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tourettesdog · 2 years

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Ectober Day 4: Box and Staff

Title: Sleepy Time

Word Count: 5243

AO3 Link

Summary:

Danny is a very sleepy ghost boy and at this point anything qualifies as a bed.

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What Danny wouldn’t give for just one peaceful night. One night where he could lie down, fall fast asleep, and stay asleep for a humane amount of hours. No matter how often he patrolled, it seemed there was always a ghost waiting to attack at the unholy hour of 2AM.

The entire weekend had followed this pattern, with ghost attacks interspersed throughout the day. Skulker woke Danny up with a loud, resounding shout Friday night that had his parents up in arms. Between running Skulker a safe distance away– determined not to have another fight destroy part of the lab– and his parents chasing after, firing indiscriminately, Danny had no chance to rest that night.

He still had traces of a bruise on his chin from that particular debacle.

Saturday had been little better when Technus decided that their neighbor’s old sedan fit perfectly with his latest collection of tech. There were still trees blocking part of the road outside their house from the bulky machine careening down the street.

Sunday followed this same pattern, with Johnny 13 making a mad dash away from Amity Park on his motorcycle, forcing Danny to chase after him. They’d almost wound up in West Virginia by the time Danny caught him, and the lonely flight back took what little energy he had left at that point.

Danny thought he might finally get some rest when he returned to Illinois and sank into his bed– until an ectopus drifted past his bedroom window.

The ectopus hardly put up a fight, but Danny struggled to fall asleep afterwards, waking up at random intervals, tossing and turning. By the time the sun rose, Danny stared out his window with squinted eyes, groaning.

Of course he had to have school today. He already had a headache.

Danny dragged his feet through the halls of Casper High, head hung low, messy black bangs draped over his eyes as he made his way to his locker. Tucker already stood there waiting for him and gave a sympathetic ‘oof’ when Danny smacked his head against the door to his locker.

“Another bad night, then?” Tucker asked, patting Danny on the shoulder.

Danny lifted his head just high enough to smack it back against the locker with a clang.

“Ow…” he mumbled, wincing as his headache pounded.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Tucker observed.

Danny turned his head to look up at Tucker. His friend was several inches taller now, though that didn’t say much when Danny barely brushed five feet.

“I think I slept maybe two hours all weekend,” Danny groaned.

Tucker grimaced. “You gonna be okay, dude? You sure you can make it today?”

Danny stood up straight long enough to root through his locker and pull out the books he needed for the day. He shoved them into his backpack and fought with the zipper to close it.

“At this rate, I’ll be lucky if I make it through our first class,” Danny grumbled, teeth gritted as he tugged harder on the zipper.

Yanking too hard, Danny accidentally ripped the zipper clean off of his bag.

Staring at the piece of shattered metal in his hand, Danny slumped back against his locker, shut his eyes, and rhythmically smacked the back of his head against it.

“Yikes, what’s eating him?” Danny heard Sam ask.

“No sleep again, and he just decimated the zipper on his bag,” Tucker said.

Sam audibly sighed. Danny felt a hand grab his arm and pull him away from his locker.

“You get enough blows to the head without giving yourself more of them,” Sam said. “Come on, we’re going to be late.”

Sam helped Danny get his bag rearranged, but there wasn’t much they could do for the zipper. They managed to strap it closed with an old cable, but it looked an absolute mess. At least the thermos wouldn’t fall out of the bag, which was frankly all that mattered to Danny. He had a spare bag at home he could swap it out with later.

Danny tried his best to stay awake during his first class, but it seemed as if the universe was conspiring against him. Danny sat by the window and the warm sunlight filtering through the blinds dragged his eyelids low. It was all he could do to resist the urge to curl up on his desk like a cat and soak in the warmth.

It didn’t help that Mr. Lancer’s history lesson droned into a monotonous lecture. Mr. Lancer usually tried to show some level of enthusiasm for what he was teaching, but it seemed even he had no interest in the particular branch of US history they were learning. That or, judging by the way he pinched at his tear ducts, he might simply have had a migraine.

Between lack of sleep, his sun-warmed desk, and the droning lecture, Danny was asleep within five minutes.

Mercifully, Tucker noticed in time to shake him awake. Danny gave him an awkward thumbs up over his shoulder.

This proceeded to happen no less than three times, until Tucker just took to rhythmically kicking the back of Danny’s seat to keep him awake. That worked for a while, but Danny eventually still managed to slip back into a light doze.

When the bell rang, Danny startled awake, lurching as his head fell out of his hand and he tipped dangerously to the side. He jumped to his feet, as though ready to fight something, and only calmed when Tucker patted his shoulder.

“Come on, Spooky, there’s nothing to punch,” he said.

Blushing slightly, Danny gathered his mess of a bag and slung it over his shoulder. He followed Tucker to the front of the class, pausing when Mr. Lancer cleared his throat.

“Mr. Fenton, I expect you to be more alert in time for my English quiz,” he said while rubbing at his left temple.

Danny nodded his head. “Sorry, I will be,” he mumbled.

Mr. Lancer gave a firm nod and went back to reading from the book on his desk. Danny quickly sped to catch up with Tucker at the door. They met with Sam in the hall and headed for gym class.

Danny grabbed his gym clothes and took them to the toilet stalls to change as usual. It was a hot day, easily over eighty degrees, but Danny kept his red sweatshirt on over his gym clothes. He’d rather flare his core to keep cool than go without it.

Unfortunately, flaring his core required using more energy. It was fine at first when their class walked down the field to play soccer, but Danny quickly lost steam from there. He trudged along beside Tucker, who stuck resolutely close to the slight chill Danny put off. It was a struggle to keep up the pretense of trying– though Dash helped, in an ironic way. He kept kicking the ball towards (at) Danny, and running past him close enough to knock shoulders. With him constantly engaging Danny, it at least gave the appearance of him participating. Danny could have done without the bruises to his shoulder, but at least Ms. Tetslaff wasn’t yelling at him.

Still, by the time they headed back towards the gym, Danny wasn’t able to keep the chill of his core flared enough to stave off the heat. He leaned miserably against Sam, letting her half-drag him up the hill. She reviewed book notes for their English quiz as they walked, though Danny hardly absorbed the words.

Between Tucker keeping him awake in class, and Sam almost carrying him, Danny owed his friends big time. He wasn’t sure where he’d be without them.

Probably in a ditch somewhere.

(Asleep, that is. The dying thing had already sailed.)

Danny welcomed their lunch period with open arms, prepared to put his head down and have a well-deserved nap.

Unfortunately, a ghost had other ideas.

The timing was impressive, in all honesty. No sooner had Danny pillowed his head on his arms, sighing contently, when that sigh turned into a puff of blue mist.

The expletive he shouted drew a few stares.

It didn't take long for Danny to find the culprit. A loud crashing sound echoed from the hallway outside the cafeteria. After darting in the restroom to transform, Danny followed the noise.

He found Boxy wreaking havoc on the science department, upending what appeared to be boxes of new lab equipment. Danny watched as one of the boxes tipped upside down. It sent a large package of beakers crashing to the ground, smashing Danny's own record within seconds.

Were he better rested and thinking straight, Danny might have been able to save the rest of the supplies from destruction. Seeing as he was barely awake and squinting through bleary eyes, however, it didn't occur to Danny to catch any of the boxes when he souped the Box Ghost from the air.

The rest of the lab equipment crashed down in Boxy's absence, the sound a monstrous crescendo of shattering glass and crunching metal.

Danny noticed a teacher in the corner of the room. She stared, open-mouthed with horror at the destruction.

As Danny awkwardly backstepped out of the room, a sheepish grin on his face, she burst into tears.

When Danny returned to the cafeteria with nine minutes to spare, he gave Sam and Tucker a dispassionate, "Don't ask," before planting his forehead on the table and passing out.

The day continued to nosedive, as it often did, with Mr. Lancer's English class.

Danny liked Mr. Lancer well enough as a teacher, but he unfortunately still believed in Danny enough to keep him on his toes. Many of the teachers no longer reprimanded him for falling asleep or missing assignments, but Mr. Lancer was determined to make Danny apply himself. It would have been touching that he cared, were it not so frustrating.

As it was, Danny stared at his English quiz, seeing double. The words blurred and morphed together, smudged through his bleary vision. It was all Danny could do to keep his drooping eyelids from shutting tight.

Tucker didn't sit behind him in this class, so there was no rhythmic chair kicking to keep Danny awake. Sam did sit beside him– and she definitely threw a pencil at him the first time his eyes snapped shut– but there wasn't much she could do discreetly during a test.

Inevitably, Danny's eyes shut tight as he leaned into his hand, propped up on his elbow.

Danny was flying, drifting on a warm breeze. A clear sky glittered overhead, the stars turning, spinning, blinking in wavering patterns.

Flipping on his back, crossing his arms behind his head, Danny watched as the stars coalesced in a brilliant tapestry. A landscape opened up across the heavens, towering mountains and low valleys of radiant stardust.

“Mr. Fenton.”

The landscape rippled, as though caught in a rough breeze. The wind blew harshly against Danny’s face, suddenly cold.

“Mr. Fenton.”

A strong gust of wind scattered the stardust to nothing. It left the sky inky black and empty, yawning overhead– crashing down as the wind roared loudly in Danny’s ears, icy and sharp.

Soon, all that remained was that wind. Danny tensed, searching for something– anything in the darkness that sprung up around him.

Something tapped his shoulder.

Danny shot up suddenly, his desk scraping loudly across the floor as he stood. He braced himself for a fight, but… froze when he saw Mr. Lancer staring down at him with an eyebrow raised.

Snickers broke out around him and Danny glanced to his right in time to see Sam facepalm.

“Is there any particular reason you can’t stay awake today, Mr. Fenton?” Mr. Lancer asked, drawing Danny’s attention back to him.

Danny was now as sure as he could be that Mr. Lancer had a migraine. The bags under his eyes weren’t as dark as Danny’s, but they were deeper than usual. He kept rubbing at his temple still, almost absently.

“Sorry, Mr. Lancer,” Danny said as he awkwardly sat back down. “Just… a headache.”

Truthfully, he did still have a headache. Probably not one as bad as Mr. Lancer’s, but Danny didn’t think that sleep deprivation was an answer his teacher would take lightly.

Glancing across the classroom, Danny could see Tucker giving him a commiserating smile, and Dash miming someone startling badly. Several classmates weren’t even watching, though. This situation happened frequently enough that it had lost some of its novelty.

Mr. Lancer sighed. “Do you need to go to the nurse’s office, Mr. Fenton?” he asked.

Danny cringed, sinking down a little in his seat. He hadn’t been to the nurse’s office for over a year now, since the Accident, and he wasn’t about to start now over a small headache.

“N–no I think I’m good,” he said quickly.

Mr. Lancer sighed again, shaking his head. “I’d like you to stay after class, Mr. Fenton. Please try to stay awake enough to finish your quiz until then.”

He turned and went back to his desk, saying, “Ten more minutes; use your time wisely,” to the class before he sat down.

Danny rubbed at his face in frustration, groaning as he distinctly heard Dash snicker.

By the time class ended, Danny had managed to stay awake, but he had not managed to finish the quiz. It didn’t help that he had hardly read the book assignment– The Catcher in the Rye– and his memory of Sam’s notes was vague at best. He was confident in maybe three of his answers, and certain that his incomplete essay at the end would be poorly received.

Sam and Tucker gave Danny encouraging thumbs up as they left the room. He knew they’d both wait for him in the hall.

After tying the cable back around his backpack, Danny dragged his feet to the front of the classroom. He stood in front of Mr. Lancer’s desk, waiting for the man to address him. He was grading a stack of papers, marking them with a red pen as he went.

“How is your head feeling?” Mr. Lancer asked without looking up.

The question threw Danny off kilter. He paused, wracking his mind for suitable words. “Uh, it’s getting better. I took some ibuprofen earlier,” he said.

Danny had not taken ibuprofen earlier. He had to take three or four times the recommended dose for it to even touch his pain these days, and a small headache wasn’t worth the trouble.

Mr. Lancer gave him a nod. He made one last mark on the paper in front of him, circling a line of text near the bottom of the page, before he finally looked up.

“Is there anything else going on, Mr. Fenton?” he asked.

His green eyes bored into Danny’s, and he had the distinct feeling of being scanned. It was moments like this that reminded Danny why Jazz liked Mr. Lancer as a teacher so much. Both of them were perceptive when it came to people.

“No?” Danny started, cringing a little at the uncertain tone in his own voice. “I mean, I didn’t really sleep well last night, but… yeah.”

He trailed off, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

Mr. Lancer looked him up and down, his eyes settling on the slight bruising he still had on his cheek.

"If there's anything troubling you at home, I am always here to listen, Daniel," he said.

Danny shuffled uncomfortably, digging his shoe into the linoleum floor.

“Now,” Mr. Lancer began, reaching for a folder on the far side of his desk, “I won’t give you detention this time, but if I catch you sleeping in my classroom tomorrow I won’t be so lenient. Forgo any… extracurriculars tonight and get some sleep, Mr. Fenton. Have a good evening.”

Blinking dazedly, Danny could only nod and stutter out a confused, “Y-you too– the good evening thing, that is.”

Gripping the straps of his book bag tightly, Danny hurried out the door before Mr. Lancer could change his mind.

Sam and Tucker were the only people left in the hallway. It was the end of the school day and most people had already left or carried on to after school activities. Tucker swung an arm over Danny’s shoulders as they fell into step together.

“So, when’s your detention?” Tucker asked him.

Danny snorted. For once, he was happy to have an answer for that question. “Didn’t get detention,” he said, shooting his friend a fanged grin.

Tucker gasped and ground to a stop, jostling Danny beneath his arm. “Wait, really? What did he say?”

“He just… asked what was wrong. Told me I could talk to him if something was bothering me,” he said with a shrug. “It was kind of weird– but in a nice way.”

The trio resumed walking, turning around the corner. They passed by the science department where several staff members were still cleaning up the broken glass. Sam slowed, craning her neck to get a better look, but Danny grabbed her arm and sped up, not wanting to linger by the mess.

He had forgotten how hot it was outside. The moment they stepped out into the heat, Danny groaned. What little energy had been startled into him by his nervous interaction with Mr. Lancer had faded, sapped away by fatigue. He leaned into Tucker as they went down the school steps and towards the sidewalk.

“You really should go get some sleep, dude,” Tucker said, eyeing Danny. “You look dead on your feet.”

Sam punched him in the shoulder while Danny laughed.

“He’s right, though,” Sam said. “You always look exhausted, but this is a bit much, even for you.”

Danny groaned exasperatedly. “Tell that to the ghosts that keep floating by my bedroom window,” he said.

“What was it last night?” Tucker asked.

“After Johnny? A fucking ectopus,” Danny said, throwing his arms up in exasperation, nearly shrugging off Tucker’s arm. “I almost would have preferred Skulker again. At least then I’d have something to take my frustration out on,” he added in a low grumble.

“With how tired you are, I don’t think fighting Skulker is the best idea right now,” Sam said. “Come on, let’s get you to bed. We heading to FentonWorks?”

“Please no,” Danny said a little too quickly. “My parents are still fixing the lab wall. I don’t think I could sleep through that racket if I tried.”

Tucker snorted. “Still? Hasn’t it been like a week?”

“Five days. Five miserable, loud days. Were you not reading my texts? Did I not complain enough?”

Tucker rolled his eyes. “In my defense, you didn’t update us on the lab wall fiasco over the weekend, so I assumed it was over.”

“I’m sorry if I was a little too busy complaining about the trio of dumbasses that is Skulker, Technus, and Johnny. I’ll try to squeeze in loud Fenton bullshit hours next time.”

“See that you do,” Tucker said, nodding sagely.

Danny snorted, waving his arm to slap at him.

“So, where we going then?” Sam pressed. “I don’t know about you two, but I want to get out of this heat.”

They hadn’t made it very far from the school. With Danny leaning into Tucker, and no clear destination decided, they’d stopped at the corner.

Tucker made a thoughtful humming sound. “How about my place? My mom’s working and my dad shouldn’t bug us. Danny can take a nap while we play games or something.”

“Yeah, sure. Better than standing out here all day,” Sam said with a shrug.

“You’re going to play games without me?” Danny whined, doing his best attempt at puppy dog eyes (the effect probably ruined, at least somewhat, by how squinted they were).

“Yep,” Sam said, popping the ‘p’. She gave him a once-over with her arms crossed, her smile twisting into a concerned frown.

“Go transform and I’ll carry you,” she offered.

Danny perked up immediately, throwing Tucker’s arm off his shoulder. He glanced around quickly to make sure there was no one watching before darting into the tall bushes nearby. He heard Sam mutter, “That woke him up a little,” as he transformed.

As soon as the cold rings washed over him, Danny felt for his invisibility, letting it wash over in the same way. Floating back over to Sam and Tucker, he gave a quiet, “Here,” to let Sam know where he was before settling across the tops of her shoulders and spider backpack like a very large snake.

He let his spectral tail hang down one side of her neck and his arm down the other. He nestled his head on her shoulder and sighed happily. Thankfully, Danny was light enough in this form for Sam to carry him without issue.

“Just stay awake long enough for us to get to Tuck’s house. If you turn visible on me in the middle of the street, I will personally soup you,” she whispered.

“Noted.”

Danny put every last ounce of his energy into keeping his eyelids open on the walk to Tucker’s house. The gentle sway of Sam walking, paired with the heat, made for a sleepy combination. By the time they stepped over the threshold of Tucker’s house, blissfully welcomed by air conditioning, Danny had finally lost the battle against his eyelids.

He heard Tucker gasp loudly, hissing out a frightened, “Danny!” before he felt– and heard– Sam thunder up the steps to Tucker’s bedroom. Danny opened his eyes in time to watch Tucker slam the door behind him, turning the lock.

“That was a close one,” Tucker said, pressing his ear expectantly to the door, his red beanie askew. “I think my dad’s outside– otherwise he might’ve seen the ghost who was supposed to stay invisible.”

“‘M sorry,” Danny mumbled, shutting his eyes again.

Sam sighed. Danny felt her pivot and heard her boots take a couple of steps on the wooden floor.

“You’re hopeless when you’re tired,” she said. “How have you kept your secret this long?”

“Talent,” Danny mumbled into her shoulder.

Sam snorted. Her shoulders rose and Danny felt her hands grab him under the armpits. He kept his eyes closed, expecting her to flop him onto Tucker’s bed, but was surprised when he felt himself land inside something.

Tucker began to cackle, his laughter quickly devolving into wheezes. Danny opened his eyes and came face to face with–

Cardboard. He was inside a box.

Groaning, Danny rolled onto his back, brushing his white bangs out of his eyes. His tail fell the rest of the way into the box with him, curled over his stomach.

“Sam. Why am I in a box?” he asked,

It was a pretty big box, though Danny wasn’t sure why Tucker had it. Judging by the give in the bottom, it was sitting on his bed. Danny couldn’t stretch out his arms inside the thing, but he could curl up with some room to spare.

“I dunno. It just seemed funny,” Sam said, laughing.

“What’s this thing even from?” Danny asked. “It’s a pretty nice box.”

Tucker’s face swam into view as he leaned over the box, still chuckling. He lifted his glasses, wiping away a tear.

“It’s from my new desk,” he said between chuckles. “I figured I’d keep it to store shit in. Think we could replace the thermos with one of these bad boys?”

“I want you to think for two seconds about Boxy before you seriously consider that statement,” Sam said.

Danny huffed a laugh. Rolling onto his side, he let his tail curl around him and pillowed his head on his arms. He felt the bed sink down a bit on one side and heard someone fumbling with what sounded like game controllers.

“Are you seriously comfortable in there?” Sam asked, her voice hovering just over his ear.

Danny hummed in response, nestling into his arms. It probably would be more comfortable on the bed, but he was already so tired, and the walls of the box made him feel strangely safe…

Sam laughed again, more quietly this time. He heard the telltale sounds of Tucker starting up Smash Bros., followed by him quickly lowering the volume.

A hand fell into Danny's hair, gently scratching his scalp. In his sleepy, half-awake state, Danny was faintly aware of the contented rumble in his chest.

"Just like a cat," Danny heard Tucker snicker.

The noise of a cell phone camera going off followed.

It was the last thing Danny heard, other than the distant sounds of their game, before he fell into a fitful sleep.

~*~

Danny's mind was sluggish as he woke. He opened his eyes, expecting to see the familiar stars on his ceiling, but was surprised to see a dark room with a spinning ceiling fan instead.

Turning on his side, Danny noticed short walls surrounding him. He panicked for a moment, thinking he was trapped, before remembering he'd fallen asleep in…

A box.

A box, of all things.

Danny was still in his ghost form, and in the dark he could see that part of the box was dented. Danny could only assume he’d crushed it in his sleep. Coiling up on his tail, slipping out of a blanket Sam or Tucker must’ve thrown over him, Danny rose up like a cobra and glanced around Tucker’s bedroom. He couldn't tell what time it was, though it must’ve been well past sunset, judging by the darkness.

Sam was nowhere to be seen, but Tucker was curled up in bed, fast asleep. At least, he was asleep– until Danny leaned too heavily on the box and it tore down the side, causing him to tumble forward and land on his friend’s legs.

Startling awake, Tucker quickly sat up, pulling his legs to his chest.

“Wha– Danny? You good?” he groggily asked, stifling a yawn.

Danny yawned as well, still feeling rather tired despite what must have been several hours of rest.

“I feel a bit better,” he said. “How long was I out? What time is it? Where’s Sam?”

Tucker rolled on his side and groped a hand across his nightstand, grabbing his glasses and phone. Both of them squinted as the phone powered on, singing their retinas with its sudden light.

“It’s almost eleven, so uhhh… seven hours or so? Sam left hours ago.”

“Ancients…” Danny muttered, rubbing his tired eyes.

A sobering thought suddenly came to mind.

“Wait, shit, I should get home, I–”

“Already taken care of,” Tucker said, yawning again. “As far as your parents are concerned, you’re sleeping over tonight. My parents don’t know, though, so try to keep it down.”

He gave a cheeky grin and Danny felt his anxiety melt away with it.

“So, are you going to keep sleeping in my box– which you totally destroyed, by the way– or do you want to actually use the bed?”

Danny glanced down at the cardboard under him. The box had certainly seen better days. It had been surprisingly comfortable while it lasted, at least.

“Bed sounds good,” Danny said wearily. “I can’t believe you let me sleep in a box.”

Tucker just laughed at that.

Danny crawled across the bed to the side closest to the wall. Tucker lifted his blanket and Danny phased his way under it. He settled down, burying his face in one of Tucker’s many pillows.

“Am I too cold like this?” he asked, his voice muffled by the pillow. “I can transform if you want.”

Danny was getting considerably better at controlling his powers. Aside from being able to maintain his form while unconscious now, he also had significantly more control over his temperature. He couldn’t necessarily make himself warm as Phantom, but he could decrease the chill he put off.

Sleeping as a ghost appealed to Danny– seeing as it meant he wouldn’t have to take off his binder– but he would transform for Tucker’s comfort if not his own.

Tucker hummed thoughtfully. “Naw, you’re good. Just let me turn off the ceiling fan.”

He reached for something else on his nightstand, producing a tiny remote. It shut off the fan and Danny watched as the blades slowly ground to a halt.

Tucker settled back into bed, taking off his glasses, carding a hand through his curly bangs. He let loose another yawn and rolled over to look at Danny.

“You’re not hungry or anything are you? You did sleep most of the day,” he said.

Danny shook his head. He never had much of an appetite since the Accident. Sam suspected it had something to do with all of the ambient ectoplasm in Amity.

“Just tired still,” he said. “Thanks for letting me sleep for so long, by the way.”

Tucker hummed, shutting his eyes. “You needed it,” he mumbled.

Danny certainly agreed. Those seven hours of sleep had helped, but he still felt pretty exhausted. Not every week of fighting ghosts was like this, but the ones that were dragged him down. He was only thankful for no major injuries this time around.

Snuggling deeper under the blanket, Danny wiggled his way closer to Tucker, burying his head under his friend’s chin. Tucker shifted, lifting his arm over Danny in a practiced manner, draping it over his shoulders.

Listening to the rhythmic sound of Tucker’s breathing and the steady beat of his heart, Danny quickly found himself falling into a restful sleep.

“G’nigh,” Tucker mumbled, hardly coherent.

Danny’s core rumbled contently in response.

~*~

Danny awoke the next day feeling, at last, actually awake. After changing into some clothes Tucker kept at his house for him, Danny slipped out of Tucker’s bedroom window and waited outside to give him a lift to school.

He didn’t manage to replace his book bag, but dealing with the broken zipper felt considerably more manageable when well-rested.

They met up with Sam in the hall as usual, and there was something in her grin that had him feeling nervous.

“What did you do?” Danny warily asked her.

Sam’s grin widened. She leaned against her locker, flicking through something on her phone.

“Oh, you know… just thinking about photography,” she said.

Danny paused, trying to parse out whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. Then, with dawning horror, he remembered hearing the sound of a phone camera the night before.

“You didn’t,” he said, standing up straight, eyes narrowed at Sam.

“Oh, I did.”

She tapped something on her phone and turned the screen towards him. On it was a picture of Phantom, curled up inside of a box with his tail tucked around his messy white hair.

Danny quickly made to grab for the phone, but Sam held it up high, far out of his short reach.

“Tucker has copies too, so don’t you dare,” she said with a laugh.

Danny grabbed at her shoulders, shaking her lightly. “Sam, please tell me you didn’t post that anywhere,” he said, practically begging.

Sam waved her hand dismissively. “Why post it when we can keep it all to ourselves?” she said.

“And when we can threaten to post it the next time you spill one of those ectoplasm shakes on–”

“That was one time!” Danny interrupted Tucker with a whine.

“I can see the meme caption now,” Tucker continued dramatically, ignoring Danny’s interjection, “‘The New Box Ghost’!”

Sam snorted with laughter while Danny continued to groan, making one last, futile grab for her phone.

#ectoberhaunt22 #EH order #EH chaos #day 04 #box #staff #danny phantom #dp fanfic #phanfic #danny phantom fanfic #fanfic #dogfics #dogposts #THIS TOO WOUND UP LONGER THAN INTENDED WHICH IS WHY IT'S LATE LOL #everlasting trio #if you squint

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sirwow · 9 months

Text

Oo you like reading oo.. in addition of posting wraiths call intro I give you all the current pikmin character summaries I have with it tehe

Alt text under the cut for those who dont wanna zoom in on the images

Olimar

A Father of 2 and a reserved average man. Grew up in a relatively uneventful life but with a constant want to escape to the stars and see the unknown. His parents, while passable, admittedly instilled early ideals of how a good family should be and often normalized their fighting that seemed a bit more then most families but nothing he couldn’t get through. Jumped jobs after failing to pass biology in college and ended up staying at hocotate freight for 15 years. Eventually quit when pushed to his limits of risking his life.

Louie

A young, quiet and usually estranged guy with dreams of being a cook. Growing up he was immediately dumped with his nana as his father had him by accident and neither him or his GF really wanted to raise a kid as they were busy enjoying the prime of their life after highschool. Nana didn’t mind raising another darling but admittedly had some of her own issues that lead to some strange or sometimes even cruel ways of raising Louie. If he didnt help with something or caused trouble, he’d be locked outside to let off steam but often ended up walking off into the hill side for sometimes days at end. He only saw his father when he came by for more money from his dad. Hocotate freight was his 6th job after dropping out of highschool and the only one he held for awhile till quiting when he actually really did need money and was getting stiffed.

Koppites

Alph

An engineer fresh out of college now working with his best friend to try and make tech to solve the food crisis n help his family. Alph was born the second youngest in his family and though never being close to his parents, was very close with his two eldest siblings and studying under his grandfather Drake w/ Yorke. Upon his recommendation from Yorke and Drake, the capital of Koppai’s top college accepted him to get his bachelors. After 2 years he meets Brittany in a Bioengineering class and become fast friends. He starts to drive her to college and they get each other drinks. After graduating together they’re selected to be the assistants to a possibly world saving mission.

Brittany

A botanist with a hope to solve the world’s food issue with her best friend but finding herself constantly stone walled by officials. Brittany once lived the high life in Koppai with her well off mother, safe from the world’s famine. Unfortunately her mother fell horribly ill when she began college and passed shortly after, leaving Brittany to move in with her Aunt Bea and cousin Nelle. She had to grow used to her new life in a much lower end of the city and deal with her grief, being relatively lonely for the next 2 years. This is until she met Alph in college and found his willingness to push on despite his situation inspiring and became friends with him. Often calling him late at night to vent or meeting up on the beach at 10 pm to hang out. Eventually after graduation she was selected to be a team botanist on an incredibly important adventure

Charlie

A lonesome ranger with lots of fame for his adventures but little to show in friendships or any kind of companionship past his pet duck. Growing up an orphan, Charlie always yearned for love and found it In his orphan mate Don. Growing up they were best friends and the local trouble makers but with time and joining a government program together they turned from friends to something more. Together they became known as an unstoppable duo across koppai and eventually did several odd job government missions with Yorke and Nelle as their crew. Upon their 5th anniversary though, Don proposed to Charlie and his nervousness about their dangerous job got the better of him, saying no. Afterwards he couldn’t bear the broken heart eyes of Don, ghosting him for 2 weeks straight. When Don finally did catch him they had a massive blow out and broke up. Charlie continued his job as a ranger but now was completely alone for most all his missions. This was until he was asked to go on a important mission to a relatively unknown planet to save the world and the government officials wanted him to get to know his crew that would be coming with him.

minor chars

Penelope

A stay at home mother and avid jewelry maker. Though her husband Olimar is always away she does her best to take care of their kids despite feeling a bit neglected herself. As such she usually finds her own solace in small time jewelry making whenever she’s alone at home with nothing else to do. Due to a past with a mother chastising her and saying she’d never get some things in life, Penelope can make very impulsive choices when she feels she has an opportunity. This helped her meet and marry Olimar but also making some much more horrible decisions when finding his hidden stash of money. Olimar raked her across the coals for this once he got home n now she gives all her money she makes from jewelry back to him to repay slowly. She still suffers from impulsive behavior but in a better light like buying their kids nice things or taking olimar out as much as she can.

Terry

The first child of Olimar and a lover of creatures and the unknown. Terry has always had a fascination with creatures since he was 7 (as long as he doesn’t have to touch them) and since his dad’s adventures to pnf-404 he’s been longing to see it for himself. When his dad switched jobs though, their family had to make a move from Hocotate to Giya meaning a new home and new school for Terry. Terry had a friend group on Hocotate but now he’s become the punching bag for his love of biology and science. Things only felt worse after his dad left again for his mission so in a fit of spite (and stupidity) he decides to just sneak out on a taxi to see PNF-404 and surprise his dad. This to say the least did not go to plan

Lebe

The 2nd child of Olimar and princess of the house hold. Lebe being young and quick to please has always being the more social of Olimar’s kids. She was quick to forgive their mother aswell but her need to be perfect still remains after. She never liked hocotate’s small town she grew up in and has been in love with Giya since she set foot on their new home. Lebe became a popular new girl in class in contrast to her bullied brother but she thought it was just a older boy thing. This was until Terry left for school one morning with Lebe and disappeared from school and home after dropping her off. Lebe did her best to act brave in the situation like her mother but she can’t help but be scared for her brother.

Bulbie

Once when Terry and Olimar were walking home from school on Hocotate, a soft whimpering sound caught Terrys attention and dragged his dad to the bushes. Inside was a small pup only a few weeks old who seemed like the runt of the litter. Terry easily convinced his dad (as a dog person) to take the dog home to take care of. Penelope was already tired from having another kid to handle so she was pretty resistant about having a dog to worry about aswell but it slowly grew on her until she agree with Olimar to adopt the dog. Olimar named him Bulbie after the Bulbs (Hocotate version of a mushroom) like pattern on his back n has been a loving part of the family since.

#pikmin wraiths call #pikmin writing #pikmin au

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lullabyes22-blog · 10 months

Note

Any cute headcanons on MelJay in FNF? Please? 🙏

💫They have 'staying in' nights where they laze around in her penthouse. She paints; he futzes with Hex-tech designs. They take little breaks to curl up together and exchange soft childhood anecdotes until conversation either turns to lazy makeouts or they doze off.

💫Ximenia is absolutely bowled over by the glamorous Councilor her 'little man' is involved with. To Jayce's great embarassment, she always has a fancy meal with all the fine china ready whenever Mel drops by for dinner. Mel takes it in stride with her usual graciousness; Jayce hides his red face behind a napkin. "Mom... Stop talking about weddings...pls..."

💫Sometimes Mel sees Jayce's close relationship with his mother and feels a pang of envy. The moments where Ximenia is all sweet and nurturing with her boy remind her of the kind of maternal care she needed as a girl - and never experienced.

💫Jayce can play string instruments (not flawlessly but credibly enough) and will sometimes pretend to serenade Mel with traditional ballads while she's in a different part of the penthouse. Mel responds with fond exasperation - but she secretly loves it.

💫Likewise, she will sketch Jayce while he's working in the Talis forge or tinkering with his tools. So much brute strength on display during the former task; so much displine and delicacy required for the latter. It's a beautiful paradox indeed.

💫Jayce is fascinated by Mel's bedtime beauty routine and will ask a million questions about every product she uses, twisting off caps and sniffing ingredient like a curious puppy. "What's this?" - "Shuriman rose-hip water. To tone the face." - "And that?" - "Targonian cocoa butter to moisturize the skin." - "And that little black bottle there?" - "Poison in case there's a siege." (Said with a smile, but there's a 99% chance she is serious.)

💫He has nicknamed her boobs "The Two Graces" and will say with utmost innocence while they're in company, "The two Graces are knock-outs today." Meanwhile Councilor Kiramman: "Graces? Goodness, are we expecting Demacian royalty this afternoon?" Mel just smiles behind her teacup and stays enigmatically silent.

💫They pass love notes to each other under the table during Council meetings. I say 'love notes' but in fact the content is more playfully childish than red-hot and raunchy. Mostly gossip about Bolbo's failed business deal or Salo's tacky new sculpture. They keep straight faces during the proceedings but afterward giggle like highschoolers.

💫Sometimes they have dinner with Victor. It is supremely awkward. Viktor is politely lukewarm to the Councilor; she is naturally charming with him. But beyond Jayce, they share little in common. During certain moments, Jayce and Viktor's easy rapport will make Mel feel uncomfortably left out. Other times, the obvious flush of physical intimacy between her and Jayce will make Viktor feel bitterly wistful for what he can never have. The only person who enjoys these get-togethers is Jayce: "Nice to catch up with my two favorite people." 😊

💫She is never sure how to broach the subject of children with Jayce. Right now, his dream and biggest goal is Hex-tech, and she nurtures and cultivates it to make Piltover a stronger and more peaceful city. But he speaks very candidly about wanting a more committed relationship and a family at some point. Mel isn't sure how to tell him that her mother's war-mongering legacy will end with her 😢

💫Jayce is good friends with Elora, to the point where he will sometimes confer with her for gifts to get Mel or nice places to take her. Elora also gives him heads-ups whenever Mel is upset/stressed and could use company vs. when it's better to leave her be.

💫Calls Silco 'The Cockroach' and doesn't understand how Mel can converse with him so easily and smoothly. Understands even less why they have 'inside jokes' and sometimes exchange sideways smiles during business. Mel soothes him by explaining it's just a game of politics. He believes her - but in his heart of hearts grows more concerned as time passes.

💫"There's a lot you don't know about me," Mel once told him. As Jayce grows older and evolves beyond seeing Mel as his bedazzled crush to a complicated woman with a complicated past, he will realize how true those words were - and how they were a warning in their own way.

💫He makes up his mind to fight for her regardless. Nothing feels impossible when they're together - and that includes beating back the specters of old loss, guilt, mistakes... and later, heartbreak and betrayal. Oh Jayce 😢💔

💫Mel as a girl always had a naive ideal of knights as chivalrous, passionate, brave and decent. In Noxus, she saw only avarice, abuse and atrocity. It wasn't until meeting Jayce did that dormant ideal reawaken inside her. Now, if he is Piltover's shining knight, she is the golden lance who keeps threats at bay - at any cost.💖

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zoeykallus · 1 year

Note

Could I request a scenario with the bad batch with an extremely tall s/o? ( like almost 7ft tall ).

Like, during a conversation or an argument s/o is standing at their full height and giving their man a tender look. 😖💕 I’d also would like to know ( if you could please ) if any of the boys like or are into a taller s/o.

If you can’t then that’s alright, I’ve just been craving this specific dynamic recently.

( love you’re work btw! And a happy upcoming holidays if you celebrate!!! )

( just give me this please 🙏😮‍💨 )

Aloha!

Firstly, sorry you had to wait so long! Wow, that's tall! But you still wouldn't be taller than Wrecker though... would you? I guess this works best with Hunter and Echo, the rest isn't that much smaller... But you said 'The Batch' so I guess you want all of them in this scenario. I hope I'm not messing this up 😅

The Bad Batch x Very Tall Reader HCs - Someone To Look Up To

Fluff/Slightly Suggestive In parts

___________

Hunter

You guys have a little disagreement. Hunter gets up from the bunk he was sitting on and stands in front of you. You look down at him with your arms crossed. Your posture may be stern, but your gaze is gentle.

He looks up at you, sighs, and rolls his eyes, but with a smile.

"Would you please stop looking at me like that? You know I can't resist that look."

Of course, you know that, and a smirk twitches at the corner of your mouth. You finally lean forward and gently rest your forehead against his.

"Let's not fight."

Hunter says, "Let's not argue at all."

You ask with a soft laugh, "Do you have something better in mind?"

His smirk widens before he replies, "Definitely."

Echo

With a sigh, Echo throws his arms in the air and says, "I'm just concerned for your safety. You should have told me you were traveling for Cid, her missions are rarely without danger."

You smile and say, "It was just a simple delivery after all, I'm back here and in one piece."

Echo rubs his hand wearily over his face.

"I'm very glad about that," he says, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

You get up from your seat and face him. Your fingers gently move under his chin and lift it slightly so that he looks up at you.

"I'm here, Echo, and I'm fine."

He sighs softly and his expression softens. A small smile appears on his lips.

"I know, but you know what I'm talking about too, don't you?"

"Of course, honey"

He gently but firmly grabs your collar and pulls you close, his lips gently touching yours before he says, "Just let me know beforehand next time, and I'll come with you."

Wrecker

There are not many people who can look him straight in the eye without tilting their head back. But you stand right in front of him at eye level and look at him challengingly.

A smirk twitches at the corners of his mouth, one brow slowly moves upward.

"What are you up to, Mesh'la?" he asks, amused.

"I was thinking of wearing high heels today when we go out".

You slip on said shoes and show them to him.

"What do you think?"

You're actually a few inches taller than him. Other men might be uncomfortable right now, but not Wrecker. He grins at you, his gaze wandering admiringly down your body.

"Looks gorgeous," he says honestly, "But maybe we'll stay home today and wear the shoes anyway, just the shoes."

You chuckle softly.

"Wrecker, you naughty boy"

In his gaze you see that he adores you, he admires you. You kiss him on the forehead and say, "Let's see, maybe we'll go out and afterward, when we come back, I'll wear only these shoes for you".

He smirks.

"Deal"

Tech

"Tech"

He blinks, looks up from his holopad, and sees you standing there with your hands on your hips. His gaze wanders up to your face.

"Yes?"

"I thought this was our day, you and me, without the datapad".

Tech turns off the datapad with a sigh, slips it back on his belt, and adjusts his goggles.

"Sorry, force of habit"

You reach for the pad, take it off his belt and put it in his bunk.

"This stays here today"

Tech follows your doing with his gaze and sighs again. He can't remember the last time he didn't have this datapad with him. He feels incomplete.

"Feels, oddly naked," he says uncertainly.

You smile at him as he slowly looks back up at you, looking a little helpless.

"If you go out with me tonight without that thing, I'll show you the pleasant way to be naked when we get back".

"What way would that b- oooh, I see. I don't object to that," Tech says, his cheeks flushing softly.

You lift his chin an leave a soft kiss on his warm lips.

"Come on, Tech, time for our evening".

With a shy little smirk, he replies, "Yes, Mesh'la"

Crosshair

He looks pissed, but so do you.

You are facing each other and both have your arms crossed.

He grumbles, "Is the air so thin up there that you don't get enough oxygen? Why the hell didn't you tell me about this before?"

"Hey, watch your mouth! It was never necessary, it's in my past and has nothing to do with you"

"Then why is your ex-husband suddenly showing up here?"

"He's a senator, he works here, it has nothing to do with me or you. How can you be so jealous!!!"

Crosshair snorts, "I'm not jealous."

"Yes you are and not just a little bit," you say sternly.

Again Crosshair snorts, he grits his teeth, you can see his jaw muscles working.

You step towards him, unfold your arms and grab his chin with one hand, forcing him to look up at you.

"Look at me, Crosshair"

His gaze is sharp as it meets yours, but also unexpectedly vulnerable.

Your expression softens as you say, "It doesn't matter who he is, what he does, or why he's here. As I said, he belongs to the past. I love you and nothing will change that."

With a mix of defiance, affection and doggedness he says, "You are mine".

You nod.

"Indeed."

He takes a deep breath, finally relaxes a bit and says softly, "Good" before giving you his famous cheeky smirk.

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

@meshla-madalene

@chxpsi

@thebahdbitch

@nahoney22 @ladykatakuri

@darkangel4121

@ttzamara

@arctrooper69

@padawancat97

@agenteliix

@allsystemsblue

@palliateclaws

@either-madness-or-brilliance

@ortizshinkaroff

@andy-solo1

@hunterssecretrecipe

@heyitsaloy

@greaser-wolf

@extrahotpixels

@hated-by-me

@hunterxcrosshair

@malicemercy

@bebopsworld

@echos-girlfriend

@taskfork-archive

@cpnt616

@starwarsnerd111

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alangdorf · 2 months

Text

Untagged ramble post about the the fic writing I’ve been doing + snippets (kind of a lot of them actually whoops) since idk if I’ll ever actually finish them let’s gooo (spoilers for said fics obvi)

Forgetting about Tsubakura’s hat when writing is my new forgetting about Vanitas’ Unversed when writing. Though in my defense I refuse to believe that their current normal outfit is what they used to wear to work because that is so many lab dress code violations including OPEN-TOED SHOES??!??!

Relatedly I had a funny moment of realization where I was like “wait I’m writing about throwing up black goop AGAIN??? What a coincidence”

Thus far I have caused one of my friends (not a len’en fan, only knows about it through my talking about it) to have TWO separate dreams about Len’en characters. I have since also had a dream about them but this friend had two before it even happened to me once (also I may have incorporated one or two aspects of said dreams into my stuff…)

I still write in my notes app with asterisks (discord markdown) for italics. I will never change and that is a promise

Btw in order the fics are: “Tsubakura makes terrible life decisions for two months straight and then Suzumi responds to them breaking up with her by faking her own death: the fic”

Followed by “The fact that there isn’t a unique ending for BPoHC Secret Team neutral route with Tsubakura as stage 6 boss has been plaguing me and I’m ‘boutta make it everyone else’s problem” (the actual current working title) (aka thinly veiled excuse for characters having sex that’s actually a thinly veiled excuse for Suzumi to explain why they did all that nonsense in the previous fic)

Then “Hamal Cine Bad End but I had to make a whole entire oc before deciding there would be anything there worth writing because if it was just Hamal and Tsubakura interacting it would be completely unreadable (featuring second person pov yet again!! So maybe it’s unreadable anyways idk)”

And finally “I couldn’t figure out how to finish that last fic satisfyingly so instead I started writing Tsubakura pov of before and after it but that means like half of it is just Hamal and Tsubakura which is what I was trying to avoid earlier whoops! The other half is logistics (actually that’s a lie the vast majority of it is logistics. What can I say I like logistics in my angst)”

Assuming Suzumi’s eye color just looks like brown to other people cause otherwise that would make the alters extremely obvious (I think zara also did this the other day ehe)

Arde should’ve been at the cluuuuub (Seriously though Arde has quickly skyrocketed into being one of my fave Len’en characters and also probably the person I feel the most bad for in at least my version of pre-canon. Like they all made bad decisions there but Arde had soooo much nonsense to deal with and extremely few viable alternatives)

I just now remembered the Japanese school year is different and I should look up what colleges typically do there

Unfortunately I cannot figure out how to google “what is the Japanese government’s procedure for reintegrating a formerly missing person into society when their kidnapping was a 37-year-old cold case (completely unrelated to the kidnapping they just escaped from) and also they’re largely made up of nanomachines or whatever now and have very advanced peripheral neuropathy and no living friends or relatives aside from this one rando who’s known them for about an hour (in the year 2050)”

Trying to make sense of Suzumi’s powers AAAAAAAAAA are the clones DIEGETIC??? Is Hooaka’s arm just gone FOREVER?? At the very least the disguise ability being Benny’s main ability would make some sense for how I’m writing them if. It’s even possible for them to turn it on and then have Arde front afterwards agh idk

Period-accurate communications tech also continues to be a completely self-inflicted thorn in my side. I’m assuming you could delete sent messages on whatever mobile messaging service Japanese young adults were using circa 2010 because I saw a post from 2017 saying you could do that on wechat and I can’t be bothered to do deeper research when it would significantly change my plot to find out otherwise

So you know how that one drawing of mine with Tsubakura and Tsurubami keeps just getting tagged as those two when it’s actually secretly suzutsuba (even moreso now that I’ve been developing Arde more lol)? That’s how I felt realizing that all my suzutsuba stuff is actually pointing to endgame yabutsuba (romantic or qpp idk idc) (also sorry ybtb fans I’m with you but I’m probably just gonna keep writing suzutsuba instead because my brain focuses on angst 100% of the time)

Semi-relatedly the aforementioned oc is named Koemi Oumura and happens to look a fair amount like Yabusame, which is presumably just a coincidence because Yabusame is the one character confirmed to not have any homeologues (extremely funny and scary fun fact), though I did come up with her name by like moving all the kanji in Yabu’s name a little to the left so lol who knows

While doing game dialogue research I ended up realizing that part of shrine team’s convo with Sanra is Tsubakura going “yeah clothes should be comfortable and unrestrictive!” and I was like “whoops… just gonna partially ignore that cause I’ve already been hcing the fact that you bind sometimes lol sorry”

Hamal gives herself biological immortality which is brought up only as a one-liner gag

Also I hope the way I write her dialogue isn’t like, too annoying. I cannot be bothered to copy paste unicode eighth notes wait a second I have a Japanese keyboard??! Oh well; still can’t be bothered so I’m just working with tildes and hearts. My friend tried to express which Len’en character showed up in its dream by saying “which suzumi is the ~ one. that one”

Ok time for assorted snippets (all mixed up just to keep ya guessing, though they also feel a little poetic in this arrangement. Mostly from the first fic since that’s the one I most want to post [and also the only one that’s T instead of M]) and then the sex stuff will be quarantined afterwards

Tsubakura pulls out their phone and sinks to the ground, breathing heavily (partially from the exertion). They look through their contacts. Yabusame is missing yet again. Haltingly, they punch in her number (they have it memorized, they triple-checked that they had it memorized just yesterday) and hit dial.

They start talking as soon as it picks up. “Yabu, I know I told you to let me handle things on my own for now, but I… I changed my mind; I need help, I-I don’t know what to do—”

The voice that interrupts them is not Yabusame’s, but they’d still recognize it anywhere. “Oh! Hello~! Expecting someone else, were we? Silly Tsuba~<3”

Tsubakura hangs up abruptly and just. Sits there. After a few minutes they check their phone to confirm, but it’s obvious that the number they have in their head is Suzumi’s. In fact, every number they have saved to their contacts is Suzumi’s. They don’t even bother with trying to remember their friends’ street addresses; they just hope she at least left them the route to the lab.

So. The message is abundantly clear. They’re alone in this. (And if the reason they’re late to work that day is because they curled up next to a dumpster and cried until they got scared she might come outside looking for them, well, that’s nobody’s business but their own.)

“The old Suzumi never quite worked up the courage to tell you all of this, but they really looked up to you, y’know? She was awestruck from the day you met. Renowned prodigy Tsubakura Enraku, this kid who was so smart, and educated, and accomplished, and cool, and attractive, and self-assured, and not even any older than she was? Who not only accepted her affections, but reciprocated them? Invited her to live with them? Ohh, she put you on a pedestal a mile high~! Gave them quite the inferiority complex, you did~ And then—“

“Don’t,” Tsubakura breathes, but she’s not done saying her piece yet.

“—The Accident happened. And what did you do? You blamed everything on her to save you own skin. While she was in the hospital, even! You betrayed her.”

“But that wasn’t—”

Hamee clamps a hand over their mouth and clucks her tongue disapprovingly. “It doesn’t matter what you thought you were doing. You’re smarter than that, Tsu~ba~ku~ra~. You know what it would’ve looked like. Felt like. And you certainly didn’t try to clear up any misconceptions with the higher-ups afterwards, did you~?”

Tsubakura looks mortified. It’s a good look on them.

Hamee chuckles and skims her hand down to the center of their chest. “And it broke Suzumi’s poor li’l heart~</3 Well, specifically Ardey’s, at that point. All her monumental faith in you just crumbled to dust. She’s wanted nothing more than good old-fashioned revenge on you ever since.”

…

Ardey’s silence in their head is palpable.

What? No pithy comments this time~?

Don’t talk to me right now.

If you say so~

Tsubakura’s heartbeat feels like a hummingbird caught beneath her fingertips, but they put on their best brave face. “And? What about you, Ha- whatever you said your name was. What exactly is your deal supposed to be?”

“Oh, me? Pretty little Hamee~? Well…” She gently cradles their head in her hands and leans in close, smiling serenely. Their already barely-stoic facade cracks just from that. “I never stopped seeing you as that beautiful, perfect genius that Suzumi idolized so! I still keep you up on that pedestal, Tsubakura-sama~<3 And all I want to do…” She whispers the last part in their ear like a catty schoolgirl telling a mean joke. “…is drag you down from it. Until you’re just as sad and broken as the rest of us~ Forever and ever <3”

And suddenly Hamal is there (still pretty hot, admittedly, but the effect is mitigated significantly by literally everything else about her), smiling without a care in the world, cupping Tsubakura’s face delicately in her hands like she isn’t currently out in a thunderstorm with a pistol tucked into her waistband, about to actually kill someone (specifically, YOU!!!) just to torment them. “Ohh, Tsubakura-sama… did you really think you could ever escape me~?”

When they tune back in to the present, Yabusame’s talking again. “—and a little while after you hung up, you sent me a photo of a handwritten note, and I didn’t really understand it, ‘cause the handwriting was weird and I think I didn’t know some of the kanji, but before I could ask you what that was all about, you deleted it, and none of my messages or calls have gone through since then!”

Tsubakura looks up from where they’ve been reflexively clutching at their head to see Yabusame standing over them all concerned, hands still out like she wants to touch them but can’t. (Right; she doesn’t know where they’re injured. They’re not 100% sure themself.) Mechanically, they reach down to grab their phone from their pocket and check it over. Nothing out of the ordinary except that there’s no trace of last night’s call, and Yabusame’s number is blocked and deleted from their contacts, which they quickly rectify. “Issue was on my end. Should go through now.”

“Okayyyyy…” Yabusame pouts, and then draws back a little and fidgets nervously. “Y’know, I checked for you here and at your favorite bar, and when you weren’t either of those places, I thought reeeeally hard about checking your apartment, but you said that if I ever popped into your apartment without an invitation again, you’d string me up by my ankles!” They briefly do an impression of Tsubakura lecturing them before getting even more subdued. “And, I figured, if you were at home, and Suzumi was there, ‘cause they’re always at home these days, that either Suzumi could fix the problem, or maybe Suzumi was the problem, and I was worried that me showing up maybe would’ve. Made it worse.” She tilts her head and looks at them imploringly, the platonic ideal of puppy-dog eyes. “Was that stupid of me?”

(There’s very little point in attempting anything else, even if they were able to; it all leads to the same outcome. She loves them when they struggle against her. She loves them when they love her back. She loves them when they give up entirely. She loves every single aspect of them. She loves the very concept of them. There’s nothing they could do that could possibly dissuade her. There’s no way to win anymore.)

Hoojiro’s brows knit together, but she doesn’t make any sort of remark about the strangeness of their behavior just yet, instead holding out their phone, which she must’ve retrieved from wherever it was they’d flung it last night. Or this morning, technically. Who cares. “Your phone. It sounds like Su-somebody’s calling?” She’s clearly trying to be delicate, but it’s on silent. She must’ve looked at the screen. She knows who it is.

Tsubakura deflates back into their chair, taking the phone only to drop it face-down on the table in front of them. (They don’t want to risk declining the call; that would just tell her that they’re awake and paying attention.) The jig is pretty much up anyway, so they bury their face in their arms and groan. They’re so tired. “Yeah, tell me something I don’t know…”

Hoojiro shuffles and hesitates before addressing the elephant in the room. “Doctor, I… you claimed it was just an accident that you fell asleep here the other night, and when I left yesterday you told me you’d make sure to go home, but you clearly didn’t, and now it looks to me like your girlfriend has been unsuccessfully trying to contact you, so I guess what I mean to say is… How long have you been here? Really.”

Tsubakura groans again in response.

“Doctor,” Hoojiro admonishes.

“Shitodo,” they reply in a similar tone.

She sighs. “Tsubakura…”

They peek out at her guiltily. “…..Four days. I think.”

With the short hair, loose-fitting hospital clothes, and useless blackened limbs, they’re hardly recognizable as Tsubakura Enraku, genius prodigy, groundbreaking scientist, honorary Senri priest. But that person was killed decades ago along with everyone else (and thousands more times afterward for good measure), and all they are now is a lingering ghost left trapped in their own decaying corpse. Or maybe, if you just focus on the wan face, the dark, sunken eyes, they look like the exact same clinically depressed and perpetually exhausted Tsubakura Enraku that they’ve always been, just currently lacking any work or leisure or alcohol in which to drown themself so they can forget about the absurd tragedy that is their life. Hard to say; they’re kinda mixing their metaphors here.

“The angry one is called Ardey. Most of our ~trysts~ in the past have actually been with her fronting, but she decided it would be more practical to just straight-up kill you after you stopped wanting to have anything to do with us. Soooo she’s trying to pretend like she isn’t watching right now, teehee <3”

HEY.

“She says hi~!”

I DO NOT. SHUT UP.

Ok, this is all very. Beside the point. The point being that Tsubakura woke up to their girlfriend smothering them with a pillow. They attempt to calm down and take a deep breath, neither of which is made easier by Suzumi’s weight on their stomach. “So… uhh… did you just try to kill me?”

Suzumi laughs airily, but with an ever-so-slightly nervous edge. “Ohh, ‘kill’ is such a strong word…” She trails a finger down the underside of their jaw. “Really, what’s a little bit of suffocation between friends~?” She continues down their throat and traces along their collarbones. “If it helps, it was just a… mood swing thing. Shouldn’t happen again. I like making you squirm a liiittle too much to actually want to get rid of you~” She hooks the finger on the collar of their shirt and tugs.

“You’re trying to distract me now, aren’t you.” It’s hardly a question.

“Is it working?” Suzumi deadpans.

They should probably be more concerned, and will definitely start sleeping on the couch after this, but for now, Tsubakura swallows and makes a decision that is… not one of their smarter ones, to be honest. Whatever. Blame the oxygen deprivation, if you must.

“Well. You could be trying harder.”

“I always took you for granted, because I’m a black hole of a human being that just takes and takes and takes until there’s nothing left. I don’t know if there’s even any of the real you left in there, Suzumi. So:”

Tsubakura sinks down to one knee and reaches up a hand, their dark eyes as unreadable as ever. Hamee feels their heart skip a beat at the sight, but for all the wrong reasons. She won’t lie and claim that she hasn’t fantasized about setting up a scenario like this someday, buying a white dress and a real tux and rubbing in her victory over them with the “‘til death do us part”s and all that, but not like this. Not on their terms; not with them real and in the flesh and kneeling right here in front of her, acting out something that could’ve happened years ago if they’d been either a whole lot better for each other or just a little more stupid, but asking for a knife to the jugular rather than an “I do”. Everything about this is wrong.

“I’m giving myself to you,” Tsubakura says. “Will you take me?”

The police haven’t even bothered to get back to them about pressing charges (a laughable attempt, they know, but they had to try something) by the time Tsubakura’s old apartment goes up in flames, and the obituary of Suzumi Kuzu gets printed in the papers, accompanied by the awkward university ID photo of somebody they maybe loved, once. Just making it official that that person is long gone, they suppose.

(But they don’t believe she’s dead for even a second.)

Sex stuff is down here

They just keep having sex. It just keeps happening. I’m aroace-spec and actively religious; how did I get here? Where am I?? Hello????

The number of sex scenes I am writing around is absolutely crazy given that like. I literally can’t even bring myself to use the word “butt”. Tsubakura is mostly naked about half the time. I am matrix dodging specifics out here (to be clear all intercourse is either before/after the parts that I’m actually writing or it’s vaguely skipped over. Even if I wasn’t holding myself to particular language standards I’m always in it more for the emotional part of it and don’t care for the explicit sex stuff so everything I write should be M at most)

I am extremely aware that Hamal Cine Bad End is a lot (and definitely an extreme canon divergence; like perfect storm of things going wrong, Arde and Benet would have to be out of the picture, Hamal would need to get like 10000% less impulsive) and I’m very nervous about sharing any of it at all!! Uhhhhh what else to say about it… I’m trying not to be too gratuitous? The one actual beat-by-beat scene I have any plans for atm is much more focused on the psychological/torture aspects once it flips into gear (not particularly gory either)? Hopefully I’m handling it well? Idk I just hope if I do end up posting it that my writing speaks for itself. Stands on its own. Or whatever like you know what I mean

Ok moving on so you remember that first fic I was writing a few months ago and then abandoned? That fic was funny cause the whole idea I was going off of was using marriage as a metaphor for getting murdered (second to last snippet is a surprise cameo from that heehee; I couldn’t figure out how to write into it in a way that would make sense though) and if I ever published that one I would definitely have needed to put out a disclaimer that’s like “Yes I am happily married, yes I am aroace, yes I am only interested in super toxic shipping; I contain multitudes” (also no ace discourse please; despite the fact I could pass for allo in some ways I still choose to identify as aroace because my aro/asexuality affects a lot of areas of my life even if it’s not that visible to others)

I know I mentioned a while ago that I was projecting somewhat onto Suzumi but just to be clear I’m definitely also projecting onto Tsubakura. Sorry for giving them all my sexual preferences (and one very specific fairly minor parental trauma); it will happen again (that’s me on the left; I haven’t changed my pfp to reflect my current sona) (don’t mind the koala)

#suggestive #but just at the bottom (ha)

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tblsomedoodles · 1 year

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Donnie keeps the existence of the dream recorder a secret even from Leo bevause A) He knows Leo would be upset at the invasion of privacy, B) the things Leo sees are so impossible and do terrifying Donnie doesn't really know what to do about it and know everyone else will just worry, and C) SCIENCE!!

At first, he probably figures out Leo has a lot of nightmare and decides to try to do something about it. Like, Leo refuses to talk about his dreams even when Dr. Delicate Touch comes out. They are THAT bad! So Donnie wants to get to the bottom of what his twin's nightmares about, and to do that, he needs to know what Leo is seeing. At first, he thinks Leo just had a really overactive imagination and tries to limit his horror intake... then he notices that the things Leo sees in his dreams ACTUALLY HAPPEN.

This kind of hints at Donnie realizing there was something up before their nimpo was unlocked (and Leo's dreams turned to an HD showing of the apocalypse future), which i'm kinda liking?

Like, Donnie's probably the next contender for having the worst sleeping schedule, so it's possible he'd notice if one of his brothers was up late (or didn't sleep at all.) So he'd probably be the one to notice that on some nights, Leo's up and looking thoroughly shaken from some nightmare. Asking about it wouldn't do any good b/c he's horrible at emotions and stuff like that (maybe Donnie triers once and Leo pretends there's nothing wrong.)

So Donnie would do what Donnies do, throw tech at the problem. He eventually decides that if he can see the dreams, maybe he can figure out why he's having them and remove the nightmare triggers. Like if he's dreaming about scary movie stuff, not let him watch scary movies before bed. That sort of thing.

So eventually he figures out how to make a dreamcatcher that records nearby dreams (with the help of a bit of mystic. Probably a trip to the hidden city library coupled with a very basic crystal.) He presents it to Leo as a "useless decoration to hang on his wall. With absolutely no ulterior motives." (when leo doesn't believe him, he points out a secondary decoy function. that it makes white noise to help him sleep, which Leo grudgingly accepts.)

A lot of the dreams he gets are just, normal Leo dreams. They're bright and silly, and usually involve a unicorn somehow.

The nightmares are...different. They're dark and hazy. Indistinct, often jumping erratically from one image to another. They don't make sense.

Not until they face the shredder for three days straight and he realizes afterwards, that the DIY grave he made was featured in one of them. Which is impossible. Completely impossible.

He starts studying the nightmares more carefully, committing them all to memory because dreaming of the future isn't possible. There has to be another explanation. (he even goes back to the library, looking for answers. All he gets are vague books about Seers. Absolutely useless for proving his brother isn't seeing the future.)

THen their nimpo is unlocked and Leo's nightmares are suddenly so much sharper, more detailed, showing things more disturbing than any of the nightmares before.

And now they're every night.

Yeah, i'm kinda liking this thing lol. Mostly b/c then Donnie knows something's going on even before Leo, even if he's in denial that the future works like that.

Thank you!

If it's after Leo starts dreaming of the apocalypse future, he'd be in for a shock.

Thank you!

That sounds about accurate. I think most of his visions have more to do with what's happening around and to them then what they are doing. So seeing him accidentally start the apocalypse? nope. Seeing the results of the Krang invasion? oh yes. and hates every second of it.

Thank you!

Yep, it would just make sense to CJ. and that's an adorable nickname! Leo would definitely use it for him b/c he probably only saw as far as sending him through the portal so, quite literally, all their hope for the krang to be defeated, would be on him.

Thank you!

#asks #tmnt #rottmnt #seer twins au

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wordsmith30 · 1 year

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Episodes 1×04-1×06 are probably some of my core favourites in season one because of the character growth and relationship dynamics between Ava, Lilith, and Mary. I think 1×04 really starts to cement Ava as a reluctant hero. She certainly doesn’t set out to be one, but she also can’t turn her back when she sees someone in trouble. (We see this a little earlier as well when she thought Michael was locked up in Arq-Tech.)

In the beginning of 1×04, Ava sees a man following this girl on the street and has to jump in, even though a good part of her doesn’t want to. And then at the end, when she’s on the verge of freedom, she realizes Diego’s in trouble and goes back to save him.

In doing so, she gets justice for herself and all the other kids Sister Frances killed. Frances was an evil woman who abused her position and the scriptures to justify the murder of countless innocents. The show also doesn’t shy away from the gray area there because even though Ava does the right thing and saves Diego, killing someone – even someone you hate – is a very difficult thing to do. She’s left reeling and traumatized afterwards.

And then she’s face-to-face with Lilith: another person who’s out to get her.

Lilith’s growth in 1×05 alone never fails to disappoint. Everything in the narrative sets you up to hate her: her anger and bitterness over losing the Halo to someone else, her rivalry with Mary, her selfishness and blind ambition, her willingness to cross the line for her own personal gain.

She and Mary are immovable force meets immovable force. They collide hard in one of the best sibling fights I’ve ever seen on TV as they kick the snot out of each other and Mary gives her the cold-hearted truth: You’re a coward, we’re not friends, you’re not a leader, and I’m not letting you hurt this girl.

And Lilith, who’s been trying to kill Ava all episode (and inadvertently summoned a Tarask in the process), finally goes still when she sees Ava put herself between JC and the Tarask – when Ava stands there, terrified, with zero training and zero weapons, facing down certain death.

“I’ll protect you,” she says to JC.

It forces Lilith to see what she refused to see before: that Ava’s not just some selfish non-believer or a nobody. She’s the Warrior Nun. She may have run before, but she’s not running now, and the stupid girl’s about to get herself killed.

Lilith runs in front of the Tarask, taking the claw straight through the chest. Her sacrifice is a callback to what Mother Superion said in 1×03: that Ava has to trust her Sister Warriors to have her back.

In Lilith’s dying words, choking on her own blood, she looks at Ava and says, “Pick up the sword.”

It’s like a concession and a passing of the torch all in one: It’s your turn now. Finish the job.

Ava swings the Divinium sword in a great slice and banishes the Tarask back to the other side.

Lilith’s death (disappearance) hangs over 1×06 like a spectre as Ava and Mary call an uneasy truce and try and find their way through the mountains together.

I just find it really cute that despite all their fighting and saying that they’re done with each other, neither one ends up leaving. Ava once again proves she’s not a selfish jerk when she helps Mary bind up her leg, saying she can’t just leave her to the wolves.

Mary also drops several tough-love truths on Ava, telling her that her condition and upbringing prevents her from empathizing with or thinking about others’ problems. In doing so, she continues Beatrice’s throughline of “Not everything’s about you.”

She explains to Ava that her relationship with the OCS is a reciprocal one, and one that she carved out on her own terms. Through it, she found a family.

“Family?” Ava scoffs. “You and Lilith hated each other.”

“Well, she was my sister,” Mary says. “Of course I hated her.”

Cue all the feels. Because what are siblings if they’re not constantly oscillating between “I’m going to kill you” and “I’d die for you”?

I also just love the way Mary accelerates Ava’s Warrior Nun crash course. There’s probably some reverse psychology involved as Ava suspects, but it’s very effective. Though Mary lays out all the stakes – her suspicions about Duretti and Shannon’s death, how Ava might’ve gotten the Halo as part of a larger plot, and the fact that wraith demons are everywhere – she’s no longer fighting for Ava to come back with her. She leaves the ball in her court. Mary tells Vincent that she never caught Ava, that she’ll be coming back alone.

I know people have joked that Beatrice would’ve found and recovered Ava faster had she been sent after her in season one, but Mary is the best candidate here. She understands better than anyone what it means to be the Warrior Nun. Mary and Shannon were season one’s Avatrice (what’s their ship name, by the way? Shary? Mannon?) and she had to watch Shannon die. She knows that Ava is inheriting a death sentence. Mary, like Vincent, wants to give Ava a choice because when push comes to shove, they are asking a lot of her. Mary just wants to be sure that if Ava chooses to leave, she’ll be able to protect herself.

Mary gives Ava a few key tools to survive on her own: cooking skills and a Divinium knife. The second one only occurs after Ava makes the choice, of her own free will, to follow the possessed townsman out of the restaurant.

“I wasn’t ready then, but I’m ready now.”

So, Mary throws Ava in the ring with the possessed man and says, “Get ‘im! Get ‘im, Ava!”

And though I don’t think Ava would’ve admitted it then, she actually liked her time with Mary. What Ava wants most, after all, is a companion. Comforted by the knowledge that Mary would kick her around, but not kill her, and having no other plans or friends in the world, we can see all the little ways that Ava keeps coming back to her: finding Mary by the fire, even after being kicked off the cliff; looking for her in the morning when she wakes up in the church alone; and wandering into the restaurant kitchen to see what Mary’s doing.

When Beatrice finally arrives to take Mary back and Mary says goodbye, Ava looks visibly upset. She holds the knife close with both hands, her oversized jacket only highlighting how small and childlike she looks. Because ultimately, that’s what she is: a child alone in a world she barely understands. A child with no sense of direction or purpose, who doesn’t even know who she is.

But Mary uses the same trick that my mother used with me and my sisters growing up: the best way to get a child to follow you is to walk away.

#Warrior Nun rewatches #Shotgun Mary #Sister Lilith #Ava Silva #Warrior Nun 1x03 #Warrior Nun 1x04 #Warrior Nun 1x05 #Warrior Nun 1x06 #Mary x Shannon #Sister Beatrice #family #sisterhood #Ava needed tough-love Mary #character analysis #save warrior nun

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ninjastormhawkkat · 1 year

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The Fall of Fair City - Chapter 7

Dr. Two Brains eyes shot wide opened as he let out a gasp of air. Bright lights had returned, but he had no idea where he was right now. The mad scientist could still feel hands grasped on his shoulders but as his vision and mind became lucid, he saw no malevolent duplicate but rather Wordgirl holding his shoulders. She looked frantic and wracked with worry, but when she saw him stare at her, albeit with some confusion, the young heroine looked immensely relieved. "Oh thank goodness. Your awake!" She exclaimed sounding very elated. Two Brains could also see some tears appearing in her eyes. "I told you he was okay Wordgirl." A familiar voice called out. Both Wordgirl and Two Brains turned their heads to a now tied up Learnerer with Captain Huggy Face standing near him to keep guard. "My tech analyzeded that Two Brains survived the electrical blast and that all he got from it were bruises and some scrapes, but no serious damage. I kept tryinging to tell you that you didn't have to be so frantic over him." The Learnerer stated aloud, a bit prideful over his technology's accuracy. Wordgirl's face formed into an angry glare. "WELL IT"S STILL YOUR FAULT! IF YOU HADN'T BROUGHT HIM HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE THEN HE WOULDN'T HAVE ANY INJURIES TO BEGIN WITH EVEN IF THEY WERE MINOR!" Wordgirl yelled back, causing everyone in the room to flinch at the intensity of her voice. "What happened?" Dr. Two Brains asked, slowly coming back to lucidity, clutching his head. Wordgirl face the scientist, her expression turning back into a soft and concerned look. "You were knocked back by that machine pretty hard. I didn't even notice what happened unit Huggy and I heard you cry out and saw you slam into the wall. You didn't respond when I tried calling your name the first time and I was afraid you may have gotten a concussion or something." Wordgirl answered him, her voice though calm was lined with worry. "I said he didn't have a concussion!" The Learnerer interrupted. "SHUT UP!" Wordgirl retorted back angrily, causing the villain to curl in on himself in fear. "Oh boy." Dr. Two Brains mumbled, again wincing from the outburst. Although touching and well warranted, Two Brains could sense that his child was nearly about to spill the beans involuntarily about their actual relationship to the Learnerer, something neither of them would want. "Easy kid. I'm alright." Dr. Two Brains spoke up, intervening in the situation to calm his daughter down. Wordgirl looked doubtful at his words. "Are you sure? Do you need me to take you to a hospital. Dr. Two Brains slowly got up, wincing from the pain in his head and backside from the machine's electrical blast. He held up a hand to halt Wordgirl from trying to help him. "Nothing's broken, just a little tossed up but it's nothing serious." Two Brains casually responded though even he was not sure at the moment how much of that was true. "I'm alright Wordgirl." He said to her. A reassuring yet paternal tone underlining his voice. Wordgirl nodded at his words with a reluctant sigh. "Okay. I won't be taking you to jail this time doc since you may feel sore afterwards and prison beds are not a comfortable solution for them. I'll leave your henchmen hear as well to take you home. You Learnerer on the other hand, I'm taking you straight to the slammer." Wordgirl spoke with a determined tone towards the end as she picked up the still tied up villain. After freeing the henchmen as well, her and Huggy began to take off. Wordgirl gave one last look at Dr. Two Brains who just gave her a small smile and wave. Somewhat satisfied, Wordgirl and Huggy headed off with to the city's jail with The Learnerer in tow. "Come on fellas let's head back to the lair." Dr. Two Brains commanded his henchmen. The two were stunned by what happened, but soon followed Two Brain's orders when he got their attention. @melodythebunny @drtwobrainsstuff

#wordgirl #wordgirl au #dr two brains #the henchmen #becky boxleitner au #the learnerer #the fall of fair city #bob/captain huggy face

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rexscanonwife · 1 year

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Reunion

Well...I’ve been working on this fic for a long while now, chipping at it and rewriting bits here and there but with the premiere of TBB season 2 I thought it would be a good time to finish it! This is what I imagine the reunion between Brea and Rex after Order 66 to be like, and if you read I hope you enjoy -^ ^-

NOTES: this takes place directly after s1e7 of TBB where the boys encounter Rex again, but they had found Brea long before Rex found them and I imagine with everything going on they forgot that she might like to know he’s, you know, alive and where he is and vice versa x’D they rectify that shortly after, at least! also translations: Mesh’la - beautiful, Cyare - beloved

CW: pregnancy is mentioned and described for anyone who’s squicked by that!!!

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

When Hunter had contacted Brea and told her to meet Clone Force 99 at their designated location on Batuu, he was very vague with the details.

“We’ve got something you’ll be very interested in.” the pale, almost ghostly image had said to her through the holo-messenger.

“Ok…knowing you guys that could mean any number of things, Hunter. Care to elaborate?”

“Just trust me. You’ll wanna see this, we’ll be en route by next cycle at the latest.”

And with that, the message flickered out and she was left alone in a mostly empty room once more. She sighed. “Nice talking to you as always, Hunt.”

Despite the suspicion it aroused, and the lack of information she had, the fact remained that she did still trust Hunter and the others. They fought side by side during the Clone Wars, and even after everything fell apart, seeing them again and meeting Omega gave her a small sense of normalcy amidst all the chaos. They were still her friends.

And in an ever changing Galaxy, growing more hostile day by day, friends were hard to come by.

So, when the time was right she made her way to the far side of Batuu under cover of night, where they would be able to meet safely. With Ben not far behind as an extra precaution, of course. They were late, as always, but soon enough she spotted the rickety old Marauder coming in for one of their trademark less-than-graceful landings.

Omega was the first one to bolt out once the hatch door opened, hardly waiting for the off-ramp to lower all the way to the ground. The small, fair-haired girl ran straight for her, immediately jumping into Brea’s arms, barely even able to wrap her own around her waist.

"Brea! It's so good to see you, I missed you so much!" She exclaimed, looking up at her with those warm brown eyes that struck a chord in Brea every time she saw them.

She ran a hand through the girl's short locks. "It's good to see you too, munchkin! Have you been taking care of these chuckleheads?"

"Definitely!" Omega beamed. "I've got so much to tell you, I got chased by a bounty hunter, and we saved a baby Rancor! Ooh, but we've got something to show you first!"

Brea’s eyes blew wide, though she tried not to let her concern show in her face too much, not wanting to discourage the girl’s enthusiasm. "So I’ve heard! We’ll uh…we’ll come back to those other things afterwards, yeah?"

One by one the others poured out after her. First was Tech, approaching with respect for her (but more so his own) personal space. "Greetings, Commander. I trust you're still in good health?"

She chuckled at his blunt, but fond tone. "I'm not a Commander anymore, Tech. But…I guess I'm as good as I can be. Thanks for sending me those medical files, by the way! They've been very helpful!"

"Naturally! I'd only send you the most accurate data. To the best of my knowledge, at least."

"Well, your knowledge is always the best!" She was half joking, but still he preened himself in response to her compliment before stepping past her and turning his attention to his datapad once more.

Echo was next, pulling her into a familiar embrace. "It's good to see you, Mesh'la." He said, patting her back firmly. A gesture she returned, one that they'd shared probably over a hundred times before, reminding them of a time when they still knew their place in the galaxy.

Wrecker pulled him out of the way, "BREA! C'MERE, GIVE US A SQUEEZE!" His booming voice shouted, opening his arms wide and lunging forward ready to crush her against him in one of his infamous bear hugs.

Instinctively, she threw her arms up in front of her, and with a faint hum of energy crackling around them he was frozen in place. "Awh, no fair! I always forget you can do that!" He said, sounding like a child who'd just lost a game.

"Sorry, Wreck. Normally it would be fine, but it's just not a good idea right now…" She said, releasing him from her Force hold and raising her eyebrows at him expectantly. It seemed to click after a moment, and his demeanor shifted from excited to sheepish in an instant.

"Oh, right…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry!"

She shook her head with a soft laugh, "Hey, no harm done!" She held out her hand to him instead, which he clasped firmly in his as a gesture of camaraderie.

Last was Hunter. He stood in the doorway, back-lit by the artificial lights coming from within the ship and with a slight smirk playing at his lips.

"Evening, Callisto! Long time no see."

"And who's fault is that? You guys know our door is always open!" She replied, walking towards the Marauder until she was standing at the foot of the on-ramp. Looking up at him, hands on her hips. “But you didn’t come all this way just to catch up over Caf, did you?”

He hummed thoughtfully. “Guess not.”

She shook her head. He’d never been a chatterbox, unlike Tech who sometimes seemed as though he never ran out of things to say. Still, Hunter had changed since they last fought together. Since fleeing Kamino, since becoming fugitives. They all had…even her. "It'd better be good, Hunter."

He seemed to be stifling a much more devilish smile. He definitely had something up his sleeve, or at least he thought he did. Yet he moseyed down the ramp in a nonchalant fashion, walking right past her without a hug or even a handshake like the others. She followed his gaze, turning away from the ship to keep an unamused glare pointed in his direction.

"Oh believe me…it is." He said, raising one eyebrow as he tilted his chin towards what was supposed to be an empty Marauder.

She hesitated for a moment, her heart suddenly began to pound in her chest while her skin prickled with anticipation. Slowly, she turned back to see another figure standing in the entryway now.

All was silent as she met with a sixth pair of eyes, almost completely identical to the others. A thick green poncho adorned his shoulders, his battered white armor with chipping blue paint poking out from underneath the frayed hem. The light from behind him caught on his buzzed blond hair, casting a heavenly glow around his head as though he were an angel.

And to her, in this moment, maybe he was.

The air hung thick with tension. Until finally, he took one step towards her, and then another, all the while she was frozen in place. Soon she was staring up at him, a ghost from her past standing before her now, in the flesh.

He breathed in and out shakily, gingerly bringing up one of his gloved hands to touch her face. His thumb rubbed over the apple of her cheek, his lips parted slightly as his eyes desperately searched hers.

"Brea…" His voice came out as a sigh, relieved, incredulous, and loving all at the same time. Finally, they closed the remaining distance between them and fell into each other. She threw her arms around his shoulders, her fingers digging into the ragged fabric of his poncho desperately as his arms moved to wrap around her waist.

"Rex!" She sobbed into him. Tears began to flow freely from her eyes as she allowed herself to drown in his essence.

When Order 66 was initiated and she lost everything, she'd willfully cut herself off from any trace of him. After witnessing what could become of the very Clone Troopers that fought with her for years, she was scared of what she might find. Whether he was dead or if the Rex she knew and loved was gone and replaced with...something else, she'd decided that she preferred not to know.

But now, having him in her arms she felt him again, and let his living Force flow into her, taking in every little bit. She recognized the darkness he held within him now. A deep-seated pain that could be caused only by grief. But despite everything, he was still undeniably, entirely her Rex. She'd almost missed the shaking of his shoulders and the warm droplets that fell against her neck. He was crying too. He moved to tighten his hold on her for a split second before she felt the pinch of his armor pressing into her stomach and pulled away from him.

He released her immediately, looking down at her with that anxious expression of his. Eyes as wide and as innocent as a Tooka cat’s. "What's the matter?"

She chewed on her lower lip, suddenly becoming a bit worried herself. They had talked about it before, in hushed tones and soft whispers against skin in the small hours of the night when they were alone together. 'After the war', they said, and now here they were. The war over, but nothing was what they thought it would be. Everything was different, so would he feel differently about it now?

He stayed silent, not wanting to push the matter too hard, but she decided after all that it would be best to say it outright.

Or perhaps, show it was more accurate.

She'd worn a very loose cloak to the rendezvous, it disguised her form quite well, making her almost shapeless. Undoing the clasp that held it together, she let it fall away from her shoulders and pool around her feet. His eyes trailed from her face downward further, and further…then went wide.

Her stomach was noticeably round, poking out over the waistband of her pants ever so slightly, even while covered by her tunic. Rex let out a shallow gasp as he understood now, his hand flying up to cover his mouth. He looked from her face to her belly a few times, flabbergasted, seemingly struggling to decide where to focus his gaze.

"You…you're…and I'm..?" He stuttered, to which she chuckled nervously and nodded to confirm.

"Of course you are, Rex. It could never be anyone else in the entire Galaxy. Is this…ok?"

"OK? This- this is amazing! I can't believe this, you and me we're- we're gonna be-" He stuttered. Unable to find the right words, he took her face in his hands, and for the first time in what felt like lifetimes, he kissed her. In his kiss she felt every emotion swelling within him now. Shock, excitement, fear, happiness, and stronger than any of those was love.

She pulled him closer again, wrapping her arms around him as she returned his kiss, and with it, everything she had to give. Once they parted, they rested their foreheads against each other, breaths mingling and stood that way for a few moments.

Until the sound of someone clearing their throat reminded them that they did, in fact, have an audience.

They parted, but Rex kept his arm wrapped tightly against her shoulders as if worried that he might lose her again. "I really can't thank you enough, fellas…for bringing me back to her."

The statement was met with warm smiles as the others crowded around the couple with their various 'you're welcomes' and 'congratulations'. All except Omega, who looked between the couple suspiciously, seemingly trying to make sense of the situation.

"Wait, so…REX is the one who put the baby in her belly?" She exclaimed innocently, and a bit too seriously for their liking.

Rex seemed to blush all the way up to his ears at this, chuckling nervously "how much did you tell her?" He said quietly to Brea.

She threw her hands up, "Only what she needed to know, I promise!"

—--------------------------------------—

"Oh, I think I felt a kick!" Rex chirped excitedly. His tone almost laughably unbecoming of his world-weary face, but in a way that made Brea’s heart swell with adoration for him. As serious as her Captain was, always had been, there was still that sweet spot he held for the two of them alone.

She was sat up in her tiny, one-person bed while Rex lay nestled between her legs, his own dangling off the edge as he rested his head on her stomach carefully so as not to put too much pressure there. He listened, eyes closed with a blissful smile, his hand rubbing gentle circles over the small bump that sheltered their little one. According to the files that Tech had sent her to study, it was probably just a bit too early for them to be feeling any kicking, but she didn’t say anything.

Instead, she lightly ran her nails over his scalp, letting him savor the moment. Enjoying his touch, the feeling of his warm skin against hers, drinking it in for all it was worth. After a spell, he let out a deep sigh.

"What're you thinking about, Cyare?” she purred.

"Just…how lucky I am. It almost feels like I'm dreaming." He said, adjusting his position a bit and tilting his head to look up at her. "Like I'm gonna wake up at any moment, on some rickety ship somewhere and be all alone again."

His eyes darkened for a moment, tinged with an unspeakable sadness. One that she knew very well.

"Hey…I'm not going anywhere." She smiled, moving her hand from his hair to cradle his cheek, rubbing the pad of her thumb over his prominent cheekbone, "you'll never get rid of me now."

This seemed to set him at ease for the moment. Raising his hand to gently grip her wrist as he pressed a chaste kiss to her palm.

"I'll never let you go again." He stated simply, a conviction in his tone that sent shivers down her spine.

"I just can't believe that yesterday…I was a man who had nothing and now-" He sighed, laying his head back down and continuing to stroke the taut skin of her belly.

"I have everything."

#jane journals #self insert #self ship #self insert x canon #canon x self insert #self shipping community #self insert fanfiction #self insert fic #ough i dont write often enough to have a cohesive writing tag sdjkgj #whatever #💙 oh captain my captain 💙#💙💙 familiar faces 💙💙#for interactions from the bad batchers #but OUGGHHHH I JUST #REALLY WANTED TO WRITE EMOTIONAL TENDER STUFF #they both thought the other was dead ; w ;#that they lost the most IMPORTANT person in the galaxy to them along with everything else #i figured it'd be a very messy emotional reunion and even if i was frustrated w it from time to time im rly happy with it #oh faurk uhh #cw pregnancy #pregnancy cw #just in case x'3 #tbh i was a little nervous to post it for that reason too #but i just think its really sweet and fluffy and cute #and me and rex having a family is VERY important to our story and just to us in general #i feel like it was always something rex wanted even before he could even vocalize it #and UH ANYWAY #i have more fics ive been chipping away at since FOREVER and idk when theyll be finished #so have this for now #ill probably draw some art to go with it later but ouggh so eepy

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