#we can be infected together hehe

[inkykeiji]

kisses aku on each of his lil fangies (*¯ ³¯*)♡

mwah mwah mwah mwah!!!!! ♡ ～('▽^人) i wanna lick them hehe <3 wanna suck on them n curl my tongue around them ehehe <33 i don’t care if it gets me infected!!!

[intotheelliwoods]

Some thoughts...

[acotarxreader]

Moonlight Swim

Cassian x Reader

Synopsis: Cassian has his heartbroken at the end of Illyrian training party he attended. Lovelorn and in need of a miracle, you cross his path to set his night on a course of centuries-long pining.

Warnings: Fluff, near drowningish?

A/N: This is very sweet I think, hehe. I know I just posted a fic yesterday but I say fuck it, here you go ✨ Let me know what you think friends!

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

Cassian sat on the damp decaying porch of a manor house he didn’t know who belonged to, an enormous party spewing across the Illyrian property. The Illyrian warriors had earned their party, coming to the end of decades of rigorous training and sacrifice. Cassian took a deep drink from his tumbler of whiskey, more than a little on his way to drunk, more than a little heart broken, bleeding and wishing for a miracle to happen. Cassian's eyes fell on the splintered wood of the porch supports and then onto the split skin of his knuckles as they stitched together. He thought of the female who had just stormed away leaving him on the disintegrating deck, how she promised him the world for the past few months and then ripped it away. The thought had his fist flying into another spandrel on the porch and he fought the urge to scream until his lungs went dry into the Summer night. Cassian necked the remainder of the liquor before firing it into a nearby bush. 

“Not one for glassware huh?” The sweet playful voice fell like music on Cassian's ears and yet he kept his gaze forward on the woods below the house on the hill. Cassian tucked his wings tighter into his back, wishing to disappear into the night’s shadows. 

“Are you okay?” he only returned a half grunt to you, hoping to get you to leave and failing. Cassian felt your warm energy replace the cold next to him on the step. A conflict of wanting you to leave and wanting to never be alone again raged in Cassian's mind.

“Are you from Windhaven?” he nodded in confirmation, still forcing his eyes forward.

“Well I’m not so-”

“Is that supposed to fucking mean something to me?” he didn’t mean to direct the anger from the fallout towards you, feeling instantly guilty, only to have you softly laugh him off. 

“It means I guess that I don’t know you and you don’t know me and we may never know each other beyond this night so you can tell me what’s wrong and I won’t pop up later in life to use it against you which you seem like the type to greatly fear that”

“I don’t need to vent, I need to be left alone” he lied but you rose from the deck and left for a moment, Cassian regretting his words. You arrived back to your space on the rotting deck, gently prying Cassian split hand from and rubbing in a lavender-scented salve. You ran a thumb over the syphon decorating his hand, his eyes landing on the movement.

“Now Grumpy Bat, at least you won’t end up with a hook for a hand because of infection” You twisted the lid back on the jar of the homemade salve before standing. 

“Why are you at this party with salve?” he said so quietly he thought you wouldn’t hear.

“I’m just passing through with a product delivery” you offered moving to leave the decking and the Illyrian.

“I broke up with my partner tonight” Cassian wasn’t sure why he felt the need to confess, internally blaming it on the alcohol and blood loss.

“Why is she more of an emerald fan than a ruby fan?” you laughed gesturing towards the syphon, Cassain realised you really weren’t from around here. You rejoined his side and he found himself laughing for the first time in a long time, his eyes finally landing on your face. Cassian felt lightness course through him in the light of your genuine smile to him, the swirling heartbreak headache easing to a stop.

“No, more like she’s a fan of other Faes mouths” You sucked air through your teeth before attempting to smile again, Cassian feeling the pity leak from you and he hated it.

“Did you hit him?”

“Not yet” he gave a grin before pointing to the splintering post you were leaning on, gaining an equal grin from you.

“I’m sorry your ex was a jerk”

“I could think of stronger words for her” he scoffed, forcing down the growing tears in his eyes, his best party trick. 

“I can go call her those words if you want, I have nothing to lose” Cassian exhaled a small laugh before speaking again.

“Thanks for the salve, you can go back to the party if you want” 

“Nah, not really my scene” you offered.

“Then what is your scene?” he raised an eyebrow to your words, your grin growing wider. 

-----------

You held his hand as you pulled him down the hill in the shadow of the house and through the forested area. Cassian wasn’t normally the type to follow a stranger so blindly into the woods and yet he couldn’t do anything but be pulled by your magnetic force.

“Are you going to murder me?” Cassian laughed, leaping over tree roots behind you.

“I haven’t decided yet Grumpy Bat” you toyed back before coming out the other side of the woods, a large deep lake stretching across the flooded mountain valley.

“Yup you’re going to murder me” You released his hand and playfully hit him into his chest as he beamed at you. He watched you wander down the slope to a disused dock before he followed you, unable to keep from your orbit. 

“Woah you work fast” Cassian laughed as you began to strip down until you were left in your underwear and vest, rolling your eyes at the Illyrian who couldn't quite believe how his night was going.

“C’mon”

“Wait really? You want to go swimming?”

“Yeah let's go Grumpy Bat” Cassian wasn’t this kind of character, training had made him rigid and rule bound and yet he couldn’t fight against the need to be everything you wanted and so happily he wanted to be. Cassian pulled his shirt from over his head, stripping down to his underwear as he felt your eyes cling to him, tracing every muscle

“My eyes are up here” he teased, causing you to pull your eyes from his bare chest and shove him back before catching his wrist and pulling him forward again. 

“Ready?” Cassian nodded slowly before you flew off the dock, plunging into the crystal-like water lit by the Summer’s moon. You both bobbed to the top quickly, laughing loudly echoing through the woods, not releasing one another's hand. Panic began to run through Cassian, he hated swimming, was never particularly strong at it and found it increasingly hard to focus on staying afloat while looking at your glow in the water. 

“Are you okay?” your laugh was like music in his ears as he fought the rising panic.

“Yeah its just- its just-”

“Not a strong swimmer?” Cassian saw you try not to laugh, unsure if he’d ever been so embarrassed in his life. His toes stretched to just about touch the silty bottom of the lake, still too deep for comfort for him. You carefully guided him back towards the dock, climbed out and helped to pull him back to the dry ground. 

“Why did you jump in if you're not a strong swimmer, you could have been hurt!” you chuckled at him as he shook the water from his hair.

“You said to”

“If I told you to jump off a cliff would you do that too?”

“Depends, is there water at the bottom of it?” you pushed me back laughing loudly, Cassian then suddenly very aware that you were half naked in front of him, your vest soaked through to your skin. He watched you saunter towards your clothes, his eyes tracing over your curves with new desire. 

“Here” you tossed him his clothes, slipping your arms through the sleeves of your jumper, Cassian trying to hide his sadness at the sight of you redressing. 

“You’re crazy”

“I’m crazy? I didn’t just jump into the water knowing I couldn’t swim because some stranger told me to”

“Yeah you are crazy, you strip off in front of a stranger and then just go for a swim with them like it’s no big deal” he laughed, pulling his trousers up to his waist

“You make it sound like I was naked” you laughed, sliding back on your skirt.

“I wish you were” Cassain wasn’t even a little mad that he let that comment slip out, your smile turning to a smirk. Your skirt fell back to the wooden dock floor, stepping closer towards Cassian. He stopped buttoning the buttons at the feeling of your hand catch the waistband and pull him in closer to you

“You wish I was?” you almost batted your eyelashes at him.

“You bet” his eyes were all over you and as you bit your lip his hands found their way to your waist. This is crazy, this is lunacy Cassian thought but then you kissed and it was like this was always always meant to be, that this was always going to happen, it made sense. You pulled back from him a little breathlessly and then ran your hands across his abdomen so teasingly, letting your fingers trace every groove. Cassian felt stone-cold sober but yet so utterly intoxicated by you at the same time, he took your chin in his hands and kissed you so purely again. 

“HEY!” you both separated to find a drunk Rhysand waving from the top of the woods.

“Shit, that’s one of my friends, soon to be deceased might I add”

“Cassandra wants to talk to you!” Rhysand called again from the edge of the forest. You pulled back fully from Cassian then, remembering what sent you both on this adventure, you pulled your skirt back to your hips and awkwardly ran a hand through your hair.

“Sorry, I-I don’t know what she wants” Cassian looked between his waiting friend and you.

“You should probably go find out”

“Do you-do you think I should get back with her?” Cassian felt so utterly comfortable with you that he didn’t feel the strength of the absurdity of the question. 

“Hey, I’m just a stranger you kissed after nearly drowning, it doesn’t really matter what I think” You covered the sadness in your voice with a fake smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes. 

“It does matter” 

“I think fans of rubies shouldn’t settle for fans of emeralds” you offered, Rhysand reaching our side after jogging down somewhat wobbly. 

“Hey, didn’t you hear me-”

“-I did” he cut across his brother, eyes still fixed on you, silence filling the valley as Rhysand looked between you both. 

“Did I interrupt someth-”

“-I had a lot of fun tonight, see you around maybe” you interrupted Rhysand before smiling gently and heading away from the Illyrians, out of their sightline quickly. 

“Cass, who was that?”

“I have no idea but I fucking wish I found out” 

—-------

It had been decades and decades since that encounter, it never really leaving Cassian. He took it through every life experience he had, giving him comfort on his darkest nights and adding to the joy of his happiest days. He spent the time since that night trying to recreate the feelings he felt with numerous conquests and the remaining time looking for you, his job as General frequently getting in the way. 

Cassian sat on the steps of Ritas one chilly Summer night, watching his friends drunkenly dance in the street, his family giving him such comfort. Cassian felt a pang of jealousy course through him as he watched Feyre and Rhysand sway in the light of the moon.

“Do you do anything besides mope and drink on porch steps?” Cassian spun so quickly that he nearly fell to the ground at the sound of music he hadn’t heard in a lifetime. 

“I-I-I” words had fully left the Illyrian as he drank your beauty in once again, he found himself pinching his arm to ensure he was awake and this wasn’t a cruel trick from the Mother, gaining a laugh from you. 

“You sure like the long game don’t you Grumpy Bat? Gotta say, hiding for centuries in a previously unknown city sent me some serious leave me alone vibes” you beamed at him as Cassian returned the sentiment, the sound of a nickname he longed for such a time to be called again. Cassian felt himself bolt towards you, practically sweeping you off your feet in the gigantic hug he enveloped you in.

“How goes the love life?”

“It hasn’t gone much of anywhere” he grinned down towards your glowing face, never so happy that his lovelife was in cinders. 

“Well that's great”

“Why so?” he laughed to you.

“Because otherwise, I’d be in a lot of trouble” You reached up towards him and met his lips with centuries of passion, Cassian meeting you in equal intensity. Cassian walked you back until your back met the brick corner of Ritas, the glow of the sign lighting the path.

“I’m YN by the way”

“Cassian”

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

[littlepadika]

hi friend!! i absolutely love your fics. especially the daddy/papi ones (i’ve read them all so many times!!!) would i be able to request some daddy joel little reader fluff please! 🤍🤍🤍

hehe me was talking bout dis idea with @littlebirdsbookshelf. Kinda angsty but ends soft and fluffy i pwomise. Takes place after encounter with the infected. I hope you wike i wrote all in one go!

Warnings: big emotions, ddlg, fem little

It was hard living in the QZ and being little. It was hard living in this fucked up world and still trying to be playful. Joel knew you sometimes let big emotions and fear come out when you were little. Things in the past that he couldn't change. He wished he could protect you from it all. Wish he could go back in time and make it right.

Violence was how many people around here coped. It wasn't unusual for someone to punch someone else in broad daylight or pull guns on each other. It was a tenuous peace among the residents. The latest attack near the border had everyone on edge. No more search parties for a week so rations were running low.

"We can't go baby I'm sorry." Joel tried to explain for the third time. He sat you down on the couch.

"But why?" you pouted. You woke up with your bag all ready to go for a sunday hike. It was something you looked forward to every week.

"They're not lettin' anyone out right now. It's not safe."

"pcuz of me" you clamped your eyes shut.

"No..." Joel frowned, rubbing your arm. "Because of those scary monsters."

To Joel's dismay you started crying and balling your fists up. He knew you wanted to scream in frustration but you were holding it in like a good girl. Like he told you. You can't scream anymore. Draws too much attention.

Joel knew this feeling too. When the weight of everything got too much and started to spill over. He used to take pills or drink the feeling away but he knew it wasn't healthy. One time he even punched a wall which gave him scars over his knuckles to this day. Eventually people just go numb from the anger. They walk around the QZ like zombies. Joel fears them more than the infected beyond the border.

"Are you angry?" Joel asked, feeling panic stir in his belly. You were having big girl emotions.

You nodded quickly. Having trouble keeping it all in you started pushing joel's chest weakly and head butting his chest. You were not trying to hurt him but trying to get your anger out. You pressed your lips together and exhaled hot air that felt like you were breathing fire.

"Here petal..." Joel looked around before grabbing pillow from behind you. "Here punch this, baby. Get all that anger outta ya."

"But- but pillow" You paused, not wanting to hit your comfort object.

"It's okay. Pillow can take it. Let pillow help you." Joel kissed the top of your head before guiding your fist to the soft pillow. It was a little flat from you carrying it around but it still absorbed the blow.

You gave it a weak hit, then another, then another. Pretty soon you were hitting it with as much strength as you could muster. You felt your frustration build but it felt kinda good. Hot tears landed on your fists as they hit the pillow. The pillow and lumpy couch cushion damped the sound into little thuds. Daddy joel's body made a safe coccoon where you could let all your emotions out. His arms bracketing you as you punched. You leaned forward till your head was almost touching his chest. Thump. Thump.

"That's it. Let all those big emotions out, baby." Joel whispered feeling his own tears sting his eyes. He wanted to do more but he just watched you keep going until you were panting.

You imagined all the scary things in the world and punching them one by one like daddy joel would do. You imagined punching through a thick door that was blocking you and daddy joel from the light.

"Come on, baby. Show daddy what you're feeling. Good girl." He urged you on. Proud of how you were letting yourself feel everything.

"Hmmf hmmf" You grunted with each punch. You were getting tired and as you got tired the sadness sunk in. This world was so mean. You looked up at daddy with tears still pooled in your eyes and melted under his warm empathetic gaze.

"Are you all done, petal? Oof-" He caught you as you jumped into his lap. "Aw it's okay. That was scary huh?"

"M-mhm" You were shaking a little.

He rubbed your back as you cried silently, hiccuping from being out of breath.

"I gotcha. You're safe. Ain't nothin gonna happen." He whispered into your hair.

"Da-daddy..." You croaked sniffing his t shirt. You looked up puckering for a kiss which joel happily bestowed. He kissed your lips then around your tear streaked face.

"Feel better?" He asked after a moment.

"Ya." You sigh. He rocks you in his arms until your breathing slows.

"I'm sorry we can't go hiking, petal. But I'm sure we can have fun exploring around here. We haven't done an i spy with stuff 'round here."

"Here is bo'ing." You sniffle. You pull pillow into your lap and stroke it as if trying to smooth out areas you punched.

"Oh it most certainly ain't." Joel chuckled. "Have you seen all the treasures around here. I'm sure I saw some old tea cups by the laundry. An i know you been wantin' to play tea time with april!"

"Der is?" You perk up, wiping your eyes.

"Mhm why don't we go find it, huh?" Joel suggests, his spirits lifting.

You get your hiking bag and trail snacks packed up like it was a regular hike. Joel wrote down a list for you to play i-spy. Even though it was only around the QZ it still was fun. And you did find some lightly chipped sky blue tea cups. Daddy washed them up for you and set it up like a real tea party!

"Daddy come." You point at the chair next to you.

"Why thank ya for invitin' daddy."

"Mhm daddy always welcome." You nod, pouring him some 'tea' (it was lemonade and honey that joel warmed up). You did a good job and didn't spill.

"Good job with that petal." he praised. "Well let's see here... i think we should start it off with a toast to you petal for being a brave girl and a smart girl findin' all the things on i-spy." He held up his cup.

"Fankie." You grin. "Thankie to daddy for letting me have big emotions and not be angy." You clinked glasses with him.

"I love that you have big emotions, petal." Joel smiled. "It's what's gonna save this messed up world I reckon."

~~~~~~~~

Daddy masterlist

[jellyvibes710]

2024 has approached and has smacked me in the face, where the hell the new year come from??

Anyways, my drawings this year 😎

The first three are from an eddsworld comic I'm working on, I decided to pick up a pencil after about two years without drawing and it became a side project, it's hard to believe that a small (well, not very small) project lead me to all this 👀💙💜❤️🧡

I can't believe the improvement over a year, that's insane.

I just wanted to thank you guys for helping me find the motivation to start drawing again, I never thought I'd come so far and honestly I can't thank you guys enough, I'm awful with words but thank you thank you thank you.

Especially special thanks to @abbeyofcyn @skylabrea @wandering-ghost @the-fluidiest-gender @ilivelikeimtrying (I really hope I didn't forget anybody, I'm bad with names ahhhh) you all helped me in more ways than I can count and I'm grateful to have you guys in my life 🫂

For once in a long time I'm looking forward to what's ahead, admittedly bad start but I'm still looking forward to what's to come, so to start off a new year I figured I'll show you all what's to come after little baby blue is complete

Spoilers ;]

The first drawings of this year too

Originally I wanted to do a future au that focused on Casey Jr and his life in the apocalypse, but little baby blue was created instead and being honest, I thought about it for like two days then jumped right in because I got excited, so the first few parts up till recently have been completely off the top of my head, I have everything planned, every detail, I got scripts and future parts sketched out as rough drafts, I have Playlists for future animations, I planned everything but the very very beginning, so oops.

But LAST HOPE AU will be a prequel to little baby blue, everything in little baby blue will link back and connect with last hope and vice versa, there has already been hints and foreshadowing in little baby blue that tie in with last hope, events that have happened in Casey's timeliness have already started to appear, just not in the way it had in his time. Everything will tie together in a neat little bow hehe.

We do get small snippets of Casey's past in Little Baby Blue but the story mainly focuses on leo and his brothers. Last Hope is dedicated to Casey Jr and his story that lead to the events of LBB.

A small bit of detail of the characters Casey mainly interacts with

Donnie makes more than just guns with his ninpo as you can see, he saves close combat weapons for his most bloodlust of days, especially when his family gets hurt. His hands are scarred from building the best tech he can with what little he's got, all his family wears this specially designed tech because out of everybody he wants to keep his dum dum brother's, April and Cassandra alive the most. He has the base in heavy lockdown and has strict system when it comes to missions that him and leo enforced to ensure maximum survival, donnie is cold blooded and fierce and only allows his family into his tech room that's heavily secured. When Casey Jr is born Donnies "emotionally unavailable" image gets turned to dust and genuinely gets excited when it's his turn to watch Jr, it's the only time he's actively away from his tech and security systems is to watch Casey Jr but he doesn't worry about it because if he's not there S.H.E.L.D.O.N. is on watch and notifies donnie when it's an emergency or something important, once Jr is old enough he allows Casey into his tech room and teaches Casey about how his tech works and how it operates.

Mikey never reaches his old man stage, only being 40 when the events of the movie take place. This is mainly due to the fact that he never learned how to cure kraang infected survivors, once someone is infected they couldn't be saved. He's at his most powerful protecting those closest to him and is still the main cook, him and donnie are the last line of defense if the base is ever attacked. He's the most connected to their family ninpo, him and leo work together to try and reawaken Leo's powers and were actually successful until leo lost his arm, he could never find out what had Leo's ninpo in a chokehold. Him and Casey have an entire room dedicated to wall art and often when mikey watches Casey they need to bathe all the paint off him afterwards, It's the only room full of color and is open to everyone to sit and enjoy the colors.

Raph is big, angry, intimating and powerful, but he is the kindest heart you'll find in the turtle group. Him and Cassandra go on missions together most of the times and he took her passing the hardest, he was a father figure to Casey Jr and despite being the biggest turtle he was the most gentle with Jr. He passed suddenly but died protecting those he loved most. Mikey talks with raph A lot after his death and donnie chimes in from time to time but unfortunately leo is unable to reach raph but knows he's there.

Leo is the leader of the resistance, he's looked up too as much as he's looked down upon, he doesn't take kindly to insults about his family and will put you in your place if one is threatened. He bugs Donnie a lot and try to do their traditional twin night as often as they can, along with being leader of the resistance he also helps Mikey cook, he helps Raph make clothes, and helps Donnie with security, he doesn't have time to watch Casey but always keeps an eye on him, sometimes when dee and Leo have twin nights they bring Casey with, after Leo loses his arm Casey is attached to his hip and after Raphs death Leo takes Casey under his wing and teaches him everything he needs to know to survive.

Cassandra is the mother of Casey Jr, she’s crazy fearless and insanely strong for being human. Even when she was pregnant she was trying to kick kraang butts, after Jr was born she settled down for a few months with April at her side who was teaching her how to properly handle an infant. After those few months though she was right back to her crazed energy and fighting spirit, she took it upon herself to teach the other mothers how to fight off kraang while protecting their kids, one example is kicking kraang face while burping child. Multitasking at its finest. She was in her sons life till he was 3 1/2 years old and she tragically lost her life, we will witness how she lost her life in little baby blue through one of the flashbacks Casey has and it’ll also be in last hope, sadly Casey was there to witness his mother’s final moments.

The one, the only, April O’Neal! Commander and right hand lady of the resistance, she’s always around the base trying her best to help lessen the load on Leo’s shoulders while still trying to be her bubbly self. She’s mostly helping her mother out in the medbay though and was there to help save Leo’s life multiple times, always followed by treating the soft shells wounds shortly after his freak outs. She’s not very well trained in medicine but her mother and Leo have taught her most of the basics knowledge for when she’s in battle and is needed. She is one of the few that survives till the events of the movie

I look forward to what's coming in little baby blue, and for what's to come in LAST HOPE. I hope you all are as excited as I am hehehe

There is WAY, W A Y more details and story but I don't want to spoil the whole thing ;]

Also as a bonus, if anyone is interested or just curious, l'll answer any questions either regarding little baby blue or last hope. Though depending on the question you may get spoilers, you've been warned 🫡

[sadevergreen]

as a camp counselor (technically not currently bc i went home for Illness) and homestuck fan (also technically not currently bc I'm too busy being a camp counselor) i love camp skaia. which homestuck characters are most likely to be the "we're ALL sick there's no reason you can't do the hike up the hill" (has mild cold and vague heatsickness at worst) counselor x "actual lung infection but thinks it's a really normal cold" (very easily gaslit) counselor program group pair? i feel like eridan and kanaya are hot contenders here

ooo ok this is so good- apologies for the ever loving hell that you are about to see but i sought assistance from my dear dear pale friend @marv3l-drag0ns !!!!!!!! MUAH PLATONICALLLY <> ILY they were a huge help in putting this together

BOY DO I HAVE A LOT TO SAY ON THIS, THIS WAS EXTREMELY FUN :D

so let’s begin: my immediate instinct was kanaya and tavros are the most easily gaslit, or adhere most to given direction (we’re not going to talk about HIM). but then who to pair them with? they are both wet cats that won’t work. we decided that YES kanaya and eridan definitely make sense! but in which role? it may seem obvious but NO! eridan too sick? whiny fussy pitiful sopping kitty he’s just a beanbag full of milk! so we decided barely sick eridan, otherwise he’d be throwing a fit. instead he’s referring to his Superior Genes! and kanaya is. strugglin. but fuck man here we are 🤷‍♂️

But we’re not done yet!

the next we considered was karkat and terezi!! especially aided through the lens of karkat’s old crush on terezi; he’s too whipped and in denial to deny a girl a hand!

this led to possibly the funniest thing ever: THE INNER KANKRI THAT EVERYONE HAS AND HE SITS ON YOUR SHOULDER AND REMINDS YOU TO BE DECENT AND LEAVE ROOM FOR KANKRI

for the bigger drawings i capped it off with a good ol favorite of mine; erifef. why did i like them? man idek anymore but it worked really well with the idea of eridan being the sicker one, but being ok such thin ice over his constant whining that he just has to go along with it we just though it was funny hehe. it can be viewed through any lens! snippy or non, s’all good here! it’s all canon.

what is he was sick and he couldn’t whine 🥺 what is he was sick and he wasn’t allowed even a snivle about it 🥺 not a snort 🥺 or a sob 🥺 he’s so pathetic !!!! besides, he can’t be out paced by some fuckin kids!!!! HES A GROWN ADULT 16-18 Y/O CAMP COUNSELOR GODDAMNIT!!

MARVEL: “Feferi: ah yes your sickness you have a functioning immune system and are the most dramatic guy on planet earth (only one of those statements is true)” which statement? :) yeah

she doesn’t believe him anymore <333

Ok and that is it for full line art doodles, but!!! i couldn’t resist drawing some more pairs we pondered

ERIDAN AND KARKAT: omfg so good!! but they would 100% either both be tooooo sick and dead, or they would both be mostly fine

VRISKA AND TAVROS: no. and you know why we’re not doing this one :,( we all instantly knew this one would be here but we are choosing to ignore it im favor of…

TAVROS AND KARKAT: Marvel proposed it and it was very interesting!! i think similar to eridan and karkat, where they’re both dead or both barely sick. no i’m between. aggressive yet positive motivation (?) for the win!!! they further proposed that karkat “eats dirt for a living and doesn’t get sick very often”

Overall this was really fun to put together and answer, and i had a blast getting to colab with a mutual along the way :3 so thank you anon and thank you marvel!! this does bring me to something i’ve been meaning to say,,.,,,

@marv3l-drag0ns ,,? we’ve been friends forever, you know my dogs middle name, we complete each other in a way no one else can! you stop me from eating bones i find on the road, and i stop you from ascending to godtier to avoid going to exams…,…

would you be my

Moirail? <>

anyways! that’s all for now <3 this was so fun :) please send in more asks/ requests like this if you ever think of any more! i definitely feel for the camp counselor piece cause that was me earlier this summer PFF and all the counselors got sick and passed something around (but hey! it was an excuse to sit away from 7 y/olds for a few minutes while i got tea for my sore throat)

[darkbluekies]

King Edmund asks #1

Next one

Concept: I've put multiple asks into one post to avoid too much loose posts on my account! This way, you have more to read too<3

Warnings: a slight indication at nsfw?

— It would be funny if the reader refused Edmund because of his adventures in the past, being afraid of getting infected with something and moving away from him every time, like from a noseless syphilitic lol 🤭

He'd try to prove that he isn't carrying anything, but without the technology we have today, it'd be like proving that pigs can fly.

— How will Edmund and his entourage react to the fact that his pretender to the status of queen, as it turned out later, works in a brothel. Knowing the attitude towards women at that time, they will not take it very well 😬

hehe, well ... you see. They won't be able to react ... because Edmund will have killed them all before the word spread :)

But if they had time to, I don't think they'd be very happy and that would lead to Edmund having to hide you away from the rest of the kingdom. They'd believe that he no longer sees you, but he just keeps you in his bedroom, hidden from everyone's opinions. He loves you. That's all that matters.

— Hey hey ! I love your blog and the way you fic especially the one with Edmund ! And I just thought of something, what if darling was almost as ruthless as he is ??

He'd be sooo amused, maybe even make it into a competition between the two of you. Who could be the worst? Only condition, you're not allowed to do anything to each other. I think that the both of you could have pretty fun together.

— Which decade does Edmund take place in im trying to visualize what I'm wearing so like a ball gown or one of those Grecian gowns or Victorian????

Hehe well ... I'm thinking something along the lines of 1700 — 1880, it's not a specific time period because I want it to be like the fairytales :> KNIGHTS STILL EXISTS ??? I DON'T KNOW WHAT ERA

— COUGH COUGH…DEFINITELY NOT A PLAYLIST THATS HEAVILY INSPIRED BY KING EDMUND…

I BOTH SAVED AND LISTENED TO IT!!! AMAZING

I SHOULD MAKE A PLAYLIST TOO FOR THE CHARACTERS OR SOMETHING I'M NOT SURE

GREAT PLAYLIST

[sapphicdib]

Can we get a rough summary of Suns and Moon's reaction to the whole premature rot thing? (Maybe Wind and Innocence too if your feeling creative 0_0)

HEHE WELL…[A drabble + explanations below the cut!]

Suns is initially…very, very angry with Sig specifically. They’re not able to blame Pebbles for this in their head (not yet, at least), and so Sig gets a lot of lectures that usually end in screaming matches…or worse. Suns is actually the one who ends up breaking Sig’s neck, though that’s later in the story and more when he’s gone from being angry to fucking terrified of Sig. With Pebbles…they honestly withdraw from him. They’re afraid to drive him away or hurt him by getting into arguments, but they’re also afraid that Pebbles could convince them that they should infect themself too (and how could Suns say no to him?). Thanks to this empty space left behind by Suns shutting him out, it leads to Pebbles becoming a lot closer to Sig, which in this case is…not a good thing.

Moon’s reaction is mostly shock and horror, and I have a little drabble here of a conversation they have:

Both Pebbles and Sig want Moon and Suns to “join them”, though it’s unclear whether this is them talking or the rot messing with their minds.

Chasing Wind is incredibly close to Sig in my headcanons, being put online only about 50 cycles before Sig was. However, their personalities are essentially the opposite from one another, with Wind being very strict and conservative with how he treats his citizens, and active in their politics and religion. Sig and Pebbles’ actions cause chaos among the Ancient population as a whole, which makes Wind’s citizens even more annoying for him to deal with. He doesn’t particularly blame them for this, but he certainly thinks Sig is honest to god insane for taking such drastic measures. He isn’t all that close with Pebbles but assumes he’s nuts too pfft.

Unparalleled Innocence already didn’t like Five Pebbles from the moment he got put online (nor did she really like Sig either), since she looked up to Moon a lot (and has a gay little crush on her), therefore Sig is a rival bc Moon is already Sig’s partner and Pebbles is just another annoying thing that takes Moon’s attention away from her. She’s angry because she sees it as Pebbles throwing a tantrum or something for attention. She’s not really sympathetic at all, but she is scared that Moon could get hurt because of Sig or Pebbles!

And just to elaborate on Sig n Pebbs’ relationship bc it’s fun: They get a lot closer because of this, though the rot’s hive mind effect might be helping LOL. Unlike in canon, Sig doesn’t actively hate Pebbles like she does post-Moon’s collapse, they mostly just annoy the fuck out of each other. However, Pebbles decides it’s a “necessary evil” to work with Sig since she’s his best bet on actually getting this to work, and he realizes they actually work quite well together? Pebbles also kinda. Well. He gets a liiiittle bit (a lot) of a crush on Sig as time goes on because Suns is kinda out of the picture, and Sig is a very “love language is touch” person. Pebbles fucking HATES asking for affection, but because Sig is always has a hand on his shoulder, or hugs him, or pats his head or something, he doesn’t have to ask! (though he pretends to complain).

TY FOR THE ASK N THANK U FOR LIKING MY SILLY AUUUUU 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

[oogaboogasphincter]

Make My Wish Come True | Joel Miller x f!reader

a hidden crush, a secret admirer and a blind date for a present? talk about a love flurry for your christmas forecast! your best friend joel miller might know more than he’s letting on. 

word count/rating/warnings - 6600+ // MATURE 18+ ONLY: jackson era!joel, friends to lovers (more like idiots to lovers lol), swearing, food and eating mention, one gun mention, very little talk about infected, bodies, etc., tommy, maria and ellie mentions/appearances, lots of anxiety talk but the good kind, everyone is painfully sarcastic in tlou ‘verse, kissing, choking mention, allusions to sex

a/n - @laureliciousdefinition​ is my wonderful giftee for the @pedrostories​ secret santa event! i had soooo much fun writing this and truly got carried away haha, i've never written something this complex. this was also my first time writing joel, i hope i did him justice <3 and i hope i fulfilled your wish lauren! 💕 i left the ending sort of open so the audience can take creative liberty as to what happens next, but i have no qualms against writing a spicy part two hehe 🤭

“A blind date? Really, Tommy?”

It’s early in the afternoon on Christmas Day. Outside your quaint little house in Jackson, the sun - chopped into severe angles from the distant Teton mountain peaks - shines bright against the snow banks. Black-capped chickadee songs float through the crisp air, chirps and mews from elk echo across the great planes of frozen land that comprise your new home - and Tommy is standing across from you in your living room, dumping an unexpected and unwelcome present on you on the cheerful day.

“Come on, practically the whole town’s pitched in to bring it together!” He would’ve never made it as a salesman in the pre-outbreak world. Relying solely on weak persuasion and guilting the customer? A pink slip would’ve found its way into his hands within the first week.

“Even Joel chipped in?” you ask incredulously. Joel’s been your best friend since your first day in Jackson. After being dragged to the town pub by none other than Tommy in an effort to acclimate you to the community, you spotted Joel as soon as you walked in; stood in the corner, keeping to himself. The soft smile hidden under his thick facial hair told you he found alone time pleasant, but when it grew to twice its size when you introduced yourself, you vowed to never come unstuck from his side like velcro. 

You knew your best friend - Joel loved you, but he would never approve of setting you up like this. You can’t really put your finger on any specific reasoning as to why, you just know in your gut he wouldn’t. 

“Yes,” his younger brother states bluntly. Tommy was never good at lying either.

“Look, it’ll be fun! We made it all nice for ya, you don’t have to worry about anything besides being... approachable,” he looks at you with a playful accusatory glint in his eyes. One reason you and Joel get along so great is because you’re two of the few - if not only - people in Jackson that don’t focus on finding love; Well, at least you don’t express it outwardly. Since forming your close bond with the old grump, you’ve wondered to yourself numerous times how deep what you two have swims into those blurry lines that separate platonic and romantic relationships. You definitely haven’t gotten lost in your thoughts day after day pondering how far you want your relationship with Joel to go either. Nope, sleepless nights imagining what it would be like to stand up on your tiptoes during one of his tight hugs, leaning up and finally planting a kiss on his lips couldn’t be more unfamiliar to you.

“We all gotta get wrangled up at some point. Hey - it might be your secret admirer! At least this way we can start to narrow down the options,” he attempts to convince you again, and this time he’s a little more successful than before. For the past few weeks there’s been someone in town vying for your heart. You’ve come back from patrols to find warm servings of food on your back porch. You’ve been awoken from your sleep by gentle melodies coming from outside, down on the street and drifting up to your bedroom. Most recently you set out for the stables for your scheduled patrol only to be stopped by a plate of chocolate crinkle cookies at your feet, and turned away from your horse as someone had volunteered to cover your shift.

“I don’t know. They seem like a ghost, I doubt they’d admit it to my fave if they’re already putting all this effort into being sneaky,” you reason.

The food and treats that have been left on your doorstep are served on no identifiable dishware, left without a note. The musician plays under the cloak of darkness, choosing to not use their voice and let their acoustic instrument do the talking. All this covert attention would have spooked you, but after having Joel taste test the food to make sure no one was trying to poison you, you began to see the romance in it. You grew relieved to find dinner already made for you when you tiredly slugged back to your house, optimistic to hear what lullaby you would fall asleep to that night. And you would never turn down getting excused from patrol.

“Well, you got me there...” Tommy sighs. Ever the matchmaker, he’s irritated this stealthy admirer has been able to sneak around right under his nose anonymously. He can’t officially pair you up with John Doe.

“Your date’s already at the cabin,” he circles back, not letting you get out of the measly slab of romance he was able to piece together.

“What?!”

“I came from his house. I knew if I came to you first you’d up and vanish into the mountains by the time I told him about it.”

You groan exaggeratedly, annoyed at his accurate prediction. Being around Joel so much, Tommy learned too much about you for your liking sometimes.

You’re not ungrateful for this surprise, in fact you find it really cute and thoughtful. But it’s just not you. With Joel, and this secret admirer - you can barely sort your feelings out for your own sake, let alone for anyone else involved! And now there might be a third interest in the mix, thanks Tommy. 

“So you rudely sprang this on him just like you’re doing to me?” you say with your arms crossed. Who is this other poor soul that’s been ensnared in this trap?

“That’s kind of a weird way to say ‘I’ll go on this date, Tommy’, but yes,” he tilts his nose in the air, far too proud of bugging not one, but two people today.

“I don’t want to do this, just so you know,” you grumble, staring him down, trying to get him to crack. But the longer you glare, the more giddy his stature becomes, his smile widening until his teeth show maliciously.

You crumble in defeat, “Where is this? You said something about a cabin?”

He claps his hands together, enthusiastic to explain, “Yeah, it ain’t the lodge. It ain’t really a cabin neither, just sounds better than an old withered shed we found tucked away in a corner of the woods,” he finishes with a laugh.

“Sounds lovely,” raising your eyebrows in mocking bewilderment. You’re now sort of excited to seize this new opportunity, but will hide your feelings from Tommy if it’s the last thing you do.

“Hey, we dressed it up for you two sons of bitches. Just take the main trail east, follow the stream for a bit, until you get to that great big aspen with the gash in its trunk. Take a left where the trail divides there and follow it for a bit. Ellie will show you the rest of the way.”

Your jaw drops, “Ellie’s in on this?! Oh, when I see her-”

“When you see her you’ll politely follow her, is what you’ll do,” Tommy chides. You can take momentary despise on her all you want, and though Ellie was glad to be a part of this scheme, the man in front of you holds most of the blame; it was his original idea.

“Fine,” you surrender. You guess he really did recruit other people from town to orchestrate this plot.

With all your might you ignore the bemused sounds coming from Tommy as you lace your boots up and shrug on your jacket, grabbing your keys and going to the door. He follows behind you on your way out and chirps, “What, you’re not gonna take any gifts? Try to lube him up?”

Your face scrunches, “First of all, gross way to say that. And second, hell no. Me being there should be plenty.”

“’Atta girl,” he pats you on the shoulder.

Once you’re both out, you lock your door, then turn on your heel and look at him directly in the eyes so he knows you’re not messing around, “I’m going to get Maria to smack you for me for this.”

To your demise he huffs out a laugh, pluming into a white cloud in the frigid air, “Oh, she’s looking forward to this just as much as I am.”

“Screw you both!” you yell over your shoulder, jokingly. As you trudge through the snowy streets to get to the stables and begin your journey to your objectionable present, you don’t look back when Tommy bids you an annoyingly joyous farewell, “Merry Christmas!”

-🎄-

Earlier

"Tommy, I can't do this," Joel accosts his perpetually-meddling younger brother.

The Miller brothers, Maria, Ellie and yourself had gathered at Joel's house this Christmas morning to exchange presents, and upon seeing his brother lingering as everyone said their goodbyes, Joel suspected Tommy was going to let some cat out of a bag. Never in a million years, given how close the brothers have been for their entire lives, would Joel think Tommy would have the gall to suggest a blind date, let alone "gift" one to him.

"Joel, we both know you've taken on much more terrifying things with a brave face. Talking to the woman you love is what gets your tail tucked between your legs?" Tommy nags his eternal bachelor of a brother, watching Joel's scarred hands clutch and release the neck of his guitar with an anxious, cyclical grip. As far as he was concerned, he was doing Joel a favor by planting you two in the middle of nowhere, alone, granting him romantic pretext to work with.

"Like you weren't shaking in your cowboy boots when you started talking to Maria," Joel fires back. Tommy was irritatingly correct, but Joel wasn't going to take the full charge when they were guilty of the same crime.

"I never said I wasn't. That's just a part of love, Joel, you know that. What happened to the casanova that could charm the pants off about the whole population of Texas?"

Joels scoffs loudly, rolling his eyes. Sure, he allowed flirtation to bud and sometimes blossom if he was lucky, when the world wasn't falling apart at the seams, but he wasn't that good. He just had gotten more action than Tommy, something the younger brother refused to acknowledge for what it was. Besides, Joel was never too focused on love; it was nice when it was there, but not as important as other aspects of life: family, for one. However, he's seriously considering rearranging his priorities given Tommy's current behavior.

"That was a long time ago," Joel reasons, truthfully, "This is... different. She's different." He struggles with his words, scrambled by adoration overtaking his heart, and he's fully hypnotized when your face comes into his mind. Your breathtaking eyes that he just wants to fall into; your cute nose whose tip gets frigid in the wintery air that he wants to kiss warm; your soft cheeks he wants to cup with his rough hands and marvel at the difference in texture; and your lips, oh, your lips.....

"Goddamn, you really are in love," Tommy jests, receiving a halfhearted glare from underneath Joel's lashes as he leans his guitar against his couch and crosses his arms over his chest, broadened with an odd mixture of pride and insecurity. Proud of his loving commitment to you, nervous that his true feelings are being perceived by others for the first time after what feels like decades of being a statue.

Okay, it's 99% nerves - he's just trying to seem like the same-old unyielding Joel and doesn't know what to do with his hands so he shoves them under his armpits.

"You're not helping," he cocks an eyebrow at Tommy.

"Alright, alright, just- I was going to say be yourself but that's horrible advice given..." Tommy gestures to Joel's stiff form, earning another hardened stare.

"Okay!" Tommy stands from his chair, putting his hands up in surrender. Dear lord, if convincing Joel is this hard, how much of a fight will you put up? He restarts, "What can go wrong? You'll get there before her; I came to you first because I figured I'd do you a favor by letting you set your stuff up, obsessively run through your conversations in your head, get a lay of the land - you know, you and your anxiety and all that."

"Thank you, Tommy," Joel guesses it's a sweet gesture given the troublesome context, "But..." he trails off, stress still coursing through his veins. There are so many unknowns...

"There'll be overlapping patrols the whole time you're there so no having to fight off infected, you got your six string, your coffee and cookies, it'll only be the two of you...?" Tommy looks at Joel expectantly, waiting for the lines of his face to turn up in hope. But Joel's eyes keep to the box of extra chocolate crinkles he watched you taste on your way to the stables a few days ago, unknowing of the second surprise of pardoned work he had arranged for you.

Tommy attempts again, putting a diverting inflection in his voice, "We tried to make it cozy."

Joel can't help the smile that cracks across his face, growing wider as he imagines what you would be thinking if you were in the room right now, "We're not the romantic type."

Tommy counters with a pointed, sarcastic attack, "Who are you talking about? The man who quite literally serenaded his woman in the moonlight and the woman who near broke down in tears of joy over it the next day at breakfast, or some other heartless souls?"

"Would you stop being smart and listen to me?" Joel's patience has run out. He wants to do this, so badly wants to admit to you his infatuation and present his heart on a silver platter for your taking - but there's some undercurrent of trepidation he can't seem to shake.

Tommy's heart sinks as he watches his brother's arms unfold to hang between his legs, gaze lowering to his boots, dejected. Even if Joel can't go on the date, Tommy won't stop trying to help him navigate these feelings, now that he's gotten lucky enough to have caught them, "You worried she won't reciprocate?"

Joel contemplates the gentle question, taking a few moments to make sure he's got everything straight in his head, "I'm afraid she'll think differently of me when she finds out I'm the one who's been doing all this nonsense," he waves his hand unceremoniously in the air, referring to his secret admirer antics.

"It ain't nonsense. And you've seen her face when she finds your little presents; she loves 'em."

It's true. Joel's caught you humming while doing your work around town the tunes he's played for you under the starry night sky, seared into his brain the picture of you giddy with delight at both the idea and flavor of the food he's left after he "taste tested" it - did you really think he would eat, or let you even think about eating, something a stranger made in the world you live in now?

"Do you think she won't love you back?" Tommy drops the final question. Potent, but essential in answering.

Joel knew maybe you didn't love him in a romantic way. But confidently he knew from the way you sought out his company every single day, the way you hugged him a little tighter when he would leave or just get back from patrols, the way you looked at him... you loved him dearly.

"She already loves me."

"Then what're you afraid of?"

-🎄-

Present

Joel paces the rickety floorboards of the battered shed, restlessly awaiting your arrival. It probably has only been a few minutes since he got here, but his mind has written, doubled back, erased some, rewritten and ran through enough possible conversations with you to last eons. After fatefully agreeing to Tommy's blind date scheme, Joel traced the path his brother directed him to take and was greeted with what seemed to be nothing but a mountain of snow and densely packed aspens. Only by rounding the giant snow drift was the "cabin" revealed, and oh what an improper name. Joel smirked at the poor state of the structure, but observed his brother's logic for choosing it - it was virtually undetectable.

The door took a few well-muscled pulls to open, and after completing an initial sweep to make sure no bandits had discovered this perfect hideout, Joel shook his head at the decor. Bundles of mistletoe line every inch of the miraculously sturdy ceiling beams, making almost the entirety of the singular room a kiss zone. There is a red and green plaid couch in the center, which Joel thought would look atrocious in any other setting, but looks sort of pleasantly festive against the stripped wood interior. Its upholstery has noticeable signs of age, the colors faded to muted maroon and evergreen, but other than that it looks decent - spectacularly holding no stains of carnage after all these years.

As Joel wondered how it survived, he took in the few candles placed around the room, a matchbook sitting next to each one. With the "cabin" (that name will never not be funny) battered by the wind and snow, some of the paneling has warped, leaving microscopic seams to the outside. The winds blustered so fierce, the frost snuck through these cracks, creating an icebox. Joel went around and lit the candles, taking delight in the complementary scents; must've been Maria.

As pinecone and lime, peppermint bark and red velvet began to drift through the air and warm the cabin up - maybe the flames are a placebo effect because Joel is still shivering his balls off - he arranged the items he's brought. He set his guitar up against the arm of the couch, his box of cookies on one of the cushions, his thermos tucked away into his bicep like a stress ball. And then he was faced with the insurmountable, maddening, parasitic task of waiting. He paces back and forth past the door, ears pricked for any semblance of noise disturbance coming from outside. Nothing but howling wind so far, once in a while the pittering of snowflakes adding to the encapsulating drift trick him into thinking he hears hooves, hooves carrying you. But no, so he goes back to pacing.

He makes himself dizzy, sprinting through possibilities of what might happen. He plants his feet steady, hands balancing himself over the back of the couch, trying to fight his nausea. He pins the blame on the sickeningly sweet smell of the candles, but even for his stomach's sake he can't convince himself of something that stupid. You've seen her a million times, he reasons, what's so different this time? You're her best friend, she loves you, she doesn't know, you don't have to follow through with the plan if you don't want to, just pretend like this is all some ridiculous joke. She doesn't know. She doesn't know. She. Doesn't. Know.

Instead of calming himself down, he makes his heart ache more. He's been lying to you. Going behind your back, slinking around unbeknownst to you, fibbing right to your cute little face as you look up at him with all the trust in the world. He puts his fist to his mouth and clutches his stomach with the other, trying to slow his body and take some deep breaths. His efforts are for naught when he hears Ellie's voice carried in the wind.

"Shit," he gasps to himself, pressing his ear to the door to listen.

"You'll never guess! Have fun!"

"Okay, thanks, stay safe!" your cheerful lilt swirls in his heart like the snowflakes outside. Oh no.

He heaves through his teeth, putting his gloved hand to his forehead. It slips from the amount of perspiration, so he takes his gloves off, followed by his winter coat. He lays both on the back of the couch, deciding to keep his flannel sleeves rolled down so you don't notice his tacky skin. Now he wishes he were cold, as this doesn't help one bit. He pats his face dry, replaying Ellie's words: you'll never guess what?

He'll think about it later. Maybe. He doesn't know. He smooths his shirt, closes his eyes and breathes as evenly as he possibly can while he hears your boots crunching closer and closer to the door. Just say hi, he instructs himself, just say hi.

It takes you a few shoves to open the door too. Joel would help, but he can't move from where his feet are cemented to the floor. After you get it cracked, the barrel of a gun peeks inside, followed by your searching eyes. You had the same idea of bandits as he did.

When your wary eyes meet Joel's, all caution melts into disbelief. What the fuck is this, Tommy? you think.

Your best friend sighs, a little haggardly you notice, before he greets you, "Well, well, well."

You put your weapon away in your coat, stepping inside and closing the door to this definitely-not-a-cabin. You smirk at Joel, but heightening candle flames guide your attention up to the ceiling, where bundles of mistletoe are hung. You sneer, "He isn't very subtle, is he?"

Joel clicks his tongue, "Nope. And I bet that was indeed a Tommy touch."

"So you were fed the same blind date story that I was?" you walk around the room, taking in the rest of the place. It surely lives up to the picture that Tommy painted for you, but it isn't so bad. Not when you're here with Joel.

"Yep," Joel looks down at his boots, scratching the back of his neck, a nervous tic of his you've come to find sort of endearing. But why is he nervous?

Please don't notice I'm nervous, he stops as soon as he realizes the hint he's giving you.

"They really couldn't just get you some more sandpaper, or carving tools? Or me some peace and quiet?" you ponder, turning back to him. It's not that this seems all that horrible now, but more like a lot of effort for minimal payoff. This is what had Tommy, Maria and Ellie so doubled over in giggles?

"It looks like we got plenty of that here," Joel smiles at you, tight-lipped, but it stirs up warmth in your belly nonetheless. He's right - wicks sizzling and snow dancing are the only sounds you hear. You mirror his expression, and try to relax a little in hopes he'll become less tense. Maybe he's cold? Why'd he take his jacket off, it's cold as fuck in here.

His chest puffs with a breath before he speaks, "Since we already came all the way out here, we might as well make the most of it."

Your smile builds, reaching your chilly cheeks, "Okay."

Okay, this might actually be the best Christmas gift ever. All alone in the forest, for whatever length of time you want, with nothing to focus on other than Joel? You have to think of a way to thank Tommy without giving him any more ideas.

"I missed you anyways," you go to give him a hug, desperate to bury your face in his strong pectorals, but his hands reach for your coat on your shoulders before you can step into an embrace.

You turn around, letting him slide it off you as you coo over your shoulder, "Ooh, how chivalrous."

He hums, amused, wanting to keep his hands on you, pulsing your muscles between his palms, rubbing your cold skin back to warm, chasing away shivering aches from your bones. To your dismay he doesn't, but you two never shy away from getting cuddly, especially recently due to the season. Maybe you can get cozy on the couch.

"Make yourself at home," Joel gestures to the piece of furniture, which now that you're taking a closer look at it, you see how old it seems to be. You'd cuddle with Joel outside on the frozen ground if you had to, so this plaid relic won't be an issue.

"Thanks," you chuckle, taking a seat. Only two cushions, that means we'll be closer to each other, nice!

"I brewed some of the coffee you gave me this mornin', you want some?" he asks, uncapping his thermos. Your Christmas gift to him was a bag of whole coffee beans from his favorite coffee shop chain he used to frequent. Ever since you had your first coffee conversation with him years ago, he continuously cites that when you grind them fresh it's "so much better". You tease him for the line all the time, but it's one of the many quirks of his that you find irresistibly adorable.

"No, it's your present, not mine!" you remind him. Although his offer was a monumental one; Joel is territorial over and protective of his coffee like a grizzly bear. So much so, you're the only member of such an exclusive club, after Ellie tried a sip and proceeded to spit it out.

"Have you tried it yet?" you ask, watching his careful hands fill the cap. No steam rises from the surface - iced, just how you like it. You try not to get mesmerized by the way his long fingers grip the makeshift cup, bounding off into your fantasy land where those same fingers are wrapped around your own, your quivering thighs, your neck...

His timbre knocks you out of your trance as he comes over and takes the seat next to you, "No, but-"

Everything happens at once: Joel sits down on the couch; there's a bizarre cracking sound that fills the room; the two of you share a worrisome glance; you both go tumbling back as the sofa's legs give way. With the couch now sitting on its back, your legs are in the air and you're staring at the mistletoed ceiling. Laughter strikes through you like lightning and only gets more thunderous when you look over at Joel, blinking slowly, trying to avoid getting spilt coffee in his eyes. His grin grows exponentially, as do his uncontrollable cackles ruminating from deep in his chest, while he lies in place, literally soaking in the experience.

"Goddamnit," he grunts through a smile, setting his empty cup down.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" you lean over him, having difficulty seeing him through the tears squeezing out of your eyes.

"Yeah," his tongue darts out and licks his drenched mustache, "Mmm, good roast, thank you."

"You're welcome," you guffaw, pulling your shirt sleeve taut over your hand, your lip between your teeth and patting the liquid off his face - thank heavens he wasn't in the mood for hot today. Your sleeve will dry in time, much like his shirt will have to do too. You're violently struck with the thought of him taking it off, putting his hairy chest on display for you to ogle at in the romantic candlelight. You hope he can't feel the aroused heat radiating from your cheeks by how close you are as you finish cleaning him up.

Just kiss her, Joel's brain yells at himself while his eyes rake over your beautifully concentrated face, take the opportunity while it's inches away from your reach.

He can't do that to you though, spring something so brash on you out of nowhere. He's not Tommy.

In no time you right the couch together, sitting with your backs against one arm each, legs stretched out and intertwined, weighting it to the floor. Joel pours himself a refill, putting on a show of being overly cautious, which makes you giggle.

"At least I'll smell good," he grumbles up at you from under his lashes. You wish you could appreciate his joke more, but his saturated shirt clinging to his muscles is tormenting your sanity...

"You always smell good," you spit out without your brain's permission. You hurriedly pivot, trying to quash the minute uptick of his brows, "Um, so how have you been? Patrols easy?"

Good, that's a regular, sane question, you congratulate yourself. You haven't seen him for more than a few minutes at a time for the better part of a week, both your duties ramping up as the entire town wanted to have everything taken care of and then some for the holidays.

"Yeah, for the most part. Clickers are like most pests, they retreat when it gets too cold. It's the bandits that get desperate, lookin' for shelter, that you gotta watch out for. I don't want to jinx it but there's only been two individuals that we came across, died of natural causes. Nothin' to worry about."

Throughout his speech he's been running the tip of his finger around the rim of his cup, embarrassed that you're staring. If only he knew.

"How've you been, my little busy bee baker?"

His nickname engorges your heart, pumping praise through your veins. The part you fixate on is "my". You're his.

"On my feet. Thankfully I've only been baking like crazy, someone's been picking up my patrols for me."

"Oh?" Joel puts his best acting mask on. If he could steel through your unintended interrogations before, he can evade you for just a little bit longer.

"Yeah, I get to the stables on my scheduled days and they tell me to go back home, that someone's volunteered to take over my shifts. I wish I knew who they were so I could thank them, I wouldn't have been able to make all of my cookies without their help." Your Christmas present to everyone was personal boxes of homemade cookies. Crafting cookie boxes was one of your favorite things to do before the outbreak, so you thought you'd spread some nostalgic holiday cheer this year.

"Well I'm sure they got their due compensation by way of some of the extras you left over at the church hall."

He was a good boy - he only ate what was in his box and left the extras for the town. He really needs to get that lemon cookie recipe from you though, or better yet, truly indulge himself and ask you to come over and bake them yourself - it wouldn't be a complete lie if he told you he wouldn't be able to make them the same; he can't tell a teaspoon from a tablespoon.

"I hope so."

You and Joel sit and chat for a while, exchanging pleasantries about the weather, anecdotes about your days; topics that sound like they're utilized as a pillow for awkward conversation, but your energy flows gracefully with Joel's, like always.

Bringing it up again like it's the joke you know it to be, unaware of the effect it has on Joel's heart rate, you inquire, "So what were your tactics to seduce your date?"

He pauses for a moment, passing it off as a shared laugh with you and not a dive into an anxiety-riddled black hole before answering, "Reel her in with my natural charm, of course."

"Of course," you nod.

"Maybe crack some jokes, you know, because I'm a funny guy."

"Hilarious. Did you take a look at one of Ellie's joke books?" Joel had told you about the first of her findings, now she has amassed quite an impressive collection.

"No."

"Ugh, talk about missed opportunity! There are some good ones in there."

"Well I figured I wanted my lady to fall in love with me, not the book, so I'd tell them from the heart," he looks directly into your eyes, not wanting to give you any inclination that he might be harboring some unseen lovestruck magma beneath his rocky exterior.

"Oh, how romantic!" you tease.

"And then I brought this," he fishes his guitar from behind himself, stretching back with a groan, "Figured I could strum a song or two and see how she'd like it."

At the incredibly rare occurrence - thank you but still fuck you Tommy - you leap, "I'm your arranged audience, lemme hear!"

Joel sets the guitar in his lap, picking a familiar tune from the chords before he can stop himself. As the notes gather into a song, you come to anticipate the next strums, guessing correctly every time. You've heard this before, but where.... And then you remember. The night where it was so fucking cold you pitied your Romeo who was buried somewhere in the snow beneath your window, braving the temperatures to lull you asleep. What a weird coincidence.

It is a festive song that was immensely popular pre-outbreak, so it's not as strange of a fluke as you first thought. You sit and stare, admiring Joel's fingers dancing, his eyes glued to the instrument to watch what he's doing. You both know he could play blind, but thankfully you breeze over this extraneous, damning piece of evidence, for if you were to look in his eyes, you would see the admirer within.

Fading out, he pats the body with a concluding thump, "Do you think I would've swept her off her feet?"

You shrug, not keen to feed another Miller's ego today, "Maybe, if you had sung."

"Nah, that's reserved for at least date five."

"Ohhh okay," you chuckle. Not a romantic my ass, Joel.

He turns the tables, "What were your plans to woo your partner?"

"Um... well I wasn't going to put much effort in because... I-I already have feelings for someone in particular, and I figured he would never agree to something like this," you stammer, honestly, staring at the certain someone in question.

Confidence is injected back into Joel's face on a bright wave of intrigue, "You've got a crush?! And didn't tell me, your best friend?"

He sits up straight, eyes wide and mouth agape in a smile, messing with you, "Your reaction is exactly why I didn't tell you, dork."

"So you weren't even going to try with them? Oof, that's cold," he playfully scolds you.

"Looks who's talking, Mister Iceberg."

He ends his taunting at that. You certainly aren't wrong.

A few comfortably quiet moments pass, then you shiver with a laugh, "I actually am cold."

His beard scrunches in a smile, favoring his jacket to yours and tucking it over your shoulders, running a hand over your bicep once, twice, before reluctantly retracting it to his lap. You wish you could steal it; you'd bite past the tough material and sleep with it if it meant you could snuggle into his residual heat, the worn-in scent of fir sap, wood shavings, black coffee.

He whacks the primal, possessive urge inside him down like a mole, his blood stirring just looking at you in his clothes. He'll dream of you dressed both in more of them and less of them tonight.

The candles in the room have burned a substantial amount of their wax, the sun still shining bright but from a narrower angle behind the clouds continuously dropping snow. Maintaining the front that you're angry at Tommy for this is going to be near impossible to accomplish. You can already see yourself wishing on the stars next year for this very same gift.

Okay, maybe with a more comfortable sitting arrangement. While the tumble was funny and allowed you to get close to Joel, your back is killing you. You can't imagine what Joel's must feel like right now. Later tonight, when you've returned to town and after having dinner with him and Ellie, you'll direct him to lay down on his bed - like after any other intense patrol - and work the knots out of his spine.

"I'm happy we're here," you blurt. Suppressing your delight is useless.

Joel relieves some of the pressure in his heart, "Me too."

Goddamn that drawl brings you to your knees. Sure, it makes your stomach fill with butterflies every time he opens his mouth, but sometimes it mercilessly shoves you onto your back. You rally yourself and press forward boldly, "I'm happy you're here."

His expression doesn't move, sending a shallow ripple of alarm through you. He  seems a bit off, usually he gives you a smile or something.

Holy fuck, his brain shouts, holy fuck, holy fuck, holy fuck, holy fuck.

"I, um, brought some cookies too," he chokes out. He's about to reveal his big, stinking secret, and while it won't be quite verbal, that somehow makes it ten times more anxiety-inducing. Clawing talons of fear in his throat tempt him to take you by the shoulders and just scream 'I love you!'

Shit, you thought. Was what I said really that bad? You helplessly try to stick the bandaid back on the wound while Joel is preparing to rip it off.

"Wow, you were really going all out," you reference all the stops he had planned for his hypothetical date. Lucky son of a bitch.

"Yeah," he shrugs, trying to keep the tin steady in his clammy hands, "Would you like one?"

"Sure. Are they mine and you were going to pawn them off as yours?"

Your cute joke goes right over Joel's head as he pries the lid off, swallowing thickly and holding it aside so you can reach in and grab a chocolate crinkle. Never would he think of a cookie being sadistic, but his disconcerted soul is claiming otherwise.

Like the shattered powdered sugar coating, your conviction cracks. No way this is a coincidence.

You look up to Joel to find his side profile suspended in worry. You feel the gears in your head turn and he swears he hears them moving at a frightening speed, "Di-did you make these?"

"Mmhm," his throat is tight. He's made of marble, holding the tin open, unmoving. He knows you know and you know he knows you know.

A handful of silent beats pass, regrettably dangling him in suspense, but you're completely dumbfounded, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I- I was afraid. Still am," he puts lamely in his opinion, bravely in yours.

"Don't be," you assure gently, placing a hand on his rigid forearm. Like an ax, you snap him free of immobility, pushing the incriminating tin away.

He layers his hand over yours, rubbing his thumb across your knuckles and back again, calming himself more so than you, "You know me, you know I have a hard time expressing my... emotions."

He snarls the last word like having a heart that beats is something to be ashamed of. You do know him, and flirtatiously retort, "Sure didn't seem like you had a hard time expressing them outside my bedroom window at midnight, sneaking around my house in the morning, rigging the patrol schedule behind my back..."

Your welcoming smile spreads to his face, "Why are you always right?" he grumbles.

"I have to balance you out somehow if we're a couple. Opposites attract, right?" you lean in, flicking your eyes from his hazel puddles to his mouth and back again. He reads the unmistakable cue and meets you, pressing his lips softly to yours.

On the second kiss, he molds his mouth to yours firmly, allowing a moan to reverberate up his throat. You sound one back as he pulls you forward, situating one thigh outside each of his so you're straddling his lap. Wrapping your arms around his neck and his around your waist, you lose all concept of time, your mouths dancing infinitely... before Joel abruptly breaks you apart.

"Hang on."

"What?" you pant.

"We ain't under any mistletoe," he muses, scooting you off the couch to directly under a bundle. Brushing your hair away to reveal your face, he gazes up at you in awe, his body finally at peace - but not for long, when you break out into a smile and him a sweat.

"You really are a funny guy, Joel Miller," you tease against his parted lips, feeling his confirmation vibrate your tongue as you go in for another kiss,

"Hilarious."

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[14dayswithyou]

Have you heard or played this game called "The Quarry"? If so what would Ren be like if he was in that game? I've been hyperfixating over both games and I cant get the crossover out of my mind lol

✦゜ANSWERED: I actually got to play the game with Mon (my (irl) bestie) a while back, and I've had Kaitlyn brainrot ever since uwu

This ask also got long because I have A LOT to say about The Quarry!AU Ren gksdgbjsdgk. Also!! There's going to be spoilers for the actual game! IK it's been out for a while now, but if you ever plan on playing it, maybe skip this ask and come back another time!! <3

Okay!! So! Ren probably told the other councillors that he went to Hackett's Quarry to gain more experience as a music tutor, when in reality, he only joined the stupid program so that he'd get to spend the summer with you.

Would constantly show up to your camp activities with the kids and ask if you needed any help. Mainly because he was free right now and had nothing better to do. (He had to clean the kitchens...)

They would be insanely overprotective of you even if there was no one else around, and it would only get worse if Ren ever gets bitten (read: infected!Nick).

Realistically speaking, the only way Ren could possibly get bitten is by protecting you. Because if he had the choice, this man would literally lock the both of you up in the security room (that he tooootally had no clue about), and would just wait out the night there instead of walking aimlessly around the camp and getting stalked by hunters and werewolves.

I doubt they'd do anything to help the other councillors, and would instead watch them meet their demise through the security cameras.

If you were to witness them meeting their gory demise though, then Ren might put up an act and pretend to care. Maybe press a few buttons and switches in hopes that it'd somehow help them — when in reality, he's just flicking the audio channels on and off.

If you didn't want to camp out in the security room for the entirety of the night, then Ren would be glued to your side and won't ever let you out of his sight.

He'd let you carry the shotgun if it made you feel safer, but wouldn't mind using it himself if you thought that was the better option. Though... he'd probably forget that it was a gun at first and would try to smack the werewolves with the recoil/stock end before realising that, wait, this isn't a sledgehammer? It doesn't work that way?

Ren has seen enough horror movies to be able to put all the (cliché) pieces together, and would probably figure out what was happening by the time you (Abi) push Leon (Nick) into the pool.

Ren would 100% be like, "Oh, they don't like water? Alright then. Cool. C'mon Angel, we're stealing a kayak and sleeping in the middle of the lake tonight ^^ We can look at the stars while we confess our feelings for each other—" "Oh wow MC, you look hot holding a shotgun." "Shut the FUCK up you buff ass RACCOON, I'm having my moment >:(" "Ren, don't be mean to Teo."

If Ren does get infected, then he's just going to be extra clingy and creepy compared to usual. He'd be sniffing you every chance he gets and would try to rub his scent all over you. They'd probably be extra horny because even without being a werewolf, Ren is still very much addicted to your scent.

The real/[REDACTED] side of him would slowly start to surface, and would constantly ask you questions like "who do you love?", "D'you like me?", "No one can protect you like I can.", "You smell s'good. Come closer.", "Need to taste you. Now.", "I want t'be inside you."

Once he fully turns, I'd really like to say that he wouldn't target you simply because his sheer devotion to you would outweigh his animalistic urges. Idk if that's canonically possible in the game, but I'm gonna pretend it is because I can hehe :)

Everyone else is fair game though, especially any of the councillors that got a bit too close to you at the beginning of the season. All the people who tried to be friendly with you? Those who tried to kiss you during that game of Truth or Dare? Yeah, they better start hiding because Ren will be seeking them out.

He probably won't try to interact with you while in his werewolf form because he's afraid of scaring/hurting you, but would instead stalk you around the camp and fend off any other threats that go near your vicinity.

By the time dawn comes, Ren will be seeking you out and ensuring that you're alright. If anyone dared to hurt you while he was occupied with hunting down the other councillors, they'd be dead meat. Especially since they have a shotgun in their possession now :)

[winged-self-indulgence]

I replayed BSH and was immediately infected by the dark urge to write a fic for it. Or at least, the first 2.6K words.

The crash of ceramic colliding with the beige tiles jolted Diya from her work, and it was only the reflexive tightening of strong fingers around the heavy box in her arms that prevented a veritable flood of brand-new oat milk from joining the rapidly spreading brown puddle on the ground.

The woman inhaled and exhaled a deliberate breath of coffee-flavoured air as her co-worker’s grating voice cut through the hum of the café’s background chatter.

“Ayo, Newbie, pass me some napkins!” Miles shouted despite being barely 10ft away, “some old fart dropped his coffee!”

Carefully, Diya set down the delivery – both because it was heavy, and to remove the temptation to brain the man with its vegan-friendly contents – and charitably yanked a wad of thick, perforated napkins from the box beneath the counter.

“Stop calling me Newbie,” she snapped, shoving them at his chest hard enough that Miles let out a little oof at the sudden impact before scrambling to catch the napkins before they could hit the ground. “Either use my name, or don’t call me at all.”  

“Haha, someone’s grouchy this morning!” He shot finger guns her way, making little pew-pew noises to go with them. “Guess you’re in a brew-tal mood, huh? Get it? Brew-tal? Brutal?”

As always, Miles just laughed as though he hadn’t noticed her bad temper or genuinely didn’t care that he was about 30 seconds away from being violently strangled with his own apron strings. Most days Diya wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed by his perpetual good humour or amused by his easygoing nature, so usually she simply settled on being begrudgingly fond of his particular brand of nonsense. Like a particularly stupid orange cat that constantly knocked over anything not nailed to the countertop.

A sigh escaped Diya’s lips. Her sister would have loved Miles. They could both make godawful puns together.

“Speaking of…uh…what is your name again? If I ask Hals they’ll explode at me again,” Miles scratched the back of his head sheepishly, nearly knocking off the beat-up beanie barely holding his messy brown hair in check.

Diya shot him a pointed glare, before intentionally directing her gaze down to the front of her forest green apron where a very obvious employee name card proclaimed the word Dayana in neat looping letters. As Miles lips parted in a silent oh of realization,she rolled her eyes and turned back to continue restocking the fridge.

“We have been working together for over a month, Miles,” she snapped, running a frustrated hand through the wavy strands of her chin-length black hair. “I know you have the brain capacity of a severely concussed goldfish, but you could at least try to make some effort. It’s two syllables.”

“I’m sorry! I promise I’ll remember next time!” It was a blatant lie but only one of them knew it. Diya wouldn’t be surprised if Miles had already forgotten her name in the five seconds it had taken him to look away and check the coffee spill. “By the way, can I get more napkins? It was a ton of coffee. Like, a whole bean coffee, hehe…”

For fuck’s sake, is he already high? Diya stared at the man in dull disbelief as Miles continued to chuckle under his breath. It was only 9 a.m. Haley would have his ass if he was.

“If the spill’s that big, just get one of the mops. We have a cleaning closet for a reason, dumbass,” she informed him, jerking a sarcastic thumb over to the door that led to the employee-only area at the back of the café. “Besides, if you just wipe it down with paper towels the whole area is going to get super sticky and attract ants–. You know what? Never mind. I’ll take care of it.”

Miles’s bright blue eyes went even brighter, and he even clapped his hands underneath his chin, dropping the tissue dispenser to the ground where it split open with a metallic thunk. “You sure Newbie? ‘Cause my legs are super sore from stocking up this morning, so this would be a real lifesaver!”

The headache building behind Diya’s eyes grew exponentially as she stared down at the carpet of napkins littering the ground with dead-eyed acceptance. Genuinely how did someone as careless as Miles survive on their own for so long without accidentally getting themselves killed? Without an ability or extremely good luck, people like him couldn’t last long without some sort of safety net.

“Sure, let me just–”

“Let you just what?” Haley’s tall, unimpressed form appeared behind Miles, causing both employees to jump a good foot off the ground in surprise. A pair of dark brown eyes levelled Miles with a glare sharp enough to cut through steel. “Just let Miles do his job and clean up the huge mess on that table? What an excellent idea, Diya.”

Without giving the man a chance to respond, Haley handed Miles a bucket and mop. He took the cleaning instruments meekly, shooting them a nervous grin before trailing off in the direction of the spill with all the melodramatic malaise of a Victorian orphan being sent off to the workhouse. Haley watched him go stoically, waiting for him to be mostly out of earshot before turning to Diya with a complicated expression on their face.

“You don’t have to baby him so much,” they said, grabbing a slightly burned croissant from the discard pile. Painted black fingernails picked at the charcoal-covered tips where the heat of the oven had burned them to a crisp. One of the heating implements was out of order, meaning it either didn’t work or it worked far too well and roasted everything in that corner. “I know Miles seems ridiculously incompetent, but you shouldn’t do everything for him. It just enables him.”

“It’s easier than watching him fuck up,” Diya snorted, smirking across the room where Miles was trying to mop up the pool of milky brown and mostly succeeding in smearing it around in a sickly mess of coffee and pink, floral scented cleaning fluid. Still, the tense jut of his shoulders indicated that he could feel their hawkish stares and was trying to maintain the veneer of a hardworking employee while still appearing pathetic enough that hopefully Diya would swoop in to do the work for him.

It might have worked. The tips of her fingers itched to snatch the mop away from him and just do it herself, but Hal’s stern gaze kept Diya’s feet rooted firmly by the counter.

“I know it’s tempting,” they acknowledged, wincing as some of the gross fluid splashed onto Miles’s fancy-looking shoes. Diya vaguely recalled seeing them in some brand fashion magazine going for a few hundred, if not more.

Ah, so money was his safety net.

“Shit…think I could nab those while he’s napping in the breakroom?” Haley waggled their brows invitingly, a lock of dark green hair falling into their hopelessly pretty face. “Wannabe my partner in crime? We’ll even split the winnings, 50/50.”

 “50/50?” A snort of laughter erupted from Diya’s lips. “What does that even mean? They’re shoes! What, do I get the left leg and you get the right? Do we switch on a weekly basis?”

“I was thinking more like shared custody,” Haley smirked, biting off a mouthful of somehow still-warm pastry. “You can get them…hmmm…on the weekends.”

“Wow, so generous. What am I, a deadbeat dad?” Diya rolled her eyes as she retook her place behind the register and began wiping down the countertops with a harsh, self-deprecating snicker. “Besides, I don’t think I’m cut out for a life of crime. Making minimum wage as a barista is all the excitement I ever want to handle. I don’t need any more trouble.”

Haley’s smile softened, soft lips taking on a gentler curve. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience,” they replied. To Diya’s surprise, they leaned closer, the deep emerald hues of their long hair forming a forest-like curtain that seemed to banish all outside noise. “I wonder what secrets you’re hiding, Diya~”

Temporarily frozen in place, it took Diya a few seconds to huff and shove them away. “My secrets? I should be more concerned about you, Mx. Owns My Own Café in The Middle of The City. How am I going to fulfil my dreams of lifelong mediocrity if you get arrested for insurance fraud?”

Haley spluttered with laughter, nearly choking on her croissant. “Ew, insurance fraud? At least let me be arrested for something flashier, like a bank heist! Then my grand, daredevil deeds can serve as an inspiration to you to go on and find your dream job!”

That was the thing about Haley, Diya thought with a grin. They always knew how to cheer her up, even in the absolute dregs. A month ago, Diya had been on her last legs. Her apartment lease was about to end, and the landlord had been banging on the doors almost every week demanding she either fork over rent or get lost.

Chilled wind carried the stirrings of autumn and the warning of winter, and she had been desperate, starving, and almost homeless until Haley had offered her a job as a barista. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that they had saved Diya’s life. Haley was her hero, though that was something Diya would never say aloud considering their vitriolic opinions on heroes and the NAHA.

Opinions that Diya herself shared, though she had the public sense to be considerably less outspoken about them than her boss. Heroes were not only huge celebrities, but also pillars of morality embedded deep into the fabric of contemporary society. They were modern myths, their images featured in preschool cartoons, on children’s books, and stamped on charities. To speak ill of a hero was, at best, social suicide and at worst legally suspicious. The last thing Diya needed was some ‘concerned citizen’ calling a raid on her apartment because she’d accidentally insulted their favourite hero.

“Uh…can I order?”

Shit! Diya’s head sprang up at the low, drawling voice emanating from a customer standing at the other side of the counter. How engrossed in the conversation with Haley had she been that she hadn’t noticed an entire grown man less than two feet away? For the sake of her pride, Diya hoped he’d only just arrived and hadn’t been waiting there listening to the two of them chatter.

The man rubbed his arm awkwardly, pupils scanning the overhead menu in an effort to avoid eye contact. Paradoxically, his obvious discomfort with the situation helped Diya calm down, banishing the heat from her cheeks as she craned her neck up to take the stranger in. He was tall, with a pronounced and off-kilter slouch that tilted his weight forward and made it appear like he was drowning in his maroon sweater. The fabric hung off his frame, revealing a lean throat and collarbones. Strands of thick, golden-brown hair tumbled down his neck and swept across his forehead, framing a wan face speckled with a striking constellation of freckles.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t see you there,” Diya put on a tight-lipped, customer-service smile.

The man finally tore his gaze away from the menu, briefly fixing her with a pair of eyes the colour of a clear summer sky. The kind of sky you get when the sun is so impossibly hot that it chases all the clouds away and all that exists is blue, blue, blue stretching out as far as the horizon. A hungry sort of hue, a void erasing gravity and swallowing up everything around.

When he looked away again, Diya felt like she had been allowed to come up for air after an unknown amount of time. “No worries. I prefer it that way.”

“Hm. I think I get it,” she replied, shrugging when he shot her a disbelieving stare. “It’d be nice to not be noticed sometimes, is all. What would you like to order?”

Those impossible eyes flickered back to the menu, pausing on the seasonal options, and Diya mentally went over the syrups they had and whether there was enough whipped cream to last until the weekend or if she should tell Miles to run out and buy some more. “Can I get…a black coffee to go?”

“What?” The word was out of her mouth before she could stop it, causing her to be on the receiving end of the man’s startled stare. Diya’s cheeks heated up and she shook her head. “Sorry, sorry. Just one black coffee, and nothing else?”

The man paused and narrowed his eyes as though trying to parse whether this was some sort of elaborate trick question. It was…kind of cute if she had to be honest. “Uh…no?” He replied, cheeks going a little pink. “No, thank you.”

Well then, it seemed the whipped cream would last a little longer. “Okay, that’ll be $3.”

The man dug his hands into his pocket and pulled out a battered wallet from which he retrieved a $5 bill. Diya quickly rang him up and counted out his change on the receipt, but he just shoved his hands back into the pockets of his jeans and muttered a curt, “Keep it.”

Not very talkative, huh. That was fine. At least he wasn’t being outright rude. Diya had frequently found that the worst, most entitled customers were the ones who never shut the fuck up. One man had even insisted on making conversation with her while she’d been preparing his drink, resulting in a near brush with the hospital from the milk-frother when his yelling got too distracting.

Then he’d even had the audacity to leave a one-star review on Yelp for ‘unfriendly service’.                     

“Here you go,” Diya handed over a to go cup of plain black coffee, wrapped in a protective sleeve. “Please be careful. It’s very hot, and I don’t want you to burn your hands.”

Internally, Diya wanted to slam her face into the countertop. ‘It’s very hot’? Wow, no kidding! Luckily the man didn’t seem to take the redundant statement with any bad intentions, and just flashed her a wry smirk.

“Thanks…uh…” His eyes dropped down, and for a single enraging moment Diya was certain that he was staring at her tits. Sharply, she followed his gaze to the name tag pinned to the left of her chest. “…Dayana? Have a good day.”

He took the coffee from her hands, their fingertips brushing as the cup was exchanged. It was barely a flicker of contact, yet something in Diya’s stomach stirred; a swarm of butterflies bursting to life inside her belly and fluttering to be free.

Embarrassment welled up in the back of her throat, sickly and nauseating, but she managed to smile back and return his words with a polite, “Same to you.”

Against her will, Diya watched him exit the café – the bell above the door chiming gently as he stepped out into the semi-busy streets – and quickly looked away when he glanced back at her with a knowing smile. The blue of his eyes would not leave her mind, no matter how hard she tried to throw herself into her work. A glance at the clock on the wall revealed that it was only 10am. Damn. Still hours to go.

Not even watching TV helped, because every news channel was running the same special on Binary Star Hero – sponsored by the NAHA of course – and Diya refused to watch the their propaganda poster-boy for a single second of her own free will. However, several customers began to complain when she tried to change the station so she was forced to work the rest of her shift trying not to think about blue eyes while a gratingly cheerful voice parroted the same corporate platitudes and catchphrases in a dozen different ways.

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy 4th to all those who celebrate it in the states. If not then just happy Tuesday to you haha

We are onto s2! I’m excited this season has a plethora of goodies. Let’s get started on said goodness hehe

2x01 Impact

The episode starts off with a bang. Lucy is riding in the ambulance with Tim. I'm sure the paramedics didn’t fight her at all with joining him. Not like they could’ve stopped her anyway haha

Just when Lucy thought she could breathe Tim collapses. The amount of worry on her face as she watches him have a seizure…. Luckily it’s a reaction to vaccine and not the infection. It’s severe reaction though and he goes into anaphylactic shock. Lucy trying to keep it together as they rush him to the hospital.

They make it to the hospital when they find out there is one more terrorist waiting in the wings for them. The minute they pull in they start to shoot up the ambulance. Just like Lucy did for her dad in 1x17 not a second passes before Lucy is covering his body with her own. Willing to take bullets for him in order to protect him. God I love her. Doesn't hesitate for one second to be a human shield for Tim. My heart.

They’re all pinned down by this woman with her assault rifle. It's then Tim comes barreling out of the ambulance like the BAMF he is. Tim takes her ass out single handled. He asks Nolan if he is ok. Nolan says yeah he shouldn't have reloaded on the go. John asks him the same thing and his reply to Nolan is hilarious. 'Should've taken yesterday off' LOL I love it. Little humor to start the season.

We surge two weeks into the future after this. They’ve all taken their exams and Tim has had time to recover from his ordeal. They're all in roll call waiting for Grey. Lucy is asking how Tim is feeling. You can tell by his body posture how guarded he is with his answers. Just telling her he's ready to get back out there. Very reminiscent of early s1 Tim with her. We find out Lucy sent him food. (Of course she did. She’s an empathetic nurturing soul.) She cares about him so she’s going to take the steps to show that. Make him feel cared for. It's something that is very foreign to Tim and it shows.

For Tim he’s so used to carrying burdens alone, having to be second place no matter the relationship, being the protector not the protected, and being the one to take care of everyone and everything. He’s most definitely isn’t used to being taken care of. In walks Lucy Chen. Someone who lifts him up and wants to take care of him when he’s down. Like Lucy not knowing how to handle Tim’s compliments, Tim doesn’t know how to handle someone putting him first. Caring, protecting him etc.

Lucy is just so happy he is back you can see it on her face. She was hoping/expecting more of a nice reaction from him. Considering what they both just went through together. Throws her off when he doesn’t respond positively. He's currently doing a throwback to early closed off Tim and she isn't quite sure why.

Grey interrupts before Tim can reply and be any colder to her. He writes up their scores on the board. 97. 91. 81. Tells them they all passed but the 81 is ugly. Wants them to self reflect on which one is theirs. He will tell them by end of shift. He says good news is they all get to be out of long sleeves now.

They’re all discussing the scores naturally. Angela says he looks worried. Tim says he’s never had a rookie score as low as 81. She says first time for everything ha. Tim defends Lucy and says she’s a natural born test taker. No way she scored that low. He is sure it’s Nolan lmao Oh Tim your dislike of him amuses me so.

Lucy joins them in her short sleeves. Tim asks her what she’s doing? She seems so perplexed why he’s angry with her. She says Grey said they could switch over. Tim goes off on her and says she will wear her long sleeves and tie till end of probation. That he gets full discretion over her uniform cause she’s his boot. She walks away so sad and defeated. S1 Tim viscously rearing his head. The boys ask where she’s going when they pass her. She replies so sadly ‘To change back…’

They pull up to a park and get out of their shop. Tim tells her to stop pouting. Lucy bites back and says she isn’t. She then asks what they’re even doing here? Tim goes on to say if she thought it was going to get it easier after the exam she was wrong. Lucy is snarky in her reply ‘Awesome…’ She is already over his reversion back to early s1 hard ass. It's written all over her face.

He clearly heard her but asks what was that? She says nothing….Lucy knows its like poking an angry bear right now. So she avoids the conflict. (For now..) Tim asks her what the most important thing she needs on the street as a cop? Lucy runs through a list of things Tim doesn’t want as her answer haha Then settles on her judgement and Tim says no it’s her cop eyes. They're at this park for a Tim test. Clear he’s gonna be surly af for this one.

Tim asks her if she studied explosives in the academy? She says a little. Tells her he’s hidden a fake IED in the park for her to find. She has ten minutes to find it or he’s adding the duty hat to her uniform. Legit torturing her today with this test. Lucy starts to panic look through out the park.

She finds it in a barrel. Lucy is so proud of herself with this one. Tim is being an extra pain in the ass today. She’s so ready to prove him wrong. That him turning the heat extra high doesn’t affect her. She turns around and is all cocky saying she found it. Even those he's an absolute ass in this scene just like in the van scene in 1x14 looking fine as hell have to say. Especially way he puts his leg on that table. Its criminal you are this attractive Eric LOL

Tim pretends he can’t hear her. So she falls into his trap and uses her radio to tell him when the ‘bomb’ explodes on her. She is mortified and covered in flour. Tim continues the hard ass theme. Saying radios energy can set off a bomb. Ask her 'If she’s going to forget that lesson boot?' She replies No….Sigh poor Lucy. In his warpath this episode. She just can't figure out why.

Their next call brings them to a husband reporting his wife missing. Lucy feels bad for the guy and Tim doesn’t. Tells her Cop eyes again. Saying it’s always the husband who did it. Lucy once again snarky back asking if this is his first rule of domestics lol Tim is unchanging in his hard demeanor. Tells her it’s not a joke. That she’s too new to properly assess people yet. She should be showing suspicion not compassion as her default. Lucy looks annoyed as hell. Getting to her boiling point with his sour attitude.

Lucy’s irritation comes to a head when they return to the station. She asks him what he’s doing? Tim states the obvious and says clocking out and going home. She is more direct and asks why he is treating her like it’s day 1 all over again? He says because it is day one for her with phase 2 of her training. Lucy is further agitated. Asking if she’s lost all the respect she’s earned since then? Then Tim finally shows his hand on why he’s so angry. Tells her she lost that when she lied on a report.

It all comes together for Lucy. This is why he’s been such a grumpy bear all day. She finally understands why he’s been such a hard ass. Her reaction is incredulous. She’s honestly shocked he’s reacting this way. Lucy thought it was pretty obvious her actions were to protect him. Tim rattles on about procedure and code. How she should’ve reported him. She truly doesn’t understand why he’s mad at her for protecting him.

The look on Tim’s face in the second gif. He looks in shock Lucy did that for him. He’s so caught up on her lying on a report he didn’t stop to think she was doing it to protect him. Oh my broken baby. As I stated earlier he’s not used to being the protected. It was Lucy’s first and only instinct to edit that part out to safeguard him. To me this is the most tragic part of it all. Is he NEVER expected this from her. When he read that report all he saw was her not following procedure. Instead of what it really was...Which was her shielding him. Deep down I think part of him knew this but he couldn't accept it hence him lashing out like he is.

Lucy goes on to explain why she protected him. Because Tim clearly isn't understanding why she did it. How she knew Tim wasn’t really suicidal. He just needed to vent his stress and anxiety to her in that moment. That she didn’t want him to have to go through unnecessary therapy. To lose him as her T.O. over something that could hurt his career and their time together. Tim regains some of his composure and goes back to the company line BS. Saying how it wasn’t her call to make. That everyone should be reported consequences or not. Now here comes the best part of this entire scene. Of the episode really IMO.

Lucy destroys him with her reply. This is one of the reasons Tim falls so hard for her. The fact that she calls him on his shit. Not only does that but pulls his head out of his ass. Then promptly hands it back to him on a silver platter with her Isabel retort. She owns this scene after this. What's so damn impressive is Lucy can go toe to toe with him and win. She challenges him in a way no one has before and puts him in place when he needs it.

And he very much needs it in this moment. That final gif is his realization of that. Lucy delivers her K.O. punch and leaves him standing there with regrets about his behavior. He has no leg to stand on after she eviscerates him with her comments. Telling him not to hang his anger on his ‘code’ when it’s clearly not about that. Her calling him out and rightfully so like she did back in 1x03. When he was putting her in harms way as his therapy about Isabel.

Lucy tells him the hard stuff when he needs to hear it most. You know I love my Tim but hot damn did he need this Lucy knockdown. He admires her for it even when it’s hard for him to swallow. The way he just stands there it’s hitting him he took this reaction way too far. He’s forgetting how stressful that entire situation was for her as well. This ass chewing he just got is a stark realization of that. Also you know part of that chemistry of theirs is scenes like this. That fire and passion between them both. Ooh lord I love it.

Grey reveals their scores. We find out Lucy got a 91. She is immensely relieved and Tim is smiling ear to ear. Tim is good at burying a lot of things, being proud of Lucy has never been one of them. Look at this man beaming for her. He knew she would get a high score. He couldn’t be happier about it. Written all over his body language I love it sfm. I keep saying Eric is amazing with expressing so much with just a look. Its because he is look at that man. Pride x1000 in his girl.

The cute proud husband theme continues. Lucy spots a fake cop in the parking garage stealing a radio. She chases him out of there and jumps a wall in order to pursue him. I LOVE Tim asking if she’s okay first thing. It’s the softness in his voice that gets me. She is smiling and says yeah. Lucy is first beaming cause Grey seems impressed with her.

Then more so when Tim does his version of being proud of her. She rolls her eyes a bit but you know she’s happy to have him singing her praises. He could not be prouder of her if he tried in his scene. Anytime she does exactly what he knows she capable of he is elated. Also being proud in front of Grey is even better for Lucy. This is big brag for Tim about her. ❤️

Later on they figure out one of the fake cops leads them to the wife that went missing. Lucy asks if Nolan needs backup they say no. Lucy can’t help herself and takes a little dig at Tim. She has the high ground atm and knows it. Throwing the husband comment back at him. Tim doesn’t even reply. Just has a small smirk on his face. You know he loves her pushing his buttons and giving him crap. They aren’t at the point of apologies just yet. This is as close as we’re getting for them right now. It’s pretty cute.

Their final scene is them working in harmony like they do. Taking down the fake cops for the most part on their own. I love watching them work in the field. They’re so fluid and move without issue. That silent communication and such. Poetry in motion I would say.

Thus ends the Chenford portion of the S2 premiere.

~~~

Side notes non Chenford

The opening scene for Wopez always cracks me up. Wes seeing a side of Angela he hasn’t before. Her messy side. Him finding the sandwich in the shower LOL His face kills me he’s so grossed out and she thinks it’s natural af hahaha They cute.

[sirenologyyy]

SPEAKING SONAR !

ao'nung x fem!sully reader

✷ premise : as tensions rise and your family is forced out of the only home you've ever known, fish boy meets forest girl and the rest is history (tragedy)

✷ warnings : kidnapping, swearing, injury, blood, violence, and death

✷ author's note : gotta have ya'lls parents' povs here hehe, also some spider content if ur an anti dni I'm a spider defender 4 lyfe.

✷ trigger warning : THERE'S GUNNA BE A KINDA GRAPHIC SCENE LATER IN THE CHAPTER ABOUT THE SULLYS AND QUARITCH, IT INVOLVES BLOOD AND MORE BLOOD so be advised... but it's short dw dw

part 4 of the SOLD OUT OF LOVE series

When you'd be confined to the lab because of influenza which you caught often, Spider would risk the possibility of infection and stay in your room all day because unlike you, your germs feared Spider. You'd close all the lights and the both of you would lay on your bed and look at the glowing solar system Max and Norm had painted on your ceiling. It was a moment of peace he wouldn't exchange for the world, just lying next to his sister in the dark, basking in the silence.

Until he speaks. "Do you ever wonder what it would be like if we lived on Earth?"

You turn to him. "I'd always be in the hospital"

"Yeah, well what's different now?" He bit back.

You chewed on your lower lip, he was right. "We'd be going to school, we'd have friends-"

"-that are not giant blue aliens" He adds, the both of you laughing.

"You think if we were on Earth we wouldn't be orphans?"

He shifts, and the bed bounces underneath you. "Maybe" Spider replied cautiously. "If my mom hadn't been flying that gunship she'd probably still be here... not sure about my dad though"

"You're lucky you knew your dad"

He shook his head adamantly. "No I'm not"

"Fine, then you're not" you say, giving up.

"Would we even know eachother if our moms weren't brought here? If they hadn't met our dads?"

This made Spider think hard. "We still would, my mom knows your aunt Trudy"

"No, they met at that flight school, if they weren't chosen, they wouldn't know eachother, we wouldn't know eachother"

This made him tuck his lips together. "I guess you're right"

"I am right" You tell him, propping yourself up by your forearm, Spider mirroring your action. "But what does it matter anyway? We're stuck here, there's no life for us back in Earth cuz it's dying, we've got nowhere else to go"

"Then I guess we gotta stick together don't we?" He replies, poking your shoulder. "Us outsiders gotta stick together, Spider and Firefly, that way nothing can tear us apart"

You grinned, your teeth lighting up in the darkness. "Nothing" You echoed, twirling your pinky over his, breathy giggles taking over you both.

You were the first to pull away, lying flat down on your back, using the same hand to scratch at your IV taped to your wrist used to replenish your dehydrated body. That was several months before the accident, where it changed your lives forever. It was never Spider and Firefly against the world anymore, it was just Spider.

Because the promise you had made to eachother, the promise of the two children orphaned by war initiated in a dark room lit up with neon stars and planets was forever broken.

The both of you grew up in Pandora, took your first steps on Pandora, spoke your first words on Pandora, you had Spider, Spider had you, he didn't care that he could spend most of everyday outside when you were stuck in your room. He'd tell you everything and spare no detail, the speeches, plays, and presentations you two had made to convince Max and Norm to let you out for 3 hours were the highlights of your life, especially when they'd agree.

He lost his mom, his dad, and when they pulled you out of that river unresponsive he thought he might as well lost you too.

2 months ago he had been bragging to the Sully children that he could palace his chin on top of your head without even standing on his tip toes, he blinked and suddenly you could place your entire forearm on top of his head without even trying. He stayed silent, knowing he should be grateful you weren't so sick anymore- but at what cost? He had been more alone now since before you were born, you had been alone together, now he was just alone.

But he wasn't the only one feeling what he was feeling, you were battling your own surges of loneliness trying to grab hold of you. It was a hard change, human food started to taste like paste, you weren't used to being a tug away from being naked, your skin being so blue. It was weird.

You shared a bond with Spider not even the other Sully kids could replicate, now he was gone, and you didn't know when you'd get him back, if you'd get him back.

Lo'ak snapped his fingers in front of you. "Baby sis, you good?"

You blinked. "Uh-huh" You mutter unconvincingly, standing up with a basket you dug against your hip, making your way down to the fish nets to retrieve your lunch for the day.

"What's up?"

"Missing Spider"

"Oh" He says. "He's a tough guy, he'll be fine"

Even Lo'ak didn't believe his words, and so you nodded along. "Yeah, I know"

He crouches beside you, grabbing the pesky fish that fought back and dropping them into the basket. "I've seen him chug Whiskey with a straight face, and, get a scolding from our parents for letting us take a sip, if he can survive that he can survive anything"

"I know he can" You tell him, sliding a fish into the hole of your basket. "Sometimes I just wonder if it's enough"

"It is" He assured you, placing a wet hand on your shoulder. You appreciated the gesture but pried his hand off of you moments later.

Lessons that afternoon were interesting, it was the only word that could sum up the entirety of what had awaited you after lunchtime. The moment you saw Ao'nubg across the beach with your siblings you turned your heel and bolted the other way, you hid in your Marui, helping your mother with repurposing old clothes, chopping fruit for dinner that night.

1, 2, 3, 4 Sullys on the beach, yet one was missing.

He itched to ask them, your brothers, it practically consumed him, knawed at him on the inside to ask your brothers where you were and why you missed your lessons.

Only at the end of the day did he finally give in. "Where is she?"

"Where is who?" Neteyam wonders.

"Your beloved sister?"

"Kiri? Tuk? They're right over there with Tsireya and Rotxo" Lo'ak butts in, pointing his thumb at the secondary group floating on their backs in the water, giggling and gliding.

He rolled his eyes. "No genius, your other one, Y/N?"

Lo'ak shrugged. "Dunno, she says she was dizzy, Mom didn't wanna let her swim in her state"

He hummed. "I see"

But for the past week, it was almost as if you hadn't run out of excuses to miss lessons. They'd wait half an hour for you to come out only for one of your siblings to tell the rest of your friends that you weren't coming. Ao'nung never bothered to come anymore, claiming that he himself wasn't feeling well and that he must have gotten what you've caught all the while having no interactions this past week.

After lessons, Tsireya would catch him hanging out with his other friends or if not then lying on his hammock throwing a woven grass ball in the air, but when his grating mother couldn't leave him alone for two seconds then he'd be riding his ilu on the other side of the island for some peace and quiet.

It was the 4th day of you purposely evading lessons, you sat in your Marui with your mother while she braided your hair. "When will you start attending lessons again Ma'íte?"

"When I feel better" You reply.

"There is this boy that keeps coming to our hut, he says he misses your presence in lessons" You practically froze on the spot as your heartbeat began to rise in a cresendo.

"What was his name?" Your mother asked to herself while you sat there and apprehensively awaited for her next words. "Ahh yes, Rotxo"

Either she knew what she was doing or she had no clue at all- but you wouldn't put it past her. "Yeah, Rotxo's a sweetheart"

Your mother hummed in agreement. "Yes, such a sweet boy, very polite" She stopped, tying off the braid she had previously been working with and starting on another one. "although you were never really drawn to the sweet ones, were you Ma'íte?"

This woman was sick.

"I don't know what you mean" You lie.

She giggles. "You might not be my child by blood but we are more alike than you thought" She asks you for one of the shells you were holding and you hand it to her, feeling her thread it into your locks. "Just say it, sweet girl"

"Say what?" You managed, ignoring the warmth that plagued your cheeks as you straightened your posture.

"That you thought I was talking about somebody else"

You needed to get out of here, she's practically nipping at your heels. Your sweet mother, bringing you in for slaughter. You remaining silent only made her laugh.

"So there is someone?"

"No" you replied a little too quickly. "No, there is no one"

"Then I believe you"

"Good, then we'll just chalk this conversation up to finished"

"Maybe we will" She tells you to stand up and look at yourself in the mirror, admiring the beads, shells, and hair cuffs you told her to put in, turning your head so that the sunlight reflected onto them.

"You did amazing mom, it looks beautiful" you grinned.

She smiles, placing her hands on your shoulders. "I did nothing sweet girl, the beauty is all yours"

"How's she feeling?" You both turn your heads to see your father walking in the Marui. "Still lightheaded?"

"She's feeling fine, aren't you Ma'íte?"

You nod.

He took one good look at your face and turns to your mother. "Neytiri, her face is all flushed, is she coming down on a fever?"

Your eyes widen as you whirl your head towards the mirror. Goddamnit.

You mother pretends to be shocked, turning you to face her. "Your father is right, maybe you should stay home today afterall"

You shook your head. "No I think I'll go out today, it's been long enough"

Jake frowned. "Is she sure? Are you sure? "

You nodded. "Mm-hm" already making your way across the Marui.

"No funny business alright???"

"Alright! Alright!"

"Y/N!" Your father called out.

"I got it!" Was all you said before you jogging down the steps and onto the beach.

Neytiri approached Jake by the mouth of the Marui, the pair of them watching as you ran up to your other siblings and your friends splashing eachother with water by the coastline.

"Ma Jake" Neytiri began.

"Mm"

"It may have escaped your notice but no matter how much you deny it, she is her own woman now, not the little girl we have taken under our wing so many years ago"

Jake sighed, his ears flattening against the sides of his skull as he turns his head towards Neytiri. "I know that"

"I know you do, and yet you refuse to acknowledge it"

"She's got too much fire in her"

"That is a good thing"

"Come on, you knew Betty, cross her one time she'll cross your heart out" He exclaimed, trying to prove his point.

"Ma Jake, believe me when I say that you cannot keep protecting her forever, someday you have to let her go"

"I made a promise to her mother that I'll keep her safe, with everything she's done for me in the past I owe her that much" He explained, Neytiri places a hand on his cheek in the process. "I'm too scared of screwing this up, I try and limit her, and what is she doing? She's going against me, fooling around"

They watched as you joined in on the fight, cringing and screaming when Kiri sent a huge wave your way. "Go easy on her, if you restraint her too much she will drift farther and farther away from us"

"I haven't been living up to my promise like I wanted, I've almost lost her once, I'm not about to let that happen again"

They turn to the beach again and watch as You and Tuk harshly tackle Neteyam, Rotxo and Kiri throwing fistfuls of sand at eachother, and Tsireya giggling her head off as Lo'ak tried pulling off a piece of seaweed that had gotten stuck on his tail but ended up spinning around like a top.

"Stay down!" Tuk screamed at Neteyam floating in the water pretending to be dead and even sticking his tongue out for effect.

You grab her waist and placed her on your shoulders. "The mighty warriror Tuktirey has defeated the fearsome wildebeest, she knows nothing! only rage!"

She let's out a war cry, everyone else in the group started doing the same causing passersby to look at what was causing the sudden ruckus on the shoreline She then leaps off of you and into Neteyam causing a huge splash, she pretends to wrestle with his body while your oldest brother tried his hardest to contain his giggles. All of you began chanting Tuk's name as she managed to stand on Neteyam's chest (with him holding her by her ankles of course) banging her fists on her chest as you all started hooting and cheering for her.

Since you were so close to your Marui, Neteyam (who you were sure had a bruised lung at this point) got word from your father that you were allowed to stay out a little later than usual.

Lo'ak was with Tsireya somewhere, Neteyam and Kiri were riding their íkrans above the islands, which left you and Tuk collecting shells on the beach.

"This one! This one!" She says, pointing a finger at a shell that looked similar to one she picked earlier.

"You already have one that looks like that" You say, holding a bucket already half-full of shells.

"Yeah but now I have two of these, so if I lose the other one I got this one" She explained whilst dropping it in the bucket, joining the other shells.

You laughed, shaking your head. "Can't argue with that logic"

All of a sudden you hear Tuk gasp, you turn around just in time before you see her bolt into the forest. Abandoning the bucket you run after her, calling her name, firing threats at her until you reach a clearing and you realize you lost sight of her.

"Tuk!" You shout. "Dad will skin you alive!"

No response, only the breeze and the chirping of insects in the distance mocking you.

"Come out! Come on! " You say, looking behind trees and bushes, behind rocks and shrubs. "Tuktirey Te Suli Neytiri'ite this is not funny!"

"Kinda is"

Your head snaps up at the voice, but you don't turn around.

"chilly night tonight, isn't it Forest Girl?"

At that you finally turn around to see Ao'nung, leaning against a tree, sporting a devilish smirk.

You feel your hands ball up into fists, your nails creating crescent shaped dents onto your palm. "What did you do to my sister"

His eyes widen, he shows you his palms, chuckling raucously. "If my calculations are correct she might be running into your brother and my sister any minute now" He steps forward. "Listen, I asked her to lead you into the forest so that I could talk to you, alone" He states, aquamarine eyes scanning your face. "I only wanted to talk to you"

You prayed to Eywa to give you the strength to not punch the lights out of this boy. "You were in cahoots with my sister??" You practically shrieked.

"Well-" He began, trying to think of a statement that he could use to defend himself but sighed when he realized his mind was blank. "Yes, that is exactly what it is"

"I can't believe you!" You spat, narrowing your eyes into slits.

"Y/N I just wanted to say sorry, please" He begs, the fact that this was the first time he used your actual name in front of you and not some derogatory nickname did not go unnoticed by you or him.

"You fuck up, you apologise, you trick me into trusting you and then what? You fuck up again?" You wonder. "Is this a part of your golden boy routine? Get some praise for admitting to your mistakes?"

"No" He proclaimed steadfast, walking up to you again so now there were only a handful of inches in between you. "I am the son of the Olo'eyktan, I should have been treating you with more respect, I have been stupid, an-and selfish and I have let arrogance and conceit take over me"

He stops to take a breath, wetting his lips before he continued. "I want you to see that I do not want my past behavior to define me, if you will accept my apology and let me make it up to you it would mean the world to me... but if you don't, just say the word and I will never show my face to you again"

An ultimatum. You shouldn't have expected less from him. You found yourself scanning his face for any weak points, any tell tale signs that might tell you he was lying and was only doing this as a dare or if his parents promised him a grave punishment when he came home unsuccessful. You hated it when you realized he was telling the truth.

As much as you would have loved walking the shores of Awa'atlu knowing that Ao'nung would never show you his putrescent face again- you couldn't help but succumbing to his words, his promises, you were fighting with yourself, telling your other half to turn heel and sprint, sprint, and never look back but you were falling, he was using his tricks against you, letting his big blue eyes do all the work.

That was when you felt it, a little flame, bursting to life inside of you, warm, unfamiliar, questionable, lighting up the dark caverns of your chest, flooding it with an obscure sensation.

"Why did you want to talk to me all the way out here? In the forest?"

He sighs. "My father encourages me to maintain good relationships with all the Sully children, he says that it is most vital to have connections once I become chief..."

You cock your head to the side a little. "...but?"

"My mother says that I do not need to see you more than I have to"

And there it was.

"Why?" You implore.

"She thinks you're the one that is causing me to skip lessons and my training-"

"-You've been skipping lessons?" Was what left your mouth.

"Admittedly, yes, I have been skipping lessons"

"Why?"

"I didn't feel like attending them"

You gave him a genuine look of disbelief. "That's it?"

"What about you?" He evades. "I heard you have not been keeping up on appearances either"

"Yeah, I wasn't feeling all that great the past few days" you confessed, crossing your arms over your chest. "But I guess I'm feeling better now"

He nods languidly, taking in the situation. "So will you be coming tomorrow?"

You look at the ground then up at Ao'nung. "maybe"

"Good" He says with a smile, you almost wondered why it was so good to him but he squashes your assumptions when he opened his mouth again. "I might have to teach you how to swim all over again"

You flick your finger against his toned forearm, making him look at it and let out a scoff of objection. "Don't get ahead of yourself"

The silence that followed after was evident, your eyes travel up to the sky and realize that it might be around dinner time, mere seconds before your Dad starts ringing the dinner bell and all 5 of you scurry back to the pod like a bunch of sows.

"I guess I'll see you around?" You spoke up, making his head turn to you again. "I gotta go find my sister before she makes Awa'atlu falls to its knees"

"Wait" says he, making you stop. "You never answered me"

You exhaled through your mouth. "Fine you skxawng, I forgive you" you see him grin, ducking his head. "What will the nation do if you never show your face to anyone ever again?"

"I agree, pretty things should be enjoyed"

You involuntarily gagged, earning a loud chuckle from him. "Come on, you like looking at my face"

You remain quiet as he chuckles to his own joke, you roll your eyes and turn around. "Goodnight jackass"

He collects himself. "Goodnight tree hugger"

"Keep 'em coming" you taunt, hurriedly making your way out of the forest as he stays and watches you leave. Only when he was sure you were out of earshot was when he punches a fist in the air and whoops in glee.

"The ocean blessed you with a gift, brother "

Ao'nung stirred. "The Tulkun have not returned yet, and anyway no Tulkun is ever alone"

"This one was" You turn to your brother, sat across from you. "He had a- a missing fin, like a stump, on the left side"

Tsireya's expression changes. "Payakan"

"Who's Payakan?" Kiri wonders.

"A young bull who went rogue, he's outcast, alone, and has a missing fin" says Rotxo.

Tsireya turns to Lo'ak, taking his arm. "They say he is a killer"

"He killed Na'vi," Ao'nung butts in. "And other Tulkun" He says, leaning forward, his eyes meeting yours before it lands to Lo'ak. "Not here, but far, to the South" He adds.

Lo'ak shook his head, intent on proving his point. "He's not a killer"

Tsireya purses her lips beside you. "Lo'ak, you are lucky to be alive"

"I'm telling you guys, he saved my life, he's my friend!"

"My baby bro!" Neteyam crooned. "Who faced the killer Tulkun, and lived to tell about it" Lo'ak shrugged Neteyam's arm away, standing up to face all of you. "You guys aren't listening"

"Lo'ak I'm listening!"

"Lo'ak come back, you skxawng"

Neteyam runs off to follow him, Tuk dragging Tsireya and Kiri off to the ilu pen, Rotxo following them just for the sake of Kiri, leaving Ao'nung and you behind.

"And then there were two" He beamed, following you as you walked down the steps of the platform and onto the beach. You couldn't help but notice the slight bounce to Ao'nung's steps when he started walking in front of you "You were a whole lot quieter today, Forest Girl, is there something you'd like to share with the class?"

You shook your head at him, biting down on a smile. "You're baiting me, no thank you"

"I am doing nothing of the sort!" He exclaims, giving you a playful frown. "You wound me, Forest Girl"

"Good, somebody's gotta keep you on your toes"

He gave you an unsatisfied hum. "Thank Eywa for you then"

"Damn right, you should be" You replied, approaching the trees that lined the beach, hearing the creaking of the branches only to see Ao'nung already 3 feet above you. "Get down from there, I don't wanna have to carry you all the way home just because you broke something"

"I think I'll risk it," He says. "That way you've got a better of view of me from up here" He begins flexing his muscles in front of you and you shot him a look of disgust, gritting your teeth to keep you from giggling. You failed.

What was happenning?

Ao'nung finally hops down, landing on the sand beside you. "We have got plenty of time to kill before eclipse, what do you suggest we do?"

You begin walking again, Ao'nung following you. "We sit and watch the water"

"Boring" He droned.

You look at him with eyes wide. "You were the one who asked"

"Clearly my mistake, I did not realize how utterly dull you are"

You stopped walking and turned to him, raising a quizzical brow. "What about you smart guy? What do you suggest we do?" You wonder.

He shrugged, a sly smirk playing at his face. "I was thinking we just go to the cave and-"

You stop him from talking by placing a finger over his mouth. "Nuh-uh, the last time we went there I practically got my ass beat because of it, I am literally an arguement away from my Dad chaining me to our Marui"

He compromised. "Fine, we could go to the other side of the island and visit the waterfalls?"

"I'm not allowed to go to the other side of the island"

"Your father won't know"

"No means no, Ao'nung" You insist.

He threads his fingers together, cracking his knuckles. "You wanna go to the diving rock? It's got a killer drop, 30 feet"

You shook your head. "No, no more swimming"

"Then I have got nothing" He confessed, placing his hands on his hips and facing the water.

"Look, you don't need to push it, bro" You tell him, placing a hand on his shoulder. It was like he took a punch to the gut. "You can go do all that stuff without me, I'll just hold you down"

"You wouldn't" He says, making your ears flick upwards. "I just wanted to..."

"Wanted what?"

His eyes meet yours, turning his body away. "It's- nevermind that now, it is stupid"

You slap his shoulder. "No it won't, tell me"

He keeps his eyes down, only meeting your gaze every now and then just to catch a glimpse of your face, how the setting sun casted a syrupy glow onto your face, how it only made him want to look at you longer. It was like an anvil had been tied to his ankles, pulling him down to the seabed, down, down, down until he finally allows it.

"I wanted you to stay a bit longer" He concedes.

"Why?" You teased. "All you gotta do is ask"

He looked unsure, hesitant but scans your face nonetheless, after a moment of standing, the setting sun a witness to Ao'nung's diffident self, he sighs. "Will you stay?" He finally asks.

You considered it, turning to the water as you felt your lips curling up into a mischeivous grin. "Fine, only because you begged" You said. "Desperation is a good look on you, you know" Ao'nung shoves you again and you stagger back cackling, letting your laughter rip.

You see him grinning too, pointing at you as you kept on laughing. "Foul play, you do not get to word it that way"

"I was telling the truth!"

"You were twisting my words" He insists, giving you a shrewd smile.

"Only a little bit" you admit, pushing your hair away from your face and sitting down on the sand

He props his leg up, placing his elbow over his knee while you sat cross legged. "I hope your father didn't reprimand you any more than what I have seen two days ago"

"No, he just gave me the silent treatment, he always does it"

"Now why would he do that?"

"He dosen't want to fight with me anymore than he already does, that's why he stays quiet"

He lets out a condescending scoff. "Dosen't look like it"

You half-shrugged. "I'm used to it, it's no big deal"

A moment of silence settles.

"Open out your hand" Ao'nung says oh so suddenly.

You turn to him, your interest piqued. "Why?"

"Just do it" He says, pointing his chin at your hand. "And look the other way"

You sighed, opening your palm and keeping your eyes away until he dropped something in the middle of your hand, something cold, something hard. You finally look down and you couldn't help the gasp that escaped your lips.

It was a necklace. Held together by golden twine with clay beads and pearls strung a centimeter away from the others, then, a pearlescent conch shell as big as your thumb in the very middle.

It looked amazing.

You hated it.

"I asked Tuk for the beads you managed to gather, wasn't hard, all I had to do was bribe her with some candied fruit" He surmised like it was something to be proud of.

"You've got to stop using my sister for your stunts" You say, placing the necklace against the light, your smile widening to an O as it glimmered.

He smirked, ducking his head. "She's the only Sully who truly likes me"

"That's not true" You tell the boy, waiting for him to look up to you, and when he does you continue. "Not really"

And this boy blushes.

"Hah! 14 different shades of purple!" You shout.

He dosen't say anything, only letting you make fun of him, prodding at his forearms, giggling when he averts his face.

"Are you done?" He asks after a while, failing at stifling a grin.

You shrugged, lifting your hair up to tie the necklace together. "Maybe" you laughed, patting your hair down and raising your eyebrows at him. "So, how's it look?"

"Uhh, it looks- it looks great" He responds, feeling the unfamiliar warmth blossom beneath your ribs. "Now you'll have something to draw attention away from your frightening face"

You click your tongue at him, hearing his infectious laugh and watching as he shields his face away from the beating that was about to come.

"Y/N"

The laughter stops. The both of you whirl around to see Neteyam donning his signature stony expression, you stand up straighter, distancing yourself from Ao'nung.

"Come on" says Neteyam, his gaze switching to you, then to Ao'nung, then the necklace. "Mom's calling you, she needs help with dinner"

"Can't you help her?" You can't help but wonder. That was probably too mean.

"She wasn't calling me was she?" He retorted, ice running through your veins. "And anyway, i'm not interrupting anything here, am I?"

"No" You tell him.

"Then let's go" He says, you reluctantly walk towards him, he takes your shoulder, leading you out of there as he looks at Ao'nung whose eyes followed you away a little too long for his liking.

"Ao'nung" Neteyam acknowledges.

He nods. "Neteyam" says Ao'nung.

You both arrived at the Marui, your mood souring by the second. "Explain yourself" Neteyam demands.

You spun around. "What is there to explain? you saw us, we were just talking"

"I mean if you know the way he looks at you or you're just pretending to be blind"

"What are you talking about?" You almost screeched, your eyebrows knitting.

"I don't like you hanging around him," Neteyam tells you, pointing back at the beach. "he's bad news"

You hiss at him but what came out was a groan of annoyance, walking deeper into your pod. "Just butt out of my business"

"Your business is my business!" He tells you pointing at his chest.

"That is not true"

Neteyam groans. "It's Ao'nung, Y/N" He emphasized.

"I am perfectly aware of his name" You sassed.

"He's too old for you" Neteyam insists. "He'll break your heart"

You let out an incredulous laugh, as you turned around. you couldn't believe what he was saying, what he thought was happenning. "That is not what was happenning back there, alright?"

"Why'd he give you that then??"

You don't answer him, instead you scoffed, rolling your honey color eyes. "You are way off-base"

"No," He insisted, stopping you from walking out of the Marui. "what I am is right"

You throw your hand in the air as you walked passed your oldest brother, silencing him. "Whatever, I'm done here"

"I'm still talking to you"

"Well I'm not" You yelled back, running down to the beach, your anger simmering.

In an attempt to avoid your big brother you decide to join both your sisters, Rotxo, and Tsireya to visit the Cove of the Ancestors, hastily agreeing and in a hurry to hop up on your ilu, your brother decided that he would not let you go away so easily and insists that he joined too.

"We have to be there before eclipse settles, it's better that way" Rotxo appends with a grin, before his ilu splashes him in the face, Kiri laughing at his misfortune.

And Rotxo was right. It did look better after eclipse.

The sky may have darkened into a deep prussian blue but the water hadn't, it glowed several different shades of purple, you look down and see a warped image of their spirit tree, your siblings oohing and ahhing beside you.

All of you swim downwards, Rotxo instructing you to connect your queue to one of the bright purple margins of the leaves and you do, once you had linked your queue it felt as though you were being pulled through a blinding white tunnel, until it stops, and you land on all fours like you had been thrown out of there by some disembodied force.

You look up, you were back in the lab.

Your bare feet on the cold obsidian like tiles giving you fleeting flashbacks of what it was like to be standing back here, your first home. You look down, your hands were smaller, you weren't blue anymore, you adjust your focus to your reflection on the tiles and there it was.

You were a human again.

The sound of arguing catches your attention, it was coming from a few doors down and so you stood up, feeling the weight of your bones pulling you down, the world spun you around and you grab the nearest object to steady yourself, blinking until the world stopped spinning. You slowly made your way across the lab, the familiar mess of papers, the coffee stained tables, holograms of different insects, different plants propped up, books open to pages booked marked with sticky notes, the familiar intricate yet haphazard scrawl of Norm's handwriting, how his t's had a little tail.

"I trusted you! I trusted all of you!" The voice was a woman's, loud, piercing, she was definitely angry, but about what?

"Look, listen to us, all we wanted, all I wanted was to keep her safe, I tried my best Betty, believe me"

Betty?

There was no way.

"Don't try and kiss my ass Sully, do you think I believe the shit you're tryna feed me?" She shouts, followed by a few words in some foreign language where she rolled her r's a lot. "I told you to take care of her, then I come back 8 years later because she cracked her skull open because you- you! " You heard a tussle, like she had pushed someone into a wall. "You let her out at night in this cesspool! In the pouring rain!"

"Betty, we didn't know it was going to rain, alright?"

"Shit excuse, you have trackers in their exopacks don't you?"

"We do but- but Spider and Y/N managed to bypass it without us knowing, we had a hard time locating them and when we did-"

"-My baby's been bleeding out for 20 minutes" She says as you her tired voice turn brittle. "20 minutes" She repeats.

You finally see the door at the end of the hallway, its hinges eased open letting out a ray of periwinkle light on the floor. You walk up to it, standing on your toes and you see a woman, her thick wavy locks looked more puffed up when she was angry, her hickory brown eyes practically piercing needles onto Jake's face, Jake, who was also human, who was standing on his own two feet.

"That's 20 minutes too long Sully"

"Betty, we can't count our losses in this scenario" Jake tells her. "Look, her conditions stable-"

"-Yeah her conditions stable but she's damn lucky she didn't suffer any permanent neurotrauma"

"Betty "

"You're done Jake" says your mother, prodding a finger at his chest, you watch him raise his palms and cringe. "I'm taking her back"

Jake's eyes widen. "You can't do that"

"She's my daughter"

"I raised her! " Jake snapped.

" She was never yours! " Your mother retaliated.

You feel Jake's heart rip at the seams just by the look of his face. "Betty, you can't do this" He says weakly.

"Tough luck Sully, I can"

"What if we all just take a breather-"

"-Up your ass Norm" with that the door sprang wide open and you truly see what was going on, there was Jake, there was your Mom, there was Norm, there was Max.

And they were all looking at you.

"Luz, Míja, what are you doing up??"

Who the hell was Luz?

Was that supposed to be you? The name she gave you before she died? Before Neytiri came in and gave you a new one? One that stuck so well that even Norm and Max started using it?

You don't answer, still shell-shocked from taking all of this in for the first time.

"Come on, we have to go," She says, grabbing your hand and leading you out of there.

She pulls you out of there, further out of the lab and you pass by a mirror, you see a fleeting image of yourself, you were 8 again, practically skin and bone, fresh and healed bruises everywhere, knobby knees, and sallow skin. How the hell?

"You can't take her away!" Jake yelled. "Please, Betty! you're not thinking this through! Please! " The desperation in his voice was evident, it almost tugged at your heartstrings before you remembered how he treated you, how he snapped at you and yelled at you, restricted you, and berated you.

She keeps pulling you, pulling you out of the lab, your eyes widen as you remember you didn't have an exopack, nothing happens, you didn't choke on the spot, you see the Sully kids the way you remembered them that night- scared, shaken, dejected, calling out your name as you were pulled away by your mother, Neytiri holding all of them back.

You turn to Betty Chacon and the woman she was, your mother, the one who birthed you, and gave you life.

You couldn't believe she was here. You gripped around her hand tightly, following her into the forest where you walked through the trees. Until you hit a branch and your vision turns black.

Your eyes snapped open, realizing you had been pulled out of your encounter with your mother, at first you were angry, it was too short, you wanted her back, until you realize the spirit tree blinked like a lightbulb going haywire, you see your sister convulsing beside you. Anxiety floods your nerves as you jolt her awake, realizing you needed to pull her braid out but when you did it felt like your whole body was on fire.

TRIGGER WARNING !

Fire.

You open your eyes again and you see fire festering all around you.

You see blurry, fleeting images of Quaritch, you hear guttural screams, shrill screams, knife tearing through flesh, splattering, it was blood splattering on the stones. You blinked hard and see your family all lined up in front of you, impaled by sticks, you could hear blood splattering on the floor like you had just hung the washing and not wringing it dry, you run to help them, making a beeline towards Neteyam who was in front of you, but you screamed, realizing he had no face, like somebody has ripped it off his head.

"You're next" And it was Quaritch who was standing behind you, throwing Neteyam's face onto the rock like a slab of wet cloth, right beside the others, whose expressions of terror were imprinted on their faces forever.

END !

You feel your world jolt, when in reality it had been Rotxo shaking you out of your reverie, asking if you were okay or not answer you didn't think of answering back, only swimming up to the surface because you remembered your sister shaking violently.

You and Rotxo resurface to see Neteyam giving Kiri CPR atop his ilu, she gasps, and the next thing you knew Neteyam zooms out of there, Tsireya calling for Tuk to ride with her, leaving you with Rotxo who places a hand on your shoulder.

"Y/N! Y/N are you alright???" He practically demands, his wide eyes full of worry.

You blinked, almost having to untie your mouth open to speak. "We need to go back, my- Kiri- she's-"

"And we will," Rotxo assures you. "Hinewai is here already, see? Do you need a moment?"

You shook your head, propping yourself up on Hinewai's back. "No"

You and Rotxo speed through the waters to make it back to the village where you see throngs of village gathering around the beach, seeing your sister being transferred onto a bamboo gurney, hearing your mother's inconsolable wails wracking her body as Jake held her in his arms, barking orders left and right, Neteyam making sure they were being carried out, Tuk was sobbing, Tsireya stood close by in order to calm her, you couldn't find Lo'ak anywhere, there were too. much. people.

Your chest tightens again.

[wildartsstuff]

Ok weird idea but what would happen if Wick followed P throughout the game and they got to the nameless puppet boss fight, how do you think Wick would be involved in that scenario, would he be critically injured? Go after Gepetto?

Is not a scenario that I have not think about so I do not consider it weird as an idea haha. There are two finales for Lampwick in my head in which he dies by following P on the Alchemist Isle, but he does not survive until Simon’s fight. There is too much ergo concentration that would slowly kill Lampwick, infecting his lungs because of the ergo spores he would be inhaling especially on the beach.

He would do a last blow on Simon and then collapse to the ground which would lead him to just die before the battle with the Nameless Puppet.

But, if we have to consider Wick surviving Simon, he would follow Pinocchio until his last breathe and try to act as a distraction for the Nameless puppet so that P can focus on him to attack. Wick would also try to shoot at Geppetto from time to time to stun the Nameless puppet by hurting the wielder controlling him. So he would act much more than a support in gameplay giving you a double stun if necessary ( making it even kind of easier to beat ).

For the true ending he would sacrifice himself by getting stabbed by the nameless puppet ( kind of like Geppetto did ) but using the last of his strength to hold on his shotgun and kill Geppetto. Then everything goes how it is canonically. ( this would happen with a low confidence rank relationship with Lampwick but also with a higher one if you decide to bring him with you. The higher rank would be more emotional obviously. )

I have prepared a monologue for this situation though :

Wick : Shit... hehe. I think I exaggerated, huh? ( Coughs blood ) You will have to go alone, my friend. Avenge my brother on my part and whatever happens, don't fall for his nonsense. Pinocchio, you are the most human person I have ever known, never let anyone tell you who you should be. Be yourself, live your life as yourself. (Wick takes his hat and rests it on P's head, a tear comes down from his face) See? You are human, much more than me. This... was... an interesting adventure. Thank you. Ah, brother, Romeo, here I am. Forgive me if I left you... now... we are together... at home... ( Wick gives his last breath, a serene smile is printed on his face. He is happy. )

( This was written for the Simon’s final blow ending but if you adjust the first two sentences it is perfect for a tragic ending after the nameless puppet battle )

[safety-in-staying-behind]

2 months ago..

“…But to this day, Keith has no sensation in his right foot, and doesn't recognize his own brother Paul no more." Ellis finished with a painful smile, he was set up near the edge with Zoey. The two separated from a gate from the bridge Zoey was on, to where he sat. The reason why Ellis stuck up here was because he was hurt and the little southern boys group let him stay up here and ramble his head off.

Ellis stared down at his overalls as Zoey noticed the shy expression on his face as he ran out of things to say. Francis already went off alongside Louis. Francis, a bit sick and tired of listening to Ellis ramble his ass off. And Louis, because he wanted to check something alongside Francis. A small cough caught Zoey’s attention back down to the male.

“So…why and you n’ yer group stayin’ up there?” He asks, turning his head slightly to the side to stare at Zoey more clearly through his blue trucker cap. Zoey glances down.

“Oh, well Louis is injured, for one. We’re just staying until he gets better. And until we can find a working boat.”

“A boat? What’chu need that for?” Ellis questioned her, sitting up slightly. Zoey gave a small sigh, turning her head towards him. “So we could go to some sort of island, no infected or anything. It’s the only plan we have in mind.”

Ellis stared in a bit of confusion but seemed to understand in a way. Hehe now asks. “Why can’t you come with the military with us? I n’ the others are going there and—“

“No.” Zoey quickly says, gripping her nails into the bars. Ellis’s face turned to a bit of worry like he said the wrong thing. Ellis now quietly says in a soft voice.

“..you- have somethin’ up with the Military?” He asks softly. Zoey gave a softer glance at Ellis after he asked. She felt bad for lashing out suddenly at the mention of any military again.

“Yeah, they..aren’t good at their being a strong, wise military. Not experienced with…the infected going around.” Zoey eyes away from Ellis, to which Ellis looks confused.

“Not experienced? But- they are the military. N’ they don’t know how to deal with em?” Ellis scooted more upwards with a grunt, Zoey looked over and slowly leaned forward. “Yeah..they don’t trust what me and my friends are too, they called us Carriers.”

Zoey now hauled herself over the bar that separated the two, over to Ellis to set him back down to sit on the floor. Ellis froze up as she felt her suddenly so close, his Southerner brain hay-wiring. “Uhm.” He cleared his throat.

“C- Carriers? Whut..Whut does that mean?” He asks Zoey, staring up at her with nervous, blue eyes.

“I haven’t known much, to me and Louis’s knowledge…it’s where we are infected, but don’t mutate as much..and as the name implies,” Zoey says, staring down at the ground slightly as the two made eye contact for a split second.

“Carriers…carrier…they carry..somethin’?”

“The Green Flu.”

“Is that what y’all are? You are Carriers? Am I gonna get infected now? Are my frien-“

Zoey quickly shuts Ellis up by putting a finger to his mouth. To which he quickly does. Zoey now spoke to him. “I’ve seen you and your friends fight hordes of zombies, even if they scratch, explode, or smash you, you haven’t turned to one of them.” She reassured the man, and Ellis lowered his shoulders.

“So you sayin’…me n’ my friends are carriers as well as you guys?” The Southerner asks with a sheepish tone. Sitting more up, Zoey took her finger off of his lips. Zoey responded with a nod.

“Oh geez…oh man. What am I gun’ tell the others?” Ellis says with genuine worry in his eyes. Zoey saw this, he knew this man was visibly very worried for his friends and it made Zoey smile a small bit. It shows how far Ellis would care for his friends.

“We can tell them, me, Louis, and Francis can tell them,” Zoey says her idea, patting Ellis’s shoulder. Ellis looked up and now slowly stood up with a smile.

“Then I’ll go tell my group! Maybe..maybe we can stick together! N’ make our lil group.” Ellis says, wincing a bit before going back with his big, toothy smile.

Zoey couldn’t help but chuckle at the man’s enthusiasm, giving a nod. “Maybe, we can deduce that together. Be safe on the way down, Ellis.” She pats his shoulder. To which Ellis seemed to melt like butter for a second. He quickly nodded and pushed himself up. Zoey gave a nod and smiled at him.

“See you back here?”

“Yep!”

And the two departed back to their groups.

———————-

Welcome to this askblog! This is an AU I thought of where, “what if the l4d2 survivors stuck by with the L4D1 survivors after they told them about the military?”

You can go ahead and send asks already! There will be some OCS/New characters who will appear and be available to be asked questions.

But for now, go ahead and ask!

(P.S. Bill sadly isn’t available for ask, for he is still dead.)

Tags to use -

#SISBask

#SISBfanart (if you want to draw Fanart, you this tag and @ me in it!)

#SISB

[shoppingcartshells]

I’ve been really enjoying the turtle fic, violence and pizza to me is one of the fics that is essential to my personal enjoyment of the rise turtles, so thank you for bringing it into existence :D

I’m still really interested in your interpretation of the way the Hamato Ninpō works, would you mind going more in depth on your thoughts on it?

ohohoh....hamato ninpo... fuckk . chews on an ikea establishment IM SO GLAD YOU ASKED!!

for starters, i suppose, i LOVE writing it as not just "thing that gives them powers" but "thing that is also Them and they just have powers" if that makes any sense? bc the hamato ninpo, in essence, is connection to their family. it IS their love and care for each other, and that Connection is intrinsically tied to it — its how they got their ninpo, and its how they broke their ninpos free in the movie. they were connected, and they were there together, facing off their greatest enemy yet.

and, as such, i build off of this Connection and Them-ness to sort of make it an empathy link? because their ninpos are THEM. its their soul, which grants them their inherent powers, guided by their Connection with each other. their own ninpo is Themselves. as such, when there is that Connection, it carries with them emotions. its just a natural result of how it works; they feel, and they are connected, so they feel each other.

their ninpos are also not just their soul, but also sort of an aura? its the most noticeable with mikey, especially in the future timeline where hes the most powerful, but they have the ability to affect the real world around them beyond just using their powers—easiest seen in the way that spaces they linger in have a sort of lingering Scent that they were there. again, their ninpos are Themselves, and as such where they go, their ninpo goes. meaning that emotions will linger too with the traces of their ninpo—but not in the exact sense like their true ninpo, but rather a general presence of their most common emotion.

for example:

mikey loves his family. he is Very powerful, to degrees he isnt quite aware of. as such, the whole lair has a passive feeling of love, because when hes home, mikey, happy or sad, loves his family. and he feels safe when hes home, because he knows theyll protect him, and he knows that He will protect them

donnie also loves his family. donnie typical loving his family So Much. meaning, when hes in his lab, oftentimes hes working on something to protect them (especially after the shredder and then kraany fiascos). as such, when in his lab, his siblings can expect to feel that passive feeling of protection and love

much like mikey and donnie, raph loves his family, and he wants to keep them safe. as such the training room room carries that feeling of protection and love and saftey. are you sensing a theme here yet?

and leo... hehe... well, in tqiv&taip, he hasnt been all that present, so its not particularly relevant... but id imagine that, if one were to crawl into his bed and really focus, there would be a lot of anxiety, stress, and Upset :)

following the theme, i imagine post invasion the lair was just Filled with upset. its like being an empathetic crier but Worse

all that to say, it is VERY tied to their emotions. that was why leos speech WORKRD to burn off the kraang infection

jumping off of that in a very smooth segue yep, THEIR WEAPONS!! ohh their weapons...

theres always that saying that your weapon is an extension of yourself, and in this case it is Extremely literal.

the weapons arent their own beings, of course, but theyre sort of like a clone of their souls in a way. its still them just separate—their subconscious made tangible. (mystic weapons make a sort of bond similarly to how the turtles feel, but it is nowhere near as intimate compared to the fucking hamato ninpo).

and!! since ive sort of run out of things to say: some exclusive insight to our favorite blue silly :)

we all remember how leo struggled with portals? well, in this AU, thats because the mystic weapons that they had were catalysts, not their own full, separate things—if they had been fully fledged weapons with their powers, it would have been much like having to tame a wolf. because the weapons would have been their own type of subconscious, separate from both creator and user.

all that to say: because their weapons were essentially placeholders for the onces they create with their ninpo, the reason leo struggled in this au wasnt Just the inherent difficulty of trying to figure out how portals work, but because of his insecurity. he was struggling, and it Showed—and the more he struggled to fix it, the more insecure hed feel, and, well.... something something leos vicious cycle

(ALSO why his ninpo is so Distant now. because he feels, both consciously like he deserves to be disconnected and he IS disconnected from his family because he isnt talking to them and it shows. so in one way, hes consciously pulling away, but its also subconsciously.

and, those feelings could be made worse by the fact that one of his swords is still in the prison dimension—a piece of himself, lost, that he'll never get back.)