#i feel rusty aaaaaa

[stellamancer]

shopping trip (implied bakugou katsuki x reader)

notes: tooting my little horn! first fic of the year! it’s for an exchange we did in the teahouse server for a wonderful person nyall may know as @willowser​. i was super excited to get willow... so excited that i rewrote the piece like 4 times in hopes of achieving perfection... i don’t think i hit it but i think this ineration is pretty okay!! i apologize that this is very, very late, but i hope you like it willow!

“This is so freakin’ dumb.”

Katsuki gripes loudly beside you, vocalizing his annoyance, but you seem completely and utterly unfazed by it. By this point you’re probably used to it, just like the other extras.

“The exchange?” you ask, clarifying as the two of you enter the department store. “Honestly, I think it sounds kind of fun, or at least Casper made it seem like it would be.”

Katsuki snorts derisively. Casper. Right. That’s the name of the damn extra that’s responsible for all this. He’s some two-bit Pro-Hero that’s in Japan on exchange from America who wouldn’t shut up about all the ridiculous Christmas traditions people in the States have and some other brilliant idiot thought it’d be a great idea to adopt one of them.  Personally, Katsuki thought it would have been a better idea to blast both shitheads straight into the new year rather than participate in some dumb gift exchange but he was, unfortunately, overruled.

“It sounds like a waste of fricking time,” Katsuki retorts. He’s always hated shopping. It reminds him of when he was a kid, forced to accompany his mother on outings that would last hours and hours as she sifted, searched and socialized her way through stores whilst little Katsuki trudged after her, bored out of his frickin’ mind. Now, as an adult, Katsuki does most of his shopping online. In fact, he can’t remember the last time he stepped into a store for something other than groceries.

You cast a sidelong glance in his direction, your expression still neutral. “You didn’t need to come along with me, you know.”

“You’re the one who begged me to come!” Katsuki says with a scowl, thinking about earlier how you’d crawled up to him once work was all done for the day, your eyes wide like a pathetic little puppy. How the hell was he supposed to refuse when you came to him looking like that ?

“And, for that, I thank you,” you say dramatically. Katsuki grumbles, but doesn’t say anything further, so you continue, approaching a display as you ask, “So who did you get?”

The frown on Katsuki’s face deepens and he doesn’t answer.

You glance back toward him, confusion clear across your features. “Bakugou?”

“...’m not telling,” he mutters, almost sounding like an indignant child. “Ain’t it supposed to be a secret?”

“Probably to the person you’re shopping for,” you answer nonchalantly, moving to another display table. “But I think it’s probably fine if it’s someone else— in case you need help.”

Sounds reasonable enough, but still, Katsuki doesn’t say anything.

You turn fully toward him and shoot him a cheeky grin. “It wouldn’t happen to be me, would it?”

That earns you one of Katsuki’s patented glares, but you just laugh it off.

“Alright then, Mr. Sourpuss, keep your secrets,” you say. “I just wanted to help you out if I could, but since you won’t tell me, guess you will just have to suffer.”

Katsuki scoffs, pretending that you didn’t hit the nail on the head right there. Truth is, he’s at a complete loss at what to buy you and the whole reason why he’s here is to see if he can get an idea of what you might want.

Not that he’ll tell you that.

“Well, for your information, I got Kirishima,” you say almost haughtily.

“Good for you.” Katsuki’s voice is almost mocking, and you seem to notice, if the look you shoot in his direction is any indication. “Shouldn’t be that hard. Don’t know why you begged me to tag along.”

You circle around a display of shawls and scarves. “You guys are practically best friends, right? Figured it’d be good to get a second opinion on a gift.” You reach down and grab a deep red scarf. “What about one of these? It’s been pretty cold lately.”

Katsuki stares at the scarf. You’re right— it has been pretty cold lately. A scarf would be a pretty good idea, but you just bought one last month. He hums thoughtfully and your eyes light up as you take the sound to mean some kind of approval.

“I could knit one too… It’s been a few years, but I’m pretty good at it. I think it might be nicer than just buying one…”

At the suggestion, Katsuki’s chest starts to feel uncomfortably tight. Buying a scarf for Broomhead wouldn’t be the worst idea, but making one for him? “No.”

You blink, confused. “No? I shouldn’t make him a scarf?”

Katsuki rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. “No, idiot. If he opens that handmade scarf in front of everyone, what do you think all those fuckin’ extras are gonna think?”

You stare, blankly, and Katsuki swears that he can see the gears turning in your head. After a minute, your eyes go wide as you finally realize. “....but isn’t that just some shoujo manga trope?”

Katsuki shrugs. “Maybe, but you ever see someone give a handknit scarf to someone as Christmas gift?”

“....yes,” you answer, almost sounding shameful.

“And?”

“....they were dating.”

“...you interested in Shit Hair like that?”

You shake your head and Katsuki feels an odd sense of relief that he doesn’t voice. Not that he cares who you’re interested in. Even if neither you nor Broomhead are interested in one another, some dumbass is going to spread rumors around the agency and that’s the last thing anyone needs. “...maybe not a scarf then.”

You keep shopping, drifting from one display table to the next, but you don’t seem to find something you deem worthy. Katsuki, who has been secretly noting the things you stop to look at, is still at a loss himself. It doesn’t help that on your little slip you’d written that you’d be fine with anything. If Katsuki had to bet, he figured you wrote that to make it easier on whoever drew your name, but all it’s really done is just make things harder.

Honestly speaking, when he drew your name, Katsuki actually thought it’d be easy, you’re his secretary, after all, and he likes to think that he has a good handle on the things you like. The only problem is that…

“Oh… gloves…” you mumble quietly and Katsuki sees you holding a pair of gloves that are obviously not for Broomhead.

“Oi!” Katsuki hisses and you jump a little and turn toward him with an sheepish smile, but Katsuki continues to frown at you. “I thought you were shopping for the stupid exchange, not yourself.”

Your lips pucker in a pout and Katsuki’s eye twitches. “I am… I just… need gloves....”

This here is a prime example of the problem Katsuki has been having: anytime you need something or even want something you go up and buy it yourself. Normally, it isn’t that big of an issue, but it makes it that much harder for someone to buy you shit.

“What if yer damn Secret Santa or whatever buys you gloves, huh?” Katsuki demands, but you continue to pout, clutching at the gloves like a lifeline. He continues to glower at you,a silent threat, and slowly, finally, you yield and put the gloves down. Once free of your grip, Katsuki commits what they look like to memory. He’s probably not going to buy them for you, but if he can’t find anything better then it’s a better option than nothing.

Katsuki’s decided that whatever he gets you has to be perfect. Some of the annoying ass meddlers who harassed their way into finding out who Katsuki has have made suggestions; shit like nice file cases, fancy pens and portable chargers. And while Katsuki can admit that everyone’s pitched something that you’d definitely use, he's not giving you some lame ass, generic gift: it has to be perfect.

“What about this?”

Katsuki snaps back to attention at the sound of your voice and finds you holding up what he’d consider one of the stupidest looking shirts he’s ever seen. The front has cartoonish lines across it, drawn to look like an excessively chiseled and muscular chest. Frankly, the damn thing looks like it belongs in some cheap souvenir shop rather than in a fancy department store like the one you’re shopping in now.

You peek out over the top, the stupidest grin on your face. “Doesn’t it scream ‘manly?’ I think he’d like this, don’t you?”

It looks garish as fuck, but unfortunately, Katsuki has to agree that it probably would speak to Shit Hair’s fashion sense. Reluctant, he nods and you cheer, having found the gift you were looking for.

“Now you’ve found your gift, let’s go.”

You stare at Katsuki in confusion. “Go? But don’t you still have to get something? I can help, you know, even if you won’t tell me who it’s for.”

Katsuki gives you a pointed look. “Thought you were gonna let me suffer.”

Your eyes grow wide and Katsuki snorts. Looks like you forgot you said that. You look flustered as you try to backtrack a bit. “W-Well, you’re not the type to put stuff off so I figured we could still try and find something. I’ve still got time, unless you have plans."

He doesn’t say anything. You don’t know it, but when you begged to go shopping earlier he made sure to clear the night of any plans he had.

“...we can keep shopping for your gift for a little and…” you trail off, looking a bit conflicted, but then after a moment you pick up the sentence where you left it. “...and if you want we can maybe go get dinner? My treat.”

Your words are a bit slurred together as if you forced them from your mouth. Katsuki stares at you blankly, absorbing what you’ve just said.

You stare at him, wide eyed as you wait for an answer. Katsuki’s not too keen on shopping more, because the longer you shop together the more likely you’ll find out that he’s your Secret Santa. But he doesn’t mind the thought of staying out with you a little longer.

Finally, after what feels like forever, Katsuki sighs in resignation, “Fine, but we’re not eating at some shitty fast food joint, ya got that?”

[tempestclerics]

surprising exactly no one who knows me, i really enjoyed pacific rim

[emmadoodlewrites]

The Inverted Tickle Trap

I’m finally back with a full fic AAAAAA It’s still just a little short but I’m happy with it. Sorry if I’m a little rusty, it’s been a while! Hope you all enjoy, drabble requests are still open after this :)

Summary: Dream gets himself stuck upside down in his own trap. George and Sapnap find this quite entertaining. 

Words: 1k

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Dream swung himself by his legs, his sword merely grazing his fingertips as it taunted him on the ground below. He was embarrassed, and even more so irritated at his negligence at setting up this trap, especially since he managed to get himself stuck in it. What was originally meant for George and Sapnap during training was now wrapped tightly around his ankle and dangling him mere feet from the ground. 

He was held up by spiderwebs, which while normally he never thinks twice about when destroying them with his sword, were now way too strong all on their own. How is it that the webs could hold up his entire weight, even with his struggling? He supposed that’s why he chose them in the first place, perfect for trapping his two best friends. It wasn’t as funny now that it was him. 

“Dream? Where the hell are you? We’re supposed to start training soon!” The sound of George’s voice resonated through the forest. Okay now it was definitely not funny anymore. 

“I’m not here!” Dream answered back, voice slightly strained. He heard two sets of footprints make their way towards him and he realized that meant Sapnap was here too. Damn it! This was so embarrassing. 

“Pfft- Dream?” This time it was Sapnap’s voice, just like he guessed. Dream looked over to the side in order not to look at his friends walking towards him. 

“Look.. I, I don’t wanna talk about it. Just get me down.” “Was this supposed to be for us?!” George exclaimed and Dream scowled. There went all his plans down the drain.

“Look can you guys just…let me down? I won’t use this during an actual manhunt. It’s ruined anyways. And then we never have to talk about this moment ever again” Dream swung himself left and right to show just how stuck he was, as if it wasn’t obvious already.

George giggled, “There’s no way we’re not discussing this later haha. How did this even happen?!” He maneuvered around Dream to try and assess the situation from behind. While doing so, he gently, or as gently as he could with all the trees around, grabbed a hold of the speedrunner’s waist. To all three of their surprise, the trapped man yelped quietly, and tried to wiggle George’s hands off. Dream went very still then, hoping maybe if he just didn’t move the others wouldn’t comment on what just happened. It was too bad he couldn’t see well enough above him to notice the large and knowing smirks on his two best friend’s faces. 

Sapnap spoke up first, “There is no way you got yourself into this predicament as ticklish as you are Dream, honestly,” he scoffed playfully. George was already excitingly poking around Dream’s sides. 

“Nohoho guys, wait seriously? Juhuhust gehet me dohown!” Dream begged, but Sapnap only added to the pokes. He grabbed Dream’s sides as well and turned him around to face him. Dream giggled dizzily at the sudden movement. His eyes could only meet Sapnap’s waist. He looked down to try and see his friend’s face. “Nohohoho hehehehe.” He laughed, a small hint of excitement in his voice. Both George and Sapnap of course picked up on this. 

“I said no hahaha!” Dream’s pleas fell to deaf ears when finally George decided to dig in. He wiggled his fingers up and down his sides and underneath his ribs, all of which were at perfect height for George’s mean fingers. 

“Wait for me dude what the hell!” Sapnap instead went for Deram’s hips. He used his thumbs at first, making quick little circles around where he could feel the bones. But eventually he grew tired of that and resorted to pinching above, below, and right in the dips of his hips to get the best reactions. 

Dream reacted accordingly too. He swung his arms in different directions to try and reach any of the hands currently torturing his nerves. Being upside down already made it hard to differentiate left from right or up from down, not to mention how dizzy he was getting. 

“Guys PLehehehease! Thihis is unfahahahair!” As he whined, George decided to cease his friend's flailing arms by targeting his armpits. “GEOrge! Hahahaha!” 

“What was that? Hm?” Sapnap giggled as he continued tickling his poor friend’s hips. Dream arched his back as best he could but it was just no use. He was stuck there, dangling, only able to plead with his tormentors. Eventually he just allowed his arms to dangle. It just took too much energy to lift them, and he was losing energy fast. Even with the fingers torturing the nerves under his arms, he just couldn’t get them up.

“HEHEhehehhe guhuhuhHUYS!” Dream shook his head. With all the movement his shirt had fallen down, exposing his entire mid drift. Dream screamed when George excitedly began raking his nails up and down his bare sides. With this, tears finally hit Dream’s eyes and he cackled and squirmed. “WHY AHAHAHAHAHA!” 

“Because you’re just so adorable! And besides this was originally gonna be a trap for us. Don’t George and I deserve some revenge?”

“IHIHIHI- IhihiIHI dihihihin’t eheheheven trahahahap yohohohou!”

“Yeah well you were going to! It’s the thought that counts.” George piped up. He was still running his nails up and down. Every once in a while he’d reach around to tickle Dream’s bare tummy, scratching around his belly button. This was Dream’s limit. 

“OKAHAHAHAY IHIHIHIM SOHOHOHORRY! STAHAHAHAHAP!”

Sapnap sighed and stopped his tickling. “Alright George come on let’s cut him loose.” George in turn just pouted, giving Dream’s stomach a last few squeezes before ceasing. Dream breathed deeply and continued to giggle. He was so dizzy and all over the place it felt like. The blood had rushed to his head with all the squirming. 

He felt George wrap his arms around him in a tight hug and then heard the sound of a sword cutting web. He fell, but not far, the arms around him keeping him from hitting the ground head first. He was laid gently on the ground where he continued to laugh softly.

“Yohou guys suhuck.”

“Yeah whatever you deserved it,” George ruffled Dream’s hair. “At the very least you deserve it for being so ticklish,” “Shuhuhuhut!”

They postponed their manhunt training for later in the day. Dream needed time to brainstorm a different trap now anyways. No way was he going to make the same mistake again.

[ansxit]

Witches, Curses, Dream Lords Oh My!

[Morpheus x Reader (Howl's Moving Castle Au)]

a/n} AAAAAA OH MY GOD YOUR GUYS' SUPPORT IS LITERALLY AMAZING I LOVE ALL OF YOUR NOTES THEY MAKE MY DAY !!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ ((Btw, just comment if you want to be part of a tag list for this series!))

(Also!! Please reblog + like!! It would really mean a lot to me !! <3)

- In a world with witches and wizards, one the most feared and skilled of them all is a loner by the name of The Sandman

TW] Implications of low-self esteem, Verbal Harassment, The act of digging nails into someone's wrists

~Chapter One~

You were sitting at your desk, gently sewing together some additional touches of a line of hats the shop wanted to sell for the oncoming season. Humming softly to the music box that lay open beside you, you reached to grab another pin while the afternoon train came rolling down the tracks. Black clouds trailed behind it, momentarily shading the window in the lobby. You paused, waiting for it to pass until you continued your work, and started humming again.

“Oh! Y/n didn’t you hear the clock chime?” Your manager stood in the doorway, holding her jacket and gloves. “You don’t have to keep working, why don’t you come out to the festival with us?”

“I'm alright, thank you though,” You smiled at her and held up one of the hats. “I just want to finish the rest of these pieces, besides, I have plans to visit Johanna this afternoon.”

She put a hand on her heart and sighed.

“You two are sweet, Y/n. Alright, let me know if you need anything! Make sure you tell her I said hello.” You nodded and she walked out to the waiting girls in the lobby.

“Do you see it?” One of the girls in the other room exclaimed, and you leaned back in your chair to see them all looking out of the long window.“There! Just beyond the clouds!”

“See what?” Another girl asked.

“The Sandman’s castle! Oh, I wonder if he's visiting town for the parade!”

“You don’t think he's really back in the Wastes again?” A younger girl asked. She nervously wrung the hems of her sleeves. “You've heard the stories, he tore out a young woman’s heart last time- who knows what he did to it afterwards!”

“Well you won't have to worry about that,” The first girl’s smile turned into a snicker. “He only steals the hearts of pretty girls~”

“Hey! That's not nice!”

You stood up and rolled your eyes, moving to close your door when a different girl exclaimed,

“No! There’s his palace!” And against your better judgment, you turned to look outside as well.

A puff of white smoke shot out of the castle; if you could even call it that. It looked more like a village on legs, with decaying trees clinging on to what little leaves they had left. It creaked on rusty hinges as it moved further up the mountains, and when the fog finally caught it— it was gone again. Royal planes zipped by, waving the bright pink and yellow colors of your country. They hovered where the castle just was for a few heartbeats, until carrying on with the patrols.

“He's just a coward.” The first girl rolled her eyes. “He's been on the run from the King for how long?”

“Girls!” Your manager called from the door. “Let’s go!”

The other girls giggled as they walked away, already moving their focus to the festival they were celebrating. A strange, compelling, feeling kept you in a daze as you stared after the long gone palace. If you stared hard enough, you thought you could still hear the whining of the machinery behind the clouds. Your heart tugged wildly and you stumbled out of your reverie, bracing a hand against your doorframe to keep from falling over.

A handful of breathing exercises helped to calm you down. You had never had such a reaction to the Sandman’s castle before, but then again, it had never been so close to the town before, it typically liked to walk itself along the mountains or distant plains to make quicker getaways.

When your heart finally stilled, you sat back down and tried to ignore the trembling in your hands. But working couldn't do you any good, you've already completed most of the hats, and anytime you tried to pick up your needle, you would only drop it again.

The finished hats stared back at you as you rested your head in your hands, boredom and nervousness gnawing at the ends of your brain. The town outside was bustling, everyone getting ready for the big celebration that was the Spring Festival. With a determined sigh, you stood up, dusted off your dress, and gathered your personal belongings.

-

“The city is much more alive than I thought.” You commented to yourself, narrowly avoiding the carriages as the square filled with pedestrians and soldiers. Most areas would soon become blocked off for the parade that should be happening in just fifteen minutes. So everyone that had procrastinated was trying to get to where they needed to be for the best view of the festivities.

You noticed the bus that was headed north of the town rang its boarding bell, and you jogged to catch up before it took off. Its compartment was packed full of people, so you just held the outside railing to keep from falling out. Ten minutes later, you got off and looked down at the bakery’s address, and started walking towards its direction.

Several cars honked at you as you traversed through the road, and the brightly colored flags being waved by the marching guards caught your attention. The parade through the Wastes should be starting at any minute. You thought about the large crowd of people and cringed, deciding to take a detour through the alleyways to avoid the insanity of the Spring Festival.

You looked down at the address again, trying to mentally figure out how many more turns you had to take to make it out to the main road again. Some shuffling caught your attention, and you realized you had almost run into a pair of guards.

“Why Hello– It seems like a lovely lady lost her way,” The blond guard commented, leaning in closer than you would have preferred. His friend took notice of you as well, a dangerous smile growing across his face.

“Oh, I'm not lost, so if you'll excuse me–” The brunet guard blocked the other side of the alleyway, slyly leaning against the rifle he held.

“What's the rush, why don’t we take you for a drink first?”

“No thank you.” You tried to be firm, but it felt like you had done nothing more than whisper by how quickly they laughed at your statement.

“I told you, you always end up scaring all the pretty ones.” The blond teased his friend. “I think it's the ugly whiskers you've got growing out of your nose.”

“I think I prefer her more scared than shy.” He purred and he and his friend stepped closer. Your heart was hammering out of your chest and you were ready to turn around and run when a pair of footsteps sounded behind you.

“Sorry I took so long, I was looking everywhere for you, my dear.” A cold hand pressed against the small of your back and a towering figure leaned over your shoulder. “I see you’ve found some new friends…”

“Back off, buddy.” The blond guard challenged, and the brunet puffed up his chest. “We’re busy here.”

“Is that so?” The black haired stranger smiled. “I could've sworn you were both leaving.” With his left hand, he tossed some dust onto their shoes, and to your shock– the guards stood up straight and began marching away from the two of you in unison, exclamations of their surprise going with them.

“What.. what did you do to them?” You stammered, watching the two guards walk out into the parade and then vanished into the crowds.

“They’ll be fine,” He dismissed, and he withdrew his hand— you’d forgotten he was even holding you— and then held his arm out to you. “Where are you headed? I’ll escort you in case they come back.” You glanced at his arm before looking up at his face. He was… certainly handsome. Wispy dark hair floated around him as if he were suspended in water, and we wore an oversized black jacket that could fit the skies within them. Below that was a white poet’s shirt, and a red ruby hung from his neck, somehow glinting in the shadowed alleyway. His jaw was chiseled and his lips were strung into a light smile.

“Oh, uh, thank you. I'm headed to Cesari’s. The new bakery that's downtown?” Your face grew hot as he leaned in closer to whisper into your ear.

“I don’t mean to alarm you but I'm being followed. Just try to act natural.” He didn't entirely back away from you as he started walking, still remaining close enough that you could feel the cold chill of his entire body. Despite your circumstance, you felt pleasantly warmed by his presence.

You gripped his arm just a little tighter when you passed other people in the alleyway that you wouldn't normally expect to see. A creeping feeling of anxiousness arose when a particularly well-dressed couple stopped when you passed them; and suddenly turned around and began following you.

“My apologies, it looks like you’re involved now.” The stranger held your arm closer to his side, suddenly taking off at a much faster pace, attempting to outrun whoever was behind you. As you both darted through the twisting maze of the Waste’s alleyways, you noticed a whole group of people blocking your way out. Bile rose in your throat as they all grinned, and then you noticed a black void where their eyes should have been. “Hold onto me,” Your black-haired savior commanded, and you barely had enough time to react before he jumped into the air, well above the walls that lined the alleyways, and even further above the buildings standing next to them.

You shut your eyes, expecting to plummet back towards the ground for a sickening death. “Johanna is going to kill me for dying.” You thought sadly. But the brutal impact never came. Gentle laughter came from beside you, and a small wave of embarrassment washed around you.

“You can open your eyes, it’s safe up here.” The stranger laughed, and your sheepish emotions transformed in shock as you realized you were floating over the town below. “Now you just straighten your legs, and start walking.” And just as he said, you began walking through the air as though on invisible platforms. He adjusted your grip on your arm to hold both of your hands instead, and he leaned his head over your shoulder. His wispy hair tickled your skin and your face flushed as he leaned against your neck. “You’re perfect at this, my dear.”

You noticed the bustling city below you, they looked like little ants from the height you were walking at. There was a slow descent and the two of you stepped in unison onto the spire of the town hall. You noticed a familiar sign above a quaint building with red shingles.

“Down there,” You motioned with your hand. “That's Cesari’s.” Your savior nodded and pulled back, simply deciding to hold just your left hand as he led you to the balcony. You'd be lying if you said you didn’t miss his closeness already. The thump echoed as you landed, and he held your elbows to steady you as you remember what it felt to be under gravity again. After he was certain you wouldn’t fall, his grip changed back.

“I’ll lead them away from here, just stay put so they don’t follow you.” He still held your hands, and you had a feeling he was not keen on letting go. You both didn’t blink as he leaned just a little closer, and you swore at this proximity, he could hear how fast your heart was beating. You glanced down at his lips, and then back up to meet his gaze; And oh gods how did you just now notice his eyes.

They were a beautiful, deep black, reflecting the light as though they were made out of glass. You felt as if he were gazing into your soul, pinning down all of the characteristics of yourself and laying them for the world to see. A ring of white danced around his iris, and you felt as if he held twin stars within them. Your brain short circuited for just a moment, and only then you realized he was still waiting for you to respond.

“Okay,” You whispered, worried any more words would ruin the trance you both appeared to be stuck in. Barely a moment had passed but it felt like just enough to last you a lifetime, and then maybe another infinite amount of years.

“That's my girl.” He winked and with the flourish of sand, he vanished– so quickly and without a trace it left you wondering if you'd dreamt the whole thing.

-

“Y/n L/n!” A commanding voice shouted across the hall from you as a ball of protective fury ran towards you. A hint of fear shook you as Johanna tumbled into you, grabbing your hands and pulling you into a bone-crushing hug. You went to lean into it, but all too soon the Constantine was gripping your shoulders and staring you down. “Someone just told me you floated down onto the balcony, for the love of anything holy, tell me it isn't true.”

“So I didn’t imagine it then, did I?” You pondered aloud, glancing back out of the window. It was no use, he was gone with the crowds, but your heart behaved as though he were still breathing right next to you. Johanna pinched the bridge of her nose and you looked back at her.

“Johanna!” A friendly male voice called, “You could use my office, if you’d like.” Her shoulders tightened just slightly, You assumed it was to hide her discomfort, and she gave him her best customer service smile.

“No thanks, I should really get back to work.” You both made eye contact again and she just barely managed to not roll her eyes. She grabbed your hand and led you to the basement of the restaurant. Workers were busy lifting heavy boxes and lugging around equipment, but most of them still turned to smile at Johanna. She would always give one back, but it quickly fell away when they looked away.

“You are so lucky to be alive right now, Y/n.” She finally said when they were in a quiet area. “That man was obviously a wizard, and if he was the Sandman--”

“But he was kind, and polite.” You argued absentmindedly. The mysterious man just couldn't leave our mind, and you still felt the ghostly feel of his hands along your back and wrists. A pleasant chill cascaded down your spine. “He rescued me, Johanna.”

“Okay… and if he were the Sandman he would’ve taken your heart and; Oh I don't know, eaten it?!” She rubbed her forehead and pinned you down with a stern gaze. “You have to be more careful, you know, they say even the Corinthian is on the hunt again. I can’t bear to have anything bad happen to you.”

“I'll be okay, besides– the Sandman only takes the hearts of pretty girls, so I don’t have to worry about that.”

“Y/n I swear on our King’s name if I hear you speak like that about yourself again—”

Her rant was cut short when a familiar coworker of Johanna’s peaked her curly-haired head through the doorway.

“Jo? The cakes have finished,” She wore long plastic gloves, and her tan skin was dusted with flour. You also noticed some dessert batter caked into her apron. “And, the patrons miss you, of course. Oh, Hey Y/n!”

You waved at her and Johanna rolled her eyes playfully.

“I'll be there in just a minute, Rach. Try not to lose any customers while I’m gone.” Rachel snorted and leaned against the doorframe.

“It’s a miracle we don’t lose them with your oh-so wonderful customer service. But I guess I’ll manage; I’ll see you around, Y/n.” And she slunk back into the kitchens, out of sight.

Johanna stared where she stood for an extra few minutes when you stood up and dusted off your clothes.

“Alright, I didn’t mean to keep you for so long, I just wanted to say hello.” Johanna looked back at you and sighed deeply. You both walked out through the back door and she stopped you before you could fully take off.

“Y/n, do you really want to spend your life in that dusty hatter’s shop? You could move in with Rachel and I, she loves you– she won’t mind,”

“It was very important to my parents, Jo, you know this. Besides, I’m doing just fine on my own.” You tried to slink your hands out of hers, but her grip was too strong.

“I know, but is it really what you want to do?” You wilted under her gaze and gently pulled your hands out of her grasp. This time she let you. “It’s your life, maybe it’s time you stuck up for yourself and lived it. Or maybe just stuck up for yourself in general.” She added dryly. A flare of embarrassment riled up inside you, but you managed to control it before you started shouting at her.

“I’ll see you around, Jo.” You said shortly, and without even a hug goodbye, you turned your back to her and started walking home.

Her words had genuinely meant a lot, (and hurt a lot more than you would like to admit.) They always did whenever she commented about the life you led. She was your best friend, most of the time you would even consider her your sister. But her concern in your personal matters felt invasive at times, and you just wanted to prove you could handle an adult life on your own.

As you boarded the bus back to the upper side of town, you pondered her words a little more. She always had your best interest in heart, you know this, and a part of you felt horrible for being so short with her. But a small voice still nagged at the back of your mind, one that whispered she needed to mind her own business; that you could handle it. You fiddled with the seams of your sleeve and you continued to think about it all the way back home.

-

A sigh of relief left you as you finally entered the shop, lighting the candles and locking the door. You had just put your jacket and hat up when you heard the door open, and a young man in a light brown jacket entered the store. His dark sunglasses reflected the low firelight, and you wondered why he would need them at this time of night. He glanced around briefly before turning his full attention onto you.

“Excuse me, sir.” You tensed as you turned to face him. “But we are currently closed– our hours are on the sign out front.” You were absolutely certain you locked the door behind you, but waved it off. It had been a long day, you probably just forgot about it on your way in.

“I have to give him credit,” the stranger disregarded your remark, slid his hands into his pockets and examined the many displayed hats. “Dream always managed to surround himself with pretty things.” Your fists clenched at his comment, wondering who he could ever be talking about.

“Pardon, who is Dream?” You questioned him, but he didn't elaborate, just kept smiling. Remembering what Johanna had said, you gathered your courage, and briskly moved past him to open the door.

“Well, I’m sorry sir, but we are closed. So if you’ll please exit the premises, or I will alert the authorities.” His grin sickeningly widened more, and he reached up to take off his sunglasses.

“Standing up to the Corinthian~ Now that takes guts, Ma’am.” Fear crashed against your back in tidal waves and you moved to run out of the shop, but the eyeless zombies from earlier were blocking the way. You turned back, but he was already a hair-length away from you. A scream escaped your mouth as he grabbed your wrist, blunt nails digging into the skin, and the smell of burning flesh wafted through the air until it was the only thing you could smell. With what little courage you had left, you went to stare him in the eye– but whatever air was left in your lungs dissipated as you stared into two more bloody sets of teeth where his eyes should have been.

An agonizing, searing pain flowed throughout your body, and you fell to the floor, convulsing as the dark magic diffused through your bloodstream.

“My regards to the Sandman,” He smiled wide, showing off all six rows of teeth, and then he was gone— locking the door behind him.

-

(Please reblog + like!! It would really mean a lot to me !! <3)

[kafus]

i still feel sick and am rusty so i don’t feel up to working on my bigger illustrations or 4 page likodot comic, so i want to doodle, but i also don’t want to doodle bc i feel unsatisfied with not making bigger work. Eternal cycle

i know i need to doodle to derust and get back in the swing of things now that i’m not As Sick as i was before and doing that will get me back to my bigger stuff but AAAAAA

[ihavemanyhusbands]

AAAAA i'm excited for the nurse fic!! 🥰 I'm hoping that it will contain elements of corruption (both professional and personally lol), lots of eyefucking and Mr Lecter fingering the nurse through the rusty prison bars lmao 😈

How have you been though? How's everything? 🥹I've kind of just gotten out of my 2 week long depressive episode and trying to function normally as we speak lol i just wanna squish my brain and mold a new one sometimes

have a great rest of your day!! 😊🤍

-🌧

Aaaaaa trust me there will be corruption for sure hee hee but since his cell has a glass pane instead of bars, i was thinking of the inverse, since, yknow…. There’s holes in the glass 🤭

I feel you tho im on the tail end of my period and last week was like, My Week From Hell ™️ (just lots of stress and work and not sleeping nearly enough and the hormone craze also) but im finally feeling like a human person again!

Sending you a big hug and a kiss on ur forehead, we’ll get thru it together!! 🫂❤️❤️

[actuallyitsstar]

1,2,4,10 and 13?

✨ send me a number and get to know me better! ✨

(one). what song makes you feel better?

the song i go to right away always depends on my mood and the current musical artist micro-obsession i am experiencing lol, but three top options i find myself going to in a stressful or hopeless situation include coast (it's gonna get better) by patrick stump, choker by twenty one pilots, and soft to be strong by marina (who is pictured in my blog icon actually!).

(two). what's your feel-good movie?

100% hands down back to the future. that is my MOVIE. i have seen it so many times theres no way i can count. i am a little rusty bc i havent been ~ in ~ that fandom like i was before super recently but i used to/kind of still do know everything there is to possibly know about that franchise. those are my comfort characters and plots and relationships <3 i will never turn down a chance to watch it again lol. in fact this past summer i got to go to the theater w/ my partner for an anniversary re-release and see it on the big screen for the first time! i highly recommend lol.

(four). what flower would you like to be given?

oooof this is tough! daisies are one of my favorites, but also just anything pink to be honest. i also used to love lilies but i have learned they are poisonous to cats so my home is a no lily zone lol.

(ten). what's something you're excited for?

aaaaaa idk tbh. it's a weird time in my real life atm and i have no idea what the future holds, but in the broad sense, i guess change? in the smaller sense, spring is approaching where i live, and i look forward to it being warm enough outside to go for walks again! and for finishing my wips lol <3

(thirteen). what's your comfort food?

pasta. any type of americanized italian food. carbs. cheese. i am very basic in this regard akdhfjgfhgj

(thank u so much for the ask and so sorry for the late reply aaa 💖)

[thatwritingho]

I am SO not okay after that new chapter!! You say you felt rusty but it truthfully feels just like you updated last yesterday - your style is consistent and detailed and emotionally powerful and healing all at once. I honestly got really emotional at the line "Embarrassment crept through her mind, a less than nice voice telling her she had, once again, failed to recognize some big, blatant social cue that would have been obvious to anyone else." Because you described what I feel, like, every single day of my life in one sentence! And this chapter was extra timely considering I am also trialing a new antidepressant 😅 hopefully it will go well for both Olive and me. Wish I had Toki to make it better in the meantime, but alas, I shall content myself with your wonderful fic. So glad to see you updating, but more importantly seeing you feeling able to update! Excited for more to come <33

Aaaaaa thank you meefy!!!😭😭😭 I always look forward to your comments🥰

That is also what I feel like every day of my life haha- it was a cathartic thing to put into words. I wish you the best right now❤️

This chapter took forever, and its such a relief to see it being so well received. It feels good to be writing again, but also to be participating in the fandom again after taking a while away- but I am very, very glad to be back :)

[deadtower]

G/t anon over here, I'm very glad to hear you understand my point of view and tbh I 100% agree with Tioga being a sentient, intelligent being capable of consent ❤️ Truth be told I did check through the Harkness test more than once (and they successfully passed it every time ofc) while reading the fics and before sending the ask, and although it's still not entirely my cup of tea I appreciate that part a little more now that I've spoken with you about it ^^

It's also worth noticing that Tioga/Giratina in the Cor Unum series definitely isn't an entity like any other, they're a powerful divinity not unlike Arceus (just writing down their name makes me want to have them disappear ewww) and tbf it's quite sad and unfair that in the PLA game they kept such a huge difference in knowledge and sentience between the two. For example Giratina simply roars their cry and fights like a normal pokemon would in battle, while Arceus is able to communicate and have conversations with you (even tho it's highly possible that the real Arceus is the one speaking, not the vessel/part of themselves the player receives after defeating them at the Hall of Origin) and can unleash their power with ease in a complex, multilayered boss fight. Also, even Dialga and Palkia are shown being capable of communicating via telepathy with their respective clan leader, while with Giratina we only get some... off-screen dialogue between them and Volo, before PLA events and in the post-game? The writers at GameFreak are literally so biased tbh xD I'm getting off track here but you get what I'm saying, lol

Yeah Non Mortem, Somni Fratrem (my knowledge of Latin grammar is literally so so rusty btw, apologies xD) will most likely kick me in the butt so hard lol, I love the Submas brothers a lot and I'm very curious to see how you're going to write them! x3 ❤️ also I forgot to mention it in the previous ask but omg I really liked Deus Nolens Exitus too! I'm a big fan of 'Volo wins!' scenarios but upon realizing he was secretly carrying all his followers' and everyone else's afflictions on his back like some kind of Atlas, it made me whine and weep immensely 😭 I was like "Volo no, baby… you gotta stop this, it's actually super unhealthy and it's hurting you so much!" 😭😭 He can be such a selfless character and I love him for that but omg, he really doesn't deserve any more pain, he's been through so much already 😞😞

Pater Peccavi is great so far btw! Tioga having to face different incarnations of Arceus with each chapter being a kind of trial is super interesting and thrilling! And I've just realized what you meant about the first letter of each tag being so important OMGGG, that's genius!!!! Also I'll definitely read Febris Amatoria too, cause the ending of chapter 3 from PP totally went over my head xD

Oderint Dum Metuant is just really good tbh! All the g/t interactions make it even more fun of course, and witnessing Volo being in distress pulled at my heartstrings too 🥺🥺 (Latios with his creepy hunger can fuck off btw, Latias is the superior sibling of the duo lol). Thankfully Tioga won against Carnifex, but omg the final chapter… aaaaaa the feels, when we finally catch up with how much time has passed since their fight, and what's been happening in the meantime while Tioga was asleep ;-;

Oh well, where to even begin xD I think it's basically canon how Arceus acts so mercilessly to Volo and mocks him too by favoring the player character instead of him (which isn't also completely true all the time btw, like the MC is literally unwillingly taken away from the present time and their family and friends, but Arceus never let them return home once they're done?? Like hello?? Who even does that!), but your version of Arceus is so cruel, sadistic and evil it could put Ghetsis Harmonia to shame and I like it xD I'm almost sure in saying they're the biggest divine bitch I've ever read about, lmfao xD

Also I absolutely get where your religious feelings come from, it must be very tough for you guys to deal with anything God-related if said God (whether they exist or not) is literally so apathetic they let anything happen to you and your ancestors for thousands of years :( it does resonate with Volo's story a lot tbf, taking also into account the fact that his people have disappeared from history (except him and Cogita ofc) and Arceus doesn't ever or even bring them up to the player :(( for this reason I'm sending you (and to Volo and Tioga too ofc) so many hugs! ❤️

Omg this ask is getting very long, but I wanted to mention two more things first:

I'm currently planning out to write a g/t story including a gender neutral Reader and Volo (it's a slow process but I'm getting there xD)

I've just made a meme about Tioga&Volo vs. Arceus but I can't send it to ya anonymously because Tumblr doesn't allow it, so this might be the last time I'll be addressing myself as g/t anon x3 tbh tho I think it's fair, we've been discussing stuff for a while and I feel like I can come off anon to keep chatting with you if it's okay!

yeah no it's completely fine for it not to be your thing! tbh i think i turned it over in my head for a few weeks before deciding i was comfortable with it so trust me you're all good haha

HMMM yes i definitely agree oh my god. the other gods really and truly got so much more communication than giratina, who was just painted at this primal and chaotic force... but at the same time GF has them capable of enough thought to, uh, come up with this whole plan of giving volo the spooky plate and having him collect all the plates so that it can cross over into our world and challenge arceus? like, pick a side, gamefreak. lol. how giratina got done dirty really did upset me as a long, LONG-time giratina fan (i've adored giratina ever since platinum first came out) not to mention that volo and giratina are supposed to, you know, have the same convictions and the same "heart" (hence cor unum in general) yet giratina is painted as this sorta feral beast not really capable of doing anything except for battling alongside volo... i really, really wish we had gotten more scenes of volo and giratina interacting, and volo speaking to them, and/or them speaking back, because there's no way volo just saw this fuck-all big dragon on the other side of our world and was like ah yes i know exactly what to do now. not to mention his comment about "i was the one to feed you the power you needed to take on arceus" like THEY MAKE IT A THROWAWAY LINE AND IT'S LIKE... WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT!!! did he transfer over his energy at regular intervals to nurse giratina (who likely had nearly given up by this point) back to (emotional, if not physical) health?? why don't we get any scenes of volo exhausted as hell from giving giratina energy and them comforting him?? WHERE ARE THESE SWEET, HUMANE MOMENTS, GAMEFREAK?? but they probably figure that makes him "too sympathetic" or some shit. give me a break. where are the hidden tapes GF i know you have them

jgdhjdg to be fair in NMSF ingo is a little more reserved than you're used to due to being in hisui so long (didn't he seem more quiet to you?? i couldn't get that reserved ingo out of my head. god) but yeah i fucking love the submas twins and i was so excited to include them. i do have another little spinoff type thing that happens after the end of pater peccavi that is of the "ingo is zekrom, emmet is reshiram" variety where tioga and volo comfort the twins (but mostly emmet because he is their "train cutie" meaning they. er. Have Relations occasionally. and dote on him a lot and call him "emmie" lol) but i haven't posted it yet so NMSF and the end of pater peccavi are currently the only bits where the submas come into play... but more later :p

I'M SO GLAD YOU ENJOYED DEUS NOLENS EXITUS god it's one of my proudest works. i fucking loved writing it so much. you hit the damn nail on the head, volo taking everything on to himself and how fucking sad it is, like, you want to let him and tioga and everyone else live in peace, but at the same time it's obvious from how his priestesses react that volo taking it all onto himself is not okay with him, and they would all much rather experience their own suffering than have him take it onto himself... tioga getting their memories back and being upset volo lobotomized them hurt so fucking much to write lmao especially because they are COMPLETELY AWARE that he did it because he loves them, but taking away the part of them that is so invested in protecting him? is something they can't abide. which sucks because volo wants so badly to be able to protect them the way they protect him, because, like, he's in love, and that's just what you do when you're in love... but. augh. anyway

IRONICALLY LATIOS IS ACTUALLY MY FAVORITE OF THE SIBLINGS but also this particular latios would be pokemon heroes's latios's father (the one that died that bianca and lorenzo talk about in the beginning of the movie, the one that movie-latios and latias fly around with in the end) which is solely because heroes!latios's dad is revered as this self-sacrificing hero and i think it would be really fucking funny if, like, he definitely was a hero, no argument there, but also was just like. irritating as hell and had a petty feud with giratina. i dunno i was just like god this would be funny as fuck and serve to be like "hey yeah heroes are heroes and he did a great thing but like he was also a person, and people are flawed, and he had this stupid schoolyard animosity towards giratina" LMAO. still love him. def not going for a "people who do great things don't deserve the accolades because they're people too and they do shitty things", more of a "wouldn't it be fucking hysterical if" sort of thing LOL

OH I DEFINITELY AGREE like it did not ask reikari if they were ok with being sent back in time away from anyone they ever knew, and it didn't f*cking send them back afterwards! what the hell! i'll always be mad about that. and volo is definitely pissed about it too when he finds out. if reikari came to him and was like "do you know why arceus would do this and then. not send me back." volo would be like are you fucking serious? i may not like you but this is completely unsurprising and i'm, like, angry for you. LIKE... literally fucking hate arceus and whenever i see people characterizing volo as if he worships the thing (he does say he "worshiped it as the creator of our world" but it's worth noting he says this in past tense... which is exactly what i, as a formerly religious jew, and now an atheist one for the exact same reasons as volo, would say about my former self), i'm always like. no i don't think you get it. volo doesn't want to meet arceus so that he can be its treasured disciple or anything. he literally canonically says he wants to dethrone it and make a new and better world than the shit one arceus made where people suffer and it does nothing to help. LIKE........ the audacity of people to be all "they'd be best friends :) he'd worship at its feet :)" im like did we play the same game. just asking. HJGHJFCG

(also thank u for the hugs i appreciate it hgjdfg you would not believe how much i see people telling us to "get over" what happened to us n other reprehensible shit like that lol like sure let me get over the repeated attempts at genocide of my people, literally like. multiple per century. and how the god we trusted has like. abandoned us. that's just my opinion of course and i highly respect any jew who is still religious and still trusts hashem but for me i'm fuckin done believing or at the very least he's gonna have to fucking answer for a lot of shit if he does end up existing lol)

oh my god i would LOOOOVE to read that thing :3 make sure u send it when it's ready! if you wouldnt mind hehe. and YEAH OF COURSE omg... tbh we will probably continue this convo over discord considering how fuckin long it's gotten (dw i love it) if you don't mind! but i am like so eager to see this meme now LMAO

[ghoulsmuses]

I love your Langa and Joe! They're so well thought out and you play them so well. You also have a good grasp on Reki too! I just haven't wrote with him yet. All of your bnha muses are fantastic as well I love the way you write them! I'm sure you're going to do just fine with these Haikyuu muses!

aaaaaa!! thank you thank you! <3 i was honestly a little nervous to write langa, mostly because i wasn't sure if i'd be able to write his voice that well. reki is the one sk8 character that i am very confident in my ability to write since i feel like i have the best grasp on him but i'm happy to know that my joe and langa are played well!

i'm a bit rusty with haikyuu as it's been a bit since i consumed any of the media but i'm fairly confident in my ability to write oikawa and kenma. iwa and akaashi might take me a hot minute to fully cement but i'll get them!

[birdpaladin]

stressed out abt my art so i drew mob just as stressed

[gazmonster]

djgndskgnsdjg i got the job ;__;   aaaaaaaaaaaaakdjnvgdkg

[gothamsworst]

I’ve seen this asked for Jon, but how would Eddie feel/react to their s/o calling them ‘husband’?

Edward reacting+feeling to his S/O calling him their husband:

Well first off, way to violently boost his ego bub

Second, he totally rubs it in everyone’s face

‘Yes they called me, The ✨Ever Enigmatic✨ Riddler, their husband! I am proven marriage material! My dowry is two herds of camels, no less! I am worth every last one!’

But don’t be fooled

Inner Ed really do be looking like👀

He never expected to live this long, let alone find a partner who considers him marriage material

(My dowry is half a stick of butter and a rusty pocket knife aaaAAAAAAAAAAA-)

It really puts it into perspective for him for the long run

I.e he spends the night lying in bed fantasising about being married to you

[nyctolovian]

TMA S1 Archival Team Headcanons

A lot of sexuality/gender headcanons but also some misc headcanons that are somewhat related??? I'm writing this cos idk how else to celebrate ace week so I'm just plopping this down here.

Jon

Not a headcanon but AAAAAA I'm so happy he's canonically ace :""

Has no clue what the hell people are talking about when they talk about attractiveness

Used to think he was pansexual because "well, I think everyone looks attractive in the same amount" (turns out same amount is Zero.)

Now he knows he's a panromantic ace

Ace flavour: fluctuating between sex-favourable and sex-neutral

Quite enjoys sex (when he's in the mood)

But he *hates* kissing. Full-on kiss on the lips is gross

Hair kisses and hand kisses are very welcome though!!

That's why there is no kissing in The Magnus Archives (frankly, kissing sounds are gross to me so thank you rusty quill)

Nonbinary. Pronouns are probably he/him/they/them. But he doesn't rly talk about it because it feels like too much trouble

Skirts!!! Gosh! Long flowy skirts are his favourite. They're comfortable and he feels a little pretty in them

Martin

Idk he comes off as someone who doesn't want labels

Love is love to him.

Once he has a crush, he crushes H A R D

If you watch his ears, you'd see how nervous he gets around Jon. Cos they go red

Started painting his nails to stop himself from biting them (self-projection lmaooo)

Now he paints them for fun! His favourite nail polish is baby blue!

My HC for him morphs between trans and cis ;-; I can't decide ;-;

Sasha

Aromantic heterosexual (there are too few Allo aro rep out here so I'm making them myself!!!!)

Will beat you up if u call her straight (and so will I)

She and Jon bond over being aspec. Just constant jokes of "pffft sexual/romantic attraction? What's that? Can you eat it?"

She loves going on dates! They're fun!

Isn't too stoked about romance and falling in love... Esp how society seems to put them on a pedestal because it makes her feel left out

Also because romance looks unnecessarily messy

Really wants a QPR but is very specific about what she wants out of it

Incredibly specific about terminologies (let's face it, she's bothered enough by the calliope thing to barge into Jon's recording)

Specifically, she never wants to be "an item" or "couple" with someone. She doesn't like her status to be referred to with nouns???

Saying she's "dating" someone or "married" is fine.

Tim

Bi-con

Hawaiian shirts and finger guns

The most open about his sexuality of the gang.

Big Fat Crush on everyone in the archival team

"What were the requirements for working in this archival team???? Must be hot?????"

Biggest Fattest Crush on Sasha though

In No-One-Dies AU, I'd think the two of them will be in a QPR

They have a ton of conversations to clarify the feelings between them

Tim is super understanding of Sasha's discomforts and boundaries

((they marry))

S1 Polycule

I can 100% imagine this happening

After JonMartin and TimSasha marry, they realise it feels like a four-way marriage

So they just roll with it and now they're a polycule

Cuddlepiles and movies every Friday

So so much teasing and banter and also cuddles

They used to sleep separately (Jon/Martin and Tim/Sasha). Then they started mixing it up and swapping around based on mood

After a while they decided it was better to just push two beds together and just all sleep together

Sometimes if there are some steamy bedroom business going on, people who aren't in the mood (mostly Jon) take the couch until everything is settled

[bubblelixie]

bubble gum boy

IM STILL SO RUSTY AAAAAA BUT WERE GETTING THERE

no warnings for this one!!

————————————————————————

if only i kissed him when i had the chance.

i haven’t seen him since the days we used to meet, and sometimes i wonder if it all was just a hallucination that my young mind made up to fulfill some kind of need that to this day i am unaware of.

the boy came up to me under a large maple tree one day, around sunset when i was crying. i remember i didn’t want to be around anyone that day, but seeing him, i didn’t feel the need to tell him that i wanted to be alone.

he sat down next to me and had a worried look on his face.

his beautiful face, the way the glow of the setting sun made his skin look like pure honey, and his freckles looked so beautiful, he was so beautiful.

“i’m felix” he smiled at you after saying that and you swore all of your problems went away in that moment.

“i’m y/n”

“want some bubblegum” , you nodded at his question and he gave you a pice.

you wish you could go back to that day and just live in it. the two of you talked for hours and when you woke up you were back in your bed.

was it all just a dream.

it’s been a few months since you encountered this bubblegum boy but you haven’t been able to stop thinking about him, you haven’t seen his face anywhere or anything and it was driving you insane.

you had gone back to your spot a countless amount of times yet he was never there.

little did you know today everything would change.

you were on your way home from school when you were stopped by someone.

“hi i’m felix, i don’t know if you remember me but-“

you didn’t care about anything else, before he could finish his sentence you hugged him. it felt like you had returned to your home.

[savannahsdrabbles]

Ocean Song - Part Seven

rating: PG summary: Marine biology student April O’Neil makes a startling discovery.

notes: 2.1k words - this chapter is a bit shorter, partially because I felt bad not updating and wanted to get something out there to prove that I’m still writing this fic. <3 Thank you to anyone who has stuck around and is keeping up with it! A03 link can be found here. Also thank you to @rusty-wayfarer and @starfiretheninja for beta-reading. <3 We’re almost done!

For a brief moment, all four tires left the ground and the terrified trio found themselves suspended in the air.

April watched out of the corner of her eye as Casey’s furrowed face slowly morphed into a more excited expression, his eyes widening and mouth rounding to let out an adrenaline-fueled whoop.

The turtle in the backseat had finally managed to dig his claws into the ripped upholstery and was clinging desperately even as the rest of his body began to lift off of the seat. Based on the panicked squeals emanating from his beak, defying gravity was a new sensation to him and one he was not particularly thrilled about.

A steep, tree-covered cliffside rose before them almost in slow motion, and April dug her fingernails into the worn armrests as the Jeep began to tilt and angle downwards. The scientific portion of her brain snapped into action, quickly assessing the situation. Based on their trajectory they shouldn’t flip, but it was still going to hurt. She squeezed her eyes shut again. Maybe if she didn’t look, that would help.

Then time began to tick again.

Tires met gravel with a cacophonic chorus of scraping metal and screaming voices. The bottom of the car’s frame skipped once across the earth, nearly tearing off the bumper as the car continued to barrel towards a thick grove of pine trees.

“CASEY – ”

“AAAAAA!”

Illuminated vegetation began to whiz past their headlights in bursts, quickly disappearing into the darkness behind them as Casey jerked the steering wheel from side to side. Years of playing hockey had evidently gifted him with quick reflexes, seeing as he was able to weave the vehicle between several trees before she could even process what was happening.

Heedless to the thumping windshield wiper blades, piles of green needles began to gather along the bottom of the glass as branch after branch slapped against their car. April bit her lip, wondering just how far this tree grove could go and then praying that it wouldn’t end with them flying over the edge of another, steeper cliff. At least the van had looked even less prepared to go surfing through the forest – as if that were something people normally prepped for. Speaking of which… She glanced in the wobbling rearview mirror, scanning the row of green behind them for any sign of pursuit, and then gave the smallest sigh of relief. At least for now, it looked like they were alone on this cliffside adventure.

Before she could even think to verbalize this discovery, Casey stomped on the brakes and the redhead pitched forward with a pained grunt of surprise.  She grimaced as the seatbelt tightened roughly across her torso for the second time that night – at this point, she was fairly certain her shoulders and ribcage were covered in blossoming bruises.

The tires skidded beneath them for a moment, struggling to find traction on the shifting ground and threatening to send them spinning off into the tree line. Finally, after a few agonizingly long seconds, the Jeep came to a jerking stop.

Casey cut the engine the second the tires had stopped rotating, halting the thudding windshield wipers halfway through their pilgrimage and leaving the glass partially covered with pine needles. He turned to face his passengers, a triumphant grin already pulling at his lips. “And that’s what I call a perfect stop! I expect my valet parking tip now, thank you.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” April gave a breathless laugh, her heart still tap dancing in her chest as she unlatched her seatbelt and carefully rotated her shoulders. True to her theory, they were already aching from the vinyl restraint. “Your ‘tip’ is to not drive over the edge of a cliff without at least giving everyone in the car a solid heads up. Now c’mon – we should keep moving.”

“Duly noted,” Casey gave a nod in agreement, but the smug ‘I-told-you-so’ grin stayed on his face even as he climbed out of the driver’s seat. “However, I don’t see anyone following us, so I think that this would be considered a win for Jones and the Jonesmobile.”

A sudden shuffle of movement and a sharp click interrupted April’s quick retort, and the teens turned just in time to see the back driver’s side door swing open. The turtle in the backseat let out an excited chirp, his clawed hands dropping from the door handle and bracing against the seat as he prepared to fling himself headfirst onto the pine needle covered ground.

April yelped in alarm, throwing herself across the center console to grasp at the lip of the turtle’s shell. “Casey –”

“I’ve got him,” The boy was already on the move, rounding the Jeep before his name had fully left her lips. He grunted softly as he caught the squirming turtle under its armpits, then louder as he shifted the creature into a cradling position. As soon as she knew the risk of him falling was over, April climbed out of her seat and jogged around the car to stand by the other two. “Yo, dude, calm down. We’re safe now.”

The creature let out a low growl of frustration, his thick tail whacking against Casey’s thighs as he wriggled in the boy’s arms. “No! Need go Home! No-” he gestured broadly, indicating the entire car, and then attempted to roll out of Casey’s arms. 

“Dude, chill! I don’t want to drop you!”

“Hey, hey! Calm down – ” April reached her arms out, attempting to catch one of the turtle’s flailing limbs and nearly getting smacked across the face in the process. Yikes – she’d felt those claws before and was not interested in feeling them again. Taking a step back, she continued to speak in her attempt at a calm and level voice. “We’re leaving the car, okay?”

The turtle stilled by a degree, giving Casey just enough time to secure his grip and hoist the creature into a more comfortable position. Big brown eyes locked onto April’s wide blue ones, and the creature stared into them imploringly. “No car?”

April gave a nod in agreement, a relieved smile pulling at her lips. “No more car.”

Her promise seemed to have been all that he was looking for, as the turtle nodded in agreement and took a slow, deep breath. It was just then that April noticed the rapid way his plastron was rising and falling with each inhale, and the way his tail had curled back between his legs. Despite being a roughly 200-pound reptile, there was something about his neutral state of nervousness that made him appear almost like a small child cradled in Casey’s arms.

Casey seemed to come to the same conclusion that she did, as his next words were spoken in a soft tone that she could only imagine him using with his younger sister. “I feel ya, dude. After everything you’ve been through tonight, I’d probably hate cars, too.”

The turtle let out a huff of agreement, turning his gaze up towards Casey. “No car. Home.”

“Agreed. I’m ready to go home for the night, too. Now we’ve just got to… um…” the teenage boy paused, his head swiveling like a periscope as he seemed to take in their surroundings for the first time since parking. After a moment of shuffling in a tight circle, thoughtful ‘hmm’s whistling from his nose, he turned back towards April. “Hey, Apes? You’re the scientist here – what exactly is our next step?”

“Oh, we just… um…” Blood rushed to her cheeks as both males turned to face her, confusion etched across their features. April bit her lip. That was actually a good question. She knew from previous experiences in releasing hospitalized creatures that the best way to ensure they made it back home was to release them at or near the coordinates where they had originally been found.  But then again, Oroku Inc. already had that information – and what if they’d already guessed the teens’ plans and were moving that direction? What if the turtle’s brothers were already being herded into cages and taken back to the laboratories?

“I was thinking that we should…” she swallowed thickly, suddenly aware of the way that her throat seemed to be swelling with each wave of doubt. Her darting eyes flicked past the turtle’s wide, staring ones, and she lowered her head in sudden shame. What had she gotten them into? They really had no idea what they were doing – who did they think they were? Steve Irwin? As if. And now her dad was going to find out about what they had done, and they were going to go to jail and the turtle would be taken back and –

A hand suddenly rested on one of April’s own, grounding her in reality even as the tornado of nerves continued to swirl in her mind. Simultaneously, a low thrumming sound almost like a distant motor began to fill the air.

Her face jerked back towards the cliff, eyes instinctively scanning the rocky crags several dozen yards away. Had the goons found them after all? Were they about to come flying over the rails?

“Uh, Ape? He’s vibrating.”

April turned back towards her companions, blinking in surprise when her eyes landed on the turtle. He was still cradled in Casey’s arms, tail tucked between his legs and breathing slowly returning to a normal rhythm. However, he was now leaning towards her, arm outstretched to grab at her nearest hand. A look of concern marred his face – not like the fearful, defensive look that he’d been wearing earlier. No, this was a more timid expression – one of… pity? He was worried for her? And that sound… it almost felt familiar. Threads of long forgotten memories wove through her mind, reminding her of feelings of warmth and safety. She was suddenly a toddler again, curled up in her father’s lap and feeling his chest rise and fall beneath her cheek as he softly hummed. The sensation reverberated deeply in her chest and then up through her bones, slowly beginning to untangle the worried knot in her stomach.

Ever so slowly, as if a sudden movement would make everything come crashing down, April rotated the hand that the turtle was touching and held it palm side up. The turtle seemed to recognize this gesture and moved his own hand to accommodate. Thick claws and scales wrapped slowly around April’s hand, and she smiled warmly.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but thanks,” she offered softly, closing her eyes and letting out a shaky breath. The humming sound continued, quietly clearing the fog from her head and making it easier to think. “And I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to freak out just now. I’m just trying to figure out the best course of action. Like we’re going to get you back to the ocean – that much I can promise. I’m just trying to figure out the best way that we can do that and get you home while still protecting you and your family.”

The thrumming sound faltered as the turtle listened, head cocked and eyes squinted. “Protect Family… from Bad Humans?”

April felt her heart sink a smidge, and she glanced over the turtle’s head to make eye contact with Casey. He really did understand more than they had initially thought; she might as well explain the situation at hand. “Yeah, those two guys that had you in their van were really bad, and they have more bad friends. We got you away from them for now, but they already know where it was that you were initially captured – so I’m worried that if we take you back to that location and leave you there with your brothers, they’ll just show up tomorrow and start this all over again.”

As April spoke, the humming sound slowed to a stop and the turtle slouched in Casey’s arms. His forehead creased in thought as he processed her words. “What if… what if Brothers move? Then… protect?”

“That might work,” Casey used one of his hands to pat the turtle’s shell in agreement. The creature arched his back, still not a huge fan of being touched more than was necessary. “If you guys moved somewhere else like, ASAP, it would be harder for anyone to find you.”

“But for how long could that actually work?” April asked, squeezing the turtle’s hand again. “And you guys would have to move pretty fast – like within the hour of us getting you to the correct coordinates.”

He hummed softly, this time sounding more tired. “Have Sometimes Home? Not long travel from Home, but still good.”

“Ok – that could work!” she nodded enthusiastically, equally trying to cheer him up and reassure herself. For now, this was the best idea they had – it would have to work. “But before we do anything else, let’s get that collar off.”