#maybe i should make some disaster twins next time

[marnerlue]

Hide and Seek

Part 1

Here's my new little story in my apocalyptic future AU. So this kind of maybe is connected to Night Talks but only if ya want it to.

As you can see on the pics it's pretty long, I don't know how many parts it's gonna be yet, but we'll get to the end eventually.

Reblogs and comments are very much appreciated!

I take any kind of constructive criticism and I'd like to hear your opinions!

Also this is inspired by one of @algrit 's headcanons from tiktok.

Part 2

[marwhoa]

request: You write the turtles boys so well! I literally can't stop smiling when I read your fics - they're so sweet and endearing. I was wondering, only if it strikes your interest of course, if you'd consider writing about the boys being jealous of each other when the reader spends time with them one on one? Like, maybe a slot for Leo where he thinks reader finds Donnie funnier? Or one for mikey, where he thinks that reader likes how big raph is? Or for raph, where he thinks reader is more enamored with Leo? Or Donnie, where he worries that Mikey is flirting with reader? Of course they're all misunderstandings, and maybe it could end all fluffy with confessions and comforting their respective boy? If not, don't worry, but if so, thank you! 1 look forward to whatever you put out next.

🝮 “ green with envy ”

rise!boys x y/n

author’s note: screaming profusely !!! eeeee !!! So hey yeah here’s a fic, this took a while because it sat in my notes for days before I finally posted it, my bad. This was kinda hard cause I’m not experienced in the realm of jealousy—hopefully y’all like it? ᗡ: also does envy even fit this scenario? Lmao I just be naming these fics any thing, can y’all tell?

word count: 6.1k

┆ ── ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ — Leo 💌

Leo never expected he could ever become… jealous, not him—no, no, NEVER him. He had too much pride, too much confidence. There should have never been any room for doubt in his ability to keep you focused and adoring on him, and him alone.

But, perhaps he had given himself too much credit? Or, maybe he had given his twin too little credit.

It wasn’t as though you were his. Just friends, and technically that meant you belonged to the whole family, not just him. But, no one could blame him for coveting you. From how starry-eyed you looked at him to how genuinely you laughed at his jokes, Leo found out too late that he had been falling for you, and here he was still falling. The way your nose crinkled when you laughed, or how your face lit up during Mikey’s dinner times, even down to the wheezing laugh you would give into if he pushed his jokes on too long, all of it spelled out lovely disaster for his heart.

But, fear not, he thought. He was the face man and the funniest turtle, surely there was no competition? No one could be better than him at getting you to make the faces you did.

Or well, it should’ve been no one. He wasn’t even all that funny, but Donnie managed to get you to keel over to some stuff he said—and he didn’t even intend for them to be jokes! A natural comic, can you believe the nerve of this guy?

So, yeah, Leo never expected himself to be jealous, and especially never towards his own brother, but god the way you were showing that tickled-silly expression to Donnie, wiping tears as he confusedly asked what was so funny? It had him gripping the arm of their couch, digging his nails into them. He wasn’t going to take this any longer! Sure Donnie meant no harm and would never try to swoop in and steal the prize he had his eye on, but Leo couldn’t help but still be… aggravated.

The pent-up annoyance was dispelled by the red-slider leaping over the couch, sassily walking over and snaking his arm across your waist.

“ Yeah, whatever, Donnie is sooo funny, but hey, Y/N, let me show you something better! ”

Never mind the fact that he had nothing planned as he twirled his katana in his other hand, slicing the air until a blue portal shimmered into existence. You glanced back and waved good bye to Donnie, fully intrigued by whatever it was Leo wanted to show you.

“ Oh—okay! What is it? ”

“ Who am I to ruin a surprise? ”

He cocked a brow at your question, tugging you through the portal and stepping out into the courtyard of the Witch’s city. While amazed, you wondered just what this had to do with anything—but, of course that was a comment you would keep to yourself until having fully exhausted the excitement of exploring not just any random town, but rather a town of witches!

“ Oh, Leo, finally! I’ve been begging you to bring me here for weeks! ”

Before he could even say anything, you were quickly rushing up to the nearest shop and sparking up conversation. Such a busy bee, but it was just another aspect of you he was captivated by. However, with such an impromptu visit to a rather overwhelming area, he found chances to spark conversation and get you to laugh to be stretched few and far between.

“ Oh wow, this store really doesn’t leave mushroom for walk-through, huh? ”

He gestured to a potions-ingredients shop, which, you guessed it, specialized in all things fungal-based. His shoulders drooped as you continued ahead, not even hearing him. That joke was gold! Huffing, Leo caught up with you and laced his fingers around your wrist, effortlessly stopping you in your tracks.

“ Mm? Leo? ”

You stared up at him with such a look of focus, all your attention finally fully on him, and he had to fight his legs not to reduce to jelly instantly. Instead, he took a deep breath, cocked his head, and insisted you follow him.

Down weaving alleys, through crowds of people, eventually you reached a park unlike any seen on the surface. The paths were lined with thick, luscious plants cultivated through the town’s magic. Foliage swayed with no wind, as though dancing like silk fabric to whatever music only they heard.

Your attention only left the plants when you heard Leo start clearing his throat and then flashing you a look that you recognized all too well. A grin was already tugging at your lips, and Leo finally felt like he was the only one in your world again. His hands held onto his belt and he kicked out his legs, faking as though he were tipping a hat. It seemed like some western cowboy impersonation?

“ What in carnation? ”

There you went, first with a light and short laugh.

“ Well I do say, I took a leaf of faith bringing you here,”

Which then melded into a series, topped with a “ Wait, Leo, hush—please! ”, all stuttered and peppered through your increasing laughter.

“—but, beleaf it or not—“

He wasn’t even able to finish the entire spiel before you were holding onto him, laughing with such a melodious voice. Which, of course, devolved into your trademark wheeze n’snort after dragging on too long.

“ Pwffhaaha!! Leo, wha-what’s with you today? ”

You wiped away a tear, and suddenly Leo was finally brought back to reality. Your hand on his forearm lingered, and he was just completely beside himself with how the glowing willows beside the garden softened your face ever-so-perfectly.

“ Y/N… ”

His voice was so uncharacteristically soft that it had you a tad bit spooked, hand gripping a teensy tighter. Your head cocked slightly in confusion.

“ I.. Ugh, okay, it’s—it’s dumb! But—“

He dragged his hands down his face, groaning exhaustedly.

“ I thought, maybe, you might’ve… Liked Donnie, more than me. ”

“ Huh? Why would you think that, I love all of you guys? ”

“ Yeah, but I love you, and—“

The shock painted on your face had him holding his breath. Alarms went off in his head, telling him he maybe should have held his tongue, not jumped ahead so quickly. The two of you searched each other’s eyes in silence, you recovering from what he said, and him preparing himself for what you would say. Soon enough, your face twisted into a confusion tinged with a bit of playfulness.

“ Wait a second.. You’re jealous, aren’t you? Of Donnie? What for? ”

“ What? What do you mean what for? You, you’ve been laughing at everything he said all day, don’t you think he’s funnier? Don’t you like him more?! ”

If it weren’t his dumb puns and act earlier, it was this that would do you in.

“ Leo, you dummy! Sure I was laughing, but that doesn’t mean I like him more than you, I just, well… ”

It was your turn to be a bit bashful as your eyes looked everywhere except him.

“ I, well.. You’re my favorite, Leo, not Donnie.. ”

As you batted your eyes at him, hoping he would connect the dots thoroughly, your answer was given in the form of his beaming expression as he swept you into his arms, spinning.

“ Ah-hah! So you do like me—and I’m the funnier turtle!? ”

“ Oh no, I shouldn’t have said anything, now you’re too powerful! ”

Playfully you cried, leaning back with your hand dramatically draped across your forehead. Leo chuckled at your antics leaning in to lay his head against your stomach as he tightened his hold firmly.

This was definitely something he would rub in his brother’s face later on—and said brother would be profusely confused by what brought it on???

┆ ── ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ — Mikey 💌

Mikey was the last turtle you ever considered could suffer from the classic ailment of “ jealousy ”, and you couldn’t help but feel both ashamed yet intrigued.

While you weren’t too sure what it was that had got him so riled up, you were observant enough to see the way his eyes lit up with a startling emotion. At first it was impossible to pinpoint, just a glimpse of something indiscernible yet startling that crept into his blue hues at the oddest of times.

The first time you had seen that frightful emotion peek its head was during a date. The two of you had decided to hit a bar late at night, him donning a cloaking brooch, of course.

When you arrived, the loud music was entrancing, luring you both onto the dance floor to get lost in each other’s arms. The music coiled around you both, closing the gap to a suffocatingly tight end, as if either of you couldn’t stand any sort of distance apart. The floor vibrated, from both the booming speakers and the music reverberating the whole building alongside the dancing bodies around you both.

Mikey beamed with the brightest smile, and you just knew he was laughing, albeit drowned out from the ambiance. You were both having the time of your lives. Absorbed into a bubble fit for only the two of you, eyes locked on each other, neither party was ready for the stranger’s hands that snaked around your waist, pulling you in without any mind paid to you already having a devoted dance partner.

Chills set in and you turned to Mikey instantly, locking eyes, but the look in his eyes was enough to have your voice hitch in your throat.

That night ended with you both getting kicked out after Mikey wailed on the guy, but after a while, you both laughed and talked all about the fight on the way home.

The next time you saw that look was when you were hanging out with Leo while waiting for Mikey to return back from patrol. He had invited you over, and you planned to do it after wrapping up a few things, so he figured he could finish a patrol and be ready for you when you got done.

Unfortunately for him, you happened to finish your escapade much too early, and thus were at the lair awaiting his return. Leo happened to pass by, so you roped him into a conversation to bide the time. When Mikey did eventually come home, he stepped in to see you nearly keeled over in laughter.

You had been laughing so hard that when you noticed Mikey, you gave a weak wave and continued dying. He was curious what the joke was, but Leo simply shook his head and left, his own laugh dwindling down the hall. Once you recovered and were on your feet, you caught that same scary emotion swirling in his eyes. He tightened his lips and only softened when he turned to you.

More and more questions arose as you came to experience this look time and time again in all kinds of situations, but the one that finally made all the clicks pop into place was his outburst after you were with Raph.

He had been taking care of some villains on patrol with Mikey when you had ended up in the wrong place, wrong time. Their battle had turned to a violent one, with the villain bashed straight into a wall. Debris crumbled down right as you turned the corner, eyes shooting up to see parts of the building falling towards you. There was no time to move, so you just closed your eyes shut right and braced yourself.

But, no pain ever came, just a bit of dust. You opened your eyes, seeing a huge shadow casted over your body, and when you looked up?

It was Raph, who blocked the falling debris with his mighty shell.

“ Raph! “

You yelped, heart thundering in your chest, and Mikey misunderstood the shimmer in your eyes as Raph rose to full height, throwing the concrete off and away. He misinterpreted why you hugged him so tightly when he scooped you up, taking you away from the damage and ushering you to run the other way.

When you’re focusing on the wrong things, it’s easy to get the signs wrong, and boy had the ache in Mikey’s heart got everything so totally wrong. You liked Raph, didn’t you? Why else would you look at him like that? Did you like it when folks were bigger than you, unlike him who simply had an inch or two on you?

How could he be so stupid?

So, that’s how you ended up where you were now, seconds from entering your apartment when Mikey met you with a sour look on his face. You noticed that same glint in his eyes, still trying to piece together what it meant.

“ Why didn’t you tell me? ”

His voice wavered, and you responded with a hum of confusion. Inviting him in, he closed the door behind you both. His lips tugged down as he searched everywhere for the words to say. Finally, he found them and settled back on you as you were putting things down and unwinding.

“ With Raph! You like him, don’t you?! ”

“ Wha? ”

“ You—You! ”

He seemed frustrated, wracking his brain until finally he threw his hands out and shouted.

“ DO YOU LOVE RAPH MORE BECAUSE HE’S SO BIG?! ”

Silence blanketed you both as you processed his words. Finally, you placed a word on the emotion you always saw in his eyes. Struggling not to laugh at the absurdity, you snorted and shook your head.

“ Jealousy! That’s wh—wait, no, Mikey, no, I don’t ‘Love Raph cause he’s big’ ”

“ Then why do you like him more!? ”

“ Where is this coming from, Mikey, I don’t like Raph like that—I like you. ”

You stepped closer, and Mikey let you in. Your hands reached up, cupping his cheeks, and he leaned into them with such a desperation that you felt bad for finding this whole situation so silly.

“ Just, you always seem so happy when he’s around, and whenever he saves you instead, you always.. ”

His eyes were elsewhere as he spoke, almost as though he were seeing the absurdity in it all now with a clearer mind.

“ Ahh, mhmm, yup, alright so Mikey usually people are very happy when they’re saved from danger—and I mean, I probably look happy cause I’m friends with him too, but I’m dating you, silly. ”

You booped his snoot, smiling as his eyes lit up with the love you were accustomed to seeing them full of.

┆ ── ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ — Raph 💌

If there was any one of the brothers full of insecurities, it would come as no surprise as the spotlight shone upon the red turtle, atop the winner’s pedestal. As someone who once led his brothers in the face of battle, who grew up with the elder sibling curse of forced parenthood, it came as no shock that there were a couple of problems sprinkled into his character.

While he had spent much of his life up to this point recovering and healing from what dared chip at his exterior, there was more than a few bits of stubborn grime that lingered on his surface. It ate away at him, leaving behind vulnerabilities.

Then you came along, and throughout the honeymoon period he experienced nothing but delights. Never had the negative Nancy in his brain perked up to talk her shit, misleading him in circles until he was a mess of unbundled, tangled up rope.

You were a light, something that seemed to power wash the grime away, cake over it with your delicate touch and sweet words. Much smaller than he, you were probably one of the kindest humans he met, someone he cherished more than life itself.

And that, in and of itself, was a vulnerability. You were his weakness, and the shrewd dark spots in his brain couldn’t wait for the rose-colored glass to shatter and let them sink their teeth into this beauteous opportunity.

The sensible part of him knew your kindness knew no ends, that it wasn’t limited or excluded to simply him or a select few. In fact, your sweet demeanor shared with his brothers? It was a breath of relief—it was an understatement to say he had been nervous to introduce you to the family. You were okay with him because he saved you, but his brothers and father weren’t present. They hadn’t been the heroes slamming down against concrete, scaring away the silverfish that preyed upon you one fateful night.

Turns out the trash-eaters had a hankering for good food, and you, all alone, on your way back home with a doggy-bag from Cleo’s Beach Shack, served to be the perfect target.

The night had been quiet, albeit suspiciously so, but your full tummy and weary limbs had their guard fully down. You daydreamed of the bed awaiting you at home, arms beckoning you forth with pillowy softness.

That delightful image was disturbed by the sudden rustling and clank you heard from behind. Turning, your eyes shooed away dreamland and were alert. An empty can rolled from a bush, tinking into someone’s trash can at the curb. Not a soul in sight, so surely it must have been one of New York’s infamous rats? Y’know, that creature that is practically extinct in this city, like there’s no way you would ever see them—definitely not at the metro nor the coffee shop, and surely never this residential street with primo rat hot-spots such as unsupervised trash cans full of food waste.

Yeah, of course, must have been a rat. You’re so paranoid, just hurry on home, nothing bad will happen. Nothing bad ever happens to pretty little guys like you, alone on dimly lit streets, lined with houses whose doors are locked to high hell.

Nothing bad, especially not like the cold metal that clamped firmly on your ankle. Never anything as worse as the chilling growl from whatever tripped you up, glaring with red eyes and flicking a long, sharp-looking tail.

“ Oh sh—“

Your voice feebly complained, raising into a scream to the heavens above as it lunged towards you.

Or well, towards your to-go bag, but who’s paying attention to the little things like that when your life is flashing before your eyes?

Thankfully, the end never came. There was the sound of a growling struggle after a tremor shook your shivering frame, and as you opened your eyes to peek at whatever held up your attacker, a silhouette towered over you. He casted a long shadow over you, which should have been intimidating as hell, but instead it left you feeling…

Safer?

In his hand laid two identical buggers, squirming and chomping with animalistic hunger. This had to have been worse than the rats, you’d take the rats any day, at least they weren’t massive.

… well okay, they are, but this is a whole ‘nother level.

The most shocking part was this giant hero taking a step back, assuming the position of a pitcher, and launching the creatures into the distance. There may have been a glint shining, and was that the cheer of an audience you were hearing? No, that was your imagination, obviously.

But you were not imagining this guy in front of you. Much too tall to be human, unless it was some basketball lead who somehow had balls of steel to save a stranger.

Every warning sign imaginable was washed away without a trace as your savior turned around and shot a shaky smile, warm as a summer sun.

“ S-Sorry about that, are ya okay? ”

He spoke with the timidness of someone a fourth his size, and you couldn’t help but be completely charmed to death.

From that day you would see him more and more, to the point that it felt as if maybe he had been appointed your personal body guard. Ah, but, you didn’t really mind, did you? You loved his company and his toothy grins. You adored his warm, gentle hugs, and it was too sweet how you could feel his hands tremble as they held yours ever so delicately.

So yeah, he worried to introduce you to his family, but the way you brightened up the room instantly had him starstruck. You’re perfect, that’s it. That’s the tweet.

The rosey glass shattered after a few lingering months of dating. His insecurities reared their heads, resting sharp grips on his shoulders as they whispered in his ears all kinds of falsities. You liked his brothers, but maybe you liked his brothers? Why else would you be so nice to them?

And, maybe that’s why you were smiling at Leo like that? Raph is right here, so why were you talking to his brother? He couldn’t even focus enough to heard you both holding the most mundane conversation ever about some shop that opened up over on Moore’s. He steeped in the tea of jealousy, filling his senses to the brim with worry.

The worst part about it was that if you liked Leo, he couldn’t even blame you. Leo was like water, while Raph was stone. Raph stood still, he could be bossy at times, while Leo was a spunky little river that would keep you on your toes. Leo was never boring, and he could keep a smile on your face for as long as the day lasted..

But he didn’t want any of that to be true. None of it.

The conversation was stopped by a meek voice asking for your time, attention shifting from Brother Blue to your beloved, clad in what became your favorite color in these past few months.

“ Y/N, can we talk? ”

Ignoring Leo’s nudge and teasing “ ooooooohs ”, you nodded with a smile, following Raph with a pep in your step.

“ Of course, dear. ”

That lead to the silence you currently shared—with him leaning against the wall of his room, gaze fixated on some smudges on the floor. That should be cleaned up, he thought, trying to not think of how you were sat on his bed, awaiting whatever it was he needed off his chest.

“ Raph? ”

You were the first to talk, already well acquainted with your love’s tiptoeing when it came to any sort of conversation that might be unsavory. You watched as he twisted his expression, tightening his lips—whatever it was, it was bothering him profusely, and you couldn’t help the pang gripping your heart..

“ Raph…? ”

Again, your voice seemed weaker this time. That was what gave him the drive to speak, he couldn’t handle leaving you in such a state, he needed to know if these worries of his were dumb!

“ Do you like Leo? ”

“ What. ”

Your response was so fast and curt, the product of being completely taken off guard with a left hook. There were plenty of other ideas you had for the direction of this conversation, such as having beaten his leftovers last week or how you have his favorite hoodie in your laundry basket right now. Maybe even the secret trips to Donnie’s, who was currently helping you get together a gift for Raph’s birthday next month. A particularly low worry even fretted that this might be a conversation about your relationship and how it should end.

But, instead it’s about Leo? What an easy question to answer!

“ Sorry, I didn’t mean that, I mean to say no. ”

Raph’s shoulders loosened and a breath of relief slipped out of him—when had he even started holding his breath?? Never mind that. You snorted at the absurd thought of liking Leo of all people.

“ Why would I like Leo? Raph, c’mere. ”

You held your hands out, and the way his hands fell into yours spelled out a desperation to be close to you. With a gentle tug, he climbed onto his bed, and you melted into his chest. A storm was brewing in his chest, his heart thundering nervously.

“ Ya just, Raph don’t know, something—he, just… Raph was worried, s’all. Afraid ya preferred him over a… ”

While he was searching for whatever word to insult himself with, you captured his attention with a gentle peck on the lips. Your fingers gently held his chin, turning his focus to lay fully on you.

“ Over a charming, handsome hero? ”

There was that adorable smile, peppering his lips as a light laugh erupted from his chest.

“ You think I’d prefer Leo, who is a risky little ticking time bomb, over my knight in shining armor? ”

He whispered a rebuttal, something along the lines of “ he really is, huh? ”

“ Oh Raph-a-doodle, never could I want anyone other than you. ”

Leaning up, you pressed your forehead against his and gazed into his eyes. They searched yours for a hint of deceit, for anything to latch onto and spiral about, but all he found was warmth.

Thus, the jealousy flame died out, and he plummeted backwards against his bed, dragging you down with him. He gave a heavy exhale as you giggled atop his plastron, scolding him for being so silly.

┆ ── ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ — Donnie 💌

The green of jealousy was a hue you never expected to be painted across the purple canvas you called your boyfriend, but surely there is a chance for any reality to blossom true, right?

Jealousy had sewn seeds far before either of you could catch on, oblivious to the roots which spiraled and narrowed vision to see only one option as opposed to the myriad of other reasonings. You had poured love into your dearest Donnie, so much so that you couldn’t even fathom any room for jealousy. How could he ever be jealous? Surely he knows full and well just how you look at him? Obviously he knows just how only he can pluck the strings of your heart, strumming love with each touch, in a way unlike any other.

Why, if you were Excalibur, then he was your King Arthur.

So, yeah, may the gods above forgive you for not considering a jealous Donnie as a reality to worry about—though, is it really too worrying? Your boyfriend being jealous? Kind of interesting, doesn’t it just trip up your heart into a flurry of skips?

No? Just me?

Anyways, you had missed entirely the shifting of his gaze when Mikey would enter the room. The low growl, the holding of his breath, none of it had appeared in your mind as you laughed along with whatever silly antics the youngest brother would get up to. Sometimes you would even entertain him! I mean, he is your boyfriend’s little brother, so it’s only right that you laugh at his jokes, get along with him, and all that good stuff.

But, jealousy was the type to hold someone still, to draw their gaze upon one stiff perspective and allow no other reasoning. For a man of science, even he was not above the laws of insecurity in relationships, so when he saw how bouncy his brother was around you, never did he contemplate the obvious. Nary a thought shall he consider that it was simply his brother getting along with his brother’s girlfriend, nor did he consider maybe you were being nice. No, the sour, bitter green dipped his head in the nastiness of jealousy, and all he could consider in this moment was that you must have liked his brother more.

Or maybe, his brother liked you and intended to steal you away? Why else would you laugh so heartily at whatever nonsense his brother spouted? Whatever reason was there for the times he would find you in the kitchen, fixing up dinner alongside Mikey? What else could explain you returning home with topside art supplies and personalized tips to his youngest brother?

Obviously the jealous mind of Donatello Hamato was going to omit one important factor: you did this with all his brothers. If they told a good joke, you would laugh. If Mikey made dinner, you were guaranteed to be in the kitchen helping by fixing you and Donnie’s plates to your liking. If there was something on the surface any of the brothers needed, you would totally put it on your errand run, delivering it during your next visit.

But, jealousy cares not for easy explanations. It craves the most dramatic interpretations, and in this case?

The juiciest interpretation was that Mikey had set his eyes on you, Donnie’s prized lover, and you had fallen for him hook, line, and sinker.

No, no, no, Donnie says, not on his watch would he let you be swept off your feet by anyone else.

“ Y/N. ”

Donnie leaned forward, fingers firmly locking with yours and giving an urgent tug. There was a thickness layered in his eyes that left Mikey shrinking away, confused as to what he could’ve done wrong.

“ Let’s go,”

Straightening up, he couldn’t help the grin widening on his face in a “ I’ve won ” type of manner. You simply waved to his brother.

“ You haven’t forgotten why you’re here, have you? ”

The look in his eyes caused your heart to skip, unprepared for such a heavy gaze that you hadn’t yet experienced. A nervous smile rose on your expression as you looked anywhere but the face giving you a look that would serve to make you fall even harder.

“ Of course not, Dee. ”

Donnie noted your refusal to eye contact, and instead of assuming it was one of your usual bashful moments caused by yours truly, his thoughts were plagued with theories of Mikey somehow worming his way into the heart Donnie swore was his.

“ Right. ”

He muttered in a curt fashion, leading you both to his lab.

The uncomfortable awkwardness blanketing the atmosphere had not gone unnoticed as you followed him, thumb stroking loving little hearts upon the upside of his palm. Usually he would meet this with a firm squeeze, but you could recognize when your genius had his mind up in the clouds. He wasn’t even paying attention to you, was he?! And to think you came all this way to entertain his experiments, hoping to get a kiss or two, only to be met with unnecessary coldness?

What the heck, man?

“ Prepare to behold the wondrous creations of the genius, Donatello. ”

Whatever stink he had been brewing in just seconds prior had evaporated as he unveiled his newest creation: an air-fryer that could quite literally create anything from thin air.

You tried to ignore the distant shout of the youngest brother, something along the lines of “ Hey! Where’s the air-fryer?! ”

Donnie had not ignored it, nor had he dismissed the stifled laughter from you that he surely knew the cause of. His hands clenched, wrapping into crossed arms as he leaned his weight into the table.

“ Annoyed sigh. ”

While rolling his eyes, he muttered an annotation to the peeved groan slipping his lips. There it was again, you noted with a narrowed gaze, that odd discontentment he’d been soaking in this night.

“ Alright, spill it. ”

You mirrored his lean, relying on one of the structural pillars in his lab to hold your weight. Your fingers thumped impatiently against your bicep as your eyes soaked in Donnie’s body language. He seemed to stiffen, either nervously or defensively, you didn’t know.

“ Spill what? ”

He spoke with such an accusatory tone that you were almost ticked off. You held your tongue, hoping to keep this civil and not devolving into mindless argument.

“ Spill wh—?! ”

Sputtering, your hands gestured wildly before quite literally framing him. He knew what you meant, he wasn’t dumb!

“ Whatever is making you so, so—so THIS! ”

His brow raised, and he almost seemed insulted as you threw your hands up with a frustrated growl.

“ Why are you so upset with me right now? What did I do? ”

That seemed to do the charm of dragging out what you’ve been looking for, the explanation, as he straightened his posture and pushed off the table.

“ Oh save me the innocent act, Y/N,”

Confusion painted your face, and for a moment he physically faltered, unsure to continue after such a clear display of hurt across your pretty face. After a second, his mouth tugged into a frown, shaking off the hesitation to continue his claim,

“ I know you like Mikey, so just do us both a favor and go scurry along after him. ”

Donnie waved his hand off, pointing to the door. Whatever look you had on your face at that moment must have embodied just how deeply the pain in your heart crawled, right on down to your very core, because he seemed to balk at his own words. A bit of regret wrapped around him as he muttered something too low for you to hear.

Tightening your lips, you straightened this time and took a few steps to close the gap between you and him.

“ You will not talk to me like that, and what’s this about me liking Mikey? Your little brother? ME? You think I like him?! ”

There was no way, right? He couldn’t be serious? You, liking Mi—he might as well have been your brother too! You could never like him over Donnie?! What an outrageous claim, you thought, standing your ground in front of Donnie. This could have been avoided if he had just not been such, such a…

“ Obviously! Why else would you be bringing him gifts and helping him out in the kitchen? ”

You opened your mouth to speak, only to be interrupted as he continued with an accusatory finger pointing no where specific.

“ And I’ll have you know that I have read about ‘Cooking together’ and I know how much of an intimate bonding experience it is! ”

The childish stomp he gave, throwing his fists against his sides stiffly, served to diminish almost all the frustration bubbling up. You snorted at the sight, causing him to loosen up, confusedly tripping over his words to sputter out a “ Wh-What, what is this, what’s so funny? ”

“ … You’re a riot, Dee. ”

Wiping away the tiny tears pricking from such a hearty laugh, your eyes met his with less of anger and more of the warmth he was far too familiar of.

“ Since apparently I��m the only one of us with some sense, I’ll have YOU know that I do that for all of y’all! ”

Sheepishly, he seemed to curl into himself as you poked your index finger right into his plastron to emphasize the “ you ”.

“ I bring you gifts all the time—April, Raph, Leo, hell, even Splinter, too! ”

Jealousy was starting to burn away, leaving behind the bashful shame as he started to finally contemplate the more reasonable explanations for your behavior. Silently he condemned himself for starting up this whole dumb debacle with such a blatant disregard to the facts.

“ And of COURSE I help Mikey with cooking. You have a specific palette that he doesn’t always remember fully, so it’s up to me to make sure you get a fulfilling meal you’ll actually eat, dummy! ”

Ah, now that was the part that did him in, something he didn’t even know. Just as you were going to continue, he stepped closer.

“ Wait, you do? ”

“ I do—do what? I said a lot of things, Donnie, be specific. ”

Derailed, you stumbled over your claims, lost suddenly at which point he had cling to.

“ I thought Michael was just inconsistent in his preparation of my dishes, but since you say that, I do recall my meals being much better when you were around. ”

His hands had found their way upon your shoulders as he spoke, gaze flitting all across the lab as he collected his thoughts.

“ I had suspected meals were just better when you were around because, well.. ”

You softened as his gaze fell onto you.

“ Because you were there.. ”

Silence fell upon you both, except more comfortably this time. He exhaled deeply, marked with his trademark “ relieved sigh ” then smiled at you.

“ Oh Y/N, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to drag you into such a ridiculous argument. I was just… ”

“ You were just… Jealous? ”

Your teasing gaze was searing through him, so much so he shut his eyes tightly and groaned annoyedly.

“ As much as I would wish to not admit it, yes. I may have been experiencing,”

He waved his hand in the air, as if collecting his words.

“ Jealousy, towards your interactions with Miguel.. ”

Donnie was relieved as you laughed away all his worries, leaning in to plant a kiss on his lips. The moment lingered for a few, as if desperately needed to mend this situation, stopping only when you pulled away.

“ Alright, you’re forgiven… For now—BUT! Next time just talk to me, dummy, you got me all riled up for no reason. ”

With that, you gave a playful shove that had him gasping as though he were insulted, and quick to rush to his experiment’s side with more questions than he could keep up with.

Not like he hated an attentive and questioning audience, though. Much appreciated.

[jamil-s-wifey]

If you're taking any scenario request. Maybe could I request funny/silly one where Leona and his S/O are married and live in the Royal Palace. Leona's S/O has gotten lost somehow in their own home and when found their response is "This place is too damn big I'm sorry!"

You have NO idea how much I love these types of fics! Wholesome crackheadedness at its finest✨ We love a spouse with 0 orientation skills. (I'd know, I get lost in supermarkets) This was ONE OF THE FUNNIEST THINGS I've EVER written. I hope you enjoy!

"What the actual fuck."

A turn here. A turn there.

Oh, would you look at that - the exact same vase you passed 5 minutes ago. But was that really the same vase? Or was it its evil twin, trying to further confuse you, only for you to get lost even more and die of starvation, eventually BECOMING ONE WITH THE PALACE...

God, whoever built this palace should have their head on a stake. Haha, that sounded a lot like the Red Queen of Hearts. Perhaps Riddle was rubbing off on you. You two did text occasionally since graduating from NRC.

Speaking of graduation, you married Leona. (yay!) And it's not like you weren't happy. Life was relatively peaceful. You two moved back to the palace. Arrangements had begun for you two to take over a certain part of Sunset Savannah, as something akin to a *Peerage. (They had their own name for it, you are currently far too annoyed to remember.) A lot of (semi-forced) communication set the road to reconciliation between the two brothers. (Admittedly a very long road. A road that puts Gulliver's travels to shame.) The Royal Family™️ accepted you with open hearts. (albeit a tad wary at first)

Really there was only one major problem.

The ROYAL PALACE IS LIKE A GODDAMN LABYRINTH. And that's rich, given your history of painting the white roses with Ace and Deuce in Heartsabyul's maze. So here you are, lost.

Scratch that.

Lost: again.

And all you wanted to do was find Cheka's room. You had a gift for the little cub.

"An architectural masterpiece, my ass. This is an architectural disaster. A disaster with a capital D. D for Vitamin D - what I won't be getting, because I'm trapped within these walls, where the SUN CAN'T REACH ME-"

Okay. Calm down. It's not that bad, sure there isn't a soul in sight, but you're bound to stumble upon somebody at some point, right? There had to be servants, or guards, or somebody! UNLESS! This is all an elaborate plan to get rid of you.

Aha! That must be it. The Royal Family wants you dead and they intend to make it seem like an accident! But Leona wouldn't allow that, right? He loves you! Dearly! You're his spouse, his one and only! Ah, cruel fate.

Is it just you...or are these walls moving in on each other. So this IS an assassination attempt! And you presented yourself on a silver platter. Good job, s/o. Splendid work. A royal for a few months and you're already about to be assassinated. Your name shall remain the book of "Dumbest ways to die." Goodbye cruel world-

"S/o."

Leona's voice rang through the empty hallway, "What are you doing out here."

Ah! And so tragedy was avoided once more!

"Leona, my LOVE! Thank God."

"Did you just- get lost in the palace... again?", his eyes read annoyance but his tone was teasing.

"It's not MY fault this place is so damn big, what do you need all this space for anyways? Indoor badminton? Hide and Seek or Die?"

"Definitely that last one. That's how we get rid of our enemies."

"AHA! I knew it! So this IS an assassination attempt!"

He simply rolled his eyes, pulling you towards him to wrap an arm around your waist and kiss you on the forehead.

"This isn't an assassination attempt. You did this yourself. It's called idiocy."

"You should build a better palace."

"What I should do is put a collar on you. With a tracking device on it. Like a pet."

"Oh, Leona~ Who knew you were into that~"

"Next time I'm leaving you here to rot."

"Then I'll haunt you to Hell and back."

He smirked, pinching your cheek as you were both making your way far from the cursed looping corridor.

"At least you won't be able to get lost."

"I told you, it's not my fault."

"Nah, of course not. The Palace is just cursed."

"EVIDENTLY."

You both knew this isn't the last time you'll be getting lost. And Leona was seriously considering the tracking device.

Perhaps he'd already ordered it too.

You were about to find out.

*Peerage - collective noun for titles like Duke, Duchess, Count, Earl etc. Comes from "Peers of the Realm" where one could hold one or more of these titles. It differs from monarchy to monarchy. THAT'S YOUR WORD FOR THE DAY FOLKS!

[ham1lton]

mick and max are the only ones not afraid of nepo baby yn bc they grew up with her omgggg she and max are sarcastic and insults are their love language and mick is the only one that’s like ‘she’s got a really good side to her. the mean persona is just an act’ and the grid is like 🤨 if you say so bc they’re scared of her.

but absolutely that yn has a bella hadid persona <3 they are also bffs in my brain 🤭 princess diana of our time.

YES she definitely had a crush on lewis growing up and he didn’t even know she existed 😭 the first time they met she had just graduated college and lewis was like you’re the missing daughter??? and she’s like im not missing the fbi knew where i was the entire time (a schitts creek reference <3)

lando wants to be her friend but he is cringe fail loser x10 around her bc he can never look cool and calm in front of her like he wants to. he tries to lean on a wall in her house and accidentally knocks over a priceless vase. he’s terrified and she’s like no one’s gonna notice it’s fine and rolls her eyes.

seb likes her bc she reminds him of the days he was a menace on the grid <3 it’s like he’s looking at the female version of himself. she flirts with him allllllll the time and he likes it

she parties with fernando for sure. they both love chaos and a good time. he has flirty nicknames for her 🤭 calls her hermosa, carina, corazon etc all the time and she likes the attention and lets him do it

i have so much more to say but i want to hear all your ramblings 🩷🩷🩷 there’s just so many possibilities with every driver when nepo baby yn is out there. she and oscar get along bc he’s so chill she’s like you know what. i like you. and oscar’s like that’s great news.

mick is working overtime as nepo baby!yn’s pr department. he’s like ‘she’s so sweet and nice!! you just need to speak to her!!’ and yn is in the corner just lighting pieces of paper on fire and the people mick is speaking to are like ‘… we’ll pass on that.’ max isn’t better at all. the devil and angel on her shoulder. they both defend her though.

someone: yn is a bitch.

mick: she’s actually so kind and lovely. maybe you should reconsider that?? she actively gives to charity, the best friend anyone could have, the fans like her and everyone should like her!!!

someone: yn is a bitch.

max: shut tf up. you’re the bitch. plus you’re ugly.

i’ve actually always wanted to do a princess au. omg but like scheming bad bitch princess au. in my head, she’s the perfect royal but because her twin brother was born before her, he is next in line. then it turns out he actually wasn’t, she was born first but for the sake of a patriarchal agenda, they said he was. idk if i’ll ever write it. but it kinda relates to this yn??

lewis loves yn. they are twin flames. that’s his mini me. so when he goes to her room for the first time and sees a bunch of his posters on the walls, he’s like hmmm… at least young you had good taste. sebastian and yn jokingly flirting. she uses her lines on him before she takes them out to bag cute guys, as if she needs good pickup lines.

CRINGE FAIL LOSER!LANDO AGENDA RISES AGAIN!!!!!! MAKE SOME NOISE!!!!!!! he desperately wants to be her friend and ever since he started racing in f1, he has been on this campaign to be her friend so when oscar became her friend before him… he’s in shock? he’s like wtf did you DO?! but oscar is just oscar. he just does him.

fernando and yn on the town is a recipe for disaster omgggg. the amount of shenanigans they get into? george went out with them once and he came back with no eyebrows. he had to get them microbladed 😔

[normal-internet-user]

Friendling!!! First off, *offers bouquet* and secondly, my (redacted) was PANICKINGGGGGG but then I got a hold of myself and that's why I'm here now.

I had the Saddest Thoughts™ about the Disaster Triplets, yeah? I had the fluff/crack train going!! I promise I did but then while we were running through the meadows of peace Angst clotheslined me and choke-slammed me into the soil.

Here's what they left me with! Remember when Shelldon essentially got destroyed? Around the end of S2, I believe; noted, I haven't watched S2 but I've seen clips plus some tidbits and stuff through here and I've come to the knowledge that Shelldon did indeed get ... well, deconstructed. 😔

And this is also very much inspired by a TikTok I came across a while ago!! To cut clear, it was a comic strip/fanart video of Donnie's reaction to his brothers breaking the news to him. Of how Shelldon got caught in the crossfire and... didn't make it. :(((

Broke my heart, truly it did. But then I scrolled through the comments and one mentioned how angsty it would be if Donnie found out that Leo's the one who told Shelly to protect Karai (?? I think! Like I said, haven't watched it 😅)

And. It had me thinking.

Angst scenario. So, so angsty. Much hurt. The boys break the news to Donnie. Donnie, of course, devastated. Probably goes into denial for a bit until the evidence is presented right in front of him. But then, Donnie finds out that Leo's the one who told Shelldon to stay behind. (THIS BROKE MY HEART TOOO LIKE MY POOR BLUEBERRY HE DIDN'T KNAUR)

Can you imagine how Donnie would feel? How utterly heartbroken, nay, betrayed he'd probably feel? The heartbreak would be shattering. Then, past the shock, the anger would filter through.

Donnie and Leo are twins. In this case scenario, Donnie and Leo and you are triplets. You're the one who'd be closer to Donnie, hands up in a placating gesture despite feeling extremely delicate yourself. You were so sorry. You were so, so sorry Donnie.

It's okay. It'll all be okay. Just, just don't —

You're probably the one to separate your twins from each other. I can't figure out how Donnie would react precisely; whether he'd become violent or turn terrifyingly cold. Would Leo approach his brother, feeling a rush of emotions just as strongly upfront and reaches forward for both, repentance and reassurance? Or would he shrink back under Donnie's gaze, shoulders hunched over to protect himself from forces unseen, his own realization catching up to him. It was... his fault? Him? No.. no, no it couldn't be. Shelldon was like a son to Donnie — practically was his son. And Leo had...

I don't know how they'd completely react, but I do have an idea of how Reader would. Or rather, completely my headcanon ping-pong tournament. 🤩

I know you'd be caught in the middle. (Someone said Donnie wouldn't talk to Leo for months and it was my 13th reason, basically-) You'd feel so strung between your brothers. Caught between placating Donnie, who becomes even more withdrawn and has an edge to himself that he never did before.

Leo? Leo's... terrified. Leo's so, so sad. Leo's depressed and he doesn't know how to cope and he wishes things didn't happen the way they did but it did and he just wants his brother back. He's still the face man, and his coping skills are still crap. But he's not making as many jokes, his smile is glass, his eyebags are horrendous underneath his mask, which is streaked and stained with tears he cried in the privacy of his room. You should know. You'd walked in multiple times.

The first couple of times, you'd left at his beckoning. The next, you strode right in and pulled him into your arms. He didn't say much outside of a territorial growl and chirrup (an insult to you, really) embracing his animalistic nature for a spell and pushed at your shoulders. But then you wrenched him back and straight up snarled in his face, snout-to-snout, and he broke.

He fully expected you to storm out, maybe spit in his face (get this man some therapy pls), treat him with the hatred he believed he deserved. You called him a dumb-dumb, tone biting in the quiet of the night, and crushed him against you in a hug that washed over him entirely.

He'd begged you not to hate him too in the shelter of your neck. He clung to you, shaking, apologies spilling out from the depths of his broken heart, whimpers and chirps and words slurring together.

You were a rock. Leo's used to you being so soft and warm, and over the time he had pushed you away, you grew cold. He'd misread the situation entirely (you had never left him, you were just waiting.) You didn't hate him, he comes to realize. It's a salve to his entire being. You nuzzle his shoulder, pet down his head and shell, press small caring kisses to his temple, assuring him that the bond between you all could never be broken. The world's big. This family is bigger. The love between you all transcends dimensions. It may seem small and suffocating right now, but it will all turn out to be okay.

And you weren't going anywhere. This is another obstacle- like the skate ramps when they first started out! It seemed big and scary then, hm? But then they conquered it, and now it's his favorite thing in the world. It's one of their favorite things in the entire world.

This is just another obstacle, you murmur as you press your forehead to his. Something you always do to calm either of your siblings down. Leo clung to you as you both settled and cuddled in his bed, and you held him close. Your brother. The color purple flashed through either of you guy's minds, and while it was an obstacle to overcome, you knew you'd all conquer it.

This wasn't like skateboarding at all — but the blueprint wasn't too far off. It'd just take time. This was a very delicate situation, and that's how you would handle it.

You squeeze Leo closer, let him cry it all out until he falls asleep. You'd get through this. Through the winding obstacle of thorns, you'd all get through this. But it was okay to not be okay, and you all were not okay right now.

One thing was for damn sure, and that was that you wouldn't give up on your family.

(The happy part of this is that once all's said and done, Donnie of course rebuilds him in the future because I said so and emailed so and texted so. I'm so spoiled by the au's and fanart on here of amazing artists and such giving Shelldon and Don-Bon their happy ending!! Also. Son™.)

You have RUINED me but I have been plauged by the thoughts... the thoughts...

CONFLICT

◇~~◇~~◇~~◇~~◇

Summary: Being stuck in the middle of a conflict is never easy. Especially when it's family. Especially when it's your twins.

Warnings: Angsty angsty angsty

Requested:

GN Reader!

....................................

How had things ended up this way? Your home was destroyed, your family was in shambles, and the relationship you held so tightly between you and your brothers was crumbling too fast to fix.

"That's not funny." Donnie had deadpanned when he'd first heard the news of Shelldon, "That is not a funny joke in any capacity."

"It's not a joke, Dee." You muttered, easing your hand onto his shoulder, "Shelly's... he's gone.. He's gone."

"That's not... it can't be.."

"Donnie..."

"He was supposed to be out of the way! How is he- He was out of the way!" Donnie shouts, his entire body tenses with an emotion he doesn't know how to express in the moment.

Leo however, seems to making himself smaller and smaller with every word from his brothers mouth, and the ever observant eyes of Donatello notice.

"Leonardo, what. did. you. do?" He asks lowly, shoving you away and stomping closer to Leo, glaring daggers.

"I told him to protect Gram-Gram. I didn't think he'd.. I didn't think this would happen!" Leo defends, trying to back away from Donnie, not daring to look his brother in the eyes.

"You... Shelldon..." Donnie seemed unable to put his thoughts into words, he balled his hands into fists, and you quickly stepped forward to put yourself between them.

"Donnie..." Leo started but Donnie shoved him away, causing Leo to fall back onto the ground.

"No, shut up, Leo! You... you .. Stay away from me! Don't you dare-" Donnie snarls, and you move to stand infront of him, your heart was pumping and tears pricked at your eyes.

"Donnie... please calm down.." you begged.

"Don't." Donnie mumbles, slowly backing up, "Don't." Then he ran off to some unknown hideaway, Mikey went to charge after him, but Raph caught his arm.

"Give him a minute. He'll... he'll come around." He muttered.

God if only he'd been right.

The hours turned to days, the days to weeks, and the weeks to months.

It was tearing you apart having to play the middle man, Donnie refused to even look at Leo, and Leo was heartbroken.

He never said so. But you could tell.

It felt like a thick fog was filling your lungs ans suffocating you slowly, you missed how close the three of you were.

You were triplets, the dynamic trio, the three musketeers- now it felt more like you were strangers, and you didn't know what to do.

The guilt was eating away at Leo, and Donnie spent most of his time cooped up and refusing to speak to anyone.

You quietly entered Leo's room, and he glanced up at you, but looked away quickly. At least he didn't tell you to go away..

You sat next to him, and he leaned over so his head was resting on your shoulder. Nothing was said, but no words were needed.

He just needed someone there so he wasn't alone, but you both knew he'd never ask for help. He didn't need too. You knew.

You rested your head atop his, the two of you sitting in silent comfort with the other. Time.

Fixing this was going to take so much time. But you were willing to take the time to fix it. You needed too...

....................................

Part two...? 👀 Maybe. Most likely. Hehehehe

I literally read this at like 2am last night and passed out right after. THE THOUGHTS PLAUGED MY DREAMS.

[syndrossi]

Ahhh, it's been a while since the last comment complaining about the story pacing; maybe I should add a "molasses-paced character study" tag to the story to better set expectations.

Am I just weird? I feel like it makes perfect sense for the first few days at King's Landing to be quite dense. You're dealing with:

The first week of Daemon and the twins figuring out their relationship

And then subsequently having a ton of variables thrown in once they arrive in King's Landing to shake up the relationship

The political aftermath of a nation attempting to steal children and dragons from House Targaryen / the Iron Throne

Having to introduce the twins to SO MUCH family and set up the dynamics there

Having to progress the politics of their presence

Candle shenanigans

The disaster that is Daemon and Viserys's relationship

Hatchlings

I like to liken pacing to a camera's lens, and how tightly focused/zoomed it is. Take the first playdate with the Green kids in chapter 20. There are four main "zooms" you can use.

A single throwaway sentence. "Aegon led them to the gardens, where Rhaegar spent the next two hours turning the story of Aemon the Dragonknight from the previous night into a game of pretend that both cousins delighted in playing, to the point of bitter complaint when it came time for their arms training."

A paragraph. A bit like the above, but with a few extra details. You can capture a little more of the dynamic, like mentioning Rhaegar reluctantly accepting the role of Naerys and the suggestion of Jon being an evil Dornish assassin.

A subsection of a scene. Basically what ended up in chapter 20. There's some dialogue, but the play session is mostly summarized, with the highlights being recapped, and the boys get to break down what they noticed during their play.

A complete representation of the game of pretend, complete with dialogue and play-by-play.

I may be a madwoman, but even I usually don't go as far as #4. On the opposite side of the spectrum, #1 gives almost nothing, characterization-wise. It tells us nothing about Aegon or Aemond's personalities, or how they feel about / relate to Jon and Rhaegar. It's mostly flavor text to indicate time passing between lessons.

#2 gives us a bit more. We can see that the way they've been taught to feel about the Velaryon boys bleeds into their subconscious feelings about Jon. It's a bit more "tell don't show," which (contrary to the stereotypical writing guidance) is fine in many cases; by which I mean, since there are fewer words, the things that the writer chooses to focus on tell you what they think is important, vs a tighter zoom where there are more opportunities to read between the lines or have a different interpretation.

#3 lens gives us the "you're prettier than Helaena" line and the boys fighting over who gets true love's kiss, and you can read those both so many ways! Maybe someone has a tiny crush on Rhaegar. Or maybe Aegon hates the reminder that he'll likely have to marry Helaena someday and wants to escape it by having someone else in the role of Naerys. Maybe it's a power thing--they live in a very patriarchal society, and so they put themselves in the positions of highest power and relegate their lower-ranking cousins to the roles of women/enemies. Maybe the true love's kiss argument is about the power struggle/sibling discord between Aegon and Aemond. That's sort of what I mean about room for interpretation, which I personally (as a reader) find more fun. It's how headcanons are born! And then there's the debriefing at the end with Jon and Rhaegar, where they get to reflect on their own impressions after the playdate, which is something you wouldn't get with #1 or #2. And we get a glimpse at the personality of their Kingsguard for the day, Ser Erryk, who plays a recurring role in their lives now.

I like to use #2 lens for things that aren't as "new" (or interesting, or that don't have important new information to convey). For example, #3 lens is appropriate for their first playdate together. Their second playdate, we might not need that level of zoom; #2 might suffice to show what's changed since last time. Are they more open to Jon being a hero/family? Does Helaena finally get to join? Etc. Basically, #3 is about establishing a baseline, and #2 lets you tell the reader what has changed/progressed after that. And then as pacing increases (several days pass at a time), you can reach for the occasional #1 lens just to add that flavor when indicating the passage of time. Or maybe a dynamic gets shaken up and you can reach for a #3 later on to show how.

It comes down to the intention of the scene/chapter. What is chapter 20 trying to do? It's checking in on the current level of trauma in the wake of the kidnapping (Jon's difficulty sleeping) and level of trust with Daemon (Daemon stopping by to help), it's establishing the new routine for Jon and Rhaegar by showing what a typical day looks like (and where their hatchlings will live), it's setting up the initial dynamic between them and the Green kids, it's demonstrating the boys' skills to the people at court, and it's setting up eventual conflict between Daemon and Jon. Those are all great candidates for a #3 lens!

It just makes for what some people might perceive as a "slow" pacing if what interests them isn't the relationship dynamics but rather whatever they perceive the larger plot to be. (For those for whom that's "getting to the Dance," this story will always be a struggle.) I also probably have a very different perspective because I "know" that ultimately it's 1Mil+ word story if I tell the kind of story I want to. For people used to stories ending around 200-300K, they're perhaps wondering when this will "get to the point."

[soft-hard-peaches]

Reaction: You Changing Your Hair Style

Note: long time no see everyone! i've really miss making fic so i'm posting things i've had drafted forever ago lol. i'm a bit rusty but wrting again was fun.

+fluff+ +crack+

Kim Hongjoong

>”can’t”

>...

“whyyy” 

>”Busy thats why but i should be done by 7”

>”Busy? You have no life thooo”

You ignore his last message. You weren’t going to dignify that with a response. You put down your phone and look at yourself in the mirror. Hair fully saturated with drugstore box dye, forehead stained messily, and adorning an old no longer white tee shirt that you never gave back to your ex. Usually you ask your bestfriend Hongjoong for color recommendations but you have a sudden burst of energy and now youre here I guess lol. You laughed at your appearance thinking would a person with no life clear up their busy schedule to dye their own hair because paying a professional sounds ridiculous and expensive. Once the laughter dies down you start to have second thoughts on your logic and skill set but you are already twenty minutes into the process so you must see it through. 

*VRRRR* The vibration grains your attention downwards. You unlock your phone to see the full message for Hongjoong.

>”I’m bringing your favorite for dinner as an early apology because I might be late since my boss wants me to head back to the studio for a bit.”

“Thank god!’’, you exclaimed. This means you have more time to talk yourself into thinking this was a good idea again and hop in the shower to finish this possible disaster. As you stain your porcelain white tub with colorful dye you think of Joong’s possible reaction. In all the years of your friendship, you’ve really admired his sense of fashion and eye for art. You don’t put him on a pudistal but you look up to his opinion. Maybe you were too confident thinking you could both choose a color and dye your whole head by yourself but you hopped out and headed to the mirror to see the finished product.

You gasped at your reflection, covering your mouth as you muffled yourself. “It’s actually cute”, you say, uncovering your mouth. You needed some more convincing so you grabbed your hair products to style it into something presentable for the hour or so. After styling your hair, you change into something not discolored and cover up the clumsy stains on your forehead just in time to hear your doorbell. It’s time to show off your totally perfectly planned dye job to Joongie. 

You practically swung the door open giving a little pose for a startled Hongjoong. "So this was why you were so busy today!” He laughed holding the hot food, shimmying into the apartment. You grabbed the bags to place on the table so he stopped to marvel at your work. “Y/N, you really should pick my next color.” 

His words were an ego boost.

Park Seonghwa

Every now and again you’d visit your boyfriend in the practice room to keep him company during his long practice hours. You would bring him something to eat or drink to keep his energy up and tell him about your day. He enjoyed this time together as much as you do. With both of your schedules usually clashing, this is one of the few moments of the week that you can enjoy one another.

He sat down in front of you admiring the vibrancy in your hair.

"…what?", you sheepishly ask.

He doesn't respond yet, still gazing at your beauty. Wide eyed and enamored.

"What??", you slap your hand on the dance floor between you two trying to gain his attention.

In attempts to play it off cool, he shoots you a smirk, "N-nothing. You just look really good in this color." You both cringe slightly at his corny behavior as he lets out a breathy laugh, looking away finally. You smile knowing his compliment was genuine.

Jeong Yunho

“Babe, looks like we’re twins!” You messaged him a picture of your new look fresh out of the salon. You wanted to try a new look so what better than having your hair colored like your boyfriend’s. Yunho loves when you two match whether it’s clothing, accessories or miscellaneous items. He’s 100% the type of boyfriend who would buy matching sets of things just to show off. You’re his first love so he wants the whole world to know your love for one another.

Today while you had a free day you wanted to surprise him with this eccentric display of partnership by getting your hair dyed to match his oreo styled white and black hair. You were pretty proud of the results and thought your puppy dog boyfriend would be obsessed but when he finally messaged back you were confused to say the least. 

> 🥲🥲🥲🥲

>”what do you not like it??

You were worried if maybe you took the matching too far. I mean matching hoodies and bracelets are one thing but you fully dyed your hair for him. While wondering what his message could have meant you get a face call from him and immediately picked it up. As his image pops up you immediately gasp at the sight of his black hair… not oreo but black. He tries to explain with a straight face that the company had planned to dye his hair black earlier that morning unbeknownst to both of you. As you hear laughter from his bandmates in the background you couldn’t do anything but giggle at the ridiculous situation with them. 

“The look suits you better anyways baby.” he finally compliments between chuckles.

Kang Yeosang

Though this isn’t your first acting gig, it is the first where you had to dye your actual hair. You’ve never even gotten highlights before but they want you to dye the whole head. You’re pacing his room thinking out loud as he watches, eating potato chips. Yeosang is more than used to having his hair changed every other comeback or so but he understands how you feel. He gets up to hand you the bag of chips and sits you down on his bed in his place. “So what color do they want for you?” he asked, now standing. You respond, now stuffing your face with chips,” Light brown. Like a milk tea color.” He claps in encouragement, “That’s not that bad Y/N. I’ll probably look really good in it.”

Yeosang tends to be optimistic most of the time but you take his words as honesty. “Really?”, you ask, wiping your mouth. He walks towards you planting a few kisses on your lips, “Of course, nothing can stop your beauty.

Choi San

You’ve always been hesitant to try out new things whether it’s a new restaurant or a new look, to the point that it took you this long to pierce your ears. You are a creature of comfort and disrupting your routine doesn’t sound pleasant to you but deep down you want to branch out even if in a small way. Your bestie San has always been the first person to hold your hand and encourage you so when you told him that you made an appointment with a salon to change your look. You reassured him, or more like yourself, that it’s not going to be a huge change but he’s excited either way that you're ready to get out of your comfort zone.

He drops you off at the salon for a few hours while he runs some errands. When you text him that you're done he gets back to you excitedly. Ready to see your new choice of look.

“San!!”, you waved at him cheerfully, “Do you like it?”. You seem so happy with the outcome that San didn’t want to pop your bubble. Honestly he’s happy youre happy and trying new things.

"... Wow...Y/n it’s great." Practically it’s the same color but you’re so cute when you’re giddy that he’s excited for you.

Song Mingi

Getting tired of the same old same old, you wanted to spice up your look somehow before your boyfriend came back from touring. Mingi would have loved you if you were a worm but you wanted to wow him nonetheless. You messaged him about your thoughts and he suggested you to maybe get your hair trimmed or try lightening the color. He’s so gentle with your feelings, he didn’t want to over suggest and seem like he wanted you to make a big change. He adored you and wanted you to be happy with yourself more than worrying about what he wants. So with those few options you took them and ran. A handful of days later and it was time to meet your boyfriend from his long travels.

He knew that you did something to your hair but not to what extent since you kept it a surprise. You eagerly headed to his dorms, excited to greet him and show him your new look. Once his manager opened the door, he greeted you with a compliment and a welcoming gesture into the house. Luckily the boys weren’t around to see you before he did. Once you called out his name he came jogging down singing yours offkey but the sight of you caught his eye and his heart. “Wow you’re like a new person babe! So beautiful.” He walked up to marvel at your newly colored short shaggy hair. Smiling ear to ear, you're happy with the new look and more than happy that your boyfriend loves it maybe more than you do.

"We should go out today so everyone can see how hot my girlfriend is." He says leaning down for a kiss.

Jung Wooyoung

"Bestie! Open the door bestie! My arms hurt!!" He proceeds to bang on the door impatiently, "Y/N?" he shouts almost completely without energy. You finally open the front door causing him to step back.

"Stop it, youre gonna wake up my neighb-"

"WHEN'D YOU BLEACH YOUR HAIR?!?!?"

You grabbed the food and tried to close him outside for yelling so much but he fought his way in. You both laugh from the bit of rough housing then Wooyoung closes and locks the door behind him, following you to the kitchen to help you set up the breakfast. The way the sunlight from the window shines on your now golden locks distracts him causing him to fumble with the cups.

You catch him staring with his lips parted a bit making you chuckle, "So how do you like it?" It takes him a moment to respond, "you know Y/n I've never really noticed how wavy your hair is. You blonde brings it out nicely."

That comment causes your face to flush suddenly. You hardly ever get complimented on your curl pattern. Honestly you're more used to backhanded compliments. Wooyoung senses your awkwardness and reassures you. "Your hair is really pretty."

Choi Jongho

You like company whenever you have to run errands around town but usually Jongho is busy working so you’d have to either go alone or ask other friends so when he had a day off you took that opportunity to drag him around from place to place. Usually he wouldn’t mind because quality time is his love language but when you told him you needed to get your hair touched up he tried to get out (unsuccessfully). He begged, pleaded, even started pouting since it always works on his hyungs, nothing worked.

Being a seasoned idol, he’s all too familiar with how long and grueling salon trips can be (even though he hardly gets his hair dyed lol). But you told him you need to get your hair done for work and once you gave him your puppy dog eyes he stopped protesting almost instantly.

He sat patiently, making small talk every now and then with the stylist and patrons there during the few hours of wait with his only time of freedom being when he left to get you a snack. To be completely honest, Jongho enjoys any bit of time with you just as much as you with him. He’s enjoyed your time so much that he’s started developing feelings for you, even if he hasn’t realized yet.

Once you’re finally done paying for your hair you walk up to him ushering to leave but the sight of you with lighter hair makes him lose his sense. Already at the door, you look back at him still sitting. “Come on, this is just one place i need to go today”, you say smiling down at him.

He gulps as he regain’s himself to get on his feet. Realizing the budding feelings.

[zmediaoutlet]

closing lines of a 4th-c. woman’s epitaph to her husband:

Now with all these things wrenched away I am a mourning spouse: happy, if the gods had left me a living husband; but happy nonetheless, because I am yours & was yours & after death, soon, I will be yours.

***

Parking lot was a disaster. Sam managed to get his truck into a spot -- didn't double park in the pick-up lane, unlike some people -- but he hopes whoever's in the Toyota next to him doesn't have a passenger, or if they do that the passenger's pretty thin. Like, model-thin. Now it's the hallways, milling adults looking lost, kids rolling their eyes and tugging on hands, lockers decorated with Welcome, Parents! in carefully printed bubble letters.

"Da-aad."

"Yeah, coming," Sam says, and Dean rolls his eyes, like every other kid. Sam tries not to let it bother him. Every kid goes through this phase. He did, at least. He doesn't have a lot of experience, otherwise.

Dean leads the way, confident, and polite at least to other parents when they have to squeeze past. How Sam knows he isn't fucking this up completely. He slips through a gap that only a fourth grader could manage, though, and Sam's left to dance politely around a rotund couple he doesn't recognize, scolding some older twin boys under their breath. The wife finally notices him and looks up and then up, blinking, and Sam takes the look he's used to. "God, sorry!" she says, sticking out an arm and shuffling her kids out of the way to make a space. "Like a cattle call in here, huh?"

"Moo," Sam says, which makes her laugh too hard, which makes her husband frown, but then he's past, where Dean's bouncing in his light-up sneakers, annoyed. Sam pushes his hand through Dean's hair before he can duck away. "What?"

"Moo?" Another eyeroll. Sam should maybe tell him the lie about getting stuck that way. "You are so weird. And we're gonna be late."

"When have we ever been late?"

Dean does actually grab Sam's hand, yanking. Sam lets himself be pulled, enjoying at least that his kid's deigning to hold Dad's hand after being far too old for it, at least as Sam's been told. "Last year? Mrs. McMorrow made us reschedule!"

"I think getting in a car accident was a decent excuse," Sam says, mild, and Dean groans and says, "Come on," stomping ahead down past the 5th grade classrooms to where Ms. Valdez is, see, just saying goodbye to the previous couple. Sarah Gold's parents, given that Sarah's waiting on the little blue plastic chair outside, reading a library book, making Dean halt in his tracks and making Sam almost run into the back of him. He's heard a lot about how Sarah's very, very annoying. Most annoying girl in school. Somehow she always gets an invitation to Dean's birthday parties, anyway.

Sam fits a hand around Dean's little shoulder. Small bones. Always makes him feel like a giant and also not big enough, like he needs to be planet-sized to protect this kid from all that could be. Still. A girl's not that scary. "See, on time," he says, easy, and Dean's blushing deeply when he shrugs.

Ms. Valdez is a good teacher, Sam thinks. She's in her late twenties, which Sam knows is plenty old enough but still makes her feel like a kid to him. If he does the math she really could be his kid. She's nice but not saccharine, complimentary but not a suck-up. Dean seems to be doing okay. He likes math and science, loves P.E., suffers through his music and art specials, does the reading but insists he doesn't like the 'girl books'. "I think he's overcompensating," Ms. Valdez says, and laughs lightly, and Sam's hit with this strange weird flush that makes him queasy, for a second. His throat closing.

She blinks at him. "Mr. Winchester?" Then, uncertain: "I didn't mean--"

"No," he says. An effort to smile but he does it anyway. "I think you're right. It's important to look tough in front of the right people, if you know what I mean."

She smiles back, relieved. She is young. "Maybe he'll grow out of it. Although, maybe not. Some boys never do."

"No," he says, "they don't."

She shows him the units they'll be going through for the rest of the term. Egyptian mythology, with art components and a small writing assignment and a research paper, just to get the kids used to what sources mean, writing in paragraphs instead of often-incomplete sentences. She leans close. Smells like jasmine. He realizes only when the twenty minutes of the conference are about up that she's been flirting, the whole time. Her smile small and her eyes softly dark, telling him that Dean's a good kid, and if it's not rude to say she thinks he's done very well, since the divorce, and he seems to be adjusting. She was sorry not to see Mrs. Winchester, this evening.

"She never actually took my name," Sam says, and Ms. Valdez -- Marisol, he remembers -- lets her mouth form a small moue, like -- he doesn't know. Some implication he should pick up, if he were looking to do so, but he isn't. She is pretty. Long dark hair she sweeps into a messy bun, full mouth, elegant hands with bitten nails. Apparently has a thing for older men. But--

He comes out into the hall where Dean's sitting on the little plastic chair the lovely Sarah has vacated, eating a cupcake. "Hey, where'd you get that?" Sam says. He has a sense of having dodged a bullet.

Dean shrugs. "Honors Society kids having a bake sale," he says, garbled.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Sam says, and Dean raises his eyebrows and chews like a cow, exaggerated. "Well, I want one. Lead the way, buddy."

They make their way out to what this school thinks is a playground. The 2030s have really just taken away all of the possible edges from being a kid. They sit on a bench under a tree and Sam bites into his cupcake while Dean mows through his second. Awful, storebought, chemical-tasting frosting. Cake. They don't have it very often.

It's a pretty night. Warm, for the time of year. The moon up, nearly full, past all the school lights, and Sam thinks that after this they'll go pick up a pizza, maybe, and they'll go back to the house, and he'll let Dean watch an episode of that new Star Trek cartoon -- or is it Wars? he can never remember -- and then he'll have to insist about bedtime and Dean will whine but he'll go because despite the eyerolling he is a good kid, confirmed, the best thing Sam's got in his life at this point, and from how things have gone the best thing he'll have, from the end of that place that was and where he'll never be again, until...

"Da-ad."

He blinks. Dean's sitting crosslegged on the bench, looking at him, eyebrows high. "What?"

"You were on Planet Dad again," Dean says. No eyeroll. "Did you run into any Cardassians? Or like, a big Andorian cruiser?"

"Yeah," Sam says. "Fought 'em off with my lightsaber."

"Da-ad, you know that's Star Wars," Dean says, genuinely offended, and Sam huffs, cups the side of his head. His face that's entirely his own, some mix of his parents that ended up not looking much like either of them somehow, but his expression, sometimes. Something around the eyes.

"I'll get it one day, buddy," Sam says.

"Sure," Dean says, doubtful, and slides off the bench, bouncing on his toes, ready for pizza. They get pizza and they watch the show -- Trek, who knew -- and Sam puts him to bed with the exact amount of whining he knew he'd get and turns out the light -- knows Dean will read comics by flashlight, with the flashlight that always has fresh batteries in his bedside table -- and he looks at the small lump in the blankets through the crack in the door for a solid minute, standing in the hallway of the house he never wanted. Then he goes downstairs and pours himself a drink, and goes out to the porch where the night's getting cold, and he sits on the deck chair that he really ought to repaint and looks up at the stars and he thinks, god. God.

Then he goes inside, and goes to bed, and there's the next day to get through, after that.

[extratmnt]

Can you write Donnie/Leo having a panic attack, and the other one trying to help them?

Disaster twins~

Title: Vice Versa

Universe: Rise of the TMNT

Pairings: Donnie and Leo

Word count: Uhh....

Donnie woke up to the sound of heavy breathing. Not unusual, but also not common.

Well… sort of common. Ever since the Krang… things have been different.

Donnie opened his eyes and glanced at the clock. 2:47. He then glanced to see who it was.

"Leo, what are you doing? In case you didn't realize, it's the middle of the night."

It was then that he realized that maybe he should be concerned about the heavy breathing… and the fact that Leo seemed to be fully relying on the door frame to hold himself up.

Donnie heard a gulp. "I didn't want to bother anyone, but I-" He made a distressed noise and seemed to cower in the doorway. "I knew you wouldn't truely mind," He took a deep, stuttered breath of air. "So I-" He gasped again.

Donnie could tell he wouldn't be able to continue, but he caught on. "Panic attack." He said it more as a statement than a question.

Leo nodded and whimpered. He simply said, "I'm back there," and he sunk to the ground on shaky legs.

Donnie whipped off his covers and rushed over to his twin. He ignored the lightheadedness that came with moving so quick in favor of helping Leo. Donnie didn't hesitate to wrap him in a hug.

"Hey, just focus on me. You're not there. You're home." Donnie reassured. "Do you smell where we are?" Donnie paused to let Leo take a wiff of the air. "That's it. Deep breath. Can you feel it?" Giving him another moment. "Can you hear it?" A nod is what he got in response. "Okay, that's good. Can you see it?" Leo shrunk into himself and whimpered as he furiously shook his head.

A gravelly voice spoke up. "He's right in front of me…"

Donnie shushed him. "No, he's not. I am. Can you feel me? Feel the warmth?" Leo sighed and nodded. "Good. You're doing great." Donnie took note of the stuttered breathing. "Do you think we can focus on your breathing?" Leo nodded.

Donnie then took exaggerating breaths of air, letting Leo feel the changes.

After a few minutes, Leo slumped onto Donnie even more.

"Thank, Don."

"No problem, Nardo."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leo was having another sleepless night. Whoop de do.

He was in the kitchen making himself a midnight snack with tea. Chamomile. Some random chicken he found in the fridge. Some hot sauce. It doesn't get much better than that. He was living the dream.

Leo was in the middle of pouring a heaping load of hot sauce on his microwaved reheated chicken, when he heard something fall. He turned away from the counter and saw Donnie's battle shell on the floor. A little to the left and he saw Donnie.

Now, to say Leo knew his brother was an understatement. He knew everything about him. His emotions. His mood. His interests. His crushes. His favorite food. Sometimes, (Note: most times) Leo knew more about Donnie than Donnie knew himself.

Needless to say, Donnie was clearly panicking. The faraway look in his eyes, mixed with fear. The way he kept flinching. The hard breathing. It was obvious.

"Whoa, dude, what happened?"

Donnie covered his ears and muttered, "They're back. They're all over me. Get them out!" The last part he yelled and that's when Leo caught on.

Leo rushed over to him, hesitant to touch him. "Hey, they're not here. You're fine. They're not connected."

Donnie gasped. "Leo, can you-"

Blame it on the twin sense that Donnie denies having, but Leo knew exactly what Donnie was talking about. He didn't hesitate this time to latch onto Donnie's shell from behind and squeeze. Leo knew the pressure helped ground Donnie.

Next, he took exaggerated breaths and guided Donnie to sit on the floor and leaning against the cupboards.

It only took a few minutes for Donnie to calm down after that, and Leo felt Donnie slump onto him fully, clearly passed out due to exhaustion.

"Goodnight, Donnie," Leo whispered.

Leo soon follow Donnie's example and feel asleep, chicken and tea forgotten.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading! If you have any other suggestions for me to write please send me an ask!

[overlyimmersed]

So, about my AU... Lets do this a little differently this time...

So, in light of having to rewrite my entire AU almost from scratch, I've decided I'll post parts of the timeline in chunks by season of the show as I get them rewritten. Maybe that'll make it a little more digestible over all, though it'll still be compiled on timeline page, of course.

So I guess I should probably talk a little bit about this AU, actually. I haven't really said much. That's kinda just how things have always been before. I just kind of toss the information into the void and hope someone finds it. But this fandom, this community, it's different. There's a lot more...talking, then other fandoms I've been in. So lets talk.

I suppose we'll start with the name? Some of you may have seen me use it a few times. Years ago I got into the habit of using alphanumeric designations for my AUs, mainly as shorthand to help me keep track of the media the au is from, how it's altered from canon and what year I started it in, to help me keep track of time. Though this AU lacks the dating component...which was not a great idea on my part... that's a flaw that came about form my previous hyperfixation. I created too many AUs for that one, which I usually don't, so I started using a symbol system as a subcategory and it fricked the whole system...

ANYWAY

This AU is designated "SDS-RBF-215*" SDS = Seven Deadly Sins, RBF = Reborn Fairy, and 215 is my numeric signature. The asterisk is from the symbol system mentioned above. Which is technically necessary, as I do have off-shoot AUs from this primary one. But those are private cuz they're dumb...

So I suppose if this AU were going to have a title rather than a designation it would be "Reborn Fairy".

It's called that because the POV character, a self-insert OC, is reincarnated from another universe.

And on that note I'd like the record to show that I made this choice before I knew about Elizabeth. Reincarnation is one of my most used tropes. I'd also like to mention that I didn't know the word "isekai" until very recently...

So besides this new MC, what exactly is different between this AU and canon?

Well, not including the story consequences of the MC's existence, I did add some lore and stuff. Primarily the concept of "The Bard to the Fairy King"

Each Fairy King has had a bard alongside him to serve as a history keeper, moral guide, and any other role the Fairy King requires. These bards are always born in the Fairy King's Forest, rather than in the Fairy Realm proper like other fairies. The primary mission of The Bard to The Fairy King- or Fairy King’s Bard, sometimes shortened to just Fairy Bard- is to keep the history of the Fairy Race. They write books, tell stories, sing songs and create works of art keeping track of history as it passes. Like how each Fairy King has the magical ability “Disaster”, Fairy Bards always have “Starlight” giving them a flawless memory and the ability to generate and manipulate silvery light. It's primarily used to project records of memories, though it can be used offensively if needed. They also share a single special technique that’s passed from one to the next, a song called “Song of the Fairy King” which will increase the Fairy King’s power in an act of desperation. It can also be used to save the Fairy King’s life if need be. The use of this spell expends the Bard’s life force, and thus can only be used once. So the Bard must act wisely. As time went on and more unfortunate events tarnished Fairy history, the Bards became more and more high strung and anxious, plagued by their perfect recall of tragic and violent events. Fairy Bards Morvydd - The Bard to Fairy King Gloxinia. Primarily a poet. She, and her twin brother Owain, were killed in the raid on Stigma headquarters during the first Holy War. Camellia - The Bard to Fairy King Dahlia. Primarily a dancer. When Dahlia disappeared, Camellia went with him, at some point she used “Song of the Fairy King” to save Dahlia’s life. Maranwe - The Bard to Fairy King Harlequin. Primarily a harpist. A very unusual fairy with a complicated history. She left with a group of other fairies to meet with humans and was thought dead for 700 years before she, along with her missing Fairy King, returned just before the second Holy War. 

I've also applied my various headcanons, of course. Which can be read here. I'm not going to list them on this post cuz I don't want to have keep more than one post updated everytime I add a headcanon. The one linked will always be kept up-to-date.

[tmntxthings]

Imagine the Rise!Turtles in high school…

author’s note: this is kinda self indulgent bc i sort of thought of my own high school experience, i went to a small town high school so some of these ‘clubs’ are out of my element but i wanted to try and match their personalities as best as i could, I hope you enjoy~~~

Michelangelo- Freshmen

incoming new class but is already well known because of his older brothers

but everyone quickly comes to know him as Mikey instead of 'the youngest turtle,' he's got a knack for making friends

all his classmates absolutely adore him and anyone who doesn't (is jealous of him) is quickly won over by Mikey himself, he loves changing peoples mind

plus he’s a total optimist and sees the good in everyone even if other people try to convince him otherwise

in Talented Art/Gifted because of his love and creativity for art, got in easily (was asked by the art teacher)

he chills at school after hours with a couple of the other members in TA (talented art) talking about anything that comes to mind while working on their own separate pieces, sometimes they all come together on big projects

also a trendy fashionista, people take one look at his outfits and he goes to school the next day seeing who he's influenced, he is obviously super flattered and asks to take pics with them

other than art, he's a part of the Dance team, he tried out to be a cheerleader too and both groups had a week of convincing him which would be a better fit for him

dance won out because they were open to him choreographing for the homecoming pep rally

since he is liked by everyone he is pretty popular, but isn’t considered the preppy kind of popular, just well-known, loved by all, Michelangelo~~~

Donatello- Sophomore

now a second year, he is ready to keep branching out, not only is he a part of the math league, robotics club, beta club, (solely for those days they get off from school to go compete) quiz bowl AND the student body, he’s also on the swim team and competes in long pole (the comp where the people run with the big long pole and try to jump really high/over this stick…) for track

so he is very very busy and because he is in so many things, he has plenty of friend groups

Donnie likes being the smartest one in class, he’s made some enemies just because he’s embarrassed someone by telling them their answer is wrong in front of the entire class

he doesn’t do it on purpose, just when he sees someone start writing a math answer on the board and the equation starts going south, he can’t help himself

he’ll raise his hand, and try to help them, but all while simultaneously embarrassing whoever is on the receiving end of his teachings, and you’d be surprised how many teachers he’s had to point out their mistakes to

more times than one should, which also means some of the teachers don’t exactly like him either, but what can they do?

he’s the smartest student they will ever get to teach in their lives

Donnie has a few classes with his brother, twins in the same class often run into issues, they are super competitive with each other

classmates usually come up to Donnie and ask him math/science questions on the fly, and he definitely does…n’t do other people’s homework for money…or anything else they bargain with…

often after lunch he goes straight to the library rather than go to recess outside/in the gym

it’s usually empty during that time except for other nerds like him who rather books than people

the librarian knows Donnie on a first name basis and they give him book recommendations whenever he isn’t checking out tons of books for certain projects

Leonardo- Sophomore

in second year right along with his twin, yes people do call them ‘disaster twins’ when they are together

which they are together a lot but they do have separate school lives too

Leo is also a part of the student body, but other than beta club, that’s about all the things that he has in common with Donnie

Well, maybe it’s just flip flopped because Leo is in a lot of sports, basketball recruited him first which got all the other coaches attention, he’s also on baseball, football (mainly for Raph) soccer, and track for the 100 meter dash

so he is very busy as well (maybe the twins decided to have a comp to see how many organizations they could be in?!) and has plenty of friend groups because of it

but he’d have many friends regardless, he’s a total flirt, doesn’t matter with who, super charismatic with the staff too

the front desk ladies love him, so do the janitors, and the lunch ladies definitely give him extra portions of the things he wants

it’s the teachers that he has the most trouble charming because he loves to be the center of attention during class, huge class clown, and disrupts class on a whim

(Donnie hates that btw because it cuts into class/teaching time so if Leo goes off on a longer tangent than usually Donnie will quite literally tell him to ‘SHUT UP’)

which doesn’t help bc this starts a full on war between the twins, the teacher will either threaten them both with detention or give up entirely and sit at their desk (depends on how much fight the teacher has)

Raphael- Junior

oldest turtle brother in his third year, very much still protective older brother stereotype in school, don’t mess with his siblings, if he hears about any bullying be warned he’ll find you and have to have a private chat

though he’s the biggest turtle and definitely had some trouble fitting in and making friends during his first year bc of his appearance and people judging him like a book cover, everything is different now two years later

he was recruited for football and the weightlifting team his first year, been in them ever since, and recently joined wrestling/boxing, he’s also a part of the mentor program for underclassmen

those who have had him as a mentor seek him out in the hallways to ask high school questions, or show them where their classes are on the first week, he’s an absolute idol in that regard

freshman/sophomore brag to their friends if they have him as a mentor

he has a tight group of friends who have his shell one hundred percent of the way, just like how he is with anyone he comes to care about

Raph has definitely won a few teacher’s hearts as their favorite, he is always working hard no matter the subject even if it isn’t his specialty

Bonus! April- Senior

she was with Raph a lot when he was a freshman and she a sophomore, happily introduced him to her school friends

April in her last year now is a part of the high school newsletter/paper, student body, beta club, and the yearbook committee

She takes all of the boys pictures, (yes Leo I’m getting your good side) in sports and all the other activities they are in

Mikey’s art has started to feature the newsletter as well

All the boys like to call her out in the hallways, it’s known that out of everyone at the school, they all have one best friend and that’s her

Anyone who has interest in the turtles but is too scared to go straight to them usually comes to her for advice, she cuts down the bad apples pretty quickly

when running for the homecoming court that year all the turtles helped her campaign, Mikey coming in clutch again with awesome posters to hang around the school

[doctorofmagic]

My thoughts on What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

The very title of the episode sends a shiver down my spine. And this is where we’re going to start.

~ long post under the cut ~

A year ago, I wrote this post as an attemp to dive into one of the most important traits in Doctor Strange’s personality: love. Stephen is a being made of love, made to love, no matter which interpretation you have when you watch Infinity War. If you don’t read comic books, you’ll understand the moment you meet Donna. You’ll begin to understand how her death reshaped his entire subjectivity out of fear of failing, being powerless and unable to control everything around him (especially death), thus the arrogant and yet a disaster of a man we all know.

Where do I even start? Stephen loved her sister deeply and felt responsible for her death. And then, slowly, he also lost his parents and his brother. He fell in love with Clea but he also pushed her away. He loved Zelma platonically and lied to her, which was enough for them to break their bond. He felt attracted to Kanna but screwed things up, even though they remain friends. He was forced to kill the Ancient One, the only father figure he had ever since his father died. And lastly, the only person who would never leave his side... also left. Yes, even Wong. Stephen has SO much love to give but he’s also afraid because he’s cursed. He truly believes his love in poison. And would you look at that? What If really delivered a story where this is actually true.

What If Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

The level of understanding when it comes to the character is... inconceivable. What could possibly reshape Stephen into following a dark path but love? The very premise of the whole episode. This is so much more than a love letter. This is literally too much, in all senses.

Fine, let’s begin.

What if the best of intentions has very strange consequences?

No. You used the word “strange” for the pun but this is not the word. Nah-ah. I’d go with ATROCIOUS, for starters. Things are gonna escalate so quickly, my friends.

Seriously, tho? Christine is SO SO SO SO beautiful, they’re so cute together. I have this feeling that MCU!Stephen was quite toxic because of his arrogance and this is why they didn’t work out. But WhatIf!Stephen???????? He’s always praising her, teasing her in a healthy way, respecting her and listening to her. HE TRULY LOVES HER, I’M GONNA CRY ALL OVER AGAIN, PLEASE, NOT THE CRÈME BRÛLÉE, PLEASE

I’m going to leave this shot here because we need to go back to it later. Hold that thought.

And bonus points to “Yeah, well, I would call that quite remarkable.” / “Well, I would say the same about you.”

GODS. THE PAIN. STOP THE PAIN.

So in this reality, Stephen didn’t caused the car accident because he was checking his phone while driving. Also it was not the reckless attempt to pass the truck. Well, maybe it was the consequence of this act? The fact is, the car behind them loses control, which makes them crash. Does it matter? We’ll learn later that no, it doesn’t.

And yep... Christine dies. Have you noticed the shattered heart? Ah, the pain only gets better and better.

Again, Stephen blames himself. More than anything, this is so important because Stephen is all about guilt. We still need to meet Donna so we can add yet another layer of guilt. But the feeling exists. This is what corrupts Stephen’s heart and soul in all his iterations. This is what makes him the character I love so much. I love this SO. MUCH. In addition, his stubbornness to accept his condition. Man won’t take a no. This, this is Doctor Strange in character. Stop complaining about NWH Stephen, it’s pathetic.

Okay, “grief-stricken”, Stephen found the Mystic Arts and became a sorcerer. That’s when he learned about the Time Stone, the Eye of Agamotto and Dormammu. Nothing changes, he saves the universe. But time does not heal his deepest wound.

I love Wong so much. Every time Wong does something, the world is healed. Really. We’re going back to him as well but for now I’ll just leave this shot.

BUT STEPHEN, DOING SOMETHING RECKLESS? HE’D NEVAH

Aaaaaaaannnnnnd then he did.

He goes back in time. It’s been two years since he lost Christine. I think he reacted pretty nicely, despite the circumstances. Now let’s go back to that shot I said I was saving for later.

Stephen is so light-hearted here. Also, during the first time he lost Christine, he had no idea what “The Price is Right” was. He knows now, which means he probably tried to learn more about the show because of her, because of grief. HAHAHA MORE PAIN

AND THEN HE

AND THEN SHE DIES AGAIN

AND THEN HE KEEPS GOING BACK IN TIME

AND SHE KEEPS DYING

AND THE MUSIC

AND HIS VOICE

AND HE TRIES TO CHANGE FATE BUT IT CAN’T BE AVERTED

HE EVEN TRIES TO STAY AWAY FROM HER LIFE BUT SHE DIES ALL THE SAME, WHY

AND EVERY TIME THEY CRASH, HE FEELS THE PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL PAIN AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN, WHY

I’M-- *ugly sobbing noises*

Apparently, not.

And this scene when he simply... closes his eyes before she dies again...?

This is where this episode had me in endless tears. It got me the four times I watched it. I’m dead serious.

Okay, so, next the Ancient One appears to Stephen, explaining that Christine’s death is an Absolute Point in time. It cannot be changed. Stephen needs the accident to become the Sorcerer Supreme and defeat Dormammu.

And this is where Stephen starts his journey into darkness. “Nothing is impossible, you taught me that. I only require more power.” Disobeying the Ancient One, Stephen then travels in time, seeking the Library of Cagliostro. Now, if you’re not aware of that, Cagliostro was a sorcerer who studied time in comics, and later became Sise-Neg (there’s a recent post on this because of the new Defenders run). It’s funny to think that Sise-Neg also destroyed the world when he became a god, however he grew past his pettiness and remade reality. Stephen did not possess such power, as we’re about to see.

PS: “Stop torturing yourself, Stephen.” Naur but he should use this line like a mantra. Especially comics!Stephen.

Not gonna lie, tho. This place reminds me of the Temple of the Vishanti from T&T (of course I was going to insert T&T somewhere, it’s me).

And of course they’d go for a pun with his name haha. I don’t know how to feel about this, tho. I feel like the episode is too heavy and dark for comedy. But it is what it is.

Okay but why some books are in cages??????????? And wow, it seems Cagliostro also gathered knowledge about several fields of magic.

And then Stephen learns that, in order to break an Absolute Point, he needs to absorb more power. This is when I went “oh-oh, here we go”.

And for real, is this Shuma-Gorath? Why are they keeping his name a secret? Is this the same creature from the first episode with Captain Carter, right? RIGHT? It has to be Shuma-Gorath.

Of course he tries to be polite and ends up all hurt haha. O’Bengh warns him about love but he will not listen. “Love can break more than your heart. It can shatter your mind.”/ “Is she worth the pain?”. Please, this is Stephen. He eats pain for breakfast.

Also, also, let’s take a break. We’re finally going to get monsterf0cker tentacle-lover Stephen Strange. It will cost us everything but here we goooooooooooo (yes, I went frame by frame for your more obscure fanservice needs)

Gods, I love this sequence so much it hurts. Okay, here we go.

Shmebulock???????????

AND HE STOLE THE CAPE??????????? AND DREW THE LINE ON BUGS??????

The grasp this man is holding on me right now...

Some of you will understand. I’m with you.

And here are the grostesque ones. These are hard to take SS but I had to.

Animation, sound effects, OST? CHEF’S KISS TO ALL

And lastly... the tentacles. Yeah, if you’re new... this is a thing.

Fanservice. Fanservice everywhere. (low-key the reason I also waited to write this review, I wanted to enjoy this part so badly but I was too sad for that lmao)

Okay so. O’Bengh is suddenly OLD and DYING, until we realize that Stephen spent CENTURIES absorbing mystic beings. CENTURIES. WTF STEPHEN. He had nothing in mind but the goal to save Christine. And people wonder why he went insane???? I’m sorry, O’Bengh, but I can’t take you serious when you still call Stephen Sorcerer Armani. Oh, and also because you watched him absorb beings for centuries in silence lmao. But I guess I have to because you said that Stephen is split in two since the Ancient One cast a spell on him, splitting the timelines and making them exist in the same reality before he could travel back in time. I know, it’s complex. Anything for the plot.

And now good!Stephen has an evil!twin who wants to absorb him back in order to become whole and break the Absolute Point. Cool.

I said I wanted to talk more about Wong because I think people are not talking about him enough. Wong is so important in this episode. He’s the one who’s trying to heal Stephen after Christine. He’s Stephen’s anchor.

Also, THEY FINALLY USED A SPELL WITH THE NAME OF THE VISHANTI. HOORAAAAY

So, for the sake of our understanding, I’m addressing the characters as evil and good!Stephen. Let’s go. Evil!Stephen summons good!Stephen and gods, he still holds such a strong grasp on me... unbelievable. THE DEEPER VOICE BENEDICT USES???? PLEASE, DIDN’T WE HAVE ENOUGH?

Imagine his strength to hold so many beings inside him, fighting to control him. BRO, THIS IS TOO TOO MUCH

Fine, I’ll not post SS about the fight because I’d be here all night long but I WILL say this: NOT CLOAKIE!!!!! NAAAAAAAAAAUR

Also if you ask me if I recognize any of the spells? Maaaaybe the Flames of Faltine, the not-so-crimson Bands of Cyttorak and a little trick Magik does with her portals. That’s how far I go.

I’ll not comment on the “seducing yourself to stay in the trap”. I will not. I’ll just say that the first person Stephen thought of when “Christine” was talking about the crème brûlée was Wong. That’s it.

And finally evil!Stephen absorbs good!Stephen and releases... UNLIMITED POWER (I love when the stone goes red as if it was bleeding aaaaaaa)

I can fix him...

This scene here? Poetic cinema. (I love his wings so much)

And when Stephen says her name and the other monsters’ voices echo “Christine”, AAAAAACKKKK

AND OF COURSE CHRISTINE WOULD FREAK OUT, BRO. LOOK AT WHAT YOU’VE BECOME BECAUSE OF YOUR TWISTED LOVE. I’M NOT DOING FINE.

Oh, but it’s too late anyways because Stephen broke reality haha. This scene is interesting because Stephen is the only one who sensed and/or talked to the Watcher until now. I read an interview that the Watcher kinda showed up but it’s also about Stephen’s keen senses. Bit of both, let’s say. Still, man, 616-Watcher is not that cold. 616-Watcher would watch this and say “how about I intervene anyway?”. WhatIf!Watcher is brutal.

The way Christine looks at Stephen one last time also KILLS ME, DESTROYS ME, BREAK ME INTO A MILLION PIECES.

And this is where my soul left my body.

This is how they end the episode. This is how you leave me speechless and with teary eyes. This is how you give me a whole existential crisis.

This... this was brutal to watch. Really.

What can I say after this? I’m used to reading painful things when it comes to Stephen. Aaron’s and Cates’ runs are heartbreaking on so many levels. Hickman’s New Avengers is not easier. Coincidentally, What If? Magik Became Sorcerer Supreme and The End. And now Death of Doctor Strange. And yet, after everything I’ve been through, I’d never expect to watch something so brilliant, so tragic, so heartbreaking and unexpected in the MCU. Never. This is top tier content and this is my favorite character with SO MANY LAYERS and SO MUCH UNDERSTANDING. I can’t put into words how meaningful this whole episode is to me, or how deep it touched my heart and soul.

I’ve been struggling to find the proper words since then, I still can’t. All I can add is, I cried for the 4th time now. This is too, too much, even for Stephen stans. Even for the ones who are used to pain, regardless of which media you’re into: comic books, live actions or animated movies. This is literally more than I can take and yet I’m so, so grateful. The voice acting, gods, how did Benedict manage to create a better Stephen than the one he’s literally playing in real life???????????? HOW

This episode really took the max potential Stephen had to offer as a character, added tons and tons of layers based on his grief, depression, arrogance and need to control everything and created a tragic masterpiece. In 7 years of being a Doctor Strange fan, I've never read or watch something that could go this deep into the character. The closest I can think of is Mr. Misery and the metaphor of Stephen's depression. This is a whole new level of respect and understanding. This is more than a love letter. This is peak maestry. It’s perfect, it’s heartbreaking, it’s... gods, I can’t.

Sorry for dragging you until this far. Before I wrap up this review, I just wanted to remind you all that Stephen will appear again, he will smile again, he will be surrounded by people again. So this is not the end. It was painful but be brave. We still have a few more steps to take.

[goldenraeofsun]

Day 21: Missing him was dark grey, all alone

Dean’s old things arrive on his doorstep two days after Cas breaks it off. He shoves the returned clothes in the very back of his drawers and almost dumps the photos in the trash - but one look at Cas’s smiling, frozen face, and he switches to the recycling instead.

He keeps the picture of them in matching cowboy hats, where Cas is wearing Dean’s favorite exasperated but so, so fond smile. Dean’s smiling too, dopily at the camera like he couldn’t believe his good luck.

Well, his good luck finally ran dry, just like he always knew it would.

It’s only five days after Halloween, so Dean splurges on candy instead of ice cream. He doesn’t care what, as long as it has some combination of chocolate, nougat, and maybe peanuts. He cracks open the first bag that night and polishes it off by mid afternoon the next day.

And he drinks.

He drinks a lot.

The next morning, hungover and dreading work, Dean texts Cas.

Dean 8:15 Got my stuff Thanks

He stares at his phone until the screen makes his bloodshot eyes water. Groaning, he double checks the time. Christ, it took him fifteen minutes to type out four goddamn words. How the hell is he going to do this?

Step-by-step. That’s what he told Sam while he was getting over the whole Ruby disaster - except Ruby was a demon, and Cas was an angel.

Brush teeth.

Make coffee.

Get dressed.

Don’t crash his baby on the way to Reading Hill Elementary.

Dean still feels like death warmed over by the time he slumps into work. He freezes as he takes in Claire, unsticking laminated paper pumpkins and cartoon bats from the wall. Her long blonde hair is swept up in a high ponytail (three glue incidents, and she finally caught on), leaving her face clear.

He’s never going to be free of Cas, not when his teacher’s assistant shares his eyes.

“You look terrible,” Claire tells him, frank as ever.

“Oh yeah? I hadn’t noticed,” Dean says, slumping over in his chair next to the chalkboard.

Claire sets down the decorations. “What happened?”

“None of your business.”

Claire crosses her arms over her chest. “It is if I’m going to have to pick up the slack because you don’t have your shit together enough to put on matching shoes.”

Alarmed, Dean drops his gaze down at his feet.

What the hell? His shoes totally match.

He glances up at Claire’s smirking face. “That’s not funny.”

“It’s a little funny,” Claire says loftily as she carries the Halloween decorations to his desk. “What should I do with these?”

“How should I know?”

Claire groans. “Seriously? I spent the past ten minutes taking down all the Sanderson Sisters’ merch.” She grabs a plastic tub they keep for their library books and drops the pile in there and kicks it under his desk. “We can figure it out later.”

Dean rubs a hand down his face. “Yeah, sure.”

“Do you wanna stop by the water fountain or something?” Claire asks, eyebrows rising. “You really don’t look so hot.”

Dean shakes his head. “I’ll be fine.”

And all too soon, Dean hears the first, “Good morning, Mr. Winchester!” chirped by the front door.

Ignoring the concerned look from Claire, Dean gets up to greet his student.

The day crawls by. Dean loses his train of thought more times than he can remember, and he gets the Banes twins mixed up - which is ridiculous since they are clearly fraternal. At story time, he accidentally chooses a book about an artist whose paintings come to life, and Dean nearly loses it right there.

At three, Dean lets Claire go early and furiously cleans up after his students. He reviews tomorrow’s lesson plan at his desk at school instead of at home like he usually does and takes extra time at the grocery store, planning an elaborate dinner for one that will keep him occupied for the whole evening.

Of course, Cas texts back before he can even preheat the oven.

Cas 6:19 You’re welcome. Please let me know if I missed anything.

Dean doesn’t throw his phone against the wall, but it’s a close goddamn call.

Instead, he dials for pizza. He’s halfway through his second slice and fourth straight episode of Dr. Sexy when Charlie texts.

Charlie 8:11 Yo what up handmaiden

Sighing, Dean wipes the grease off his hands.

Dean 8:13 Not much

Charlie 8:13 Not according to what a little birdie told me.

Dean stares at his phone screen, dumbfounded. Who the hell could have told Charlie? He didn’t see anyone after Cas dumped him. He just went home and brooded, and then it was time for work -

Dean 8:14 Is this birdie a blonde pain in my ass?

Charlie 8:14 Of course

Dean 8:14 What the hell I didn’t even know you knew her

Charlie 8:14 We’re two lesbians in a small town. Of course we know each other. It’s the secret gay agenda.

Dean 8:15 Awesome.

Charlie 8:15 I’m coming over in 10. Chocolate or vanilla?

Dean 8:15 What?

Charlie 8:15 You’re right. I’ll get both!

Dean runs a hand down his face and stares around his house. Half-heartedly, he picks up the fun-sized candy wrappers and dumps them in the trash. He glares at the empty beer and liquor bottles in his recycling, but nothing he can do about that now.

When Charlie arrives, she takes one look at his face and says, “I’m calling Benny. And Jo. Sam. Maybe Garth.”

“Aw, come on,” Dean says as he shuts the door behind her. “It’s a school night.”

Charlie shoots him a quelling look. “You and Cas split. I don’t care what day of the week it is.”

Dean sighs. “Claire found out?”

“Duh,” Charlie says as she flops on his couch and picks up a slice of his pizza. “She spent one mopey day at school with you; of course she called her uncle first thing for the 411.”

“Great,” Dean mumbles as he throws himself into his seat and tries not to look at Charlie.

“You want to tell me what happened before the cavalry gets here?”

“Nope.”

“I’m really surprised this happened. Like, really.”

“That makes two of us,” Dean says darkly.

Cas had clearly been stressed. He always pulled away, was always on edge, before a big show. Cas lived and breathed for his art, but the dog and pony show to showcase his art was the bane of his existence.

But one argument at the wrong place at the wrong time was all it took to break everything to pieces.

It started over Thanksgiving plans. Dean had a standing date with Mom and Sammy, like he always had since he learned how to brine a turkey at fourteen. They usually had it at Mom’s house because of the size of her oven (not that she ever used it) even though Dean did all the cooking.

However, this year, this was the first year he’d been serious with Cas, and Cas insisted Dean come with him to Thanksgiving with his extended family. A requirement, apparently, not a request from Cas’s dad.

But Dean couldn’t just leave his family in the lurch, so, naturally he asked if Mom and Sammy could come along.

Cas vehemently refused. They would hate his family, he said. His parents had exacting standards and were generally awful people.

It escalated from there.

Dean scrubs the heels of his hands down his face. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look super fine, my dude.”

Dean looks up at her. “Yeah, I guess not.”

“But you will be,” Charlie says, pocketing her phone. “Trust me.”

He’s not magically better after a quasi-sleepover with all his friends. But he does feel lighter when he tells them about what happened. They all call Cas names - some Dean agrees with, most he doesn’t - and raid his cabinets for all and every available snack food.

A month and a half later, Dean gets an email about an upcoming show featuring Cas’s work. While they were dating, Dean got on so many gallery email lists, he can’t ever hope to unsubscribe to all of them. For a split second, he actually contemplates going.

He deletes the email.

Claire throws down a paper flyer for the show on his desk the next day. The kids are busy, off mashing clay into each other’s faces with Miss Rourke, so the classroom remains blessedly silent except for them.

Dean stares up at her, jaw clenching. “What the hell is this?”

“Uncle Cas is showing his art,” Claire says calmly. “I think you should go.”

“In case it somehow escaped your notice, we’re not together,” Dean says, forcing his voice to stay even. “I don’t have to go to any of his shows anymore.”

Claire huffs. “You should go to this one.”

“Claire-”

“You need to go to this one,” Claire amends, the faintest note of pleading to her words, which Dean has never heard before. “I - I saw some of his pieces. He hasn’t been doing so well since you two, you know.”

“Cas was the one who ended things. He made that choice.”

Claire rolls her eyes. “Then he lied or fucked up, or something. He’s not good.”

Dean takes the flyer, and some of the tension eases from Claire’s rigid spine. “I’ll think about it.”

“Fine,” she spins on her heel and gets started on rearranging the tables for storytime.

Dean stares down at the flyer in his hands.

He shouldn’t go.

Charlie would tell him to avoid it at all costs.

Sam would offer to go in his place to report back if Dean was really concerned.

These days, he can almost go a whole 24 hours without thinking about Cas.

Dean goes.

He even dresses up, pulling on the khakis Sam got him for Christmas three years ago that he’d never touched in his life, and a blue striped tie Claire got him as a gag gift for his birthday after he got together with Cas. (She got Cas a matching one when his next birthday rolled around.) His only other tie is for Parent-Teacher meetings, and it has cartoon apples and A pluses on it.

The gallery is a local one Cas favors for his newest stuff, a test drive for the more well-known shindigs in the big cities. An attendant swings by with a tray of champagne, and Dean gratefully takes a glass. He drains half of it in one swallow.

Cas always gets a good turnout, so Dean doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. He wanders around the gallery, his heartstrings pulling at the familiar palette of colors, brushwork.

It doesn’t take him long to find the paintings Claire was talking about.

They’re all of him.

Blue Like I’ve Never Known is, predictably, done entirely in shades of blue. The frame shows Cas’s bed, the sheets rumpled to hell. The nude figure in it is lying on his side, his face (Dean’s face) in profile. But he’s not all there - the lines around his midsection, over his shoulder, and at the balls of his feet all blur in with the lines of the sheets tangled around him.

For Dark Grey All Alone, Cas didn’t paint entirely in greyscale. But he used such muted colors, it has the same effect. It shows Dean sitting at Cas’s kitchen table, his face thrown back in laughter. But here, too, he half-blends into the background, like a faded Victorian photograph.

Loving Him Was Red is last. Cas painted Dean behind the wheel of his baby, speeding towards the sunset, his face a relief of pinks, reds, oranges, and maroons.

“Dean?”

Dean whirls around at the sound of his name, and there he is.

“Hey, Cas,” he says, his throat dry.

Cas swallows, his gaze flicking to the trio of Deans behind him before settling on the live version. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see your show,” Dean says lamely.

Cas takes a step closer, his eyes wide, like he still can’t believe Dean is really standing in front of him.

Dean scans the gallery floor, but there are no convenient attendants with more glasses of champagne. Dammit. His gaze pulls back to Cas, as natural as anything. “You know, if she gets wind of this, she’ll probably sue your ass for copyright infringement.”

Cas licks his lips. “Those probably aren’t the final titles. I’ve, uh, been listening to a lot of Taylor Swift recently.”

“Really?”

“She covers the full spectrum of human emotion,” Cas says defensively. “I know you know this, or else you wouldn’t have recognized the lyrics either.”

Dean flushes. His top guilty pleasures go, 1. Dr. Sexy, MD, 2. Taylor Swift, 3. Biggerson’s Pepperjack Turducken Slammer.

“But, in all honesty,” Cas starts, “what are you doing here?”

Dean pinches the bridge of his nose. “Claire told me to come.”

Cas swears under his breath. “I’m sorry. She shouldn’t have done that.”

“No, wait,” Dean says quickly, “I’m glad she did. I had no idea…” he drifts off, gesturing to the paintings behind him instead of finishing the thought he has no words for.

Cas sighs, glancing around. “Do you mind going somewhere private so we could talk?”

Dean blinks. Before his brain catches up with his mouth, he says, “Yeah, sure,” and follows Cas across the main floor and through a door marked STAFF ONLY in bold black letters.

Cas opens a side door and ushers him into a nondescript office. One window to the side of the desk shows the dark street in front of the gallery, and photos of Cas’s many family members adorn a cabinet in the corner - Dean just recognizes one of Cas’s dad, Chuck, shoved way in the back. Unsurprising, with how he fucked up his entire family.

“So,” Dean says as Cas closes the door firmly behind them. “I take it you got something on your mind?”

Cas nods, his face troubled. “I - I didn’t think you’d ever see the paintings.”

“Yeah, no shit -”

“But I’m glad you did,” Cas continues over his interruption. “I still have feelings for you.”

Dean had known this was coming. For fuck’s sake, Cas’s heartache is spread over three entire canvases outside. But still the words knock him speechless.

“I think I made a mistake when I said we should break up,” Cas says, his eyes downcast. “I didn’t actually want us to separate at all -”

What.

“- but when I said I wanted to leave, you didn’t stop me, so I figured it must have been for the best. If you didn’t bother fighting for us -”

That is it.

“If you didn’t want to leave, you shouldn’t have goddamn left!” Dean explodes. “I’m not a mindreader, Cas. If you say you want to do something, and you do it, how the hell am I gonna get that you secretly decided it was Opposite Day?”

Cas glares. “You said nothing when I walked out. How could I not have read more into it?”

Dean takes an incredulous step back. “I know your parents and siblings played mind games for fun, but my head doesn’t work like that. You have to be straight with me.” He pauses at the weird look on Cas’s face. “You know what I mean.”

Cas’s mouth purses. “You’ve always thought I was… somehow better than you. That you didn’t deserve to be at my side, which was patently ridiculous. I was worried your insecurities would get the better of you, that you didn’t think you could fight for us. And I was right, wasn’t I?”

“It wasn’t my stupid inferiority complex, you dumb son of a bitch,” Dean says, rolling his eyes, “it was you saying to my face you didn’t want to do this anymore. When I hear that, my first thought isn’t, he’s lying out of his ass.” He throws his hands up in the air. “Maybe I’m not the only one with a complex if you thought that was an awesome way of evaluating our relationship.”

Cas’s head tilts as he studies Dean. “Of course you’re not the only one,” he says matter-of-factly. “I’m full of shortcomings, but you never seemed to notice them.”

“I mean, now I do,” Dean says with a grimace. “I extra do. Now what?”

“Now,” Cas says, the corners of his mouth twitching, “I can keep groveling for you to take me back, or… ”

Dean takes a step back to sit against the edge of the desk. “It’s not that easy.”

Cas sighs as he moves to stand next to him, their shoulders brushing. “I know.”

“Like, what are we doing about Christmas?”

“Seriously?”

Dean holds up his hands. “I just want some sort of warning if it’s going to be a thing.”

“It won’t be,” Cas says shortly. “My family is currently not speaking to me.”

Dean makes a face. “What, us breaking up wasn’t a good enough reason for me not to show?”

“No, it’s because I didn’t go at all. I spent Thanksgiving working on my pieces. They’ve caused me nothing but agony for years, and, honestly, if I went, I probably would have said something hurtful and would have ended up in exactly the same place as I am now.”

Dean scrubs his face with the heel of his hand. “I had no idea you-”

“What, could be so disloyal?” Cas asks bitterly. “Believe me, I heard it all.”

“I was gonna say brave,” Dean says, inching his hand over so his fingers can intertwine with Cas’s. “They sounded really shitty, but I know family’s really important to both of us anyway.”

Cas meets his gaze, his face slack with clear relief. “They almost cost me you. Of course I couldn’t let that stand.”

When Dean tugs him closer and kisses him, it’s not blue, grey, or red. It’s golden, like daylight.

[tennessoui]

hi all of your aus are amazing! pls what happens with divorced!obiwan and the twins?

hey!! sorry this took so long i had to think of an appropriate cliffhanger

this is a continuation of this ficlet and this ficlet, where divorced!obi-wan accidentally acquires a partner and a set of twins.

(2k WHOOPS)

The twins are not, and probably have never been described by anyone except their father, angels. They take to Obi-Wan as well as Obi-Wan takes to them, which is to say that all three of them watch each other suspiciously until one day Luke launches himself off the top of the fridge--how the fuck did he manage to get up there--and Obi-Wan drops his morning toast in a frantic bid to catch him.

After that, Leia and Luke apparently decide he is Another Anakin Who Is Just Around A Lot Less But Is Better At Reading Bedtime Stories and deign to treat him as such.

Obi-Wan decides that he’s going to have a heart attack by the age of fifty. Do all children see a childproof house as a challenge?

It somehow takes both a longer and shorter time to win over Anakin’s favor, mostly because Obi-Wan isn’t sure what the man’s thinking at any given moment. He seems to blow hot and cold depending on how he woke up or how the work day goes. Some days, Obi-Wan comes home from campus and Anakin and the twins have waited to eat until he’s there. Sometimes they’ve eaten and there’s a meal under foil on the stove just for Obi-Wan.

(“I don’t know how you do it,” Obi-Wan tells him one night after the children are put to bed. “I mean, work from home with your job, mind the children, and cook?”

“They made me head of the R&D department a few months ago,” Anakin admits, taking a sip of his second glass of wine. “So I’m doing a lot more checking through other people’s work instead of making my own. It just means I can do that and make something edible--no, really, you just can’t cook, Obi-Wan, I’m not the best either.”

“Do you miss getting to make something other than food?” Obi-Wan asks eventually, giving himself enough time to recover from the sound of the other’s giggles.

Anakin shrugs languidly. “It’s better salary, and I’m the youngest ever in the company to have the position. Means I’ll pay off my student loans quicker, same with my mom’s hospital bills. Doesn’t matter what I want.”

Obi-Wan’s chest hurts and he wants to lean across the gap between their chairs and place his hand on Anakin’s arm, but they don’t know each other like that. It’s only been a month and a half since they moved in. Still. “It always matters what you want,” he insists. “And I think you’re amazing.”

Anakin blushes bright scarlet and takes a huge gulp of wine, and Obi-Wan wonders if this is a throwing-yourself-off-the-fridge break through.)

(It’s not because the next day, Anakin doesn’t say a single word to him, which bothers him more than he’d like to admit.)

(“Am I in the wrong for wanting to get along with my housemate?” Obi-Wan asks Quinlan despairingly during their office hours that he should be using to grade papers. Instead all he can think about is Anakin Skywalker and the goddamn cold shoulder he’s been getting from the man for the past three days.

“Yeah,” Quin says absentmindedly, marking something with a red pen before looking up at Obi-Wan’s outraged intake of breath. “I mean, no. I mean, sorry, Obi, what are we even talking about now? Is it still your hot new roommate with the two kids? Because that’s what we were talking about an hour and a half ago.”

Obi-Wan crosses his arms and leans back in his chair. “I’m just not sure I appreciate--”

“And you said he’s not been hanging around in the living room when you get home? But he’s still leaving you meals in the kitchen? And you’re upset about the free food?”

Obi-Wan is upset at the lack of Anakin’s presence, but he thinks that’s probably not the right thing to say here.

“Maybe he’s just tired?” Quinlan puts down his pen and rests his chin on one of his hands as he looks at Obi-Wan. “From the kids and the job and putting up with your moody ass. C’mon, Obi, what’s really getting you worked up?”

Obi-Wan purses his lips and stares at the desk in front of him, but he had come to Quinlan for help. He should at least be honest about what’s eating at him, even though he knows how silly it will sound when given a voice. “...Satine always waited up for me,” he mutters. “Until she didn’t.”

Quinlan’s quiet for a worryingly large amount of seconds, before he reaches out to pat Obi-Wan gently on the arm. “Oh, Obi,” he says pityingly. “Repeat after me. You cannot make your new roommate your rebound from your thirty year marriage.”

Obi-Wan scoffs. That’s not the problem at all. “That’s not the problem at all,” he says, not defensively in the slightest. “I think I’m just worried about the children not having enough structure in their lives.”

“Right,” Quinlan says, not quite managing to hide the skepticism in his voice. “Then you should talk to him. For the sake of the children.”

Obi-Wan will absolutely not be doing that, but it’s a nice thought.)

The real turning point in Anakin and Obi-Wan’s relationship happens five months after the Skywalkers move in.

Anakin and Obi-Wan are in the living room. Anakin is trying to braid Leia’s hair while Obi-Wan tries to pretend he isn’t watching. From the kitchen, there’s a very, very loud crash and the sound of something shattering.

Both adults leap up from their seats immediately and run to the other room.

Luke is standing in the epi-center of disaster, little face scrunched up like he doesn’t know whether or not to cry. At the sight of his dad and Obi-Wan, he starts to wail, moving forward and reaching for Anakin.

Obi-Wan, who is wearing shoes inside the house (a point of contention between himself and Anakin), grabs Luke roughly and picks him up by the armpits before he can cut his feet on the glass. He hands him over to Anakin to soothe, stepping further into the kitchen to find the dustpan he keeps in one of the pantries.

It’s very obvious what broke, though Obi-Wan can’t for the life of him understand how Luke got ahold of Satine’s heavy cake stand. He can definitely understand how Luke dropped it, as the thing was ridiculously heavy.

It had been one of the only things left in the house that had been Satine’s. She’d left it, and Obi-Wan had been too bitter or petty to point it out to her. Yes, it had been her mother’s. No, keeping it had not made him feel any better. But it’s not like Satine ever baked anything anyway.

Good for Luke, actually, for doing what Obi-Wan never could bring himself to do.

He grabs the broom and dustpan and marches back to the pieces of shattered glass. Anakin has placed Luke on the counter, ostensibly to check to make sure his feet are fine if the boy would ever let go of his father’s neck. Leia is peering around at the mess on the floor.

When Obi-Wan comes back and starts sweeping everything away, she darts forward to pick up a rather sizeable chunk.

“Don’t touch that,” Obi-Wan says sharply, much harsher than he intended. Leia drops it instantly and scurries back to her father, eyes wide and sort of watery. Oh, fuck.

“Hey,” Anakin snaps immediately. “She’s just trying to help and Luke didn’t mean to break--whatever that is.”

Obi-Wan holds up his hand to cut Anakin off. “I’m not mad,” he promises all three of the Skywalkers. And he’s not even lying. He’s really not mad, hasn’t even thought to be mad at this last piece of proof of his relationship with Satine shattering on his kitchen floor. “I just don’t want either of you to cut yourself. Glass like this can be very dangerous and none of you are wearing shoes.”

“Promise?” Luke asks, untucking his red face from Anakin’s neck so he can peer up at Obi-Wan.

“I’m sorry I was a bit rough,” Obi-Wan apologizes, coming over and bending down a bit so he’s on the same level as Luke. “I was just worried about you. Promise.”

Luke sniffles but lets go of Anakin to throw himself at Obi-Wan, apologizing all the way.

“Hush,” Obi-Wan says as Leia scrambles up his leg, vying for his attention. With his hands full of children that aren’t his, he raises his head to look at Anakin who’s watching them with a very strange expression on his face. He tilts his head toward the broom and then down to the kids in his arms. “Come along,” he tells them both. “Leia, I’ll finish your braids if you’d like.”

“Braid my hair too!” Luke demands with a pull on Obi-Wan’s shirt.

Luke’s hair is floppy but awfully short. “I’m sure we can figure something out,” Obi-Wan says generously, leaving the kitchen.

“I suppose I’ll just clean this up then?” Anakin calls sarcastically behind them.

“Thank you, darling,” Obi-Wan responds.

There’s the sound of something else breaking, but it’s not Obi-Wan’s problem at the moment.

(A year later, Anakin mentions something over morning coffee about looking for a new apartment, now that he’s got everything straightened out. “We’ll get out of your hair,” he says, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I’ll look today since it’s my day off.”

Obi-Wan doesn’t want to examine why that idea makes something curl tightly in his stomach, making him feel vaguely nauseous, but it does. On his way out of the house, he unplugs the router, and then after a second of thought, takes it with him just in case.)

(Quinlan laughs his head off when Obi-Wan sheepishly puts the router down on the desk in front of him. “It’s a bad market right now,” Obi-Wan says defensively. “I’m just looking out for him.”

“Obi, I mean this in the best way possible, but there are at least four professors in the psych department that would probably love to do a case study on you.”)

(Two years after the Skywalkers move in, Obi-Wan is running late for a meeting with the head of his department. The man is stepping down, finally retiring, and Obi-Wan thinks that perhaps he’ll be tapped as the new head. It would mean dropping some of his classes, but it would be worth it.

“I made you a breakfast wrap,” Anakin greets him at the door, holding out a paper bag. “It’s got that salsa you like in it.”

The salsa Obi-Wan likes is the mild version of what Anakin and the kids eat, but Anakin treats it as if it’s from another planet entirely.

“Good luck!” he says with a sweet smile, also passing Obi-Wan a travel mug of what’s hopefully fully caffeinated tea. Obviously Obi-Wan needs it. He got perhaps two full hours of sleep last night, tossing and turning and thinking about this meeting and now he’s running late and his tie is crooked and none of his favorite sweater vests were clean.

“Thank you, dear one,” Obi-Wan mumbles, mind somewhere else. If traffic isn’t too bad, he could still be on time.

“Text me how it goes!” Anakin chirps, following Obi-Wan out the door to stand on the front porch with his arms crossed in an attempt to fight off the early winter chill.

“Yes, of course,” Obi-Wan replies, turning around to brush an absent-minded kiss to Anakin’s lips before hurrying to his car. It’s a twenty minute commute. If he gets his preferred parking spot and runs to the department building, he won’t be late at all.

Is that too much to hope for?

He starts the car and pulls out of the driveway, looking back in the rearview mirror to see Anakin standing frozen on the porch. That’s strange, usually the other man can’t stand being out in the cold.

Obi-Wan gets to the first stop-sign out of the neighborhood before he realizes what he’s done. It’s lucky that he’s already slowing down, because he slams on the brakes. Did he--

Did he kiss Anakin? Did he really kiss Anakin as if he does it all the time? As if they were in a relationship?

Oh shit.

Frantically, he pulls out his cellphone from his bag and checks to see if he has any new messages. He doesn’t.

Oh. Shit.

[chocolatemilksmoothie]

Clouds on the Horizon

aka

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

ahem, I mean, let's go

the Collector and Belos don't seem to like or trust each other at all, even though or maybe because lmao they've worked together for centuries

"what if it's all changed? what if you've changed?" both true, Belos is gonna hate 2022 even more than we do. also he'll catch every virus and illness known to man

I LOVE the way this little bastard is animated

he doesn't want to make another grimwalker until "dealing with the current one" ugh

I'm wondering if it's just because he doesn't want the trouble of two at the same time or because he needs... parts from the previous one. one of the ingredients were bones from the original but it could also be that he uh, "recycles" them. ya know?

kikimora is a whole disaster huh

Blight siblings my beloveds

Odalia my despised

the language of loooove aw

Lily and Hooty being chaotic we love to see it

"you may be a titan but you're still a little guy" aw he wants to be useful

"Belos made sure we all have... replacements" oh I do NOT like that

using the curse to corrupt the spell is clever and makes sense but also... this all feels so risky

we don't know by the end if Eda actually got the sigil for sure, so we'll have to wait. Raine seemed very hesitant

Lilith volunteering to do it seems important. I wonder if she'll try to switch with Eda, since she is there dressed as a scout

Hooty did wear clothes after all

Darius and Eber's plan: we may kill some people but hey, at least we stop this guy. flawless :)

Eda keeps talking like it's the end and I agree with King, she needs to stoppppp it hurts me

AN EGG I LOVE IT I'm sad we still don't know what her palisman will be, I assume it'll hatch next week, but that is so perfect. they get to choose, and whatever it is, it'll be the perfect match for her

or should I say, the perfect hatch!! heh? I'm hilarious

Eda supporting Luz and Amity's romantic adventures I love her

"tell Bossy Boots I said yooo" lmao

sobs I LOVE THIS FAMILY

I know Raine will do anything to keep their promise, but that's what scares me too

Raine annoying Darius with the CATs name is everything to me <3

"Titan help us" "I'll... do my best" god he is feeling so much

Hexside trio reunion !!!!! thank u for the serotonin

+ Hunterrrr my son made friends :') he's so awkward but making progress

and he got new clothes and a shower thank you

a little sad we didn't get to see Darius and Hunter interacting but it's good to know they've been in contact and we're all in the same page here

so yes, he hasn't told them about the grimwalker thing, that makes sense. I hope he gets to talk about it on his own terms rather than have it revealed by Belos or something, ugh

Gus using that little spyglass like a BADASS go my boy

"SORRY MAN" he is so funny

not the going up the balcony with the flowers romance is SO alive right now

Odalia broke the little tamagotchi I will end her

grounded for arson, I'm impressed

I like that Amity trusts her dad to listen and believe them, but not her mom. they are not quite the same

the twins being like oh look who's here :) hehe let her finish this is cute

oh to have the most mundane, slice of life date ever with your cool witch girlfriend

KISS I AM SOBBING

the animationnnn the love

listen when I saw them hug I was like will they will they will they? nah they probably won't let them and then BAM

Eda seems to be in far better spirits than before finding out about the rebellion which makes sense, but also she's most likely putting on a facade of confidence with all the jokes and such hmm

she has accepted the curse as a part of her forever, which I like since it fits the chronic illness angle the story has given it. and hey, she still has glyphs if all goes wrong. I hope

Steve was extra serious this whole episode it made me uneasy

that creepy connection King and the Collector have is terrifying

he seems so much like a lonely child. a powerful, chaotic, dangerous child

snorse power, HA

why does that rat look like Alador? a cosplayer rat??

"I'm an asset gal myself" I would die for Willow

those wild witches are all so pretty! am I crazy or are they based on the cast and crew? nice

Alador and King bonding was not what I was expecting but honestly I loved it ahaha

seems the Blights' relationship is more of a business partnership where she is the unreasonable boss. checks out

things are gonna change after the Day of Unity indeed, sir...

I've been waiting for a shot with all 5 of them LOOK AT THIS TEAM WITH ALL THEIR NEW OUTFITS AND HAIRSTYLES THEY'RE PERFECT

"we'll find you a new girlfriend" I love that she is horrible but still draws the line at homophobia, we don't need that here

so, Belos and everyone seem to know about the CATs. Does this mean... there's a traitor??? or were they just discovered?? oh god either way this is not good

"was it the power of believing in myself?" "NO" why did that take me out

unbothered

the way Alador blushes like Amity when they get angry. yes

she feels justified and like she's doing them all a favor, she wants to stay in control

very cool to finally see an oracle witch in action! even if I want her to lose

I noticed "Luz" did Hunter's quick warp thing to shield Willow and was confused, it felt too intentional. very nice

also add one to the counter of Hunter instinctively protecting people. he does that a lot

I am devastated this wasn't actually Hunter but this is so On Brand for Luz I love her very much

Gus an absolute icon for keeping up that illusion for so long while also kicking ass

"the jetpack actually works!!! :) oh, the jetpack actually works :("

very badass of Alador to destroy his own work and quitting his marriage job

Luz thought of a way to kill two birds with one stone: protecting Hunter by keeping him away from Belos, and helping Eda by being taken to her. But now she's alone heading directly to the emperor

she is so selfless but girllll be safe

she still has her palisman egg and her glyphs of course

and so we end with this ominous shot

what is it with second to last episodes and the blood moon lately? and the way both matched the recent blood moon eclipse is pretty wild ngl

so I assume Amity, Willow, Gus, Hunter, King and Alador will head to the uh, the head, but they'll get there later. hopefully not too late

though I am scared for King being anywhere near there given the whole thing with the Collector... oh, next week will be INSANE

It'll be sad to say goodbye to the Owl House for the time being, but I know it'll deliver a crazy season finale. oof, can't wait

[froggie-recs-fics]

Fic Roundup (up to 9/26/21)

I'm gonna start collecting fics I've read recently to recommend them, because making trope lists takes too long and many fics fall by the wayside. Let me know if you like this new format!

The fandoms in this list are as follows: Marvel (SamBucky, HTP, SpideyPool, WinterHawk, WinterIron, Stony, Stucky, SpiderShield), DCU (Bane/Blake), Inception (Arthur/Eames), Teen Wolf (Sterek).

A * signifies a particular favorite (though I love all these fics)

Marvel

Sam/Bucky

double back by flowermasters (E, 12K, Post-Endgame, Time Loop, Time Travel)

Sam gets stuck in a time loop. In 1943.

Things could be worse, but they could certainly be better.

Companion piece here: quick time

I'll explain everything to the geese by napricot (Post-Endgame, E, 50K, Sam can talk to birds)

Bucky is so competent that it hurts my feelings is not a rational complaint to have about a person, and yet, after a year of being Captain America and partnering up with Bucky for the new and improved, post-Blip Avengers, that’s kinda how Sam’s feeling.

It’s not great. It maybe leads to Sam making some rash, ill-advised decisions like claiming he has a previously undisclosed superpower, and then getting caught in a web of lies when he ends up actually developing that surprisingly inconvenient superpower. Talking to birds had seemed like a harmless superpower, but it turns out that birds have a lot of opinions, and they don’t hesitate to tell Sam about them, especially when it comes to his supposedly subpar courting skills. Which is ridiculous, because Sam isn’t courting Bucky. Right?

Rumlow/Bucky

**blueprints for a better world series by itallstartedwithdefenestration @astralhux (CATWS, Post-CATWS, Noncon, E, 115K, Dark Main Character)

When Pierce discovers the asset is no longer capable of getting himself hard during recreational use, he tells Rumlow to figure out what the problem is, and to fix it. The solution turns out to be more complicated than anyone expected.

I can't recommend this series enough

Peter/Wade

*Dead Men Walking series by doctorestranged @lazystrawberrymilkshakes (E, 235K, Identity Porn, Slow Burn)

When a series of murders take place, Peter Parker goes undercover in Sister Margaret’s to get intel on Tony Stark’s prime suspect: Deadpool. Peter goes in hoping to get enough information so that Spider-Man can save the day, but like everything in Peter’s life, it becomes a bit more complicated than that and it soon becomes apparent that he might not be the best fit for the job.

All About Chemistry by TwiceBakedPotato @sedatedkoala (No Powers AU, M, CNTW, 74K, Teacher-Student Relationship, Slow Build)

After serving his 20 years in the Marine Corps, Wade Wilson is cashing in his GI Bill and going back to college. He feels like the old man on campus, but that doesn't matter. He likes his classes. He likes learning. And he especially likes his Chemistry professor with the messy brown hair.

Clint/Bucky

Making Me A Habit by Kangofu_CB @kangofu-cb (No Powers AU, T, 20K, Pet Store, Slow Burn, Pining, Misunderstandings)

Bucky is a disabled vet struggling with reintegrating into civilian life. He has a routine and a rhythm, and he doesn't like to let anything - big or small - disrupt it. That all changes the day Bucky finds himself inside CATastrophe, the local pet rescue, recovering from a panic attack in the back room of the shop.

He’s used to walking by the place, not visiting, but the next thing Bucky knows, he’s hanging signs and being used as a climbing tree for a bunch of freshly-acquired kittens. And he just...keeps going back. First for the kittens, then for the disaster shop owner who rescues actual kittens from actual trees and teaches archery as a side-gig, and eventually because he’s hopelessly in love.

(Clint was in love before Bucky ever walked in the door.)

*Nameless by AvaKelly (Post-CATWS, M, 101K, Time Travel, Time Loop, Slow Burn)

A gun is pointed at him before he can even move from his position, the Soldier's metal arm steady in its aim. Clint sighs.

"Nemo," Clint says. "It's tattooed on your wrist, right here," he lifts his right hand and taps his left index finger where his palm ends.

The Soldier's eyes widen. "How do you know this?"

"I put it there."

Glitter, G-Strings and Other Mission Hazards by flawedamythyst @flawedamythyst (T, 16K, Undercover, Stripper Clint)

“Which is why you need me to shake my booty for cash,” said Clint.

“Precisely,” said Coulson. “You’re the only agent we have who wouldn’t need additional training in the skills of an exotic dancer to take on the mission, and we want to get someone in there as soon as possible.”

Clint nodded, shutting the file. “Okay, awesome. I’ll dig out my sequined g-string.”

“You’ll have full access to requisition any costumes you might need,” said Coulson.

A mission requires Bucky to be Clint's back-up as he goes undercover as a stripper, which gets more difficult with every new costume he comes out in.

Paternal Error by EVVS @skylarkevanson (Post-CATWS, T, 33K, Kid Fic, Established Relationship)

Bucky has never once thought of being a parent. Not since the Winter Solider happened.

Until he falls in love with Clint Barton. And that idiot just keeps collecting children for his flock.

Now Bucky has to pretend like he's good at parenting.

Bucky/Tony

Forms of Love by bear_bell (Post-CACW, E, 33K, Split Personalities)

Months after the Avengers' dispute in Germany, the team returns to the US and moves back into the tower. As always, everyone pretends that nothing happened. Tony is just fine with this. He's used to pretending, and he'll be damned if he lets any of them see him flinch.

Tony's the bad guy, after all. He's used to it. He's fine with it. He's good at it.

Only now, there's something far worse loitering around the tower - The Winter Soldier. No one notices the guy at first, but when they do, Tony figures that he should have the soldier's back.

Birds of a feather should flock together, and the bad guys should start a book club.

Steve/Tony

While You Were Sleeping by betheflame @betheflame (No Powers AU, M, 65K, While You Were Sleeping AU)

It's been years since Steve Grant Rogers Drysdale has spoken to his twin, Ransom. So it was quite a shock when he was summoned to a hospital and found out that Ransom was in a coma.

Even more shocking? That Ransom is engaged. To Tony Stark.

Steve/Bucky

The Road Goes Ever On And On by PipGraham (Omegaverse AU, M, Noncon, Graphic Violence, 20K, Road Trip, Pre-Serum Steve, Past Domestic Violence)

When Brock's continued domestic abuse puts not only Steve's life in danger, but also that of his unborn pup, he flees into the night with just a small backpack of clothes and almost no money to his name.

Steve quickly runs into trouble as he tries to embark on a 3-day cross-country bus journey back home to New York City.

He meets a kind veteran when he most needs a helping hand.

Just Words by LadyRazzle (crimegimp) @ladyrazzle (Pre-CATFA, Soulmate AU, T, 2K, Fluff)

Inspired by that now legendary post: "soulmate AU where you wake up on your 18th birthday with the first words your soulmate will say to you tattooed on your body so you’ll know them when you meet them." Well what if they appear the moment you turn 18, rather than just the day? And what if by the time you turn 18, you'd already fallen in love?

Bucky wasn’t eager to discover what the words said. He already knew what he wanted them to say. He always had.

Peter/Steve

Forgetting It's There by spinstitcher (stygian) (NR, 8K, Crack, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Porn)

“You’re Captain America,” he blurts out.

“What?” says Captain America, looking a little wide-eyed. He casts a nervous glance at the girl at the counter – he has nothing to worry about there, she’s rocking out to her iPod and could care less what they’re talking about – and says, “No, uh, Steve, it’s just, I’m Steve.”

“Right,” says Peter, and then because his brain-to-mouth filter had apparently been completely destroyed in the fight on Oscorp Tower: “Hey, your butt really is as tight as it looks on TV.”

DCU

Bane/Blake

7 Deadly Ass(as)sins by teacuphuman @teacuphuman09 (AU, E, 23K, BDSM)

Bane and Barsad own a sex shop and John needs a job.

Straws by Menirva (Bane/Blake/Barsad, AU, E, 38K, BDSM)

John works in a smoothie shop.

He has a knack, a second sense if you will, for being able to look at a person and know what they're going to order. It's not the most spectacular gift in the world but he likes being able to figure people out and he's never wrong.

Except for this scruffy asshole who is clearly just ordering the wrong thing to fuck with him.

How is he even finishing an extra-large?

Inception

Aurthur/Eames

Rough Trade by Whisky (whiskyrunner) @whiskyrunner (AU, E, 23K, Internalized Homophobia)

Arthur is an investment banker. He is professional and efficient. He's a halfway decent cook. He's totally independent and has been since the age of eighteen. Maybe he's tired all the time because he works about ninety hours a week which is twice what normal people do, but he's rich and he's competent at his job. He's almost thirty, and already a success.

And there are some things Arthur is not. For instance: Arthur is not gay.

Lucky by earlgreytea68 @earlgreytea68 (M, 37K, Kid fic)

Arthur finds a baby.

Teen Wolf

Stiles/Derek

Cut to the Bone by standinginanicedress (Omegaverse AU, E, 112K, Secret Relationship, Enemies to Lovers kinda)

“Not that it’s any of your god damn business, but my name is Stiles. Do you need something?”

The alpha grins. All teeth, shiny white, straight as an arrow. He’s got this sculpted perfection to him that Stiles is sure has worked on all the omegas he’s ever encountered before, but Stiles stands his ground and narrows his eyes. “A date.”

Stiles looks him up and down, slowly, from the black shoes on his feet, to his uniform khakis and blazer littered with pins, to his face. He frowns, makes a face, and says, “pass.”

Cornerstone by Vendelin (Human AU, E, 83K, Marine Derek, Blind Stiles, Friends to Lovers)

Suffering from PTSD, ex-Marine Derek Hale moves back to Beacon Hills to open a bookshop and find a calmer life. That’s where he meets Stiles, completely by accident. Stiles is talkative, charming and curious. Somehow, despite the fact that he’s blind, he’s able to read Derek like no one else.

Stand Fast in Your Enchantments by DevilDoll, Rahciach (AU, Graphic Violence, E, 76K, Captivity, Feral Derek)

"Stiles knew damn well what a pissed-off wolf sounded like, and every hair on the back of his neck was telling him that somewhere in this room was a very pissed-off werewolf." An AU in which Derek is feral, Stiles is magical, and they eat a lot of fast food.

The Payoff Pitch by Leslie_Knope (Sports AU, E, 83K, Coming Out, Friends to Lovers)

Derek is on the cusp of his second season with the LA Dodgers, and as the reigning runner-up Rookie of the Year, the pressure’s on him to become the team’s star pitcher and lead them to the playoffs for the first time in five years. He’s trying to deal with the burden of expectations and really has zero desire to spend any extra time or energy on anything that isn’t baseball.

But then he meets Stiles.