#specs writes stuff

[spectraspecs-writes]

Manaan - Chapter 128

Link to the masterpost. Chapter 127. Chapter 129.

@averruncusho @ceruleanrainblues @chubbsmomma @darthvendar-blog @80strashbag thank you for reading, you get a tag. @skelelexiunderlord thank you for support, you get a tag.

——–

In the morning I am escorted, alone, to the court in Ahto West. Everyone from the ship is already there, and so are Shaelas and Shasa. As glad as I am to see my friends, seeing Shaelas and Shasa causes me to breathe a huge sigh of relief. “Shaelas, I’m so glad you’re here,” I say to him.

“Of course, Min Rena!” he says gladly, “For returning my Shasa to me, and from what she’s told me of it, I am forever in your debt! And yet, my joy is tempered by the knowledge that the Sith still walk freely about Manaan. Hopefully the testimony of my daughter will be enough proof of their actions, to make the Ahto City authorities take action.”

“But, Father,” Shasa says, “If it is not… Rena, that datapad…”

“It’s in evidence, I just have to call for it,” I say. Shasa looks relieved. I’m relieved Bwa’lass did as I asked. He had every reason to be spiteful.

The judges start to file in and take their positions. There are five of them. The judge on the far left speaks first. “This court shall now come to order. Rena Visz, you  stand accused of the grievous murder of many Sith, and extensive property damage to their Embassy here.”

The one in the center speaks now. “How do you plead?”

“Not guilty,” I say calmly.

The one in the center speaks again. “Let the record show that this trial has commenced,” he says, and they all proceed to introduce themselves, starting with the one in the middle, then from right to left. “Presiding are judges Shelkar…

“Jhosa…”

“Naleshekan…”

“Kota…”

“...and Duula.”

Shelkar speaks again. “This trial is to determine the culpability and punishment of this individual in the recent assault on the Sith Embassy.”

Now Jhosa. “ Given the severity of this trial, we can dispense with the normal formalities of the court and proceed directly.”

Kota. “You have pleaded not guilty, yet there were reports of weapons fire and detonations from within the Sith Embassy.”

And finally, Shelkar again. “You were seen entering and leaving the Embassy,” he says, “The Sith have not conferred with the authorities about this matter, but from all available evidence, it would seem that you are the source of the disturbance.” He pauses. “What is your explanation for being in the Sith Embassy?”

“I was investigating the disappearances of young Selkath,” I say.

They straighten. “You believe that the Sith have had something to do with those disappearances?” Jhosa asks.

Duula reacts with scorn. “The off-worlder has probably been listening to Shaelas and his rumor-mongering,” he says.

“Most likely,” Shelkar says, before looking at me. ‘You have asked Shaelas and his daughter Shasa before this court today. Shaelas himself has been before this court numerous times calling for us to investigate the disappearances of his daughter and others, but with no evidence, we were forced to dismiss him. Do you have any proof to back up your assumption, human? Have the Sith been implicated?”

“Yes, your honors,” I say, “I would like to call Shasa to give testimony.”

“Does her father consent?” Naleshekan asks.

“Yes, your honors,” Shaelas says, and Shasa steps forward.

“Shasa,” Shelkar says, “what evidence do you have to present to the court?”

She takes a deep breath. “Several weeks ago, I and three of my friends were approached by an Iridonian. He spoke to us of the Sith, the good they could do for Manaan. I was skeptical of his claims at first, because of the things my father had told me about the Sith, but the more he told us, I became convinced. He said that the Sith were looking for Selkath to train in the ways of the Force, and if we went with him, we could meet with a Sith master. The master determined that myself and a number of others could be trained in the ways of the Force and began teaching us immediately. I felt proud and lucky to be a part of such an elite group. We were given rooms in the Embassy, and though I missed my father, I felt this was important to do for the well-being of Manaan. The Sith promised they had the best interests of our planet and people at heart, and I believed them. They told us we could return to our families whenever we wished, and shortly before Rena arrived, our friend Galas announced he would be returning home. I trusted the Sith, trusted their words. Even when Rena showed us Galas’ pin, I did not believe that he was dead, even though my friends did. It was not until she showed me a datapad from our Sith master that I believed her truth. The Sith were using us, lying to us. They planned to use us to take Manaan for their own.”

“Hold,” Shelkar says, “You mentioned a datapad.”

“Yes, your honors,” I say, “This datapad was among my belongings when I was taken into custody.”

Naleshekan looks at one of the court officers. “Please have this datapad brought before the court.” We wait as it (and my datapad, which is put back) is brought out.

The master’s datapad is handed to Shelkar. “Let it be noted that the court has taken this new evidence into consideration,” he says. He takes several moments in silence to skim the last entry. “Hm…” he says neutrally, “This is... most disturbing. The court will adjourn for a brief period to verify this evidence and discuss its importance. This court stands in recess until that time. Please remain here until we resume.” And back the way they came, they all file back out of the courtroom. 

I feel a weight lift off my shoulders. Obviously it isn’t over until it’s over, but from Shelkar’s tone shift, I’m pretty sure this is working out in my favor. I’m just ready to get this over with.

“Guess you didn’t sleep too well.” Carth has taken the opportunity to come talk to me. And I’m glad of that.

“It doesn’t take a genius to know that,” I say, gently massaging my neck, “I haven’t eaten since yesterday, plus my nerves about this --”

“Yeah, what happened to Bwa’lass?” he asks, “You know what they say about people who represent themselves.”

“I would have been a fool if I’d let him defend me - a dead fool,” I say, “But I have to give him credit, he did get Shaelas and Shasa here. This would have been a lot harder without her.”

“Oh, that was your idea? I thought the court called them as witnesses automatically, since Shasa was there when they arrested you,” Carth says. 

“Nope,” I say, “I figured if anyone could say what the Sith did, and be believed, it would be one of their own. And Shasa’s charismatic, she could have convinced them with words alone. Though I’m glad she doesn’t have to.” God, I’m exhausted. “Hey, do me a favor, let me lean on you until the judges come back.” Not even waiting for him to say yes like I know he will. I lean my head against his arm.

“Wow, you are beat,” he says with a small chuckle.

“I feel like I could sleep for a week,” I say, “I know I won’t get to, but--”

“We should at least get the data core to the Republic before you fall off the face of the galaxy,” he says with a smirk.

“One thing at a time,” I say.

Carth wraps his arm around me, pulling me in tighter. I take a while to just… listen to the sound of his breathing. The slight movement of his shoulder with each inhale and exhale. Try to find some small peace before things start happening again. 

Then, all too soon, he nudges me. The door to the judges’ chambers has opened, and they begin to file back in. Judge Jhosa holds the datapad up. “We have verified that this is indeed a Sith datapad indicating their complicity in a plot to overthrow the lawful government of Manaan,” he says.

“In gratitude for having discovered this heinous offense,” Judge Kota says, “all charges against you regarding this incident will be dropped. Pending a suitable penalty against the Sith, their Embassy is considered off-limits to all Ahto City Security personnel. No calls or incidents from their base will be attended to until this matter is dealt with, as they are no longer subject to the protections of Selkath law.”

And finally, Shelkar speaks. “You have been found innocent, and may leave as you desire. Please see a court officer for the return of your belongings. This trial is now over.”

I breathe out the biggest sigh of relief, as the others pat my shoulders and congratulate me. (Why are they congratulating me? I guess that’s just the thing you do when someone wins a court case, not that I’d know. As far as I know I’ve never been on trial before.)

Carth rests his hand on my shoulder. Where the others patted, his hand stays. “We should get that information back to the Republic. Unless you want to take a minute.”

I shake my head. “The sooner we get this over with, the better. Juhani, let’s go.” She and Carth fall into lockstep with me, and we head back to East Central.

[spectraspecs-writes]

My parents had recorded the series finale of Star Trek Voyager on tape, right off the air. It was my job a while back to go through the home recorded tapes, see what was on them, and correctly label the tapes. Usually, I would watch enough to see what something was, fast forward until I saw something different, and repeat, but I like Voyager so I watched it.

The commercials were still on the tape, and I’m also a fan of old commercials so I sat and watched them all. It was there that I saw a Coca Cola commercial that changed me as a person.

A man was outside mowing his lawn. Everything about the man and his lawn just *reeked* of 1990s. The lighting, the set, his clothes. He stopped his lawn mower and wiped the sweat from his brow. And then.

He started to deflate.

Panicked, he started to rush from one side of his yard to the other, deflating all the way. And then, when he was finally flat, he grabbed a can of Coke, drank it, and began to reinflate to his normal shape and size.

Not for kink reasons, but I think about that commercial a lot. And sometimes I miss it.

theres a lot wrong with the fact that every tv program is a subscription platform these days but what has really caused us to stray from the light is the absolute lack of shitty quality commercials. where's the badly filmed used car commercials? the terrible vonage phone commercials? the weird local political campaigns? we need to be humbled and forced to watch the most bonkers insane 5 minutes of advertising smack in the middle of the climax of shows again

[the-great-kraken]

if you see a male character kiss a male character, you assume they are gay.

if you see a female character kiss a female character, you assume they are a lesbian.

if you hear a character say they don't feel like their gender, you assume they are trans.

so why do a-spec characters have to jump through so many loops?

a character saying they've never had a crush or don't want a relationship or that they don't understand romantic love is so often ignored or used as fodder for other queer or autistic headcanons (reinforcing stereotypes that aroace people are secretly gay or always autistic)

why is it that our stories are always "up to interpretation"? why do we have to wait for the words aromantic or asexual to be said to be taken seriously? why is it that even when characters say they don't want relationships, fans will scream and cry about sex/romance favourable aspecs and qprs?

when it comes to gay and trans characters, even the likes of bisexual lighting is often treated as though it canonises their sexuality. for aroace characters, even the most explicit coding possible is swept under the rug in favour of other "interpretations"

i'm so tired of fighting for representation just to have it ignored and minimised by fans. let characters be aroace. please.

[wolfsnooze]

in which hunter’s possession goes a whole lot worse

[troythecatfish]

[thelikesofus]

know it's for the better

9-1-1 on ABC | Buddie | 500 words | Season 8b Spec | eddie moves to texas, goodbyes, emotional hurt no comfort, evan 'buck' buckley needs a hug Buck lets his whole heart disappear across state lines because he knows it's the only right thing to do

Buck holds Eddie tightly against his chest and wills breath into the other man's lungs. He wills the world to keep him safe and watch over him in a place that Buck can’t go. Buck’s composure is hanging by a thread when Eddie pulls away. The way his fingertips drag across Buck’s ribs as he steps back speaks to the reluctance that’s taken up residence in Buck's chest since he first laid eyes on the cursed iPad.

Reluctant to let him go, to watch him leave, knowing that he can’t do anything but that. Buck can’t be that selfish, no matter how much he wants to get on his knees on this wet asphalt and beg Eddie to stay. Because he knows that Eddie’s going for all the right reasons and Buck wants him to stay for all the wrong ones. 

Eddie needs to be with Christopher, Christopher needs to know that his Dad is there, when he’s ready, whenever he needs. God, what Buck wouldn’t have given to see that same unconditional, unwavering love from his own parents growing up. 

Buck fucked it all up. He is once again too late, too slow, too little, too much. Too in love with Eddie to stand to watch him go, too in love with him to force him to stay. Because he knows, this is the only way this was going to end. 

“Call me so I know you’ve arrived safely,” Buck says firmly, his voice as steady as he can make it. 

Eddie watches him with those wide, dark eyes and Buck feels caught. The corner of Eddie’s mouth turns up slightly. “I will.” 

“Okay, okay you better go before the rain gets worse.” Buck forces himself to take another step back. 

“Right.” Eddie’s still watching him. He’s chewing on the inside of his cheek, a nervous tick Buck knows means he’s thinking too hard about something. He opens his mouth like he’s going to say something and Buck waits with baited breath. Eddie shakes his head and licks his lips. “Okay, I’ll—. Right.”

“Drive safe.” 

Eddie nods and steps back one, two, turn, three, four, truck door, step up, turns the key, starts the engine, five, six, pulls away from the curb.

Buck forces himself to turn his back, he can’t watch the UHaul disappear around the corner. He forces himself to walk back to the Jeep, to heave his wet, ponderous self into the driver's seat and catches the smallest glimpse of tail lights in the review mirror and snaps.

A cry tears its way up his throat, fists, and forearms smashing against the staring wheel as the anguish builds, hitting the horn at random intervals. 

Briefly, he feels bad for Eddie’s neighbors—who aren’t Eddie’s neighbors anymore.

His forehead falls against the wheel as he shakes and wheezes and tastes the salty tears streaming down his cheeks. Sobbing and hiccupping he wraps his arms as tightly as he can around himself and forces breath into his lungs.

[bisayawa]

hand. cramp.

𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ pairing: bruce wayne (pattinson) × afab!fem!eader

𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ warnings: smut. fluff. female masturbation.

𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ a/n: smut drabble; sometimes sex can be awkward. she/her pronouns used. w. count: 592. not proofread. mdni banner by @/cafekitsune. art by bernini.

"give me a show, honey. please?"

that's what bruce had asked you thirty minutes ago, bright blue eyes twinkling, brows downturned in askance. he said those words into the hollow of your throat, nipping & pecking & kneading your thighs all the while.

he whispered & begged & pleaded, pressing kisses as you made your way to the bed, eager to watch how you do it, how you touch yourself with your own hands.

his eyes were wide at attention, ears piquing at the soft sounds breathing out from your lips. he watches, hungry, aching, pawing at the bedspread & biting his lip at the shine of your slick. from the tips of your fingers down to the knuckle, disappearing into the wet heat of you. you cant your hips, back & forth, blinking your eyes closed at the crest of each pass.

"faster," he said, staring. "could you do it faster for me, honey? please?"

he brings a kiss to your cheek, then another, and two more, grasping across your torso to hold you close, biting at your skin as if to coax you.

you obliged, of course, sweet words flowing into you like molasses. pure sugar lit afire in your chest as you feel the start of the tingle at the base of your spine, feel the warmth in your blood from your chest start to crawl down to the tips of your toes. your eyes go cross before you pinch them closed.

he's right beside you, biting & groping & sucking bruises into your neck as you pace faster...

― breaths heaving & flush brightening from your forehead down to your chest ―

and faster...

― small noises & airy sighs curling out from parted lips ―

and... stop.

you're stock still, panting as your legs are tense. your hand is unmoving, taut like a bowstring at rest. the climbing heat ebbs away. your toes twitch & jerk.

"honey?" he says, kissing your cheek. "you okay? what's wrong?"

he rubs your side soothingly, waiting.

your eyes open & you give a sleepy smile, huffing a laugh as you stare up into his eyes. your hand retreats. more breaths run out from your mouth.

"hand cramp, bruce..." you clear your throat. "sorry."

he softens at the sighed out apology, couldn't be more endeared. he moves to sit up beside you, kneeling almost.

"don't be." he reaches for your wrist & massages at your knuckles, kissing the back of your hand.

"bruce... ah-"

he takes your fingers to mouth, a haphazard clean up. drool from his tongue winds down in rivulets, from fingertip to palm. he eyes you as if to challenge. all he sees is your mouth parting in a small whimper.

he sets it down when it's clean of you, humming as the digits leaves his mouth. he savors it, of course, drawing it out slowly from where they're flush to his mouth. first your knuckles, then the middle, then out comes your fingertips, shining with his spit. he licks his lips, leaning down to give you a kiss sweeter & softer than spun sugar.

"my little love," he murmurs against your mouth. "got a cramp, did she? tsk, tsk..."

he breaks from the kiss then, grinning down as he kneels, moves over & sets a hand on your inner thigh. his fingers drum against the skin, impatient, crawling closer & closer to where you want him. the bed dips to receive the weight of him on his knees.

"i think i know what can make her feel better."

[blaire-beast]

Main 3 of my story :]

Dip pens are so awesome istg

Also rebloggs are highly appreciated!! I'd love to get more of my oc content out there, they're my pride and joy

Story explained below, please leave some feedback if you take the time to read it!!

So, top to bottom: Eden, Silas and Chaos(all more or less any pronouns, Eden goes mostly by she/her and Chaos and Silas by he/him)

Eden is the daughter of the sun god and another dragon (not a god but she's viewed as the moon) and she grew up alone with her mom Eskar up in the mountains shielded from everything that was going down in the outside world. She goes off to find out what happened to the gods who disappeared around 100 years ago as a young adult and ends up having to save the world after dying and waking up the sun god

Chaos is half roach half person and he grew up in a cult away from society under the hand of a fake god (cancer taking the form of something and trying to get people to join her cult so that she may consume the whole world one day). Said "god" calls herself Visha and is the main villain of the story and he had to be her right hand and do all of her dirty work for most of his life. He met Eden when Visha took notice of her traveling through her forests and made Chaos set up some sort of camp out in the desert promising to teach magic and let people speak with the gods. The two got very close and eventually fell in love which caused him to freak out and urge Eden to pack her things and go before "she" finds out, unfortunately he left earlier than her cause he couldn't say goodbye and eden followed him up to his lab where she saw the eldritch horror and had to fight it as she used chaos as a puppet and in the end had to be put out of her misery due to her injuries and the very real possibility of getting tortured till the end of the world if Visha got her hands on her

Silas is the son of a very rich harpy woman and a monkey person (don't have a name for them yet aaaa), along with his brother Elias. They grew up rich but his brother is selectively mute and was a really emotional kid so everyone in their family treated him as some sort of animal who stained their image and so they only gave silas an education. His dad was a dragon hunter up until the day he was attacked and killed by a "dragon" which is when silas had to step in and fill in his role even tho he was really inexperienced in everything that came with it and deep down he did not want to kill or hurt anything for that matter. He goes off to the desert a year or two after running into eden thinking that she's the one who killed his dad and using it as an excuse to finally get away from his family. Eventually he is rescued by her after his attempts to survive out in the wilderness fail miserably and they live together in the desert till eden is badly injured and has to be rushed to the nearest town for immediate help

Eden and Silas end up moving in together while eden tries to do more research on the gods and the weirdness around the sudden disappearing and chaos' situation degrades as he falls deeper into grief and Visha gets more violent and aggressive. Eventually him and eden run into each other at a festival in the town square and after a bit of freaking out and avoiding each other they talk and eden starts putting the pieces together

There's a bit of back and forth with chaos not being able to reveal much in fear of being watched but eventually they run into each other in an old temple both looking for anything that might give them more info on the gods and in the midst of a very sad embrace visha materializes out of nowhere to formally introduce herself to eden and to kill her for good since at that point she knew way too much. The fight doesn't go her away and upon realizing that eden knows how to use fire really well and could easily burn her to a crisp and undo months of work she goes full flesh monster and breaks one of the pillars holding everything together trying to burry her alive. Eden manages to escape last minute and chaos is left to wake up back at the cult surrounded by mangled bodies and a very hungry and very angry visha

Eventually she goes into a sort of deep hibernation for like a year to conserve her strength after being sure that she scared chaos into submission (she didn't) and while she's not there to keep an eye on everything he goes to eden and silas' place and proceeds to explain everything and then probably faint. At that point in the story he'd be very sick with the same cancer that the gods suffered from quietly and his state would only degrade from then on as they wake them all up and prepare for a final confrontation with the flesh monster

Him and eden wake her up and fight her, he ends up immobilizing her with an old powerful spell so that eden can channel the wrath of her god parent and burn her to an absolute crisp, loosing her right arm in the process

Chaos is caught in the fire and comes out of it alive and better than he ever was, realizing that he's more or less a manifestation of the magic that's in every living thing and that Visha only stayed alive cause she could feed on him (she can only really feed on magic stuff, she started out as a disease that the gods of life and death got after fighting each other and sharing blood)

That's mostly it! There's a lotttt of bits and pieces but i thought it was about time i shared the full story somewhere

Either way thank you all for the support so far!! Tumblr has been genuinely wonderful

Here's an old animatic i did about it

[bazookaboi]

Idk just some studies I did at school with no refs whatsoever so a few may be slightly anatomically incorrect.

(Take into account that this is only my opinion, draw however you want. These are only observations. And I did minimal research due to this being a small side project mainly done at school, so if you would like a more detailed explanation of this [I can definitely rant more in detail on this lol] or you think something is wrong please do notify me!) (I also know this has been done before but eh)

Ok, so over all my years of seeing digitigrade legs on bipeds, I have wondered countless times of how some could keep themselves upright without being very uncomfortable…

Here is the most common one that I see that is quite confusing for me:

I… really don’t get how this could be effective. Even with stronger tendons and musculature, they would always be tensed, and therefore the organism would get tired quite quickly due to the constant strain. I assume walking would be quite difficult as well.

Here are a few more variations of confusing digi-legs that I see:

(out of all of them I think I] would be the best, although still not really efficient). as for number two… please. No. Poor leg T-T.

Ok, so. Time to provide ideas for alternatives… but first of all, we must understand the structure of a digitigrade leg:

(Human-dog comparison) As seen in this drawing, digitigrade, like its name suggests, means that only the digits of the foot touch the ground in a regular stance.

A human is plantigrade creature, meaning that they walk on the sole of their foot, with their heel touching the ground. In short, all of the foot.

Surely most of you already know that though, so I don’t think I need to explain any further on that part (unless you want me to. As in like, why.)

Ok- now onto alternatives. with a digitigrade leg slightly modified for an upright biped, I present you with this:

minimal strain is ensured by this more upright leg design. As you can observe, I also use this straighter version with my own semi-bipedal original genus.

——————

Ok… apart from this, here are two more speculative builds:

I] Velociraptor-esque build/stance

(Yes I know that the running blade has no joints but I just want to compare that they would both be quite springy and fast.)

II] Ostrich/bird-esque build

I assume this could be a very speedy design. The digits would also be very mildly elevated, but not enough to be unguligrade. (I drew it slightly too long in the drawing though) uaaa I am too tired to write a description separate from the stuff written in the drawing but I wanted to post this today goddamnit.

aaaaaaaaaauuuuuugh exams gotta study aooooooooooo T-T when am I ever going to need to use a sintagma nominal in real life bro what is this.

No. I must restrain myself from whining online. That is not productive in the slightest. Better to work on a solution. >:(.

[*falls upon bed and melts to become one with the sheets*]

[smile-files]

i'm trying to do some speculative biology stuff on how dragons could exist: provided i'm thinking of the typical hexapod/six-limbed dragon (four legs and two wings), however, i have to contrive reasons for how the extra set of limbs would arise on a quadruped, and how they'd function (wyvern dragons are much easier to envision, as they're just scarier pterodactyls); i'm also curious as to how dragons would behave given their anatomy. assorted thoughts below...

for one thing, i instantly imagined dragons evolving from dinosairs. i was thinking of some sort of conjoined/parasitic twin mutation common to the dragon species which would add the extra wings, but that idea rested on one twin having the wing-limbs to contribute to the wingless dominant twin, which apparently would be impossible as all conjoined twins are identical (which is pretty obvious now that i think about it). i should still keep the conjoined twins idea in my back pocket, though, so there could be hydras!

maybe the extra limbs would just be a product of polymelia, specifically notomelia... as it is, though, i'm wondering how the mutant extra limbs would evolve into wings fast enough that the mutation could even persist in the population: the presence of the extra limbs would likely be a hinderance for as long as they aren't actively beneficial, after all. maybe i can look into how pterodactyl and archaeopteryx wings evolved to get a sense of how that occurred: for them, too, any evolutionary stage at the midpoint between leg and wing would likely have not been specialized enough in either direction to be helpful, so the transition must've been quick/direct and therefore a product of a single large mutation with subsequent refinements. for dragons, i could imagine two stages, with a simpler, smaller wing evolving in a quick first pass -- giving the animal more air time when leaping -- and a second stage of the wings enlarging to provide the capacity for real flight. (either way i'd imagine that dragons, like birds and mammals, would initially be very small and only evolve to their maximum size after the extinction of the dinosaurs.) i'd have to look more into the occurrence of notomelia and what causes it (does it even occur in reptiles/dinosaurs?), to see how realistic it would be for it to occur commonly within a species and produce fully-functioning limbs.

i'm picturing dragons as carnivorous, meaning they'd likely evolve from theropods: this would make sense, given theropods' hollow bones, as well as their evolutionary proximity to birds. with that in mind, having the wings as an extra set of limbs would be especially beneficial, as all four of the animal's legs could be maintained: the hindlegs for running, and the forelegs for grasping (these would necessarily not be tiny like a t-rex's). also, the idea of feathered dragons is a very fun one: imagine the vivid colors and patterns they could have!

in terms of size, we tend to picture dragons as very large -- however, i'd have to keep in mind that the larger the animal, the harder it will be to maintain lift and fly efficiently, especially if the animal in question has more than four limbs to carry in addition to its body. there have been some genuinely huge flying reptiles and birds in existence, such as quetzalcoatlus northropi (~35 ft wingspan, 440-550 lbs weight) and pelagornis sandersi (~20 ft wingspan, 48-44 lbs weight) -- and these awesome animals were able to fly, despite being so massive! there are several factors that would contribute to this, including the giant wingspan and hollow bones. because of the weight of the extra limbs, i doubt a hexapod dragon could grow quite as massive as quetzalcoatlus and still be able to fly well, though i still think it would be possible for them to be very large; it's worth mentioning, too, that having four legs to power liftoff would make it more viable for a dragon to take to the skies at all.

in myth, dragons often breathe fire; i don't think i could manage to find a reasonable biological means of that evolving, though perhaps dragons could evolve to spit venom, which would be a more realistic means of delivering a ranged, burning attack. in flight, the dragon could take down its prey by targeting it with venom, then quickly snatch it up with its forelegs to eat without ever alighting. sounds evolutionarily beneficial to me: very efficient, and very awesome.

tying into the trope of a greedy dragon's hoard, perhaps dragons are especially keen to shiny objects, which they can see from afar: with this mid-flight grasping maneuver, they'd snatch them up to add to a bowerbird-like nest decorated with "treasure". to connect more with myth, dragons are often associated with weather, storms in particular; perhaps dragons migrate at high altitudes during rainy seasons, creating that correlation.

it should be noted, too, that the reality in which i'm picturing these dragons is one in which humans also exist. these humans, witnessing the behaviors of these awe-inspiring creatures, would tell stories about them: they breathe fire (they spit venom), and they abduct children (they snatch up their prey in their claws), and they steal treasure from kings (they take shiny things for their nests), and they control the weather (they migrate during the rainy season). perhaps humans aren't their main prey source, causing dragons to be a fear but not a genuine threat to humans (like how we view sharks); or perhaps dragons indeed regularly eat humans, meaning humans have to live out of sight of them. in the latter case, considering how dragons are highly effective predators, they might drive humans towards extinction!

i hope you enjoyed my spec-bio ramble on the evolution, physiology, and behavior of dragons! it's very fun to think about :)

[icewindandboringhorror]

I know this is just a silly bad quality random screencap of a screencap that I found on facebook lol, BUT it's a succinct enough image to easily describe the concept in a quick/accessible way hopefully :

-

(and of course, feel free to elaborate in tags, etc.! (especially elaborating about other senses as well.. can you "hear" in your mind just as well as you can "see"? taste? etc.) It's an interesting topic to me, as someone who's like a 4.5 at MOST lol. I'm curious what option will be the most common :0c )

[spectraspecs-writes]

Manaan - Chapter 129

Link to the masterpost. Chapter 128. Chapter 130.

@averruncusho @ceruleanrainblues @chubbsmomma @darthvendar-blog @80strashbag thank you for reading, you get a tag. @skelelexiunderlord thank you for support, you get a tag.

——–

Roland Wann takes a moment before he looks up from his desk, I stand there for a moment before he looks up. “Ah, you’re back,” he say, “I was glad to hear your trial went well.” No thanks to you, buddy. “Have you managed to retrieve the data from our droid in the Sith base?”

“Yes,” I say, pulling the module from my pack, “here it is.”

“Excellent!” He takes the module and looks it over. “It does not appear to have been tampered with, so the Sith did not manage to copy its contents yet. And now for your information…” He looks around, then gestures and brings us into the Enclave. “We are not supposed to speak of this, but since you are a Jedi, and we have exhausted all the other options, I think I can entrust you with this. 

“As you know, the Republic is fighting for its very existence against the evil of the Sith Empire. As you also undoubtedly know, we are doing very poorly. We need much in the way of supplies and material to stem the tide of battle and bring us victory.” I’m not sure I like where this is going. “Manaan is the sole source of kolto, the most powerful medical substance in the galaxy. Frankly, we need as much of it as we can get.”

“What has the Republic done?” Carth asks.

“The Selkath conservatives with their neutrality treaties seek to treat the Sith and the Republic equally. This includes kolto exports. But a few more far-sighted Selkath see that if the Sith are ever allowed to win, the galaxy will be plunged into darkness and there would be nothing to stop them from taking Manaan anyway. So we made a deal…”

“You violated the treaty?!?” explodes out of my mouth.

“Shh!” Wann urges, “Not so loud! Yes, it is a technical violation of the treaty, but it is sanctioned by elements of the Selkath government. We need only keep it hidden from the Sith.”

“This is incredibly dangerous,” I say, “If the Sith found out or the rest of the government got wind of this…”

“I know,” Wann says with a heavy sigh, “but to the senators, it seemed to outweigh the risks. We recently began construction of a secret underground facility to harvest kolto directly at its source. We also hope to one day be able to synthesize it effectively. Current techniques are insufficient for the task, so we must mine it for now. The amount we take would hardly be noticed, since most is lost naturally before it reaches the surface anyway. We were nearing completion of the base when the digging teams reported some sort of obstruction... an ancient building or artifact. Possibly your 'Star Map.'” Sounds like it to me. “Transmissions from the base were cut off abruptly after that, and we haven't heard from the station since.”

That’s odd - construction crews, especially underwater, would have to keep near-constant contact with the surface for safety. “What happened down there?”

He sighs a heavy sigh. “We don’t know. We just don’t know.”

“And you haven’t investigated?” Carth asks.

“As you may have noticed, we are hiring a lot of mercenaries around here. Ostensibly they're to be shipped off-world to aid in our fight against the Sith, but they are really for another purpose. When we lost contact with the station in the Hrakert Rift, we sent our contingent of Republic soldiers down to investigate. None returned.” Yikes. “We have tried hiring mercenaries and sending them down as well” - well, that answers that question - “but none of those expeditions have returned either. The reason we really sent that droid underwater - and the reason we needed its data back so badly - was to find out what had happened to the Hrakert Rift station. But now that we have the data back, our operation is in no danger of exposure to the Sith. And now I must live up to my end of the bargain.”

Well, gee, so I have to go into a place that no one has returned from to get this thing? That’s… actually par for the course, I don’t know why I’m pissed. “How will we get down there?”

“I took the liberty of having a submarine prepared for your departure. Merely use this card” - which he hands me - “to get past the door behind our kolto packing room and enter the sub therein. It has been programmed to take you down to the station, and also to take you back up should you need something. I would send soldiers to assist you, but we have lost many of ours, and nearly exhausted the mercenary population of this planet. The soldiers we have are barely enough to keep this base secure! The Sith have also noted our interest and begun to bribe mercenaries away from us, as you noticed. Please, find out what happened to the facility. There may be some survivors left down there, perhaps even the head scientist - Kono Nolan.” He reaches out to shake my hand. I politely take it. “Good luck in your efforts.”

The three of us walk to the submersible bay and climb in. With the push of a button, the sub closes and begins to descend. My nerves all but vanish as the water rises up above us. This is the perfect chance to observe the ecosystem here, up close. Selkath culture views this ocean as the birthplace of all life on the planet. They’re still semi-aquatic themselves - everything about the species is clearly designed to be as aerodynamic as possible through the water, rather than on dry land. And a planet that’s entirely oceanic is rare - the adaptations in the aquatic animals and plants are sure to be unique. And to add the kolto on top of that - kolto is unique to Manaan. Its potential effects on the evolution of life on this planet hasn’t been thoroughly studied, certainly not in the field. Despite the voice in my head that constantly reminds me that none of my experiences as a scout, none of what I know, is real, all I feel right now is the sense that this is what I was meant to do, where I was meant to be.

But tragically, and too soon, the voyage is over, and we emerge inside the underwater facility. The hatch pops open. While the design clearly matches the base we just left, none of the activity or idle noise is present. The only sound is the occasional drip of water. It’s dark, a little spooky. I really don’t like that drip, it makes me think the walls aren’t watertight. The other side of the submersible bay has a wrecked craft over there. What down here is strong enough to destroy a submersible and can breathe the oxygen atmosphere? A firaxan shark could do it, at least in a group. Even just one could do a lot of damage. But the damage I see came from the top, from within the facility, not from the water. Whatever it is that did this damage came from inside the base. It’s probably the same thing that stopped anyone from contacting the surface. The air is salty, but there’s still the unmistakable smell of fresh death. And it’s not a fishy smell. These aren’t dead Selkath.

There’s only so much I can learn standing here and honestly I’m just scaring myself. I start towards the closest door. It opens to a hallway, and at the end of that hall is a chamber with a Twi’lek in it. Someone alive! The closer we get, I can hear him muttering to himself, crazed. He’s pacing back and forth in the round chamber. Just before the chamber, he hears us, and draws his blaster. Then, “You’re not Selkath!” He lowers it and rushes towards us, grabbing my shoulders. “How-- how did you get in? Did they send another submersible? Quick, we have to get out of here, we have to get away!”

“Whoa, calm down!” I push his arms away. “Get away from what?”

“No! No!” he shakes his head, “We have no time, we have to leave now! I managed to close the door after they killed everyone else, but I don't know how long it will hold.”

“Who’s ‘they’? What happened?”

“The Selkath, they went crazy!” he says, “They started killing anything that moved. Someone must have triggered the defense systems too, 'cause all the droids activated as well.” No wonder this place looks so demolished. “I was one of the mercs the Republic sent down here to find out what happened. We came down and secured the first couple rooms…” He starts to lose his breath. Like he wants to cry but doesn’t have enough water. “...there were bodies everywhere… And the Selkath came out… screaming and croaking their fishy little war-cries.”

“The Selkath?” Carth repeats in disbelief.

The Twi’lek mercenary nods. “They swarmed out and over us,” he says, “There was no way we could stop them. So we ran... But hardly any of us made it. I locked the door behind us, bu... but the others had already left in the submersible!” And left you? That’s cold. “The sharks... the firaxa out there and... worse... I heard an explosion shortly after the submersible left. They didn't make it. Just food for the sharks and the Selkath... like us.”

“Come with us,” Juhani says, “We will take you back to the surface in our submersible.” Right, get this guy somewhere safe.

He relaxes a bit. “Back to the surface, yes,” he says, “Yes… No!” He stops. “There's something out there... it got the other submersible already.”

“Then how are we supposed to get you out of here?” Carth asks.

The Twi’lek shakes her head forcefully. His lekku shake. “We can't leave until you do something. Blow up the entire station maybe.” No. “That might distract whatever it is long enough for us to escape to the surface. But all the machinery and stuff is in the southern half, and that's been flooded! There might still be environmental suits around but... but... the Selkath might have laid their eggs in them!”

“That’s not how fish eggs work,” I find myself saying before I’m even aware of it, “They lack a hard shell so eggs laid on dry land would suffer immediate desiccation.”

“What are you talking about?!” he shouts.

“Forget it,” I say, “I have to get into the station.” I move to step around him.

“No!” He steps back in front of me. “I locked the door so that the Selkath won't get in. If you open it, we're all done for!”

“I’m sorry,” I say, “I have to.”

“If you go in there, you're dead! You're all dead!” We don’t budge. Neither does he. Finally he grumbles, “Fine! If you want to die, then go! You won't hear me mourning for you! I'll stay here and be safe until some sort of REAL rescue comes! But if you're going to go in there, do it quickly! I'll shut the door behind you... but don't expect me to open it again!”

True to his word, he shoves us through the door into the base and locks the door behind us. I’m not particularly worried about a locked door. Anything he can lock, I can figure out how to unlock, and worst case scenario I’ll just destroy the door. There’s only one way to go, forward, to a single door at the end of a long hallway.

Through the door at the end of the hall, there’s a security panel. “Let me see if I can get anything off that,” I say, “hang on.” The card from Roland Wann gives me access and I download a map onto my datapad.

‘That mercenary said there was still staff in the south part of the base,” Juhani says, “Are you able to locate them?”

“Let me see…” A quick security scan for life signs should be easy enough, even at reduced power. That’s… that’s a lot more life signs than I expected. Based on these readings, the base is teeming with life. But that can’t be the case because this place is quiet. I wonder - can I filter these results to only endotherms? Let’s see… there we go.

Holy shit.

Including us, there are seven endotherms, seven non-Selkath in the entire base. Several sensors are offline, but that mercenary said that part of the base was flooded. So where I see offline sensors, that’s probably ocean, and if anyone’s there, they’re Selkath. And the Selkath went insane. “Not including us, there are two non-Selkath on this side of the base,” I say, “One of them is that mercenary, the other is staff.” That’s all I can get - there’s too many damaged systems. “There’s two more on the other side of the base, but there’s an ocean between us and them.”

“That’s where all the machinery is,” Carth says.

“I’m not blowing up the base,” I say.

“I know, but that can’t be the only option,” he says, “Something happened here and maybe the machinery had something to do with it.”

‘We’re not going to find out here, at any rate,” I say, ‘There’s too much damage to find any archived sensor information. Whatever happened, the main computer doesn’t have any record of it.”

“Let’s keep moving, then.”

“One last thing,” I say, “The merc said the defense system was activated. I want to switch them off before we run into anything.” Sentry droids, quite a few of them. I send a remote deactivation command, and they all tick offline. “Okay, we’re good to go.” Sign off. To the next door.

The other door opens to an even longer hallway, lined on one side floor to ceiling with windows. Light filters in from the windows, tinted green by the water. It’s not bright, but it supplements the already-dim station lighting. The view through them is unobstructed - good, I can get a sense of the damage, our surroundings.

And everything makes sense.

We’re in the reef… The kolto must… This habitat is so… The sharks probably… But the Republic…

“You’re mumbling,” Carth says suddenly. Was I saying all that out loud? “What do you see?”

“You don’t see that?” I say. No, I guess not. I run my finger along the glass, tracing the reef and its ridges. “This is prime marine habitat, look at all the firaxan sharks. This reef and its caves and crannies have probably been formed by centuries of erosion and sharks looking for creches to lay their eggs. This isn’t just a home, it’s a nursery. And the kolto is part of that. It’s healing for us, but as a part of their ecosystem, it must have a growth impact here in the ocean as well. Everything here has been shaped by millenia of this delicate balance. The rocks and minerals erode, releasing the kolto into the water, which helps the sharks grow, and they create more crevices, more erosion. And that’s not even considering the other species that call this reef home.”

Carth and Juhani look, but they don’t see it. Can’t see it, not quite. Aren’t used to thinking that way. “I am sure Selkath scientists already understood this,” Juhani says slowly, not quite understanding, ‘Sure they know where the kolto…”

“It’s not about the kolto, it’s about the eggs!” I say, “The construction impacts the nursery sites, you can see the change. The sharks reacted to the construction in defense of their home, their eggs. The vibrations through the water may have affected their communication, too, so not only were they being attacked, the world suddenly got so… loud.” I understand that. The confusion, the mixed signals, the uncertainty. The fear. The lashing out.

“That explains the sharks,” Carth says, “but what about the Selkath?”

I suck my teeth. “I’m not sure yet. They couldn’t have known this would happen when they authorized the Republic to build here - the ocean means too much to them to risk its destruction. But their response… I don’t know. There’s still a few pieces I’m missing. And I’m not going to get them in here.” I take a deep breath. “I’ll have to go out to the ocean floor.”

[destroyusall]

I headcanon that slugcats aren’t m/f but are hermaphroditic (like real slugs!) and it’s just a matter of presentation they prefer. Intersex slonks my beloved

[therottenkingsreckoning]

Contrary to popular belief, demons and angels are usually neutral towards one another, rather than in direct opposition. It isn't like the stereotypical "cats & dogs", but much closer to what happened with the evolutionary line of wolves & dogs (the angels herein being wolves). That's not a direct comparison, but imagine if you were to amputate your arm, fling it into a subspace void, and watch as it somehow mutated into an entire race of beings over the course of a couple millenia. Also in this analogy, both you and the arm-race are made out of magical fire and something like "the concept of entropy" taking vaguely humanoid forms.

It's worth noting as well that angel society and behavior are not unlike that of a beehive or ant colony, being fiercely loyal to their host God and rarely if ever seen outside of the Heaven unless on direct orders from said host. They carry a strong sense of order and justice as all Cosmics do, but in angels this will typically be expressed out of obligation, while a demon acting similarly is more likely to be driven by subemotional instinct.

I can talk more on the subclasses of sentient beings and the magical system here if anyone's interested! A lot of things are quite finicky or unstable, so it won't be a comprehensive breakdown of what is definitely true in every case. But I can still give you a basic idea of what is probably happening, like, most of the time.

[thebadphilosopher]

So I know I talk and joke about not writing, writer's block, and procrastination but I do write things (and occasionally finish them) so here's proof with a moment from a B99 spec script I did.

Yeah it was a while ago but like, ignore the details it's the thought that counts.

[thelikesofus]

starting our forever, baby

9-1-1 on ABC | Buddie | 2.1k words | s7 spec, prev bucktommy, getting together, love confessions, love is stored in the kitchen

Eddie wakes up to a surprise visit from Buck and they finally talk about forever.

Read on AO3

Eddie wakes up to the sound of pans clanging in the kitchen and the smell of pancake batter and hot butter. Neither of these things is cause for alarm nor out of the ordinary but he is ninety-eight percent certain he went to sleep in an empty house. 

He rolls out of bed, shrugging on a sweatshirt and grabbing a pair of soft socks out of his drawer on the way past and to no surprise finds Buck in the kitchen.

“Hey! Eddie,” Buck smiles brightly at him as Eddie cautiously perches himself on a kitchen stool. “Good morning.”

Buck is bathed in sunlight from the kitchen window behind him, a halo of gold filtering through his soft curls, gel-free and touseled on the top of Buck’s head in a way that Eddie wishes he would let them be more often. “Morning, Buck. You’re here early.”

Buck bustles around the kitchen, pulling milk out of the fridge and grabbing a mug from the top cupboard, his body moving around Eddie’s kitchen as if it has been programmed with an innate sense of where to find anything and everything. He could be convinced that Buck knows his way around Eddie’s kitchen better than Eddie does. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m sorry. It’s just–it’s been a while, yeah? And I feel like I haven’t seen Chris in ages–I miss the kid–and I figured he was probably, if not missing me, at least missing my pancakes. I hope he hasn’t been letting you make them.”

Buck pours coffee from the pot into the mug, tops it off with the precise amount of milk that Eddie prefers, and sets it in front of Eddie before turning to the frying pan and flipping the pancake. “I know you’ve been improving in the cooking department–I can see it, Eddie, and I’m proud of you,” Eddie’s heart squeezes in his chest. “But pancakes are my department.”

“I wouldn’t want to steal your thunder.” Eddie quips and Buck whips around to wave the spatula at him.

“Exactly!”

“Buck,” Eddie presses carefully because there’s a frantic energy fizzing beneath Buck’s skin, he can see it in the way he moves, the line of his shoulders, and the exaggerated way he swings his arms. “Christopher isn’t here. He’s on school camp until Friday.”

“Oh, right, I knew that.” Buck’s whole body joints to a stop like a record skipping on a turntable and then just as soon he’s back in motion again. “That’s okay! I brought lemon juice for on your pancakes, we can save the bacon for the weekend when he gets back.”

Eddie’s heart grows three sizes in his chest, threatening to burst out all over his kitchen and cover Buck and the bench top in a flood of emotions he’s spent the last month and a half trying to fold smaller and smaller until he can safely tuck them away beneath his ribs where it can’t hurt anyone but himself. 

“Buck?” The other man glances at him before turning back to the stove, giving a soft hum in response. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Buck grins at him again but it doesn’t reach his eyes this time. 

“You’re buzzing, and not the good kind.” Eddie stands and rounds the counter, he leans against the other side while still giving Buck as much space as he needs. He presses again, softer this time. “Buck? What’s going on?”

Buck deflates and turns the stove off, removing the pan from the element and leaning against the other counter opposite Eddie. “Tommy and I broke up. I broke up with him, or we broke up with each other, I guess.” 

Eddie isn’t sure what to say. As far as he knew Buck and Tommy’s relationship had been going smoothly. They were a good fit, even Eddie could tell, as much as it sometimes pained him to admit. But he was happy for them. Seeing them dance together at Maddie and Chimney’s wedding had filled Eddie with a sense of pride even when it also left him feeling like he was walking with a permanent rock in his shoe—a phenomenon he could finally put a name to after a few long talks with Frank and an enlightening if not nervewracking night at a bar called the Peacock that Hen had suggested he visit for ‘research purposes’. 

“I thought you really liked Tommy?” Is what he finally manages to say once he unsticks his tongue from the roof of his mouth.

“I do,” Buck says. His arms are still full of static as he gestures with his hands in that way that Buck does when he’s nervous or overwhelmed and he’s not looking Eddie in the eyes. Buck shakes his head. “I did. I did, and Tommy is wonderful but I think we both realized that it wasn’t going to last. He got offered a job, down in Mexico.” Buck pushes away from the bench, pulls two plates out of the drawer, and starts dividing the stack of pancakes between them.

“After the whole fiasco with the cruise ship, the LAFD decided they wanted someone on the ground down there as a sort of link between the Los Angeles rescue helicopters and the team down in Mexico City. They’re going to put him in charge of his own team and he’s been working towards some sort of promotion for ages so he’s really excited about it.”

“He didn’t ask you to go with him did he?” Eddie can’t help but let the question burst out of him. The thought of Buck leaving already feels like tearing out a lung but he also knows he’s in no position to ask Buck to stay, certainly not for Eddie’s sake. 

“He did, sort of.” Buck shrugs. “I think he already knew I wouldn’t say yes. L.A. is my home, I couldn’t leave the 118, I couldn’t leave Maddie and Jee-yun. Christopher, the thought of being anywhere that kid isn’t is just—and I know he’s not—but I still couldn’t. I won’t. Tommy knows that. He also knew that I wouldn’t leave you.”

“Me?” Now Eddie has to swallow down a lump of surprise. Eddie doesn't think that little of himself, he knows he’s important to Buck, they are important to each other, but important enough to be the reason Buck stays in Los Angeles while his boyfriend moves to another country?

Buck turns to place two plates, carefully stacked with fluffy, golden pancakes, each drizzled in lemon juice and sprinkled with sugar—Eddie’s favorite—on the kitchen island, and then he’s facing Eddie again only feet away in all his early morning glory and Eddie dares to hope.

“You.” Buck rests one hip against the counter and turns the full power of those bright blue eyes on Eddie as he finally makes eye contact for the first time all morning. “Yes, you, Eddie. Tommy is lovely and sweet and he has been so, so good to me for the last two months, we’ve been good for each other, I think.”

Eddie breaks the eye contact, he’s heard all about how wonderful and lovely Tommy is for the last two months and while he has been so happy for Buck, truly, it has also been agony. But then Buck is stepping up into Eddie’s space and gripping his elbow. Buck ducks his head until he can catch Eddie’s eyes again and follows his gaze until Eddie gives up on trying to hide from him. 

“But it was never going to work long-term, I don’t think it was ever meant to. He’s very sweet and we get along well but it never got any deeper than that. We made better friends than anything else.”

“Okay, so you ended it on mutual terms and he’s moving to Mexico?”

“Not for a few months but eventually he is yes.”

“A few months?”

“Next February.”

“February? Next year? Buck that ages away, why break up now if he’s not leaving until–.”

“Because it was time.”

“Time for what?”

“To stop lying to myself, to you.”

Eddie almost bites his tongue. “Lying to me? Buck, I am so confused right now. Did you hit your head? You do remember coming out to me right? You’ve been dating a man for the last two months. You brought a man to your sister’s wedding. Honestly, I am still living off of the high that I got from seeing your mother’s face when you kissed Tommy on the dance floor, that was—.”

“Eddie!” Buck laughs around his name and it’s the sweetest sound Eddie has ever heard. “Would you let me finish talking? Please?”

Eddie nods. “Right, yes. Sorry. Proceed.” He swings his arm out dramatically and Buck pinches the skin on the back of Eddie’s arm and rolls his eyes. 

“Eddie,” There’s a seriousness to Buck’s tone that Eddie doesn’t hear often. “I don’t want to presume anything okay, so if I’ve been reading this wrong then please tell me because I don’t want to make this weird, the last thing I want to do is hurt you or make you uncomfortable but—.” Eddie watches the tick in Buck's jaw tighten. “There’s something here, right? You and me?”

“Do you think there is?” Eddie whispers into the space between them, barely getting the words out past where his heart sits in his throat. 

“I dare to hope there is,” Buck whispers back. “I would like there to be. Eddie, you’re my best friend, you’ve been my rock for years and I love you more than anything but I also—I also think I might be in love with you, and I think I have been for a long time.”

“You think?”

“Like pretty God damn certain actually.” 

“Good, good.” Eddie nods, barely keeping the grin from breaking across his face. He can feel his lips twitching with the effort to suppress it. “That’s good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He steps into Buck’s space and leans forward until he can press their foreheads together. Buck’s arm slides from Eddie’s elbow to around his waist and Eddie rests his palm against Buck’s chest, sliding it up until he can wrap his fingers over the swell of Buck’s shoulder and press his thumb into that divet in Buck’s throat where Eddie can feel the heat of him and the pulse of his heartbeat beneath the pad of his thumb. “Because I am definitely in love with you.”

“You never said anything.”

“I didn’t know and then I did but you were with Tommy and you were happy. I was happy for you.”

Buck breathes deeply and Eddie reveals in the way it rushes past his cheek. “What about you?”

“I’m happy now,” Eddie says and it’s true, and realizing that only multiples the happiness tenfold. “I’m so happy I could burst.”

“Happy that I got dumped again?”

“You didn’t get dumped, you said it was mutual.” Eddie squeezes his shoulder. “But yes, happy that you might finally be mine, that I might finally get to be yours.”

Buck leans back and when Eddie opens his eyes he finds Buck’s eyes glassy and brimming with tears.

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” Buck says and Eddie pulls him into his arms until they are chest to chest, chins hooked over each other’s shoulders and wrapped up in each other so completely that Eddie could not tell you where one of them ends and the other begins and it feels so right, so right to have Buck so close to him, for them to be one and the same. They breathe together for a long time, squeezing each other closer whenever the micro fraction of an inch between them begins to field like football fields of distance.

“We take this slow, we do it right,” Eddie says carefully, pulling back just far enough to cup his hand around Buck’s cheek and hold his gaze. A niggly part of his brain tries to remind him of everything that could go wrong, of everything they have to lose, but a bigger part of him can only hope for everything that could go so beautifully right. 

“We have the rest of forever, after all.” Buck’s smile is soft at the edges and it smoothes the jagged parts of Eddie’s worry. 

Eddie leans up and presses one gentle kiss to the corner of Buck’s mouth, allowing himself that much for now. The rest will come, he is in no rush for the rest of his life. On Friday Christopher will be home and they can make pancakes again. At the end of the month, Buck’s lease will expire and Eddie will finally have an excuse to never let Buck leave his house again. In February they will wave Tommy off at the airport and Eddie will get the chance to thank him properly. Soon enough they might get to dance at another wedding, maybe their own, definitely together, for the rest of forever. 

“Forever and a day.” He promises.