#technically pebbles off the string so

[wrathevil]

Pebs and Arti,,,,, my favourites ever... i love them

Do you think Pebbles would call Arti "mom" at least ONCE on complete accident??

See, ok. I drew out a little doodle of this, but then actually thought about it too hard. Would he????

Because (as far as we know) Pebbles has never had a motherly figure in his life. So would he know to assign that title to Artificer? Or would he have complicated feelings he has no idea what to do with because he has no name for it. OR would he have another word to assign to those feelings?

The ancients would be the closest things to parents to him probably, but “creator” seems way too formal and also.. Just kinda weird.

The next title I can think of is “Senior”, like Moon’s senior status in the local group. WHICH brings up the absolutely hilarious scenario of Moon getting all emotional because “Oh… Pebbles sees me in such high regard that he would assign that title to someone he clearly trusts…”

ANYWAYS for the sake of funnies I think he would

[pocket-goat]

iterator lineup! i wanted to keep their designs more consistent in my art so i made this as a reference. rambling about more details under the cut bc i love talking about my designs hhehehe

anyones free to use my designs as inspo if they like!

-moon and pebbles have matching cloaks! sibling iterators and their matching outfits my beloved <3

-pebbles' cloak is too big for him, which is why it always slumps off one shoulder and the sleeves often cover his hands. i like to think the ancients made the cloak before pebbles' puppet was completed, because they liked the idea of making it match with moon, but didnt quite get the size right!

-all of their antennae (minus sig of course) are able to rotate forwards and backwards, but only suns can rotate theirs in/outwards as well!

-pebbles and sig both have neon markings that look like top surgery scars because theyre my transmasc kings

-suns has claws and little paw bean markings on their hands

-suns is technically a 2nd gen iterator, only because they're structure was fully completed at the same time other 2nd gen iterators were being constructed. their construction was started in what was still considered the 1st gen

-i imagine iterators eyes are kind of screenlike, so they can optionally project pupils onto them to emote better if they want to! moon and sig do it the most (although moons pupils tend to flicker in and out post-collapse), pebbles mostly does it when he wants to roll his eyes, and suns uses it for intimidation factor and staring unsettlingly /lh

-i didnt include any of them here because im still brainstorming about it a little bit, but i imagine they all have little accessories or trinkets that were sent to them by the other iterators! both before the mass ascension, delivered by proper Ancient messengers, and post mass ascension, delivered by slugcats or similarly modified creatures

-sigs pronouns are he/they but they often use she/her for themself when its funny, or use feminine titles/honorifics just because they like them!

-because i love worm off the string aus a little too much, i thought about what their strengths would each be while designing them too </3 moon is the most robust and can take the most damage before her exterior shell even begins to dent. pebbles is the best shot, and is the fastest when it comes to just straight sprinting across flat ground. sig is the fastest when it comes to bumpier terrain and is the best at climbing and jumping. suns is the best at intimidation factor but also makes very good use of their clawed hands and sharp feet. hes the most skilled at fighting without weapons!

[plagueybirb]

Been thinking a lot about TOTK lately (because reasons), so here's MY take on the magic pebbles for whoever wants to hear it. Fair warning, this does get a little ramble-y but I gotta explain a couple things for it to make sense and I'm not just going crazy with the red string and corkboard here.

Okay, so. Whenever there's time travel shenanigans, there's a split in the timeline. So far, this has happened TWICE. First being the one most known and discussed from what I've seen: the OOT timeline split.

The second, that I haven't actually seen talked about before is in Skyward Sword. Spoilers for a like, 10 year old game. Go play it if you can, it's one of my favorites!

Anyway, the Skyward Sword timeline split. The timeline where Link and Zelda/Hylia stay in the present and thus the timeline we all know and love is created. BUUUT, then there's the past, where Demise was defeated not as a grumpy scaly jelly bean from a wish from the Triforce, but a good old fashioned smackdown in his true form. Where technically Link never needs to go on a journey to save Zelda and literally the entire plot of the game happens.

We never find out exactly what happened to that past timeline left behind. And yes, I know Old Impa waited about a million years or whatever but here's the thing. Whenever Zelda, and by proxy, Hylia is directly involved in time travel shenanigans, it creates a sort of stable time loop. Zelda will always sleep in the amber. Zelda will always fall and end up in Zonai era Hyrule.

So. Because of this, I think that simultaneously there exists a timeline completely parallel to the main one, but it's the past where Demise was defeated in his true form. The past that Link and Zelda/Hylia left behind. Here's where the magic pebbles come in.

They're only called the Zonai secret stones because the Zonai were the ones who found and named them. Like naming a dinosaur after yourself. And as people are wont to do in the Zelda universe, they build a society around it. But what ARE the magic jelly beans you ask?

They're pieces of Demise's body.

Yeah. You heard me correctly. You know how Hylia has Goddess Plumes? It's like that. In theory, if you eat a piece of a being like a goddess or even a primordial entity, it's gonna mess you up big time.

The fight with Demise was definitely a lot more brutal and bloody than the game shows, it's not hard for me to imagine pieces of solidified magical energy just firing off into the abyss whenever Link let lightning strike his sword and stabbed the hell out of the guy. We don't know how powerful Demise truly is, only that he was so powerful that it took a Goddess LEAVING her divinity and becoming a mortal temporarily to keep him sealed away, and even then Demise kept breaking out and needed to be sealed again. Probably more times than when Link had to.

Maybe the secret stones weren't always shaped like crooked tears (OR. Y'know. Possibly drops of blood), maybe when the Zonai found them in the Depths (because I refuse to believe the Zonai weren't originally from there, which I'll talk about another day), and perhaps put molded them to be shaped like something familiar. Perhaps a certain amber or dusk relic?

Mortals, even ones incarnated time and time again due to an ancient curse, aren't meant to handle pieces of a primordial entity so powerful it took a whole Goddess and a million year long plan to finally take him down. Of course swallowing one would change you.

There's a theoretically infinite number of magical pieces of the ancient deities and higher powers, they just haven't been found yet.

Demise would see a dragon as something incredibly powerful. It would make sense as to why his blood would turn you into one while robbing you of your memories. And really, it takes some DAMN COURAGE to look a Goddess who governs time in the eye and say basically, "Fuck you, I'm going to come back SPECIFICALLY to mess up your good time because I hate you"

After all, GANONDORF is the one associated with boars. Demise was never given the same association except by Ganondorf being trapped as the reincarnation of his hatred time and time again.

And hey. Perhaps the Goddess Plumes turn one into a massive owl sort of creature. No one's ever eaten one to confirm that we know of.

Who knows. Perhaps there's a third deity or entity out there whose pieces of themself turns people into boars when eaten. You never know. Perhaps one that even. Bargains. With mortals. :)

Anyway, that's my take on the Zonai secret stones. I'd love to hear what other people think!

[bites-and-crunches]

Ranting about me and Astro’s source.. We.. kinda have been wanting to but it’s kinda icky so we never really had the opportunity to..

Our source was… somewhat messed up. Me and Astro were both technically mains but we were pretty much forgotten… Glisten was a main in our source as well.. Glisten, Vee, and Sprout were “The Major Mains”, basically the most important characters besides Dandy (and Pebble by extension). Also… you had to work to be a main… Vee would decide if you were good enough to be one…

Our handlers were very… hands free… basically only checking in a few times or making reports and helping with episodes. We were in control of everything else… food, activities, some parts of episodes, etc. Sprout and Cosmo were our cooks and got to decide who ate and who didn’t… we don’t exactly need food to survive but it hurts a lot and weakens us if we don’t eat. Astro… he was almost always refused food… he went a month or two without food… before he formed… For me it was only a week…

Astro was kicked out from basically everything… kids were scared of him so his area got shut down… he was removed from most episodes… etc… Dandy tried to pull what strings he could to keep Astro around though…

I.. I didn’t go through as much as Astro… but it was still kinda bad.. My area was shut down and Vee threatened multiple times to demote me…

Our Dandy was very nice… he was confident and outgoing.. But he was a little oblivious to the… abuse and neglect going on…

Glisten was insufferable.. He wouldn’t stop making comments on everyone’s appearances and it was… awful. A lot of toons developed stuff due to him…

Sprout was an idiot. He acted smart but he only thought whatever Vee told him to..

And Vee…? She was the worst… demanding and a dictator.. She threatened to kill other toons, mainly Astro.. And she.. ngh. There were… fans… outside of our… target demographic… who.. Wanted to see… us… in.. ways.. And she would make us give them that… fan service. She would make us lean a certain way, or sit in a certain position… it was gross and creepy and invasive. She would also sometimes force ichor onto us to.. modify us… make us “better”... 

I remember when I just joined the mains…. Glisten commented on my weight and Vee agreed.. She ripped my overalls and shirt off and poured Ichor on me and… then it was just bone…. Just my spine… 

But uh.. Yeah.. source ramble… wooo…

[just-here-with-my-thoughts]

"Forget I asked"

@summer-of-bad-batch week 3 alt prompt

Fandom: The Bad Batch Characters: Crosshair, Hunter Set after the finale when everyone is living happily (?) on Pabu. Technically Part 1 of the Beach Days & Hair Braiding series. Word Count: ~1875 Read Here on AO3

Synopsis: Crosshair tells Hunter he wants to join the Resistance

“Your regrets will go wherever you are, Cross. You have to find a way to live with them.”

“I am. The Empire is still out there, Hunter. If I can help keep them at bay… If I can keep them away from you and Omega, that I can live with.”

Crosshair stared at the bed, the covers and sheets stripped, the end of the mattress adorned with the small collection of his belongings.

It wasn’t much. But then, clones had never had much in the way of personal possessions. Most of their ‘belongings’ were military issue gear, able to be recalled and replaced with the supply whims of the GAR.

What was there now was his. Really his. Clothes that had been gifted to him by the people of Pabu, even if he had balked at the charity. A pebble with dark veins spidering across it which Wrecker had found on the beach and brought back because ‘it has the same tattoo as you’. A beat-up datapad which Phee had sourced for him, and to which he had downloaded all the data from the recorder on Tech’s goggles – not that he had accessed the files since.

He was wearing the bracelets Omega had woven for him, dyed leather and coloured thread standing out against a grey-white fabric wrap bound round his left wrist.

That had been Mayday’s.

It felt like stealing to take the strip of bandaging from Mayday’s empty helmet when they had returned to the outpost on Barton IV, and he had kept it hidden for many months whilst guilt gnawed at him. When he had been ready he had taken it out and simply run it though his hands, remembering.

Recently the pain of those memories had instead faded to a bittersweet ache, and he had added the length of fabric to the bracelet stack Omega had made. When the rip-tide of his regrets threatened to drag him under, he pinched his thumb and forefinger to the material and rubbed softly, grounding himself with the rasp of the rough fabric.

His fingers left a grubby mark, but he didn't wash it. That would mean taking it off, and he couldn’t bring himself to do that.

He found himself worrying the knot of fabric now, right hand trembling slightly as he forced his breathing into the calm cadence Omega had taught him and gathered his thoughts for this next step.

Omega knew he was leaving. She’d worked it out – she was smart like that. She’d spotted the tell-tale signs of his inability to settle to life on Pabu, and had confronted him about it in that special oblique way she had that spared him any feelings of judgement.

“So when are you leaving?”

“Huh?”

“When are you leaving?” She kept her head down, gaze focused on tying yet another colourful string bracelet round his wrist. “That’s what you’re planning on, isn’t it.”

It wasn’t a question. She knew he was already decided.

He flexed his right hand, then crossed it to his left to adjust the new bracelet. He pinched Omega’s hand affectionately, touch lingering on the soft web of flesh between her thumb and finger.

“Don’t tell the others,” he said, voice low, not meeting her eyes. “I don’t know how they’ll take it.”

“They’ll be happy for you,” Omega said, but he could hear the sadness in her voice. “If this is really what you want.”

He shuddered an inhale. “We’ll see.”

It hadn’t stopped him feeling like he’d failed somehow. Pabu was a paradise, and he should have been happy. Instead he was anxious, restless, unable to adjust to the slow pace of life. It only made it harder to see how enthusiastically his brothers threw themselves into the island community, ready to put down roots for the rest of their lives whilst he was still tumbling like a wind-blown briar.

Wrecker had understood. His broad, honest face was a map of his emotions, and he had been unable to hide his disappointment – but he had understood all the same.

“Gonna miss you,” was the first thing he had said after the lapse of quiet when Crosshair first told him. Then, “But you can always come back, right? If you change your mind.”

Crosshair nodded noncommittally. He was fairly certain he wasn’t going to change his mind, but if it made Wrecker feel better, he could let him have that.

“Echo and I will still be in touch,” he reassured his brother. “It’ll be… better than last time.”

Better than last time they were separated. He didn’t need to say it.

Wrecker picked him up in a huge bear-hug, and for once he didn’t complain too hard.

“Promise me you’ll stay safe out there, vod.”

“Sure, Wrecker. I promise.”

That left Hunter.

And he had no idea how he would react. So he had put it telling him, and put it off and put it off, and now Echo was arriving to collect him today and this was his last chance to corner Hunter, alone, to break the news of his departure mere hours before he went.

An irregular patter vibrated against his thigh and he clenched his right hand to stop it trembling, hissing in a displeased inhale. Time to get this over with.

“Hunter.” He raised his voice so that the rasping edge of his call would reach through the small house. “Could you help me pack?”

He returned his attention to the pile of items at the end of the bed, and waited.

It wasn’t long before Hunter wandered into his room, sipping caf from a chipped mug. “Sure,” he said by way of greeting, taking in the neatly piled items. “Looks like you’re nearly done already. Where you going? Camping trip to the far side of the island again?”

Hunter knew Crosshair would retreat to solitary trips for a day or two at a time, when the pressure of socialising with the island populace got too much. Crosshair kept his gaze carefully on the mug in Hunter’s hand, so he didn’t have to meet his eyes.

“Bit further than that,” he confessed, voice dropping to a near-whisper. His volume didn’t really matter – he could scream it for all the difference it made, Hunter’s enhanced senses meant he would hear either way.

“Off to explore the atolls?”

“No.”

He jumped at the soft brush of Hunter’s hand against his elbow and turned to him, guilt twisting his gut as his brother squeezed his upper arm with a supportive smile.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Hunter said, his gruff voice low and reassuring. “I’ll see you when you get back in a few days. What do you need help packing?”

Crosshair raised his arm to clasp Hunter’s in return, taking a half-step closer and tilting his head to rest their foreheads together. He closed his eyes against the confused look on Hunter’s face, lips pressed thin in a grimace.

There was no way Hunter wouldn’t feel the trembling of his right hand where it held his elbow.

“Can you get my armour for me?”

Hunter didn’t pull away, but Crosshair felt the tense of his muscles under his fingertips.

“What do you need your armour for, Cross?” said Hunter slowly, his tone measured. There was a creeping note of dread in his words.

Crosshair tightened his grip imperceptibly, willing his brother to understand.

“I’m going with Echo.”

For a long moment they simply stood, foreheads pressed together, tense and unmoving. Hunter’s breath shuddered unevenly into the space between them.

“Not you’re not,” he whispered eventually, voice low and forceful. “You can’t.”

Reluctantly Crosshair pulled back, straightening to eke out his height advantage as he dropped their arms.

“I can,” he refuted, keeping his face carefully neutral, “and I am.” Then he softened his gaze, looking pleadingly at Hunter. “Help me pack?”

Hunter’s expression fractured, shock and grief breaking through his usual reserved mask.

“When are you going?”

Crosshair swallowed and dropped his gaze to the floor.

“Today.”

With a wounded exhale Hunter sat down sharply, the edge of the bed sagging under his sudden drop.

Crosshair shifted restlessly, not meeting his gaze. "I... I have to keep moving,” he ventured, struggling to voice the explanation into the tense space between them. “I've tried staying still. If I do, everything will catch up to me..."

He trailed off, and neither of them needed him to finish the unspoken sentence. They both knew about his nightmares. Maker knew Hunter had held him through enough of them.

“It’s better this way.”

“Better for who?” Hunter surged to his feet, pressing into Crosshair’s space once more. “You’re just going to… to leave? Without telling us, without telling Wrecker and Omega so we have the chance to…”

His words dropped away as he saw the guilt in Crosshair’s expression, and he shuddered in a deep breath.

“You already told them.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m the last one to know.”

“…Yeah.”

Hunter shoved him, hard, anger flashing in his eyes.

“And you thought you’d tell me… by asking me to help you pack?”

Crosshair grit his teeth and pushed Hunter away, turning to scoop up the single armful of belongings from the end of the bed, everything he owned in the world.

“Forget I asked,” he said bitterly. “I thought you’d be happy for me. I’m moving forwards.”

“You’re running away.”

“So what if I am?” Crosshair raised his voice in frustration, volume increasing as their argument escalated. “It’s better than staying here, waiting for it to consume me!”

“Your regrets will go wherever you are, Cross,” said Hunter, but he kept his voice low, and Crosshair felt a lick of frustration that Hunter wasn’t matching his anger any more. “You have to find a way to live with them.”

“I am. By helping Echo. The Empire is still out there, Hunter. If I can help keep them at bay…”

His voice wavered with uncertainty, and he forced his gaze up to meet Hunter’s eyes at last.

“If I can keep them away from you and Omega, that I can live with.”

Hunter’s arms folded defensively across his chest, and he tried and failed to wrestle his expression back to neutral. It was like now his mask had slipped, he couldn’t shove down the heartbreak that leached through.

Crosshair mirrored his position, the bundle of clothes and his datapad clutched to his chest.

A chasm of space yawned between them, a mere few feet wide, impossible to cross.

"I want you to stay.”

Hunter's voice ached with so much more than he was saying.

"I want you to stay,” he repeated, and now he gave a shaky, resigned sigh. “But I'm not going to stop you leaving if that's what you want to do."

Crosshair released the breath he hadn’t realised he was holding, the sound punching out of him in a relieved gasp.

“Yeah. It is,” he said softly, willing Hunter to believe him.

Hunter nodded slowly, eyes dropping to the floor.

He stepped forwards, and Crosshair flinched, but Hunter’s hand came gently to the back of his neck as he pulled their foreheads together once more.

“I’ll miss you, Cross. You can always come back, whenever. No questions asked.”

Crosshair squeezed his eyes closed, unable to answer beyond a nod. He leaned into the gentle pressure of their embrace, arms still wrapped tightly round his meagre belongings.

Hunter’s sigh gusted against his skin, warm and sorrowful.

“I’ll get your armour.”

Aand another prompt ticked off from my @sweetspicybingo card! Hot Drink to Bad News

[chaotic-minds-think-alike]

later on iterators being able to detach from their arms.. does that mean like, later than not only moon but also pebbles? or is he just too weak from rot/stubborn to disconnect even while technically capable of it

So it’s all headcanon heavy stuff but the general basis is yeah Pebbles doesn’t like/want to leave his can mainly because he’s so engrossed in his work to fix himself (and moon)

The idea of being able to detach is like… idk when the ancients were around we know iterators were basically under very tight restrictions. Going off the string is basically just for the iterator’s enjoyment (if we’re going to think logically I think the ancients didn’t care that much about how iterators felt other than if it assured they were taken care of).

A lot of this is derived from @lyss-butterscotch ‘s hcs about it so huhehhehe

Just because you can detach from your arm doesn’t mean you should because (again, logically) there’s no way they’d be able to operate normally as just their puppet. It’s very, very limited but hey some iterators might be fine with giving up their godly status they hold to walk among the world. Additionally, because we aren’t rlly sure where the personality/conscience/whatever you wanna call it of an iterator is… we assume it’s in the puppet and by being detached for too long it’ll affect their can (and could exhaust them if they’re gone for too long).

Idk I like to think of being detached is kinda like splitting their attention. Their main focus is stored temporarily in their puppet while it’s detached but their can will still operate as if they’re still attached (though not as up to speed). When they reattach to their arm and are connected to their can again I like to think they transfer the memories from their puppet and their can so both (as if they were individuals at the time) can become up to speed and return as one entity.

[sslow-dancer]

hi! can i request a one shot with polnareff x reader but he’s still stuck as the turtle but a twist like the princess and the frog? the reader kisses the turtle and he comes back to being his old (part 3) self because the reader is the one? lots of fluff plzzz? ty ;w;

A/N: Okay but this idea is so unbelievably cute?! I apologize for taking forever to get it done. I went a bit deep and overboard with the storyline on a request that is so simple and I’m pretty sure this is my longest one up to date actually BUT- it’s whatever. There’s plenty of fluff near the end, I promise. I enjoyed writing this and I hope you enjoy reading it too!! 🤍

(If this flops, I will be so sad omg)

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

“You’re The One, My Love.” (Jean Pierre Polnareff x Reader)

Warnings: mentions of drug abuse and depression

tags: gender-neutral, gender-inclusive, jean pierre polnareff x reader, turtle pol, magical, kiss, twist, slight angst, sfw, fluff

Description: One day after having to escort Polnareff as orders from your boss, you begin to grow quite fond of him. During your usual hangouts, you jokingly offer to kiss him as a way to recreate one of your favorite fairytales.

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

You giggle as Jean pulls you into a kiss, you feel him smile as he holds your face gently. You’re happy to see the man you love not be as serious and hurt as he was when you first met him. Your expression reminiscent of the memories shared between you before this moment.

~A Year Before~

Your personal servant had drawn the curtains. Your eyes fluttered open, body awaken by the bright sunlight shining from your windows and murmurs outside your bedroom. You groaned in frustration as you threw a pillow at him, he managed to catch it and place it back by your bed frame. You huffed,

“Didn’t boss say I have the week off? I’m allowed to sleep in.” you stated blankly, remembering how you had the strong urge to strangle him for ruining your slumber. He shook his head as he sat by the edge of your bed and pointed at the clock that stood on top of your nightstand. You distinctly remember the screen marked 7:25AM exactly. You sighed as you thought you could’ve at least slept in by 10. You sat up and criss crossed your legs and played with the lose strings of your blanket as he replied.

“Technically you do, but today is last minute and different. Sr. Giovanna wants you to escort out a close individual he works with today by 8.”

Frustrated, you plopped your hands down onto your lap and rolled your eyes as you said back,

“Not to be bratty but...can’t he just do that himself or get one of you to do it?” you raised your pointers and middle fingers to create air quotations “This individual must be pretty important if not even the boss can take care of it.”

Your servant shut his eyes and sighed. After what you had just told him, deep down you felt bad about how much he had to deal with your bull on a daily basis- not to mention your constant grumbling in the morning whether he woke you or not. Either way, you were pretty grumpy most mornings. He shook his head again.

“It’s not that either. Sr. Giovanna could easily lead him out but he’s currently finishing business with other people in the country. Sr. Mista is with him as well so you’re the only one we have present. They both must attend all meetings, they are not to miss one.

“Okay, but that still doesn’t answer my question. What’s so important about him or her or whatever the hell they go by?”

“I’ll let you figure that out for yourself.” He said finally as he patted your bed as a way to non-verbally tell you to get ready.

You huffed when he exited the room, plopping your back down hard into the foamy mattress. You roughly grabbed at the pillow you had thrown earlier and placed it over your face, you screamed into it for a good 10 seconds.

Looking back, were you being a little too dramatic? Yes, sure- of course. It’d make anyone cringe if they were to had witnessed it though you didn’t really mind. You were still maturing anyway. You were still getting used to the life Giorno Giovanna and Guido Mista had offered and gladly given to you.

Before meeting your boss Giovanna and his right hand man Mista, you had been living life miserably at home. Though before anyone asks, no: your parents were not abusive, no: your siblings weren’t either, no: nor were your friends or teachers. You had just become very distressed with the life you were leading on. You didn’t like the person you were and were expected to become. Anxiety took over rather unexpectedly. So what did you do when you had enough? You moved on to drugs.

You were surprised to find out how easy it was for a person in their late teens to gain access towards those terrible substances. But none the less, you later learned your dealer was from the mafia known as “Passione.”

Was it dangerous for you to have figured out that information? Yes. However, you remained cautious and never told a soul...until one day you bumped into the now late capo, Bruno Bucciarati.

You were walking down your local dealing alleyway, hands in pockets and school bag still in sight. You usually dealt after school as many adults were distracted by the kids that filled up the streets. Thus making them barely notice the illegal activity going on as a large number of students would walk down alleyways as a shortcut to their home. You were swift in paying back and receiving your desired substances anyway.

All of a sudden you heard a distant call, a call out of your name. You stopped dead in your tracks and turned around to look at the direction from where the call was coming from, that’s when you saw him. He stood a few feet from you.

“I’m glad I was able to find you...my name is Bruno Bucciarati. Your parents sent me to look for you, they’ve mentioned to me that you’ve been coming home late from school lately.”

You only shrugged and completely ignored his claim. You began walking away but were stopped again when he said,

“Leaky eyed Luca deals with you, doesn’t he?”

You kept your gaze forward and your back turned away from Bruno. Turning your head slightly over your shoulder, you mumbled,

“If I say yes, will you leave me alone?”

Without having to look at him, you knew he had tilted his head when he answered.

“That depends. If you answer honestly, no trouble will occur. I’ll remain calm with you, that is a promise.”

You blinked, sighing as you kicked at the small pebbles near your feet, staring at your shoes as you thought about what he said.

You had been dealing with Luca and you knew that his business was risky. Though you didn’t care. You felt that you needed to get the drugs you wanted pronto and Luca was the only one who would give them to you quickly. You shook your head, deciding to give up as you didn’t want anyone to notice you both speaking. You turned to face him and quietly replied,

“Yes, he deals with me. He’s the provider, I’m the receiver.”

Bruno smiled, satisfied with your answer.

He followed up with informing you that Luca had been killed at a local airport and was told to investigate his death. He didn’t provide too many details as to the cause of his death but you didn’t feel like asking anyway. Bruno admitted he came to speak to you as hours prior one of your parents really did come to speak to him about your behavior. After connecting some dots, he suspected you had something to do with Luca’s death as you were not attending school and were gone for most of the day. Not to mention, your teachers had called your parents that day as well.

Luckily, he was able to clear you out as a suspect as you cooperated with him and weren’t sweaty or completely jittery. He also gave you a little talk about using drugs. He promised he wouldn’t tell your parents that you got yourself involved in that abusive life if you promised to not buy more again.

You truly felt at the time that he was the only one who understood and cared for you in just the short time you met him. Your eyes watered as you complied with Bruno, promising to do what he suggested. A promise you have held onto forever.

After some investigating of your own, you found out that it was your future boss that killed Luca. You were rather impressed than angry that he was able to kill him. You honestly believed Luca would never be caught.

Back to the day you had to escort this individual- after some more complaining and grumpy remarks towards everyone in the household, you were finally ready to meet them. Your personal servant led you to the front door. He made sure to quietly remind you to be polite.

Your attention turned to another servant walking down the stairs towards your direction. A pillow in hand with a piece of cloth covering whatever was on top it. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, laughing as you sarcastically remarked,

“Is this some kind of joke? It’s not April, is it?”

“No, but I guess this household treating me with the upmost respect is.”

Your eyes widen. ‘Did that thing under the cloth just speak?” you asked yourself.

The servant removed the cloth and there revealed a turtle. A turtle with a key-shaped hole embedded on its shell. You almost assumed that the turtle smirked at you when he added,

“I know, don’t be too surprised. I plan to get out of this animal once my soul decides to give up. I haven’t always looked like this, ya know.”

Your mouth gaped open as to say something, but you quickly shut it as you didn’t know how to reply. He chuckled,

“Hand me over to them, we’ll talk more when we get to my destination.”

You hesitantly took the pillow from the servant’s hands and remained in shock as you walked out the door. You were careful not to drop him as you got down to the front gates. Gulping as you asked,

“So...my servant wasn’t that specific on me having to leave you in the car or actually riding with you. It’s kind of my fault as I don’t like to listen and talk in the morning...”

You nervously laughed as he looked up to you. He replied,

“It’s quite alright. I was told you have to ride with me. But don’t worry, you won’t have to stay for long. It’s only around a 10 minute ride.”

“Yeah, okay.”

You sat behind the passenger seat and placed the pillow in the middle, right next to your side.

The ride was relatively quiet, you looked out the window as you kept a fist under your chin. Your expression showed that of concern. You were too nervous to say anything. Even though he had joked back earlier, you were afraid he didn’t like you as his voice stayed stern throughout your small talk. You were afraid you had offended him in some way.

Your mood changed when the driver alerted that you had arrived. You thanked him as he opened the door for you, your hands grasped the pillow tightly so the talking turtle wouldn’t fall. You asked him with a small voice.

“Is there anywhere you’d like for me to set you?”

“Yes... put me on top of that balcony over there. I want to look at the lake.”

“Of course.”

You did as he said and sat him on the balcony. Your eyes gleamed when you caught sight of the glimmering water and greenery of the setting. You’ve always known that Italy is one of the most beautiful places in the world but at that time you had forgotten and were fascinated all over again. Like when a child sees a playground for the first time.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked, you nodded.

“Yes, it really is. It’s no wonder you asked me set you on here.”

“Yes... I wanted to look at one more beautiful sight before I go. Like I said earlier, my soul is no longer fit to be here, so I might as well admire my surroundings for now.”

Your mind quickly became curious after he said that. You wanted to know more behind what he meant. You weren’t going back to that car until you got answers. So to make things easy, you started off with asking his name.

“If you don’t mind... would you like to tell me your name?”

“It’s Jean. Jean Pierre Polnareff.”

‘So he’s French.’ you remember thinking, his accent wasn’t too thick but you assumed and your assumption was right. After that, you went on to tell him your name and your experiences before meeting boss Giorno Giovanna. He shared the same with you.

You talked for so long in fact that you paid off the driver of your assigned car to go back and finish his shift early, promising them that you’ll find a ride later yourself.

You ended off the chatty night with placing Jean under a nearby bench and waving at him. You were saddened but Jean said he enjoyed your company so much that he’ll try to stay for longer and that you’re welcome to come him visit him everyday.

And so you did.

For months you came by to talk to him. You were happy to see that his soul wasn’t giving up yet- you knew you would cry if it were to one day. You had come to realize that you love him but you didn’t know if he felt the same way about you. You had only seen his face once- that was the day he decided to show you the physical embodiment of his soul.

You thought (and still think) he was so beautiful. The missing of bottom limbs and blindness in one eye did not bother you at all. His white-silver hair, style and personality is what did it for you. What it did to make you fall in love with his vanity and him. Just him. Jean himself.

~A Year Later~

It’s been a year now and as per usual, you spent half your days speaking to Jean by that same lake you were ordered to drive him to.

Boss Giovanna and Mista have noticed how fast you are in missions since then. They appreciate that you get things done but they still remain curious as to why you’re more happy and less grumpy than you were before. Though they don’t bother to ask, as they’re kind and don’t want to ruin your pure joy.

Today isn’t particularly different. All you had done earlier in the day was speak to a few citizens in town and dealt with giving details to your boss about a certain drug epidemic at a school. Nothing too out of the ordinary, a situation like this occurred at your old school too years back. Your duties were basically done once you learned information got to police.

You drive down to the park where the lake is at, smiling when you see a familiar small green circle on the balcony, looking over the glimmering waters. You park in the nearest lot and lock your car after getting out. You excitedly run over to Jean and smile when he turns his little head to greet you.

“I’m glad you’ve come again.” he says with a smile.

“Of course, why wouldn’t I?” you reply in a genuine tone.

You go on to talk about random topics and subjects as you always do. The conversation moving onto favorite pieces of literature and genres.

You roll your eyes in embarrassment as you tell him your most favorite one- one that is a fairytale and goes by the name of “The Frog Prince.”

“Well... it’s very fem of me but I really enjoy fairytales. Especially the ones from the Grimm brothers. My favorite is actually “The Frog Prince”

You place your elbow on the rail and use a hand to cover your burning cheek. Hoping that the redness rushing to your face won’t be noticed by Jean and that the sunset covers it up. Jean only laughs and hopes to comfort you when he says,

“Oh, that’s fine. Who cares if it’s feminine? They’re very well written stories and people shouldn’t be ashamed for what they like. I admire that your favorite genre is fairytale, you don’t hear people say that as often, you know?”

His words do comfort you and you thank him for that. He welcomes you and you feel like you’re actually looking into his sapphire eyes. The ones you fell in love with so long ago. You speak up before you’re even able to fully think.

“Say, the frog prince and the princess kissing, huh? Why don’t we kiss and see if it turns you back?”

Shit.

‘Did I really just ask that?’ you ask yourself ‘What the actual hell is wrong with you?!”

“I don’t see why not...”

“Huh?”

You’re stunned. You thought he would get offended for spurting out such a stupid thing. Of course your request won’t work- that shit is from a story book. It’s pure fiction. This is real life.

He’s a turtle now and you’re a human. You can’t and you won’t kiss him. You raise your hands up in defense.

“Hey, no! No need to play along after saying something so stupid to make me feel better. I just blurted that out I’m so sorry-“

“No, it’s okay. And I’m not playing along, I’m being serious. Go ahead. I’ve grown to like you a lot, a small kiss wouldn’t hurt.”

This answer is not what you expected. You nervously fiddle with your fingers as you look around. You sigh as you give in.

“Fine. I like you a lot too and I’ll do it. Let me just-“

You lift up the top half of Jean, his front turtle legs up in the air and his little face staring up at you. You take a deep breath and close your eyes, you slowly lean in and- kiss✨

The turtle falls out of your grasp. You stop puckering your lips and open your eyes. In a panicked state, you frantically look over the balcony and both sides of you to find him. You look forward and gasp. You grab at the railings to hold you steady.

There sits a groaning man on his knees. He rubs at his neck as he silently curses to himself, blinking fast and harshly as he tries to understand what’s going on around him. It’s dark now but the moon shines bright enough for you to get a better glimpse of him. You furrow your eyebrows as you slowly recognize who he is- Jean.

He has that same white-silver hair, sapphire eyes, big stature though the only difference is no eye glass in sight and his “legs” aren’t made out of metal.. they’re completely real. Flesh and all and you know that blood flows right through them like the rest of his body.

“J-Jean?” you whisper.

The man doesn’t hear you. All he does is groan and cross his legs in front of him. He stretches his arms and looks over any possible injuries on him.

“Jean.” you say again, louder this time.

He finally looks up at you. And there they are, those sapphire eyes you love so much. That face you’ve grown to be so fond off. His expression more than surprised. Though that expression quickly changes and softens- his eyes crease and a small smile appears. He says your name. And you tear up after he does.

He attempts to get up but his legs give up on him. You sprint to his side before he falls, letting him use your shoulders as support. He blushes.

“I’m sorry... I haven’t had real legs in years. Apparently I forgot how to use them...”

His voice is softer than before, the sternness isn’t there. He sounds younger almost. You giggle, as you use a hand to wipe at the tears of your eyes.

“Okay, I think I can stand now. Let go of me so I can look at you fully.”

You do as he says and as you watch him wobble, you reach out to help again but he shakes his head, waving your hands off as he’s able to maintain balance. You grin proudly when he does.

Jean turns to face you, he clasps your hands together and brings them up to his lips. You blush as he proceeds to hold them over his heart. He looks at you with pure love in his eyes.

“Thank you. Thank you so much. What you suggested was silly but it worked.”

“Yes, you’re welcome...” you say softly, looking down. He makes you look up again.

“You’re the one, my love. You always have been and always will be. My feelings for you started when we first met, I meant what I said. I have grown to like you a lot though it’s more than “like”- it’s love. And I’m so happy to know you feel the same way.”

You tear up at this and hug him. He hugs you back and you can’t believe that he does.

The turtle is no more and you have your true love back to human form.

He raises your chin up with his thumb and pointer, he kisses you and you kiss him back. The kiss long and meaningful.

You’re happy to know that the man you love, loves you too.

[searenbound]

could i get a kirishima with a plus size girlfriend who bakes for him all the time and one day she asks if he wants to bake a pie with her. while the pie is in the oven it turns into a saucy make out session😌

It matches up too well to not combine it so I have to. That’s how it works right?

Warnings: oral sex (female receiving), swearing

Pairing: Eijirou Kirishima x reader

It wasn’t a secret that Kirishima loves to eat. His friends would tease him about how much he could put away. PR events usually hosted at restaurants that were eager to test their new menu additions on him. Fans bring him snacks at meet and greets, he always feels bad though because he had to throw it all away for safety concerns.

Nothing was ever as good as her cooking though. He honestly blamed his cute chubby little girlfriend for the at least fifteen pounds he’s put on since moving in together. Never mind that it was technically his fault for nicking her fresh made treats in the first place. Yes he understands now that they were meant for the other heroes at his agency, but it’s not his fault she so good! He couldn’t help it!

“Not this time mister! You leave those cookies alone, I made as a thank you gift for Mina and I’d like her to actually get to try them first this time” She huffed at guilty man who was trying to sneak a few. She wondered how he managed to eat so much sometimes. She loves food to and had the beautifully plush body to prove it, but he was on a different level. She figured it had to be the constant workout that hero work provided.

“But your sweets are the best and I’ve been craving them all day! Just one? Please?”. He pouted trying to convince her.

“No, one is never just one with you” darn it. “but if you really want something, then why don’t you help me? Does apple pie sound good?” yes!

“Just tell me what I have to do!”. He gave toothy smile and she rolled her eyes at his charming cuteness and put him to work.

A few mishaps and a flour throwing fight later and they finally got the pie in the oven and a Kirishima that was suddenly in the mood.

She was always so gorgeous. Beautiful eyes, cute face, a soft body that he adored. Her thick waist and legs, squishy stomach and wide hips. He loves it all loves all of her. From soft skin to stretch marks he just loves her and watching her being so in her element and taking charge, it was more of turn on then expected.

He couldn’t help but hoist her up onto the countertop. His lips found her neck quickly while she giggled at him, confused by the sudden change of pace but not unwelcoming of it.

“What’s gotten into you?”

“Can’t kiss my girl? Do you want me to stop?”

“No Sir, ju-“ she attempted to answer but his lips were on hers too quickly. Hungrily pursuing hers while his kneaded at her exposed thighs, slowly moving up and pushing her skirt up as he went. Smirking against her lips when her hands cradled his face and she whined when he pulled away.

“Call me Sir again Pebbles. I want to hear it again, please”.

“Yes Sir, whatever you want Sir”.

“God I love you” he groaned, shoving her skirt up and carefully getting her panties off before dropping to his knees and hiking her legs over his shoulders. Shuddering at the gasp that slipped from her when tongue dragged over her sensitive bundle of nerves.

Her legs wrapped around his head as he groaned against her sex, shoving his tongue in to her while his fingers worked her clit. He felt a wave of pride at the string of praise leaving her. He pressed a kiss against her clit, fingers quickly pumping into her heated core.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous (Yn)” he groaned against her, curling his fingers and rubbing against her inner walls. “So fucking wet for me, wanna.… god wanna fuck you so bad” he sighed, feeling her thick fingers pulling at his hair.

“Please Ei- hah! S-sir please, want it so bad I-”she whined, squeezing her legs around him tighter when his fingers moved faster and he sucked on her clit. She didn’t need much more for her to come completely undone, letting out the cutest little whimper he’s ever heard.

He waited a moment for her to calm down, expecting to be able to continue when she shooed him away.

“H-hey! (Yn)”.

“Stop pouting, I’m not telling you no I just need to check on the pie, or did you forget about that?”

“C-course not!” he completely forgot.

“I just- hey stop laughing! ”

[arctasy]

uncleinnit, what will he do?

summary: against their better judgement, tubbo and ranboo leave tommy to babysit michael for the day while they have a meeting with foolish about their new mansion. and as any reasonable person should know, tommy is not one to follow the rules.

(word count: 2,359)

read on ao3

—————————

“Come on Ranboo, we’re going to be late,” called Tubbo from the front door.

“One second,” he called back from the house’s attic. He turned back to the grouchy Tommy currently sulking in the corner of the room. “And remember to check his temperature periodically through the day. The house is usually warm but Michael gets cold very easily and I don’t want him coming down with a cold.”

“I still don’t understand why the fuck I have to be the one to babysit the kid,” grumbled Tommy.

“There are golden carrots in the downstairs cupboard for when he gets hungry,” continued Ranboo as though nothing had happened. “And be nice! Michael is friendly but can be very-”

“Jesus fuck, man, just get on to your meeting already,” interrupted Tommy. He pushed himself off the wall and pushed Ranboo to the trapdoor that led to the main room below. “It’s only a few hours, your stupid child is going to be fine.”

“Ranboooo,” called Tubbo once more, a sickeningly sweet lilt to his voice that said you better get down here right now before I kick your arse to L’manberg.

“Coming!” Ranboo lifted the trapdoor and stepped down onto the ladder. “Oh, and if I see a single scratch on Michael, I’m gonna kill you.”

“You fucking-” started Tommy, but the trapdoor swung shut and Ranboo descended down the ladder.

He groaned in frustration and slowly dragged a hand down his face. “These next few hours are gonna be literal dogshit. Who in their right mind would leave me with their child? And a fucking toddler at that.” He watched as the piglin in question clambered onto the windowsill and swung his legs, which dangled nearly a foot over the edge. “Guess it's just you and me, eh, Big Mike?”

Micheal looked up at him, blinked once, and looked back down, mesmerized by his swinging hooves. Tommy palmed himself in the face.

“You probably don’t even understand me, huh? Fucking wonderful.”

Tommy glanced around the room. It was fairly large for a toddler, furnished with a bed, coffee table, bookshelf, and various paintings. In the middle of the room lay a yellow rug, which Tommy thought was a questionable decor choice. Then again, he lived in a dirt hill, so he didn't really have a right to talk. His fingers brushed over the dusty books sitting on the bookshelf, whose pages looked like they’d never seen the light of day. He held his hand to his face, and wrinkled his nose at the gray dust that coated his fingertips.

“Not much to do here, big man, is there?” he asked Michael as he brushed off the dust on the front of his shirt, who continued to make no sign he heard the whiny teenager.

“I don’t even know why Tubbo chose me of all people. Last time I saw you, I threatened to kick you. I’m a fuckin’ safety hazard!”

Michael’s snout dipped the slightest bit.

“I wouldn’t actually kick you,” said Tommy hastily. “You’re just an annoying lil’ shit, you know?”

Michael’s head dipped even further.

“Come on, don’t give me that.” Tommy rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. “Okay, fine, you aren’t that annoying. I just hate how the two of them don’t shut up about you. It’s all Michael this and Michael that. You don’t even do anything, you’re just sat there!”

Michael jumped down from the windowsill, and Tommy continued his one-sided conversation. “I know I’m mean to them sometimes, especially Ranboo. I actually don’t mind Ranboo that much, he’s fuckin’ cool actually, but he talks about you so much and its infuriating!”

Michael turned to walk to the other side of his room. One of his hooves caught on the rug in the center and he tripped, tiny hands braced out to catch his fall. Tommy was there in an instant, catching the small boy in his arms before he could hit the ground.

“Fuckin’ careful man, you could’ve hurt yourself.” He let out another string of curses, putting the boy down and crouching down to examine him for any injuries. Michael watched him in mild curiosity.

“You seem fine, but wow, you almost gave me a heart attack, big man.” He let out a nervous laugh. Michael reached up with a tiny hand and ruffled his hair, or at least tried to. Tommy’s laughter died in his throat.

Micheal smiled at him, and brought his hand back down to his side. He walked back over to the window while Tommy sat there in shock trying to comprehend the last few moments because that was the single cutest thing he’s ever seen holy fucking shit. Then he caught up with his thoughts and swore at himself because he was not about to go all soft. He was Tommy-fucking-Innit, and he had a reputation to uphold, damn it.

He walked over to Michael, who was looking out the window, hooves and snout resting against the glass. Tommy hesitantly reached out a hand and rested it on the toddler’s head. Michael leaned into his hand, and Tommy started rubbing the thin bristles. He made a sound that Tommy could only describe as “happy piglin noises.”

“Do you wish you could go outside?” asked Tommy several minutes later, as Michael continued to gaze longingly out the small window of the attic. The view outside was beautiful. The ground was coated in a thick blanket of snow, and beyond it lay a small dock and an endless glittering sea.

Michael nodded.

“Holy shit, you can understand me!” Tommy bounced on his heels in excitement. “But man, it must suck being holed up in here all the time.”

Micheal let out a noise that Tommy assumed was agreement. Suddenly, he turned around and climbed down the windowsill, using Tommy as a brace.

“Woah, woah, woah, where’re you going?”

He grabbed Tommy’s hand and dragged him across the room until they were standing in front of the trapdoor.

Tommy let out a nervous bark of laughter. “You wanna go outside?” Michael looked at him expectantly. “I don’t know, big man, isn’t it dangerous out there? Mobs n’ shit, y’know?”

Michael continued to stare. “And don’t you get cold easily? If you get sick or hurt those two will fuckin’ kill me, man.”

Michael pouted, which Tommy didn’t even think was possible for someone with a snout. And man, how was he supposed to refuse those puppy dog eyes now? (Well, one eye, technically.)

“Fine,” he groaned. “But if anything goes wrong, I’m blaming you, okay?”

Michael nodded, jumping up and down in excitement.

Tommy dug through Michael’s closet and pulled out an armful of clothes. Carefully, he bundled the toddler in several layers. As an afterthought, he added a small red cape he’d found hanging in the back. Better to be safe than sorry. (He would never admit that he wanted the two of them to match, as Tommy was currently wearing the thick red cape he wore back when he stayed in Techno’s base.)

After a bit of clever maneuvering and several moments where Tommy thought he had fucked up and accidentally killed the kid for sure, he finally managed to carry Michael down the ladder and onto the landing below, injury-free. The second he put him down, Michael raced to the door and threw it open, which Tommy had to admit was rather impressive for a two-foot tall toddler with hooves for hands.

“Wait up, bitch!” he yelled in exasperation, running after the hyper piglin. He found Michael sitting in a pile of snow, patting it softly and giggling as his hooves sunk into the sea of white.

In spite of himself, Tommy felt his face split into a grin and he thought his heart was going to melt.

“You like the snow, Big Mike?” He gathered some of it into a ball and handed it to the child, whose face stared in wonder. “That’s a snowball. You can throw them, like this.” Tommy created another snowball and demonstrated by throwing it at the front of Tubbo’s house. Revenge for leaving him to babysit his fucking toddler (he didn’t mind too much anymore, though he would never admit it).

“Your turn, buddy,” he said, turning his head back to Michael only to be met with a snowball to the face.

“WHY YOU LITTLE SHIT-” he yelled. He tackled Michael to the ground and rolled himself over so that Michael was now laying across his chest, Tommy’s back in the snow. He sat up and began to tickle the piglin, who let out a squeal of laughter and tried to squirm away.

“I should’ve known you'd try something like that,” he said, fighting to keep the smile off his face. “It’s something Tubbo would do; like father like son, eh?”

Michael finally managed to twist out of Tommy’s hold and ran a few steps- only to trip and faceplant into the snow. However, before Tommy could let out more than a shout of concern, he sprung back up, looking perfectly unharmed and extremely amused at the concern written across Tommy’s face.

Tommy sighed. “Quit giving me heart attacks kid, you’re gonna kill me,” he groaned, unable to keep the endearment out of his voice. “C’mon, let me show you what else you can do with snow.”

For the next half hour, the two of them worked tirelessly on a giant snowman. Tommy held up Michael so he could add the small sticks and pebbles to the topmost snowball in the vague arrangement of a face. He thought it looked suspiciously similar to Ranboo, but made no complaints, happy that the toddler was having fun. After Michael added the last touch, a wreath of leaves that resembled a crown, Tommy set him down, and the two of them admired their handiwork.

“Not bad, Big Mike,” he said, nodding his approval. At that exact moment, the snowman’s head decided to slip off onto the ground, landing in a pile of ice, sticks, and leaves. Tommy and Michael looked at each other for several seconds, then simultaneously burst out laughing.

“I’ve always wanted to knock down Ranboo’s head like that,” he joked. Michael playfully slapped his leg.

“Wanna explore the rest of Snowchester?” asked Tommy. Micheal nodded eagerly. He scooped up the boy in his arms and started making his way across the ice. “We can’t go too far because your dads might see us, and we need to be back home soon,” Tommy informed him, “but I think we can go to the dock. Let’s fuckin’ go!”

Before long they were standing on the wooden planks, staring out at the sea. Tommy sat on the edge and held Michael in his lap, hands wrapped securely around his waist so he didn’t fall into the freezing water below.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” he asked the toddler. The sea stretched in an endless expanse before them, glittering as it reflected the rays of the afternoon sun. Chunks of ice floated in the water, dotting the scene like sparse freckles. The occasional breeze blew across the water, creating tiny ripples and waves in the sea’s texture. It was truly a sight to behold.

The two of them stayed like that for a long time, admiring the scene that Michael had up until then only viewed from his bedroom window. It was definitely much better in person, and Tommy vowed to himself that he would take Michael out here much more often, Tubbo and Ranboo’s rules be damned.

Tommy could never get tired of watching the sunset. His eyes refused to leave the horizon as the sun inched closer and closer to the sea. With a start, he realized that over an hour had passed, and his two friends were due to be home any moment.

“Shit, shit, fuck,” he mumbled to himself. He set Micheal down beside him and got up, stretching. Michael let out a whine of protest. “I know, I know, I don’t want to go back either, big man, but your parents are gonna fuckin’ kill me.” He lifted Micheal into his arms, who rested his head on Tommy’s shoulder. “See? You’re getting sleepy. Even more of a reason to go back.”

Michael yawned in reply, and Tommy's heart melted for the hundredth time that day. He slowly made his way back to Tubbo’s house, careful not to jostle the drowsy toddler too much.

Getting Michael through the door and back up the ladder was a challenge in it of itself, but finally they were back in Michael’s room. Tommy helped Michael out of his extra layers and dried him off with a towel. Before long, it looked like nothing had ever happened, and Tommy grinned in satisfaction at his superior babysitting skills.

“Here’s a golden carrot for being a fuckin’ excellent partner in crime,” he told Michael, handing him one from his personal stash. Michael giggled in delight.

Tommy crawled into Michel’s bed and lifted the toddler on top of him. “Time for bed, kid,” he whispered. Michael finished up the last of his carrot, then curled into Tommy’s sweater. His eye drifted shut, and soon he was fast asleep, light snores filling the quiet room.

That scene was how Tubbo and Ranboo were greeted upon returning home: Tommy holding Michael gently, the two of them curled up against each other and knocked out cold.

“I can’t believe that actually worked,” whispered Ranboo in amazement. “I thought for sure I’d come back to the house on fire or something.”

“Tommy can be very competent when he wants to be,” Tubbo informed him. The two of them cooed as Michael sneezed in his sleep, then curled deeper into Tommy’s chest. “Anyways, now I have blackmail material.” He took a picture of his sleeping son and best friend and smiled in glee. “Oh, Tommy is gonna be pissed.”

However, to Tubbo’s surprise, Tommy’s only reaction to the photo the next day was a request for Tubbo to send him a copy, and an assurance that he could count on him the next time he needed someone to babysit Michael.

Huh.

[asthmark]

❝ walk you home ❞ l.dh

synopsis → “it’s just a suggestion but you could maybe put your lips on mine?”

request → “hi ive reading your works and honestly thank u for being a blog that doesn’t write smut. i feel like there are so few blogs like so. all your works make my heart feel fluffy and warm 😊 i was wondering if i could request a fluffy prompt kinda based off the nct dream song: walk you home with haechan? you have full creative freedom ❤️ thank u”

word count → 1.6k

you didn’t walk home often but when you did it always proved to be a peaceful and serene experience. 

you take pleasure in the sound of the pavement beneath your feet as your legs carry you home and your hands hold on tightly to the straps of your backpack. the calm breeze blows some of your hair around and the sun’s rays shine down on you delightfully. 

you decide it can’t get much better than this.

but, of course, you can’t have anything nice. 

you realize this when you feel a pair of hands grasp your shoulders firmly resulting in you effectively jumping out of your skin with a loud shriek.

the culprit, none other than lee donghyuck, laughs as he watches you place your hands on your knees, trying to steady your racing heart. 

“not funny, donghyuck!” you punch his arm to express your frustration. “you almost gave me a heart attack, for christ’s sake!”

he holds up his hands in defense. “okay, okay. i’m sorry. i was messing around, i thought it’d be funny.” 

“oh right because sneaking up on a girl walking home alone and making her think she’s going to be kidnapped is just hilarious.”

“i really didn’t mean to scare you,” he says, genuinely. “i came here for a reason, i swear.”

you raise your brows, expectantly.

“i was just thinking i could maybe walk you home?” 

you observe the way he tugs gently at the string of his hoodie, almost as if he were nervous. but why would he be nervous in front of you? you were just his best friend’s little sister. 

“you want to walk with me?” 

he nods in confirmation. 

you play with your shirt collar, not entirely sure what to say. “that’s fine, i guess.” 

with that, you continue on your route not even waiting for donghyuck who jogs to catch up to you. despite your houses being only a couple blocks away from each other, you and donghyuck had never walked anywhere together. at least, in your high school years. 

when you were all much younger, him and your older brother mark would almost always walk to the bus stop together. your mother had you tag along with them and your tiny figure would often be seen trailing behind them, trying your best to keep up. 

as you grew up, many things begun changing. most notably, the way you felt about donghyuck. before, all you had seen him as was mark’s obnoxious friend who pestered you relentlessly. but you had finally realized how cute and charming he truly was. you started to enjoy the way he teased you as long as it meant you had his attention. it wasn’t long before mark noticed your change in attitude and connected the dots. it was easy to say he was displeased. first of all, having you follow donghyuck all the time like a shadow proved to be very irritating. second of all, his best friend and his little sister together was something he didn’t want to even think about. 

when he commented about your strange behavior to donghyuck, the boy had only said he didn’t mind it. in fact, he seemed to enjoy your little antics.  

mark realized had no other choice but to take matters into his own hands. so, he sat you down one evening to have a chat with you and he certainly had no problem lying straight to your face.

“donghyuck hates you,” he had said. 

you had stopped stroking your dolls hair to stare at him with eyes as big as saucers. “w-what?” 

“yeah. he told me. he thinks you’re super annoying.” 

and just like that, your little heart had been broken. you remember crying for hours that day and begging your mom to drive you to school so you wouldn’t have to face donghyuck in the mornings. mark even suggested that you avoid him at school too so that he wouldn’t find you anymore unpleasant than he already did. you obeyed and soon enough your trio had broken up.

ever since then, you had stayed in your own lane away from lee donghyuck who, according to your older brother, could not stand you. 

“so... what’s up with you? i feel like it’s been so long since we caught up.” 

you sigh, kicking at a pebble on the sidewalk. “i’m pretty okay.” 

he waits, expecting you to add on. he clears his throat awkwardly when he realizes you’re not going to. you had been so talkative during your childhood, what happened? “oh, that’s good.” 

for the sake of clearing the tension, you force yourself to ask him how he’s doing. “what about you?” 

his face brightens up. “i’m doing good! well, grade-wise no. actually, maybe? i have straight c’s which is technically passing but not super good, you know? but other than, i‘m not bad. i finally tried out for a basketball team. remember how when we were younger i always wanted to play but they told me i was too short?” 

“i remember a lot of things from when we were younger,” you mumble, bitterly. 

he continues, dismissing your comment. “yeah well, i finally grew! i’m actually three inches taller than the average male. isn’t that crazy?” 

you’re not entirely sure how to respond so that you just nod and try to give him the most sincere smile you can muster. “good for you.” 

“hey, didn’t you want to take art classes when we were kids? but your parents made you do ballet instead?” 

you hesitate as the memory registers in your brain. “yeah. i did, actually.” 

donghyuck chuckles. “you were so mad. and then you ended up not even taking it. i’m pretty sure it was because you threw a huge tantrum outside your house.” 

you titter at the embarrassing memory. “i totally forgot about that. you must have a crazy good memory.” 

he shrugs. “kind of. but i think my favorite one has to be when you tried sneaking out of your bedroom window but you fell and ended up with a fractured ankle.” 

your eyes dart to him. “oh my god, how do you know that? did mark tell you? because i swear if he did i’m gonna—”

“it wasn’t him.” 

“then who was it?” 

he suddenly becomes shy. “i, um, heard  you telling your friends about it.” 

“you were eavesdropping?” 

he fiddles with his earring, nervously. “i guess. but i swear it wasn’t to be creepy—”

“sounds pretty creepy to me, donghyuck.” 

he sighs in defeat. “i just wanted to hear your voice.”  

you stumble over nothing. “i’m sorry, what?” 

“you’re never around me anymore,” he says, sounding hurt. “i know you’re avoiding me. and i don’t know why. but i still try to be close to you without upsetting you. i try to meet your eyes when you pass by in the hallway, i try to go by your house as much as i can so i can catch a glimpse of you. but it never works.”  

ever since mark had told you how donghyuck felt about you, you swore to yourself you would stop caring about him. although, at this moment, you can’t help but feel slightly guilty. you try to come to your senses.  

“i thought i was annoying,” you mumble. 

he squints his eyes. “what? who said that?” 

you stop dead in your tracks. “you’re kidding right? you did! you said i was annoying and that you hated me.” 

he stares off into the distance, trying to concentrate. “i really don’t remember saying that to you.” 

“you didn’t. you told mark. mark told me. i never forgot it.” 

“okay, i definitely didn’t say anything like that to mark. the only thing i remember telling him was—“ he stops, abruptly. 

you press further. “what did you tell him, donghyuck?” 

“that i had a crush on you.” 

it takes you a moment to process the words that come out of his mouth. “are you messing with me?” 

he scowls. “no! it took a lot of guts, i remember being so nervous to tell him. i thought he would tell you for me but i guess he said the complete opposite.”  

strangely enough, you believe him. you decide to confess too. “well... i had a crush on you too.” 

now it’s his turn to be stunned into silence. “seriously?” 

“yes! i thought it was so obvious.”  

“i would have never known.” he runs a hand through his hair. “just imagine what would have happened if mark had told either of us how the other felt. why do you think he lied about all that stuff, anyway?”  

“knowing him, he couldn’t stand the thought of his little sister and best friend liking each other so he tried to keep us apart by lying and hoping we’d just forget about each other or something. what an idiot.” 

“jokes on him if he thinks i would forget you. we might’ve been like 12 but i was ready to commit.”

you chuckle. “and how about now? still willing to?” 

he smiles, pearly whites on display. “always.”

##bonus: 

you stop at the front steps of your house, turning to donghyuck and grinning from ear to ear. “well, thanks for walking with me. i’m glad we finally got things sorted out.” 

he nods. “i’ve missed you.” 

you bite your lip. “i’ve missed you, too.”

he ruffles your hair. “you’re still super adorable, by the way.” 

“and you’re still super—“ you run your fingers over the smooth skin of his cheeks before squeezing them. “annoying.”  

he pouts. “that was mean.” 

you place your hands on his shoulders. “sorry, cutie. i couldn’t help it.” 

“make it up to me?” 

“and how would i do that?” 

“it’s just a suggestion but you could maybe put your lips on mine?”

you smile, more than happy to follow through with his instructions. as you lean in, you feel your inner little girl get the best of you. your heart speeds up and you hold your clammy hands together tightly behind his head.

“what is going on here?!” 

you both jump back from each other to face mark standing in the doorway of your house. he wastes no time dashing down the stairs, coming straight for the brunette beside you.

“lee donghyuck, i’m going to strangle you!”

at hearing the pure anger in mark’s voice, donghyuck’s face drops. he presses a quick kiss to your lips. you don’t even have time to feel any form of surprise because before you can even register what was happening, he’s making a run for it with mark right behind him.

[verfound]

Dingo Files, only a kiss!

...I am 100% certain you did not forget about this fic, but ngl I totally did until I clicked it open. 😂

The title I have in the doc is actually "Luka and Dingo, Sittin' in a Tree..." and is for the @mlweeklyprompts prompt "A: I kissed [B]! / C: Did [B] kiss you back? / A: That’s not the point!" (...from May 29 of last year I'm pretty sure 😂)

So the direction this one was going: School dance is coming up, and Dingo's been trying to get Bri to agree to go with him. He's whining to Luka about it, which turns into a "Why don't you think she likes me" shpiel. Meanwhile, Marinette had asked Luka to meet her (bc she was going to ask him to the dance), and Luka's in the "ok Ding Mari's on her way can we talk about this later?" And one thing leads to another, and Luka (for reasons I still need to work out) decided kissing Dingo to shut him up was the best option?

(It all works out in the end, but this is the "Marinette sees Luka and Dingo kissing, thinks she missed her chance, and runs off/freaks out before Luka can stop her." fic.)

“I just don’t get it!” Dingo wailed, leaning back on his elbows and glaring up at the sky through his shades. Shades was maybe a little generous, Luka couldn’t help but think. He’d worn the white frames today, the ones with the bright orange mirror coat that Luka knew was more for style than protection from the sun. Luka looked back at his guitar as Dingo kicked his booted feet out, groaning again. He’d been groaning – whining, really – for almost twenty minutes now.

Not that Luka was counting.

…ok, Luka was kind of counting, but only because Luka was waiting for Marinette, and each minute Dingo spent whining was another minute Luka wasn’t with Marinette. Granted, it also meant it was another minute closer to when she would arrive, but Luka would have been content to spend that time noodling on Claire, not listening to Dingo whine about the stupid dance.

He just couldn’t seem to escape it.

“You don’t get the dance?” Luka asked, frowning. He was pretty sure he had missed something. The dance seemed pretty self-explanatory. Most were.

“…mate, come on,” Dingo sighed. “You are so out of it today.”

“Sorry,” Luka said with a nervous chuckle. He shrugged and leaned forward, resting his arms on Claire’s body. “Guess I have been a bit distracted.”

The way Dingo grinned let him know it was more than a bit, but he supposed no one could really blame him.

It was the dance’s fault, anyway.

Not that he’d ever really been a fan of the school’s dances before. It was his final year at Sant-Saëns, and Luka had never actually been to one of their dances. Well. He supposed that wasn’t technically true – he’d been to one. During the spring of his freshman year, when a friend’s band had been set to play the dance and their guitarist had come down with food poisoning day-of. But he hadn’t actually gone – he’d been part of the entertainment. It’s not like he’d had a date or anything. He hadn’t seen what the big deal was, anyway. It had all seemed boring to him.

…he’d been more interested last year, maybe, but the person he’d maybe been interested in asking hadn’t really been in an ask-me-to-a-school-dance place. They’d been friends, and she’d been in love with someone else, and even if he’d been slowly – quickly – falling harder and harder for her with every passing day, that hadn’t changed the fact that her heart had been drawn elsewhere. Timing and all that. So he hadn’t gone then, either.

This year was proving…well. He was thinking her heart was maybe starting to redirect, but they were still just friends. There had been that moment, back at Valentine’s Day, where he had hoped…but then he’d gotten sick, and Adrien had surprised everyone with a visit the weekend of, and he’d watched their moment flap away on purple butterfly wings.

Timing always seemed to be a big issue for them.

“…wish it was as easy as it is for you and Mari,” Dingo sighed, and Luka jumped. He couldn’t have heard that right. Things with Marinette were…well. He supposed they were easier than they could have been, from what Juleka had told him, but there was that timing thing. It never felt all that easy to him.

Speaking of…he glanced at the clock hanging over the doors of the school. She had asked him to wait for her after school. There was something she needed to talk to him about – something important – but she had a student council meeting about the dance. As she was her class rep, and on several of the dance subcommittees as well, her attendance had been mandatory. But she wanted to talk to him, and he always wanted to talk to her, so he had told her he’d wait. She should be getting out soon.

…she’d be here already, if not for the stupid dance.

“It’s not easy for me and Mari,” he finally said, brushing a hand through his hair. Dingo kicked at his side, and Luka rolled his eyes. “Anyway. What do you need to be easy? Sorry. I’m paying attention now, I promise.”

“Good,” Dingo huffed. “God, mate, get a pair of pretty blues blinking at you and you’re hopeless.”

Dingo paused, looking thoughtful for a minute.

“…was that my problem? Brown eyes not really your thing?” he asked. Luka couldn’t tell if he was teasing or not. He shifted uncomfortably, his fingers finding Claire’s strings and drawing out an awkward tune.

“What?” he asked, and Dingo laughed.

“Nah, I’m messing with ya,” he said. He looked back at the sky, another thoughtful look settling on his face. “Maybe that’s Bri’s problem, though. Lu, do you think that’s it? Do you think she thinks Mari’s prettier than me?”

“…ok, what?” Luka asked again, shaking his head. “And Marinette is definitely prettier than you.”

“Well, of course you’d say that,” Dingo grumbled. He kicked a pebble off the step. “Bri won’t go to the dance with me. She says it’s lame.”

“It is lame,” Luka said absently.

[...]

Before Dingo could say anything else, Luka grabbed his face in his hands and pulled him towards him, smashing their mouths together in a hard press of lips and teeth. His nose scrunched as Dingo yelped and flailed a little – he was pretty sure Dingo’s tongue ended up in his mouth, even if it was barely a second and only a bit it was still more than he’d ever wanted to experience – and it was over as soon as it had started. Luka shoved him back, his eyes narrowed in a glare, and opened his mouth to say something scathing when they heard it.

A clattering. A quiet gasp.

They turned towards the entrance of the school to find Marinette watching them with wide, glistening eyes (eyes that looked too similar to Juleka’s when she was about to run off crying), a collection of folders and papers and art supplies and what Luka was pretty sure was a prototype Kitty Section mask littered around her feet. Her eyes darted between Dingo and him, and Luka realized all too late how bad it had to look: Luka with his hands on Dingo’s face, both of them sitting too close together from where Luka had practically hauled him into his lap, faces red and lips a little bruised (he was pretty sure his was bleeding, and he definitely needed to punch Dingo for biting him), and God if she had seen the kiss…and then she was running, turning on her heel and disappearing into the school with everything she had dropped forgotten at the top of the steps. Luka cursed and shoved Dingo away from him, ignoring the injured yelp and demands to know what the hell had just happened, and shoved himself up to chase after her.

“Marinette! Wait!” he cried, not even realizing he’d run over the prototype mask in his rush to catch her. Inside, the hall wasn’t as busy as it would have been had it been normal school hours, but the after school crowd (the clubs, the loiterers, the remaining faculty) were still milling about. And Marinette…Marinette was gone.

He didn’t care if he had been the one to initiate the kiss. He was going to fucking kill Dingo.

[5-falsehoods-phonated]

Out of the House

Series summary: Ever the paranormal enthusiast Remus is excited when he finds an abandoned house creepy enough to have ghosts in it with no chance of being caught trespassing. He quickly finds himself in over his head however when his fantasies come true, fighting to solve a mystery with the only possible outcome being losing someone he comes to love.

Platonic dukexiety focus

This series was created for dukexiety week 2021. I’m posting after but here is the list of prompts!

Chapter 1: I’ll be Here by Day

Chapter Summary: When Remus gets them kicked out of the library, he takes Logan and Janus with him to an old, abandoned house as a new study location. This don’t go to plan as Remus is confronted with something he didn’t think was possible.

Pairings: Platonic Dukexiety (Remus & Virgil), background Lociet (Logan x Janus)

Day 1 Prompt: Myths/Supernatural

Warnings: mild swearing, mild sexual innuendos, injury mention, paranormal events. If there are others please let me know!

WC: 2873

AO3 link

Main masterlist

“Do you mind?” Remus grinned as his platforms were slowly but surely nudged off the chair, Logan's nose scrunched in disgust as ze examined the dirt on zir pencil. “Highly unsanitary.”

“It’ll help your immune system.” Long fingers reached over to flick at the pages of whatever book Logan had had zir nose buried in for the better part of an hour. He snapped them back with a yelp however as his knuckles were rapped hard with the pointy end of the No. 2.

“That's if you eat it Remus, and such sentiments are usually reserved for children to placate parents when they can’t keep their spawn from shoving every little thing into their mouths-”

“Well if you wanted to lick my boots Logan you just had to ask.” Remus waggled tiks eyebrows suggestively, grinning wide as the other turned beat red.

“I AM NOT-”

“Logan, honey, volume. And Remus stop being gross we invited you here to study not air our desperation.” Janus’ quiet drawl diffused the situation immediately as both parties screwed their mouths to the side and looked away. Remus heard the librarian huff and stalk away with furious clicks of his heels, no doubt miffed at the missed chance to kick them out for the third time that week.

“Jannie Jan. J-anus. Jan-ass. Jan-assist me with this b-”

“Afternoon Remus. New piercing already?”

Nodding excitedly, Remus leaned over Logan’s books, ignoring the put upon sigh behind him and staring at the redhead with wide eyes. Janus smirked as he watched the other’s eyebrows jump up and down, the fluorescent bulbs of the library catching the two studs placed right at the end of the left brow that morning.

“Looks nice. I like the green.”

“Remus if you keep doing those yourself you’re going to get an infection. Please, I’ve told you so many times I know the tattoo artist down the street, I can get you discount piercings.” 

Remus craned his neck nearly all the way around, a manic grin thrown over tiks shoulder as Logan stared at him in horror. “Awe you like meeeeee.” 

Shooting Janus the “it’s your turn look” while being bumped repeatedly in the shoulder by Remus’ swaying hips Logan pressed zir mouth into a thin line as the return eyebrow raise of “you owe me for last time” was shot right back. Rolling zir eyes Logan shoved back with zir shoulder sending Remus right back in the chair.

“You.” Logan hissed. “Are going to get us kicked out again. I quite enjoy this library, so take this and for the love of god stay relatively quiet!”

So saying a silicone sword on a string was pressed into Remus’ hands, who inspected the obnoxiously green object for a moment before shrugging and shoving it into his mouth. “Long and thick, I like it.”

The undignified snort Janus didn’t quite manage to cover followed by a shriek as his shins were kicked from under the table was enough to teleport the librarian over to them. Glaring down his nose at the two properly chastised of the group and the one currently grinning like an idiot he pointed aggressively towards the door in a way that dared them to argue.

“Out.”

“Yes ma’am.” Logan and Janus muttered as they collected their things. Remus jumped up with a salute that received an icy glare stern enough to freeze if Remus had actually been paying attention- as it was tik merely swung his pack up and over tiks shoulder nearly hitting the man in the process. A final self satisfied huff and a slammed door later found all three of them kicking pebbles on the sidewalk, put out and annoyed but certainly not surprised.

“Remus, I care for you a great deal but at the moment I would like to yeet you into the road.” Logan turned to Janus slightly. “Usage?”

Ignoring Remus’ giggling, Janus nodded. “It’s correct.”

“We could go to your flat?” Logan asked hopefully, wilting as Janus shook his head.

“Roommates are having their own study session and between Remus’...” Janus paused and watched as the other tried to snap a bug into his book, nearly snapping his nose as tik tripped in the process. “...Remus and my more distracting noises I don’t think we’d be welcome back just yet.”

“They could just wear headphones.” Logan muttered, clearly annoyed.

“Yes well, not everyone understands vocal stims and I don’t want to get into another argument with them about it. I rather enjoy my flat and if I could continue to live in it that would be lovely.”

“I know a place!” Remus jumped suddenly between them. “I found it last week looking for-”

“Remus we are not studying in a graveyard or a morgue or a house you think is haunted. I understand your love of ghosts but-”

“This one’s really nice I promise!” Remus interrupted, giving Logan puppy eyes that had zir rolling zir eyes yet again. “It’s in that weird in between of broken down enough that no one wants it but not enough that the government or whatever wants to step in yet...so I think technically no one owns it?”

“Is that how that works?” Janus turned to Logan curiously.

Logan opened zir mouth to argue, finger already in the “in fact it isn’t” position before pausing to consider. “I- I’d like to say no but I don’t know enough about property rights in this state to argue.”

“In this state?” Janus’ question was ignored in favor of Logan blocking Remus’ book from slamming into zir nose.

“It’s safe?” Janus asked instead.

“Yeah! Well-” Remus mumbled around tiks chewelry, tugging the book out of Logan’s grip and stuffing it uncaringly into tiks bag. “Just don’t go on the second floor I guess...stairs look a bit not great. But! It doesn’t have a basement so the first floor is safe! And most of the windows are broken so it doesn’t smell or anything.”

“....and we’re taking those as good points and moving on. Logan?”

Pinching the bridge of zir nose and pushing zir blue tinted hair out of zir face, Logan eyed the man currently bouncing up and down in excitement and nearly jostling the papers out of tiks open backpack. Smiling fondly ze shrugged. “If it's quiet I don’t see why-”

“Yes! Come on, I know a shortcut!”  

Janus and Logan watched as Remus took off at a sprint, using the momentum to throw his pack over the fence and picking up half the papers that flew out of it before hopping it tikself. Scooping most of his things back up he continued running across the residentials backyards and turning out of sight around the far corner.

Holding his hand out Janus smiled wryly. “I know which house he’s talking about, it isn’t far. Sidewalk or yards?”

“The sidewalk is better- I can’t hold your hand trying to hop a fence.” So saying Logan slipped zir hand into the others’, but not before smugly observing his reddening cheeks.

“Sap.”

“No, a flirt?” Holding in his laughter, Janus tugged Logan along, walking faster than normal in the hopes that the wind would cool his face. 

-----

“Ta-da!” Remus twirled in the entryway, flinging his bag to the side of the hall as tik did. Sneezing in the resulting dust he quickly shuffled back further into the house. The space had probably been a living room before the previous owners moved, though as it stood now it seemed even the house had forgotten what it once was. Old, warped floorboards held only water damage as memories, groaning and giving slightly when anyone stepped on them. As it was they protested heavily as Remus uncaringly rocked back and forth on his heels, waiting for the others to actually step inside. 

“You’re sure this is safe?” Logan cautioned as ze stepped gingerly around a pile of plaster that had long since crumbled off the wall by the door.

“Oh absolutely! Nothing’s fallen on me yet that wasn't already on the floor when I got here.” Tik paused as tik glanced towards the stairs- rickety, broken things that looked like blowing a fan in their direction would collapse them- and winced. “Just...don’t use the stairs. I put my foot through the first one by accident trying to explore the other day.”

“Of course you did.” Janus sniffed, looking them up and down before he stopped to squint at the top. It looked like they led to a hallway that turned a corner to the rest of the second floor, a small window letting in a meager amount of sunlight through the dirty glass. The hallway and resulting corner was shrouded in half shadow that made shapes dance around the edges and goosebumps race up and down his arms. Only half paying attention to whatever Remus and Logan were currently arguing about, he took a step closer to the staircase, back tensing even if he couldn’t make anything out that could be triggering such a response. 

Squinting harder he tilted his head trying to get a better angle from his vantage point at the very bottom of the steps. The shadows seemed to shift every so slightly right at the turn of the wall that would lead into the hallway, making him blink and step back in surprise. Hackles raised in earnest now he frantically searched up and down the stairway and everywhere he could see of the upper landing but there was no more movement in any direction. The top of the steps however was brighter now, as if the dirty panes had only been a trick of dust in his eyes. Now it was simply slightly smeared glass- nevertheless letting sunlight through cheerily and letting it shine halfway down the steps- hardly a trace of shadow to be found in what he could have sworn was a dingy landing only moments before. 

“Hey Jannie Jan you good? You look like you saw a ghost.”

“...Remus, you’re sure this house is empty? You never heard anything or saw any- I don’t know empty wrappers or anything?” Stepping fully away from the stairs Janus turned towards Remus and gripped the straps of his backpack tight enough to bruise his fingers.

“No, why? I mean- no one else is here. I’ve spent a few days exploring this place and hanging out, there’s just the first floor which is pretty clean other than well,” he gestured around at the wallpaper, plaster and dust littering the floor, along with the broken glass shoved carefully back underneath the windows. “And the second floor I already said I couldn’t get to and I doubt anyone else could even if they wanted to. I never heard anything other than what I think is a mouse or squirrel or something in the wall over there.”

“That doesn’t completely eradicate the possibility of squatters in the building but considering the state of the place I’d say it’s very unlikely.” Logan nodded at Remus before turning back to peer at Janus curiously. “I would assume that was what you were implying, Janus. Are you alright?”

Janus screwed his mouth to the side, considering just dropping the subject or lying to save face somewhat. Just as he was about to snark out something about watching too many of Remus’ cheesy ghost hunting shows, a wave of dread so solid it left him breathless slammed into him. Ice filled his veins and his legs tensed as every reflex in his body told him in no uncertain terms to run before it was too late. 

“I want to leave.”

“What, why?” Remus quickly jogged over to where Janus was reaching for the door handle, Logan hot on his heels.

“I don’t want to get arrested for trespassing! And this place-” He turned around and glanced to the stairs again. “It doesn’t feel right. I’d rather brave my roommates.”

“Are you scared?” Remus asked incredulously.

“No!” Whirling around the other man locked eyes with Logan. “You agree with me right?”

Logan twisted h=zir fingers for a moment, not looking at either of them. “It does feel odd I suppose.” 

“Then that’s that then! Stay in your creepy house if you want Remus, we’re leaving.” So saying Janus grabbed up Logan’s hand and bag, practically dragging zir out the door. 

Remus stood inside the doorway for a moment before tiks shoulders slumped and tik turned back inside. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy to fix them getting kicked out of the library...again. The house was creepy sure but it had been abandoned for who knows how long and was falling in on itself, what had they expected?

Idly he kicked at a loose nail and sent it skittering across the floor towards the stairs. Tik hadn’t ever felt scared in this house- not even when his weight snapped the first step and he thought he’d be stuck in the house until tiks body rotted through the hole he’d made. A less favorable thought sure but not one tik wasn’t familiar enough with to hold it against the house. Huffing he flopped down against the far wall and drug tiks bag over to tik, fishing around for his phone so he could apologize to Janus and Logan and hope they weren’t too mad at tik...again.

He nearly dropped his phone when something bounced off the back of it, clattering to the floor between tiks feet. He leaned forward to see...a nail? Raising his eyebrow tik looked up to the stairs while flicking the nail towards them, searching for the one he had kicked but seeing nothing other than dust. The one tik flicked bounced off the bottom step and spun for a minute before stopping suddenly just a few inches away. Remus slowly lowered his phone and watched it curiously, the hairs on his arms standing in alarm but refusing to eat tikself actually be scared. It was a nail- an old rusty one at that- and the house was old with its windows smashed through. The air currents were probably playing around with-

There was a slight pain in his outer ear and tik flinched to the side to see what bug had bit him. Instead he saw a nail embedded into the wall, still quivering slightly with the force it had apparently been shot with. Swallowing nervously tik glanced back to the stairs searching frantically for the one he had seen not five seconds ago only to see nothing but dust once again. 

“Okay.” He exhaled shakily and stood up, pocketing his phone and grabbing up tiks bag. “Yeah, okay. So- ghost right? Listen, I love being nailed as much as the next person but-”

He was cut off with small, unassuming jingling sounds, almost sounding like hail hitting the outside of a window. The sun was still shining brightly however, despite the rapidly declining temperature inside and he began to look around in earnest to make out what the sound was. Tik had always told himself that if tik ever had an experience like this he’d be sure to catch it in camera- and none of the shaky handed blurry footage shit everyone else tried to pass off thank you very much Logan- but at the moment his phone was forgotten in a white-knuckled grip. He watched as bits of glass slid over the worn floors with enough force to gouge the wood, jingling merrily on their way to a rapidly darkening staircase with shadows dripping like black mold from the second floor above.

Tik could do nothing but stand frozen even as every instinct and shred of common sense he had ever had screamed at tik to turn and run while he still could. The glass whirled around a shape in the middle of the stairs, a ball of shadow descending step by step that seemed to stare through him though tik couldn’t see any indication the thing had eyes. His vision tunneled and distantly he was aware tiks breathing had picked up- mildly concerning considering the microscopic pieces of glass ripping through the air- everything narrowing down to this one moment. This one entity that without a shred of doubt in Remus’ mind he knew wanted him dead. 

“G̸̮̗̘͔͔̖̕E̴̛͚̣͖͇̗͙̺̭̔̈́̂̀̈́̔̕͠͝͝T̵̨̜̹̲̬̦͕͇͒̓͒̀͑ ̵͕͖̳̱͎͕̝̥̐̉͗̃Ǒ̵̡͎̥̣̳̙̜̜͓̠̲͍̿̐͐̎́̓̽̊͘͘͜͝͠Ṷ̶̢̟̠͙̯̱̝̠̹̪͚̠̽̇̄́͌̔̀̌͠͝T̸͎͐̆̐!̵͉́̅̋̑͑̈̀̈́̄!̷̰̈́̀̑̾͌̊” 

The force of the distorted voice rattled the walls and sent plaster raining down onto Remus, who finally felt his legs twitch just as tik felt the first pinpricks of glass against his face. Wasting not a second more he turned on tiks heel and tripped tiks way through the entry hall and out the door, hearing it slam shut behind him as he hopped the fence and took off down the road faster than tik had ever run in his life. Shocked gasps rushed past his lips as tik just kept pumping his legs and let tikself be led on autopilot all the way to his apartment, bursting through the door and slamming it behind him. Heavy breaths filled the short hall and he slumped to the floor, mildly surprised when his phone thunked to the floor in front of tik. 

“Holy shit.” He whispered, tiks head thumping heavily into the door behind him.

“Holy fucking shit.”

Next

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[doingthingsthewriteway]

A Promise Kept

Request: Dom and Colson step in to protect their dear Y/N. 

Summary: Dom promised there would be hell to pay if he had to get Colson involved. There’s hell to pay. 

Warnings: some language and sorta threatening situation 

After the photo episode, Dom made it a point to tell Colson what exactly went down. Dom wasn’t sure why he felt like he had to tell Colson, but there was something about the older friend that offered a sense of security. 

Colson had dropped by to offer some socially distanced weed when it slipped out of Dom’s lips. “Did you see it?” 

The blonde bit his lip, he never lied to Dom. “Yeah.” He kept the thoughts of how sweet Y/N looked in the photo, not supposed to think about his best friend’s girl like that. 

“People are saying we leaked it.” Dom kicked at a pebble in the driveway. “She didn’t even know it was taken. Spent the day locked in our room. I don’t know everything in her head but I know there’s something dark up there.” 

Now, Colson appreciated a nice pair of tits as much as the next guy but only when it was consensual. He certainly did not believe a woman, especially not Y/N, should be subjected to such things. “You find out who took it?” 

Dom shook his head, gritting his jaw. “If something happens to her, I don’t know what I would do. I won’t lose her because some horny motherfucker can’t respect privacy.” 

“You won’t.” The promise symbolized more than that. A lot more. Blood might be thicker than water, but that doesn't mean friends were thin. Colson would bled for those to if only for how happy Y/N made Dom. 

Everything went well, really well. Life for the couple got back on track and eventually everyone was allowed to trickle back to normal. Y/N didn’t complain too much but damn sometimes she just needed to be around someone other than Dom. Loved the man to death, but seeing someone else was lovely. 

She didn’t complain that the first outing they went to was a party for his label. An outing was an outing. Any excuse the two had to dress each other up was taken. Y/N helped Dom pick out his outfit and carefully line his lipstick. Dom, in turn, made a point to show off his girl in the nicest clothes she had. 

“Baby.” He took a shallow breath, catching a whiff of her scent as she spun around for him. “You sure you don’t want to stay in just one more night?” His tongue flicked out in temptation. “You know I’d make it worth your while.” 

“What’s the fun if I can’t tease you all night?” She winked, grabbed her clutch and headed out the door. “C’mon pup, don’t want to keep Colson waiting.” 

Well, yes he did want to keep Colson waiting because Dom wanted to suck on her tits but that was neither here nor there he supposed. The two fumbled into the backseat with Colson of the car that picked them up. Colson’s gangly stance had his legs spread out, knocking thighs with Y/N. 

“Oppsie.” She giggled adjusting the skirt of the dress she wore, well technically it was Dom’s nightie. Colson swallowed just a little to hard as he caught Dom’s eyes. Dom looked mighty nice to. This is what Colson got for being nice, he supposed, suffering in eternal hell next to the prettiest looking things he had seen in a while. 

“Now, people are likely to be a bit stir crazy since this is the first time we’ve been able to go out.” Colson stretched his arm around Y/N to rest on Dom’s shoulder. “If anything happens, I mean anything some mother fucker looks at your wrong, you two let me know.” 

Y/N nodded ever so obediently. “As happy as I am to be going out of the house and seeing a face other than this” she nudged Dom playfully, “I’m sticking beside him.” 

Dom’s chest puffed out ever so slightly, damn straight. “Anybody tries anything, anybody mentions anything Kells and I are on it.” 

“Dommy, you shouldn’t fight anyone. Frankly, neither should Kells.” The pet names fell like terms of endearment causing both men to turn a delightful shade of pink. 

“I’d do anything for you, you know that.” Dom kissed her hair and helped her out of the car once they arrived. 

The party was in full swing. People were getting loose and handsy. Y/N and Dom were no exception. In a fit of giggles, the two slipped away toward the bathroom for a quickie when it was said. 

Dom thought he was hearing things at first because that was certainly not a way to talk to a lady. He slowed, turning toward the source of the sound. It was a Soundcloud rapper that someone got in. The loser had the nerve to smirk at Dom’s little girl. 

“What did you say mate?” It was almost like a growl. His eyes narrowing. He looked and felt the most masculine he had been in weeks, good thing too.

Y/N tugged on Dom’s hand, gripping his wrist tightly. “Just leave it alone baby, he’s not worth it.” 

“Yeah, I’m not worth it. Everyone’s already seen her tits anyway.” 

Colson wasn’t entirely sure how he heard it over the roaring music. Nevertheless, he heard what the wannabe said and he lost it. It took approximately three strides of his long legs to get to the asshole and grab him by the collar of his ugly ass jacket. 

A string of colorful profanities fell from his lips-in any other circumstance Dom and Y/N might have been impressed. Colson’s grip tightened around the throat of his opponent, squeezing tighter and tighter until

“Kells! Stop!’ Y/N was close to tears if not already there. “Please!” 

“You got fucking lucky she’s so goddamn nice.” He hissed shoving the man away. 

Y/N shook her head in disbelief. “You shouldn’t have done that. He’ll try to press charges. I won’t let anything happen to you or Cassie because of me.” 

If that wasn’t the sweetest thing, Colson did’t know what else would top it. “I appreciate that, I do.” Colson brought the younger couple under his arms, holding each of them close to his chest for a moment. “But anything happens to either one of you little shits, I’m invested. You’re family. I know you would do the same for me and my daughter.” 

Y/N stretched onto her tip toes to press a tender kiss on his cheek, a lipstick stain imprinted on the pale skin. “Can we go home now? I’ve had enough socializing to get me through until the next quarantine.” 

We? That sounded like an invite? Surely not. But the way Dom winked at Colson as he pressed a kiss into Y/N’s neck all but confirmed that it was. A low grade pap snapped and sold another photo of Y/N, though this time it was stumbling out into the night air with the two most important men in her life. Rumors swirled but the three just smiled, they made a promise to each other, one they intended to keep. 

[capricornus-rex]

A Legacy Begun (8)

gif found and saved from pinterest

Chapter 8: First Steps | Cal Kestis x Reader

Summary: After a long time of running and fighting, you and Cal decided to finally settle down after all these years to raise a family. However, it was never a life of peace whilst the shadow of the Empire looms over your heads.

Prompt/s in play: Anon prompt (found in Chapter 1 link) + fic idea

Also posted in AO3

Tags: Scruffy! Cal Kestis, Daddy! Cal Kestis, Adult! Cal Kestis, Jedi Family, Jedi Offspring, Force-Sensitive Offspring, Settling Down, Rebel Alliance

Chapters: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 | Previous: Part 7 | Next: Part 9 | Masterlist

8 of ?

4 BBY

Young Cassidy Kestis has just turned seven years old.

As she grew, she has become more exposed to the doings of her parents: watching them trade strikes with beams of light that emit out of a metal cylinder once ignited, wave their hands around to move things from something as a bug to something as large as a boulder without needing to touch them, and her childhood was heavily influenced by that—she was a constant spectator of her parents.

It fascinated her. Though she didn’t know that she was more like them.

You and Cal have been teaching her mostly about the Force ever since she was five years old. It was you who taught her the ways of the Force, how to reach out to it, and how to strengthen her bond with it.

“So, when can I learn how to lift things without my hands, Mom?”

The innocence and naivety of your daughter amused you. Perhaps it’s inherent in many younglings to ask when they can start to lift things using the Force—you were no stranger to that, you and Cal are practically guilty to such an inquiry once.

“Soon, Cassidy,” you still entertained her question, but quickly added the important bit. “But lifting things with the Force isn’t the most important thing you’ll have to learn.”

“Then what is?”

The sprightly young girl hopped from one rock to the other as she followed you into the forest. She showed off her balancing skills by lifting her one leg up while keeping the other planted on the narrow tip of the boulder stuck on the ground; you quickly caught her in your arms when she started to stumble facedown.

“The Force itself, no less,” you settled her atop a stone’s throw in the middle of the clearing. “That’s the energy that surrounds us and binds us everywhere.”

“But how can I know it’s there when I don’t even see it?”

She had a fair point, you thought, her insight was repaid with a chuckle stifled by a smile.

“That’s very perceptive,” you commented. “But you’re right, though: how could one know something is there when they don’t see it?”

That was a rhetoric, though your daughter’s acumen reminded you of the very same standpoint you once had as a Jedi youngling. You recall the words of Master Yoda from one of your lectures back in the day. You paced back and forth, stringing together the words of the lesson, her head followed your every step as she loosened her shoulders and lay her hands over her legs crossed together on the stone’s throw.

“The Force doesn’t need eyes to be seen, Cassidy, it needs to be felt. So, can you tell me how does one feel?”

Her eyes wandered the forest, in search of an answer, and then she perked up right away.

“Touching!” she showed you her palms wide open and wiggled all ten of her fingers.

“That’s right, that’s one thing,” you reward her answer with a smile and she shifted in her seat. “Can you think of another?”

“Not exactly, Mom,”

“All right, I want you to try something. Close your eyes,”

The child did as she was told. Nothingness shrouded her eyes. With her vision darkened, her other senses keened—it was more of an unconscious action than something noticeable—her hands were pulled away from her knees and then were planted against the cold, smooth surface of her perch by you.

Feel, Cassidy…

The hushed words of her mother faded into the still, afternoon breeze, they swirled about in her mind as if to embed itself into her system; at first, she didn’t know what or how to do with it, but she never let go of those words and acted upon them.

The ambiguity of your words afforded Cassidy a lot of wiggle room as to how she’ll go about it. She was attempting to comprehend what you meant—the lack of sight was beginning to make sense, she was able to make out sensations and emotions that stretched farther than the span of her arms.

“I think I feel something…” Cassidy whispered. “Warm…? No, cool—like the water in the river.”

An indescribable feeling seeped into her, like an inward embrace. All kinds of sensation coming from all around her entered her system like a siphon.

“There is something…!” she gasped, overwhelmed by the things flooding her mind—it was perhaps too much for the seven-year-old. She squirmed in her seat, refining herself to control it better.

“That’s the Force, Cassidy—you’re letting it flow within you,”

A certain warmth blanketed her. It commanded her body to relax and loosen away from the tension. Moments later, even with her vision darkened, she had a full view of the forest clearing—the stream, the grass, the rocks that she made stepping stones out of, and her mother standing opposite her.

Her fingers curled over the stone’s throw where you had planted them, as she allowed the Force to guide her silently and act on her pure instinct, you observed the pebbles rattling next to your feet—unfazed yet intrigued by this, you return your attention to your daughter.

“Deep breaths, Cassidy,” you instructed in the middle of her trance.

She obeyed as she heard. To her, it felt like the influx of sensations have balanced itself out when her lungs released the air they collected—but little did she knew that it was all on her as she tried to calm herself and clear those thoughts. She had yet to understand that her actions and the Force itself were symbiotic with one another. Later on, even if she wasn’t told, she attempt to open her eyes, slowly.

Standing right in front of her were her parents, their posture were alike—shoulders loose, hands behind their back, and a smile greeting her as the light enters her dark eyes.

“Well, Cassidy?”

“There was something, but I don’t really know what it is—it just made me feel things,” the scarlet-haired girl struggled with her words, hoping that you would understand her takeaway—you knew exactly what she meant.

“You did a good job, Cassidy,” you chirped. “That something you said? That was the Force reaching back to you, because you called it and it answered you.”

“So, it’s like talking but without the words… and with my eyes closed?”

An amused smile stretched from ear-to-ear, you caressed the curve of her cheek.

“Something like that, my sweet,”

You gave her a few minutes’ worth of rest before it was Cal’s turn to train her. It has become a point that he teaches combat while you teach Cassidy how to wield, connect with, and use the Force. BD-1, excited as always to reunite with Cassidy, skittered off of Cal’s shoulder towards her and the two friends immediately got lost in their own little world.

“She’s learning,” Cal chirped.

“Yes, she is. She’s a fast learner, I’ll give her that,”

“But she has much to understand,”

The absence of a reply from you meant that you agreed, though you weren’t sure how to word it out. The two of you watched Cassidy prop herself on her knees and concentrate on her own, applying what she has learned just now without any supervision—it’s a consistent trait of hers to do something independently after having learned or been taught about it; she has exhibited that when she first witnessed Cal lift a fallen log that blocked the path using the Force—that event was two years ago.

Eventually, it was Cal’s turn to train her today.

“Cassidy,” he summoned. “It’s time for instruction.”

“In a minute, Daddy!”

Her smiling face paled the radiance of the daylight as she scampered towards Cal with open arms, running towards him in a bear hug; their scarlet hairs clashed and shimmered a fiery hue against the sun as Cal brushed noses with her. They were binary suns personified.

Cal’s teaching methods take after Jaro Tapal’s style—straightforward and concise, firm yet gentle. Perhaps, the only thing Cal differed from his late master was patience. Cal handed over the prototype saber that he had fashioned for Cassidy, but it wasn’t technically hers—she has yet to undergo her own Gathering pretty soon.

“Now then,” he started as he configured the training droid. “Let’s have a little warm-up.”

Cassidy assumed a stance, she did an adorable job in doing so, the hilt was unignited but the weapon was positioned in the defensive. Cal smiled at the eagerness of his daughter, the tiny lights that riddled the body of the training flickered open and then it hovered up and away from his palm. Using the Force, he gave it a little nudge towards Cassidy’s direction.

The young Kestis girl’s stance stiffened, eyes glued to the floating droid, her palms sweated and coated the sleeve of the saber. The slightest centimeter that the hovering sphere made, the girl’s eyes followed. Her thumb had already pressed against the switch, a blue blade hissed out of the emitter, and the sphere became more hostile in a sense.

The lightsaber mirrored where the training sphere hovered to, anticipating an attack; the two of you can sense the uneasiness in her which Cassidy herself confuses with determination, however, she meant well, she strived to do well especially in combat—witnessing the two of you perform combat techniques and fighting patterns which was ultimately impressive and spectacular in her eyes, she’s made it her personal goal to reach a level such as her Jedi parents.

“Relax, sweetie,” Cal instructed.

Although she tried to loosen her shoulders, they always tensed back up. When the droid found a window of opportunity, it zapped out two white projectiles in quick succession.

Left. Right!

She succeeded in deflecting the blasts, but a third one caught her off guard as she celebrated mentally too soon—a zap got her shin, bringing her to her knees to rub away the sting.

“Do not think that you’ve won—not until the enemy is down,” he interjected.

Cassidy pulled herself back up, resuming into the same position as she started, and narrowed her sights to the floating sphere only. The blue beam of light protected her from two more successive blasts, learning from her mistake earlier, she anticipated the third shot—and deflected it at the last minute.

A short exhale huffed out of your mouth, impressed, you watched her experiment with her stances combined with her handling of the saber and how effectively she defended herself with such a position.

“My girl’s a fighter,” you hummed within Cal’s earshot, an agreeing smirk from him was your reply.

The training sphere stepped up its game, going beyond three successive strikes and recalibrated its attack patterns, rendering its opponent clueless of its next move. It hovered to one side, releasing two quick projectiles to Cassidy’s right side, and then zoomed to the opposite direction to zap two more before she had time to react. The floating sphere did this a second time around which greatly frustrated the redheaded youngling.

She growled at the object, the hissing noise it made as it zoomed to the other direction annoyed her—as if mocking her—out of the four total blasts the droid made, she was able to deflect two: one for each side whenever the droid changed positions. Before it could get any worse, Cal abruptly cuts the session by freezing the sphere in place with the Force as he knelt down to Cassidy’s level.

“You’re getting angry,” he pointed out.

“I couldn’t hit the zaps!”

“That’s okay. The hardest part of fighting with a lightsaber is controlling your feelings and not letting it do things for you,”

This moment afforded Cassidy to clear her mind, going to a full mental restart before engaging the training remote again. When Cal returned to your side and gave the floor to Cassidy versus the training droid, the child tried to understand her father’s advice and apply it in reality. In fairness, she was able to do much better compared to what she was getting herself into moments ago.

“She reminds me of myself,”

“Never took you as the type to be easily frustrated,” Cal half-joked to which you responded with an exhale through your nostrils as you smiled.

“Oh, believe me, it took me a great deal of practice,”

Cal craned his head, catching a glimpse of your smirk—whether it was a proud smile for your daughter improving her skill or the fond memory of your childhood amused you—he found himself infected by it as the two of you watched over little Cassidy.

[widcwed-rasa]

Disclaimer: this conversation happens somewhere in the gardens. Since it turned into something incredibly long, I’m going to leave this under a read more and you can choose whether this is something you’d like to read or just skip. If you choose to read it, please remember this isn’t a story Rasa would share lightly, and she only ever discloses to select people.

Rasa didn't need much effort to recall the events that led to her first marriage. They always seemed to remain close enough to the surface, and she could sift through whenever she might have felt willing, although it had already been years since it happened. "I can still remember meeting him in a garden party in Zagreb Botanical Garden. It was the end of May, and flowers blossomed everywhere, perfuming the air as we walked and talked as if there wasn't anything to worry about in the world. We were just in the company of friends and family. I was talking to a group of girls, laughing, having fun, while he sat in a cluster of people not too far from where I stood, telling a story that had every single one of them looking at him as if in a trance. They seemed so compelled watching him that not even I could tear my eyes away from what was happening," there was a ghost of a smile playing on Rasa's lips as she recounted, unable to contain the bittersweetness of the feeling.

With a sigh, she focused on the path that stretched ahead of her feet, slowing her pace just enough to kick a pebble. "I don't know how long I spied. It could have been a few seconds. It could have been several minutes. But when I was finally able to gather my wits again, he was staring back at me. I'll never forget the amused smile he gave me, or his devil-may-care attitude when he raised his glass towards me in a toast. I could feel the color that crept over my cheeks as mortification took over me and forced myself to tear my gaze away. I was almost twenty-one when it happened. I didn't know how else to react," her shoulders traveled with a gentle shrug.

Rasa moved her arms behind her back, intertwining her fingers. "Much as we might try to come up with scenarios of who, when, and how someone will sweep us from our feet, it never quite measures up to the moment when it happens," she mused, and her lower lip worried between her teeth for a heartbeat before she could continue. "He was all wrong," a mirthless chuckle escaped her mouth. "There was always something about him that was too much. His hair was too dark, just the wrong shade. His eyes were too grey, too stormy for my taste. His nose had a small lump on the bridge," she pinched her nose with two fingers to indicate where. "That made it slightly crooked. Later he told me he broke it in a fight," the detail flew through her head, "His eyebrows seemed too thick," she trailed off. "He wasn't what I'd ever thought I'd fall in love with, but he was perfect in all the imperfect ways. And I had forgotten how to breathe with the intensity in which he looked me. It lingered in the back of my mind, and I would keep going back to it, trying to understand what it meant."

The memories of him didn't hurt as much as they used to, though Rasa would always talk about them with reverence. "I went on about my day as if it hadn't happened. At some point in the afternoon, I strayed from my friends, meandering through the gardens admiring the flowers. He saw me before I saw him, and when he spoke, his voice was so pleasantly deep it brought shivers down my spine. Like a fool, I glared at him, unable to produce any sound, my throat as dry as a desert. My discomfort was comical to him since he regarded me with a little smile, and instead of waiting until my brain decided to make sense, he chaffed around, plucking a soft pink rose from one of the bushes and handing it delicately over to me. I glanced at the flower, then back at him, and I was about to thank him for the gesture, but he stopped me. I'm still not sure how he did it, but he just knew and pointed out I hadn't liked it. I attempted to salvage the situation by denying it. He never believed it, saying my expression told him everything he needed to know. I didn't need him to think it had been because I didn't like him, so I ended up explaining I was never a fan of roses, which is true, my favorite flowers have always been gladiolus," Rasa's shrug was apologetic. She couldn't change it about herself.

"I know after that, we just spent hours talking about what seemed like everything," she sighed, a hand flicking in the air. "He made it effortless to bounce from subject to subject as if some invisible thread tugged on them. I barely noticed when the afternoon's oranges and yellows gave way to the pinks and purples of the night. When I realized someone else was calling my name, my family had already been looking for me for about forty minutes," she found herself chuckling softly.

Rasa recalled the details fondly, and there was something about the story that still made her feel this odd comforting warmth. "The following day, I was still in this state of daze, and my maid could barely contain herself as she barreled into my room with the biggest vase of mixed gladiolus I had ever seen. The card was simple. 'Hope these will spear you as you've speared me.' I didn't immediately understand, but I was grinning from ear-to-ear nonetheless. Later, as I mulled over the meaning, I figured out it was because that's the significate people associate with giving gladiolus to someone else," she shook her head almost in disbelief that the symbolism had escaped her.

"We saw each other every day while we were in Croatia. The more I learned about him, the more enthralled I became. He was like a beautiful mystery I wanted to unveil, and I," she paused, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. "I never quite knew what he saw in me. Whenever we were together, he made me feel as if it was only the two of us. The rest of the world ceased existing. Sometimes, all he ever had to do was look at me, and it was as if a fire had touched my cheeks. He just had that quality about him. Wherever he walked, he became the center of attention, and everybody loved him. But my parents," Rasa trailed off.

"In the beginning, my parents were against the idea of us. We were too young. We couldn't fathom what we were doing, and how we were throwing our lives away in what was probably just a fling. It's funny when you try to bring those phrases to perspective. I believe they were just outraged by the idea because they weren't the ones pulling on the strings and making it happen. We tried everything we thought imaginable. We spoke of love, of politics, of how beneficial an alliance between our two countries might be, I went on a hunger strike— that only lasted for two days, but that's not the case. We just wanted to have a chance. Things were more complicated than what I assumed, but I only came across that after everything happened. My parents had been adamant about the two of us not getting married because they were already discussing giving my hand in marriage to someone else," Rasa shrugged. It was another one of those situations beyond her control.

"He and I thought we were between a rock and a hard place. So we decided to take matters into our own hands— now, I'm not saying this is what people should do, we were young and reckless enough to conclude it was our only option — and we did something crazy. My parents would have killed me if they found out about this, but we technically got married a couple of months before our official ceremony. I told them I needed some time and space away from the city, had some friends help craft an elaborate tale of a weekend away, and we got hitched. I don't know if it was luck or coincidence, but the morning after our nuptials I woke up to him whispering in my ear that we'd done it. We'd managed. While we were away, our parents sat down for a meeting and debated our relationship down to excruciating details. Eventually, the possibility we'd rage against our possible spouses won out. They didn't want the scandal, so it was easier for them to allow us to have it our way. Ridiculous as it might sound, my mother still made me swear I'd honor that marriage, even if it failed because that would be on me. I believe she only said it because I was stubborn enough to fight for it to happen. Years later, she congratulated me for my tenacity and said I was right to stand my ground in the name of what I wanted. She was proud of me for it. It didn't make me feel any more at ease to talk to her about my secret elopement, but what she doesn't know, won't break her heart."

[ouroboros-panacea]

Stone [石头]-Enigma-[3/?]

Summary:  [JJBA x HNK] "Phosphophyllite, my name is Phosphophyllite." Such is your useless life, no matter how many changes you make, how strong you become. Your life will still simply be a tragedy, and you, forever useless. The tale of a gem who suffered because of change, and an ancient being who wanted to change. An odd friendship it'd be. Rebirth seems more like a curse than anything. It would be nice if this didn't end with tragedy. {Disclaimer- I don't own hnk or jjba}

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Smashing onto hidden pebbles and rocks, Phosphophyllite broke apart into both large and small parts, arms and legs fragmenting into twos and threes. Her crystalline body was fractured, shards of herself scattering across the grassy forest floor. Facing down on the ground, her face split apart, her eyeballs clinking against the remains of her face. Yet part of her segmented left arm stayed in Kars' strong grip, his fingers still curled tightly around her wrist.

"Hm?"

Kars, hearing the sound of and feeling a tugging sensation through the singular arm he held, turned around to look at her. His violet eyes widening at the unusual-abnormal-sight of a shattered gem-like body. Hands instinctively twitched at the surprise, the strength of the young pillar man making visible indents in her wrist-Little pieces dropping down and littering the earth with her "flesh". He had expected her to have fallen earlier, due to how much effort it took her to keep up with him. Yet he didn't expect to see the masses of mint green gems spread around-each of them resembling a part of human limb like a morbid jigsaw puzzle.

Was she dead? Kars thought so for a moment, until something else came to disprove that thought.

In a desperate attempt to glue back her body, golden alloy leaked out of her body once more. Almost like blood, pouring out in copious amounts, it flowed down from invisible spaces to form a shapeless puddle. Then thin tendrils rose from it. From there, it started to blindly claw the ground for the other body parts.

Kars silently stared, face now holding an expression of interest. The rest of the environment around him ignored in favor of recording even more information about this..."newcomer". It was now a deeply ingrained fact in his mind that Phosphophyllite was neither part of humanity or his race. This only cemented his desire to know everything possible about her.

The more he got to know about her, the more he found himself becoming even more curious about her.

Which was expected, seeing as she was like a breath of fresh air-a ray of false sunlight suddenly shining down onto his dull, mundane existence. A challenge he would most definitely solve, no matter how long it took him. It gave him that welcomed feeling of having to go through an actual struggle to get to the 'prize'.

Kars then held up the piece of her arm in his large hand to study. It was split off from the rest of Phosphophyllite with a clean break. Her hand had the normal five fingers, nails a basic mint green (Strange that her nails weren't the "normal" transparent pink peach)-Overall plain and exactly like the hands of his kind and the humans. Nothing notable other than the small detail concerning the color of her nails.

Turning it upside down to look at the insides of her limb, Kars saw exactly what he expected-after the initial shock of seeing her scattered body parts-a crystalline interior, glinting in the moonlight and faintly reflecting a green tinted kaleidoscopic version of his deep violet eyes.

'It's a beautiful colour.' Kars thought with the sort of admiration one has for natural beauty. 'Like clear sea water.'

But a small thought nagged at the back of his mind as he turned his head to look back at the ongoing search for green gemstones.

'Why is she not dead? But assuming death for her was breaking apart, I believe she would have died much longer ago. With how brittle her body is and how clumsy she is from what I've seen, that's a given fact. Could it be that she doesn't die from that?'

That would mean the closest to death she would get was if she was entirely turned to dust without any chance of being pieced back together.

If Phosphophyllite was entirely made up of mineral on the inside and did not "die" if broken, then did that mean that they were technically immortal? Seeing as there was no organic material inside her to rot up until the day she died-much like the short lived humans he saw that usually passed by within a blink of an eye.

If there was no decomposition, no aging, then-?

Was she immortal then? Unable to die no matter what, unless her body was unable to be put back together?

How...interesting, yet, unnerving. To know that there were people out there whose's ability to stay as a part of the living were far greater than his kind, who suffered from such a simple thing.

The sun.

He'd have to study this (her) more.

The puzzle that Phosphophyllite gave him was, suffice to say, complex. But definitely intriguing. 

Perhaps, through her, he could find a way to combat the weakness to the sun that his species possessed. Then he'd finally, finally be able to feel that warmth on his skin, the pure light that was so, so very different and new and absolutely wonderful.

His head spun with the possibilities, eager to build upon those ideas and fantasies like a dog with a bone. (His body ever so slightly jerked, as if remembering the severe harm sunlight could do to him-admonishing him for even thinking of going under the sun.) 

He stopped that train of thought as it threatened to spiral further down. It would do him no good if he went ahead of himself because of his emotions without a plan (Like his Father said he always did).

'Breathe, in and out. Calm yourself. Remember what Mother and Father always said. Don't just focus on possibilities, if you want to make it happen, you must plan to do so first.'

A thin string of metal coiled around his wrist-interrupting him-and on reflex (and out of surprise) he yanked his hand away. The metal snapped from the burst of energy, pathetically flopping around on the floor like a blinded man, searching for a larger pool of alloy to be a part of. Kars' impassive face was broken in that instant, violet eyes narrowing, teeth sharply clicking together as his mouth closed with a "clack".

Why was this... anomaly giving him such trouble? He was supposed to be in control of himself.

Kars wasn't sure about the answer to that question-It wasn't like one of those questions where he'd simply have to look up to know. It was... different. (He didn't like that).

He glared even more at the alloy, tiny waves of annoyance washing over him. Kars wanted to do something to it to make it pay for interrupting him. But he squashed down those feelings-How could he let such small things annoy him so?

Kars looked back the slowly working puzzle, he wondered if it would be better to carry all of her pieces back home, or would it benefit him more if he'd help her. On one hand, he'd get back quicker, yet if he did help her, there was a chance of her trusting him more, and making it easier for him to "observe" her with less repercussions.

After all, people let their guards down more if they were around someone they trusted.

Kars started to move towards the body, all the while his eyes scanned the forest floor for the shining gem pieces, picking them up as he went closer and closer. Soon his arms were full of the roughly cut jewels when he finally approached Phosphophyllite's still body. He slowly knelt onto the plants, looking down carefully as to not crush the fragile things-his arms tight around the mass of mint green mineral. When Kars settled down, he gently placed down his load-Kars didn't need to waste even more time by breaking her in even smaller pieces, he wasn't sure how long this night would last. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck under the sunlight.

Kars took a piece from the pile and offered it to metal tendrils, who quickly snatched it away from him and went back to work. When they ran out of pieces to put, they turned to Kars for more. Soon they ended up just taking parts from the pile itself.

This cycle went on for a bit until larger parts of Phosphophyllite were fixed and Kars himself could start doing something instead of kneeling until his legs went numb.

"Thanks for fixing me back together." Phosphophyllite said, droopy eyes staring up at Kars. His own narrow eyes looked back at her in a silent of gesture of acknowledgment.

Well.

'Obviously he wouldn't respond.' A familiar voice echoed in her head again. 'He's kind of a stoic and serious type, don't you think?' It gained a rather teasing tone as it said this, making Phos unconsciously frown.

"I guess..." Phos mumbled as she watched him repair her body.

Kars heard that sentence, but chose not to comment.

It was a peaceful, yet awkward silence that enveloped the atmosphere around the two. That was promptly broken by Kars' curt words of "I'm finished." and his body rising up from it's previous kneeling position.

"A-ah, really? Um, thanks again for helping me."

It took a brief period of hesitation, but Kars answered back with a polite "You're welcome."

Phos smiled brightly at him in answer.

Inwardly, Kars imagined her to be like a flower and somehow...

His lips lifted into a small smile as well.

"You're smiling!" Phosphophyllite cried out in childish surprise, snapping up into a seated position as she pointed at the normally stoic boy.

At this, Kars' smile instantly returned to his original impassive expression.

"Damn it."

It was a while after they started their journey back to Kars' home (This time at a much more leisurely pace) that they had their first, real conversation together. It was nothing much, merely small chit-chat to help pass the time and to alleviate the slightly tense silence that hung in the air.

After all, they were still knew next to nothing about each other.

"So...how are you feeling?" Phos asked, her shiny green eyes gazing up in curiosity at the taller boy as they continued walking (To who knows where).

He glanced back down at her and answered in return with, "Why do you ask?"

"Well I was just curious, plus you don't seem like the type to say anything unless I start the conversation or something." She replied.

Kars blinked and said, "You don't need to concern yourself with such things."

"Well, maybe I don't need to, but I want to. Besides, you don't seem all that bad yourself. I mean, you helped fix me, right? That means you're a nice person!" Phosphophyllite cheerfully stated, her hands clasped behind her back and head slightly tilted as she smiled at Kars.

"It was better than waiting for you fix yourself and wasting away time that could've been used for better reasons. Like our little walk." Kars flatly responded back at her.

Phos cried out in mock hurt, "Ouch!" She slapped one of her hands on the left side of her chest, fingers lightly touching the black fabric.

"Your feelings have been noted." Kars wryly smiled, his tone dry like an arid desert. It would be a lie to say that he did not find some sort of amusement from Phos' rather expressive actions.

"Hmph," Phos crossed her arms in indignation. "On second thought, you're just a meanie!"

Kars raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Am I now?"

"Yup."

Without any of them knowing it, their friendly banter slowly melted the previous tension in the air, and somehow, Kars managed to let lose (even if only slightly) with someone-A near stranger, nonetheless.

It was strange how easy it felt being with Phosphophyllite.

It was when they'd moved on to commenting about the scenery around them that Kars realized they were nearing their (his) intended location.

"It's literally just green" stated Phos, gesturing at the varying shades of said colour that the forest came in as they moved. Even though it all looked the same to her anyways.

"It's not 'just' green, every plant or tree here has their own unique shade." Kars shot back, frowning.

"Whatever you say~" Phos airily replied, eyes lidded whilst waving her left hand at him.

As they passed by a large, large tree, Kars noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A faint symbol, spiraling and curved like air, twirled around like a silent indicator.

It was at this moment, when all of a sudden Kars turned to Phos and with arms outstretched, swept her off her feet into his muscular arms.

Phos cried out in surprise, "Wha-? W-woah!" Her arms flailed around and her eyes widened in shock.

"Don't ask."

Phosphophyllite silently nodded at Kars, her mind rolling around in confusion.

'What is he doing?!' One voice yelled out.

'Wait and see.' Said another.

'...ah-'

Kars bent his knees slightly, getting ready to run.

In his mind, he counted, 'One, two, three', and started running through the forest, keeping an eye out for more symbols on the trees.

Closer and closer they went towards the rabbit hole.

In front of them was a large cave, tall and imposing. If one were to look closely though, the rocks were decorated with detailed carvings of nature and such, becoming a large masterpiece in itself. But if one were to only look in front, all they would see was never-ending darkness greedily sucking in the moonlight that strayed into the dark.

Phos did the former. Kars did neither.

But at last, the both of them had finally reached their (Kars') intended destination, the entrance to the underground civilization of the Pillar race.

Kars slowed down to walking pace whilst still clutching onto Phosphophyllite, and in he went into the entrance, down into the winding maze that led to home.

His home.

-Chapter three end-