#i need to go to sleep NOW

[thebubblesareevil]

Secrets for the Soul

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5

“That concludes our meeting for tonight, thank you all for making time to join us.” Announced Batman, finally ending this tortuous l, though necessary meeting. Diana stood from her seat and said her goodbyes intent on getting back to Danny for movie night. If she hurried she could stop and pick up ice cream, her hopes of the frozen treat were dashed however when she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

“Diana, a moment of your time?” Batman asked with a gruff voice. Diana silently mourned her ice cream as she smiled back and the two stepped away from the zeta-tubes. “As you are aware, Black Canary is leading the training for the covert team. However Canary brought it to my attention that while Superboy is doing well in his training, he is getting very little experience fighting opponents of an equal or greater power level.” Diana frowned.

“He is the teams biggest heavy hitter, it would do them no good if he were to falter when given a challenge.”

“My thoughts exactly, which is why I would like you to take some time to spar with him. Show him what it means to fight above your level.” Batman nodded,

Diana looked at Batman, skeptical “Wouldn’t Superman be better suited for this task.”

“Things between them are a bit…stained to say the least.” He ground out.

Diana frown, “I would be willing to engage the young one in battle, however Superman needs to figure things out with the boy. He is only a child, he needs guidance.” She said firmly.

“I know your hands are already full, we can work out a schedule at another date however I would like it if you would come by this weekend to meet him.” Diana raised her brow. His eye twitched “Please” he added.

“Now that wasn’t so hard was it? Alfred’s been pestering you about manners again, huh?” She smirked. Batman grunted. “That should be fine, I’ll be there Saturday morning at 10, and Batman? I won’t hold back.” She said with a savage grin.

“I would expect nothing less.” And with that Diana took her leave. It was a short flight from the Zeta point to her apartment, when she arrived Danny looked up from his Mars book.

“You’re late~” He said with a grin “You know what that means. You forfeit your movie choice!” Diana sighed as she went to get changed.

“All right, fair is fair, did you pick up dinner?”Danny nodded as he scrolled through the movie choices.

“Chinese is on the counter, drinks are in the fridge.” He shouted as he set up the movie. “Comedy good?” He asked as she made her way to the fridge.

“Sure.” She replied, opening the fridge she grabbed the drinks sitting next to the chain covered stew labeled ‘Danny’s! Do not touch!’

Grabbing the Chinese she made her way over and plopped herself on the couch. “So what are we watching?”

“Only one of my favorite ghost comedies EVER! The Grudge! It’s hilarious, trust me!” He tilted his head in a picture of innocence. “By the way, why were you late, something wrong with the league?” He inquired, nudging her with his elbow. Diana scoffed.

“We are a team of international vigilantes, something’s always wrong. However, in this case, Batman stopped me to ask a favor. There is a young hero who packs quite a punch, however unlike you he has mostly fought people who are physically equal or weaker than him. He needs to train with someone stronger than him to get used to fighting stronger opponents. I’ll be meeting with him on Saturday morning.” Danny nodded.

“Cool, I’m gonna be hanging out with Travis. We were planning to check out the arcade near his new job.” Diana smiled.

“It’s a pity he left the museum, where did he end up going?”

“He got a job on the boardwalk, at that smoothie shop. Y’know with giant monkey on the window.” Diana nodded.

“They do have good smoothies. Grandfather expects us for dinner that night so don’t stay out too late.”

“Sounds great! Hopefully I can get the recipe for that stew, it’s way better than Lunch Lady’s… don’t tell her I said that.” Diana frowned.

“So long as it doesn’t try to eat my lunch again, my poor sandwich it was so young, so tasty.” She replies dramatically with her hand on her heart. “Now start the movie, I wanna see what passes for ghost comedy.” She passes Danny his mushu pork and he presses play….

Two hours later Danny is asleep on the couch as Diana stares at the tv, reevaluating her definition of humor. Looking down at her peacefully sleeping cousin, she couldn’t be too mad. But she could ask around for the best chick flick she could find as payback.

———————-

Saturday morning came, and as promised Diana made her way to a zeta tube. When she arrived at Mount Justice, Batman was already there and based on their reactions he had already briefed them on todays training. She grinned, this was gonna be fun.

She wasn’t wrong either, they each took turns trying to knock her down, each failing more splendidly than the last. When it came time for Superboy to face her she readied herself to face the strength of Superman.

Unfortunately for Superboy, he did not have the same strength as Superman. Diana had also been regularly sparring with Danny, so her evaluation of his strength might have been a bit…skewed to say the least.

Unfortunately only hindsight is 20/20 and so when Superboy charged she immediately countered with full force, and he went flying across the room. After crash landing Superboy quickly righted himself and started charging her once more. Diana, while impressed at his enthusiasm, frowned at how easy it was to push his buttons. She grabbed her lasso and quickly subdued him. He fought against the bindings, though he had no hope of destroying the magical artifact. Diana released him only when he calmed down. She looked Superboy in the eye with a smile.

"You did very well young one, your warrior's spirit is admirable, however you must use it at the right time. When fighting an opponent that you know is stronger than you, you must used that spirit wisely. Wait until you find an opening before you strike, otherwise your opponent will use that strength against you, as I did."

Superboy clenched his fists and grit his teeth, Diana knew that look well. He was frustrated, her advice was likely akin to something he hears quite often. Diana sighed, "I will not tell you to purge yourself of this spirit as it is a useful tool, one I myself use when fighting overwhelming enemies. It is nothing to be ashamed of. However you must be careful not to be consumed by it. I have known many who let the rush of battle consume them. It has never ended in their favor." she approached Superboy, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I will work with you on this journey, young one, so that you may learn as I did." she said with a smile.

Superboy looked surprised "Seriously? Why? What do you get out of this?" Diana laughed

"What else?! I want a proper rematch! You have impressive strength, I would like to see what you can do with it with a little extra training, young one." Superboy looked her in the eye for a moment before looking to the side.

"My name is Conner." he said with a blunt tone. "And...thank you."

"It's my pleasure Conner, now come, our time today is short let's see who else wants to try their might."

She turned back to see Kid Flash slowly inch behind Artemis. She gave a predatory grin, "It seems we have a volunteer!"

-------------------------

Meanwhile...

Danny woke up with his alarm at noon, and couldn't help but revel in the amount of sleep he got, a whole eight hours. He briefly considered snuggling back into the world's comfiest, and coldest, comforter, gifted to him by Frostbite. He slowly closed his eyes before his second alarm went off reminding him that he does in fact have to get up, as he has plans today.

He dragged himself out of bed, still wrapped in his comforter, and made his way to the kitchen. After starring into the fridge for roughly five minutes, as though it held the secrets of the universe... or poptarts, he grinned and grabbed his leftover stew. Pouring some into a bowl and reheating it, he slowly made his way to the table to savor his blob ghost stew. He jumped only a little when his phone started blaring once more, he scrunched his nose before looking at the caller ID. It was Travis. Danny sighed, it was too early to talk.

"Hnnghh?" The sound of laughter exploded from the other end.

"I'm sorry sleeping beauty, did I wake you?" Danny released a massive yawn.

"Nah, mm jus eatin breakfst? Wazzup?" He mumbled, watching the tiny blobs swim around in his stew with half-lidded green eyes.

"Hey I ran into a buddy of mine, mind if he tags along?" Danny scooped out a particularly plump blob and took a bite.

"Hmmm" Travis laughed.

"I'm gonna take that as a yes. We'll meet you at Café Loco before we head to the arcade, you sound like you need it. Were you up playing video games again last night?" Danny once more responded with a noncommittal, “hmmm” because no he was not playing video games. He was flying invisibly around the city and lost track of time, who wouldn't it was beautiful.

“Alright man, I’ll let you get back to you’re breakfast. See ya soon.” And the call ended.

Danny put his phone back down and finished eating before he started getting ready for the day. He threw on some jeans and a t-shirt, taking a moment to consider the jacket. His core would keep him cold, normally he wouldn’t bother but…. He sighed grabbing the jacket. Being a teen hero left him with more than a few scars, Travis was led to believe he got them in the accident that killed his “parents” but this new guy… it would be annoying to explain again, best avoid it entirely.

He grabbed his wallet and headed out, walking down the street he greeted familiar faces, stopping to pet Mrs. Perkins’ dog as he made his way to the bus stop. It wasn’t a long ride, and when he arrived he clambered out of the bus. Heading towards Cafe Loco like a beacon in a storm. He beelined it to the counter, nearly crying at the lack of a line as he ordered his cappuccino with 4 shots of espresso.

Travis found him huddled in a corner booth, curled around his coffee, watching people pass by. He saw a perfect opportunity and slowly snuck up to the booth, he was inches away from tugging the earbuds out of his ears when Danny suddenly turned his head to look him directly in the eyes. Travis jumped back with a shout, Danny took a long sip of his coffee, the stranger next to Travis covered his mouth trying his best not to laugh.

“Why is it so hard to scare you?! I swear this guy has eyes in the back of his head!” At this point the guy next to him scoffed.

“Or he saw your reflection in the window.” He said, pointing at the offending surface.

“Who’s side are you on?!” The stranger shrugged and Danny chuckled.

“I don’t think pointing out the obvious counts as taking sides. Your Travis’ friend right? I’m Danny, nice to meet ya.” He said, the other guy smiled.

“I’m Matt, nice to meet ya. Is the coffee here any good?” Danny nodded, pulling his coffee closer.

“It’s okay at best, he just likes it because they don’t limit his espresso shots because he bribes them.”

“It’s not consider a bribe of it goes in the tip jar.” He said with a wide grin. Matt blushed.

“Oh really, I’ll have to try that.” He coughed into his hand. “So, uh, you said we were going to the arcade.”

“Hell yeah! You said it had all kinds of new and retro games! Plus desktop gaming! Let’s go!” Danny stood from his seat. While he may never reach the overwhelming height of Jack Fenton, Danny had grown to be a respectable 5’10. He was quite proud of this fact though he didn’t think of it too much, considering his cousin was over 6’. But still he wasn't that tall, right? Danny thought,

'So why the hell did Matt just look at him like he was 10 feet tall? Sure the guy wasn't huge, but he wasn't exactly short either.'

Matt backed up just a bit, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away, "Yeah, let's get going before it get's too crowded." Danny downed the rest of his coffee and they headed out. Along the way they started talking about the upcoming school year, as it turned out Matt would be joining him as a junior at Gateway High.

Despite Travis' not so subtle diversions, Matt eventually made a rookie mistake. He asked what Danny wanted to do when he graduated. For the next hour Danny went on and on about how he wanted to build space ships, and how amazing space is, and did you read the Daily Planet interview with Martian Manhunter?!

Not to say Danny ran out of things to say about space after an hour, especially when Matt was giving him his full attention even when they got to the arcade and started playing. No, as someone who worked with Danny until his parents made him quit, Travis knew EXACTLY how long winded Danny could be when it came to space so he did the only thing that could distract him from space. He brought up his cousin.

"So I here your cousin is single and ready to mingle, according to Mrs. Doris, you think if I gave her my number I'd have a chance?" Travis wiggled his eyebrows. Danny looked at him as though he just said he put jelly on a tuna sandwich.

"Dude first of all, you're like 17 it's not gonna happen, second of all, and I cannot stress this enough, she is way out of your league." Travis pouted as Matt laughed at his suffering, not knowing his sacrifice.

"Ahh whatever man, let's just play. I hear there's this new game added to the online corner. Something called Doomed?" Danny froze, slowly turning to face Travis.

"Did you say Doomed?" his eyes were wide.

"Yeah? Have you-" Danny grabbed both teens by the arm and dragged them over to the desktops. Over the next few hours, the three of them made characters and a crowd gathered as Danny dominated level after level. Eventually though his alarm went off, reminding him to head home for dinner. After they said their goodbyes, Danny took off leaving Matt and Travis alone.

"Don't even think about it." Travis said, Matt tensed.

"He has single handedly increased the foot traffic in the space exhibit from the sheer amount of people who come to flirt with him. Him and his cousin are next level man." Matt's face turned a fiery red. Travis looked at him with pity. "If it makes you feel better, he has yet to actually say yes to anyone. To be fair though, I don't think he realizes their flirting when he's in space mode." Travis shrugs.

Matt nearly wept.

---------------

Danny dug into the lasagna with extreme gusto, while Diana ate at a much more restrained pace as she ate her second helping.

"You've outdone yourself, grandfather. Dinner is absolutely divine." Diana complemented the elderly (at the moment) Ancient. He gave her a proud smile.

"I should hope so, I got this recipe from Naples in the 15th century, from a lovely family of noodle makers. I tweaked it a bit based on it's evolution, I'm quite proud of how it turned out." he said with a grin as his form shifted to that of a young man. "But enough of that, how was your day today? I know you were planning on training the young Kryptonian clone today, how did that go?" grinning, Diana raised a brow, Danny perked up.

"Have you been spying on us grandfather?" Danny laughed.

"He's always spying on us, trust me. But who cares, what was that about a clone?" Diana sighed, resigned.

"Conner is a clone of Superman. Normally it would be his responsibility to train him, however he has been a bit... reluctant to interact with the boy." Danny scrunched up his nose.

"Did he try to kill him yet?" Diana looked at Danny, surprised.

"Superman may object to training him but I assure you he has not intent-" Danny waved his hands.

"No, no, not Superman. Did Conner try to kill him yet, it's like, a clone rite of passage." Diana stared at Danny. Danny stared back.

Clockwork drank his tea, fully aware of what he started.

"I'm gonna need a little more explanation than that." Danny shrugged

"I mean, he's gotta try to kill his original at some point. Just to get it out of his system y'know. My clone didn't last a full day before she tried to kill me." Danny shrugged, taking another bite of his lasagna.

Diana gave him a look like she was praying to the gods for patience, honestly she probably was, before she finally responded.

"When exactly were you cloned?" Danny shrugged.

"When I was like, 14 I think. I know it was after I met gramps, now that is a crazy story." Diana took a deep breath.

"We can get to that later, can we focus on the clone that tried to kill you? Please?" Danny set down his fork on his now clean plate.

"I guess, there's not really much to tell. My dad's best friend, who hated him by the way, wanted me to be his son because we were the only existing halfas, he's not technically he's more alive than he is dead, and because he was in love with my mom, she despised him, I told him no when he repeatedly demanded for me to join him, of course not he's a fruitloop, so he cloned me, a couple times actually but none of them were stable so they destabilized, and Ellie, the only stable clone, posed as my cousin, she is now kinda, and when my back was turned she tried to kill me. It's cool though, she realized Vlad was a fruitloop and we beat him up." he shrugged. "Like I said, there's really not much to tell." he explains before he starts to sneak over to the cookie jar.

Diana looked over at her grandfather, "What?" he nodded in symathy.

"I understand it's a lot to take in, however I assure you any future murder attempts perpetuated by young Ellie are completely harmless. She spends most of her time these days exploring the realms or spending time with Pandora." Clockwork explained.

Diana sighed turning to Danny "And you were okay with this? Being cloned by your enemy."

Danny swallowed his bite "Oh, hell no. I was pissed. Not only did he violate my privacy, he stole my DNA! He made a kid to replace me! So I kicked his ass and stole my clone." Diana looked to the heavens for advice, Clockwork set a hand on her shoulder.

"The gods will be no help when it comes to things like this. Trust me." he smiled. "And how was your day Danny? Did you have fun making friends?" Danny grinned.

"Definitely! He let me blather on about space!" Diana's eyes went wide.

'Dear gods, not another one.'

@a-salty-sal@impulsiveasshole@meira-3919@alcorbearson@cute6troll@samgirl98@skulld3mort-1fan@addie-lover-of-stories@amercurio@chronicallyonline-fandomwh0r3 @heirxofxtime @gin2212 @thegatorsgoose@wanderer-of-worlds@terzatheunderscorerima@bright-shade@satanicrutialspecialist@mur-ururu@birdie-24-05@ascetic-orange@cyber-geist@thatrandomsarahchick@dr-syko-pharm-4@observerblock23@addie-lover-of-stories@rainybyday@berseid@pastalavistamf@ae-vixrose@sunflowershine03@theauthorandtheartist@ruelukas22@krzys2000@onlyhereforthechaos@stargirl1331@apointlessbox@mewzaque@distractedducky@cutelittlebeanie@unorthodoxdreamers @universallytacowolfbakery @joseph557@ver-444@icedbluesoul@shark-time@milo-l-l @spookytragedyshark@nutcase8691@idfk-man10

[zedortoo]

Mr stick seems like the type of guy to be so sick he can barley function but like REFUSES to do anything about it and just carries on his day like normal no matter what. mans crawling to deaths doorstep but still has to go get his rent from peppino

He'll be fiiiiiine he just needs some chicken soup (he needs medical attention)

[eevylynn]

Polyjuice potion questions my husband and I came up with while half asleep:

If you work out while under the effects of polyjuice potion, would your muscles still be sore the next day?

If you have sex while you're under the effects, can you get someone pregnant or become pregnant yourself?

Follow up: If you can, would it be your DNA or the person you're pretending to be?

Follow up part 2: Includes if you're crossing the binary sex line...

[fabiolajyx]

NICHOLAS AND MAXWELL TALKING ABOUT EPISODE 8. I CAN'T WAIT 9 MORE DAYS, I NEED THIS EPISODE NOW 😭

[soupwife]

tbh i love hamfisted expository dialogue it never fails to get a chuckle out of me. hah... when i think about it... it's probably because my older brother and me used to watch cop shows together when we were little and make fun of the clunky acting and terrible scripts. that was... before he got sick. God I miss him. and mom was never the same since his passing. but you know all that because you're my best friend, Caroline Saintclair. you remember, don't you?

[zorosdimples]

he can’t fix everything—no one can.

the world moves on whether you like it or not. opportunities grow and fall, friendships seed and uproot, lives bloom and wither; existence is both a joy and a burden, and the only guarantee is that you will experience the highs and the lows, the laughter and the despair.

he can’t take away your pain.

what he can do, though, is hold you: his body curled around yours, a shell of strength and warmth to cradle your tender soul. he can kiss each salty tear from your burning cheeks and hug you so tightly the sorrow within your heart suffocates.

he can’t make it easier.

but he will do his damndest to make you feel his love.

[fairytalelagoon]

Me: *watches a few clips from the new 2022 “Scrooge” adaptation; has mixed thoughts on it* Hmm...I wonder if anyone on tumblr is talking about it, or has even heard of it, given it’s a partial remake of a 1970′s movie?

Me: *searches tumblr; sees tons of people simping for Scrooge and witnesses the birth of a new fandom*

Me: *closes laptop* I think that’s enough tumblr for tonight.

[ayomason]

I didn't cry. I don't know how I didn't, but oh fuck. I might have expected it with the way his story arc this season has gone. But why is my feel good show so gut-punchy? But fuck I loved it.

[yangjeongin]

man y’all the loving hyunjin hours are so intense rn i feel like i have s omuch to say but i don’t even know where to BEGIN i just feel like i’m gonna explode or something </3

[theboyofalltime]

Living deliciously by making useless posts whilst I lay pretending to sleep, anyway.

Putting some little thingies out there into the world. Unleashing my beloved spawn <3 take care of them pls.

[fennecswife]

The moment you remember that your looking at your stupid little phone smiling and giggling like a stupid little idiot at stupid little pictures of an actor who is literally older than your parents

He’s just so 🫠🥺

Like I just want to give him a hug and be like you are an amazing actor thank you for the work you’ve created

Good lord I’m mentally ill

My therapist of over five years is leaving in two weeks this is not the time to do that maam I am still mentally ill

The fact that I literally was forced to see her for daddy issues

Ma’am they’re still here

[atlaswav]

DEVOUR ME ♢

INFO: 1741 words, itoshi rin x gn! reader SYNOPSIS: Rin had never known how to love, and what wouldn't serve him any purpose, he needed to devour - but how was he to devour a concept? Conversely, love may devour him. WARNINGS: uh kissing (LMAO), suggestion of alcohol consumption (reader literally holds a bottle of beer in her hand tf), gorey language and metaphors AUTHOR'S NOTE: uh yeah this is a product of 2(.5) insomniac nights and some delusions pls don't make fun of the emo monologue at the end I swear I tried. edit: rereading this I realised that the ending does not match the vibe of the start of the fic AT ALL but i'm too lazy to change it so good luck have fun be nice pls (likes and reblogs are so appreciated i will love u forever)

Love was a concept that eluded Rin’s realm of understanding. He never understood it, and likely never would. He’d seen it – the mimesis of it – all around him, but there was no telling the scorn that lay underneath each smile, each furtive glance, each word of affirmation that fluttered about aimlessly. 

Rin Itoshi is a cynic. He doesn’t believe, he never believes. He simply knows. He didn’t believe in love, not when it had betrayed him before, and he was a man that learned from his mistakes. He had no time to be wasted on salvaging the wreckage of his relationship with his brother, he knew that it was beyond his power. What had failed him, he would destroy – the world had no need for something as tepid and fallible as this – but how was he to destroy a concept? Intangible, yet looming and defiant, echoing throughout the world, entangling itself with rationality, parasitic in its own Sisyphean way.

Rin Itoshi wanted to devour love as he had the other obstacles obstructing his vengeful path. Yet unlike his conquests in vanquishing pests that shrouded his success, devouring love did not move him. It did not grant him the same satisfaction it did when he crushed his opponents and rivals, it would not crumble beneath him and succumb to his superiority. 

There was no way to best love, yet he found himself wanting to devour it more than he knew. The genius knew that it wasn’t within the realm of possibility, and yet he never thought that he’d wind up as the one love would feast upon. 

He would’ve never understood love if it weren’t for you. 

You, an impenetrable wall of reason and rationality to his egotistical mindset that simply wanted to take and take and take. He prided himself on his restraint and reason, yet when it came to you, he became a madman. 

Hence, you became his paradox. The being of all reason, yet the sole catalyst of his undoing. Your voice became the siren’s echo of his dreams, your whispering touch became the blessed curse that he wished upon himself. 

“Rin!” He barely had time to register your presence before you tackled him into a hug, smothering him in your arms. Your scent was hypnotic – clinging to your hair, your clothes – as he breathed you in, turning liquid in your hands. He shouldn’t be this malleable by anyone. This was his moment of weakness – you were his weakness, but he didn’t find himself objecting to this as he enveloped you with his arms in return. 

“I’m so proud of you.” And there it was, that swelling in his chest, that odd warmth flooding his senses. “You did so well.”

“I know that.” he deadpans. You should back off here, you should retreat, frown, ask him what’s wrong – but you don’t. This was his big game, after all, and if it wasn’t obvious enough, you’d follow him even over hot coals. 

You laugh, taking his face in your hands. “I love you, Rin.”

There it is. That word, love. The first time you used it – because it would’ve always been you to use it first, never him – he frowned. It was late December in Japan, his hometown, while you sat huddled beside him for warmth, the landscape of the sun setting over the sea golden as the paintings of rebirth. 

“Why?” 

“Why?” your turn to frown, as he met your eyes in question. “What do you mean?”

“Why use the word ‘love’?” It was already fatal that he allowed you to stay for this long, that he even kept you with him spoke volumes of his heart’s wishes. His icy facade seemed to falter at your hands, and you wanted to melt it away completely. A smile breaks across your face, and he finds himself wanting to drown in it forever. To drown in the depths of your mirth like a rich man and never face worries again. 

“Because I love you, stupid.”

“Huh.” but before he can question further, you press a kiss to his lips, and all his questions die on the tip of his tongue, his rationality surrendering to you. His undoing.

It took him even longer to understand love, even after you’d said it the first time on that cliffside, overlooking the vast, infinite ocean. The light had shone on the water like ambers – opalescent and gleaming – he felt as if he could pluck the light from the ocean and string it into a necklace for you, ordinarily divine. The second time you said it, it was “just because”. You lay against his chest, curled up on the couch. If you listened hard enough, you’d be able to hear his heart racing. 

“I love you.”

Instead of inquiring, this time, he simply planted a kiss to the crown of your head, watching the woman on the TV sob, dark tears streaming down her face like ink. Onyx. Rivulets of Onyx. He thought you’d look far better with your mascara running down your cheeks than this second rate, lukewarm actor. 

The third time, it was new year’s eve. The snow fell in a light sheen across the balcony of the apartment – one of his team mates was hosting a party. He wouldn't have gone if it weren't for your insistence, and so he stood with you, leaning on the railing in favour of the pandemonium behind. The view was a quiet, dark sort of beautiful. Not the majesty of a sunrise or the tragic beauty of rain, rather quiet, sequestered. The park below was still, yet the escapism from the sounds of the party made the air all the more intimate. 

“Any new year’s resolutions?” you’d asked, a half finished bottle of beer hanging loosely from your grip. 

“Become the best in the world.”

You smiled. “Never change.”

“What about you?”

You shrugged, gaze distant. If he looked closely, he could see the dim moonlight reflected in your eyes. He inched closer. 

“I don’t know.”

He scoffed at your answer. So indefinitive, so irrational. The moonlight reflected in your eyes like tiny stars. If he dared, he would claim them for his own. But you claimed his before he could even try. 

Your gaze was heavy. A blanket of heat to combat the penetrating cold, the film of snow that dusted your hair, catching in your lashes. 

“You have snow on your eyelashes.” You reach out, brushing your cold fingers gently across his eyes. Almost absentmindedly, you mutter “I hate that about you.”

“What?” The word comes as a thin breath, and he hardly registers anything but your touch, your gaze, your breath warming his skin. 

“You're absurdly pretty.” you murmur, almost to yourself. Shaking your head in disbelief, a clamour rises from indoors, where the cacophony of the new years celebration presses on, into the intimate night. 

“Shut up.” and he brings his lips to yours, closing the centimetres of space left between you. You let his arms wrap around your waist, reaching up to place your hands on his face, entangling your fingers into his hair, lightly tugging at it as you pull away. 

“Happy new year, Rin.”

“Fucking shut up and kiss me.” he moves to press his lips to yours, but you evade his movement by a hair’s breadth. 

“I love you.” you whisper against his mouth. The words are swallowed in the kiss, and he doesn’t question your love, anymore. Because if anyone would love him against all odds, it would be you, wouldn’t it? Because of course, you knew what love was, and you would teach him. You wanted to teach him the meaning of love, show him its meaning through precarious action, allow love to finally become a constant in the churning sea of his person. 

Yet you knew that for Rin Itoshi, love was another paradox. 

To love was to be devoured. 

To be consumed from the inside out, to desperately hold in the guts that threatened to spill out, to drown in the metallic sweetness of your own blood, to hear the sickly beating of your heart as a siren through your mind, and to allow – enable – this grotesque discordance to rip at your disposition. It’s ruthless in its ruination, it tears out flesh and admires the way the blood gleams like rubies on its severed, screaming surface. Like fruits of its own endeavour, the masochistic, self wrought destruction of sense admires lovers such as him. It admires the victims to its siren wails, the eradicating, breathless declarations of devotion that pale in the grand scheme of love’s insatiable appetite. 

To love was to be devoured. Love was the devourer, and lovers their prey. Love was rich in tragedy, all consuming and death defiant. Love was deceptively gentle, practising the art of elusion with a lover’s seduction, the maestro of sadism. 

To love was to be devoured wholly – from the thick rivulets of blood dripping down the maw of the beast, the drying, flaking stains of it crusting the mouth and the torn flesh lodged in the beast’s throat. 

If to love was to be devoured, you would be next. Foolishly naive, eyes on the stars instead of which beasts lay behind. 

If to love was to be devoured, you gladly asked it to devour you. You surrendered yourself to the beast, allowing your heart – still beating – to be ripped out of your chest and be feast upon. You let love take your lips in a siren’s kiss and drain your body dry of supplement, leaving a husk of what remained, and yet you still have more to give. You’d let love reduce you to nothing – impoverished, emaciated and forlorn – for a glimpse of the glories that were of legend. To follow him to the true end, the one promised by fabled lips.

If love was to be devoured, Rin decided that he would let it take, because what was love, if not devotion? Love was devotion, and you were devout. Pious, devout and reverent in the pursuit of sating it's abysmal appetite. 

You devoted yourself to love – loving him. You let yourself be devoured, let yourself be reduced to ashes in the blaze of love’s fury, just to experience the sweet nothing of its aftermath. Hollow, void, fruitless. 

So Rin takes the dagger, and points it to his own heart. The fruit of love is still ripe within him, and the beast means to be fed. 

written by @atlaswav , published 25th of December 2023

[depressed-fanperson]

Sorry I felt emotion I think I might be sick

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

finally at that age where i'm thinking i should get a tattoo. not bc i feel strongly about it, just seems like a waste not to. i've got so much skin i'm not using

[somegrumpynerd]

Thinking about how Nightmare has 4 mortals and 3 of them are so so bad at taking care of themselves

[turtleblogatlast]

AU where Leo is trapped in the Prison Dimension for months instead of minutes and the only way he gets by with his sanity intact is through recording himself talking to his wrist comm.

When they finally manage to get Leo back and make him rest up to heal, Donnie can’t help but listen to the recordings left behind.

He’s not sure what exactly he’s expecting, only that his subconscious is screaming at him that it has to be heartbreaking, that it has to be torturous.

Instead, what Donnie is subject to is a full thousand hours’ worth of Jupiter Jim and Lou Jitsu crossover fanfiction. More than one part in the series. Spanning well over a million words.

(The worst part is that it’s actually good.)