#you drew him so lovingly op

[lale-txt]

❦ 𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒

Every time he lowers his eyes, a strict ‘tsk, tsk’ of yours reminds him to keep looking at you as he obediently follows your instructions, always so eager to please.

a/n: one of my fics for @op-xreader-zine ♡ i don't write Katakuri often but when i do, he gets pegged. you can see the spot art Mew drew for this on AO3 (i didn't embed it here since i'm not sure what the current rules for explicit drawings on Tumblr currently are oop but click on the link for a treat)

contains: ns.fw under the cut, Katakuri/Reader, afab!reader (no pronouns or descriptive words for reader’s genitals used), pegging, praise kink, dirty talk, fingering (reader receiving and giving), size kink, spanking

word count: 2.2k

“Mmm.” 

You let out a content sigh as you sink into the bathwater and right into your boyfriend's arms. Instantly, he wraps them around you and pulls your body closer to his. There’s been this heat between the two of you ever since Katakuri suggested staying in tonight and having a bath together instead of going out. He’s never been one to enjoy the company of many people anyway, preferring to spend his shared solitude with you instead.

One hand of his is big enough to wrap around your torso fully, holding you in a tight but not painful grip. Even if you tried, you could never wiggle out of it. Not that you wanted to—you loved when he held you like that. The sheer size of him made you feel safe and sparked a fire within your core.

Tonight isn’t any different.

“Sweet little thing… you’re squirming.”

Katakuri’s voice is low in your ear, his hot breath fanning over your skin and making you tremble slightly. It doesn't go unnoticed by him with the way you arch your back and rub your thighs together, desperate for some kind of friction. How your heartbeat speeds up a little when he presses his fingertips deeper into your soft flesh. Your habit of biting your bottom lip when you want to hold back your needy mewls. For him your body speaks a language of its own and Katakuri understands every syllable of it.

He rests his chin on top of your shoulder after dragging messy kisses along the side of your neck while his free hand spreads your legs under water with ease, hooking them over his knees to keep them wide open for him.

“So good for me,” he whispers and trails a finger along your slit, almost making you jump in his embrace if it wasn’t for his firm grip holding you in place. His touch is never rough, always gentle; he's well aware of his size and never wants to hurt you. But oh, could he lose himself in the way you whine and moan when he pushes one finger inside your hot core, followed quickly by a second. And when you beg for a third as your walls already twitch around him, Katakuri can’t help but grant your wish, stuffing you until your head falls back on his shoulder and you let out the sweetest sounds of pleasure.

It doesn’t take long for you to cum around his fingers, your walls fluttering them as if they never want to let him go. Katakuri keeps on pressing kisses to your jaw and the side of your neck before he removes his fingers carefully, holding you against his body as you come down from your high. You feel his gaze lingering on you, and you tilt your head up to meet his warm, crimson eyes. Every tiny wrinkle around them you know by heart, having lovingly traced them countless times with your fingertips.

Katakuri reaches for your hand and brings it to his lips, placing another soft kiss on the back of it. You hum gently and turn around in the tub so you could face him directly without cranking your neck—and maybe also because you want to take in the sight of his throbbing cock that has been pressing against your back the whole time.

“How can I make you feel good tonight?” you ask, your voice dripping with hunger as your fingertips run up the inside of his thigh, making them tremble a little. You love how sensitive he is, the slightest touch enough to turn him on. Your eyes rest on him, waiting for him to reply.

There are a few seconds of silence between the two of you–not the uncomfortable kind, the good kind–before Katakuri speaks again, his voice low and making your heart skip a beat.

“There’s something I’ve never tried before… if you’re up for it.”

It's a sight to behold.

Katakuri, leaning against the headboard of the bed, his breath hot and heavy as he keeps fisting his throbbing cock under your stern gaze. Every time he lowers his eyes, a strict ‘tsk, tsk’ of yours reminds him to keep looking at you as he obediently follows your instructions, always so eager to please.

“Spread your legs for me,” you demand as you sit opposite of him at the other end of the bed, lazily stroking the strap-on around your hips, all lubed up already. You smirk when your man does as you tell him and bends his knees further, pushing his legs apart to grant you a better view of just how deeply he desires you.

Two fingers are pushing deeply past his puckered hole, and they glide in and out of it slowly.

“Good boy,” you say in a low voice, eyes wandering from his flustered expression to his throbbing cock, a few drops of precum leaking from it as he continues stroking himself for you, his rhythm getting slightly faster whenever you praise him in a sultry voice.

“Gorgeous… Does it feel good, touching yourself like that?” you ask as you watch him add a third finger, stretching his hole further for you. Katakuri nods, his breath a bit ragged by now and a thin sheen of sweat covering his massive chest. “You wish it was my cock, filling you up…?”

He nods again and you can tell that he is close from the way his fingers clench tighter around his cock, how his thumb circles the tip of it, and how his hips jerk forward slightly as he silently begs you with his eyes to cum. You muster him up and down as his whole body shivers slightly, then you smile and grant him his wish.

“Cum for me… let me hear how good it feels…” you whisper, though your voice leaves no room for disobedience. Usually never one to be overly vocal, Katakuri cums with a whimper, fingers still gliding in and out of his stretched hole as his load lands on his stomach, leaving a sticky trail all the way down his abs to this still throbbing cock.

You don’t leave him any time to breathe.

“On all fours,” you command. “Bend over and spread your cheeks for me, can you do that?”

Seeing Katakuri this obedient, this aroused, it stirs something inside of you. When he told you earlier about his curiosity about pegging, having never tried it before, you were curious too, trying to imagine what he’d look like when he was at your mercy.

It is a sight forever burned into your memory.

His whole body is trembling, face pressed into the pillows and a blissful and fucked out expression, all the while his fingers slide in and out of his stretched hole for your eyes only… it makes you fall all over for him, the trust between the two of you only growing. You lean over him and trail kisses down his spine, mumbling words of adoration against his hot skin, making him whine quietly.

“So good for me,” you coo as your hands cup his ass cheeks, spreading them wider for a better view which has Katakuri moaning, muffled by the pillows. “Shh. Hold still–”

The sound of the bottle of lube clicking open is followed by soft pants from Katakuri when you pour the cold gel where his fingers were moments before, now replaced by two of yours, rubbing slow circles around his twitching hole. You watch your digits disappear inside of it, his ring of muscles clenching around them as you push them in and out slowly, eliciting the sweetest sounds eliciting the sweetest sounds Katakuri's throat has to offer.

“One more,” he mumbles in the pillows, his knuckles turning white when he grips the bed sheets as you add another finger, taking your time to make sure he’ll be able to take your strap with ease. With your free hand you land a sharp slap on his ass cheek, quickly followed by one on the other. His moans are getting deeper now, more needy, which makes your whole body tingle in return.

“Think you can take me…?” you ask, your own heart also beating faster at the sight beneath you. When Katakuri nods, you can’t help but smile and curl your fingers slightly against the sensitive spot inside of him, having him on the edge the whole time before you leave him empty and whining, though if only for just a few moments.

You add a generous amount of lube as you stroke the strap in your fist again, then line yourself up against him with the tip of your fake cock rubbing between his spread cheeks teasingly.

“We can stop anytime, okay?” you whisper, waiting for Katakuri to give you a sign to show that he was good to continue, before you nudge your strap against his entrance. All your gentle preparations from earlier is paid off when you see how easily he swallows you as you push in slowly.

“Sucking me in so greedily.” You smirk as you grab him by his hips, gently guiding him deeper down on your strap. “Feels good…?”

Katakuri breathes heavily as he almost loses himself in this new sensation. All words are lost with every inch you push in deeper, having him mewl and growl under your constant praise as you stretch him so deliciously. He looks so unfairly pretty like this. Part of you wants to ruin him, wants to hear him beg and cry as you fuck him into the mattress, until his eyes roll to the back of his head; another part wants to take this so painfully slow that he just cums untouched, cums without a single finger of yours wrapping around his cock to help him get off, cums from your lazy thrusts that hit his sweet spot inside so well.

Then you’re all the way inside, your hips grinding against him, your fingertips leaving faint red marks where you hold him in place as Katakuri’s whole body trembles. His heavy pants bounce off the walls of your bedroom and send warm shivers throughout your whole body. You’ve never seen him like this and you can’t get enough of the sweet sounds you’re eliciting from him.

You lean forward, a hand of yours finding his hair and gently tugging on it as you kiss down from the side of his neck to his shoulder blades, mumbling soft words of praise and affection against his sweaty skin. From the way Katakuri arches his back for you, rocking his hips back and forth slightly, you can tell that he wants more and you can’t help but laugh softly.

Still bottomed out all the way inside, you kiss his broad back a few more times before your hands wander to his sides, then all the way around his stomach until they find his throbbing and neglected cock. Your fingers of one hand wrap around it, the other around his balls; both are heavy and pulsating in your tight grip, begging for sweet release.

“You poor thing,” you coo. “Have you been holding back? Does my cock make you feel this good? Look at you, so pretty for me…”

Katakuri mewls when you give his cock a few lazy strokes, too light to get him off, yet the feeling of being so full of you is so intense it almost has him seeing stars. By now he is drooling and whimpering, the feeling of pleasure almost too much to handle, his curiosity more than satisfied.

“Will you be good and cum for me?” you whisper as you slowly start thrusting again, almost mesmerized by the way his hole stretches around your strap on. If you could, you’d watch this for hours. Your fingers wrap his cock harder, feeling it twitch underneath your touch when you rub your thumb over the pink tip.

Katakuri is a mess by now, his moans caught in his throat as he begs you to go faster, sweet pleads to let him cum. And you do—

One last thrust is all it takes to push him over the edge. You feel his whole body shake beneath you when he cums, making a mess of the sheets and everything else. His load trickles from your fingers down to your wrist as you keep milking him, lazy strokes that have him whimpering from overstimulation until you finally release him from your grip. You pull out your cock slowly, watching how his hole clenches around nothing before he slumps down on the sheets, followed by you right next to him.

He has his eyes closed in pure bliss when you brush a few strands of his crimson hair out of his face before leaning down to kiss him gently. For the moment no words are needed between the two of you, the air still radiant with the trust and love the two of you hold for each other. One arm of his comes to wrap around your waist and pulls you closer to him, so close you can feel his heart beat erratically in his chest, every drum an echo of your name.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 20, part three(!)

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

This episode has so much crucially important stuff in it I had to write 3 posts about it! Part one is here, part two is here. 

Don't Start None, Won't Be None

Lan Wangji has never had a real fight with Wei Wuxian before--remember, in their rooftop fight Wei Wuxian never even drew his sword. And since this is going to be a verbal fight, Lan Wangji is going to lose, badly. He's an elegant and articulate speaker, but he's not quick with words, and he speaks directly and sincerely. Weaponized speech is not his area at all, so he's pretty much bringing a knife to a gunfight. A guqin to a flute fight. Whatever. He tries to turn it into a physical confrontation, twice, but Jiang Cheng holds him back.

This throwdown is 100% about religion and orthodoxy; something that is fundamental to both of these young men's lives. Lan Wangji has made it his mission to be as orthodox as possible, doing shit like volunteering to be beaten for drinking when he didn't choose to drink. He's constantly overwhelmed by emotion, and the Lan rules are a source of regulation and safety for him. His emotions around Wei Wuxian are among the most overwhelming he's got, possibly only second to his feelings about his mom.

Right now his feelings are extra overwhelming. 

It's complicated because his relationship with Wei Wuxian literally started off with him punishing Wei Wuxian for heterodoxy. All that time they spent together in the library? Was because Wei Wuxian talked--JUST talked--about using resentful energy for cultivation. Which is precisely the ability he's just shown them, along with a style of killing enemies that's borderline evil and definitely, DEFINITELY unsportsmanlike.

So this is not, Lan Wangji is lovingly worried about Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian is pushing him away to avoid an uncomfortable conversation. This is Lan Wangji freaking out because his entire system of belief is being challenged and he's in love with the person who's challenging it.  

Wei Wuxian has shown up to the party wearing an International Mr. Leather tee shirt with a enamel pin stuck to it that says "I get my kicks on route 666" and Lan Wangji just. cannot. deal.  

Never Start a Fight But Always Finish One

Wei Wuxian has a couple of options here. One is to accept, kindly, that he and his friend can't be friends any more because of religion. In this option, in order to preserve his friend's comfortable sense of being right, he would have to tacitly accept that he himself is bad in some way, and allow his friend to keep having his value system, while walking away from him.  

The other choice is to hit so hard that he makes his friend feel really, really bad, and potentially rocks him off of his comfortable foundation. In the short term, the friendship breaks, but if it forces him to actually question his value system, it might lay the groundwork for a new, more accepting friendship.  Anyone who is queer with an anti-queer-religious best friend is probably familiar with this dilemma.

Wei Wuxian chooses the second option, and goes all in from the first moment, calling Lan Wangji "Lan Er Gongzi" and then upgrading to "Hanguang Jun" and even bowing. If it's possible to bow sarcastically, that's what Wei Wuxian is doing. Then he meets his eyes and sticks his chin out, essentially saying "how do you like them apples?"

(more after the cut!)

Lan Wangji's feelings are probably hurt, but he's too busy being mad to show it, and he goes straight to grilling Wei Wuxian, asking him about the killing, the talismans, and giving up the sword, all while Jiang Cheng stands by and wonders what the fuck is happening. 

Lan Wangji is making a fundamental error here, which is he's speaking as if he's an authority instead of as a peer. Wei Wuxian has only ever accepted one authority in his entire life, and that was Jiang Fengmian. Jiang Cheng is the one who, for a change, is approaching as a worried friend, while Lan Wangji approaches as if he has the right to call Wei Wuxian to account.  

Wei Wuxian won't answer his questions and is getting in his face, provoking him in a very quiet and controlled way, and Lan Wangji responds by just being really aggressive. It's interesting to see Wei Wuxian completely mastering his emotions while Lan Wangji is completely....not.  Wei Wuxian pushes harder, saying he's being rude, saying he's being a bad friend.  Which doesn't make any difference to Lan Wanji, who keeps pressing for an answer while Jiang Cheng wonders what the fuck is happening.

Come to Gusu

Wei Wuxian says he already explained, that it's complicated, it will take time to explain, so then Lan Wangji makes the utterly dumbassed demand that Wei Wuxian return to Gusu with him to explain it. What, exactly, is his plan? Bring Wei Wuxian to Gusu and have Lan Xichen (at the very least) and probably also Lan Qiren help him to convince Wei Wuxian that resentful cultivation is bad? How is that likely to work out? Let's have our own flashback, to that classroom interaction that led to the punishment in the library.

Lan Qiren: How will you make sure the resentful energy will only listen to you and not harm others? [Note: he's not wrong, Wei Wuxian] Wei Wuxian: I haven't figured that out yet ["details," as OP's dad used to say] Lan Qiren: If you did, the cultivation world would not allow your existence [i.e. we, the Lan Clan of Gusu, will kill your ass]

Lan Wangji probably doesn't think he's threatening Wei Wuxian with death by inviting him to Gusu, but he kinda is, if Lan Qiren was serious back then.  Lan Wangji is so upset and fearful that he's not really thinking clearly at this point. He loves Wei Wuxian and he's certain that cultivating with resentful energy will destroy him. [Note: he's not wrong, Wei Wuxian]  But Wei Wuxian is beyond fear. He's already been destroyed once.

Wei Wuxian rips on Gusu and then says, in a super-provocative way, that he prefers Yunmeng, which prompts Lan Wangji to say "don't joke around" as angrily as possible. 

This part of the interaction always confuses me because...shouldn't he prefer Yunmeng? He's actually from there and lives there and belongs there and stuff? He's just saying "I think I'll go with my brother" yet WWX and LWJ both act like he said he'd rather go to Demon City.

Lan Wangji takes a big step forward and Jiang Cheng blocks him while Wei Wuxian continues to act unperturbed and puzzled while holding his demon flute out in between them. 

Finally, FINALLY, Wei Wuxian calls him Lan Zhan, and asks him a serious question: What do you really want. Lan Wangji calms down for a second--although he keeps leaning into Jiang Cheng's sword block--and gets to the point, which is that the unorthodox path is dangerous, and harmful to his temperament.  

Kill one turtle together and you think you're the boss of me

So, these dudes are talking about 2 different levels of unacceptable cultivation, in this episode and the next few. Netflix translates these as "wicked tricks" and "crafty tricks," which both sound absolutely ludicrous in English, so I'm going to use my own preferred terms, going forward.  

I think what they are calling "Wicked Tricks," which includes spirit snatching and feeding people to the murder turtle on purpose in order to harvest their resentment could be translated as Heresy--adhering to a forbidden belief or practice; standing in opposition to Orthodoxy.  

Edit: After rewatching Episode 35, in which Nie Huaisang explains why their whole blade thing doesn’t count as “wicked tricks,” I’ve changed my mind about what to call this. NHS says that “wicked tricks” specifically involve the use of humans & human spirits (killing, sacrificing, etc.). Which means Necromancy is probably the better term for this particular type of cultivation, although it is still (also) Heresy. 

"Crafty Tricks," which is using resentful energy to raise and control already-dead people (ghosts and zombies) as well as just generally using resentment for basic stuff like beating Jin Zixuan's ass, could be translated as Heterodoxy--deviating from the accepted belief or practice, but not to the point of complete opposition.

Wei Wuxian laughs while Lan Wangji tries to be convincing, but since Lan Wangji is just repeating what he's been taught, he's not making much headway. Instead of saying "there's no exception throughout history" he could have, instead, gone with his own actual observations, such as "you are acting like a sadistic prick" or "you seem amazingly miserable" or "you aren't hugging your brother, what the fuck is that about?" But no.

Wei Wuxian responds to the charge of heresy by saying nuh-uh, and explains his methods, sort of, while going back to calling him Lan Er Gongzi. Lan Er Gongzi responds by actually literally yelling at him, and saying he's not allowed to decide for himself about what he's doing, as if the words "allowed to" have ever meant a goddamn thing to Wei Wuxian.

Temperament

At this point Wei Wuxian is done. He goes and gets right up in Lan Wangji's face and sticks a metaphorical knife right in his heart, smiling as he does it. "How do others know my temperament?" he asks; "and why should it be their concern?" i.e. you are not in my heart. 

This makes Lan Wangji so mad he calls Wei Wuxian "Wei Wuxian" for possibly the only time in the show, and he also flashes a whole bunch of angry teeth. (Gifset here). In a callback to the JFM-YZY fight back in Lotus Pier before the war, Wei Wuxian just calmly says "Lan Wangji" back at him, and then tells him to go fuck himself.

Jiang Cheng still doesn't understand what the fuck is happening, but this is a sentiment he understands, so he also tells Lan Wangji to go fuck himself, reminding him that Wei Wuxian is Jiang clan property and it's not the Lans' place to discipline him. Adding "and I'm not going to discipline him any way, look how good he is at killing people!"

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji continue to stare into each others' eyes from a distance so close that it really should lead to making out, but they are both much too angry for that. 

Wei Wuxian is as cold as we ever see him, smiling as he silently confirms: I do not belong to you. Lan Wangji glares back, his anger maybe finally giving way, a little bit, to being hurt.

Finish Him!

Wen Chao picks this moment to wake up and crawl over to the trio, begging Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng to save his life, since he presumably knows it's pointless to beg Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian turns around and gives him the EXACT SAME dead-eyed smile he just gave Lan Wangji, and kicks him.

Then he tells Lan Wangji to please leave so he and his brother can finish torturing this dude to death, and caps it with an official Jiang Clan eye roll.  

Lan Wangji, poor bb, just throws in the towel, and turns and leaves, the anger finally starting to leave his face and be replaced with something else...chagrin, maybe? Or maybe just softer anger, for the moment. 

After he's out of sight Wei Wuxian turns and looks after him sadly, all of the cruelty and hardness gone from his expression, while Wen Chao says "forgive me,"  possibly voicing what Wei Wuxian is thinking.

Lan Wangji walks out the front gate, troubled, and hears Wen Chao scream. He stops and replays the most pointed part of the fight in his head - the part where Wei Wuxian asked him, "who do you think you are?" Lan Wangji went into the fight believing he was completely right and was entitled to judge Wei Wuxian, but he's come out of it with his certainty shaken. 

Family Time

The Yunmeng brothers go to the ancestral shrine in Lotus Pier even though the whole "reclaiming Lotus Pier" scene doesn't happen until Episode 24. So apparently they just kind of sneak into the the shrine, and then sneak back out. Or, you know, continuity error.  Anyway Wei Wuxian is nothing if not adept at sneaking around death-related places.

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng bow and offer incense. It's nice that the Wens didn't fuck up everybody's name plaques when they were in control of the place...or the tassels, candles, etc. 

Wei Wuxian quietly tells Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian that he did what they asked--taking care of Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli--and they can rest now. Nosy parker Jiang Cheng wants to know what he's saying, but Wei Wuxian just changes the subject. 

They talk about going to Qinghe for the final combat of the Sunshot Campaign. Wei Wuxian says that's why he returned, which...dude, you can't even pretend you came back to be with your loved ones? Ouch. Jiang Cheng doesn't really react to that, but he's happy when Wei Wuxian says he wants to see Jiang Yanli. Wei Wuxian wants to know if she's ok and if she's mad at him, and Jiang Cheng says wait and see, because direct answers are not the Jiang Clan way.

Jiang Yanli is helping tend to the wounded, and we see her telling a particularly fussy wounded dude to suck it up and stop complaining. 

When Wei Wuxian shows up she totally stops paying attention to the wounded dude so that she can smile at Wei Wuxian. 

He looks back at her tearfully, briefly managing to smile but then just trying to hold it together. He has been to hell and back, and doing his very best to hide it, but when he sees the person who loves him most--the person who will NOT spend 20 minutes yelling at him as soon as they see him--he starts to crack open.

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: The Top 10 Fight Scenes of 2020 According to YOU!

  One of the defining features of anime as a medium are the fight scenes. From their diversity of visuals and dramatic staging to their use in narrative development to the off-the-wall powers and techniques their characters employ. Watching weightless CG battles in superhero flicks, it’s hard not to feel like Hollywood is decades behind. Let’s fix that by letting YOU decide who gets some accolades.

  If you’ve read this article’s companion pieces on 2020’s OPs and EDs you know the drill. What follows is a list of the Top 10 fight scenes of 2020 as determined by viewership on the Crunchyroll Collection YouTube channel, weighted at 30 days so anime from earlier in the year don’t get an advantage and to balance flash-in-the-pan popularity vs iconic moments that will continue on in the fandom’s consciousness. It’s not a perfect metric but I’ve gotta say, the results do show some great taste ...

  10. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? - Ais vs Asterius

    Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? has always been measured with its action, honing its greatest moments into dramatic peaks, so it was great we were able to finish 2020 with not only some of its biggest battles, but Ais finally stepping on the gas for the first time on television since 2017 by battling the legendary minotaur Asterius. Ais didn’t disappoint, as she shouldn’t with her place at the very top of the adventuring world and an unreachable ideal Bell aspires to. Also, opening the fight by shearing off her opponent’s arm may be the most brutal kickoff to a Danmachi fight we’ve seen yet. This battle topped 500k in its first 30 days and I’m confident will make a lasting impression.

  9. Tsugumomo2 - Kazuya vs Kyouka

    Tsugumomo’s second season delivered some absolutely huge battles, but I gotta say I’m surprised the top fight wasn’t Kanaka terrorizing the entire cast of the series with their hunt for blood. That said, Kazuya’s battle against Kyouka had some spectacular effects, a few creative obi adaptations, a divine possession, and a shorted punch to secure the victory so it had all the primary features that make Tsugumomo fights great … And for fans of the series, yes it also had that … This fight drew 600k views in its first 30 days to secure its spot on the list.

  8. A Certain Scientific Railgun T - Level 6 Mikasa vs Touma and Sogiita

    A Certain Magical Index and its various spinoffs have a penchant for going completely off the rails very quickly. This fight in spinoff A Certain Scientific Railgun T is every bit as absurd. Mikasa is pushed into Level 6, giving her godlike power and sending her into a berserk state that only Touma’s magic destroying hand can take down. We also get a guest appearance from one of the series' best side characters in Sogiita whose ability to literally turn guts into power is impossible not to love. 

  Basically, the fight was amazing, Mikasa’s Level 6 form and its absurd power were wonderfully adapted by JC Staff and Touma and Sogiita showed off some amazing combo attacks to prevents the destruction of the city. In particular, Sogiita’s “Super Amazing” punch and princess carrying Touma drew 700k viewers in its first 30 days.

  7. Golden Kamuy - The Stenka

    The most common phrase I hear from Golden Kamuy fans is that the series is underappreciated and, as a Golden Kamuy fan, I’m inclined to agree. This series is so violent, I’m constantly surprised by what it gets away with. I’m hard-pressed to think of another series that has aired in the past five years with the same level of brutality. Basically, I’m saying I’m overjoyed to see Golden Kamuy made the list, even if it's from one of its most tame battles that is simply a no-holds-barred free-for-all where everyone gets their nose broken by a berserk Sugimoto. 

  Might have been the JoJo's reference (not really) but this battle got 700k views in 30 days and just barely beat out Railgun T by ~1k views.

  6. JUJUTSU KAISEN - Gojo vs Sukuna

    Another series I’m unsurprised to see on the list but with an unexpected battle. I would have imagined Gojo’s battle against Jogo might have drawn more attention, or perhaps more recently, Itadori’s battle with Mahito. This clip does make sense after a fashion. It was a breakout moment where MAPPA showed they really meant business adapting JUJUTSU KAISEN and the fight was between two characters that have become fan favorites. 

  Definitely, a defining moment that pulled in double the seventh placer's views at 1.4 million in its first 30 days! Since JUJUTSU KAISEN is still attracting new fans and already topping popularity lists, I imagine it would have been even higher given a bit more time in 2020. Gojo vs Sukuna has continued its upward climb to almost 3 million views, putting it only a few days away from claiming the Number 4 spot in lifetime views. Not bad for an anime in the year's final quarter!

  5. Boruto - Sarada vs Sakura

    BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS has delivered spectacularly animated battles for just about its entire run that prove this anime is no afterthought to the Naruto franchise. Despite a wide selection of quality battles that dropped in 2020, I must admit I knew this one would be at the top. What self-respecting Naruto fan wouldn’t be interested in seeing a less-than-friendly mother/daughter slugfest between Sarada and Sakura? Although theoretically a training match to help Sarada develop her Sharingan, the amount of destruction makes it clear that one wrong move and even Sakura’s medical Jutsu would have trouble putting either of them back together again.

  The Uchiha family battle secured its place with 1.5 million views in its first 30 days. Sarada's family moments, even the ones without fighting, are always winners and Sarada vs Sakura is the third youngest clip on the list so I'm guessing this one is going to withstand the test of time.

  4. One Piece - Zoro vs Hitokiri Kamazo

    One Piece has been on a tear since the beginning of its much-anticipated Wano Kuni arc. Even after delivering a huge battle between Luffy and Katakuri at the end of Whole Cake, there has been a notable bump in the frequency and quality of standout animation in the long-running series, which is great to see since the Wano arc is a series of back-to-back skirmishes that can be elevated by some explosive visuals. 

  No moment this year stands out more in my memory than Zoro’s battle against Hitokiri Kamazo and it seems the fans agree. Zoro borrowing his enemy’s weapon to pull off an amazingly animated Purgatory Onigiri may be one of the coolest sequences in One Piece’s almost 1,000-episode long run. This moment also got 1.5 million views in 30 days, narrowing beating Boruto by about 13k views.

  3. Black Clover - Everyone vs The Devil

    Black Clover has grown as a production to develop a unique visual style for magic-heavy battles and really deliver some hugely impressive battles. It’s ramp up hit a peak in 2019 with the battle between Julius and Licht and it’s been riding high ever since. The top fight of 2020 is an obvious one, as the climactic moment of the series' insanely escalating arc kicked off by Julius and Licht’s battle. It seems like half the cast piled into Hell to take on the unnamed devil and his overpowered word soul magic. To be honest I was surprised the series kept going at all after a moment this climactic (I’m not complaining though).

  The final attack of this battle drew 1.6 million views in its first 30 days and now sits proudly in the Number 2 spot for lifetime views on this list at over 5.5 million!

  2. The God of High School - Jin vs Jaegal

    With its sheer number of lovingly animated battles, The God of High School was a shoo-in for this list and might represent 50 percent or more of its total entries if I hadn’t limited it to one entry per series. Jin vs Jaegal is a natural choice, as the climactic battle of the fast-paced fighting series which delivered on the much-anticipated reveal of Jin Mori’s charyeok. This one really put the god in the high school, jumping far past One Piece to pull 2.1 million views in its first month.

  1. My Hero Academia - Endeavor vs Special Nomu

    My Hero Academia had a huge climactic battle to cap off the winter season, so I gotta say I’m surprised to see it’s the other one that secured the top spot as the Number 1 battle of 2020. Deku vs Overhaul was a huge moment for the series and definitely sits in the upper half of this list, if not the Number 2 spot — but something about Endeavor fighting a Nomu really pulled in a crowd, even putting the clip on YouTube’s trending list. It continues to creep upward at 7.5 million views. One of the most-watched moments of the entire year!

  On reflection moments that show a theoretical power ceiling of a series are always impactful, such as Orochimaru’s battle with Sarutobi or even My Hero Academia’s own battle between All Might and All for One. Endeavor definitely pulled out the guns for this battle to leave an impression before the long wait until the next season ... Or maybe it was just because he said “plus ultra?” Regardless, Endeavor blasted past even the Number 2 spot on this list at 3.7 million views in its first 30 days.

  Those were the best battles of 2020 according to you and, consequently, the last of this series of Top 10 lists. When it comes to fights there’s a lot more to look forward to in 2021. Boruto, Black Clover, and One Piece have all been building toward their current arcs' big conflicts and each seems primed to pull the trigger early next year. If that weren’t enough JUJUTSU KAISEN is about to kick off its school event and MHA is set to make its return.

  That does it for 2020. Hope to see you all at the same time next year.

  If you feel the fandom has missed a great moment, feel free to share it in the comments below!

      Peter Fobian is an Associate Producer at Crunchyroll, writer for Anime Academy and Anime in America, and an editor at Anime Feminist. You can follow him on Twitter @PeterFobian.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Peter Fobian

[shnowbilicat]

FNAF Squad Reference Sheets

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

The time has finally arrived!

After many years of cursing myself about making Reference Sheets fo my characters I pulled myself together and busted out 4 Refs for my main FNAF Squad! X3

... never ever owo

Seriously, it nearly killed me drawing these. The only saving grace was that I had a base body that I just copy-pasted and changed up a little in hights and body type/s X'D

But after 3 weeks I finally did it and I love every single one of these!! Seriously, love them, they perfect, I'm SO proud of them and myself for making them X3

And of course Vinnie had to be the first one of them all, cuz duh X'D

URGH I just love Vincent so much! Yeah, yeah, call me whatever you want, but this particular Purple Man will always be my Number 1. He's the most fun Character I made, ever, and without him I don't know who I would be today. He's important to me and I care ALOT about him <3

Rick is my soft bb boi. I love him, I love how I drew him and anybody who says anything against him is going to have a problem with me e3e

Jokes aside, I would've never thought that my 'Purple Man'-wanna be that I spontaneously made in a FNAF 2 RP would become such a great character. OP af, maybe a bit basic, but also so god damn interesting and fun.

I just can't, okay? Rick is my soft boy and I love him ... and I love him with Vincent, they just too perfect qWq

PurpleShadow for life <33

Aaaand with Keith my FNAF Universe crumbled into pieces X'D

Well, not really BECAUSE of him, but FNAF 4 really was something that was hard to add into my Universe, since it's mostly fixed on Vincent's side of the story.

But, I really appreciated Keith being made in the first place! He opened up another way to introduce the Nightmare Animatronics and with Keith there was another part of Vincent's and Rick's story to make it a little more interesting. He was also the one who gave PG a purpose in the Universe, so I'm actually really glad to have this edgy-wanna be in my squad X'3

I'm still in shock on how similar he is to Necro, a Sonic OC that is paired up with a perverted God, and Echo, a cyborg Pikachu with a bright red robot right eye, AND basically looking like a Darkrai gijinka and also having nightmare abilties. Still in shock about the Darkrai thing, since I haven't played Pokemon at all in that time, or even ownig a Darkrai of my own at that time to even think about :''3

And last but not least we have my favorite perv boi, PG X3

I remember how this boi started and I'm so glad that I managed to come up with a really good story to integrate him into the Universe without breaking Vincent's story and dangerious and dark theme.

... in return PG became one of my most tragic Characters I have, whoops X'D

Eitherway, love PG, he needs more love and more perv <3

He and Keith were the most chill Refs to make, hands down and I'm so glad that I could make them as fast as I did X'D

Together with the others I had alot of fun making these Refs and changing my boiz a bit up here and there, optimizing their designs and giving them new life in general X3

(Below are smol bios for each character)

--

Vincent, the Purple Man.

He's a cunning Mastermind and confident in his killing skills. He's no opponent somebody should take lightly, Vincent is fast, strong and agile, always thinking of a plan and being one step ahead from his enemy. Due to him dying and haunting an ANimatronic suit himself this Purple Guy has the ability to turn into a 'Ghost-Form' that allows him to do all the typical Ghost stuff, but sadly all of that just for a very short time. After his victims forgive him however, seeing the torture Vincent was going through, he was given another chance at life, with a new body that doesn't age and can heal itself. Vincent doesn't really like other people and shows off his own confidence to stay ahead. But sometimes he can be a real dork around his friends and have a great time with them, joking around and messing with them.

He smokes from time to time and drinks ALOT of coffee to try and stay awake for his own sanity, as grueling nightmares of his past horrid actions still haunt him to this day. Vincent tries his best to forget as he has been forgiven, and also make up for what he has done, but some habits are hard to break and some wandering spirits are still after his second chance of life ... .

--

Rick, the Shadow Man.

A friendly and helpful individual that would give his life for his friends. Don't take him as a fool, Rick might look like your average goody two shoes, but the moment somebody harms him or his friends Rick pulls off his kiddie gloves. His Ghost-Form, also known as his Shadow Form, is the most dangerious creatures somebody could face. Hvaing all the abilities as a Ghost, plus controlling shadows, hiding away in them, modifying his body, having a radar-like abilty making him aware of his sorroundings and the people around him; Rick is a force to be recken with. All these abilities he gained after his best friend, the Purple Man, killed him in a blood rush, making Rick a  haunting, vengeful Ghost and fusing with the darkness around him. Though after Rick realized how much hurt he gave Vincent he forgave him and is now walking the world with anew life and body, that doesn't gae and can heal itself.

Rick is an optimist and will always try to talk things out. He loves kids and can play the guitar very well. His past does weight hard on him, but he tries to move forward enjoy his new life with his old and new friends.

--

Keith, the Nightmare Man.

He might send out vibes that make people think that he's rather emotionless, non caring, maybe even easily angered. And even though Keith likes to burst out in anger or annoyance, that is all in good fun. Behind the dark facade is a really warm hearted and nice guy that cannot sit still whenever someone is crying or hurt, if just a bump or a serious injury. He has very deep expertises in both mechanical, technical and the mdeical field and is always there to support his friends and innocent people cought in the middle. Due to Vincent, Keith lost his life as well, but started to walk the wolrd again as a raging vengence dragged him back into the living world. This gave him the push to show off his skills and new abilities to form dreams to his won will, creating nightmares and even forcing people to do his bidding and create abominations that could tear appart anything he pleased ... which were his former friends, Vincent and Rick. After a violent fight though these two men showed Keith the light and he too was forgiving them for what had happened. Now he works together with his old friends, protecting his new and improving his skills even more, while stitching his friends back togetehr whenever they dare to get themselves into trouble.

Keith can be really serious about his work, but he knows how to laugh and have a good time, showing off his new creations and lovingly helping and caring about his friends. Though his past actions have created something he still curses himself for.

--

PG, the Purple Guy.

What can be said about this guy? He's a careless, chill and very perverted guy, that lives life without a second thought. PG looks and acts alot like an idiot, but deep down he's just as dangerious and inteligent as Vincent, as PG himself is a Purple Guy as well. His origin is from a differet Universe and due to an unfortunate circumstance he ended up as ginue pig for experiments and a slave for another's amusement. His spirit was broken ... until something happened that gave PG the will to escape and follow his new friends, Vincent, Rick and the others back to their world. With his own world destroyed and nowhere to go he wandered around and bumped into Keith,bonding with him and even becoming a memeber of the new Fazbear family. PG also died and got pulled back, but compared to the others, his Ghost form and self healing ability is broken and unstable to say the least.

He doesn't like to get in serious trouble, but loves to tease and have fun with his friends, while also drinking like there was no tomorrow and annoying Keith with his sexual advances and jokes.

[bittersweetmelxdy]

Hi! I just loved your nursing scenario for victor. Can i ask the same scenario for lucien too? Thank you

First of all I would like to thank: @your-sylphofhope, @marytheredqueen, @untold-adventure, @ceres-zephyr, @windybirdboi and @op-peccatori. Without any of these people, this fic would not be possible, so while I hope everyone who reads this will like this, I really hope the people who helped with this fic feel like I did a good job, because they were all so nice to help me and I hope I did justice to this character for them. :)

Title: the feeding of butterfliesPairing: Lucien x MCWords: 972

Lucien jolted as the sound of a baby’s cries rang through the baby monitor, he had placed next to him on his desk. He halted his work and picked up the monitor, sighing slightly but smiling wryly at the grainy image on the monitor’s screen. Hoping that the cries hadn’t woken his wife, and after taking off his glasses and placing them on the desk, he pushed his chair away from the table and he ambled his way to the nursery. Opening the door with a barely audible click, Lucien padded slowly over to the crib in the corner of the room, he leaned over the crib’s edge to see a squirming and crying bundle of lavender blankets. Lucien carefully raised the bundle into his arms, the baby recognising her father ceased screaming but tears still streamed from her eyes. Walking over to the rocking chair in the opposite corner of the room, Lucien settled on the chair, laying the baby on his chest.

“What’s wrong little butterfly?” Lucien said soothingly, his large hand rubbing slow circles on the baby’s back, watching as her eyes blinked slowly up at him.

Taking a single finger, Lucien wiped the tear tracks from her face gently, shushing her slightly, as she began to make noises of discontent. Lucien smiled down at her once finished, and his eyes softened as his little daughter gave him a gummy smile back, she then let out a yawn, her tiny fist coming up to her face. Lucien chuckled, the deep rumble causing the baby to nuzzle into his chest, as she began to drift.

“Did all that crying tire you out, Aurora?” he asked gently, the baby closed her eyes in response, as Lucien rocked the chair slightly to send the child to sleep.

Upon noticed that Aurora had successfully drifted off Lucien stood up and placed her back in the crib, taking care to watch she didn’t hit the butterfly mobile, and finally covering her back with her blanket. After watching the soft breathing of his daughter, Lucien let out a yawn of his own, he walked back over to the chair and sat down, figuring it would be okay to close his eyes for a few minutes before returning to work.

Soft cooing pulled Lucien from the realms of sleep a couple hours later, he opened his eyes, adjusting them back to the dimness of the room to see his wife sitting on the floor rocking their daughter in her arms.

“Shhh, Aurora, your dada’s asleep and we don’t want to wake him up. What’s wrong? You hungry? Mummy’s got you, don’t worry, baby.” Lucien smiled slightly as you spoke to you daughter in hushed soft tones, thinking that he was still asleep.

You carefully unbuttoned your top and pushed your bra out of the way, before positioning your baby so that she could feed comfortably. You let out a sharp intake of breath as your baby latched onto you, and Lucien mirrored your soft smile as you both watch your daughter. Lucien flickered his eyes from his daughter’s face to yours and his thoughts began to wander. He’d been so busy these last few weeks, and he really appreciated how much you supported him and Aurora despite the fact that you were still recovering yourself after the birth, and adjusting back to working again. Honestly, he just missed you, he had missed the quiet evenings the two of you spent together, just walking each other through your day and snuggling on the sofa under a blanket, and he couldn’t wait for this research project to the over so he could just spend some quality time with his family. You yawned tiredly, but you covered you mouth quickly, and Lucien watched amusedly, as you held your breath and he evened out his breathing purposefully, to continue this illusion of sleep.  

You sighed in relief, and smiled back down at your daughter, “Sorry Aurora, I was scared I woke your dada, he’s been very busy and he deserves to rest, we can’t disturb him.”

“Seeing as I’m in my daughter’s room, I wouldn’t class this as a disturbance.” Lucien said, smirking as you physically jumped, your head whipped around to face him.

“Lucien, what-why-how long have you been awake?” you said hurriedly, but still in hushed tones as to not disturb the peace in the room.

Lucien laughed and placed his arms on your forearms, helping you up carefully, so that both the two of you and the baby were safe. Once you standing upright Lucien placed his hands on your hips and drew you close pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Not too long, just before she started to feed.” he took one hand off your hips and used a single finger to stroke Aurora’s cheek, letting out a breathless laugh as she grabbed onto it with her two tiny hands and cooing at him, proud of herself.

“That long?” you breathed out.

“I’m sorry.” Lucien admitted, locking eyes with you, and you furrowed your brow seeing sadness reflected through them.

“For what?”

“For not being there… for making you do all this by yourself.” Lucien sighed.

You smiled, adjusting Aurora, and taking one hand to rest on his jaw, your thumb stroking his cheek lovingly, “Lucien, I understand, it doesn’t mean we love you, or you love us any less, when you’re done, we can spend more time together, don’t worry.”

Lucien smiled, tears shining at the corners of his eyes, as he leant down and nuzzled his nose against yours before placing a firm kiss on your lips. Pulling away he smiled that smile that never failed to make your heart race and drew you and your daughter back into his embrace, grateful he was giving the opportunity to love and be loved in return.

[zilbea]

FAHC Freewood with protective mercenary Dan please ❤❤❤ Maybe Dan was visiting the fahc and saw that the vagabond holding a knife while Gav looking so terrified at him? (Theyre joking around ofc, just that Ryan was so lovingly pissed off at gavin) Dan misunderstood the situation and almost kill Ryan?

Interesting, I’ve never written Dan before, but I love this idea. I’ll take it and run. Might be a little darker (and longer) than you wanted, but I’m a slut for angry sexual tension fahc freewood dynamics. Hope you enjoy, and thanks for the prompt! 

————————— 2044 words

Gavin set his jaw, crossing his arms as Ryan stalked towards him. The alleyway was small and dim, but Gavin figured he could scale the fence behind him if he truly needed to make a getaway. 

“You idiot,” Ryan spat, quickly closing the gap between The Golden Boy and himself. His skull face paint accentuated his furious scowl, and the dim light cast haunting shadows across his tall figure.

Gavin lifted his chin as Ryan crowded him, refusing to take a step back. Gavin’s cheek was bleeding, but he hardly felt the sting. His chest was tight, and he took a deep breath before defending himself. “How was it my fault, then?” Gavin held his defiant posture, vary aware of the knife held tight in Ryan’s hand.

Ryan drew himself close to the Brit. He was breathing hard, hand itching to plunge the tip of the blade into Gavin’s puffed chest. “This was a stealth mission. An easy in, easy out. And yet,” Ryan crouched slightly, leveling his eyes with Gavin’s, “Someone managed to let a guard slip away.” 

Gavin met Ryan’s icy stare, and his bravado wavered. He had never seen such a look of absolute fury in those gorgeous blue eyes - let alone seen that fury be directed at himself. Gavin could feel the Vagabond’s hot breath across his face, and a sharp pang worked its way into his gut. Ryan’s stare was overwhelming - unwavering, unblinking. His face paint was smeared at the edges; his dark hair a matted halo across his head. He looked legitimately psychotic and, although Gavin hated to admit it, unbelievably sexy. Gavin narrowed his eyes, willing himself to focus. “That guard wasn’t under my zone - If I had taken him down, I would have bloody let three others get out.” 

Ryan pulled away from the Brit slightly, staring at him in disbelief. A low growl of agitation rumbled from his painted lips. 

A car passed by the alley and its headlights, for but a moment, made Ryan look absolutely feral. Gavin swallowed. His gaze flicked from Ryan’s knife to those intense blue eyes. Ryan wouldn’t actually hurt him, would he? 

“Besides,” Gavin started again, rubbing his hands together. His brow knit as he developed his lie. “If I remember correctly, that guard was marked in your sector. But you were too busy doing… What again?” Gavin knew he was playing a dangerous game, and he watched Ryan’s muscles tense. “Oh,” Gavin continued, waving a hand. “You were damn off with Geoff - wrongly, ay? Too focused on your own shitting reputation to remember your agreed place in the job.”

Something in Ryan snapped, and he sprang upon The Golden Boy. He grabbed a fistful of Gavin’s immaculate button-down shirt and dragged him to the brick walls of the alley, pinning Gavin against the wall with a forearm, not really caring if he hurt the smaller man. 

Gavin’s head cracked against the brick and he squeezed his eyes shut to block out the sharp pain. He felt Ryan’s ragged breath in his ear.

“How dare you,” Ryan growled, his voice husky. He pressed Gavin harder into the wall. “You’re a fucking coward. Afraid to own up to your wrongdoings; even more afraid to learn from your mistakes.” 

Gavin opened his eyes slowly, glaring up at Ryan’s seething visage. His stomach flipped at the sight before him; Ryan was sweating, lips parted in a snarl. His eyes twinkled from beneath between the face paint, but to Gavin’s surprise, they sparkled with something… a little different than pure rage. Gavin swallowed dryly. There was very little space between him and the Vagabond, and Gavin, seeing no other option, decided to use his compromised position to his advantage. He lowered his eyelids and tipped his chin up slightly, locking his gaze with the Vagabond’s. “Are you going to kill me, Ryan?” 

Ryan paused at this, grimacing. His eyes bored into Gavin’s green ones and irritation prickled the back of his throat. “I should,” Ryan said, voice cracking slightly. His heart pounded and he couldn’t seem to get enough air. Gavin looked the picture of absolute seduction, and Ryan hated that it had any affect at all on him. Anger and adrenaline still boiled in his veins, and he slid his forearm higher up Gavin’s chest, inching towards the tanned neck. Ryan watched Gavin’s eyes widen, and the Vagabond nearly smiled. So. The cool, calm, collected Golden Boy did have a sense of danger after all.  Ryan felt a warm tightness in his chest and Gavin’s nervous breaths flitted across his face. Ryan settled his forearm against Gavin’s throat, crowding his body closer to the Brit. His voice was low and steely as he spoke. “We were supposed to get through that complex safely… quietly. Turning a stealth mission loud can go horribly south” Ryan squinted at the man under his arm. “You’re lucky no one got killed. I’m astounded at your complete incompetence.”

Gavin gazed down at the Vagabond through his eyelashes, aware of nothing but the arm pressing down on his windpipe. The pair were silent for a bit, only the sound of their breathing echoed through the alley. Gavin knew he fucked up - knew he should have been paying closer attention - but in the end, the crew got out safe, and that’s all that really mattered. Gavin lifted his chin higher, talking over the arm against his neck. His heart thudded. “I dunno, Ryan.” A dangerous glint flickered across his green eyes, and he wiggled his body a little under Ryan’s weight. He locked eyes with the taller man, grabbing Ryan’s oppressing forearm with both hands. “Maybe I like the danger.” He pulled Ryan’s arm harder into his own neck, biting his lip. To Gavin’s delight, a look of absolute shock plastered across the Vagabond’s face.

Ryan yanked his forearm from Gavin’s chest, but Gavin held on tightly, back lifting from the wall as he clung to Ryan’s arm. Ryan growled and dropped Gavin back against the brick. He pressed his body flush against Gavin’s, unsure if he was furious or turned on. “You insolent piece of shit,” Ryan spat, voice wavering more than he liked. “You have no idea what you’re doing.”

Gavin shrugged, mischievously rolling his hips against Ryan’s weight. He raised his eyebrows languidly, eyes raking across Ryan’s face. “Oh, I think I do.”

Ryan’s knifed hand flew upwards, and Gavin winced, flinching as Ryan embedded the tip into a crumbling brick next to his head.

“You like danger, do you?” Ryan leaned in, lips nearly brushing Gavin’s. A drop of sweat rolled down his back, and he savored Gavin’s wide eyed look of terror. Ryan would have almost felt bad, if not for Gavin’s fully blown pupils and parted lips. 

“Oi!” A voice rang out, and suddenly, Gavin was no longer pinned to the wall. Gavin reeled at the sudden freedom, looking around wildly. A muted grunt echoed from the ground, and Gavin watched in shock as Dan Gruchy, notorious mercenary and longtime partner of the Fakes, slammed his boot into Ryan’s stomach. Ryan rolled backwards, righting himself to his feet. With admirable speed Dan drew a pistol, leveling it at The Vagabond’s skull. 

“All alone in an alleyway, no one around to blame you for the murder of The Golden Boy,” Dan said angrily, positioning himself defensively in front of Gavin. He cocked his gun, glaring at Ryan. “A perfect scheme, I’d say.”

“Look,” Ryan started, cautiously raising his hands as he stared in bewilderment at the mercenary.

“I know we were partners once, before all this crew shit,” Dan spat, gesturing slightly with the pistol, “But that doesn’t mean I won’t put a bullet through your skull, ay?” Dan threw a quick glance at Gavin over his shoulder before rounding on Ryan once more. “You’ve about ten seconds to explain why the eff you’re ‘bout to off Gavin Free.” Dan’s free hand joined the other at the pistol’s handle, and he squinted at the Vagabond.

Ryan frowned, unsure of his words. “I wasn’t… trying to kill him - ” He gestured with his raised hands slowly, measuring Dan’s reactions. “Gavin’s actions nearly cost us a mission… And he didn’t seem to understand the severity - “

“So you plan to run him through with a knife?” Dan gripped the pistol harder, gaze unwavering.

“Dan,” Gavin’s voice called.

Dan kept his attention on Ryan but gritted his teeth. “Yeah, B? You want me to kill this traitor?”

Gavin huffed, crossing around Dan to stand next to Ryan. “He’s telling the truth.” Gavin looked at the dirty ground uncomfortably, wishing he wouldn’t have been so stubborn.

“Yeah?” Dan said incredulously. “What did you do so bad then, that this bloke should pull a knife on you?” He held the pistol level with Ryan’s chest, despite Gavin’s proximity.

Gavin’s gaze flicked from the angry mercenary to the irritated Vagabond, and he sighed. His chest was tight as he spoke: “Let a guard go in a stealth op. He got out, alerted the whole complex. We barely got out with our lives…” Gavin swallowed, surrendering his pride. “He got away on my watch. The whole thing went to shit, and it was my bloody fault.”

Ryan glanced over at Gavin, eyebrows raised. “So you do admit it. Is The Golden Boy really taking responsibility for his actions?” Almost all previous malice had left his voice.

Gavin kicked at the dirt. His heart was heavy. He prided himself on his decent track record of flawless heists, and despised feeling like a monumental letdown.

Dan faltered at Gavin’s statement, lowering the pistol slowly. “Come off it, Gavin. That’s a pretty decent offense.” He looked from Gavin to Ryan and back again, confused. “Hang on, that doesn’t explain why you,” he took several steps toward Ryan, hostility creeping back into his voice, “had Gavin pinned down, threatening him with a knife!” 

Ryan raised his eyebrows at Dan, grimacing. He turned his palms up in a half shrug. “Um.” He chuckled uncomfortably. “Emphasis?”

Gavin turned red and quickly intercepted Dan with a tanned hand on the mercenary’s chest. “It - It’s okay, B. Uh,” He threw a panicked look at Ryan and gazed up at Dan, smiling nervously. 

Dan frowned, slowly piecing together the situation. He searched Gavin’s face, eyes going wide as everything clicked. Dan’s cheeks flushed and he nodded stiffly, disengaging the pistol’s ammo. “Right.” The mercenary took a few steps back, staring at the uneasy pair before him. “Right,” he said again, hurriedly. “Well I - just know that I’m lookin’ out for you, Gav.” Dan couldn’t figure out where to put his arms. “You better not lay another hand on him,” he gestured towards Ryan, who was now grinning, thoroughly enjoying Dan’s discomfort.

Ryan lowered an eyebrow, his smile wolfish. “In what context?”

Dan backed away and tripped over a stray trash can lid - wishing he was anywhere else. “Just don’t… murder him - and Gavin, don’t get yourself killed from anymore stupid mistakes.” Dan turned on his heel, and walked away quickly, regretting not just minding his own business.

Watching Dan disappear into the street, Ryan rounded on Gavin, arms crossed. “You understand why I’m so upset, correct?” 

Gavin nodded, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. 

“So you admit you fucked up,” Ryan said, a hint of amusement creeping into his voice. He moved toward Gavin, grinning as the Brit took several steps back. “Gavin Free made a mistake, is that correct?” Ryan knew he was being needlessly antagonistic, but it was too much fun getting a rise out of Gavin.

“Yes, Ryan, Jesus.” Gavin moved further backwards as Ryan approached, a spike of panic rising in his chest when he felt brick wall against his back once more. 

Ryan drew himself up against Gavin again, placing his arms on either side of the Brit’s head. His mouth brushed Gavin’s ear, voice low. “You’re sorry?” 

Gavin nodded again, heart pounding. He knew Ryan was just messing with him now, but Ryan’s presence was intoxicating.The Vagabond’s hot breath ghosted across his neck, raising goosebumps along Gavin’s arms.

Ryan pressed his body hard into Gavin’s, smirking at the slight gasp from the Brit. He growled low into Gavin’s ear, voice ragged. “Then show me.”

[astrozones]

Sanders Behavioral Health, Chapter 3: Patton Will Help!

Angst Incoming

My discord server if you wanna scream at me- Astro’s Zone

my friends are lovingly cyberbullying me into tagging the man himself so uh @thatsthat24 and ope there goes my anxiety, rising up into the heavens. If you do see this I recommend reading from chapter one but im not gonna tag again unless my friends tell me to bc i dont wanna be a bother :|

Three hours.

Three hours until school ended for the day and Patton would go home for 5 minutes before heading to Sanders’.

Until then, he had to brave the school day. Patton was okay at school, but had a nasty habit of not saying no to any request, and his time between classes was spent doing favors for others. His time for lunch was limited, and his weekends were booked full. It took a toll on Patton, but he’d do anything to make others happy!

After all, others’ happiness was more important than his own.

His therapist had disagreed, which is why he was transferred to Sanders Behavioral Health. And at Sanders they said the same. Why couldn’t they understand that Patton wasn’t worthy of being happy? He didn’t do as much as he could, as much as he should , and he was a bad person.

Like that one time he had noticed a kid sitting in the seat beside him, his name was Todd, looking at his paper during a test. Patton had glanced at the teacher before nudging his paper closer to Todd, and filling out the rest. Once he noticed Todd had finished, he turned it in.

But he had gotten some of the answers wrong . Todd had been counting on him but Patton failed him, and now Todd was grounded for getting a mediocre grade.

And it was all Patton’s fault.

He tried to apologize to Todd, but had been shrugged off, Todd saying, “Eh, you don’t need to man. It was my fault for not studying.”

Todd must hate him.

The bell rang, signalling him to rush to his next class. Well, “class”. It was time for lunch.

Patton grabbed his items as quickly as he could, shoving them into his backpack. He felt guilty for zoning out in class, but the teacher was already on her computer and he didn’t want to disturb her. Once he had stuffed today’s worksheet into his bag, he slipped out, last to leave the room.

Patton held the lunch tray in his hands, looking for a place to sit. No one had asked for his lunch time yet, so he expected someone to call out to him, which was what usually happened these periods.

What he wasn’t expecting was to be cornered.

The edge of a table pierced his back as he was suddenly faced with none other than President of the Student Council (and Tennis Team), Vanessa E. Cordill. He had stumbled back, and quickly shoved his tray on the table behind him, knowing how close Vanessa liked to get to people.

“Hey, Pat! I was wondering if you could help us with preparations this weekend for next week’s volleyball game?” She batted her eyelashes at him, stepping impossibly closer.

“I-uh, I’m really sorry Vanessa, but I’m all booked this weekend.”

“Surely you could make time for me, yeah? Aren’t I your favorite?” Vanessa said sweetly. His favorite? He didn’t have a favorite, that would be unfair to the others! Patton, of course, wouldn’t say that to her, lest he hurt her feelings.

“I’m sorry, I really don’t have time! I’m doing a lot of things this weekend and don’t have any room. I barely have time to sleep and-” he was cut off as Vanessa drew a finger down his chest. “W-what are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” She purred, winking at him. Get off, get off, geT OFF-

“He already said no, Vanessa Cordill.” Came a voice from behind. Turning his head, he saw none other than Logan Danrow seated at the table he had run into. Vanessa backed up a few steps, glaring.

“Logan?” Patton asked, shuffling towards him so he was farther away from her .

“Wait, Pat, you know this prick?” Vanessa spat, very different from the person he had been talking with moments prior. He nodded.

“Well, yeah, we know each other from- er, yeah we know each other.” he stammered out, hands fiddling with his bracelets. It was getting harder to breathe.

“Again, Vanessa, he already said he was busy. You may leave, lest your boyfriend sees you.” Logan stated flatly, gaze returning to his book. Glancing back towards Vanessa, she pulled a small notepad out of her purse and scribbled something on it, handing it to him once she had ripped it out.

“Just in case you change your mind,” Was all she said before turning around and skipping back to her table to hang with her tennis friends.

Logan turned a page as Patton sat down across from him. Logan glanced back up at him in surprise.

“You want to sit here?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “I was under the impression that you wished to sit with your friends.”

“Aw, but Logan you are one of my friends!” Patton grinned, grabbing his previously abandoned tray. “Plus, it seems no one needs my help, so until they do, I’m here! I do feel guilty, though…”

“What do you feel guilty about? I’m afraid I do not understand.” Logan stated, setting his book down.

“It’s just… I’m sure I could’ve fit Vanessa’s activity somewhere in my schedule…” he bit the inside of his cheek. “If I just cut my study time by an hour I could have fit her in, y’know?” He fiddled with the stem on his apple, breaking it off with a wince. “I probably could still tell her, actually!”

“No,” Logan said when he went to stand up. “You should not cut your study time to help someone who has enough help. Your grades are important. Vanessa will be fine.”

Patton slumped back into his seat, chewing on his lip. “I suppose… I just… I want to help people. They’re counting on me.” he wiped at a tear threatening to fall. Logan tapped his fingers against the table.

“Patton,” he started. “How often do you help people?”

“Not enough,” Patton admitted with a hiccup. “Most of my weekend is booked, but I’m sure I could do more if I moved things around. I’m sorry for invading your time, Logan, I’ll leave if you want me to.”

“Nonsense,” Logan waved his hand through the air. “I wasn’t doing much anyway. You know, most people don’t even do half the things you put yourself up for. Do you spend all your free time for others?” At Patton’s nod, he continued. “I recommend taking a weekend for yourself, at the very least.”

“I don’t know, mayb-”

“HEY PATTON! Can you help us?” a member of the Drama Club, Canin, yelled from across the cafeteria, jogging over to him. “Auditions are coming in a couple weeks and we need help choosing a musical to do!” Canin begged. Patton spared an apologetic glance at Logan before following after Canin.

--

In the final period of the day, the class was told to fill out a worksheet on the periodic table using stations around the room. They were separated into teams of three, Patton’s teammates being Angelica Carter and Skye Johnson. Once they were sent to a station, all three got to work. Well, Skye and Patton did.

Skye was especially smart at science, telling him their dream job was to become an astronomer one day, and to be the first nonbinary person in space. Patton told them that their name was fitting, which caused Skye to burst into giggles.

Angelica, on the other hand, wouldn’t do anything. Once Skye confronted her on it, she claimed that she couldn’t do anything because she didn’t have a pen or pencil.

Just as Patton was about to offer her a pen, he was struck by the memory of himself offering a pen to Virgil on his first day.

Whenever he offered a pen or pencil to others, he almost never got it back, and this was the same situation with Virgil.

Patton had finished filling out his paper, and once he glanced at Virgil the first thing he noticed was the pen in his hands. Patton had wanted so bad to ask for it back, since it was his second-to-last one. But he hadn’t said anything.

And now he was here, feeling guilty that we couldn’t give Angelica a writing utensil. God , this was just not his day, huh? First he couldn’t help Vanessa, then he couldn’t help the Drama Club choose between Little Shop of Horrors and Hairspray, and now didn’t even have a simple pen for Angelica. He was such a failure .

“Maybe the teacher has something?” He offered, Skye returning to the project. Angelica shrugged and walked over to Ms. Alstor.

And even when Angelica had returned, she didn’t help. At all. All Skye did was roll their eyes and mumble under their breath.

Patton didn’t say anything.

All three got an A.

--

Patton arrived late to Sanders’, again . He had gotten caught up once Jasmine Illes, Vice President of the Student Council, tried to convince him to help out with the volleyball event. He had just barely gotten away with his established schedule intact.

He bursted into the lobby, signing in before Katrine, the one in charge of the front desk, let him in while informing him that the group should still be in the check-in room. He rushed in, Virgil and Logan looking up at him when he entered. Roman was spinning around in his chair, but quickly stopped to greet Patton.

“Sorry I’m late! I got caught up because this girl from school, Jasmine, asked me if I could do something with the Student Council on the weekend.” he quickly announced, taking a deep breath soon after. He grabbed a sheet before plopping down in the nearest chair, taking a few moments to catch his breath.

“Jasmine Illes?” Roman asked. “I know her.” Patton raised an eyebrow.

“You go to Fieldrow? Haven’t seen you there.” Patton said, scribbling out answers.

“Oh, yeah, I just… don’t have the opportunity to go there often.” he replied, looking at the ground awkwardly. Patton was about to say something when Virgil spoke up.

“Yeah, I go there, too,” he muttered, Logan piping up in agreement.

“Aw cool! It’s still the beginning of the school year, maybe we could all join a club that meets on the weekends so we can hang out more!” Patton grinned, looking around at the others.

“I’m not very interested in joining clubs,” Logan started. “I would consider it if it were the Science or Math clubs, but neither of them meet on the weekends.”

“And I don’t really… do clubs. At all.” Virgil continued. Patton let out a small ‘aw’ before turning to Roman.

“What ‘bout you, Roman?” he asked, not acknowledging Logan’s small flinch at the bad grammar.

“Well… I suppose I was thinking about joining the Drama Club… I’m just not sure if it’d work with… me” Roman shook his head. “I’ll decide once they pick a musical.”

Virgil snorted, which caused Roman to let out an indignant ‘wha- hey!’.

“Y’know, I don’t know why I didn’t peg you for a theater nerd earlier, Ro’. It makes perfect sense.” was all Virgil said before Becca quieted them down and told them to start sharing their answers.

--

Once inside the therapy’s cafeteria, Patton was confronted by Charlie.

“Hey, Patton! I have a new exposure for you.” she greeted. “You ready?”

“Um, hold on-” Patton flipped through his binder, before landing on the page he wanted. He whipped out his pen, and continued. “Yep!”

“Alright, this one’s pretty simple but fits what we’re working on with you! All you need to do is ask a staff to borrow a pen and not return it by the end of the day.” Patton stared at her with wide eyes. His life seemed to be revolving around pens, recently, wasn’t it?

“Do I… do I get to return them next week? Cause, y’know… it’s Friday.” he asked, fiddling with his bracelets. Charlie shook her head.

“It’s better not to. Because, in the future, if you accidentally steal a pen from someone, we don’t want you to freak out much. So it’s better to fight that feeling by keeping them!” she smiled. “I know you’ll do great, Patton.”

Patton scribbled it down in his binder reluctantly. He really did want to refuse the exposure, but that would make Charlie disappointed in him, which would make her feel bad. And Patton hated making other people feel bad. So, discomfort it was.

--

Patton found himself in front of the two other counselors’, Harley and Ramona’s, office. Peeking through the window he saw that only Harley was present. He knocked on the door before walking in.

“Hey, Patton,” She greeted. “Whatcha need?”

Patton put on his default smile. Act happy, not stressed, he told himself.

“Heyo Harley! I was just wondering if I could borrow a pen?”

--

After 9 minutes, he had cycled through Becca, Katrine, Ramona, and Vicki. He figured it would be pretty stupid of himself to ask Charlie, so he had to start back at the beginning. Oh dear, what am I supposed to say?

He didn’t have much time to mull it over before Virgil skidded to a stop in front of him. He barely had time to greet him before Virgil was huffing out a response.

“Hey… Patton… sorry one second… gotta catch my breath…” he panted. Patton smiled at him.

“M’kay… This is stupid now that I think of it, but I’m just… Exposures really stress me out, and I have this one where I’m supposed to knock on a staff’s door and just… leave before they can open it.” Virgil started, curling into his hoodie.

“What’s the problem?” Patton prompted when Virgil stayed silent.

“It’s just… really anxiety provoking and- ugh y’know what, it really is stupid, I’ll leave-” Patton grabbed his arm before he could run off. Virgil stilled.

“Virgil! It’s not stupid, Sanders’ can take a lot to get used to. Roman was stressed on his first exposure day, too! Now, I know it’s not your first day, but it still counts! It’ll take a bit to get used to, but it helps in the end!” Patton smiled. “Wanna hug?”

“Erm, no thanks, physical contact scares me. But, ah, thank you. That… helped.” Virgil gave him a small, awkward smile. Patton cherished it. “I am a bit confused, though,” he continued. “It’s about Roman. He said something about my first day being his second proper day, and I was wondering how long he’s been here? Sorry if that was confusing.”

“Don’t worry, I know what you meant. Roman’s first day was Monday, and he started exposures on Tuesday, I think. And then on Wednesday, you came!” Virgil nodded at this, seeming satisfied.

“Now go on!” Patton prompted, gesturing to the staff hallway. “You’ll do great!”

--

Patton walked into his house, pulling out his phone almost immedietly. He had a plan.

-

Therapy pals!!

{ Patton }  { Heyo!! I made a group chat for us all !!! }

{ Is everyone excited for the weekend?? I am!! }

| Virgil |  | ah, weekends. my favorite days of the week to hate myself |

{ VIRGIL NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! }

| lmao |

( Logan )  ( My weekends are spent studying, I’m impartial to them. )

[ Roman ]  [ Uhhh youre Logan right? Dont have you saved on my phone yet ]

( *you’re *Don’t )

[ Yup thats Logan ]

( I don’jehgfvurkghds )

| wait what |

[ Holy shit ]

{ Roman, language!!! }

{ And are you okay logan!?!?!? }

[ Santa mierda ]

| what? |

( I apologize, I was walking and a dog ran in front of me, causing me to trip. I am okay. And, Roman, is that Spanish? )

{ OH THANK GOD!!!! }

[ Yea it’s Spanish ]

{ Did you get a picture of the dog???????? }

( I was not aware you spoke another language, Roman. I suppose that makes sense, since you are so bad at English. And no, I did not get a picture of the dog, it ran off rather quickly after I tripped. )

[ HEY ]

{ Aw!! Well at least you’re okay!!! }

| i’m gonna put roman’s spanish thru google translate hold up |

[ Wait no ]

( Please use capital letters, Virgil. Plus, it’s spelled through. )

| ajsjfisdkf |

| patton |

| patton |

{ Oh no!! Is something wrong??? }

| no just uh |

| pls put roman’s spanish thru google translate |

( I cannot believe you. )

{ Alright… }

( Do you exist just to insult the English language? )

[ oh nooo my phones about to die ahhh ]

| nice try roman |

{ ROMAN!!!! Don’t swear, even in other languages! >:( }

[ Hey Virgil, i gotta tell you something ]

[ i hate u ]

| who doesnt |

{ Hate is a strong word, Roman. }

[ i know ]

{ VIRGIL NO!!!!!! I LOVE YOU LIKE A SON!!!!!!!!!!!!! D: }

| did i just get adopted |

( It’s not adoption if it’s not in a legal document. )

{ YES YOU DID MY DARK STRANGE SON!!!!!!! ILY!!!! }

( Oh. )

[ Logan should be the mom ]

[ I’ll be the strange uncle who you only see once a year but might be a government spy ]

( What? )

| nah roman you’re like the kid next door |

[ Thanks..? ]

[ Wait did i just get kicked out of the family ]

( I’m afraid I don’t understand how I could be a mother, not even mentioning how Patton, Virgil, and I could even be a family. )

[ I cant believe i got kicked out of the family ]

{ Don’t worry, it’s a metaphorical family Logan!!! }

[ What did i do to deserve this ]

( But how am I a mother? )

( Is anyone going to respond? )

--

//  Private Conversation between Roman and Virgil  \\

[ I don’t hate you, by the way. ]

[ Like in all seriousness. ]

| lol don’t worry man i got that from the lack of good spelling and no capital letter |

| coz you don’t type like that usually |

[ Oh, good. I was hoping by doing that I wouldn’t come across as serious. ]

| yea |

| so uhhhhhhhh |

| hold on gotta think of somethin to say so this isn’t awkward |

| what musicals do you like? |

[ Congrats Virgil!! You just unlocked an hours long conversation ]

| wait no |

| eh nvm i wasnt doing anything tonight anyway |

[ Kay so im gonna start off with the popular ones ofc! ]

-- --

Patton smiled as he looked over the conversation they all had. Because no matter what happened at therapy, by the end he knew he’d still have his new friends. He giggled to himself, feeling giddy. This was so exciting!

He glanced at the groupchat’s name, which at the moment was simply ‘ Therapy pals!! ’, a spur of the moment decision by Patton. He bit his lip as he thought it over.

Patton changed the name of the group to FamILY!     -

Patton smiled even wider than before. Tomorrow was bound to be a good day.

He was sure of it.

[theavengerfairy]

One Step Closer - Prologue

Previously known as “Gravity”

Before we start the story, I just wanted to give you, my readers, a couple disclaimers. First and foremost, this fanfiction and pairing is NOT AN ATTACK ON RUTHARI OR ANY OTHER RUNAAN SHIPS! Second, this story takes place in a parallel but alternate timeline where Runaan isn’t married or in any prior relationships and his sexuality is open to the interpretation of each individual reader. Please think before you comment and just be kind to one another, myself included. Next, there is an original species of Ocean elf in this story as opposed to a Tidebound elf character because I started this story and created the particular character long before the name of the Tidebound elves was released. Lastly, the time frame for this story is between seasons 2 and 3. That is all; now please enjoy the story.

Opeli just had to pick him. Given the nosedive that his luck had been taking as of late, Marcos shouldn't have been surprised when the aforementioned advisor of Katolis' High Council chose him out of all the other competent souls in the Royal Guard to go seize from Viren's former study any magical objects that could prove potential dangerous to the kingdom, a category to which the mage's entire collection more or less belonged to, and dispose of them, but as the soldier drove along the bumpy, winding trail through the woods that enclosed the castle, his internal organs continued to twist themselves into a knot so complex it would have baffled even the most proficient pretzel chefs in all of Katolis.

"You need to relax, Marcos." he tried to reassure himself as he gripped the reigns of the two slow but stocky Clydesdale mares pulling his cart so tightly that his knuckles were turning the color of alabaster, the tightness in his chest leaving him feeling somewhat winded since he couldn't draw in a deep, solid breath of crisp air. "Viren is locked up tight in the dungeon, and without him, none of these items can hurt you....probably."

Glancing back at the bed of the wagon behind him, he half expected to find that one of Viren's trinkets had managed to wiggle its way out from underneath the large tarp that he had secured over his load and snuck up behind him, ready to pounce, but he found nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe he was just being paranoid. Maybe this was just going to be another ordinary assignment where nothing went wrong.

Then the horses gave a frightened shriek, and Marcos' voice along with two others screeched out an equally shrill reply as the guard yanked sharply on the reins, bringing the cart to so abrupt of a stop that he nearly went tumbling from his seat onto the two mares' backs.

"Benny! Jaime!"

Once he had managed to settle down the startled horses with a few gentle pats and soft shushes, Marcos shifted his attention in the direction from which the other voices had come only for his heart to drop like a stone in his stomach when he saw two identical little boys sprawled in the dirt in front of him, their caramel-colored eyes brimming with tears behind their slightly long, unkempt hair as one caressed his left shoulder and the other clutched his right arm tightly to his chest. Hearing the rapid thumping of running feet and heavy panting, the soldier's hand instinctively flew to grasp hold of the hilt of his sheathed sword only to fall back his side when a slightly older youth, likely the two boys' brother given his similar hair color and skin tone, broke out of the brush and dropped into a slide, throwing his arms around the two kids as soon as they were within reach.

"This is why I told you two not to play near the road! You need to be more careful!" he scolded them, his voice reprimanding but gentle as he drew the twins to him.

"W-We're sorry, Luka!" they blubbered in reply, clinging to him tightly as he helped them to their feet.

"Don't be upset with them. I should've been watching where I was going." Marcos exclaimed as he leaped down onto the forest floor and made his way towards the huddle of siblings only to stop when the older boy, Luka, shot him a warning glare. "They're not hurt, are they?"

"They're just a little bruised, lucky for you!" Luka snapped sourly as he positioned himself protectively in front of his brothers, his leery eyes flitting back and forth between Marcos and the two horses, who had begun to munch innocently on some tufts of grass that had shot up in the middle of the road. "You should keep those beasts under better control before they actually harm someone!"

Marcos blinked slowly once, twice, three times before quickly throwing his fist over his mouth to try and suppress the surprised chuckle, causing Luka's scowl to deepen.

"You think this is funny?! You royal guards really are just a bunch of insensitive, pompous boneheads, aren't you?!"

"No, no! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. It's just that Momo and Bae-Bae here are the most docile horses out of the entire royal stable; they wouldn't hurt a fly. Your brothers just startled them is all." Marcos hurriedly apologized. Noticing the skepticism still painted on Luka's face along with the fear radiating off of Benny and Jaime, who peered at him nervously from behind their brother, he removed one of his armored gloves and stooped down along the side of the road, plucking a handful of the dandelions growing there, "Here, I'll show you."

Though still somewhat scared, Jaime and Benny leaned out a little bit farther from their hiding spot and watched with interest as Marcos held the flowers out to the two mares. Lured by the sweet aroma, the two horses raised their heads and tenderly nibbled on the treat until there was nothing left, followed by gently licked the soldier's open palm to make sure they got every trace of the taste.

"See? Nothing to be afraid of."

"Uh huh. Whatever you say. Come on you two, we better get home." Luka griped rather loudly as he grabbed his brothers' hands and started pulling them in the direction from which he had come.

Marcos' brow creased with concern. "Are you sure you boys are okay? Why don't you let me escort you home? It's not safe for a bunch of kids to be wandering alone in the woods."

"We're fine. Besides, I'm sure whatever royal mission you're on is much more important than us." Luka crowed back before disappearing into the foliage with his brothers, the leaves and branches concealing them so well that the only evidence left of their presence was a steadily fading rustle as they left Marcos alone without another word.

"O-Okay! Just be careful!" he called after them, though he figured the effort was likely futile. Heaving a heavy sigh, he started to climb back into the driver's seat of the wagon only to halt when a potent uneasiness washed over him. Biting the inside of his cheek, he swiveled his head to look scrutinizingly back at his cartload of magical knickknacks, but once again nothing appeared to be out of place.

"You're being paranoid again, Marcos! You'll never make a good guard if you don't stop being such a scaredy cat!" his conscience squawked irritably, its voice sounding oddly similar to that of his disapproving Aunt Cadence who had always insisted on him becoming a healer like his uncle. The likeness made him shudder and he hastily spurred the two mares forward before his mind had any more reason to scold him, ignoring as best to could the nagging dread that continued to construct a bird's nest for itself out of his stomach and intestines.

Luka's eyes did not leave Marcos until he and his cart were no more than a speck in the distance, and as he dropped down from his hiding spot in the large oak tree that overlooked the road, his lips twisted into a wicked sneer.

"All clear!" he shouted.

Immediately, Benny and Jaime darted out of the bush at the base of the tree and scrambled to their brother's side, eyes gleaming with excitement as each boy nudged the another aside so that he was the center of Luka's attention.

"How did we do, big brother? Huh, huh? Were we good?" Benny chattered eagerly, his words all tumbling together into one giant, incoherent heap as they flew from his lips at inhuman speeds.

"Well, the two of you smearing your snot on my shirt wasn't really necessary, but other than that, you devils weren't bad." Luka clucked smugly, lovingly ruffling the boys' hair before resting his hands on his hips and leisurely throwing back his head. "What a dolt! That was almost too easy!"

"Too easy?! If it was so easy, you should've been able to keep him occupied for longer!"

Luka's smirk wavered slightly as his eyes flitted over to the raven-haired girl emerging from another one of the nearby bushes, meticulously plucking twigs and brambles out of her two stubby braids and brushing the dirt off of her skinned knees and elbows, but but it soon returned when he caught a glimpse of the sack dragging in the dirt behind her.

"Maybe you should've just worked faster, Lennie." he taunted her in the way all brothers do, snatching the bag out of her hand and surveying what was inside. "Still, it looks like you managed to scrounge together a decent haul....."

His voice trailed off as he stared into the sack, disbelief and disgust distorting his imp-like face to such a degree that the twins' couldn't help but grow curious and try to catch a glimpse of their sister's gains as well.

"What the heck is this? What garbage did you grab, Lennie?" Luka sputtered, his lips puckering and nose wrinkling as though the articles in the bag were actually emitting so horrid order that only he could smell.

"It was all garbage, Luka; that guy had nothing on him but junk! You picked a dud target!" Lennie trilled defensively.

"Okay, maybe I did, but you're the one who still snitched some of this rubbish!"

"Well we can't exactly go home empty handed! I grabbed whatever I thought looked restorable!"

"Restorable? We're thieves, not artisans, Lennie! These scraps are useless to us!"

Benny shot Jaime a perplexed look, "What's an artisan?"

Jaime shrugged his shoulders, "Beats me. Hey Luka, can Benny and I at least look and see if Lennie grabbed anything that we might want to use for our fort?"

"Psh, knock yourselves out. Go ahead and pitch whatever is left over, but don't throw away the sack this time, alright?" Luka grumbled before tossing the stolen scraps at the twins' feet and resuming his argument with his sister.

Benny and Jaime pounced on the bag faster than a pair of famished dogs, nearly ripping in two in their haste to flip it over and empty its contents onto the ground. To anyone who did not know their magical value, most of these items did indeed appear to be no more than worthless trinkets, but two innovative, imaginative mind of a child, even a bag of trash can prove to be a treasure trove.

"Jaime, look at this! It looks like a finger!"

"Why would there be a finger in a jar?"

"Because it's cool!"

"Hey, this looks like one of those rune stones from the book we snitched from the old librarian!"

"No way! That's totally fake!"

"Well so is your finger!"

"Is not! Hey, look at this-"

And so the boys continued to examine and sort each object as Luka and Lennie bickered, completely oblivious to their younger siblings' enterprises as they hurled petty jabs and insults at each other much like kids themselves, and aside from the occasional squabble over an item's identity or sorting, little trouble arose between the twins until they both grabbed hold of the last item, a small purse made of stormy gray cloth.

"Hey, hands off! I touched it first!"

"No way! You got to hold the last one!"

Clenching their tiny jaws in determination, the brothers pulled on their side of the purse, straining against one another till the bag finally tore in half and a flash of gold caught their eyes.

"Benny, Lennie actually got money!"

"Shh! Don't shout it!"

"But-"

"Shh!"

Glancing back at the two older children to ensure that they hadn't heard Jaime's outburst, Benny hurriedly began stuffing the handful of coins into the pockets of his pants, much to the astonishment of his lookalike.

"What are you doing?"

"Lennie and Luka always get all the credit even though we do all the hard work, but if we give these coins to Papa..."

Jaime's eyes brightened when he caught his brother's implication and his plump, youthful lips curved into a broad smile. "Let me hold onto some! Let me hold onto some!"

"Alright! Alright! Keep your voice down!"

After checking again to ensure that Lennie and Luka were still fully engaged in their spat, Benny quickly handed Jaime two of the four coins in his pocket only for the latter to suddenly scream and drop one of them, startling his brother in the process and thus rousing a squeal from him as well. Ironically, it was this unified exclamation that finally earned the attention of the other siblings.

"What the heck are you two squawking about?! Are you trying to get somebody's attention?!" Luka barked.

"S-Something moved!"

"What?! Where?!"

"O-On the coin!"

"Coin? You guys found coins?!"

"What were you saying about my haul being nothing but garbage?" Lennie quipped smugly before strutting over to the twins and plucking the discard coin off of the ground, "You probably just saw your reflection, you big baby-"

Her words were cut off by a surprised gasp as she too dropped the coin, though she hastily snatched it up again before it could hit the forest floor. Bringing it close to face, she stared at the glistening surface in disbelief, unable to believe her eyes.

"Oi, could you all stop screaming?! I'm starting to go deaf here!" Luka lamented, but his remark flew right over Lennie's head.

"...Luka, you know anything about coins with moving pictures on 'em?"

Brow furrowing skeptically, Luka strolled up alongside his sister and leaned over her shoulder, but all suspicion left him when he saw firsthand the blinking eyes, silently babbling lips, and flailing fists of what appeared to be an elf rippling along the surface of the coin.

"...I've never seen anything like this in my life...." he drawled, his jaw agape with disbelief. However, after a moment, a mischievous glint ignited in his eyes. "I bet Pops hasn't either! He's gonna love this!"

Lennie barely had time to comprehend what was happening before Luka suddenly ripped the coin from her hands and took off in a sprint, leaving her frozen in a state of shock until her mind finally caught up and she darted after him with an angry screech.

"Luka, come back here! That was my find! I'm giving it to Papa!"

In the blink of an eye, they both were gone, and Benny and Jaime simply stared at one another in silence for a moment as they too tried to process all that had happened. Lifting up his right hand, which still held the other coin, Jaime slowly opened his fist and stared down at the golden piece.

"Does that one have-"

"Uh huh. Do yours?"

Checking his pockets, Benny nodded mutely, and slowly, the two boys started to smile.

[bigthighsandstupidguys]

Hunger

Chapter Two: Meet the Boys

Warnings: Swearing

Word count: 1420

Karen had moved you from her office to the living room and placed a glass of water in front of you. You both chatted idly about your time in college and the fast-approaching end of your internship. Suddenly, the front door swung open.

“MOTHER! Your children have returned!” Josh almost summersaulted into the living room, his short curly hair a wild mess on his head.

“Why you gotta do that every time?” Sam laughed.

“It’s like a warning. That way mom has a chance to mentally prepare.” Jake said while wrapping his arms tight around Josh.

Danny followed in closely with a big smile.

The boys stopped at the threshold when they saw you sitting on the couch. They were as good looking in person as the pictures online. In person, though, kind energy seemed to pulse from them.

“Ope! I guess it also works as a warning to unsuspecting visitors.” Jake said while giving his signature side smile.

You smiled back while holding back a chuckle. Karen stood and motioned for the boys to come and sit down.

“Hey guys, come on in, we need to talk.”

They boys all quickly exchanged wide eyed glances.

“Sam!” Yelled Jake and Josh in unison.

“It was Sam!” chimed in Danny.

“Wow, what a supportive crew I got.” scoffed Sam.

“I don’t know what we’re talking about but if someone’s to blame no doubt it’s Sam.” Josh said as he sat crossed legged on the lazy boy chair.

“And if we’re talking about the girl scout cookies that were hidden in the laundry room then it was definitely Sam.” added Jake as he took a spot at the end of the sofa. Sam sat next to him with Danny at the other end. It was endearing to watch them all lovingly tease each other. They were definitely a wholesome bunch.

Karen sighed, “Jeeze guys, those were mine! Look we’ll talk about that later,” she looked at Sam as she said the last word, “right now I want to introduce you to Y/N and talk about your upcoming tour.” Karen turned to you and smiled encouragingly. You stood quickly and shook all the boys’ hands while muttering your name.

“Nice to meet you all, I admire your work and am excited to be joining you.” As soon as you said it you regretted it. They had no idea why you were there which explained the confused looks they gave you as you sat back down. Luckily Karen took over.  

“Guys, it’s no secret that the last part of the tour was pretty strenuous on you,” she looked over at Josh, concern etched all over her features, “out of my own money, I’m hiring a personal nutritionist to come on tour with you. She’ll prepare your meals, make sure your properly hydrated, she’ll catch any red flags as they appear. She’s gonna look after your health, for me.”

The boys’ faces all reflected different reactions. Jake seemed surprised, Sam nodded neutrally, and Danny smiled awkwardly. And Josh, well, Josh…

“Mom you don’t have to do that.” You had never seen Josh be so serious. You weren’t really sure if he was being serious, it was so unlike his usual spirited demeanor.

“Well, it’s done. I drew up a contract and we’ve both signed it. Josh, boys, it would mean the world to me if you accepted this.”

“Mom I appreciate this, and I know I gave you quite a scare a few months ago, but I’m better and am gonna stay better. This is all unnecessary.” Josh waved his hands in your direction.

You felt uncomfortable witnessing a private family discussion. “Maybe I should step out…” you began to say as you made to stand, but Karen stopped you.

“Nope, Y/N, no you’re part of the show now. You stay.”

Your cheeks went warm for the second time today. You sat and picked up the glass of water in front of you, grateful for something to keep your hands busy.

The boys were all watching Josh. Jake spoke up first.

“So how long will Y/N be with us? Just the European leg? Or the rest of the touring year?” he was clearly trying to sound diplomatic and not step on any toes.

“She doesn’t have to be part of any of it.” Josh said pointedly at his mother.

“Okay Josh, you’ve said your piece, now watch it.” Karen was bothered by her son’s tone. Josh stood abruptly and walked out of the room, Karen followed him.

Holy crap you wished you could be anywhere but here right now, despite the company.

“Oh, boy.” sighed Jake while exchanging a look with Sam. Danny picked at the knee of his jeans then looked at you.

“Y/N maybe you can help Sam bulk up, I keep catching him admiring my guns.” Danny said while flexing his arms. His comment broke the tension.

“Whatever Daniel! You’re the only one obsessed with your arms. He’s talked about insuring them.” Sam grabbed onto Danny’s bicep and squeezed hard. They both laughed.

You were grateful for the playful display that helped dissipate the awkward vibes. You could hear a hushed conversation in the kitchen between Josh and his mom.

“I really hate stirring the pot like this,” you said to the boys, “I don’t even…” Jake cut you off.

“Don’t even worry about it. Things with mom and Josh have been…don’t take any of it personally. This is their thing that they gotta work through.” His words eased your guilt.

Danny and Sam solemnly nodded in agreement. You took in a deep breath, released it, and relaxed. You hadn’t realized how tensed up your whole body had been up until then. Today had been full of high emotions. Excitement for the new position, embarrassment at the contract, and worry about the guys’ reactions to you. You were really grateful that Jake, Sam, and Danny were open and seemingly welcoming to you so far.

After a few moments of silence Karen and Josh walked back into the living room. Her eyes were slightly red rimmed and Josh’s face was a mask, indecipherable. They took their former seats amongst you and the boys. You didn’t know what was coming, would your contract be annulled? What had they discussed? What conclusion or compromise did they come to? Was your job over before it began? Your stomach twisted in anticipation.

“Sorry for the wait, um, so Y/N is on contract for six months which is basically Europe, Australia, and a few shows in Latin America. After that we’ll all evaluate what you’ve learned from her and decide if she should stay on longer.” She turned to you and after half a beat of processing what was going on you nodded in agreement. Oh my gosh it’s still on, thank god! “Please see this as a favor to me, for my peace of mind. She’s not there to police you, just to make sure you stay healthy.”

“Yeah mom, we get it.” Jake said sympathetically.

“Y/N, you’re probably not getting paid enough for this and I’m sorry in advance. And please don’t get rid of our coffee!” Sam joked while elbowing Danny.

Josh watched his mother as he spoke. “I don’t need a handler. So, while it’s upsetting to be treated like a naïve kid, I’m gonna approach this with an open mind.” He sunk into his seat and folded his arms across his chest.

“I say look at this as a learning opportunity on how to stay balanced.” Karen encouraged while looking around at all the boys.

“Is Y/N gonna like send you progress reports?” Sam wondered.

“Let’s clear this up. Y/N is not there to keep tabs on you for me, there are things I just don’t need to know. When and if she communicates with me it will be to let me know if something is wrong with you regarding your health. That’s it.”

“Ha, sweet! Um, I mean…”

Karen shook her head. Sam and Danny stifled their laughter. Jake shook his head while smiling. Josh looked at you, for the first time since coming into the house. He seemed to be sizing you up, like he mistrusted you despite what his mother had just said. That was disheartening, you hoped you’d be able to smooth things over with him and soon.

Karen gave you a tentative smile, “Well Y/N, I want to be the first to welcome you to the Greta Van Fleet family.” The boys cheered and whooped. All but one.

[mcmcntomorii-moved]

     「I’m just。。。 not sure if this is a great idea。」 Mukuro huffed quietly, crossing her arms tightly beneath her chest。 Her gaze quickly flickering away from the figure she was speaking to and to the door of the small office that they tucked themselves in to. Hiding away because of two things, one was to have a quickie after the meeting with the gang leader Mukuro was called to, and second, was to have this conversation after his job that was discussed in the aforementioned meeting。

     「Well, Mu, if I wanted to ask for your thoughts on this job, I would’ve come to you first。」 Ryu remarked playfully, his eyes set on Mukuro as his posture mimicked her’s as he leaned against the desk, watching her lovingly as his remark earned another quick huff from the pinkette, 「Pops gave me this job because he knew I would be the one who’d successfully pull it off, there’s no need to worry。 He would have given this job to a newbie if it was a suicide mission。」 His tone turns soft as he reached out for his fiancée, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close。

     「There’s nothing to worry about, you did your part in this, got us that info, I’ll pull off this mole job, no problem!」 Ryu attempted to comfort her, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck。 After the initial, sharp shocked gasp that was emitted by Mukuro from the sudden affection, Mukuro melted into her lover’s embrace, letting her arms wrap around him in return。

     「I know。。。」 Mukuro admitted quietly, tilting her head to lean on his. 「But。。。 what if you’re caug—？」

     「Are you questioning my skills〜？」 He cut her off playfully, his head angling slightly to playfully nip her earlobe, 「you know what happens when ya—」 his words halted when his ears picked up the soft sniffle that came from Mukuro, 「dear, are you cryin’？」 He asked, one of his hands moving to soothingly rub the small of her back。

     「Yes, you idiot, I am。」 She whispered, quickly wiping her tears before letting out another sniffle, 「you’re taking this so lightly, I don’t want to lose you。」 Ever since the beginning of that discussion on his upcoming job, Mukuro began to fill with dread。 She knew how aggressive this other gang was like。 Mukuro couldn’t understand why they’d plan this mole job, but she knew better than to voice her concerns。 It wasn’t like their relationship was a secret though, so maybe that’s why she was told about it, to begin with。

     「And I don’t want to lose you either,」 Ryu interjected, his arms tightening around her slightly, 「you know what this life is like, Mu, you know how relationships in this。。。 in our world work。」

     「I know, but still。。。」 Mukuro muttered in a soft voice。 A brief moment of silence filled the room, as Mukuro tried to think of what else to say and Ryu waited patiently for her to speak up, he was just content with holding his love in his arms for the time being, somewhere, he knew that the chances of him coming back alive were slim, but still, he hoped。 「just。。。 come back to me alive, alright？ We have plans。」 Ryu’s lips drew into a small smile as he nodded。 He wanted to come home to her, after all, this was done。

     「I know, I know,」 he laughed, a short breathy laugh, as he slipped in right hand into her left, his fingers grazed against and slightly toyed with the intricate ring on her ring finger。 「I wouldn’t have proposed if I wasn’t sure if I was going to live to see that happen。」 Now it was Mukuro’s turn to release a short, airy laugh。

     「I suppose you’re right,」 she muttered, pushing herself more flush with him。 「I won’t stop worrying, though,」 she added pulling herself back slightly to look at him, even with the minimal amount of light in the room, Mukuro could easily see every detail of his face, from the crinkle of his nose when he smiled, to the love he held for her in his eyes。

     「I know, I didn’t expect you to。」 He stared back at her, a gentle and loving look in his eyes as he quickly swooped in to plant a kiss on her lips。 「We won’t be able to see each other much after tonight until this job is over。。。」 He murmured against Mukuro’s lips, earning a hum from the info broker。

     「I suppose there’s a plus to that。。。」 she whispered, a slight smile pulling at her lips when she watched his expression turned to confusion, 「I can’t have you seeing my dress now, can’t I〜？」 Ryu’s confusion quickly melted away and was replaced with a mixture of relief and delight before he pressed more kisses against her lips。 Each kiss growing hotter and heavier with each application。 He was about to move his mouth down her neck when a loud knocking resounded from the other side of the door。

     「Everyone knows you’re in there, get out。 We need to use this room。」 The voice outside of the room bellowed, earning a soft groan from both pairs within the room。 Both exchanging amused looks when they were told that everyone knew that the pair currently occupied this spare office。

     「We could sneak away to another room〜？」 Ryu suggested quietly as he watched Mukuro get dressed, his eyes catching a view of the scars on her back as they were briefly revealed by the moonlight as her hair was moved to reclasp her bra。 「I wasn’t able to kiss every single inch of you~」 His arms wrapped around her again, pulling her flush against him as his lips pressed against the scar tissue that decorated her back。 The noises of protest from outside began to amplify, earning a small snicker from the pair in the room。

      「Maybe we should just head home for the evening, spend out night together before you have to go on this job。」 Mukuro suggested, pulling away from him with a smile on her face as she rushed to put on her clothing, 「the fellas outside want this room pretty badly so we should probably let them have it〜」 she shot her future husband a quick wink, 「it’ll be their fault they didn’t let us clean up after ourselves〜」

[docholligay]

Training Day

110% Fresh Jet Wolf Friendship trash, with flavors of Tracer’s sassiness, Pharah’s struggles to emotion, and a garnish of hurt/comfort. happy Birthday, you piece of shit. 2,028 words, my entire OW verse is here. 

“It’ll be a slumber party!” there was nothing, it seemed, that Tracer could not make into a game, or entertainment, or find something to be delighted about,  and being holed up in Winston’s home by the multiple threats of an unusually high snow in London, a reasonably tiring battle with Talon, and the threat they still might be out there, was no exception.

“Hm.” Pharah looked out the window  for a moment before shutting the curtain. “I do not know we can have too much fun with it. Talon may be waiting.”

Time and happiness had changed a handful of things about Pharah, for the better, everyone thought, including herself, but much as there was nothing Tracer could not make delightful, there was little Pharah could not make into a potential threat.

“Fareeha, there’s 28 bloody centimeters of snow on the ground, Talon’s likely got their feet up with a bit of cocoa.” She clipped her accelerator into the base and unzipped her jacket. “Same as we might be doing, if you’d just relax. Try something new. A record, that, you know, I think Winston’s already rang Mei about it, but if it ‘asn’t we really ought to…”

Pharah scowled as Tracer’s incessant babble faded into the background of her own thoughts, but acknowledged, in her own mind, that Tracer would not have removed her accelerator if she were nervous. When she was grounded in the system Winston had created in his house, she gained the comfort of not needing to wear it, but she lost the ability to blink entirely. It only came off when she truly believed there would be no need to fight, and no risk of her disappearing.

Tracer was many things, but she was not entirely stupid, and not much of a liar.

“Fareeha,” A softer voice came from the couch, “We will be staying, but there is not too much worry. Come sit with me.” Mercy patted the seat next to her.

“Em, I ‘ope you don’t mind too much?” Tracer jumped over the back of the couch and next to her. “You ‘ave some overnight things ‘ere, and I promise it’s plenty comfortable.”

Emily shook her head. It made her a little nervous–she and Tracer had only been dating for a few months, and though she liked her friends, her teammates, her family (the line always seemed very blurred, to Emily, and Tracer did not seem set on making it any clearer), they were still heroes and soldiers to her, and she found herself wondering what they could have to say to a schoolteacher.

But it was true, that she did not mind, in the way that she never minded being around Tracer, however that opportunity came.

“Right.” Tracer popped up off the couch and started back to the tiny little room off of the main. “Our things are in my room, Em, if you want to get changed. I’ll put on me pajamas and we’ll ‘ave us a cocoa.”

“All right, Lena.” She called after lovingly.

Pharah looked back at Winston. “She has her own room. Still.”

Winston shrugged a bit sheepishly. “This is her home, too, though.”

Pharah laughed a bit to herself and stepped away from the window, stretching her arm over her head and pulling at the shoulder. (There were many things she preferred about her bionic arm–Winston had done good work– but the pure sensory pleasure of a long stretch was something solely reserved for her right side now, and that was regrettable.) Tracer was very likely right. Widowmaker was the only one she could think of that might have a large amount of experience with snow. Reaper, or the man he had been, as Pharah would never reconcile them to be the same, might have some, but not much.

She wasn’t even certain McCree was working with them anymore. Or Hanzo. She heard a rumor they might have peeled off on their own, which delighted her.

This is what you get for trusting people with no loyalties, Gabriel, she might say, if she ever confronted him, if she ever got a chance to ask why, if she faced him and let herself know he was Reaper.

She shook the thought away and settled in next to Mercy, who drew herself in close to Pharah and kissed her cheek, already clad in her soft pink robe with the yellow ducks and her turtle print nightshirt.

“Relax, schatzi.” She brushed her hand through Pharah’s dark hair. “Nothing will happen.”

Tracer emerged from the kitchen, her  Hammers shirt bright burgundy against the too-big plaid pants that dragged along the floor. Sometimes, she moved so quickly that Pharah wondered why she bothered blinking at all, or if not just anyone might be able to harness the disability of being unlocked in time in such a way. She was carrying a tray with 6 mugs balanced on it, and two bottles, and set it down on the coffee table before Pharah had a chance to register.

“Peppermint or butterscotch, as you like.”  She grinned brightly.

“It is not enough that we are lounging, now we should be drinking.” Pharah leaned forward toward her.

“It’s schnapps in a bit of cocoa, Fareeha, it’s ‘ardly me setting up tequila shooters.”

“You are careless.” But she smiled. It was a strange game, but it was their game.

“You’re a nag.” Tracer put her hands on her hips.

“Do you have the cinnamon?” Mercy ignored them both, too used to their ping-pong game to care.

“Fraid not love, that’s the ‘ole of it.”

Winston took his cup, instantly freeing a quarter of the tray. “That’s because Team GB did poorly when we were watching the Olympics, and someone, not naming names, tried to soothe herself with an entire bottle of Fireball.”

“Shocking.” Dva looked up from her Nintendo.

“Now wait a tic!” Tracer whirled to look at Dva, but her expression of irritation turned to confusion. ‘Wait, which part were we being sarcastic about, love? Team GB losing, or me ‘aving a nip to soothe meself?”

“Yes.” She looked back down at her Nintendo.

“Bloody anglophobia, this is.”

Pharah picked up the bottle of peppermint, and poured a little in her cup.

______

Tracer was right, although Pharah would never have admitted it aloud, and there was little worry of anything coming from Talon. The snow and cold  had kept them at bay, and Pharah had even consented to play a little light-hearted truth or dare, and they had laughed fairly well into the night. The laughter had turned to yawns, and Tracer had helpfully brought out blankets and pillows and big thick sleeping pads kept for just such an occasion, and soon the only sounds in the large house that had started its life as a warehouse were the sleepy snores and babbles of the team.

Pharah finally set her arm up to charge and let herself slip into sleep, curled up against Mercy, breathing her soft and sweet scent in fully, drifting on the quiet warmth of her.

Until she awoke like a shot to Tracer’s scream.

She flung her blanket off, moving as everyone else blinked awake, to where Tracer clawed at the wall, still half-asleep, Emily staring at her, her eyes wide with fear. “NO!” The howl echoed across the room. “Not again, not this again, I can’t I’ll die I’ll die I can’t make it again. PLEASE!”

Pharah curled her arm around her and held her fast, momentarily worrying Tracer would be too strong, if she struggled, with Pharah’s other arm on the end of the room. “Lena Oxton.” She could feel Tracer’s heart thumping through her back, panicked and desperate. “It is 4:15 in the morning, on January 12th.” Tracer pushed back against her, but stilled, just a little. “We are in London. We are in Winston’s house.”

She looked over to the side as Tracer began to relax, where Emily stared with a look of horror on her face.

Tracer was not going to like this, when she came around to herself.

“You are grounded. You are here with me. You know I wouldn’t let you go anywhere without my leave.”

Tracer took in a shuddering breath. “It’s London.”

“It’s London.”

“I ‘aven’t been gone.” It was both a question and a sigh of relief.

“I would say haven’t, but yes.” She released Tracer slowly, and smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring way. “If you want your accelerator, it’s on the base in the corner. Meet me me in the kitchen. I need my arm.”

Tracer nodded slowly, and looked over the rest of the room, where 4 sets of eyes stared, Winston dangling from his bed, ready to swing down and save her.

“Any’ow, nothing to see here.” She grabbed her accelerator off its base, angry that having it on made her feel so much safer. “Back to sleep, the lot of you.”

She hoped no one saw her blushing in the dark, and she clipped the accelerator around her body as Emily quietly mouthed the words Pharah had said, writing them on her heart.

____

Pharah turned on the tea kettle. “There is no cause to be embarrassed.” She leaned against the counter. “You have often joked to Angela that you are not allowed in Overwatch if you can sleep through the night.”

“‘Cept you.” Tracer’s head was between her knees, both her feet tapping with the twin energies of shame and of residual fear.

“I am an Amari.” She poured the boiling water over the teabag, and set it in on the table next to Tracer. “We have been in the line of fire since the revolution, at least. And,” She sat across from her at the table, “I have not been through something so unique.”  

“I didn’t want ‘er to find out this way.”

“Perhaps then you should have told her before that was the only way she could find out.” Pharah regretted it immediately–it was correct, but it was also unkind, and that was not her intention. She was like her mother in all the most irritating ways, sometimes.

Tracer gave a weak chuff of a laugh. “Fair.”

Pharah pushed the tea a little closer to her. “This is not every night. Not even most nights. Not even many. She will understand.”

“Hey love, is it alright if I wake in a blind panic few times a year? Aw, it’s nothing, don’t mind me waking you up screaming and tearing about the place.” Tracer took a drink of the tea. “Brilliant.”

“If my experience with living with Angela is anything to believe in,” Pharah found herself feeling exposed, and wished she had poured her own mug, if only for something to do, “She will mostly be upset at your distress.” she stood up unable to look at Tracer as she said this, taking a mug out of the cabinet. “This is also my experience with you, if I am being honest.”

“That’s a nice thing to say, Fareeha.”

She poured water into her mug. “Don’t accustom yourself to it.”

“Lena?” There was a rolling coo to her voice that Tracer always loved so much, and recognized instantly, and surely enough, there was Emily at the door. “Ye alright?”

Her eyes were wide with questions, wondering if any of them were okay to ask, wondering what the answer might be and if Tracer’s embarrassment would make her push Emily away, a fate too horrifying to imagine.

“I will be. Promise.”

Pharah popped a tea bag into the mug and picked it up, handing it off to Emily as she left the kitchen. “You two should talk.” She turned back to Tracer for a moment. “You believe in things easier than anyone I know. Believe in this, too.”

Tracer nodded. “Thanks, love. Buy you a pint?”

Pharah chuckled “If I were accepting bribes to be your friend, they would be much higher. Goodnight, Emily.”

“Aw, you called me your friend. That’s  rather precious, think I’ll–”

Pharah turned to Emily. “She will be fine.” She walked out of the kitchen into the still waiting of the living room.

“Love you too, Fareeha!”

[guidetoenjoy-blog]

Flint Lives Matter: residents say Hillary Clinton coming for the entertainment

New Post has been published on https://entertainmentguideto.com/must-see/flint-lives-matter-residents-say-hillary-clinton-coming-for-the-entertainment/

Flint Lives Matter: residents say Hillary Clinton coming for the entertainment

While some praise the candidates visit for bringing attention to the city as its water crisis continues, others see a candidate plying a cause just to get votes

Hillary Clinton has made every effort to make Flint her own. The water crisis afflicting this predominantly black Michigan city ignored by Washington politicians for years has become another battlefield in a progressive war between Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Race, class and the environment matter again in an issues-based, neck-and-neck race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Looking past Tuesdays primary in New Hampshire, where Sanders is tipped to win, and toward the March primary states where she will be counting on African American support, Clinton made a symbolic campaign stop here on Sunday.

I feel blessed to be here but I wish it were for a different reason, she said, as she took to the stage at the House of Prayer Missionary Baptist Church, flanked by purple-robed members of a choir and surrounded by a sea of nodding heads.

But I am here because for nearly two years mothers and fathers were voicing concerns about the waters color and its smell, about the rashes that it gave to those that were bathing in it. And for nearly two years Flint was told the water was safe.

Her words drew applause and shouts of amen. But though Clinton supporters turned up for Sundays service, simply identifying the problem was not enough for some.

Hillary Clinton poses for a photograph at the House of Prayer Missionary Baptist Church. Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP

Not everyone in a city where the words FLINT LIVES MATTER appear next to bullet holes in windows wants the lead in their childrens drinking water made into a photo-op, a kind of Hurricane Katrina for a more liberal nations eco-justice age.

Interviews with residents before, during and after Clintons visit revealed fear of a candidate helicoptering in on the campaign trail, attempts to salvage a modern economic and environmental crisis that is Flints own, and few answers for a city being abandoned by its residents.

Dont jump on a cause just to get votes, said Flint Lives Matter organiser Calandra Patrick, as Clintons jet arrived in town. It doesnt matter to me if she makes an appearance or not it doesnt matter to me one bit.

Arnette Rison III, a 47-year-old independent contractor, put Clintons visit in starker terms: If shes bringing 35,000 hydroelectric filters, Ill love her for it. But thats not what shes about to do.

At the church, though the topic was serious, the mood was jovial and warm. Clinton stood before a packed audience and spoke emphatically about the moral imperatives of the situation, saying: The children in Flint are just as precious as the children in any other part of America.

The introduction she received was light, the pastor joking that the baptismal water was from the Flint river but he had experienced no rashes, only a little ash. The audience response ranged from lovingly enthusiastic to fierce.

A little after the changeover I noticed the smell

Calandra Patrick (closest to water), with Maurice Ratcliff and Tameka Thompson. Photograph: Lucia Graves for the Guardian

It was the spring of 2014 and something wasnt right with the water. Officials had switched from Detroits water system to the Flint river to save money, and though Patricks tap water was still running clear, she knew something was amiss.

A little after the changeover I noticed the smell, Patrick said. Every time she turned on the shower, there it was again. So she did what anyone worried about being alone in her feelings would do: she posted about it on Facebook.

Its funny: when you just put stuff out there and start asking questions, other people are like, Yeah, I noticed it too!

Almost two years later, the 41-year-old Flint native turned to Facebook once again to help set up the Flint Lives Matter Tailgate, a bottled water giveaway at city hall on Saturdays for the needy, aimed at supplementing the work of fire stations and local churches.

We dont have a limit, said Kevin Palmer, another organizer. We ask people what they need and we give it to them.

But there remains an element of political protest of rebellion to the new cause clbre of progressive Democrats.

A man piling water into his car erupted into chants decrying Rick Snyder, the Republican Michigan governor on whom Sanders has called to resign: Hey hey! Ho ho! Governor Snyder has got to go! A woman sold Flint Lives Matter T-shirts. The events online invitation page drew a straight parallel to Hurricane Katrina: Both abandoned by the government and left to die from dirty water.

An unconscionable and infuriating situation

A typical water resource station. Photograph: Lucia Graves for the Guardian

Clinton may have come late to Flint, but she came strong.

After lead levels were determined to far exceed environmental regulations, people beyond Michigans borders knew the water could cause permanent brain damage in children.

On 11 January, Clinton called the Flint water crisis unconscionable; a few days later, she appeared on Rachel Maddows MSNBC show to call the situation infuriating. She was the first candidate to bring the subject up in presidential debates and she even suggested one of the four additional Democratic debates should be held in Flint, in order to shine a spotlight on whats happening there and in places like Flint around the country.

That will now happen, in March.

On Sunday, Clinton seemed at pains to emphasize her lasting commitment to the issue, saying: I will fight for you no matter how long it takes, and, This has to be a national priority, not just for today and for tomorrow.

It was perhaps a pre-buttal to the attacks she expects to receive for supposedly appearing to care so much about Flint when the optics for doing so are so good.

This is no time for politics as usual, she said. Flint should start making the repairs you need to restore safe water as soon as possible.

For 32-year-old Lorenzo Lee Avery Jr, though, it was a disingenuous visit: Honestly, she not coming to help, he said. Feels like she coming for the entertainment.

His mother, Patricia Torrey, was standing over his shoulder. She strongly disagreed: Its a beautiful thing! said Torrey, 54, adding that she was a Clinton supporter, all the more so heading into Michigans 8 March primary. Its nice to see shes committed enough to come here.

Casey Lester, 31, who lives in Flint but runs the restaurant Max & Ermas in Detroit, was unimpressed by Clintons commitment. His wife, Marcella Lester, a 28-year-old applications analyst at Henry Ford Health Systems, took the campaign bait.

Though like her husband, she typically votes Republican, and may well do so in this election, Marcella Lester said she was pleased by Clintons hastily scheduled trip.

I think its good to get the attention, she said, because we need as much as we can get.

Nothing lasts, not even marriage

Carolyn Harper: This aint going to last, she says of bottles at a water treatment site. Photograph: Lucia Graves for the Guardian

Most people you talk to around Flint just want to know how politicians like Clinton and Sanders intend to help them. Because they do need help.

Kevin Palmer, a Flint Lives Matter organizer and father of five, pulled up a sleeve to reveal a surprisingly pale and scaly inner elbow. He avoids the water as much as he can, but the rashes persist. Worse than the physical harm, he said, was the financial. Having bought his house for $190,000 in 2012, Palmer said it was now worth nothing.

His brother Eddie Palmer, who runs a car audio and stereo repair shop, has fallen on tough financial times, too, to say nothing of the rashes and boils. Audio Unlimited had lost 40% to 50% of its clientele in the two years since the water was switched, he said, and he doesnt have it nearly as bad as the restaurants, at which he wont even eat.

Every month, he said, people tell him theyre leaving moving to Ohio or Arizona or even California. While he had no intention of shipping out himself, Palmer said he couldnt blame them.

Carolyn Harper, 77, is planning to move to South Carolina to be closer to her son. In the meantime, she is stuck in Flint, depending on bottled water that is too heavy for her to carry home.

That aint going to last, she said, gesturing at bottles at a water treatment site near her house. Nothing lasts, not even marriage.

She has outlasted three husbands now, and just about all of her friends have skipped town. Her house, on West Pulaski, has a bullet hole below the front window, a reminder of when there was a dope house across the street. But now the biggest problem is the water that flows from her taps.

She poured a glass, to hold up to the light. It was a pale shade of yellow, and slightly frothy. Asked if she thought it smelled faintly of minerals, she laughed Harper cant smell a thing.

Calandra Patrick, the Flint Lives Matter organizer, sees the combination of crises in starker terms.

Its genocide and gentrification. The inner city of flint is predominantly black. I dont know where they get these 57% figures, but the inner city of Flint is 90% to 95% black. It is.

Rison, who has two daughters and a grandchild, just wants to leave. But he finds moving financially impossible. He hasnt even had his house appraised, because he knows it wont be worth anything.

Nobody wants to come to Flint, he said.

Except, apparently, Clinton.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us