#the duck is holding a ball in its mouth

[flowersandfigtrees]

The Celtic goddess Sequana in her duck-boat.

Bronze, Gallo-Roman era, Archaeological Museum of Dijon

[lovebugism]

shy! reader & eddie -  “are you okay? is the heat getting to you?” 

💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

hi angel! thanks so much for your request!! — the one where you have a hard time telling eddie when you feel bad and he nurses you back to health (hurt/comfort, shy!reader, 1.5k)

bug's summer fic fest ♡

You felt a little like the sun was microwaving you.

The golden rays beat down on you most mercilessly, sucking all the energy from your body while simultaneously burning you alive. Once you sprawled out on the quilt Eddie brought for your little trip to Forest Hills Lake, you just laid there — too tired and too sick to do anything else.

The boy stood over you after noticing how uncharacteristically disinterested you were in feeding the ducks. His shadow shielded you from the sun as he poked your thigh with his foot. “Are you dead?” he joked with a lopsided grin you couldn’t see. Your eyes fluttered shut minutes ago, and you didn’t have the strength to open them again.

He knew something was off when you didn’t smile back. He knew something was really wrong when you muttered something vaguely in return that only came out in slurred mumbles. 

Eddie manages to get you up with little help from the you in question. 

Your suddenly exhausted frame leans heavily into his side as he leads you back to the trailer. Though the lake was quite literally in his backyard, the walk home took several minutes longer than usual. Your feet were made of brick and your swimming head had turned the world on its side. It took a world of strength to ascend the three steps of his rickety wooden porch. 

“Here, c’mon,” Eddie hums as he follows you through the squeaking screen door. He walks you the short distance to the couch, putting both hands on your waist to steady you when you start to sway. “Sit down before you give me a heart attack, alright?”

You listen to him, though you don’t exactly hear him. Through your pounding headache and the rushing ocean in your ears, he might as well be talking to you underwater.

“I don’t feel good…” you slur quietly, eyes squeezed shut as you descend slowly onto the couch cushion. Eddie holds onto your elbows as you sit, watching you with attentively wide button eyes.

“I know, doll,” he coos empathetically in return. “I’m gonna go get you some water, okay?”

Your clammy hands grasp his wrist when he lets you go, your grip weak with a barely-there touch. You peer up at him with glassy eyes that swim with unshed tears and leftover sunlight. 

“Don’t go,” you plead in a whisper. Your voice isn’t strong enough to be much louder.

You feel eerily close to passing out. Your head fills with static and you feel dreadfully far away from the world around you. Feeling this sick is scary in itself, but having Eddie so close makes you feel much safer in comparison.

“I’ll be right back. I promise,” he tells you with a soft, pink grin. He slides his palm out of your trembling grip to hold your hand. Your fingers are sweaty and uncharacteristically warm, almost burningly so. “You need some water in your system, babe. That’s probably why you feel so shitty right now.”

You’re too weak to protest any further.

The boy rushes into the kitchen. You vaguely hear his receding footsteps, glasses clattering together, and the hiss of the faucet — but it all sounds so far away. You’re just a countertop over from him, but it feels like lightyears.

Eddie stays gone for exactly four slow blinks. 

Time has become a big ball of nothingness in your nauseous state. It feels like he’s gone for a lifetime and zero seconds flat at the same time. Either way, you’re equally grateful when he returns to you.

“Here you go,” the boy lilts quietly when he’s back in the living room. He ushers the cup of water into your weak hands but keeps a hold of it for a moment or more, just to make sure you’ve got it. “Drink up, doll.”

Your face scrunches in disdain at the thought. You know you’re thirsty, but you feel so queasy that your mouth has started to water. 

“I’m scared I’m gonna puke,” you confess in a nearly inaudible slur. 

“You won’t. I promise,” Eddie assures with a quiet smile. His fingers smooth over your forehead to push away the sweaty tendrils sticking there. You’re hot to the touch — and not even in the way figurative way he always jokes about, like genuinely burning. He singsongs to quell heavy tension, “And even if you do, I’ll clean it up for you, okay?”

The thought of him washing up after you is as heartwarming as it is stomach-churning. 

You sip at the glass just to appease him. The water sloshes gently in the cup along with your trembling hand. It’s not cold, but it’s not warm either — it’s the perfect temperature for someone so fragile suffering from an acute bout of heatstroke. The liquid is soft in your mouth, piercing you somewhere in your soul and making you feel almost instantly better when you swallow it down.

“How’s that?” Eddie coos, still standing over you with a loving sort of concern.

You make an unintelligible noise into your water.

“Do you feel any better? Still feel faint?”

“I don’t know,” you mumble with a feeble shrug. Because you don’t. You still feel weak and burning, but less distant than you had just moments before. You’re not sure what that means, though. “Maybe a little…”

Eddie puts a hand to your forehead, at a loss of what else to do. You’re still hot to the touch, but certainly not as warm as you had been earlier. The whirring A.C. and tap water must be doing the trick, he figures. 

He spreads his palm along your clammy cheek. “You still feel a little sticky…” he tells you.

The words make you feel queasy. You blink up at him with a heavy, glassy gaze. “I feel gross…”

“You’re just sick, babe. It’s okay,” he assures you, laughing softly as he swipes his thumb over the apple of your cheek. His chocolate eyes sparkle when he looks down at you. “I’d hug you if I thought that wasn’t the worst idea in the world.”

The bridge of your nose scrunches at the thought. 

You need Eddie around, but the thought of him touching you any more than this makes you want to be sick. You’ll kiss him absolutely stupid the second you’ve cooled down, though. He won’t be able to peel you off of him, then.

You shake your head in response to his implication, slow and sloppy like a child.

Eddie chuckles. “Exactly. Keep drinking for me, ‘kay?”

He sits down next to you, careful not to jostle you too much. He leaves several inches of agonizing distance between you and finds keeping his hands to himself is a most incorrigible feat. He watches you take ginger sips from the cup and wants so desperately to hold you to his chest until you feel better again. 

He hopes that moment isn’t too far away now.

You feel considerably cooler once the water’s all gone. The leftover sunshine has nearly exited all your pores, allowing the air conditioner to formally pierce your skin. The tap water refreshes you from the inside out.

“Better?” Eddie ponders with raised brows.

You nod lazily.

He exhales in relief through his nose. “Good. You were starting to scare me for a second there.”

You flash him a sheepish glance. “Sorry…”

“It’s not your fault, doll. Don’t apologize,” the boy chuckles. Only you would apologize for feeling so sick — as though it wasn’t something as forced upon you as it was upon him. “I should’ve known better than to take you out today. It was way too hot outside.”

That’s not what he really wants to say. 

If he’d said exactly what he meant, it would’ve gone something like, “I should’ve known better than to take you out today because it was way too hot, and you never tell me when you’re feeling bad.” 

But that isn’t really your fault either. 

Eddie knows how you are. He should’ve checked in on your more. If he hadn’t gotten so distracted, he probably could’ve gotten you inside before the sun almost killed you.

“It’s not your fault, either, Eds,” you tell him rather pointedly, as though you could hear his thoughts.

“No,” Eddie concedes with a shake of his head. “It’s the stupid sun’s fault for making my girl feel so sick.”

And even though he wasn’t exactly trying to make a joke, you laugh at him anyway. It’s just a weak exhale through your nose, but Eddie beams when he sees you finally smiling. 

When his hands start to ache, he finally wonders, “Feel like being touched now?”

You don’t. Not really. Not in the way you’d like him to touch you, anyway. You’d love to be wrapped up in his arms and melt with him in totality, but your swimming head and warm skin disagree with you. 

You reach for the wrist in his lap and put his hand on your thigh — for the sake of feeling him, but not overwhelmingly so.  

It makes Eddie laugh. His palm smoothes over your knee before squeezing you there. “The water did the trick, huh?”

You nod. 

He beams. 

“I love being right,” he lilts, only halfway serious.

“I know you do,” you grumble in response. 

You love him and his smug grin far too much to be genuinely annoyed with him, though. The understanding of this unsaid fact makes his smile widen.

[strawbeelemonade]

PLATONIC HEADCANNONS: being miles morales best friend but your also a bit insane (Part 2!)

i'm gonna try to remember to start specifying when something is intended to be platonic or romantic.

🕷- I was literally unable to cram everything I wanted to say in the first one.

🕷- Miles is really only comfortable showing you his drawings.

🕷- He's an incredibly awkward guy, but the words come so easily when he hangs out with you. he doesn't choke up like he does with other people at school.

🕷- When he gets his powers his first instinct is to call you. He’s literally halfway through punching your number into the keypad until he stops and decides against it. He knows your number off by heart now.

🕷- You appear and disappear like a ghost its so random.

🕷- Honest to god, he lowkey thought you were homeless until you invited him over to watch Barbie Mermaidia.

🕷- “Bibble is so me.”

🕷- He’s the only person you let over at your place. its small and in the basement of an old apartment complex. the landlord couldn’t get anyone to pay to live there. you live alone.

🕷- You struck a deal, and they let you crash there as long as rent was on time and you fixed their washing machine for free.

🕷- Miles asked how you got to live there for so cheap. You tell him it’s because someone died on the couch he was sitting on.

🕷- He sits on the floor.

🕷- Miles is so eager to share his new powers with someone.

🕷- No seriously, between all the stress and lying and anxiety its nice to let himself get excited about it. To let himself have fun and see what he can do.

🕷- You guys TOTALLY video tape him trying out his new powers for the first time.

🕷- I can imagine you finding an abandoned alleyway on some random ass street after school and filming Miles Trying to do a backflip LMAO.

🕷- You gotta fish him out of a trashcan after he tries to spider climb up the wall.

🕷- You know that thing where a group of friends duck tapes one of their friends to a wall for fun? You get miles to do that to you.

🕷- You guys can’t stop laughing, The best memories of your lives are in those videos.

🕷- He’ll take you up to the top of buildings to show you the graffiti art he painted!! he’ll let you sign it off with a dick and balls or a heart if you want. You guys do homework up there together as well.

🕷- ’M & (Y/I) were here’ has been painted on every available surface of New York.

🕷- You both have the bright idea to hop on his back and go web slinging around the neighbourhood. He can carry you easily.

🕷- Miles decides If you don’t tell him to slow down, then he’s not going fast enough.

🕷- You NEVER tell him to slow down.

🕷- “Faster!!!“

🕷- Now that he’s got super strength he can put you in an inescapable headlock, he doesn’t do it too tight but he holds you there until you tap out.

🕷- He takes you to the coolest spots with the best views.

🕷- You regularly cover for him.

🕷- “We were at Jamba Juice the whole time officer I swear.”

🕷- Miles side eyes you knowing damn well he was no where NEAR a Jamba Juice.

🕷- ’Thanks’ he’d mouth.

🕷- You and Petter B will get along like a house on fire.

🕷- While Miles is extremely unimpressed by him, you don’t seem to care about any pre-existing expectations one might have when you think of the guy behind the mask of Spider-Man, your cracking jokes and feeding your pet rat a couple of French fries while the three of you sit in the diner, planning your next moves carefully.

🕷- Peter B can tell you’re a good kid. He’s at an age where a lot of your batshit tendencies don’t really faze him as long as your not hurting yourself.

🕷- Speaking of which.

🕷- When him and Miles get the chance to talk alone he warns him that he needs to be careful.

🕷- He tells him that normal relationships aren’t possible anymore. And stresses to him what a life like this can mean for your loved ones. especially since you found out his secret. This line of work isn’t just dangerous for Miles, but for you as well.

🕷- Miles is a little shaken after the conversation, no matter how gently Peter tries to put it. But what he’s implying is clear. He tries to shake it off and enjoy the time you both spend together. He won’t admit to himself that Peter is right just yet.

🕷- It’s just so easy to tell you everything and rely on you.

🕷- There will be a moment sometime in the future when reality sets in, but for now Miles makes the same mistake every Spider-Man does.

🕷- He has a best friend. :(

🕷- On the other hand, Peter comes to the staggering realisation that your actually extremely prone to accidents and danger all on your own. And he appropriately does a complete 180 from ‘casually distant bum-uncle' to ‘I am your dad now’.

🕷- It’s Nothing personal, kid. now stop trying to get in the middle of fights with dangerous criminals and let the adult— or at least the guys with super strength, stamina, speed and resilience— handle it.

🕷- He demands you stay out of the crossfire, but, to no one’s surprise you don’t listen.

🕷- You’re willing to throw yourself in front of Miles to shield him from anything, much to your best friends terror.

🕷- You hold your own surprisingly well against opponents that would be considered reasonable threats otherwise. You’re resourceful, grabbing anything and everything you can get your hands on. you get a terrifying look in your eye.

🕷- No matter how impressed Peter is, He will slingshot you around with his web-shooters to propel you out of the way of oncoming attacks. He will do this for both of you, but feels the need to do it less for Miles. He knows he can take what’s on the other end of the punch. But No matter how untouchable you make yourself out to be, you can’t.

🕷- “Do I want kids?”

🕷- He takes you on as his responsibility just as much as he does Miles.

🕷- Spider-Gwen also looks out for you in battle.

🕷- She’s more laid back, and even a little suave about it too.

🕷- She secretly wishes she had someone like you in her universe. What she wouldn’t give to decompress with you after a long day of patrolling New York.

🕷- She’s actually the most normal about you having a pet rat. You know, the one you grabbed out of a garbage can in a subway station. Yeah, That rat.

🕷- Miles watches you both get along like a house on fire and just quietly falls behind you both since he’s not sure what to do or say.

🕷- He’s so awkward, poor guy.

🕷- Your tendency to go off for days at a time ignites everyone’s curiosity. it’s a concerning habit, and Gwen even endeavours to follow you to see where you disappear to so often.

🕷- She’s unsuccessful.

🕷- It's never said out loud, but when she’s facing the one-way ticket home she finds herself wanting to stay just a bit longer. Not just for Miles, but for you to… She wonders what you’ll get up to while she’s gone.

🕷- …

🕷- Peter Porker vibes with you so hard.

🕷- no wait don’t scroll away wait

🕷- he WILL gift you the freakishly large cartoon mallet. Sorry, but miles didn’t appreciate it for what it was.

🕷- He would be cracking jokes and doing bits with you through out the whole goddamn movie.

🕷- Miles can usually let you do your own thing without sparing a second glance, but the looney tunes laws of physics that Porker exhibits WILL rub off on you at least a little.

🕷- It’s contagious. And when you start flattening eachother into to perfect discs it freaks everyone out a little.

🕷- He’s got enough to worry about in the plot,,, Damn,,

🕷- Spider Noir teaches you how to throw a good punch

🕷- in exchange you let him mess with your phone as much as he wants

🕷- "how the hell do you work this thing?"

🕷- He likes you, he thinks you got a lot of guts.

🕷- You were actually the one to design Miles’ suit. He took inspiration from one of your drawings in your school notebook.

🕷- You've always believed in him, and that made him believe in himself too.

[wileys-russo]

dancing the line, what are we? II g.clinton x reader

she's such a cutie, request here dancing the line, what are we? II g.clinton x reader

you tried to hide the happy smile on your face as you noticed grace walk into the change rooms for training, the dirty blonde catching your eye and sending you a beaming grin as she sat down at her locker to change.

"who you eyeballing?" you jumped in surprise as mary dropped down beside you with narrowed eyes. "no one, creeper keeper." you chuckled, attention shifting down to your feet as you laced up your boots. "mmm i know you're hiding something from me, and mark my words child i will find out what it is!" mary warned as you rolled your eyes.

"sorry to disappoint you mum, but there's nothing going on in my life you don't already know far too many details about." you patted the older girls shoulder who had taken you under her wing the moment you made the senior team, mary only scoffing at your choice of words.

"excuse me what have i told you? i am your cool older sister, not your mum! honestly the cheek of you." mary pulled you into a headlock as you whined and tried to pull away, the keeper forecefully dragging you away for training not letting you out of her tight hold.

but your annoyed frown melted away as you again caught grace's eye, the girl glancing up from where her own head was ducked down lacing up her boots, pulling a stupid face at you making you grin before mary yanked you out of the room.

out on the pitch now mary finally let you go, called over to begin training with the other keepers as you lingered around waiting for the rest of the girls to join you being one of the first outside, starting to stretch before warm ups at marcs orders.

"good mornin gorgeous." you smiled as grace appeared beside you, mumbling the last word quietly so only you would hear as the two of you exchanged a soft smile, continuing with your stretches in a comfortable silence as the rest of the girls wandered out.

"gonna be a warm one today." you sighed, closing your eyes as the warmth of the morning sun bathed the training field. "always is when you're round babe." grace retorted quickly, enjoying the blush that crept up your neck at her words, her thick northern accent your favorite sound as you shoved her playfully.

"someone call the babysitters, the children are fighting!" ella teased as you and grace pushed and smacked one another around, you jumping onto her back and wrapping an arm around her neck as she struggled to throw you off.

"oi! stop messing about, the pair of you." alessia warned, smacking both of you on the back of the head sternly as the whistles blew for everyone to huddle up. "sorry mum!" grace mocked, the two of you slinging your arms around one another and marching off as alessia rolled her eyes, her and ella following.

"do'ya wanna be me partner?" grace asked hopefully, practically running over to you as you all returned from your break, pairing off for some passing drills. "nah." you shook your head with a blank face, faking as if you were going to turn away.

"oh how very funny, she's a comedian now ladies and gents." grace clapped sarcastically as you took a bow, the two of you grabbing a ball and wandering off so you were a little more out of earshot of the rest of the team.

"would you like to get dinner tonight? maybe see a film?" you asked the blonde after a few minutes of silence had passed. "is this your way of tryna ask us on a date?" the midfielder teased, but agreeing eagerly right afterwards.

"i think we're past dates clinton once someones tongues been in my mouth i like to think i no longer need to use that word, its just implied." you shot back, smiling victoriously as for once she was the one to blush, forever normally the more confidently cocky out of the pair of you.

~

"i'll pick ya up later babe, round six or so?" grace proposed, murmuring in your ear as she hugged you goodbye and you nodded, the embrace perhaps lasting a second or so too long as you felt eyes on you.

"we've got an audience." you warned quietly, catching a wary looking alessia and mary clearly speaking about the pair of you as they looked to one another and then back to the two of you.

"let them look, we're only huggin." her taller form vibrated against yours as she chuckled. "besides i'll save what i'd rather be doing with ya for later tonight if you're lucky." she pulled away with a wink, kissing your cheek and darting away before you could hit her for the cheeky comment.

"can i help you?" you bluntly questioned the two older girls whose eyes seemingly refused to leave you as you sat down to pack up your bag.

"don't know, can you?" mary retorted cryptically as you gave her a weird look, quickly stuffing away grace's training jacket you'd stole the other day which poked out the top of your kit bag, trying not to make it obvious you were hiding it.

"that was a...long hug." alessia hinted, leaning back and narrowing her bright blue eyes at you. "do you and tooney not hug enough? oh i'm so sorry lessi, you must be touch depraved." you leaned forward and patted her knee with mock sympathy, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"is that grace on your lockscreen?" the blonde striker questioned again, pointing to your phone as you rolled your eyes and tucked it under your leg. the picture in question was her holding you up as you took a photo in the mirror which was in the entry way of her home.

"none of your business russo." you quipped, the older girl huffing at the use of her last name. "anything you'd like to tell us kid?" mary questioned with a raised eyebrow as you paused to ponder, looking off thoughtfully in the distance.

"umm, you need a shower cause you smell like a wet dog and you need a crash mat taped to your ass since you fell on it so many times today?" you guessed, pointing first to mary and then to alessia.

grabbing your bag and slinging it over your shoulder you sprinted out of the change rooms as they lunged for you, hearing their footsteps and angry shouts after you fade as you were known to be one of the quickest on the team, waving at them with a grin from your car.

"yeah thats right you little shit you better run!"

~

you tapped your phone screen as you heard a knock at your door, the time showing 5:41pm meaning grace was early.

she wasn't your girlfriend, but she was definitely more than your best friend. though neither of you had dared to even have that conversation with one another yet, much as it bore down on both your minds about what the two of you actually were.

you'd not grown up playing on the youth national teams, as much as you knew that was a huge goal for most professional footballers playing for your country wasn't something you'd ever really dreamt of, much to most peoples surprise.

you'd grown up in a football mad household, which had meant every single game you'd played was always over analysed, if it be by your older brothers or your dad you were always given some sort of harsh ribbing or yelled at for some silly mistake in the car ride home.

that pressure to be perfect, to play as best as you could and leave it all out on the pitch meant your relationship with football had become quite strained at one point, falling out of love with the game entirely for awhile.

but then you'd started at the manchester united academy, making your way up the ranks and slowly starting to adore it once more. but with that lingering pressure in the back of your mind, you'd always opted out of playing anything more than for club even once you made the senior womens team, however still endlessly proud of all your friends and teammates when they put on the kit for country.

with you and grace it all started off harmlessly enough. when she had signed on with united in the summer you were more than thrilled, finally having someone your own age to mess about with, growing tired of all the relentless teasing that came with being the baby of the team.

the two of you had clicked right away, paired up for drills her first training and both talking one anothers ears off you found you had a lot more in common than you'd anticipated beyond just your shared age.

which lead to you eagerly inviting her over for a movie night when you discovered your shared passion for 'childrens' movies, and the fact she had never seen cars which to you was basically committing a crime.

from then on the two of you developed a routine of sorts.

movie nights on wednesdays, going out for breakfast together on sundays, cooking dinner together on mondays, carpooling together to training and grabbing coffee, seated together on the busses to away games making shared playlists or binging whatever show you were hooked on.

then one night curled into one another clutching your stomachs with laughter at some dumb comedy on the tv you were half paying attention to, it happened.

you'd both shared a look as you'd come down from your laughter, not anything uncommon, but unlike any of the others this was the look.

and in that look you suddenly realized the feelings you had for your best friend grew beyond that of being friendly, and you found yourself lifting your chin up a little, hesitating slightly unsure if you were misreading anything.

thankfully you weren't, and so when grace moved to clear that few centimetres left between you, soft lips pressed finally against yours as she'd been wondering about for awhile now, the course of your relationship was altered.

from then on your shared routine shifted slightly. wednesday movie nights were still the same but now were accompanied by lazy makeout sessions as you grew more and more comfortable becoming intimate with one another.

lovesick giggles would fill the air as you mumbled against one anothers lips the most stupid of comments as you cooked dinners together on a monday. somehow still maintaining whatever conversation you were having prior to one of you making a move to commence an onslaught of soft kisses in between each word.

you'd been out together on a few dates but normally preferred the cozy comforts of one anothers homes and your usual routine, falling into step with one anothers habits and personal practices. though either of you were yet to spend the night together at one of your houses.

grace learned you'd often go to the local markets on a saturday, usually accompanied by some of your team mates it was no issue she tag along, but as she noticed you'd buy the same few things each week she learned to map out your usual route.

so when it was just the two of you she would take your hand, interlocking your fingers with hers and guiding you both around, knowing which stalls you'd want to stop at and sometimes darting ahead to purchase you something before you had the chance.

though most times one or two of your teammates would come with and you'd adapt, no longer holding hands but still exchanging knowing looks or flirty little comments in one anothers ears when you had a fleeting moment alone. locking pinkies under the table and playing footsies with hidden grins of glee when you'd all sit down for lunch together afterwards.

you'd learnt giving gifts was one of grace's love languages, little trinkets which evidenced that littered your home like the small jar full of sea shells she'd brought back with her after going away with her parents for the weekend to the seaside.

presenting them to you with a toothy grin and a story of how she'd made sure to hand select only the most beautiful of shells for the most beautiful of girls you'd smacked her for the cheesy comment but still rewarded her with a soft kiss and a thank you, her heart soaring as you did.

given that quality time was one of your own love languages you treasured the time the two of you got to spend together like your movie nights, dinners and little market dates. you could honestly spend every day with the taller girl and not grow bored, the two of you seemingly never running out of things to talk about.

but despite all of that neither one of you had actually come forward and asked what the two of you were, not quite dating but not quite friends you'd danced around the line of making it more or less.

it had seemed that one kiss had seamlessly shifted your already shared routine into one much more intimate, domestic and cozy, but both terrified of actually verbalizing that you'd not dared not to speak about it with one another.

leaving your straighter on to warm up you ran to the door as she knocked again. "hi! i'm not ready yet but technically you're early." you rushed out, stepping aside to let her in with a smile.

"dunno why you bother with all this crap, ya always look beautiful anyway." grace smiled back, gesturing to your half finished makeup as you hit her shoulder lightly.

"i see that eyeliner and concealer gracie, hypocrite." you teased, squishing her cheeks in your hand making her roll her eyes playfully and smack your hand away. "do you want a drink or anything?" you offered as she followed you to the kitchen.

"i'll take a tall glass of you? or well a short one maybe." you turned and her body melted into yours, your back just digging into the edge of the counter as she looked down at you with a pearly white grin, hands gently gripping your waist.

"always with the height jokes, get some new material for your stand up show woman really!" you sighed with a shake of your head. "i'll wear heels and we'll see eye to eye." you challenged as she only laughed.

"no ya won't." "no i won't, i hate heels and i'll be wearing trainers." you grinned, arms coming to wrap around her neck as the two of you just stood in silence for a moment, both with that same look of lovesick pining in your eyes as she leaned down to kiss you.

"oh shit i left my straighter on!" you remembered with wide eyes, pushing her off before she could and running to your room as the sound of her laughter followed.

"would forget ya head if it weren't attached to your body." grace tutted, laying down on your bed as you continued to get ready, the two of you chatting about the upcoming game against leicester city on the weekend.

"oh what film did we wanna see?" grace remembered, pushing her hips up to grab her phone from her back pocket, googling what your options were. after she'd listed them off you hummed and suggested two, telling her to make the final decision.

"why! i hate it." the midfielder groaned, head thumping back against your pillows as you finished your hair, tying half of it up into a loose bun as the rest cascaded down your bed, nodding in satisfaction at your appearance.

"cause i picked where we're goin for dinner. so you choose the film!" you smiled, poking her nose as you rummaged around in your bedside table looking for your favorite perfume. "here." grace reached over and grabbed it from the other side of the bed, holding it up.

though as you smiled gratefully and reached for it she moved it out of your grasp. "think i deserve a proper thanks." she grinned cheekily, tapping her lips with her free hand, still holding your perfume captive in the other.

"such a child." you teased, ducking down and pressing your lips to hers a few times sweetly, stealing your perfume before things went any further. "scuse you babe i'm three months older!" grace scoffed, pulling herself to sit up.

"so you never cease to remind me." you tutted in amusement, arms moving to hug her as you looked up with an adoring smile and her hands gently cupped your cheeks. "ya look gorgeous." grace complimented sweetly, ducking her head and kissing you again, though one hand moving to the back of your neck this time making sure it lasted a little longer.

pulling away once air became an issue, both your cheeks flushed rosy pink you pecked her lips a few more times before you mumbled the two of you would be late, interlocking fingers and heading out to her car.

~

"oi! is that..." alessia whined through a mouthful of ice cream as mary punched her arm to gain her attention, halting suddenly at the older girls words. "mary!" the blonde scolded, punching her back but following where her finger was pointing.

"sneaky sneaky children." ella whistled with a somewhat proud grin, the three of them spotting you and grace tucked up together in the back of the italian restaurant looking awfully cozy.

"you don't think..." alessia trailed off, looking from mary to ella and back to the two of you again with a raised eyebrow. "what? this surprises you? nah less come on!" ella laughed, though she stopped once she realised it seemed she was the only one not shocked.

"youse two are some of the closest people to them! how did ya not catch on they're seeing one another? thick!" ella smacked both girls with a shake of her head. "how did you know before we did tooney?" mary scoffed, throwing away her now empty cup and spoon.

"cause i've got eyes! you don't see the way they look at each other? stupid little shit eating grins, always hanging out together, always whispering about something, always hugging or touching or holding hands thinking they're being subtle about it." ella rolled her eyes at the secret which was apparently not a secret, her and maya having made a bet from the very first week grace signed on that the two of you would wind up dating.

a bet which it now looked like ella would win and be twenty pound richer because of it.

"oh my god surely they're not about to-" marys eyes widened. "oh but they are." ella nodded knowingly. "how did we not notice?" alessia huffed, nostrils flaring in annoyance at their ignorance.

"lady and the tramp, how disgustingly cliche." ella tutted as you and grace shared a piece of pasta, pecking lips at the end and grinning at one another stupidly.

"i'm just going to the toilet." you spoke, grace pulling a face of mock disgust as you shoved her with a roll of your eyes, the taller girl tugging on the back of your dress and leaning up to kiss you goodbye.

"clingy." you teased, dodging her hands which reached out to pinch you, ducking away to use the bathroom.

finishing up you made sure grace's attention was on her phone as you snuck past the table and to the front to pay, thanking the waiter with a smile as he handed you the receipt.

though that smile was completely wiped off your face as a strange feeling you were being watched settled over you, goosebumps prickling at your arms as you looked around, and thats when you spotted them.

mary shook her head with a unreadably firm stare, ella gave you a proud grin and a thumbs up and alessia quite frankly looked like she wanted to murder you, the three of them all outside on the street by the door clearly awaiting the two of you to leave before they pounced.

hastily turning around you hurried back to the table, dropping down beside grace who scoffed at the docket in your hand. "what'd ya do that for!" she groaned, having wanted to pay for the two of you.

"we have much bigger problems right now." you warned, grabbing her chin and turning her head to lock eyes with the three older girls at the front window as they widened in fear.

"well fuck." "fuck indeed. what do we do? sneak out the back?" "nah they know we're here now. but i don't really fancy a tellin off tonight, do you?" with that she gave you a grin, fear melted away as you tilted your head curiously and she filled you in on her plan.

again thanking the waiter you both exited the resteraunt, hand in hand and shrinking slightly under the unwavering glares of the older girls standing across from you.

"evenin girls." grace grinned, squeezing your hand and making a point to bring it up to her mouth placing a gentle kiss on your knuckles. "whats all this then?" alessia questioned, narrowing her eyes. "just two best mates gone for a feed." grace answered with a sly smile.

"bullshit. you two are in some serious trouble." mary warned sternly, alessia smacking ella who was pulling faces and still giving the two of you a proud thumbs up.

"serious trouble." alessia echoed marys words, fixing you both with a glare as grace squeezed your hand twice like you'd planned. "ah thats a shame. look we'd love to stay and chat girls but-" with that the two of you turned and sprinted off, chased quickly by both alessia and mary as ella stayed behind to cheer you both on, finding endless amusement in the situation.

"c'mere." rounding a corner grace tugged you into her body, ducking the two of you down and out of sight behind a large bin. "where the fuck did they go!" you heard mary huff angrily, trying to catch her breath.

"you two little shits can hide for now but you can't hide forever! we'll see you at training tomorrow." alessia yelled out menacingly, both you and grace holding a hand over one anothers mouths and waiting until you were certain that they'd left.

"where the fuck did they go!" you mocked mary. "we'll see you at training tomorrow." grace mimicked alessia as the two of you collapsed to the ground laughing, clutching at your stomachs. "guess the secrets out." you smiled, head resting against the wall behind your head as you caught your breath.

a comfortable silence fell between the two of you, graces eyes roaming your face with a tender smile, a surge of emotions flooding her body at the thought of the entire team soon knowing you were...well, what exactly?

"will ya be me girlfriend?" the midfielder blurted out suddenly, face flushing bright red at its abrupt nature. "nah." you declined before your face broke out into a grin and you launched at her. "of course." you mumbled against her lips, pressing a searing kiss to them and sending the older girls head into a spin.

"could have asked me somewhere a bit more romantic than on a dirty sidewalk behind a bin though babe."

“we were runnin for our lives together, what’s more romantic than that?”

~

“good mornin girlfriend!” grace sang out happily as you jumped into her car to go to training, taken aback by the withering glare you sent her way as a greeting.

“whats wrong?” she questioned with a frown as you huffed and moved your hair off your shoulder, clearly showing off the two bright red and purple hickies littering your neck.

“oh.”

“oh!” you mocked, sinking into the chair with a groan, burying your face in your hands. “sorry?” grace smiled sheepishly, wincing at the murderous look you gave her and quickly focusing her attention on the road as she reversed out of your driveway.

after the high of finally making things official last night you’d both opted to ditch the movies in favour of going back to your place to watch one together instead.

however you hardly spent more than five minutes watching whatever grace had put on, still riding out the high of being girlfriends you’d quickly moved to makeout and well, things escalated slightly from there.

it was the first time grace had ever left any sort of mark on you, feeling a brand new sense of possessiveness as she’d hovered over you on the lounge, her face pressed into your neck only encouraged by the noises she’d coaxed out of your mouth, exploring the sensitive area with her lips, then with her tongue, then her teeth.

and well, here you were.

“they’re really not that noticeable babe.” grace tried to assure you, taking your hand as you walked into the training centre and headed for the change rooms.

“plus they’ll be too busy yellin at us for runnin away anyway!”

sure enough the moment the two of you entered the change rooms you were met with an onslaught of teasing which you both brushed off, sitting down together to put your boots on.

though no sooner had you sat down did two shadows loom over you both, alessia and mary. they shared a look and a nod before wordlessly grabbing the two of you, alessia tugging you away by the collar of your training top as mary did the same with grace.

"less! come on it was a bit of fun." you whined as she pulled you forcefully out of the change rooms and down the hall, grace and mary dissapearing out around the corner down the opposite end.

"how long?" the older girl sat you down on a bench, folding her arms over her chest and fixing you with a glare. "since last night." you answered honestly, the blonde raising an eyebrow clearly expecting a different answer.

"honestly!" you shrugged. "i am not in the mood for games." alessia warned sternly causing you to let out a sigh. "we've been...hanging out for about a month now? but she only asked me to be her girlfriend last night, truthfully." you promised with a nod.

"if you hurt her...i will hurt you, and i will make sure it is the last time you ever speak to her. yeah?" alessia warned seriously, leaning down closer to you as you nodded repeatedly.

"i wouldn't, i promise."

"okay. well now thats all out of the way!" you almost had whiplash as the taller girl pulled you up into a tight bear hug. "our little babies all coupled up, so cute." she pinched your cheeks harshly as you grunted and pushed her off.

"why didn't you tell us though! that was the most hurtful part of all." alessia slung an arm over your shoulder with a shake of her head, pulling you into her side as the two of you walked back toward the changing room.

"it wasn't anyones business, it still isn't!" you rolled your eyes, spotting grace and mary returning in a similar position to you as all four of you walked back into the mostly empty changing room.

"you get a shovel talk too then?" grace chuckled, the two of you sitting back down to finish putting your shoes on. "if you hurt her i will hurt you, and i will make sure it is the last time you ever speak to her." you mocked alessia.

"i got; if you harm a single little hair on her head i will not hesitate to break both your legs, you treat her with respect or i make you dissapear." grace did her best to mock mary, but her northern accent made it near impossible as you let out a small laugh.

"idiots, the pair of them." you whispered to her, grace humming in agreement and kissing your cheek causing them to warm up with a slight blush as you kissed hers back.

"ugh no kissing before at least ten in the morning please." alessia fake gagged as the four of you stood to head toward the pitch.

"yeah lets not forget you're both children, our little babies." mary added on with a coo, grace grabbing you suddenly and pulling you into a proper kiss as loud retches echoed around the change room and you smiled against her lips before pulling away.

"oi excuse me what are these? did you do this to her gracie?!" mary grabbed you suddenly, moving your hair out of the way and pointing accusingly at the hickies then back to your girlfriend. "no!" grace scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"you got them from someone else!?" alessia glowered, balling her fists as you shook your head. "of course not!" you shot grace a glare as she sent you a wink, taking your hand and tugging you out of marys grip.

"better get used to it you two, now she's me girlfriend we can do whatever we want."

[baahsu]

That marimo op clip got me thinking about a zosan scenario

What if they dock on an island and everyone scrambles off the ship to do their own thing

Sanji returns later in the day after finishing buying groceries and restocking the supplies and finds a moss ball on the deck

He cocks his head to the side, curiously observing the creature, and an idea pops into his head

He'll take care of this moss ball, put it into a jar and make sure its living its best life. Then, when zoro comes back, he can show it to him and say he's found his long lost cousin

Days pass by and the moss ball has taken residency on a side table next to sanji's bunk bed. Sanji talks to it everyday, before going to sleep and when he wakes up, also during his breaks from cooking, to make sure it's doing ok

And the little marimo is thriving! Its green is becoming more vibrant each day and it seems like it's grown a little too! Sanji's really proud of it and tell it as much, cooing that "you're the best and cutest marimo around, oh yes you are!"

The creature also becomes sanji's confidant

Sanji tells it about his cooking, about what he expects from their next adventures, and about the feelings he's been harboring for a certain human marimo

He talks about how infuriating zoro is and how the little marimo is definitely cuter than him. And ok, sure, he can reluctantly admit zoro's not bad looking. He's actually really good looking and really strong and reliable and secretly a softie inside, and it's really hard to keep his feelings at bay when he's around

The more he talks about zoro the more he misses him (because he wants to tease him about the moss ball, of course) and realizes he's not back to the ship yet. They're about to set sail and the swordsman's nowhere to be found

Sanji huffs. Zoro got lost again, how surprising. He shakes his head fondly and tells the little marimo he'll be right back, he needs to go look for the bigger marimo

His search is fruitless, though. He spends hours walking around the island but the sun's already setting and he needs to go back to work on dinner for the crew

He walks into the men's bunk room to change clothes and is startled to find the glass jar he was keeping the marimo all shattered on the floor. There's a pit forming in his stomach and he gets on his knees to look for the little green ball

In the middle of his frantic search a voice reaches his ears coming from the direction of the door, "So I'm the best marimo around, huh? And a good looking one too?"

Sanji gets up and turns around so fast he almost loses his balance, but he takes a hold of himself and stares at a smirking zoro with fury in his eyes and a deep shade of red covering his cheeks, "You stupid piece of moss, it was you the whole time??"

When zoro doesn't respond, only smirking wider, sanji goes after him with his leg lighting on fire, ready to make him forget all the embarrassing things he's told him the past week

But he doesn't go far on his revenge, zoro ducks to the side and surprises him by taking him into his arms in a tight hug

"Thank you for looking after me", the swordsman whispers

Zoro pulls back after a few seconds so he can stare into sanji's eyes. He sees how the cook shivers slightly and how his mouth parts, and can't resist covering it with his own lips

Zoro kisses sanji softly and feels him slowly melting into his arms, the cook's fingers hesitantly coming up to play with the hairs at the nape of his neck

Zoro smiles into the kiss and silently thanks the weird drunk he met at a bar that used his devil fruit powers on him

[alice-angel12x]

Born Of Unknown Stardust

Chapter 2

summary: The angles formed the world and all mortal life from dust. One day from the unknown the angels came across bizarre dust, that seemed to have a will of its own. It refused to be molded and shaped to the angel's will. So they cast it aside, till a certain angel got his creative hands on it.

(bittersweet story)

<-Part 1/ part 3 ->

---------------------------------------------------------

150 years Later

Yuu quickly runs through the halls, searching for a place to hide. A flapping of wings was getting closer. Finding an open room, Yuu quickly hides under the desk. Staying as quiet as possible, as the sound of fast-beating wings zipped by the room. Yet Yuu knew better to stay there for long.

Sadly they were no longer the size of a duckling, but the size of a young toddler. So hiding was a lot harder.

So not wanting to get caught, Yuu quickly dove under a pile of sheets and clothes. Soon the chaser returned, and footsteps could be heard.

"Where are you Yuu? I know you're in here?" Lucifer said as he took his sweet time. "You can't hide forever."

Yuu covered their mouth to muffle their giggles. Lucifer chuckled to himself as he heard them. But decided to humor them for a bit, as he quickly looked under the desk. To obviously not find anyone.

"Alright, I guess no one is in here. Where did you go?" Lucifers said as he slowly left the room.

Yuu, the clever little tot they were, knew he was up to something. So burning up some sheets into a ball, and using some magic. Shot the sheet out the door, letting it float like someone was running under the sheets. Lucifer quickly gave chase, as Yuu ran in the opposite direction.

As Lucifer gave chase to the decoy, he heard the small pitter-pater of feet behind him.

"Hey! You Little Trickster, I got you know!" Lucifer chuckled as he swiftly changed direction and quickly caught the young tot.

Yuu squealed and laughed as Lucifer began to relentlessly tickle the child.

"You had me chasing you all morning, when I told you to clean your room. Will you clean your room now?" Lucifer asked as he continued to prod at Yuu.

"I Promise!!!" Yuu gasped from all the tickling.

Yuu giggled as they finally slipped out of Lucifer's hold when something caught their eye. Just beyond the pearly gates, the malted surface of the newly formed earth could be seen. From the window, Yuu stared in awe as Lucifer watched on.

"Da? Did the elders let you join the project yet?" Yuu asked.

"Nope. Still too radical my ideas. Are what they tell me," Lucifer sighed as he picked Yuu up.

"Hmm. Can we make our own earth?" Yuu asked.

"Our own earth? Hmm, maybe. But what would you put on this earth?" Lucifer asked.

"I would... I would fill it with Ducks!" Yuu said proudly.

"Ducks? A world full of ducks huh?" He smiles with a chuckle.

"Yeah, an earth of ducks," Yuu smiles. " I can create stuff like you. I can do it."

"Well, small things. You need to be a little stronger than that to make a whole planet. It takes multiple elder angels to form an Earth," Lucifer explained.

"Then I'll just get stronger, you'll teach me. Won't you?" Yuu asked.

"I'll teach you everything I know," Lucifer promised.

---------------

Yuu from then on would practice and study harder than anyone to accomplish their dream. Lucifer watched with pride as they watched Yuu also become a dreamer like him, yet so unique from him as well.

Lucifer watched with pride as Yuu showed off their most recent invention, the aurora machine. The other angels watched in awe as colors danced across the air.

"Da! Da! Did you see?! It worked!" Yuu shouted excitedly as they leaped into Lucifer's arms.

"I think all of heaven is going to see it the aurora continues to stretch across the sky like that," Lucifer smiles as He and Yuu watch the rainbow light show.

"When we make our own Earth, can I fill its skies with Auroras?" Yuu asked with a hopeful smile.

"It will be our planet, so you can fill it with whatever we want," Lucifer smiles.

-----------------

Soon Yuu's craft got more and more ambitious, but being the craft person they were. Most of these amazing inventions looked unassuming at a glance.

One day they created something special, thou to the naked eye it seemed like a regular ceramic jar. They excitedly hurried down to Lucifer's workroom...

.....

Only to see that Lucifer was not there, or anywhere.

"Da? Da!" Yuu called, but their voice echoed throughout the empty house.

Yuu sighed as they realized that Lucifer once more had run off to earth. Ever since the elder's completion of the blue planet, Lucifer would visit the planet. At first, it was every once in and while, then it turned 3 times a month, and before Yuu knew it, Lucifer would be gone for days on end every week. This went on for years

But when he was home, his mind was always elsewhere. Sadly for Yuu, they were too young to understand that their Father was love-struck. Yuu would see him eager at work in his workshop on the few days he remained at home.

"Da, check out what I made," Yuu said as they held up the ceramic jar.

"Oh, what a beautiful jar. Just put it on the workbench. I'll make sure to check it out later," Lucifer smiled as he tapped his hand on the table.

"What are you making Da?" Yuu asked as they floated a bit to get a better look.

"O-Oh it's umm Nothing!" Lucifer panicked slightly as he hid it from Yuu's sight.

Yuu only caught a glimpse, seeing something red.

"Is it for Earth? I thought the Elders said to leave it alone," Yuu pointed out innocently.

"Y-yeah, but I... Umm. It's. It's gonna be something amazing. They'll see," Lucifer said as he looked down at the red fruit with fondness. "She thinks so," He mumbles softly.

"Huh?" Yuu asked with a confused expression. "Da?"

"Yes, Bud/sweety?" Lucifer said, snapping out of his daydream.

"Can you promise me something?" Yuu asked nervesly.

"Of course, What is it?" Lucifer asked as he kneeled to Yuu's level.

“Promise me… You won’t do anything that will get you in trouble,” Yuu said. “Don’t do something that will put you in timeout.”

"Yuu I'm not going to get in-" "Please Da!" Yuu interrupted.

The Angel could see tears of worry begin well up in Yuu's star-filled eyes. Lucifer smiled slightly, slightly conflicted, but promised Yuu to avoid trouble.

“Alright, but it’s your bedtime isn’t it?” Lucifer smiled as he picked up Yuu.

“Ugh Da! No bedtime," Yuu laughs as they try to wiggle out of Lucifer's hold.

After a bit of a playful struggle, Lucifer managed to get his energetic tot into bed.

"There," Lucifer gasps as he catches his breath. combing his back into place.

"Were's wrinkle?" Yuu asked as they looked for their stuffed toy.

"Oh, we can't forget Wrinkle," Lucifer smiles as he picks up Wrinkle the Duck plushy. He smiles as he watches Yuu get comfy as they snuggle their duck plushy.

Lucifer leans down and gives one last warm hug, as Yuu did return.

"I love you Da," Yuu says sleepily. "No trouble stuff."

"No trouble stuff, and I love you too," Lucifer said with one last squeeze.

With a yawn sleep soon took over Yuu as Lucifer gave a kiss on the forehead. Turned off the lights he quietly slipped out of the room. When Yuu knew that Lucifer was mostly heading out, they pulled the drawstring from Wrinkles back. Activating the music box inside.

(Song: Waiting in the wings reprise. From Tangled)

🎶"Guess by now I oughta know my place. Do your humble duty with a smile on your face," Yuu sang quietly. 🎶"Father knows how much I love him. But he's always doing other things. So I'll keep waiting in the wings."🎶

Yuu slowly slid out of bed and floated over to the window to see Lucifer sneaking out. Most definitely looking to go to Earth once more.

🎶"I crave so much. And yet I kept on waiting. One glance, one touch. And I just kept on waiting,"🎶 Yuu continued as they watched Lucifer open a portal to Earth.

"🎶And when it came, it came with strings. So I kept waiting in the wings,🎶" Yuu sang as a tear ran down their cheek. It's so tough pretending it didn't hurt.

____________________________________________________

Continue? Angst enough yet 😏

Masterlist Here

[twisted-lover-boys]

Partner With A Pet Duck

{not proof-read}

==================================

🌹🦁🐙🦂👑💀🐲🌹🦁🐙🦂👑💀🐲🌹🦁🐙🦂👑💀🐲

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Riddle was headed to your room as you both had planned a study session for an upcoming test you had. The dorm head, of course, offered his help as he would hate to see you fail

Once he arrived, he knocked before allowing himself to enter. He didn’t really say much after that, as he was faced with a duck sitting on your bed, with you sitting at your desk, greeting him

After his initial confusion, he asks about the duck. “Oh, I’ve always had him! Don’t worry, he’s a sweet heart!” Enter more confusion. The whole time? How come he’s never seen the duck?!

At first, Riddle was weary of the duck. Obviously you were allowed to have one, especially if it made it past the ceremony, but he couldn’t help but feel on edge around it

Now, Riddle talks to the duck like a confidant. It may not be able to understand him, but the dorm head still likes talking to him, especially over a spot of tea. He even ends up reserving a seat for it at the unbirthday parties!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

There’s only one reason why Leona would activdsely seek you out, and that’s for cuddles. He hadn’t seen you all day and ended up missing you a little too much for his own good

When he got to your door, he smelled something…off. He barged in before seeing a duck waddling around your room, quaking, playing with some fidget toy it had in its mouth

He immediately asked about the duck as he watched it waddle. “Oh yeah, she’s my pet. She’s super big on her fidgets.” That didn’t really help the dorm head at all as he just stared at it

At first, Leona wouldn’t go near her. He much preferred watching the duck as she did her thing around your room, picking things up and either placing them somewhere else or giving them to you

Now, that duck is a second sleeping partner. If he wants cuddles, he pulls you into them and even allows the duck to lay near him. Even when you aren’t around, he still cuddles with it

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Azul was looking for you because he needed a shift covered in mostro lounge that evening. Someone had called in sick and no one else was available except you

He didn’t really bother knocking as you were his partner, but was taken aback by the sight of a duck on your desk where you were working

He didn’t even get to ask his initial question as he was too confused by the duck. “Oh him? He’s my pet. Headmage said I could keep him at my dorm.” Well, that explained why the duck was here, but how come he never noticed it before??

At first, Azul is adamant about keeping the duck out of the lounge, afraid it’ll gussy up the place and scare away any paying students

Now, the duck is literally a VIP employee alongside you and the tweels. The duck usually takes written orders from those on the floor and brings it to those in the back. Plus, it’s cute

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kalim was going to your room for party ideas. No joke. He wanted to throw one for some occasion or other and wanted your input on a few things

Of course, the energetic dorm head burst into your room without a second thought and was met with a duck in front of him holding a ball on a string. He waddled until it reached you, who was sitting at your desk

He asked about the duck. “Oh, she’s my pet. I was allowed to keep so, so long as she doesn’t cause trouble.” The dorm head didn’t linger on it for too long, already fond of the waddling anatidae

At first, he treated the duck like it was a student, an extension of you, and even threw it an official welcoming party into the Scarabia dorm

Now, nothings really changed. Kalim still treats the duck with respect and love. He’s a big animal fan so of course a duck would hold a place in his heart right next to you

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Vil was going to your room for one reason only; product testing. He had gotten a new shipment of products to try out from his manager and wanted to try them with you, as it’s not the first time you’ve both done this together

He knocked against your door and waited for your approval to enter. When he did, he didn’t expect to be greeted by a duck with a purple knitted bow-tie collar quacking and leading him over to you

He sat down in the chair next to you at your desk as usual and asked about the duck. “Oh, isn’t he the sweetest little gentleman? Don’t worry, headmage said I could keep him.” Well, that explained why it was here

At first, he wasn’t too fond of the duck, thinking it was…well…messy, which was the opposite of its personality as far as you knew

But now, Vil treats the duck like any other Pomefiore student, and holds it to a standard of beauty for ducks. The dorm head even allows the duck to follow him around the dorm, alongside you

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Idia never leaves his room, but this was of high importance. A new game was being released that the two of you have been waiting months for and he had to tell you in person

He didn’t even wait for you to answer his knocking and just barged right in. He started to speak but was interrupted up a sudden, yet small quack from below. It was a duck. He watched it waddle to the side to let him in

The dorm head completely forgot about his initial surprise for the new one and asked about the duck. “Headmage said I could keep her. Besides, I think she likes Ignihyde.” That barely explained anything to the shut-in

At first, he would jump and flinch at any quack the duck let out, no matter how big or small it was. Poor boy was so anxious he would outright avoid going to your room in fear of the duck

Now, he’s extremely chill with it. It’s like night and day. It often sits on his lap or chest when he’s playing a game or something else. He likes petting it a lot

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Malleus wanted to visit you because he missed his beloved partner. When he appeared in front of your door, he knocked as he waited for your approval

When you did, he entered, a big smile on his face as he saw you across the room sitting peacefully at your desk. He would’ve continued his march but a small quack stopped his approach. He looked down a saw a small duck with a knitted collar and a fidget toy in its beak

He let the duck lead him over to you before it left to rest on your bed before he asked about it. “Oh, that’s my pet duck. He’s such a sweetheart, isn’t he?” A pet duck, you say? It only intrigued the fae further

At first, the dorm head only observed the duck, letting it lead him around and bring him things it found interesting

Now, Malleus can be often seen with the duck alongside you. Lilia even joked that the duck was a knight fit to serve the young fae, to which Sebek took offense. Silver and Malleus absolutely knighted him as a joke

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

🌹🦁🐙🦂👑💀🐲🌹🦁🐙🦂👑💀🐲🌹🦁🐙🦂👑💀🐲

==================================

[frostbitebakery]

Love the goo!Obi-Wan au. How did the 501st react when they had to work with Obi-Wan for the first time? Seeing their brothers from the 212th being unaffected by the creepiness

Thank you, Nonny!! 💜💜💜 Sorry this took a bit but I had to pick and choose how I wanted the 501st represented by Rex to react. Enjoy!

“Uhm.”

“Basically,” Boil says. “The rhymes are catchy though.”

Cody nods, lifts his shoulder in Boil’s direction. “They are.”

“Uhm.”

“You get used to it,” Waxer chimes in.

Rex holds up a hand. “No. No, we are going to backtrack a bit. What do you mean I’m standing in General Kenobi.”

“Only technically,” Waxer assures and smiles at the black smoke curling around his foot before wafting off.

“Well then!” Rex hisses out and rounds on Cody. “You stop laughing your ass off!”

Cody’s blank face doesn’t change under the accusing finger. Instead his eyes catch on something down the hallway. “Hm.”

The very last thing Rex wants to do is turn around. Unfortunately, being brave to the point of stupidity is anchored into his bones, so he turns around.

And is almost bowled over by a scream shattering down the hallway, a rush of dense, cold air freezing the blood in his veins. It’s too fast to duck, too consuming to not want to curl into a ball and weep. A clock is ticking down somewhere, taking every second backwards of Rex’s life and leaving him in the unforgiving grave.

“Must’ve dripped in the pudding again,” Cody comments just as his comm goes off.

A small blue version of the General pops up in the holo field, bowing deeply. “I apologize for what just occurred and for any inconveniences my lack of control may have caused.”

The comm cuts off and Rex has trouble blinking the afterimage from his eyes.

“So, anyway,” Waxer says as if this is all just another Taungsday and Rex’s hair didn’t just turn even blonder from shock. “You get used to it, really—“

The pad of a finger slowly strokes down the back of Rex’s neck, leaving goosebumps in its wake. Under the blacks. He slaps a hand against the sensation.

“Ha, yeah, and one time he made it seem like he was on fire and was intimidating the enemy but then he forgot how to turn it off again—“

Whispers in his ear. Loud and louder and standing right there behind him.

“So Commander Cody just got the fire suppression foam and was like, stop that! It was so funny—“

Hands tugging at his. At his wrists. Arms. Grabbing his jaw and prying his mouth open but nothing moves it’s all in his head.

“Rex,” Cody says and Rex is standing with the others at a T-section on the Negotiator.

He looks up, sees the understanding there in Cody’s eyes, the half-smile. “Don’t be afraid. He’s still General Kenobi.”

.

The General is red with shame and chagrin. “I cannot possibly apologize enough, Captain Rex.”

Which does a lot to alleviate Rex’s fears. Multiple. He’s been walking awake through every nightmare he’s ever had since boarding the Negotiator.

“My control is becoming stronger, overall, though it is certainly lacking in other aspects. I’m very sorry. Especially for the incident with the mouse droid—“

“We’re not talking about that,” Rex rushes out before remembering himself. “Sir.”

“Of course.”

And after that, it’s… easy. Don’t be afraid and there’ll be no loop feeding itself on his fear until he has a heart attack.

[myouicieloz]

Bittersweet memories

Yoo Jeongyeon x member!reader

Synopsis: Jeongyeon sees you’re feeling down and suggests going to the park, while the other girls are not home.

Warnings: just a lil angsty.

Word count: 1.4k

Notes: a silly prompt I thought abt rn lol this will be the last one of the series that i post here on tumblr, i think. i’ll keep updating in ao3 (for this specific series only)

Pt.1 | Pt.2 | Pt.3 | Pt.4 | Pt.5

“Hey, baby maknae,” Jeongyeon calls, smiling. She looks so cute, with her eyes nearly closing as she tops you with her frame. The sensation of her shadows on you is enough to make you open your eyes, sitting on the couch. “Are you okay? Your breathing is kinda erratic.”

It was a slow day at the dorms. Nearly all the girls were busy with either a group or a solo schedule, which left you, Dahyun, and Jeongyeon all alone in the massive apartment. To anyone, it’d be a perfect time to relax, run errands, or work on some hobbies. You were trying to relax, though, but such a thing was still forbidden to your mind — the thoughts started to run at an overwhelming pace as soon as you lay down on the couch, in hopes of destressing.

Thankfully, the women whom you shared your life with were more than attentive to all of your mannerisms. You didn’t even have to say anything, and they’d be by your side, caring, nurturing. Each of them helps in a unique way.

You loved your girls so much it hurt.

“Yes, unnie. Just fine.” The lie flows easily from your mouth, in an automatic response. It’s only when Jeongyeon lifts her brow that you come to realize you don’t have to do that anymore. You don’t have anything to hide — they’ve already seen all of your ugliest parts. Sighing, you add. “Sorry, it’s just, uhm, sorry. I was trying to relax, but I can’t… I still can’t focus on the thoughts too much. I get scared easily.”

Jeongyeong nods, pleased by your efforts to share your feelings with her. You’ve been going to therapy for a couple of months, and it’s been helping you to understand and deal with your feelings better. As a result, you’ve been expressing yourself better, and the girls were able to search for ways of making your routine easier each day. The engines of the big, complex clock that defined your being were slowly getting back into its place. It’s a slow, tiring process, but there’s been progress.

She sits by your side, giving you a reassuring squeeze. You took advantage of her proximity to hold her tight, hugging her even closer. Jeongyeon’s arms have always felt the safest to you. Her embrace sends warmth waves of love straight into your heart, and you smile against the woman’s skin.

“Thank you for telling me, beautiful.” You blossom under her praise, hiding your face in the crook of her neck. Her hands go inside your hoodie to trace slow, delicate circles on your bare skin, exactly how she knows it’ll calm you down. “Perhaps some fresh air will help you feel a bit better? We can go for a walk. The members will take long to come home. How does that sound?”

“Sounds perfect, unnie.” Although there’s hardly anything she suggested you wouldn’t do, simply because it’s her. “Let’s take a walk.”

Jeongyeon’s hands are cozy, and they fit perfectly against yours. You hold her delicately through all the way.

—

The park is the girl’s assigned spot. It’s the place you’ve cried, laughed, and celebrated together ever since your trainee days. Whether it was to go on picnics, hikes, or simply feed the ducks on the lake, you’ve grown used to having such a place as your escape route.

You’re surprised that Jeongyeon led you to the basketball court, instead of the lake. However, what surprises you the most is the ball in her hands, which she shakes side to side in awkward motions.

“What are you doing?” You frown, watching her clumsy moves.

During your trainee days, you, Jeongyeon, and Momo would sneak out of the practice rooms once it all got too much. Your managers would always find the trio here, instead, laughing their hearts out in their own little world. Neither of you knew how to actually play, but being able to move around — wasting some well-needed nerves without the need to be perfect, and just have fun in general was enough. If you concentrated hard enough, you could still hear Momo’s loud laugh, combined with your loud cheers whenever Jeongyeon managed to score a shot.

Reminiscing such memories causes a growing ache in your heart. At the time, it seemed like things were so heavy: the crushing routine of practice, the stress of not knowing whether you’d make it through the next monthly evaluation, the immaturity of being so young… You thought it was the end of the world, back then. Now, looking through the hidden memories behind those feelings is enough for you to realize it wasn’t so bad, after all. Being able to window-shop at the mall without being recognized; the thrill of finally being able to buy that Nintendo you had been saving up for forever; whispering gossip with the girls after the lights were out when you had to be up early for dance lessons, on the next day.

It’s a bittersweet feeling. Something that seemed like a life ago, coming from a version of yourself trapped in another dimension. You felt like that wasn’t yourself anymore. It was impossible to recreate such memories, and even when you managed to do so, it just felt wrong, and weird.

You desperately wanted to go back to being that girl again. And it fucking sucked.

“I thought a little one-on-one could ease up your nerves. You used to love playing before.” Jeongyeon cares about you so much, thinking about the little details of the maknae she loved dearly. Holding on to something that did not exist anymore.

Just like you were. All of them.

Your mouth tastes bitter. Suddenly, you’re no longer interested in being outside — there’s a sudden urge to just go back to your room, curl up and cry.

You used to like going to the park and playing, before.

“So everyone keeps telling me.” You murmur, kicking a rock as your fists close inside your hoodie’s pockets. “About things I liked to do before the— episode.”

Sensing you’re not interested in playing — or maybe she just took a brief look on your face. With a red nose, watery eyes, and a big pout, it wasn’t difficult to tell you were about to burst into tears. Jeongyeon throws the ball away, opening her arms to you.

It’s instant: you run to her, crying as you mutter apologies and empty promises. You wish you still liked to do all of those things. That you weren’t so utterly, completely broken. You want to go back to when you were just a little troubled but fine.

Was it never going to stop hurting? Is this ache going to last forever?

“It’s okay, baby.” Jeongyeon’s calm voice soothes you, as she runs her hands through your hair. Your sobs are loud, probably drawing attention to the little kids playing on the nearby courts, but she doesn’t seem to mind. “It’s okay. Much has changed, and that’s normal. It’s just life, baby. It’s simply life.” Gently grabbing your shoulders, the older woman brushes the tears away from your eyes. Staring at you with a serious face, she adds, “I love you, Y/n. We’re in this together, all of us. That’s what hasn’t changed: our love. Okay?”

You nod, somehow crying even more now that you are surrounded by such a strong love.

“We will make new memories, and find new hobbies. We’ll do whatever it takes. It might not be as fun or shiny as the old ones, but oh, Y/n… they’re going to be even more cherished and precious, I promise.” She promises, resting her forehead against yours. And you truly believe her words.

You love her more than words can say.

“I love you, unnie. Thank you.” You laugh through the tears, glad to have someone like Jeongyeon in your life.

Turning around, you make your way back, in the lake’s direction.

“And I love you more, baby. We’ll find a new hobby, don’t worry.” Her face turns thoughtful, her glasses complimenting her frame well. “Have you tried cooking? We really need another one in the dorms, things are getting unsustainable. I had to eat Nayeon’s food yesterday! Or, well, at least pretend, since it was disgusting. Not even poor Dobby ate it.”

You let out a loud laugh, this time, giving the older girl a playful hit.

Jeongyeon was right: things were not as they once were. The past was in the past, and it might be a good thing. From now on, you’d focus on making new memories, surrounded by the love and support from your family, your friends, and most importantly, from your girls.

[jackdaw-and-hattrick]

Teetering

Tw/Swearing.

Ao3

Previous-Next

There was no sun here, but the day was bright as Damien ran through the garden. The plants chased after him, vines and roots snaking and snapping around his feet. Above him, Phantom floated, weaving in and out of branches. Suddenly, a willow branch snapped forward, and Damien had to duck out of the way: a front roll and a flip as he dodged the greenery. Then a petunia, teeth bared, lunged, and he jumped backward, not seeing the island's edge until he was rocking back. His foot slipped, and for a sickening moment, Damien was falling down into the endless void of the Infinite Realms. Then Phantom catches him and holds him in his arms as they fly to the great tree at the garden's center, where they land on the highest branches. From here, Damien can see the whole island. It is beautiful, lush, and wild, so different from the training grounds back home. He goes to pick one of the odd black fruits, which hang heavy and ripe, but he's stopped.

“Don’t,” Phantom says, “The fruit isn't safe.”

“But I've seen you eat them.”

“Yeah, but I live here.

You have a home to get back to.”

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

Pennyworth was the first to recover. Stepping past the floor-bound form of Todd balled up and wheezing from laughing, though Damian couldn't think what was so funny, he swept what family he could towards the living room. Damien was unsure just how much of the family was planning on joining them for dinner, but for the time being, it seemed to be just the five of them. Phantom, for his part, gathered his board-line hysterical boyfriend up into his arms and followed after. It was odd to see such a thin person carrying a man at least two hundred pounds heavier as if it were nothing. Strange, Damian faintly noticed he was smiling. When did he ever?... No matter.

The sitting room was, like all of the manor, spacious and decadent, with paneled wine-red walls stretching up so high they seemed to curve to the chandelier, not as large or beautiful as the one in the main hall or even the one in the dining room but still magnificent in its own right. If there was one thing Damien appreciated about living in the Manor quite as much as the freedom it afforded him, it was the sheer beauty and care given to each room. As much as he'd hate to admit it, he didn't know how Pennyworth maintained such a large space on his own. There simply where not the hours in the day. Even attempts to shadow the man had proven fruitless in explaining how he managed.

Finally, Todd seemed to have calmed himself to the point where it was no longer a struggle to speak over him. Father, standing stiffly in the corner where the light was weakest and glaring daggers through Phantom, was the first to speak.

"Who are You."

Damien opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off with a sharp glance.

"I mean..." Phantom hesitated, seemingly unsure about how to continue. " I'm Phantom. I used to babysit Dami when he was little."

"You were part of the League of Shadows?"

"No!" Phantom seems somewhat over-emphatic in Damien's opinion, not that anyone had asked.

"No, I'm..." He glanced over to Damien, "I'm the king of the Infinite Realms, Dami just used to visit sometimes when he wanted to get away for a bit and I would keep an eye on him."

"What are the Infinite Realms? How did he get there?"

"Oh you know," he floundered, "League of Shadows... Forbidden magic... all that Fun Stuff."

"Elaborate"

Surprisingly, it was Todd who spoke next.

“Look, the League had a natural portal to the Realms they kept squirreled away ok? It was a whole big secret; only the top members were supposed to even know about it.”

“Like the Lazarus Pit.”

“Yeah,”

“Is it dangerous?”

“It's a giant hole in reality leading to another dimension,” Todd said, irritation evident, “ not a fucking Chucky Cheese. Of course it's dangerous; that's why we closed it.”

“We?” Phantom snorted

“Yeah, yeah Mister I-close-holes-in-reality-for-shits-and-giggles. Not all of us can be fucking One Punch Men. ‘Sides, I helped. Hell knows when you were gonna get around to it if I didn't threaten to leave you sleeping on the couch.”

“Hel doesn't know anything about scheduling and you know it.”

Father cut in, interrupting their fond bickering. Silently, Damien wondered how long Todd and Phantom had been dating.

“So the portal has been taken care of.”

“Yep!” Phantom said, “I closed that dumb thing right up!”

“Are there any others?”

“Yeah, but most natural portals don't stay open long enough to be a problem. A stable portal is a little like a fairy; real, but rare enough that you can keep the salt at home.”

Father blinked, unsure how to react to that answer. Damien remembered this; the strange explanations that brought up more questions than answers. As a child, Damien had always found this extremely irritating. It was reassuring to see that this had not changed.

“What is the Infinite Realm?”

Again, Todd answered.

“Exactly what it says on the tin; it's a realm, and it's infinite. Basically, it's a space between universes connecting them all together, and ‘cause there’s infinite other universes, there’s infinite space between them. It's like driving through Kansas. Most folks don't think about the people who take care of those endless corn fields.”

Father glared at Todd, clearly frustrated with his butting in. He very purposefully turned to Phantom.

“Damien said you were king?”

“Yep! Won the title after I beat the last guy into the ground when he tried to flatten the midwest!”

“What does that mean?” Father gritted his teeth, not used to all of this talking. “What duties come with being King of the Infinite Realms?”

Again, Phantom hesitated, glancing over to Damien as if trying to decipher some great mystery, and again, Todd stepped in. Interesting. Irritating.

“Same shit that comes with being King anywhere. He sits through boring ass meetings and makes sure no dumbasses try and kill each other.”

“Hn”

“So,” Greyson said, stepping purposefully between Father and Todd, “How’d you two meet?”

He flashed his signature “socialite” smile. Phantom met it in a wide parody of a grin, eyes impossibly wide and hair glowing ever brighter. Before he could speak, Pennyworth, who Damien was sure had been by the door leading to the front hall, stepped in from the dining room.

“Excuse me, sirs,” he said, voice as level and unreadable as ever, “but it seems dinner is ready.”

Tag Cultists

@mur-ururu @krzys2000 @soren1830 @fisticuffsatapplebees @emergentpanda-blog @heirxofxtime @plotwholls @phoenixdemonqueen @avalnfear @historyboiiiiii @rangerhorsetug @zgirlxy @mistrfuzzles @thegreawizards @aroranorth-west @emeraldcorpral @the-archer-goddess @gin2212 @undead-essence @eleiteranger

[silkclan]

Silkclan’s Fall

!!TW: this post depicts and describes violence towards that of animals!!

Blissrise rested a paw on her side, “Hey it’ll be okay, I’m here for you and I’m sure everyone else is to.” Coldfur let a small smile inch its way up her face in a show of thanks.

The cold chill of night stung even harder than the first peak of day. She tried her best to curl up into a tight ball in an attempt to shield her nose from the breeze. The wind rustled the bushes outside in a light whisper through the camp. She started to wonder how the warriors must feel. Their shrub must not hold up as well as the hollowed out log that the medicine den had made its home. Soon she found her mind racing from den to den in an impossible run to imagine what every cat was dreaming of. When she had been at it for so long, she finally stood and made her way out. Crawling through a hole in the top of the log. She looked out over the shadow filled camp, the rustle of leaves persisted, and she shivered as the wind's breath flew into her face. And with it an odd scent, something she couldn’t quite reach. Narrowing her eyes she attempted to peer into the murk.

There she saw a dark shape, a dull silhouette. She opened her mouth to call out, but quickly snapped her jaw shut. The sent she picked up was not one of a Silkclan cat, it was one of Melodyclan. And whoever this MelodyClan cat was, their icy clue eyes shown only with malice.

Before she knew it she let out a yelp, and almost in response, the horrible dark shapes and figures lunged from the undergrowth. The scent of Melodyclan cats was suddenly overpowering. The once peaceful camp, the only noise being the quiet hum of the breeze, was now alight with panic.

She heard a yowl from the warriors den as she made out who she thought was the shape of Piperglare throwing herself into a cat who stood at the front of the den. Her claws must have raked across their pelt because she heard what must have been a loud hiss of pain from the Melodyclan cat. As her eyes adjusted it was easy to spot the red fiery coat of the cat Piperglare had already found herself deep in a vicious scuffle with. The red almost mirroring the blood that would spill this night.

Coldfur quickly ducked herself back into the medicine den, the fear consumed her body to the point it felt as if it were the only thing in it. Her legs started to shake as her vision could only focus on the battle outside. Any knowledge she once knew of herbs vanishing in an instant. And when her clan needed her most.

On the other side of camp Cinnamonstar came rushing from his den behind high stone. His head whipped around to the chaos around him. The leader almost looked like a scared kit amongst the fighting. Any hope that their leader would know what to do crushed inside her chest, as it sunk to the pit of her stomach.

As is this nightmare couldn’t get any worse, her fur prickles as she heard a yowl like none she’d ever heard before. And when she looked towards the noise she could only gasp with horror.

On the ground, in a violet pool lay the body of Agatepaw. The apprentice looked so small, yet her body was splayed out. Quillfur, her father stood at her side fiercely hissing at the white and sandy colored she-cat that dealt the blow.

Quillfur was a very stoic cat, so when tears pooled in his eyes…

“STAY AWAY FROM HER” He cried, the unmistakable shake in his voice.

He bit back tears as he turned to his daughter, convulsing in pain on the hard earth floor. “You're okay.. you're gonna be okay” he mustered as he choked back sobs. Agatepaw shook as her eyes rolled to the back of her skull. The blood loss was too great. “Look at me- look at me please. I’m here Agatepaw, I’m here..”

[izvmimi]

cw: atla au. fem!reader and a named female oc are both pro benders. fighting-focused without overt graphic descriptions. a/n: the pro-bending here is not exactly the same as in lok, i've taken a lot of liberties. this part focuses a lot on reader's friend to set the stage but a subsequent part will be more about reader.

Pro-bending is a terrible use of your time, and yet you’re here, checking the straps of your helmet and making sure the oversized gourd that hangs between your shoulder blades is well-affixed to your person. You catch a glimpse of yourself in the full-length mirrors placed along the wall as you move through the lockers to find your friend and shake your head. Ridiculous.

When you finally find your friend, she’s still finagling with her wristguards and you can see a small cloud of steam leave her nostrils as she breathes out sharply in a huff. She’s both frustrated and shaking with anticipation, and yet she doesn’t look as ridiculous as you feel you do in her own gear.

“Don’t burn down the locker room, Nova,” you tease, moving closer to help with the straps. Her left hand shakes a little as you secure them, and she sighs. You pretend to duck and the sigh shifts to a pout.

“Stop making fun of me!”

“Stop making it easy and I won’t.”

She rolls her eyes, but her typical cheer returns shortly as she jumps up from her bench and puts her hands up into fists.

“I can’t believe we’re finally doing this!” she says, and giving herself a wide berth from you showcases one of her winning combos, a jab-hook and roundhouse kick, flames ablaze and disappearing as quickly as they appear.

You also cannot believe you’re doing this and twist your mouth to the side, but Nova is extremely convincing when she wants to be, and you’ve been her sparring partner for long enough that it wouldn’t make sense to let her go into this venture alone. You’re not as good as her, but you’ve been decent at your amateur club, and your mentor has pushed for you to show up together.

“Can’t wait to lose the first match,” you start, making your way out of the locker room. You can feel the water in your gourd sloshing away with every step and wonder if you overfilled it. In truth, however, you can never have too much water, anyone from a Water nation tribe knows this, even if your ancestry is what one would call dilute.

“You say this every time and have your opponent begging for mercy.”

You roll your eyes. This time will be different, you can sense it, and you tell her just that.

“This is the rookie contest. They can’t be that good.” Nova says. She’s moving up to the main arena faster now, her legs carrying her closer and closer to the promise of glory, and you have to take longer strides to catch up to her. The two of you end up spilling into one of the openings, where there is still a match taking place, and from the look and sound of it, reaching its final stage. Nova is easily transfixed, while you lead her by the shoulders to a spot to sit down that’s a few bleachers up, almost tripping over a step when she stops suddenly and you slam into her.

“Nova!”

“God, did you see that?”

You didn’t see it, but when you turn, there appears to be a repeat exciting move, a fire bender who blasts off into the air and appears to dive back down in a cyclone of fire. You frown, wondering why that’s legal, and wince as he makes impact with the air bender who’s decided to protect themselves in a ball of wind energy. It doesn’t work – the impact multiplies and the whole pit seems to erupt in blinding light; and then it recedes, and there’s one clear victor. 

The blonde-haired firebender isn’t even panting when he’s announced victory and you grimace while Nova holds onto your arm, clearly smitten. It’s unsurprising, because even you can tell he’s conventionally attractive, and knows so, tall and athletically built with sharp crimson eyes and a cocky grin flashed at the crowd. You eye the opponent’s injuries which seem mild, although he seems clearly dazed, and you realize that the gloating young man is particularly skilled, if he’s able to minimize injury in such a powerful blow.

That being said, you won’t let go of an opportunity to tease your friend. “Stop slobbering and get ready for your match,” you remind her, before patting her shoulder. “I can’t wait to see you wipe the floor with them.”

Nova’s grin is wide and she promises to make you and herself proud.

You find a seat quickly near the bleachers while the arena is cleared and you watch Nova shrug her shoulders and roll her neck as a woman is placed before her. A waterbender like you, but her rain of hailstones is not particularly impressive, and Nova clears them quickly into rain and then steam before they touch her with flames fanning towards the sky. You lean forward, watching carefully for any identifying features. You should have studied who exactly was in the scene and who was famous before you got here, but it would only have stressed you out more.

Nova completes the match quickly with a ring out. It’s more merciful than her predecessor but the opponent has a similar dazed expression on their face by the end of the match. Nova comes out quickly and waves at you excitedly, glee on her face.

It’s your turn next.

Your first match is easy, thankfully, your opponent, a particularly agitated airbender whose bursts of air pressure are easily dodged or deflected with your water used as a fortified shield. He loses when he slips on a patch of ice right out of the ring, too slow and surprised to suspend himself in the air. The crowd laughs, and you feel a little bad, a sheepish expression on your face.

You clear the arena quickly, your heart pounding from the exhilaration of the fight, and Nova gives you a high five. Another match takes about ten minutes to end, and you’re barely paying attention to the two earthbenders throwing rocks at each other in a manner akin to apes, still trying to catch your breath and calm your nerves before your next match. You control your breathing. Across the lowest rung of the bleachers where you sit, you can see the blonde from earlier staring directly in your direction, and then you realize he is staring really at your friend, and look at the match rundown on the projector. Two and two add up.

“Nova, your next opponent is the guy from earlier. Bakugou.”

Nova blinks then leans in closer.

“Which guy?”

You press your lips in a thin line. "Mr. Hot and Sexy.”

Her eyes widen, and it almost irritates you that the designation helped. You try to point discreetly in the correct direction, and he’s still staring with red, practically glowing eyes at her, as though trying to mildly intimidate but not threaten her. Nova stares back just as fiercely, and you’re thankful that at least she won’t let a boy win just because he’s cute.

You do notice besides him, there’s another pro bender who’s staring at the match that is in no way interesting far too intensely, leaned so far forward he might as well fall off his chair and once you squint closer, you realize he has a notepad before him and is scribbling something quickly. Just from the way his pen moves, you figure his handwriting is messy and disorganized, but his green eyes are bright and clearly intelligent. His shoulders are broad, not unlike the young man next to him, but he seems just a bit wider and more relaxed. Gentle even, like the dark-green curls of his hair, like he’d much rather give you a hug than lay a finger on you. 

And yet, he’s here.

“Nova, don’t you dare lose to him,” you warn her when it’s her turn to go up. She bumps fists with you, grinning, and you see Bakugou do the same as they both approach the arena from the stair-rails.

They acknowledge each other and you find your hand tensing up around the water gourd now sitting in your lap for comfort.

It’s for good reason, because their first bout is fierce to say the least. Nova’s flames are fast and many, and Bakugou responds to each with a dodge or even fiercer fire. At some point, your jaw drops as he practically inhales a blast, then returns it larger, and more focused, and for a moment you wonder one, if the referee has vetted that move, or two, if he’s a combustion bender in addition to simple fire bending, given that the blast, when dodged, practically destroys a corner of the arena. Nova, a little startled, propels herself to one side of the arena, then looks at the destruction, then back at Bakugou. Sweat beads visibly on her forehead.

“Is that all you got?!” Bakugou taunts. Nova grits her teeth, and then she’s back at him, a running start into a fire-filled windmill kick her next attack. Bakugou dodges, then his hand closes around her ankle which makes you gasp, and a throw nearly gets her out of the ring in an uncontrolled somersault that stops just short of the edge of the platform.

She’s back up and at him yet again in a second, and the crowd, also holding their breath, cheers loudly. Fists ablaze, she punches, one after the other, many of which are dodged, but the last one he has to block with a cross of his arms before his face, and he’s pushed back. Revitalized, Nova kicks one more time but she’s tripped suddenly, and in seconds falls flat on the ground, staring at the ceiling. 

You watch in shock as he takes the immediate opportunity to pin her down, and one blast that is a bit more than fire charges from the palm of his hand, but then before the referee can blow their whistle, he slams into the ground next to her head.

“You’re done,” he mouths. Nova looks shocked, biting her lower lip in anger rather than concede an embarrassing defeat. 

The referee ends the match and the crowd claps, giving a standing ovation to both for their fight. You stand too and clap enthusiastically, even though Nova looks both flustered and angry by the time she makes it back to you after being checked out for injuries. 

“This is so embarrassing,” she murmurs under her breath, twirling a lock of her hair. You offer her a reassuring smile.

“You did a good job.”

She sighs and takes your gourd from you and puts it in her own lap, tapping nervously at the sides. She doesn’t seem too banged up so you’re thankful.

“You’re fighting someone named Midoriya next,” she says now, after glancing at the updated projector. Your faces aren’t displayed against the projector. 

You take a deep breath, then take your gourd back from her gently. 

“If I get my ass beat too it’s fine, as long as it’s fast. Then we can both go home.”

Nova pouts and she’s so puppy-like you find yourself stifling a laugh.

“Fine, I”ll try.”

A few more moments pass, and you’re called to the arena.

The curly haired man with Bakugou looks at you and smiles, an action that disarms you, before he prepares to face you too.

[physicalee-tired]

It’s time… STARDEW VALLEY TK HEADCANONS!!

I’m not gonna lie to you… it’s just the bachelors lmao. Anyways~

So Shane right? Dad bod? Dad bod. And everyone knows his squishy tummy is also so so sensitive to raspberries it’s not even (it totally is) funny. He shrieks if you blow even a small one.

However unless you are his s/o or a really close friend you’re gonna get your shit rocked if you even poke him in a sensitive spot 😭. The only exception being Jas who has totally tried waking him up with tickles before. Granted he nearly threw her off the first time but he caught himself and just curled into a ball.

Dr. Harvey has insane Luigi energy. It’s probably been said before but I can’t help myself he’s Luigi coded 💀. Anyways, ticklish ears.

if someone tries to be discreet and whisper something to him he will make a silly “haauggg”-ish noise before ducking away and giggling slightly. He’ll apologize and blush slightly at how unprofessional that was and continue albeit with a lot more distance between himself and the other person

Alex… one part of me thinks his toxic masculinity makes him think being ticklish is weak and childish while the other part of me thinks he’s touch starved/never really knew a gentle touch and therefore likes it but refuses to admit it and instead uses it to tease and playfully bully others. Y’know what, both.

y’know how when you try to tickle someone and the second your hands get too close to their armpits they clamp up immediately? That’s Alex. And no matter how much you tease “You know my hands are just trapped here right? This isn’t gonna help you~” he will just stay that way until he winds up on the floor silently laughing because A) he physically is unable to move his arms up and B) He’s too stubborn to admit defeat.

That being said he would totally ask his s/o (or extremely close friend) to help him “train” the ticklishness out of him… although it’s also an excuse to be tickled.

To my Elliot fans… I’m sorry I can’t think of anything really, I’m gonna be real honest with you I almost completely forgot about him 💀.

The closest to an idea for Elliot I can get is that he has no problems gently tickling his s/o but he cannot stand getting tickled because it makes him feel unrefined 😭.

Sam. Oh this sweet sweet golden retriever has total switch energy. If it wasn’t for my weakness for Emo boys I would have married this Vash the Stampede look alike.

Anyways, the man has mad switch energy and since he has a little brother he totally knows that tickling can be a weapon. That being said if he learned its a reward for you it’s even better. Sam plays guitar so he by default is good with his hands… take that as you will.

Honestly his feet are his worst spot which is unfortunate since Sam not only loves to sleep but is a messy sleeper. Which means one foot will usually always be hanging outside his blanket which is just perfect in case Vincent wants to be a little shit and sit on his brothers legs and wake him up that way. Unlike Shane, Sam has no restraint and has kicked Vincent off the bed.

I saved the best for last. Sebastian my beloved. My Emo king 😭.

First things first, he doesn’t like being tickled… or so you think. Giving him a playful poke to his ribs will make him jump and turn to glare at you before rubbing the spot soothingly. However if you do it again he just tries not to react until he’s just quietly holding himself and covering his mouth to muffle his silly little giggling. Then it hits you he hasn’t told you to stop once.

He works on his motorcycle and that takes some strength and skill therefore, like Sam, he’s also good with his hands… his hands are also always cold although he doesn’t feel it.

While I think his back is a really bad spot he reacts the same way if you tickle him really gently anywhere.

(Also this is mostly thirst but his tummy is very smooth and perfect for just gently tracing shapes with your nails or pressing little butterfly kisses °//w//°. He doesn’t mind either he just giggles into his hoodie and tries not to squirm too much)

[randomwriteronline]

It was hard not to fight, sometimes.

It was much harder when Ingo was busy with something else, like apparently training a bunch of Snorunts to walk in a single line and complimenting the perfomance of each one of them with a treat.

It was nearly downright impossible when Melli decided to throw snow at Gaeric for no reason.

The first time, he'd glared at the leaner man and the bastard had turned away immediately as if he hadn't done anything, arms folded and foot dangling idly; still, it had been just a little bit of snow, so an attempt was made at keeping the peace and pretending nothing had happened.

The second time he had been hit by a somewhat proper ball, or at least by a not indifferent amount of frozen water in a vaguely spherical shape.

The third one had smacked him straight in the face, but he'd remained still as stone.

There had been no fourth one, because Gaeric snapped his head to the side so suddenly that Melli nearly yipped and in the jolt that almost had him jumping into the air the snowball he was holding ended up falling back into the white coat made from its brethren.

"Stop that," Avalugg's warden hissed through his own teeth.

His Diamond counterpart replied by angrily showing him his tongue: "Why? Getting cold?"

"More like you're getting on my nerves."

"Oh, please," the other rolled his eyes: "It'll just evaporate off of you."

"Excuse me?"

"What, isn't you blood always boiling? Or are you so insecure of your charm that you need to be shirtless all the time?"

Gaeric did not dignify him with a response.

He wordlessly turned away and began gathering a few large armfuls of snow, bunching it all into some kind of shapeless mound a little further away from himself. Melli grew terribly bored of looking at him do something completely and utterly senseless for no reason at all after approximately two minutes at best, shifting his attention back onto their partner - who was now busy teaching the Snorunts some other trick.

He was as such extremely spooked when he felt something clamp both sides of his waist.

His body gave a violent cringe, both legs leaving the ground to kick as far into the air in front of him as possible as a strangled shrieked barely managed to leave his mouth. He did not fall down to the cold wet ground due to the iron grip holding him aloft effortlessly - which became much less reassuring when he was then lifted horizontally into the air, swung him across it, and finally landed him straight in the previously placed heap of snow with a muted 'plomf', lodging him into the white mound so thoroughly that he wasn't even sure he could have moved.

He looked up with an affronted gaze; Gaeric replied with a wide, plain smirk, eyes narrowed in a satisfied expression as he took in the sight of his humiliated rival.

"Did something happen?" a voice that was very obviously neither of theirs reached them.

Evidently the Diamond's half baked yelp had frightened away the Snorunts, as they were scampering off down the side of the mountain, while also attracting Ingo's somewhat concerned attention. His white head, distinguishable from the rest of the environment mostly thanks to his black hat, was tilted towards them in a state of mild alert.

Melli opened his mouth to tell on the other warden, but was beaten to the punch: "Nothing to be worried about!" that stupidly strong fiend reassured their boyfriend, "Melli and I were just playing around."

"I heard him yell!" Ingo replied.

"Oh, I just threw him in some snow. He asked me to! He wanted a demonstration!"

"Ah!" why did he sound so relieved? Melli was too baffled by the fact that Gaeric had told the truth only to cover it up in one fell swoop to properly rebuke or realize that Ingo was running up to meet them. "I'd like to give one as well, if he'd allow me!"

Still half stuck in the snow and only vaguely aware of what was being told to him, Electrode's warden gave a sort of absent-minded affirmative noise.

He was then very surprised when his beloved ducked his head, rushed to his second boyfriend, and slammed his shoulder into his stomach to hoist him up in the air with an ease that genuinely terrified his fellow clansman for a second.

There was a moment of pause, in which the apparently frail man looked around as though searching for something specific.

Finally locating a safe amount to snow, he then launched Gaeric into it.

Face first.

Melli laughed so hard he thought half the mountain would come down.

Ingo, immensely proud of himself, gifted him one of his singularly shaped smiles that looked like incredibly misshapen frowns.

Still laying face down in the snow, Gaeric was struggling to be absolutely furious about the Diamond making fun of him amidst the intense, weirdly enamored fluster of having been picked up and thrown like a bag of potatoes.

[linh-cindy]

An Unexpected Rejection

The scene where Cinder is asked by Prince Kai to be his personal guest at the 126th Annual Peace Ball but she declines- in Kai"s point of view!

Kai was late.

He really needed to see Dr. Erland, but apparently, time wasn't on his side.

He spotted the nearest elevator behind him and as it was about to close, the elevator operator was able to hold it.

"Please hold," the voice announced.

"Sorry, sorry," Kai said to the person inside the elevator, practically slipping into it, "thanks for the hold--"

His voice caught when he saw the person inside.

Linh Cinder was leaning on the elevator wall, arms crossed, and she seemed genuinely shocked to see him standing there.

"Linh-mèi?" Kai blurted out.

She froze. She pushed herself off the elevator wall, something that Kai should have told her not to do and risk her being uncomfortable.

"Your Highness," Cinder muttered quietly, bowing.

Kai could sense the tension radiating off her. He wished he could do something to ease it.

Silence filled the elevator. A minute passed before Cinder spoke.

Cinder cleared her throat. "You should, um, just call me Cinder. You don't need to be so-" She slammed her mouth shut.

Kai's mouth twitched into an almost-smile.

Stop! Act normal! Kai scolded himself.

"All right, Cinder," he said, thankful his voice was steady. "Are you following me?"

Cinder frowned, which made Kai a little guilty he was teasing her. "I'm just going to check on the med-droid," she said. "That I looked at yesterday. To ensure it doesn't have any remaining bugs or anything."

Kai nodded. This was not going well. "I was on my way to talk to Dr. Erland about his progress," he told her to cut the silence. "I heard through the grapevine that he may have made progress with one of the recent draft subjects. I don’t suppose he said anything to you?"

Cinder fidgeted with her belt loops. "No, he didn't mention anything. But I'm just the mechanic."

They didn't say anything after that.

She doesn't know.

The elevator stopped. Kai motioned for her to exit first, then he followed her.

"Your Highness?" said a young woman in front of him. "I am so sorry."

"Thank you, Fateen," said Kai quietly. He kept walking.

Cinder frowned, confused.

Not a dozen steps later, they were halted by a man who also gave his condolences to Kai.

Kai saw Cinder shiver beside him. She stopped.

"You haven't seen the net this morning."

A heartbeat later, Cinder's eyes widened and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

Kai was surprised, but it faded away easily. He ducked his head. "Good guess."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know-" she stammered frantically, her voice hinting at a million apologies.

Kai tucked his hands into his pockets. "I wish my father's death were the worst of it."

Cinder's eyes clouded over. Was something wrong? "Your Highness?"

Kai turned to look at her. He was getting sick of all these "Your Highnesses". Of course- not when Cinder said it. Wait-

"You can call me Kai," he blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Excuse me?"

"No more ‘Your Highness.’ I get enough of that from…everyone else. You should just call me Kai."

Cinder seemed momentarily dazed before he continued. She blinked like waking up from a daydream. "No. That wouldn't be-"

"Don't make me turn it into a royal command," he said, smiling.

Cinder scrunched her shoulders up by her ears. "All right. I suppose."

"Thank you," said Kai gratefully. "We should go then."

After a bit of quiet walking, he asked curiously, "What was wrong with the android?"

Cinder scratched at an oil stain on her glove. "Oh, I’m sorry. She’s not done yet. I’m working on her, I swear." She's talking about Nainsi.

"No, I meant the med-droid," said Kai, pushing down the urge to ask more about Nainsi. "That you fixed for Dr. Erland?"

"Oh. Oh, right. Um. It was…it had…a…dead wire. Between its optosensor and…control panel," she stammered.

Kai raised his brow. She was lying.

Cinder cleared her throat as if to clear away the awkwardness. "You, uh, said that something was worse? Before?"

Kai said nothing.

"Never mind," said Cinder, shrugging. "I didn't mean to pry."

Dammit, Kai. You just blew it.

“No, it’s all right. You’ll find out soon enough.” He lowered his voice. “The Lunar queen informed us this morning that she is coming to the Commonwealth on a diplomatic mission. Supposedly," he told her.

Cinder almost tripped, and Kai felt a pang of guilt as she stumbled after him. "The Lunar Queen? You can't be serious."

“I wish I weren’t. Every android in the palace has spent the morning taking down every reflective surface in the guest wing. It’s ridiculous—like we have nothing better to do.”

“Reflective surfaces? I always thought that was just superstition.”

“Evidently not. Something about their glamour... It doesn't really matter."

“When is she coming?”

“Today.”

Cinder looked horrified.

“I’ll be making an announcement in half an hour," said Kai.

“But why would she come now, when we’re in mourning?”

Kai smiled grimly. “Because we’re in mourning.”

He stopped.

Shoot, Nainsi.

Kai turned toward Cinder nervously. “Look, I really appreciate your helping with the med-droids, and I’m sure the best mechanic in the city has a million jobs to prioritize, but at the risk of sounding like a spoiled prince, could I ask that you move Nainsi to the top of your list? I’m starting to get anxious about getting her back. I—” He paused long enough to catch the anxiousness in Cinder's face. “I think I could use the moral support of my childhood tutor right now. You know?” He wanted her to know he was lying. He needed to let her know he was lying. Lying for something far more important than childhood attachments or moral support.

Understanding flashed across Cinder's grease-coated face. “Of course, Your Highness. Sorry, Prince Kai. I’ll take a look at her as soon as I get home.”

Kai would have hugged her.

Oh, Cinder, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Kai stomped down his ridiculous thoughts and gestured at a door that had Dr. Dmitri Erland's name labeled on it.

As soon as they entered, Erland leapt to his feet. "Your Highness--I am so sorry. What can I do to help you?"

“Nothing, thank you,” said Kai. Then he reconsidered. "Find a cure."

“I will, Your Highness.” He pulled his hat on. “Of course I will.”

Cinder looked at Dr. Erland and guilt immediately clouded her eyes after a few seconds.

Kai cleared his throat. “I found your pretty new mechanic down in the lobby, and she tells me she’s here to check on the med-droids again. You know I could get you funding for some upgraded models if you require it.”

Oh shoot shoot shoot, did I just call her pretty? Kai thought furiously. What was I THINKING, oh SHOOT.

He willed himself to ignore her.

“No, no, they only needed a touch of maintenance,” said Dr. Erland, reassuringly. “Nothing to worry about, and I would hate to have to program a new model. Besides, if we didn’t have any malfunctioning androids, what excuse would we have for asking Miss Linh back to the palace from time to time?”

Kai saw Cinder glare at the doctor from the corner of his eye, and he couldn't help smiling.

“Doctor," Kai started, “I heard a rumor that you’ve made some sort of a breakthrough in the past few days. Is it true?”

Dr. Erland seemed as if he could slap anyone who started the rumor, but so far he seemed calm. “My prince, you should know better than to ask after rumors like that. I hate to give you hope before I know anything concrete. But when I do have solid information, you will be the first to see the report.”

“Right. In that case, I’ll leave you be and hope to see a report cross my desk any day now.”

“That could be difficult, Your Highness, considering you do not have a desk.”

Kai shrugged, unprovoked, and turned toward Cinder. "I hope our paths will cross again." He bowed his head a little.

"Really?" asked Cinder, grinning quite stiffly. "In that case, I guess I'll just keep following you."

Regret shined in Cinder's eyes for half a breath before Kai laughed.

Kai took Cinder's hand before he could stop himself. Panic crossed her face as he lifted her hand and placed a soft kiss on it.

Kai let go of Cinder's hand and bowed, exiting the room.

Then he got an idea.

An idea so crazy, it just might work.

"Gracious," whispered Dr. Erland as Kai opened the door.

“Pardon me, but might I have one more brief word with Linh-mèi?”

Dr. Erland gestured toward the mechanic. “By all means.”

Kai turned to her, still in the doorway. “I know this sounds like very poor timing, but trust me when I say my motives are based on self-preservation.” He inhaled a sharp breath. Please let this work. “Would you consider being my personal guest at the ball?”

Cinder froze for four heartbeats and a half. Her eyes were big and scared.

Kai waited.

And waited.

Then he raised his brows to catch her attention.

She blinked. "E-excuse me?" she stuttered.

"I assume you are going to the ball?"

“I-I don’t know. I mean, no. No, I’m sorry, I’m not going to the ball.”

The hope rushed out of Kai in a millisecond.

SHOOT.

“Oh. Well...but...maybe you would change your mind? Because I am, you know.”

"The prince," Cinder completed for him.

"Not bragging," Kai blurted out, feeling sweat trickling at the back of his neck. "Just a fact."

"I know."

After a long moment, Cinder said, “I-I’m sorry. Thank you—I… thank you, Your Highness. But I must respectfully decline.”

Kai took a moment to process what she said. Once he did, he attempted a grin that hurt his face muscles. “No, it’s all right. I understand.”

In truth, he didn’t.

Hell, she was probably in love with someone else.

“My sincerest condolences, Your Highness,” said Dr. Erland. Kai nearly forgot he was there. “In more ways than one, it seems.”

Cinder glared at the doctor. Kai found it cute when she narrowed her eyes at him, scrunched her eyebrows and pressed her lips together.

Kai blinked a few more times to clear his head of that ridiculous thought.

“It was nice to see you again, Linh-mèi,” said Kai.

The look of annoyance was peeled off Cinder’s face and was replaced by panicked apology, but Kai couldn’t stand a second longer in there. Her mouth was just opening when Kai wrenched open the door and closed it behind him quietly.

Kai leaned against the wall beside the door to Dr. Erland’s office and dragged a hand down his face. “Stars,” he breathed. How could he be so foolish?…

Kai heard the doctor’s faint voice through the wood.

“What a shame you cannot blush, Miss Linh.”

Overwhelmed and exhausted, Kai cleared away his confusion at the doctor’s statement.

Can my life get any worse?

Tags:

@kaider-is-my-otp

@cerenoya

@just2bubbly

@impossiblesuitcase

@thetlctrash

@opakitty

@winterrhayle

@cindersassasin

[lemonzestywrites]

zesty! i'm so late!!!! ahhhhh has anyone asked about feminization eddie???

never apologize teenie its all good!! here's a little snippet just for you!

(mentions of sexual content below the cut!!)

The already short distance between them slowly begins to lessen as Buck tugs down at the collar, pulling Eddie in closer till they’re about a few inches apart from one another. “Even up close, you’re such a pretty sight,” Buck muses. The praise sends a hot flash across Eddie’s body, crawling so desperately up across his features. There’s an immediate urge to duck his head down at the words, but he makes it as far as barely breaking eye contact before Buck’s hold on the collar becomes quickly reminded once more. He pulls Eddie a little closer, head even ducking slightly to catch his gaze again. “Where do you think you’re going, sweetheart?” he asks softly. Christ, Eddie is going to die. He’s going to disintegrate right here in Buck’s lap, and he hasn’t even gotten fucked yet. Something akin to a poor pathetic whine falls out from behind the gag as Eddie feels his face go stark red. Buck simply laughs, smiling to himself. “Oh, Eddie, do you not feel pretty yet, baby?” Eddie blinks down at Buck. He’s thankful for the presence of the gag at least cause otherwise, Eddie isn’t sure how he’d even begin to answer this question. Buck leans up and presses a teasing kiss right to the center of the silicone ball still resting in Eddie’s mouth, a filthy, overwhelming, soft gesture that has Eddie burning at his ears. “It’s okay if you don’t. We have all night for me to remedy that.”