#im REALLY enjoying it im having a good time!!! i just haven’t had enough reading time lately. i always read at night and end up

[planet4546b]

need to be less SLEEPY so i can read more BARU CORMORANT

[virescent-v]

Hey, can I request #92 pls. Maybe with a little angst but I’m leaving it to you🩷

hi hi hi, so sorry this took like...two weeks. life, ya know?

it started as something, and im not sure this is the angst you were really looking for (that really isn't my area of expertise i should work on that lmfao) but i hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Definitely Not Friends

Word Count: 2.7k+

Prompt: “friends don’t do this kind of shit”

Warnings: It's smutty, ya'll, but not my "normal" kind of smut

The repetitive nature of your ongoing…tryst with Emily was getting under your skin. It had all started off so innocently; just some casual flirtation between coworkers. Nothing that Derek and Penelope haven’t been accused of over the years. But before you knew it, you were spending more alone time with Emily than any of your other coworkers. Late night talks on the phone, dinners after long cases to unwind, Friday night movie nights, the list goes on. 

At first, you didn’t think much of it. Just two coworkers who saw some terrible shit every day who got on well enough to lean on one another. 

But then Emily started pushing the envelope. 

A brush across your shoulders as she was passing by. A squeeze of your hand before getting out of the SUV to catch a killer. Eye contact that lasted just a little too long. A lip bite that made your breath catch. 

Innocent enough things that you convinced yourself you were just imagining them. 

But then one night after a gut wrenching case, she kissed you. 

She had driven you home from the airport after getting back from a two week case in Minnesota. It was well after midnight, you could barely keep your eyes open, and you couldn’t figure out if you wanted to spend the rest of the night crying, eating your feelings in ice cream, or sleeping for the next six days. 

She walked you to your door, nothing out of the usual. You looked at her before going inside to say goodbye, but she engulfed you in the best hug of your life. Her arms around you were strong. Supportive. You could feel your whole body melt into hers. 

You’ve never felt more safe. 

When you pulled back a little to look at her, your eyes caught and you tried to convey everything you couldn’t find the words for. You could feel your heart pounding in your chest. 

And then, she kissed you and she ran. 

You stood stupefied on your porch, watched her get back into the unmarked SUV before speeding off into the night. 

You didn’t talk to her for three days. 

At work, she acted like everything was normal. 

You couldn’t bring yourself to bring it up because you weren’t even sure what it was. Was it just a comfort thing? Did she have feelings for you? You couldn’t tell. Emily was so hard to read on a good day, let alone when your head was all over the place. 

A few days passed and it had seemed like everything went back to normal. You talked every day, had gone to a few meals together, and she came over for a movie night. 

Except this movie night was different, too. 

She was wearing a skimpier set of pajamas. A loose fitting tank top and the shortest pair of shorts you had ever seen. You knew for a fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra because her nipples were visible through the material. You weren’t sure how she hadn’t caught you staring. 

She sat closer to you on the couch than normal, too. Your sides were basically joined from shoulder to thigh. You could feel her warmth radiating from her to you, the nervous excitement making your body heat up even more in return. 

Again, you weren’t sure what was happening, but you were going to roll with it. The unknowing was thrilling in itself. 

Emily fell asleep halfway through whatever romcom you had put on, her head on your shoulder, her hand lazily resting on your thigh. 

You were too nervous to move, your breaths short as not to jostle her. 

You’re pretty sure you could die happy on this couch with Emily’s head resting on you. 

It was almost the end of the movie when Emily shuffled in her sleep, her head moving towards the crook of your neck, her hand traveling dangerously close to the apex of your thighs. You could feel the heat erupt through your body, your stomach starting to twist into knots. You knew you should probably wake her, get her into your guest bed, and go to sleep. But you were enjoying her being this close too much. 

You could feel her breath against the side of your neck, the little puffs of air almost tickling. She grunted in her sleep, her hand tightening around your thigh, her nose nuzzling against you as she let out a sexy little “mmhmm.” 

Your mind immediately went to the gutter and you could only imagine her making that sound as she ground her hips against yours in your bed. 

You pressed your thighs together to stop the zoom of arousal that shot through you. You barely suppressed the moan that wanted to tumble from your lips. 

You finally gained the courage to wake her and get her to the guest room. Sleepy Emily was one of your favorites; she turned almost incoherent and klutzy and it was maybe the cutest thing you’d ever seen. 

As you were pulling the sheets up around her, she all but dragged you into the bed with her. She got you settled under the covers and immediately cuddled into you, making you into the little spoon. Again, you could feel her breath on your neck, her hand lazily drawing patterns on your upper thigh and hip. 

You felt yourself freeze as she sleepily mumbled, “Stop overthinking it. Go to sleep.” 

You woke up the next morning and she was already gone. 

Your life with Emily continued on like this for a month. Little things would happen that would make you question your relationship to her and then she’d act as if nothing happened and that you two were just really good friends. 

It was making your mind spin, giving you a constant headache. 

You were almost fed up with the constant see-sawing, ready to talk to her about what was happening, when you two first fell into bed together. 

Another bad case, a late night out at the bar with everyone, and too many shots of tequila. 

You woke up the following morning with a pounding headache, a dry mouth, and fuzzy memories of the night before. All you could remember was the smell of her signature perfume, the feel of lips on skin, and sore muscles. 

You probably would’ve written it off, thought it was just your overactive imagination if it hadn’t been for the rather large bite mark on the inside of your thigh. 

You could feel your cheeks heating up in embarrassment, especially since the memories were still alluding you. You probably would’ve tried to write it off as a random hook up if it hadn’t been for the fact that Emily had woken up in bed beside you, an almost matching bite mark against her collarbone. 

This time, it was a little harder to write off what had happened. Especially since you were both naked. 

You could feel your mouth opening and closing like a fish, an almost panicked look in your eyes. 

Emily cleared her throat. “Wanna get breakfast?” 

You were never more appreciative and pissed for her nonchalant attitude. 

“Sure,” you said, a sudden burst of confidence hitting you as you got out of bed to head to the bathroom without worrying about covering up. 

You’re pretty sure you heard Emily gasp as you closed the bathroom door, a little victorious smirk playing at your lips. 

Again, you two never talked about what happened. 

It almost seemed like a game. How many days you two could go before stumbling into one of these moments together. 

You made it thirty-six hours without snuggling on the couch for a movie. 

You made it thirty-seven hours without Emily’s hand finding your thigh. 

You made it eighty-eight hours without her kissing you after a night out. 

You made it one hundred and fourteen hours before she was back in your bed. 

Except this time, you were both sober. 

You had almost gotten yourself killed. Not on purpose, just a run in with one of the many psychopaths you deal with at work. Wrong place, wrong time kind of thing. 

But after he’d been placed in cuffs, Emily had this absolutely feral look in her eyes. Uncaged. Like she was seconds away from combusting. 

She drove you home. Like always. But the entire ride was silent. 

You made it into your apartment, the door barely closed behind you before she exploded. “What the fuck were you thinking?” She shouted. 

It made you take a step back. She’d never raised her voice at you before. Emily was breathing heavily, her chest heaving, her fists clenched at her sides. 

You were sure you looked scared, befuddled, bewildered. You couldn’t even process quick enough to say anything before she continued. 

“You almost got yourself killed! He had you pinned to the fucking floor! There’s bruises along your arms from where he touched you!” At this point, you could see Emily almost vibrating with her anger. But you were fairly certain she wasn’t actually angry. At least you hoped not. 

“I can’t believe you would be so reckless to walk into a building alone! You knew what he was capable of! How sneaky he’s been! But you didn’t care!” Emily started pacing around the floor, her eyes wild, but focused on her hands, her fingers twisting around each other. 

You could feel your own misplaced anger starting to race through your veins. “I knew what I was doing! I had cleared the room! I don’t know how he got the jump on me, but how on earth is that my fucking fault, Emily? We split up, like we do to cover the premises, and I drew the short end of the stick!” You let out a breath. “Why are you blaming me? Blame him!” 

She spun around to face you, her nostrils flaring. “I am! But I’m also blaming you!” 

You rolled your eyes, tossed your hands up,” Why? What did I do? Why are you mad at me and yelling at me?” 

“Because you didn’t wait for me!”  

Your eyes caught Emily’s. Beneath the anger, beneath her guarded shell, you could see the fear in her eyes. The realization that something worse than a couple of bruises could have happened. 

You tried to open your mouth, say something, but before you could, Emily muttered a quick “fuck it” before crossing the room to you, crushing her lips to yours. 

Before you knew it, clothes were scattered along the hallway to your bedroom. 

Emily tossed you back onto the bed, her body quickly making its way between your thighs. You quickly wrapped your legs around her waist, dragging her closer to you, tangling your hands in her hair as you brought her down for another heated kiss. 

Emily broke away from you, trailing her lips down the side of your neck, quickly finding the spot behind your ear that made you moan out loud. She spent a considerable amount of time there, making sure to leave her mark before moving lower down your throat, kissing across your collarbones, and down between the valley between your breasts. 

She wasted no time wrapping her lips around your turgid peak, taking satisfaction in the way it made you fist the sheets below you in your hands. She made sure to give the same attention to the other nipple, her hand making sure to not leave the opposite one alone for long. 

Emily could spend hours giving your breasts the attention they deserved, but she was almost as impatient as you seemed to be, so she kept making her way down your body, finding the sweet spots that made you whimper or sigh, making note of them for later. 

You could feel how wet you were already, but with Emily between your legs, you couldn’t get any friction to help the ache that was building. 

“Em, please,” you whispered, almost embarrassed by how much you needed her. The build up from all of the times she was just a little too close, the lingering touches, and even the thought of the last time you two fell into bed together (even though you unfortunately don’t remember much of it). It was driving you crazy. 

“Don’t worry, baby, I’ve got you,” she smirked at you before swiping her tongue through your wetness. 

“Fuck,” you breathed out, your eyes rolling back a little, one of your hands shooting down to her hair to keep her there. 

Emily ate you out as if her life depended on it, as if she could spend the rest of her life between your legs. She took her time to explore every inch of you, figuring out what moves made you whine, which ones made your entire body shudder, and what made you grip her hair harder. 

It didn’t take long for you to climb towards the edge of your orgasm, but before you could fall over, Emily stopped and pulled away from you. 

The gasp, the outrage on your face almost made Emily laugh out loud. “I love being friends with you,” she snickered at you, a taunting glint in her eyes. 

“Friends don’t do this kind of shit,” you scoffed, flabbergasted at Emily’s ability, even with your juices all over her face, to ignore what was happening between you two. 

You could feel Emily pause, her body tight, afraid to move. She didn’t expect you to lash out, and she could tell you weren’t really happy with her, upset with her disregard of everything. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her hands finding purchase on your hips, her thumbs rubbing back and forth a little. “I never knew how to…address this,” she shrugged. 

You nearly laughed at how small she looked, unable to make eye contact with you. She didn’t have an issue with having her mouth on your pussy two minutes ago, but now she couldn’t look you in the eye. 

“A conversation would’ve been a good place to start, Em. You made me feel like I was going crazy.” 

Her eyes finally caught yours and you could instantly tell that she really did feel sorry. Feelings just weren’t her thing. Before she could apologize again, you cut her off, “We can talk about it after you finish fucking me, Emily.” 

You watched her demeanor transform to something hungrier, cockier, feral. “Yes ma’am,” she mockingly saluted before connecting her lips to yours again, trying to convey everything that she was feeling. 

Her hand traveled down from your hip, stilling at the apex of your thighs, silently asking for permission. You nodded against her, your lips still connected in a heated kiss. 

She teasingly stroked your warm, wet pussy with her hand, gathering your juices on her fingers. She pulled back from your kiss, watching your expression as she slowly thrusted two fingers inside of you. 

You tried to keep eye contact with her, but after the build up of all of the little moments between you, it felt so good to finally have her inside of you. Emily slowly built up to an almost punishing pace, something fast, and hard, and exactly what you needed. Her fingers curled at just the right angle to hit that spot inside of you that made your toes curl and your breath hitch. 

Emily’s other hand made contact with your straining clit, rubbing tight, little circles to match her thrusts. You could feel yourself rushing towards that edge again, a breath away from letting go. 

“Come on, pretty girl. Let go for me.” 

Your release hit you like a freight train, your back arching off of the bed, your mouth open in a silent scream. You felt your muscles tense, the euphoria washing through you, before letting go and relaxing as Emily fucked you through your orgasm. You tried to catch your shallow breath, a light sheen of sweat across your flushed skin, before looking at Emily, your hands starting to dance across her skin. 

Emily’s own hands caught yours, catching the questioning look in your eyes. She kissed both of your palms before tangling your fingers together. “Later, baby. We should talk first.” 

Those words would usually cause a rush of panic to course through your blood, but something about the way that Emily was looking at you put you at ease. 

You took a deep breath, smiling a little at her, kissing her hands in return. “Yeah, we should.” 

She smiled back. 

And she didn’t run.

[juyeonszn]

REFLECTIONS

PAIRING jacob bae x f!reader

WORD COUNT 2.07k

GENRES smut lol

WARNINGS 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, mature language, fawn writing about jacob bae yet again but i swear this time was necessary!!!, porn without plot but also if u squint there’s a little bit of plot, roommates/best friends with mutual pining, i mixed so many tropes in here tbh, vaginal fingering, unprotected sex (pls be safe), mirror sex, soft? dom!jacob, lmk if i missed anything!

SUMMARY the two times jacob bae derails your saturday night plans.

MORE FAWNTOBER DAY 2 IS A GOOOOO 😈 i’m actually doing pretty well timing wise and as far as im concerned, i’ll actually pull this thing off 😭 anyways.. enjoy!! pls remember to reblog if u liked what u read! and stay tuned for the rest of the fics coming out this month <3

PERM TAGLIST @winterchimez @maessseongs @itsbeeble

If it were up to you, you would just stay home for the evening. You’d kick your feet up into the ottoman and put on a random movie, latched onto Jacob’s side like a little leech. You were lucky your roommate was just as much of a cuddler as you were. It’d be kind of awkward if he wasn’t.

Unfortunately, your Saturday night plans would have to be postponed.

“It’s gonna be fun, N/N, I promise,” he tries to convince you, hands clasped together. “Sangyeon even said he’d pay your tab.”

“But I’m tired, Cobie,” you pout, knowing full well that your puppy dog eyes would always be his weakness, even if he’d never admit it to himself. “I don’t wanna go out tonight.”

He must’ve really been looking forward to going out and meeting up with the guys if not even your guilt-tripping face worked on him. He goes off on a tangent about how you always stay in, and despite loving that to an extent, sometimes he wants to enjoy a night out. You were still confused as to why he didn’t just go by himself. Why did he have to bring you along with him?

It’s not like you were dating or anything. You were just roommates. Really close roommates. Roommates who cuddled every other night. Roommates who often found themselves sleeping in the other’s bed rather than their own. Roommates who were so undeniably attracted to each other but masked it by pretending they weren’t.

Couldn’t you have been sucked into a different trope?

“I just think you’re not giving the idea enough credit,” he raises his hands in surrender. “Besides, wouldn’t you feel left out? Wouldn’t you get major FOMO?”

You sigh. He had a point. Even if you didn’t really want to go clubbing, knowing all of your friends were there without you would make you sad. Imposter syndrome came way too easily for you. “Fine, I guess I’ll go.”

Jacob fist bumps the air, dragging you from the couch to your bedroom so you could start getting ready. He knows you take a while and the arranged meet up time was two hours from the current time. You move as quickly as you can, because even if you were only interested half heartedly, you didn’t want to be late. Especially because Jacob had a knack for constantly being punctual.

You kiss your teeth as you stare at your closet after you’ve finished showering and doing your hair and makeup. You felt like there was nothing good enough to wear. This wasn’t just a bar that you usually frequented, so you couldn’t dress casually. But it also wasn’t so fancy that you had to go over the top either. And for some reason, none of your clothes could fall into the perfect in-between category.

There was one dress.

You hadn’t worn it in a while, mostly because you never found the occasion to and it brought bad memories. It was a confidence booster, that was for sure. A tight black dress that stopped just below your ass and showed the perfect amount of cleavage. The moment you put it on, it’s like you’re a new person.

Staring back at you is someone you haven’t seen in a couple years, someone you shoved into the recesses of your subconscious. She used to party every night until she was black out drunk, making out and sleeping with random strangers until she was satisfied. She was stuck in a loop until she became friends with Jacob Bae, eventually moving in to get away from that lifestyle.

You never tell him how grateful you are. Part of you wishes to keep your past buried, hidden from the light of day so you never have to face your mistakes again. But at the same time, you could never tell him thank you enough. For saving you in a way, for helping you close that chapter of your life.

There’s a knock at your door, and you call out a “Come in” before your brain catches up with you. You make eye contact with Jacob in the mirror, watching his expression shift slightly. It wouldn’t have been noticeable if you were anyone else, but you knew him almost as well as you knew yourself. Maybe better.

He walks up behind you, brushing your hair behind your shoulder with a featherlight touch. “I haven’t seen this one on you in a long time.”

He’s so close to you, it’s kind of driving you crazy. You bite the inside of your lip, trying to keep your voice steady. “Should I wear it?”

His fingers start at your waist, trailing down to the hem of your dress. His knuckles skim across the bare skin of your exposed thigh, provoking your body to shudder. “Hmm, I’m not too sure,” Jacob rests his chin on your shoulder, looking at you through the mirror. “Seeing you in this is making me rethink going out tonight. Kinda wanna keep you here, all to myself, like that night at Hyunjae’s party.”

Okay, so perhaps you might’ve skipped a tiny detail in the retelling of your first encounter with Jacob Bae.

The reason you two became friends was because he actually happened to be one of those random strangers you slept with. It was a stroke of luck that you kept in contact with him after that night, considering he was supposed to be nothing more than a nameless face. But he was cute and he was funny, so when he asked to hang out a few days later you couldn’t help but cave in.

“Jacob…” You breathe, chest rising and falling rapidly. “D-Don’t you wanna see the boys?”

His lips press to the juncture between your neck and collarbone, a soft kiss that already packs your head with cotton. He hums into your skin, hands bunching up your dress around your hips. Someone was impatient. “Not important. We can reschedule.”

You didn’t want to reschedule. You wanted to get out of this apartment, fully clothed, with an excuse to ignore the hammering of your heart in your rib cage and the fluttering down there. If you stayed here any longer, Jacob would successfully charm his way into your pants. (Dress?) And you didn’t want to think about the consequences that may come with.

But it’s not like he gives you much of a choice, invading your headspace with every nip and suck of your jugular and jaw. His slender fingers run a line down the front of your panties, a small groan leaving the back of his throat when he feels how wet you are for him. With heavy eyelids, you watch the entire thing in the mirror, lips parting with a gasp at the sight.

“Fuck, baby,” he curses in your ear, pulling you backward so the two of you are sitting on the edge of your bed, still facing your mirror. “You want me just as bad don’t you?”

You whine, squirming as he dips his fingers into the waistband of your underwear, collecting your slick and smearing it all over your lower lips. He helps you shimmy out of your panties and dress, leaving you completely nude for him. His fingers resume their previous activities, easily pumping the ring and middle digits in and out of your cunt. His free hand grips your jaw, forcing you to keep your eyes on his movements.

“Cobie,” you whimper, spreading your legs wider to give both of you a better view. “Feels so good…”

His thumb circles your clit, mouth beside your ear to whisper all the filthy things he wants to do to you. Your toes curl at the same time his fingers do, brushing that sweet spot in your pussy. A strangled moan escapes you as you hit your climax, walls tightening around his fingers and back arching into his chest.

“That was so hot. You did so well for me,” he praises, thumb rubbing lazy patterns into your clit to bring you back down. “I just need you to do that on my cock. Can you do that for me, baby?”

“Mhm,” you nod, hands reaching behind yourself to free him from his jeans, fumbling with the button and zipper in your haste. “Need you inside of me already.”

You hope Jacob doesn’t have high expectations for you since you came so quickly with just his fingers. You’re not sure if he’s anticipating you to last longer with his cock. From what you remember, he wasn’t the longest, but he was definitely the thickest, and that’s what scared you the most. You were afraid of how full he’d make you feel.

Once the clothes from his bottom half are removed, you risk a glance at his dick in the mirror, your pussy clenching around nothing. Despite not knowing if you’d be able to take him without turning into a blubbering mess, you really wanted to try. You wanted him to fill you up like a plug in a bathtub drain.

He takes his girth in one hand, sliding his dick through your folds languidly, lubricating himself with the wetness of your cunt. He groans in your ear again, squeezing your hip to steel himself. “You ready for me?”

Your head bobs up and down quickly, patience wearing thin. He chuckles before impaling you on his cock, both of you moaning from the feeling of one another. The stretch burns, but it’s fucking heavenly, your pussy feeling so stuffed you can barely think. (Not that your thoughts were coherent beforehand anyway.)

“You’re— oh god, Jacob— you’re s-so deep,” you mewl, hands supporting yourself on his thighs. “I feel so full.”

He keeps his grip on your waist, fucking up into you as slowly as he can as to not disrupt your adjustment to his cock. Your head lolls back onto his shoulder, lips parted with a gasp every time he thrusts into your tight pussy. He shakes his head, urging you to stay upright.

“I need you to keep your eyes on the mirror, baby. Watch me fuck you until you can’t take it anymore.” Jacob commands, voice as deep as his dick inside of you.

You comply, hooded eyes nearly rolling to the back of your head when you take in the sight of him bouncing you on his cock. Your nails dig into his skin, lip splitting from the force in which you’re biting it. He looks so hot, focused on getting you both to that peak you desperately need to reach.

It’s such a stark contrast to the sweet Jacob Bae you’re used to, this one pounding into you without mercy, eyebrows knitted together in concentration. That first time you had sex, years ago, was pretty vanilla thanks to you both having a little too much to drink that night. You don’t even think you remembered most of it. Had you known he was such a freak, maybe you wouldn’t have pretended your attraction to him was nonexistent. Maybe this would’ve happened a lot sooner.

You don’t dwell on that regret much longer, Jacob yanking your attention back in by rubbing your clit with his middle finger. The amount of overstimulation fogs your vision, voluminous, pornographic level moans reverberating around the room. The words bubbling past your lips don’t make any sense, reduced to babbling until an encouragement is uttered into your ear.

“Cum on my cock, sweetheart,”

A cry is ripped from your vocal cords, your body writhing above him and continuing even after he’s orgasmed inside of you, fucking his cum into your cunt as he calms you down. You whimper when he grasps your jaw once more, egging you on to stare at the mixture of your cum running down your legs.

You both look absolutely feral, skin sticky with sweat and chests heaving up and down as if you’d ran a marathon. Jacob makes no move to pull out, leaving open mouthed kisses on your neck, back and shoulders. Your eyes flutter shut as a wave of exhaustion rushes over you.

“I think you’re pretty close to succeeding in your mission,” you say hoarsely. “I can hardly function right now.”

He laughs, such a melodic sound it almost doesn’t belong in your current setting. “Yeah? Do you wanna help me pass it?”

And in spite of being on the brink of passing out, who are you to deny such a promising offer?

© juyeonszn. do not steal, claim, or repost.

[sleepdeprivedlilbean]

ah yes my favorite duo 💃🕺 : centuries old eldridge horror and his ✨favorite man slut✨

close-ups and my ramblings under the cut (it’s a lot guys. i have a lot of feelings about them and i was just YAPPING 😫)

yall really ate up my last post with Nightmare which omg thank u guys so much for that 🥺

now here’s more 😈

anyway

slutty manservant isn’t the only outfit Killer has, but it’s definitely his favorite lmao (the amount of times he’s been asked if he’s a Lust variant is crazy 💀. don’t get me wrong tho they r besties 💅)

the trench coat vibe was also definitely the way to go with Nightmare and i just 😫

now what’s their dynamic?

i definitely feel like my version of Nightmare and Killer are very much a “talks and listens” duo like shown with the chibi little guys

honestly tho, at first their relationship was strictly business and transactional, but the more time they spent together, the more comfortable they got in each others company and eventually became friends and equals and maybe more

and i feel like during all of that it’s just the two of them. Murder and Horror don’t show up until waaay later once Killer and Nightmare’s relationship has already been established

and no their relationship (whatever it may be, romantic or not i’ll be honest i still haven’t decided 🥲) isn’t toxic, as how i c my Nightmare isn’t anything like cannon Nightmare if that wasn’t already clear

my Nightmare, once free from the rage fueled haze of his corruption, is actually rather calm, collected, and dare say kind in his own way (he is a man of action and very few words)

he doesn’t create negativity out of malicious intent, but rather out of necessity, and actively will comfort those who are greatly struggling, which is how he first came into contact with Killer, seeing him isolated in his dying world

Killer was the first person Nightmare had attempted to “comfort” per say, and was freshly free from his corrupted mentality, hence, y he wasn’t very good at it lol. also, the corruption was reason he hadn’t gotten to Killer sooner in the first place, as he as actively enjoying the suffering Killer was going through at the time. if that makes sense???

anyway, sure they might have been cold to each other at first, with a lack of comforting on Nightmare’s part which somehow turned into a partnership?? but nothing was ever abusive within their relationship

i feel like the turning point for them would be that Nightmare admits to Killer in a moment of vulnerability that he was the first and only person to treat him like he wasn’t some, abomination. monster. freak

he’s never judged him based on his poor past actions, nor is role/duty

he accepts him. and all of him. fully and with all of his flaws not that he has any

(god i love them)

i do feel like if they were in a romantic relationship it’d be rather casual in a way that makes it clear there’s something going on between them, but they’re definitely not the type for pda (veeerrry rarely and only in front of people the trust. it’s a different story when they’re in bed tho 😏)

they’re the old married couple that banters and teases each other but with much more sexual tension lol

ok that’s enough yapping from me haha

if you’ve made it this far genuinely ur the best like wow 🥹

this was a looooot of nonsense so thanks for taking the time to read it all

i’ll be honest i still have more to say but like 💀 nah im cut off-

maybe someday tho…

alright bye 😘

[jigujellee]

COOL WITH YU

(gif creds here)

pairing : karina x fem!reader

summary : karina yu hates your guts, but she's starting to realize she doesn't. | read part 1 here!

word count : 5k 💀

warnings : mentions of death, mentions of gambling addictions, swearing, red flag step mom green flag dad, karina is just not good w her words, shitty non proof-read writing (im v rusty im so sorry)

your tears cascaded down your cheeks as you watched your father kneel beside your bedridden mother, gripping onto her hand as he sobbed uncontrollably. you both knew this day would eventually come; the doctors constantly reminded you of her poor prognosis but neither of you were ready to accept it.

your eyes shift from your father to your mother. you could tell she left peacefully seeing that her she had a faint smile on her face, one that you always loved to see growing up. as you admired her features, your chest begins to ache as her last words to you repeatedly echo in your head;

“you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, y/n. thank you for being my sunshine even on my darkest days. never forget that i’m always with you in here,” she says as she holds her hand to your chest and feels your heartbeat, causing a smile grows on her face.

“and i love you so much, my y/n. i always will even if we’re galaxies and dimensions apart”

it was too much to take in at the young age of 12. your mind was blank, not a single thought occupying your brain. you couldn’t process the fact that you’ve lost one of the most important people in your life on a random tuesday evening. it’s clear your father couldn’t handle it either, seeing how he hasn’t been able to stop his own tears since the time of death was announced. you move towards him and hug him from behind and you too start to sob with him.

naturally, it would take some time to truly accept the fact that your mother was gone. the pain still lingered for both you and your father but things were slowly shaping up. you found joy in the things you loved once again and you were able to surround yourself with people who cared about you. it wasn’t until your dad had announced that he would be getting married to a literal reincarnation of the devil that all the progress you were making had gone down the drain. how could he remarry so quickly, and to someone who wasn’t anything like your mother?

her name was lorraine. she used to work with your dad and kept seeing him after your mother’s passing. she seemed really sweet and caring at first but she was quick to show her true colours once she got with your dad. unbeknownst to the both of you, lorraine had a terrible gambling addiction. the anger on your dad’s face when he found out she used all the money your mom put away for your college tuition wasn’t even close to the anger you felt bubbling in your chest. to make matters worse, lorraine didn’t seem bothered by it at all nor did she give any indication that she would try and help earn it back, and you swore that you wouldn’t bother trying to include her in your life.

you didn’t have a large circle of friends so avoiding people was easy for you. if anything, you enjoyed roaming around campus on your own, trying to find undiscovered places to study and get work done. the only person you haven’t avoided was ryujin, a friend you met who lives a few dorms down from you, but that was only because she forces her way into your life and you just always seem to give in to her.

the two of you found a nice shaded area in the quad to try and study for your upcoming midterms. it was silent for the most part with the breeze and some birds chirping being the only thing you could hear, but that silence was broken when ryujin suddenly asks you a question.

“how come you don’t hang around karina anymore?”

the mention of her name is enough to make you stop writing notes. you take a brief look at her before smacking her on the arm, causing her to yelp.

“damn girl, i was just asking! no need to get violent,” ryujin rubs the now slightly reddened area in attempts to soothe the pain.

“but i brought her up because i think she’s worried about you. like, i swear i’ve seen her steal glances at you whenever you and i study at the library or whenever we pass by her”

“aw how sweet,” you say sarcastically, not even batting an eye towards your friend as you continue to focus on your notes.

“i swear i caught you looking back at her too at one point”

“okay, now you’re just being delusional”

“am i though?” the question is left unanswered and you force her to focus on studying. ryujin smirks at her small victory.

if you were in fact looking at the girl in question, it probably wasn’t even on purpose. besides, why would you even bother staring at someone who doesn’t care about you?

to say you were tired was an understatement; you were absolutely drained. studying for midterms and completing a handful of assignments meant that you were losing more and more sleep each night, and it was definitely catching up to you.

“you look like you died and were forced to come back to life,” ryujin jokes as she hands you a large black coffee and a red bull. was it healthy? definitely not, but you needed to stay awake during your classes.

“good morning to you too, jinnie. thanks for the energy”

“i know, i’m everyone’s ball of sunshine!” she yells, a bit too close to your eardrums for your liking.

“i meant the drinks, idiot”

“it’s okay, i know what you really mean” ryujin playfully nudges your side and you can’t help but playfully roll your eyes at her. you slide the red bull into your bag and take a sip of the coffee before dropping ryujin off to her class and making your way to yours. thankfully, your classes are in the same building so you don’t need to travel too far.

you quietly enter the lecture hall, your mind too occupied with what you were going to study next once you finished classes today. you plop yourself down in your usual seat, not paying much attention to the few students already there. it wasn’t until a granola bar was placed on top of the notes you were trying to read that you finally paid attention to something other than microbiology notes.

when you look up, your eyes are met with a girl sporting a jean jacket with a black tank top underneath matched with grey sweats and topped with a plain black yankees baseball cap. she looked like those girls on pinterest who had such simple but eye-catching outfits. when she looks up, you realize it’s the person you’ve been trying to avoid for days now. she doesn’t utter a word and makes her way down to her usual spot three rows in front of you. you stare at the granola bar for a moment as you mentally debate whether you should eat it or not. the professor’s voice catches you off guard and you quickly shove the granola bar into the front pocket of your bag, deciding to eat it sometime later when she wasn’t around.

this class is one of your favourites as you personally love learning about anything ancient greece, but today you find it difficult to pay attention in class. your eyelids are significantly heavier than usual and you feel your head start to bob up and down. you figure it shouldn’t hurt to close your eyes for a moment so you lay your head down behind your laptop to try and get some shut eye, but it doesn’t last long because you feel the neighbouring student nudge your elbow to which you jerk your head up and find the professor giving you a stern look.

“i asked you a question, y/n”

“i’m sorry, could you please repeat it?”

the professor sighs but continues on anyway, “which two generals were fighting in the second punic war?”

you knew the answer, you felt it on the tip of your tongue. but all you could do was let out a few “uhs” and “uhms” before a familiar voice speaks in your place.

“it was between scipio africanus and hannibal”

“well done, karina. i’d also like to remind everyone that sleeping in my class is not allowed. either show up to my class or don’t come at all, but i don’t want you to come in here and treat it like your bedroom,” the professor doesn’t break eye contact with you as he spoke to the class. you shrink back in your seat and keep your eyes glued to your laptop, failing to catch karina looking back at you with worry plastered all over her face.

luckily you were able to keep yourself awake for the remainder of the lecture after chugging down the coffee ryujin got you. once 3 hours have gone by and everyone is packing up to leave, the professor asks to have a word with you so you sit and wait for everyone to leave the lecture hall before making your way down towards the front of the class. your professor has already packed up and sits on the desk, swinging his legs back and forth like a child in a high chair.

“is everything alright, y/n?” he asks gently.

“yeah, i’m- i’m just exhausted. it’s midterm season and all the profs are dropping assignments left and right, and i thought i planned everything out properly but i’m a bit behind so i’ve been staying up late to finish things,” you ramble, pausing to catch your breath. “but this doesn’t excuse me falling asleep in your class, i’m sorry. it won’t happen again”

“it’s alright, i was just worried. i’m sorry for announcing it to the class, i didn’t realize what i said until afterwards which is why i wanted to speak with you briefly to apologize,” you give a small smile and tell him not to worry about it. he dismisses you and reminds you take breaks when you can. it felt nice to have a professor care for their students, which was another reason why you enjoyed this class so much.

you feel a bit better after speaking with your professor; your steps felt lighter and you suddenly felt energized to get some studying done so you plan to head for the library. but unfortunately, the campus goddess had also wanted to have a word with you after class seeing that she waited for you outside. you attempt to walk in the opposite direction but karina is quick to follow you with a skip in her step.

“hey, i practically saved your ass in there,” she boasts, now trying to walk backwards since you wouldn’t stop walking. “now we’re even after what you did last time” you felt your eyes roll at her comment and you pick up your pace to move past her and get to the library. you’re stopped yet again when you feel her slender fingers tightly wrap around your wrist, pulling you back to face her.

“can you stop ignoring me for once? i just want to talk to you”

“let go, you’re hurting me” karina looks down and her eyes widen at how strong her grip was on you, and she’s quick to drop your wrist.

“sorry. where are you off to in such a hurry anyway?”

“cut the bullshit karina, what do you want to say?” the purple haired girl purses her lips and inhales deeply through her nose before continuing.

“why do you have so much hatred towards me?” you look at her completely baffled, then laugh in disbelief.

“are you serious? you’re asking me why i hate you, when you’re the one who did it first? don’t you remember what you said to me when i was asked to help you with your catch up assignments? you said you were going to get your grade up, with or without my help, and then you’d be through with me. and let’s not forget all the times you shut me down when all i wanted was to be your friend and be close to you, yet you want to stand here in front of me want and ask why i hate you? damn i didn’t take you for an idiot, karina,” the last sentence struck a chord in the girl.

“excuse me?” it was karina’s turn to act baffled. “i was just stressed and having a really difficult time, but clearly you wouldn’t understand that because of how cold and ignorant you are,” she responds, voice slightly raised. if you think people weren’t staring at you before, they definitely were now.

“oh yes, because you, of all people, definitely understand how i’m feeling just because you overheard that one phone call, right? like be fucking for real” karina’s words begin to sink in and only then does she realize the weight of her words; this isn’t how she wanted this conversation to go at all. you walk closely towards her and you watch karina uncross her arms and keeps them at her sides once your faces are merely inches apart from each other.

“don’t make comments about my personal life because i don’t make comments about yours. (shoutout ate bobbie, iykyk) i never wanted to hate you karina, i’m just here returning the fucking favour,” you push past the girl and leave her in a now crowded corridor with people whispering around you trying to understand what just happened. the campus goddess clenches her fists and tries to fight back the tears that were forming in her eyes. she was reminded of when you yelled at her the last time, saying the same thing: that you wanted absolutely nothing to do with karina.

after your little spat with karina, your week has been anything but good. you lost all your motivation to study, you started to skip a few of your classes and opted to stay at your dorm because you couldn’t deal with any human interaction right now. you replay the fight over and over in your head, and you honestly find it hard to believe that one person can have such a drastic effect on your mood.

you stay in bed after hearing your alarm go off, staring at the ceiling. it’s been your dream to come to this school but you clearly weren’t enjoying the experience to the fullest. you’re miles away from your dad, you have a demon of a step mother, and the prettiest most popular girl on campus hated you and you still don’t even have any clue as to why. your first year at smu wasn’t anything like college life in the movies and a part of you was starting to regret coming here.

letting out a deep sigh, you turn to your side and find the framed picture of your mom sitting on your nightstand. you reach to grab it and gloss over her features, her smile standing out to you the most as many would say that you have her smile. tears start to trickle in and you pull the frame close to your chest, hoping that you could somehow feel the warmth of her hugs once more.

“i miss you so much, mom. i wish you were here to tell me things will be okay.”

you stay like that for a few minutes, your tears now drying on your face. you feel the weight of your eyelids become heavier and you could feel yourself drifting into sleep yet again, but your phone begins to violently vibrate. thinking you must’ve set another alarm by mistake, you reach to grab the device and find it’s not an alarm but a phone call. as you usually do with lorraine, you answer the phone but say nothing until she speaks first.

“i’ve been trying to call you for ages now! why aren’t you picking up your phone? i swear to god y/n, you will be the reason for your father’s death with all the stress you’ve been causing him!”

“how do you know you’re not the one causing him to stress?”

“please sweetie, you wouldn’t know how much i do for him since you rarely ever check in with us”

“oh i check in with him all the time, it’s just you i don’t check in with. you’re no one to me”

“you’re such an ungrateful little prick, you know that? you’re just like your mother, you’re both just so unreliable and you leave your poor father all alone here and-”

“god, just shut the fuck up!” you spring up in bed, clutching the picture frame tightly out of anger.

“my parents wanted me to come here! they knew it was always my dream to come to smu, but after your dumbass self spent all the money we had on your stupid gambling addiction, he had to work a shit ton of jobs just so he could pay for me to go to school! and what did you do? what did you do besides stay at home, unemployed, gossiping with your friends over the phone on the couch every fucking day?” your vision becomes more blurry by the second due to the new rush of tears threatening to spill from your eyes.

your relationship with your dad became a teeny bit rocky after announcing his marriage with lorraine, but it wasn’t completely terrible. you didn’t have the heart to hate your dad for meeting someone new. if anything, you understood that you had to rely on each other more than ever because he’s all you have left and you didn’t want some random lady to get in the way of that.

one day, your dad walks into your room and sits beside you on your bed where he hands you a plane ticket and what looked like an admission’s folder with smu’s crest on the front.

“i’ve saved up enough for your first two years, and i’ll continue working hard so you can finish altogether. i know it’s always been your dream to study at smu and i don’t want you to lose this opportunity because of financial setbacks”

“but i don’t want leave you here dad, i’m fine attending somewhere nearby. i just don’t want you to be alone with her,” you protest as you wrap your arms tightly around him. he leaves a soft kiss on your temple reassuring you that he’ll be fine, and made you promise to call him everyday.

“you’re going to make mom and i proud like you always do, y/n. don’t worry about me, just live your dreams for the both of us”

you aggressively wipe your eyes before continuing to yell into the phone mic.

“if you think you’re my dad’s knight in shining armour who saved him, then you’re so delusional. don't speak about me or my mother again, and for fuck's sake, stop calling me! i don’t need you to check in on me and i don’t need you in my life!” you hang up without letting her utter a word in, making sure to block her number right after. you fall back onto your bed with tears falling one after the other, these ones being out of anger and not sadness.

your phone begins to ring again and you nearly throw it across the room, but seeing that it was your dad calling, you immediately pick it up.

“hi my lo- wait, are you crying? why are you crying, what happened?”

“nothing dad, lorraine just called. again.” you hear your father sigh and watch as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

“i’m so sorry sweetie, i tried making it clear to her that you didn’t want her contacting you, but she’s still stubborn as per usual”

“why are you still with her?”

“to be honest, i don’t know. if i knew she was going to act like this, especially with you, i wouldn’t have gotten married in the first place. i’m seriously considering filing a divorce,” his response slightly shocks you.

“well, don’t divorce her because of me. if you like her, then you like her and i don’t want to get in the way of that”

“honey, you know you come first before anything and anyone. both you and your mom,” you begin to feel a warm, fuzzy feeling in your chest at the mention of her. it’s silent for a moment before you ask a question you’ve been wanting to ask for sometime now.

“do you miss mom?”

“oh y/n, i miss her every single day. i still can’t find it in my heart to believe she’s really gone”

“you were so in love with her, weren’t you?”

“were? i am still very much in love with her. there is no one else in this world that could possibly make me feel the way your mother did. although there’s a possibility of meeting new people, no one else will come close to her” you smile at the words being spilled by your dad. it was so endearing to hear him speak about his love for your mom and it eases your mind knowing that he hadn’t easily replaced her with someone like lorraine.

“there’s the pretty smile i love so much,” you giggle at your dad's sudden comment, your eyes meeting his own along with his signature big and toothy grin.

“i love you dad”

“i love you too, sweetie. it’s you and mom in my heart forever, okay?” you nod your head and flash him another smile.

“i’m coming home once the semester ends so text me what you want me to bring home”

“that’s my girl! and don’t stress too much. i’m okay, you’re okay, and everything is going to be okay. i got you always,” he blows you a kiss and waves goodbye before hanging up, the anger from earlier dissipating almost immediately.

you don’t realize you’re still holding onto the picture of your mom even after both phone calls. you look at it one more time and replicate the smile that your mother had before giving the picture a soft kiss and placing it back in its spot on the nightstand. with a sudden surge of energy and motivation thanks to your dad, you decide to be productive today and start by cleaning yourself and your room, which was a complete disaster due to midterm season.

once you’ve finished your little reset moment, you hear a knock on the door. you weren’t expecting anyone so you’re taken aback slightly at the sudden visitor. twisting the doorknob with much hesitation, you open the door and find no one there to your surprise. you peek your head out and look in both directions to see who it was, but you only caught glimpse of what looked like a jean jacket turning the corner. at first, you think you were just being pranked but once you look towards the ground, you find a shin ramen cup and some spam with a sticky note reading “don’t skip your meals. you can’t live on coffee and red bull forever - rn” you bring the items in and begin to prepare the food while thinking of who rn could possibly be.

the following days were spent entirely in the library trying to catch up on school work. thankfully, you were able to get your assignments out of the way and you had time to focus on just studying now. you make your way to your usual spot in the library, large coffee in hand and headphones on your head, but you notice someone is already sitting there. you recognize the purple hair that was tied in a messy bun under a familiar black baseball cap. it had been awhile since you fought with the girl, so you were hesitant to approach her and tried to look for other seats in the library. to your demise, other tables and areas were fully occupied except for the seat across from her, so you walked towards the empty spot anyway.

karina has her headphones on as well so she doesn’t hear you approach her. she’s startled once she noticed someone take the seat in front of her, but she’s even more surprised at who takes the seat.

you don’t say anything and even avoid any eye contact with her, but you can feel her piercing gaze as she watches you like a hawk while you unpack your things. as soon as you get settled, karina takes her headphones off and taps you lightly on the hand, motioning for you to take your headphones off too indicating that she wanted to talk. you pause your song and take them off like she requested and karina takes a deep breath before speaking, as she usually does with you.

“i understand if you still do not wish to speak to me after this, but please hear me out this one time” she’s barely whispering and you need to lean in a bit closer to fully hear her. but you stay silent and she takes it as her cue to continue.

“growing up, my mom always pushed me to study and work hard. i rarely left my house, and if i did, it was just with family. when i came here to smu, i finally had the freedom to do whatever i want whenever i want, but unfortunately, that mindset of constantly needing to do well and staying independent still stays with me. i’ve lost a lot of friends because of it; i lost you because of it,” she shyly admits. “but that should not be an excuse for how i’ve been treating you since you got here, and i’m really sorry. you just wanted to be close with me and you wanted to help me but i pushed you away without any warning, which isn’t fair to you at all”

you nod your head when she spoke to show that you were really listening and trying to understand what she was saying. it takes some time to figure out what to say to karina, but she patiently waits for you to formulate your response which surprises her at first.

“you remind me of my mother. she was hardworking, independent, and very beautiful too,” karina’s cheeks feel warm at the sudden compliment and you try to hide your smirk when you see the tips of her ears go red.

“but just like you, she also pushed away those who cared about her the most. even when she was confined to a hospital bed, suffering and hurting, she always told my dad and i that she was fine with the biggest smile on her face. i knew she wasn’t, but she didn’t want us to worry. she didn’t want us to think about when her time finally comes” the girl stays silent just like you did, letting the words fully sink in as she waits for you to continue.

“but if there’s anything thing my mom taught me, it’s to not give up on people so easily which is why i kept trying to be friends with you. looking at it now, maybe i came off way too strong at first with all the gifts, and it’s my fault for not realizing that. but like you said, it doesn’t excuse your behaviour towards me” karina purses her lips and brings her head down, ashamed to face you because of her past actions. but she quickly shoots her head up and asks if there's anything she could do to make it up to you.

“let me take you on a date” karina’s eyes widen and her cheeks are fully flushed, you can’t help but smirk at the girl.

“a date? like, a romantic date? or-”

“it doesn’t need to be romantic. just two people, getting to know each other and seeing where it takes them” karina regains composure and tries to act like she didn’t just freak out a second ago.

“do you have a crush on me, y/n?” she says with fake confidence.

“you intrigue me," you admit bluntly. "i want to know more about the campus goddess and i’d be lying if i said i didn’t think of you from time to time”

“well, i could say the same thing. i wouldn’t have gone out of my way to feed you if i didn’t have any interest in you,” you raise your eyebrow in confusion, unsure of what she meant. you don’t recall talking to karina prior to this conversation so it was practically impossible for her to have fed you. it’s karina’s turn to smirk as she finds your confusion slightly amusing, but it immediately clears up once she messily attempts to write rn upside down in your notebook. you simply smile at the memory of finding food in front of your door.

the rest of your time in the library is spent studying because you learned you both had been slacking off due to the emotional distress of being angry at each other. you agreed to study for a few hours before grabbing a bite to eat together, and as you watch a focused purple-haired campus goddess scrunch her nose while trying to write her study notes, you realize that college was going to be one hell of an experience after all.

a/n: i am so sorry this took so long to put out.... but i hope u enjoyed it nonetheless :') i love u all sm

[sitp-recs]

I just finished a great romcom and now Im wondering do you have Drarry recs that are romcom-y? It doesnt have to explicitly labeled as such but just a vibe...you know that after a serious of little hick ups and An Airport Run for True Love a pop banger playing in the background vibe :D

Hi anon! Oh that’s such an exciting ask, I’ve had lots of fun thinking about this one. I feel like I haven’t read enough romcom, would love to explore this genre further. I hope you enjoy these!

Mad Blood Stirring by provocative_envy (E, 3k) - Hockey AU

It's not like they've been angrily hooking up on the sly since meeting at a Juniors skills camp in fucking Manitoba four years ago, except that's exactly what they've been doing.

Burning Down the House by @peachpety (M, 4k)

Harry is happy as editor-in-chief of The Quibbler. From planning to printing, design to deadlines, he enjoys being in the hot seat. And after vanquishing Voldemort, managing fires is an easy part of the job. Until his scorching crush on his impeccably dressed fashion editor flares out of control, and he's forced to face actual fires.

Per my last letter (I hope you choke on it) by @fluxweeed and @lastontheboat (T, 10k)

Or: the one where Harry has writer’s block and Malfoy isn’t helping.

Love, Actually, is All Around by @punk-rock-yuppie (T, 10k)

It's Christmastime, and Harry has just started as the new Minister of Magic. It just so happens that Draco works in his office as well, a holdover from Kingsley's tenure. Naturally, love is in the air.

Title of Their Sex Tape by @cibeewastaken (T, 12k)

What are the Wizarding world's most elite law enforcers doing when they aren't catching criminals? It seems Auror Malfoy is often caught throwing food into Auror Potter's mouth when he's mid-yawn. This story isn't about Draco throwing food at Harry. What it does have is: Undercover! Heists! Draco pining for Harry! Harry being oblivious, but also can't help noticing how good Draco smells! Banters and jokes! That's about it.

Crash (Into Me) by @sweet-s0rr0w (T, 14k)

Harry’s done plenty of ridiculous things for charity over the years, but Robards’ latest scheme really takes the biscuit. Or rather, the teacake. Good job Malfoy’s there to suffer alongside him this time, eh?

Yours Truly by @skeptiquewrites (M, 15k)

Every single one of Harry’s exes has gone on to marry the next person they date, and with the upcoming nuptials of numbers six and seven to each other, Harry’s feeling exhausted by it all. It doesn’t really matter if he lets people assume Draco Malfoy is his boyfriend for a moment of peace. In any case, Draco’s been away for five years and there’s no way he would find out, right?

The Courting by the Pureblood Who Only Has Five Milligrams of Romantic Intelligence and Thinks He’s Real Smooth by @cibeewastaken (T, 19k)

Draco could grab Potter and shove him into a stall before proceeding to suck his soul out of his dick, but secretly, deep down, in the part of Draco that he will never admit to anyone, he is (everyone pauses to shudder) a romantic. Potter is not someone Draco wants a one-off with. Potter is — Draco’s beloved!

Jumeaux by VivacissimoVoce (M, 19k)

Draco and Blaise own and operate a luxury spa resort together, and the Ministry's Auror department has scheduled a full service three-day retreat. Guess who's on the guest list?

Little Red Courgette by @blamebrampton (T, 31k)

When this season's purple courgettes are woefully thin, Draco Malfoy thinks it amounts to small beans. Next thing he knows, the Department of Standards is over-run with leeks, Brussels sprouts all sorts of legislative difficulties, and somebody appears to have put a roquette under Harry Potter. Can Draco seize a marrow victory? Or will his plans for peas be squashed?

The Four Ds of Apparition (or: Destination, Determination, Deliberation, and Dicks) by eidheann, firethesound (E, 36k)

After transferring to the Apparition Department, Harry's life becomes one big dick joke. And all his friends are arseholes. So is Malfoy, but what else is new? AKA Harry Potter and the eighteen twenty dicks.

Soup-pocalypse and The Great Curry Cataclysm by SquadOfCats (E, 104k)

Eleven years after the war, Draco Malfoy leads a quiet, boring, and perfectly respectable life, thanks very much. Or, at least he does, until a sudden and very unexpected veela awakening causes him to throw soup all over Harry Potter in the middle of the Ministry cafeteria.

[okaystoptellingmetomakeanaccount]

Boo Frank Miller Scrooge jumpscare

Now that i’ve got your attention:

Here look ifnonity dime thoughts im so quick whatsoit spoilers under the cut

It was first just thoughts quickly typed but then it became more of a review so enjoy the first infinity dime review on blumber i guess

So my main gripe with the comic (aside from that its short as balls) is that they skip the most interesting part. The actual traveling through the multiverse. That was what I thought me and everyone was looking forward to. To see Scrooge traveling through the multiverse and meet his other selves and react to that. But Aaron just went nah bitch: “a few weeks later”.

We have a prologue beautifully drawn by Paolo Mottura (who even though he greatly did the atmospheric dark Christmas should have done the action sequence imo) that is available to read in the previews anyways. Then chapter 2 which is half available to read in the previews as well. Little confrontation between Scrooge and evil Scrooge or whatever which is nice and all. Then we skip to the real ‘meat’ of the story and its just a really long action sequence…. Greatly drawn by Alessandro Pastrovicchio, but still just a very long action sequence. Maybe this is very usual for Marvel, i don’t know, i haven’t really read enough Marvel comics to know what is usual, but we have what is basically a 12 page long prologue, fight fight punch punch (insert don rosa reference here) and then epilogue.

And like this could mostly be due to the short page count, but had it been longer, i wonder if we would’ve just gotten a more drawn out action sequence instead of more actual story development. Because there was a very deliberate choice made to skip ahead to the fighting and have that be the main attraction. Such a fight scene should be a nice reward at the end after a buildup that makes us feel like this action-packed climax is deserved. After we see Scrooge struggle through time and universes to get to work together with himself, we see the result of that hard work in the fight scene. We can’t just skip over the build up and plop us in a “and then they punched each other for the rest of the chapter”. The action sequence would have probably been quite nice at the end of a longer story, but right now it feels like it’s taking the place of an actual storyline.

Because the entire thing is literally: there is a bad Scrooge (very well set up though). He steals from everyone including the Scrooge we know. They find a way to get to bad Scrooge. They get to bad Scrooge. They fight bad Scrooge. They defeat bad Scrooge. It’s just, they go there, they fight him, over. Everybody clap.

Bad Scrooge himself is great. Really well set up. Is it a dumb fucking Rosa thing? Yes it is, I’m my country’s biggest Rosa stan (aside from Diederik Jekel probably) whatcha gonna do about it?

“What if? Donald and the boys never arrived on Bear mountain…” is an immaculate premise. Which, though it has been done better before, is still really cleverly utilized here. It’s also a very good showing of what we mean when we say that comic Scrooge is always one step away from being a villain. He is no different than Glomgold. One is not good and the other is not evil. One just got lucky with family. The other did not.

Then the ending needed to be wholesome and redeem bad Scrooge and uhuhejshsh but sure

rosareference.cbr loaded

You have the literal multiverse at your fingertips. Then you decide to reference Don Rosa and Don Rosa only. Which I mean wasn’t a surprise I literally predicted it in that long speculation post of mine, but it still feels like a missed opportunity. When the army of Donald’s gets send in, there isn’t even one wearing an all black and white suit. Would it have been really so difficult to get a small DT17 reference in there?

What annoys me, and I find surprising considering the enormous talent of the artists, is that all the multiverse characters look the same. Like on the last page, all the Donalds look exactly the same. There is no sense of individuality for even one of them. They give more the sense that they all came out of a cloning machine.

Even Scrooge. He traveled the entire multiverse and only got one guy who isn’t himself from a different point in time? Or maybe it’s future him, could be! Why not make it a time travel story where a Scrooge from the future has gone mad with power? Because the Scrooges we see are almost all the same. It’s a fun reference of course, but this ain’t showing multiverse. And it’s not like there aren’t already established AU versions of Scrooge. Even then, a little creativity would have still been nice. For an example of such a multiverse story I would like to point to Crisis On Infinite Darkwings, which does a phenomenal job at showing multiverse diversity. Infinity Dime wouldn’t need to do all the pop culture references Crisis does, but again, a little more creativity in the designs would not have hurt at all.

And now that i’ve been yapping for long enough anyways, let’s talk about the length too. It’s not even 30 pages. It’s 29. The artists do a good job at making it feel big and grand. No matter though how epic and great they made and could have made it. If your comic is shorter than the average Donald Duck gag comic, it’s gonna be difficult to make it feel like “his greatest adventure yet”. Then comes with that the irregular layout. There are a few double page spreads and almost all pages are just a few ‘panels’. Instead of an usual 8 or 6 panels per page (and so 8 or 6 panels to develop your story) it is usually 3 or even 1. The amount of panels make the comic even shorter than it already is. Christmas on Bear mountain will likely take you longer to read through.

Not that irregular layout is bad. I love irregular layouts! I love seeing them. Usually they really help elevating my enjoyment of a duck comic! But when you know you have a big story you want to tell, and a limited amount of pages, it is a risk to spread your story even thinner by having many big splash pages where the pretty drawing takes front and center instead of the story.

Then it makes it EVEN SHORTER because there is not a lot of dialogue. Mostly because half of it is action without that much talking. There is a pretty fun way of using the narrator boxes. They are quite melodramatic but I like em.

Jason Aaron’s introductory page was very sweet.

Regardless of the quality of this story, I really, really hope that these kinds of releases continue. It was very fun and special to read something like this.

If these do continue, I would absolutely love an actual comic series. A longer continuing story please! Pretty please? This page count is just not enough to tell stories like these and more pages to properly flesh out things would be absolutely wonderful. I’m personally not that looking forward to the upcoming Marvel parodies, but if original stories continued, it would be the first American comic series I followed.

I cannot overstate enough how much I want more Marvel Disney comics actually. I need them. I get what people mean now on here when they say “going absolutely feral”. I feel it.

Oh and apparently I have 100 followers now on this blog so that’s nice. Consider this the celebratory post! My review of my most anticipated comic. To end it look at the only Mangiatordi pages in here because looking at Mangiatordi art makes all well

Damn actually this one isnt even that good what happened Vitale- sorry no great comic more please marvel disney

[mirandapriestlyswife]

Mirandy fanfic- Apocalypse Au; Chapter 4

Hi everyone! Sorry this took so long Ive been busy :) this is mostly just fluffy filler, im hoping to make the next few chapters more angsty. Enjoy!

Prologue- https://www.tumblr.com/mirandapriestlyswife/747204446805704704/mirandy-fanfic-apocalypse-au-prologue

Chapter 1 https://www.tumblr.com/mirandapriestlyswife/747303362291286016/mirandy-apocalypse-fic-chapter-1

Chapter 2 https://www.tumblr.com/mirandapriestlyswife/747419492186996736/mirandy-fanfic-apocalypse-au-chapter-2

Chapter 3 https://www.tumblr.com/mirandapriestlyswife/747593307288403968/mirandy-fanfic-apocalypse-au-chapter-3

────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───────

Waking up with your old bosses head snuggled tight in the crook of your neck is a nice feeling, but an odd one at that. It’s what Andy has been dealing with the last 6 weeks. After that first night Miranda was quick to move all of her things to the studio apartment she resided in. The floor was practically shaking under the pressure of the dozens of suitcases Miranda had brought with her. Eventually, as she assumed, Miranda got sick of the pull out couch. Its what she expected. What she didn’t expect was for Miranda to insist they inhabit a place that required less stairs to climb.

“Maybe a nice first floor hotel room?” Andy suggested

“No room on the first floor is nice.”

“Maybe we could go to queens? See if theres any abandoned places there?”

Miranda snorted, “Queens.. Be serious, Andrea.”

“Maybe we could take a trip like I suggested?”

“No.”

“Alright..”

Miranda let out a deep sigh and a grunt, “Maybe.”

Maybe was good enough for Andy!

Over the weeks they had finally decided on a beautiful brownstone, probably abandoned by some rich upper class losers who had ditched the city to go hide in one of those bunkers upstate.. At least thats what shes assuming since Miranda made her look through every room, under every duvet cover, in every bathtub, for any corpses but none were to be found. It took the two of them what felt like hours to haul Mirandas suitcases inside (with Andy doing most of the work).

Now the two sat, with Miranda sitting at the kitchen island reading some old magazine as Andy prepared “lunch” (a combination of canned green beans, spam, and canned corn), she didn’t bother telling Miranda its spam so she’d actually eat.

“Whatcha reading?”

“Runway.”

“Really? I never would’ve guessed.” She smiled and slid Miranda her plate which Miranda looked at with only mild disgust rather than her usual “oh my God I used to have a private chef, now look at me” face. She sat down next to the editor and took a bite of the salty green beans. It was weird, having this almost domestic relationship with Miranda of all people.. I mean- they slept in the same bed for Gods sake. Andy couldn’t tell what she felt for the older woman anymore, something between love and slight fear, alike before the outbreak, but maybe with a bit less fear after sleeping in the same bed as her for nearly a month. They haven’t spotted another living person in all of New York City, it felt as Miranda said, “A waste of time” to keep looking.

“Sooo.. Anything new in Runway?”

Miranda let out a displeased grunt.

“Can you at least eat?“

Miranda visibly rolled her eyes and shut her magazine before poking at the meal.

“You slept in late today.” The editor noted aloud.

“Yeah.. Guess I was tired-“

“I was worried you died.”

Andy snorted and took a bite of her spam when she saw Miranda staring at her with her piercing blue eyes, somehow scarier in the afternoon light. “Im serious.”

Andy paused, unsure how to act. “Mira- what-?? Im not gonna just die on you!” She awkwardly sputtered out.

“Well.. Good.” The editor stared at the other woman’s facial features for a minute before turning back to her plate and continuing to poke at the food.

“Can you actually eat something? Im tired of watching you poke at your food like some snooty house cat.” She watched closely as Miranda rolled her eyes and finally took a bite of the corn with a displeased look.

“Good?”

“Its fine.”

Andy chuckled, “Thanks.. I worked all day on it.” Miranda was not amused by her attempt at humor.

The two ate in silence until Andy spoke up. “I think im gonna head out today.. Look for some more food or something.. You want anything special?” The editor rolled her eyes

“A ribeye would be lovely.”

“Sure ill add it to the list next to the lobster dinner.”

Miranda grumbled and took a bite of meat which she visibly cringed at. She sighed woefully as they ate in silence.

“I like your shoes.”

“They’re last seasons.”

“Im sure no one will notice.”

Miranda smiled. Andy found it rewarding to see the editor smile. It felt as if she was playing a constant game of try not to laugh and she was always losing, but sometimes she had a small victory.

“We should go to MoMa soon.” Miranda suggested as she pushed her half eaten food away and stood up.

“We could go today?”

“I thought you would be searching for more cans of vomit to serve us.”

Andy frowned, “Hey! Its good. You’re just too privileged to appreciate the effort that goes into-“

“Into opening a can?” Miranda smirked, she always got that smug look of satisfaction when she was right, it made Andys heart flutter.

“I don’t just ‘open a can’, I have to go search for things I’ll hope you’ll eat, touch dusty crates in the back of bodegas, its gross.” Miranda simply scoffed and turned on her heels, setting the magazine she had been reading on the slightly dusty table that displayed photos of the twins Miranda had taken with her along with two urns.

Andy never asked about the twins. She was sure Miranda didn’t want to talk about them. She sighed and scratched at her arm awkwardly as she leaned on the kitchen island.

“Well. If you must.. Scavenge, then go ahead. But I would like you back before dark.”

One thing new shed learned about Miranda Priestly was that the woman was absolutely petrified of the dark. Whenever the two went to bed the room had to be illuminated by battery powered candles just for the editor to sleep through the night. Andy might’ve found it endearing if it didn’t always put a time limit on all of her out of the house activities. She had to be home at 5:00 due to the shortened December days. Oh how she missed summer.

“Yeah. I’ll be back before dark.” She walked over to Miranda and grabbed a few of the massive grocery bags stored under the table. “Any requests before I head out?”

“Fruit. But get water with it. I dont like the sugary concoction that slathers the stuff.”

“Canned fruit, got it.” Andy sighed and to her own surprise leaned over and gave Miranda a kiss on the cheek goodbye.

Miranda froze, not looking displeased but a bit surprised as did Andy. She smiled and awkwardly said, “I’ll be back in two hours tops, okay?”

Miranda made a noise of approval and as Andrea was leaving the older woman piped up.

“Andrea?”

“Hm?” She turned on her heels to face Miranda.

“Be safe. I love you.”

Andy stared at Miranda in disbelief, “..I love you too.” She finally sputtered, the editor smiled and nodded before turning down the hall, most likely to go nap.

Andy was shocked, Miranda loved her?? Miranda Priestly loved her?! Maybe she was looking too much into it.. She might mean it as platonic love.. But still, the words made Andys heart skip a beat.

────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───────

I hope you enjoyed! Again, sorry for the wait

[xchoxix]

Shuri Angst HCS

It’s been long enough, and I haven’t feed y’all with anything😭 so here are just some silly HCs I thought of, I honestly enjoy angst very gery much. Even though im not really supposed to. I just feel like there isn’t that many stories or HCs that talk about what she’d do when T’Challa passed. And I honestly lowkey like reading angst, there’s just something about it😮‍💨 but yea Lmk if y’all want a part 2!

Mentions‼️: SH, attempts of suicide, depression, eating disorder, ADHD (not sure if I missed anything else)

Tags gng: @neptoons1998 @s0lam3y @mal-urameshi

(Most of these are connected which would most likely be under it or would be somewhere!)

-After T’Challas death she took sleeping pills because without she’d end up laying thinking about him. She also tried to take them when her mother died. But they don’t work due to the herb.

-would draw T’Challa all the time, and even thought about tattooing a sketch she did of him on herself

-T’Challa always smelled good, so when shuri found a shirt that she had stolen from T’Challa, she began to cry uncontrollably because it didn’t smell like him anymore

-shuri began to isolate herself so everything could hurt a lot less. Especially after her mothers death.

-After Ramonda told she T’Challa passed Shuri ran to the table and shouted out at him. Telling him to wake up, but was held back by 5 Dora’s including Ayo and Okoye because she was “disturbing” his peace.

-When Shuri began to think less of brother she slowly forgot what he looked like.

-Never got to say a finale goodbye to T’Challa

-Locked only herself in her lab for an entire month with no food or water as a form of punishment

-Every day for the month Okoye, Ayo, Aneka, M’baku, and the Dora army would try to open her lab

- Once they were able to open it they found her on the ground on the verge of death. She was very skinny and lacked a lot of sleep and energy.

-Everytime someone would try to get her to talk about her feelings she’d blast her music till they sounded on mute

-One of the main reasons why she made earrings, was to be able to ignore people with her music

- Her last words to T’Challa was “Shut up! Can you stop apologizing and saying that I can’t do anything anymore? You’re not going to die, I won’t let you!”

-Everytime Aneka found her having a breakdown she’d called the lab and told griot to lock it for the day so she’d grief properly

-but she would always find a way to go to her lab

-Hallucinated about T’Challa during the day in her lab, and would do the talking for him. She’d often do their handshake that they’d do

-Her lab members would look at eachother knowing that itd be best if they left. Because it would normally end off with Shuri realizing he wasn’t there and she’d get mad

- Always always had eye bags even before his death but it wouldn’t be as noticeable till he did pass away. From afar you could be able to see them, and would think that they weighed a ton.

-Because Shuri would always pull pranks on T’Challa, he’d return them but they’d be a little too much. So when she was shouting out to him on the table, she shouted out “Get up, I don’t like this prank. Please”

- Would make the things T’Challa would ask her even if they were dumb like a some figurines T’Challa liked from movies.

- Sometimes while working if she’s in a bad mood she would often break her pencils or supplies due to the grip/strength she would hold them at

- She left Nakia short, but harsh and cold voicemails the first 2 times she tried reaching out to her. And would ignore the other voicemails

- Sometimes for the fun of it she’d answer the calls and would quickly end it

- Changed her wardrobe because T’Challa really liked Shuri’s style (it was a mix of American style and his style) but at the end she just dressed up likeT’Challa.

- Completely destroyed the outfit that we saw at the beginning of BPWF because it reminded her that it was her fault for his death

- Always late at events because she’d spend so much time in her lab she’d forget what day it was

- She would yell at everyone if they bothered her or reminded her to eat while she was working

- Had mood swings

- She would often fidget with her pen or anything she had near her.

- Would randomly get the most horrifying sickening nightmares or visions/flashbacks about T’Challa. And would act like nothing ever happened

- every time she’d try to sleep she always get nightmares

- Some nightmare,vision/ flashbacks she’d be most afraid was 1. Her being T’Challa’s lifeless body on the table with her screaming to to wake up. 2nd, Falling in pitch black and she’d be surrounded by everyone blaming her for not saving T’challa. 3rd, Her having the best percentage of the herb to save him, but before she could make her to him, there was something keeping her away from giving it to him so she watched him die

- Had sleep paralysis for the first time. It happened during the dream where she’d be T’Challa on the table lifeless while seeing herself shouting at him

- Her sleep paralysis demon would be her family(including Nakia, Okoye, M’baku, Ayo, and Angela) mumbling about how she was a failure

- Tried unaliving her self countless times but was either caught or stopped herself thinking that what would everyone feel like after she did. And how would she help Wakanda from invaders

- she survived her first and last attempt but was caught on her other attempts

- She would SH. And would use raw vibranium to burn herself. So she has burn marks from raw vibranium and scars all over her body

-She skipped her meals every day so Ramonda would watch Shuri eat or send Okoye or Aneka or Ayo to do it

- She would often freeze and begin to uncontrollably shake while having visions when she’d remember T’Challa in some type of way.

—

Live, laugh, love, Angst🫶💕

If you wanna be tagged in my next projects also lmk!

Hopefully y’all don’t hate me after this🌚🌝

[dazed--xx]

What are your favorite Hyunjin five you’ve read?

Lol this is a long list but if you’re asking for series then my favs are (in no particular order)

Watercolor by @jinhyun ( ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED WITH THIS SERIES!! Lol and the writer knows it. I will recommend this to literally everyone if I had to choose a number one of my favs this would definitely be a contender. Female lead is cute and determined and Hyunjin….JESUS Hyunjin made me want to put my head through the wall at one point but he was literally just adorable after certain events. It’s so good full of Fluff angst and then occasional smut but not really a lot so good.)

Star lost with you and Only fools fall for you by @hyunjinspark (this counts as one cause it’s the same writer 😭) (I COULD GO ON FOR HOURS ABOUT ONLY FOOLS ITS LITERALLY AMAZING AND FRUSTRATING AT THE SAME TIME. Full of angst and smut if that’s your thing I really like this fic cause I’m in love with the enemies to lovers trope it’s so well written and I just can’t get over it. STAR LOST is still being written and the last update made me cry 😭 it draws you in and has so much going on I’m so invested like these people are real)

The guy next door- @jl-micasea-fics (so one of my favorite movies in the entire world is the girl next door and I could tell off rip this has the same concept. Love Hyunjin in this yet I just absolutely hate porn names lol 😂 only thing that makes me cringe is the porn names but you have to have that in this it’s amazingly written and heartbreaking and ugh you’ll dream about Hyunjin tbh 😭)

Jealousy is…. And Goodnight moon by @whatsk-poppinhomies(jealousy is…is the first part goodnight moon is like the second part it’s so damn good) (THESE ARE YANDERE FICS AND THEYRE THE BEST ONES IVE EVER READ DONT ONLY READ HYUNJINS READ THEM ALL THEYRE SO FUCKING CAPTIVATING AND UGHHHHHHHH IM LITERALLY OBSESSED WITH THIS WRITER AND YOU SHOULD JUST CHECK OUT ALL OF THEIR WORKS BUT THIS SERIES MAKES YOUR HEART POUND AND GIVES YOU LIFE ANGSTY AF AND THE GUYS ARE WALKING RED FLAGS BUT YOU BECOME SO OBSESSED WITH IT THAT ITS OKAY)

Maybe it’s not our fault by @cosmic-railwayxo (incomplete 🥲🥲🥲 unfortunately but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth the wait if the writer gets back to it it’s so good. Exes au tbh and I love it so much there’s so many misunderstandings and heartbreak yet there’s fluffy warm moments ugh you’ll be rooting for them for such a long time and always find yourself looking back to see an update cause you have to see what happens next. I love every character in this and idek why they’re so compelling and just make you feel so many things)

Lol as you can see I couldn’t just pick 5 fics so I picked 5 writers 😭 but I find myself just enjoying a whole bunch of stuff and there’s one fic that I literally can’t find it’s older and about hyunjin but I think the writer deactivated it’s my fav fic and I’ll describe it for you but I wish I could link it cause it would be my legit number one but it’s about a struggling relationship with hyunjin he’s been distant not answering calls texts and the reader decided she had enough so she asks to take a break and he begs her not to, that he wants to be with her and he’s sorry so she gives him a second chance. Her best friend is Chan and there’s multiple parts to it. At one part they go to some party or something and hyunjin gets jealous she was hanging out with Chan so he makes it seem like he was flirting with some girl and the reader sees and storms out Chan gets rightfully pissed and tells him he fucked up for the last time and ugh it’s so angsty and good they do end up together but I can’t ever find it but I hope you enjoy reading those if you haven’t and if you have lmk which ones you like

[autisticblueteam]

Appears from the ether again, after months of only being present enough to fill my queue up, with some WIP snippets from the gen:LOCK re-write I mentioned before...

And also finally adressing these tags lmao, sorry @thesouppond I realise these are like 3 months old.

#FUCK IM JUST SEEING THIS NOW???#FUCK YEAH 2024 SEASON OF EVERYONE GETS TO REWRITE GENLOCK CAUSE FUCK S2#Ahem anyway hi genlock moot :)))#I love your writing btw! Ive read your existing GL fics theyre great!#at this point if someone can give me a GL fic i havent already met I will forever be indebted to you i am DYING for GL content

We're really out here trying our best to do better by GL than HBO did huh!! I've been loving Reloaded, it was so nice to see someone else pop up in the gL tag after it was comparatively dead for so long. I've been working on my re-write since just after s2 came out and it was lonely in there for a while there lmao.

So I'm glad you enjoyed the couple of fics I've already done! I'm re-using parts of one of them for the actual re-write since I'm going for the 'keep the basic bones of s2 but aim to fix the execution into something less shit/re-work the worst bits' and I didn't want to write that first nemesis fight over again from total scratch lmao...

I want to finish writing all of the re-write before I post it in full, but that does mean it's taking forever whoops.

I'm still not past the introduction of Sinclair as his portion is so involved and I keep getting distracted by other projects/hobbies, but I did finally get to a point where my take on Sinclair is actually fun to write! I'm keeping his boyfriend because I did at least like that Sinclair was made canonically queer and they're actually cute when I'm just doing my own thing.

So since I feel like posting some WIP bits, here's my favourite Chris/Sinclair stuff I've done so far.

“YEAH! Take that you fucked up tin can!” Sinclair winced. The shout was like an ice pick being driven into his skull, but it was also what finally drove him to lift his head. There ahead of him, wielding a large piece of debris in one hand, was a heavyset Asian man dressed in torn clothes and covered in grime. He reared back, and for a split second Sinclair thought that projectile was for him, until he heard an impact, and the last of the humming died. The man brushed off his hands, pride written on every feature, and in that moment he was the most beautiful thing Sinclair had ever seen. “Coast’s clear!” the stranger called behind him. There was movement, but Sinclair didn’t care to look, his attention caught by the man’s approach. “And we’ve got a live one.” Sinclair’s throat was so dry he broke down coughing twice, in the time it took the stranger to kneel in front of him. “I-I’m not Union. I-I know— with the uniform, and the—” Another violent burst of coughing cut him off. The stranger handed him a canteen and a crooked smile. “Yeah, no shit. You’ve got way too much emotion on your face to be even a defector,” he said, and if Sinclair wasn’t so busy chugging the offered water, he might have mustered a laugh. “That, plus, the lack of helmet, the collapsing, and the drone getting ready to turn you into a novelty cheese grater kinda gave it away.” “Christ, I could kiss you right now,” Sinclair blurted and then regretted in quick succession. Fuck. He’d been in near solitary too long, his filter had worn away to nothing and he was making a damn fool of himself in front of the first sane people he’d seen in weeks. Except the stranger just… laughed, good-naturedly. “Close, the name’s Chris, not Christ. And I’d say buy me dinner first, but it’s a bit hard out here.”

AND then a little later...

“What about the refugee railroads?” Chris lowered his beer bottle and wiped his mouth. “Too far.” “Vanguard safe crossings?” “Too far.” “The— fucking Canadian border?” Chris laughed, “Too far. Further than either of the other things. Jesus, dude. You sure you haven’t got a concussion?” “Mostly,” Sinclair said, rubbing his face with his intact hand. “I just— you’re going to die if you stay here. A drone only has to get lucky once.” “And if we go deeper in, we’ll only die faster,” Chris said with a simple shrug. “We already have to pack up and move every few weeks when the line moves. And every time, the Polity border gets a little bit further away. Believe me, man, I want nothing more than to get outta here, but it’s just not happening.” “What if I helped?” The offer fell out before he’d consciously decided to make it, but Sinclair stood by it. Even when Chris looked at him dubiously. “No offence, dude, but you’re just one guy. And two days ago you could barely stand.” “And now I’m fine,” Sinclair insisted. “I’m a soldier. I was decorated for valour after I got my squad out of a run-in with the Union that should’ve killed us all. I was the only one who could even still hold a gun. I swear, I could get you somewhere safe. Are you really telling me you’d rather keep sitting around waiting to die than take a risk?” Chris’s brow furrowed, and he didn’t answer immediately, taking another swig from his scratched up bottle of beer. Sinclair sighed. “Look. I need to get to a Vanguard base one way or another. I don’t want to leave you guys behind if I don’t have to. I owe you my life. And maybe dinner.” Chris almost choked on his drink. “Wow,” he laughed, clearing his throat, “you sure pick your moments, huh?” Sinclair shrugged. “Figure if you’re not actually into it I’ll just blame the concussion.” “That you don’t have.” “Exactly.” Chris rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Smooth. Smooth operator. Alright, alright, fine, we’ll talk to the others in the morning. It might be a tougher sell when they’re not the ones getting dinner with a hot soldier out of it, but hey, guess we’ll see.” “Are you looking past the just-got-done-being-tortured chic, here, or is that part of the charm?” “Are you kidding? There’s a whole genre focused on how hot soldier guys look after they’ve been through hell.” “Not sure that’s the intended takeaway of action movies.” “Well,” Chris shrugged, starting to pick at a can of food, “it was definitely my takeaway.” Sinclair laughed. Honest-to-god laughed, in a way he was surprised he was even capable of after the last few weeks. The normality of the moment was like a balm on all the aching parts of him, mental and physical alike. For a moment he could almost forget that the reason he looked like shit was because he’d just escaped the worst experience of his life. For a moment it felt like the fight was over.

Now I just have to actually get through the remainder of my Sinclair set-up and then I'll be only one chapter away from finishing the first half of the fic... so close and yet so far lmao.

[softxsuki]

Hello hello. 🌸

Its my first time requesting something so i hope im doing it right D:

(sorry for my bad english..)

Can i request a letter for the Valentines day letter event?

I need one with Chifuyu from tokyo revengers with a Fem Reader. Hes been my fave character since i watched tokyo rev for the first time.

I need some Comfort/fluff with him :(. We both go to highschool and we are childhood Friends. I got bullied and used alot and i've been feeling really lonely and sad lately.

chifuyu noticed that im not feeling so good, so he made a decision on confessing his love to me and tells me that i would never be lonley when we are together and that he would take care of the bullies when they dare to hurt me again. He leaves the letter on my desk after break.

A little more about me: My name is Yoona (or Yoonie), Im autistic and i have anxiety so its hard for me to be outside without my headphones on, i need them all the time. Without them ill get a panic attack when it gets too stressful for me. I also cry really fast, you just have to look weird at me and im getting teary eyes. T-T

I hope this is okay and enough.

Thank you, have a nice day and take care.🩷

Chifuyu's Confession Letter to His Childhood Friend

This event is now CLOSED, but you can view the masterlist for the other letters here.

| Pairing: Chifuyu x Fem!Reader | Genre: Fluff, Comfort | Post-Type: Letter | Word Count: 720|

Warnings: mentions of ppl picking on reader

Note: Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you enjoy you letter from Chifuyu :)

The last bell rings for the day, as all the students jump up from their desks and rush back to their homeroom classroom to collect their things, you included. What you didn’t expect to see though was an envelope on your desk. 

The hustle of students rushing to grab their things and run out of their classrooms to leave school continues around you as you take a seat at your desk and begin to read the letter;

Dear Y/N,

Happy Valentine’s Day. Perhaps this comes across as a surprise to you, or maybe even a little sudden…but I like you. I’ve liked you for a while now, I just didn’t know how else to say it to you so I thought maybe Valentine’s Day would be the appropriate time to do so.

Maybe you only see me as a friend considering we’ve known each other since we were kids, but I’ve looked at you as a woman for a while now. Maybe longer than I even realized myself.

I know you worry about people picking on you and all those people in the past who have used you, but I want to be there for you now as more than just your friend. I want to be the man you go to for comfort. I want to be your rock, your support system. I want to hold you in my arms and kiss you. 

You know how hard I’ve held myself back? I can’t help but stare at your lips when you talk to me, I’m just surprised you haven’t noticed yet. 

Please let me be the one to wipe your tears away when you cry. You cry so often, I can’t help but just want to hold you and kiss your tears away. I want to be your safe place, your lover.

So…if you’d like to give me a chance, meet me at our usual spot outside. I’ll wait there for as long as you need me too. But if this makes you uncomfortable, just throw it away and pretend like it never happened. I don’t want to scare you off or anything. See you soon hopefully.

Your hopefully boyfriend soon,

Chifuyu &lt;3

You smile to yourself. Idiot. How could he not know that you liked him back? You thought you made it pretty obvious, unless he thought that was just how you acted around everyone…

Sighing, you quickly collect your things to meet him at your spot outside the school. It was a large ginkgo tree that had the best shade in the summertime. Both of you made it your special spot to hangout whenever you didn’t want to go straight home after classes. 

Your heart thumps in your chest upon seeing Chifuyu sitting against the trunk of the tree, his face stuffed in one of his mangas. Your feet carry you towards him and you plop yourself down beside him with a grin, startling him.

“Hiya,” you beam.

“Hi,” he responds, the tips of his ears going red. He was nervous. “Did you read the letter?”

“I sure did.”

“And…?”

“And…I can’t believe how dense you are, seriously. Of course I like you as well. I thought you would have noticed by now, but I guess that’s my fault. It does take you a while to catch on,” you sigh, leaning your head on his shoulder, the weight of the day catching up to you.

A yawn escapes your lips before you look at him, “I just didn’t mention it really because I thought you wouldn’t feel the same for me.”

That gets him laughing as he wraps an arm around your shoulder. Guess you were both worried about nothing.

“Then is that a yes to being my girlfriend?” He asks, needing the confirmation.

You playfully slap his shoulder with a laugh. “Of course it’s a yes.”

He grins at that and presses a kiss to your cheek, despite how badly he wanted to claim your lips as well, he’d hold himself back until later on. You had just gotten together, he didn’t want to rush things. This was a new relationship he’d savor and enjoy.

Mentally he thanked the romance manga he had read to help prepare him for this moment. It had worked out perfectly and you both couldn't be happier.

Posted: 2/14/2024

[ladyk23]

List 5 topics you can talk on for an hour without preparing any material.

I’ve been tagged by @imsfire2 to list 5 topics I can talk on for an hour without preparing any material. I don’t know what kind of weird lecture she needs speakers for, but here goes:

1) Outlander. How could I not pick this as my first topic? It’s been my utter obsession since 2020. The TV show first, then the books by Diana Gabaldon, the actors - some whom I’ve been lucky enough to meet several times, the locations I’ve been to, the ones I haven’t been to, conventions, premieres, cosplays, you name it, I can probably talk about it, even if you would prefer I didn’t.

2) History. I don’t pretend to be an expert. Ims never said your talk had to be accurate. But I am definitely passionate about it, or at least parts of it. Obviously I said Outlander as my first topic, and that is historical fiction, but a lot of it is based around real events that happened, such as the Jacobite rising of 1745, the battle of Culloden, the American revolutionary war etc. Before Outlander (and still now) I had a big obsession with the Tudor period, so my fascination with history has long been a thing, and Outlander just added fuel to an already raging fire. My secondary school history teacher Mrs Fogg was my favourite teacher for good reason. I often wish I’d continued my education and gone into history more and maybe today I’d be a historian or history teacher myself.

3) Movies. That’s very general, again I don’t know ALL movies, but I could certainly talk for an hour about some of my favourites. I could also throw in stories about movie premieres I’ve been to, actors I’ve met, actors I wish I’d met, which ones I would invite to my imaginary dinner party where you can have anyone alive or dead. How River Phoenix’s death affected teenage me, my crushes from my earliest to my latest, great movie soundtracks, how one person can be a horror fan and love Disney movies too, Jane Austen adaptations, Marvel movies, yep I can talk at length about movies.

4) Writing. Again, I’m no expert. This won’t be a talk about how to get published. But I can talk about my process - how to write a thing and not finish it - or I can talk about my other process - how to write a thing and not finish editing it. I can talk about blogging, writing fan fiction, short stories, and yes, novels, even if I probably won’t ever publish mine. I can talk about the importance of having a writing community to keep you going even when writing is the last thing you want to be doing. I can also talk about how bad grammar and spelling really ruins a novel. My grasp of both of those things leaves a lot to be desired (which is why I clearly need Ims’ proofreading skills), but even I can be taken out of the moment of reading and enjoying a novel, if the writer misspells their main character’s name. 🤦🏻‍♀️

5) I was going to lump this in with Outlander, but honestly I could easily talk for a separate hour about my AMAZING Outlander book club. Established in 2021 by a woman who just wanted a group to keep her accountable in her attempt to read all eight books in the Outlander series. That was it. What actually happened is an incredible community formed, where women support each other and are there for each other in every aspect of life. We became so much more than a book club. We still ARE a book club though. We read all of the eight books we set out to read, then we read the ninth one that was published while we were in the process of reading the eight. Then we started a chronological read of ALL of the books in the Outlander universe, as there are spin off books and novellas too, and we’re currently reading one of the spin off novels as our book this month. We have been on two retreats to the smoky mountains of Tennessee, 30 women in a castle sized cabin for 4 days, and there are no fights, no disagreements, no arguments, no cat fights, just 30 women getting along, laughing together, working together to cook and clean, we tell each other deep important stuff, and get nothing but support back. We’re a family at this point. I love every one of those women and never thought I’d ever find a group like this that has come to mean so much to me, just from joining a book club.

Thank you so much for the tag Ims. I nominate @arms-and-arrows, @littleblueartist, @fishyandclintbarton, @katsdisturbed and @uuuhshiny but only if you feel so inclined.

[minemineminemine]

Hello.

A rather ominous way to start off an ask, no? I suppose, typically, it’d be more… enthusiastic? Well, hopefully this won’t be too much of a strain for you to read. I’m a bit too tired to twist my speech into anything more exciting, to be truthful.

But, I’m getting off-topic. It’s nice to meet you—though, we haven’t technically met each other at the time I am sending this. You haven’t spared a single thought towards my existence, prior to reading this message. A curious thought.

My apologies. This is turning out to be more ominous than I had planned.

Essentially, I was scrolling through the jealousy tag, as all normal homosapiens do—I’m an avid romance reader; let’s act as though that is typical—and noticed that your posts took up a sizable chunk of the tag.

I, of course, grew curious, and decided to spare a glance at your profile. And what do you know? A fellow INTJ. This sparked my intrigue further; a fellow obsessive INTJ? I was practically delighted.

Well, that’s playing it up quite a bit. Again, apologies. I’ve typed this out oddly.

I’d like to know more about you, if you don’t mind. I suppose we could start with your hobbies first. Finding common ground would be an easy way to skip past small talk and dive into more thoughtful conversation.

I myself am interested in literature, philosophy, psychology, forensics, criminology, and ethics (specifically sociobiology). And yourself?

Of course, if you’d rather not speak to me, feel free not to. I wouldn’t want to pressure you into anything.

Good day.

-S

Wow, that was quite long for sure!!

I sure post quite a lot on the jealousy tag... not intentionally, i just get jealous really easily.

Well, maybe i haven't spared a single thought your way prior to reading this ask, but what is the concept of time anyways? Is anything prior to this moment or anything afterwards a reality? As long as i am here in this moment reading this ask, I'm sparing you a moment of my present, which is also my past and future.

I have a wide range of hobbies, I enjoy most forms of art, music, cooking, doing research and a bunch more. I absolutely love criminology, true crime, forensics, death and dead people!!

I'm actually studying towards a psychology degree atm!! I love learning about how merely simple and yet complicated humans are!

I'm absolutely okay with chatting though asks, but I'd like to just remind you that I'm strictly not interested in anything further than friendship, im in a relationship if it wasn't obvious enough lol.

Feel free to send more asks!! I love answering questions!

[taegularities]

RID hi <3 ik it’s been a long time but i started uni this semester after being on a year off school (like a sabbatical) so yeah 🫠 OFC i read the last update !! just didn’t had the time to send u an ask :(

BUT !!!!!!!! jk finally dropped the l bomb 🥹 when i tell u i THREW MY PHONE ACROSS MY ROOM I SCREAMED AND CRIED it was so unexpected but SO good and just ugh my heart warmed on the best way possible 💓

I’m so in love with ur writing, ur stories just everything <3 U have a gift for writing, ur amazing rid !! thanks for giving us the most amazing story ever (and definitely my favorite hehe), every chapter just gets better and better and although i haven’t been sending asks i’ve been up to date with ur blog and just wanted to tell u that ur more than enough and pls pls don’t even doubt urself, ur writing (like i said) is perfect and ur updates make my day !

loooove u, have an amazing week 🫂

silver 🥺💕 i hope your year off school did you well and that you're able to enjoy uni now!! sending you so much energy 🫂 and YOU DIDDDD AHHH IM GLAD IM GLAD!!! i was missing you so much in my inbox, so seeing your message made me light up 🥺

oh my god, he diiiid 🤭 i'm genuinely so happy that so many of you didn't expect the L bomb, since everyone had been talking about it for weeks now and i was like, dang it im screwed 🤣 but yes, super super glad!! totally understand bc i was crying tears onto my laptop's keyboard kjaxfjkdsjkg

and silver, i really gotta thank you. not just for your kind words in this message (god knows i needed them), but for being here and supporting me no matter what. like, you give me so much love and motivation, idk how to pay it back :( thank you for enjoying this journey and my blog!! love love love you 🤍

[icelily17]

Snapshots

Okay so I have my Sol/Dys fic done, still cant put it up on AO3 yet but Im buzzing to get it out there so here ya go. Also not sure if this is the title I want but I never pick good titles

These are little snapshots of points in their lives, some of these scenes are in the game so a few lines of dialogue are ripped straight from the game, so SPOILER WARNING for scenes in I Was A Teenage Exocolonist.

CONTENT WARNING: mentions of sex and implied sex, but nothing explicit. Also mentions of death. Enjoy!

------

Aboard the Stratosphere, age 7

You sit on a soft beanbag chair in the creche, watching a video on your holopad. Dys is watching over your shoulder, "No don't go there!" he groans at the person in a small corner of the video who was playing the ancient Earth video game, "He missed an item! I saw it glowing!"

You shrug, too engrossed in what is happening. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Tammy and Cal sitting off to the side, playing house with one of Tammy's dolls. They're giggling as they sit and drink pretend-tea, and you shift a little as your attention returns to the video.

Marz comes in, an excited look on her face as she runs to the center of the room and twirls so that her dress flares out, "Look at the new dress that my daddies got me! Isn't it so pretty?" she asks with a tone in her voice that implies she's expecting everyone to answer yes.

Anemone grins, the ball she was playing keep-em-up with settled in her hands. "You really like blue huh?"

Marz smooths her dress, "Well duh, it matches my hair!"

Tammy claps her hands and smiles, "It looks so pretty on you!" Cal nods beside her.

Dys huffs a little but nods to appease Marz. You smile at her, giving her a thumbs up. Evidently Marz decides that its good enough and waltzes over to a table and picks up a few crayons. You and Dys settle in and return to your video.

------

Aboard the Stratosphere, age 9

"Oh, Solana! Have you seen Dys around anywhere?" Auntie Seedent asks as you turn the corner in the hallway of the living quarters area. She looks anxious, "I haven't seen him in a couple hours, he's usually back in time for dinner, I haven't seen him and I'm getting worried."

You know exactly where Dys is--off scampering around the ship and trying to find different hideouts. Being the smallest child among you all, it was easy for him to fit in a lot of places the others couldn't. You knew where a couple of them were, but Dys kept most of them to himself. He liked to be alone.

You also knew you couldn't tell Auntie Seedent what he was doing, or else Dys was going to be in trouble. And you and Dys had made a promise a couple years ago that you would never snitch on each other, pinkie promised even! Your mind races as you attempt to come up with an excuse.

"I invited him to sleep over at my place tonight, he's probably already there with my parents," you say easily. Thank goodness you know your parents are already home.

Auntie Seedent breathes a sigh of relief and smiles. "Okay, that's good news. You two are thick as thieves, aren't you? Well have fun and I'll see you tomorrow!" She brushes past, and you continue on your way home, grateful that she didn't go to your quarters and talk to your parents herself.

"Hey gooseberry!" Your dad ruffles your hair and smiles and you wave hello at your mom. "Gonna go read!" you call over your shoulder, and you parents return to their conversation: your mom as passionate as ever and your dad just watches her with hearts in his eyes. When you get to your room you quickly send a short signal over a chat on your holopalm to Dys, just to give him a heads up that you had to cover for him, no big deal.

The next morning, Dys comes up to you and gives you a soycake he grabbed from the kitchens, "Thanks for covering for me again, Sol," he says as he plops next to you.

"Don't worry about it," you say with a smile, "It's annoying when all the grownups want to know where you are all the time."

"I know! Why can't they just leave me alone?," he sucks his teeth in annoyance. "Hey, you wanna see the place I found? You can use it whenever you want too," he says, finishing his snack. You nod, and take off after him as he leads you towards your new secret spot.

------

Vertumna, Mid Quiet, age 11

You've decided to take the month off and hang out at the creche, and chose to spend this time re-reading your favorite book on animals that your father gave you for your fourth birthday. You hear the doors open, and when you look up you see Dys plodding towards you. He sits on the same beanbag as you and you distantly think about how the beanbag feels smaller these days. You turn back to your book as he pulls out his pencil and some paper and begins drawing some of the alien flora of the surroundings. Silence hangs around you, comforting instead of awkward--you both like to spend a lot of time like this. Together, with the understanding that there doesn't need to be talking. You occasionally feel his arm gently bump you, but nothing else is said.

The door opens again, this time Tangent enters the creche. You're surprised to see her here and not with Chief Instance in the Engineering lab where she spends all her time. You wave at her, and Dys very pointedly keeps his eyes on his work.

You frown slightly as you remember the three of you playing together all the time when you were little. What happened between them, you wonder to yourself as Tang gives a small wave back. You knew it began when their mother died. Your parents never told you what exactly happened, just that she was gone. You remember the funeral, how they both stared at the floor, ignoring everyone around them attempting to console them. Dys had disappeared soon after, and you didn't see him for 3 whole days. He was really good at not being found when he didn't want to be. When he finally re-emerged and went to school, he didn't speak for a long time, and he and Tangent--who threw herself into her schoolwork in a way that could only be described as manic--never really spoke after that, and she didn't join you when you played with her brother anymore. It made you kind of sad.

Marz marches in not long after, gabbing on about something at the depot and how she's been saving her Kudos. She looks at you two on your chair and snickers, "Look Tang, there's your weird brother and his girlfriend!"

Tangent says nothing, just sits down primly in a chair and immediately begins typing away on her holopad. You and Dys both scrunch your nose at the thought of being each other's girlfriend/boyfriend, and yet in the very back of your mind you feel....something else?

Already forgotten, Marz looks over Tangent's shoulder and begins asking questions about something-or-other, you've already lost interest. Dys mumbles something under his breath and continues drawing. But when you look out of the corner of your eye at him you notice the tips of his ears are a little more pink than usual.

------

Vertumna, Late Pollen, age 12

Marz has announced that it's Valentine's Day, an old Earth holiday where you apparently are supposed to give your best friend some chocolate or something. You think this could be fun, and when Marz mentioned you had to do it before the end of the day you immediately think of Dys and go to find him.

 He's at the wall, watching the jungle outside through a gap in the fence and occasionally digging his boot in the dirt. He doesn't turn or say anything as you approach him.

You open your mouth and you have every intention of asking him to be your best friend so you can annoy Marz together, but suddenly a vision swims before your eyes. A grown boy, with black hair that shimmers rainbow and wearing black, surrounded by vast openness and a smile as he looks at you.

Dys.

And before you can understand, your mouth speaks on it's own: "I see you in my dreams."

You wait for a response, panicked. What was that???? your mind screams at itself. Dys doesn't move, though you see his cheeks get a little redder as the minutes tick by, and you begin to slowly tell him about the dream. About how you both are older, about how you both would hold hands, and about how you both were...in love. As you say this, his blush spreads down his neck and you feel your own face begin to heat up. What are you doing?

You trail off, waiting for him to call you a loser, or weird, to get up and leave, anything really. He just keeps looking through the gap in the wall for a long time. You don't move a muscle, afraid of being the first to break the moment.

Finally, he speaks: "I have dreams about you too."

Your mind stutters, huh? as it tries to process his answer and both your faces get a deeper shade of red. Time to say something!

"O-oh...so...are we best friends then?" Is all you can think to say. More silence, and all you want to do is hide in your room. But your feet are rooted to the spot.

Dys begins to chew on his lip, still not looking at you. "Okay," he says, finally. "Yeah."

Relief washes over you, though your face and neck are still hot, and you smile brightly. You swear you see a small tug at the corner of his mouth before you sit beside him and stare out at the same spot as him.

"So whatcha lookin' at?"

------

Vertumna, Early Quiet, age 15

"Dys! Cripes, slow down!" You say as the two of you climb up a hill. He looks back at you and gives a wide grin. He waits a little, but you can practically see him vibrating as you clamber towards him.

~Earlier~

You woke up this morning to a message on the private chat you two have, and your heart began to beat a little quicker as you saw his name. You sat up and quickly scan the message:

Hey, after everything is done for the day, come out with me. I have something cool to show you. Bring some equipment, we're gonna camp!

You smiled a little, excited and got dressed with fervor. Dys had been spending a lot of time outside of the walls lately, going on expeditions at every chance he can and barely coming home. You joined him out there as often as possible, both filled with awe at the land you now call home, but you're also trying to study the plants as best you can with Xenobotany so you can help your dad with the Shimmer. You couldn't bear the thought of him getting sicker and losing him. Not after your mom had gone.

You shook your head, trying to rid yourself of these bad feelings. It's your birthday! You greeted your father with a smile and together you went to Geoponics, looking forward to the evening.

Once everything was said and done, night fell and stars appeared. You bade your dad goodnight with a hug and kiss, many 'thank you's and 'Love you's before you headed off to your room to pack a bag for the night.

And now, you find yourself chasing Dys' retreating figure through the trees and wondering how he's always so fast. "This better be good, you nullhead," you wheeze, hand on a tree trunk.

"It is," he assures you, and he steps aside to let you take in the sight of the valley below. His eyes never leave you as your jaw drops. It's beautiful!

The blue-ish white snow gives way to a large expanse below you and not a tree in sight. A whole herd of unisaur are moving slowly, adding to the gorgeous picturesque landscape. The stars were twinkling, and the three different-sized moons were casting an ethereal glow on the field.

"Dys!" You give a small gasp and let your bag fall off your shoulder, "It's beautiful!" His smile grows wider as he lets his pack fall to the ground as well as he asks excitedly, "You like it?"

"I love it!" You whirl around, and you feel like you're positively beaming. All worries and stress from the day melted away. You throw your arms around him, and he stiffens a little at the contact. But he doesn't pull away, and he lets you hug him for a couple seconds. When you let go, he clears his throat. "Happy birthday, Sol," he says shyly. "I don't have much, but I wanted to give you something at least."

You look out at the meadow below once more, and sigh happily. "It's perfect," you assure him, and you mean it. You haven't felt this peaceful in a long while, and he--your best friend--knew exactly what you needed. Peace and quiet.

And Dys.

You look back at him and your eyes meet. You're taken aback at how soft his gaze is, but he quickly averts his gaze as a blush blooms on his face. "Glad you liked it," he murmurs, and you laugh before helping him set up the tent and campfire. You spend the next couple hours staring up at the stars and making up constellations.

Later that night, as you crawl to your sleeping mat, you sleepily tell him, "Thank you, Dys."

He makes a small noise in acknowledgement before it gets silent. You both lay in the darkness, and you move your hand towards his and link your pinkies, like you did before. Your eyelids droop, and you're vaguely aware that he hesitantly links his ring and middle finger with yours as well--not quite holding your hand, but almost. You smile and the last thing you hear is Dys whispering, "I wish we could stay like this forever."

------

Vertumna, Early Dust, age 16

You march decidedly towards the Expeditions area, clutching the databand you received at the Vertumnalia Festival that afternoon. You saw the words 'secret admirer' on the note and you immediately thought of the sullen boy you called your best friend.

As you walk on, your steps get less and less confident as you get caught up in your thoughts. What if it wasn't Dys? What if it was from someone from the Helios crew, like Rex? Sure, you noticed how Dys was more red in the face whenever you touched him in any way, but he was always averse to physical affection! Ever since you were little kids! How can you be so sure that means he likes you?? Your mind races, and you practically groan as you slow to a walk.

"Hello Solana," Tangent says distractedly as you walk past her at the Engineering building. She's leaning up against the wall, her holopalm flashing all kinds of imagery at her. "Are you alright?" She squints at you, suspicious now that Pollen has passed once more. The Shimmer has most definitely been a source of frustration for Tangent, who wants nothing more than to figure out the problem but just can't.

You nod thoughtfully, and Tangent's eyes fall to the object in your hand. "What's that?"

"A databand, someone gave it to me at the festival. But they signed it as a secret admirer so...I don't actually know who," you say, a little embarrassed.

 Tangent looks at it, then her eyes travel to your face, and back and forth again.

"A...secret admirer you say? Well, that's something," she says dismissively, but you catch her eyes darting towards the entrance to the colony before returning to her holopalm.

"You know who it is?"

"No I don't," she says, though her voice catches just the teeniest bit, and she's staring intently at the images. You smile anyway, your confidence restored. You knew that Tangent still cared very much about her brother, even if she couldn't admit it.

"Well, thanks anyway, Tang!" You wave as you walk on, and she gives a small 'mmm' in response. You begin walking quickly towards Expeditions once more, where you see Dys loading up a vehicle. He sees you approach and gives you a nod before he goes back to his work.

"Are you my secret admirer?" You blurt out as you stop next to him, holding up the databand. He pauses, but doesn't meet your eyes.

"So what if I was? Don't make a big deal out of it," he lowers his voice.

"But I like you too!" Your heart is beating out of your chest. You always knew it, ever since you were both 8 and he helped you with your art project. He had been so patient and something had sort of clicked for you then, but you didn’t quite understand and so never thought too hard about it. But you think of those visions of future Dys and future you being together and your heart begins to swell and you just know you had to tell him or you were going to burst.

He stops altogether, raising his head before turning around slowly. He looks at you, dumbfounded, as if he can't believe what he's hearing. "What?....Why??"

You search for a way to explain, but you can't pinpoint a single reason why Dys is so special to you. He always had been. "I just do!"

He looks at you for a long while, and lets out a shaky breath you both didn't know he was holding. "Okay," he mutters, and his cheeks are flushing again, "Cool, I guess."

You both hold each others' gaze for several minutes before the Expedition team calls for departure. "Gotta go," Dys says awkwardly, then gets in the passenger seat of the truck. You step back, and before the vehicle can drive off, you see a smile on his face.

-----

Vertumna, Early Quiet, age 17

You lay awake in your room, your mind too loud to sleep. The unisaur pendant lays on your chest, and you are all too aware of its weight.

You and Dys getting together was a matter of time. You both had been flirting for about 3-4 years at this point, but today was the first time that Dys had been the one to initiate any conversation of the sort. You remember the way his hands rested on your neck, his voice as he confessed all the feelings he kept close in his heart for you, the intensity in his eyes as he looked at your mouth, the way he leaned towards you, his hands on your face...

You squeeze your eyes shut, before flipping around on your bed so that you lay facedown in the pillow. And yet, you smile to yourself. The dreams and visions were finally coming true--well, those ones anyway--and Dys was finally your boyfriend. Officially.

-----

Vertumna, Late Wet, age 18

You and Dys are sitting in a clearing on a rainy afternoon. He's writing more things down in his journal and you are going through your holopad entries. At one point you feel his gaze on you, and you look up to meet his eyes. "What?"

"Nothing really. I just like looking at you," he says simply, smiling at you as the blue-and-yellow sunlight beams down on you both. You blush and look away for a second, "Oh...really?"

He leans in and gives you a kiss, and it's so sweet it leaves you breathless. "Yeah. You're beautiful."

You giggle in embarrassment at the compliment, but you take his hand and kiss it appreciatively. You both smile at each other before returning to your respective activities.

"Hey Solana? You....don't have anything important happening tomorrow, do you?" Dys asks hesitantly after awhile. You tell him you don't, and raise an eyebrow at him as if to ask why.

"Okay. I was...kind of hoping...you might...stay the night here with me?" He stammers out, his face and ears burning red.

You look at him, confused but smile at him earnestly, "I would love to." A wide grin breaks out across his face as he grabs you and pulls you in for another kiss. You smile against his mouth as you return with fervor, and it gets more intense until it eventually turns into a mess of tongues, with hands lost in hair and heavy breathing. Dys breaks apart, before wordlessly standing up, pulling you up by the hand, and leading you to the tent.

You both lay down and begin kissing again, immediately picking momentum back up where it left off. Hands are desperately reaching anywhere they can, moans escape both of you as the air in the tent quickly heats up. Your hands flit around the bottom of his shirt before you pluck up the courage to pull it up, where he immediately breaks away again so he can take it off.

He looks down at you, his eyes dark and hungry, but he remains on his elbows above you as your chest heaves from trying to catch your breath. "Is this okay? Do you want this? We can stop if you don't," he whispers, brushing a lock of blue hair away from your face gently.

Your heart flutters at his consideration for you, his gentleness. You nod, and as he comes back down to kiss you hungrily you realize you've never been more certain of anything in your whole life.

-----

Vertumna, Mid Wet, age 25

"I can't believe this," Dys mutters angrily, but loud enough you can hear. You narrow your eyes at him, arms crossed.

"Excuse me?"

He whips around, "You of all people know how much I want to be out there!" He snarls, "Why can't you just let me be??"

You push your hair out of your face and take a step closer, "What does that mean? You go out there all the time! Sometimes you're out there for days!"

"Yeah, but I make sure to check in with you--"

"Only when I message you first after however many days I don't hear from you!" You shout over him, and he gets a guilty expression for a second before getting angry again.

"I just want to be out there! I hate coming home here!" Your arms fall to your sides as you feel tears prick the corners of your eyes, his words ringing through your ears. That stung a little. Dys has definitely noticed your chin wobble a little, because his voice softens but still sounds aggravated as he takes a step towards you and holds you in his arms, "I only come home because you're here. You're the only thing worth coming back here for, I've told you this before!"

You look down, willing the tears to stay where they are but to no avail--they begin to fall. You hate when you two get like this. You know that Dys is right--he only comes back because he knows you're here, but this isn't his home. It never was.

Years ago, Dys had come back from one of his days-long expeditions with an excited look on his face and explained to you that he had discovered a way for him to become one with the planet. He tells you about Sym, who you knew from a few encounters yourself, and all that Sym had taught him. You had seen a light in his eyes you had never seen before, and your heart had constricted. You two have begun to fight a lot more, recently.  You didn't like the visions and dreams that occurred that night, or how they some of them were true now. You didn't like the visions and dreams that were occurring recently, or how some of them were true now, too.

"Why won't you come with me?" He asks so softly, as he guides you by your chin to look at him and gently wiping your traitorous tear with his thumb. His demeanor only makes you more sad and angry.

"I've told you, I can't leave them without helping to find the cure for the Shimmer. It didn't work with my dad--" your voice catches, and your hands squeeze his biceps at the painful memory,"and I just...I can't let anyone else go through that, Dys. It hurt so much."

He doesn't let go of you, but his voice is sad and pleading, "Solana...I can't live without you."

You nod and squeeze him into a hug, looping your arms around his neck. "And I can't live without you. But please....can we just be together for now? We can talk about it again some other time. I just...I need you Dys," you plead, looking up at him. He looks down at you for a long, long time before wiping another tear from your cheek and giving a resigned sigh.

"Okay. For you, I'll try anything. I love you, Solana, so much," he says, before bending down to kiss you. You don't let go for a long time.

-----

Vertumna, Late Pollen, age 37

You get home from a long day at the Xenobotany lab, and to your surprise Dys is there and reading your tattered old Animals book from when you were a kid. He looks up and smiles, "Hey honey."

You smile tiredly at him, happy to see him home. True to his word all those years ago, Dys was making an effort to come home to you while still balancing his love for exploring the wilds of Vertumna. But you could feel him getting restless, especially whenever Sym came to visit you both.

  You really liked Sym, an alien life form of the planet who didn't try to kill you every chance he got, which was a relief. He was a pleasant person to be around (as much as he could be considered one?), and gave you wonderful insight into some of your research. But you didn't like the sense of unease whenever you looked at your partner after any of these visits, or what you knew was going to have to happen. It was a matter of time, and as much as you didn't want it, you had to let him go.

"Dys, love...I think we need to have a talk."

He closes the book and lays it on the table, then pats the couch beside him. You gladly sit down, and he takes your hand. "What is it, Sol?"

The small rings on your hands glint in the light, and you remember the private ceremony you two had, where you promised to love each other for your whole lives--and then some, in your case. Sym was there to share in your joy, and while it hadn't been as grand as Cal and Tammy's ceremony, it was perfect for you two.

A smile tugs at the corners of your lips for a split second, and you open your mouth to speak but the words are getting caught in your throat. Dys waits patiently.

"I...I've been thinking about...what Sym has told you," You begin carefully, and to his credit Dys does not react, instead looking intently into your eyes. "And how you feel and what you want. And you...want to become part of Vertumna."

Dys' eyes widen as realization of what you may be saying dawns on him, "Sol...I...but I want you to be happy!"

You smile sweetly at him, "Oh my love...what would make me happiest is seeing you truly happy. And you...aren't truly happy here." You almost say with me but you stop yourself. This isn't about you, you think to yourself.

Dys grabs your other hand, "But you do make me happy," he begins weakly. "I mean...yes, I do want to be a Gardener, but...I love you," he finishes. You keep smiling sadly as you shake your head.

"Yes, but...I can't keep living with myself, knowing I'm keeping you from being happy. And well, I got to keep you to myself for a few extra years," you say half-jokingly, but your voice breaks as you catch up with what you've said and what this means. Dys pulls you into a hug and you both sit there in silence.

After a long while, he pulls back and you wipe your eyes quickly. "Will you at least come with me when I do it?" he asks quietly. "I want you there."

You nod, "I will."

-----

Vertumna, Late Dust, age 37

Sym leads you and Dys to the cave you found all those years ago in the Western Ridge. It's dank air makes you shiver, even though it's not exactly cold. You and Dys hold hands the whole way as Sym idly makes small talk with Dys before stopping at a pool. "This is it," he says simply.

You look down at the pool, and Dys squeezes your hand before turning to Sym, who still looks the same as he did when you first met him as a teenager. "What do I need to do?"

Sym gestures, "Simply submerge yourself in the gel and breathe normally. Disrobing is not necessary; your clothes will be liquefied along with your physical form. But be warned, once you step into the pool, there is no going back. Are you truly sure this is what you want?"

Dys looks back at you, and you think back on your life together. As children running through the Stratosphere and hiding in cubbies, as children in the talent show at the annual Vertumnalia Festival, as preteens hiking though the jungle surrounding the colony, holding hands beneath the stars as you both listened to music. How he comforted you when your parents died, or how amazing and scary it felt when you both had sex for the first time in the woods. How as young adults, you were still finding your places in this colony, but you found your place in each other.

And you suddenly get a flash of a vision, one where you see a young Dys' face smiling at you and you just know that you haven't lived this one yet but it's so real. You tell Dys this when he asks why you're smiling, and he grins in return.

"See? Because of your time loop thing, we'll be together in the next life." You nod, your smile faltering. You don't really want to wait--you want to be with him now. But you know you can't leave the colony, or your friends. And you know he can't stay.

Almost as if reading your thoughts, Sym pipes up, "Well, you will see him again, even if...you may not recognize him." He says this as a way to hopefully make you feel better, and you appreciate it.

"Okay. As long as you're ready," You tell him after a deep breath. It's now or never, you tell yourself.

Dys cups your cheek and gives you one last sweet kiss. "I love you so much Solana, and I'm so glad you came to be here with me," he whispers as he lets go. He turns around and steps into the vat of blue gel, submerging and closing his eyes as a peaceful look sets about his features.

You turn to Sym, "Thank you very much for being here for him. It really means alot to me."

Sym smiles back at you, "Of course. I love Dys--and you--very much. You are both wonderful humans, and I thank you for caring for our planet. Let me escort you home."

As you turn to leave, you glance down one more time at your life partner. He looks truly at peace, and knowing you were able to let him go and give him that peace makes the weight on your heart ease. Just a little bit.

-----

Vertumna, Late Wet, age 88

You lay in your bed in the medbay, surrounded by basically your family in the colony. Most of your friends who were part of the original Stratos colony have long since passed, but you still have Anemone sitting nearby. You smile at everyone, and tell each of the people present that you love them and to be good for Auntie Sol. There are tears and sniffles and watery smiles, until at last everyone has gone. You close your eyes as you feel the edges of your life fading away.

That night, you dream about a little boy with dark black, shimmery hair. You're ready to begin again.