#i meant to finish this weeks ago

[jae-birde]

This was supposed to come out weeks ago, but I got stuck in the editing process and then I got sick… so yeah, this took a while. But now it's done!

This is also cross-posted on AO3 here.

This fic is dedicated to both @somerandomdudelmao and @tapakah0, both of whom are incredibly talented and huge inspirations to me, both in terms of writing and in drawing, so thank you both so much.

Anyways, spoilers up to chapter 16 of Cass' Apocalypse series.

Donnie was standing in the middle of a crowd.

It was safe to say that he was very much not used to being surrounded by such crowds, even in the Resistance. He was never the one that everyone would crowd around; that was always Leo or Raph or Mikey or April or… literally anyone but him. Even considering that, and even thinking about the few times people did crowd around him, there was something very different about this one. Something off.

He looked around. He could tell that they were talking — their mouths were moving, and sound was certainly coming out — but it was indecipherable, and none of the people had a distinct form, which was quickly beginning to become very unnerving.

Donnie looked around, and a tug in his gut had him scanning the crowd for his brothers.

"Mikey?" He called out. "Leo! Where the fuck are… you…?" Donnie trailed off, frozen at the sight of the pink veins covering his hand. His hands, actually.

"What…?" His mind was suddenly thrust backwards — or was it forwards? — in time, remembering when he'd first seen signs of the infection.

The infection.

"No! No, no, no, no, no…" Donnie couldn't help the desperation in his tone, his horror growing as he watched and felt the infection creeping through his veins, killing him all over again. Only this time, it didn't give him the mercy of time, the pain instead seeming to flood his senses. He sucked in a sharp breath and felt it get caught in his throat. He felt the way the virus weakened him, sapping his strength like poison as it happened all over again. He closed his eyes at the wave of pain that crashed over him, a sick feeling settling in his gut.

His legs gave away, and he dropped to the ground with a groan, one hand out to catch his fall, the other wrapping around his stomach as a pain shot through it. The pink was all over him now; he could see it. It seeped into the ground around him, trying to pull him down with it. He opened his eyes, looking up at the crowd desperately.

"Please— I—" Donnie stopped, staring at the crowd around him.

They all stared back.

"Why are you…?" He trailed off, looking around, hoping to see any sign of someone moving to help.

No one moved.

"…Just looking…?"

The crowd hovered around him, indistinct forms still murmuring incomprehensible words. The pink of the virus encompassed him, and he felt himself growing weaker with every second, pain wracking his body as he sunk lower onto the ground.

"You're already dead," one voice said, seemingly coming from everywhere at once.

They're the first words he heard that weren't his own since he found himself in this crowd, and they made it feel as if the world was crashing down on him.

"What's the point?" Another asked, voice void of emotion as it echoed around him.

Donnie stared at them, uncomprehending. "But… I'm not?" He tried to push himself up, but his arms trembled and gave out under him, and he collapsed again, strength weakening by the second.

"Not… yet… Donnie closed his eyes, tears stinging at them as he lay there, forcing himself to take breath after shuddery breath.

This poison had practically consumed him. It had sapped away his strength until he could barely move.

And he didn't particularly want to.

The crowd's murmuring had silenced, but he could still feel their presence around him, their forms towering over his prone one.

Donnie couldn't open his eyes. He felt a tear track down his face as he lay still, letting the pain, cold, and exhaustion wash over him and sweep him away. He couldn't do anything now. He was overwhelmed by the pain and misery caused by the infection. There wasn't anything that could be done at this point anyway; he was too far gone. There was an insistent tug around him, pulling him into the ground.

You are dead after all, a voice whispered in Donnie's mind. It's just bringing you to where you belong.

And Donnie didn't have the strength to fight it anymore.

But then he didn't have to.

He was being carried. It was a familiar enough feeling to him, his brothers and sister all having done it at one point or another for him, but this hold was different. Familiar in a way that he was clinging to, even before he realized who it was. And then, all at once, Donnie recognized who it was.

Leo.

Donnie nearly cried at feeling his brother's arms holding him again; he would recognize his twin's hold anywhere. He felt safe in his brother's arms in a way he hadn't felt for a long time. He knew that Leo would keep him safe. Donnie felt himself go slack in Leo's arms before he felt a gentle weight on his head and cracked his eyes open.

And there was Mikey, floating just in front of him, dark hair obscuring most of his face, but his little brother's sad smile was visible.

There was a glow around Mikey, a pale orange that was nearly white, that seemed to emanate from him in an aura. There was soothing warmth pouring from Mikey's touch that chased away the freezing cold of the Krang infection, and Donnie felt himself leaning into the sweet, blessed relief, despite the memories poking at his consciousness, whispering in his ear that it wouldn't help. Mikey had tried everything he could before; all it ever did was leave Mikey more tired than before. It wasn't worth it. Donnie didn't want his brother to feel that not when he'd just found him again.

"You know… that won't really help…?" Donnie trailed off despite himself, lost in an odd mix of pain and relief as the warmth of Mikey's mystic powers seeped through his veins, chasing away the cold of the virus in a way that Donnie had never felt before.

"Hm… yes." Leo mused, and Donnie felt a stab to his heart from hearing his brother's voice for the first time since he died.

Mikey's hand glowed brighter, and Donnie felt the mystics wash over his body. The pink that had nearly covered his hand turned white, and Donnie reached for his brother, desperate to hold onto Mikey's hand while he still could.

"Yes," Mikey continued, taking Donnie's hand in his own and squeezing tightly, his other hand gently holding the side of Donnie's face.

Donnie felt Leo gently rub his shell, and he relaxed further into his brother's hold, smiling up at Mikey, tears in his eyes.

"We do," Mikey concluded, the glow from his hands growing brighter before Donnie was left blinking from the brightness of it.

And suddenly, he wasn't looking at his brother anymore. He wasn't being carried.

His eyes shot fully open, and he sat up, eyes darting around his desk as he remembered where — and when — he was. Coffee mugs were grouped to the side, and paper notes were scattered across the desk's surface. Glowing purple screens were the only thing illuminating the otherwise empty room.

Donnie straightened up, rubbing at his eyes before dragging his hand down his face as his posture slumped. Mikey and Leo were still out there.

He looked up at his screens.

He just needed to find them.

Besides. Death was fixable after all.

[moomoofoo]

[its-a-me-mango]

"I'm sorry... I have to do this"

Oh my god hurry up, give me the gun instead.

[yangjeongin]

your year in every color . . . happy birthday SEO CHANGBIN!

[domoz]

In the crane's garden (1/7 for follower milestone celebration :^) )

[dragonpigeons]

Pretend I ain't 2000-n-l8 with this skjskjsk

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SUNSHINE BEEFCAKE

[pip-n-chips]

hmm quick content warnings: gn!Charlie is a pervert, rationalization of molestation + groping (<- and talks of the actual thing), I think thats all?

Charlie isn't a rapist. God, no. But, sometimes they like to... indulge. Just a bit.

It's hard not to- Not with the way you look at them with such admiration, with your pretty eyes and meek smile. Not with the way you move oh so gracefully (you're not perfect yet, no. You've much to improve, but they catch themself staring more and more often regardless, taking in the sight of you. A part of them hopes you never improve, just so they can keep seeing you, keep being around you). And certainly not with the way you look in that leotard.

So they sneak in touches, little ones. It's hardly anything, really.

Hands that linger on your waist a bit too long during routines. Fingers that drag along your skin as they help adjust your form. Their touches are anxious and careful, but it's all so subtle, enough to have you question if it's on purpose or by accident. (And if you ever bring it up, the answer will always be the latter).

Sometimes they allow themself to go further; breath against your ear as they instruct you, a quick brush against your nipple to make you shiver, fingers inching towards your inner thighs just to feel how warm you are- but they always pull their hands back as if they've been burned. As if it was just an accident. And, although they put on an act, their apology to you is still genuine.

Maybe they feel guilty when you accept it, and move on- forgive and forget. Because you should be pulling away from them, screeching and calling them a pervert. But you don't, you push yourself towards them instead, because you believe the best in them, don't you? You look up to them, you think of them as a safe space. They would never touch you like that on purpose, you'd think.

On the other hand, maybe you want this, ALL of this, and you're too shy to say it. You want them to touch you, to give you special attention, to leer at you just like all the others. (But they're better than the others, they swear).

...Then that means this is all consensual, right? They just need to bring you out of your shell. (That's something they'll be happy to do).

[vulcanautus]

the hand of the reaper

[id in alt written by @/lordchiefinjustice]

[aberooski]

GX10

Meet them at midnight...

[bubblebaath]

a new arrival from the hellhound rescue center!

a hellhand! they can manifest arms to operate machinery.

please remember to trim their nails. will turn invisible near graveyards. will not respond to the same name more than twice.

dm me if you want to buy them! edit: [sold!]

info: 🍁1 adopt can be put on hold per person for up to 24 hours.

🍁when you have sent the payment, you will be messaged a high resolution watermark-free copy of the adopts images.

🍁you are free to resell these, as long as you credit me as the original artist.

🍁you are free to modify the design, but please make a note that the art was altered if you edit the original adopt image. 🍁the descriptions can be discarded if they dont fit your lore! theyre just for fun

[bnuuys]

rinniki (nui)

[tea-earl-grey]

I mentioned a bit ago that I was working on a post-s1 Picard fic (centered on Seven and Raffi but with other characters too) and it's getting a bit Out of Hand (affectionate) and will probably end up being around 25k at the very least. I don't want to post (and edit) it as a long one shot and I've never posted a multi-chapter fic that doesn't have very clearly defined chapters before so I wanted to see if people had opinions. It's more of a character study/missing scenes fic so there aren't many strong plot beats to base chapter pacing off of and I'm not really leaning one way or the other.

Also keep in mind that the shorter chapters means more/faster updates! If I post one or two scenes at a time I'd be able to manage weekly updates pretty easily versus a 10k chapter would take a few weeks at least.

[ladybugkisses]

going to break my lackadaisy streak tomorrow, i hope you guys can forgive me 😔

[roomsofmyheart]

Merthur Week 2022

Day 1 - “this will be the last time you lie to me.” + smart!arthur

“This will be the last time you lie to me.” Uther’s voice booms in the throne room, empty except for himself and Arthur. Everyone that had been dismissed had scattered quickly at the dark look on the King’s face after Arthur made his proclamation. “Now tell me the truth about what happened with your manservant.”

“I wasn’t lying father,” Arthur responds evenly, his face a carefully constructed mask with years spent perfecting it. “It was not Merlin that was caught using magic. It was someone else using a magic of some sort to disguise themselves as him. What better way of navigating the citadel unscathed than as the personal servant to the Crown Prince?”

Uther’s frown lessened slightly, although he still looked unconvinced.

“Do you have any proof of this?”

Arthur reaches into his pocket as he walks up the empty long table set before the throne and sets a pouch in front of him.

“This was found at the last sighting of the intruder in the tunnels.” Arthur inclines his head towards it as Uther reaches for the pouch and undoes the drawstrings, pulling out a pendant with a shimmering jewel almost the size of his palm attached to a thin chain. “I had Gaius take a look and he said the mark on the back of the gem has traces to a type of illusion magic called a glamour,” he finishes as his father turns it over in his hands to reveal the rune mark etched into the metal. Arthur grips his other hand behind his back to prevent himself from fidgeting. Any sign of weakness could be interpreted as a tell for lying by his father.

Uther takes a moment to run his fingers over the rune before speaking, “How are you sure that this doesn’t belong to your manservant?” He looks up at him, the frown on his mouth settling instead into a firm line and his eyes sharp as the knife’s edge that Arthur meticulously traverses.

He firms his resolve before speaking, “Merlin was found knocked out with a minor head injury in one of the storage rooms. One of the servants found him while we were on the intruder’s tail down in the tunnels. Gaius is treating him for it as we speak.” Arthur gauges his father’s reaction as he finishes. 

It appears his anger has died down to a simmer as he takes in Arthur’s words for a moment before speaking.

“Alright then. I want to hear full reports from the guards and have a word with Gaius about all of this when he is done with the boy.” The dismissal is clear in his tone and Arthur is all too glad to take his leave.

Once outside the throne room doors, he heaves in a shaky breath. Lying to his father was always a dangerous path to tread. Not that what he said didn’t have any sentiment of truth to it. Merlin had been found unconscious with a minor head injury, just not in the storage rooms like he said.

Arthur still remembered the brilliant gold flaring in his eyes as he deflected a dagger thrown by his look-alike sailing through the air towards him. He’d been so shocked that the intruder had managed to get a hit on Merlin before escaping but they’d dropped the pendant in the fuss. It had been a lucky thing that Arthur had ordered the guards to split up and search the tunnels. He was able to quickly get Merlin to Gaius’ chambers without running into any of them.

Merlin has magic.

The thought had been put aside until the most urgent matters of this whole affair had been dealt with. Now he turned the thought over and over in his mind as he made his way to Gaius’ chambers. There was no way to pretend that he was mistaken in what he saw. It had been clear as day that the dagger had been sailing towards his heart until its journey was interrupted.

Arthur remembered the stricken look on Merlin’s face, how he desperately shouted his name as he raised his hand to stop the blade in mid-air. Most of all, he remembered the relief in his eyes that had quickly turned to fear. That memory tempered his anger at having such a secret kept from him.

He shook his head to clear the memory from his mind as he reached the threshold of the physician’s chambers. 

Magic or not, Merlin had saved his life. And he is the only friend he ever had. He’d be damned if he was ever going to let his father harm a single hair on his head. That didn’t mean that Merlin didn’t owe him some answers though.

Taking in a deep breath, he pushed the door open.

[komunyoung]

Hyeri in episode 6 of May I Help You (2022)

[cosmocove]

forgot to post these whoops