#the man knows his signature look they'll give him that at least

[wander-over-the-words]

Live for the notion that Benny is always wearing something with a chequered pattern on it like

it’s especially hot out one day so he ditches the blazer. comes down from his suite in a short sleeved button up but oh look it has black and white checkers.

christmas comes around and his christmas jumper? black and white checkers. is it christmassy? fuck you

goes for a dip in the pool. swim trunks? black and white checkers

needs to blow his nose. handkerchief? black and white checkers

one of his boys is getting married or something and they beg him not to wear the goddamn chequered suit so he just “ugh fine” and turns up in a normal black suit and then when someone makes a quip like “funny to see you not wearing checkers haha” Benny looks them in the eye, props his foot up on the nearest piece of furniture and rolls up his trouser leg and oh yeah socks have black and white checkers

gonna be wearing a chequered tie at his own wedding. that's non-negotiable, baby.

the only item of clothing he weirdly never wears checkers on is his undies which are always those boxers with love hearts that you see when dudes get pantsed in cartoons

[thrawns-babygirl]

Get You Home (Crosshair x GN!Reader)

Posting this fic on behalf of a good friend at their request. Crosshair/GN!Reader angst

No smut and no warnings outside of intense feels. Let me know what you think so I can pass it on to them.

Word Count: 2900+

Ironic, isn't it, how someone could be created by another just to destroy themselves?

It was the general theme of the various thoughts that swam fervently through your mind, plagued by a vain concept of low boiling anger that managed to settle into reluctant relief before it surfaced.

You didn't want Crosshair to see anything in you that was more than what he needed for this last leap of the journey, a cautious balance of crafted care and reservation of the truth, presented through a gentleness that was far too desperate and pleading as it lingered. Yet he didn't seem to give any indication he took notice of the way you spoke your words as if sending them to him on paper wings, how your touch stayed on his arm so to give him the warmth that you hoped he hadn't already forgotten; and if he did, he certainly didn't speak it. He didn't speak at all once the silence took over, actually.

There was a small exchange of words when you first appeared, clarifying your intentions to free the captive clone and speaking then only when needed to give orders for the escape- though as soon as you pushed the throttle that pulled the ship free of the barrage of lasers and pursuing forces an eerie silence quickly settled, taking place in the air where your shared frantic breaths had left open. Everything seemed to come to a complete halt when the rush of stars that stretched across your vision in such vivid streaks returned to simple dots scattered around the walls of the universe.

"We have to wait here a bit for the others, once they've made it out they'll send us coordinates," You had spoken in a sort of voice you would use on a wounded animal, delicate and fragile and willing to falter if it spared the smallest of harsh tones.

He didn't speak.

Not with words in the least, though there was a story desperate to spill into a sea of tears as his eyes scanned the environment around him. It wasn't one you imagined he knew, but it was evident he saw the symptoms of his brothers in every little out of order detail that scarred this ship, and you could see the moments that took him as he stood and put the refined senses of a sharpshooter to practice.

You saw the way he paused as he noticed a scuff of paint on the piece of durasteel that hung just low enough for someone of Wrecker's height to hit in a rush, leaving behind a streak of white from the drawn face plastered in pale paint on his helmet. You were pretty sure the mark was still there on the armor, would Crosshair look to see if the evidence aligned when he saw the brute again?

Then the clone turned and saw the control panel that was still open with half a scomp sticking out, not that there was any physical memento needed to remember how Echo got stuck when the ship's power faltered and something or another went wrong in just the right way that you had to cut him out. Never really got around to removing the blatant jam in what would be an otherwise useful port, much to your droid's adamant displeasure.

Stepping back now and moving his sights as the man noticed a thin black wire that stuck out from the panel snake up and around until it brought him to the other side of the ship where a signature Tech project had been sitting untouched for a few days. It was a small device that required your input as well as his understanding of the skills needed. At this point you weren't sure if it was work being done for the payoff or simply the time to spend with one another.

Then, finally, Crosshair turned and saw a sight he hadn't seen since they had still called their barracks "home": a board with clear holes and a sloppily drawn target that Hunter often used to hone his accuracy with throwing knives, or even just pass the time when days grew too slow. But this was different. On one side was his clear mastery with a concise series of streaks, and the other one with far more scattered results- even some marks on the walls of the ship- with very few holes decidedly on the target.

"Hunter's been trying to teach me, I'm not that good at it, he said you were the only one who would ever entertain a challenge with him until I came along," An attempt to ease into a conversation, seeing something flash behind Crosshair's eyes as he remained fixated on the board.

The Crosshair described to you was so, so far from the one that stood here now. This wasn't a fire that burned when touched, it was a frost that lost the will to bite. Not the man who would speak slyly with a slick insult as he crossed his arms and looked smug. Not the sniper who never missed a target else he would live down his reputation and have it reflected on the foundation of his purpose. Not the soldier who fought for a cause that he believed in for it was the inspiration for his creation so how could he not?

The way his brothers spoke of him was marred by the rift torn between them, but no matter how muddy the waters became there was still such a clear affection they had for the man that couldn't be drowned by their anger, for it was this reaction alone that lead you to understand that it wasn't just anger it was also hurt and it was quelled questions and it was a desperate plea to the universe for an answer that didn't sting so sharply as the image that it was Crosshair's choice and his alone.

It had been such a subject of debate, recurring and spiraling into a series of speculation until Hunter finally announced the end of it and set everyone to a task to keep the peace. You never understood it much, why they felt the need to ask one another when it was apparent none of them had the grounds to claim to know for sure, unsure if anyone other than the Kaminoans would have such knowledge to begin with. Was it because they wanted to understand the truth that they asked in this way, or because they were too scared of what it could be?

"What did they say about me?" Crosshair had managed a few words, and despite the way they were shaky and weak and falling before they could fly it still took you by surprise.

"Well… a lot of things," Trying to recount something that wouldn't come off as harsh as it had been spoken when one of the boys had let it out with a burning ire. You didn't doubt Crosshair would understand their hatred stemmed from their feelings of betrayal, but there was still no need for that to be spoken now. It wasn't what anyone needed. There would be time to talk, and that could be saved for when the wounds were treated and healed into scars that could withstand what hadn't been said without tearing the stitches.

And it was then you realized that it wasn't inherently what they had said about him that should be shared, but what they hadn't.

When Omega said something in her silly, naive little way that had a mutual feeling flash through the soldiers you could see the way their hearts still bled for their brother. How when they explained it to her it was as if they were rationalizing it for themselves as well. Taking the much softer perspective they created to give the child and finding comfort in it as well.

That time you were on a roof scoping a location and Wrecker accidentally shouted up to you and called the name "Crosshair" out of habit, and how he tried to claim it was the shadow of a snipers pose that just had him caught in the moment and how it didn't matter at all and how you couldn't help but see such a strange emotion weep from his words as he defended his actions to nobody but himself.

Or the way Hunter's eyes found themselves stuck on a small jar of toothpicks when you went into a cantina to ask some questions to the tender, the confliction you could see as soon as he registered the objects and the way his focus kept flickering to what should have been just another something in the background.

The fact that any time one of them was given a task that used to be Crosshair's assigned job in the squad there was a complaint. Sometimes followed by usually Hunter barking about how that clearly couldn't be done by the original performer, sometimes it just fell silent as the memories played in their minds too. And even when it was your given task one of them would be sure to inform you that yes, it was Crosshair who usually climbed to the top of a perch and scouted ahead with the binocs, as if you had ever asked or had any doubts.

It was the way they snapped at you when you tried to move his weapons kit, the fact that you noticed them all visibly tense and grow shy when you first asked for the story of what happened, how when you asked about scope specifications it was as if everyone glanced around the room for him just to realize he wasn't there. That just like he noticed the signs of them in this ship you saw the signs of him in them.

But how did you share something like that?

When you turned to face the clone he was still standing with his eyes locked onto the targets littered with tears and holes. He was still but he was shaking but he didn't move but he was falling through the fabric of reality itself.

"They miss you. I guess that'd be a good summary of everything," Your voice took a risk, words extending hands and hoping that he'd reach out to take them.

Crosshair turned to you after his eyes fell and closed for a moment, a shaken breath having to fight itself to be regained before he looked and for what must be the first time it felt as if you were truly looking at one another face to face.

You could see through his gaze that he mirrored the sentiment, unable to speak it only from the words twisting and tripping and toiling with one another until they simply became stuck in his throat as nothing more than a weight he used to keep his guilt down. What used to be vivid and vivacious in his eyes had since been bled of their valiance and left nothing more than a ghost that haunted bittersweet memories. And the look that usually presented itself with a furrowed brow and a frown was too reduced to what remained when everything was stripped and bones were left bare.

Perhaps it was this unrelenting vulnerability that allowed the clone to venture into a territory he had always feared. He had already dug himself down to bedrock, what was the harm in seeing if there was anywhere else to go? It wasn't as if he could go any further south from here with the only tools at his disposal being his own worn hands.

"Even after it all?" A sincere request that was hesitant as it came to light, words drawled but not with intentional emphasis for dramatic effect more than a fear strong enough to slow them down but not strong enough to stop them.

And you couldn't help but smile and huff at that.

"You think that the brothers you were created with, raised with, trained with, and fought with would leave you behind like that?" You crossed your arms, still floating on a cloud of caution and care as you allowed your demeanor to shift just the slightest amount, "You think they didn't talk about how they would save you if they could? That they didn't tell Omega stories about all of you, as a team, and end it with a wish it could happen again one day? Do you really think they would have just… let you go if they had the option to bring you back with them?"

Your own voice wavered as you finished, finding a surprising amount of emotions starting to bubble up from beneath you, rising through your chest until they were at your eyes and you had to blink to keep them at bay. A task that became increasingly harder as you saw the way your words struck the other. Recoiling slightly as if you took a gun and pulled the trigger slow enough that it slowed time as well as the bullet struck him.

He looked at you in such a pleading way, asking a question neither of you knew but you knew it was there and that it needed to be answered, but how do you answer something that can't be asked with words that need to be spoken? And what little humor had taken hold of you drained from below your feet as you saw the first tear fall.

It was almost instinct that brought you closer, pulling the soldier into an embrace and holding him together before he fell apart in the absence of a strength he finally lost his grasp on. Slipping from the control he had placed himself under when he convinced himself of his loyalty and threw away what he was pretending wasn't what he had wanted, what he needed.

When he fell weak you brought him to the ground gently, pulling him to lean his weight onto you, sheltering him as you felt his breath on your neck and his hands trembling as they latched onto what was left for them to, finding solace in gripping your arms and using that hold to keep the distance from tearing you apart as if he was afraid of what would happen if he let go.

You hadn't thought much of it until this moment. Not his side of it, at least.

Countless nights of yours since joining up had been spent pondering this particular clone, but it had always been through the eyes of his brothers. From a thick lens of red that hazed everything through it to a velvet that could scream as it drowned, altering any other color to the same fate and sparing few alternatives. In this way it was more strategic in understanding, emotions running behind in close second but never pushing past to take the lead.

But what of him? What of the one who was left behind? The one that you heard of but never knew, only knowing him now that he was cracking and falling apart into pieces in your arms; not when he was a sheep in wolves clothing, or even the original side of him that had simply been the clone soldier with a bit of an edge. And what did all these mirrored versions of him reduce down to behind the smoke from the flames he used to burn them?

Through every strained breath from the man you could feel a quake in your own heart, the loneliness that he wore as a badge of pride and honor seeping through his touch and into yours and showing their true colors. Nothing more than a masquerade, a delusion he dressed up and decided was his fate because it was easier to say it was fate that chose your twisted path instead of your own two feet.

And again it became ironic, or maybe poetic if the word catches a peculiar fancy, how it was the disobedience he was known for prior that finally set him free now. Did he still believe that things were a certain way because he was created to fit into a place? Or has he remembered that even when he was supposed to submit himself to the aforementioned he never did, that he always broke the mold he wouldn't be cast into and finished the mission without following the orders.

And how, you can't help but think, will he unfold now that he has been free of all the shackles that have had him bound to what he believed to be loyalty?

What kind of man would he turn into when he patched up his relationship with his brothers, when he met Omega on equal ground and spoke her name, when he got the chance to exist as something more than a shadow of a soldier still fighting a war that had already ended?

Time would only tell as it was the teller of all tales, and as if summoned by thought the comm device strapped to your side beeped twice before a muffled voice gave the confirmation that you were to expect coordinates in the upcoming moments for your rendezvous.

"Hey," You whispered, holding the man just a bit tighter as you felt his breath hitch and hold itself, stilling for just long enough for you to say what he needed to be told, "Let's just get you home, yeah?"

@where-is-my-mind-tho @starborncyare @antishadow2021 @healingskywalker @crosshairlovebot

[randomgentlefolk]

CPC CHAPTER 170

BLAINEEEEE

The parallel of Gwen helping Frederick up Gwen helping Leland up I'm going. I'm going to. SHE'S SO KIND????

"Because he loves you"

BRO? Leland got the answer he's been looking for and it's just...damn. So turns out Gwen's kindness power can he transfered with anything, and not just food? And once they receive the kindness, they'll be reminded of their times of happiness. No wonder Leland got emotional man...I would too.

I really love how each of the pastel siblings are unlocking the true potential of their powers! Maria with the animals, Lorena with the plants, Jamie with the glow, and Gwen with her kindness.

RESPECT FOR THE PLAID QUEEN. Honestly, huge respect.

Everyone!! Reuniting back together!! Gwen and her sisters running toward each other and immediately tackle each other into a hug.

Syrah and Aurelia's friendship!! I love them so muchhhh. They are friends!!!

Guys this is not a drill. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. FREDERICK FINALLY GETS A HUG. HE'S GETTING THAT DAMN HUG HE HAS DESERVED FOR YEARS. And finally genuine parental affection!!! Boy still needs lots of therapy but it's a start!! This whole episode is making me scream!!!

Okay so Isolde didn't technically forge Leland's signature, but it's even more clever because now Leland technically did sign it! So Isolde didn't do any forgery, if that doesn't count as one.

Aw, I was so excited with all of the plaid princes sharing the crown equally, but I want Lance to achieve his dream too, so that's fine.

Frederick really should give himself more credit!! Sure, he didn't throw Leland out the window, but he planned the strategy for the invasion and warned the cpc about what was happening! So he did a LOT.

Random question but are Maria and Gwen kneeling while Lorena is standing up? Because if they are all standing up then damn Lorena is TALL.

Aaanndddd Frederick finally get the chance to speak and tell everyone about Blaine.

Wait wait wait. Can someone tell me what exactly is Maria doing in this panel? Is she trying to see where Blaine is? Or is she trying to forgive Blaine? Or is she using he animal power to sort of find where Blaine is?

HE SURVIVED!! I KNEW THAT TENT WAS GONNA SAVE HIM!!! YEAHA

YO....BLAINE ON HIS WHITNEY REDEMPTION ARC???? wait how does he know where to go. Uhh but go Blaine!!! I'm proud of you!! But I hope he goes up the hill first though. He owes lots of apology. And I just want to see the plaid princes for the last time...

That's it for now! I feel like these upcoming reviews will be more and more difficult cause there's not really much theory left to make... at least not the one that will be discussed more in the future. I hope it will tho! Such as: the omniscient clam whereabout, where Frederick is, what the heck does the green eye mean when Jack was talking about the clam to Leland, and a lot more! I have hope for the rest of the episodes!

Mono out! (But still in to hear your thoughts)

[claire-starsword]

The Guardiana Magic School Run - Part 7

Well, here goes nothing.

Dang, that bonus is tight.

Mishaela's children start annoyingly close to us, and I think they also poison? I'm hoping Max and Gong can still tank things at this point, but I can't check the enemies' attack stat before hitting them at least once. Bats will be coming from the other side very fast as well, as bats do.

I don't know why I worry.

Except I do, they have 18 attack and Max has 17 defense, so I think we're on the limit of what Max gets scratch damage from, the Dire Clowns should be a bigger worry. Also look at that chonky magic res, the mages will not have a good time here.

Gong gets a lucky double hit and this thing drops a Medical Herb, I am once again calling out how wack drops have been through this run. I didn't even know this many enemies could drop things.

Thankfully the Mannequins are very slow so not only do I manage to beat them up before they ever act again but I also get to give the kills to Anri and Arthur who need exp the most. Now as usual we have bats to deal with and I'm wondering if I can split the team. Anri and Tao will be basically useless on stage as the enemies will have huge magic resistance, so these bats are their main chance at training. Arthur also can't do much up there because anything will wreck him, and I bet the clowns at least have enough defense to shrug his little spear off.

At the same time none of these characters can take a hit to save their lives, so I'm worried even though the bats are kind of outclassed by now. Guess I'll spare Gong to look out for them and hope I don't miss him up there for a while. Not like they'll take too long, the mage can easily take one bat down per turn, and if they don't dodge Arthur should be able to get good hits in as well. Gong also still have the Rousing Ring. To prove that there's nothing to worry about, he one hit kills a bat as soon as I send him there.

The mage duo destroy one bat in the turn as expected and Anri levels up to learn her signature Freeze spell. Not useful in this chapter as I said, but its time will come.

The goddamn bat ruins my training plans because it only has eyes for Max. I don't think it even has eyes to begin with, but for Max it would gain some.

I'm still gonna try saving it for the mages and Arthur, but I don't think Anri can reach this turn.

These other children of Mishaela however have Freeze level 1 which is an extra pain to think about, but Max should be able to tank them. Especially if the third one take its time coming.

Again why do I even worry about this man.

GOD this bat sucks though. Now if I send Arthur after it he'll be in range of the puppets. The puppets are likely going for Max though, but I don't wanna risk it.

Tao hits the bat but Anri can't reach, Khris heals Max from a Freeze he took to the face, of course the puppets went after him.

Lowe finally puts the Doll Hater to good use and gets the level up for Heal 2.

Also did you see this coming? I saw this coming a while ago. Why didn't I give him the Rousing Ring again. Why do I expect enemies to hit someone else. At least Arthur gets a kill and some exp.

It's turn 6 and these are the only enemies left, if it weren't the Marionette maybe I'd feel optimistic. At least Max refuses to sleep for any time more than he is forced to.

Turn 7. The Marionette moves right after Gong while the Dire Clowns are last, so I'm hoping he can take a Freeze and get healed by someone. Unfortunately there's a chance the clowns counter I think.

It's also tragic to see him hit for a third of the enemy's HP when he was one punch man just a battle ago.

That chonky level up means he's mad about it too.

D:<

I HATE THIS BATTLE

no one can take that! no amount of Charm Rings can help anyone take that! And it's an area spell! Why does a beginning enemy has a level 4 spell???

aaaaaaarghh. It's always Gong too.

Turn 8 already, no way in hell I'm getting the bonus. I doubt even a rush of Max + Doll Hater would get rid of the Marionette in a single turn, and without eliminating the clowns someone will die for sure. I didn't even advance anyone last turn because no one except Max has any chance of approaching now.

God he hits hard though, he's so ridiculous compared to everyone else.

hmm. I realize my mistake too late though. I sent Gong after the clown back there because he was faster than the Marionette, so if he survived the hit he could be healed before the clowns moved.

Max isn't, he's right after the Marionette. He's gonna get hit by the remaining clown and the boss in succession.

Maaaaaaaybe he can tank it but brace yourselves for first loss of the run.

Arthur picks up some coins in a chest just to feel something before going to hide in a hole or something, there's nothing he can do here.

THE CLOWN DIDN'T MOVE I LIVE

also i might be messing up the math here but. Max has 32% magic resistance, so I assume the spell is doing 68% of its base damage, which means the base damage is at most 17, as 68% of 18 is more than 12, and Max took only 11 damage. But Gong had at least 9% of magic resistance last time I checked and that would be enough to drop that 17 down, yet he took 17 damage. There's something wack about this.

Pointing that out does not help me win, but this is a school so it's important to off on tangents from time to time in hopes class reaches an end faster. Unfortunately here the fast way would be to die.

Max cannot finish that clown alone because he likes it too much. Tao has as much magic resistance as him, so I'm hoping that even if the Marionette aims at her she'll take the same 11 damage and survive. If the Marionette decides for a physical attack I'm dead. Also the clown has freaking 50% resistance so she might not even kill them but I have to try.

Blaze 2 barely makes it, anything weaker wouldn't.

Anri also opens a chest to feel something (it's a Steel Arrow) and joins Arthur in the "loser with less than 12 HP" corner. Sorry fellas I promise next battle is better for you.

Khris heals Max and gets a nice level up as reward. Lowe needs to start on some doll hating but I'd rather wait until the Marionette's next action has gone by. That will happen in the next reblog because i'm running out of images per tumblr post.

[grimmswan]

Unexpected part 6

Unexpected Information

Grimm: Nick and Adalind

Nick Burkhardt is dealing with a broken heart after his girlfriend leaves him without word or warning. Adalind Schade is dealing with a broken heart after finding out the man she loved had been sleeping with her mother on the same day her mother was killed. When Adalind discovers she is pregnant, Nick volunteers to be there for her.

Nick received a call from his former neighbor, the nice old lady who lived next door to the old Victorian. "Nick, dear, my son and daughter in law are interested in buying your house, and were wondering if you were interested in selling it. I told them that you're hardly ever there. That since Juliette left, I've only ever seen you enter the house once a month, and you only ever stay a few minutes."

"I can't really do anything about the house until Juliette gets in touch with me. Her name is on the deed too. So her signature would be needed."

"Oh dear. I thought that she would have relinquished everything to you before she left. You know I saw her loading her things in her car. She took multiple trips, so I had time to ask her why she was leaving. I assumed the two of you has a fight. But what she said to me was so strange. She said that she was tired of being loved unconditionally. She was sick of not being able to say or do anything that would push you away. So now she had to be the bad guy in the relationship and end things. I asked her why she would want to end things. Do you know she actually said, because you're too perfect? Too loving, too kind, too devoted? Then she pointed to me and said, "And that is why I have to go. That look that everyone will be giving me because I broke up with the guy that everybody loves." Nick dear, it was then I realized that she must have been one of this bizarre people who need conflict and drama in their lives in order to be content. And if it doesn't happen naturally, they'll create it."

"I had no idea Juliette felt that way. I wished she would have come and talked to me about it."

"She knew you would have tried to fix things. But she wanted conflict. I know. My niece is similar. Nothing but drama in every relationship she's ever had. That's why she's been married and divorced three times before the age of thirty. I love her dearly, but I barely speak to her because she insists on filling the conversation with complaints about the man she is with, then complains that she is constantly being left. I once tried to give her advice, but she made it clear she didn't want it. That's how I knew not to try to dissuade Juliette from leaving without at least talking to you."

"Why didn't you tell me all of this before?"

"You were already hurting. I didn't want to add to it. But you seemed to have moved on. I was at the farmer's market the other day and I saw you with a pretty young lady. I was going to approach you, say hello, but the two of you seemed to be in your own little world. You were both smiling so brightly. I couldn't bare to intrude. It was wonderful seeing you happy again. I just wish Juliette had taken care of her responsibilities, so you could be free to move on."

When Nick told Adalind about the conversation he had with his former neighbor, she agreed. She didn't say it out loud, but she thought Juliette was a bitch for leaving Nick stuck with the house. She wasn't contributing anything to the mortgage or the taxes, but she would still be entitled to half of the proceeds if or when the house was sold.

Adalind decided to talk to her coworkers. There had to be some way to help Nick out of the mess Juliette had left him in.

[bonny-kookoo]

Jungkook:

Don't Play With Your Food 2 (2k)

Jungkook lives a comfortable life, without worries and full of love. But sometimes life turns around when you least expect it- and the best things happen during our darkest times.

Tags/Warnings: violence, angst, abuse, mentions of malnourishment, wounds, blood, fluff, Black Panther Hybrid!Jungkook, Bunny!Reader, hybrid trafficking, trauma, panic attacks, romance, strangers to lovers, smut, Dead Dove Do Not Eat

"My god Jungkook." Namjoon says, carefully placing his hand on the hybrid's shoulder to wake him.

"Hey." He smiles towards him, glad to see him in a relatively unharmed state. Jungkook sits up instantly, hugging his owner tightly as if to check that he's real. He smells like home Jungkook notices, nerves finally calming down- before he remembers something.

"Bunny-" He suddenly says, eyes wide open as he looks at the officer close by, who cocks his head to the side in question. "There- there was someone next to my cage. She was picked up before me- where is she?" He asks, standing up together with Namjoon who's now looking at the officer as well, who leads them out the cell and to the front desk where they can see some people standing; most of them wearing the same shirt with the logo of a well known hybrid-activism-group on it. He can also clearly smell other hybrids still; panic, fear, confusion all bitter in the air as Jungkook swallows tightly.

"Can you check for the Bunny Park? Either Cage 34 or 36." The officer asks the young man behind the desk, who perks up at the mention.

"Oh?" He wonders. "I know where she is. Do you need something from her?" He asks, as Jungkook goes to stand closer, hands tightly gripping the edge of the front desk.

"I need to see her!" He almost beg, and Namjoon notices immediately. "She's okay right?" He asks, as the officer- Park- nods before he stands up.

"She's still scared, so we gave her a more secluded cell. She's in a cage, but don't worry-" Park explains as they walk down a hallway, Jungkook tensing up at the mention of a cage where you're supposedly in. You've just been saved out of one- why would they put you inside one again? "She's very scared of open spaces and wouldn't settle down in the cell by itself. That's why the people from HPS decided that its best to give her something similar to a hiding space." He says, before he opens a cell where a cage stands, a blanket over it to give a certain sense of privacy- and preserve warmth. "Careful, please.." Park mumbles to Jungkook, who almost squeezes himself between the officer's arm and the gate, slipping in immediately.

"Bunny?" He asks, falling down to his knees as he peeks inside the darkness of the cage.

And there you were; curled up in the corner on a large pillow, hood from his jacket over your head as you seem to try and hide in it. The sight of you dressed in a piece of his clothes makes him feel oddly protective- as he reaches out, gently touching your hand to not scare you.

You wake up slowly, opening your eyes to see his signature panther eyes staring at you. And instead of being scared of a predator hybrid in your space, you realize that there's no more bars keeping you apart from another. So slowly, your bones still aching and muscles still tired, you make your way over to him, carefully climbing into his lap where he instantly wraps his arms around you, holding you tightly. He can feel the cold tip of your nose against his neck, shyly scenting him as a form of comfort, and he couldn't be happier about the feeling of it, gently purring when he feels you start to shiver a little. He knows by now its not from being cold- but more so from the amount of emotions going through you.

"Is there a way to take her with me?" Namjoon asks from a little further away, looking at the officer who smiles gently at the scene.

"Hm, not right away, I'm afraid." He says. "HPS needs to do a general check of your home before she's allowed to. Meaning they'll give you a general list today if you apply for her now, and will do a check at a random point in time next week or so."

"Is there no other way?" Jungkook asks, eyes wide and upset as they look over to them. "I- then I'll stay here until she's allowed to go. Is that okay?" He asks, and officer Park shrugs.

"I'm not sure. She's supposed to be taken to a Care Center today.." He mumbles, as Namjoon clicks his tongue, trying to find a solution. He hasn't seen much of you yet, but he's not stupid. What he's looking at is dependancy- and Jungkook would also scratch all wallpaper from the walls if he was to just deny you his home.

"maybe we can arrange for him to be housed there alongside her if we apply for an emotional support case." He says. "She's clearly dependant on him at the moment. I'll go and check with them what we can do, alright Jungkook?" He asks, and Jungkook nods, before he leans down again, rubbing his cheek against the top of your head.

"I won't let you go Bunny." He mumbles into your hair. "I'll keep you safe."

-------

At the end of it, Jungkook was not allowed to go with you.

At home with Namjoon instead, he practically studies the List provided like the bible, checking everything every day from top to bottom, expecially your little den, as he calls it instead of a cage. Jungkook had gone out of his way to make it absolutely perfect for you; Namjoon had bought a cage big enough to fit you and Jungkook inside as well, and inside, the panther Hybrid had made sure it was absolutely perfect. Blankets, pillows, strings of fairy lights on the top of it, and a thick blanket over the entirety of the cage to give it the last finishing touches. Its placed in his room- now with furniture moved and other stuff added to make sure you'd feel right at home with him.

He feels nervous every day.

Until HPS finally visits, and he proudly shows off everything; from the den, to his room, to the fact that they've turned down all volume of any devices that could suddenly make noise that could scare you. Anything potentially dangerous had been placed somewhere you couldn't reach, a therapist had already been informed, a meal plan established to make sure you'd be fed well.

He practically glowed at the praise, constantly looking at Namjoon with boyish excitement with every nod of the Lady checking the house.

"Great!" She says. "It's refreshing to see a household so organized for a future hybrid. And considering you already own a predator hybrid, we've been a bit cautious." She says to Namjoon. "But it also helped you, since we know you already know the basics of ownership. So I'd say there's no reason not to go along with the process." She says, and Jungkook can't help but jump a little in happiness, Namjoon carefully holding onto the hybrid's shoulder to calm him down.

"I believe the background check has already been received as well, yeah?" Namjoon asks, as they walk the lady to the door again.

"Yes, its been checked already. I'll call you later today to give you a specific timeframe on when we will bring her over if that's okay with you." She says, unable to stop grinning at Jungkook in the background, who's unable to stare at some birds outside on their backyard, hybrid instincts sometimes forcing him into amusing antics. "She's gonna have it good here, I can feel it." She says, and Namjoon nods.

"We'll do our best, that's for sure." He promises.

------

"Sorry-!" Jungkook apologizes after his tail accidentally smacks against Namjoon- his excitement just way too big to stay cool.

"Remember, she's still scared. It won't help her if you're too wild." Namjoon calmly says, and Jungkook nods, taking a few deep breaths before his owner finally opens the door. They've been told to come get you from the van, since you refused to leave it- still terrified of everything to the point of being practically paralyzed at the prospect of leaving any confined space.

"Bunny!" Jungkook chimes, carefully leaning into the back of the van where you've squeezed yourself into one of the corners. You're wearing a soft sweater and Jungkook instantly cooes at you, holding out a blanket like Namjoon had advised him too. You crawl into his arms instantly, craving comfort in this situation as well as some sense of familiarity, while Jungkook carefully folds the blanket over your head, shielding you from seeing anything of the outside world for now. He walks straight inside, Namjoon nodding towards the driver of the hybrid center's van, before he closes the door.

"There we go, I hope you like it." Jungkook says, as he sets you down, leading you to the den he's prepared for you. It's so much more inviting, so much more comfortable and positive that you can't help but look around first, noticing all the little details. Jungkook simply sits in front of the cage, smiling encouragingly so as you turn around to face him.

"Thank you.." You say, making his grin grow. "I.. It's really nice. I'm sorry I'm so weird-" You apologize, but Jungkook shakes his head.

"If you're worried about Namjoon, he doesn't mind, really!" He says. "He understands the situation way better than I do probably, so don't worry about it." He promises as you nod, before you can hear someone's footsteps- your ears slowly rising to turn towards the noise- a sight that Jungkook wants to scream at, simply because its so adorable to see them move around so much. You're already a lot more active and energetic- he can't wait to see you flourish under his and his owner's care.

"I'll warm up some food. Can you ask her if some sweet rice porridge is okay?" Namjoon asks, and to everyone's surprise, its your hesitant but sweet voice that answers.

"That'd be lovely."

------

Namjoon sits a little further away from you, but he's fascinated at how much confidence Jungkook's presence seems to give you.

While he's visited the center before by himself to familiarize himself with what he'd be facing, you've been justifiably shy and withdrawn- now, sitting barely inside your cage with one foot outside already, you seem relatively calm with him in the room. He notices however how much you look for any signs of danger in Jungkook's behavior- instantly perking up if he does something that could be considered a sign of distress.

"What?" Jungkook questions, as he notices Namjoon looking at you for a bit, your ears now as well turning towards him; they're a bit small, but he's been informed that your hybrid features are a little malformed due to malnutrition as a small kit- explaining why you've never been sold in the first place. It had pained him to hear all the stories about you- making him weirdly energetic about providing a good life for you from now on. He's managed to tame a Jungkook after all; the panther having been given in his care back then as a last resort after he'd bitten his past owners. It only later had been revealed that he'd been held inside all day, no exercise given whatsoever, leading in him just becoming overly frustrated over his situation. In Namjoons home he'd never been anything but a gentle sweetheart- a little over the top sometimes, but nothing he couldn't handle.

All it took was some trial and error, finding what worked and what didn't.

And so Namjoon shakes his head simply, continuing to eat as well as you look at him curiously. "Nothing." He says. "You're just very cute." He comments gently, and your ears droop down a little in shyness, discreetly scooting a bit closer to Jungkook, who just smiles brightly before tapping the underside of your chin.

"That she is." He says, grinning.

[marahuyos]

anon asked: Im sorry, I don't know if you're open, if you aren't then feel free to ignore this :")

But if you are, this might be a random idea but can i get Diluc, Xiao and Childe's reaction when they learn that their GN! S/O has a natural skill to train slimes? I just think the vision of an adventurer reader constantly being followed by a small group of slime or them using them as pillows when they camp out is just too cute TwT

*:･ﾟ✧ this request is so cute hnnn i remember playing slime rancher a whole lot so this request makes me so happy <3

diluc x gn!reader, xiao x gn!reader, childe x gn!reader

tw: none

✧ Diluc Ragnvindr

• It was at your camp when Diluc found out about your natural affinity to garner slimes.

• Both of you just finished exterminating Abyss Mages in Windrise so you two ventured back to the Dawn Winery. The bad part is that it was nighttime, so you and Diluc had to make camp. It wasn't rare for you two to camp out, but it was the first few times that you and Diluc camped out together.

• You two act like an old-married couple but in the wilderness. Diluc fixes up the tent and prepares the ingredients while you start cooking. As much as you wanted Diluc to cook his signature steak, you settled for a hearty stew. Sometimes, if Diluc is feeling lighthearted, he wraps his arm around your waist and kisses your temple.

• These were the moments that you treasured. You know Diluc had a tough time showing emotion and you were proud of him for taking the step forward. The fact that you have his arms around you is also a bonus, though.

• You two enjoyed the moment together, feeling his warmth as you spooned his food into his bowl, you heard the rustling of grass. Diluc tensed, summoning his claymore as he placed himself in front of you. You appreciated the sight of his crimson hair and broad back if not for the fact that the monsters that showed up were mere slimes.

• You giggled when you heard Diluc's sharp sigh through his nose. You set down the bowls and touched Diluc's shoulder. "Let me handle this."

• He watches you in mild interest, watching you go near the slimes. He nearly stepped in when the three slimes are hopping closer but he froze when he sees you pet the slimes like they were dogs. The three little Dendro slimes cuddled up to you like puppies at you cooed at them.

• Diluc watched, flabbergasted at the sight. You looked so... in your element that he wondered if you did this normally. It was only a few conversations about slime training that you did do this normally and that you actually owned a ranch with a lot of slimes that you corralled by yourself.

• He's honestly impressed by how efficient your ranch is. Each slime is corralled depending on their element and the secretions that they emit are all sold to the people who need it, more specifically Albedo who never seems to not run out on slime excretions. Your entire ranch is perfect that he can't help but be proud of how much you accomplished.

• If you allow it, he also commissions you to get slime secretions specific for his drinks. He would be remiss not to use these slimes to the fullest advantage. Of course, he pays you always in full whenever he does and you giggle when Diluc gives you a knowing look when people compliment his newest concoction.

• If you roped in Diluc in ranching, he'd be a walking stick. He'd be so frozen on the spot that you had to bite your lip to prevent saliva from going everywhere when you laugh. It was funny to see the man use a vacuum only for the Geo slimes to hit his face. You're always there to bandage his scratched face and the excuse towards people and Kaeya is that he got stuck fighting a finicky Abyss Mage.

• But Kaeya ain't gonna let the image of a Geo slime slamming itself onto his brother's face go anytime soon.

✧ Xiao

• He found out when he was chasing off demon-possessed monsters.

• It was any normal night where Xiao has to purge the evil in the land of Liyue. Some Hilichurls, some Mitachurls, even the run-of-the-mill treasure hoarders causing too much trouble, Xiao continued on. During this night, he was busy chasing the last remaining Hilichurl, using his Anemo powers to keep up with it. He was at a much closer distance now, his arm tensing as he readied to plunge the monster--

• Plop plop! The sound of cryo slimes bouncing up towards the Hilichurl. In a comedic twist of fate, the slimes started clumping up to the monster, leaving it a shivery cold mess at it stopped itself from how cold it was. Xiao gently lowered himself on the ground, looking at the sight with a blank stare.

• Hearing the sound of footsteps, he brandished his spear, eyes flitting over to the perpetrator before it turned out to be you. You were holding a geo slime in your arms as more slimes followed you like puppies. Your eyes widened at the appearance of Xiao with his brandished spear and a Hilichurl getting cuddled to hypothermia by your cryo slimes.

• "Hi, honey?"

• It took you an hour, the first few minutes are you trying to pry Xiao from killing the slimes when they got too close to you, to show Xiao that you have a natural affinity to train slimes. You showed him your ranch and all of the slimes that you've trained so far. Xiao was like a confused cat, eyes widening at each new addition to your ranch. He has to confess on how obscure this talent was, even for mortal standards.

• Still, it puts his mind at ease when he knows that you're safe with a bunch of slimes at your side. Even with their soft bodies and brainless... brains, Xiao knows that they'll at least be a distraction for you to run away.

• But still, to see you so content with a dendro slime as a pillow, watching your relaxed smile... He wishes he had more to his thighs to allow you to sleep on him instead. He grits his teeth every time he has to look at your sleeping form, with a slime underneath your head looking just as content as you are.

✧ Childe

• Out of everyone here, I think Childe would be the least surprised considering at some point, his younger siblings tried to ranch slimes only to end up frozen and sitting next to the fireplace. After a stern lecture from both his parents and older siblings, he can't help but think that whoever would do the same thing would be way too idiotic--

• Oh wait, you do it? Childe thinks it's the cutest thing in the world! Disregard the admonished stares of his younger siblings, saying that he was a simp hypocrite. He loves it and you!

• He enjoys watching you tend to the slimes like they were your own kids. He's like a little kid, watching his older sibling do something cool. If you were able to squint, you could see a little bit of a glimmer shining in Childe's eyes as you teach him how to take care of the slimes.

• Regardless, he's an excellent student. He picks up on how to take care of slimes fast to the point that he could've been your permanent helper. He handles all the heavy lifting, such as moving heavy toys for the slimes to play with, the feed that slimes needed, lifting you up in the air and twirling you around like you two are newlyweds (honestly, the image of you two settling down in a slime farm seems like the best thing Childe could think of).

• If possible, he asks if you can expand your ranch towards Snezhnaya where his siblings can watch you work. He can practically see his younger siblings' faces as you taught them how to care of slimes amidst the freezing weather. Even when Childe has to walk off the jabs that they've done to his side for falling in love with a slime rancher, he's still thinking on what ring to get.

• Remember that he's a family man and he wants to settle down at some point. Sure, he has an insatiable bloodlust but when you came along, the hunger for violence dwindled down. Each time he sees you regard slimes like they were your own children, each time you slap slime secretion on his face to instigate a play fight, each time you kiss him when he comes back from his mission; all of those things made him remember that he wasn't Tartaglia or Childe. He was Ajax, with a light in his eyes and a bunch of slime children to wrangle.

• Of course, he's still a child at heart, so if he sees you getting comfy with a slime pillow, bet he's gonna yank that slime from under you and replace it with his thighs. His thighs are packin', at least better than Xiao's, and you can feel them tense if you run your fingers over them.

• This is why you lose precious sleep and have Childe do all your chores for you. And no he gets no payment in kisses.

[queridopascal]

The new job (Din Djarin x F!Reader)

Part 1 of the “Ad Astra” series

Summary: as your eyes scanned the page, the words “spatial coordinates” and the phrase “writings and symbols no one has been able to decipher” made your eyes widen and your interest spike... (word count: 1.7k)

Warning: mention of food and drinks

A/N: my first ever Mando fic/series (even though we don't get to meet him in this first chapter)! Huge thanks to @hnt-escape for beta reading, and I hope you guys enjoy it ✨

Reblogs and comments are highly appreciated ❤️

NEXT | SERIES MASTERLIST

Sitting alone in your home office with a mug of coffee in your hand, you shuffled through the heap of unopened mail you found upon your return from your last expedition: advertising brochures, leaflets, bills and, at the bottom of the stack, a cream-coloured paper envelope with slightly torn edges.

Prompted by curiosity, you put down the mug and opened the letter with an old knife you kept in the first drawer: it was typewritten, dated 25th of September and signed at the bottom by a certain Elizabeth Williams.

As your eyes scanned the page, the words “spatial coordinates” and the phrase “writings and symbols no one has been able to decipher” made your eyes widen and your interest spike. Your work as an archaeologist had given you the opportunity to travel the world, discover different types of artifacts and ruins, get closer to cultures and their ancient origins; but something inside of you, a feeling in your gut, was telling you that what was described in the letter was unique and, possibly, something you had never seen before.

Without giving it a second thought, you dialed the phone number scribbled underneath the signature and waited with bated breath as you began fidgeting with a pen, clicking it open with every beeping sound coming from the other side.

“Hello?” a calm tone greeted you.

“Mrs. Williams?” you asked, clearing your throat.

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Hi, I’m-”

“I know who you are, I’ve been waiting for your call.” the woman said with a smile in her voice.

“Oh,” you gasped, “I... received your letter and I would love to hear more about this artifact you mention.”

“Great. I’ll have someone pick you up tomorrow morning at 9 sharp.”

“Thanks, Mrs Williams,” you nodded, “do I… have to bring anything?”

“Your knowledge will be sufficient, my dear.”

Once you both ended the call, you took a deep breath and closed your eyes, feeling anxious and impatient for what was about to come and reliving the exact same sensations you had experienced the day of your very first excavation.

After a sleepless night, you were awakened by the furious pitter patter of heavy rain against the windows. The dark grey of the sky made every room of your house incredibly cold and humid, and you put on your favorite cardigan as you dragged your feet into the kitchen to prepare something for breakfast.

When you finished eating, you took a quick shower and got dressed in your favorite black pencil skirt and a white blouse, a matching blazer and a pair of heels completed the look. You took a seat on the couch in your living room and waited for the driver.

At 9AM there was a knock at your front door, and you immediately grabbed your blazer and your purse and walked over to it.

“Good morning, Miss,” the driver bowed his head a little and extended his gloved hand to you while opening a black umbrella with the other. “Please, follow me. Mrs. Williams and her colleagues are waiting for you.”

You put your hand in his as he walked you over to the sedan; he opened the car door and waited for you to get in, shutting it swiftly once you got comfortable in the cream leather back seat.

After a two hours drive, the car stopped in front of a wired mesh and barbed wire fence, lined with several “Military Zone” signs. A couple of seconds later, the guarded gates opened with a screech, letting the car enter what looked like a tunnel carved inside of a mountain.

The driver pulled up in front of a large white door with soldiers on either side, where an elderly woman waited with crossed arms.

“Goodmorning my dear,” the woman stepped towards you. “I’m Elizabeth. Welcome to the Falls Hill military installation.”

She hugged you tightly and you stiffened at first, looking at the two soldiers, whose eyes were fixed on a point in front of them.

“Come, I’ll show you around.”

One of the guards stepped to the side and held the door open for you and Mrs. Williams. The large corridor that extended in front of you reminded you of a war bunker: it was grey and cold, illuminated by pale neon lights, and it had the same distinctive smell you would find in the subway.

You followed her obediently, and when she reached the end of the corridor, she slowly opened a set of double doors bearing an "Authorized Personnel Only" sign; taking a step forward, your mouth dropped open in wonder as soon as you laid eyes on what looked like a giant stone ring covered with strange inscriptions.

“I've never seen anything like this,” you gulped, keeping your eyes fixed on the object.

Mrs. Williams chuckled, pleased at your reaction. “No one has, my dear.”

“Can I…?” you asked in a trembling voice as you pointed at the artifact.

Elizabeth nodded and you walked over to it, placing your hand on the rough surface of the stone to feel the engraved characters under your fingers.

“These inscriptions,” you started, turning to her, “might be hieratic or maybe cuneiform, I think I've seen some of those symbols before.”

“Perhaps you could help us with the interpretation?” she moved to stand beside you and tilted her head to the side, looking at you expectantly.

“Yeah, of course. I'll get to work right away.”

The hours passed quickly, and between one cup of coffee and another, it was already evening. The succession of symbols and characters engraved in the stone kept repeating in your mind, a mix of infinite combinations and interpretations, from the most logical to the least plausible.

Wrinkling your eyes for tiredness, you looked up from all your papers and notes, finding a new possible interpretation of the second row that made your heart race.

“Mrs. Williams, was anything else found in the proximity of this object?”

“I was hoping you'd ask me,” she smiled and motioned you to follow her.

Elizabeth led you through a hallway and stopped in front of another door, resting both hands on the opening handle.

“You are not to speak of this to anyone, understand?”

You simply nodded, your breath catching in your throat at her request.

“Mrs. Williams, I haven't issued any new authorization papers for this lady.” a baritone voice captured your attention, and you turned around only to find a soldier in uniform staring back at you.

“Colonel Shaw, it's nice to see you again,” Elizabeth greeted him with a gentle smile, but the man looked at her with a serious and impenetrable gaze.

“Mrs. Williams, I don't think I'll have to remind you that what's inside this room is classified.” he walked over to the both of you, his expression unfazed.

“She's the new addition to my team, Colonel,” she said, looking him straight into his icy blue eyes, “a world-renowned archaeologist who is going to help us decipher the inscriptions on the stone ring.”

“Exactly. Then why are you here?” he glanced at you out of the corner of his eye.

“Because,” you cleared your throat “the second row of inscriptions refers to another object, described as the portal.”

The Colonel raised an eyebrow at you and sighed, then looked at Elizabeth.

“Permission denied.”

“Excuse me, Colonel Shaw. I was told you would have given me carte blanche, especially since the government authorized this project,” she stepped towards him with her usual calm tone.

“Not for long,” he retorted, “you have one more week Mrs. Williams, the clock is ticking. And since she doesn't have any authorization at the moment, I won't grant her access into this room.”

“Then I guess I'll have to ask Captain Gallo,” she crossed her arms. “See, he was the one who helped us get started with this project and I'm sure he would authorize this young lady in a heartbeat.”

The Colonel exhaled angrily, his jaw was clenched in frustration and you smiled to yourself.

“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth “You have my permission.”

6 days later

Staring at the portal, the inscripted characters on dark metal and stone looked so similar to something you had seen before, but also so different. You felt intimidated by that object, almost in awe, it was as if it gave off vibrations within the room, as if it wanted to give you clues to solve that riddle that had been keeping you and the rest of the team awake for days.

“Morning guys,” Elizabeth walked into the research lab with a box of donuts, “I brought something to eat.”

“Thanks,” you beamed at her as you took a glazed donut from the container. “I really needed something with sugar.”

“How is the research going?”

“Bad,” Linda, one of the members of the team, shook her head, “no matches whatsoever.”

“Is that so?” Elizabeth turned to you, her expression somber.

“Yeah,” you sighed, “even if the inscriptions look familiar to us, when comparing them to all the material we have available, we found no similarities. We’re missing something and tomorrow is the last day.”

“I’m gonna ask for a permit extension, I'm sure they'll grant it to me,” she stroked your back, comforting you.

“I found another reference!” Linda squealed with excitement “Shall we start with the comparison?”

“Absolutely,” you rushed to her side and took a seat on the corner of her desk, looking at the monitor of her computer.

The documents she had just found showed incredible similarities, and referred to an engraved metal fragment found a few months earlier in the Atacama Desert.

“These three symbols are exactly the same ones of the central row!” you exclaimed, not believing your eyes.

Linda nodded, then gulped, “They also say here that they found out some symbols represent a stylized version of constellations, and that this type of metal is not…”

“Terrestrial,” you added as you kept on reading the description under one of the pictures.

Mrs. Williams looked at the both of you with a proud smile, then she walked over to the other desk and dialed a number on the phone.

“Captain, we finally found a match for the inscriptions.”

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[jinnyu]

Used artwork credit here

A/N: I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED THE DRAFT AND THEREFORE THE ASK WAS ALSO DELETED, IM SORRY— alright, hopefully you'll enjoy this nonetheless, thanks for asking! I'll try to find the person who asked for this prompt later.

And so, this ask is Raihan x Female! Reader, the prompt is displayed above.

━─━─━━─━「₪」━━─━─━─━

You sip your bottled tea as you watched Raihan battle the opposing gym challenger from the bleachers; to say you're amused was an understatement. The dragon tamer never ceased to amaze you everytime he's in a battle, regardless if he reigns victorious or fell down in the depths of defeat— his match is always wild, numerous of fans shouting for his side as he let the sandstorm take over the stadium, enveloping it in a rough weather.

The fans were alright though considering the stadium was perfectly designed for these type of things, protecting the said viewers from the harsh effects of the weather— which Raihan takes pride in, looking at how his technique consist of taking advantage of the weather to boost his pokemons powers.

This is what makes you baffled with his performance every time. Even if you already became a Champion that rules over Galar, you didn't look down on him, and you're not planning to.

Occasionally, the dragon tamer would lock eyes with you, sending chills down your spine as his cerulean eyes stare right through you, followed by that signature smug grin of his in which his fans has grown a liking to. You gave him a gesture of support by clenching your hands accompanied by a determined look on your eyes. He noticed your small action and gave you a thumbs up before focusing on the match infront of him once again.

Some fans mistaken it as him looking at them, and they immediately melted on the spot due to that misunderstanding. Though you didn't pay any mind to it, you dont want to ruin people's happiness anyways, just let them be.

After the earthshaking match, which Raihan managed to reign victorious, he gave a hug to the challenger, and telling them that there were no hard feelings involved. Luckily for him, the challenger was still determined to try harder for a rematch in the near future, and they can ensure Raihan that they'll be the one taking victory home next time they meet.

Raihan saw that as a challenge and he's going to get stronger, he wants to give his best at every match, that's his job after all. Losing just wont do for him.

When all of that commotion ended, you approached the said dragon tamer with a smile dancing on your lips and arms open wide, incase he wanted a good ol' hug after the match.

You know him so well, of course he wanted a hug, and its from you— you.. you're his crush, not that you know it, its a new thing for him too. He took an interest on you when he saw you battle at the Championship Cup, reaping the victory without any effort; you're strong, you're tough, you're more than what you seem, and Raihan liked that part of you.

Though on other times, you're also clumsy, careless, and mostly oblivious. These trait of yours just amplified your attractiveness level to Raihan; strong and oblivious usually doesn't match with eachother, yet you managed to make them mix well, creating... you.

"Good job on the victory!"

You planted your face on his chest, burying your head in the warm feeling of his hoodie, and trying your best not to get tiny little sand stuck in your head. It'll be a pain in the ass to clean up later if you did. Your arms wrapped around his lean waist, hugging him as tight as you could to show him your affection.

Raihan responded well by hugging you back and ruffling your hair, saying a light 'thanks' along the way. Maybe without your support, he would've lost this round, and other rounds from before— no matter, he should just focus on the present, where you're hugging him in the middle of the stadium... infront of his assistants. Not to mention Leon is also watching, accompanied by chairman Rosé.

The dragon tamer then pulled back after awhile, he knows this affectionate act of yours doesn't have any meaning behind it. Just a hug you gave to your bestie after his gruelling match; it has became a habit at this point, and you didn't even notice that. Raihan did though, he paid attention on every little details about you. From the way you dressed, to the way your expression changes over the time, that even he notices the smallest shift in your mood during the day.

Silence began spreading between you both, and its getting kind of uncomfy. So you decided to break away the tension by helping him dusting off the sand on his body, and his features. The amount was quite a lot, and it's going to take awhile if you really want to remove all of the tiny bits of sand from the previous match. You even thought about suggesting him to not use the sandstorm weather next time, it's really getting troublesome and somewhat irritating to handle. At least for you.

"Stay still im helping you clean up" you said as you reached for his headband. He didn't want any help in cleaning up this time, considering that Leon is here, and few of his assistants—lets not forget about chairman Rosé whos observing from the sidelines, possibly being held captive by Oleana because of work reasons.

Raihan then gripped your arm as he tilted his head a little bit back, preventing you from reaching his tangerine headband "No need princess, i can clean it up by myself" he grinned, trying to hide the embarrassment thats slowly growing inside him.

Sure he might be a man of confidence, pride swelling on his chest with each step that he takes, but the poor dragon tamer only could handle so much when it comes to you. All that pride and confidence washed away just like that, and thats all because of your damned adorable oblivious trait.

You were determined to take off his headband, even if that means you need to use all off your techniques on him. This time, you only relied on your obliviousness. You really dont know what effect it has on him— you didn't even know if your oblivious trait has an effect on him at all! But you saw him blushing a few times from you being genuinely curious about something, so its worth a try.

Raihan was completely caught of guard when he looked down at you and your determined eyes; it was different from before where you're supporting him, he cant tell whats really different, but it just hits diffrent. You reaching up with Raihan gripping your wrist, warm eyes locking with his followed by a small curl on the edge of your lips as you felt him slowly reducing his strength in the effort to prevent you reach for his headband.

This only resulted in him looking away, blush subtly creeping on his cheeks as he tried to avoid eye contact with you. The Great Raihan would never be embarrassed in such a situation, hell, he'd be the one to make you embarrassed! But this time, apparently the odds were in your side , and you're grateful for that.

The thing you didn't understand was; why is he blushing? You didn't do anything, you only tried to take off his headband in order to clean it, and yet when he locked eyes with you, a tint of blush appeared on his chocolate skin, in which he attempted to hide it by looking at anywhere but towards your direction. This was a great opportunity to make him blush more, dont you think? Its rare to see Raihan blush out of nowhere, and you got to see it up close! A way great opportunity, you couldn't bear to pass this chance.

With a gentle push forwards from your body and him being off guard, you two tumbled down to the ground below you with a loud 'thud' ; Raihan covered your fall by pulling you close to his chest, which makes you comfortably land on his body instead.

"Honestly," you trailed as you got up from your position, lifting your body up with your hands on each side of Raihan's head before looking down onto him with a joyful grin plastered on your face "You're cute when you blush, Rai" you chirped, followed by a soft laugh. The position you guys were in wasn't quite the best to see without context. But you couldn't care less, you two were only having a wholesome bestie moment— yet Raihan might be freaking out inside because, oh Arceus, what is he gonna explain to Leon and the Chairman himself? Him blushing just makes it worse and doesn't help him out at all.

His eyes finally dared to look into yours again while a sigh slipped past his lips "You're just teasing me," he exclaimed as his lips curl into his usual relaxed smile; shades of blush still not leaving his face "Again." He added, hands reaching up to pull you back down onto his body, loving the way you fit inside his embrace just perfectly. He's way taller than you, meanwhile you could be accused of 'tiny' compared to him. Thats why he liked hugging you so much, even if you're just teasing him.

He doesn't care if you know his feelings or not, he's just happy that he could hold you like this without any care in the world right after his tiring match. Though he still does have a lot of explaining to do the the Chairman later, and possibly to Leon too.

[shinyaxhiiragi]

*

*I decided to make a fanfiction of Crowley and shinya when he was still 16 again there are no pictures of those ages of them together so please use your imagination the pictures I post I'm sure everybody would wonder what would be like so I decided to do this is a little treat*

*Shania was 16 years old and he went out on a mission by himself he was ordered to do a reconnaissance investigation and strange suspicious characters in the area by the school president and his foster brother Kureto Hiiragi he rode his motorcycle to where this place was supposed to be pops off his bike and went into a building the building across was supposed to have people inside that weren't supposed to be near the school territory or ground he was wearing his combat uniform and he put his gun to his face*

Shinya:This is pretty odd I don't sense any heat signatures it's impossible all living things have heat signatures if they're what I think they are this isn't good

*if you was right he couldn't make any sudden movements to give away his location all he could do was stay still and watch the movement and his scope wondering who they were and why they were there and all of a sudden a man with red hair and black hair came out he was wearing what looked like a white uniform but definitely a vampire and high ranking Noble what on Earth or nobles doing out here Shania could feel his body tense up this is bad if that Noble even notices him he's good as dead*

*staying low and is still as he could he saw other vampires walking around examining things and taking them with them they were all about to leave and to his horror the man with the red and black hair turned around and looked in his direction with a smirk on his face*

Shinya: shit this isn't good he spotted me I got to make a run for it don't know how fast he is since he's a noble but at least got to try!?

*Shinya got up and I'm summoned his rifle and tried to make a run for his motorcycle all he could think in his head was this could be the end and since his supposed to be fiance betrayed the hiiragi family he was pretty much expendable there was no use for him anymore he ranas building he was in only to skid to a halt that vampire was there smiling at him with his arms folded*

Crowley: my my what a soft delicate little lamb we have this look in the cattle is quite right I wonder how you taste

*Shinya jumps back his rifle back out and his hands again* stay back!?

*he fires at the vampire Noble only to have it reflected back him falling down near a wall somewhere a little injured*

*Crowley laughs as he knock s the rifle away from him as he looks at the soft features of this human if he wasn't wearing a man's uniform he would have thought it was a girl*

Crowley: man if it wasn't for that male uniform in that flat chest I would have thought you were a woman never thought I'd see a male human that looked so pretty*he was now on top of the poor lad popping open his collar*I wonder how you taste

*all Shinya could do was struggle in this vampires grasp they were stronger than humans they were basically the ace predators and now he was at the mercy of this Noble vampire*

Shinya : l-let go don't touch me!?

*Crowley didn't listen to the boy as he undead the rest of his shirt and unnatured revealing his chest paining him to the ground shoving his gloved fingers and his mouth not wanting the other vampires to hear him *

Crowley: hush now little human you have a better chance of survival with me than with those others they'll drink you dry be a good boy and stay quiet and I will keep you as a secret pet

*shinya could only shiver at these man's words a pet what does he mean by that what is he going to do with them he tried to hold his emotions in check like his strict training required but he couldn't stop the tears from falling down his face he was scared to death he heard the stories about what vampires did to humans

*Crowley saw this and just chuckled to himself it was so cute how humans try to hide their weaknesses but it always ends up coming through when it came to a vampire going for their blood and they would always played bag and struggle and look at him seeing a crest on the boys clothes peaked as interest and smirked when he saw with that crust meant

Crowley: my my will I'll be if isn't a Hiiragi I have in my hands

* thow shinya was scared and shivering he managed to mumble something that made the vampire take the fingers out of his mouth*

Crowley: what did you say little lamb?

Shinya : I'm not blood related I was adopted into the family to be a mate to the next head of the family but she ended up betraying the family so I'm nothing but expendable* he looks. Away from those red eyes looking down at him*

*Crowley looked at the boy how could somebody so young thinking such a way what did he go through this was going through his mind and he just put it aside as he pulled the boy clothes and drinks the boys blood*

*Crowley drinks from the fair-haired young man the boy wasn't lying he wasn't blood related he had their blood before this blood was different sweeter more pure and the power he thinks in his head so this is why they adapted him they wanted power in their blood line oh well he's mine now*

*all Shinya could do was shiver and cling on to this man it was kind of scary but there was a bit of pleasure in it though it was also humiliating*

Shinya : please don't stop I'll die at this rate

*Crowley hearing the boy stopped he didn't want to kill the boy his blood was extremely rare and and sweet*

Crowley: don't worry I won't drink anymore my cute little blood slave

*Crowley picks up the adopted Hiiragi and throws him over his shoulder heading back with the best price he could find*

* all Shinya could think of the moment was what will happen to him well brother Kureto ever look for him or will he just accept him as a loss and totally forget about him what is his fate now?

Ps .. not my pictures but the story is mine the good question is will Nissan save his foster brother?

[serenagaywaterford]

14) really broken and damaged. And… yeah. That doesn’t magically disappear when you hop over a border." Exactly! Let's hope that they'll spare us all any mindless fluff. g) "Mostly cos if that is ALL someone has left, it’s necessary. Gilead isn’t going to be overturned by words alone" You're right of course. I did like what they implied with the cinematic parallel between June's pen and that bomb though: "The pen can be mightier than the sword." (Well, at least in the democratic parts of the

15) world.) It's a shame that Fred returned so soon... Ah, a question: What would have happened to Serena if Fred had died? Would she have remained a Wife or what? h) "I don’t think I’d have the balls Emily has lol." Yeah, same. Plus, I doubt I would be half as good a political player as June. i) "And the confrontation scene between her and Janine in the Colonies was well done as well." Loved that scene! j) "it was just unrealistic for a prof, even an adjunct lecturer to pull aside a first year

16) student like and so that whole thing seemed a bit deus ex." I know what you mean. That was stretched out. My fav thing about her whole uni past were her conversations/interactions with Professor Dan. k) "She didn’t need Fred to have terrible ideas, especially like after she was shot and basically implied that Fred needs to go above the law and murder a bunch of people." Ah, yes. That was one of the moments that solidified to me that Serena wasn't just a "bitch", but a truly awful, rotten to

17) the core person. She brought this whole mess on herself and doesn't really have any excuse."How very Lady Macbeth of her." Apparently, I have a type when it comes to fictional "problematic faves", heh. l) "I saw a lot of criticism of Serena about how she’s a shitty mother etc etc." WUT? I'm never gonna agree with this fandom regarding Serena, am I? Thank goodness there's you, LOL. For ALL her awfulness, I think that Serena would actually be a good (and loving), if overprotective, mother.

18) "but I have to assume it’s from people who have never had babies for more than a few hours. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows 24-7. It’s stressful, frustrating, annoying, aggravating, etc. at times and it’s completely normal for new mothers to get overwhelmed and really fucking stressed out. It doesn’t mean they’re going to beat the shit out of their children" EXACTLY what I was going to say. m) "She’s an excellent writer, strong orator, talented artist and skilled gardener, and who knows

-------

Yeah. As much as it’s nice not to be dragged down by depressing realism all the time, I find it jarring when fluff pops up in a show like THT. And Emily’s storyline going all optimistic and fluffy (and healthy) just cos she’s in Canada would be a disservice. I know a lot of fans really want Emily to be okay (I do too!) but I just don’t think it’s so simple at this point. Holy trauma, batman. Gotta work through that. I don’t think the show is dumb enough to go so quickly through Emily’s healing, but ....meh. Ya never know.

I agree about the pen/bomb thing. I didn’t mean to imply that words are unimportant, cos they totally are. And I very much enjoyed the pen/bomb parallel too! I thought it was really important how Serena/June’s words had power, even if that was only cos they had Fred’s signature on them and so it’s not truly their power. I think the power of words is really the only way to change ideology. Cos, sure, you can change a government of powers in charge with physical force but you can’t change the underlying shit without words. Look at Serena’s power pre-Gilead. That was all words--and a little riotous melodrama lol. Speaking of words, I felt the weakest part of one of my fav eps 2x09, was the “words” bit. Like, I appreciate what they were trying to do but it didn’t make sense to me personally why those letters would suddenly make any difference.

Like, they have 100s or 1000s (presumably) of escaped Handmaids, etc already in Canada, with their own stories... and they’re still alive. Everyone knows about all the deaths and victims of Gilead, hence the refugee centres large database. I just don’t understand why a bunch of letters would suddenly change Canadians minds. Like... they have WAY more influential evidence LIVING amongst them already. And letters are simple to forge/make up. I just don’t get why they went “boom”.

I dunno. That’s just me. I thought it was a weakness of the episode. If Canada wasn’t already full of survivors with their own horrible stories, I’d get it. Those letters would be like OMG. But Canada seems totally aware of all the horrors of Gilead, and there were already 100s of protesters following Fred around. 

Maybe I missed something? Are we supposed to believe that there are actually very few survivors that are in Canada? Help! lol

ITA about Emily’s flashbacks. The bits with Prof Dan were really well done. They were my fav bits too.

I think Serena’s insinuation that Fred needs to take matters into his own hands was one of the darkest things Serena has done. I mean, in a sense, I understand why she would say that. She’s totally aware a lot of people hate her (clearly lol) and she doesn’t trust the police to actually be on her side. It’s the same right-wing paranoia that idiot privileged white people think now even though everything is the opposite in the stats. I mean... tbh, Serena didn’t technically say, “Go kill some people, you whiny baby!”. She just sorta implied it and Fred ran with it to the extreme. (Which sorta goe sback to always having really evil shit in him. Cos, tbh, executing those kids was not exactly what I got from Serena’s words. Normal people would be like, “Okay. I’m gonna go fuck them up real good for ya honey!” Like beat the shit out of them. Not kidnap then murder 2 people. I do think Serena’s dismissiveness of Fred’s concern played a role in him having to prove himself to be a man. Like, woah, man.)

(Another Lady Macbeth fan? Honestly, we may actually be separated at birth.)

I feel like people look for reasons to hate Serena that don’t actually exist. Between “She’d obvs be an abusive mother!” and “She created the Handmaids!”, they love hating her for the sake of hating her. It’s just impossible that a character can be multi-faceted and complex and do things we don’t hate, alongside things we do find repulsive. And I think misogyny plays into this need to hate her for absolutely everything bad that ever happens/could happen, while giving Fred the benefit of the doubt or a free pass cos he’s just doing what she wants, or whatever. Ah, don’t even get me started lol.

Yesterday, I stumbled across an article from a while ago about the 15 “most evil” characters on THT and ofc guess who was #1? And I just... I’m sorry, I think the the men that literally developed the entire handmaid system are maybe a little worse? Like that guy who she’s married to who has no redeemable qualities at all, like he doesn’t even care about babies? Call me crazy, but the men in power seem just slightly more evil. But hey... Ah, no, self. Stop right now. I will rant for like 3 days straight and it will not make any sense lol.