#thanks for this i'm going to fling myself off a building!!

[deathsconsort]

“ you’re my friend, but… sometimes i wish you were more than that." 😈

the two stand alone in the palace, the sky outside is adorned with pinks, blues, and purples. the light from the setting sun beams through the glass stained windows and cascades upon gwyn. this is what angels look like, nesta thinks as she takes note of how the light sets the other female aglow. it was this moment she understood her sister’s need to paint, though she was sure no artist no matter how talented could capture this scene in its entirety. she would have been content to stand here and marvel at gwyn, but what came out of her mouth made nesta’s eyes go wide and her brain short circuits momentarily. gwyn’s words had changed the trajectory of their relationship for better or worse. “i–” for the first time in a long time, nesta is at a loss for words. she’s quiet as she searches her scattered mind and looks to her shattered heart for how to convey her feelings.

ever since ending things with cassian, she was content being alone. she had accepted that there was no one out there who could love her, who would choose her if her own mate hadn’t. so she never thought about the prospect of being in another relationship or starting a family of her own. her romance books were good enough for her, at least that’s what she told herself. but would they truly be enough? growing up she was taught she wouldn’t marry for love anyway, but now that she had a little taste of it she did crave it deep inside. did she even deserve happiness such as love?

her heart has been closed off for some time now, never daring herself to open it back up and look into it. she hadn’t been brave enough to see what was inside or if anything was left of it. looking to it now though…her hand fiddles with the neckline of her gown, suddenly she felt too hot, too vulnerable. releasing the iron bars she had slammed down on her heart and looking to gwyn now has her realizing she may have feelings she didn’t realize she was even developing. there aren’t many things nesta archeron is scared of, but this terrified her. “why? why would you even want someone as big as a mess as i am? you deserve someone better than me.”

[exilae-arc]

like y’all .... think about her

[crazyoffher]

FEELS LIKE FOREVER.

billie eilish x fem!reader

summary: despite accompanying billie on her world tour, you didn't see her much, and it's up to you to express your concern about her overworking.

warnings: mentions of overworking, fluff, unedited.

word count: 1100+

a/n: anon, your request wasn't very specific so if this isn't what you had in mind, i'm very sorry. thank you for sending in a request, though, and i hope you enjoy 🫶 (also by "gf" i interpreted girlfriend so please lmk if you meant something else)

The tour was hard on Billie. She loved it to death, but sometimes she wished that she had longer periods to rest. She was glad to have you around this time, traveling around the world with her and watching every single show she performed, and at the end of the night, you’d be right by her side as the two of you fell into content slumbers.

She didn’t wish for just more time for relaxation and to continue working on her next album, but to also spend time with you. She felt bad that, though you were with her, you weren’t at the same time, sometimes not seeing her for hours at a time despite being in the same buildings. Billie wanted nothing more than to have a lazy day with you, caught up in the tour bus with no calls regarding the album, performances, or anything else.

“Billie, stop that.” Maggie argued, scolding the girl who was using her microphone to act as if she had a dick, flinging it around, which made you laugh. You were watching Billie and Finneas run through the fundamentals during a sound rehearsal while sitting off to the side in a chair that the crew had set up for you and Billie’s parents in GA, Maggie and Patrick to your right.

Billie tore the microphone away from it’s position with a frown, ready to reply to her mother, when her manager, Danny, called her and Finneas over to go through the setlist. That left Maggie and Patrick to talk about anything while you scrolled through Twitter, liking the posts that talked about you and Billie positively and skipping the ones that were in a negative light.

“(Y/N)?” You turned your head at the sound of your name, meeting Maggie’s gaze as she smiled warmly at you. “How's it been for you this past tour?”

You thought about it for a second, letting out a small cough before replying, “Boring at times, fun at times. I find myself alone in the tour bus a lot, just thinking, you know?”

You loved the older woman to death. The O’Connell family itself had been there for you when your own family couldn’t, and no amount of money or love could ever repay them in your mind. “That’s fair; I expected you and Billie to be together a lot more, but she’s been spending a lot of her free time on the album. I tell her to take a break, but she just nods before putting her headphones back on and continues.”

You nodded, not failing to catch the gloom in her eyes. “I’m slightly afraid of her schedule; she’s constantly working,” you replied, “but I can see why. She doesn’t say it, but she’s afraid to get backlash on another song the way “NDA” was reviewed.”

Before Maggie could reply, you felt two arms wrap around your shoulders and a head rest on top of yours. “Talking about me?”

“Maybe.” You tilted your head up, giving her a quick kiss, which she reciprocated with a bright, genuine smile when you pulled away. Maggie and Patrick stood up, deciding to leave you two be, but not without a reassuring hand on your knee and Maggie telling Billie where they were headed.

Billie rounded around you, sitting where her mom was not too long ago and noticing a different glint in your eyes. “You okay?”

“Just tired.” You sent her a smile. It wasn’t entirely false; you had stayed up later than usual to fill out emergency documents your workplace had sent you, despite the fact that you technically were on vacation. “Yeah, me too. The rehearsal ended, and there are still a couple hours until the show. You wanna go lay down?”

You looked at her with a confused face. “I thought you were going to continue mixing the song you’re working on?”

Billie sighed, wrapping her arm around your shoulder and pulling you into her. You laid your head on her shoulder, and she rested her head on yours. “I’ve thought about how much time I’ve been dedicating to the album when I should be taking time for you too. It feels like forever when I’m in the studio, mixing or writing, and you’re alone on the bus.”

“It’s fine, Billie; I know how important this album is to you,” you reassured her, placing your hand on her thigh. “I miss you a lot, and I won’t lie about that, but I wish you’d just take some time off working on the album. Not for me, but for you.”

Billie smiled down at you, taking her fingers under your chin to tilt your head up at her and embrace her in a soft kiss. “I’m more than happy you care about me, love. Come on,” she carefully stood up, and you eased out of your position on her shoulder before taking her outstretched hand, “let’s go to the green room and lay down.”

“One could say you’re happier than ever.”

“Oh, hush it.”

On the way there, the two of you were ultimately stopped by Danny, who seemed to be in a rush. “Billie! I know you’ve been working on the album a lot but I was wondering if you could re-record the-“

“Not today.” Billie interrupted with a short reply, and you smacked her upper chest at the tone she held. “Um,” you started off, eyeing the green room that wasn’t far away, “if you really need her, then it’s fine; I could-“

“Tomorrow, Danny.” The older man just nodded, giving the two of you a small smile before holding his phone to his ear, seemingly having been on a call the entire time, and rushing away.

“You’re busy tomorrow, though.” You quirked, having memorized Billie’s schedule for the month out of boredom one day. “You have to get up early for an interview, then a meeting, then rehearsals, then-“

“(Y/N),” she cut you off from your blabbering, holding you closer to her as you walked to the nearing green room, “Danny will realize sooner or later that I can’t make time to re-record... whatever he was getting at. I could use my small time slot to spend with you.”

“Yeah?”

“Definitely, baby.” Billie pushed open the door to the green room, and you practically rushed to the couch and laid down, holding your arms out for her to lay into, which she did with precaution. 

She preferred holding you, but she didn’t mind being held herself, and it didn’t take long for Finneas to walk in the room on a panic search for Billie and find the two of you knocked out, limbs entangled with one another.

☟ ☟ ☟

taglist: @grandpatrolnut @annalestern @jennas-10

[fentrashcat]

Tourettes Awareness Month, June 3rd!

Today is just going to be some little stories/recollections related to my tics. I'm going to put them in different colors for ease of reading since some are longer than others.

⚠️everyone who has Tourette's will have different experiences, this is just mine.

In senior year I was in a Physics and Trigonometry class, and I developed a tic I call "take off" when we were building rockets. It literally sounds like I'm mimicking a rocket take off. It was also often accompanied by my "fling" tic where I throw stuff over my shoulder.

The day came to try our rockets and they didn't work, there was something wrong with the ignition peices (we think they got wet). So we come back in all disappointed, and I think my teacher was kind of upset for getting our hopes up and it not working. I'm a little ticcy from a mix of excitement and disappointment, and wanting to lighten the mood I tell my friend "well, if we just put me on the roof with a rocket and wait, we can get our data that way (take off tic) I've even got the sound effects!"

My teacher overheard, I think it was the first time he heard me joking about it, and since he was feeling bad I think it helped. He cracked up and had to pause class for a few minutes to calm down. They never did put me on the roof, so we just used hypothetical rockets for our work.

Same physics class, I had a really bad habit of tossing my pen over my shoulder. No matter how many times it happened, my friend who sat across from me would get up and grab it for me. One day he couldn't find it. We looked for like 5 minutes after class and still didn't find it. A day or two later it was finally found, on top of a stack of books, on top of the shelf behind me, about 6.5 or 7ft up.

When I discovered loud noises trigger my tics I was like "Oh I should try to desensitize myself". I'm not sure exactly the reasoning but I decided to do this by Jacksepticeye's entire horror playlist, followed by Markiplier's horror playlist. It didn't work to desensitize, but it did help me learn kind of when to expect jump scares in some kinds of media 😅

The first time I watched Ralph Breaks The Internet, I was babysitting and the kid was asleep. The parents came home to me crying bc Vanellope's glitches reminded me so much of my tics but she learned how to use them and she was still loved by her friends. I was recently diagnosed and really worried about it, but I loved that movie so much. I remember just texting my friend "VANELLOPE HAS TOURETTE'S", and still sometimes use "glitch" when I refer to my tics.

That's all I can think of for now, thank you for reading! If you have any questions or curiosities please feel free to send an ask and I'll answer the best I can 😊

[captainsophiestark]

Weirdest Day Ever

Daisy Johnson x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober 2023!

Fandom: Marvel

Day 12 Prompt: "I'm not saying I didn't like it."

Summary: Daisy and Y/N broke up a long time ago rather than attempting long distance. Now, with a nudge from a terrigen crystal, the very thing that tore them apart might bring them back together.

Word Count: 1,694

Category: Angst, Fluff

Requested by @trekkingaroundasgard! Thanks for the request Nicola, and I hope you like it!

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

The weirdest day of my life, to date, was the day I saw my ex-girlfriend on the news three times in the course of twenty-four hours, as a new superhero working for SHIELD. And until I bit into a takeout sushi roll from my favorite restaurant, I thought nothing could beat it for the number one spot.

Then I'd started transforming.

Inhumans and inhuman transformations had been in the news once or twice lately (at least one of my ex's appearances had been in connection with it), but I hadn't really thought much of it. I'd certainly never imagined I might be one of them, a latent alien gene just waiting in my genetic code. But as a chrysalis started to form around me, fear took over, and I knew what came next.

I didn't know how much time passed for me while I was totally crystalized, but when I came out of it, I collapsed in a heap on the floor. It had felt like floating, through time and space, with no anchor. My body was exhausted and a little sore, and my head hurt. I looked around, finally glancing at a clock to see about four hours had passed.

What the hell was I supposed to do now? Seriously, what did somebody do after a transformation like that? What was the normal reaction?

Slowly, I got to my feet, waiting for some crazy, obvious sign of my change. I walked to a mirror on unsteady feet to find that I looked the same as before, if a little shakier than when I'd been trying to enjoy my favorite food for lunch in peace.

I frowned down at my hands, experimentally shaking one out in front of me to see if anything happened. When it didn't, I flared my hand out, fingers spread wide.

That's when the new weirdest day of my life really kicked off.

A bright purple forcefield bubble appeared around my hand, growing rapidly in size the longer I left my hand extended. I watched it in fascination, until I heard a crashing sound behind me and whipped around to find the door of my apartment busted open. A dozen people in military tactical gear broke through the door, headed right for me.

Reflexively, I flung my hands up in front of my face. With my new powers, the forcefield responded, exploding in a circle around me and knocking the strangers backwards and off their feet. My sushi clattered to the ground, and I leapt over it as I raced past the stunned soldiers and through the door.

I heard shouts from behind me followed shortly by thundering footsteps. My pulse roared in my ears, beating a million miles an hour as I burst into the stairwell and ran down as fast as possible. I had no idea what my plan was, other than 'get away', which felt like a decent first step.

I barreled through the lobby of my apartment building and into the street, the people chasing me not far behind. I staggered a little, unsteady on my feet, more tired than I'd normally be thanks to the use of my new powers. I glanced over my shoulder, then flung my hands up to defend myself again as shots—hopefully nonlethal—fired at me. They bounced off my forcefield, but each hit still felt like a punch in the gut with the effort it took to deflect.

I screamed, flinging my arms out harder and farther away from me, sending another wave of purple force pushing my attackers back. It nearly knocked me to the ground, too, but I managed to stay on my feet and keep running.

I staggered around a corner and into an alleyway, hoping to lose them by going off the beaten path. I realized after a few steps, however, that I'd also just walked into a dead end. I turned around to go back the way I'd come, only to have my exit blocked by the soldier-looking people.

I stumbled backwards, almost tripping over my own two feet and going down. I managed to catch myself at the last second, heart pounding as my attackers advanced. I flung my hands out, but even the smallest forcefield had me seeing spots now.

I was trapped. No way out. And then, my day doubled down on the weirdness.

Like a fever-induced hallucination, my ex-girlfriend Daisy Johnson, formerly known as Skye, landed in front of me in a full superhero pose. She stared down my attackers, who hesitated at the sight of her, long enough for her to level a blast of her own superpower and send them flying backwards. She turned to me with a grin, and when I swayed a little on my feet this time it wasn't just because I was dizzy.

"Hey. Long time no see," said Daisy. She started walking towards me and I just watched her, still not totally convinced this wasn't a dream.

We'd only broken up because she was taking off with SHIELD, and I was moving across the country for work. We'd decided long distance with spies probably wasn't a good idea. To have her magically reappear in my life, right when some crazy latent superpower had been awakened in me... it felt too good to be true.

"Y/N? Are you okay?"

I shook my head as Daisy reached me, putting her hands on my arms and gently squeezing to try to ground me back to reality. It didn't really work.

"It's okay," she said, glancing over my shoulder before stepping even closer to me. "It's gonna be okay, I promise. We're gonna get you out of here."

I nodded. Despite not seeing Daisy for the past few years, I trusted her. I knew she'd get me out of here, that I could feel safe with her. As a result, the adrenaline quickly faded, and my light-headed exhaustion only got worse.

"It's... good to see you again," I muttered, giving Daisy the best smile I could muster. She returned with a confused frown, and I thought I saw her mouth my name, but the sound didn't make it past the encroaching blackness. The next thing I knew, I was toppling towards Daisy, the rest of the world completely slipping away.

****************

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was the splitting pain in my head. I frowned before I even opened my eyes, memories of the events right before I blacked out only making my headache worse. I heard a snort, and my eyes flew open.

Daisy. Sitting on the edge of the bed I was laying in, looking at me with a fond smile. She'd swooped back in to save my life, and she looked absolutely fantastic doing it.

"Out of all the reactions of Inhumans we've saved, scowling before even waking all the way up might be my favorite," she said, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. I sat up, my heart racing faster at the sight of her.

"You... saved me," I breathed. She nodded a little, her worried eyes scanning me from head to toe.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner."

"No, Daisy, oh my gosh," I scooted forward, unable to resist the pull towards her. After everything that had happened, to have her suddenly back in my life after I'd literally been attacked? I didn't want to waste another minute without her. "You saved me. You came at the perfect time, please don't apologize. I- I'm so happy to see you again."

She smiled at me, the small, soft smile that had been reserved just for me for so long when we were together, and I found myself leaning forward, pulled towards Daisy by some gravitational force. I brought my hand up to the back of her head, tangling it in her hair as I kissed her softly, every happy moment from our lives together rushing back. After a second, she pulled away, a rueful look on her face.

"Y/N-"

"Oh my God. Daisy, I am so, SO sorry. I wasn't thinking, I shouldn't have just kissed you like that, I-"

"Whoa." She held up a hand, stopping me in my tracks before I could really get rolling and rambling. I stared at her with wide eyes, and she gently took one of my hands in hers before giving me a soft smile. "It's okay. I missed you too, and when you kissed me... well, I'm not saying I didn't like it. But we haven't seen each other in a while, and you just survived a really, really big trauma that's gonna take some time to process. I think it might be a good idea if we take things a little slower."

I nodded, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Yeah... yeah, you're probably right. But Daisy? I do still want to head that way, if you do, of course. You know, back towards... something like what we had before."

She sighed. "I want that. For sure, I want that. But maybe you should take a little more time to process, make sure it's actually something you want and not just the delayed adrenaline dump or something-"

"Daisy." I shifted a little on the bed, taking my turn to stop her worry train before it got rolling, taking both her hands more firmly in mine. "Honestly, while forcefields will probably be a sick power, this whole experience has completely sucked. Every single minute of it... except for the fact that it's brought me back to you. So... if you're sure, I'm sure."

A smile steadily grew on Daisy's face, mirrored on my own until we were positively beaming at each other. SHIELD had been the thing to tear us apart, but now, it had brought us back together. There was some interesting kind of poetry to that, but I didn't care enough to analyze it. All that mattered to me was that Daisy and I would be side by side, working through all the weirdness together, today and for every new weirdest day that was sure to come our way in the future.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury

Marvel Taglist: @valkyriepirate @luv-ghostie @songbirdcannabe

[littlemissagrafina]

Tired Tony

Inspired by this post by @irondadmadlads

Read on AO3

"Hey Karen, can you ask Friday to open up one of the living room windows for me?" Peter asked the AI as he swung in a broad arc around a building, Stark Tower standing proudly before him as he shot off another web.

He flung himself forward, Karen's answer sounding in his ear. "Based on your trajectory, window number three on the living room floor will be opened, Peter."

"Thanks, K!" 

The tower loomed closer, and Peter angled himself, aiming for the window. 

"And Boss would like to remind you to slow down for your window entrances."

He soared through the open window, arms windmilling as he tried to slow down at the last minute. He miraculously landed on his feet and Peter almost breathed a sigh of relief until he realised that his moment meant he was still going forward.

"Shit!" 

His right foot stuck on the edge of the running carpet, his legs slipping out from under him as he fell backwards with a yelp, all the while sliding across the smooth flooring.

He slid to a stop on his back, looking up directly into the eyes of none other than Mr Stark himself.

The man quirked an eyebrow, looking decidedly torn between amusement and concern.

"Peter."

"Mr Stark."

"How many times do I need to tell you to slow down before flinging yourself through windows?" Tony questioned, reaching down and pulling Peter to his feet.

The teenager grinned sheepishly, rolling his shoulders and stretching till he felt a satisfying crack, snickering at Tony’s wince. "Probably a few more times." 

The man rolled his eyes but Peter could see the fondness in the action. He could see the tiredness, too, in the darker than usual bags under Tony’s eyes as well as the slight slouch in his frame.

Peter was used to seeing a tired Tony, but there was a different heaviness to it now. More exhausted than just tired from a lab binge, and Peter narrowed his eyes, thoughts spinning.

"Hey Mr Stark?" He asked, pulling his mask off.

"Yeah, Bud?" Tony reached up and ruffled Peter's hair, no doubt making his already messy curls even more messy.

Peter ducked out from under his hand, half heartedly protesting even as he laughed at the gesture. The moment soothed him, though. If Tony was still joking around and being affectionate, then it wasn't because of nightmares that he was so tired. Whenever he had a bad night as far as nightmares were concerned, Tony tended to withdraw and become even more self-deprecating than usual.

Peter let himself relax a bit, although he decided to go ahead with his scheme anyway.

"Can we skip the lab today?" He brought out the puppy eyes as he asked, knowing exactly how to weaken Tony's resolve. "I'm a little worn out mentally from tests this week so I thought it would be nice to just order take out and maybe watch a movie?" Peter continued, the excuse falling easily from his lips.

Tony hesitated, shifting slightly on his feet, and Peter refused to let his mentor go back to the lab when he was so visibly tired.

"It's okay if you have work you need to do, I can watch by myself or swing home?" He lowered his voice dejectedly towards the end of his sentence, all the whole smirking inwardly when Tony instantly crumbled.

The man sighed, but his mouth quirked slightly and the lines around his eyes softened. "As if I would do that. You think I'd work while you're here watching a movie and eating take out? If anything, you're giving me an excuse for Pepper, later."

"Now c'mon, lets go choose what to order and we can pick up where we left off in our movie list." Tony flung his arm around his shoulders and Peter stepped in closer to him. Although it wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind when he was swinging over, he knew he would enjoy a lazy afternoon with his dad mentor just as much as working together in the lab.

-

The elevator doors sliding open and clicking heels brought Peter's attention to the penthouse entrance.

"Ms Potts! Help me!" He groaned dramatically, curls flopping over his head as his gaze swung around to rest on the woman.  

Pepper's lips curled into an amused smile, her eyes shining, no doubt taking in the way that Tony was fast asleep, Peter pinned between him and the corner of the couch.

Tony had fallen asleep even before they'd reached the fifteen minute mark in their movie, takeout containers littered on the coffee table in front of them.

"I'm stuck." Peter commented unnecessarily.

"I can see that. You know who else would like to see this? May, that's who." Pepper grinned, holding up her phone and snapping a picture, sending it off to Aunt May before Peter could breathe a protest.

She slipped her phone into her pant suit pocket, and walked over to the couch, toeing her heels off as she did. She ran a hand over Peter's hair, pressing a kiss to his forehead in greeting as she smiled down at him and Tony.

"You're incredible, Peter. Friday showed me your little ruse against Tony." Pepper smirked at him before her expression softened again. "Thank you. He's been running on empty and refused to rest. It wasn't even over anything important, he just got hyperfixated on his work and all logic left his mind. So thank you. I'm glad he listens to you."

Peter smiled sheepishly at her. "It's not a problem Ms Potts. He makes me rest so I thought it was unfair if he refused to do the same. I just had to be sneaky about it."

"He always forgets that you can be just as sneaky as he can. I can't wait to see his face when he realises that you tricked him. Rhodey and Happy will never let him live down falling for his own trick." The businesswoman laughed quietly, her eyes alight with fondness and mirth.

She petted his hair, glancing at her watch. "Do you mind staying trapped a little longer while I get changed into something comfy?"

Peter shook his head. He was comfortable and more than happy to be cuddled like a teddy bear. "Nah, I honestly might just take a nap too. It wasn't too bad, but last week's tests did actually leave me pretty tired."

"Okay, I'll be back in a bit." She stood before pausing and looking at Peter. "Thank you, Peter." 

He knew it was more than just a thank you for this, that it was for all the other times that he and Tony had helped each other, had laughed, bonded. Become family.

So he nodded, and leant his head back down against Tony’s chest and shoulder, drifting off with the comfort of the irregular yet steady heartbeat under his head

[bellarkeselection]

Yellowstone 1883

James dutton

Reader is scared of the dark so she builds a fire and is in her wagon but she gets to close to the wagon and it catches fire James saves her

Fireman wearing a Cowboy Hat

Blowing on the fire at my feet I felt my whole body shivering from the harsh wind blowing through the land. Pushing my weight up into the wagon I sit and let my feet dangle out the side sighing in relief that the fire gives some heat off. Since I went on the journey across the world I forgot how cold it was going to be since I couldn't sleep in a good bed or have heat anymore. Rubbing my hands together I closed my eyes laying back until I smelled smoke in the air. "Y/n fire. Get out of there!" Shooting my eyes opened I screamed seeing the wagon catching on fire right before someone yanked me from inside. Whoever pulled me out causes us to start rolling down the hill a little bit.

I grunted feeling scrapes and twigs getting stuck in my clothes after we stopped rolling. Whipping my head up hair falling in front of my face while I hold myself up by my elbows gasping at the man in front of me. "James Dutton, what the hell is wrong with you. You could have just thrown water and put the fire out!" He rolled onto his stomach smacking his black hat into the dirt putting out the part that was on fire at the end. He forced himself to his feet helping me to my feet. "Well so much for a thank you for saving your life Y/n. There wasn't enough time to put it out. You're lucky I was there or you might have died like your sister Margaret!" I gasped feeling tears streaming down my face where without thinking I fling my arms around his neck making him stumble backwards a little in the dirt.

"I'm sorry James - I'm just scared of the dark. Ever since she got killed in the house fire. I - I can't sleep in the dark anymore!" I sobbed into his chest since he was there when I got word that my eldest sister had died. He runs one hand through my hair while his other holds me closer to his chest. I never meant to be mean to him...hell I love him. He was there through everything. "Sssh baby. I've got you...I just wasn't gonna let you get hurt like she did. I'll always be here for you." He mumbled planting some kisses to my hair. We curled up together in front of a fire he had made making sure we weren't too close to his wagon since that's how we were traveling. Laying my head against his chest he kept his arms tightly around my shaking form so I would feel safe.

Comments really appreciated ❤️

[lopsidedtreetrunks]

I was looking throught some of my old art files (procrastinating lmao) and found this project I started back when Rift Apart came out

It definitely wasnt a way of self inserting myself into the plot or anything cough cough

Anyway I remember that the basic plot was something like this (this has ended up WAY longer than intended so sorry about that rip):

At the beginning, when Ratchet and Clank are falling through the broken rifts, one of them spits them out over a rural farm in [insert a country here] where a human is feeding the chickens in the evening. They see the rift and the figures falling through it, and run over to see whats going on.

"Ummmm,, are you okay?" They ask the aliens, although its seems like they either didnt hear them or were just ignoring them.

Ratchet, who had faceplanted the ground, peels himself up onto his hands and knees, still not noticing the human in front of him, groans, "Clank, buddy, you have any idea where we are?"

The little robot picks himself up and scans the area, seeing the human but paying them no mind past a quick glance, "We appear to have landed on a distant, primitive planet."

"Primitive?" The human exclaims, "that's a bit rude, isn't it?"

Hearing this other voice, Ratchet jumps up exitedly, "oh good, a native! Where's the nearest space port?"

The human looks confused, "space... port...?"

Ratchet and Clank look at each other, worried and annoyed, respectively. "As I said... Primitive." Clank muttered.

Before the human could refute this, sirens could be heard in the distance, growing closer.

Deciding to let go of their annoyance at the robot's comment, the human makes a split second decision. "Look, if you guys really are aliens, you'll need to hide somewhere. Those sirens are probably looking for you, and they won't be nice."

"Oh don't worry, we're used to running from the Law." Ratchet brags.

"Sure, just - we have a big barn round the corner, and a forest to the north, you can probably hide out there. I'll try to stall whoever comes here for as long as I can."

"Thanks, uh.. what's your name, by the way?"

They all exchanged names before the robot jumped onto the lombax's back and they ran off.

***

From this point I dont have a completely clear plot, just that it's the police and government who show up, the human denies any knowledge of what happened, claiming to have thought the rift opening was just lightning. The police then search the whole farm and part of the forest but dont find anything (not sure how - but r&c are stealthy so I'm sure theyll have thought of something. Plus the police are dumb and tend to half-ass things lol). After they all leave, the human goes to check on all the animals: the cows, sheep and chickens in the paddocks, and the horses in the stables. They check on the barn last, which is where r&c were hiding, giving the human a shock when they jump down from the rafters. They come to some sort of agreement that r&c can hide out there to build a new ship from scrap metal that the human takes from local tips and scrapyards. The government is on their backs constantly but somehow they manage to evade complete suspicion until the very last moments before the ship is finished. The human is taken by the government to be tortured for information, and r&c have to decide whether to leave straight away and avoid conflict, or whether to save their new friend and risk potential capture themselves (i think its obvious which option they'll take hehe). The cost of breaking the human out of the facility they're being kept in, is that they won't be able to live peacefully on earth anymore - the government would be able to find them no matter where they went, bc it would be a global effort since it has to do with aliens and such. So the human has to leave earth behind, and travels with r&c through the universe and more stable rifts, trying to get back to Kerwan. Since the ship is made of scraps, it eventually breaks down, thus flinging the three back to the start of the game, falling through rifts until they end up where they do.

I'm not sure if the human would end up with one of the two, or if they would end up elsewhere entirely. I literally only ever planned out the meeting and thought very briefly about how they would get off-planet. If anyone fancies picking this up, go ahead, just pls tag me bc I'd love to see it 🤠

(And dw, the farm animals would be taken care of by family/friends of the human; they'd have told their closest confidants at some point that they're hiding aliens from the government after acting suspiciously about all the scrap metal they suddenly have lmao)

[cindybermanfics1978]

Chapter One

[prologue chapter]

warnings: slight swearing, teen pregnancy, slight smut, underage drinking, alcohol use, mention of periods, crying, pregnancy.

— Sunday, May 29, 1977 —

With music blaring and people making noise, it made Bunny change her decision on being at a party. Of course, Cindy wasn't there to keep her company since she was at home reading a book or getting ready to work as a counselor in their first year as camp counselors. She grabs a bottle of alcohol and leaves, leaning against a large tree. 

Without realizing it, someone stands beside her. She takes a long swig of the alcohol. 

“Hey, are you enjoying the party?” 

She looks at who it is. It’s Nick Goode. 

“Not really. I came here but my friends didn't want to.” 

“You wanna get away?” 

“Hell yes,” 

The two teens sneak away from the party and enter Nick’s vehicle. Bunny couldn’t make out what car it was, but the logo looked familiar. Without hesitation, she and Nick share a bottle of whiskey as the brunette can feel it seeping through her nervous system. 

“Paties are kinda lame, anyway. Being here with you is much better.” 

“Yeah,” 

They lean in as their lips collide and stay there for a few seconds before pulling apart. Bunny sets the bottle of whiskey on the floorboard before gently pushing Nick against the door in the backseat of the vehicle. Nick makes eye contact with the female as she claws his shirt off before sliding her panties down and unbuckles his belt. 

The male slides his pants down as she positions herself on top of him. Bucking her hips back and forth, she moans. Nick cups her face and kisses her once more, harder and passionate. Outside, their silhouettes are outlined by the bright full moon that sits in the night sky. The two teens stay there, loving each other passionately.

— June 19, 1977 — 

Two weeks have flown by since Bunny’s little fling with Nick Goode, but things have been off for her since. Bunny had been sick, fatigued and she also missed her monthly visitor. Without hesitation, she walked up to Cindy as they made eye contact with each other. Bunny had a worried expression on her face.

"Everything okay?" She asks.

"No, it's really not."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I've been sick, I am very fatigued, and I missed my period."

"Okay, that's not good."

"Yeah, no shit. What do I do?"

"Gynecologist. Do you have one?"

"My mom does, but will she know if we go?"

"No, you can tell her it was a monthly checkup for your period due to stress."

"I don't wanna lie."

"I hate making lies for you to use."

"Well, let me come up with one."

Later that night, the girls pile in the vehicle that belongs to Cindy as they head to the gynecologist. Once there, Bunny steps out of the vehicle then turns to face Cindy.

"You want me to come in with you?" She asks.

Shaking her head, Bunny replies. "No, I-- I wanna do this myself."

"Okay. Well, whatever happens, it'll be okay."

Nodding, Bunny closes the car door and enters the building.

— June 23, 1977 —

Pregnant is what the doctor told Bunny over the phone as she stood in her kitchen. Unknowing what to say, she only thanks the doctor before hanging up as tears stream down her cheeks before sliding down the wall. Barely gaining the courage to tell someone, she immediately calls Cindy and Ziggy to tell them the news first as their reactions where different. The red head was happy and excited, the brunette supported you but knew that things will be different.

You heard the phone ring as someone on the other end picks up, saying hello in the process.

"It's Ziggy. Cindy left earlier to meet her boring, virgin boyfriend, Tommy and won't be home until later."

The only thing Ziggy heard was sobs from Bunny as she gains the courage to speak. "I'm pregnant, Zig. The doctor confirms it."

"Oh, Bunny. Do you wanna tell Cindy yet?"

"N-No. Can you tell her?"

"Ye-yeah, I can if you want."

"I want that. Thank you,"

Once over, she contacts Nick Goode to let him know that the child is his and to ask what to do for the future.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Nick. I - uh, wanted to as if you wanted to meet up near by tonight. I- I need to tell you something and it's important."

"Okay. Is everything alright?"

"Not really, no. I'll see you then."

Abruptly hanging up, Bunny anxiously waits as the sun begins to set. With nighttime approaching, she quickly leaves and heads to a nearby (large) tree (not Sarah Fier's hanging tree). She waits until a teenage male approaches her, hands tucked in his tan corduroy jacket.

"Hey,"

"Nick, I'm sorry to say this, but I'm pregnant."

He approaches the scared female as tears clouded her vision. He quickly brought her into his embrace, holding her close while he rubbed soothing circles on the small of her back. She apologized through sobs as he whispers 'it's okay' in her ear. Bunny was lost in the moment, unable to think about her future, knowing that her life has been turned upside down all because of one bad decision. If she had taken the birth control like she was told to, or used a condom that night, she nor Nick would be in this situation.

And yet, here they are, sobbing and hugging each other as they prepare to talk about baby items instead of date ideas and going to prom. Eventually Bunny was able to stop sobbing for a while, staring at Nick with tear stained cheeks.

"We'll figure things out,"

Bunny nods.

— March 1978 —

Eight months have passed since finding out the news of the unborn fetus inside Bunny and knowing that she is having a girl made things more exciting. But with a baby on the way, that made Bunny realize that she'll need a way to pay for the items. However, the thought caused something else to happen to Bunny as she was spending time with Cindy at a nearby park.

A sudden wave of tight, strong pain alarms Bunny, wincing sharply while she grabs her stomach. After a few seconds, it subsides before starting up again few minutes later. A swear word escapes her lips as Cindy glares at her, knowing that she didn't mean to say a curse word aloud. Bunny feels herself hurting even more and the contraction pain is getting worse by each second.

"Hospital, now. Please?" Was all Bunny could say, rising from the chair she was in.

"Okay, we're going."

Cindy and Bunny pile into Cindy's vehicle and make it to the hospital, and park under the carport. She had nothing with her for the baby since it's been left at her place, many miles away from where she's currently at. Cindy manages to get Bunny in the main entrance of the hospital and to a nearby room at Union Medical Center.

———

Many pushes later and a lot of swearing, Bunny gets the encourage to push one last time by Cindy as she does so. The doctor shouts that the baby is a girl, handing her the sobbing newborn on her chest. Bunny sobs as well, laying there before looking up at Cindy. She smiles at the two of them holding her hand. "She's beautiful, Bunny."

With overwhelming emotions, Bunny takes the time with her baby and try to enjoy every second that is coming after.

———

A month later, Bunny has graduated and is now getting ready to spend her summer at Camp Nightwing. She hates to leave her baby behind, but has to so she can work. Her aunt is taking in Angel and is hesitant leaving her alone, however, is going through with the plan anyway. She knew she needed the help and her mom is never there for her beside her brother, Tommy.

And he can't help since he's also a counselor at Camp Nightwing, so they decide to go in together. He offered to stay behind and watch Angel, but Bunny said not to and to continue on with their plans of working as camp counselors.

So this is where Bunny's story begins, unaware of the upcoming events and not knowing that her brother will turn into a psycho ax murderer, turning her summer of fun into a night of survival.

And so on, her new life begins.

[renegadefearstreet1966]

Fifthteen

Prologue chapter

gif credit to owner

— Sunday, May 29, 1977 —

With music blaring and people making noise, it made Bunny change her decision on being at a party. Of course, Cindy wasn't there to keep her company since she was at home reading a book or getting ready to work as a counselor in their first year as camp counselors. She grabs a bottle of alcohol and leaves, leaning against a large tree. 

Without realizing it, someone stands beside her. She takes a long swig of the alcohol. 

“Hey, are you enjoying the party?” 

She looks at who it is. It’s Nick Goode. 

“Not really. I came here but my friends didn't want to.” 

“You wanna get away?” 

“Hell yes,” 

The two teens sneak away from the party and enter Nick’s vehicle. Bunny couldn’t make out what car it was, but the logo looked familiar. Without hesitation, she and Nick share a bottle of whiskey as the brunette can feel it seeping through her nervous system. 

“Paties are kinda lame, anyway. Being here with you is much better.” 

“Yeah,” 

They lean in as their lips collide and stay there for a few seconds before pulling apart. Bunny sets the bottle of whiskey on the floorboard before gently pushing Nick against the door in the backseat of the vehicle. Nick makes eye contact with the female as she claws his shirt off before sliding her panties down and unbuckles his belt. 

The male slides his pants down as she positions herself on top of him. Bucking her hips back and forth, she moans. Nick cups her face and kisses her once more, harder and passionate. Outside, their silhouettes are outlined by the bright full moon that sits in the night sky. The two teens stay there, loving each other passionately.

— June 19, 1977 — 

Two weeks have flown by since Bunny’s little fling with Nick Goode, but things have been off for her since. Bunny had been sick, fatigued and she also missed her monthly visitor. Without hesitation, she walked up to Cindy as they made eye contact with each other. Bunny had a worried expression on her face.

"Everything okay?" She asks.

"No, it's really not."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I've been sick, I am very fatigued, and I missed my period."

"Okay, that's not good."

"Yeah, no shit. What do I do?"

"Gynecologist. Do you have one?"

"My mom does, but will she know if we go?"

"No, you can tell her it was a monthly checkup for your period due to stress."

"I don't wanna lie."

"I hate making lies for you to use."

"Well, let me come up with one."

Later that night, the girls pile in the vehicle that belongs to Cindy as they head to the gynecologist. Once there, Bunny steps out of the vehicle then turns to face Cindy.

"You want me to come in with you?" She asks.

Shaking her head, Bunny replies. "No, I-- I wanna do this myself."

"Okay. Well, whatever happens, it'll be okay."

Nodding, Bunny closes the car door and enters the building.

— June 23, 1977 —

Pregnant is what the doctor told Bunny over the phone as she stood in her kitchen. Unknowing what to say, she only thanks the doctor before hanging up as tears stream down her cheeks before sliding down the wall.

Barely gaining the courage to tell someone she immediately calls Cindy and Ziggy to tell them the news. You heard the phone ring as someone on the other end picks up, saying hello in the process.

"It's Ziggy. Cindy left earlier to meet her boring, virgin boyfriend, Tommy and won't be home until later."

The only thing Ziggy heard was sobs from Bunny as she gains the courage to speak. "I'm pregnant, Zig. The doctor confirms it."

"Oh, Bunny. Do you wanna tell Cindy yet?"

"N-No. Can you tell her?"

"Ye-yeah, I can if you want."

"I want that. Thank you,"

Once over, she contacts Nick Goode to let him know that the child is his and to ask what to do for the future.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Nick. I - uh, wanted to as if you wanted to meet up near by tonight. I- I need to tell you something and it's important."

"Okay. Is everything alright?"

"Not really, no. I'll see you then."

Abruptly hanging up, Bunny anxiously waits as the sun begins to set. With nighttime approaching, she quickly leaves and heads to a nearby (large) tree (not Sarah Fier's hanging tree). She waits until a teenage male approaches her, hands tucked in his tan corduroy jacket.

"Hey,"

"Nick, I'm sorry to say this, but I'm pregnant."

He approaches the scared female as tears clouded her vision. He quickly brought her into his embrace, holding her close while he rubbed soothing circles on the small of her back. She apologized through sobs as he whispers 'it's okay' in her ear. Bunny was lost in the moment, unable to think about her future, knowing that her life has been turned upside down all because of one bad decision. If she had taken the birth control like she was told to, or used a condom that night, she nor Nick would be in this situation.

And yet, here they are, sobbing and hugging each other as they prepare to talk about baby items instead of date ideas and going to prom. Eventually Bunny was able to stop sobbing for a while, staring at Nick with tear stained cheeks.

"We'll figure things out,"

Bunny nods.

— March 1978 —

Eight months have passed since finding out the news of the unborn fetus inside Bunny and knowing that she is having a girl made things more exciting. But with a baby on the way, that made Bunny realize that she'll need a way to pay for the items. However, the thought caused something else to happen to Bunny as she was spending time with Cindy at a nearby park.

A sudden wave of tight, strong pain alarms Bunny, wincing sharply while she grabs her stomach. After a few seconds, it subsides before starting up again few minutes later. A swear word escapes her lips as Cindy glares at her, knowing that she didn't mean to say a curse word aloud. Bunny feels herself hurting even more and the contraction pain is getting worse by each second.

"Hospital, now. Please?" Was all Bunny could say, rising from the chair she was in.

"Okay, we're going."

Cindy and Bunny pile into Cindy's vehicle and make it to the hospital, and park under the carport. She had nothing with her for the baby since it's been left at her place, many miles away from where she's currently at. Cindy manages to get Bunny in the main entrance of the hospital and to a nearby room at Union Medical Center.

———

Many pushes later and a lot of swearing, Bunny gets the encourage to push one last time by Cindy as she does so. The doctor shouts that the baby is a girl, handing her the sobbing newborn on her chest. Bunny sobs as well, laying there before looking up at Cindy. She smiles at the two of them holding her hand. "She's beautiful, Bunny."

With overwhelming emotions, Bunny takes the time with her baby and try to enjoy every second that is coming after.

———

A month later, Bunny has graduated and is now getting ready to spend her summer at Camp Nightwing. She hates to leave her baby behind, but has to so she can work. Her aunt is taking in Angel and is hesitant leaving her alone, however, is going through with the plan anyway. She knew she needed the help and her mom is never there for her beside her brother, Tommy.

And he can't help since he's also a counselor at Camp Nightwing, so they decide to go in together. He offered to stay behind and watch Angel, but Bunny said not to and to continue on with their plans of working as camp counselors.

So this is where Bunny's story begins, unaware of the upcoming events and not knowing that her brother will turn into a psycho ax murderer, turning her summer of fun into a night of survival.

And so on, her new life begins.

[authoressofdarkness]

I saw that you're taking prompts, from the dialogue list. Can I get number 20? “I’ve never had someone taking care of me before.” for starker obviously. I'm excited, I love reading your works. Thank you in advance!

Hi anon! That means so much to me and I’m v glad to be taking this as my first prompt. Thank you 💙

I kinda want to try some new things with some of these prompts, so I’m gonna go at this with omega Tony and alpha Peter and see where it goes. I hope that’s okay with you anon and that everyone likes it 😘

Same age college AU, omegaverse, alpha Peter Parker, omega Tony Stark, some angst and some fluff at the end.

—

It’s a well known fact that Tony Stark has a shitty family.

Well, at least to anyone who knows him, it is. They know how he’ll do anything to not be at home when his father is around, to get out of the endless pressures of social events and promotional things and questions of mating and management and all of the things that he hated about being born an omega and being attached to the last name Stark to top it all off—

For years, it was just him. Some flings, mainly to piss his father off, but he never had his attention for longer than the time it took to scold him or order him around, and his mother was never much help, either. He had precious few friends growing up, never really made any real ones until college when he met Rhodey and Pepper — an alpha and a beta respectively that helped him manage things there and that were the first people to truly understand the depths of struggles he had going on at home.

And they were great friends, still are, but there was never anything more there between them. They helped him float through the first year of school, and then—

And then came Peter Parker.

Tony doesn’t hate all alphas on principle, although he is often rather tempted to try to, what with how they were shoved in his face most of his life. They were great for a good fling but most of them were meatheads. As horny as Tony was, he couldn’t allow just anyone to be close to him, nothing too get to serious, because he’s got a lot of responsibility coming down to him and he needs the right partner — alpha or otherwise — to be willing to deal with that. Not that he’s particularly interested in mating right now but he also isn’t going to allow someone close enough to potentially mark him knowing the repercussions of that.

He’s the heir to Stark Industries, sure, but he’s still an omega. An alpha will have significant legal power over him once they’re mated. And he wants to be the one to run SI, to take on his legacy, to build, to create, and to run his business, and he’s not going to let anyone stop him, even if that means flings forever.

(Not that that’s legally going to fly because he can’t take over until he’s considered qualified which implies a certain amount of stability that translates into having an alpha that’s more than just a fuck buddy but—)

It doesn’t matter. None of it matters after he meets Peter.

Peter is a year younger than him in school, technically, but biologically they’re the same age. Peter just started a bit later than most — and for good reasons, as Tony comes to find out.

He’s in one of Tony’s engineering classes and his organic chemistry class and the omega would be lying if he said he wasn’t immediately taken with him.

He can’t help it. Peter is cute, with his overgrown curls and slim form and silky skin and shy little smile and—

The other man is all alpha, there’s no doubt about it. He exudes it without even trying, but there’s a shyness to him, too. He’s not a meathead; he’s a sweetheart. From day one he’s respectful of Tony in class, kind when he sees him around campus, and that makes them the perfect lab partners in chemistry, and after knowing that, it’s just the natural choice for them to partner for the project in engineering and then—

Then things spiral, and Tony doesn’t even care.

He’s seeking the alpha’s attention, and Peter, the innocent, shy thing he is, is happy to give, to dote on Tony in ways that he would resist if they were coming from anyone else.

They’re not even fucking, but it’s intimate, so intimate that he can’t even explain it, and he loves it, scarily so. It both soothes and sets all his instincts on edge at the same time.

By mid semester they both have keys to come and go freely from each other’s rooms. It’s more common to see them together than it is to ever spot one of them out alone. The whole school probably thinks they’re a couple, and even though they’ve never made it official — and he’s never allowed himself to even come close to considering it before — Tony can’t bring himself to mind.

As midterms approach, though, Tony locks himself in to focus on his work. He doesn’t mean to, really; it’s just that hours studying slip into full nights and then he hasn’t eaten and he hasn’t left the room, even missing one of his classes because he doesn’t realize the time.

Peter hasn’t come by in days and except for the occasional check in text, Tony hasn’t heard from him, either. But they’re both busy with midterms so he really isn’t surprised. In fact he barely has time to eat, let alone check his phone, so even if he was texting him regularly Tony probably wouldn’t be answering.

Except mid terms or no, of course Peter notices when Tony misses class. And when his texts go unanswered by the absorbed omega, he doesn’t hesitate to show up and let himself in.

Tony doesn’t even realize anyone is there until he feels a hand on his shoulder. He jumps so hard he nearly knocks the chair back, and when he turns around he sees Peter, stepping back and holding his hands up in the universal “I surrender” gesture, clearly not having meant to startle him.

“I’m sorry, I knocked but you didn’t answer so I let myself in. I just— you weren’t in class, and I was worried… are you okay? When was the last time you ate?” It takes all of two seconds for Peter’s sheepishness to melt into concern, and he steps forward again, closing the distance between them to tilt Tony’s chin up, looking at the shadow stretching across his jaw where he hasn’t shaved in a few days. “You’ve lost weight,” he murmurs, thumb brushing over Tony’s cheekbone tenderly — which, yeah, is definitely more prominent than it was at the beginning of the week.

Tony’s eyes flutter and he leans into the touch for a moment before refocusing and shaking it off. “I’m fine. This is normal, Peter. I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you?” Peter raises an eyebrow. “Do you even know what day it is?”

“It’s Saturday—“

“It’s Monday, Tony. 1pm on Monday, at that. You missed engineering this morning and you haven’t answered my texts all weekend.” Surprise flits across Tony’s face at that, because — yeah, last time he checked it was Saturday, and he had no new texts from Peter, so— “When was the last time you ate?” Peter continues to prod, voice gentle but insistent.

Both aspects only serve to spark irritation in him, though. Tony bats Peter’s hand away from his face, frowning. He doesn’t need to be treated with kid gloves. “I ate a little while ago. I’m fine.”

“You don’t even know what day it is—“

“It all kind of blurs together when you’re not doing anything besides working, okay—“

“Two days is a lot of blur, Tony—“

“And just because I need a shave doesn’t mean I haven’t left my desk or that this isn’t totally normal for midterms—“

“You’re the one saying you haven’t left your desk, not me—“

“That’s not what I meant! I’m just saying—“

“I’m just saying you need to take a short break, it’s not that big of a deal—“

“I don’t need a break, I know my limits—“

“Tony, I really don’t think—“

“Jesus fucking— You’re not my alpha, Parker, would you fuck off?”

The words come out before he can stop them, and he flinched himself at the hurt on Peter’s face, the way the alpha physically recoils, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“I’m not— god, I know that, okay? I’m just trying to help you, Tony. Please, this isn’t sustainable. You need to eat. Just— let me find you something, and then I’ll leave, okay?”

Leave? No, he doesn’t want him to leave. But the only thing that comes out is a quiet “whatever,” and he watches Peter escape to the kitchen with a ball of guilt growing in his chest.

Peter is just trying to help. He likes Peter and he doesn’t want him to leave, he just— he panics, and then he snaps.

Because what if Peter wants more? What if he really likes him? And Tony is a fuck up that does shit like this when he feels emotions and has so much baggage attached to being with him and—

And Peter knows that, at least some of it. It’s been a few months of seeing each other nearly every day, now, and his family situation was never a secret.

So why is he still here? Oh god, did Tony just ruin it?

The thought, for reasons that he’s refusing to immediately think about, is almost too much to bear. He stands up, fumbling his way out of the chair and into the kitchen.

The smell hits him almost as soon as he enters, and he sucks in a deep breath. His traitorous stomach growls, loud and demanding.

Soup bubbles on the stove as Peter works at the counter, chopping up some fruits and vegetables. He’s already managed to put a few little storage containers of food together for him, and something in Tony’s gut feels warm at the sight. But it also drops — preparing premade meals most certainly means that Peter isn’t intending to come back.

He looks up when Tony enters, expression wary. “The soup was the quickest thing you had, and since I had to be here for as long as it takes to boil anyway I thought I would just—“

“Peter.” His own voice sounds remarkable calm for how shaky he suddenly feels, lurching towards the alpha at the countertop. “It’s okay. I… thank you, for this. I’m sorry.”

Peter looks taken aback by the apology. “Tony, you don’t have to apologize. You’re right; I’m not your alpha and it’s not my place to give you orders. I just… I care about you, okay? I just want to help. I know you don’t think about me that way, and I’m sorry I overstepped, but—“

“You’re wrong.”

“What?” The words draw Peter up short.

Tony takes a breath, looking down. He focuses on the alpha’s hands, watching him chop instead of looking at his face. It’s easier. “You’re wrong. It’s not that I don’t think of you that way. The problem is… that I do. And I… I’m not used to this. I’ve never had someone take care of me before. Not really, not in any way that mattered. And what I feel for you… it scares me.” He takes a little breath again, looking down at his own hands. “I want you to be my alpha, Peter. But I’m not really a good omega, and I just have so much shit that comes along with being with me. The thought of asking you to do that… what that could do to us… I just don’t think I could handle that.”

He hears the knife ting against the countertop as Peter sets it down, and the pitter patter of footsteps as the alpha crosses the room. He’s suddenly being drawn into a pair of lanky but surprisingly strong arms, surrounded by the musky, relaxing scent of alpha, and he practically melts into it, nestling his nose into the spot between the collar of Peter’s sweatshirt and his throat almost automatically.

Peter’s hand running up and down his back is soothing, relaxing him the rest of the way, and the press of the alpha’s chin against his head is just the perfect weight to be comfortable, reassuring.

“Tony… I’m not an idiot,” he says gently. “I know who you are. What you’ve done, where you came from, what’s expected of you — and yeah, I’m sure there’s more that you haven’t told me and that’s not public, but— I get why this is a struggle for you, and why you feel the need to put so much pressure on yourself. There’s nothing wrong with you for that and it is most definitely not your own fault that you’re not used to being taken care of. And you’ve no idea how badly or how long I’ve wanted to be your alpha.” He pulls back a little to look down at him, fingers scratching Tony’s scalp gently as he works his fingers through his hair. “But that doesn’t mean that this kind of behavior — towards yourself or others — is good or acceptable. It’s okay to let me take care of you — at least in small ways. I know you’re scared of losing your independence, but that’s not what I want for you, either. I just want to help.”

“Help,” Tony echoes, eyes drifting to the pan on the stove and then back to Peter. “I… I think I’d like that.” He bites his lip, looking up at him. They’re about the same size and height, but this close, wrapped in the alpha’s arms and scent, with his steady gaze on him, he can’t help but feel small by comparison. “You really want to be my alpha?”

“Only if you want me to be, but…” Peter looks down at him and cracks his shy little smile. “I’d like to try, if you’d let me.”

“I’d like that,” Tony admits. He shifts to press up against him, putting a hand on his chest. “I’d also really like it if you’d kiss me.”

Peter looks a little surprised, but not unpleasantly. Still, he shakes his head, giving him a little push back. “Tony, you didn’t even know what day it was. God knows when the last time you brushed your teeth is. No offense, but… ew.”

Tony just laughs a little, unable to help himself. “If I brush my teeth…?”

“Maybe. If you eat your food as well.” Peter moves back to the counter, finishing up the container he was working on. “We can’t be doing anything that’s going to burn you extra calories when you don’t have enough to begin with, hm?”

Tony finds himself grinning. “That’s an argument I can get behind. Literally and metaphorically.”

Peter flashes a grin in return, voice back to that gentle but insistent tone that he knows so well when he says, “Go, Tony.”

And for once, Tony is all too happy to obey.

[kitkatpancakestack]

In response to this. I am replying in a new post bc I have the "no sense of brevity" flavor of ADHD so I know this is gonna get long.

@yramesoruniverse thank you so much for asking, as a matter of fact I do have some thoughts *cracks knuckles*

Let me preface this by saying I am not going to sit here and pretend I don't spend 90% of my waking hours ruminating on this. We all know what we're doing here. That being said, I have considered several variations on how I would love the 9-1-1 team to deliver this:

1. Let's call it the "Two Trapped Dads" scenario:

I implore you to consider the ANGST and POETRY of Buck and Eddie getting trapped somewhere, as civilians, and being forced to depend on each other in order to survive. The serve of this hypothetical scenario would be made more rich set in the context of them having had an argument, or just there being some kind of withstanding tension between the two that has been ignored and left to build to a nauseating degree.

(Side note: I love Buck and Eddie because when they fight it's never with any real animosity. It always stems from the terrifying magnitude of their Love for each other. It's not arguing, it's just them caring about each other very aggressively. Absolutely iconic.)

ANYWAY, in this scenario they careen into disaster over Christopher, as I see it playing out that for some reason they believe only one of them will be able to 100% make it out alive. I imagine the tension has been building since the guardianship bomb and Buck regresses to what he believes he does best, which is being a sacrificial lamb, which shoves their moment from 4x14 back into the forefront. It would force Eddie to not only seismically double down on what he said, but literally spell out to Buck what he means to Eddie, not just Christopher.

Example:

Buck: Obviously you're the one that's getting out, you have a son waiting for you.

Eddie: Screw that, you mean just as much to him as I do.

Buck: I'm irrelevant unless you're dead, Eddie, and there is no way I'm letting you die here today.

Eddie: You're such an idiot, Buck. How can you still not get it?

Buck: Get what?

Eddie: We're a family. All three of us. What did you think that whole will thing was about, anyway? Christopher and I . . . there's no us without you.

jfc someone stop me before I write an entire script, but I think you get the gist of this one.

2. Next we have the "Just-Tell-Me-What-You-WANT" scenario:

The Drama Queen in me is obsessed with this one. It would, unfortunately, require a significantly laid foundation between Buck and a love interest (Taylor ig? It's not important, tbh). Originally, I had this scenario flipped, but since we as a fandom have collectively established Eddie as the Pining Idiot in Love, we're gonna switch it up.

So, again, Buck would be progressing significantly in his relationship with [insert intentionally poorly-defined love interest here]. In the fallout of the guardianship scene, I can still see him struggling with how to untangle his Feelings about what Eddie said to him, and losing himself in the disingenuous familiarity of "Buck 1.0" (I am with Eddie in that I hate his software updates but it's canon material so there you go). The escalation of this hypothesis results in Buck contemplating taking the next step with Taylor or, more realistically, contemplating moving out of the city with her as she's been recruited for a promotion elsewhere. I could see Eddie coming over to Buck's place and them discussing this, because they discuss everything, and Eddie just getting more and more exasperated because Buck doesn't look happy but he won't stop and think, he's just barreling ahead as usual. And so Eddie calls him out.

I think it would be something like Eddie going, "What are you even doing? You obviously don't want this."

And Buck being like, "I'm not discussing what I want with you."

and Eddie just exploding, "What? What do you want, Buck? You never express what you really feel so just . . . what do you really want?"

And Buck just going fuck it and grabbing him and pressing years of want and need and love into Eddie's mouth and yeah *fans face* I'm FINE.

3. Finally, the "Wait-For-Me-To-Come-Home" scenario:

Ideally a season finale moment, paralleled to the other couples on the show. The episode would feature a series of calls relating to couples/families experiencing some degree of separation but always finding their way back to each other. At the end there's a montage of Bathena, Madney, Mavid, Henren etc. reuniting after some sort of contention and then it would stop on Buck alone in his apartment, sitting at his table identical to what we saw in Tsunami Pt. 2, completely overwhelmed by how quiet it is and how alone he feels. And maybe Buck is considering something he heard on one of the calls. Whatever the situation, it ends with him heading to Eddie's house and it's late, like two in the morning late, and the final scene is Buck knocking on Eddie's door looking wild-eyed and desperate and there's no dialogue, just them. And Eddie opens the door wider and steps back as Buck steps in and they just stand a breath's distance away, just staring at each other, and then Eddie closes the door and everything fades to black and *flings myself off a cliff*

Bonus: I call this the "Fever Dream" scenario because I dreamt it when I was, in fact, feverish and hallucinating after my second COVID vaccine:

Buck is out running an errand before going into work and ends up in a robbery situation where he obviously intervenes and ends up getting hurt. The episode would open with the 118 being unable to reach Buck and ragging on him, and the first call they respond to is, indeed, Buck on the verge of death. The rest of the episode would then show the sequence of events leading up to that moment and finish with Buck and Eddie in the back of the ambulance, and Buck just touches Eddie's face, or wraps his fist around the St. Christopher necklace hanging around Eddie's neck, and Eddie is Not Handling Things and then Buck flatlines in the back of the ambulance and jfjdsaldflja somebody stop me before I write a fic *flings myself off another cliff*

As you can see I haven't thought about this much at all. Also, you deserve a fucking award if you made it to the end of this.

I have buddie brainrot! They're actually ruining my life! I have lost control! I'm doing GREAT!!!

[awaysantiana]

Help, aroace Izzy has broken my heart and brain. It's too powerful, it really shouldn't happen. The resentment of the power of love, the reliance on structures that recognise the value of your non romantic relationships, the experience of sexuality through kink. If not aroace spec, why relatable? It's like the forbidden snack of Izzy readings.

YEAH i feel like i'm breaking into a container of cake at 3 am when i think about aro and/or ace izzy. like literally any combo on any part of the spectrum is just so good to me, i'll take any and all of it and stare at it all day. i'm certain that izzy wasn't deliberately written as aspec, but subtext can be unintentional. i've seen a few other people hc him as aro or ace so at least i'm not the only one in the fandom, so i think there's fertile ground for a subculture within the izzy enjoyer society.

it's especially compelling to me since 90% of aro/ace hcs tend to revolve around funny sidekick types instead of main characters (much less angsty ones), and while that's all well and good and i indulge in it myself, i LOVE villains and quixotic characters. the whole abandonment + resentment angle that izzy has taps into a narrative that we don't really get to see explored since aro/ace characters are usually written more lighthearted/don't have a story arc of their own. but the struggle against loneliness in a world that doesn't take it seriously is, arguably, more essential to the aromantic experience than rolling your eyes at gooey couples (though it is very funny and izzy's Moments with lucius and ed/stede swordfighting never fail to send me).

The Power Of Love is absolutely a part of the muppet mechanics that's tripping him up so badly-- people keep doing weird things chasing pleasures and objectives he doesn't understand and it should have gotten them killed a dozen times over, but somehow it's normal and everything works out fine and he's the odd one out. which is literally what middle school felt like to a 12 year old me, once all my peers were starting to have Realizations and i was not. and for a while i hated them, the way izzy hates the crew, because the rug has been pulled out from under you but you're the only one who tripped on it and you feel like you've gone crazy because you thought the rug was a carpet nailed solidly down to the floor.

and thank you for bringing up kink!! god there's so much to say about asexuality/aromanticism and kink, but i'm not going to go into it because it seems like you're already aware (but again, if anyone Does want to know, my inbox is open since i know kink/BDSM isn't really discussed much in aspec circles here). but yeah, if izzy has any sort of sexual feelings towards edward, they're definitely stemming from his devotion to him and their long friendship more than any traditional sense of attraction, if that's present. which really lends itself to D/s stuff and fandom picks up on that (which i love). and like a lot of aspecs, izzy's definitely not the Confident And Free type, because in my experience, being ace or aro means that you're coming into relationships with an extra vulnerability, and even people that you'd assume would be more fine with casual flings (ie alloaros) tend to be quite selective and cautious. most people need a lot of trust in someone before they're willing to bone them, and for allo people, romantic attraction and dating is the conduit to build that trust. for aro people, that isn't really an avenue they can explore, so they have to build rapport other ways, like exploring the kink community, which is very good about respecting boundaries, building trust, and not catching feelings. oh, and being asexual tends to mean you have less instinct for what's Inherently Sexy and what's not, so the wires for things like, say, choking (or getting your toe cut off...) can definitely get crossed with the sexy wires. and when that stuff is further crossed with the impossibly deep feelings an aro person can have for a friend? insane. it's so similar to romance in so many ways and can sometimes be indistinguishable from an outsider's perspective, but it's like a bi man and woman, or a trans couple dating each other-- it's just so different on the inside.

and as (deliciously) tragic as it is to view him as aroace while he's still the villain, it'll feel so good if they redeem him. because it's well-acknowledged at this point in queer circles that coding villains as gay or trans in order to make the audience dislike them more is fucked up, but there isn't as much dialogue on that for ones that don't love at all. usually those are considered the Worst ones, the ones that can't be redeemed at all because Their Brains Are Broken And They Are Incapable Of Experiencing Love, The Meaning Of Life, which is unfair to aspecs and to people with some personality disorders. could you imagine how juicy it would be to finally have that trope acknowledged and then stomped firmly into the ground? like i'm just dreaming of an ending where they say "yes, your feelings for edward do matter, he loves you too, and your world and muppet world can exist together without you hurting each other because there's nothing inherently competitive between romance and friendship." obviously i'm not saying that's the only ending i'll be happy with, just that that's what i'd love to see if they went the "sympathetic aspec izzy" route.

[yami-kada]

Mission 2

Recently I read a fanfic on AO3 called Interlude - Class 1-A by @itslivybear and was inspired a bit to write a fic based on that! Well really I got inspiration for a single line (you'll know it when you see it) and then had to write a whole thing to be able to share that one line, but oh well. This is my first time writing a chatfic or even any BNHA content at all, so I hope it doesn't suck! Thanks to @shadesofflame for being an awesome beta!

(Quick FYI in this AU M*neta and Bakugou are replaced with Shinsou and Monoma, sorry for any confusion. Also a name guide can be found at the bottom.)

RockSolid: Um, so.

RockSolid: Remember the missions during the Sports Festival?

PurpleGrape: Oh hell yeah.

PurpleGrape: Still cherish the look on that bastard's face.

Spoderman: jehxgjc Kiri I got it on video!!!

JazzHands: You've had video of the capture of the bounty this whole time and never showed us???

LSD: I thought we were friends Sero!

Spoderman: omg no not that I totally would have shared earlier if i did

Spoderman: im talking about That.

RockSolid: no Sero don't tell them!

RockSolid: it's embarrassing!

PikaCHU: Tell us, tell us!

NYOOM: Kaminari-kun! If Kirishima-kun wishes to keep his privacy, then it is our duty as his classmates to respect that!

Spoderman: ok but consider: he already gave them a major hint and they are about to POUNCE

BreadIsPain: As a witness as well, I must say that Kirishima was si attirant que j'ai failli m'évanouir~*

RockSolid: thanks, I think?

MOMo: To paraphrase Aoyama, he is essentially saying you were very manly, Kirishima!

RockSolid: aw thanks bro!! Don't believe you but thanks!

Spoderman: you take that lack of confidence back I have evidence right here that says you are super fucking manly!

LSD: ok please now we have to know so that we can show Kiri how great he is!!!

MOMo: I must admit that the commentary seen thus far has me rather curious as well.

RockSolid: You guys…

RockSolid: alright then, I'll tell you!

Spoderman: sweet ill pull it up!

RockSolid: bro don't you dare! my story, I get to tell it!

Spoderman: oh yeah of course bro!!

Spoderman: but if after you wanna show it then i am READY.

JazzHands: This is very sweet and all but I am very thirsty for this TEA.

RockSolid: on it!

Kirby: Kiri you've been typing for so long that I'm getting Izuku vibes here.

GreenGrape: Hey!

RockSolid: sorry! this is harder than I thought!

Spoderman: want me to start it off?

RockSolid: you know what, sure.

Spoderman: aight so,

Spoderman: Council, what qualifies as capturing the bounty?

GreenGrape: Guys no the bounty is over please no more bounty-hunting Kacchan.

MOMo: Your objection is noted and overruled, Izuku.

MOMo: For your question, Sero, I do not believe we ever set specific limitations on what qualified, but I was under the impression that it was limited to the Sports Festival. Why do you ask?

Spoderman: just double checking

Spoderman: because my bro here just totally shot both missions out of the park!!!

LSD: gaSP!!!

JazzHands: bOTH?!

RockSolid: no not both!! we have no confirmation for either, technically!

Kirby: Technically? What do you mean by that?

RockSolid: ahhhh ok so Sero and I were eating lunch in the courtyard because it was nice out, right?!

RockSolid: and we were chillin, being bros, birds were singing, all was good.

RockSolid: and then we heard a small explosion before the bounty walked in at the other end of the courtyard and started kicking at the wall.

PikaCHU: omg so angy.

RockSolid: and like fine, we can tune him out, just try to act like he's not there, you know?

RockSolid: But then he started yelling at random people in the courtyard, just acting pissed as hell.

PikaCHU: oMG so ANGY.

RockSolid: and that's just not manly at all, you know? going off on people like that just because you're in a bad mood.

GreenGrape: Yeah… that's Kacchan for you.

RockSolid: so he's making his way around the courtyard now, like everyone needs their daily dose of asshole for him to be happy, and the closer he got the more annoyed I got.

Spoderman: here it comes!

RockSolid: and eventually I get up, because I have had just about enough, and walk right up to him.

RockSolid: he doesn't see me coming, because he was too busy yelling at some girl, and I get right up behind him.

RockSolid: and then I just called out to get his attention, and spun him to face me while making sure I end up between him and the girl.

RockSolid: and well I told him off a little bit and got him to back off then left in a hurry.

RockSolid: and that's it!

Spoderman: oh no you don't

BreadIsPain: Oui! Monsieur Kirishima, you must tell the climax with just as much zest as the build-up!

Spoderman: what he said! no skipping out on the best part!

RockSolid: but!!!

Jacked: No buts, mister. We're all way too invested now for you to back down.

RockSolid: :(

RockSolid: fine! you win!

RockSolid: so uh when I got his attention, I also got my hand onto his shoulder, and used his surprise to knock his feet a bit off balance and pulled him back, but then I ended up with him in my arms and could tell he was about to start yelling so I just…

RockSolid: you know…

RockSolid: flirted?

LSD: oh my GoD this is great!!!

PikaCHU: Hell yeah Kiri! Go get yourself a manz!

RockSolid: I'm not getting a man! He's probably going to kill me the next time he sees me!

Spoderman: i dunno, it took him a good long while to reboot after what you said there

Spoderman: you might have a shot

PurpleGrape: Well if you're not going to get a man out of this, mind telling us what you said so I can bait him next time he tries to be an ass?

RockSolid: uhhh…

RockSolid: I'm nervous.

BreadIsPain: If you will allow me, I shall finish your tale off dazzlingly!

RockSolid: Thanks Aoyama.

BreadIsPain: Bien entendu!

BreadIsPain: While holding him in his arms tightly in a dip, faces inches apart, Monsieur Kirishima leaned impossibly closer to emphasize his point.

RockSolid: oh god I regret everything.

LSD: Hush, it's getting good!

BreadIsPain: With a growl to his voice and his eyes burning above a smirk, he said "You know, you're damn cute when you're angry, but you'd be downright sexy if you shut the fuck up." Then he straightened up to fling the lost soul to the side, and saunter off like the devil was guarding his back, leaving the bounty terribly confused in his wake.

PurpleGrape: Whoa.

PikaCHU: Holy shit?!

RockSolid: what is that description?!?!?!

JazzHands: Kiri that was PERFECT oh my god?!

LSD: It's ART is what it is!

Spoderman: don't forget how red the guy was! Kiri was cool as a cucumber but the other guy couldn't stop blushing after seeing his face!!!

MOMo pinned a message

RockSolid: Yaomomo!!!

MOMo: My apologies, Kirishima, but I felt it only right to ensure easy access to your most manly moment.

LSD: Yeah Kiri! Then one day we can all look back on this and celebrate how everything started!!

RockSolid: How what started???

LSD: E v e r y t h i n g

RockSolid: @Spoderman bro hide me I’m scared.

Spoderman: hey guys, wanna see a GREAT video?

Spoderman: the stars are our main man, Kiri, and the bounty!

PikaCHU: hell yeah!!!

Jacked: Lay it on me.

PurpleGrape: Sure.

JazzHands: Do you really have to ask????

RockSolid: but I already told you what happened!

RockSolid: why do you want to see me being so embarrassing?

PikaCHU: bro we all appreciate you so much of course we want to see you being manly!

LSD: Just from what you all said there is no way you don’t look great in that vid, Kiri!

PikaCHU: gotta give support where support is due!!

PurpleGrape: They’ll all bully Sero into showing them one way or another anyways, might as well give in now.

RockSolid: but...

BreadIsPain: Nous devons vous montrer à quel point vous brillez et dissiper ces pensées douteuses!**

MOMo: I could not have said it better myself, Aoyama!

RockSolid: I don’t even know what he said though?!?!?!?!?!?!

Spoderman: Kiri.

Spoderman: Bro.

Jacked: Well shoot he’s using proper grammar and everything.

Spoderman: Rude.

Spoderman: Anyways Bro.

RockSolid: yeah?

Spoderman: You are epic. This video shows you being epic. And putting an asshole in their place.

Spoderman: You have nothing to be ashamed of, and every reason to be proud. So please let me show the video so that everyone can appreciate you like you deserve bro.

RockSolid: bro…

Spoderman: Bro.

RockSolid: bro -

Spoderman: Bro?

RockSolid: bro!

Spoderman: aight everyone down to the common room its up on the big screen

Spoderman: i have popcorn too

Jacked: Not even gonna question that.

LSD: Finally!!!

JazzHands: Yuss!!!

BreadIsPain: Je vais regarder avec enthousiasme!***

MOMo: As will all of us I’m sure, Aoyama!

RockSolid: Thanks guys!

RockSolid: Now get down here and watch me maybe get a man!

Translations:

*so attractive that I almost swooned.

**We must show you how much you shine, and dispel those self-doubting thoughts!

***I shall excitedly watch!

Guide to names:

GreenGrape - Izuku

PurpleGrape - Hitoshi

CopyCat - Monoma Neito

MOMo - Yaoyorozu Momo

datBoi - Asui Tsuyu

JazzHands - Hagakure Toru

NYOOM - Iida Tenya

SnowWhite - Kouda Kouji

LifeIsPain - Tokoyami Fumikage

BreadIsPain - Aoyama Yuga

Kirby - Uraraka Ochaco

LSD - Ashido Mina

PikaCHU - Kaminari Denki

RockSolid - Kirishima Eijiro

RipHarambe - Ojiro Mashirao

IcyHot - Todoroki Shoto

MuffinMan - Sato Rikido

Octodad - Shouji Mezou

Jacked - Jirou Kyoka

Spoderman - Sero Hanta

[gffa]

You honestly have so much more courage than I do. I interact with at most 3 people about the same subject and then I have to let it go to avoid going crazy and obsessing over it for days.

Thanks, it's that I've been through the fires and come out the other side. 😂 Okay, I'm joking, but also a little serious, I've been there a lot and there have been plenty of times that I let fandom stupidity affect my emotional wellbeing, because I wasn't good at letting stuff go. I've had to work really hard to find any kind of balance with fandom and everything people will fling at you in it, and to this day that means I often have to be really ruthless in enforcing boundaries (from other people and from myself, which means sometimes I have to assess if I'm in the mood to have people just Say Things at me and if I can handle it, because if not, I cannot go check my social media, but also there are some people I just cannot engage with ever because they hurl insults, lie, and manipulate everything I say, that's all stuff I have to think about before I go anywhere on the internet). Some days I step away from the internet all together and just let my queue run. Some days, I'm ready to take social media on. Some days I just want to talk to friendly people about the same subjects we always talk about. It can be really hard to put yourself out there, to interact with people, because so many people feel free to be petty, mean-spirited, or unkind as a default way of dealing with someone they disagree with. And it can be really hard to get to a place where you're secure enough with yourself to let that kind of thing roll off you and still engage with people. It helps to have a place of kindness and compassion to retreat to, that's always my suggestion--ultimately, what's the point of being in fandom? I have to believe that the ultimate point is having a fun experience talking about a material you like, so build your interactions around that. Have a corner of fun, kind people to talk to when you're not feeling up to dealing with the rest of the internet. Don't check your social media stuff, unfollow people that are making you unhappy, learn to scroll before you read something that'll stick with you, etc. And, when you're ready, you can go interact with people again and retreat when you're not ready. You're here as a choice, as a hobby, treat it accordingly! And if that means only ever interacting with three people because you don't feel up to dealing with the rest of it, then you're doing fandom the way that's best for you! Courage is useful for doing something that will ultimately benefit you, which interacting with new people often does for me. But if it wouldn't gain you anything, then it's not courage to push yourself into those interactions, it's just forcing yourself into a mold you weren't meant for. Instead, find what makes you happy and stick to that as best you can. You're not going to be happy 100% of the time, but I think it should be what we all work our way towards, whatever that looks like for each of us!

[hawksugarbaby]

Tokoyami x reader- Big city, small pond

Fluff + Nature took back the earth AU combined with fantasy AU

You didn't take a breath before sinking back down from the side of the moss overrun pavement into the flooded road, deepened after many years of abrasion and sinkholes popping open intermittently. Deep enough for anything to swim in at least, though clementine traffic cone's still floated and drain covers for manholes had rusted and chipped away at the side. Litter still filled the bottom of the sinkhole but had all seemed to collect in the deep abysses. Metal benches were still bolted to the floor but had new river weeds and algae wrapped around each section of the skeleton but it was a wonderful place for anything to sit.

Your gills split open on your neck and you walked the depths of the "river" the reflection of miraculously working street signs for takeaways that greedy humans reopened over and over no matter how many times mother nature reclaimed the earth. Your finger's brushed the scales of an orange carp darting past you and you kicked your leg's out, turning them to an iridescent (f/c) fishtail, ending and transforming to human at the hips, your skirt clung to the tail under the water and your flowy t-shirt billowed out when you moved sharply, turning a corner or halting quickly to watch something.

Your tail kicked up rocks and dust which swirled in the water and settled at the bottom again as sediment. You scoffed at a human dropping a paper wrapper into the water that turned too much and landed on the floor, a few balls of red and white paper landing on your arm then tumbling off.

You popped your head up feeling a lily pad drooping down over your hair and covering your right eye. "Hey!" you shouted but the human was on his knees looking into the water in annoyance "Excuse me! I don't appreciate your wrapper dissolving in my river!" you shouted and he lifted his head, ruby eyes fluttered to you pulling the lily pad off your head, flopping it back onto the water where it drifted further away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to drop it, I was trying to find it now" he sighed in annoyance at the knowledge it was gone. He sat cross legged at the side and tilted his head looking at you. "Mermaid?" it was definitely supposed to be a question but it sounded more like a surprise than curiosity. You rolled your eyes and repeated his word in a mocking tone "oh mermaid? No. I'm not a mermaid, I'm a nymph obviously. How would you like it if i just assumed you were a crow!" you crossed your arms, your tail fins swishing back and forth impatiently. "I suppose I'd be most irritated" he scratched the back of his neck and hung his head.

You sighed swimming closer to the edge and rested your forearms on the kerb next to him. "It's whatever. Not like you city folk would know a difference anyway. Mother nature did all she could to reclaim the earth as hers and you still poison us with your plastic and oil and deforestation" you listed the minimum amount of things humans had done yet it was still enough for him to feel a guilty punch to the gut. "I'm sorry for what my species did to the earth" he spoke on behalf of a race that didn't care. The human race. But it was nice to hear an apology for once instead of someone claiming it wasn't their fault.

"My name is tokoyami fumikage" he held out his hand and you took it, the web's between your fingers stretching out slightly and you analyse him curiously "(y/n) macdonald." he nodded and smiled at you politely "You have a very nice tail" he said unsure how to continue your conversation, it wasn't like he could just ask you to get up and join him for a dinner and get to know you, though honestly he wasn't sure how nymphs worked, for all he know maybe you could? "Thank you. It's my favourite colour!" you grinned swishing it behind you and hopping on the edge on the path with all your strength.

You kicked your tail out and they transformed into legs dipping into the water and creating ripples around your calves and he stared amazed at your split appendages, skirt still hugging your thighs nicely and your t-shirt stuck to you like a puppy with abandonment issues.

"The difference by the way. This is the difference between mermaids and nymphs. Mermaids are usually really rude too" you explained, picking a string of riverweed from your leg and flinging it into the water to drift along the shore or sink to the bottom. He hummed in response since he couldn't agree or disagree, for now he would stay a neutral party unwilling to get on your bad side again. "I see. How did you end up here anyway aren't nymphs supposed to be out in like... rivers and lakes?" he queried and you sighed looking at the murky water sadly, missing the feel of your own river. "Uh, when mother nature decided to shift stuff around and the big tsunami flood thingy came it flooded my river and we all ended up somewhere different. Maybe it was on purpose but I ended up here" you swung your legs in the water tapping the stone ground with your fingers.

You missed the smell of earth surrounding your crystalline lake running off into smaller streams and your favourite river for finding pebbles in. you missed the fluffy flax seed that stuck to you when you were drying off in the long grass by the bank and that floated on top of the water for fish to pop up and suction down into their stomach. You missed your friends mostly, almost sisterly bonds between all of you now severed and spread across all of japan.

"I miss home really. For all I know my friends could be home waiting for me" you exhaled deeply and tokoyami sadly glanced at you wondering how far your legs could take you. "What if I helped you get home?" he asked and you jumped excitedly. "You would really help me! Don't you have school or friends or anything? Are you sure you can help?!" you blabbered for a minute or so about how inconvenient it would be and how you didn't know how far you would have to go until he stopped you. "My school is on break right now so I have about 2 months off before I need to go back. Most of my friends are going to look for a cause of the reclamation too since half our school is unusable since it started so I have no qualms helping you"

You jumped up and down giddy and dove back in the water splashing him with water that rolled off his feathers, soaking the choker on his neck and you apologised. "I'm just so excited to go home! Thank you so much!"

And so began your long journey to your home. You passed hundreds of abandoned buildings crumbling to nothing with vines twisted up the sides and supersized branches through the shattered windows, ivy had crawled up the walls of every structure you passed and you talked aimlessly along the way. "So mother nature is-" "a goddess inside the earth" tokoyami nodded at your explanation and looked around in understanding. One of her creations had destroyed the other, the necessary one, and she was proving that humans were expendable. "I'd be pissed too if my home was being filled with gross plastic." you giggled and smiled thankful that someone finally took you as sane, you were tired of truth seekers who didn't like the truth they gave them. They had too much blame on them so they went to find something else.

A month flew by quickly, you spent as much time swimming along streams that you could but of course not every path was filled with water, so it was a long journey for someone who wasn't used to walking barefoot on the actual ground for huge periods of time.

"What are your friends like?" Tokoyami asked, pushing a bish out the way for you to crouch through and you hummed, "caring. They care about a lot of things like climate change, obviously, but also silly stuff like um the best wood to carve you and your significant other's name in, or which leaves are the shiniest at golden hour. We have to make up fun little games or we'd just get bored" you smiled and he chuckled. They sounded similar to you, pointing out tiny details on your quest like spiderwebs covered in dew hidden in the grass, or perfectly round stone's that were shiny in the sun, it made sense you wanted to get back to them so badly.

The trees opened up to an empty circle of grass and a circle not much smaller of water, flowing over the sides of the bowl into the grass and streams wound along into their own segments of the forest. "Home... i'm home! I'm home i'm home i'm home!" you cried jumping up and down and sprinting into the gorgeous blue water and immediately your legs changed to your (f/c) tail, glowing in the sun as you floated on your back and soaked up the water. "Come in come in!!" you shouted while waving at tokoyami.

You had taken rest stops at old hotels and decrepit houses to check for water and of course food and sleep but there was enough civilization along the way to keep you going. But tokoyami hadn't had a bath, a real bath, one he didn't have to fill with a showerhead, in a month and god he wanted to relax desperately.

He peeled off his sticky t-shirt and hung it over a tree branch dipping into the water and relaxing immediately. "This is surprisingly warm" he muttered watching you splash around joyfully and sunk under the water. It was so clean he could keep his eyes open and watch you dip in and out of the water bouncing like a dolphin.

You swam over to him and he sat back up shaking the water out of his feathers and you smiled hugging him tightly "thank you for taking me here. I wish I could help you get back home but I don't think i'd make it back here myself. You sighed and he shook his head. "It's okay, I have other ways of getting home. I don't have to leave right now. I'll stay for another fortnight but then I probably have to go" he looked at his phone glad he had data and could contact hawks at the click of a button.

In 14 days that went by like rapids over rocks tokoyami had to say goodbye and hawks picked him up from your spot on the way back from a mission. 2 of your friends had also found their way home so you weren't lonely and tokoyami had promised to visit. "Okay and be safe home okay! I hope I see you soon!" you shouted as hawks lifted him into the air and he nodded in a silent agreement and waved.

"See you soon (y/n)!" he shouted back and you jumped in a wave as they disappeared into the bright blue sky reflected in your lake.

"Sooo..." one of your sisters sidled up next to you and you blushed "don't even! I know what you're going to say" you shoved her away and she laughed at you teasintly.

"Soo..." hawks started and tokoyami rolled his eye's "no hawks"