a bit about dating- I think that small affections like holding your hand or having you so casually kiss his cheek in public helps ground him

He is such a goddamn nerd that the best gifts you've ever given him are ones related to his interests.

He likes to call you before bed to ensure you sleep well, and normally he lures you to sleep by talking about something of his interests.

Your comfort, wellbeing and happiness are a high priority for him. When you're sick, he's there in minutes with soup and medicine, timers set on his phone to make sure you take it. You told him once you get lonely at night so he got you a stuffed animal. You mentioned once that you're happy when the stars are clear, he's putting glow in the dark star stickers on your ceiling next time he comes over. this man is devouted.

You don't argue often because Kuroo is always so willing to put you, your wants, and your needs first. but, when arguments do come up, he refuses to go to bed angry and insists on only talking about it in person. King of using "I feel" statments. He's biking to you in the middle of the night if you don't live together yet. He takes these very seriously because he can't risk loosing you!!

When he starts in his career in promotions, i imagine he has to travel a lot and he always brings you along. The other men he works give him shit, because to them work trips are a chance to leave their wives for a bit, but he simply cannot stand to be parted from you like that.

I also think he proposes you really quickly after highschool because he simply needs to be your husband? Like, boyfriend wasn't enough he needed a ring on it ASAP, but he is happy to give it time for a wedding until after uni graduation.

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A/N: I fear fanon kuroo and canon kuroo are so different and i got so caught up in 2020 fanon that i lowkey forget how kuroo actually is. so i worry none of these are in character. but i'll die on my own sword to defend nerdy looser boyfriend kuroo

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[plainsviemenace]

"He actually said that? I'm gonna knock some sense into his head for her. Dragging her around that long isn't fair to her. I could never do you like that. I'll ask him what the problem is and we can work to get it in the right direction." Sarah was family in Max's eyes and he wanted her and George to be as happy as he and Sabrina were. "I think losing the baby made her care less about that and more about us and our feelings. Not so much about what her or the family want. She knows better than to say we can't get married. I would let her know so fast that she doesn't tell us what we can do. Our lives and our children's lives don't belong to her or anyone else." He smiled and cupped her face. "You really are special but you don't have to agree to that. I don't want my beliefs pushed on you or our kids. I love that you want to do that for me but I'm not sure we should push things on them or you. I want you or them to believe what you believe and if it's the same great but if it's not then I'll live with that." Softly he kissed her lips thinking how unselfish she was to want to do that for him and his family. "She'll fight me but I'll give her kisses to hush her till mama's back with her." Winnie had sensed from day one how needed she was and always lay by Sabrina even when she was sad and crying, Winnie would lick her face to cheer her up.

"Yes, I wasn't looking for a rape roleplay." He wasn't sure if she got off on that but that wasn't where his mind was. "More a seduction. I haven't really thought out all the details on it." He let out a chuckle as she mentioned the bathroom. "You keep being up fucking in the bathroom so I'm assuming that's something you want to do." He couldn't help but laugh as he mentioned Vegas. "No, I don't plan to beat the shit out of them.....just scare them a little bit is all. If you think that could get out of hand then we can forget that one. I'm not stressing you out again like before." He listened to her ideas and nodded his head. "Role reversal this time with me as the boss, now that could be fun. Like a real business call? Sure thing, kitten. I'm not scared and that would be hot. Ha, I knew chocolate would be in here and hell yeah. We can both roll in it and then lick it off each other. " He watched her eagerly suck his cum off of his fingers. "See I know what my girl likes and yes, you redeemed yourself from earlier. Showed daddy how good you can be and reminded him not to tease you till you get impatient." He did enjoy watching her touch herself. It had been one of the things he asked her to let he watch and it always turned him on. Earlier he was only upset because he told her not to cum and she did but now his eyes were glued to her fingers as they thrust inside of her. "You have no idea how hot that is." He slid his had downward and licked at her clit, sucking it as she finger fucked herself. Slowly he slipped a finger inside of her and began to follow her fingers rhythm as they both thrust into her.

“He is way behind. He said that Sarah doesn’t want that. No matter how many times I say that isn’t true.” She rolled her eyes. Sarah and her were best friends, they talked about everything from marriage to babies. She knew that George was just scared to take that next big step. “She’s not? I’m glad. I was worried she would start trying to pressure us into it. Or say we can’t get married or some shit.” She shrugged. The last thing she wanted was to not being able to marry Max. But she also knew he wouldn’t put up with that. “But I also don’t want to completely ignore your religion. Like it’s part of us. And whatever kids we have will be Jewish.” They had never talked about what would happen when they actually have kids. But the thoughts had crossed her mind more recently since she had originally found out she was pregnant. Just because her family wasn’t religious, didn’t mean that she couldn’t let her kids be. She wasn’t sure how it would all work out if she wasn’t jewish, but they would figure it out like they always did. “She is, but she can hang with daddy for a few hours.” She laughed. “She might fight you on it though.”

He had mentioned telling her his ideas when they got back home, but she was pleasantly surprised when he brought them up. She rose an eyebrow at the first one. “So like want me to fight back until I just give into the robber?” She asked, trying to imagine what all he wanted with that. “Oh, pretending we’re single and you chasing a guy away could be fun. Could fuck me in the bathroom before you take me home. Or fuck me on the dance floor again.” She teased, pressing a kiss against his lips. “But you chasing a guy away doesn’t mean that you’ll beat them again, right? Because if I’m sitting at a bar alone, I can guarantee someone is gonna come up and try and get with me.” She definitely didn’t want to risk a Vegas 2.0 with the beating. They had lucked out that the guy had never went to the cops after the fact. But Sabrina was ready to fight back if he had and say it was all self defense on their end. But that didn’t mean they would be lucky the second time, although Tony would definitely bail Max out and probably erase whatever happened. Money was good at times. “I’ve had a few. Other than dominating you, and with the roleplaying route - could do boss and employee. I have to have sex with you to get raise. Maybe give you head while you’re on a business call… Actually, that’d be hot. See how long you can last before you break while you’re on the phone with someone important.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him, letting her fingers lightly scratch at his shoulders. “Or chocolate. I haven’t had the privilege of licking chocolate off of your body. Off of your cock.” They both knew how much she loved chocolate, and it wouldn’t be the first time she had brought food play into the bedroom. It made the whole experience sweet and sticky. “I think your cock would taste delicious with some chocolate on it,” she smirked. She watched as he continued to fuck her tits. Even though she didn’t have a lot, he still made them work with his size. “Your cock looks so hot between them.” She let out a moan. As he got off of her and the bed, she looked up at him, her eyes glued to his as he jerked off. Her tongue stuck out far enough to lick her lips as she felt him start releasing his load on her tits. “Mhmmm that’s it daddy, cover my tits.” She smirked as he scooped his cum up and brought them to her lips, mainly because if he didn’t do it, she was going to. She wrapped her lips around his fingers and sucked his fingers clean. “I love the taste of your cum.” She murmured softly. “I get a choice of what you do to me next?” She asked. Normally she didn’t, and it was all a loving surprise. “I want you to eat me and then fuck me. Teach me a lesson for being such a brat to you tonight.” Her hand moved to her breast, scooping some cum up and then she moved her hand between her thighs, teasing her clit. “Unless you rather me make myself cum again. Could actually watch it this time.” She smirked, her fingers moving down further and pushed through her folds, moaning as she thrusted them into herself, her eyes still maintaining eye contact with him.

[white-wolf-buckaroo]

Where the Flowers Don't Grow - Chapter 6

Word Count: 7.3 k oops

Warnings: basically everything you should be warned about with TLOU, honestly

Notes: starting with 1x06 here! one of my fave episodes, tbh

Fic Masterlist

It had been three months since their shared journey started back in the outskirts of Kansas City.

Ever since then, Faith hadn’t been alone once. For the first time in practically two years. It was weird — and also scary. Because she got used to being with someone again very quickly. Like, really quickly.

And now they were here. In a warm cabin tucked between frost-covered pines, steam rising from the chimney, apparently safe for the first time in... ever.

Faith sat on a low bench by the window, forehead pressed to the cold glass. The sky outside was thick and gray, snow dusting the porch like powdered sugar. She could hear Ellie’s voice somewhere in the kitchen — something about how she “didn’t burn the bread, it was just extra crispy,” followed by Florence’s gentle cackle and the clatter of dishes.

Joel was quiet as always, posted by the fire, oiling his rifle. Same rhythm, same hands. She’d started to find comfort in the sounds — the scratch of the cloth, the soft creak of leather, the occasional grunt when something didn’t quite click back into place.

And the silence between them… wasn’t uncomfortable anymore. It just was.

She folded her arms across her chest, watching her own breath fog up the glass, then disappear.

Faith didn’t know what came next. Not really. They were close now — Joel said they’d likely find some clue about his brother within the next day or two. Florence had marked the map, warned them about Cody, and fed them enough to soften the edges of their exhaustion.

But after that? After Tommy? After the fireflies?

The idea of splitting off… of walking into the woods alone again, with no sarcastic teenager at her side or stubborn man trailing behind — it made her stomach twist.

She wasn’t sure when it happened. But they weren’t just traveling companions anymore. They were something else. Something quieter, harder to name.

And scarier to lose.

Behind her, a chair creaked against the floor. Joel’s voice followed, low and steady.

“You just gonna stare out that window all day?”

Faith turned slightly, raising a brow. “It’s called reflection, Joel. Maybe you’ve heard of it.”

He huffed — might’ve been a laugh, might’ve been a scoff. Hard to tell with him.

“You done reflecting?” he asked.

“Not even close.”

He crossed the room slowly, footsteps heavy but deliberate. He didn’t sit. Just stood beside her, arms crossed, gaze fixed out the window too.

They watched the snow fall in silence for a beat.

Then, Joel muttered, “You sleep good last night?”

Faith smirked. “Define ‘sleep good’’”

“Uh huh.” He shifted, nodding toward the back of the cabin. “Florence says her husband should be back soon. Then we’ll ask about the river — see if they know anything.”

Faith nodded, quietly thankful for the distraction from her own thoughts.

“Ellie said she wants to help chop firewood,” she said. “Which… I give her maybe six minutes before she throws the axe at a squirrel.”

Joel let out a quiet grunt of acknowledgment. “Longer than I expected.”

They stood there a while longer. Faith’s reflection stared back at her faintly in the window — not as hollow as it used to look. A little older maybe. A little more tired. But… different.

Less alone.

Her eyes caught some movement ahead. She quickly focused her gaze, her back straightening up, recognizing the shape of a man walking through the snow making his way to the cabin.

“Someone’s comin’” she said, alerting Joel.

He looked through the window too, seeing the man as well. It seemed like he was carrying something, he could recognize some fur from a distance… Probably some dead animal.

“That should be Florence’s husband,” he said, just as the woman was coming back from the kitchen with Ellie in tow. “You girls go upstairs, come on. Stay there until I tell you to.”

“But Joel-“ Ellie began to complain while she was still munching on the last piece of bread Florence had given her.

“Upstairs. Now.” He repeated. Faith knew it was final.

She slung her rifle up her shoulder, taking out one of her guns with one hand and getting a hold of Ellie’s hand with the other, tugging her upstairs meanwhile Florence sat down calmly on her rocking chair again as Joel went to the back of the cabin, taking out his own gun.

Florence’s husband, Marlon, didn’t see the fresh footsteps on the snow outside when he approached his cabin, nor did he realize there were three backpacks by the door as he came inside after hanging the dead rabbits he had caught outside.

He saw his wife, though, sitting in her rocking chair as she usually did. He left his bow and arrows on a table by the door to take his coat off, and when he turned around Joel’s voice stopped him right in his tracks:

“And the gun.”

He emerged back into the living room, his pistol drawn up high.

“Who the hell are you?” Marlon asked, his voice deep, not moving an inch.

“Just someone passin’ through,” he stopped in front of him, close to Florence. “Take the gun out, two fingers only, put it outta reach.”

Marlon did as he was told, leaving it on a table by the window. He looked at his wife, eyebrows raised up high:

“Why didn’t you shoot him?”

“The gun’s all the way over there,” she gestured vaguely to the other end of the cabin, still rocking her chair. “He didn’t hurt me, by the way.”

“Yeah, I got eyes.” Said Marlon, eying now the table where they had left the dishes and the map. “You made him soup?” he asked indignantly, sitting down in his armchair.

“Yeah, I did,” Florence answered with a small smile. “It’s cold outside.”

Joel interrupted them then. “I’m lookin’ for my brother.”

“Well,” Marlon took off his cap, looking at Joel with tired eyes. Not tired because he was old, or because he had been walking through the cold woods and the snow the whole morning. He was tired of all of this bullshit. “I ain’t seen him.”

“I haven’t told you what he looks like.”

“He look anything like you?”

“A bit.”

“Then I ain’t seen him.”

Florence voice cut through now, gesturing towards Joel. “He’s got two girls with him.”

Cue to Ellie now speaking up before Faith could stop her. “Can we come down now?”

“Ellie!” whispered Faith, trying to get her to step back from the railing upstairs. They’d been silently watching the scene unfold, with Faith trying to keep Ellie silent, but it was quickly declared a failed mission.

“No!”

Joel’s warning didn’t stop her, nor could Faith, so she went down after Ellie too. Marlon and Florence looked at each other, the woman smiling sweetly as they heard the girls running down the wooden steps, finally seeing them when they stood next to Joel.

“What did I just say?” he asked, exasperatedly.

“Joel, come on. They’re like a thousand.”

“Dude!” Faith shoved Ellie on she shoulder, giving her a look. “You can think it but not say it!” Florence had been nice to them, and kind, she had no reason to be insulting her and her husband now even if they really looked like a thousand.

“Who are these little psychos?”

“Never mind them,” Joel stepped forward, moving the map he had left on the table toward Marlon. “I need you to tell us where we are.”

“If you got a map why are you lost?”

“We must’ve missed all the street signs in the enormous fucking forest,” complained Ellie.

“Ho-ly,” Marlon and Florence laughed again softly seeing her fire. Faith remained quiet, nudging Ellie’s arm now.

“We know we’re somewhere here,” Joel gestured at an area on the map. “Exactly where? And your answer better be the same as your wife’s.”

Marlon looked at Florence, asking if she had told them the truth. She had, apparently. Marlon pointed then on the same spot she had done earlier on the map.

Joel looked at Faith and gave her a nod, and they all put their guns down.

“This is a great place to hide, I guess,” muttered Joel, sitting down on the worn out couch, Ellie and Faith next to him again on the armchairs.

“Hide? Came here before you were born, sonny,” Marlon replied bitterly. “To get the hell away from everybody.”

“I didn’t want to,” mentioned Florence. Marlon only grumbled. Seems like they’d had this conversation before.

“Listen,” he spoke up, to Joel and company. “I didn’t mean to upset you about your brother. But if you’ve come this far, then you know what’s out there. You seen Cody?”

“Got close enough,” answered Faith, shrugging. “Fucking full of infected.”

“Yeah, Laramie and Wind River Reservation. Anywhere people used to be, you can’t go there no more.”

“So you haven’t heard the name Tommy?” asked Joel, defeatedly.

“Nope.”

“What about the fireflies?” asked Ellie.

Florence answered “We get those in the summer.”

Faith snorted, remembering how she had thought about the bugs too the first time Ellie had mentioned them.

“Not the bugs, the people!”

“There’s firefly people?”

Both Marlon and Florence laughed again. Faith liked them. They were clearly not scared about living alone in the middle of nowhere, and honestly, they were pretty safe there. No infected close, no human settlements… Just them, alone, but alive.

“You got any advice on the best way west?” she asked them, seeing that Joel’s shoulders were slumping more and more every passing second.

“Yeah. Go east. And never go past the river here.”

Marlon leaned forward pointing at a river close to their position on the map. He called it the ‘river of death’. They’d never seen who was out there, but they had seen the bodies they had left behind, some infected and some not. They said that if Tommy was west of the river… He was probably gone.

“You’re not gonna scare us,” said Ellie, looking between the elderly couple. Faith was looking at Joel, though, clearly seeing what Florence answered:

“Scared him, though.”

They left soon after that. Retrieved their stuff, put their coats back on, and got back outside after a quick goodbye. Faith wouldn’t miss Marlon’s bitter comments, but she would miss Florence’s kind smile. And her soup.

“You don’t seriously believe them, Joel,” said Ellie as they closed the door behind them. She saw the rabbits Marlon had hung by the entrance, and she grabbed one for them to eat later.

“They’ve lived here for a long time,” he muttered, turning back to look at them. He saw the rabbit in Ellie’s hand and shook his head. “Put that back.”

“They don’t know anything,” she replied, not letting go off the rabbit. “They never even heard about the fireflies.”

“Neither had I before meeting you,” mentioned Faith, walking by her side.

“Yeah but you were a nomad for years, I wouldn’t have expected you to know them.”

“Well, these two have been living out of society for years, you can’t expect them to know them too then!”

“It’s different! They’re old!”

They kept bickering, not seeing how Joel was holding onto the fence in front of him breathing heavily. Not seeing how he was having an anxiety attack at the prospect of maybe having lost Tommy too.

After a few seconds, fortunately, they realized what was happening:

“Joel?”

“Joel, are you okay?”

“Shut up,” he breathed hard, looking down at the snow, “Both of you. Just… Shut up.”

Both girls immediately felt bad about their banter and quickly apologized.

“Holy shit are you dying?”

“Ellie, he’s not dying!”

“I’m okay,” he muttered, more to himself. There were voices ringing in his head, Tommy’s, his own, the girls by his side, though everything seemed distant.

“Okay?” Faith dared to take a step closer, seeing his eyes still fixed on the snow. “Joel?”

Ellie was starting to get nervous now. “Just a reminder that if you’re dead, I’m fucked. Faith doesn’t know how to go to the fireflies. You can’t die.”

“Ellie, seriously, shut the fuck up,” Faith shot her another look, one that said ‘shut up before you make him actually have a heart attack’.

“I said I’m fine,” Joel looked at Faith, nodding, and then at Ellie. He was starting to breathe normally again. “I’m good, okay? It’s just the cold air… All of a sudden.”

Faith wasn’t really sure, but she nodded.

“All right then,” Ellie started to walk ahead, trying to ignore Joel’s still leaning stance against the fence. If it was just the cold air, he’d be fine in a few seconds, right? That’s at least, what she told herself as she kept moving. “Let’s go find Tommy and the fireflies!”

Joel nodded, moving back up to a normal stance. Faith was still by his side, her cheeks a bit red from the cold and her eyes a bit glassy under the morning sun, scrutinizing him in search for something revealing of what had happened to him.

“Come on,” he told her, gesturing for her to go first. “Let’s go.”

“You okay?” she asked again, softer this time.

“Yeah, yeah,” he noticed how she wasn’t entirely sure. “I’m fine, Faith. Promise.”

She nodded, and after a few seconds she went after Ellie, followed by Joel.

“It’s gonna be easy!” claimed Ellie, looking back at them. “All we have to do, is cross the River of Death!”

(…)

They walked the entire day.

Through hushed woods blanketed in snow, across wide-open clearings where the wind cut through coats and silence stretched for miles. Faith pulled her scarf up high over her mouth, breathing into the wool to keep her face warm, but her eyes never left Joel’s back as he led them. His steps were steady. Purposeful. But slower than usual.

She noticed.

Ellie did too, but neither of them said it out loud.

The mountains rose ahead of them like jagged teeth. White sun slipping low behind them, bleeding pink and gold across the sky. The river came into view just before nightfall—fast-moving and half-frozen, a wide stretch of black water slicing the valley in two.

“We’re not crossin’ that in the dark,” Joel said, voice low.

Faith nodded before he even finished.

They found a cave not far from the riverbank, shielded by pine and brush. The mouth of it was narrow but opened into a space big enough to stretch their legs and light a small fire. Cold air slipped in, but it was shelter, and it was safe enough. Joel gathered dry branches while Ellie sparked the fire. Faith cleared a spot in the dirt, laying out their blankets.

By the time the flames caught, the sky had deepened into violet and the stars were beginning to show.

Joel sat down with a grunt and pulled off his right boot. The sole was peeling halfway off, the stitching torn from so much damn walking. He cursed under his breath and rummaged in his pack for the duct tape.

Faith settled next to him without a word and held the boot steady as he started wrapping it.

“I can do it,” Joel muttered.

“I know,” she said gently. “But this is faster.”

He didn’t argue.

His hands were slower tonight. Not clumsy, but not as sure. Like they were tired all the way into the bone.

She glanced at him sideways. The lines on his face looked deeper in the firelight, carved in shadow and worry. Her chest ached with something sharp and quiet.

The way he’d looked that morning was still burned into her memory—frozen, gasping, shaking like he couldn’t breathe. She hadn’t known what was happening. She still didn’t. But it had scared the hell out of her. Joel didn’t get rattled. Not like that.

She kept her voice low. “You warm enough?”

He nodded without looking up. “Fine.”

“Okay.”

He didn’t say anything else. Just kept wrapping the tape, layer over layer.

Up above, Ellie had climbed the low ridge of rock that jutted out above the cave. She stood silhouetted against the sky, chin tipped back. Faith followed her gaze and caught her breath.

The northern lights.

Ghostly ribbons of green and blue flickered across the sky, curling like smoke through the stars.

Ellie whistled softly. “No way. That’s real?”

“Sure looks like it,” Faith called, but kept her voice quiet. Quieter than usual.

Ellie didn’t push for banter. She seemed to feel it too—that invisible thread of tension humming under Joel’s silence.

He saw the northern lights too, feeling the same wonder although he didn’t show it. He called out for Ellie, then, his heart beating a tad too fast seeing her up on that rock, way to far from the ground:

“Come down from there, you’re gonna break your neck!”

Ellie obeyed, for once, and she made her way back to them, sitting across Joel by the fire. She eyed the rabbit that was cooking above the flames, biting her lip wishing for it to get done sooner to have a bite.

Silence fell upon them again as they only heard the sounds of nature surrounding them: the river’s stream, an owl hooting… and the sound of Joel’s flask when he opened it to take a sip trying to feel a bit warmer on the inside again.

“Can I have some of that?”

Joel looked at Ellie with a stunned expression. Had this fourteen year old really just asked him if he’d give her some alcohol?

“No,” he shook his head.

“What? Just to warm up! C’mon.”

He looked at her over the flames, her young face lit by the orange light waiting for him to give in. He caved, handing over the flask sitting back with an amused smile as he saw Ellie taking a drink from it, her face immediately showing her disgust.

“Yep, still gross.”

Ellie went to hand it back, but her arm reached for Faith instead of Joel.

“You want some?”

“I can handle one drunk teenager, not two,” complained Joel, shaking his head.

“I’ll have some,” Faith ignored him, reaching for the flask. She didn’t really like the taste of it too, she already knew, but it was true it could help them get a bit warmer on the inside. She took a quick sip, handing the flask finally back to Joel as she grimaced too. “Yeah… Gross.”

“Even that pine needle tea shit was better,” mumbled Ellie, feeling her tongue still bitter. “And it tasted like boiled foot.”

Joel kept a hold on the flask without drinking from it while Faith and Ellie looked at each other, sharing a look. They’d both been worried about Joel throughout the whole day. It was good he was resting now. He seemed fine again, fortunately.

They ate for a while, in silence. It was Ellie who broke it:

“So, I’ve been thinking,” she began. “Let’s say… We find the Fireflies, it all works, they draw my blood and put it through some of their fancy machines and make a cure.”

“Okay?”

“… Then what?” she dared to ask. Faith had been asking herself that question too. She was a bit afraid of what Joel’s answer could be. Would he want to stay with them? Would he even let them? Did Ellie even want to stay with Faith? They’d grown close over the last few months. She could maybe want to, right? “Like, what do we do?”

“It’s ‘we’?” he asked, frowning.

Ouch. That hurt. Okay, seemed like he didn’t want to stick around.

“Okay, fine. Whatever. You.” Ellie seemed disappointed with his comment too. “You can do anything you want,” she also looked at Faith. “Where are you going? What are you doing?”

“It’s never been an option,” answered Joel, thinking for a bit. “Maybe… An old farmhouse, some land. A ranch.”

“Cool!” appreciated Ellie. “What kind?”

“Sheep.”

Faith had come across many animals throughout the years. Sheep were probably some of the most stinky and most boring ones of them all.

“Why sheep?” she asked Joel, finally speaking up.

“They’re quiet,” He answered simply, looking at both her and Ellie. More to Ellie, to be fair. “Do what they’re told.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” the girl rolled her eyes, getting what he meant. “So, just you and a buncha sheep.”

“Romantic,” mumbled Faith, pure sarcasm coming out of her mouth.

“What about you, miss ‘I have lived in the outside world for half of my life’?” Ellie quoted with her fingers comically. “Would you go back to the forest or live somewhere else?”

“Oh yeah, because there are so many cities and cute little towns to choose from,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’d have infected as my neighbours and have tea with them in the afternoons.”

“I’m serious, motherfucker,” Ellie laughed. “What will you do?”

Faith let out a breath, pretending to think it over like it was an easy question. Like she hadn’t asked herself that same thing in the quiet hours when neither Ellie nor Joel were looking. When the idea of a future—any kind of future—felt like some kind of joke.

“I don’t know,” she said finally, voice quieter now. “I’ve never really… had a plan. I just kept moving. One place to the next, trying to not die.” She reached for a twig and started poking at the fire, embers crackling with each soft jab. “But if we’re playing the ‘pretend the world gets fixed’ game…” She glanced at Ellie. “Maybe I’d find a place that doesn’t smell like mold and gunpowder. Somewhere warm. I’d like to see a beach, maybe. Haven’t ever seen one but it seems like somewhere peaceful. I’d lay down on a hammock. And get books that aren’t water-damaged.”

Joel gave a quiet snort at that.

Ellie raised an eyebrow. “Beach girl, huh? What would you do though?”

Faith leaned back a little, thinking. The question was stupid. What would you do? As if any of them knew how to live normal lives anymore. But still…

“…Maybe I’d teach,” she said finally. “Kids, probably. Not that I know how, but—y’know. Help people figure out how to read, how to start over. People are gonna need that, right? If there’s really a cure.” Ellie nodded, smiling softly. Faith smirked, then, imagining the scene. “Yeah, I’d teach in the mornings and tan like a corpse in the afternoon at the beach, and I could learn to surf. Or not. Probably just lie around and annoy the people I care about.”

She said it lightly, but the air shifted a little.

Ellie caught it. She looked down, then up again, her voice soft. “You mean us?”

Faith didn’t answer right away. She didn’t, at all.

Her gaze lifted to Joel. He hadn’t said anything, but his eyes were on the fire. Watching the flames like they could answer for him.

Faith leaned back a little, her face illuminated by the low light as she kept silent.

“Well, as for me,” said Ellie now, noticing how the had been a shift in the ambience, trying now to bring it back to something that wasn’t thick silence and being uncomfortable sitting around a fire. “It’s probably because I grew up in the QZ. Nowhere else to look at but up,” she smiled glancing up at the full moon and the stars above, “I read everything I could in the school library. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell… Buy you know who my favourite is?”

Faith had no idea. Joel did, though, with a single glance:

“Sally Ride.”

“Sally fuckin’ Ride, yeah!” Ellie smiled. “Best astronaut name ever.”

“You want to be an astronaut?”

“Hell yeah,” Ellie nodded. “Go up to the sky like Sally Ride and make history.”

“Ellie Williams is also a cool name,” muttered Faith. “Dunno’ if a cool name for an astronaut… But it’s cool nevertheless.”

Ellie nodded at her, smiling, grateful. Her face turned sombre, though, as her thoughts went further, her fears taking over her mind.

“It’ll work… right?” she asked a bit softer now, not a hundred percent sure of herself. “The vaccine?”

“It’s a little late to start wonderin’.”

“I tried, with Sam,” she mumbled. Faith’s back straightened up, frowning at the girl. The memory of the small boy came back to her in an instant, and also the one of his brother, Henry. The first people she had trusted in years. The last two she had lost, as well.

“Tried what?”

“I knew he was infected,” she confessed. “I rubbed some of my blood into his bite. I know, I know! It was… stupid,” Joel tried to say something but Ellie kept on talking. “But I wanted to save him.”

Faith didn’t say anything, but she could understand Ellie. She’d wanted to save Sam, believing firmly in something deep down she wasn’t sure of herself. Faith had had moments like that too.

“Well… I reckon it’s a lot more complicated than that,” said Joel. “Marlene, she’s a lotta things, but she’s no fool. If she says they can do it… They can do it.”

“Okay,” mumbled Ellie.

Joel took another tired sip from his flask when they decided it was time to get some sleep.

“You wanna take first watch or second?” Ellie asked Faith, starting to roll open her sleeping bag. It was the girls’ turn to keep watch. Joel didn’t have it, though:

“I’ll do both,” he interrupted.

“No Joel, it’s our turn,” Faith shook her head, “You need to sleep too.”

“You both get some sleep, come on,” he got a hold of his rifle, gesturing for them to lay down. “Dream of… Sheep ranches on the moon, or sheep ranches by the beach.”

The girls didn’t argue. They knew better not to. They said goodnight, and Joel leaned back against the wall of the cave with his rifle on his lap.

(…)

The fire had burned down a bit as the wind stirred the trees softly, and every now and then, a distant howl rolled through the darkness like a memory.

Joel didn’t move. He just sat there with the rifle resting against his knee, eyes sharp but heavy, staring into the dying fire like it held some answer to everything that still haunted him.

A while passed.

Then—soft footsteps.

Faith.

He didn’t have to look. He knew it was her. The way she moved, not quite silent, not quite loud. Cautious, but not afraid. She had that walk of someone who’d learned how to survive without being taught by someone, but by the world.

“You should be sleepin’,” he said, voice low but not unkind.

“I did. For a while.” She walked a little closer. “Woke up.”

She hesitated, then added, “Was worried about you.”

Joel’s jaw flexed slightly. Not irritated, but like he didn’t know what to do with that kind of statement. That kind of… care.

“You don’t need to worry about me,” he said eventually, quiet.

“Well,” she shrugged, settling beside him anyway, “too late.”

Joel didn’t argue. Just shifted to give her a bit more space, though he didn’t move far. They sat in silence for a long beat, the only sounds the quiet hum of the woods and the occasional crackle of the fire.

“I’ll keep you company,” she said.

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to.”

Because Joel was strong. Unshakable.

But tonight, he looked… tired. Too tired.

And she didn’t know how to help.

So she stayed close.

Just in case he needed someone there when the silence got too loud again.

He glanced sideways, brow slightly furrowed, but didn’t push it. Maybe part of him liked the company. Maybe part of him had missed it more than he’d let himself admit.

They didn’t talk for a while after that. Faith hugged her knees to her chest, watching the last of the flames flicker in the stone circle. Joel shifted the rifle in his lap now and then. They didn’t need words.

At some point, her head drooped a little, then jolted back up.

Joel didn’t say anything.

Minutes later, it happened again—only this time, her head didn’t come back up. It landed softly against his upper arm, her breath evening out as she dozed off.

He stiffened a little.

Glanced down.

She was fast asleep now, brow slightly furrowed even in rest, but her shoulders relaxed. A scar near her jaw caught a bit of the firelight, as the one near her temple.

He sighed—just the barest breath—and didn’t move.

Joel stayed still as Faith slept against his shoulder. The silence settled in around them, heavy but not suffocating.

He should’ve told her to go lie back down.

He should’ve pushed her off gently, kept the distance like he always had. That was safer—for everyone. Safer not to feel too much. Not to hope too much.

But he didn’t move.

He let her stay.

His eyes drifted to Ellie’s small form curled up in her sleeping bag a few feet away, her back rising and falling in a slow, even rhythm. She’d been talking about space. About Sally goddamn Ride and making history. Her voice had been all lit up for a minute, like she could really see it, like she believed in something again.

And Faith... she’d talked about the beach. About hammocks and books, about teaching kids to read. That smart mouth of hers trying to soften the ache underneath. She didn’t think she’d get that future. Neither of them did, really. They were just playing pretend.

But Joel had listened. He’d watched them both, and something unfamiliar had started to settle in his chest. Not heavy like grief. Not sharp like guilt.

Something else.

Something dangerous.

Hope.

He clenched his jaw, like he could hold it back.

He hadn’t let himself picture what came next. Not since Sarah. It hurt too much to look forward to anything when the world had taken everything. That kind of thinking got people killed. Got people hurt.

But tonight… Ellie had said we. Faith had looked at him like he was part of the plan. Not the past. Not just the guy who got them from point A to point B anymore.

A we. A future.

And damn it, a part of him wanted it.

Wanted them.

Not just to protect. Not just to guide.

To keep.

To have Ellie’s laugh echo through the walls of some quiet old ranch house. To see Faith stretched out in the sun somewhere while reading a book with the corner folded over. To sit on a porch with a cup of coffee and listen to the sound of nothing but peace for once.

It was a stupid dream.

But it was there now. In the back of his mind. Growing like a weed.

Joel glanced down at Faith, sleeping like she hadn’t done that in a long time without fear. Her brow was still pinched, like even her dreams weren’t safe.

He let out a slow breath.

But he didn’t wake her.

Didn’t shift her off.

Instead, he let his shoulder stay there, still and solid beneath her cheek, and turned his eyes back toward the trees.

(…)

“He’s mumbling in his sleep again,”

Faith glanced from Ellie to Joel, nodding.

Ellie had woken her up a few hours ago. She had fallen asleep, Joel too. The girls let him sleep as long as he needed, knowing he could use some rest.

He did that a lot, the mumbling. They never really understood any words, but it was clear he was in distress even during sleep.

“Careful with that,” warned Faith, gesturing toward the rifle if Ellie’s hands. Joel’s rifle. Faith had her own, keeping watch with Ellie.

“I’m doin’ fine, thanks,”

Joel didn’t take much longer to wake up after that. He did with a jolt, looking around in surprise as he hadn’t meant to fall asleep. His eyes quickly found Ellie and Faith, perched on opposite sides of the cave, rifles in hand keeping watch.

“Was ‘bout time you slept for a while,” said Ellie, greeting him. “Me and Faith took second watch. You still mumble in your sleep, by the way.”

“If I fall asleep you’re supposed to wake me up,” he said, standing up, “I’m responsible for you. You can’t do this.”

“Well, we can,” Ellie smiled, “Because we just did.”

Joel’s eyebrows furrowed, not entirely convinced.

“She was quiet, for once, and checked her six,” informed Faith, as he made his way over to Ellie. “Looked for tracks with me, found the high ground, and kept watch.”

“Like you taught me to,” added Ellie, smiling smugly, but also proud of herself. “What can I say, man? I’m a natural.”

Joel took the rifle from her, not saying answering. He gave them a short nod, though. A quick ‘I guess you did okay’ one.

“You wake me up next time,” he said, looking at both girls.

“Yes, sir.”

They took on the river of death then.

It was all covered in snow, so they hid between the trees watching out for any possible danger. They didn’t see absolutely anything.

“Fire a shot, see what happens,” instructed Joel, and Faith did so, shooting her rifle up in the air to the distance.

Nothing happened.

“The River of Death, still no people,” muttered Ellie, sceptically.

“… Fine.”

They made it across the river without a sound but the crunch of their boots on the ice.

No one fired back. No shadows moved in the tree line. Just cold wind and the muted rush of water beneath the frozen patches.

Joel kept walking a few paces ahead, rifle slung tight, shoulders stiff. He didn’t like it—how quiet it was. Too quiet for a place with a name like the River of Death. No bodies. No warnings. No people. And no sign of Tommy either.

He kept scanning the horizon, eyes darting over ridgelines, bare branches, the treeline up ahead. Every so often, he’d glance over his shoulder, making sure the girls were still close.

Faith walked behind him, next to Ellie. They kept a steady pace, Ellie��s boots slipping now and then on the ice while Faith offered a steady hand without comment. They talked in hushed tones when they did talk, but mostly, they just watched. Listened.

Ellie got bored, though.

Joel turned around frowning when he heard a seething sound. There she was, with two fingers in her mouth making weird sounds.

“I’m learnin’ how to whistle,” she said, fingers still in her mouth.

“Still got a long way to go,” mumbled Faith. Ellie shoved her shoulder but kept on trying.

“You don’t know how to whistle?” asked Joel.

“Does it sound like I know how to whistle?” she walked ahead of them, leaving Faith now by Joel’s side and Ellie walking up front with a frown. “Seriously, though, how the fuck do you do that?”

“Talent.”

“Whatever.”

She turned around to face them, putting back on her discarded glove.

“You two should teach me how to hunt,” she mentioned.

“Huh.”

“No but seriously,” she kept on complaining. “It’s not fair. You go on doing this bonding activity without me, I feel left out. Not to mention that it’s a basic survival skill I should definitely know.”

“Oh yeah, because bonding is exactly what we do when Faith throws a knife at a rabbit’s head and I shoot another one down. Don’t make me talk about how much bonding we do with the dressin’.”

“Damn, Joel, I thought you enjoyed our hunting trips,” said Faith now, holding a hand up to her chest with faux offense.

“Sorry for breakin’ your heart, hon,” he smiled a bit. Only a bit. But his smile was clearly there.

Eventually, they stumbled onto something—a concrete building just past a rise in the terrain, half-buried in snow and bramble.

“Damn’” said Ellie, clearly amused with her own joke about the water dam.

“You’re no Will Livingston.”

“Yeah, yeah, but who is?” she laughed lightly, grinning. “So that made electricity?”

“Yeah,” answered Joel.

“How?” asked Faith, genuinely interested.

“Don’t ask me, I don’t have a clue.”

Joel moved away, and Faith puffed out a laugh, as did Ellie.

“You could’ve just made something up!”

“Yeah! We would’ve believed you!”

Joel gave a low grunt that might’ve been a chuckle, or might’ve been annoyance. Hard to tell with him sometimes.

They got on a path close to the river now. It was crazy blue. Almost… too blue.

“Hey, Joel… What if this is the River of Death?”

They stopped.

Joel pulled out the map from his coat pocket, brow furrowing. He looked up at the snow-covered hills and back to the paper. Something wasn’t adding up.

But then the sound came—hooves.

Horses.

Joel whipped his head toward the noise. From the crest of the slope came a line of riders—at least nine or ten of them, armed, scarves pulled up over their faces, rifles already raised.

Joel moved faster than thought.

He grabbed Ellie, pulling her behind him, and reached for Faith, yanking her close to his other side.

The circle of horses formed around them in seconds. There was no real behind to put the girls in, but he did it anyway—like his body refused to accept that he couldn’t protect them the usual way.

He lifted his hands and the girls did too. “We’re not lookin’ for any trouble,” he said, voice steady. “We’re just passing through.”

One of the riders pointed his rifle at him. “Drop your gun.”

Joel didn’t move at first, eyes darting between them. Then he slowly slid his rifle from his shoulder and let it drop to the snow.

Another rider turned toward Faith, rifle barrel lifting slightly. “You. Drop yours.”

Faith’s hand hovered near her rifle, uncertain of how to move.

“I said drop it!” the man snapped.

Joel stepped forward without thinking, his voice low and sharp like a drawn blade. “She’s a kid. You wanna talk to someone, you talk to me.”

There was a pause—brief, but heavy.

Faith raised her hands slowly, lowering herself to place the rifle in the snow. “It’s fine,” she murmured. “I got it.”

Joel’s glare lingered on the man just a second longer than it should have.

Then a taller rider approached. His voice was calmer, but no less commanding. “Girls—five steps back behind him. Now.”

Joel turned, bristling. “How about we just talk this through?”

“How ‘bout you shut the fuck up?”

“Okay… Easy,” Joel turned his head slightly to the girls, giving them a slow nod. No hidden intentions. Jus a quick ‘do what he says’ nod. “It’s okay. You’ll be okay.”

Ellie went to Joel’s left and Faith to Joel’s right. They had them separated now, unable to step closer if the others needed help.

Joel stood there alone, heart pounding, but still as stone. Every instinct screamed to grab them, to get them the hell out of there—but there was nowhere to go.

“Have you been near infected?” they asked them.

“There’s no infected out here!”

“The hell there ain’t!” the man whistled – in a way Ellie wished she could – and another man walked to them a dog they hadn’t been paying attention to walked over, standing next to the rider’s horse barking. “Last chance for a bullet. If you’ve been infected, he will smell it and he will rip you up!”

They unleashed the dog.

Faith had always wanted a dog when she was little. She begged for one for years. Convinced Dahlia to ask for one too.

She watched as the now silent dog walked over to Joel, sniffling at his feet and then reaching out for him, clearly trusting him. Faith knew Joel wasn’t infected. She knew she wasn’t too, so when the dog walked over to her, she didn’t fear it. She held her breath, though, while the dog sniffled at her feet.

When he rubbed his head against her calf softly, she let out an involuntary smile, relaxing just a bit.

“Like I said, we’ll just move on.” Joel tried.

They still had to send the dog over to Ellie, though.

Faith’s heart started to beat faster. Both her and Joel sneaked nervous glances at Ellie, seeing the dog approached her in a different stance than he had with them: he growled, tension in every leg as he carefully walked over to the girl, his snout breathing in her scent.

He barked at her and Joel couldn’t look anymore. He heard a ringing sound in his ears, like when they had left Florence and Marlon’s cabin.

Had the dog smelled Ellie’s infection? How could they explain she was immune before the dog ripped her up? Neither him or Faith could save her if the dog attacked.

It couldn’t happen. Not Ellie, not like this.

Please no, please no…

A giggle interrupted his spiralling thoughts.

He didn’t dare to look at Ellie first. He looked at Faith, checking that she wasn’t screaming or crying for Ellie. She wasn’t. Instead, she was smiling at the girl, absolute relief on her face, and when he turned to face Ellie now, his face mimicked Faith’s, finding Ellie crouching down in the snow petting the dog as he licked her cheek affectionately.

She was okay. Both of them were.

He didn’t relax, though.

The man on the horse called the dog back and let him speak:

“What are you doin’ out here?” he demanded to know.

“I’m just lookin’ for my brother,” Joel said. “That’s all, nothing more.”

They fell silent as one of the women on a horse approached them, eyeing them carefully, scrutinizing Joel with her gaze:

“What’s your name?”

He answered after a beat. “Joel.”

The woman’s face didn’t move under her bandana. She gave no reaction. No recognition. Nothing.

Her eyes swept over Joel again, then Ellie, then Faith. And then—without a word—she raised one gloved hand and gave a short signal.

All the rifles lowered at once.

Joel didn’t move at first. Neither did the girls.

Then slowly, Joel lowered his arms, watching the riders like they might change their minds. Ellie dropped hers next, shaking out her stiff fingers. Faith did too, letting her breath escape in a quiet, nervous sigh.

“We’ll take you with us,” the woman said.

Joel’s brow furrowed. “You know my brother?” he asked hopefully. “His name’s Tommy. Please, I’m just tryin’ to find him.”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she nudged her horse forward and turned slightly. “Get on.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

Her eyes flicked back to him, and her voice didn’t change. “You’ll want to keep up.”

A few riders dismounted. One of them motioned for the girls.

Ellie looked uncertain. “Are we riding together or—?”

“You’ll ride with her,” the woman said, jerking her chin toward Faith.

Faith blinked. “Uh… yeah. Okay.” she went to get her rifle back, but one of the riders got to it first. She didn’t fight it, still nervous around these strangers who could shoot her before taking a step in the wrong direction.

One of the men helped them up onto a large mare, Faith sliding in front, Ellie behind her, arms wrapped tightly around the older girl. Joel was pulled up onto a separate horse by himself, and the other riders circled around them.

“Where are you takin’ us?” asked Joel. He glanced at the girls, worried, heart pounding, hands clenched. He didn’t like not knowing where they were going. He didn’t like the cold silence of these people. But most of all, he didn’t like that the woman hadn’t answered his question.

Finally, he got the answer he was waiting for. “We’ll take you with us. To Tommy.”

Next Chapter

Taglist: @kitdjarin1@christinamadsen@abtjudex@hongjoong-titties @cokoladasljesnjakom

[hellfirebarnes]

Slow-Burns - Part 4

PART 1 PART 2 PART 3

@crowleythesexydemon

I split this up in several, shorter parts because I know the feeling when you want to read a fic but don't have the time or energy to get through a 10k+ words one. Also if you hate my writing you can just read part 1 and then leave it. Win-win I guess?

Anyway, this is set after Thunderbolts so if you haven't seen it - spoilers I guess? It absolutely does not follow canon, but yeah better to be safe than sorry.

Summary: Bucky has fallen. Hopelessly. And the only thing more hopeless is his team trying to help him get to the end of this slow-burn.

Bucky x fem!SHIELD!reader

1.9K words

Fluff, ''normal'' violence and descriptions of injuries. For sure out of character stuff, but I am who I am. Your appearence is barely desribed what I can remember, I think your hair and a couple types what clothes you're wearing?

You're referred to as ''Agent'' and ''Sunshine'' in a desperate attempt from me to not use Y/N.

Let me know if there's anything else I should warn about.

Otherwise, enjoy :)

Your doorframe almost didn’t survive.

Alexei came in first, balancing three boxes and a potted plant shaped like a bear. “Room feels too small for someone as mighty as you, but we will expand it with spirit!”

Bob followed, his arms overflowing with mystery bags. “I wasn’t sure what you needed so I brought—uh—snacks, a humidifier, extra chargers, three pairs of fuzzy socks, and a lava lamp. The good kind.”

John was behind them, dragging a flat-packed shelving unit like it personally offended him. “This thing has 87 parts. I’m betting 40 of them are pointless.”

Yelena appeared moments later, already opening drawers. “Okay, closet space is trash. We’re rearranging immediately.”

Ava hovered by the door, amused. “This is like watching raccoons redecorate.”

You stood in the middle of it all, arms crossed, grinning like an idiot. It felt like a hurricane of affection.

Through it all, Bucky stayed back. He helped carry your heavier boxes that morning before the chaos started, working in quiet rhythm beside you. But once the others arrived, he ghosted again, slipping away with a low “Just let me know if you need anything.”

You noticed the absence more than you should’ve.

The chaos died down eventually. Yelena left you with a handmade vision board. Bob had insisted you keep the lava lamp “for emotional ambiance.” John offered a high five and then complained about how your bathroom was better than his.

Now, it was just you. A quiet room. And a box labeled Memories sitting untouched by the window.

You were halfway through stringing up your fairy lights and Polaroids when you heard a soft knock.

“Yeah?”

The door creaked open, and Bucky stepped in, “You need any help?”

You smiled, surprised and grateful. “Yeah. Come in.”

He crossed the room slowly, taking it all in. The string lights. The mismatched throw pillows. The soft hum of music from a half-packed Bluetooth speaker.

You handed him a few photos.

“Where should I start?”

“Anywhere. It’s kind of a patchwork.”

You worked in silence for a while. He moved carefully, deliberately, asking before placing anything. You told him which corners to double-tape. You didn’t talk much, but the space between you felt easy. Warm.

He paused at one photo. “You and… her?”

You looked up. It was a Polaroid of you and a woman laughing in the rain, soaked through, hair tangled, city lights behind you.

“Jules,” you said softly. “We met in training. She was everything I wasn’t - loud, fearless, allergic to rules. I used to think she’d burn out first, but… she made it. She transferred to intel overseas. Still texts me weird memes at 3 a.m.”

He handed it back gently, like it mattered.

“This one?” he asked, pointing to another - a blurry but beautiful image of a sunset behind what looked like a battered pickup truck.

“Oh,” you chuckled. “I was hitchhiking through Colorado. This guy picked me up in that truck. Barely ran. But he had this old cassette tape playing Fleetwood Mac, and he gave me a cherry soda. We drove for five hours and didn’t talk once. Just the music and the wind. One of the best afternoons of my life.”

Bucky didn’t smile, but something in him eased. “You take these yourself?”

“Yeah. I like the way Polaroids freeze a moment. They don’t give you time to frame it perfectly. Just… click. You have to live with what you caught.”

He looked at you then. Really looked at you.

“You always remember everything?”

You shrugged. “The things that matter.”

The next photo you held up was of a rooftop at night, string lights, and two glasses of wine on a small table.

“This one?” he asked, voice rougher now.

You hesitated. “That’s… from a night I let myself hope I wasn’t as alone as I thought.”

Bucky didn’t say anything. But he reached out. Gently took the photo. And pinned it beside the one of you in the canyon.

His hand brushed yours, lingering for a moment too long. Your breath caught. But you didn’t pull away. And neither did he.

You had just settled into a blissful evening of nothing: no alarms, no missions, no group chaos. You were wearing sweatpants and socks that didn’t match. A cup of tea steamed on your nightstand. Your lava lamp (Bob’s gift) bubbled quietly. Peace.

So naturally, that’s when it happened.

“SURPRISE!” came a chorus from behind your door, followed by what sounded like at least one confetti cannon misfiring.

You opened the door slowly. Mistake.

Yelena stood at the front like a party general, flanked by Bob (carrying a tray of jell-o shots), Ava (already sipping something suspiciously alcoholic), and John (wearing a “THIS IS MY FUN SHIRT” T-shirt). Alexei appeared behind them in a glittery party hat and a “Welcome Home, New Warrior!” sash he had clearly made himself.

“What is this?” You blinked.

“Housewarming party!” Bob beamed.

“You didn’t think we’d let your official move-in go uncelebrated, did you?” Yelena said, already pushing her way in.

“But I-” you protested.

“Too late,” Ava said. “There’s pizza coming and Alexei made a playlist called ‘Songs for Strong Daughters.’”

“It has Whitney Houston!” Alexei added proudly.

An hour later the common area had been overtaken. Balloons tied to chairs. String lights glowing extra bright. Bob had made a sign out of glitter and foam that said WELCOME SUNSHINE, OUR FAVORITE (DON’T TELL JOHN).

You floated through it all, overwhelmed in the best way. Yelena insisted you try all three versions of her spiked lemonade. Bob taught you a weird card game you immediately forgot the rules to. John kept complaining about the music but refused to leave.

You laughed more in two hours than you had all week.

And, through it all - Bucky. He stood near the edge of the room, sipping from a plain cup, eyes quietly tracking you. He hadn’t said much. But whenever you looked over, he was already watching you. Like he couldn’t help it.

Later you had your camera out, snapping Polaroids between sips of wine. Yelena making a face. Bob holding two beers like dumbbells. John caught mid-eye-roll.

You turned and raised the lens toward Bucky.

He started to shake his head.

“C’mon,” you said softly, stepping closer. “Just one.”

He hesitated. Then nodded.

You clicked the shutter—whirr-click—and the square popped out. It was slightly blurry, but the image was unmistakably him. Relaxed, for once. A tiny almost-smile that made your stomach turn over.

Before you could say anything, he surprised you.

“Your turn.”

“What?”

“You’re always the one behind the camera,” Bucky said, stepping forward slowly. “Let’s fix that.” He took the camera gently from your hands. Your fingers brushed.

You stood in place, watching him like you weren’t sure this was real.

Then—click. The photo slipped out. He caught it before it fell.

You reached for it, already smiling. “Let me see.”

But he didn’t hand it over. Instead, he held it just out of reach, expression unreadable. “I’m keeping this one,” he said, voice low. “For my wall.”

You blinked. Your chest did that soft, slow ache thing it always did when he let something honest slip through the cracks.

“Your wall, huh?”

He looked at the photo again, then at you. “Yeah. Seems like it’s missing something.”

Before you could reply, a loud, delighted gasp echoed across the room.

“WAIT A MINUTE!” Alexei bellowed, jolting everyone nearby.

He stomped over, pointing between you like he’d just discovered gravity. “You two! You’re the match! How did I not see it before?”

“Here we go,” Yelena muttered into her drink.

“I have been wasting time setting you up with strangers when my glorious friend Bucky has been brooding like tragic royalty over you for months!” Alexei continued. “Why didn’t I think of it before? I am an idiot!”

Bucky looked like he’d prefer to be anywhere else on Earth. You were covering your mouth, trying not to laugh.

“Alexei-” you started.

“No, no, do not try to talk me down. I am fixing this! You will have romantic training montages! Sparring sessions full of longing! One of you will get injured and confess feelings in a hospital bed-”

“Alright, that’s enough,” John cut in, dragging Alexei away by the sash. “You’re done.”

“I REGRET NOTHING!” Alexei yelled over his shoulder.

The room was in stitches. Bob handed you a shot. Yelena raised a toast “to inevitable love.” Ava laughed so hard she spilled her drink.

And through it all, Bucky stayed beside you. Quiet. Still holding that Polaroid.

You leaned in a little, voice barely above the music. “You’re really gonna keep it?”

He looked down at the photo, then back at you. “Yeah,” he said, softer than before. “I want to remember tonight.”

You didn’t say anything. But your smile said enough.

Val slapped a file down on the table, already mid-rant. “Simple infiltration. In and out. No surprises. Which means, naturally, something is going to go sideways.”

Yelena raised a hand. “Do we get to blow something up?”

“No.”

Alexei raised a hand. “What about someone?”

“Also no.” Val rolled her eyes and flicked a look toward you, who had just dropped into a seat between Ava and Bucky.

“You’re team lead on intel,” Val said. “They’ve been moving data through a shell company in Madrid. We need access. No blown covers, no trail.”

“Copy that,” you said, already scanning the file.

Bucky sat quiet beside you, jaw clenched, knuckles brushing the edge of the table every so often like he wasn’t sure what to do with his hands. He hadn’t talked to you much since the party. Since he kept that photo.

Not that you minded. You hadn’t said anything either. But you'd smiled when he walked in this morning. Just for him. He was still trying to recover.

The team split: Yelena, John, and Ava created distraction on the street level while you and Bucky infiltrated the top-floor server room of a sleek, glass building downtown.

It should’ve been easy. And it was - until the door sealed behind you and the power cut out.

“Great,” you muttered, flicking on a small penlight. “Of course this happens when I’m the one with the file.” You bent to work on the manual override. The penlight trembled slightly in your hand.

“You good?” Bucky asked quietly.

“I’m fine,” you replied. But you weren't - not entirely.

You hated tight spaces. Not a full-blown phobia, just… a lingering thing. A relic from a mission gone wrong years ago. You didn’t usually talk about it.

Bucky noticed anyway. He didn’t say anything else, but he stepped beside you, close enough to cast his calm over you like a weighted blanket. You worked in tandem, your fingers on the lock, his flashlight on the wiring panel. Close enough that his arm brushed yours every few seconds.

You didn’t move away. Neither did he.

The moment the power returned and the door released, you were back to mission mode. The others regrouped at the extraction van.

“Smooth job,” John said, passing you each water bottles. “Except for the part where you two got ghosted by electricity.”

You rolled your eyes. “It was barely twenty minutes.”

“I would’ve chewed through the door,” Bob offered helpfully. “Just saying.”

Alexei grinned. “That’s why we didn’t put you in charge of intel.”

As the team bickered good-naturedly in the back of the van, Bucky sat beside you, hands resting on his knees, shoulder just grazing yours.

No one commented. But you noticed. When you turned slightly to look at him, he was already looking at you. Neither of you said anything.

But the silence between you felt less like distance now. More like something unspoken, steadily building.

[evol-astraea]

Desperate PC Tenno calling for help!

Calling all the tech-savvy players here on Tumblr who may hopefully lend me and tech support a hand. Yes, the situation is that bad. More under the cut to spare a lengthy wall of text!

I've been experiencing totally random and sudden crashes with WF since a month and half, by now.

The game first freezes for less than a minute, then crashes to desktop bringing up the window to report crashes. This happens literally anywhere and anytime in the game. During mission, at the end of the mission, while idling in the Orbiter/base of operations, sitting in the pause menu, checking the settings menu. All kind of possible scenarios. Ah, and DX11 or DX12 make no difference either.

It's driving me - and tech support - insane. Because it is so HARD to pinpoint the root cause! Every log file so far has reported some kind of General Protection Failure (GPF) error followed by different numbers.

I'm running the game on a brand new, pre-built computer from Megaport. Which I moved to from my old potato of a PC back in late November. Specs are the following: Windows 11 Home (build 24H2) Intel Core I7-12700KF, 8x 3.60 Ghz + 4x 2.70 Ghz ASUS Prime Z790-A Wifi DDR5 NVidia GeForce RTX 4070 Dual Palit 12GB 2x 32GB Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5-6000 1 TB SSD 1000 Watt PSU

I have done everything tech support has suggested me to do and: - Uninstalled and re-installed the game, - Update drivers. Being a new computer, everything is pretty much up to date. I had to do a clean install for the GPU drivers only using DDU, though, - Verified game files, - Emptied the shader cache on the drive game is saved to, - Repaired Steam library, - Lowered graphic settings, - Attempted to launch and run Warframe in Clean Boot mode to exclude background programs/services <- unsuccessfully; Steam didn't work at all (which I kind of figured would happen) and trying to launch the game straight from the launcher...triggered a download of the game files in the App Data folder on main (C) drive. O_o The random crashes don't even appear in the Windows Event Viewer. Nowhere to be found. And believe me, I have looked into every single category. I've been keeping track of the time(s) of the crashes but, alas, found nothing that could possibly be related to those. (also, I'm not a computer expert so perhaps I'm doing things wrong)

So far, the only weird thing I've noticed is...Most of the times there seemingly is a "break" in between each series of crashes. A few days at worst, 10-12 days at best. Yes, I checked even the Task Scheduler utility on Windows. Found no program/app that runs automatically that matches with the timing/days when the crashes have occurred so far.

Really losing my mind to this. It's frustrating, it's unnerving, it's making me genuinely terrified of playing the game. And the reason I got this PC in the first place was being finally able to play my favorite game without worrying about being unable to because of my old (and obsolete) machine! Because I don't know when the next crash shall decide to happen and oh boy it's gonna be so fun losing progress. Or having a couple of players reasonably angry at me for suddenly poofing as host. I'm really sorry about that, folks.

I'm already considering the option of total formatting this computer, should there be no other way. But not before entirely giving up. And maybe make things a little less complicated for tech support team.

I can't thank these guys enough for their help and most importantly patience over the past month and half. This mess has been handed to three different people already and a solution hasn't been found yet.

So, if there are fellow Tenno on Tumblr who have either experienced something like this before and found a fix or are just more knowledgeable about computers and whatnot, your help would be GREATLY appreciated. ;.;

EDIT: I forgot to mention a few important things! - Hardware temperatures are within optimal range while in game (CPU never above 65°C, GPU has been running ice cold and has rarely exceeded 50°C so far, RAM is chilling at 45°C average). - GPU memory usage averages around at max (peak) 77% on HWInfo. - CPU usage I honestly need to check! D: - Ran disk cleanup, scans with sfc, chkdsk and DISM (all through command prompts ran as admin) and no issues were found. - Checked RAM health as well with Windows' memory diagnostic tool. However, it seems to give many false positives even on perfectly functional RAM banks. Looking for a more reliable alternative. - Warframe is the only game that keeps crashing on this PC. I haven't been getting any with other games/programs (Hades II; need to test how Ultrakill performs) or any warning signs (BSODs, freezes, sluggish PC, etc) that could suggest hardware failure.

[lazylittledragon]

Heya, feel free not to answer if this is uncomfortable, invasive or you just don't want to :)

I'm a trans guy and I'm, after top surgery, hoping to get laurel wreaths tattooed over the scars with florograpgy accents.

Do you have any advice for someone who's never had a tattoo before? Anyways to deal with pain, common courtesies for the tattoo artist, how the actual session goes, etc.?

Love ya,

Quimble

THAT'S A GREAT IDEA also absolutely!!!

don't stress about it or worry about being 'too much', for someone's first one i will talk through every single thing i'm doing and there are no stupid questions or too many concerns. also don't worry about twitching/flinching, it's not your fault and we know how to work around it

your artist should never make you feel bad about ANYTHING!! you can move the stencil as many times as you want and we don't care about your body or what you look like. if you need to take a break it's fine, if you need numbing spray it's fine. i would honestly rather slightly inconvenience myself than make you uncomfortable. as long as you aren't intentionally wiggling around the entire time or being a dick to the artist, you're all good.

yes it is going to hurt but it probably won't be as bad as you think it will be. when i got my first one i really hyped myself up and was very underwhelmed by the pain aksddfjfdj

bring something with you like a book or headphones if you need a distraction (as long as the tattoo placement allows it). i'm quite chatty most of the time but if you want a quiet session/no smalltalk you can ask for that

the actual session will go something like: show up, look at the design, make any changes if you want, test it out for sizing, put the stencil on and make sure you like it, then start the tattoo. afterwards they'll go through all the aftercare with you and either put on second skin (a film that sticks to your skin and protects the tattoo) or wrap it in clingfilm

if they haven't specified when you book the appointment then ask if it's cash/card/paypal etc and if it's cash, try and get it out BEFORE the tattoo appointment (just a time saving thing). also tipping is never expected but always Extremely appreciated :))

please please PLEASE tell us if you don't like the design/want to change the placement etc. personally i would be mortified if i knew someone didn't like what i'd done and didn't feel comfortable telling me. it's there forever so i want you to like it!!

[summergoodwife]

Gonna say it again, "Just stop consuming the genre" is THE WORST POSSIBLE RESPONSE to someone complaining about the lack of representation in their preferred genre!! And "Consume other stuff too" is not much better!!! I don't care how much you think varying media consumption is a Good and Holy lifestyle, not everyone wants to do that! There is no obligation to do that and there should not be! Because it's fucking entertainment. It's not a college major.

And! And and and. I would be remiss to not point out that when you tell someone, "If you want well written (minority) just get out of (genre fandom)" you are, regardless of your motivations, rhetorically aligning yourself with the exact same bigots who just want the pro-representation crowd to shut up and go away.